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December 22, 2009
Live Nation, Ticketmaster Merger Approved In UK
The UK's Competition Commission has concluded the proposed merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster will not negatively impact the live music ticket market in the UK. The decision is a reversal from the CC's previous provisional ruling, which said the merger could inhibit the entrance of ticketing competitor CTS Eventim. Bodies in Norway and Turkey have also approved the merger, while rulings are still pending in the United States and Canada. (12/22)
WTO Rules China Illegally Restricted Imports
The World Trade Organization's appellate body today upheld an August ruling claiming China infringed upon international rules in restricting the United States with market access to DVDs, music and other cultural products. The ruling determined that China illegally deterred companies such as Apple from selling music downloads and forced media suppliers to go through state-owned companies to distribute goods. The United States and China are expected to enter negotiations to resolve the complaint. If an agreement is not reached, trade sanctions could be imposed against Chinese goods. (12/22)
Boyle Earns Top-Selling UK Album In 2009
Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream is the year's top-selling album in the UK with sales of 1.4 million units in just four weeks, overtaking Lady Gaga's The Fame, according to Official Charts Company. Rounding out the UK's top five best-selling albums are Kings Of Leon's Only By The Night, Michael Bublé's Crazy Love, and the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. (12/22)
Borders UK Stores Set To Close Today
All 45 Borders UK stores will close today as a result of administrators' failed attempts to find a buyer for the business. The chain, which sells music in addition to books and DVDs, confirmed a 90 percent reduction on remaining stock for its last day of trading today. Borders filed for administration last month after struggling to raise funds to trade through the holiday season. (12/22)
Taylor Swift Named AP Entertainer Of The Year
GRAMMY-nominated artist Taylor Swift has been named the Associated Press' entertainer of the year, an honor awarded through a survey of AP members including broadcast producers and newspaper editors. Swift follows last year's winner, actress Tina Fey, and 2007's winner, writer/television host Stephen Colbert. (12/21)
Citadel Broadcasting Files For Bankruptcy Protection
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, the third-largest radio broadcasting company in the United States, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a bid to restructure debt given a continuing decline in advertising revenue. Citadel owns and operates 224 radio stations nationwide, including stations in major markets such as Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. (12/21)
Non-P2P Web Piracy On The Rise
Peer-to-peer file-sharing remained level in 2009 in the UK but alternative illegal services such as MP3 pay sites and newsgroups, blogs and forums linking to cyberlockers increased, according to a Harris Interactive survey conducted for UK trade body BPI. The survey, which interviewed more than 3,400 UK respondents during November, found the usage of overseas unlicensed MP3 pay sites and newsgroups over the past six months increased 47 percent and 42 percent, respectively. The use of MP3 search engines increased 28 percent and accessing forum and blog links to cyberlockers was up 18 percent. (12/18)
Susan Boyle Tops YouTube's Most-Watched List
Susan Boyle's audition for "Britain's Got Talent" was the most-watched video on YouTube in 2009 with more than 120 million views. In the music category, Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me" ranked as YouTube's top music video with more than 82 million views. Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" and "Party In The U.S.A." were second and third, respectively, followed by the Lonely Island's "I'm On A Boat" and Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down." (12/17)
New Site Opposes Live Nation/Ticketmaster Merger
A new Web site, Ticketdisaster.org, has been launched with the purpose of addressing how the proposed merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster could have a negative impact on both the entertainment industry and consumers. The site includes information on how the merger could potentially raise ticket prices and promote anti-competitive practices. The site is a partnership between Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Ticket Brokers, among other groups. (12/17)
RIAJ Reports Double-Digit Decline
The Recording Industry Association of Japan reported the production of 196.4 million audio units from January through November 2009, a 13 percent decline compared to the year-ago period, and a total unit value of $2.6 billion, a 14 percent drop. CD production totaled 192.5 million units, a 13 percent year-over-year decline, equaling a value of $2.5 billion, a 14 percent drop. (12/17)
Chrysalis Reports 2009 Profit
UK-based Chrysalis Music Publishing reported a profit of $5.3 million in 2009, compared to a loss of $1.6 million in 2008, and a 16.3 percent increase in revenue to $101.4 million. The company also reported an 18.6 percent increase in net publisher's share to $21.6 million. Chrysalis' strong performance was driven by strong chart performances by artists such as the Cribs, David Gray, White Lies, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others. (12/17)
