1. MTV VMAs: Katy Perry To Perform Live From Iconic Brooklyn Locale, Producer Promises Borough Love Letter

    August 25, 2013 8:07 AM EDT Brooklyn’s Barclays center was an empty black box for much of August. The last concert to take place in the 19,000-seat venue? Beyonce’s Aug. 5 gig, capping off three nights at the venue her husband Jay Z helped bring to fruition. But as of Satu ...

  2. Earl Sweatshirt, Jimmy Buffett and TGT Top 10 Bound on Billboard 200

    August 23, 2013 8:04 PM EDT After a week where only two albums debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, next week should provide a healthy influx of new releases to the region. The new Billboard 200 chart's top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Aug. 28. John Ma ...

  3. Taco Bell Premieres Passion Pit Rockumentary, Preps VMA Sponsorship (Exclusive)

    August 23, 2013 5:38 PM EDT Since 2006, Taco Bell's Feed The Beat program has supported more than 600 rising music acts with $500 in gift certificates to help keep them fed on the road. And in more recent years, the company has extended its outreach to the music in ...

  4. Ben Kweller Expands His Noise Company Label, Manager Kevin Wommack Named President

    August 23, 2013 5:08 PM EDT Indie rocker Ben Kweller has joined forces with longtime manager and industry veteran, Kevin Wommack, who will also serve as President of Kweller's record label, the Noise Company. Wommack has enlisted Mary Juney and Emmy Black, both of who ...

  5. New Signings: August Alsina to Def Jam, Windish Agency Wins Bobby Womack, Frankie Rose Goes and Labrinth to Paradigm

    August 23, 2013 4:03 PM EDT Here’s a look at the latest artist signings across the music industry, which include label, management, publishing and booking agency deals. Billboard.biz is interested in your company’s new signings. Please send announcements to Mitchell.Peters ...

  6. Bud Light's 50 Concerts In 50 States Initiative - Did It Work? (Exclusive)

    August 23, 2013 2:01 PM EDT This story first appeared in the new Billboard Pick-up this issue here ; get your subscription here .   For its first attempt to host 50 concerts in all 50 states on the same day, Bud Light had modest goals for the audience it wanted to reach as ...

  7. Bubbling Under: Will Hoge Makes 'Strong' Start

    August 23, 2013 10:37 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: Will Hoge, Andra Day, Martin Garrix and Schoolboy Q. Will Hoge Will Hoge makes ...

  8. Chart Moves: Washed Out, Valerie June Debut on Billboard 200, Wild Feathers Fly In at No. 1 on Heatseekers

    August 23, 2013 9:15 AM EDT This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Luke Bryan charged in at No. 1 , selling an impressive 528,000 copies of his latest album, "Crash My Party." It marked the second chart-topper for the country star, who logged a No. 1 earlie ...

  9. Chart Moves: Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' Tops R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; Luke Bryan Scores Fifth No. 1 on Hot Country Songs

    August 23, 2013 9:00 AM EDT As previously reported , Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" (featuring T.I. and Pharrell) spends an 11th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Katy Perry's "Roar" blasts 85-2, and Lady Gaga's "Applause ...

  10. Marvin Gaye's Family Rejected Robin Thicke's Six-Figure Offer (Exclusive)

    August 23, 2013 8:27 AM EDT Billboard has learned that Robin Thicke’s team offered a six-figure sum to members of Marvin Gaye family in order to preempt a copyright infringement showdown, but the family turned it down. According to sources knowledgeable with the lawsu ...

  11. MTV VMAs Set Sponsorship Record Despite 2012 Ratings Slump

    August 22, 2013 8:40 PM EDT MTV’s Video Music Awards have had a rollercoaster couple of years in the ratings, from reaching all-time highs in 2011 thanks to Beyonce’s baby bump to a 50% plunge in 2012. Yet despite last year’s drop, this weekend’s show, broadcast from Broo ...

  12. Green Day's 'Broadway Idiot' Documentary to Get Theatrical Release

    August 22, 2013 4:47 PM EDT "Broadway Idiot," which chronicles the theater adaptation of Green Day's American Idiot, is set to hit the big screen on October 18, it was announced Thursday. The documentary will begin a special theatrical engagement in New York ...

