Incredible as it may sound all you will need to pay is the postage while stocks remain available of the following albums:

Just Surrender – Phoenix
The Morning Of – The Way I Fell In
Portia Conn – I Don’t Care
Lost On Campus – Tell Them I Had A Wonderful Life
Not Advised – After The Fight
Lost On Landing – Sweet Talk
MiMi Soya – I Can’t Stand Pop Bands

As one of the most successful independent labels of its kind out there right now, with 15,000 sales this year alone, LAB has built up a solid following of admirers in its short history, and this is their way of giving something back to their fans.

LAB Records CEO Mark Orr said;
“This is a huge time for the label as we come towards the end of our most successful year to date and prepare for a more mainstream sound in 2011. Every label gives away digital samplers but we thought – for one day only – it would be a unique and memorable stand to make all of our CD’s absolutely free. It’s our little way of saying ‘thank-you’ to everyone who has supported LAB over the past 3 years.”

The event takes place on September 3rd, for one day only. Head over to Lab Records for further information on this very special and unique offer.

I recently professed my love of end of year lists. Well, at the beginning of a new year, a new type of list comes out, fuelled by the NME and Radio 1 style quest for ‘your new favourite band’: The Tips for 2009. This year La Roux, White Lies, Lady GaGa and Florence and the Machine are hotly tipped by the Guardian among others.

Adele was rightly tipped for success in 2008

Well, I hate these lists. Predictions inevitably tend to come from industry insiders, so what do we get except a bunch of hopefuls for one-album money makers pathetically compared to last year’s big names – big precisely because they weren’t really comparable to anything else. In fact, it’s hard to see La Roux’s name mentioned without Adele and Duffy appearing alongside it.

Did anyone predict the enormous success of Arctic Monkeys in 2007? Did anyone see Bon Iver sneaking onto everyone’s lips in 2008 (I don’t think even those who bought his album when it was self-released in 2007 really saw it coming)?

These lists are ways to fill space and wind up the publicity for the music industry’s next money-spinner. And we are all too willing to fall into their trap at this time of year.

Perhaps it’s a human desire to predict and manage the future, but it all seems so futile when very few predictions come to fruition. Let’s look at what was tipped for 2008: Rightly, Duffy and Adele were causing a bit of a stir, but so were One Night Only, of whom the only thing I saw was an appearance at a summer ball I went to – not exactly headlining Glastonbury.

Sam Sparro also was tipped, though he only actually managed one hit which now plagues me every time I play Pro Evolution Soccer. Black Kids failed to really excite anyone on a great scale, not to mention Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong and Does It Offend You, Yeah?, who were both the pick of the editor of the NME. His best prediction was Late of the Pier, of whom he said “I don’t actually like the music that much”.

Where predictions came good, it was generally stuff that was already fairly big on the internet, or already gaining some hype in the previous year. Take MGMT and Vampire Weekend, for example, or even Foals who had been tipped for quite some time before not quite wowing anyone last year. It all seems a fairly contrived way to state the obvious and crank up the hype machine.

My only advice is to beware: don’t believe the hype, it’ll probably never happen. And judging on last year’s picks, let’s hope it doesn’t.

Gallagher claims that the studio had been pre-booked by Irish rockers U2 for December, the exact time that Oasis wanted to record their new album.

Gallagher claims that “U2 were booked in there with [producer] Rick Rubin, I was like, ‘U2? U2 have to have a f***ing six-hour meeting whether to get tea or coffee in the rehearsal room!”

“The guy from Abbey Road was like, ‘I’ve got it block-booked for the exact time you want it.’”

Gallagher claims that the band went to the Abbey Road studio with ‘a bag of money’ and said ‘We can pay for the studio now.’

The album was duly recorded before being mixed in America. Dig Out Your Soul will be released on October 6th.

The nominations for the best album of the year are:

Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Radiohead - In Rainbows

British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Raising Sand

Burial - Untrue

Estelle – Shine

Adele – 19

Laura Marling – Alas, I Cannot Swim

Rachel Unthank and The Winterset - The Bairns

Neon Neon – Stainless Style

Portico Quartet – Knee Deep In The North Sea

Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of Understatement

The nominations are an unusually eclectic mix of musical styles and some interesting choices, although I am not absolutely sure about the inclusion of Adele or Estelle as albums of the year.

What’s your choice and why?

The soap will feature Amy Winehouse, Bloc Party and Razorlight, along with guest appearances from Duffy, Girls Aloud and The Feeling.

The Daily Star reports that the soap will be set in the offices of Universal Records and will follow the fortunes of teenager Sam King, who works in the post room and sets up his own office in the back of a stationary cupboard.

The soap will only be available to users of the Bebo network.

Each headline act’s performance will be recorded and put out on iTunes for sale at a later date.

All tickets for the shows are free and can be won on the iTunes Live London Festival 08 website.

The up to date line up is listed below, but  headline and support acts are still being named and will be confirmed as soon as possible.

1 July N*E*R*D
 2 July Paul Weller + Glasvegas
 3 July Hadouken
 4 July The Feeling + Gabriella Cilmi
 6 July Elliot Minor + Kids In Glass Houses
 8 July Lightspeed Champion + Pete & The Pirates
 9 July The Ting Tings + Florence & The Machine
10 July Jamie Lidell + Yelle
12 July James Blunt + Beth Rowley
14 July Death Cab For Cutie + I Was A Cub Scout
15 July The Zutons + Red Light Company
16 July CSS + Alphabeat
17 July Guillemots + Lykke Li
19 July Feeder + Infadels
21 July Sam Sparro + Annie
22 July Suzanne Vega
23 July The Script + Sam Beeton
24 July McFly
26 July Chaka Khan
28 July Pendulum + INME
30 July The Pretenders

Remember the only way to get to see the shows is to win tickets at theiTunes Live web site.

Winehouse won awards for record of the year, best new artist, best song of the year, best pop vocal album for ‘Back to black’ and best female pop vocal.

Whilst collecting her record of the year award she said “This is to my mum and dad – for my Blake incarcerated and to London, this is for London because Camden Town is burning down”.

Winehouse who was unable to attend the Grammys sang via a  satellite link from London in front of a small crowd at a recording studio, but she still made the night hers by belting-out ‘You know I’m no good’ and ‘Rehab’, lets hope this is the inspiration she needed.

Other winners included White Stripes for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. (Rather bizarre title)

Foo Fighters took the awards for Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance.

Source

The deal is to give away four “covermounts” over the next few months. The deal includes a completely new record by an established artist, with no further details being released. The first of the free recordings was given away with The Mail on Sunday yesterday, But don’t get too excited, the freebie was a remastered edition of Jean Michel Jarres 1977 album Oxygene.

If that’s not exciting enough other free discs will include six songs from an upcoming album and six previously unreleased songs, one from a “frontline EMI act”.

Cant wait!”

Despite the fact that the Stones are all in their sixties, they remain one of EMI’s top money spinners, generating over £3 million a year for the company.

A spokesman for EMI has said that they have had no indication that the Rolling Stones have any intention of signing to any other record label.

Head in the sand or what!

The bands latest album is scheduled for June release but Verve manager Jazz Summers has told them to withhold it until they receive reassurance from EMI .

EMI have recently lost Radiohead and Paul McCartney as well as former chairman Tony Wadsworth. They are reported today to be about to shed up to 2000 jobs throughout the company in a bid to streamline the business. Almost a third of the companies employees are at risk as the business seeks to save £200 million a year.