A federal judge has ordered MP3.com to pay the Universal Music Group of labels roughly $118 million after ruling that the site's MyMP3.com service violated Universal's copyrights, the Associated Press reports. MyMP3.com allows users to listen to albums from an online catalog of 80,000 titles, provided they have previously inserted the CD into their computer to prove that they own it. ...

A new track from Blur, "Music Is My Radar," is available for download at blur.org.uk. The single, due Oct. 16, is the only new song to be featured on the band's forthcoming Blur: The Best Of (Nov. 7). The full-track listing for the album is: "Beetlebum," "Song 2," "There's No Other Way," "The Universal," "Coffee & TV," "Parklife," "End of a Century," "No Distance Left To Run," "Tender," "Girls and Boys," "Charmless Man," "She's So High," "Country House," "To the End," "On Your Own," "This Is a Low," "For Tomorrow (Visit to Primrose Hill Extended Mix)" and "Music Is My Radar." Initial pressings of the album will include a limited-edition bonus disc of live material recorded at London's Wembley Arena last year. ...

The video for U2's "Beautiful Day" will premiere Friday (Sept. 8) on MTV and VH1. The clip was shot by director Jonas Akerlund at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris last month, according to the group's publicist. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns MTV and VH1.) ... To celebrate the release of Radiohead's Kid A (Oct. 3), Capitol Records is offering fans and webmasters the Radiohead iBlip — song clips, artwork, downloads, a photo gallery and postcards that can be added to Web sites for a limited time. Those who sign up at Capitol's Web site will be e-mailed a line of code enabling them to host the worldwide debut of Kid A, along with an interview with the band by Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq, on Sept. 18. After the debut, the album will be streamed in its entirety from Sept. 19 to Sept. 22. ...

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough will perform two solo benefit concerts to raise money for the Caroline Dorough-Cochran Lupus Foundation, the organization he founded shortly after his sister succumbed to Lupus in 1998. The performances will be Sept. 13 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and on Sept. 15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Funds from the concerts will go toward Lupus research, education and financial assistance for individuals living with the disease who cannot afford treatment. "This disease took my sister from my family," Dorough said in a statement. "It means the world to me to have friends, family and the public to help find a cure for Lupus." ... R&B singer Angie Stone and Prince have recorded a duet called "You're My Sunshine" for Prince's upcoming album and plan to collaborate again on a song for Stone's next LP. "We agreed to trade off," Stone said on Saturday (Sept. 2) at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. ...

Unconventional pop-rock duo They Might Be Giants will lend three previously unreleased songs to the Nov. 7 soundtrack album for the sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle," MTV News Online reports. Also slated to appear on the disc are house artists Basement Jaxx, ska-rockers OPM and members of Jane's Addiction, Fishbone and Ozomatli. ... Puerto Rican salsa group Son by Four and boy band *NSync will duet Sept. 15 at the Latin Grammy Awards, according to Billboard. The magazine also reports that Christina Aguilera, Shakira and Ricky Martin will perform on the bilingual telecast, Carlos Santana will pair with Mexican rockers Maná and co-host Jennifer Lopez will sing with Marc Anthony on their Grammy-nominated duet, "No Me Ames." ...

Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice) has contracted viral meningitis, according to a Reuters report, causing her to cancel several recent television appearances in Germany. Viral meningitis, an infection of the lining of the brain or spinal cord, is not life threatening, unlike bacterial meningitis. ... Lenny Kravitz has recorded a new song titled "Again" for his upcoming greatest-hits collection, due Oct. 24. The song will be released as a single, arriving at radio in mid-September, according to the singer's publicist. "I was inspired [to write 'Again'] by those moments when you make contact with a person," Kravitz told MTV News. "Maybe it's only a second or two, and then they're gone. It's about the possibility of what could have come out of that moment had you pursued it more. ... That could have been your soul mate. You never know." ...

Pearl Jam considered breaking up after the tragedy at this summer's Roskilde Festival in Denmark that left nine concertgoers dead. "I think the thought crossed all of our minds, but it wouldn't have been a good way to end it all," guitarist Mike McCready told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Thursday. "We realized we're making viable music. We can't stop. We can't end on a down note." Eight fans were crushed to death when the crowd rushed the stage during Pearl Jam's June 30 performance; a ninth fan suffered injuries that later proved fatal. "It's about the worst thing that can happen to a rock band," McCready said. "People shouldn't have to die at rock concerts." ... Sheryl Crow will open folk-rock icon Neil Young's Sept. 24 show in Phoenix, a label spokesperson said. Young announced new dates earlier in the week, extending his summer outing without opening act the Pretenders. Beck will open for Young on five dates from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1. ...

Wednesday's birthdays (Sept. 6): Dave Bargeron (Blood, Sweat and Tears), 58; Roger Waters, 56; Claydes Smith (Kool and the Gang), 52; Perry Bamonte (Cure), 40; Pal Waaktaar (a-ha), 39; Ce Ce Peniston, 31; Kathi Wolfgramm (Jets), 30; Dolores O'Riordan (Cranberries), 29; and Nina Persson (Cardigans), 26.

— sonicnet.com staff report