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The Billboard Cover Story: George Jones - Country's King
May 02, 2013 8:00 PM EDT From his first Billboard hit in 1955 to his last in 2011, Jones defined country music George Jones--the singer who defined an era of country music and along the way influenced almost every artist in the format who followed--was born Sept. 12, 19 ...
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The Billboard Cover Story: George Jones - A Dedication By Brad Paisley
May 02, 2013 8:00 PM EDT George Jones took every setback life threw at him and turned it into music. I grew up a huge fan of George Jones. I was familiar with the legends, the hard-luck stories, the accounts of missed gigs and drunken riding-mower notoriety. I was mesme ...
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The Billboard Cover Story: George Jones - An All-American Genius
May 02, 2013 8:00 PM EDT The greatest--and most influential--of all country singers and something more: one of the most extraordinary vocalists in the history of popular music. Nowhere will George Jones be mourned as soberly, effusively and proudly as in Nashville, and ...
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The Billboard Cover Story: George Jones - On the Charts
May 02, 2013 8:00 PM EDT From his first chart entry with "Why Baby Why" in October 1955 until his final appearance on Billboard's Hot Country Songs as a featured artist on Aaron Lewis' "Country Boy" two years ago, George Jones distinguished ...
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How Great Will the 'Gatsby' Soundtrack Be?
May 02, 2013 7:45 PM EDT The high-profile soundtrack, an artifact of the '80s and '90s largely dormant during the last five years, is being revived by "The Great Gatsby," Baz Luhrmann's $100 million-plus adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald nov ...
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Anheuser-Busch Beer Looks to Overtake Pepsi as Music's Biggest Brand
May 02, 2013 7:45 PM EDT Anheuser-Busch InBev is prepping its largest portfolio-wide push yet in support of music this summer--an even bigger power play for music's most powerful sponsor. A series of new initiatives for Budweiser, Bud Light, Landshark lager and Bec ...
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How Trey Songz's Fan Club App Earns More Than $50K a Month
May 02, 2013 6:40 PM EDT Reinventing the fan club. On a sleepy Monday afternoon, a music fan who goes by the handle "sexycharizma37" shelled out somewhere between $12.50 and $25 to be an "Instant VIP" in an online fan club for Trey Songz, the R&B ...
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Global Cause: Impressive Names Come Together for Charity Through Touring & Ticketing
May 02, 2013 6:40 PM EDT Some of the most powerful touring artists in the world will unite behind the Global Poverty Project (GPP) through the Global Citizen Tickets Initiative, a new program launched May 2 designed to incentivize social activism with concert tickets. G ...
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Sean Glass Starts Dance Label With a Different Take
May 02, 2013 6:40 PM EDT As a part-time A&R rep for labels like Epic Records and Universal Republic, Sean Glass often found his hands tied when he was ready to get behind a potential signing. "I was working in film at the time and whenever I'd work to brea ...
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Sony Links With Icona Pop's Swedish Label TEN
May 02, 2013 6:40 PM EDT Looking to expand its pop and dance music repertoire, Sony Music Entertainment has turned to one of the genre's biggest meccas--Scandinavia. In an exclusive multiple-year partnership signed in April, Sony has teamed with Sweden's TEN M ...
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Over the Counter: Michael Buble Nets Fourth No. 1 Album
May 02, 2013 5:40 PM EDT 'To Be Loved' starts atop the Billboard 200 with 195,000 without benefit of top 40 hit single. Two acts arrive in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart this week that are a study in chart contrasts. First, there's Michael Buble, w ...
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Songza Racks 6 Million Installs & Starts to Make Presence Felt
May 02, 2013 3:40 PM EDT In Internet radio, Pandora dominates, Apple looms and Songza continues to grow and roll out innovative features. Songza has surpassed 6 million app installations and attracted 4.7 million active users in March alone, up from 2 million active mon ...
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TV's Still the King Of Media
May 02, 2013 3:40 PM EDT Even though TV has become incredibly fragmented in the cable era, no other medium delivers such a large group of consumers to an artist or songwriter in a single shot. Those large audiences equal money, from synchronizations to increased awarene ...
