Jumat, 03 Oktober 2008

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Sarah Palin, Joe Biden Come Out Fighting -- With Few Gaffes -- In VP Debate

Posted: 03 Oct 2008 09:54 AM PDT

Republican governor peppered answers with folksiness, while Democratic senator was restrained.
By Gil Kaufman


Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin at the vice-presidential debate on Thursday
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

If you tuned in hoping for a messy train wreck or an embarrassing blunder in the first and only vice-presidential debate Thursday night (October 2), you were likely disappointed. But if you stuck around to watch Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joseph Biden mix it up for 90 minutes of much harder jabs at each other than the top of their respective tickets doled out last week, you got a good sense of why each candidate made the cut.

Despite all the bluster before the debate about how first-term governor Palin was untested and was potentially headed for an embarrassing showing following a series of gaffe-filled network interviews, the self-proclaimed "hockey mom" from Wasilla, Alaska, held her own against 35-year Senate veteran Biden.

She opened the debate at St. Louis' Washington University by greeting Biden center stage and disarmingly asking, "Can I call you Joe?" Then the former sportscaster, while sometimes light on specifics, peppered her responses with folksy phrases like "darn right" and "Joe six-pack," exuding a small-town American pride while looking directly into the camera and, at a few points, winking while making a point as she threw a few sharp elbows at the Democratic ticket.

Biden, who came in with decades of experience debating the issues but also with a reputation for long-windedness and letting his emotions get the best of him, also defied expectations, giving relatively succinct, straightforward answers to questions on the economy, foreign policy the role of the vice president and Iraq.

He seemed at times amused by Palin's criticisms of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's stance on the war in Iraq, one of the major topics of the night, occasionally smiling at her statements, but never directly attacking her lack of experience on foreign policy but instead focusing his fire on Republican candidate Senator John McCain's voting record in the Senate.

When it came down to the main differences between them, Palin said her ticket was looking forward, while the Democrats were busy looking over their shoulders.

"Enough is enough with looking backward and playing the blame game," Palin said in response to a question about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. "There's a time, too, when Americans are gonna say, 'Enough is enough,' with your ticket constantly looking backwards and pointing fingers and doing the blame game. There have been huge blunders in the war, there have been huge blunders throughout this administration, as there are with any administration, but for a ticket that wants to talk about change and looking into the future, there's just too much finger-pointing backwards to ever make us believe that that's where you're going."

The debate opened with a question about the most pressing issue of the day, the $700 billion financial-bailout bill, currently held up in Congress. Biden took the opportunity to lay out Obama's plan for the bill, while also hitting McCain for changing his stance on the state of the economy. "It was two Mondays ago John McCain said at 9 o'clock in the morning that the fundamentals of the economy were strong," Biden said. "Two weeks before that, he said George - we've made great economic progress under George Bush's policies. Nine o'clock, the economy was strong. Eleven o'clock that same day, two Mondays ago, John McCain said that we have an economic crisis. That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch."

Decrying the partisanship that has stopped the bill from advancing, Palin hit back that Obama had voted along party lines 96 percent of the time while in the Senate, saying that Americans are tired of that "old politics as usual."

Biden and Palin had a vigorous debate about economic issues, fundamentally disagreeing about what is needed to get the country back on its feet, with Biden repeatedly pointing to what he said was a $4 billion tax cut for ExxonMobil as proof that McCain was continuing the corporate-handout policies of the Bush administration. Palin hit back that Obama's tax plan would raise taxes and that he voted in favor of the same bill giving oil companies those tax breaks.

"The nice thing about running with John McCain is I can assure you he doesn't tell one thing to one group and then turns around and tells something else to another group, including his plans that will make this bailout plan, this rescue plan, even better," Palin said in one of several exchanges in which she aggressively took on Biden using the signature sarcasm-with-a-smile approach that won over so many Republican backers at the Republican National Convention last month.

They clearly differed on some issues — Palin said she didn't think climate change was entirely manmade, Biden said he did — and agreed on others, such as extending benefits to same-sex couples, though Palin said she was adamant about defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

But it was on the war in Iraq where they really squared off. Palin repeatedly argued that McCain had supported the surge in Iraq and that the strategy had worked, while claiming that Obama voted to cut off funds for troops. "I know that the other ticket opposed this surge, in fact, even opposed funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," she said. "Barack Obama voted against funding troops there after promising that he would not do so. And Senator Biden, I respected you when you called him out on that. You said that his vote was political and you said it would cost lives."

