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| 3BALLMTY, GERARDO ORTIZ DOMINATE BILLBOARD MEXICAN MUSIC AWARDS: Young talent and a bold new musical trend dominated the second annual Billboard Mexican Music Awards, with 3BallMTY, the edgy tribal music troupe, winning nine awards, including New Artist of the Year, Artist of the Year, Duo or Group; norteño star Gerardo Ortiz followed with seven awards, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for “Entre Dios y el Diablo.” Billboard.biz |
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| A CRASH COURSE ON GOOGLE’S PRIORITIES: An earnings call — that had been scooped earlier in the day by an erroneously sent earnings release — also found Google senior VP and chief business officer Nikesh Arora talking about four trends that are reshaping the company, providing insight into Google’s priorities for the future. Billboard.biz |
CANADIAN REGULATORS DENY BCE’S $3.4 BILLION BID TO PURCHASE ASTRAL MEDIA: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has denied BCE’s bid to purchase Astral Media for $3.45 billion. Regulators said the deal “would have placed significant market power in the hands of one of the country’s largest media companies.” Astral is Canada’s largest radio broadcaster with 84 licensed radio stations in 50 markets in Canada.
Billboard.biz
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CIVIL TRIAL OPENS AGAINST BRITNEY SPEARS’ PARENTS: Britney Spears’ former confidante Sam Lutfi was made a scapegoat for her mental breakdown despite efforts to keep the singer from using drugs, his attorney told a jury Thursday in a case against the pop superstar’s parents and conservators. Lutfi, Attorney Joseph Schleimer claimed was trying to help the singer but lost control in a series of events that led to her being hospitalized and placed under a court-ordered conservator. Lutfi is seeking a share of the singer’s fortunes, claiming he had an agreement to serve as her manager in exchange for 15 percent of her earnings.
Associated Press
7DIGITAL SNAGS $10 MILLION IN FUNDING, INKS NEW DEAL FOR BLACKBERRY 10: 7digital said on Oct. 18 it had secured $10 million in financing from undisclosed corporate investors. The news coincides with 7digital’s agreement with Research in Motion to power the music service for the new BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Billboard.biz
TICKETMASTER UNDER FIRE IN THE U.K. FOR CHARGING FANS TO PRINT TICKETS: Ticketmaster is under fire for charging fans £2.50 (about $4) to print tickets at home. The fee has been attacked by fans who will now have to pay extra to receive a service they are delivering themselves. The fee charged for printing is often little less than it costs to have them delivered. Ticketmaster told consumer site Which? that the £2.50 fee covers admin costs at their end as well as the cost reading and validating tickets at the venues.
NME
MEGAUPLOAD’S NEW ENCRYPTED FILE-SHARING SITE MEGA: MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom has announced a new file-sharing site called Mega. According to Wired, this new site is i ntended to make it raid-proof by allowing subscribers to easily encrypt files using the “Advanced Encryption Standard algorithm,” and then they will be given a second unique key for the decryption of that file. The theory being that if Mega’s servers are seized or hacked, no one will be able to access the subscriber’s private information.
CNET
BARBRA STREISAND SETS HISTORIC BILLBOARD 200 CHART RECORDS: This week, Barbra Streisand becomes the first act to take multiple new albums into the Billboard 200 chart’s top 10 in every decade since the 1960s as her latest set, “Release Me,” debuts this week at No. 7. The album is also Streisand’s 32nd top 10 album, extending her lead as the woman with the most top 10 albums in history.
Billboard.biz
RIP SAX GREAT DAVID S. WARE: Saxophonist David S. Ware, a leading free jazz player during the last 20 years, died Thursday night. A statement from Patricia Parker, wife of Ware’s long-time collaborator bassist William Parker, shared on jazzcorner.com’: “Tonight, a giant has fallen. David S. Ware, the great saxophonist, died tonight, October 18, 2012. What an incredible loss! What a great musician and spirit! His tremendous sound, his spirit, his music, is irreplaceable. Music holds Us.” Ware was 62.
Ottawa Citizen
