• Pop singer Fergie will reportedly make $4 million in product placement and endorsement fees for including fashion company Candie's in the songs on her second solo album. The Interscope Records artist will also appear in Candie's television commercials. (The Post Chronicle)

• Digital distributor TuneCore will distribute the next Public Enemy album, How Do You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul. Said Chuck D, "I knew I had a fan base and I wanted to go directly to them. What good is a label? All they do is give you money. And in the area of digital distribution, they can’t do anything better or faster than anyone else." Of course, his label helped make him a star who can then take a more profitable D.I.Y. route, but a labe can't do anything for him at this point in his career. (New York Times)

• MusicRow now has a link to a country Internet chart provided by BigChampagne. (BigChampagne Country Chart)

• The Guardian has an interview with Slim Warrior, who just played Secondfest in the Second Life virtual reality site and (according to her) the first female musician to perform in Second Life. "I don't feel personally it will take over from MySpace, but I do think that it has tremendous potential for ANY musician signed or unsigned. You have not only the listening experience but also the real time interaction which you don't get unless you gig to a real audience." (Guardian's Game Blog)

• L.A.'s indie retail scene loses a few more stores. Sea Level Records, in Echo Park, will soon close for good. House of Records, in Santa Monica, will shut down as well. (Billboard)

• The Times Online looks at how Rough Trade and Fopp are succeeding in the U.K. They stand in contrast to flailing retailers like HMV and Music Zone. "(Fopp) targets '50quid man', who is rich enough to buy a couple of CDs, a DVD and a book on a single shopping trip. The new Rough Trade store is in a prime spot to attract similar browsers with plump wallets." (Times Online)

• The San Francisco Chronicle has an interview podcast with Goodstorm's Yobie Benjamin. Goodstorm's MixTape widget is part of the successful "Instant Karma" album's marketing campaign. (The Tech Chronicles)