Sammy Hagar returns to Van Halen

After months of speculation, Van Halen are hitting the road for the first time in six years with a familiar face back in the lineup -- Sammy Hagar.

Hagar, who split with the group in 1996, is back in the fold after he and the other members of Van Halen met last November and put aside their past differences.

Since then, the reunited quartet have recorded several songs which will appear on a forthcoming best-of album, sources told Livedaily.com.

The band hasn't toured since 1998 when they hit the road behind "Van Halen 3" with former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone. The Cherone experiment ended up being a commercial failure and he left the band shortly after work began on a follow-up release in 1999.

The upcoming summer tour will kick off in Hershey, PA on June 13, and other confirmed stops include Detroit, East Rutherford, Greensboro, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, St. Louis, St. Paul, Wilkes-Barre and Worcester.

There is no word on Canadian dates as yet, but more shows are expected to be added shortly.

Harmer No Longer A Farmer

It took a looming deadline for Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer to come up with the direction for All Of Our Names, her new solo collection of roots-pop-folk that hits record stores today.

Harmer had just two days to write a tune about greed for a CBC radio show about the seven deadly sins. That song, recorded in the basement of the Toronto home of her boyfriend/keyboardist /soundman Marty Kinack, became the new tune Took It All.

"I was cruising down the highway listening to the song and it was pretty brand new to me and I thought, 'Marty and I can do this! We know what we're doing!
We're adults now!' '' said Harmer, 33, the onetime frontwoman for Kingston rockers Weeping Tile.

"So I called him and was, like, 'Let's make the whole record. I'll get a bunch of gear. We'll set up in my house.' "

Sure enough, Names -- the followup to Harmer's highly praised 2000 major-label solo debut, You Were Here -- was mostly recorded at her farm house in Quaker Valley, Ont., just north of Kingston.

"I have cables all over the place, down through the staircase, into the living room," said Harmer, sipping a juice during a chat yesterday morning in the newly refurbished Drake Hotel on Queen Street W.

"But they're pretty much tucked away. They're kind of running along the ceilings and the floors. It was a bit of a flea-market look. But I'm really glad we did it the way we did. There's a certain energy when you're recording at home."

In addition to being excited about today's release of Names, Harmer was feeling bolstered by a successful stint at South By Southwest in Austin, Tex., from which she had just returned on Sunday.

"All my clothes smell like beer, so it went really well," she said with a laugh. "It was great. We played three shows and saw lots of great music. I was just thinking, 'You never get to go to a city where you know (so many people).' It was like a mini-Toronto."

Her latest tour will also include five weeks of shows in the U.S., where You Were Here sold 80,000 copies (compared to 100,000 in Canada) and was called the best debut of 2000 by TIME magazine.

"I do feel like I have fan base now, that's for sure," said Harmer of her U.S. profile.

Avril Lavigne a temper girl

Avril Lavigne lashed out at fellow teen queen Hilary Duff and then trashed a photo of herself on air during an angry interview with a Boston radio station last week.

The Boston Herald reported it was an ever-the-rebel Lavigne who appeared on the MIX 98.5 morning show, firing off when the subject of "goody two-shoes" Duff -- who was not present -- came up.

"You," she said to Duff over the airwaves, "can go screw yourself."

The 19-year-old Napanee native told show host John Lander she has never dissed her fans for adopting her popular but short-lived tie-and-tank look, as Duff is reported to recently have admonished her for doing, saying instead she thinks it's a compliment when they emulate her style.

"I'm like, 'Who are you to talk about me? You should know better,' " said Lavigne. "Don't talk trash with me."

Lavigne then spotted a photo of herself on Lander's studio wall which she proceeded to rip down and throw out.

"I hate that (bleeping) photo," said Lavigne.

Lavigne first struck back at Duff (who is reported to have called Lavigne mean-spirited and said "I was like, 'You should be happy that these people like you and look up to you!' ") in a recent interview with Newsweek, calling her a "mommy's girl."

"I'm sure she's really nice and sweet," she said sarcastically. "I'm sure she's all smiles."

Lavigne is currently promoting her eagerly awaited sophomore album Under My Skin, due out May 25.

Lavigne and Duff may seem dramatically different, but they have at least one thing in common besides their singing careers. The trio of hitmakers known as the Matrix pitched in to help write songs on both their debuts, Duff's Metamorphosis and Lavigne's 14 million-selling Let Go.

'STAR WARS' 'TOON RETURNS

The 'toon version of "Star Wars" begins its rocket-fueled finale this week.

