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A Connecticut Teenager Tells Rolling Stone How He Gamed iTunes on Behalf of Mariah Carey, Now Michael Jackson’s Fan Will Try, Too

Roger Friedman
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A Connecticut Teenager Tells Rolling Stone How He Gamed iTunes on Behalf of Mariah Carey, Now Michael Jackson’s Fan Will Try, Too

Congratulations to Tim Chan from Rolling Stone. He’s solved the mystery of how old albums by old divas are hitting number 1 on iTunes. Good work tracking this kid down.

David, a 17 year old from Connecticut who was five years old when Mariah Carey’s “E=MC2” came out, decided to try and make the album number 1 by gaming iTunes.

“I saw that the album was discounted (iTunes priced it at $4.99 compared to $9.99 for most new releases) and it was slowly gaining momentum on the iTunes chart, so I, along with a few other fans, thought, ‘Maybe we should get it to Number One,’” David told Chan. “It happened before with Glitter; why not make it happen again?”

Yeah, why not? Kids have nothing else to do but game iTunes. Chan didn’t ask David if he’s behind the Madonna or Janet Jackson campaigns. It’s likely he just gave someone else the idea.

Now the Michael Jackson fans are pushing #JusticeforInvincible for Michael’s 2001 final album. Let’s see if it works.

It’s strange that the fans don’t realize this is actually a scam, it’s not real, the charts are being manipulated. I wonder if iTunes will just go along with this or make an effort to stop it. And it’s not about Mariah or Madonna or anyone. It’s about the fact that it’s wrong for any artist. But the fans want to make it something else. Not too smart.

Murdochs Wave White Flag with NY Post Purge: At Least 25 Staffers Furloughed or Laid Off as Paper in Free Fall

Roger Friedman
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Murdochs Wave White Flag with NY Post Purge: At Least 25 Staffers Furloughed or Laid Off as Paper in Free Fall

Years ago, in 1993 when the NY Post almost ceased publication for good, the drawing of founder Alexander Hamilton on the front page showed a tear falling from his eye.

And here we are again. Rupert Murdoch’s money losing but headline making tabloid is in a downward spiral that even he won’t tolerate. Or make that, his kids.

Yesterday saw a purge at the Post that they’ve never experienced during Murdoch’s second reign. At least 25 staffers are out, furloughed or outright laid off. The names will be noticeably missing to anyone who still follows the Post– and there are plenty.

Said to be out is long time business writer John Crudele. He’s been there for at least 30 years. Furloughed are editor Steve Cuozzo, the popular editor and restaurant reviewer; Lois Weiss, whose real estate column is a must read; Michael Riedel, the theater columnist whose poison pen drips with dramatic ink. I’m told that about 9 people in the sports department are out, maybe for good. There are possibly 20 total furloughs and 6 completely gone.  Terrific arts editor/writer Barbara Hoffman is also out. Same for Serena French, fashion editor.

Still roaming around, however, is former editor in chief Col Allan, still there as a Murdoch shadow to real editor in chief Stephen Lynch.

The horoscopes remain, as well. But they didn’t predict this.

Don’t start gloating that you “always hated the Post” and so on. For one thing, these people are all talented journalists whose contributions make the Post so regrettably readable every day. For another, the tabloid press is what saves New York from ignorance. If we just had the New York Times for information, no one would know a thing. The tabloids quickly expose scandals for better or worse. We need them more than you think. The reason Los Angeles lumbers along mired in unresolved crimes is that they have no tabloids. You can literally get away with murder there. Not in New York, where the tabloids will run down every lead and make sure all 8 million of us know about it. The Post and the Daily News must remain alive, like it or not.

Let’s hope that when the pandemic is over, and life returns to some normalcy, the Post will bring all of these people back.

PS A salute to the late Vinnie Musetto, who wrote the Post’s most famous headline, “Headless Body in Topless Bar.” We miss you, Vinnie!

UPDATED Another Bizarre iTunes Chart Jump: First It Was Mariah, Now it’s Madonna with 1994 Album “Bedtime Stories”

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Another Bizarre iTunes Chart Jump: First It Was Mariah, Now it’s Madonna with 1994 Album “Bedtime Stories”

THURSDAY 12:30pm: LOL “Bedtime Stories” is number 1 right now. Through Tuesday night it has sold 87 copies, up from 70 the day before.  Mariah’s album has dropped to number 10. It was number 1 on Monday with just a few copies. iTunes has lost all credibility. Someone spent $170 on Madonna. I hope they’re happy.

