We're very proud to say that the Columbia Label Group has been picked as Label of the Month with retail giant Amazon! But what does that mean? Well not only do they explain who we are, what we do and our fantastic artist achievements but they also give you, the fans, a load of free music! There are 13 songs available to download from the Amazon site, ranging from superstar acts like the Foos, Kings of Leon and Mark Ronson right through to some of our new acts The Vaccines and Alexis Jordan. It's a great way for you to pick up some new music for free whilst celebrating the Columbia Label Group and our artists. To download the sampler just click on the below to be taken directly through to the official Amazon website. Enjoy! Free Label Sampler from Amazon

Congratulations to all our Columbia's artists last night who were nominated for Brits. The nominations are as follows: BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST Mark Ronson INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST Bruce Springsteen INTERNATIONAL GROUP Kings of Leon INTERNATIONAL ALBUM Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown CRITICS' CHOICE The Vaccines www.brits.co.uk

Amazon's New for 2011 highlights some of the names that are set for great things in 2011 and Columbia have not 1 but 4 of their artists featured! The acts are as follows: Alexis Jordan

Katy B

Miles Kane

The Vaccines

Congratulations to all and here's to a successful 2011! To view the article click on any of the artist names above or below: New for 2011 Amazon List

Congratulations to Columbia Records very own Michael Cleary and James Hopkins who were both shortlisted for their fantastic work at the Record of the Day Awards 2010! Michael was commended & short listed for his work on Magnetic Man in the Category of Best PR campaign for a Breakthrough Act and James short listed in the Best In-House PR Person category. All awards are voted for by journalists, PRs and Music Industry Figures.

Amazon have compilied their list of albums for the Best of 2010 so far. On the list are Lissie, Band Of Horses plus many more. Check out the full list here and see what else is in store for the rest of the year.

Columbia have teamed up with mflow for their launch in the UK. For a limited time only Columbia and mflow are offering a free 5 track download bundle for signing up. The tracks include; Editors - Papillon (Live @ Fabric), Miike Snow – Animal, Broken Bells – Vaporize, Lissie – Bully and the Avett Brothers – Laundry Room. You can download mFlow here.

Today, we saw the announcement of the line-up for this year's Glastonbury Festival. Also on the bill include: the Editors, MGMT, Broken Bells, Lissie, Chipmunk, the Avett Brothers and a live set from Magnetic Man. The festival is taking place from the 25th - 27th June. For more information and the full line-up click here.

The music world comes together to launch the Music Matters campaign

A collective of people in the music industry, including artists, retailers, songwriters, labels and managers has formed to remind listeners of the significance and value of music.

London, 24 March A new campaign, Music Matters, which launches today, is bringing people together from across the industry for the first time, to highlight the profound value of music and to educate consumers on how to identify legitimate music services.

Allowing the music to speak for itself, the campaign has commissioned a series of short animated films about inspirational artists who have dedicated their lives to music and contributed to our cultural landscape. The films, including the stories of artists such as Blind Willie Johnson, The Jam, John Martyn, Nick Cave, Sigur Ros, Kate Bush and the Fron Choir, will be carried on supporting artist and organisation websites, with further films scheduled for roll out later in the year.

A Music Matters trust mark will be launched to help audiences to identify legitimate sources when looking for new music. Leading music retailers will display the trust mark and host the Music Matters films on their websites.

The Music Matters campaign website, www.whymusicmatters.org, goes live on 24 March. It will host all of the films will as well as advice on how to identify legitimate music sites.

Following the launch, there will be a series of public events across the UK to promote the Music Matters campaign and trust mark in partnership with Future Shorts. The first of these will be held at Cargo, London on Wednesday 24 March and will feature screenings of the Music Matters films, live music, DJs, live art and very special guests. For more info visit www.futureshorts.com

The Music Matters campaign is being led by Niamh Byrne (Universal Music/formerly CMO Management – managers of Blur and Gorillaz.) “For many people music is the single most important cultural element of their daily lives,” said Byrne, “but as it becomes more available it can become invisible, disposable. Cutting through the debate about technology, transmission and consumption, we want to remind everyone why music matters.

Ray Davies, The Kinks: “Ray and Dave Davies were brothers and used to fight a lot as children. They argued about everything then one day they got guitars and formed The Kinks. They still argued a lot but communicated with songs. That’s why music matters”.

Chris Morrison, CMO Management: “This is the right time for a campaign like Music Matters. Musicians need encouragement as they work out how to continue to make a living. We need to champion music in our lives and we need people to dedicate their lives to making it.”

Check out the new updated and refreshed facebook page with exciting new content, latest stories and engage with other fans. Head over to the page now.

Record Of The Year Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon Song Of The Year Use Somebody Kings of Leon Best New Artist MGMT The Ting Tings Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals Kids - MGMT Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Your Songs - Harry Connick, Jr. Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - Bob Dylan Working On A Dream - Bruce Springsteen Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon Best Hard Rock Performance War Machine - AC/DC Best Metal Performance Dissident Aggressor - Judas Priest Hate Worldwide - Slayer Best Rock Song Use Somebody - Kings of Leon Working On A Dream - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen) Best Rock Album Black Ice - AC/DC Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Lions, Tigers & Bears - Jazmine Sullivan Best R&B Song Lions, Tigers & Bears - Salaam Remi & Jazmine Sullivan, songwriters (Jazmine Sullivan) Best Americana Album Together Through Life - Bob Dylan Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media The Wrestler (From The Wrestler) - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)