T Bone Burnett, Paul McCartney, U2 Among Golden Globe Nominees
GRAMMY-winning artists T Bone Burnett, Paul McCartney and U2, and GRAMMY-nominated artist Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are among the nominees for the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards to be held on Jan. 17 in Los Angeles. Burnett, along with Ryan Bingham, McCartney and U2 received nominations in the Best Original Song — Motion Picture category for their contributions to the films Crazy Heart, Everybody's Fine and Brothers, respectively. GRAMMY-nominated composer/lyricist Maury Yeston was also nominated for "Cinema Italiano" from the film Nine. O, along with Carter Burwell, earned a nomination for Best Original Score — Motion Picture for the soundtrack to the film Where The Wild Things Are. Additional nominees in this category include GRAMMY-winning composers Michael Giacchino for Up, Marvin Hamlisch for The Informant! and James Horner for Avatar. (12/16)
ABBA, Genesis, Stooges Among 2010 Rock Hall Class
ABBA, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, the Hollies, and the Stooges are the artist inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2010. Inductees for the non-performer category are industry executive David Geffen and songwriters Jeff Barry, Otis Blackwell, Elle Greenwich, Barry Mann, Mort Shuman, Jesse Stone, and Cynthia Weil. The class will be inducted at a ceremony on March 15, 2010, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. (12/15)
"Green Day: Rock Band" Coming In 2010
Gaming developer Harmonix, MTV Games and Warner Bros./Reprise Records have announced "Green Day: Rock Band" will be released in 2010. A specific release date has not been disclosed. The game will feature key albums and highlights from the GRAMMY-winning band's career, and will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. (12/15)
The Rolling Stones Are Top Touring Artist Of Decade
The Rolling Stones have been named Billboard's top touring artist of the decade, with gross revenue of $869.5 million and attendance of more than 8 million across 264 concerts. Rounding out the top five were U2 ($844.2 million), Madonna ($801.3 million), Bruce Springsteen ($688.1 million), and Elton John ($603.8 million). In related news, U2 topped Billboard's 2009 top tours list with $311.6 million in gross revenue and concert attendance of more than 3 million. Trailing U2 was Madonna ($222 million), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($156.3 million), AC/DC ($135.3 million), and Pink ($102.9 million). (12/14)
Online Radio Listening Up In UK
A total of 4.5 million people in the UK utilized online radio services such as Last.fm and Spotify during November, an increase from 3.9 million in May and 2.9 million in October 2008, according to a survey from radio audience research firm RAJAR. The survey also found that 17.4 million, one-third of UK adults, have listened to radio via the Internet during their lifetime, up from 16.9 million in May, and individuals downloading podcasts rose from 7.8 million in May to 8.1 million. (12/14)
Global Concert Business Healthy In 2009
The global concert industry totaled a record $4.4 billion in revenue, an 11.7 increase over 2008, and 73 million in attendance, a year-over-year 12.6 percent increase, according to figures from Billboard Boxscore from Dec. 6, 2008, to Nov. 21, 2009. In North America concert revenue reached $2.8 billion in 2009, down 2 percent, and 50 million in attendance, down 1.7 percent, based on 9 percent fewer shows. Live Nation reported a 25 percent increase in gross revenue to $2.5 billion and a 19 percent increase in attendance to 41 million, while AEG Live reported $888 million in gross revenue, a 12 percent decline, and 14.5 million in attendance, a 12 percent drop. (12/11)
Billboard Names Swift, West Artists Of Year
Billboard magazine named Taylor Swift and Kanye West as its top female and top male artists of the year, respectively. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Britney Spears placed second through fifth in the female category, while T.I., Flo Rida, Jason Mraz, and Ne-Yo rounded out the top five in the male category. Swift was also named Billboard's 2009 overall artist of the year. (12/11)
Music Dominates Top 10 Most-Watched Videos In 2009
The top 10 list of most-watched Internet videos in 2009 consisted of all music videos except for the No. 1 video, the trailer to Twilight Saga: New Moon, according to a report by independent measuring firm Visible Measures. Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" was the No. 2 most-watched video with 333.2 million views. Rounding out the top five were Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" (317.7 million views), Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat" (313.8 million views) and a Susan Boyle performance from "Britain's Got Talent" (313.2 million views). (12/11)
Elvis Presley 75th Anniversary Events Planned For 2010
