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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: record label

record label stories: 13 news summaries

 Carly Simon Sues Starbucks 

Coffee chain's failed music label bungled her album's release, singer says

Oct 12, 09 5:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Carly Simon intended the 2008 album This Kind of Love to be her swan song, and she was excited about the record company that would release it: Starbucks-owned Hear Music. The coffee chain had wooed her with a big advance and promises of high exposure in stores, but instead Starbucks... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Starbucks • lawsuit • promotion • civil lawsuits • music distribution • record label • album sales • Carly Simon • Hear Music

opinion

 How to Save 
 the Music Biz 


Sep 12, 09 7:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - The album is dead. Touring is on the fade. File-sharing is killing download profits. Adieu, music biz? Not so fast, reports The Wrap, which offers five fixes:
  • Drop the price. Ninety-nine cents for a song? Try 10. "Lower the price point, and you undercut the very foundation of
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music industry • iTunes • file sharing • Guitar Hero • Rock Band • record label • Jack White

(Newser) - Apple has joined forces with four major record labels on a mission to get music buyers to start buying albums again instead of just single tracks, the Financial Times reports. The project—codenamed "Cocktail"—will bundle album downloads with lyrics sheets, sleeve notes, photos, and assorted interactive features... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music industry • iTunes • Apple • Universal Music Group • EMI • Warner Music • sony • album • record label • album sales

(Newser) - Three bands just weren’t enough for Jack White, who’s started a music store/recording studio/record label in his adopted hometown of Nashville. Third Man Records is “where everything starts to make sense,” the White Stripes frontman tells the Wall Street Journal. “Where modern meets old... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • music • producers • Nashville • record label • White Stripes • Jack White • Meg White • The Dead Weather • Third Man Records

(Newser) - Record labels and the online radio industry have reached a deal on royalties that insiders think will allow the medium to survive, the New York Times reports. Larger sites like Pandora will pay the labels 25% of revenue or up to 14 cents for every song they stream—whichever... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • Internet • song • webcast • broadcasting • recording industry • internet royalties • Internet radio • record label

(Newser) - Nashville really is Music City, Richard Florida writes in the Atlantic. Charting the demographics of the music industry from 1970 to 2004, Florida found that “Nashville was the only city that registered positive growth. In effect, it sucked up all the growth in the music industry.” It’s... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music industry • Tennessee • publisher • Nashville • record label • demographic trends • Music City • recording studio

 Jay-Z 
 Leaves 
 Def Jam 


May 21, 09 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jay-Z confirmed to RapRadar today that he has left Def Jam Records after more than a decade. The news follows an unconfirmed report on HitsDailyDouble that the rapper bought out his contract for $5 million. Jay-Z, 39, owed Def Jam one more album, but he was eager to move on... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music industry • Kanye West • hip-hop • rap music • Def Jam • Jay-Z • record label • Jay-ZTV • Roc Nation • Doug Morris • LA Reid • Blueprint 3

interview

 Web Killed Big Acts, 
 Saved Music: Kot 

Each tech advance stirred unfounded fears: Kot

May 21, 09 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Internet has so fragmented music that there may never be another big act like U2. But that’s just fine for music critic Greg Kot, author of Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music. “Art thrives best when it’s created without regard to making any kind of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Internet • music industry • music downloads • U2 • piracy • Beatles • record label • Greg Kot

Novel Tactics Target Piracy

Tax would give Isle of Man citizens unlimited downloads; Ireland will cut off miscreants

Feb 5, 09 11:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Two European islands are taking opposite approaches to music piracy, the results of which could influence internet policy worldwide. The Isle of Man, between England and Ireland, will charge a $1.45 weekly tax on behalf of record labels to let citizens download music without penalty. Meanwhile, Ireland’s main... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • music industry • piracy • Ireland • digital music • record label • Isle of Man

(Newser) - Atlantic Records has become the first major label to pass a high-tech milestone: More than half of its music sales are now from digital products such as iTunes downloads and ring tones for cell phones. Sales of CDs have been declining across the board in recent years, so it was... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music industry • CDs • digital music • Warner Music • Atlantic Records • record label

 Def Jam Exec 
 Dead in 
 Apparent 
 Suicide 

Shakir Stewart took the helm of Def Jam Records in June

Nov 2, 08 12:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Shakir Stewart, who took over at Def Jam Records when Jay-Z stepped down in June, was found dead yesterday, Billboard reports. The rap executive apparently committed suicide, though few details are available. Stewart had signed artists such as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, and Karina Pasian to his label, and in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
suicide • music industry • Atlanta • Def Jam • Jay-Z • record label • Shakir Stewart

 Stones Exit EMI, 
 Jump to Universal 

Post-1971 catalogue comes with Jagger & Co., who take potshot at now-former label

Jul 25, 08 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - After the latest skirmish between EMI’s new owner and the recording label’s bands, the Rolling Stones have fled for Universal—in a $15 million deal that includes rights to all Stones releases since 1971. Mick Jagger & Co. knocked EMI on the way out the door, the Times... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Rolling Stones • Universal Music Group • EMI • Radiohead • record label

Interview

 Beck Poised
 at Turning
 Point 

As his record contract ends, the musician's not sure what's next

Jul 5, 08 2:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - This week Beck will release Modern Guilt, his last record under a 14-year-old studio contract—an event that prompted the New York Times to ask him what's next. No idea, Beck said. “I haven’t bothered to plan anything. I don’t know where the record business is going... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • Beck • Interscope Records • Danger Mouse • record label

13 Stories


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