Musicmaker Inks Licensing Deal With Death Row

Label Musicmaker.com has signed an exclusive, three-year licensing deal with Death Row Records. Material from the rap label--whose acts include Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur--is available at Musicmaker for custom compilations and digital downloads. Stock in Musicmaker--which also has deals with EMI Recorded Music, Zomba, and others--closed yesterday up 1.5% to $4.22. Musicmaker and EMI were hit last month with a class-action lawsuit alleging that the companies did not disclose to investors certain elements of their licensing deal in an effort to inflate Musicmaker's stock (Bulletin, Feb. 28).


Santana Still On A ' Supernatural' Run

Showing no signs of losing its commercial momentum, Santana's "Supernatural" stays No. 1 on The Billboard 200 this week, selling 343,000 units, according to SoundScan. The Arista album, which has sold 7.4 million units in the U.S. since its release, once again fends off a couple of strong debuts: George Strait's "Latest Greatest Straitest Hits" (MCA/Nashville), which enters at No. 2, selling 182,000 units; and Black Rob's "Life Story" (Bad Boy/Arista), No. 3, 178,000 units.


Loudeye Gets $72 Million; HOB Files For IPO

Seattle-based Loudeye Technologies Inc. raised $72 million in an initial public offering yesterday in which its stock jumped 150%. Loudeye, which offered 4.5 million shares at $16 apiece, saw its stock trade as high as $54 before ending the day at $40. Formerly known as encoding.com, the company converts sound and video files into digital formats for streaming and posting on the Web. It lists Sony Music Entertainment and BMG Entertainment among its customers. In other news, HOB Entertainment Inc., operator of the House of Blues clubs and other venues, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to reportedly raise as much as $100 million in an IPO. The co-lead underwriters of the offering are Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Acting as co-managers are Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Prudential Securities. In addition, InterTrust Technologies Corp. has filed a registration statement to sell up to 6.5 million shares in a secondary stock offering. It is expected that the company will offer 3 million shares; the remainder will be sold by existing stockholders.
--Brian Garrity, N.Y.


L.A.-Based Firm To Begin Releasing DVD Music Titles

Los Angeles-based 5.1 Entertainment Group will begin releasing DVD Music titles on March 28. The releases, which feature 6-channel surround sound, will have music in the AC3 and DTS formats and play on existing DVD players; DVD Audio will be added as soon as the industry adopts a copyright protection standard for that format. The initial titles, released on 5.1 Entertainment Group's Silverline label, will be jazz and classical releases. In June, 5.1 will introduce pop titles via its immergent imprint. Although both labels will sign artists, the first releases will be compilations of licensed product, including material from EMI Special Products. Licensed artists will include the Beach Boys, Pat Benatar, Billy Idol, Huey Lewis & the News, and Nat King Cole.
--Melinda Newman, L.A.


SFX Forms Collectibles Unit

SFX Entertainment has launched a music memorabilia unit, as part of its Bill Graham Presents division. SFX Collectibles will sell original memorabilia over the Internet at www.sfx.com/collectibles and will have a personalized auction site through Yahoo!, at http://auctions.yahoo.com. Items to be sold in coming weeks will include posters, postcards, and tickets from such acts as Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, Cream, Donovan, the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller, and Miles Davis. Prices will be $100-$5,000. SFX recently announced plans to merge with Clear Channel Communications (Bulletin, March 1). The New York-based promoter acquired Bill Graham Presents in January 1998.


AOL Test Hits Snag

Nullsoft, the America Online-owned umbrella for Spinner and WinAmp, was forced to terminate a test of a "Napster-type" music-copying software on Tuesday, after the test site's address was listed on Slashdot.org without authorization. Nullsoft put up the test site for the software, called Gnutella, with restricted access, but the test site was overrun when Slashdot.org listed the address on its site. Nullsoft removed the page within hours. Napster, which allows users to copy and swap music files, has been sued by the RIAA for alleged copyright infringement.
--Eileen Fitzpatrick, L.A.


