Innholdsfortegnelse for Apr-26-14 i Billboard Magazine

With sources confirming to Billboard that Jay Z and Beyonce will embark on a 20-city stadium tour in June, megaconcerts are making a comeback not seen since the mid-1990s. Though Live Nation did not comment on the upcoming dates, this will mark Jay Z’s second summer in a row touring stadiums, after 2013’s Legends of Summer tour with Justin Timberlake, which grossed an average of $5 million per show for 14 dates, according to Billboard Boxscore. The pairing of Jay Z, 44, and Beyonce, 32 — who shared the No. 1 spot on this year’s Billboard Power 100 list — joins a growing club of acts who will be playing stadium dates this year including established hitmakers (Eminem, Rihanna), newbies (One Direction), veterans (Dave Matthews Band, Billy Joel) and country…

A powerful collective of five independent labels is ratcheting up the tug-of-war between indies and major-label-owned distribution companies with a new agreement that allows its members to keep their digital distribution rights. The labels — Beggars Group, Secretly Label Group, Domino, Merge and Saddle Creek, which have dubbed themselves the Independent Distribution Cooperative — are longtime clients of Warner Music Group’s Alternative Distribution Alliance. Billboard estimates they were collectively worth approximately $45 million in sales in 2013. Artists in their stables include Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Bon Iver and Bright Eyes. The IDC’s unique arrangement with ADA delivers a blow to the business model of major-label-owned distributors and sets a precedent other indies may follow. One senior executive at an ADA rival calls the pact his “biggest nightmare.”…

The first weekend of the Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival saw 182 bands and artists perform on an array of six stages at Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif. Now that the dust has settled — seriously, there was a lot of dust — here are the highs, lows and WTF moments of those three days. Which record label owned the festival? Interscope brought a roster of heavy hitters to the desert that swung for the fences. Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding, Aloe Blacc, Disclosure and The 1975 gave standout performances to packed crowds. Which performers fizzled? The Replacements, led by a noticeably disgruntled Paul Westerberg, played their first California show in over 20 years to a few hundred disinterested fans. Superchunk’s set was woefully underattended as well, and…

Spotify Rainmaker Davis Goes Solo Amid IPO Talk When Spotify founder Daniel Ek finally shares details on his company’s plans to fle an initial public ofering (IPO) — probably later this year —Fred Davis will be by his side as he has from the start. Davis, 54, named Spotify his first client when, earlier in April, he opened Arista Advisors, a boutique investment bank that will help technology and digital media startups raise capital and provide strategic advice and mergers and acquisition support. Arista is named for the label that his esteemed father Clive Davis founded 40 years ago. (Arista was folded into RCA in 2011.) The younger Davis was executive vp at EMI when he left to co-found the music law firm Davis & Shapiro in 1995 (eventually Davis…

19K Luke Bryan (above) had the biggest unit gain on Top Country Albums in the first full tracking week after the show. His 2013 album Crash My Party steps 3-2 on the April 26 chart with 19,000 copies sold, up 14 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan. 23% With “Play It Again,” Bryan is also the awards’ biggest benefactor on the Country Digital Songs chart, selling 108,000 (up 23 percent) for its second week at No. 1. But he isn’t the only star to earn a bump: Overall country digital song sales gained by 11 percent in the two weeks ending April 13, versus the two weeks previous. 9% According to Nielsen, 14.1 million TV viewers tuned in for the show, down 9 percent from 15.5 million a year ago. But…

9 MONTHS AGO After 22 years of making country hits, McBride came up with the novel concept behind Everlasting, a set of 12 mostly R&B covers, with an independent A&R consultant in July. McBride and noted producer/Blue Note head Don Was wrapped the album in December. Around the same time, after tenures with RCA Nashville and Republic Nashville, McBride was hatching plans for her own label with help from Kobalt Label Services. “It was about making the record that I wanted without thinking about hit singles or the business aspect,” says McBride. 4 MONTHS AGO Kobalt North American president Diarmuid Quinn says a key strategy was to “educate people by bringing songs into the marketplace early.” It started with McBride’s take on Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes’ “If You…

1 Courtney Love, who put aside her differences with inductee Dave Grohl of Nirvana for the evening, posed with pal Michael Stipe at the Barclays Center. 2 From left: Kim Gordon, Joan Jett, St. Vincent and Lorde — each of whom sang with Nirvana at the ceremony — backstage. 3 From left: Carrie Underwood, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks made for an interesting group shot. 4 Inductee Cat Stevens (left) with Art Garfunkel, who gave Stevens’ induction speech. 5 Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic (left) and Grohl (right) hung backstage with Coldplay’s Chris Martin.…

Sunglasses are going full circle this season, with everyone from Rihanna to Gaga sporting the retro-inspired shades Photographed by MIKE LORRIG 1 Black oyster sunglasses with mirror lenses by Triwa, $175, triwa.com 2 Multicolor “Roundabout” sunglasses by Craig & Karl for Le Specs, $90, netaporter.com 3 Strawberry bi-color wire rim sunglasses by Cutler and Gross, $650, at Cutler and Gross NYC; cutlerandgross.com 4 Beige crystal “O’Malley” sunglasses by Oliver Peoples, $445, at Oliver Peoples boutiques; oliverpeoples.com 5 Sky blue “Teddy” sunglasses by Celine, $415, at Saks Fifth Avenue, select stores…

PHOTOGRAPHED BYDAVID NEEDLEMAN “I GOT TO FIGHT LIKE IT’S MY FIRST RECORD EVERY TIME,” HE SAYS IT’ a rare occasion that Enrique Iglesias is actually at the offices of his Mr. 305 Productions in Miami’s Bay Point neighborhood. So rare, in fact, that Iglesias’ own corner office serves as a storage room for his longtime manager Fernando Giaccardi, financial manager Juan Carlos Sanchez and tour manager Abel Tabuyo, with suitcases and boxes everywhere. The one personal touch? Piles of awards and platinum plaques. “I keep this stuff here so it stays out of my house,” says Iglesias. His presence here is all the more impressive when you consider the rough day he has been having. “I haven’t slept in two days — I really haven’t,” says Iglesias. Not only is…

It’ 6:05 p.m. and things are bustling inside 1 OAK, the exclusive Sunset Strip nightclub that’s known for hosting Oscar and Golden Globe afterparties and catering to such high-wattage personages as Bono, Jay Z and Leonardo DiCaprio. Tonight’s main event: a listening party for Jason Derulo’s third album, Talk Dirty, and the 24-year-old singer-hitmaker-dancer is everywhere: on scores of postcards, mobile phone skins and packages of Red Hots candy — party favors that lay on every table —that are emblazoned with his sexy, bare-chested image. While the club’s waitstaff stocks the bars, security guards confer and Warner Bros. staffers fidget in anticipation. The celebration of the April 15 release kicks of in less than an hour, but equally anxiety-inducing is the fact that the label has been counting heavily on…

JAY MOLONEY The tormented CAA agent, Giacchetto’s pipeline to the fastest-rising young stars and execs in Hollywood, killed himself soon after Giacchetto gave him an executive job. “He wasn’t an addict, he was manic depressive,” says Giacchetto, “[and] the most loving, life-affirming spirit — a risk taker with huge balls and an even bigger heart.” LEONARDO DICAPRIO “The Wolf of Wall Street is hilarious,” says Giacchetto. “Few people know him the way I do, and I thought it was the best movie he ever did. I love him. I always will.” KURT COBAIN Giacchetto’s one lasting achievement was parlaying Nirvana’s success into a $20 million payday for its first label, Seattle’s Sub Pop, still a hitmaker. When The Hollywood Reporter asked Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, whether Giacchetto is the idealist…

RAURY “God’s Whisper,” the iconoclastic debut single from Raury, has got some big music industry names shouting. According to multiple sources, Loma Vista Recordings/Republic Records’ Tom Whalley, booking firm The Agency Group, Interscope Records, XL Recordings and Rostrum Records have all shown interest in the Atlanta singer-songwriter-producer, whose confidence belies his 17 years. “I’m going to be one of the greatest lyricists out here,” he tells Billboard. “F— it: I am one of the greatest lyricists out here.” “God’s Whisper,” the first single from Raury’s forthcoming debut EP, Indigo Child (due this summer), blends hip-hop, rock and folk — think Kid Cudi playing guitar at the campfire, backed by a church choir. The striking, beautifully shot video, which debuted March 19, shows a fashionably dressed Raury and his friends behaving…

Ed Sheeran sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden — three times — on the back of acoustic songs that required little instrumentation beyond his guitar and a loop pedal. Hits like “The A Team” and “Lego House” established him as a post-millennial troubadour, a Cat Stevens for the Snapchat generation. But “Sing,” the lead single from his hotly anticipated sophomore LP, x (pronounced “multiply”), finds him channeling another unlikely source — Justin Timberlake — and recruiting none other than Pharrell Williams for his first song with a preproduced track. What seems like an odd match on paper is actually a whimsically soulful blend of the pair’s distinct sounds, with Sheeran stretching his impressively limber falsetto over a hard-edged beat that recalls another Williams-produced classic, Timberlake’s “Your Love.” Sheeran has…

Future Makes ‘Move’ Atlanta hitmaker Future (above) gears up for the April 22 release of his second studio album, Honest, with “Move That Doh” (featuring Pharrell, Pusha T and Casino) jumping 17-15 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a new peak. On-air, the cut rose 15 percent to 19.5 million in audience in the week ending April 15, according to Nielsen BDS. Correspondingly, “Doh” moves 14-10 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart to mark Future’s 12th top 10 hit on the list. He had lead billing on five of those top 10s. On the streaming side, “Move That Doh” lifts 16 percent to 1.7 million U.S. streams. YouTube is responsible for the lion’s share of that number (78 percent) between its 873,000 Vevo plays and its 413,000 hits on user-generated videos.…

‘Summer’ Warms Up The momentum of Calvin Harris (above) continues to build with “Summer,” which claims the Digital and Streaming Gainer tags on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (7-6). The track concurrently vaults into the top 10 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (12-7, up 93 percent) following the official video’s April 6 release. Of the song’s 1.8 million U.S. streams, 52 percent are derived from Vevo on YouTube views, according to Nielsen BDS. On Dance/Electronic Digital Songs, “Summer” spikes by 33 percent to 34,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan (6-5) and soars into the top five on Dance/Mix Show Airplay (14-4). The song is the eighth dance airplay top five for Harris, second among male solo artists behind David Guetta (12). Disclosure, utilizing vocals from Sam Smith, scores its first top 10 on…

‘Magic’ Moment “Magic,” the first entry by Coldplay (below) on Streaming Songs, re-enters the tally at No. 27 after a two-week absence (and a prior peak at No. 47), thanks to the debut of its ofcial music video on Vevo on April 7. Total U.S. streams for “Magic” improve by 57 percent to 2.3 million, with Vevo on YouTube views accounting for 43 percent of all activity, a smidge more than Spotify’s slice of the track’s streaming pie (41 percent). “Magic” has been promoted heavily across the latter platform during the past few weeks. Aloe Blacc rises to new heights as “The Man,” from his former top 10 Billboard 200 album Lift Your Spirit, ascends 20-13 in its 12th week on Streaming Songs. Blacc performed the track on The Ellen…

ACMs Boost Bryan’s ‘Again’ The results from the first complete Nielsen SoundScan/BDS tracking week following the April 6 Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS push “Play It Again” by Luke Bryan (above) 3-1 on Hot Country Songs and lift his album Crash My Party 3-2 with Greatest Gainer honors (up 2,000 units) on Top Country Albums (see story, page 14). Bryan’s eighth leader on Hot Country Songs, “Again” logs a second week at No. 1 on Country Digital Songs with 108,000 sold, upping its overall sum to 532,000, and posts the biggest spike on Country Streaming Songs (1.4 million U.S. streams, up 40 percent). The track also flies 26-14 on the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing Bryan’s prior peak at No. 15 with “That’s My Kind of Night” last fall.…

Two of music’s most successful brand marketers, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, are in the hot seat as label sources grouse that the first 100 days of the duo’s subscription streaming service, Beats Music, has been a disappointment and soon will face competition on the mobile platform when Sprint begins bundling Spotify with its “ Framily” plans. Spotify founder Daniel Ek will debut the rival wireless partnership — a direct challenge to Beats Music’s alliance with AT&T — on April 29, at a time when a number of label sources are expressing concerns that Beats, which launched in January, has yet to catch fire in the streaming music market. “Jimmy is finding out this is tougher than it looks,” says one senior executive. “This business takes time.” Beats Music was…

Azoff MSG Entertainment’s latest dealings in the marketing and publishing arenas say much about where the action is in the music business. On April 8, AMSGE, the joint venture between Azoff Music Management and the Madison Square Garden Co., announced its third acquisition since Irving Azoff and MSG partnered up last September. The group acquired a 50 percent stake in Burns Entertainment, a Chicago-based matchmaker of celebrities and advertisers that recently paired Romeo Santos and Macklemore with Dr Pepper and Azoff management client Chelsea Handler with 7-Up. Meanwhile, sources familiar with AMSGE say Azoff and former ASCAP executive Randy Grimmett have lured hitmaker Ryan Tedder to the publishing rights organization (PRO) they’re building under the AMSGE umbrella, which looks to be a much more focused venture compared to the company’s…

“Whenever a man shows emotion, I appear.” TAYLOR SWIFT The country star, crashing Seth Rogen’s Saturday Night Live monologue. “Mom, thanks for letting me drop out of high school.” DAVE GROHL The Nirvana drummer, thanking his parents as he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Our music’s positive, man. It’s supposed to make people feel good. It’s very upsetting to me.” CHAD SMITH The Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer, on hearing that the CIA allegedly used his band’s music during interrogations. “Chris Brown’s new album is [also] called X. We’re going to have a showdown. I’m not going to win. That guy’s stacked.” ED SHEERAN The singer, telling a New York radio audience about his chances against R&B star Brown. “Wenner and the rest are spineless…

BIRTHS Singer Regina Spektor, 34, and her husband, musician Jack Dishel (who performs as Only Son), announced April 1 the arrival of their first child together, a boy. American Idol star James Durbin, 25, and his wife Heidi, 34, announced April 7 that they are expecting their second child, due in November. They have a son, Hunter, 4. MARRIAGES Musician/songwriter Linda Perry, 48, and The Talk host/actress Sara Gilbert, 39, married March 30 during an oceanfront ceremony at the One Gun Ranch in Malibu, Calif. Backstreet Boys’Nick Carter, 34, married longtime girlfriend Lauren Kitt in Santa Barbara, Calif., on April 12. DEATHS British model/writer/TV personality Peaches Geldof, the second daughter of Irish singer-songwriter Bob Geldof, died April 7 at her home in Kent, England. She was 25. Cause of death…

‘Rude’ Awakening For Magic! Canadian reggae/pop quartet Magic! is crossing to U.S. mainstream and adult top 40 radio with its debut RCA single, the sunny, summery “Rude.” The song has scored success in the group’s home country, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The band is handled by Pitbull’s management, Latium Entertainment, and landed a key feature on labelmate Shakira’s “Cut Me Deep,” from her recent self-titled album. Magic! also boasts a track on One Love, One Rhythm: The 2014 FIFA World Cup Official Album, due May 13. Meet Mila J — Again In 1991, an adolescent Mila J appeared in the video for Prince’s last No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, “Diamonds and Pearls.” Today, her very adult “Smoke, Drink, Break-Up” (Motown/Capitol) bows at No.…

Until two years ago, music was just a hobby for SoMo. Then he wrote his first original song. “I was having fun doing covers on YouTube,” recalls the 26-year-old R&B singer. “But I realized I could express myself through my own words — and people might listen.” They are. SoMo scored his first hit with the sensual “Ride,” which is No. 23 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated April 26 after peaking at 20 on Feb. 8. The song — which has sold 561,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan — is the first single from his self-titled Republic debut, which bows at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 23,000 units sold in its first week. An oasis in a formulaic desert, the LP is a seductive…

“This is the You’re Too F—ing Old to Come Back Award.” 1 From left: President of Viacom Media Networks’ Music & Logo Group Van Toffler , Rihanna, Viacom president/CEO Philippe Dauman and his wife, Deborah, on the Nokia Theatre red carpet. 2 Mark Wahlberg posed with his Generation Award. 3 Newlyweds Sara Gilbert (left) and Linda Perry struck a pose on the red carpet. 4 Ellie Goulding rocked a floor-length white gown by Giorgio Armani. 5 From left: Johnny Depp with The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson and Sam Claflin. 6 Jessica Alba, in a Kenzo high-waisted skirt (left), Rita Ora, in a Barbara Casasola gown, and Zac Efron, who won best shirtless performance. 7 From left: Oscar winners Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong’o with Jenna Lee Dewan-Tatum and her husband,…

Who wants to drop $80,000 for a pair of Kanye West’s Air Yeezy 2s? No one, apparently. After a new version of the rapper’s Nike sneakers (retail price: $245) was released Feb. 9 and sold out within 11 minutes, numerous press reports breathlessly trumpeted the fact that eBay sellers were posting the shoes, called Yeezy 2 Red Octobers, for sky-high resale prices on the auction site. Prices ranged from $80,000 to $16.3 million (a particularly absurd case that eBay suspended). The actual prices that the shoe is selling for on eBay are much lower. Marc Beckman, owner of Designers Management Agency, who helps both talent and brands put together deals like West’s, hasn’t seen Red Octobers sell above five figures. Recent auctions on the shopping site back up those numbers.…

