Razorlight have slammed rival bands who keep churning out the same old material.

Frontman Johnny Borrell says fans can expect variety in their new album - a veiled jibe at other bands, including Coldplay and U2, which play safe. He told Britain's NME magazine: "We're not one to do a formula and repeat it 10 times, we like to write songs."

The band is facing a race against time to finish their second album. The deadline to complete the record is in two weeks - but some tracks are still not finished and the album is untitled. Borrell said: "There's a couple of songs where there's more work to be done and it's always a worry until you've finished."

However, Razorlight have decided what their new single will be. 'In The Morning' - a favourite of the band - hits the airwaves this week and will be released on July 3. Borrell said: "From the moment it was born I really liked it and it was one of the first contenders for the album."

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The volatile Oasis siblings Noel and Liam Gallagher are still locked in a bitter feud after the singer claimed six-year-old Anais isn't Noel's biological daughter.

The Wonderwall hitmakers were playing gigs in Barcelona, Spain, in 2000 when Liam claimed Noel's ex-wife Meg Matthews had duped him into taking on someone else's child. And the pair have yet to settle their argument. Noel says, "Has he apologised? Has he fuck. He should be ashamed of himself, but he isn't of course. The man is 33 years old, but acts like he's 18."

Meanwhile Liam Gallagher: Liam Gallagher has slammed his band Oasis as second rate, conceding arch-rivals Coldplay are greater musicians. The Wonderwall frontman is horrified by his diminished status, but admits the time has come to acknowledge the superiority of a wealth of bands including U2 and The Rolling Stones. He says, "What bothers me is that we're not the biggest band in the world any more. U2, the Stones, even Coldplay are bigger than us."

Babies' names become a window into the psyches of Hollywood's elite

It's a measure of what we have come to expect from celebrities to consider that if Henry Fonda were alive and having children today, it would seem as likely for him to name his daughter, say, Hanoi, as simply to call her Jane.

It seems almost unimaginable for any 21st-century movie star to send his children out among the Hollywood elite equipped with ordinary names like Michael, Eric, Joel and Peter, as Kirk Douglas once did.

This point was driven home again last month, when Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband, Chris Martin, the frontman of the band Coldplay, named their newborn son Moses. It was an unlikely enough name for a baby boy born in 2006, but perhaps less startling than the much discussed (and mocked) handle his sister, Apple, born two years ago, will carry through life.Not that a name such as Apple Martin stands out among celebrity children anymore. The director Peter Farrelly plucked that very name for his daughter before Apple Martin came along. Even that name seems drab compared with such Hollywood baby names as Pilot Inspektor, cooked up by Jason Lee, the star of My Name Is Earl, or Banjo, the inspiration of the Six Feet Under star Rachel Griffiths, or Moxie CrimeFighter, a name chosen last year by Penn Jillette, the comedian and magician, for his daughter.

Skeptics scoff at the mad rush by stars to come up with exotic baby names as another means for the attention-hungry to grab headlines. But psychologists and others who have worked with high-profile performers say that the naming of children can function as a window into a psyche. Perhaps subconsciously, they say, stars seize the opportunity of parenthood to express their obsessions, ambitions and inner quirks in a way that is, for a change, unscripted and not stage-managed by publicists.

Jillette, for example, managed to satisfy a number of interests and objectives when he and his wife, Emily, gave their daughter her highly individual name.

"You're likely to be the only one in any normal-size group with that name," Jillette said by e-mail, adding, "'Moxie' is a name that was created by an American for the first national soft drink and then went on to mean 'chutzpah,' and that's nice."

Besides, Moxie CrimeFighter fits right into the creative world.

"Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it," he wrote. "It's only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think? They're named Dave."

Not all performers present their decisions in such terms.

"Apples are so sweet, and they're wholesome, and it's biblical," Paltrow said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2004. "And I just thought it sounded so lovely and clean." ("Moses," meanwhile, is a song that Martin wrote for Paltrow in 2003.)

But while middle-class parents increasingly trade in such standard names as Karen and Joseph for fancier ones such as Madison and Caleb, movie stars seem compelled to push the baby naming further. The names may be merely distinctive (say, Maddox, Angelina Jolie's Cambodian-born adopted son) or bizarre, such as Makena'lei Gordon, Helen Hunt's daughter, inspired by a place name in Hawaii. Celebrities may not so subtly be saying that for them ordinary rules need not apply.

The unusual celebrity baby name is not new. Decades ago, Anthony Perkins named his sons Osgood and Elvis, and Marlon Brando named his daughter Cheyenne. And Paltrow, the daughter of the actress Blythe Danner and the director and producer Bruce Paltrow, is named Gwyneth, after all.

But those who track the popularity of baby names say that the pressure for stars to come up with creative names for their children has grown in recent years, particularly as Hollywood members of Generations X and Y have moved into their peak years of child rearing, carrying with them their generation's taste for obscure pop-cultural references, iconoclasm and smirky irony.

Just as Frank Zappa proved himself the classic hippie prankster by naming his children Moon Unit and Dweezil in the 1960s, the actress Shannyn Sossamon, 26, established herself as a proud product of her times by naming her son, born in 2003, Audio Science.

The famous also have a traditional role as taste-makers. It's hardly a coincidence that the name Ryder, which was the 901st most popular boy's name in the country in 2001, according to Social Security Administration statistics, jumped to 341 in 2004, the year Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson chose it for their newborn son.

But as regular people - the sort who wait in line at restaurants and pay for their own clothing - try to catch up, the stars are pushed further into the realms of obscure names, in an effort to stay ahead of this particular fashion curve. So stars troll deeper into the Old Testament for name ideas (both Bono and Wynonna Judd have an Elijah, and Cynthia Nixon has a Charles Ezekiel), into world geography (David and Victoria Beckham have a Brooklyn, and Summer Phoenix and Casey Affleck have an Indiana) or even into Grandmother's attic. (Jude Law dusted off the name Iris for his daughter, and Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams exhumed the name Matilda for their first child last fall.)

Some therapists said that the celebrity impulse to foist odd names on their children amounts to simple narcissism by the parents, and the resulting status comes at the child's expense. The children, after all, are the ones who will have to raise their hands every time a teacher calls out "Coco" or "Eulala."

"It's like having a mini me," said Robert R. Butterworth, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, who has had actors on his patient roster. "The child is a part of them, not an individual. It's an appendage."

The burden of celebrity falls even on the unborn. The child Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are expecting has already been a cover subject for magazines.

