billboard

Nielsen Soundscan has released a mid-year update on recorded music sales (taken from this Billboard.biz article, which has many different numbers than Variety's article...possibly different accounting for

• Arbitron has released some preliminary results from RADAR 97. It says U.S. radio has 235 million listeners every week, and the format reaches 95% of Black Non-Hispanics and 96% of Hispanics age 25-54 each week. (Radio Ink)

Michael Cohl has resigned as Live Nation's chairman of the board and CEO of Live Nation Artists. The decision is effectively immediately but Cohl will stay on as a consultant. Billboard.biz just posted an article about its exclusive conference call with Cohl and CEO Michael Rapino.

Angelia has some fantasies about political sign destruction:

Lawyers and copyright enthusiasts, here's a post for you.

I was telling my mom the other night that a question I keep seeing amidst one of my online ventures lately that grabbed my attention immediately was, “Have you ever wanted to see where Elvis lives?”

• EMI has added Cory Ondrejka, a co-founder of the online virtual reality world Second Life, to its digital team. The guy has purchased a whole of five albums in the last eight and a half years and has an excuse for every day of the week.

• The Abu Dhabi Media Company and AMES, a Middle Eastern affiliate of Bertelsmann, have launched a download store called GETMO that offers music, videos, games and other digital content. The site sells a la carte downloads but will emphasize sponsored content such as downloads bundled with consumer products.

• EMI and Channel 4 (UK) will provide content for a UK-specific TV offering on MSN's instant messenger service. (The Guardian)

Via Adam Groves: