Lupe Fiasco abandons rap and launches post-punk band? (Yahoo! Music)
Yahoo! Music - Rapper Lupe Fiasco is rumored to have started a post-punk band called Japanese Cartoon.

Help! No More Free Beatles Podcasts (E! Online)

E! Online - Norwegian would if they could.

Big Bopper's coffin to be sold on eBay (Yahoo! Music)
Yahoo! Music - The son of iconic '50s rock n' roller the Big Bopper has said he plans to sell his late father's casket--which he was buried in for 48 years--on eBay in the next few weeks.

Apple to sell copy protection-free songs (Reuters)

Reuters - Apple Inc has reached a deal with major record labels to sell digital songs without the copy protection software that had prevented fans from sharing music bought from its iTunes store, the maker of the iPod and iPhone said on Tuesday.

Parton, Smith picked for Gospel Music Hall of Fame (AP)

AP - Dolly Parton, Michael W. Smith, Dr. Bobby Jones, the Dixie Hummingbirds and producer Lari Goss will be inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame next month.

Beatles music pulled from Norwegian podcasts (Reuters)

Reuters - Norway's national broadcaster has pulled a series of 212 podcasts each featuring a different song by the Beatles. The podcasts would have essentially constituted giving away the entire Beatles catalog for free.

Taylor Swift leads U.S. pop chart as sales slide (Reuters)

Reuters - The year is off to a bad start for the music industry with U.S. album sales off 6.2 percent from the first week of 2008, according to data issued Wednesday.

Britney Spears' official Twitter account hacked (Yahoo! Music)
Yahoo! Music - An anonymous hacker has reportedly hacked into Britney Spears' official Twitter account, leaving an obscene message.

CeCe Winans, others honored for gospel music (AP)
AP - Gospel stars CeCe Winans, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark and Donald Lawrence will be saluted by their peers in a musical tribute in Nashville.

Jennifer Hudson Gets Some Image Love (E! Online)

E! Online - Professionally, at least, things in Jennifer Hudson's world are looking up.