Real Music People

Rumors are going around that Amy Winehouse is about to leave her current label after her next album so she can get her own label up and running. Wino was supposedly influenced to go into the label thing by Alex Haynes, the guy who she was rumored to have an affair with and is also her manager’s assistant. A source told UK’s Sun “For the first time in her career, Amy is beginning to have her head turned by the cash she can make.” The source also says that Wino wants to sign her friends Remi Nicole and Tyler James and have control over her own finances. If this is true, it will likely end in disaster. Amy can barely take care of herself. How will she take care of a business?

Jay-Z wants $100 million to launch his own record label.

The hip-hop mogul, who recently quit his role as president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Def Jam Recordings, is reportedly asking music labels for the mammoth investment for new project Carter Music Group, but has so far seen his demands dismissed.

A source told the New York Post newspaper: ‘Jay-Z is asking for way too much. He wants a label to give him $100 million for the Carter Music Group and provide for overhead, development and digital investment. It’s crazy. He wants the label to basically be his venture capital fund – but unlike a venture capital, they won’t get 50 per cent.’

A venture capital fund involves the investment of money into smaller companies, which are often thought to carry more risk.

A representative for the ’99 Problems’ rapper branded the reports nothing more than ‘rumours’. Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, left Def Jam late last year amid claims he wasn’t making enough money.

Last year, Jay-Z was named the second highest earning musician in the world by business bible Forbes magazine, with annual earnings of $83 million. His other business interests include owning a series of 40/40 sports bars across the US, and a stake in the New Jersey Nets basketball team.

Jay-Z has retired from hip hop and came out of retirement about three times already. He’s also just retired from the record exec racket a few months ago. But as his track record goes, he’s coming out of retirement from that too.

Rush & Molloy report that the rap mogul could be on his way back to starting his own label again. This time, with a guy who used to be his rival. He and Lyor Cohen of Warner Music are in talks about putting together the Carter Music Group which is a reference to Jay-Z’s real name of Shawn Carter.

Making the Band 4: Season 2 is about to take to the airwaves on Monday, January 28th at 10PM ET/PT on MTV. I’m confused. It’s number 4 but it’s season 2. Why isn’t it 5 or 6?

Anyway, Danity Kane, Donnie and the new band (Robert, Willie, Qwanell, Brian Andrews and Mike) will all be living under the same roof in the second season of the so-called reality show. they will all be albums under the Bad Boy record label at the same time. Diddy wants to see who will finish first. That’s a lot of work on his plate if you ask me.

It’s been swirling around the rumor mill for a while now and it has finally been proven to be true. Rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z is stepping down as president/CEO of Def Jam Records after 3 years with the label.

Jay-Z announced it on Christmas eve saying “It’s really about trying to invest in the future, trying to invest in maybe coming up with a new model. Because going in hard making records with artists and throwing those records into a system that’s flawed is not exciting for me. It’s not the music; people ingest music the same way. It’s just that the model of selling CDs has changed. So doing things the typical way is not in the best interests of anyone and not exciting for me. My whole thing is, how do we invest in the future? If everyone is committed to doing that, then I’m sure there’s a deal to be made.”

Rapper Lil Bow Wow, oh wait, I meant Bow Wow. He’s not so little anymore. Anyway, the rapper was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital on Thursday night after he came from a performance there.

His record label issued a statement saying that the 20-year old rapper is suffering from ‘stress and exhaustion’. They also said that while his tour with Chris Brown, Sean Kingston and Soulja Boy prepares to take the stage in Chicago, he won’t be able to make it. The Sony rep does say that “He loves them and will be sure to come back to Chicago soon!”

Britney Spears is quickly getting known as someone who likes to bail and she almost bailed on her music video shoot for ‘Piece of Me’. That is, until her record label planned to use the dancers and location for her video for a younger rising star.

