Innholdsfortegnelse for December 22, 2012 i Billboard Magazine

Online YEAR IN MUSIC Visit Billboard.com as we roll out extended coverage of the Year in Music including a Q&A with top new artist One Direction, photos of the year, readers’ poll results and critics’ picks for the best albums and songs. Print GRAMMY VOTER GUIDE Billboard’s Grammy Voter Guide, featuring exclusive content on the nominees, will be sent to all Grammy members and Billboard subscribers on Dec. 24.…

It must have been tough to pursue a singing career as a single mom. I had no choice but to work hard. I was a straight-A student, went to college, and I loved business. I never thought I was going to be a singer myself. It came accidentally. When I started getting called for events at local nightclubs, I’d leave the kids with the babysitter and go work and make $100. All I wanted to do was bring cheese, tortillas, beans and whatever else I could get for the refrigerator. What challenges did you face at first? It’s a male-dominated genre. It was hard knocking on those doors to get my music played. Did writing come easy to you? My inspiration is always what I think my fans want to…

While every year always brings a smattering of new acts that rack up major hits, 2012 produced an unusually robust group of fresh-faced talent. For the first time since 1956, the year’s three biggest singles are by acts that earned their first pop hit in the past year. On the Billboard Hot 100’s year-end chart (see page 68) Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” is No. 1, while Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” and fun.’s “We Are Young” (featuring Janelle Monáe) are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Each song was the breakthrough U.S. chart hit for the act (and also happened to be every artist’s debut entry on the Hot 100). We have to scroll way back to 1956—before the Hot 100 even launched in 1958—to find a…

It’s no coincidence that the first commercial to air during the 2012 super Bowl was a Budweiser spot featuring the distinct piano melody from Kanye West’s “Runaway.” The piece was one of six for this year’s big game produced by music biz veteran Steve Stoute’s ad agency Translation, and doubled as a subtle preview of what would become perhaps Anheuser-Busch InBev’s biggest year in music to date. In May, the company announced a partnership with Translation and Jay-Z that would appoint the rap mogul as headliner and curator of Budweiser Made in America, a first-of-its-kind festival held Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia. Looking to revive the concept behind SuperFest, a traveling R&B/soul concert series first introduced in the ’70s, Budweiser VP of marketing Paul Chibe wanted to create something that…

ALBUM AND TRACK SALES FOR THE last two winners on “American Idol” have not only dwarfed the results of finalists from “The X Factor” and “The Voice,” but also raised two significant issues: Will any show besides “Idol” create a star, and are its two largest competitors more of a launching pad for the judges/mentors? The first contestant out of the gate with a full-length album from season two of “The Voice” was Chris Mann, a 30-year-old classically trained singer who had unsuccessful record deals and chose to walk away from a small part on “Glee” to try out for “The Voice.” His recording debut was twofold—a Christmas album exclusive to Walmart and his debut for Faircraft/Republic, Roads, both arriving in October—and promotional activities began post-Thanksgiving with appearances on NBC’s…

ALTHOUGH 2013 THEORETICALLY IS THE YEAR THAT master sound recordings’ copyright licenses begin to expire for albums and can revert from labels to the artists, no one is sure what exactly will happen. According to some artist advocates, the ability to terminate the label’s copyright—which was granted in the Copyright Revision Act of 1976 and became effective Jan. 1, 1978—and have it revert to the artist will be cataclysmic for the industry, resulting in a completely reshaped music business. But label executives insist their companies will be largely unaffected by the law becoming a reality and think it will continue to be business as usual. So for now, it’s unclear if master recording copyright reversion will be a big issue for the industry, as artist advocates argue, or another overhyped…

IN A YEAR IN WHICH TAYLOR SWIFT POSTS THE BIGGEST-SELLING SALES frame in any genre when Red bowed with 1.2 million sold in late October (sparking a debate about what’s country and what’s pop in the process), a less triumphant undercurrent was snaking its way through the country scene. Even as such core artists as Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney and Miranda Lambert continued to dominate the country format, a generation of the genre’s veterans struggled to break at radio and crack the top of the charts while a new crop of stars including Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Jake Owen continued to bloom. Though some have speculated that the shifting tides reflect a developing ageism in a format long defined by artist longevity, others suggest that’s simply not…

If one were to grade mainstream hip-hop music in 2012 based solely on the performance of the genre’s stalwart leaders, the past 12 months would read as a disappointment marked by notable absences and underwhelming efforts. Artists like Eminem, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Drake sat out 2012’s release calendar. Meanwhile, albums by Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco, Waka Flocka Flame and B.o.B, as well as Kanye West’s highly touted G.O.O.D. Music compilation, were modestly received compared with past works, despite high chart positions (possibly due to the overall decline in the market). And one of the genre’s most successful stars, Nicki Minaj, has primarily focused on dominating top 40 instead of R&B/hip-hop radio, a choice that even led to a heated standoff with New York station WQHT (Hot 97). Yet hip-hop…

After her watershed success in 2011, Adele triumphs again in 2012. She becomes the only act to be both the top artist of the year and have the No. 1 Billboard 200 album (21) two years in a row. In 2011, she was the first woman to notch three of Billboard’s biggest year-end honors: No. 1 on Top Artists, No. 1 on Top Billboard 200 Titles and No. 1 on Hot 100 Songs (“Rolling in the Deep”). Billboard’s year-end music recaps are based on chart performance during the chart year that began with last year’s Dec. 3 issue and ended with the Nov. 24, 2012, issue. The year-end top artist category ranks the best-performing acts of the year, derived from activity on the Billboard 200 albums tally and the Billboard…

Georgia has long been a hotbed for country music, producing such stars as Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt and Trisha Yearwood, but perhaps never before have Peach State artists dominated the Billboard charts the way they did in 2012. Four Georgia acts—Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band and Lady Antebellum (two of the trio’s members, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, are from Augusta; Hillary Scott is from Nashville)—all had solid achievements on the airplay and sales charts. They share honors with a Yankee lady turned country/pop superstar. Pennsylvania native Taylor Swift is the year’s top country artist and No. 3 on the all-genre Top Artists chart for 2012. Bryan, hailing from Leesburg, is No. 1 on Hot Country Songs Artists. He has three hits on the year-end Hot Country Songs…

AS DETAILED IN THE MANY PAGES OF BILLBOARD’S YEAR IN MUSIC issue, 2012 was an exciting and unpredictable year for the music industry. While each of Billboard’s editors and readers may have certain moments, artists, songs or albums that stick out as memorable to them, it’s the annual mission of the charts department to crunch 12 months’ worth of chart numbers to determine the definitive ranking of the best of 2012. Within this issue are nearly 290 lists, and there are 440-plus rankings available online (see billboard.biz/charts), including deeper rankings for some charts included on these pages. Joining the print lineup in 2012 are rankings for On-Demand Songs. The chart, launched in March, measures every on-demand play request and plays from unlimited listener-controlled radio channels on MOG, Muve Music, Rdio,…

Independent Albums Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 MUMFORD & SONS (2) Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 2 JASON ALDEAN (2) Broken Bow 3 THE LUMINEERS (1) Dualtone 4 THE CIVIL WARS (1) sensibility 5 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH (1) Prospect Park 6 ALABAMA SHAKES (1) ATO 7 BONNIE RAITT (1) Redwing 8 SHE & HIM (1) Merge 9 TYRESE (1) Voltron Recordz 10 DEADMAU5 (2) Mau5trap/Ultra .biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Independent Albums Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 BABEL Mumford & Sons Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 2 MY KINDA PARTY Jason Aldean Broken Bow 3 SIGH NO MORE Mumford & Sons Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 4 NIGHT TRAIN Jason Aldean Broken Bow 5 THE LUMINEERS The Lumineers Dualtone 6 BARTON HOLLOW The Civil Wars…

THIS PRINT VERSION of Billboard’s Year in Music issue provides an in-depth look at the state of the business, with 280-plus charts that track the best-selling albums and most-played singles of 2012 and 10 charts that analyze the concert industry. But even more extensive year-end coverage is available on our websites, Billboard.com and Billboard.biz. Billboard.com will feature the top 20 music moments of 2012, critics’ choices for albums of the year, a gallery of photos of the year, the 10 best Billboard.com performances of 2012, the results of a readers’ poll, the Billboard.com staff’s 10 favorite songs of the year, the best and worst fashions of 2012 and much more. Billboard.com will also pay tribute to notable individuals who died in 2012. Billboard.biz will offer nearly 450 charts, including many…

