Music History

Sony launched the first commercially available compact disc player, the CDP-101, in Tokyo. The device cost 168,000 yen, equivalent according to different source variants to approximately $650–$730.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened its doors.

Eighteen-year-old Sinéad O'Connor signed a contract with Ensign Records. Her debut album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” was released two years later.

He outbid Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono at auction and acquired ATV Music Publishing for $47.5 million, a company controlling the rights to The Beatles' catalog. The catalog contained the rights to more than 4,000 songs, approximately 250 of which were Beatles compositions. Three years after their collaboration on “The Girl Is Mine”, Paul McCartney recommended that Jackson invest in music publishing rights. McCartney had previously negotiated with Yoko Ono, who withdrew from the deal for “astrological” reasons. The investment proved highly profitable but permanently damaged the friendship between Jackson and McCartney.

Forbes magazine ranked New Kids On The Block among the five highest-earning American artists, with the group reportedly earning $78 million during the previous year.

Madison Square Garden in New York hosted a listening party for Metallica’s new self-titled album, organized by Elektra Records. Around 9,000 fans attended, with Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana among the guests.

Prince extended his contract with Warner Bros. in a deal reportedly worth $100 million, although the actual value was significantly lower.

PolyGram purchased Motown Records from investment company Boston Ventures for $301 million.

Apple Records won an auction for a rare recording of The Beatles performing “Kansas City” and “Some Other Guy” at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962, paying £16,000 for the acetate disc.

A two-sided acetate recording of The Beatles featuring live recordings of “Kansas City” and “Some Other Guy” from the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962 was sold at Christie's auction in London for $32,000 (£16,500), which at the time was a record price for a recording.

Rick Rubin changed the name of his record label Def American Recordings to American Recordings because he felt that the word “Def” was overused in pop culture as a synonym for “cool” and had been exhausted after being added to the Webster's dictionary. He staged a symbolic funeral ceremony at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles, which included a eulogy by Reverend Al Sharpton and the burial of a coffin filled with records.

Motown Records was sold to the Dutch record and entertainment company PolyGram for $325 million. This was more than five times the $61 million received by founder Berry Gordy when he sold the company in 1988.

The Clarence Hotel in Dublin, owned by members of U2, was damaged by a fire that took more than three hours to bring under control. The nightclub The Kitchen, located in the same building, was also affected and had to be evacuated.

Microsoft introduced the Windows 95 operating system, whose startup music was composed by Brian Eno, a pioneer of ambient music who released the album „Ambient 1: Music for Airports“ in 1978, designed to calm travelers at airports.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Cleveland, Ohio, to mark the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum officially opened the following day.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building opened in Cleveland, Ohio. Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Little Richard, The Allman Brothers, Boz Scaggs, James Brown and Martha Reeves were among those who performed at the opening ceremony.

A federal appeals court overturned a ruling that original Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers members Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago had co-written the hit “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?”. The court ruled that copyright claims must be filed within three years of a song's publication.

Geri Halliwell announced that she would sell some of the Spice Girls’ clothing in a charity auction. Her PVC jumpsuit was offered for £5,000, knee-high boots for £1,200, and the Union Jack dress she wore at the Brit Awards for £8,000.

David Bowie launched his own internet service, Bowienet. The service offered basic internet services as well as exclusive news and releases related to Bowie.

The Crossroads Centre, funded by Eric Clapton, opened in Antigua. It provided treatment for people with drug and alcohol addictions and pledged not to turn away anyone who needed help.

The online music service Myplay.com was launched, entering a highly competitive online music market.

Liverpool music retailer Rushworth and Dreaper closed after approximately 150 years in business. The store became renowned for supplying musical instruments to The Beatles and other Liverpool bands.

The Jimi Hendrix estate won an international arbitration case over the domain name www.jimihendrix.com. The World Intellectual Property Organization ruled that the then-holder, Denny Hammerton, had no legitimate claim to the domain and had registered and used it in bad faith.

Attorneys general from 28 U.S. states filed a class-action lawsuit against major record companies over alleged efforts to keep CD prices high and penalize retailers that sold them below the minimum price set by the labels. The case was later settled for $143 million, and millions of customers who purchased CDs between 1995 and 2000 received compensation.

The Spice Girls held five places on a list of the twenty highest-earning British celebrities serving as company directors. The companies Monsta Productions, Moody Productions, Red Girl Productions, Moneyspider Productions and Geri Productions each earned £6 million.

The Recording Industry Association of America introduced rules for labeling recordings containing material considered unsuitable for children in the United States.

Whitney Houston signed a new recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $100 million — reported at the time as the largest recording deal for a female artist.

Earth, Wind & Fire announced that their planned U.S. tour celebrating the group's 30th anniversary would be sponsored by a company that manufactured Viagra.

British funeral service Co-op reported that bereaved families preferred pop songs to hymns at funerals. Among the most frequently chosen songs were "Wind Beneath My Wings", "Angels" and "My Heart Will Go On", as well as "Another One Bites The Dust" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".

The original version of the peer-to-peer file-sharing program Napster officially ended after a planned takeover by Bertelsmann Entertainment Group could not be completed during the bankruptcy proceedings. Napster subsequently laid off all employees, and its homepage displayed “Napster Was Here”. The brand later returned as a paid service.

Robbie Williams signed an £80 million deal with EMI Records, which at the time was described as the most lucrative or highest-value British recording contract in history.

Tickets for Duran Duran's reunion concert at London's Kentish Town Forum sold out in four minutes.

Eric Clapton purchased a 50% stake in the London menswear store Cordings to help save the historic business from closure.

The iTunes Music Store became the first store with a catalog containing more than one million songs.

Queen became the first rock group to receive official permission to operate in Iran, where Western music was strictly prohibited. Freddie Mercury was of Iranian heritage, and Queen albums had been available in the country for years through unofficial copies.

The iTunes Music Store reached 125 million songs sold.

After 46 years, Cliff Richard ended his contract with EMI Records and signed with Universal Music. During his time with EMI, he sold more than 250 million records.

AC/DC Lane, a street named after the Australian rock band, was officially opened in Melbourne. During the ceremony, the band’s song “Long Way to the Top” was played on bagpipes.

Britney Spears ended her professional relationship with manager Larry Rudolph, who had managed her career since she was 13. Rudolph said that he and the singer had mutually agreed not to renew their management relationship after nine years.

Apple launched the iTunes Music Store in Japan with a catalog of one million songs.

Toby Keith announced that he was founding his own record company, Show Dog Nashville Records.

A silver 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow that belonged to Freddie Mercury was offered for sale on eBay by his sister and heir, Kashmira Cooke. The car had not been seen publicly since 2002, when it transported the Bulsara family to the premiere of Queen's musical We Will Rock You. A box of Kleenex Mansize tissues that Mercury had reportedly left inside was said to still be there.

Elvis Presley Enterprises announced plans for a major redevelopment of the Graceland complex, including a new visitor center, hotel, and modern multimedia exhibits.

Procter & Gamble secured a license to use The Beatles' song “All You Need Is Love” in a television advertisement for Luvs diapers.

The American National Music Publishers' Association joined legal action against YouTube over claims that songwriters were not properly compensated for the use of their music on the platform.

Jon Foreman, frontman of Switchfoot, announced that the band had left Columbia Records. Switchfoot subsequently founded their own label, lowercase people records.

Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders opened Mark Lindsay's Rock And Roll Cafe in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. The restaurant closed the following year.