If misery really does love company, then Thom Yorke never got the memo. Either that or he simply couldn't read it through the cloud of anxiety that seems to have enveloped him during the making of his melancholy new album, "The Eraser."

Yorke's vocals are presented in a much more natural and naked state than on the typical Radiohead album, with Godrich skipping the processing tricks employed throughout the band's catalogue. Combined with the stark ambient soundscapes, which tend to sound like so much minimalist background music, Yorke's falsetto -- normally bent and distorted, a voice with its own effects pedal -- is by far the most prominent instrument here.

And it sounds more fragile and tenuous than ever. (Think Coldplay's Chris Martin, only not nearly as overwrought.)

Read the full review here

Sub-Urban Brands, Inc., a multi-brand apparel company pursuing high revenue growth in the global fashion industry, has announced a partnership with musical icon EMI/Capital Records to cross-promote the Company's Mash Culture Lab brand clothing.

EMI is the world's largest independent music company, operating in 50-plus countries. EMI is comprised of two divisions: EMI Music and EMI Music Publishing, which together generated revenues exceeding $2 billion in 2005.

Representing more than 1000 artists, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Nora Jones and Coldplay, it owns the rights to over one million titles."Music culture is essential to Sub-Urban's brand identity," said Joseph Shortal, Chief Executive Officer of Sub-Urban Brands. "Partnering with EMI is ideal because it allows us to communicate our brand message on a massive scale through musicians that influence our target audience. We believe this partnership further validates Sub-Urban as the next trend-setting apparel company."

As part of the agreement, Sub-Urban's MCL garments will carry a digital hangtag with free musical downloads from musicians such as rock artist Hedley and urban star Chingy's upcoming album. Hedley has been nominated for two Junos Awards (Rock Album and New Group of the Year). The band has a certified platinum record album and has booked a nationwide tour with another popular rock artist Simple Plan. Chingy is a St. Louis hip hop artist whose breakthrough debut album, Jackpot, went triple platinum in 2003.

Recently, Sub-Urban announced the launch of Mash Culture Lab, a brand that, coupled with the partnership with EMI, continues the Company's successful integration of fashion, music, sports and entertainment. Mash Culture Lab is the latest clothing line to be launched under Sub-Urban's core strategy to create a diversified brand portfolio, aimed at maximizing revenue potential and mitigating risk, while maintaining strong brand appeal for each consumer base.

The collaboration between Sub-Urban Brands and EMI/Capital is another milestone under Sub-Urban's strategic initiative to create new brands that leverage today's youth market by integrating different cultures and previous generations to create a mish-mash style that integrates fashion, music, sports and entertainment.

"We are pleased to enter into an exciting relationship of this nature that presents such important marketing potential for us," said Mr. Shortal. "Partnering with one of the world's largest media companies further validates Sub-Urban as a high-profile and cutting-edge apparel company."

Source: http://www.rapnews.net

Warner Music is reviewing its £18 million media planning and buying business currently held by Media Campaign Services (MCS).

The music group, whose record labels Atlantic Records and Warner Bros Records are home to artists including James Blunt, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Craig David, is drawing up a list of agencies and has invited incumbent MCS to repitch for the account.

The review is being overseen by Atlantic Records marketing director Richard Hinkley and Warner Bros Records general manager Adam Holly. The pitch process will be managed by the AAR, who will draw up a list of agencies. A result is expected by the end of September.Warner Music is currently involved in a bid and counter-bid battle with rival music group EMI Group, which last month rejected a £2.5 billion bid from Warner Music, the company it had itself been pursuing.

Warner Music had turned the tables on EMI, which is the home of Coldplay and Robbie Williams, by making a 320 pence-per-share offer. Previously Warner Music was tipped to accept an offer from EMI despite rejecting a $4.2 billion (£2.3 billion) bid, but this bold counter-bid suggests otherwise.

A tie-up between the world's third and fourth largest music groups is seen as an inevitability by many in the music industry.

Source: http://mad.co.uk

Coldplay's love affair with Australia has resulted in all three of their albums, including the debut Parachutes, leaping back into the top 30.

