1. Business Matters: What the Music Business Can Learn From March Madness

    March 19, 2013 9:10 PM EDT The annual Division I men’s college basketball tournament started Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. eastern time. The music business could take a few pointers. Known as March Madness, the Division I tournament understands how to reach people online, how to d ...

  2. YouTube, Partners Needs to Work Harder to Pay Songwriters, Publishers Fairly: Guest Post by Matt Pincus

    March 19, 2013 3:09 PM EDT From Billboard’s groundbreaking decision to factor YouTube views into the charts, to the “Harlem Shake,” to the historic agreements covering UGC content and Vevo videos, YouTube is becoming the mainstream music business. Yet, the ugly truth is t ...

  3. Maria Pallante, Register of Copyrights, to Congress: Copyright Needs to Be Updated for Digital Age

    March 19, 2013 12:45 PM EDT 2 3 27 1 0 Maria Pallante, Register of Copyrights, will urge Congress to think about passing “the next great copyright act” that will be “more forward thinking and flexible than before” when she testifies before the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellect ...

  4. Q&A: Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning on 'Downloaded,' The Napster Revolution

    March 19, 2013 10:50 AM EDT They were wiry teenagers when they ignited the digital revolution, altering the music landscape forever with a little program called Napster in 1999. Now, 14 years later, Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker are older and wiser, but no less passionate ...

  5. eMusic Merges with E-Book Distributor K-NFB Reading

    March 18, 2013 10:44 PM EDT 1 1 23 0 0 Online music service eMusic merged on Monday with an e-book distributor K-NFB Reading to form the new company Media Arc Inc. Media Arc "will offer a comprehensive source of more than 17 million songs, 40,000 audio books and 600,000 eBooks, ...

  6. Business Matters: European Study on Piracy Conflicts With Conventional Wisdom

    March 18, 2013 8:49 PM EDT A new European Commission study based on Nielsen data from five European countries found that online music piracy did not hurt digital music purchases. In fact, the study found a slight, positive relationship between visits to illegal download s ...

  7. Hastings Reports $1.2 Million in Q4 Earnings, Plans to Reduce Music in Stores

    March 18, 2013 7:30 PM EDT Hastings Entertainment cut its red ink in half for the year by posting net income of $1.2 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, on sales of $141.6 million, for the fourth-quarter ended Jan. 31. That performance contrasts with $8.4 million in r ...

  8. The Conan Bump: Quantifying Late Night Talk Show Sales & Social Numbers

    March 18, 2013 3:41 PM EDT This article originally appeared in the March 23rd issue of Billboard Magazine -- subscribe right here ! On the heels of his ratings-topping appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Justin Timberlake chose to extend his run on the late-night T ...

  9. Backbeat: Billboard & BMI's Annual SXSW Brunch Brings Together Movers and Shakers from Across the Biz

    March 18, 2013 12:38 PM EDT Another SXSW, another full lawn at the Four Seasons for Billboard and BMI’s annual Acoustic Brunch Friday, which kept the music and coffee flowing long after the fruit and breakfast burritos ran out. Sponsored by SunTrust and Southwest Airlines, ...

  10. Universal Music UK Announces Launch of Virgin EMI Records

    March 18, 2013 11:15 AM EDT 14 11 0 0 Universal Music UK's chairman and CEO David Joseph has announced the launch of Virgin EMI, an amalgamation of Universal Music subsidiary Mercury Records and Virgin Records, one of the many labels acquired by Universal in its takeover of E ...

  11. #SXSW Instagr.am: Check Out the Photos You Sent Us!

    March 17, 2013 5:15 AM EDT 2 14 0 0 HEAD HERE TO SEE ALL OUR INSTAGRAM GALLERIES: Our new audience-generated Instagr.am gallery got a bumper crop of photos from #SXSW this year -- check out pics of Scooter Braun, Kendrick Lamar, Dave Grohl, Raekwon, Usher Pharrell, the Flaming Li ...

  12. Couch By Couchwest: An Alternative To SXSW 'Where the Beer Is Cheap and the Only Hipster is You' (Q&A)

    March 16, 2013 1:33 PM EDT 1 0 Too broke, ambivalent, couch-potato-like to make it down to this year’s SXSW? Don’t worry, in this age of niche affinity groups there’s a community of like-minded individuals willing to accept and entertain you without judgment, $500 hotel rooms ...

