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The Echo Nest Partners With Twitter for Better App Integration
January 10, 2012 11:00 AM EST ://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile ...
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Video: Justin Timberlake Announces MySpace TV at CES
January 10, 2012 8:05 AM EST MySpace got CES off to an early start Monday night by using its trump card - co-owner Justin Timberlake - to announce the company's new initiative, MySpace TV. "We're ready to take television and entertainment to the next step by up ...
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Will Smith, Barry Sonnenfeld, Kelly Clarkson Headline Sony CES Event
January 10, 2012 8:01 AM EST LAS VEGAS -- Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld showed up in Las Vegas on Monday for Sony's Consumer Electronics Show press conference, which included a sneak peek at their upcoming Men in Black 3. "We have a fantastic movie," ...
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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Hits Familiar Chord In CES Swan Song
January 10, 2012 7:26 AM EST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer struck a familiar chord Monday in his swan song at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Much of the 70-minute presentation revolved around Microsoft's work on software that Ballmer has ...
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Morning Heds: Bon Iver's Label, David Foster Starts At Verve, Mog To Stream In Subarus
January 10, 2012 7:05 AM EST Bon Iver Establishes New Record Label Music Feeds Justin Vernon, the man behind one of the most successful Indie projects, Bon Iver, has launched his own record label. The label, called Chigliak Records, is an offshoot of his current label Jagjaag ...
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Business Matters: Music Streaming Gets An Assist from Live Sports
January 09, 2012 8:47 PM EST Music Streaming Gets An Assist from Live Sports -- ESPN and Slacker picked a good time to launch live streaming of ESPN audio shows and sporting events on the Slacker platform. The live broadcasts starts on Jan. 9 with the BCS Championship game be ...
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This Week in Music Apps: Animoog for iPhone, Alien Beatbox, Nicki Minaj
January 09, 2012 5:25 PM EST It's a new year for Evolver.fm ; we figured, why not celebrate it by continuing to bring you the best new music app coverage we can offer? (We'd call it a resolution, but we plan on actually following through with this one.) Welcome to t ...
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Nicki Minaj Tops Eminem as Twitter's Most-Followed Hip Hop Artist
January 09, 2012 5:00 PM EST Nicki Minaj, Billboard's Rising Star of 2011 , has set a new record: most-followed hip hop artist on Twitter. The rapper's reach -- 8,276,598 followers as of Monday afternoon -- outranks that of fellow superstar Eminem, who's got 8, ...
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Sony Names Dennis Kooker New President, Global Digital Business and U.S. Sales
January 09, 2012 12:35 PM EST Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO Doug Morris announced this morning that Dennis Kooker has been named the company's new president of global digital business and U.S. sales. In this role, he will report to Morris and oversee all aspects o ...
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Skrillex May Get First Top 10 Album This Week
January 09, 2012 9:13 AM EST Five-time Grammy Award nominee Skrillex may be on his way to his first top 10 album, as his latest release, "Bangarang," could charge into the Billboard 200 chart's top 10 this week. He just earned his best week ever on the Billboar ...
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Cricket's Muve Music Quietly Passes 500,000 Subscribers
January 09, 2012 9:05 AM EST Mobile carrier Cricket Communications announced Monday it surpassed 500,000 subscribers to Muve Music, the unlimited music service it bundles with mobile service. About one year after launch, Muve Music has quietly amassed about half the subscribe ...
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CES 2012: Here's What The Music Biz Will Be Watching For
January 09, 2012 9:00 AM EST The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, long the go-to event for the tech and mobile industries, is increasingly becoming a magnet for music-based services and media companies. With many of this year's announcements expected ...
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Morning Heds: CES & SOPA Cud Chewing, L.A.'s Music Box Closes, Homer Backs the Nuge
January 09, 2012 8:14 AM EST CES 2012: Here's What The Music Biz Will Be Watching For Billboard.biz The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which launches today, has long been the go-to event for the tech and mobile industries and is increasingly becomi ...
