Well, extended anyway: The House of Representatives could vote next week to delay royalty payments for Internet radio broadcasts, giving a new lease on life to beleaguered “Webcasters” who say they would otherwise be forced offline. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner introduced a bill late Thursday that would push …

Best of luck, big guy: Veteran soul singer Barry White is undergoing dialysis after suffering kidney failure, his record company has said. The crooner, known for his deep, smooth voice, has suffered years of high blood pressure and is now hoping to get a kidney transplant. His family requested that …

Gary Shapiro says the entertainment industry is full of it: The pervasive theme of copyspeak is that downloading from the Internet is both illegal and immoral. It is neither. No doubt this era’s rapid shift to digital technology is changing the rules of the game–there is little doubt that some …

A mixtape exchange – Jim Schwab, are you listening? It’s like the Mickey Mouse Club, only no Britney. And no one calls you a mouseketeer unless you want them to. Here’s the deal: Every month I make a mix CD. If you want a copy, just send me a mix …

Kazaa spreading itself around: In a war with media conglomerates hoping to shut down its Kazaa file-trading service, Sharman Networks has flipped the familiar slogan, “think globally, act locally.” Despite an ongoing American copyright-infringement lawsuit, the Australian company has so far evaded the international recording industry’s attempts to shut down …

The WaPo reports: The music industry is launching a star-studded advertising campaign, using artists such as Britney Spears and Stevie Wonder to tout its most recent anti-piracy effort. Full-page ads are scheduled to appear in newspapers today and will be followed by television and radio spots, urging consumers to stop …

Kelly may be owned to the pit-hairs, but her first single is No. 1. Of course, wouldn’t it have been a bigger surprise if it hadn’t been?: “American Idol” champion Kelly Clarkson didn’t have to wait long to parlay her television fame into record-setting gold on the pop charts. The …

Where are my freaking royalties? A California lawmaker investigating record company accounting heard one sad song after another on Tuesday as high-profile musicians from the Backstreet Boys to Bing Crosby’s widow accused labels of robbing them of past royalty payments. At a state hearing in Los Angeles, the musicians said …

A new study says the label’s emphasis on pirating all wrong: Media companies must put less emphasis on protecting digital content and instead find ways to make money from digital music and movies if they hope to beat back copyright pirates who threaten their businesses, according to a study released …

Perhaps the paradigm is shifting: Recently, more than a few music fans who were diehard advocates of swapping songs illegally through Napster and its clones have found themselves doing something they never would have predicted: subscribing to Internet services that abide by copyright laws and paying for the music they …