Warner Music, VimpelCom Group sign deal

The following was taken from the Internet. It was not written by REP or anyone affiliated with REP.

Thu Aug 10, 3:16 PM ET

LOS ANGELES – Warner Music International has licensed songs from its catalog of music by Madonna, Green Day and other artists to Russian mobile carrier VimpelCom Group, the companies said Thursday. The deal between the global arm of New York-based Warner Music Group and Moscow-based VimpelCom appears to be the first of its kind to involve a major Western record label and a Russian mobile operator.

VimpelCom, which operates under the Beeline brand, boasts more than 50 million subscribers. It provides mobile service in Russia and the neighboring nations of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia.

Beeline plans to launch a music portal later this month to sell ringtones, so-called master tones or snippets of master sound recordings, full-track song downloads and other content for customizing mobile phones.

Initially, however, only VimpelCom mobile customers in Russia will be able to purchase the Warner Music content.

As part of the deal, VimpelCom will have a five-month exclusive to sell ringtones, video clips, full-track downloads and other content from Madonna.

At the outset, Beeline will only offer full-track song downloads from Madonna, not other Warner artists.

Beeline is the main sponsor of an upcoming concert appearance in Moscow by the pop diva.

The Russian mobile music market represents a safer bet for record companies, which have seen sales sapped by digital piracy on online file-sharing networks or Web sites that make songs available for free or well below cost, but without permission.

The nature of mobile networks makes them far harder to hack than Internet-based networks.

Russia is second only to China as a source for pirated music, movies and software. One Russian-based music Web site — Allofmp3.com — has become a popular destination for music fans because it sells full albums for less than $1.

___

On the Net:

Warner Music: http://www.wmg.com

VimpelCom: http://www.vimpelcom.com

Punk band accuses label of “illegal schemes”

This was taken from the internet and is not part of REP.

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Pop-punk band Hawthorne Heights, whose latest album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year, has sued its label, alleging that its “overly-aggressive, unethical and illegal schemes and tactics” have severely damaged the group’s reputation and its relationship with fans. In the suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the Dayton, Ohio-based quintet also claims that Victory Records did not pay it for sales of albums, digital downloads, ringtones and foreign sales or for the use of its music in film soundtracks and video games.

The group accuses Chicago-based Victory and owner Tony Brummel of applying a low royalty rate for its payments, and failing to account for merchandise sales.

The suit also excoriates Brummel’s “outrageous” business schemes, and alleges that he physically threatened the band’s manager and radio station personnel who refused to increase airplay for the group’s songs.

In February, Hawthorne Heights and rapper Ne-Yo were vying for the top of The Billboard 200. On February 28, an email from someone at Victory appeared to urge its street promotions team to tamper with Ne-Yo’s sales potential. “If you were to pick up (a) handful of Ne-Yo CDs, as if you were about to buy them, but then changed your mind and didn’t bother to put them back in the same place,” the message read, “That would work … just relocating a handful creates issues.”

Within hours of the email’s appearance on an industry message board on March 1, a second email appeared calling the first message “a joke.” The Hawthorne Heights record, “If Only You Were Lonely,” wound up debuting at No. 3 on sales of 114,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while Ne-Yo’s “In My Own Words” bowed at No. 1 on sales of 301,000 units.

Band members Eron Bucciarelli-Tieger, Casey Calvert, Micah Carli, Matt Ridenour and JT Woodruff claim that Brummel then signed the band’s name without their knowledge or approval to a so-called manifesto, which falsely stated that the band believed it was in some type of war with artists in the hip-hop and R&B music genres, leading many to brand the band as racist.

In the suit, the band also charges Victory and Brummel with “egregiously fraudulent accounting practices.” Despite sales of nearly 1.5 million units of the band’s recordings and videos, Victory and Brummel claim that the band owes the label in excess of $1 million, the suit says, even though Victory has received in excess of $10 million in revenues from its sale of Hawthorne Heights’ CDs, DVDs and merchandise.

The suit, filed in the federal District Court in Chicago, follows the band’s posting of its own “manifesto” on its Web site (http://www.hawthorneheights.com), in which it describes the way it claims Brummel has treated them.

