Friday’s Music 2.0 Briefing: 21% Holiday Sales Drop,

> Music sales during the holiday shopping season were down 21% from last year. From the week of Thanksgiving through the day before Christmas Eve, 83.9 million albums were sold, a decrease of 21.38 million from 2006’s 105.28 million. (Variety)

> Listening Post’s Eliot Van Buskirk decided that DRM free music is so ubiquitous that he can cancel his subscrptions to to Napster, Yahoo and Rhaposdy. He shares why and how it went. (Listening Post)

> Apple’s srock hit a new high yesterday powered in part by strong iPod sales. (NY Post)

> People who who got new music players as holiday gifts should steer clear of some sites that claim to offer legal music but don’t have licensing agreements, according to the Center for Democracy and Technology. (InfoWorld)