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Digital tracks are outselling physical singles by a growing margin, a sign that consumers increasingly are embracing the brave new world of Internet downloading. Digital download sales outpaced physical singles 857,000 to 170,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures for the week ending Oct. 26. That’s slightly more than a 5-to-1 ratio. Sean Ryan, VP of music services at RealNetworks, says that the rise of digital track sales carries a “symbolic significance,” illustrating the music industry’s shift to online delivery options. He also says it indicates a real opportunity for the music business: “Selling individual songs as an offline strategy wasn’t… Read more »

Radiohead are more likely to release an EP, or even several EPs, before recording another full-length album. With the release of their sixth studio disc, Hail To The Thief, the band have fulfilled their contract with their record label, and now singer Thom Yorke says they’re looking forward to not having to make another album right away. He told Billboard.com, “It’s always been album, album, album…with things like iTunes and people splitting up tracks, I kind of think that’s good. I listen to music on random all the time.” Yorke stressed the need for Radiohead to “reinvent” their sound again… Read more »

Will Eminem’s estranged ex-wife please show up? That’s what a Michigan judge is demanding now that Kim Mathers has gone AWOL from two straight court appearances stemming from her June arrest for drug possession. Macomb County Circuit Judge Edward Servitto issued a bench warrant for the former Mrs. Em after she failed to turn up for an arraignment on charges of unlawfully possessing two bags of cocaine in her Cadillac Escalade during a routine traffic stop. The 28-year-old Mathers, who divorced her superstar rapper-hubby (real name: Marshall Mathers III) in 2001 after he wrote about killing her in his scathing… Read more »

R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck is a bit miffed that the group’s newer music doesn’t get much air time. “We do really good work, and I hate to brag but our records are better than most people’s records,” Buck told reporters. “So sometimes it kind of hurts my feelings when I see a record that is obviously a piece of garbage, and everyone knows its garbage, and the guy can’t sing, and then we put out a really good record and they don’t put it on the radio because it doesn’t fit the formats.” R.E.M. is releasing a greatest hits album… Read more »

It was a strange sight Thursday – Steve Jobs touting a Windows product. But the chief executive of Apple Computer Inc. had a perfectly sensible motive. In a move to reach the masses who use computers based on Microsoft Corp. software, Jobs unveiled a Windows-compatible Apple iTunes Music Store, an Internet song-downloading service that has proven successful among Macintosh users. But Mac users comprise only about 3 percent of the computer-buying public, and now Apple is entering a market crowded with rival music services for the Windows world. For its Windows launch, Apple managed to pull some exclusive deals that… Read more »

Hong Kong lawmakers accused the Chinese government of false advertising after it was revealed that The Rolling Stones wouldn’t perform in a concert series, as had been announced. Organizers had said the Stones had committed to play two November dates, part of a government-sponsored concert festival to help Hong Kong refurbish its SARS-battered image. But it was revealed Friday that they had never signed a deal and that negotiations had collapsed. “How could you go around touting the band without a contract in hand?” independent legislator Audrey Eu asked at a Saturday hearing reviewing the finances of the Harbor Fest… Read more »

Atlantic Records, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., and Atlantic recording group P.O.D. announced today a groundbreaking collaboration to create the entertainment industry’s first-ever combined music CD/PlayStation(R)2 videogame release. The first one million copies of P.O.D.’s eagerly awaited new album, “PAYABLE ON DEATH,” will include an exclusive bonus PlayStation(R)2 DVD containing a custom videogame track from the critically acclaimed PlayStation 2 music game title, Amplitude, featuring a newly recorded, non-album P.O.D. track, “Space.” Playable only on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, this disc will also feature a 50-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, “Inside P.O.D. Culture,” and a special feature on Daniel Martin… Read more »

Prince will headline a government-sponsored music festival aimed at boosting the image of SARS-battered Hong Kong. He’ll perform at the opening of the concert series, “Hong Kong Harbour Fest,” on Oct. 17, organizers said Thursday. Top tickets for his show are priced at $127. The Rolling Stones, Jose Carreras, Irish boy band Westlife, Carlos Santana, British R&B singer Craig David, Taiwan pop sensation Jay Chou and boy band F4 are also set to perform at the festival, which will run through Nov. 9. The $16.7 million event has stirred controversy, with critics questioning the government’s vow to guarantee up to… Read more »

BMG, the worldwide music division of Bertelsmann AG, announced today that Arista Records will be the company’s first label in the U.S. to release a commercial CD using copy management technology. The CD, Comin’ From Where I’m From, by singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton, will be released nationwide on September 23rd. Until now BMG’s U.S. labels have used copy management technology only on promotional CDs as part of their overall approach to protecting copyrighted content. “The consumer experience is BMG’s top priority,” said Thomas Hesse, Chief Strategic Officer, BMG. “Consumers who purchase this CD will have broad flexibility, including the ability to… Read more »

Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black” who became a towering figure in American music with such hits as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” and “A Boy Named Sue,” died Friday. He was 71. “Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure,” Cash’s manager, Lou Robin, said in a statement issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville. He said Cash died at the hospital at 1 a.m. EDT. “I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during this very difficult time,” Robin said. Cash had been released… Read more »