Innholdsfortegnelse for December 7, 2013 i Billboard Magazine

VIVENDI APPROVES SPLIT Vivendi, the French conglomerate that owns Universal Music Group, will go forward with a proposed plan to spin off its mobile operator SFR. The de-merger, proposed in September, will form two companies: SFR and a new Vivendi focused on media. Vincent Bollore will be appointed chairman of Vivendi when the changes take effect at a June 2014 shareholders meeting. The company also named Arnaud de Puyfontaine to the newly created position of senior executive VP of media and content. Puyfontaine is CEO of Hearst Magazines U.K. GOLDIEBLOX GoldieBlox, a startup that makes toys for young girls, is claiming that a viral video ad set to a new version of Beastie Boys’ 1986 song “Girls” falls under fair use as parody. In a twist, GoldieBox didn’t seek permission…

Print advertising. The lack of obvious front-runners often results in more robust campaigning in the pages of Hollywood trades, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. Pharrell Williams. His name is bandied about Hollywood as a potential superstar in composing for film. He’s working with Hans Zimmer on “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” and recognition for his work on “Despicable Me 2” could result in more highprofile projects. Sony Music Entertainment. Run by Doug Morris, it’s not being targeted by the Bain & Co. cost police. The group generated 69% of Sony’s overall music business in the fiscal year that ended March 31. It remains a solid No. 2 behind Universal Music Group. Sony Electronics. After the intense focus on Sony Entertainment’s operations this year, investors will likely return…

Independent artists have never had access to so many customers. A single distributor can get an artist’s music into digital services around the world. U.S. artists were getting Spotify royalties before the service was available stateside. Now they’re getting royalties from Deezer, Bloom.fm and other services not yet available in the States. Since distributors have added their catalogs to YouTube, independent artists can reach listeners through the world’s most popular video service. Access to consumers has meant hundreds of millions in revenue through the years. CD Baby has paid out more than $300 million since it was founded in 1998. TuneCore has paid out more than $330 million since it launched in 2006. This year, CD Baby expects to pay out $58 million—that’s cash to artists minus the company’s distribution…

DISTRIBUTION Caroline International, which was established earlier this year under Universal Music Group to globally provide label services and distribution, announces new appointments in Europe and the United Kingdom. Caroline names Tina Adams label manager for Germany; Emma Greengrass label manager for the United Kingdom; Fred van Kruining label manager for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; and Anya Strafford international marketing manager in London. “We’re thrilled to welcome such a strong international team, which gives us a perfect combination of skills and experience so we can build Caroline into the most successful and most respected partner for independent artists and labels,” Caroline International co-managing director Michael Roe and fellow co-managing director/head of music Jim Chancellor said in a joint statement. Caroline’s first release was Peter Gabriel’s And I’ll Scratch Yours…

For decades, songwriters and artists flourished in New York like nowhere else. The city’s prominence in music goes back to the 1930s and ’40s, when jazz musicians first discovered inviting audiences and composers secured steady work writing the Great American Songbook. In the ’60s, folk artists found kindred spirits in the cafes and nightclubs of Greenwich Village. And in the ’70s, as punk rock exploded from the stages of the Lower East Side, DJs and MCs were cultivating hip-hop in the Bronx. New York’s global melting pot was a magnet for creativity, serving as both the breeding ground and market entry point for the most popular music in the world. However, in recent years, the city has been knocked off its perch. Songwriters and artists increasingly view New York as…

What did you wake up thinking about this morning? Because I have twins, I usually check on them first thing when I get up. And then I move on to worrying about all the deals and publishing acquisitions in the pipeline right now and making sure they are getting done. Also, we are targeting to raise about $200 million and have raised about half of that. Describe a lesson you’ve learned from a failure. One thing that you need to be careful of in publishing is acquiring music that uses samples that haven’t been cleared. We did a deal with one group and even though they stated that they cleared all the samples, they didn’t. It put a break on all the licensing activity. You have to be careful with…