Hot Digital Songs Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 ADELE (5) XL/Columbia 2 TAYLOR SWIFT (24) Big Machine 3 FLO RIDA (5) Poe Boy/Atlantic 4 NICKI MINAJ (21) Young Money/CashMoney/Republic 5 MAROON 5 (5) A&M/Octone/Interscope 6 RIHANNA (11) SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 7 CARLY RAE JEPSEN (4) 604/SchoolBoy/Interscope 8 KATY PERRY (6) Capitol 9 FUN. (2) Fueled By Ramen/RRP 10 LMFAO (3) Party Rock/will.i.am/Cherrytree/Interscope 11 JUSTIN BIEBER (10) SchoolBoy/Raymond Braun/Island/IDJMG 12 ONE DIRECTION (3) SYCO/Columbia 13 DRAKE (19) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 14 KELLY CLARKSON (6) 19/RCA 15 GOTYE (1) Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 16 BRUNO MARS (9) Elektra/Atlantic 17 WIZ KHALIFA (8) Rostrum/Atlantic/RRP 18 DAVID GUETTA (5) What A Music/Astralwerks/Capitol 19 THE WANTED (3) Global Talent/Mercury/IDJMG 20 LUKE BRYAN (5) Capitol Nashville 21 TRAIN (2) Columbia 22 PITBULL (9) Mr. 305/Polo Grounds/RCA…

Ringtones Artists POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 LMFAO (2) Party Rock/will.i.am/Cherrytree/Interscope 2 ADELE (3) XL/Columbia 3 LUKE BRYAN (4) Capitol Nashville 4 JASON ALDEAN (5) Broken Bow 5 DRAKE (8) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 6 TOBY KEITH (1) Show Dog-Universal 7 BLAKE SHELTON (2) Warner Bros. Nashville/WMN 8 LIL WAYNE (14) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 9 RIHANNA (6) SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 10 BRUNO MARS (5) Elektra/Atlantic .biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Ringtones POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 SEXY AND I KNOW IT LMFAO Party Rock/will.i.am/Cherrytree/Interscope 2 RED SOLO CUP Toby Keith Show Dog-Universal 3 GOD GAVE ME YOU Blake Shelton Warner Bros. Nashville/WMN 4 DIRT ROAD ANTHEM Jason Aldean Broken Bow 5 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Gotye Featuring Kimbra Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 6 CALL ME…

POS. LABEL (Charted Titles) 1 CAPITOL NASHVILLE (16) 2 RCA NASHVILLE (15) 3 REPUBLIC NASHVILLE (15) 4 BIG MACHINE (14) 5 WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE (10) 6 MCA NASHVILLE (12) 7 BROKEN BOW (9) 8 ARISTA NASHVILLE (13) 9 CURB (11) 10 COLUMBIA NASHVILLE (11) Hot Country Songs Producers POS. PRODUCER (Charted Titles) 1 DANN HUFF (22) 2 JAY JOYCE (8) 3 MICHAEL KNOX (7) 4 SCOTT HENDRICKS (5) 5 JEFF STEVENS (3) 6 MARK BRIGHT (6) 7 NATHAN CHAPMAN (8) 8 KEITH STEGALL (16) 9 BRETT BEAVERS (7) 10 FRANK ROGERS (6) .biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Country Digital Songs Artists POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 TAYLOR SWIFT (25) Big Machine 2 LUKE BRYAN (7) Capitol Nashville 3 JASON ALDEAN (17) Broken Bow 4…

Tropical Albums Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 ROMEO SANTOS (2) Sony Music Latin 2 PRINCE ROYCE (2) Top Stop/AG 3 AVENTURA (1) Premium Latin/Sony Music Latin 4 VICTOR MANUELLE (1) Sony Music Latin 5 JUAN LUIS GUERRA 440 (2) Capitol Latin 6 CHARLIE ZAA (1) The Entity 7 N’KLABE (2) NuLife/Sony Music Latin 8 JOSEPH FONSECA (1) Venemusic/Universal Music Latino/UMLE 9 HECTOR ACOSTA “EL TORITO” (3) D.A.M./Venemusic/Universal Music Latino/UMLE 10 EL GRAN COMBO DE PUERTO RICO (1) Popular Tropical Albums Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 FORMULA: VOL. 1 Romeo Santos Sony Music Latin 2 PHASE II Prince Royce Top Stop/AG 3 PRINCE ROYCE Prince Royce Top Stop/AG 4 14+ 14 Aventura Premium Latin/Sony Music Latin 5 BUSCO UN PUEBLO Victor Manuelle Sony Music Latin 6 COLECCION CRISTIANA Juan…

Adult Contemporary Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 ADELE (5) XL/Columbia 2 KELLY CLARKSON (4) 19/RCA 3 KATY PERRY (4) Capitol 4 MAROON 5 (3) A&M/Octone/Interscope 5 COLBIE CAILLAT (1) Republic 6 TRAIN (2) Columbia 7 LADY ANTEBELLUM (1) Capitol Nashville/Capitol 8 ONEREPUBLIC (2) Mosley/Interscope 9 GOTYE (1) Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 10 CARLY RAE JEPSEN (2) 604/SchoolBoy/Interscope Adult Contemporary Songs Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 STRONGER (WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU) Kelly Clarkson 19/RCA 2 SET FIRE TO THE RAIN Adele XL/Columbia 3 BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN Colbie Caillat Republic 4 JUST A KISS Lady Antebellum Capitol Nashville/Capitol 5 DRIVE BY Train Columbia 6 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Gotye Featuring Kimbra Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 7 GOOD LIFE OneRepublic Mosley/Interscope 8 SOMEONE LIKE YOU Adele XL/Columbia 9 RUMOUR HAS…

POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 THE BLACK KEYS (3) Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 2 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE (2) Republic 3 OF MONSTERS AND MEN (2) Republic 4 THE LUMINEERS (2) Dualtone 5 IMAGINE DRAGONS (1) KIDinaKORNER/Interscope 6 JOHN MAYER (2) Columbia 7 FUN. (2) Fueled By Ramen/RRP 8 COLDPLAY (2) Capitol 9 ADELE (4) XL/Columbia 10 ALABAMA SHAKES (2) ATO/RED Triple A Songs POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Gotye Featuring Kimbra Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 2 ITÕS TIME Imagine Dragons KIDinaKORNER/Interscope 3 LITTLE TALKS Of Monsters And Men Republic 4 HO HEY The Lumineers Dualtone 5 SHAKE IT OUT Florence + The Machine Republic 6 THE WALK Mayer Hawthorne Republic 7 SIMPLE SONG The Shins Aural Apothecary/Columbia 8 HOLD ON Alabama Shakes ATO/RED 9 I…

Dance Club Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 KATY PERRY (3) Capitol 2 RIHANNA (5) SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 3 NICKI MINAJ (5) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 4 DAVID GUETTA (6) What A Music/Astralwerks/Capitol 5 MADONNA (3) Live Nation/Interscope 6 KARMIN (2) Epic 7 KELLY CLARKSON (2) 19/RCA 8 AVICII (4) Levels/Veratone/Atom Empire/Interscope 9 USHER (3) RCA 10 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE (2) Republic biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Dance Club Songs Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 SPECTRUM Zedd Featuring Matthew Koma Interscope 2 HOW WE DO (PARTY) Rita Ora Roc Nation/Columbia 3 SPECTRUM (SAY MY NAME) Florence + The Machine Republic 4 POUND THE ALARM Nicki Minaj Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 5 WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN Rihanna SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 6 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Gotye…

Traditional Classical Albums Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR (4) Mormon Tabernacle Choir 2 ERIC WHITACRE (2) Decca 3 ORCHESTRA AT TEMPLE SQUARE (4) Mormon Tabernacle Choir 4 MILOS KARADAGLIC (2) Mercury Classics/DG/Decca Classics 5 DANIEL BARENBOIM (4) Decca/DG/Decca Classics 6 JEREMY DENK (2) Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks 7 ANNE AKIKO MEYERS (1) eOne 8 JOSHUA BELL (1) Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks 9 ZUILL BAILEY (2) Telarc/Concord 10 SIMONE DINNERSTEIN (2) Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks Traditional Classical Albums Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 SHADES OF GREY: THE CLASSICAL ALBUM Various Artists Capitol 2 MOONRISE KINGDOM Soundtrack Focus Features/ABKCO 3 GLORY! MUSIC OF REJOICING Mormon Tabernacle Choir/Orchestra At Temple Square Mormon Tabernacle Choir 4 DOWNTON ABBEY Soundtrack Carnival/Masterpiece/Decca 5 FRENCH IMPRESSIONS Joshua Bell/Jeremy Denk Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks 6 LIFESCAPES: LISTENER…

