plus: Another merger. Brian Eno. RIAA stats. Ratt [ tickets ].

Radiohead [ tickets ] is planning a North American tour to begin in June, Billboard reported.

Johnny Cash [ tickets ] was released from a Nashville hospital on Wednesday (2/21), the Associated Press reported. He was admitted for treatment of pneumonia on Feb. 11.

Viacom announced its merger with Infinity Broadcasting. According to Viacom, "Viacom's well-known brands [now] include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, UPN, TNN: The National Network, CMT: Country Music Television, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster."

Producer Brian Eno has created an art project called "Compact Forest Proposal." According to Salon:

Upon entering a darkened room, the first things you see are vertical ropes of white Christmas lights settling into piles on the floor. Simple, slow music--a bass guitar and a bell and human voice (both digitally altered)--drips from various areas of the darkened room. When your eyes adjust, other items come into view: 10 boomboxes and a handful of grids, all hanging on the walls in rainbow-shaped arc. The overall effect is a bit like waking up without an alarm clock.

The project will be featured at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art beginning March 3. Eno is quoted as saying the project's space is "the kind of place I'd want to be in, a place where nothing's going on."

The Recording Industry Association of America issued a report saying that music sales from manufacturers to retailers went down 7% in 2000, Variety reported.

Steven Pearcy, the former lead singer for '80s hair-metal band Ratt, has sued former bandmates Robert Blotzer and Warren DeMartini, as well as manager Tim Heyne, according to published reports. Pearcy is claiming breach of contract and dissemination of false information on the Internet.