Enrique Iglesias is no stranger to the highly profitable world of fragrances, having modeled for French-Italian designer Azzaro’s popular line of colognes for years. But it still took him a full decade to get onboard with making one of his own — the last three years of which were spent developing what will soon be Adrenaline, his debut men’s fragrance for Coty this summer. “I wore the same fragrance for 10 years,” says Iglesias, “so I wanted to make sure I could make something that I loved and liked just as much.” That patience could prove costly — celebrity fragrances, a white-hot category in 2012 with new products from Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, declined by 26% in 2013, according to The NPD Group’s Beauty Trends report. Still, that accounted…

1. Before scoring a solo hit of his own at age 19, Derulo broke into the music business at 16, ghostwriting songs for Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Diddy, Sean Kingston and Danity Kane. 2. Born Jason Desrouleaux, he graduated from performing arts high school Dillard in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 16. A skilled basketball player, he played guard and helped the school win several state championships. Derulo first met manager Frank Harris on a Miami basketball court at 14. 3. Derulo’s first appearance on BET’s 106 & Park came in May 2013, four years after he first charted. “After selling millions of records, it felt really hurtful to not be on my favorite show,” he says. “I wanted people to know that as African-Americans, we can do whatever music we…

“Fancy” is giving Iggy Azalea life. It’s the fourth single from the Australian rapper’s forthcoming debut, The New Classic (April 22, Def Jam/Grand Hustle), but audiences are behaving like it’s her first, turbo-charging a career that had languished in label limbo: On Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart dated April 26, the song rises 15-11. “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, was launched with a memorable video that pays pitch- perfect homage to the classic 1995 film Clueless, with Azalea channeling Alicia Silverstone’s valley girl philosopher Cher Horowitz, down to the yellow plaid miniskirt and white knee socks. But on this April day, sitting in the New York ofces of her label, Def Jam, Azalea looks less like a schoolgirl and more like a newly elected head of state. Dressed in white sailor…

ALBUM Kelis, Food A tamer Kelis would’ve been hard to imagine in 1999. At the time, the singer’s Virgin Records debut, Kaleidoscope — a carnival of ofeat sounds carved by The Neptunes, and the home of her introductory, scorned-ex anthem “Caught Out There” — was fnding its base with the irregulars of R&B. In the span of five albums, Kelis has hung on those hip-girl outskirts, openly averting fame and, with it, commercial success for the most part, aside from 2003’s sassy come-on “Milkshake,” which hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Along the way, she became a mother, married and divorced rapper Nas, and ditched the hitmaking producers largely responsible for her past albums’ most adventurous tones. After all that, her new album, Food, her first in four…

The unstoppable soundtrack to Disney’s Frozen continues its run atop the Billboard 200 as it clocks a 10th nonconsecutive week at No. 1. The set sold 133,000 copies in the week ending April 13, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s down 11 percent compared with the previous week, when it sold 149,000 at No. 1. The album’s cumulative sales also climb past the 2 million mark, as its additional haul of 133,000 copies brings its total to 2.1 million. Frozen is now one of just 11 albums to spend at least 10 weeks at No. 1 since the Billboard 200 started using SoundScan’s point-of-sale data, on May 25, 1991. Four of those albums are also soundtracks: Frozen, Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard (20 weeks at No. 1), Titanic (16 weeks) and The…

SoMo, SZA Heat Up R& The self-titled debut from SoMo (below) starts at No. 2 on both Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and R&B Albums with 23,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In terms of new R&B acts, SoMo is the biggest debut since Jhene Aiko’s Sail Out EP entered atop the latter chart with 34,000 in November. (It bowed at No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.) Unlike Aiko, whose profile was boosted by guest appearances on such major albums as J. Cole’s Born Sinner and Drake’s Nothing Was the Same, SoMo’s debut comes without celebrity endorsement. The driver of SoMo’s notable opening is lead single “Ride,” which peaked at No. 20 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs on the chart dated Feb. 8. Digitally, the cut has sold 561,000 downloads, reaching No.…

