Friday, August 6, 2010

Music "NOT Compatible" for and with Islam......Ayatollah Ali Khameini

LBN-THE "INSIDE" STORY:






Iran’s “Supreme Leader”, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said that music is “not compatible” with the values of the Islamic republic and should not be practiced or taught in the country.






He said : “Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic.”






Khamenei’s comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a young follower who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam.







"It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful social skills instead of music,” the Supreme Leader went on.

Friday, July 23, 2010

FIVE HUNDRED MILLION......HALF A BILLION....ONE TWELFTH OF WORLDS POPULATION.....one Facebook.....



FACEBOOK GETS 500 MILLION MEMBERS:












Mark Zuckerberg sure is popular.












Facebook, the online social networking site, has reached 500 million members, making its Web population equal to the size of the world's third largest country.












Birthed in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, the site's number of users has accelerated in the past year.












In January 2009, Facebook had 150 million members.














The company isn't suffering for ambition:




last month, Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO, said that the site would hit one billion users.
















This fall, Aaron Sorkin will release a movie depicting the rise of the company.


















The tagline? "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies."














LBN-INVESTIGATES:



An adult human body contains approximately 100 trillion cells.


Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Holy HOLLYWOOD................

LBN-THIS DAY IN HISTORY:














Hollywood Sign Is Dedicated (1923)








The iconic Hollywood sign overlooking the community, which spells out its name in 50-foot (15-meter) high white letters originally said "Hollywood land".








It was erected as an advertisement for a real estate firm promoting a new housing development with that name.








Though not intended to be permanent, the sign quickly became an internationally recognized landmark, and the last four letters were removed in 1949.

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Music Industry’s 360 Deal = Rape!





The 360 deal reflects the fact that most of


musician’s income


now



comes from source other than recorded music.





These include live performance, merchandising and part time stints with “Staples or Starbucks”.




In the future these artists can get used to flogging whatever they can fit names on.





New Rules If you want a piece of pie , the record company demands 360 degrees of your arse.




You’re gonna be a star

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Mark TWAIN.......................you too can become great..............



LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY



By Mark Twain:




Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.




Small people always do that, but the really great
make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Monday, May 31, 2010

sinon fuller to acquire CKX........owners of IDOL franchise.....ELVIS & MUHAMMAD ALI likeness & image.......



CKX Confirms Acquisition Offer From Simon Fuller

"American Idol" creator wants to take over parent company of show's producer, 19 Entertainment
By Wrap Staff
Published: May 28, 2010
CKX, parent company of 19 Entertainment, which produces "American Idol," confirmed Friday that it has received an acquisition proposal from a group of investors led by "Idol" creator Simon Fuller.


The offer is believed to be for about $600 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter.


In addition to "Idol," CKX owns the rights to the names, images and likenesses of
Elvis Presley and
Muhammad Ali, and also operates Graceland.
It also produces Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance."

The CKX board of directors is evaluating the proposal, "as well as other potential strategic alternatives," it said in a statement, has retained Gleacher & Company as its financial adviser and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal adviser.

CKX also said, "There can be no assurance that it will enter into any agreement with respect to any transaction, or as to the timing or terms thereof, including price."


Fuller left 19 Entertainment, of which he was CEO and founder, in January.
In May, CKX founder-CEO Robert F.X. Sillerman resigned from the company to pursue other opportunities, including possibly buying CKX.


Fuller and partner Roger Jenkins, formerly of Barclays Capital, have amassed a $1 billion acquisitions fund, according to ABC News.


One Equity Partners, a private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase, also is eyeing CKX as a takeover target.

Monday, May 24, 2010

mick "rolling stoned" jagger.............


LBN-MUSIC INSIDER:
***Mick Jagger -- hawking "Stones in Exile," a documentary about the making of the Rolling Stones' 1972 album, "Exile on Main Street" -- told reporters in Cannes:
"We were young, good-looking and stupid then.
Now we're just stupid."
The album was mostly recorded at Keith Richards' villa in the South of France -- where the Stones had fled Britain's crushing income tax -- in a hedonistic haze of heroin, pot and booze.
"Nixon was in the White House and Watergate was going on, but we didn't know about it until later because we were down there making this album," said the rubber-lipped rocker.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

AXL ROSE versus IRVING AZOFF



Axl Rose slams Irving Azoff in $5 million countersuit




Tue May 18, 2010 @ 12:08PM PST





By Eriq Gardner




EXCLUSIVE:



Axl Rose says his former manager tried to implement a scheme to force him to reunite with the original Guns N' Roses band members and, as part of the plot, failed to properly promote the "Chinese Democracy" album, lied about a prospective Van Halen super tour and mishandled the band's tour dates.




