DEATH AFTER LIFE: METALLICA, NE-YO RUNNING 1-2

Death Magnetic Remains #1, as Lovato, Pussycat Dolls, Kings of Leon, Jazmine Sullivan Bow

Another week, another Metallica chart victory.

That’ll make it three weeks in a row for WB’s Death Magnetic at #1, with a total in the mid-100ks in very early returns. Meanwhile, Def Jam/IDJ Gentleman R&B/hip-hop star Ne-Yo will hold down the #2 slot for the second week in a row with an estimated 100k, give or take a bling or two.

Hollywood Records’ latest starlet, Camp Rock’s Demi Lovato is the leader among the newcomers, with her debut album, Don’t Forget, primed to sell between 70-80k and at least an early nod for #3 as the highest debut of the week, certainly Top 5.

Interscope’s Pussycat Dolls and RCA/RMG’s Kings of Leon will be in the mix, both in the 70-75k range. Nicole S. and company return with estimates in the 70-75k range for their latest, Doll Domination, the follow-up to their 2.8 million-selling debut PCD. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the week, Nashville rock critical darlings Kings of Leon, make their highest-charting debut to date, with estimates in the 70-75k range for their fourth album, Only by the Night, thanks to massive iTunes action and several high visibility media breaks, including a performance on last weekend’s SNL and a Spin cover.

J/RMG’s neo-soul tout Jazmine Sullivan debuts with an impressive 55-60k for her debut album Fearless, already sporting a #1 R&B single in the Missy Elliott collab, “Need U Bad.”

Veteran rapper Joe returns on Kedar Entertainment through Fontana Distribution, could do as much as 50k for his latest, Joe Thomas, New Man.

Indie rock torchbearers, Interscope’s TV on the Radio return with 20-25k for its eagerly anticipated third effort, Dear Science.

Downtown/Fontana’s Cold War Kids eye a total of around 20k for the emo poster boys’ latest, Loyalty to Loyalty album

The market was up 1% vs. last week, down 17% vs same week last year and still down 11% year-to-date. You may now return to watching the American economy flush itself down the toilet.

EMI IN SPACE: According to techcrunch.com, EMI is the last of the major four label groups to be in for tomorrow morning's re-launch of MySpace Music. (9/24p)

KINGSTON EXITS: As part of the current changes at the merged satellite radio company, legendary programming exec Steve Kingston has exited Sirius XM.

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN: Well, there goes that late December sales battle between Kanye West and 50 Cent, as if anyone cared. West declared on his blog today that he's moving up the planned Dec. 16 release date of his next Def Jam/IDJ album, 808s & Heartbreak, to (caps his): "NOVEMBER SOMETHING... CAUSE I FINISHED THE ALBUM AND I FELT LIKE IT... I WANT YALL TO HEAR IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE." That could well set up a Black Friday turkey shoot between Kanye and Guns N' Roses. (9/24p)

VIDEO MAKES THE RADIO STAR: Count the unknown Wojahn Brothers as the latest to use video game exposure as a springboard to radio airplay. Their song, “Oh No You Didn’t,” is featured in the current TV campaign for the hit EA game Mercenaries 2 (#1 in the world, #3 in U.S.), which you can see on YouTube here, where it’s attracted a million hits The song is now on iTunes and beginning to get solid radio play at Alternative (CIMX Detroit, KCXX Riverside, KCCQ Des Moines, KVGS Las Vegas, KRAB Bakersfield), Active Rock (WTFX Louisville) and Rock (KFLY Eugene, OR). The making of the video has garnered three-quarters of a million views at YouTube here. (9/24p)

FLOM SAYS YES ON PROP 5: Longtime activist Jason Flom and the Drug Policy Alliance Network are sponsoring a reception, Oct. 14, to promote the passage of Proposition 5 in the upcoming California election. The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act essentially decriminalizes marijuana possession, treating it as an illness instead of a crime, effectively shifting $1 billion per year from prison and parole to treatment and rehabilitation, saving taxpayers more than $2.5 billion. The event will take place at the Beverly Hills home of Roger Birnbaum, with a minimum contribution of $1,000 per person, which is a lot of bong for your buck.

SIRIUS XM SETS THE DIAL: Newly anointed Sirius XM SVP Music Programming Jon Zellner has named his team, which includes Kid Kelly (VP Pop/Dance/Urban), Gregg Steele (VP Rock), Trinity (VP Classical/Jazz/Latin), Jon Anthony (VP Country) and Mitch Todd (Sr. Director Music Production). Additional details about the music programming organization will be provided shortly, including Red Peters in charge of all X-rated material. (9/24p)

SEEING GHOSTS: Lotsa chatter about Ghosts, the four-song EP from highly touted local group These Green Eyes on Ben Goldman’s Blackledge Music. The band’s been selling copies of the release at their live shows, and will now make the package available digitally with a video, for $3.99 on iTunes, starting Sept. 30. (9/24p)

THE BOXER REBELLION: The inside word is that Guns N’ Roses will follow the blueprint drawn up by manager Irving Azoff for The Eagles and enter into an exclusive deal with a big-box retailer for Chinese Democracy. But unlike the Eagles situation or the recent 2.5 million-unit deal with Columbia for AC/DC’s Black Ice, the GNR album will go not to Wal-Mart but to Best Buy. Axl Rose and company are co-managed by Andy Gould and Azoff, who also consulted on the AC/DC deal. These arrangements are very much a sign of the times, as the majors get in deeper with mega-retailers, cutting their risk while pocketing immediate revenue. (9/24a)

