Australian singer songwriter Clare Bowditch has been announced as a speaker at the Face The Music conference in Melbourne next week.

Music copyright organisation APRA|AMCOS this week announced that it has distributed 14% more in royalties to its members in the 2011/12 financial year, confirming a strengthening digital download market and revealing a growing interest in Australian songwriters internationally.

Spotify is about to test its ability to break an unknown act with the exclusive release of Sweden’s Cazzette.

SXSW has confirmed the first acts for 2013 with Australia’s Seth Sentry, Emma-Louise, The Chevelles, San Cisco and Vaudeville Smash heading to Austin for festival showcases.

The Rolling Stones have released ‘One More Shot’, the second of their two new songs from the ‘GRRR’ album.

I’m going to state an opinion that might shock you. I’ve honestly been thinking about it for a while now, and I figure that with the release of their new compilation, now’s a great time for us to talk about it.

Parkway Drive, from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, will debut in the Top 30 in the USA this week.

Taylor Swift was an easy winning again this week on the US chart. ‘Red’ sold 331,000 units and despite a 73% drop in sales from last week still managed to sell double the sales for no. 2’s Meek Mill debut.

It's funny how the music industry works. One day I'm listening to Mac Cocker on JJJ playing this fabulous new record by Nona Hendryx, the next, I find I'm selling it because I'm working at RCA.

According to a statement on their website, Billy Hyde Stage Systems is now an independent company, with Soundwave/Harvest Backline Manager, Billy Hibben, announced as national manager.

Apple Inc now legally owns the Apple Corps logo. The Californian computer company now controls The Beatles iconic Granny Smith.

I've been in retail a while now, and it's not as easy as people think. In fact it's actually quite hard, in music retail I mean. On one hand you're facing the wholesalers, filtering through their messages and priorities, and turning 180 degrees, you're facing the people that make it all worthwhile-the public. Sometimes.

Music Victoria will bring live music to Melbourne’s Tullamarine International Airport during the busiest two weeks of music in the city.

When Garbage released ‘Not Your Kind Of People’ this year it was their first album together in seven years.

In Noise11 music news this week the story of PSY’s ARIA dominance generated the most eyeballs and news of the Black Sabbath tour came in a close second.

Taylor Swift remains “Red” for a second week at No.1 on the ARIA Albums chart this week, becoming her longest run at the top of our charts, as her previous No.1 “Speak Now” only lasted one week at the top back in November of 2010. The album also selling enough this week to pick up a Platinum sales certification.

PSY’s sixth week at No.1 on the ARIA Singles Chart with “Gangnam Style” elevates the song to equal second longest running chart-topper for 2012, matching the six weeks achieved by “Wild Ones” for Flo Rida and Sia (Jan/Feb) and then “Battle Scars” for Guy Sebastian and Lupe Fiasco (Aug/Sept).

Gary Clark Jr is the first featured artist in the Grammy.com interview series The Word Up From Down Under, with Noise11.

MusiCares has established a fund to support people in the music community affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The 2012 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards were presented on Thursday night, with Six60 staying true to their name by winning six Tuis, including Single of the Year and Best Group, while Kimbra took home five awards, including Best Female Solo Artist and Album of the Year, for her internationally successful Vows.

Alternative indie pop quartet, Alt-J, last night won the highly coveted U.K. Barclaycard Mercury Prize for their debut album, An Awesome Wave.

First round nominations for the 2012 J Awards have been announced today, with Tame Impala amongst the nominees for Australian Album of the Year and Goyte nominated for Australian Music Video of the Year.

Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar's album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, has had a huge week in the U.S., debuting with more than 241,000 in sales and giving him the highest selling album for a new artist in 2012.

With over 1.2 million copies downloaded last week, Taylor Swift's latest album, Red, has scored the highest SoundScan sales week in over a decade and has set the record for the highest worldwide digital album sales debut in iTunes history.

Clare Bowditch will team up with Christine Salem of Reunion Island and Kutcha Edwards will perform with Boubacar Trare of Mali for the Australasian World Music Expo next week in Melbourne.

George Lucas has sold his company Lucasfilms to Disney, passing on his Star Wars empire to a new generation of film makers.

Taylor Swift ‘Red’ will sell over 1,000,000 units in its first week on sale in the USA.

Ford has chosen John Farnham to sell its new SYNC technology but the advertising industry is torn between “brilliant” and “horrid”.

Sydney is promised “a mad burlesque of circus” when Pacha opens at the ivy nightclub soon.

Hungry Kids Of Hungary and Emma Louise have joined the Bee Gees, Powderfinger and Savage Garden with their own stars in the Walk Of Fame in Brisbane’s Brunswick St Mall in Fortitude Valley,