Washington - The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board announced on Tuesday that it has granted requests from groups including the Digital Media Association, National Public Radio, Clear Channel Communications and SoundExchange for a rehearing of its recently announced ruling on digital music webcasting royalty rates. [more..]

New York - IDG chairman Patrick McGovern has partnered with fellow media firms Hearst and News Corp. on a new venture that will distribute movies, DVDs and video games in China, the New York Post reported on Wednesday. [more..]

New York - The Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) has sent another round of letters to universities where students are believed to be engaged in illegal music file-sharing, Billboard reported on Wednesday. [more..]

San Francisco - Microsoft has responded to reports of possible fraud on its Xbox Live online gaming service by launching an investigation into the allegations, CNET News.com reported on Wednesday. [more..]

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio said on Wednesday that, should its proposed $4.7 billion merger with rival XM Satellite Radio be approved, the combined company will expand its offering to include both cheaper and more expensive subscription options than the current $12.95 package. [more..]

London - The market for massively multiplayer online games in the West reached $1 billion for the first time in 2006, with North American subscriptions totaling $576 million and European subscriptions $299 million, according to a report from market research firm Screen Digest. [more..]

Washington - Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) has reintroduced the Video Game Decency Act, a bill that would make it a crime to fail to disclose content in a video game that would result in the game's receiving a more stringent rating, GamePolitics.com reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Amp'd Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator targeting young entertainment consumers, has raised $107 million in its fifth round of venture capital financing, led by Old Lane Management, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Time Warner's New Line Cinema has acquired the film rights to "Gears of War," the popular Xbox 360 game from developer Epic Games and publisher Microsoft Game Studios, according to the Hollywood Reporter. [more..]

Washington - Slate, the daily online news and entertainment magazine owned by The Washington Post, said that it has launched a 2008 Political Futures Database, which uses data from three prediction markets to forecast the outcome of 2008 Presidential and Congressional races. [more..]

New York - Eyeblaster, a provider of digital marketing services, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $30 million in new funding from a small group of investors, including Eli Barkat and Jonathan Kolber. [more..]

San Mateo, Calif. - Oodle, the provider of a search engine for local classified ads, said on Tuesday that it has raised $11 million in a new round of funding from new investor JAFCO Ventures and previous investors Greylock Partners and Redpoint Ventures. [more..]

Santa Clara, Calif. - Artimi, a developer of wireless semiconductors for portable consumer electronics, said on Wednesday that it has added $5 million more in funding to close its second round at $31.5 million. [more..]

Amsterdam - Spotzer Media Group, a provider of online video advertising services, announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum in its third round of venture capital financing, led by Cyrte Investments.
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Bellevue, Wash. - Mobile marketing firm HipCricket announced on Wednesday that it has added another $2 million to its first round of venture capital financing, from angel investors, Broadmark Capital and a European investment group. [more..]

Washington - YFonGlobal, a developer of social network marketing technology, said on Wednesday that it has raised $1.8 million in its second angel round of funding. [more..]

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple on Wednesday began shipping its Apple TV product, which allows PC and Mac users to stream movies, TV shows, photos, podcasts and other content from their computers to a television. The release of the $299 device, which comes with a 40GB hard drive, was delayed from February until today. Wall Street Journal technology columnist Walter Mossberg reviewed Apple TV for the paper on Wednesday, said that it "worked great," and recommended it "for people who are yearning for a simple way to show on their big TVs al that stuff trapped on their computers." [more..]

Santa Monica, Calif. - Movielink, a studio-backed movie download service, announced on Wednesday that it has added live music concerts to its offering, through deals signed with CenterStaging Musical Productions, Digital Music Group (DMGI) and Egami Media. CenterStaging's Rehearsals.com will provide footage of recording sessions and interviews with artists including Chris Isaak and Fenix TX, while Egami will offer shows from Johnny Cash and Kiss, and DMGI will add its "Masters of Rock" series, featuring artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The deals also include TV shows and films from Egami ("Assault on Precinct 13," "The Dick Van Dyke Show") and DMGI ("I Spy," "Gumby and Friends"). [more..]

St. John's, Antigua - Bodog Entertainment, a unit of the online gambling company, has announced a promotional partnership with MySpace that will allow bands to post five songs on their profiles, instead of the usual four, if they add Bodog to their friend lists. MySpace sent an announcement of the promotion to the 3 million band pages on the site. Antigua-based Bodog Entertainment's assets include a record label and $1 million battle of the bands contest. [more..]

Los Angeles - NT Media on Wednesday announced the launch of its NTMM online music store, which uses a points system to offer discounted prices for songs. The store's catalog includes over 2 million songs from all the major labels, as well as independent distributors like The Orchard, IODA and CD Baby. Users can pay 10% less for all purchases by paying with "points," which can either be purchased or earned through passing songs or creating showcases. NTMM offers its songs in Microsoft's WMA format -- which is not compatible with Apple's iPod. [more..]

Bethesda, Md. - Kajeet, the provider of mobile services for "tweens," announced on Wednesday the launch of its service -- a pay-as-you-go wireless service aimed at children between the ages of 8 and 14. The company said the service -- which operates on the Sprint Nextel network -- has begun rolling out, and will be available nationwide in Best Buy stores by May 1, and at Limited Too stores in early April. The company last year announced that it had raised $27 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners, InterWest Partners, and FidelityVentures. [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts said on Wednesday that it has partnered with three art and design schools to produce art competitions and exhibitions that will celebrate the art of its "The Sims" game franchise. Sponsored by Ford, the exhibitions of creations from students at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, Academy of Art University in San Francisco and Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles will feature machinima, paintings, illustrations, sculptural work, fashion designs, cinematography and interactive displays. [more..]