Search Results for: Interscope Records

Jim Caparro, the man who helped build the Island Def Jam Music Group into the third-biggest record label in the U.S. through aggressive consolidation and savvy A&R, has decided to resign as chairman of the Universal Music division after three years on the job. Caparro, whose duties will be taken up by his longtime colleague, IDJ president Lyor Cohen, said the timing was perfect for his departure, with the label group at its peak performance and a strong cadre of execs to take up the reins. “People in this position normally leave because they get fired,” Caparro told Daily Variety.… Read more »

There’s little cheer at the beginning of the holiday sales season. With the exception of the new releases and Christmas discs from Barbra Streisand and Mannheim Steamroller, every album in the top 50 had fewer sales in the week ending Dec. 2 than the week before, according to SoundScan figures issued Wednesday. Creed’s “Weathered” (Wind-Up) continues to hold the top spot with second-week sales of 417,000 units, a 53% drop. For the rest of the holdovers in the top five, “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 8” (Virgin) fell 46% to 353,000 units; Garth Brooks’ “Scarecrow” (Capitol Nashville) slid… Read more »

Britney Spears, a former Mousketeer, is at the center of an aggressive drive into the movie business by a handful of young pop stars molded by the music industry and MTV. Not since the 1960s, when singers like Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Johnny Cash crooned their way onto movie screens, have studios produced as many star vehicles to showcase the hip-shimmying musical talents of the day’s teen idols. Their holy grail is “The Bodyguard,” starring Whitney Houston, which grossed $122 million and relaunched a pop song that became a perennial hit. The soundtrack is one of the best… Read more »

Retailers have seen a groundswell in demand for music with patriotic themes in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, sending record labels scrambling to keep the supply coming. That fervor helped to drive Columbia Records’ benefit compilation “God Bless America” to No. 1 in an otherwise quiet week for music sales. Nearly 181,000 copies of “God Bless America” headed out the door in the week ended Oct. 21, according to data compiled by SoundScan. Columbia parent Sony Music said a “substantial portion” of proceeds from the release, which includes tracks by Celine Dion, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, will… Read more »

Missy Elliott and Bubba Sparxxx producer Timbaland, who has released two albums with Magoo, says the duo’s forthcoming record Indecent Proposal, scheduled to be released November 20, will be his last. Timbaland tells LAUNCH he is concerned with being marketed to preteen girls. “Yeah man, that’s it for me,” he says. “I cannot do another Tim/Magoo album, not because of Magoo, because of me. I’m a grown man. I’m like 29. But I ain’t gonna be 34, 35 years old singing to 12-year-olds, and talking about all this stuff, screwing and humping, talking about this girl is strippin’ and that… Read more »

Building on the success of last week’s all-star telethon for victims of the Sept. 11 air attacks, musical performances from the show will be packaged as a benefit album to raise additional relief dollars, organizers said Wednesday. Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, is overseeing efforts to obtain rights for the companion CD from the recording artists who appeared on the show, insiders told Reuters. Interscope is a unit of Vivendi Universal. Iovine played a key role in booking musical acts for the telethon, dubbed “America: A Tribute to Heroes,” which featured such stars as Bruce Springsteen, Mariah… Read more »

It’s a safe bet that most radio listeners have never heard of rock singer Matthew Harrison. The owner of tiny Third Monk Records, which released Harrison’s album, says there’s a simple reason: The company can’t afford the hidden costs of obtaining radio airplay. Jeff Robinson, the label’s sole proprietor, said he doesn’t have the money to hire independent promoters who heavily influence station playlists. “They’ve got it locked up and there’s absolutely no room to do what I’m trying to do,” Robinson said. “And if you can’t get exposure for your product, you’ll never be able to sell any records.”… Read more »

In times of trouble, people often turn to music for comfort. Right now, they can also turn to musicians and the music industry for direct aid, as the industry mobilizes to help victims of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks and their families. Most tours and performances scheduled for this week have either been canceled or postponed, but many of the artists who chose to carry on will be donating portions of their concert proceeds to relief efforts. Madonna pledged proceeds from Thursday’s performance at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to disaster victims and their families, according to the Associated Press, while… Read more »

Timbaland is like an athlete who took his franchise team from lottery-pick status to a dynasty. After helping everyone from Nas to Nelly Furtado stay on people’s lips when they make requests to a DJ, Timbaland is bored. He needs new challenges and wants to start from scratch. “I’m tired of making hit songs,” lamented Tim, who said he’s the coach “Phil Jackson” of the studio. “I done made 20 #1 hit records. That’s old to me. Let somebody else go and do it. I gotta make records that mean something.” With the exception of a few of his friends… Read more »

Ozzfest 2001 drew to a close Sunday, leaving many fans wondering what the future holds for their favorite bands. Whether it’s working on a new album, heading back out on the road or prepping their next video, to cop a metal cliché from Ozzy’s 1989 solo album, there seems to be no rest for the wicked. For those who missed out on this summer’s hardest happening, the live album Ozzfest 2001: The Second Millennium, featuring live cuts from all the Ozzfest offenders, hits stores Tuesday. Black Sabbath are hoping to book more studio time to finish up their new album,… Read more »