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On Sunday, dozens of the world’s best-known entertainers gathered on the site where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream Speech” 45 years ago to offer an exuberant welcome to President-elect Barack Obama. U2 provided one of several emotional highs of the day, performing their tribute to King, “Pride (In the Name of Love),” during which Bono declared, “On Tuesday that dream comes to pass!” Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Beyoncé and Garth Brooks were among the A-list performers who helped set the joyful, optimistic tone at the concert, officially called “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural… Read more »

New Orleans-based eclectic/innovative rock quartet MUTEMATH has confirmed an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this Thursday Jan. 15, 2009. The Grammy-nominated band will perform a brand new song entitled, “Spotlight,” from the chart-topping Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, TWILIGHT, based on the Stephanie Meyers book which has become an international phenomenon. The soundtrack to the movie was released this past Nov. 4, 2008. The critically-acclaimed band are currently in the studio recording their 2nd Teleprompt/Warner Bros. Records album. Release is expected later this year. Details to be announced soon. MUTEMATH first came to national attention with their independently—produced… Read more »

The final note of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign may very well be sung by Jon Bon Jovi. The musician is performing at a fundraiser for the former presidential candidate as she tries to close out her campaign debt, which stood at $6.3 million as of last month. The Jan. 15 performance at Manhattan’s Town Hall is being billed as “a final evening in support of Hillary Clinton for President Debt Relief.” Ticket prices range from $75 to $1,000. The former first lady and New York senator has been working to pay down her debt to clear the way for… Read more »

The Warped Tour, the annual traveling festival that targets the Vans-wearing, emo-loving youth of America, has recently announced the lineup  for their 2009 caravan. As usual (and because the event is celebrating its 15th anniversary), the lineup combines older acts like NOFX, Less Than Jake and Bad Religion with newer artists like 3OH!3 and Black Tide. Other notables on the bill include the hard-rocking Gallows, the Ataris, Thrice, Underoath, Bayside and a bunch of other bands that are currently blasting on Hot Topic stereos. At first glance, the bill lacks the big names of past fests, the Paramores and Gym… Read more »

LOS ANGELES — The group representing the U.S. recording industry said Friday it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service providers to cut abusers’ access if they ignore repeated warnings. The move ends a controversial program that saw the Recording Industry Association of America sue about 35,000 people since 2003 for swapping songs online. Because of high legal costs for defenders, virtually all of those hit with lawsuits settled, on average for around $3,500. The association’s legal costs, in the meantime, exceeded the settlement money it brought in.… Read more »

LOS ANGELES — Don’t get Katy Perry twisted: She absolutely loves being pop’s quirky poster girl, the wild child who doesn’t censor herself and causes raised eyebrows with songs like “Ur So Gay” and “I Kissed a Girl.” But for all her success over the last year, Perry is hoping that songs like her most recent No. 1, “Hot n Cold,” show she has more to offer than kitsch and controversy. “It’s my personality, which is up and down and sassy and cheeky,” says Perry, who recently became a Grammy nominee “You’re gonna see me with all kinds of different… Read more »

Morrissey has signed with Nashville-based roots label Lost Highway for the U.S. release of his new album, sources told Billboard. “Years of Refusal” will be released on February 17, and will be supported by a U.S. theater tour that kicks off February 28 in Boca Raton, Fla., and runs through April 15 in Albuquerque, N.M. The project marks the follow-up to the former Smiths frontman’s 2006 set “Ringleader of the Tormenters.” It will come out internationally on February 2 via Universal, which bumped the album from a fall 2008 release for unspecified reasons. Lost Highway is an intriguing destination for… Read more »

When Wal-Mart sold 784,000 copies of AC/DC’s ” Black Ice ” during the album’s first week in stores, many label executives believed that more superstars would release albums exclusively through big-box retailers. And when Best Buy experienced disappointing sales of Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” some of those same executives thought, well, maybe not. “Chinese Democracy” (Interscope), the rock act’s first album of all-new material in 17 years, sold 261,000 units in its first week of availability, according to Nielsen SoundScan That included sales at Best Buy, exclusive digital retailer iTunes and other stores selling import versions of the album.… Read more »

The industry gets upset when anyone calls this a “tax” so I’ll use the “voluntary license” term, even though tax is much more accurate. A true voluntary license wouldn’t require everyone having a certain provider to opt-in, but that’s exactly what this plan would require. In fact, as the slides indicate, eventually it would basically require all ISPs to “opt-in” forcing all of their members to “opt-in.” Suddenly, everyone has to pay. That’s not a voluntary license. It’s a tax. However, even if we step back and pretend it’s really a voluntary license, and even if we grant the premise… Read more »

Before Fall Out Boy soared into the consciousness of the mainstream music world and Pete Wentz became a tabloid fixture, the Chicago-based band cut its teeth in dingy Midwestern clubs. Now, well-versed in pop superstardom and with a new album in the wings, the band returned to St. Louis last Tuesday for an intimate night at the tiny Creepy Crawl. The show was announced only a few days prior, and ticket sales were done day-of-show at the venue. Prior to doors opening, the line of patrons stretched around the building into a back alley, and those first in line were… Read more »