Innholdsfortegnelse for December 15, 2012 i Billboard Magazine

If the 2011 Grammy Awards proved that the Recording Academy actually listened to a radio during the previous 12 months, this year’s crop of nominees suggests an even deeper connection to the zeitgeist. Peruse the top four categories alone and it reads more like a 22-yearold’s Twitter feed or a YouTube playlist as compared with the same ceremony that gave Herbie Hancock album of the year for a set of Joni Mitchell covers just two years ago. From record of the year nominations for Gotye’s YouTube sensation “Somebody That I Used to Know” and fun.’s viral hit “We Are Young,” to song of the year props to tween anthems “Call Me Maybe” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” to best new artist nods for critical darlings like Alabama…

For the first time in its three seasons, “The Voice” has generated a hit single and breathed new life into a song that never quite got off the ground at radio. Cassadee Pope’s version of “Over You” debuted at No. 25 on the Dec. 8 Billboard Hot 100 and has sold 191,000 copies in two weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The original version of the Country Music Assn. song of the year, written by Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton and recorded by Lambert, peaked at No. 35 on the Hot 100. Pope’s version also bowed at No. 3 on Hot Country Songs, where it’s No. 29 this week. Pope’s take sparked interest in the original as Lambert’s re-entered the Digital Songs chart at No. 47. It has sold 53,000 downloads…

When Marshall Crenshaw’s management team did the math on his idea for a vinyl subscription series, it landed at the number $32,000. That would be enough money to finance his plan to release three 10-inch, 45 rpm vinyl EPs during the course of 12 months; pay musicians, mixers and a mastering specialist; hire a product manager and publicist; and have a little left over to expand the vinyl run. When the team turned to Kickstarter and received more than $32,000, the subscription service became a reality. The first release, featuring new song “I Don’t See You Laughing Now,” was found in 100 stores during Record Store Day’s Back to Black Friday promotion; the service starts Jan. 23. “I decided that some kind of autonomous way was the best way to…

Toy Selectah, the man behind DJ collective 3BallMTY, has three words to describe the award-winning group’s upcoming 2013 album. “Big, global and Mexican,” says the longtime producer, who along with an international TV audience recently saw Erick Rincon, Alberto Presenda and Sergio Zavala accept the trophy for best new artist at the Latin Grammy Awards. For the last two years, the DJs and Selectah have made it their mission to introduce tribal guarachero—the catchy hybrid sound that has ruled regional Mexican music and dance clubs throughout the United States, Mexico and beyond. In October the DJs also swept the Billboard Mexican Music Awards, taking home nine awards including wins for artist, song artist and digital download artist of the year. “The success of the last two years has opened doors,”…

Two iconic bands recently have had their music featured in high-profile TV programing that is taking synchronization use to a whole new level. On Nov. 19, futuristic NBC series “Revolution” featured two Led Zeppelin songs, after a week of highlighting the group’s music in commercials promoting the episode. Meanwhile, in late October, the Who’ music was featured throughout the World Series. Both events were used to promote activity by the veteran acts. The two Zeppelin songs featured in “Revolution” helped highlight the release of the band’s “Celebration Day” DVD, which captured its 2007 reunion concert, while the Who took advantage of the year’s most-watched TV event (with an audience of about 12 million during the series, according to Nielsen) to promote a tour, the boxed set release of Quadrophenia and…

Founded in 2003 by former Antonio “L.A.” Reid executive assistant Benjy Grinberg, Pittsburgh-based indie Rostrum Records has built a reputation as a small shop with a big footprint. With offices also in Los Angeles and New York, the imprint relies on a five-person staff to handle a roster of six: Boaz, Vali, Donora, Teammate and flagship artists Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa. It’s an operation that focuses on quality over quantity and one that’s increasingly paving a way forward for building and breaking hip-hop both online and on the road. “Artists like Wiz and Mac, at this point, are very successful,” Grinberg says. “It doesn’t mean that you can all of a sudden sign 10 more artists because you think you’ve got it made. You need to stay focused on…

