Search Results for: pop will eat itself

Capital Radio is moving one of its main broadcast programmes onto the internet as part of its partnership with MSN.co.uk, taking its Dancemasters programme and rolling it out onto its own online channel. Already operating R&B, women’s and gamers’ radio channels on MSN, the new channel will bring the dance market into its fully programmed internet broadcasting service. The deal with MSN.co.uk, announced earlier this month, gave Capital’s troubled internet division the chance to fully implement internet station plans, having seen its revenues severely hit by the dotcom economic downturn. Rather than launching niche channels itself, the broadcaster and the… Read more »

Radio airplay is and has been the primary driver of retail record sales in the United States. Some estimate that nearly 90 percent of sales is the direct result of an artist being exposed on radio. But today, radio is joined by an array of other media choices: MTV, BET, and VH1, digital downloads, and streamed audio. Consumers borrow friend’s CDs and tapes, and see live performance. Any record label or promoter would be remiss by ignoring any one of these outlets since they all help to sell music. In the first-ever project of its kind, James Schureck at Jeff… Read more »

When it comes to riding the boy-band wave in pop music, nobody has done it better than Lou Pearlman. The Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and O-Town are just a few of the groups the Orlando-based impresario and his company, Trans Continental Entertainment, have launched on the road to hormone-fueled success. But in the past few months, Pearlman has hit some sour notes. About 15 key executives and staffers, including company vice presidents, the chief operating officer, a tour manager, accountants and publicists, have left or been laid off. O-Town, Pearlman’s latest breakout success, recently left for a management firm run… Read more »

Hot on the heels of new releases from such established superstars as Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, Virgin Records America is releasing seven key albums from developing artists the label hopes will follow in those multi-platinum footsteps. Ranging an eclectic musical spectrum from Pop-R&B to Urban-Alternative Rock to World Music, these artists reflect Virgin’s commitment to unique yet accessible music for which the label has become known. Forming the all-star rookie line-up are: Nikka Costa – All ears piqued when Tommy Hilfiger’s slick commercial hit TV screens last year, featuring that funky, rhythmic bassline from Nikka’s debut single “Like A… Read more »

Hip-hop, in a push to clean up its image, came out Thursday in favor of warning parents about violent and sexually explicit lyrics and said it would organize politically to help the urban poor. Rappers, music executives and black leaders at a Hip-Hop Summit in New York said they would label sexually explicit and violent music, as well as Web sites and posters that promote it. They also plan to mentor young rappers, set up hip-hop think tanks, and form a political group to address such issues as free speech and racial profiling. “One of the things we discussed was… Read more »

As the fight over digital musical copyrights moves into a new stage, song-swap service Napster said it is looking for a new ally – music publishers. “I’m spending a lot of time thinking about publishing,” Napster chief executive officer Hank Barry told Reuters. “We could get all the labels in the world on the service but we still couldn’t do anything without the publishing rights,” said Barry during a recent interview. Barry echoed what many big label executives are grappling with as a growing dispute over publishers’ royalty rates threatens to undermine recently announced plans to launch commercial services as… Read more »

The makers of the upcoming “American Pie 2” have ordered a slice of 3 Doors Down’s debut album – with something extra on top. The Mississippi rockers are writing new lyrics for “Be Like That,” a track from their multiplatinum debut, The Better Life that will be released as the first single from the movie’s soundtrack, the band’s management said. 3 Doors Down also plan to shoot a video for the heartland-rock ballad that will feature the “American Pie 2” cast, according to the film’s music supervisor, Gary Jones. “We spoke to the guys in the band and they’re totally… Read more »

With the passing of Joey Ramone on Sunday, music fans lost a genius who changed the world, according to the many artists – from Blink-182 to the Go-Go’s – who were influenced by the lanky, leather jacket-clad godfather of punk rock. “I wish I could have met him and told him what a huge influence he had on my life, and what an inspiration his music was, and what a genius he really was,” Blink-182 singer/bassist Mark Hoppus said. “The Ramones came out at a time when music wasn’t being done like that, and they came out with three-chord pop-punk… Read more »