1 Loving life: Marc Anthony grinned and gripped his record of the year trophy for “Vivir Mi Vida” (To Live My Life) at the 14th annual Latin Grammy Awards, held Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. The crowd danced as he sang the salsa hit. 2 Latin Recording Academy president/CEO Gabriel Abaroa (left) and Recording Academy president/CEO Neil Portnow get up close and personal at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, where the Latin Grammys were held. 3 At the Billboard Thought-Leadership Breakfast presented by Samsung Galaxy at the Four Seasons, Romeo Santos’ manager Johnny Marines (left) and Sony Music U.S. Latin’s Nir Seroussi showed off their new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Gear devices. 4 The early bird: Sergio George got an early start to his wins, scoring a new phone…

It’s a chilly but sun-splashed Tennessee afternoon and Eric Church is in great spirits. As usual, Church is on his tour bus, but he’s not parked at an arena in some distant locale— he’s outside his in-laws’ house. “I’m in Adamsville, Tenn., at Katherine’s parents,” Church says, referring to his wife of five years. “For the next month we’re doing some remodeling at our house. We’re redoing some floors, and with the fumes, we had to get out of there. We’ve been here a couple of days waiting on our house to get fixed, then we’ll go back.” Church is renovating and reinventing in his creative life as well. He’s putting the finishing touches on his fourth album, The Outsiders, which is due Feb. 11 on EMI Records Nashville. Church…

Building a business around search engines is dangerous, especially when the search engines change their algorithms, as they do every few weeks, to surface the most relevant content. But equally perilous is building a site that people, and search engines, can’t find. Billboard tapped search engine experts at Moz, Portent and SearchEngineLand to analyze what Rap Genius does right in this regard, especially compared with incumbent rival AZLyrics. Fresh Content Scores High Freshness “Google really biases toward fresher content and mentions of said content,” Moz’s Nick Sayers says. Moz, which crawls blogs and news sites for mentions of a brand, finds that AZLyrics still reigns on this count with 3,116 mentions between August and September, while Rap Genius scored 1,868. Strong Links Build Strong Results Back-Link Profiles Until search engines…

The Metropolitan Opera’s “Live in HD” program drives millions of dollars of ticket revenue each year for the opera company. But Fathom Events’ marketing platform is worth more than the potential revenue share to most of its several music partners, including AEG Live. “The economics pale in comparison to the marketing value,” former AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips says. In exchange for premium, eventoriented content that could fill its affiliate’s theaters on the movie-light days of Monday through Thursday—from live opera broadcasts to exclusive tour films like Katy Perry’s “California Dreams” tour in 3-D—Fathom and parent company National CineMedia activate a platform that includes onscreen advertising, local radio promotions and press. “We know that when we execute [a Fathom] campaign that we get 100 million or more impressions, creating millions…

Oscar Rios, regional Mexican KFZO Dallas/Fort Worth. Banda MS, “Hermosa Experiencia.” Banda MS is one of the most important bands in regional Mexican, and this is the first single from their 10thanniversary CD. It’s getting great feedback from fans in Mexico. Gerardo Ortiz, “Mujer de Piedra.” Ortiz is undoubtedly one of the most important young singers of corridos, and he continues to demonstrate his versatility and talent with this new single that tells a story of love and heartbreak. It premiered this week. Without a doubt this one promises to be a hit. Alejandra Guzman, “Mi Primer Error.” This talented Mexican veteran’s new single, “Mi Primer Error” (My First Mistake), is a romantic song delivered with the unique and powerful voice of the Queen of Spanish Rock. It will be…

Vinyl may be resurgent with consumers, but for its traditional champions—DJs—the format is becoming increasingly obsolete. Even superstar spinners, with the budgets for massive stage setups, carry laptops or tablets instead of record crates. The latest tech toy looking to one-up the old-school turntable is Monster’s Go-DJ, a portable, miniature DJ rig and production tool. The Go-DJ’s biggest advantage is its size: at 10.9 ounces, it’s lighter than an iPad mini, with about 40% less surface area. Monster envisions the device allowing DJs to be mobile, moving around stages and even dancefloors. But this is limited by the Go-DJ’s most obvious flaw—a lack of wireless tech. Unlike the iPad, the device needs to be physically plugged in to a speaker to be heard. The Go-DJ consists of two small touch-screens…