Biden countered that Palin had not answered the question about what the McCain plan was for an exit strategy in Iraq, arguing that the one Obama was proposing was the same as the plan President Bush is currently pursuing. "The only odd man out here, only one left out, is John McCain, number one," he said. "Number two, with regard to Barack Obama not, quote, 'funding the troops,' John McCain voted the exact same way. John McCain voted against funding the troops because of an amendment he voted against had a timeline in it to draw down American troops. And John said, 'I'm not going to fund the troops if, in fact, there's a timeline.' Barack Obama and I agree fully and completely on one thing: You've got to have a timeline to draw down the troops and shift responsibility to the Iraqis."

Biden then argued that the Obama plan was to shift the responsibility to the Iraqi government and have a gradual 16-month withdrawal. Though she frequently referred to her outsider status in Washington, Palin was unafraid to mix it up with Biden, hitting him with a zinger about how he had supported McCain's military policies in Iraq and at one point said he'd be "honored" to run on a ticket with McCain, "Until you became the VP pick here." She also brought up a comment Biden made in the Democratic primaries about how he thought Obama was not ready to be commander in chief.

"I know, again, that you opposed the move he made to try to cut off funding for the troops, and I respect you for that," she said. "I don't know how you can defend that position now, but I know that you know, especially with your son in the National Guard and I have great respect for your family also and the honor that you show our military. Barack Obama, though, another story there. Anyone I think who can cut off funding for the troops after promising not to is another story."

Biden seemed ready for the back-and-forth, responding, "Let's get straight who has been right and wrong. John McCain and Dick Cheney said while I was saying we would not be greeted as liberators, we would not — this war would take a decade and not a day, not a week and not six months, we would not be out of there quickly," he said. "John McCain was saying the Sunnis and Shias got along with each other without reading the history of the last 700 years. John McCain said there would be enough oil to pay for this. John McCain has been dead wrong. I love him. As my mother would say, 'God love him,' but he's been dead wrong on the fundamental issues relating to the conduct of the war. Barack Obama has been right. There are the facts."

Even as she was sparring with the Democratic ticket, Palin seemed unafraid to take shots at Bush as well, pointing out the "huge blunders" in the war in Iraq and throughout his administration, while referring to Obama's comments about sitting down with heads of rogue states as "reckless" and "dangerous."

That opened the door for Biden to hit upon one of the Obama campaign's main themes: that a McCain administration would be more of the same. "I haven't heard how [McCain's] policy is going to be different on Iran than George Bush's," Biden said. "I haven't heard how his policy is going to be different with Israel than George Bush's. I haven't heard how his policy in Afghanistan is going to be different than George Bush's. I haven't heard how his policy in Pakistan is going to be different than George Bush's."

After Palin talked about her heartland connections and the worries of average Americans near the end of the debate, Biden teared up as he talked about the death of his wife and daughter in 1972 and the struggles of the average American.

"I understand what it's like to sit around the kitchen table with a father who says, 'I've got to leave, champ, because there's no jobs here,' " he said. "I understand as well as, with all due respect, the governor or anybody else what it's like for those people sitting around that kitchen table. And guess what? They're looking for help. They're looking for help. They're not looking for more of the same."

In closing, Palin said she and McCain would fight for middle-class families, just like hers. "I've been there. I know what the hurts are," she said. "I know what the challenges are. And, thank God, I know what the joys are, too, of living in America. We are so blessed. And I've always been proud to be an American. And so has John McCain."

Calling it the "most important election you'll ever vote in your entire life," Biden signed off by saying that the past eight years have resulted in a "very deep hole" economically and a bruised image abroad for America, something that requires fundamental change to repair it.

"We measure progress in America based on whether or not someone can pay their mortgage, whether or not they can send their kid to college, whether or not they're able to, when they send their child, like we have abroad — or I'm about to, abroad, and John has as well, I might add — to fight, that they are the best-equipped and they have everything they need," he said. "You know, in the neighborhood I grew up in, it was all about dignity and respect — neighborhood like most of you grew up in. And in that neighborhood, it was filled with women and men, mothers and fathers who taught their children if they believed in themselves, if they were honest, if they worked hard, if they loved their country, they could accomplish anything. We believed it, and we did."

