Music Biz News: Midem Stats, iTunes Upgrade, Mobile Apps Soar, Napster Court Loss & More

• Music Venture Rdio Gets Funded By Mangrove Capital. (PaidContent) 
• MIDEM Stats: Attendance fell 4.9% despite a 30% rise in participants from the digital and music tech sector.  Attendance form publishers was also up, but it was not enough to stem the ongoing decline in label attendance.
• On Thursday, Apple released an upgrade to iTunes. Version 0.1.2 is a stability and performance update and adds support for syncing “with iPhone 4 (CDMA model).” The iPhone debuts on Verizon February 10.
• Mobile apps made more than digital music last year. (Telegraph, Gartner)

More Music Industry News & Commentary:

• 10 years later Napster has lost in court to indie Rounder Records. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Facebook turns on HTTPS encryption to block WiFi hijacking. (ars)
• Fractured Industry: Companies That Serve Musicians Without Deals. (NPR) 
• Census Data Spotlights Music Industry Revenue Trends. (FMQB) 
• MPAA Takes A Dozen Torrent Sites Offline. (TorrentFreak)
• Megaupload: Google Filter is “Great News for Us” (ZeroPaid) 
• There’s music in the air. (FinancialTimes)
• It's official: Rdio is available on Sonos. (press release)
• Are you hip to Tagged? As MySpace Implodes, Tagged Doubles Staff And Gives Everyone A Raise. (TechCrunch)
• Platform For Concertgoers Rewards Interpol Fans For Engagement. (Mashable) 
• Downloading music illegally – A Jamaican pirate speaks. (Observer)
• Can We Save the Music Business? A new industry report suggests an effective way to combat piracy. (NationalReview) 
• Noise.Inc., a new app development and digital strategy company, was launched at MIDEM by four leading music and tech executives.
• Eventful, a live music and local events aggragator, has announced the appointment of Ryan Bitzer as Director of Tour Marketing in tandem with the opening of their new Nashville office.