Innholdsfortegnelse for September 7, 2013 i Billboard Magazine

Come Oct. 8, “The Voice” will learn if it can shoo away the albatross that has haunted the show since its debut four seasons ago: the lack of a star. Cassadee Pope’s Frame by Frame, her first album since winning season three of “The Voice,” arrives that day, the day after the fifth episode of the singing show’s fifth season airs. ¶ Pope is transitioning from a pop-rock singer into a country artist. Her record is being handled by the Big Machine team, which launched her post-“Voice” recording career with “Wasting All These Tears,” a single that has sold 262,000 downloads since June, according to Nielsen SoundScan. A second single, “You Hear a Song,” was released two weeks ago while Pope was touring out-of-theway places in California—Folsom, Fresno, Bakersfield and…

UMG EARNINGS UP Earnings are up at Universal Music Group, but down at its parent, French entertainment and telecom giant Vivendi. As reported in Vivendi’s latest earnings report, UMG earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 4.9% for the second quarter, driven by sales of albums by Rihanna, Imagine Dragons, Justin Bieber and the “Les Misérables” soundtrack. At Vivendi, overall revenue remained stagnant from the same period a year ago at $7.2 billion, while net earnings fell 16.6% from last quarter to $637 million. NATHAN HUBBARD TO TWITTER Former Ticketmaster president Nathan Hubbard, who abruptly left the company earlier this month, has joined Twitter as chief of commerce, a newly created role. In an interview with Billboard.biz, Hubbard says his main focus will be to forge new partnerships between…

SoundExchange has filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM Radio that contends the satellite broadcaster “systematically underpaid” royalties from 2007 to 2011. The complaint, filed Aug. 26 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks compensatory damages of $50 million-$100 million plus late fees and interest. The lawsuit boils down to accounting issues. SoundExchange takes issue with the way SiriusXM calculates its gross revenue, the basis for the royalties that labels and performing artists receive through SoundExchange. The more SiriusXM excludes from its gross revenue, the fewer royalties it pays to SoundExchange. The Turtles’ recent lawsuit against SiriusXM deals with recordings that were made before 1972 but centers on performance rights rather than accounting (Billboard, Aug. 17). Unlike Pandora, which pays fixed royalties for every song it streams, SiriusXM pays…

The Deal WHAT: Troy Carter’s Atom Factory Entertainment is teaming with Capitol Music Group to form Atom Factory Music, a joint label that has signed two indie-rock bands, New York’s Basic Vacation and Los Angeles’ the Ceremonies. The deal will emphasize innovation-and technology-based marketing strategies for both bands, as Atom Factory has an investment portfolio of more than 40 startup and tech companies, including SoundCloud, Songza, Spotify and Turntable.fm. The new venture was first discussed in 2012 shortly after Universal chairman Lucian Grainge assembled the new team to run Capitol Records, led by Steve Barnett, following Universal’s merger with EMI. It also represents a renewed perspective on the value of labels for Carter, who discussed a self-release strategy for the Ceremonies in March during a South by Southwest panel before…

Vevo and four other content sources—Disney, Disney XD, the Smithsonian and the Weather Channel—have joined the ranks of Apple TV apps. The launch makes Vevo’s catalog of music videos, which the company says numbers 75,000, available on demand to Apple TV users, as well as the company’s original programming— “Lyric Lines,” “The Comment Show,” “Stylized” and “Tour Exposed”—and its curated Vevo TV channel that it launched in March. The expansion onto Apple TV is part of a larger strategy for Vevo of correcting the narrow margins it operates under due to a reliance on YouTube’s platform. At launch the Vevo Apple TV app is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. In June, Apple added the…

.biz Iconic regional Mexican group Banda el Recodo has renewed its recording contract with Universal Music Latin Entertainment, with the band’s music released on UMLE’s Fonovisa label. Live content is king. Today’s challenge is how to better deliver live content to fans. The realities of the digital music era have shifted emphasis to live music and away from recorded music. From YouTube and Vevo to SoundCloud and Spotify, music is ubiquitous— and often free—on the Internet. Fans will always pay for music, but how much they’ll pay for prerecorded digital music in 10 years is uncertain. Fans value a live experience. As music sales have dropped, concert ticket prices have risen and artists spend more time on the road. The live event—and the VIP meet-and-greets before and after shows—is the…

