San Francisco - Capitulating to insistent demands from the major labels, Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Tuesday introduced a three-tiered variable pricing scheme for songs sold from its iTunes Store, and further announced that its entire library will be available for purchase free of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions by the spring. Beginning in April, labels may choose to sell older tracks for 69 cents and newer, popular tracks for $1.29, or continue with the standard 99 cent price tag.

New York - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a digital distributor of independent label music, announced on Wednesday a partnership with digital music retailer AmieStreet.com, that will bring The Orchard's catalog of over 1.1 million songs to the Web store, where song pricing varies based on consumer demand.

London - In a sign that the companies may be resolving their dispute over TV show pricing at Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store that led NBC (NYSE: GE) to remove its programs late last year, five NBC shows are now available for purchase from the U.K. version of the iTunes Store, Macworld.com reported. The series -- "Heroes," "House," "The Incredible Hulk," "Eureka" and "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" -- are all produced by Universal Media Studios, and notably feature variable pricing -- one of the sticking points in failed negotiations in the U.S.

Indianapolis, Ind. - Digonex Technologies announced on Monday that major label Warner Music Group will use its technology to test variable pricing on select digital album downloads.

New York - AmieStreet.com, an online music retailer that offers variable song pricing, announced on Tuesday that top independent labels Beggars Group, Matador Records and Polyvinyl Recording have signed on to use its service. The Amazon.com-backed company offers "fan-driven" pricing, where songs are initially free and then rise in price based on popularity, up to 98 cents. With the new deals, AmieStreet.com will now offer songs from artists including Cat Power, Sigur Ros, Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Interpol.

New York - NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeff Zucker said on Monday that the company made just $15 million in revenue during the last year of its deal with Apple's (NSDQ: AAPL) iTunes, and provided some details on the dispute that led to the pending severance of its ties with the service, Variety reported.

Tokyo - Turbolinux, a distributor of Linux-based software, said this week that its Japanese unit has partnered with digital music distributor Amie Street to launch a music download service in Japan for independent music, Billboard reported. New York-based Amie Street, where user demand is used to determine song pricing, will also take an undisclosed stake in the new Tokyo-based venture, to be called Amie Street Japan.

Franklin, Tenn. - PassAlong Networks, an operator and provider of digital music services, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with e-commerce firm Digonex Technologies and independent label Nettwerk Music Group to test a digital music store that will offer variably-priced MP3s.

McLean, Va. - Javien Digital Payment Solutions, a provider of e-commerce technology, announced on Thursday that it has integrated its service with Digonex Technologies, a provider of price optimization technology for digital media. As a result, Javien customers who are selling digital music can price each MP3 according to market demand, such as selling library titles for 25 cents and new releases for 50 cents