Search Results for: alternative press

Record labels are embracing new technologies in search of music’s next big thing Joe Berman looks for new bands. Typically, that means hanging out in dive bars, enduring hours of unlistenable music by groups whose rock-and-roll dreams far exceed their talent, praying for the occasional act that shows promise. About 16 months ago, however, the Los Angeles-based talent-finder sat at home scouting the globe for groups. He typed “New Zealand indie rock bands” into his computer search engine and found Steriogram, five lads from the town of Whangarei in New Zealand. They had a song and a video posted on… Read more »

Los Angeles – The raucous rulers of the sex-and- drugs-fueled nightlife on L.A.’s Sunset Strip have returned to their old stomping grounds. All four original members of Motley Crue, the glam-metal gods who’ve sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and who paved the way for other seminal rock acts, have reunited for the first time in six years, announcing a new world tour – VH1 & VH1 Classic Present “Motley Crue: Red White & Crue Tour 2005… Better Live Than Dead,” – and giving their fans a live taste of it. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, December 11th… Read more »

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The evolution of digital downloads marks another milestone on November 23, 2004, with the debut of UMe Digital, the world’s first all-digital download label from a major music company. UMe Digital product – individual songs, EPs, and full-length albums – will be distributed exclusively online. With its unparalleled music and video marketing capabilities and the power and scope of UMe to place songs in films and TV shows and commercials, UMe Digital offers unprecedented access and exposure for artists. The releases on UMe Digital will be consistent with UMe’s philosophy of marketing established acts and acts… Read more »

New York – “eMOTIVe,” the new album from Virgin Records recording group A Perfect Circle, was greeted with spectacular one-day sales upon its Tuesday arrival in stores. The collection, which sees APC reimagining radical rock classics for a new generation, is the week’s #1 album on iTunes. In addition, “eMOTIVe” is expected to debut as the top-selling rock record on next week’s Soundscan charts. The album’s first single, a twisted take on John Lennon’s “Imagine,” is lighting up the switchboards at rock radio outlets coast to coast. The song is quickly bulleting up the chart at both Active Rock and… Read more »

On Jan. 6, San Francisco’s Moscone convention center pulses with all the energy of a rock concert. A crowd sprinkled with hip-hop teenagers, digerati, and aging hippies streams in to hear the annual state-of-the-Mac keynote from Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steven P. Jobs. Every facet of the event bears the fingerprints of the obsessive Jobs – right down to the music that fills the air. This year, it’s the King himself, Elvis Presley. Later, Jobs rolls the tape of Apple’s famous “1984” ad that ran on Super Bowl Sunday that year – and hasn’t been broadcast since. Only this… Read more »

Radio is awesome, isn’t it? It’s free, it’s on whenever you want it, and you can choose from among eight or 10 stations. About the only people who could possibly complain about it, in fact, are people who have to listen to it. They’ll tell you that the music you hear on the radio is mostly the same cloying pop junk, played over and over. That 20 minutes of every hour is ads, played over and over. And that as you drive, the signal comes and goes with the territory. Two years ago, two companies – XM and Sirius –… Read more »

Monday October 27, 10:01 pm ET SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ – Soon, some lucky fan will become the fifth member of Puddle Of Mudd and enjoy a week of rock ‘n’ roll glory. The Flawless/Geffen Records band is launching the “Puddle Of Mudd Platinum Pass” contest, giving away sensational prizes including the grand prize: being the fifth member of the band for seven days! The winner and a guest will have their own bus accompanying Puddle Of Mudd on tour next year, joining the band in all their rock n’ roll activities, including: oversleeping, showing up late for… Read more »

Even though the RIAA continues to go after Internet file-sharers, millions of music fans keep downloading songs. Naturally, this hurts album sales, which were down around 12 percent for the first half of 2003. To try to convince people to actually buy albums again, record companies have offered value-added packaging such as the ever-popular bonus DVD, which typically contains backstage footage, exclusive interviews, videos and maybe a live recording or two. But adding a DVD can be costly. Labels typically pay between one and two dollars per extra disc, which means as much as an additional $2 million for an… Read more »

A Perfect Circle, described by Rolling Stone as “that rare supergroup… of veteran musicians that actually adds up to more, not less, than the sum of its parts,” announces their next round of concert dates and releases their much- anticipated second album in stores today, THIRTEENTH STEP, propelled by its first single, “Weak and Powerless.” The song has jumped to #3 Alternative and #7 Active Rock on both the Mediabase and BDS charts. The countdown now begins toward the first leg of A Perfect Circle’s 2003 arena tour, opening on Halloween in San Antonio (please see initial dates below in… Read more »

Hollywood will win the war against illegal downloading but the battlefield will be littered with casualties, including the DVD and CD formats as physical means of distributing video and audio, according to a Forrester Research study released Tuesday. The study predicts that in five years, CDs and DVDs will start to go the way of the vinyl LP as 33% of music sales and 19% of home video revenue shifts to streaming and downloading. Part of that stems from the continued proliferation of illegal file trading, which has caused an estimated $700 million of lost CD sales since 1999. But… Read more »