Report: Jay-Z looking to split Def Jam

Jay-Z is reportedly looking to bail from Def Jam in favor of joining the man who cofounded the vaunted hip-hop label. According to a report in the New York Daily News this week, the rapper-mogul is in negotiations to leave Island Def Jam in favor of rival Columbia, where Def Jam cofounder Rick Rubin was cochairman earlier this year.

The paper reported that the arrival at Def Jam of Jermaine Dupri as president of the Island Urban music division in February played a role in Jay-Z-s decision. "There isn't room for two kings at one label," the paper quoted a source as saying. "Why would Island bring in another power-hitter urban guy?" Columbia is also home to Jay-Z's girlfriend, Beyonce. "[Rubin]'s creating a supergroup of staff," a source told the paper. "So it would make sense that he would want Jay on his side."

Beyonce tumble video pulled from YouTube

Speaking of Ms. Knowles, Sony BMG has been waging a battle this week to prevent widespread dissemination of a video that shows the singer tumbling down a flight of stairs during her show in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday night. In the clip, which shows Beyonce singing the opening lines of her hit "Ring the Alarm," the singer trips on a red trench coat she is wearing and falls head-first down several stairs.

The clip also shows Beyonce asking audience members who videotaped the fall not to post it on YouTube although, not surprisingly, many did. Sony BMG has been lobbying YouTube to remove all video clips of the incident, though some continue to pop up. As for Beyonce, the singer left the stage but quickly returned and continued the show, admitting, "it hurt so bad."

Richards' bio incites bidding war

There are rock star biographies, and then there is the life and times of Keith Richards. That fact was driven home this week when Crain's New York Business reported that the bidding war for Keith Richards' autobiography has reached $7.1 million.

The paper reported that HarperCollins and Little, Brown, a division of the Hachette Book Group USA, are the two publishing houses left vying for the title. "This is Bill Clinton money," a publishing executive told the paper. Though a shelf full of books on the Rolling Stones has been published over the years, Richards' is a different story, considered "the holy grail of rock books" by the British press.

Warped organizer jabs at Ozzfest

Much has been said over the past few months about the decision by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne to make their annual Ozzfest tour free. The latest to take a jab is Kevin Lyman, organizer of the rival Warped Tour.

When asked by the Kansas City Star about Ozzfest, Lyman said, "It allowed Ozzy Osbourne to get one more paycheck out of [Ozzfest], to be 100 percent honest. Sharon's a smart person, but basically that's what it is. It's a ploy, straight up. Ozzy's getting paid to do that show. She was struggling to put [together a bill] because she keeps charging more and more and selling less and less tickets. The attendance of that tour has been dropping for many years, and she keeps having to spend more on the talent to get people to the shows."

When they announced Ozzfest, the Osbournes claimed that rising costs were forcing them to consider higher ticket prices and that they wanted to avoid doing that. Ozzfest organizers have claimed sellouts of every venue, although fans receive vouchers for free tickets by visiting a Web site of one its sponsors.

Queen's May nearing doctorate

Queen guitarist Brian May is completing his doctorate in astrophysics, more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to form the legendary rock band. The 60-year-old guitarist and songwriter told the BBC this week that he plans to submit his thesis, "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," to supervisors at Imperial College London within the next two weeks.

May was an astrophysics student at Imperial College when Queen, which included Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, was formed in 1970. He dropped his doctorate as the glam rock band became successful.

After Mercury's death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums, but never ended his interest in astronomy. He cowrote Bang! The Complete History of the Universe," which was published last year.

McCready back in jail

The troubled tale of Mindy McCready took a bad turn this week when the 31-year-old country singer was jailed for allegedly violating probation on a 2004 drug charge after a scuffle with her mother and authorities in Florida. McCready, who has faced a number of drug charges over the years, was taken into custody this week at Nashville International Airport and booked into jail near Nashville.

McCready was arrested last week in Fort Myers, Florida, her hometown, on misdemeanor charges that she scratched her mother on the face during a scuffle and resisted sheriff's deputies. A hearing on her charges of probation violation is set for September 7.

The singer was on probation after receiving a suspended three-year sentence for obtaining the painkiller OxyContin at a pharmacy in 2004 by getting a prescription in another person's name. Still pending is another probation violation charge against McCready resulting from a drunken driving arrest in May 2005.