AC/DC/CLE, McCartney Blazes UP, Sony Knocks Out BMG, Royalty Hikes, Attack of the Katy Perry Clones By Joel Published: September 30, 2008 PrintEmail
Back in Black
For those about to rock, we salute you! The legendary AC/DC has added a Cleveland date to their Black Ice Tour. The classic rockers will hit The Q on January 5th. All seats for this show are reserved, and each seat is priced at a whopping $91.50. Tickets go on sale this Saturday (10/4) at 10:00 AM at The Q box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, and online. Good thing the economy is doing so well. AC/DC is touring in support of their upcoming October 20th release, ‘Black Ice,’ which will be sold exclusively through Wal-Mart and AC/DC.com. The album’s first single, “Rock’n’Roll Train” is already at #3 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. For those of you with $91.50 in spare change laying around, this should be one kick ass show.
Fire!
Sir Paul McCartney is refueling the flame for his Fireman alias. For those unfamiliar, Fireman is the moniker used by Sir Paul and producer Youth for their collaborative efforts. McCartney releases ‘Electric Arguments’ by the Fireman on Nov. 17 via ATO records. Unlike the first two Firemen albums (1993’s ‘Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest’ and 1998’s ‘Rushes’), ‘Electric Arguments’ sees more traditional songwriting, featuring some classic rock as well as acoustic tracks. Interestingly, ‘Electric Arguments’ was recorded in just 13 days, although the sessions were spread out over nearly a year. Each track was written and recorded in one day. McCartney’s role in Fireman was at one time supposed to be a secret, but was leaked after the release of the first album.
Sony Swallows
Sony BMG – BMG = Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Although the announcement came awhile back, it is now official. Sony Corp. has bought out Bertelsmann’s 50% stake in Sony BMG and renamed the second largest record label Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The acquisition came for the bargain price of $1.2 billion - $600 million in cash, and Bertelsmann also claimed another $600 million in cold hard cash being held by the joint venture. Sony now is the sole owner of imprints including Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Records and Zomba among many others. The business analysis department here at CleveRock Music Portal doesn’t see this really shaking up the industry much. Time will tell.
Take A Hike
The Copyright Royalty Board is scheduled to take a vote on Thursday that will determine the fate of many online retailers and webcasters. Online retail giants such as Itunes and Amazon.com, subscription services including as Rhapsody and Napster, and webcasters like Pandora (a favorite site of the CleveRock crew) are holding their collective breaths waiting the outcome. The pending vote will determine whether the National Music Publishers Association will be granted their request to increase royalty rates on paid downloads from 9 cents a track to 15 cents. That's an almost 66% rate hike. There would be no way around raising costs, effectively eliminating the now-standard 99-cent fee placed on single downloads today.
Katy is a Doll
I kissed a doll and I like it. Katy Perry is being idolized as a 12” doll. At first, I forgot that the double quote meant inches instead of feet and I got super pumped to add the Katy doll to my collection that already features an 8’ Britney doll and 5’ Miley Cyrus inflatable. Pretend I didn’t just say that. The little doll is priced at a bargain $49.99. Is it just me or does this toy (pictured left) look nothing like Katy? Anyway, pre-sale for the “kissed a girl” doll has already sold out. What is the world coming to?
For those about to rock, we salute you! The legendary AC/DC has added a Cleveland date to their Black Ice Tour. The classic rockers will hit The Q on January 5th. All seats for this show are reserved, and each seat is priced at a whopping $91.50. Tickets go on sale this Saturday (10/4) at 10:00 AM at The Q box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, and 
Sir Paul McCartney is refueling the flame for his Fireman alias. For those unfamiliar, Fireman is the moniker used by Sir Paul and producer Youth for their collaborative efforts. McCartney releases ‘Electric Arguments’ by the Fireman on Nov. 17 via ATO records. Unlike the first two Firemen albums (1993’s ‘Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest’ and 1998’s ‘Rushes’), ‘Electric Arguments’ sees more traditional songwriting, featuring some classic rock as well as acoustic tracks. Interestingly, ‘Electric Arguments’ was recorded in just 13 days, although the sessions were spread out over nearly a year. Each track was written and recorded in one day. McCartney’s role in Fireman was at one time supposed to be a secret, but was leaked after the release of the first album. 
Sony BMG – BMG = Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Although the announcement came awhile back, it is now official. Sony Corp. has bought out Bertelsmann’s 50% stake in Sony BMG and renamed the second largest record label Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The acquisition came for the bargain price of $1.2 billion - $600 million in cash, and Bertelsmann also claimed another $600 million in cold hard cash being held by the joint venture. Sony now is the sole owner of imprints including Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Records and Zomba among many others. The business analysis department here at CleveRock Music Portal doesn’t see this really shaking up the industry much. Time will tell. 
The Copyright Royalty Board is scheduled to take a vote on Thursday that will determine the fate of many online retailers and webcasters. Online retail giants such as Itunes and Amazon.com, subscription services including as Rhapsody and Napster, and webcasters like 
I kissed a doll and I like it. Katy Perry is being idolized as a 12” doll. At first, I forgot that the double quote meant inches instead of feet and I got super pumped to add the Katy doll to my collection that already features an 8’ Britney doll and 5’ Miley Cyrus inflatable. Pretend I didn’t just say that. The little doll is priced at a bargain $49.99. Is it just me or does this toy (pictured left) look nothing like Katy? Anyway, pre-sale for the “kissed a girl” doll has already sold out. What is the world coming to?