Billboard recently asked several key music industry executives what they viewed as the most notable achievement of the Recording Academy during the past decade under the leadership of Neil Portnow. “Whether it’s the $12 million endowment fund for MusiCares, or sponsoring annually our very special pre-Grammy Gala, or the wonderful achievements of the Grammy Museum, or vitally strengthening the industry’s voice in Washington, Neil has spectacularly elevated the role of [the Recording Academy] in all our musical lives. I warmly congratulate him on his truly outstanding first 10 years.” —CLIVE DAVIS, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, SONY MUSIC “I have tremendous respect for Mr. Portnow’s singular ability to not only recognize our industry’s legendary music makers but also to highlight and introduce developing artists of all genres to the Academy and Grammy…

Time for some action: With the recent Rare Chandeliers still shining bright online, Vice Records’ Action Bronson begins a world tour booked by Jeremy Holgersen of the Agency Group. Stops include Melkweg in Amsterdam (Dec. 11), Le Bellevilloise in Paris (Dec. 12) and Twisted Pepper in Dublin (Dec. 18), followed by Studio in Auckland, New Zealand (Jan. 11) and two Australia dates at Perth’s Bakery (Jan. 12) and Melbourne’s Sugar Mountain Festival (Jan. 19) . . . Cued up: Unknown Mortal Orchestra will tour the world prior to sophomore set II (Feb. 5, Jagjaguwar). Booked by the Windish Agency (the Americas), the Agency Group (United Kingdom/Europe), Artist Voice (Australia) and Much More Music (New Zealand), the tour begins at the Rhythm and Alps Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand (Dec. 28)…

with GAME by STEVEN J. HOROWITZ With Jesus Piece, his fifth and final album for Interscope arriving Dec. 11, rapper Jayceon “Game” Taylor wants to cap his contract with a bang. The Compton, Calif., native, whose 2011 release The R.E.D. Album bowed atop the Billboard 200 with 98,000 sold, is banking on the LP’s concept (its religiously charged cover art sparked online controversy) and quality, as well as an all-star cast including Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, to deliver his fourth No. 1. His VH1 reality show “Marrying the Game,” which debuted in mid-February, expanded his presence beyond music while a shift from longtime partner Czar Management to CAM 8 helped collect unpaid dues. Game is unsure about his career’s future, but knows that Jesus Piece marks a…

As 50 Cent prepared to make his comeback, the hip-hop mogul wanted to show a new side of himself. “I wanted to make the record, particularly ‘My Life,’ vulnerable,” the chart-topping MC born Curtis Jackson III says of his new single, which features Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and an unhinged guest verse from longtime associate and label head Eminem. Premiered with a performance on NBC’s “The Voice” (Nov. 26), “My Life” debuts at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on Hot Digital Songs (140,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and No. 6 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The track will appear on 50’s longdelayed fifth studio album, Street King Immortal, due Feb. 26 on Shady/Aftermath/Interscope. According to 50, the collaboration was years in the making. “Early in my…

A public safety video for an aboveground railway system in Australia has found some unexpected traction after becoming a viral hit on YouTube. Since debuting Nov. 14, the clip, titled “Dumb Ways to Die,” has racked a staggering 30 million views, leading to dozens of user-created covers and, in turn, sales. The campaign was created by ad agency McCann on behalf of Down Under’s Melbourne Metro. “The brief from the client was to create something that would get the idea through to young people that dangerous behavior around trains was a very bad idea,” says John Mescall, executive creative director of Mc-Cann Worldgroup Australia. “We knew we had to do something not only different, but very sharable. So we thought about what the complete opposite of a serious safety message…

