Innholdsfortegnelse for May-24-14 i Billboard Magazine

TALKS CONTINUED AT PRESS TIME over Apple’s bid to buy Beats Electronics for a reported $3.2 billion. But the ripple effects are already being felt among players in the growing market of streaming music providers — which is set for a period of rapid consolidation during the next 12 months, say industry executives. The deal may spur tech giants like Google and Amazon to make bids of their own for the likes of Spotify and Rhapsody — the biggest and first on-demand music streaming subscription services, respectively — as they seek to make their digital platforms more attractive to consumers. Google and Amazon declined to comment. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says he would not be surprised to see Apple, which took a tentative first step into the market by launching…

Malik Bendjelloul created a new audience for the overlooked musician Rodriguez through his first and only theatrically released film, Searching for Sugar Man. Though underfunded during its creation, the film’s distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, sent Bendjelloul and Rodriguez around the world to support the remarkable story about an artist wholly unaware that his music had won an enthusiastic following on the other side of the globe. Bendjelloul, who committed suicide May 13 at the age of 36 in Stockholm, was not only selling his film to audiences, he was proselytizing for Rodriguez as a contemporary artist as well. The producer saw Rodriguez as an oracle, a songwriter whose gentle touch as a lyricist and singer deserved considerable accolades — not to mention royalties from tens of thousands of unaccounted-for album…

At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony held in April and set to air on HBO on May 31, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band delivered a nearly hourlong acceptance speech — the longest in the hall’s 29-year history. A tour of the more awkward moments onstage: In an icy address, The Beach Boys’Mike Love skewered several fellow inductees who were MIA that night — including Diana Ross and Paul McCartney. Julian Lennon fumbled for a cigarette when Love remarked, “We did 180 shows last year. I’d like to see the Mop Tops match that.” Maybe the spirit moved him. Little Richard surprised the crowd by repeatedly shouting “Shut up!” while inducting the late Otis Redding — and broke into several Redding classics on the spot, unprovoked. “I feel…

Nas, who turned hip-hop on its ear 20 years ago with his groundbreaking debut album Illmatic, is going indie. The venerated rapper, 40, is launching Mass Appeal Records, an independent record label, which, in addition to shepherding a new generation of hip-hop hopefuls, also will provide an outlet for new Nas music when his contract with Def Jam expires later this year. Mass Appeal Records, co-founded with Peter Bittenbender, 36, will succeed Decon Records, a boutique label-turned-creative studio started by Bittenbender and video director Jason Goldwatch in 2002. Last spring, Nas and Bittenbender raised $1.2 million to relaunch the street culture magazine Mass Appeal, which will serve as a sister company to Mass Appeal Records, in a relationship akin to that between Vice Records and Vice magazine. “I’m excited to…

Usher’s “Good Kisser,” the first single from his forthcoming eighth album, is returning him to familiar territory: the charts. The song debuts at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 18 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts dated May 24. The bow was fueled by 29,000 downloads in the week ending May 11, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and 13 million impressions on radio, according to Nielsen BDS. The song “Good Kisser” launched with a music video on May 5, the same day it hit digital retailers. Usher, 35, gave the single another bump with his May 12 performance on The Voice. The song and its accompanying video, featuring Usher dancing seductively and drumming shirtless, is also a return to the sex-symbol imagery and R&B sound that first made…

Mysteryland, the world’s longestrunning EDM festival with editions in The Netherlands and Chile, will hold its first edition in the United States during Memorial Day weekend at upstate New York’s Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the site of the original Woodstock festival in 1969. “It was a dream we never thought would come true,” says Jeroen Jansen, creative director of ID&T, the Netherlands-based parent company that has operated Mysteryland for over 20 years. More than 200 worldrenowned DJs and performers, including headliner Kaskade, Moby, Nicky Romero, Seth Troxler and Steve Aoki, will be present at the mini-fest, which runs May 23 to May 26. “I played the Mysteryland in Europe for quite some time,” says Aoki. “I remember playing in 2009, and then last year I headlined Mysteryland in…