The claims are part of a bombshell countersuit filed yesterday against Irving Azoff's Front Line Management.



In March, Azoff sued Rose, claiming the rocker violated an oral agreement to pay 15% of earnings, or nearly $2 million, from a lucrative concert tour.




Not since the G'N'R song "Get in the Ring" has Rose struck back at a foe so forcefully, alleging antitrust concerns about Front Line's parent company, Ticketmaster, to drive home a major claim that his former manager is up to no good in the music business.



Azoff is CEO, director and majority shareholder of Front Line, whose roster of artists include the Eagles, Neil Diamond, Jimmy Buffett, Christina Aguilera and John Mayer.





In 2008, Front Line was acquired by Ticketmaster.




Rose claims that through Azoff's control of the "trifecta" of artist management, concert and touring promotion, and ticket sales, Azoff has been able to gain wide influence and power in the music industry.





Azoff allegedly decides what artists he wants to promote through favorable touring deals and uses his power to punish artists and harm their careers if they don't follow his orders.





When informed of the myriad allegations in the countersuit, Azoff's lawyer Howard King quipped to us: "He didn't accuse Irving of being on the grassy knoll in Dallas on November 22, 1963?"



The countersuit invokes the U.S. Justice Department's recent antitrust lawsuit that sought to stop a proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation over concerns about the new entity having too much control over artists and venues.




Afterwards, Ticketmaster entered into a consent decree with government regulators to allow the merger to continue under certain operating provisions.




Axl's counter-complaint says that Azoff is violating the consent decree by coercing and bullying artists to do what he wants.




What Azoff wanted, the rocker says, was the reunion of Guns N' Roses.




To execute this, he would sabotage Rose and his new band so that Rose would have no option but to reunite.



According to the filing, "Upon realizing that he couldn't bully Rose and accomplish his scheme, Azoff resigned and abandoned Guns N' Roses on the eve of a major tour, filing suit for commissions he didn't earn and had no right to receive."




Further, Axl says the botched tour cost him money in production startup and rehearsal expenses.



Claiming breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud and breach of contract, the singer wants at least $5 million in damages.



The cross-complaint was filed by Skip Miller and Sasha Frid at L.A.'s Miller Barondess.

ALICE COOPER'S -----...that 3 Minute Musical Boundary......


If I were to take a young band, I would have them listen to four people:





Burt Bacharach, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Paul Simon, or maybe Laura Nyro.





Listen to the construction of those songs. I mean, the Beatles - so simple, but I get everything they're saying to me.





When I hear these new bands, I don't get it.





And it's because they don't know how to tell a story within those musical boundaries.






That three-minute musical boundary.





Alice Cooper

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Christopher Columbus.......living in HIS Grace and Mercy...............

LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:


LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS:



I am a most noteworthy sinner, but
I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy,
and they have covered me completely.
I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy
His marvelous Presence.



Friday, March 12, 2010

Winner of American Idol 2010.....BIG MIKE............?????????



BIG MIKE..........at least a Finalist.........???????????
Luther Vandross incarnate??????




LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By JOHN ADAMS:






A desire to be
observed,
considered,
esteemed,
praised,
beloved,
and
admired
by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the
heart of man.





LBN-QUOTE:
"Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends." -
H. L. Mencken.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

IFPI claims Artists still need Record Labels.....?????

Tuesday March 9, 2010


By Ben Cardew





Record companies around the world invest $5bn (£3.3bn) a year in developing and marketing artists, according to a new report from the IFPI which aims to debunk the myth that artists no longer need labels.





The report, Investing In Music, claims that it costs around $1m (£663,000) to break a new pop act.



Of this, typically $200,000 (£133,000) goes on the advance,


$200,000 on recording,


$200,000 on filming three videos,


$100,000 (£66,300) on tour support and



$300,000 (£199,000) on promotion / marketing.



However, at a briefing to launch the report Columbia managing director Mike Smith says that this $1m figure is “a minimum to get an act up and running and moving somewhere towards platinum”.




But, he adds that companies can easily double that if they are looking to get 1m-plus sales.



“If you add the international picture and add in tour support and other things it could be $2m.



It can be more,” explains Decca managing director Dickon Stainer.



And of course this investment is no guarantee of success, but IFPI chairman and chief executive John Kennedy says the record lables are more efficient nowadawys.



