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Scottish rock act Franz Ferdinand leads the field with five nominations for the Brit Awards, which will celebrate their 25th anniversary this year. Muse was close behind with four nominations, while American acts Maroon 5 and Scissor Sisters garnered three each.

Franz Ferdinand’s nominations include best British group, best British album for its self-titled Domino/Epic debut, best British rock act, best British live act and best British breakthrough act.

The group will compete in the best British album category with Keane’s “Hopes and Fears” (Polydor), Snow Patrol’s “Final Straw” (Polydor), Muse’s “Absolution” (Mushroom) and Kasabian’s self-titled RCA debut.

Scissor Sisters’ self-titled Universal debut and Maroon 5’s “Songs About Jane” (J) share nominations in the best international album category with U2’s “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” (Universal Island), the Killers’ “Hot Fuss” (Lizard King) and OutKast’s “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” (Arista).

In the best British single category, nominees include Will Young’s “Your Game,” Shapeshifters’ “Lola’s Theme,” LMC vs. U2’s “Take Me to the Clouds Above,” Jamelia’s “Thank You” and Band Aid 20’s recent charity remake of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”

Franz Ferdinand, U2 and Scissor Sisters will perform at the ceremony, to be held Feb. 9 at London’s Earl’s Court.

For a full list of the 2005 Brit Awards nominees visit billboard.com.

Eric Clapton is set to headline a tsunami relief concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on January 22nd. British singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy and Wales’ own Manic Street Preachers will also perform, with additional acts to be announced.
All proceeds from the Cardiff show will go to victims of the December 26th tsunami which devastated South Asia, leaving approximately 150,000 dead and a decade’s worth of rebuilding in its wake. About two-thirds of the venue’s seats (45,000) have already sold, and organizers anticipate raising about $1.8 million.

Meanwhile, Sharon Osbourne and American Idol judge Simon Cowell are preparing a charity remake of Clapton’s Grammy-winning “Tears in Heaven.” Among those confirmed for the celebrity recording thus far are Gwen Stefani, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Ozzy Osbourne and Elton John. Clapton originally penned the hit song in memory of his four-year-old son Conor, who died in a 1991 accident.

Source rollingstone.com.

The music industry reversed a four-year decline as album sales rose slightly in 2004 while overall music sales spiked thanks to a huge increase in digital track sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The music industry was buoyed by chart-toppers from acts such as Usher, whose “Confessions” sold 7.9 million copies to rank as the year’s best-selling album. The best seller of 2003, 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” sold 6.5 million copies.

Last year’s album sales increased 1.6 percent, versus 2003’s decline of 3.6 percent. Some 666.7 million albums were sold in 2004, compared to 656.2 million in 2003.

Overall music sales

Rock act the Mars Volta will release its sophomore album, “Frances the Mute,” March 1 via Strummer/Universal. Expanding on the progressive epics of the former At The Drive-In members’ 2003 debut, “Deloused in the Comatorium,” the new set features 77 minutes of music spread across five tracks, three of which contain multiple subsections.

First single “The Widow” is an anthemic, mid-tempo rocker accented by an acoustic guitar intro and organ flourishes. “Frances the Mute” was produced by group member Omar Rodriguez and mixed by Rich Costey, who provided the same service on “De-loused in the Comatorium.”

The Mars Volta will begin a five-week international tour Feb. 5-6 at the Sonic Mania festival in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. The event will also boast sets by Good Charlotte, Velvet Revolver, Marilyn Manson, Kings Of Leon and Sparta, the other band formed by ex-members of At The Drive-In.

Here is the track list for “Frances the Mute”:

“Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus”
A. “Sarcophagi”
B. “Umbilical Syllables”
C. “Facilis Descenus Averni”
D. “Con Safo”

“The Widow”
“L’ Via L’ Viaquez”

“Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore”
A. “Vade Mecum”
B. “Pour Another Icepick”
C. “Pisacis (Phra-Men-Ma)”
D. “Con Safo”

“Cassandra Gemini”
A. “Tarantism”
B. “Plant a Nail in the Navel Stream”
C. “Faminepulse”
D. “Multiple Spouse Wounds”
E. “Sarcophagi”

Source billboard.com.

