Search Results for: games we play

EMI Group Plc chairman Eric Nicoli didn’t confirm any of the myriad rumors of possible merger plans for his music major at a media confab in Gotham Tuesday, but he didn’t try very hard to dispel them, either. The British label group – which has been twice spurned by European and U.S. regulators in its attempts to link up with rival majors – would benefit from the expanded scale and geographical reach offered by a combination, Nicoli said at UBS Warburg’s Media Week event. And the regulatory skepticism, while still significant, may have been diminished somewhat by the dismal performance… Read more »

After a long struggle marked by false starts, frustration and fan indifference, commercial online music services see this year as the crucial second act of a hit show in the making. Since launching a year ago, subscription music services headed by the major label-backed ventures Pressplay and MusicNet have taken heat from music fans who compared them unfavorably with free peer-to-peer networks like now-idled Napster. But after expanded licensing deals and platform upgrades, these services and rivals Listen.com’s Rhapsody and FullAudio, are better armed to take on free services like Kazaa and Morpheus, which emerged in the wake of Napster’s… Read more »

Faced with adverse publicity to copy protection on CDs, a year ago Bertelsmann Music Group bravely gave in and promised to replace a clutch of Natalie Imbruglia CDs which were protected by Midbar’s Cactus Data Shield. But a year is a long time, BMG is at it again, this time apparently set on applying copy protection to all its music products. Not, of course, that this should be surprising. The music companies are absolutely intent on copy-proofing their products, and although they’ll maybe retreat a little when irate consumers pelt them with ordure, they’ll be right back just as soon… Read more »

The embattled record industry got more bad news on Sunday as a study showed online sales of music dropped 25 percent in the first nine months of 2002. The survey by research firm ComScore Networks Inc, which monitored more than 1.5 million Web users, showed online sales of music – in the form of physical singles, albums, CDs and tapes – fell to $545 million from $730 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales of digital downloads were also included in the survey but accounted for a tiny portion of the total, ComScore said. As the music industry… Read more »

Just because New Found Glory are getting love from the “TRL” crowd doesn’t mean they’re changing their ways or cleaning up their act. Sure, the band’s next video is for the song “Head on Collision,” one of the slower, more melodic tracks from their latest album, Sticks & Stones. But the clip, directed by the Malloys, will reveal a previously unseen twisted side of the group thanks to the help of schlock horror production company Troma Films, which provided the makeup and special effects for the video. “Me and our singer Jordan are really big fans of ‘The Toxic Avenger’… Read more »

Monster(R) today announced a multi-platform relationship with MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION. The broadcast, online and grassroots marketing elements of the program will feature MonsterTRAK, the definitive career resource for college students and alumni. The alliance will allow MonsterTRAK to reach MTV’s vast audience young adult audience while further strengthening its leadership position in the college career space. Monster is the leading global careers site and flagship brand of TMP Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: TMPW – News). On the Air and On the Web Among the broadcast elements of the agreement, Monster has introduced its first-ever product-specific advertising spot, “Bunnies,” specifically created to… Read more »

Marshall “Eminem” Mathers may liken himself and his daughter Hailie Jade to Bonnie and Clyde, but on the The Eminem Show, they’ll remind you more of Master P and Lil’ Romeo. “I swear to you she was so natural at it,” Eminem said of Hailie’s appearance on the track “My Dad’s Gone Crazy.” “I would tell her something one time and she would do it. She would do all the little sound effects and whatever. And she’s geeked to be on the song.” Shady said that many times when he makes music in one of his two studios he brings… Read more »

Bennett Zier has a fine idea for a new radio format. His eyes light up as he tells you about it. “We play Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Bobby Darin,” he says. “The great thing about it is what we call it. You ready?” He pauses. “Vegas Radio! Is that great or what?” Zier can imagine the whole scene – the deejays, the jingles, the ironic retro-swinger patter. It’s his music, the kind he plays in his car. He’s in love with this idea, and with his natural salesman’s charm, he’s making you love it, too. So why doesn’t… Read more »

No Doubt will collaborate Vivendi Universal Games (a division of Vivendi Universal Publishing) and Interscope Records for a character-based, three-dimensional action-adventure videogame titled Malice, which will feature characters voiced by bandmembers as well as songs from their Rock Steady album. The partnership will also introduce No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani as the voice of unexpected hammer-wielding heroine Malice, and bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont, and drummer Adrian Young as the voices of her counterparts within the game. No Doubt will provide three tracks for Malice’s game music and television-advertising campaign. Some of the tracks will be remixed to compliment… Read more »

Britney Spears is the star of the new PlayStation 2 videogame Britney’s Dance Beat, which is now available nationwide. The THQ-brand game capitalizes on the multimedia capabilities of the PlayStation 2 computer-entertainment system, placing Spears music videos in the background during game play, and featuring bonus DVD content that is unlocked as players progress through the game. “It is so cool that I have my very own videogame,” said Spears. “THQ totally captured my dance moves perfectly. I was blown away by how realistic everything looks!” In Britney’s Dance Beat, players audition to be a backup dancer on Spears’s virtual… Read more »