• The Slacker music service has some news on the portable music player. Most interesting tidbit: music synced from the stations is stored in protected AAC format and is kept in "hidden" storage. (Engadget)

• China Telecom has announced a new digital music service that partners with eight music companies, including the four majors. IMUSIC will feature ringtones, online trial listening, downloads, news and membership services. (TMCNet)

• Professionals talked artist development at the Billboard Touring Conference & Awards. (Billboard.biz)

• Canadian country music manager/label owner Louis O'Reilly is moving to Nashville to start a new label. On Ramp Records has the backing of EMI Canada. (The Star Phoenix)

• Though you may have read about it by now, I have not mentioned EMI's lawsuit against MP3Tunes and Sideload, two services created by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson. While some RIAA victories have obviously shaped the course of digital music -- Grokster is a prime example of how entire business models were impacted -- services like Sideload haven't got enough judicial clarification to keep labels from suing upstarts. Wired has a good article on the subject with a lengthy email from Robertson himself. Definitely worth reading, if only to get a sense of what's driving the lawsuit. (Wired)

• Social.fm is the latest to offer a Facebook widget. (Press release)

• Houston's Cactus Records, closed for a year and a half, has reopened with a new owner and a new location. Like many successful small stores, Cactus puts an emphasis on local artists. (Houston Chronicle)