That's it!

Coldplay front man Chris Martin once famously said: "There would be no Coldplay music without Jonny Buckland."

The 28-year-old guitarist — real name Jonathan Mark Buckland — may not have his mug plastered all over the tabloids like Martin, 29, for supporting political causes or marrying a high-profile actress (Gwyneth Paltrow in Martin's case). But he has been consistently ranked as Coldplay's most valuable member.

For one thing, Buckland is the man with the plan as far as the rest of the London-based quartet is concerned. The band also comprises drummer Will Champion, 27, and bassist Guy Berryman, 28.

Read the full article here

EMI has suffered a decline in its market share of US album sales in the second quarter, which could undermine its position in a pound stg. 2.5 billion ($6.2 billion) two-way takeover battle with Warner Music [pictured].

EMI, which manages artists including Coldplay and Janet Jackson, has seen its album sales decline 8 per cent year-on-year, and the company has lost 0.4 percentage points to 10 per cent in US market share, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan.

In contrast, Warner Music's album sales in the US increased 11 per cent year-on-year, and the company gained 3 percentage points in US market share.Industry observers consider total album market share, which measures sales of current and catalogue titles, to be the most comprehensive measure of a company's sales performance.

Warner is majority-owned by billionaire Edgar Bronfman Jr and a group of private equity investors. The market data comes at a delicate stage in a two-way takeover battle between EMI and Warner.

Earlier this month, the US group launched an unexpected 320p a share offer for EMI, which valued the UK company at about pound stg. 2.5 billion. EMI rejected that offer which it deemed wholly unacceptable.

However, EMI kicked-off the transatlantic bid battle in May when it offered $US28.50 a share, or $US4.2 billion ($5.6 billion), which Warner rejected.

A tie-up between the world's third and fourth music groups has long been regarded as inevitable across the music industry. The two companies have circled each other for years, with previous agreements nearly reached in 2000, 2001 and 2003, but thwarted either because of regulatory opposition or because other investors swooped in.

US music industry revenues generally decelerated during the second quarter of the year, with album sales down by 5 per cent.

Source: http://theaustralian.news.com.au

A day after receiving the good news that it would be safe for the space shuttle Discovery to return to earth, astronauts awoke Monday to begin their latest task: taking the second of three planned spacewalks to make repairs to the international space station.

Their more mundane tasks this time involved installing a spare external pump compartment to the station‘s cooling system and replacing a severed cable that provides power, video and data to the space station‘s rail car.

Replacing the cable on the rail car, or mobile transporter, is crucial for the continuation of construction of the space station. The cable was accidentally severed last December by a cable cutter. During Saturday‘s spacewalk, the astronauts immobilized a cable cutter on a duplicate cable leading to the transporter. "The most challenging thing tomorrow is going to be just the choreography, going back and forth in the payload bay," astronaut Mike Fossum said Sunday. "It‘s quite a ballet."

The shuttle‘s crew awoke Monday to a recording of Coldplay‘s "Clocks," which was requested by Sellers‘ family.

The shuttle‘s astronauts got welcome news Sunday when NASA managers cleared Discovery‘s thermal protective skin as safe to return to Earth next Monday. Hundreds of images of Discovery were taken during liftoff, in-flight to the space station and before docking with the complex to make sure the shuttle doesn‘t have any damage like the kind that doomed Columbia‘s seven astronauts in 2003.

Source: Various

EMI has suffered a decline in its market share of US album sales in the second quarter, which could undermine its position in a £2.5bn two-way takeover battle with Warner Music.

EMI, which manages artists including Coldplay and Janet Jackson, has seen its album sales decline 8 per cent year-on-year, and the company has lost 0.4 percentage points to 10 per cent in US market share, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan.

By contrast, Warner Music's album sales in the US increased 11 per cent year-on-year, and the company gained 3 percentage points in US market share.Industry observers consider total album market share, which measures sales of current and catalogue titles, to be the most comprehensive measure of a company's sales performance.

