This proclamation from Liquid Audio: Kelly Clarkson “Before Your Love/A Moment Like This” (US Only) By the time she was crowned the winner of Fox-TV’s American Idol, Kelly Clakson had already become a bona fide star. After a two month competition that galvanized a nationwide television audience, Kelly was the …

Comedy writer and blogger Mike Gerber honored humorist Robert Benchley on his 113th birthday (Benchley is, sadly, not alive to enjoy it): Happy Birthday Robert Benchley! Today would’ve been humorist Robert Benchley’s 113th birthday. He’s one of my all-time favorites. Anyway, while we’re raising a glass of soda pop to …

Boston incognito on MP3.com: One of the most popular songs on MP3.com lately is the track “Corporate America” by a band called Downer’s Revenge. The song has been Number Two on the site’s Progressive Rock Chart for two weeks, and while you’ve likely never heard of Downer’s Revenge, you do …

Zingy, the largest mobile entertainment provider in North America, and Billboard magazine announced today that Zingy has been selected to provide mobile entertainment solutions to Billboard.com. Music consumers who visit Billboard.com will be able to buy ringtones of their favorite artists provided by Zingy. “This is a major accomplishment for …

Europe now has more webcasters than the US. Does the RIAA think this is good? For the first time in history, international streaming channels now outnumber channels from the US. BRS Media’s Web-Radio, the leading portal for “Tuning In” radio on the internet, released their latest statistics this week at …

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The new Fortune has an entire section on the Rolling Stones money-making machine. Inside Stones Inc: Jagger is eloquent and informed, but he has a disclaimer: “I don’t really count myself as a very sophisticated businessperson,” he says as he leans back on the couch. “I’m a creative artist. All …

Review of the ongoing Love/Payne show by Stephen Holden in the NY Times: Darlene Love and Freda Payne are prime examples of rhythm-and-blues singers who are considerably more complex than the sound of the vintage hit singles that typecast them vocally on the nostalgia hit parade. And in their exciting …

John Borland writes in CNET: In a speech given at a storage technology conference in San Francisco, Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro blasted the copyright owners’ “scorched earth” legal and policy drives. He also warned policymakers against passing new legislation without serious scrutiny of labels’ and movie studios’ claims. …

I’m very pleased to have a feature in Salon today on the American Idol contestant contract situation, which is not good, for them: Hope, uncertainty, euphoria, disillusionment: This is a familiar career arc for pop stars caught in the manufacturing cogs of the star-making machine, from Ronnie Spector and the …