SUPERMARKETS JOIN ONLINE GOLDRUSH 24/05/05
The UK's second largest supermarket chain, ASDA, has announced the launch of online sales of CDs, DVDs and computer games. It is widely believed that taking further competition direct to the likes of Amazon and Tesco Online will
further drive down prices. The service will launch with a catalogue of over
140,000 products and will be based in Jersey, as are many other online stores,
who benefit from 0% VAT on items sold for under £18.
Whilst some argue that price reductions over the past few years have aided a recovery of CD purchasing, driving the price too low could harm the infant digital downloads market led by Apple's i-Tunes, where currently the cost of a track on CD works out roughly equivalent to the average cost of a digital download: Consumers have found that whilst supermarkets entry into sales of CDS in-store has reduced prices it has also reduced consumer choice with often only top 40 titles stocked.
WHITE STRIPES HEAD TO EASTERN EUROPE 20/05/05
Immediately following their Glastonbury headline slot The White Stripes have lined up a European tour, to kick off June 26 in Moscow visiting Eastonia (Tallin), Latvia (Riga), Czech Republic (Prague) as well as Croatia, Slovenia and the Heineken Open'er Festival in Gdynia, Poland. The tour will wraps with two dates in Greece in Thessaloniki (July 12) and July 13 in Athens. The band are the midst of a South American trek and their lone North American date comes on June 10 at Atlanta's Music Midtown Festival.
KNOPFLER PLANS TOUR AND EP 20/05/05
To coincide with the kick-off of his upcoming 30 dates North American tour, Mark Knopfler is planning to release a new EP. Due out in the US on June 28, four days after the tour's opening date in Portsmouth, the "One
Take Radio Sessions" finds the former Dire Straits frontman running through seven songs from his latest release, "Shangri-La" (Warner Bros.) and one vintage solo cut. Knopfler tours from June 24th to July 31st.
Source: www.billboard.com
R KELLY CASE JUDGE THROWS OUT JAY-Z'S COUNTERCLAIM 20/05/05
A New York judge has thrown out rapper Jay-Z's countersuit against R. Kelly, ruling that the counterclaim had no basis in law. Jay-Z filed the suit in February, three months after he was sued by R. Kelly for deliberately sabotaging the two artists' "Best
of Both Worlds" tour, which ended prematurely in New York at the end of October 2004.
Kelly 's lawsuit seeks $75 million in damages from Jay-Z and his Marcy Projects production company for intentionally causing a series of production problems on the tour and then physically assaulting R. Kelly and some members of his entourage with pepper spray. It also claims breach-of-contract against Jay-Z, Marcy Projects, and tour promoter Atlanta Worldwide Touring.
The lawsuit was filed last November two days after the promoter, acting on instructions from Jay-Z and Marcy Projects, cancelled the "Best of Both Worlds" tour and barred R. Kelly from further performances. The cancellation followed a Madison Square Garden show at which R. Kelly spotted what appeared to be two men with guns in the audience and briefly left the stage and although R. Kelly returned to the stage after police were called, he claims he was assaulted with pepper spray wielded by an associate of Jay-Z.
BESTIVAL LINE UP ANNOUNCED 18/05/05
Nordic superstars Royksopp have just confirmed they are to join the Super Furry Animals as one of the headline acts at Bestival 2005 on the Isle of Wight.
Royksopp 's Svein and Torbjorn have been locked away in Norway recording the follow up to their million selling debut album 'Melody AM', and are now ready to unleash the sounds of their eagerly anticipated second album 'The Understanding' coming out on 4th July through Wall of Sound. Also joining the bill are the sublime Saint Etienne playing new material from their forthcoming seventh studio album 'Tales from Turnpike House' due out on 13 June through Sanctuary.
The brilliant X-Press 2 (aka Rocky, Diesel and Ashley Beedle) have also jumped on board the good ship Bestival. Internationally famed for their six-deck mixing and their hit record of 2002 'Lazy' featuring David Byrne the trio are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to their second album to be released through Skint later this year. Other acts include Bez (Happy Mondays),The Pipettes, Boomclick, Krafty Kuts, Lauren Laverne, The Longcut, Dreadzone, Trevor Fung, The Black Dog Punk Rock Sound System, Mistys Big Adventure, Ashtrax, Fat Freddy's Drop and The Broken Family.
