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Verizon Wireless stood up for its own rights Friday, continuing to sell Bob Marley ringtones despite his estate's objections. The late reggae icon's family claims that Verizon, which has a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, never got the estate's permission to use the tunes. Calling it a beef between the Marley-owned Fifty Six Hope Road Music Ltd. and Universal, Verizon gave the companies a week to sort out their differences and then put the songs, including hits such as "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Redemption Song," back on the download market.

The Phil Spector jury completed its fifth day of deliberations Friday without reaching a verdict and will pick up again on Monday. The nine men and three women have spent about 22 hours total rehashing the case. Spector is facing 15 years to life in prison if he's convicted of second-degree murder.

Billboard has tapped country superstar Reba McEntire to be its inaugural Woman of the Year, coinciding with its second annual Women in Music issue, hitting newsstands early next month. The music mag credits McEntire's success in music, TV, publishing, and movies among the reasons for the honor, which also happens to coincide with the release of the Nashville-based redhead's first studio album in four years (and her 25th overall), Reba: Duets, which drops Sept. 18. Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Faith Hill, and LeAnn Rimes are just a few of the big names who lent their voices to the star-studded effort.

Britney Spears' attorney, Laura Wasser has asked a judge to "stop the madness" and bar the media from gaining access to child custody and financial support arrangements between Spears and Kevin Federline for the sake of the ex-couple's two sons. An attorney for People magazine and NBC4 argued for access to the documents, citing two cases he said made clear that not all documents in family law cases, including those dealing with child custody, can be entirely sealed.

Madonna celebrated the Jewish New Year in Israel Friday by taking part in a Kabbalah conference with hundreds of fellow devotees, among them Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. The Material Mom touched down in the Holy Land Wednesday, but has declined to speak to the media about her visit.

Mindy McCready has been sentenced to a year in prison for violating her probation on a 2004 drug charge by getting charged in a domestic dispute in Florida. The singer has been in jail since July, when she returned to Nashville after being accused of scratching her mother in an argument and resisting arrest in her hometown of Fort Myers.

T.I. leads the field in nominations for the BET Hip Hop Awards with a total of nine, while Lil' Wayne trails close behind with seven and Kanye West with six. Nelly, Lil' Wayne, West, and Common are scheduled to perform at the awards, scheduled for Oct. 13 at Atlanta's Civic Center.

Fred Durst pled no contest last month to seven misdemeanors, including assault, battery, and reckless driving, for deliberately hitting two people with his car, court documents show. The Limp Bizkit frontman was handed a 120-day suspended sentence, ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, and fined $1,500. He was also slapped with a restraining order saying he must stay at least 100 yards away from the victims, whose names weren't released.

Shakira has been taking a class at UCLA titled Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations from Prehistory to Circa A.D. 843, her manager confirmed to the Associated Press. The professor of the class, which ended Thursday, said he had no idea he had been lecturing a pop star, but admitted that he was very impressed with Shakira's intelligence.

Record producer Carlos Evans sued 50 Cent, Lil' Kim, Atlantic, and Rotten Apple Records for $2 million on Thursday, claiming he was never paid the royalties he was entitled to for his work on the Lil' Kim hit "Magic Stick." Fiddy's involved because, according to Evans' lawsuit, the track was originally intended to appear on Get Rich or Die Tryin'. A Rotten Apple attorney said the royalties matter was convoluted because Evans used a large sample of another artist's work that had to be licensed and paid for.

The Phil Spector jury went home after its fourth day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict. While court was never in session on Fridays throughout the four-month-long murder trial, the nine men, three women, and four alternates...there were five but one was excused to go on a pre-planned trip...will reconvene tomorrow.

"I Swear" singer John Michael Montgomery asked a judge this week to dismiss the slander suit brought against him by fired Lexington, Ky., police officer Joshua Cromer, who claims that the country star made false statements about him to internal affairs officers following Montgomery's February 2006 DUI bust. In his motion to dismiss, Montgomery states that he was cooperating with the police, so whatever he told them during his interview is privileged, and that what he said was "pure opinion." Cromer had posted pictures and comments about the singer's arrest on MySpace after it went down, actions which also reportedly contributed to his termination.

Tommy Lee has responded to recent reports that he has quit Mötley Crüe with a statement acknowledging his "future with the band is uncertain." However, the rocker said he had informed his band mates that he would not be walking away from his band of 25 years and hoped that the band would be able to work through its differences.

As first reported by E! Online's Marc Malkin, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline met up Wednesday in the Los Angeles offices of Spears' attorney, Laura Wasser, supposedly to hash out some issues in their custody battle before facing off in family court Monday. The meeting fell on son Jayden James' first birthday; their other son, Sean Preston, turns two on Friday.

Looks like 50 Cent might be headed for early retirement. The hip-hopster's latest album, Curtis, was on track to sell 550,000 copies in its first week of release, per Billboard, while rival Kanye West's new album, Graduation, was on pace to sell between 575,000 and 700,000 copies. Fiddy has famously vowed to call it quits if West outdid him in first week sales...a pledge he may live to regret.

