Search Results for: vision video

Media titan Viacom Inc. plans to use its MTV Networks unit as the foundation of its global strategy, with focus on emerging markets in China, India and Brazil, its chief executive Sumner Redstone said on Sunday. MTV, which reaches 340 million homes worldwide, is growing quickly in Asia, reaching nearly 130 million homes. “This is a region that has over 3 billion people, which should give you an idea about the potential for us,” Redstone said. The U.S. spends about 0.6 percent of its gross domestic product on television advertising, compared with 0.2 percent in China, where MTV reaches 54… Read more »

Legendary artists from different worlds will cross paths to set off a Black Star Power explosion at the First Annual BET Awards on June 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Amazing vocalist Whitney Houston will receive the first-ever BET Lifetime Achievement Award, hand-crafted by revered graffiti artist Carlos “MARE 139” Rodriguez. The two will meet at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel as part of BET’s live star-studded telecast recognizing la creme in music, film and sports. “I am extremely honored to be recognized by Black Entertainment Television in this way,” said Houston about the honor. “BET is the preeminent television network… Read more »

MCY today announced the signing of legendary rocker Dave Mason to MCY’s subsidiary, Pyramid Music. Pyramid will create a digital production from a June 2001 Dave Mason Band North American tour performance, which will be released on CD and DVD, as well as distributed through television and secure digital distribution channels. MCY CEO Bernhard Fritsch said, “We’re proud to help Dave bring his compelling, timeless rock into the digital era. He revolutionized rock-n-roll with Traffic and has been a powerful influence ever since.” Pyramid President Alan Jacobi concurred, adding, “Dave always pushes the limits to give fans an extraordinary experience.… Read more »

Capitol recording artist Pru has broken the rules by cutting a brand new version of her signature composition “Aaroma (Of a Man),” which will be serviced in June. This version of the seductive ballad will be added to her self-titled debut album PRU, which will be redesigned and repackaged as part of a newly-organized campaign. The video for “Aaroma” will be shot this month. “Aaroma (Of a Man),” produced by Andrew Slater, President and CEO, Capitol Records (whose producer’s credits include Macy Gray, Fiona Apple, and the Wallflowers) and mixed by Mike Shipley, whose credits range from Shania Twain, Faith… Read more »

Columbia Records’ Crazy Town, Portrait/Columbia Records’ The Union Underground and American Recordings/Columbia Records’ American Head Charge have all signed on-board on what just might be the heaviest Ozzfest ever. Following a big British blow-out at the Milton Keynes Bowl in England on May 26, Ozzfest 2001 opens full-force stateside at the World Amphitheater in Chicago, Illinois. Launched by the heavy metal pioneer and visionary Ozzy Osbourne, the first Ozzfest, a multi-band festival held in 1996, hit only two markets-Los Angeles and Phoenix-but paved the way for a full-on touring extravaganza the next year. Since then, the Ozzfest has become a… Read more »

The lesson learned in the courtship between Vivendi Universal and MP3.com is that record companies and technology companies need each other to succeed in the whipsaw world of Internet music. The world’s five largest record labels are racing to launch alternatives to Napster, the once popular song-swapping service now barred by a federal court from offering most songs copyrighted by the labels. And Vivendi, which owns the world’s largest record company Universal Music Group, is betting that MP3.com will raise its online presence and offerings above its competitors. Vivendi plans to launch a music subscription service called Duet this summer… Read more »

Taiwan high-speed Internet access firm GigaMedia Ltd. said on Monday it would sell part of its music Web site to record label EMI Group Plc in a strategic alliance to jointly offer music downloads. U.S.-listed Giga said it spun off its Juice.com music site into a separate company capitalized at T$100 million and EMI would take a minority stake in the firm. Officials declined to give financial details of the agreement. “The alliance supports our goal of creating new platforms to promote our artists and distribute their music in a secure, protected, and commercially viable manner,” Mathew Allison, president of… Read more »

Highly successful, wholly-owned independent record label, Beyond Music, a division of the Left Bank Organization, has entered into a distribution deal with the industry’s leading distribution company, Universal Music & Video Distribution (UMVD), it was jointly announced by Alan Kovac, Chairman and CEO, Beyond Music and Jim Urie, President, UMVD. Beyond Music’s first release through UMVD will be music’s first female’s of rock – the Go-Go’s highly anticipated, all-new studio album in seventeen years, titled God Bless the Go-Go’s which will be released on May 15, 2001. “Unforgiven,” the band’s first single released to radio is seeing a tremendous amount… Read more »

British pop band Duran Duran, whose million-selling hits “Rio” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” launched them to superstardom in the 1980s, are reforming with their original lineup, the group said Friday. Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes will join Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor and John Taylor for the first time in 15 years to record a new album and possibly tour. “It’s something we are very much looking forward to,” said founding member and keyboardist Rhodes in a statement. “There has always been an incredible chemistry and musical energy when we have got together,” he said. Duran Duran, who helped… Read more »

RIAA and NARM will seek to institute revised voluntary restrictions in response to FTC criticism that the industry markets inappropriate materials to kids The Recording Industry Association of America has announced plans to form a task force to investigate ways to answer criticisms levied in the Federal Trade Commission’s May 1 report that accused the music industry of marketing to children products it labeled as explicit. The task force, which will also have representatives from the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) will seek to institute revised voluntary restrictions for marketing “stickered” materials in media outlets that are targeted to… Read more »