*NSYNC, Sting Coming To A Cereal Box Near You
(9.19) Source - Billboard: Under a new promotion, a spoonful of General Mills cereal could land you a compilation CD with music from *NSYNC, Sting, Boyz II Men, Britney Spears, Martina McBride, Brian McKnight, and Herbie Hancock, and more. The campaign will find 80 million boxes of General Mills cereals touting an offer for a free CD from GetMusic.com, the e-tail site owned by Universal Music Group and BMG Entertainment.
From November through December, consumers will be able to order one of eight compilations from the site by entering a code printed in the cereal boxes. A $2.99 shipping and handling fee will apply to the 10-track CDs, which will include songs from 60 Universal and 20 BMG acts. The CDs will also carry MusicMatch jukebox software.
GetMusic president/CEO Andrew Nibley says the site is seeking to broaden its demographic, which is mainly teens. "The one place parents and their children come together," he says, "is the breakfast table."
Fox's Music Mania 2000 Takes On the Torch
(9.15) Source - FoxNews: Fox will go head-to-head against the Olympics for viewers by teaming up music's young superstars for Music Mania 2000. FOX Hot girl group Destiny's Child is one of the performers for Music Mania 2000. The two hour live concert features at least 15 live performances, including *NSYNC performing their hit "Bye Bye Bye," recently voted "Choice Single" at The Teen Choice Awards. 98 Degrees is set to grace the stage with their new single "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)."
"I think Fox is the network young people can relate to and watch the most, so I think this concert naturally falls into that," said Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees.
Plus, Jessica Simpson is scheduled to wow the crowd with "I Think I'm in Love."
"I wish I was in the audience and [could] watch everyone perform today, it's definitely a very cool concert ... I wish I could see it," Simpson said.
Other performers include, Mandy Moore, Destiny's Child, Pink, Westlife, Vitamin C, A*Teens, Don Philip, Boyz N Girlz United, PYT and a possible sneak performance from teen diva Britney Spears.
"With this caliber of artist, it makes for a better show, cause you know the crowd out there is so hyped up to see everybody, you can't ask for anything better," 16-year-old sensation Mandy Moore said.
"We're fans of all of these other acts so we get to meet them and see them so it's exciting," said a member of the female R&B group Destiny's Child.
Hosting the concert � to be recorded live at the Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Fla. � is actor/comedian Bill Bellamy. Music Mania 2000 hits the airwaves Friday at 8 PM on Fox.
Fashions Sizzle at Latin Grammys
(9.15) Source - Infobeat: Members of the pop group *NSYNC, who performed with Son by Four, arrived at the Latin Grammy Awards in iridescent blue-tinted suits that matched in color but varied slightly in style. *NSYNC singer Justin Timberlake showed off his swirling designs of purple and dark green before hurrying into the arena to prepare for his performance. "This is my Latin flavor!" he yelled, as a crowd of cheering teen-age girls roared with approval across the street.
Latin Awards Showcase Talent, Culture
(9.15) Source - Infobeat: There were paparazzi, a red carpet and big-name stars like Jennifer Lopez, but there also were charro outfits and obscure Argentine rockers. As the first multilingual event ever broadcast live during prime time on network TV, the Latin Grammys signaled a major breakthrough for Hispanic culture. Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, who dominated the regular awards in February with eight Grammys, took home three trophies Wednesday in the inaugural awards show, including the top prize, best album. There was controversy: Many winners and telecast performers were familiar names like Gloria Estefan, *NSYNC and Christina Aguilera, and the perception that commercial music was favored at the expense of distinctive Mexican styles such as norteno and tejano caused some grumbling leading into the awards
FuMan Skeeto Coming To A Nordstrom Near You!
(9.15) Source - FuManSkeeto: FuMan Skeeto is proud to announce that as of November 24th of this year, Online shopping will no longer be the only way to get your hands on FuMan threads. Just in time for the Holiday season, Nordstrom stores will be the exclusive carrier of FuMan Skeeto�s specialty line. Look for select items to hit the stores for the season of giving. Be sure to check out Nordstrom.com for all you need to know on FuMan Skeeto�s newest ally.
