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The Recording Industry Association of America says it will not go after small violators when it sues people who illegally share songs on the Internet. The assurance came in a written response to questions by Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs’ Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Coleman plans to hold hearings on the RIAA’s campaign, which he has labeled “excessive.” “RIAA is in no way targeting ‘de minimis’ users,” wrote Cary Sherman, the group’s president, in a letter the subcommittee released Monday. “RIAA is gathering evidence and preparing lawsuits only against individual computer users who are illegally… Read more »

On the one hand there’s Drew Barrymore. On the other there’s Tina Yothers. Both were child stars, both were in the position of having to stave off “has-been” status by the time they were teenagers. Barrymore, of course, has gone on to be an A-list celebrity, while Yothers is simply remembered for playing the kid sister on the ’80s sitcom “Family Ties.” That, and for being one of the unlucky celebrities to have made a “guest appearance” on “South Park.” Hanson, who became instant mega pop stars upon the release of their 1997 debut LP, Middle of Nowhere, but who… Read more »

“You may know this song,” Evanescence singer Amy Lee uttered demurely nine songs into the group’s headlining set Tuesday night at the Congress Theatre. “It’s the song that got us here.” Understatement of the year. Without “Bring Me to Life,” the ubiquitous rap-rock confection featured on Fallen, the Little Rock, Arkansas, troupe would be far more concerned finding people who can pronounce “Evanescence” than finding wall space for their double-platinum album. Now, only five months after the release of Fallen, Evanescence are headlining the Nintendo Fusion Tour, a 20-date excursion that has the band performing after Cold, the group that’s… Read more »

More than a quarter-century after his death, Elvis Presley has something new to get his fans all shook up. A never-before-released song recorded by Presley nearly 40 years ago was recently unearthed and will be issued this fall by RCA Records as part of a new collection of favorites from the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the label said on Friday. The announcement comes on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Presley’s death, on Aug. 16, 1977, at age 42. The song, “I’m a Roustabout,” originally was written for the 1964 Presley film “Roustabout,” co-starring Barbara Stanwyck, and was… Read more »

Mary J. Blige is the latest addition to the performance lineup for the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards. The Aug. 28 event at New York’s Radio City Music Hall will also feature 50 Cent, Good Charlotte, Coldplay and Christina Aguilera. The Chris Rock-hosted show will be broadcast live on the music cable channel. Artists on hand to present awards during the affair will be Nelly, Avril Lavigne, DMX, Pharrell Williams, Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, Lil Jon, Duran Duran, P. Diddy, Ashanti, Kelly Clarkson, Redman, Evanescence, Hilary Duff, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg. Also tapped to present are actors Pamela Anderson, Drew Barrymore,… Read more »

At the most recent Bionic show in Toronto, I had the pleasure of chatting with guitarist Ian Blurton for a few minutes. Not only does Blurton wail with Bionic, but he’s also got producer credit on the upcoming Weakerthans album, Reconstruction Site. Now, I had enjoyed a few beverages at this point, and I’m not going to try to quote Mr. Blurton, but the general gist was that he was pretty pissed off because the Weakerthans record was leaked onto the Internet well before its release date on August 26. For those of you who went and downloaded the album… Read more »

Kevin Richardson hopes others won’t have to follow his path to superstardom. Richardson left his native Kentucky as a teenager for a job at Walt Disney World before auditioning for an Orlando, Fla.-based group that would eventually become the Backstreet Boys. Now Richardson, 31, and childhood friend and songwriter Keith McGuffey have opened a music academy in downtown Louisville. Called The Music Workshop, its a catchall for performers, songwriters and producers seeking a career in music. “When me and Keith were growing up in central Kentucky there wasn’t any real outlet for us. If we wanted to get information about… Read more »

On the heels of last year’s smash No. 1 hit, the JXL remix of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation,” BMG/RCA is set to release a remix of Presley’s Rubberneckin’ as a commercial single on September 9 and to radio August 25. The single has been remixed by DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold – one of the most acclaimed remixers in the music business – and will appear on ELVIS 2ND TO NONE, a follow-up to last year’s highly successful “ELV1S 30 #1 HITS.” This newest compilation, scheduled for release on October 7, will also include five additional Presley #1… Read more »

As Yellowcard’s 2003 Warped Tour commitment winds down (its East Coast-only stint ends Sunday (Aug. 10) in Asbury Park, N.J.), singer/guitarist Ryan Key tells Billboard.com the hardest adjustment for the band has been the repetition of travel. “It’s like ‘Groundhog Day,’ where you just kind of wake up and go outside and you are in another parking lot but next to the same bus you were yesterday,” says Key. “It is kind of like a dream that you never seem to wake up from. It’s cool.” With its Capitol Records debut, “Ocean Avenue,” having debuted this week at No. 99… Read more »

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance on American TV, the Museum of Television & Radio in New York and Los Angeles will present an exclusive exhibit on the group, running Feb. 6 through April 30, 2004. “Revolution: The Beatles on Television,” will include Beatles music videos and TV appearances before and after the breakup of the band. There will also be screenings of Albert and David Maysles’ documentary “What’s Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A.,” also known as “The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit.” The Beatles made their maiden U.S. TV appearance on “The Ed Sullivan… Read more »