Hot 100 Songwriters POS. SONGWRITER (Charted Titles) 1 RICHARD ADAM “CALVIN HARRIS” WILES (6) 2 MARTIN KARL “MAX MARTIN” SANDBERG (16) 3 KARL JOHAN “SHELLBACK” SCHUSTER (14) 4 ADELE ADKINS (6) 5 LUKASZ “DR. LUKE” GOTTWALD (14) 6 SAVAN KOTECHA (8) 7 WALTER “WALLY” “GOTYE” DE BACKER (3) 8 TAYLOR SWIFT (16) 9 LUIZ BONFA (1) 10 BENJAMIN “BENNY BLANCO” LEVIN (12) biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Hot 100 Publishers Pos. PUBLISHER (Charted Titles) 1 EMI APRIL MUSIC, INC., ASCAP (94) 2 EMI BLACKWOOD MUSIC INC., BMI (119) 3 WB MUSIC CORP., ASCAP (79) 4 WARNER-TAMERLANE PUBLISHING CORP., BMI (92) 5 KOBALT MUSIC PUBLISHING AMERICA, INC., ASCAP (49) 6 SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC., BMI (83) 7 SONY/ATV SONGS LLC, BMI (66) 8 SONGS OF KOBALT…

A wide variety of road warriors contributed to making 2012 another successful touring season for the world’s top-grossing arenas, including Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z/Kanye West, Barbra Streisand, Justin Bieber, the Black Keys, Enrique Iglesias/Jennifer Lopez and Peter Gabriel. Billboard’s year-end touring recaps are compiled from Boxscore data reported for the Nov. 9, 2011, issue through the Nov. 13, 2012, issue. For the fourth year in a row, the O2 Arena in London is No. 1 as the top-grossing arena in the world on the Top 10 Venues chart for buildings with a capacity of 15,001 or more. In early November, the 23,000-capacity building also took home the top arena honor at the Billboard Touring Awards in New York. “We have had a truly incredible 12…

Taylor Swift reclaims No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as her Red album steps 2-1 with 167,000 copies sold (up 22%), according to Nielsen SoundScan. Last week’s leader, Alicia Keys’Girl On Fire, falls to No. 7 with 77,000 (down 52%). This is Red’ fourth nonconsecutive week at No. 1. Its first three frames—all in a row—came upon its debut on the Nov. 10 chart. Combined, Swift’s three No. 1 albums have spent 21 weeks at the summit. Swift is now tied with Whitney Houston and Jay-Z for the fourthmost weeks at No. 1 since SoundScan began powering the chart in May 1991. Garth Brooks leads with 51 weeks at No. 1, followed by Eminem (29) and Adele (24, all from her 21 album). VALIANT EFFORT FOR ‘WARRIOR’ It’s fitting that…

RICHARD ADLER (b. 1921) Lyricist, composer and producer of Broadway shows (“The Pajama Game,” “Damn Yankees” TOM ARDOLINO (b. 1955) Rock drummer, best-known in NRBQ PEDRO ARROYO (b. 1957) Puerto Rican radio programmer, salsa advocate BOB BABBITT (b. 1937) Bassist, member of Motown Records studio band the Funk Brothers RICK BLACKBURN (b. 1942) Record executive, CBS Records; created Atlantic Records’ country division LLOYD BREVETT (b. 1931) Bassist, founding member of the Skatalites JUAN CARLOS CALDERON (b. 1938) Spanish singer/songwriter TERRY CALLIER (b. 1945) Blues/folk/jazz guitarist, singer/songwriter EARL “SPEEDOO” CARROLL (b. 1937) Singer, lead vocalist for doo-wop group the Cadillacs EDWARD CLAUDE “CASS” CASSIDY (b. 1923) Jazz/rock drummer, Spirit JAMES WALTER “JIMMY” CASTOR (b. 1940) Pop/funk musician/saxophonist, leader of Jimmy Castor Bunch PETE COSEY (b. 1943) Jazz guitarist, played with Miles…

Jenni Rivera was irresistibly real. Full-figured and curvy, unapologetic and outspoken, controversial and accessible, Rivera knew full well who she was and what she represented. “I am a real woman who sings what she lives,” she frequently said in the many interviews she gave to Billboard. “And, first and foremost, I am a mom.” Bilingual and bicultural, born and raised in California but imbued with the culture and music of Mexico, Rivera personified her mostly Mexican-American female fan base. She alone was that girl, raised by immigrants, getting by on her wits and hard work, doing whatever it took to raise the kids well. She understood their travails, their two-timing men. She was their girlfriend, their mother, their idol. In the realm of Latina stars of any stripe and field,…

s 2012 dawned, few American adults outside the most dedicated of Anglophiles knew much, if anything, about One Direction. In part, that’s because the kind of boy-band pop One Direction had already turned into 2011’s fastest-selling debut album in the United Kingdom (aided by the most preordered single in Sony Music history) doesn’t target adults. And in part it’s a matter of history: In the decade that passed since the peak of the boy-band craze led by Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync, the U.K. groups that kept the sound at the top of charts overseas were barely able to translate their success beyond a single on American shores. ¶ Of course, One Direction would change all that, and write a little bit of history in the process. ¶ By Nov.…

BY THE TIME 2012 CLOSES, SAMSUNG WILL LIKELY HAVE SPENT AS much as $600 million in the United States alone marketing its Galaxy products, according to executives familiar with the electronics giant’s strategy—from TV commercials to PR events to social media. But at the center of Samsung’s massive media blitz all year was music. The year kicked off with a Super Bowl commercial that saved the Darkness’ “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” from mid-’00s obscurity and continued through the spring with endorsements from acts like Cee Lo Green and the reunited Goodie Mob advertised heavily in airports and on phone kiosks in major markets. The summer brought a “Next Big Thing” tag line that was advertised through Samsung’s sponsorship of K-pop band BIGBANG’s world tour, a popular activation…

ARE THERE ENOUGH STARS THAT CAN ACTUALLY SELL TICKETS? Are there too many festivals? How does one use social media to talk with concert-goers? And what’s the overall state of the concert business? To find out, Billboard went to five of the most influential stakeholders in the live music industry, easily worth a combined $1 billion-plus annually in ticket sales, and asked them six questions on the future of the industry. Offering their views on the world of touring are Creative Artists Agency (CAA) managing partner Rob Light, William Morris Endeavor head of music Marc Geiger, AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, C3 Presents partner Charlie Walker and Live Nation Global Touring chairman Arthur Fogel. Enjoy, and take notes. How would you describe the overall health of the global live music…

AFTER TWO YEARS OF TUMULTUOUS CHANGE AT THE MAJOR LABELS a new generation of industry leaders has begun to emerge. Each of the three majors is betting heavily on at least one key executive above the others. The new names aren’t fresh-faced newbies but they’re younger, dynamic and experienced executives who bring a different perspective to their senior roles in the fast-changing music business. At Universal Music Group, John Janick has been named president/COO of Interscope A&M Geffen, and is now seen by many as the heir apparent to Jimmy Iovine, the dean of major-label chairman/presidents. More executive changes are expected at UMG following its takeover of EMI. The deal closed in September. At Sony Music Entertainment, president/CEO Doug Morris has signed a deal with Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, bringing…

PANDORA HAS BEEN A LIGHTNING ROD FOR CRITICISM FROM rivals and the artist community as it fights to lower artist payments, but it will have a lot more to worry about than rates in 2013. Apple is expected to launch its own Internet radio service in the first quarter, and it will no doubt focus the attention of other big rivals like Google and Amazon on such a service. Microsoft’s Xbox Music has started rolling out various features including a Pandora-type service. Internet radio would mark a serious departure from the near $3 billion music business that Apple has built around downloads. It could also tie into the company’s online advertising business, iAd, and breathe new life into the iTunes music store. It may seem counterintuitive that Apple is launching…

ROGER WATERS’ THE WALL LIVE TOUR WAS AN UNQUALIFIED triumph that became the top-grossing North American tour of the year, according to Billboard Boxscore. But nowhere was the tour more successful than in Buenos Aires, where Waters played nine shows at River Plate Stadium, moving 430,678 tickets and grossing nearly $38 million. Waters’ success didn’t stop there: The tour’s Estadio do Morumbi stop in São Paulo grossed $12.5 million (No. 15 on Boxscore’s worldwide tally) and Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile, came in with $9.3 million (No. 22). The monumental ticket sales were hardly a fluke. Mainstream acts from around the world have increased their touring throughout Latin America and many of them are racking up record ticket sales and paydays alike. Last year in Mexico, for example, Metallica grossed…

