Innholdsfortegnelse for March 23, 2019 i Billboard Magazine

What are the benefits of playing a festival as an independent artist? You know where things are going with your money. You can also plan out the way you’re spending your money. I have a lot of merchandise, so it’s just something I definitely think about. And I’m very particular about my setlist, so that’s cool. What would it take for you to sign with a label? A lot of money. But even then, I don’t need it, so it doesn’t really make sense. If you have a vision for what you’re trying to do, a label is literally just more people chiming in on your ideas. I’m sure there are labels nowadays that will be like, “We’ll sign you, you can do whatever you want.” But then you…

Tales of John Branca’s business acumen are plentiful. How he turned Jackson’s over-budget “Thriller” music video production into a successful behind-the-scenes documentary. How he secured for Jackson the coveted Beatles publishing catalog. How 10 years after Jackson’s death, he and the estate’s other executor, John McClain — a childhood friend of the Jacksons who went on to manage sister Janet’s career and was a founding executive at Interscope Records — built the artist’s music catalog into a $570 million asset. Now, after HBO’s March airing of Leaving Neverland — with its disturbing and graphic first-person accounts of Jackson’s alleged pedophilia — Branca, 68, faces a new and arguably more daunting challenge: protecting Jackson’s legacy and the lucrative businesses that it fuels from fallout over the powerful testimony presented in…

I was on the Bad tour with Jimmy Safechuck and his family. MJ and Jimmy were always together, holding hands, and the press was starting to ask, “Who is the kid, and why are they always together?” The official story was he was the kid from the Pepsi commercial and Pepsi was the tour sponsor, and that’s why he was on tour with us that summer. Behind the scenes, we all thought it was inappropriate and sent someone to talk to MJ about the optics. MJ wouldn’t listen and continued taking Jimmy everywhere, holding hands. When the parents were moved to the band/staff hotel, not the MJ/management hotel, I couldn’t believe that the parents were allowing it. So no, [Leaving Neverland] did not change my mind about MJ. I…

There’s no road map — there’s no Harvard Business School case study on how to deal with a challenging crisis with an artist. Each one is a case study unto itself. But ultimately you try to be sensitive to the issues and do the right thing for the artist and their art, and be respectful of that. At the end of the day, you are the record company. You’re not the therapist, you’re not the manager, you’re not the father or the brother — you’re there to help the artist as a conduit to the public. It’s a very different kind of relationship than a management agreement with an artist.…

“IT IS WOEFULLY ONE-SIDED” It’s hard to escape the feeling that [Jackson’s] untimely death, which resulted from his use of a sleep anaesthetic he was warned could kill him, may have grown out of the years he purportedly spent as an abuser. The way he died — so reckless, so unnecessary — counts as an unconscious act of self-destruction. It may be the expression of the guilt he couldn’t let himself feel. [1] It is worth noting, though, that Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed never sought comment from the Jackson estate on the devastating claims made by the film’s two subjects, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who both allege that Jackson sexually abused them as children. Reed says the film’s narrow scope — a tightly framed look at the…

New Kids Return New Kids on the Block’s No. 1 Billboard 200 album, Hangin’ Tough, returns to the tally as a 30th-anniversary reissue of the set powers its re-entry at No. 18. The revamp of the LP, which topped the chart for two weeks in 1989 (Sept. 2-9), includes three newly recorded songs as well as a smattering of alternative and remixed versions of singles from the album. Hangin’ Tough earned 23,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 14, according to Nielsen Music (up 3,199 percent). Of that sum, album sales represented 22,000 — up from a negligible figure in the prior week. Hangin’ Tough, which last appeared on the chart in March 1991, also debuts at No. 1 on Top Catalog Albums and Catalog Album Sales,…

Morris’ Girl Power Girl, the second studio LP from Maren Morris (above), launches at No. 1 on Top Country Albums with 46,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Nielsen Music. The set marks the first No. 1 debut by a woman on the chart since Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty arrived at the summit on Sept. 29, 2018, with 266,000 units. Girl also grants Morris the largest debut-week streaming sum for a country album by a female artist: 24 million on-demand audio streams earned for its songs in its premiere frame. She surpasses the previous best debut-week total for a country set by a woman, as Underwood’s Cry Pretty arrived with 14.4 million streams generated for its tracks. “I am blown away by the support,” says Morris. “My fans were…

Anthony Hits The Big 3-0 Marc Anthony (above) earns his 30th No. 1 on the Tropical Songs airplay chart as his new single, “Tu Vida en la Mia,” bumps 2-1 in its fourth week. It’s the fastest jump to the summit since Sept. 23, 2017, when Nacho’s “Bailame” sprinted to the top in three weeks. “Tu Vida” advances with a 30 percent increase in audience impressions in the week ending March 14 (rising to 4.5 million), according to Nielsen Music. The song pads Anthony’s lead as the artist with the most No. 1s on the chart. On Latin Airplay, where “Tu Vida” ascends 35-25, Pedro Capó clocks his first top 10 as “Calma” (with Farruko) glides 12-7. It’s up 26 percent in audience for the week, earning 10 million.…