  13. John Mayer Aiming for No. 2 Debut on Billboard 200

    August 21, 2013 8:33 PM EDT John Mayer is on course for a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 next week with his sixth studio album, "Paradise Valley." Industry sources suggest the set could sell around 150,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Aug. 25. The ...

  14. FYF Fest Founder Sean Carlson on Goldenvoice, Market Saturation and 2013's Stellar Lineup (Q&A)

    August 21, 2013 4:21 PM EDT Outside of the market-leading Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one would be hard-pressed to find another multi-day music festival in Southern California with a more impressive lineup than this year’s FYF Fest in Los Angeles.  Celebra ...

  15. Troy Carter Talks Hybrid Label Venture With Capitol Music Group, New Signings (Exclusive)

    August 21, 2013 1:57 PM EDT Troy Carter’s Atom Factory Entertainment is teaming with Capitol Music Group to form Atom Factory Music, a joint label that has signed two indie-rock bands, New York’s Basic Vacation and Los Angeles’ The Ceremonies. The deal will emphasize in ...

  16. Insane Clown Posse Juggle TV Commitments, FBI Attention & Being the World's Most 'Hated' Band

    August 21, 2013 1:55 PM EDT They are the self-proclaimed "Most Hated Band in the World," and now they're bringing their own theater of the absurd to the Fuse Network with the aptly titled "Insane Clown Posse Theater." For 24 years, Joseph Bruce and ...

  17. Luke Bryan's No. 1 Album and Katy Perry's No. 1 Digital Song Each Sell Over Half-Million

    August 21, 2013 12:00 PM EDT This week, for only the second time in history, an album and a digital song both simultaneously sell more than a half-million copies in a single week. On the Billboard 200 albums chart, Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" debuts at No. ...

  18. Luke Bryan Nets No. 1 Album; Katy Perry's 'Roar' Tops Digital Songs

    August 21, 2013 10:58 AM EDT As reported yesterday, country star Luke Bryan nabs his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with "Crash My Party." The album bows atop the list with nearly 528,000 sold in the week ending Sunday, Aug. 18, according to Nielsen Sound ...

  19. Ross On Radio: Of Plain Folks, Electronic Folk Music, And More

    August 21, 2013 1:01 AM EDT Insights From Today's Pop Charts A number of observations based on the current hits: A Revolution, I Suppose: There's a tendency to clump Imagine Dragons in with the other quirky pop that crosses over from modern rock, especially after ...

  20. Jennifer Lopez Deal with 'American Idol' Imminent (Source)

    August 20, 2013 7:02 AM EDT A person familiar with negotiations to bring Jennifer Lopez back as an "American Idol" judge says her return will be announced this week. The person said Monday that a deal is close to being signed with Lopez, who was an "Idol&quo ...

  21. Cash Money's Birdman Launches Apparel Lines With Bravado, Lil Wayne; Includes 'Python Accents'

    August 19, 2013 4:18 PM EDT Cash Money's ever-expanding empire now includes hip-hop (Lil Wayne, Nicki MInaj and Drake among othgers), pop , R&B and rock artists, a book publishing division (which reacently inked a deal with Rev. Al Sharpton), a spirits brand,  fil ...

  22. Chris Brown's Health Condition Results in Canadian Concert Cancellations

    August 19, 2013 1:24 PM EDT TORONTO (AP) -- The promoter of four Chris Brown concerts in Canada scheduled this summer says the events have been cancelled. Stephen Tobin, owner of Drop Entertainment Group, said Monday that the decision was made after consulting with Brown a ...

  23. Katy Perry Aiming to Sell 450k Downloads of 'Roar,' Lady Gaga's 'Applause' Set for 225k Debut

    August 18, 2013 3:03 PM EDT Katy Perry's "Roar" just keeps getting bigger. Industry sources now suggest that her new single "Roar" could debut with between 525,000 and 550,000 downloads sold by the end of the tracking week on Aug. 18. Three days ag ...

  24. Thousands Gather in Memphis to Honor Elvis Presley at Graceland Vigil

    August 16, 2013 3:16 PM EDT Elvis Presley fans from around the world made their annual pilgrimage to Graceland on Thursday to pay their respects to the rock n' roll icon with a solemn candlelight vigil on the 36th anniversary of his death. Thousands of Presley fans ca ...

