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Rapper-entrepreneur Jay-Z settled in at the top of the heap in this week’s charts, but sales for all of the top performers ebbed from last week’s levels amid a general retail malaise nationwide. “Blueprint” (Def Jam) claimed the No. 1 spot with just under 174,000 units sold during the week ended Sept. 30, SoundScan reports indicated Wednesday. That’s down 36% from the album’s prior outing, but still good enough to put it within a week’s sales of platinum territory after less than a month inthe running. Holding strong at No. 2 was J Records’ Alicia Keys, who won raves for… Read more »
New research points to the possibility that Napster’s demise is actually exacerbating the spread of Internet piracy of copyrighted materials. According to research firm Webnoize, consumers transferred more than 1.5 billion digital media files during September using FastTrack, the back-end technology of Kazaa, MusicCity, and Grokster. In July, Webnoize forecast that FastTrack would reach 1 million users by the end of September, and it appears that they were correct. During September, roughly 1 million users were typically logged on to the network at any one time, compared to 580,000 simultaneous users in August. Webnoize estimates 1.51 billion files were downloaded… Read more »
Super producer and starmaker Jermaine Dupri will donate $10,000 to launch Hip-Hop for Humanity – a relief effort which is unifying the hip-hop community to provide financial support for the victim’s of the September 11th tragedies. Hip-Hop for Humanity kicks off with an all day event at the Mall West End (850 Oak Street Southwest, Atlanta, Georgia) on Monday, October 8th from 6:00am-7:00pm that will include various booths where attendees can donate money, supplies and blood. Live performances will also be held throughout the day. Local celebrities such as Lil Bow Wow, Jagged Edge, Da Brat, Goodie Mob, producer Dallas… Read more »
Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez plans to marry choreographer Cris Judd on Saturday, just seven months after she publicly split from rap impresario Sean “Puffy” Combs, according to New York tabloid reports Friday. Lopez’s spokesman, Alan Nierob, declined comment on the reports. The Bronx-born Latina bombshell and her fiancee went public as a couple at the Academy Awards in March. They plan to be married in Los Angeles, reports in the New York Post and Daily News said. It would be the first trip to the alter for Judd and the second for Lopez, whose previous one-year marriage to male model Ojani… Read more »
In conjunction with the release of Carole King’s 24th album, Love Makes The World on her own label, Rockingale Records, King has launched the official Carole King website, CaroleKing.com. For a limited time, King is making available on the site a free download of “Love Makes The World,” the title track from her current CD. Also available is an e-mailable streaming VLP of the entire album, which features guest appearances by artists such as Céline Dion, Wynton Marsalis, k.d. Lang and Babyface. CaroleKing.com will provide the artist’s fans and music aficionados everywhere a look into forty years of popular music… Read more »
P. Diddy and Bad Boy Entertainment, along with Arista Records, announce the release of Faith Evans, FAITHFULLY for November 6. Executive produced by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Faith Evans and Todd Russaw and produced by top tastemakers such as Mario Winans, Buckwild, Vada Nobles, The Neptunes, Battlecat and others the album is bound to restore your faith in music. The scorching first single, “You Gets No Love” will set the charts on fire. “You Gets No Love,” with its unique way of expressing love through a fun yet sophisticated sound, will create a trend that very few will be able… Read more »
As entertainment venues nationwide step up security measures in response to last week’s devastating terrorist attacks, concertgoers are seeing a greater presence of security workers and police as well as longer lines due to stricter search procedures. But more significant changes are happening behind the scenes as venues beef up their pre-event surveillance, make adjustments to loading and backstage policies and tighten checks of all individuals – not just fans – entering the building. “Behind the scenes is where any of the anti-terrorism type of security precautions will occur,” Gary Bongiovanni, editor of concert industry magazine Pollstar, said. “That means… Read more »
Rock troubadour Bruce Springsteen sang the prescient “My City of Ruins” and pop diva Mariah Carey gave a comeback performance of “Hero” during an internationally televised pledge drive on Friday benefiting victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on America. The unprecedented, commercial-free show, dubbed “America: A Tribute to Heroes” and simulcast live from candle-lit studios in Los Angeles and New York, was carried on at least 31 U.S. broadcast and cable networks and beamed to 156 countries around the globe. Dozens of stars from the movie, television and music industries took part in the emotional but subdued event, providing entertainment… Read more »
KOCH International, a leading distributor of music, video and DVD, announced today an exclusive distribution agreement with the independent punk-rock label Epitaph Records. Epitaph Records was founded in 1981 by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz and has become one of the world’s leading independent labels specializing in punk and punk-influenced music. Since its formation, the label has developed an eclectic repertoire of imprints which include Hellcat (street punk), Anti (all styles) and Fat Possum (blues). Epitaph is located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Fourth quarter releases will include new titles from the (International) Noise Conspiracy ‘New Morning, Changing Weather’,… Read more »
