[HOT]
Money, It’s a Gas
Reuters reported that Pink Floyd (pictured) has succeeded in stopping its label, EMI, from unpackaging its albums and selling individual songs as downloads or ringtones. A judge sided with the band in ruling that the classic rockers’ original contract clause stating the label must “preserve the artistic integrity of (its) albums” is enough to stop EMI from selling single tracks on iTunes and other download services.
Some have called it a big victory for artists and the art of the album, and wonder if album-y bands like The Who and The Beatles might follow suit. Others have said it’s all about the dough and that Floyd is holding out for a bigger cut of download revenues.
While we were hoping to save our cell phone batteries, it looks like we'll still hold the record for longest ringtone. If you call, know that we don’t answer until after Side 3 of Ummagumma.
[WARM]
This Is So Not It
There are millions of bands and musicians across the world who dream of a record deal. What is believed to be the biggest record deal ever signed recently went down … and the dude signing it isn’t even alive! Michael Jackson estate reportedly earned $250 million in advances alone from Sony, with an “especially high royalty rate” (according to The New York Times) on future sales going straight into the Jackson family coffers.
It appears that, like Tupac and Elvis, Jackson will release 10 times more music than Axl Rose has in the last decade — an album of unreleased material is rumored to be out by year’s end, with more “new” material coming out over the next several years. Rolling Stone reports that the Jacksons have made $250 million since Michael’s death thanks to blockbuster album and single sales and the concert rehearsal movie, This Is It. Overall, not a bad take for simply giving birth 50 years ago.
[COLD]
Sweat: The iPod’s Kryptonite?
The Frivolous Music-Related Lawsuit of the Week honors go to Stephen Vale, a California man who is suing Apple for not making its iPod Shuffles sweat-resistant. The man says he wore his Shuffle while working out and that a drop of sweat shorted out his device.
Among many of Vale’s court complaints is his claim of “false advertising,” arguing that Apple ad materials show people working out and using an iPod without having the device break and making the user shout angrily through the phone at an Apple customer service representative. (To be fair, that would be an awful commercial.)
As a result, we've decided to get in on the suing-Apple action. In using our iPod for the past couple of years, not once have we turned into a freewheeling, dancing silhouette. Pay up, bitches!
