APPLE ADD SOCIAL NETWORKING TO ITUNES WITH A PING
Although the underlying theme of Steve Jobs' latest moment in the spotlight was "look how great we're doing everybody, and I'm not dead, that's a bonus", probably the most significant announcement actually made at last night's Apple press call in San Francisco, for music people at least, was the addition of social networking functionality to the latest incarnation of iTunes.

Along with a rather rubbish new logo (not that the old logo was any better), iTunes 10 will come with a networking element called Ping which will enable artists and users to have profile pages through which they can post updates, reviews and music tips. Other users can then choose to follow artists and friends and use their postings to discover new artists, songs and music.

Described by Jobs as "sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes", the new functionality makes Apple's music software and download store a more direct competitor to services like start-up mflow and, possibly, MySpace Music, which has also tried to combine elements of recommendation, preview and purchase.

Both mflow and MySpace have an advantage over Apple in this regard though, in that they enable users to preview to any song tipped by a friend in full (once only on mflow, as many times as you like on MySpace) whereas Apple only offer their customary and pretty useless thirty second clips.

There would be big licensing implications if Apple were to go the full track preview route of course, though if the much talked about iTunes streaming service ever came to fruition, it could be used to offer more user-friendly previews.

Other innovations in the latest incarnation of iTunes include quasi-TV on demand, better syncing and wireless functionality. The latest version of Apple's music programme is accompanied by a wide-ranging revamp of the iPod range, all of which will be redesigned in one way or another.

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MORE GUNS N ROSES FUN IN DUBLIN
So, more fun at the latest date on the Guns N Roses tour; in fact, these shenanigans make dissing Melvin Benn through a megaphone after your power's been cut off seem positively boring.

After their appearances at the Reading and Leeds festivals at the weekend, Axl Rose and friends headed to Ireland to play at set at Dublin's O2 venue last night. Apparently due to go on at 9.15pm, the band finally appeared on stage at 10.25pm. The crowd, who for some reason didn't just show up an hour late themselves (I know I would if, by some weird sequence of events, I found myself with tickets for a Guns N Roses gig), were rather rowdy by this point and some decided to start throwing stuff at Axl.

Needless to say, Rose wasn't especially pleased by this. After two songs he told his audience "one more bottle and we're going home, we're here to have fun and we hope you are too, but one more and we are gone". When, three songs later, another bottle was thrown on stage Rose made good on his promise and stormed off stage.

According to entertainment.ie, ten minutes later a member of venue staff bravely took to the stage to tell the audience that there were some, erm, "technical difficulties", but that they were trying to get Axl to return to the stage. Ten minutes after that the house lights came on. The majority of the audience (again according to entertainment.ie) took this to mean the show was over and went home.

But some increasingly rowdy fans remained. Which was just as well, really, given at 11.25pm Axl and his band finally returned and carried on playing. Those gig goers left, Axl proclaimed, were the "real fans". So, well done them.

No word yet from venue, promoters or the band as to whether any of the audience members who left when the house lights went up will get a refund. As for whose fault the whole shambles was, well, Axl's yet to remark - what's the betting he blames Melvin Benn?

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GEMA FAILS TO GET INTERIM INJUNCTION IN YOUTUBE DISPUTE
German collecting society GEMA failed to get an injunction to force YouTube to take down videos containing one of 75 songs last week.

As much previously reported, the German equivalent of PRS has been in dispute with YouTube over royalty rates for over a year now. After ongoing licensing talks between the collecting society and video site broke down in May, GEMA asked the German courts to issue an injunction to force the Google-owned site to remove any videos containing one of 75 songs owned by publishers represented by the collecting society.

The society argued an injunction was needed now, pending other legal action, on urgency grounds because, given there is currently no licensing agreement between YouTube and GEMA, the writers of the 75 songs in question are losing money every time one of their videos is played.

But, according to Billboard, the Regional Court Of Hamburg, while not passing judgment on GEMA's wider copyright claim, said it was not convinced by the urgency argument so would not issue any interim injunctions. GEMA can, of course, proceed with their other legal action against YouTube, but the 75 songs may continue to be accessed via the video site in the meantime.

GEMA have a month to appeal the injunction ruling should they wish to.

