Innholdsfortegnelse for December 14, 2013 i Billboard Magazine

As 2014 shapes up to be a make-or-break year for many in the ondemand streaming music business, recent events show how the market’s players are jostling for the best position in a fledgling market that is still expecting major new entrants. ¶ On Dec. 3, Spotify said it will give artists more data and allow them to sell tickets and merchandise on its platform in 2014, a move that was regarded as a way to make its service more attractive to artists. It also revealed details of how much it pays rights holders on behalf of their artists in a bid to counter ongoing negative coverage about low payments following comments from major artists like Thom Yorke. ¶ A day later, Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers announced its hotly anticipated…

credit cards. With “Culinary Beats,” Citi is picking up where rival American Express left off in 2011 with “Pairings,” an online series in which celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio and John Besh paired with superstar artists John Legend and Dave Matthews, respectively, for food, wine and music events labels. Columbia is the latest record company to invest in original IP and programming to create new platforms for its artists. Programs like “Culinary Beats” and its branded entertainment model could create a template for other artist-based programming and content vehicles. Jay Marciano. New chairman Marciano will be a steady and creative hand at the wheel in an increasingly competitive and diversifying business. He will keep the machine chugging alongside executives like Meglen, Tollett, Concerts West co-president Paul Gongaware and New York…

While YouTube and Vevo have become the natural home for the five-minute pop video in the last decade, a group of investors is doubling down on its bet that long-form music videos like documentaries and concerts will be the building blocks for a new type of online cable network. Qello, the 3-year-old long-form music video streaming service, is raising up to $11 million in new financing in its latest step to establish itself as a specialist outlet for not widely available music-related videos. It’s also planning to diversify beyond music into other niche content like children’s programming. The company had previously raised around $15 million in financing to build out its technology and music video offerings in its first two years, with investors including GPB Capital and NG Media. Qello,…

AEG Restructures Leadership Team WHAT: Anschutz Entertainment Group restructured its highprofle touring and live entertainment arm AEG Live, a move that included letting go of 13-year CEO Randy Phillips. The revamped management team: Coachella founder Paul Tollett is 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 president of global touring for AEG Live; and senior VP/general counsel Shawn Trell is upped to COO of AEG Live, taking over for Tom Miserendino, now president/CEO of AEG Europe. WHY: Phillips says he was let go “without cause,” which provides him leverage both with his exit package and in negotiating terms for his future plans and any noncompete issues. Asked about the timing of Phillips’ exit, with…

TOURING The Agency Group continues to expand its 2-yearold Nashville office with the addition of music agents Scott Galloway and Stu Walker. Galloway, formerly VP at APA nashville, brings to TAG such clients as Asleep at the Wheel, Bill Kreutzmann, Cody Canada & the Departed, Dread Clampitt, Jake Shimabukuro, Sundy Best and the Molly Ringwalds. Walker, another former agent from APA Nashville who most recently ran the SIMRA agency, brings new acts Wanda Jackson, Shooter Jennings, Adam Faucett, Mt. Royal, the Lonely Wild, Jessi Colter and Toy Soldiers. TAG Nashville also includes agents John Gimenez, Justin Hill and VP Nick Meinema. TAG is one of the world’s leading booking agencies, with six international offces, more than 75 agents, a 200-plus staff and a combined roster of nearly 2,000 artists, speakers…

We’re no longer in the music business—it doesn’t exist anymore. We’re in the multimedia business.” This was artist manager Scooter Braun speaking to Billboard for a story about his and fellow managers troy Carter and Guy oseary’ investments in a variety of social media and technology startups. Braun’s words struck a chord because it’s something I’ve mused over since reading obituaries of former A&M executive Gil Friesen, who died a year ago this month. All of the articles recognized him as the operational brains behind Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ storied label. In his 25 years at the label, Friesen built up A&M as the home of a wide range of artists, including Cat Stevens, the police, Joe Cocker and Janet Jackson, until he stepped down as president in 1990…

Barking up many trees: You can’t accuse Snoop of being a one-trick dog. In 2012, the rapper changed his name to Snoop Lion and teamed with Diplo for early 2013 reggae-pop experiment Reincarnated, then turned into Snoopzilla for the Dec. 10 release of ’80s funk tribute 7 Days of Funk with producer Dam-Funk. Next year, the rapper is dropping yet another off the-beaten-path project helmed by Los Angeles producer Adrian Younge, known for his moody spaghetti-western-soundtrack vibe and triphop beats, as heard on albums by Ghostface Killah and the Delfonics’ William Hart. The eclectic Younge was also sampled on two cuts off Jay Z’Magna Carta … Holy Grail. Snoop tells Billboard the Younge-produced album is ready to be label-shopped. But judging from Snoop’s previous collaborations, we bet the pair may…

The House That ‘Roc Boys’ Built With its mismatched flea-market furniture, vintage ’70s movie posters, boxes of vinyl and empty bottles of whiskey propped up on shelves like trophies, the interior of Dunham Studios, far on the south side of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, could pass for any of the hipster lofts nearby. But gleaming from a perch when you first enter is a platinum plaque, courtesy of the RIAA—the spoils of producer/studio owners Thomas Brenneck and Homer Steinweiss’ contribution to Jay Z’s 2007 album, American Gangster. The album’s lead single, “Roc Boys,” featured a prominent sample by Brenneck and Steinweiss’ instrumental funk/soul group the Menahan Street Band, which led to a windfall that allowed the two to build Dunham. “We recorded that [sample] in my tiny, old apartment in Bushwick on…

When P!nk and Roger Davies started researching Las Vegas productions in 2012 for the Truth About Love tour, one casino executive made her what could have been a very generous offer “He said, ‘You should come here and play in the Colosseum next year,’” Davies recalls, “and she said, ‘I’ll be doing that when I’m 50.’” Since signing on as her manager in 2001, Davies has helped P!nk (real name Alecia Moore) become a global force in the touring industry alongside past and current clients like Janet Jackson, Cher, Tina Turner and Sade. She’s become particularly massive in Davies’ native country of Australia, where P!nk broke her own record earlier this year for the top boxscore with her $29.2 million-grossing run July 7-Aug. 26 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.…

In her video acceptance speech on Nov. 14 after winning the top boxscore award at the Billboard Touring Awards, P!nk stated fatly, “Touring is the only thing I care about.” The artist went on to thank Live Nation and Australian promoter Michael Coppel, who presented the award for the top boxscore—an 18-sellout stand at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena that drew a staggering 235,187 in attendance and grossed $29.2 million U.S. She also thanked her manager of 12 years, Roger Davies, whom she called “the best manager in the entire universe and the planetary system, for turning me from a brat into a hardworking ox.” When it comes to touring, P!nk is indeed hardworking, by any standard. This was particularly true on her most recent outing, the Truth About Love tour,…

Most artists are lucky to have one dedicated brand partner when launching a new album. Janelle Monáe had four. Coinciding with the promotion for her second album, The Electric Lady, Monáe first teamed with American Express for a live concert during designer Rebecca Minkof’s spring 2014 runway show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 6. The concert was live-streamed as part of American Express’ concert series “Unstaged,” and was the program’s first installment to combine fashion and music. Three days later, on Sept. 9, Monáe took over a ship at New York’s Pier 84, right next to the USS Intrepid, for Electric Pirate Radio—an album-release event sponsored in partnership by Target, Sonos and CoverGirl. Speaking to Billboard just hours before she performed a kinetic 45-minute set, Monáe was still…

