Thursday, December 18, 2008

Music News: Top Pop Tours of 2008, U2 to Tour Early 2009, and More

2008 may be nearing its end, but there's no shortage of music news this week:

* Top tours: New Jersey may get no respect from a lot of people, but its rock stars ruled the roost in terms of chart-topping tours in 2008. Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen had the top-grossing tours of the year, with Madonna and The Police taking the third and fourth spots.

* New U2 album: The Irish rockers show no signs of slowing down. There will be a new U2 album coming out in early March 2009, their record label says. The CD will be called "No Line On The Horizon," and you can bet there will be a world tour to support it.

* Coal in the music industry's Christmas stocking: It's shaping up to be another blue Christmas for music labels and retailers. Billboard reports that music sales were down nearly 22% in the first week of December compared to the same period last year. CD sales continue to drop, although it's noted that "hit albums are selling better this year than last."

* ... And in the odd news department: Headbanging is bad for your metal health: Australian study finds that music fans who engage in headbanging risk serious head and neck injury ... Miley Cyrus has been hired to perform at a Houston law firm's holiday party. She and her posse will get $1 million for the gig, but the party will benefit a charity ... rapper 50 Cent was spotted having a kind of car trouble in London recently: he locked the keys to his Rolls Royce inside the car. Don't you hate when that happens?

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