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• Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Microsoft has signed a nondisclosure agreement with Yahoo, thus positioning itself as a potential bidder on the search granddaddy. Microsoft has reportedly been talking with a number of possible partners about the details of any investment or buyout. As Yahoo sells ads against queries entered into Microsoft’s Bing, Microsoft already has a vested interest in Yahoo’s future.

• According to a study conducted by Sociable Labs, about half of all shoppers browsing e-commerce sites are simultaneously logged into Facebook. This isn’t to say they’re necessarily on Facebook, but whether they have a browser tab open to the social network or not, they at least haven’t logged out, which is a meaningful gauge of e-shoppers’ proximity to social media. Sociable Labs, which develops apps for e-commerce companies, collected data from visitors to its clients’ sites over the month of October; a daily breakdown of the stats shows anywhere from 49.4 (on a Thursday) to 53.7 (Sunday) percent were logged into Facebook.

• Universal Music Group, the largest record label in the music industry,  is suing streaming music service Grooveshark to the tune of (we’re almost sorry for that pun) roughly $150,000 per purportedly-pirated recording. While Grooveshark users who post tracks for other users to share are protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the UMG lawsuit is aimed at Grooveshark employees themselves, whom the suit accuses of personally uploading songs illegally, en masse. Media outlets today have claimed various estimates for what the total sum might be of the damages UMG seeks, but $15 to $17 billion is a popular ballpark.

• Business Insider reports Angie’s List really isn’t making money. The website (where users can rate their experiences with plumbers, electricians, roofers and other contractors),which claims to be supported by membership fees, hasn’t earned nearly as much from its users as it has from advertisers — and its earnings are out of step with its expenses. Prior to Nov. 17, Angie’s List had taken in $24 million from subscriptions and $38 from advertisers. Meanwhile, it had spent $48 million on its own advertising and $22 million to support the sales team. Business Insider has some graphs and a comparison to the similar plight of Yelp.

“Music remains one of the most important outlets of teen expression and Kiwibox has long been a leader in promoting artists to its rapidly expanding community,” said Lin Dai, CEO of Kiwibox. “This UMG partnership validates our long-standing relationship with the music industry and commitment to providing valuable content for teens. As we continue to innovate with the latest technology and entertainment, we will look for ways to further enhance the overall user experience.”

UMG video content will be ad-supported and Kiwibox, artists, labels and copyright holders will all receive a share of revenue from the ads displayed next to their music video content.

Kiwibox recently underwent a complete site redesign, introducing new profile pages, increased prizes for users, new KiwiGames, KiwiboxTV featuring exclusive interviews and enhanced weekly and daily content from members around the world.

Universal Music Group’s record labels include Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records South, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world.

A provision of DMCA copyright law, called safe harbor, freed Veoh from any legal obligation to copyright holders since it removed from its site any copyrighted video as soon as it was alerted of any infringement, the judge ruled. (Under the provision. sites are not required to monitor every video uploaded by its users). Io never asked Veoh to remove clips of its movies, instead choosing to sue in 2006.

Veoh is still fighting a suit against Universal Music Group.

Google, which is facing a similar suit on behalf of YouTube against Viacom, quickly applauded the decision.

MySpace Music will offer music from Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, will be reportedly be funded with $120 million from MySpace.

The site’s plans to make bank with downloads, ring tones, music paraphernalia and of course – branded ad campaigns.