universal music group

• In an effort to improve margins, Universal Music Group will bring back deluxe editions of CD releases for the fourth quarter (at least in the UK). Standard versions will also be available. (Music Week)

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

• Ticketmaster, the new IAC spin-off, will probably start off with $750 million in debt and $450 in cash.

• It has been reported that bankrupt indie TVT Records will sell its recorded music division and other assets to digital distributor The Orchard. Greg Scholl, president of The Orchard, said he does not anticipate signing new artists. (New York Post)

• Contrary to news over the weekend, a spokesperson for the Rolling Stones said yesterday the band is not in talks with Live Nation.

Universal Music Group lost its lawsuit against an eBay vendor who sold promo CDs. I will link to a post by the EFF's Fred von Lohmann, one of the lawyers that represented the defendant. Here's an excerpt:

• Billboard's Ed Christman has sources that confirm Roger Friedman's report that EMI will not replace the titles vacated by Capitol Music Group chairman and CEO Jason Flom and Capitol Records president Lee Trink. EMI had no comment. (Billboard.biz)

It's a month old, but last night I was looking over the 10-K of Entertainment Distribution Company, Inc. and noticed its mixed performance. The company was formed from the acquisition of Universal Music Group's manufacturing U.S.

• Usher's Here I Stand debuted at #1 on the album chart with sales of 433,000, less than half of the debut week of his 2004 smash, Confessions. At 7.24 million units, album sales were down 13% versus last year. (Billboard.biz)

• SpiralFrog, provider of free, ad-supported P2P, has inked a deal to offer EMI Music's recorded music. The company has deals in place with a number of music publishers and Universal Music Group on the recorded music side. With EMI and UMG in place, SpiralFrog has about half of the major label market share for recorded music.