From iPods and iPhones to all the other sing-song gadgets, there’s no shortage of ways to get to your tunes. Free and legal music downloads blog A new service–dubbed We7–is about to hit the Net. It offers free and legal music downloads that can be transferred to any MP3 player. June 5, 2007 Nutsie launches …

France enacts its controversial, and now watered-down, law as regulators in Scandinavia scrutinize the music service. France’s diluted iTunes plan becomes law But Socialist Party still hopes to revise it, likely forcing copyright-protecting tech to be freely interoperable. August 4, 2006 Norwegian watchdog scrutinizes iTunes DRM Consumer council accuses Apple of unfair practices. Apple says it’s protecting the interests of …

Change is in the wind for some prominent open-source software, with a reworking of the license covering Linux and a makeover for the Firefox browser. Overhauling the Linux license Rules governing use of free software programs to be revised for the first time in 15 years, beginning Wednesday.The New York Times November 30, 2005 Mozilla takes wraps off Firefox 1.5 …

Jac Holzman’s, who today launched Cordless–the first all-digital music label operated by a major record company–said he’s trying to infuse the new venture with the spirit of the independent labels he created and managed for 30 years. For example, artists get to keep ownership of the master recordings they release under Cordless. If they want to release their music elsewhere …

With competition on the rise, America Online buys MusicNow, MySpace starts a record label and Napster gets a boost from Samsung. AOL’s got MusicNow Time Warner’s America Online acquires company in a move to revamp its music customization, personalization features. November 3, 2005 MySpace.com creates own record label Networking site, recently acquired by News Corp., expects its popularity among musicians …

Sirius, the satellite-radio company, on Tuesday said it has plans to unveil an exclusive commercial-free radio channel for “The Boss.” The channel, Bruce Springsteen.E Street Radio, was named after the singer’s famous band. It is expected to go live on Nov. 1, about two weeks before Columbia Records plans to release a re-mastered version of Springsteen’s 30-year-old album, “Born To …

At a news conference Tuesday in Paris, Apple CEO Steve Jobs criticized the music industry for considering a hike in the price of digital downloads, according to a Reuters story. “If they want to raise the prices, it means that they are getting greedy,” Jobs said. “If the price goes up, (consumers) will go back to piracy, and everybody loses.”

IBM wants programmers who can work with the open-source browser, while Web surfers in general keep streaming to the Firefox site. IBM on the hunt for Firefox programmers Big Blue looks to hire techies to adapt the open-source browser to work well with its server software. April 13, 2005 Firefox draws 2.6 million surfers in March Popular browser continues to …

roundup If you’re enrolling at Duke University, you might not get that iPod you were expecting. Also: High notes for satellite radio. Duke puts restrictions on free iPod program Incoming students at Duke University shouldn’t count on getting free iPods anymore. Photo: iPods on campus April 6, 2005 Satellite radio hits landmarks Leading maker of receivers reports 5 million sold, …

Online spending reached $1.8 billion in 2004, up 14 percent from a year ago, as music downloads hit a high note with consumers. About 19 million U.S. consumers shelled out money for online content in the fourth quarter of 2004, up 2.6 million from the same period a year ago, according to a study released Thursday by the Online Publishers …