File-sharers visiting Web sites such as Kazaa will receive emails warning them that they must stop - or face legal action.More than seven million people in the UK are thought to be illegally downloading music.

The action is being taken after a huge slump in record sales which has shaken the music industry. Sales of albums are down 32 per cent in the past year, while sales of singles have crashed by 59 per cent.

"There is no clearer evidence of the damage that illegal downloading is doing to British music," said Peter Jamieson, chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.

"There is no excuse whatsoever for people taking music without permission. There are literally hundreds of thousands of tracks available on legal Internet music services."

But Paul Douglas, editor of .net magazine, said the only way to stop piracy was for the industry to offer a viable alternative.

He told the Metro newspaper: "It's not perceived as illegal in the same way as breaking into your local HMV and nicking a load of CDs would be, and the perception of risk is very low."

Source: Metro UK

But pop heroes Coldplay still have time to spare a thought for one of their member's home town. The band has sent Southampton a message of support for achieving the long-fought-for Fairtrade city status.In a letter signed by the four, including former Cantell School pupil Will Champion, they wrote: "Coldplay are tremendously pleased to know that you are working hard to make Southampton a Fairtrade city.

"The campaign to make trade fair all over the world is one which we fully support and we wish you every success.We hope that more cities take the initiative to do the right thing and get people a fair price for their work and produce."

City campaigners who saw Southampton win Fairtrade status at the beginning of March got in touch with the band through Will's dad Tim, who is on the fringes of the Fairtrade group.

Drummer Will, 26, was born in Southampton and went to Cantell School before studying at Peter Symonds College in Winchester. He shot to fame after meeting his fellow band members at University College, London.

Three years ago, Will made an emotional return to Southampton to watch as a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the city university to remember his late mother Dr Sara Champion, an archaeology lecturer, who died of cancer.

This message of support to his home town is a major boost for Fairtrade.

Jane Freeland, from Southampton's Fairtrade group, said: "We were delighted with the message. Coldplay are well-known supporters of Fairtrade and it is great to have celebrities on board, especially with a local connection.

"But this is just the beginning. We now need to expand to other towns, encourage more businesses to stock the products and more people to buy them."

Source: ThisIsSouthampton

"We are defending a decrease," says Martin Mills, chairman of the Beggars Group stable of companies, adding that MTV wants to cut payments by 55% to £840,000 ($1.55 million). That sum is divided up between all the European indies which have their videos shown on MTV. "It costs up to £100,000 to make a music video," adds Mills. "MTV’s total payment, therefore, barely covers the cost of eight videos."

MTV has ceased talks with VPL and is attempting to sign deals directly with indie labels - a similar set up to what it has with the world’s major record companies. The indies are accusing the broadcaster of bully boy tactics, as they claim their videos will be pulled if they have not signed an agreement by the end of March. The indies also fear that MTV’s proposed direct deals with individual labels is a cherry-picking exercise.

Among the artists that could be affected are: The White Stripes, 2 Many DJs, Dizzee Rascal, Carla Bruni, The Rasmus, Franz Ferdinand, Travis, Moloko, Mis-Teeq, So Solid Crew, Martina Topley Bird, Badly Drawn Boy, Craig David (news), Coldcut and The Prodigy.

The UK indies’ trade body the Association of Independent Music (AIM) and its European equivalent Impala has hit back at MTV. At a press conference in London today, AIM chairman Alison Wenham read out an open letter to Brent Hansen, president/CEO of MTV Networks Europe. "Independent artists and record companies object to the high-handed way in which MTV is trying to reduce its costs," said Wenham. "Without music, MTV would not exist, and yet we get a comparatively tiny return from their use of our videos. It is time the music makers stood up for themselves to re-establish fair value for their work." Wenham says the letter has been signed by about 300 European record labels.

Simon Guild, chief operating officer MTV Networks Europe, refutes the bullying accusations. "We noted that a few things had changed since the original deal was signed," he says. "For instance, Zomba [the world’s biggest indie] had become part of BMG and other indies had also been swallowed by majors. Also, as far as MTV is concerned, VPL is not mandated to talk to us about mobile rights, etc., so dealing direct with the indie labels, as we do with the majors, seems like the best way to proceed."

