Tony Bennett says it’s a ‘crime’ radio stations don’t pay performers for playing their tunes

September 18th, 2009 Former Ore. Sen. Smith to head broadcasters groupWASHINGTON — Former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith was named on Friday to lead the National Association of Broadcasters.

August 2nd, 2009 200 Venezuelans protest radio station shutdownsCARACAS, Venezuela — Some 200 Venezuelans gathered outside a Caracas broadcaster Saturday to protest a decision by President Hugo Chavez's government to revoke the licenses of 34 radio stations. The demonstration occurred outside CNB 102.3 FM, which cut its over-the-air transmission Saturday morning on orders from the telecommunications regulatory agency and is now transmitting only over the Internet.

August 1st, 2009 Venezuelan regulators to pull 34 radio concessionsCARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan regulators revoked the broadcast rights of 34 radio stations on Friday, deepening a rift between President Hugo Chavez's government and the private media. Diosdado Cabello, who heads Venezuela's telecommunications regulatory agency, said some of the broadcasters failed to update their registrations or let their concessions expire, while others held licenses granted to an operator who is now deceased.

July 4th, 2009 Venezuelan official: Radio licenses to be revokedCARACAS, Venezuela — The head of Venezuela's telecommunications regulatory agency said Friday that 240 radio stations will have their licenses revoked for failing to update their registrations with the government. A total of 86 AM radio stations and 154 FM stations have failed to turn in required documents, which will lead to the "recovery of all those concessions by the state," said Diosdado Cabello, who heads the telecommunications agency.

June 3rd, 2009 NAB: House majority opposes new performers royaltyLOS ANGELES — The National Association of Broadcasters says a majority of U.S. House members are now opposed to imposing new fees on radio stations to pay performance artists.

May 1st, 2009 Tony Bennett donates instruments during Jazz FestNEW ORLEANS — Jazz crooner Tony Bennett handed out dozens of new instruments Thursday to students at a charter school founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hoping the tubas, trumpets and trombones would be used to carry on New Orleans' vibrant musical tradition. Meanwhile, the second half of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival got under way.

May 1st, 2009 Washboard Chaz to open blues tent at NO Jazz FestNEW ORLEANS — Washboard Chaz, the Jambalaya Cajun Band and a host of jazz and brass bands are slated to perform Friday at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Among the day's headline acts are singer and pianist Marcia Ball, jazz singer Tony Bennett and the country group Sugarland.

April 30th, 2009 Ben Harper, Emmylou Harris to take Jazz Fest stageNEW ORLEANS — Rock musician Ben Harper and country singer Emmylou Harris take the stage for the second half of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Soul singers Marva Wright and Solomon Burke, singer and violinist Theresa Andersson, and the Little Freddie King Blues Band are also set to perform Thursday.

April 29th, 2009 Singer Tony Bennett wants pay for play on radioWASHINGTON — Singer Tony Bennett says it's a crime that performers don't get paid by radio stations when their music is broadcast. "The radios don't want to give up one penny," Bennett said Tuesday after he performed the song "The Good Life" at a private gathering of guests and lawmakers, which included Sens.

April 29th, 2009 Tony Bennett gives museum painting of jazz greatWASHINGTON — Tony Bennett donated a watercolor he made of longtime friend Duke Ellington to a Smithsonian museum on Wednesday, the 110th anniversary of the jazz great's birth. The painting depicts Ellington with a bouquet of pink roses in the background.

April 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Hollywood actress Eva Longoria Parker has revealed that she and husband Tony Parker are planning to move to France. Eva and Tony confirmed their plan to move to his native France once he is through with his football and she with 'Desperate Housewives'.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Denzel Washington is in talks to star in the Tony Scott-directed drama 'Unstoppable'. The project would see Washington playing an experienced engineer who jumps in a locomotive with a young conductor to chase down a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals.

April 18th, 2009 LONDON - Rock legend Bob Dylan has revealed that the circus shows he saw as a kid later became the inspiration behind his music. He says that he used to conceive ideas by observing the travelling performers who passed through his Minnesota hometown because he did not have any exposure to other musicians in his youth.

April 5th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Family groups have called for radio stations to play explicit songs by artists such as Britney Spears and Lily Allen in restricted time slots. Angry parents have swamped the Australian Family Association with complaints about risque hits on the radio.

February 24th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - Six-time Grammy award-winning artist John Legend joined double Oscar winning Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman to present a picture of perfect harmony on stage as Mumbai-set 'Slumdog Millionaire' swept the Oscars.