1. Spotify, Coca-Cola Team Up for New Global Locations-Based App PlaceLists

    June 07, 2013 8:00 PM EDT When Coca-Cola and Spotify first announced their “global strategic partnership” in April 2012, the vague marketing buzzwords only hinted at the products to come. However, the weekend before Spotify founder Daniel Ek announced the partnership at ...

  2. Song Skips an Issue as Apple Nears Agreements for iRadio

    June 06, 2013 8:30 PM EDT As the June 10 opening of the four-day Apple Worldwide Developers Conference neared at press time, Apple appeared to be in the final stages of signing up the major music companies for its planned music streaming service. While Apple so far has i ...

  3. The Billboard Cover Story: Janelle Monáe "Portrait of an Electric Lady"

    June 06, 2013 8:30 PM EDT Wondaland smells like sugar cookies. No one is baking in the towering Atlanta home, though there is a delicate spread of dip and crudites arranged on the kitchen counter, next to a jug of a fruity cocktail known as Wondapunch. But the cookie sce ...

  4. Loud & Proud Records Starts Anew by Signing Familiar Names & Calculating Value Propositions

    June 06, 2013 8:30 PM EDT 24 1 0 0 When Tom Lipsky's Loud & Proud Records parted ways with Roadrunner Records amid restructuring at the latter label last year, Lipsky faced both good and bad news. Unfortunately, the split meant that all of the artists signed to Loud &am ...

  5. Over The Counter Column: One More Time: Daft Punk No. 1, Again

    June 06, 2013 7:55 PM EDT Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" holds at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a second week, as the set shifts another 93,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its 73% drop isn't an alarming decline, considering that ple ...

  6. Smartphones: Leading The Way To Smart Money?

    June 06, 2013 6:30 PM EDT 1 0 2 0 0 The rise in user interaction with mobile devices bodes well for the music business, VC firm says. A new presentation by longtime Internet business guru Mary Meeker concludes that the U.S. consumer's infatuation with smartphones will continu ...

  7. Wale Won't Chill: Memories of Past Defeat Haunt Rapper With Third Album Around the Corner

    June 06, 2013 6:30 PM EDT etween headlining shows and nightclub walkthroughs, interviews and studio sessions, Wale doesn't rest much. On this spring afternoon, he's fresh off a brief nap he snuck in after a slew of morning promotional appearances at New York ra ...

  8. Further Dealings: Rhapsody, Pandora, CISAC, Brandy + CAA

    June 06, 2013 5:35 PM EDT Rhapsody has expanded its subscription music service to 14 additional European countries in a bid to compete more effectively with international services like Spotify and Deezer. The far-reaching expansion increases the number of territories whe ...

  9. Good Works: Blake Shelton Helps Heal Oklahoma

    June 06, 2013 5:35 PM EDT Shelton Helps Heal ­Oklahoma "I'd like to think that anybody, not just Oklahomans, who was in a position to react that quickly would have done the same thing," Blake Shelton says. The country star is reflecting on "Healing i ...

  10. The Deal: AEG Boosts StubHub Overseas

    June 06, 2013 5:35 PM EDT WHAT: StubHub's increasingly deep engagement with global sports and entertainment giant Anshutz Entertainment Group increased its visibility quotient exponentially with the June 3 announcement that StubHub would become London venue the O2&# ...

  11. Executive Turntable: Loud & Proud Records, BMG Chrysalis, Epic Records, APA, Sire Records,

    June 06, 2013 5:35 PM EDT RECORD COMPANIES Sire Records chairman Seymour Stein will take on additional responsibilities as senior label A&R executive for independent music, working closely with the management team at Warner Music Group's Alternative Distribution ...

  12. Gear: Bob Clearmountain's Studio That Love Built

    June 06, 2013 5:30 PM EDT Bob Clearmountain, with help from his wife, has built a studio/venue that blends old and new. In 2005, when digital audio interface maker Apogee Electronics moved its headquarters to an old print shop in Santa Monica, Calif., legendary mixer Bob ...

