1. Alabama Shakes, M83 Lead A2IM’s Libera Awards Nominations

    April 25, 2013 6:51 PM EDT Alabama Shakes, M83 and BOY are among the breakout indie artists of 2012 nominated for this year's Libera Awards . A2IM, the American Association for Independent Music, recently announced the full slate of nominees, which include both artis ...

  2. EMI Music, ARPA Musical, More Take Top Awards at Billboard Bash in Miami

    April 24, 2013 10:18 PM EDT Publishing, imprint and label winners were announced during the Billboard Bash at Cameo Nightclub in Miami on Wednesday evening as part of the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards, presented by State Farm in association with Pepsi.   Th ...

  3. ASCAP Expo: Ralph Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting

    April 22, 2013 1:29 PM EDT A room full of eager songwriters piled into the Mt. Olympus Ballroom of Hollywood's Lowes Hotel on Friday, all hoping to pick up a few tips and tricks from ASCAP's VP of Membership/International and songwriting veteran, Ralph Murphy ...

  4. Record Store Day 2013: Brooklyn's Black Gold Records; Hoboken's Tunes

    April 20, 2013 4:09 PM EDT Halcyon Days: Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Sound Fix on its final Record Store Day. After nine years in business, the independent music retailer closed its doors for good. (Photo: Reggie Ugwu) Brooklyn's Sound Fix’s Last Day, Smiles Tinged ...

  5. From A Stream to a Torrent: Music Journalism's Elite Talk Discovery in Age of One-Click Availability at EMP Pop Conf.

    April 20, 2013 1:56 PM EDT In an industry where “music discovery” has become a buzzword -- companies like Twitter and Beats By Dre have invested in high-profile products designed to help users find the unfound -- is there any real ability to wade through the almost unli ...

  6. Exclusive: Big Frame, YouTube Artist Dave Days Kick Off Original Series

    April 18, 2013 5:11 PM EDT Exploring new ways for independent artists to earn money, online talent management firm Big Frame and YouTube artist Dave Days on Thursday launched a new reality video series called "Writing Room." The show pairs 10 up-and-coming Yo ...

  7. Record Store Day Q&A With Graham Jones of 'Last Shop Standing'

    April 18, 2013 10:02 AM EDT Record Store Day has made “Last Shop Standing” -- a new documentary on U.K. record shops -- the official film of this year’s edition of its annual event. “Last Shop Standing,” released in the U.K. last year and coming out April 20 on DVD, has ...

  8. Tooth & Nail, Solid State Records Sign Distribution Deal With RED

    April 17, 2013 5:48 PM EDT Tooth & Nail and its Solid State Records imprint have signed a distribution deal with RED Distribution. The first new release through RED will be the third studio album from The Almost, Fear Inside Our Bones , out June 11 on Tooth & Nail ...

  9. Indie Beat: A2IM Heads to Brazil, Rough Trade Posts 25% Growth, and NXNE Gets a New Director

    April 16, 2013 3:50 PM EDT A2IM Heads South A2IM and representatives from 11 indie labels are headed south of the border this week. VP Records, Dead Oceans, Naxos, Yep Roc and more will join American Association for Independent Music president Rich Bengloff on a mission ...

  10. Indie Beat: Lio Kanine on Ten Years of Kanine Records

    April 15, 2013 4:44 PM EDT Next month, May 10 to be exact, Brooklyn’s Kanine Records will celebrate its tenth birthday. Officially launched by dog-loving husband and wife duo Lio and Kay Kanine (not their real last name) in 2003, the landmark Williamsburg label has sinc ...

  11. Morning Fix: Made in America Lineup Announced; Billboard Expands Streaming Charts; Tim Carr, A&R Exec, RIP

    April 11, 2013 8:30 AM EDT Get the Morning Fix Delivered Directly To Your Inbox HERE . BUDWEISER REVEALS MADE IN AMERICA LINEUP – BEYONCE, NINE INCH NAILS TO HEADLINE Beyonce and Nine Inch Nails top an eclectic lineup for Budweiser's second annual Made In America Fes ...

