Articles

Tony Wilson, the founder of Factory Records and moving spirit behind the Haçienda Club, died last week, mourned by the musicians he nurtured, the city he loved and that loved him back, and the people whose lives he changed.   Four weeks ago Tony Wilson somehow summoned the energy to attend a performance at the Manchester International Festival of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear us Apart. He was terribly ill by that stage, but it was the sort of thing Wilson would not miss – a rendition in complete

Kanye West is bullish while in the UK ahead of his Graduation release…   Kanye West has written a song for his new album Graduation about his mentor Jay-Z where he claims Jigga ripped him off. In the song called Big Brother he raps: “I told Jay I did a song with Coldplay, Next thing I know he did a song with Coldplay.”   Both the Roc-A-Fella rappers have collaborated with the UK group’s singer Chris Martin. Jay-Z on last year’s Beach Chair and Kanye on his Homecoming track. At a recent album pl

I was driving home last night, and my IPod was mercifully set on shuffle, making my life even more unpredictable than it already is. And then Coldplay's "Everything's Not Lost" came on. I sat back, relaxed my grip on the steering wheel, reclined my seat (don't worry, just a little bit), and listened. It's a beautiful, moving song, providing yet more evidence that Coldplay was better circa-Parachutes, before the bloated mess that was X&Y, one of the more dissapointing albums in recent memory.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are planning on extending their family by adopting a child.   The couple have already got two children together but Gwyneth said she doesn’t know if she can cope with another pregnancy but they definitely want a bigger family.   Gwyneth has told W magazine that “I have a dream version where I think, maybe in four years I’ll have two in a row really quickly again - how fabulous to have a whole bunch of them! Then she went on to say “But then at that point, when ev

Urban music lately has dabbled in electronic sounds, but Kanye West takes it a step further with the synth-heavy first single from his upcoming CD.   "Stronger" samples Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" and slows down the beat. At No. 47, the track is the top debut of the week on the Billboard Hot 100. "That melody just hit me so hard," West says when asked about the song's inspiration. "I mean, it's the music. It wasn't a gimmick thing. That's not atypical of Kanye," Def Jam presid

Earnings have fallen once again at EMI as the music group continued to feel the pinch from falling CD sales.   The UK firm said revenues from CD sales fell 19.8% in the three months to June as digital downloads gained ground. Overall revenues fell 5.1% during the period, amid tough market conditions and a light release schedule, EMI said.   The update came just days after EMI - whose artist roster includes Coldplay, Lily Allen and The Beatles - agreed a £2.4bn takeover bid from Terra Firma. EMI

The iTunes webstore hit the right note on Tuesday when it revealed it had sold more than 3billion songs. The online music store's success came just 18 months after it sold its 1billionth track – Coldplay's Speed Of Sound.   'We'd like to thank all of our customers who have contributed to this incredible milestone,' said iTunes vice-president Eddy Cue.   Apple's online music shop was launched in the US in April 2003, and in Britain in June 2004. It now has 550 television shows and 500 films on

A dramatic intervention by the Takeover Panel has bolstered Terra Firma's chances of succeeding with its 265p-a-share offer for music major EMI.   Over the weekend, the Panel agreed to extend the deadline for acceptances from noon yesterday to 1pm on Wednesday, giving Terra Firma boss Guy Hands extra time to push acceptances past the 90pc level necessary to finance the deal.   Citigroup has offered to lend Terra Firma £2.5bn to finance the acquisition of EMI, which is home to Robbie Williams and

Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., a United Kingdom private-equity concern, said it owns more than a quarter of EMI Group PLC, and it again extended its £2.4 billion ($4.9 billion) bid, after potential suitors Warner Music Group Corp. and former EMI executive Jim Fifield said they had no plan to counterbid.   Terra Firma said it had secured 26.2% of shareholder acceptances as of Thursday. The offer has been extended for a fourth and final time, until July 29. In May, EMI, home to artists such as

LONDON - Private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners said Friday it now owns more than a quarter of EMI Group PLC after Warner Music Group Corp. ruled itself out of the bidding for the British music company.   Terra Firma had been making little headway in its attempt to woo EMI (other-otc: EMIPY.PK - news - people ) shareholders for its 2.4 billion pound ($4.9 billion) takeover offer, extending the deadline several times after winning just a small percentage of the shares. In its last repor

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Warner Music Group said it will not launch a counterbid for UK record label EMI Group, leaving the way clear for buyout company Terra Firma's agreed 2.4 bln stg takeover offer.   The US music major, home to acts like Madonna, said in a statement that it has decided against bidding for EMI, after saying in early June that it was weighing a bid for the Beatles and Coldplay publisher.   EMI's board recommended a 265 pence-per-share takeover bid from Terra Firma in late

Universal Music Group has completed its $2.09 billion purchase of Bertelsmann AG's BMG Music Publishing, making Universal Music the world's largest music publisher, as well as the largest seller of music.   Universal now owns the BMG catalog, which includes current artists, such as Coldplay and Justin Timberlake, classic artists, like the Beach Boys and The Scorpions, and artists such as Puccini and Ravel. What remains to be seen is what properties will be sold off by the combined company. In Ma

Some of Glastonbury's longest-standing fans, performers and workers have revealed their festival memories.   Jo Whiley... Best: "Seeing Coldplay headline the main stage for the very first time - unveiling new songs like Fix You for the first time as the lights twinkled like fireflies all around. Then afterwards Chris Martin came and read a bedtime story to my daughter India who was about five at the time - that was a sweet moment.   Melvin Benn... Best: "Musically, there have been so many highli

The gates have opened for this year's Glastonbury Festival, and founder Michael Eavis spoke ahead of the event about its expansion, line-up and future.   "Go on, fire away." Mr Eavis, speaking from his Somerset farm where he founded the festival 37 years ago, is in a hurry. "I haven't got much time, okay? Just start talking."   Glastonbury has become a British summer institution, its legend stretching far beyond the music scene, and is returning after a year off. And there are just days to go.