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Adele, Flo Rida Top UK Charts
January 09, 2012 8:05 AM EST There's a familiar look to the top of the new U.K. album chart, published by the Official Charts Company on Sunday (Jan. 8), on which Adele's "21" (XL Recordings) sold another 38,000 units to move back 6-1 and become the album ...
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2012's Consumer Electronics Show Biz Blog
January 09, 2012 7:29 AM EST Jan 13, 2012 | Blog Post CES 2012: 8 Cool Things Andrew Hampp, Las Vegas The music industry was all over Las Vegas this week, from Will Smith and Kelly Clarkson at Sony's presentation, Justin Timberlake's cameo at MySpace's TV annou ...
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Is Kazuo Hirai Succeeding Howard Stringer as President of Sony Corp?
January 09, 2012 7:15 AM EST Sony's deputy president Kazuo Hirai will succeed Howard Stringer as president of Sony Corp. as early as April, according to Japan's largest business newspaper, Nikkei . Hirai, the officer in charge of consumer products & services bus ...
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Used MP3 Store ReDigi Sued by EMI: Report
January 06, 2012 8:51 PM EST Used MP3 marketplace ReDigi seemed destined to attract legal problems when it launched in October. Now the company has been sued by EMI less than two months after it was sent a cease-and-desist letter from the RIAA. The lawsuit was filed Friday in ...
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Business Matters: Onesheet Adds New Features to Better Simplify Your Web Presence
January 06, 2012 7:56 PM EST Onesheet Adds New Features to Better Simplify Your Web Presence -- Watch for Onesheet to become a favored tool in 2012 for building an online presence among musicians and other creative types. Launched in August by ArtistData founder Brenden Mulli ...
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Chart Moves: Adele's 'Deep' Year, Michael Jackson's 'Ones' Rises, Lady Antebellum's 'Merry' Move
January 06, 2012 5:34 PM EST The Billboard Hot 100: As previously reported , LMFAO logs a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with "Sexy and I Know It" and Adele stakes out three spots in the top 30. Who else starts the new year with notable chart news? -- Adele: ...
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Moontoast Raises $6 Million
January 06, 2012 12:40 PM EST Social commerce startup Moontoast has closed a $6 million round of funding from existing investors. Nashville-based The Martin Companies led the round. Investors see a big opportunity in social commerce. "We believe there is a fundamental shi ...
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Tips on Finding Your Next Favorite Band with SXSW, Last.fm, Spotify
January 06, 2012 9:43 AM EST The holidays are over, leaving us with 356, 339, and 357 shopping days until Christmas, Hannukkah, and Kwanzaa respectively. Let's use that time productively, shall we? You might not want to think about this now, having recently braved the cr ...
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Consumer Electronics Show Curse? Gadget Show Has History of Products Falling Flat
January 06, 2012 9:19 AM EST NEW YORK (AP) - The largest trade show in the Americas must be a great place to show off new products, right? Wrong. The International Consumer Electronics Show is quickly becoming a launch pad for products that fall flat. When the annual conclave ...
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Morning Heds: Music Biz's 2011 Recovery, Why America Loves Skrillex, Frank Ocean & Def Jam Make Up
January 06, 2012 8:07 AM EST Music Sales, Show Tickets Rose in 2011 Wall Street Journal The music industry showed signs of potential recovery in 2011, as sales of albums and concert tickets reversed declines, though it would be premature to declare a full-fledged recovery. Th ...
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Beyonce's (Non) Baby Mama Drama Bounces Her Up Billboard's Social 50 Chart
January 05, 2012 10:50 PM EST Leave it to some (non) baby mama drama to boost Beyonce up Billboard's Social 50 chart this week, as the expectant mother strolls from No. 35 to No. 15 on the tally. During the tracking week that ended Jan. 1, Beyonce's official Twitter ...