EARLIER Last week, Madonna’s 1994 album, “Bedtime Stories,” sold 20 copies via streaming. This week, from Friday through Monday night, the same album sold 70 copies.

Somehow, “Bedtime Stories”– not a landmark recording– has landed at number 4 on iTunes tonight.

The Madonna album follows Mariah Carey’s “E=MC2,” which hit number 1 on Monday on iTunes even though its sales don’t reflect such a success.

Strangely, each of those albums– dormant for years– had a spike in sales on February 14th, then subsided. Now they’ve taken a second run at the top of the iTunes charts.

It’s the same, too, for Janet Jackson’s “Control,” from 1986. It was nowhere and is now number 7 or 8 on iTunes. Since Friday, “Control” has sold 337 copies. Last week, it sold 87.

None of the numbers for this week, for these divas’ old records, are comparable to current hit records. But somehow iTunes is counting them as top 10 hits. Three hit singers from the 1980s with fanatic fan bases. It’s likely not a coincidence. Someone is manipulating the iTunes chart.

The fan bases are all angry with me. They think I “hate” these singers or that I’m blaming the women themselves. None of it is true. But the peculiarity of the sudden jump in sales, the fact that the real numbers do not reflect these chart positions, and that they all had jumps on February 14th, raises a lot of questions.

The iTunes chart is often peppered with catalog albums. Right now there are some by the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Fleetwood Mac. James Taylor’s Greatest Hits got a bump, too. But that’s always attributable to something going in the media for the act. And those names I just mentioned are all in the news. Or their prices were deep discounted. But this is something else.

Some of the sales of old albums is also about the lack of new releases right now, and people looking for “comfort music.” But those three divas, and those particular albums don’t fit in that category. Whatever’s going on, it ain’t kosher. Will there be more of this? A Whitney Houston album? Stay tuned…

 

Cis Corman, Hollywood Powerhouse, Famed Casting Director, Barbra Streisand’s Closest Advisor and “Surrogate Mother,” Dies at 93

Roger Friedman
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Cis Corman, Hollywood Powerhouse, Famed Casting Director, Barbra Streisand’s Closest Advisor and “Surrogate Mother,” Dies at 93

Cis Corman has died at age 93 in New York. She was Barbra Streisand’s closest advisor, her BFF, a Hollywood powerhouse, and a famed casting director. I used to call Cis in the 80s and 90s about politics and Hollywood, she was a great sounding board and knew everything.

Apart from executive producing three Streisand films (Mirror Has Two Faces, Nuts, Prince of Tides) Corman was a major casting director. Her credits included Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, Yentl, The Last Temptation of Christ, The King of Comedy, and one of my favorites, Author! Author!”

Corman told Vanity Fair about Barbra’s early days in a 1991 interview: “I didn’t know she could sing for two years. I met her when she was fifteen or sixteen at our acting class at the Curt Conway Studio. She was my maid-in-waiting in a play we did at the studio, Christopher Fry’s The Lady’s Not for Burning. We became her surrogate family. I had four kids. I had roots. I had a refrigerator full of food. Barbra’s appetite for work is only matched by her appetite for food. . . . She had come to the house and my husband and I were sitting around eating in the kitchen. She said, ‘Ya know, I’m going to enter a contest for singing.’ I said, ‘Why would you do that? You don’t know how to sing.’ She said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ ‘Well, sing for us,’ I said. It was rather a silly thing to say. She said, ‘I’m too embarrassed. Well, all right, I’ll sit on the table and look towards the wall.’ So she sat down and faced the wall and sang Harold Arlen’s ‘A Sleepin’ Bee.’ She turned around when she got through and we were drenched in tears. It was something I’ll never forget.”

This is a big loss. Condolences to her family and friends, and to Barbra.

Streisand wrote on Instagram tonight:

“I first met Cis Corman in acting class when I was 16! She was 32 and had four children. She remained my best friend and surrogate mother since then. I treasured our lifelong friendship, her intelligence, her taste, and her integrity. I loved Cis dearly and will miss her forever. She was also Auntie Cis to my son Jason.
Cis cast our first film for Barwood Films, Up the Sandbox. Cis went on to become a pre-eminent casting director for Marty Scorsese, Sergio Leone, and Michael Cimino. She was the president of my Barwood Films and Barwood Television which received several Peabody awards for our television projects, several of which were Emmy winners, including three Emmys for Serving in Silence about gender discrimination in the military. We shared the conviction that a film has to serve some key social purpose, and the issues addressed in our television projects included the significant and disregarded history of women in film, the importance of gun control legislation (our film about the Long Island train massacre), gay adoption and one about non-Jewish rescuers who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
I love you, Cis.”