In the end, by most accounts, it was a draw in that neither candidate made a huge mistake. But as most pundits will tell you, the VP debate won't likely change much and with McCain down by seven points in most major polls with just 32 days left until the election, it is up to the top of the ticket for both parties to make their case in the final two debates, the next of which takes place on Tuesday.

Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more.

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Fall Out Boy's New Album To Feature Lil Wayne, Pharrell And ... Blondie's Debbie Harry?

Posted: 03 Oct 2008 04:59 AM PDT

'The record is going to be diverse,' bassist Pete Wentz tells MTV News of Folie à Deux.
By James Montgomery


Lil Wayne and Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz
Photo: Chris Polk/FilmMagic

It's perhaps testament to Fall Out Boy's clout that even when they're publically denouncing rumors about big-name musicians making cameos on their albums, there's a pretty good chance that those big-name musicians actually will end up making an appearance of some sort ... and they'll probably bring along some of their friends too.

Case in point: Last month, an underage — yet apparently very knowledgeable — blogger named Justin Goldberg posted on his site that Kanye West and Lil Wayne were lined up to make appearances on FOB's Folie à Deux album, citing "a reliable source."

"Knowing the right people has finally paid off," Goldberg wrote in the post.

A few days later, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz addressed that post on his blog, writing that "none of the guests but the ones we have named are currently on the record, to clear [things] up."

And yet, at the same time, he was apparently working overtime to make (some) of said cameos happen, because on Thursday, Wentz confirmed to MTV News that Wayne will appear on Folie, along with a few other guests that might raise an eyebrow or two.

"We got Wayne and Debbie Harry cameos done," he wrote in an e-mail. " Pharrell produced a track too."

The Wayne cameo we can understand — after all, FOB's last album, Infinity on High, kicked off with a spoken intro from none other than Jay-Z — and Williams did spend plenty of time hanging out on the set of the band's "I Don't Care" video last month, so we get that one too. But where does Debbie Harry — frontwoman of groundbreaking NYC punk/ new-wave act Blondie — fit in on Folie?

Well, Wentz isn't exactly sure either, but he knows that her cameo works with the entire vibe of the album. "I just think the record is going to be diverse," he wrote. "It goes all the way between [Blondie and Wayne]."

He remained tight-lipped about just what FOB fans can expect to hear from Wayne and/or Harry, but he did hint that there were more surprise guests still to be revealed — and some of them may be even more head-scratching than Harry. He also was mum about just what song Williams produced on the album — though perhaps you can venture a guess using the just-released track list.

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Jay-Z Honored For His 'Water For Life' Work At U.N. Global Leadership Gala

Posted: 02 Oct 2008 05:34 AM PDT

MC has some rapping competition from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at NYC event.


Photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage

In This Moment Make <i>The Dream</i> A Reality; Plus Dimmu Borgir, Mudvayne & More News That Rules In <i>Metal File</i>

Posted: 03 Oct 2008 05:00 AM PDT

'It ... feels a lot more comfortable than the first album,' singer Maria Brink says of new LP.
By Chris Harris


In This Moment
Photo: Century Media

Maria Brink can't help the way she looks (tall, blond, blue-eyed and voluptuous), just as she can't help who shows up (uncouth, basement-dwelling dudes with spare tires and beer muscles) to her melodic metal band In This Moment's gigs. But she can control who stays and who goes at her shows.

"I won't let people disrespect me," she told Metal File last week, just days before In This Moment's sophomore LP, The Dream, hit stores. "I've been onstage and I've had people harass me, and if it gets to be too much, I just have security usher them out. [Last fall's] Megadeth tour was probably the most challenging for me, as far as learning how to deal with an aggressive crowd. Most of the crowds we played to were 95 percent male, and the drunker they got, the louder they got."

And, apparently, the cruder they got. Brink — who by most men's standards is a bona fide knockout — said she's learned to deal with the rude hand gestures she's often met with when she takes the stage. She's also learned to block out the boorish comments guys toss her way. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, hasn't — and he's been known to take care of business from time to time.