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Billboard's Latin Music Conference: Bash a Smash
May 02, 2013 3:05 PM EDT The Billboard Bash, celebrating the albums, imprints, publishers and producers of the year, took place at the Cameo Nightclub in Miami and featured performances by Billboard Latin Music Awards finalists America Sierra, Akwid and reggaeton acts P ...
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Emilio Romano Q&A: The Telemundo Leader on Hispanic Market & Frenemies
May 02, 2013 3:05 PM EDT Since taking over as president of Telemundo a little more than a year ago, Emilio Romano (above right) has already put his imprint on the network and its bilingual channel, mun2, as well as on Telemundo digital media. The new Telemundo is high ...
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Billboard's Latin Music Conference: What Can a Brand Do for Me?
May 02, 2013 3:05 PM EDT Answer: Drive hits, artist development, more Pepsi The beverage giant has partnered with up-and-coming DJ trio 3BallMTY to spread the gospel in the U.S. Latin and Latin-American market. Pepsi's desire to reach a young Latin market also comp ...
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Billboard's Latin Music Conference: 5 New Artists to Watch
May 02, 2013 3:05 PM EDT Standouts from the 40-plus acts that performed at the Billboard Latin Music Conference showcases. 1. Band Of Bitches Their bio claims that they're aliens, though under their latex hoods are members of Plastilina Mosh and other Latin alterna ...
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Billboard's Latin Music Conference: New Platforms Helping Artists & Labels Navigate
May 02, 2013 3:05 PM EDT Latin's New Strategies: Billboard's Latin Music Conference focused on the new platforms helping artists and labels navigate a business in constant transition Now matter who you talked to at the 24th annual Billboard Latin Music Confere ...
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Beth Hart Makes Stateside Comeback With Two Albums & High-Profile Performances
May 01, 2013 9:35 PM EDT Though she's continued to live in her hometown of Los Angeles, Beth Hart hadn't toured or released an album of original material in the United States in 10 years until very recently--having worked the better part of the last decade in ...
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App Review: Twitter's #music
May 01, 2013 8:20 PM EDT Twitter's #music arrives to the iPhone with the potential to streamline music consumption within the Twitter ecosystem by focusing on habits that have slowly developed during the service's seven-year existence. In this regard, the much ...
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Single Reviews: Lana Del Rey, Scotty McCreery, We the Kings, Ray J, Daft Punk featuring Pharrell
May 01, 2013 8:20 PM EDT ELECTRONIC DAFT PUNK FEATURING PHARRELL "Get Lucky" (4:07) Producer: Daft Punk Writers: various Publishers: various Ultra/Columbia "Get Lucky," already Daft Punk's biggest hit in its 16-year career, has all the elements ...
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Live Review: Chvrches at Village Underground, London
May 01, 2013 8:20 PM EDT Artist: Chvrches Venue: Village Underground, London Date: April 29 "Can I do something embarrassing?" singer Lauren Mayberry asked as she returned for the encore at Chvrches' London headline show. Earlier, she had claimed to have ...
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Rock Album Review: "Modern Vampires of the City" Vampire Weekend
May 01, 2013 8:20 PM EDT Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig has described "Modern Vampires of the City" as "very much the last of a trilogy." If a reinvention is under way for the Brooklyn quartet, then its third offering is a fitting finale to a r ...
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Metal Single Review: "G-d is Dead?" Black Sabbath
May 01, 2013 8:20 PM EDT Friedrich Nietzsche declared that God is dead-but Black Sabbath isn't so sure. That's the tact, at least, on "God Is Dead?," the first release from the group's forthcoming 13, which reunites Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and ...
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AMERICANASteve Martin & Edie BrickellLove Has Come for YouProducer: Peter AsherRounder RecordsRelease Date: April 23Martin's surprisingly potent musical career takes another turn on this album of
May 01, 2013 8:20 PM EDT AMERICANA Steve Martin & Edie Brickell Love Has Come for You Producer: Peter Asher Rounder Records Release Date: April 23 Martin's surprisingly potent musical career takes another turn on this album of rootsy ballads and character songs ...
