Tag Archives: Billboard

Justin Timberlake’s ‘The 20/20 Experience’ Tops Charts But Falls Short Of 1 Million

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High times for Justin Timberlake. As previously reported, JT has met the expectations and conquered the charts with his new album The 20/20 Experience. Obviously, this does not come as a big surprise. The real question was whether he would be able to sell 1 million records in the first week which has become a nearly impossible feat in the digital download era. Unlike, Taylor Swift accomplished it in October, moving 1.2 million units of her album Red, giving her the highest first-week album sales in a decade, Nielsen SoundScan says that The 20/20 Experience moved 968,000 copies. This is impressive regardless. Especiallt since it also marks the 19th-largest week for an album since SoundScan started tracking data in 1991, according to Billboard. Much deserved? We say yes.

UPDATE: Justin Timberlake’s ‘The 20/20 Experience’ Scores Fifth-Biggest Debut of this Decade

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Following up to the great critical response Justin Timberlake’s new album The 20/20 Experience is also expected to do it big on the sale side of things. The album,which hit stores last Tuesday, is likely to move between 800-850k sold copies in the first week at retail. This marks the fifth-biggest debut of this decade, behind only two Taylor Swift albums (1.2m, 1.05m) and one each from Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne (1.1m, 964k). Deserved? Definitely but it sure is not as surprising regarding the great music on the LP as well as the big marketing machine behind it.

UPDATE: According to HHD, the album is now expected to sell between 900-950k units.

Joey Bada$$ & Pro Era – “Billboard Freestyle” & “School High”

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Following their fan appreciation release of tracks for their #PROERAweek series, Joey Bada$$ and his Pro Era comrades paid a little visit by Billboard, where they got the opportunity to showcase their mic skills. In addition to performing their PEEP: The Aprocalypse single "School High," the young men also held a nice little cypher session to dropped some bars off the top. Check out the guys let loose and freestyle up top, and their live performance of "School High" down below.

Billboard Reveals the Power 100 of 2013

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With the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards around the corner, Billboard took the time reveal their list of the 100 most powerful individuals in the music industry. Below, you will find the list's top 10 which is spearheaded by Universal Music Group's chairman Lucian Grainge, as well as their respective most spectacular power moves. In order to see who else owns the muscle in the game, head over here.

1. Lucian Grainge - Chairman - Universal Music Group
Power Move: UMG’s $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Recorded Music gave Grainge a market-share boost, and another label group to drive content, innovation and profits.

2. Coran Capshaw Founder/Owner - Red Light Management, Starr Hill Presents; Partner, ATO Records, TBD Records
Power Move: Quietly has taken stakes in monster festivals, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits; 60 managers in seven cities oversee wide range of careers, from DMB and Phish to Miley and Tiësto.

3. Martin Bandier - CEO - Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Power Move: Orchestrated $2.2 billion deal that united Sony/ATV Music Publishing with EMI Music Publishing, turning the company into the No. 1 song publisher in the world.

4. Michael Rapino - CEO - Live Nation Entertainment
Power Move: Amid major company changes, signed on for five more years -- and oversaw $2 billion in revenue and net income of $58 million during third-quarter 2012.

5. Doug Morris - Chairman/CEO - Sony Music Entertainment
Power Move: Investing big in creative centers -- like Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe label and Patrick Moxey’s Ultra Records -- continuing to grow market share and cleaning up the corporate structure of the Sony-BMG merger.

6. Len Blavatnik - Founder/Chairman - Access Industries
Power Move: A $130 million stake in Deezer -- the expanding French streaming service -- grows music holdings that already include WMG and now encompass Parlophone.

7.Rob Light - Managing partner/music head - Creative Artists Agency
Power Move: With nearly 100 agents, Light’s CAA music department booked some 19,700 shows worldwide in 2012. That’s more than 10 million tickets, and $820 million in gross.

8. Tim Leiweke - President/CEO - Anschutz Entertainment Group
Power Move: The top-grossing arena in the world (London’s O2), the industry leading festival (Coachella), $5 billion in real estate and key execs with new, long-term contracts -- all part of Leiweke’s strategy that may drive value to the tune of $8 billion.

9. Marc Geiger - Head of Music - William Morris Endeavor
Power Move: Seven of the top 25 tours of 2012, a number that may grow with the addition of more than 50 new clients -- including Frank Ocean -- to a roster that tops 1,000 acts.

10. Jimmy Iovine - Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M - CEO, Beats Electronics
Power Move: With Interscope breaking artists as diverse as Kendrick Lamar and Phillip Phillips, Iovine prepares to leverage the Beats brand with a new curated streaming service.

A$AP Rocky’s “F**kin’ Problems” Goes Platinum

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After getting its Gold certification earlier in the year, it now looks like A$AP Rocky and his Club Paradise reuniting track "F**kin' Problems" has surpassed the platinum achievement with over one million copies sold. The track features 2 Chainz, Drake and Kendrick Lamar and accomplished the task in just over two months time. Chart News provided the information via Twitter, going on to share:

Congrats to Rocky and the A$AP Mob on the great accomplishment. For those who have yet to pick up his debut album Long.Live.A$AP, be sure to do so now by clicking here.

Common x J. Period: “The Next Chapter (Still Love H.E.R.)”

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Winning. I was talking about Common earlier today with RTC after bumping The Dreamer, The Believer when I woke up, but I didn’t the day would go so symbolically well. The J. Period produced track continues where Common’s ’94 “I Used to Love H.E.R ” leaves off. “‘The Next Chapter (Still Love H.E.R.)’ celebrates the latest episode in my lifelong lyrical love-affair with hip hop,” Common says. This knocks. Off of J. Period’s upcoming Rage is Back mixtape.  Listen below.

 

props to BB

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ ‘Thrift Shop’ Goes Double Platinum

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And the frenzy continues. As one of last year's biggest rap songs, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's ubiquitous single "Thrift Shop" has now reached another landmark as the topped the two million mark (2.3 million) in digital sales, this still holding down the #1 spot on Billboard Hot 100. In addition, "Thrift" tops the Digital Songs chart for a third frame with 357,000 downloads sold (up 5%), according to Nielsen SoundScan, as well ruling R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a third week and Rap Songs for a second frame. Not too bad for independent artists.

Usher covers ‘Billboard’

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Hitting appropriated newsstands today, we get a look at a rejuvenated Usher covering the latest issue of Billboard Magazine. The feature comes in appropriated fashion as the R&B juggernaut will be performing at the Billboard Music Awards on May 20. In addition, we can also look out for his anticipated album Looking 4 Myself, slated to become available on June 12. How relevant has Usher become once again?

Madonna to record biggest second-week sales drop in US chart history

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Not so flattering times for the Queen of Pop. According to Forbes, Madonna's new album MDNA has reportedly suffered the biggest second-week sales drop in U.S. chart history. In its first week of sale, the album sold about 359,000 copies, which earned the #1 spot in the Billboard Charts. It appears that these numbers were inflated because many of those sales came as giveaways with a live-ticket package. Consequently, the album sold 46,000 copies this week, which signifies an 88% drop in sales. If it would have not been for this marketing tactic, Lionel Richie would have taken over spot number one with his new album Tuskegee.

Drake’s “The Motto” goes platinum

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High times continue for Drake. After his sophomore album Take Care has been certified platinum, his Lil Wayne powered single "The Motto" has also surpassed the one million mark in sales. Thus, the single will climb up five spots from 21 to 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, the title track featuring Rihanna has reached the airwaves and is heating up radio stations across the nation.

Source: HipHop-N-More