In a fascinating interview with Digital Music News, deposed Tunecore founder and resident genius Jeff Price recounts the events that led up to his sudden firing and attempts to piece together the rationale for the move and the identities of those who made it. He also takes a shot at Pandora’s Tim Westergren, claiming artists’ needs aren’t being considered in the debate…

Career Artist Management’s Jordan Feldstein has added another big signing to his stable, Star Trak/Interscope’s multiplatinum soul-popster Robin Thicke. Career Artists’ roster also includes Maroon 5 and Adam Levine. The internationally celebrated Thicke signed to Interscope at age 16; his most recent release,Love After War, streeted in Q4 of 2011. [HitsDailyDouble]

As previously reported, Maroon 5 spends a sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “One More Night,” holding off PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” which remains at No. 2 for a fifth frame. Plus, Rihanna (“Diamonds”) and Ne-Yo “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself”) enter the top 10. What other…

[AlLindstrom]

By the time the rumor mill caught wind of this transaction, the price tag for the buyout was $1 billion dollars. According to a quarterly investment filed today, Facebook paid $521 million dollars in cash and $194 million dollars in stock for Instagram. “The $521 million includes about 12 million shares of common stock to Instagram’s…