Website: www.bestival.net
US IMMIGRATION UPDATE 18/05/05
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today reminded travelers from 27 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries that as of June 26, 2005, they must have a machine-readable passport to enter the United States without a visa, as mandated by Congress. Machine-readable passports have a sequence of lines that can be swiped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to confirm the passport holder's identity quickly and to obtain other information about the holder typically found on a passport's inside cover.
The Immigration and Nationality Act originally set October 1, 2003 as the date by which VWP travelers needed to present a machine-readable passport. At the request of 23 of the 27 VWP countries, the United States postponed that requirement until October 26, 2004, for those requesting countries. For a limited period, DHS has been authorizing a one-time waiver for entry into the country for VWP travelers without a machine-readable passport, at no charge to the traveler. This limited period will end on June 26, 2005. Beginning June 26, 2005, transportation carriers will be fined $3,300, per violation, for transporting any VWP traveler to the United States without a machine-readable passport. Similarly, VWP travelers arriving in the United States on that date without a machine-readable passport should not anticipate being granted one-time entry into the country.
The 27 countries participating in the VWP include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Any traveler from these 27 countries will need a machine-readable passport on June 26, 2005 to enter the United States.
Last year, approximately 15 million VWP travelers visited the United States. The machine-readable passport requirements do not affect the separate congressionally mandated deadline requiring VWP country passports issued on or after October 26, 2005, to contain biometrics in order to be used for visa free travel to the United States.
Source: RAZco Visas
Contact: ron@razcovisas.com
KYLIE DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER 17/05/05
Kylie Minogue , who will be 37 later this month, has cancelled her sell-out tour of Australia after and early diagnosis of breast cancer. She will begin treatment almost imemdiately. In a statement, Kylie said: "I
was so looking forward to bringing the Showgirl tour to
Australian audiences and am sorry to have to disappoint my fans. Nevertheless,
hopefully all will work out fine and I'll be back with you all again soon."
The diagnosis was confirmed this week during a visit to Melbourne. Early detection gives a very good chance of full recovery.
All at ILMC News wish Kylie well.
POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT SUIT AGAINST BRITNEY 13/05/05
An Indiana songwriter who posted himself a set of lyrics 15 years ago to have a 'poor man's copyright' in the US is suing singer Britney Spears for copyright infringement, claiming he wrote the song "Sometimes". An attorney for Steve Wallace filed a complaint May 5 in federal court against Spears, her album promoter, Sony/BMG Music Publishing Inc., and recording and publishing companies affiliated with the singer.
The complaint acknowledges Wallace did not formally copyright his song until 2003. Copyright needs to be registered in the US and Spears, 23 obtained a US copyright for "Sometimes" on January 22, 1999. It appeared on her 1999 debut album, "...
Baby One More Time" and on last year's "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative."Wallace's attorney says he tried to settle the claim but Spears' attorney replied with a one-page document denying the claim.
Minimum claims in the US are $150,000 for each instance in which a copyright is infringed upon.
WARNER'S IPO SCALED BACK 12/05/05
With investors running shy of the both the scale and the price of the forthcoming Warner's IPO, the media group has scaled back the number of shares on offer to the public and have reduced the price from the previously stated range of $22-24 each to $19-20 each. Warner Music is also thought to be slashing the number of shares offered from 32.6 million to 27.2 million. The original price and share allocation would have raised $750 million approx but the revised price and allocation will raise just over $500 million. A number of analysts had said the original offer overvalued Warners, especially when compared with rivals such as EMI.
WRIGHT DEFENDS CHRYSALIS STRATEGY 12/05/05
Chrysalis chairman Chris Wright had defended the Group's strategy after less than spectacular results. The chairman owns 25% of the company. Unveiling interim results showing profits down from 4.1 to 1.9 million the group pointed to a sharp downturn in advertising experiences across the whole independent radio sector in the UK. Shares droped 4p to 140p, their lowest level for over three years.
CULKIN SAYS CLAIMS AGAINST JACKSON ARE RIDICULOUS 12/05/05
Actor Macaulay Culkin described child abuse allegations against Michael Jackson as "absolutely
ridiculous." He told a court in Santa Maria, California, that he could not believe it when he heard that previous witnesses had claimed he had been molested. Jackson befriended the 'Home Alone' star in the early 1990s and Culkin, now 24, was a frequent visitor at his Neverland ranch.
Culkin told US chat show host Larry King last year that his childhood sleepovers were innocent and that "nothing happened". He said Jackson was often misunderstood. The evidence is in stark contrast to that given by Jackson's ex-chef who said he saw Jackson with his hands down Culkin's trousers when delivering french fries to the singer's room where the two were playing video games. Jackson denies all charges against him.