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Latin Sales Down Slightly In 2011, Digital Latin Sales Up
January 05, 2012 8:44 PM EST Sales of Latin music declined yet again in 2011, but the damage was far less than the year before, showing signs that the market may be stabilizing. Total sales of Latin music albums in the U.S. and Puerto Rico -- defined as albums that are at lea ...
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Kelly Clarkson's 'Ron Paul Sales Bump' Debunked: Her Sales Actually Dropped Last Week
January 05, 2012 6:45 PM EST Kelly Clarkson's endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Dec. 28 may have helped draw attention to the original "American Idol" champion, but despite multiple reports from other news sites, it did little to help ...
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Business Matters: EMI Sues Grooveshark (Again), Pandora Takes Longview, Sirius Adds 1.7M Subscribers, EMI Execs' 'Forfeited' Bonuses Overstated
January 05, 2012 6:39 PM EST EMI Sues Grooveshark for Breach of Contract -- Controversial music-streaming service has been sued by EMI - again. EMI Music Publishing has Grooveshark for breach of contract, according to reports at the New York Times and other outlets. The lawsu ...
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File Sharing Group In Sweden Says It Is Recognized As A Religion
January 05, 2012 3:56 PM EST STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A file-sharing group that considers itself a spiritual organization said Thursday that Sweden has recognized it as a religious community. According to documents provided by spiritual leader Isak Gerson, 20, his Church of Kopimism ...
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Can Anything Stop Adele's '21' Reign at No. 1?
January 05, 2012 1:29 PM EST With few new major album releases out this week -- as is customary at the beginning of the year -- Adele's "21" will likely spend a 15th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week. It's projected to sell anywhere betwee ...
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Adele's Ascent in 2011, By the Numbers
January 05, 2012 9:00 AM EST It's been said a thousand times already: 2011 has been a hell of a year for Adele. Her sophomore record, "21," has sold more than 5.8 million copies -- by far the best of the year -- and has reigned atop the Billboard 200 for 14 wee ...
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Morning Heds: If Adele Was On A Major, The EDM Cruise, Is Spotify's Ek Really That Important?
January 05, 2012 8:45 AM EST Would Adele have been as successful if she was signed to a major label? The Guardian Adele is an exceptional artist, but she has also been nurtured by her indie label, but would a major label have done the same? Del Rey strikes deal with Next Mode ...
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Kanye West Tweets He 'Fired' William Morris After Cara Lewis Left For CAA During Twitter Rampage
January 05, 2012 12:00 AM EST A day after news broke that former William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) hip-hop agent Cara Lewis joined Creative Artists Agency, Kanye West revealed that he "fired William Morris" after her departure. Cara Lewis Joins CAA; Eminem ...
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Sirius XM Radio Adds 1.7 Million Subscribers in 2011; CEO Mocks Competition
January 04, 2012 9:59 PM EST Sirius XM Radio said Wednesday it added 1.7 million subscribers in 2011, then CEO Mel Karmazin gave a backhand compliment to one competitor, online music service Pandora, and insinuated another, Clear Channel Communications, was a bit stodgy. Spea ...
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Business Matters: The Death of the Album Review?
January 04, 2012 6:00 PM EST The Death of the Album Review? -- Is the album review destined to decline in importance as the album format loses ground to songs and playlists? LA Weekly's Ben Westhoff mentioned - almost in passing - that the alternative weekly has stopped ...
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LMFAO Still 'Sexy' Atop Hot 100
January 04, 2012 5:22 PM EST LMFAO scores a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with "Sexy and I Know It." The confident duo's previous leader, "Party Rock Anthem," featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock, meanwhile, continues its lengthy residence i ...
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Adele Leads Record-Setting Year in Digital Sales
January 04, 2012 2:21 PM EST Digital music was filled with records, milestones and resurgence in 2011. Adele set marks for digital albums and track sales. Digital albums topped 100 million units for the first time. And track sales came back to life after falling flat in 2010. ...
