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LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Like Napster and BitTorrent before it, LTDnetwork's Qtrax is a brand from the early days of peer-to-peer music piracy that is relaunching as a completely legal service.   The reborn version formalized the evolution by announcing a deal with EMI Music to make the music company's catalog available to its users.   Qtrax still allows consumers to get free music, but there will be no free lunch. The service is ad-supported, and the free songs are in a proprietary ".

The Isle of Wight music festival is back on the festival A-list more than 35 years after artists like Jimi Hendrix and The Doors drew hundreds of thousands of fans.   When some 600,000 hippies travelled to the Isle of Wight festival in 1970, crowds tore down the fences in protest at the "capitalist pigs" who were charging £3 a ticket. It is slightly different these days. Almost 60,000 were at the festival's modern incarnation this weekend, with tickets costing £105 a pop, the fence intact and s

A consumer watchdog is warning music fans to take care when buying tickets online for music festivals and other events.   Consumer Direct, the government's consumer advice service run by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), says punters have fewer rights when they buy privately and getting their money back when things go wrong can prove a real headache.   Consumer Direct spokeswoman Michele Shambrook said: "We receive a lot of calls from people complaining about tickets not being delivered, seats i

The surgeon in Operating Room 7, Dr. Marc Bessler, jockeyed a patient's spleen to get to the kidney. "White Shadows" by Coldplay murmured in the background. A resident cut away tissue near the kidney. Abba's "Waterloo" came next in the shuffle.   Across the corridor on Thursday afternoon, Dr. William B. Inabnet, an endocrine surgeon, prepared to cut into a patient's neck. His iPod played Verdi's "Traviata."   "Madness! Madness!" sang the soprano Anna Moffo. A heart monitor beeped to a different

Jimi Hendrix died soon after playing the Isle of Wight in 1970, The Doors hardly played again, and the event itself disappeared for 31 years. Now it's different, says James McNair   However confused its imagery, Sandi Thom's "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (with Flowers in My Hair)" taps into the nostalgia many feel for the halcyon days of rock. Symbolically, so too does the Isle of Wight Festival.   At its peak, Britain's oldest rock gathering could boast slots from The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard C

Did you know that Tim Rice-Oxley, Keane's keyboard player and songwriter, is a college friend of Chris Martin, and was once asked to join Coldplay? Rice-Oxley said no.   Normally, this would lead to years of bitter regret and swearing at the radio every time Yellow came on. Instead, Keane are now in the same position as Coldplay were when they released their second album, A Rush of Blood To The Head, the one that took Martin and co from headline tours to stadium tours.   Maybe Keane were taking

Death Cab For Cutie just finished making a new video, and it's premiering now at Yahoo! Music.   The video is for the song "I Will Follow You Into The Dark," off Death Cab For Cutie's latest album, "Plans." The clip was directed by Jamie Thraves, who also directed Radiohead's "Just" and Coldplay's "The Scientist" videos.   To check out Death Cab For Cutie's new video for "I Will Follow You Into The Dark," click here

The Indie rock group Snow Patrol has another hit with their new album “Eyes Open,” featuring the songs “Hands Open,” “Chasing Cars” and “You’re All I Have.” The group uses creative and unique lyrics with hypnotic music to create a successfully poignant album.   This is one of the reasons why Snow Patrol has been dubbed as the darker version of Coldplay. The lyrics are honest and open, which allow the songs to be powerful and emotional. Though Snow Patrol has just become successful, the group ha

Having lit up the performances of some of the biggest names in music, Radical Lighting is now aiming to illuminate itself on the world stage.   To do that the Bradford-based company, which provided stage lighting for the Live 8 concerts in London and Paris, needs a cash injection. Radical provides lighting and video equipment to the live entertainment, leisure and architectural industries as well as the computer software needed to control the effects.   The company, which also provided the light

The world was at the feet of Bradford band Embrace yesterday as their new football anthem went on sale with record shop bosses predicting it would fly off the shelves.   The official England World Cup song, World at Your Feet, made it into this week's top 40 through downloads alone, coming in at number 38,outselling its rivals on day one by two to one. The song has been put out on the Independiente label, which also has hit bands Travis and Gomez on its books, and it is one of the tracks on the

Scissor Sisters are putting the final touches to second album Ta-Dah — but can it beat their self-titled debut, which shifted 2.4million copies in the UK?   That put them in an elite group of UK-signed acts selling more than 2million of their first album. Others are Keane with Hopes And Fears, Dido and No Angel, James Blunt’s Back To Bedlam and Coldplay’s Parachutes. A source at Modest Management said: “Record companies squeeze every last sale out of a big CD. That makes it difficult for the se

EMI Group said on Monday it would make its music catalogue available to the first advertising supported peer-to-peer service as the entertainment industry embraces the same technology that once nearly crippled it.   The new service called Qtrax, developed by New York-based LTDnetwork and slated for launch later this year, will give consumers the ability to download music for free after watching ads, or the option of paying for a premium subscription version.   Financial terms of the deal with Lo

With the summer concert season hitting stride this month, a November pact settling a legal battle over noise at the Ford Amphitheatre faces a critical test. Nearby residents will hear just how much the truce muffles noise in the coming months when arena rockers Sammy Hagar, the Black Crowes and Def Leppard take the stage.   These acts will play to a tough crowd - outside the amphitheater. Since the concert venue opened in July 2004 along Interstate 4 at the Florida State Fairgrounds east of Tamp

