[FC-discuss] [*] Rick Rubin leading Columbia, hating on spyware

[Kevin Driscoll]

If you need some downtime, there is an interesting NYT article about
Rick Rubin's attempts to re-invigorate the flagging Columbia Records.

EXCERPT
"By the time Barnett first approached Rubin about coming to Columbia,
Rubin had already decided that he would have nothing more to do with
Columbia Records. This was because of the company's handling of the
Rubin-produced Neil Diamond record "12 Songs" in 2005. Diamond was a
hero of Rubin's, and he spent two years working on the album,
persuading Diamond to record acoustically, something he hadn't done
since the '60s.

"The CD debuted at No. 4," Rubin told me at Hugo's, still sounding
upset. "It was the highest debut of Neil's career, off to a great
start. But Columbia — it was some kind of corporate thing — had put
spyware on the CD. That kept people from copying it, but it also
somehow recorded information about whoever bought the record. The
spyware became public knowledge, and people freaked out. There were
some lawsuits filed, and the CD was recalled by Columbia. Literally
pulled from stores. We came out on a Tuesday, by the following week
the CD was not available. Columbia released it again in a month, but
we never recovered. Neil was furious, and I vowed never to make
another album with Columbia."

FULL TEXT
http://board.low-bee.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26397&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a


Kevin

-- 
http://kevindriscoll.info/