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Live Updates

Sarah Jane Griffiths and Kev Geoghegan

All times stated are UK

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  1. Goodbye for now...

    That's it from us for today, but scroll down for news on Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Professor Green and Zayn Malik plus new videos from KT Tunstall, Green Day, The Kills and a cowboy-styled Beck.

    We'll be back at the much later time of 17:00 BST tomorrow for a Mercury Prize special, as we report from the red carpet and the ceremony on all of this year's nominees and - of course - the winner.

    Check the BBC's Mercury Prize website for more details - bbc.co.uk/mercuryprize

    And we'll leave you with this - a video that does exactly what it says on the tin. Some of this year's Mercury nominees describe their records in just three words... 

    Video content

    Video caption: Mercury nominees describe their records in three words
  2. Green Day share new video for Bang Bang!

    Green Day screenshot from Bang Bang! video

    It's a good time to be a Green Day fan - yesterday saw the release of a lyric video for the title track of their forthcoming album Revolution Radio, and today they've shared a proper, action-packed video for the album's first single Bang Bang!.

    The video - which you can currently only watch on the band's Facebook page - sees a group of masked robbers storm a bank sporting rubber masks to make them look like Green Day, as the band play a raucous house party. 

    Revolution Radio is out on 7 October.

  3. Pro Green is 'Back on the Market'

    Professor Green artwork

    Professor Green has been moonlighting as a pretty good documentary presenter in recent years, but this week marks a return to his musical day job, with the release of new track Back on the Market on Spotify and Apple Music

    Pro Green - aka Stephen Manderson - stopped by the 1xtra studio to see Mistajam and play him the track. 

    It's his first new music since he split from Made in Chelsea's Millie Mackintosh after a two-year marriage.

    "You don't need to air everything," he told Mistajam.

    "This is my outlet. The TV stuff is me giving a voice to other people. Music is my voice, that's my channel, that's where I get to express myself."

    There's been much speculation the title Back on the Market refers to his personal life, but Pro Green's official line is: 

    "I was in between deals - I'd walked away from a deal with a label that I was at, because I didn't like it - hence Back on the Market, [I was] a free agent."

    He added: "Death to celebrity - it's all about the music."

    Read more about that or listen to the full chat below...

  4. Melanie C pops up in new KT Tunstall video

    Mel C is busy working on her new solo album but she still managed to take time out to appear in a video for her pal KT Tunstall.

    The women play rival stock car drivers in the dusty visuals for the song about female empowerment.

    KT, for her part, gets to show off her tyre-changing skills.

    All the stunts were apparently performed by a mother and daughter team on the track owned by their father/grandfather.   

    Warning: third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube
  5. Kevin Parker reacts to Lady Gaga's 'genius' compliment

    How would you react when Lady Gaga calls you a genius?

    Tame Impala's Kevin Parker was put in that enviable position when he was speaking to Australian radio station Triple J about Perfect Illusion, his new collaboration with Gaga and Mark Ronson.

    He told the station's breakfast show hosts Matt and Alex it was a "life/career-defining moment".

    "It started out as such a career move, 'oh yeah, I'll get in on that'," he admitted. "But it quickly became something so personal and meaningful for everyone involved."

    The presenters told him about Gaga calling him a "real musical genius" when she co-hosted the Radio 1 breakfast show with Grimmy last week."Did she? No way! I'm gonna put that quote on our tour poster: 'A real musical genius' - Lady Gaga."  

    View more on Soundcloud
  6. YouTube to be ordered to pay more to musicians

    Two Door Cinema Club

    YouTube could be forced to pay more to musicians and record companies under new plans to reform European copyright laws.

    The draft directive will also require publishers and producers to tell performers or authors what profits their works have generated.

    Musicians have criticised sites like YouTube for failing to pay enough for content, with Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club saying recently: "I don't think things at the minute are fair. YouTube don't pay a fair royalty."

    Read more

  7. The best Mercury Prize winning album EVER is...

    ...Bring it On by Gomez, 1998's winner - according to listeners of BBC 6 Music anyway. 

    They've been voting for their ultimate favourite winner, ahead of the 2016 Mercury Prize ceremony tomorrow night.

    The debut album from the Southport indie band (pictured below) featured tracks like Whippin' Piccadilly, Get Myself Arrested and Tijuana Lady and beat the likes of Massive Attack, The Verve, Catatonia and Pulp to the title.