  13. SXSW: David Lowery and Co. Lash out Against Industry 'Pimps'

    March 16, 2013 11:16 AM EDT 3 336 68 3 0 Passions ran high Friday evening at what was described by its organizers as “an artists’ panel” in the Austin Convention Center for SXSW. The distinction was deliberate -- too many panels and presentations at this conference had failed to rep ...

  14. Samsung to Double Music Hub Staff as Part of Media Push

    March 15, 2013 9:13 PM EDT Above: Lisa Tiver (left) Samsung Music Hub's senior VP of business development, and Ed Ho, Music Hub chief technology officer and co-founder of mSpot Inc. (Photo: mSpot Inc.) Samsung’s Music Hub service is planning to double its Silicon Val ...

  15. Bon Jovi, David Bowie Eye One-Two Finish on Next Week's Billboard 200 Chart

    March 15, 2013 8:07 PM EDT As reported earlier this week, Bon Jovi and David Bowie were vying for the No. 1 slot on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart. Bon Jovi has now pulled ahead, and it seems like the band's new album, "What About Now," is a lo ...

  16. SXSW Twitter Tracker: Top Trending Artists

    March 15, 2013 5:13 PM EDT Billboard has teamed up with music analytics company MusicMetric to give readers a real-time view of which SXSW artists people are talking about on Twitter. By using the artists Twitter handle and keyword groups relating to the artist and SXSW ( ...

  17. SXSW Q&A: Pandora CTO Tom Conrad on Mobile-Streaming Cap, Internet Radio Fairness Act, More

    March 15, 2013 4:56 PM EDT As Chief Technology Officer at Pandora, Tom Conrad has led product development for the dominant Internet radio company since its inception nearly 10 years ago. Since then, the company has grown to occupy 8% of all radio play and 134 million regi ...

  18. Justin Timberlake's Promotional Run-Up to 'The 20/20 Experience': A Timeline

    March 15, 2013 4:53 PM EDT 18 78 115 0 0 They say hindsight is 20/20, but when it comes to Justin Timberlake's comeback, they're not taking any chances. Next week's release of Timberlake's beyond-highly-anticipated new album The 20/20 Experience is riding on one ...

  19. Backbeat: Pitchfork, Green Label Sound and Jagjaguwar Bring the Indie Rock to SXSW

    March 15, 2013 12:29 PM EDT On Wednesday, Pitchfork held their unofficial day party and official showcase at 1100 Warehouse, with a line of people waiting to get in longer than FADER Fort's notoriously never-ending one across the street. It was a surprise, then, that ...

  20. Chart Moves: P!nk Roars, Justin Timberlake’s Post-‘SNL’ Gains; Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert Cozy Up

    March 15, 2013 10:43 AM EDT As previously reported, "Harlem Shake," the viral smash from Baauer, logs a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' former four-week Hot 100 No. 1 "Thrift Shop," featuring Wanz, re ...

  21. Chart Moves: Boz Scaggs Returns, Colton Dixon Gains, How to Destroy Angels Debuts, Replacements Return

    March 15, 2013 10:29 AM EDT This past week on the Billboard 200 , Luke Bryan claimed his first No. 1 with Spring Break . . . Here to Party , while Jimi Hendrix notched his highest charting album in 44 years with the No. 2 debut of People, Hell and Angels . Outside the top ...

  22. Consumer Data Shows Old Ways Still Most Profitable, SXSW Panel Says

    March 14, 2013 10:19 PM EDT 8 34 75 4 0 In a panel led by representatives of EMI’s Global Insights department at SXSW Thursday, researchers poured cold water on what you might call the irrational exuberance of the digital music industry (not to mention SXSW attendants).   Independen ...

  23. SXSW Panel: Pitchfork’s Schreiber, Hollywood Bowl’s Rees, and More on State of Music Curation

    March 14, 2013 10:07 PM EDT With more ways than ever to discover, consume and create music, those who excel at filtering the flood are enjoying increasing amounts of capital -- both cultural and financial. Fenway Recordings founder Mark Kates gathered a team of influential ...

  24. Yahoo Announces Music Tour Featuring Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Others

    March 14, 2013 8:42 PM EDT 6 280 727 2 0 UPDATED: The summer's 21-date traveling festival will include appearances by special guests Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean and Trey Songz. Yahoo! made a big announcement at South by Southwest's Interactive portion in Austin, saying ...

  25. Spotify, Rdio, Xbox Music Reps Debates the Merits of Subscription Music Streaming at SXSW

    March 14, 2013 8:26 PM EDT With the rapid growth of platforms like Spotify and Deezer -- and white hot rumors of competing offerings emanating from the likes of Apple and Google -- it’s no surprise that the rise of music streaming subscription services is some of the most ...

