Search Results for: european

Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington will seek treatment for a poisonous spider bite he received on August 8 at a hotel in the Boston area (Mansfield, Massachusetts) while on OzzFest tour. A portion of Bennington’s arm has swelled, and he was running a fever, but he did manage to complete the two remaining OzzFest shows at PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey over the weekend (August 11 and 12). A management representative said that people who are bit by a Recluse Spider usually require hospitalization. The end of the tour couldn’t have come at a better time. Guitarist Brad… Read more »

The 2001 Warped tour came to a relatively subdued close on Sunday (August 12) in front 15,000 mosh-pit friendly fans at the Phoenix Plaza in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. Despite trepidation that the hip-hop acts D12 and Esham-booted off the tour a week and a half ago for fighting-might surface at their hometown stop (some D12 stickers were quietly distributed), the show went off peacefully and without a hitch. Some fans, however, were disappointed that Alien Ant Farm, currently hot thanks to its hit cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” wasn’t on the bill as expected. The group… Read more »

The music industry is escalating its crusade against Napster-style music swapping with a plan to place stringent controls on compact discs – including, perhaps, the one you bought last week. Some of the world’s major record labels – Vivendi Universal’s Universal Music, Sony Corp.’s Sony Music, AOL Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Music, EMI Group Plc, and Bertelsmann AG’s BMG – are already running quiet field tests of CDs that cannot be copied, or “ripped,” to a personal computer. Using technology from companies such as Sunnyvale, California-based Macrovision Corp and privately held Israeli firm Midbar Technologies, the labels hope to staunch… Read more »

Following European festival dates and an arena tour with U2, acclaimed artist PJ Harvey returns to the U.S. for an intimate headline tour in September. Harvey will perform in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities in support of her current release, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. Harvey will also make a guest performance on The Tonight Show on September 19th. Stories has received tremendous critical praise in the U.S. and internationally since its release last October. In addition to numerous press accolades (the release was on the Top 10 lists of premiere… Read more »

The U.S. Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into two online music services, both scheduled to launch this fall, that are backed by the world’s largest record companies. According to two senior executives in the record industry, federal investigators notified the record labels that they intend to examine possible anti-competitive aspects of the digital music ventures created by the music industry’s big five: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music, EMI Group and BMG. The Justice Department does not comment on ongoing investigations. The two online services under investigation, MusicNet and pressplay, are the record industry’s best effort… Read more »

Had Russell Watson followed some early career advice, the classical tenor might be singing ‘N Sync-like pop tunes instead of arias. “I was told, ‘Oh Russell, join a boy band, leave the opera to the Italians,”‘ the 27-year-old Brit recalls hearing from agents. “That just made me more determined.” His determination has paid off handsomely. Watson, who is not classically trained and who got his start singing Meat Loaf and Lionel Richie songs in the pubs of Manchester, has become an opera sensation with the release of his debut disc, “The Voice.” Already a best-seller in Britain, the album has… Read more »

RealNetworks today announced the immediate availability of commercial content offerings for Symbian OS-based mobile handsets, demonstrating a new generation of media applications for users of advanced mobile devices. European content providers are making audio and video programming available for consumers in English, French, and German. These content providers include Virgin Radio, BMG Entertainment, Kirch New Media, TF1, Darker Than Blue, Aestheticom, and Supersoni.com. Today’s announcement marks the industry’s first commercially available offerings for the Symbian OS platform. RealPlayer Mobile ships with the new Nokia 9210 Communicator, which is available for purchase in Europe. “Virgin Radio has always sought to be… Read more »

Madonna’s Drowned World Tour began in Philadelphia Saturday night at the First Union Center with a performance of the song which gave the three-month tour its title. The tour will travel to 12 U.S. cities and is sold out. “I love Madonna. We’re going to two concerts, one here and one in New Jersey,” Theresa Svengert told Reuters Television. The tour features material from her current multi-platinum CD, “Music”, as well as signature songs spanning the length of her career. The North American tour follows her European tour, where fans seemed mesmerized by the extravagant stage sets and costumes. Before… Read more »

Job cuts are under consideration at Bertelsmann’s troubled music division as the company scrambles to slash costs and restore profitability, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Regine Hofmann said cuts at Bertelsmann Music Group were being discussed but added that the company had not yet finalized its restructuring plan. “We are in the middle of restructuring, but everything is being reviewed for ways to cut costs,” Hofmann said, adding that plans should be finalized sometime this summer. The comments come a day after BMG chairman Rolf Schmidt-Holtz told reporters in Madrid that “there are no holy cows” in his company’s turnaround plan.… Read more »

The once fertile scene of Lollapalooza, Lilith Fair, the HORDE and Furthur has dried up in recent years, leaving the U.S. summer tour circuit a less festive place for traveling rock music festivals. So pop auteur Moby, in the wake of the success of his latest album, “Play,” has decided to do something about that. “I’ve spent a long time playing European festivals and was impressed by how eclectic and open they were,” explains Moby, whose Area: One tour opened Wednesday in Atlanta. “There was a period in the States where we had a few really interesting festivals…. When those… Read more »