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Today’s Music News: Retroactive product placements coming to existing music videos

by Staff

September 30, 2014

You weren't surprised to see Justin Timberlake rocking an iPad in the "Suit & Tie" video—but what if Bruce Springsteen shows up chugging a Smirnoff Ice in the "Glory Days" video? Universal Music Group is using new technology that allows them to retroactively place products in existing videos. The first musician to "participate" will be Avicii, who will have one of his videos revised to include Grand Marnier branding. (Stereogum)

Since she's been romantically linked to Twilight star Robert Pattinson, FKA Twigs has been the target of a barrage of comments by racist Internet users. "I am genuinely shocked and disgusted at the amount of racism that has been infecting my account the past week," she tweeted on Sunday. (Billboard)

How has Thom Yorke's experiment with releasing a new album by surprise, via BitTorrent, worked? Pretty well, apparently: Tomorrow's Modern Boxes has already been downloaded over 400,000 times. (AV Club)

Black Sabbath are winding down their storied career—but they're going to release one more album first. Frontman Ozzy Osbourne says the band are heading into the studio to record a final album, which they'll support with a tour. (NME)

Urban Outfitters made news last week by claiming they're the world's largest retailer of vinyl. That might be true if they just mean they're the world's largest seller of over-the-counter vinyl, but worldwide, Amazon actually sells many more records than Urban Outfitters does. (Pitchfork)

Neil Diamond has often sung about his Brooklyn boyhood, so it's appropriate that Diamond's first-ever Brooklyn show, held last night, was a tiny gig at his old high school. (Consequence of Sound)

Robert Plant and Jimmy Fallon formed a two-man doo-wop foursome with a little help from an iPad app and the harmonizing Roots, covering Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz8KQWWaaRQ

Belle and Sebastian will release their new album, Girls In Peacetime, on Jan. 20. The album is produced by Ben H. Allen III, known for his work with Gnarls Barkley and Animal Collective. (belleandeebastian.com)

If Alaska legalizes recreational marijuana use, Snoop Dogg says he'll perform a celebratory concert there. (Billboard)

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