The EP is becoming popular again. For instance, Luke Bryan released an EP last month which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart.

“Invented around 1950, the EP was long considered the misfit format of the recording industry: Shorter than an album and longer than a single, EPs generally run about 30 minutes and top out at a half-dozen songs. They’ve proven especially easy to digest as digital downloads or streams, because they can give listeners a hearty sample of an unfamiliar act without asking them to commit to a full-length (and full-price) album. As a result, they’ve become crucial to the way many new acts introduce themselves.”

When Republic Records signed the Icelandic folk-rock band Of Monsters and Men last year, its jubilant song “Little Talks” was just starting to get radio airplay. The group had already recorded an album in Iceland, so its new label quickly “polished” four of the songs and released them as an EP. The goal was to give curious fans a bigger sample of the music, and get a head start on sales. Priced at $4.29, the digital EP “Into the Woods” probably qualified as an impulse buy for some shoppers. It sold 55,000 copies. “Psychologically, it’s not as intimidating as buying an album with 12 songs from a group I’ve never heard of,” says Avery Lipman, president and co-founder of Republic Records, which is owned by Universal. Read more

Justin Bieber has caused outrage after leaving a ‘tasteless’ comment in the guestbook at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Bieber who is currently on tour in Europe – visited the famous home where Jewish wartime diarist Frank and her family hid from Nazi persecution for two years during the Holocaust. After spending an hour touring the home on Saturday, which opened as a museum in 1960, Bieber wrote a message in the guestbook, which read: ‘Truly inspiring to be able to come here. ‘Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.’

The Anne Frank House staff-run Facebook page shared the singer’s comments. But since the the museum updated its page with Justin’s words, the Facebook post has garnered hundreds of comments expressing dismay over the young pop sensation’s presumptuous remarks. Many described it as ‘disrespectful,’ ‘disgusting’ and an ’embarrassment to Canadians.’ Hundreds of people took to Twitter to express outrage, branding the singer a ‘moron’ and ‘douche,’ leaving several to question whether he actually wrote such a shocking message. Buzzfeed reports that BBC reporter Anna Holligan received confirmation from the Anne Frank House press office.

Twitter is expected to launch a music service today that suggests artists and songs based on the accounts users follow.

Twitter Music will suggest artists and songs to users based on “personalized signals” from a Twitter account. Users will be able to listen to music clips from inside the app, using third-party services like iTunes and SoundCloud.

The new application will also include video capabilities through Vevo, a music video service owned by Universal Music and Sony.

Adele’s talent has made her lots of money. In fact, she is the richest young British musician. Her fortune continues to grow surpassing boy band One Direction. Adele who is only 25 is estimated to be worth more than £30m.

The list of the UK’s richest young musicians is dominated by women including, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, Jessie J, Lily Allen and Charlotte Church.
One Direction’s £25m net worth puts them £1m ahead of the combined fortune of JLS, another product of Simon Cowell’s ITV talent show and chart juggernaut, The X Factor.

Iconic producer Andy Johns who worked with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Rolling Stones died at 62. Johns began his career as a tape operator for Olympic Studios in London where he worked with Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull and Humble Pie. He worked with the Rolling Stones from 1968-1973 helping to capture the sounds for “Exile On Main Street” from Keith Richards’ mansion in the South of France.