Search Results for: dr dre

Rap star 50 Cent, whose debut album is the best-selling release of the year, has inked a label deal with Interscope Records. He will sign and develop artists under the imprint G-Unit Records. All G-Unit releases will be marketed and distributed by Interscope Records. The first release from the imprint will be a debut album from the label’s namesake – rap collective G-Unit, featuring 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. The album will hit stores by year’s end. 50 Cent’s debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), which was executive produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, has… Read more »

After a nationwide talent search failed to yield a replacement for guitarist Wes Borland, Limp Bizkit has chosen former Snot axeman Mike Smith as his successor. Smith made his Bizkit debut last Sunday, when the group played live as part of Wrestlemania XIX in Seattle. “We really like jamming with Mike,” Bizkit frontman Fred Durst said on the band’s official Web site (http://www.limpbizkit.com). “He’s dope. This you will find out soon enough.” The band is still working on material that will appear on its upcoming Flip/Interscope album, due June 17. Durst has repeatedly offered different titles for the set, including… Read more »

New Jersey-based artist Pat DiNizio, lead singer/songwriter of the Smithereens, has founded Patrons & Artists Together, a boutique entertainment partnership meant to fund his recording and touring projects and reward participants with a unique music experience, as well as provide free music via the Internet. Limited to 100 subscribers at a cost of $1,200 each, the program offers CD releases that will not be available through conventional channels, private concerts, and more. In a statement, DiNizio describes Patrons & Artists Together business model as “a ‘vision quest’ in which an artist partners up with his or her audience to make… Read more »

When Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood found out last weekend that his band’s upcoming record, Hail to the Thief, had leaked online, he wasn’t terribly upset. “Shame it’s not a package with the artwork and all,” he wrote at the time. He’s since reconsidered his position. “We’re kind of pissed about it, to be honest,” he posted Thursday (April 3) on the Radiohead fan site At Ease. Mostly, Greenwood and his bandmates are upset that the version of Hail to the Thief currently on the Net is composed of works in progress that were stolen in February while the band was… Read more »

The recording industry and Internet music broadcasters hope a new agreement will prevent a repeat of their recent battle over online music royalties, allowing them to focus instead on providing better music services for consumers. The two sides agreed Thursday on how much big webcasters like Yahoo!, America Online, Microsoft and RealNetworks must pay to broadcast songs over the Internet during 2003 and 2004. The new deal, if approved by the U.S. Copyright Office, will allow the two industries to avoid a lengthy arbitration process to set the royalty rates. “We are delighted to have reached an agreement that will… Read more »

Sharon Osbourne is free of cancer after months of treatment, her rock star husband, Ozzy, said. Ozzy Osbourne said he still feared his wife would become ill again, and added that he was emotionally overwhelmed last year when her illness coincided with the success of their MTV reality show. “She’s got no cancer in her body now, they tell me, but there’s always a chance of it coming back,” Ozzy Osbourne told the music magazine Kerrang! “She’s doing great, but I must confess that I’m still worried about her.” Sharon Osbourne, 50, announced last year that she was undergoing treatment… Read more »

The Rolling Stones have postponed two upcoming shows in Hong Kong because of a mystery illness outbreak in the territory. The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS – which has killed 10 and sickened hundreds in Hong Kong – prompted the Stones to push back concerts that had been scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the rock band said in a statement. “Increases in the number of cases of SARS in Hong Kong and Southern China and continued concern over large gatherings have created apprehension among fans and concern for their safety,” the Stones said Wednesday. No dates have… Read more »

Sony Music Entertainment said Friday it is eliminating 1,000 jobs in a move that had been expected as the company seeks to become more efficient. The cuts come to about 10 percent of Sony Music’s worldwide work force of approximately 10,000 people. Roughly 600 of the cuts will come from the company’s U.S. operations, specifically its manufacturing and corporate and label businesses, a source close to the company said, adding that the rest of the reductions will be overseas and no other cuts are expected. This is the latest in a series of changes at Sony Music. Tommy Mottola resigned… Read more »

A jury decided Thursday that Michael Jackson owes a concert promoter $5.3 million for backing out of two concerts planned to celebrate the millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999. The verdict came in a $21 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against the singer by German concert organizer Marcel Avram. Jackson’s attorneys said it was Avram who canceled the shows over concerns they would not be profitable. The jury deliberated for nearly two weeks. Avram’s attorney, Louis “Skip” Miller, said he was pleased that the jury found Jackson was at fault. “The jury believed Avram, they did not believe Michael Jackson. That’s… Read more »

A party in honor of the DVD release of “8 Mile” wouldn’t be complete without an appearance from Eminem – and rap battling. On Thursday, Slim Shady himself will host the “8 Mile DVD Launch Party” at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit. Hip-hop artists D12 and Xzibit, who appear in the film, are slated to perform. The DVD of the hip-hop drama starring Eminem will be released Tuesday. Leading up to the event, radio stations around the nation have been holding freestyle rap battle contests. The winners from each market are being flown to Detroit to attend the party and… Read more »