 

View this post on Instagram

Rest in peace, dear Cis. I first met Cis Corman in acting class when I was 16! She was 32 and had four children. She remained my best friend and surrogate mother since then. I treasured our lifelong friendship, her intelligence, her taste, and her integrity. I loved Cis dearly and will miss her forever. She was also Auntie Cis to my son Jason. Cis cast our first film for Barwood Films, Up the Sandbox. Cis went on to become a pre-eminent casting director for Marty Scorsese, Sergio Leone, and Michael Cimino. She was the president of my Barwood Films and Barwood Television which received several Peabody awards for our television projects, several of which were Emmy winners, including three Emmys for Serving in Silence about gender discrimination in the military. We shared the conviction that a film has to serve some key social purpose, and the issues addressed in our television projects included the significant and disregarded history of women in film, the importance of gun control legislation (our film about the Long Island train massacre), gay adoption and one about non-Jewish rescuers who saved Jews during the Holocaust. I love you, Cis.

A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand) on


 

UPDATE A New Jackson Family Scandal? Taryll Jackson Leaves Foundation Dedicated to His Late Mother, Tito’s Wife DeeDee

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE A New Jackson Family Scandal? Taryll Jackson Leaves Foundation Dedicated to His Late Mother, Tito’s Wife DeeDee

EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: The person getting the $33,000 salary is Henri Hebert, listed as executive director of the Dee Dee Jackson Foundation. Henri Hebert is listed on the imdb as a reality TV show producer whose last credit was 2015’s “The Jacksons: The Next Generation.” She has no background in running a charity. That $33,000 could be going to someone in need. But this is so Jackson family. Where do they find these people?

BREAKING: Taryll Jackson is one of the 3T’s, Tito Jackson’s sons, and Michael Jackson’s nephews. He and his brothers Taj and TJ (guardian of Michael Jackson’s kids)  had formed the Dee Dee Jackson Foundation in memory of their mother. Just now Taryll resigned from the foundation with a post on Instagram. Here it is. Keep refreshing. Dee Dee died in 1994 in a swimming pool. Four years later her boyfriend was convicted of murdering her.

The Dee Dee Jackson Foundation, only two years old, has just $25,000 in the till. No salaries were paid in 2018. But in 2017 when the balance for the year was $11K, salaries of $33,000 were paid to someone, unspecified in their Form 990 tax filing. Something fishy’s going on. But the Jacksons and charities were never a good match.

Taryll writes: “One of my biggest hurdles in life has been using my voice and standing up for myself. Something I’m working on and will exercise now. I am stepping away from DDJF/Power of Love Show. I love my Mother, the foundation we have created in her honor, and BOTH of my brothers. But if we can’t practice what we preach then what’s the point? People can say, think and assume what they want. I’m standing in my truth. It’s not easy and it’s not pretty, but it’s mine and I will learn from it, grow from it and be better for it. #love”

Stay tuned…

Mariah Carey Sales Mystery Ending as Fan Frenzy to Drive Album Up Chart with Discount Purchases Subsides

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey Sales Mystery Ending as Fan Frenzy to Drive Album Up Chart with Discount Purchases Subsides

Mariah Carey’s fans are no Einsteins, that’s for sure.

Their effort to push a twelve year old album to the top of the iTunes charts is subsiding today. “E=MC2” has dropped from number 1 to number 3. The party is over.

Yesterday, they — or someone — actually bought around 500 downloads worth of that album but it wasn’t enough to keep it at number 1. By tomorrow the 2008 recording should be on its way back to oblivion. The total through Monday night is 1,200 downloads. Someone spent $120,000 to make that happen. That’s Mariah’s budget for a week of nail maintenance.

If it was the fans– and they tell me on Twitter it’s them — I don’t get it. Why waste the money? Mariah Carey is loaded beyond your dreams. She’s not sending you the money. For 9.9 out of 10 fans, I think you’d gasp if you could see the way she– or any top stars– live day to day. It’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

When the chart week is over and it’s all counted up on Friday, “E=MC2” will not show up in the top 20 or maybe 30. The whole fraud will have been for naught. Congrats.

