Jay-Z and Kanye West have further expanded their upcoming joint tour by extending their stay in L.A. to three nights, Live Nation announced Monday.

Due to “overwhelming demand,” the duo –  billing themselves as the Throne — have added a Dec. 11 date at Staples Center. In October, the two announced a revamped itinerary for the tour, which is currently underway.

Tickets for the newly announced show go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.  Tickets for the previously announced Dec. 12-13 shows are currently on sale.

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– Gerrick D. Kennedy
Twitter.com/GerrickKennedy

Photo: Rappers Kanye West, left, and Jay-Z perform during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory in New York on Nov. 9. Credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

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Pop & Hiss

Leonard Cohen will release his first new album in eight years next year. The acclaimed singer/songwriter delivered the good news today in Spain, where he was collecting a prize for authors who do not write in Spanish.

The set, titled “Old Ideas,” contained 10 new songs, or, at least, previously unpublished tunes. “I’ve played it for a few people and they seem to like it,” he told Reuters.

The 77-year old, best known for “Hallelujah,”  would not commit to a tour behind the project, answering only, “God willing,” when asked if he hoped to take to the road. “I never quite know whether there’s going to be a tour or not.”

If it’s old Cohen material you want, there’s plenty of it and it’s all been collected in one place. As we previously reported, on Oct. 10, Sony’s Legacy Recordings released a 17-CD set of Cohen’s collected works. The collection comes with a 36-page booklet and new liner notes.

Latest Posts from The Beat Goes On on Hitfix

Image Credit: AP Images

While in Glasgow, Scotland, last weekend to play a couple of shows, Bob Dylan bought a new instrument: A set of traditional bagpipes.

“He’s always wanted to learn,” said a spokesperson for the Glasgow’s National Piping Centre, according to Reuters. “It’s a lovely sound when they are played well, and something to be appreciated.”

Obviously, the news provides ample comedic fodder for late-night chat show hosts given that many people (this writer not included) believe Dylan’s vocals to be reminiscent of some relatively obscure, and possibly broken, wind instrument. Though, as a Dylan fan myself, I’ve rarely thought that, say, “Blowin’ In the Wind” was sadly lacking in the bagpipes department.

On the other hand, this has given me the idea for a Curb Your Enthusiasm-style sitcom in which a playing-himself Dylan irritates his peace and quiet-loving neighbor (I’m thinking Rob Schneider) by trying to learn a different instrument every week. NBC? You have my number.

Read more:
Nobel Prize for literature does not go to Bob Dylan
Bob, Dylan, Jack White, Nora Jones recording lost Hank Williams songs
Hear Bob Dylan’s unfinished song, with songstress Nikki Jean: ‘Steel and Feathers (Don’t Ever)’ — EXCLUSIVE
Bob Dylan was addicted to heroin in early ’60s, old interview tape reveals
Bob Dylan at 70: Still alive

The Music Mix

By Zachary Swickey

The future of the music industry is up for grabs as labels try to fight piracy and determine what the future may hold. Competition is fierce with the increasing popularity of streaming alternatives to iTunes from companies like Pandora, SoundCloud and now Spotify, which is relatively new to us stateside but has been enthusiastically received. So it comes as no surprise that Rhapsody – the largest U.S. digital music service with 800,000 subscribers – is now taking over Napster in an attempt to increase the company’s market share.

Reuters reports that Best Buy Co Inc. (owner of Napster) will receive a minority stake in Rhapsody at the transaction’s closing, which is estimated to occur on November 30. More specific terms were not made available, but it is purely a stock based transaction.

“This deal will further extend Rhapsody’s lead over our competitors in the growing on-demand music market,” Rhapsody President John Irwin said in a statement.

Rhapsody has long been the digital service market leader, but as previously mentioned, London-based Spotify has been hot on the rise since its debut stateside in July. While Spotify initially required “invites” to try the service – which were frequently given out by bands via Twitter – enrollment is now open to anyone (well, anyone with a Facebook account).

The digital service market is still anyone’s game, but so is the upcoming trend of putting one’s music “in the cloud” (storing your music on a company’s server rather than your mp3 player, hence freeing storage space). Several well-known companies – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon – are currently battling it out with some lesser-knowns – Mozy, Dropbox, SugarSync and YouSendIt – as to who will be the number one “cloud” retailer.

