Innholdsfortegnelse for Feb-14-15 i Billboard Magazine

DEFORESTATION IS DUE IN NO SMALL PART TO THE ruminations on power in countless magazines through the years. We’ve read a good many of them; we know you have, too. Such “power packages” obviously make for good copy — anytime folks are ranked against their colleagues or competitors, it’s a reckoning for some and a positive reinforcement for others. The lists also get people talking. And calling. And emailing and texting. (Snapchat? Not just yet, thankfully.) Some try to commiserate at the weight of our task: Unless you or your boss sits atop our Power 100, we are, in effect, idiots. Nevertheless, in compiling a power list, how do we define the term “power”? It’s not as simple as is often said: You don’t always know it when you see…

While Suge Knight’s murder charge, Feb. 3 not guilty plea, revoked $2 million bail and reported courtroom panic attack play out like a Hollywood drama, Universal Pictures is moving forward with its Aug. 14 release of N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Knight, 49, the one-time rap mogul and founder of Death Row Records, was at the center of a fatal hit-and-run accident on Jan. 29 just miles from a Compton promotional shoot in Los Angeles. Universal declined to comment or clarify what type of footage was being filmed, but sources say that Paul Hunter, a commercial and music video director who has worked with Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, was behind the camera when Knight showed up on the Compton set uninvited and got into a verbal altercation with Cle…

ALTHOUGH SHE’S notoriously protective of her brand, Taylor Swift isn’t known to be especially litigious. But the singer has been on a trademark tear, attempting to register a handful of phrases in advance of her 1989 World Tour, which launches in Tokyo on May 5. In addition to playful lines like “this sick beat,” found on her single “Shake It Off,” Swift’s recent requests to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office include relatively esoteric phrases like “Nice to meet you, where you been?” and “Party like it’s 1989.” Some 37 applications have been filed on her behalf since October 2014, shortly before Swift’s album was released, presumably to thwart unofficial vendors from ripping off her brand with such merch as shirts, hats, bags, toys and lanyards. But, offers one trademark…

AVICII’S 2013 HIT “WAKE ME UP!” is the most-streamed song in Spotify history, with more than 339 million global streams to date. That success is due not only to the fact that it’s a great song, but also because from the start, we saw Spotify as our music partner, not just a streaming service and revenue source. Too many people have the wrong idea about what Spotify is. It’s not a one-way street; it’s a two-way platform that allows you to creatively market your music while generating revenue, and it played an integral role in breaking Avicii stateside and exposing him to new audiences worldwide. Before the release of True, Avicii’s 2013 album — which includes the singles “Wake Me Up!” and “Hey Brother” — he was best-known in the…

GLENDALE, ARIZ., FEB.1 “ARIZONA, YOU’RE NOT TIRED YET, ARE WE?” Rihanna asked halfway through a 22-song set for DirecTV’s invite-only Super Saturday Night concert, where she was joined by guests Kanye West (who performed “All of the Lights” and a half-dozen of his own hits) and Rae Sremmurd. The cheers that greeted her were a typical response during a weekend chockablock with private pre-Super Bowl shows from arena-level artists like Drake, J. Cole, Florida Georgia Line and Nicki Minaj. Though New England Patriot Tom Brady took home his fourth championship title, the weekend’s real MVP was Katy Perry, who wowed in four looks by Moschino’s Jeremy Scott for her Pepsi Halftime Show performance with special guests Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott. “No deflated beach balls in this halftime show!” Scott…

‘Cool Kids’ Singer Wants To Play Cupid With Taylor Echosmith’s charismatic leading lady Sydney Sierota, 17, who posted Instagram photos of herself hanging with Taylor Swift during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, tells Overheard that if she got the chance to spend a “bucket list” day with Swift, she’d try to set up her younger brother, Echosmith drummer Graham Sierota, 15, with the “Shake It Off” singer, who’s 25. Sydney says Graham would “very much like to meet Taylor.” What a Swift song that would make. Ekko Up For RiRi Repeat Hey, Rihanna: Mikky Ekko is up for another collaboration with you. Ekko, who co-wrote and sang on Rihanna’s 2012 ballad “Stay,” is busy promoting his debut album, Time, but he says he’s open to the idea. “She has…

