Search Results for: 2007

2007 worked out well for Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne. The two were the highest paid singers under 25, earning $12 million each. Hilary Duff The pop star-actress-‘tween merchandise mogul has replaced the Olsen Twins as your teenage daughter’s favorite. Her Stuff by Hilary Duff line of apparel and accessories is sold at Kohl’s, Target and Claire’s. Duff also licenses her name to footwear company Candie’s and Electronic Arts, which made her a character in the Sims videogame franchise. In April, she released her sixth studio album, Dignity, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts. Look for… Read more »

After failing to crack the million mark with her last two albums, Janet Jackson is wary of using the “c” word to describe her upcoming release, “Discipline,” which hits stores on February 26. “I think a comeback is when you leave and then you … come back,” Jackson said with a laugh during a recent interview. “People are always quick to use that word ‘comeback,’ but I never went anywhere, really.” “Discipline” marks her 10th studio disc, and her debut release for Island Def Jam after more than a decade at Virgin Records. Her last album, 2006’s “20 Y.O.,” stalled… Read more »

Rock star Bono pressed French leader Nicolas Sarkozy to increase aid to developing nations, the aid advocacy group DATA said. The organization, co-founded by Bono, front man of the U2 rock group, has urged France to raise development assistance to 0.7 percent of gross national income by 2012 as agreed earlier. In 2006, French aid stood at 0.31 percent of gross national income, DATA said. “The president admitted it would be very, very hard, but France would keep her word,” the statement quoted Bono as saying Tuesday following the meeting. DATA’s statement cites an October parliamentary report showing France’s estimated… Read more »

Canadian punk rock singer Bif Naked has gone public after being diagnosed with breast cancer, saying she is facing the fight of her life and urging other women to ensure they regularly check for cancer. The 36-year-old tattooed singer, who was married three months ago, broke the news in a radio interview on Sunday with her record label Bodog Music issuing a statement on Monday. “It is a very surreal situation for (my husband) Ian and I at this time,” she said. Bif Naked, who was born Beth Torbert in India and adopted by American missionaries with whom she moved… Read more »

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment announces an exciting new line-up of Blu-ray initiatives in 2008, an ever-expanding Blu-ray slate and new technological-advancements in bonus feature materials, all which guarantee a superior high-definition home entertainment experience. “This is an exciting time for Disney as we not only announce the release of our first Platinum Disney animated classic on Blu-ray with Sleeping Beauty, but also allow consumers to create an entirely new home entertainment experience with stunning new bonus features and amazing interactive capabilities like never before seen,” stated Bob Chapek, President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. For the first time… Read more »

In a move that would mark the end of a digital music era, Sony BMG Music Entertainment is finalizing plans to sell songs without the copyright protection software that has long restricted the use of music downloaded from the Internet, BusinessWeek.com has learned. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann, will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter. Sony BMG would become the last of the top four music labels to drop DRM, following Warner Music… Read more »

U.S. album sales plunged 9.5 percent last year from 2006, continuing a downward trend for the recording industry, despite a 45 percent surge in the sale of digital tracks, according to figures released Thursday. A total of 500.5 million albums sold as CDs, cassettes, LPs and other formats were purchased last year, down 15 percent from 2006’s unit total, said Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks point-of-purchase sales. The shortfall in album sales drops to 9.5 percent when sales of digital singles are counted as 10-track equivalent albums. About 844.2 million digital tracks sold in 2007, compared to 588.2 million in 2006,… Read more »

BoyGeniusReport revives earlier rumors that Apple and Jay-Z will be forming a record label around iTunes. They now expect this new record label to be launched at Macworld Expo 2008. This incarnation of the rumor, however, eliminates Beyonce’s involvement. The new report claims that a “high-up person” associated with Jay-Z has confirmed that plans are “a go”. BoyGeniusReport had previously discounted the July rumors based on a source close to both Jay-Z and Beyonce. Jay-Z recently stepped down as president of Def Jam records after his contract expired on December 31st, saying that “it’s time for me to take on… Read more »