Search Results for: Record Store Day

Apple’s iTunes online music store may reach more customers throughout Europe after the body tasked with collecting artist royalties in France agreed to allow counterparts elsewhere to license its catalog. SACEM, which collects royalties for about 128,000 artists, said it would be willing to drop territorial restrictions and allow national counterparts to license its repertoire, European antitrust regulators said on Tuesday. If pan-European licensing becomes a reality, Apple, which controls slightly more than half of global digital music sales through iTunes, may look at broadening access to the system, European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes added. “If iTunes was readily able… Read more »

There was a point – midway through the writing process of Paramore’s new album – when they almost gave up. Racked by doubts that they had anything left in the tank, struggling to write material that matched the ferocity of their breakout Riot! album and smothered by unspoken tensions that had simmered ever since they nearly split in early 2008, they were treading water in their hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. And with deadlines – not to mention a tour with No Doubt – looming on the horizon, the situation was getting dire. “We went through a lot of heavy stuff… Read more »

Amazon.com and Wal-Mart have both quietly followed Apple’s lead and will now charge more for some top-selling tracks in their MP3 stores. Some songs will now sell for $1.29 at Amazon’s MP3 store, up from 99 cents, while Wal-Mart is now charging $1.24 for top tracks, up from 94 cents. Apple introduced variable pricing to its iTunes music store Tuesday, by charging 69 cents for older tracks, 99 cents for recent songs and $1.29 for new hits, instead of the previous 99 cents for any track. Amazon’s decision to raise prices seems especially unusual, considering that the company actually cut… Read more »

BURBANK, Calif. –  Premier pop powerhouse Jack’s Mannequin has confirmed their first worldwide tour of the new year in support of their critically-lauded sophomore Sire/Warner Bros. Records album, “The Glass Passenger.” “One doesn’t have to know McMahon’s back stories or relationship status to relate to his music — and that’s what makes ‘The Glass Passenger’ a fantastic, special album,”  Alternative Press Magazine noted. The tour will kick off Down Under in Australia this month before moving across the U.K. and Europe, and will touch down in the U.S. in early April through late May. “The Resolution,” the current single and… Read more »

Last month the music industry and Apple, long uneasy partners, seemed a picture of harmony when they agreed on new terms for pricing on iTunes, Apple’s online music store. Behind the scenes, however, the relationship remains as tense and antagonistic as ever. The announcement on Jan. 6 seemed to signal a rapprochement between the music industry and its biggest distributor: record companies gave up their demand for copyright protection (called digital rights management) and Apple allowed flexible pricing, so the labels could charge more for new or popular tracks. But according to one music industry executive involved in the negotiations,… Read more »

Apple® today announced several changes to the iTunes® Store. Beginning today, all four major music labels—Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, along with thousands of independent labels, are now offering their music in iTunes Plus, Apple’s DRM-free format with higher-quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings. iTunes customers can also choose to download their favorite songs from the world’s largest music catalog directly onto their iPhoneâ„¢ 3G over their 3G network just as they do with Wi-Fi today, for the same price as downloading to their computer. And beginning… Read more »

Given Fall Out Boy’s penchant for publicity stunts (see this year’s nixed attempt to set a Guinness World Record by playing in Antarctica, followed by successfully setting the record for Most Interviews On Radio In a 24 Hour Period By A Pair of Two after talking to 72 radio stations), it should come as no surprise that the band celebrated yesterday’s release of Folie à Deux with a 36-hour New York promotional blitz that involved a nearly free show, performing on late-night TV and almost getting arrested. Over the weekend, Pete Wentz posted cryptic teasers on his blog for two… Read more »

You’ve played the iPhone app. Now get the soundtrack. EMI Music has become the first major label to line up multiple artists for an edition of Tapulous’ popular iPhone game application Tap Tap Revenge. The new version of the rhythm game, called Tap Tap Dance, features songs by five EMI acts — Moby the Chemical Brothers Digitalism Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx — as well as independent acts Justice, Junkie XL Soul Magic Orchestra and Morgan Page Tapulous will release all 10 tracks included in the game by the end of the year as a digital soundtrack that will be… Read more »

MySpace, the popular social networking website owned by News Corp, said on Tuesday former MTV executive Courtney Holt will become president of its MySpace Music joint venture with the four major record companies. Holt’s name has been circulating on blogs for several weeks as a likely appointee. He will take on the delicate balancing act of managing expectations for MySpace executive team and the management teams at Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Music. MySpace said Holt will work with MySpace co-founder and Chief Executive Chris DeWolfe to oversee the growth and development of… Read more »

If you’ve ever dreamed of running away and joining the circus, December 1 is your night. Assuming, that is, you’re near New York’s Times Square and you are a Britney Spears superfan. A post on Brit’s MySpace page invites her supporters to be part of “Britney’s Greatest Fan Contest & Birthday Celebration,” asking them to congregate outside the Virgin Megastore in Times Square to celebrate the release of Circus, which hits stores December 2. At the event, Britney will be looking for her biggest fan, so contestants are being encouraged to “sing, dance, imitate or even profess their love for… Read more »