Search Results for: miss may i

The latest version of Napster’s file-swapping software includes technology that can identify songs by sound, not just their names, the company said Monday. In a posting on its Web site, the company said so-called sound fingerprinting will help the company comply with a federal judge’s order to block the free exchange of copyrighted songs and to add yet-to-be-announced features. Since March, Napster has been excluding copyright songs based on file names, which can vary substantially from user to user. For example, one user may offer the song, “Yesterday,” while another may misspell it “Yesterdy” to make it difficult to block.… Read more »

Reuters reports that Bertelsmann Music Group is now seeking to make cooperation deals or small acquisitions following the collapse of merger talks with EMI. BMG, the music division of German media giant Bertelsmann, ranks last among the Big 5 music majors worldwide, behind Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Warner Music. The company said on Tuesday it had abandoned merger talks with EMI after failing to resolve issues identified by the European Commission as regulatory problems. Bertelsmann Chief Executive Rolf Schmidt-Holtz told Reuters, “We can easily cooperate with anybody. We have of course identified partners.” Schmidt-Holtz said BMG… Read more »

New subscribers to AOL Time Warner Inc.’s flagship Internet service in the United States will have the first crack at scoring tickets to pop diva Madonna’s first world tour in 8 years. In yet another cross-promotion effort to market the company’s traditional media assets, which include music artists such as Eric Clapton and Faith Hill and movies like “The Perfect Storm,” AOL said it will offer new subscribers a chance to buy tickets to Madonna’s world tour on May 6 – before tickets go on sale to the general public about a week later. Web surfers will be able to… Read more »

The Backstreet Boys, in Brazil for two concerts this week, have urged their young fans to take care of themselves so they did not faint and miss the excitement. Dozens of fans have been camping outside the Rio and Sao Paulo show venues for days to ensure they get a front-row view of their idols. While grateful for the support, the boy band’s members said Tuesday they sometimes worried about their fans. “It’s very flattering,” band member A.J. McLean said at a news conference. “But at the same time it’s a little bit scary that they don’t eat, don’t drink… Read more »

EMI Group, the world’s fifth-biggest music company, and Bertelsmann’s BMG music unit may call off merger talks, reports said on Monday. EMI’s labels represent popular artists such as the Spice Girls,Ý Fat Boy Slim, and Radiohead. BMG’s artists include Whitney Houston, David Bowie, and Christina Aguilera. Both companies continue to talk but are awaiting merger conditions from the European Commission early this week. Those conditions could mean that the combined group may have to sell businesses to get regulator approval. Talks to form the world’s biggest music company have been ongoing for the last six months and have at times… Read more »

Joey Ramone’s mother promised her son a 50th birthday party and he is going to get one. On May 19 – what would have been the punk-rock icon’s big day – family, friends, fans and, of course, other bands will honor the late Ramones singer at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. “In the weeks prior to his death, we often talked about his upcoming 50th birthday, and Mickey [Leigh, Ramone’s brother] and I promised Joey that for this very special day, we would throw the best and biggest birthday bash he ever had,” Charlotte Lesher, Ramone’s mother, said in a… Read more »

The American ear has been both excited and soothed, thanks to the crystal clear sound of CDs and digital music downloaded from the Web. So that makes the hiss, crackle and static of the AM and FM radio even less appealing, and more frightening for those who make a living in radio. Facing the reality that consumers are demanding better quality audio, broadcasters gathered here at a convention are looking to retool by moving from analog to digital. The result of this, say industry leaders attending the National Association of Broadcasters meeting, will be FM radio in CD-quality and AM… Read more »

Citing the powerful allure that Napster’s free service has had on millions of music fans, the head of MusicNet – a new music subscription joint venture backed by three of the world’s biggest record labels – sounded a note of cautious optimism Tuesday. “It’s still unproven that people will go from paying zero to a reliable but paid service,” said Rob Glaser, chief executive of media software giant RealNetworks Inc. and acting CEO of MusicNet. “I’m optimistic, but until it plays out in the marketplace, its not proven,” Glaser said, speaking at a Beverly Hills breakfast for entertainment executives and… Read more »

With the Hollywood-Washington war expected to be reignited today, Motion Picture Assn. of America prexy-CEO Jack Valenti on Monday warned lawmakers in no uncertain terms to back off. “May God save the First Amendment,” Valenti said during a keynote speech before the National Assn. of Broadcasters, which is meeting here for its annual confab. Valenti, like his counterparts in the music biz, was gearing up for the release this morning of a Federal Trade Commission report that will chart how well the entertainment biz has done in stopping the marketing of violent or suggestive fare to kids. The FTC reportedly… Read more »

Eminem avoided jail time when a judge sentenced him on Tuesday to two years’ probation for carrying a concealed weapon. But the rapper must refrain from excessive alcohol or drug use for those two years, undergo counseling, avoid “assaultive behavior” and can’t own or possess firearms or other weapons. Macomb County Circuit Judge Antonio P. Viviano also told Eminem he must get the court’s permission if he wants to leave the continental United States during that period. Prosecutors had sought a jail sentence of four to six months after Eminem pleaded guilty to the felony in February in a plea-bargain… Read more »