DIRECTOR HIRO MURAI HAS A HARD TIME EXPLAINING HOW his creative process works. “I’ll listen to a song so much that ideas start to form out of daydreaming. It’s as if I’m reversescoring the track,” he says. “Was that the most abstract nonsense you’ve ever heard?” But skill with the abstract is precisely what has led acts as diverse as David Guetta and The Shins to tap the 31-year-old Tokyo-born, Los Angelesraised Murai for surreal visuals that send viewers down a rabbit hole with gigantic frogs, teddy bears and, in the case of the video for Chet Faker’s “Gold,” roller-skating sirens filmed during a 14-hour-long night shoot. “If the pitch had come from any other director, I would’ve said no,” says Faker. “It was weird as hell, but the result…

FOR YOUR AGENT FORNASETTI Profumi Bacio Otto candle, $525; ronrobinson.com. Calvin Harris shops the brand. FOR YOUR DAD HOOK + ALBERT Metallic tie, $159; hookandalbert.com. Paul Stanley of Kiss owns one. FOR YOUR STYLIST JACQUIE AICHE Moonstone teardrop ear cuff, $1,650; jacquieaiche.com. FOR YOUR BANDMATE SAME SKY Men’s beaded cufflinks, $95; samesky.com. The Rwanda-based collective employs women in need. FOR YOUR PET BOW & DRAPE X TOAST MEETS WORLD Customizable pet sweatshirt, $35; bowanddrape.com. Miley Cyrus is a fan of the brand. FOR YOUR GF/WIFE GIANVITO ROSSI Mirrored-leather and PVC pumps, $730; net-a-porter.com. Jennifer Lopez struts the red carpet in Rossi. FOR YOUR MAKEUP ARTIST KELLY WEARSTLER Linen and goose down pillow, $295; kellywearstler.com. Gwen Stefani is a Wearstler client. FOR YOUR MOM THE GIVING KEYS Sterling silver key pendants,…

IT’S ABOUT TIME BOB DYLAN SINGS THE STANDARDS. As an aging rock legend, he’s entitled to one holiday record and a crack or two at the Great American Songbook; with 2009’s Christmas From the Heart, a surprising continuation of his late-career hot streak, he checked the former box. On Shadows in the Night, the follow-up to 2012’s excellent Tempest, the master songwriter plays interpreter, tackling 10 sentimental ballads recorded by Frank Sinatra in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Producing under his Jack Frost pseudonym, Dylan ditches the orchestral fanfare for a more lonesome-cowboy style, with little more than acoustic bass, pedal steel, guitar and brushed percussion. And, of course, that voice — one as famously divisive as Sinatra’s was universally loved. Over time, Dylan’s nasal wail has become a creaky…

4.0/5.0 DIRECTOR Stephen Kijak PRODUCER Mia Bays RELEASE DATE Jan. 30 THE LIFE SPAN OF A BOY BAND CAN OFTEN seem predetermined. As the boys mature into men and their teen audience ages out, two paths emerge: either break up and move on, or embrace their fate as a nostalgia act. For Backstreet Boys, the highs were skyscraping: They moved tens of millions of albums worldwide, sold out arenas and had an embarrassment of chart-topping hits. But the documentary Show ’Em What You’re Made Of, an all-access pass to the quintet’s life during the past two years, focuses less on its planet-conquering success than it does on what happened when it faded. It’s a naked examination of how little fame matters when it fails to yield anything lasting, be it…

4.0/5.0 PRODUCER Tom Beaujour LABEL American Laundromat Records RELEASE DATE Feb. 17 It has been more than two decades since The Juliana Hatfield Three’s last, and only, full-length, Become What You Are, helped make its frontwoman an alt-rock darling. She remained remarkably prolific (releasing five LPs, solo and with collaborative projects, in the past five years alone), but the 1993 set boasted what is likely Hatfield’s defining song, the sweetly caustic “My Sister.” As a result, Hatfield’s JH3 era, with drummer Todd Philips and bassist Dean Fisher, has come to be regarded as her watershed moment. All of which means Whatever, My Love arrives with an extra bit of anticipation from Hatfield enthusiasts. And, much like its forebear, the album’s 12 tunes are tight, tidy pop-rockers, presented in her characteristic…

