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    Friday, July 8, 2011

    Reuter site - Adele, Lady Gaga power music recovery

    This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
    http://mobile.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE7660E420110707

    Adele, Lady Gaga power music recovery

    Wed, Jul 06 21:47 PM EDT

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British soul singer Adele and flamboyant pop singer Lady Gaga have helped the U.S. music industry stage a modest comeback after a decade of decline.

    According to data released on Wednesday by tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan, overall album sales rose 3.6 percent to 221.5 million units during the first half of 2011, the first increase since 2004.

    While it is too early to judge if the trend will last through the year, an annual increase would be only the second in 11 years.

    To be sure, the year got off to a rough start, with overall weekly sales hitting record lows several times. But Adele and Lady Gaga have restored some hope to an industry battered by piracy, label retrenchment and the recession.

    Adele sold 2.5 million copies of her second album "21" in the 19 weeks after it went on sale in late February. It spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 and never dipped below No. 3.

    "21" easily outpaced Lady Gaga's second effort, "Born This Way," which has sold 1.5 million copies -- albeit after only six weeks. But Lady Gaga's sales slumped after a record-breaking first week when it sold 1.1 million copies with help from a 99 cent promotion on Amazon.com.

    "Born this Way" currently ranks at No. 12 on the latest weekly chart, while "21" is at No. 2.

    "ROLLING" TO NO. 1

    Adele's success has been powered by her chart-topping hit single "Rolling in the Deep," the best selling digital track so far this year with 4.1 million downloads.

    The title track of Lady Gaga's album was No. 3 with 2.9 million units, just behind perky pop singer Katy Perry's "E.T." with 3 million units.

    While Lady Gaga has been ubiquitous on the worldwide promotional trail in a staggering array of colorful costumes, Adele has adopted a relatively low-key approach for her confessional album. She recently postponed the remaining nine dates of her sold-out tour of mid-sized North American venues because of throat problems.

    The success of "21" revived sales of Adele's 2008 debut, "19," which yielded two Grammy Awards including best new artist. It sold 341,000 copies during the first half to rank as the top-selling "catalog" release among albums that were distributed more than 18 months ago. Its total sales stand at 1.2 million copies.

    The third-biggest selling artist so far this year is another soulful British act, the folk revivalists Mumford & Sons, who have sold 982,000 copies of their 2009 debut "Sigh No More," thanks in part to attention-grabbing performances at the Grammys and the Coachella music festival in California. Its total sales are currently 1.6 million.

    Country singer Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party" (763,000) and pop/R&B singer Bruno Mars' "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" (686,000) rounded out the top five.

    More than 40 years after their breakup, the Beatles managed to top one chart during the first half. Their 1969 album "Abbey Road" was the No. 1 vinyl release, selling 20,200 copies.

    (Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

    (To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

    Reuter site - Factbox: News that broke on Twitter

    This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
    http://mobile.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE76700F20110708

    Factbox: News that broke on Twitter

    Thu, Jul 07 20:05 PM EDT

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hackers broke into the Twitter feeds of Fox News and PayPal this week, raising concerns about how secure the microblogging site is as it increasingly becomes a platform for news dissemination.

    Twitter, which allows people to send 140-character text messages, or Tweets, to groups of so-called followers, is one of the most popular social networking services on the Web, along with Facebook.

    Here are five prominent news events that broke on Twitter:

    OSAMA BIN LADEN'S DEATH

    In the time between the White House announcing a late-night press conference, and President Obama telling the world Osama bin Laden had been killed, one Twitter user had already broken the news of his death on May 2.

    Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff for former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, wrote, "So I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn."

    Urbahn later said he did not know for certain if Bin Laden was dead, but that "the bar for checking sources is much lower in Twitter."

    HUDSON RIVER PLANE CRASH

    When US Airways flight 1549 unexpectedly landed in the Hudson River in New York City in January 2009, Twitter users were among the first to break the news and post photographs.

    Janis Krums tweeted a picture of passengers on the wings of the floating Airbus passenger jet: "There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy."

    The incident is an example of how Twitter and other social media sites allow anyone with a smartphone to break news.

    ROYAL WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT

    The Clarence House Twitter feed had all the details on Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in Britain.

    The Twitter feed for the Prince of Wales announced in early January detailed plans for the big day, including the date of the wedding, how the bride would arrive, and who would conduct the royal ceremony.

    Twitter has been well received among celebrities such as Charlie Sheen, who used the platform to rail against his employer CBS on his way to more than 4 million followers.

    U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS

    U.S. presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle used Twitter to announce their 2012 election campaigns.

    Newt Gingrich wrote, "Today I am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States." He also Tweeted a link to a video of his announcement.

    Obama announced his 2012 campaign in a social media blitz on April 4. On July 6, the president held a "Twitter townhall" where he pressed his economic agenda and poked fun at Republicans. Obama, who is not known for brevity, tweeted, "One last point -- I know Twitter, I'm supposed to be short."

    HILLARY CLINTON WON'T WORK TWICE UNDER OBAMA

    CNN issued a tease on Twitter about an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which she said she would not stay on President Obama's cabinet if he is elected to a second term.

    A CNN executive producer tweeted on March 16 that Hillary Clinton "would NOT be in an Obama 2nd term cabinet."

    The Tweet was an advertisement for a later interview on CNN with Clinton, and highlighted one way news companies use the social media tool.

    Sources: Reuters, other news reports

    (Reporting by Roy Strom; Editing by Richard Chang)

    Reuter site - U.S. Internet providers to act against online pirates

    This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
    http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE7667FL20110708

    U.S. Internet providers to act against online pirates

    Fri, Jul 08 13:22 PM EDT

    By Lisa Richwine

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Consumers who illegally download copyrighted films, music or television shows might see their Internet speed slowed or access restricted under an industry anti-piracy effort announced on Thursday.

    U.S. Internet service providers, including Verizon Communications Inc, Comcast Corp, Time Warner Cable Inc, Cablevision Systems Corp and AT&T Inc agreed to alert customers, up to six times, when it appears their account is used for illegal downloading. Warnings will come as e-mails or pop-up messages.

    If suspected illegal activity persists, the provider might temporarily slow Internet speed or redirect the browser to a specific Web page until the customer contacts the company. The user can seek an independent review of whether they acted legally.

    Internet access will not be terminated, according to a statement from the industry partners behind the effort. The coalition includes groups representing movie studios, independent film makers and record labels.

    The group argues that content piracy costs the U.S. economy more than 373,000 jobs, $16 billion in lost earnings and $3 billion in tax revenue each year.

    Industry officials said they thought most people would stop copyright violations once they were warned about illegal activity. The warnings also might alert parents unaware of their children's activity.

    "We are confident that, once informed that content theft is taking place on their accounts, the great majority of broadband subscribers will take steps to stop it," James Assey, executive vice president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said in a statement.

    Two consumer groups said the effort had the "potential to be an important educational vehicle" to help reduce online copyright infringement, but voiced concern about the sanctions.

    "We are particularly disappointed that the agreement lists Internet account suspension among the possible remedies," the Center for Democracy & Technology and Public Knowledge said in a statement.

    The groups said it would be "wrong for any (Internet service provider) to cut off subscribers, even temporarily, based on allegations that have not been tested in court."

    The Obama administration welcomed the industry effort.

    "We believe it will have a significant impact on reducing online piracy," Victoria Espinel, the U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator, wrote on the White House blog.

    The administration expects the organization that implements the program to consult with advocacy groups "to assure that its practices are fully consistent with the democratic values that have helped the Internet to flourish," she added.

    (Editing by Andre Grenon)

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