Source: journalnow.com

Music giant EMI was said today to be preparing a new £2.4bn takeover bid for Warner Music that it hopes will be more in tune with the wishes of its board.

It is probable that EMI will table an offer that consists mainly of cash and a smaller number of shares than its original £2.31bn approach which was rebuffed by US rival Warner, according to the Sunday Telegraph. But the firm is not expected to make an approach immediately and another report said major shareholder Schroders was unhappy with any deal that would dilute its stake or lead to a rights issue to finance the bid, although other institutions were thought to be supportive.

A combination would create the world’s third largest music company behind Universal Music and Sony BMG, bringing together artists such as Coldplay and Robbie Williams in the EMI stable with Madonna in the Warner camp.EMI chairman Eric Nicoli has so far failed to capture Warner Music on three occasions even though analysts feel a marriage of the two record labels is compelling, with cost savings likely to be as high as £210m. The EMI board believes that Warner’s three private equity shareholders – Bain & Co, Providence and Thomas H Lee – are inclined to sell out but are waiting to see an improved offer, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

But analysts have noted that Warner boss Edgar Bronfman Jnr has not ruled out making a counter-bid for London-based EMI. This could prove difficult as Mr Bronfman would have to find more than $6bn in funding to acquire EMI and pay off his private equity backers. Regulators are expected to look favourably at a deal involving EMI and Warner because of the changing nature of the music industry, including the growth of digital downloads.

EMI, which is worth £2.2bn, has enjoyed improved fortunes lately with revenues up 4% in the year to March 31 after digital music sales soared and the likes of Coldplay, Gorillaz, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones staged successful album launches. The company is expected to post a profits rise of 12% at its annual results on May 23.

EMI has said both its record label and publishing arm, which sells music rights to film and television makers, outperformed the global industry last year.

Source: http://www.breakingnews.ie

There were rounds of thunderous applause, brightly painted signs covered in hearts and piercing screams from flustered girls who were practically crying in delight: The AllNighters' spring concert was Hopkins' version of a `90's boy band show.

The all-male a cappella group performed their annual spring concert this past Saturday to a rowdy crowd in Mudd Auditorium. The 16 strapping young men in their signature ties and vests were soaked up the energy from the audience.

Freshman Alejandro De Simone had solos in both "Creep" by Radiohead and "Pardon Me" by Incubus. He may not be their strongest soloist, but his voice is well suited for these slower, intense songs. Other songs in their setlist included "All Those Days Are Gone" by Jump, Little Children and "Shiver" by Coldplay.

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The story of Eisley is as fanciful as their music is angelic. Imagine being a teenager and putting together a band with your siblings, making a few demos that somehow end up in the hands of Coldplay, and then promptly being asked to open for the British rockers during their sold-out 2003 tour.

It's the true story of three sisters Stacy Dupree, 17; Sherri Dupree, 23; and Chauntelle Dupree, 25; their brother, Weston Dupree, 19; and a friend, Jon Wilson.

"It was crazy because it was our first tour, and we were opening for a band with an audience of thousands of people," says Sherri, calling from the road on her way to Tulsa, Okla.After returning from tour, the quintet released two EPs, Laughing City and Marvelous Things, and spent the next two years working with everyone from Rob Schnapf of Beck and Elliot Smith renown; to Michelle Branch and Sheryl Crow collaborator John Shanks; to Green Day production wizard Rob Cavallo recording their debut album for Reprise, 2005's Room Noises.

That debut led to much critical acclaim. Blender Magazine crowned them "The Next Big Thing"; Entertainment Weekly dubbed them "Band on the Brink." They won Yahoo's "Who's Next" artist, a distinction determined by fans, and they were nominated for an MTVu Woodie award.

But the accolades haven't gone to anyone's head yet. Sibling rivalry is not something the members in Eisley have had to deal with.

"Everyone gets along really well. We're all best friends," says Sherri. "We get into arguments, but it's not anything too serious."

When Wilson left the band last year to pursue other interests, the band didn't have to look far for his replacement. Eisley added their cousin, 16-year-old Garron DuPree, as bassist. They keep the road a family affair as their father Boyd manages tours for the home-schooled group from Tyler, Texas.

"Our parents, we're really good friends with them," Sherri says. "They take care of us and keep us in line so it's not a big deal."

With such a functional lifestyle, the band's sources of inspiration are a mystery.

"It can come from the mood you're in that day or a book that you read," says Sherri. "We have a new song that we wrote after reading the book 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' I read it first and then Stacy read it, then we wrote a song about it."

The band's new record hasn't even been recorded yet, and it's already made Alternative Press' Top 50 Most Anticipated Records of the Year for 2006.

They'll wrap up their spring tour at the Beale Street Music Festival Sunday, playing the Budweiser stage at 2 p.m. Then they'll take a little time off before going back to making music.

"In July, we go back into the studio," Sherri says. "We've written tons of new songs, we probably have the 12 songs for the next album, but we'll keep writing until it's done."

Music group EMI yesterday revealed a fresh blow in its long-running attempts to secure a takeover of US rival Warner Music.

A combination would create the world's third largest music company behind Universal and Sony BMG, bringing together artists such as Coldplay and Robbie Williams in the EMI stable with Madonna in the Warner camp. But the London company said it had been told by the US group that it did not wish to enter into takeover talks with EMI.

Such a deal has long been expected in the industry and EMI failed to land its rival with a £1bn bid at the end of 2003. The business was eventually sold by its owner Time Warner to a private equity consortium led by Edgar Bronfman Jr, the former chief executive of Seagram.EMI approached Warner on Monday with a cash and shares offer that valued the US business at around £2.31bn. The offer was worth $28.50 a share and compared with a 52- week high for Warner Music's share price of $27.88. EMI said it was told by Warner Music the next day "that it did not wish to enter into discussions regarding EMI's proposal".

The UK firm said it was still interested in a takeover of Warner Music, but not at any cost. It said, "The board of EMI continues to believe that an acquisition of Warner Music by EMI would be very attractive to both sets of shareholders, but will only pursue a transaction that delivers enhanced value and earnings accretion to EMI shareholders."

Regulators are expected to look favourably at a deal involving EMI and Warner because of the changing nature of the music industry, including the growth of digital downloads. EMI, which is worth £2.2bn, has enjoyed improved fortunes lately, with revenues up 4% in the year to March 31 after digital music sales soared and the likes of Coldplay, Gorillaz, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones staged successful album launches. The company is expected to post a profits rise of 12% at annual results on May 23. EMI has said both its record label and publishing arm, which sells music rights to film and television makers, outperformed the global industry last year.