 

 

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Has Conquered Broadway, Now He Wants to Be on CBS Soap “The Young and the Restless”

Roger Friedman
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Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Has Conquered Broadway, Now He Wants to Be on CBS Soap “The Young and the Restless”

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has already conquered Broadway with his musical, “American Idiot.” Now he wants to be Victor Newman. Armstrong told James Corden on last night’s “Late Late Show” that he wants to be on the CBS soap “The Young and the Restless” or “on a soap opera.” Corden offered to set him up on the show, which films for now in the same building. Armstrong also plays Tommy James and the Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now” with his sons. The boys look younger than him, which is weird, but no weirder than anything else these days.

Irrfan Khan, Great Indian Actor, Star of “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Namesake,” “Salaam Bombay,” Dies at 53

Roger Friedman
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Irrfan Khan, Great Indian Actor, Star of “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Namesake,” “Salaam Bombay,” Dies at 53

We’re waking up in New York to news that the great Indian actor Irrfan Khan has died in India at age 53. Two years ago he he was diagnosed with an neuroendocrine brain tumor. Somehow he managed to make one more film, called “Angrezi Medium,” that looks terrific. I hope it will get a western release with subtitles (although some of it is in English).

I met Irrfan when he starred in Mira Nair’s extraordinary film, “The Namesake,” in 2006. He’d been a star in India since debuting in Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” (now sadly known as “Hello, Bombay!” on the imdb). In the intervening years he’d become a big Bollywood star. But “The Namesake” was in English, and had all the right elements. Irrfan took off like a rocket.

I remember that after we met and I interviewed him in Toronto, we ran into each other in quick succession in New York and Los Angeles. Irrfan was laughing. “Wait,” he said, “I see you there and there and now here! How is that possible?” He was kidding, but wide eyed.

Two years later he starred in “Slumdog Millionaire” as the police detective who’s interviewing Dev Patel, and the rest was history.

Irrfan’s trajectory from then on was pretty incredible. He just never stopped working, whether it was in comedy or drama, Western or Eastern films. And he never changed. He was always that wide eyed happy presence with a gift for making his roles come alive and resonate on film. I was really thrilled when he turned up in “Jurassic World,” and we had a good laugh about how far he’d come. Among his other films were “Life of Pi,” and “The Mighty Heart,” with Angelina Jolie.

But he couldn’t beat the cancer. According to reports he was admitted admitted into the intensive care unit of Mumbai’s Kokilaben hospital on Tuesday with a colon infection. Irrfan is survived by his wife, Sutapa, and sons, Babil and Ayan. I doubt they will ever read this, but I hope they know how loved and respected Irrfan was, and what a loss this for movies and the friends he made over here.

PS Kal Penn, his “Namesake” co-star wrote on Twitter: “Irrfan’s art and humanity will be badly missed. Never seen someone use the beats of silence so beautifully to convey so much about who we are. Sending love to Sutapa and the family.”

 

 

AMC Theatres Chief Says He’s So Mad “Trolls World Tour” Was A Streaming Hit They Won’t Show Any More Universal Pictures Releases

Roger Friedman
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AMC Theatres Chief Says He’s So Mad “Trolls World Tour” Was A Streaming Hit They Won’t Show Any More Universal Pictures Releases

I mean, really, you’ve got to be kidding. Adam Aron says he’s so mad that “Trolls World Tour” was a streaming hit, he won’t show anymore Universal Pictures releases in his theaters– if they re-open and don’t go bankrupt in the process. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell told the Wall Street Journal that the studio plans to release more films day-and-date both theatrically and on video-on-demand. And this made Adam angry to send this letter to Universal’s Donna Langley. Of course, he will change his mind when Universal has a theatrical blockbuster. Because, what else will AMC show? “Fast and Furious 9” from Universal or something that has no ticket buyers. I feel for Adam. He’s in a tough spot. Everyone is.

Dear Donna,

At this time of national emergency and the coronavirus wreaking havoc on the entire world, I hope that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. I worry – and I wish the best for – the health of all of our industry colleagues. Never in our lifetimes has there been a more challenging time.

Amidst a global pandemic as a backdrop, I wish we were spared from also having to address a different issue that arises from Universal actions currently underway.

For 100 years, AMC Theatres has served as a strategically critical and highly profitable distribution platform for movie makers, and for all that time the exclusivity of the theatrical release has been fundamental. When a movie is “Only in Theaters,” consumers perceive it to be higher quality entertainment. Countless filmmakers and moviegoers believe that their creative works are best enjoyed by consumers on the big screen. And we all know that those theatrical releases indeed boost publicity, positive word-of-mouth, critical acclaim and downstream revenues.