Source: News @ Yahoo.com

Thanks to Gas_Man

The actress and the rock star, whose first child is due in June, have enrolled in ante-natal classes in ashtanga yoga, which is said to benefit the spiritual well-being of mother, father and unborn child alike.

Paltrow, 30, has been attending lunchtime classes at the Diorama Arts Centre in Regents Park three times a week, sometimes with Coldplay singer Martin at her side.Her teacher is Hamish Hendry, one of London's leading ashtanga experts.

Ashtanga uses correct breathing and postures to, in the words of the yoga system's website, allow students to "rediscover their fullest potential on all levels of human consciousness - physical, psychological and spiritual".

Paltrow is a recent devotee, her tutor creating lower intensity classes to protect her unborn child.

Experts say practising ashtanga yoga can improve a woman's stamina and confidence during labour and delivery, and help with pain management.

And, claimed another female practitioner, it "can cultivate mindfulness of the new life growing inside".

Paltrow is planning a water birth and has put a birthing tank in her Belgravia home.

It is understood that if a home birth proves impossible she will go to St John and St Elizabeth Hospital in St John's Wood - previously used by celebrity mothers Kate Moss and Sadie Frost.

Paltrow and Martin are teetotal and stick to a macrobiotic diet designed to boost the immune system and energy levels by balancing "yin and yang".

With only days to go before the close of the financial year, the company is thought to be heading for operating profits of about £300m. This is higher than many analysts have forecast and reflects EMI's better-than-expected performance in the American market.EMI's market share in the US has risen by about 1% to 12%. And, unlike many other major territories, the American music market has grown in the past year, possibly because of a crackdown on illegal downloading on the internet.

The company had significant success in cracking the giant US market last year with artists such as Norah Jones. Higher sales there are crucial for the British firm, which has been seen as weak in the region.

EMI, which has twice failed to merge with rival Warner, now faces the prospect of a merger between two of its other major competitors, BMG and Sony, which plan to combine to form the world's second-largest music company.

It is thought that when results are announced later in the spring, EMI chairman Eric Nicoli will offer investors, whose shares have risen from a low of 165 1/2p this year to 243 1/2p, the prospect of further reductions in the group's cost base.

Though spending on discovering and developing new talent is being increased, the introduction of new IT systems means the group should be able to reduce back-office jobs.

Source: ThisIsLondon

With the BMG deal, London-based Wippit has signed two of the world's five largest music labels. Earlier this month, EMI announced it will begin selling downloads this month for such artists as Coldplay and the Rolling Stones to Wippit's European customer base.Europe's piracy-battered music industry has been actively expanding its ties with subscription download services to head off the popularity of free file-sharing networks such as Kazaa and WinMX and halt the global decline in recorded music sales.

"2004 looks like it will mark the year where the legitimate market for digital music comes of age," said Jon Davis, Director of New Media of BMG UK and Ireland.

The willingness to work with multiple European song outlets contrasts with the industry's stance a year ago.

Until recently, downloads from each of the five major music labels -- which account for three-quarters of all songs sold -- could only be found on European online retailers who partnered with a single digital media firm, Britain's OD2.

The European online music scene this year is expected to explode, with over 50 new digital music ventures set to launch including Apple Computer Inc's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people) iTunes and Roxio's (nasdaq: ROXI - news - people) Napster.

The four-year-old Wippit now has a catalogue of over 175,000 tracks from over 200 labels, founder and chief executive officer Paul Myers told Reuters.

The BMG and EMI signings also underscore record labels' newfound willingness to work with a variety of business models to boost the still nascent market for digital downloads which they see as crucial to turning around the slumping industry.

Wippit is somewhat unique in that it offers an annual 30 pound ($53.80) subscription charge for unlimited downloads. The labels had been more willing to work with digital music stores that charge a per-track fee, a model popularised by iTunes.

For EMI music downloads, Wippit charges a per-track fee of under 50 pence per song that does not require the annual subscription.

Like iTunes, Wippit allows users to burn songs onto a compact disc or transport them onto a digital music device.

BMG artists will be available to Wippit's British and Irish customers only at launch.

"We have a backlog of labels we are in negotiations with. There's only one major label we are not in contract with," said Myers, who declined to say which label that is.