MERGER BENEFITS Nearly three years after Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation Entertainment, the efficiencies and synergies that were predicted from that deal are coming to fruition for Live Nation Entertainment. The efforts of executive VP/CFO Kathy Willard are a driving force in reaping those financial benefits. Live Nation Entertainment is the world’s largest live entertainment company, with a market capitalization of $3.2 billion. The firm promotes 22,000 concerts, partners with 12,000 ticketing clients, represents more than 200 artists in management and entertains nearly 45 million fans each year. Willard oversees the financial operations of the global company, and has been instrumental in driving proftability and shareholder value. This has been a stellar year for the publicly traded company, as refected in its third-quarter earnings report. Among the positives: a 17%…

NEW YORK AND NATIONWIDE Debra Rathwell not only oversees the hugely active New York office of AEG Live, but she’s a force in national touring. In addition to the annual 700 shows promoted by AEG in the Northeast, the Carolinas and Canada, AEG New York had exceptional touring successes under Rathwell’s watch. Justin Bieber wrapped a strong tour of Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia, with Australia and South America still to come. Bieber will finish as one of the elite tours of 2013 with $155 million in gross and 1.6 million tickets sold. Carrie Underwood, now an arena-level mainstay of remarkable consistency, assembled a 95-city North American tour, grossing $47.5 million. The Who ended its tour at Wembley Arena in London, filming Quadrophenia after a highly successful run…

TOP BILLING Sharon Dastur marked the 30th anniversary of WHTZ (Z100) New York by elevating its ratings a couple of notches. The influential top 40 station’s share of New York listeners aged 18-34 shot up 23% year over year in October, according to Nielsen. Z100 is on track to finish 2013 as the city’s top radio ad-revenue generator for a second consecutive year. Dastur added a second station to her dance card in September, launching Nick Radio, a kids-targeted online station on iHeartRadio, in a partnership between Clear Channel and Nickelodeon. She capped of the year by working with KIIS-FM Los Angeles PD John Ivey to book all the acts for a dozen Jingle Ball concerts that Clear Channel top 40 stations will stage in December in various cities. It’s…

DIGITAL LIAISON Amanda Marks, one of the music industry’s pioneering digital executives, remains an industry leader in the ever-changing digital space. As Universal Music Group’s global head of digital accounts , Marks’ primary focus is greasing digital music revenue streams by expanding UMG’s digital reach into new markets and improving its ability to help its labels market their music to digital music service providers. Marks is UMG’s chief liaison to the industry’s most important digital players, including iTunes, Spotify, Google, Vevo and Amazon, helping those accounts achieve product innovations and expand into new markets as well. Marks’ team also helps the UMG labels with their digital marketing plans. “This year I have never seen a release schedule like this,” she says. “We could activate campaigns and our vision across multiple…

SUNRISE, SUNSET This month wraps not just another year of tremendous “Today” bookings for senior producer Melissa Lonner, it marks the end of her eight-year run at NBC News after she elected not to renew her contract. A trailblazer who revolutionized live music on “Today” and, by extension, the realm of morning show entertainment, Lonner launched the now-vaunted Summer Concert Series. This year, that series brought to Rockefeller Plaza the likes of Luke Bryan, Cher and One Direction (which drew some 18,000 in its third appearance for “Today”). “I wanted to ruffle some feathers, to make it exciting and fresh and fun. I wanted people to talk about it,” Lonner says of her goals at “Today.” Known for her fairness and subsequent ability to instill loyalty among rising stars, Lonner’s…

CONTINUING SUPPORT When Anne Stanchfield became Target’s divisional merchandise manager for entertainment (and lead music buyer) at the top of 2013 , she inherited a business that has helped acts like Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, P!nk and One Direction achieve their best first-week sales ever with exclusive deluxe editions of their respective new albums. “It’s such an exciting industry to be a part of, and to help lead Target through the many changes,” says Stanchfield, who transitioned to Target’s music department from the company’s CityTarget division. Part of those changes includes bringing its home entertainment business up to speed with the streaming-video market with the launch of Target Ticket in September. Stanchfield hopes to bring a similar initiative for digital music to fruition in the near future. But in the…

AN ‘INCREDIBLE ADVOCATE’ With physical music sales continuing to fall, Walmart senior music buyer Tifanie Van Laar-Frever gets high marks as the music industry’s champion at Walmart. “She is an incredible advocate for the music industry within Walmart,” Anderson Merchandisers executive VP/GM Steve McClanahan says. “She is a big supporter of the physical music business for the whole industry. She is an excellent coach to us and the labels in helping suppliers place music in the chain’s stores.” One head of sales at a major label says Van Laar-Frever is “constantly pushing the envelope and working to get the industry and her company to maximize music in her store, and that is no easy task. She is a tireless warrior, working across company lines, departments and brands to get her…

Partners, music department William Morris Endeavor wmeentertainment.com BEYOND THE CORE Each a partner in the music department of William Morris Endeavor, Samantha Kirby Yoh and Sara Newkirk Simon can both look back on a rewarding year with their respective achievements. Kirby works with a varied roster: Alicia Keys, Florence & the Machine, Björk, M.I.A., Swedish House Mafia, Kid Cudi, TV on the Radio and Depeche Mode. Based in WME’s New York office, she’s also considered a pioneer in booking EDM acts. “I was one of the first agents working here in the dance world,” says r Kirby, who also reps the Chemical Brothers and SHM’s Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Alesso. “My first-ever client was Fatboy Slim when nobody ever knew who he was back in the early 1990s.” Working alongside…

Executive VP/head of acquisitions and strategic projects Universal Music Publishing Group umusicpub.com @umpg CATALOG SHOPPING As head of acquisitions and strategic projects, Linda Newmark handled Universal Music Publishing Group’s biggest investment in music publishing during the year: the acquisition of Criterion Music, a 60-year-old company that began its life as the publishing arm of Capitol Records. “It was wonderful to be involved in bringing such a fabulous catalog of music” to UMPG, Newmark says. The catalog includes “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” written by Lee Hazlewood, and “Doctor My Eyes,” written by Jackson Browne. Newmark also was responsible for extending administration deals for the Bangles and Tom Tom Club catalogs as well as signing administration deals for the catalogs of Jef erson Airplane and Vernan Duke, the latter of…

LATIN MUSIC AND LIFESTYLES The playing field for cable networks targeting Latin millennials has become crowded in the past year with the launch of Fusion, NuvoTV, Mundo Fox and the impending El Rey network, just to name a few. But among them, mun2 has managed to preserve the name recognition, edginess and competitive advantage. That’s thanks to an ever-changing lineup of programs that mine the entertainment needs of young Hispanics and have yielded double-digit ratings growth for the network so far in 2013. This turned out to be a landmark year in part for bittersweet reasons. The death of Jenni Rivera, whose popularity had soared due to her mun2 reality show “I Love Jenni,” helped make the series’ third season (in production at the time of her death) the highest-rated…

VIDEO FUELS THE RADIO STAR If there was any doubt that NPR Music has moved beyond its roots in radio, it came when the network doubled down on online video in 2013 under director/executive producer Anya Grundmann. The music discovery platform streamed live from clubs, made “Field Recordings” with artists in their natural habitat, dabbled with documentaries and continued its “Tiny Desk” concert series. That resulted in a 50% increase in video engagement, according to the network. Grundmann also ratcheted up the core radio network, which reaches 23 million weekly listeners, according to Nielsen. She doubled the number of music features on NPR news programs and made more network programming available to affiliates, such as an Oct. 28 live Arcade Fire performance that aired on 23 stations the night before…

RETURN TO THE LIMELIGHT After a year’s absence from the top 10 publishers ranking of top 100 airplay songs, peermusic returned to the limelight in the third quarter with a 1.3% share. Kathy Spanberger, peermusic’s president/COO for the Anglo-American region, says a highlight of the year came when a peermusic song, Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels,” was named country music song of the year at the ASCAP Country Music Awards. The song was co-written by peermusic writer Neil Thrasher. Another highlight was peermusic’s signing of an exclusive co-publishing deal with Prince Royce, “who is the biggest new Latin artist of the last five years,” she says, adding that next year, Royce will record an English-language album for RCA. Spanberger oversees all U.S. offices as well as Australian and Canadian operations,…

