• Toucan Cove Entertainment has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Universal Republic. The label's next album is by The Muckrakers. T(PR.com)

• eMusic anc Circuit City have teamed up to offer a download starter kit that will be sold in Circuit City stores. The kit has the physical aspect of a gift card but comes packaged in a CD jewel case and includes a "how to" download guide, collector's cards of independent artists and information on eMusic's features. For $14.99 the kit offers 65 downloads per month (which goes for $15 per month) and 25 free downloads for signing up.

• Skype, the web-based phone service, has a deal from Warner Music Group to sell music on Skype's music store. Which music store? This one. (Forbes.com) If you're like me and wondering how this would work, ZDNet has a blog post that explains some scenarios. (ZDNet)

• Warner/Chappel names Bob Bortnick Senior Vice President, A&R. (Press release)

• Phil Walden, an industry veteran and head of Capricorn Records, died on Sunday. (Tennessean.com)

[music jobs] HR Manager at EMI NA; New York, NY.