1. 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 ...

  2. SXSW Backbeat: Usher and The Afghan Whigs Surprise The Fader Fort While Lil Wayne Health Scare Shocks Backstage

    March 16, 2013 1:12 PM EDT 1 27 43 0 0 Andy Cohn , president and publisher of the Fader, gave himself the best birthday present imaginable Friday night. One of his all-time favorite bands, The Afghan Whigs , headlined a closing-night set with surprise guest Usher that practically r ...

  3. 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 ...

  4. 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 ...

  5. 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 ...

  6. New Doc, Premiering at SXSW, Gets Behind the Scenes of Green Day's Musical 'American Idiot' (Q&A)

    March 15, 2013 1:59 PM EDT 1 9 0 0 "Broadway Idiot," Doug Hamilton's behind-the-scenes film about the creation of the "American Idiot" musical, has its world premiere today, a double-feature with "Cuatro!," which chronicles Green Day's reco ...

  7. A Day in the Busy Life: Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment Go to Austin

    March 15, 2013 11:29 AM EDT Not just anyone would get a call from Alicia Keys to perform alongside her; so when Kendrick Lamar did, he went with it. The night before hopping on a red-eye to this year's SXSW festival, Kendrick Lamar performed two songs ("Swimming ...

  8. Tim Leiweke: Where Will He Go After AEG? Smart Money’s on Sports …

    March 14, 2013 8:03 PM EDT In his role as president/CEO of AEG, Leiweke greenlighted some of the most successful live music projects of the past decade, including the acquisition of Concerts West and Coachella producer Goldenvoice; the partnership with the New Orleans Jaz ...

  9. AEG: With Tim Leiweke Out, What’s Next?

    March 14, 2013 6:06 PM EDT 5 6 20 0 0 With Anschutz Entertainment Group off the block and the subsequent resignation of president/CEO Tim Leiweke , the question now moves from “what’s it worth?” to “what’s next?”   Bidders did not reach owner Phillip Anschutz’s magic number of arou ...

  10. Greg Maffei Named Live Nation Chairman

    March 14, 2013 5:45 PM EDT In a move that reflects the growing influence of Liberty Media in Live Nation Entertainment, the LNE Board of Directors of Live Nation Entertainment today appointed Greg Maffei as the non-executive Chairman of the Board. Maffei is President and ...

  11. 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 ...

  12. AEG Will Not Be Sold After All, Tim Leiweke Leaving Company

    March 14, 2013 12:41 PM EDT Anschutz Entertainment Group owner Phillip Anschutz has taken the company off of the market and president/CEO Tim Leiweke will leave the company, according to a statement released today. Leiweke will be replaced in his roles by CFO Dan Beckerman ...

  13. New Doc Premiering at SXSW Explores the Tumultuous Life of Legendary New Orleans Pianist James Booker

    March 14, 2013 11:03 AM EDT Harry Connick Jr. deciphers the work of his piano mentor James Booker in Lily Keber's film "Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker," that receives its world premiere today at SXSW. He explains in the film that Booker&# ...

  14. 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 ...

  15. Black Keys Manager Denies Pressuring Adversary

    March 13, 2013 7:30 PM EDT A Nashville lawyer who opposes legislation that would crack down on ticket scalping in Tennessee alleges that a manager of The Black Keys tried to persuade him to change his position in exchange for tickets to a performance by the band. Attorney ...

  16. 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 ...

  17. MSG Sells Its Live Nation Stock

    March 12, 2013 2:11 PM EDT   The Madison Square Garden Company today announced the sale of all of its approximately 3.9 million shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock, valued at approximately $44 million. The move is not unexpected, following the Feb. 22 resignation of ...

  18. 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 ...

  19. Backbeat: Guy Oseary, Ashton Kutcher, Scooter Braun And Many More At A-GRade’s Power-Packed SXSW Party

    March 11, 2013 3:50 PM EDT 4 15 41 2 0 There are moments when South By Southwest Interactive becomes a lot like Hollywood, where crowds of people huddle outside an exclusive party and everyone is on the phone, calling favors to anyone who can let them in. Spotify and Path’s 120 Clu ...

  20. Scooter Braun and Guy Oseary: ‘My First South By Southwest’

    March 11, 2013 2:23 PM EDT They’ve made their names managing two of pop’s biggest stars -- Madonna and Justin Bieber, respectively -- but Guy Oseary and Scooter Braun have spent the better of the last 18 months extending their attention and investment portfolios to tech a ...

  21. BandPage Unveils New 'Experiences' Service

    March 11, 2013 11:00 AM EDT Want to hang with George Clinton? Need a personal guitar lesson from Zakk Wylde? How about an 8-mile run with Dead Prez’s Stic.man while he teaches you beatboxing? BandPage on Monday is unveiling a platform allowing bands to design and sell cust ...

  22. Anti-Piracy Critics Lash Out at Congress, Entertainment Industry During SXSWi Panel

    March 11, 2013 10:15 AM EDT Academics, an attorney and an Internet entrepreneur gave the SXSW Interactive audience an earful on the problems caused by U.S. copyright law during the panel "Copyright & Disruptive Technologies" at the Austin Convention Center Su ...

