• XM and Sirius agree to merge. A "$13 Billion Merger of Equals" they say. (Press release)

• Tower Records founder Russ Solomon has signed a lease at the old Tower Records building on Broadway in Sacramento, CA, and will open a record store in April. (Sacramento Bee)

• Enders Analysis points to a major problem for CD sales that goes beyond consumer sentiment. "The total retailing space that will be lost in 2006 and 2007 is something of the order of 20%." (Times Online)

• Billboard's MarketWatch weekly sales report, which visually compares current sales to the previous two years. (MarketWatch PDF)

• With the DualDisc all but forgotten -- nice idea, bad execution -- let's start talking about Blu-ray. On March 20, Sony BMG will release "Destiny's Child: Live in Atlanta" on Blu-ray for a reasonable $19.95. (High-Def Digest)

• Jon Healey on the music industry, softening sales, the emergence of PlayLouder and the gradual acceptance of the blanket license. (Los Angeles Times)

• It's open letter season. Here's one from Macrovision's president and CEO. ""The solution is to accelerate the deployment of convenient DRM-protected distribution channels -- not to abandon them." (Top Tech News)

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