entertainment - "music"

Music News: Nissan Live Sets stoke fan flames, boost sales -- In less than two years, Yahoo music has become a distinctive repository of exclusive concerts and a significant part of marketing plans for veteran acts with new albums. Nissan Live Sets, shot in HD on a soundstage on the Fox lot, has quickly become as important a concert series as exists, whether it be on the Web or on broadcast television.

Film News: Director explains why he hired French composer -- 'Could the vibes and orchestra bells play softer, please, at bar 48? Then at 52, we come back to our previous dynamic, OK?' Composer Alexandre Desplat is in the middle of his fourth day on the Sony scoring stage, conducting a 75-piece orchestra to perform his delicate, charming music for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' Paramount's long-awaited adaptation of an obscure F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who ages in reverse and the complications that result when he falls in love with a 30-year-old woman.

Film News: music acts as shock absorber for off-color humor -- The creative team behind Focus Features' upcoming 'Hamlet 2' didn't set out to make a musical. But according to writer-director-exec producer Andrew Fleming, it's the music that makes the film's oft-offensive humor palatable.

Music News: Film tandems find harmony in creative tension -- One of the key dynamics in the collaborative art of filmmaking arises from ongoing relationships between like-minded artists. Think of directors and their favorite cinematographers, screenwriters or set designers. The same holds true of helmers and composers.

Music News: Composers can drive action more than in films -- A few weeks ago, an album called 'Video Games Live: Volume One' debuted at No. 10 on Billboard's Classical Crossover Chart. Within a week, it had muscled out John Williams' latest 'Indiana Jones' opus. For Tommy Tallarico, who has spent the last 20 years writing game music (including 'Advent Rising') and who produced this collection, it felt like vindication.

TV News: 'True Blood,' 'Life' add music to advance plots -- Two music-driven television shows -- one new, one returning -- demonstrate how placements can play a pivotal role, either by drenching scenes in song or by very carefully placing just a song or two for lengthy stretches.

Music for Screens: Immediate's scoring leaves a lasting impression -- In today's movie business, the movie trailer carries almost as much importance and buzz as the movie it precedes, and like any good film, its musical score -- often different from the eventual score -- has to be just as dynamic and uplifting.

Sheryl Crow is giving away free music _ a tactic she calls the 'Tupperware' party approach to inspiring young people to vote.

TV News: music supervisors rely heavily on period pieces -- A one-hit wonder can take many forms. There is the novelty song ('Kung Fu Fighting,' 'I'm Too Sexy') that annoys as much as it entertains; or the epic torch ballad ('You Light Up My Life,' 'I'll Be') replete with sappy choruses and woefully earnest lyrics.

Music for Screens: Commercials often result in overnight stardom -- No one knows exactly when Apple commercials morphed into musical tastemakers, but being featured in an Apple ad doesn't just turn musicians into household names -- it often translates to a substantial increase in sales.