Los Angeles – "Toy," an unreleased album of re-workings
of David Bowie’s earliest songs, has been leaked onto file-sharing networks,
TorrentFreak reported. The album had been slated for release in 2001, but was
reportedly shelved due a dispute with the label. "Myself and a few friends
were very angry that certain people only seem to want to profit from recordings
like the Toy album, so when we saw the eBay auction and heard of someone else
selling discs for $55, I decide to upload it and give it away," ‘Brigstow,’
the self-proclaimed uploader of the album, told TorrentFreak.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4qhbaf9
(TorrentFreak)

Boston – Berkleemusic, the online music school unit of the
Berklee College of Music, and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai said on Thursday that
they have set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest online guitar
lesson. Held on March 3, Vai’s online lesson attracted 7,000 student-viewers.

Related Links:
http://www.berkleemusic.com/vai-live

Washington – The proliferation of mobile devices is changing
the way people receive their local news, according to a new survey by the Pew
Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

The organization said
that nearly half of all American adults now get at least some local news and
information on their cellphone or tablet computer, with weather updates (42%)
leading the way.

Apps for local news, however, are just beginning to take hold.

Only 13% of mobile device owners report having an app that helps them get local
information or news.

And while 36% of adults report paying for some form of
local news — primarily newspaper subscriptions — just 1% of adults utilize
paid apps for that purpose.

"Many news organizations are looking to mobile
platforms, in particular mobile apps, to provide new ways to generate
subscriber and advertising revenues in local markets," said Lee Rainie,
the director of Pew’s Internet & American Life Project.

"The survey
suggests there is a long way to go before that happens."

Related Links:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Local-mobile-news.aspx

San Francisco – Sony Pictures has dropped the download price
of several of its titles below the DVD price point, and is said to be experimenting
with pricing on download-to-own videos, CNET News.com reported, citing film
industry sources.

On Amazon.com and at the iTunes Store, one can purchase a
download of "The Tourist" and "How Do You Know" for $12.99,
while at Amazon the DVD currently sells for $15.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) is said to be
"searching for a price that stimulates download sales but won’t erode
demand for DVDs."

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20046430-261.html

Los Angeles – Google is facing possible antitrust
investigations in the states of Ohio and Wisconsin, Bloomberg reported, citing
a state official and a source familiar with the matters. The Wisconsin Attorney
General, J.B. Van Holden, is reportedly considering an investigation of
Google’s deal to acquire ITA Software, while Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
is "evaluating the facts to determine if it’s something we want to
review," spokesman Dan Tierney told Bloomberg.

The U.S. Justice Department
has already announced that it is looking into the ITA deal.

Officials in Texas
and the European Union are also questioning Google about whether it engineers
its search results to benefit its own services, Google spokesman Adam
Kovacevich told Bloomberg.

Bloomberg’s sources say neither the Justice Dept.
nor the FTC have launched more broad antitrust inquiries of Google.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4e2mmza
(Bloomberg)

San Francisco – Sony (NYSE: SNE) is claiming that George Hotz, whom the
company has sued for allegedly distributing code that can be used to hack its
PlayStation 3 console, has skipped town to South America, Wired.com reports. "Hotz
conveniently traveled to South America in the midst of jurisdictional
discovery, including his court-ordered deposition," the company alleges in
a court filing.

For his part, Hotz claims he is on a vacation to South America
to see a friend that has been planned since November.

Sony is also alleging
that the drives Hotz surrendered to the court as part of Sony’s lawsuit were
rendered "completely non-functional" by Hotz.

Hotz’s attorney told
Wired.com the issue was an oversight, and that Hotz has since delivered to the
court the "controller cards" needed to access the drives.

Related Links:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/sony-hotz-skipped-tow/

http://tinyurl.com/6yetfvs
(Ars Technica)

http://geohotgotsued.blogspot.com

Seoul, South Korea – Online game publisher Joymax announced
on Thursday that it has acquired fellow Korean developer IO Entertainment.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, IO has
developed titles including "Lost Saga" and "Survival
Project."

Joymax said it expects the deal will provide significant growth
for both its revenues and game communities in 2011.

Related Links:
http://www.joymax.co.kr/eng

Chicago – Publishing firm R.R. Donnelley & Sons
announced on Thursday that it has acquired Journalism Online, an online payment
system for online publishers, from founders Steve Brill, Gordon Crovitz and Leo
Hindery Jr., and minority stakeholder News Corp (NYSE: NWS).

Financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.

Journalism Online raised an undisclosed amount
of seed funding in 2009 from InterMedia Advisors.

PaidContent reports the
company was considering seeking additional funding earlier this year, and was
on the block only briefly after it decided to explore a possible sale.

"Our
publishing customers continue to develop multi-channel advertising and
editorial strategies and [Journalism Online’s] Press+ provides a valuable tool
for monetizing content," said R.R. Donnelley CEO Thomas J. Quinlan III.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6g5bk5t
(PaidContent)

http://www.journalismonline.com

http://www.rrdonnelley.com

Toronto – Mood Media, a provider of in-store music and media
systems, announced on Thursday that it will acquire Muzak for $345 million.

Founded
in 1934, Muzak created the "elevator music" marketplace that
eventually developed into providing background music, digital signage and other
services to retail stores.

Mood Media said that the combined company will service over 470,000
commercial locations in over 39 countries, with a combined library of 1.7
million tracks and 30,000 original recordings.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/623f3m9

http://www.muzak.com

http://www.moodmedia.com