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Spotify's Daniel Ek tunes out the haters

Get your own copy of this week's issue here: http://blbrd.cm/ShTQci
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Will Taylor Swift help Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" fight its way up the charts?

Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" was one of the young summer's breakout pop hits -- and that was before Taylor Swift got hold of it. On Saturday night (June 6), Platten joined Swift and her pal Kelsea Ballerini backstage at Swift's concert in Pittsburgh to perform a bit of "Fight Song" for an Instagram…
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With the notable exceptions of Tame Impala, The Black Keys and Florence + the Machine, most of the rock bands at Gov Ball saw their audience gradually dwindle over the course of an hour.

"Hey hey, my my, rock and roll will never die," Neil Young postulated in 1978. Six years later, James Cameron released The Terminator, a film which envisioned a future where machines nearly wiped out mankind.
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We talked with Mayer Hawthorne backstage at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ about his new album and favorite NYC spots: http://blbrd.cm/63tgR6

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"Unfortunately in the past as a young person, I used words I should not have," Iggy Azalea says about her tweets that came under fire.

Iggy Azalea has canceled her performance at this weekend's Pittsburgh Pride following criticisms from some of the city's LGBTQIA community over past Tweets, criticized as homophobic and racist.
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Kim Kardashian promised Kanye West a "major SWISH!!!" for his birthday, and she delivered.

Kim Kardashian's surprise birthday present for husband Kanye West Monday was big time -- like Staples Center big.
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Flower crown stations, bros on bros, branded fruit, and more of the most amusing/cliché things we spotted at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬.

It's not really summer until you've gone to a music festival, right? And Instagrammed a picture of yourself at the gate. These days, festivals have become so trendy that they often seem more about brands than bands, with entire stages emblazoned with the names of companies angling for the eyes of hi…
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At least six festivals have dropped Ten Walls from their lineups following a recent anti-gay Facebook post that the Lithuanian artist has since apologized for.

Adomaitis posted a rant to his personal Facebook page that likened homosexuals to pedophiles and referred to them as "people of different breed." Adomaitis has since deleted the post, and posted an apologetic statement to his artist page.
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We were backstage at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ with Tame Impala, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Flume, Hot Chip, and more of your favorites. Check out the pics!

Exclusive portraits from backstage at Governors Ball 2015 on Randall's Island, New York.
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The 28-year-old dropped out of The Voice's most recent season to attend a two-week rehab program to overcome substance addiction.

On Monday (June 8), sad news broke regarding the June 5 death of recent Voice contestant Anthony Riley: The talented Philadelphia singer's death has been ruled a suicide.
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Happy National Best Friends Day! Which one of Taylor Swift's BFFs are you?

Which of Taylor Swift's Best Friends are you? Take our quiz and find out.
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Taylor Swift x Taylor Swift!

No one does kiss-off anthems like Taylor Swift, and now an enterprising Internet craftsman has brought two of her greatest together. That's right: You can now hear "Bad Blood" and "We Are Never Getting Back Together" in one fell swoop, courtesy of this mash-up, which combines both the songs and the…
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Our favorite upbeat Yeezus tracks in honor of his 38th b-day!

It's his birthday, it's his birthday...well, the rest of the lyrics don't quite fit, but you get the point: it's Kanye West's birthday today.
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"A Russian lady described my sister as a Clean Bandit and it meant a total bastard..." ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬

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This is (actually) how Beyoncé stays flawless.

Beyonce: When she's not pushing that she's flawless, she's reminding us she's a bootylicious icon.
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A look at our 10 favorite performances from Gov Ball 2015.

Governors Ball returned to New York this weekend (June 5-7), which meant there was plenty of mud, music and marijuana on Randall's Island. Weathering light rain and more persistent sound issues, veterans and newcomers from the worlds of rock, dance, rap and pop turned in sets that made us feel lucky…
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Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill proclaimed their love for each other on stage at ‪#‎SummerJam‬. Click through to watch the clip!

Every year, Hot 97's 2015 Summer Jam music festival showcases artists, veteran and new, who've created enough buzz to warrant endless fire flame emojis. But the one thing that historically makes Summer Jam legendary may be what's crippling it: surprise performances.
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You've never heard the Game of Thrones theme song done like this before.