Warner is majority owned by billionaire Edgar Bronfman Jr and a group of private equity investors. The market data comes at a delicate stage in a two-way takeover battle between EMI and Warner.

Earlier this month, the US group launched an unexpected 320p a share offer for Warner, which valued the UK company at about £2.5bn. EMI rejected that offer which it deemed "wholly unacceptable".

However, EMI kicked-off the transatlantic bid battle in May when it offered $28.50 a share, or $4.2bn (£2.27bn), which Warner rejected.

A tie-up between the world's third and fourth music groups has long been regarded as inevitable across the music industry. The two companies have circled each other for years, with previous agreements nearly reached in 2000, 2001 and 2003, but thwarted either because of regulatory opposition or because other investors swooped in.

US music industry revenues generally decelerated during the second quarter of the year, with album sales down by 5 per cent, according to SoundScan. However, Warner experienced an 18 per cent increase in album sales during the same period, with performance driven by hit releases from James Blunt, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sean Paul.

Nielsen SoundScan tracks sales throughout the US and Canada.

Source: http://msnbc.msn.com

EMI is expected to join most of the world's major music groups and table a first-round bid tomorrow for £800m song rights giant BMG Publishing.

German owner Bertelsmann has put the New York-based business, which owns the rights to songs by Coldplay and Christina Aguilera, up for sale and hopes for a swift deal.

It needs to raise more than £3bn to buy back the 25% stake that Groupe Bruxelles Lambert has in Bertelsmann and so take back control of the business.American firm Warner Music, which EMI is hoping to buy, and France's Universal are also expected to put in offers for BMG Publishing, which makes operating profits of about £60m.

BMG Publishing is a separate company to Bertelsmann joint venture Sony BMG - a merger that is subject to a European court ruling this week.

The music firms are likely to be joined in tomorrow's bidding by a slew of private equity businesses including Permira, Cerberus, Apax and possibly Elevation Partners, the private equity firm co-founded by Bono, the frontman of rock band U2.

Meanwhile, EMI will issue a trading statement at its annual general meeting on Thursday in which it is likely to say that sales are good, with strong performances by artists including Corinne Bailey Rae, Lily Allen, KT Tunstall and The Kooks.

EMI's digital revenue from selling music for devices such as iPods continues to show strong growth. For the year to the end of March, digital revenues grew 135% to £112m.

The company's release schedule is also expected to be strong with new albums due from Robbie Williams, Norah Jones, Joss Stone and Keith Urban.

Source: http://thisismoney.co.uk

Since it's the 'T In The Park' weekend it seems only fitting to devote much of this week's column to the DVD release of Julien Temple's enjoyably grubby documentary Glastonbury (available from 16 July).

If only because it captures something of the spirit of a music festival without having to endure thousands of sunburnt Neds hurling half-drunk pints into the crowd while doing vocal approximations of the guitar riff from Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out.

Piecing together archival material, interviews and concert footage, Temple has created a definitive and unsentimental history of the 35-year-old Glastonbury Festival, charting its rise from a minor, sub-Woodstock gathering in the early 1970s to a focal point for the politicised 1980s, to the corporate-sponsored "life experience" it is today.It's this latter development that's the most fascinating: Glastonbury has always been a celebration of the counter-culture, but how does it remain so now that it's attended by mobile phone-using revellers who on the one hand fret about whether the security fences have killed the event, but on the other are secretly pleased that all those crusty travellers no longer attend in such high numbers?

Not that the film will make you misty-eyed about those travellers. True, they had a rough time in the 1980s thanks to systematic police beatings, but it was warring factions of travellers who turned the 1990 festival into a riot zone by lobbing Molotovs at each other.

If there's one disappointment, it's the music. There are plenty of good bands, and the DVD is interactive, so whenever David Gray or Coldplay come on you can watch The White Stripes or Primal Scream instead. Yet aside from a snippet of Radiohead from the mid-1990s and footage of the late Joe Strummer protesting Britain's CCTV culture by taking his mic stand to the cameras, there's nothing that could be described as "legendary" - unless you count Rolf Harris. As for why it's endured, organiser Michael Eavis credits the British ability to put up with grief and grime and still have a jolly good time.