  13. Living Room Concerts: Providing DIY-Inclined Singer/Songwriters a Living & Fans Music in the Purest, Most Intimate Way

    June 06, 2013 1:40 PM EDT At 5:58 on a warm and sunny spring evening in North Quincy, Mass., Frank Sullivan is stirring a pot of homemade jambalaya on the stove with a smile on his face. "I love cooking," he says. "It's a gift--and a curse--from my fa ...

  14. Happening Now: Canadian Singer/Songwriter Serena Ryder Reboots U.S. Career With "Stompa"

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT "Stompa," Canadian singer/songwriter Serena Ryder's muscular pop-rock single and lead track from her forthcoming album "Harmony," spends its sixth consecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard's Triple A chart. It's a ...

  15. Business Matters Column: Are Downloads Stream-Proof?

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT What if subscription services started eating into download and CD purchases? It's not an unlikely scenario. Consumers allot only so much of their income for entertainment spending. If spending on streaming services increases, spending on ot ...

  16. From Backup to Big Screen: New Doc "Twenty Feet From Stardom" Shines Spotlight on Backup Singers

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT Documentaries do not have press junkets. That's for scripted studio films with stars, big budgets and the potential to pull in eight or nine figures at the box office. Yet on June 7, director Morgan Neville gathered in Los Angeles with four ...

  17. 5 Music Docs Heating Up Theaters This Summer

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT Theatrical releases of music-driven non-fiction films are at a higher-than-usual rate this summer, beginning with the release of "Twenty Feet From Stardom" on June 14 and "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me" in early July. Here ar ...

  18. Bubbling Under: Smallpools, Amba Shepherd, K. Roosevelt, Citizens

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT Smallpools' Big Splash Following in the vein of pop-leaning rock acts like Phoenix, Grouplove and current format kings Capital Cities, Los Angeles' Smallpools are approaching the Alternative chart with the buoyant "Dreaming" ...

  19. Happening Now: Alice in Chains Score No. 2 Debut With Coordinated Fan Engagement Campaign

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" has been a more comfortable experience for Alice in Chains than 2009's "Black Gives Way to Blue." The latter album was the Seattle group's first in 14 years, the first since the death ...

  20. Digital Domain Column: Gaming Rest

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT When E3, the videogame industry's annual extravaganza, presses play on June 10 in Los Angeles, many will be looking for signs of how the beleaguered games sector plans to cope with the tectonic shifts that are disrupting the $78 billion glo ...

  21. On The Road Column: After the Flood

    June 05, 2013 8:25 PM EDT On Nov. 8 in New York at the 2012 Billboard Touring Awards, the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh on New York's Long Island captured the venue's first top amphitheater award. The much-loved venue was water-logged at the time, hav ...

  22. Single Reviews: Bruno Mars, Kacey Musgraves, Five Finger Death Punch, Boards of Canada & Candice Glover

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT POP BRUNO MARS "Treasure" (2:56) Producers: The Smeezingtons Writers: Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence II, Ari Levine, Phredley Brown Publishers: various Atlantic Whereas "Locked Out of Heaven" was a paean to Sting and the Police, ...

  23. Christian Album Review: "Rise" Skillet

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT During the course of eight previous albums, Skillet has become increasingly deft at straddling the tricky line between faith-based idealism and secular universality. Rise takes the balance a step further, mixing new sonic flavors into the group& ...

  24. T&E Report: Copenhagen for Northside Music Festival (June 14-16)

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT BROWSE  Thousands of music fans will converge on Adalen, Denmark, June 14-16 to catch the Northside Music Festival (northside.dk), where Phoenix, fun., Imagine Dragons, the Flaming Lips and others will rock out. While many of the acts are intern ...

  25. Film Review: "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me"

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me" Directors: Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori Executive producers: John Fry, Gill Holland, David Armillei Producer: Danielle McCarthy Distributor: Magnolia Pictures Release dates: July 3 (New York), July 5 (Los ...

  26. Pop Single Review: "Release You" Megan & Liz

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT Did twin-sister duo Megan & Liz just not-so-quietly issue the most catchy song of the summer? "Release You," the lead single from the YouTube-bred group's forthcoming first album, certainly has a showy pedigree, with Max Marti ...