"I'm a big fan of the Game of Thrones and really honored I've been asked to do an official remix of their anthem," he says.
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Taylor's got Ariana Grande's back!

Like the rest of us, Taylor Swift was impressed and proud of Ariana Grande after the singer released a long statement calling out the media for sexist double standards with respect to what kind of stuff she's asked about in interviews, all while educating some of her younger fans at the same time.
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It's no secret that the modern Republican party has struggled with inclusiveness....

One politician is already courting Caitlyn Jenner's support.
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Awkward!

The beauty of a livestream is anything goes!
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See pics of all the best music moments from The Governors Ball Music Festival: http://bit.ly/1MBJihj

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Little Big Town joined Taylor Swift on stage in Pittsburgh!

Taylor Swift is remembering to have some serious fun while on her 1989 World Tour.
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Read Governor Andrew Cuomo and Lady Gaga's moving op-ed essay urging the passage of the "Enough is Enough" bill.

The legislation aims to combat sexual assault on college campuses.
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Florence + The Machine has every reason to be smiling right now.

Six years after Florence + the Machine’s Lungs became the act’s first U.K. No. 1 album and four after their second with Ceremonials, they scored a third chart-topper as How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Universal Island) debuted at the summit, with combined chart sales just shy of 70,000. Jason Deru…
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Lana Del Rey wove between hits and rarities like a seasoned pro at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ -- her first NYC show in nearly three years.

As day faded into night, the air grew chilly on Randall's Island for the final performances of Governors Ball.
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This year's Summer Jam fest ended in controversy, arrests, tear gas and a hail of bottles.

There was trouble at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday night when police say people tried to get into the sold out Hot 97 Summer Jam Concert without tickets and bottles were thrown in the ensuing melee.
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Day three of Governors Ball 2015 came to a close with the glamour of Lana Del Rey and the retro rock of the Black Keys leading the way.
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Dame Helen Mirren is now Broadway royalty too! See all the ‪#‎TonyAwards‬ winners here...

Broadway's biggest night is a wrap! The 2015 Tony Awards -- hosted by Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth -- celebrated Broadway's best for three packed hours. Below, find all the winners:
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Watch Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth's ‪#‎TonyAwards‬ opening monologue now!

An energetic Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth opened the 2015 Tony Awards with plenty of jokes and musical interludes. While there wasn't a full, big opening number a la Neil Patrick Harris (and, not so shockingly, not a ton of jumping a la Hugh Jackman) the winning twosome sang quick phrases payi…
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And the award for most interesting ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ conversation goes to... Little Dragon: http://blbrd.cm/o5f2qs

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Björk's shows are always so much fun to watch.

On Saturday (June 6), Björk played the main stage at the end of day two of Governor’s Ball to tens of thousands of people.
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Kristen Bell sang a Frozen song for charity! Find out which tune it was here!

Kristen Bell isn't afraid to use her "Frozen" powers to raise money for charity.
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"I didn't write this music to be played at festivals...I wrote it to be played at home or on the bus or something" -Flume ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬

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Disclosure has (finally) shared details about their highly anticipated second album. Find out the title, release date and see the artwork here!

British electronic duo Disclosure has shared details about their highly anticipated second album. Check out the new album title and its release date, along with the new artwork.
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Ariana Grande shared a powerful essay that touched on the double standards between men and women following her breakup with BIG SEAN.

“What I meant when I said what I said about not being Sean's ex is that I am tired of living in a world where women are mostly referred to as a man's past, present, or future PROPERTY/POSSESSION,” Grande wrote.
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Here are the seven Björk-iest moments of her awesomely bizarre ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ performance.

Björk played the main stage at the end of day two of Governor’s Ball to tens of thousands of people on June 6.
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Singer Ronnie Gilbert, a member of the influential 1950s folk quartet the Weavers, has died. She was 88.

Gilbert died of natural causes Saturday, June 6, at a retirement community in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Mill Valley, said her longtime partner, Donna Korones.
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Drag star and "stunt queen" Willam Belli had some pretty outrageous things to say about onstage enemies and other racy topics during his chat with Billboard. Read on, if you dare...

