• Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III moved 125,000 units (a 20% drop) and remained the top album in the U.S. last week. Sales were down 11.7% versus the same week last year. (Billboard.biz)

• Assessing the state of the live music business seems to depend on who you ask. Reports from around the country show both strong and weak markets. Here's another article about the weak San Diego market. Live Nation is having a fire sale tomorrow and will offer $10 tickets to more than 40 events -- ten of them in San Diego. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

• A study of China's music consumers reveals only 33% of respondents would like to pay for digital downloads while about 70% use search engines to acquire music. (China View)

• James Stroud, producer and former co-chairman of Universal Music Group Nashville, has launched Stroudavarious Records. The new imprint, located in Nashville's Music Row, will be distributed by Sony BMG's RED Distribution. (Music Row)

• Live Nation, as Michael Rapino said last week, thinks ticketing is going to be an important part of it overall strategy. From the looks of this announcement -- a deal to work with Telstra International, which will allow for high quality Internet services during peak usage -- the company is putting the pieces in place. (Press release)