R.E.M have a double anthology album and DVD planned for September that will cover their I.R.S. years from 1983-1987. The discs will contain unreleased material, live songs and rarities. R.E.M.'s original lineup of Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry were all involved in choosing the tracks. Additionally, the band will be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on Sept. 16 in Atlanta.

A group of breast cancer survivors from Seacoast, NH have created a 24-month calendar featuring photographs of women who have fought and beat cancer. All belong to a social network called "Breast Friends" started in 2003 by Newcastle resident Jacqui Bryan. WXRV/Boston PD Dana Marshall is one of the breast cancer survivors featured in the calendar. The women in this group have also founded a website for breast cancer patients. To read bout their stores and get details about the calendar, log on to www.breastcancerstories.com.

The Independent Music Awards is now in its sixth year, and many indie artists look to the IMA's international program to achieve their goals. Produced by The Musician's Atlas, a division of Music Resource Group, and co-sponsored by Borders Books & Music, IMA winners are promoted to more than 9 million music fans, radio programmers, talent buyers, journalists and other industry decisionmakers using direct marketing, promotions, print, broadcast and online initiatives.

The deadline for submission for the 2006 Independent Music Awards is Friday, Aug. 25. The IMA winners will be determined by a panel of influential recording artists and industry executives -- this year's panelists include Wynonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Cyndi Lauper, Buddy Guy, Fatboy Slim, Suzanne Vega, Afrika Bambaataa, Paul Oakenfold, Marc Ribot, Beenie Man, Howard Tate, David Grisman, Patty Loveless, Rob Wasserman and Bebel Gilberto.

For details, log on to www.independentmusicawards.com.

After much deliberation, the list of nominated albums for the U.K.'s Nationwide Mercury Prize has been announced. The winner will be named on Sept. 5. This list includes:
Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan Ballad of the Broken Seas
Editors The Back Room
Guillemots Through the Windowpane
Richard Hawley Coles Corner
Hot Chip The Warning
Muse Black Holes & Revelations
Zoe Rahman Melting Pot
Lou Rhodes Beloved One
Scritti Politti White Bread Black Beer
Sway This is My Demo
Thom Yorke The Eraser

This year, ASCAP joined with four of Alabama's leading music organizations -- The Music Preservation Society, The Muscle Shoals Music Association, Alabama Music Hall of Fame and legendary producer Rick Hall's FAME Music Group -- to present the W.C. Handy Music Festival and Songfest 2006. This year's weeklong music festival (July 21-29) celebrated its 25th anniversary. For more details, log on to www.blues.org.

Public station WAPS (The Summit)/Akron was voted Best Radio Station and WAPS morning host Heather Burns was voted Best Radio Personality by the readers of Akron Life & Leisure Magazine in their recent "Best Of Akron" edition ... Choreographer Twyla Tharp, who brought the music of Billy Joel to the theater with her hit show Movin' Out, is now preparing to bring the songs of Bob Dylan to Broadway. The Times They Are A-Changin', a musical conceived, directed and choreographed by the Tony Award-winning Tharp, is expected to open this fall ... RCA/Legacy is preparing a special four CD plus a DVD box set on Bruce Hornsby called Intersections 1985-2005. With a array of guest artists including Ricky Skaggs, Shawn Colvin and Jerry Garcia -- plus the 22-track DVD -- this collection is a portrait of the artist whose music has evolved through the years.