Innholdsfortegnelse for August 19-25, 2017 i Billboard Magazine

THE PULSE OF MUSIC RIGHT NOW “WHAT IS SUMAC?” ASKS ECHOSMITH frontwoman Sydney Sierota, 20, scanning the diverse menu at Manuela, an eatery in Los Angeles’ Arts District. “A Middle Eastern spice,” replies her brother Noah, the band’s 21-year-old bassist. “It has a tartness, but with earthy undertones.” Noah can’t decide between the fried quail and the elk loin, so he orders both for the table. Sydney and Noah are disarmingly mature: The latter recently celebrated turning the legal drinking age by marrying his childhood sweetheart and moving to the L.A. suburbs. Only Graham, the band’s drummer and youngest sibling, betrays his age (18) — but just barely. “Do you have hot chocolate?” he politely asks the waiter, unfazed by the stifling August humidity. The trio has neither the palate…

A COUPLE OF HOURS FROM now, Christopher Gallant will be in a Los Angeles loft, looking thoroughly at home in a mix of vibrantly patterned jackets and trousers and an array of high-fashion dad sneakers, the throwback look of the moment. But right now, as he slides into a red vinyl booth at a downtown L.A. diner, the 25-year-old singer is wearing a fuzzy, chestnutcolored tracksuit with white piping. “I look like a fucking ’70s couch,” admits Gallant. “But it feels so good. I like the way shit feels. I like comfort.” When it comes to music, Gallant is quick to step out of his comfort zone. Following his roundly acclaimed 2016 debut, Ology, which was nominated for a best urban contemporary album Grammy (he lost to Beyoncé), he’s now…

Record labels and publishers in this report are defined as independent by their ownership through entities other than the major music groups: Sony, Warner and Universal. Distributors are defined as independent through the repertoire they market, largely from labels not under the major umbrellas. Three of the distributors included here — Select-O-Hits, EMPIRE and Alliance Entertainment — are both independently owned and market indie repertoire. However, five other distributors here qualify only by the repertoire they market. The Orchard and RED are owned by Sony, ADA by Warner and Caroline by UMG, which also has a minority stake in INgrooves. (The criteria above differs from how Billboard and Nielsen Music classify titles for the Independent Albums chart, where albums distributed by both independent distribution companies and the independent distribution arms…

Arcade Fire claims its third straight No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as Everything Now arrives atop the tally. The LP earned 100,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 94,000 were traditional album sales. Arcade Fire previously led the chart with Reflektor in 2013 and The Suburbs in 2010. Both albums debuted at No. 1. Everything Now is just the second rock album to lead the Billboard 200 in 2017 following Linkin Park’s One More Light (on the June 10 list). Further, Arcade Fire is now the second rock band this decade with three No. 1s. Linkin Park also has three chart-toppers in the 2010s (of its six total No. 1s). Three other acts also have logged three charttopperss…

A flurry of reissues from The Cars and Pet Shop Boys prompt a handful of classic albums to appear on the Internet Albums chart. The Cars lead the charge as the band’s 1979 album, Candy-O, returns to Billboard’s tallies, entering Internet Albums at No. 10. Farther below is the group’s 1980 follow-up, Panorama, at No. 22. The titles sold about 1,000 copies each through Internet sellers in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen Music. (In total, they shifted about 2,000 each from all retailers.) Candy-O and Panorama reached Nos. 3 and 5, respectively, on the Billboard 200 during their initial chart run (the albums didn’t sell enough to reenter the Aug. 22 tally). Meanwhile, three Pet Shop Boys albums dance onto the Internet Albums chart as Release, Nightlife…

“Do I Make You Wanna” by Billy Currington (above) remains at No. 1 for a second week on Country Airplay, increasing 9 percent to 47.5 million audience impressions in the week ending Aug. 6, according to Nielsen Music. The audience haul for “Wanna” for the week is the second-largest of 2017 (behind Luke Combs’ “Hurricane” at No. 1 on the May 27 chart, with 47.6 million). Further, the song’s 9.5 million audience lead over the No. 2 song on Country Airplay (Cole Swindell’s “Flatliner,” 38 million) is the biggest since the chart began using audience measurement in January 2005. “Wanna” — the fourth single from Currington’s album Summer Forever — is the artist’s 11th Country Airplay No. 1, which includes 15 top 10s. Currington first topped the chart with his…