MUTUAL AGREEMENT: The reasons behind Janet Jackson’s exit from IDJ after little more than a year aren’t complicated. According to insiders, Jackson was disappointed when Discipline topped out at just 400k, while her singles performed considerably below those of Rihanna and Mariah Carey, rubbing salt in the wound. Jackson asked for her release—despite the fact that her significant other, Jermaine Dupri, is company’s ranking urban executive—and got it. Subsequent reports that she’s headed to Live Nation, which is handling her current tour, seem plausible, especially considering the seeming absence of other viable options. (9/24a)

THE SMART-PHONE WARS: The new Google-powered G1 cell phone from T-Mobile and Taiwanese handset maker HTC is being billed as an iPhone-killer, but as a strategy, Google's move into the mobile business more closely echoes the approach of another competitor Microsoft, the N.Y. Post’s Brian Garrity opines. While Steve Jobs tightly controls the iPhone’s hardware and much of its core software, Google boss Eric Schmidt is looking to rip a page out of the Microsoft play book and have its software on as many phones as possible. Sprint, China Mobile and Japan's NTT DoCoMo are all believed to have Google-powered phones in the works as well. Motorola, LG and Samsung have also expressed support for the Google effort, which uses an open-source technology called Android. Strategy Analytics is projecting Q4 sales of Android phones at 400k units in the U.S. (9/24a)

THIS YEAR'S MODEL WALKMAN: Sony Connect never got off the ground, saddled with the notorious proprietary ATRAC DRM and the lack of viable hardware, but the parent company is planning a second go-round, this time in the mobile space. Sony Ericsson will unveil a smart-phone sporting the Walkman nameplate in tandem with the incremental launch of its PlayNow Plus service, starting this fall in Sweden and spreading to other territories in Q1 2009, Digital Music News reports. The service will go head to head with Nokia’s Comes With Music, launching next month in the U.K. Sony Ericsson claims the "largest music catalog of any unlimited download service," and confirmed the participation of all four majors, as well as thousands of independents, while indicating that PlayNow Plus participants will be able to keep an undisclosed number of tracks, DRM-free, after their contracts end. (9/24a)

GAY DAD: Along with bitter disagreements about the proposed $700 billion bailout bill, the big news this morning is, of course, about Clay Aiken coming out of the closet, breaking the news to Clay Nation via the requisite People cover picturing the Idol alum holding his son Parker. "It was the first decision I made as a father," the born-again Aiken reveals in the mag. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that." As for the impact on his fans, Aiken says, "Whether it be having a child out of wedlock, or whether it be simply being a homosexual, it's going to be a lot. [They] know that I've never intended to lie to anybody at all... But if they leave, I don't want them to leave hating me." Aiken is playing Sir Robin in the Broadway production of Monty Python's Spamalot. Parker’s surrogate mom is Jaymes Foster, sister of David Foster. (9/24a)

WHEELS 2.0 GETS WHEELS: Congrats to our own underage club crawler, the lovely Samantha, who finally got her driver’s license. Here is what she had to say about Electric Touch at the Wiltern in L.A. last Tuesday night, opening for the Fratellis and Airborne Toxic Event: "Fresh on the scene, this brand-spankin’ new group combines a trio of Texans and a Brit to create a medley of passionate rock anthems. Lead singer Shane Lawlor appears to be having a charismatic seizure to the beat. Their stage presence radiated off the walls, filled with synchronized movements and zealous stage leaps. Each member seemed to be making love to their own individual part of the whole. Personal fave: a cover of The Beatles’ 'Come Together.' I seem to have heard of that band somewhere. They climaxed with an explosion of cascading riffs and melodies." Check 'em out here or on their MySpace page here. Their self-titled album is available on Justice Records through UMGD's Fontana Distribution. (9/23p)

SHORT FUSE: This week’s adds to the Fuse playlist include Fall Out Boy’s “I Don’t Care,” Nelly’s “Body on Me,” f/Akon & Ashanti and Rise Against’s “Re-Education.” Featured artists on the music and lifestyle channel’s New Developing Artist program include The Gaslight Anthem, Hollywood Undead, Innerpartysystem, Kardinal Offishall, Tyga and The Virgins. (9/23p)

MYSPACE IS THE PLACE: MySpace Music, the joint venture between MySpace and the big music labels, is set to launch sometime this week, according to techcrunch.com. The company has spent the last few weeks briefing advertisers and the labels in preparation for the introduction. The new service, located at www.music.myspace.com, will look completely different than the existing site, with users able to stream music for free, create playlists, download music from Amazon, as well as purchase merchandise, concert tickets, ringtones, subscriptions to the N.Y. Post and Wall Street Journal and candid mug shots of Rupert Murdoch counting his money. (9/23p)

PLAYING THE SLOT: The major labels have teamed up with SanDisk to offer a new format, “slotMusic,” a standard 1 GB microSD removable memory card loaded with content in DRM-free 320 kbps files. While each card will contain little more than a single album at first, the new format can offer additional content not already found online, including album art, interactive features, lyrics and master tracks that fans can remix. Sources say the new format would be available by the holiday sales season for a price compatible with CDs. A blank 1 GB microSD card retails for around $8. UMG will issue 29 albums under the new format at around $15. The format is supported by computers, game consoles, MP3 players and, especially, mobile phones. Best Buy and Wal-Mart are the only two retail partners at this point. (9/23a)

