Mariah Carey and Def Jam Put Ads in Albums

Bob Lefsetz said he thought he was reading the Onion rather than Billboard. The headline reads:
The Monetization of Mimi: Mariah CD To Have Ads

The first deal, created for the Mariah Carey release Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel on Sept. 15, is a 34-page co-production with Elle magazine that includes lifestyle ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, Carmen Steffens, Le Métier de Beauté and the Bahamas Board of Tourism.

Is this grasping for income straws?

Dave Stewart on Tranparency in Accouting

In Billboard Magazine, Dave Stewart makes a point that managers and artists have been pondering for years. When you buy a shirt with a credit card, you and retailer can see the transaction in 1.6 seconds. Why is it when you sell a record, the record labels do not give the artist access to the accounting (unless you audit them) and there is no transparency? It's a digital world and the labels are still living by that 50 year old structure. It also helps their bottom line, just ask Cher and the estate of Sonny Bono. They are suing for back royalties on Sonny and Cher records due to what they claim is illegal/creative accounting.