How to prevent iTunes from launching on media key press
Recently, I made the switch to Songbird, and it's all gone well except for one thing: global music hotkeys. I installed an addon (Apple Keyboard Media Key Support) that enabled me to use the iTunes hotkeys for Songbird, but they also open iTunes. How can I prevent iTunes from opening when I press the media keys?
Try MMFix (english translation here). This tiny little utility patches the remote control daemon, which controls the media keys (and thus freeing it from the grasp of iTunes).
Download link here
Another option is to use KeyRemap4MacBook. It has an option to default the media keys back to F7, F8, and F9, which can then be mapped to your media player of choice.