Monday’s Music Briefing: Sony, WMG vs. YouTube, Music Press & More

HYPEBOT FEATURES:

• 
  Microsoft May Abandon The Zune
• 10 Music Industry Trends & Questions For 2009
• DAILY D.I.Y. – 3 Free Tools To Track Your Buzz
• My Predictions For 2009 Postponed…
• Video: Lawrence Lessig Slams Broken Copyright Laws On Colbert Report
• Music's Week In Review: iTunes, Billions, Layoffs, Tribal Leadership & More

MORE NEWS:

• Sony says 90% of its devices will offer internet connectivity by 2011. (paidContent)
• Is there dissension in the ranks? WMG may have told YouTube to take down its videos, but an Atlantic Records YouTube channel and some label group artists still remain. 
• Cisco is helping WMG add social networking to artist web sites. (Reuters) The software is available to others, but wih all the options how many will use it?
• Is surround sound coming to iTunes? (Gadget Lab)
• How 2008 May or May Not Have Contributed to the Slow Death of the Music Industry. (Tiny Mix Tapes)
• Amazon, Apple, MySpace and the price of music. (cNet)
• Manager Jon Leshay and RED Distribution will form Storefront Recordings. The label will launchin April  with the release of Mandy Moore's follow-up album to the 2007 critically acclaimed, "Wild Hope. The conception of this label emanates from the ongoing need for managers to protect a client's creative control.
• RIAA has dropped Atlantic v. Brennan after defendant failed to appear. (ars)
• Opinion: How The Music Industry Can Get Digital Satisfaction. (WSJ) Read this only for its late-to-the-party overly simplistic comic value.
• Is there a downturn in the music press? Country Weekly has doubled its publication frequency from 26 to 52 times yearly. The ocver price will also drop from a dollar to $2.49 (press release)  Country sales are downb to. What is it that CW is doing that Rolling Stone and others aren't? My gut syas maybe serving the fan of a specific genre and lifestyle.'
• Two "best of music journalism" in 2008. (Popmatters and Music Press Report)
• UK's Music Thing blog has stopped publishing.