Wednesday’s Music 2.0 Briefing: Yahoo Filtering?, Vivendi’s Direct Distro, MySpace Music & Much More

> Has filtering begun at Yahoo? Strangely a Yahoo search for Pirate Bay
yields articles about the torrent tracker but not a link to the tracker
itself. Try it. Google blocks some searches for direct links to mp3 downloads.

> Vivendi says that its EU based internet music, ringtone and video games provider Zaoza which launches today will attract 500,000 subscribers by the end of the year. (Reuters)

> Details of the new MySpace music service are surfacing. (cNet)

> Digital sales are predicted to pass CD sales by 2012 according to a new Forrester study. (FMQB, Forester summary) I predict sooner…perhaps by 2010.

> Apple has dropped the price of its its 1G iPod shuffle to $49 and is introducing a new 2GB model of the iPod shuffle for $69. The popular iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs only one half an ounce, features an aluminum design with a built-in clip and comes in five colors—silver, blue, green, purple and a new red special edition. (Apple)

> UK’s MAMA Group is banking on live gigs as the new hub of profits in the music industry. (Telegraph UK)

> A Q&A with Eagle’s manager Irving Azoff. (NY Post)