Search Results for: christmas

MeasureCast yesterday reported that web radio fans increased listening to stations streaming Christmas music during the week of November 12 – 18 but the availability of holiday music did not mean more people listened to web radio than did the previous week. In fact, the weekly listening index dipped 10 percent to 282 during the week beginning November. This marks the second consecutive week of online listening declines, which were preceded by seven straight weeks of increases. “Web radio just enjoyed seven consecutive weeks of audience growth beginning in September,” MeasureCast CEO Ed Hardy told Gavin. “However, we’re likely to… Read more »

The world’s big record labels are finally rolling out online subscription services smack in the middle of the holiday season that caps the music industry’s worst year in at least a decade. In coming weeks, music fans – who have for years been pulling everything from Radiohead to Madonna off the Web for free from services like Napster – will be introduced to a new breed of money-for-music services like PressPlay and MusicNet, which have been developed by the major record companies. Several smaller independent firms like FullAudio and Listen.com will soon be launching subscription services too. Industry officials and… Read more »

The Cranberries make their return to the stage for concerts at radio station Christmas shows in December. The Irish super group were due to visit the continent in October and December in support of their new album, “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” but postponed their October schedule due to the uncertainties in the world as a result of the American tragedies. “I was really concerned for my two little children at a very difficult time following the uncertainties arising out of the conflict in Afghanistan. Our guitarist (Noel Hogan) is going through challenging times in his family, and the… Read more »

Several weeks into shooting one film and with two others lined up after it, Ice Cube continues his gradual transition from rapper/actor to actor/rapper. Cube has just begun shooting Friday After Next, the follow-up to 2000’s Next Friday and third in the ghetto-fabulous series that began with 1995’s Friday. Cube again penned the screenplay and serves as producer. The director is Marcus Raboy, who, in addition to directing a host of Cube’s videos (“Guerillas in the Mist,” “Wicked” “You Know How We Do It”), has shot clips for Santana (“Smooth”) and Staind (“Fade”). Like the first two movies, Friday After… Read more »

EMI’s glittering roster of recording artists, from Mariah Carey to the Rolling Stones, failed to save the music giant from a dismal year, but investors are pinning hopes on new recruit Alain Levy to bring sparkle back to the balance sheet. In an industry facing its worst ever year, EMI is reeling from two failed mergers and a lack of big hits. Jaded investors are eager to hear Levy’s plans as the new head of recorded music when the group reports an expected sharp fall in first half profits Monday. EMI warned in September that full-year profits would slide 20… Read more »

Throughout their two-decade career, the Cure have always made music for lonely hearts, so it’s only fitting that frontman Robert Smith be alone for once. Smith hopes to begin recording his first solo album in January or February, once he’s through promoting the Cure’s Greatest Hits, which includes two new songs and acoustic renditions of fan favorites. The pale-faced misanthrope said he started fostering ideas for the LP after finishing the Cure’s last studio album, 2000’s Bloodflowers, and it’s been an on-and-off endeavor ever since. “I was just at the point of coordinating it all earlier this year when the… 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 »

Dido Armstrong had worked in a lot of different low-paying clerical jobs while struggling to make ends meet, but said Thursday nothing beats her current line of work: being a pop star. The British singer known around the world as “Dido” said that because she made such a belated breakthrough into the industry that is infamous for devouring young talent before their prime, she isn’t going to let her career be squandered. “I just know this is the best job I’ve ever had because I have had so many other jobs,” said Dido, 29, one of Britain’s biggest-selling female recording… Read more »

Fireplaces and feet are not the only places you’ll see tube socks this Christmas season. Southern California funk rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose members occasionally wear only a strategically placed tube sock, are getting ready to release their first concert video in a decade. “Off the Map,” due December 4 on VHS and DVD, was filmed by Dick Rude at a September 2000 show in Portland, Oregon. The video includes recent Chili Peppers hits “Californication,” “Scar Tissue,” “Otherside,” “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away,” along with older gems like “Blackeyed Blonde” from 1985’s Freaky Styley, according to… Read more »

Dido may be out of the spotlight while working on her next album, but she will still be heard literally by millions thanks to a contribution to the new Britney Spears album, Britney, due in stores Tuesday (November 6). The London singer-songwriter co-penned the song, “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman,” with behind-the-scenes teen-pop kings Max Martin and Rami. Others contributing to Britney include *NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake, while Spears herself also co-wrote songs on the album. Of note too is Spears’s choice in cover songs-Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Dido is currently working on the follow-up… Read more »