Pop-up blocked: Hundreds of hipster Jay Z fans crowded an industrial street in Brooklyn on Aug. 24 for a rumored show that ended up being just that: a rumor. An anonymous email claiming the Roc Nation rapper/executive would perform—with Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, to boot—the day the before the Video Music Awards was picked up by the Twitter account of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Revolt TV. The address given was a warehouse that seemed perfect for a pop-up show, and when the New York Police Department closed off the street at noon, the block buzzed with excitement. Jana Fleishman, Roc Nation head of corporate and media relations and events, wrote on Instagram that she was “in the West Village brunching after Soulcycle, NOT Bushwick . . . please stop emailing me.”…

Often called “America’s College Town,” Boston is crammed with dozens of colleges and universities, from Boston College to Boston University, Emerson to Emmanuel, and, of course, Berklee College of Music. As a result, Beantown is home to perhaps the most wide-ranging, competitive college-radio scene in the country. There are several choices for quality, cutting-edge college radio on the dial (and online), but these three stand out: WERS 88.9 FM, EMERSON COLLEGE Professionally managed and student-run, Emerson’s heralded WERS calls itself “Boston’s Discovery Station,” focusing on breaking unknown acts. “We had fun. in the studio back when they were playing at a really small venue in Cambridge,” music director Anthony Cantone Heinze recalls. The station is predominantly triple A, but has also been known for its progressive hip-hop and reggae programming,…

When Converge Studios and Rock Mafa wanted to get the word out in August about an original TV series, they turned to an unconventional partner: BitTorrent, a fle-transfer protocol that distributes large amounts of digital data and is often used in peer-to-peer fle sharing. Within the frst week, more than 1 million people downloaded the 500 MB fle, with 50,000 people opting to receive emails about “Fly or Die,” a fctional show based on the reallife experiences of Rock Mafa founders Tim James and Antonina Armato, a Santa Monica, Calif., songwriting duo that has penned or produced dozens of hits for Ellie Goulding, No Doubt, Mariah Carey, Green Day and others. “We got such a great reaction that we’re thinking, ‘This is really worth rolling up our sleeves and giving…

Every night, around the globe, a halfdozen touring companies perform “Jersey Boys,” the true-to-life hit musical about the Four Seasons. Audiences everywhere are drawn to the songs and the story of the group that first soared onto the Hot 100 five decades ago, through the talents of frontman Frankie Valli, composer Bob Gaudio and lyricist/producer Bob Crewe. As “Jersey Boys” continues its run on Broadway, Valli this year is in the midst of a world tour that has taken him (or will take him) everywhere from London’s Royal Albert Hall to Beverly Hills’ Saban Theater, Bangkok and Manila, even Fargo, N.D. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Four Seasons, Valli met with Billboard for an expansive conversation at a coffee shop in Manhattan. How has “Jersey Boys” affected your…

One of the thorniest issues facing arena managers heading into 2014 is the same issue that all businesses must address, especially those who hire part-time help: the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that take effect Jan. 1. “We have part-time employees that are now going to be eligible for health care if they work over [an hourly] baseline,” says Allen Johnson, director of facilities for the City of Orlando, Fla. He says there are two approaches that arena managers can take in managing a business that relies on ushers, stagehands, parking attendants, vendors, ticket takers, concession workers, janitorial staff and other part-time employees. “One approach is you can hire more employees, so you can spread the time out [over multiple staff], which kind of defeats the purpose of what…

The EDM revolution has been either mute or a little mushy. Skrillex’s bass aggression is largely wordless. Zedd, Swedish House Mafia and Calvin Harris have scored massive hits with sentimental songs about love, be it romantic or filial. The growing trap movement swaggers with hip-hop’s beats but not its verses. Enter Krewella. The Chicago-based trio—singer/songwriter sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf and producer Rain Man—hits hard, and not just its sonic-boom beats. The band’s debut album, Get Wet (Columbia, Sept. 24), taps the outlaw spirit of rave, capturing the desperation, defiance and community that EDM has until now lacked—through sweet and sour melodies, delivered with pop-rock bite by the sisters. That they’re the only live band currently attacking the EDM circuit is just the icing. “We had fans come up to…

Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake were all big winners at MTV’s Video Music Awards, though only Timberlake actually won any Moonmen. Cyrus and Thicke paired for a jaw-dropping performance during the Aug. 25 show, while Timberlake reunited with his ’N Sync bandmates and took home multiple trophies. 66% 10.1M The premiere of the VMAs garnered a total audience of 10.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen—a gain of 66% versus the 2012 show. This year’s event returned the VMAs to a Sunday night TV slot, after a move to Thursday last year (and a drop in ratings). 226% 28K ’N Sync’s reunion spurred a 184% rise in album sales and a 226% lift in song sales for the group, in the week ending Aug. 25. According to Nielsen SoundScan,…

6-9 MONTHS AGO A$AP Ferg released first single “Work” on his Vevo platform on Jan. 14. Independently earning 1.5 million views, Ferg used labelmates at RCA/Polo Ground Music to capitalize on his A$AP World-assisted fan base. “The purpose in working that record was to take it to the next level,” RCA director of marketing Shani Fuller says. At South by Southwest (March 8-17) in Austin, Ferg was featured at important showcases like Peter Rosenberg, Nice Kicks, Vice and Master Pill. “The SXSW run was a huge press and digital launching pad for Ferg as a solo artist. A lot of blogs and tastemakers really started to pay attention,” Fuller says. 1-3 MONTHS AGO “Work” began impacting radio in April at hip-hop and rhythmic stations. The “Work” remix (featuring A$AP Rocky,…

Welcome To The New Age Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” celebrates a year on the Billboard Hot 100, dipping 4-5 in its 52nd (nonconsecutive) week. It bowed at No. 93 on Aug. 18, 2012. How rare is it for a song to be in the top five after a year on the survey? It’s happened just once before: Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” rebounded 17-5 in its 59th week after she took home six awards at last year’s Grammys. “Radioactive” is just the 34th song in the Hot 100’s history to chart for at least a year. On Hot Rock Songs, it spends a record-extending 23rd week at No. 1. —Gary Trust THE BIG NUMBER 350K Eminem’s new single, “Berzerk,” may sell upwards of 350,000 downloads in its first week (ending Sept.…

Last April, before Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” soared to the top of the charts, RadioShack was ahead of the game. The retailer produced a TV ad inspired by the song’s video—featuring Thicke and his models—to promote the new Pills speaker from Beats by Dr. Dre. The fact that the RadioShack spot preceded the success of the track, and possibly contributed to it, was of note. More noteworthy was that the electronics and mobile retailer had never partnered with a musical act in a significant way before. Now, RadioShack’s doing it again. This month, the retailer will launch a campaign featuring DJ Steve Aoki, Lil Jon and reggaetón duo Alexis & Fido to promote Sol Republic and Motorola’s new DECK wireless speakers. Also showing up in the spot is Olympic swimmer…

In her eight years at NBC’s “Today,” Melissa Lonner has built the show’s concert series into a year-round event, and the prestige music booking for morning TV. Lonner— who also helmed NBC’s broadcast of the opening ceremonies for the London Olympics—starts lining up her summer concerts in November, and gave One Direction its U.S. TV debut in March 2012. The group made its third appearance on the show on Aug. 23, a week before its movie “This Is Us” opened, and drew the biggest crowd ever to Rockefeller Plaza: more than an estimated 4.45 AM I shower, get dressed, have a cup of coffee, get in a cab and go to work.. 5.45 AM Check in to see if the fans are being loaded in and the security is OK.…

In an attempt to recover lost ground from Los Angeles and Nashville, a group of New York-based executives from various publishers are staging a songwriter camp in the Big Apple this month. The reason: To retrain a spotlight to New York, which has maintained its stronghold as the corporate home of the music business for the most part but has lost ground as a creative force. “Songwriters we work with think they have to go to Los Angeles to make it,” says Imagem A&R executive Amanda Schumpf, who’s coordinating the logistics for the camp, which will happen the week of Sept. 9. “We are trying to bring the creative music community together and to remind people—especially young up-and-comers—that despite the industry hype there is as much talent and business here…

Management companies. A pop star client is no longer enough to sustain a career. Managers like Troy Carter, Scooter Braun and Guy Oseary continue to leverage their relationships with labels, tech companies and other startups for new approaches to artist development and monetization. Capitol. Now approaching the one-year anniversary of its finalized merger with EMI, the once-stodgy Capitol Music Group is quickly establishing itself as an innovator under new chief Steve Barnett. Emerging artists. Acts like the Ceremonies and Basic Vacation can gain major exposure from the right placement on music services like Songza, SoundCloud and Spotify, while label deals with major players like Capitol can help them focus on touring and developing their sound in the studio. CAPITOL BY THE NUMBERS $1.9b Amount UMG paid for EMI’s recorded music…