MULTICHANNEL CONTENT AND STREAMING SERVICES offer huge international potential in 2013, but the physical market is far from dead. Those are the key themes to keep in mind as global executives assess the challenges and pitfalls of the next 12 months. Universal Music Group International (UMGI) COO Max Hole takes a distinctly upbeat note. “I’m optimistic about the future of the business,” he says. “Universal invests worldwide, and over the next year, there’ll be more progress towards a shift in the industry, where the top 10 markets of the past won’t necessarily be the top 10 of the future. “The continuing explosion of digital portable devices will continue to grow music sales in markets where the legitimate business was previously restrained,” he continues. “This includes countries in Africa, the Middle…

In any year, gauging the health of the touring business is no easy task, but we’ll go out on a limb here: Business is good. Historically, when relying on anecdotal indicators, the relative health of this business often depends on whom you’re talking to. Similarly, although Billboard Boxscore numbers are effective in quantifying the success of certain tours, as a broad indicator of business those statistics can be skewed dramatically by one or two tours. Boxscore charts depend on the consistency and accuracy of reports from promoters, venues and managers. Unfortunately, those reports are received in such an erratic way, they aren’t the most reliable metric in gauging the overall performance of the business. Still, if we analyze the numbers and balance them with what the industry tells us, we…

THE BUYING POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL MUSIC CONSUMER WAS a recurring story in 2012 as faith-based artists expanded beyond the genre-specific charts and made a big impact on the mainstream Billboard 200. TobyMac’s Eye on It (Forefront/EMI CMG) debuted at No. 1 in August on the Billboard 200, the first Christian album to hit the summit since 1997, and only the third ever to reach the peak of that chart. Yet TobyMac wasn’t the only Christian act to enter the upper echelon of the Billboard 200 this year. After announcing it was calling it quits, the David Crowder Band’s swan song, Give Us Rest Or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]) (Sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG), debuted at No. 2 in February. Gospel rapper Lecrae’s latest, Gravity (Reach/Infinity), bowed…

Top Artists POS. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 ADELE XL/Columbia 2 RIHANNA SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 3 TAYLOR SWIFT Big Machine 4 DRAKE Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 5 JUSTIN BIEBER SchoolBoy/Raymond Braun/Island/IDJMG 6 NICKI MINAJ Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 7 KATY PERRY Capitol 8 MAROON 5 A&M/Octone/Interscope 9 LMFAO Party Rock/will.i.am/Cherrytree/Interscope 10 ONE DIRECTION SYCO/Columbia 11 FLO RIDA Poe Boy/Atlantic 12 COLDPLAY Capitol 13 JASON ALDEAN Broken Bow 14 FUN. Fueled By Ramen 15 CARLY RAE JEPSEN 604/SchoolBoy/Interscope 16 KELLY CLARKSON 19/RCA 17 LADY GAGA Streamline/KonLive/Interscope 18 LUKE BRYAN Capitol Nashville 19 BRUNO MARS Elektra 20 DAVID GUETTA What A Music/Astralwerks/Capitol 21 LIL WAYNE Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 22 CHRIS BROWN RCA 23 MADONNA Live Nation/Interscope 24 GOTYE Samples ÔnÕ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 25 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Columbia 26 PITBULL Mr. 305/Polo Grounds/RCA 27 USHER RCA 28 LADY ANTEBELLUM Capitol…

Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 WHITNEY HOUSTON (11) Arista/Legacy 2 ADELE (1) XL/Columbia 3 TAYLOR SWIFT (4) Big Machine/BMLG 4 EMINEM (4) Web/Aftermath/Interscope 5 THE BLACK KEYS (3) Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 6 LADY ANTEBELLUM (3) Capitol Nashville 7 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE (1) Republic 8 GUNS N’ ROSES (2) Geffen/UMe 9 ZAC BROWN BAND (3) Roar/Southern Ground/Atlantic/AG 10 ELVIS PRESLEY (5) RCA/Legacy Catalog Albums Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 19 Adele XL/Columbia 2 WHITNEY: THE GREATEST HITS Whitney Houston Arista 3 BROTHERS The Black Keys Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 4 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE Republic 5 GREATEST HITS Guns N’ Roses Geffen/UMe 6 THE FOUNDATION Zac Brown Band Roar/Bigger Picture/Home Grown/Atlantic/AG 7 JOURNEY’S GREATEST HITS Journey Columbia/Legacy 8 FEARLESS Taylor Swift Big Machine/BMLG 9 MY CHRISTMAS Andrea Bocelli Sugar/Decca 10 RECOVERY Eminem…

Soundtracks POS. TITLE Imprint/Label 1 THE HUNGER GAMES: SONGS FROM DISTRICT 12 AND BEYOND Lions Gate/Republic 2 THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 Summit/Chop Shop/Atlantic/AG 3 GLEE: THE MUSIC: THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM: VOLUME 2 20th Century Fox TV/Columbia 4 ELEVATE (BIG TIME RUSH) Big Time Rush Nickelodeon/Columbia 5 ROCK OF AGES Soundtrack WaterTower 6 PROJECT X WaterTower 7 THE BODYGUARD Arista 8 SHAKE IT UP: LIVE 2 DANCE: MUSIC FROM THE DISNEY CHANNEL SERIES Walt Disney 9 GLEE: THE MUSIC: SEASON 3: VOLUME 7 20th Century Fox TV/Columbia 10 THE MUPPETS Walt Disney 11 THE FRESH BEAT BAND: MUSIC FROM THE HIT TV SHOW Viacom/Nickelodeon/Legacy 12 A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (VINCE GUARALDI TRIO) Fantasy/Concord 13 ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED 20th Century Fox Films/ Fox/Regency/Atlantic/AG 14 MAC + DEVIN…

Social 50 Artists Pos. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 JUSTIN BIEBER SchoolBoy/ Raymond Braun/Island/IDJMG 2 ADELE XL/Columbia 3 RIHANNA SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 4 KATY PERRY Capitol 5 LADY GAGA Streamline/KonLive/Interscope 6 TAYLOR SWIFT Big Machine 7 ONE DIRECTION SYCO/Columbia 8 SHAKIRA Sony Music Latin/Epic 9 NICKI MINAJ Young Money/ Cash Money/Republic 10 SKRILLEX Big Beat/OWSLA/Atlantic 11 PITBULL Mr. 305/Famous Artist/Polo Grounds/Sony Music Latin/RCA 12 EMINEM Web/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope 13 DAVID GUETTA What A Music/ Astralwerks/Capitol 14 LMFAO Party Rock/will.i.am/Cherrytree/Interscope 15 PSY YG/SchoolBoy/Republic 16 CHRIS BROWN RCA 17 JENNIFER LOPEZ Island/IDJMG 18 LINKIN PARK Machine Shop/Warner Bros. 19 SELENA GOMEZ Hollywood 20 BRUNO MARS Elektra 21 LIL WAYNE Young Money/ Cash Money/Republic 22 BRITNEY SPEARS RCA 23 WIZ KHALIFA Rostrum/Atlantic 24 BEYONCE Parkwood/Columbia 25 DRAKE Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 26 BOYCE AVENUE 3 Peace 27 COLDPLAY Capitol…

Pos. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 Drake Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 2 rihanna SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 3 nicki Minaj Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 4 LiL Wayne Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 5 chris BroWn RCA 6 Beyonce Parkwood/Columbia 7 Tyga Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 8 Usher RCA 9 2 chainz Def Jam/IDJMG 10 kanye WesT Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG 11 Trey songz Songbook/Atlantic 12 Wiz khaLifa Rostrum/Atlantic 13 rick ross Maybach/Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam/IDJMG 14 yoUng jeezy CTE/Def Jam/IDJMG 15 jay-z Roc Nation 16 Mary j. BLige Matriarch/Geffen/Interscope 17 j. coLe Roc Nation/Columbia 18 Big sean G.O.O.D./Def Jam/IDJMG 19 PiTBULL Mr. 305/Polo Grounds/RCA 20 WaLe Maybach/Warner Bros. 21 MigUeL ByStorm/Black Ice/RCA 22 B.o.B RebelRock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic 23 eMineM Web/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope 24 frank ocean Def Jam/IDJMG 25 fUTUre A-1/Freebandz/Epic Top New R&B/Hip-Hop Artists Pos. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 2 chainz Def Jam/IDJMG 2 frank ocean Def…