The unlikely partnership between comedian Chelsea Handler and legendary music manager Irving Azoff shows how the business of comedy has grown beyond rock’n’roll levels. It’s not just arenas, it’s all media — from books and TV, to the Internet and beyond On Oct. 8 of last year, Irving Azoff got a call from Kevin Huvane, managing partner at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), congratulating the megamanager on the latest addition to his client list. There was just one problem: Azoff didn’t know about it. “Chelsea Handler one day decided I was her manager, and I was only too thrilled to accept the assignment,” says the chairman/CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment, 66. “She sent an email to her business manager, lawyer and agents saying, ‘Please deal with Irving from now on.’ Shortly…

1. Jeff Dunham Total Gross $3,737,382 Total Attendance 80,444 Total Capacity 92,112 No. of Shows 12 2. Katt Williams Total Gross $732,019 Total Attendance 12,401 Total Capacity 20,562 No. of Shows 3 3. Louis CK Total Gross $549,624 Total Attendance 10,936 Total Capacity 11,409 No. of Shows 1 4. Mike Epps otal Gross $480,566 Total Attendance 8,975 Total Capacity 17,192 No. of Shows 2 5. Gabriel Iglesias Total Gross $331,231 Total Attendance 7,627 Total Capacity 8,987 No. of Shows 2 6. Chelsea Handler Total Gross $310,715 Total Attendance 5,740 Total Capacity 5,740 No. of Shows 1 7. Chris Tucker Total Gross $268,617 Total Attendance 3,893 Total Capacity 3,893 No. of Shows 1 8. Jeff Foxworthy Total Gross $266,485 Total Attendance 5,961 Total Capacity 7,447 No. of Shows 1 9. Kevin…

A comedian craving intimacy might want to consider becoming a podcaster. “[The audience knows] you a lot better,” says Marc Maron, 50, who has helmed the twice-weekly WTF since September 2009 and announced in December it had topped 100 million downloads. Each show averages about 80 minutes in length and has an average audience of 230,000, and the series will soon log its 500th edition. By listening intently to such free-form conversation, “they know everything about you and I know they have a real relationship with me.” It’s a stark contrast to the world of stand-up, where, despite the close quarters of such clubs as The Improv and The Comedy Store, the stage serves as a virtual moat — rarely crossed save for the occasional heckler. “As far back as…

1. Adam Sandler What the Hell Happened to Me? (1996) Label Warner Bros. Sales 2.14 million 2. Jeff Foxworthy Games Rednecks Play (1995) Label Warner Bros. Sales 2.09 million 3. Jeff Foxworthy You Might Be a Redneck If … (1993) Label Warner Bros. Sales 2.05 million 4. “Weird Al” Yankovic Bad Hair Day (1996) Label Rock ’N‘ Roll/Scotti Bros. All American Sales 2.03 million 5. Adam Sandler They’re All Gonna Laugh at You (1993) Label Warner Bros. Sales 1.8 million 6. Beavis & Butt-Head The Beavis & Butt-Head Experience (1993) Label Geffen Sales 1.6 million 7. Dane Cook Retaliation (2005) Label Comedy Central Sales 1.40 million 8. Dane Cook Harmful If Swallowed (2003) Label Comedy Central Sales 1.38 million 9. The Jerky Boys The Jerky Boys (1993) Label Select/AG Sales…

The Girl From Ipanema” turns 50 this year, and Verve/Universal is celebrating with a reissue of Getz/Gilberto, the Grammy-winning Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto album that includes the Englishlanguage version sung by Astrud Gilberto that reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. But as the World Cup puts the spotlight on Brazil, some are asking why the global perception of Brazilian music hasn’t changed much in those five decades. Sony is putting out three new CD compilations of Brazilian music in addition to the official World Cup album, One Love, One Rhythm, released on RCA in the United States. As a FIFA partner, the label was required to include collaborators from Brazil on the official song, Pitbull’s “We Are One,” which features Brazil’s Claudia Leitte , and…