The popularity of portable music devices such as Apple's iPod is driving the market, he added. "What's really going to take this market forward is when people buy a car with a digital player installed," he said.

Source: Forbes.com

The Coldplay frontman, who is married to Gwyneth Paltrow, revealed: "The next time I see Justin, I'll tell him about it. My job is to convince people like Justin and Robbie Williams, who are bigger than me, so they will tell people about it."Meanwhile, Chris has confessed he was desperate to come home when he visited Haiti as part of the Fair Trade campaign, which aims to get third world producers of goods a fair price for their products.

The singer has admitted he was so appalled by the conditions there that he wanted to escape back to the UK.

He revealed: "I wanted to go home. It was disgusting. I thought, 'I want to go back to the bubble I live in. I can't handle this.'"

But Chris finished the trip and insists he has "absolutely no regrets" about his visit.

Source: TeenMusic

He went on Simon Mayo's show on Five Live on Monday to talk about the Make Trade Fair campaign which he supports.

Read more via the link...He said not to expect anything from Coldplay this year because they're working on the next album which he says he wants to make the best thing anybody has ever heard.

He also gave his reaction to Bryan leaving Westlife, joking that it might mean there's space for him in the band.

Chris also said the song he wrote for Jamelia, called 'See it in a Boy's Eyes', was only meant for her:

"No-one was ever supposed to know that I wrote it to be honest. The record companies kind of screw that up. My perspective is, I think she's an amazing singer and I had nothing to do for a week, so I thought, 'I wonder if I could ever write a song for Jamelia?'"

"This is what I'm saying - you've got to go for things in life haven't you? Jamelia then, in return, when she's an enormous global superstar, she might mention the words 'fair trade' when she picks up an MTV award."

Source: BBC

In a rare interview on 9th March promoting the Fair Trade campaign he has backed for the last few years, Martin said the follow-up to 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' won’t be released until 2005.

Click on the read more link to... well, read more!

He said: "Between you and me this is the only time we are coming out of our shell at the moment to come and talk about Fair Trade and stuff.

"We really feel that we have to be away for a while and we certainly won’t release anything this year, because I think people are a bit sick of us and also we are trying to make the best thing that anyone has ever heard."

He added: "My philosophy at the moment in life is why not try and be Einstein, even if you’re never going to make it."

During the interview, with Simon Mayo on BBC’s Five Live, Martin spoke extensively about the upcoming Fair Trade fortnight, encouraging fans to buy Fair Trade products.

He also talked about his hero, Johnny Cash, who died before he had a chance to record a song Martin had written for him.

"He was someone who stood up for everybody and never got criticised for it, maybe because he lived it a lot more than people like me," he said "When you’re a musician you have to look up to those people. He’s my hero.

"His voice was bonkers. My dad used to put Johnny Cash on in the car and it sounded like this alien guy from America – which to me then was a million miles away – and here was this guy from the heart of it.

"We actually wrote a song for him and Rick Rubin had us in and recorded it all with all the band and all the guys who doJohnny Cash’s records. It was all ready and Rick Rubin said he’s ill at the moment but then he’s coming to LA and he’s going to record this. And then he died."

Martin said the song would now never be released, though he did joke that Bryan McFadden – who today announced he was leaving boyband Westlife – could have it.

Source: NME

For further details, click read more...Ash have recorded a cover of the song ‘Everybody’s Happy Nowadays’, originally a hit for punk legends The Buzzcocks in 1979. Providing backing vocals on the song, which plays out over the film’s end credits, is Coldplay singer Chris Martin.

Of late Chris Martin has collaborated with a host of artists including Ron Sexsmith (‘Gold In Them Hills’), Mike ‘The Streets’ Skinner (‘Dry Your Eyes’), Jameila (‘See It In A Boy’s Eyes’), Ian McCulloch from Echo & The Bunnymen (‘Arthur’ and ‘Sliding’) and was even rumoured to be working with Timbaland at one point last year.

'Shaun Of The Dead' writer Simon Pegg and his co-star and ‘Spaced’ series cohort Nick Frost are hosting the Xfm Drivetime Show today from 4.00pm till 7.00pm. Tune into their show on 104.9 Xfm for three hours of quality tunes, surprise guests and a chance to win £10,000 with their ‘Reefer Madness’ competition.

