Spotify sued over music streaming technology

Music service Spotify is being sued in the US and Europe for allegedly violating patents held by PacketVideo. The lawsuit claims that Spotify has violated at least two patents owned by PacketVideo that cover methods of streaming music over data networks. The legal action comes barely two weeks after Spotify launched a US version of its music streaming service. UK-based Spotify said it would "strongly contest" the claims PacketVideo made in its lawsuit
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Amy Winehouse foundation for addiction planned (UK)

Amy Winehouse's father has revealed plans to set up a foundation in his daughter's name to help people struggling with addiction. "If you cannot afford a private rehabilitation clinic, there is a two-year waiting list for help," Mitch Winehouse said at the singer's funeral. He said the 27-year-old had "conquered" her drug addiction and had been "trying hard to deal with her drinking". He added she had been her happiest "for years" in her final days
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Facebook campaign helps honor ex-Beatle with two Liverpool streets

In 1962, drummer Pete Best was on the receiving end of one of history's cruelest firings. His bandmates had just won a recording contract, but decided he wasn't quite talented enough to stay in the band. They intended to replace him with a friend from a rival group: Richard Starkey, also known as Ringo Starr. Best, beloved by the Beatles' earliest fans, had to watch from the sidelines as his former bandmates and Starr became the biggest group on the planet. Now, thanks to a Facebook campaign, he is getting a little compensation from the city where it all started. A group on the social network calling itself "Name a Street After Pete" aimed to persuade Liverpool City Council to honor Best; it gained more than 10,000 supporters. The council was persuaded, and announced that Best would get not one but two street names in a new housing development - one for himself, and one for the Casbah, a club started by his late mother Mona, where the Beatles played some of their earliest gigs
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Singer Amy Winehouse dies at age 27

Amy Winehouse, the beehived soul-jazz diva whose self-destructive habits overshadowed a distinctive musical talent, was found dead Saturday in her London home, police said. She was 27. Winehouse shot to fame with the album "Back to Black," whose blend of jazz, soul, rock and classic pop was a global hit. It won five Grammys and made Winehouse — with her black beehive hairdo and old-fashioned sailor tattoos — one of music's most recognizable stars. Police confirmed that a 27-year-old female was pronounced dead at the home in Camden Square northern London; the cause of death was not immediately known. London Ambulance Services said Winehouse had died before the two ambulance crews it sent arrived at the scene.
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Book video: Dave Rimmer on Like Punk Never Happened

Like Punk Never Happened is the definitive account of the first rise and fall of Boy George and Culture Club is also the story of British pop music in the 1980s. Like Punk Never Happened: Culture Club and the New Pop was originally published in 1986, and brought back into print by Faber Finds in July 2011
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Traffic light plan for online music search results

A music body wants online search results to steer fans to legal download sites. The Performing Rights Society For Music wants search engines to show which sites offer content illegally. Links to sites that offer legal downloads would get green tags, while links to illegal download sites would be flagged in red. The PRS says the new system is needed as some people don't know when they're illegally downloading
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Unseen Beatles snaps fetch £224,000 at auction

Pictures snapped by an 18-year-old photographer at The Beatles' first US concert have sold for £225,000. The 50 silver gelatin prints all sold individually and had been estimated to make $100,000 (£62,000). Photographer Mike Mitchell took the snaps at the Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964, two days after their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show on television
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US songwriter Jerry Ragovoy dies aged 80

US songwriter Jerry Ragovoy, who wrote songs for the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley, has died aged 80. The Grammy award-winning musician passed away last week at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York following complications from a stroke. Some of his famous songs included the Stones' 1964 hit Time Is On My Side and Erma Franklin's Piece of My Heart. He also wrote songs under the pseudonym of Norman Meade. Born in Philadelphia as Jordan Ragovoy, the musician entered record production in 1953, working with The Castelles
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Rebecca Black - My Moment - Official Music Video

Rebecca Black - My Moment - Official Music Video (yes, she of "Friday")
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Argentina singer Facundo Cabral shot dead

Tributes are being paid to Facundo Cabral, the Argentine folk singer, who has been shot dead in Guatemala. Cabral, 74, was heading from his hotel to the airport in Guatemala City when he was reportedly ambushed. He was one of Latin America's most famous performers, and his killing has prompted a wave of reaction
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Onesheet

Onesheet allows musicians to set up a web presence in minutes using content from other websites they're already updating. They simply connect their existing social networks and services immediately have a website full of content already posted across the web: music, videos, photos, concert dates, blogs, social streams, mailing list signups, online stores and more

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Amazon now has unlimited cloud music storage

Amazon Cloud Player, the online retailer's cloud-based music service, is striking back at its competitors with unlimited music storage and a web app for iPad
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Book video: Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History

Book video: Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History (Chronicle Books): http://t.co/ks9c6FH #books #video #Music @def_leppard
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