STONES ANNOUNCE ALBUM AND WORLD TOUR 11/05/05
The Rolling Stones have announced a new world tour at a launch in New York's Juilliard School of Music. Promoter Michael Cohl confirmed that the Rolling Stones On Stage outing begins Aug. 21 and there are already 40 scheduled dates in the US. Tickets to many dates go on sale this weekend at around $100 (55).
As on the 2002-2003 Licks tour, the band will play clubs, theatres, arenas and stadiums, with each sized venue boasting unique production elements and set lists. The Stones performed their classics "Start Me Up" and "Brown Sugar" at the event, and also premiered a new song, "Oh No Not You Again," slated to appear on its next, as-yet-untitled Virgin studio album. With the new album on the way, this will be the first time since the 'Bridges to Babylon' tour in 1997-98 that the Stones have toured in support of new material. Thanks to Licks, the Stones were the top grossing touring act of 2003, ringing up just under $300 million from 116 shows. The numbers were second only to the band's mammoth 1994-95 Voodoo Lounge outing, which took in $320 million.
Source: www.billboard.com
RONAN KEATING TO HOST 5th IFPI PLATINUM AWARDS 10/05/05
Irish star Ronan Keating will host the 5th IFPI Platinum Europe Award in Brussels on 12th July, 2005. Administered by IFPI, the organisation representing the recording industry worldwide, Platinum Europe honours artists who have sold in excess of one million albums in Europe.
The biennial Award ceremony takes place in front of a specially invited audience of European Commissioners, Members of the European Parliament and senior record company executives. Ronan Keating said:
"The mix of some of Europe's most popular artists and top EU decision-makers should make for a great evening. It's an honour to be the host of such a prestigious event."
Platinum Europe celebrates the value of music, as well as the remarkable creativity and diversity of musical talent in Europe. The Platinum Europe Award committee is chaired by Jean-Francois Cecillon, Chairman and CEO of EMI Music Continental Europe. Qualifying artists from around Europe will attend the 2005 Awards ceremony at Hotel Le Plaza in Brussels on 12th July. Italian artist Zucchero and Norwegian singer-songwriter Lene Marlin are confirmed to perform live at the event.
AMERICAN IDOL CONTROVERSY RAMBLES ON 09/05/05
Corey Clark , the American Idol contestant who claimed he had an affair with judge Paula Abdul, has said he will not help the Fox Network in its investigations.
Clark, who reached the final 12 contenstants in 2003, was thrown off the show after it became clear he had a previous arrest record he had failed to disclose.
He has been speaking to Fox's rival ABC in the US.
GELDOF THINKS ABOUT NEW EVENT 09/05/05
Denying that he is planning a "Live Aid II", Bob Geldof has said that the Live Aid Trust including founder members Harvey Goldsmith and Midge Ure had been looking at staging an event in the UK at the same time as the G8 summit to raise awareness of issues in Africa. The G8 summit will be held at the Gleneagles resort in Scotland. Both the Princes Trust and Captial Radio who traditionally host their 'Party in the Park' in this period in London's Hyde Park have said that they would move their event for Geldof's plans.
AUDIOSLAVE ARE FIRST US BAND BACK IN CUBA 09/05/05
Thousands of young Cubans turned up for the first open air concert by a US band in the Bush era after the the concert by the band Audioslave was given the rare approval of both the Cuban and United States governments. The group played at Havana's Anti-Imperialist Plaza, which was purpose-built five years ago for mass protests against the US government. Vast speakers were set up along the Havana seafront in preparation for what Audioslave said would be the loudest and longest concert ever heard in Cuba. The British group, the Manic Street Preachers, played in Cuba four years ago with Fidel Castro was sitting in the front row.
MANDELA SUPPORTS ARCTIC GIG 07/05/05
Nelson Mandela will travel 7000 miles to be at the 46664 ARCTIC concert on the edge of the Arctic Circle in Norway. The event, to promote AIDS/HIV awareness uses the now roving Nobel Peace Luareate's old prison number in its title and will be held at Tromso. The show is expected to feature Bono and Will Smith. The Norwegian Government has provided 1.2 million to stage the event.
