According to the AP, Conan O'Brien is planning to release a vinyl record. Yes, really. 

The future TBS late-night host has been touring the country on his "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" since April 12 and performed a special set with The White Stripes' Jack White on Thursday at White's Third Man Records in Nashville.

The show was recorded and a release has been planned. At one point during the set, O'Brien and White had to stop while the reel was changed, according to the official tour blog.

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Conan O'Brien's live tour has been announced officially. I told you about it on March 5.The tour starts on April 12 -- I was asked to say "mid-April" because the dates weren't all booked -- and in Eugene, Ore., of all places. (This column said it would be in Seattle or San Diego. At least we were on the right coast!)Conan's tour will be a hot, hot ticket. And the funniest thing about it will be charting the travel arrangements of all the guests who come and go. Some cities, like Eugene, are going to be quite busy rolling out the red carpets. That could be the most hilarious part of the tour!

Conan O'Brien is hitting the road.Sources tell me the great comic and talk show host will hit the road beginning in mid-April. The first stop will be on the West Coast, probably San Diego or Seattle. Details are being worked out now.The tour will not start in Phoenix, despite a TMZ report today. Indeed, my sources say that the Phoenix date announced by TMZ was from overzealous promoter. "It might not even happen now," my source says.O'Brien will likely have sidekick Andy Richter with him on the dates. Plans are also being worked out now for a live band, hopefully with Max Weinberg. But that part is still being sorted out, says my source.The national tour will of course eventually include Los Angeles, where Jay Leno is located, and O'Brien's stomping grounds of New York. I'm also told right now that several promoters including AEG Live and Live Nation are involved.More to come shortly ... but talk about a hot ticket. This will be THE event of the spring, without a doubt ...

Conan O'Brien seems like he's in purgatory right now, but not exactly.I am told that the Fox deal for a late-night show is moving forward with "everyone talking." Among the obstacles, as I reported here first when the whole NBC debacle began: clearing Fox stations for an 11:30 p.m. show. The Fox network signs off every night at 10 p.m.Read the rest of this entry »

Believe it or not, despite "scoops" everywhere, nothing has happened on the Conan O'Brien front.No offers have been presented in writing, and Conan's staff still has no info on their severance packages.You'd think by now this deal would be done. But nothing at NBC is simple, least of all this.Read the rest of this entry »

I'm hearing the total buyout amount for Conan O'Brien will be about $35 million -- but that's just for him.The actual total will be much higher -- around $50 million. The extra $15 million would cover Conan's employees, many of whom are not covered by contracts or unions but moved to Los Angeles from New York with no guarantees.Sources say the deal, however, is not signed and the bickering continues. What's it all about? Those employees. Sources say NBC is not keen to pay all those bills and wants O'Brien to take care of his people himself -- even though it's the responsibility of NBC/GE/Comcast.At the same time, sources say that previous reports about how O'Brien's contract is being handled are incorrect. One report suggested that Conan's payout would be offset by any money he signed for with his next employer -- perhaps Fox. But sources insist that there will be no offset, and O'Brien will keep everything from the settlement and be free to earn whatever he can in the future.In the meantime, Conan looks like he's trotting out the big-gun celebrities this coming month. Many of them -- like Tom Hanks and Martin Scorsese -- are represented by 42West, the powerhouse PR firm that works for O'Brien too. If Conan's ending his "Tonight Show" run, he's going to do it with enormous ratings.

Sources tell me that Conan O'Brien's deal to exit NBC is "very close" to being signed. "The lawyers are almost finished," the source says.The deal would likely allow O'Brien to finish his stint on "The Tonight Show" next Friday. After that, O'Brien will be free to negotiate a deal elsewhere. Although a deal with Fox remains a question mark, another source close to the situation did concede, "Kevin Reilly loves Conan."Contrary to fevered reports, no agreements have been signed.Stay tuned.

