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A clash with shareholders cost Thomas Middelhoff his job at the helm of media giant Bertelsmann – even though the company made money while rivals like AOL Time Warner and Vivendi ran into trouble. Not even one of the deals of the decade – reaping billions from selling a stake in AOL Europe at the height of the Internet bubble – could save Middelhoff from the same fate as Vivendi’s former chief Jean-Marie Messier and Robert Pittman, ousted as head of AOL Time Warner’s AOL division in a management shakeup. Bertelsmann said Sunday that Middelhoff was leaving due to “differing… Read more »

Lance Bass of the boy band ‘N Sync ( news – web sites) is working to finalize his contract with the Russian space agency, Russian officials said Monday, voicing optimism that the singer could catch an autumn flight to the international space station ( news – web sites). Space agency spokesman Vyacheslav Mikhailichenko said Bass has “serious intentions” and that they are negotiating terms of the flight contract. Previously, the agency had sounded lukewarm about prospects for Bass’ flight, saying he stood little chance of boarding a flight scheduled for October because there was too little time left for training.… Read more »

The first commercial radio station to cybercast its over-the-air playlist is among the first to fall victim to newly imposed royalty rates for online broadcasts. KPIG stopped streaming music online Thursday, ending a near seven-year run on the Internet. According to its own estimates, the small-scale station would have been forced to pay $24,000 in back royalties (or approximately $3,000 per month) from this year alone on an arm of the station that generates little or no revenue on its own. It was purely for the benefit of those who were interested in hearing it. Based in Freedom, California, KPIG’s… Read more »

EMI Group Plc played down chances of an attempt to merge or sell its business on Friday, saying it was more convinced than ever it was best off alone despite a rapidly shrinking music industry. Signs so far this year point to a steeper than expected decline in global music sales of four percent, but the world’s third biggest music group remains on track to meet its targets, EMI’s head of recorded music Alain Levy said. “When we originally announced a merger with Warner Music, we made clear the best option after that was to remain as a stand-alone. That… Read more »

Music fans weren’t quite ready to vacate “Nellyville” this week, as the sophomore album from St. Louis rapper Nelly stood strong against a heady debut from funk-punk foursome the Red Hot Chili Peppers and held on to the top spot for the third week running. Sales of “Nellyville” (Universal) slipped 24% to 340,000 units, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, but the album still managed to top 1.5 million in total sales after less than a month out. Fresh off that success, the hip-hop star is said to be planning a move into the TV world, starring in his… Read more »

After months of hedging, the Russian Space Agency has finally decided that Lance Bass has the right stuff. The agency has asked the International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board for permission to launch the ‘NSYNC singer as early as this fall, according to a letter sent to the nation-partners in the International Space Station. “It’s official, he’s their candidate,” confirmed NASA spokesperson Dwayne Brown on Tuesday (July 16). “We did indeed receive a letter nominating Lance Bass for the October flight.” Also on the Russians’ list for the prospective three-person crew are professional cosmonauts Sergei Zalyotin of Russia and Frank… Read more »

Back from a lengthy European jaunt, Lenny Kravitz will launch his thirty-three-date summer tour tomorrow night in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in support of his latest album, Lenny. Abandoned Pools will open all dates, with Pink playing the middle slot. Pink’s presence on the list had nothing to do with label politics coercing a veteran artist to take out a youngster. “She called me up and said she wanted to be on the tour,” Kravitz says. “And she sent me a pair of panties with her name and my name in rhinestones. It said, ‘Lenny’ and ‘Pink’ with a lightning bolt.… Read more »

The record industry pleaded on Wednesday with consumers to stop downloading and recording music for free because piracy was strangling the multi-billion-dollar industry. Profits have plummeted, especially in Europe. CD sales in Germany last year were 185 million whereas the number of blank CDs used to copy music was estimated at 182 million. Record executives also believe there are now more unauthorized music files available on the Internet than at the height of Napster ( news – web sites)’s success in the field. “Music for free means less new music, fewer new artists, less choice, thousands less jobs,” said Jay… Read more »

Scottish pop group Travis said on Wednesday they had canceled four European concerts after drummer Neil Primrose suffered a suspected spinal injury in a French swimming pool accident. Primrose was knocked unconscious after striking his head on Sunday while relaxing in the pool following a concert at Belfort in eastern France, the band said in a statement. He was taken by ambulance to hospital, where early indications suggested he had a fractured vertebra. He has been kept in hospital for further tests, the statement said. “Neil has had a terrible accident,” a spokesman for the band told the Daily Mirror.… Read more »

Despite prolonged major success for Nickelback and projects linked to its frontman, Chad Kroeger, the Canadian rockers don’t look to be slowing down any time soon with promoting its multi-platinum album, Silver Side Up. The group has a new single and accompanying video with the song, “Never Again,” a live DVD in the works, and tour dates now scheduled worldwide through December. Nickelback once again collaborated on both the video and the DVD with Nigel Dick, who directed clips for the band’s two previous singles, “How You Remind Me” and “Too Bad.” Kroeger said that the concept of the DVD… Read more »