Search Results for: refused

At Thursday’s Congressional hearing about the new rates for online radio that would essentially destroy it, SoundExchange, which was scheduled to receive the new royalty payments on Monday morning (since the enforcement date falls on a Sunday), made a startling statement. The SoundExchange executive [Jon Simson, executive director] promised — in front of Congress — that SoundExchange will not enforce the new royalty rates. Webcasters will stay online, as new rates are hammered out. I just spoke with Pandora founder Tim Westergren, who expressed relief that Pandora wouldn’t have to shut down on Sunday in response to the new rates.… Read more »

For months, Shira Barlow’s cell phone was flooded with wrong-number calls and text messages, mostly between 2 and 4 a.m. on weekends. Told they had reached a college student, callers refused to believe it. “Baby girl, how are you?” one man purred in a foreign accent. “Why are you doing this?” a woman asked. “This is so rude.” And there were several seemingly random references to “Paris.” As in Paris Hilton. Barlow’s story began on Valentine’s Day during a night out with friends. She was carrying her phone in a back pocket when it fell into a toilet. When she… Read more »

Al Gore announced Friday a surprise Live Earth concert in Washington, foiling Senate Republicans who blocked Gore’s attempt to bring his global warming extravaganza to the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. The former vice president said the all-day “Mother Earth” concert would be held on the National Mall at the National Museum of the American Indian – about two blocks from the Capitol – as part of Saturday’s concert series focused on climate change. The headliners are Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. “Global warming naysayers in the political world have not been able to have their way, because this will… Read more »

The last time Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took on major recording companies, he refused to budge on his 99-cent price for a song on iTunes. As a new round of talks ramp up this month, however, Jobs has opened the door to higher prices – as long as music companies let Apple Inc. sell their songs without technology designed to stop unauthorized copying. Jobs contends that would “tear down the walls” by allowing consumers to play music they buy at Apple’s iTunes store on any digital music player, not just the company’s iPods. Although most of the major labels… Read more »

Melanie Brown has made her case for Eddie Murphy’s paternity in the court of public opinion–now she’s taking her tale to the court of law. The Spice Girl formerly known as Scary has moved to the next stage of her baby battle with reluctant would-be father Murphy, announcing plans to sue the actor after he allegedly ignored repeated requests to submit to a DNA test. Brown, who listed Murphy as the father on the birth certificate for her month-old daughter, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, has maintained that the Dreamgirls star was not only the father of her child but that… Read more »

Somewhere out there, “American Idol” producers, and judge Simon Cowell, are hoisting frosty ones and heaving huge sighs of relief. After an inexplicably long run that was full of flash, goofy haircuts, gleaming smiles and more showmanship than all of the other finalists combined, phenom “Idol” underdog Sanjaya Malakar finally ran out of gas Wednesday night. Following a painfully flat rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” on Tuesday night’s country-themed show , Malakar was sent home to the grinning satisfaction of Cowell, who hinted before the elimination that he suspected the jig was up. The night began with… Read more »

The company representing The Beatles has settled a 30 million-pound ($59 million) royalty dispute with EMI Group, in a deal that could finally pave the way for the Liverpool band’s music to go online. Apple Corps, the company owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison, said in December 2005 it would sue the record company after negotiations broke down. Apple Corps said an audit had determined EMI had not been fulfilling the terms of its contract. “We have settled on mutually acceptable terms and there will be no further comment,” a spokeswoman… Read more »

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame swung open its doors Monday night to the latest batch of acts ticketed for music immortality, with the Georgia alt-rock icons and the dysfunctional Pasadena party band leading the way. They were joined by ’70s punk pioneer Patti Smith, ’60s girl group the Ronettes and the first hip-hop act to crash the party, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The 22nd annual induction ceremony–which per tradition was held at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel–felt like an I Love the ’80 special, thanks to its two biggest inductees. R.E.M. received a warm introduction… Read more »

A Dublin High Court judge on Wednesday formally requested that Eminem provide testimony under oath explaining why he scrapped a sold-out gig at Slane Castle in 2005. The rap superstar’s answers are considered a potentially critical part of a civil lawsuit brought by the promoter against three insurance companies that declined to cover the costs of the cancellation. Eminem had been slated to headline the Sept. 17, 2005 concert as part of the European leg of his Anger Management Tour, but the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, backed out just weeks before the show, citing exhaustion stemming… Read more »

Late in the afternoon of Jan. 16, a SWAT team from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, backed up by officers from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and the local police department, along with a few drug-sniffing dogs, burst into a unmarked recording studio on a short, quiet street in an industrial neighborhood near the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The officers entered with their guns drawn; the local police chief said later that they were “prepared for the worst.” They had come to serve a warrant for the arrest of the studio’s owners on the grounds that they had violated the… Read more »