Apple and Starbucks have formed an exclusive partnership that lets customers wirelessly browse, search for, preview, buy and download music from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at Starbucks onto their iPod.

When a customer enters Starbucks, their device will automatically recognize the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store using a high-speed Wi-Fi wireless network with no connection fee or hotspot login.

Customers will be able to browse, search and freely preview millions of songs, including a new “Now Playing” service which displays the name of the song playing in the Starbucks store at that moment, then easily buy and download songs or albums directly to their device.

Starbucks customers are going to get online and download songs while drinking coffee? Novelty…

CEO of Apple Steve Jobs unveiled new iPod models on Wednesday including an iPod nano, which stores songs and photos on flash memory chips instead of a hard drive, that now will play video and games.

The company, which faces renewed attacks from rivals, will refresh or replace the entire iPod music player product line, Jobs said at a product announcement event.

Nickelback who has been on the charts for 100 weeks continues to shock the skeptics by selling 39k a week with a tally of 5,857,555.  Nickelback and management has the last laugh.

Carrie Underwood’s new single, ‘So Small’, debuted on the Soundscan singles chart in the U.S. this week coming in at #6.

Pink’s Who Knew climbed six spots from 25 to #19 this week.

Disney’s High School Musical 2 has already hit platinum status.

Fergie’s ‘Dutchess’ sold 50k this week. Her single ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ is #2 on the top 40 charts.

Universal Music Group has decided to close Sanctuary’s UK recorded music division.

Live Nation U.K. Music managing director Stuart Galbraith has been dismissed from the live music powerhouse due to “breach of contract.”

BMI posts record-setting royalty distributions and revenues. The rise in revenues is attributed to the company’s music catalog, successful licensing of music across a diverse range of media, and revenue growth in foreign markets

Almost 100% of music downloaded from the Net is stolen, according to the IFPI.

One may ask Why? How?

Because China’s most popular search engines Baidu.com and Yahoo China help users find and download songs quickly and illegally.

These search engines provide “deep search” services that allow listeners to download free MP3s from the databases of other sites without ever having to go to those sites themselves.

Artists will never make a dime in China because the culture does not respect intellectual property.

Google China can’t even compete against the search engine Baidu — which has an edge thanks to its free music downloads.

Young and hungry kids who love music can’t even successfully launch local startups trying to build a business around selling music because of piracy.

The IFPI has filed about 300 lawsuits in Chinese courts and has won 90% of them. The IFPI estimates it spends some $13,000 per case — yet the damages awarded average just $130 per suit. Suing isn’t really worth it.

On August 13th, the US asked the World Trade Organization asking it to take action against China’s alleged piracy of music, movies, and software. (Business Week)

Big September releases include 50 Cent, Kanye West, Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney….

September 11th -  50 Cent (“Curtis”) and Kanye West (“Graduation”), last discs saw debut sales weeks of 1.1 million and 860,000..

Country singer Kenny Chesney’s “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates”. Chesney’s last album, 2005’s “The Road and the Radio,” sold 469,000 in its opening week.

Country music has grown in the last 18 months, while rap music  is stifled with controversy and weakening sales which makes some music execs worried.

Other artists that will have September releases include KT Tunstall’s “Drastic Fantastic” and James Blunt’s “All the Lost Souls”.

Also Rascal Flatts, whose “Me and My Gang” had the mighty sales of 2006 — 722,000 — will have a new release on the 25th with “Still Feels Good” which could top 1 million in first-week sales.

Lastly we have the Foo Fighters‘ “Echoes Silence Patience & Grace,” Melissa Etheridge’s “The Awakening” . The industry is hoping to better the September sales tally of the last two years, approximately 39 million.

(Variety)