Search Results for: against the current

A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld as constitutional a law that barred a pirate broadcaster from ever obtaining a license for a low-power FM radio station or from being involved with a station. The court, by a 7-1 vote, ruled the law and the government regulations implementing it do not violate free-speech rights under the First Amendment. The full court reversed a ruling last year by a three-judge panel of the appeals court that struck down the law. Acting on a mandate from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules in 2001 that banned anyone who had been a… Read more »

Hilary Rosen, who led the music industry’s fight against online piracy, turning an obscure trade group into a major player in the debate over copyright protection, said Wednesday she will quit as chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America. Rosen, who will resign by year-end after 17 years with the RIAA, led the group recently in victorious copyright infringement battles against Napster and Aimster and this week’s judgment against Verizon Communications to stem piracy on the Internet. But despite the wins on the legal front, the music industry finds itself entrenched in one of its most tumultuous periods,… Read more »

Sheryl Crow, an activist for recording artists’ rights, brought her own message against a possible war with Iraq to Monday night’s American Music Awards. Crow accepted her award for pop-rock female artist wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the message “war is not the answer” in black sequins. She had the V-neck shirt specially made. “I just think there’s a really vital, sweeping peace movement out there that’s not getting covered in the press, so I just kind of try to do my part,” she said backstage. “I think war is based in greed and there are huge karmic retributions… Read more »

Nick Carter will launch his first solo tour on February 17, and from the looks of it, he’s going to have to get used to playing much smaller stages than he did with the Backstreet Boys. Carter will kick things off with a date at the Staircase in Pittston, Pennsylvania. The 17-date theater tour in support of his solo debut, Now or Never, is currently scheduled to run through a March 9 date at the Fillmore in San Francisco, according to his spokesperson. The solo stint comes on the heels of a $75 million lawsuit Backstreet Boys filed in November… Read more »

“What the hell is your problem, Manitoba? Phone me and tell me what your god damn problem is with our DVD.” That’s the message that Sum 41 guitarist Dave “Brown Sound” Baksh would like to send to the Manitoba government. Last night, the Manitoba Film Classification Board informed Sum’s label, Aquarius Records, that the bonus DVD, Cross The T’s And Gouge Your I’s, that is packaged with copies of the band’s new album Does This Look Infected? has officially been rated R. That means, if kids under the age of 18 want to buy the album without the DVD being… Read more »

Count Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong among those not supporting President Bush’s moves toward potential war with Iraq. The singer-guitarist is hoping to parlay his band’s popularity into a petition expressing his opinion and the opinion of others like him. Speaking on his band’s official website (greenday.com), Armstrong says: “For those of you who are opposed to the war in Iraq, I want to set up a petition on greenday.net to send to George W. Bush strongly urging him to rethink his plans for a military invasion. This petition isn’t only for people who live in America but people… Read more »

The lyrics to the song “This Is My Life Story” by MXPX run through my head as I hopelessly scramble to the very back of the line. I left later than I had hoped, got caught up in D.C. traffic, and arrived about 5 minutes before doors were scheduled to open. Once inside, I rush to get as close to the stage as I possible. While mashed between about five teeny boppers and their “boyfriends,” anticipation runs through my bones as I eagerly await the first performance. First up is Further Seems Forever. I was a little skeptical about this… Read more »

Pearl Jam will on Dec. 8 play its first hometown show since October 2001 with a benefit concert at Seattle’s Key Arena. Guitarist Mike McCready told local radio station KNDD today (Oct. 23) that proceeds will aid a variety of charities. He wouldn’t comment on rumors that Queens Of The Stone Age and Audioslave will also be on the bill or that another show may be added. Tickets go on sale Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. PT; members of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club fan organization can enter a lottery for specially reserved seats. Pearl Jam, whose new Epic album “Riot… Read more »

Record labels and artists were out in force Thursday to reiterate their blunt assessment of digital piracy’s effects on their financial well-being at a state government hearing in Sacramento. “I would like to begin with a simple proposition,” said Recording Industry Assn. of America president Cary Sherman. “The one-two punch of physical and digital piracy is threatening the livelihood of the music industry.” The hearing, convened by the California State Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet Media, was the second piracy gripefest in as many weeks for the industry, which is increasingly turning to the government for… Read more »

The story of Napster, the failed online song-swapping service, always promised the kind of larger-than-life elements Hollywood thrives on – corporate intrigue, a nail-biting court battle and a young hero. Now comes Napster, the movie. Cable network MTV on Wednesday said it has reached a deal for the exclusive rights to the life story of Shawn Fanning, who created the controversial and wildly popular file-sharing program in 1999 while he was a 19-year-old student at Northeastern University in Boston. The movie, tentatively scheduled to air in 2003-2004, may even star Fanning, now 21, as himself. “Anything is possible and the… Read more »