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Record producer Kenneth Darnell Franklin has filed a multiple-count copyright infringement and breach-of-contract lawsuit against Percy Miller (aka Master P), his label, No Limit Records, Priority Records, and Capitol/EMI Music, among others. The suit – filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court – alleges that material by rapper Clifton Dickson (aka Lil Italy) appeared without permission on the 1999 No Limit/Priority release “On Top of Da World.” The album, which reached No. 20 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart, has sold 76,000 units in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The suit claims that Franklin, who does business as… Read more »

The lawsuit against Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne brought by Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake has been dismissed by the federal court in Los Angeles. In a ruling issued on August 16, 2002, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ claims for record royalties and additional credits on the classic Ozzy albums “Blizzard of Oz” and “Diary of A Madman.” The ruling ends the lawsuit first filed in 1998. Ozzy and Sharon stated: “This decision recognizes what we have been saying all along: Bob and Lee’s lawsuit was vicious and frivolous. It is truly sad that they felt the need to try to… Read more »

Long before Michael Jackson began his eyebrow-raising attack on Sony, a coalition of influential artists initiated a more civilized crusade against the record industry, and on Tuesday that battle raged on. Representing the Recording Artists Coalition – which includes No Doubt, Beck and others – and similar action groups, several music attorneys and a few artists faced off against major-label representatives in a hearing with the California Senate Committee in Sacramento. Montell Jordan, Sam Moore of legendary soul duo Sam & Dave, and attorney Don Engel were among those who accused record companies of fraudulent accounting practices, mainly underpaying artists… Read more »

Rock ‘n’ roll has turned music fans into rebels. Not only are they pirating tunes on the Internet rather than paying upwards of $20 for a compact disc, they are also increasingly reluctant to fork out for costly concert tickets. A survey of the North American concert industry by trade publication Pollstar showed the top 50 acts sold a combined 10.6 million tickets in the first half of the year, down about three percent from the year-ago period (10.9 million tickets) and off 18 percent from 2000 (12.9 million tickets). The average ticket price for those top 50 tours rose… Read more »

Napster Inc. said on Monday it filed for bankruptcy protection, as German media giant Bertelsmann AG prepares to take over what remains of the once dominant Internet music-swapping service. Napster listed $7.9 million in assets and about $101 million of debts as of April 30, according to papers filed with its voluntary Chapter 11 petition at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The filing is part of a comeback plan for three-year-old Napster, which became one of the Internet’s hottest properties by allowing millions of people to swap music online for free. Though Napster was wildly popular, attracting nearly 60… Read more »

Sure, everyone likes a little Jay-Z, Nelly and DMX party music now and then, but sometimes you just want a bit more to chew on, and for a lot of people that means turning to the world of underground rap. The Difference, a compilation of 12 new songs due in June on the Official Jointz label, is already catching a buzz thanks to “Clear ‘Em Out,” an alleged Nelly dis track by KRS-One featuring Tonedeff. According to the album’s producer, Domingo (Fat Joe, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony), when he asked KRS-One if the track was a direct attack on the St. Louis… Read more »

SESAC, the nation’s fastest growing performing rights organization, and the Television Music License Committee have negotiated a new industry-wide licensing agreement for commercial local television stations across the United States. The SESAC/TMLC-negotiated blanket license, which covers the period January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2004, reflects the strategic growth SESAC has achieved over the past few years. “SESAC has experienced dynamic growth since my partners and I acquired the company in 1992,” says SESAC Chairman Stephen Swid. “Having said that, this deal with the TMLC represents a defining moment in the evolution of SESAC. This agreement was possible because renowned… Read more »

Comverse and BMG Europe today announced an agreement for BMG to supply both international & local music content for Comverse’s VoiCD advanced mobile music solution. This agreement represents the collaboration of two leading players in their respective industries, to build a complete and comprehensive music solution that will provide premium value to telecom service providers. Visit Comverse at the Mobile Entertainment Event in London on April 9-10, 2002, Booths 7 & 9. This cooperation combines the technology and music worlds and opens a new distribution channel for the music industry. BMG is one of the first of the major labels… Read more »

Forget J-Lo’s naval and Eminem’s foul mouth. The 44th annual Grammy Awards Wednesday had weightier issues to contend with as artists and performers sought to soothe the nation with humor and song after a year of turmoil within the music industry and in the United States. From heightened security, to performers’ songs and to host Jon Stewart’s jokes, the devastating attacks on America of Sept. 11 hovered in the background of the music industry’s most glamorous night. When Stewart came onstage at the Staples Center, he walked through a dummy metal detector, which gonged off and sent huge security guards… Read more »

Modern rock act Incubus will kick off a North American tour April 11 in Portland, Ore., in support of its latest Immortal/Epic set “Morning View.” The 50-date tour will be sponsored by Honda Civic, which put Blink-182 and Everclear out on the road last year on separate tours. An exclusive weeklong online ticket pre-sale will launch at 10 a.m. ET Saturday (Feb. 16) at civictour.com. “The band is really excited to be involved with Honda and the Civic Tour because it gives us a chance to play much bigger venues at a ticket price [$25] that we think is very… Read more »