Veteran rocker David Bowie has quit the Virgin Records label, which released his last three albums, and set up an independent music company, he announced on his Web site. “I’ve had one too many years of bumping heads with corporate structure,” Bowie, 54, said in a fresh blow to the record label this year. “Many times I’ve not been in agreement with how things are done and as a writer of some proliferation, frustrated at how slow and lumbering it all is. I’ve dreamed of embarking on my own set-up for such a long time and now is the perfect… Read more »
The Foo Fighters have reworked an old B-side into a new song, to be included in the soundtrack to the forthcoming movie Out Cold. The song was originally titled “Make A Bet,” and it was recorded during the band’s The Colour And The Shape sessions. The band changed a few verses and the song structure and created a new tune, “Win Or Lose.” The Out Cold soundtrack will be released November 20 on RCA Records. Out Cold stars Jason London and and Caroline Dhavernas, and is slated for release later this year. It centers around a snowboarder who plans on… Read more »
Robert Jamieson, president and CEO of BMG North America, yesterday announced key appointments to his management team as part of an overall realignment of BMG’s North America businesses. The new leadership will oversee BMG North America’s record labels as the company creates a more responsive and profitable organization with a sharp focus on music and artist development. The appointments are: Neil Foster takes on the post of executive vice president of Operations; Joe DiMuro named senior vice president of Strategic Marketing; Stanley Schneider is now senior vice president of Legal and Business Affairs; Jim Blauvelt takes over as vice president… Read more »
RCA Recording artist Tyrese never has a problem getting a date, but for this years MTV Video Music Awards, the singer himself is the grand prize in a special “Win A Date With Tyrese” promotion. Starting August 20th, the Doug Banks Morning Show (ABC) which airs in over 35 million homes, begin offering listeners the chance to be Tyrese date for the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards on September 6 in New York City. Over a two-week period, five finalists will be chosen from a slew of callers. Then on August 30th, Tyrese will appear live on the Doug Banks… Read more »
In anticipation of their forthcoming release this fall, Modern rockers Lit have announced they will perform a special concert at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on August 3. Dubbed the Dr. Marten’s “One Night Stand,” Lit will rock the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino poolside area with Eve 6 and Handsome Devil. From July 2 thru July 24, the following participating sites: AOL, Collegeclub.com, HOB.com, ICQ, Kiwibox, Launch.com, MP3.com, MSN/Windowsmedia.com and Random House will link directly to the http://www.click2music.com/drmartens page where users can enter to win a trip to see Lit and Eve 6 perform live… Read more »
German media giant Bertelsmann’s shakeup of its flagging music division looks set to continue with U.S.-based subsidiary Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) reportedly looking to lay off hundreds of employees in its efforts to cut costs and raise profits. Rumors followed the appointment last week of former BMG Germany chief Thomas Stein to head BMG’s European division. Stein replaces Richard Griffiths, who is leaving the company by mutual agreement after six months in the job. “We have a new European management team and everything is being reviewed,” said a BMG Europe spokeswoman in Munich, who confirmed that BMG’s top management would… Read more »
Influential guitarist Chet Atkins, who helped modernize country music in the 1960s, paving the way for the massive commercial force that it is today, died in Nashville Saturday. He was 77. In 1973 and in 1997, Atkins had fought both colon cancer and brain cancer, surviving a number of surgeries. Atkins, enjoyed a multi-faceted career: as a sought-after session musician for the likes of Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers; as a prolific recording artist in his own right; and as a veteran Nashville talent scout. His discoveries included Charley Pride and Waylon Jennings. Atkins was one of the most… Read more »
Gracenote (formerly CDDB ®), a content delivery platform specializing in music recognition technology, today announced a service that can track PC-based music listening habits, thereby revealing the most popular albums on the Internet and what people are listening to regionally. Gracenote Data Services (GDS) aggregates this information weekly from over 27 million listeners worldwide, and 4,000 media players powered by the Gracenote CDDB Music Recognition Service(SM). Every time a music fan listens to a CD in a Gracenote CDDB-enabled player, the database recognizes the song or album and logs it into the GDS database. Gracenote Data Services then compiles this… Read more »
Modern-Alternative rockers Lit have nailed down studio time to start working on the follow-up to their 1999 platinum-plus sophomore release “A Place In The Sun.” Lead vocalist A. Jay Popoff, guitarist Jeremy Popoff, bassist Kevin Baldes and drummer Allen Shellenberger will head into the studio on May 14 to begin recording their new project. The band will once again co-produce with veteran Producer Don Gilmore (“A Place In The Sun,” Linkin Park, Sugar Ray.) “A Place In The Sun” featured the hit singles “Miserable,” Zip-Lock,” and the #1 Billboard Modern Rock song of 1999 “My Own Worst Enemy.” Lit supported… Read more »
Remo Drive‘s classic “Mercy” has been reimagined into a stripped-back, melancholy tune from Field Medic. The somber and delicate cover will appear on Remo Drive‘s Mercy Deluxe LP, due out on October 18 via Epitaph Records. Previously, the group also shared wilt‘s cover of “Please, Please Be Smart.” Field Medic says, “From the instant I heard this song when it was released, it was stuck in my head. The cowboy style production really resonated with me, so it was really fun to figure out how to recreate it in my own style (with help from Noah from Runnner).” Additionally, the… Read more »