  27. Album Reviews: Little Mix, Laura Marling, The Olms, John Fogerty, Harry Connick Jr. & Portugal. The Man

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT ROCK The Olms "The Olms" Producers: The Olms Harvest Records Release Date: June 4 Those who found Pete Yorn's judgment a bit suspect after his 2009 collaboration with Scarlett Johansson will consider the Olms a redemption. Yorn an ...

  28. Go Time Travel Essentials: Dalton Sim, Manager to Guster, Dispatch, fun. & More

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT Dalton Sim began his career in 1995 by managing Guster out of the band's apartment in Somerville, Mass. Since that humble start, he's helped shape the careers of Ben Kweller, Alexi Murdoch, Dispatch, State Radio and, most recently, fun ...

  29. Live Review: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at Fonda Theatre, L.A.

    June 05, 2013 7:05 PM EDT Artist: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Venue: Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles Date: June 3 Tom Petty's vault excavation project opened in Los Angeles following a four-night run in New York. In the first of six L.A. shows, Petty and the Heartb ...

  30. Scouting Report: DJ/Saxophonist GRiZ

    June 05, 2013 7:00 PM EDT Grant Kwiecinski, who has been performing under the name GRiZ for the past few years, may be the only DJ to play saxophone live onstage. The Detroit-born artist, who got his start performing at house parties while in college at Michigan State, i ...

  31. Mac Miller's Sophomore Album Sidesteps Radio for Fan-Centric, Multimedia Rollout

    June 05, 2013 7:00 PM EDT For Mac Miller, an album isn't a vehicle for promoting a slew of singles. The 21-year-old Pittsburgh rapper's second LP, "Watching Movies With the Sound Off" (June 18, Rostrum Records), is just the latest element of a nearly ...

  32. Road Work: Kurt Vile

    June 05, 2013 7:00 PM EDT Since 2009, booking agent Eric Dimenstein of Ground Control Touring has been helping Kurt Vile and his band the Violators spread their folklore to lo-fi and hi-fi audiences alike, this year promoting Vile's critical darling of an LP, " ...

  33. Pretty Lights Shakes Up His Free Download Model With Deluxe Retail Release

    June 05, 2013 7:00 PM EDT Derek Vincent Smith calls his fourth album, "A Color Map of the Sun" (July 2, Pretty Lights Music), "the most challenging, massive project" he could envision. The DJ/producer, who performs as Pretty Lights, certainly put in h ...

  34. My Day: Marty Diamond, Founder of Little Big Man and Head of Music at New York, Paradigm

    June 05, 2013 6:50 PM EDT Marty Diamond has worked in all facets of the music business. After starting as the concert chairman at the University of Delaware, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications, soon he was booking at Manhattan club the Rit ...

  35. Questions Answered: Jim Urie, President/CEO of Universal Music Group Distribution

    June 05, 2013 5:30 PM EDT What did you wake up thinking about this morning? I wake up every morning with the same thought: "I wonder if our competition has gained a step on us in some way." We have always preached that we are competing with more than other reco ...

  36. Dolls in the House: Goo Goo Dolls' "Rebel Beat" Soundtracks Two HGTV Ads Ahead of 10th Album

    June 05, 2013 5:30 PM EDT A "huge sense of optimism" pervades the Goo Goo Dolls' 10th album, "Magnetic" (June 11, Warner Bros.), according to frontman/primary songwriter John Rzeznik. "We're just at a better place in our lives," he ...

  37. The Billboard Cover Story - J. Cole: A Star Is Reborn

    May 30, 2013 9:00 PM EDT 2 4 0 0 J. Cole's first album debuted at No. 1, helping ignite a new movement in hip-hop. But for his follow-up, he's taken on a new set of challenges: eschewing guest rappers and producers, going head-to-head with Kanye West on release day an ...

  38. Traffic Watch: What are North Americans Using the Internet for?

    May 30, 2013 7:55 PM EDT With audio and video streaming leading the way, Internet traffic in North America grew substantially in the first half of 2013, according to a report by networking equipment company Sandvine. In North America, average monthly usage--combining up ...