LEVERAGING MOMENTUM After five years as president of dick clark productions— where she oversaw the American Music Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Golden Globes and other specials—Orly Adelson is moving on to become president of ITV Studios America, where she’ll start in her new post on Jan. 1. At dcp, Adelson helped maintain and expand the iconic music company. She accomplished those feats by integrating social media into its live events and giving stars like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift a platform for some of their first awards show performances, while increasing ratings. With Adelson as an executive producer, the Academy of Country Music Awards drew more than 15 million viewers in 2013, according to Nielsen . With its acquisitions of Thinkfactory Media, producer of the Emmy…

SPEED AND INSTINCT As RCA executive VP of publicity, Mika El-Baz leads a team that’s driving TV, print and Web-based PR and artist development campaigns for RCA’s A-list, breakthrough and developing acts—all contributing to RCA’s latest industry market share, including track-equivalent albums, of 7%. El-Baz has played a role in the success this past year of stars including Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Miguel, Kelly Clarkson, A$AP Rocky, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Fantasia, Ke$ha, Usher, Pitbull, Chris Brown and Billboard’s Woman of the Year, P!nk. “She’s astonishing,” El-Baz says of the singer. “Just to be around someone who is so massively talented, at the top of her game and is so dedicated to her family is fantastic. She puts her heart and soul into everything she does.” RCA is poised for…

SWEATER BEATS On “MLLN DLLR,” the song that kick-started Antonio Cuna’s trajectory from anonymous bedroom beatmaker to in-demand producer with headlining dates in Perth, Australia, and Prague, the 26-year-old—who records under the name Sweater Beats—deconstructs a late-period Whitney Houston vocal, looping it over itself, shifting the pitch high and low and floating it all on a bed of ebullient synths and hip-hop high hats. The results are pleasing and unambiguous, despite all the moving parts—it’s a party in 3:13. “The thing that struck me about his music was how well it fit in niche electronic markets while still having a great pop sensibility,” says Sweater Beats’ manager, Jake Cohen, 21, who tweeted at the producer after discovering “MLLN DLLR” on SoundCloud. “You don’t have to know anything about electronic music…

HAIM Sister rock trio HAIM has made a splash with debut LP Days Are Gone bowing at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in October. Next up? A 2014 North American headlining run booked by Adam Voith at Billions Corp. Routing: HAIM will hit 17 North American markets, including the Kool Haus in Toronto (May 15) and Vic Theatre in Chicago (May 17), before ending at the Malkin Bowl in Vancouver (May 24). Voith says he added second nights in key markets, including the tour’s opening at the Fillmore in San Francisco (April 9-10) and Terminal 5 in New York (May 10-11), due to high demand. “We did their fan club and some other presales, so we had a good gauge of people’s interest, and these shows sold out the…

Brooklyn-based indie label Mexican Summer built its own headquarters, recording studio and record store, so naturally, on the occasion of its fifth birthday this fall, the imprint wrote, assembled and self-published its own anthology, too. “Mexican Summer: 5 Years” captures the fast rise and improbably broad reach of the label, which started out as a vinyl and digitalonly side project and eventually launched the careers of Washed Out and Best Coast, among others. A coffee-table-friendly, 11-inch-by-11-inch, 256-page tome dense with found photos and scanned ephemera, the hardbound volume is part art book and part scrapbook. “5 Years” features remembrances from the prolific label’s past and present artists, which range from the fascinatingly oddball (Steve Moore connecting the dots between his song “Fever Dream” and James Cameron’s film “The Terminator”) to…

The holidays are in full effect at adult contemporary radio, as Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” blasts 16-1 on Billboard’s AC chart. The song appears on her first holiday album, Wrapped in Red, which has sold 330,000 copies (according to Nielsen SoundScan) and spent its first five weeks in the Billboard 200’s top 10. While “Underneath” tops the tally, it’s not the most-played song at the format during the Nov. 25-Dec. 1 Nielsen BDS tracking week. It’s actually the 36th-most-spun title in that span, trailing classics that have had decades to weave themselves into listeners’ holiday traditions. (The AC chart ranks only current releases.) “Underneath” is the 15th holiday hit (see list, left) to crown AC since the format began placing a greater emphasis on such songs around the early…

Little Sister, Big Week britney spears’Britney Jean will debut on next week’s billboard 200, but this week, her younger sister swoops in and steals chart headlines. Jamie lynn spears makes her chart debut, as “how Could I want more” enters hot Country songs at no. 29 and Country digital songs at no. 8 (28,000 downloads sold, according to nielsen soundscan). “[with] me and brit, I’m sure no one believes me, there is no rivalry,” Jamie lynn says. “we’re 10 years apart, so I always saw her as a second mom. we have fun like only sisters can, but we don’t have that young sibling rivalry.”—Gary trust THE BIG NUMBER Britney Spears’Britney Jean should be the top debut on next week’s billboard 200. industry forecasters suggest it will sell between 115,000…

Source: Nielsen SoundScan Trend Report: Biggest Hot Digital Songs Movers 1 DALLAS SMITH This week: 5,000 last week: 4,000 Two weeks ago: 4,000 The former leader of rock act Default is finding success in the country genre, as “Tippin’ Point” is poised to become the Canadian singer’s sixth consecutive top 10 on the Canada Country chart (No. 14). Signed to Republic Nashville in the United States, Smith spreads out sales gains for the track fairly evenly stateside, thanks to its ranking among the top 10 most-played tracks on national satellite service SiriusXM’s Highway channel. 2 A$AP FERG This week: 7,000 last week: 6,000 Two weeks ago: 5,000 On Nov. 25, A$AP Ferg released a star-studded remix of “Shabba” featuring dancehall icon Shabba Ranks (after whom the song is named), rap…

KOPPELMAN JOINS MEDIENT Charles Koppelman, the veteran music executive and chairman/CEO of CAK Entertainment, has joined Medient Studios, the content creation and film production company, as vice chairman of the board of directors. Koppelman, a former chairman/CEO at EMI Records and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, has in recent years steered brand development for artists including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Nicki Minaj and Adam Levine. WARNER’S SOUTH AFRICA PLAY Music Group has bought out Gallo Records’ share of Warner Music Gallo Africa, renaming the unit Warner Music South Africa. The original joint venture with Gallo launched in 2006 and made the 87-year-old South African label’s catalog, including works by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miriam Makeba, available digitally for the first time. GM Tracy Fraser has been named managing director of the…

Documentary films are designed to inform. Greg “Freddy” Camalier’s “Muscle Shoals” has led to a call to action. Beats Electronics has partnered with the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation to restore the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio to a fully functioning recording studio as well as update the legendary FAME Recording Studio in Florence, Ala. Beats will foster training for musicians, producers and engineers with opportunities to work and learn in these classic spaces, where legendary acts like Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones recorded some of the most infuential songs of all time. Studio time working with experienced recording professionals will be granted at no cost to applicants who best meet the program’s stated objectives. “Anytime you can capture such a distinct and authentic sound over and over again, that’s something…

Colombian star Carlos Vives has recorded a version of “The World Is Ours”—Coca-Cola’s anthem for the 2014 FIFA World Cup—as the beverage maker expands its music branding focus in Latin America. But beyond Coca-Cola’s World Cup campaign, Vives’ version of the song will be included on his upcoming studio album, Mas Corazon Profundo, and will also serve as the basis for a more in-depth relationship with Coca- Cola that includes the brand’s sponsorship of the singer’s 2014 Colombian tour. Vives’ rendition is a Spanish-language adaptation of the original, penned by songwriting team Rock Mafa (Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez) and recorded by season two “X Factor” fnalist David Correy. While Spanish-language versions of World Cup songs are nothing new—Coca-Cola’s 2010 anthem “Wavin’ Flag” by Somali-Canadian singer K’naan was rerecorded as a…