‘Shaun Of The Dead’ is released to cinemas on 9th April.

Source: XFM Online

You can hear the whole interview again if you missed it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive and click on the 'listen again' link.

The singer was astonished when she was told Chris wanted them to record the track 'See It In A Boy's Eyes' together and was convinced the offer was a joke.

She explains, "The day before Chris called the label I'd been speaking to my A+R man, and he was going, 'What ideas have you got for me?'

"I told him I wanted to do some crazy things. The next day, he phoned and said: 'Your never going to guess what just happened: Chris Martin has called up.

"He says he's a really big fan, and he's got an idea for a song with you.' I was like, 'Yeah, shut up.'"

Source: ContactMusic

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23. Coldplay - $23.7 million

Signed to EMI in London, Coldplay are benefiting from a record deal that pays them in euros, sources say, not dollars, which in today's economy gives them a little boost over the competition. Earning the band what works out to a $2.50 royalty per unit, Coldplay's two latest albums, A Rush of Blood to the Head and a live CD, have moved more than 7 million copies worldwide since late 2002. A video of their show -- which grossed $9 million in the U.S., was a top-five seller, at close to 400,000.

Click here for the full list.

Tim told the media: "I've been working on Gwyneth and she's finally agreed to help out on some vocals on a track with Chris. She said as soon as she's had her baby she'll come into the studio and have a go. The chemistry between those two is so strong and if we can capture that on a song we'll have a real hit."

Despite working together on the "sad" album track 'Dry Your Eyes', Skinner suspects Chris wasn't that keen on the finished product, so their version won’t be on the album.

Skinner told said: "'Dry Your Eyes' is the moment of complete panic when your girlfriend finishes with you...it's a sad one. I wrote the track and I thought that he (Chris Martin) would sound really good on it. I asked him to do it and he did. After that I don't really know. I don't think his record company liked it. But maybe he didn't like it. On the day he was (happy with it). Well, maybe he wasn't, maybe he was lying to me and he walked out going 'This is not working'. But it wasn't massive stress. It would have been nice, but we've re-recorded it and it sounds great."

Source: NME

Chris reportedly ran out of the restaurant and shouted at one photographer, "You're a wanker. You should get a proper job."

An onlooker says, "It was appalling. Chris went nuts. They walked out of the bar and the flashes started going off. Then Chris started waving his fists in the air and swearing. He was like a man possessed."

Last month Chris Martin shouted at a photographer as he left supermodel Kate Moss's 30th birthday party in London with Gwyneth Paltrow.

The magazine's rich list is based on estimated earnings from record and DVD sales, merchandising, tour revenue, music publishing royalties and other income.

For the full story click HERE

NME are promoting their NME Awards shows with this cover mount giveaway, a great chance for anyone who has found this song difficult to get hold of.

Coldplay are also up for the UK Best Band award at tonights NME Awards 2004 at The Hammersmith Palais in London. They compete against Radiohead, The Darkness, Muse and The Libertines.

Coldplay won the Record of the Year award at Sunday's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles for the song Clocks. Margaret Parr taught guitarist Jon Buckland for seven years while he was at Mold Alun High School, Flintshire.

Mrs Parr said last night: "I am delighted. I taught Jonathan music at GCSE and A-Level and of course he always had very good compositional skills. He would write music for guitar but also a lot of computer music too. His musical skills really developed over the years."

Mrs Parr, from Stryd y Castell, Ruthin, said Jon was already a competent guitarist when she first met him when he was 11. She said: "I am always very impressed with Coldplay. I consider them all to be musicians, not just rock stars. I'm very proud of him."

Source: ic NorthWales

The rockers picked up the 'Record Of The Year' prize for their hit single 'Clocks' - but drummer Will Champion claims they were confused for hired staff at the glitzy Los Angeles bash.

He moans, "You can win four Grammys and be on stage three years in a row and they still mistake you for the people who fill the seats."

Meanwhile, Chris Martin has sparked outrage amongst some dedicated American Coldplay fans by once again using the stage to express his political views. One fan said, "I was completely disgusted by Chris Martin's dedication to [John] Kerry for his award. I was a big fan of Coldplay until last night. He is not even an American and is stating his views on our election. I will not be buying anymore of their cd's."

