Search Results for: GERMANY

The head of Bertelsmann’s e-commerce arm became the latest victim of the German media giant’s restructuring on Wednesday when the group announced a major shake-up of its music distribution interests. Bertelsmann said Andreas Schmidt was leaving the company as the German-based group unveiled plans to fold its e-commerce arm into BeMusic, a new unit that will house its record club, music retailer and other music distribution businesses. Guetersloh, Germany-based Bertelsmann is sprucing up its sprawling media empire ahead of an expected stock market flotation in the next two to three years, and has been reviewing its business for possible cost-saving… Read more »

Rock ‘n’ roll will never die. Unless it is being made by classic rockers like Rolling Stone frontman Mick Jagger and former Beatle Paul McCartney, whose new albums are barely registering a pulse at cash registers in the United States. The very youth culture that propelled these music legends to stardom back in the 1960s is now discarding them in favor of a new generation of fresh-faced youngsters, such as perky teen queen Britney Spears and spiritual rockers Creed. According to sales data issued on Wednesday, Jagger’s new album “Goddess in the Doorway” (Virgin) debuted at No. 39 on the… Read more »

Britney Spears’ third album, “Britney”, debuts at no. 1 on the album sales chart this week with 745,744 units sold, more than doubling last week’s top selling album. This gives Britney Spears the second best selling album of 2001 according to Soundscan (the no. 1 best selling album of 2001 goes to her label mates *NSYNC). Beyond all of this, Britney also becomes the first solo female performer in the history of The Billboard 200 to have her first three albums debut in the no. 1 spot. Britney demonstrates the artist’s global appeal with debuts at number one in Canada,… Read more »

While Ali G was insulting German celebrities in a naff bit of hosting in the country’s financial capital, many people were wondering why MTV had selected the less than musical city on the Main for this year’s event. Was it for the internet address, MTV.de, which was held by a local transit company until MTV announced that it had decided to come to Frankfurt? More probable is that the music television pioneer was trying to boost its visibility in Europe’s largest media market, a place where the locals are, in US parlance, kicking its ass. Viva Media, which is listed… Read more »

Fred Durst was the undisputed star of Thursday’s MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony, accepting three awards and performing with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Limp Bizkit won Best Group, Best Rock Act and the Web Award, besting nominee leaders Gorillaz, who won only two of the six awards they were up for – Best Dance Act and Best Song for “Clint Eastwood.” Durst, Page and Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin played the Zeppelin song “Thank You,” nearly stealing the show from such fellow performers as Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z, who performed “Girls, Girls, Girls” with 300 German women joining… Read more »

Michael Jackson loves watching “Sesame Street,” plans to make a movie with close friend Liza Minnelli, and says he will build a computer school on the grounds of his Neverland estate so his own kids won’t have to go “into society.” In a rare interview, published on Thursday in TV Guide magazine to promote “Invincible” – his first album of original music in six years – Jackson also said he always felt awkward off stage and that some of his closest friends were celebrities who had also started out as child stars. “People who grew up as child stars have… Read more »

It’s official. Michael Jackson, the self-proclaimed “King of Pop,” is the “King of Sales” this week, but music industry insiders predict he will soon lose the crown to pop teen queen Britney Spears. Jackson’s first album of original music in six years, “Invincible,” sold 366,272 units in the week ended Nov. 4, the first week of its release, topping all other U.S. albums, according to Soundscan, which tracks music retail figures. The pop star made an unprecedented in-store appearance Wednesday at the Virgin Megastore in New York’s Times Square, wearing a shiny royal blue outfit, complete with his signature finger-less… Read more »

Global music channel MTV will hope to bring a little international glamour to Frankfurt Thursday when Germany’s buttoned-down financial center hosts its European awards show. Although Frankfurt is better known for staid bankers than flashy rockstars, MTV expects to draw up to a billion viewers worldwide for the 2001 European Music Awards with a line-up including performances by Kylie Minogue, R.E.M. and Depeche Mode. Presenters will include local German favourites such as tennis star Boris Becker and supermodel Heidi Klum, as well as American actor Ben Stiller and Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. The show will be hosted this year by… Read more »

The Dave Matthews Band has scratched a handful of international tour dates, deciding instead, as the band’s Web site puts it, to stay close to family and friends “in light of recent global events.” The group wrapped up a four-month U.S. tour in August and was scheduled to play November 6 in Mexico City before heading overseas for shows in the U.K. and Germany. A band spokesperson said the group hasn’t decided yet whether to reschedule the dates but that the band will definitely resume touring before the end of the year and stay at it through the beginning of… Read more »

Blink-182 has postponed its fall European tour in support of its latest album, Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, becoming the latest American group to make such a move in recent weeks in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Blink has rescheduled the trek for just after the first of the year, beginning in Zurich, Germany on January 4. Fourteen shows are scheduled, including a two-night stand at London’s Wembley Arena. Others to cancel overseas tours since the tragedies on the East Coast include Weezer, Janet Jackson, Pantera, and Aimee Mann.