As reported yesterday, British record label Independiente and the U.S. arm of Domino Recording Company are suing Guns N' Roses, claiming the group used two unauthorized samples of songs by German musician Ulrich Schnauss on their song "Riad N' the Bedouins" from Chinese Democracy. Today, Guns N' Roses manager Irving Azoff issued a statement and said that there are no unauthorized samples on the track. "The snippets of ‘ambient noise’ in question were provided by a member of the album’s production team who has assured us that these few seconds of sound were obtained legitimately," the statement reads. "Artists these days can’t read the minds of those they collaborate with and therefore are unfortunately vulnerable to claims like this one. While the band resents the implication that they would ever use another artist’s work improperly and are assessing possible counterclaims, they are confident this situation will be satisfactorily resolved."

Starting yesterday (October 6), Thirty Seconds To Mars kicked off a Twitter-powered contest to give away 30 guitars in 30 days. Co-presented by Culture Jam and Michael Kelly Guitars, fans can enter to win 1 of 30 Nostalgia Series guitars (including fitted hard-shell cases) by sending a single tweet through Culture Jam’s custom application at: thirtysecondstomars.culturejam.com. The band will select one winner daily. 30STM's new single, "Kings And Queens," arrived at radio this week and will be available digitally on October 13. Their new album, This Is War, will arrive December 8.

Shakira

N.E.R.D. has added a fourth official member to the eclectic band. Pharrell Williams tells MTV News that the one-named Rhea has joined the lineup for their fourth album, Instant Gratification, due out in 2010. "Musically, we're just somewhere else [with her]," Williams said. "The music is now very 3-D. It's something you have to hear. But you'll see. We're definitely somewhere else. I want to leave that impact moment for when you purchase your download and you purchase your CD. The music is very three-dimensional. We're just really excited. We feel like N.E.R.D. has always been the punks of hip-hop and the outcasts of alternative music — just a little different. But this time, we're taking no prisoners."

The video for Death Cab For Cutie's new single, "Meet Me On The Equinox," will debut tonight (10/7) on MTV and MTV.com at 8 p.m., followed by MTV Hits, mtvU & MTV Tr3s at 9 p.m. and it will make its AMTV / AMTV2 debut starting at 3 a.m. on Thursday, October 8. The track comes from the anticipated Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, due out October 19.

The original lineup of rap group Goodie Mob will reunite for the first time in a decade, touring this fall. Goodie Mob will perform live at the BET Awards this weekend, then kick off their trek in New Orleans on October 15, with dates announced up to November 15 in New Haven, CT. Goodie Mob is Cee-Lo (from Gnarls Barkley), Big Gipp, Khujo, and T-Mo.

Train will release their newest album, Save Me, San Francisco, on October 27, with a fall tour beginning on October 20 in Seattle. The trek, with Uncle Kracker opening, wraps in San Diego on December 11.

A new photo book of rock photography, Who Shot Rock And Roll, will be released October 22. Author and historian Gail Buckland has compiled approximately 200 photos of a wide variety of artists. While many have never been seen before, others are iconic shots of John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan and many others. A travelling museum exhibit of Who Shot Rock And Roll also launches this fall, starting with the Brooklyn Museum this month.