• The European Commission cleared Terra Firma's takeover bid of EMI. Today is the last day of Terra Firma's extended bid period. (Dow Jones)

• The rootkit is back in the news. Sony BMG has sued The Amergence Group (formerly SunnComm), the maker of the anti-piracy technology included in Sony BMG CDs that resulted in public outcry, lawsuits and government investigations. (AP)

• Senator Russ Feingold is checking in with the radio industry to make sure they're complying with the FCC's directive to enforce the ban on payola practices. He sent a letter to executives at Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Citadel and Entercom that asked for information on access the companies have given to artists and labels. "Have you taken any efforts to increase the amount of access provided and to facilitate submissions?" he asked. (Billboard.biz)

• The Wall Street Journal's Sarah McBride has an article on radio stations' analysis of P2P traffic to help create playlists. Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks has a venture with BigChampagne that offers traffic data to radio stations. She tells the story of Shop Boyz' "Party Like A Rockstar," which was big with file sharers but wasn't getting requests. Eventually, the requests started to roll in -- especially in text messages from mobile phones -- and track downloads increased as well. (Wall Street Journal)

• Fox and the production company behind "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" are planning a reality TV series called "Nashville" that will follow musicians trying to make it in Music City. The show will feature Sony BMG artists Chuck Wicks, Matt Jenkins and Mika Combs. (Music Row)

• Just as Kelly Clarkson's My December album dropped 60% in its second week, rumor is that RCA pulled Clarkson's summer TV and print campaigns and are focusing on the upcoming Carrie Underwood album. (Kings of A&R)

• Swiss consumers will have to pay a tax on digital music players and some types of A/V recorders. (SwissInfo)

• Napster unlimited over-the-air download service launched with NTT DoCoMo in Japan. The service is integrated with the PC-based Napster To Go service. Here's a new twist for Napster: Customers have the option of paying for Napster through their DoCoMo bill. Whether or not mobile subscription services will take off is still up in the air, but these are positive steps. I like the billing option a lot. (No link to press release yet.)

• EMI and management company Union Entertainment Group have formed a joint venture record label called Audionest. The label will be distributed by Caroline. UEG manages rock bands Nickelback, Default and Candlebox. (Billboard.biz)

[music jobs] Director of Content at Dada Entertainment; New York, NY.