Music Industry News

• Breaking silence, Adele's voice returns on television (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - The post-surgery voice of British singer Adele was heard by U.S. television audiences on Friday as she sang an impressive a cappella version of her hit song, "Rolling In The Deep."
• San Francisco to honor Tony Bennett (AP)
  
  AP - San Francisco is honoring legendary crooner Tony Bennett, whose famous song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," was recorded 50 years ago.
• Mary J. Blige rocks at concert for charity (AP)
  

  AP - Mary J. Blige brought out plenty of emotion as she performed in front of a packed house to support one of her favorite charities.

  
  
• Loss leads The Band Perry to all-genre Grammy nod (AP)
  

  AP - Losing has never felt better to The Band Perry.

  
  
• Jason Aldean looking for a 'cool' Grammys moment (AP)
  

  AP - Jason Aldean usually maintains a fairly steely demeanor, yet country music's hottest new male star admits to being more than a little excited about his three Grammy nominations.

  
  
• Bret Michaels celebrates music at Grammy concert (AP)
  

  AP - Bret Michaels isn't above stealing a Grammy.

  
  
• Michael Rapaport picks favorite music docs (AP)
  

  AP - Michael Rapaport clearly loves music. It's evident in every moment of his documentary, "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest," the actor's directing debut about the influential hip-hop group. The film includes the rift that divided the Tribe as well as the tensions that linger today, but a deep admiration for the music itself shines through.

  
  
• Rap mogul arrested on Vegas traffic, drug charges (AP)
  
  AP - Rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight is facing a March court date in Las Vegas following his arrest on a 2009 traffic warrant and a new misdemeanor drug charge, authorities said Thursday.
• LA police search for escapee who stalked Madonna (AP)
  

  AP - Police are asking for the public's help in locating a man who was convicted of threatening to kill Madonna and walked away from a Los Angeles-area mental hospital last week.

  
  
• Lady Gaga gets into social media biz with website (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Lady Gaga: Singer. Songwriter. Pioneer in meat-based attire. General curiosity. And now, social-media mogul in training.
• Domingo to open LA season in Verdi's `Due Foscari' (AP)
  
  AP - Placido Domingo will take on another baritone role when the Los Angeles Opera presents its first performances of the Verdi rarity "I Due Foscari" to open its 2012-13 season.
• Heather Mills says McCartney calls were hacked (AP)
  

  AP - She squared off against former Beatle Paul McCartney in divorce court; on Thursday, Heather Mills took on Piers Morgan at Britain's media ethics inquiry.

  
  
• Newcomers and comebacks could yield Grammy surprises (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Adele may be a safe bet to clean up at Sunday's Grammy Awards, but if music fans think that means a night of few surprises, they should ask Justin Bieber.
• Grammy spotlight shines on Adele (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - The Grammys in recent years have targeted young audiences even as older acts won key awards to the surprise of some music fans, but this Sunday's honors will shine its spotlight on Adele, whose popularity crosses all age boundaries.
• Audio app Shazam enabled for Grammys (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Grammy nominees Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Adele take note: first you could Shazam the Super Bowl, and now you can Shazam the Grammy Awards.
• Axed musicians to protest outside Grammy Awards show (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Angry musicians will protest outside Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony over a decision to cut 31 ethnic and minority musical categories from the music industry's top awards.
• Van Halen gets a "Jump"-start with Roth-fronted album (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - "A Different Kind of Truth" is a pretty ponderous name for a not very ponderous album -- Van Halen's first in 28 years with David Lee Roth as frontman. If they'd been in as cheeky a mood titling it as they were in recording it, maybe they could have gone with: "1985."
• Lana Del Rey has last laugh with top Billboard debut (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - After weeks of hype and ridicule, singer Lana Del Rey had the last laugh on Wednesday by scoring the week's highest debut on the Billboard 200 album chart with her new record "Born To Die."
• Reunited Beach Boys to perform at Grammy Awards (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Iconic 1960s band The Beach Boys will perform together for the first time in more than 20 years at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, organizers said.
• Country star Merle Haggard rehearsing again after illness (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Country music legend Merle Haggard is rehearsing with his longtime band, The Strangers, and gearing up to hit the road again after being sidelined by a bout of pneumonia and other ailments.