He adds that 10 years ago around one act in 10 would re-coup their initial advance; now “there is a general feeling that has come down to one in five”.



This $5bn figure means that record companies spend around 30% of their sales revenues on developing and marketing artists.



Of that, a global average of 16% is spent on A&R, although this is higher in certain countries, including the UK where A&R investment totalled 23% in 2007.




The IFPI says this figure shows record companies are global leaders in investing in new product.



In the UK the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, for example, invests around 15% of its gross revenues in R&D.



But, the IFPI warns that this high level of investment from record companies is under threat from falling revenues from recorded music.



“A&R spending in some countries has stayed strong, for example in the UK,” says Kennedy.



“But it becomes more and more difficult to sustain that given some of the problems that we face.



The levels are at risk down to piracy.”



Kennedy adds that investing in music is the “core mission” of record companies and they should be respected as such.



“No other party can lay claim to a comparable role in the music sector.



No other party comes close to the levels of investment committed by record companies to developing, nurturing and promoting talent,” he says.



“One of the biggest myths about the music industry in the digital age is that artists no longer need record labels.



It is simply wrong.



The investment, partnership and support that help build artist careers have never been more important than they are today.”



Kennedy also claims that, despite the proliferation of fan-funded websites, there is “no evidence” of artists succeeding in the long-term by going direct to the consumer.



“Creative energy can be wasted on business problems,” he adds.




Looking beyond recorded music, the report claims there is an economic “ripple effect” from this record company investment, which helps to benefit a broader music sector that includes live music, radio, publishing and audio equipment, thought to be worth $160bn (£106.1bn ) annually.



The IFPI estimates that more than 2m people around the world are employed in this broader music economy.



However, the report also aims to disprove the myth that artists can survive just on live income.



“You probably won’t see the level or earnings of Madonna or U2 again,” Kennedy adds.



“But a successful band in the music industry could still become a millionaire.”



The IFPI estimates that there are more than 4,000 artists on major label rosters around the world, with thousands more on indies.

Monday, March 8, 2010

MICHAELANGELO ------- 1475


LBN-TODAY'S BIRTHDAY:



Michelangelo (1475).
Among the world's most celebrated artists, Michelangelo was one of the foremost figures of the Renaissance.
The marble David, which he completed before his 30th birthday, set a new standard in nude sculpture, and his paintings in the Sistine Chapel are among the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art.
A true "Renaissance man," he also was an architect and poet and wrote more than 300 sonnets.
***P.R. firm 42West has appointed veteran music publicist
Dvora Vener Englefield to head their newly created music department.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Happy Birthday SONG earns USD $ 1 Million a year for Warner Chappell.................and ISRAELI Model Bar Rafaeli.........

LBN-DID YOU KNOW:


***Warner Chappell Music owns the copyright to the song ''Happy Birthday''.
They make over $1 million in royalties every year from the commercial use of the song.




LBN-COMMENTARY BY GEORGE MICHAEL:








Amy Winehouse is one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge in Britain in the last few years.
And Lady Gaga has my full attention. She's a unique songwriter with an original overall package.
And Bjork - she just gets better. Her voice is amazing.








LBN-COMMENTARY By KIM ELSESSER:



The Academy Awards should allow men and women to compete for one Oscar for best actor.



WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK FOR ZUCKERBERG:





The Wall Street Journal profiles the working habits and aspirations of one of Silicon Valley's most-watched men in Thursday's paper: 25-year-old Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg.
One of the games he likes to play is to imagine what he would do if he had $1 trillion dollars to work with.
He says he is in no hurry to turn his social networking behemoth into a public company.
Dont expect much praise, if you work for him.
But do expect movie quotes: Zuckerberg is particularly fond of Troy, which he screened for employees once.
He even delivered a gong to the office so workers could announce new developments with added authority.



ISRAELI model Bar Rafaeli

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Hollywood for Sale -- But What's the Right Price?


It’s a sign of the times, and it may as well be a big “For Sale” sign.

With three major entertainment properties openly on the block, and another independent studio quietly made available for sale, Hollywood -- once the sexiest of high-priced baubles -- faces a glut of supply and a dearth of demand.

-- MGM needs to be sold or faces bankruptcy sooner rather than later; the studio’s production has been virtually halted as financiers seek to sort out its debt-laden balance sheet.

-- Disney has put Miramax up for sale, seeking $700 million -- with buyers so far balking at that price tag.