What is your take on this? Enter your comments below!They sparked controversy when they endorsed Senator John Kerry’s campaign to become President of the US. Organisers of the Los Angeles show were desperate to avoid controversy after Janet Jackson’s breast-baring incident at the previous week’s Super Bowl. Jackson, who was to have performed, opted out of the event altogether.

Partisan politics, like nudity, is not welcomed by broadcasters of the event, which is watched by millions. But collecting the award for the song Clocks, Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, dedicated it to the late Johnny Cash and to Mr Kerry, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, “who hopefully will be your President one day”.

International acts are advised to avoid making statements on domestic politics if they want to prosper in the world’s biggest music market.

Coldplay have used high-profile awards ceremonies in the past to express their opposition to the war in Iraq. Martin attacked President Bush at last year’s Brit Awards.

Chris Martin dedicated the award to late country singer Johnny Cash, with whom he was due to make a record with only days before his death. He also publically showed his support to leading Democratic presidential hopeful ''John Kerry, who hopefully will be your president one day.''

You can see some of the pictures here

As soon as frontman Chris Martin played his bandmates "Clocks," everyone knew it was special, but they didn't think they had time to include it on the LP. "We already had 10 songs for the album," said Ken Nelson, who produced the record, "and then Chris came in late one night and wrote 'Clocks' on piano." (click more)As with most things Coldplay, the song is suffused in contrasts and contradictions. The sparse, delicate number is hardly loud, yet it's unquestionably urgent. At various moments, piano, drums and guitars gently wrangle for domination, suggesting the tune was painstakingly assembled, although that's hardly how it went down.

"It just arrived; it wasn't planned on at all," Martin told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The riff just came out, and I showed it to [guitarist] Jonny [buckland], and he wrote these cool chords underneath it, and we had a song that was mega."

But because they figured it was too late to get the song on A Rush of Blood to the Head, they made a demo of the track and included it on a CD they marked "Songs for #3," which featured pieces they planned to save for their third album. It was a friend who intervened and convinced Martin to tackle the track right away.

"He heard it and said, 'No, you must do that song now 'cause you're going on [in the lyrics] about urgency, and you're talking about keeping this song back. That doesn't make sense,' " Martin told the Plain Dealer.

As the members of Coldplay added their ideas to Martin's sparse, melodic music bed, "Clocks" became more than a pretty piano pop song. It achieved a dynamic tension that juxtaposed with the main piano line.

"As it was building with the bass and some of the guitars, we were all thinking, 'This is good,' " Nelson said. "I remember when Chris was doing the vocal, there were quite a few people in the room, and we were all just staring and thinking, 'My God, this is something really special.' "

In the lyrics to "Clocks," Martin seems to address the helplessness of being in a dysfunctional relationship he doesn't necessarily want to escape. "Lights go out and I can't be saved/ Tides that I tried to swim against," he sings at the beginning. The most poignant expression of ambivalence comes at the end of the second verse when Martin moans, "Come out upon my seas, curse missed opportunities/ Am I a part of the cure or am I part of the disease?"

"I reckon everybody questions whether they're useful to the world or not," Martin told MTV News shortly after the record's release. "Some people think they're doing marvelous things. Hitler thought he was doing great things for the world, and yet we'd all say, 'No, no, no, he was doing terrible things.' Some people would say that Coldplay is a great thing for music and the world. Other people would regard us as the devil incarnate, so of course it's always a conflict."

The other material on the CD marked "Songs for #3" is not currently being considered by Coldplay for their third record. The band is in a Liverpool, England, studio with Nelson working on 11 new songs, some of which were played during their last tour (see "Coldplay Enter London Studio To Begin Work On Third Album"). In a month, Coldplay will move to Air Studios in London to continue working on the album. No release date is scheduled.

"They want to take their time to make sure it's really, really strong," Nelson said. "They always want to deliver the best album they can, and this is going to be a fantastic album. I actually believe it's going to be stronger than A Rush of Blood to the Head."

Source: VH1

And its exactly a week until the next Grammy Awards for 2004 and Coldplay are up for two Grammy Award nominations for 'Clocks' as RECORD OF THE YEAR and 'The Scientist' - BEST SHORT FORM MUSIC VIDEO.

The Grammy Awards will be held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center next Sunday, February 8, 2004.