The odds seem to be in the favor of “The Hunger Games.” The book series-turned-film franchise dominated pop culture headlines last week, thanks to the opening of second installment “Catching Fire” (Nov. 22). Its companion soundtrack album reached retailers on Nov. 19, and takes a bow on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 5. 161M 6% “Catching Fire” made $161 million at the U.S. and Canadian box office during the Nov. 22-24 weekend. It was the all-time largest opening for the month of November, beating 2009’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” ($142.9 million). It also bested the bow of predecessor “The Hunger Games” by 6%. The latter opened with $152.5 million in March 2012. 69% “Catching Fire” lights up at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, selling 55,000 copies in…

Eminem’The Marshall Mathers LP 2 returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, shifting 120,000 copies in its third week (down 43%), according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s the second week at the top for the set, which stepped aside last week to let Lady Gaga’ARTPOP open atop the list. This week, ARTPOP moves to No. 8 with 46,000 (down 82%). It’s the third No. 1 debut this year to decline by 80% in its second frame, following Justin Timberlake’The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2) (down 80.1%) and Kanye West’Yeezus (down 80.3%). It’s become more common to see No. 1 debuts dip by more than 75% in their second week, as increased focus is placed on first-week sales and pre-orders. That emphasis can drive debut sales to great heights, but can…

In the wake of Randy Phillips’ departure as top man at AEG Live, the world’s second-largest concert promoter is focused on doubling the size of its business in coming years, according to the new top executive. ¶ On Nov. 25, Phillips’ exit was announced as part of a major restructuring that moves industry veteran and AEG COO Jay Marciano, former president of Madison Square Garden Entertainment, into the role of chairman. ¶ As part of the management restructuring, Coachella founder Paul Tollett was named president/CEO of AEG subsidiary Goldenvoice; John Meglen, co-CEO of Concerts West since AEG acquired it and entered the concert promotion business in 2000, is named president of global touring for AEG Live; and Shawn Trell is promoted from senior VP/general counsel to COO of AEG Live,…

The American Music Awards engaged record levels of social media activity while attracting their largest TV viewing audience in four years. The AMAs dominated Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings for the week of Nov. 18-24 as more than 7.6 million tweets went out during the broadcast and were read by an audience of 10.2 million, according to Nielsen SocialGuide. On TV, the broadcast posted ratings increases across all demos, most notably spiking 86% among 12- to 17-year-olds, according to Nielsen data supplied by the show’s producer, dick clark productions. (Guggenheim Partners owns DCP and Billboard.) The AMAs posted a significant uptick from last year’s tepid ratings, attracting 13.1 million total viewers. That represents a 36% increase over last year, which was down 20% from the 2011 show. The last time the…

Christina Tancredi has worked for Music Choice for 24 years, and was among the initial group of people who developed the idea for a digital music service that’s broadcast by cable TV providers. Today, Music Choice’s free on-demand music service is available to 55 million U.S. homes. It’s also now available on the Web and mobile devices as a free app. 6.30 AM Every day starts with an “Insanity” DVD workout. I like a workout that you end up as a sweaty mess at the end. 8.30 AM I live in Pennsylvania, so I take the train to New York City, where our offices are around the corner from Penn Station. It takes two hours and 15 minutes door to door. I use my train time as a catch-up with…

Gains in mobile advertising helped Pandora achieve record revenue in the quarter ending Oct. 31. The company had revenue of $181.6 million in the quarter, a 50.3% improvement over the prior-year period. Net loss was $1.7 million, or $0.01 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected positive earnings per share of $0.06. Pandora’s EPS was $0.01 a year ago. The current share price (about $29) gives Pandora a market capitalization of $5.2 billion. Its shares are up 223% year-to-date and 313% in the last 12 months. Mobile advertising improved 58% to $104.9 million. Like Facebook and Twitter, Pandora’s success depends on its ability to monetize use of its mobile apps. Its advertising RPMs (revenue per thousand listening hours) on mobile devices have grown to $36 in the last quarter from…