Bertelsmann president of corporate development and new businesses Thomas Hesse has stepped down. Hesse is credited with helping build Bertelsmann’s new BMG publishing assets with BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch. The German media conglomerate issued a statement confrming that its supervisory board decided that Hesse would be released from his role at the company on Dec. 31. The company said current chairman/CEO Thomas Rabe would handle Hesse’s responsibilities, though Hesse will continue to serve the board in an advisory role. Hesse joined the Bertelsmann executive board in February 2012. Previously, he was president of global digital business for U.S. sales and corporate strategy at Sony BMG and then Sony Music Entertainment. Hesse came to Sony from Bertelsmann as a result of the 2004 merger between BMG and Sony Music… . There’s…

The Super Bowl halftime performance has become the music industry’s holy grail, nirvana and promised land all wrapped into one as managers, label chiefs and others lobby to get their artists in front of the world’s largest TV audience. With more than 100 million pairs of eyeballs watching, it’s easy to understand why. But in my view, the Super Bowl is overrated as a music promotion vehicle. For the last two years, the halftime show has topped Billboard’s Maximum Exposure rankings, which, overall, I believe, is a smart and accurate assessment of the marketing tools that the industry deploys. But I question how the Super Bowl winds up rated so highly. Sure, the game is the most-watched event—which is why Madonna and Beyoncé used it to launch their respective album…

Founder/CEO SoundCloud What did you wake up thinking about this morning? “Where am I? What time is it?” I travel very frequently, so fguring that out was my frst reaction. Today is my frst day back from vacation and my brain is dying to get back into SoundCloud mode. I’m trying to learn how to be patient, to pace myself and wait until I get into the ofce before kicking things of. Can’t say I succeeded that well though. Describe a lesson you’ve learned from a failure. I’m obsessed with making things better. Generally, this is a good thing, but I’ve realized that if you’re too focused on the next thing, you miss out on enjoying the great things happening right in front of you. At times, I look at…

Indie label heads joined forces at the Rough Trade NYC store opening, Sean Kingston and Busta Rhymes gave back to their Hollywood and Harlem hoods, and Tame Impala cleaned up Down Under 1 A decree grows in Brooklyn: The Rough Trade NYC outpost got its official Williamsburg welcome from state assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol (center), who presented co-owners Stephen Godfroy (left) and Pete Donne with a business certificate on Nov. 24. The first U.S. outpost of Rough Trade’s legendary London shop breaks the traditional record-store mold with a 300-capacity concert venue, operated by Bowery Presents. And who better to christen the 15,000-square-foot shop than Television? The New York guitar visionaires graced the new space with two shows Nov. 29-30 (see page 98). 2 “I grew this beard over the two…

Find updates from our invitation–only Women in music event on dec. 10 on Twitter (#womeninmusic), billboard.com and billboard.biz. Whether changing the lives of listeners or changing the course of the industry, these are the women who have made and shaped the year’s most inspiring music. PINK WOMAN OF THE YEAR 34 The Truth About PINK billboard’s Woman of the Year honor highlights a “positive, enormous and wonderful” year. 40 The Go–To Guy Pink’s manager roger davies extends tour–driven strategy. 42 ‘A Force Of Nature’ RCA, Sony executives praise winning partnership with Pink. 43 Pink Picks Her Brand Partners “I don’t want a doll—unless it was like a Transformer.” 44 In Praise Of Pink’ Live Power Her global touring potential is “unlimited,” promoters say. 46 ‘Unstoppable’ In Oz Pink’s popularity in…

The first time Edgar Berger recalls seeing P!nk was near the beginning of her career, as a new fan transfixed by her concert performance of the poignant single “Family Portrait.” As he remembers, “I was just amazed by her beautiful voice.” Then, as head of Sony BMG Germany, Berger began logging many professional encounters with the artist, most notably in 2008, when P!nk claimed her first No. 1 single on the German sales chart with “So What.” “It was a very special moment,” says Berger, now president/CEO of Sony Music International. “She came in that day to play for media and retail and that afternoon it was announced that ‘So What’ was No. 1. We awarded her with the surprise gift of a chain saw because that tool had been…

When P!nk visits Australia, it’s always a big party. But it was a special celebration when the singer played the final night of her latest Australia tour in Brisbane on Sept. 8—her 34th birthday. “I’ve never been onstage before for my birthday,” she told the crowd. “It’s fun. I had cheesecake today.” The audience of some 12,000 responded with a spontaneous performance of “Happy Birthday.” It didn’t stop there, as her bandmates brought out a cake. “So embarrassed,” she said, as another round of “Happy Birthday” kicked of. “I’ve never been shy onstage before.” P!nk (real name Alecia Moore) has no reason to be shy. She can apparently do no wrong in this country. Her tour of Australia was another huge success, doing 46 dates and selling more than 600,000…

Billboard’s annual Women in Music list, like the industry it reflects, never ceases to change. Now in its ninth year, this honor roll evolves in many ways. With changes in the executive suites, names move off the list. With the increased importance of key industry sectors, new names appear. This year’s list particularly reflects the growing importance of branding partnerships in driving music sales. Another change: We’ve adopted the methodology first seen by readers on Billboard’s Power 100 list by allowing two key executives from the same company share one spot on this 40-position tally. For the fifth year, this list was once again compiled using a Web-based nomination process to make it as open and inclusive as possible. We began in late summer, inviting readers worldwide to submit nominations…

CREATING COMMUNITY With Sony/ATV’s market share running at an all-time high for five consecutive quarters in the wake of its acquisition of EMI Music Publishing, it’s clear that co-president Jody Gerson has had a successful year. In addition to playing a key role in integrating the two companies, seeking opportunities to mine the EMI catalog and ensuring the EMI songwriters felt like they were members of the family, she helped lead Sony/ATV to a whopping 33% market share in the third quarter. That’s nearly five percentage points higher than what Sony/ATV had achieved in the four prior quarters since it took over administration of EMI Music Publishing. “I hope this shows how relentless we are in advocating and proactively supporting our writers, and it’s paying of ,” she says. This…

CLARITY OF PURPOSE There was nothing unclear about the success achieved in 2013 by Brenda Romano, president promotion at Interscope Gef en A&M. From Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” to Lana Del Rey and Cedric Gervais’ happy results with “Summertime Sadness,” Romano and her team oversaw a phalanx of hits from veterans and newcomers alike. Romano crafted specific promotional campaigns that led to multiformat smashes for a diverse roster. In addition to reviving Thicke’s career with “Blurred Lines,” the longest-running No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year, Romano helped take Maroon 5 to the top of the Adult Top 40 chart with “Love Somebody,” which marks the group’s eighth chart-topper on the list, tying for the most No. 1s in the 17-year history of the chart. She also led…

LAYING THE FOUNDATION In her first year since moving to the label side of the street, Michelle Jubelirer, a former music industry lawyer with King Holmes Paterno & Berliner, has already hit the ground running. That’s a particularly admirable feat, considering she didn’t land at an established label but one that’s being rebuilt. As executive VP of Capitol Music Group, Jubelirer says that this year has been all about laying the foundation—next year will concern seeing the results that Capitol’s reinvigoration yields. In the meantime, she says she’s still learning about the label business, but calls CMG chairman/CEO Steve Barnett and the label’s staff the equivalent of working at the “Wharton School of entertainment.” And yet, even as it rebuilds, according to Nielsen SoundScan’s latest industry market-share numbers, including trackequivalent…