FAME NAMES: The nine nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year include Jeff Beck, Chic, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Metallica, Run-D.M.C., the Stooges, War and Bobby Womack. Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters, who will select artists to be inducted into the Hall at the 24th Annual Induction Ceremony on April 4 at historic Public Hall in Cleveland. Five of the nine nominees will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Those will be announced in January 2009. For the first time, tickets to the ceremony will be made available to the public. This year's nominees had to release their first single or album no later than 1983. Among those eligible who missed the list: The Cure, Rush, The Smiths and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Others who haven't made the grade: Yes, Hall & Oates, Kiss, Alice Cooper and Steve Miller. (9/22a)

WEATHERLY REPORT: Kevin Weatherly has been upped to VP Programming for CBS Radio in L.A. by newly named SVP Market Manager Roy Laughlin. In addition, Bob Moore has been upped to Station Manager for CBS’ SoCal radio properties. Dan Weiner is now SVP/Director of Sales, working with Laughlin and CBS President/Sales Michael Weiss. The news comes amid today’s CBS auction of 50 of its radio properties nationwide, with Cumulus, Entercom, Bonneville, Connoisseur and Tribune among the expected bidders, along with former CBS Radio CEO Joel Hoallander and ex-Jacor/Clear Channel exec Bobby Lawrence. CBS CEO Les Moonves told analysts last week that if the company doesn't get the price it wants for the stations, "We're not going to sell." (9/22a)

BOB JONES, 70, Michael Jackson’s longtime loyal publicist, passed away on Saturday (9/20) from a heart attack after returning from a bike ride. The kindly Jones had been associated with the Jacksons for some 35 years, guiding Michael through his marriages to Lisa Marie and Debbie Rowe to the Elephant Man’s bones and hyperbaric chambers. Jackson fired Jones without severance or notice in the winter of 2005, during the pop star’s trial for child molestation and conspiracy. Jones and Stacy Brown self-published a critical book, Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask, but Jones was always loyal to the superstar, refusing to reveal anything while testifying at the trial. Thanks to Fox News' redoubtable Roger Friedman for the info. (9/22a)

MORNING WOODIES: mtvU has announced the nominees for its annual Woodie awards, to be handed out Nov. 12 at N.Y.’s Roseland Ballroom. Lil Wayne, Paramore, Tokyo Police Club, MGMT and Santogold are up for Woodie (Artist) of the Year; All Time Low, We the Kings, There for Tomorrow, Lykke Li and Tyga are up for the Breaking Woodie (Best Emerging Artist), while the Left Field Woodie (Most Original Artist) nominees are No Age, Chromeo, Yelle, She & Him and Cool Kids. Best Video of the Year nominees include Gnarls Barkley (“Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”), Erykah Badu (“Honey”), Vampire Weekend (“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”), Adele (“Chasing Pavements”) and Motion City Soundtrack (“It Had to Be You”). Voting begins today at www.woodies.mtvu.com and runs through November 7. This year, fans can also campaign for their favorite artists by posting voting modules to their blogs and social networking pages. (9/22a)

REGISTERS RINGING LIKE HELL’S BELLS: Tickets for AC/DC dates in Boston and Columbus, OH, sold out in 15 minutes, while tickets for Toronto went clean within a half-hour when they went on sale last Friday. Tickets for the Wilkes-Barre, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, East Rutherford, Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, Atlanta, and Charlotte concerts went on sale Saturday (9/20), while those for Oakland went on sale Sunday (9/21). The band’s Black Ice album on Columbia comes out Oct. 20 exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and the band’s own www.ACDC.com website. Fans ordering tickets on Ticketmaster.com will have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order the album in connection with their ticket purchase. (9/22a)

JAY-Z OPENS STARGATE: Jay-Z has formed a new record label with Stargate, the pair of Norwegian songwriter/producers who have scored big hits with Beyonce and Rihanna, among others. The new venture, Star Roc, will be based at the rapper’s Manhattan Roc the Mic recording studio and will develop new talent through “360 deals.” The label is a 50-50 partnership between Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, his recently signed $150 million deal with Live Nation, along with Stargate’s Tor Erk Hermansen and Mikkel S. Erikesen. Last year, Jay-Z stepped down from his post as President of Def Jam Recordings after three years. His new, Kanye West-produced album, The Blueprint 3, is slated for release later this year, his 11th and reportedly final for his old label. (9/22a)

UNREAL ESTATE: Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman may be having some mixed results in the record business, but he’s making millions on the New York real estate market. According to the New York Observer, Junior has been involved in six of Manhattan’s largest property sales, including a recent $28.5 million purchase of the former home of Muppets creator Jim Henson. Earlier this month, Bronfman sold a 10-room duplex on E. 95th St. for $21.75 million after paying $18.75 million for it last October. Last January, he acquired an 11-room co-op at 1040 Fifth Avenue for $19.5 million and sold it for between $20 and $21 million. He earlier sold a 31-foot-wide townhouse on E. 64th St. at a considerable profit he originally paid $4.4 million for in 1994. Now, if only he could turn around the music business. (9/22a)

CRITICAL LIST: Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and disc jockey Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein remain in critical but stable condition at a burn center in Augusta, GA. The two escaped from the flaming wreckage of a private jet which crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in Columbia, SC, on Friday night, where they had just performed a concert for college students. Two other passengers, Chris Baker, an assistant to Barker, and Charles Still, a security guard for the musician, died, as did pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland. Witnesses saw Baker and Goldstein emerge from the plane with their clothing in flames. (9/22a)

