Search Results for: Elektra Records

New York – Warner Music Group Corp., one of the world’s largest record companies, on Friday disclosed plans to go public, filing with regulators to sell up to $750 million worth of common stock. In a Securities and Exchange Commission statement, the company did not estimate how many shares or at what price it planned to offer its stock in the initial public offering, but said shares will be sold by both the company and several shareholders. Proceeds from the deal will be used to repay debt and for general corporate purposes, according to the SEC document. New York-based Warner… Read more »

Time Warner Inc.’s $2.6 billion sale of Warner Music Group to an investor group led by former Universal media conglomerate chief Edgar Bronfman Jr. was completed Monday, and the newly formed independent music company began an anticipated wave of cuts by ousting three high-ranking label executives, sources said. Atlantic Records co-chairman Val Azzoli and president Ron Shapiro stepped down, as did Elektra Records chief executive Sylvia Rhone, a source close to the company said on condition of anonymity. Rhone had been at Warner for at least a decade. Azzoli and Shapiro had also been with the company for several years.… Read more »

Phish’s Mike Gordon was cleared of child endangerment charges this morning, more than a month after the bassist was found alone with a nine-year-old girl in a boathouse during a concert by the Dead at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York. “I am glad all the charges against me have been dismissed and I can put this misunderstanding behind me,” he said in a statement. “I am grateful for the support I’ve received from my friends and fans.” After the August 11th incident Gordon, 38, claimed that he was taking art pictures of the girl. The Nassau County District… Read more »

Jason Mraz’s year at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy is paying off after all. In the video for his new single, “You and I Both,” the singer/songwriter puts some of his musical-theater skills to use. “I’m in love with a bank teller,” Mraz said, explaining the clip. “I’m just trying to make a deposit and I’m misinterpreted, I’m misread going into the bank when I slip her a love letter. The bank manager thinks it’s like a robbery note, he sounds the alarm, all hell breaks loose and a big dance number breaks out. You know, that’s what usually… Read more »

Trey Anastasio spent 17 years ripping genres apart and sticking them back together at odd angles with the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink uber-jam band Phish. So maybe it’s no surprise he’s whipped up another unusual concoction: a jam/swing hybrid dotted with sugary-sweet love songs and chamber music. The self-titled release has the elements you’d expect from Anastasio, from the drawn-out, frenetic jams to the catchy guitar riffs. But it’s also a departure: It’s got horns, it’s got soul, it’s got more horns. It’s clearly not a Phish album hiding under a different name. “I’ve been listening to a lot of big band music,”… Read more »

Why name a songbird Tweet? It’s a simple question, but Charlene Keys, a.k.a. Tweet, can’t remember exactly how the nickname came about. “Maybe I had a big head like the Tweety Bird character,” she joked recently. “I’ve been Tweet since I was a little girl. It’s been a nickname that everybody in my family wants to get credit for. ‘I named her that. No, I named her that.’ ” The Rochester, New York, native does know how she can justify naming her album Southern Hummingbird, despite hailing from the North. That ties back to her kinfolk as well. “I’m the… Read more »

Third Eye Blind are making headway on their third album and eyeing a summer release, despite being interrupted in the studio by a few high-profile guests. In-your-face party starter Andrew W.K. showed up and added backing vocals to the song “F-ked up Kid,” while Kimya Dawson of lo-fi indie band the Moldy Peaches donated her voice to “Self Righteous.” The most famous visitor to stop by the San Francisco studio, however, did not collaborate. He does own the place, though. While at Skywalker Sound, Third Eye Blind presented “Star Wars” director George Lucas with a plaque commemorating the 6 million… Read more »