DRIVING INTERACTION Jennifer Breithaupt thought 2012 was an exceptional year for Citi’s Private Pass program, with exclusive presale tickets sold to 51 of the top 100 tours, and a record of nearly $19 million in ticketing revenue from a single tour’s presales (Madonna). But 2013 has brought even more record growth, including ticket sales for 58 of the top 100 tours and presale records of $20 million in revenue for both the Rolling Stones’ 50 and Counting tour and Justin Timberlake and Jay Z’s Legends of the Summer stadium run. “Over 60% of Citi customers are spending on music in the U.S. alone,” Breithaupt says, “and next year we’re going to have a new focus on more opportunities to merge categories like music and sports, or culinary events with music.”…

VP of entertainment marketing and promotions; director of entertainment and TV programming NFL nfl.com @tracyperlman, @sarahmoll TOUCHDOWN TALENT The Super Bowl halftime show is often the most-watched TV event of the year, according to Nielsen. But the music industry taps into the NFL’s vast audience throughout the year, from national anthem and “America the Beautiful” performances before big games, to televised performances around season kickoff , in September, to an ongoing partnership with artists like Carrie Underwood and Priyanka Chopra, who sing the themes for the NFL’s Sunday and Thursday night football coverage, respectively. And then there’s a week’s worth of activity that will surround the 2014 Super Bowl, where Bruno Mars will headline the Pepsi Halftime Show, a performance booked by NFL director of entertainment and TV programming Sarah…

Michele Anthony’s earliest days in the music business came before she was even a teenager, hustling to do whatever she could at her father Dee Anthony’s Bandana Enterprises management company in the late ‘60s. “The two biggest influences in my life would be my father and Gloria Steinem,” Anthony says. And clearly this influence conspired to give her a fierce intelligence and determination that few could match. Eventually reaching a pinnacle position as president/COO of Sony Music in 2005, Anthony was fired in 2006—notable for the fact that she refused to let Sony say she resigned, as is so often standard practice with such comings and goings. “They tried to put that in the release and I was like, ‘No, please say you fired me …’” she recalls. “I would…

A TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR With the completion of the $1 billion “transformation” of New York’s Madison Square Garden and a multimillion-dollar renovation underway at the Forum in Los Angeles, it’s been a busy year for Melissa Ormond, president of the Madison Square Garden Co., who leads a team that continues to expand its footprint in the sports and entertainment space. Also part of the MSG venue portfolio are busy rooms in Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre in New York, the Chicago Theater and the Wang Theatre in Boston. For 2013, major arena projects on two coasts in the United States’ two largest markets have been front and center for Ormond. The Garden showcased its well-received makeover with three sellouts from Ed Sheeran beginning in October. The Forum will…

SYNCHS ON FIRE For the first time in her career as a music supervisor, Chop Shop Music Group owner Alexandra Patsavas assembled an “inspired by” soundtrack album to accompany a f lm, in this case bringing in Coldplay, the National, Sia, Patti Smith and others for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” While handling that high-prof le film, Patsavas and her five-member team were supervising at least five TV shows at any given time during the year, among them “Grey’s Anatomy” (now in its 10th season), “Supernatural” and “Mad Men.” She also moved her Chop Shop label to Universal, where she has signed four new acts. “It’s always enjoyable to work for Shonda [Rhimes, executive producer] on ‘Grey’s’ and “Scandal,’ and it’s really interesting to license the music of the ’70s…

DIGITAL PASSION Zahavah Levine has worked in digital music licensing for almost as long as there has been digital music. As senior counsel of Listen.com from 2001 to 2003, Levine helped secure rights from all major labels for its Rhapsody music service. After Real Networks purchased Listen in 2003, she became Real’s director of music licensing. In 2006, she joined YouTube as its general counsel and VP of business affairs, hammering out the business models and licensing structures that currently funnel hundreds of millions of dollars annually to music rights owners. As director of content partnerships, a position she’s held for the last three years, Levine has been instrumental in negotiating the licenses for Google Play’s download store, its All Access music service and its scan-and match locker service. Today,…

The financial health of the music industry is linked, in large measure, to the payment of performance royalties to songwriters, composers and publishers by the three performance rights organizations—ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. The strength of those PROs, in turn, results from the dedication of many female executives and staf who contribute to the mission of these organizations, protecting copyrights and supporting the creative community. Once again this year, Billboard honors executives from the PROs who were nominated by their respective organizations and chosen for recognition here. LYNNE LUMMEL Senior VP of distribution and repertory ASCAP Lynne Lummel ensures that ASCAP members get paid correctly, and on time, for the public performance of their musical works. Sounds simple? Let’s be precise. As senior VP of distribution and repertory, Lummel oversees the…

Executive VP of marketing Live Nation Entertainment livenation.com @jackiewilgar LONDON BOUND For Live Nation Entertainment executive VP of marketing Jackie Wilgar, game-changing marketing tools and her social, digital and mobile teams have proved successful across multiple platforms in 2013. “This past year for me was a big turning point,” she says. “We really started to see the digital tools have notable impact in our ticket sales, the efficiencies of dollars spent on digital media, an increase in email as an awareness mechanism, the social footprint grew, and mobile became a very big factor in our downloads of the Live Nation mobile app and the positive response from fans as an awareness mechanism and e-commerce tool.” This was the year digital clearly moved the needle. Wilgar’s team was responsible for a…

‘EVERYTHING IS GROWING’ As the music business evolves, Mary Ann McCready remains energized by new challenges and maximizing opportunities for her business management clients. For the third year, McCready reports that business is up 10% at her firm Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy, where she is president. “In our world here, everything is growing,” she says. “What’s different is that the royalty accountings have historically been on the record labels. Now with the 360 deals, we’re doing royalty accountings too. We’re doing our own accountings to the record companies so to be an all-purpose comprehensive business management firm, we’re having to expand our ranks to accommodate the increase in responsibility.” After 13 years at Columbia Records, where she ascended to VP of sales and marketing, McCready founded FBMM in 1990.…

FIRST IN LINE American Express is coming of a record-breaking year in ticket sales for early on-sale programs on hot tours for the likes of the Eagles, P!nk, George Strait, Cher, Selena Gomez, Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Skrillex, Miley Cyrus, Made in America Festival, Paul McCartney, Vampire Weekend and Leonard Cohen. And the company remains a powerful presence in event sponsorships, with a 2013 budget estimated to reach as high as $45 million by analytics firm IEG. But Deborah Curtis, the financial services company’s VP of sports and entertainment, is just as proud of her efforts in helping make exclusive card-member concerts with Vampire Weekend, Janelle Monáe and Kings of Leon accessible to an even broader audience through its Unstaged program. Currently in its third year, Unstaged brought live-streamed concerts…

A GRANDE YEAR Seeing Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly hit No. 1 was a significant moment this year for Allison Kaye, the result of putting her “heart and soul” into the teen singer’s career. “Her becoming a music star, seeing her fans carry over [from the TV space] was so gratifying,” Kaye says. As GM of Scooter Braun’s SB Projects, Kaye is the key executive overseeing day-to-day management of the artist roster. So Kaye has had her hands full with Justin Bieber’s worldwide tour, theater tours and albums from Cody Simpson and Grande, and launching the career of Tori Kelly. In each case, the careers have been built on a combination of social media, videos, recordings and performances. “We want to sign acts kids want to hear, and we have to…