-- Liberty Media’s John Malone has hired an investment bank to sell or dismantle Starz Media and its main division, Overture Films.

-- Summit Entertainment -- while seeking acquisitions itself -- has been quietly shopped for several months, according to several knowledgeable individuals.
The company denied that it is for sale when questioned by TheWrap.

A decade or two ago, corporate giants as disparate as Coca-Cola, Matsushita and Vivendi vied to own a glittering piece of the entertainment business.

How things have changed.
Profit margins are tight, the future looks uncertain and -- visibly -- times are tough all over.

But there is another dynamic at work.

As the industry continues to consolidate -- with NBC Universal bought by Comcast, and Marvel bought up by Disney -- the number of cash-rich customers cruising the boulevard seems to dwindle with every passing month.

If you question experts in Hollywood and financiers on Wall Street, the conclusion seems to be that there is a significant disconnect between buyers and sellers.

Sellers seem to believe they can command premium prices for entertainment properties at a time of severe dislocation in the industry’s business models.

The buyers no longer believe that libraries are worth their asking prices.

Once upon a time it was clear that libraries were the key to any studio’s success.
That steady stream of revenue from a deep well of movies sustained the major studios through patches of bad movie slates.

That was the reason that independent studios even as successful as DreamWorks - which sold to Parmaount, then had trouble getting new backing to leave Paramount -- eventually were cash-strapped.
The capital-intensive business of moviemaking could not be sustained with a library of just 60 films.

But now, as the haggling over Miramax shows, “Libraries are worth less now than people think,” as one analyst told me on Wednesday.
“This makes valuations more and more difficult.”

“Without the old business model, all these production machines are sputtering,” said Harold Vogel of Vogel Capital Management.

As DVD sales and rentals have declined, and as new-media revenue streams have yet to prove themselves, libraries are becoming less valuable.

"At the right price, there are people that would look at these things,” said Tom Wolzien, of Wolzien LLC, a consultant to movie companies.
“But at the moment there’s a huge discrepancy between what sellers want and what people are willing to pay.”
declined to say what he thought Miramax, or MGM, might really be worth.

Vogel, the veteran entertainment industry analyst, said the current standoff is rooted in problems that have been brewing for more than a decade.

“The giants have libraries to provide cash flows when movies miss, and smaller studios bump up against this all the time,” he said.
“Overture hit the wall early.”

Entertainment companies are limited in their scalability, since they are limited to releases 52 weekends a year.
And capital constraint are built in – movies cost a lot of money to produce, and to market.

“Ten years ago people assumed that content was king, and that libraries would go up in value,” said Vogel.
“But it turns out that attention is king, not content.”

So who will want to buy these studios?

The answer comes back consistently that it depends on the price.

What is clear is that the frivolous shopper, whether that’s Jean-Pierre Messier, or a German tax fund backing the likes of Elie Samaha, has put away his wallet.

What remains are real strategic partners who have both the cash flow and the vision to connect their dots with the remaining robust businesses in Hollywood. (By which I mean, those businesses that remain will likely be robust.

Said Vogel: “They’ll cherry-pick the libraries, and the prices will be much lower than you might expect.”

That kind of partner would be Comcast.
It might be Studio Canal, the French media giant.
Or Big Reliance Entertainment, the Indian conglomerate.

There are fewer of these than before.
Which means the deals will be harder won.
The profit analysis will have to be more airtight.

Because nobody in Hollywood wants a fire sale.

Friday, February 19, 2010

sade adu...............................new album NO 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHRYSANTHI DAFLA ..................................


LBN-Music Insider:
***Sade's first album in 10 years, "Solider of Love" will top the Billboard 200 next week.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, Solider of Love sold total of 502,000.



***Britain's National Trust may intervene to protect the Abbey Road studios
where the Beatles recorded most of their hits.


The possibility that the studios might fall into private hands and be demolished has sparked a national outcry spurred by former Beatle Paul McCartney and prominent disk jockey Chris Evans



LBN-DID YOU KNOW:
***The word she did not exist in the English language until 1000 AD.
***There are more than ten billion web pages on the internet.
***If California were a country, it would be the worlds fifth largest economy.
***There are more than 10,000 varieties of tomatoes.
***There are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as motorcars.

LBN-QUOTE:
"I married the first man I ever kissed.
When I tell this to my children, they just about throw up."
-Barbara Bush.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Sammy Davis says......................

LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By SAMMY DAVIS JR.:
When you lose a lover it's like getting a bad haircut.
It grows back in time.