TIME WARNER BOOSTED BY ONLINE GROWTH 07/05/05
Time Warner which owns AOL and still has a significant presence in the music industry through its music publishing arm has improved first quarter operating profits to $1.78 billion on sales of $10.48 billion. The growth comes through increased growth in online advertising and successful DVD release such as the Harry Potter films plugged the gap in replacing the hugely successful Lord of The Rings trilogy.. The Group, whose activities include publishing, films, cable TV network TNT and AOL, has substantially reduced debt from $30 billion to $15.1 billion. Most recently the Company sold its shares in Google and it is expected that it will sell its shares in the Warner Music label when the label floats on the stock market (IPO).
Source:
HMV SEES SALES SLOWDOWN 07/05/05
The HMV group is set to expand both its music sales side and its Waterstones book shops despite ba slowdown in sale. Underlying sales were down 2.2% for the first 15 weeks of 2005. The worst performances were at the Group's music stores in the UK and Eire, down 3.8%. But the Group will open up to 25% HMVs in the year to April 2006 (compared to 29 last year). The Groups music sales had been affected by weak release schedules and delays in releases of albums by artists such as Coldplay and Gorillaz. New releases from Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters are expected to help sales.
OSLO COURT STRIPS AWAY TAXES 07/05/05
A court in Oslo, Norway, has ruled that exotic dancing (or striptease to mere mortals) is an art form and on a par with opera and ballet and is therefore exempt from Value Added Tax at 25%. The Blue Angel club had faced tax demands of more than a million crowns (84,000) from Tax Authorities.
HENDRIX ESTATE WINS INFRINGEMENT ACTION 07/05/05
A performance by the late Jimi Hendrix and his band the Jimi Hendrix Experience in Stockholm in 1969 has been found to be subject to the retrospective provisions of the UK's 1988
Copyright Designs & Patents Act and later 1996 regulations providing for performer's rights and the High Court upheld an infringement claim by Experience Hendrix LLC (successors in title to Jimi Hendrix's estate) against defendants Purple Haze Records Ltd and Lawrence Miller who had released the recording as an album.
At the time of the Stockholm recording UK law only offered criminal protection against unauthorised recordings. The so called 'performers right' was introduced in 1988 but were conferred retrospectively. Even though held in Stockholm in 1969 the High Court held that Hendrix's personal performer's right could be asserted and that Stockholm was a country designated as receiving reciprocal protection and in 1995 became a EU member. Mr Justice Hart held that both the performance itself (which could be individually owned even if part of a band) and the place of performance fell within the scope of the Act. Summary judgement was given against Purple Haze Records Limited and Mr Miller.
LINKIN PARK SEEK EXIT FROM WARNERS 05/05/05
Just as Warner Music gears up for its $2.6 billion IPO (flotation), one of its biggest acts is trying to get out of contract. Nu-metal genre leaders Linkin Park allege that cost-cutting across the company has diminished its strength, leaving it "unable
to compete in today's global music marketplace" and that senior executives are taking profit at the expense of musicians. The band has threatened to stop work on its new album, believing the company will not be able to market it sufficiently.
The band has sold over 35M albums globally and says that it makes up 10% of the company's US sales. Warner Music has stated that it is closer to 3%. The band still has a further four albums to deliver under its current contract and Warner Music has dismissed this outburst as a "negotiating
tactic" built on "baseless charges". It has been suggested that the band had asked for $60M in advances to release their new album through a JV deal in exchange for a split of profits. Warner Music is said to have offered substantially less and a profit split. The band is said to have renegotiated its contract back in 2000 to put them on more favourable deal terms.
The band's first album 'Hybrid Theory' sold 15 million copies worldwide and the 2003 'Meteora' sold 10 million.
Source: FiveEight Magazine
COURT EXPERT PONDERS ON JACKO'S MILLIONS 05/05/05
The jury in the Michael Jackson trial has been told that the singer only had only $38,000 in his bank account in February 2003 and that the singer's expenditure regularly exceeded income by $20 million each year. Prosecution expert witness John Duross O'Bryan who reviewed Jackson's finances between 1999 and 2003 said Jackson's debts exceeded $300 million.
His current income comes from his MyJack and Beatles catalogue of music publishing rights, the latter earned through the joint vemture Sony ATV Music and is estimated at about $11.5 million each year. But personal expenditure, security, legal fees and the cost of running Neverland far exceed this, Whilst Mr O'Bryan said that Jackson has a negative equity value based on 2002 figures this did not mean he was bankrupt as his assets - Neverland and the music publishing rights - needed to be valued at fair value market 2005 figures.
PATTI SMITH TO HEADLINE MELTDOWN 2005 01/05/05
Patti Smith will curate and headline this summer's Meltdown Festival at London's South Bank Centre, which will run from June 11-26.
