Rage against the obscene
Radio host Rush Limbaugh’s incendiary comments regarding Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke’s defence of including contraceptives in health care plans have cost him dearly in the advertising department. His show’s soundtrack has followed suit, with musical acts like Peter Gabriel and Rush demanding the controversial Limbaugh stop playing their songs on his show. Now Rage Against the Machine have added their two cents in a tweet by guitarist Tom Morello, telling the radio personality to back off on the RATM fare: “To Rush Limbaugh: Hey Jackass, stop using our music on your racist, misogynist, right wing clown show. Sincerely, Rage Against The Machine.”
I’m sure this will do nothing but good for musical diversity
In a move that’s got music and media experts talking, media giant Universal Music may get the green light from the European Commission’s regulatory committee to take over EMI, effectively giving them a 38 per cent share of the world’s music market. This move comes as something of a surprise, as previous takeover bids by smaller groups like Warner Music have been shot down by regulatory committees afraid of creating musical monopolies, a charge Universal disputes, claiming that market share doesn’t equate to market control. According to the head of Beggars Group, the largest group of labels in Europe, however, it definitely has an impact on the kind of exposure newer artists receive. “Q Magazine has 12 covers a year. If Universal has 50 per cent of the market, it would get six covers a year. But it may use the leverage of its big artists to get its not-so-big artists on the cover, and push its number of covers up to seven or eight,” said Martin Mills, head of Beggars Group, to The Guardian. “That means that all the other labels have four to five covers to split between them.” The regulatory committee’s initial ruling of whether to allow the takeover will be on March 23, at which point the deal will either be rejected or proceed to the second phase of inquiry.
Can’t blame him, it’s all he really knows
Motley Crüe’s vocalist Vince Neil will be fulfilling a personal dream of his with his latest business investment. If you guessed “strip club in Vegas,” you are absolutely right. “I’ve always wanted to have a strip club, and this one is going to be the best there is. I’m going to be there to guarantee that.” The club Girls, Girls, Girls will be a new breed of erotic parlour, with a “full on rock and roll” soundtrack and tattooed girls who “look like they stepped out of a music video.” If you’re itching to have a look at the type of women Neil’s into, the official opening will take place two weeks from now.
Well, I never…!
Kanye West has reportedly upset a bunch of old white people with his music. The reason this is newsworthy? It’s the Royal Family. The rapper has been renting out the top floor of the Lanesborough Hotel near Buckingham Palace in London for the last month, and has apparently riled up the Royals, according to his associates. “There were members of the Royal Family staying below us,” said Big Sean, a rapper signed to West’s music label, in an interview with British newspaper The Sun. “Kanye had rented out the top floor and we was banging that bitch out. Every room was a studio. The Royal Family below were complaining like, ‘We got all this loud-ass rap music above us and weed smoke.’” West’s most recent European escapade was during his trip to Paris in support of his second fashion line.