LBN-MUSIC INSIDER:
***Australian rock band Men at Work had a massive hit with their 1980s song "Down Under" about a vegemite sandwich and the worlds other temptations.
It turns out they had some help as an Australian judge ruled Thursday that the group's famous flute riff was ripped off from a folk tune.
The owner of the song, the entertainment group EMI, may have to pay up to 60 percent of the earnings they made from the international smash.
"It's a big win for the underdog," said one lawyer.


LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER:
***The private equity firm Star Avenue Capital - a partnership between CAA and Irving Place Capital - is buying a majority stake in J Brand, a denim apparel brand whose jeans are popular among the celeb crowd.
The agency thus becomes an equity owner in the blue jeans company making this, to Fleming's recollection, the first time a talent agency has held a stake in a consumer apparel brand.



LBN-QUOTE:
"The world of politics is always twenty years behind the world of thought."
- John Jay Chapman.

Monday, February 1, 2010

"if you have an ounce of common sense and one good friend.........you don't need an anal...............

LBN-COMMENTARY By JACOB BERNSTEIN:


The reason for this is that the Grammys are fundamentally unlike film awards shows, where small, critically acclaimed films frequently dominate.
Rather, they' re a mutual masturbation society for a dying breed of A&R men, an opportunity to give out year-end bonuses in an industry that cant afford them and is ineligible for a government bailout.



LBN-HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By JOAN CRAWFORD:



If you have an ounce of common sense and
one good friend ,
you don't need an analyst.



LBN-DID YOU KNOW:
***France has the highest per capita consumption of cheese.
***Dalmations are born without spots.
***Mens shirts have buttons on the right side; womens shirts have buttons on the left.
***Dutch are the tallest average people.
***An olive tree can live up to 1500 years.

LBN-QUOTE:
"Whenever you see a successful business, someone made a courageous decision." - Peter Drucker.

LBN-HISTORY:
On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

SHOW THEM THE MONEY: Is Simon Fuller's Sweetened TV Deal Richer Than Cowell's?

SHOW THEM THE MONEY:


Is Simon Fuller's Sweetened TV Deal Richer Than Cowell's?



By TIM ADLER



Friday January 15, 2010 @ 11:48am


UPDATE:



We told you there was intense rivalry between The Two Simons.
Now it's over their new net worth. Simon Fuller's flacks on both sides of the Atlantic have angrily contacted Deadline London claiming the producer is already far wealthier than his one-time protégé, Simon Cowell.
That alone speaks volumes.
Is this hilarious or what?

American Idol creator Simon Fuller through his PR mouthpieces claims he's set to not just match but pull even further ahead of Simon Cowell when it comes to how much money he’s going to make from new TV deals.
As you know, Fuller has quit 19 Entertainment, the company he founded, to set up a new as-yet-unnamed company to executive produce Fox’s American Idol.
Remember, five years ago, U.S. entertainment group CKX bought 19 Entertainment, his £92 million business with 200 employees, for nearly $200 million, already making Fuller a rich man.
But his new executive producing deal means he will share for the first time in the profits of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.
Fuller will also continue to supply “general consulting services” to CKX, which owns the format for American Idol.

On the other hand, Cowell, unlike Fuller, owned the formats of the shows he makes, The X Factor and Got Talent, from the beginning.
Sony then bought out the remaining 50% of X Factor.
Between them, X Factor and Got Talent sell to 30 countries and Cowell makes money from them all.
In addition, UK broadcaster ITV pays Cowell £6.5 million a year for hosting the British versions of X Factor and Got Talent, plus fees which go to his production company Syco.
Cowell also shares in phone revenues, which generate around £1 million from viewers’ votes.
For American Idol though, Cowell is paid a flat fee – albeit a hefty £20 million a year.
But he recently announced he's quitting as an AIl judge next year when Fox will start running The X Factor.
Now Sir Philip Green, owner of the Top Shop fashion chain, is going into business with Cowell.
Green is Britain’s 9-richest man with a personal fortune estimated at £4 billion.

Now for the numbers:
The Sunday Times Rich List already has Fuller worth £300 million compared with Cowell's £120 million.
Game Over?
Maybe not.
Because it'll be amusing to watch The Two Simons keep piling up big bucks as their new TV deals kick in.
Great idea for another TV competition show.
Let them fight over who'll produce it.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Simon Cowell........a STAR.....................by Bob Leftsez

Simon Cowell is a star.









I like Kelly Clarkson.







