Search Results for: Arista Records

From the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee, across the plains of Texas and from sea to shining sea, Americans are storming record stores for patriotic music, like Lee Greenwood’s country standard “God Bless the U.S.A.” Retailers said Wednesday that other in-demand artists include Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Depression-era singer Kate Smith, and even Irish musicians U2 and Enya. The use of particular songs on television and radio fueled demand, said Dawn Bryant, a spokeswoman at Best Buy Co. Inc. -owned Musicland Group Inc., parent of the Sam Goody music retail chain. Greenwood’s Grammy-winning 1984 tune… Read more »

Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” shot up the competition by bringing home six “Moon Man” trophies – including breakthrough video and best direction – Thursday night during the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. But “Weapon of Choice,” directed by Spike Jonze and featuring Christopher Walken dancing up a hotel’s walls, was shut out of the prestigious video of the year prize, which went to Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink for “Lady Marmalade.” Last year’s big winners ‘N Sync walked away with four trophies for “Pop,” including the coveted Viewer’s Choice… Read more »

Alicia Keys says her expectations for her debut album, “Songs in A Minor,” never had anything to do with how well it sold. “Being connected with people, that’s what I hope for,” the 20-year-old Manhattan native says. “Numbers I leave for everyone else to count and calculate.” Well, everyone else has had a lot of calculating to do. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart after its release June 26. “We were stunned by the sales,” said Clive Davis, the music-industry veteran who heads up Keys’ label, J records. “Stunned” pretty much sums up the music world’s… Read more »

Sean “Puffy” Combs won’t mind if critics say his latest album is raw, unpolished and without any real theme. That’s the way he planned it. After a year in which he successfully fought criminal charges and lost his high-profile girlfriend, the hip-hop mogul just wanted to put out something that would make people want to party. “That’s why everything is so carefree, everything is so positive,” he said of his new album, which is being released the same week he makes his acting debut (as a gangster) in the movie “Made.” “I lived in a murky pit – a negative,… Read more »

Arista recording group, FROM ZERO, accelerates on the fast track with 40 dates on the road with Godsmack, Deftones and Puddle of Mudd. The summer tour season has kicked-in full force and From Zero will be out smacking you around till your deaf and lying face down in a puddle of mud! Hailing from Chicago indie cult status to landing a major label deal with Arista Records, From Zero finds itself as the first rock band being released from Arista Records under the helm of Antonio “L.A.” Reid. From Zero’s major label release ONE NATION UNDER which was produced in… Read more »

German media giant Bertelsmann’s shakeup of its flagging music division looks set to continue with U.S.-based subsidiary Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) reportedly looking to lay off hundreds of employees in its efforts to cut costs and raise profits. Rumors followed the appointment last week of former BMG Germany chief Thomas Stein to head BMG’s European division. Stein replaces Richard Griffiths, who is leaving the company by mutual agreement after six months in the job. “We have a new European management team and everything is being reviewed,” said a BMG Europe spokeswoman in Munich, who confirmed that BMG’s top management would… Read more »

After nine on-and-off years, Emo-rock trailblazers Sunny Day Real Estate have called it quits. The band had been at work on the follow-up to last year’s The Rising Tide but, because of business woes, has decided not to continue. According to the band’s statement on its official Web site (www.sunnydayrealestate.net), a “string of bad luck” with management companies and Arista Records ceasing to distribute the band’s label Time Bomb Recordings made a “European tour and advertising for a new album near impossible. As frustrations built, progress on the new album became stagnant at times. Not wanting to build personal tensions,”… Read more »

Clive Davis, widely recognized as the record industry’s most innovative and influential executive, will receive the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement from UCLA on May 4. Two-time Golden Globe winner Katherine Helmond will present the award. The only non-performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Davis was the founder and guiding force behind the powerhouse label Arista Records for more than 25 years, launching the careers of Billy Joel, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston and Dido, among others. Recently, Davis reunited with Santana to produce Supernatural, the Grammy-sweeping album, which has sold… Read more »

Epic Records President Polly Anthony has named Pete Ganbarg to the post of Senior Vice President, A&R. Ganbarg will report directly to Anthony and will be based in Epic’s New York office. Responsible for signing and developing new artists for Epic, Ganbarg will also work closely with artists already signed with the Group. Before joining Epic, Ganbarg served as Senior Director, A&R, Arista Records. “Pete Ganbarg brings to this position a truly committed approach to A&R and artist development,” Anthony commented. “He has a great set of ears and a unique ability to match the right song with the right… Read more »

A jury acquitted Sean “Puffy” Combs on all charges against him Friday evening, bringing to an end a 15-month ordeal that began after a shooting in a New York nightclub. Rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrow was convicted of two counts of assault as well as reckless endangerment and gun possession. But he was cleared of the most serious charge he was facing, attempted murder. Bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones was cleared of all charges against him. The jury spent three days deliberating after a six-week trial in which witnesses said Combs waved a gun inside Club New York on December 27, 1999,… Read more »