Search Results for: 2007

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 »

Just when it seemed erosion of music sales during the holiday season couldn’t get worse, December snowstorms compounded the retail industry’s misery. Album sales for 2007 are now down 15.3% for the year, compared with 2006. But for the four weeks beginning with Thanksgiving week and ending December 26, U.S. album sales were down 20% to 84.2 million units from 105.3 million a year ago, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The last week before Christmas didn’t help matters much, with sales totaling 25.6 million vs. 31.3 million units in the same period last year. The season got off on the wrong… Read more »

High-priced reunion tours by the Police, Van Halen and Genesis failed to prevent the North American concert industry from posting its worst year since 2004, according to a music industry trade publication. The top 20 tours generated $996 million, down 15.6 percent from the year before, according to preliminary data issued on Friday by Pollstar, which covers the concert business. The previous low was $951.1 million in 2004, when Prince and Madonna topped the box office, it said. The comeback tour by Anglo-American rock trio the Police was the top draw this year with ticket sales of $131.9 million, followed… Read more »