Search Results for: EUROPE

Emeryville, Ca – Gracenote®, a leader in global digital entertainment technology, today celebrated over 10 years of the Gracenote CDDB helping consumers identify and enjoy digital music around the world by surpassing two billion CDs identified. The two billionth CD was by Rusted Root, a neo-hippie band, for the album, “When I Woke.” Launched in 1995 as CDDB, Gracenote’s Global Music Database is part of a complete content solution that enables users to identify, manage and enjoy their digital media collections. Widely adopted by consumer electronics and PC application companies, Gracenote’s technology is an “essential” ingredient in the world of… Read more »

New York – Singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne will spend most of the summer on the road in North America, beginning July 13 in London, Ontario, and wrapping Sept. 3 in Montreal. Gavin DeGraw and Butch Walker will serve as opening acts at various points, as well as other yet-to-be announced artists. The artist is expected to spice up the set lists by making appearances on drums and piano. She’ll also recast certain songs in an acoustic setting. Lavigne will be out in support of her sophomore RCA album, “Under My Skin,” which has sold 2.6 million copies in the United States,… Read more »

San Diego – You know it was a powerful show if every single seat in the arena is still occupied by fans singing at the top of their lungs even after the band is done and the house lights go up. That was the scene Monday at the San Diego Sports Arena, where U2 kicked off their Vertigo Tour with a two-hour celebration of the new and the old and a few favorites in between, including a grand finale of “40” that felt more like the end of an Easter service than a rock concert the night after. “We haven’t… Read more »

Cleveland – Despite lukewarm sales for highly anticipated reunion album “Astronaut,” the members of Duran Duran aren’t about to give up on the Epic disc. Released late last year, the set has sold 219,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. “I don’t think any of us are satisfied with how that record has done, and that’s really why we’re planning on staying on the road for most of this year,” bassist John Taylor told Billboard. “Because I think it’s an album that is deserved of a bigger audience than what it already has, our job in part… Read more »

Berlin – German media group Bertelsmann AG said Thursday its profit rose sharply in 2004 thanks to strong performances by its television, music and media services businesses and lower writeoffs due to changed accounting rules. Earnings rose to 1.03 billion euros ($1.28 billion) from 154 million euros in 2003, while revenue rose 1.2 percent to 17.02 billion euros ($21.17). A company statement did not include fourth-quarter figures. The Guetersloh-based company credited a good showing by subsidiary RTL, Europe’s largest television broadcaster, which boosted earnings to 668 million euros ($831 million) from 503 million euros, helped by the company’s acquisition of… Read more »

Chris Cornell, prepare to get your transcendence on. Audioslave are hitting the road in support of their upcoming second album beginning April 14 in Las Vegas, and from sound of things, opening night can’t come soon enough for Cornell. “I can just go out onstage and get lost in the music and get lost in whatever it is I am doing and it becomes transcendent, and it is kind of addictive now,” the singer said Wednesday (March 16). “With Audioslave, I’ve really started to like the road a lot. There is a certain dedication and work ethic that the band… Read more »

New York – Bono is now another type of frontman: U2’s lead singer – and most recognizable face – is charged with raising awareness and interest in the new fashion brand Edun. The casual collection of jeans, T-shirts, chiffon dresses and shrunken blazers is Bono’s brainchild. He’s out there promoting it (most recently at a launch party at Manhattan’s flagship Saks Fifth Avenue) and he’s wearing it, showing off his Edun jeans paired with his signature wraparound sunglasses. “I’m here to try to get the sound on the radio, if you know what I mean,” Bono says. He joins scores… Read more »

Washington – Bono won’t be saving the world at the helm of the World Bank. The lobby group co-founded by the Irish band U2’s lead singer on Thursday knocked down media reports that he was a serious contender to head the global institution that provides billions of dollars annually to help the world’s poorest countries. “I can’t believe I need to say this, but there are no circumstances in which Bono would be nominated or accept the World Bank job,” said Jamie Drummond, executive director of DATA – or Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa – for which Bono campaigns to raise… Read more »

Los Angeles – Academia’s loss is heavy metal’s gain. Ian Kilmister, a.k.a. Lemmy, the frontman for Grammy-winning English rock trio Motorhead, could have made a stimulating history professor, sharing his begrudging admiration for Goering and disdain for “bastards” like Hitler and Roosevelt with eager students. Instead, the 59-year-old achieved cult fame with generations of headbangers by singing and writing furious anthems like “Killed By Death” and “Orgasmatron.” But he remains fascinated by World War II and he spends his money collecting Nazi memorabilia, which is piled high in his two-bedroom apartment off the Sunset Strip. “I was born in ’45,… Read more »