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Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V; Paris Bourse: EX FP) announced today it has extended for five more years the contracts of Ron Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios, and Stacey Snider, Chairman, Universal Pictures. In making the announcement, Jean-Marie Messier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi Universal, said, “I am thrilled to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of these two outstanding leaders. As the head of Universal Studios Group’s businesses, Ron has brought the studio to new heights. With the recent creation of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE), Ron, under the leadership of Barry Diller, will now expand his responsibilities… Read more »

Universal Interactive, Inc. has announced that its blockbuster video game star, Crash Bandicoot, the hero of its fall release Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex(TM) for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, is an official sponsor of Alien Ant Farm in concert at House of Blues(R) Sunset Strip on Saturday, December 22, 2001. The concert is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. In addition, Universal Interactive and House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. ( www.hob.com ) have announced an online contest with a grand prize of a trip for two to Los Angeles to see Alien Ant Farm in concert on the… Read more »

Bell Biv DeVoe (a.k.a. BBD), the group responsible for such mega-hits such as “Poison,” “Do Me!” and “BBD (I Thought It Was Me)?” is back and stronger than ever with their brand new Biv 10/Universal Records, self-titled album BBD, which arrives in stores on Tuesday, December 18th. Group members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe have made a CD that they consider to be their strongest. Michael Bivins describes BBD as “vocally on point, musically innovative and lyrically in tune with what’s going on right now.” The group’s lead track is “Da Hot Sh**(Aight)” – produced by Rockwilder (Janet… Read more »

The world’s largest record company will be the first of the major labels to release a copy-protected CD in the United States, signaling a new chapter in the industry’s efforts to stem music piracy. When Universal Music Group on Tuesday releases the soundtrack, “Fast & Furious – More Music,” consumers won’t be able to copy the music onto another CD or use their PCs to “rip” tracks in digital MP3 format. The copy-protection technology will also render the disc unplayable on Macintosh computers, DVD players and game consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2. It might not even play in some… Read more »

Jim Caparro, the man who helped build the Island Def Jam Music Group into the third-biggest record label in the U.S. through aggressive consolidation and savvy A&R, has decided to resign as chairman of the Universal Music division after three years on the job. Caparro, whose duties will be taken up by his longtime colleague, IDJ president Lyor Cohen, said the timing was perfect for his departure, with the label group at its peak performance and a strong cadre of execs to take up the reins. “People in this position normally leave because they get fired,” Caparro told Daily Variety.… Read more »

Consumer electronics company SONICblue Inc. on Monday unveiled a high-end home entertainment hub that can store an entire music collection and furthers the company’s thrust into the budding market for digital audio and video entertainment. At about $1,500, SONICblue’s Advanced Digital Audio Center can become the centerpiece of a music enthusiast’s wired home. It features a 40-gigabyte hard drive that can record up to 650 hours of music. Through the system, available only via SONICblue’s Web site, music from a CD can be recorded to its hard drive, played back over receivers within the house, downloaded to an MP3 player,… Read more »

Green Day will bring its pop-punk sounds to ESPN’s Winter X Games VI, taking place in Aspen, Colorado next month. The trio will perform January 19, day three of the renowned four-day extreme sports festival. Excerpts from the concert will appear on EXPN 2Day, ESPN’s monthly television series hosted by Tony Hawk and Sal Masekela. Meanwhile, Green Day’s new DVD/VHS video collection International Supervideos! is now in stores. The release is a companion the band’s best-of CD, International Superhits!, which arrived in stores in November. In other ESPN news, the network’s ESPN Action Sports & Music Awards will return to… Read more »

Recipients of the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Trustees Awards were announced today by Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. Pianist and band leader Count Basie and recording artists Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Al Green, and Joni Mitchell will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards. Engineer/producer Tom Dowd and original rock disc jockey Alan Freed will be honored with Trustees Awards. Formal acknowledgment of the awards will be made in conjunction with the 44th Annual GRAMMY ® Awards ceremony, which willbe held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The show will be a prime-time television special on… Read more »

Alicia Keys, Michael Jackson and Jill Scott lead the pack of music artists receiving nominations for this year’s NAACP Image Awards. Sultry R&B chanteuse Keys is at the top of the list with seven. She picked up nods for Outstanding Album for Songs in A Minor, Outstanding New Artist, Outstanding Music Video (directed by Chris Robinson) and Outstanding Songwriter for “Fallin’,” Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Songwriter (with Erika Rose) for “A Woman’s Worth” and Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series/Special for her showing on the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Jackson received five nominations: Outstanding Album and Outstanding Male… Read more »

Roxio today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of MGI Software, a provider of visual media software, in a stock-for-stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, approximately 2.3 million shares of Roxio stock will be issued to stockholders of MGI at the close of the transaction, yielding an approximate exchange ratio of 0.05269 shares of Roxio for each share of MGI. Based on Roxio’s closing price and the exchange rate on December 3, 2001, this represents a purchase price of approximately $32.8 million. Roxio is already the industry leader in… Read more »