Music News

Taylor Swift has hit out at Apple for not paying artists on its new streaming service.
The 25-year-old singer-songwriter has refused to hand over her '1989' album to the technology giant and has posted an open letter on her Tumblr account explaining her decision.
Taylor - who's also removed her music from rival service Spotify - said: "I'm sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service.
"I'm not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months.
"I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company."
Although Taylor acknowledged the move will not make a huge difference to her own financial wellbeing, she insisted her actions were not those of "a spoiled, petulant child".
The 'Bad Blood' hitmaker concluded her letter: "It's not too late to change this policy. We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation."
Following the publication of Taylor's letter, Eddy Cue, the Senior Vice-President of Internet Software and Services at Apple, suggested the company will change its policy.
He tweeted: "#AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer's free trial period.
"We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple."

Michael Eavis wishes Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley could come back from the dead to play at Glastonbury.
The musical festival's founder has revealed if he could choose any artist from their heyday to play at the event - which takes place on Worthy Farm in Somerset - it would be the two musical legends.
He told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper: "It would have to be Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the Grateful Dead. [Jerry] Garcia was fantastic. His music went on for hours and hours and it never got boring. I went to see them once at the Rainbow in London and then came back to milk the cows."
Meanwhile, it's been claimed 79-year-old Michael - whose daughter Emily Eavis now manages the festival - could be set to miss out on this year's event after fainting while cycling through the nearby village of Pilton two weeks ago.
A source told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "Michael is determined to carry on business as usual but it is likely we will see less of him than usual this year."
Michael is set to hand over the reigns to his daughter entirely when the festival - which kicks off on Wednesday - reaches its 50th year in 2020.

Damon Albarn handed out ice creams to fans at Blur's headline performance at Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time in Hyde Park on Saturday night (20.06.15).
The 'Song 2' hitmaker's dished out the tasty treat to those lucky fans that had managed to secure a place on the coveted front row.
The band performed a 23-strong setlist complete with tracks from their latest album 'The Magic Whip' as well as their classic hits.
Near the end of the show, Damon paid tribute to guitarist Graham Coxon for being the driving force behind their new album.
He told the crowd: "I just want to say thanks to Graham for getting The Magic Whip into shape ... And I want to thank the backing singers, the ice cream van, and you, the fans."
With the band - which also includes bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree - making their third appearance at Hyde Park in six years, the crowds gave them a warm reception as they played some of their most well-known songs including 'Girls & Boys', 'Go Out' and 'Coffee & TV'.
And the band couldn't stop thanking their fans for all the home support.
He added: "Thanks so much for coming back to see us again. It's great to be back in Hyde Park. It's like home - well, it is home really.
"I love it here. I really love it here."

Blur's full setlist at Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time in Hyde Park:

'Go Out'
'There's No Other Way'
'Lonesome Street'
'Badhead'
'Coffee & TV'
'Out of Time'
'Beetlebum'
'Thought I Was a Spaceman'
'Trimm Trabb'
'He Thought of Cars'
'End of a Century'
'I Broadcast'
'Trouble in the Message Centre'
'Tender'
'Parklife'
'Ong Ong'
'Song 2'
'To the End'
'This Is a Low'
'Stereotypes'
'Girls & Boys'
'For Tomorrow'
'The Universal'

Tommy Lee finds it "really amazing" that none of Motley Crue are dead.
The drummer admits the mid-1980s was a "bad" time for the 'All Bad Things Must End' hitmakers - which includes Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars - because they were all "not waking up", "overdosing" and "like a bomb ready to go off".
The 52-year-old rocker is amazed the band - who are in their 34th year together - are living to tell the tale and survived, because he was sure "someone was going to die".
He told BANG Showbiz: "People were not waking up, people were overdosing and people were f***king. Like a bomb ready to go off, like someone was going to die. The fact we made it through that is really amazing because we had all of the ingredients for bad and for something to go extremely f***ing bad."
The notoriously outrageous rock outfit reached their limits living in Los Angeles, surrounded by "drug dealers" and "distracting" girlfriends, so moved to Vancouver, Canada, to focus on their music and Tommy thinks it was a good decision.
He added: "Somehow in 1989 we decided alright we've got to stop and we all decided to get sober and move the f***k away from Los Angeles, move away from the dealers and the girlfriends and the distractions and the bulls*it and we went to Vancouver and made the best record of our lives. That time was probably the baddest."

Katherine Jenkins thinks her singing has improved since she got pregnant.
The 35-year-old mezzo soprano is expecting her first child with husband Andrew Levitas and has found her changing shape has added depth to her vocals.
She said: "A lot of female singers say their voice is better when they're pregnant and I think that's happening to me.
"My voice is bigger and more rounded, so I'm loving being pregnant and don't want it to end."
However, the blonde beauty is concerned her voice could "scare" her unborn tot.
She added: "I just hope I am not scaring her with the volume and vibration of my voice.
"She'll either be in there enjoying my singing or she'll eventually start kicking and saying, 'Be quiet Mummy, you're too loud.' "
Katherine is still working out during her pregnancy and doing her best to eat healthily, though she won't deprive herself of any treats.
She told Britain's HELLO! magazine: "I've been very into fitness - running and boot camp classes - over the last few years so it is just a case of adapting that for what works for my body now. While I'm still running, I've swapped boot camp for yoga and spinning.
"I have a good attitude to food. I have a huge appetite but I make sure I eat the right things. It's about putting the right nutrients into your body.
"Everything in moderation though - if I want to have chocolate, I have it."

