Billboard Magazine Aug-30-14

IGGY AZALEA ALREADY HAS THE SONG OF THE SUMMER with “Fancy” (featuring Ariana Grande), which ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. But now she’s eyeing fall, too, as “Black Widow” becomes her second Hot 100 top 10 as a lead artist, bounding 15-8. “Widow” also vaults 40-7 on Streaming Songs (6.1 million U.S. streams, up 155 percent, according to Nielsen BDS) after its video premiered Aug. 13. “Widow” is only the second follow-up to a Hot 100 No. 1 in the past year to reach the top 10, joining Lorde’s “Team,” which peaked at No. 6 after a nine-week reign by “Royals.” That’s a stark downtrend: From summer 2009 through spring 2013, 39 of 50 No. 1 follow-ups (78 percent) reached the top tier. Aiding Azalea and Lorde?…

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I IT WAS LIKE A CAREFULLY planned breakup. First came the unabashed pop bangers on Taylor Swift’s last album, 2012’s Red, “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” Then, in June, Big Machine chief Scott Borchetta spoke diplomatically of her next LP (titled 1989 and due Oct. 27): “Fans are going to love it. Will country stations play a complete pop song just because it’s her? No.” Then, word began to spread about Swift’s new single, “Shake It Off,” another pop radio-ready track helmed by hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback. Later, sources hinted there isn’t a single acoustic guitar on 1989. Finally, Swift, 24, dropped the “p” word before premiering the song during an Aug. 18 worldwide webcast: “I woke up every day not…

Artists crave a booking on the MTV Video Music Awards (airing Aug. 24), but many might not appreciate the impact a preshow look can have. From Beck to No Doubt, Rihanna to Foo Fighters, careers have been launched by being the show’s warm-up act, which is aired. For the 2014 edition, it’s newcomers Charli XCX and X Factor U.S. finalist Fifth Harmony who stand to benefit from playing in the parking lot of Los Angeles’ recently renovated Forum. “It’s a time for many viewers to get their first exposure to these bands,” says VMAs executive producer Dave Sirulnick. “That has been a big part of our outlook and philosophy [for the preshow]. It sets a nice tone for the night.” But even with the VMAs bringing in record ratings during…

With streaming curtailing downloads and the holiday shopping season suffering sales erosion in five of the last seven years, retailers can be buoyed by how the fourth-quarter release schedule is shaping up. At least four fall titles could be blockbusters, including Taylor Swift, whose 2012 Red debuted with more than 1 million units in week one, and Jason Aldean, whose last album, 2012’s Night Train, scanned 409,000-plus upon its debut (according to Nielsen SoundScan). Add to the mix potential albums by Lil Wayne (his Tha Carter IV almost hit 1 million units in its opening week ending Sept. 4, 2011) and One Direction (whose Midnight Memories scanned 546,000 units in the week ending Dec. 1, 2013) and the picture becomes even brighter. Merchants are also pinning their year-end hopes on…

THOSE STILL MOURNING THE MAY death of East Village Radio, the guerrilla-style online station that highlighted indie, hip-hop and dance subgenres, may find hope in DJ Skee’s new online and mobile platform, DASH, which debuted with 50 stations on Aug. 19 (a studio in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn is also planned). A longtime host for the likes of Clear Channel and most recently SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation, Skee, aka Scott Keeney, is looking to bring an old-school approach to online listening and has lined up some big backers, including L.A. Reid, Matt Michelsen (co-founder of Backplane), Mike Lazerow (former CEO of Buddy Media), Minnesota Vikings MVP Adrian Peterson and EVR co-founder Peter Ferraro. Tech N9ne’s Strange Music, XXL and reggae label VP Records will all help curate genre stations, while…