But the series creator, Genndy Tartakovsky - best known for the animated-action series "Samurai Jack" - never thought the "Star Wars" series would make it to TV.

"It seems like things like this don't happen in real life," Tartakovsky said. "When the Cartoon Network approached me and asked me if I wanted to do an animated 'Star Wars,' I couldn't believe it."

The latest installment of "Star Wars: Clone Wars," the Cartoon Network's 20-episode "micro-series" - each episode is about three minutes - airs Friday (9:30 p.m.) after a hiatus of several months.

The series, commissioned by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, follows the side adventures of some well-known and not well-known characters in the "Star Wars" universe.

"Lucas has been great," said Tartakovsky. "I think he likes it because he kind of sees somebody else having fun with [the 'Star Wars' mythology]."

The cartoon takes place between the 2002 film "Attack of the Clones" and the sixth installment of the double trilogy set to hit theaters in 2005.

Van Halen Summer Tour A Go

The long-rumored Van Halen summer tour is finally getting off the ground. The group's official Web site reports that Van Halen will play shows on dates yet to be announced in Detroit; East Rutherford, N.J.; Greensboro, N.C.; Hershey, Pa.; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Philadelphia; St. Louis; St. Paul, Minn.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; and Worcester, Mass.

There has also yet to be a formal announcement as to who will fill the group's lead singer slot, although it appears Sammy Hagar has won back the job. Hagar replaced original vocalist David Lee Roth in 1985 and remained in Van Halen until 1996. Roth returned to the fold for a brief, disastrous stint that year to record two new songs for a greatest hits album, but did not collaborate with the band further.

Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone took over lead vocal duties for 1998's "Van Halen III" and a tour later that year, the band's most recent to date. In a bizarre twist, Roth and Hagar embarked on co-headlining U.S. tour in 2002.

As a band, Van Halen is surrounded by numerous other uncertainties, from guitarist Eddie Van Halen's battle with cancer to its lack of a record deal. The group split with Warner Bros. in early 2002 after spending its entire career recording for the label.

Hagar has a handful of shows booked with his band the Waboritas into early May. Promoters previously confirmed to Billboard.biz that Van Halen had holds for late summer dates in several U.S. arenas. In recent weeks, the group also signed a deal for representation with the William Morris Agency.

Stones Revisit Singles Heyday with Boxed Sets

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As the Rolling Stones extend their record-breaking gap between studio albums into a seventh year, their former label is stepping up with a series of reissues.

ABKCO Records will on May 4 release the first of three boxed sets collecting all the U.S. and U.K. singles and EPs from the band's heyday in the 1960s.

"The Rolling Stones Singles 1963-1965" will feature 12 discs, three of them reproducing EPs that were only released on vinyl in the U.K., "The Rolling Stones," "Five By Five" and "Got Live If You Want It!"

Each disc approximates the black vinyl look of the original 45, and is individually packaged in a picture sleeve using original artwork. The suggested retail price for the first set will be $59.98, a spokesman said.

The second box, "The Rolling Stones Singles 1965-1967," will come out in the summer, and the third box, "The Rolling Stones Singles 1968-1971," in the fall. Exact dates have not been scheduled yet.

ABKCO, owned by the Stones' former manager, Allen Klein, re-released 22 of their early albums on dual-layer, hybrid Super Audio CDs in 2002 to coincide with the launch of their "Licks" world tour. It will release "The Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus" on DVD in Christmas 2005, ABKCO representatives said recently.

The Stones, who famously lost their 1960s copyrights to Klein, were not directly involved with the singles project, a label spokesman said. But ABKCO executives have been in daily contact with Keith Richards' manager, Jane Rose. The Stones guitarist has been the most sanguine about losing the copyrights, having once described it as "the price of an education." Klein, in turn, has said Richards is his favorite Stone. They also share a birthday.

The first disc features the debut single, "Come On" the b-side "I Want To Be Loved," which were recorded in May 1963 and released the following month.

The final disc is "Got Live If You Want It!" -- not to be confused with a 1966 U.S.-only live album of the same name but with different songs from a later concert. The EP was recorded in Britain in March 1965 and released three months later.

The first track, "We Want the Stones!" consists of the crowd chanting that line, and the Stones credited themselves, under their Nanker-Phelge pseudonym to claim royalties. The versions of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and "Pain in My Heart" have also never before been released on CD.

Even though their first U.S. chart-topper "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was released in the United States two weeks before the live EP hit U.K. stores, it will be included on the second box.

