• Ticketmaster has broke away from IAC and is now a standalone company. The company's stock rose 13% on its first day of trading yesterday. The company will lose its largest client, Live Nation, at the beginning of 2009. (Wall Street Journal)

• Sony Ericsson is launching the PlayNow Arena, a site that gives users access to mobile music, games, and applications. The site, which has content from three of the four major music groups (Universal is not yet on board), will roll out first in the Nordic countries. (Dow Jones)

• Retailer HMV has launched an application called a gap analyzer that aims to help iTunes users build their music collection. The application looks at the user's music and movie collections and suggests purchases at HMV's GetCloser.com site. (Music Week)

• Radio revenues dropped 5% in the first half of 2008. (Radio Ink)

• An interview with CD Baby founder Derek Sivers. "There are plenty of millionaires who would pay millions to hang a Van Gogh painting on the wall, but hardly one that would have ever had the crazy nut over for dinner. I feel like the big companies are like that with musicians. They'll say, 'We love music! It's all about the music!' -- but if a musician shows up at the door, they call security."(Listening Post)