Search Results for: la dispute

The recording industry and several high-tech groups battling over copyright laws declared a tentative truce on Tuesday and said they would try to hash out rules to govern how to protect digital movies and music from widespread bootlegging. The two sides hope to avoid a big lobbying battle this year in Congress over whether to enhance digital copyright protection or preserve the rights of users to make copies. They said they will try to settle their differences and devise rules to govern how movies and music may be used, instead of looking to Congress or the Federal Communications Commission. But… Read more »

A man who planted a dry-ice bomb that injured Unwritten Law guitarist Steve Morris will likely receive 240 days in a county jail or a private lock-up, reports the San Diego Union Tribune. Computer programmer Martel Duvigneaud, 22, pled guilty to felony assault and possession of an explosive. Those were plea bargained from more severe charges that could have had the man serving 16 years in prison. San Diego Superior Court Judge Frederick Maguire said he plans on giving the man 240 days of detention. The judge postponed the actual sentencing to December 12 in order to give Duvigneaud a… Read more »

Small Internet broadcasters and the music industry have agreed on a last-minute royalty-payment plan but a dispute between musicians and record labels threatens to scuttle the deal, sources said Sunday. Two weeks before “Webcasters” are due to begin royalty payments to the musicians and record labels whose songs they use, the online broadcasters have agreed to pay a rate of between 8 percent and 12 percent of revenues rather than a previously set per-song rate that many fear could drive them out of business, sources said. Larger Webcasters, such as America Online and Clear Channel Communications were not included in… Read more »

A copyright dispute over two pieces of silence, one by American avant-garde composer John Cage and the other by a composer best known for novelty tunes, has been settled, Cage’s publishers said Monday. Mike Batt was accused of plagiarism by Edition Peters, publishers of the late Cage’s work, after he put a track called “A Minute’s Silence” on his latest album “Classical Graffiti,” performed by pop-classics group The Planets. The piece was credited it to Batt/Cage. Cage’s ground-breaking silent composition, 4’33,” was first performed half a century ago. The piano piece, divided into three movements, consists entirely of silent notes… Read more »

Unwritten Law guitarist Steve Morris was injured at his home on Thursday (August 29) night from a bomb explosion. The homemade device was allegedly planted by Morris’s neighbor, a security guard and local police officer, according to a statement released by the band’s record company. The guitarist suffered injuries to his arms and eardrums and the band has now cancelled several upcoming tour dates as he recovers. Morris’s neighbor was arrested and taken into custody. The guitarist believes the attack was deliberate. “He planned this for a week and tried to kill me with a bomb,” Morris told the Associated… Read more »

Attorneys for Courtney Love are expected to ask for yet another extension Tuesday in the rock diva’s protracted court dispute with her label, Universal Music Group, in order to continue talks aimed at settling the case. The case was set to go before Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Fumiko Wasserman today, after an extension granted in June expired. Universal claims Love owes its Geffen Records imprint several more records under her contract, while Love counters that the unrealistically long contract terms amount to “indentured servitude” for artists. The suit has been a rallying point for the burgeoning artists’ rights… Read more »

The world’s biggest music labels on Wednesday said they have offered major concessions to a group of angry pop stars to try to settle a high-profile dispute regarding recording industry contracts. But a representatives for the artists, who have been lobbying for a change to California labor law, said that a settlement was still not in sight. “I want the artist community to know that the record companies came to the table with substantial compromises and it’s now in the artists’ hands,” said Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rosen said… Read more »

Long before Michael Jackson began his eyebrow-raising attack on Sony, a coalition of influential artists initiated a more civilized crusade against the record industry, and on Tuesday that battle raged on. Representing the Recording Artists Coalition – which includes No Doubt, Beck and others – and similar action groups, several music attorneys and a few artists faced off against major-label representatives in a hearing with the California Senate Committee in Sacramento. Montell Jordan, Sam Moore of legendary soul duo Sam & Dave, and attorney Don Engel were among those who accused record companies of fraudulent accounting practices, mainly underpaying artists… Read more »

Mariah Carey is defending ex-husband Tommy Mottola against accusations hurled by Michael Jackson, according to MSNBC. Mottola’s current wife, Thalia Motolla, claims that Carey called the Sony music chief and told him that she’s on his side, not on Jackson’s, and also said that Motolla’s “anything but a racist,” the network reported. Jackson has called Mottola a racist and “a devil” for allegedly under-promoting his current album Invincible. He also said Carey cried in his arms over Mottola’s treatment of her. Carey’s spokeswoman, Cindi Berger, refutes the claim. “To the best of my knowledge, Mariah has not spoken to Mr.… Read more »

Michael Jackson addressed his rumored dispute with Sony Music for the first time Wednesday when he aligned himself with a new artist-rights initiative and released a statement condemning the music industry and his label. At a New York press conference Jackson was named the first member of a coalition formed by the Rev. Al Sharpton and attorney Johnnie Cochran to investigate whether record companies are financially exploiting artists. “Record companies have to start treating their artists with respect, honor, and financial justice,” Jackson said in a statement. “Therefore, I am proud to join this coalition which represents all artists.” The… Read more »