Kris Daniels, country KCYE Las Vegas. will Hoge, “Strong.” This is a song with an important message about family values. I was initially worried about it being too slow when I first heard it on the air. But after we played it, phones lit up and I found myself instantly gravitating towards the message. Luke Bryan, “Drink a Beer.” Can we say single of the year? Luke is on fire right now, and this song is showing a different side of him that we really haven’t seen a lot of. A song like this is what country music is all about: connecting with the audience. Kacey Musgraves, “Follow Your arrow.” I played this for our listeners and the phones immediately lit up. Kacey is a very talented artist but she’s…

“Just so you know, I want to be a rock star.” That was one of the first things Angel Haze said to Nicola Carson, an alum of Modest! Management (Leona Lewis, One Direction) who was looking for her first major client since stepping out on her own at the top of 2013. The statement stunned Carson, as Haze was best-known for hard-hitting rap tracks like “New York,” “Werkin’ Girls” and her brutally honest freestyle about sexual abuse over Eminem’s “Cleaning Out My Closet.” “It was very surprising—she was saying, ‘I love Jason Mraz, I love John Mayer,’” Carson recalls of their meeting at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood in February. “She talked about Kings of Leon for about 40 minutes. She said, ‘I want to go out with a…

Garth Brooks Country icon Garth Brooks comes riding back onto the charts thanks to the debut of his new Walmartexclusive boxed set, Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Infuences. The six-CD/two-DVD package— released on Thanksgiving (Nov. 28)—arrives at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top Country Albums. It was supported by a live CBS concert special that aired Nov. 29. + 164K The boxed set carries a bargain list price of $29.98, but was sale-priced for $24.96. It sold 164,000 copies in less than four days on sale, as the album was released on a Thursday. The newest sales tracking week ended Sunday, Dec. 1. + 13 Blame It All on My Roots arrives at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart—Brooks’…

9 MONTHS AGO Ortiz kicked off 2013 by coheadlining the Dos Mundos, Una Historia mega-tour with the iconic Banda el Recodo, traveling to 20 cities over several weekends. The tour did particularly well in California, where audiences ranged from 12,000 in Los Angeles to 20,000 in San Jose. “These shows broke records,” Del Records founder Angel Del Villar says. “Fans know that this kind of pairing and tour is rare, which is why they came out to support.” The tour supported El Primer Ministro, a 2012 narcocorridos-themed set that landed Ortiz his third No. 1 on Top Latin Albums, but also helped drive anticipation for Archivos de Mi Vida. 2 MONTHS AGO Ortiz and his social media team distributed 2,000 limited-edition T-shirts stateside, spurring fans to post photos wearing them…

One Direction’Midnight Memories makes history as it debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 546,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The act is the first group to debut at No. 1 with its first three albums. Midnight Memories follows two No. 1 bows for the act in 2012: its debut album, Up All Night, and sophomore set Take Me Home. Further, One Direction is—as Billboard forecast last issue—the first group to reach No. 1 with its first three albums since 1967. The Monkees were the last to do so when their first four albums hit the top between 1966 and 1967. Their self-titled debut arrived in 1966 and climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its sixth week on the chart. The TV-born act—riding high…

As chefs become the new rock stars thanks to the Food Network, “Master Chef,” “Top Chef” and the increasingly lucrative food-festival circuit, many artists have indulged their inner foodie—be it Zac Brown Band’s “Eat and Greets” with fans on tour, rapper Action Bronson’s YouTube cooking show or even Trisha Yearwood’s TV series “Trisha’s Southern Kitchen.” A fresh spin on the trend arrives Dec. 9 with the premiere of “Culinary Beats,” a new Web series produced by Columbia Records and Back Roads Entertainment, and sponsored by Citibank’s Thank You rewards program, through media agency MEC Entertainment. The show features acts like Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos, the Fray, St. Lucia and Gavin DeGraw dining and swapping stories over food with chefs like Nick Anderer (Maialino restaurant), Joey Campanaro (Little Owl, “Iron Chef”),…

What turned PDs of adult 40 radio stations on to the idea of playing more of mainstream top 40’s biggest hits, and at a faster clip? The estimated 32 million listeners reached by this week’s No. 1 song on Billboard’s Nielsen BDS-based Adult Top 40 chart, Avicii’s “Wake Me Up!,” represent not only a 24% growth from the format’s top track a year ago—Maroon 5’s “One More Night”—but a whopping 94% audience gain from adult top 40’s No. 1 song this week in 2008, Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.” During those five years, exposure for the format’s biggest songs moved from an average of 39 plays per station to 62. That happened without a dramatic increase in the number of adult top 40 stations. What’s more, the mainstream top 40 hit…

CEO The Echo Nest Trained as a lawyer and a drummer in a jazz band, Jim Lucchese landed his gig at the Echo Nest after meeting his bandmate’s father, Barry Vercoe, who is one of the founders of the MIT Media Lab. Vercoe was an investor in the Echo Nest, and Lucchese helped the company raise its seed capital in 2007. Today, Lucchese oversees all aspects of the Massachusetts-based music research company whose fortunes are rising in the current tidal wave of big data. 7.00 AM My wife and I are getting our three kids ready for the day and off to the bus. Sneaking in a workout as well. After the kids are off, I drive just a few miles to the Nest in Davis Square, Somerville. 8.15 AM…

Uniting For The other Ball “More black leather than black tie.” That’s how social activist/fund-raiser Leigh Blake colorfully sums up her latest project: the Other Ball. The new annual event—bowing Dec. 10 at New York’s Highline Ballroom—will benefit the Blakefounded Arms Around the Child. Inspired by her travels to Africa and India, the organization is dedicated to protecting children from adversity and exploitation in the developing world. Sponsored by British fashion retailer Topshop Topman, the Other Ball will be hosted by producer/artist Mark Ronson with performances by the Black Keys, Miguel, A$AP Rocky, Mikky Ekko and Lykke Li. Serving as musical director is producer/musician Jef Bhasker. “I’ve been using fame currency—music and artists— for 24 years, and it works,” Blake says. Blake is the energizing spirit who co-founded the Red…

Made On YouTube The video giant has been investing in small content partners in less obvious cities across the U.S. Here’s why Made in Network is one of YouTube’s multinetwork channels (MCN). Although the Nashville-based startup is thousands of miles from the technology centers of Northern California and YouTube- creator startups in Los Angeles, Made in Network has received substantial help from the video giant in working and growing on the platform. Others get that hand of assistance as well, and it’s one of the reasons YouTube has become, and will continue to be, a dominant entertainment platform. “When you’re starting something like this, their guidance and best practices are invaluable,” Made in Network founder kevin Grosch says. “They have knowledge and experience because they’re working on a global scale.”…

1 Royals: It’s not every day the heir to the British throne gets to live out his rock’n’roll fantasy in front of 600 guests at Kensington Palace, but that’s just what Prince William (right) did when he joined Taylor Swift and Jon Bon Jovi for an impromptu rendition of “Livin’ on a Prayer” at the Winter Whites Gala in London on Nov. 26. William, who performed a karaoke version of the song at his cousin Zara’s wedding in July, proved himself quite the crooner, as well as an accomplished air guitarist. The affair raised more than £1 million ($1.6 million) for homeless youth organization Centrepoint. 2 Educational value: The Latin music world’s best players and producers came together to jam at BMI and Los Producers’ annual pre-Latin Grammy Awards charity…

Faith Newman Senior VP of Creative and Business Development Reservoir At 17, Faith Newman would take a Greyhound bus from Philadelphia to New York, her Walkman pumping out a personal soundtrack of disco and soul hits. “I’d round the turnpike and see the Twin Towers, singing the lyrics ‘searching for a destiny that’s mine’ from Imagination’s ‘Just an Illusion,’ and dream of conquering the music business,” she says. Newman did just that. Hired while still in college as the only female executive at Def Jam, she carved out a distinct career in hip-hop, and as an A&R executive at Sony, she oversaw landmark albums by Nas and Jamiroquai. But after taking a two-year disco nap from the business, she found her way back to the dancef oor through publishing, mining…