Weekend Ticketing: *NSYNC Rolls Out In 21 Markets
(9.14) Source - LiveDaily: *NSYNC tickets are expected to sell out quickly in most markets. For a month, in-the-know fans have been aware of where *NSYNC's upcoming fall tour would stop and when. Now the scramble for tickets to see the wildly popular boy group is about to get underway.
*NSYNC has announced plans to play shows in 21 cities, and all tickets for all shows are scheduled to go on sale between Friday and Sunday (9/15-9/17), according to various promoters and venue officials. Ticket prices will vary from market to market, but they will generally sell for between $40 and $50 (before taxes, ticketing charges and other fees). Ticket-sellers have generally instituted an eight-ticket limit per person for *NSYNC shows.
Given the band's recent track record, it is safe to assume that those who want *NSYNC tickets will have to act quickly, and that not everyone who wants a ticket will get one. Long lines are probable at many box offices and ticketing outlets, many of which have instituted wristband policies to quell overnight camping. (Wristband policies vary widely, so it is best to contact local box offices and ticket-sellers for details.)
Those who try to purchase tickets by telephone should expect to endure some busy signals, and Internet ticket sales will probably be slowed by the huge numbers of fans who are likely to inundate the network when the large blocks of tickets hit the market.
The first on-sales--for a show at the National Car Rental Center near Fort Lauderdale, Fla.--will take place at 5 PM Eastern Time on Friday (9/15). If ticket sales are strong, a second show probably will be added at the venue, but the on-sale date for those tickets could not be confirmed at press time. Tickets will not be available at National Car Rental Center box office until Monday (9/18)--if any remain to be sold after the weekend.
Tickets for *NSYNC's Los Angeles shows are scheduled to go on sale on Sunday (9/17). All other shows go on sale Saturday (9/16).
Tickets to most shows will be sold through Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster Online and venue box offices. Exceptions are in Knoxville, Tenn., where tickets to a show at Thompson-Boling Arena will be sold through Tickets Unlimited Knoxville; and in University Park, Pa., where tickets to a show at Bryce Jordan Center will be sold through Tickets.com and regional box offices. Canadian on-sales will be handled by local box offices and Ticketmaster Canada.
A city-by-city list of all *NSYNC fall tour ticket on-sale information that was available at press time follows. Last-minute changes are not unusual, so one should double-check with local ticket-sellers for the most current information.
October
17- Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Coliseum (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
18- North Charleston, SC - Civic Center (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
20- Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
21- Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
22- Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
23- Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena *
25- Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
26- Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse*
27- Knoxville, TN - Thompson-Boling Arena (on sale 9/16, 10 AM, Tickets Unlimited)
30- Sunrise, FL - National Car Rental Center (on sale 9/15, 5 PM)
31- Sunrise, FL - National Car Rental Center*
November
1- Orlando, FL - TD Waterhouse Centre (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
5- University Park, PA - Bryce Jordan Center (on sale 9/16, 1 PM, Tickets.com)
6- East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena (on sale 9/16, 9 AM)
7- East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena*
9- Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum (on sale 9/16, 9 AM)
10- Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum*
11- Washington, DC - MCI Center (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
12- Philadelphia, PA - First Union Center (on sale 9/16, Noon)
14- Kanata, Ontario - Corel Centre (on sale 9/16, 10 AM, Ticketmaster Canada)
16- Toronto, Ontario - Sky Dome (on sale 9/16, 10 AM, Ticketmaster Canada)
18- Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
19- St. Louis, MO - Savvis Center (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
24- Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
25- Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden*
26- Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center (on sale 9/17, Noon)
27- Los Angeles, CA - Great Western Forum (on sale 9/17, Noon)
28- Los Angeles, CA - Great Western Forum*
December
1- San Diego, CA - Sports Arena (on sale 9/16, 10 AM)
2- San Diego, CA - Sports Arena*
*Designates shows that appear on itineraries from *NSYNC's agency that could not be confirmed by concert promoters at press time. The shows will likely be added if ticket sales are strong, but ticket on-sale times cannot be guaranteed.
MTV Video Award Performers Rule The Pop Album Chart
(9.14) Source - Entertainment Weekly: This week music buyers really want their MTV, or at least the heavy rotation acts who headlined the 2000 Video Music Awards: The top three spots on the new Billboard album chart go to Nelly (No. 1), Eminem (No. 2), and Britney Spears (No. 3). All three turned in notable performances on the VMAs, which scored the year's highest ratings for a cable entertainment program, with 9.8 million viewers (MTV will reair the show Friday, 4:30 PM, and Saturday, 10 AM). Says Scott Levine, Musicland's director of marketing/audio, "We certainly saw sales increases from the prior week."
