Search Results for: EUROPE

Gorillaz, the cartoon indie-beat band formed by Damon Albarn of the rock band Blur, picked up six nominations, including best group, in the eighth annual MTV Europe Music Awards noms, announced here Tuesday. Gorillaz will compete with Destiny’s Child, Limp Bizkit, R.E.M. and U2 for the best group prize in a ceremony to be aired live Nov. 8 on MTV’s worldwide channels from Frankfurt, Germany. Additionally, Gorillaz’ international hit single “Clint Eastwood” is up for best song. Nominees in the female act category include Dido, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and Mariah Carey, while Robbie Williams, Eminem, Ricky Martin, Shaggy… Read more »

French-American media giant Vivendi Universal confirmed on Tuesday its profit and sales targets for this year and said it was well positioned for additional growth despite the uncertain economic environment. The company issued its bullish outlook as it reported that net profit dwindled to a meager 22 million euros ($20.3 million), weighed down by goodwill from its Seagram merger, provisions and losses at companies in which it holds stakes. The company’s outlook compared favorably with those of its top competitors, several of which have issued profit warnings in recent days. Media firms, particularly those exposed to the tumbling advertising market,… Read more »

American songwriters and music publishers have reached preliminary agreement with the on-line file sharing service Napster to settle the class-action lawsuit currently pending in federal court in California. The agreement includes terms under which the songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster’s new membership-based service. The announcement of the proposed settlement was made jointly by Edward P. Murphy, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association, Inc., Gary L. Churgin, president and CEO of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., George David Weiss, president of The Songwriters’ Guild of America, Inc., and Napster president and CEO Konrad… Read more »

Irish rock band U2, which just finished a European tour, will return to North America in October for 15 arena dates, the group’s promoter said. The tour will begin on Oct. 10 at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and will conclude on Nov. 18 in Las Vegas, according to a statement issued on Monday by Clear Channel Entertainment, a unit of Clear Channel Worldwide. U2 will also play Chicago, Baltimore, New York City, East Rutherford, Providence, Philadelphia, Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Oakland and the Canadian cities of Montreal and Hamilton. U2 have already grossed an… Read more »

Sting, the Grammy award-winning Universal Music artist and performer, has partnered with Vizzavi for its first music European-wide webcast. Vizzavi is the rapidly growing internet portal formed by Vodafone Group plc, the world’s largest mobile network operator, and Vivendi Universal, one of the world’s leading media companies. The concert is the actual recording of Sting’s much anticipated new album due for release later this year. This is no ordinary event – the recording will be Sting’s first “live” album since 1986’s Bring on the Night and will be comprised of both his solo work, as well as the hits from… Read more »

Pop star Robbie Williams became addicted to sex with strangers after giving up drink and drugs while on tour, the singer says in a new book being serialized by a British newspaper. Extracts from the book “Somebody Someday,” written with Williams’ approval during his European tour earlier this year, were printed in the News of the World tabloid Sunday. In the book, the singer, 27, talks candidly about his battle with drink and drugs and his love-hate relationship with fame. “I gave up drink and drugs on the tour and wanted to substitute it with something else, so I had… Read more »

A man hired to help manage finances for the construction of Cher’s $25 million Malibu mansion has sued the pop star, saying she forced him out of his job after he exposed alleged improprieties in the building process. During opening statements on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, an attorney for Cher characterized plaintiff Salvador Sampino as “emotionally ill” and said the former health club worker was “never once retaliated against” during his 14 months on the project. Attorney William Bloch, an attorney for Sampino, told a jury that during the next few weeks they would hear evidence that his… Read more »

Staind’s latest album Break The Cycle was recently released overseas and is garnering a great response: This week it debuts at Number One in the U.K., Number Two in Ireland, and Number Six in Australia. The sales figures have been helped by European festival appearances, which concluded August 30 in Paris, France. The album has already sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S. LAUNCH asked Staind singer-songwriter Aaron Lewis when he realized his band was a musical force. “I don’t think that has dawned on me yet,” he said. “When you lose the mindset of trying to prove… Read more »

Album sales for R&B singer Aaliyah rose 41 percent last week, reflecting a surge of interest in the 22-year-old performer following her death in a plane crash this past weekend, statistics showed Wednesday. Music retail tracking firm SoundScan’s album charts for the week ended Aug. 26 showed sales of her latest album, “Aaliyah,” had grown to 62,000 copies, up from 44,000 units the week earlier. Total sales of “Aaliyah” since its July 10 release reached 509,000 copies as of Aug. 26, putting the disc at No. 19 on the latest Billboard Top 200 chart of pop albums. Blackground, Aaliyah’s record… Read more »

When Arista President Antonio “L.A.” Reid signed recording group Adema he made sure they did it the right way – after completing their debut album they hit the road on a series of shows opening for Staind, and the commitment has paid off with an impressive top 5 entry for their self-titled debut album on Soundscan’s Hard Music, Hard Music Core Albums and Alternative Core Albums charts. “The buzz is strong, the music stronger,” raved Billboard, as the momentum carried over to ADEMA’s #27 debut on the all-ruling Billboard Top 200 Albums chart (issued dated September 8th). “Moody, hard and… Read more »