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Four years after the launch of “Survivor,” the show’s chief, Mark Burnett, is reuniting with CBS in search of a rock star. After a healthy bidding war, CBS has landed an untitled reality series described as a cross of “American Idol,” “Big Brother” and “Survivor” set in the world of rock music. It will feature aspiring musicians competing for the chance to become the new lead singer of Australian rock band INXS, a gig that opened up after the 1997 suicide of frontman Michael Hutchence. After a multicontinent search with auditions in cities throughout the United States and Canada as… Read more »

Record labels have historically invested significant financial resources toward new acts’ touring efforts, whether it be $20,000 for a regional van trek or $200,000 for a national bus outing. But in today’s world of shrinking revenue and tight budgets, tour support funds – though almost always recoupable against album sales – are becoming harder to come by. “There’s not as much money at any level, whether it’s signing bonuses, (recording) albums, tour support or anything else,” says Tim DuBois, senior partner of Nashville-based record label Universal South, home of such ascts as Pat Green and Joe Nichols. “But even in… Read more »

JUST days after the European launch of Apple Computers’ online music store, a chorus of customers are voicing their complaints. The lack of songs from artists on independent record labels – which account for a quarter of the UK market – has left iTunes looking like a poorly-stocked American import store, lacking local talent such as Travis and Franz Ferdinand. “Most Scottish acts are on independent labels,” says Alison Wenham, chairman and chief executive of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), which represents the majority of the UK’s indie labels. “Celtic acts typically start off very strong in their home… Read more »

Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as “What’d I Say” and ballads like “Georgia on My Mind,” died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 73. Charles died at his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney. Charles’ last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singer’s studios, built 40 years ago in central Los Angeles, as a historic landmark. Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries… Read more »

For Built From Scratch, the X-ecutioners’ 2002 collection of scratching and samples, the New York turntablists recruited a host of rappers, including Xzibit, Everlast and Inspectah Deck to add vocals. They also teamed up with rap-metal band Linkin Park to record the crunching pounder “It’s Goin’ Down,” which became a surprise hit. So when it came time to record their follow-up album, Revolutions, due May 25, the X-ecutioners decided to again fuel their acrobatic scratches with high-octane doses of metal, only this time they summoned Rob Zombie for a remake of White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human” from 1995’s Astro… Read more »

“At the end of every show we’d grab handfuls of these stickers we made at Kinko’s with our name and website,” says Steriogram frontman Brad Carter. “We’d toss ’em to our fans from the stage, 300 or 400 stickers every night.” Carter laughs at the band’s ultra-humble approach to building fan loyalty. But it’s working. Steriogram’s homemade stickers, website and music videos, together with its enthusiastic courting of street teams and high school kids, helped launch the rock-hiphop group from obscurity in Auckland, NZ, to a major deal with Capitol Records. “Our goal was to play in America because our… Read more »

Instead of fries, how about a little Beyonce or Bruce Springsteen to go with your Big Mac? In the latest blend of e-music with the food-and-beverage industry, Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. is working out a deal to promote the upcoming launch of its download music service through fast-food chain McDonald’s Corp., the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. According to the newspaper, McDonald’s is expected to commit about $30 million in advertising to the partnership in exchange for unspecified discounts to license some songs from Sony’s new download service, Sony Connect. Those songs would then be offered to McDonald’s… Read more »

Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello and Coup frontman Boots Riley are joining Florida farm workers in protesting Taco Bell at the restaurant’s Irvine, California, headquarters tomorrow. Morello will join the Taco Bell Truth Tour’s Southern California stop as a speaker and performer, under his Nightwatchman guise, to draw attention to a wage dispute between the fast food company and farmers who provide its vegetables. “A real change comes from regular people regularly standing up for their rights at work, at home, and in the streets and that’s what we’ll be doing,” Morello says. “Farm workers in Immokalee Florida are getting paid… Read more »

Avril Lavigne will visit twenty-one malls nationwide to preview songs from her second album, Under My Skin. Starting tomorrow in Minneapolis, Lavigne and co-writer/guitarist Evan Taubenfeld will play sets that feature three songs from Skin – including the first single, “Don’t Tell Me” – along with material from her hit debut, Let Go. Fans can find out specific locations for the appearances forty-eight hours in advance by signing up at the tour’s Web site (avrillavigne.net). Skin finds Lavigne no longer working with the hitmaking production team the Matrix, who helped shape the multi-platinum Let Go. In the fold this time… Read more »

Avril Lavigne is getting personal on the follow-up to her 2002 multi-platinum debut, Let Go, which she’s been recording at the Malibu home of fellow Canadians Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida. The as-yet-titled album is due May 25th. “A lot of the stuff on the record is just strictly emotions that I went through,” Lavigne says, “or ways I’ve felt in the past towards relationships.” Absent are hitmaking producers the Matrix, Let Go’s secret weapon, but Lavigne has a hot new writing and production team that includes Linkin Park and Pearl Jam producer Don Gilmore and Marvelous 3’s Butch Walker.… Read more »