Send submissions to: exec@billboard.com RECORD COMPANIES: RCA Records appoints Joe Riccitelli executive VP/GM. He was executive VP of promotion. Razor & Tie names Jeff Zakim director of digital marketing. He was marketing director at Ruckus Media Group. Compass Records Group appoints Marc Dottore A&R rep for special projects. He will continue to operate his management company, Dottore-DuBois Artist Management, which represents such clients as Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith and Sturgill Simpson. PUBLISHING: BMI promotes Ray Yee to assistant VP of film/TV relations. He was executive director. TOURING: AEG China taps two executives for AEG Facilitiesoperated venues in China: Michael Enoch becomes GM of the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and Mike Cerha becomes GM of the Dalian China National Games Arena (expected to be completed in spring 2013). Enoch…

Among the 56 countries in which Apple will open its iTunes store, most represent markets so small that only five are tracked by IFPI, the trade organization that represents 1,400 record companies worldwide. That, however, doesn’t mean those markets aren’t valuable. According to analysts and label executives interviewed by Billboard, emerging countries could help reignite digital sales’ momentum, which has slowed significantly since 2009. And while per capita income is relatively low in most of these countries, there are still wealthy consumers who might be willing to pay for a premium experience. In addition, music companies can benefit from growth in the iTunes App Store, where piracy is much more difficult and where labels and artists can experiment with other business models besides straight-up downloads, such as subscription access, advertising…

Historians have long considered 1959 the greatest year in jazz history, owing largely to the recording sessions that produced Miles Davis’Kind of Blue, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and what is widely viewed as the most commercially successful jazz recording, Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” Time Out Featuring Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quartet spent an astounding 164 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 2 in 1960 and becoming the first jazz album to sell 1 million copies. The album contained Brubeck’s two signature songs, his composition “Blue Rondo a la Turk” and “Take Five,” which the quartet’s saxophonist Paul Desmond wrote. “Take Five” reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Adult Contemporary tally. “Take Five” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of…

Music videos may not have had much real estate on TV in recent years, as MTV, VH1 and other outlets continue to shrink the programming hours dedicated to artist clips. But that hasn’t stalled interest from advertisers— product placement in music videos is one of the fastest-growing segments in PQ Media’s Global Product Placement Spending Forecast 2012-2016, issued this week. In the report, music videos achieved a 15.8% increase in spending in 2011 to become a $22 million product placement business, according to Stamford, Conn.-based media analytics firm PQ Media. The growth has of course been necessitated and accelerated by the need for labels to further offset production costs of what used to be big-budget affairs, as paid placements can contribute anywhere from $5,000 to the entirety of a video’s…

COMPOSER/PRODUCER JUAN CARLOS CALDERON DEAD AT 74 Composer/producer/arranger/musician Juan Carlos Calderon, whose songs for artists like Julio Iglesias and Miguel Bose defined an era of Spanish pop, died of cardiac arrest on Nov. 26 in Madrid. He was 74. Calderon’s hits included “Eres Tu,” recorded by Spanish group Mocedades in 1973. It reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned dozens of cover versions, including the Englishlanguage “Touch the Wind.” Calderon’s credits include albums by Luis Miguel, Ricky Martin and Laura Branigan. Born in Santander, Spain, in 1938, Calderon started his career as a jazz musician before he began working with the stars of Spain’s emerging pop scene. In 1981, he moved to Los Angeles to work with Herb Alpert and subsequently wrote and arranged for Latin pop…

TEAM LUMINEERS ALBUM THE LUMINEERS LABEL DUALTONE RELEASE DATE APRIL 3 MANAGEMENT DAVID MEINERT AND CHRISTEN GREENE, ONTO MANAGEMENT BOOKING JOE ATAMIAN, PARADIGM PUBLICITY JIM MERLIS, BIG HASSLE ATTORNEY RICHARD GRABEL, DAVIS SHAPIRO & LEWIT SITES THELUMINEERS.COM, DUALTONE.COM TWEETS @THELUMINEERS THINGS WERE LOOKING UP for the Lumineers a year ago. With the assistance of their recently signed management, the alternative folk trio had made a record that an independent label was negotiating to release, their touring business was growing, and they had secured their first synch license for a TV show. The Dec. 5 episode of the CW’s “Hart of Dixie” was going to be the first place much of America would hear their single, “Ho Hey,” scheduled for release in the new year. The band’s co-manager, Onto Management’s Christen…

