You have hand it to the Rolling Stones. Besides the enormous output of quality tunes over decades of their existence. The Stones has proven they know how to make a lot of money and exceptionally manage their brand.

It started in the eighties when the Stones hooked up with concert promoter Michael Cohl and forever changed the business of concert touring. It was The Rolling Stones who figured out working and living in countries other than England would give the band much better tax breaks. Coincidentally, a lesson first learned while fleeing England for France to begin the recording of Exile On Main St. Canada has been another country benefiting from The Rolling Stones using it as a preferred destination to rehearse for upcoming concert tours.

But the Rolling Stones recently found a new way to rake in bundles of dough. And that’s with the reissue of their seminal seventies masterpiece record – Exile On Main Street.

With more than 100,000 units moved during it’s first week of sales during late May, 2010 – The Rolling Stones became the first band to have a studio album re-enter the charts at #1. (Exile also debuted at #1 on the record charts upon it’s initial release in 1972.)

Of course, it helped the band stumbled upon a lot of unused material from the original Exile recording sessions in France and U.S. Songs, as guitarist Keith Richards recently talked about, the band was so wasted they just ‘kinda forgot about’ at the time.

But the Rolling Stones don’t drop just a simple new reissue CD. They understand in these days of digital downloading the band wants to see maximum revenue for it’s brand realized. The Stones want more than just .99 cents a song (but they’ll be happy to take that too.)

When The Rolling Stones decided to reissue their Exile On Main Street record – you could certainly say they made sure to extend the Exile brand across a maximum number of product offerings.

New products offered by the Rolling Stones related to recent Exile On Main Street album reissue.
- 7″ vinyl limited edition (7,500) of Plunder My Soul (S/O)
- Original recording remastered on CD ($10)
- Deluxe package of original recording & bonus songs on CD ($24)
- Remastered and reissued 180 gram double vinyl ($30)
- Rarities edition CD recording & T-shirt ($40)
- Super deluxe edition of original on CD, LP, & book ($139)
- Exile On Main St. DVD documentary ($30)

VIDEO: HoundsTV What’s the fastest you’ve been driving? “About 280.”

(HoundsTV – Toronto) The annual Gumball 3000 Rally hit the streets of Toronto as the cars (and their eccentric drivers) rolled onto Yorkville ave. to a large gathering of auto enthusiasts and fans.

The Rally has become very popular with the rich and celebrity crowd. Participants in this years race include David Hasselhoff, actors Michael Madsen and Idris Elba. Rappers Xzibit and Eve. Besides having to have a top notch car, the entry fee for the Gumball 3000 is $30,000 per two-man team.

The Gumball is also starting to get a bit of a reputation from authorities. Highway police don’t really like unauthorized car races speeding through their towns. One Gumball 3000 racer was pulled off Highway 401 travelling east to Toronto from Quebec City. The driver immediately lost their license and was charged with excessive speeding, stunt driving and the Gumball car impounded.

The cars leave Toronto and make their way to the end of their 7 day destination, New York this weekend.

Yeah, that’s Stringer Bell from The Wire
All photos by Richard Budman courtesy shot7.com

If you can remember back to the hay day of World Wrestling Federation entertainment – the eighties – you remember the great names of the Iron Sheik, Honky Tonk Man, and Jimmy Superfly Snuka.

These former WWF champions are returning to the ring in a very special one-night Fundraiser event – The Rethink Rumble this Thursday evening, March 25th at The Factory Lounge in Vaughan (just north of Toronto.) MAP

All proceeds from this once-in-a-lifetime event will go towards Rethink Breast Cancer. Special meet-and-greet with the superstars and VIP ringside seat packages are selling out quick. So contact the Magen Boys today.

Event: Live wrestling fundrasier featuring: IRON SHEIK, THE BUSHWACKERS, HONKY TONK MAN, JIMMY SUPERFLY SNUKA, KAMALA, and more.
Date / Time: Thursday, March 25, 7:30pm – 11:30pm
Where: The Factory Lounge, Vaughan
Tickets: CLICK HERE

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The Hollywood stars are shining on New York’s Broadway for another season during 2010.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is exciting audiences with a long-awaited return to the theatre stage in “A Little Night Music.” After her perfermance (on a chilly New York evening) Zeta-Jones took a few minutes to greet fans and sign autographs outside the stage door.

