Search Results for: royal &

Why be at odds when there’s music to be made? Back on the same page after months of legal wrangling over royalties, 30 Seconds to Mars is once again recording for longtime label Virgin Records. The Jared Leto-fronted rock band’s third studio album currently titled This Is War, is slated for a fall release following a truce between the EMI-owned label – which had sued the group for $30 million – and talent, who in turn had really lashed out at Virgin. “So here we are, after almost a year at war, and the time has come,” Leto wrote yesterday… Read more »

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – Three years after the former manager of The Killers sued the band for alleged breach of contract, the group has filed a countersuit claiming a pattern of incompetence and double-dealing. The Killers' lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Las Vegas alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment as well as breach of an implied good-faith covenant by former manager Braden Merrick and his company, From the Future. Though the Killers' suit doesn't specify the amount of damages being sought, a statement from the band obtained by Billboard cites "multi-million-dollar damages in… Read more »

Radio companies took a giant step forward in 2008 by embracing online and mobile applications like never before. Clear Channel, with centralized Web site design services and such innovative Web programing as its “Stripped” concert series and “New” artist spotlight program, has long led the way, but other broadcast groups also made momentous strides. No company increased its commitment to the digital space in 2008 more than CBS Radio which announced a content and advertising partnership with AOL Music in March. Since then, 150 CBS Radio stations and 200 AOL Music Internet stations have become powered by a CBS Radio… Read more »

He had one of the biggest opening sales weeks of 2008, and now, Lil Wayne is the year’s most-nominated Grammy contender. Wayne and his latest LP, “Tha Carter III,” lead the pack with a total of eight nominations, while one of the year’s other biggest sellers, Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” garnered seven nods. Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West each earned six nods, while Alison Krauss, John Mayer, Robert Plant, Radiohead and Jazmine Sullivan received five each. Adele is up for four – including Best New Artist – as are Lupe Fiasco and T.I. The… Read more »

The album that will put the new EMI under its greatest global scrutiny to date is also 2008’s most eagerly awaited release. That’s the official word from Coldplay’s new boss. The band’s “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” will be released June 12 internationally on Parlophone/EMI and on June 17 in North America on Capitol. EMI Group chairman Guy Hands, who led the buyout of the music company last summer through his private-equity firm Terra Firma, says, “Right across the world, this is the most anticipated album of the year.” As the follow-up to the British melodic… Read more »

Madonna is the richest woman in music. The 49-year-old entertainer leads Forbes.com’s list of the top 20 “Cash Queens of Music,” earning $72 million between June 2006 and June 2007. The pop star’s “Confessions” world tour pulled in $260 million, Forbes said. She also made money from album sales, her fashion line with H&M and a deal with NBC to broadcast her concert performance at London’s Wembley Stadium. Forbes.com said it compiled the list by examining concert grosses, merchandising revenue, album sales and other revenue from clothing lines, fragrance deals and endorsements. Barbra Streisand is No. 2 with $60 million,… Read more »

As the Hollywood writers’ strike threatens to disrupt the 50th annual Grammy telecast, some in the music industry are befuddled, frustrated and even resentful. “I feel torn, because I’m a writer,” R&B singer-songwriter Jill Scott, who is nominated for three Grammys, told The Writers Guild of America, which went on strike two months ago, has said it was unlikely to grant the Recording Academy a waiver to allow writers to work on the Feb. 10 show, the music industry’s most important event, set to be broadcast live on CBS from Los Angeles. The guild, which is seeking compensation for programs,… Read more »

Yahoo! Inc. and Time Warner Inc.’s AOL unit may shut down their Web radio services after being hit with a 38 percent increase in royalties to air music. “We’re not going to stay in the business if cost is more than we make long term,” Ian Rogers, general manager at Yahoo’s music unit, said in an interview. Yahoo and AOL stopped directing users to their radio sites after SoundExchange, the Washington-based group representing artists and record labels, began collecting the higher fees in July. Those royalties may stifle the growth of Internet radio, which increased listeners 39 percent in the… Read more »

Relationships in the entertainment world can be famously fraught. And few are more so these days than the one between Steve Jobs and Universal Music chief Doug Morris. You may recall that Morris recently refused to re-up a multi-year contract to put his company’s music on Apple’s iTunes Music Store. That’s because Jobs wouldn’t ease his stringent terms, which limit how record companies can market their music. Now, Morris is going on the offensive. The world’s most powerful music executive aims to join forces with other record companies to launch an industry-owned subscription service. BusinessWeek has learned that Morris has… Read more »

If Madonna leaves Warner Bros. for an all-encompassing $120 million deal with Live Nation — as the Wall Street Journal reported this week — the concert promoter will struggle to make money on the deal, according to a Billboard analysis of the numbers. The 10-year deal reportedly includes: $50 million in cash and stock for the right to promote Madonna’s concert tours; a signing bonus of $17.5 million; and advances totaling $50 million-$60 million for three albums. The deal is virtually unprecedented, likely driven by touring potential, but sources say it doesn’t obligate her to tour. Last year, Madonna was… Read more »