Search Results for: Record Store Day

Last month the music industry and Apple, long uneasy partners, seemed a picture of harmony when they agreed on new terms for pricing on iTunes, Apple’s online music store. Behind the scenes, however, the relationship remains as tense and antagonistic as ever. The announcement on Jan. 6 seemed to signal a rapprochement between the music industry and its biggest distributor: record companies gave up their demand for copyright protection (called digital rights management) and Apple allowed flexible pricing, so the labels could charge more for new or popular tracks. But according to one music industry executive involved in the negotiations,… Read more »

Apple® today announced several changes to the iTunes® Store. Beginning today, all four major music labels—Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, along with thousands of independent labels, are now offering their music in iTunes Plus, Apple’s DRM-free format with higher-quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings. iTunes customers can also choose to download their favorite songs from the world’s largest music catalog directly onto their iPhoneâ„¢ 3G over their 3G network just as they do with Wi-Fi today, for the same price as downloading to their computer. And beginning… Read more »

Given Fall Out Boy’s penchant for publicity stunts (see this year’s nixed attempt to set a Guinness World Record by playing in Antarctica, followed by successfully setting the record for Most Interviews On Radio In a 24 Hour Period By A Pair of Two after talking to 72 radio stations), it should come as no surprise that the band celebrated yesterday’s release of Folie à Deux with a 36-hour New York promotional blitz that involved a nearly free show, performing on late-night TV and almost getting arrested. Over the weekend, Pete Wentz posted cryptic teasers on his blog for two… Read more »

You’ve played the iPhone app. Now get the soundtrack. EMI Music has become the first major label to line up multiple artists for an edition of Tapulous’ popular iPhone game application Tap Tap Revenge. The new version of the rhythm game, called Tap Tap Dance, features songs by five EMI acts — Moby the Chemical Brothers Digitalism Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx — as well as independent acts Justice, Junkie XL Soul Magic Orchestra and Morgan Page Tapulous will release all 10 tracks included in the game by the end of the year as a digital soundtrack that will be… Read more »

MySpace, the popular social networking website owned by News Corp, said on Tuesday former MTV executive Courtney Holt will become president of its MySpace Music joint venture with the four major record companies. Holt’s name has been circulating on blogs for several weeks as a likely appointee. He will take on the delicate balancing act of managing expectations for MySpace executive team and the management teams at Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Music. MySpace said Holt will work with MySpace co-founder and Chief Executive Chris DeWolfe to oversee the growth and development of… Read more »

If you’ve ever dreamed of running away and joining the circus, December 1 is your night. Assuming, that is, you’re near New York’s Times Square and you are a Britney Spears superfan. A post on Brit’s MySpace page invites her supporters to be part of “Britney’s Greatest Fan Contest & Birthday Celebration,” asking them to congregate outside the Virgin Megastore in Times Square to celebrate the release of Circus, which hits stores December 2. At the event, Britney will be looking for her biggest fan, so contestants are being encouraged to “sing, dance, imitate or even profess their love for… Read more »

The pressure had been building up behind the scenes for longer than most music fans realized. But when the teen-pop explosion burst onto the charts in early 1999 it felt like the music world had been blindsided overnight by a flood of squeaky-clean acts who would dominate the charts for years to come. And in some cases, those ripples are still being felt today. It’s hard to believe it now, but over the course of a few months between late 1998 and early 1999, radio and MTV were inundated with the debuts and breakthroughs from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, ‘NSYNC,… Read more »

MySpace, the world's largest social networking site, on Wednesday unveiled a long-expected joint venture with all four major music companies in a bid to compete with Apple Inc's market-leading iTunes store. MySpace Music is designed to win fans with a mix of unlimited free music, comprehensive music catalogs, concert tickets, merchandising and other entertainment features. The launch of the new service had been dogged by speculation on the start date and the ongoing search for a chief executive. But the biggest challenge for the new venture was signing a deal with the fourth-largest music company EMI Music, which had held… Read more »

Pink scored her first solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Thursday with “So What,” ending the three-week reign of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like.” The feisty pop singer previously topped the in 2001 through a Grammy-winning remake of Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade” with Christina Aguilera, Mya and Lil’ Kim. “So What” is the first single from Pink’s fifth album, “Funhouse,” which is slated for an October 28 release. T.I. slipped to No. 2, swapping places with Pink, while Rihanna’s “Disturbia” held at No. 3, and M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” rose one to No. 4. The chart’s top debut was Jay-Z’s all-star… Read more »

With his spiky mohawk, cluttered canvas of tattooed skin and punk rock pedigree stretching back to childhood, Travis Barker isn’t exactly pleading to be taken seriously as a hip-hop head. A former drummer for the multi-platinum-selling power pop trio Blink-182 who also has done turns behind the kit for rock outfits including the Aquabats, +44 and Box Car Racer, he boasts impeccable Warped Tour credentials and critical props as one of modern rock’s most exciting, exacting percussion players. But a funny thing happened when Barker posted a video of himself on YouTube last September drumming thunderously in time with Southern… Read more »