It will be music to an athlete’s ears. The makers of the iPod have teamed up with Nike to produce “smart” musical footwear for joggers that will play faster music when they begin to flag.   The first trainer designed to “talk to” an iPod will be in the shops in Britain later this summer. It will use a sensor under the inner sole to detect a runner’s pace and send a signal to a wireless receiver attached to the iPod to put on a “power song” when the speed is flagging.   If a jogger is cruising al

And so it begins again -- the annual summertime trek to the venue of your choice to have beer spilled on you, get sunburned (or rained upon) and hear people yammering on their cell phones from the front row. Oh yeah, and shell out megabucks to hear the music you love.   But who's complaining? We love this time of year, when the best of every genre, from pop to punk, rock to reggae, hip-hop to heavy metal, country to folk, hits the road.   While the Stones, Coldplay, and the Who are taking it o

Ron Sexsmith's old Portuguese landlord is to be forgiven for not having a clue what his tenant does for a living.   How could he possibly know that this 42-year-old man, forever clad in pajamas at his piano, drinking coffee, is an icon? Do icons live a full year shut inside their apartments hooked on The Amazing Race and Rock Star: INXS?   They do if they're Sexsmith, who does not have hobbies, and who spent last year getting caught up on things like TV. This year, he's off the couch and promoti

Daniel Green, Brian Walters, Daniel Abrahams, Tim Jackson and Rick Pita are Third Floor Story. The London based band are ready to unleash their debut album Lonely City. After drafting in three more band members Third Floor Story have been out touring and have completed recording their debut album.   With websites like myspace, it is always lot easier to find some stuff out about new up and coming bands and Third Floor Story are one of those bands that are on myspace, and have their own website.

The survey was put together by the book of British Hit Singles and Albums and NME.com with votes coming in from the around the world, reports the telegraph.co.uk.   David Roberts, British Hit Singles and Albums editor, said the survey showed diversity and longevity. "Usually these polls are full of records that people have only just bought because they are freshest in the mind," Mr Roberts said.   "But this poll shows that the truly great albums always have longevity. Only two albums in the Top

Madonna will be queen of the road this summer.   With last year's top touring acts — the Rolling Stones, U2 and Paul McCartney — touring Europe or taking a break, Madonna's 15-week disco-themed Confessions Tour is likely to be the season's biggest-grossing and most heavily attended concert. It will also be among the priciest, with regular tickets going for as much as $375.   Several other headliners are expected to do blockbuster business, including Bruce Springsteen; Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

The corporate juggernaut that is U2 takes over Chicago this week with four sold-out shows at the United Center in-between singer Bono's latest efforts to save the world.   These efforts would have been enhanced Saturday by a concert that relied less on U2's past and more on songs that haven't overstayed their welcome.   On opening night, Bono lamented that a decade ago he would place calls to the White House in the midst of the band's "Zoo TV" tour, but they went unanswered."They take my call no

After re-locating to Liverpool a couple of years ago (and evolving from the band Waikiki), Howling Bells return to their homeland with a handful of east coast winter dates.   The band have developed their nocturnal pop sound with Coldplay producer Ken Nelson, and have had UK critics gushing.   Drowned In Sound claimed “The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have nothing on this grace”, whilst the Guardian declared that the band are “on the verge of unequivocal magnificence”.Whilst the homecoming will undoubtedly b

Coldplay put tickets to shows in Vancouver and Toronto earlier this year up for online auction through Ticketmaster as an attempt to cut out scalpers, and the British superstars also donated a portion of the premium proceeds to charity.   Now a number of other big names have jumped on the ticket auction bandwagon in conjunction with Ticketmaster, but no charities will be benefiting through ticket sales for upcoming shows by Madonna, Roger Waters or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.   Any mark-up on the

Longtime broker between the music industry and digital music firms will launch his own consultancy in July, with EMI and music info provider Muze lined up as clients.   The music industry's most high-profile digital emissary is flying the coup. Ted Cohen, who was one of the first music industry execs to support digital distribution and who has served as the industry's digital ambassador of sorts, has left his post at label giant EMI to start his own consultancy.   Cohen, 56, had served as senior

The Tube Music Network will make its Big Apple debut Thursday as a digital-multicast channel on WPIX-TV, the flagship of The WB, with a larger rollout expected by midsummer on cable systems throughout the New York metro area, officials said Wednesday.   WPIX -- known as WB11 and owned by Tribune Broadcasting -- will carry The Tube on channel 11.2.   MTV veteran Les Garland, The Tube’s CEO, called the launch on WPIX in New York a milestone for the three-year-old multicast network.“We’ve been amas

Glastonbury, The Movie, will be available on release on 2-disc Region 2 DVD on July 17, 2006. The features:   - Shuffle track feature enables viewers to substitute in alternative performances/bands throughout the duration of the film - 12 extra live performances including: Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs, White Stripes, Beck, The Killers, Goldfrapp, Oasis, Paul McCartney, REM, Nick Cave and Radiohead - 20 minutes of celebrity interviews from the likes of Coldplay, Noel Gallagher John Peel, James Br