Idolator: uh oh

"Blender" On The Brink?

Maura Johnston — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:45:00 EST

Alpha Media Group, which publishes Blender (and (ugh) Maxim), is in restructuring talks that could result in the company being turned over to creditors, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. [WSJ]

RapidShare Might Be Rapidly Shutting Down If It Doesn't Comply With Copyright Law

Maura Johnston — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The third-party file-hosting service RapidShare may be sunk thanks to German copyright law and a very stringent judge. RapidShare, which is based in Germany, allows people to share large files with one another without having to sign up for ISPs; over the past year or so, I've found myself relying on sites of its ilk for my, uh, "sharing" much more than I have BitTorrent. Which is probably why the German recording industry group GEMA sued the service for copyright infringement.

The people running the service said they were doing everything they could to try and screen out copyrighted materal—but a court in that country said that the site's administrators needed to be more vigilant about fighting infringements, to the point where the company may be forced to employ people who are in charge of screening each piece of uploaded content manually. So either Rapidshare is going to hire a lot of interns, or it'll be shutting down under the weight of these requirements, with its founders looking on wistfully as another five services pop up in its wake. (NB: As of now, Vibe music editor Sean Fennessey's blog named after the service seems to be unaffected. But you never know!)

Court: RapidShare must remove infringing content proactively [Ars Technica]

Huge Record Collection's Alleged Buyer May Be Getting Some Very Negative eBay Feedback Soon

Maura Johnston — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:59:19 EST

The eBay user jopsoup—who won the gigantic record collection that was up for auction there with a $3,002,500 bid—has a curious addition to his favorably rated profile: He's now noted as not being registered with the site. What does that mean? From eBay: "'Not a registered user' can refer to members who have cancelled their membership, or whose membership has been suspended by eBay. For example, a member whose correct contact information is no longer on file with us may have their registration suspended until the new contact information is entered. In either case, the member appears as 'not a registered user' and is not allowed to buy or sell on eBay." Could the high bid have flagged eBay's profile-watchers, or did jopsoup cut and run once he realized that he'd have to cut a big check? The agent for seller Paul Mawhinney is currently "trying to track down" jopsoup, who lives in Ireland, but one wonders if this bid was just an eBay joke that went wrong in a very high-profile way. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; HT Robbie Analog]

Paramore Lead Singer's Cryptic Blog Post Sends Fans Crying Into Their Orange Hair Dye

Maura Johnston — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:30:59 EST

Hey, remember a few weeks ago, when we made mention of the fact that Paramore guitarist Josh Farro wasn't happy with the attention heaped on lead singer Hayley Williams? Well, the tensions between the band may be a little bit higher than previously thought; Paramore canceled the remainder of its UK/Europe jaunt earlier this week, and today, Williams posted an apology note to the band's official blog that mentioned "internal issues that have been going on ... for quite a while now." So the break, as it were, will double as a chance for those "issues" to be worked out—or so Williams hopes, since she also drops the phrase "willing to risk the life of our band over one tour" as she talks about how "all five of us are going to work so hard to get it right." I like Paramore a lot and really hope they get things together, but part of me has to wonder, after reading her post, how many people at Warner Music Group is probably freaking out right about now. Williams' full post after the jump.

Hey guys,

As most of you already know, we have cancelled the rest of our UK/Europe RIOT Tour. First of all, we want to say we are so sorry for letting all of you down. We feel terrible about it and really didn't expect for this to happen. It probably doesn't sound like much but we just hate that we won't get to play this show for those of you who had hoped to see it.

There are a lot of internal issues that have been going on in this band for quite a while now. A lot of it started right around the time we were gearing up for the RIOT Tour in the US. We were able to fight through all of it for this long but unfortunately we weren't able to keep it together long enough to make it through 'til the end of this tour. We really feel that taking this time is going to give us a chance to get away and work out our personal issues at home and on our own terms. We just aren't willing to risk the life of our band over one tour. That probably sounds terrible right now, to say that finishing a week of shows wasn't worth it... but if we can use this next month wisely then we will be a lot healthier for the tours ahead. We hope that - even though it might be hard to understand - that you guys can support us at this time.

Maybe one day we will tell the whole story but for now, just know that all five of us are going to work so hard to get it right. You deserve that and we deserve to make this last as long as possible - and to enjoy every second of it. We love you guys so much. If you could pray for us or just keep us in your thoughts it would be really helpful. You guys have gotten us so far and been the best motivators since day one. We are so sorry for the trouble we caused you guys who bought tickets, fan club members and to all the promoters and venues that we won't be there to put on a show for. We are extremely sorry to New Found Glory and all their fans who wanted to put on and see a show and who we've let down. And lastly, to Lost Alone.

We will keep you guys updated.

Love,
Hayley, Jeremy, Josh, Zac and Taylor

Hey guys [paramore.net]
[Photo: Getty]