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AUSTIN, Texas — It wasn’t just the legions of concertgoers wandering the streets who were twittering at South By Southwest Many of the acts were posting tweets throughout the music conference and festival, sometimes even on stage or during interviews. Microblogging by performers shed a new light on their SXSW experience, revealing the fun, fatigue and frenzy of the annual Austin music event – which concluded early Sunday. Dave Navarro the guitarist for Jane’s Addiction took a photo of this reporter in the middle of an interview of the band, later explaining a negative story would mean the wrath of… Read more »

Up from the bottom, indeed. Five years after going belly up, Phish resurfaced with a vengeance Friday night, playing the first of three sold-out reunion concerts in Hampton, Va, in a bid to reclaim their position at the top of the jam-band heap. Sharing in the groove at Hampton Coliseum otherwise known as “the Mothership,” 13,000 Phishheads nearly brought the house down with a collective roar as Trey Anastasio keyboardist Page McConnell bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman hit the stage. It was an emotional homecoming, though not everyone was a Phish veteran. “We flew in from Seattle to… Read more »

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —  Elton John and Billy Joel’s latest tour kicked off to a packed house on Monday, operating under the simple business model: maximized reward, exceedingly minimized risk. The three-plus-hour event was steeped in hits and nostalgia. The youngest song was the title track from Joel’s last pop album, 1993’s “River of Dreams.” “Speaking of unemployment, we’re just happy you’re keeping us in business. We’re happy to have a job,” Joel said after a timely spin through “Allentown,” Joel’s 1982 ballad of economic gloom. Joel’s words rang true, but there wasn’t much worry about that: They last toured together… Read more »

Recording artists may be set to receive a boost in royalty revenues from digital music sales, at least if Eminem has his way. Eminem’s two-year-old lawsuit against Universal Music Group over digital music royalties finally entered a courtroom today, the Wrap reports.  In a trial featuring star witnesses like UMG head Jimmy Iovine and Apple’s Steve Jobs, Slim Shady’s publishing company F.B.T. Productions is seeking more royalties from purchases made using digital music services like Jobs’ iTunes. Eminem is not expected to testify. If the jury sides with F.B.T. Productions, this trial could serve as a landmark case that finds… Read more »

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears’ father testified for nearly 90 minutes Monday about why he felt a long-term restraining order should be issued against three people, including the singer’s former manager and an ex-boyfriend. Jamie Spears was the first witness to testify in the restraining order case, and it did little to establish direct contact between Osama “Sam” Lutfi and his daughter since a conservatorship was established a year ago. Calling Lutfi a “predator” and repeating an allegation that he ground medication into his daughter’s food, Jamie Spears said he thought his daughter’s one-time friend and manager was a danger… Read more »

Christopher Hicks has been appointed Executive Vice President, Def Jam Recordings, it was announced today by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group.   In his new position, Mr. Hicks will assume overall responsibility for the acquisition and develop ­ment of new talent, overseeing producers and guiding the creative vision and brand recognition of the legendary Def Jam label as it celebrates its 25th year anniversary in 2009.   Mr. Hicks will report directly to Mr. Reid, and to Steve Bartels,   President & COO, Island Def Jam Music Group, on operational matters.   Mr. Hicks will be… Read more »

Kanye West is  definitely secure with his raps and with himself. On the Grammy stage on Sunday night, he laid the first verse on “Swagga Like Us,” knowing that he had three more acclaimed wordsmiths – Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and T.I. – coming after him on the track, and still felt confident that his rap held up in such strong company. Kanye does exactly what he wants to do, so it’s no surprise that he took the stage in a sparkling jacket that could have come out of Michael Jackson’s closet in 1984. Still, Kanye’s clothes have become a major… Read more »

Bruce Springsteen’s “Working On A Dream” topped the weekly album charts with 224,000 first week sales according to Nielson Soundscan. But his concert fans were at the center of a controversy sparked by a Ticketmaster campaign pointing buyers to higher priced seats at their own resales broker TicketsNow even while regular seats were still available. The fans and Springsteen camp cried fowl. “Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect ‘scalping’ those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow – we do,” the boss and his… Read more »

It’s early January, and occasional downpours drench thousands of fans as they file into Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium for Sound & Speed, an annual event featuring country stars and NASCAR drivers. Camo-clad devotees and their children, some dressed in miniature racing suits, line up for an autograph and a picture. The event is the perfect mix for those who consider autographs from Dierks Bentley and Dale Earnhardt Jr to be treasured booty. NASCAR fans and country music fans are eager to rub elbows with drivers and artists alike, something both circuits are eager to take advantage of. The 2009 race season… Read more »

In 1993, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, the Smashing Pumpkins and Pavement brought AIDS activism into the bedrooms of grunge-obsessed teens on the benefit album ” No Alternative” marrying music to message in a way that registered strongly with Generation X. The project, organized by the Red Hot Organization — an international production company dedicated to fighting AIDs through pop culture — and released by Arista Records sold 292,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan and generated several modern rock radio hits. But the success was a mixed blessing; other major labels went out of their way to… Read more »