Simon, Sting Join Forces Paul Simon (above right) and Sting storm the Boxscore chart with 10 engagements from their On Stage Together tour that covered markets in the United States and Canada during February and March. The co-headlining effort drew 225,000 fans to arena performances in 20 cities, beginning with the Feb. 8 opener at Houston’s Toyota Center through the final date at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on March 16. Stemming from a joint appearance last May at a benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation in New York, the tour featured duets by the legendary artists as well as solo sets. Promoted by Live Nation Global Touring, the trek through North America grossed $28.5 million from 21 performances during its five-week run. The only venue to host the On…

Coachella Bumps For Bieber, Beyonce During a slow week on the Social 50, the first weekend of the Coachella festival (April 11-13) in Indio, Calif., spurs some big gains for two superstar acts. Justin Bieber (above), who made an unannounced appearance during Chance The Rapper’s set on April 13, has a 15 percent rise in overall chart points and remains at No. 1. The duo performed their collaboration “Confident,” which hit No. 13 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs last year. The buzz helped make Chance the sixth-mostmentioned performer of the weekend, according to Twitter. Bieber shared a video of the surprise performance on his Instagram account, which snagged more than 750,000 likes. That helped him net a 97 percent rise in engagement on the platform through the week ending April 13…

Black & White Black Label Society scores its first No. 1 on Top Rock Albums, as Catacombs of the Black Vatican launches at the top spot with 26,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The bow bests the band’s previous No. 2 top peak, set by Order of the Black, in 2010. The new album is the group’s ninth studio release since frontman Zach Wylde (above), the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, formed the band in 1998. Meanwhile, Jack White claims the Hot Shot Debut on Hot Rock Songs with the instrumental “High Ball Stepper” (No. 28), fueled by its No. 21 start on Rock Digital Songs (13,000 downloads sold). The wordless track previews his second solo album, Lazaretto, due June 10. The new set’s first proper single (not “Stepper”) will…

As the New York International Auto Show opened on April 18, a rash of announcements and demonstrations heralded the ongoing rush to further music- connectivity in cars. AT&T added Volvo to its stable of cars that will link to its wireless Sensus Connect infotainment option, Pioneer put out the word that it will connect its in-dash systems to Apple’s CarPlay interface, and Jaguar showed of new features, developed with Bosch SofTech, that allow apps from iPhone and Android devices to be displayed on a car’s tech system. “When you get the younger buyer, connectivity is huge. When they see our research, it’s the No. 1 reason they purchase a car,” says Scott Keogh, president of Audi America, which has pre-wired its 2015 A3 sedan with an AT&T 4G LTE connection…

As NuvoTV and its chief creative officer and shareholder Jennifer Lopez wait for its parent company to complete a $226 million acquisition of Fuse TV, cable sources tell Billboard that making the purchase pay off could be an uphill battle. At question is whether Nuvo, which has 34 million subscribers, can harness Fuse’s 74 million to raise its profile and ratings. Nuvo is unable to simply convert Fuse, which focuses on music videos and programming, to its format , which relies on reality shows, due to “definition of service” clauses in cable operators’ contracts with networks. These clauses enable operators to drop a channel or reduce its carriage fees if its ownership or programming changes. Nuvo could ill afford either. According to one cable executive, Fuse gets an average of…

SESAC LANDS COBAIN CATALOG Performance rights organization SESAC has cut a deal to represent Kurt Cobain’s catalog. For the remainder of 2014, a signifcant portion of the late songwriter’s catalog rights will remain with larger PRO rival BMI, which has represented the catalog since 1989. According to information provided by BMI and confrmed by a source, BMI retains representation of the writer’s share of Cobain’s estate until the end of first-quarter 2015. The portion of the catalog owned by BMG Chrysalis will stay with BMI until the end of 2014. Cobain’s own publishing company, End of Music, made the switch to SESAC from BMI on April 1. SESAC said that “other pieces will move over in time as is customary in this industry.” —Ed Christman DREAMWORKS MULLS VEVO STAKE DreamWorks…

INTERNATIONAL Jason Iley was tapped as the new chairman/ CEO for Sony Music U.K. & Ireland by Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris. Iley was previously president of Jay Z’s Roc Nation Records for nearly a year. Prior to that, he was president of Mercury Records U.K., the culmination of a 15-year career at Universal Music U.K., where he worked at both Polydor and Island, launching the careers of Amy Winehouse and Keane, among others. Iley will oversee all of Sony Music’s front-line labels while based in London, reporting directly to Morris and Edgar Berger, chairman/CEO of international for Sony Music Entertainment. Iley replaced Nick Gatfield, who recently stepped down from the post. LABELS Kimberly Harris joined Columbia Records as vp publicity. She was previously at Republic Re Corey Brewer…