The event will be highlighted by a complete performance of her acclaimed 1976 album "Horses" on June 25th at the Royal Festival Hall, on a bill that will also feature the set's producer, John Cale. Smith will perform with several of the acts throughout the event, including Sinead O'Connor, Beth Orton and Kristin Hersh on June 18 under the billing "Songs of Innocence, Protest Songs and Lullabies."
She will also join My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and Cat Power for a June 22 show at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Other festival performers include Jeff Beck, Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Marc Almond, Billy Bragg and Steve Earle.
Source: www.billboard.com
EAGLES RELEASE NEW DVD AND PLAN AUTUMN TOUR 01/05/05
The Eagles will release a double disc DVD chronicling there last shows n November 2004 in June. The DVD, titled "Farewell
1 Tour - Live From Melbourne" will be released by the band's own Eagles Recording Co. imprint via Warner Strategic Marketing. Highlights from the project will be broadcast as part of a two-hour primetime special June 1 on NBC. The Eagles are taking the summer off while Don Henley tours North America with Stevie Nicks, but the group is gearing up for a California tour in the fall.
Stops include August dates in Angels Camp at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds, Rohnert Park at Sonoma State University and the Salinas Sports Complex, the Santa Barbara Bowl and Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. There are also two dates at Harvey's Outdoor Stage in Lake Tahoe, The Eagles will wrap the tour in the fall with eight Los Angeles-area shows, including four at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and at least three at the Staples Center, with a final show still to be determined.
Source: www.billboard.com
COLDPLAY ANNOUNCE MORE CLUB DATES IN THE US 01/05/05
Coldplay have announced details of two 'club' shows in the US. The band have been playing a number of 'secret' shows across Europe over the last month to test songs from their third album, 'X&Y', which is out on June 6. Now, two US shows have been announced for the San Francisco Filmore (May 4) and Chicago Metro (6).
Tickets for both shows are limited to two per person.
ATHLETE ANNOUNCE AUTUM TOUR DATES 01/05/05
Athlete have confirmed details of an autumn UK tour. The band will follow their appearances at this summer's V Festival in August with dates throughout October and November.
Website: www.athlete.mu
ZIMBABWE COPYRIGHTS TO BE PROTECTED 01/05/05
The Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimra) has said that it will descend hard on revellers or anybody using local music without their copyright music licences.
Zimra says that local musicians have been fleeced of millions of dollars through piracy, free use and free downloads on the Internet. In view of this the association has announced that it will take stern measures against anybody using music without official authorisation. Zimra has said that there is a common belief existing in Zimbabwe that only those who perform music live on stage are liable for copyright royalties. This is not the case "Any
proprietor of a shop, factory, office, surgery, bottle store, night club, hair
salon, gymnasium, discotheque etc is infringing copyright by playing the radio
or cassettes in public without a copyright music licence," said a spokesperson. A performance of music is classified as a public performance if it takes place anywhere outside a private home and must be authorised by the copyright owner.
Zimra recently employed seven License Inspectors who will travel throughout the country seeking music users for the purpose of issuing copyright music licences. Zimra is a non-profit making organisation that was incorporated in terms of section 22 of the Companies Act (Chapter 24:03) for the purpose of administering the public performance, broadcasting and cable diffusion rights of composers when their music is performed in public. Their rights to local music are derived directly from composers in Zimbabwe, while the rights to international music have been assigned to them by countries all over the world which have, like Zimbabwe, adhered to the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works.
RIAA SUITS HIT SOUR NOTE 01/05/05
A US judge has decided that two universities do not have to reveal the names of students accused of sharing copyrighted music on the Internet. In a filing earlier this month, a federal magistrate ruled that two North Carolina universities do not have to reveal the identities of students who may have used the universities' computer systems to swap music files. The lawsuit raised questions as to whether identifying the students infringed on privacy rights.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued more than 10,000 individuals, about 800 of them students, since January 2004, with more than 2,200 settlements ranging from $3,500 to $4,500. The University of Southern California has been informed by the RIAA that 25 users of its network will be named in a lawsuit for allegedly engaging in illegal downloading. But while the RIAA's investigative process has changed in the last year, the legal community is more dubious about the efficacy of such litigation. All eyes will be on the U.S. Supreme Court this summer for more clarity on these issues as the court debates the position and liability of internet service provders and software manufacturers for their customers' illegal activities in the Morpheus/Grokster file-sharing case alongside ongoing debates on privacy rights.
