Though Warner Music Group has shut down its official YouTube channel, WMG artists that maintain their own YouTube pages, such as Disney darling Ashley Tisdale, don't seem to have gotten the memo about the content teardown
Dissatisfied with payment arrangements, music label removes its videos By Matthew B. Zeidman
NEW YORK (Hollywood Today) 12/22/08 – Apparently, Warner Music Group (WMG) believes its videos are worth more than video-sharing giant YouTube is paying. According to The New York Times, the world’s fourth largest record label began pulling content on Saturday, citing an unfair licensing agreement.
“We simply cannot accept the terms that fail to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide,” WMG said in a statement.
YouTube addressed the situation on its blog Friday, apologizing for any frustration on the part of its users, but emphasizing the need to respect the rights of musicians, songwriters and fans alike.
WMG, like many other music labels, had a contract with YouTube that specified an undisclosed rate of payment based on the number of times each video was viewed.
The dissolution of the company’s relationship with YouTube came on the heels of an announcement by the Recording Industry Association of America, an industry trade group of which WMG is a member, that it would no longer pursue costly legal action against consumers caught pirating music, but would instead work with content-providing Web sites to block scofflaws.
Wal-Mart's low prices have made it recession-proof, attracting more buyers in a struggling economy
Seasonal employee killed at Long Island store by mob of shoppers
By Matthew B. Zeidman
VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (Hollywood Today) 11/29/08 – The post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy known as Black Friday became a testament to greed, callousness and indifference yesterday morning, when a seasonal worker at a Long Island Wal-Mart was killed by a crush of ravenous shoppers unwilling to wait for the store’s official opening.
According to The New York Times, the mob that gathered outside the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, N.Y. rushed the store’s main entrance at 4:55 a.m., knocking the glass doors off their tracks and shattering them. Store employee Jdimytai Damour was knocked to the ground and run over by the mass of shoppers who were later forced to leave the store by police.
Damour, 34, was given emergency treatment at the scene, but pronounced dead at nearby Franklin Hospital Medical Center. Police were in the process of reviewing the store’s security tapes and attempting to identify the individuals involved.
"Jumper" star Rachel Bilson recently told "In Style" Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers was her favorite beauty product
Band’s attorney criticizes beverage maker for missed free samples
By Matthew B. Zeidman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/27/08 – When Guns N’ Roses’ new album hit stores on Sunday, Dr. Pepper was unable to deliver on its promise to provide free samples to all its Web site’s visitors, and the legendary rock band is not happy.
According to Reuters, the group’s attorney sent a scathing letter to the beverage company, suggesting it make up for its technical shortcomings and extend its offer past the cutoff of 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 24. The offer originally expired the day before, the same day “Chinese Democracy” hit stores, but the overwhelmed Web site turned away music fans and free-sample hounds seeking the voucher, prompting the temporary extension.
Guns N’ Roses, known for their many hits in the 1980s and 1990s, such as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “November Rain,” were not sponsors of the promotion, which promised a free sample to any Web surfer who wanted one if the album was released by Dec. 31.
In addition to criticizing Dr. Pepper’s alleged mismanagement of the promotion, attorney Alan Gutman demanded fiscal compensation for the band for the unauthorized use its image in what he called an “unmitigated disaster.”
“Chinese Democracy” was Guns N’ Roses’ first original release since 1991’s companion albums “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II.” Frontman Axl Rose, 46, is the last original band member remaining and has been with the group he helped found since its formation in March 1985.
Thousands of aspiring screenwriters hear ‘keep writing’ at Los Angeles Screenwriting Expo
By W. H. Bourne
Photos by Odin Lindblom
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/18/08 – “With the success of ‘24′ and ‘Lost’, the model of TV changed and shifted to DVD and foreign sales which made a serialized show more viable,” says ‘Heroes’ creator Tim Kring. “But serialized story is writers room intensive. It’s a moving target because of the way people are consuming content because of DVR and online streaming. ”
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for allegedly illegally using inside information to avoid big losses on a dot-com stock.
The SEC filed the civil charges Monday in a federal court in Texas. The agency accused Cuban of selling 600,000 shares of Mamma.com, an Internet search company, because of information about the company’s future that he got from the chief executive–information regular investors weren’t privvy to - giving him unfair advantage over the public and other investors.
Martha Stewart did jail time over a somewhat similar situation.
According to the SEC, Mamma.com told Cuban that they would be issuing new stocks that threatened to lessen the value of existing shares. Cuban allegedly agreed to keep that information confidential but then sold his stake in Mamma.com before the stock offering was revealed to the public. The value of the stock Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Blackfeet Indian Tribal lands to be next home to expanding Blue Ray By Jeffrey Jolson
Blu-ray future as sales of high-def screens soar
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/4/08 - For those that thought India was receiving too much high-tech outsourcing or that Native Americans will be living off casinos, there is a new sheriff in town.
