AP scoop: Dalai Lama to drop debut album

Mesfin Fekadu, music writer, New York, gave AP a six-hour beat on all competitors with a report that the Dalai Lama would release his first-ever album; the story was picked up by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard and other publications. The album, featuring teachings and mantras by the Dalai Lama set to music, is to be released July 6 on the religious leader’s 85th birthday. Fekadu’s story included the first interview with the musician who proposed the project to the Dalai Lama.