• Positive comments by analyst Richard Greenfield at Pali Research coincided with Warner Music Group's stock increase of almost 3%. This quote, though very non-committal, is about as positive as it gets for a music company right now. "The key question becomes whether or not the weakness experienced in [the first quarter] will persist throughout the year, and if the industry improves, how much, relative to [the first quarter]," he wrote in a research report." What Mr. Greenfield is getting at is WMG's release schedule, which is all but certain to improve in the second quarter. Frankly, it would be sad if a stock moved because an analyst pointed out the natural ebbs and flows of a music company's release schedule. That should already be priced into the market cap. (New York Business)

• A report says Bertelsmann paid EMI up to $100 million to settle the Napster lawsuit. I'm not playing Mr. Righteous, here, but guess how much EMI artists will get? (Times Online)

• Rap duo Youngbloodz has sued Sony BMG for $50 million. If you guessed royalties, you guessed wisely. (Billboard.biz)

• Jake Paine of AllHipHop.com bemoans the end of underground (backpacker) hip hop...and just as Aesop Rock releases an exclusive track for Nike. (AllHipHop.com)

• Ben Fritz of Variety on the continued campaign -- Pakman and von Lohman are, quite naturally, quoted in the article -- to rid DRM from music. There are always a lot of articles on the subject, but this one has a good variety of viewpoints. That variety is the reason the debate continues and change is rare. eMusic's Pakman has a good proposal: Try ditching DRM on small scale and then measure the results. It's the "Give It A Shot and See If You Like It" pitch. "Our position has always been that they should give us some stuff from the back catalog that isn't selling on iTunes and see if we can create some upside," he said. "We're not asking for Jay-Z, but it doesn't seem that the Clash's second album needs DRM anymore." (Variety)

• The National Association of Broadcasters, writes the WaPost's Sam Diaz, is playing both sides on the XM-Sirius merger debate. On one hand, it says Clear Channel's collection of local radio stations is not in competition with satellite radio. On the other hand, it is trying to convince the FCC that competition with satellite radio should allow radio companies to own more local stations. (Washington Post)