Search Results for: Japanese

Instead of fries, how about a little Beyonce or Bruce Springsteen to go with your Big Mac? In the latest blend of e-music with the food-and-beverage industry, Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. is working out a deal to promote the upcoming launch of its download music service through fast-food chain McDonald’s Corp., the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. According to the newspaper, McDonald’s is expected to commit about $30 million in advertising to the partnership in exchange for unspecified discounts to license some songs from Sony’s new download service, Sony Connect. Those songs would then be offered to McDonald’s… Read more »

Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. has canceled the planned sale this spring in Japan of two portable MP3 digital music players because of problems with the built-in FM radio tuners, the company said Monday. The AZ-FS256 and AZ-FS1 players were announced last month with great fanfare as part of the company’s effort to overhaul its Aiwa brand name. The FM tuners did not function properly with the other digital music functions, Sony said. “It is extremely regrettable that this product could not go on sale, and we are very sorry this happened about a product we had announced,”… Read more »

Apple, the US computer company behind the iTunes music service, has become the latest group to oppose the proposed deal between Sony Music and BMG, the recorded music arm of Germany’s Bertelsmann media group. The development comes as the European Commission begins an intensive second-stage investigation of the merger, a probe it is due to close by June 22. In an announcement on Thursday, the Commission said it had “decided to investigate whether the deal might create or strengthen a collective dominant position between the remaining four major record companies”. It said it would examine “the extent to which the… Read more »

Tower Records Inc. is singing a new tune: Chapter 11. The music and entertainment chain on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, burdened by too much debt and hammered by competition from large retailers, and Internet music downloading and piracy. The bankruptcy filings for Tower and its privately held parent, MTS Inc., cap a long period of distress for the money-losing chain of 93 stores, which sources say was unable to find a suitable buyer. MTS, based in West Sacramento, California, said its 3,100 employees, vendors and in-store and online customers will not notice operating changes because of the… Read more »

Sony Corp.’s earnings plunged 26 percent for the latest quarter as expenses for job cuts and other restructuring costs and lower profits from its electronics, moviemaking and video games business offset profit improvement in its music business. But the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said Wednesday its sales rose for the October-December quarter and it boosted its profit forecast for the year due to a gain on a currency investment. Sony said it earned 92.6 billion yen ($875 million) in the October-December period, down from 125 billion yen a year earlier. Sales inched up 0.7 percent to 2.32 trillion yen… Read more »

Sitting in the control room at Los Angeles’ Henson Studios earlier this fall listening to mixes for “This Left Feels Right” – a collection of Bon Jovi hits radically revamped by the band – Jon Bon Jovi admitted, “I don’t know if anyone’s gonna buy this.” The album, which came out Nov. 4, features songs revisited in ways that are startling at first: leadoff single “Wanted Dead or Alive” becomes a Led Zeppelin-like stomp, while “It’s My Life” morphs into a wistful ballad. But the tunes quickly show themselves sturdy enough to withstand the upheaval. “The children started to grow… Read more »

Radiohead are more likely to release an EP, or even several EPs, before recording another full-length album. With the release of their sixth studio disc, Hail To The Thief, the band have fulfilled their contract with their record label, and now singer Thom Yorke says they’re looking forward to not having to make another album right away. He told Billboard.com, “It’s always been album, album, album…with things like iTunes and people splitting up tracks, I kind of think that’s good. I listen to music on random all the time.” Yorke stressed the need for Radiohead to “reinvent” their sound again… Read more »

Britney Spears doesn’t have to appear at a hearing next week to seek a permanent order to keep an alleged stalker away, a judge ruled. Superior Court Judge Alan Haber also ruled that Spears can skip a question-and-answer with the lawyer for Japanese businessman Masahiko Shizawa. “I don’t think (ordering her appearance) would add up to anything but additional harassment,” Haber said Monday. The judge also told Shizawa’s attorney, Simon Robert Hiller, that the evidence shows his client “has been stalking and harassing Spears for a considerable amount of time.” But he said he’d keep an open mind for the… Read more »

Summer touring partners Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera each saw their latest solo albums reach the triple-platinum plateau in August. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Timberlake’s “Justified” (Jive) and Aguilera’s “Stripped” (RCA) for U.S. shipments of 3 million copies. Both albums debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The artists recently wrapped their co-headlining Justified & Stripped U.S. summer tour and now have set their sights on Europe. Aguilera will begin her own two-month tour there Sept. 12 in Greece with Japanese and Australian dates to follow. Timberlake will tour the region beginning Nov.… Read more »

Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. reported a 98 percent decline in profit for the April-June quarter as sales faltered in key businesses such as electronics, video games, movies and music. Sony said Thursday it earned 1.1 billion yen ($9 million) in the first quarter of its fiscal year, down from 57.2 billion yen for the same period last year. Sales for the Tokyo-based company fell 6.9 percent to 1.6 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) from 1.7 trillion yen. Sony set off a plunge in Tokyo share prices in April after it reported a loss in the final quarter of… Read more »