Bob Dylan to release Christmas album for charity

NEW YORK – Bob Dylan is releasing a Christmas album, and in the spirit of the holiday season, the legendary performer is donating his royalties to charity.

A statement by Columbia Records says "Christmas in the Heart" will be released Oct. 13. Dylan's U.S. royalties will go to the organization Feeding America. It's estimated that will help feed 1.4 million families during the holidays.

The 68-year-old singer says it's a "tragedy" that people go to bed hungry, and he hopes he can bring "food security" to people in need.

Dylan also plans to donate all his future international royalties to charities overseas.

R.E.M. packages 2007 Dublin shows on new album

DETROIT (Billboard) – R.E.M.'s "working rehearsals" in Ireland for the band's most recent studio album, 2008's "Accelerate," are the subject of the group's new live album, "R.E.M. Live at the Olympia," which comes out October 27.

The two-disc set was recorded during July 2007 at the Olympia club in Dublin, where the group played five shows during their recording of "Accelerate." It's R.E.M.'s second concert souvenir in three years, after 2007's "R.E.M. Live."

Bassist-keyboardist Mike Mills told Billboard.com that the Olympia stand "did the things we wanted it to do in terms of not only generating excitement for the record, but it also helped us, I think, to make a better record."

R.E.M. had already gone into "Accelerate" with a desire to make a more rocking, live-on-the-floor kind of album than its more labored-over predecessors, "Up" and "Around the Sun." The live dates, Mills said, were a test for the new songs.

"So often when you make a record you haven't played the songs live," he said, "and then you start taking them out on tour and they get faster or you change parts and think, 'Man, I wish we had done THAT on the album. I didn't want to have that this time. I wanted to play them live so we could get all that out of the way and really know what we wanted to do with the songs in the studio."

Guitarist Peter Buck concurred that the Olympia shows "really helped us focus on what the record was all about. It was really nice to play the songs in a kind of adrenaline setting in front of people. It helped to show us that, 'Yeah, we're on the right path.' And then we did go back in the studio and re-record a couple of things and clean a couple of other things up. And there was one song in particular we played and figured out that, 'Eh, we don't need to have that on the record.'"

"Olympia" features pre-release versions of "Accelerate" tracks such as "Living Well Is the Best Revenge," "Mr. Richards," "Man-Sized Wreath," "Horse to Water," "I'm Gonna DJ" and the title track, as well as "Supernatural Superstitious" under its original title, "Disguise," and two songs -- "Staring Down the Barrel of the Middle Distance" and "On the Fly" -- that didn't make it onto the album.

The set also includes R.E.M. rarities such as "Second Guessing," "Disturbance at the Heron House," West of the Fields" and "Wolves Lover."

Neil Young named MusiCares person of the year

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Neil Young has been named the 2010 MusiCares person of the year.

Neil Portnow, president of the MusiCares Foundation and The Recording Academy, named the 63-year-old Young on Tuesday as the honoree for his "standard of artistic integrity and iconoclastic creativity for more than four decades."

Young will be saluted at a dinner and concert in Los Angeles on Jan. 29, two days before the 52nd annual Grammys. The event marks the music industry charity's 20th person of the year tribute.

Past recipients include Aretha Franklin and Neil Diamond.

Young's hits include 1972's "Heart of Gold" and 1989's "Rockin' in the Free World."

Jackson tribute in Vienna set for Sept. 26

VIENNA – A global tribute to Michael Jackson on the grounds of a 17th century palace in Vienna will be held Sept. 26, and Jackson's brother Jermaine will announce the concert lineup soon, organizers said Wednesday.

World Awards Media GmbH, the event promoters, said Jermaine Jackson would unveil details at a Vienna news conference later this month.

The promoters said in a statement they were working "briskly" to line up major entertainers and a network to broadcast the event live. They said Vienna agreed to be a partner "in this singularly worldwide event."

On Tuesday, World Media Awards chief Georg Kindel told The Associated Press the tribute was expected to run three hours and feature about 10 top artists performing 15 to 20 Jackson hits. They would perform on a crown-shaped stage to be built in front of Vienna's Schoenbrunn Palace.

Kindel said Jackson family members and unidentified Hollywood stars also would honor Jackson as images and video clips were screened.

Last week, Jermaine Jackson said Vienna was chosen as the venue because his brother "loved castles."

Many fans had expected the tribute to be staged in London, where the pop star had been booked to begin performing a marathon of concerts shortly after his June 25 death in Los Angeles.

Renate Brauner, Vienna's deputy mayor, said the city is thrilled to play host to "this high-carat, internationally sensational event."

Austrian media have reported that Madonna, U2, Lionel Richie and Whitney Houston might be among the performers. Kindel declined to confirm those reports and stressed that Jermaine Jackson is still assembling the lineup.

Tickets are expected to go on sale Aug. 20.

Organizers envision standing room for about 85,000 people on the sculpted grounds of Schoenbrunn, a former imperial palace, and grandstands to accommodate 5,000 VIP guests.