Jessica Simpson [ tickets ] reportedly has followed former Columbia Records executive Charlie Walk to Epic Records, where Walk recently took over as president. Both labels fall under the Sony-BMG corporate umbrella.

Billboard.com reports that Simpson's Epic debut should be in stores by the end of the year, and will be preceded by a single.

Nikki Sudden died Sunday (3/26) in New York City after performing at The Knitting Factory the night before. The cause of death hasn't been disclosed; he was 49.

According to the Secretly Canadian label, Sudden has recorded more than 20 albums as a solo artist and with his bands, which included Swell Maps, The Jacobites and The Last Bandits.

Prior to launching his last US tour, he completed his latest album, "The Truth Doesn't Matter," and was finishing his autobiography, according to his label.

The Raconteurs [ tickets ]--featuring fellow Detroit musicians Jack White (The White Stripes) and Brendan Benson--will issue their debut album, "Broken Boy Soldiers," on May 16.

Two songs from the album--including the video for lead single "Steady, As She Goes," are streaming at the group's website.

Four KC & The Sunshine Band albums will be reissued on CD by Collectors Choice Music on April 25.

The albums--"KC & the Sunshine Band [ tickets ]," "Sounds of Sunshine," "Part 3" and "Who Do Ya Love"--were first released from 1975 through 1978.