Search Results for: la dispute

The recording industry from artists to major labels joined on Thursday in a rare show of unity to demand tougher laws barring what they called “payola”-like promotion of music played on the radio. They also called for a sweeping government review of radio industry consolidation. Deregulation of the radio business and rampant practices that skirt 40-year-old anti-payola laws stifle competition, drive up music promotional costs and make it harder for new artists to gain attention, the artists and record labels said in a joint statement addressed to the federal regulators and Congress. The statement was endorsed by a broad coalition… Read more »

Looking to take advantage of what they say is a large and lucrative niche audience untapped by television programmers, two cable divisions of Viacom (news/quote), MTV Networks and Showtime, are developing a plan to create the first cable channel aimed directly at gay viewers. The still unnamed channel would be offered to cable system operators as a pay channel like HBO or Showtime – only much less costly at $5 or $6 a month – but it would also include advertising. MTV Networks and Showtime have conducted extensive audience testing and concluded that there is, as one Showtime executive put… Read more »

Fred Durst was the undisputed star of Thursday’s MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony, accepting three awards and performing with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Limp Bizkit won Best Group, Best Rock Act and the Web Award, besting nominee leaders Gorillaz, who won only two of the six awards they were up for – Best Dance Act and Best Song for “Clint Eastwood.” Durst, Page and Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin played the Zeppelin song “Thank You,” nearly stealing the show from such fellow performers as Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z, who performed “Girls, Girls, Girls” with 300 German women joining… Read more »

Music publishers and recording companies are expected early this week to announce a deal for licensing of music online, removing a hurdle that threatened to thwart industry plans to launch Web services, sources close to the talks said on Sunday. Under the deal, which is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday, the major labels would pay music publishers, who own the copyrights to underlying compositions, a $1 million advance to cover the use of their music over the next two years, said a source familiar with the matter. The publishers’ effort has been led by the National Music… Read more »

Alanis Morissette is tidying up her next album, tentatively titled Under Rug Swept, for release in February, and she’s giving fans a little taste of her new material online. As previewed on a recent tour, Morissette’s new songs hark back to the provocative pop-rock of 1995’s Jagged Little Pill and steer away from the moody, Eastern-influenced sound of 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Lyrically, she takes a more reflective, mature stance without abandoning the raw, confessional sentiments that endeared her to fans in the mid-’90s. The Canadian singer/songwriter wrote and produced the new disc without the help of Glen Ballard,… Read more »

It’s a safe bet that most radio listeners have never heard of rock singer Matthew Harrison. The owner of tiny Third Monk Records, which released Harrison’s album, says there’s a simple reason: The company can’t afford the hidden costs of obtaining radio airplay. Jeff Robinson, the label’s sole proprietor, said he doesn’t have the money to hire independent promoters who heavily influence station playlists. “They’ve got it locked up and there’s absolutely no room to do what I’m trying to do,” Robinson said. “And if you can’t get exposure for your product, you’ll never be able to sell any records.”… Read more »

The Digital Media Association (DiMA) today praised the introduction of a bill, introduced by Representatives Chris Cannon (R-UT) and Rick Boucher (D-VA), that would modernize several provisions of copyright law that are impeding the development of online entertainment. “The Music Online Competition Act will ensure that consumers have Internet access to legal high-quality music, that creators get paid rapidly, and that competition-rather than lawsuits-will drive this marketplace forward,” said Jonathan Potter, executive director of DiMA. We applaud Congressmen Cannon and Boucher’s effort to craft a narrow approach that would bring copyright law current with today’s digital and online economy.” The… Read more »

Several major Webcasters including Launch Media Inc., MTVi Group, MusicMatch Inc., and Listen.com Friday struck back at the recording industry by filing a countersuit in a music licensing dispute they say threatens their livelihoods. The suit was filed in federal court in San Francisco in response to a lawsuit filed by the recording industry last week against music portal Launch Media for allegedly failing to seek proper licenses for its personalized Web radio service, the companies said. At issue is whether Webcasters that allow users to personalize their Internet radio services should be allowed to join the rest of the… Read more »

Record companies face off against music publishers and songwriters like Lyle Lovett in Washington this week in a growing dispute over royalty payments that threatens industry plans to sell music online. The major recording labels and music publishers, who own music rights, are at odds over on-demand or interactive music streamed over the Internet, which allows consumers to listen to whatever song they want when they want. While the world’s big music labels argued successfully that free song-swap service Napster infringed their copyrights, songwriters and music publishers now claim that at least one major label, Vivendi Universal’s Universal Music Group,… Read more »

The record industry has scored a win with the U.S. Copyright Office, which published a ruling Monday that radio broadcasters are not exempt from licensing royalties when they simulcast their programs on the Internet. The decision, published in the Federal Register on Monday, was cheered by Webcasters. They sided with the Recording Industry Association of America as part of their crusade to clarify what they say are gray areas of copyright law, which are impeding their efforts to provide entertainment on the Web. “We are gratified the U.S. Copyright Office agreed with our position. They reached the right conclusion as… Read more »