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Sitting in the corner of a Starbucks in Long beach with a cup of coffee in one hand and her Apple laptop in front of her, Brande Jackson was at work even when she was away from work.   Jackson, a 27-year-old Cal State Fullerton graduate, is the founder and executive director of Lokahi Outreach, a business she started five years ago. The purpose of the organization is to fight against social injustice - particularly global poverty, by bridging various non-profit organizations and campaigns with

EMI Group, the world's third-biggest music company but struggling with sliding sales in the United States, said Wednesday that it will pay no more dividends until 2009.   The British company meanwhile unveiled long-awaited plans to borrow against its back catalogue of hit songs by artists including the The Beatles and Coldplay.   The group, which has issued two profit warnings since the start of 2007, said it hopes to issue debt secured against revenues from its music publishing arm before the

"I love Coldplay, but there was a time when I was going, 'Oh, Chris (Martin), just shut up. Sing and play, that's what we're here for.'"   KT Tunstall doesn't always like her favourite pop and rock stars to mix music and politics.   Source: ContactMusic

Every year, music-loving Angelenos flock to KCRW's Sounds Eclectic Evening, a concert event that takes pride in wheeling out some of the best up-and-coming names from the independent music scene.   When past performers have included the likes of My Morning Jacket, Norah Jones, and Coldplay it is easy to understand why the legions of fans turned out in droves for this year's show.   The night's first artist, Bitter:Sweet, stunned the crowd with the Morcheeba-like sexuality of their lead singer, S

Live music to give your day a kick   British-born but New York-based DJ Mark Ronson is live in the 6 Music Hub playing tracks from his forthcoming second album, Version.   Featuring covers of tracks including: Kaiser Chiefs' Oh My God (with guest vocals from Lily Allen), Coldplay's God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, Britney Spears's Toxic and The Smiths' Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before.   More on this here

NEW YORK — Swizz Beatz hasn't had a problem making a hit record for the streets or pop charts since he did the beat for N.O.R.E.'s "Banned for TV" almost a decade ago.   Everybody knows how he recently gave Beyoncé some platinum smashes for her B'Day album (see "Beyonce Hitmaker Swizz Beatz Defies Radio Rules With Two-Minute Single""), not to mention his credentials from working alongside top notch MCs such as Jay-Z, DMX and T.I. (see "New T.I. Songs Leak — Swizz Beatz Calls Track With Tip 'A W

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke is desperate to work with hip-hop superproducer Timbaland. The exclusive comes only weeks after it was revealed Coldplay would be working with him.   The English singer admits he's been impressed by Timbaland's latest production efforts, which include the highly successful Justin Timberlake album Future Sex/Love Sounds and Nelly Furtado's album Loose.   Okereke says, "I've loved everything that he has put out for the last ten years. Production wise, everything el

Justin Timberlake religiously listens to music by Coldplay before he performs on tour, claiming it enhances his stage performance.   The Sexyback singer says he plays the band's song Clocks and also does mild exercise before every gig. He says, "It turned into a superstition because, after I heard that song, I felt like it would be a good show."   More on this story here

Former Concrete Blonde frontwoman Johnette Napolitano will release a new solo effort, "Scarred," May 29 via Hybrid Recordings. Her first mass-distributed solo album since 1995's "Vowel Movement," the set includes covers of Coldplay's "The Scientist" and the Velvet Underground/Nico's "All Tomorrow's Parties."   Napolitano collaborated with Nine Inch Nails/A Perfect Circle contributor Danny Lohner on the new album. The singer/songwriter will tour in support of "Scarred" beginning April 27 in San F

April 9, 2007 -- Warner Music Group may pursue a merger with EMI Group, the world's third-largest music label, by appealing directly to EMI shareholders. EMI last month rejected a $4.1 billion bid from Warner, saying the price was "inadequate."   Warner is eager to push ahead with a bid because the European Commission's review of a merger between Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG offers an opportunity to reshape the industry, the Sunday Times of London reported. Warner is also concerned that EMI ma

Chris Martin and wife Gwyneth Paltrow have purchased yet another property in an apparent bid to own their whole street.   The couple, who have two children Apple and Moses, have purchased the north London mansion next to their own for $6 million (GBP3.1 million).   The buy is Paltrow and Martin's fourth on the street which includes two flats valued at $2.25 million (GBP1.16 million) in a building on the other side of her main house.   Source: ContactMusic  

Courtesy of X17Online.com:   Our clients down under are going crazy for these pix of grandma Blythe and little Apple at the farmer's market!   Look at those cheeks, those eyes...those eyebrows??? Well, she's a cute little fruit anyway.   [Thanks gise_honey]        

Apple Martin proves she's a chip off the old block as she performs for her mother Gwyneth Paltrow while walking down the street together in L.A  

