Green Day not liable for using artist's work at concerts

By Jonathan Stempel

Wed Aug 7, 2013 1:16pm EDT

n">(Reuters) - Dereck Seltzer wasn't happy when he learned that Green Day used his artwork without permission as a video backdrop at its concerts. But a federal appeals court on Wednesday said the popular rock band didn't violate his rights.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California, in what it called a "close and difficult case," can make it easier for performers to incorporate works of art to enhance the experience of concert fans, so long as they don't simply copy the artwork or diminish its value.

Seltzer, a Los Angeles illustrator, in 2003 created "Scream Icon," an abstract image of an anguished, contorted face that has been used on posters and plastered on walls as street art.

During a 2009 tour, Green Day, whose lead singer is Billie Joe Armstrong and which has sold more than 70 million records, used a version of the artwork covered by a red "spray-painted" cross in a video backdrop for its song "East Jesus Nowhere."

The version had been adapted from a photo of a weathered and torn copy of Seltzer's work posted on a brick wall on a corner of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Seltzer sued after rejecting a proposed settlement that included concert tickets. But a federal district judge in Los Angeles in 2011 rejected his claims of copyright infringement and violations of the Lanham Act, a federal trademark law.

In upholding that decision, Circuit Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote for the 9th Circuit that Green Day's use of "Scream Icon" was fair, and was "transformative and not overly commercial" despite making few alterations.

"With the spray-painted cross, in the context of a song about the hypocrisy of religion, surrounded by religious iconography, (the) video backdrop using Scream Icon conveys new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings that are plainly distinct from those of the original piece," O'Scannlain wrote for a three-judge panel.

O'Scannlain said Seltzer's testimony that the value of his work wasn't affected, and the absence of the work from Green Day merchandise and promotional material, also weighed in the band's favor.

The 9th Circuit did overturn a $201,000 award of attorney's fees to Green Day. Even though Seltzer lost, it said, he had not been "objectively unreasonable" by suing.

Nathan Canby, a lawyer at Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman representing Seltzer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Peter Anderson, a lawyer for Green Day, did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The case is Seltzer v Green Day Inc et al, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-56573.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' tops Billboard album, digital charts

Singer Robin Thicke performs on NBC's ''Today'' show in midtown New York, July 30, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Carlo Allegri

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES | Wed Aug 7, 2013 3:55pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Robin Thicke landed his first No. 1 album on Wednesday as his latest record, "Blurred Lines," topped the Billboard 200 album chart, led by the single of the same name that has become one of this summer's biggest hits.

Thicke's sixth studio album sold 177,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. The album features collaborations with rappers Kendrick Lamar, T.I. and singer/producer Pharrell Williams.

The album's lead single, "Blurred Lines," featuring T.I. and Williams, spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this summer.

Thicke, 36, son of Canadian actor Alan Thicke, first emerged a decade ago with the album "A Beautiful World" and reached a new level this year with the catchy, raunchy hit "Blurred Lines," which also yielded an eyebrow-raising, nudity-filled video.

The single also climbed back to No. 1 on Billboard's Digital Songs chart this week after being knocked off by One Direction's "Best Song Ever" last week. "Blurred Lines" sold 400,000 downloads this week, bringing its total digital tally to 4.2 million since its release in March.

Rock band Five Finger Death Punch entered the chart at No. 2 this week with its latest album, "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell: Volume 1," selling 112,000 copies. It came ahead of rapper Jay Z's "Magna Carta ... Holy Grail," which dropped one spot to No. 3.

Other new entries in the top 10 on this week's Billboard 200 album chart include indie rapper Tech N9ne's "Something Else" at No. 4 and boy band Backstreet Boys at No. 5 with "In A World Like This."

Backstreet Boys, one of the biggest U.S. pop bands of the 1990s, are staging a comeback with all five original members and embarked on a world tour with another 1990s boy band, New Kids on the Block, in 2012.

"In a World Like This" is Backstreet Boys' ninth album to make its debut in the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

Pop rockers Emblem3, one of the runners-up on Fox reality talent show "The X Factor" last year, entered the Billboard album chart at No. 7 with their debut record, "Nothing to Lose."

Overall album sales in the week ending August 4 totaled 5.1 million, down 3 percent from the comparable week in 2012.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Bill Trott)

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Country music legend 'Cowboy' Jack Clement dies at 82

Country music artist Jack Clement sings a tribute to the late country music legend Johnny Cash, during the Cash tribute concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, in this November 10, 2003, file photo.

Credit: Reuters/John Sommers II/Files

By Tim Ghianni

NASHVILLE | Thu Aug 8, 2013 11:15pm EDT

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - "Cowboy" Jack Clement, who inspired pioneering rock'n'rollers and classic country musicians, sometimes while prancing around the music studio in his bathrobe and playing the ukulele, died on Thursday at his home in Nashville. He was 82.

Clement died after a long bout with liver cancer, just months before he was to have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, which confirmed his death.

Despite his nickname, which was a holdover from an old radio skit rather than anything to do with horses and six-shooters, Clement actually favored Hawaiian print shirts and was as far removed as possible from actually being a cowboy.

While he was not a star himself, Clement inspired the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and even U2, during his long career in music.

"He had a role in two really important changes in American culture," said Michael McCall, a writer and editor at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Clement played a large role in the birth of rock'n'roll when he was hired as a producer and engineer at Sun Records, where he worked with music greats such as Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Charlie Rich.

"He was there when Jerry Lee walked in, and who knows what wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been there," said McCall.

It was also at Sun that the young engineer wrote "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" and "Guess Things Happen That Way," two songs that a young rocker from east Arkansas named Johnny Cash turned into No. 1 country and Top Twenty pop hits in 1958.

The friendship between the two men was deep and special.

"Cash liked working with him because they had so much fun," said McCall.

Clement then moved to Nashville, where he continued writing songs and worked as an engineer, producer, recording studio owner, music publisher and as an artist, leaving an indelible mark on the city.

It was in Nashville that Clement was the first to record Charley Pride, a black singer, which helped desegregate country music and began an association that lasted 13 albums.

Clement also had three Nashville studios and a publishing company. Among his genre-busting achievements was producing Jennings' Dreaming My Dreams, one of the most acclaimed albums to be released during the 1970s heyday of the so-called Outlaws on Music Row.

Merle Haggard, Ray Stevens and a host of country luminaries liked to record at Clement's studios.

But he would step out far from country to work with polka bands and gritty singer-songwriters like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt. He even produced tracks for U2's Rattle and Hum, a popular tribute to American music in 1988.

McCall noted that Clement had a knack for spotting "game-changing artists" - in the likes of Lewis, Cash, Pride and Williams - and "bringing them to the public."

While the list of musical achievements spans more than five decades, it could easily have been overshadowed by Clement himself.

"He was a musical mastermind, but he brought this sense of fun and mischief (into the studio)," McCall said. "He danced around in his bathrobe and played the ukulele. He would do anything spontaneously to keep the mood light and fun and to keep his sense of joy about music."

Guitarist Scotty Moore, who worked with Clement at Sun, lamented his friend's passing.

"He was just an all-around fine fellow for me," said Moore from his home outside Nashville. "He was just Jack."

(Editing by Brendan O'Brien and Lisa Shumaker)

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Rapper 50 Cent pleads not guilty to domestic violence charge

Rapper Curtis ''50 Cent'' Jackson arrives for the premiere of the movie '2 Guns' in New York, July 29, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Carlo Allegri

LOS ANGELES | Mon Aug 5, 2013 3:29pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. rapper 50 Cent pleaded not guilty on Monday to allegedly kicking his ex-girlfriend and a judge ordered him to stay away from the woman and get rid of his guns.

The Grammy-winning rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, wore a suit and stood silently at the hearing stemming from a June incident at the condominium of his former girlfriend, model Daphne Narvaez, who is the mother of his child.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins ordered 50 Cent to have no contact with Narvaez and to turn over any firearms he might have to police or sell them.

The 38-year-old rapper was charged last month with one count of misdemeanor domestic violence and four counts of vandalism after he allegedly kicked open a door at Narvaez's condo in the Toluca Lake community of Los Angeles, kicked her and destroyed a piece of furniture, a chandelier and a television. The property damage was valued at $7,100.

The rapper faces a maximum penalty of five years in jail and $46,000 in fines if convicted on all counts.

The city attorney's office has said that the altercation started over an allegation of relationship Narvaez had.

50 Cent shot to fame with his 2003 debut studio album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," which has sold about 15 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling rap albums of all time.

He also starred in the 2005 semi-autobiographical film of the same name. He has had roles in the 2006 war drama "Home of the Brave" and the upcoming crime-thriller "The Frozen Ground," which stars Nicolas Cage and John Cusack.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Bill Trott)

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After four decades, Black Sabbath tops U.S. album chart

Original members of the rock band Black Sabbath, Bill Ward (L), Ozzy Osborne (2nd L), Geezer Butler and Tony Lommi (R), announce their reunion during a news conference at the Whiskey A Go Go, the club where the band first performed 41 years ago, in Los Angeles, California November 11, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/David McNew

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES | Wed Jun 19, 2013 3:23pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran heavy-metal band Black Sabbath landed its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, more than four decades after the rockers debuted their first album in the United States.

"13," the 19th studio album from Black Sabbath, sold 155,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, knocking last week's No. 1 album by Queens of the Stone Age off the top spot on the weekly U.S. album chart.

Black Sabbath, an English rock band fronted by lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, released their debut self-titled album in North America in 1970, but were never able to notch the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart in a career spanning 43 years.

"The news is absolutely amazing - we couldn't have imagined this would happen," guitarist and founding member Tony Iommi said in a statement. Osbourne added, "to finally have our first No. 1 album in the U.S. is another incredible milestone for Black Sabbath."

French electronic duo Daft Punk held steady for the second week at No. 2 with "Random Access Memories," which has sold 543,000 copies since its release on May 18.

Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience" saw a surge in sales last week after the album was discounted for Father's Day, with 35,000 copies sold and climbing from No. 9 to No. 3.