We spoke with Drag queen Willam about his new album "Shartistry In Motion," the legalities involved with recording parody tracks (he's "skirting a fine line"), his "stunt queen" performance art (onstage enemas!) and his run-in with Katy Perry.
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MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS discusses her musical influence and her favorite hangover food backstage at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬

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deadmau5's team has released a statement about his technical difficulties at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬. He also had some things to say about it on Twitter... Get the details here.

Deadmau5's closing set at Governors Ball 2015 on Saturday, June 6, had promised to be a primetime unveiling of the new geodesic dome setup that was years in the making for the mercurial electronic musician.
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Happy 57th birthday, Prince! To celebrate, we've rounded up the most memorable moments of the icon's prolific career.

Across the span of nearly four decades, Prince has released 34 studio albums, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and won an Oscar on top of seven Grammy Awards.
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We've been hanging backstage at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ all weekend with your favorite artists -- Charli XCX, Vance Joy, Future, and lots more!

Exclusive portraits from backstage at Governors Ball 2015 on Randalls Island, New York.
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Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris has confirmed that Apple will unveil its music streaming service on June 8. Read more highlights from his ‪#‎Midem‬ Q&A here.

Here are highlights from the hour-long talk, which was moderated by Rupert Younger, director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.
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Ryan Adams was not happy with deadmau5 at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬

At this point in his career, Ryan Adams has free reign to do just about whatever his denim-clad, bad boy rocker heart desires. Self-releasing on his own Pax AM imprint, he turned out a sturdy rock 'n roll album last year and wrapped a North American tour behind it tonight (June 6) at Governors Ball…
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From Björk to Clean Bandit, Flume and more -- day 2 of ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ was just as awesome as day 1

After Drake's satisfying headlining set and Florence's injury-free performance at the first day of Governors Ball 2015, expectations were fairly high for the second day of the 2015 edition of the festival. Fortunately, performers from Bjork to Flume to Clean Bandit fulfilled more than their quota of…
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According to reports, The Voice contestant Anthony Riley committed suicide.

Anthony Riley, a contestant on the most recent season of The Voice, has died, according to media reports. He was 28.
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Björk's ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ set stood out among the pop, rock and dance flavors of the festival.

"Karaoke! Come on!" Björk yelped out at the end of her Saturday night set at the 2015 Governors Ball Music Festival.
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“I would really like to work with Grimes, because she’s just so badass,” told Billboard backstage at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬, adding Cashmere Cat and Tyler the Creator to the list as well.

Danish singer-songwriter has already worked with the likes of Major Lazer and Iggy Azalea. Who's next on her dream list of collaborators?
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What do you think of Zayn Malik's new green hair color?

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Rudimental came by our studio at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬ to describe New York in three words and share what it's like collaborating with Ed Sheeran.

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“First off, people need to understand that 90 percent of [Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck] is bulls--t,” Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne wrote in a blog about the new HBO doc.

Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne has a warning for viewers of HBO's hard-hitting documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.
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Coldplay's Chris Martin gave an emotional performance for Beau Biden's funeral. Watch it here.

Friends and family of former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden gathered together Saturday morning in Delaware to mourn the death of Vice President Joe Biden's son.
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“When I’m on tour there’s going to be a lot of inflatables -- inflatable guitars, inflatable lollypops and probably inflatable boyfriends, but just in my tour bus,” Charli XCX told Billboard at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬.

Expect quite a few inflatables on stage during Charli XCX's upcoming concerts -- and even some in her her tour bus.
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Things we learned backstage at ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬: "I think being on stage is the funnest thing in the world...it's as much fun as sex" - Priory

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Check out photos of Charli XCX, , Gorgon City and more from our backstage studio during day 1 of ‪#‎GovBallNYC‬!

Exclusive portraits from backstage at Governors Ball 2015 on Randalls Island, New York.
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Watch Marc Anthony and Gente de Zona team up in Havana for the euphoric "La Gozadera" music video!

The salsa superstar and Cuban reggaeton duo premiere euphoric clip for sure summer hit.
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