Jeff Castelaz Named President of Elektra Records

Jeff Castelaz was today named President of Elektra Records, which operates under the Atlantic Records Group where he will oversee all areas of Elektra's activities, both working with existing signings and developing new talent.

Castelaz will report directly to Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman and Atlantic chairman & COO Julie Greenwald.

Jeff Castelaz, Matt Solodky Exit Dangerbird; Jenni Sperandeo Named President

Castelaz, who co-founded Dangerbird Records and Music Publishing in 2003, has played a key role in the careers of such artists as  Silversun Pickups, Fitz and The Tantrums, Sea Wolf, Dropkick Murphys, Eagles of Death Metal and Phoenix among others.

"Now into its seventh decade, Elektra Records has a unique spirit, cultivated by the elite group of creative mavericks who've run the label and the eclectic artists they've signed," Kallman and Greenwald said in a joint statement: "Building on the remarkable success since the label's re-launch in 2009, Jeff is the perfect choice to forge the next extraordinary chapter of Elektra's story.

"I'm honored to step into the pilot's seat of this incredible label," Castelaz stated. "I couldn't be more excited to uphold Elektra's legacy of long term development of vital artists-a principle that has been the touchstone of my entire career. I look forward to suiting up as the newest member of the crack Artist Development squad known as Atlantic Records Group."

Elektra founder, Jac Holzman added that: "Craig and Julie have given a kid from Milwaukee the opportunity of a lifetime-to shine the Elektra spotlight forward to another generation of music fans. Jeff's broad experience with indie recording and indie management has given him the perfect combination of energy, taste and a commitment to scout the edges and find those seminal artists, a bit ahead of their time, who are capable of making a significant contribution to those who embrace the best of new music."

While at Dangerbird Records and Music Publishing in 2003, Castelaz signed and guided the careers of a wide range of artists including Silversun Pickups, Fitz and The Tantrums, Sea Wolf, Beady Eye and Richie Sambora, among others. In 1992 he founded Cast Management, where he manages Dropkick Murphys and record producers and songwriters such as Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Tony Hoffer and Jacquire King.

Castelaz also sits on three boards: the President's Circle of The Lance Armstrong Foundation/LIVESTRONG; Radio Milwaukee, a non-commercial AAA station to which he was recruited by the philanthropist Peter Buffett; and The Pablove Foundation, a pediatric cancer charity Castelaz and his wife Jo Ann Thrailkill founded, which funds innovative pediatric cancer research and programs that improve the lives of kids and families living with childhood cancer.

Elektra records was founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman, Elektra Records with an eclectic musical roster that has included such artists as Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell 10,000 Maniacs, Anita Baker, Bjork, The Cars, Natalie Cole and The Cyre, Its current roster includes CeeLo Green, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Ed Sheeran, Marina and the Diamonds, and Justice.

Oprah & Rihanna Top Forbes' Highest-Paid Women in Hollywood List

Forbes' has released its annual list of Hollywood's Highest-Paid Women and media mogul Oprah Winfrey and singing sensation Rihanna have topped the list. Both women have had a very busy year juggling multiple projects but it seems thier hard work has paid off.

The Oprah Winfrey Show is off the air, but the former talk show queen still landed the number one spot, banking $165 million this past year. Winfrey, who is the CEO and founder of OWN, recently signed a partnership with producer and filmmaker Tyler Perry to create new scripted programming for the network. Although the network was once suffering from low ratings, OWN is steadily growing. The recent premiere of Iyanla: Fix My Life grabbed the network's highest debut ratings yet.

Rihanna landed in the top five of the list with $53 million in total earnings. The Barbados-born entertainer's revenue came from a mix of tours, album sales and endorsement deals including Nivea and Coco. According to Forbes, Rihanna's 85-date tour and her perfume Reb'l Fleur added millions to her net worth.

Other celebs who made the list include Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga.

Nicki Minaj Slams Mariah Carey On Twitter

A leaked video of Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey sharing heated words during an American Idolaudition taping hit the Internet yesterday and sparked an instant feud between fans on both sides. There had already been reports about tension between the two judges and Minaj's curse-filled rant proved the controversy. 

