Levi's posts pictures of its forthcoming iPod jeans

Hey boy, you--and your iPod--look mighty cute in them jeans.

Levi's is banking on it.

The jeans giant is readying a release of its much-hyped iPod-ready RedWire FLX jeans, and some photos of the pocket-laden pants surfaced on the Internet this week.

The RedWire FLX jeans are specially made for the iPod, with an iPod cradle and a red strap built inside the side pocket into which the user can plug the iPod. Once plugged into the red strap, the iPod can be operated with a control pad in the watch pocket.

The cool factor of iPod-centric jeans won't come without a hefty price, however. They're expected to cost $250 a pair when they hit stores in the fall.

Wall Street analyst says Zune will use PortalPlayer

Silicon Valley chipmaker PortalPlayer, which famously saw its stock plummet in April when Apple decided not to use its chips for the next generation of iPod Nanos, might rebound on the back of a would-be iPod killer. In a research note today, Michael Masdea of Credit Suisse First Boston wrote that PortalPlayer might deepen its relationship with Microsoft by supplying chips for the upcoming Zune music player. PortalPlayer has said that its new line of chips would have wireless connectivity, and wireless song transfers from PC to player have been one of the features with which the Zune players are hoping to one-up the iPod.

iTunes unveils "Vingles" promotion

In the days following Apple's big announcement of the video-ready iPod last October, the company left many industry insiders scratching their heads when it filed a trademark application with the US Patent & Trademark Office for the word "Vingle." That word got some clarity this week when iTunes rolled out a Vingle promotion, offering 30 song-and-music-video packages for $1.99 apiece. For instance, people who purchase Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" can still do so for 99 cents, but can pony up $1.99 and buy the video and song at the same time. The Vingles songs include AFI's "Miss Murder," the Raconteurs' "Steady As She Goes," LeToya's "Torn," Wolfmother's "Woman," and Morrissey's "You Have Killed Me," along with 24 others.

Digital Music Group posts revenue spike

Sacramento-based Digital Music Group reported a sharp rise in its second-quarter revenue today, as the company continued to expand its catalog of music and moved into music videos as well. For the quarter that ended June 30, Digital Music Group, which buys the digital rights to oldies and rarities and then licenses them for sale at digital download stores like iTunes, posted a net loss of $589,000, or 7 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $384,000, or 17 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2005.

The fledgling company's revenue rose from $54,000 in the second quarter of 2005 to $840,000 in the same period of 2006. The company went public in February and has been adding to its catalog steadily since then. Digital Music Group said it was expanding into music videos this week. Shares in Digital Music Group rose nearly 14 percent after the report, closing at $5.80.

As of June 30, the company had 73,000 tracks available for sale at digital download stores like iTunes, and has another 70,000 tracks that have been sent to download stores but have yet to be posted for sale. The percentage of the company's revenue that came directly from iTunes sales rose in the quarter to 88 percent from 78 percent in the same period a year ago.

Warner Music hooks up ringtone deal in Russia

Warner Music Group said today that it signed a deal to supply songs and ringtones to Russian mobile phone operator Vimpelcom, the label giant's first move into the Russian market. Vimpelcom plans to launch a digital music service called Beeline later this month for its 50 million subscribers, and WMG is the first major label to license its music for it.

The deal includes the entire Warner Music catalog, although it will lean heavily on Madonna, whose controversial, mock crucifixion-laden "Confessions" tour will hit Moscow later this year for her first-ever performance in Russia.