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CHICKENFOOT TO CONTINUE WITHOUT CHAD SMITH?
Chickenfoot, the supergroup featuring Van Halen's vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, and guitarist Joe Satriani may record their second album without the band's founder, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. In an interview with The Pulse Of Radio, Hagar revealed that Smith's commitments to his main band may force him to bow out of the project for the time being.

Hagar said: "Chad's a problem, I'm gonna tell everybody straight up. To me, Chad is Chickenfoot. But the Chili Peppers have been writing for a year and they haven't even started recording, and I just don't see a window now. Cos once they start recording, Chad's never gonna be able to get a break, and then when they're done with that, they're gonna go out on the road for a year and a half. So, we really don't know what to do right now, but I think we're gonna probably play with a few different guys and see what happens".

However, speaking to Billboard, Hagar added that, while the band have written new songs, they don't actually have any firm plans to record as yet, and the other members also have other commitments. He said: "We care, but at the same time [Chickenfoot] is not mandatory. It's not like we feel like, 'Hey, this is our only chance in life.' Everyone's already been there, done that. Chickenfoot is not our bread and butter, and I think that's really important".

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MURPHY AND KARN REFORM DALIS CAR
Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy and Japan bassist Mick Karn are to reform Dalis Car, the band they created and broke up in 1984. In their brief time together, they released one album, 'The Waking Hour'. Now, Murphy has announced, they plan to begin work on the follow-up.

Writing on Twitter, Murphy told fans: "I will be working with Mick Karn on our second Dalis Car album in September. It's a pleasure to announce".

It was announced via Mick Karn's official website in June that the musician has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. A number of projects by various artists have been launched to help him pay for medical treatment.

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NEW LAURYN HILL ALBUM "GETTING CLOSER"
Lauryn Hill has told MTV News that she is "getting closer" to completing her second solo album, the follow-up to 1998's 'The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill'. Beyond that, she didn't say much. Actually, all she said was "That's all I can say".

Actually, she did also reveal that the album has no collaborations on it, because she's got too much to say about the last twelve years. She explained: "I have respect for what people do. I also like to hear the eclectics, I like to hear the mixture. There's a lot of different creative energies out there right now. I respect the different sounds that I'm hearing. It's been such a long time since I've gotten my voice and my ideas [out]. In terms of collaborations, that's not even something I've been thinking about per se".

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MACCABEES START WORK ON THIRD ALBUM
You might think that The Maccabees haven't yet started work on their third album. But you'd be wrong, because they have. They've written two whole songs. How many songs have you written for the new Maccabees album? None. So get off your high horse about it, will you?

Speaking to BBC 6music, guitarist Felix White said: "We're getting there. We've got two songs into a playable shape and there are hundreds of ideas. It's starting to feel really good and like music that we've never done before. It's better and exciting and something to wake up and think about. The next album is a long way from having everything there together but even the first two songs that we've got just sound great to me. We're getting better and we still have that newness. So, why shouldn't we make a better record this time round?"

Earlier this year, White put together a playlist for us, filled with music that had influenced the sound of the band's last album, 'Wall Of Arms'. Check it out here.

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WRITERS HIRED FOR TUPAC BIOPIC
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Stephen J Rivele and Chris Wilkinson, best known for their work on the 'Ali' and 'Nixon' biopics, have been hired to turn the story of Tupac Shakur into a movie. Due to be directed by Antoine Fuqua ('The Replacement Killers', 'Training Day'), though with no cast yet in place, it's rumoured that filming may be ready to begin in November.

Rivele told New York magazine: "I knew nothing about [Shakur prior to starting work on the script, but] it became clear [as I researched his life] that he was essentially a nineteenth century romantic poet who found himself in the 21st century". We're assuming he means '20th century' there, unless there's a very big reveal at the end of this movie. He continues: "This is the story of an artist whose character is at odds with his medium. He was a really sensitive, very romantic, talented young poet who also could sing, dance, and act. But the realities [of hip hop] were that he had to create this persona of the gangster".

He added that the script, which will completely replace an earlier version, will focus not on who shot Shakur dead in 1996, but why they would want to do such a thing to such a lovely bloke. Rivele continued: "He was obviously very angry, and had been subjected to a great deal of violence at home, in the streets and in prison. But he was just beginning to shed that anger and look for a purer voice... He was in the process of changing himself, and entering a new phase of his life - essentially a romantic vision - and had set up a new label, and a new production company to create it".