  26. Can APIs Solve Music’s 'Crisis of Innovation'?

    March 14, 2013 4:39 PM EDT There’s an old saw among established technology companies that says innovation happens elsewhere, that big ideas can come from small, unexpected places. The best way to tap into that potential, according to this view, is to throw open the gates ...

  27. Backbeat: Billboard and Spotify's Live Showcase Has 'Harlem Shake' Moneymakers, Kendrick Lamar

    March 14, 2013 3:28 PM EDT Billboard and Spotify presented Spotify Live Wednesday night at the 1100 Warehouse located directly across the street from the Fader Fort. That’s where headliner Kendrick Lamar made a surprise appearance at the end of Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q’s s ...

  28. Man on 6th St: !K7 Records' Stephen Bowles on the Happenings at SXSW

    March 14, 2013 8:20 AM EDT Billboard.biz sat down for a quick chat with !K7 Records' digital marketing man Stephen Bowles to try and get the word on 6th Street... Billboard.biz: What's the best band/artist you've seen yet?
 
Stepehen Bowles: Dark Sky did su ...

  29. Downtown Music’s Josh Deutsch Talks ‘Harlem Shake’ Success, Future Business Plans at SXSW

    March 13, 2013 9:00 PM EDT Earlier this year, Downtown Music -- which comprises Downtown Records, Downtown Publishing and other businesses -- announced that it was selling its records division to founders Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, who would run the business independen ...

  30. Five Questions with Live Nation Labs' Eric Garland at SXSW

    March 13, 2013 8:40 PM EDT Eric Garland doesn't attend many industry conferences now that he's GM of Live Nation Labs, but he came to SXSW 2013 to see family and friends, talked on a panel about artist revenue streams and ended with a good story about two indust ...

  31. Amanda Palmer Talks New Business Models, Plays Ukulele at SXSW

    March 13, 2013 8:18 PM EDT 1 0 16 0 0 There's much more to crowdfunding than meets the eye, and that requires partnering with companies for distribution to reach retailers and fans, music Amanda Palmer said at SXSW on Wednesday. But Palmer could not say if this exciting new bu ...

  32. Baauer Leads Hot 100 Again, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Rule Hot 100 Airplay

    March 13, 2013 1:30 PM EDT Baauer commands the Billboard Hot 100 for a fourth week with "Harlem Shake," although the viral sensation logs a second straight week of declines in YouTube streaming. The chart's No. 2 song, and former four-week No. 1, Macklemore ...

  33. Universal Launches Pan-African Mobile Streaming Service Kleek

    March 13, 2013 1:01 PM EDT Universal Music Group has teamed with Samsung to launch a pan-African mobile music service entitled the Kleek, which was officially unveiled today (Mar. 13) at the Samsung Africa Forum in Cape Town, South Africa. The free to access service is to ...

  34. Luke Bryan Debuts At No. 1, Jimi Hendrix at No. 2 On Billboard 200

    March 13, 2013 11:00 AM EDT 2 396 29 0 0 Country star Luke Bryan logs his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as his new compilation, Spring Break . . . Here to Party , debuts atop the list. It sold 150,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and marks his b ...

  35. Spotify’s Daniel Ek on the Future of Music Streaming, Competing With Apple and Google

    March 12, 2013 11:41 PM EDT “If you’re a business now and you’re only on the PC, you’re going to have some serious problems.” That’s how Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek described the biggest challenge facing his company and others in the industry during a one-on-one chat ...

  36. Pandora CTO Tom Conrad on the Company’s Past, Present and Future at SXSW

    March 12, 2013 10:44 PM EDT There was no shortage of news to discuss Tuesday when Pandora CTO Tom Conrad sat down for a one-on-one panel with TechCrunch’s MG Siegler on the last day of SXSW Interactive at the Austin Convention Center. The Internet radio giant recently lost ...

  37. SXSW 2013: Deadmau5, Kat Von D, Surfer Blood at the Sonos Studio

    March 12, 2013 8:51 PM EDT Sonos is getting some attention for putting on one of the coolest experiences at SXSW. Located down an alley near the Convention Center, the Sonos Studio is a large compound that includes a courtyard, a performance stage, two houses and an inter ...

  38. Nielsen Study: Music Industry Could Add $450 Million to $2.6 Billion in Incremental Revenue With Premium Content

    March 12, 2013 8:07 PM EDT The music industry has lost billions of dollars in revenue over the last decade. Nielsen says the industry can use generated at least a half billion in incremental revenue by allowing fans to better connect with artists.   Nielsen's study w ...

