Search Results for: Record Store Day

The writing is on the wall – and on the request lists of radio stations all across the nation – America wants AFROMAN. In just a few short weeks, AFROMAN’s breakout smash hit, “Because I Got High” has become the #1 most requested song at top radio stations around the country. “Because I Got High” is blitzing radio stations nationwide, with an unprecedented avalanche of requests leaving no doubt that the track will be the top “feel-good” single of the year. The first single from the upcoming Universal Records release The Good Times, “Because I Got High,” is a tongue-in-cheek… Read more »

Antitrust enforcers at the U.S. Justice Department are investigating the online music business, including two new joint ventures in the industry, an industry source said on Monday. The department is in the initial stages of a probe that includes the industry’s Pressplay and MusicNet ventures and, more generally, how major record labels control online distribution of copyrighted music, the source said. “They have launched an investigation.” Spokeswomen for Pressplay and MusicNet declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the Justice Department. MusicNet, one of the industry’s answers to the song-swapping service Napster, has the backing of AOL Time Warner… Read more »

Wet Seal is teaming up with Epic Records for an in-store appearance by punk upstart Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte will be making a personal appearance at the Wet Seal store at South Park Center in Strongsville, Ohio on Thursday, August 9th at 1 p.m. The band will be signing autographs and CDs, as well as drawing names for prizes, including full-length CDs, posters and signed promotional photos. The in-store event will be supported through advertising on local radio stations. Earlier that day (on August 9th), a lucky winner from a Wet Seal-Epic Records promotion will have toured the Rock and… Read more »

BMG Entertainment said Monday it will work with security technology provider SunnComm to create copy-protected CDs, one of a growing number of efforts by the record labels to combat alleged Internet piracy at the source. Under the deal, SunnComm said BMG will use its technology, dubbed MediaCloQ, which prevents people from being able to “rip” songs directly from a CD onto a computer. BMG said it is testing SunnComm’s technology and is starting to implement it on promotional CDs. BMG said it will decide later whether to use SunnComm’s technology for commercial releases. The announcement comes as major record labels… Read more »

You might think that after parting ways with a major label, Jimmy Eat World would take the opportunity to further indulge in the thoughtful experimentation that marked 1999’s Clarity, their second and final release on Capitol. After all, no label means no more A&R guys frowning at songs like Clarity’s 16-minute-plus “Goodbye Sky Harbor,” with its drum-loop buildup and crescendo of overlapping, programmed vocals. But left to their own devices, Mesa, Arizona’s favorite sons made their most straight-up pop record to date – Bleed American, which hit stores Tuesday. “Things still got pretty gnarly in the studio as far as… Read more »

Paul McCartney will soon have a new spouse to write silly love songs for. The 59-year-old former Beatle proposed to his girlfriend, Heather Mills, on Monday during a trip to Britain’s Lake District, his publicist said. The two are planning to marry sometime next year. He proposed by dropping to one knee and offering Mills an Indian sapphire ring he bought in Jaipur, India, during a vacation in January, his publicist said. McCartney’s first wife and fellow musician, Linda, died of breast cancer in 1998. “Paul and Heather thank their relatives and friends for the support that they’ve shown since… Read more »

Celebrity sales projected to fall just short of record set by group’s No Strings Attached. “Dirty pop” is turning out to be huge for ‘NSYNC, though maybe not as huge as last year’s model. Four national retail chains said Wednesday (July 25) that based on first-day sales of ‘NSYNC’s new album, Celebrity, projected first-week numbers appeared to be falling just short of those for the group’s No Strings Attached, which sold 2.4 million copies in its first week last March – the highest first-week sales of the SoundScan era. But Celebrity, released Tuesday, does seem to be on course to… Read more »

Thanks to a uniform labeling system, you know what you’re getting into when you unwrap a candy bar, stick of gum or even the legendarily mysterious Twinkie. A CD bearing a parental advisory label, however, gives no description of what potentially offensive offerings lie within. That was the main concern of Senators Fred Thompson (R-Tennessee) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), among others, at Wednesday’s Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the effectiveness of rating systems used by the entertainment industry. Though album stickers warn of “explicit content,” they don’t explain exactly what kind of content – violent, sexual or otherwise –… Read more »

Radio airplay is and has been the primary driver of retail record sales in the United States. Some estimate that nearly 90 percent of sales is the direct result of an artist being exposed on radio. But today, radio is joined by an array of other media choices: MTV, BET, and VH1, digital downloads, and streamed audio. Consumers borrow friend’s CDs and tapes, and see live performance. Any record label or promoter would be remiss by ignoring any one of these outlets since they all help to sell music. In the first-ever project of its kind, James Schureck at Jeff… Read more »

Maybe it’s a sign of ‘NSYNC’s maturity, the reason they appear to have risen to the top of the teen pop class. Whatever the answer, having both Hugh Hefner (arm-in-arm with six Playboy playmates) and the 15-year-old Olsen twins (Mary-Kate and Ashley, of “Full House” fame) at their album release party Monday night at least proves that their demographic has widened. Those were just a few of the celebrities joining the boys from Orlando, Florida, at the club Moomba on the eve of Celebrity’s arrival in stores, amid almost unreal expectations (not to mention whispers of vulnerability). Industry insiders predict… Read more »