Search Results for: thursday

Rock star Jackson Browne has sued U.S. presidential candidate John McCain for copyright infringement, accusing the presumptive Republican nominee of using the singer’s 1977 hit “Running on Empty” in a campaign ad without permission. The suit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, also names the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party as defendants. It seeks a permanent injunction against further use of Browne’s music and at least $75,000 in damages. The campaign spot mocks McCain’s Democratic rival for the White House, Barack Obama, for suggesting the nation conserve gasoline through proper tire inflation, with… Read more »

One of Australia’s most successful rock exports, the Grammy-winning trio Wolfmother, has been torn apart by “longstanding frictions,” according to a statement published on the group’s Web site on Thursday. Bass/keyboard player Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett have resigned, while singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale plans to find other musicians and begin making a new Wolfmother album. “Please understand that in spite of their best efforts over a long period of time, they just could not find a harmonious way to work together,” the statement said. Wolfmother’s self-titled debut album, released in 2006, sold more than 500,000 copies in the United… Read more »

Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” led Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart for a seventh week on Thursday, tying the Beatles to become the longest-running No. 1 in the rock era for the singer’s Capitol Records label. The Fab Four ruled for seven weeks in 1964 with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Perry was previously tied at No. 2 with the Knack’s 1979 song “My Sharona.” If Perry’s song can hang on for three more weeks, it will tie rapper Flo Rida’s “Low” as the second longest-running No. 1 of 2008. But challenges loom from R&B singer Chris Brown’s… Read more »

Concert promoter Live Nation Inc. is negotiating the exit of its chairman, Michael Cohl, amid a dispute between him and CEO Michael Rapino, according to a newspaper report Thursday. Cohl and Rapino have been battling over contracts known as “360 deals” that give the company an all-encompassing stake in an artist’s business, including albums, touring, merchandising, and television and film projects, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site. Live Nation already has inked such deals with artists Madonna and Jay-Z, reportedly worth $120 million and $150 million, respectively. Cohl wants to accelerate the pace of the dealmaking, while… Read more »

A musicians union has filed a federal lawsuit against the producers of “American Idol,” claiming musicians were underpaid because the show’s live music was re-recorded for reruns. The American Federation of Musicians filed the suit seeking unspecified damages Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging that American Idol Productions Inc. and its subsidiary Tick Tock Productions Inc. violated a collective bargaining agreement. That contract says the show’s musicians should be paid royalties for rebroadcasts of the show, the lawsuit said. The producers are required to pay 75 percent of scale to musicians who appear in the original show… Read more »

Coldplay sold 125,000 copies of its new album on the first day of release in Britain, a solid tally industry experts say should be music to the band’s ears and those of its ailing record label EMI. “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends” now looks “certain” to top Sunday’s album chart, according to The Official Charts Company which tracks record sales, even though it was released on Thursday rather than at the start of the week. “Coldplay are an international act … and these sales figures in the UK are the first indication of how the album… Read more »

Atlantic Records sued two members of the alternative rock band Stone Temple Pilots on Thursday, accusing them of trying to prematurely end their recording contract with the Warner Music Group label. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, claims lead singer Scott Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz have threatened to stop performing under their contract and have indicated they would like to end the agreement unless Atlantic makes significant changes. The record company said in the suit that while Stone Temple Pilots has already delivered six albums, it wants the group to record a seventh album and deliver… Read more »