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The Backstreet Boys are in sync again. “It’s been like three years since we’ve all been in the studio together, so it’s like the fire was rekindled,” is how Nick Carter described the reunion during a recent break from recording. “We’re in there experimenting and really cool stuff’s coming out. It’s not gonna be the same Backstreet. I mean, you’re always gonna have Backstreet Boys, but the music’s gonna change.” The group plans to update the teen-pop sound it mastered in the late ’90s with a more mature approach to production and songwriting. “We’re just not doing it like we… Read more »

Eminem’s music publisher is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the computer giant wrongfully used one of the hip-hop superstar’s songs in a television advertisement. Eight Mile Style filed the copyright infringement suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit against Apple, Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency. At issue is an ad for Apple’s iTunes pay-per-download music software, in which a 10-year-old sings Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” The suit claims the commercial aired on MTV beginning in July 2003 and ran numerous times for at least three months. It also appeared on Apple’s Web site. “Eminem has never… Read more »

Just as sound bites get reworked into tunes that multiply over the Internet – Remember all the songs based on Howard Dean’s yelp? – a widely seen TV ad is getting the hack-and-slash treatment. The target is Pepsi’s current promotion giving away 100 million free song downloads from Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The company promises one in three bottlecaps on certain Pepsi products carries a code for a free iTunes download. Pepsi is airing a 45-second spot featuring 16 crestfallen music downloaders who have been sued by – and settled lawsuits with – the record industry for illegally snagging songs… Read more »

Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl flash lasted less than three seconds, but the impact continues to ripple through Viacom, the media giant that broadcast the game. Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, right-wing radio commentators and outraged citizens are calling for stricter decency standards – and the artists and executives who make a living from edgy music, performances and videos are in retreat. MTV in particular, which produced the Super Bowl halftime show, is in the midst of a wide-scale re-evaluation of its musical, news and dramatic content. Within a week of the game, MTV – no stranger to criticism, most recently… Read more »

When Prince, ZZ Top and Jackson Browne are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, they won’t have to look far to see contemporary stars their music influenced. Outkast, Kid Rock, Alicia Keys and Dave Matthews are among those who’ll pay tribute to their musical mentors by inducting this year’s class, organizers announced Thursday (February 19). The 2004 inductees also include the late Beatles guitarist George Harrison, the Dells, Bob Seger and Traffic. Other presenters include Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Bruce Springsteen and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony… Read more »

A New Jersey woman is accusing the major record labels of making her an offer she can’t refuse. Michele Scimeca, of Rockaway Township, N.J., has filed a civil lawsuit accusing them of attempting to blackmail her when she was named as one of the 531 people that trade group the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) accused of illegally downloading sound recordings off peer-to-peer networks. “Essentially they are saying, ‘Pay a little now, or pay the full monty later,”‘ said her attorney, Bart Lombardo. “This really looks like extortion, and the facts fit under RICO.” Scimeca filed her lawsuit in… Read more »

Bob Dylan, the Dead, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews & Friends are among the highlights of the initial lineup for the third annual Bonnaroo festival (June 11-13), Billboard.com can reveal. The event will be held on a 700-acre farm in rural Manchester, Tenn., about 60 miles south of Nashville. Among the other acts set to appear are David Byrne, Wilco, Primus, Ani DiFranco, Gov’t Mule, My Morning Jacket, the Black Keys, Kings Of Leon, Taj Mahal and Galactic. Tickets this year will be priced at $139.50 and $164.50, up from $119.50, $134.50, and $149.50 for the 2003… Read more »

Bad Religion, the Vandals, Good Charlotte, Lars Frederiksen & the Bastards, and NOFX are among the more than 50 acts set for the 10th anniversary edition of the Vans Warped Tour. The trek, which will begin June 25 in Houston, will also feature New Found Glory, Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Simple Plan, Bouncing Souls, and Coheed & Cambria. Other acts set to appear for at least a portion of the tour include the Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, Atmosphere, Avenged Sevenfold, Billy Talent, IMA Robot, Jackson, Lillix and the Sounds. Beginning Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. ET,… Read more »

In 1993, Matt Groening, in a caveman-era Internet chat, was asked if there’d ever be a Simpsons movie. He didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no. He said a film “is way down the line.” He wasn’t kidding. More than 10 years since that Net moment and more than 15 years since Groening’s animated clan made their TV debut, The Simpsons is finally getting ready for its close-up. Maybe. Fox’s feature-film animation division is “in the very early stages of developing an idea for the movie,” exec Chris Meledandri said in Wednesday’s Daily Variety. Per the trade paper, “at least… Read more »

Beyonce Knowles may be “Crazy in Love,” but she kept her cool Sunday at one of the more sober Grammy Awards shows in memory. She was the night’s big winner, taking home a record-tying five trophies to join recent Grammy queens Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Norah Jones with the most wins in a single year by a female performer. OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year, giving the eccentric Atlanta funk/rap group three wins, including Best Urban Alternative Performance and Best Rap Album. British band Coldplay took home the prize for Record of the Year for “Clocks,”… Read more »