MySpace owner talks Justin Timberlake's new job (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) – Can MySpace be saved?

That's the question facing the sickly social network's new owner Specific Media. Instead of picking up the site for parts, the Irvine-based online advertising network's CEO Tim Vanderhook says he is serious about relaunching MySpace as a digital entertainment destination.

He's certainly got one big name in his corner who could help make those ambitions more than just a pipe dream.

Shortly after picking up MySpace from News Corp. for $35 million on Wednesday, Specific Media said that it was bringing on popstar and actor Justin Timberlake to serve as the site's creative director.

It was a move that no one saw coming, instantly generating more excitement around MySpace than the site has seen for years. Fresh off his coup, Vanderhook told TheWrap about his vision for MySpace, how Timberlake will be involved, and why the social network fell behind Facebook.

Q: MySpace is seen as a tarnished brand. Will it be difficult to make people care about it again?

A: We still have 70 million people coming to the site that would disagree with that statement. One thing that we love about MySpace is that it's iconic, and when it comes to the online space, iconic brands always have the ability to bounce back.

Q: How did Justin Timberlake come on board? Did you know him before?

A: No, we didn't know him. When it comes to creative ideas, we're not professional content creators. We're not artists or musicians. We wanted to find a multi-faceted person who is all of those things, so we were sitting in a room thinking about who that person would be, and Justin was the name that came up.

We reached out to anyone who could get ahold of him and eventually we got a meeting. We talked about MySpace and told him we wanted to find a partner to guide our creative course, and something about MySpace just struck a cord in him. He's very passionate about helping young artists get discovered and within that meeting he was coming up with hundreds of ideas instantly.

Q: How involved will Justin be in the company's day-to-day operations?

A: Obviously, he has many careers that he has to take care of, so his time is limited, but his passion and involvement are high. He will have an office at MySpace and he will have six people working directly for him, who will be executing on what he wants to do.

Q: Did his role playing Facebook guru Sean Parker in "The Social Network" make him more interested in being involved in MySpace?

A: No, that just happened to be ironic. He was more interested in what we were doing from a strategy perspective.

Q: So you're not worried he's a Facebook plant?

A: Not at all.

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LA-area salon owner gets probation for credit scam (AP)

LOS ANGELES – A Beverly Hills beauty salon owner was sentenced Monday to five years of probation, including nine months in home confinement, for lifting information from credit cards belonging to her celebrity clients such as Liv Tyler and Jennifer Aniston, and ringing up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bogus charges.

Maria Gabriela Hashemipour, 51, also was ordered to complete 3,000 hours of community service, U.S. attorney's office spokesman Thom Mrozek said. A restitution hearing was set for Oct. 17.

Hashemipour pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court to one count of access device fraud.

"I'm extremely sorry for what I have done," Hashemipour told U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real before her sentence was imposed, according to City News Service.

Prosecutors had asked for 2 1/2 years in prison, but the judge said he decided on probation due to the Hashemipour's health and to allow her to work toward repayment, City News Service said.

Hashemipour was arrested last August at her business and residence, Chez Gabriela Studio. Her website said her clientele includes Aniston, Halle Berry and Cher.

Two of Tyler's credit cards had about $214,000 in fraudulent charges from the studio over a five-month period last year, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

The case came to the attention of investigators after jewelry designer Loree Rodkin's attorney said about $68,000 had been charged to her credit card from Hashemipour's studio without her authorization.

Hashemipour offered $25,000 worth of products in exchange for the charges, but Rodkin refused, the affidavit said.

Rodkin also told authorities she knew of other clients, such as Anne Hathaway, who had similar charges on their credit card, the affidavit said. The indictment showed that in July 2009, more than $16,000 in charges were made to the American Express card of a victim identified as "A.H."

Prosecutors declined to release names of other victims, but other victims named in the affidavit included Melanie Griffith, Penelope Cruz and actor Scott Speedman, City News Service reported.

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"Chipmunks" owner suing over tribute album (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – The owner of the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise, is suing the producers of an "artistically inferior knockoff" Chipmunks tribute album on iTunes, Amazon.com and other digital stores.

Bagdasarian Prods. claims the Jerry Naylor Company distributed a digital album entitled "A Tribute to Alvin and the Chipmonks," that uses a nearly identical set of songs to past Chipmunks hits, including "The Chipmunk Song," "Funkytown" and "Mess Around."

The fact that the defendant spelled Chipmonks with an "o" and is re-recording past hits from Ray Charles and the Lips, among others, isn't enough to escape Bagdasarian attention. The plaintiffs claim the "knockoff"/tribute infringes its trademarks and is likely to confuse the public on its source of origin.

The Chipmunks were the creation of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., who in 1958 had the bright idea of recording his own voice and speeding it up. He made a Grammy-winning chart-topper, "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)," and followed it up with an animated TV show, hit feature films, and albums full of hit pop songs done at high speeds. The franchise has made more than $1 billion.

Bagdasarian Productions, now run by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., is seeking more than $1 million in believed damages and an injunction. The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in California.

Bagdasarian Prods. is currently in the midst of other court fights. Last year, the company sued 20th Century Fox, claiming it was owed "half of all profits" over the megahit "Squeakquel" film. A federal judge's order to send the dispute to arbitration is now on appeal up to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this year, Bagdasarian also sued EMI Music for allegedly failing to pay appropriate royalties on a boxed set of Chipmunks music. An amended complaint was just filed in the case and EMI is set to respond soon.

(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

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Keith Urban lends hand to Wis. salon owner (AP)

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Caitlin R. King, Associated Press – 16 mins ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Wisconsin hair salon owner is missing her signature storefront sculpture: a fiberglass hand shaped like a chair with images of country star Keith Urban.

Urban Style owner Denise Mackey-Natz says the hand was unbolted from its concrete block outside her store and stolen last month.

Urban heard about the theft and called Mackey-Natz. He's offering four tickets and four VIP passes to any show on his "Get Closer World Tour" to anyone with information that leads to finding the hand. The salon is offering a $200 reward.

Mackey-Natz suspects college students stole it as a prank but says she just wants it back because it is so close to her heart.

She bought the hand three years ago for $2,500 to benefit the Children's Museum of Eau Claire.

Urban's tour starts June 16 in Biloxi, Miss.

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http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_people_keith_urban/41346274/SIG=10skllecm/*http://www.keithurban.net/

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Keith Urban lends hand to Wis. salon owner (AP)

By CAITLIN R. KING, Associated Press Caitlin R. King, Associated Press – 15 mins ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Wisconsin hair salon owner is missing her signature storefront sculpture: a fiberglass hand shaped like a chair with images of country star Keith Urban.

Urban Style owner Denise Mackey-Natz says the hand was unbolted from its concrete block outside her store and stolen last month.

Urban heard about the theft and called Mackey-Natz. He's offering four tickets and four VIP passes to any show on his "Get Closer World Tour" to anyone with information that leads to finding the hand. The salon is offering a $200 reward.

Mackey-Natz suspects college students stole it as a prank but says she just wants it back because it is so close to her heart.

She bought the hand three years ago for $2,500 to benefit the Children's Museum of Eau Claire.

Urban's tour starts June 16 in Biloxi, Miss.

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Online:

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_people_keith_urban/41346274/SIG=10skllecm/*http://www.keithurban.net/

Comments and tips are welcome at: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_people_keith_urban/41346274/SIG=1133qhv33/*http://www.twitter.com/AP_Country

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