She's cute, honest about her weight/body image and is a good singer.




But she's not a star.




Her best material is written by others.


And she has the depth of an Oreo cookie.




If I asked her to wrestle between higher taxes and a social safety net, I'd expect her to go blank and suggest we get another drink.



But I'm sure Simon Cowell has an opinion.



Real stars don't exist in a vacuum,
but in the environment,
they're aware of their surroundings, their context.



As for the other "Idol" winners...Clay Aiken couldn't admit he was gay.



Oops, he wasn't the winner that year?



Well, he got the longest ride, which is just about over.



A real star is not afraid of who he is,



he owns his identity, he doesn't fake it.




Adam Lambert played coy with his sexual identity until the competition was over.



Stars don't leave us guessing about where they stand.



And after coming out, selling his music, Adam resembled nothing so much as a cartoon.



Let's see, other "Idol" victors...I just can't think of one.



Oh yeah, that young woman, the plump one, what was her name again?


Jordin Sparks...





Let's see, we've got Jim Morrison, college-educated, writing poetry, and Jordin's number one asset is her smile. Whoo-hoo!


I'm not saying "Idol" will crumble without Simon Cowell, although I do expect it to sustain a deep ratings hit, but the reason the show has been so successful is because of this one man,


who won't wear a tie on camera,


who smiles like the Mona Lisa,


daring us to wonder what he thinks,


and when he speaks states his own, unequivocal truth.


That's a star.


That's why we revere stars.


They're not beholden to a boss.



They do it their way.

Mmm... God, everybody on the hit parade seems to be beholden to someone else.


Thanking their sponsors...


Doing whatever their labels tell them to do...

Unwilling to offend anyone in their pursuit of the brass ring.



No wonder the public likes the song at most, and why music doesn't drive the culture.


Steve Jobs?


The biggest rock star on the planet.



Does whatever he wants, is beholden to no one and releases the best damn products.



Don't agree?


That's just the point,
stars have haters,
from the beginning of time.



At least people CARE, have an opinion.



Who's got an opinion on all those evanescent singers in the Top Forty?



Somehow, in the dash for cash,
we've given up searching for stars.




Stars are uncontrollable,
they break ground,
they need to do it their way.



Why, with millions on the line, would investors want to spend money on people like this?



But they used to.



When there was less money at stake.

When labels weren't owned by multinational conglomerates, when those truly in charge were willing to take risks.



Risks...



What's the cliche, no reward without risk?



That's true.


There hasn't been any risk in the music business for eons.



Except by no-talents pissed no one's paying attention.



Speak your mind.



Take a stand.



Don't be afraid to offend.



The opposite is death.



We love to watch Simon Cowell.



Because we truly believe it's his opinion.



That he's not second-guessing us, is not beholden to the sponsors or Fox.



And like a true star, Simon is willing to strike out on his own, to bet on himself.




We don't begrudge stars their success, we feel they're entitled.



Love him or hate him, you pay attention to Simon Cowell.




"X Factor" will succeed, this is assured.




As for your next record...odds are not so good.

Simon Fuller to launch new company...........


Simon Fuller to launch new company


'American Idol' creator to keep working on hit shows


By Georg Szalai


Jan 14, 2010, 07:55 AM ET



NEW YORK --

Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment, and 19's parent company CKX have agreed to a long-term deal to keep the "American Idol" creator and executive producer involved in the firm's key shows, while freeing him up to launch a new entertainment company.

The deal includes a provision that gives Fuller a share of profits.

In addition, Fuller is launching a new company, in which CKX can invest, and Fuller will provide general consulting services to CKX.

The two parties didn't immediately disclose further details.

The news follows recent industry rumors focused on a possible change in Fuller's status or title.

The deal keeps Fuller in place as executive producer and driver behind hit shows like "Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" and new online led property "If I Can Dream."

"As an entrepreneur I feel I am about to enter my prime years and starting a new entertainment company at this moment fills me with great excitement," said Fuller.

"This new arrangement guarantees that Simon and CKX will be working together for many, many years to come," said Robert F.X. Sillerman, chairman and CEO of CKX.

"I'm also delighted that going forward Simon will be free to focus his creative energy on developing new ideas and projects and that CKX has the opportunity to invest in his new business.

"The 19 founder sold his firm to CKX in 2005.

It creates a vast majority of CKX's revenue.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

NELSON MANDELA......"your playing small does not serve the world"


LBN-QUOTE:




Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.




Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.




It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.




Your playing small does not serve the world.




-Nelson Mandela.