New York - Liberty Media, the Colorado-based video and online commerce firm that owns QVC, would be open to exchanging its 2.8% stake in New York-based Time Warner for the dial-up Internet business of AOL, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. [more..]

New York - Veteran rockers The Allman Brothers Band has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, seeking over $10 million in what the band says are unpaid royalties from sales of their CDs and digital downloads, Reuters reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Digital music service Napster has reported first quarter sales of $30.3 million, down 6% from the same period a year ago, and a slightly wider loss of $4.4 million. [more..]

Los Angeles - Vongo, the Web video-on-demand service launched by Liberty Media's Starz unit back in 2006, is being shut down at the end of next month, according to a note on the website.
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London - Playlouder MSP, a service that lets users legally download music from file-sharing networks while tracking traffic and compensating rights holders, has partnered with one of the U.K.'s top ISPs and will soon launch an unlimited music download service, PaidContent reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Disney announced on Tuesday that it will establish collaborative research and development labs with Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. [more..]

San Francisco - PlanetOut, a media and entertainment firm focused on the gay and lesbian market, said on Tuesday that it has received notice from the Nasdaq that its not maintained a minimum market value of $5 million for the past 30 days -- a requirement for continued listing on the exchange. [more..]

Washington - Internet download speeds in the U.S. have gotten only slightly faster over the past year, still lagging well behind those in many other nations, according to a new study by Communications Workers of America (CWA). [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - In what's become one of the most anticipated days of the year for U.S. gamers, Electronic Arts on Tuesday released "Madden NFL 09," the 20th anniversary edition of a sports franchise that has sold more than 70 million units since its inception. [more..]

Boulder, Colo. - Lijit Networks, a provider of search-powered applications for online publishers, announced on Tuesday that it has closed a $7.1 million third round of financing, led by Foundry Group. [more..]

San Diego - RoyaltyShare, a Web-based provider of digital royalty collection and payment services for record labels and others in the industry, announced on Tuesday that it has received an investment from the William Morris Agency as an extension to its second round of financing. [more..]

Kirkland, Wash. - Online video news aggregation service 1Cast announced on Tuesday that it has raised an undisclosed amount of first round funding, in a round led by Eagle River Holdings. [more..]

I am a fan of Kleenex brand, but I do think that they have a larger strategic problem that likely won't be solved by a campaign like this or even through an Olympic sponsorship. One of their biggest challenges surely must be the commoditization of their brand, blogs Rohit Bhargava. [more..]

Los Angeles - The Olympics opening ceremony telecast has already been downloaded over one million times via the BitTorrent file-sharing network, TorrentFreak reports. [more..]

San Francisco - Following up on a piece it published yesterday on the reception problems that some iPhone 3G customers are experiencing, both with AT&T in the U.S. and worldwide, CNET News.com on Tuesday posted a call for iPhone 3G owners to provide additional information for its study. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo and political media firm Politico on Tuesday announced a partnership with The Denver Post and St. Paul Pioneer Press to hold a series of public forums during the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Colorado and Republican National Convention in Minnesota. [more..]

Berkeley, Calif. - MOG, the provider of a music blogging platform that counts thousands of sites, on Tuesday announced the launch of a new advertising network for independent music blogs and websites. The company said the network already counts more than 30 affiliates. [more..]

Chicago - Video game publisher Midway Games announced on Tuesday that it has cancelled an as-yet-unannounced project in production at its Austin studio, and as a result will lay off 90 of the 130-person development team there. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - Loopt, a location-based mobile social network, said on Tuesday that it has partnered with music marketing agency NonStop Riot on a feature called "Follow the Music," offering fans the ability to follow bands on tour. [more..]

Reston, Va. - ICO Global Communications, a company developing a satellite-based service that will offer video and other programming in cars and remote locations, announced that it has reached agreements with Turner Broadcasting System to provide content from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim for use in the company's upcoming alpha trials. [more..]