Arts Minister Simon Crean has announced the appointment of Dr Ianto Ware, a founding director of Format Adelaide and CEO of Renew Adelaide, National Live Music Coordinator of Sounds Australia.

The Rainbow Serpent Festival is expected to go ahead this weekend if a positive resolution with Pyrenees Shire in western Victoria is achieved today.

Bruno Mars holds for a second week at No.1 on the ARIA Albums chart with “Unorthodox Jukebox”, but making a bid for the top spot is the “Les Miserables” soundtrack, which rises a place to No.2 this week, whilst the current (and last week) No.1 singles holder Macklemore and Ryan Lewis jump up five places to No.3 with “The Heist” album (now Gold ● in sales).

For only the second time this century, an artist has replaced themselves at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart, as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis leap up to the No.1 spot (from last weeks No.9) with the song “Same Love” (now Gold ● in sales) and it replaces the seven week running No.1 track “Thrift Shop” which drops to No.3 this week.

Billboard have announced today that music legend Prince will be honoured at their music awards this year, receiving the Billboard Icon Award and performing at the ceremony.

The Peats Ridge Festival north of Sydney has come to an end. Revenues from the recent event did not cover the costs of the event and the Festival’s accountants have advised that the company be wound up.

Collarts, the Australian College of the Arts, will have its next Open Day tomorrow (Saturday, January 18).

Mark Poston, EMI Music Australia’s Chairman & Senior Vice President of Marketing, is leaving the company.

The HMV retail chain in the UK has officially placed into administration as of opening trade today in London.

The Aussie BBQ is one of SXSW's main attractions and the 2013 date has been set for March 16 at Maggie Mae's in Austin, Texas.

UK retail institution HMV will close its doors. Administrators have been called in to shut 240 stores effecting 4000 employees.

The Beatles first single, Love Me Do / P.S. I Love You, has entered the public domain in Europe and small labels are already taking advantage of the situation.

Bruno Mars jumps up a couple of places to land the No.1 spot on the ARIA Albums chart with his second album “Unorthodox Jukebox” the album also gaining its second Top 10 single this week too, as “When I Was Your Man” jumped up to No.6, with the first single from the set “Locked Out of Heaven” (HP-4) dropping a few places to No.12.

Macklemore with his producer Ryan Lewis and rapper Wanz stays atop the ARIA Singles Chart for a seventh consecutive week with their now 5x(▲)Platinum certified track “Thrift Shop”.

In a year when crowdfunding grew exponentially across the globe, music projects accounted for thousands of campaigns, including a growing local trend towards fan-supported releases.

Veteran artists the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen have been nominated for the 2013 BRIT Awards. The Stones are up for British Live Act while Springsteen received a nod for International Male Artist.

Seattle's Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who have owned the top of the Australian singles chart with 'Thrift Shop' for the past month, are just one of the acts added to SXSW 2013.

More Australian showcases have been announced for SXSW 2013 with 360, The Audreys and ME! added to the list.

Record Store Day is just over 100 days away and over at the Record Store Day Facebook page the question being asked is “what are the 100 favourite albums of all-time?”.

Russell Crowe has finally hit the top of the music charts.

With the release of the 2012 End of Year charts this week, I noticed for the first time that a few high charting hits did not make the biggest selling songs for last year. 

Pink had the biggest selling album of 2012 in Australia with 'The Truth About Love.

Carly Rae Jepsen 'Call Me Maybe' was the biggest selling song of 2012 on the ARIA chart in Australia.

If you are keen to follow a career in music then the next Collarts Open Day is a date for your calendar.

Guns N’ Roses classic ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ has returned to the Australian chart this week on news of the upcoming tour.

Six straight weeks at No.1 on the ARIA Singles Chart for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz in their “Thrift Shop”.

The UK had a resurgence of cassette single sales in 2012 with the Official Charts Company reporting that sales tripled in 2012, mainly thanks to the band Feeder.

‘Coexist’ by The XX was the biggest selling vinyl album of 2012 in the UK but David Bowie’s 40-year old classic ‘The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust’ wasn’t far behind.

After scoring the biggest selling song of 2012 with ‘Somebody That I Used To Know, Noise11 can reveal that the Gotye featuring Kimbra song is also the 4th biggest selling digital song of all-time.

Bob Marley & The Wailers ‘Legend’ has earned a Top 10 position in the SoundScan Top Selling Albums list.