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Road Work: Cat Power, Darren Criss, Wild Nothing, Jurassic 5
May 01, 2013 8:15 PM EDT Dancing Shell: Brooklyn-based dream-pop outfit Wild Nothing has announced plans for a tour supporting folk hero and Fleet Foxes alum Father John Misty on select dates, ahead of its "Empty Estate" EP, out May 14. Booked by John Chavez a ...
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Scouting Report: British Mod Rockers Various Cruelties
May 01, 2013 8:15 PM EDT Jewelry retailer Zales has become an unlikely launch pad for rock songs, with recent ads featuring tracks from Alabama Shakes and the Black Keys. Unsigned British mod rockers Various Cruelties became the latest benefactors in late 2012 when thei ...
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Quadron's 'Avalanche' LP Leads Off Sylvia Rhone's New Vested in Culture Imprint
May 01, 2013 8:15 PM EDT Danish pop-soul duo Quadron worshipped at the altar of Michael Jackson every day while crafting its major-label debut, "Avalanche"--literally. "We recorded at Westlake Studios in Hollywood, which is where Michael did 'Thrille ...
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Portugal. The Man Make 'Evil Friends' With Danger Mouse on 8th Album
May 01, 2013 8:15 PM EDT After touring extensively for its 2011 album, "In the Mountain in the Cloud," produced by John Hill, Portland, Ore., band Portugal. The Man hoped to take total control of its next release. The group decamped to Sonic Ranch in El Paso, ...
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Kenny Chesney's Blue Chair Bay Rum is Bottling the Vibe
May 01, 2013 7:55 PM EDT Chesney's new Blue Chair Bay Rum launches lifestyle brand Kenny Chesney's launch of the Blue Chair Bay line of rums in 32 markets this month is far more than just putting his name on a product. Blue Chair Bay is a lifestyle brand exten ...
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Kenny Chesney Gets Personal on 14th Album
May 01, 2013 7:55 PM EDT The top touring artist in country music history bucked the system and assembled something closer to diary entries than stadium singalongs. On this sunny day in Sony Music's Nashville offices, Kenny Chesney is handed a printout of his chart ...
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Bubbling Under: Emblem3, Dan Croll, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Tim Timmons
May 01, 2013 7:45 PM EDT Emblem3 Rises At Radio Emblem3, which finished fourth on Fox's "The X Factor" last year, is approaching the Mainstream Top 40 chart (up 64%, according to Nielsen BDS) with its debut Syco/Columbia single, "Chloe (You're t ...
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Happening Now: 20-Year-Old Chance the Rapper is In Sights of Nearly Every Label
May 01, 2013 7:45 PM EDT In high school, Chance the Rapper was the kid with the backpack full of CDs, foisting his latest mixtape on unsuspecting classmates. Now he plays coy in meetings with major labels, biding his time while big numbers and grand schemes are discusse ...
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Happening Now: Fantasia Reveals a New 'Side'
May 01, 2013 7:45 PM EDT As the "American Idol" final four tuned up for another showdown recently, season-three winner Fantasia found herself back in the spotlight as well. That's because her fourth album, "Side Effects of You" (19 Recordings/RC ...
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Remembering Legendary Agent Frank Barsalona
May 01, 2013 7:35 PM EDT Music industry greats gather to honor the legendary agent who built the modern-day touring business from the ground up Some of the most influential players in the history of the touring industry filled Irving Plaza in New York on April 25 to pay ...
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Questions Answered: Robb McDaniels, Founder/CEO of INgrooves/Isolation Network
May 01, 2013 7:35 PM EDT What did you wake up thinking this morning? And what keeps you up at night? I woke up thinking about new ways to get that first sip of coffee to my lips faster. Thinking doesn't really begin until that happens. What keeps me up at night is ...
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Sound & Vision Column: Putting Music Upfront
May 01, 2013 7:30 PM EDT Music doesn't seem to be a priority for many of the new shows planned for the big TV networks' fall seasons, but there are some showcase opportunities. When NBC announced the renewal of "Parenthood" and the CW OK'd a thi ...
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Digital Domain: It's the Platform, Stupid
May 01, 2013 7:30 PM EDT Amazon and Microsoft seem unsexy contenders in the digital platform wars--here's why the music industry should pay attention. Microsoft's imminent unveiling of its new Xbox game console and Amazon's planned set-top box may seem fa ...