JUST LIKE HOLLYWOOD, pop music fans love a good sequel. After ruling the Billboard Hot 100 in summer 2011 with “Give Me Everything” (which topped the chart dated July 9 that year), Pitbull and Ne-Yo reteam to heat up the winter with another celebratory dance-pop hit, “Time of Our Lives.” The song surges 21-11 on the Feb. 14 Hot 100, with sales accounting for the majority (44 percent) of its chart activity: “Time” bounds 12-9 on Digital Songs with a 27 percent increase to 83,000 downloads sold in the week ending Feb. 1, according to Nielsen Music. It also jumps into the top 10 (17-10) on Radio Songs (61 million audience impressions, up 26 percent) and rises 48-37 on Streaming Songs (3.3 million U.S. streams, up 17 percent). The vault…

One of the less-mentioned feats of the 2015 Grammy Awards is its most impressive: A record seven nominated albums were largely financed by Kickstarter, up from four in 2014. Music remains the crowdfunding platform’s most popular category, with more than $135 million pledged to 35,470 projects (nearly half funded successfully) since the site’s 2009 launch. And while the company has not yet made it to a marquee category, Arcade Fire’s 2011 win for best album shows victory for an independent is possible.…

Between his dual roles as president of urban music at RCA and CEO of ByStorm Entertainment, a joint venture with the label, Mark Pitts, 44, rode into 2015 with 10 Grammy nominations and a third consecutive Billboard 200 No. 1 album, 2014 Forrest Hills Drive, by ByStorm management client J. Cole. Now he’s rolling the dice on multiple acts, including Miguel and newcomer Luke Christopher, while overseeing an RCA slate spiked with new releases from Chris Brown and Tyga, Charlie Wilson and Usher. “I’m trying to build my own LaFace,” the Brooklyn native says. How did you react to the Grammy noms? The one that struck a nerve was Mali: Known for his gospel work when I signed him, my goal was to bring him into the middle. He’s up…

With all the subtlety of a squawking married couple, Blink-182 aired its dirty laundry on Jan. 26. In spectacularly public fashion, singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge announced he was leaving the band indefinitely, after which bandmates Mark Hoppus (vocals/bass) and Travis Barker (drums) issued a press release claiming DeLonge was ousted. The back-and-forth sniping continues today. Three PR vets offer their advice. RECONCILE The best possible scenario: Kiss and make up. “You have to repair the image,” says Scoop Marketing’s Larry Solters, who has worked with The Eagles for 39 years. “You have to make the band realize: ‘Don’t blow this. Don’t mess with this beautiful thing you’ve created. You’re blessed. Either put your petty differences aside or deal with them, but don’t let it tarnish your trademark.’” NEGOTIATE THE DIVORCE “Let…

JAN. 31 - FEB. 4 “I FEEL LIKE I’M IN SOME STRANGE biodome or on The Truman Show — but in a good way,” Sylvan Esso producer Nick Sanborn told Billboard of the Hard Rock Hotel’s manicured resort environment where rock band My Morning Jacket hosted its second annual four-day festival. Joined by special guests like Conor Oberst, Band of Horses, Dawes and The War on Drugs — the event marked the first time the five-person group performed in nearly a year. “It was really incredible to walk onstage and experience how their audience receives them,” Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith said. Before hitting up nighttime sets that overlooked the ocean, attendees had the option to partake in activities including yoga and scuba diving — or, in the case of Sanborn, slip…

