Variety reported that Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) introduced legislation to repeal a 1999 law that makes an artist's recordings "works for hire." The law allows record companies to own a recording for 95 years instead of the previous term of 35 years.

U2 [ tickets ]'s new video, for the song "Beautiful Day," will premiere on MTV on Friday (9/7).

Savage Garden [ tickets ] will appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Friday (9/8).

Showtime Event Television, a pay-per-view company, will air one of KISS [ tickets ]' last performances on Oct. 7.

According to Inside, Run-D.M.C. [ tickets ] has an album ready to be released by Arista--an album featuring Kid Rock, Fred Durst and Sugar Ray, among others--but Arista can't get permission from the guest artists' labels to release the songs as singles. With the Run-D.M.C. album, Arista seems to want to repeat the success of Santana's platinum CD featuring Rob Thomas and Lauryn Hill by pairing a veteran with youngsters.

Spinal Tap [ tickets ] found a new drummer. Sam Smales, a 35-year-old toilet paper salesman from Westerville, Ohio, won a contest in which contestants had to write a 50-word-essay on why they should be the new drummer. Here's Smales' essay:

My names is Smales... not Smalls. Smales/Smalls are derivations of the Welsh name Small, which explains our cucumbers. You need "family" in the band, and my great uncle's third cousin's brother's nephew is [Spinal Tap bassist] Derek Smalls. Furthermore, I will be the first toilet paper salesman turned drummer for Spinal Tap.

From staff reports, compiled by James Woster.