Search Results for: Rock am Ring

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 »

What’s one way to ensure your mega music festival is well attended in the middle of a recession? Book a reunited Phish. The jam band’s legions of ardent followers sell out arenas in minutes, so with little difficulty they will flood the Tennessee fields of the Bonnaroo Music Festival, which begins Thursday and runs through Sunday. In its eighth year, Bonnaroo – arguably the country’s biggest festival – will have a distinctive Phish flavor. Oh, and a guy named Bruce Springsteen is playing, too. With that lineup, organizers expect that tickets to sell without a hitch along the way, in… 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 »

In the weeks leading up to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the recession was the tense undercurrent beneath the excitement over its 40th anniversary. The lineup was announced early this year to extend the ticket-buying season, and other festivals canceled or scaled down. Corporate sponsors Borders, AIG and Southern Comfort withdrew their support. But any concerns about Jazz Fest’s economic well-being evaporated Saturday when Bon Jovi delivered the second-largest audience in festival history. The hard rock band was this festival’s cause célèbre, evidence for festival veterans that Jazz Fest is losing its way, trading New Orleans music for… Read more »

MySpace, the popular social networking site, in partnership with MySpace Records and Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, Inc., announced last week the official launch of Rock The Space, an exclusive competition that encourages unsigned bands or solo artists to submit an original song for the opportunity to score a recording contract with MySpace Records, the company’s full-service independent label. Through July 1st, 2009, aspiring artists across the country can enter the contest by visiting Toyota’s MySpace Music profile. Kim McCullough, corporate manager for marketing communications at TMS, said the idea for the competition grew out of the longstanding link between… Read more »

Coldplay’s Chris Martin recently talked about what’s in his stereo, Viva la Vida’s next single and the “Viva”-related lawsuits the band is currently facing. First, guitarist Joe Satriani sued the band, claiming their Grammy-winning “Viva La Vida” ripped off his instrumental “If I Could Fly.” More recently, Cat Stevens, or Yusuf, has chimed in, claiming Coldplay stole the melody for the song from his own “Foreigner Suite.” Still, all the legal woes don’t have Martin down. “Yeah, some people are suing us at the moment and although it was initially a bit depressing, now it’s become really inspiring,” Martin said.… Read more »