According to TMZ, Minaj believes the feud is being fueled by the show's producers to increase ratings. 

"I guess it hurts 2 have the producers tell u to ur face that Nicki is the best judge we've had since Simon," Minaj tweeted. "I thought we resolved it yesterday but I see u want ur pity party to continue."

It seems that Nicki is responding to remarks Mariah Carey made in aninterview with Barbara Walters on the The View today. Carey revealed that she “doesn’t feel comfortable emotionally" and she will hire extra security. 

Carey said the American Idol judges and producers had a meeting Wednesday to discuss the fight, and after Minaj told her, “I love you but we might fight again.” Walters said Carey responded with, “No, we will not."

Despite the altercation, neither Minaj nor Carey has expressed plans to leave the show. 

Carey's husband, Nick Cannon, also weighed in on the fight, saying, "I always say my wife is the strongest, classiest women that I've ever met. In any situation I'm never concerned about her handling herself." 

Minaj's Twitter rant continues; to read more, click here.

Rock & Roll HOF nods for Public Enemy, more

Who knew “Fight the Power” classified as rock and roll?

Rap groups Public Enemy and N.W.A. and disco pioneer Donna Summer are just a few of the diverse names announced as nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Other contenders include Blues artist Albert King, disco band Chic, New Orleans funk band The Meters, and Motown quartet The Marvelettes. About five to seven acts are inducted each year, with 15 nominated this year.

There are 15 acts up for nomination this year, with about five to seven being inducted a year.

“The definition of ‘rock and roll’ means different things to different people, but as broad as the classifications may be, they all share a common love of the music,” said Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

To be considered, artists had to release their first recording no later than 1987.

While it’s a first-time nomination for N.W.A., it’s the seventh time for Chic since 2003. It’s the sixth time being on the ballot for Summer, but the first since her death earlier this year.

A group of 600 artists, music historians and members of the industry will decide the inductees for this year’s ceremony which will take place on April 18 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The event will later be broadcast on HBO.

Those inducted will be represented in the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Is Bow Wow Really Broke?

Child support trials are fascinating looks into the hidden world of real rapper finances. These trails almost always completely flip the normal hip-hop script: suddenly the same rapper bragging about dropping 50K at a strip club is desperately trying to prove they're dead broke to avoid those child support payments. Looks like we can add Bow Wow to that list. 

During Bow Wow's recent trail, the former teen star claimed that his sole income was $4,000 a month as an employee of Cash Money Records, he only has $1,500 in his checking account, and his only vehicle was a leased Jeep. (Side note: What the fuck does it mean to be an "employee" of Cash Money?) Yep, we're talking the same Bow Wow turning out videos like this: 



Now there are a few options here. Lord knows it's entirely possible to release multiple albums and not see a dime, especially if there's a bad contract involved, but Bow Wow's been releasing albums for a decade now, some of them well before the music industry went essentially bankrupt. Somewhere along the line you'd think he had to accumulate a few royalty/licensing/publishing checks. Not to mention his new hosting gig on "106 & Park". 

And then as he alludes to in this video, there are other revenue streams; shows, tours, club appearances, and of course that movie money is about as legit as it's going to get (according to Bow Wow, he's making $9 million a flick): 


In light of the child support case, the irony of that video is almost unbelievable. If his testimony in court is to be believed, Bow Wow himself is one of those guys who have platinum albums but still "can't live". 

The second option, and one that's also pretty plausible, is that Bow Wow consistently exaggerates, perhaps to a nearly insane degree, what his bank account really looks like. That Lambo in the video with Soulja Boy? It's a day rental. That show money? He got in over his head buying real estate and it's gone. 

As always the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. He's pulling in more than $4,000 a month, but not nearly enough to be referring to a $500K Lamborghini as "short money". Regardless, remember this the next time a rapper pulls the "I'm Rich! I'm Rich! Wait, Child Support? I'm Poor! I'm Poor!" routine. And believe me, it will happen again. You never know when it will turn out that Your Favorite Rapper is Poor. 

