Idolator

And it's... Simon Fox, the man in charge of HMV, who is quite cheerful about his music chain's holiday season—fueled by the rush reissue of Amy Winehouse's Back To Black and the 68th edition of the UK's Now series. He's optimistic about the year's prospects for CD sales, and not just because the prospect of things actually getting worse for the part of the industry that sells CDs is almost mathematically impossible. Quote: "We felt there was a good line-up this Christmas, we think the line-up is actually going to get better." Highlights for him? New releases from Madonna, Kasabian, Keane and Dido. Yes, Dido. Even adjusting for UKraziness, I have to say, this guy may be one of the biggest Pollyannas I've seen talking about the music industry's future yet. [Guardian]

Today in the UK town of Dudley, HMV is opening what it's calling a "next generation" megastore that not only gives over space to a juice bar and iPods, it also represents the old-school music chain's attempt to bring the digital-shopping experience to the brick-and-mortar world: More »