Speaking of grief and grime, there's plenty of both in The Proposition (out on Monday), a fly-blasted Western set in the Australian outback and scripted by Nick Cave (himself a Glastonbury veteran who appears in Temple's film). Ray Winstone stars as a transplanted British lawman who offers Guy Pearce's captured outlaw a Faustian deal: either he kills his psychotic elder brother (the magnificent Danny Huston) or he'll hang their younger brother on Christmas Day. The resulting film is a dark lyrical effort about the consequences of violence and the brutal origins of a modern civilisation. Hell on earth has never looked better.

Source: http://living.scotsman.com

Britain's EMI is keen to discuss valuations with bid target Warner Music Group, but will not pay as much as $5.6 billion, a source close to the company said on Friday.

The Times newspaper said earlier on Friday, in an unsourced report, that New York-based Warner Music (Charts) would consider selling itself for around $37.5 to $38.0 a share, or about $5.6 billion.

"EMI has for some time been keen to discuss valuation with Warner, but clearly believes $38 is a completely unrealistic valuation for a company that was trading at $21 in March," the source told Reuters. "On a comparable basis, $38 would value EMI at 475 pence per share."EMI and Warner Music, which are locked in a battle to take each other over, declined to comment on the Times story.

Warner shares opened barely changed at $29.20 on the New York Stock Exchange. EMI shares rose 4.2 percent at 313.75p, after touching a 4-year high of 314p in early trade.

London-based EMI, home to Coldplay and Robbie Williams, kicked off the latest move in a long-running quest to tie the two companies together in May, when it made a $4.2 billion approach to Warner Music that was immediately rejected.

Warner Music, the group behind Madonna and Red Hot Chili Peppers, countered with a $4.6 billion bid for EMI.

The British firm rejected that offer at the same time as making an improved $4.6 billion bid for Warner Music that was also turned down.

The two companies have been jostling for years to combine to create a rival on a par with majors Universal Music, owned by French conglomerate Vivendi, and Sony BMG, a joint venture between Japan's Sony (Charts) and Bertelsmann.

An attempt to merge the two in 2000 was rejected by European antitrust regulators, and EMI lost out to Warner Music's current ownership when Time Warner sold it in 2003.

The Times newspaper also said in its report that Warner Music was considering an improved 2.7-billion-pound, or 340-pence-a-share, bid for EMI.

But sources close to the matter played this down too.

The Times said EMI's board believed their company was worth closer to 400p a share.

"Talk of a 400p bid for EMI seems very unlikely given that the company was trading at 207 pence in November 2005 before speculation began," said a source close to Warner. "It's not in either side's interest to talk up bids."

Both sides are still reviewing their options and could yet raise their offers over time, the sources said.

Source: http://money.cnn.com

Universal Music Group, the world's largest record business, is among the bidders preparing to submit offers for Bertelsmann's music publishing business by Monday's first round deadline.

Universal controls 12% of the global music publishing market and would become the world's largest music publisher if it acquired BMG's arm, which has a share of 13%. Other bidders include Apax Partners, the private equity firm, and Warner Music Group.

British record group EMI is reportedly considering leading a consortium bid because its status as the world's biggest music publisher precludes an outright bid.The sale is complicated by the ongoing takeover stalemate between Warner and EMI. Both groups are attempting to buy each other, with the added complication that regulators are expected to block the combination of Warner and EMI's music publishing arms. Warner Chappell, Warner's publishing business, is expected to be sold regardless of who wins the auction because it is seen as a less valuable asset than EMI's publishing business. Nonetheless, it has a greater market share than the BMG operation and Universal executives concede privately that it is their preferred target.

BMG Music Publishing was put up for sale by its parent company in May as part of a deal to buy back a 25% stake in Bertelsmann owned by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. Analysts value the business, with a back catalogue including songs by Nelly and Coldplay, at between $1.4bn (£755m) and $1.7bn.