Age: 26 From: Seaford, N.Y. Sounds like: Ellie Goulding or Florence Welch playing the dance tent at Coachella — if they were dudes. Playlist: Tiesto, “Wasted”; Zedd, “Spectrum”; Afrojack, “Illuminate”; his solo song ”One Night”; ex-girlfriend Carly Rae Jepsen’s “This Kiss” (co-writer) Why you should know him: Much like Skrillex, who transitioned from emo rocker to dubstep king, Koma is a punk-pop singer-songwriter who has become EDM’s most-wanted topline, lending his androgynous vocals to current singles from Tiesto (“Wasted”), Zedd (“Find You”) and Hardwell (“Dare You”). He may be the common thread to recent EDM standouts, but Koma insists each of his collabos is unique. “You give 10 chefs the same ingredients, they’re all going to make dishes that taste different,” he says. Co-signs: Jimmy Iovine signed Koma to Interscope…

SHARON VAN ETTEN’ exquisitely devastating chronicles of love lost have always seemed shockingly personal and intimate, like overhearing the couple sitting next to you at a restaurant breaking up. But the Brooklyn-based folk singersongwriter’s earlier albums were actually shared visions, consisting of numerous collaborations with a widening series of indie producers and musicians. Greg Weeks (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Marissa Nadler) helmed her 2009 label debut, Because I Was in Love, and The National’s Aaron Dessner produced her 2012 breakthrough Tramp, which also featured members of Beirut, The National and Wye Oak and debuted at No. 75 on the Billboard 200. But for her fourth album, Are We There, Van Etten, 33, reportedly wanted to be fully in charge of her own musical confessions. She self-produces for the first time —…

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 multiplatinum level. Digital Songs Charts RIAA certification for 500,000 paid downloads (Gold). RIAA certification for 1 million paid downloads (Platinum). Numeral noted with platinum symbol indicates song’s…

Sony/ATV’s Martin Bandier and Jody Gerson bagged publisher of the year honors at the BMI Pop Awards. Among their hits: Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” and Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors.” East Village Radio, Manhattan’s beloved Internet-only radio station, announced that it will air its last broadcast on May 23 after 11 years in operation, owing to crushing performance-royalty costs. Capitol Records chief Steve Barnett is riding high. His new boy band 5 Seconds of Summer is sizzling. U.K. vocal sensation Sam Smith’s debut album looms. And Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” has legs Glee, once a hit machine, suffered a low-rated season finale. A reported feud between Lea Michele and Naya Rivera may have forced script changes. And the show’s final season may be cut short.…

The long-running legal feud between Jean Kasem, the wife of ailing radio personality Casey Kasem, 82, and his three children from his first marriage has taken several dramatic new twists. Following months of wrangling over visitation and Kasem’s medical care, the case flared again at a bizarre hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 12. Responding to allegations that Kasem, who is suffering from dementia, had been abruptly removed from a Santa Monica, Calif., care facility and may have been spirited out of the United States, Jean Kasem’s lawyer Craig Marcus told the judge he had “no idea” where Casey Kasem was. After ordering that Kasem be located, the judge named the former DJ’s daughter Kerri as his temporary health conservator. Kerri and her sister, Julie, declared that…

Former BBC executive Paul Campbell launched a new company in the United Kingdom in 2007, looking for ways to help musicians find a wider audience for their work. He established a website allowing select unsigned acts to upload their music, sell it — and keep the proceeds. Two years later, Campbell founded a radio station using a playlist built exclusively from the off erings on his site. He further developed his audience by adding a few shows carefully curated by a mix of ex-BBC and up-and-coming DJs. The result: Amazing Media, a powerful promotional machine that has become one of the A&R community’s most crucial tools for developing new talent and has helped propel the likes of Chvrches, Daughter and Alt-J to deals with major or independent labels. Now, five…

How an unknown French DJ, a rapper without a recent hit and their team took a song with just 12 words to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 THE DJ DJ SNAKE “I initially made the song with a Redman sample [2007’s ‘Da Countdown (Saga Continues)’]. We tried to clear it but he wasn’t down, so I decided to send it to somebody else to [recreate it]. The first person in mind? Lil Jon. He’s energetic — I knew he ’d be best for it.” THE VOICE LIL JON “ When I heard it, I was like, ‘This beat is crazy but the Redman sample just don’t fit .’ I go in the booth, and the first track I laid was crazy. I sent Snake the track back, and…

