German rock band Scorpions to end career

BERLIN – The German rock band Scorpions is bringing down the curtain on a career spanning more than four decades.

The band, known for its early 1990s hit "Wind of Change" among others, said on its Web site Sunday that "we agree we have reached the end of the road."

It said it would end its career with a final album — "Sting In The Tail," to be released in March — and a tour that will start in Germany in May and take it across the world "over the next few years."

Guitarist Rudolf Schenker founded the band in Hannover in 1965. Singer Klaus Meine joined a few years later. Both men are 61.

All-star Haiti telethon raises $57 million, so far

NEW YORK – Organizers for the all-star "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon say the event raised $57 million — and counting.

"The public has set a new standard of giving for a relief telethon with 'Hope for Haiti Now,' and the donations continue to come in," Lisa Paulsen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, said in a statement released Saturday. The group is helping to oversee the funds gathered from the event.

The two-hour telethon aired Friday night on the major networks and dozens of other channels, including MTV, Bravo, and PBS, and was also streamed live online. Stars like Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and more used their presence to encourage donations for Haiti, following a Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people.

The total released Saturday includes money raised by phone, text and the Web. It does not include donations by corporations or via iTunes, where people are able to buy performances of the event for 99 cents each, or the entire album for $7.99. Those funds also go to Haiti relief.

The "Hope for Haiti Now" CD is the biggest one-day pre-order in the site's history and the new song "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" by Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge, debuted during the telethon, is the No. 1 single on iTunes.

People can donate via text, phone or through the "Hope for Haiti" Web site for the next six months. Among the organizations who will receive funds from the telethon include Oxfam America, UNICEF, and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Foundation.

Could `Michael Jackson's This Is It' win an Oscar?

LOS ANGELES – "Michael Jackson's This Is It" comes too late in the year to be considered for a documentary Oscar, but the film about the late King of Pop's preparations for a series of comeback concerts could qualify for other Hollywood honors, including the Academy Award for best picture.

The film, which opened around the globe Tuesday and Wednesday has already earned rousing praise from fans and critics, who say it restores Jackson's reputation as a world-class entertainer.

Director Kenny Ortega, a longtime Jackson collaborator who was overseeing his London concert comeback, crafted the nearly two-hour film from more than 100 hours of footage recorded during rehearsals for the London shows, which were to have begun in July. Jackson died June 25 at age 50.

"What we did here was focus on telling a good story and creating a film for the fans really enabling them to understand what Michael Jackson had dreamed for them," Ortega said Wednesday.

He added it was his hope "the audience for this film will grow and that as many people come to see it as possible because I think that it's a wonderful story about a brilliant man. ... Awards, Oscars, that's all great wishful thinking."

It may be more than wishful, said Steven Gaydos, executive editor of the Hollywood trade paper Variety and a self-described cynic. With the Academy Awards best-picture slate expanded to 10 films this year rather than the traditional five, "This Is It" could find itself among the contenders, he said.

To qualify, the film must complete a seven-day run in Los Angeles County and filmmakers would need to "submit the proper paperwork," said Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which puts on the Oscars. The movie could also be considered in other categories, she said, including sound and film editing.

Sony, which paid $60 million for the global film rights, plans to keep "This Is It" in theaters for just over two weeks. The studio did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment about whether it planned to submit the film in any of the Oscar categories.

Ortega, a veteran director, producer and choreographer who counts TV's "High School Musical" among his credits, could also find himself in contention for a best-director nod, Gaydos said.

"He did a masterful job putting this whole thing together," he said. "It was so powerful and interesting, so creative and well-done, I think he should be considered... Kenny just won over all these critics like me with Michael Jackson that anything interesting could go on with this guy."

After completing a weeklong run, "This Is It" could also be eligible for Golden Globe awards consideration if it's submitted before the Nov. 6 deadline, said Michael Russell, a spokesman for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the annual ceremony.

Ortega said an Oscar nod would be a fitting recognition of Jackson's last work.

"He deserves one," he said. "Come on people."

Madonna branded a 'God' by Malawi orphanage

Madonna branded a 'God' by Malawi the orphanage she adopted son David Banda from.

The 'Celebration’ singer – who adopted the boy, now four, from the African country in October 2006 when he was 13 months old – visited the centre where he used to live this week and the children couldn’t hold back their praise for her.

One child said to her: "You are our God. Where could we have been without you?"

Workers at the Home Child Care Centre in Mchinji, Malawi, also spoke highly of the 51-year-old star about the way she has been raising David.

The centre's director, Lucy Chipeta, said: "David is too young to understand, but for us who remember the sickly tiny little baby of 2006, it was hard to hold back tears, including Madonna."

Orphanage founder Thomson Chipeta added to Us Weekly magazine: "He is so boisterous! I can't believe he is the same chap of 2006."

Madonna – who also adopted four-year-old daughter Mercy from the country earlier this year – recently admitted she has been "taught a lot" by Malawi.

She said: "People always ask me, 'Why did you choose Malawi?' But I have always said, 'Malawi chose me.’ Growing up in a privileged life, I took education for granted. Coming to Malawi has taught me a lot."

