• Now that they’ve begun their tour, the Police are apparently already making plans to add to their current schedule with a performance at MTV Unplugged. Rumor has it that the show will take place in Miami on July 13th.
• Michael Jackson already owns The Beatles copyright, and with his purchase of Famous Music LLC from Viacom Jackson has acquired the rights to Eminem’s “Without Me” and “The Real Slim Shady,” in addition to songs by Shakira, Beck and Bjork.
• Sony BMG’s new film development devision is producing a movie about the lives of legendary Chicago bluesmen Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf. The film will be called Cadillac Records and will be directed by Darnell Martin (Their Eyes Were Watching God,) who also wrote the script. Sony BMG’s expects to cast some of its artists in major roles.
• This Sunday a collection of guitarists of all ages and levels, will attempt to break the record for the world’s largest ensemble performance of the same song. The event will be hosted by a Kansas City radio station and will involve an estimated 2,000 people playing Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” all at once.

This morning, Apple launched iTunes Plus, a new version of the music-download service that sells higher-quality tracks without copy protection for the premium price of $1.29. So far, only EMI and a few small indie labels have made a deal with Apple to sell songs without DRM (digital rights management), but since the EMI’s catalog includes Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, and Coldplay, it’s a good start. (The Beatles and Radiohead are also on EMI, but neither has agreed to sell music on iTunes). So, how is it? (more…)

Long Island emo outfit Brand New delivered an excellent conclusion to their run of hometown gigs with last night’s performance at New York’s Gramercy Theater. The show was the last in a string of four shows the band played at small clubs around the city, and were a far cry from the group’s appearance at the mammoth Bamboozle festival earlier this month, where they played before a literal cast of thousands. And so ended the emo boys’ North American tour.

The band’s live show gives equal weight to their loud, distorted numbers and their whispery acoustic tunes — a rarity in a genre that’s all too often either-or. While their repertoire includes more delicate acoustic guitar-driven numbers (”Play Crack The Sky”), Brand New’s sound — and success — is drawn from the songs that build up momentum to a perfectly executed explosion. When the moment arrives in songs like “Luca,” “Sowing Season (Yeah)” and “Degausser,” it is electric. (more…)

As you all know Amy Winehouse and her impressive beehive are on the cover of our current issue (on stands everywhere on Friday). Though you may not have your hands on the magazine yet, you probably know something about this spitfire, who recently got married and whose album Back to Black became the highest-charting U.S. debut ever by a British female. Our editors summed her up in one lonely cover line: “The Diva & Her Demons.” We challenge you to do us one better with your own snappy headline. Ready? Go!

WHO: Graphic design school drop-outs Matt Beringer (vox) and Scott Devendorf (bass) recruited Devendorf’s brother Bryan, plus fellow Ohio natives (and twin brothers) Aaron and Bryce Dessner to play music together after relocating separately from Cincinnati to Brooklyn in 1999. The fivesome started recording tunes on a lark, crafting orchestral anthems that drew sonic inspiration from Guided By Voices, The Smiths, the Replacements and Violent Femmes. Eight years and four albums later, the quintet has arrived, first with the release of 2005’s Alligator, an indie-rock blockbuster that sold more than 60K, and this month with the critically loved Boxer — a strings-bolstered collection of epic blue-collar yarns. Read a live review of the National’s NYC Bowery Ballroom show here.

HEAR IT NOW: Feast your ears on boozy ballads like “Fake Empire” and “Mistaken For Strangers” on their Myspace page.

>> Hey, iTunes users: You can now subscribe to our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast here (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes.