Search Results for: madonna

Lily Vasquez, a marketing manager from Clifton, New Jersey, spent nearly eight years trying to break into the music business as a singer before she stumbled across SellaBand.com. The Web site is one of several where artists can have their albums funded by fans — a proposition that takes advantage of digital technology, online social networking and the current uncertainty in the established music industry. The sites are reinventing the relationship between artists and their fans, upsetting the traditional role of the record label as the tastemaker, promoter and distributor of music. “I didn’t really understand the site when I… Read more »

Between them, sisters Jessica and Ashlee Simpson have had one high-profile divorce, an embarrassing lip-synch scandal, plastic surgeries both obvious and subtle, blame for a Dallas Cowboys loss, and an impresario father looming over it all. Each shot to prominence – and up the pop charts – by taking the primrose path of MTV reality shows. Each has had shining success at selling records, followed by abject failure. And that’s just a sampling. If you’re a celeb-watcher (or football bettor), it’s juicy stuff. If you’re a Simpson sister, it’s beginning to look like a critical mass of negativity. Of late,… Read more »

Lily Vasquez, a marketing manager from Clifton, New Jersey, spent nearly eight years trying to break into the music business as a singer before she stumbled across SellaBand.com. The Web site is one of several where artists can have their albums funded by fans — a proposition that takes advantage of digital technology, online social networking and the current uncertainty in the established music industry. The sites are reinventing the relationship between artists and their fans, upsetting the traditional role of the record label as the tastemaker, promoter and distributor of music. “I didn’t really understand the site when I… Read more »

Snatching Martin Scorsese’s eagerly awaited documentary about the Rolling Stones away from rival film festivals for the Berlinale next month is a career highlight for festival director Dieter Kosslick. The Berlin boss, humiliated when great rival Cannes poached “Motorcycle Diaries” at the last minute four years ago, said on Wednesday the buzz hasn’t even begun to wear off since he secured Scorsese’s “Shine a Light” for the February 7 opening. “We’ve been talking about this film for a year and obviously every festival director was trying to get it,” Kosslick said, adding the British band will join the American director… Read more »

Concert touring company Live Nation on Thursday said it reached a two-year, multimillion dollar, worldwide touring deal with tween rockers Jonas Brothers. Live Nation caused a stir in October when it lured pop star Madonna from her long-term music label Warner Brothers with an estimated $120 million multi-album, touring and merchandising global partnership. The Los Angeles-based company said the deal calls for the band, comprised of three siblings from New Jersey, to play more than 140 theatres and arenas around the world. The first wave of tour dates kicks off in Tucson, Arizona on January 31. The announcement follows the… Read more »

High-priced reunion tours by the Police, Van Halen and Genesis failed to prevent the North American concert industry from posting its worst year since 2004, according to a music industry trade publication. The top 20 tours generated $996 million, down 15.6 percent from the year before, according to preliminary data issued on Friday by Pollstar, which covers the concert business. The previous low was $951.1 million in 2004, when Prince and Madonna topped the box office, it said. The comeback tour by Anglo-American rock trio the Police was the top draw this year with ticket sales of $131.9 million, followed… Read more »

Marilyn Manson has struck back against his former bandmate by countersuing for breach of contract. The rocker claimed in court papers filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court that keyboardist Stephen Bier did not carry out obligations to take part in master recordings, concerts and the selling of band merchandise. Bier – known by his stage name, Madonna Wayne Gacy – filed his own breach of contract lawsuit against Manson in August seeking more than $20 million. Bier claimed Manson stiffed him on salary and medical support while using band profits to live a lavish lifestyle. He claimed Manson used… Read more »

Warner Music Group Corp, the world’s third-largest music company, on Thursday posted a 58 percent drop in quarterly profit, hurt by an industry-wide slump in CD sales, as more fans bought songs online. Although Warner’s revenue rose 2 percent to $869 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, it declined 2 percent when taking out the impact of the weaker dollar. The company also posted weaker international sales, particularly in the United Kingdom. Digital music revenue was up 25 percent at $130 million during the quarter, but this could not make up for the short-fall in compact disc sales. U.S. album… Read more »

The Grinch might be stealing Christmas from music retailers, but thanks to Josh Groban and Oprah, there’s still some singing in Whoville. For the sales week kicked off by Super Tuesday–the release date before Thanksgiving when record labels typically schedule their big guns–the figures were abnormally bad, with only one Top 10 bow and a seven-week-old album topping the charts. Still, that album, Groban’s Noël, can thank last week’s performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show for driving it past Alicia Keys and into the number one spot. Noël crowned the Billboard 200 by selling 405,000 copies for the week ended… Read more »

Timbaland’s next musical collaboration might be a lullaby. The rapper-producer and fiancée Monique Idlett welcomed a baby girl a few days ago, People reported Tuesday. “They’re both really happy together,” a source told the magazine. “They’ve known each other for years.” Timbaland, whose real name is Tim Mosley, has hit the studio with a mind-boggling number of artists ranging from Dr. Dre to Duran Duran to Björk, but the visionary who helped bring “SexyBack” with Justin Timberlake hasn’t had much to say as far as his nonprofessional partnerships go. Although apparently he doesn’t mind taking a little business home with… Read more »