Morning Fix: CES Round-Up; EMI Layoffs; David Bowie’s New Single; Muve Hits 1.1 Million U.S. Subscribers; Elvis’ Top Billboard Feats
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LAYOFFS AT EMI AMID UMG RESTRUCTURING: SOURCES: While some EMI sources speculated that the total was in the double digits, one insider said that nine people were let go yesterday, including a few each in international, Latin and at the label. EMI senior VP of international marketing Matthew Tilley and EMI senior VP of sales Saul Shapiro was among those cited as leaving the company. |
.BIZ’S 2013’S CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW NEWS BLOG: With 3,000 exhibitors and more than 150K expected attendees during four days starting today, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show will be a primordial soup of controlled chaos. And at 1.9 million square feet of convention space this year’s CES will be the largest in its 47-year history. Here then are previews, videos, news stories, blog posts, photos and way more to help you decode this year’s confab |
RIZVI TRAVERSE MANAGEMENT BUYS 75% STAKE IN SESAC: Rizvi Traverse Management is the new majority owner of SESAC. A report says the private equity firm paid $600 million for a 75% majority stake in the company, which represents such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Robert Johnson for performance rights licensing and collections. |
UMPG, CAPITAL MUSIC GROUP LAUNCH CAPITOL CMG PUBLISHING: Universal Music Group Publishing and the Capital Music Group and have launched a new publishing entity, Capitol CMG Publishing, which combines EMI CMG Publishing and Brentwood Benson Music Publishing. In putting together the two Christian publishing divisions as part of rationalizing UMG’s acquisition of EMI, E MI CMG president Eddie DeGarmo was named president of the new merged Christian publishing arm, while Brentwood Benson president Dale Mathews is leaving the company. |
BUSINESS MATTERS: BEGGARS GROUP’S CLAIM THAT ITS ARTISTS EARN MORE FROM STREAMING THAN DOWNLOADING, UNPACKED |
HEY SPOTIFY! MUVE MUSIC PASSES 1.1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS IN U.S.: Muve Music, the all-in-one subscription service by wireless carrier Cricket Wireless, revealed Tuesday it has surpassed 1.1 million subscribers less than two years after its launch. The announcement means the top three on-demand subscription services in the U.S. are in roughly a dead heat. Spotify announced one month ago it had 1 million subscribers in the U.S. (and five million globally). |
DAVID BOWIE DROPS FIRST SINGLE IN A DECADE, ALBUM TO FOLLOW: David Bowie is back. The legendary British singer celebrated his 66th birthday today by dropping a new single “Where Are We Now?” (video embed), which went live in the early hours of Jan. 8 through Iso/Columbia Records. The track is a taster of a promised new album “The Next Day”, his 30th studio recording and his first since “Reality” ten years ago. |
ELVIS PRESLEY’S TOP 5 BILLBOARD CHART RECORDS: Elvis Presley wasn’t just the King of Rock & Roll: He remains Billboard chart royalty. On the anniversary of his birthday — Jan. 8, 1935 — here’s a look back at five of his most impressive chart records (should we begin with 108 Hot 100 hits or 126 Billboard 200 charting albums?). |
SONY ISSUES DYLAN CDS TO EXTEND COPYRIGHT: In an unusual response to provisions in a new European copyright law, scheduled to take effect by 2014, Sony Music has “The 50th Anniversary Collection,” which carries a subtitle – “The Copyright Extension Collection, Vol. 1” – that explains its purpose. The album, which was rushed to only a handful of record shops in Europe just after Christmas and had a limited run of “about 100 copies,” was released to keep the recordings under copyright protection in Europe, where the laws are in flux.
New York Times
SECOND WINEHOUSE INQUEST CONFIRMS ALCOHOL DEATH: A second coroner’s inquest confirmed Tuesday that Amy Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning when she resumed drinking after a period of abstinence. Coroner Shirley Radcliffe ruled that the 27-year-old soul singer “died as a result of alcohol toxicity” and recorded a verdict of death by misadventure. She said there were no suspicious circumstances.
Associated Press
AFTER TICKETMASTER GLITCH, PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL EVENTS SELL OUT EARLY: All the public tickets to President Obama’s official inaugural ball and parade were snapped up Sunday – a day before they were scheduled to go on sale – after Ticketmaster inadvertently sent out e-mails announcing they were available, inaugural officials said on Monday. But on Sunday evening, Ticketmaster, which was handling the sales, “experienced a technical error that inadvertently caused an e-mail to go out ahead of schedule,” said Addie Whisenant, a spokeswoman for the inaugural committee.
New York Times
RECORDING ACADEMY LAUNCHES “#THEWORLDISLISTENING” CAMPAIGN FOR GRAMMYS: The Recording Academy and TBWA\Chiat\Day have teamed for the sixth year to promote the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards with the ad campaign “#TheWorldIsListening” featuring both established and up-and-coming artists. The first commercial, “Slammed Door,” tells Rihanna’s story. The second commercial, “The World is Listening,” features artists including the Kills, Snoop Lion and Taylor Swift alongside emerging artists such as Grace Potter, Kishi Bashi and Dam-Funk. The Black Keys will appear in the forthcoming commercial titled “Soundcheck.” At the heart of this year’s “#TheWorldIsListening” campaign is a newly created website.
Press Release
HEADLINES OF THE DAY:
– No new must-have trends means wear what you like
– But darling, it still has toner!
– Tommy Chong — Justin Bieber’s Talented BECAUSE He Smokes Weed
– Zombie attack sheet-set
– Game’s Stepfather Claims The Rapper Was A Male Stripper
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