Business is timing. Some companies enter a market earlier and develop a product at great cost. Others wait until market conditions are better. The former can often give an advantage to the earliest entrant, but consumers aren’t always ready for the first type of product. The latter scenario, when the market better appreciates a product, can be a good strategy. One leading music service has waited calmly to enter the world’s largest music market. Paris-based on-demand service Deezer is expected to launch in the United States in 2014, according to a major-label source. While a report claims Deezer will launch in January, Billboard hears the launch will likely occur later in the year. Deezer’s arrival suggests the U.S. subscription market is turning a corner. For years, on-demand subscriptions have suffered…

1 Happy AMAs, Mr. President! Goosed by big production numbers like the Oval Office salute by Lady Gaga and R. Kelly (standing atop the desk), the American Music Awards notched a 36% jump in ratings, garnering 12.9 million viewers for ABC, according to Nielsen. Gaga and Kelly dueted on “Do What U Want” at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre on Nov. 24. 2 Grande arrival: Ariana Grande scored her first AMA for new artist of the year, as well as a standing ovation from Lady Gaga when she sang her old-school R&B ballad “Tattooed Heart” and a well-deserved hug from manager Scooter Braun, whom she thanked onstage. 3 Epic Records chairman/CEO Antonio “L.A.” Reid was all smiles with Jennifer Hudson (left) and Ciara. And no doubt he had reason to smile…

Now in its 12th year, Art Basel Miami has become a Gatsbyesque bacchanal, replete with parties, star sightings—Jay Z, Sean “Diddy” Combs—and lots of shows. “There’s a real collapse of the borders between art and music,” says Suzanne Geiss, who’s produced Art Basel shows by Fischerspooner, the Gossip and Santigold for Deitch Projects, and now has her own gallery. She’s watched the musical off erings at Art Basel and related fairs Scope (see story, right), Pulse, Aqua, NADA and Untitled soar. This year, fair-goers can check out an electronic opera presented by New York’s Hole gallery, catch a Kanye West-Vanessa Beecroft collaboration or groove to the Darkside at the Art Basel Mana Wynwood Concert Series. “Think South by Southwest with more black Bentleys, Lambos and Ferraris than you’re liable to…

Eric Church has a reputation for a killer live show, and he’s been tapped to open several dates in 2014 on George Strait’s farewell tour, including the closing night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on June 7. Church recently signed with Louis Messina’s Messina Group, which also books Strait. Church is also heading abroad starting Feb. 24 for a European tour that will visit Dublin, Munich, London, Amsterdam and Oslo. “We went over and played London this past year and it was great. It was sold out,” he says. “They were crazy and I left there and said, ‘OK, let’s do this! Let’s try it.’ It’s going to be interesting especially when you get into the non-English-speaking countries and just see what happens. It’s always been important to me…

It’s as if R. Kelly has stepped out of a time machine. He was previewing his upcoming 12th studio album, Black Panties, out Dec. 10 on RCA Records, at New York’s Platinum Studio on Nov. 12, confidently donning an all-black, mostly leather outfit reminiscent of ones he wore in his classic, President Clinton-era R&B videos. But it wasn’t until the singer/songwriter/producer born Robert Kelly hit play that it became clear the music would be a throwback to his younger, racier years as well. “I’m on my Benjamin Button right now. This is the new 12 Play,” Kelly says, referring to his 1993 solo debut. In some ways, Kelly’s desire to turn back the clock is surprising: 2013 is shaping up to be an excellent year for him. After collaborating with…

These days it’s hardly a given for an artist to show up to his or her own album listening party. But California modern-rock act Young the Giant, whose Mind Over Matter arrives Jan. 21 on Fueled by Ramen, went one better at its special night last month. After the band members milled around and introduced themselves to the crowd at New York’s Jane—a West Village hotel whose lounge evokes crashing a party in the Dos Equis spokesman’s living room—the five-piece assembled for a mostly a cappella performance of a new song called “Firelight.” It’s a move that perfectly sums up Young the Giant: a likable band, once known for safe, agreeable pop-rock, turning left and taking risks with a new record. “We’re just trying to get wacky and weird,” frontman…