BOOK ‘EM: Booking agents Matt Galle and Andrew Ellis will bring their Ellis Industries in-house at the Paradigm agency in an announcement made by Paradigm Music Division head Chip Hooper and East Coast Music ruler Marty Diamond. Ellis and Galle will work out of Paradigm's N.Y. offices, along with their entire roster, including My Chemical Romance, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Boys Like Girls, Alkaline Trio, Metro Station, Hellogoodbye, Circa Survive, Thrice, New Found Glory and Say Anything, among others. Gale and Ellis will shutter their agency. (9/22a)

YOUR WEAKEND TOP 10 CHART PREVIEW: As we head into the end of what has proved to be a punishing work week, to say the least, it appears that Metallica (Warner Brothers) has enough momentum to hold on to the top spot, with a projected 250-275k, outpointing the debuting Ne-Yo (Def Jam/IDJ), who's making his own star turn with an expected 235-250k. After that, as with the stock market, we’ll see a precipitous drop. Here’s how the rest of next week’s Top 10 is shaping up: #3, Nelly (Derrty/Universal Motown debut), 75-80k; #4, Kid Rock (Atlantic), 60-65k; #5, Young Jeezy (Def Jam/IDJ), 55-60k; #6, Darius Rucker (Capitol Nashville debut), 50-55k; #7, DJ Khaled (Koch debut) 45-50k. Then, in the too-close-to-call range, are Lil Wayne (Cash Money/Universal Motown), The Game (Geffen) and Buckcherry (Eleven Seven/Atlantic debut), all trending toward 40-45k. In other words, UMG has a shot at snagging half of the Top 10. (9/19p)

MOVING ON UP: Latest RatetheMusic callout has Frontiers' Journey #1 at AC with "After All These Years," while Decca/Mercury Aussie star Delta Goodrem's "In This Life" is #1 at Hot AC. We now return you to your regularly scheduled web-surfing. (9/18p)

IN THE P!NK: Singer/songwriter P!nk’s “So What” is turning into a digital smash, racking up 252k downloads this week as the #1 radio airplay gainer for four weeks in a row. It's #9 on Mediabase's Top 40 building chart today and #18 at Hot AC. The David Meyers-directed video is currently airing on VH1, Fuse, Music Choice and as one of the Top 10 videos on MTV. The album, Funhouse, her fifth, comes out on LaFace/ZLG Oct. 28. (9/18p)

TRINA ON BOARD: Trina Tombrink is tapped as Senior Director, Triple A Promotion, for Universal Republic Records by SVP Promotion & Artist Development Joel Klaiman. Tombrink will be responsible for overseeing Triple A projects for the label, as well as Brushfire Records. She was previously Senior Director of Triple A Promotion for Columbia Records. Tombrink started her career at KSJO in San Jose, CA, where it almost ended before it began. (9/18p)

WMG STOCK VIGIL: As Wall Street continues its white-knuckle ride, WMG shares have dropped below $7 and presently hover at $6.53 as of 1:21 EDT, approaching its day-low of $6.47. Talk about going down the rabbit hole... Last Friday (9/12), the stock was trading at $8.77. (9/18a)

WRIGHTING THE SHIP: Chrysalis says that it's refocusing on growth after testing the waters for a possible sale earlier this year. In an interview with Music Week occasioned by the company’s 40th anniversary, co-founder and Chairman Chris Wright said, “You can’t stand still in this business, so the only way to go is faster,” while the trade noted his “renewed appetite for business.” The legendary music man's revitalization was apparent in his assertion, “I’m convinced there is someone out there who will be the biggest artist I’ll ever be involved with. I just have to find them.” Perhaps reflecting this turnabout in attitude, Chrysalis U.S. has inked Toronto-based rapper Kardinal Offishall (whose latest album came out Sept. 9 on Kon Live/Geffen) art-metal band Mastodon and critical darling Bon Iver (one of four artists on the cover of the current, "Best of What's Next" issue of Paste). (9/18a)

BUG OFF: Speaking of indie publishers—and insects, for that matter—as markets around the globe were going into the tank, Bug Music was coolly locking in an expanded line of credit close to $250 million from a coalition of banks fronted by JP Morgan. Said CEO John Rudolph: "The significant upsizing of our credit facility will enable Bug Music to continue to have the financial resources to pursue acquisition opportunities and will enable us to continue to grow the company effectively." (9/18a)

SIGNAGE OF THE TIMES: MySpace Music may not have a firm launch date, but the venture does have billboards in Times Square featuring the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne and M.I.A., suggesting that it won’t be long now. As Idolator points out in its photograph of the sign, follow your eye and you can see the Virgin Megastore as well as several old album banners hanging from the N.Y. office of BMG, now also a music business refugee. (9/18a)

HONEY NUT JONAS BROTHERS: The Hollywood Records sibling stars are also one of four acts featured in a massive promo for Breakfast Breaks, which bundles a bowl of General Mills cereal, a Minute Maid drink, a snack and utensils in one box, Digital Music News reports. For the next nine months, the ESE Foods product, which is served to hundreds of thousands of students across the U.S., will contain codes for free MP3s from the Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, Spice Girls and Yellowcard. These codes will be contained on 27 million Breakfast Break packages, sold by Wal-Mart, Target and various supermarket chains. (9/18a)

