Search Results for: hole

Like it or not, major record companies are expected to continue drafting their artist contracts so that labels share a piece of most — if not all — of the artists’ rights in all types of revenue streams, not just record sales, but also concert tickets and t-shirts. Artist lawyers say that their responses are as varied as the rights and terms in each label’s “360-degree” deal. Some labels want to be the merchandiser, while others want rights only in certain types of merchandise connected to album cover artwork. And when it comes to artist royalties, some labels pay a… Read more »

The Department of Justice on Thursday slammed intellectual property legislation that would re-organize its IP enforcement structure, calling it unnecessary and counterproductive to the work it has already accomplished. “We have a current structure … that works quite effectively,” Sigal Mandelker, deputy assistant attorney general, told the House Judiciary subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. Judiciary Chairman John Conyers last week introduced H.R. 4279, which would further crack down on intellectual property violations, and create several new government positions with the power to enforce the new law. It is intended to preserve American economic prosperity, according to sponsors.… Read more »

Do you know what time it is? Well, according to the invisible clock, it’s 9, though no one seems to be sure if that means a.m. or p.m., or why the difference is important. And, of course, there are some who still can’t even see the clock – you know, since it’s invisible and all – so they’re busy trying to figure out the 23-character word puzzle, even though everyone seems to believe that they’ve already solved it, despite the fact that they have no proof to support that belief. Confused? Well, you must not be a Panic! at the… Read more »

The scope of a yearlong download promotion planned between Pepsi and Amazon, Billboard has learned, is among several developments forcing further consideration by Warner Music Group (WMG) and Sony BMG Music Entertainment to follow EMI and Universal Music Group’s lead in distributing music in the MP3 format. News of the Pepsi promotion, which is expected to be announced Feb. 3 during the Super Bowl, coincides with an ultimatum from Wal-Mart asking major labels to supply walmart.com with their music in MP3, sources say. Labels, meanwhile, say they have been watching the success of an MP3 test UMG began in August;… Read more »

Nick Haley took just 30 minutes to pluck the Brazilian band CSS from obscurity and hurl it into the national spotlight. In September, Haley paired the band’s dance-pop song “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex” with his 30-second amateur video, displaying the capabilities of Apple’s new iPod Touch. The video ends with the lyrics, “My music is where I’d like you to touch.” “I was like, ‘This song is too perfect,’ ” said Haley, 18, by phone from the University of Leeds in England, where he studies politics. “It’s punchy, loud, fast and naughty.” Marketers at Apple headquarters in Cupertino… Read more »

Led Zeppelin, one of the last major acts to resist digital distribution, are releasing their back catalog online. Led Zeppelin said their songs, including “Communication Breakdown,” “Whole Lotta Love” and “Stairway to Heaven,” will be available from online music stores Nov. 13. The band is due to release a two-CD retrospective, “Mothership,” the same day. “We are pleased that the complete Led Zeppelin catalog will now be available digitally,” guitarist Jimmy Page said in a statement Monday. “The addition of the digital option will better enable fans to obtain our music in whichever manner that they prefer.” The band has… Read more »

Elton John said Wednesday that he owns a photo of two naked girls taken by award-winning photographer Nan Goldin that was seized by police at a British gallery over concerns it amounted to child pornography. John confirmed ownership of “Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing” in a statement on his Web site. He said it is among 149 images comprising Goldin’s “Thanksgiving” installation. Northumbria police said the photo was taken from the BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, northeastern England. They confirmed Tuesday that an image had been taken from an exhibit “to assess whether or not an offense had been… Read more »

Rap musicians and top record label executives defended the hip-hop business Tuesday, telling lawmakers it is wrong to single out the genre for congressional reprobation. Lavell Crump, who goes by the name David Banner, told the house consumer protection subcommittee that picking on rap unfairly singles out the black community. “When it comes down to it, it’s just a song,” Crump said. “Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor of California, but in his movies he killed half of Cambodia and he went to Mars and blew up Mars . . . but that’s OK because he’s a white man and he’s an… Read more »

It’s happened to everyone. You’re cruising in your car, cranking the tunes, when the radio DJ announces a promotion awarding tickets for a sold-out show to the first fan who correctly answers a trivia question. Answer in hand, you call in, only to get a busy signal — again, again and again. Soon, that scenario will be as antiquated as dial knobs on TVs. Radio stations nationwide slowly are incorporating mobile text-messaging systems that let listeners respond to promotional campaigns, request songs and interact with advertisers from the keypad of their mobile phone. For radio station operators, it’s not only… Read more »

Apple ® today introduced the new iPod ® touch featuring Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface that enables users to find and enjoy all of their music, videos and more on its gorgeous widescreen display with just the touch of a finger. First introduced on iPhone(TM), the multi-touch interface uses pioneering new software to present the perfect user interface for each application. The iPod touch also includes Wi-Fi wireless networking, the first on any iPod, and three amazing applications that use it-Safari(TM), the most advanced browser on any mobile device, lets users wirelessly view web pages just as they look on… Read more »