    Gomez on /music
    Image caption: Gomez on /music

    Also, making the top five of the 6 Music listeners' vote was Portishead's Dummy (1995) in second, Pulp’s Different Class (1996) in third, Screamadelica by Primal Scream (1992) in fourth and fifth was Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

    "Gomez’s Bring It On is an album that’s endured," said 6 Music presenter Nemone. "Can’t believe that was 18 years ago – still sounds ace when you hear it today."

    She'll join Tom Ravenscroft to host 6 Music's special three-hour Mercury Prize programme from 19:00 tomorrow night (15 September), with Shaun Keaveny hosting red button coverage between 20:00 and 21:00 and Lauren Laverne taking over on BBC Four from 21:00.

    We'll be running a special Mercury Prize Music News LIVE page tomorrow, so join us for all the latest from the nominees from 17:00. 

    The 2016 Mercury Prize nominated albums

    Check the BBC's Mercury Prize website for all the info. Here's a reminder of 2016's 12 nominated albums...  

    • Hopelessness by Anohni
    • The Bride - Bat for Lashes
    • Blackstar - David Bowie
    • Making Time - Jamie Woon
    • Made In The Manor - Kano
    • The Dreaming Room - Laura Mvula
    • Love & Hate - Michael Kiwanuka
    • A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
    • Adore Life - Savages
    • Konnichiwa - Skepta
    • I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it - The 1975
    • Channel The Spirits - The Comet Is Coming
  8. Watch Bruce Springsteen's dark observations of America in book reading

    While Zayn is to write his "first" autobiography at the ripe old age of 23 (scroll down for details), Bruce Springsteen decided, perhaps more sensibly, to wait until he reached the age of 66 to organise his thoughts into coherent prose. 

    He's about to head out on his first ever book tour of the US and you can watch him read an excerpt from Born to Run below.

    It details his dark observations about the United States as a young man as he watched the idealism of his childhood in the 50s and 60s give way to a country beset with fear and paranoia...

    Warning: third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube
  9. Prince's ex-wife to write memoir about their brief marriage

    Mayte and Prince

    Prince's former wife Mayte Garcia is to write an "intimate memoir" about her life with the musician.

    The book, called The Most Beautiful, will chronicle the couple's marriage and the loss of their newborn son in 1996 up to their divorce in 2000.

    The book is due to be released in April 2017, on the first anniversary of the pop star's death.

    "Ours was a rare, almost otherworldly connection," Garcia said.

    "I want to share our love story, and with it the highs and lows - always coming from a loving place, as this man is still part of my family and always will be."

    Read more

  10. The Kills new video might make you dizzy

    The Kills

    If you're not a fan of fairground rides, you might not enjoy The Kills new video, as it sees the pair hitting the waltzers and a vertigo-inducing roller coaster. 

    Impossible Tracks is the latest single from the duo's fifth album Ash & Ice and, as Alison Mosshart explains, was shot at Luna Park - "the old, weird, and wonderful amusement park of dreams and nightmares so iconic to Melbourne, Australia". 

    She adds it was somewhere they'd always wanted to shoot....

    Quote Message: Welcome to off season…winter time, blistering bitter cold, the park to ourselves all day and night. The lights buzzing, the gears cranking, a hallucinatory stream of whiplash and spin. We shot between bursts of monsoon weather and crooked wind, we rode the rides, played the games, and lost ourselves in the mirror house. Enter in, the guts of the park, through the mouth of lights, Luna's pearly teeth, past the big bad gaze of those glowing blue eyes… Buckle your belts and take the ride on Impossible Tracks.

    Best buckle up then...

    Warning: third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube

    Mosshart and bandmate Jamie Hince kick off their UK tour on 29 September at Manchester's Albert Hall, taking in Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Oxford, Bristol and Birmingham before playing London's Roundhouse on 7 October.

  11. Jack White and Kings of Leon help kick off new series of Later...

    The opening night of the new series of Later... with Jools Holland attracted an A-list group of performers on Tuesday night.

    Kings of Leon sang their latest song Waste a Moment, which we featured on Friday's Music News LIVE...

    Jack White performed We're Going to be Friends, originally on White Stripes' 2002 album White Blood Cells and now on his new acoustic album.

    The show also featured Sting, Kandace Springs and M83 - and Banks put on a pretty sultry performance of Gemini Feed...