J Balvin (above) and Willy William’s “Mi Gente” continues to gain on Hot Latin Songs in its fifth charting week, holding at No. 2 for the third frame in a row. It’s up 7 percent in total chart points, though it’s still trailing Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (featuring Justin Bieber) by a large margin. “Mi Gente” claims the chart’s Greatest Gainer honors for both airplay and streaming. It hikes 9 percent in airplay (to 17 million in the week ending Aug. 6, according to Nielsen Music) and 7 percent in streams (rising to 15 million). ”Mi Gente” stands at No. 2 on both Latin Digital Song Sales and Latin Streaming Songs (also trailing “Despacito”) and at No. 3 on Latin Airplay. Elsewhere, Danny Ocean’s first chart hit, “Me…

1936-2017 Talent managerTK Kimbrellbefriended Glen Campbell in the early 1980s and took him on as a client in the final years of the singer-songwriter’s life. He remembers the good times. To quote Merle Haggard: “If the good Lord put too much talent in one human being’s body, that would be Glen Campbell.” There are only a handful of singers in his league, and even fewer guitar players. He had a photographic memory for music. It’s so strange that it was his memory that let him down. Glen came from humble beginnings — he was the seventh son of a sharecropper — but he had an aura about him; not just with everyday people, with his peers as well. When Glen walked into a room, the whole room changed. So it…

With so many angles to consider, the Thin White Duke is the subject of five literary works slated for release in the coming months. Edward Bell, author of the upcoming David Bowie book Unmade Up, believes that the music legend spent his life not as a circus act, but as the entire circus itself. “He was a clown, tightrope walker, lion tamer, snake charmer, acrobat and ringmaster,” says Bell, the visual artist behind Bowie’s album covers for 1980’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) and Tin Machine in 1989. A year-and-ahalf after Bowie died at the age of 69, Bell’s book and four others try to capture Ziggy Stardust’s life, career and influence. David Bowie: A Life DYLAN JONES, SEPT. 12 Clocking in at 544 pages, Jones’ Bowie opus serves…

THE MEMPHIAN Theater was mostly empty when Lowell Hays walked in and took a seat behind Elvis Presley on Christmas Eve 1969. The rock’n’roll icon had gathered some friends for a private movie screening at the gilded Art Deco venue on Memphis’ Cooper Street — but Hays, the city’s most respected jeweler, wasn’t yet one of those trusted companions. He was there on business. “Come on with me,” said Presley, ushering Hays into the men’s room, where Presley took a seat on a toilet. “You can put your briefcase right here on my lap.” He gestured to the brown leather bag Hays had stocked with jewelry. “So that’s exactly what I did,” the jeweler, now 78, recalls nearly five decades later at a rib joint near Presley’s Graceland home. In…

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR SCOTT BORCHETTA, 55 PRESIDENT/CEO, BIG MACHINE LABEL GROUP Two years ago, the possibility of an honor as Billboard’s indie executive of the year was almost off the table for Borchetta. While the Burbank, Calif., native was the owner of Big Machine Label Group — the prerequisite for recognition as an independent — he was actively seeking a buyer for the company that he launched in Nashville 12 years ago this September. Apple, Snapchat, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment were reportedly among those interested in the House That Scott Built, offering $185 million to $200 million, sources said. But instead of selling, Borchetta decided to renew his distribution agreement with Universal Music Group. Under that deal, he picked up full ownership of Republic Nashville (Big…

“All of Me” SONGWRITER GERALD MARKS ARTISTS FRANK SINATRA, MICHAEL BUBLÉ “Best Day of My Life” S AMERICAN AUTHORS A AMERICAN AUTHORS “Cruise” S JOY MOI, TYLER HUBBARD, BRIAN KELLY A FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE “Glycerine” S GAVIN ROSSDALE A BUSH “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” S EDDIE SCHWARTZ A PAT BENATAR “I Saw Her Standing There” S JOHN LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY A THE BEATLES “Just the Way You Are” S ARI LEVINE A BRUNO MARS “The Kids Aren’t Alright” S THE OFFSPRING A THE OFFSPRING “Live Like You Were Dying” S CRAIG WISEMAN A TIM McGRAW “You Can’t Hurry Love” S EDDIE HOLLAND A THE SUPREMES The song titles above are followed by the name(s) of the Round Hill Music writer(s) on each track, then the artist who recorded…

32 ALICE COOPER Paranormal Alice Cooper scores back-to-back top 40-charting albums on the Billboard 200 for the first time in over 40 years as his new Paranormal arrives at No. 32. The set, which earned 14,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen Music, follows 2011’s No. 22-peaking Welcome 2 My Nightmare. Cooper last notched consecutive top 40 albums with a string of eight releases between April 1971 and August 1976. —K.C. 48 J U L I A MICHAELS Nervous System The singer-songwriter (who has written 10 top 40-charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100) arrives with her debut album, which earned 10,000 units. On the Hot 100, the set’s “Issues” moves 35-39 in its 28th chart week. 52 FUTURE HNDRXX The former No. 1…

