June 30 - 5:00pm EDT   iPlayMusic has launched the beta version of a new download service, providing chords, music and lyrics for songs from a user's iTunes library. Chords for iTunes synchronizes video with the audio of an iTunes track, allowing users to slow down or speed up while maintaining proper pitch. [full story]

June 4 - 5:00pm EDT   MakeMusic has released the newest version of Finale 2010, its software used to create sheet music and preview the music with audio synthesizers. The upgrade boasts better percussion instrument notation and the automated creation and sequencing of rehearsal marks. The update also claims simpler chord entry, requiring fewer keystrokes. [full story]

May 27 - 4:45pm EDT   IK Multimedia is rolling out the StealthPedal, a USB interface and MIDI controller in a wah-style pedal. Intended for guitar and bass players, the pedal-and-switch combo connects an instrument to a computer while providing parameter control for software. Features include two balanced/unbalanced audio inputs, a low-noise input stage, and 24-bit A/D or D/A conversion. [full story]

May 22 - 1:30pm EDT   Lawyers are now challenging some of the basic tactics of the RIAA's campaign against filesharing, reports note. The most powerful allegations have been put forth in the defense of college student Brittany English, whose pro bono lawyer, K.A.D. Camara, has asked courts to declare RIAA damage requests unconstitutional. The group has asked for unreasonable statutory damages in a ratio as high as 150,000:1, according to Camara, and moreover used the potential judgments to bully individuals into settlements. The RIAA should be made to return the $100 million or more it has accrued through illicit methods, Camara insists. [full story]

May 21 - 10:20am EDT   Apple has announced details of the 2009 iTunes Live London Festival, which is being staged at The Roundhouse in Camden. The event will run throughout the entire month of July, and headline acts such as Oasis, Kasabian, Snow Patrol and The Saturdays. Paolo Nutini and Flo Rida are also confirmed as acts, but Apple notes that some 50 more spots in its concert lineup have yet to be disclosed. [full story]

May 20 - 3:20pm EDT   Roland has announced the VP-770 Vocal & Ensemble Keyboard, a successor to the VP-550 that features new vocal designer effects, and ensemble sounds based on the company’s SuperNATURAL technology. The 770 is designed for musicians who perform in small or large groups, and/or those who need real-time background chorus. Included in its effects is vocoder modeling, which can be used to generate signature vocal effects for dance, pop and hip-hop. [full story]

May 19 - 1:15pm EDT   BravoBug has released BravoTunes, a new add-on for iTunes. The tool displays scrolling track information from iTunes within the Mac OS X Menu Bar, and includes controls used to pause and switch tracks, or change shuffle and repeat settings. Users can also replace their current iTunes Dock icon with the one for BravoTunes, and set the program to launch both apps simultaneously. [full story]

May 11 - 11:25pm EDT   Native Instruments has released NORTH INDIA, a new sound library that recreates the sounds from classical North Indian music. This sound library marks the launch of the new Discovery Series of KORE SOUNDPACKS, which aims to recreate the sounds from throughout the world for use with KORE 2 and KORE PLAYER. NORTH INDIA provides users with sounds from a variety of instruments and articulations established in North Indian classical music. [full story]

May 7 - 4:15pm EDT   Apple has reversed course on the approval of the NIN Access 1.0.3 update, says Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. Initially rejected, the revised iPhone app is now freely available through the iTunes Store. Users gain streamlined access to content from the NIN homepage, including music, images, video and the site's forums. [full story]

May 6 - 1:15pm EDT   A new web app by the name of Dusty Tunes has launched, allowing users to upload iTunes listings from a computer to a dedicated personal webpage. Once sent, Dusty Tunes organizes the XML data into a list, and provides links that can be used to share music with friends from blogs, forums, websites and Facebook. In turn, the app can be used to browse other users’ collections and listen to samples of their music. [full story]

May 4 - 10:00am EDT   Apple has rejected an update to a pre-existing iPhone app, according to the lead of the industrial band Nine Inch Nails. In a video (see below), Trent Reznor describes the app as a companion to the NIN website, making it simpler to access hosted music, photos, videos and forums. But the NIN Access 1.0.3 update has been tossed out as a result of what Apple is calling "objectionable content," in the form of The Downward Spiral. [full story]

April 29 - 10:05am EDT   Apple has expanded the number of song lessons available at the GarageBand Lesson Store. Now available are videos for three more songs, including "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan, and Sting versions of "Fragile" and "Message in a Bottle." As with a number of other lessons sold through GarageBand, the original artists help to present the material. [full story]

April 28 - 11:40am EDT   Roland has announced JUNO-G 2.0, a software upgrade that adds new features and functions to the company’s JUNO-G Workstation Keyboard. With the new version users can now sample audio from external sources, import audio phrases from the removable flash memory, and assign samples that can be triggered from the JUNO-G function buttons or keyboard. Changes to the front panel control knobs have been made that enable users to adjust start, end and loop points. [full story]

April 17 - 3:35pm EDT   M3X Media has launched a new web application, said to help turn an iPhone into a multimedia entertainment device. The launch is tied into the release of a limited public beta for GruvMe, a program which offers access to movies, videos and games. M3X provides the content delivery network for GruvMe. [full story]

April 2 - 2:35pm EDT   Ableton has launched Live 8 and Suite 8, upgrading the real-time music creation software with new techniques, effects and workflow upgrades. Both packages have been given a new groove engine, as well as improved warping techniques and live looping. Five new effects are present, as well as a reworked MIDI editor; Suite 8 adds a new Operator plus two new instrument sets, Collision and Latin Percussion. [full story]