Warner confirmed its rejection of the EMI offer, adding, "The board has determined that the proposal is not in the best interests of our shareholders and has unanimously rejected it."

New York-based Warner is home to a number of well-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Reprise and Warner Brothers.

Source: Various

Rocker Courtney Love is still mortified about her behaviour when she first met Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, because she was rude and high on crack cocaine.

The former Hole singer is further embarrassed because she accused him of being in a rival British band, while Martin behaved like the perfect gentleman.

Love says, "The first time I met Chris Martin I was on crack and I was an absolute asshole and I kept saying, 'Aren't you in Travis?' to him. "I was just so horrible to him and I can't believe that he was so nice to me."

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Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? How about Moses, Malachi, Jerusha and Asher?

When actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin decided to name their newborn son Moses, it commanded attention almost as much as the name of the baby's older sister, Apple.

Did his parents name him for the song that appears on the Coldplay DVD "Live 2003"? Or did they just want a biblical name that was different, something beyond Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Are more parents now looking for such names? Lorilee Craker, author of "A is for Adam: Biblical Baby Names" (WaterBrook Press, $7.95), thinks so.

"Young parents today want their babies' names to have some sort of meaning," says Craker, whose own children are named Jonah, Ezra and Phoebe."They don't want to just pick a trendy name that will sound kind of dated in 10 years. They want something that's classic and meaningful."

We recently asked readers to tell us if they or their children had uncommon names from the Bible or other religious texts, and asked Craker to share her take on each one.

For good measure, Craker threw in other biblical names that are - or soon will be, she says - big: Jadon and Jaden, Jotham, Lydia, Malachi, Micah and Silas.

- Darius, son of Christiane Amanpour and James Rubin

- Delilah, daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin

- Elias, son of Vincent D'Onofrio and Carin van der Donk

- Elijah, son of Wynonna Judd and Arch Kelley

- Esther, daughter of Ewan McGregor and Eve Mavrakis

- Eve, daughter of Bono and Ali Hewson

- Ezekiel, son of Beau Bridges and Wendy Treece Bridges

- Ezra, son of Paul Reiser and Paula Ravets

- Isaac and Gideon, sons of Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody

- Jaden, son of Christian Slater and Ryan Haddon

- Judah, son of Lucy Lawless and Robert Tapert

- Levi, son of Dave "The Edge" Evans and Morleigh Steinberg

- Noah, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and Leticia Finley

- Raphael, son of Juliette Binoche and Andre Halle

- Salome, daughter of Alex Kingston and Florian Haertel

- Simeon, son of Wynton Marsalis and Candace Stanley

- Zion, David and Selah Louise, children of Lauryn Hill and Rohan Marley

Source: http://news.enquirer.com

Q. You were touring with Coldplay — what was that like after not touring for so long?

A. It was really a lot of fun. It was surprisingly easy. I was thinking about 10 years ago, when I opened for big bands like that. I used to hate it — it was always in these huge places, the sound was really weird, and the people don’t know who you are, and the ones who do know don’t like you; they’re talking through the performance. But everything I hated about it was exactly the reason I wanted to go out this time. I was using it as a ruler to see how I handled things because I used to not handle it so well 10 years ago.I guess the big difference is that this time, everyone knows who you are.

I have no idea who knew me out there, but they were pretty responsive. The main thing that is different is I’m so much more about satisfying myself. I’m having fun, enjoying what I do, rather than hoping that everybody is (approving) of me. I learned the hard way that you can’t go out there and make people feel about you the way you want them to.

The new album was your best debut (on the charts. Does that define success to you?

I feel successful the times in my life when I can look around at the people I have working with me and know that there’s not one person I don’t absolutely adore individually, that I don’t absolutely trust and respect and admire. That makes me feel really smart and savvy, even to have surrounded myself with such wonderful people.

Just wondering — why “Columbo”? (During a long battle with her label, she reportedly sat around in a bathroom watching “Columbo.”)

I really, really love Peter Falk. I had never been into that show. I had heard of it, but they started rerunning it on Bravo. I watched one, and I was hooked. It became like my teddy bear, my comfort.

Source: kansascity.com

NEW YORK -- Rolling Stone magazine celebrates its 1,000th issue this week with a burst of rock 'n' roll excess: a glitzy Manhattan party with the Strokes as house band and a 3-D cover that mimics the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" sleeve and cost nearly $1 million to produce.

It's an audacious sign of how Rolling Stone, which has numbered its issues since Jann Wenner put out No. 1 in 1967, remains dominant even with changing times and music.

Rolling Stone loves to mark special occasions with special issues; this time, it's focusing on its covers. Dr. Hook once sang of the thrill musicians get when they're "On the Cover of Rolling Stone." At Wenner Media's office in New York, all the covers are lined up on hallway walls, starting with John Lennon on RS No. 1."The cover is iconic," Wenner said. "The cover, more than any other thing we do, resonates in people's minds. By and large the greatest things we've done, the greatest stories, have had the greatest covers."

The 3-D cover is pure Wenner. Much like Beatles fans pored over the pastiche of faces on "Sgt. Pepper," he wants readers to study his cover for their own cultural reference points. There's Chuck Berry duck-walking, Madonna grabbing her crotch, Bono with a microphone and even -- upon very close inspection -- Waldo.

Wenner believes it's the costliest magazine cover ever. He denies with an expletive reports that the magazine's publisher, Steve DeLuca, left in February because his boss was pinching pennies on the party.

The issue is clogged with details like Wenner's favorite cover (Annie Leibovitz's portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono taken hours before Lennon was shot) and the most memorable cover headline ("He's Hot, He's Sexy and He's Dead" about Jim Morrison). Mostly, it's a nostalgic look at a time when the magazine spoke for a generation and an art form.

Getting on Rolling Stone's cover "wasn't just publicity, the way all magazine covers have become," comic Steve Martin writes in RS 1000. "It was in itself an artistic achievement."

When he first saw his face upfront, Tom Petty said, "I felt I had arrived."

Although Rolling Stone's circulation has been flat the past few years at slightly more than 1.3 million, it still comfortably leads other music-oriented magazines such as Vibe (836,000) and Blender (693,000), according to the Capell Circulation Report.

"Rolling Stone is so clearly the big dog," said Alan Light, former editor of Vibe, Spin and the late Tracks magazines who did freelance work for this most recent RS issue. "They're the biggest player on the table and you can't go into that space without defining yourself in some way in relation to Rolling Stone -- it's an urban Rolling Stone, or a younger Rolling Stone or it's not Rolling Stone."

