December 14, 2007

Friday Have a Seat on the Lanai for Music News Day

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Music News

  • The iTunes year-end charts should have been a warning: Billboard‘s official tally of the year’s biggest-selling albums is out, and ladies and gentlemen, your #1 album of 2007 is: Daughtry. The “American Idol” guy. Rolling Stone points out that “in what has to be further proof that the recording industry had a terrible year,” the top seven best-selling albums of 2007 were all released in 2006.

  • Perhaps due to this terrible year for the music industry, there’s been a bit of a shakedown at major record labels, with Geffen and Interscope (both subsidiaries of Universal Music) laying off 15 employees yesterday; the last few weeks saw layoffs at Sony BMG and Island Def Jam as well. Rumors had been circulating that Geffen was about to close its doors but CMJ says now “that seems unlikely.”

  • In an investigation into the still-unsolved murder of Jam Master Jay, MTV News uncovers a mystery about a missing security camera tape that might show the identity of the assailant or assailants; Jay’s friend Randy Allen hinted in an interview that he knows the whereabouts of the tape but isn’t talking.

  • Singer Tori Amos (or an alter ego?) had a bit of a fit at a gig in San Diego on Wednesday night, evicting two fans from the venue. “Get the f*** out of my show,” Amos shouted, reportedly because the two women had been repeatedly getting up and down from their seats in the front row. “It’s a privilege to sit in the front row and I reserve those seats for people who appreciate music,” continued Amos. Ulp! Watch the excitement here:

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    GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

    Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

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    2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

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