Austrian Music Community Protests New Government

More than 500 members of the Austrian music community have signed a petition protesting the arts policies of the country's new government, which includes members of the far-right Freedom Party. The petition--signed by artists Georg Danzer and Kurt Ostbahn, along with jazz and classical musicians, composers, DJs, and promoters--says the Freedom Party is "promoting a concept of art and culture driven by populism and nationalism."
Musicologist Bernhard Guenther, who organized the petition, says the Freedom Party has criticized artists for taking a political stance and has said that artists involved in anti-government protests should no longer receive state subsidies. Many musicians are also unhappy with a Freedom Party proposal to require state-owned top-40 station Oe3 to play more Austrian music. "It's like a banana republic. It's very provincial," Guenther says.
--Susan L. Schuhmayer, Vienna


European Artists' Body To Bow

Key executives from European artists' organizations and performing rights societies are to meet April 8 in Oslo to form the International Federation of Recording Artists (IFRA). "Our aim is to represent as many artists as possible, to conduct sensible discussions with major record companies and music publishers, in order for [artists] to better protect their rights," says Casino Steel, chairman of Norwegian artists' association GramArt, which conceived IFRA. Initial countries to be represented are the U.K., Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, and Norway. A head office will be set up in London.
--Kai R. Lofthus, Oslo


Museum Sets Launch Date

The Experience Music Project, an interactive museum in Seattle, has set June 23 as its opening date (Bulletin, Jan. 7, 1999). Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the $100 million, 140,000-square-foot museum--located in the Seattle Center--will include performance venues, an interactive futuristic studio, and a ride-like exhibit. Opening festivities will feature music performances by acts yet to be announced, films, workshops, and tours. The museum expects more than 1 million visitors in its first year.


Enrique Iglesias Splits From Manager

Interscope artist Enrique Iglesias and manager Fernn Mrtinez are parting ways. The split is amicable, according to a source, who adds that the Firm has the inside track to sign Iglesias.
--John Lannert BMG


Central Europe Names New-Media VP

Christophe Waignier, VP of BMG France, has been promoted to the newly created position of VP, new media, for Central Europe. In his new role, based mainly in London, Waignier reports to Richard Griffiths, chairman of BMG U.K. and Ireland and executive VP of BMG Central Europe. Waignier, who was previously with Warner France and leading French commercial TV channel TF1, joined BMG France in 1995.
--Tom Ferguson, London


MP3.com Invests In Audio Software Firm

MP3.com has invested in Voquette Inc., a developer of software that manages and records streamed audio content in multiple formats for playback on portable devices. As part of the deal, Voquette software will be distributed at MP3.com and MP3 artists will be promoted at Voquette.com. Other investors in San Mateo, Calif.-based Voquette include Philips Electronics, Citigroup Investments, and 21st Century Internet Venture Partners.


Entertainment Blvd. In Video Pact With Sony

Entertainment Boulevard has pacted with Sony Music Entertainment to stream new music videos at its vidnet.com Web site, effective immediately. Sony will receive a licensing fee for its videos, as well as an equity stake in Entertainment Boulevard. The deal is similar to an agreement Entertainment Boulevard inked with EMI Recorded Music two weeks ago (Bulletin, March 3).
--Melinda Newman, L.A.


Breaking Records Names GM/VP

Hootie & the Blowfish's Atlantic-distributed label, Breaking Records, has named Max Burgos, formerly of London Records and Grand Royal, as GM/VP of A&R. He replaces John Caldwell, who is now managing Breaking act Jump Little Children.
--Melinda Newman, L.A.


What's On

Late-night tonight: Savage Garden (on Leno), System Of A Down (Conan O'Brien). Daytime tomorrow: the Chieftains (Donny & Marie), Irish Tenors (Regis & Kathie Lee).