As Americans celebrate the nation’s independence on July 4, MTV will also honor its own origins as a station that started out focusing primarily on music.

Hearkening back to the days before “Jersey Shore,” “Teen Mom” and “Awkward,” MTV is joining forces with VH1 and CMT for “Music Independence Day,” which aims to draw attention to emerging musical artists.

The artists will also be able to sell their music to fans. And those will be able to leave tips for the artists. (Hopefully, the tips won’t be along the lines of, “Don’t quit your day jobs.”)

“We want to let fans discover and really love up musicians, give a tip, buy them a beer or simply send a message of support,” Viacom Music Group president Van Toffler said. “We have a history of introducing new artists, celebrating our audiences’ favorite established superstars and providing a forum for all to reveal their influences and the stories behind their music … So we’re going to celebrate the music, let musicians get heard, promoted, and loved. That ain’t all bad.” Read more..

Buzz Track: Ashes of My Paradise

Electro-pop singer Kelly Sweet who we featured last year as an emerging artist is still creating a buzz since MTV “The Hive” premiered her video Ashes of My Paradise. She has received coverage in Seventeen Magazine and Elle. She falls between Ellie Goulding and Florence and The Machine.  She is performing at Club Moscow in Hollywood on June 19th.
Contact: mikesavage123@gmail.com

There’s never a good time to find out that you are being sued, but there are some really bad times – like in the middle of your own concert, for example.

A process server undoubtedly earned his place in legal lore for reportedly handing R&B singer Ciara a subpoena in the middle of her performance at a L.A.  event on Saturday. The singer was headlining the event when a “fan” handed her some papers while she was on stage. Ciara managed to continue singing, while seeming to quickly scan them. Perhaps after realizing that she hadn’t been handed fan letters, the singer tossed the papers aside. You can hear an audience member say, “She got served,” in a TMZ video.

Ciara is being sued by a club for allegedly not showing up to a performance scheduled for June 7th. Read more

Buzz Track: Dreamers

Vismets is an indie rock band from Brussels that emerged in 2007.During the first two years the band toured all over Belgium and rapidly gained the reputation of being one of the best local acts. In 2010 Vismets released its first LP ‘Gürü Voodoo’ (Pias/Universal) in several european countries. The band just finished the recording of its second album which will be released in autumn 2013 and just released their first song “Dreamers” along with a video.
Contact: Chris christophe@granvia.be

The violinist who stormed the stage and hurled eggs at Simon Cowell during the final of Britain’s Got Talent has claimed she was ‘taking a stand against his dreadful influence’ on the industry.

Natalie Holt – a BAFTA-nominated composer who appeared in the closing ceremony of last summer’s Olympics – jumped to the front of the stage as brothers Richard and Adam were performing and pelted the judge before she was dragged off by security. Read more