The Stones' last studio album, "Bridges to Babylon," was released in September 1997. Amid rumors that they will tour next year, the band's members are working on an unspecified project that necessitated the cancellation of drummer Charlie Watts' plans to tour Europe in the summer.

Muppets Bringing Peace to the Middle East

TEL AVIV, Israel (Hollywood Reporter) - Where countless politicians and diplomats have failed, Elmo, Cookie Monster and their "Sesame Street" buddies are on a mission to promote peace and tolerance in the Middle East.

A programing experiment using the Muppet characters was launched six months ago and was widely welcomed by parents, educators and the media. But the Muppets are not without their critics in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.

Sesame Workshop partnered with local producers to create "Sesame Stories," an adventurous initiative to use new and existing "Sesame Street" characters to foster respect and understanding among children in the region.

Gary Knell, president and chief operating officer of Sesame Workshop, says in an interview that producers knew that not everybody would be open to the idea of Elmo & Co. teaching Israeli kids to respect Palestinians and vice versa.

"It's a highly charged environment, and the press is going to reflect some of that," Knell says. "Yes, some Israeli reports accused us of being lackeys of the Palestinians, while another article accused us of being lackeys of the Bush White House and charged that Elmo was carrying the will of the White House to the Middle East. A Jordanian Internet site accused us of being Zionist lap dogs."

Knell stresses that the majority of media reports about the Muppets experiment had been positive.

"Sesame Stories" is now airing as three parallel productions on Jordan Television, the HOP! Channel in Israel and the Ma'an Network in the West Bank and Gaza.

Daniella Hellerstein, whose family emigrated to Israel three years ago from the United States, says she encourages four young kids to watch the show.

"I like the overall message -- tolerance and respect -- and I support the effort 100%," she says. But she adds: "My children don't completely appreciate the point of the characters -- they don't differentiate between the Jewish and Arab characters."

Havi Livne, another mother in the region, welcomes the show unreservedly. "Suddenly, a program is dealing with Arabs not just as terrorists. For me, it opened a window to talk with the children about something very important. And it's very important for me to know it's shown in the Palestinian Authority and Jordan."

Ayman El Bardawil, director of Ramallah-based independent broadcaster Al Quds Educational Television, a co-producer of the Palestinian Authority version, reports that "the children are happy about it. The feedback we've been getting is very good."

Sesame Workshop's Knell says that there have been problems other than inflammatory media reports to overcome during the past months. Just living and working in such a highly charged environment is a challenge for the producers. "One day there was a bus bombing (in Israel), and our producers dropped everything to get to the scene because they feared their children might be on the bus.

"Then one of the Palestinian writers -- on his way to a production meeting --was strip-searched in the street by Israeli soldiers. Now you know he's not coming into that meeting in a good mood."

The Couch Potato Report

In the Couch Potato Report This Week there's a pair of failed box office releases
looking for success on video and DVD and one movie that made a Splash over 20 years ago.

"If you smell what The Rock is cookin'!"

If that quote means something to you then you know who The Rock is. If you are
wondering who’s cooking what, then you might not know that The Rock is one of the biggest - both in stature and size - professional wrestlers of all time.

After a mildly successful starring film debut in 2002’s THE SCORPION KING (after a brief role in THE MUMMY RETURNS) The Rock is now starring in THE RUNDOWN, a movie about a bounty hunter and a fugitive who team up to find a treasure.

For a man who’s 6’5 and 255 pounds The Rock is surprisingly light on his feet in THE RUNDOWN. He has charm and humor as well as the toughness it requires to play a cinematic bounty hunter.

Movie goofball Seann William Scott - who played Stiffler in the AMERICAN PIE films, is the fugitive, the one and only Christopher Walken is the bad guy, and the
delicious Rosario Dawson rounds out the cast.

The plot of THE RUNDOWN isn't great, but parts of the movie are clever and the cast knows they are starring in WAR & PEACE, so they seemed relaxed and look like they enjoyed themselves making the movie.

THE RUNDOWN doesn’t take itself too seriously and as a result it’s an exceptionally entertaining action film, if you can smell what I’m cooking.

You’ll be able to smell this week’s other major new release from the moment you walk into the video store.

Oscar winner Halle Berry is a criminal psychologist who wakes up in mental hospital in GOTHIKA.

Berry is a criminal psychologist who wakes up to find herself a patient in the same prison for the criminally insane which she works. She has no memory of the murder of her husband that she's accused of committing.

