$10,000 iTunes Gift Card Issued as 10 Billionth Track is Sold
This week iTunes sold its 10 billionth track, and to celebrate the occasion the lucky downloader has been credited with a $10,000 iTunes gift card. The winner’s details have not been disclosed, whoever they are though they are sure to have a much larger music collection before long.
Apple will no doubt be impressed to have reached the 10 billion milestone, and Steve Jobs will perhaps now be planning what to do when the 100 billionth track is ultimately downloaded at some stage in the future.
Mudvayne ‘Beautiful and Strange’ Video Banned
Due to sexually explicit scenes taking place in a graveyard and others displaying acts of sadism, Mudvayne’s video for the ‘Beautiful and Strange’ single has been deemed too extreme to be shown in most places, and can in fact only be found at VampireFreaks.com.
The networks aren’t willing to touch it, with VampireFreaks it had found its home though and can currently be viewed on the website. The video is intended for mature audiences only.
Cyrus Bolooki Hits 30
New Found Glory drummer Cyrus Bolooki hits his 30th birthday today. Lead vocalist Jordan Pundik hit the big three-zero back in October, and it’s hard to believe that it’s now been over a decade since the release of the band’s debut album ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’.
Here’s to hoping that Cyrus Bolooki has a very happy 30th birthday, and Alt-UK wishes him all the best for 2010 and beyond.
You Me At Six to Play Free Acoustic Show and Meet Fans at HMV Oxford Street
You Me At Six is to play a free acoustic show at HMV Oxford Street on Monday 8th February, and you’ll be able to catch the band from 5pm. The show is being played in celebration of the release of the band’s second studio album ‘Hold Me Down’, and after the show the band will be sticking around to meet the fans and sign posters and albums.
A big turnout is expected for this acoustic show and as such it’s going to be wristbanded, with 350 wristbands available on a first come first served basis. If you’re hoping to attend then it’s therefore advised that you get there early (wristbands will be available from 9am on the day).
New Kids In Glass Houses track Features The Saturdays’ Frankie Sandford
New Kids In Glass Houses track ‘Undercover Lover’ which is to be included on the band’s second studio album ‘Dirt’ will feature The Saturdays’ Frankie Sandford providing guest vocals. The album will consist of a total of sixteen tracks, and as well as featuring guest vocals from Frankie Sandford will also include the track ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ where the Welsh band has had the privilege of working with New Found Glory.
‘Dirt’ is due for release on March 29th through Roadrunner Records, and the following is a full tracklist for the release:
1. Artbreaker I
2. The Best Is Yet To Come
3. Sunshine
4. Matters at All
5. Youngblood
6. Lilli Rose
7. Giving up
8. For Better Or Hearse
9. Undercover Lover (featuring Frankie Sandford)
10. Maybe Tomorrow (featuring New Found Glory)
11. The Morning Afterlife
12. Hunt The Haunted
13. Artbreaker II
14. Believer (Bonus Track)
15. Reputation (Bonus Track)
16. When The World Comes Down (Bonus Track)
Slayer Postpones April Tour
Tom Araya has been booked in to receive back surgery at the end of the month, and Slayer has therefore been forced to cancel its tour plans for April. Araya had been looking down alternative avenues for treatment, with the problem having not been handled however surgery is now required for the bassist/vocalist.
Slayer manager Rick Sales released the following comment regarding the postponement of Slayer’s scheduled tour:
“As unfortunate as this is for so many people – the Megadeth and Testament camps, the concerts’ promoters, and, of course, the fans – Tom’s health is the number one priority, and this has to happen.”
The plan is to reschedule the tour for later on in 2010.
You Me At Six Releases Video for New Single ‘Underdog’
You Me At Six is all set to release its second studio album ‘Hold Me Down’ in 2010 and a video has now been released for first single ‘Underdog’.
‘Underdog’ is due for release on January 11th, and if you liked what you heard with the ‘Take Off Your Colours’ album then there’s a good chance that you’re going to enjoy ‘Underdog’ also. The band has once again been able to put to record an absolutely incredible chorus, and if this single is anything to go by then 2010 should be another big year for this brilliant band from Surrey.
The video can be seen right now over at YouTube, and if you head on over to the You Me At Six webstore then you can pre-order it now from a number of different online retailers.
Rhesus Aiming to Achieve £15,000 Investment Through Slicethepie
UK based pop rock band Rhesus is currently up for investment at Slicethepie.com, and is well on the way to achieving its goal of reaching £15,000. With close to £4,000 raised, Rhesus looks as though it will be the next band to secure investment through Slicethepie, and you can currently invest in the band’s future at the website.
If you’re not already familiar with Slicethepie; Slicethepie is a website which rewards you for reviewing music by paying you in cash/vouchers. Once you have £5.00 cash in your account from reviewing you can request a withdrawal to your Paypal account which is generally then carried out the next working day, or you can choose to invest in one or more of the artist’s up for finance. Vouchers can also be used to invest in artists up for finance on the website, and can result in a long-term monetary return as each £1 investment will provide you with one contract in your chosen artist. More information about what Slicethepie is and how it works can be found here.
At the time of writing, Rhesus is currently the artist with the most investment achieved, Australian artist Jessica Paige is not far behind however and is another rising talent that you should definitely take the time to listen to.
Alt-UK is backing Rhesus to be the next financed artist at Slicethepie, and having thoroughly enjoyed the three tracks available through the website we will definitely be looking forward to hearing the band’s album when it’s recorded and released.
Good luck to all artists currently up for finance at Slicethepie, congratulations to Azrock & Pogo for reaching £15,000 the other week, and definitely do consider investing in Rhesus as this is a band that undoubtedly deserves it.
The following is a video of Rhesus performing an acoustic version of the track ‘Morals for Money’:
Joe McElderry Gets His Number One
Having missed out on the Christmas number one spot after a Facebook campaign to get Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ to number one was a huge success, Joe McElderry has now got the number one that he was after, and ‘The Climb’ is the last number one of the decade.
This week saw ‘Killing in the Name’ slip back to number two, and with sales figures having dropped for both singles, 196,000 sales was enough to see Joe McElderry take the top spot by over 130,000.
Joe McElderry may not have had the Christmas number one that he was hoping for, the young singer has still ultimately been able to claim the top spot however, and time will only tell as to how long he can remain at the top.
In just two weeks on sale, Joe McElderry’s ‘The Climb’ has now shifted 650,000 copies, a figure that should see the young artist claim the sixth most successful single of 2009.
Rage Against the Machine Wins the Race for Christmas Number One
All week there has been great interest in the Official UK Singles Chart as Rage Against the Machine and Joe McElderry have been battling it out for the 2009 Christmas Number One spot. Rage Against the Machine had been ahead all week, with the physical release of Joe McElderry’s ‘The Climb’ the X-Factor artist began to start catching up however, leading to a very tense weekend where it could have gone either way. Rage Against the Machine has ultimately won the bottle, with ‘Killing in the Name’ officially revealed as the UK Christmas Number One 2009.
In beating off the competition from Joe McElderry, Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ has become the first ever track to reach the number one spot on downloads alone. ‘Killing in the Name’ amassed total sales in excess of 500,000 for the week, and the Facebook group ‘RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE FOR CHRISTMAS NO.1’ has been a huge success, not just in getting Rage Against the Machine to Number One, but also in raising over £70,000 for the Shelter charity.
This is the first time since 2004 that an X-Factor artist has not occupied the UK Christmas Number One spot.
