• Universal Music Group has invested in Loud.com, a hip hop-slanted portal and networking site. (paidContent)

• GodTube.com is a new, Christian-oriented video site now in beta. (Billboard.biz)

• Music Row points out that country album sales are down 29.3% this year, a hit album by Taylor Swift notwithstanding. (After Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts had such a huge year, a drop was inevitable.) The end of the year, though, will have some big names: Kenny Chesney on September 11, Rascal Flatts on September 25, Brooks & Dunn on October 2 and Carrie Underwood on October 23, plus unconfirmed rumors of a Keith Urban greatest hits package. (Music Row)

• At the Marketing to Men 18-34 conference in New York, the big topic was branded entertainment, i.e., music with a ton of product placement. (Billboard.biz)

• Judging from the information in Rob Mitchum's article on concert first aid stations, indie rock shows are far safer than metal shows. Only one Pitchfork Festival attendee required transport to a hospital, while a mid-July Ozzfest concert saw "two people with stab wounds, numerous people with dislocated shoulders, facial trauma, sutured up a lot of faces, that kind of stuff, especially from mosh pits." Because of the age of attendees, classical music concerts actually have the highest mortality rate. The winner for highest rate of medical tent visits goes to gospel/Christian events. (Chicago Tribune)

• From 2003 to 2006, the percent of U.S. camera phone users who emailed/transmitted photos wireless dropped 22 points. Is there a parallel with over-the-air music? "People will download music OTA while it is a novelty then they will sideload all their MP3s to their music phone (sideloading is primary way to get music on a music phone). Just like people expect a camera on their phone they will expect an MP3 player, but the carrier will not see any revenue from the use of this feature." (Ad-Supported Music Central)

• Univision is facing another bribery lawsuit, this one brought by Los Angeles-based Platino Records. A previous lawsuit alleging the bribing of radio stations was brought by a former VP for Univision's Fonovisa Records. The company's equity partners are interested in selling some non-core assets, such as the music division, to help pay off debt. (Los Angeles Times)

• Long Gone John has put his label, Sympathy for the Record Industry, up for sale. John Reis (Swami Records) has put in a bid of 30 very expensive llamas. (LA Weekly)

• Localism works in music retail. In Fort Lauderdale, Radio-Active Records is within five miles of Borders, Target, Circuit City, Barnes & Noble and Best Buy, and yet it is growing. "Our biggest strategy is community involvement. It's why Virgin [Megastore] couldn't survive down here: They don't pay attention to what music locals are interested in. I go to the clubs, I see what people are dancing to, and I order that stuff in the store." (Broward Palm Beach)