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News

• RealNetworks' purchase of TidySongs causes confusion

  When RealNetworks purchased the music software TidySongs earlier this year,<strong> </strong>some customers who paid for TidySongs before the sale complained that their service was cut off.

• Shazam wraps real-time lyrics feature into application

  Shazam, the maker of an application that identifies the artist behind a song, said on Wednesday it has added a feature that shows scrolling lyrics as a tune is playing.

• Music service Rdio opens up to new round of users

  Rdio is opening up its social music service to a new round of users, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.

• Nokia brings music download service to China, without DRM

  Nokia has launched a version of its Comes With Music download service without digital rights management (DRM) for the Chinese market, the phone manufacturer said on Thursday.

• Most watched YouTube videos in Australia

  Susan Boyle’s new album may be top of the ARIA charts in Australia right now, but it was a little video on YouTube that started it all. And when it comes to Australian-made YouTube clips, music artists dominate in the popularity stakes. Google has released its list of most-watched videos by Australians in 2009 and music dominates the lists of clips.

• Music industry takes aim at Swedish file sharers

  The Swedish music industry wants to know who has been using an IP (Internet Protocol) address for what it considers illegal file sharing, and has filed a lawsuit with the Stockholm district court, the industry organization IFPI said in statement on Monday.

• Apple confirms Lala music service acquisition

  Apple has acquired online music streaming company Lala, the company said Monday, adding to the ways it could offer music to users.

• Google lets the music play in search results

  Google is changing the way it resolves music-related search queries through a variety of partnerships designed to help it provide more relevant and useful results.

• Apple gives Rhapsody green light on iPhone

  RealNetworks yesterday launched its Rhapsody music-streaming application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, after what the company said was a "smooth process" of back-and-forth with Apple.

• Grand jury indicts four on music piracy charges

  A grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has indicted four alleged members of a music piracy group for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

• Report: China tightens rules for online music providers

  China's Ministry of Culture has implemented a new set of rules governing the online sale and distribution of foreign songs in the country, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

• Nokia announces smaller version of N97, music touch phone

  Nokia has announced the N97 mini, a slightly smaller version of the existing N97, it said on Wednesday. The company also announced the X6, a new flagship music phone, which comes with a touch-screen and a 32GB built-in memory.

• Apple approves iPhone music app

  Apple has approved a streaming music application from Spotify for use on the iPhone, even though the program will compete with Apple's own iTunes service.

• MySpace buys iLike social music service

  MySpace, scrambling to jump-start its popularity, has agreed to buy iLike, a social music discovery service that is very popular on MySpace and other social networks like Facebook.

• iTunes 9 to add social music app?

  Apple is reportedly working on an overhaul of iTunes that will include social networking tools that will allow you to broadcast and share music to friends.