  23. Troy Carter Talks 'Generation Flux' With Fast Company At SXSW Panel

    March 10, 2013 7:54 PM EDT From left: Padma Warrior, CSO & CTO of Cisco; Troy Carter, CEO of Atom Factory; and Robert Safian, editor of Fast Company, discuss Generation Flux at SXSW Interactive (Photo: Andrew Hampp)   First Douglas Coupland’s 1991 novel popularized th ...

  24. Miley Cyrus Signs With Larry Rudolph for Management

    March 08, 2013 7:16 PM EST Miley Cyrus is readying a big return to the music world, not only with her fourth studio album, which is currently being recorded, but also by signing with a new manager. Larry Rudolph, best known for guiding the career of Britney Spears, has ta ...

  25. Business Matters: Who Might Pandora's Next CEO Be?

    March 08, 2013 3:54 PM EST 1 8 55 0 0 In the flurry of words written about Pandora over the past months and years, people tend to forget what it actually is. Pandora is not a social media company, although you might think otherwise reading some financial magazines. It’s not an Inte ...

  26. Florence + The Machine Ink Deal With WME

    March 07, 2013 5:02 PM EST Florence + the Machine has signed with WME for North American personal appearances and Worldwide representation in all other areas, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The award-winning British band has released two critically-acclaimed albums, ...

  27. Apple Is Pitching Labels Half of Pandora's Royalty Rate for Upcoming Internet Radio Service

    March 07, 2013 3:41 PM EST Apple has pitched record labels a per-stream royalty of 0.06 cents per stream, or half of what pure-play webcasters like Pandora currently pay for performing sound recordings, for its upcoming Internet radio service, according to a record label ...

  28. Republic Records Sponsoring Music For Newtown Online Auction

    March 07, 2013 2:33 PM EST In the aftermath of the devastating Newtown tragedy last December, Republic Records today announced it will sponsor a " Music For Newtown " auction.  Numerous artists have donated special limited-edition items to the cause in which all ...

  29. Analysis: With Warner, Beats and More, Is Len Blavatnik Building a New Media Empire?

    March 06, 2013 7:32 PM EST 15 10 59 0 0 Len Blavatnik’s Tuesday announcement of his $60 million investment in Beats Electronics’ forthcoming music service Daisy is just the latest in a string of deals that are starting to fill in a bigger picture around the billionaire’s broader am ...

  30. Jason Aldean, Songwriters Ben Hayslip David Lee Murphy Celebrate 'The Only Way I Know' No. 1 with ASCAP

    March 06, 2013 6:10 PM EST Songwriters David Lee Murphy and Ben Hayslip were hoping for a Jason Aldean cut when they wrote "The Only Way I Know." Little did they know they would get a triple cut, because when Aldean hard the song he knew it was exactly the tune ...

  31. Warner Music’s Blavatnik Leads $60 Million Funding of Beats' Daisy Music Subscription Service

    March 06, 2013 7:23 AM EST Beats Electronics’ “Daisy” music service has secured $60 million in funding from a consortium led by Access Industries, Len Blavatnik’s investment group, which owns Warner Music Group. Marc Rowan, James Packer and parties affiliated with Lee M. ...

  32. Questlove, Chromeo to DJ Annual Seeds of Peace Fundraiser

    March 06, 2013 3:00 AM EST 8 0 0 Seeds of Peace, the 20-year-old organization which seeks to foster peace through youth training programs, announced its 8th annual Peace Market fundraising event yesterday, via a release. Chromeo's Dave 1 and Questlove will be DJ'ing t ...

  33. Terra Firma’s Guy Hands Breaks Silence on EMI: ‘We Learned Some Very Expensive Lessons' (Video)

    March 05, 2013 2:48 PM EST 5 0 23 0 Guy Hands, founder and chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma, spoke rather candidly on the missteps he and his firm made in its management of EMI in a video interview posted today on Bloomberg (below). Terra Firma purchased the music compan ...

  34. Alleged 'Smoking Gun' E-mail Suggests Link Between AEG and Michael Jackson's Death

    March 04, 2013 7:19 PM EST A “smoking gun” email that allegedly links concert promoter AEG Live to the 2009 death of Michael Jackson was revealed this week in connection with the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother and children. The exchange between AEG Live co ...

  35. Graham Armstrong, Veteran Program Director and Journalist, Succumbs to Pneumonia

    March 04, 2013 5:12 PM EST Graham Armstrong, former program director at Chicago’s WGCI-FM and a veteran R&B journalist, died March 1 in Los Angeles of complications after a long bout with pneumonia. He was 60 years old. The Chicago native, born Dec. 21, 1952, graduated ...

  36. ASCAP Reports 2012 Financials: Distributed $827 Million

    March 04, 2013 3:32 PM EST 14 37 83 0 0 ASCAP collected $941 million in revenue last year, down 4.5% from its 2011 total of $982 million. But royalty payments increased slightly to $827 million, up from $824 million in the previous year. This article first appeared in Billboard Mag ...

