Search Results for: european

Music fans in Britain, France and Germany downloaded more than 800,000 tracks from Apple Computer Inc’s iTunes online music store in its first week of operations in Europe, the company said on Wednesday. The strong start makes the much-heralded download service already a top player in Europe’s brutally competitive music download market. “In the UK alone, iTunes sold more than 450,000 songs in the last week – 16 times as many as OD2, its closest competitor,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement issued on Wednesday. Apple launched iTunes in France, Germany and the UK on June 15 to… Read more »

Universal Music maintained its status as the world’s market leader in 2003, but a combined Sony/BMG would have challenged its dominance. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a music industry trade group, released market share figures that show BMG and Sony had an aggregate share of 25.1% in 2003. Universal posted a 23.5% share, down from 25.4% in 2002. The Sony-BMG merger plan cleared a major hurdle June 17 when European competition commissioner Mario Monti gave his approval of the deal. BMG was among the companies posting a share gain in 2003, increasing to 11.9% from 9.6% in… Read more »

Britney Spears’ knee injury has caused the cancellation of her Onyx Hotel Tour. The tour was scheduled to resume on June 22 in Hartford, Connecticut. But following arthroscopic surgery to repair severe damage to her joint, which occurred after a fall during a video shoot last week, Spears will be out of commission for at least four months. Doctors are advising her to stay off her knee and keep it in a hard brace for at least six weeks, after which she’ll require a minimum of eight to 12 weeks of physical therapy, according to her spokesperson. The canceled tour… Read more »

Apple Computer Inc. launched its highly anticipated iTunes Music Store in Europe on Tuesday, expanding the popular digital music service to users in Britain, France and Germany. Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said iTunes would be available without subscription. The charge for downloading a single track would be 79 pence ($1.43) in the United Kingdom and 99 euro cents ($1.20) in Germany and France. Jobs boasted that more than 85 million songs have been downloaded from iTunes in the United States. Along with the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom account for 60 percent of global music sales.… Read more »

Apple and Napster, two of the world’s leading online music providers, are this week announcing separate initiatives to expand their distribution services internationally. Apple, the US computer maker, is expected to launch its popular internet music store in Europe tomorrow, in an attempt to build on the company’s considerable success in the US online music market. Napster, a subsidiary of US media company Roxio, will today unveil a partnership with NTL to offer music subscriptions to the UK cable group’s 1m broadband customers. The two initiatives follow agreement with music publishers over complex distribution rights in Europe. Apple, whose iTunes… Read more »

JC Chasez has more reason to rue the day that his ‘N Sync mate Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s right breast at the Super Bowl. The blossoming solo artist, who was banned from the Pro Bowl half-time show a week after “Nipplegate,” says radio stations are shunning his new single “All Day Long I Dream About Sex” because they are “terrified” of FCC fines. “When I go to radio stations to visit, they’re like, ‘Oh, man, it’s just so tough right now with the FCC cracking down,’” says Chasez, who is currently touring the U.S. in support of his debut… Read more »

Lava Recording artist Cherie is on track to having a huge summer hit with her debut single “I’m Ready.” The song, which recently was the #2 most added song at the Top 40 radio format, entered the Top 40 chart this week at #37 and is currently being spun by key stations across the country, including KIIS FM/ Los Angeles, WXKS/Boston, WIOQ/ Philly, Y100/ Miami and Star/ Atlanta. The single is available commercially beginning today, Tuesday, May 4th, as an enhanced CD that will feature special bonus material, including remixes of “I’m Ready,” the track “Fool,” from her upcoming album… Read more »

While being well-prepared is almost always advised for a young band in the studio, spontaneous strokes of creativity are usually the moments the musicians remember best. Of the 13 songs that comprise Yellowcard’s latest album, Ocean Avenue, the band had a dozen of them hashed out beforehand. But while knee-deep in recording, the group stumbled across the riff that became the foundation for “Only One,” which is slated to be the album’s third single. “We discovered a riff for it by accident,” singer Ryan Key said. “We were testing something else out and just tracked it right away. We then… Read more »

The European Union launched a probe Monday into 16 national organizations that collect royalties for composers and songwriters, charging that their system for licensing music is hampering the rollout of Internet downloading services across Europe. Record companies in Europe say they are willing to license downloads on a pan-European basis, but the royalty-collecting societies insist on licensing music authors’ work country by country, the way they do for concerts, radio and compact discs. In its statement of objections, the EU’s trustbuster said a preliminary assessment found the royalties societies’ cross-licensing arrangements are extending the organizations’ monopolies onto the Internet. Such… Read more »

The pioneering rock supergroup Yes- currently celebrating their 35th anniversary – is en route with acoast-to-coast North American spring 2004 itinerary that launched April 15 andruns through mid-May. The historic arena tour – in the grand scale of pastYes excursions – presents the band’s formidable “classic” line-up of 1969co-founders Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, along with Rick Wakeman, SteveHowe, and Alan White, all three of whom started with Yes in the very early’70s. The three-hour 35th anniversary shows bring to life essential Yes songsfrom throughout the visionary prog-rock icons’ extraordinary career, as wellas the brand new composition, “Show Me.” The… Read more »