"I've been onstage and guys have yelled, 'Show me your t--s, bi---,' and I've been able to ignore them, but then I see my boyfriend plowing through the crowd, into the pit, attacking somebody, and I'm trying to sing, and he's on top of someone, and I'm singing and I'm terrified," she explained of her beau, DevilDriver bassist Jon Miller. "He definitely doesn't take too kindly to people sexually harassing me when I'm onstage. On the Megadeth tour, some guy in the crowd said something, and I stopped the show to have him kicked out. I remember the next day, [Megadeth frontman] Dave Mustaine wanted to have a meeting with me, because he'd heard about what had happened, and he told me I was 100 percent right. He told me to tell the crowd that Dave Mustaine would kick their ass if they stepped out of line, and that was pretty awesome."

Unfortunately, Miller and Mustaine won't be able to shield Brink and In This Moment — who'll be on tour with Five Finger Death Punch, Bury Your Dead and Another Black Day through December 4 in San Diego — from some of the critical backlash they're liable to face from fans. The Dream is a decidedly different album than the band's 2007 debut, as it forsakes the metalcore feel of Beautiful Tragedy in favor of a more straight-up rock sound. But Brink says she wouldn't call it a drastic departure.

"It actually, to me, feels a lot more comfortable than the first album," she said. "I think our fans are really going to like it. We didn't really want to worry about what everybody else was going to say. We tried to just do what we wanted to do. Of course we care about our fans, but we thought if we stayed true to what we really wanted to do, that hopefully everyone else would get it. Not everyone is going to like it, and that's OK. We are who we are, and we never claimed to be a brutal metal band or that we're really heavy and hard. We just do what we do — that's it."

On The Dream, Brink elected to give her pipes a break, so instead of screaming her way across the album's 11 tracks, she wanted to let her natural singing voice shine through. Brink said the rest of the band was cool with her ditching the screams, and the music just naturally followed suit.

"As a vocalist, screaming always came really easy for me — it wasn't much of a challenge, it just came out of me," Brink explained. "The singing vocals were always more challenging. People always complimented me on my scream, but I didn't get a lot of feedback on my singing, so I just wanted to challenge myself a lot more on this record. I'm not anticipating a backlash. If people like us, then they like us. If they don't because we don't fall into their standard of being a brutally heavy band, then that's OK. We don't feel like we have anything to prove to anybody."

And just as she's learned to ignore chauvinistic fans, she's also learned to ignore criticism. "I try not to read what the critics write or Blabbermouth," she said. "A lot of people love Blabbermouth, but some of the people who write on it are just brutal."

Brink said she's thrilled with the band's maturation, which is more than evident on The Dream, but ultimately, the album isn't everything she'd hoped it would be — thanks to Chino Moreno.

"I wanted Chino to sing on this album with me more than anything," she said of the Deftones frontman. "That was, like, my dream, and I had somebody talk to his management, and he sounded like he was maybe into it but wanted to hear the song. But we just didn't have enough time to push it or dwell on it, unfortunately. He's my favorite singer, so I'm really disappointed that didn't get to happen. Let's see — maybe we'll get it to happen on the next album."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Contrary to online reports, Dimmu Borgir has not inked a three-year deal with Roadrunner Records. Guitarist Silenoz told Metal File this week that he's heard rumors suggesting his band's next album would not be issued by Nuclear Blast but shot them down. "I don't know where this rumor is coming from," he said. "People have been asking me about that. They've also been asking me if Max Cavalera would be producing the new album, and if we're going to Egypt to record it. Where the hell do people take this from? I've never said anything like that. Sometimes confusion is good, but not when it haunts you like that." Check back next week for the rest of our interview with Silenoz, who will be heading out with Dimmu on October 9 in Miami Beach, Florida, for the Blackest of the Black Tour (with Danzig, Moonspell, Winds of Plague and Skeletonwitch). ...

How's this for a collaboration to end all collaborations? System of a Down's Serj Tankian and ex-Faith No More frontman Mike Patton have written a song together, called "Bird's Eye," which will appear on the soundtrack for the film "Body of Lies." Awe. Some. ... If you've ever wanted to be in a Mudvayne video, you'll soon get your chance — so long as you're willing to travel to New Jersey. On Saturday, the band will be in East Hanover to shoot a clip for "A New Game," the first single from their forthcoming album, The New Game. The shoot starts at 11 a.m., and those interested in taking part in the video should send an e-mail to Casting@BlueStreakEnt.com for more information. ...

