256kbps high quality music? No DRM? Cheaper than iTunes Plus? Are those your criteria for online music? Then perhaps Rhapsody is for you. From Real Networks, this could well be the next king of...

Hollywood has longed resented Apple's distribution power. iTunes is so dominant that Apple has been able to set pricing and terms. The entertainment industry is fighting back by supporting other...

GROOVE MOBILE MOVES $6MILLION Boston-area based Groove Mobile landed $6 million in a new round of funding from ORIX Venture Finance, for a total of $32 million raised. Previous investors included Egan...

Live Nation has toys. The world's largest concert promoter last year unveiled a comprehensive web database. This year it's hopped on the Web 2.0 bandwagon to ensure its place as the premier...

The Netgear Digital Entertainer HD won the 'Kickass' product award by Maximum PC and will be featured in an upcoming issue. The Digital Entertainer HD is a souped-up Tivo DVR. It's an...

Boston-based SonicBids raised $4.5 million from the Edison Venture Fund. SonicBids offers a specialized service that packages web-based artist submissions. Sonicbids was used in the Starbucks Music...

Limewire, the current leading P2P developer, is developing an online music store. Paid music files will be available via links in their P2P software and later included in P2P results. Music will be...

Yahoo Music's latest promotion at the new Yahoo Lyricsmakers web site is a lyrics contest with promotional partner McDonald's and artist Ne-Yo. You write the lyrics, site visitors vote on it,...

VIRTUAL SERVICE DOPPELGANGER ADDS $11 MILLION FOR KIDS Virtual-world builder Doppelganger raised $11 million from ComVentures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Trident Capital, Draper Richards, KPG Ventures...

.... but the company already has a similar service set up at MP3sparks. The Russian government closed the music download site AllofMP3 to mollify the U.S. government and the World Trade Organization...

Universal Music Group jumped past rival EMI and juggernaut Apple to sell digital music without DRM (Digital Rights Management) to consumers. The files will be in open MP3 format that can be used on...

Amnesty International is running a music campaign called Instant Karma to raise money to support relief programs for the genocide in Darfur. Instant Karma recycles John Lennon music, which is...

The AT&T Blue Room program with concert promoter Live Nation features Internet streaming of live shows. It also features only the parts of the performances they approve. It was first publicized...

ISPs used to protect their subscribers. No more. When they start selling entertainment and get in bed with Hollywood, you the consumer are back to sleeping on the floor with the dogs. AT&T, the...

MediaDefender, which provides anti-piracy technology and services, set up a web site at MiiVi.com to entice web visitors and P2P users to commit copyright infringement. The company has stepped up...

London-based online music store 7digital now sells DRM-free tunes from major label EMI, similar to an offering from Passalong Networks. While pricing is similar to iTunes (7digital has songs at $1.08...

Warner Music torpedoed digital media innovation and canceled a deal with Anywhere CD, which had sold bundled CDs and MP3s. Anywhere CD will be able to continue to sell Warner CDs by themselves. I...

A recent controversy over Microsoft Windows Media Center has highlighted the perils of DRM (Digital Rights Management). DRM uses secured formats that can cause incompatibilities with other hardware...

ROYALTYSHARE ADDS MUSICALC San Diego-based digital media tracker RoyaltyShare acquired UK-based Musicalc. Musicalc provides royalty accounting services and software and enables RoyaltyShare to expand...

While they say will do not evil, be wary of Google. Microsoft does a better job in protecting you. Slightly. So says Privacy International in A Race To The Bottom: Privacy Ranking Of Internet...