Amazon almost gives away this years most anticipated releases…

Showbiz 411 says this:

They bought ‘em, they can what they want with ‘em: Amazon.com is pretty much giving away downloads of the new albums by Green Day and No Doubt. You can pick ‘em up, or pick ‘em out for five bucks. That’s the equivalent of free, kids. (The so called deluxe version of No Doubt’s “Push and Shove” are $7.99.)

Well, Amazon paid the freight to Warner Bros and to Interscope, so they can do what they want. With music sales very shaky, they probably figure it’s the only way to stimulate sales.

But at five bucks, Amazon is taking a hair cut, that’s for sure. And it means that the two albums will do much better in the charts next week for debuts than they might have otherwise.

Was it necessary? For Green Day, maybe. Band leader Billie Joe Armstrong is in rehab, and the group has two more albums coming this fall. “Uno,” the first, is very enjoyable lite punk rock, just in the vein of “American Idiot” and Green Day’s past efforts. Warner Bros. is desperate for a hit with their name on it given their current situation.

The new regime finally ousted Lyor Cohen. With Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Cohen turned WB into the company without hits. This week, as Cohen leaves with millions of dollars, new houses, and lots of prizes, WB has just a few scattered CDs on Atlantic. But the Warner Bros. name is, as usual, nowhere to be found at the top of the charts. Oh, yes: and James Taylor is suing them.

As for “Push and Shove,” it’s No Doubt’s first album in 11 years. Don’t speak! Yes, it’s true. Gwen Stefani had a couple of solo albums, launched fashion lines and had kids. Now the group is back. No Doubt, like matchbox twenty, has become a dependable brand. (I really love m20?s “She’s So Mean.”) Anyway, “Push and Shove” will do very well at this price point.

But in both cases, it’s a concession that no money can be made from actual album sales. The revenue has to come from live performances. For No Doubt, there’s little doubt that will happen. But with Armstrong’s problems, Green Day is now a big question mark. Still all the songs are catchy and hummable, ready for radio or what’s left of it. For my money, I’d rather have the matchboxtwenty, and definitely Aimee Mann.

The albums, by the way, are not getting good reviews. The No Doubt lacks passion and a reason, frankly. Nothing on it is equal to their cover of “It’s My Life” or “Don’t Speak.” And Green Day–three albums? How about one really good one?

Anyway, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and the Rolling Stones are coming to town soon.

Big news in the industry today with the announcement of Cohen’s resignation from Warner Brothers. His departure was expected by many but certainly surprised some. Why did he leave?

According to Billboard:

“Even more intriguing is why Cohen is leaving, with the reasons unclear at press-time. While there have been rumors that Cohen was clashing with the new ownership of Len Blavatnik, who bought the company in May 2012, and could be leaving for greener pastures, those rumors previously have been labeled as nonsense by sources within the company. Yet, other sources said at the time that executive compensation was supposedly behind that clash. Cohen signed a five-year contract in 2008 worth at least $5 million a year including bonuses plus millions of stock options before the company was taken private in 2011.”

With Cohen being promoted to the head of recorded music operation on a worldwide basis, a new contract that dealt with bonuses and his new position was needed, but the two sides could never agree on terms, according to sources. Some sources within the company said the reason why the contract issues wasn’t resolved was simply due to how to structure incentives and bonuses in the absences of publicly traded stock. But other sources suggested that the disagreement centered on whether record industry compensation was out of line with what Access Industries was used to paying its senior management.

Other issues may also be involved with Cohen’s resignation. As it is, sources say that while Cohen is a proven leader in building successful record labels and scoring hit records, Blavatnik and Cooper felt he came up short in articulating the financial and technological strategies and issues his team were navigating in the music industries increasingly digital environment.

In turn, sources say that while Cooper was brought in to instill financial disciplines that Access Industries likes to have in place for its portfolio companies, now that he has accomplished that, he doesn’t have the vision or skills to run a major record label which involves juggling relationships with egotistical artists and picking talented A&R executives as well as prudent financial management. Those sources seem him as a caretaker until a new executive is brought in to run the company. Still, other sources suggest that Cooper would like to stay at the helm of the company.”

Billy Joe, singer of Green Day loses it after he discovered his set time was shortened to make room for more acts.

“With nearly a quarter of a century of music under their belts they certainly have plenty of material. So perhaps it is understandable why Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong went on a foul-mouthed tirade after his band’s playing time was cut to make way for Usher at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas.The 40-year-old Dookie star flew off the handle when he discovered 20 minutes were getting shaved off their set to make room for more mainstream acts. “The video of the rampage is here.

Dave Matthews scored another #1 album selling 266,000 in its first week — according to Nielsen SoundScan. Away From the World has become the sixth straight record to reach #1.

“The act’s last album, 2009’s “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King,” started with a more robust sales sum: 424,000. In fact, “Away From the World’s” opening figure is the band’s smallest launch for a studio release since 1996’s “Crash” bowed at No. 2 with 254,000.

Little Big Town’s “Tornado” No. 2 start gives the country quartet its highest charting album ever — and its best sales week (113,000). Hot off the success of its first No. 1 Country Songs hit “Pontoon,” the act also nets its second No. 1 on the Country Albums chart with “Tornado.” (Billboard)

The MTV VMA’s just saw it’s ratings plunge and The X Factor has joined the party. “The singing show on Fox premiered its second season on Wednesday to shockingly low numbers compared with last year — which was itself considered a ratings disappointment. The two-hour extravaganza averaged 8.5-million total viewers, swooning 32% compared with last fall’s series premiere.” (LA Times)