In the wake of commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, other seminal events in civil rights history will be taking center stage in Birmingham, Ala. On Sept. 14, the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center will host the BBVA Compass Concert for Human Rights. Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx is onboard as host. Complementing performances by Jill Scott and Charlie Wilson will be special appearances by various civil rights leaders. Live Nation is co-producing the event with Sun Belt-based fnancial institution BBVA Compass as title sponsor. Staged in support of Birmingham’s year-long “50 Years Forward” celebration, the Concert for Human Rights will highlight a weeklong remembrance of the city’s galvanizing role in the civil rights movement. It…

In a genre that’s clearly leading the way in developing arena-level ticket sellers, Blake Shelton is a 15-year overnight success. The traditional model in country—and one that works very well—has acts move up the ladder from third act to middle act on arena/amphitheater tours, selectively headlining and playing fairs and festivals, while building demand and a repertoire of hits. Shelton’s story is a little different. On Monday morning, Shelton will fly to Los Angeles from his home in Oklahoma, do tapings of “The Voice” Monday through Wednesday morning, fly back home Wednesday afternoon, get up and fly to his next soldout concert, hop on his bus and do shows through the weekend, fly back home Sunday night, then get up and do it again. That’s Shelton’s schedule for 13 consecutive…

“Money moves the world.” —Bryan “Baby” Williams 1 Cash rules everything: BMI threw its annual R&B/Hip-Hop Awards at New York’s Manhattan Center on Aug. 22, where Cash Money Records founders Ronald “Slim” Williams and Bryan “Baby” Williams both received the BMI Icon award. “One thing you see with us is loyalty,” Baby said. “It’s not an individual achievement.” From left: BMI president/CEO Del Bryant, Lil Wayne, Slim, BMI VP Catherine Brewton and Baby. 2 Machine Gun Kelly showed off his Twittervoted BMI Social Star Award, which recognizes social media clout, with BMI’s Catherine Brewton. “I just want to thank BMI for giving a couple of kids from Cleveland a chance,” he told the crowd. 3 Brooklyn’s finest: A mile from the VMAs at Barclays Center, thousands of fashionforward music fans…

IT’ hard enough to make a hit song without wondering whether it’ll end up on the front of a hot sauce packet. But Drake can’t pretend he doesn’t know that’s a possibility. The 26-year-old rapper/singer born Aubrey Graham has a knack for writing songs whose lyrics turn up in unlikely places, from Twitter hashtags to the “funny-quote-goes-here” space on Taco Bell’s Border Sauce. (For evidence of the latter, see Drake’s Instagram, username Champagnepapi.) Since he first popularized the millennial proverb and Oxford English Dictionary word of the year candidate YOLO (You Only Live Once) on the song “The Motto” two years ago, Drake has gone from being the hope of a new generation of rappers to the poet laureate of a new generation of adults. The phrase “started from the…

BitTorrent’s latest version involves the Bundle: a package of content that can be downloaded and shared. The first layer is free, but bundles also have “gates” that offer users the choice of accessing additional content by completing a quick action like opting in to receive email updates from the bundle creator. The company, which has a full release schedule of media bundles that stretches into 2014, is planning to add a payment mechanism within the bundle that creators can use to collect donations or charge for additional content. The following are some examples of content bundles in the past year. “Fly or Die” Date launched: Aug. 13 BUNDLE CONTENTS: Before the gate: “Fly or Die” trailer (video), Rock Mafa’s “Fly or Die” music video (link) After the gate: Invitation from…

The musical partnership of singer Frank ie Valli and songwriter Bob Gaudio in the Four Seasons has been one of the most successful during the pop era of the ’60s and beyond. The staying power of the group’s hits has been affirmed by the lengthy run on Broadway of “Jersey Boys,” the musical that recounts the act’s rise. Celebrating five decades of their songs, Gaudio recently spoke with Billboard about the Four Seasons and the group’s impact. Did you think “Jersey Boys” would be as big as it is? This has been far beyond any expectations for me. The original inspiration for me was watching the movie “The Deer Hunter” and seeing how [director] Michael Cimino used “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” in the pool hall scenes. That was…