05-06 Mike Spinella joined Pandora as senior director of original content, leading the growth and development of artist programming across the platform, with a focus on creating and curating video and audio for users. Spinella was most recently director of industry relations for Rolling Stone and Wenner Media. 05-08 The Agency Group announced that Michael Goldsmith was hired to head its new corporate division in Los Angeles. He began his career at CID Entertainment and subsequently held positions at CRS Management, Red Light Management, ATO Records and, most recently, William Morris Endeavor. 05-09 Roots leader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson announced he is executive-producing a music series for VH1 titled SoundClash, which will be hosted by Diplo and feature A-list musicians performing with rising artists on one stage. The show will debut…

Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci based his spring/summer menswear collection on the technology of sound — exploding images of boom boxes, tape decks, digital mixers and soundboards, then splicing them back together in symmetrical patterns. This 100 percent cotton printed shirt may have a hefty price tag, but with so many devoted followers — especially in hip-hop — it shouldn’t be a surprise to see guys willing to live large and dress loud. Givenchy T-shirt, $1,115, mrporter.com…

1. YOUTUBE Potential audience 124 million Bo Burnham was an ordinary 16-year-old kid in suburban Massachusetts when he started posting videos of his songs, which he called “pubescent musical comedy.” As of January, more people have watched his videos than watched the last episode of M*A*S*H (106 million). 2. TALKSHOW Potential audience 5.6 million Hannibal Buress hosts a stand-up show every Sunday at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. Assuming the theater sells out (a best-case scenario), he performs every week to about 300 people. Compare that to his Feb. 25 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . He would have to perform at The Knitting Factory every Sunday for the next 36 years, to match the 5.5 million viewers he reached that night. 3. COMEDY CENTRAL SHOW Potential…

Who are your comic idols? Chris D’Elia Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy. The way they inhabited characters astonished me. Tig Notaro Growing up, I had all of Chris D’Elia, Nikki Glaser and Rory Scovel’s albums. Nikki Glaser Amy Schumer, Dave Attell, Jim Gaffigan, Gary Gulman and Henry Phillips. Rory Scovel Steve Martin, Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, Maria Bamford. Favorite bit by another comic? D’Elia The one where Eddie Murphy talks about his aunt falling down the stairs. She doesn’t just fall down, it’s like this epic, ridiculous free fall down Mount Kilimanjaro. And she’s screaming “Oh, Lord Jesus, help me!” The longer it takes, the funnier it gets. Notaro These days, I’m pretty into Mike Birbiglia’s “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and am inspired by basically any word or noise that falls…

On the evening of May 5, Aziz Ansari sits in a tiny dressing room backstage at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre, about to perform his new standup show, Modern Romance, before a sold-out house of 1,200. “This is the 10th show here at the same venue, and it’s cool but it gets a little repetitive,” says the 31-year-old Ansari, who’s wearing a burgundy velvet jacket and black everything else. “It’s kind of nice to travel and do different venues. Each theater has a different vibe, like you wouldn’t think, ‘Oh, Springfield, Mass.!’ But it was a beautiful, really nice 3,000-seat theater. I like new crowds so this has been a little bit weird, because it’s the same thing so many times.” Ansari doesn’t mention that by selling out 10 consecutive shows he…

There are more official World Cup songs than ever this year, as the music industry vies to get a share of what in 2010 was reportedly the second-mostwatched event in TV history. Broadcast coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa reached a record 3.2 billion people worldwide, or 46.4 percent of the global population, according to research firm KantarSport. (The 2012 Summer Olympics in London were watched by 3.6 billion.) The 2014 edition, which takes place in Brazil from June 12 through July 13, is also a draw for marketers, with more than $1 billion spent on official marketing rights in 2010, and a long roster of “ambush” brands prepping campaigns this summer. The World Cup’s power as a hitmaker has been on the rise since Ricky Martin’s…

