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From SiliconValley.com: "A lawsuit in which record companies allege XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. is cheating them by letting consumers store songs can proceed toward trial, a judge ruled Friday after finding merit to the companies' claims...

"In a lawsuit last year, the companies said XM directly infringes on their exclusive distribution rights by letting consumers record songs onto special receivers marketed as 'XM + MP3' players.

"XM has argued it is protected from infringement lawsuits by the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, which permits individuals to record music off the radio for private use. The judge said she did not believe the company was protected in this instance by the act...

"She said XM operates like traditional radio broadcast providers who cannot offer an interactive service, publish programming schedules prior to broadcast and play songs from an artist more often than specified within a three-hour period. But by broadcasting and storing copyrighted music for later recording by the consumer, the judge said XM is both a broadcaster and a distributor, but only paying to be a broadcaster.

"'The record companies sufficiently allege that serving as a music distributor to XM + MP3 users gives XM added commercial benefit as a satellite radio broadcaster,' [Judge] Batts said.

"Although XM argued in court papers that an XM + MP3 player is much like a traditional radio-cassette player, the judge said 'it is not.'"

Read the entire article at SiliconValley.com.

From FMQB, by John Silliman Dodge: "I recently asked a 21-year-old college senior where she and her friends discover new music. She answered, 'We find out about new music  from each other, or from movies.' I followed up, 'So, radio isn’t a factor?' She replied, 'Yeah, I guess it is, kinda. But mostly it’s our friends.'

"Did we just get a sneak peek into the near future?... Today it’s so easy to search, to download, to burn, to share files instantly among friends that this has become the new music distribution system...

"Once Wi-Fi covers all the major markets and people can buy cheap and portable Web-enabled radio units at their favorite big box store, that slide picks up speed.

"So with long-term customer retention issues like this, why in the world are we distracted by HD? You think that better sound quality drives the market? You think that even when digital radios break the $100 barrier, there will be ar ush to buy them?... If you offer something that’s cheap, convenient and of high quality such as the CD, they will spend billions. But not on a digital radio that plays the same stuff their FM radio already plays.

"Here’s where the waiter brings our Reality Check: we’re not programming Channel One compellingly enough to worry about Channel Two.

"We can dance around this issue all we like, but sooner or later we have to confess our lack of investment in programming. Notoriously skin-flinty Mel Karmazin now spends millions on programming deals, development deals, partnerships and co-promotions because he knows that’s how to differentiate Sirius from XM.

"Same thing with HBO and Showtime; the channels are interchangeable commodities, but great programming drives the market. And great programming is a function of creative talent plus time and money. We can’t do this on the cheap, because the verdict is in and endless cost-cutting in the name of shareholder value has devalued the product."

John Silliman Dodge is a consulant to the broadcast industry and PD at KPBS in Portland. His personal website is here. You can read the entire article at FMQB.

From CNet.com: "SanDisk just announced the Sansa Connect...  This sleek MP3 player uses built-in wireless technology... to hop onto any available hot spots, allowing the user to grab music and photos without connecting to a PC.

"It is designed to work with online music services,... meaning you could potentially find and buy a song from just about anywhere (Starbucks comes to mind). How I've been waiting for this!...

"The Sansa Connect does have other things going for it, of course. The player comes with 4GB of flash memory and offers an SD card slot to add more...The Connect also features simple, tactile controls; a fun, user-friendly interface; photo playback; and support for subscription WMA files (MP3 and unprotected WMA is also supported). Noticeably absent is video playback capability and an FM tuner, though I suppose [maybe] SanDisk figured you could do without the latter given that you get access to Internet radio?

"That's right, Internet radio. Sweet. Where do I sign up? The Connect is due in March and will sport a $249.99 price tag."

Read the entire article at CNet.com.