ANIMAL PLANET: Right after the European Commission approved Sony’s proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in Sony BMG, Impala issued another of its kvetching statements. The new company will create “a wide array of new vertical and horizontal problems as the industry progresses toward digital delivery of music through multiple platforms,” the indie org complained. “We keep saying that music is not like widgets,” said Impala and PIAS Entertainment Co-President Michel Lambot. “The Commission needs to completely reassess its view of the music market. They have just let the world’s largest consumer electronics company merge with the second largest music company without any detailed investigation.” But the EC said it had determined that Sony would continue to have the incentive to sell its music to as many hardware customers as possible and would, therefore, not restrict access to its music catalog to competitors in these markets. (9/18a)

PORTNOW ON WHITFIELD: "Two-time Grammy winner Norman Whitfield was one of the architects of the Motown sound. A prolific songwriter and producer, he infused traditional soul music with rock and psychedelic layers, and produced many hits for Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and others. Our music community has lost a prolific contributor, but his legacy lives on through the classic hits he helped to create. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and all who enjoyed his work." (9/18a)

NORMAN WHITFIELD, 67, songwriter and producer who helped guide the Motown Sound into "psychedelic soul," passed away in L.A. earlier this week after developing complications from diabetes. Whitfield co-wrote "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and produced both the Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight versions of the track; he also worked extensively with the Temptations, and produced their Grammy-winning songs "Cloud Nine" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." In 1973, he left Motown to form his own label, Whitfield Records, which had its biggest success with Rose Royce's "Car Wash" and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. (9/17p)

BEAR MEETS BUNNY: Set against a backdrop where the Dow lost a whopping 446 points today, Warner Music Group shareholders showed little confidence in Chairman Edgar Bronfman’s organizational moves expanding the roles of Lyor Cohen and Michael Fleisher. The stock ended the afternoon at 7.28, down 8.66% and .69 from yesterday’s close of 7.97. (9/17p)

VIVDENDI CHIEF BULLISH ON MUSIC: Vivendi CEO Jean Bernard Levy believes legal digital downloading will pave the way to growth in the recorded music industry, according to a report in the Financial Times. Levy said he had been buoyed by new means of raising money from the sale of music, such as mobile phone maker Nokia’s “Comes With Music” plan. He also pointed to ongoing arrangements with companies like Apple and MySpace. Levy called UMG “the next surprise for our investors. I think [in] the music business, there is a strong likelihood that we are getting close to the lowest part of the cycle and we are extremely active in developing new business models, new sources of revenues. We are working with all the big names in the field of Internet, in the field of telecom equipment companies, big media companies and this is a big opportunity." To quote Brian Wilson: “Wouldn’t it be nice?” (9/17p)

AC/DC MONDAY’S CHILD: Just as they did with the Eagles, Wal-Mart is committed to buying 2.5 million, non-returnable copies of veteran Aussie rockers AC/DC’s new Columbia album, Black Ice, which will hit the retailer’s stores on Monday, Oct. 20, instead of the usual Tuesday release date on the 21st. The move follows Metallica’s decision to release its new album this past Friday (9/12), three days after the usual street date. Meanwhile, the AC/DC catalog continues to sell an impressive 100k a week as anticipation builds for the new album, while tickets go on sale Sept. 20 for the tour, which begins Oct. 28 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The first single, “Rock ‘N Roll Train” is Top 5 in airplay at the Rock formats. (9/17p)

DARK SIDE OF THE BOTTOM LINE: Chatter in the U.K. has Pink Floyd the latest super group with a major catalog ankling EMI in the very near-future. The loss comes on the heels of recent exits by major acts Radiohead, McCartney and the Stones since Guy Hands acquired the music company. Over the past four years (2004-07), Pink Floyd’s total digital and physical U.S. catalog sales of 6 million is third only to the Beatles’ 8 million and AC/DC’s 7 million. One of the band’s founders, keyboardist Rick Wright, passed away this week at the age of 65. The group reformed with David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Wright for a one-off performance in July, 2005, at the London Live 8 concert, but turned down a reported offer of $250 million to tour. (9/17p)

AC/DC T&A: Now, this is what we call a return to the good old days of promotion. To mark the upcoming release of AC/DC’s Black Ice album on Oct. 20, Columbia’s running a “Show Us Your AC/DC” contest online. Winner gets to attend a dress rehearsal on the “Rock N’ Roll Train.” For a little inspiration, check out Kurt Squier’s entry here. (9/17p)

THE GONZO VOTE: It’s no surprise that rocker Ted Nugent is a fan of fellow deer hunter Sarah Palin, so the rocker-turned-author took the opportunity to send an advance copy of his new book, Ted, White & Blue: The Nugent Manifesto, his 16-chapter plan on how to fix America, to the VP candidate. He sent along an accompanying note, which read: “We who live our American Dream by God, truth, logic, goodwill and decency, thank you for bringing such defiant common sense and self evident truth back to the GOP and politics…We wish you Godspeed for the best hunting and fishing season of your life and pray to God almighty that you bring your bold spirit to the White House.” Pass the caribou cutlets and let’s get down to campaigning, folks. (9/17p)

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR: EMI is now close to signing a deal to join MySpace Music, possibly in time for the imminent launch of the venture, CNET’s News.com reported, citing two sources close to the negotiations, one of whom said the companies are "trying to jump some final hurdles." While that will lock up the Big Four, MySpace Music has yet to announce any hook-ups with indie labels. (9/17a)

WANT FRIES WITH THAT DOWNLOAD? Don’t know about you, but when we think about the Zune, we think “Quarter Pounder with cheese.” Microsoft has partnered with Wi-Fi hotspot firm Wayport to make 9,800 McDonald's locations Zune zones. The player’s software update enables users to wirelessly stream and download music from the Zune Marketplace, along with tagging and buying songs directly from the built-in FM radio. (9/17a)