Music publishers own the copyright to songs and earn a royalty every time they are played on the radio, bought in shops or played on film soundtracks. The business has escaped the worst of the digital download revolution that ravaged its record industry peers and its strong, stable cash flows are attractive to financial buyers.

Source: http://business.guardian.co.uk

Legendary The Beatles recording studio Abbey Road has been granted a new licence to host live music despite complaints from disgruntled neighbours.

The London studio came under fire in February after holding an "illegal" Coldplay show which was later broadcast on BBC radio. As a result, the world-famous Abbey Road location was told to apply for a live performance licence which would allow it permission for gigs, as well as the sale of alcohol from 10am to midnight.

The proposal infuriated local residents, who formed 60-strong opposition group the St John's Wood Society. But local councillors ignored their protests and yesterday granted a licence to the studio.

Source: http://contactmusic.com

The takeover battle between two of the world’s biggest record labels intensified today amid reports that Warner Music is contemplating an improved £2.7bn (€3.9bn) bid for EMI.

The Times newspaper said United States giant Warner was looking at an offer worth 340p-a-share having had two earlier bids at 315p and 320p rejected.

Such a bid would raise the stakes in the tug-of-war between the two companies which has also seen EMI launch two unsuccessful bids for Warner, including one of £2.52bn (€3.63bn) towards the end of last month. A tie-up between the pair has long been regarded as a strong possibility and would bring together EMI artists such as Coldplay and Robbie Williams with Warner’s Madonna and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Legendary The Beatles recording studio Abbey Road could be refused permission to host live gigs after complaints from disgruntled neighbours.

The venue came under fire in February after holding an "illegal" Coldplay show which was later broadcast on BBC radio. As a result, the London studio was told to apply for a live performance licence which would allow it permission for gigs, as well as the sale of alcohol, from 10am to midnight.

But the proposal has infuriated local residents who have formed a 60-strong opposition group, the St John's Wood Society. Andrew Mainz, chairman of the group, says, "At the moment this is a music recording studio. If it's going to turn itself into a concert hall it's in the wrong place."Fire chiefs and environmental health officers have also objected to the proposed licence, citing inadequate emergency exits and an "increase in public nuisance". The application will be considered today (06JUL06) and is expected to be refused, despite the studio's plea it will only host one concert a month.

More on this story here

This week it was Coldplay; next March water play will take over Rod Laver Arena. The home of tennis and concerts and even Disney on Ice was incorporated into the 2007 World Swimming Championships program by organisers last July.

The venue will be used for swimming and synchronised swimming in a specially installed Olympic-sized pool that will not greatly reduce the stadium's 15,000-spectator capacity.

The installation system, known as "skypool", allows the pool to sit on the floor using free-standing galvanised steel panels.The use of Rod Laver Arena has prompted criticism in the media, given that $60 million was spent preparing the new outdoor competition pool at the MSAC for the Commonwealth Games. But the Government defends the decision, stressing that the MSAC pool will still be heavily used during next year's championships.

The World Swimming Championships is a multidisciplinary event, involving traditional swimming races, a water polo competition, open water swimming, diving and synchronised swimming. Running all events over the 16-day period between March 17 and April 1 requires several pools.

Instead of swimming events, the MSAC outdoor pool will be used for water polo matches, with organisers confident that big crowds will still flock to the venue.

The use of Rod Laver Arena is a headache for entertainment promoters. The venue is taken over by tennis in January for the Australian Open and concerts and shows will not return until May at the earliest.

Source: http://theage.com.au

You didn't think Microsoft would sit on the sidelines forever as its longtime rival Apple Computer grew into the 800-pound gorilla of portable music, did you?

After years of allowing other manufacturers to make MP3 players that used its software, Microsoft is developing its own handheld music and video player to take on the iPod, according to a report in The New York Times.

And it will have at least one thing the iPod doesn't: WiFi capabilities that would let users download music without connecting to a computer.The unnamed device is expected to be in stores by the holidays, and would also have a more advanced video screen than the iPod, according to unnamed executives who spoke to the Times. In another bid to rival Apple, Microsoft is in the midst of negotiations with major record companies and some TV networks to reach an agreement that would allow it to sell music and video content online through an iTunes-like download store.

