1. Ten Brands to Watch in 2013

    December 26, 2012 1:00 PM EST Marketers spent close to $1.2 billion on music sponsorship alone in 2012, and that's not even counting the hundreds of millions that went into commercials featuring current songs that helped many artists impact the Billboard charts. As artist ...

  2. Frank Sinatra Enterprises, Jack Daniel's Team For 'Sinatra Select' Whiskey

    December 12, 2012 4:00 PM EST On what would have been Frank Sinatra's 97th birthday, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and Frank Sinatra Enterprises unveiled the first "Sinatra Experience," an interactive tasting and listening experience at Las Vegas' Mc ...

  3. Pepsi's Frank Cooper on Multi-Million Dollar Beyonce Deal, Becoming More Label-Like in 2013

    December 10, 2012 2:56 PM EST With Pepsi and Beyonce reuniting for a $50 million, multi-year branding dea l and creative partnership beginning in 2013, what's next for one of the music industry's most powerful, active brand partners? According to Frank Cooper, PepsiC ...

  4. Beyonce Reunites With Pepsi For $50 Million Multi-Year Ad Campaign, Creative Partnership

    December 10, 2012 12:41 AM EST Beyonce is reteaming with Pepsi for a multi-faceted branding deal that will coincide with her performance during the Super Bowl 2013 Halftime Show, of which Pepsi is a presenting sponsor. The news of the Pepsi pact was first reported by The New Yo ...

  5. Katy Perry and Coty Announce Fragrance Partnership, New Perfume 'Almost Finished'

    November 28, 2012 12:51 PM EST Coty Inc. and Katy Perry officially announced today (Nov. 28) plans to produce and distribute Perry's fragrance line, which includes previous scents Purr and Meow. The news of the acquisition was first reported by Billboard in the Oct. 20 iss ...

  6. Black Keys Settle Pizza Hut, Home Depot Lawsuits

    November 27, 2012 7:23 PM EST The Black Keys told a federal judge the band has settled copyright infringement lawsuits against Pizza Hut and The Home Depot claiming misuse of their music in commercials. The band alleged the song "Lonely Boy" was improperly used to se ...

  7. Ketchum Launches Music Division, Ketchum Sounds, With Snoop Dogg, One Direction Deals

    November 27, 2012 7:04 PM EST PR agency Ketchum has launched a music-marketing division, Ketchum Sounds, to be headed by Marcus Peterzell, executive VP of entertainment for Ketchum Sports & Entertainment. With expertise in brand strategy, tour sponsorship and activation, m ...

  8. Exclusive: AT&T, CBS Team For 'Stageside Live,' Premiering Dec. 5 With Neon Trees

    November 27, 2012 7:00 AM EST CBS Interactive and AT&T are re-teaming for their second online concert series, "Stageside Live," following the successful "Live On Letterman" that was introduced in 2009. Premiering Dec. 5, "Stageside Live" is a ...

  9. Mathew Knowles Talks Sync, Deals, and Why Gospel Doesn't Get Its Fair Share

    November 14, 2012 2:22 PM EST Mathew Knowles is best known as manager of Destiny's Child and, of course the father of Beyonce and Solange. Over the past two decades, his Houston-based label and management company Music World Entertainment has overseen the careers of those ...

  10. Exclusive: Pepsi Offering New 'X Factor' Winner Grammy Commercial, $5 Million Contract With Sony's Syco

    October 31, 2012 7:00 PM EDT Pepsi is upping the stakes of its historic prize package for "The X Factor" by offering the Season 2 winner another $5 million record deal (this time with Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment on Sony) as well as the chance to develop, ...

  11. Exclusive: Troy Carter, Terry Richardson Team For Pop Water, Launching In Early 2013

    October 29, 2012 1:27 PM EDT Troy Carter, founder and CEO of entertainment company Atom Factory and manager of Lady Gaga, and photographer Terry Richardson are teaming up for a new consumer product, Pop Water , set for an early 2013 debut. The new beverage will be marketed as ...

  12. From This Week's Billboard: How Taylor Swift's 'Red' Is Getting A Boost From Branding Mega-Deals

    October 22, 2012 10:30 AM EDT Below is the story "Seeing Red" from this week's BIllboard cover story package on Taylor Swift examining how the branding mega-deals surrounding her new album "Red" -- including Walgreens, Keds, Papa John's and many m ...

  13. Exclusive: Rock Hall, Grand Ole Opry Seek Brand Partners In New CAA Pact

    October 19, 2012 1:18 PM EDT Below is an exclusive story from this week's BIllboard on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium reaching branding deals with Creative Artists Agency that could change the way these music institutions conduct busi ...

