San Jose, Calif. - Qtrax, the developer of a free, ad-supported music download service, has reached a deal to license Universal Music Group's catalog, the company's first major label signing.

Los Angeles - Spot Runner, a Web-based advertising service that helps local businesses create ads and place them on TV and radio, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $51 million in new financing.

Burlington, Mass. - Burst Media, a provider of online advertising services and technology, announced on Tuesday the launch of a new online advertising network aimed at independent websites. The network -- called Burst Trendsetters Network -- will focus on brand advertisers who want to reach 15-34 year olds online. Burst Media said its network includes 100 websites that reach 7 million unique visitors and delivers more than 51 million web impressions per month.

New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) has sued the Chicago Transit Authority and sales agent Titan Outdoor for pulling ads for its "Grand Theft Auto IV" game without any explanation, Reuters reports.

London - A majority (56%) of senior newspaper executives said in a recent survey that they believe that the majority of news, be it print or online, will be free in the future -- up from 48% who said the same a year ago. Conducted by Zogby International for the World Editors Forum and Reuters, the survey of 704 newspaper executives worldwide also found 86% think newsrooms and digital services should become more integrated, while two in three believed that electronic media like computers and cell phones will be the most common means of news consumption within a decade.

Mountain View, CA - CNET reports that Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on its AdWords blog that Google TV Ads, a program that has been in beta since June 2007, is now available to all U.S.-based advertisers. The program allows advertisers to reach over 13 million households nationwide on 94 channels. Like with Google’s AdWords service, which places ads on its Internet search pages, advertisers using Google TV Ads will bid for placement using an online tool that shows estimated costs to run a particular campaign and allows advertisers to increase or decrease their bids before placing them.

New York - Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) on Wednesday announced a number of new digital initiatives, including a new YouTube channel that will host video submissions for prospective new models, and the creation of a Playboy Audience Network of video sites through which it will distribute content. Along with YouTube, Break, Veoh, Howcast and Metacafe will host video highlights such as the "Playboy Radio Minute," with content from its show on Sirius; and a video blog featuring one of the star's of E!'s "The Girl Next Door." The company said it also partnered with Mixercast to develop ad-supported content and contest widgets.

Dulles, Va. - Another sharp drop in subscription revenue took its toll on AOL's bottom line during the first quarter, parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) said on Wednesday. The company, which has been trying to establish itself as an online advertising power, lost 647,000 subscribers during the three-month period, and was down to 8.7 million subscribers as of March 31.

San Francisco - Kongregate, a publisher of free social online games, has received a $3 million investment from Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, SiliconValley.com reported.

Atlanta - Cox Enterprises, the owner of a cable TV and broadband provider, newspapers, television and radio stations, announced on Tuesday that its Cox TMI unit will acquire Adify, a provider of vertical online advertising. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, PaidContent pegged the price tag at around $300 million, and reports that Adify saw revenues of $7 million last year and is expected to pull in $35 million in 2008.

New York - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. Television Group on Monday announced plans to launch two new broadband, ad-supported sites, TheWB.com and KidsWB.com, the former of which will feature both The WB Networks' most popular series and other programming, as well as original series created specifically for the site. The company said that charter advertising and promotional partners on the sites include Mattel, McDonald's and Johnson & Johnson, while distribution and marketing partners include Comcast Cable, Fancast.com, AOL and various mobile carriers.

Dulles, Va. - Following a year of revamping all of its major programming channels, AOL (NYSE: TWX) said that the sites in March hit all-time highs in terms of both unique visitors and page views, according to data from comScore Media Metrix. During the month, page views on AOL's programming sites grew 28%, and are up 35% from a year ago.

Los Angeles - SaysMe, a service that lets consumers create and purchase TV advertising, has raised an undisclosed sum in its first round of financing, led by Intel Capital and Prime Capital.

There are two principal ways advertisers are trying to create value for consumers on the web — and they must create value because, you know, consumers are in control. On the web, advertisers can provide entertainment or information. How effective is advertising as information on the web? See Google’s $15B in ad revenue — an $5.19 billion in ad revenue in Q1 2008. The technology of web search enabled advertisers to create value for consumers in a way that was never possible in analogue media.

San Francisco - CNET Networks (NASD: CNET) is expected to announce a broad expansion of its editorial and advertising partnership with Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), sources from both companies told AllThingsD.com. Under the deal, CNET will become the major supplier of technology news and product reviews on Yahoo. Yahoo will also sell some CNET ad inventory, while CNET will sell ads on some areas of Yahoo.