Search Results for: Jay Som

In a decision criticized by both Webcasters and the recording industry, a government official Thursday ruled that Internet radio stations must pay royalty rates that are 50 percent less than proposed by a federal panel. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has ruled that all Webcasters will have to pay 0.07 cents per song per performance, compared with the 0.14 cents per song per performance recommended by a federal arbitration panel in February. But Billington stunned Webcasters by flatly rejecting their call for royalty rates that are based on a percentage of revenues. While the recording industry said Billington’s decision… Read more »

Bennett Zier has a fine idea for a new radio format. His eyes light up as he tells you about it. “We play Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Bobby Darin,” he says. “The great thing about it is what we call it. You ready?” He pauses. “Vegas Radio! Is that great or what?” Zier can imagine the whole scene – the deejays, the jingles, the ironic retro-swinger patter. It’s his music, the kind he plays in his car. He’s in love with this idea, and with his natural salesman’s charm, he’s making you love it, too. So why doesn’t… Read more »

311 are about to get the remix treatment from underground / hip hop production team Teargas and Plateglass. Teargas & Plateglass will add their signature dark ambient dub vibe to the track “Amber” and according to the duo, “take it very very down”. Alternative rock act 311 formed in 1990 and by 1995 had sold 3 million copies of their “Blue” album. “Amber” is from their new album “From Chaos”. Teargas and Plateglass are known for their series of remixes for a bizarre and disjointed list of artists who commissioned their services for a sound falling somewhere between the dope… Read more »

You know you’re a long way from home when Groove Armada and Faithless play for wilder crowds than the godfather of heavy metal. “I can’t f-ing hear you!” is Ozzy Osbourne’s standard concert rallying cry, but it took on a new urgency Friday night at the kickoff of the three-day Rock Im Park festival in Nuremberg. As the 53-year-old showman peered out at the half-full Frankenstadion, his famous baffled expression – mouth agape, black-lined eyes open wide, arms extended as though desperately soliciting a hug – looked a bit more confounded than usual. Of course the metal madman delivered, leading… Read more »

R&B singer Usher included a tribute to deceased celebrities during his headlining set Saturday (May 18) at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, which also included performances from Nas and Faith Evans. Before closing his show, Usher said he wanted to sing a song for all of the people who have “come and gone and paved the way.” He sang Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” as a big screen monitor scrolled the names of Kurt Cobain, Eazy-E, Tupac Shakur, the Notorious B.I.G., George Harrison, Aaliyah, and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. The 90-minute set included theatrical, well-choreographed, and sometimes risque… Read more »

After months of controversy, R. Kelly took to the media this week to defend himself against allegations that he had sex with several underage girls, claiming, “People are trying to bring me down.” Stating that on the advice of his attorney he was speaking “with one hand behind my back,” Kelly sat down with MTV News’ John Norris on Thursday morning (May 9) in Atlanta, part of a small string of interviews that also saw him speak with BET. The singer said that he decided to speak out “for my fans, for me, for my life and for my family.”… Read more »

“Let me take you to a place nice and quiet,” Usher sang on “Nice and Slow” halfway through an hour-and-a-half headlining set at Key Arena Wednesday night. “Nice” was all taken care of – and “nasty” got equal time, with Usher playing the roles of both sweet lover and triple-X seducer – but the Key was the furthest thing from quiet. The screams of thousands of lust-crazed female fans surged at every hip thrust and low croon, shaking the arena’s foundations in a way even last year’s 6.8 magnitude quake couldn’t touch. Boasting more outfit changes than Cher, the R&B… Read more »

Fieldy’s Dreams was hardly a home run when the project debuted early this year, but the Korn bassist is not about to hang up his hip-hop hat. At Saturday’s ESPN Action Sports and Music Awards, where he performed in an all-star rap-rock band with Jay-Z and others, Fieldy said he planned to start work on his second solo album sometime this year. “[Korn is time-consuming], yeah, but we have a lot of downtime,” Fieldy said before the show. “So there will probably be some more stuff from me.” Fieldy, a self-described Rock N Roll Gangster, has been staying up in… Read more »

Sure, everyone likes a little Jay-Z, Nelly and DMX party music now and then, but sometimes you just want a bit more to chew on, and for a lot of people that means turning to the world of underground rap. The Difference, a compilation of 12 new songs due in June on the Official Jointz label, is already catching a buzz thanks to “Clear ‘Em Out,” an alleged Nelly dis track by KRS-One featuring Tonedeff. According to the album’s producer, Domingo (Fat Joe, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony), when he asked KRS-One if the track was a direct attack on the St. Louis… Read more »

What Run-D.M.C. did for Adidas and Busta Rhymes did for Courvoisier, Ali is doing for the dry cleaning industry. With the title of his debut solo album, Heavy Starch, the St. Lunatics rapper reveals the secret to the distinguishable look of a St. Louis b-boy. “We wear our pants so baggy that you need to get them heavy starch at the dry cleaners so they don’t just hang all over,” Ali said Thursday from a Lunatic-packed tour bus en route to Kansas City. “I wanted to make everything [about the album] as St. Louis as possible.” If the idea of… Read more »