iTunes under threat as bands take their business elsewhere Last Updated: 12:01am BST 25/09/2008 Bands concerned for the ongoing commercial viability of albums are adding to the pressures on iTunes, says Brian Boyd The previously unremarkable rap-rocker Kid Rock had a huge worldwide hit this summer with the single All Summer Long. The album it came from, Rock'n'Roll Jesus, has now sold more than two million copies. It didn't escape the attention of his record label, Warners, that Kid Rock's career-high sales have been amassed without the single or album being available on Apple's iTunes music store. advertisement <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/3746/f/78/%2a/m%3B207161483%3B0-0%3B0%3B29407310%3B4307-300/250%3B28015088/28032967/1%3B%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp://ads.telegraph.co.uk/event.ng/Type=click&FlightID=31473&AdID=39192&TargetID=2615&Values=1458&ASeg=&AMod=&
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Kanye Hates Flashing Lights…… September 11th, 2008 Whatever you do, don’t take pictures or video of Kanye West at L.A.X.! I knew one of these days homey was going to go ape sh*t over all those flashing lights. According to the Thirty Mile Zone , Mr. West went ballistic while being photographed at an American Airlines terminal at L.A.X. airport. West spotted the photographer who was flicking his flashing lights and grabbed for the apparatus. The photographer then started screaming for the cops in which a struggle ensued. After gaining possession of the camera, Ye smashed it to the ground. Erik, a cameraman for TMZ.Com who was catching the whole wrestling match, approached Mr. West, but, Kanye’s assistant intervened and grabbed the video camera from Erik when he realized it was still recording. Ye’s assistant yelled, “Give me the camera”, but Erik explained he had press credentials to shoot at the airport (huh???). The assistant, however, didn’t give a damn, gra
Best Buy signing, promoting local bands Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - by Carissa Wyant Staff Writer Shane Wyatt, an aspiring country singer who’s been performing in Minnesota and elsewhere since he was a teen, doesn’t have a record contract. But he does have a CD out, and you can get it at Best Buy. The placement is part of the Richfield-based retailer’s Unsigned Artists program, which lets local musicians sell music through Best Buy’s stores and Web site. The program’s first efforts quietly rolled out in late 2007, but the company began its first big solicitations of musicians in June. So far it’s signed about 100 artists. For Wyatt, 34, the deal gives the sort of exposure and legitimacy that once required a record deal. “[It] helps lend credibility, which as an independent artist is something you struggle with constantly,” he said. “When people ask where they can get your album, and you tell them Best Buy, it helps to legitimize you as an artist.” And, he added, “Hop
More ways to wriggle out of a record deal If you're desperate to escape a suffocating contract but can't use the California Labor Law, these ingenious deal breakers should do the trick September 4, 2008 3:45 PM The great escape ... EMI bought out Mariah Carey after she suffered a 'nervous breakdown' . Photograph: PR Last week , I discussed how Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars invoked the California Labor Law to try and wriggle out of their record deal. Of course, you can only use that law if your deal was actually signed in California. Snoop Dogg found that out in 2006 when attempting to end his publishing deal with EMI so he could sign a more lucrative one with a rival company. His music may be West Coast, but a court ruled the deal - which was signed in NYC - wasn't. So, for all the artists who don't live in the Golden State, here are some other ways to escape a record deal. Suffer a physical and emotional
How to get out of record deals when they go wrong If you need to wriggle out of a restricting recording contract, do what Metallica and Courtney have done - turn to the California Labor Code section 2855 August 28, 2008 8:00 AM Stranded in the wilderness ... Jared's Leto's 30 Seconds to Mars try to abandon EMI. Photograph: PR Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars are embroiled in a legal battle . The band has invoked the California Labor Code in an attempt to escape the label. This states that a contract cannot be enforced against an employee after seven years (the band signed their deal in 1999). EMI, in turn, are now exercising their right (stated in the same labour code) to sue the band for violating the terms of contract by refusing to deliver an additional three albums - and they want $30m. 30 Seconds to Mars are not the first to resort to the California Labor Code Section 2855 when dissatisfied with the terms of their contract.