Search Results for: soft play

Key Capitol Hill politicos on Wednesday sent a letter urging colleagues to reject legislation that would force recording labels to offer the same price and terms when cutting licensing deals with Internet ventures. The measure in question was introduced this summer by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), who’s concerned that the major labels will control the flow of songs on the Internet by giving special permission to those online services they back. But some of Boucher’s colleagues on the House Internet Subcommittee say it’s far too early in the game to regulate the Internet. Those signing the letter opposing Boucher’s bill… Read more »

It’s a safe bet that most radio listeners have never heard of rock singer Matthew Harrison. The owner of tiny Third Monk Records, which released Harrison’s album, says there’s a simple reason: The company can’t afford the hidden costs of obtaining radio airplay. Jeff Robinson, the label’s sole proprietor, said he doesn’t have the money to hire independent promoters who heavily influence station playlists. “They’ve got it locked up and there’s absolutely no room to do what I’m trying to do,” Robinson said. “And if you can’t get exposure for your product, you’ll never be able to sell any records.”… Read more »

XM Satellite Radio today announced that the first-ever AM/FM/XM satellite radio shipments began arriving in the United States in preparation for the company’s September 12 launch of its satellite radio service. The service features 100 digital- quality channels including 71 music channels, of which more than 30 are 100% commercial-free. In addition, XM will offer 29 news, talk, sports and entertainment channels. The company expects that in December of this year, there will be 100,000 XM radios available at more than 6,000 electronics retailers nationwide ready for the important holiday season. The launch will be supported by a national multimedia… Read more »

Tabitha’s Secret will become a matter of public record with the October 9th release of Don’t Play With Matches. Broken up since the summer of 1995, the band contained three current Matchbox Twenty members: singer/guitarist Rob Thomas, bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette. Tabitha’s Secret formed in Orlando in 1993 with Thomas, Yale, Doucette and guitarists Jay Stanley and John Goff. Stanley said the group had been offered record deals by Atlantic and Hollywood Records when the band fractured due to “third-party interference.” “Deals were struck with the [producer Matt] Serletic Production Company and not directly with the band,”… Read more »

By the close of business Wednesday, concert promoters across the country will know how many Internet-savvy baby boomers are hungry for the music of a generational hero, Bob Dylan. Dylan, whose “Love & Theft” album will be released Sept. 11, is taking a page from mega-sellers such as the Backstreet Boys and U2: a limited number of tickets for 32 North American concerts will go on sale Wednesday for fans who follow his activities on the Web site http://www.BobDylan.com. Although Dylan has toured relentlessly since the release four years ago of the album “Time Out of Mind,” which won three… Read more »

Henry Rollins isn’t a fan of much metal music these days. He even claims to have never listened to an entire Rage Against the Machine song. That doesn’t, however, mean he can’t relate to the Bizkit bunch. A seasoned singer, author, actor and spoken-word performer, Rollins has a knack for relating to most everything. “I hear some guy sing, ‘You f ed me over, you bitch.’ I used to write those songs,” Rollins said from his Los Angeles office last month. “When the girl left me, she got at least a 20-page indictment in my journal and two songs about… Read more »

Wilco’s long-rumored split with Reprise Records is official, and the Chicago-based group is actively shopping their fourth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, in an attempt to get the record released by the end of the year. The dispute over the album began in June, when Wilco delivered a finished copy to the label and it was rejected by a pair of A&R men. When the band refused to make changes, the two sides began negotiating Wilco’s departure. “Wilco went for the side of the road instead of the middle,” says a label source, “and that’s not necessarily what the record company was… Read more »

Internet song-sharing software is downloaded and enjoyed by millions of music fans and becomes the talk of the nation. Record labels complain and seek to punish the program’s creators for allegedly encouraging music piracy. So it goes for Soribada, or “Sea of Sound,” South Korea’s answer to Napster. Except instead of facing a lawsuit, the two U.S.-educated brothers who authored the file-swapping program are in deeper trouble. Yang Jung-hwan, 28, and his 32-year-old brother Yang Il-hwan were indicted Sunday on criminal charges of copyright violation. The Yang brothers, who face up to five years in jail and up to $38,500… Read more »

The music industry is escalating its crusade against Napster-style music swapping with a plan to place stringent controls on compact discs – including, perhaps, the one you bought last week. Some of the world’s major record labels – Vivendi Universal’s Universal Music, Sony Corp.’s Sony Music, AOL Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Music, EMI Group Plc, and Bertelsmann AG’s BMG – are already running quiet field tests of CDs that cannot be copied, or “ripped,” to a personal computer. Using technology from companies such as Sunnyvale, California-based Macrovision Corp and privately held Israeli firm Midbar Technologies, the labels hope to staunch… Read more »

The Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation of the online music business, focusing on two new joint ventures backed by five major record labels, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday. The probe, which is in a preliminary stage, is looking into possible anti-competitive problems posed by the joint ventures, lawyers close to the case said Friday, according to the report. The government is also expected to examine the major record companies’ use of copyright rules and licensing practices to control online distribution of their music, according to these people, the report said. The rival joint… Read more »