Pete Wentz is working with a new band called Black Cards, and it's sounding rather different than his former band. So much so, he's taken to his blog to warn fans of Fall Out Boy they might not like his new stuff. He wrote: "If it's not for you then we understand. [But] if you enjoy it, keep coming back".

There's a sample of a first track called 'Club Called Heaven' at www.Bl4ckc4rds.com. There is no specific word on when this or any other tracks are likely to be released, though Wentz implies it will be imminently.

How about some idle speculation about the future of Fall Out Boy? I say "idle speculation", it's Pete Wentz doing the speculating, who you might think should be as in tune with the future of the punky emo types as anyone, though he doesn't seem so sure.

In a posting on his website, the Fall Out Boy bassist writes: "To make it perfectly clear. I don't know the future of Fall Out Boy. It's embarrassing to say one thing and then have the future dictate another. As far as I know, Fall Out Boy is on break (no one wants to say the "h" word). As much as I don't have a solo project, I also can't predict that I'd ever play in Fall Out Boy again. Not due to personal relationships as [such, just that] as a band we grew apart".

He rambles on: "In this statement I'd like to include there is the possibility that FOB will play again without me or I will be a part of it when everyone is on the same page. It is no one's fault and there is no animosity about the decision. I felt as fans you deserve to know. There is no singular reason for this. The side-projects or bands are supported by all members of the band. I am the single biggest fan of FOB and if this is our legacy, then so be it. I am proud of it".

So, MIDEM's biggest celebrity booking on the conference side, Mr Pharrell Williams, reckons the internet age has seriously empowered artists, meaning his advice for new talent is this: set up a great website, hold on to your copyrights, and then get all synced up and chase the marketing man's pound.

Asked by the BBC at the Cannes convention this weekend what he would do if he was starting out as an artist in 2010, Williams said: "I would probably build a site, a home for my music, a destination where people could come and see me and what I do and what I'm thinking about. And then I'd probably assemble a team of kids that would go and bug the hell out of advertising agencies and marketing companies to use my music".

While he conceded a major label deal, and the money it delivers, still has an important part to play in launching many artist' careers, he said that new talent should consider approaching advertising and marketing agencies as much as traditional music companies. He told the Beeb: "I would want to establish myself and show the world that I have interesting music, but I would create that world. The more dimension that you give your music and your website, the more creative it becomes".

Williams was one of three big name artists appearing at MIDEM this year to basically speak out in support of the file-sharing community, despite many on the label and management sides of the industry being more hardline than ever about the evilness of the file-sharers.

As previously reported, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien said in a video message to the conference that he had a problem with those who say file-sharing is killing the industry, arguing that file-sharers pump money into the business through ticket and merchandise purchases. Williams, meanwhile, said he thought of file-sharing networks as a bit preview service for music fans. He mused: "I think it's cool that people [can] test [music] out. I think that's a good thing".

Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz, speaking about fan engagement, didn't deal with the file-sharing issue quite so head on, but implied that he saw file-sharing communities as another tool through which artists can develop their fan relationships, which will in turn pay dividends. According to the BBC, he told the conference: "To me, the more the fan is interacting with you and feels part of the community, the more interested they will be in buying your music or coming out to your shows".

He continued: "I think it's a great time to be in music, and a horrible time to be in music, because a lot of things can go wrong. But it's kind of the wild west, and as long as you've got a pistol and you're ready to shoot somebody, it's going to be OK".

Talking of fan engagement and artist empowerment, artist manager Mark Wood of Radius Music made an interesting point in another session, when the conversation moved to the role of Twitter.

Referencing one of his artists, Imogen Heap, he said Twitter was a great tool for artists in that it gives them a real connection to and insight of their fanbase, which enables them to make better choices when entering into business relationships with labels, merchandisers or marketing partners.

According to Billboard, Wood observed: "[Thanks to Twitter] Imogen's more in tune with her fans than I am. You can't pull the wool over her eyes (not that I ever would) about a t-shirt design or something, because she's already polled it and 5,000 people have said they don't like it".

Fall Out Boy have decided to go on indefinite hiatus, and bassist Pete Wentz reckons it's all down to him and his crazy tabloid antics.

Wentz told Kerrang!: "My biggest personal reason for taking a break is that I feel my name has become a hindrance for the band. [Frontman Patrick Stump] is a musical genius and it's unfortunate that he gets reviewed based on whatever's going on in my personal life or how my hair looks. I think the world needs a little less Pete Wentz. A lot of people think Fall Out Boy is me. But it's the four of us. I want to fucking vomit when I read intros that say, 'Pete Wentz: accidental internet poster boy'. It makes me feel ugly. People who read the tabloids probably think all I do is visit Starbucks and hang out in nightclubs".

And this after Thrash Hits named them one of the bands of the decade: www.thrashhits.com/2009/11/bands-of-the-decade-fall-out-boy/

Pete Wentz has got over the fear that he will one day murder someone close to him. However, because of that, he's now convinced that someone close to him is going to cause his death. Pete Wentz is weird.

He told Now Magazine: "I used to think that some day I'd end up murdering a close friend or relative. Now it's reversed and I'm convinced it's going to happen to me. That's the way I'm going out, I'm completely sure of it. So I refuse to answer the front door - it greatly minimises that risk".