    You can watch the whole show now on iPlayer and an extended version of the live show goes out on Friday night on BBC Two at 23:05. 

  12. Zayn Malik announces autobiography

    Zayn Malik

    While Zayn Malik's live shows might have stalled due to the singer's extreme anxiety, he's certainly keeping busy - following last week's news he's working on a boy band TV drama, an autobiography (of sorts) has just been announced. 

    Due on 1 November, ZAYN will take fans on a "photographic journey" of the 23 years of his life so far, blending personal stories with drawings and unseen photos. 

    Announcing the news, publishers Penguin Random House said Malik would touch on his childhood in Bradford, England, his rise to fame as a member of One Direction and his transition into a solo artist. 

    A quote from the first few pages reads: "I'm going to show you as much as I can so that you can judge me on my own terms, not on what the press or anyone else says."

  13. Playlists 'put UK acts at disadvantage'

    Ellie Goulding, Olly Alexander and Years & Years
    Image caption: Polydor has had success with acts like Ellie Goulding, Years & Years and The 1975 - and has three nominations for this week's Mercury Prize

    The president of Polydor Records says new British artists are struggling to breakthrough because of the way sites like Apple Music and Spotify curate streaming playlists.

    Ben Mortimer said they are "skewed towards US artists, which makes it harder to break UK talent".

    "I love streaming. Everyone knows this is happening and we're working 24-7 to figure out how we can fix it," he added.

    Read his full interview with music reporter Mark Savage.

  14. Christine and the Queens channel Beyonce

    View more on instagram

    Ever wondered what Beyonce's Sorry would sound like if sung in a 1980s Prince style?

    Step forward pretty much everyone's favourite new act of 2016, Christine and the Queens, who did exactly that for their cover in the Radio 1 Live Lounge yesterday, live from Maida Vale studios...

    Warning: may contain ads.

    View more on youtube

    You can listen back to the full show or watch the band's performance of their single Tilted, complete with full choreography, on the iPlayer.

    And Newsbeat grabbed a chat with the lady herself (real name AKA Héloïse Letissier) afterwards to ask her their five questions - from which song she wishes she'd written to how many people turned up to her first gig.

    You can also still catch up on Mercury Prize-nominated Kano's Live Lounge performance from Monday, along with the rest of Live Lounge month.

  15. Beck unveils trippy music video for Wow

    Beck has unveiled a western-meets-Gap ad style video for his latest track Wow.

    The single came out at the beginning of June so it's taken a while but we think it's worth the wait.  

    It has a hefty dose of surrealism, which perfectly matches his generally pretty obscure lyrics.

    He is also definitely bringing the Johnny Cash, black-clad cowboy, look back...

    Warning: third party content, may contain ads.

    View more on youtube

    The singer is putting the finishing touches on his follow-up to the Grammy-winning Morning Phase, which is expected some time next month.

  16. Jay Z's Tidal streaming service posts huge loss

    Mark Savage

    Music reporter

    Madonna, Deadmau5, Kanye West and Jay Z at the launch of Tidal

    Jay Z's streaming service, Tidal, recorded a net loss of $28 million last year, an increase of $17.6 million since 2014.

    The figures come from a legal filing by the service's parent company, Aspiro AB, which Jay Z acquired as part of a consortium for $56 million last year, before launching the service at a star-studded event in New York (pictured above).

    The filing shows that the company's revenues went up 30%, from $36 million to $47 million - but most of that money was eaten up by royalty payments.

    Although it looks bad for Tidal, this is a familiar story for streaming services, who are still in their early days, business-wise.

    Spotify, the market's biggest player, posted losses of $194 million last year - despite a turnover of $2.18 billion.

    The pressure on all streaming services could ramp up today, with speculation that Amazon is about to launch a new and improved service. Stick here for updates on that story.

  17. Happy Wednesday

    Not only is there sunshine to help you through this week's Hump Day, but we have a whole heap of music news and new tunes to share with you. 

    Coming up on today's Music News LIVE, we'll bring you news on Beck, Zayn Malik, Bruce Springsteen and The Kills, plus we'll celebrate the return of Later... with Jools Holland and bring you Christine and the Queens taking on Beyonce.  

    If you missed yesterday's page, catch up now for new tracks from Years & Years, Green Day and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, plus we quiz saxophonist Soweto Kinch and AlunaGeorge and remember Tupac Shakur 20 years after his death.