» The Beatles' catalog, which previously was very hard to catch, may be on its way to either the Guitar Hero or Rock Band franchise. The Beatles catalog was nearly unlicensed until Jeff Jones took over Apple Corp. (not the computer manufacturer) and allowed the catalog to be licensed to Cirque du Soleil and American Idol. Both EMI and Apple Corp. need to approve of it, but EMI doesn't seem like they'd be too against it.

» The MPAA, who has nothing to do with music aside from their effect on piracy in general, has said that it does not think that proof needs to be found that a file was actually downloaded and distributed, but only that it was available. Also, the EFF has said that downloads only by investigators cannot count as distribution. This sounds particularly dangerous, especially considering that most people aren't quite sure how networking works, and we have no good definition of sharing, or purposeful sharing, as is evidenced by the Kozinski case. [Some more analysis from Ars here.] Also: Torrent site ISOHunt has 10,000 free and legal albums for download.

» 50 Cent is pissed because Taco Bell has asked him to change his name to 79, 89, or 99 Cent for a day, and to come into a store and order under that name. If he did it Taco Bell would donate $10k to a charity of his choice. The offer was a part of Taco Bell's promotion for their value menu, a value menu that probably houses some of the finest dishes in the new world.

» X to the Z has admitted that he noticed that aliens do not like black people, and that "the day I see somebody from South Central Los Angeles say, 'Man, I got abducted yesterday,' then I'll believe it."

» Bonnaroo & other festivals, in short: Bonnaroo tickets down, but considered success compared to other festivals; Kanye West gets booed at Bonnaroo for showing up on stage 2 hours late; Beck and Black Crowes to headline Street Scene 2008; Smaller UK festivals band together to help stay alive; Mos Def and Nas to headline Rock the Bells.

» "Redact it!": Stones say that they aren't looking at LiveNation, as was reported here, and as LiveNation rearranges itself.

» The Rest, in short: Kid Rock tells people to download his jams; iTunes hits 5 billion songs sold mark; Weird Al plans to get super topical with quick distribution; Wilco and Bright Eyes allow songs to be put on Net Neutrality record; Robbie Williams gets an offer for a million and a half pounds for one show; Nearly all of British teens questioned admit to sharing files; Amazon begins variable pricing of MP3's; Will.I.Am's "Yes We Can" wins Emmy; The Orchard is set to take over the now bankrupt TVT records; Oasis signs with Sony BMG; Last.Fm grows as it makes a deal with Universal.

!Fun Link: Endtroducing... High School Band Style!