1. Rdio Acquires Recommendation Company TastemakerX

    June 30, 2014 6:07 PM EDT Rdio, after announcing that it would "transition away" from the newly (at the time) Spotify-owned Echo Nest for its algorithmic recommendations, has announced its acquisition of the consumer-facing TastemakerX, a recommendation platform ...

  2. Bitcoin Is Now Legal In California

    June 30, 2014 5:09 PM EDT If you’re a California resident hoping to buy 50 Cent’s next album using Bitcoin, you’re in luck. The most populous U.S. state now recognizes Bitcoin as legal currency, following the approval of Assembly Bill 129 and its subsequent signing into la ...

  3. Radio Rules New Nielsen Listening Study

    June 30, 2014 2:23 PM EDT Radio still rules. Most audio consumption is passive listening done by people who value convenience, according to a new Nielsen study. Called the Audio Demand Landscape, the study breaks American consumers into six segments according to listening ...

  4. Google Glass Sets Its Sights on Music, with Artist Evangelizers

    June 30, 2014 11:53 AM EDT From hip-hop to classical, the $1,500 technology has arrived. This article was first published in the July 5th issue of Billboard Magazine . Will Google Glass revolutionize the music industry? According to early adopters of the wearable computer - ...

  5. After a Year of Experimentation, BitTorrent Bundle Wants to Make Artists (and Itself) Money

    June 29, 2014 9:49 AM EDT After hitting the '100 million' milestone, BitTorrent, the data transfer protocol long associated with piracy, continues to try and clear its name. One year and 100 million legal downloads later, the BitTorrent Bundle platform — an ...

  6. IMPALA Files Complaint Against YouTube with European Commission

    June 27, 2014 4:54 PM EDT IMPALA, the trade group of European indie labels, has finally filed a complaint with the European Commission against YouTube, which has been accused of engaging in antitrust conduct. Warner Music Working With Impala, Merlin to Sell Parlophone Asse ...

  7. Filter Magazine Ends Its Run as Co-Founders 'the Alans' Part Ways

    June 27, 2014 4:23 PM EDT Good music will (still) prevail, even though  Filter , the Los Angeles-based music magazine and Culture Collide festival promoter and organizer, will cease operation by summer's end.  Filter co-founders Alan Sartirana and Alan Miller have par ...

  8. Ex-Google Exec Alexis Giles Named SoundCloud Director of Business Development

    June 27, 2014 2:42 PM EDT Alexis Giles is the new director of business development at SoundCloud. Based in San Francisco, Giles will look to develop partnerships for the company with platform and distribution partners. Exploration.io's Aaron Davis on Maximizing YouT ...

  9. The 'San Francisco Is Doomed' Compilation Wants to Take Silicon Valley to Task

    June 27, 2014 2:26 PM EDT At the very end of Thee Oh Sees' "You Can Have It," a crusty diatribe against changing neighborhoods, frontman Jeff Dwyer makes things personal: "Fuck you, Google. Fuck you, Twitter." The bitter sentiment isn't far fr ...

  10. Tomorrow's Hits: Kiesza Moves Front And Center With 'Hideaway'

    June 27, 2014 1:19 PM EDT Each Friday, Billboard presents Tomorrow's Hits, a weekly look at new and noteworthy acts making their way toward Billboard chart success. Up this week: Kiesza, Ella Henderson and Justin Quiles. Artist on the Verge: Kiesza Kiesza Kiesza has g ...

  11. Amazon Launches Editorial Outlet 'Music Notes'

    June 27, 2014 9:30 AM EDT Amazon.com has introduced Amazon Music Notes , an editorially-driven Web offering intended to drive music sales, Amazon Prime adoption and book purchases. The move comes amid a larger rebranding effort by the Seattle-based retailer under the new A ...

  12. YouTube Announces Crowdfunding, Donations, Free Music

    June 27, 2014 9:22 AM EDT At the annual VidCon confabulation in Anaheim, California yesterday, YouTube's Susan Wojcicki unveiled a number of additions and features that the site will be adding over the coming months, including links to creators' crowdfunding pr ...

