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It is expected to be the largest concert event to hit Merriweather Post Pavilion in decades -- maybe ever -- and organizers of next weekend's HFStival are working to ensure that the fans not only enjoy their stay but are good guests of the planned community.   The outdoor concert pavilion is expanding its capacity, as well as its grounds, for a festival boasting a lineup of 60 acts, including Kanye West, Cyprus Hill, Counting Crows, the Strokes, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, over two days

At the beginning of this month EMI launched another attempt at marrying its business with US music rival Warner Music Group in a bid to compete on an equal footing with the likes of Sony-BMG and Universal.   But EMI’s $28.50 a share offer, funded through a mixture of cash and paper, was rebuffed by its US target. This follows three previous unsuccessful attempts to bring the two companies together, which have foundered on regulatory obstacles.   Many observers expect EMI to return with a highe

LONDON (Reuters) - Bertelsmann AG is in the final stages of preparing to auction its music publishing arm, people familiar with the plans said, with a process to start as soon as early June in a sale that could fetch as much as 900 million pounds.   The proceeds from the sale of BMG Music Publishing, which owns the rights to songs by Nelly, Christina Aguilera and Coldplay, could be used by Bertelsmann to avert an unwanted IPO of the German media conglomerate by a minority shareholder.   Bertelsm

Adriana Cisneros decided to raise money to fund her upcoming summer internship the fun way. She’s putting on a rock show.   “I’m not really a promoter, this is my first time doing this, but I’m considering doing more,” Cisneros, 19, said. “There are other promoters in town trying to make a big music scene here and I think it’s about time. We need a big music scene in Brownsville.”   Cisneros’ benefit show, dubbed “Tunnelvision,” happens tonight at The Tunnel café in Brownsville. Cisneros hopes t

Faced with a photo of a fly-encrusted child, the natural reaction should be to reach out and help.   Instead, I start hearing Bono and Coldplay in my head. It's the most mind-mangling act of branding in history. I agree with what they are saying - I just wish THEY weren't saying it. How can I open my wallet while my fists are curled with rage?   Take Bono's special edition of the Independent. It's incredibly annoying. You're trapped in a windowless room with the usual tedious sods who apparently

After months of online speculation, the promoters of the Austin City Limits Music Festival have announced the three-day event's lineup.   Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Massive Attack and John Mayer are among the headliners Sept. 15-17 at Austin's Zilker Park. Also confirmed to appear are Ben Harper, Los Lonely Boys, Ween, the Flaming Lips and the String Cheese Incident.   Now in its fifth year, the festival is co-produced by KLRU-TV, the Austin public televisi

Apple Computer Inc.'s dominant iTunes music download service is about to get tough new competition from a powerful pair or rivals -- software titan Microsoft Corp. and music video broadcaster MTV Networks.   The new service, called Urge, will charge buyers the same price as iTunes' popular 99-cent song downloads. But Urge also will let users download to their personal computer and listen to any recording in its 2-million-song catalog for $9.95 a month.   Users who pay $14.95 a month will be abl

The Wailers' bass player, Aston Barrett, has lost his high court bid for a £60m slice of Bob Marley's royalties. Barrett, nicknamed Family Man, is now superbly placed to write a song called 52 Kids and Not Enough Cash. But the case makes you wonder: how do bands split their royalties?   With difficulty. Songwriting royalties, not to be confused with recording royalties, come in four varieties - mechanical (eg CD sales); performing (radio airplay); synchronisation (film soundtracks); and print (s

It worked for Apple, it worked for Moses. Now will it work for you?   Rachel Waddilove is not a household name but she almost certainly will be by the end of this week. Fresh from a month of providing round-the-clock care for a very famous infant, Moses, the son of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, the maternity nurse is now launching what may well be seen as the most sensible book ever written on how to bring up a baby.   Anyone brave enough to enter the fraught arena of childcare advice needs

Sitting in a pew on Sunday morning seems almost embarrassingly old-fashioned in an era when you can watch a video recreation of the Last Supper on your Palm or get God's word text-messaged to your cellphone.   Bored with your pastor's ramblings? Select a peppier sermon from among hundreds of "godcasts" online. Just pick a topic: Christian dating? Old Testament prophets? Then download it to your MP3 player.   "We dare not change the Gospel. But the method of delivery? We better change it for each

Orson are officially the best new band of 2006.   Their recipe for success simple – positivity, funk and fun. They describe their sound as "two-guitar power-pop"or equally "rock 'n' roll that girls can dance to".   Again, simple. Their first single – 'No Tomorrow' - was the most downloaded Single Of The Week in the entire history of iTunes beating heavyweights like Coldplay, U2 and Madonna. People are so desperate to hear more that preview copies of their debut album 'Bright Idea' – out on the

Keane are back with their hotly anticipated follow up to 2004's huge selling Hopes and Fears, and Gareth Iacobucci gives the album its first major run-through for Sound Generator.   "Under The Iron Sea" is not as immediate as its predecessor and has a noticeably darker tone throughout, he writes. However, there are still enough great tunes to suggest that it will be one of the biggest albums of the year.   So what's it all about?1. Atlantic An eerie lingering piano hook and trippy drums recall

The world's third-largest music company EMI could raise its offer for smaller rival Warner Music to $30 per share after the U.S. firm rejected its $28.50 offer earlier this month, the Observer newspaper said.   But Warner could still hold out for a higher bid of about $33 per share, the newspaper said. EMI, home to artists such as Coldplay and Robbie Williams, offered $4.2 billion at the start of May and said it believed the acquisition would be a good deal for both comapnies' shareholders. Warn

