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American Idol' Performances Available Exclusively on the iTunes Store

Music & Video Performances Available the Next Day

Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Interactive Media, 19 Entertainment, FremantleMedia and
Apple, for the first time, have partnered to bring music fans all of the contestant performances from Season Seven of television's most popular show exclusively on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com). Kicking off with the "American Idol" Top 24 semifinalists this week, customers can purchase music performances for 99 cents per song, and viewers will be able to purchase the full video of Top 12 finalist performances for $1.99, starting March 11. In addition, beginning today, fans can pre-order performances of their favorite contestants from the iTunes Store, which will be automatically downloaded the day after the show airs.

"We have some truly outstanding talent this year, and by working with Apple and iTunes, we're giving viewers another great way to enjoy America's brightest new stars from 'Idol,'" said Simon Fuller, creator of "American Idol" and Founder of 19 Entertainment. "I'm sure there will be many memorable performances that viewers will want to relive from this 2008 season."

"We've created a special section on the iTunes Store for 'Idol' fans with an incredible array of music and video performances from television's most popular show," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "We think 'American Idol' viewers are going to love the ability to purchase and download 'Idol' performances from iTunes."

iTunes will also provide exclusive direct links from the free streaming performance videos on americanidol.com (www.americanidol.com), the official website of the show and home to MyIdol, the Internet's largest "American Idol" fan site. Fans will be able to simply click through to iTunes if they want to purchase their favorite performances to own and enjoy on their iPod , iPhone or Apple TV .

Apple Adds New iPhone & iPod touch Models

Apple today added new models of the iPhone and iPod touch which have double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go. The revolutionary iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499, joining the 8GB model for $399. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

"For some users, there's never enough memory," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPod and iPhone Product Marketing. "Now people can enjoy even more of their music, photos and videos on the most revolutionary mobile phone and best Wi-Fi mobile device in the world."

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch(TM) user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application*; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes(R) Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world's most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari(TM) and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

1GB of music storage, 50,000 volts and stylish as well.

Taser device has 1GB of music storage and a 50,000 volt bite

Taser International has launched an electronic stun gun with a built-in media player at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Taser MPH (Music Player Holster) is aimed at joggers and outdoor enthusiasts as a way of combining music and protection. The device is available in a variety of colors, including pink and leopard print.

"Personal protection can be both fashionable and functional," said Rick Smith, founder of Taser International. "The Taser leopard print design provides a personal protection option for women who want fashion with a bite." Tasers fire two darts carrying 50,000 volts into the target and usually knock a human unconscious.

AT&T blue room Brings Rock Fans Live Webcast of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas

Two-Day Event and Webcast Features Performances by Some of the Biggest
Alternative Rock Bands of the Year

Christmas is just a fewshort weeks away, but fans of rock music are about to get an early gift that will have them rockin' around the computer screen!

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced today that the AT&T blue room (www.attblueroom.com) will give fans around the country exclusive access to the annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas event. Based in Los Angeles, the world-famous KROQ is the most listened to and, arguably, the most influential rock station in the country. For more than 15 years, the station has been attracting established and up-and-coming alternative rock bands and singers to perform for fans at its yearly Almost Acoustic Christmas event.

Concert footage and backstage interviews from KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas will be streamed live via AT&T blue room music (www.attblueroom.com/music) on both Saturday, Dec. 8, and Sunday, Dec. 9. The artist lineup includes such bands as:

-- Angels & Airwaves -- Paramore
-- Avenged Sevenfold -- Rise Against
-- Bad Religion -- Serj Tankian
-- Feist -- The Shins
-- Jimmy Eat World -- Spoon

In addition to the live streaming content, select performances also will be archived on blue room enabling fans to relive their favorite performances all holiday season.

MySpace and Zazzle Sign Custom On-Demand Music Merchandise Deal

Partnership Enables More Than 6 Million Musicians and Bands on MySpace to Sell Unlimited Merchandise Without Any Up-Front Production Costs or Inventory Risks

MySpace, the world's most popular social network, announced today a music merchandise deal with Zazzle, the only on-demand retail platform to offer billions of retail quality, one-of a kind products shipped within 24 hours. The distribution partnership will empower the more than 6 million musicians and bands on MySpace to sell unlimited music merchandise to the MySpace community instantly. The announcement also underscores MySpace's commitment to offer tools and services to the music industry that benefit artists and consumers alike.

Starting today, musicians and bands on MySpace will be able to create products and sell merchandise by putting the Zazzle Merch Booth widget on their MySpace profile. With Zazzle's new "Model Realview" technology, these artists can display their very own branded merchandise three dimensionally, on real models in their profile. The Zazzle Merch Booth widget will also enable placement of the artist's merchandise in a Zazzle gallery, their own websites, fan sites, blogs and more. MySpace users can also use Zazzle to create their own custom items for their favorite musicians and bands.

"MySpace will continue to evolve its industry leading music platform by developing new revenue models, partner integrations, and features that bring bands and fans together," Amit Kapur, VP of Business Development for MySpace. "Zazzle's on demand platform will enable music artists on MySpace to share merchandise with fans like never before."

Spammers use mp3 files

A new spam campaign is using mp3 files to try and manipulate the stock market, according to the security software firm Sophos.

The mp3s that are being sent out disguise themselves as music from a variety of artists, such as Elvis and Carrie Underwood, but when opened, consist of a man's voice instructing the recipient to invest in a small company. Listeners are told to invest in Exit Only Incorporated, which is a company that runs a website where one can sell and buy cars.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "Users may click on the mp3 file expecting to hear Elvis, but they'll be all shook up when they discover it's actually a voice resembling Marvin the Paranoid Android droning on about a stock that is set to be the next big thing. "The spammers are already likely to have purchased stock on the cheap, and they are now trying to artificially inflate its price."

If the spammers do succeed in making the price of the stock go up, then they will then sell up all their stock at a profit, added Mr Cluley.

This method is known as a pump and dump scam.

Experimental Electronica Music Videos are a Next-Generation Variety Show

As an international distributor of electronic musical instruments during the 1990s, Geoff Farr frequently spent long nights in European hotel rooms watching the only
television programs that required no translation: short experimental videos backed with electronic music scores. Farr says German television was an especially rich medium for an American insomniac interested in creative new videos.

"I watched endless hours of shows like 'Flomotion' and 'Man vs Machine,' Farr says. "There was another program called 'Space Night' that ran photos from NASA archives, accompanied by some really interesting electronic music artists. The shows were really compelling ... I couldn't rip my eyes away from the screen."

Farr surmised that others would find the offerings equally entertaining, and attempted to secure United States licensing rights for the programming. After it became apparent that such rights would be prohibitively expensive, he decided to create his own compilations of original experimental videos, and called the shows i Promise 2 Be You.

Farr enlisted the aid of musician and film editor Bill Black, with whom he had collaborated on an earlier video production that had been selected as a finalist in the 2002 Sundance Online Film Festival. Farr began to envision and assemble what would eventually become 10 half-hour programs on the i Promise 2 Be You Web site (http://www.ipromise2beyou.com).