  13. Sony Music Copyright Claims Aiming to Ground United Airlines Contractor

    June 26, 2014 6:49 PM EDT On Wednesday, the Supreme Court looked down on Aereo's system of capturing over-the-air television programming and relaying those copyrighted works to digital devices. It's now time to look higher -- thousands of feet above terrestrial s ...

  14. Katy Perry Becomes the RIAA's All-Time Top Digital Artist

    June 26, 2014 4:59 PM EDT Yesterday (June 25), Katy Perry was presented with yet another award in her record-setting three-album career. The Recording Industry Association of America named Perry its highest-selling digital act in the history of Gold and Platinum awards in ...

  15. Spotify and Beats' Canadian Launch Still Up in the Air

    June 26, 2014 1:33 PM EDT Despite recent reports , the arrival of Spotify in Canada may not be as imminent as suggested. Representatives from Beats and Spotify deny these rumors. A source told Billboard that "It would be inaccurate to claim it's even close to a l ...

  16. Meet ROK Mobile, a Slightly Different On-Demand Streaming Service from a Tequila Billionaire

    June 26, 2014 11:34 AM EDT The United States is about to get a new on-demand music service. Set for a July 4th launch, ROK Mobile is the creation of John Paul DeJoria, the billionaire behind Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron Tequila, and British mobile entrepreneur ...

  17. BPI's Platinum, Gold, Silver Awards Will Tally Streams, Too

    June 26, 2014 10:28 AM EDT The British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) has announced that its Certified Awards Programme will include single streams when awarding sales certifications to singles, starting next month, as Music Week reports . Lana Del Rey, Ella Henderson Lead U ...

  18. Sirius XM Debuts a YouTube Radio Show for Hot New Songs

    June 26, 2014 12:01 AM EDT Even as Sirius XM has bounced back from its financial troubles of past years to build the second largest entertainment subscriber base in the United States -- with over 70 influential music channels -- it has always privately resented not always ...

  19. What Options are Left for Aereo Following Supreme Court Ruling?

    June 25, 2014 9:35 PM EDT The Supreme Court dealt Internet startup Aereo a major setback on Wednesday in ruling that the television-over-the-Internet service operates much like a cable TV company. As a result, the service violates copyright law unless Aereo pays broadcaste ...

  20. Billboard + Hollywood Reporter 2014 Film & TV Music Conference Scheduled Nov. 5, 6

    June 25, 2014 9:00 PM EDT Planning for the 2014 Billboard + Hollywood Reporter Film and TV Music conference officially kicked off with the annual Advisory Board Luncheon on June 19 at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. This year’s conference is expanding from years past, movi ...

  21. Google's I/O Developer Conference: More of the Same, But From Google This Time

    June 25, 2014 5:18 PM EDT The company unveiled a smattering of offerings, mostly intended to compete with much of the same from other tech giants. Google revealed a host of updates around its Android operating system, mostly targeting developers, at its 2014 I/O event Thur ...

  22. How Grown-Up Beliebers Influenced Ed Sheeran's Pop Stardom

    June 25, 2014 4:32 PM EDT Ed Sheeran released his second full-length album, "x" (as in "multiply") in the U.S. on Monday (June 23), and it's reasonable to expect a very healthy debut sales week. For an artist without much in the way of previous cha ...

  23. Aphex Twin's $46k Record, Minecraft and a Benevolent Internet Community

    June 25, 2014 3:05 PM EDT Minecraft is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a video game, drawing millions of children and parents into its strangely addictive, retro-stylized open world since its release in 2011. The game has made its creator, Swedish programmer and des ...

  24. Supreme Court Hands Broadcasters Huge Win in Aereo Battle

    June 25, 2014 1:06 PM EDT  The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of TV broadcasters against Aereo. In a 6-3 decision, the high court led by Justice Stephen Breyer determined that Aereo publicly performs copyrighted work and has reversed the 2nd Circuit holding. The ...

  25. Gus Wenner Promoted to Head of Digital Across Wenner Media

    June 25, 2014 10:47 AM EDT About a year after Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner tapped his 23-year-old, fresh-out-of-college son Gus to lead RollingStone.com, the younger Wenner has been promoted to head of digital for all Wenner Media's digital titles, including the w ...