Hawthorne Heights wants the court to stop Victory from distributing its recordings, to order that the recording agreement be rescinded and to order the company and Brummel to pay unspecified monetary damages.

The complaint alleges a slew of claims, including copyright and trademark infringement, invasion of privacy for placing the band in a “false light,” fraud and interference with business relations.

Said Robert Meloni, Victory’s litigation attorney: “Victory believes there’s no merit to the lawsuit, and Victory maintains the group is obligated to deliver two more albums to the label, and we’ll hold them to it.”

Reuters/Billboard

Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood releasing hits CD

This article was taken from the net and not a part of REP.

Tue Aug 8, 1:31 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood will release a two-disc retrospective in September, collecting tracks from his solo outings and his work with the Stones, the Faces, the Jeff Beck Group, and the Creation. “Ronnie Wood Anthology: The Essential Crossexion,” due September 26 via Virgin/EMI, boasts 37 tracks, including a previously unreleased duet with longtime pal Rod Stewart, the 2005 tune “You Strum and I’ll Sing.”

The first disc draws from Wood’s solo albums, 1974’s “I’ve Got My Own Album To Do,” 1975’s “Now Look,” 1979’s “Gimme Some Neck,” 1981’s “1234,” 1992’s “Slide On This,” and 2002’s “Not For Beginners.”

The second disc offers a sample of Wood’s group outings, from his first late ’60s recordings with the Creation (“Midway Down.” “The Girls Are Naked”), to his subsequent work with the Birds (“You’re On My Mind,” “You Don’t Love Me”), the Jeff Beck Group (“All Shook Up,” “Plynth”), the Faces (“Stay With Me,” “Ooh La La”), and the Rolling Stones (“Everything Is Turning To Gold,” “Black Limousine”).

Collaborations with Beck (“I Ain’t Superstitious”) and Stewart (“Maggie May”) are also featured. Not included are tracks from Wood’s 1988 concert recording with Bo Diddley, “Live at the Ritz.”

The Stones, which Wood joined in 1975 for a $100,000 salary, are currently touring Europe. They return to North America in September. In his early years with the Stones, Wood usually co-wrote one or two tracks on each album, but principals Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have not sought his input since 1986’s “Dirty Work.”

Madonna’s Rome Concert Outrages Vatican

The following was taken from the Internet. It was not written by REP or anyone affiliated with REP.

ReutersNews

Monday Aug 07, 2006 8:00am EST

Madonna in concert in California on May 21
CREDIT: KEVIN MAZUR / WIREIMAGE

 

Madonna staged a mock-crucifixion in the Italian capital on Sunday, ignoring a storm of protest and accusations of blasphemy from the Roman Catholic Church.

In a sold-out stadium just a mile from Vatican City, the lapsed-Catholic diva wore a fake crown of thorns as she was raised on a glittery cross during the Rome stop of her worldwide “Confessions Tour.”

The Vatican had accused her of blasphemy and provocation for even considering staging the sham crucifixion on its doorstep, anger Madonna further enflamed prior to the show by inviting Pope Benedict to come and watch.

The self-styled “Queen of Pop” went on to pepper her two-and-a-half hour show with more controversial imagery, at one point showing photographs of the pope after those of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

“Did you know two miracles have taken place in Rome?” the star, dressed in skin-skimming black, later joked with the crowd. “Italy won the World Cup and the rain stopped before my show.”

The 70,000 fans, crammed into the Olympic Stadium, shrugged off the scandal by dancing, singing and jumping as she performed songs from her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, and classics such as “Like a Virgin.”

Yet the cheering lulled when she was raised on the cross and some fans from predominantly Roman Catholic Italy confessed their disappointment.

“The crucifixion was unnecessary and provocative. Because this is Rome, I wish she’d cut it out. But it’s Madonna, she’s an icon, and that balances out her need to provoke,” said 39-year old Roman Tonia Valerio.

It is not the first time Madonna, whose father is a Catholic Italian American, has caused religious anger for her controversial religious and sexual imagery.

