Kings of A&R

• Record Labels Sue Web Site Operator
  Record labels including Arista, Warner Bros., Capitol and Universal sued the operator of the Russian music Web site AllofMP3.com on Wednesday, claiming the company has been profiting by selling copies of music without their permission.
• American Idol champ Taylor Hicks only sold 298,000 during the holiday week. Seems kind of low during the holiday week. Could it be the promotion? Promotion included 20/20, the American Music Awards, “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “Good Morning America” and “Live With Regis and Kelly, MTV TRL. Hicks doesn’t have a single charting in the top 50.

Carrie Underwood first week sales -  315,000
Ruben Studdard frst week - 417,000
Fantasia’s recent release - 133,000

Clay Aiken “A Thousand Different Ways,” hasn’t topped 500,000 in the 2½ months it has been up for sale

• Viacom drops out of venture to take on YouTube
  Media conglomerates has halted the plan to form a network-backed rival to YouTube.