Search Results for: decade

It’s a long way from playing rock ‘n’ roll shows to hobnobbing in the rarefied world of international art auctions. But Mick Fleetwood, the lanky drummer of veteran rock band Fleetwood Mac, has made the transition in several quick strides, co-founding an auction house that specializes in the lucrative field of music and movie memorabilia. Prestigious sales of Picassos and Warhols now compete for investors’ dollars with rock paraphernalia like a John Lennon piano or a Jimi Hendrix guitar. Fleetwood Owen Ltd., which Fleetwood co-founded with veteran auction broker Ted Owen, aims to compete with giants like Sotheby’s Holdings Inc.… 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 »

Approximately two-and-a-half decades after beginning his career, Cure mastermind Robert Smith is working on his first solo album, a collection of collaborations with several of his friends. Smith actually began working on the concept during the making of the last Cure album, last year’s Bloodflowers, but has had to put the project aside three times due to various concerns surrounding his group as well as the availability of others. He said, “The basic songs have been recorded and I’m intending to collaborate with on each one with a different artist. That’s why I have to have, like, a clear run… Read more »

In a world where artistic lifespans are often judged in terms of fads, most pop music acts last no longer than the trends that briefly catapulted them to fame. And those are just the ones that are lucky enough to end up in the “where are they now?” files. It’s rare to find a band like the Bee Gees, who started their musical career when nine-year-old brother Barry was joined by his six-year-old twin siblings Robin and Maurice. The group scored their first No. 1 hit in their native Australia back in 1966 and broke out to a world audience… Read more »

Janet Jackson will make her second concert appearance on HBO when the cable network airs “Janet Jackson: All for You: Live in Concert From Hawaii” on February 17. The program, which is expected to feature the greatest hits from Jackson’s two-decade recording career, will be culled from footage shot during a performance at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, according to a Virgin Records spokesperson. The date of that show is still being worked out. Jackson’s first HBO concert, “Janet: The Velvet Rope,” premiered in 1998 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Music Direction. It won… Read more »

ARTISTdirect CEO Ted Field today announced that industry veterans Jim Swindel and Marc Benesch have joined the executive management team. Swindel has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing, while Benesch joins as executive vice president of promotion. Both appointments are effective immediately. Swindel is a 25-year veteran of the record business who will oversee all sales and marketing efforts aspects of the label’s roster, beginning with upcoming releases by singer/songwriter Custom, and hip-hop trio NAAM Brigade. He will also work closely with Field and Vice Chairman Marc Geiger on the development of other digital music ventures. As… 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 »

It’s unusual for an artist to have released only three proper studio albums in the course of a career that spans over a decade. When the sonic auteur in question is Trent Reznor, mastermind behind techno-industrial pioneers Nine Inch Nails, though, fans have been accustomed to pacifying themselves with various EPs, soundtracks and remixes, while adopting the proverb “All good things come to those who wait” as a mantra. Now, more than two years’ worth of anticipation might be drawing to a close. While keeping busy with various endeavors, most recently a remix of N*E*R*D’s single “Lapdance,” soundtrack work and… 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 »

After months of rumor and supposition, the Rolling Stones have announced they will mount a world tour to celebrate their upcoming 40th anniversary. So far, there are no details regarding when the trek will start and whether it will be a full-blown extravaganza or a more intimate affair. The legendary rockers started playing together in London in 1962, but their roots go back to 1950 when vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards met in primary school. Of course, they weren’t rocking at the time, but after the two ran into each other a decade later and discovered they had… Read more »