• China author Han Han sues over ghostwriting claims (AP)
  

  AP - Celebrity author Han Han has filed a defamation lawsuit in Shanghai against a writer who alleges some of Han's prolific works were penned by others.

  
  
• Review: Netflix and Hulu's new scripted originals (AP)
  

  AP - Within just over a week, Netflix and Hulu are both debuting their first stabs at original scripted programming.

  
  
• NYPD boss' son returns to TV show after rape claim (AP)
  

  AP - The New York City police commissioner's TV host son resumed his morning show duties at "Good Day New York" on Friday, telling viewers it had been a tough couple of weeks but he was ready to get back to work after being cleared of the prospect of criminal charges of raping a woman he met for a drink.

  
  
• Lawyers: Reality TV producer hopes to avoid trial (AP)
  

  AP - Lawyers for a U.S. reality television producer facing trial for allegedly murdering his wife at a Mexican resort said Thursday they hope to persuade a judge to drop the charges and free their client.

  
  
• Jersey City clears 'Jersey Shore' spinoff (AP)
  
  AP - Jersey City taxpayers won't be footing the bill for police assigned to security for the women of "Jersey Shore" and all the attention that comes with them.
• TV anchor recovering from dog bite during segment (AP)
  
  AP - A television anchor who was bitten in the face by an 85-pound Argentine Mastiff during a live broadcast was released from a hospital on Thursday.
• "Home Front" debuts at top of Bestsellers List (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - "Home Front" soared straight to the spot of the Publishers Weekly best-sellers list on Thursday.
• Hanna berates Ohio legislators on exotic pet laws (AP)
  
  AP - Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna criticized Ohio lawmakers Thursday for not yet passing a bill to regulate exotic animals, months after authorities shot dozens of lions, tigers, bears and other wild creatures let loose by their suicidal owner.
• John Voight, Elliott Gould join Showtime pilot (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Jon Voight and Elliott Gould have joined the cast of the upcoming Showtime drama pilot "Ray Donovan," the network said Thursday.
• "Breaking Bad" creator re-ups with Sony Pictures TV (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan has extended his contract with the studio that produces the show, Sony Pictures Television, in a deal that will take him through its fifth and final season.
• Oprah to interview "Help" stars on OWN Oscar special (Reuters)
  

  Reuters - Oprah Winfrey is reviving her Oscar tradition on her network.

  
  
• Stable "Idol" wins night for Fox (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - "American Idol," which stabilized last week after a period of declining ratings, stayed on an even keel Wednesday night and pushed Fox to an overall win for the night, according to preliminary numbers.
• Roland Martin to Meet with GLAAD Over Super Bowl Tweets (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - CNN commentator Roland Martin has agreed to meet with GLAAD following his suspension Wednesday for tweets during the Super Bowl that the group and others denounced as homophobic.
• U.S. Muslim man pleads guilty to threatening "South Park" show (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - A Muslim convert from New York pleaded guilty on Thursday for his role in threatening the writers of the satirical "South Park" television show for their depiction of the Prophet Mohammad and to other criminal charges, the U.S. Justice Department said.
• A fairy-tale time for 'Once' star Lana Parrilla (AP)
  

  AP - Lana Parrilla, whose dual roles on the fantasy drama "Once Upon a Time" include the fearsome Evil Queen, wasn't satisfied just knowing her character was evil.

  
  
• CNN suspends Martin for 'offensive' comments (AP)
  

  AP - CNN suspended political analyst Roland Martin on Wednesday for "offensive" tweets during the Super Bowl that some critics said were anti-gay.

  
  
• Dr. House hangs up his Fox TV stethoscope (AP)
  

  AP - Fox's medical drama "House" is ending its eight-year run this season.

  
  
• "American Idol" fall girl is fine (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - "American Idol" contestant Symone Black might have fallen, but she got back up.
• TV network to air documentary of doomed Italian ship (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - The story of capsized Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia is making its way to television next week in the first U.S. documentary about the modern-day Titanic disaster.
• "Jersey Shore" spinoff finds a home (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - "Jersey Shore" star Snooki has finally found a place to hang her, um, poof when her spinoff series begins filming.

• Melissa McCarthy comedy pilot picked up by CBS (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - CBS has officially picked up a comedy pilot from "Mike & Molly" star Melissa McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone -- and Falcone has been newly cast in the lead role.
• Sirius to add fewer subscribers in 2012 (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Sirius XM Radio forecast lower subscriber growth than some analysts had expected, saying customer losses from last month's price increase would slightly offset the benefits of increasing U.S. auto sales.
• Big media buy back shares with cable TV cash (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Big U.S. media companies bought back record amounts of their own shares in the last year, with cash generated by cable television networks that drew strong viewership and advertising dollars despite the economic uncertainty.
• NBCU airing late-night encore of "Smash" (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - NBCUniversal cable networks will join together tonight for a late-night encore of NBC's new musical drama "Smash," following up on its strong debut Monday.
• ESPN falls to third in online sports site rankings (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Yahoo Sports remained the most popular U.S. online sports site in January, but the most eye-catching news was ESPN.com falling to third place behind FoxSports.com.
• Billy Connolly to play dwarf warrior in "The Hobbit" (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Peter Jackson has chosen Billy Connolly to play a great dwarf warrior in New Line's two "The Hobbit" movies, thus completing the casting of both films, the director said Wednesday.
• Univision, ABC seek to launch Hispanic news network (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - A joint venture by ABC and Univision to launch an English-language cable news channel catering to the growing Hispanic market is expected to launch before the fall election, individuals with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.
• Viacom, Taylor Swift partner for "Hunger Games" launch (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Viacom and Taylor Swift have partnered for MTV's first global music video premiere, presenting the debut of Swift's "Safe & Sound" music video from "The Hunger Games" soundtrack across the Viacom Music Groups' many channels and platforms.
• CNN suspends Roland Martin over anti-gay tweets (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Cable TV network CNN said on Wednesday it has suspended commentator Roland Martin over a series of Twitter remarks during the Super Bowl game that offended America's gay community.
• Time Warner beats forecasts, shares up (Reuters)
  

  Reuters - Time Warner Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by its cable networks and the last installment of its Harry Potter movie franchise.

  
  
• Washington Post to reduce newsroom headcount: memo (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - The Washington Post Co will offer voluntary buyout to some of its newsroom employees as it seeks to reduce headcount and save costs, an internal memo showed.
• Berlin film festival aims for cutting edge in 2012 (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - The Berlin film festival, which last year set Iranian drama "A Separation" on the path to global fame, has selected an edgier line-up than normal in 2012 with several up-and-coming directors in the main competition.
• Meryl Streep Oscar email angers voters, but it's legal (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - A Weinstein Company email that appears to skirt AMPAS campaign rules by using a third party to reach Oscar voters has stirred up anger among Academy members and rival campaigners.
• News Corp reaches more phone hacking settlements (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - A further 15 politicians, sportsmen and celebrities reached settlements with the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp on Wednesday over a phone hacking scandal that has rocked his global media empire.
• Amazon, Viacom close to Web video deal (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Amazon.com Inc is about to announce a Web video deal with Viacom Inc in what sources said was one of the last steps in a plan to launch a standalone subscription service to compete with Netflix Inc.
• Sundance film "Bachelorette" picked up by Weinsteins (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - The Weinstein Company's new video on demand label, Radius-TWC, has picked up "Bachelorette," a Sundance movie starring Kirsten Dunst, the company's co-presidents, Tom Quinn and Jason Janego, said Tuesday.
• Golden Globes trial: judge pushes settlement (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - A U.S. district court judge pushed Dick Clark Productions and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to end their bitter legal scuffle and reach a settlement.
• McClatchy ad rev decline slows, shares jump (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co's quarterly results handily beat expectations, as the pace of decline in advertising revenue reduced sharply and expenses fell about 8 percent.
• Wolfe Releasing acquires Sundance movie "Mosquita y Mari" (Reuters)
  
  Reuters - Wolfe Releasing has picked up North American rights to "Mosquita y Mari," a coming-of-age tale that focuses on a love between two Latinas in Los Angeles, Wolfe said Tuesday.
• MGM gets $500 mln loan to expand film, TV slate (Reuters)
  

  Reuters - Metro-Goldwyn Mayer said its lenders agreed to loan the studio $500 million to retire debt it took on when it emerged from bankruptcy about a year ago and to expand its film and TV production.