White Students Hazed Black Arkansas Teen By Placing Noose Around His Neck, School Board Reacts

In the predominately White town of Wynne, Ark., an incident last week involving a 14-year-old African-American boy, who was reportedly hazed by fellow White junior varsity football players by placing a noose around his neck, has reached a fever pitch. With racial tensions high in the northeastern Arkansas town, the school board was dogged by questions from both the parents of the involved and outside media—resulting in the expulsion of two students from Wynne High School for the rest of the semester.

Local ABC news affiliate KATV-7 reported on the school board meeting last night (October 3) where over 150 people gathered outside. Much of the hearing was closed to the public, and when the board members emerged, Superintendent Carl Easley did not offer many details regarding the case although a decision was made. Just this morning, it was reported by several outlets that two students will be suspended for the rest of the semester—a much lesser sentence than Easley originally sought.

The victim's aunt was displeased with the outcome. “It would have satisfied the family if the two young men were expelled for the year. That would have been the right thing,” said Tresha Light. Although students and parents alike say the kids were most likely horsing around with a towel, it appears that there are several sides to the story after police interviewed over 30 students regarding the incident.  The victim's aunt relayed the story on behalf of her nephew that the students built a dummy that was hung in effigy prior to placing a noose around his neck.

With Wynne on the media map, Blacks and Whites are clearly divided on the issue with some thinking the school district may have overreacted.

The victim's mother, fearing racial retaliation, has asked news outlets to not identify her son in the case.

Is Cash Money Records Denying Drake His Cash Money? This New Lawsuit Says So

Let's rewind....way back in 2008 James "Jas" Prince discovered Drake off MySpace (ah, the days when MySpace broke artists) and introduced Drizzy to Lil Wayne, Wayne and Drake's manager Corey Bryant, their company Aspire Music Group and the rest of the Cash Money team. 

In return for making the connection, Prince says that he was guaranteed a percentage of Drake's future profits. Or, if you want to get technical, according to Business Insider, 22 percent of Aspire's share of profits, 22 percent of Aspire's ownership share of Drake's master recordings, and 5 percent of Drake's gross pay. 

Prince's lawsuit, filed April in the Manhattan Supreme Court, alleges that Cash Money has refused to turn over any documentation regarding how much money Drake has actually made, potentially shorting Prince of hundreds of thousands of dollars; maybe more, maybe less. The point is that Prince claims has no idea how much cash Drake is actually raking in, and therefore how much he's owed. 

We could stop right there and this would be just another fascinating example of how many people have their hands on an artist's money, and yet another example of Cash Money's notorious shadiness, but there's an extra wrinkle that makes this just a little juicier. 

The lawsuit also alleges that Drake himself has potentially been shorted millions of dollars, and is exploring leaving Cash Money is he's not properly compensated. 

You can read the entire lawsuit here, but it's really only Exhibit F that we're interested in. (And yeah, I feel all smart and shit using a term like Exhibit F): 


If I'm reading this right, Drake's legal team Meloni & McCaffrey are saying the following: 

1) We're pretty sure you owe Drake a bunch of money. 
2) We've been trying to get that money from you for a long time, but so far no dice. 
3) Cash Money's lawyer Ron Sweeney offered us a settlement. Fuck his settlement. 
4) You know, now that we look at Drake's contract, we realize that he could legally leave Cash Money anytime he wants. Marinate on that shit for a minute. 

Until we hear from Drake himself this is all just allegation and conjecture, so while it's tempting to write a salacious headline like "Drake's leaving Cash Money!" we don't really know if that's true. What we do know is that Drake and Cash Money are fighting over money, and Drake's lawyers have laid down the "he could leave the label" threat. It could be a serious threat, it could be an empty threat, but the threat has been issued. 

To take this one step further, there's no real proof that Drake, Lil Wayne and the rest of the major players are even particularly involved in these negotiations. Often that's why artists hire expensive lawyers, so the legal teams can fight it out behind the scenes while on the surface the artists' personal relationships stay positive.

Still, things are clearly not all good when it comes to Drake's tenure at Cash Money. Could the day come when Drake is no longer running with Lil Wayne? It doesn't seem likely, but when those dollars start getting involved, some unpredictable shit has been known to happen. 

In other words, you know Diddy's writing "come on over to Bad Boy" texts to Drake right now.