Phil Spector is still neither guilty nor innocent of the murder of Lana Clarkson after the jury concluded its third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict. They are expected to resume Thursday morning. Before leaving for the day, L.A. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler instructed the 12 jurors and five alternates to not watch a "Dateline NBC" episode about the trial scheduled to air Wednesday night. To juror who is actually a "Dateline" producer, Fidler said, You're on "lifetime jury duty." "I thought I was already," the juror replied.

Unlike Nicole Richie, Foxy Brown will not be doing time while pregnant. The rapper's manager said Wednesday that Brown is not with child, despite her lawyer's courtroom claim last month that she was three months pregnant. The news came in connection with an announcement from Brown's record label that she will be releasing a new album while incarcerated. The rapper was sentenced last week to one year in jail for violating her probation.

Diddy is being asked to turn over photos of some of his bling for inspection by a man who claims he was assaulted by the rapper following a post-Oscar bash at a Hollywood hotel. A lawyer for the alleged victim filed court documents Monday demanding that Diddy submit photos of some of his rings to see if they match up with his client's injuries.

E!'s Ryan Seacrest has confirmed that rapper Kanye West will be performing at the Emmy Awards Sunday.

Led Zeppelin announced a reunion concert Wednesday, scheduled to take place in November at London's 02 Arena. John Bonham's son Jason is expected to take his father's place on drums, alongside original band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones. The legendary group disbanded in 1980, after Bonham's death.

The White Stripes have canceled their upcoming tour dates, due to "health issues," according to a posting on the band's official Website. "Meg White is suffering from acute anxiety and is unable to travel at this time," the duo said Tuesday. "We hate to let people down and are very sorry." Shows in Albuquerque and Austin, as well as three dates in California, have been called off.

Can't make it to Texas for the Austin City Limits Festival? Take heart...you can still catch performances by bands including Arcade Fire, Bob Dylan, the Decemberists, the Killers, and many more online through the AT&T Blue Room. The site will host an exclusive live Webcast of the concert beginning Friday and running through Sunday.

Justin Timberlake has called off his show scheduled for Tuesday at Arco Arena in Sacramento after suffering "vocal strain" brought on by his performance at the awards, combined with months of rigorous touring. The show will now take place Sept. 25 instead. Timberlake's Wednesday concert in San Jose has also been rescheduled for Sept. 23.

Usher, Ludacris, Wyclef Jean, and Talib Kweli have joined the all-star lineup for the Dream Concert to benefit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Carlos Santana, and John Legend are also among the artists participating in the event, scheduled to take place Sept. 18 at Radio City Music Hall.

Trick Daddy was arrested at a Miami strip club early Tuesday after he allegedly got into a fight with another patron, authorities said. The rapper, who was bleeding from cuts on his nose and cheek when police arrived, was taken to an area hospital for treatment, and charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest.

Britney Spears flailed at the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday, while her ex, Justin Timberlake, was the night's big winner. Spears' performance of her new song, "Gimme More," fell flat, with the tarnished pop princess failing to conceal that she was lip-synching, and falling badly out of step on her choreography. Timberlake, on the other hand, collected two out of the seven Moon Men for which he was nominated: Male Artist of the Year and Quadruple Threat of the Year. "I want to challenge MTV right now to play more videos!" Timberlake said upon accepting the latter award. In the off-camera highlight of the night, Kid Rock and Tommy Lee got into a brawl at the VMAs. No word on what Pamela Anderson's exes could possibly have been fighting over. Rock was later cited for misdemeanor battery, police said.

Unsurprisingly, the Phil Spector jury concluded its first day of deliberations Monday without arriving at a verdict. The nine men and three women who hold the famed music producer's fate in their hands will reconvene Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. He is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Lana Clarkson and is facing 15 years to life in prison if convicted. London's Mail on Sunday reported Spector told a documentary filmmaker the judge "doesn't like me" and that the jurors thought he was either guilty or insane. "I did not make those statements. They are reprehensible and false," Spector said. Meanwhile, both Spector and his wife were slapped with a gag order after Rachelle Spector sent emails to reporters over the weekend, calling attention to a TV interview she had given, even though the judge had warned her against such activity.

Tito, Jackie, Marlon, Jermaine, and Katherine Jackson have penned an open letter in support of their brother and son Michael Jackson, in which they deny published reports that he is addicted to alcohol and painkillers and that they have ever attempted to stage an intervention. "Michael Jackson, and the Jackson family, has endured years of false accusations and misrepresentations," the family wrote. "It is time for these unfair and hurtful rumors, for profit, to end."

JC Chasez has left his longtime label Jive Records, per published reports. The former 'N Syncer's sophomore solo album, Kate, had been scheduled for release by Jive earlier this year, but it will now appear on an as-yet unrevealed label. Chasez told Entertainment Weekly that he and Jive reached a "mutual decision" to part ways.

Eve is a free woman. The rapper revealed to "E! News" Saturday that her electronic alcohol-monitoring bracelet had been removed. "It's a new day," she said. "As of 10:30 a.m. this morning, my ankle bracelet was removed, and I'm really excited about it!" Eve was sentenced to wear the ankle bracelet for 45 days after pleading no contest to drunken driving after an April crash.

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