Camila Cabello (below) becomes the sixth artist to earn simultaneous debuts at Nos. 1 and 2 on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks as “OMG” (featuring Quavo) opens at the summit and “Havana” (featuring Young Thug) arrives in the runner-up slot. The singer joins One Direction, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran and former collaborator Shawn Mendes as the only acts to have concurrent bows in the top two. Cabello teased the tracks for several days ahead of their release on Aug. 3, and their arrivals ignited her social activity, sparking a No. 19 re-entry on the Social 50. Also on Top Tracks, Major Lazer’s “Sua Cara” (featuring Anitta and Pabllo Vittar) re-enter at No. 3. The lofty appearance is prompted by the music video for “Sua Cara,” which arrived July…

Weeks after the July 20 death of Chester Bennington, singer for Linkin Park (above), one of his final recordings is rising up the rock radio charts. “One More Light,” the title track to Linkin Park’s latest album, spends its second week on Rock Airplay, moving 50-49. It earned a 9 percent bump in audience impressions to 1.2 million in the week ending Aug. 6, with plays at 15 stations, according to Nielsen Music. The track is also bubbling under the threshold of the Alternative chart. The ballad’s success comes as the band’s label, Warner Bros., confirms that the song is not currently being actively promoted to radio. Another single, “Talking to Myself,” already had been serviced just prior to Bennington’s death. So why is “Light” taking off? Says Phil Kukawinski,…

Singer-songwriter Nichole Nordeman, who first appeared on Top Christian Albums in 1998, notches her first No. 1 on the tally with Every Mile Mattered. The release, Nordeman’s fifth full-length studio set, launches atop the chart, earning 5,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 4,000 were traditional sales. It’s Nordeman’s fourth top 10 and eighth charting set overall. The 11-track album is Nordeman’s first release since her 2015 EP, The Unmaking, which peaked at No. 5. The artist’s last fulllength LP, Brave, entered at No. 2 on the Top Christian Albums chart dated June 11, 2005, selling 9,000 copies. That release also granted the singer her only No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs chart, “Brave.” Meanwhile, on Top Gospel Albums, Anthony…

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (above) land on the Boxscore chart with sold-out concerts reported from 13 venues on the band’s 40th Anniversary Tour covering North American markets this summer. A stadium concert at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on June 29 leads the trek’s charted shows, earning the No. 3 ranking with almost $4.2 million in ticket sales. Country artist Chris Stapleton supported the concert, which drew 40,345 fans. Only a handful of stadiums are included on the group’s schedule in 2017. A two-show stint at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium (with opener Peter Wolf) is No. 9 based on $3.1 million in revenue, and a stadium date at Seattle’s Safeco Field follows on Aug. 19. (The Lumineers will be the special guest for the latter performance.) Following statements by Petty…

Lucian did a great thing, and I bet it wasn’t easy,” says Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine of Universal Music Group (UMG) chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge’s hiring of Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg to replace Def Jam Records CEO Steve Bartels in January 2018. The Aug. 3 announcement surprised the industry — not only because of Bartels’ unexpected departure, but also because Rosenberg’s history as a maverick entrepreneur does not necessarily translate to running a music label within a global entertainment corporation that employs about 7,500 people. Yet that’s exactly why Iovine is applauding the appointment of the 46-year-old attorney, who in addition to Eminem manages Danny Brown and The Alchemist as the CEO of Goliath Artists and coheads Shady Records, among other ventures. “Paul is a bold guy, and he’s going…

MAJOR LAZER’S single “Know No Better” has racked up over 119 million streams on Spotify since the six-song EP of the same name was released June 1. But the EP sold only 1,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Music. The reason for the tepid start: It was released on a Thursday, an increasingly popular yet risky tactic that artists and their labels are using to maximize exposure and stand out from the Friday pack. “It’s a little bit less about the chart game, a little bit more about the global reach game,” says Zack Gershen, executive vp at mTheory, a digital consultancy that advises Major Lazer and advocates violating the Friday-release rule. Though Friday has been the global industry’s official day for new music for the past…