ArenaNetwork and Venue Coalition, the two leading associations that represent independent venues, continue to offer their members services and networking that they wouldn’t benefit from on their own. As venue executives head to the annual Arena Management Conference, taking place Sept. 8-10 in Toronto, Billboard checked in on the two trade groups and their members. ARENANETWORK The Los Angeles-based ArenaNetwork launched in May 1999 with the purpose of providing representation and information to its members so that venue bookings would increase. It has members in nearly 50 markets. According to CEO Ed Rubinstein, who joined in 2009, the network has “maintained the depth and breadth of our membership over the past 12 months. We are currently in active discussions with a few venues that may join in the near future.”…

Drake Featuring Majid Jordan “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (3:47) PRODUCERS: Nineteen85, Noah “40” Shebib WRITER: Aubrey Graham PUBLISHER: not listed Young Money/Cash Money/Republic R&B/HIP-HOP Drake’s Sincerity Hits ‘Home’ Unlike most mainstream hip-hop artists, Drake often places his vulnerability in plain sight, as is the case on his new single. “I can’t get over you,” he sings to his girl while trudging through waning ’80s synths, “you left your mark on me.” However, Drake’s delivery on “Hold On, We’re Going Home” is somehow even more unique. There aren’t many rhymers in mainstream hip-hop who could commit this wholeheartedly to unabashed crooning, but a fear of being construed as “soft” has never been a concern of the rapper. Drake’s singing voice is more solid than stunning, but it’s tender enough to…

.biz Tate Taylor, the Mississippi native who directed “The Help,” says he’ll make a biographical feature film about James Brown in his home state. Filming will take place in November and December in and around Natchez, a Mississippi River town in the southwestern corner of the state; and in January and February in the capital city of Jackson. Actor Chadwick Boseman (“42”) will portray Brown in the film. If anyone still doubted the power of bachata in the U.S. Latin market, they need look no further than this week’s Hot Latin Songs chart. At No. 1 is rising romantic bachata crooner Prince Royce with “Darte un Beso,” the first single from his new album that’s due Oct. 8. And at No. 3 is his slightly older predecessor, Romeo Santos, with…

Model Behavior Australian-born rapper/model Iggy Azalea zeroes in on her first airplay chart appearance as “Work” percolates below Rhythmic. Azalea signed with Interscope in 2012, but the deal dissolved over her management deal with T.I.’s Grand Hustle imprint. Now signed to Island Def Jam, Azalea is preparing to release second single “Change Your Life” (featuring T.I.) and join Beyoncé on the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, both next month. The video for “Work” has drawn 19 million YouTube views since its March 13 premiere. First ‘One’ Anaysha Figueroa’s cover of Tramaine Hawkins’ “Holy One,” recorded live at the 2013 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel luncheon during the Stellar Awards in Nashville last winter, opens at No. 21 on the Nielsen BDSdriven Gospel Songs chart. Hawkins was honored at the event alongside…

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…

Best Buy, Target, Walmart. The retailers have long been the go-tos for electronics. With RadioShack’s new visibility, there’s another player in town that’s unafraid to wield marketing muscle when it comes to music associations, opening up additional branding opportunities for artists. Alexis & Fido. For the duo, the rare Latin act that gets placement in a general-market campaign, the entire program is an unexpected boon that underscores the ability of indie acts to negotiate major deals. “Alocate” will go on sale the same week the ad starts airing, in tandem with a national promotional campaign.…

U.S. digital ad spending will increase nearly 50% in the next five years thanks to a surge in mobile spending, according to research firm eMarketer. EMarketer forecasts U.S. digital ad spending will grow 14.9% to $42.3 billion this year, a revision from its earlier forecast of $41.9 billion. Through 2017, digital ad spending is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7% to $61.4 billion. EMarketer revised its 2013 estimate due to an uptick in its mobile ad spending forecast, from $7.7 billion to $8.5 billion. The healthy growth in mobile advertising will be fueled by a right-sizing in ad spend. As analyst Mary Meeker mentioned in her “2013 Internet Trends” report, mobile advertising spending lags behind the rate at which time is spent on mobile…