Top Latin Artists POS. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 DON OMAR Orfanato/Machete/UMLE 2 SHAKIRA Epic/Sony Music Latin 3 ROMEO SANTOS Sony Music Latin 4 PRINCE ROYCE Top Stop 5 PITBULL Mr. 305/Famous Artist/Sony Music Latin 6 MANA Warner Latina 7 3BALLMTY Fonovisa/UMLE 8 GERARDO ORTIZ Bad Sin/DEL/Sony Music Latin 9 DADDY YANKEE El Cartel/Capitol Latin 10 JENNI RIVERA Fonovisa/UMLE 11 LA ARROLLADORA BANDA EL LIMON DE RENE CAMACHO Disa/UMLE 12 WISIN & YANDEL Machete/UMLE 13 MICHEL TELO Pantannal/Rge./Sony Music Latin 14 RICARDO ARJONA Metamorfosis 15 ENRIQUE IGLESIAS Universal Music Latino/UMLE 16 ESPINOZA PAZ Videomax/Disa/UMLE 17 LUCENZO Yanis 18 JESSE & JOY Warner Latina 19 CRISTIAN CASTRO Universal Music Latino/UMLE 20 CALIBRE 50 Disa/UMLE 21 BANDA EL RECODO DE CRUZ LIZARRAGA Fonovisa/UMLE 22 LOS BUKIS Fonovisa/UMLE 23 JUAN MAGAN Sony Music Latin 24…

Latin Rhythm Albums Artists POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 DON OMAR (2) Orfanato/Machete/UMLE 2 WISIN & YANDEL (4) Machete/UMLE 3 DADDY YANKEE (1) El Cartel/Capitol Latin 4 TITO “EL BAMBINO” (1) Siente/UMLE 5 PITBULL (2) Mr. 305/Famous Artist/Sony Music Latin 6 ALEXIS & FIDO (2) Sony Music Latin 7 COSCULLUELA (1) Nueva Kamada/Siente/Universal Music Latino/UMLE 8 J ALVAREZ (1) Nelflow 9 CALLE 13 (1) Sony Music Latin 10 KINTO SOL (1) Luz/Sony Music Latin Latin Rhythm Albums POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 DON OMAR PRESENTS MT02: NEW GENERATION Don Omar Orfanato/Machete/UMLE 2 LIDERES Wisin & Yandel Machete/UMLE 3 DON OMAR PRESENTS: MEET THE ORPHANS: THE KING IS BACK. Don Omar Orfanato/Machete/UMLE 4 PRESTIGE Daddy Yankee El Cartel/Capitol Latin 5 PINA RECORDS PRESENTA: LA FORMULA: THE COMPANY Various Artists Pina/Sony…

POS. LABEL (Charted Titles 1 INTERSCOPE (17) 2 RCA (28) 3 COLUMBIA (15) 4 ROADRUNNER PROMOTIONS (18) 5 CAPITOL (12) biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Top Rock Artists POS. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 FUN. Fueled By Ramen 2 COLDPLAY Capitol 3 MUMFORD & SONS Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 4 THE BLACK KEYS Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 5 GOTYE Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 6 LINKIN PARK Machine Shop/Warner Bros. 7 NICKELBACK Roadrunner 8 TRAIN Columbia 9 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE Republic 10 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Columbia 11 JASON MRAZ Atlantic 12 FOSTER THE PEOPLE StarTime Int’l/Columbia 13 OF MONSTERS AND MEN Republic 14 THE LUMINEERS Dualtone 15 FOO FIGHTERS Roswell/RCA 16 IMAGINE DRAGONS KIDinaKORNER/Interscope 17 SHINEDOWN Atlantic 18 NEON TREES Mercury/IDJMG 19 AWOLNATION Red Bull 20 PHILLIP PHILLIPS 19/Interscope 21 ROGER…

POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 CHEVELLE (3) Epic 2 SHINEDOWN (3) Atlantic 3 VOLBEAT (3) Vertigo/Republic 4 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH (4) Prospect Park 5 ADELITAS WAY (3) Virgin/Capitol 6 SEETHER (3) Wind-up 7 HALESTORM (2) Atlantic 8 LINKIN PARK (2) Machine Shop/Warner Bros. 9 STAIND (4) Flip/Atlantic 10 THE BLACK KEYS (3) Nonesuch/Warner Bros. Active Rock Songs POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 HATS OFF TO THE BULL Chevelle Epic 2 BULLY Shinedown Atlantic 3 CRITICIZE Adelitas Way Virgin/Capitol 4 FACE TO THE FLOOR Chevelle Epic 5 STILL COUNTING Volbeat Mascot/Vertigo/Republic 6 COMING DOWN Five Finger Death Punch Prospect Park 7 REMEMBER EVERYTHING Five Finger Death Punch Prospect Park 8 BURN IT DOWN Linkin Park Machine Shop/Warner Bros. 9 I MISS THE MISERY Halestorm Atlantic 10 LOST IN FOREVER…

POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 CASTING CROWNS (2) Beach Street/Reunion/PLG 2 TOBYMAC (3) ForeFront/EMI CMG 3 CHRIS TOMLIN (3) sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG 4 NEWSBOYS (3) Inpop/EMI CMG 5 LECRAE (3) Reach/Infinity 6 MERCYME (2) Fair Trade/PLG 7 DAVID CROWDER*BAND (2) sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG 8 LAURA STORY (1) Fair Trade/PLG 9 PASSION (2) sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG 10 MANDISA (2) Sparrow/EMI CMG Christian Albums POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 COME TO THE WELL Casting Crowns Beach Street/Reunion/PLG 2 WOW HITS 2012 Various Artists Word-Curb/Provident-Integrity/EMI CMG 3 HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION Chris Tomlin sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG 4 GOD’S NOT DEAD newsboys Inpop/EMI CMG 5 EYE ON IT tobyMac ForeFront/EMI CMG 6 BLESSINGS Laura Story Fair Trade/PLG 7 GRAVITY Lecrae Reach/Infinity 8 WHAT IF WE WERE REAL Mandisa Sparrow/EMI CMG 9 ONE SONG…

Traditional Jazz Albums Imprints Pos. IMPRINT (Charted Titles) 1 REPRISE (5) 2 143 (3) 3 RPM (4) 4 SYCO (1) 5 HEAR (2) 5 MPL (2) biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Traditional Jazz Albums Labels Pos. LABEL (Charted Titles) 1 WARNER BROS. (8) 2 COLUMBIA (6) 3 CONCORD (29) 4 CAPITOL (2) 5 VERVE GROUP (5) biz A deeper version of this chart appears on billboard.biz Contemporary Jazz Albums Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 ESPERANZA SPALDING (2) Montuno/Heads Up/Concord 2 TROMBONE SHORTY (1) Verve Forecast/VG 3 BRIAN CULBERTSON (3) Verve/VG 4 BONEY JAMES (1) Verve Forecast/VG 5 DAVE KOZ (2) Concord 6 PETER WHITE (1) Heads Up/Concord 7 MARCUS MILLER (1) 3 Deuces/Concord Jazz/Concord 8 GALACTIC (2) Galactic Funk/Anti-/Epitaph 9 EUGE GROOVE (2)…

The top 25 boxscores of the year very much reflect two of the largest growth sectors for the overall touring industry: the festival business in the United States and international touring for Western artists, particularly in Latin America and the United Kingdom. Five festivals, all located stateside, were among the top 25 boxscores for the period (Nov. 9, 2011-Nov. 13, 2012). Of the top 25, 14 are international dates, including six in Latin America and Mexico and four in the United Kingdom. It’s no coincidence that both festivals and global touring are focal points in the artist development game for artists who are seeking exposure and opportunities to showcase their live goods in front of receptive audiences. The emergence of festivals in the United States is represented nowhere better than…

Midsize concert facilities across the globe continue to serve as important venues for developing and veteran touring acts, as demonstrated on the 2012 touring charts. In addition to the Top 10 Venues recaps of 15,001-plus-capacity arenas, amphitheaters and stadiums, Billboard’s annual touring charts include a tally ranking of smaller-sized facilities in multiple categories. The Hallenstadion Zurich in Switzerland earns the No. 1 position on the Top 10 Venues tally for buildings with capacities between 10,001 and 15,000. Radio City Music Hall in New York retains the No. 1 slot on the Top 10 Venues list for facilities with capacities between 5,001 and 10,000. And, keeping in line with past years, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas holds the No. 1 ranking on the Top 10 Venues tally for…

