Thursday’s Music 2.0 Briefing: Player Sales Slump, Roberston Skewers Imeem, DMX To Bodog & More

> Non-iPod player sales were down 16% in the pre-Christmas weeks as fewer new buyers showed interest in portable players. (TechWeb) Is this a sign that phones are gaining traction as portable music devices or that interest is peaked? Or is that that no manufacturer offered a quantum leap forward that would drive sales?

> Google’s annual search rankings show the rise of social networking and the fall of Shakira. (Google Zeigeist)

> New study says 50% of Mac users likely to purchase downloads vs. 16% of PC users. (NPD Group)

> Serial digital music entrepeneur Michael Robertson lambastes imeem’s deals with Universal and  the other majors as death sentence for the star-up. (Mike’s Minute)

> Bodog Music, the label arm of web gambling firm Bodog Entertainment has signed rapper DMX.

> Yangaroo has a new deal with Indie911 to deliver D.I.Y. artists digitally to radio.

> Sellaband opens a dedicated music store on Amazon UK. (Guardian UK)

> Is a lossless download store in iTune‘s future? (cNet UK)