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By Times Staff Writer
Published February 27, 2008

Teens dig music, but don't like paying for CDs

U.S. consumers spent 10 percent less on music in 2007, reflecting declining purchases of compact discs, according to a survey by New York-based researcher NPD. Sales of downloads rose as Apple Inc.'s iTunes became the second-largest music retailer. About 48 percent of teenagers didn't buy a CD last year, up from 38 percent in 2006, NPD said Tuesday. Compact disc sales declined 19 percent in the U.S. last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks retail sales. Downloads and mobile ring tones weren't enough to make up for the drop. Apple's iTunes store became the second-biggest seller of music in 2007 after Wal-Mart Stores Inc., passing Best Buy Co. and Target Corp., NPD said. ITunes has sold more than 4-billion songs, Apple said.

Big Ford van gets high-tech tuneup

Ford Motor Co., the third-largest automaker by U.S. sales, introduced a revamped version of its E-Series large van Tuesday as the company tries to boost demand from business customers. Ford, which estimates it holds 40 percent of the total commercial-vehicle market, unveiled the 2009 model at an auto show in Atlanta. Sales of the E-Series, which includes the Econoline, fell 6.5 percent to 168,722 last year. The 2009 model, which will be available in August, will be offered with Ford Work Solutions, a package of electronic products including an on-board computer that can be connected to the Internet and devices that help keep track of equipment stored in the vehicle, the company said.

Yahoo buzzes with interactive change

On Tuesday, Yahoo introduced a service called Buzz that relies on users to help it compile the most popular articles from around the Web. Yahoo plans to include some of those on its front page, hoping to attract more users and turn it into a hub for driving traffic to other publishers. Yahoo also will announce Tuesday that it will allow fuller previews of online publishers' sites in search results. A search result displaying a user of the social network LinkedIn, for instance, could include links to that person's connections and full profile, and a result displaying a restaurant may include direct links to a reservations page or reviews. The Buzz service borrows heavily from other so-called social news aggregators, like Digg and Reddit, as it asks users to "vote" on items they like. Items with the most votes, or buzz, will earn prominent placement.

Get 'Lost,' ABC says, but with ads

ABC said will release hit shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives for free over video-on-demand cable services, with the hitch that viewers will have to sit through commercials without being able to fast-forward. The Walt Disney Co., parent company of the network, is aiming to profit from ads sold for the video-on-demand offerings while expanding its digital strategy beyond programs distributed on its Web site, abc.com. "We're trying to drive everyone back to television but very much understand that with everybody's lifestyles, they can't necessarily watch that way and we don't want to lose them altogether," Disney spokeswoman Karen Hobson said. The programs will have two to five minutes of commercials for an hourlong program, compared with 17 minutes or more for a show on regular TV, Hobson said.

[Last modified February 27, 2008, 00:15:12]