  26. Beatport Head Matthew Adell to Step Down (Exclusive)

    June 24, 2014 5:23 PM EDT Beatport CEO Matthew Adell will be stepping down into an advisory role for Beatport's parent company SFX, a spokesperson has confirmed exclusively to Billboard. "His vision and dedication has helped make Beatport the company it is today, ...

  27. Vivendi’s New Chairman Touts Focus on Universal Music, as Grainge Looks On

    June 24, 2014 1:44 PM EDT New Vivendi chairman Vincent Bollore, the French billionaire who owns a 5 percent stake in the conglomerate, on Tuesday signaled his hope for improved cooperation and synergy across the company's operations. Bollore spoke at Vivendi's an ...

  28. One-Fifth of a Percent? A Closer Look at Amazon's Prime Music Launch

    June 24, 2014 10:43 AM EDT Amazon broke with tradition Monday and released some statistics on early adoption of its new Prime Music service. Although vague, the numbers seem to suggest Prime is off to a decent start. But, again, the numbers are vague. Launched June 12 , Pr ...

  29. Disgust, In Digest: The Top Five Reasons Indies Are Mad at YouTube

    June 23, 2014 4:12 PM EDT Last week, Billboard obtained a typical contract being offered by YouTube to its indie label partners for its new subscription service. Here's a breakdown of the five things that are really upsetting your favorite indie label. 1. YouTube i ...

  30. We Are The Hits, Successful Cover Songs MCN, Signs Up First 'Outside' Publisher

    June 23, 2014 12:00 PM EDT Former Sony/ATV multi-channel network gets set to go big -- or bigger -- with first deals with Kobalt and Metrolyrics. Songs by Ryan Tedder, Dave Grohl, Maroon 5 and Skillrex, among many others, will now be available to upload, as cover versions, ...

  31. Drowning In Music: Whyd's Music Bookmarking App Hopes to Be Your Lifeboat

    June 23, 2014 11:04 AM EDT With the massive volume of music created and shared today, discovering a new song isn’t a problem -- remembering it is. Lucky for us, potentially, that music bookmarking service Whyd has released a free mobile app today to help listeners do just t ...

  32. Spotify Said to Be Training for Its IPO, Practicing Earnings Calls (Report)

    June 23, 2014 10:20 AM EDT Since early this year, Spotify has been dropping hints that it may go public in the near future -- namely, obtaining a $200 million credit line ,  posting a job listing for an "External Reporting Specialist,"  and acquiring music intelli ...

  33. U.K. Singles Chart To Incorporate Music Streams For First Time

    June 23, 2014 8:59 AM EDT The United Kingdom’s Official Singles Chart is to undergo one of the biggest shake-ups in its 62-year history next month when it begins incorporating audio streams for the first time.   The first Official Singles Chart Top 40 to include streaming ...

  34. Kevin Liles on Mariah and Jay-Z's Beverages, Lyor's 300 & D'Angelo’s New Record (Q&A)

    June 22, 2014 3:24 PM EDT Kevin Liles calls himself an entrepreneur, and it's hard to imagine a more accurate catch-all term for the items in his overstuffed portfolio. My Day: Kevin Liles, Founder of KWL Enterprises Lyor Cohen Unveils 300, New 'Content Company ...

  35. Google Search Adds Links To Mobile Music Apps

    June 20, 2014 6:36 PM EDT Google has once again tweaked its search results for music-related queries, adding links that open third-party music apps directly to play an artist’s songs. The new feature only works for U.S.-based Android users using the Google Search app on mo ...

  36. SFX and Viagogo Sign Five-Year, $75 Million Global Sponsorship Deal

    June 20, 2014 5:16 PM EDT EDM conglomerate SFX Entertainment has signed a five-year, $75 million international sponsorship deal with ticket reseller Viagogo. Under the new deal, Viagogo becomes the authorized source for resale tickets for all of SFX’s festivals and events ...

  37. Apple May Be Planning Multiple iWatch Versions (Report)

    June 20, 2014 3:05 PM EDT The new wrist device, which will likely launch in the fall, will incorporate more than 10 sensors including ones that track health and fitness, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Apple is planning to make multiple versio ...

  38. Inside YouTube's Controversial Contract with Indies

    June 20, 2014 1:42 PM EDT Billboard has obtained a typical contract being offered by YouTube to its indie label partners for its new subscription service. The devil is in the numbers, but also in the overall strategy. Even though YouTube is said to be offering lower r ...