30 In 2011, 13 albums crossed the millionsales mark. This year, so far, there are seven. Next to reach 1 million? Luke Bryan’s Tailgates & Tanlines (992,000) and One Direction’s Take Me Home (915,000). 63 The limited-edition compilation, culled from in-studio performances and concert broadcasts at WXRT Chicago, benefits the Rock for Kids and Sarah’s Circle charities. Available at Chicago-area Target stores, it bows with 12,000. 64 The album earns its third straight weekly gain and grabs its best sales week (12,000) since its third week. Its single “Thrift Shop” rises 29-27 on Alternative and is flirting with a debut on Mainstream Top 40. 65 The band’s fourth studio set starts with 12,000— coming almost exactly two years after its last album, All American Nightmare, was released. It debuted and…

IN 2012, TWITTER CONTINUES to be one of the most important platforms for music, whether you’re an artist or a fan. According to data provided by Twitter, 50% of the 140 million active Twitter users follow at least one act, and the four most-followed Twitter accounts are artists: Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Rihanna. Music is the No. 2 most-discussed subject on Twitter in the United States. Two-thirds of the top 250 retweets of 2012 were music-related, and five of the top 10 most retweeted tweets were music-related, with No. 2 being the 224,355 retweets of Bieber’s paying tribute to a young fan who died of cancer. These personal interactions span a wide range of artists and fans. The most-followed genres (by artist) on Twitter in 2012 were…

Jenni Rivera’s overall net worth is estimated to be in the millions and expected to grow as news of her death triggers sales and interest in the regional Mexican singer who was known for her racy songs of lust and tough-talking persona. Women liked that she stood up to macho men and other fans hailed her as someone from the “hood” who beat the odds and kept it real despite fame and fortune. In a decade, Rivera made it her mission to work every aspect of her career herself and assembled a tight-knit team that helped her career grow. Key to her success was taking charge, not being afraid to scold music executives and not flinching when early in her live concerts drunkards threw empty beer cans at her. She…

JUSTIN BIEBER MAY HAVE been the headliner at WHTZ (Z100) New York’s annual Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7, but the night secretly belonged to Ed Sheeran. Not only did the English folk-pop singer/songwriter co-write “Little Things,” the current single for Billboard’s 2012 best new artist One Direction, he also appeared onstage alongside Taylor Swift to perform their Red duet, “Everything Has Changed,” for the first time, and then played two of his own songs, “Lego House” and “The A Team,” the latter having just been nominated for the song of the year Grammy Award two nights prior. The reception was so rapturous, Sheeran took a moment at the end of his short set to ask the crowd to light up their phones so he could take…

FOR SEVERAL YEARS, PITBULL WAS the artist that big brands like Budweiser, Kodak and others would tap to reach Hispanic and other multicultural audiences. But as Pitbull’s music continued to define the sound of the mainstream (“Give Me Everything” topped the Billboard Hot 100 year-end airplay chart for 2011), so did the rapper himself. This year, Pitbull was renewed as the face of Bud Light, appearing in general-market TV ads that more than doubled the ad spend supporting his multicultural campaign in 2011. Sony Pictures’ “Men in Black 3” made Pitbull’s “Back in Time” the movie’s official song and featured the track prominently in trailers and TV ads. Dr Pepper tapped Pitbull to appear in two ads that will begin airing in early 2013, one for the Hispanic market featuring…

ONE FRANCHISE DEBUTED AS ANOTHER CAME TO A CLOSE IN 2012, a rare changing of the guard that has a profound impact on the music business. “The Hunger Games,” with Lionsgate handling the films and Republic the soundtracks, experienced a triumphant arrival in March. “The Twilight Saga,” with Summit and Atlantic on its team, went out with a bang after five films in November. The in-between space was a marketplace for niche soundtracks. None of them produced extraordinary commercial returns, but there remains something of a business in soundtracks. “Rock of Ages” struggled at the box office but WaterTower’s collection of actors singing hairmetal classics sold 242,000 copies (according to Nielsen SoundScan) to make it the second-biggest soundtrack of the year; Universal Music Enterprises’Pitch Perfect sold 111,000 copies to an…

WHEN SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA SOLD OUT ITS EIGHT-DATE arena tour in mere minutes in September, the industry gaped at the feat—an undeniable demonstration of EDM’s growing power in the live space. But there was a rub: Despite moving tickets, SHM wasn’t selling music at anywhere near a comparable pace. The three-man DJ/producer crew has sold a mere 99,000 copies of its first long-form release, 2010 compilation Until One, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The act’s biggest single, “Save the World,” has sold 463,000. Small numbers when compared with other acts capable of selling out arenas, and sales numbers also dwarfed by some of SHM’s EDM peers, highlighting a paradox in this year’s dance landscape: Pop-leaning EDM often struggles at retail, while less palatable sounds sell more briskly. EDM’s enduring image in…

MEET MICHAEL ACTON. IN MANY WAYS, HE REPRESENTS THE past, present and future of the music business. As a teen growing up in Buckinghamshire, England, in the 1980s, Acton trawled record stores for vinyl. In his 20s, he combed London for electronica CDs, sometimes spending hundreds of pounds a month. Now, the 38-year-old British entrepreneur spends just £9.99 monthly to listen to as much music as he wants on Spotify, a subscription music service that lets users play its catalog of more than 18 million songs. “I buy fewer CDs and spend less on iTunes than before,” Acton says. Acton’s story, and others like it, have lead some in the music business to conclude that digital jukebox services like Spotify, Rhapsody, Muve Music, Rdio, Slacker, Sony Music Unlimited and others…

IT’S NO SECRET THAT IN THE COMPETITION FOR SALES DOLLARS, BRICK-and-mortar mom-and-pop stores have been losing out to the Internet, technology and price-discounting big-box retailers like Best Buy, Target and Walmart. One of those casualties at the top of this year was World Famous VIP Records in Long Beach, Calif. The last bastion of a family-owned, 14-store chain that stretched across Los Angeles County, VIP was a popular repository for R&B, jazz and gospel product. The Long Beach flagship also played a pivotal role in the birth of West Coast rap, helping to build word-of-mouth about such native sons as Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg. In February, however, owner Kelvin Anderson relocated from the store’s former 3,300-square-foot site to a smaller space. At the time, Anderson told the…

THE STARS OF JAPAN’S MUSIC scene gathered for the Billboard Japan Music Awards 2012, which aired Dec. 15 on a major Japanese terrestrial station, TV Tokyo. Repeating its success from the previous ceremony was AKB48, a girl group that might be more properly termed a collective— there are approximately 48 members. AKB48, which has dominated the Japanese sales charts since its 2005 formation, took home four trophies, all repeat wins, including artist of the year. With more than 100 nominees, the awards were determined by popular vote as well as yearly chart points. Leo Ieiri, who made her debut with “Sabrina,” was named best new artist, while BIGMAMA scored a second win in the Daiwa House-presented artist of the year category, awarded to the artist most active within the live…

At first glance, the 2012 year-end R&B/hip-hop charts mirror those of 2011. Many of the same names are back in the limelight: Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Rihanna and Chris Brown, to name a few. However, a closer look reveals a host of newcomers and established acts who left their own indelible footprints on the year: Frank Ocean, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar, Future, Miguel, Anita Baker, Brandy, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz, Tyrese and Tamia. Not to mention a significant methodology shift for the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart—the addition of streaming and download data plus the breakout of a separate R&B Songs tally. The latter revamp bowed in the Oct. 20 issue. To keep pace with the consumer-influenced methodology applied to the Billboard Hot 100, makeovers…

UPTEMPO HITS, COLLABORATIONS GALORE AND A SMATTERING OF HIGH-profile new sounds stand out on the year-end Latin chart recaps. Following 12 months of continuous radio hits, Don Omar—who has also been a major online presence —nabbed the No. 1 spot on the Top Latin Artists recap, which is based on sales, airplay and social activity, including streaming. Omar’s standing was helped by his airplay performance. He scores on the Hot Latin Songs recap with “Dutty Love,” featuring Natti Natasha, at No. 2 and “Hasta Que Salga el Sol” at No. 11. He also delivered in sales, with his 2011 track “Danza Kuduro”—the hit that refuses to die—topping the Latin Digital Songs recap. On the Top Latin Albums recap, Don Omar Presents MTO2: New Generation (Orfanato/Machete/UMLE) lands at No. 5, behind…