Billboard’s 2012 Women in Music luncheon, presented by Nikon 1 and Cotton, recognized one of the year’s biggest breakout stars, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Woman of the Year Katy Perry, who joked that her reign might have been a year prior in 2011, closer to the release of Teenage Dream. “I thought that my whole moment had kind of passed,” Perry told “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart in an onstage Q&A, “but then I remembered that playing ‘Part of Me’ on the Grammys was really great and ‘Wide Awake’ following that up, it never really did end.” The event also honored the 41 most powerful women in music, many of whom were on hand for a group photo. Julie Greenwald—Atlantic Records Group chairman/COO and third-time No. 1 on Billboard’s…

“MusiCares has become a safety net for so many people in our industry that any of us who can should be supporting it in every way we can.” —KEVIN LYMAN, CEO, 4FINI; FOUNDER, VANS WARPED TOUR “I am thrilled that Neil is being honored for his many years of incredible leadership at the Recording Academy. He has been a steadfast advocate for artist rights, royalties and compensation in the industry and, in the increasingly digital world, Neil has been diligent in the fight against illegal piracy.” —DEBRA L. LEE, CHAIRMAN/CEO, BET NETWORKS “Neil Portnow’s stewardship of the Recording Academy over the last 10 years has been remarkable in the scope of his accomplishments and the renewed relevance of the organization and its major brands: the Grammys, MusiCares and the Grammy…

For Jessie Ware, the past few years have been a series of happy accidents. “There are so many great singers out there,” says the 28-year-old London-born singer, whose U.K. debut, Devotion, was recently nominated for a Mercury Prize and whose domestic debut, EP If You’re Never Gonna Move, is set to arrive Jan. 15 on Cherrytree Records/Interscope. “I just seem to be in the right place at the right time.” Indeed. In 2009, Ware was working as a journalist when she got a call from an old school friend, XL Recordings artist Jack Peñate, who asked her to perform backing vocals for him on a BBC Radio 1 session. She had to take time off to make the session, which proved to be lifechanging. “It was so much fun,” she…

Fifteen months after releasing his fourth solo album, 1977, as a free “Internet album,” R&B star the-Dream will put out the project as a for-sale physical product on Dec. 18 through Island Def Jam (IDJ). With his forthcoming Love IV pushed back to early 2013 due to his production and songwriting schedule, the-Dream says he wanted to offer fans a stocking stuffer before the end of the year. “A lot of fans wanted it to be released officially,” he says of 1977, which was posted online in August 2011 under his birth name, Terius Nash. 1977 was originally issued as a stopgap between 2010’s Love King (173,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and the-Dream’s Love LP, but critics and fans connected with the darker tone of the effort, which…

As Rihanna logs a third week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Diamonds” (see page 58), only three acts in the chart’s 54-year history have spent more cumulative frames at No. 1. The song’s latest week in charge marks Rihanna’s 47th total week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, tying her with Usher for the fourth-best sum. Only Mariah Carey (79 weeks), the Beatles (59) and Boyz II Men (50) have logged more time at the list’s lead spot. Rihanna has racked her total with 12 No. 1s, which also ties her (with Madonna and the Supremes) for the fourth-highest total. Only the Beatles (20), Carey (18) and Michael Jackson (13) have tallied more No. 1s. “Diamonds” concurrently becomes Rihanna’s 10th chart-topper on Hot 100 Airplay, where it gains…

>>>NOT SO SECRET Pop quintet the Secret State is looking to translate impressive online attention to radio airplay. The group (forced to go on hiatus early in its existence when drummer Michael Marx-Gibbons was deployed to Iraq) has garnered 35 million YouTube views for new single “The Biggest Mistake” (Stealth Tiger) since its Sept. 21 posting. The track is approaching the Mainstream Top 40 chart with notable airplay at KVLY McAllen, Texas (359 plays through Dec. 2, according to Nielsen BDS), SiriusXM’s 20 on 20 channel (278) and WXXX Burlington, Vt. (110). >>>HERE COMES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD For a band that’s barely a year old, Southern California’s Neighbourhood is quickly heightening its profile. Formed in August 2011, it signed to Columbia Records this year and released debut EP I’m Sorry in…