A variety of nationwide events will take place in 2010 celebrating the 75th anniversary birthday celebration of Elvis Presley, including a cake-cutting ceremony at his Graceland home in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 8, 2010, the date of what would have been his 75th birthday. Other events will include a special exhibit at Graceland featuring Presley's costumes and "Viva Elvis," a Cirque du Soleil tribute to his life and music opening Dec. 18 in Las Vegas. The GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live will premiere Elvis At 21: Photographs By Alfred Wertheimer, a new Smithsonian traveling exhibition, on Jan. 8. (12/11)
Nielsen Business Media Sells Trade Magazines
Nielsen Business Media has reached an agreement to sell eight of its media brands, including trade magazines Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, to e5 Global Media by Dec. 31. Financial details were not disclosed but the deal is worth $70 million according to a Folio report. Also included in the transaction are magazines Adweek, Back Stage and Mediaweek, among others, and Nielsen's Clio Awards. (12/10)
Rolling Stone Names Decade's Top Albums, Songs
Rolling Stone magazine announced its best 100 album and song lists of the decade, selecting Radiohead's Kid A as top album and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" as top song. Rounding out the top five albums and songs, respectively, were the Strokes Is This It, Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Jay-Z's The Blueprint, and the White Stripes' Elephant; Jay-Z's "99 Problems," Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love, " Outkast's "Hey Ya!, " and M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." Ballots were cast by a group of artists, music critics and industry insiders and the results were tabulated by accounting firm Ernst & Young. (12/10)
NEA Study Shows Drop In Concert Attendance
Attendance at cultural activities such as concert, museum and theater events dropped to 34.6 percent of adults in 2008, down from 41 percent in 1992, according to a National Endowment for the Arts study. The percentage of adults attending jazz concerts decreased from 10.8 percent in 2002 to 7.8 percent in 2008, and other categories such as ballet, opera and musical theater also showed marked attendance declines. The report cited the Internet, less free time and arts education cuts as reasons for the attendance declines. (12/10)
Broucek To Head Warner Bros. Pictures Music
Warner Bros. Pictures has appointed Paul Broucek as its new president of music, replacing the departing Doug Frank. Broucek will oversee the creative direction and day-to-day responsibilities of the company's music operations and will report to Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov. Warner Bros. did not disclose specifics regarding Frank's departure. Frank, The Recording Academy's Vice Chair, was promoted to Warner Bros. Pictures president of music in 2002. (12/9)
Black Eyed Peas, Kings Of Leon Top 2009 ITunes Charts
The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" was iTunes' top-selling single in 2009 and Kings Of Leon’s Only By The Night was the best-selling album. Rounding out the top five singles were Flo Rida's "Right Round," Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," and the All-American Rejects' "Gives You Hell." The Twilight soundtrack, Lady Gaga's The Fame, Taylor Swift's Fearless, and Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King rounded out the five top-selling albums. (12/8)
EMI Signs On With Vevo
EMI Music Group has agreed to a licensing deal with ad-supported online music video service Vevo, following major label deals with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Warner Music Group remains the remaining major label holdout with negotiations between both parties still ongoing. Vevo, a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment, UMG and investor Abu Dhabi Media, is scheduled to launch Dec. 8. (12/7)
Apple Acquires Lala.com
Apple has acquired Palo Alto, Calif.-based online music retailer Lala.com for an undisclosed amount. Lala has developed an unreleased application which would allow iPhone users to purchase the ability to stream songs from a digital locker on an unlimited basis for 10 cents each. Lala was launched in 2006 as an online CD-trading site and relaunched in 2008 as a digital music retailer. (12/7)
Daniel Powter Named Decade's One-Hit Wonder
GRAMMY-nominated artist Daniel Powter, whose "Bad Day" topped the Hot 100 for five weeks in 2006, has been named Billboard's one-hit wonder of the decade. Rounding out the top five were Terror Squad with "Lean Back," Crazy Town with "Butterfly," MIMS with "This Is Why I'm Hot," and D4L with "Laffy Taffy." Billboard determined the list based on acts from 2000–2007 whose second hits did not reach the top 25. (12/7)
Blasko Takes Home Aussie Album Of The Year
Susan Blasko's As Day Follows Night won the Triple J Australian album of the year, chosen from a list of 10 albums from artists including Bertie Blackman, Paul Dempsey and Hilltop Hoods, among others. The honor is awarded annually to acknowledge outstanding recordings by local talent in Australia. Last week, Blasko also was feted with the Australian Recording Industry Association award for Best Female Artist. (12/4)
Rolling Stone To Launch Los Angeles Restaurant
