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Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group reached a tentative deal with German media company Bertelsmann AG to acquire BMG Music Publishing for $2.05 billion in cash, a person familiar with the deal said Tuesday.   The agreement was expected to be signed as early as Wednesday, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the confidential nature of the negotiations.   BMG Music Publishing owns the rights to more than a million songs by recording artists such as Nelly, Maroon 5 an

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vivendi SA is close to an agreement to buy Bertelsmann's BMG Music Publishing unit for about 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion), a source familiar with the deal said.   The deal is expected to be announced on Wednesday, the source said. It would make Vivendi the world's largest music publisher, ahead of EMI Group Plc's Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music.   The deal would be subject to U.S. and European Union regulatory approval. However, separate sources told Reuters l

Bands will be able to set their own prices when store opens in fall   Here's the thing about being the king of the mountain: It offers a great view for a while, but any time you look down, there's bound to be someone coming to try to knock you down. Just ask Tom Cruise. Or Apple.   The computer company, which has been the digital-music king for more than five years thanks to its iPods and market-leading iTunes store, will face what could be its biggest competition yet later this year when MySpac

The Arctic Monkeys are favourites to win this year's Mercury Music Prize for album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, at a ceremony in London. Bookmakers say the album, which became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK in February, has "frozen the rest of the field out of the betting".   "It'll be a major surprise if they fail to win," said a Ladbrokes spokesman.   The Sheffield-based band are up against nominees including Muse, Editors, Thom Yorke, Richard Hawley and Guillem

With British fans of The Sopranos waiting on tenterhooks after the star character, Tony, was gunned down in the most recent episode, Ricky Gervais has said that making a British drama that stands comparison to the mob-based show appeals to him.   Gervais might not be an obvious successor to the lead actor James Gandolfini, but he is interested in at least creating something which breaks what he perceives as a cycle of mediocrity in British television drama.   Speaking in London at the launch of

The Last Kiss, starring Zach Braff and Rachel Bilson, will be released to American audiences on September 15th.   The highly anticipated remake of the Italian film, L'ultimo Bacio, boasts not only an all-star cast, but also an outstanding soundtrack. For those who are fans of the Garden State soundtrack, this album will feel a bit like a sequel.   Though Braff put together both albums, this album is significantly more mature than the Garden State soundtrack. As Braff progressively develops the c

LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' private equity arm and Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR submitted separate bids for BMG Music Publishing, people familiar with the sale said on Monday.   The people, speaking on condition of anonymity, said GTCR bid as part of a team led by U.S. media executive Charles Koppleman, while Goldman Sachs Capital Partners bid alone.   The two groups submitted bids by Thursday's deadline. One of the sources said the bids were between 1.25 billion euros (844 milli

HE has shaken hands with George W Bush and the Pope and rarely misses a chance to preach about the need to write off Third World debt. But Bono, the campaigning face of U2, the Irish rock band, is facing competition from an upstart young rival: Chris Martin of Coldplay.   Not content with a pair of number one albums and a high-profile romance with Gwyneth Paltrow, Martin, 26, now also appears to be trying to assume the saintly mantle of Bono, 43, and Bob Geldof, 51.   As delegates struggled las

Ricky Gervais has laughed off rumours that Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton and Brad Pitt might appear in the second series of Extras.   But he has confirmed Coldplay's Chris Martin, David Bowie, Sir Ian McKellen and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe all appear. In the first episode, Orlando Bloom plays a vain actor who cannot believe an on-screen extra does not fancy him.   But Ricky has also revealed he would like to try his hand at TV drama inspired by American programmes.

The state of the global music industry has sparked an impassioned debate in recent months, with many people criticising the industry itself for causing many of the problems.   The vice-chairman of EMI Music, David Munns, writes in response to BBC News Online users' views on the subject. Coldplay are one of EMI's biggest selling bands and are bound to be mentioned.   Please click here for the full story.   Does he answer any of your criticisms of the music industry? Do you support his views? Do y

EMI, the leading UK music group, is preparing to launch a cash and shares takeover bid for Warner Music, AOL Time Warner's record business, as early as this week.   A combination of EMI and Warner Music, thought to be worth more than £600m, would create the world's biggest music group and bring together artists including EMI's Norah Jones, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and Coldplay with Warner's Madonna, REM, Craig David and The Corrs.