Read Conan O'Brien's statement. He's pushing back at NBC. He's not leaving. He just won't do the "Tonight Show" at 12:05 a.m.What did I tell you yesterday? "The Tonight Show" has aired at 11:30 p.m. or 11:35 p.m. since 1954. Conan's right, essentially.Is it a legal joust? Probably. He's not quitting. He just won't do what's in violation of his agreement.So now what? A Conan insider responded with these words: "Don't know." And they mean it. No one knows what the next move is  for either Conan or Jay Leno.What could Conan do at NBC? Primetime? Switch him with Jay? That's not going to happen. And so even though Conan says he has no plans, the odds are now that he'll leave NBC for Fox or whatever. I just hope he comes back to New York. His value is lost on the Left Coast.One thing's certain, though: Dave Letterman is having a ball. His monologue last night was brilliant. And his imitation of Jay was absolutely brilliant. So all is not lost. Yet.Related: THR's James Hibberd on what's wrong with Conan's statement THR Esq.: Parsing the legal ramifications of the Conan/Leno madness

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are in the worst PR mess of all time.It almost doesn't matter how they got here — that's another story — but here's how they can get out of it.On Sunday, NBC cancelled the "Jay Leno Show," which no one watched anyway. They've invited Jay back to 11:35 p.m.. That's the "Tonight" show, no matter what they call it. Since Steven Allen started it in 1954, the "Tonight" show was broadcast at that hour after the local news. So Jay is back in charge, which only leaves one problem: Conan.O'Brien signed on for the "Tonight" show. Under the new plan, he would essentially be doing his old show, only a half-hour earlier. He might ask, like us, what's the point in that? In order to do the "Tonight" show, Conan and his staff had to leave New York after many years. Families were uprooted, there was a lot of upheaval.The truth is, Conan was better suited to New York. He's edgy and quirky. He's smart. He has East Coast written all over him. In L.A., he's a fish out of water. He'd be better off coming back, and restarting whatever he does from New York.Interestingly, much of what's happening is coming out of New York. This is where Jeff Zucker is, and this is where Lorne Michaels is. NBC has always been bipolar. The News Department, the Today show, and Saturday Night Live are on the East coast. Prime time television is on the West. Rarely did the twain meet. But Michaels also has "30 Rock" under his aegis, which has only increased his power on the West Coast. If anyone's in a position to broker a peace and calm every one down, it's him. He's also got Jimmy Fallon to worry about. (Fallon joked last week that soon he'd be doing his show opposite infomercials.)In the end, Conan may have no choice but to stay and do his best work at midnight. ABC doesn't need him now, with "Nightline" flourishing again. Fox is a dicey choice; they've never had success in talk shows, from Joan Rivers to Chevy Chase to "The Wilton North Report." They run local news at 10pm on most stations, followed by a half hour of syndicated reruns on local stations. By 11:30, their earlier, stronger audience from 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. has drifted off.The real winners here are television production companies, and the dozens of actors who have been unemployed this season because NBC had no dramas at 10 p.m. All the hospital, doctor, and lawyer shows, cop shows, and nighttime soaps will now flood the banks of 10 p.m. There's talk of yet another "Law & Order" — "Law & Order: Altoona" is still to come — set in Los Angeles.

There are reports all over the place since yesterday about Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. Their situation is a mess. One of them will have to go, or both of them will have to share the time slot from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weeknights.But here's what everyone's missing: Lorne Michaels is the guy behind Conan. Lorne, the executive producer of "Saturday Night Live," has been a fixture at NBC longer than almost anyone — since 1975. He handpicked Conan to replace David Letterman years ago, and was executive producer of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."On top of that, Lorne is also the guy behind "30 Rock," NBC's biggest hit and award-winning comedy. How ironic: the hottest show on NBC is in the hands of a guy who lampoons the network on the show. And that same guy's protege is in the middle of a network power struggle.If NBC screws Conan in this battle, Michaels will not be a happy man. This is no small thing. His own contract with "SNL" runs through 2012. No one else can run that show. And it's unlikely that "30 Rock" can run without him. Plus, Lorne is the exec producer of Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night," a show that would be severely affected if it had to be moved back to 1:05 a.m. from its current 12:35 a.m. start time.It's a quandary.Some TV veterans made the argument to me last night that as much as everyone loves Jay Leno, he is now "damaged goods." Putting him back at 11:35 is not the answer, they say. Conan was the choice for the future. Stick with it, they say. Leno, scorned and unhappy, will move on to ABC or Fox or syndication. His monologue last night — that NBC stood for "Never Believe (your) Contract" — shows that he gets what's going on, and isn't taking it lightly, either.The good betting at NBC, though, never goes against Lorne Michaels. And if Conan and Jimmy are somehow hurt in this deal, it will be a surprise. Tina Fey is probably already writing an episode of "30 Rock" about it right now. Whatever happens, it won't be pretty.