The star is currently in the country with the two youngsters and their older siblings, Lourdes, 13, and Rocco, nine.

Jay-Z criticizes scalpers of 9/11 benefit concert

NEW YORK – Rapper Jay-Z is criticizing scalpers who are selling tickets to his Sept. 11 benefit concert.

The Brooklyn-born rapper will perform at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Proceeds from sales of tickets and merchandise will go to the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund.

Tickets were intentionally set relatively low at $54.50 each to make them affordable for people struggling economically. The roughly 20,000 tickets sold out in moments on Tuesday.

Some now are showing up on resale sites for $200 to $3,000. One site offered tickets for $45,000 each.

Jay-Z says he's "disheartened" by the scalping.

John Neary, the benefit fund's treasurer, called the scalping "a shame."

Noel Gallagher in Oasis 'moron' blast against Liam

Courtesy of NME.com - Noel Gallagher has branded his brother Liam a "f--king moron" as details on Oasis' collapse continue to leak.

Gallagher is said to have made the remarks in the immediate aftermath of the massive argument he had with Liam in Paris on Friday (August 28), an argument that led to Noel announcing he was quitting the band.

"They say never work with children and animals. No one mentioned f--king morons though, did they?" said Noel to a pal, according to The Sun newspaper.

He then launched a broadside at Liam's Pretty Green clothing line.

He is reported as saying: "I think all the modelling malarkey has gone to his head. It's a pleasure to give him time and space to work on his autumn/winter collection."

It has also been reported that Friday's argument flared when Liam travelled alone to the show in Paris on the Eurostar and arrived drunk. Noel, it is claimed, confronted his brother about being unprofessional and also said he was disappointed with management and security for not challenging the volatile singer before. The frontman is said to have "exploded in rage" and started saying things about Noel's children. When Liam hurled his guitar at Noel, the guitarist caught it, stamped on it then smashed it to pieces. And then he walked away.

There are parallels with Oasis previous big split in 2000. Then, in Barcelona, the band were forced to cancel a show because the drummer Alan White's arm seized up. After an all-day boozing Liam sparked a massive argument making remarks about Noel's daughter Anais. Then, Noel said he was giving up over-seas tours with the band and guitarist Matt Deighton was parachuted in until a fractious return for Noel at Dublin's Lansdowne Road stadium in July that year.

Beatles playing for keeps with "Rock Band" game

DENVER (Billboard) – Paul DeGooyer is tired -- for good reason. It's about two weeks before the September 9 release of MTV's "The Beatles: Rock Band," and DeGooyer, senior vice president of electronic games and music for MTV Networks Music Group, has been traveling to New York, Boston, Los Angeles and London since 2007 to work on the project.

He's conducted delicate negotiations with surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison; hammered out essential licensing deals with executives at Sony/ATV and EMI Music, which treat the Beatles catalog with almost reverent care, and overseen the development of new technologies to meet the high expectations of all involved.

"It's been a bit of a blur," he says, the fatigue obvious in his voice as he speaks from his New York office.

To all involved -- MTV, its game development subsidiary Harmonix, EMI, Sony/ATV, the remaining band members and the families of all -- the result of all this time, effort and frustration is much more than just a videogame. It's the latest contribution to the hallowed canon of what many consider the world's greatest band.

"It's really about a new way to play with the Beatles' music than it is a new 'Rock Band' game," DeGooyer says with quiet humility. "If we did our jobs right, it is an authentic piece of the Beatles' catalog of work, and that sounds kind of crazy because it's a videogame."

This point became crystal clear to DeGooyer when, after first pitching the concept to the band and surviving family members two years ago, they insisted on including music from every stage of the Beatles' career -- something that wasn't as easy as it sounds, given the primitive way the band recorded its early work.

On "Taxman," for example, the drums and guitar were recorded on the same track. But "Rock Band" needs to devote a separate audio track to each instrument, so MTV had to figure out how to split those tracks into separate files in order to include the earlier songs in the game. Failure would mean losing the band's blessing -- and thus the project.

ALL TOGETHER NOW

Thankfully, MTV and Harmonix were able to enlist the help of Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, who had access to the Beatles' master recordings and had just cataloged them while working on the Grammy Award-winning "Love" project for Cirque du Soleil. He developed a filtering method that split the instruments into separate tracks.

With that hurdle passed, MTV could have just plowed forward with the simple act of licensing. Instead the team brought in Martin Bandier and Peter Brodsky, Sony/ATV's CEO and executive vice president of business and legal affairs, respectively; and Cynthia Sexton, executive VP of global brand partnerships at EMI, into the planning and development process along with the Apple Corps shareholders.

"While it was critical to work with Apple and the Beatles, we didn't want to take for granted the other rights holders would go along with them," DeGooyer says. "They all needed to understand exactly what we were doing and have input. When you have that many rights holders involved in a catalog, it's not obvious that their interests align at all points."