Rolling Stone magazine has announced it will launch a large-scale restaurant and nightclub in the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, Calif., in summer 2010. The venue will include two tiers, with the top level featuring a restaurant and bar and the street level featuring an upscale lounge available for both patrons and corporate event rentals. Rolling Stone's establishment will not showcase music memorabilia but will feature live music for events and a regular live DJ. (12/4)
Musician Jack Cooke Dies
Bass player and singer Jack Cooke, the second-longest tenured member of Dr. Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys, died Dec. 2 in Norton, Va., following a collapse suffered at his home. He was 72 years old. During his career, Cooke initially played with Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys in the 1950s, and went on to record with Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys for approximately five years. After fronting his own band, the Virginia Mountain Boys, he rejoined the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1970 and ultimately won a GRAMMY with the group in 2002 for Best Bluegrass Album for Lost In The Lonesome Pines. (12/4)
Vivendi To Sell NBC Universal Stake
French media conglomerate Vivendi has announced a plan to sell its minority 20 percent stake in NBC Universal as part of a deal in which Comcast is acquiring the remaining stake in NBC from General Electric. The deal could bring in $5.8 billion for Vivendi. Vivendi will continue to operate in the media and entertainment business via its ownership of Universal Music Group, Activision Blizzard and French TV operator Canal Plus. The deal must pass regulatory scrutiny. (12/3)
MySpace Music Launches In UK
MySpace Music launched its service in the UK today. The ad-supported service will allow users to access free and unlimited full-length audio and video streaming and unlimited free playlists. Users can download, stream and personalize their content with the MyMusic management system and purchase DRM-free MP3 downloads via Apple's iTunes. Following a licensing agreement agreement with independent nonprofit organization Merlin, indie artists from labels including Beggars Group, Cooking Vinyl and Domino, among others will provide their repertoire to the platform. (12/3)
Stevie Wonder Named UN Messenger Of Peace
GRAMMY-winning artist Stevie Wonder has been named the 11th United Nations Messenger of Peace and joins a list of distinguished individuals from the fields of art, literature, music, and sports who are dedicated to focusing worldwide attention on the work of the U.N. Wonder is being recognized for his philanthropic involvement with the U.S. President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children's Diabetes Foundation and Junior Blind of America. Additional U.N. Messengers of Peace include GRAMMY-winning conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim and GRAMMY-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma. (12/3)
Thanksgiving Week Album Sales Down 12 Percent
U.S. album sales totaled 10.73 million units during the past week, a 12 percent decline compared to Thanksgiving week in 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures. Despite the year-over-year drop, sales were up 34 percent compared to the prior week, driven by Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream, which debuted at No. 1 this week with 701,000 units sold, and strong sales from Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert and Rihanna. Boyle's sales marked the best weekly sales tally of the year and the best opening week sales for a female artist's debut album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. (12/2)
Spaulding To Head Fontana
Ron Spaulding has been appointed president of Fontana, Universal Music Group Distribution's independent distribution company, and will report to UMGD President and CEO Jim Urie. Spaulding was formerly executive VP and GM at Fontana, and has previously held positions at companies such as Asylum and EastWest Records, Elektra Entertainment Group, Priority Records, and WEA. (12/2)
Holiday Season Music Sales Off To Slow Start
Music sales are off to slow start this holiday season with East Coast retail chain Newbury Comics reporting an 8 percent decline in music sales and 6 percent sales decline in hit titles, according to Billboard.biz. Another anonymous record store chain reported music sales were down 6 percent on a comparable-store basis. Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream is projected for first-week sales of 650,000 units, and other fourth-quarter releases by 50 Cent, Adam Lambert, John Mayer, and Rihanna may also help boost music sales. In related news, Cyber Monday sales increased 14 percent and consumers purchased 30 percent more items per order compared to 2008. Amazon.com reported it sold out of the 8GB iPod Touch, which was offered as a special Cyber Monday promotion. (12/1)
York Höller Wins Grawemeyer Award
German composer York Höller won the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for music composition for his orchestral work "Sphaeren." Established by H. Charles Grawemeyer at the University of Louisville in 1984, five awards are given annually in the categories of education, music composition, psychology, religion, and world order, including a $200,000 cash prize each. Previous music recipients include Unsuk Chin, Peter Lieberson, and George Tsontakis, among others. (12/1)
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