Wii boosts UK games sales, music resilient (Reuters)

Reuters - British retailers sold a record combined number of DVDs, games and music in 2008 despite the economic gloom, boosted by the popularity of Nintendo's Wii and single downloads, trade bodies said on Wednesday.

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.

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.

The Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton found dead at 60 (AP)

AP - Ron Asheton, the guitarist for the Stooges whose raw sound helped inspire the first generation of punk musicians, has died. He was 60.

Stooges guitarist Asheton found dead in Michigan (Reuters)
Reuters - Ron Asheton, a guitarist and founding member of the influential rock band The Stooges, was found dead at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Tuesday, police said.

Knowles, Keys, Hudson grab music, film Image noms (AP)

AP - Beyonce Knowles, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson are all multitasking for the NAACP Image Awards, earning nominations Wednesday in both music and film categories.

Lisa Marie Presley defends Scientology (AP)

AP - Lisa Marie Presley is expressing her condolences over Jett Travolta's death and defending Scientology, the religion that Presley, John Travolta and Kelly Preston follow.

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.

Pop singer Annie readies album after label split (Reuters)
Reuters - After a worldwide record deal with Island Records collapsed last year, Norwegian electropop songstress Annie is forging ahead with plans to release her second album, "Don't Stop," sometime in 2009.

New Eminem, 50 Cent songs hit radio and Web (Reuters)

Reuters - There's still no solidified release dates for upcoming albums from Eminem and 50 Cent, but new music from both rappers has emerged in the past 24 hours.