Search Results for: GOLD

Veteran record executive Clive Davis, whose ouster from Bertelsmann AG’s Arista caused an uproar two years ago, returned to the fold on Tuesday by selling his half of J Records to the company and taking the helm of a combined label group. As Bertelsmann’s music group, BMG, focuses on cutting costs during a prolonged industry downturn, the group said on Tuesday it would buy the 50 percent of Davis’ J Records it did not already own for undisclosed terms and combine it with its legendary RCA Records, home to stars like Christina Aguilera. Davis – pushed out in a management… Read more »

The Future of Music Coalition (FMC) has set its third annual policy summit for Jan. 5-7, 2003, at Gaston Hall on the campus of Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown University. The FMC has designated the summit as a forum to bring together independent musicians, music-biz executives, lawyers, teachers, and politicians to discuss and debate some of today’s most pressing music-related issues, including digital technology, artists’ rights, and Webcasting. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) will give keynote speeches during the event, which will also feature as panelists Fugazi principal/Dischord Records co-founder Ian MacKaye, musician Patti Smith, California State Senator… Read more »

As one of the forefathers of rap, with a history of social activism, Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay was an unlikely target for the kind of violence that killed rappers Tupac Shakur or the Notorious B.I.G. He was married with three kids, and a fixture in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. Yet authorities were searching Thursday for the gunman who killed the 37-year-old disc jockey with a gunshot to the head inside his recording studio. “Jam Master Jay was a longtime family man and one of the founders of the group that knocked down all the doors for hip-hop,… Read more »

The seminal album of British punk rock celebrates its 25th birthday on Monday and shows no sign of growing old gracefully. On October 28, 1977, the Sex Pistols unleashed their debut album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” on an unsuspecting world. It shot straight to the top of the album charts and stayed there for an astonishing 47 weeks. Everything about the album was designed to shock, from its provocative title, its 12 short, explosive songs and its garish pink and yellow pop art album cover. The names of the tracks were printed on the album sleeve… Read more »

The Vines will return to the road next month in support of their gold-certified debut album, Highly Evolved. The Australian rockers have lined up 14 shows in the Northeast and Midwestern parts of the country, beginning November 19 in Philadelphia. The dates are being packaged as the MTV2 Handpicked Tour. The Vines’ Capitol Records labelmates the Music will serve as the opening act. The British band’s debut album is due in February, 2003. The Vines’ Highly Evolved features the single, “Get Free.” Vines Tour Dates (Subject To Change): November 19 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA November 20 – Pittsburgh, PA… Read more »

‘N Sync is revisiting its formative years in a one-hour video comprising previously unreleased footage from the days when the pop quintet flew coach and stayed in cheap hotels. “The Reel ‘N Sync,” shot and edited by band member Joey Fatone (news), will be released on DVD and VHS on Nov. 5, a spokesman for distributor Trauma Records said Wednesday. Fatone, currently on Broadway with “Rent” and in movie theaters with “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” culled the clips from hundreds of hours of low-fi footage in his personal video archive. The video features no ‘N Sync songs. Instead it… Read more »

Madonna is moving into the field of covert operations. In her new video for “Die Another Day,” the pop diva, lusty temptress and maternal nurturer becomes involved in a world of intrigue and espionage. The song is the title track for the next James Bond movie, which opens in theaters November 22. The upbeat dance cut is filled with electronic flourishes and the stealthy, suspenseful vibe essential to all Bond themes. It will be released to radio October 7. In the clip, which was shot in Los Angeles earlier this month by directing team Traktor, Madonna plays a secret agent… Read more »

Chicago rockers Disturbed have upset the Dixie Chicks’ three-week run as chart champs, selling more than 283,000 copies of their second album to debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday. The riff-wielding quartet has come a long way in its short career. Disturbed’s 2000 debut, The Sickness, while eventually selling more than 2.6 million copies, took nearly two months to crack the chart after its release. What’s even more impressive is that Disturbed’s first-place showing came without an unavoidable, playlist-friendly video. The clip for the LP’s first single, “Prayer,” encountered restrictions because it was… Read more »

With many superstar acts up to their elbows in solo projects, movie roles, charity work or just on interminable hiatus, we decided to check in with some of them to determine when they might deliver their next albums. Barring gazing into a crystal ball, we did a bit of sleuthing to find out who is doing what, and when fans can expect another album (if at all). ‘NSYNC The scenario: Lance’s space mission trudges on, and Justin’s solo career looks poised to blast off. Joey’s working the Great White Way in “Rent,” Chris is trying his hand at TV work,… Read more »

If music school grades are a barometer of success, John Mayer should be living under a bridge busking for nickels. During an abbreviated tenure at Boston’s Berklee College of Music in 1998, the now platinum singer/songwriter found himself out of his element and overwhelmed. He had no formal musical training and his class marks reflected his lack of preparation. “They were pronounced like ‘d-d-d-f-f-f-f-f ‘ – like static,” he said of his grades during an interview in New York’s Central Park. “So I had to kind of totally burn that bridge because I didn’t know what I was doing. But… Read more »