Search Results for: The Aces

The industry gets upset when anyone calls this a “tax” so I’ll use the “voluntary license” term, even though tax is much more accurate. A true voluntary license wouldn’t require everyone having a certain provider to opt-in, but that’s exactly what this plan would require. In fact, as the slides indicate, eventually it would basically require all ISPs to “opt-in” forcing all of their members to “opt-in.” Suddenly, everyone has to pay. That’s not a voluntary license. It’s a tax. However, even if we step back and pretend it’s really a voluntary license, and even if we grant the premise… Read more »

LOS ANGELES — In an election otherwise full of liberal triumphs, the gay rights movement suffered a stunning defeat as California voters approved a ban on same-sex marriages that overrides a recent court decision legalizing them. The constitutional amendment – widely seen as the most momentous of the nation’s 153 ballot measures – will limit marriage to heterosexual couples, the first time such a vote has taken place in a state where gay unions are legal. Gay-rights activists had a rough election elsewhere as well. Ban-gay-marriage amendments were approved in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning… Read more »

Folksy French-Israeli singer Yael Naim found commercial success after her song “New Soul” played in Apple’s MacBook Air laptop ads, pushing the song to No. 7 on U.S. music chart Billboard’s Hot 100. She already had gained fame for what some saw as a comic choice to cover pop singer Britney Spear’s “Toxic,” singing a soulful, poignant version of the commercial hit while playing piano. But Naim, 29, whose self-titled new album was just released in the United States two months earlier than originally planned following the success of the Apple ad, says she’s not worried about being seen as… Read more »

Michael Jackson’s famed Neverland Valley Ranch in California will be foreclosed and sold on March 19 unless the pop star pays a balance of nearly $25 million, property records showed on Tuesday. FoxNews.com celebrity columnist Roger Friedman reported on the Web site that Jackson has been formally apprised of the foreclosure and that legal documents have also been filed with the Santa Barbara County Recorder’s office. “You are in default of a deed of trust …,” Jackson was told in the five-page filing, according to a copy of the document published by FoxNews.com. “Unless you take action to protect your… Read more »

A teenager who suffered a breakdown on the German version of “American Idol” could end up costing its broadcaster 100,000 euros ($147,000). Germany’s Cultural Council, an official youth protection watchdog, has recommended private German broadcaster RTL be fined for broadcasting the incident, and other humiliating moments on its top-rated “Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar” or “DSDS.” The Cultural Council accused RTL of “malicious disregard” for humanity on the show, arguing that the manner in which contestants are humiliated on the show could have detrimental effects on young viewers. At issue are the early episodes of the current “DSDS” season, which focused… Read more »

DETROIT–Despite the recent appearance of “All My Life,” his first new pop song in 14 years, Billy Joel says he doesn’t foresee a re-opening of the creative floodgates that led to 33 Top 40 hits. “I’m not ruling out the possibility of writing songs again,” Joel tells Billboard.com. “I suppose if I had the motivation to write a song, I’m not gonna stop myself from doing it. I just haven’t felt the compulsion to write songs in pop form. I guess these days I just think of myself as a composer.” Joel — whose last album of original material, “River… Read more »

We’re not even 20 seconds into the show, and Ryan Seacrest is already suggesting that we’re in for one helluva train wreck tonight. “We don’t havhe Paula! But we’ll find her, right?” This is “American Idol”? It’s the last round of semifinal performances, and nothing could be worse than Tuesday’s embarrassing men’s show . Well, I guess if they let Antonella sing for the entire episode I’d reconsider that statement. But with a group of girls this talented, even an off-night would be worth watching. And Paula’s top-of-the-show disappearing act certainly suggests that it may be chock full of potential… Read more »

New York – New York’s legendary rock club CBGB, which helped launch everybody from Blondie to the Ramones, faces closure if it does not resolve a dispute over unpaid rent with the homeless charity that owns the building. Club owner Hilly Kristal said the dispute dated from 2001, when the landlord presented a $300,000 bill for unpaid rent. Though most of that has now been repaid, the club was handed another bill earlier this year for $76,000 which CBGB has not paid. The club’s lease comes to an end in August and talks on renewal are stalled. “The real thing… Read more »

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The bodyguard for country singer Gretchen Wilson was charged Tuesday night with unlawful weapons possession while she was at the Country Music Association’s awards show. Police said they found at least four weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the sport utility vehicle belonging to Daniel Lee Rhoades, 38, of Olive Branch, Miss. Officers said Rhoades also was carrying a 9 mm pistol and retractable police baton. At the time the vehicle was found in a parking lot, Rhoades was with Wilson at the nearby Grand Ole Opry House where the show was being held. Rhoades… Read more »

So the FCC wouldn’t let him be, wouldn’t let him be he…and now Eminem is making the move to satellite radio. On Monday, the Grammy-winning rapper announced his plans to team up with Sirius Satellite Radio to “deliver an uncut hip-hop radio station like never before” beginning this fall. “Once upon a time not too long ago, the feds wanted all my music off the air,” Eminem said in a statement. “Now we’ll be on Sirius 24 hours a day, playing the best hip-hop…not just from Shady Records, but from everywhere. “I can’t wait to start dropping new material, exclusive… Read more »