New York - Lime Wire, the distributor of peer-to-peer file-sharing software that also now operates a DRM-free music download store, announced that it has added the catalog of digital music distributor The Orchard (NASD: ORCD) to its LimeWire Store, which now offers over 2 million MP3 tracks for purchase and download. The LimeWire Store also offers licensed tracks from Redeye Distribution, Nettwerk Music Group, IRIS and others.

London - Universal Music UK has introduced a new online store that will sell DRM-free movie soundtrack albums, Billboard reported. The Music From launches with 200 soundtracks in 320 Kbps MP3 format; Universal also reportedly plans to add soundtracks from other labels, as well as music from TV shows.

Los Angeles - Digital music service Napster (NASD: NAPS) has reported first quarter sales of $30.3 million, down 6% from the same period a year ago, and a slightly wider loss of $4.4 million.

Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) has launched a legal music search site in China with partner Top100.cn, also making an unspecified investment in the company, SINA.com reported.

San Francisco - Independent digital music and film distributor IODA announced that it has signed a deal with Chinese digital music distributor R2G to offer the entire IODA catalog on R2G's new Wawawa Music Store. The Wawawa store claims to feature the largest catalog of legal music available in China, and delivers songs in MP3 format via monthly subscription plans.

New York - Digital music service eMusic announced on Monday that it now counts over 40,000 record labels on its roster, and a total of over 4 million tracks in its library. The New York-based company sells MP3s from mainly independent artists via a range of subscription plans where individual tracks cost as little as 39 cents each.

London - Kerchoonz.com, a music-focused social network that features DRM-free files and no advertising, announced that it has received a $490,000 investment from the Scottish Co-investment Fund.

Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) has added DRM-free MP3 versions of U2's entire catalog to its Rhapsody music store. The placement marks the first time that the band's music has been available to purchase and download free of digital rights management. In addition to all 19 of the band's records, Rhapsody is also offering extended versions with extra tracks for $20 each.

London - Universal Music Catalog on Wednesday announced the launch of Lost Tunes, a new U.K. MP3 download store that aims to promote the major label's deeper catalog fare. Powered by independent retailer 7digital, the store at launch offers 134 albums, and will add some 500 more by year's end. The store will mine tracks from Universal's Trojan, Fiction, Decca Verve, A&M, Motown and Stax labels, among others, and offer a range of exclusive downloads. Currently featured on the store are albums from Link Wray, Nick Drake, Jimmy Cliff and Lightnin' Hopkins.

New York - Following an unsuccessful foray into the MP3 player market in 2003, Dell (NASD: DELL) is planning to release a new line of portable digital music players and an accompanying subscription service as early as September, The Wall Street Journal reported.

San Francisco - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) has announced that it will provide refunds to any consumers who purchased songs locked by digital rights management (DRM), which otherwise would have eventually become unplayable after the company discontinues support for the technology. Yahoo had initially not offered any compensation to patrons of its Yahoo Music Unlimited service who purchased song downloads; had they needed to reauthorize the tracks on a new computer, for instance, they would have found the songs unplayable.

San Francisco - The forthcoming MySpace Music joint venture service with the major labels is "likely" to partner with Amazon to power its e-commerce sales of digital music, although Apple and Rhapsody are also in the running, TechCrunch reported, citing an anonymous source. MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe said earlier this week that the joint venture, which will sell music downloads, offer subscription plans, and sell other things like ringtones and concert tickets, will launch in September.

San Francisco - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) is taking some criticism for following a move Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) was compelled to backtrack on, namely discontinuing a digital rights management-laden music service in a way that will make some songs purchased by consumers unplayable. Microsoft eventually added three years of support for customers who purchased downloads from its MSN Music store, who complained that their songs would no longer be available if they ever had to reauthorize them on another computer.

New York - Chrissie Hynde and veteran rock band the Pretenders will pre-release their forthcoming album as individual MP3s in the weeks leading up to its physical release on Sept. 23, Billboard reported. The first track from "Break Up the Concrete" is available for free download now on AOL's Spinner.com, while future tracks will be additionally posted on a range of different media partner sites.

Los Angeles - Paul Westerberg, frontman for the 80's alternative rock band, has made his latest solo album, "49," available for download from the Amazon MP3 and TuneCore stores for just 49 cents. "He finished it on Monday, sent it to me on Tuesday and it was out this weekend," Westerberg manager Darren Hill told Billboard.com. "It's just wonderful that you can actually do this. The freedom an artist can enjoy these days is fantastic. Can you imagine me pitching this idea to a label?"

London - U.K. broadcaster and broadband provider BSkyB announced on Tuesday that it has formed a joint venture with major label Universal Music Group, that will create an MP3 store and accompanying unlimited download subscription service for the U.K. and Ireland. Sky, in which News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) holds a 39% stake, said it is also in discussions with other major and independent record labels on adding their tracks to the service, for which Universal will provide "hundreds of thousands of songs."

London - Independent digital music retailer 7digital.com said on Monday that it has seen sales for the first half of 2008 increase 300% from a year ago, driven by the new availability of DRM-free MP3 tracks from Warner Music, EMI and others. The company, which now claims to be the second-largest digital music retailer in the U.K., said site traffic has increased 130% since January. The 7digital.com store now offers around 80% of its 4 million-track catalog in the MP3 format.

New York - Pop culture-inspired fashion retail store chain Hot Topic plans next month to launch its own digital music store, ShockHound, which will sell music from at least three of the four major labels in MP3 format, The New York Times reported on Monday. "For us, music merchandise is where the profit is," Hot Topic president Jerry Cook told The Times. "The reason we carry CDs in the stores is that to be in a music-centered business and not have music would be a contradiction. And you can't be an online music store and not have MP3s." In addition to MP3s from a wide range of artists, the ShockHound store also expects to sell t-shirts from more than 1,000 bands, as well as music on vinyl.