  14. Coca-Cola in Investment Talks With Spotify

    October 11, 2012 11:47 AM EDT Coca-Cola is in discussions with Spotify to make a small investment in the digital music company. Sources tell Billboard the two companies are in negotiations, but a deal is far from being reached. Sky News first reported on Thursday that the two ...

  15. MTV Expanding, Consolidating Hip-Hop Programming Under 'MTV Jams' Banner

    October 11, 2012 7:00 AM EDT The jams.mtv.com digital hub page, where all of MTV's hip-hop content will live. MTV today announced a new initiative to expand and unify its hip-hop music and lifestyle content across its multiple platforms under the MTV Jams brand. MTV Jams ...

  16. Taylor Swift Teams With Walgreens For Exclusive Store To Promote 'Red'

    October 09, 2012 10:10 AM EDT Taylor Swift has teamed with Walgreens, a retailer with 7,944 locations nationwide, to debut the Taylor Swift Store at Walgreens. Beginning this week, Walgreens and select Duane Reade locations will sell Swift-themed merchandise incorporating artw ...

  17. How Colin James Came To Rock the 19th Floor of The Royal York Hotel

    October 04, 2012 12:30 PM EDT Colin James rocking Toronto's Royal York Hotel (Photo: Michel Roy/Digital Direct) If you happen to be a loyal Fairmont Hotels & Resorts guest, you just might be eligible for a private concert by an EMI artist like Corinne Bailey Rae, Emel ...

  18. Prince Royce Teams With Post Foods For 'Positive Mix' Campaign

    October 03, 2012 5:41 PM EDT Post Foods has tapped Prince Royce to be the face of its "Positive Mix" campaign. The campaign, which launched Oct. 1, features Prince Royce on millions of bilingual specially marked boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats on shelves across the c ...

  19. How Green Day, Warner Bros., MAC, Nokia, AT&T Teamed Up for Social Campaign With Potential Audience of 144 Million

    September 18, 2012 12:17 PM EDT The Nokia-AT&T tab on Green Day's Facebook page that allowed fans to participate in the promotion. Green Day hit New York City's Irving Plaza to help Nokia and AT&T launch Nokia Music in the U.S. with a performance to a packed cr ...

  20. Univision, Eventus Partner for Celia Cruz-Branded Products

    September 17, 2012 7:32 PM EDT Univision Enterprises, a relatively new division of media giant Univision Communications, has signed an exclusive global agreement to license consumer products branded with the name an image of late salsa queen Celia Cruz. Cruz-branded products wi ...

  21. Steve Rifkind Signs Deal To Help Promote New American Basketball League

    September 05, 2012 12:37 PM EDT Steve Rifkind, the label head who founded Loud Records before selling it to Sony and creating SRC Records, has signed a partnership deal with the brand new American Basketball League, the U.S.'s first professional league with international FI ...

  22. Steve Stoute On Uniting Budweiser & Jay-Z For Made In America: 'Brands Are Becoming Much Closer To The Content'

    August 31, 2012 1:31 PM EDT Though expectations are already high for the lineup at the inaugural Budweiser Made In America festival in Philadelphia this weekend - Pearl Jam, Run-DMC, Skrillex and curator Jay-Z are among the confirmed headliners, with Beyonce rumored to make ...

  23. Michael Jackson's 'Bad' to Be Honored at Pepsi/Billboard Concert Tonight at 8:45 PM ET

    August 29, 2012 10:40 AM EDT Pepsi will continue its year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad tonight (Aug. 29) at New York City's Gotham Hall with performances from Ne-Yo and Melanie Fiona (right) and a DJ set from Swizz Beatz, with ad ...

  24. Exclusive: MTV, Trojan Condoms Team Up for First VMA Sponsorship, Featuring LMFAO's SkyBlu

    August 29, 2012 7:00 AM EDT In a first for the sexual health category, MTV is teaming up with Trojan condoms for a multi-platform sponsorship of the Video Music Awards pre-show, which airs Thursday Sept. 6. at 7 p.m. ET/PT before the VMA telecast kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/PT. T ...

  25. Lana Del Rey Is the New Face of Jaguar

    August 23, 2012 6:42 PM EDT It's a good time to be Lana Del Rey. The singer, fresh off her turn as the global face of H&M's fall advertising campaign , now resurfaces in a series of ads touting Jaguar's new F-Type. The company has pinned its hopes on the s ...