The magazine tries to walk the tightrope of appealing to its original subscribers yet also attracting readers born two decades after "Sgt. Pepper" was released.

"The average age of our audience is 28 years old," Wenner said. "When I started it was 21. In 40 years, it's aged like seven years. We keep bringing in new readers and holding the old readers."

No other music magazine "has put a glove on us editorially," Wenner said.

"Our competitors -- God bless them all -- you can't think of one memorable article, interview or issue they've ever done, whereas Rolling Stone keeps knocking them out of the park," he said. "Can you think of one great Blender issue?"

Retorted Craig Marks, Blender editor in chief: "Of course I can.

"How about the issue we did featuring the pampered offspring of such baby boomer legends as Art Garfunkel?" he said. "Oh, wait. That was Rolling Stone. OK, then, how about the one where we broke the news that Jim Hendrix was still dead?

"Shoot, that was Rolling Stone, too. Perhaps if Jann wasn't so busy reliving his magazine's bygone glory years, he'd realize that music fans -- not to mention contemporary superstars U2, Gwen Stefani and Coldplay, among many -- have long ago turned away from their dad's publication and instead turned to Blender."

Marks wouldn't talk further about his competitor unless it was for an article that equally discussed Blender's fifth anniversary.

Blender clearly rattled Rolling Stone at the outset. While "it hasn't proven to be real competition," Wenner said, he admitted to stealing ideas like running more and shorter music reviews.

After briefly trying to reinvent itself and appearing lost as a result, Rolling Stone returned to its original template, said Samir Husni, a University of Mississippi journalism professor who publishes an annual guide to consumer magazines.

"We have nothing like it," Husni said. "We have nothing that really combines the music as the jumping point toward politics, national affairs, business. Rolling Stone is really unique in that respect."

Rolling Stone's interest in things besides music is key to its success and longevity, Wenner said. Hunter S. Thompson became famous because of his political and social reportage in Rolling Stone. So did P.J. O'Rourke.

It's all filtered through Wenner's distinctly liberal point of view; he has autographed pictures of Bill Clinton and Al Gore hanging outside his office. RS No. 999's cover story had historians speculating whether George W. Bush was the worst president ever.

"There's no question in anybody's mind that the No. 1 story the last two or three years has been the war in Iraq and Bush," he said. "People are obsessed with it and furious. I am, personally. Beyond that, it's just good journalistic sense."

Rap, punk rock, emo, death metal, alt country -- all are musical genres that emerged since Rolling Stone's birth and all have publications that cater to them. It's harder for Rolling Stone to have the impact it used to have because there's no real cultural center anymore and a voracious media is covering subjects that Rolling Stone virtually had to itself at the beginning, Light said.

But nothing has really replaced it.

"How can you be a general interest pop culture magazine when there isn't a general interest listener?" Light asked. "There's a bunch of stratified listeners with different interests. What would you do differently with that magazine? I have yet to have anybody come up with a really good answer."

The mercurial Wenner, who edited every piece in the anniversary tribute, is still an enthusiastic music fan who boasted of seeing Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Weezer, U2, the Rolling Stones twice and Bob Dylan three times in a four-month period.

He's also now 60, at the vanguard of his generation. He said he figures to have another five, 10 years in his current job, and insists he'll be able to lie on a beach somewhere as an old man and read a Rolling Stone that he had nothing to do with.

"It's important to me that the future is provided for, that it will keep going," he said. "You work all your life on something, you want to keep it going."

Source: Various

People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals has come up with its annual list of nominees to vie for the title of world's sexiest vegetarian.

Among those in the running from the music world are Avril Lavigne, Joss Stone, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, Fiona Apple, Jane Siberry, Joan Jett, K.D. Lang, Pink, Princess Superstar, Fall Out Boy's Andy Hurley, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis, Boy George, Bryan Adams, Damon Albarn, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, K-OS, U2's Larry Mullen Jr., Moby, Morrissey, INXS' JD Fortune, Paul McCartney, Perry Farrell, Prince, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Ziggy Marley and Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden.

In looking at some of those names, it seems that a lack of meat in your diet can cause you to lose all comprehension of what's sexy.There are also a number of actors, actresses and other celebrities listed on this website, where you can vote for your favourite through May 21.

This is PETA's sixth annual poll. Past winners include Shania Twain, Outkast's Andre 3000, Coldplay's Chris Martin, American Idol Carrie Underwood, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire and Alicia Silverstone.

Source: chartattack.com

EMI is preparing a renewed bid for Warner Music after its US-based rival rejected a $4.23bn (£2.35bn) cash-and-shares offer. Warner said yesterday that EMI's bid - its third attempt in six years to woo the US music group - was not in the best interests of its shareholders, but sources close to EMI described it as "a first offer" that they had expected to be dismissed.

A duet between the industry's number three and four players has been long-anticipated, but the offer of $28.50 per Warner share, delivered on Monday by Eric Nicoli, EMI's chairman, proved a disappointment after several weeks of rumours that talks were back on.

A deal would bring together Coldplay and Kylie Minogue from the EMI side, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Madonna. It would also open up the opportunity for another round of cost savings in an industry ravaged by internet piracy and the decline of CD sales.Their first attempt at a merger in 2000 was vetoed by European competition authorities. The pair talked again in 2003 but Warner Music was eventually sold by its owner Time Warner to a private equity consortium.

And it would give Edgar Bronfman, the Seagram whisky heir who led the private equity buy-in of the company in 2004, a lucrative and reputation-enhancing exit to pursue new ventures.

EMI saidthat "the board continues to believe that an acquisition of Warner Music by EMI would be very attractive to both sets of shareholders", although it cautioned that it would not do a deal that diluted earnings. Smoke signals from both camps suggested that haggling over price is set to resume, with results due from Warner tomorrow likely to be particularly important. EMI is said to have scope to increase the cash element of its bid.

Analysts have also begun to assess the possible cost savings EMI could wring from any deal, which might allow it to raise its offer. Lorna Tilbian, a media sector analyst at Numis Securities, said you only need look to Kensington in London - where both companies have lavish headquarters - to see that there is significant overlap that could be removed. She said: "We estimate that an EMI-Warner combination would potentially yield savings of £100m.

"But the companies' announcements highlight the difficulties in putting together such a deal, particularly with respect to valuation and management. Moreover, if Warner is holding our for a higher price, this raises the risk that EMI could overpay."

