Universal, CinemaNow link for online movies: CinemaNow Inc. on Monday said Universal Studios will make several films, such as “The Scorpion King” available at its Web site, marking only the second deal linking the Web distributor with a major Hollywood studio. U.S. moviemakers, concerned with digital piracy of films and …

Harry Kim’s new “Marketing and Vine” coverage for AdAge begins with this overview: The buttoned-up world of brand marketing and the freewheeling entertainment industry are not the most natural bedfellows. While hitching a brand wagon to a celebrity has always had appeal, most marketers have trodden warily in their relationships …

PW reports: Sales in both the adult and children’s segments declined in August, and sales fell in seven of the 11 categories tracked by the AAP. According to the association’s monthly sales estimates, adult hardcover sales were down 8% in the month, while trade paperback sales were off 2.5%. Children’s …

We mentioned that there was a tentative deal reached between the “small webcasters” and the RIAA regarding royalty payments over the weekend, but that at the last moment SOMETHING happened to jeopardize the deal: Under an agreement reached previously, royalty money would be distributed directly to musicians, rather than going …

This article in the NY Times says very little about Cleveland, but the market clearly wasn’t big enough for two alt weeklies. Free Times’ competitor, Scene, has been around for 30 years, and there was precious little to distinguish between the two publications. Stung by brutal competition and an even …

Poison drummer Rikki Rockett is a middle-aged man who wears makeup, plays hair metal, and paints toilet seats in hotel rooms throughout the land. I have nothing bad to say about a man who cares so little about appearing ridiculous. I am continually fascinated by the sociological anomalies created by …

500 photos of the Beatles have been found in the archives of a Scottish university, where they have been languishing for over 30 years: Five hundred photographs of the Beatles, many of them unpublished, have been found in the archives of a Scottish university, where they have been gathering dust …

I first met Carla Olson and her band the Textones in the office of the LA-area ski resort Goldmine in the mid-’80s. The late, great drummer/singer Phil Seymour was in the band at that time and I was a huge fan of his as well. We were there bidding on …

US seeks multilateral support for unilateralism: In an address before the U.N. General Assembly Monday, President Bush called upon the international community to support his “U.S. Does Whatever It Wants” plan, which would permit the U.S. to take any action it wishes anywhere in the world at any time. “As …

Dispute between labels and artists may sink deal: Small Internet broadcasters and the music industry have agreed on a last-minute royalty-payment plan but a dispute between musicians and record labels threatens to scuttle the deal, sources said Sunday. Two weeks before “Webcasters” are due to begin royalty payments to the …