It’s Sunday, the 18th of October, and P!nk is sending 2-yearold daughter Willow off to play with her touring friend, “Chef Robbie,” for the next hour while Mommy sits down for an interview. P!nk is sitting in a backstage lounge at Seattle’s KeyArena that has been converted into a temporary play place for Willow, complete with a pink princess castle. She sips from a hot Starbucks cup of tea, as Willow leaves with Robbie Grantham-Wise. Another mug with a fresh bag of soothing tea leaves awaits—tonight is her first show back on schedule, having postponed the last two dates of her The Truth About Love tour to take some muchneeded vocal rest. She’s already 100 dates into the tour, and will stay on the road through mid-January. And yet, today…

Before you talk to P!nk about what makes her say “yes” to the select branding deals she’s inked in recent years, it’s worth spending a moment discussing all the things she’s said “no” to. “I just feel like some of it is kind of cheesy,” she says of the more expected pop-star trappings like a fragrance, doll or beverage. “Some of it’s not what I do. I don’t care if other people do it, but I don’t want to be a perfume. I don’t want to go to Macy’s and smile, cut a ribbon and hawk some product for some other person. If I were super into it and I wanted to do it, I’d do it. I’m just not super into it. I don’t want a doll—unless it was…

When Janelle Monáe graced the cover of Billboard in June, her second album, The Electric Lady, existed mostly on secret MP3s in the basement of her creative cooperative in Atlanta known as the Wondaland Arts Society. It was closely guarded, but there for the listening if you wanted to kick of your shoes and dance. In the five months since, The Electric Lady has been unleashed into the world with a spark and good will only a feminist “android” like Monáe could muster, led of by instant anthems like the powerfunk “Q.U.E.E.N.” (featuring Erykah Badu) and the dreamy rubdown “Primetime” (featuring Miguel). The album features additional collaborations with Prince, Solange Knowles and Esperanza Spalding, while Sean “Diddy” Combs and OutKast’s Big Boi were co-executive producers. The album debuted at No.…

NEW TALENT, NEW MEASURES “My job is never boring, because even the way we measure success now is changing every day,” Atlantic Records Group chairman/COO Julie Greenwald says. “We look at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube views, Shazam pickup, merch and the development of the artist’s touring profile as all part of the mix now.” Yet for Greenwald—the highestranking female executive at a U.S. record company—the thing that gets her up in the morning remains discovering new talent. “It’s what keeps our company healthy,” she says. Atlantic had no shortage of artist success stories in 2013. Current total album sales for Ed Sheeran’s 2011 debut, +, reached 722,000 units this year, according to Nielsen SoundScan, as the release peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and Sheeran played headlining dates at…

A YEAR OF NEW DEALS “It’s been an unusually busy year for me—in a good way,” Julie Swidler says. Sony Music Entertainment’s executive VP of business affairs/general counsel is a deal-maker for her company, and she’s been extra busy because more people outside of the music business recognize what Sony has to offer. “We’re able to tell them how music has increased the value of their business, and show them how,” Swidler says of talks with new partners, from tech start-ups to brands. Meanwhile, Swidler’s year has also been about consolidating Sony agreements with the likes of dance label Ultra and a label partnership with producer Salaam Remi. She’s also excited about Astronauts Wanted: No Experience Necessary—Sony’s partnership with former MTV boss Judy Mc-Grath. “It’s like an MTV for today,…

CAPTURING ENERGY Much of Lia Vollack’s energies were invested in a f lm that won’t be released until late 2014—“Annie”— and a score-driven work set for summer, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” For “Annie,” vocal performances have been recorded, and the f lm is in the middle of shooting. “Getting new songs that work with the older material was crucial, and making sure they captured the energy of the originals but worked with the modern-day setting,” she says. Among her triumphs in 2013 were the One Direction concert documentary “This Is Us,” securing the services of Britney Spears for “The Smurfs 2” and bringing new music from Paul McCartney and Cody Simpson to “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.” Next up is “American Hustle,” the soundtrack for which will be…

SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE It’s been a banner year for BET under chairman/CEO Debra Lee. In June the company launched its inaugural BET Experience. The three-day music and lifestyle festival (June 28-30) at L.A. Live in association with AEG attracted 75,000 visitors. Capping the fest: the 13th annual BET Awards. Held for the first time at the Nokia Theatre, the telecast brought in 7.6 million viewers, making it the No. 1 awards show among viewers ages 18-49, according to Nielsen. In July the company’s first original movie, “Being Mary Jane” (starring Gabrielle Union), drew more than 5.2 million viewers. It will now premiere as a weekly series on Jan. 7. The BET Hip-Hop Awards in October logged nearly 9 million viewers. And BET reports its annual “Black Girls Rock!” special in November…

ROCK FOR A CAUSE The past year has found veteran music agent Marsha Vlasic booking successful tours for clients Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Muse, Moby, Devendra Banhart and Cage the Elephant. But for Vlasic, who oversees the contemporary rock division from ICM Partners’ New York office, some of her most rewarding moments in recent months have involved charitable work on the annual Bridge School benefit concert and the Global Citizen Festival. “Standing on the side of the stage and seeing these handicapped children and their families, and knowing what you went through the whole year putting it together, is really gratifying,” Vlasic says of Young’s 27th Bridge School benefit in October, which she booked. Vlasic is also an advisory board member of the Global Poverty Project and helped line up…

GLOBAL REACH Creative Artists Agency agents Emma Banks and Marlene Tsuchii this year share a spot on Billboard’s list of top female executives and both have been key to the growth of international business for CAA. Banks, working with Mike Greek at CAA’s offices in London, has been instrumental in building global fan bases for acts including Katy Perry, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Florence & the Machine. Banks oversaw Perry’s California Dreams world tour and is currently plotting the artist’s next run. Banks has also been a driving force behind the Chili Peppers’ first tour in five years, which began in 2011 and was extended to meet demand, spanning more than two years. In addition to routing tours for Neil Finn, Stone Sour and Jason Mraz, Banks is finding…

LEGACY IN MUSIC The word “partnership” gets bandied about a lot in the music industry, particularly when it comes to brands that don’t want to be perceived as mere “sponsors” of an event, artist or experience. But Ellen Healy and Bozoma Saint John are two of the main reasons why Pepsi can proudly stand by the other “P” word. Whether it’s developing multitiered deals with artists like Beyoncé and Hunter Hayes for their respective tours and premiering new music in commercials, creating an original global hit with Calvin Harris (the Pepsi Max-inspired “Let’s Go”) or developing global acts like Jasmine V, Lido Lido and Eva Simons, Pepsi has gone way beyond putting a can in the hand of a pop singer. It’s also the second-largest sponsor of music events and…

GOOD TIMES, INDEED As senior VP of sales, marketing and interactive for Big Machine Label Group, Kelly Rich has had plenty to be proud of in 2013. The label group scored four No. 1 debuts on Billboard’s Top Country Albums tally, including Tim McGraw’s Two Lanes of Freedom, Justin Moore’s Of the Beaten Path, the Band Perry’s Pioneer and “The Voice” winner Cassadee Pope’s Frame by Frame. What’s more, all but Pope’s release debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Rich is also excited about Thomas Rhett’s debut release, It Goes Like This, which debuted with 34,000 units in its first week and has amassed 1 million downloads of its title track (according to Nielsen SoundScan), and Danielle Bradbery, another “Voice” finalist, whose self-titled album arrived Nov. 25. Of…