  39. Apple's iRadio Hitch: Publishers are Holding Out

    May 30, 2013 7:55 PM EDT Nearly 10 months into conversations with the major music labels and publishers, Apple's vision to launch a Pandora-like radio service is still hung up on negotiating rates. While Apple has signed Universal Music Group's recorded-music ...

  40. Independents' Day: Five Indies Work Together for Autonomy in Major Deals

    May 30, 2013 7:55 PM EDT A union of five independent labels sold to U.S. retail by Warner Music Group's Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is seeking a physical-only distribution deal that could upset the business model for distributors, according to sources f ...

  41. Videogame Rock Band Anamanaguchi Promoting New Album on Own Terms Thanks to Kickstarter Campaign

    May 30, 2013 6:40 PM EDT Ana-mana-guchi. The polysyllabic tongue-twister of a name is on the lips of a swelling army of fans and admirers after several thousand helped propel the DIY, 8-bit electronic group into the pantheon of Kickstarter breakout bands. Anamanaguchi&# ...

  42. Gear: Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, Tegan & Sara) Works Hard, Plays Hard

    May 30, 2013 6:00 PM EDT "I'm interested in distractions," Justin Meldal-Johnsen says while showcasing his Los Angeles studio, gesturing to an old basketball and an original Nintendo NES that linger in the lounge space. The well-lit studio, which he' ...

  43. The Deal: Telemundo & Seacrest's 'Duel'

    May 30, 2013 4:55 PM EDT WHAT: Telemundo and Ryan Seacrest Productions have partnered to produce a new music reality show, "Duelo Musical: Super Estrellas" (Superstar Music Duel), set to launch in 2014. "Duelo Musical" (a working title) will feature ...

  44. Executive Turntable: MSG, Ticketmaster, CAA, Capitol, Kobalt, Universal

    May 30, 2013 4:55 PM EDT TOURING Ticketmaster appoints Jared Smith president of North America. A 10-year veteran of the ticketing company, Smith most recently served as COO. "My major responsibilities were over the client set of the business, which included sales, ...

  45. Further Dealings: Daft Punk's Publishing Deal, Nokia & Cher Lloyd, Supreme Court & Music Royalties

    May 30, 2013 4:55 PM EDT Daft Punk has signed a timely music publishing deal with Imagem Music U.K., just as the French electronic duo's fourth album, "Random Access Memories," crashes sales charts around the globe. Imagem will publish Daft Punk's so ...

  46. Good Works: Dropkick Murphys are 'For Boston'

    May 30, 2013 4:55 PM EDT 'For Boston' Ken Casey, bassist and founding member of Boston band Dropkick Murphys, spent the first part of his day on April 15 ignoring text messages and focusing on the Celtic rock troupe's concert that evening at the Catalyst ...

  47. My Day: Jorge Pino, VP of Music at Venemusic

    May 30, 2013 4:50 PM EDT Jorge PinoVP of Music Venemusic Jorge Pino rose through the ranks in the majors to become CEO of EMI Music U.S. Latin. But when he left the company in 2005, he went to Venemusic, the indie label owned by Venezuelan media giant Venevision. Althou ...

  48. Pride in Music: Adam Lambert Is First Out Gay Man to Earn No. 1 Album

    May 29, 2013 9:20 PM EDT In June 2009, shortly after being named the runner-up on season eight of "American Idol," Adam Lambert ended speculation about his sexuality by coming out in a Rolling Stone cover story. Three years later, in May 2012, Lambert became t ...

  49. Pride in Music: Chely Wright Announces Twins, Stars In Award-Winning Documentary

    May 29, 2013 9:20 PM EDT In 1994, Kansas-born Chely Wright made her country chart debut with "He's a Good Ole Boy," topping the charts in 1999 with "Single White Female." The singer hit the top 40 for the last time in 2005 with "The Bumper ...

  50. Pride in Music: Mana Publicly Supports Marriage Equality

    May 29, 2013 9:20 PM EDT The world's biggest Latin touring act, Mana, made a strong statement on April 2, 2012. The Mexican rock band's lead singer, Fher Olvera, joined a chorus of other like-minded musicians and backed gay couples on the band's 8 million ...

Pages