Markus Sandlund, a cellist with the Stockholm Strings and Horns who performed on Brian Wilson’s “Smile” album, has been reported missing, according to a statement from Wilson’s publicity firm.

Sandlund was vacationing with his girlfriend, Sofi, at Phuket, Thailand. Sofi was swept away by the flood but was later rescued. She is now back in Sweden. She has not seen Sandlund since the tsunami hit.

Wilson, who described himself as “devastated” by the news, has sent an agent to look for Sandlund. The cellist had not been located as of Tuesday. Sandlund and Sofi had been staying at the Orchid Beach Resort at Khao Lak.

Wilson and his colleagues ask anyone who has any information on the whereabouts of Sandlund to contact Wilson’s Web site, brianwilson.com.

Source: cnn

Moving ahead with a March tradition, The Allman Brothers Band will return to New York City

A user of Apple’s iTunes music service is suing the firm saying it is unfair he can only use an iPod to play songs. He says Apple is breaking anti-competition laws in refusing to let other music players work with the site.

Apple, which opened its online store in 2003 after launching the iPod in 2001, uses technology to ensure each song bought only plays on the iPod.

Californian Thomas Slattery filed the suit in the US District Court in San Jose and is seeking damages.

“Apple has unlawfully bundled, tied, and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players, and vice-versa,” the lawsuit said.

Mr Slattery called himself an iTunes customer who “was also forced to purchase an Apple iPod” if he wanted to take his music with him to listen to.

A spokesman for Apple declined to comment.

Source: BBC

When Motley Crue’s Vince Neil wished bandmate Tommy Lee a happy New Year live on NBC, he couldn’t resist inserting a profanity — and now the FCC is involved.

The Federal Communications Commission has received complaints about the New Year’s Eve “Tonight” show and is beginning a preliminary probe, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. But it’s likely little will come of it.

Motley Crue was performing shortly after midnight when Neil turned to Lee and said, “Happy —-ing New Year, Tommy!”

It was an off-the-cuff remark and not done intentionally to test broadcast rules, said a spokeswoman for the band who asked not to be identified. Neither Motley Crue nor NBC had any other comment Tuesday.

Networks have been more cautious about material they air after singer Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl performance last year.

Source: cnn

Google closed on Monday at $202.71, the first time the company closed above $200 during its brief history as a publicly traded firm. (The stock was back below $200 on Tuesday morning.)

Google is among a select list of companies whose stocks cost at least $100 and investing message boards are rife with chatter that the company could split its stock.

After all, Google rival Yahoo! (Research) has split five times since its IPO in 1997. Amazon.com (Research) split its stock three times in the late 1990s. And eBay (Research) has split its stock three times since it went public in 1998.

Google would not comment on the speculation. But analysts say investors shouldn’t hold their breath for a stock split announcement.

Source: CNN

Willie Nelson will headline a Texas benefit concert to help the relief effort for victims of the tsunamis in southern Asia and eastern Africa. “I started at the top,” says musician Michael Hall of his first call to build a lineup, “and when Willie said, ‘Count me in,’ I knew we were off and running.”

The Tsunami Relief Austin to South Asia concert will be held Sunday (Jan 9) at the Austin Music Hall. Patty Griffin, Spoon, Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis and the Geezinslaws also are among those scheduled to perform.

All the acts are donating their talents. Proceeds of ticket sales for the concert at the 3,000-capacity venue will go to the American Red Cross, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders .

“This came together unbelievably quick,” Hall said. “The scope of the tragedy has really affected everyone I’ve talked to. People really want to pitch in.”

Source billboard.com.