• XM narrowed its loss to $260 million on revenues of $257 million. Subscribers increased 29% for the year to 7.6 million. (Forbes.com)

• Guitar Center reported a fourth quarter net loss of $40 million (which included special items) on sales of $628.5 million. Sales were up 11.7% year over year. (Press release)

• Ministry of Sound has accused indie label trade associations Impala and AIM of "a complete departure from the stated constitutional aims of both companies." (Billboard.biz)

• Coming to a Jetta commercial near you... Universal Music Publishing Group inked a worldwide arrangement to administer Joy Division's catalog. The company says it will "aggressively promote" the post-punk band's song for sync licensing in film, television and advertising. (Billboard.biz)

• Kalefa Sanneh discovers that "rappers are learning to consider Koch a second home, or even a first one." This line ties in perfect with my posts about rap's continued sales decline: "As record sales keep sliding, the rise of Koch coincides with the lowering of rappers’ expectations." Good article. (New York Times)

• Watch out, Warner, Universal Music Group is stepping up the eco-pressure. The company is a sponsor of a Honda Formula One car that replaced its corporate logos with a picture of the earth. (Stuff.nz)