DURING THE FIRST OF HER TWO HEADLINING sets at Coachella in 2018, Beyoncé briefly reunited Destiny’s Child, brought out Jay-Z and J Balvin as guests and shared the stage with over 100 backup dancers in a performance dubbed “Beychella” (the term was tweeted 2.2 million times). It became the festival’s most-streamed set to date; 458,000 viewers watched simultaneously across the globe. But that wasn’t the night’s only historic feat: Beyoncé became the festival’s first black female headliner and Balvin the first reggaetón artist to perform there. This year, the festival gave him an even better opportunity: On April 13, Balvin will become the first reggaetón artist to officially appear on its lineup — with second-line billing, no less — in the festival’s two-decade history. It’s one of many milestones…

Roles in The Wire and Avengers: Infinity War elevated Idris Elba to “sexiest man alive” status, but the actor has always been hot behind the decks. A longtime producer-DJ, the 46-year-old got his start as a teenager, tagging along to weddings where his uncle would DJ. Since then, the self-described “house head” has become an in-demand live act: In 2018, he launched an Ibiza residency and played the royal wedding at Prince Harry’s request. He also puts out his own music: Last year’s slinky “Badman,” released on his label, 7Wallace, has been streamed just under half a million times in the United States, according to Nielsen Music. Elba, who stars as a DJ-turned nanny in the new Netflix series Turn Up Charlie, will now make his U.S. festival debut…

It took only six hours for Coachella to sell out completely in January. Or so the world thought: While fans were racing to snatch up tickets, Billie Eilish and her team were hatching a plan with Goldenvoice to surprise-release a stash of weekend passes as part of a merchandise bundle in late February. The new passes, a mix of general admission ($476, up from $429) and VIP options ($1,046, up from $999), came with a fanny pack and a bandana from Eilish’s merch line — items that the singer’s co-manager, Danny Rukasin, says “fit with the Coachella style.” It was a mutually beneficial move: Coachella lengthened the duration of the ticket news cycle, and Eilish, who has notched seven hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and billions of streams…

U.S. SALES AND STREAMS In 2018, Sony Music Entertainment extended a 2009 $250 million deal with the Jackson estate to distribute his recordings for seven more years. Although radio airplay is down for the second consecutive week, on-demand streams were up 8.8 percent, and sales 5.7 percent, during that same time period (the week ending March 14), according to Nielsen Music. Jim Urie, a former executive at Universal Music Group Distribution turned industry consultant, says SME has to move 25 million album equivalent units in those seven years to recoup its investment. “That’s very doable,” says Urie, especially since, he contends, the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad are scandal-proof. Jackson’s publishing catalog, Mijac, which the estate owns and Sony/ATV administers, could take a hit if sales and…

Despite the disturbing revelations in Leaving Neverland, the music industry apparently just isn’t quite ready to let go of Michael Jackson and his music. As a wide-ranging informal survey of over three dozen professionals and artists reveals, many aren’t planning to speak out — and plenty aren’t even willing to watch the documentary. “It used to be about surviving a few news cycles,” says Jeff Biederman, partner/music group co-chair at law firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips, who hasn’t seen the film. “Now with social media, everyone is a newspaper, and the potential effect on an artist is exponentially greater. Hardcore fans won’t care. With the undecideds, it’s always going to be on your mind. But as a parent, it’s very hard to crank ‘Thriller’ and not think about those…

Over the past year, my husband looked newly aghast each time the #MeToo movement revealed yet another shocking example of predatory behavior in the film, music and media businesses. “I just don’t know any men like that,” he said, incredulous, after hearing yet another lurid story about a seemingly upstanding man. “Yes, you do,” I said, with some frustration. “You just don’t know that you know.” Or, as a friend said to her husband who made a similar comment: “Wake the fuck up!” The waves of revelations wore away my own compartmentalized memories about what it’s like to be a woman in the music business. The regional label-promotion guy who drove me around to radio stations in his car, the menacing sexual overtures he made to me, and how…

Foals Debut On Top Foals (above) debut at No. 1 on the Emerging Artists chart as the Oxford, England-based quartet’s fifth LP, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Part 1, launches at No. 9 on Top Rock Albums with 12,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music. The set marks the group’s first top 10 on the tally, after What Went Down (No. 11) in 2015 and Holy Fire (No. 23) in 2013. Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion debuts at No. 17 on Emerging Artists thanks to a pair of singles scaling the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart. “Big Ole Freak” rises 18-17, and Wale’s “Poledancer,” on which she’s featured, pushes 29-26. Plus, R&B singer Nicole Bus debuts at No. 40 on Emerging Artists as breakout single “You” hits a…