With the band's forthcoming album almost in the can, frontman Jon Gula has decided to leave Turmoil. A founding member of the group, Gula's departure followed some serious soul-searching. He told Lambgoat that he "just [couldn't] devote 100 percent of myself to Turmoil anymore. I've got too many things to attend to right now, and I didn't think it would be fair to our fans, or to the rest of the band, to delay the inevitable." He also said he wasn't sure what the future holds for the band but that he'd "understand if they carry on with someone else. I'm not sure if I would call it 'Turmoil' going forward, but I support whatever decision they make. Obviously, they've got to do what's right for them." ...

The Black Dahlia Murder, Misery Index and Soilent Green will be hitting the road together this December for a mostly Canadian run of shows. Aside from a gig in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on December 3, the remainder of the tour will take place north of the border, wrapping December 18 in Toronto. ... Brutal Truth will be entering the studio next week to start tracking their next LP. They've written 24 songs for the effort, including "Grind Fidelity," "Evolution Through Revolution" and "Detached." ... Born of Osiris, Shai Hulud, After the Burial and Burning the Masses will kick off the Progressive Damnation Tour next month. The trek launched in Seattle on November 16 and runs through December 22 in Des Moines, Iowa.

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Kanye West's TV Show 'Too Hard-Core' For HBO, Larry Charles Says

Posted: 01 Oct 2008 10:50 PM PDT

Show, for which a pilot has been shot, described as Kanye-meets-'Curb Your Enthusiasm.'
By Jocelyn Vena


Kanye West
Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Kanye West's long- rumored HBO show doesn't seem like it will be getting off the ground anytime soon. Writer and producer Larry Charles, who was affiliated with the project, recently told ComingSoon.net that, for now, HBO seems to have curbed its enthusiasm about it.

"It was really good, but ... I think it was too hard-core for HBO. Also, HBO's management shifted. HBO doesn't have a good track record when it comes to black shows, and I felt like that may have had something to do with it also," he told the site. "I don't see a lot of shows about that experience at all. This was very entertaining and we showed it to a lot of people. People gave it a very good response, and it seems to be on the shelf right now. The management has shifted at HBO so we're waiting to see."

Charles did say that the show is roughly Kanye's version of Larry David's show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," an idea that Kanye thought up himself. "What Kanye West said to me the first time, he said, 'I'm the black Larry David.' That's the first thing he said to me. So it's like a Kanye-and-'Curb' show, it's kind of improvised about the situations and stuff.

"He's so much funnier than people realize," Charles continued. "Even the whole being-full-of-himself stuff is a joke to him, and he likes to play that of being like, you know, Kanye. And he's kind of a brilliant guy actually."

A rep for HBO told MTV News she had no knowledge of the show's status, noting that the show has been in development for some time and adding, "Until it is actually shot or picked up as a pilot, we don't have any info."

Reached by MTV News, Kanye West's rep had no comment on the matter.

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Beyonce Writes A Letter To Fans, Saying She Has 'Taken Risks' On Upcoming LP

Posted: 02 Oct 2008 05:04 AM PDT

'It's me, and I am so excited to share it with the world,' she says of November 18 album.
By Shawn Adler


Beyoncé Knowles
Photo: Stephen Lovekin/ Getty Images

Beyoncé's third solo LP is just a month and a half from release, but aside from some teases promising collaborations with Justin Timberlake and producer Sean Garrett (Usher, Fergie), not much is known about the singer's still-untitled album, set to drop November 18.

Will the R&B fave debut a new sound? Will she invite other famous friends into the fold? Just what does the diva have in store for us anyway?

"My music will explain it all," Beyoncé wrote in a letter to fans, released Thursday (October 2) by her label, Columbia Records.

"I have worked on this album for close to one year. I have taken the time so I can create my sound. Something that says who I am at this stage in my life," she wrote. "I have poured my heart and soul into it. It is my baby. It is the most time I have spent on any project since my first records as a member of Destiny's Child when I was 15 years old."

Of course, a lot has changed for B in the dozen years since: fame, apparent marriage and, not least of all, a burgeoning film career that continues with the upcoming "Cadillac Records" and "Obsessed." If details on the album have been especially scarce, it's specifically because of all those diverging multitudes, not despite them, the singer wrote.