Ricky Martin is the first to admit that the recording process for his new Spanish-language album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (To Whomever Wants to Listen), was hectic. “We recorded on four different continents,” says Martin, 43, of the Feb. 10 Sony release. “The moment we’d finish a song, we’d run into the studio because there simply wasn’t a chunk of time available.” That’s the price of juggling multiple gigs: The Puerto Rico native played more than 30 shows in 2014, served as a judge on The Voice Australia and The Voice Mexico, launched a clothing collaboration with A Different Fur and faced his toughest job yet: raising twin 6-year-old boys as a single dad. You travel so much. Do you leave the kids in Puerto Rico? I can’t — I…

“Kevin...no. Please don’t do this tonight.” —DRAKE The rapper poking fun at comedian Kevin Hart’s leather tank-top selfie on Instagram. “ Drake looks like the type of guy that would drink his own bathwater.” — KEVIN HART The comedian on Instagram, retaliating against the rapper’s jokes about his selfie. “ Had I known about this lack of support, there are other artists I would have gone with.” — DIANE WARREN The veteran songwriter to The Huffington Post, calling out singer Rita Ora for not promoting their Oscar-nominated track “Grateful” from Beyond the Lights. “ Sorry for the drama! I just don’t support neoprene Jesus sandals with socks.” — IGGY AZALEA The rapper on Instagram, explaining why she criticized collaborator Steve Madden for releasing “disgusting” promo pictures for their upcoming shoe…

1 LUCIAN GRAINGE, 54 Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Group Last Year’s Rank: 2 On Sept. 23, 2014, Lucian Grainge summoned the heads of Universal Music Group’s labels and his executive committee to dinner at his home in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Among the people present were Universal executive vp Michele Anthony, Republic’s Monte and Avery Lipman, Island’s David Massey, Interscope’s John Janick, Capitol’s Steve Barnett and David Joseph, chairman/CEO of Universal U.K. Despite UMG’s stellar 2014, Grainge didn’t call the meeting to celebrate. Instead, he declared that the time had come for the company to “hit the reset button.” The big question of the night, as Joseph recalls: “What does the music company of tomorrow look like?” It says everything you need to know about Grainge’s tenacity…

4.0/5.0 PRODUCERS Josh Tillman, Jonathan Wilson LABEL Sub Pop RELEASE DATE Feb. 10 THREE YEARS AGO, SINGER-SONGWRITER J. Tillman traded morose ballads for mordant wit, headed down the coast from Seattle to Los Angeles and rechristened himself Father John Misty. Surrounding himself with pedal steel, strings and vocal chorales, the former Fleet Foxes drummer cracked wise about a world choked by plastic and decadence, chronicling the itinerant dreams that have crashed along the shores and highways of L.A. ever since they poured the concrete. The music of his debut, 2012’s Fear Fun, swirled in a diffident haze, like smoke in the air or whiskey in a glass, but beneath lurked a searcher’s moralism that verged on cosmic outrage. On the second Father John album, the search terms have changed: In…

3.0/5.0 PRODUCERS Kid Ink, DJ Ill Will, J Grand, others LABEL RCA RELEASE DATE Feb. 3 ON HIS THIRD ALBUM, FULL SPEED, Los Angeles rapper Kid Ink continues an unlikely transformation from also-ran to chart star. Ink is a workmanlike and often indistinct rhymer: His wordplay is always dependably mannered, the melodies are conventional, and the songs feel more like treading water than paddling out. Early releases dropped without waves, but Ink’s buzz warmed as he waded into dance-rap, hitting his stride and cracking the charts with the Chris Brownassisted “Main Chick” and DJ Mustard-helmed Hot 100 smash “Show Me,” both off 2013’s My Own Lane. Ink has clearly studied his success, and it feels strategic that Full Speed is sardine-packed with star collaborators. Mustard crafts two cuts, including the…

IT HAS BEEN A GOOD FEW MONTHS for Martin Bandier, chairman/CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, who received exciting news on two fronts: a top industry honor and easier access to his beloved cigars. The Recording Academy last November announced that Bandier, 73, will receive the President’s Merit Award at the Grammy Salute to Industry Icons on Feb. 7, at the pre-Grammy bash hosted by Clive Davis. The award, which never before has been given to a music publisher, recognizes an executive’s career contributions to the music business and philanthropic endeavors. Then, in December, President Barack Obama announced diplomatic moves with Cuba that could increase import availability of personal products, including cigars. “I smoke Trinidads when I can get them,” says Bandier. “Hopefully, I will be able to buy them more…