  39. Billboard.biz Google Hangout From SXSW, With Ted Cohen, Benji Rogers, Glenn Peoples: Thursday 3 p.m. ET!

    March 12, 2013 5:51 PM EDT 3 12 0 0 Want to know what’s buzzing biz-wise at SXSW this year? What are the hot startups, companies, people and technologies? Find out at our Google Hangout, right here, on Thursday (March 14) at 3 p.m. ET when we have TAG Strategic’s Ted Cohen, Pledg ...

  40. 'Wild Ones:' Rockabilly Label Waves the White Flag to Digital at Doc Screening in Austin

    March 12, 2013 4:59 PM EDT "I hate iTunes," Wild Records owner Reb Kennedy said after a Tuesday screening of the film about his label and artists, "Los Wild Ones." "And I hate to compromise. But we lost to iTunes," Kenndy continued. Wild Reco ...

  41. Vevo Launches Vevo TV, Multi-Platform Ad Model At SXSW

    March 12, 2013 3:12 PM EDT   “It will help differentiate us from YouTube, create more engagement with our users and help us expand over the top.” That’s how Rio Caraeff, CEO of Vevo, summarized Vevo TV, a new multi-platform programming initiative announced at South By Sou ...

  42. FCC Approves T-Mobile-MetroPCS Deal

    March 12, 2013 3:00 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) -- The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved the merger of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS Communications Inc., the No. 4 and No. 5 cellphone carriers in the country. The Justice Department cleared the merger last week, m ...

  43. Vevo Launches Lean-Back TV Experience

    March 12, 2013 12:48 PM EDT The company that brought back music videos to a new generation of on-demand viewers on Tuesday is launching Vevo TV, a traditionally programmed, linear broadcast that harkens back to the era of appointment television. Like broadcast TV, Vevo’s n ...

  44. Weak Release Schedule Blamed For 12% Drop In U.K. Entertainment Market; Music Sales Fell $90 Million In 2012

    March 12, 2013 10:53 AM EDT Combined sales of music, video and games products in the United Kingdom fell 12% in 2012 to £4.21 billion ($6.26 billion), with music sales declining by £59 million ($87.8 million) from the previous year, according to the annual Entertainment Re ...

  45. !K7 Brings Seminal Electronic Label R&S to the U.S. (Exclusive)

    March 11, 2013 9:35 PM EDT The !K7 Label Group has announced a North American partnership with 30-year-old R&S/Apollo Records, a pivotal imprint in electronic music’s history. “The aim of our label to create synergy with like-minded labels and we think R&S is a pe ...

  46. Kim Dotcom at SXSW: Megabox Online Music Service Could Launch in Next Six Months

    March 11, 2013 9:18 PM EDT Kim Dotcom joined SXSW Interactive via Skype on Monday to talk about Hollywood's outdated business model and the U.S. government's role in the attack in his cyberlocker site, Megaupload. The Internet entrepreneur turned folk hero was a ...

  47. SXSW Keynote: Ouya Founder/CEO Julie Uhrman Dishes on New Gaming Console

    March 11, 2013 8:34 PM EDT Above: Ouya Founder/CEO Julie Uhrman with interviewer Joshua Topolsky of the Verge. At SXSW, everybody loves a good disruptor -- the next killer app or service that promises to make waves in an industry. In a keynote interview Monday afternoon a ...

  48. Justin Timberlake's 'The 20/20 Experience' Eyeing Half-Million Debut Sales Week

    March 11, 2013 8:25 PM EDT 1 4 32 0 0 Justin Timberlake's long-awaited album "The 20/20 Experience" doesn't go on sale for another week, but industry sources say it's going to have a blockbuster debut on the Billboard charts. Those in the know suggest the a ...

  49. EvntLive Co-Founders Talk Future of Live Concert Streaming at SXSW

    March 11, 2013 7:44 PM EDT 5 54 18 0 0 SXSW is filled with Internet startups trying to disrupt or rethink an aspect of popular culture, but few have their goals set as high as EvntLive . The Redwood City, Calif-based company, set to launch in open beta in mid-April, is bringing liv ...

  50. 3M's Virtual Presenter at SXSWi Recalls Tupac Hologram

    March 11, 2013 4:32 PM EDT One of the most head-turning displays at SXSW Interactive is 3M's life-size avatar that brings to mind the Tupac hologram at last year's Coachella festival. Called the Virtual Presenter , the digital avatar interacts with visitors and ...

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