GLASTONBURY LEFTFIELD LINEUP ANNOUNCED 01/05/05
Peter Doherty 's Babyshambles and The Others will head up the just-announced Leftfield at Glastonbury 2005.
One of the Festival's many smaller stages, the LeftField is organised by Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council and is a centre for social and political campaigns at the festival. The Friday night (June 24) promises Sonic Audio, The Beat, British Sea Power and The Lovegods. Saturday night sees urban meet indie in the latest in the series of Love Music Hate Racism shows, and features Babyshambles and The Others alongside Lady Sovereign, Skitz and Rodney P.
Sunday's Global Solidarity Night is headlined by Billy Bragg, joined by Steve Earle and Alison Mourer. Main stage headiners at the sold out Festival include Kylie, White Stripes and New Order with slots for Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.
This year the festival has the newly named John Peel Stage and a multi venue Dance Village replacing the old dance tent. The festival will be broadcast live on BBC TV and BBC Radio 1.
Website: www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
DOWNLOAD NAPSTER STAGE SHAPES UP 01/05/05
The final bands have been announced for the Napster third stage at this year's Download Festival 2005. Download is set to take place on June 10-12 at Donnington Park and will also feature performances from Garbage, Megadeth, Velvet Revolver, Feeder, System of A Down, Slipknot and Billy Idol.
Deftones singer Chino Moreno's side project Team Sleep will be joined on the Sunday on the event (June 12) by The Dresden Dolls, The Saints and No Hope In New Jersey. Saturday's Napster stage (June 11) will include Lucky Nine, Breed 77, The Explosion, Johnny Truant, The Ga Ga's, Quit Your Day Job, Panic Cell, The Answer and Crucified Barbara. Hurricane Party, Slunt and Planets Of Women have all been added to Friday's Napster Stage (June 10) whilst Open Hand and The Hurt Process will join the line-up for Saturday's Snickers Stage.
Source: www.nme.com
US FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT AND COPYRIGHT ACT ENTERS LAW IN USA 01/05/05
The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act has been approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Bush into law on April 25th 2005. The Statute represents the entertainment industry's latest attempt to thwart rampant piracy on file-swapping networks. The law had drawn some controversy because it broadly says that anyone who has even one copy of an unreleased film, software program or music file in a shared folder could be subjected to prison terms and fines of up to three years.
Penalties would apply regardless of whether or not whether that file was downloaded. The statute also includes sections criminalizing the use of camcorders to record a movie in a theater, and authorizing the use of technologies that can delete offensive content from a film. "The protection of intellectual property rights is vital to the movie industry," said Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who joined Bush for the signing ceremony. "This bill is necessary to ensure that all those involved in the production of a film, from the director to the set carpenter, are not cheated".
JACKO'S EX-WIFE TESTIFYS AND JURY SEE NUDE PICTURE BOOKS 01/05/05
What the prosecution had hoped might be a 'killer blow' for their case, Michael Jackson's ex wife Debbie Rowe did testify in the case against Jackson despite protests by Jackson's defence lawyers.
In the end Ms Rowe's testimony, whilst exposing yet more of the singer's bizarre lifestyle, did little to help the prosecution and Ms Rowe said that Jackson was a good father to their children. At the end of the week the trial Jury also saw two books seized by police in 1993 during investigations of the claims made by Jordy Chandler (that case was settled by Jackson). The two books, Boys Will be Boys and The Boy: A Photographic Essay showed boys in various poses and states of undress and were found in a locked cabinet. One book was a gift from a fan. The Santa Maria trial continues and Michael Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL LOOKS TO SELL OUT 01/05/05
A strong line up for the 2005 Cambridge Folk Festival means that festival organisers believe they will quickly sell out. The Proclaimers join Idlewild perorming an acoustic set, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Lucinda Williams and Christy Moore. The July 29th to 31st Festival will also feature new young folk star Lauren MacColl who won the BBC Radio 2 young folk award. Radio 2 sponsor and broadcasts from the Festival.
Website: www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk
COLDPLAY TOP GLOBAL DOWNLOAD CHART 01/05/05
Coldplay 's new single Speed of Sound has become the worlds fastest ever selling download and debuted in the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 8. Speed of sound shot to No 1 in all 15 of Apple's iTunes territories across the world. The track has only been released as a digital download. The band, who met at University College London in 1996 have a June release of their new album, X&Y. Their last album (A Rush of Blood To The Head) sold 10 million copies.The track is barred from UK charts as no CD single or vinyl version exists.
Website: www.coldplay.com