Gaga among stars quitting Facebook for charity

"Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Usher are among stars signing off social media including Facebook and Twitter in aid of singer Alicia Keys' charity. The campaign, called Digital Life Sacrifice, will raise money on Tuesday - World Aids Day - for Keep a Child Alive, which supports families affected by HIV/Aids in Africa and India. The celebrities have filmed "last tweet and testament" videos. They will sign back online when the charity raises $1 million. Their videos will appear in adverts showing them lying in coffins to represent what the campaign calls their digital deaths"
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Vivaldi sonatas found in archive

Two previously unknown violin sonatas by Antonio Vivaldi have been uncovered after lying hidden in a collection of manuscripts for 270 years. The works, thought to have been written for amateur musicians, were found in a 180-page portfolio after it was donated to the Foundling Museum in London. One of the rediscovered compositions will be performed at Liverpool Hope University on Sunday. It is likely to be its first airing in the modern era, the university said. The anthology of manuscripts was compiled between 1715 and 1725, with Vivaldi's sonatas filed alongside works by Handel, Corelli and Purcell. It was acquired by the late businessman Gerald Coke, whose collection was handed to the Foundling Museum in 2008
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Susan Boyle album tops charts both sides of Atlantic

Singer Susan Boyle has notched up a notable double after her latest album - already number one in the UK - reached the top spot in the US as well. According to her record label, the Scottish star is only the third act to achieve that feat twice within a year. Only the Monkees, in 1967, and the Beatles, in 1969, have simultaneously topped both charts twice in the same 12 months, Columbia Records said
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Jimi Hendrix's family talks anthology, documentary

"After a prolific 2010 that continues with the "West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology" box set out this week, the family-run Experience Hendrix label has a more modest, but no less impactful blueprint for the next couple of years. "This year has been very special because it marked the 40th anniversary of (Hendrix's) passing," Janie Hendrix, the rock icon's sister and Experience Hendrix president and CEO, told Billboard.com. The company started with the March release of the rarities set "Valleys of Neptune" and continues with "West Coast Seattle Boy." The latter features four discs of unreleased material and alternate takes, including a full disc of pre-Experience tracks recorded with Little Richard, the Isley Brothers, Don Covay and others. The box also includes the documentary "Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Child," narrated by Bootsy Collins"
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Paul McCartney to make his Apollo Theater debut

Sir Paul McCartney is to make his first appearance at New York's legendary Apollo Theater next month. The former Beatle, 68, will perform at the Harlem venue on 13 December in an invitation-only concert for paid-for radio service Sirius XM. The show will celebrate the service, which has six channels, reaching 20 million subscribers
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New Michael Jackson single debuts online

A duet recorded in 2007 by Michael Jackson and rapper Akon has been released on his website - the first single from an album of new music from the King of Pop after his death last year
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Guns N' Roses plan 'quick' new album

Guns N' Roses have confirmed plans to record a new album, but the rockers have promised it "won't take as long" as the much-delayed Chinese Democracy
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Retailers facing the music this Christmas (UK)

More retailers than ever will be selling music products this Christmas, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). A number of new companies, including fashion retailer Bhs and petrol provider BP, will give customers the opportunity to purchase CDs. The ERA states that the new outlets selling CDs comprise of 180 Bhs stores, 370 BP petrol stations, 18 HMV pop-up shops, 250 Game stores and 1,166 Tesco Express stores. It also indicates that bookseller Waterstone's is considering introducing a music product line to its 300 UK stores this festive season.
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Americans lead MTV awards charge

"Katy Perry and Lady Gaga lead the nominations for the MTV Europe Music Awards. The American singers put British stars in the shade, with each in the running for five awards at the glitzy bash, held this year at Madrid's Caja Magica. The pair are competing against each other in the Best Pop, Female, Song and Video categories, while Lady Gaga is up for Best Live Act, and Perry has been nominated for Best World Stage Performance. Actress Eva Longoria Parker will take over hosting duties from Perry, who fronted the show in an array of attention-grabbing outfits in 2008 and 2009. The show, to be screened live by MTV to millions of viewers across Europe, will feature performances from Rihanna, Shakira, Bon Jovi and the Kings Of Leon"
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1.5-million-dollar verdict in US music piracy case

"A US jury has ordered a Minnesota woman to pay 1.5 million dollars for illegally downloading 24 songs in a high-profile digital piracy case. Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a single mother of four, was found liable by a jury on Wednesday of copyright infringement for using KaZaA peer-to-peer file-sharing network to download the songs over the Internet. She was ordered to pay 62,500 dollars for each of the 24 songs, a total of 1.5 million dollars"
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Michael Jackson world tour announced

Michael Jackson's estate and Cirque du Soleil have announced the official international launch of a joint project: Michael Jackson - The Immortal World Tour
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Soundcheck Books (UK)

Soundcheck Books is Britain's newest publisher of books about popular music, formed in July 2010. Our remit is simple: to produce great books about popular music. Our criteria for 'great books' is simple too – are they the kind of books we would read ourselves? Yes, we are publishers, but first and foremost we are music fans - that's why we started Soundcheck Books
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