Search Results for: EUROPE

As Britney Spears begins her European tour Monday in London, the pop singer can count on selling more than $10 million worth of concert souvenirs like baby-doll shirts and posters during the five-week trek. About half of that sum will end up in her pocket, says Dell Furano, CEO of Signatures Network Inc., a merchandising and licensing firm that handles Spears products. In the 25 North American dates of her Onyx Hotel tour, Spears’ merchandise sales averaged $150,000-$170,000 a night, reaching a high of $180,000 during the Los Angeles show March 8, according Furano. Her career merchandise sales passed the… Read more »

Brian Wilson’s first new studio album in six years, “Gettin’ in Over My Head,” will be released by Warner Music Group’s Rhino Records on June 22. The 61-year-old former Beach Boy recently resurrected and finished his legendary “Smile” sessions, which he debuted live in the United Kingdom. Wilson is expected to tour Europe in the summer in support of “Gettin’ in Over My Head” and possibly bring the “Smile” concert to the United States in the fall. He is currently in the studio working on the final version of “Smile,” which will likely also be released through Warner. “Gettin’ in… Read more »

Police have arrested a man in Seattle for allegedly stalking Avril Lavigne. According to the Associated Press, 30-year-old James Speedy was taken into custody in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood and was taken to Lynnwood County jail after police searched his home last Wednesday (April 7). Police in Lynnwood have been investigating the case since Canadian police informed them that harassing letters and emails were being sent to Lavigne last year. The exact content of those letters and emails hasn’t been revealed, but police have told the press that they were creepy enough to freak Lavigne out. Coincidentally, the same… Read more »

It’s a good thing for Ryan Key that there’s no age requirement on nostalgia. His band, Yellowcard, is on the brink of a bright future thanks to a hit single that reminisces about the past. “It covers a broad, general topic without being too cheesy about it,” Key said of “Ocean Avenue.” “It’s one of those songs that kind of just captures that feeling of nostalgia and missing home and trying to get somewhere in your life that you can’t find anymore, because you’re all old and everything sucks and you’re not with your friends anymore.” Those sentiments seem better… Read more »

A legal battle between The Beatles’ record label Apple Corps and Apple Computer, which is to be heard in the High Court in London, is the latest move in a trademark dispute spanning 24 years. Their claims to the “Apple” name and logo will be heard in an English court, rather than in the US as requested by the computer firm. The latest clash came after Apple Corps claimed Apple Computer’s iTunes music store – which enables users to download songs to a computer or portable player such as the iPod – breaches an agreement between the two firms. But… Read more »

Oops. A bus driver who’s part of Britney Spears’ Onyx Hotel Tour brigade failed to stay within the safety zone and is now facing charges of speeding and disobeying police. The Tennessee trucker, who was transporting crew and equipment, led cops on a high-speed chase through New Hampshire Monday and later failed to show for his arraignment. A trooper tagged David Raines going 78 mph in a 65 mph zone Monday morning around 7 a.m. traveling south on Interstate 93 near Northfield, according to state police. Raines gave every indication of pulling over but then kept driving for approximately 10… Read more »

Despite more than ten years difference in age, fellow Canadians Chantal Kreviazuk and Avril Lavigne formed a relationship of mutual respect and sisterhood – and become songwriting partners – after they met last summer. “We became really good friends, and no one knew we were writing together,” says Lavigne. “Every single night for two weeks, we would write a new song. And then I was like, ‘OK, I’m ready to record them.’” The pair co-wrote six songs on Lavigne’s forthcoming album, Under My Skin (due May 25th): “Slipped Away,” “Forgotten,” “Together,” “How Does It Feel,” “He Wasn’t” and “Who Knows.”… Read more »

The pop diva’s Maverick Records filed a $200 million lawsuit against Warner Music Group and Time Warner Inc. on Thursday, accusing the record label and its former parent company of breaching its contract through poor management and deceitful accounting which cost Madonna and her partners millions. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Warner Music execs and other defendants “failed to abide by their contractual and fiduciary duty” by “engaging in acts of self-dealing and secret profit-taking, falsely accounting for receipts and expenses of the partnership [and] sacrificing the interests of the partnership and its partners for defendants… Read more »

Oops! girl Britney Spears was forced to cut short an encore after her concert last Thursday in Moline, Illinois, and cancel a Friday performance in Chicago after she hurt herself during a complicated dance routine. Spears was performing a new song, “Boom Boom,” when the mishap occurred, according to reports. Perhaps she hadn’t worked out all the kinks in the routine-in any case, Spears was forced to abandon the stage. Several minutes later, she reappeared on the stage in a white bathrobe and apologized to her fans for cutting the performance short. The “Toxic” singer had planned to continue with… Read more »

MTV has rolled out its first global tour sponsorship in the MTV Presents Britney Spears Onyx Hotel Tour 2004. Kicking off Tuesday (March 2) at the San Diego Sports Arena, the tour will play more than 25 cities in North America before visiting Europe, Latin America and Asia later this year. MTV’s sponsorship will include a number of on-air, online and onstage components to support Spears as she tours behind her multiplatinum Jive Records release “In the Zone.” “There are not that many artists that appeal to every territory with an MTV channel, but Britney Spears is one of the… Read more »