The European Union is planning to extend the ownership rights for performers of recorded music from 50 years to 95 years.
EU internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy said that the extension is designed to bring the EU more in line with US copyright law.
The Gowers Report, commissioned last year by the UK government, found no compelling reason for such an extension, but McCreevy, who was lobbied heavily by the music industry, disagreed.
Read more…
AS THE internet threatens to kill the established music industry, the Rudd Government is considering a three-strikes policy against computer users who download songs illegally.
The Government will examine new legislative proposals being unveiled in Britain this week to target people who download films and music illegally. Internet service providers (ISPs) there might be legally required to take action against users who access pirated material.
The music industry estimates 1 billion songs were traded illegally by Australians last year.
Read more…
Westlife walked away with the Best Irish Pop Act for the eighth year in a row at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards in Dublin.
A total of 19 gongs were presented and host Dara O’Briain introduced performances from Westlife, Boyzone, Shayne Ward, Cathy Davey, The Coronas and a duet from Sinead O’Connor and Republic of Loose.
Read more…
The estates of some of American music’s biggest names, including Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Sarah Vaughan, have sued Universal Music Group Inc for more than $ 6 million claiming the company has been cheating them out of royalties for years.
The lawsuit, which was also filed on behalf of some living artists, claims the company withheld record royalties, engaged in lucrative self-serving schemes with record clubs, and suppressed payments from digital distributors such as Apple Inc’s iTunes. The court papers accuse UMG of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.
Read more…
Jessica Simpson may be returning to the small screen, for she is in negotiations with CMT (Country Music Television) to star in yet another life chronicling TV show.
The singer/actress is reportedly in talks with CMT to star in a special tracking her life as she records her upcoming country album.
“We have had exploratory talks with Jessica’s camp, but nothing has been confirmed or signed,” Usmagazine.com quoted a CMT rep, as saying.
Simpsons’ rep however insists that it is “not for a reality show. Jessica is finishing her country album in Nashville. They’re in talks with CMT for a special timed to air when the album is released, but there’s no truth whatsoever to there being a reality show.” Read more…
EMI Group companies sued online music industry executive Michael Robertson for copyright infringement on Friday, some seven years after his former company paid recording firms more than $100 million to settle a similar case.
Several EMI-owned labels and publishers sued Robertson and MP3tunes LLC, which runs www.sideload.com and www.mp3tunes.com, for willful infringement of copyright over the Internet, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Robertson said in a phone interview from San Diego he had not seen the lawsuit but the case appeared to be “retaliatory” as MP3tunes had sued EMI in San Diego in September over a take-down notice the record company sent for Sideload.com, a search engine for digital music files. Read more…
November 11th, 2007 by admin | No Comments »UK-based digital music store 7 Digital has revealed that DRM free music so popular on their service that it manages to easily outsell DRMed music.
The company said that their customers buy DRM free music four times more compared to DRMed music.
7 Digital is a less popular alternative to bigger media stores like Apple iTunes. They carry over 3 million songs from both major artists and independent labels. Read more…
November 11th, 2007 by admin | No Comments »Kenny Chesney captured country music’s top prize — Entertainer of the Year — for the third time on Wednesday in an awards show that also saw big wins for Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
“I love country music and I love doing what I do,” said the 39-year-old entertainer whose tour this past summer drew more than 62 million fans.
Read more…
In the six years since she made her recording debut, Alicia Keys has sold millions of records, won an armful of Grammys, and racked up a gaggle of hits. Yet for all of her accomplishments, Keys has yet to deliver the one thing that matters most — a truly great album.
True, her debut, 2001’s “Songs in A Minor,” and her sophomore album, 2003’s “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” contained breathtakingly beautiful songs like “You Don’t Know My Name” and “Fallin’” that demonstrated why Keys is among the most heralded talents of her generation. But it always seemed as if she put all of her efforts in those truly amazing songs, and the rest of her music was decidedly average in comparison.
Read more…
NEW YORK: DJ Rekha, popular for her Basement Bhangra in New York, has embarked on the next chapter of her career announcing the release of her highly anticipated debut album - DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra - out October 23 on Twisted/KOCH.
On her debut, Basement Bhangra, DJ Rekha invites the listener to go with her into a world that merges the traditional Bhangra music of South Asia and the Hip-Hop beats of today. The listener will be able to experience some of the music that is heard at DJ Rekha’s own internationally known event called Basement Bhangra, the New York dance party - which takes place every first Thursday of the month at Sounds of Brazil (S.O.B.’s) - that DJ Rekha has spearheaded and nurtured for more than ten years now.
Read more…