In 2012, PepsiCo took a chance by tapping then-emerging DJ-producer Calvin Harris to create an original song for a European soccer campaign on behalf of its sugar-free soda Pepsi Max. The result was “Let’s Go,” a global hit featuring Ne-Yo that reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and helped establish Harris’ profile as a major U.S. hitmaker. But why give away that kind of exposure, to say nothing of the royalties it generated? For its follow-up, the soft-drink company is establishing its own label, MSC Sounds, in partnership with Universal’s Caroline Distribution, for a full album tied to the World Cup: Beats of the Beautiful Game, which arrives June 10 . Janelle Monae, Kelly Rowland, Rita Ora, Timbaland and Brazilian hip-hop trio Perlas Negras lead an international…

EVER UNDERESTIMATE the power of a cute puppy in a Super Bowl ad. That’s one lesson British singersongwriter Passenger ( real name Michael Rosenberg) learned when his folk ballad “Let Her Go,” from his 2012 album All the Little Lights (Nettwerk), was featured in an adorable Budweiser spot that premiered during the big game in February and sent the song flying up the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 5. The song is still hovering at No. 35 on the Hot 100 dated May 24, but the 30-year-old already has a new batch of material, Whispers, due June 10. Here, the former busker discusses his friendship with Ed Sheeran, Twitter’s downside and why he’s ready to let go of “Let Her Go .” What has been the single…

One year after Florida Georgia Line corralled Nelly to help inaugurate the summer of “Cruise,” Jerrod Niemann receives a well-timed assist from Pitbull, pop music’s most ubiquitous guest star, on a top 40-crossover-ready version of his Hot Country Songs hit “Drink to That All Night.” Niemann’s original dip in the Auto-Tune pool actually doesn’t need too much updating for this blatantly partycentric remix, with the epic-night lyrics and backslapping rock track providing a cozy environment for Mr. 305. But the offbeat collaboration slides into awkward gimmickry: “Step on the gas, full steam ahead/Real-life ‘Wolf of Wall Street,’ gettin’ bread,” spits Pitbull, pouring out his always-grand ambitions while Niemann serves another shot of Jack. The remix finds two disparate artists helping each other out, but doesn’t give the listener anything new…

BY 1985, actor-comedian Eddie Murphy, then 24, was one of the world’s hottest stars, thanks to a string of blockbuster films and his run on Saturday Night Live. Looking back, it seems unsurprising that Murphy sought to conquer music, too, with his debut single “Party All the Time,” written and produced by Rick James. But Murphy’s ambitions ruffled feathers in the music biz at the time. In the Dec. 21, 1985 Billboard, R&B columnist Nelson George wrote that there were “lots of derisive comments aimed at the project. Murphy’s high-pitched singing voice was the source of much amusement ... Many thought this single would be a major bomb. Yet, to look at the charts, it appears Mr. Murphy is having the last laugh.” Indeed, “Party All the Time,” recorded at…

Apple is reportedly acquiring Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion, with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre said to be taking senior roles at the company. Predictably, the Apple faithful are freaking out. I spent a lot of time among these folks, back when I was writing the “Fake Steve Jobs” blog. They have a cultlike devotion to the Apple brand and are notoriously averse to change. Tell them that their beloved company is buying a mass-market headphone maker and that two guys from the rap world are about to become top executives, and yes, this is going to be a shock to the system. The thing is, a good shock may be exactly what Apple needs. Since Jobs’ death, nearly three years ago, Apple has grown risk averse. Its growth has…

Matador is gearing up for the June 3 release of Glass Boys, the fourth full-length album from one of its most promising bands. The Toronto-based rockers’ 2008 LP The Chemistry of Common Life won Canada’s prestigious Polaris Prize, and 2011’s David Comes to Life peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard 200. With Glass Boys, the group is poised for its best showing yet. Just one problem: Its name is considered indecent by the Federal Communication Commission. So how the f— do you market a band called F—ed Up? The group’s uncompromising nomenclature and sound have generated enviable word-of-(foul)-mouth attention through the years. And Matador has faced this sort of challenge before. In the 1990s it released two albums by Bay Area rock band F—. “[The name] was a big…