But instead of utilizing that premise and turning into a suspenseful, tense movie
GOTHIKA is a smelly train wreck.

It starts out alright, but then the wheels start coming off, one by one culminating
in one of the most insulting and idiotic endings of all time.

GOTHIKA is a very silly murder mystery and not worth your time.

On the other hand SPLASH is worth your time. It has been for 20 years. To
commemorate the fact that this movie about a man who falls in love with a mermaid has reached the two-decade milestone there is now a 20th Anniversary Edition DVD available.

This new DVD features the original auditions of stars Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, a commentary on the film and it’s success by Ron Howard and a new making of featurette.

And if nothing else, this 20th Anniversary Edition of SPLASH gives us another chance to enjoy the comedic brilliance of the late John Candy.

Finally this week is a DVD that won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I don’t drink
tea, so I’ll take this Weezer DVD instead if you don’t mind.

WEEZER - VIDEO CAPTURE DEVICE 1991-2002 has most of the music videos the band has made, including Undone - The Sweater Song, Buddy Holly, El Scorcho (directors cut), Hash Pipe, Keep Fishin', and other cool stuff like “Weezer Goes To NY: The Making of The Blue Album”, “Weezer Goes To Van Nuys: The Making of Pinkerton”, "Stoopid Fresh" (green album preparations)”, "How Not To Do An Interview" and much, much, much, much more!

There will also be a selection of 5 "Raw Nuggets" from 1991-2002, generally rougher footage, but still of very cool events, plus a selection of the TV ads crafted over the years to promote the release of the band's albums. There will be optional band commentary on all the music videos and on about half of the "Documentary" and "Raw Nuggets" pieces.

I just have three words to sum up how psyched I am: Sweet. Sweet. Sweet!

THE RUNDOWN, GOTHIKA, the 20th Anniversary Edition of SPLASH and WEEZER - VIDEO CAPTURE DEVICE 1991-2002 are available right now at your favourite local video store.

COMING NEXT WEEK IN THE COUCH POTATO REPORT

Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton star in SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE. Jack is an older man who falls for his younger girlfriend's mother.

In the animated Disney film BROTHER BEAR an angry young man is transformed into a bear.

And

A woman vows to get her house back by any means necessary in the superb HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. It stars Oscar winners Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley.

I'll have more on those releases in seven days.

For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!

Here's a complete look at what's on Weezer's "Video Capture Device":

Videos:

Undone - The Sweater Song
Buddy Holly
Say It Ain’t So
El Scorcho (directors cut)
The Good Life
Pink Triangle (home made no budget)
Hash Pipe
Island In The Sun (Marcos Siega)
Island In The Sun (Spike Jonze)
Photograph
Dope Nose
Keep Fishin’
Slob (indie style low budget)

Documentary, B-roll, and Live stuff:

Undone - the Sweater song (Alternate version)
"Weezer Goes To NY: The Making of The Blue Album"
In The Garage (live)
Jamie (Live)
"Buddy Holly News"
"Saction" (spring 1995 tour action)
Say It Ain't So (B-roll version)
Say It Ain't So (live - Dave Letterman)
"Weezer Goes To Van Nuys: The Making of Pinkerton"
El Scorcho (live)
The Good Life (B-roll version)
Pink Triangle (Live and Acoustic)
Mykel and Carli (Live)
My Brain (Live)
"Outlog"
"Stoopid Fresh" (green album preparations)
"How Not To Do An Interview"
Dope Nose (B-roll version)
"Eurotrash" (2002 tour action)
Take Control (Live)
Fall Together (Pre-Show Warmup)
Prodigy Lover (demo session)

Also, there will be a selection of 5 "Raw Nuggets" from 1991-2002, generally rougher footage, but still of very cool events, plus a selection of the TV ads crafted over the years to promote the release of the band's albums. There will be optional band commentary on all the music videos and on about half of the "Documentary" and "Raw Nuggets" pieces.