The night's biggest winners, triple trophied *NSYNC, take a three place leap to No. 5. Maybe it was their booty shaking rendition of "It's Gonna Be Me" that lured record buyers. Or maybe it was "SNL" comic Jimmy Fallon's puppet wielding spoof. Then again, maybe few people even noticed the difference.
Deftones, Queens Of The Stone Age Sign On For Rock In Rio
(9.12) Source - Allstar: The Deftones, Queens of the Stone Age, and Rob Halford are the latest acts confirmed for Rock in Rio for a Better World, a 10-day Brazilian music festival in Rio de Janeiro from Jan. 12-21, 2001. Brazilian pop princess Daniela Mercury has also been confirmed for the show.
The four new acts join R.E.M., Foo Fighters, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair, Iron Maiden, and James Taylor on the non-Brazilian side of Rock in Rio's menu. The festival's lineup is expected to swell to nearly 100 acts by its kickoff. Rock In Rio will take place in the Barra da Tijuca area of Rio. Tickets for the event will go on sale in October. Check out the event's Web site for more information on ticket sales.
Key Titles Likely To Boost Holiday Sales
(9.11) Source - Billboard: With the release schedule for the upcoming holiday season already looking strong, a number of key fourth-quarter titles were announced last Friday at the Trans World Entertainment Corp. conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Billboard Bulletin reports.
BMG is planning a "Platinum Christmas" compilation, due Nov. 14 on Jive. The 18-track set will include material by *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Joe, R. Kelly, Jars Of Clay, Whitney Houston, Santana, and Kenny G. The album is likely the first in a series that will rotate among BMG labels in subsequent years.
Poll: Performances Pique Interest At MTV VMAs
(9.11) Source - Billboard: The performances are fans' favorite part of the MTV Video Music Awards, according to a recently concluded Billboard.com poll. A large majority -- 67.4% of 2,250 respondents -- deemed musical performances to be their favorite part of the annual spectacle, the 17th of which was held last night (Sept. 7) in New York, and featured performances by *NSYNC, Rage Against The Machine, Britney Spears, Sisqo, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, Blink 182, and Eminem. 12.4% said it was the event's host and the skits that they enjoyed most, while 11.5% chimed in to say it was the outrageous celebrity fashion that draws them to watch. Only 4.7% chose the acceptance speeches of the winners as a favorite part, while a mere 4.1% admitted to enjoying the pre-show hype.
Britney, Backstreet, *NSYNC Label Sues MP3.com
(9.11) Source - MTV: Less than one week after a judge handed down a ruling that could cost MP3.com as much as $250 million, Zomba Recording Corporation and Zomba Music Publishing have filed lawsuits against the embattled music Web site.
Both companies are independently suing MP3.com over its My.MP3.com service, the same database that stirred the ire of the Universal Music Group. Last week, Universal won damages from the site when a judge ruled MP3.com willfully infringed on Universal's copyrights (see "MP3.com Owes Universal $25K Per CD Violation").
Similarly, Zomba is charging that MP3.com "has adopted a blatant strategy of attempting to unlawfully build a business by misappropriating us and our artists' and writers' goodwill, recordings, and songs."
Zomba Recording Corp. owns Jive Records, which boasts an impressive stable of pop hitmakers including *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and R. Kelly.
My.MP3.com allows users to store music that they have purchased and boasts a database of more than 80,000 albums. MP3.com has battled charges of copyright infringement by noting that the My.MP3.com service only allows users to listen online to CDs that the users themselves have already purchased.
MP3.com Chairman and CEO Michael Robertson promised to appeal last week's judge's ruling, saying, "We believe that everyone should have the right to listen to the music they purchase, even if it's on the Internet."
While MP3.com vows to fight on, past legal tangles do not bode well for the Web site regarding the impending Zomba lawsuits. In April, a judge ruled that the My.MP3.com database violates copyright law (see "Court Rules MP3.com Violates Copyrights"), and this summer the site settled lawsuits brought by several record labels including BMG Entertainment, Time Warner's Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and the EMI Group (see "MP3.com Settles Copyright Suits With Warner, BMG").
