The Tables Turned: Gov. Eliot Spitzer and music biz nemesis has been implicated in a prostitution ring and caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.
“I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong,†said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.â€
The music biz is very familiar with Eliot Spitzer, the office of Eliot Spitzer served subpoenas against record labels in an investigation into “payola,” the illegal compensation of radio stations for playing certain songs. These subpoenas uncovered deals for disc jockeys to receive gifts from promoters in exchange for playing the songs a certain number of times during the day.
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
The Rolling Stones Shake It Up: If the Rolling Stones decide to leave EMI, they’ll be taking their catalog with them says the NY Post. Some sources claim they are looking to ink a deal with Live Nation for merchandising and touring, but with Live Nation having limited experience in the record business, some industry executives believe the likeliest outcome is a split-rights deal with Live Nation, and either Universal or EMI.
Social Networking Site Imeem: Why is Imeem getting so much hype? Forbes magazine published an article titled Free Music, Big Money. Imeem provides consumers with free, advertising-supported access to songs over the Internet. I don’t just want to stream songs, I want to own songs via buying a CD or downloading.
MTV Gets Hacked: Computer files with confidential data on about 5,000 employees at MTV Networks was hacked by someone outside the company. The company encouraged the affected employees to place a 90-day fraud alert on their credit files with the three major credit agencies, and offered credit monitoring for two years at company expense.
eMusic: eMusic, the world’s second largest music service after iTunes, announced Monday that its catalog is now more than 3.5 million tracks. eMusic sells its music by subscription, users pay a monthly fee to download a set number of tracks per month, but doesn’t encrypt the music. Everything is sold in high bit-rate MP3 — audio files that can be played back in iTunes, on iPods or using any other music player.
The Creative Drought: Author Susan Jacoby sees a cultural landscape that is, in her words, “defining dumbness downward.” In her new book, The Age of American Unreason, she argues that Americans have grown increasingly passive and uninformed amid a video-driven culture that prizes ‘infotainment,’ celebrates ignorance, and devalues critical thinking. Do you really need to ask yourself why music has become dumbed down?
Recommened Listening: KOAR reader Dallas turned us on to the pop rock band Gillmor. Check out the track Hey which was co-written by Sugarcult front-man Tim Pagnotta and is currently in regular rotation on Sacramento’s KWOD fm radio station.
Newsletter