What did you wake up thinking about this morning? I woke up with a Spencer Wiggins song in my head—his version of “Feed the Flame.” It’s the perfect example of the licensing challenges of having a global music service. He’s an old soul singer from the ’60s who never quite had a mainstream hit. But you know he’s beloved by soul fans, which is the exact type of thing that services like [Google Play Music All Access] were designed for—to turn you on to great, lost music. The goal is to have all music. Describe a lesson learned from failure. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but when I was working for Real Networks, Rhapsody had an online site with…

RECORD COMPANIES Warner Music Group promotes Sara Nemerov to senior VP/head of global consumer products and brand licensing. In addition to overseeing consumer products and brand licensing, Nemerov will develop retail partnerships and new product lines in collaboration with WMG labels and artists. “We’re trying to find the best avenue for [artists] to make money, as well as helping them have a program and a presence when they’re off-cycle on their albums,” says Nemerov, who has grown her department by hiring licensing managers Alana Schnee and Katie Reilly. Nemerov is based in New York and reports to WMG COO/corporate Rob Wiesenthal. She previously served as senior VP of consumer products and brand licensing for Rhino Entertainment and Frank Sinatra Enterprises. Since joining WMG in 2009, Nemerov has brokered licensing deals…

Colombian Revival On a Wednesday evening in Bogota, Colombia, the Latin Recording Academy hosted an acoustic concert featuring performances by Colombian artist Carlos Vives, Mexican singer/songwriter Natalia LaFourcade and Cuban songstress Concha Buika. Not too far from there, Venezuelan star Ricardo Montaner was on camera as a coach on “La Voz Colombia,” with Puerto Rican salsa artist Gilberto Santa Rosa as a special guest. Earlier that morning, producer Julio Reyes (Alejandro Sanz, Marc Anthony) recorded a string session through Skype with the Prague Symphony Orchestra for an album by Mexican pop trio Belanova. At the Latin Recording Academy event, attendees buzzed about the Beyoncé concert set for Sept. 22 that’s expected to draw 44,000 to the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellin. It’s the latest in a series of huge high-profile…

.cboim For photos of the music business at work and play, go to Billboard.biz. To submit photos for consideration, send images to backbeat@billboard.com. “Listen, man, it’s the VMAs. What did you guys expect?” —Justin Timberlake 1 A post-twerk cuddle: Backstage at Barclays Center, Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus share a moment much more chaste than the frenzied performance that set the Internet ablaze. 2 Drake’ “No New Friends” mantra apparently doesn’t apply to Taylor Swift. 3 MTV head Van Toffler (right) is smiling postshow with Jimmy Fallon, who presented the Video Vanguard Award to Justin Timberlake, for a reason: “The stage had broken right before the show,” Toffler told Billboard. “I was thanking Jimmy for giving a sermon up there before introducing Justin so that we had more time to…

Even if you haven’t moshed with the Dropkick Murphys or engaged in a drunken singalong to the Standells’ “Dirty Water” at Fenway Park, it’s hard not to be impressed with Boston’s passion for music. The city has cultivated top-notch talents—Aerosmith, New Edition and the Pixies, to name a few—and now it has a festival to match: Boston Calling. The two-day festival launched in late May, but rather than wait a year, Crashline Productions worked with Bowery Presents and Sonicbids to throw a second edition on Sept. 8 and 9, when Boston’s many colleges and universities are back in session. Co-curated by the National’s Aaron Dessner , the lineup features Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar and others rocking City Hall Plaza. “The location off ers easy access from every subway , surrounded…

September L Label M Management B Booking Agent Nine Inch Nails Hesitation Marks Sept. 3 Columbia Jim Guerinot, Rebel Waltz Marc Geiger, William Morris Endeavor The return of Nine Inch Nails from retirement was not inevitable. Since the band signed off in 2009, leader Trent Reznor has done just fine as a husband, father and Academy Award-winning film scorer. Where did NIN’s self-obsessed, sadistic indulgences fit into such an upright picture? By the sounds of Hesitation Marks, they come just as naturally as ever. The album may be one of NIN’s most measured: There are no shrieks, either human or machine; no bellows at a godless universe. But jaw-clenching cuts like “Copy of A” and “Disappointed” point to a different type of disillusionment, perhaps one born of being, well, vaguely…

