New York - The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), a trade group that includes U.S. brick-and-mortar music retailers, this week issued a statement urging parity in physical and digital album release dates. "If not, the Board feels we are opening the door for chaos in the marketplace as the significance of street date becomes meaningless and its competitive benefits are lost," the group said. "Over the past few months, there have been instances where release dates for physical and digital versions of albums did not coincide, creating unnecessary and unwelcome marketing obstacles, consumer confusion and, most importantly, missed sales opportunities."

Washington - The Digital Media Association (DiMA), a trade group of webcasters whose members include AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and Apple's iTunes Store, has filed a "friend of the court" brief opposing a claim by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) that digital music downloads should be considered "public performances," and therefore subject to an additional performance license and royalty.