Today's New Releases

Here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, March 23, 2004:

* 36 CRAZY FISTS A Snow - Capped Romance (Roadrunner)
* ALAN PARSONS Ultimate Alan Parsons (BMG Heritage)
* ALL THAT REMAINS This Darkened Heart (Razor & Tie)
* ANDRE ETHIER Andre Ethier With Christopher Sandes Featuring Pickles and Price (Sonic Unyon)
* ANTERRABAE Shakedown Tonight (Razor & Tie)
* BABYFACE A Love Story (Arista)
* BEETHOVEN'S WIG Beethoven's Wig 2: More Sing - Along Symphonies (Rounder)
* BOB DYLAN Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall (Legacy)
* BRITNEY SPEARS Britney Spears: In The Zone (DVD) (Zomba)
* BUENA YERBA Presient Alien (Razor & Tie)
* CARL THOMAS Let's Talk About It (Bad Boy)
* CASSIDY Split Personality (J Records)
* CHACHI JONES Claustrophilia (Imusic)
* CHICAGO Chicago X (DVD) (Rhino)
* CYPRESS HILL Till Death Do Us Part (Sony)
* ELVIS PRESLEY Ultimate Gospel (BMG Heritage)
* FLEETWOOD MAC Rumours (Delux Edition) (Rhino)
* FLEETWOOD MAC Fleetwood Mac (Expanded) (Rhino)
* FLEETWOOD MAC Tusk (Delux Edition) (Rhino)
* GLENN MILLER The Glenn Miller Centennial Collection (Arista Associated Labels)
* HALL & OATES Ultimate Hall & Oates (BMG Heritage)
* HENRY MANCINI The Very Best of (BMG Heritage)
* HIGH HOLY DAYS All My Real Friends (Roadrunner)
* JACKSOUL Resurrected (BMG/Vik)
* JEM Finally Woken (ATO Records)
* JOHNNY CASH Life (Columbia)
* JUST JACK The Outer Marker (TVT)
* KNOC-TURN'AL The Way I AM (Elektra)
* LIL' WAYNE The Carter (Universal)
* LISA MISKOVSKY Falling Water (Stockholm)
* LOU REED Animal Serenade (Warner)
* N.E.R.D. Fly or Die (EMI)
* ORGY Punk Statik Paranoia (Universal)
* PETER, PAUL & MARY Carry it On: A Musical Legacy (DVD) (Warner)
* SANDRA BOYNTON Rhinoceros Tap (Cold Snap/Universal)
* SARAH HARMER All of Our Names (Cold Snap/Universal)
* SCOOBY-DOO 2 OST Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleached (CD+DVD) (Warner)
* SCOOBY-DOO 2 OST Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleached (Enhanced + Collector Cards) (Warner)
* SHAKIRA On Stage, Off the Record (DVD/CD) (Epic)
* SIGUR ROS Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do (Geffen)
* SNOW PATROL Final Straw (Interscope)
* SOEL Momento (Warner)
* SOIL Redefine (J Records)
* TARRALYN RAMSEY Tarralyn Ramsey (Universal)
* TEEDRA MOSES Complex Simplicity (TVT)
* THE VINES Winning Days (EMI)
* THE WILKINSONS Highway (Maple Music)
* USHER Confessions (Arista)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS It Came from the Garage (Sony Music Direct)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Lunatic Works Vol. 3 Loaded Music for Loaded Minds (Imusic)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind OST (Hollywood)
* WAYLON JENNINGS Ultimate Waylon Jennings (BMG Heritage)

Bond's glass half empty

HOLLYWOOD -- James Bond is in limbo but Pierce Brosnan is neither shaken nor stirred.

"We've reached an impasse with the producers. They seem to be paralyzed and can't move forward," says Brosnan who starred as 007 in the last four Bond films.

It had been announced that Brosnan would do a fifth Bond film for the franchise, but the Irish actor insists "it is nowhere near a done deal but they know where to find me.

"I was prepared to do a fifth film and then walk away, and we had started negotiations, so I want to follow through but conversations and telephone calls have dried up."

Brosnan feels "the bar for these movies was raised so high with the last one and they don't seem to know how to improve on it. They don't have a script or a director so the rumours that we will begin filming in the fall are just rumours."

Brosnan, who stars opposite Julianne Moore in the romantic comedy Laws of Attraction opening April 30, is heading off to Mexico City to begin filming The Matador with Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis.

Brosnan Unsure About Spears Bond Rumor

LOS ANGELES - If pop singer Britney Spears is going to be a Bond girl, it's news to James Bond's Pierce Brosnan. The actor says he knows nothing about Spears becoming a Bond girl, in spite of rumors to that effect.

Brosnan says, "Bless her cotton socks and good luck to her." If given a choice, Brosnan says he'd like Keira Knightley or Monica Belucci to be in a Bond movie.

While the 21st Bond movie is supposed to be in theaters November of next year, Brosnan says the producers are having a hard time of it. He says "there's a certain sense of paralysis that has kind of blanketed production at the moment. The last Bond broke all records. They don't know what to do."