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On The Road: Gibson Exits L.A.
May 01, 2013 7:30 PM EDT What will the closure of the Gibson Amphitheater mean for one of the live industry's biggest markets? Since the infancy of the live music business, Los Angeles has been one of the most competitive markets in the world, both from a venue per ...
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Executive Turntable: Capitol Records U.K., Sony Music Nashville, North by Northeast, Caroline, Viacom
May 01, 2013 7:25 PM EDT RECORD COMPANIES Universal Music Group has launched Capitol Records U.K., marking the first time Capitol has had a stand-alone presence in the United Kingdom. Nick Raphael, who is currently president of Universal imprint London Records, has been ...
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Good Works: Patrick Sullivan's Personal Mission in Fighting Hunger
May 01, 2013 7:25 PM EDT Fighting Hunger Patrick Sullivan, founder of licensing and royalty service provider RightsFlow, grew up in a lower-middle-class family in the Bronx where a decent meal was sometimes difficult to come by. "There was no such thing as going ou ...
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My Day: Amy Doyle, Executive VP of Music & Talent of MTV Networks
May 01, 2013 7:25 PM EDT From the middle of April until the end of the month, everyone involved in cable TV programming is preparing presentations for shows that will premiere in the fall. Doyle is at the forefront of engaging music with programming, leading MTV's ...
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Further Dealings: SiriusXM, CBS Radio + Astralwerks, Beastie Boys Book
May 01, 2013 7:25 PM EDT CBS Radio is throwing its hat in the EDM ring, teaming with Astralwerks--home to Swedish House Mafia, Empire of the Sun and sister duo Nervo--to launch a national talent search for the next great female DJ/producer. The program, dubbed "She ...
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The Deal: Warner's Plans For Parlophone
May 01, 2013 7:25 PM EDT WHAT: Warner Music Group will expand its front-line label presence beyond Atlantic and Warner Bros. by keeping Parlophone Label Group an operating entity, according to company insiders. Parlophone's roster includes Coldplay, Tinie Tempah, K ...
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An Award-Winning Night: Don Omar, Jenni Rivera are Top Winners at Billboard's Latin Music Awards
April 25, 2013 7:10 PM EDT Don Omar, an artist who in the past few years has been defined by his hit singles, and Jenni Rivera, an artist whose chart success was driven by album sales, were the top winners at the 2013 Billboard Latin Music Awards, presented by State Farm. ...
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Music Supervisor Adam Joseph Teams With Sony's RED to Launch Service to Support Synch Music Artists
April 25, 2013 7:10 PM EDT 2 19 10 0 0 When veteran producer David Kahne (Regina Spektor, Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson) was leaving his A&R position at Columbia Records in the mid-'90s, more than 200 artists were on the label's roster. Not only are there less than h ...
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Over The Counter: Fall Out Boy's No. 1; Record Store Day Wins
April 25, 2013 7:10 PM EDT Indie-store album sales up 3% compared with last year's Record Store Day One rock band replaces another atop the Billboard 200 as Fall Out Boy's "Save Rock and Roll" debuts at No. 1, bumping last week's champ, Paramore&# ...
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Rod Stewart - The Billboard Cover Story: "The Next Chapter"
April 25, 2013 7:05 PM EDT Rod Stewart does not disappoint--even his driveway befits a rock star. Actually, it's a gated road, and it sprawls uphill toward a chateau-like Beverly Hills manse, its considerable expanse lined with classical statuary, burbling fountains, ...
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Executive Turntable: Universal, SESAC, Capitol, Fullscreen, Schure, Maybach
April 25, 2013 6:55 PM EDT 5 0 0 0 DIGITAL Fullscreen, an independent YouTube network that boasts more than 10,000 channels and 150 million subscribers, appoints Larry Shapiro head of talent. Based in Los Angeles, Shapiro will lead the company's talent department, which mana ...
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The Deal: Big Machine, Dr. Luke Write Together
April 25, 2013 6:55 PM EDT WHAT: Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald's Prescription Songs, based in Los Angeles, and Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Music in Nashville struck a joint-venture publishing deal in mid-April to connect songwriters from both teams with ...