Music group EMI can start harvesting the fruits of its landmark copy protection move today as "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" becomes the company's first album available in the new format.   The group, home to Robbie Williams and Coldplay, this week scrapped copy protection on all its digital tracks in a move that was immediately hailed by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs as "the next big step forward in the digital music revolution".   Today "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" by Damon Alba

LONDON: Disappointed Glastonbury fans who missed out when tickets for this year's festival sold out in a record-breaking 90 minutes will get another chance to snap up a ticket later this month, organisers said.   Michael Eavis, the farmer who runs the festival, said fans could try their luck again on April 22, when tickets that have not been paid for or are no longer wanted will be back on sale.   "There could be 15,000 to 20,000 of those tickets available," Eavis said. Music fans swamped the

The giant label will end copying constraints on most songs, sources say. Exception: the Beatles.   Customers of Apple Inc.'s iTunes store will soon be able to play downloaded songs by the Rolling Stones, Norah Jones and other top-selling artists free of the copying restrictions once imposed by their label.   EMI Group, the world's fourth-largest record label, and Apple, the biggest seller of digital music and players, plan to announce a landmark deal today that would remove copying protections f

Tickets for the Glastonbury festival have sold out in under two hours.   Fears that a registration system, designed to prevent touting, would put off fans were not realised when 400,000 signed up. The 137,500 tickets which were available to the public were snapped up just one hour 45 minutes after going on sale on Sunday at 0900 BST.   Organisers said they were happy with how the sales went despite websites and phonelines struggling to cope. Sell-out   In 2005, when the last Glastonbury Festi

Revenue streams in the music industry have drastically changed since the advent of the Internet. Concerts and tours are the main moneymakers for artists and industry professionals alike.   Concert promoters have more on their plates than ever with ensuring ticket sales, arranging all-ages nights and, of course, promoting. Not only is the pressure on for promoters to deliver sold-out shows, but also to satisfy the needs of artists and CEOs alike. The most laborious task for any promoter is to adh

What the Kiwi gossip mags say   On the celebrity relationship market, Uma Thurman has dumped boyfriend Andre Balazs, Scarlet Johansson has hooked up with Ryan Phillippe, and Paris Hilton has split with Stavros Nachos - for the 72nd time.   Meanwhile, strong rumours suggest that marriages between Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, and Courteney Cox and David Arquette, are on the rocks.   Place your bets now.   Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/

LONDON (Reuters) - Glastonbury Festival has won permission to sell 27,500 more tickets this year for Britain's biggest open-air music event.   Council chiefs in Somerset granted organisers a licence to stage the festival for the next four years with an increased capacity of 177,500 revellers.   But even despite the expansion, thousands of music fans will miss the chance to see a line-up rumoured this year to include The Who, Kaiser Chiefs and the Arctic Monkeys. Even before the final line-up has

Remember Vector Arena, the New Zealand venue Coldplay skipped because it wasn't built?   Well, the sound quality at Auckland's long-awaited arena has been given the thumbs down. The auditorium's sound was given the all clear by Vector Arena's CEO before the venue opened, but those who christened the new arena on Saturday night were far from impressed.   About 4,000 fans turned out to hear television group Rock Star Supernova. Afterwards concertgoers complained that the acoustics were echoey, wi

Los Angeles,CA. (Top40 Charts/ Geffen Records) - If she didn't look so gorgeous in it, Nelly Furtado's brand-new video, "All Good Things (Come to An End)" would probably be the ultimate buzz kill.   The fourth single to stem from her platinum-selling album Loose was co-written by Coldplay's Chris Martin, who knows a thing or two about writing sad songs. And Nelly's understated Earth mother appearance (she is a mom, after all) in the video, while still sexier than her original pigtails-and-overal

Ricky Gervais is to write one final episode of Extras. Fans had hoped for a third series of the BBC Two show.   But Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant want the show to bow out with a one-off special - just as they did with The Office. "Ricky and Stephen are writing one more episode of Extras and that will be it," a spokesman for Gervais said. "There is no storyline or cast yet, and things are in their very early stages."   The first two series of Extras featured celebrity cameos from t

The normally svelte Gwyneth Paltrow has become the subject of pregnancy speculation after being pictured with a rounder than normal tummy.   The actress could be expecting her third child with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin - if the photos in Star magazine aren't simply down to a big lunch. The actress recently told US chat show host Oprah Winfrey how much she loved taking time off work to look after 11-month-old Moses and his sister Apple, two. "I've been at home being a housewife - which is a

LONDON (AFX) - Warner Music Group is unlikely to come back early this week with a fresh approach for its London-based rival EMI, according to a report in the Guardian.   EMI, the world's third-largest music group, said last week that it had received a 'non-binding proposal' from Warner indicating that the US group might be prepared to make an offer, pre-conditional on regulatory clearance, of 260 pence a share. But EMI, which counts Robbie Williams and Coldplay among its artists, added it would