Germany's highest civil court has overturned a
Hamburg
state court ruling in Kraftwerk's favor that said reusing the shortest
bit of a song infringed on copyright. The civil court ruling
does forbid the sampling of a song melody and insists that the sample
must be part of a completely new musical work bearing no resemblance to
the original. The Hamburg court will take up the case again
in the near future.
Lawyers for Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain have filed a
lawsuit at London's Royal Courts of Justice charging that Michael
Jackson took $7 million as an advance on an album, an autobiography and
a stage play that he never produced. Jackson claims the money
was a gift. Jackson's lawyers on Tuesday told the court that
the singer was too sick to travel. But, after reluctance by
the court to let Jackson testify via live video, his lawyers told the
court on Thursday, "Mr. Jackson is intending to travel to this
country...and will be available to give evidence to your
lordship." He is expected to take the stand on
Monday. The case is expected to wrap up by the end of the
month.
Perfume company Revelations has filed a lawsuit in New York State
Supreme Court against Prince and his music publisher Universal Music
Publishing Group for $100,000 for failing to help promote the 3121
fragrance. The parties entered an agreement in December 2006
to use Prince's name and likeness and the name 3121 to market two
fragrances (the second is due out in 2009.) According to the
complaint, "Since July 2007, despite repeated attempts by Revelations
there have been virtually no communications from anyone who could
commit to or coordinate any promotional efforts by Prince."
Universal Music Publishing Group did release a statement, "Although we
have not seen the complaint, we are familiar with the claims being
asserted by Revelations, and they are completely without merit."
Jackson Browne's battle with former presidential candidate John McCain
over his use of the song "Running On Empty" is heating up.
McCain was sued by Browne in August after using the song in a campaign
commercial. This week, McCain filed two motions dealing with
the issue. The first was a motion to dismiss claiming his use
of the song was fair use. McCain also said that Browne's
assertion that the Lanham Act's prohibition on the implication of a
"false association or endorsement" is flawed because it only applies to
"commercial speech" and not "political speech." The second
filing was an anti-SLAPP motion (which is typically used by defendants
as a way to seek monetary damages after a plaintiff has subjected a
defendant to a lawsuit meant to chill free speech. McCain is
reportedly only seeking attorney's fees and costs.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie are expecting to be granted an initial divorce
decree today according to London's High Court schedule.
The 5th annual Billboard Touring Awards were held on Thursday in New
York. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band earned
the Top Tour and Top Draw awards for their Magic tour.
Springsteen's longtime manager Jon Landau Management was named Top
Manager. Widespread Panic received the first-ever Road
Warrior award, The Allman Brothers Band were named Legend of Live and
Bon Jovi was given the Humanitarian Award for his work with the
Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation. The awards are based
on actual data reported to Billboard Boxscore for the period of Oct.
1st 2007 to Sept. 30th.
The Twilight soundtrack fell 4 places to #5 on the Billboard 200 albums
chart on sales of 107,000 copies. AC/DC's Black Ice dropped 4
spots to #6 selling 105,000 copies. Enya's And Winter Came...
debuted at #8 on sales of 92,000 copies. Metallica's Death
Magnetic fell 7 places to #19. Celine Dion's My Love:
Essential Collection dropped 13 spots to #30. George Strait's
Troubadour was the greatest gainers on the chart climbing 46 places to
#37.
Guns N' Roses' new single, "Chinese Democracy," debuted at #34 on the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "Better" has been named as
the next single from Chinese Democracy and the new album heads to Best
Buy stores on Nov. 23rd. The album is currently streaming on
the band's MySpace page and received nearly 2 million plays in less
than 24 hours. Also remember to stop by DrPepper.com on Nov.
23rd to fill out information to get your free 20-oz. Dr. Pepper as it
is only available for 24 hours.
Enya's And Winter Came... debuted at #6 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Celine Dion's My Love: The Essential Collection
dropped a spot to #8. AC/DC's Black Ice fell 2 places to
#11. Status Quo's Pictures: 40 Years Of Hits dropped 7 spots
to #15. The Smiths' The Sound Of The Smiths debuted at
#21. Cliff Richard's 50th Anniversary Album fell 15 places to
#26. Bette Midler's The Best Bette dropped 7 spots to
#27. Jason Donovan's Let It Be Me debuted at #28.
Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" debuted at #27 on the U.K. Singles
chart. The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow" climbed 2
places to #28.
Lee Greenwood has accepted a Presidential appointment to the National
Endowment for the Arts council and will serve a 6-year term.
Slim Jim Phantom has reported that his cast has finally been removed
and he has started physiotherapy on his arm and wrist. He has
plans to join The Head Cat for tour dates in January and head to
Australia to play with the Stray Cats the following month.
Meanwhile, Phantom also announced that he has a new project with
Captain Sensible and Mike Peters called The Forgotten Saints.
They plan to release an album next year followed by tour dates.
Ron Keel, Marc Ferrari, Bryan Jay and Dwain Miller have announced a
Keel 25th anniversary reunion tour for 2009. None of the
members of the band have toured under the name since 1989 and the group
has sold over 2 million albums. Earlier this year, Keel's
rare independent debut album, Lay Down The Law, was finally released on
CD after digital remastering via Shrapnel Records. For more
information, check out their new Web site at KeelReunion.com.
Jay Aston has recorded vocals on "Moonlight Mile" for a new album by
All About Eve's Julianne Regan. He has also mentioned that
work will begin soon with producer Steve Brown in Wales on a new E.P.
but it will not be under the Gene Loves Jezebel name.
Motley Crue are planning to release a limited-edition box set
collecting 6 of their classic albums on 180-gram vinyl under the title
Journals Of The Damned in December.
Were you one of the fans that excitedly purchased the collector's
edition reissues of New Order's first 5 albums? It seems
there have been some sound quality issues (mostly on the bonus
discs.) Peter Hook recently posted on his MySpace page that
the reissue project was a "mess" and he blamed the label for not
sending out advance copies to the band so they could do some quality
control. A statement was released on Thursday, "Warner Bros.
UK, Rhino and New Order regret that the initial pressings of the
Collector Editions of Movement, Power, Corruption & Lies,
Low-Life, Brotherhood and Technique contain some minor audio problems
on the bonus discs." "We are now in the process of correcting
the problems, but it should be noted that due to the age and condition
of some of the original source tapes, the sound quality may
vary. A further statement will be issued once the corrected
product is available. At that time, the procedure for
exchanging CD's will be announced. Thank you for your
patience while we resolve this situation."
BJ Thomas has been touring and working on his new Brazilian album with
producers Bob Mann and Allan Schwartzberg for his debut on the
Universal Brazil label. Thomas' latest release is the Jake's
Corner soundtrack available at his BJThomas.com Web site.
The Alarm will see 3 releases by the end of the year via their official
Web site. BBC Radio Sessions 1983-1991 includes 36
previously-unreleased recordings by the original Alarm remastered from
the original BBC master tapes and includes interviews. Mike
Peters' 1994 debut solo album reissued as a 3-disc set including the
original album, a second CD of bonus material (singles and B-sides) and
a DVD containing promo films and live TV performances. Lastly
is The Alarm MMVIII's Tactical Response Live From The Gathering 2008
dual DVD/CD set.
Bobby Womack's Poet trilogy will be reissued via ABKCO
Records. Womack's 1981 album The Poet, 1984's The Poet II and
1985's Someday We'll All Be Free were originally released via Beverly
Glen Records and are due out in the first quarter of 2009.
The Poet went to #1 on Billboard's R&B chart and The Poet II
peaked at #5.
Heaven 17 will be releasing their new album, Naked As Advertised -
Versions '08, via Absolute Zero in time for their upcoming Steel City
Tour (which features other Sheffield bands: ABC and The Human
League.) Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware have reworked some
classics from early in their career with a few rarities and renditions
of the Associates' "Party Of Two" and Human League's "Being Boiled" and
"Empire State Human" (both originally written by Ware.)
Neil Diamond has said that he recently met with Rick Rubin to start
planning the follow-up to Home Before Dark. Before that, he
will start the final leg of his tour and also release a television
special/DVD from his tour.
The reunited Kajagoogoo are planning to release a new EP, Death Defying
Headlines, soon as a teaser to a full studio album.
Former Rainbow members Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Carey, Bobby Rondinelli
and Greg Smith have formed the band Over The Rainbow with Ritchie
Blackmore's son, Jurgen "J.R." Blackmore.