Page Six is reporting that the pop wreck was supposed to show up at Social Hollywood to shoot her new video but was hours late. When it looked like she was going to be a no-show, Jive decided to refit the set for another act’s video shoot – Samantha Jade’s ‘Eyes on Me’. When Brit got wind of what was going on, the Post says that she finally showed up – twelve hours past call time.

Radiohead isn’t signed to any major record label right now but in the end, it works out for the best. The band decided to release their album via the internet and letting fans pay whatever they wanted for it.

On average, more than 6 out of 10 people who downloaded their new album ‘In Rainbows’ downloaded it for free. Of the people that decided to pay even just a bit for it, the average price paid was around $6. Close to 1.2 million people downloaded the album and if you’re quick with the numbers, that’s a total of $2.736 million.

It may not be as much had they released the album normally but when you take away the money they would have to fork over to a record label, they’d probably make even less than that. It’s a very smart move on their part.

Jennifer Lopez is pissing off her record label because she is way too expensive to take care of and doesn’t really make any money for the label. “She costs too much money and doesn’t sell enough,” says a source. “Her last album cover alone cost $60,000 in hair and makeup, lighting, photographers, re-touching, etc. The video budget was in the neighborhood of $300,000.” Since she’s married with Anthony, her carrier is down, she sell all in Spanish, a flop with “como ama una mujer”, flops with Latinos film….. She can really thank P Diddy!!! She is and always has been a mediocre singer. I admire a husband that would encourage his successful wife to step out of her comfort zone and take on new challenges, weather she succeeds or not. She hasn’t changed with the times. The consumer wants an artist to evolve. Her “Brave” album would have done well in the late ’90s, but not anymore. Just doesn’t cut it.

Radiohead’s experiment of letting the fans download their new album for free has proven to be a success when their website topped the chart of music websites. Now, some of the music industry’s biggest names are following in their footsteps.

Jamiroquai and Oasis are not contracted to a record label much like Radiohead. They are also rumored to be considering on following Radiohead’s actions. Oasis has already announced that their next single will be available for download for a mere 99 pence. The Charlatans are also offering their next album for free if they visit the site of radio station XFM. Madness is considering giving away its next album for free as well.

With rapidly declining CD sales and increasing download sales but still the same wide fanbase, the performers who choose to give away their music are expected to make money from sales of concert tickets and other merchandise.

Pop star Madonna is close to leaving her long-time Warner Bros. Records label for a wide-ranging $US120 million deal with concert promotion firm Live Nation. Madonna would receive a mix of cash and stock in exchange for allowing Live Nation to distribute three studio albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license her name. Like 120 million dollars is I think way too much that the company is dishing out for a 49 year old singer who doesn’t tour much. I think Live Nation shall find hard and very tough to recover their investment and though she is a world reowned artist and her name is very popular but still given the positives of the brand name ‘Madonna’ it will be tough going. She is over the years becoming very predictable with her music and only some nice videos that come out help her sell the album.

More than 70 Eminem songs are available for download on iTunes. Rap star Eminem is suing computer firm Apple for allegedly selling his music in its iTunes store without permission.
A lawsuit claiming infringement of copyright has been filed on behalf of the singer by his music publishing company Eight Mile Style.

Apple pays Eminem’s record label for each download - but Eight Mile Style argues it has not approved the deal.

“This is a significant issue in the music industry,” said Norman Ankers, a lawyer for the company.

“This occurs with many artists and many record labels.”

A spokesperson for Apple had no comment on the legal case, which was filed in the US District Court in Detroit.

Eight Mile Style said between 70 and 80 songs were affected by the dispute, including tracks from the Grammy award-winning The Eminem Show.

The company holds the copyright, or partial copyright, in all of the tracks.

It is seeking more than $75,000 (£36,900) for copyright infringement, unfair competition and a violation of the Michigan consumer protection act.

It also asks for damages of up to $150,000 (£73,800) per infringement - or each time a song is downloaded.

Apple charges $0.99 (£0.49) for most song downloads in the US. Recording companies get about $0.70 (£0.34) and pass on $0.09 (£0.04) of that fee to publishers.