EMI shares closed down 4 per cent at 270.5p, while Warner Music's moved up in early trading, but remained below the level of EMI's offer. Sources said Warner Music's management remained open-minded about the prospects of a deal but were also considering other options, including its own eventual bid for EMI.

Both management teams have argued that a "merger of equals" is unlikely to succeed in an industry fuelled by giant-size egos. A takeover of one by the other would leapfrog the combined group into second place in the global music industry, behind Universal Music.

Time Warner sold Warner Music for $2.6bn to a private-equity consortium consisting of Thomas H Lee, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners when concerns about music piracy were at their most rampant. A Wall Street flotation last year meant they had made back their original investment but they still control 75 per cent of the company.

Mr Bronfman, who owns 10 per cent, has stripped out $250m of costs by axing 20 per cent of the workforce. The turnaround has restored Mr Bronfman's reputation, after his decision five years ago to sell the Bronfman family's Seagram empire to Vivendi Universal of France, for $34bn, in an all-stock deal. The Bronfmans lost billions of dollars as Vivendi came close to collapse.

Source: http://news.independent.co.uk

He said, I'm gonna buy this place and burn it down

I'm gonna put it six feet underground

So sings Chris Martin, front man of Coldplay, EMI's top-selling act. But is Eric Nicoli, the music group's chairman, having his very own Rush of Blood to the Head with his $4.23bn offer for Warner Music?

Nicoli could be forgiven for having torn out what's left of his hair several times over during the past seven years, given the number of times he has tried and failed to tie the knot with Warner. He's got close at least twice so he's now hoping it's third time lucky.Warner Music, led by Edgar Bronfman, is right to have rejected EMI's $28.50 "preliminary non-binding proposal". But there probably won't be much more on the table when Nicoli returns, which he is sure to do. The man who loves the blues might add another $1.50 a share or so but that will be it.

Warner Music's private equity backers are in no rush to sell, having already got back their original investment through dividend payments and refinancing. But there isn't another willing buyer like EMI around who can justify $30 a share, thanks to the cost savings and other benefits it can extract from crunching the two companies together.

The key consideration for Warner shareholders is what chance they have of ever seeing $30 a share again. In the absence of a bid, that level seems unlikely for some time. The alternative would be for Warner to turn the tables and buy EMI, but that would be expensive and complicated and, for private equity, the offer of a profitable cash exit now should prove just too tempting.

So the industrial logic to the tie-up is compelling and, having seen rivals BMG and Sony already forge a joint venture, and Universal get bigger and bigger, the timing could not be better. Nicoli will need to throw US and European competition regulators some meat, which is why selling Warner's music publishing arm makes sense.

Which leaves the age-old problem of egos, something music companies have no shortage of. Who gets to control the sound system could yet scupper the deal. But Warner's private equity backers are unlikely to let so-called "social" problems get in the way of completing if there's cash on the table.

The hard bit for Nicoli will be to mesh the two cultures together. If he can't he can always hum Coldplay.

I'm gonna buy this place, that's what I said

Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head

Source: telegraph.co.uk

UK record companies released 31,291 albums in 2005 - more than double the number released 10 years previously, and almost 2,000 more than 2004.

According to figures published by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), online and digital music retailers are chiefly responsible for the rise. Seven of the UK's Top 10 best-selling albums of 2005 were by British acts. BPI chairman Peter Jamieson hailed last year as "predominantly a year of home-grown British rock bands".

The trade association has declared rock as the British music fan's favourite genre, accounting for a 36.2% share of the albums market. This is partly due to its classification of Coldplay and KT Tunstall under the heading "contemporary rock".James Blunt - whose Back to Bedlam album was 2005's biggest seller, despite being released in 2004 - is classified as one of the pop acts responsible for one in four albums sold in the UK. British artists in general accounted for 49.4% of all UK album sales in 2005, their highest share since 1998.

"Record companies support a hugely diverse range of genres," continued Mr Jamieson. "But ultimately it's the music fan who decides what's successful."

TOP UK SELLERS OF 2005:

1. James Blunt, Back to Bedlam

2. Coldplay, X&Y

3. Robbie Williams, Intensive Care

4. Kaiser Chiefs, Employment

5. Gorillaz, Demon Days

6. Westlife, Face to Face

7. KT Tunstall, Eye to the Telescope

8. Kelly Clarkson, Breakaway

9. Eminem, Curtain Call

10. Faithless, Forever Faithless

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

It’s official, guitar music was bigger than pop in the UK last year.

Acts like Kaiser Chiefs, Coldplay and The Killers are figureheads of the recent surge in the popularity of guitar music.

Figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) show that guitar music has a 36% share of UK album sales, while pop has just a quarter. Better still, of the top ten selling guitar acts, seven of them are British, with Coldplay topping the list.BPI chairman Peter Jamieson told 6music: "Record companies support a hugely diverse range of genres. But ultimately it's the music fan who decides what's successful. Last year they decided by some margin that 2005 was predominantly a year of home-grown British rock bands."

The top ten selling guitar albums are as follows:

1 ‘X&Y’ - Coldplay

2 ‘Employment’ - Kaiser Chiefs

3 ‘Demon Days’ - Gorillaz

4 ‘Eye to the Telescope’ - KT Tunstall

5 ‘Hot Fuss’ – The Killers

6 ‘Don't Believe The Truth’ - Oasis

7 ‘American Idiot’ - Green Day

8 ‘Hopes and Fears’ - Keane

9 ‘Life in Slow Motion’ - David Gray

10 ‘In Your Honour’ - Foo Fighters

The closure of Edinburgh live music club The Venue has prompted calls in the Scottish Parliament for more action to preserve popular culture.

Scottish Socialist leader and Lothians MSP Colin Fox has tabled a motion, regretting the sale of the Calton Road venue for redevelopment as flats, offices and an upmarket delicatessen, and calling on the Scottish Executive to take a lead in protecting cultural venues from "the worst ravages of developers".

Mr Fox said The Venue had long been a supporter of both signed and unsigned bands and its closure was a further erosion of the Capital's music scene.He added: "This is indicative of the increased emphasis placed on development to the detriment of popular culture, which is out of keeping in a city with the reputation of Edinburgh."

The operators of The Venue last month admitted defeat in their search for a new home because of soaring property prices.

The club has staged gigs by bands such as The Proclaimers, The Strokes, Scissor Sisters, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand. It has also played host to DJs including John Peel, Green Velvet and Jeff Mills. The Venue is due to close its doors for the last time next month.