Just down the street another Hollywood A-lister is also appearing.

Super-producer Stuart Thompson, who last year had a major Tony Award winning hit with “God of Carnage” that featured such A-list talent as James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden brings to New York this year “A View From the Bridge,” which features the Broadway debut of Scarlett Johansson – a favorite on-screen muse of Woody Allen.

(HoundsTV – Toronto) Grease was the word for a few autograph collectors that greeted Ms. Olivia Newton-John on the Toronto set of Score: A Hockey Musical.

Olivia was spending a few quiet days filming the movie in town. Newton-John has kept a pretty low profile the last few years. When word got out that Olivia would be in Toronto for the filming, that news got a few serious autograph collectors to work.

In the autograph memorabilia world. Grease memorabilia is very sought after and collected. Iconic pop culture stuff here. And this was Sandy that was on set.

While Olivia was filming in Toronto, her name also emerged in the mainstream press when her song, Physical was voted the TOP SEXY SONG on Billboard. Olivia was aware of this news on set in Toronto and found it, “very nice, but surprising.”

(HoundsTV – April 4, 2009) Filmmaker David Lynch’s benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall was a rare coming together of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

RELATED: Paul McCartney exits Radio City Music Hall and signs autographs

(HoundsTV – Toronto) Guns N’ Roses leader Axl Rose made a long awaited return to full-time touring in 2010 beginning in Canada. Rose was staying in Toronto this past weekend while playing Gn’R shows in Hamilton and London on the eastern leg of the Chinese Democracy tour.

Axl has always been considered a very difficult and valued autograph to get by serious collectors. Rose is reclusive, can be moody, and won’t sign in big crowds. So when one of North America’s top autograph collectors knew Axl was quietly staying in Toronto while playing southern Ontario shows – it was time to try and get a guitar signed (considered the best item of all to maximize the value of a rock god signature.)

Just before Rose boarded his tour bus – two twenty-something girls – looking exactly like the type of young hot girls you would expect on an Axl Rose tour bus exited the hotel and boarded.

Axl emerged in his stylish fur coat to a crisp winter evening from a downtown Toronto hotel in good spirits just after 7:00pm beautifully signing the collector’s guitar before boarding his tour bus for the two hour drive to London. Rose, famous for taking the stage late, didn’t disappoint as Guns N’ Roses started their concert that evening just past eleven, rocking the John Labatt Centre to well past 1 am. It was then back to the buses for Axl and the ladies for the long drive east to Montreal.

RELATED: Guns N’ Roses tour across Canada – What time will Axl Rose take the stage?

(HoundsTV – Toronto) Filming on the highly anticipated comic book adaption of RED moved on-location in Toronto this week with Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, & Ernest Borgnine all spotted on-set in Toronto’s Chinatown district today.

Word of such an A-list cast brought more than a few celebrity photographers out. As per usual, the cameras were not too welcomed by the movie production people and even one bright-eyed set person decided to use a laser pointer device to block the attempt of paps to get a good shot of Willis (even though Willis and the photographers were all standing legally on a public street.)

When one photographer reminded a cop on duty that a laser pointer is dangerous and even possibly illegal. The uniformed Police officer informed the movie set people to stop using the device on the photographers.

The movie RED stars Bruce Willis as Frank Moses and with a cast rounded out by Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, & Richard Dreyfuss and you have some wondering if this is the greatest comic book movie cast ever?

RED will be shooting in and out of studio around Toronto for the next couple months before ending in New Orleans.

photos of Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker filming RED courtesy of shot7.com

(HoundsTV – January 14, 2009) Hollywood icon Harrison Ford spent the day in Toronto doing press and for the red carpet premiere of Extraordinary Measures. Of course, this visit to the city by Indiana Jones did not go unnoticed by the autograph hounds. On arrival to the films Canadian premiere at Varsity Cinemas in Toronto, Ford exited the car to a throng of autograph hounds and memorabilia looking for signatures. Ford, known to be a very good signer, willing obliged the signature requests after a brief chat with security and explaining to the collectors how this signing will go down.

RELATED: SALE – Harrison Ford autographed Raiders of the Lost Ark album

RELATED: HoundsTV’s BEST & WORST Autograph Signers to come through Canada in 2009