Universal add XM to its shake-down

Having persuaded Microsoft to count out a dollar for every Zune it manages to sell, Universal has now added a protection payment from XM Radio to its increasing pile of money for nothing.

In return for dropping a threatened court action, Universal has generously agreed to accept a - shall we call it a tax? - from XM to cover the possibility that people might record some of its product on XM's Inno players.

Doug Morris of Universal is, of course, delighted at being given cash for doing nothing more strenuous than sending a few solicitor's letters and observing how it would sad if something nasty happened:

"We are pleased to have resolved this situation in an amicable manner. We pride ourselves on empowering new technology and expanding consumer choice. And XM is providing a new and exciting opportunity for music lovers around the world to discover and enjoy our content, while at the same time recognizing the intrinsic value of music to their business and the need to respect the rights of content owners."

Universal pride themselves on "empowering new technology", do they? In pretty much the same way that Bernard Matthews empowers turkeys.