For much of the past four and a half years, I have been in direct dialogue with Jeff Shell and Peter Levinsohn of Universal about the importance of a robust theatrical window to the viability of the motion picture exhibition industry. Throughout that time, AMC has expressed a willingness to consider alternatives to the current windowing strategy common in our industry, where the aim of such alternatives is to improve both studio profitability and theater operator profitability.

Universal stated it only pursued a direct-to-home entertainment release for “Trolls World Tour” because theaters were closed and Universal was committed to a lucrative toy licensing deal. We had our doubts that this was wholly Universal’s motivations, as it has been a longstanding desire by Universal to go to the home day and date. Nonetheless, we accepted this action as an exception to our longstanding business practices in these unprecedented times.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jeff Shell is quoted as saying that:

“The results for ‘Trolls World Tour’ have exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the viability of PVOD,” Mr. Shell said. “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”

This radical change by Universal to the business model that currently exists between our two companies represents nothing but downside for us and is categorically unacceptable to AMC Entertainment, the worlds largest collection of movie theatres.

Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms.

Accordingly, we want to be absolutely clear, so that there is no ambiguity of any kind. AMC believes that with this proposed action to go to the home and theatres simultaneously, Universal is breaking the business model and dealings between our two companies. It assumes that we will meekly accept a reshaped view of how studios and exhibitors should interact, with zero concern on Universal’s part as to how its actions affect us. It also presumes that Universal in fact can have its cake and eat it too, that Universal film product can be released to the home and theatres at the same time, without modification to the current economic arrangements between us.

It is disappointing to us, but Jeff’s comments as to Universal’s unilateral actions and intentions have left us with no choice. Therefore, effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theatres in the United States, Europe or the Middle East. This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theatres reopen, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat. Incidentally, this policy is not aimed solely at Universal out of pique or to be punitive in any way, it also extends to any movie maker who unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us, so that they as distributor and we as exhibitor both benefit and neither are hurt from such changes. Currently, with the press comment today, Universal is the only studio contemplating a wholesale change to the status quo. Hence, this immediate communication in response.

AMC has invested significant time and energy with Universal executives over the past few years trying to figure out a new windows model that would be beneficial both for your studio and for our theatre operations. While Universal’s unilateral pronouncements on this issue are unpalatable to us, as has always been the case, AMC is willing to sit down with Universal to discuss different windows strategies and different economic models between your company and ours. However, in the absence of such discussions, and an acceptable conclusion thereto, our decades of incredibly successful business activity together has sadly come to an end.

Sincerely,

Adam Aron
CEO and President
AMC Entertainment

Mariah Carey: The Continuing Mystery of How a 12 Year Old Out of Print Album is Number 1 on iTunes

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey: The Continuing Mystery of How a 12 Year Old Out of Print Album is Number 1 on iTunes

Yes, the mystery continues.

How in the world could Mariah Carey’s “E=MC2,” an album from 2008 that is almost out of stock completely at amazon.com, be number 1 suddenly on iTunes?

iTunes, don’t forget, measures downloads, not streaming.

Sales of CD and downloads from Friday through Sunday night, according to Buzz Angle Music, came to just 677 copies. If you count in streaming– which iTunes doesn’t– total sales have been 1,200.

Of course, even that last

Compare all of this to the Number 2 album on iTunes at this moment, Fiona Apple’s “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” It’s sold 2,200 CDs and downloads since Friday. That’s three times as much as Mariah’s album. Fiona’s total sales since Friday including streaming are 4,100.

It doesn’t take Einstein to figure out something is very wrong. I’m not saying Mariah knows what’s happening. or has sanctioned this onslaught of iTunes. But this occurred once before, when her “Glitter” album inexplicably took off after 20 years of dormancy. It could be fans just hitting buy on iTunes over and over. But why? It’s clearly a fraud.

Something is going on with iTunes, that’s for sure.

And here’s an interesting note. According to Buzz Angle, Carey fans may have tried this back on February 14th. That one week, “E=Mc2” vaulted up in digital sales, didn’t quite make it, and fell back to Earth. So this is the second time someone has tried to manipulate sales of the album. This time, it worked.

Let’s see what happens next.

 

PS Here’s the projected top 5 this week from Hitsdailydouble.com. “E=MC2” is not even in their top 20.

 

  • Youngboy Never Broke Again (NBA/Atlantic) 65-75k, 4-5k
  • DaBaby (Interscope) 50-55k, 1-2k
  • Lil Uzi Vert (Generation Now/Atlantic) 50-55k, <1k
  • The Weeknd (XO/Republic) 50-55k, 4-6k
  • Lil Baby (Quality Control/Motown/Capitol) 40-45k, <1k

 

 

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