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The prognosis was looking dim for yet another Internet music business, but last week the Internet">http://www.iuma.com/">Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA), revealed that it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Vitaminic, a European digital platform for the promotion and distribution of music over the Internet. IUMA had recently run out of cash and says that the acquisition will allow it to relaunch all suspended services within the week.

Savvy music fans willing to ignore the built-in copying restrictions on consumer-targeted CD recorders have always had their computer-based CD and DVD recorders and hard drives to play with, especially when it comes to manipulating MP3 files. Maybe not for much longer. A new content-protection approach is attempting to tighten the digital noose around the necks of PC users who have spent the last few years virtually unencumbered when it comes to—as Apple so succinctly puts">http://www.apple.com/hardware/ads/ripmixburn.html">puts it—rip, mix, burn.

Last week, the US Secret Service reported that, assisted by the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) New York Anti-Piracy Unit, it had executed two search and seizure warrants in Queens and Manhattan, resulting in what the agency called "the break-up of a massive counterfeit music operation." The Secret Service reported that approximately 20,000 recorded CD-Rs and 1200 masters were seized from the Queens and Manhattan locations.