For over thirty one years, R.E.M. had enchanted music lovers the world over. But, it officially came to a close in September when they called it quits. Their final note to their fans was as unassuming and straight from the heart as their music was.
"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening."
The group of now remaining three members of singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills explained this sudden move, coming as it does on the heels of their fifteenth album. Mills said the group's latest series of projects helped them come to the decision. "During our last tour, and while making 'Collapse Into Now' and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, 'what next'?" Mills said. "Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together."
Michaal Stipe was rather philosophical when he said it was just time to "walk away," though he accepted that it wasn't an easy decision to come to. "A wise man once said -- 'the skill in attending a party knows when it's time to leave.' We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we're going to walk away from it," he noted. "I hope our fans realize this wasn't an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way."
Guitarist Buck further added that they might be splitting up as band, but would "walk away as great friends." R.E.M. released 15 albums since they formed in 1980. The wonderful journey began with their 1983 debut "Murmur." An acclaimed string of albums ("Lifes Rich Pageant," the band's fourth full-length, was given a 25th-anniversary reissue last July) and singles ("It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" highlighted 1987's "Document") followed before 1991's "Out of Time" yielded two of the band's biggest hits, "Shiny Happy People" and " Losing My Religion," the latter of being one of their biggest hits ever and won which also won Video of the Year at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.
But it was in 1992 with their album, "Automatic for the People," that R.E.M. touched their pinnacle, the album becoming their most universally acclaimed full-length, with the ballad "Everybody Hurts" becoming a surprise hit and the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon" inspiring the 1999 film of the same name. The band released two more albums, 1994's "Monster" and 1996's "New Adventures in Hi-Fi," before original drummer Bill Berry amicably departed the group in Oct. 1997, prior to the release of 1998's "Up." The next decade saw two more ablbum "Reveal" in 2001 and "Around the Sun," in 2004. In 2006, R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band soon regrouped with producer Jacknife Lee and adopted a fiercer sound for 2008's "Accelerate," which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
R.E.M.’s last album, "Collapse Into Now," was released last March, but the group opted not to tour behind the record. "It just doesn't feel right," Mills told Billboard in February. "We've always gone with our gut instinct on everything, and right now it just didn't feel like touring was the thing we needed to do."
The fact that R.E.M. still matter to music lovers is evident by their latest album "Collapse Into Now" which has sold 142,000 copies. R.E.M. has sold nearly 20 million albums since the SoundScan era began in 1991, Which speaks volumes about their status.
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According to the deal, Universal's four management companies come under Live Nation's Front Line Management Group, which manages 250 artists, including the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney and Christina Aguilera. Under the agreement, Front Line will oversee the joint venture.
"We see tremendous opportunities to work together to create a broad range of products built on the power of music," Live Nation's chairman Irving Azoff said in a statement.
It’s a win-win for both the companies. While Universal intends to capitalize on Azoff's expertise with managing artists , Live Nation promises to help promote Universal's up-and-coming bands and find ways to bundle concert tickets with music sales through its Ticketmaster operations.
"We are creating a series of new platforms and global direct-to-consumer initiatives that will further expand the presence of our artists in the evolving marketplace while providing music fans with even more flexibility in how they consume music," Lucian Grainge, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Universal Music, said in a statement.
Universal had also earlier ventured into artist management. In 2007, Universal, got into the artist management business when it acquired Sanctuary Group, a British company that promoted concerts, sold band-related merchandise and managed bands.
Universal had also earlier ventured into artist management. In 2007, Universal, got into the artist management business when it acquired Sanctuary Group, a British company that promoted concerts, sold band-related merchandise and managed bands.
According to the earlier deal, Universal had acquired Trinifold -- a management firm that handled The Who, Robert Plant and Judas Priest, to name a few -- as well as Twenty First Artist, which manages Elton John, Lily Allen and others.
The latest JV with Live Nation will also include Universal's 5B Artist Management and its roster of heavy-metal bands, including Slipknot and Stone Sour.
Music industry analysts feel that it would be to the advantage of Universal as despite their experience in music industry, it is Irving who knows how to operate such a business.
Even though neither party would estimate the revenue of the combined venture, if analysts are to be belived it is one big pot of gold they are going to dig in the years to come.
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They hadn’t hit road for five long years, but now veteran rockers Guns N' Roses had decided to do just that. They are on their way to hit road for their first major U.S. tour in 5 years, the band announced recently. The Axl Rose-fronted group will play more than 30 concerts, starting Oct. 28 at Orlando's Amway Center Arena, performing at both large and small venues. They began the pre-tour with a performance at the closing day of the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 2.
But despite the long hiatus in the US, the group had been touring other parts of the globe in recent years. Last year they went on a world tour that spanned South America, Canada and Europe.
But, things weren’t all that hunky-dory for the legendary band. Their acts at last year's Reading and Leeds festivals did not go well. At both the festivals, the band showed up late and received choruses of boos from the crowd. Things worsened when Rose declared "war" on Leeds organizers for cutting the band's set short.
Apart from Rose, the Guns N' Roses line-up includes keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman, guitarists DJ Ashba, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Richard Fortus, long-time bassist Tommy Stinson, and Frank Ferrer on drums.
It’s time Guns N’ Roses went beyond just the US tour, as most fans must be expecting. The band has not released an album since 2008's "Chinese Democracy," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard chart. Most fans must be hoping they polish off the tour with an album release. Won’t that be great!.