Ernest Kaye obituary
Member of the original design team that built the Lyons Electronic Office (Leo), the world's first business computer
Spotify and other streaming services get own chart
Official weekly chart to rank plays on platforms including We7, Napster, Deezer, Zune and ChartsNow. By John Plunkett
Kurt Cobain, before the age of the digital zombies
Jonathan Jones: Framing the debate: As Courtney Love cedes all rights to Cobain's image, where it will be used in an age of CGI and holograms is anyone's guess
Spotify iPad app – review
No built-in apps or Android version for now, but does promise of a 'unique experience' hold true? By Stuart Dredge
BBC and Arts Council launch joint digital Space for culture
Partnership set to offer hundreds of hours of new and archived arts programming online, on mobile and on digital TV. By John Plunkett
This week’s top five music links
Bits and bobs from the web for you to look at and listen to
Music’s local scenes wither in an age of global cool
Dorian Lynskey: As bohemians flit between capitals, pop's centre of gravity is difficult to gauge. It's not where you're from, it's where you're at
Sony-EMI deal set to get nod from EU
European competition regulator likely to allow Sony-led bid to buy EMI Music's publishing assets. By Mark Sweney
Spotify launches Play Button for websites to stream music
Tumblr support for bloggers alongside big media websites, but no brands allowed. By Stuart Dredge
Jim Marshall obituary
The 'Father of Loud', he gave his name to the world-famous, ubiquitous amplifier
Propellerhead on Figure app: ‘Everyone should be invited to be part of this’
Stuart Dredge: iPhone app makes powerful electronic music-making technology accessible to all
Jim Marshall, creator of the Marshall amp, dies aged 88
Known as 'the Father of Loud', Jim Marshall changed rock'n'roll with his brand of affordable guitar amplifiers
The reaction to Viva Brother’s break-up proves we love being part of a mob
Michael Hann: Viva Brother's split and Samantha Brick's Daily Mail article provoked torrents of abuse. Why? Can't we separate a person's worth from the quality of their work
U2′s Bono and the Edge invest in Dropbox
Stars follow $270m Facebook stake with backing for internet storage service. By Lisa O'Carroll
iTunes and Spotify boost UK songwriters’ income
Rise in royalty payments from digital services and international success help offset plunge in revenue from CD sales. By Mark Sweney
Adele helps UK artists dominate album revenue in 2011
Homegrown musicians claim highest share of UK album revenue since 2007, while total revenue steadies following 2010 slump. By Mark Sweney
Guardian to broadcast six operas from Glyndebourne this summer
Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Ravel double bill among works to be streamed live from Sussex festival after successful trial
Beatles’ Yellow Submarine relaunches
Apple has digitally remastered the 1968 film, which was out of print for years, and are planning the full reissue treatment
EBay to launch online secondary ticketing site StubHub in the UK
StubHub, which connects buyers and sellers, will take on Seatwave and Viagogo – the subject of a C4 documentary. By Mark Sweney
Apps Rush: Daniel Johnston, Flud News, Mass Effect 3, Met Opera, Super Monkey Ball and more
Stuart Dredge: What's new on the app stores on Wednesday 14 March 2012
TEDxObserver: Day of inspiration shows power of youth
The Observer's festival of ideas showed how music, technology, food and science can change everyone's lives for the better
Songkick raises £6.3m in funding round led by Sequoia Capital
Stuart Dredge: Live music startup is first UK-based company in Silicon Valley VC firm's portfolio
Spotify: ‘We have to turn ourselves into the OS of music’
Stuart Dredge: Streaming music service provides stats for the first apps to launch on its desktop apps platform
Adele tops 1.5m app downloads for iPhone and Android
Stuart Dredge: Star takes app stores by storm with app focused on communicating with fans, not selling to them
Mark Grist: champ of the rap battle
Mark Grist wanted to be a teacher or a rock star. Now, after beating a student in a rap contest that went viral, he's both. But, finds Peter Cashmore, he's troubled by some of the praise
Lady Gaga racks up 20 million Twitter followers
Singer sets record by becoming first person to attract 20 million followers on Twitter – beating Justin Bieber, who has 18 million
Apps Rush: Spot Goes to the Farm, Violet Crown, dealBoard, Mashable for iPad, CityMaps, News.me and more
Stuart Dredge: What's new on the app stores on Friday 2 March 2012
Music rights agency Merlin wins illegal file sharing battle with LimeWire
Settlement, worth up to $10m, is victory for agency whose clients include indie labels representing Adele and Arctic Monkeys. By Mark Sweney
Apple developing new audio file format to offer ‘adaptive streaming’
Format will provide high- or low-quality files to iCloud users. By Tom Davenport and Charles Arthur
Pop stars working the web
Rihanna is the queen of Twitter. David Byrne's psychedelic radio show is a global hit. And Tim Burgess has his own virtual caff, writes Chris Salmon
Steve Purdham: ‘Music is so powerful a song can chemically change people’
The boss of We7 reveals how he co-created the online jukebox with Peter Gabriel and why he believes it is the future of radio. By Josh Halliday
The Beatles ringtones: roll up for the magical mystery tone
After a decade of resistance, band license 27 of their hits to iTunes for use as mobile ringtones