Add to that the matriarch of the Bond empire, Dana Broccoli, recently passed away. Brosnan calls the Broccoli's death "a terrible loss." But, when things do get moving and the next Bond movie is ready to be filmed, Pierce Brosnan will be there. The actor has appeared in four Bond movies and says they know where to find him, "if they want to set sail with a fifth."

Rush Guitarist Charged in Hotel Fight

NAPLES, Fla. - The lead guitarist for the rock band Rush was charged Monday with two counts of battery, more than three months after a New Year's Eve scuffle with sheriff's deputies at a Naples hotel.

Deputies said the fight started when the guitarist's son refused to get off the stage at The Ritz-Carlton, where the house band was performing.

Alex Zivojinovich, whose stage name is Alex Lifeson, tried to intervene when deputies escorted his son off the property, deputies said. They accused Rush's founding member of pushing a female deputy down a stairwell and spitting in another deputy's face.

Justin Zivojinovich, 33, was charged with one count of resisting with violence, and Alex Zivojinovich's wife was later charged with resisting arrest.

After his arrest that night, Alex Zivojinovich, 50, left jail with a bloodstained shirt and told reporters his nose was broken in the altercation. The two charges he faces are each punishable by up to five years in prison if he is convicted.

Zivojinovich's attorney declined to comment Monday.

Madonna Announces 'Re-Invention Tour'

NEW YORK - Madonna will begin a world tour in Los Angeles on May 24, with stops in New York City, London and Paris, it was announced Monday.
 
"I'm happy to confirm the rumors. Madonna will be going out on tour this spring and summer," her manager, Caresse Henry, said in a statement.

The singer has started rehearsals for the Re-Invention Tour, Henry said, "and she can't wait to get back on stage to recreate her songs from the earliest days of her career up until the present."

Dates on the tour include: Los Angeles, May 24; Las Vegas, May 29; San Jose, Calif., June 8; Washington, June 13; New York City, June 16-17; Boston, June 27; Philadelphia, July 4; Chicago, July 11; Toronto, July 18; Atlanta, July 24; Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 28; Miami, Aug. 1; London, Aug. 18; and Paris, Sept. 1.

Additional shows will be announced at a later date.

Report: Sony, McDonald's in Talks on E-Music Deal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Instead of fries, how about a little Beyonce or Bruce Springsteen to go with your Big Mac?

In the latest blend of e-music with the food-and-beverage industry, Japanese electronics giant Sony is working out a deal to promote the upcoming launch of its download music service through fast-food chain McDonald's Corp., the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday.

According to the newspaper, McDonald's is expected to commit about $30 million in advertising to the partnership in exchange for unspecified discounts to license some songs from Sony's new download service, Sony Connect.

Those songs would then be offered to McDonald's patrons for free with the purchase of certain menu items, with customers receiving codes they can use online for the downloads.

Both Sony and McDonald's declined comment on the report. But the restaurant chain acknowledged it is exploring tie-ins with a variety of companies "in the areas of music, sports, fashion and entertainment."

News of an impending partnership with McDonald's comes as Sony seeks to gain a foothold in the burgeoning Internet music market against such rivals as Apple Computer's iTunes and RoxioInc.'s Napster.

Sony, whose record labels are home to such acts as Beyonce, Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, and Offspring, announced in January that it would launch Sony Connect this spring, offering some 500,000 songs for downloading at 99 cents per tune.

Having pioneered portable music with the Walkman, Sony is hoping to use Connect to help spur sales of its new generation of digital music players, thus reclaiming lost market share from Apple's dominant iPod.

The Times said McDonald's had been in talks on a similar marketing effort with Apple but switched plans after a last-minute overture from Sony.

The reported Sony-McDonald's venture comes less than a week after cafe chain Starbucks Corp. unveiled plans to offer its customers an opportunity to record five songs for $6.99, plus additional tracks at 99 cents a piece, while waiting for their cappuccino or latte orders. Starbucks is teaming up with Hewlett-Packard Co. for that project.

Last October, Apple announced a marketing alliance with PepsiCo Inc. to promote its iTunes service.

Under that tie-in, Apple said it would offer 100 million free song downloads to consumers who find winning codes under the caps of their soft drinks.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said recently that iTunes was on track to sell about 70 million to 75 million songs by the end of April -- short of its original goal.

Jobs said that song redemptions for the Pepsi promotion had fallen short of the company's initial expectations.