Northern Irish rockers Ash have swapped Guinness for Brooklyn lager and relocated to New York to craft their fifth album, due next spring.   Frontman Tim Wheeler says the band -- now back to being an all-male trio after the departure of guitarist Charlotte Hatherley earlier this year -- spent so much time in the United States promoting its last album, "Meltdown," that the members decided they might as well live there.   Wheeler and bassist Mark Hamilton were as good as their word, although drumm

More than a quarter of all music albums bought in Britain now pass through supermarket checkouts, figures have revealed.   They show the increasingly dominant position of high street giants such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's in the music industry, with supermarkets taking 26 per cent of total sales last year. Just a decade ago, the supermarkets barely stocked CDs and as recently as 2001 they spoke for only 15 per cent of the market.   The best-selling album in the world last year was Coldplay'

"System is perfect for people allergic to computers"   Bankrupt on-line song-swapping service Napster is hoping to recapture past popularity with its new big-grassy-field-based music-swapping system.   In its first incarnation the InterWeb company allowed users to swap music on-line for free, until a contentious battle in court with music companies last year forced it to take its services offline. Although plans were in progress to continue as a fee-paying service, this has now been dropped when

British record label Parlophone has moved quickly to quash reports it has handed Pete Doherty's band Babyshambles a £1m contract.   A spokesperson for the music company, which was once the home of The Beatles and now has deals with Coldplay and Gorillaz, admits talks have taken place with Doherty, but no money-spinning deal has been agreed.   However, the representative suggests Parlophone will release at least one Babyshambles track: "We are looking forward to making a great record with Babysha

A SENIOR civil servant and his fiancée have complained about MCD, the concert promoter, to the Equality Tribunal after the company’s security staff allegedly accused them of being drug dealers.   Shane McCarrick, an executive officer in the Department of Agriculture, suffers from Crohn’s disease, a condition that requires him to take steroid tablets at three-hour intervals. His fiancée has type one diabetes and requires regular injections of insulin and carbohydrates in the form of fruit drinks.

London, Aug 29: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has got a certificate of an “incredible mother” from none other than her own mum Blythe Danner.   Praising her daughter's motherly skills, the Meet The Fockers actress has said that being a granny is “fabulous” and has given her a new lease of life. "Being a mother’s not the easiest job. Gwyneth’s an incredible one," the Sun quoted Blythe, 63, as saying.   Gwyneth, 33, has two kids with Coldplay rocker Chris Martin - two-year-old daughter Apple and four-

(CBS News) NEW YORK From jazz to hip-hop, New Orleans has played an important role in the development of American music. Because of its rich history, it holds a special place in the hearts of musicians from all over the world.   When Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, musicians sprung into action – donating money, holding auctions and organizing benefit concerts.   Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005 and only a few days later, on September 2, musicians and celebrities from film and television gat

Ever since leaving drama school 12 years ago, Andrew Lincoln has led a charmed life. The son of a civil engineer, Lincoln – who perhaps wisely dropped his real surname, Clutterbuck – had been out of Rada for less than a year when he won the role of Egg, the day-dreaming law-firm drop-out in BBC2's This Life.   No wonder Lincoln is in such a cheerful mood; at the age of 32, his place in television history is already assured. The atmosphere only cools when I ask about reports that Apple Martin – d

Bertelsmann's decision to sell the music publisher that owns copyrights to songs by Coldplay and Christina Aguilera stems from its controlling family’s desire to avoid a flotation.   The German company, controlled by the Mohn family and an allied foundation, was faced with the choice of buying back a 25 percent stake held by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert or being forced into going public.   Bertelsmann opted to pay €4.5 billion (£3 billion) to buy out the minority investor, but to cut down the extra

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. media conglomerate Viacom has teamed up with private equity group Apollo to submit an offer for BMG Music Publishing in a bid battle that could top 1.5 billion euros (1 billion pounds), sources close to the matter said.   BMG Music Publishing, which owns the rights to thousands of songs including hits by Christina Aguilera and Coldplay, is being sold by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann to help finance a 4.5 billion-euro buyback of a minority stake in the company.   T

LONDON - BMG Music Publishing, which publishes music from artists including Coldplay and Robbie Williams, has launched a B2B pop music web portal, enabling companies to choose music for film, TV and commercial productions.   The song search website, BMG Music Search, has been developed in conjunction with web consultancy bit10 and includes thousands of music tracks online.   Christopher Newman, head of new media at BMG, said: "The BMG Music Search website puts the BMG catalogue online, making it

Richina Pacific's Mainzeal contruction arm has again delayed the finish date for the $80 million Vector Arena in central Auckland, forecasting more cost overuns for a project that is already a year overdue.   Mainzeal was supposed to have completed the 12,200 seat covered stadium in the middle of last year, but a spate of problems, including alterations to its unusual curved roof, have plagued the project and inflated costs by up to $12 million.   The delays forced rock band Coldplay and rap s

The world's largest music company is backing a deal that will allow consumers to download music for free.   The new service, involving New York-based SpiralFrog and Universal Music Group, will rely on advertising to create revenue, representing a departure from Apple's 79p-a-song offering in the UK and other legal download services which at present charge a subscription fee.   SpiralFrog is initially planning to launch its free service in Canada and the US in December. It is hoping to launch in

EMI Group Plc., the world's third- largest music company, and affiliate Capitol Records, Inc. must face a suit by representatives of the Beatles claiming the companies improperly "pocketed millions of dollars'' in music royalties from the band.   New York State Supreme Court Justice Karla Moskowitz denied EMI's request that the suit for fraud and breach of contract be thrown out. The complaint seeks to reclaim rights to all of the master recordings by the defunct British rock band, said Beatles