  26. Ne-Yo, Melanie Fiona, Swizz Beatz To Celebrate Michael Jackson's 'Bad' at Pepsi/Billboard Concert Next Week

    August 21, 2012 11:15 AM EDT Pepsi will continue its year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad Aug. 29 at New York City's Gotham Hall with performances from Ne-Yo and Melanie Fiona and a DJ set from Swizz Beatz, with additional tunes fro ...

  27. Bud Light Preps Port Paradise Music Festival for November, Re-Ups Pitbull Endorsement Deal

    August 17, 2012 7:00 AM EDT As sister brand Budweiser gears up for the debut of Made In America with headliner/curator Jay-Z in Philadelphia next month , Bud Light is prepping the fifth year of its Port Paradise Music Festival, a two-day concert event in the Bahamas. This ye ...

  28. Janelle Monae Named the New Face of CoverGirl

    August 14, 2012 5:30 PM EDT Janelle Monáe is the latest gorgeous face to grace the glossies of CoverGirl's advertisement campaigns, joining the likes of P!nk, Taylor Swift, Drew Barrymore, Sofia Vergara and Ellen DeGeneres. "I believe it's time that women trul ...

  29. The Olympics' Music-Branding Gold Medalists: Jay-Z + Duracell, Samsung + Leftover Cuties, More

    August 14, 2012 3:59 PM EDT When it comes to declaring one winner in music during this year's Olympics - the most-watched U.S. TV event in history , Phillip Phillips is the undisputed gold medalist. The "American Idol" champion's song "Home" vau ...

  30. Exclusive: Ultra Music, Ultra Music Festival Announce 'Global Alliance'

    August 10, 2012 9:00 AM EDT Ultra Music and Ultra Music Festival (UMF) will announce today that they are joining forces in what is being called a "global alliance," Billboard.biz has learned. The two companies will form one of the most powerful independent entities ...

  31. Adele, Beatles & Beyond: London Olympics' (Mostly) British Music Gets Fans Pumped

    August 07, 2012 8:15 AM EDT LONDON (AP) -- At the London Olympics, Adele is served with tennis, Beyonce bounces around the basketball court and Queen's "We Will Rock You" spikes up beach volleyball. A walk around Olympic Park is a non-stop musical mystery tour ...

  32. Dolla-palooza: Why More Brands Than Ever Are Flocking to Lolla

    August 04, 2012 12:15 PM EDT More than any U.S. festival, Lollapalooza brings the brands. From fully-branded stages by Sony, PlayStation, Bud Light, Google Play, BMI and Red Bull to a bag check from State Farm, free T-shirts from The Gap and two different activations from Toy ...

  33. Pitbull, Clear Chanel, Dodge Partner for iHeartRadio Promotion

    August 01, 2012 5:31 PM EDT Dodge and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment have launched a nationwide summer program with Pitbull to promote the upcoming iHeartRadio Music Festival-slated for Sept. 21 and 22 in Las Vegas-and the 2013 new Dodge Dart. "The Road to Las Ve ...

  34. How Beats By Dre Got Their Headphones On Olympians' Ears (Despite Violating IOC Policy)

    July 31, 2012 4:30 PM EDT In just a matter of days, Beats By Dre headphones have become one of the most visible - and controversial - brands at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Athletes like British tennis player Laura Robson and soccer player Jack Butland tweeted their love ...

  35. Beats by Dre Causes Marketing Controversy at Olympics With Free Headphones for Athletes

    July 31, 2012 1:50 PM EDT LONDON - Dr. Dre and his Beats headphones are at the center of a marketing controversy here at the Summer Olympics. London Olympics organizers and the International Olympic Committee have strict rules to protect official sponsors who have struck m ...

  36. Will.i.am, Coca-Cola To Debut 'Ekocycle' During Olympics Wednesday

    July 31, 2012 9:53 AM EDT Will.i.am is teaming up with The Coca-Cola Company for a new global sustainability and recycling initiative called Ekocycle, a stand-alone brand designed to raise awareness and proceeds for environmentally friendly causes. The program will debut W ...

  37. Azealia Banks Named New Face of Alexander Wang Campaign

    July 26, 2012 8:30 PM EDT Following in the footsteps of Santigold, Spank Rock and freaky rap duo Die Antwoord, Azealia Banks has been named the new face of T by Alexander Wang. In a new video for the campaign, Banks struts and pouts for the camera as she sings pieces of &q ...