Country band Florida Georgia Line also benefited from Father's Day promotion sale prices, as their album "Here's to the Good Times" climbing back into the top 10 at No. 5.

Black Sabbath was one of five new debut albums in the top ten this week.

Boy band Big Time Rush came in at No. 4 with "24/Seven," alternative-rockers Goo Goo Dolls landed at No. 8 with their latest record "Magnetic," and movie score maestro Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for Superman movie "Man of Steel" flew into No. 9.

Comedy trio The Lonely Island, fronted by former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Andy Samberg, rounded out the top 10 with their latest collection of parodies, "The Wack Album."

Overall album sales totaled 5.25 million for the week ending June 16, down 10 percent from the comparable sales week in 2012, according to Billboard.

Next week's chart is likely to see a high debut from rapper Kanye West, who released his latest record "Yeezus" this week and is currently at the top of the iTunes album chart.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Jackie Frank)

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Rolling Stones release back catalogue on iTunes

Mick Jagger (2nd L) performs with Ronnie Wood (rear L-R), Keith Richards and Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones at a concert during the band's ''50 and Counting'' tour in Chicago May 28, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/John Gress

LONDON | Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:39pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones released a career-spanning digitally re-mastered back catalogue on Apple Inc's iTunes Store on Wednesday as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations.

The new iTunes release chronicles the British group's entire oeuvre, from their introductory 1963 cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" to last year's Greatest Hits collection "GRRR!", their record label Universal Music said on Wednesday.

The Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts - emerged alongside the Beatles in the early 1960s.

They became one of the most successful groups in rock and roll history with hits such as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Sympathy for the Devil".

The new releases have been re-mastered exclusively for iTunes and will feature all the band's classic studio albums as well as live albums and compilations.

In addition, the complete catalogue is available in two parts on iTunes, spanning the periods 1963-1971 and 1971-2013.

The Stones kicked off their biggest tour in six years in Los Angeles last month after a sell-out mini-tour of Europe and the United States last year.

The veteran rockers are also set to headline Britain's biggest musical festival, Glastonbury, for the first time on June 29, and perform in London's Hyde Park for the first time since a tribute concert to founder member and guitarist Brian Jones 44 years ago, two days after his death.

"It seems like yesterday," Richards told the BBC in April. "It's going to be a great summer, man ... All the gigs we haven't done or wanted to redo are popping up."

They last went on the road for their "A Bigger Bang" tour from 2005 to 2007, playing 144 shows around the world and grossing more than $550 million, one of the world's most lucrative rock tours.

The Stones have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and toured 40 times, mostly across Europe and North America in the 1960s and 1970s.

Live performances have emerged as the major money earner in the music business as record sales go digital, with growing numbers of veteran acts returning to the stage and attracting well-heeled, ageing fans willing to pay high ticket prices.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Jay Z's million-album Samsung sale unlikely to count for charts

Rapper Shawn ''Jay-Z'' Carter attends 'The Great Gatsby' world premiere at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York May 1, 2013

Credit: Reuters/Andrew Kelly

By Eric Kelsey

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jun 17, 2013 7:01pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Jay Z's upcoming studio album will go to a million users of Samsung smartphones three days before its official release in a promotional deal, but the distribution is unlikely to count toward official sales figures, an industry expert said on Monday.

Jay Z, 43, announced on Sunday in a three-minute television commercial during the telecast of basketball's NBA Finals that his latest album "Magna Carter Holy Grail" will be released on July 4 exclusively to 1 million users of Samsung smartphones who had downloaded a special app. That is three days before its public release.

On Monday, the rapper said the record was "platinum," posting on Twitter, "If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard (magazine) doesn't report it, did it happen? Ha...Platinum!!!"

For official counting purposes the answer is "no," said David Bakula, an analyst for Nielsen Entertainment, whose Nielsen SoundScan figures are used to rank Billboard's weekly music chart.

Although the rapper's latest album is expected top the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart in its first week, bulk sales that are given away are not counted in total sales, according to Billboard's policy, even if the rapper and his record label are paid for the records.

"The bottom line is they're getting paid on a million albums," Bakula told Reuters. "From what Billboard considers chart-eligible, we don't count free-to-consumers (albums)."

In the commercial for "Magna Carter Holy Grail," Jay Z is seen in a recording studio discussing the new album, release date and the deal with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

The decision to distribute the album to Samsung users three days before the record becomes available to the general public on July 7 may come as a blow to Samsung's chief smartphone rival, Apple Inc, makers of iPhones and music distribution service iTunes.

This is the first solo album since 2009's "The Blueprint 3" for Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.

The rapper last collaborated with rapper Kanye West on the 2011 album "Watch the Throne," which topped album charts and was accompanied by a sold-out world tour.

Jay Z will begin a "Legends of Summer" North American stadium tour with pop singer Justin Timberlake on July 17, after featuring on Timberlake's hit song "Suit & Tie."

Samsung holds the largest global market share among smartphone makers with 32.7 percent. Apple is in second with 17.3 percent. Samsung shipped 70.7 million phones in the first quarter this year.

"Magna Carta Holy Grail" will be released by Universal Music Group's Roc-A-Fella Records. Universal is owned by France's Vivendi SA.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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