  25. New Los Angeles Football Team Named After Kiss

    August 16, 2013 11:00 AM EDT Arena League football fans: get ready to rock 'n' roll all night. The league is returning to the Los Angeles area with a new expansion team named after the rock band Kiss. The expansion L.A. Kiss will begin play in 2014 with home games ...

  26. Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' Hits 1 Million Sales Mark in U.K.

    August 16, 2013 10:30 AM EDT Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" has crossed the sales milestone of one million copies in the U.K., making it the music star's second single to do so. The 2009 release joined her hit "Poker Face" in the million-seller club ...

  27. Chart Moves: Lorde's 'Love' Rises, Cody Simpson Surges, the Supremes Return to Billboard 200

    August 16, 2013 9:00 AM EDT This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the Civil Wars snared its first No. 1 album as its self-titled set bowed in the top slot. The release sold 116,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was one of four debuts i ...

  28. Beyonce's Short Haircut Yields Big Social 50 Chart Gain

    August 15, 2013 8:31 PM EDT After a three-week hiatus from the Social 50’s top 10, Beyonce bounds 26-6 all thanks to a simple haircut.   The Social 50 ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Myspace and Instagram. The char ...

  29. Fight for Michael Jackson's Glove Rolls On Between African Dictator's Son, U.S.

    August 15, 2013 4:18 PM EDT For those incredulous that Michael Jackson's family's wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live is now in its fourth month of trial, consider that the United States government's attempts to seize a Jackson glove from a dictator' ...

  30. Katy Perry Set to Sell 450k Downloads of 'Roar,' Gaga's 'Applause' Set for 225k Debut

    August 15, 2013 1:16 PM EDT Katy Perry's new song "Roar" is off to a roaring sales start, with industry forecasters suggesting it will move around 450,000 downloads by the end of the tracking week on Sunday (Aug. 18). Meanwhile, fellow diva Lady Gaga is also ...

  31. Blue Öyster Cult‬ Guitarist Allen Lanier Dies

    August 15, 2013 1:03 PM EDT Allen Lanier, a founding member and multi-instrumentalist with classic rock band Blue Öyster Cult, has died after a lengthy battle with lung disease, the group announced on Wednesday. He was 67. "We've lost our friend and bandmate,&quo ...

  32. Bon Jovi Playing Cuomo Fundraiser, Cancel New York State Fair Concert

    August 15, 2013 11:10 AM EDT Bon Jovi fans who were living on a prayer that the band would perform at the New York State Fair this month were in for a dose of bad medicine when the show was canceled, allegedly due to an upcoming performance at a political fundraiser for Gov ...

  33. Luke Bryan Heading for Big Sales Week, Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200

    August 14, 2013 8:42 PM EDT Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" is set to crash in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week with a very big bow. Industry sources say the country star's latest album to sell least 450,000 copies by the end of the tracking ...

  34. Elvis Presley Estate Bid In Second Round, Sony Corp. and G2 Investment Group Among Expected Suitors

    August 14, 2013 8:24 PM EDT The auction for Core Media’s packaged estates of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali is now in the second round as bids are landing at the the Raine Group, the investment bank running the auction for Core Media. The New York Post reported that bids w ...

  35. Robin Thicke Leads Hot 100 For 10th Week While Gaga and Perry Gear Up for a Showdown

    August 14, 2013 3:28 PM EDT Robin Thicke claims an elite 10th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Blurred Lines" (featuring T.I. and Pharrell). Meanwhile, Katy Perry provides a sneak peek at the battle expected next week when "Roar," which debu ...

  36. Ross On Radio: Why Lana Del Rey Was Born To Live

    August 14, 2013 1:00 AM EDT "Gangsta Nancy Sinatra" Beats The Rap For many years, the ultimate music business pejorative was to declare any artist “a hype.” The combination of a major-label push, modest results and critical disdain was worse for many artists than ...

  37. Dave Grohl's 'Sound City,' Cameron Crowe's 'Pearl Jam Twenty' to Air on VH1

    August 13, 2013 11:47 AM EDT VH1's Emmy-winning series "Rock Docs" returns with the stories of two Seattle institutions. "Sound City," directed by Dave Grohl, drummer for Nirvana, frontman for the Foo Fighters, and all-around good guy, is a solid d ...