Radiohead arrive in the chandeliered splendour of Blackpool's old ballroom in an odd sort of limbo. The grand millennial melancholy of OK, Computer was greeted like a latter-day Sergeant Pepper in 1997.   The contrary about turn of its successor Kid A's icy electronic soundscapes aided the impression that they were rock's new leaders. But ever since 2003's Hail to the Thief fumblingly tried to merge Radiohead's anthemic and experimental extremes, their sure step has faltered a little.   While th

Michael Stipe couldn’t take it anymore. He had to do something for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic issues they have been facing. “I felt like I had to do something as a Southerner;” he says. “I had to do something as a public figure. The one thing I can do is sing, and it’s maybe the best way to get people to pay attention.”   The R.E.M. leader rallied some friends and went into a studio to cut a cover of Joseph Arthur’s “In The Sun,” with proceeds from the iTunes-exclusive

Boutique hotel operator Morgans Hotel Group Co. on Thursday said it was buying the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas along with 23 acres of adjacent land and some related assets for $770 million.   The company said it would buy the property, which includes a 647-room hotel and 30,000 square-foot casino on 16.7 acres of land, from Hard Rock Hotel's chairman and founder Peter Morton. Morgans Hotel, which owns and operates boutique hotels under brands such as Delano and Mondrian, said it wo

The BBC is being forced to appeal to staff to fill up audience space in studios because of irregularities that have arisen from potential breaches of UK licensing laws.   Director general Mark Thompson has emailed staff asking them to make up the audiences for shows including Top of the Pops, while the Corporation continues discussions with local councils over the licensing issue.   In recent months the BBC has been caught out in breach of rules hosting gigs for bands such as Red Hot Chilli Pepp

Alt-rock band Snow Patrol doesn’t need to put much more in terms of musical offer much more to fans except more albums in the future. The Irish rockers institute a melody of rock entranced with valor and tenderness that echoes that of Coldplay or even U2s previously produced works.   The bands latest LP Eyes Open demonstrates a luminosity of validity that presents Snow Patrol as one of the best acts in the biz. Eyes Open demonstrates the bands collective talents and versatility as artists on a

Last week, a Slate reader told the Explainer that, despite using multiple telephones and computers, he was unable to buy tickets to an upcoming Radiohead concert.   10 minutes after tickets went on sale, the Ticketmaster Web site told him the show had sold out. According to news reports last month, tickets to two Madonna shows at Madison Square Garden sold out in 10 minutes. A promoter also recently claimed that two Bruce Springsteen shows in the United Kingdom sold out in 10 minutes.   Can a sh

It's a rare day of special promise: a brand spanking new Paul Simon album, Surprise. All cool people obviously must hear this. Partly, this is a collaboration with Brian Eno. What sweet wonders await us?   The Red Hot Chili Peppers release their two CD set Stadium Arcadium. The single "Dani California" doesn't sound like much to me — it's barely better than the crappy Pearl Jam. It is, however, a hit single already. Curious though for a band with a new double album that they only played one new

Who’s the hottest potato in this year’s crop of vivacious vegetarians in PETA’s popular annual contest?   The results are in, and after tallying more than 250,000 votes, super-fit 19-year-old Salina native Ricky House has been crowned the male "Sexiest Vegetarian Alive."   Ricky, a student at the University of Kansas, faced stiff competition from other entrants across Canada and the U.S. Everybody knows that vegetarians’ healthy diets help keep them youthful and slim, and after joining the ranks

Influential Go-Betweens singer Grant McLennan has died from a heart attack at the age of 48.   The Aussie singer-songwriter who was a major influence on bands such as REM, U2, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand died just before a party he was holding in honour of girlfriend Emma in Brisbane.   A few weeks ago Grant and the band played at a birthday party for Hollywood star Cate Blanchett’s husband Andrew Upton as they were the couple’s favourite rock group.Bernard MacMahon of his label Lo-Max Records

Apple Computer Inc. is entitled to use the apple logo on its iTunes Music Store, a judge ruled Monday, rejecting a suit filed by Apple Corps Ltd., the guardian of The Beatles' commercial interests.   Apple Corps, which claimed that the computer company had broken a 1991 agreement in which each side agreed not to enter into the other's field of business, said it would appeal.   Judge Edward Mann of Britain's High Court ruled that Apple Computer used the fruit logo in association with the store,

On the surface, Edgar Bronfman and Eric Nicoli would seem to have little in common.   Bronfman is the starry heir to the Seagram whisky fortune, a former songwriter and Hollywood executive. Nicoli is a former food industry boss who launched the Yorkie and Lion chocolate bars. He tucks his T-shirts into his trousers. But for six years the businesses they run have been locked in a sometimes flat-footed waltz.   Last Monday, Nicoli, chairman of EMI, made a call to the New York offices of Bronfman’s

A High Court judge is due to rule Monday in the legal fight between Apple Computer and the Beatles' Apple Corps record label over the use of the apple logo.   Apple Corps Ltd. is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming that the U.S.-based computer company has broken a 1991 agreement in which each agreed not to enter into the other's field of business.   The British company, started by the Beatles in 1968, argues that Apple Computer has infringed its territory by entering the music business and is se