*NSYNC Headed For The 10 Million Mark Again
(9.10) Source - Allstar: Boy band poised to win second RIAA Diamond Award this year as third LP is certified nine-times platinum. *NSYNC have shipped 9 million copies of their third album, No Strings Attached, since its release five months ago, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
The RIAA designated the album nine-times platinum in its August certifications, which also saw fellow pop stars Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears achieve multiplatinum gains. Aguilera's 1999 self-titled debut reached the 7 million mark, while Spears' second album, this year's Oops � I Did It Again, was certified at 6 million.
If *NSYNC's No Strings Attached carries on its sales success, the red-hot LP could give the boy band its second Diamond Award, commemorating sales of 10 million, this year. The quintet's first album, *NSYNC, hit that mark in January.
*NSYNC also have a holiday LP, Home for Christmas, that is certified double platinum. Additionally, the second single from No Strings Attached, "It's Gonna Be Me," was certified gold last month.
The RIAA's certifications recognize the number of records that have been shipped to retail outlets. No Strings Attached has sold 7.7 million units to date, while *NSYNC has sold 8.2 million, according to SoundScan. Those figures do not include sales for the past week, which will be released on Wednesday (Sept. 6).
AOL Sponsors Huge Rock In Rio Festival
(9.10) Source - Infobeat: R.E.M., Foo Fighters, James Taylor, Silverchair, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Gilberto Gil will join previously confirmed performers *NSYNC and Britney Spears at the third Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, running from Jan. 12-21. The event will be broadcast live in Brazil and will be licensed to outlets in more than 50 countries. AOL will sponsor the event and will create a network of cyber-areas allowing concertgoers to communicate with people throughout the world.
Rage Against the Machine Explain Bassist's Actions
(9.10) Source - Rolling Stone: Tim Commerford, an avid rock climber, seemed fueled by presenter D'Angelo's comments about the spirit of rock ("fueled by risk and bound by nothing"), Morello said. Before Limp Bizkit even left their seats, Commerford had bounded up on stage and was climbing the stage prop while Morello yelled, "Tim, no! Don't!" he recalls. "I was cowering in my seat while he climbed up there, squatted on the MTV precipice and started rocking back and forth, seemingly trying to make it fall over and on the two sexiest people in the industry, Jennifer Lopez and D'Angelo." Then, while Limp Bizkit were on stage, they seemed unaware of the situation, Morello said. "They had no idea there was a gargoyle up there giving the rock & roll sign and saying, 'This is bullsh*t.'"
As to what Commerford's motivation was, though others attributed it to his champagne consumption prior to the show, Moore thought the bass player was "just bored," citing his increasing agitation with some aspects of the show, especially Britney Spears' cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Sisqo's win for "The Thong Song" and the army-like procession of Eminem lookalikes. "In America, we reward the mediocre," Moore said, quoting Kurt Vonnegut. "The more you're like *NSYNC, the faster and higher you'll climb. Rock & roll used to be about playing music that stood for something. Now it's background music for Burger King and McDonald's commercials. I think the bass player of this band is against really bad MTV props."
*NSYNC Applaud Eminem
(9.10) Source - MTV: On TRL Dave Holmes was at Radio City Music Hall gearing up for the VMA's. He was able to snag Chris and Justin for a little interview and a word association game. Dave asked about the seat assignments and who they would like to sit next to. Chris said Eminem, and they told Dave that there are no hard feelings between the group and the rapper. "We would stand up and clap if he won," said Justin. Then Dave decided to play a little game. He told them to say the first word that came to mind. Hear is what they came up with:
Dave: Blink 182
Chris: Poodle
Justin: Tom, Tom's cool
Dave: D'angelo
Chris:Poodle
Justin: Nekkid man
Dave:Red Hot Chile Peppers
Chris:Poodle
Justin:Half nekkid men
Dave: Eminem
Chris:Poodle
Justin: Eminem....Thank god
After that they told the TRL audience that they had a new slogan 'Tune into the VMA's to watch us lose!' Actually if they could win at least one award they would like viewers choice. So you know what that means, get out there and VOTE!!!