"Odd vinyl / record shop related video"

I somehow stumbled onto this video over on youtube. It's a Finnish comedy sketch with English subtitles. Disturbing - yet still amusing at the same time. - Ace:)

"Vivendi / Universal chief says music industry gloom overdone"

from yahoo.com - By Kate Holton - via reuters

Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy has no plans to spin off the music unit Universal and he said on Saturday he believed the gloom surrounding the industry had been over done.

Speaking at the annual Midem conference, Levy said the music industry was going through a huge transition at the moment, with new business models for mobile and Internet services appearing all the time.

But he predicted there would still be a viable market for physical products like CDs for many years to come and he said the industry's future lay, as always, in spotting the right creative talent.

"I think altogether today there is an exaggeration in the industry," he told the conference.

"Of course it is not doing that well, but look at us, we have flat revenues, a good two digit margins and it's not as dark as what many people describe."

The music industry has been hit in recent years by Internet piracy and the rapid growth in digital sales but the planned job losses at British company EMI have highlighted the issue even further.

Levy joked that Universal could benefit from its rivals' problems, by gaining more staff or bands, but he said that ultimately a stronger competitor would benefit the whole industry.

"We like to have strong competitors," he said. "I hope that after the shake up (at EMI) there will be a strong set of major companies that will help the music industry to grow."

Universal is the world's largest music company, with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Mika and U2, and Levy said he was very committed to the group.

"Back in 2003 the numbers didn't look very good," he said "(But) as a shareholder of Universal, I have seen the numbers go up quite sharply. We had in '03 a 3 percent operating margin business and we have today a 12 percent operating margin business.

"We do have a lot of satisfaction ... and we're very committed."

DIGITAL TO GROW

He said digital entertainment would continue to grow, due to the developments in technology, broadband penetration and globalization but he said this would not necessarily mean the immediate demise of the CD.

"If we (have the right creative policy) and if we understand the technology well and the consumer well, then ... digital entertainment will continue to expand and will be very successful," he said.

"It is a transition into a very diversified model, of which CDs will still play a part. So I do not think it is black and white."

A report released this week by the international trade body, the IFPI, said global music sales were expected to be down around 10 percent for 2007, despite a 40 percent increase in digital music sales.

(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Tony Austin)

"Fonzie to get bronze statue in Milwaukee"

from aol.com - By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, AP

MILWAUKEE, WI - Aaaaaaay! The Fonz will be returning to Milwaukee later this year - permanently, and in bronze.

A statue of Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, the leather-jacketed biker from "Happy Days," will be erected in the city where the TV sitcom was set, now that local groups have raised the $85,000 needed to do it, civic leaders said Friday.

Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie during the show's run from 1974 to 1984, called the "Bronze the Fonz" project "a phenomenal compliment."

"It's not often you have a dream when you're 7 lying in your bed, you get to live your dream out and then someone is going to erect a life-size statue of your creation," he told The Associated Press earlier this week.

Winkler was in Milwaukee on Friday morning when organizers officially announced the money had been raised. Plans call for dedicating the statue around Labor Day. It will likely be downtown along the Milwaukee River.

Two booster groups, VISIT Milwaukee and Spirit Milwaukee, spearheaded the fundraising. Among the donors was cable network TV Land, which has sponsored similar statues such as ones of Bob Newhart in Chicago and Mary Tyler Moore in Minneapolis.

Other supporters included a bakery in Jefferson that sold thumbs-up cookies and a fan who established a "Bronze the Fonz" group on the social networking site Facebook.

Some serious art lovers were less enthusiastic. Mike Brenner, founder of the Hotcakes Gallery, called the statue a "publicity stunt" that perpetuated lowbrow stereotypes about Wisconsin.

"Can we just try to move forward, a little bit?" he said.

"New Kids on the Block REUNION!"

from people.com -By Eileen Finan and Julie Jordan

After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.

The band's Web site, nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.

The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.

The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.

Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.

"Must See Video: WKCRW - 60,000 recording archives!"

Just stumbled onto this video about WKCRW Radio's massive recording archives over on Youtube. Quite interesting indeed. Check it out. - Ace:)

"Scarlett Johansson to release debut album in May"

from transworldnews.com

Scarlett Johansson is set to release her debut album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," on May 20. The album is under Atco Records, an imprint of Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment.

Ten songs on the album were written by Tom Waits, the famed songwriter and composer, while one song is self-written.

Johansson collaborated with Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zimmer and Sean Antanaitis from Celebration, among others.

On a personal note, Johansson was in the news recently for her reported engagement with boyfriend Ryan Reynolds.

The two have been dating for eight months following the 23-year old Johansson's break-up with Josh Hartnett and the end of 31-year old Reynolds' engagement to Alanis Morrisette.

"John Ritter's family sues over his death"

from aol.com

 

Actress Amy Yasbeck, the widow of 'Three's Company' star John Ritter, is suing two doctors who treated her husband before his death in April 2003, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.

According to the lawsuit, Ritter's family is blaming a doctor who read the results of the actor's body scan in 2001 and another who diagnosed him the night he died.

 

"You can't treat my kid's dad for something and kill him in the process," his widow says.

Yasbeck wants more than $67 million in damages, due to Ritter's potential earning power on the hit show he starred in at the time of his death -- '8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.'

"I think the money will show how angry the jury will be about what happened to John and what could happen to them," Yasbeck says of the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the doctors claim there was no wrong doing on the part of their clients.

"I really, really believe that for whatever reason, John Ritter's time was up," Stephen C. Fraser, one of the doctor's attorneys says.

Ritter's family has already received $14 million in settlements, including over $9 million from the hospital where he died.