The recording industry directed its anti-piracy campaign at large companies in the United States, Europe and Asia on Thursday, warning them that employees are illegally downloading music on company time. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a global trade group representing the major music labels, said it had begun issuing brochures to thousands of companies spelling out the legal and technological dangers of giving employees access to online file-sharing networks. “We were surprised to see that peer-to-peer services are being accessed by a lot of companies’ computer networks,” Allen Dixon, general counsel at IFPI in London told Reuters.… Read more »
As one of the forefathers of rap, with a history of social activism, Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay was an unlikely target for the kind of violence that killed rappers Tupac Shakur or the Notorious B.I.G. He was married with three kids, and a fixture in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. Yet authorities were searching Thursday for the gunman who killed the 37-year-old disc jockey with a gunshot to the head inside his recording studio. “Jam Master Jay was a longtime family man and one of the founders of the group that knocked down all the doors for hip-hop,… Read more »
In an industry that obsesses over first-week album sales, heavy MTV rotation and radio airplay, the Shortlist Music Prize is trying to help offbeat or niche recording artists find a wider audience. Now in its second year, the contest taps successful musicians to champion the work of peers who have yet to make an impact on the charts. Among this year’s “listmakers” are India.Arie, Alanis Morissette (news), U2’s Larry Mullen Jr., and filmmakers Baz Luhrmann (news) and Spike Jonze (news). “Most of the attention that records get as far as awards and all that stuff is based on record sales,… Read more »
U.S. lawmakers have asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to go after Internet users who download unauthorized songs and other copyrighted material, raising the possibility of jail time for digital-music fans. In a July 25 letter released late Thursday, some 19 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle asked Ashcroft to prosecute “peer-to-peer” networks like Kazaa and Morpheus and the users who swap digital songs, video clips and other files without permission from artists or their record labels. The Justice Department should also devote more resources to policing online copyrights, the lawmakers said in their letter. “Such an effort is increasingly… Read more »
LMiV has expanded their partnership with ScreamingMedia to provide their affiliate radio station websites with customized, real-time news and information relevant to their specific audiences. USA Today leads the roster of new content providers to LMiV affiliate station sites. As a result of the new arrangement, LMiV will now be able to deliver customized content from 3,000 Internet sources directly to LMiV affiliates. ScreamingMedia’s technology is capable of filtering incoming data feeds based on an individual station’s audience interests and subsequently deliver targeted information to individual station audiences. “This deal gives us more and more robust content that better matches… Read more »
The New York City Police Department has a message for the city’s hip-hop community: we’re watching you. Based on what it claims is a “culture of violence” in the hip-hop world, the police’s gang intelligence unit has begun watching nightclubs frequented by celebrity musicians. Police are also compiling a dossier on rappers and others in the music industry with criminal histories. “It would be ignorant for us to ignore the fact that there have been violent incidents where the only common denominator is the music industry,” police spokesperson Sgt. Brian Burke said Friday (April 20). “In an effort to ensure… Read more »
Future Teens are embarking on a journey today, not just with Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties on their UK tour, but also with a new track. The band poured their sorrow into the folk-indie single, “Mourning Time” via Take This To Heart Records. Over acoustic strums, vocalist Daniel Radin soulfully processes his woes. “‘Mourning Time is a grief song. It takes place during the anger stage of grief,” he says. “When I write a song it is to process something. Whether that’s a feeling, an emotion, a thought or an experience. Sometimes I don’t even know exactly what I’m experiencing… Read more »
On Episode #288 of Wesam’s World, we have Ari Goldman (Jiu Jitsu Black Belt) returning to the show! Tune in for an episode filled with chats about BJJ, fitness, living a healthy lifestyle, and more!
Wake me up when… the coffee finishes brewing! Building on the foundation of their decade-old Oakland Coffee brand, Green Day has introduced their new brand, Punk Bunny Coffee. The trio—Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool—has also partnered with Keurig Dr Pepper (KDRP) to further their commitment to sustainability. “For years, our band has been immersed in making damn good organic coffees with a strong focus on sustainability,” Dirnt shares in a press release. “Now in our 10th year, we are launching our new brand, Punk Bunny Coffee, and are proud to announce that we have been working closely… Read more »
Static Dress is entering their new era. With socials wiped clean and exciting new visuals, we are definitely “crying” over their new single. The band’s new track and accompanying self-directed music video for “crying” is their first offering since the release of their debut album Rouge Carpet Disaster. Uniquely, the Roadrunner Records signees began teasing the drop this week with a puzzle on their website. The first 300 fans who solve it will receive a limited-edition flexi disc pressing of “crying.” The video’s creepy, dark visuals and eerie religious motifs perfectly work alongside the industrial-tinged, heavy-rock instrumentals. “Well I hope… Read more »
