Music startup doubleTwist today launched a new application, available for Mac and PC, that wants to replace the proprietary world of Apple’s iTunes with one where you can download music and sync it to any player. Here’s how doubleTwist explains what they do: Our vision is simple: to create a unifying media platform that connects [...]

Security firm TrustedSource reports that a new trojan has been identified that infects multi-media files on Windows computers. The malware embeds malicious content into multimedia files based on the Advanced Systems Format (ASF), a widely used format for video and audio content such as MP3 and WMA music files, WMV video files and others. When [...]

You almost have to feel sorry for the mainstream music industry. Almost. The major labels have teamed up with Napster to offer what they are calling “the world’s largest and most comprehensive MP3 store.” Yep – the labels are so intent on breaking Apple’s dominance in the world of digital music that they are giving [...]

For a long time, people have thought that getting the music industry to switch to DRM-free MP3s for music downloads would open the doors to a consumer-friendly world of digital music competition. Now it’s starting to look like the music industry wil use DRM-free MP3s to enforce their traditional monopoly on what you hear, what [...]

DRM’d music is roadkill, steamrolled by iPods, iTunes and fair use. Businessweek reports that Sony BMG is finalizing plans to sell songs without DRM, the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of [...]

The Wall Street Journal has an article today that suggests that iPods and MP3s are ruining pop music. The idea is that the dynamic compression that has become popular to make music sound louder, combined with audio file compression, which throws away details of the music, have combined to make pop music horrible. According to [...]

Antivirus researchers have identified a new Windows virus, W32/Deletemp3.worm, searches your hard drive and deletes all your MP3s. The virus spreads by copying itself onto any drives on your PC, including removable media and flash drives. If you move the drive to a new computer, it gets infected, too. The virus was discovered July 30th, and [...]

freeiPodsoftware.com has a free MP3 to iPod Audio Book Converter that turns any number of MP3 files into one iPod Audio Book File. The advantage of doing this is that you can make use of the advanced audio book functionality of your iPod. For example, your iPod remembers where you were listening in your audio [...]

UK record label First Word Records is offering DJs the best of both worlds – vinyl records that include downloadable MP3s – with a new service, DigiWax.The records are double-weight vinyl discs that come with a unique code. With the code, buyers can download an unprotected, 320Kbps MP3 version of the music, to use however [...]

On Friday, the United States Copyright Royalty Board announced new royalty rates for webcasts, effective from 2006 to 2010. The new rates force webcasters to pay for each traditionally copyrighted song streamed to each user, and increase over the next few years as follows: 2006: $0.0008 to stream one song to one listener 2007: $.0011 [...]