Top Billboard 200 Artists POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 ADELE (2) XL/Columbia 2 TAYLOR SWIFT (6) Big Machine/BMLG 3 JUSTIN BIEBER (5) SchoolBoy/Raymond Braun/Island/IDJMG 4 MICHAEL BUBLE (4) 143/Reprise/ Warner Bros. 5 DRAKE (2) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 6 MUMFORD & SONS (2) Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 7 WHITNEY HOUSTON (11) Arista/RCA 8 JASON ALDEAN (3) Broken Bow 9 ONE DIRECTION (2) SYCO/Columbia 10 THE BLACK KEYS (5) Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 11 LADY ANTEBELLUM (5) Capitol Nashville 12 MAROON 5 (4) A&M/Octone/IGA 13 LUKE BRYAN (3) Capitol Nashville 14 ZAC BROWN BAND (4) Roar/Southern Ground/Atlantic 15 LIONEL RICHIE (3) Mercury Nashville/UMGN 16 RIHANNA (3) SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 17 CARRIE UNDERWOOD (3) 19/Arista Nashville/SMN 18 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE (3) Republic 19 NICKELBACK (3) Roadrunner 20 NICKI MINAJ (2) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 21…

Digital Albums Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 ADELE (2) XL/Columbia 2 MUMFORD & SONS (2) Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 3 DRAKE (1) Young Money/ Cash Money/Republic 4 TAYLOR SWIFT (1) Big Machine/BMLG 5 FUN. (1) Fueled By Ramen 6 ONE DIRECTION (1) SYCO/Columbia 7 COLDPLAY (1) Capitol 8 MAROON 5 (2) A&M/Octone/IGA 9 THE BLACK KEYS (2) Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 10 GOTYE (1) Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic Digital Albums POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 21 Adele XL/Columbia 2 TAKE CARE Drake Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 3 BABEL Mumford & Sons Gentleman Of The Road/Glassnote 4 RED Taylor Swift Big Machine/BMLG 5 SOME NIGHTS fun. Fueled By Ramen 6 UP ALL NIGHT One Direction SYCO/Columbia 7 MYLO XYLOTO Coldplay Capitol 8 OVEREXPOSED Maroon 5 A&M/Octone/IGA 9 EL CAMINO The Black Keys Nonesuch/Warner…

POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 RIHANNA (10) SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 2 FLO RIDA (5) Poe Boy/Atlantic 3 NICKI MINAJ (20) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 4 ADELE (5) XL/Columbia 5 MAROON 5 (5) A&M/Octone/Interscope 6 KATY PERRY (3) Capitol 7 FUN. (2) Fueled By Ramen/RRP 8 CARLY RAE JEPSEN (4) 604/SchoolBoy/Interscope 9 DRAKE (21) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 10 TAYLOR SWIFT (17) Big Machine 11 KELLY CLARKSON (6) 19/RCA 12 LMFAO (3) Party Rock/will.i.am/Cherrytree/Interscope 13 ONE DIRECTION (3) SYCO/Columbia 14 GOTYE (2) Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 15 DAVID GUETTA (5) What A Music/Astralwerks/Capitol 16 JUSTIN BIEBER (11) SchoolBoy/Raymond Braun/Island/IDJMG 17 THE WANTED (3) Global Talent/Mercury/IDJMG 18 CHRIS BROWN (14) RCA 19 ELLIE GOULDING (2) Cherrytree/Interscope 20 USHER (7) RCA 21 CALVIN HARRIS (4) deConstruction/Fly Eye/Ultra/ Roc Nation/Columbia 22 BRUNO MARS (5) Elektra/Atlantic 23 TRAIN…

Uncharted Artists Pos. ARTIST MySpace Page 1 DJ BL3NDwww.myspace.com/blendizzy 2 TRAPHIKwww.myspace.com/traphik 3 SUNGHA JUNGwww.myspace.com/jungsungha 4 NOISIAwww.myspace.com/denoisia 5 TYLER WARDwww.myspace.com/tylerward 6 MADDI JANEwww.myspace.com/maddijanemusic 7 PRETTY LIGHTSwww.myspace.com/prettylights 8 PORTAwww.myspace.com/porta1 9 PITTYwww.myspace.com/bandapitty 10 MAREK HEMMANN www.myspace.com/marekhemmann 11 GRAMATIKwww.myspace.com/gramatik 12 DAVE DAYSwww.myspace.com/davedays 13 UMEKwww.myspace.com/djumek 14 METRoNoMY WWW.MYSPACE.COM/METRONOMY 15 AEROPLANEwww.myspace.com/aeroplanemusiclove 16 YANN TIERSENwww.myspace.com/yanntierseninprogress 17 STAR SLINGERwww.myspace.com/starslingermusic 18 BORGOREwww.myspace.com/borgore 19 JOTA QUESTwww.myspace.com/jotaquest 20 NICOLAS JAAR www.myspace.com/nicolasjaar 21 GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT www.myspace.com/godisanastronaut 22 THE BLOODY BEETROOTS - DEATH CREW 77www.myspace.com/thebloodybeetroots 23 YUNAwww.myspace.com/yuna 24 ANATHEMAwww.myspace.com/weareanathema 25 C2Cwww.myspace.com/c2cdjs 26 GOLD PANDAwww.myspace.com/goldpanda 27 MEYTAL COHENwww.myspace.com/dewwaterpriest 28 SHLOHMOwww.myspace.com/shlomoshun 29 MORD FUSTANGwww.myspace.com/mordfustang 30 ALYSSA BERNALwww.myspace.com/alyssabernal 31 ONRAwww.myspace.com/onra 32 COM TRUISEwww.myspace.com/iamcomtruise 33 CAPITAL INICIALwww.myspace.com/capitalinicial 34 MAXIMUM BALLOONwww.myspace.com/maximumballoon 35 ORELSANwww.myspace.com/orelsan 36 DATSIKwww.myspace.com/djdatsik 37 SUPERMAN IS DEADwww.myspace.com/supermanisdead 38 LOS HERMANOSwww.myspace.com/loshermanos 39 GIRL TALKwww.myspace.com/girltalk 40 JESUS ADRIAN ROMEROwww.myspace.com/jesusadriannet 41 T. MILLSwww.myspace.com/tmills 42 FELGUKwww.myspace.com/felguk 43 BONDAN…

POS. ARTIST Imprint/Label 1 TAYLOR SWIFT Big Machine 2 JASON ALDEAN Broken Bow 3 LUKE BRYAN Capitol Nashville 4 LADY ANTEBELLUM Capitol Nashville 5 CARRIE UNDERWOOD 19/Arista Nashville 6 ERIC CHURCH EMI Nashville 7 ZAC BROWN BAND Southern Ground/Atlantic 8 BLAKE SHELTON Warner Bros./WMN 9 TOBY KEITH Show Dog-Universal 10 KENNY CHESNEY Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville 11 THE BAND PERRY Republic Nashville 12 TIM MCGRAW Big Machine 13 MIRANDA LAMBERT RCA Nashville 14 RASCAL FLATTS Big Machine 15 LIONEL RICHIE Mercury 16 LEE BRICE Curb 17 HUNTER HAYES Atlantic/WMN 18 SCOTTY MCCREERY 19/Interscope/Mercury 19 BRANTLEY GILBERT Valory 20 LITTLE BIG TOWN Capitol Nashville 21 JAKE OWEN RCA Nashville 22 DIERKS BENTLEY Capitol Nashville 23 KIP MOORE MCA Nashville 24 JOSH TURNER MCA Nashville 25 ELI YOUNG BAND Republic Nashville .biz A…

Regional Mexican Albums Artists POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 GERARDO ORTIZ (2) Bad Sin/DEL/Sony Music Latin 2 3BALLMTY (1) Fonovisa/UMLE 3 LA ARROLLADORA BANDA EL LIMON DE RENE CAMACHO (2) Disa/UMLE 4 LOS BUKIS (2) Fonovisa/UMLE 5 JENNI RIVERA (1) Fonovisa/UMLE 6 ESPINOZA PAZ (2) Videomax/Disa/UMLE 7 EL TRONO DE MEXICO (2) Fonovisa/UMLE 8 VICENTE FERNANDEZ (2) Sony Music Latin 9 LOS TEMERARIOS (3) Disa/UMLE 10 LOS INQUIETOS DEL NORTE (2) Eagle Music Regional Mexican Albums POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 INTENTALO 3BallMTY Fonovisa/UMLE 2 JOYAS PRESTADAS: BANDA Jenni Rivera Fonovisa/UMLE 3 IRREVERSIBLE...2012 La Arrolladora Banda el Limon de Rene Camacho Disa/UMLE 4 ENTRE DIOS Y EL DIABLO Gerardo Ortiz DEL/Sony Music Latin 5 LAS BANDAS ROMANTICAS DE AMERICA 2012 Various Artists Disa/UMLE 6 UN HOMBRE NORMAL Espinoza Paz…