You may not know Rixton, but you’re probably familiar with the big names behind it. The British pop-rock band is managed by Scooter Braun, and is climbing the charts with “Me and My Broken Heart,” which is produced by Benny Blanco (Katy Perry, Rihanna) and features a writing credit from Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas (more on that later). On the Billboard Hot 100 dated April 26, the song rises 65-55. It also debuts on Digital Songs at No. 42 with 34,000 sold. It’s sold 93,000 to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The song is the title track from Rixton’s debut EP, which was released by Braun’s Schoolboy and Blanco’s Little Big Man imprints through Interscope on March 18 and also features “Hotel Ceiling,” written by Ed Sheeran. But the first…

These days, it seems Coachella is as much about the parties as it is about the music. The two-weekend-long Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicked of with 182 bands spread across the Empire Polo Field’s six stages and was anchored by an epic party scene where A-listers mingled under the desert sun. Katy Perry and Lea Michele hit Lacoste’s two-day Beautiful Desert Pool Party while Friday’s Details @ Midnight had DJ couple Hannah Bronfman and Brendan Fallis on the turntables. Lorde, Florence Welch and Kate Bosworth enjoyed a ’50s block party theme at the H&M Loves Music Saturday soiree, while Julianne Hough helped host the Harper’s Bazaar poolside fete at the Parker Palm Springs, where Mia Moretti DJ’d. The biggest party, perhaps, was once again Saturday’s famed Neon Carnival,…

Shape House, which bills itself as an “urban sweat lodge” with two locations in Southern California, is using sauna suits and infrared technology to help Britney Spears, LL Cool J and other artists perspire their way to good health and weight loss. Founder Sophia Chiche, who operates outposts in Los Angeles’ Larchmont Village and in Santa Monica, says the treatments she developed for her famous clients enable them to burn 800 to 1,600 calories per hour and melt away many of their ailments in the process. “We have a lot of actors and musicians. When they need to go on the road or on tour, they tend to use us as part of their protocol for good health,” she says. Clients are covered in infrared blankets in partitioned rooms for…

M More than just a marketing coup, Kanye West’s defection from Nike — where he helped design the coveted Air Yeezy sneaker — to Adidas in December signaled a redoubling of the 64-year-old publicly traded German brand’s fashion-focused strategy for sneaker dominance. Although Adidas ranks as the world’s No. 2 sports-apparel manufacturer, it has long played David to Nike’s Goliath. In 2013, Forbes reported that 50-year-old, Oregon-based Nike, also publicly traded, owns 54 percent of the global market for athletic apparel, compared with Adidas’ 4.4 percent. (Adidas’ share of the athletic shoe market is 8.6 percent, but that’s still about a sixth of its rival’s.) By luring West to its triple-striped Adidas Originals stable of creative collaborators with a reported $10 million deal, Adidas has effectively declared that it will…

“SAD EYES” (2000): A video so steamy, it was never oficially released. Iglesias, clad mostly in a towel in this banned fourminute clip, pines for a phone-sex operator (played by adult-film actress Cassidey Rae), and at one point appears to touch himself. Try YouTube-ing this one, if Iglesias himself hasn’t taken it down already. “TONIGHT (I’m F—In’ You)” (2010, featuring Ludacris): Edited to “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)” for radio, “Tonight” nevertheless helped go down in lurid Billboard Hot 100 history in 2011 when it was one of three songs to feature the F-word in the top of the chart (joined by Pink’s “F—in’ Perfect” and Cee Lo Green’s “F— You”). “DIRTY DANCER” (2011, featuring Usher and Lil Wayne): Iglesias and Usher get a (virtual) private show in this risque, strip-club-inspired…

Before Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street schemer who captured headlines was DANA GIACCHETTO, a flashy, celebrity-soaked investment star of the ’90s who brokered the Sub Pop-Warner Music Group deal, counted Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Stipe and Alanis Morrissette as friends and was accused of helping to drive CAA’s young superagent Jay Moloney to suicide. Now under investigation again, the former highflier claims he’s not the bad guy, really. ‘I’m the Lamb of Wall Street … Everyone forgave me’ L “LEO DICAPRIO IS LIKE MY LITTLE BROTHER,” says Dana Giacchetto, 51, sipping Viking Blod Mead honey wine during a $400 seven-course meal at midtown Manhattan’s Aquavit restaurant and hoping his next meal isn’t on Rikers Island. During the 1990s, Giacchetto (pronounced “jah-KETtoh”) was an investment adviser with an incredible list of celebrity…