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I love Jack and the White Stripes, the rawness of their style. 'Seven Nation Army' obviously is crazy. And 'Icky Thump'—the intro to that is off the chain." —Alicia Keys on her writing and recording partner on the theme for the upcoming James Bond film Quantum of Silence, interviewed in Rolling Stone. (9/17a)

FRIEDMAN ON COHEN: You knew Fox411 columnist Roger Friedman, a vocal critic of what he refers to as “Warner M. Group,” would have something to say about Edgar Bronfman’s promotion of Lyor Cohen. “Believe it or not, the reward for doing nothing but selling out your company is a promotion at Warner M. Group,” Friedman wrote this morning. “Tuesday, Edgar Bronfman Jr. promoted Lyor Cohen from head bounder to chief bounder. Cohen’s most decisive move in the last year? Selling off more than $6 million in stock to buy a tear-down house in the Hamptons. The result of that sale was an immediate drop in the company’s stock price, because the sale signaled that Cohen knew something the few stockholders didn’t. Congrats! Maybe in that Goldman Sachs interview Thursday, someone with a little nerve can ask Bronfman about this bold decision. WMG stock finished at $7.97 Tuesday. A year ago it was over $10. That was before Madonna and Nickelback left. This week, the company released what most people expect to be the final album by Metallica before that group moves on.” (9/17a)

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, JUNIOR? Plenty of chatter about today’s Edgar Bronfman-announced WMG reorganization, which included the establishment of an Office of the Chairman with Lyor Cohen and Michael Fleisher. Insiders consider the Fleisher move one step ahead of his eventual exit from the company, with the exec’s job performance in the crosshairs, and a reputation of being disliked both inside and outside. The deal, with Cohen inheriting the U.K. and Latin America in addition to his current responsibilities in the U.S. and Canada, is also causing a great deal of speculation. Could this really be a vote of confidence for the reign of the controversial, much-maligned exec, or, like the Fleisher situation, another “up and out” move being made by Bronfman? Action to come? You bet. (9/16p)

THE FORCE IS WITH HIM: Kudos to ex J/RCA Rock promotion exec (and Ohio State alum) Chris Woltman’s Element 1 Marketing for the successful launch of Family Force 5, breaking out of the Christian market and now heading towards mainstream radio. Check out some of the band's songs on www.myspace.com/familyforce5. Sorry about those Buckeyes, Chris. At least you’re dotting your I’s… and crossing your T’s. (9/16p)

OLE FOR OLE: Ole Obermann is named SVP International Digital Business Development, Global Digital Business for SBMG Entertainment by EVP Global Digital Business Michael Paull. Obermann will oversee SBMG’s international digital business development efforts, driving new revenue streams outside the U.S., collaborating closely with the company’s digital teams around the world to provide strategic support for local digital initiatives in each territory. Olbermann was most recently SBMG VP International Digital Business Development and VP European Digital Business Development. He was also VP/GM for digital music commerce company Liquid Digital Media, including the operation of Wal-Mart’s online music store. (9/16p)

HE'S SO MONEY: Hot off the presses, check out Korn maestro Jonathan Davis' cover of Lil Wayne and T-Pain's smash hit "Got Money" here. And no, those aren't back-up vocals from Jeff Kwatinetz. (9/16p)

TA-TA TO TRL: MTV is pulling the plug on TRL, with the last episode of the show formerly known as Total Request Live airing in November on a Saturday afternoon. The show debuted in 1998 with Carson Daly as host, introducing the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC to its audience. Others who have hosted the show include Damien Fahey, LaLa Vasquez and Vanessa Minnillo. The series marked its 2,000th episode in May, 2007. The show started out as a countdown of viewers voting for their favorite videos, but producers increasingly turned to a combination of votes, chart action, downloads, ringtone purchases, radio play and Internet streaming to determine the top videos each week. Starting in November, new and viewer-tested videos will continue to have a home on the Pete Wentz-hosted FNMTV, which had a successful 15-episode run on Friday nights this summer. (9/16p)

NOW YOUTUBE BAD, TOO: Metallica’s at it again. After their famed rant against Napster in 1999, the band’s frontman James Hetfield lectured the London audience at last night’s fan-only, O2 Arena album launch party show, “Put your phones away, man. Putting a two-minute video on YouTube isn’t going to make you famous. Just enjoy the show.” The band’s Death Magnetic will debut at #1 on HITS’ Album chart today with more than 500k sold. Check NME.com for more info on last night’s show here. And, of course, there are plenty of clips from last night’s show on YouTube anyway, including a version of the classic, “The Thing That Should Not Be” here. (9/16p)

MACCA’S HOLYLAND TRIP UNDER FIRE: Sir Paul McCartney has been threatened that he will be the target of suicide bombers unless he abandons plans to play his first concert in Israel. Lebanese extremist Omar Bakri claimed the former Beatle’s decision to take part in the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary celebrations had made him an enemy of all Muslims. Sources said Macca was shocked but refused to be intimidated. In an interview with Israeli media yesterday he said: “I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here. I refused. I do what I think and I have many friends who support Israel.” A number of websites described him as an infidel and suggested he was playing in Israel only because of the reported £2.3m fee for the one-off concert. A spokesman for Sir Paul declined to comment on the threat, saying: “Paul’s Friendship First concert is about his music. Paul’s is a message of peace.” (9/16p)