Catholic leaders condemned as blasphemous her 1989 video for the hit song “Like a Prayer,” featuring burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.

In 2004, a Vatican group warned that her latest religious belief, Kabbalah, a mystical from of Judaism, was a potential threat to the Roman Catholic faithful.

And she looks likely to face another storm when the tour reaches Moscow in September, where the Russian Orthodox Church has advised its followers to boycott the show because of the crucifixion stunt, agency Interfax reported on Saturday.

Madonna’s Rome Concert Outrages Vatican

The following was taken from the Internet. It was not written by REP or anyone affiliated with REP.

ReutersNews

Monday Aug 07, 2006 8:00am EST

Madonna in concert in California on May 21
CREDIT: KEVIN MAZUR / WIREIMAGE

 

Madonna staged a mock-crucifixion in the Italian capital on Sunday, ignoring a storm of protest and accusations of blasphemy from the Roman Catholic Church.

In a sold-out stadium just a mile from Vatican City, the lapsed-Catholic diva wore a fake crown of thorns as she was raised on a glittery cross during the Rome stop of her worldwide “Confessions Tour.”

The Vatican had accused her of blasphemy and provocation for even considering staging the sham crucifixion on its doorstep, anger Madonna further enflamed prior to the show by inviting Pope Benedict to come and watch.

The self-styled “Queen of Pop” went on to pepper her two-and-a-half hour show with more controversial imagery, at one point showing photographs of the pope after those of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

“Did you know two miracles have taken place in Rome?” the star, dressed in skin-skimming black, later joked with the crowd. “Italy won the World Cup and the rain stopped before my show.”

The 70,000 fans, crammed into the Olympic Stadium, shrugged off the scandal by dancing, singing and jumping as she performed songs from her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, and classics such as “Like a Virgin.”

Yet the cheering lulled when she was raised on the cross and some fans from predominantly Roman Catholic Italy confessed their disappointment.

“The crucifixion was unnecessary and provocative. Because this is Rome, I wish she’d cut it out. But it’s Madonna, she’s an icon, and that balances out her need to provoke,” said 39-year old Roman Tonia Valerio.

It is not the first time Madonna, whose father is a Catholic Italian American, has caused religious anger for her controversial religious and sexual imagery.

Catholic leaders condemned as blasphemous her 1989 video for the hit song “Like a Prayer,” featuring burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.

In 2004, a Vatican group warned that her latest religious belief, Kabbalah, a mystical from of Judaism, was a potential threat to the Roman Catholic faithful.

And she looks likely to face another storm when the tour reaches Moscow in September, where the Russian Orthodox Church has advised its followers to boycott the show because of the crucifixion stunt, agency Interfax reported on Saturday.

Record labels sue LimeWire

The following news article was  taken from the Internet and not written by REP or any member of our staff.

By Nichola Groom Sat Aug 5, 12:19 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Some of the world’s biggest record labels sued the makers of the file-sharing program LimeWire on Friday, saying the software allows users to download music without paying for it. The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, is the latest in a string of lawsuits the music industry has filed in an attempt to curb Internet piracy. That effort was bolstered last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that content companies can take legal action against technology firms that encourage copyright infringement.

Record labels owned by the world’s four major music companies — Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group Plc, and Warner Music Group Corp. — brought the lawsuit against New York-based Lime Wire LLC.

The suit seeks $150,000 in damages for every song “willfully infringed” by LimeWire. It also names LimeWire parent Lime Group LLC as well as chief executive Mark Gorton and chief operating officer Greg Bildson as defendants.

LimeWire officials could not be reached for comment.

In the complaint, the record companies accuse LimeWire of profiting from illicit downloads of their music, saying “the scope of infringement is massive.”

LimeWire and its executives “have had a direct financial interest in, and derived substantial benefit from, the infringement

of plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings,” the complaint said.

In a statement, industry trade group the Recording Industry Association of America said that “despite numerous efforts to engage LimeWire, the site’s corporate owners have shown insufficient interest in developing a legal business model.”

Last month, one of the world’s best known file-sharing networks, Kazaa, agreed to pay more than $100 million and commit to going legitimate to settle two lawsuits brought by the movie and music industries.