Stereo Kicks find it hard to "focus" when fans throw their underwear at them.
The eight-piece group - who shot to fame after competing on 'The X Factor' - admits they get bombarded with saucy garments, but were stunned the first time it happened.
Singer James Graham said of the first time: "I think it was like our fourth tour day and I got a bra thrown at me and it landed on my head while I was singing. "It was quite hard to keep focus.
"We've had a lot of knickers and a lot of bras thrown at us."
However, James insists he doesn't mind fans throwing their smalls on stage.
He told BANG Showbiz: "Weirdly we get a lot of, probably too many, bras.. I'm not complaining."
Since being put together on 'The X Factor' - where all eight members initially auditioned as solo artists - the group have attracted a number of female fans and feel honoured to be compared with One Direction, who were also formed on the show.
Youngest band member Charlie Jones said recently: "Everyone has said since we were put together that they haven't seen this reaction since One Direction, which is obviously a massive, massive compliment."

The Libertines risked death from snake bites recording their new album.
The reformed group secluded themselves away in a facility in Thailand to set down tracks for their comeback record and though there were few people around, they were never far away from deadly serpents.
Co-frontman Carl Barat said: "The studio was built on an old snake pit. The snake god Naga had a shrine. You could still find snakes there.
"I said to the guy, 'Do you have anti-venom for the snakes?' He said, 'No if snake bites you, you die.'
"I thought, 'OK, what about going to hospital?' He said, 'No, no, you DIE.' It scared the life out of me.
"They're called pit vipers. Nasty buggers."
Despite the scary snakes, the 'I Get Along' group - which also includes Pete Doherty, Gary Powell and John Hassall - found the remote setting the perfect place to record their album.
Carl explained to NME magazine: "It was really conductive to work. We couldn't have done it in London or England or even in Europe.
"Everyone would have had a reason to go out. It's as fast as we've ever worked and as committed as we've ever been.
"I'm ecstatic about what we've done, which is very, very rare for me to say."
John added: "Spending so much time together made us feel like a proper band again. Seeing each other every day just made it feel like old times."

Little Mix have been announced as performers for MTV Crashes Plymouth.
The 'Wings' hitmakers - Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock - will take to the stage at the outdoor event alongside Irish rockers Kodaline and electro DJ Steve Aoki on Plymouth's Hoe on July 22.
Sharing their excitement about the gig, Leigh-Anne said: "We cannot wait to get out there and Crash Plymouth with MTV! We love performing, It's going to be such a great day, especially out there on the beautiful Plymouth Hoe. Let's get Crashin'!''
Meanwhile, Irish rockers Kodaline have admitted they "so happy" to be playing the festival in South West Engalnd alongside 'Pass Out' rapper Tinie Tempah.
Steve Garrigan of the band said: "We are so happy to be announced for MTV Crashes Plymouth with Tinie Tempah! This is a really
exciting year for us with the release of our 2nd album and a great summer of festivals ahead! MTV Plymouth, let's do it!"
Little Mix and Kodaline join Tinie Tempah as part of MTV Crashes Day One, while Steve Aoki and Deorro join Oliver Heldens, DJ Fresh, Route 94 and David Zowie on the second day of MTV Crashes Plymouth, the Club MTV line-up.
The event takes place over July 22 and 23.

The Strokes kicked off Barclaycard British Summer Time with a greatest hits set last night (18.06.15).
The US rockers thrilled the 60,000-strong crowd - which included the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Alexa Chung, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Pixie Geldof and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner - at London's Hyde Park with a career-spanning show that heavily relied on their influential debut LP 'Is This It'.
The group's set opened with the title track from that album, quickly followed by 'Barely Legal', getting the crowd into a buoyant mood before playing more recent track 'Welcome To Japan'.
Despite constant speculation of tension within the band, frontman Julian Casablancas appeared in good spirits and was particularly delighted by the warm weather.
He said: "We've really enjoyed ourselves. We don't recognise London with this great weather".
The sing-a-long set closed with 'New York City Cops', before the band returned to the stage for a three-track encore of 'Juicebox', 'You Only Live Once' and 'Take It or Leave It'.
Earlier in the evening, Beck had provided a set worthy of a headline act, with 'Devil's Haircut', 'Sexxlaws' and a cover of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' proving particular highlights.
The black-clad singer sealed off the stage with police tape after 'E-Pro' before returning, dressed in white, for a final song, 'Where It's At'.
Other performers who took to the stage in Hyde Park yesterday included Future Islands, Temples and Public Service Broadcasting.
Barclaycard British Summer Time continues tomorrow (20.06.15) with Blur headlining and on Sunday (21.06.15) with Kylie Minogue topping the bill.
Next weekend will see The Who and Taylor Swift take to the stage.