“Whenever you can, be first in the lane.” So instructs Greg Dulli to the driver who has arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to pick him up on a sunny Friday afternoon. That advice also applies to Dulli’s rock career. For him, life is currently imitating art and vice versa: Dulli just returned to his adopted L.A. hometown from New York, where he shot a guest role in the pilot for Denis Leary’s prospective FX series, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. In the show, Dulli plays a reformed version of himself, reuniting the flagship band that propelled him to frontman notoriety in alt-rock’s ’90s heyday, The Afghan Whigs. Likewise, in real life, he’s rushing back to L.A. for rehearsals for the Whigs’ Coachella debut on April 11. Days later, on April 15, Sub Pop…

Until Quack, its debut album, DJ-producer duo Duck Sauce had only released five singles in five years. But as the sum of two already successful parts, the pair’s infuence across the pop spectrum was evident: Veteran house-music provocateur Armand Van Helden had landed chart-toppers in the United Kingdom and remixed Tori Amos, Katy Perry and others; turntable prodigy A-Trak (real name Alain Macklovitch) had scratched on Kanye West albums and tours, and his taste-making Fool’s Gold label has helped introduce the world to Kid Cudi, Danny Brown and other cool-kid favorites. When the duo joined forces in 2009, its impact deepened, in subtle and less subtle ways. Bruno Mars’ obsessively retro video for 2013’s “Treasure” looks an awful lot like Duck Sauce’s obsessively retro video for 2009’s “aNYthing”; even Ylvis’…

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 (Platinum). Numeral noted with platinum symbol indicates…

Billboard Finalists Fly The 2014 edition of the Billboard Latin Music Awards Finalists compilation enters Top Latin Albums as the Hot Shot Debut at No. 6, moving 1,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Compared with previous Billboard Latin Music Awards sets, the 2014 entry nets the highest ranking yet, surpassing the 2001 edition, which peaked at No. 10. The new set, distributed by Sony Music Latin, includes tracks by Daddy Yankee, Marc Anthony, Carlos Vives and Leslie Grace, among other finalists at the awards show to be held in Miami and broadcast live on Telemundo on April 24. J Balvin spends his second week atop Tropical Airplay with “6 AM,” featuring Farruko. The track is the Colombian singer-songwriter’s first chart-topper. It follows “Yo Te Lo Dije,” which peaked at No.…

Ronstadt Rocks New Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Linda Ronstadt roars back on to the Billboard 200 as her new Duets compilation debuts at No. 32 — her highest-charting album since 1990. The multigenre performer last went higher with Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (featuring Aaron Neville), which peaked at No. 7 on March 17, 1990. That set spawned three hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including the smash No. 2 cut “Don’t Know Much,” featuring Neville. (It also produced her last Hot 100 entry, “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,” which peaked at No. 78.) The new compilation — which includes “Don’t Know Much” — contains collaborations with Don Henley, Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, as well as…

‘Fever’ Flies To No. 1 The Black Keys (above) turn in their second Triple A No. 1 as “Fever” rises 2-1. The duo’s “Lonely Boy” led for seven weeks in 2011 and 2012. At just three weeks, “Fever” makes the quickest climb to the top since Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait” also reached the summit in its third frame (Sept. 8, 2012), beginning an 11-week reign. “Fever” previews the Keys’ eighth full-length album, Turn Blue, due May 13. “Fever” dethrones Coldplay’s “Magic” (1-2), which, in the prior week, tied the band with U2 for the most Triple A No. 1s (11) in the chart’s 18-year history. On Alternative, “Magic” becomes Coldplay’s 10th top 10 (11-8). Jason Derulo returns to the top of Mainstream Top 40 as “Talk Dirty” (featuring…

In 1987, U2 Beat The Beastie Boys U2 went from respected rock band to worldwide superstars in 1987, thanks to the blockbuster success of The Joshua Tree. The group’s fifth album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 dated April 4, 1987 and hit No. 1 three weeks later, ending the seven-week run of Beastie Boys’Licensed to Ill. U2’s previous chart peak had been No. 12, with 1983’s War and 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire. The Joshua Tree spent nine weeks at No. 1, the longest reign of any of U2’s seven chart- toppers — including an incredible streak of four more No. 1s in a row that followed. The album is U2’s most successful, with 10 million copies sold in the United States, according to the RIAA. It also…