When a copy-protected CD hit No. 1 on the U.S. music sales charts last month, it marked a breakthrough for the antipiracy technology in all but one sense: The music still wouldn’t play on Apple’s iPod. Now the two companies responsible for most copy-protected CDs are scrambling to create new versions of their technologies that …

A start-up is bringing radio to portable MP3 players, betting that digital audio fans will want a diet beyond their own music collections. AudioFeast announced on Wednesday that it is creating a subscription service that offers downloadable radio shows for portable players–the first of its kind, the company said. It hopes to attract customers who are looking to fill their …

RealNetworks is closing down its half-price online music sale for all but a handful of songs that will continue to sell for 49 cents apiece. The company on Thursday labeled its music promotion a success, with more than 3 million singles sold during the three-week campaign. The aim was in large part to highlight its new “Harmony” technology that allowed …

Altnet, a company that sells music and other digital goods through file-swapping services, sued the Recording Industry Association of America on Wednesday for alleged patent infringement. The company, a subsidiary of Brilliant Digital Entertainment, contends that the RIAA has been infringing on one of its patents in the course of copyright enforcement efforts inside peer-to-peer networks. Overpeer, a copyright company …

Tools that turn Apple Computers’ iTunes software into the core of a song-sharing network are multiplying, with the re-release this week of the previously defunct MyTunes. Like OurTunes and a handful of other software programs, “MyTunes Redux” enables computer users to download songs freely from the hard drives of other iTunes users, as long as the two machines are on …

Microsoft is expected to enter the online song store market this week, which should put the software giant head-to-head with Apple Computer in the music business at last. The launch of Microsoft’s iTunes rival will be timed along with the beta release of Microsoft’s new Windows Media Player 10, expected on Thursday, sources say. The store will also be in …

A combination of authorized music services and lawsuits is helping to control illegal file swapping on campuses, a joint entertainment industry-university group said Tuesday. In the last year, more than 20 schools have signed up for deeply discounted access to music services such as Napster, MusicNet and RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities said …

RealNetworks said Tuesday that it sold more than 1 million songs in the first week of its half-price online music promotion. The company cut its price to 49 cents per song last week, down from the 99 cents charged by most stores including Apple Computer’s iTunes, in part to advertise its new Harmony technology that allows songs to be played …

Another group of colleges is getting access to cut-rate digital music subscriptions, care of MusicNet and partner Cdigix. Cdigix, which offers packages of video, music and educational services to schools, said it will distribute MusicNet subscriptions to students at Marietta College, Ohio University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Denver, Wake Forest and Yale University beginning this fall. …

RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser has survived longer than most in the Internet business, largely by pulling rabbits out of his hat when the competition least expects it. Glaser’s latest surprise came a few weeks ago when RealNetworks announced it had figured out a way to re-create Apple Computer’s proprietary technology for digital rights management–without Apple’s permission. This allowed RealNetworks to …