Spokane, WA-based Blue Ray Technologies, the largest U.S. indie Blu-ray manufacturer, is planning its next plant to be on Blackfeet Indian land in Montana, said reps for the tribe and the company. The plan to build next-gen plants on Indian land will help the Blackfoot Nation and soon other tribes to evolve into the 21st Century with a technological source of income and educational skills.
“This is about ‘No American left behind,’” said DVD pioneer and Blue Ray Technologies founder Erick Hansen. “Schools, especially those on tribal lands, are just not preparing kids for the future. It’s not only the outsourcing to China and India in the new tech industries, it is more important. No American left behind. Period.”
“Bringing BRT here is a giant step in moving in the direction to the new world of technology that links all people,” said one Blackfoot member. “We have 70% unemployment in the winter and 50% in the summer.”
Hansen was made an honorary member of the tribe at Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
NEW YORK(Hollywood Today)10/27/08–A newspaper’s demise can become old news fast and as newspapers try to squeeze the most out of their sites in the face of narrowing profit margins, nothing can afford to go to waste. With the current economic climate and the tumultuous times facing print media, online news sites have still done little to promote and sell subscriptions as a potential asset while continuing to improve their online presence.
There’s a tough market standing in front of the newsroom. Publishers have to think print and web simultaneously. The Chicago Tribune recently Read the rest of this Hollywood Today story »
Forum to be moderated by CBS “Face the Nation” host Bob Shieffer
By Paul Hughes
Presidential campaign heats up even more
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today/RushPRnews)10/15/08–With everything on the line, McCain slightly desperate as he is on the ropes and Obama looking for a knockout punch, the final debate before deciding who will be President of the United States will be lively.
Domestic issues are expected to dominate Wednesday’s third and final presidential debate as the two candidates try to make clear their stands on such concerns as health care reform and the shaky economy in the waning days of a heated campaign.
On the eve of the debate and with just 21 days before Election Day Nov. 4 both candidates unveiled additional proposals to deal with the financial crisis.
NEW YORK,(RushPRnews-Hollywood Today)10/14/2008-As quickfire news, from the economy and the elections to Britney and the Jonas Brothers, ad dollars and editorial decisions are changing in the Internet Age. Faster-than-print choices are being made by smart editors on an instant basis.
Congress Hopes Bailout Will Keep Conditions From Mirroring Great Depression
After much difficulty, lawmakers informally agree to deal
By Matthew B. Zeidman
WASHINGTON (Hollywood Today) 9/28/08 – While most of America was watching Tina Fey reprise her role as Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live,” Congress was finalizing plans to give shaky financial institutions a shot in the arm.
“We’re pleased with the progress tonight and appreciate the bipartisan effort to stabilize our financial markets and protect our economy,” Salvatore Antonio Fratto, who serves as deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to the Bush administration, stated.
“We’ve made great progress, but we have to commit it to paper before we can formally agree,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said upon emerging from the late-night session early Sunday morning.
Approximately $700 billion will still be used to relieve banks of failed investments, but the tentative legislation will require a gradual payment system, heavy federal oversight and the elimination of posh severance packages for laid-off executives.
Meanwhile, banking giant Wachovia is hoping a merger will help it avoid the fate of failed rival Washington Mutual, which was taken over by the government and sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. earlier this week.According to the New York Times, Citigroup has already entered into talks to join with Wachovia, which suffered a 27-perecent drop in the value of its stock shares Friday.
Federal government sells failed thrift to JPMorgan
By Matthew B. Zeidman
SEATTLE (Hollywood Today) 9/26/08 – In the latest shocker involving the worsening financial crisis panicked politicians have yet to identify as an economic depression, the largest savings and loan in the United States, Washington Mutual (WaMu), has collapsed.
The bank, known for its commercials where a friendly employee attempts in vain to teach snooty bankers the proper way to service customers, was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Thursday night and sold to rival JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion.
“With insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations, WaMu was in an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business,” the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a statement, pointing to $16.7 billion withdrawn by depositors since Sept. 15 as the catalyst that led to the government takeover.
According to JPMorgan Chase, it will rebrand all WaMu branches as Chase banks by 2010.In the meantime, existing WaMu customers will have unrestricted access to their accounts.
WaMu Failure a Chilling Sign of Things to Come
WaMu is the latest in a string of banks, mortgage lenders and investment firms that have failed, fallen under government control or been forced to sell following the mass default of subprime mortgage loan holders that began in 2007.Other such institutions have included AIG, Countrywide Financial Corporation, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, IndyMac Bank and Lehman Brothers.Congress is currently working to draft a $700-billion economic-relief package, but has yet to finalize any legislation.
America Experiencing Steepest Drop in Driving Reveals Brookings Research