  38. Lady Gaga vs. Katy Perry: Superstar Digital Song Sales Showdown

    August 12, 2013 7:14 PM EDT This week could be a historic one for digital song sales. New singles from Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are heading for big debuts on Billboard's Digital Songs chart next week -- and both should rack up major sales. Perry's new single &q ...

  39. Katy Perry's 'Roar' Debuts on Mainstream Top 40 Chart, Heading for Hot 100

    August 12, 2013 2:19 PM EDT To no one's surprise, Katy Perry's new single "Roar" is off to a roaring good start.   The song leaked prematurely to the Internet on Saturday, Aug. 10 -- two days before its planned premiere today (12). In turn, with less th ...

  40. Jody Payne, Willie Nelson Guitarist, Dies at 77

    August 10, 2013 10:52 PM EDT Jody Payne, a guitarist who toured with Willie Nelson for more than three decades, has died. He was 77. Baldwin County Coroner Stan Zinson says Payne died at 5:12 a.m. Saturday (August 10) at a hospital from cardiac problems. He says Payne got u ...

  41. Outside Lands: Live Music Meets Live Hacks

    August 10, 2013 9:00 AM EDT Music hack-a-thons, a fairly common occurrence thanks to a proliferation of application programming interfaces, is taking on a twist this week at the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco -- allowing the hackers to sound out their digit ...

  42. Asking Alexandria, Tye Tribbett Heading for Top 10 on Billboard 200

    August 09, 2013 8:53 PM EDT As previously reported, folk-rock duo the Civil Wars seem to be set for its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart week with its new self-titled release. Industry sources suggest the album might bow with 105,000 copies sold through the wee ...

  43. Shakira Hits Six-Month High on Social 50 Chart

    August 09, 2013 2:44 PM EDT Shakira bounds into the top five on the Social 50 chart, rising 10-2 to hit her highest position in over six months. (She was last this high on the Feb. 9-dated chart, when she was No. 1.) This week's move is owed to Shakira’s fans love of ...

  44. Al Coury, Promotions Man Who 'Worked His Magic' with Beatles, Beach Boys, and Pink Floyd, Dead at 78

    August 09, 2013 12:17 PM EDT Albert Eli “Al” Coury, a radio promotion man whose carer spanned from Nat King Cole to the Beatles to Guns N' Roses, died Aug. 8 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., of complications from a stroke. He was 78. Coury, whose career began with Capitol Rec ...

  45. Chart Moves: Buddy Guy's Best Week Ever, Imagine Dragons' Sales Stay Steady, Bruno Mars' Top 20 Streak

    August 09, 2013 9:30 AM EDT This week on the Billboard 200, Robin Thicke nabbed his first No. 1 album -- a little over a decade after his debut. "Blurred Lines," led by the smash single of the same name, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 177,000 cop ...

  46. Chart Moves: Robin Thicke's Rare Double No. 1 Achievement, Maroon 5's New Top 10 Hit on Hot 100

    August 09, 2013 9:15 AM EDT As previously reported , Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping ninth week. The song also earns the largest airplay audience ever on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, racking up 219.8 million in a ...

  47. Universal Music Launches Caroline International, Michael Roe, Jim Chancellor To Head-Up

    August 08, 2013 8:56 AM EDT The Universal Music Group has launched Caroline International, an independent distributor and label services provider; and has named Michael Roe and Jim Chancellor to head the London-based operation. Roe, who founded the international arm of EMI ...

  48. The Civil Wars Heading for No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart

    August 07, 2013 8:23 PM EDT Folk-rock duo the Civil Wars is heading for its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart next week. Industry sources suggest the act's self-titled second album may sell around 100,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Aug. 11. ...

  49. Billboard Argentina Launches

    August 07, 2013 6:25 PM EDT Billboard will debut its first Spanish-language edition with Billboard Argentina, which launched this week. The monthly, glossy publication will be Billboard’s 5th international property joining Brazil, Russia, South Korea and Japan. Billboard A ...

  50. Backbeat Byte: Dream Theater Take Their New Album to New York's Germano Studios

    August 07, 2013 2:13 PM EDT (Ross Anderson) Progressive rock titans Dream Theater held an intimate album listening party for its new self-titled record (arriving Sept. 24 on Roadrunner Records) on July 30 at Germano Studios in downtown New York. Guests enjoyed mini tacos a ...

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