• Live Nation will sell tickets to its events at 263 Costco stores across the nation. A gift card called the "Amphitheatre Concert Pack" will sell for $39.99 and offer general admission lawn seats for two to (almost) any Live Nation 2008 concert in amphitheatres owned and operated by Live Nation (there will be some exceptions). The card will also get the buyer six downloads at the PureTracks-powered Live Nation music page. Side note: This retail relationship could help -- it couldn't hurt -- when it comes time to sell some Madonna CDs. Bulk food shoppers pretty much comprise her target market these days. (Ticket News)

• Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency with a huge roster of music artists, is teaming up with Draper Fisher Jurvetson to raise a venture capital fund (ranging up to $200 million) which will invest in the digital/entertainment sector. paidContent points to recent ventures by other agencies and points to the changing dynamics in the agency marketplace. (paidContent)

• Billboard.biz names names: A&R representatives Paul Pontius and Rob Stevenson have left Island Def Jam. In addition, Stolen Transmission ended its indie-to-major experiment and will go back to its indie roots. (Billboard.biz)

• Radio revenue was down 5% in Q3 2007. "The leading growth categories, the RAB reports, were communications, including cellular and public utiities, which rose 9 percent in Q3 and is up 17 percent for the year so far, and concerts, theater and movies, up 11 percent in Q3 and 21 percent year-to-date." (Radio Ink)

• Wal-Mart and playphone have launched a mobile phone storefront that will sell wallpaper, games and (Eagles) ringtones. Three downloads of any kind will cost $5.99 a month. (MediaPost)

• Maybe this is why hip hop sales are in the toilet: Some rappers are quitting (and others go into retirement every six months). "It's kind of hard to get excited about rap music when the people making the music keep reminding you how over it they are. .. Another weird thing is the recent mentality that being a rapper isn't cool and so every rapper needs to constantly remind you that he's not a rapper but that he's really a master kingpin drug-dealer who also raps, just for fun." (Village Voice's Status Ain't Hood blog)