The results of this process are evident in the game. In addition to the 45 songs from the band's catalog -- more from one act than any other music-based game yet released -- the title brings a level of detail not yet seen in a music-based game. Each band member is animated in striking detail, down to the way their eyes and hair move while playing. Scenes of the Beatles' performances in Liverpool's Cavern Club and New York's Shea Stadium include the actual crowd noise from each venue. The game's re-creation of the Beatles recording in Abbey Road's famed Studio 2 includes never-before-heard banter among the band as it recorded its later work. Trivia about the act is included as bonus material, along with previously unreleased photos, audio and video.

Perhaps most remarkably, the Beatles will allow fans to buy at least a portion of their music in digital form as extra downloadable content for the game, starting with "Abbey Road" October 20 and followed by "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Rubber Soul" in November and December, respectively.

"Everyone realized doing this game was really a significant event in bringing the Beatles into the 21st century," Sony/ATV's Bandier says. "This is an enormous opportunity, because for a moment in time, it will be the only legitimate place where you can get the music in a digital form."

THAT'S WHAT I WANT

Legacy aside, the Beatles hope the game will generate profits for them as well. The band will make money on the music included in the game, but also on their likenesses and for the downloadable music being made available later.

The many versions of the game include a $250 deluxe edition with plastic signed replicas of McCartney's Hofner bass guitar and Starr's Ludwig drums (George Harrison's Gretsch Duo Jet and John Lennon's Rickenbacker will be sold separately for $100 each). The $160 "value" package includes basic "Rock Band" instruments. There's also a $60 disc-only version for consumers who have existing "Rock Band" or "Guitar Hero" instruments.

Sales expectations are high. Wedbush Morgan Securities videogame analyst Michael Pachter estimates the game will sell 5 million copies by year's end, with the disc-only version moving 3.5 million and the deluxe and standard versions selling 1.5 million between them.

For the Beatles, the biggest upside comes from sales of the deluxe version. MTV won't make much money on that package, but the company enjoys healthy margins on the disc-only version, as well as downloadable content. There isn't a shortage of speculation about how much MTV paid for the rights to the Beatles catalog, but sources say the design and motion-capture work was just as expensive as the licensing costs in the eight-figure budget.

Without directly addressing the game's costs, MTV's DeGooyer says the deal is structured so both parties stand to profit.

"The deal was carefully constructed as a partnership with the Beatles and Apple Corps," he says, "and that's borne out in both the creative of the game as well as the business deal behind it."

MTV hopes the game will drive subsequent sales of downloadable Beatles content and convert Beatles buyers to the "Rock Band" franchise. Beatles content won't be available for existing versions of "Rock Band," nor will "Rock Band" music be playable on the Beatles game. But the plastic instruments that come with the Beatles game will work with other versions of "Rock Band."

Each downloadable Beatles album will cost $17, with individual songs going for $2. MTV typically keeps about 70 percent of the price of downloadable content purchased through "Rock Band." Although the Beatles are believed to have received a better deal, this is still a very profitable business.

The entire music-game category has suffered a 46 percent decline in year-over-year revenue through July of this year, according to market research company NPD Group, causing some to question whether music games are just a passing fad. But much of this decline is due to sales migrating from expensive first-time hardware purchases to software sales that consist of new music, either in the form of downloadable content or expansion discs. And NPD's figures don't include the revenue made from downloadable content.

GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE

The future of music games depends on attracting newcomers, which is why the Beatles game is so important to MTV.

"It has to be for older people," Wedbush Morgan's Pachter says. "They're sitting around waiting for something to come along that appeals to them. So they're 40-something people that have looked at 'Guitar Hero' but are not sure why they want to learn Aerosmith or Metallica songs. They see this and think, 'I can get into this.'"

The game's developers went to great lengths to appeal to this demographic by removing many of the "game" elements from the Beatles title. While "Rock Band" has players earning points for accuracy and being rewarded with virtual money to spend on such band essentials as a van or instruments, the Beatles game is fully experiential. There's no "goal" or "boss" or points. You just play.

The Beatles music should attract new gamers, and the way the band used the title to tell its story could inspire other artists to get creative in this new medium. From their formation in 1960 (after several years as the Quarrymen) to their 1970 breakup, the Beatles always experimented with whatever medium was driving rock music at the time. Their rise to fame was driven by concerts, their greatest success came from studio albums. And now, despite having skipped digital downloading, the Fab Four stand poised to master yet another format -- interactive media.

"I look at the musical landscape and say, 'There's the Beatles and everybody else,'" Bandier says. "I don't think you can find another artist that you can use a chronology of their life and events in the same way."

Even so, the Beatles will almost certainly embolden other bands to take the plunge into the world of gaming. Pearl Jam plans to release its new album as downloadable "Rock Band" content the same day it arrives in stores. The new Rock Band Network allows any band to create and sell music as it likes through MTV's system.

"It would be great if people look at this a year from now and say, 'I want to play my favorite song in this format,'" DeGooyer says. "And chances are, a lot of people's favorite songs will be on the 'Rock Band' platform."