The iTunes Store in the UK has introduced a sale across some of its most popular album releases.   The sale was introduced last week with a non-functioning link on the front page of the website, this link has now been enabled allowing music fans to choose from among 95 albums at just £6.99 each.   Titles include offerings from The Streets, Coldplay, The White Stripes, Oasis, Nirvana, The Chemical Brothers, Amy Winehouse and the Arctic Monkeys. The collection features those albums that have pro

Warner Music Group said Monday that it may take another run at struggling music company EMI, which last month agreed to be acquired by private equity group Terra Firma in a $4.7 billion deal.   Manhattan-based Warner and London-based EMI have flirted with a transatlantic partnership for seven years. Earlier this year, EMI rejected a $4.1 billion offer from Warner. That bid came after both companies each offered about $4.6 billion to acquire the other.   A fresh offer from Warner could come withi

Universal Music has denied that it plans to make its music available DRM-free on Apple 's iTunes store . Last week rumours were rife that the major record label was going to follow in EMI 's footsteps by joining the iTunes Plus scheme. But Universal has been in touch with Tech.co.uk to completely deny the story.   "The rumour is completely untrue," said Peter LoFrumento, senior vice president at Universal Music, in an email over the weekend.   Of course, a denial of this kind does not mean that

Fans expecting to hear Swizz Beatz' new album this July will have to be a little more patient, as the super producer's solo set has been pushed back to a later summer release.   Originally set to hit shelves on July 17, Swizz' One Man Band Man will now make its way to record stores on August 23, according to label reps. While no official word has been given as to the reason behind the delay, some are speculating that Swizzy needed more time to put the finishing touches on the album after a bout

In the past we had the likes of The Beatles, Elvis, Run DMC, U2, Guns N Roses, Nirvana, NWA, and Metallica. What music icons do we have today? In this edition of The Savage Animal, Mikey MiGo takes a look at the past, present, and future ironic musicians.   WHERE HAVE ALL THE ROCKSTARS GONE?   Over the past two weeks, I've been covering the topic of "glam" in music. It got me to think about the most over the top performers and just the musicians who owned the music scene. You know, like true ro

One of the hot documentary topics rolling around right now is Young@Heart, which shows old folks touring around and performing popular pop/rock music. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the doc has been picked up by Working Title Films to be adapted into a feature.   Now, the original documentary is about senior citizens from New England who defy age by going on tour and covering rock and pop songs (the most recent showcase included The Clash, Coldplay, Talking Heads and Jimi Hendrix). With an

The Fray have the biggest-selling download album ever. But they tell David Sinclair they're still feeling a bit, well, yellow...   It has been impossible to avoid "How to Save a Life" by The Fray. With its twinkling piano part and cleverly undulating melody line, the single has been all over the radio and hasn't budged from the Top 20 for the last four months. Meanwhile, the debut album of the same name has sold 2.5 million copies worldwide (becoming the biggest-selling digital album ever in th

Google Inc.'s YouTube, the most- popular video sharing Web site, struck an agreement with EMI Group Plc to show videos from artists including Coldplay and Fat Boy Slim.   The decision means consumers will be able to watch professionally produced videos as well as user-generated clips featuring EMI music, San Bruno, California-based YouTube said today in an e-mailed statement. YouTube now has partnerships with all four of the biggest music companies. Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertai

Footage, Interviews from 'Iron Man' Set   With an Oscar-winning actress and three Oscar-nominated actors, Iron Man won't be just another comic book movie; it has the opportunity to be one of the best.   Entertainment Tonight has scored one of the first looks at the movie, including some behind-the-scenes footage of Downey goofing around on the set with a motor bike and Howard firing a M2. 50 caliber machine gun from atop an army Hummer. There's no new Paltrow material for you to feast your eyes

Apple has launched its iTunes Plus service which makes selected tracks compatible with virtually any MP3 player.   Songs from record label EMI's digital catalogue can now be downloaded without digital rights management (DRM) anti-piracy technology. The dual system means standard Apple tracks will cost 79p, rising to 99p for EMI's non-DRM versions. Customers can upgrade previously purchased EMI tracks to the new format for 20p per song or £2 for most albums.   EMI is the first record company to

Gwyneth Paltrow is renting her childhood home from its new owner.   The Oscar-winning actress was devastated when her mother, Blythe Danner, sold the Santa Monica house where she had lived until she was 11 for over $8.6-million (about R60-million). A source told Us Weekly magazine: "Gwyneth couldn't talk about it. She was very upset."   The 34-year-old is currently living in the four-bedroom house while she films her new movie Iron Man in the US. The source added: "They just had her daughter Ap