In addition to crafting tracks for Jay-Z's upcoming album, "Blueprint III," Kanye West is plotting the release of his own as-yet-untitled Def Jam album, according to his management.

The Mars Volta, N*E*R*D, TV On The Radio, Irma Thomas, the Butthole Surfers, Fishbone and Ben Jelen have joined the lineup for the 2008 Voodoo Experience, to be held Oct. 24-26 at New Orleans' City Park.

Toby Keith says his new album, "That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy," will feature some "very different" kinds of songs when it's released on Oct. 28.

Downtown Records has inked an exclusive distribution deal with Fontana and has also entered a strategic relationship with Interscope Records, Billboard has learned.

"On some level, yes, this is a political record," Fall Out Boy singer/guitarist Patrick Stump tells Billboard of "Folie A Deux," due Nov. 4 via Island.

The Jacksons were crowned icons at the BMI Urban Awards last night (Sept. 4) in Los Angeles, but the King of Pop was an absentee.

Having already established himself as a touring artist to watch, Brett Dennen is hoping to take his recorded-music career to the next level with the Oct. 21 release of "Hope for the Hopeless" (Dualtone/Downtown).

Rck group Heart, angry that its 70's hit "Barracuda" is being used as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, is biting back at the Alaska governor.

A week after setting a new record with 71-1 jump, T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" remains No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to download sales of more than 176,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Kiss co-founder, reality TV star and entrepreneur Gene Simmons will be the Keynote Q&A for the 5th Annual Billboard Touring Conference, set for Nov. 19-20 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.

Nickelback's next studio album will arrive Nov. 18 via Roadrunner, just in time for the holiday retail season. First single "If Today Was Your Last Day" will hit U.S. radio outlets Sept. 30.

Chris Cornell's new Timbaland-produced album, "Scream," will arrive Oct. 14 via Suretone/Interscope.

After the disappointing showing of her latest album, "Discipline," Janet Jackson is again raising questions about her relationship with Island Def Jam.

A year after vowing never to perform on the MTV Video Music Awards again, hip-hop star Kanye West will close the show's 25th annual ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, joining a lineup that includes Christina Aguilera and the Jonas Brothers, organizers said.

Members of Great White, whose pyrotechnics sparked a Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people, have agreed to pay $1 million to survivors and victims' relatives, according to court papers filed yesterday (Sept. 2).

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered a concert promoter to pay R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo $700,000 stemming from A lawsuit filed earlier this year.

Legendary singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder has been chosen as the second recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The award presentation will take place in the Library's Great Hall on Feb. 23, 2009.

Usher is preparing a tour for ladies only. The R&B singer tells the Associated Press he will soon announce details of his "One Night Stand" tour. He said specific dates are still being worked out for about 15 "intimate" venues.

After finishing a string of Canadian dates, headlining Bonnaroo and playing multiple sold-out shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Widespread Panic is hitting the road again in the fall.

Akon is headed to trial on criminal charges he tossed a fan offstage at a concert last summer.

Slipknot's "All Hope Is Gone" barely wins out over the Game's "LAX" in the race for No. 1 on The Billboard 200 this week. The Roadrunner set moved 239,516 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, only 1,134 more than the rapper's Geffen album at 238,382.

Ben Folds Five will play its first show in nearly a decade Sept. 18 in Chapel Hill, N.C., as part of a taping for the new MySpace show "Front to Back."

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament will unveil his first solo album, "Tone," Sept. 16 via the band's Ten Club fan organization and select U.S. indie retailers.

Target and Target.com will be the sole retailers to carry Christina Aguilera's first greatest hits collection, "Keeps Gettin' Better -- A Decade of Hits," due Nov. 11 via RCA.

It's Britney, baby, one more time. Despite her train-wreck performance at the MTV Video Music Awards last year, the network confirms Spears will kick off the show once again. But it won't be a performance.

Initially expected this fall as a fourth-quarter blockbuster, U2's next album has been pushed to early 2009 while the band continues to write and record material. "I thought a while back we might have the album wrapped by now, but why come up above ground now if there's more priceless stuff to be found?," Bono writes on U2.com.

Morrissey has split with artist management firm ie: music after just three months. An ie: music spokesman confirmed that it had parted company with the ex-Smiths frontman, but declined to give any details.

Sixx remains hot on the topic of recovery and is considering other methods to help spread awareness about National Recovery Month and the Mental Health Parity Act.