Search Results for: the ark

A federal appeals court in Manhattan heard oral arguments yesterday in a case that questions the constitutionality of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA was passed by Congress in 1998 when a number of entertainment companies and trade organizations pressured lawmakers to make unauthorized electronic distribution of digital copyrighted materials illegal. The DMCA legislation has given rise to a move by the RIAA to require radio stations streaming on the Internet to pay both performance and publishing royalty fees. If it is upheld in the online world, it’s also possible that the practice will be extended to on-air broadcasts,… Read more »

This song will self destruct in exactly five spins. There have been further developments from the digital rights management (DRM) front. Liquid Audio has been granted a patent for a new watermarking technology that enables rights holders to limit the use of digital content. The U.S. Patent Office yesterday awarded the company a full patent for watermarking technique, which Liquid Audio engineers invented in 1998. According to the company, the technology enables content owners to protect their music for digital delivery without sacrificing audio quality. Liquid Audio’s new watermarking technology allows content providers to define permission parameters for the use… Read more »

London’s huge Party In The Park, a free show held in London’s Hyde Park already has an amazing lineup, but today rumors abound that Madonna will play the free show. It seems Madonna’s European tour will find her reasonably close to London at approximately the time of Party in the Park on July 8. In other free-gig-in-London news, REM has been confirmed for the free show at Trafalgar Square celebrating the 7th anniversary of democracy in South Africa. Also playing at that one will be Mel B and The Corrs.

Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment have secured a massive distribution channel for their Duet subscription service, which is expected to launch this summer. Duet will be made available to visitors to the Yahoo! network and Yahoo!* Music web sites. According to Media Metrix, Yahoo! receives 185 million visitors per month worldwide. By comparison, Media Metrix estimates that Napster receives 16.9 monthly site visitors. The on-demand Duet subscription service will offer consumers the ability to compile personalized playlists and to share them with other Duet members still while respecting artists’ rights. The service will provide users with the ability… Read more »

Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington was apparently impressed by the band’s performance when he saw them group live at the Whisky in West Hollywood, Calif., in the summer of 1999 (singer Declan O’Shea’s shockingly bright red hair, pixie body, pale white skin, and piercing vocals make the band impossible to be overlooked live). Bennington kept in contact with the Cork, Ireland-based band, and when the group asked for him to sing on a track for the new album, he gladly obliged. Bennington lends vocals to the song “Karma Killer.” Tales from the Fishbowl, which was produced by Colin Richardson (Fear… Read more »

Stuart Rubin has been promoted to senior vp worldwide marketing at BMG Entertainment. Rubin, who was managing director of BMG New Zealand, will report to executive vp worldwide marketing and A&R Thomas Stein. Rubin replaces Bill Wilson, who left the company to pursue other interests. Wilson had worked closely with former BMG CEO Strauss Zelnick and former chief marketing officer Kevin Conroy, who exited the label group late last year. Rubin will be charged with international and priority artist marketing and will oversee partnership and online marketing initiatives. “Stuart brings to his new position a strong track record in breaking… Read more »

In the latest attempt to link music and school violence, the songs of California pop-metal band Linkin Park are being implicated in Monday’s Santee, Calif., shooting, in which 15-year-old Charles “Andy” Williams opened fire on his Santana High schoolmates, killing two and wounding 13. A friend of Williams’ appearing on NBC’s Today show said that Williams was a fan of the band and that he was influenced by three songs on the band’s Hybrid Theory album: “One Step Closer,” “Papercut,” and “In the End.” Linkin Park released a one-sentence statement about the shooting via its publicist. It reads, “Like everyone… Read more »

Linda A. Newmark has been named Senior VP Acquisitions for Universal Music Publishing Group. Newmark previously served as VP Acquisitions and played a key role in the company’s purchase of Rondor Music International Inc. She will continue to report to David Renzer, worldwide president of UMPG. Newmark was involved with the acquisition of Def Jam Music, Millhouse Music and Sheddhouse Music, as well as the catalogues of Pat Alger, Jimmy Webb, Grace Jones and Judy Collins. She has also signed numerous artists such as the Baha Men, producer Bill Bottrell and film composer Mason Daring. “I am pleased to reward… Read more »