Music Industry News

Prince Rebuffed in Italian Plagiarism Case

Source: Billboard Magazine
January 11, 2009

An Italian court has ruled that Prince's 1994 hit “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" was plagiarized from a song by two Italian writers. However, it could take several years for a definitive ruling in the case, which has already dragged on since the 1990s. According to a sentence handed down by the Court of Appeal in Rome, the song borrowed heavily from “Takin' Me to Paradise," written by Bruno Bergonzi and Michele Vicino. Under the ruling, Prince must ...

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Led Zeppelin is Done

Source: JamBase
January 11, 2009

Led Zeppelin Is Done Jimmy Page's Manager Says Band Will Not Continue In Any Form

Led Zeppelin Following up on our story from earlier this week regarding speculation of Led Zeppelin recording and touring without Robert Plant, we bring you news from Jimmy Page's manager that the band is done.

Peter Mensch (Page's manager), told Music Radar via NME.com that “Led Zeppelin are over. If you didn't see them in 2007 [at the London O2 Arena], you missed ...

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JazzArtCollection Announce Fine Art Edition of Historic Jazz Poster Series

Source: All About Jazz
January 9, 2009

New Orleans, LA--The publishers of JazzArtCollection proudly introduce the Limited Edition issue of a series of five Waldemar Swierzy fine arts prints originally designed as posters for the Jacksonville and All That Jazz Festival. The series began in 1983 and brought the then little-known, but now famous artist to Jacksonville, Florida., at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union; a time when travel between the US and nations behind the so-called Iron Curtain ...

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Swedish Hip-Hop Artist Likens Fatal Encounter to 'Crash' Movie

Source: Michael Ricci
January 9, 2009

A lawyer for a Swedish hip-hop artist accused of murdering a pedestrian in a sensational act of road rage invoked the movie Crash today in asking for a reduction in the performers $1-million bail.

In court papers, David Jassys attorney wrote that the fatal encounter in a Hollywood crosswalk was a prime example of the Academy Award-winning films thesis ... that random interactions of diverse people in a City as frenetic as Los Angeles can lead to disastrous consequences.

Police ...

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iLike Adds INgrooves' Indie Catalog

Source: HypeBot
January 9, 2009

Digital distributor INgrooves has announced a new initiative with music diiscover site iLike. INgrooves indie catalog will now be available on iLike have access to the same iLike promotional and syndication opportunities as major label artists.

“Collaborating with iLike, and creating this new opportunity for our artists and labels is in keeping with the spirit and immediacy of what INgrooves offers its clients," stated Robb McDaniels, CEO and Co-Founder, INgrooves. “And that is to provide the ...

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Correspondence: Two Young Pianists

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
January 9, 2009

Rifftides reader Peter Myers writes:In your liner notes from the great Christmas present CD I received, The Art and Soul of Houston Person, you mentioned a gifted 19-year-old jazz musician who plays few standards. I wondered if you were talking about Eldar. I was looking forward to seeing him at the Clearwater, FL Jazz Holiday back in October. I came away disappointed for the same reason. He played mostly his own compositions. Brilliant though he may be, his choice ...

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UK Interest Rates Cut to Lowest Since 1694

Source: All About Jazz
January 8, 2009

Bank of England cuts interest rates to lowest level in bank's 315-year history

The Bank of England on Thursday cut interest rates to the lowest level in its 315-year history, taking it into uncharted territory as it attempts to ward off a prolonged recession. The half point cut in interest rates -- to 1.5 percent -- sees the central bank nearing the limits of conventional monetary policy after trims totaling 3.5 percentage points since the beginning of October and as ...

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Bailing out the Arts

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
January 8, 2009

With investment banks, auto manufacturers, and various other industries getting multi-billion dollar bailouts from the federal government, and Congress debating a major economic stimulus package that could include everything from major infrastructure spending to more tax cuts, is now also a good time to invest more federal money in the arts?In an op-ed published last week in the Washington Post titled “No Bailout For the Arts?", Michael Kaiser, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the ...

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