Talk about a buried lede: The industry insiders at HITS Daily Double decide to write about Alex Zubillaga’s exit from the sinking ship that is the Warner Music Group, information that is news to a select group of people. As WMG head Edgar Bronfman’s brother-in-law, Zubillaga’s departure is a little strange, and the fact that neither Bronfman nor Lyor Cohen’s deals have been extended past their expiration a year from now is also interesting. But the real news comes a bit further down the page: When the higher-ups at WMG purchased Roadrunner Records, they “forgot” to check the contract of the band they bought the entire label for in the first place, and who they’re now trying to negotiate with in a last-ditch effort to make good on their investment.
The Daily News provides us with today’s “rumor that’s really the result of a late-night, half-drunken Google search”: “Nickelback’s alleged Christian-rock roots are the subject of Internet speculation, but the band’s antics as of late leave no doubt they’ve abandoned any puritanical practices.” More »
Nickelback is ready to shake down Warner Music Group for more money, what with the Canadian band being one of the only bands that actually sells records these days. For its part, WMG is trying to hoodwink the band into signing one of those “we own all of you” 360 deals. Wait, really? What? More »
Despite critical disdain and claims of self-plagiarizing hovering over their heads, Nickelback’s All The Right Reasons crossed the six-million-copies sold mark last week, the 15th album of the 21st century to do so and the first since Usher’s Confessions, which came out in April 2004. (Reasons was released all the way back in October 2005.)
Speaking of Nickelback, if you were already inching for the anti-depressants, the following facts from Billboard‘s ongoing sales-bonanza blowjob about the band’s latest album will finish the job that Kate started last Friday:
I don’t know if I would call teenpop singer Jordan Pruitt’s kinda-cute, sanitized-for-the-kids take on Nickelback’s “Rockstar” a parody, like she does–although I did awkwardly chuckle at the line where she says she can’t fit into any of the clothes she’s given gratis because she actually eats–but… More »
Billy Gibbons, Chad Kroeger, and Kid Rock massacre ZZ Top’s “Tush” at last night’s Billboard Music Awards. Not shown: The rest of Nickelback, who spent the performance proving that they can’t even master the task of being a semi-competent bar band. More »