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Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V; Paris Bourse: EX FP) announced today it has extended for five more years the contracts of Ron Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios, and Stacey Snider, Chairman, Universal Pictures. In making the announcement, Jean-Marie Messier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi Universal, said, “I am thrilled to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of these two outstanding leaders. As the head of Universal Studios Group’s businesses, Ron has brought the studio to new heights. With the recent creation of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE), Ron, under the leadership of Barry Diller, will now expand his responsibilities… Read more »

Dick Clark says Michael Jackson would be on the American Music Awards, but Michael Greene won’t let him. The TV personality/producer filed a $10 million lawsuit on Wednesday (December 19) against Greene, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, claiming that Greene’s Grammy booking policy prevents top artists from appearing on Clark’s American Music Awards. Clark’s suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Greene’s policy of refusing to book artists who perform at the AMAs – which will take place seven weeks prior to the Grammy Awards – caused a breach of contract by forcing Jackson to back… Read more »

Silverchair fans will get an early Christmas present when the band’s first new song in almost three years is unveiled on Australian and New Zealand radio at 11am (AEST) this Friday, December 21st. The track is called “The Greatest View” and according to Silverchair’s fanclub newsletter which broke the news, it’s “an epic piece of work which retains the edge of the band’s previous work but which also hints at a more lush and melodic musical direction”. “The Greatest View” was Produced and Mixed by David Bottrill who did the last two Tool albums. It was co-produced and written by… Read more »

The world’s largest record company will be the first of the major labels to release a copy-protected CD in the United States, signaling a new chapter in the industry’s efforts to stem music piracy. When Universal Music Group on Tuesday releases the soundtrack, “Fast & Furious – More Music,” consumers won’t be able to copy the music onto another CD or use their PCs to “rip” tracks in digital MP3 format. The copy-protection technology will also render the disc unplayable on Macintosh computers, DVD players and game consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2. It might not even play in some… Read more »

The Breeders will launch their first club tour in more than eight years on January 28 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The monthlong trek includes two nights in New York and wraps up February 28 in Anaheim, California, an Elektra Records spokesperson said Friday (December 14). The Breeders went on hiatus after the release of 1993’s Last Splash until founder Kim Deal, formerly of the Pixies, convinced her twin sister, Breeders guitarist Kelley Deal, to play on some tracks she had written in 1999. (Kelley replaced original Breeders guitarist Tanya Donelly.) The sisters Deal recruited guitarist Richard Presley, bassist Mando Lopez… Read more »

Consumer electronics company SONICblue Inc. on Monday unveiled a high-end home entertainment hub that can store an entire music collection and furthers the company’s thrust into the budding market for digital audio and video entertainment. At about $1,500, SONICblue’s Advanced Digital Audio Center can become the centerpiece of a music enthusiast’s wired home. It features a 40-gigabyte hard drive that can record up to 650 hours of music. Through the system, available only via SONICblue’s Web site, music from a CD can be recorded to its hard drive, played back over receivers within the house, downloaded to an MP3 player,… Read more »

A few punks, a scruffy “Refugee” and the most sex-crazed chef on television are crashing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Punk rock pioneers the Ramones and Talking Heads, Southern rockers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and soul singer Isaac Hayes will lead the class of 2002 when they are inducted into the rock hall on March 18, organizers announced Thursday (December 13). Other artists recognized include ’60s icons Brenda Lee and Gene Pitney, guitar great Chet Atkins, and Stax Records co-founder Jim Stewart. Atkins, who crafted the sound of country music before moving on to record with Elvis… Read more »

Fans restlessly anticipating Creed’s announcement of opening acts for their upcoming tour can now put their minds at ease. Louisville, Kentucky, quartet Tantric has been tapped to prime the crowd for the first leg of the Weathered tour, according to Creed’s publicist. Tantric will help the arena rockers kick things off January 16 in Atlanta and will stay along for the ride until the first leg concludes February 17 in Kansas City, Missouri. The band, composed of former members of Days of the New and singer Hugo Ferreira, is touring behind its eponymous debut, which was released in February, and… Read more »

The third time turned out to be not so charming for Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 8. For three consecutive weeks, the latest installment in the hits-laden compilation series couldn’t occupy the #1 slot three of its predecessors (volumes 7, 6 and 4) have enjoyed, thanks to Creed’s Weathered, which will remain reigning king of the mountain on next week’s Billboard 200 albums chart. The band’s third album continues to meet staggering sales, moving more than 458,000 copies last week, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (December 12). Weathered’s three-week total stands at more than 1.7 million. Now… Read more »

Tap the kegs and round up the groupies – two of the biggest champions of rock and roll excess will take the same stage for the first time later this month. Spinal Tap and Tenacious D will play the House of Blues in West Hollywood on December 20, a sure-to-be-memorable evening that will bring together such classic anthems as “F– Her Gently” and “Sex Farm.” The show is a benefit for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, according to the D’s spokesperson. Mitochondrial diseases are hereditary disorders that affect a cell’s ability to produce life-sustaining energy. The UMDF’s mission is “to… Read more »