Search Results for: 2007

In the months since Army of Me’s “Citizen” was released, the band has enjoyed nationwide airplay of its hit single, “Going Through Changes,” has been featured on MTV, and has toured the country. But the local rockers, whose sound would fit perfectly alongside the noises Bono and Chris Martin make, aren’t quite satisfied quite yet. “It’s like there’s this big mountain we’re trying to climb, and when you’re far away from the mountain, it doesn’t look that big,” lead singer Vince Scheurman said. “It’s like Mount Everest. There’s ‘false summits.’ When you get to one peak, there’s always another one.… Read more »

One ticket to the Super Bowl: $2,000. Thirty seconds of advertising during the Super Bowl: $2.7 million. Five seconds’ worth of Madonna in a Super Bowl ad: A heck of a lot more than that. Sources tell E! Online that the Material Girl was paid $10 million to appear in a new advertising campaign for Sunsilk hair-care products, including a commercial that will premiere during the the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants (most of whom do not make $10 million in an entire season). In the 30-second spot, old stock footage… Read more »

Madonna is the richest woman in music. The 49-year-old entertainer leads Forbes.com’s list of the top 20 “Cash Queens of Music,” earning $72 million between June 2006 and June 2007. The pop star’s “Confessions” world tour pulled in $260 million, Forbes said. She also made money from album sales, her fashion line with H&M and a deal with NBC to broadcast her concert performance at London’s Wembley Stadium. Forbes.com said it compiled the list by examining concert grosses, merchandising revenue, album sales and other revenue from clothing lines, fragrance deals and endorsements. Barbra Streisand is No. 2 with $60 million,… Read more »

Universal Music’s publishing division has overtaken EMI as the world’s leading major music publisher, according to market research on Monday. Music & Copyright (M&C), which is published by Informa said Universal’s market share among major music groups rose to 24 percent in 2007 from 11.9 percent a year earlier. Over the same period, EMI’s music publishing share remained steady at 17 percent. Independent publishers account for around one third of the global market. EMI was bought by private equity firm Terra Firma, which earlier this month announced plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs at the music company as part… Read more »

Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy has no plans to spin off the music unit Universal and he said on Saturday he believed the gloom surrounding the industry had been over done. Speaking at the annual Midem conference, Levy said the music industry was going through a huge transition at the moment, with new business models for mobile and Internet services appearing all the time. But he predicted there would still be a viable market for physical products like CDs for many years to come and he said the industry’s future lay, as always, in spotting the right creative talent. “I… Read more »

Lil Wayne was arrested on three felony drug charges Wednesday after federal agents said they found illegal drugs, including cocaine, on his charter bus at a checkpoint in southwestern Arizona. The rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., spent the day at the Yuma County jail on the state drug charges before being released, Capt. Eben Bratcher said. After posting more than $10,000 bond, the rapper signed autographs for fans outside a bondsman’s office. James Tilson, a local lawyer retained by Carter, said that his client was not formally charged and that his next court date was scheduled… Read more »

Heath Ledger, the Australian-born actor whose breakthrough role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” earned him a nomination for an Academy Award and comparisons to the likes of Marlon Brando, was found dead Tuesday in an apartment in Manhattan with sleeping pills near his body, the police said. The police said Mr. Ledger, 28, was found naked on the floor near the bed in an apartment in SoHo that he had been renting. The chief police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said the police did not suspect foul play. “There was no indication of a disturbance,” he… Read more »

There’s nothing like 1.3 billion potential ticket buyers to attract the attention of the live entertainment business. With the world’s largest population and an exploding economy, China may represent the future for international touring artists. That’s why the three biggest players in the U.S. live entertainment business — Live Nation, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Ticketmaster — have all staked claims in China. It’s virgin territory. “In China you have a huge potential market, a clean slate and opportunities you don’t see in more mature markets,” Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty said. “There is no established way of doing business yet,… Read more »