Billie’s Social 50 Best Billie Eilish (below) keeps slowly but surely reaching new heights on the Social 50 as the pop/alt singer jumps 16-6 in her 34th week on the list, eclipsing her previous best of No. 7 that she achieved in February. Eilish’s metrics are led by a 99 percent gain in Wikipedia views in the week ending March 14, plus a boost of 28 percent in Twitter mentions, according to Next Big Sound. The 17-year-old kept promoting her new single, “Wish You Were Gay,” the latest taste of upcoming album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (due March 29), and appeared on popular First We Feast video series Hot Ones. “Gay” concurrently rises 74-59 on the Billboard Hot 100. Stray Kids also vault into…

Black Keys Go ‘Hi’ The Black Keys (above) collect their sixth top 10 on Hot Rock Songs, and their first in over six years, as “Lo/Hi” vaults 34-5 following its first full week of streaming, sales and radio airplay. The track follows “Little Black Submarines,” which hit No. 6 in October 2012 and is the duo’s first top five hit since “Gold on the Ceiling” (No. 2, June 2012). The first single from the act’s upcoming ninth studio album surges with 2.3 million U.S. streams and 8,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music, and breaks into the top five on Rock Airplay (No. 4; 7.2 million impressions) and the top 10 on the Triple A (No. 6) and Alternative (No. 9) airplay charts. Multiple ’90s classics featured in the…

‘Life’ Is Good For Barrett Pat Barrett (above) nets his second Christian Airplay top 10 as “Build My Life” lifts 11-8, up 13 percent to 6.5 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music. On Hot Christian Songs, which is fueled by airplay, streaming and sales, “Life” returns to its No. 13 high. “Life” is Barrett’s second consecutive top 10 on Christian Airplay following his first solo single, “The Way (New Horizon),” which reached No. 5 last September. Both tracks are from his 2018 self-titled first solo album. Barrett, a member of the Atlanta-based worship collective Housefires, co-penned (with Tony Brown) “Good Good Father,” which (as recorded by Chris Tomlin) led Hot Christian Songs for seven weeks and Christian Airplay for a week in 2016. As Lauren Daigle’s “You Say”…

Maroon 5, Malone Score Abroad International concerts dominate the Boxscore chart, from the Mexico City edition of Electric Daisy Carnival (No. 1) to Post Malone’s European debut (Nos. 5, 27, 30 and 35) to Maroon 5 in Australia and Asia (Nos. 2, 10 and 18). According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Maroon 5 (above) grossed $3.5 million on Feb. 27 at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, plus a combined $3.9 million from three Australian dates. The Seoul show and Feb. 21 gig at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena notch the band’s 19th and 20th career top 10 appearances on the chart. Maroon 5’s touring history in Asia and Australia is impressive, but its February dates are even more notable. The band’s four international shows on the…

What are the challenges of performing with so many members? Joey Bada$$ (Pro Era) Having eight functioning mics. Another challenge is how to masterfully weave in and out of each other’s songs. When you’re one act and performing by yourself? OK, cool. But when you’re performing with another act that brings different energies and sounds, that’s definitely a challenge — but one we look forward to. What advice would you give an artist playing his or her first festival? Meechy Darko Everybody prefers their own headline shows — it’s more intimate, the whole building is singing your songs. Festivals are more of a competition. I may be on the same bill as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but compared to them, no one knows us, so I got to…

The 20-year-old Brooklyn native born Mikaela Straus frequented Governors Ball in high school (she was there in 2016, when Kanye West’s set was canceled due to severe weather). Although the alt-pop artist insists she’s “not much of a festival girl,” this year, she’ll be playing it, along with Coachella and some other major bookings, as she rolls out her debut album. You’re signed to Mark Ronson’s Zelig Records. How has the label prepared you for your first major festival season? (Dryly.) They cut my hair, forced me to dress like a woman, made me paint my nails — no, they’re just like, “Have fun!” They’re making sure that I’m good. We function as a very discussion-based team. We talk about shit, then we do our best to execute it…

Last October, Pharrell Williams and his longtime manager, Ron Laffitte, met with officials from the city of Virginia Beach, Va., the Grammy-winning producer’s hometown, to pitch a new festival, Something in the Water, that they wanted to launch this summer. “Most people thought we were insane,” says Laffitte, who was told that 2020 would be more realistic. But by mid-November, the Virginia Beach City Council had approved the idea, and on March 3, Williams unveiled a three-day lineup that includes Missy Elliott, Dave Matthews Band and Travis Scott. “Something in the Water is a true celebration of the people of my hometown,” says Williams. “It’s an experience they deserve, [while] guests are going to get a peek into what we’re all about.” Beyond the economic boost that a festival…