“That’s Adam? I thought Meg Ryan was sitting in with us tonight for a second there.”—BLAKE SHELTON The country star, teasing his fellow Voice coach Adam Levine for dying his hair blond. “The new Eminem video, so many feels tho” The pop star, tweeting about the Spike Leedirected video for “Headlights” by Eminem featuring fun.’s Nate Ruess. “Recharging for this tour coming up. and by recharging i mean I’m eating chocolate pudding watching Game Of Thrones.” —BRUNO MARS The Unorthodox Jukebox entertainer, gearing up to continue his Moonshine Jungle tour on May 27. “I’ve always said it’s a good thing I was born a woman or I would have been a drag queen. I think they definitely relate to my flamboyance.”—DOLLY PARTON The country music legend, on her large LGBT…

RADIO BREAKING ‘HABITS’ Tove Lo makes her debut on Billboard’s airplay charts as a lead artist, as the hypnotic “Habits (Stay High)” (Republic) enters Rock Airplay (No. 34) and Alternative (No. 36). “It’s hard for me to talk or sing about,” says the Swedish singersongwriter of the breakup that inspired the song. “But you need to feel passion. I need to use that when I write.” AJ R ‘READY’ WITH SPONGEBOB Pop brother trio AJR bubbles under Mainstream Top 40 with “I’m Ready.” (Partial credit goes to SpongeBob SquarePants, whose voice the song samples.) The New York-based siblings —Adam, Jack and Ryan Met — will tour with Lindsey Stirling starting June 16 and are currently at work on their debut album, due later this year on Warner Bros. HERE COME…

An Evening With Women LOS ANGELES, MAY 10 “And I said, ‘Hey, hey, hey, hey, what’s going on?’ ” yelled the crowd back to 4 Non Blondes, led by Linda Perry, who reunited for the first time in over two decades to perform their hit “What’s Up?” for a crowd of heavy-hitters at the raucous L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s 2014 “An Evening With Women” event at the Beverly Hilton. Guests dined on an all-vegan menu while enjoying a performance from comedian Margaret Cho, who had the audience roaring with laughter at her original song “Fat Pussy.” Actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Milla Jovovich wowed the crowd with their vocal ability during their three-song sets, where Wood belted out Garbage’s “Queer” and Radiohead’s “High and Dry” and Jovovich sang Patti…

FROM LOCAL CONCERTS AT GOSMAN’S DOCK to big-name headliners at the Surf Lodge, the scene in Montauk has made the formerly sleepy fishing village practically synonymous with music. But that’s only one of the many factors that have been attracting hordes of visitors to the growing number of restaurants, bars and hotels in the farthest of the Hamptons. “At the end of Long Island with its romantic lighthouse, dramatic seaside bluff s and ramshackle surf shacks, Montauk, with its high-low culture, has a unique ‘Wild, Wild East’ quality unlike anywhere else on the East Coast,” says hotelier Sean MacPherson, who owns Montauk’s Crow’s Nest Hotel and Restaurant. NEW OR NOTICEABLY DIFFERENT Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa, 290 Old Montauk Highway There’s something for (nearly) every music lover at Gurney’s…

By virtually every metric — ticket sales, the number of stars moving up to the theater and arena level, the volume of acts doing good business — touring comedy is in the midst of a golden age. “The comedy business has never been stronger,” says Nick Nuciforo, who heads up the comedy department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). “There are more headliners now than ever, and a really fertile next generation.” Profit margins are high, demand is growing, and ticket prices remain attractive in comparison to music and sports (often in the $25 to $80 range for theater shows). For the right headliner, fees at the club level can reach six figures, theater dates $250,000 and arena shows between $500,000 and $1 million. Billboard estimates the live comedy business —…