  12. Margaret Thatcher and the Rise and Fall of the Great British Pop Protest Song

    April 09, 2013 10:54 AM EDT In early 1997, I interviewed the Spice Girls who were already massive in their U.K. homeland but had yet to release their debut single "Wannabe" in America. Amid frequent and voluble declarations of their Girl Power manifesto, Geri Hal ...

  13. SoundScan Q1: Track and Album Sales Down, Digital Album Sales Jump

    April 03, 2013 8:41 PM EDT For the second time since SoundScan started counting downloads in 2003, track sales suffered a sales decline, something that occurred in the first three quarters of 2010. So far this year, track sales are down 1.3% as of March 31, according to N ...

  14. Why We Took the Piracy Debate to a Times Square Billboard: Guest Column by Ghost Beach

    April 02, 2013 8:30 AM EDT The New York-based “tropical grit pop” duo Ghost Beach was recently selected as the latest band to have its music featured in an online commercial for American Eagle Outfitters -- and that deal brought the group the opportunity to also be featur ...

  15. ADA Adds New West, Sumerian Records to Distribution Roster (Exclusive)

    April 02, 2013 8:00 AM EDT Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA), the music distribution arm of Warner Music Group, has lured two new independent labels to its growing stable of distribution clients. Alt-country/Americana label New West Records and hard rock purveyor ...

  16. Business Matters: Reports of the CD's Death Were Greatly Exaggerated

    April 01, 2013 3:18 PM EDT Even though CD revenues have fallen sharply over the last ten years, most predictions about the format have been wrong. The CD's decline, while painful to companies, has been far more gradual than precipitous. Over the last four years, CD ...

  17. Charles Caldas, Merlin CEO, Talks Market Complexities, UMG's 'Hubris' (Q&A)

    March 29, 2013 11:01 AM EDT Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin, the global digital-rights champion for indie labels, received the prestigious IMPALA Outstanding Contribution Award this week, in recognition of his relentless work chasing royalties due to indie companies and arti ...

  18. Paul Williams, Crawdaddy Founder, 'Godfather of Rock Criticism' Dead at 64

    March 28, 2013 3:58 PM EDT Paul Williams, the writer and editor who helped create what we now know as rock journalism with Crawdaddy!, a magazine he founded in 1966, died last night at the age of 64 from complications related to a 1995 bike accident. Williams began pub ...

  19. Charles Caldas, CEO of Merlin, Receives IMPALA's ‘Outstanding Contribution’ Award

    March 28, 2013 9:42 AM EDT Charles Caldas, the founder and CEO of the independents’ digital rights agency Merlin, has received the IMPALA outstanding contribution award. The Australian-born, London-based exec established Merlin back in 2007, creating what was described at ...

  20. Business Matters: Streaming, Subscriptions Rising, But Total Recorded-Music Revenues Down 1% in 2012: RIAA Report

    March 26, 2013 6:05 PM EDT Subscription and streaming services experienced tremendous growth and accounted for 15% of record business revenue in 2012, according to RIAA statistics released Tuesday. That expansion helped digital revenue surge to 59% of total recorded musi ...

  21. SiriusXM Indie Awards: Japandroids, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Metric Win Big During Canadian Music Week

    March 25, 2013 10:32 AM EDT Canada’s SirusXM Indie Awards, held each year in Toronto as part of Canadian Music Week, honoured some rather big names Friday night (March 22) -- for an awards ceremony that strictly honors independent artists -- including Taylor Swift, Carly R ...

  22. Five Questions at Ultra: Carl Craig on Trap Music, Planet E Records

    March 24, 2013 5:02 PM EDT We caught up with Detroit legend Carl Craig, just before he played The Boiler Room’s party at the Red Bull Guest House during Miami Music Week. The dance veteran, who has never been constricted by genre, is preparing an edition of Ministry Of So ...