Seasonal holiday music sales are off their stride this year, with both the top 100 album titles and tracks down more than 15% each on a unit basis. According to an analysis of Nielsen SoundScan data, album sales for the top 100 seasonal titles—from week 40 through week 48 in SoundScan’s year—are down 19.2% while all seasonal track sales for the full year to date are down 16.6%. For each week during the period beginning Oct. 1 through Dec. 2, holiday album scans for the top 100 titles total 4.04 million as compared with the 5 million units scanned during the corresponding period last year. Year-to-date seasonal track sales are at 5.6 million units this year versus 6.65 million in 2011. For the same eight-week period, the top 200 seasonal…

For more than two decades, Don Passman has watched a number of business models come and go as he built up a legal practice guiding artists through an ever-changing thicket of licensing deals and other contractual arrangements. Passman, who represents such artists as Stevie Wonder, P!nk, Tom Waits, Green Day and Paul Simon, recently spoke with Billboard about what’s next on the occasion of the release of the eighth edition of his book, “All You Need to Know About the Music Business,” published by Simon & Schuster’s Free Press division. Among the developments Passman sees ahead is a battle royale starting in 2013 between artists and publishers as rights transfers begin to terminate according to the Copyright Act, allowing artists to renegotiate terms 35 years after the initial contract. Another…

The Nov. 15 broadcast of the Latin Grammy Awards delivered some 10 million total viewers and an average audience of nearly 5 million, according to Nielsen. Of those, 2.6 million were adults 18-49. But those millions did virtually nothing for the sales of artists who performed on the show. Following the telecast, no Lat in act sold more than 4,000 downloads above the previous week, and—more worrisome still— none sold more than 500 albums. The lone exception was Alejandro Sanz, who a week after the awards almost doubled sales of La Musica No Se Toca (Universal Music Latin Entertainment), reaching 3,000 copies, according to Nielsen Sound-Scan. But that result can’t be attributed solely to his Latin Grammy performance—it was also driven by the premiere of a soap opera that features…

It started as a chance for Asheville, N.C.’s vital music scene to get together and jam, benefiting a good cause in the process. Now, rock’n’roll iron man Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam, set for Dec. 15 at Asheville’s U.S. Cellular Civic Center, has become an institution of sorts for musicians and fans alike. This year, Christmas Jam (xmasjam. net) will host Sheryl Crow, the String Cheese Incident, Trombone Shorty and the Blind Boys of Alabama, along with special guests Mike Barnes, Kevn Kinney and Anders Osborn. Haynes will also perform a set with his own band, one of several outfits anchored by his guitar and vocals, including Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers Band and the Dead. To say that Christmas Jam began as a low-key event is an understatement. “It started…

Lyrics have long been the second-most-popular search terms in the arts and entertainment category on Google. Until recently, however, songwriters and publishers have seen little or no money from the billions of clicks generated by people searching for song lyrics. That’s starting to change. A burgeoning crop of mobile applications making novel use of lyrics is planting seeds for a growing business. At the same time, publishers are seeing more success enforcing their copyrights, either by shutting down infringing websites or persuading others to pay up. “The business had been going down for a while,” says Ty Roberts, chief technology officer of Gracenote, a Sony Corp. subsidiary that licenses lyrics. “Now, with mobile apps on the rise, it’s going up again. It’s an aspect of the business that’s underutilized and…

