By Chuck Stanley

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Friday March 31, 2006

NIRVANA CATALOG

RollingStone.com is reporting Courtney Love has sold 25% of Nirvana's publishing rights to Larry Mestel of Primary Wave Music for $50 million. Here are 2 excerpts from the story:

"I took on a strategic partner, Larry Mestel, to help me co-manage the estate because it was overwhelming," Love explains. "The affairs of Nirvana are so massive and so huge, and they've all fallen on my lap. I own almost all of [the publishing], . . . and it proved to be too much for me. I needed a partner to take Kurt Cobain's songs and bring them into the future and into the next generation. And this guy's the guy to do it."

Exactly what the partnership will mean for the life of Nirvana's music -- including the Nineties hits "Come As You Are" and "All Apologies" -- is unclear. Thus far, the tracks have been notably absent from corporate ad campaigns and blockbuster action-movie soundtracks. The new partners are already eager to curb speculation that any of the generation-defining songs might end up in, say, a deodorant ad.

GODSMACK

Godsmack's album "IV" will be out April 25th and the track listing has been made public:

Livin' In Sin
Speak
The Enemy
Shine Down
Hollow
No Rest For The Wicked
Bleeding Me
Voodoo Too
Temptation
Mama
One Rainy Day

Best Buy stores and Target stores will each carry an exclusive version of "IV". The CD version sold at Best Buy will include the bonus track "Safe and Sound" and Target's edition includes a song titled "I Thought".

METALLICA'S MASTER OF PUPPETS

McFarlane Toys will release a 3-D sculpture of the cover art from Metallica's 1986 album "Master of Puppets" this August. View the pictures at spawn.com.

METALLICA VIDEO

Video footage of Metallica performing "Hole in the Sky" and "Iron Man" for Black Sabbath's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is streaming at youtube.com. VH1 is currently replaying the induction ceremony, which was taped March 13th in New York City.

NINE INCH NAILS

Nine Inch Nails, Bauhaus and TV on the Radio will be at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Friday, June 2nd. Tickets go on sale Saturday, April 8th at 10am through Ticketmaster locations. Tickets prices are $50, $35 and $25 + service charges.

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