And finally, in time-honoured tradition, we at MusicRadar make our predictions for 2011. Here are twelve things that our editorial team believe will happen in the next twelve months. Each prediction is labelled with the name of the relevant team member so we can enjoy the kudos/wallow in the shame when our predictions come true/are proved spectacularly wrong.

Online music making will become big news. Ohm Force’s Ohm Studio is waiting in the wings, and if it works, other developers will surely release rival platforms. Ben Rogerson

Apple’s iTunes-based social network Ping will continue to flounder in the face of public indifference. Until playlists can contain our own songs or, better still, full streaming playback, Ping will always feel like a shop. We’ll stick with Spotify and Facebook, thanks. Will Groves

Anna Calvi will win the Mercury Music Prize. Chris Vinnicombe

James Blake is going to make big waves in the ‘cooler’ end of mainstream music culture when his (utterly brilliant) album drops in February (expect a rise to fame similar to The XX, Burial or Portishead and a definite Mercury Prize nomination). Si Truss

The 2011 X Factor series will be different. Instead of voting by telephone, Simon Cowell will sign every act on the shortlist to a temporary contract and ask the public to buy a download of their favourite contestant’s song after every live show. Tom Porter

Expect artists at all levels to release added-value standalone apps for iOS and android for both new and re-released material. Digital packaging could finally make sense in 2011. Will Groves

Guitar manufacturers will abandon 'robot'-type guitars that most human beings simply can't afford and will concentrate on doing what they should do: building well-made, user-friendly priced models and accurate reproductions of vintage and historical axes (the latter will still hit you hard in the wallet, however). Joe Bosso

The Beady Eye album won't be as badas people might expect, but it certainly won't live up to Liam's "better than Definitely Maybe" hype either. Noel Gallagher's first post-Oasis solo material will also see the light of day. It'll be better than Beady Eye. Chris Vinnicombe

SoundCloud will have another strong year and continue to become the essential online service for music makers wanting to share their tunes. MySpace, however, is only going to continue its nosedive towards total irrelevancy. Si Truss

The launch of the Mac App Store will lead to the release of more affordable iOS-style music-making software for OS X, though this will complement rather than replace our existing DAWs. In fact, we may see direct ports of some iPhone/iPad apps to Apple’s desktop platform. Ben Rogerson

Robbie Williams will quit, or be pushed, from Take That. The band will also call it a day six months later. Each band member will pursue various acting and solo careers, but Robbie’s will be by far the most successful. Tom Porter

Now that Apple has scored the ultimate coup in securing The Beatles' catalogue, they'll nab the last holdouts: AC/DC, Garth Brooks and Kid Rock. (Hell, even Fugazi are on iTunes!) Joe Bosso