By Glenn Peoples, Nashville

By Andre Paine, London

A 33-year-old man has been arrested in the U.K. in connection with a group leaking pre-release music on P2P file-sharing networks.

He was arrested in Portsmouth following a joint enquiry by trade body the BPI and IFPI, in conjunction with the City of London Police and the Intellectual Property Office. It is understood the man was released on bail following the June 16 arrest while the investigation continues.

By Robert Thompson, Toronto

Canadian rockers Nickelback took home three awards at the MuchMusic Video Awards at a splashy show in downtown Toronto.

Nickelback's three awards last night included best video, best rock video and best post-production."

The show, which is run by the Canadian music channel and was hosted by the Jonas Brothers, also included a performance by Lady Gaga, who took the best international video award, while Canadian alt-rockers the Midway State took home two trophies.

Living Colour’s original lineup — Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish, who joined the band in 1993 — will release their first new studio album in five years on September 15th on Megaforce Records. The band, who broke big in 1988 with “Cult of Personality,” recorded The Chair In The Doorway, their fifth LP, in the Czech Republic. The album features hard rock, soul and politically charged tracks, and Reid describes it as “the best record we’ve made yet.” A world tour will launch in September.
Rolling Stone

Adam Lambert reportedly turned down Queen and Chris Daughtry rejected overtures from Fuel, but American Idol’s Season Seven tattooed siren Carly Smithson couldn’t ignore the call of Evanescence: The former members of the “Bring Me To Life” band, having parted ways with singer Amy Lee, have recruited Smithson to front a new group called the Fallen, USA Today reports.

Joe Elliot is slightly confused by some fans’ reaction to Def Leppard’s performance of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” with country-music sensation Taylor Swift during Tuesday night’s 2009 CMT Music Awards. While the performance was well received by the Nashville audience, post-show some critics described Swift’s delivery of the song’s first line as “breathless.”

In the second file-sharing copyright-infringement trial against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a Minnesota jury ruled that the 32-year-old mother of four owes $1.92 million to the four major labels after downloading and sharing 24 songs, Billboard.biz reports. The staggering ruling comes out to a cost of $80,000 per track illegally shared, a massive amount that the RIAA hopes will finally convince people to stop downloading music illegally.

“On a night like this, it comes back to one thing: the power of the pen,” Bon Jovi told Rolling Stone before his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last night in New York City. “If you write one song that comes across decades, you’re lucky. If you write a body of them and you’re recognized in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, it’s prestigious.” The organization’s 40th induction ceremony was a celebration of the individuals behind such time-spanning hits, with an eclectic group of honorees that also included Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jason Mraz and Sir Tom Jones.

Television cameras won’t be present in the courthouse when Rihanna takes the witness stand at a preliminary hearing for Chris Brown’s assault trial on June 22nd, CNN reports. A court spokesperson said yesterday that Los Angeles Criminal Court Judge Patricia Schnegg opted to deny media requests to allow cameras into the courtroom for Rihanna’s testimony. No explanation was given for the ruling. A sketch artist will be allowed to draw the hearing, however.

By Wolfgang Spahr, Berlin

The German music fair and conference Popkomm will not be taking place this year, it has been confirmed.

Popkomm was originally to take place on September 16 to 18 at a new venue - Station Berlin - with substantially lower prices.

"Amid continuing difficulties within the industry and in agreement with the Association of Independent Sound Media Companies (VUT) and the Association of the German Music Industry (BVMI), Popkomm GmbH has decided to postpone the music industry platform Popkomm for one year," said a statement.