Jennifer Hudson Makes History!
 
Dreamgirls actress Jennifer Hudson will make Vogue history by becoming
the first black singer to appear on its upcoming cover!
(Pre-view Cover)
 
 
MTV To Slash Staff? Reports from the U.S. suggest MTV Networks will cut 250 jobs this week, as part of a strategic move toward the digital age.   MTV Networks chairman and chief executive Judy McGrath is understood to have told the music TV company's staff via an inter-company email on Monday (Feb. 13).   It appears the hits will be felt solely in MTV's U.S. company. "No restructuring decisions have been taken in any of our operations internationally," says a spokesman for MTV Networks International.   The spokesman points to a new operation structure established last fall across the company's Asian business, which resulted in 84 job losses. And earlier in 2006, the international company undertook a similar streamlining in its London HQ which resulted in 77 redundancies.   "These changes to our organization are really about positioning our business for future growth," says the spokesman. "We are open to evolving our structures to meet the demands of our local and global business."
 
Top Yahoo! Music Execs Exit. David Goldberg and Robert Roback, the duo leading Yahoo's music efforts, are leaving the company. The two executives announced their resignations Monday for "personal reasons" expressing a desire to "go back to our entrepreneurial roots."  Vince Broady, head of entertainment and games at Yahoo, will oversee the online portal's music operations moving forward. Goldberg and Roback will continue on in their roles temporarily as part of a transitional process.  They came to Yahoo in 2001 as part of the online giant's $12 million acquisition of LAUNCH Media, the internet music video and radio portal they founded.  Launch was later re-branded as Yahoo Music, which has become one of the most popular music portals on the Web with more than 25 million unique visitors per month.

Over the last year, Goldberg, the public face of Yahoo Music, has been one of the most prominent advocates of the major labels dropping DRM restrictions on a la carte downloads. He had been giving press interviews on the subject over the last week.
Universal Music Group is set to reach a settlement with Bolt.com, an online community site that the label sued last year for copyright infringement. Bolt CEO Aaron Cohen told the New York Times that the site will have to admit it violated UMG copyrights by allowing its users to upload videos that featured songs by Universal artists. Bolt will also pay out a multi-million dollar settlement, and agree to pay royalties in the future when its users submit videos that contain the label's music.
Bolt is reportedly also in negotiations with the other major labels, including Warner Music Group, for similar royalty payment deals.
To afford the settlement, Bolt has agreed to be sold to a smaller rival Web company, GoFish. "This deal is economically painful to Bolt shareholders," Cohen told the Times. "It is setting a precedent that companies that violate copyright at minimum risk litigation."

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