  39. Chart Moves: Soundtracks Rule, Tony Awards Spur 67% Cast Album Sales Gains

    June 20, 2014 1:12 PM EDT This week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Jack White tallied his second No. 1 album as "Lazaretto" debuted at No. 1 with 138,000 copies sold in the week ending June 15. He also made big news with the vinyl edition of the set, selling ...

  40. EDMbiz Conference: Why EDM Equals Millenials and a $6.2B Valuation Is Just the Beginning

    June 20, 2014 9:14 AM EDT The EDM industry is currently worth $6.2 billion, per a recent report at IMS Ibiza -- but depending on who you asked on Day 1 of the third annual EDMbiz conference in Las Vegas Wednesday, that number could be wildly conservative. “$6.2 billion ...

  41. A2IM Head Bengloff Strikes Out at Majors, RIAA, Amazon and YouTube in Keynote

    June 20, 2014 8:47 AM EDT In his keynote address, A2IM president Rich Bengloff said that the trade group's board members cited the main issue their business is facing is how music licensing transactions were evolving and the concept of digital breakage. "Breakage ...

  42. SoundExchange Pays Out Record-Setting $162M in Q1

    June 19, 2014 5:27 PM EDT SoundExchange, the independent performance rights organization that collects and distributes digital performance royalties, today announced its Q1 numbers.  In the fiscal first quarter the nonprofit paid $162.4 million to recording artists and lab ...

  43. Beats Headphones Banned at World Cup (Which May Be Exactly What They Wanted)

    June 19, 2014 2:27 PM EDT It’s been a surprising week for World Cup fans, with reigning champion Spain eliminated, heavily-favored Brazil struggling and the U.S. somehow beating Ghana, despite Jozy Altidore’s hamstring injury. But perhaps more unexpected is Beats By Dre& ...

  44. Rhapsody Wants You To Pay For Radio

    June 18, 2014 10:00 PM EDT Since being bought by private equity firm Columbus Nova, the Seattle-based Rhapsody International has gone through a rapid period of expansion and reinvention as the No. 2 streaming service looks to differentiate itself from market leader Spotify ...

  45. T-Mobile to Make Customers’ Data Free When Streaming Music

    June 18, 2014 10:00 PM EDT The fourth-largest mobile carrier in the U.S. has made a unique entry into digital music. T-Mobile announced Wednesday it will remove all data charges from streaming music on services such as Pandora and Spotify over its 4G LTE network. Named M ...

  46. Amazon Unveils Fire Phone With Its Own Shazam Competitor

    June 18, 2014 6:01 PM EDT Amazon.com introduced its upcoming smartphone, the Fire Phone, onstage at an event in Seattle featuring CEO Jeff Bezos today. The device is designed to be part of a larger Amazon ecosystem -- made by a retailer, designed to assist consumers in ret ...

  47. How, and How Much, America Listens Have Been Measured for the First Time

    June 18, 2014 3:00 PM EDT A new survey by Edison Research says Americans listen to four hours and five minutes of audio each day. Exactly how that listening breaks down might surprise you since no previous study has tracked all audio consumption.  Mainstreaming Radio: M ...

  48. How YouTube's Subscription Terms Will Hurt Indies – No Content Removal Required

    June 18, 2014 1:25 PM EDT 16 1.009 k 149 0 YouTube might not, in fact, take down music from indies it doesn’t have an agreement with... but it won’t pay them either. Right after Amazon appeared to take independent labels for granted with a take-it-or-leave-it payment scheme for it ...

  49. Hollywood Docket: 'Blurred Lines'; Fox News Age Discrimination; 'Idol' Defamation

    June 18, 2014 12:36 PM EDT "Blurred Lines" was the song of last summer, but the lawsuit over whether it copies a Marvin Gaye track continues with a new request from Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams .   In a Friday filing, they seek for the Gaye family to release ...

  50. iHeartRadio Reaches The 50 Million User Milestone

    June 17, 2014 8:03 PM EDT Clear Channel Media & Entertainment’s online radio platform iHeartRadio has signed up its 50 millionth registered user, according to a company statement . The well-promoted app has generated registrations faster than Facebook or Twitter; the f ...

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