FUSE LIT UP: This week’s Fuse music video channel playlist adds E-40 f/Akon’s “Wake It Up” (WB), Hollywood Undead’s “No. 5” (A&M/Octone), Kevin Rudolf f/Lil Wayne’s “Let It Rock” (Cash Money/Universal Motown). Featured artists on their New Developing program include The Gaslight Anthem, Innerparty System, Kardinal Offishal, Tyga, the Virgins and Hollywood Undead. (9/16p)

“SEX” SELLS: Kings of Leon’s libidinal new single “Sex on Fire” has debuted at #1 on the U.K. charts, supplanting Katy Perry’s worldwide smash “I Kissed a Girl,” and raising hopes among the band’s rabid American fan base that fourth album Only by the Night, streeting next Tuesday on RCA, will be their breakthrough. Ironically, frontman Caleb Followill told NME.com he came very close to tossing the song before he’d even finished writing it. "I just had this melody and I didn't know what to say,” he recalled. “Then one day I just sang ‘this sex is on fire’ and I laughed. I thought it was terrible, but the rest of the band were like, 'It's good, it's got a hook'. I was like 'Fuck off!' but I ended up writing it… There's an element of sex that's expected in our songs, so I tried to wrap it all up in one song.” In his Album of the Month review of Only by the Night in the October issue of U.K. mag Uncut, our own Bud Scoppa opines that “The Kings aren’t impersonating the greats, they’re competing with them, on an increasingly level playing field.” (9/16a)

NORDIC-ING AROUND: UMG, which is distributing Metallica's new album outside the U.S., canceled a band interview with the Swedish paper Sydsvenskan after reporter Jonn Jeppsson revealed that he’d downloaded an unofficial shortened version of the album from P2P The Pirate Bay. Reviewing Death Magnetic: Better, Shorter, Cut for Sydsvenskan, Jeppsson wrote that the unauthorized edit was how the album should have sounded. Given the band’s history, it’s hard to believe this guy was surprised by the cancellation. The news was first reported by TorrentFreak. (9/16a)

NEIL PORTNOW ON RICK WRIGHT: "As a Grammy-winning artist and one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright was an exceptional instrumentalist, whose distinctive keyboard style was essential to the musicality of this world-renowned band. He also scored films and recorded his own instrumental compositions and solo albums. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and fans at this difficult time, as we remember this influential musician." (9/16a)

SHE CAN SEE TV FROM HER HOUSE: Turns out the subject of Tina Fey's bravura impression on the season premiere of SNL got a kick out of it along with the rest of the country. “She thought it was quite funny, particularly because she once dressed up as Tina Fey for Halloween," VP hopeful Sarah Palin's spokesperson Tracey Schmitt told CBS News. (9/16a)

FEY ALL THE WAY: For any of you who haven't seen Tina Fey's amazing Sarah Palin on the opening of the new season of Saturday Night Live, with her pal Amy Poehler reprising her own Hillary Clinton, check it out on NBC's hulu.com here. (9/15p)

BOI & BLIGE FOR OBAMA: Lotsa talk about “Somethin’ Gotta Give,” the first single from OutKast member Big Boi’s upcoming LaFace/ZLG solo bow, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, a duet with Mary J. Blige. The politically partisan video has been having a hard time getting on the major video outlets because of its unabashed pro-Obama stance. Guess they want equal time for Sarah Palin. You listening, Daddy Yankee? Check the clip out for yourself right (or left) here. (9/15p)

TIMES ON TERRY: Last Gang reggae artist Terry Lynn has been a tout by your lovable Wheels 2.0 losers for awhile, and now the N.Y. Times has climbed aboard the bandwagon. Maybe we have an ear, after all. Read what esteemed music critic Jon Pareles says here about the Kingston singer/songwriter’s latest album, kingstonlogic 2.0, on Chris Taylor’s red-hot Canadian label, distributed by Fontana here in the States. To hear a sample of Lynn’s music, head here. (9/15p)

SHOW HIM THE (CASH) MONEY: Lil Wayne will re-sign a multi-album deal worth multi-millions with the only label he’s ever known, the New Orleans-based Cash Money Records, the groundbreaking record company founded by brothers Ronald “Slim” Williams and Bryan “Baby” Williams 16 years ago out of the city’s New Orleans housing projects. The pair signed a groundbreaking deal with Universal Music Group in 1998, and now all their records go through Universal Motown. Lil Wayne has literally grown up as a Cash Money artist, from the time he was a young teenager and part of the legendary hip-hop group Hot Boys. He is credited with introducing the term, “bling,” into the rap vernacular in the Big Tymers’ 1998 track, “Millionaire Dream,” and went on to score platinum albums with Tha Block Is Hot as well as the three installments of Tha Carter trilogy, including Tha Carter III, this year’s best-selling album, now up to 2.4 million after debuting with more than “A Milli.” (9/15p)

RICK WRIGHT, 65, Pink Floyd keyboardist and founding member, has passed away from cancer. Wright appeared on the group's very first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside lead guitarist Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason. Dave Gilmour didn’t join the band until 1968, with Barrett leaving shortly afterwards. Wright wrote several songs on The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Division Bell. He frequently sang background and occasionally lead vocals onstage and in the studio, most notably on the songs "Time," "Echoes," and on the Barrett composition "Astronomy Domine." His keyboards were considered an integral part of the Floyd sound. (9/15p)

