These are the stories and developments we're tracking over the weekend. Check back for ongoing updates.

What's another thing that has little or nothing to do with sports? That would be indie music, which is why Sports Illustrated is making it a major part of its upcoming Swimsuit Issue.

All that plastic was supposed to save the music industry! Instead, it's now melting down the balance sheets of companies like Viacom...

Tunecore is beefing with Amazon, but it's also working on new deals.

It's been official for a while now: the music industry of 2012 is exactly where other industries don't want to end up.

The following is a note from Ditto Music CEO Lee Parsons, whose company is now offering free, emergency accounts to affected Tunecore customers.

So how's that Google relationship working out, anyway? Warner Music Group ex-chairman Edgar Bronfman just called 'Google Music' an 'oxymoron,' and trade group IFPI recently broiled the search engine for disproportionate levels of illegal results.

Facebook has officially filed for IPO, with a potential raise of $10 billion. The filing also unveiled a very healthy, existing balance sheet that includes 2011 profits of $1 billion on $3.7 billion in revenues. The company also has $4 billion in cash, and nearly 850 million users. This could easily end up being the largest IPO of all time, and value Facebook as high as $100 billion.

AmazonMP3 has now pulled all Tunecore-distributed songs from its stores in the UK and across the European Union, thanks to a royalty-related dispute. The teardown actually happened January 24th, leaving more than a week of non-inclusion, according to details now confirmed by Tunecore CEO Jeff Price.

So, does this mean Coldplay gets to set the standard on Spotify windowing? After more than two three months of holding out and 1.1 million in sales, Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto

For every critic that poops on you, a thousand fans are born. And the harsher the reviews, the stronger the defenders - and potential buyers.

Is digital simply degrading the quality of music, and wrongly conditioning an entire generation of listeners? Yes, according to Neil Young, who shared a plan to improve sound quality during an interview at the D: Dive Into Media conference on Tuesday (complete interview here).

It's sad, but when it comes to big overseas trips, streaming music still basically sucks.

The RIAA likes to say that stealing an MP3 is like stealing a CD from a store. So, what happens when the FBI deletes your perfectly legal files on MegaUpload?

Music-related financing collapsed during the second-half of 2011, though maybe that was just a temporary tank. Because in the first month of 2012, music-focused companies grabbed an impressive $65.55 million in financing, a jump of more than 26.5 percent over January funding levels last year.

The question now is whether this social currency translates into actual currency, ie, the kind you can spend.

There's more opportunity than ever ― in the history of the world ― for artists to sell merchandise and monetize their brands. The only problem is that very few artists are making any money from these non-traditional sources. Or, even pursuing the possibilities.

We have no idea where this started, or where it will end up.

This was the morning discussion at Midem, where topics once again turned towards 'cannibalism,' streaming services, and buying music.

So, what DOES Spotify pay artists, anyway? That may be the most important question right now, and according to U2 manager Paul McGuinness, 'insufficient transparency' and guessing-game payouts have caused damage with the artist community.