But hey, with the popularity of vinyl back on the rise who knows what the future might hold.

Tags napster, Rhapsody

MTV Newsroom

Britney Spears is lensing her video for next single, “Criminal,” in London. That’s the big news from the Reuters interview embedded below, which was taped Friday as part of a promotional tour.

“I’ve never shot on location out of the country of America for a video so that should be really interesting,” Spears tells the reporter, veering dangerously close to sounding like Miss Teenage South Carolina, although we have no doubt that Britney can locate the United States on a map.

[More after the jump...]

As evident from her acceptance speech during the MTV VMA Awards and here, Spears seems to be have been scrubbed clean of any discernible personality…so much so, she could practically run for office with her bland answers. But, quite frankly,  if a slightly boring  Spears is the price the public has to pay in return for her to be mentally and physically healthy, it is a welcome price to pay. She seems cogent and on point here, as she talks about sharing custody of her two children with ex, Kevin Federline, and her exercise routine. Plus, she reminds us that touring can be a lot of work, y’all.

No word on when the video for “Criminal” will emerge. However, MTV.com reports that Spears plays said “criminal” in the clip and that the video includes a cameo by her boyfriend, Jason Trawick. In the meantime, Spears starts the  European  leg of the  Femme Fatale tour this month.

Latest Posts from The Beat Goes On on Hitfix

Beyoncé’s revelation — each on the red carpet and throughout her performance — that she and her husband, Jay-Z, are expecting their 1st little one undoubtedly stole the display at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

The big warm-and-fuzzy second also has supplied the diva with a main bump, pun intended, on record sales.

Soon after telling the audience that she desired them “to feel the really like that’s growing inside,” she dived into “Love on Top rated,” a cut from her album “4.”

The efficiency boosted the nonsingle into the iTunes best 5, although her actual single, “Best Issue I Never ever Had,” is at present languishing at No. 23. The album has also made its way back into the top ten on iTunes, coincidentally landing at the No. four spot.

Despite becoming herald by critics, the disc has struggled a bit commercially.

The album’s very first two singles, “Best Thing I In no way Had” and “Run the World (Girls),” have failed to take off like “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” “Irreplaceable,” “Crazy in Love” and other large hits.

The album has so far logged fewer than 700,000 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan, given that its June release — a sluggish number when compared to the record-breaking tallies that Adele and Lady Gaga have enjoyed with their current releases.

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Beyoncé fired father Mathew Knowles soon after Live Nation accused him of theft, he alleges in lawsuit

– Gerrick D. Kennedy

twitter.com/gerrickkennedy

Photo: Beyoncé shows her infant bump right after performing “Really like on Best” at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Credit: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Pop &amp Hiss

Katy Perry continues her hit-filled year, as the singer has notched her fifth No. 1 single from the platinum-promoting “Teenage Dream.”

With present single “Last Friday Evening (T.G.I.F.)” set to hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s pop chart, according to the Nielsen BDS-primarily based pop radio-airplay ranking, the singer’s sophomore effort is the 1st album in the far more than 15-year historical past of the Adult Leading 40 mainstream chart to log that numerous No. 1 singles.

“Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” with its kooky ’80s-inspired video, joins the Kanye West-assisted “E.T.,’ “Firework,” “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, and the title track, which was ranked the fourth-very best single of 2010 by Rolling Stone -– “Glee’s” version of the single also went on to turn into a large hit. If “Last Friday Night” hits the leading spot on the coveted Hot 100 chart — it really is presently No. two — it would be only the second album to obtain that ranking. The other? Michael Jackson’s 1987 disc, “Undesirable.”

“Teenage Dream” leads Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” and Lady Gaga’s “The Fame,” which both featured 4 Mainstream Top rated 40 No. 1′s.

Perry, who performs at the Nokia Theatre on Friday, recently received a major nine Video Music Awards nominations, including video of the year.

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– Gerrick D. Kennedy
Twitter.com / gerrickkennedy

Photo: Katy Perry poses for a portrait in New York July 24. Credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

Pop &amp Hiss

Pop &amp Hiss