There is a scene in the hit Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” that represents the sustained success of Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio and their group, the Four Seasons, for more than 50 years. It portrays a pact made by Valli, the singer, and Gaudio, a founding performer who soon stepped ofstage to focus on songwriting for Valli and the group. Valli and Gaudio realize their success is so intertwined, their human harmony so true, that they decide to be partners in each other’s careers and share the revenue that each generated for the rest of their lives. And, in the manner of two guys raised in the housing projects of Newark, N.J., during the Great Depression, they seal the deal with nothing more, and nothing less, than a handshake. The scene…

In the broadest of contexts, an arena is a business—if a very complex one—and must be run as such, taking care of its employees, serving clients and making bottom-line numbers work. To even begin the task of public assembly, arenas must first function as highly flexible, multifaceted and operational office buildings, where employees come to perform their jobs, and those employees are compensated. Beyond that, arenas have two client pools: the fans who live in the market, entering the venue seeking entertainment and a positive experience, and the touring entertainment that rolls into town expecting satisfactory revenue and a relatively easy day. Both clients can be unforgiving, and if either leaves unhappy, chances are they won’t come back, as myriad choices exist for both. The program at the Arena Management…

The Arena Management Conference, set for Sept. 8-10 in Toronto and staged by the International Assn. of Venue Managers, aims to take a deeper look into the world of venue operations, with a focus on keeping the customers satisfied and highlighting the touring productions that arena managers should watch for. In addition to networking opportunities for executives in the live entertainment business, the conference will address such topics as facility security, animal treatment in live events and trends in venue restaurants and clubs. A keynote speech will be given by Tim Leiweke, president/CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and former president/CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group. Sponsors of the conference include Sodexo, Freeman, Ungerboeck Software International, Jet Ice, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Daktronics, AEG, Ticketmaster, Feld Entertainment, Robbins Sports…

.biz Tate Taylor, the Mississippi native who directed “The Help,” says he’ll make a biographical feature film about James Brown in his home state. Filming will take place in November and December in and around Natchez, a Mississippi River town in the southwestern corner of the state; and in January and February in the capital city of Jackson. Actor Chadwick Boseman (“42”) will portray Brown in the film. If anyone still doubted the power of bachata in the U.S. Latin market, they need look no further than this week’s Hot Latin Songs chart. At No. 1 is rising romantic bachata crooner Prince Royce with “Darte un Beso,” the first single from his new album that’s due Oct. 8. And at No. 3 is his slightly older predecessor, Romeo Santos, with…

Like many singer/songwriter Ben Rector is working outside the traditional music industry. What’s interesting is how far outside, and what he’s accomplishing. Without label support, publishing or any type of radio push, his most recent album, The Walking in Between, debuts at No. 16 on the Billboard 200, with 21,000 sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Rector has upped the ante since his last set, 2011’s Something Like This, which debuted and peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard 200, working alongside long-time booking agent Jeff Krones at Creative Artists Agency, publicist Jim Merlis at Big Hassle, music licensing company Secret Road and manager Bernie Cahill at ROAR. “There’s aspects of being independent that I really enjoy, like creative control. It’s more of a known commodity,” Rector…

As forecast last week, Luke Bryan’ Crash My Party spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as it sells 159,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan (down 70%). Out of this year’s 29 chart-toppers, it’s only the sixth album to spend multiple weeks at No. 1. That sum includes two sets that debuted at No. 1 in 2012, but then went on to spend multiple weeks atop the list this year: Taylor Swift’ Red and Mumford & Sons’ Babel. In addition to Crash My Party, the three other new No. 1s this year that racked more than a single week on top are Jay Z’ Magna Carta . . . Holy Grail (two weeks at No. 1), Daft Punk’ Random Access Memories (two) and Justin Timberlake’ The…

This week we look at three weeks' worth of data, highlighting top percentage gainers of the week that also gained during the previous two weeks. DANCE/ELECTRONIC MB ROCK COUNTRY RAP 1 "POMPEII," BASTILLE This week: 87 Last week: 95 2 weeks ago: - Ahead of the U.S. release of the band's debut full-length Bad Blood on Sept. 3 (the set topped the Official UK. Albums chart the week of March 23), the song advances 9-8 on the Alternative airplay chart. Sales, howeuer, account for the majority of its overall Billboard Hot 100 points (42%). It climbs 13-11 on Alternative Digital Songs with a 10% gain to 20,000 downloads sold. 2 "ROYALS,"LORDE This week: 12 Last week: 17 2 weeksago:24 The song claims the Billboard Hot 100's Digital Gainer award for…