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The Michael Jackson media wars continue, with Fox agreeing to air outtakes the singer selected from his controversial interview with a British journalist. A two-hour special, tentatively titled “Michael Jackson, Take Two: The Interview They Wouldn’t Show You,” is scheduled to air Feb. 20. The Jackson spectacle is fodder for hungry television networks, particularly in a hotly contested ratings sweeps month. ABC’s airing of Jackson’s interview with Martin Bashir was last week’s most popular show, seen by 27.1 million people. Angered by how Bashir portrayed him – as an odd man-child who says he sometimes innocently lets children sleep in… Read more »

Michael Jackson is a “disturbing individual” with a love of multi-million-dollar shopping sprees and a desire to live forever, according to a journalist granted unrivalled access to the pop star. Martin Bashir, who spent eight months making a documentary on the normally reclusive singer, said 44-year-old Jackson truly is the Peter Pan of pop who is obsessed by the idea of childhood being frozen in time. Plastic surgery, child abuse allegations and his father’s cruelty all feature in a warts-and-all British television documentary being aired in Britain Monday evening. The ITV program is the result of the unprecedented access Jackson… Read more »

Hoping to shine in one of the music industry’s few bright spots, Dreamworks Records on Wednesday announced a joint venture with newly-formed Melee Entertainment to release music DVDs that go beyond the typical concert video genre. With music video DVDs selling at a fast clip and in sharp contrast to the recording industry’s protracted decline in CD sales, Dreamworks and Melee hope in part to cash in on the trend while also developing a roster of creative talent. Melee president Bryan Turner, former co-owner and chief executive of Priority Records, an urban-slanted label sold to EMI Group Plc in 1998… Read more »

Sheryl Crow, an activist for recording artists’ rights, brought her own message against a possible war with Iraq to Monday night’s American Music Awards. Crow accepted her award for pop-rock female artist wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the message “war is not the answer” in black sequins. She had the V-neck shirt specially made. “I just think there’s a really vital, sweeping peace movement out there that’s not getting covered in the press, so I just kind of try to do my part,” she said backstage. “I think war is based in greed and there are huge karmic retributions… Read more »

Justin Timberlake now has a broken limb to match the broken heart he sings about on Justified. ‘NSYNC’s first solo star broke his foot earlier this week while rehearsing for several upcoming television performances and has canceled all promotional events scheduled for the next two weeks. Details on how the injury occurred were not available. “I am sorely disappointed that I must miss any scheduled events,” Timberlake said in a statement. “However, I must adhere to my physician’s recommendations and rest. I look forward to being able to perform again and hope to see all my fans soon.” Timberlake will… Read more »

Faced with adverse publicity to copy protection on CDs, a year ago Bertelsmann Music Group bravely gave in and promised to replace a clutch of Natalie Imbruglia CDs which were protected by Midbar’s Cactus Data Shield. But a year is a long time, BMG is at it again, this time apparently set on applying copy protection to all its music products. Not, of course, that this should be surprising. The music companies are absolutely intent on copy-proofing their products, and although they’ll maybe retreat a little when irate consumers pelt them with ordure, they’ll be right back just as soon… Read more »

Viacom Inc., owner of CBS, MTV and the Paramount movie studio, reported a solid third-quarter profit Thursday, helped by strong advertising revenues at the company’s broadcast, cable, TV and radio properties. For the three months ending Sept. 30, the media conglomerate said net earnings were $640 million, or 36 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $190 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier. The results beat the forecast of 32 cents a share by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. “We are confident in our ability to deliver on our full-year financial targets for 2002,… Read more »

Any band that continues playing while one of its members bleeds profusely has gotta be punk rock, regardless of how poppy its harmony-filled songs are. Montreal’s Simple Plan did just that during a recent show in Detroit when a member of the crowd expressed his love by flinging a bottle of water at drummer Chuck Comeau’s head. “I stopped playing for a minute and took a towel to wipe my face, and it was just covered in blood,” Comeau recalled. “But we had two songs left, so I kept going. Every break I would just stop and pull out the… Read more »

Universal Music, the music arm of Vivendi Universal and the world’s largest record company, will decide in coming weeks which of its Web music properties are worth keeping as the French media giant seeks to downsize, sources close to the company said on Thursday. Company representatives declined comment, but people familiar with the company said such a move was in line with Vivendi chairman and chief executive officer Jean-Rene Fourtou’s overall mandate to sell about $12 billion in company assets to reduce debt. “One of the things that will be happening in the next few weeks is that Universal Music… Read more »

In a fight to win back fans from the “gray zone” of online song-swapping services, the music industry is borrowing a trick from its nemeses: free music downloads. For one week beginning Thursday, music fans in Europe will be able to download, stream or burn onto their hard drives a selection of tracks from 6,000 artists including ColdPlay, Dido and Elvis Presley. It is part of a marketing ploy called “Digital Download Day” devised by British firm OD2, a technology company specializing in digital music distribution and co-founded by recording artist Peter Gabriel. Backed by record labels and music retailers,… Read more »