  37. A2IM's Trade Mission to Brazil - Applications for Travel Subsidy Due Tomorrow

    March 04, 2013 1:52 PM EST The American Association of Independent Music is heading to Brazil in mid-April as part of its Market Development Cooperator Program, and today is the last day to have your costs halved. This is the second trip planned by A2IM through the MDCP, wh ...

  38. 2:30 Publicity and Grandstand Media Merge

    March 04, 2013 1:06 PM EST Long-established publicity firm 2:30, founded in 1997, and relative newcomer Grandstand Media & Management, founded in 2012, have merged, it was announced today in a statement. "With a combined 50 years of experience…" begins the int ...

  39. Demi Lovato's 'Heart Attack' Hashtag Becomes Worldwide Trending Topic

    March 04, 2013 11:56 AM EST On Friday March 1, Demi Lovato debuted the release of the video for her new single “Heart Attack,” via an interactive online campaign where fans unlocked the video by tweeting the song’s lyrics, along with the hashtag “ #UnlockHeartAttack .” The c ...

  40. DFA Records Sues Co-Founder Tim Goldsworthy

    March 04, 2013 11:24 AM EST DFA Records, the New York-based, scene-defining record label founded by Jonathan Galkin, Tim Goldsworthy and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy in 2001, is suing Goldsworthy in Mahattan Civil Supreme Court. The news was first reported by DNAinfo ...

  41. Country Radio Seminar: Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Pistol Annies and REO Speedwagon Rock the Boat

    March 01, 2013 2:05 PM EST Above, L-R: Ashley Monroe, Pistol Annies; Kelly Clarkson; Angaleena Presley, Pistol Annies; Miranda Lambert The General Jackson river boat was rockin’ last night as Brad Paisley welcomed surprise guests REO Speedwagon on Sony Music Nashville’s 27t ...

  42. BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch On Buying Out KKR: 'We No Longer Need The Old Label System'

    March 01, 2013 8:08 AM EST   On the day that Bertelsmann announced it had bought out Kohlberg Krvis Roberts & Co. (KKR), its partner in BMG Rights Management, at a price-tag estimated at well-over a quarter billion dollars, Billboard.biz caught up with one of the deal&# ...

  43. France Examines Even Tougher Anti-Piracy Laws

    February 28, 2013 2:41 PM EST PARIS: -- Already home to some of the strictest anti-piracy laws for users, France’s Internet Authority (HADOPI) has  issued a new report examining ways to curb usage of streaming and direct download sites. Looking to stop piracy at the source, th ...

  44. RZA On the Offensive Over Sampling Infringement Allegations

    February 28, 2013 2:32 PM EST RZA, the acclaimed Wu Tang Clan member, record producer and budding filmmaker, is attempting a new offensive tack against those who accuse him of sampling theft. This week, he filed a lawsuit against JVC Kenwood Holdings, a multinational company w ...

  45. Country Radio Seminar: Can Radio Capture Country Music's Unique, Emotional Connection with Listeners?

    February 28, 2013 1:41 PM EST Country music listeners connect deeply and emotionally with the songs they hear on country radio, but these listeners don’t always connect as deeply and emotionally with the radio stations that play them. This disconnect is one of the highlights o ...

  46. Capitol Music Raises Dennis Reese to Head of Promotion

    February 28, 2013 12:59 PM EST Capitol Music Group announced yet another executive hire today, elevating Dennis Reese from SVP of promotion to head of promotion. “Dennis is a passionate music executive who possesses an unmatched knowledge of the ever-changing landscape of radio ...

  47. Country Radio Seminar: Thomas Rhett, Warren Brothers Play BMI's WCRS Live Show

    February 28, 2013 10:46 AM EST Above, Thomas Rhett performs The Nashville Songwriters Association International has a motto: “It All Begins With A Song.” That bond between writer and song was celebrated Wednesday afternoon at the Country Radio Seminar with the annual WCRS Live! ...

  48. Baauer’s ‘Harlem Shake’: The Global Hit That Started With a One-Off Single Deal

    February 28, 2013 7:00 AM EST The Internet is full of free downloads, but most don’t end up topping the charts like Baauer’s “Harlem Shake.” The single was brought to market through a label as uncommon as the track’s quirky success story.   Jeffrees, a sub-label of Diplo’s Mad ...

  49. Simon Darlow, Songwriter for Grace Jones, Shirley Bassey, Named Chairman of U.K. Rights Org BASCA

    February 28, 2013 5:00 AM EST U.K. songwriters’ body BASCA (the British Association of Songwriters, Composers & Authors) has announced the appointment of composer, musician and arranger Simon Darlow as its new chairman. Darlow, 52, has a long list of song credits including ...

  50. Universal Completes EMI Divestments, Sells Last Two Assets

    February 27, 2013 1:32 PM EST Universal Music Group has sold off its last two remaining EMI assets it was required to divest of as part of its acquisition of EMI’s recorded-music properties, a source close to the situation told Billboard.biz today.   The assets are EMI’s Europ ...

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