Bloomberg News reported that Microsoft has hired music industry executive Chris Stephenson to meet with music and movie companies to seek licenses for their content. So far he's talked to the EMI Group (Beatles, Coldplay, Gorillaz) and Universal Music Group (Ashlee Simpson, Fall Out Boy, Jimi Hendrix), as well as NBC, Fox and CBS, according to the report.

Though Microsoft has licensed its software to companies including Samsung, Sony and Creative Technology for use in portable MP3 devices, the new player would be its most serious challenge yet to the iPod, which has more than 75 percent of the digital player market, to go along with the 72 percent of the digital download market held by iTunes.

Experts said the decision to develop its own device is a sign that after six years Microsoft is no longer content to let other companies try to cut into Apple's seemingly insurmountable lead. "If this is true, then this is them trying to take more control over the situation," Mike McGuire, vice president for research on mobile devices at Gartner, which tracks the electronics market, told the Times. "In effect, they're basically saying, 'We think we can do something better' " than existing hardware manufacturers.

A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment to the Times on the report, but a senior executive at a major TV network said that even though Microsoft had not yet received commitments from the networks to supply programming to the online store, they were open to working with a rival to Apple's iTunes, which has been criticized by the music industry for refusing to offer multi-tiered pricing in favor of 99-cent per-song prices across the board.

Bloomberg reported that Microsoft's device is being developed under the eye of Robbie Bach, head of the unit that produced the Xbox game console, the software company's most significant — and successful — venture into building its own hardware.

Source: http://mtv.com

Thom Yorke is not here to comfort you. His voice isn’t made for that. It is all about intense pain and raw beauty, a sound weary and a little crazed from alienation, aggravation, boredom, fear. The usual modern problems.

Radiohead has chosen this path, delivering on this bleak and somehow uplifting worldview with sparks of swirling guitars and electronics and a muted kind of intensity that can’t be easy to pull off, real or fake.

The endless comparisons to Pink Floyd and Coldplay are understandable and superficial. It’s true enough that Radiohead has seen its blueprint adapted and twisted to the needs of others: Muse, adding a prog twist; Doves, all atmosphere, the occasional song; Coldplay, ballads only.

Read the full article here

Bolton fans eagerly anticipating the new series of Ricky Gervais's TV comedy Extras may feel at home when it is shown later this year.

In a new plot line, Andy Millman, the hapless would-be actor played by Gervais, writes his own sitcom and sets it in a Bolton factory.

The town [birthplace of Coldplaying.com's webmaster no less] appears to be becoming the choice location for comedy shows since Peter Kay set Phoenix Nights in Farnworth. Sadly, the crew and cast of Extras, which is to feature a big line-up of celebrity guest actors as previously reported, will not be heading North all the filming is being done at Pinewood Studios near London.But the Bolton Evening News is to make an appearance as copies of the paper will be used as props in the factory canteen set, where Millman sits chatting with other characters. Filming for the second series began last month.

The first series of Extras followed the tribulations of Millman, who is desperate for a life in acting, but never gets more than the role of an extra. It attracted a host of big-name stars. Samuel L Jackson, Patrick Stewart, Ben Stiller, Ross Kemp and Kate Winslet made appearances and celebrities have been queuing up to appear in the second series including Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe and Sir Ian McKellen.

Another plot line will see Bloom rejected by Millman's friend, Maggie, and Radcliffe, the hero of the Harry Potter movies, playing a yob. Other celebrities lined up to take part are Coldplay's Chris Martin, Diana Rigg, Moira Stuart, Richard Briers, Ronnie Corbett and Stephen Fry.

Source: http://thisislancashire.co.uk

German media group Bertelsmann is considering selling a part of its 50 percent stake in Sony BMG, the music recording company it owns jointly with Sony Corp, a source familiar with the situation said.