Kazaa had emerged as the dominant file-sharing network after recording industry lawsuits brought about the collapse of the original Napster in 2001. Napster has since reemerged as a paid service.

In recent years, illicit file-sharing networks have lost ground as legitimate music services like Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes gained popularity.

Further solidifying the case for legitimate music services was last year’s precedent-setting ruling by the United States’ top court, which stated that because “peer to peer” company Grokster‘s intent was to encourage copyright infringement, it could be held liable for the music traded on its network.

Lollapalooza in Chicago packs in a big crowd

The following news article was  taken from the Internet and not written by REP or any member of our staff.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Thousands of concert-goers, mostly in their 20s, returned to Chicago’s lakefront Grant Park on Saturday as the three-day music festival Lollapalooza resumed after drawing more than 50,000 people on Friday night. Billed as one of the city’s largest music events ever, the festival is expected to draw about 150,000 people by the time it ends on Sunday.

The 130 scheduled acts are performing on eight stages and range from hip-hop singer Kanye West to rockers The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sonic Youth to Hispanic favorite Manu Chao.

Chao, who draws crowds around the world, does not regularly appear in the United States and was scheduled to perform Saturday night, as was Chicago native West, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers are slated to take the stage Sunday night.

Northwestern University student Chris Peterson, 23, and girlfriend Bethany Brown, 24, were listening to Idaho-based rock band Built to Spill on Saturday after riding a crowded subway to the event.

“The subways were just packed with people. Now that we are in, people can move around. The closer you get to the stages the more packed it gets,” said Peterson.

While Friday concert-goers contended with hot and sunny weather, conditions had cooled by Saturday afternoon as clouds moved in.

“Built to Spill, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, and Kanye West are the big ones that I want to see,” said University of Illinois-Chicago student Brown, who was sunburned during Friday’s performances.

While the weather was hot on Friday it was still milder than the sweltering heat that had blanketed Chicago and the Midwest earlier in the week.

“I wore a tank top yesterday and I am just so burned. There wasn’t any shade by the stages, so you just sit there and roast,” said Brown, who on Saturday had switched to a T-shirt.

The crowds have been orderly and Chicago police said on Saturday there had been no arrests or disturbances at the event.

“I want to hear The Go! Team, Kanye, and Common. Those are my big ones for today,” said Beth Malloy, a Chicago bond market analyst who gave her age as 30-something.

Lollapalooza was first organized by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell in 1991 and ran until 1997, then was revived in 2003. Originally a touring event held in various U.S. cities in the summer, it features some comedy acts along with alternative music. This is the second year it has been held in Grant Park.

Kiss fans protest Rock Hall of Fame snub

The following news article was  taken from the Internet and not written by REP or any member of our staff.

CLEVELAND – About 200 Kiss fans protested Saturday in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to demand that the band be inducted into the hall. Fans, some from as far away as California, carried signs and had painted their faces in black-and-white to resemble Kiss band members.

Those participating in the half-hour demonstration were upset that the band, formed more than 30 years ago, has not been admitted, even though it has been eligible since the late 1990s.

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record, according to the museum’s Web site.

“Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist’s contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll,” the site says.

A museum spokesman said it was the first demonstration by fans seeking to have a group inducted.

The foundation that selects inductees is based in New York City, not at the museum.

On the Net:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum: http://www.rockhall.com

Site Update and Contest

Hi All. I have once again updated my site(http://ravenentertainmentpromotions.com)! I have added a few new links, a Interview with Nikki from Lucid Fly, and a CD review of Moisture Fuel   new CD “Piece of Me”! Also if your not already our friend on myspace add us http://www.myspace.com/73977400 There is only a very short time left to enter out July contest so hurry up and get those last minute entries in!! As always we are always looking for new bands to review so if you are interested contact me at this email address or at heather@ravenentertainmentpromotions.com
Rock On! Heather

Site Information

Hi Everyone. I wanted to let you know we are having some technical problems with the site and it should be worked out Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Thank you for all your continued support.

Rock On!

Heather