Source: http://news.scotsman.com

Some Independent Musicians Have Found Creative Ways to Avoid High Gas Prices on Tour

People across the country have felt their budgets squeezed as gas prices soared to near record highs over the past month. It's been a particular problem for small businesses and consumers who drive extensively for their livelihoods.

The gas gouge has had ripple effects across a wide swath of industries, and has put pressure on a somewhat unlikely group of laborers: musicians.

High gas prices probably don't pressure the big boys like Coldplay or U2, whose multimillion-selling albums and rich record deals ensure luxury travel and accommodations all across the world. But for fledgling and developing midlevel musicians, the expense of traversing the country to play local venues for money and exposure has skyrocketed during the past several months.

Read the full article here

Gwyneth Paltrow has a secret to getting in shape after pregnancy - girdles.

The screen beauty, who is married to Coldplay rocker Chris Martin, started wearing the waist-cinching garments after giving birth to son Moses last month. She has also started a strict diet to help shift the extra pounds.

A source told Britain's Grazia magazine: "Gwyneth gave up wheat, sugar, caffeine and dairy straight after Moses was born. And she's also wearing a special girdle designed to pull her waist back into shape. She follows quite a strict diet anyway, but she got her figure back quickly after having her daughter, Apple, and now wants to achieve the same following Moses' birth."It isn't the first time the actress has admitted turning to some secret support.

After having her Apple, now two, Gwyneth confessed: "I wore two girdles! It's a great trick. That's how all the Hollywood girls do it.

"There are these great things called Spanx, which are like bike shorts, and they just squeeze you in. It's terrific."

Source: femalefirst.co.uk

World's fourth-largest music company denies $4.2 billion offer after board evaluation determines deal not in best interest of shareholders

Warner Music, the world's fourth-largest music company, has rejected a $4.2 billion takeover approach from its larger rival EMI Group, the latest in a long-running quest to combine the two companies.

EMI, whose artists include Coldplay and Robbie Williams, revealed the bid of $28.50 per share Wednesday and said it still believes that buying Warner Music would be a good deal for both companies' shareholders. Warner Music and EMI, the world's third-largest music company by revenue, have tried to merge twice before but were blocked by European regulators.Analysts have long expected the firms to try yet again in order to compete more effectively with their much larger rivals Universal Music and Sony BMG.

In May 2004, Edgar Bronfman Jr. and a group of private equity firms beat EMI to buy Warner Music from media conglomerate Time Warner for $2.6 billion.

Time Warner is the parent company of CNNMoney.com.

EMI said it approached Warner Music on May 1, and a day later Warner Music told the company it did not want to enter discussions regarding the proposal.

Warner Music, home to Madonna and James Blunt, said its board carefully evaluated the proposal and determined it was not in the best interests of its shareholders.

The cash and shares offer from EMI was "less than impressive," a source close told Reuters.

The offer of $28.50 a share represents an 18 percent premium to Warner Music's shares before an April 23 report in Britain's Sunday Times that said the companies were preparing for preliminary talks.

"This is disappointing as we believe the logic for combining the two businesses is compelling," said Numis analyst Lorna Tilbian. "Today's announcement highlights the difficulties in putting together such a deal, particularly with respect to valuation and management."

Bronfman and the private equity firms - Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners - own about 75 percent of Warner Music, according to Reuters data, meaning a hostile attempt is an unlikely option for EMI.

The approach was reported by Reuters and other news organizations Tuesday, with Reuters citing a source close to the matter.

EMI shares were down 3.5 percent to 272-1/4 pence. Warner Music's (Research) shares closed up 1.1 percent to $27.29 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

EMI's shares recently reached a four-year high of 300 pence as speculation of a takeover approach resurfaced. Warner Music's shares started trading at $17 each when its IPO was launched a year ago.

Source: http://money.cnn.com

UK record companies offered music fans a record 31,291 new album releases across over 16 official genres in 2005, according to figures published today by trade association the BPI.

This is more than double the number of albums released ten years' previously - 15,393 albums were released in 1996 - with consumer choice growing across 16 different genres.

Online retailers are responsible for an increasing share of the albums market and can stock a huge range of titles. Combined with the emergence of digital music retailers, British record labels are increasingly able to reissue back-catalogue and increase consumer choice. But it was rock that emerged as the UK's favourite as its share of the albums market reached 36.2% - its best ever showing and the older demographic of downloaders has also helped rock gain a best-ever 23.5% market share of the singles market.

The growing popularity of home-grown British bands has seen the genre become firmly ensconced as the nations' favourite. Seven out of the Top 10 rock albums and nine out of the Top 10 rock singles were by UK artists. British artists claimed 49.4% of last year's album sales; the highest share since 1998.

BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said, "Few businesses offer so much choice to the consumer as the record industry does to the music fan.

"Record companies support a hugely diverse range of genres. But ultimately it's the music fan who decides what's successful. Last year they decided by some margin that 2005 was predominantly a year of home-grown British rock bands."

The figures, compiled from Official UK Chart Company data, show that Coldplay's third album 'X&Y' and Kaiser Chiefs 'Employment' helped rock claim its largest ever share of the albums market in 2005.

Rock albums now account for 36.2% of the albums market, up by 6.4% on 2004 and 13.8% on 1999.

New British artists have dominated the UK charts over the last couple of years and 2005 was no different. But in addition to successful debut albums from Kaiser Chiefs and KT Tunstall - established British artists such as Coldplay, Gorillaz and Oasis returned with hit albums to help contemporary rock increase its share of the singles and albums market.

Although pop remains the dominant genre in the singles market, claiming a 33.9% share, the rise in digital sales have helped rock increase its share by 8.4% on 2004 and a massive 36.1% on 1999.

The figures also show that middle of the road (MOR) and dance both gained an increasing share of the albums market in 2005. While the former was boosted by the continued success of Il Divo and Katie Melua, while dance acts such as Prodigy, Basement Jaxx and Faithless all released successful Best-Of albums.

Pop accounts for one in four albums sold in the UK, and it was a pop act, James Blunt, who was the best selling artist overall in 2005 and eighteen months after its release his debut 'Back to Bedlam' is still in the album chart.

Robbie Williams' 'Intensive Care' and Kelly Clarkson's debut 'Breakaway' were also amongst the year's best sellers, with mainstream pop (22.2%) still marginally outselling contemporary rock (21.7%).