THE NIGHT OF THE 45TH ANNUAL Grammy Awards in New York on Feb. 23, 2003, belonged to Norah Jones. The young singer walked across the stage at Madison Square Garden again and again, to take home Grammys for best female pop vocal performance, best pop vocal album and three more of the night’s biggest honors: best new artist; record of the year, for her single “Don’t Know Why”; and album of the year, for her blockbuster debut Come Away With Me on Blue Note Records. Song of the year honors went to “Don’t Know Why” songwriter Jesse Harris. But the night also marked another notable debut. Neil Portnow presided over the Grammy telecast for the first time, after becoming president of the Recording Academy on Dec. 2, 2002. A professional…

Fourteen months ago, California pop-punk powerhouse Blink-182 marked its return to music with an album that was devoid of the unique humor that had helped its previous release, Blink-182 (2003), sell 2.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Released in September 2011, Neighborhoods followed a blockbuster reunion tour that had grossed $21.2 million in 2009, according to Billboard Boxscore. But despite the extended hiatus between albums, Neighborhoods failed to connect on the same scale as earlier releases. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, but has sold only 322,000 units. Now, following a year of ref lection and a split from longtime label Interscope, Blink-182 will self-release its dogs eating dogs EP on Dec. 18. Despite the looming street date, the band was still recording for the project…

At 17 years old, Chief Keef is confident that his music is already setting trends. The Chicago native rose to prominence earlier this year with his self-released head-banging anthem “I Don’t Like,” parlaying online buzz into interest from labels like Cash Money and Atlantic. Months after announcing his signing to Interscope in July, Keef credits his unique style—chants and gruff lyrics over stomping beats—to his success. “I got a new style that put an eye on Chicago,” says Keef, who has been rapping since age 8. “I came from the gutter. I made my own style. If I do get Auto-Tune, I make my own Auto-Tune style. I’m versatile and I got people that rap just like me, like I set trends. As you make music, you get better anyways.”…

ROCK LIFEHOUSE Almerí Producers:Jude Cole, Lifehouse Geffen Records Release Date:Dec. 11 Lifehouse’s first five albums established its credentials for polished, earnest pop/rock. Almerí is a broadly experimental set still steeped in frontman Jason Wade’s inherent melodicism but with more sonic changes than Lifehouse has attempted before. The set launches with hand claps and the gospel-sounding a cappella of “Gotta Be Tonight,” while “Moveonday” and “Slow Motion” take the band into trippy terrain, with the latter finding Wade playing sitar. “Nobody Listen” has a Muselike anthemic chorus, and the rootsy boogie of “Right Back Home” is enhanced by Peter Frampton’s lead guitar work and Charles Jones’ organ and backing vocals. Natasha Bedingfield provides an effective counterpoint for the dynamic ebb and flow of the single “Between the Raindrops,” and Greg Leisz’s…

It’s shaping up to be a busy holiday season for Scotty McCreery as the “American Idol” season-10 winner pulls double duty promoting his new holiday album, Christmas With Scotty McCreery, and prepping for finals at North Carolina State where he’s a freshman. If his exams go as well as his album sales, it’ll be a very Merry Christmas indeed. Released Oct. 16, McCreery’s holiday set debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the seasonal albums chart. The 19-year-old country crooner has the third-best-selling holiday album of 2012 so far, behind Rod Stewart and Lady Antebellum. McCreery’s set has sold 204,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and moves 21-12 on the Billboard 200 with 41,000 sold. (The sales figure actually represents an 18% drop from the week…

For the first time since 2006, the week following Thanksgiving failed to produce a single album that sold more than 200,000 copies. On this week’s Billboard 200, which ref lects the frame following turkey day weekend, Alicia Keys’Girl On Fire bows at No. 1, selling a so-so 159,000 copies, according to Nielsen Sound-Scan. It’s her fifth No. 1 album, but marks her lowest sales debut. Girl On Fire is one of only three sets to shift in excess of 100,000 this week. Taylor Swift’Red moves another 137,000 (down 26%) at No. 2 while Rod Stewart’Merry Christmas, Baby shifts 117,000 (down less than 1%) at No. 3. A year ago this week, Michael Bublé’Christmas spent its second week at No. 1 (293,000; up 29%) as the only title to sell more…