Musicmatch on Monday announced its entry into the digital song-selling business, and sources say PC maker Dell will be one of the first companies to promote the new download service to consumers. As previously reported, the Internet music software company’s service, which will provide a new online rival to Apple Computer’s iTunes and to BuyMusic, uses the popular Musicmatch Jukebox …

With a pitch that evokes the heady days of 1999, digital music start-up Mercora is planning to launch a distribution service next month, inspired in equal parts by iTunes, Friendster and eBay. Headed by former McAfee CEO Srivats Sampath, the upstart will edge into terrain that has already been staked out by the likes of Apple Computer, with iTunes, Musicmatch …

SoundExchange, the organization created by the Recording Industry Association of America to distribute Webcasting royalties, said Tuesday that it completed its spinoff from its parent. The newly independent group retains a board membership with control split evenly between representatives from record companies and artists. By law, the organization is required to give 45 percent of Webcasting royalty revenue directly to …