"I have recorded over 70 songs and have created a sound that reveals all of me. I am in a different place right now, and I wanted people to see the many sides of me," Beyoncé continued in the letter. "The music is upbeat for the dance, fun side, and it is reflective, passionate and serious for the personal side. I have taken risks here. I am not afraid. ... There is no label or tag on my sound. It's me, and I am so excited to share it with the world."

It was previously announced that two tracks from the album, "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies," will be released in advance of the LP on October 7.

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'Hairspray' Loses Its Hold After More Than Six Years On Broadway

Posted: 02 Oct 2008 04:27 AM PDT

'We've had a great run, and we can't ask for much more,' a rep for the musical says.
By Jennifer Vineyard


Aubrey O'Day and Karen Mason in "Hairspray"
Photo: Bruce Glikas/ FilmMagic

It turns out you can stop the beat.

First "Rent," then "Legally Blonde" and now "Hairspray." The show is closing its curtains on Broadway, with a final performance January 18.

The producers say the closing has nothing to do with last year's strike, which put so many long-running shows in jeopardy. Instead, a rep for the production noted, "The show is six and a half years old, and the producers have decided it's the right time. We've had a great run, and we can't ask for much more."

To go out on a high note, Harvey Fierstein is returning to his original role of Edna Turnblad — a role John Travolta played in the last film version — starting November 11.

Throughout the show's run, several celebs have guest-starred, from Lance Bass as Corny Collins, Haylie Duff and Danity Kane's Aubrey O'Day as Amber, Ashley Parker Angel as Link, Michael McKean and George Wendt as Edna, Diana DeGarmo and Alexa Vega as Penny, and Darlene Love as Motormouth Maybelle.

The show won eight Tony awards, including Best Musical and inspired the 2007 movie, which was based more on the Broadway production than the original 1988 John Waters film.

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Apple Defeats Royalty Hike, So iTunes Store Remains Open

Posted: 02 Oct 2008 05:48 AM PDT

Rates would have been raised from 9 cents to 15 cents on songs purchased through the music store.
By Shawn Adler


Photo: Don Emmert/ AFP/ Getty Images

Like the biblical Adam before it, the National Music Publishers Association had to learn the hard way Thursday (October 2) a lesson any schoolchild could have told them for free: Don't ever try to take a second bite of the Apple.

Bowing to mounting pressure from the multimedia giant, the Washington, D.C.-based Copyright Royalty Board declined a request from the aforementioned NMPA to increase song royalties from 9 cents to 15 cents on songs purchased through iTunes and other digital retailers, according to CNN.com.

The decision was the board's first on digital downloads and will set royalty rates for the next five years.

Calling the 66 percent increase into their already-slim profit margins a surefire road toward negative cash flow, Apple earlier threatened to close its music store should the proposal get approved.

"We're pleased with the CRB's decision to keep royalty rates stable," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNN.

Apple has steadfastly refused in recent years to raise the price of their iTunes downloads from 99 cents, which is what songs cost when the store first opened in 2003. Out of that dollar, 70 cents reportedly goes back to record companies (9 cents of which goes to copyright holders). Of the remaining 29 cents, Apple is reportedly left with about a dime per song after operating expenses.

It is estimated that Apple will sell some 2.4 billion songs this year. At 10 cents a pop, that's an annual profit of $240 million. Forced to pay 6 cents more in royalties, their estimated profit would sink to $96 million.

Despite the drop in profits should the measure have been approved, an actual shutdown was unlikely, speculated CNET, which pointed out Wednesday that Apple has sold some 160 million iPods and more than 5 billion songs to date, and it would be foolish to leave all those iPod owners with nothing to download.

"No party got everything it wanted, yet at the end of the day, the certainty provided by this ruling is beneficial," Recording Industry Association of America chairman Mitch Bainwol said in a statement to CNN.

For complete digital music coverage, check out the Digital Music Reports.

Jennifer Hudson Talks About Fiance David 'Punk' Otunga: 'He's Nice And Thick!'

Posted: 02 Oct 2008 03:12 AM PDT

Oscar-winning actress and former 'I Love New York 2' contestant seem an unlikely couple.


Jennifer Hudson
Photo: MTV News

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