Chris Brown’s irate state of mind, as displayed over the weekend in a series of angry tweets, was silenced Monday afternoon when the embattled artist abruptly canceled his Twitter account.
Hayley Williams owns a car, though she prefers to ride her bike. If you live in Franklin, Tennessee, you probably know this by now, because she pilots the thing – a beige, kid-size rattletrap with a basket on the front – all around her hometown, chatting up the locals and stopping in at places like Puckett’s Grocery and the Ivey Cake bakery. She paid $60 for it at a nearby thrift store. It’s probably worth $30. Williams also owns a house in town, and though it’s certainly worth more than her bike, it’s not much flashier: a modest stone number… Read more »
Songwriters, composers, and music publishers are making preparations to one day collect performance fees from Apple and other e-tailers for not just traditional music downloads but for downloads of films and TV shows as well. Those downloads contain music after all. These groups even want compensation for iTunes’ 30-second song samples. In the future, Apple may be required to pay licensing fees to ASCAP and BMI for the downloads of TV shows and films it sells. At a time when many iTunes shoppers are still fuming over Apple’s first-ever increase in song prices, the demands by the American Society of… Read more »
Fueled By Ramen recording group Paramore has announced details of their hugely anticipated third album, Brand New Eyes, which will land in stores Sept. 28. Produced by Grammy Award-winner Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock, My Chemical Romance) and co-produced by the band, Brand New Eyes is the long-awaited follow-up to 2007’s US platinum certified, and UK gold certified, second album Riot!, which has now sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The new 12-track collection is unquestionably Paramore’s brightest album to date, fit to burst with all the exuberant melodies, breathless hooks and irrepressible energy that has made the Nashville-based… Read more »
Rock legend Jimi Hendrix’s first recording contract worth $1 and erotic multimedia tapes sent by Madonna to her old bodyguard went on sale in an online auction Monday. The more than 450 items featured in the rock ‘n’ roll and pop art auction on www.gottahaverockandroll.com included personal effects from John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Eminem. The auction will run through August 5th. Hendrix’s earliest known contract for $1, dated October 15th, 1965, could fetch up to $250,000, auctioneers said. It was signed by Hendrix and PPX Enterprises of New York for Hendrix to… Read more »
As a throwback to the old days of the two-song 45 rpm vinyl record, the iTunes Store launched a new “D45” section Tuesday, featuring discounted prices on packs of two digital song downloads. Just like old 45s, the iTunes D45 selection includes a popular single accompanied by a B-side song. Prices on the D45s range from $1.49 to $1.99. “iTunes is bringing this concept to a new age with D45s — two great tracks at an equally great price,” the iTunes Store reads. Music company EMI announced Tuesday that the release of D45s marks the 60th anniversary of the 45… Read more »
In early 1984, when Epic Records executives presented their slate of upcoming releases at the convention in Hawaii of parent company CBS Records they couldn’t resist playing up the success they were experiencing. So between the pitches for new albums, Epic inserted stock footage of semi trucks and a voice-over that thunderously announced, “There goes another load of Michael Jackson’s Thriller albums!” Trucks weren’t really leaving the warehouse every few minutes, but Thriller was still shattering expectations more than a year after its November 30, 1982, release. Epic was selling more than 1 million copies per month in the United… Read more »
As Internet reports suggested, Pearl Jam was indeed recording a Target commercial under the direction of Cameron Crowe last week at Seattle’s Showbox theater. But there is more to the story than an exclusive retail relationship. It has been known that Pearl Jam is no longer under contract after 18 years of recording for Sony-affiliated labels, and there has been a good deal of speculation about who would release the rock act’s next album. Kelly Curtis, who has managed Pearl Jam since its inception, conducted a wide-ranging interview Sunday night, confirming that the band’s next album — rumored to be… Read more »
Not much rattles Apple. Disciplined and focused, the company lavishes attention on its own elegant products and rarely deigns to discuss rivals. Yet here was Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer and designated stand-in for ailing CEO Steve Jobs, erupting during an earnings call in late January at the mere mention of a pip-squeak competitor. The pest in question was Palm, the fallen pioneer of handheld digital organizers, which two weeks earlier had unveiled a new smartphone, the Palm Pre, to rave reviews. Not only did the Pre have features the iPhone couldn’t match – snazzy multitasking, universal search, a… Read more »
Fabled Michigan rock band Pop Evil has signed with Universal Republic Records and released Lipstick On A Mirror today. The album has been re-mixed and re-mastered, with a brand new song, “Rolling Stone,” and a riveting acoustic rendition of their signature song “100 In A 55,” which is already gaining traction online, even before its official release to multiple radio formats. In support of the release, Pop Evil will sweep the nation on a two month long tour supporting Judas Priest and Whitesnake beginning July 5th in Wallingford, Conn. Led by larger-than-life frontman Leigh Kakaty, the band is already the… Read more »