“A good book consists of many chapters,” B.o.B tweeted on Nov. 18. But the message wasn’t the Atlanta rapper turning philosophical—it was a response to fans complaining that he was abandoning his pop-rap crossover sound with his third album, Underground Luxury, due Dec. 17 on Grand Hustle/Rebel Rock/Atlantic. “I went from having a hood fan base to an alternative fan base to a pop/teeny-bopper fan base, so now I’m circling back around,” B.o.B says. The artist notes that the new set, which he produced mostly himself, is a return to his late-2000s mixtape roots. It’s a stark contrast from his studio debut, 2010’s B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold 630,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set’s…

Like many artists do, Britney Spears has referred to her new record as her “most personal yet.” And indeed, while the pop stalwart’s eighth LP contains a big portion of the kinetic synth-pop of 2011’s Femme Fatale, there are starker songwriting shades as well. “Perfume” admits to some cracks of jealousy in Spears’ unflappable exterior, while “Alien” features the singer musing about her place in the pop universe. Taking cues from his recent Spears collaboration “Scream & Shout,” executive producer Will.i.am concocts some elastic dance numbers. But Diplo scores a coup by swooping in to produce “Passenger,” an empowering pop-rock track co-written by Katy Perry. It’s the album’s most successful song, a change-up to feel-good, guitar-driven music that’s all the more refreshing after almost an album’s worth of sweaty dance…

The title of American Authors’ new hit, “The Best Day of My Life,” is becoming increasingly prophetic. Last week’s seven days, when the group made its Billboard Hot 100 debut at No. 93 with the song, certainly must’ve been up there for the Brooklyn-based quartet of Berklee College of Music classmates. This week, “Best Day” breaks into the top 10 on the Adult Top 40 chart (rising 14-10) and holds its bullet at No. 22 on the Triple A tally. “It was a really fun song to write,” frontman Zachary Barnett says. “It’s actually pieces from five different songs that we just combined. At first we didn’t know if it worked or not, so we sat on it for a while, but when we came back to it we realized,…

LEGEND Bullets indicate titles with greatest weekly gains. Album Charts ● Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 500,000 albums (Gold). ▴ RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 1 million units (Platinum). Numeral noted with Platinum symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. ◆ RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 10 million units (Diamond). Numeral noted with Diamond symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. ○ Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 50,000 units (Oro). △ Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 100,000 units (Platino). Numeral noted with Platinum symbol indicates album’s multi-platinum level. Digital Songs Charts ● RIAA certification for 500,000 paid downloads (Gold). ▴ RIAA certification for 1 million paid downloads…

CBS Films has presented concerts to celebrate Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Inside Llewyn Davis” in New York and Los Angeles. Richard Sherman has led a singalong of “Mary Poppins” tunes featuring members of the cast of Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks.” Alex Ebert has performed his score and song from the Robert Redford film “All Is Lost” to a room of media, agents and Lionsgate brass. And actress/songwriter Mary Steenburgen took to the stage at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato nightclub to sing her number from “Last Vegas.” Whether the decorations suggest Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanuk kah or Christmas, in Hollywood it’s campaign season for the Academy Awards, and this year has already seen unique events to attract attention to awards contenders and their songs. Two December releases in which music plays a central…

Billboard’s long-standing Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts will receive a major consumer-influenced face-lift, as digital download sales (tracked by Nielsen SoundScan) and streaming data (from services tracked by Nielsen BDS including YouTube, Spotify, Muve, Slacker, Rhapsody, Rdio and Xbox Music) will now be factored into the rankings, along with existing radio airplay data monitored by Nielsen BDS. The makeovers will enable the charts to match the methodology applied to Billboard’s signature allgenre songs ranking, the Billboard Hot 100, as well as other genre charts like Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rock Songs. The revamped Christian and gospel charts appear in this issue (see page 66). Concurrent to the revamping of Christian Songs and Gospel Songs, Billboard will also introduce new streaming-only charts: Christian Streaming Songs and…

