Rich Pickings - Taylor Swift has returned to the top of Billboard's annual list of music money makers, a title she held in 2012 only to relinquish last year to Madonna. The 24-year-old earned $39.7m (£23.8m) in 2013 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring, according to the trade publication. Country star Kenny Chesney rose three places to second place, while Justin Timberlake came third. Rock acts Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones round out this year's top five.

Homecoming - Hit musical Book of Mormon is due to play Salt Lake City for the first time next year, near the location of the Mormon church's headquarters. It will run from July to August at The Capitol Theatre, less than half a mile from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' flagship temple. Written by South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the show pokes fun at two naive missionaries who visit Uganda. It debuted on Broadway in 2011, and is currently running in London's West End. On learning the musical was to arrive on its doorstep, the church reiterated its previous position that the production "might entertain audiences for an evening, but the real Book of Mormon changes people's lives forever".

Technical Hitch - The producers of X Factor spoof musical I Can't Sing! have admitted there is "still work to do" after an audience was left waiting almost 50 minutes between acts during its first show. Written by comic Harry Hill, the start of preview performances had already been delayed by several days due to technical staging problems. Producers said Wednesday's show at the London Palladium was a natural time for "ironing out" problems. The musical is due to open on 26 March.

In a statement, the team behind the musical said: "We have a huge and ambitious set, which is thrilling our audiences when they see it, but we're aware that the turnaround between acts needs to be quicker and our technical teams continue to work extremely hard on shortening it."

On Stream - The world's biggest smartphone maker, Samsung, has launched a free music streaming service called Milk Music. The service, currently only available on its Galaxy range of smartphones in the US, includes over 200 radio stations and 13m songs. Music streaming is seen as a key area of growth and many firms have been keen to tap into its potential.But Samsung is entering a crowded market which has players like Spotify, Pandora and Apple's iTunes Radio. "We feel that while the music space is very competitive there is room for improvement," said Daren Tsui, vice president of music at Samsung Media Solutions.

Festival Update - The Black Keys have been announced as the third headliner at this year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk. The duo, from Akron, Ohio, will top the bill along with Damon Albarn and Two Door Cinema Club when the festival returns on 17-20 July.

Paramore and Queens of The Stone Age will co-headline Reading and Leeds festivals. Arctic Monkeys and Blink 182 have already been confirmed for the top slots over the weekend of the 22 and 24 August.

(Jim Evans)


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