Search Results for: against the current

United States District Judge A. Howard Matz issued a preliminary injunction against American Online, Inc. finding that PlayMedia Systems’ had established the probable validity of allegations that its AMP(R) MP3 playback technology was used in the AOL 6.0 Media Player without permission. At issue is whether AOL violates the terms of a 1999 licensing agreement. PlayMedia, a firm that designs and develops digital content distribution and management software, markets a popular MP3 audio decoding engine known as AMP. PlayMedia originally licensed AMP to Nullsoft in 1999 for use in conjunction with Nullsoft’s Winamp product. AOL subsequently bought Nullsoft and used… Read more »

Some musicians will sing almost anywhere to get a new record contract. Rock ‘n’ roll bad girl Courtney Love performed for the president of a major record label in a backstage bathroom Saturday night after her Hollywood Bowl concert was cut short by time constraints, her publicist said on Monday. The unusual V.I.P. restroom gig was hastily arranged to give the unnamed label executive a chance to hear Love and her new band play a couple of songs they never got to perform for the audience, spokesman Tas Steiner said. Love, 37, who was opening for rock band Jane’s Addiction,… Read more »

In a move seen as almost inevitable by many in the music business, Nancy Berry has resigned as vice chairman of Virgin Records Group. The move comes just days after her estranged husband Ken Berry was replaced at the helm of Virgin parent EMI Recorded Music by ex-Polygram chief Alain Levy. Nancy Berry’s departure marks Levy’s first visible action to reshape EMI’s embattled U.S. label divisions, which have given up substantial market share over the past few years; EMI is currently in last place among the big five record congloms. Nancy Berry, who has been with Virgin’s U.S. operations for… Read more »

A California state senator plans to draft a bill that would free recording artists from restrictive, multi-year contracts, a system stars have attacked as unfairly stacked in favor of the major music labels. Under current California law, record companies are granted a special exemption that allows them to sue musicians and singers for albums not produced over the course of seven-year contracts. Stars including Don Henley, Courtney Love and the Dixie Chicks testified in the state Senate last month that the special status granted to the record labels in California in 1987 was unfair and should be repealed. State Sen.… Read more »

Look out, music pirates: The recording industry wants the right to hack into your computer and delete your stolen MP3s. It’s no joke. Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tried to glue this hacking-authorization amendment onto a mammoth anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved last week. An RIAA-drafted amendment would immunize all copyright holders – including the movie and e-book industry – for any data losses caused by their hacking efforts or other computer intrusions “that are reasonably intended to impede or prevent” electronic piracy.         In an interview Friday, RIAA lobbyist Mitch Glazier said… Read more »

Christina Aguilera’s golden locks, Fred Durst’s backward ball cap, Gwen Stefani’s rainbow makeup and Justin Timberlake’s freshly grown peach fuzz took a back seat Thursday to a look unprecedented even in popular music – blindfolds. “I feel like I’m playing pin the tail on the donkey,” Aguilera quipped in between takes during the first day of shooting proper videos for three all-star remakes of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Many of the artists who contributed to the project – from Ja Rule to Staind’s Aaron Lewis to Alicia Keys – will don blindfolds for the video shoot, which heads to… Read more »

Columbia Records is releasing “Stoned Raiders,” the eagerly-awaited new album from Cypress Hill, the first full-length studio outing from the group since 2000’s platinum-selling “Skull & Bones” and the group’s first album since last year’s “Live At The Fillmore.” The latest chapter in the ongoing saga of alterna-rap’s best-selling bold marauders, “Stoned Raiders” carries on Cypress Hill’s uncanny patented hip-hop/rock meld. The album is produced, arranged and mixed by Muggs and features guest appearances by Kurupt, MC Ren & King Tee, Redman & Method Man, and Kokane. Also appearing on “Stoned Raiders’ are Fear Factory’s Christian Olde Wolbers, Andy Zambrano… Read more »

Voting is currently going on for the 2002 class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and once again Black Sabbath is among the finalists on the ballot. Frontman Ozzy Osbourne has made many caustic comments about the Hall and has intimated that he has no interest in being thus enshrined. However, in a recent chat with LAUNCH, Osbourne changed his tone somewhat and indicated that, if elected, he would serve. “I’ve voiced my opinion about it,” he explained. “I don’t really believe in it, to the respect that it’s not voted by the people-it’s voted by the committee.… Read more »

American songwriters and music publishers have reached preliminary agreement with the on-line file sharing service Napster to settle the class-action lawsuit currently pending in federal court in California. The agreement includes terms under which the songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster’s new membership-based service. The announcement of the proposed settlement was made jointly by Edward P. Murphy, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association, Inc., Gary L. Churgin, president and CEO of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., George David Weiss, president of The Songwriters’ Guild of America, Inc., and Napster president and CEO Konrad… Read more »

Schools, health care facilities, WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp. will get to keep a broad swath of airwaves they use, federal regulators said Monday, turning aside an attempt to shift the spectrum entirely to third generation wireless services. Yet, the agency said it would expand the possible uses for the airwaves in the 2500-2690 megahertz (MHz) band – currently used for fixed wireless services like Internet access – to include a mobile component so that they could be used for 3G services such as high-speed Internet access, or music and video downloads. “This action does not help to address the… Read more »