TIC-TECH

IF YOU CAN BEAT ‘EM, JOIN ‘EM
After resolving its claim against Napster last month (and just days after winning a copyright infringement suit against MP3.com), indie label TVT Records is pledging its full support of the embattled file-swapper by entering into a promotional partnership with the swapco. The first campaign just kicked off in support of Doggy's Angels, Nothingface and the "Snatch" soundtrack. Through the partnership, TVT titles will be placed on Napster and Napster will in turn link to the TVT website, where visitors can enter a contest and find out more about the artists. Meanwhile, Shawn Fanning and the Napster executive staff will co-star with TVT's Steve Gottlieb in a commercial for Suisse Credit Bank of Boston, where they ask each other, "What is going on with you?"

OVER 28 MILLION SERVED
AOL is celebrating their passing the 28 million members mark. The online service announced its growth today by boasting that members spend 70 minutes on the service daily, compared to 63 minutes last year. The company credits its growth to the success of AOL 6.0. AOL boss Steve Case spent the morning IMing his friends: "I'm filthy, stinking, disgustingly rich!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

KINETIC ENERGY
Dance label Kinetic Records launched its website, Kineticrecords.com, today. The site will serve as an online magazine and radio station, Kinetic Radio, featuring dance and mix music along with exclusive tracks from the label's roster of DJs and mixers, contests and chats. Hope no one told them the whole dot-com thing has been in the shitter since 1999.

A J. RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
Software developer J. River, which one-upped Napster by offering record labels $3 billion for music content, has plans to introduce three million subscribers to what they consider a legitimate file-swapping music delivery service at a site called AfterNap.com. The service is scheduled to launch April 10, offering music titles for download at a price, and the company is looking for support from the labels. J. River is currently offering a free trial of the service to the first three million to sign up at www.AfterNap.com. who agree to pay $1,000 apiece to the record labels.

AMAZON GOD
Amazon.com has named Jeff Blackburn the General Manager of the company's Worldwide Digital Group. The group was created to leverage Amazon's tech platform, developing a better download experience and a broader selection of book, music, film and software titles. Blackburn will head the development and deployment of Amazon's global digital distribution platform, lead the company's e-books strategies and lick the stamps on all outgoing mail.