Finally, Rivele said: "He saw the contradiction between the musical persona of 'Thug Life,' and his essential nature as a gentle, sensitive person. And that was partly responsible for his murder: He was not a gangster, but the people around him were. They saw he was going to leave, that they were going to lose him, and so I think they decided to kill him".

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LEMON JELLY THEREMIN-ATHON UNDER WAY
The other day my girlfriend asked me what had happened to Lemon Jelly. Back then, in those more innocent times, I had no answer. But now I do. Or, at least I do for half of the duo. Right now, Nick Franglen is in the process of overseeing a live 24 hour Theremin performance. Oh yes he is. And there's more. The music is being unwittingly played by people crossing London Bridge, where a number of the instruments have been set up.

Says Franglen: "Recent adventures with experimental music in strange locations and times - rusty subs, caves, and woodland glades at dawn - have confirmed a fascination with the effects of extreme conditions on my music making and mental state. The very thought of performing a 24 hour Theremin marathon thrills and intimidates me in equal measure".

You can listen to or watch the performance, which started at midnight, live here: www.franglen.net/london-bridge---listen-live.html

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FLAMING LIPS TO PERFORM THE SOFT BULLETIN IN LONDON
The Flaming Lips will perform their 1999 album 'The Soft Bulletin' live in full as part of ATP's 'Don't Look Back' concert series. You'd probably better write that down somewhere, though, as the gig is not due to take place until 1 Jul 2011 at Alexandra Palace in London.

The support acts are not to be sniffed at either. Dinosaur Jr will perform their 1988 album 'Bug', while Deerhoof will open the show with their 2004 album 'Milk Man'.

Like I said, you might want to write that down somewhere. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am.

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EARLYBIRD TICKETS FOR READING, LEEDS, GLASTONBURY AND THE GREAT ESCAPE ANNOUNCED
I'm not sure that buying your tickets months in advance is really getting into the festival spirit, but I guess that's what you have to do these days if you want to actually get into anything. Anyway, this is a round about way of informing you that earlybird tickets for next year's Reading and Leeds festivals, plus delegate passes for The Great Escape, are now on sale, while Glastonbury 2011 tickets will be available from 3 Oct.

Reading and Leeds tickets will set you back £180, The Great Escape £80, and Glastonbury £195, though the latter will, as usual, only initially require a down payment of £50.

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

SWN, Various Venues, Cardiff, 21-23 Oct: Peggy Sue, Man Without Country and Bastions have all been confirmed to play at October's SWN Festival, along with Wickes, Y Bandana, Young Legionnaire, Cyrion and Drains. www.swnfest.com

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ALBUM REVIEW: Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man (Columbia)
It's hard to believe that this is the Manics' tenth album, not least when you consider how few of their contemporaries (not that there is such a thing, but, say, groups who emerged at the same time and found favour in alternative circles) have managed to get anywhere near that figure, let alone to still sound relevant and, well, great.

After the lo-fi post-punk of 'Journal For Plague Lovers' we're back in more familiar territory here - namely anthemic but intelligent rock. Although it somehow all feels bigger than their other albums; the stadium-sized choruses, swelling strings and gospel choirs all making it feel impossibly epic. And that's just the first four tracks. It may be "one last attempt at mass communication", to quote Nicky Wire, but it's still on their own terms, encapsulated by the title track's defiant "This world will not impose its will" refrain.

Like too many of their albums, 'PFAYM' sags towards the end, the latter tracks failing to keep up with the giddy momentum established by the opening belters (although 'The Future Has Been Here 4 Ever' is ace and probably the best Manics song with a Nicky Wire lead vocal). But that shouldn't take away from the fact that this is one of the group's more memorable albums. When Bradders sings "I will not give up and I will not give in" against some stirring orchestration, he sums up the Manics perfectly - still here, impassioned, raging eloquently and beautifully against the dying of the light. MS

Release date: 20 Sep
Press contact: Sony IH [NP], Stay Loose [O]

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BIS EXPECTED TO STICK WITH 75/25 COST SPLIT FOR THREE-STRIKES
The government's Department Of Business Innovation & Skills will shortly publish the conclusions of its consultation on who should pick up the tab for running any three-strikes system for combating online piracy.

BIS has been looking into the cost element of the so-called 'graduated response' system as outlined in the Digital Economy Act. When the Act was being discussed earlier this year it was proposed content owners employing the three-strikes system should pick up 75% of the costs while the internet service provider whose customers were being accused of file-sharing should pay the other 25%. Needless to say, both sides wanted their share to be less.