Sony Tightens Its Purse Strings WHAT: Sony Corp. laid out austerity measures for its entertainment business—zeroing in on more than $250 million in cost reductions during the next three years, with more being identified by Bain & Co., a consulting firm Sony hired to further streamline its operations. On the face of it, the music business will not be directly affected— almost all budget cuts will hit Sony Pictures Entertainment— but the new emphasis on cost-cutting for the overall business means the music executives are even more conscious of running operations efficiently, as was evidenced by their presentations. HOW: Sony Music and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have already slashed their costs during the past decade in response to the digital disruption currently affecting movies and TV. Since 2004, Sony’s recorded-music division…

Spreading the word to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among America’s youth. That’s the ongoing quest of Lifebeat: Music Fights HIV/AIDS. Since 1992, the national nonprofit has rallied the music industry through artist PSAs, events and various campaigns to raise awareness about the disease. In late August, Lifebeat hosted an MTV Video Music Awards pre-party at New York’s Terminal 5, headlined by Robin Thicke and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Now the organization has kicked off its latest campaign, #MusicFightsAIDS, in honor of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1). Launched Nov. 29, the multifaceted campaign has enlisted a wide swath of the music industry. Artists, musicians and DJs, including Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches and British house music DJ Carl Cox, are encouraging fans to participate through social media. Media outlets ranging from…

This year’s Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on Nov. 21 was one of the most emotional and musically inspiring in years. Performances like Alejandro Sanz singing “La Musica No Se Toca” with 25 students from Berklee College of Music, Marc Anthony performing hit “Vivir Mi Vida” with his band, Carlos Vives singing “Volvi a Nacer” flanked by traditional Colombian dancers and producer Sergio George’ closing number (“Para Celebrar”) performing with a group of his “Salsa Giants” all added up to what show producer Cisco Suarez likes to label “Grammy moments”—those unique musical instances that only take place during the Latin Grammys. According to Nielsen, this year’s telecast was seen by 4.6 million viewers, of which 2.4 million were between the ages of 18 and 49. That’s an 8% drop from last…

All eyes on Gaga: You could hear a pin drop in the VIP lounge at the Nokia Theater as Lady Gaga took the stage with R. Kelly. Among those with eyes glued to the TV monitor were Chris Daughtry, RCA’s Aaron Borns and American Authors. R. Kelly told Billboard: “I feel like when I met Lady Gaga, I met my match, because she can write her ass off, and I didn’t know that. When she sent [“Do What U Want”] to me, I was like, ‘Wow, I don’t know what I’m going to do on this song, but I love it, so I got to deliver.’” The duo certainly did just that. The performance garnered an instant spike in ARTPOP sales on the night of the awards (Nov. 24) and—wait…

With so many parties, DJs, artists and pop stars converging in one place at one time, someone was bound to seize the momentum. That someone is Scope, the Art Basel spinoff fair for emerging artists that’s partnering with VH1 for a bona fide pop culture mash-up happening Dec. 3-8. “It’s a continuation of what we did last year,” Scope VP Daria Brit Greene says, referring to the 2012 party it threw with VH1. “This year, we wanted to explore the music-art relationship further.” “We saw it as a good opportunity,” VH1 senior VP of brand creative Phil Delbourgo says. “We rebranded as music plus, meaning we’re a platform for pop culture. And this fits within that sphere.” As part of that exploration, Scope is presenting a beach-front installation by Hebru…

It’s an early-October afternoon in the penthouse offices of Rap Genius. The sixth floor taken up by the 4-year-old startup—in a modern glass building on the waterfront in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood—is sparsely decorated. Other than a large mural of Instagram pics on one wall, it looks almost empty. But there’s a balcony with the Rap Genius logo on the railing and a panoramic view of Manhattan. It’s a good place to dream of empire-building, of conquering the old ways splayed out across the East River. In fact, it’s nearly picture perfect, except for one out of place detail: the two staples on the right side of 30-year-old Mahbod Moghadam’s skull. In the last year, Rap Genius has received a $15 million investment from the Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz…

