downloaders

Ipsos’ TEMPO Digital Music Brandscape study shows improvements in brands have been made by iTunes, Rhapsody and Amazon.com while Napster, MySpace, Wal-Mart and Yahoo have experienced brand erosion over the last year (press release).

• The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ, the first Bowery Presents venue outside of New York City, will open November 1 after a $3 million renovation. (Star-Ledger)

Lala.com is back for another shot at music lovers. Like the previous version, its new model is built around the belief that access to free music streams will bring in users and generate enough revenue to make the strategy profitable.

• A report says Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners LLC are having a tough time coming to terms with Clear Channel and may not go through with the $19.5 billion buyout of the media giant. (AP)

Lately I've noticed something we'll call The Fairness Principle. Fairness is a recurring theme in music news. Much of the record industry acts as if the most fair business model is also the best business model. This is a problem because the "fairest" business model may not necessarily be the best model, and a concept of fairness has shaped everything from licensing deals to squabbles over royalties to determined adherence to DRM.