News Brief: Zynga Builds Lady GagaVille, Sony Still Down, Rdio’s Fate, Indie Session Musicians, & More

• Online gaming giant Zynga has announced an ongoing partnership with Lady Gaga that includes GagaVille (a neighbor to FarmVille), as well as game-card tie ins and other merchandising opportunities. (Business Insider)
• Sony Networks and services including PlayStation and Music Unlimited continue to be down after more than two weeks.  The company admits the outage will continue for "at least a few more days".
• Skype, Microsoft and the Fate of Music Start-Up Rdio. (MediaMemo)

MORE:

• Indie bands and session musicians were once seen as incompatible, but with the likes of Calexico and Broken Social Scene blurring the boundaries, the freelancer is back in fashion. (Guardian)
• Ian Kwon is calling on U2 and their outspoken manager Paul McGuinness to embrace new ways of monetizing music including Kwon's own fanatic.fm platform.
• AppliedSB is disputing yesterday's announcement by VerveLife that they have been acquired and founder Todd McGee has filed a lawsuit.
• +1 – Google’s answer to the Facebook Like Button will make its debut “in the coming weeks,” according to Google’s development team. (Mashable)
• The US Library of Congress has launched the National Jukebox to showcase historic recordings online.
• Freemium is more hype than hope. The rise of freemium games strengthens premium market. (PocketGamer.biz)