Search Results for: atlantic records

Late in the afternoon of Jan. 16, a SWAT team from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, backed up by officers from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and the local police department, along with a few drug-sniffing dogs, burst into a unmarked recording studio on a short, quiet street in an industrial neighborhood near the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The officers entered with their guns drawn; the local police chief said later that they were “prepared for the worst.” They had come to serve a warrant for the arrest of the studio’s owners on the grounds that they had violated the… Read more »

In the world of hip-hop few music executives have more influence than DJ Drama. His “Gangsta Grillz” compilations have helped define this decade’s Southern rap explosion. He has been instrumental in the careers of rappers like Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne. He appears on the cover of the March issue of the hip-hop magazine XXL, alongside his friend and business partner T.I., the top-selling rapper of 2006. And later this year DJ Drama is scheduled to make his Atlantic Records debut with “Gangsta Grillz: The Album.” Now DJ Drama is yet another symbol of the music industry’s turmoil and confusion.… Read more »

LOS ANGELES – Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris resents that MTV and other cable music channels built multibillion-dollar businesses around videos given away by record companies anxious to promote their artists. So when he saw his own grandson watching 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” video on Yahoo, it got him asking: “How much are we getting paid for that?” The answer – nothing – led Morris to pull all of Universal’s videos from the giant Web portal until it agreed to a licensing deal in 2005. He wrangled similar arrangements from Time Warner Inc.’s AOL and other Internet portals… Read more »

After winning over U.S. hipsters with its critically acclaimed 2005 debut “Silent Alarm,” U.K. rock act Bloc Party is now aiming for mainstream success. The group’s second outing, “A Weekend in the City,” comes out February 6 via Atlantic Records, preceded by two radio singles, “The Prayer” and “I Still Remember.” The group toned down the frenetic feel of its debut, which sold almost one million copies worldwide and drew comparisons to the jerky post-punk of Gang of Four and late-period Blur. “A Weekend in the City,” particularly on its back half, is dominated by slower, richly textured songs that… Read more »

Following are previews of albums due out within the next few months from debut acts or under-the-radar artists due for a breakthrough. PAOLO NUTINI Scottish singer/songwriter Paolo Nutini, who turns 20 January 9, was one of the most noteworthy breakout artists of 2006 for Atlantic Records in the United Kingdom. After an appearance at South by Southwest in Austin last March, his debut single, “Last Request,” reached No. 5 in July on the British charts and also became a substantial airplay hit. His debut album, “These Streets,” subsequently opened at No. 3 with out-of-the-box sales of 35,000, according to his… Read more »

Los Angeles – Rob Thomas jokes that his label, Melisma/Atlantic, is seeing a different side of him as it prepares for the launch of his solo debut, “… Something to Be.” In the multiplatinum group Matchbox Twenty, drummer Paul Doucette was the “bad cop. I was good cop,” Thomas says. “Now I’m good cop and bad cop. A lot of people who thought I was easygoing, pot-smoking Rob don’t think that anymore. Now they see I’m not so easy.” Fans of Matchbox Twenty will also hear a different side of Thomas on the album, which ranges from familiar Matchbox Twenty… Read more »

Lil’ Kim, in trouble for a lotta lying, could be heading to the Big House real soon. The pint-size rap diva was convicted Thursday of federal perjury charges for fibbing to a grand jury about a 2001 shootout in front of a Manhattan radio station involving members of her entourage and a rival hip-hop crew. The 29-year-old Kim, referred to by her legal name of Kimberly Jones in court, was rung on counts of conspiracy and perjury for trying to protect her posse, but was acquitted of the most serious charge of obstruction of justice. Her assistant, Monique Dopwell, was… Read more »

Los Angeles – Before they made the jump to Atlantic Records in 2004, the members of Death Cab for Cutie thought long and hard about leaving Seattle’s Barsuk Records. But after six years of deliberation, and the ultimate satisfaction the band took in its decision, manager Jordan Kurland grants that there has been a twinge of remorse. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that after I saw Bright Eyes debut in the top 10, I didn’t think, ‘Ah, we should have done that…’ But we’re having a great time.” Indeed, the band Bright Eyes bolted to No. 10 on… Read more »

New York – Warner Music Group Corp., one of the world’s largest record companies, on Friday disclosed plans to go public, filing with regulators to sell up to $750 million worth of common stock. In a Securities and Exchange Commission statement, the company did not estimate how many shares or at what price it planned to offer its stock in the initial public offering, but said shares will be sold by both the company and several shareholders. Proceeds from the deal will be used to repay debt and for general corporate purposes, according to the SEC document. New York-based Warner… Read more »

Maybe you can blame it on some indie-minded guilt. On March 1, Death Cab for Cutie – longtime independent stalwarts recently inked to Atlantic Records – will drop The John Byrd EP, the final release for them on tiny Seattle label Barsuk Records. The EP will only be available in two places: on Barsuk’s Web site or in record stores who are members of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. It could be the result of a guilty conscience. But it’s more than likely not. “We just wanted to have a properly recorded live record out there, because bootlegs show… Read more »