  38. Katy Perry Teams Up With Popchips for Ads, Investment

    July 25, 2012 7:52 AM EDT Katy Perry has a new favorite snack. The pop star is the new face of Popchips and will appear in advertising for the brand this fall. "I was hooked after my first bite!" Perry said in a release. "When I discover something good, I wa ...

  39. 10 Hits You Didn't Know Were Jingles

    July 25, 2012 7:00 AM EDT Since their heyday in TV and radio advertising of the '50s and '60s, songs written for commercials have had a resurgence in recent years but in a different form. Instead of the 30-second songs you'd hear during commercials, the mode ...

  40. Jason Aldean Changes New Single's Lyric From 'Shiner Bock' to 'Rocky Tops' for Coors Endorsement

    July 24, 2012 1:19 PM EDT Jason Aldean has altered the lyrics of his new single "Take A Little Ride" to accommodate a new endorsement deal, according to a note sent Tuesday morning by the promotions team at Aldean's Broken Bow Records. "Jason Aldean is ...

  41. Pepsi Lands Super Bowl Halftime Sponsorship Deal

    July 24, 2012 11:56 AM EDT NEW YORK (AP) - Pepsi has scored the Super Bowl halftime show. The soda giant says it struck a multiyear deal with the National Football League to sponsor the big game's musical performance. Financial terms and the exact duration of the deal ...

  42. Fender Decides Against Initial Public Offering

    July 20, 2012 10:31 AM EDT NEW YORK (AP) -- The guitar-maker Fender, finding itself playing before a hostile crowd, is reversing course on becoming a publicly traded company. The company, whose guitars have been wielded by Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and set afire by Ji ...

  43. Lana Del Rey Announced As New Face of H&M

    July 17, 2012 4:45 PM EDT Lana Del Rey has been unveiled as the star of H&M's autumn/winter 2012 campaign. "The mood is very L.A. noir," Donald Schneider, H&M's creative director, told WWD . "It's inspired by our fall collection." ...

  44. Essence Fest Draws 413K, Record Sponsorship, Men; Announces 2013 Dates

    July 12, 2012 1:02 PM EDT The Essence of Essence (from left): Kimberly Paige: Associate Vice President African-American Marketing, Coca-Cola; comedian Kevin Hart; and Essence Communications president Michelle Ebanks. (Photo: Walik Goshorn) The Essence Music Festival wrappe ...

  45. How iHome Became the Title Sponsor for Live Nation's Identity Fest

    July 11, 2012 4:10 PM EDT A screen shot of the iHome-sponsored Identity Festival website banner. After a respectable 2011 debut that sold 150,000 tickets over 19 dates behind headliners like Kaskade and Skrillex, Live Nation's touring Identity Festival is back for a s ...

  46. Metallica's James Hetfield Starts His Own Line of Sunglasses

    July 05, 2012 4:00 PM EDT When it comes to cool eyewear, ladies want to look like movie stars or models, but guys probably prefer to look like rock stars or sports stars. To that end, Metallica frontman James Hetfield has partnered with Sutro Eyewear to launch the limited- ...

  47. Pitbull May Soon Be Chilling-Out at Walmart in Alaska

    July 03, 2012 8:46 AM EDT ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Miami rapper Pitbull might soon be chilling out in Alaska. In a marketing deal, Walmart will send Pitbull, aka Armando Christian Perez, to the store that gets the most "likes" on its Facebook page. Pitbull Says ...

  48. The Branding of EDM: Pepsi, Absolut, Trident, Samsung, Others Make DJs Their Spokesmen

    July 02, 2012 3:29 PM EDT The night of the 2012 summer solstice, June 20, marked a turning point for the electronic dance music scene (EDM). On that night in New York, three of the genre's biggest celebrities-Steve Aoki and Swedish House Mafia's Sebastian Ingross ...

  49. Katy Perry to Rock Pepsi & Billboard's 'Summer Beats'

    June 25, 2012 4:18 PM EDT Pepsi and Billboard are kicking off their "Summer Beats" live series in a big way. The first event will feature Katy Perry in a special live performance at an as-yet-unannounced location in Los Angeles on June 26 as part of the official ...

  50. Anatomy of a Synch: How Caveman's 'My Time' Landed in the 'I Love New York' Campaign (and 6,000 Taxis)

    June 22, 2012 9:00 AM EDT Licensing songs for commercials, or synchs, is a decades-old trend that has grown to become a meaningful part of the industry's revenue (over $342 million globally in 2011, according to the IFPI's 2012 report) and even more meaningful pa ...

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