Search Results for: The Home Team

There’s little cheer at the beginning of the holiday sales season. With the exception of the new releases and Christmas discs from Barbra Streisand and Mannheim Steamroller, every album in the top 50 had fewer sales in the week ending Dec. 2 than the week before, according to SoundScan figures issued Wednesday. Creed’s “Weathered” (Wind-Up) continues to hold the top spot with second-week sales of 417,000 units, a 53% drop. For the rest of the holdovers in the top five, “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 8” (Virgin) fell 46% to 353,000 units; Garth Brooks’ “Scarecrow” (Capitol Nashville) slid… Read more »

George Harrison, lead guitarist for the band that single handedly changed the face of rock forever, lost his battle with cancer Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 58. The Associated Press reports that Harrison passed away at 4:30 p.m. EST at a friend’s home. His wife, Olivia Harrison, and son Dhani were with him. The Beatles, unlike most bands of the early ’60s, both wrote and performed their songs, making them the first entirely self-contained music outfit. Even today, few superstar acts can take credit for penning all their hits, but from writing the lyrics and music to recording in… Read more »

For certain punks, there was no Bad Religion from 1996 through 2001. During that dark period, co-songwriter Brett Gurewitz split the seminal act he co-created with his pals in high school. He was disenchanted with the band’s major-label deal (at Atlantic), overwhelmed by the sudden hugeness of Epitaph – the label he founded to release Bad Religion records and eventually home to Rancid and the Offspring – and increasingly strung out on smack. The band would release two albums in his absence, both guided solely by the vision of Gurewitz’s estranged collaborator, Greg Graffin. Both records – 1996’s Gray Race… Read more »

Sirius Satellite Radio, the satellite radio broadcaster, today announced it hired consumer electronics and telecommunications veteran Joseph P. Clayton, 52, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Clayton joins Sirius from Global Crossing, the global internet and long distance services provider, where he was vice chairman. Mr. Clayton previously served as chief executive officer of Frontier Corporation, a Rochester-based national provider of local telephone, long distance, data, conferencing and wireless communications services, until its acquisition by Global Crossing in October 1999. Mr. Clayton succeeds David Margolese, Sirius’ founder and chairman, who stepped down as Chief Executive Officer in October. In… Read more »

Top showbiz execs pledged Sunday to step up their contribution to the war effort after a meeting with White House senior advisor Karl Rove. Details of Hollywood’s multifront initiative will be forged over the next few weeks, but industry moguls made clear their desire to pitch in. The campaign will include helping the Bush Administration spread its message regarding the war on terrorism both at home and abroad, support for U.S. troops and buttressing resolve among the American public. “All of us in the industry have an incredible urge to do something,” said Paramount Pictures chief Sherry Lansing. One concrete… Read more »

“This Way,” the eagerly awaited new album from Atlantic recording artist Jewel, arrives in stores across North America today, November 13th. The new collection is Jewel’s fourth album and her first set of all-new, self-penned material since 1998’s RIAA quadruple-platinum “SPIRIT.” “This Way” was produced by Dann Huff and Jewel, marking her first work as a producer. “This Way” is already reaping critical praise, highlighted by Rolling Stone’s recent 3 1/2-star rave review. “The apparent simplicity of folk presents wondrously complex and sexy possibilities for Jewel. She’s one of the most richly idiomatic female pop singers of her generation,” writes… Read more »

Known for their psychedelic, funk-infused hip-hop rhythms and all-around off-the-cuff attire, Outkast, with four studio albums under their belt, are just about ready for a greatest-hits record. Unlike the typical lists of memorable hits put together for most musical collages, Big Boi & Dre Present Outkast will feature songs that make fans not only shimmy and shake, but also stop and think. The message Outkast hope to get across takes form on the album’s first single, “The Whole World,” which is one of three new songs on the collection. A “The Wiz”-meets-“Alice in Wonderland” musical extravaganza, “The Whole World” is… Read more »

Anyone who’s ever waited with bated breath for the next airing of Britney Spears’ steamy “I’m a Slave 4 U” video can breathe easier come November. With the arrival of Britney: The Videos, fans can get Spear-ed any time they want. The home video, to be released on VHS and DVD formats November 20, features the “I’m a Slave 4 U” clip and behind-the-scenes footage from the set, as well as the pop star’s python-laced performance of the song from this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, according to a Jive Records spokesperson. The video for “I’m Not a Girl, Not… Read more »

Singer, model, actor Tyrese recently signed a recording deal with Clive Davis’s J Records. Tyrese’s former label RCA Records shut down its black music division last month, leaving artists Cherokee, Dante, and Coko in search for new label homes. Tyrese told LAUNCH that he was happy to join Davis’s music family. “I’m excited, man, because like never before, I’m going to be looked at as a recording artist, like I’ve always wanted to be looked at ’cause everything else I do is kinda…you know, you’re just winging it. I give my all, but it’s just extra curricular activities, you know,… Read more »

PressPlay, an online music venture between Universal Music and Sony Music, said on Thursday it signed licensing deals with six independent record labels that offer music by a wide variety of acts, from rappers 2 Live Crew to country singer Kenny Rogers to jazz legends Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. PressPlay, set to launch its service to subscribers this fall, noted that its latest deals with Madacy, Navarre, OWIE, Razor & Tie, Roadrunner and Rounder will add music from hundreds of artists to its already large catalog of music for streaming and downloading. The company said the six labels were… Read more »