Crowded House's Neil Finn is considering a sequel of sorts to his 2002
live album, Seven Worlds Collide. The as-yet-untitled studio
project is expected to tape during the next few months in Auckland, New
Zealand, and released next year. All proceeds from the
project will benefit international development organization Oxfam.
Devo have announced that they are working on their first new studio
album (containing all new material) since 1990's Smooth Noodle Maps and
have about 17 songs they are testing out.
Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora is working on scoring more films and
TV shows. Sambora will write the soundtrack to the upcoming
action movie, The Tournament.
Game show Rock And A Hard Place returns on Nov. 25th on Direct TV's 101
network with Quiet Riot Allstars vs Air Supply. The winning
3-person team will have the dollar amount donated to a charity of their
choice.
Camouflage are planning to release their Live In Dresden double-DVD/CD
set via Synthetic Symphony on Jan. 23rd. The set was recorded
during their performance on Sept. 30th 2006. One of the DVDs
will feature all their video clips, TV appearances and a documentary.
Killing Joke have released a 14-track disc, Duende: The Spanish
Sessions, online at Plastichead.com. According to Jaz
Coleman, a "new album in January if we are still alive."
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up distribution of the rockumentary
It Might Get Loud for North America, Latin America, Australia/New
Zealand and South Africa. The film features guitar heroes
(which include Jimmy Page and The Edge) looking at the electric guitar
through the history of each musician featured. It Might Get
Loud is scheduled to hit theaters in the summer.
Depeche Mode have been recording off and on for about 9 months in New
York and Santa Barbara studios. Martin Gore reportedly picked
up some vintage gear in hopes to move the sound of the album toward
their late 1980s material.
Tommy Keene plans to release, In The Late Bright, his first new solo
album in nearly 3 years on Feb. 17th via Second Motion Records.
Bret Michaels has been working on a new video for "Driven" and plans to
release a maxi-single for "Fallen" (with acoustic, piano and demo
versions) from his Rock My World album. Meanwhile, his Rock
Of Love Bus premieres on VH1 on Jan. 4th.
Irene Cara has a new single, "How Can I Make You Luv Me," with her
all-female band Hot Caramel.
Roxy Music are still working on their new studio album but several
members are also working on solo projects during their free
time. Guitarist Phil Manzanera has released his new album,
Firebird V11, in the U.K. Saxophonist/oboe player Andy Mackay
has launched his new band, the Metaphors, with drummer Paul Thompson
and former bassist Gary Tibbs which will have an instrumental album,
London! Paris! New York! Rome!, due out internationally on Feb. 22nd.
Rock 'N' Roll Books/APG Distribution plans to re-issue an abridged
version of An Education In Rebellion: The Biography of Nikki Sixx this
spring that will include new interview material covering from 2003
through 2008. Meanwhile, bandmate Vince Neil is planning a
new solo album that he will record in April and hopes to release
November 2009.
Columbia Records plans to release Bruce Springsteen's new studio album,
Working On A Dream, on Jan. 27th. The 12-track album,
recorded with the E Street Band and producer Brendan O'Brien, includes
two bonus tracks ("The Wrestler" and "A Night With The Jersey Devil.")
Lenny Kravitz has filmed and released the new video for his brand new
single, "Dancin' Til Dawn," to Yahoo Music.
Man Raze's debut album, Surreal, will finally be released in the U.K.
and Europe on Dec. 1st. The album was previously only
available in North America and this release will include all the 12
songs on the original release but it will include a bonus disc with 5
additional tracks (one non-album track, two live tracks and two dub
mixes.)
Chris Cornell's collaboration with Linkin Park this summer during the
Projekt Revolution tour will be released on a new CD entitled Songs
From The Underground at Best Buy locations as of Thanksgiving Day.
Sebastian Bach has been working in the studio with the writing team
that created his latest single, "Battle With The Bottle."
They reportedly have 10 to 15 songs in the works for what will be his
first country album.
Barry Manilow's new album, The Greatest Songs Of The Eighties, will be
released a day early on Monday via Arista Records.
Former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart has reportedly worked in
collaboration with Jimmy Jane and created special editions of the
Little Something vibrators model. He has also written a song
called "Let's Do It Again" that will be offered as a free download to
anyone buying one. Visit JimmyJane.com for more information.