Mainstream Top 40 Artists Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 KATY PERRY (3) Capitol 2 FLO RIDA (5) Poe Boy/Atlantic 3 RIHANNA (8) SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 4 MAROON 5 (3) A&M/Octone/Interscope 5 ADELE (4) XL/Columbia 6 DAVID GUETTA (4) What A Music/Astralwerks/Capitol 7 NICKI MINAJ (8) Young Money/Cash Money/Republic 8 CARLY RAE JEPSEN (3) 604/SchoolBoy/Interscope 9 KELLY CLARKSON (4) 19/RCA 10 FUN. (2) Fueled By Ramen/RRP Mainstream Top 40 Songs Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 LIGHTS Ellie Goulding Cherrytree/Interscope 2 WE FOUND LOVE Rihanna Featuring Calvin Harris SRP/Def Jam/IDJMG 3 GLAD YOU CAME The Wanted Global Talent/Mercury/IDJMG 4 CALL ME MAYBE Carly Rae Jepsen 604/SchoolBoy/Interscope 5 PAYPHONE Maroon 5 Featuring Wiz Khalifa A&M/Octone/Interscope 6 GOOD FEELING Flo Rida Poe Boy/Atlantic 7 WE ARE YOUNG fun. Featuring Janelle Monae Fueled By Ramen/RRP…

Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 THE BLACK KEYS (3) Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 2 FUN. (3) Fueled By Ramen/RRP 3 GROUPLOVE (3) Canvasback/Atlantic 4 OF MONSTERS AND MEN (2) Republic 5 AWOLNATION (3) Red Bull 6 IMAGINE DRAGONS (2) KIDinaKORNER/Interscope 7 FOO FIGHTERS (3) Roswell/RCA 8 GOTYE (2) Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 9 LINKIN PARK (2) Machine Shop/Warner Bros. 10 M83. (2) M83/Mute/Capitol Alternative Songs Pos. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Gotye Featuring Kimbra Samples ‘n’ Seconds/Fairfax/Republic 2 TONGUE TIED Grouplove Canvasback/Atlantic 3 LITTLE TALKS Of Monsters And Men Republic 4 IT’S TIME Imagine Dragons KIDinaKORNER/Interscope 5 WE ARE YOUNG fun. Featuring Janelle Monae Fueled By Ramen/RRP 6 GOLD ON THE CEILING The Black Keys Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 7 LONELY BOY The Black Keys Nonesuch/Warner Bros. 8 SOME…

POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 SHINEDOWN (3) Atlantic 2 FOO FIGHTERS (3) Roswell/RCA 3 SEETHER (4) Wind-up 4 CHEVELLE (3) Epic 5 SOUNDGARDEN (2) Seven Four/Republic 6 NICKELBACK (2) Roadrunner/RRP 7 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH (3) Prospect Park 8 STAIND (3) Flip/Atlantic 9 BUSH (1) Zuma Rock/eOne 10 SLASH (2) Dik Hayd/Capitol Heritage Rock Songs POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 THESE DAYS Foo Fighters Roswell/RCA 2 BULLY Shinedown Atlantic 3 FACE TO THE FLOOR Chevelle Epic 4 LIVE TO RISE Soundgarden Marvel/Hollywood 5 UNITY Shinedown Atlantic 6 TONIGHT Seether Wind-up 7 THE SOUND OF WINTER Bush Zuma Rock/eOne 8 YOUÕRE A LIE Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators Dik Hayd/Capitol 9 BOTTOMS UP Nickelback Roadrunner/RRP 10 REMEMBER EVERYTHING Five Finger Death Punch Prospect Park 11 BURN IT DOWN…

Pos. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 LECRAE (4) Reach/Infinity 2 MARVIN SAPP (3) Verity/RCA 3 LE’ANDRIA JOHNSON (4) Music World Gospel/Music World 4 KIRK FRANKLIN (3) Fo Yo Soul/Verity/RCA 5 JAMES FORTUNE & FIYA (4) FIYA World/Light/eOne 6 MARY MARY (2) My Block/Columbia 7 WILLIAM MCDOWELL (1) Delivery Room/Light/eOne 8 FRED HAMMOND (2) F Hammond/Verity/RCA 9 TAMELA MANN (1) TillyMann 10 ISRAEL & NEW BREED (2) Integrity/Columbia Gospel Albums POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 WOW GOSPEL 2012 Various Artists Word-Curb/EMI CMG/Verity/RCA 2 I WIN Marvin Sapp Verity/RCA 3 GRAVITY Lecrae Reach/Infinity 4 ARISE: THE LIVE WORSHIP EXPIERENCE William McDowell Delivery Room/Light/eOne 5 IDENTITY James Fortune & FIYA FIYA World/Light/eOne 6 GOD, LOVE & ROMANCE Fred Hammond F Hammond/Verity/RCA 7 JOYFUL NOISE Soundtrack WaterTower 8 THE AWAKENING OF LE’ANDRIA JOHNSON (EP)…

POS. ARTIST (Charted Titles) Imprint/Label 1 CELTIC WOMAN (4) Manhattan 2 CELTIC THUNDER (4) Celtic Thunder/Decca 3 THE CHIEFTAINS (1) Blackrock/Hear/Concord 4 DEAD CAN DANCE (1) PIAS 5 RODRIGO Y GABRIELA (2) Rubyworks/ATO 6 C.U.B.A. (1) Rubyworks/ATO 7 GAELIC STORM (2) Lost Again 8 LOREENA MCKENNITT (2) SWR1/Quinlan Road/Verve/VG 9 KEITH HARKIN (1) Verve/VG 10 JAKE SHIMABUKURO (2) Hitchhike/Mailboat World Albums POS. TITLE Artist Imprint/Label 1 BELIEVE Celtic Woman Manhattan 2 VOYAGE Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder/Decca 3 VOICE OF AGES The Chieftains Blackrock/Hear/Concord 4 THE DESCENDANTS Soundtrack 20th Century Fox Films/Fox/Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks 5 AREA 52 Rodrigo y Gabriela And C.U.B.A. Rubyworks/ATO 6 MUSIQUE POP DE PARIS Various Artists Universal Special Markets/Starbucks 7 HERITAGE Celtic Thunder Celtic Thunder/Decca 8 ANASTASIS Dead Can Dance PIAS 9 HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Celtic Woman…

WHILE THERE WEREN’T ANY RECORD-SHATTERING mega-tours along the lines of U2’s 360° that dominated turnstiles last year, the artists that make up the top 25 tours of 2012 once again showcase the mix of genres, touring markets and positions on the career arc that bespeak of a healthy portfolio for the touring marketplace. Urban, country, pop and rock of all types and veteran acts mixed in with artists still in their first stages of headlining—and various levels in between—make up the top 25, based on numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore for the period of Nov. 9, 2011-Nov. 10, 2012. But the big three for the year—Madonna, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and Roger Waters—are a testament to the box-office power of charismatic performers playing songs that resonate with…

WITH EVERY DOLLAR SPENT AT THE BOX OFFICE, EVERY TICKET SCANNED and every spin of the turnstile, the live show consistently proves to be the vibrant lifeblood of the entertainment experience. For many years Billboard has provided readers with a yearend analysis of the concert touring business—an annual snapshot of the live entertainment experience and the artists making the largest impact on the worldwide concert stage. In the Year in Music special feature, Billboard identifies the hottest tours at the box office, the venues with the highest ticket sales revenue and the top promoters working hard behind the scenes. The touring charts in this issue are all based on worldwide gross ticket sales from venues of all sizes—clubs, theaters, performing arts centers, amphitheaters, arenas, stadiums and outdoor festival sites. Billboard…

MICKEY BAKER (b. 1925) Guitarist As a session man, Baker helped lay the foundation of rock’n’roll, contributing guitar to such hits as Big Joe Turner’s “Shake Rattle and Roll” and Ruth Brown’s “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean.” In 1955, he formed Mickey & Sylvia with Sylvia Vanderpool. Together, they cut the immortal “Love Is Strange,” which topped Billboard’s R&B charts for two weeks in 1957 and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. He died in Toulouse, France, where he retired, on Nov. 27. He was 87. FRANK BARSALONA (b. 1938) Booking agent, founder of Premier Talent Among the very first to spot the potential of live rock’n’roll, Barsalona booked the first U.S. appearances by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds while at GAC, then…