TIFFANY PHILLIPS COUCH, 46 DIRECTOR OF SALES, SELECT-O-HITS JOHNNY PHILLIPS, 69 CO-OWNER/VICE PRESIDENT, SELECT-O-HITS Select-O-Hits is a family affair with quite the pedigree. It was founded in 1960 by Sam Phillips of Sun Records, the first man to record Elvis Presley, and his brother Tom. Now Tom’s son, Johnny Phillips, and his brother Skip Phillips run the firm, while Skip’s daughter Tiffany Couch heads sales. Select-O-Hits still does substantial distribution for CDs and vinyl for major retailers like Amazon and Walmart, as well as dealing directly with 750 independent record shops. But Couch says the work of “upgrading and updating our digital systems” is the company’s priority, with digital sales accounting for 60 percent of its revenue in the past year. AMY DIETZ, 47 EXECUTIVE VP/GM, INGROOVES “The…

Merlin, the global digital rights agency for the independent label sector, recently announced that royalty payments to its 700-plus members for audio streaming hit $353 million for the 12 months ending March 2017 — a 52 percent jump over the previous year. The numbers reflect the streaming boom shaping the music business overall. Under CEO Charles Caldas, Merlin represents indies that account for over 12 percent of the global digital recordedmusic market. In April, Merlin announced a new multiyear global licensing agreement with Spotify. It now has partnerships in place with 20 digital music services.…

Rock group Manchester Orchestra (above) makes its debut on the Billboard Artist 100 at No. 68, as fifth studio album A Black Mile to the Surface opens at No. 7 on Top Rock Albums, with 14,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 3 (12,000 in traditional album sales), according to Nielsen Music. The set is the band’s third top 10 on Top Rock Albums. Meanwhile, Arcade Fire debuts atop the Artist 100, becoming just the seventh act to bow at No. 1 on the ranking since the chart launched in 2014. The lofty debut is powered by the arrival of the group’s fifth studio album, Everything Now, at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Additionally, the set’s title track/lead single re-enters Hot Rock Songs at No. 13,…

The Grateful Dead continues its robust chart presence on the Billboard 200 as the band’s newest archival release debuts at No. 30. The album, Dave’s Picks, Volume 23, arrives with 15,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 3. All of that sum comes from traditional album sales. The new set is the Dead’s fifth album to bow on the Billboard 200 in 2017, and all have launched inside the top 40. All told, the group has logged 35 top 40 albums in its career, with 20 of those occurring since 2010 (the most of any act this decade). So far this year, the Grateful Dead has sold 225,000 albums. Of that sum, 99,000 come from its five archival sets that have arrived on the Billboard 200 in…

Nicki Minaj (above) leaps 19-4 on the Social 50 after promoting two new music videos — one that’s out and one that isn’t. The rapper’s collaboration with Future, “You Da Baddest,” dropped July 28, with Minaj posting multiple snippets of the clip to her Instagram. But by the end of the tracking week (Aug. 3), she had moved on to shooting a video for an upcoming track with Quavo, writing about the Migos member, “it was absolutely ALL WORTH IT! He’s a class act.” An abundance of videos and photos on Instagram helped Minaj gain 100 percent in reactions on the social media service in the week ending Aug. 3, accruing 21.6 million in all, according to Next Big Sound. Meanwhile, one artist makes his Social 50 debut while another…

French Montana (above left) scores his first No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs as “Unforgettable” (featuring Swae Lee, above right) steps 2-1. (It’s also the first leader for Lee as a soloist.) Montana previously reached as high as No. 2 with “Pop That” (featuring Rick Ross, Drake and Lil Wayne) in 2012. “Unforgettable” hits the summit in its 16th charting week, and its relatively late ascent is one of the 10 lengthiest climbs to No. 1 since the chart began in 1989, and the longest since Drake’s “Too Good” (featuring Rihanna) also took 16 weeks to hit the top in 2016. “Unforgettable” ascends with gains in digital sales (37,000 in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen Music, up 52 percent), streams (27.7 million, up 3 percent) and radio…

The Chainsmokers (above) snag their ninth top 10 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with “Honest” (14-10). The DJ duo passes David Guetta and Zedd, each of whom own eight top 10s since the chart’s launch in January 2013; Calvin Harris’ 13 leads all acts. With remixes from Tritonal, SAVI, Rootkit and others released Aug. 4, “Honest” earns Streaming Gainer honors with 3.6 million U.S. streams, up 47 percent, according to Nielsen Music, in the week ending Aug. 3. Plus, the track sold 7,000 downloads, up 42 percent, and collected 22 million radio audience impressions (in the frame ending Aug. 6), up 15 percent. Additionally, The Chainsmokers’ Coldplay collaboration, “Something Just Like This,” saunters back to the summit of Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for a 15th nonconsecutive week (2-1). That eclipses the 14…