Weblinks: Sirius XM, Ben Folds Five, Hall of Fame Elections
• • • Sirius XM Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will likely exit the company after Liberty Media takes control of it, according to the LA Times. Karmazin, whose contract is up at the end of the year, shared the news with attendees at the Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference in Beverly Hills today (9/12). Liberty is seeking FCC approval to increase its holdings in Sirius XM and become the outright owner.
• • • Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be held June 13-16, 2013 in Manchester, Tenn. For the first time, the dates don’t overlap with CMA Music Festival, which is scheduled for June 6-9. This is good news for Nashville businesses, which will be able to accomodate Bonnaroo-goers because they won’t already be occupied with CMA Fest attendees.
• • • CMT/CMT.com Editorial Director Chet Flippo weighed in on the election process for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in a recent edition of his Nashville Skyline column. He writes, “Everyone agrees there are a number of extremely worthy country artists who aren’t members of the Hall and who should be. And I can’t argue with that. But there are limits that should be imposed, and there are checks and balances that should be respected.”
• • • Ben Folds Five is about to release its first album of new material in 13 years. The Sound of the Life of the Mind will be available Sept. 18. Folds reunited with band members Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee for the record. Rolling Stone interviewed the Nashvillian about the project and reports it “reflects Folds’ evolution as an introspective songwriter, while still retaining his typically humorous spin on life.”
