Paul McCartney offers a clue to the identity of Eleanor Rigby

A fascinating story on MSNBC.com this morning tells the tale of a woman who wrote to former Beatle Paul McCartney seeking a charitable donation and instead received a tantalizing clue to the identity of one of pop music's most famous and speculated-upon figures: the title subject of The Beatles' classic hit "Eleanor Rigby."

When Annie Mawson of the Sunbeams Music Trust opened the envelope she received back from McCartney some nine months after mailing her original request for a half million pounds, she found not a check, but a 1911 salary register from Liverpool City Hospital that features the name E. Rigby, a scullery maid whose annual earnings were 14 pounds. It's unclear when McCartney acquired the document, but regardless, the Sunbeams Music Trust is anticipating a payday of 500,000 pounds ($775,000) or so when it puts the artifact up for auction this month.

Rolling Stones get what they want from Universal

Big news in the world of corporate labeldom today as erstwhile world's biggest band The Rolling Stones announced they have left EMI and moved over to Universal. This is an unwelcome development for both EMI -- which recently lost both Radiohead and Paul McCartney -- and Live Nation, which had been lobbying hard to sign the Stones. In an industry in the midst of a wrenching transition in both business model and product delivery systems, it's a sign that there is still money to be made making and selling music.