Names and Faces

Garth Brooks is finally embracing digital music, but he's doing it his own way. Brooks, one of the last holdout big-name musicians still refusing to put his music on iTunes, said Thursday that he will make his catalog of hits and new music available for download only through his own website. He said the digital downloads of previous music would be available in a few weeks to tide fans over until a new album comes out later this year. The 52-year-old country star remains one of music's top-selling artists, with 134 million albums sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. He has said in the past that he had no animosity toward Apple but disagreed with its approach to selling music. Other performers who refused to join iTunes but later reached deals include AC/DC, Radiohead and Led Zeppelin. ITunes was launched in 2001. "So, we'll be doing our digital the best way we can, the only way we know how, because we are the only ones who kind of play our own way," Brooks said at a news conference in Nashville, Tenn. He also announced a new deal with the Sony Music label, which will put out an album of his first new music since 2001. Brooks said it would likely be issued sometime around Thanksgiving. The first city on his tour will be announced Tuesday, according to Sony.

Rosie O'Donnell will return to ABC's The View in September for a second act. ABC announced Thursday, via Twitter, that O'Donnell will join Whoopi Goldberg on the nearly empty couch at the daytime chatfest. Show creator Barbara Walters retired in the spring from on-air appearances, Sherri Shepherd announced she was leaving after seven years, and ABC didn't renew the contract of Jenny McCarthy after only one season. The round table has generally had five hosts, including Walters, throughout its history. This season there are four. O'Donnell, the veteran comedian whose daytime talk show was wildly popular in the 1990s, spent a combative eight months on The View, ending in 2007. She frequently made news, feuding with the likes of Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch, and the show's ratings went up. But after a nasty on-air argument with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, O'Donnell asked to be let out of her contract. Hasselbeck is gone now, having left The View to join Fox News Channel.

A Section on 07/12/2014

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