
- Four musicians landed on Forbes‘ list of the Biggest Celebrity Paydays of 2007: 50 Cent took second thanks to his megabucks VitaminWater deal, while Jay-Z landed at number four after earning $82 million by selling his Rocawear fashion line. Sammy Hagar’s $80 million paycheck for his tequila company Cabo Wabo put him in fifth place, and Madonna scored enough upfront cash from her $120 million Live Nation deal to take eighth place.
- Phil Spector reportedly insulted Tina Turner at Ike Turner’s funeral late last week, proclaiming, “Ike made Tina the jewel she was. When I went to see Ike play at the Cinegrill in the Nineties … there were at least five Tina Turners on the stage performing that night, any one of them could have been Tina Turner.”
- DMX says he’ll put out two releases in 2008 after signing a deal with online gaming company Bodog Entertainment. The rapper, who was dropped from Sony during a rough 2007 that included a pitbull raid at his home and an arrest for driving with an expired license, told Billboard, “I’ll show Bodog Music how it’s supposed to be done, and we’ll get to where we’re supposed to be. You got a dog for life.”
- On January 8th, Patti Smith will release a ninety-minute iTunes Originals EP that includes interviews, new studio versions of older tracks, the original 1978 recording of “Because the Night” and covers of songs by the Allman Brothers, the Doors and Nirvana. Patti Smith: Dream of Life, a documentary by Steve Sebring, will premiere on January 20th at the Sundance Film Festival.
- Madonna’s directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, will have its world premiere at Germany’s Berlinale film festival next February. The thirty-minute low-budget short comedy is reportedly based on the singer’s life.

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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.