After EMI hired paisley-shirted IT exec Douglas Merrill away from Google to run the record label's digital business, other music groups have been on the hunt for a digital savior. Sony BMG, we hear, has been trying to fill an EVP position to run its digital music ventures. But after dangling a $700,000 salary in front of prospects for 8 months, its search firm, Korn/Ferry, still hasn't been able to fill the job. What this tells us: No one wants the job. One requirement: The candidate must "have a keen eye to find money on opportunities at hand." That graspingness is precisely why the record labels are so unpopular with musicians, their fans, and the the technologists creating the online tools through which people are increasingly stealing — sorry, "discovering" — music. The industry's in such a pathetic state, we thought we'd help Sony BMG and Korn/Ferry by airing the confidential job listing:

Trent Reznor is busy demonstrating how a bankable artist can go independent, give away music for free, and still make a mint. Though he initially expressed concern over an album he produced for hip-hopper Saul Williams that was released as a "pay what you will" download, he's changed his mind and now considers it a success — mostly because Williams made more money even with only twenty percent of fans paying for the album than he ever did at a label. And maybe more importantly, far more people heard the music. As for Reznor? His own giveaway of his latest album did pretty well in the marketplace as well, with a limited-edition box set garnering $750,000 and half a million CDs sold. So what, exactly, is the problem with the music business? As usual, greedy labels.

It wasn't the interview with now-former CIO Douglas Merrill, which served to convince me that the Canadian-nice Merrill will get eaten alive by the music industry. It wasn't the moment when Jim Killeen of Cobe, Ireland, a Catholic priest, argues the Pope's position on human sexuality with Jim Killeen of Denver, Colorado, the swinger and self-described "tranny chaser."

Shawn "Jay Z" Carter signing with LiveNation demonstrates that one of the most entrepreneurial artists of our generation has decided that the business of recording music is advertising. The No. 1 digital music retailer, iTunes, has understood this for some time — Apple sells iPods, and iTunes is a service to make it relatively cheap and easy to fill those iPods. Carter will be happy to make a little chump change from digital sales, but the MC knows the real money is in branded events and merchandise. What the labels call "piracy" is actually free distribution of promotional material, and such a model is not without precedent.

Douglas Merrill, CIO at Google and recent Fast Company coverboy, is leaving Mountain View to become president of record label EMI. At first I thought former PodTech CEO John Furrier was pulling a fast one, but John Paczkowski confirmed via email that it's no hoax. Look for the official press tomorrow, Furrier added, before complaining that TechCrunch didn't cite him for the scoop.

Google hopes to someday track people and their belongings with RFID microchips, top Google engineer Douglas Merrill reportedly told David Jones from the U.K.'s Daily Mail. (Merrill might use such an innovation to track his dress shirts, had he more than one.) Google has overweening ambitions, it's true. But given the source, we're not inclined to take this one particularly seriously.

Spotted at last night's party at the Googleplex New York: Douglas Merrill, a Google engineering VP who's kind of a geek hottie. Actually, majorly nerd smoking. No, scratch that: The Brad Pitt of brainiacs. Except for his fashion sense. A Valleywag fashion correspondent, working incognito, reports that Merrill was wearing the same exact red paisley shirt he was photographed in for his publicity shot, above. What? With his Google stock options, the man can't afford more than one party shirt? Dougie, give desperate geek-seeking missile Julia Allison a call. The Star magazine editor would be glad to dress you. Or undress you.

We're getting live reports on who's making it past the velvet rope at Google's New York party. The bash, held in Google's West Chelsea offices at 76 Ninth Avenue, has already kicked up a fuss. Google's controlling-but-not-that-bright PR people have tried to limit the guest list to consumer and fashion reporters, figuring they'd be more likely to critique the buffet and less likely to ask pesky questions about the search engine's business practices. So far, they've had mixed results. Here's who we've heard has showed up so far — and who's been barred at the door.