READY FOR FALL: Two more new albums will be hitting the street in Q4. American Idol winner David Cook’s debut will come out Nov. 18 on 19/RCA, produced by Grammy winner Rob Cavallo. Check www.DavidCookOfficial.com, his newly launched networking site, for more info. The Killers’ new album, Day & Age, their first new studio recording in two years, since Sam’s Town, touches down Nov. 25 on Island/IDJ. The new single, “Human,” debuts Sept. 22, with the digital download available Sept. 30. The album was produced by electronic whiz Stuart Price, who worked with the band on “Don’t Shoot Me Santa,” their Christmas single last year. The band’s previous album was last November’s Sawdust, a collection of B-sides, rarities, one-offs and unreleased session tracks. (9/15p)

EVERGREEN STILL GREEN: EverGreen Copyrights, the publishing company whose minority owners include David Schulhof, Richard Perna and Joel Katz, will not be affected by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy filing. The company is backed by $100m from majority owner Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, an investment fund managed by Lehman employees on behalf of many other investors. EG is operating business and usual, and are looking at other investment situations, having recently closed acquisitions of 2 Live Crew, and new deals for the Third Eye Blind and Sidney Cox catalogs. Commented EverGreen Co-CEO/Founder Schulhof: "The impending news regarding Lehman Brothers has no financial impact on EverGreen's operations. We have already raised our capital from Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Group and will continue to operate and grow our business. Whomever ultimately buys the private equity division of Lehman will simply become EverGreen's partner. We have a lot of options and are weighing what is best for the overall growth and success of the company for the long term." (9/15p)

EL CUCUY MOVES ON: Top-ranked talk show host Renan Almendarez Coello, better known as El Cucuy de la Manana, is leaving La Raza 97.9 FM, the L.A. station that he has been at for the last five years, effective today. He will now seek to build his own radio network, starting with the station he co-owns in New Mexico. The Honduras-born DJ will continue production of his television show, Azte pa ca, on Azteca America and his humanitarian work through the El Cucuy Foundation, with projects in the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Indonesia. (9/15p)

WISH UPON A STARGATE: EMI Music Publishing has signed a global co-publishing deal with Norwegian songwriter/producer Mikkel Eriksen, which further expands the company’s relationship with the Stargate production team, consisting of Eriksen and partner Tor Erik Hermansen. Hermansen has been represented by EMI since 1999, and this marks the first time that the Stargate songwriting partnership has been brought together under one music publishing house, working in conjunction with UK President Guy Moot and President of W.C. Creative Big Jon Platt. Stargate has co-written "Don't Stop The Music" and "Take a Bow" for Rihanna, "Because of You" and "Closer" for Ne-Yo, "Irreplaceable" for Beyoncé, and "With You" for Chris Brown, with "Beautiful Liar" (performed by Beyoncé and Shakira) earning them the Ivor Novello award for Best British Song alongside fellow EMI Music Publishing writer Amanda Ghost. (9/15p)

NAMES IN THE RUMOR MILL: Don Passman, Benny Medina, Brian Schecter, Jonas Nachsin, Chris Tasakalakis, Andy Schuon and Ed Pierson. (9/15a)

27 CANDLES, ONE ALBUM: Britney Spears’ sixth studio album, Circus, will be released on Dec. 2, the former teenpop star’s 27th birthday, People.com revealed this morning immediately following Jive’s announcement. First single “Womanizer,” produced by the Atlanta-based Outsyders, impacts radio Sept. 22. Other contributors to the album include Dr. Luke (writer/producer of the title track), Danja, Bloodshy & Avant, Guy Sigsworth and longtime collaborator Max Martin. Four of Spears’ albums have debuted at #1. (9/15a)

JAMIE COHEN, former A&R executive at Columbia and EMI, as well as a visual artist and musician, died early on Sept. 11 of a heart attack during a visit to Austin. He was 55. The Cleveland native began his career at A&M in the mid-’70s, where he worked as a product manager alongside Jeff Ayeroff, Jordan Harris and Bud Scoppa. Cohen had been living in New Mexico since leaving Los Angeles early in this decade. (9/15a)

NAPSTER BOXED IN: Best Buy is buying Napster—and picking up its 700k subscribers—for $121 million, including $67 million in cash and short-term investments on Napster's books. The deal values the company with the resonant name at $2.65 a share, nearly double Friday's closing price of $1.36, notes the Wall Street Journal. "Best Buy intends to use Napster's capabilities and digital subscriber base to reach new customers with an enhanced experience for exploring and selecting music and other digital entertainment products over an increasing array of devices," said Best Buy President/COO Brian Dunn. Napster said CEO Chris Gorog and other senior executives will remain in their posts, and that the company would remain in L.A. (9/15a)

TAKE OF THE DAY: “So, why was Estelle the unfortunate guinea pig? Warner—and other majors—want to play hardball with Apple, and prove that the music market is bigger than iTunes. But that is a very expensive and questionable point to make, especially from the perspective of the artist. Despite being saddled with DRM, Apple still rules the roost in paid downloads, and the numbers from promising competitors like Amazon MP3 remain missing… That is not to say that iTunes will always be on top, especially in such a fluid and volatile market. But right now, in 2008, do you want to be the artist suddenly missing from the iTunes Store? Of course not, especially if your name is still growing. And what if your name is well-developed, and even at a superstar level? The question is whether anyone is willing to following the brash lead of Kid Rock, and potentially risk sales and even relevance in the process. Music fans want singles, convenience and unfettered access—free or paid—and that is bigger than any artist, label and even Apple itself.” —from Paul Resnikoff’s commentary on the Estelle experiment on Digital Music News. (9/15a)


About the author: Courtesy Hits Magazine