MARKETING WITH HEART Marcie Allen has become a significant force in the business of marketing music thanks to the growing number of sponsorships brokered by her company, MAC Presents. In the past year, Allen has worked with Citi on integrated sponsorships for the Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players and Billy Joel. Last month, MAC Presents announced a deal it brokered with Delta Airlines and singer Michael Bublé for a flyaway social-media promotion for Bublé’s Seattle show in November. Additional sponsorships were negotiated for Samsung and Verizon (John Legend) and Samsung and AT&T (for the Life Is Beautiful Festival and Riot Fest). But Allen has also given back: She received the Humanitarian Award at this year’s Billboard Touring Awards for her work on behalf of families in…

DOUBLE TRACK Ethiopia Habtemariam is one of few industry executives—male or female— wearing two hats while making a musical statement. In publishing, she kicked of 2013 by announcing the signing of Miguel (“Adorn”). Also notching chart success: UMPG peers J. Cole (the No. 1 Born Sinner) and Rock City teaming with Mike Will Made It (No. 1s by Miley Cyrus and Rihanna). And hits by Justin Timberlake, Ari Levine/Philip Lawrence (Bruno Mars) and Robin Thicke brought UMPG kudos as BMI pop and urban publisher of the year. “We pride ourselves as being a team of publishers who discover, develop and nurture our writers,” Habtemariam says. Meanwhile, Motown posted top 10 R&B album debuts by Chrisette Michele and India.Arie. In advance of their upcoming duets album, Babyface and Toni Braxton scored…

ALTERNATIVE AND INFLUENTIAL As assistant PD/music director of KROQ Los Angeles, Lisa Worden continues to handle the day-to-day at the country’s most influential alternative rock station. Although Clear Channel’s KYSR-FM is now going head-to head with KROQ, under Worden’s guidance the heritage alt-rocker still dominates the format and the market in key demographics while continuing to break new artists. It’s No. 1 with men 18-49 and 25-54, and ranked 10th with listeners aged 12 and older, while KYSR is tied for 16th. Aside from its programming, KROQ’s success can be attributed in part to its signature annual events: the Weenie Roast and Almost Acoustic Christmas charity concerts. Many of the acts that the station helped break in the last year—including the Neighbourhood, Capital Cities, Lorde, Fitz & the Tantrums, Bastille…

CULTURAL BUZZ Amy Doyle’s role as executive VP of music and talent strategy for MTV Brands includes serving as executive producer of the annual Video Music Awards, for which she maintains a consistent goal: “We want to top the year before, ratings-wise, and we always want some real cultural buzz to come out of the show.” She succeeded big-time this year on both counts. Ratings for the show and its ’N Sync reunion skyrocketed 66% over 2012, with a total audience of 10.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. To boot, every performing artist had an immediate sales spike—Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” shot up 251% in digital sales and Kanye West’s “Blood on the Leaves” climbed 230%, according to Nielsen Sound-Scan, while Miley Cyrus’Bangerz debuted atop the Billboard 200 two weeks…

ON THE ROAD AGAIN Chevrolet could have chosen any number of tent-pole TV events this year to debut its new tag line and brand positioning, “Find new roads.” That the General Motors brand chose the Grammy Awards to premiere a 90-second spot—featuring no fewer than four major synchs from acts like Frank Sinatra, Patty Griffin and Theophilus London (who also appeared on-camera)—speaks volumes about its historic support of music as a key (ahem) driver of awareness and customer sales. Sister truck brand Chevy Silverado also made original music a touchstone of its 2013 campaign with the original song “Strong” from country singer Will Hoge. “Music has been a part of Chevrolet’s creative planning for years, whether it’s a jingle or a carefully selected song like fun.’s ‘We Are Young’ two…

FOR KENNY AND GEORGE Kate Des Enfants McMahon, VP/senior director of marketing for the Messina Group/AEG Live, counts her company’s ongoing success with Kenny Chesney and George Strait among her proudest moments in the last year. “After over 100 stadiums,” she says of Chesney’s tours, “his live show, and the fans that come to it, are still a fresh and fun thing. In 2012, we played only stadiums. In 2013, we played a mix of 18 stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters—and yet increased our ticket sales by over 100,000.” Meanwhile, Strait’s farewell tour has been a personal and professional success. “Seeing him win the Country Music Assn. entertainer of the year, after an amazing year of touring, brought me to happy tears,” she says. “This year we sold over 73,000 tickets…

The story behind Rosanne Cash’s first album on Blue Note, The River & the Thread, due Jan. 14, begins in the summer of 2011, after she started traveling to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro to participate in the first of several concerts to raise money for the preservation of the home that her legendary father, Johnny, lived in as a child in Dyess. During that initial trip, Johnny Cash’s first bassist and eventual road manager, Marshall Grant, died. His widow, Etta, told Rosanne they began each morning by asking each other, “What’s the temperature, darling?” Cash’s husband and producer, John Leventhal, heard that and said, “That’s a great first line for a song,” Cash recalls, which led to the two of them writing “Etta’s Tune.” “After that song, we started…

Film studios are providing a rare fourth quarter in which honest-to-god musical history is explored in fact-based scripted films. “Saving Mr. Banks,” the story of how Walt Disney turned the Mary Poppins stories into a musical with Richard and Robert Sherman, and “Inside Llewyn Davis,” a fictional ramble through Greenwich Village’s pre-Bob Dylan folk scene, are both stellar examples of creative storytelling driven by existing songs. A less obvious member of this new wave is “12 Years a Slave.” The film’s soundtrack, which hit stores Nov. 11, features fiddledriven Americana instrumentals mingling with new songs from John Legend, Alicia Keys, Gary Clark Jr., Alabama Shakes and others inspired by the film. “12 Years a Slave” is the true story of Solomon Northrup, a free-born fiddler from Saratoga, N.Y., who is…

The title track from Bruce Springsteen’s next studio album has more subplots than a juicy episode of “The Real Housewives.” It’s a curio in that first, it’s a cover written by Tim Scott McConnell for his band the Havalinas, and second, it’s a revisitation of a song Springsteen and the E Street Band first recorded during their mid-’90s reunion and released on the 1995 Blood Brothers EP. The new version, recorded during Springsteen’s Australian tour earlier this year, has more size and bluster, driven by Max Weinberg’s second-line rhythm and powered by the band’s brass section. Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, who sat in Down Under for Steven Van Zandt, makes his mark with taut, near-industrial guitar jabs while pleas for “a night of fearless sleep” echo the proletariat…

During the past 10 months, London quartet Bastille’s boisterous debut single, “Pompeii,” has grown from compelling alternative track to verifed pop hit. Fueled by a 27-24 move on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 airplay chart and a 33-29 jump on Mainstream Top 40, the song breaks into the Hot 100’s top 40 for the first time this week, with a 48-38 leap. The song’s sales have grown in each of the past seven weeks as well: In the week ending Dec. 1, it sold 36,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan, bringing total sales since its late-February release to 511,000. The song’s success is particularly surprising considering its morbid inspiration. Singer Dan Smith wrote the track while thinking about the titular ancient Roman town, where a deadly volcano eruption famously left behind…

‘Tis Her Season Former media executive Elizabeth Chan decided to pursue music full-time. The result? Her first chart appearance, as “Fa La La” (Merry Bright) enters Adult Contemporary at No. 17. With a Christmas-related work ethic to rival St. Nick, Chan has penned “hundreds of Christmas songs,” she estimates. Regarding her career switch, Chan says, “The only vehicle I had was a leap of faith. But the support I’ve received has been astounding. I’m grateful and humbled.” Plante Grows DJ/producer Cole Plante jumps into the Dance Club Songs top 10 (13-8) with his debut hit, “Lie to Me.” The cut is a collaboration with Myon & Shane 54 and features Koko Laroo. The 17-year-old Plante, who played Lollapalooza this year at 16, signed with Hollywood Records last year and is…

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…