Search Results for: sting

A clash with shareholders cost Thomas Middelhoff his job at the helm of media giant Bertelsmann – even though the company made money while rivals like AOL Time Warner and Vivendi ran into trouble. Not even one of the deals of the decade – reaping billions from selling a stake in AOL Europe at the height of the Internet bubble – could save Middelhoff from the same fate as Vivendi’s former chief Jean-Marie Messier and Robert Pittman, ousted as head of AOL Time Warner’s AOL division in a management shakeup. Bertelsmann said Sunday that Middelhoff was leaving due to “differing… Read more »

Cocaine caused the heart attack that killed the Who’s bassist John Entwistle, a coroner reported Thursday. The Las Vegas medical examiner also classified the death as accidental and not due to an overdose, according to the Associated Press. How much cocaine was in Entwistle’s system couldn’t be determined, however. The drug caused his coronary arteries – already damaged by a pre-existing heart condition – to contract, which led to the fatal heart attack. The 57-year-old’s body was found June 27 in his hotel room at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, a day before the Who were to… Read more »

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, timber cutters, miners, construction workers and truck drivers face the highest risk of injury on the job. Perhaps the Labor Department would add “musical performer” to that list if it bothered to assign someone to study the goings-on at say, Ozzfest or the Anger Management Tour – or even Britney Spears’ Dream Within a Dream Tour – to take note of the amount of blood spilled and number of fingers/arms/knees/backs injured onstage. While many imagine that a music superstar’s day on the job involves such trappings as free-flowing Cristal, gold grills, hovering hotties… Read more »

As Justin Timberlake works on his solo album and Lance Bass prepares to go into space, Joey Fatone isn’t about to be the odd man out of ‘NSYNC. For his downtime during the boy band’s hiatus, Fatone’s broadening his acting résumé to include the Great White Way – as the lead in “Rent”. “It’s very exciting,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do Broadway…. About a year ago I went and saw ‘Rent,’ and it was really cool, and I thought it would be a cool show to do. It’s so edgy and so based on real life. It’s something… Read more »

Disappointed in the Librarian of Congress’ recent imposition of high fees on web radio broadcasters and the resultant shutdown of many web radio broadcasts (including KIRO and KMTT in Seattle), U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee [right] (D-WA), George Nethercutt [below] (R-WA), and Rick Boucher (D-VA) introduced new legislation to change existing web radio laws. “The bill is designed to make the copyright royalty arbitration process more fair for smaller entities, and will go before the House of Representatives’ Judiciary and Small Business Committees… “Said Nethercutt, ‘No one wins under the current CARP standard – webcasters will close shop, consumers lose access… Read more »

The Rolling Stones are staying relatively quiet about the death of longtime road-crew member Royden Walter “Chuch” Magee III during tour rehearsals last week. However, the group has moved its operations away from the scene of his passing. In a brief posting in the news section of the band’s official website ( rollingstones.com), the Stones stated that they “are deeply saddened” by Magee’s death. Magee, the Head Crew Chief who was in his 30th year with the Stones, suffered what is thought to have been a fatal heart attack on Thursday (July 18) at a rehearsal for the band’s upcoming… Read more »

Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Blur’s Damon Albarn, Beck, the Neptunes, and the Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi are among the judges for the 2002 Shortlist Music Prize, which spotlights lesser-known acts for their artistic merit. Others musicians accepting the role as so-called “listmakers” for the second annual Shortlist are Mos Def, Paul Oakenfold, Iggy Pop, Jill Scott, the Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon. They are joined by directors Baz Lurhman and Spike Jonze, producers Dan “The Automator” Nakamura (Gorillaz) and Gustavo Santaolalla (Cafe Tacuba), as well as journalists and radio personalities. Through the summer and… Read more »

The first commercial radio station to cybercast its over-the-air playlist is among the first to fall victim to newly imposed royalty rates for online broadcasts. KPIG stopped streaming music online Thursday, ending a near seven-year run on the Internet. According to its own estimates, the small-scale station would have been forced to pay $24,000 in back royalties (or approximately $3,000 per month) from this year alone on an arm of the station that generates little or no revenue on its own. It was purely for the benefit of those who were interested in hearing it. Based in Freedom, California, KPIG’s… Read more »

EMI Group Plc played down chances of an attempt to merge or sell its business on Friday, saying it was more convinced than ever it was best off alone despite a rapidly shrinking music industry. Signs so far this year point to a steeper than expected decline in global music sales of four percent, but the world’s third biggest music group remains on track to meet its targets, EMI’s head of recorded music Alain Levy said. “When we originally announced a merger with Warner Music, we made clear the best option after that was to remain as a stand-alone. That… Read more »

When Ozzy Osbourne was chiefly known in middle America for decapitating winged creatures and urinating on the Alamo, he and his annual hard rock hoedown were greeted with protests, boycotts and prayer meetings. But, oh, what a difference a year makes. The former most-feared man in rock has now become its most beloved father figure, courtesy of the rib-tickling warts-and-all series “The Osbournes.” So as he returns to the road for the first time since becoming the toast of prime time, Ozzy and Ozzfest 2002 are being greeted not with protests but with open arms, and at least a few… Read more »