How do you make peace with promoting music made by artists who have allegedly — or even certainly — behaved in troubling ways? I work with those artists to help them help themselves. I ask them to understand and admit their flaws. I encourage them to go to rehab, to go to therapy, give back by creating awareness of how those bad deeds have hurt them and sometimes others. I explain to them how taking responsibility for those actions will not only help them, but help others. Can an artist’s behavior taint his or her music? Yes, it can, especially if you can’t be honest with your fans and [business] partners. What is it like to work with an artist who has come under fire for misconduct? I have…

As spring brings the first filing season fully affected by the 400-plus-page tax overhaul that President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2017, taxes and finances seem top of mind for pop stars. “Do you know,” Cardi B tweeted in February, “that artists, celebrities, the IRS out of every check that you make, they automatically take 45%?” While Cardi may have shared her tax withholding rate, the rapper Future dropped a video for “Never Stop” featuring a beleaguered accountant. Sitting at a desk topped with mounds of files while wearily rubbing his forehead, the bookkeeper in Future’s video doesn’t quite match the reality of most financial advisers. Business managers are the crucial behind-the-scenes executives who tackle tax matters for artists, as well as savings, investments, financial planning, philanthropy…

A THREE-NIGHT CONCERT during Super Bowl LIII weekend brought in over $10 million in ticket sales for State Farm Arena in Atlanta, helping the 20-year-old venue secure the first No. 1 on Billboard Boxscore’s new monthly chart for venues with a capacity of 15,001 seats or more. Produced by the arena, the NFL and On Location, the three-night Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest began Jan. 31 with a hometown show by Ludacris and Migos that grossed $1.2 million, followed by a Feb. 1 co-headlining concert with Aerosmith and Post Malone that grossed $3.6 million from 12,894 tickets. The final concert, on the eve of the Super Bowl, paired Bruno Mars and Cardi B in their first concert in months, selling 14,152 tickets with a gross of $6.5 million,…

Death Debuts At No. 1 Juice WRLD claims his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as Death Race for Love debuts atop the tally. The set, his second solo studio LP, earned 165,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 14, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 43,000 were in album sales. Juice WRLD previously visited the top 10 with a pair of albums, both in 2018. WRLD on Drugs, his collaborative set with Future, debuted and peaked at No. 2 (on the chart dated Nov. 3), while Juice WRLD’s debut studio album, Goodbye & Good Riddance, climbed to a No. 8 peak on Aug. 11. Death Race logs both the biggest week overall and the largest streaming week for an R&B/hip-hop album in 2019.…

AIRPLAY DATA COMPILED BY RADIO SONGS: The week’s most popular songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music. Stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. DIGITAL SONG SALES: The week’s top-downloaded songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music. POP/RHYTHMIC/ADULT: The week’s most popular current songs at mainstream top 40, rhythmic, adult contemporary and adult top 40 formats, respectively, ranked by radio airplay detections, as measured by Nielsen Music. Songs are defined as current if they are relatively recently-released titles, or songs receiving widespread airplay and/or sales activity for the first time. Stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. See Charts Legend on billboard.com/biz for complete rules and explanations. All charts © 2019,…

Lil Nas X’s ‘Road’ Rages Lil Nas X (above) earns his first entry on Hot Rap Songs as “Old Town Road” kicks off at No. 24. The viral hit gained attention thanks to multiple memes that centered on its lyric “I got the horses in the back,” and its music video, which features clips from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. The track surges in streaming, with a 57 percent jump to 13.9 million U.S. clicks in the week ending March 14, according to Nielsen Music, and debuts at No. 25 on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs. Sales also rise as “Road” rides to 6,000 downloads sold during the week and a 17-11 increase on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales. Meanwhile, as Juice WRLD starts atop the Billboard 200 (see page…

Marshmello, Chvrches Are ‘Here’ Marshmello’s “Here With Me,” featuring Chvrches (above, with Marshmello second from right), launches at No. 6 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. The DJ’s eighth top 10 marks Chvrches’ first entry on the list, as well as the Scottish alt trio’s first on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 75) and Mainstream Top 40 (No. 35). With 12,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music, “Here” scores a No. 1 debut on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, earning Marshmello his fourth chart-topper and Chvrches their first. “Here” also starts at No. 7 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs, with 6.1 million U.S. streams. Additionally on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Marshmello and Bastille’s “Happier” hangs at the summit for a 26th week, tying Avicii’s 2013-14 leader “Wake Me Up!” for the third-longest reign since…