Friday’s Music 2.0 Briefing: Label Anti-Trust Action, Real Posts Profits, Spin + MySpace & Much More

> The US Department Of Justice is investigating Universal and Sony BMG for possible anti-trust violations surrounding the as yet unlaunched Total Music service. (Register, AP) Will these guys ever learn that they are not above the law?

> The College Opportunity and Affordability Act passed the US House of Representatives today by a 354-58 margin including its controversial intellectual property provisions that require schools to filter ISP traffic. (ars)

> Real posted solid 25% growth (music grew 21% and recorded a slight up tick in Rhapsody subscribers to 1.925 million. The company also touted its recent deals with MTV, Verizon and Yahoo! during an earnings call late yesterday. (press release, SEC filing)

> Spin Magazine is partnering with MySpace for a new interactive online edition. Rumor has it that content will be free for 12 months then only available to print subscribers. (myspace.com/spinmagazine) Let’s see…how can we turn new people onto our magazine, then piss them off just when their starting to like us?

> "Ailing Music Business Call For Overhaul" (Variety) No new news hear but a good summary.

> Nokia has formed an Artist Advisory Council and Dave Stewart has signed on. (press
release)

> Mobile music sales in the US remain soft. (Silicon Alley Insider) Yet in Asia and other parts of the world mobile accounts for up to 90% of download sales.

> Meanwhile, Gracenote’s Mobile Music Platform has joined forces with Ikivo’s Enrich Open Standard Media Solutions in an effort to simplify the deployment of mobile music applications. (press release)