The best part: That's only the second-most-embarrassing thing about this particular bit of blurbage! "Remember, she is James Taylor's sister"? Yes, I think most people will remember a bit of trivia they read six lines prior. The James Taylor demographic isn't exactly made up of ADHD-addled teenagers.

Kate Taylor & the Ellis Unit tickets [Ticketmaster]
The Ellis Unit [MySpace]

"I know that a lot of people who spent time with the album were like, 'I gotta get this dude some money.' They came back and paid," Williams says. "We got a slew of people who were starting to feel guilty about the amount of time they were spending dancing to the album and looked back and gave their $5. So I feel like it's been wonderful, a marvelous result for me. And at the end of the day, it's been about the exposure. Not only the exposure to me and my music, but for me, who always falls in the category of being a 'message writer,' there are a lot of people being exposed to perhaps a new way of thinking, some new ideas, and that really excites me."

The irony of his work drawing attention through an ad promoting sneakers is not lost on Williams. "It's weird, but their ads give attention to the music. You walk away thinking, 'That's a cool song,' not 'I've gotta get those shoes.' "

At the very least, this seems to give some credence to Reznor's attempted business model. If you can get a large group of people to check something out, you might get a large enough fraction to pay for it.

Saul Williams still hasn't found his niche, and he's thrilled [Chicago Tribune via Songs For Soap]

According to several sources close to the situation, Red Bull's music endeavors, which include sinking millions of dollars into a recently constructed recording studio in Santa Monica, Calif., are all part of the company's plans to launch a branded record label by year's end.



"They want to at least put something out digitally, and maybe physically [under their own brand] by the end of the year," said a music industry executive with knowledge of Red Bull's plans.



Other sources said the energy drink thinks its brand can fill a void with the young male demographic and has been giving free studio time to a number of alternative indie rock bands in the hopes of initially signing three or four of them to the label.



"They see a wide-open lane for rock," said one source who has used Red Bull's studio. "They are a lifestyle-based brand that does a lot with snowboarders, skaters, the young Hollywood set, so they think they could have success breaking rock bands."

I'm especially excited by the idea of seeing Red Bull Music kiosks in stores serving Red Bull. I can just imagine grabbing a can and impulsively snapping up a CD by the Hinder of 2009 along with it. And then I can rock both in the car! Cuz I rock! Rock!

Pump The Music: Red Bull Eyes Starting Branded Music Label [NY Post]
Red Bull Studios [Mix Online]

"Football teams have very distinct corporate sponsorship," Hands told the FT. "Why shouldn't some of the leading bands have the same sort of relationships?"

Ah, yes. Clearly, Hands has never had a late-night pub conversation about the idea of the "sellout," and its various permutations within the rebellious-at-all-costs world of music. (Or maybe he's only seen music videos with lots of product placement in them.) Anyone else feel like this is the sort of cheeky announcement that makes me wonder if Hands wants "striking" artists like Robbie Williams and The Verve to finally have a huge tantrum and run away screaming from their contracts? A sorta sneaky way of engaging in some money-saving brush-clearing, if you will.

EMI set to take corporate world for a spin [FT; HT Gigwise]
The Verve latest EMI artist to threaten to go on strike [Guardian]

The album will also be available digitally via iTunes, VS (or "Vicky's," as my high-school classmates used to call it) is ordering between 500,000 and 600,000 copies of the album on a one-way basis, meaning that the chain won't be able to return them to the label if they wind up going unsold. Discs will cost between $10 and $12, with an Internet presale apparently scheduled to start sometime today.

What clinched the deal: Ginger, Sporty, Baby, Posh, and Scary will make their return to American TV via the Victoria's Secret fashion show, the I-can't-believe-this-is-worth-TV-time event where bra-clad women strut around under the guise of free advertising/ratings-grubbing. Surely this means that VS' new line will feature the official Limited Brands take on the girls' outfits from the Spice World era? They better, otherwise Frederick's of Hollywood will beat them to the punch, and include a crotchless-panty option.

Victoria's Secret Struts to Spice Girls CD [WSJ]

Slated for the coming weeks are West's "Stronger" and "Good Life" (Sept. 10, Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals); Foo Fighters "The Pretenders" and "Come Alive" (Sept. 24, Tennessee Titans vs. New Orleans Saints); Matchbox Twenty's "How Far We've Come" and "I'll Believe You When" (Oct. 1, New England Patriots vs. Cincinnati Bengals); and Kid Rock's "So Hot" and "Rock N Roll Jesus" (Oct. 8, Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills).

Two songs from Eddie Vedder's new solo record and soundtrack to the Sean Penn-directed movie of the same name, "Into The Wild," titled "Rise" and "Hard Sun," have recently been confirmed (Sept. 17 Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles game) as have "Just Can't Get New Orleans Out Of My Mind" by Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball, and "When The Saints Go Marching In" by Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The latter tracks, from "Goin' Hoe: A Tribute To Fats Domino" (Vanguard Records), benefiting the Tipitina Foundation, will be included in the Sept. 24 game.

That's a fairly respectable lineup (I know all too well about the unfortunate sports-and-music pairings that have happened in the past) given the demographics of the MNF viewing audience, although I think that the artist who might benefit most from this whole thing is the punchy Kid Rock, who's actually performed the MNF theme before; at this point, maybe the guy should just go into the sports-synergy business full-time.

ESPN Unveils New Music Push [Billboard.biz]