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The crew is back and talent auditions begin Monday: Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson will return for the second edition of Fox’s “American Idol,” joining fellow judge Simon Cowell, who had already reupped with the hit talent show. Fox also confirmed Thursday that the next version of “American Idol” will …

Intertainer goes dark: Intertainer, an online video-on-demand site, will shut down and lay off most of its remaining staff while pursuing a lawsuit against the major movie studios, its chief executive said on Thursday. The Culver City, California-based company plans to close its movie-selling service on Oct. 23 and lay …

RIAA pres Cary Sherman (see Blogcritics interview here) responds to Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro’s commentary in CNET on downloads and copyright from last month: Last month, Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro took the debate over peer-to-peer file sharing to a new level. In brief, he declared that …

Some very interesting feedback on the increased concert ticket price story we discussed yesterday. Nick Snow of Foundmusic.com points us to an article from last year: Members of the popular heavy-rock band Godsmack say they want to make tickets affordable for their current U.S. tour. But the economics of the …

HITS has the scoop: In a move being hailed by artist representatives as a significant step in the right direction, Universal Music Group has made a proactive move to change the economic relationship between artists and its record labels vis-a-vis paid music downloads. Market leader UMG has initiated a new …

Wallace and Grommit are back with Wallace & Gromit’s Cracking Contraptions — a series of ten new films featuring Aardman’s Oscar-winning pals and their dubious inventions, available from AtomFilms. The first of the series, “The Soccamatic,” is available for free viewing now. Creator Nick Park won Oscars for two Wallace …

This is not my area of expertise, but the conclusion Krueger makes appears to take for granted that decreased record sales are due to downloading, which strikes me as a rather large assumption – an assumption that I don’t believe has been substantiated as of yet: If you have gone …

Vacationing MSNBC arts and entertainment blogger Jan Herman has been following the issue of foreign aritsts being denied visas into the US of late. He lamented the exclusion of Chucho Valdes from the Latin Grammys back in September: Can refusing him a visa be anything other than the Bush Administration’s …

John Mallon discusses the Byrds and their progeny in NRO: I am in the land of giants!” Chris Hillman exclaimed as he stepped onstage at the Double Stop Music Hall in Guthrie, Okla. Hillman should know something about giants – despite his unassuming presence, he is a giant in the …

Samplers of the world rejoice: in my own mind, recognition is the key to the sampling issue. I’m very glad to hear a judge agrees: A federal judge in Nashville has issued the first major ruling in a massive lawsuit over royalties related to rap artists’ sampling of music recorded …