Search Results for: The Warning

A prosecutor said that he intends to seek a jail sentence against a Venezuelan singer-actor charged with trespassing at the island home of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. The Estefans have obtained a civil restraining order to keep Juan Carlos Diaz away from them, and a similar order was widened Friday as part of his bail on the criminal trespass charge. Diaz, 33, must stay away from the famous music couple, their homes on exclusive Star Island and three of the Estefans’ best-known businesses: their studio, office and a restaurant. The Estefans claim Diaz has harassed them at their home and… Read more »

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck says he has no recollection of behavior on a Seattle-to-London flight that now finds him facing charges, including assault, in a London court, the BBC reports. Testifying on Wednesday (March 20), Buck claimed that after taking a sleeping pill on the April, 2001 flight, he felt “woozy” and “fear[ed] I had had a heart attack and was in a weird hospital in Disneyland.” When asked if he remembered details for which he is charged, the guitarist told the jury: “None whatsoever.” What Buck does remember is being in a police cell at London’s Heathrow Airport, saying he… Read more »

Green Day drummer Tre Cool checked in with fans via the band’s official Web site (www.greenday.com), giving them a vague update on the progress of the band’s upcoming new album. “This is what’s fucking going fucking on,” says Tre Cool. “We’re practicing every fucking day and we sound pretty good I might add. We officially put up the list of songs for the new record now on the wall of our jam space – sort of a tradition. We put a list up there and we add songs when we get them writ. So we’ve got some songs writ and… Read more »

Music CDs equipped with copy protection will, if Rick Boucher gets his wish, soon be as obsolete as eight-track cassettes. The feisty Democratic congressman from Virginia says he plans to introduce legislation banning, or at least regulating, compact discs outfitted with anti-copying technology. Few discs sold in America currently feature the controversial scheme – but the recording industry expects that as worries over digital piracy grow, the technique will become widespread. “Suffice to say, there probably will be a legislative response to ensure that consumer rights will be protected,” Boucher said in an interview. Boucher’s complaints are twofold: Americans may… Read more »

EMI, one of the world’s top music companies, pushed on with yet more restructuring when it reorganized its labels under two global brands-Virgin and Capitol-and streamlined its international management. Alain Levy, chairman of EMI Recorded Music, said the company will concentrate on two international labels – Virgin and Capitol.The move came two days after EMI Group issued its second profits warning in six months. Levy has been leading a strategic review aimed at identifying costs and boosting business in the US music market. The EMI name was created in 1931 when the Gramophone Company merged with Columbia to form the… Read more »

Britney Spears performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show in an interview that taped in Chicago on Friday (February 1) and aired nationwide Monday (February 4). The pop superstar performed “I’m a Slave 4 U” from her latest album, Britney. She also performed “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman,” which is also from the album and is featured in her upcoming movie Crossroads. Spears got her start on The Mickey Mouse Club, as did Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell (Felicity), *NSYNC’s J.C. Chasez, and her current boyfriend, *NSYNC singer Justin Timberlake. Oprah Winfrey asked the singer if there is any… Read more »

Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio Estefan Jr. were granted a temporary restraining order against an actor and aspiring singer who has accused Emilio Estefan of making sexual advances and threatening him. Judge Deborah White-Labora granted the order Friday for the singer and her music mogul husband against Juan Carlos Diaz, who has requested a similar order against Emilio Estefan. Diaz was denied the order on Jan. 15, but the judge scheduled a Jan. 28 hearing on Diaz’s petition. Diaz, who appeared in the 2000 film “Escape from Cuba,” accuses Emilio Estefan and Estefan’s bodyguard of threatening him. Diaz also… Read more »

The music industry is having to rethink its drive towards copy-protecting music CDs, following people-power protests and probing questions from US politicians. BMG in Europe had launched two of its chart CDs, Natalie Imbruglia’s White Lilies Island and Five’s Greatest Hits, with copy protection technology but have now switched production to “clean” unprotected CDs, following consumer complaints. The discs were launched “clean” in Australia. In the US, Universal’s new compilation CD of Fast and Furious rock music is copy-protected but is clearly marked with consumer warnings, unlike previous discs. BMG released both their CDs with only a small print reference… Read more »

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on $75 million worth of metals, footwear and other goods from Ukraine in retaliation for piracy of music compact discs and other optical media products in that country. The action, which takes effect Jan. 23, follows repeated U.S. warnings over the past two years that Ukraine could face sanctions unless it cracked down on the illegal copying. “The United States is moving forcefully to protect its rights,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said in a statement. “We hope Ukraine will now redouble its efforts to deal with intellectual property rights and pass the… Read more »

The world’s largest record company will be the first of the major labels to release a copy-protected CD in the United States, signaling a new chapter in the industry’s efforts to stem music piracy. When Universal Music Group on Tuesday releases the soundtrack, “Fast & Furious – More Music,” consumers won’t be able to copy the music onto another CD or use their PCs to “rip” tracks in digital MP3 format. The copy-protection technology will also render the disc unplayable on Macintosh computers, DVD players and game consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2. It might not even play in some… Read more »