The increasing popularity of rock acts amongst young consumers, combined with increasing competition for young consumers' disposable income and sales lost through illegal file sharing have also affected the make up of the albums market.

Reality shows such as Pop Idol boosted teen pop sales in the early 2000s, but since its 1990s heyday the genre's popularity has declined from representing 5.3% of sales in 2001 to 2.5% last year.

Top 10 Rock Albums, 2005

1 X&Y Coldplay

2 Employment - Kaiser Chiefs

3 Demon Days - Gorillaz

4 Eye To The Telescope - KT Tunstall

5 Hot Fuss - Killers

6 Don't Believe The Truth - Oasis

7 American Idiot - Green Day

8 Hopes And Fears - Keane

9 Life In Slow Motion - David Gray

10 In Your Honour - Foo Fighters

Top 10 Rock Singles, 2005

1 Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz

2 I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys

3 Dare - Gorillaz

4 Lyla - Oasis

5 The Importance Of Being Idle - Oasis

6 Dakota - Stereophonics

7 Speed Of Sound - Coldplay

8 Somewhere Else - Razorlight

9 Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day

10 Fix You - Coldplay

Source: BPI/Official UK Charts Company

When Monday night's benefit for grassroots environmental network Friends of the Earth was announced weeks ago, it sold out instantly, with tickets for the evening at London's Koko club soon being snapped up on eBay for outrageous prices.

It was clear why: Although the stripped-down acoustic bill included sets from indie talents Kate Rusby and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, the evening was all about Radiohead.

Rusby's sterling set, including a beautiful cover of the Richard and Linda Thompson classic "Withered and Died," was all but ignored by the audience, as was Rhys's endearingly shambolic performance. But when Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and guitarist Jonny Greenwood finally appeared onstage, the noise from the crowd was almost deafening.Seemingly embarrassed by the naked display of fan worship, the pair launched straight into "Karma Police." Perched at a curious angle on a small wooden chair, Yorke strummed the opening chords intently as Greenwood played the upright piano. Instantly recognizing the 1997 classic, the audience began to sing along. Radiohead were back.

As the song ended, one particularly enthusiastic fan cried out, "Thom Yorke for Prime Minister!" -- a suggestion met by whoops of approval from most of the crowd. David Cameron, self-confessed Radiohead fan and recently elected Leader of the Opposition, stood in the VIP enclosure smiling rather nervously as he sized up the competition.

Yorke followed with "There There," off 2003's Hail To The Thief, as Greenwood hovered at his side, electric guitar in hand. At the song's climax, Greenwood sprang into action, unleashing some ferocious string-slashing over Yorke's acoustic rhythm and reminding the audience why he's regularly described as one of the most exciting guitar players in the world.

The outburst subsided as abruptly as it began, however, and the pair slipped into the first new song of the evening, "Arpeggi." A delicately fingerpicked lament, the song sounded like a distant cousin of The Bends-era "Street Spirit" as Yorke sang softly, "Everybody leaves if they get the chance/And this is my chance." Hearing it for the first time, the song seemed to confirm what separates Radiohead from their peers by an interstellar mile: Where bands such as Coldplay whine blandly about the woes of the world, Radiohead's pains seem personal -- and all the more resonant. And unlike so many emo outfits now, Yorke's voice is full of compassion rather than some brand of adolescent self-absorption.

"Fake Plastic Trees" followed swiftly, providing a moment of light relief when Greenwood's ear-bending guitar became too much even for Yorke, who broke off laughing as he tried to sing "It wears me out" to what sounded like an angry goose clearing its throat.

"Bodysnatchers," the second new song of the evening, was driven by an insistent acoustic riff. Yorke's searingly intense vocals kept returning despairingly to the phrase "in the twenty-first century." If it was a comment on the state of the world, it was distinctly at odds with the positive message Yorke issued between songs as he talked about climate change, saying, "It's not too late."

The 2001 Amnesiac single "Pyramid Song" and "How to Disappear Completely," off 2000's Kid A, came next, both of which are peppered with suicidal imagery. But time and again, the commitment and emotion of the performances triumphed over bleak lyrics, turning agony into something closer to joy.

The last new song of the evening, "Cymbal Rush," provided a rare display of nerves: Yorke set up a Laurie Anderson-like vocal loop only to find, as he sat at the piano, that he'd set it too fast. Problem rectified, he started the tune again, revealing another lament which seemed to twist the intro chords of Neil Young's "After the Goldrush" (a song Yorke is fond of performing) into a distinctly twenty-first-century lullaby. Greenwood added some of his now trademark Star Trek Ondes Martenot to haunting effect.

The show was rounded off by a performance of their OK Computer single, "Paranoid Android," which lost none of its power for being reduced to a two-man rendition. "Why don't you remember my name?" Yorke sang, as if he were afraid of being forgotten. The stunning set was more than enough to jar our memories.

Radiohead set list:

Karma Police

There There

Arpeggi

Fake Plastic Trees

Bodysnatchers

Pyramid Song

How to Disappear Completely

No Surprises

Cymbal Rush

I Might Be Wrong

Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Gagging Order

Paranoid Android

Source: rollingstone.com

More on Radiohead here

Summer’s just around the corner and its time to go online or pick up the phone and buy your festival tickets.

But it’s just not as easy as that anymore and festival tickets are going on sale earlier and earlier. This year the V Festival tickets were even available in March – a full five months ahead of the event. But is this really such a good thing for the fans?

With amazing line-ups at this Summer’s festivals, including Radiohead at V and Coldplay at the Isle of Wight, there’s no way you’d want to miss out on a ticket. However, despite the advance availability of these tickets, the fans just are not getting the tickets.The moment the box office opens literally thousands of tickets are snatched up by buyers that are not even music fans and are simply out to make some money. Within hours of gigs and events selling out Ebay is overflowing with sellers eager to get these new tickets off their hands – often selling even before they’ve physically received the tickets themselves. This year there were V tickets going online for a starting price of £200. This clearly isn’t fair for the true fans that are unable to get tickets and are forced to pay these extortionate prices. It is not even just festivals that get this kind of treatment as tickets for gigs and other events increasingly appear on the online auction site. Oddly even Karl Kennedy’s sold-out appearance at the Cube last year prompted a few auctioned tickets.

