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Article about the RIAA trying to maintain its image while determining what to do about the Thomas-Rasset copyright infringement case, in which a Brained, MS mother was sued for copyright infringement due to downloading music by the RIAA

For more than 70 years, royalty payments for air time have flowed to the songwriters and music publishers but not to the musicians or record companies. Now there is a renewed drive to revisit that arrangement, and in recent weeks the volume of the discussion has increased several decibels.

The Universal Music Group could rewrite U.S. music pricing when it tests a new frontline pricing structure, which is designed to get single CDs in stores at $10, or below. Beginning in the second quarter and continuing through most of the year, the company's Velocity program will test lower CD prices. Single CDs will have the suggested list prices of $10, $9, $8, $7 and $6.

""The global potential for connected devices is huge - it's more than just mobile phones and laptop PCs. It can be anything that has a mobile connection embedded in it such as a camera, a music player, a car, a smart meter or a health monitor," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer at the GSMA. "Predictions around how many devices will be connected to mobile networks vary, but we expect to see up to 50 billion connected devices over the next 15 years, finally making the prospect of a truly connected lifestyle a reality. "

"For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone, exclusively on Windows Phone 7 Series. Partners have already started building phones; customers will be able to purchase the first phones in stores by holiday 201"

"Mr Jobs articulated his belief that a "functioning media" is vital to a "functioning democracy" and how his "gorgeous" device would help safeguard that role...The question haunting publishers is whether they will suffer the same fate as the music industry, which was hit by Apple's 2003 deal to unbundle the album format by offering downloads of individual songs via iTunes."

Predictions that content fees will become more widespread by 2012. Describes various models for content fees and explains challenges for news, TV, cable, music.

Teens and tweens spend an average of 7.5 hours per day playing games, watching videos, and listening to music on their mobile devices.

Industry watchers pull varying lessons from the year's retail wreckage, predict return to growth in 2010.

Popular 80's band from Australia ruled to have infringed on the copyright of an old children's campfire song, "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" for their hit, "Men Down Under." The court ruled on Thursday (February 4) that Men at Work copied the children's song in "Down Under" and must pay the copyright owner years of royalties. Sinclair, who wrote "Kookaburra" died in 1988, but her publishing company, Larrikin, owns the copyright for the ode to the native Australian bird and filed a copyright-infringement suit last year against the band.

The Authors Guild agreed to a controversial settlement with Google because it feared repeating the mistakes that the music industry has made in dealing with digital works.

"A coalition of public interest organizations - including the Center for Media Justice, Center for Rural Strategies, Free Press, Media Access Project, Media Alliance and many more - have sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski asking that the Commission make increased diversity in the media and broadband communications landscape a top priority."

Should fashion designs be copyrighted? Books, music, film, and art are protected by copyright law,'' Suk says one afternoon in her law school office. "But fashion is not. I wanted to question all of that. Lots of people take for granted that fashion is an area where creativity is involved, and they also overlook the fact that there is no protection for designers.