But many publishers would prefer to receive their share of the money directly from retailers.

“Generally, artists want their music sold,” said Joel Martin, a spokesperson for Eight Mile Style. “We want it downloaded. We request that any provider that’s offering downloads license it through the publisher.”

“Apple is not accounting to us. They are accounting to Universal (Music),” he said.

Martin added that Apple had repeatedly asked Eight Mile Style for permission to use its songs, but the requests had been turned down.

Eminem has locked horns with Apple before. In 2004 he sued the company for copyright infringement, alleging that it had used his song Lose Yourself in a TV commercial without permission.

The case was settled out of court.

R&B star Amerie has appealed to fans to appreciate her for her talent and not just her stunning looks. The 1 Thing hit maker, famed for performing in mini skirts or tiny shorts, is keen to win fans over with her records alone because she insists it is her music which differentiates her from her peers. Looks can be deceptive cos they are usually done by the make man or the grooming team, so people just get fantasized by those pics appearing on the cover pages of magazines and elsewhere. Voice and singing talents are something others cannot make and create for you, you either have it or you don’t. Some chaps in the music industry fool people by releasing their albums with another person’s voice and their picture on the label. Once on stage they can be seen lip singing the song. Ooooh! “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful…” Party less work harder and once you master your talents, people will start admiring you for the music part as well.

Kelly Clarkson’s new album is a dud. Her record label which was reluctant to release it in the first place is scrambling to release her new single ‘Sober’ after the first one ‘Never Again’ never took off.

I guess Clive Davis’ remarks about Kelly had merit.

There’s good news and bad news about all this though.

Good news, I think ‘Sober’ is better than ‘Never Again’.

The bad news, the song isn’t all that. It’s pretty but, in Simon’s school of thought, forgettable. It’s the worst thing in the music biz if you want commercial success. ‘Sober’ completely sucks compared to previous ballads of Kelly’s like ‘Breakaway’ or ‘Because of You’.

In a new twist, the score soundtrack for the upcoming “Simpsons” movie, featuring Green Day’s rendition of the show’s famous theme, will be released simultaneously by three companies.
On July 24, three days before the film opens in U.S. theaters, Warner Bros. Records will put out the Green Day single (the band also appears in the film). Fox Music will make a digital score album available through its Web site and other outlets. And Extreme Music, usually known for its vast production music library, will release 25,000 pink doughnut cases to such specialty retailers as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble.
For traditionalists, jewel-cased CDs also will be available. “We really wanted to think outside of the box”, Fox Music president Robert Kraft says. “‘The Simpsons Movie’ was a perfect vehicle to try a new approach.”
The idea largely was the brainchild of Kraft and composer Hans Zimmer, who scored the film. “Hans has a great relationship with Extreme Music”, Kraft says. “They are known for their creative packaging. The model of handing over a soundtrack or score to a traditional label and then hoping it does well is changing. This is a coordinated marketing effort of behalf of Extreme, the studio and Warner Bros. Records.”
As previously reported, Green Day recently recorded a cover of another famous tune, John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”, for the upcoming Darfur benefit “Instant Karma.” The song, which the group performed on Wednesday’s “American Idol” finale, climbs 25-14 on this week’s Billboard Modern Rock chart.

Bad news for Oasis fans! Noel Gallagher announced there is no perspective for a new album of Oasis this year. He said he want to spend some time with his family and his pregnant girlfriend Sara McDonald. Need to prepare for the baby. The plans are to get the new album started this year and release it afterwards.

After fulfilling the contract with Sonny, there has be no new album from Oasis. Noel Gallagher said that he has decided first to do the album and then search for record labels and sign a contract with a music company.

There were some rumors these days, about Gallagher starting solo career, but the band officially has denied them on their website. Part of their statement says:

“Noel Gallagher is not preparing to launch into a solo career nor will he be playing at Glastonbury this June, as have been strongly suggested in some circles. He is an avid fan of the festival and will no doubt be on site checking out a few of his favourite bands again this year.”