AFTER BEATING OUT SOME HEAVY competition (Frank Ocean, The Lumineers, Alabama Shakes, Hunter Hayes) to win the Grammy for best new artist in 2013, Fun has followed up with something few expected: Nothing. According to multiple sources, the band — comprising Nate Ruess, 32, Jack Antonoff, 30, and Andrew Dost, 31 — seems on the verge of a breakup, with weeks, even months, going by with little to no communication among bandmates. The cause of the discord? A “clash of egos.” The result: a threeway splinter. Billboard has learned that frontman Ruess has started recording a solo album with producer Jeff Bhasker, who helmed Fun’s Grammy-winning Some Nights, which has sold 1.6 million albums, according to Nielsen Music. “He’s written a lot of songs,” says a source, confirming that it…

AS FKA TWIGS, acclaimed British singer Tahlia Barnett has one of music’s most memorable monikers. The question is: Will she be able to keep it? In April 2014, just prior to her live American debut, the 27-yearold, then known simply as Twigs, was slapped with a lawsuit by Linda and Laura Good, who had been performing for two decades as The Twigs and hold a registered trademark. According to the documents in the case, Barnett first reached out to the Goods by email in June 2013, and later offered them $15,000 if they, or at least their creative handles, could co-exist. The two sides did not come to an agreement, and even though Barnett modified her professional name to FKA Twigs (FKA standing for “formerly known as”), the Goods still…

AHALFTIME VIEWING AUDIENCE of 118.5 million wasn’t the only record broken by Super Bowl XLIX. Synchs — songs licensed for commercials that aired during the big game — reached new highs at the top three music publishers, with Warner/Chappell reporting 14, Sony/ATV clocking 12 and Universal Music Publishing Group tallying 20. (Sony and Warner’s totals were from the main telecast; UMPG’s tally includes pregame spots.) As ad rates have soared — to $4.5 million for the cost of a 30-second spot during NBC’s broadcast of the big game — licensing royalties for songwriters and artists have gotten healthier, too. Brian Monaco, executive vp/worldwide head of advertising, film and TV at Sony/ATV, says that although the company booked fewer synchs than the 2014 telecast (12 vs. 14), the overall revenue was…

THE FOUR COMPOSERS nominated for best original score at the 87th annual Academy Awards (airing Feb. 22 on ABC) — double nominee Alexandre Desplat, Gary Yershon, Johann Johannsson and Hans Zimmer — took wildly different approaches to their films. Four of the five contenders are period pieces, yet none utilize the music of their time, while the fifth, Interstellar, is set in space in the future and features an experimental marriage of sound design and music. ALEXANDER DESPLAT, 53 THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL INSTRUMENTATION Bal– alaikas, bouzoukis, cymbeline with strings THE SCORE “The music is about the pace and the atmosphere — this elegant past that we’ve lost — and tries to keep with the light version of the film and rarely plays the darkness of the storyline. [Director] Wes…

HERE’S A LIST OF THINGS THAT BIG SEAN ADMITTEDLY gives an “F” about: his family; his girlfriend, pop star Ariana Grande; his business; his charitable foundation; “how people feel”; Dragon Ball Z; professionalism; video games; all the Batman movies; the “good as hell” burritos at Chipotle. The list of things Big Sean doesn’t give an “F” about is significantly shorter: “you.” Not you, the reader. But “you,” the unnamed antagonist of the Detroit native’s recent smash “I Don’t F— With You,” which features him happily insisting “I don’t give a f—” 26 times. You can guess who the song is about, considering the tabloid coverage of the April 2014 breakup of the Kanye West protege and his former fiancee, Glee star Naya Rivera, who married actor Ryan Dorsey just three…