Rene Fleming is having a not-sodiva moment. The star American soprano— clad in a cranberry-colored coat with chic leather cuffs and earrings that twinkle like the Metropolitan Opera’s iconic Lobmeyr chandeliers—is on the Met’s great stage, a half-hour before curtain at the Nov. 9 matinee. And she’s stumped by a word that’s critical to her performance. “Gan . . . ganidz,” she attempts. “Could you remove the name?” The teleprompter operator obliges, leaving just the phonetic spelling of baritone George Gagnidze’s surname. She smiles and tries again: Gagh-NEEDzuh. Perfetto. Standing center in the hovering pack of cameramen, sound techs, makeup artists and assorted handlers, Met GM Peter Gelb gives a satisfied nod. Fleming isn’t here today to sing. She’s hosting the Met’s “Live in HD” broadcast of beloved Puccini opera…

It’s Irish singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow’s first time playing songs from second album Post Tropical in the United States, and he can’t stop apologizing for them. He’s just made the transition from earnest alt-folkie to alt-R&B auteur, and knows his fans (including several loud Irish expats) who’ve shown up to see him won’t be fully aware of that change until the album arrives Jan. 14 on Vagrant. “Sorry—I promise they’ll sound a lot different the next time I see you,” he tells the crowd at New York’s Joe’s Pub, where he’s performing the new album’s dense, electronic songs in acoustic form by himself on keyboard and guitar. Demand for seats to the sold-out show is so high that McMorrow hits the stage 15 minutes late, explain-ing he was helping out…

Quickly following the mainstream coronation of Florida Georgia Line is male country duo Dan & Shay, two songwriters who paired up in Nashville after meeting less than a year ago. Unlike the “Cruise” twosome, however, Pennsylvania native Dan Smyers and Arkansas-bred Shay Mooney abide by a sense of gentlemanly nostalgia on debut single “19 You + Me,” reminiscing about a summer fling with large hearts and without a whiff of bawdiness. “I can still hear that sound/Of every wave crashing down/Like the tears we cried that day we had to leave,” the sensitive singers share on the track, selling their memories with a pinpoint melody and a few opportune electric guitar flare-ups. By the time listeners realize the “year” in the song’s title is a pun on something more personal—“The…

Earlier this year, after his first single, “Missin’ You Crazy,” fizzled out at No. 25 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, developing Capitol Nashville singer/songwriter Jon Pardi went to Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) chairman/CEO Mike Dungan with a big question. “I asked him, ‘Do you just want to start over? I’ll rewrite everything,’” Pardi recalls, recounting the story hours before a headlining club gig in Georgia. “And he said, ‘No—we like what you’re doing.’” Now, it appears, Dungan isn’t the only one. Two weeks ago, Pardi’s second single, “Up All Night,” cracked the top 20 on Country Airplay after 34 weeks, and last week it made its first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. This week, it bullets at No. 19 on Country Airplay. It’s sold 225,000 copies, according to…

3 MONTHS AGO After touring with Three Doors Down, the band delivered the finished LP in August to RCA, which started rethinking the group’s branding. “We wanted the visuals to represent the updated sound, which is more contemporary and fits with pop radio,” product manager Nick Pirovano says. Singer Chris Daughtry chose an image of a flower for the album cover, in keeping with the music’s theme of rebirth. “I’ve always wanted to do an artistic album cover but the label consistently wanted to plaster my face on them,” Daughtry says. “This time, I said, ‘We have to not be on the cover, please.’” On Aug. 19, the band hosted a listening session of five songs for radio programmers in Las Vegas. 2 MONTHS AGO First single “Waiting for Superman”…

Source: Nielsen SoundScan 1 2008 Britney Spears’ sixth studio album, Circus, was a strong seller during the 2008 holiday season. The set arrived in early December and sold 65% of its cumulative sales (1.7 million) before the year was over. 2 2009 Two albums that appealed to an older demographic blew up the charts at the end of 2009: I Dreamed a Dream, the debut of overnight star Susan Boyle, sold 3.1 million, while Andrea Bocelli’s first holiday album sold 1.7 million. Notably, the third-biggest seller in the holiday season was Taylor Swift’s Fearless, which arrived more than a year earlier on Nov. 11, 2008. It reminds us that not all big holiday-season sellers necessarily have to be brand-new releases. 3 2010 Taylor Swift is inescapable around the holidays, it…