The independent hip-hop festival Paid Dues has added national performance dates to this year’s series. Promoted by Murs 3:16, Guerilla Union and SanDisk, the festival recently wrapped up its third run in Southern California.
Stops in New York, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Denver and San Francisco are set to take place throughout the month of June, with performances by Rakim, De La Soul, Little Brother, Kidz In The Hall, Murs & 9th Wonder and Buckshot of Boot Camp Clik on the bill. Tickets go on sale April 19.
The new Paid Dues dates are:
June 4: New York (Nokia Theatre)
June 7: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Club Cinema)
June 13: Denver (Fillmore Auditorium)
June 14: Berkeley, Calif. (Berkeley Community Theatre)
— Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.
Hardcore act Hatebreed has signed a new deal with Koch Records. Under the terms of the deal, Koch will be the worldwide distributor of a live DVD, a live album and record of covers.
First up is the live DVD, shot at Harpo’s in Detroit in March 2007. “The DVD is great because it really showcases a new era, the new lineup of the band, and how hard we’ve been working,” frontman Jamey Jasta tells Billboard.com.
When the band returns from the Jagermeister Music Tour this summer, its plan to record its next studio album. “The beauty of the deal is that we’re totally free to do our next studio album with anyone we choose — whether it be my label, Koch or a major,” Jasta says. “We’re speaking to anybody and everybody.”
— Leah Kaufmann, N.Y.
Def Jam continues it all-out mobile push with a deal to embed content from multiple artists from its roster on a Walkman-branded Sony-Ericsson phone.
The W910i, distributed only in the U.K., will feature video and audio content from such artists as Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Nas starting this week. British retailer Carphone Warehouse has the exclusive on the white-and-gold device.
Def Jam has several other mobile initiatives underway, including the Def Jam Mobile subscription service for ringtones and other content through partner Flycell, a Def Jam streaming radio feed expected to go live later this spring with partner mSpot, and a branded mobile Web site of its own.
— Antony Bruno, Denver