For those who produce commercials and television programs, finding the right background music is essential. And for the musicians who make the music, having their work used in a commercial or on a TV show soundtrack is a nice, sometimes lucrative, bonus. Pump Audio, an online service that specializes in cataloging music by independent musicians and marketing it to producers, …

We’ve all been there: stuck on the motorway, in the sweltering heat, hours later than you than you meant to be, sick as an overheated parrot because your favourite show is about to start. Meanwhile, your perfectly formed Sky+ box is sitting on its perfectly formed posterior, doing absolutely nothing because you forgot to program it. Sky+ Remote Record fluffs …

We are buying the gadgets, but not the music. While interest in MP3 players and multimedia downloads is rising, more music is being ripped from CDs than downloaded, according to a study released Thursday by Ipsos Insight. Twenty percent of Americans over the age of 12 own at least one portable MP3 player. Among teens exclusively, ownership reaches 54 percent, …