PC World – Apple is expected to announce a $30-a-month iPhone tethering plan from ATT and will also drop all DRM from its iTunes Music Store in what is the rumor du jour. Using the iPhone as a modem and copy-protection-free songs from the iTunes Store are not a new idea by a long shot, [...]

Reuters – The Recording Industry Association of America’s decision not to pursue new lawsuits against online file-sharers marks a fundamental shift in the music business’s battle against piracy, from one focused on enforcement to one emphasizing education. Source:Music industry eases tactics in fighting piracy (Reuters)

AP – Music sales have continued to slump in 2008 as the increased number of downloads of digital tracks failed to make up for a plunge in the sale of compact discs. Source:Album sales plunge, digital downloads up (AP)

AFP – The music industry suffered another tough year in 2008 as gains in digital sales in the United States failed to make up for a double-digit drop in compact disc purchases, according to Nielsen Co. Source:2008 another tough year for music industry in US (AFP)

PC Magazine – Several users are reporting that, for whatever reason, their original 30-Gbyte Microsoft Zune MP3 players crashed soon after midnight on the morning of Dec. 31. So far, the lockups suggest some sort of software glitch. Source:Microsoft Zunes Hit By Rash of Lock-Up Bugs (PC Magazine)

AP – Prosecutors indicted subsidiaries of two leading South Korean Web portals Tuesday on charges of allowing online music piracy activities, an official said. Source:SKorean portals indicted over online piracy case (AP)

AFP – Sony BMG is using the magic of the digital age to let Elvis Presley lovers sing Christmas duets with their departed idol and send the songs in electronic holiday greeting cards. Source:Elvis lovers sing Christmas duets with 'The King' (AFP)

PC World – Digital Rights Management: These three little words send chills down every music lover’s spine–because one of the biggest complaints about music purchased from online behemoths like iTunes and Rhapsody is that those stores (largely) encumber tracks with digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where you play the music you [...]

Reuters – Japan’s Toshiba Corp and U.S. partner SanDisk Corp will cut NAND flash memory production by 30 percent from January, as the global economic slowdown hits demand for the microchips used in digital cameras and portable music players. Source:Toshiba, SanDisk to cut NAND flash output by 30 pct (Reuters)

CNET – At this point, there are still many more questions than answers regarding how those Internet service providers that have agreed to help the music industry thwart illegal file sharing will actually weed out accused pirates. Source:RIAA president: No talk of blacklisting file sharers (CNET)

AFP – The US recording association said Friday that it will stop suing people who download music illegally and focus instead on getting Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take action. Source:US recording association to stop piracy lawsuits (AFP)

PC World – The RIAA has set aside its gavel and will stop prosecuting individuals for pirating digital music files, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Does this mean you should hop on Limewire and fill an iPod with illegal tunes? Not quite. Source:RIAA Stops Suing Individuals: Are We Home Free? (PC World)

Reuters – Social networking website MySpace announced its plans to get into the music business in April, launched MySpace Music in September and streamed more than 1 billion songs during its first few days of operation. And because MySpace has already become an important way to market music, labels naturally hope it will emerge as [...]

PC World – Will we be seeing DRM-free music on iTunes? That’s the latest rumor from French site Electronlibre, which says tunes from Sony-BMG, Warner, and Universal Music will be sold without copy protection. Source:iTunes Goes DRM-Free…Today? (PC World)

Reuters – With more than $1 billion in sales and 50 million tracks downloaded between them — on a base of only about 350 songs — the “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” videogame franchises emerged this year as serious moneymakers for the music industry. But are they bringing in enough per track? Source:In-the-works videogames cater [...]

AFP – Sony BMG Music Entertainment has agreed to pay one million dollars to settle charges it violated US law by collecting personal information online from children under the age of 13, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Thursday. Source:Sony BMG to pay one million dollars to settle online case (AFP)

PC World – You may have sold off your unwanted CDs and DVDs at a garage sale-or its eBay equivalent. Now, you can sell off your unwanted MP3s to top up your Christmas budget. Source:Make Some Extra Bucks: Sell Your Unwanted MP3s (PC World)

Reuters – Progressive jam band Umphrey’s McGee is capturing the attention of the music industry with the pre-order campaign for its upcoming album. Source:Chicago band uses digital savvy to promote album (Reuters)