Morning Fix: Pandora & Clear Channel Join Forces; Taylor (& Kendrick’s) Week; Rolling Stone’s $20 Warm-Up Gig
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TAYLOR SWIFT READY TO PAINT BILLBOARD 200 ‘RED,’ KENDRICK LAMAR HEADING FOR NO. 2: Taylor Swift’s “Red” is trending toward a 1 million-plus sales week and a non-surprising Billboard 200 No. 1 debut, as industry sources seem certain that the album will eclipse the seven-figure sales threshold. And rapper Kendrick Lamar in range for the highest sales total by a male rapper this year with his major-label debut “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City.” |
PANDORA, CLEAR CHANNEL JOIN LOBBY GROUP FOR LOWER WEB RADIO PAYMENTS: Pandora and Clear Channel are among the founding members of the Internet Radio Fairness Coalition, a collection of companies, trade associations and advocacy groups throwing their weight behind bills that aim to lower webcasters rates for the performance of sound recordings. Record labels and webcasters have different definitions of fairness and each side should have a chance to speak at Congressional hearings sources say are likely before the end of the year. |
SONY/ATV’S ROSETTA CATALOG UP FOR SALE: Sony/ATV agreed to sell the so-called Rosetta catalog in order to secure European Union approval for its $2.2 billion purchase of EMI’s publishing arm. First-round bidders for the rights to some 30,000 songs include: BMG Rights Management; G2 Investment Group; and Primary Wave, which has teamed with Oaktree Capital. Smaller bidders include Canada’s ole and Because Music. The catalog includes ’80s hits from artists such as Tears for Fears, Culture Club, Bryan Ferry and Devo.
NY Post
BILLBOARD/HOLLYWOOD REPORTER FILM & TV CONFERENCE GETS UNDERWAY The Billboard/THR’s annual Film & TV Conference kicked off Monday night with a screening of “Not Fade Away,” followed by a chat with director David Chase (“The Sopranos”). The conference got underway in earnest yesterday, with several discussion panels and a Q&A with composer/producer Gustavo Santaolalla, who won Oscars for his work in “Brokeback Mountain” and “Babel.” The conference continues today with appearances by Christina Aguilera, L.A. Reid, Danny Elfman, Demi Lovato and many others.
Billboard.biz
AEG WANTS E-MAILS BANNED FROM MICHAEL JACKSON TRIAL: Michael Jackson’s mother sat quietly in court on Wednesday watching as her lawyers fought loudly with attorneys for AEG, the concert promoter she accuses of contributing to the pop star’s death. They argued over who leaked e-mails to a reporter revealing the promoter may have had doubts about Jackson’s health and ability to undertake the “This Is It” concerts several months before his death.
CNN
FRED WILSON CONFIRMED FOR KEYNOTE AT BILLBOARD FUTURESOUND CONFERENCE: Venture capitalist Fred Wilson will be a keynote speaker at the Billboard FutureSound Conference, Nov. 15-16 in San Francisco. Wilson, a managing partner at Union Square Ventures, is a noted digital and social media expert ; his blog, A VC, has helped him earn 237K Twitter followers. Union Square has invested in such companies as SoundCloud, TargetSpot and Turntable.fm. Its portfolio also includes Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and Kickstarter.
Billboard.biz
ROLLING STONES $20 WARM-UP GIG: The Rolling Stones announced a surprise “warm-up gig” in Paris, and within an hour the Champs Elysees was swarming with fans hoping to get satisfaction with one of the 350 tickets for the Thursday night show. The €15 ($19.5) tickets to the show, announced on the Rolling Stones Twitter account, are intended as a prep for the band’s 50th anniversary arena shows in London and Newark, New Jersey.
Associated Press
MAROON 5 BEATS OUT PSY ATOP HOT 100 FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WEEK: PSY is still trying to gallop past Maroon 5 in their weekly race to the Billboard Hot 100’s winner’s circle. For a fifth week, the Korean rapper’s “Gangnam Style,” ranks at No. 2, below Maroon 5’s “One More Night,” which spends a sixth overall week at No. 1. The songs are the first to place at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, for five consecutive weeks since Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” kept Maroon 5’s previous single, “Payphone” at No. 2 for five weeks in July and August.
Billboard.biz
KENDRICK LAMAR: THE STORY BEHIND ‘GOOD KID, M.A.A.D CITY’: Kendrick Lamar, the 25-year-old Compton, Calif.-native, is one of the most celebrated upstart MCs to emerge in hip-hop over the past ten years. Co-signed by Dr. Dre, Snoop and the Game, Lamar has been hailed as the new West Coast king, but can his major label debut, “good kid, m.A.A.d city” out this week on TDE/Aftermath/Interscope measure up?
Billboard.biz
JUSTIN BIEBER FIRST MUSICIAN TO REACH 3 BILLION YOUTUBE VIEWS: In just barely a year since becoming the first person to hit the 2 billion views count on YouTube, t he 18-year old multi-awarded singer’s YouTube channel surpassed 3 billion views on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The record comes with the release of his new music video “Beauty and a Beat”. He is also close to becoming the most followed celebrity on Twitter with 29.3 million followers just behind Lady Gaga’s 30.5 million.
Ace Showbiz
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