  23. Simple Plan, Ralph James, Graham Henderson Among Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Award Honorees

    March 22, 2013 12:35 PM EDT The Canadian music industry was out full force last night (March 22), jammed into a room at Toronto’s Kool Haus to honor three Hall of Fame inductees, a humanitarian and an assortment of companies and individuals from labels, managers, agents, r ...

  24. Bubbling Under: Frank Turner Turns Heads

    March 22, 2013 11:14 AM EDT Each Friday, Billboard presents "Bubbling Under," a weekly look at new and noteworthy acts making their way toward Billboard chart success. Up this week: Frank Turner, Dustin Tavella, Drake White and Viajero . Frank Turner British rock ...

  25. #Ultragram: Your Photos from Ultra's First Weekend, Miami Music Week -- Keep 'Em Coming!

    March 21, 2013 6:36 PM EDT HEAD HERE TO SEE ALL OUR INSTAGRAM GALLERIES Our new audience-generated Instagram gallery is getting a gang of great photos from Ultra Music Festival -- which resumes this weekend after last weekend's kickoff -- and Miami Music Week, which ...

  26. Bon Jovi, David Bowie Among Six Debuts To Hit Top 10 On Billboard 200

    March 20, 2013 11:37 AM EDT It's the most top 10 debuts appearing on the chart in four months. The last time there were more in a week was the Dec. 1, 2012, chart, when seven albums arrived in the region. That week, One Direction's Take Me Home led the debut pack ...

  27. 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 ...

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

    March 18, 2013 10:44 PM EDT 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, ...

  29. 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 ...

  30. 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 ...

  31. 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, ...

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

    March 17, 2013 5:15 AM EDT 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 ...

  33. 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 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 ...

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

    March 16, 2013 11:16 AM EDT 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 ...

  35. SXSW Q&A: Merlin CEO Charles Caldas on Distribution, Streaming, BBQ and Music

    March 15, 2013 5:20 PM EDT =A gathering of thousands of musicians is a good place to find the CEO of a global rights agency that represents independent music companies in over 25 countries. Charles Caldas is CEO of Merlin, the nearly five-year-old network that represents ...

  36. 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 ...

  37. Exclusive: Machinedrum Signs to Ninja Tune

    March 15, 2013 9:59 AM EDT Azealia Banks beat maker plans a summer album London-based label Ninja Tune has signed electro/dubstep artist Machinedrum to a four-album deal, with a full-length expected as early as June. The deal was announced at the Ninja Tune SXSW showcase ...

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

    March 14, 2013 10:19 PM EDT 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 ...

  39. 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 ...

  40. 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 ...

  41. Dave Grohl's SXSW Keynote Urges Artists to Find Their Voice, Chides Negativity

    March 14, 2013 4:33 PM EDT “The musician comes first” was Dave Grohl’s mantra during his keynote speech Thursday at South By Southwest, an engaging and carefully prepared 45 minutes that encouraged up and coming artists to protect their independence and creative visions f ...

  42. 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 ...

  43. Backbeat: Enabler PR, Don Giovanni, Sacred Bones and Suicide Squeeze Team for Holy Mountain Showcase in Austin

    March 14, 2013 1:14 PM EDT Last night, Enabler PR teamed up with indie labels Don Giovanni Records , Suicide Squeeze Records , and Sacred Bones for their official showcase at Holy Mountain. The night's eclectic lineup -- including singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson an ...

  44. 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 ...

  45. 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 ...

  46. 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 ...

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

    March 13, 2013 8:18 PM EDT 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 ...

  48. 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 ...

  49. Arhoolie Records' 50 Years of Roots Music Celebrated in Film at SXSW

    March 12, 2013 5:58 PM EDT Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz built his label by recording blues, conjunto, Cajun music, zydeco and New Orleans brass bands in places where other producers would not go -- so it only made sense to celebrate the film about Strachwitz ...

  50. 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 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 ...

Pages