Search Results for: 2003

The Canadian singer, who left the music industry two years ago to start a family with her manager/husband, Rene Angelil, has recorded an album for release in March, her spokesperson said Thursday. Details on the release will be announced in January. After giving birth in January, Dion came out of the woodwork in May to announce that she would end her hiatus in 2003 with a three-year residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Dion will perform a show designed by Cirque du Soleil’s Franco Dragone inside a replica of the Coliseum in Rome. Since then, Dion has taken part… Read more »

Bon Jovi are set to begin tracking their eighth album and follow-up to 2000’s comeback success, Crush. For the album, tentatively titled “Bounce,” the band will again call on their Crush cohort Luke Ebbin to co-produce (alongside singer Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora), in Los Angeles’ Henson (formerly A&M) Studios and at Sanctuary, Bon Jovi’s home studio in New Jersey. Thus far they’ve penned twenty-six songs – among them the front-runner for leadoff single, “Everyday” – and expect to write considerably more before the process is through (sixty tracks were written for Crush). No firm release date has… 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 »

Global media companies Viacom Inc. and News Corp. Ltd. Tuesday tallied up hundreds of millions of dollars in losses as advertising revenues were hurt by a weak economy and an uncertain outlook after the Sept. 11 hijacked jetliner attacks. The attacks led many networks to air commercial-free coverage of the news events for at least five straight days. For the most part, however, U.S. investors shrugged off the news of losses as having already been factored into stock prices and sent Viacom and News Corp. shares, as well as major media players like Walt Disney Co., higher on the day.… Read more »

French-American media giant Vivendi Universal confirmed on Tuesday its profit and sales targets for this year and said it was well positioned for additional growth despite the uncertain economic environment. The company issued its bullish outlook as it reported that net profit dwindled to a meager 22 million euros ($20.3 million), weighed down by goodwill from its Seagram merger, provisions and losses at companies in which it holds stakes. The company’s outlook compared favorably with those of its top competitors, several of which have issued profit warnings in recent days. Media firms, particularly those exposed to the tumbling advertising market,… Read more »

Two satellite radio companies won temporary licenses on Monday to use ground-based repeaters to expand the reach of their new digital radio services designed primarily for vehicles, despite the protests of mobile telephone carriers. XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. need to use ground repeaters to bounce signals from satellites to actual radio receivers in order to provide service to hard-to-reach areas like major downtown areas where skyscrapers block direct lines of sight. XM Satellite plans to launch 100 channels of service in the Dallas-Forth Worth and San Diego markets Sept. 25, almost two weeks later… Read more »

It’s been 25 years since he graced the tube as a cartoon Jackson, but the Associated Press, reports that Michael Jackson is returning to his “picture”-esque roots with his role in The Way of the Unicorn, The Endangered One. Jackson will be starring in The Way of the Unicorn as the voice of Sailor, an orphan who works with a poor litte rich girl and a gaggle of endangered species to rescue Earth. The movie is Jackson’s first appearance in a film of any kind in five years. Jackson, 42, last appeared in a theatrical release in the 1978 musical… Read more »

After playing their final U.S. show of the year last week, Green Day are really getting down to work. They’re rehearsing new material for their best-of collection International Superhits, which comes out in the fall. At the same time, they’re fine-tuning a new batch of songs for their next studio album. Meanwhile, when he gets a free moment, bassist Mike Dirnt is finishing up the second record by his side-project, the Frustrators. Who said these guys were just a bunch of snotty, irresponsible punks? “We have a super-serious work ethic,” Dirnt said, an hour before heading to the first of… Read more »

“She’s Kobe, and I’m Shaq,” Kurupt said of himself and his fiancée, Blaque’s Natina Reed, on the heels of the Lakers’ championship series win last month. The lovebirds can currently be caught trading verses, Crip-walking and courting each other in the video for Kurupt’s “It’s Over.” The L.A. by way of Philly rapper may be on to something – their duet helped him debut at #10 on the latest Billboard 200 albums chart with Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey. It was just a year ago that the longtime buddies fell in love. As to who made the first move, we’ll probably… Read more »

Vans, Inc. (NASDAQ: VANS – news) today announced that it has executed agreements to acquire 70% of the VANS Warped Tour(TM) in a two-step transaction with LAUNCH Media, Inc. and the original founders of the Tour. The transaction is subject to certain conditions prior to closing. Under the terms of the new agreement, LAUNCH will operate the Tour this year and will retain the exclusive rights to sell sponsorship for the 2002 and 2003 Tours. The Company stated that it expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings upon gaining control of the Tour in the summer of 2002.* Gary… Read more »