A ban on Ebay ticket sales is not a solution as this would also hinder the real music fans that truly cannot make the events. It’s not that people haven’t tried to stop these things happening. Most sites limit the number of tickets that can be bought. Mr Eavis of Glastonbury fame also recently introduced non-transferable tickets printed with the buyer’s name and requiring ID for entry. There have even been rumours of a ‘lottery’ system for the next festival. So are we heading towards a world where we can only attend a gig if we book a year in advance, carry ID and relevant documentation and have a maximum of 4 friends? This is not what the summer festivals are about – they should be a chance to escape the bureaucracy and regulations of everyday life and enjoy yourself. The prices of festival tickets are high enough for a student budget to start with, especially once a few ‘convenience’ and ‘handling’ ch-arges have been added on, let alone the P&P and the VAT they forgot to mention earlier. Its just not fair that real (and now rather poor) music fans are being made money out of by these sellers on top of this.

For those that are lucky enough to get to the festivals this summer it should be, as ever, a fantastic, albeit expensive, experience. And for those that have been unlucky this time we’ll just have to see what Mr Eavis has up his sleeve for next year!

Source: wessexscene.co.uk

Richard Ashcroft has been out of sight for much of the past four years, but the last ten months have seen the re-emergence of the former Verve singer. See him at Lancashire CCC on June 17.

Ashcroft's Live 8 appearance alongside Coldplay propelled him back into the limelight, and his new album, Keys to the World, has gone platinum.

He clearly appreciates the Coldplay frontman's praise - Martin called him "the best singer in the world" at the Hyde Park gig and has been supporting Coldplay on their recent American tour.But when we catch up with him at Lancashire County Cricket Club, which will be the venue for his epic upcoming June 17 gig, the 34-year-old singer seems confident that his current success isn't all down to Coldplay and Live 8.

"There were acts that played Live 8 whose next albums bombed. Chris Martin is a very kind guy who says a lot of things, but he isn't a Merlin an alchemist," says Ashcroft, whose indie-good-looks still shine past his trademark shaggy hair and permanently attached dark glasses.

Ashcroft mentions that red tape got in the way of a proper homecoming gig in Wigan, but that Manchester is close enough to his heart (and home) to be an apt venue.

"It is very important I probably sell more in Piccadilly Records than anywhere else in the world," he says. "It's not too far from Wigan. Manchester is buzzing at the moment. I have a big connection with this city when I first saw the Stone Roses it changed my life!"

The subject turns to Ashcroft's current musical tastes.He has high praise for American singer Joseph Arthur, and he doesn't seem upset that Arctic Monkeys freakishly high sales kept his last album from the top spot. "The Arctic Monkeys have shown that you no longer have to rely on the man."

But he does say that one reason for his extended career hiatus was the positive response to Gareth Gates and the Pop Idols, even by music critics, at a time when his second album, Human Conditions, was being slammed by reviewers and ignored by the radio. "Most of the southern press has tried to nail me as an artist. People didn't really hear from me for five years," he reflects. "I think if you write music from the heart then it will always connect with the man on the street - if they get the chance to hear it. But I'm very fortunate to have written a few songs that are going to outlive me and any of my critics."

Ashcroft is also confident that proper' music will ultimately have the last laugh over manufactured bands. "None of them will be listened to in 20 years only for comedic value to see how sheep-like we were back then!"

At a time when he insists that record companies only care when your last top ten single was, Ashcroft has plans to take advantage of his current success. He wants to work with DJ Shadow and get together an album of other artists covering his songs. He's aiming high, too: he wants Dolly Parton to do The Drugs Don't Work. The sports enthusiast also has topical World Cup ambitions. "I am going to do an alternative football song, with the proceeds to go to a cancer charity," Ashcroft enthuses. I want to use the position I am in to do some good for the planet, because I have wasted a lot of time. That's not to be in competition with Embrace - I'm very happy for them."

As the sun streams across the green velvet of Old Trafford and Ashcroft prepares to make his exit, thoughts turn back to the 26,000 capacity gig in June. "I haven't played to that many people in a long time. I just pray that we have similar weather to this!"

Source: thisislancashire.co.uk

Richard Ashcroft will be playing at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on June 17, with support from Razorlight and The Feeling. Tickets are available from the usual outlets, including www.gigsandtours.com and by calling 0871 2200 260.

LONDON: Hailed as one of the first download divas, British singer Imogen Heap has followed in the footsteps of bands like indie rockers Arctic Monkeys by gaining a big online fan base without the aid of a record label.

Through a combination of Internet word-of-mouth, determination, desperation and a large slice of good luck, the 28-year-old has revived a career that was going nowhere fast.

Her second solo album has sold over 120,000 copies in the United States and she hopes that a licensing deal with a major record company will see its sales grow elsewhere. Yet Speak For Yourself was almost never made at all. After previous record deals fell through and with debts of several thousand dollars, the struggling songwriter took a chance by re-mortgaging her London home to fund the album. As luck would have it, the surveyor who came to value her property happened to be a fan of her old band Frou Frou, and helped her to raise the cash she needed.

“A lot of people may think that me re-mortgaging my house was scary, but it was less scary than signing another record deal,” Heap said in an interview in her cluttered recording studio on a south London warehouse estate.

“I re-mortgaged my flat because that was the only way I could get the cash to buy all this gear. I did try and get bank loans, but they took one look at my account and said you don’t have a job, so we don’t think we can really give you any money.’”

Heap released the electronic pop-style Speak For Yourself on her own label Megaphonic after unhappy experiences with record companies which she said failed to support her.

Heap’s second stroke of luck came with a commission to write the closing sequence of US TV series The OC, generating an online buzz that has snowballed ever since. A quick look at social network site www.myspace.com shows how important the Internet is now for up-and-coming artists. Heap, still with only modest record sales to her name, has 113,000 registered “friends” on the website, not far short of British megaband Coldplay which boasts 123,000.

Her profile has been viewed nearly 1.3 million times on the site, and listeners have tuned in to hear her songs 2.7 million times, although hits do not necessarily turn into downloads.

“I’m just grateful to have this record out at this time,” Heap said. “It’s perfect for people like me who don’t have so much money in the beginning, being able to just put your record on iTunes.”

“People can find out about the tune, listen to the song, go and buy it on iTunes and it comes into my bank account. It’s making it possible for musicians to put out their music and not have to worry about signing a record deal.”

Heap will be hoping that her low-budget approach to music helps her return to the rock’n’roll heights of her late teens.

Having just left school, she was hanging out with stars like Bon Jovi in the South of France, and her first concert appearance was a set between The Who and Eric Clapton at a Prince’s Trust event in London in front of more than 100,000 people.

“I haven’t been quite so rock’n’roll since,” she said.

Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com