Search Results for: 2007

After 2006 — a year when virtually no one managed to launch a digital music service in competition with Apple’s dominant iTunes — 2007 was a refreshing change of pace. Several fresh faces emerged onto the digital music scene this year, buoyed in part by record companies’ newfound willingness to experiment with different business models, but also by the departure of several high-profile competitors. By far the most visible service to throw in the towel this year was MTV’s Urge; now, a new entity called Rhapsody America joins Rhapsody’s technology with MTV’s editorial and music curation staff. Sony began the… Read more »

Ike Turner, whose role as one of rock’s critical architects was overshadowed by his ogrelike image as the man who brutally abused former wife Tina Turner, died Wednesday at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76. Turner died at his San Marcos home, Scott M. Hanover of Thrill Entertainment Group, which managed Turner’s career, told There was no immediate word on the cause of death, which was first reported by celebrity Web site TMZ.com. Turner managed to rehabilitate his image somewhat in later years, touring around the globe with his band the Kings of Rhythm and drawing critical… Read more »

Panic! At The Disco have unveiled more details about their second album – which is due out next March. Guitarist Ryan Ross said that the follow-up to their 2005 debut, ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,’ will draw more from the band’s live sound than their previous album. “We just wanted the record to sound like four people playing a song,” Ross told Billboard. “A lot of the songs are definitely more geared toward playing live; we didn’t think about that on the last record.” Ross, who also writes the band’s lyrics, said that the band have been “working backwards”… Read more »

Kanye West and Amy Winehouse each have had a rough year. He weathered the death of his mother last month, and she has been battling health issues that forced her to cancel scores of shows. But West and Winehouse may at least get some good news at Thursday’s Grammy nominations, where industry insiders predicted they were likely to garner multiple nods. Grammy-nominated producer Sean Garrett said West was a sure bet. The rapper’s third album, “Graduation,” had the year’s biggest debut, selling nearly 1 million copies in its first week, an amazing feat during the industry’s current struggles. Winehouse, though… Read more »

Hawthorne Heights have written two dozen songs and have a producer ready to hit the studio to start recording them, but the Dayton, Ohio band have to get out of legal limbo before they can move forward. The emo/punk quintet have done some pre-production work for their third album with producer Howard Benson (Daughtry, Hoobastank) and are hoping to start more extensive work on the tracks as soon as they can, but they’re still entangled in a legal battle with Victory Records. Hawthorne Heights filed a lawsuit against Victory in August 2007, citing fraudulent accounting practices among their accusations. At… Read more »

The 2007 Billboard Touring Awards have just been handed out in New York, and the coveted Top Club prize went to the legendary D.C. favorite, the 9:30 Club, beating all other clubs in the world to secure the honor. The award was based on top gross box office revenue. For nearly 10 years, the 9:30 Club has been the top attended club not just in the nation, but the world.The Billboard Touring awards honor the industry’s top artists, venues and professionals for the year, based on the Billboard Boxscore chart and on actual box office performance from January 1, 2007… Read more »