HARRY CONNICK JR. SPLITS HIS SECOND year as a judge alongside Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban on American Idol (which returned for its 14th season in January) with a 24-date North American tour that launched Feb. 4. So how does the 47-year-old singer manage the multi tasking madness, whether he’s in his Idol dressing room or on the tour bus? With a little help from these backstage essentials. Kettlebells “I have a streak going — I don’t miss a day of exercise. But I rarely go to gyms; I usually swing kettlebells I carry on the road.” Preshow Playtime “We’re all good friends. I’ll stop by Keith’s trailer or say hi to Jen. We go out to dinner. Sometimes in this business you show up to work with people and,…

The Atlanta Hawks are dominating in the run-up to the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 15, but that’s not the only reason fans are heading to Phillips Arena : Foster “Sir Foster” Carson, the team’s home-court organist, puts his own fun spin on hip-hop hits. The 27-year-old, whose debut, Future World Record Holder, hit iTunes Feb. 10, names the top three tracks that turn Hawks fans up. Rae Sremmurd, “No Flex Zone” “People love any time I play anything by Rae Sremmurd, so my Twitter blows up when I play this. They’re not actually singing on the record, just talking, but it’s so close to musical tones that I can tie it in. Some songs don’t translate to organ well; this was a personal victory for me.” Shawty Lo, “They…

CASA DRAGONES TEQUILA BOB PITTMAN (NO. 8), CHAIRMAN/CEO, IHEARTMEDIA Pittman — a longtime tequila aficionado — based his signature blanco blend (with a hint of anejo) on an old home brew he once tasted in San Miguel, Mexico, where he has a vacation home. Proudly plugged as the only premium joven tequila on the market, every bottle is also hand-signed and numbered. THE LAUNDRY ROOM PASQUALE ROTELLA (NO. 59) CEO, INSOMNIAC EVENTS Located in the semi-secret back room at Commonwealth in Las Vegas, this cocktail-only speakeasy (a bar-within-a-bar) is accessible only to those with reservations. No photos are allowed, and a two-hour maximum stay is enforced. BLADE ROB WIESENTHAL (NO. 82), COO, WARNER MUSIC GROUP Ever really need to get out of Manhattan? With Wiesenthal’s Blade app, users can crowd-source…

For his sixth studio album, Non-Fiction (Motown, Jan. 27), Ne-Yo took a different approach. Instead of looking inward for the 19-track set, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter, who does double duty as Motown senior vp A&R, crowd-sourced love stories from fans through social media for inspiration. Though the concept album isn’t entirely his own truth, he says his main goal was to create a narrative you can get lost in: “The one element of good storytelling is being able to take your listener on a ride.” Why did you decide to incorporate your fans into the songwriting process? They have very common stories — it’s something us guys go through on a regular basis, and it’s definitely something that women have been a part of as well at some point in their…

D’ANGELO, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (JAN. 31) D and his vice-tight new band made a point musically and politically with Black Messiah’s “The Charade,” wearing “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts, raising fists and repeating, “All we wanted was a chance to talk/Instead we only got outlined in chalk.” THE LONE BELLOW, LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (JAN. 26) The trio has been called altcountry, indie-folk and everything in between, but here, beefed up with brass and strings, it brought church-worthy soul with “Then Came the Morning” (Sunday morning from the sound of it). ZZ TOP, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! (JAN. 6) Times change, but ZZ Top, thankfully, doesn’t: Well into their 60s, and rebounding from a tour bus crash, the trio rocked beards and blues — highlighted by an eight-minute jam of 1973’s…

LONG BEFORE THE INTERNET WIRED the planet, the easiest way for Americans to hear Swedish pop music was to visit the country. That’s what exchange student Dean Cushman of Minneapolis was doing when he saw one of Sweden’s top acts, Roxette — duo Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, then 29 and 30, respectively, — in concert. Impressed, he brought a copy of the pair’s second album, Look Sharp!, back to the United States and made his local top 40 station, KDWB, aware of it. KDWB’s program director, Brian Phillips (now president of CMT), began spinning album track “The Look,” powered by crunchy guitar riffs and a “na-na, na-na-na” hook. He also sent tapes of it to other stations, and its airplay spurred EMI, Roxette’s label in Sweden, to sign the…