"It is basically half now, and half later," the source said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Any changes to the ownership structure would have to be approved by Sony under the terms of the joint venture, another source familiar with the situation said. Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer said last month the future ownership of Sony BMG would be determined by how Bertelsmann decides to repay the debts it took on to buy out a minority shareholder in the German media group.

Bertelsmann agreed at the end of May to pay Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) 4.5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) for its 25 percent stake in the world's fourth-largest media group.

To raise money for the GBL buyout, Bertelsmann has said it is selling its BMG Music Publishing business, which owns copyrights to thousands of songs including those by Coldplay and Nelly.

Industry executives expect the sale to fetch at least 1.5 billion euros. But Bertelsmann Chief Executive Gunter Thielen has repeatedly ruled out any restructuring of Sony BMG, despite media reports to the contrary.

A Bertelsmann spokesman referred to an interview given earlier this week by the company's chief financial officer, Thomas Rabe, to a German newspaper in which he said the company aimed to financially optimize its holding in Sony BMG but was not considering a disposal.

Sony declined to comment.

Source: http://today.reuters.com

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is currently in talks to star opposite Ben Stiller in a new romantic comedy.

The Farrelly Brothers are desperate for Paltrow to appear in ‘The Seven Day Itch’, a new film loosely based on 1972 film ‘The Heartbreak Kid’. Stiller and Paltrow have previously appeared together in 'The Royal Tenenbaums'. According to the Boston Herald Bobby Farrelly said of the film’s plot: "Ben thinks he's married the girl of his dreams. She's beautiful, but then, on their honeymoon, he finds out she's nuts."

Michelle Monaghan is also being lined up to star in the film...watch this space for more information.

Source: http://entertainmentwise.com

If proof were needed that commercial radio is undergoing a revolution, Ofcom has just provided it. The communications industry watchdog yesterday slashed the annual licence fees for several analogue radio stations.

Classic FM, owned by GCap Media, will now pay the Government just £50,000 for its national analogue licence, down from £1.16m. SMG's Virgin Radio will see its outlay fall tenfold to just £100,000. The cuts reflect the increasing popularity of digital radio; fierce competition from broadband, mobile phones, mp3 players and digital television; and the BBC's growing market share.

At the radio industry's biennial jamboree in Cambridge today a panel of industry heavyweights, chaired by the Daily Telegraph's Jeff Randall, will discuss what future commercial radio has - and indeed, whether it has a future at all.On the panel will be GCap chief executive Ralph Bernard, whose company has suffered more than most as the BBC leaves commercial stations trailing and advertisers divert budgets online.

"We've been living with the BBC for 30 years here, so we may as well get used to it," he says. "The good news is that commercial stations have a bigger share with 15-44 year olds, which is the principal target market for advertisers.

"But nonetheless we have to do more to get listeners listening for longer, and that's one of the opportunities for digital radio, because we've got more spectrum which should mean more listening and more share."

On the advertising slump, Virgin Radio's chief executive Fru Hazlitt draws comfort from her experience at her previous employer Yahoo: "I freely admit radio ads are out of fashion but I saw it before in internet advertising. It was in fashion in 1999, then by 2003 was least fashionable thing ever, then when I left it was, unfortunately for me, trendy again."

The challenge, she says, is for radio to make itself appealing by exploiting relationships with the music industry. "When advertisers get reminded again that radio is still a very sexy medium for consumers, things will turn. We recently had Chris Martin of Coldplay stand up at Isle of Wight festival and say, 'Thank you to Virgin Radio, the best fucking radio station in the world.' And we didn't even pay him. It's the kind of brand identification advertisers like Levi's love."

Radio is also facing new breeds of competition, from Channel 4, which is entering the market, to national newspapers offering daily podcasts.

Patrick Yau, media analyst at Bridgewell Securities, sees podcasting - whereby spoken word news and features are downloaded over the web to be listened to on a computer or digital music player - as a medium-term, rather than an immediate threat to commercial radio. He believes music podcasting will pose a bigger threat, but says royalty issues need to been resolved before it can seriously take off.

Technology change is an opportunity for radio, says Ms Hazlitt, whose Virgin station is the UK's most listened-to station on the internet. "People will listen to radio on their mobiles, through their TVs and through the internet. We should be everywhere."