But, according to Music Week, insiders say the BIS's conclusion will be that the 75/25 split, with the content owner picking up the bigger tab, should remain.

The BIS's consultation on the cost issue has run in tandem with the work being done by media regulator OfCom with regards the specifics of how the three-strikes system set up by the DEA should work. It was originally thought OfCom would publish its next report on three-strikes at the same time as the BIS document on costs, though it seems likely the former will now not be ready until later this month.

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UNIVERSAL REVENUES DOWN
Universal Music Group's revenues for the first half of 2010 were down 5.4% year on year to 1.9 billion euros, the latest financial report from parent company Vivendi has revealed.

Digital sales were up and the major's merchandising business continued to grow, the report revealed, but a relatively slow release schedule meant overall sales were down - despite the arrival of a new Eminem long player and all that Bieber mania.

The report noted that the next six months should see things pick up partly as a result of new releases from big sellers like Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Akon, and Maroon 5.

Vivendi, as a whole, though is doing very well thank you very much, mainly due to the good performance of its phone businesses.

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SONY LAUNCHES NEW STREAMING SERVICE
While Apple was busy launching its new iTunes logo in San Francisco yesterday, rival Sony launched a whole new digital content service at a technology convention in Berlin.

Actually the new service, which goes by the stupid name of Qriocity, has been available in the US since April, but the whole thing will roll out into Europe this autumn, with additional content and devices added into the mix.

A subscription-based streaming service, Qriocity will offer both video and audio content on-demand which can be accessed via a range of Sony devices, including PlayStation 3 consoles, Bravia TVs, Blu-Ray players and Sony PCs. It launches with a film library, with a Spotify-style streaming music option due to be added later in the year.

Sony Europe President Fujio Nishida said: "Via Qriocity, Sony will deliver a variety of digital entertainment content and services... including video, music, game applications and e-books over time".

It's not Sony's first attempt to get a slice of the digital music market, of course, though its original download service, Connect, only ever excited nine people and was quietly shut down in 2008. File formats and digital rights management constraints were always a big issue for Connect. In Australia and New Zealand, Sony more recently launched a more conventional MP3 download service called bandit.fm, which would complement the Qriocity service if it were to be rolled out globally.

In sort of related news, everyone seems to think Amazon is about to enter the streaming music and movie market too. Good times.

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SPOTIFY AND SONOS TIE UP
More techie innovations, and Spotify has announced a tie up with wireless audio company Sonos, which means premium users of the streaming-music platform will be able to play music around their house employing the Sonos Multi-Room Music System.

An upgrade to the Sonos software later this month will enable users to make Spotify their wireless musical input, meaning music from the streaming service will be playable in rooms around their house, with the option to play different music in different rooms. The wireless system can be controlled via a Sonos device, or iPhone or PC with Sonos software installed.

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GMG NORTH WEST CHIEF TO HEAD UP SMOOTH UK
GMG Radio has announced that Andy Carter, who heads up the North West operations of the Guardian's radio company, will also become MD of Smooth Radio UK.

As previously reported, GMG has taken advantage of a relaxation in OfCom radio rules to join up all its Smooth Radio operations, basically making the easy-pop service an national radio station, rather than a network of different local stations using the same name and format. The new one-station Smooth FM will be managed by the company's North West base headed up by Carter.

Says GMG Radio boss Stuart Taylor said: "Andy has a great understanding of both the Smooth brand and of UK commercial radio in general and is the perfect person to lead Smooth Radio as it enters the next, important phase".

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THE BBC SHOULD FACTOR IN NAP TIME FOR STRICLY VIEWERS
Simon Cowell has again dissed the BBC for putting some or all of 'Strictly Come Dancing' up against his show 'X-Factor' over on ITV, arguing that the licence-fee funded Beeb shouldn't be in the business of putting its biggest shows up against its rival's biggest programmes. He also reckons the average 'Strictly' viewer could do with their show being on earlier, because they are all old and could probably do with a nap at tea time.

Cowell told The Sun: "I'd suggest they show 'Strictly' a bit earlier in the afternoon because their audience is older. I'm serious. Then they can have a nap if it finishes at six and watch 'X-Factor' later".

'Strictly' and 'X-Factor' were pitched directly against each other by the BBC and ITV last year, and a similar clash looks likely to happen this autumn.

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