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MP3 News Breakers: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sony, iPod, Snow Patrol
Top execs at Sony Music US resign; Yeah Yeah Yeahs solicit fans for new video; Samsung loses iPod chip deal on gaffe; Snow Patrol cancel US dates; Indigo Girls switch labels.
Rolf Schmidt Holtz made the announcement.
Top two Sony Music execs resign
The turbulence at music giant Sony BMG continued today with the sudden announcement that the top two execs at Sony Music US have resigned. Don Ienner and Michele Anthony, the chairman/CEO and chief operating officer (COO) of the Sony Music Label Group US, respectively, resigned their posts today effective immediately. The move comes just three months after Ienner was promoted to his chairman/CEO post.
Sony BMG CEO Rolf Schmidt Holtz, who grabbed his current gig after a power struggle with former Sony BMG chief Andrew Lack, has picked Sony BMG COO Tim Bowen to serve as interim head of the label until September, when Sony BMG Music UK chairman/CEO Rob Stringer will take over for Ienner in the role of president. Sony Music's roster of artists includes Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks, and Shakira. (2:30 p.m.)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs want YOU.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs wants fans' help for video
You could be featured in the new video from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The NYC rock trio is soliciting its fans to submit their own version of a video for "Cheated Hearts," the next single from their March release, Show Your Bones. On the band's Web site, it asks fans to "blast the music in the background and play or sing over it," film it, and "get lost in the song and make it yours." Details are on the Web site, and entries must be postmarked by June 12. (2:00 p.m.)
Apple tells Samsung "not so fast" on iPod chip deal
Samsung is feeling the wrath of Apple's code of secrecy. Just a few weeks after Samsung announced that it had been picked by Apple to supply chips for upcoming iPod Shuffle and Nano models, Apple has reportedly rescinded at least part of that offer. Samsung would have replaced chip maker SigmaTel in providing the iPod Shuffle chips, and PortalPlayer in the Nano product line. PortalPlayer saw its stock drop 45 percent on April 20, when word of the chip maker shuffle leaked.
But now all indications are that while PortalPlayer is out and Samsung is in on the Nanos, SigmaTel will continue to provide chips for upcoming Shuffle models. Westbush Morgan Securities analyst Craig Berger told EE Times that "We have increased confidence that SigmaTel will continue supplying the MP3 processor into the Apple Shuffle in [the second half of 2006], after a Samsung executive commented publicly that Samsung supplanted PortalPlayer in the next-generation iPod Nano." (2:00 p.m.)
Snow Patrol postpones US dates
Popular rock band Snow Patrol has been forced to postpone several US tour dates because frontman Gary Lightbody has lost his voice. Lightbody posted on the band's Web site that he has been suffering from laryngitis and has not had time to recover. As a result, the band have postponed performances in Atlanta, DC, and Boston this week. Lightbody wrote that "my voice is in pieces. You may have seen us on Good Morning America this morning and if you did you'll be aware I barely scraped through it and that was only one song. I am so sorry for this to all of you who have bought tickets especially those of you who have traveled long distances to these shows. Of course we will make sure that these tickets are still valid, as I say they aren't cancelled they're just postponed. We'll give you the info for the new shows as soon as we know." (1:00 p.m.)
The Indigo Girls ink Hollywood Records deal
Indigo Girls jump ship.
The folk rock duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers has been recording for Sony BMG's Epic Records for 18 years, but are jumping ship to Hollywood Records. The Indigo Girls are switching labels for the first time in their career, signing with the Disney-owned label. The duo's first album with Hollywood is due out September 19. The album will feature a guest appearance from Pink on the song "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate." The Indigo Girls kick off a summer tour July 1 in Portland, Oregon. (12:15 p.m.)
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