1. Club Nokia, Los Angeles Comedians Adal Ramones, Jim Gaffigan (two shows), Jim Jefferies (two shows) Venue Capacity 2,200 Total No. of Shows 5 Total Gross $289,273 Total Attendance 6,918 2. The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas Comedians Joe Rogan, Katt Williams, Shaquille O’Neal’s All-Star Comedy Jam Venue Capacity 4,000 Total No. of Shows 3 Total Gross $262,556 Total Attendance 5,894 3. Harrah’s Cherokee, Cherokee, N.C. Comedians Jeff Dunham, Gabriel Iglesias Venue Capacity 1,500 Total No. of Shows 2 Total Gross $219,005 Total Attendance 5,201 4. 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C. Comedians Bentzen Ball Festival with Tig Notaro, Doug Benson, Wyatt Cenac and Everything Is Terrible; Chris Hardwick; Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Bang! Bang! Live!; Demetri Martin; Jim Breuer; Pete Holmes; Uhh Yeah Dude (live podcast) Venue Capacity 1,200 Total No.…

When I first started touring as a comic, it was exciting. It was like, “This is going to be great!” But the older you get, the less fun it seems. Here’s what being a road comic breaks down to: a lot of bad travel and bad food. When you’re onstage, it’s amazing. But your life is about getting to the next gig. I’ll tell you everything I know about going on tour as a stand-up in two sentences. No. 1, don’t overpack. You need one bag. I have a bag ready to go at all times, I just throw in new underwear. I wear the same outfit for every gig. And I might bring a second outfit if I have to do morning radio. Throw in a toothbrush, and you’re…

The World Cup brings plenty of border-bridging hymns that salute the global spirit of soccer . But when it comes to choosing a song for a country’s national team, it’s time to cut the “Kumbaya” and go for something closer to “We Are the Champions.” Pop stars around the world try to score big — and inspire fans and players — with team anthems. AUSTRALIA Former X Factor winner Samantha Jade penned the Aussie Socceroo team song “Up!” and will perform the track at the team’s send-off match against South Africa on May 26. To write the lyrics, she took inspiration from the sentiments of Socceroo stars on what representing the national team means to them. BELGIUM Belgian singer Stromae lent his call-and-response anthem “Ta Fete” (“Your Party”) to the…

“All that would come out is the sound of air,” says La Roux of her career-threatening vocal issues. The artist was photographed April 29 at Perseverance Works in London. THE HOT NEW RELEASES NOW AS SHE GLIDES INTO AN EAST LONDON PHOTO studio, the first thing you notice about Elly Jackson, better-known as British electro-pop artist La Roux, is invariably her radiant auburn hair and its new style. Shorn of the gravity-defying, Ed Grimley-like quiff — or “iced gem,” as she jokingly calls it — that the singer (whose stage name is mangled French for “red-haired one”) wore at the time of her 2009 breakthrough, Jackson’s hair has been cropped into an equally eye-catching relaxed wave, dyed multiple shades of vibrant red. After voice issues and fatigue prompted the 26-year-old…

ON JUST AS I AM, Brantley Gilbert clings to his small-town status like a badge of honor. The Jefferson, Ga., native is country proud, but his worldview has expanded beyond the “Kick It in the Sticks” mentality he grasped on his second set, 2010’s Halfway to Heaven. The new album’s 11 songs embrace the notion that today’s country fans — and artists like the 29-year-old Gilbert — cut their musical teeth on rock and metal just as much as on Garth Brooks (himself a Kiss acolyte). How else do you explain songs like the album opener, the muscular, suggestive “If You Want a Bad Boy,” which lyrically references Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr., but then veers into a screeching guitar solo that wouldn’t sound out of place on a…

After 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the Frozen soundtrack steps aside for the Now 50 compilation. Now 50 debuts at No. 1 with 153,000 copies sold in the week ending May 11, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Meanwhile, Frozen dips to No. 2 with 99,000 (down 7 percent) after seven straight weeks of sales north of 100,000. Now 50 is the 50th installment of the longrunning Now That’s What I Call Music! series that launched in 1998. It’s the 18th No. 1 for the franchise and its best sales week in nearly five years. The last Now set to sell more units in a week was Now 31, which debuted at No. 1 with 169,000 copies in the week ending July 5, 2009. In addition to…