That is after all the point about radio. You can listen to it anywhere, while doing something else.

Source: http://telegraph.co.uk

Posters and hockey jerseys autographed by musicians from Broken Social Scene, Great Big Sea, The Tragically Hip and Alexisonfire are among the Junos memorabilia being put up for auction on EBay.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences says proceeds from the online sale will benefit MusiCan, a music education program that helps fund music programs across the country.

From July 14-24, music fans can bid on 30 items of autographed memorabilia from the 2005 and 2006 Juno Awards.They include signed hockey jerseys and game sticks from the 2005 and 2006 Juno Cup games, and plaque-mounted posters bearing autographs from Broken Social Scene, Alexisonfire, Great Big Sea, Hedley, Jann Arden, k-os, Michael Buble, Nickelback and The Tragically Hip.

The items include:

-2006 Juno Cup hockey jersey, including signatures by Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, members of Theory of a Dead Man, The Trailer Park Boys and NHLers Kirk Muller and Paul Coffey.

-2005 Juno Cup hockey jersey, including autographs by Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip, members of Great Big Sea, Jon Gallant of Billy Talent and NHLers Dale Hawerchuk and Doug Gilmour.

-2006 Juno Cup hockey stick, signed by stars including Skye Sweetnam, members of Theory of a Dead Man, The Trailer Park Boys and hockey stars including Kirk Muller, Mark Napier and Sami Jo Small.

-2006 Juno Awards leather jackets autographed by celebrities including Bedouin Soundclash, Broken Social Scene and Michael Buble

-2006 Juno Awards Songwriters' Circle posters autographed by musicians including Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea, Alpha YaYa Diallo, Jann Arden, Joel Plaskett, Ron Sexsmith and Martha Wainwright.

-2005 Juno Awards Songwriters' Circle posters autographed by musicians including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Burton Cummings, Dallas Green (Alexisonfire/City and Colour) and Jully Black.

-2006 Juno Awards posters autographed by nominees, performers and presenters including Buck 65, Coldplay, Michael Buble, Nickelback, Pamela Anderson, Rex Goudie.

-2005 Juno Awards posters autographed by nominees, performers and presenters including Billy Talent, Burton Cummings, kd lang, k-os, Sum 41, The Tragically Hip.

On the Web:

www.ebay.ca

members.ebay.ca/aboutme/caras-junoawards

www.carasonline.ca

www.musican.com

After starring in both blockbusters and critically acclaimed films, winning a best actress Oscar and pretty much conquering the acting world, Gwyneth Paltrow is ready to try her hand at music.

The 33-year-old actress, who is best known for her starring roles in films like Se7en, Shakespeare In Love and Proof, is currently in the midst of recording an album. She is working with producer William Orbit, who has previously worked with artists like Blur and Madonna.

This isn’t Paltrow’s first foray into the music biz, she recorded the single “Cruisin’” with Huey Lewis for her 2000 film Duets and appeared on Grammy Award winner Sheryl Crow’s tune “It’s Only Love” on her 2002 album C’mon C’mon. Of course Paltrow isn’t the first in her household to be in the biz – her husband Chris Martin fronts the multi-platinum and multi-Grammy award winning rock group Coldplay. But Paltrow vows she won’t work on music with her husband, according to the UK paper the Sun a ‘source’ says, “She feels like she would be treading on his toes.”

No word on whether the Coldplay frontman has any plans to try his hand at acting.

Source: http://soulshine.ca

And concentrate on albums...

Cult indie label Fierce Panda is to stop releasing its legendary 7” singles this summer. The label has helped launch the careers of a plethora of top bands with its one off single releases including the likes of Coldplay and Keane.

Other bands that have featured on its books include iLiKETRAiNS, Art Brut, Battle, Shitdisco and Boy Kill Boy. According to the BBC founder Simon Williams says that the label now wants to concentrate on albums and developing the company further. The final release will be Dead Disco’s ‘Automatic’ on August 14.

Source: http://gigwise.com