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Morning Heds: Tom Freston's Billion $ Revenge, HMV Bidders, Western Union Goes Hip-Hop
January 04, 2012 9:21 AM EST Tom Freston's $1 Billion Revenge: Ex-Viacom Chief Helps Vice Become the Next MTV Forbes After Sumner Redstone fired Tom Freston from MTV, he helped Vice buy out Viacom's stake for an undisclosed amount and joined Vice as an advisor, one ...
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Yahoo Names PayPal Exec Scott Thompson New CEO
January 04, 2012 8:37 AM EST UPDATED: Yahoo Inc. has named Scott Thompson , the president of eBay Inc. 's PayPal division, as its new CEO, the company announced Wednesday morning. The struggling Internet company has been without a permanent CEO since early September, whe ...
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Adele Leads SoundScan 2011 Year-End Charts With Top Selling Album, Song
January 04, 2012 5:45 AM EST Though it seemed a foregone conclusion months ago, Adele's "21" and her "Rolling in the Deep" single finish 2011 as the United States' top-selling album and song according to Nielsen SoundScan. "21" sold 5.8 ...
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Next Big Sound Raises $6.5 Million
January 03, 2012 9:49 PM EST Music analytics company Next Big Sound announced Tuesday it has raised $6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by IA Ventures and Foundry Group. The Boulder, Colorado-based company also announced the opening of an office in New York City. Lau ...
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Business Matters: 1.2 Billion Apps Were Downloaded Worldwide in Last Week of 2011
January 03, 2012 5:41 PM EST 1.2 Billion Apps Downloaded Worldwide in Last Week of 2011 -- Consumers around the world downloaded a record 1.2 billion apps from Christmas to December 31, according to app analytics company Flurry. U.S. consumers accounted for 509 million of tho ...
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UK's Top Selling 2011 Albums and Singles: By the Numbers
January 03, 2012 3:09 PM EST Official Charts Company data for the U.K. for the full year of 2011 reveal four million-selling albums and two million-selling singles, with female artists taking five of the top ten titles in each list. Combined sales of the top ten albums stood ...
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Beyond Oblivion Shuts Down Before Launch
January 03, 2012 2:15 PM EST Beyond Oblivion, a New York-based startup with an innovative approach to digital music, has shut down before its product ever launched. A January 3 post at LinkedIn by Janet Mitchell , the company's Sr. Director of Human Resources and Staffin ...
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New Spanish Gov't Enacts Sinde Anti-Piracy Laws, Opponents Promise A Fight
January 03, 2012 1:30 PM EST Spain will finally implement its controversial antipiracy act starting in March now that the new conservative government rushed the enactment of the pending codes. Its success though is sure to be tested in courts and on the streets. Jose Ignacio ...
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U.K.'s 2011 Digital Growth Fails To Offset Falling Music Sales (Again)
January 03, 2012 9:15 AM EST Strong growth in digital and a record breaking year for singles was not enough to offset a further annual decline in total U.K. music sales, according to year-end figures released by the Official Charts Company (OCC) and British labels trade body ...
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Morning Heds: An Apple Announcement, Jive A&R Jeff Sledge, Hip-Hop Helps Sell Moscato
January 03, 2012 8:43 AM EST Not the iPad 3 or New TV - But Apple Planning Media-Related Event in the Big(ger) Apple This Month AllThingsD According to sources close to the situation, Apple is planning an important - but not large-scale - event to be held in New York at the e ...
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SoundCloud Announces New Round of Funding, Led by Kleiner Perkins
January 03, 2012 7:48 AM EST SoundCloud announced a new funding round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the company said in a statement Monday. The size of the funding round was not revealed, but TechCrunch claims the amount is $50 million, which gives the company ...
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The Year in Music Stocks: The Good, The Bad, The Overall Decline
January 01, 2012 4:18 PM EST Music stocks were much like the broader markets in 2011: a mix of good and bad with an overall decline. Billboard's list of ten music-related stocks fell by an average of 4 percent in 2011. The Dow rose 3.2 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 1. ...
