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Latin Alternative Music Conference Sets Dates for Virtual 2021 Event
The Latin Alternative Music Conference is set to return in virtual form this year with dates scheduled for the week of Cinco de Mayo (May 4-7). Like last year, when it was held online for the first ever due to the novel coronavirus, the 22nd annual LAMC will offer free registration for panels, workshops and showcases. The second edition of the Wonder Women of Latin Music recognitions honoring women making a difference in the Latin music industry is also set to take place this year. Launched in 2020 and presented by Amazon Music, past Wonder Women honorees include Rebeca León (Lionfish Entertainment), Jennifer D’Cunha (Apple Music), Yvonne Drazan (peermusic) and Billboard‘s own Leila Cobo, among others. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are lo...
JBL & Culture Creators Partner on HBCU Mentor Program
JBL/HARMAN, in partnership with the Black-owned agency Culture Creators, is launching JBL Campus SoundSessions. The new mentorship program will focus on expanding opportunities for minority college students aspiring to build careers in music production, marketing, business, technology or engineering. The chosen students will also be given a chance to win a $25,000 scholarship toward their education. Starting Jan. 26 and running through Apr. 6, 2021, select HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) students will be able to virtually attend six curated conversations featuring JBL executives, engineers and influential music industry speakers who will share their respective career journeys, challenges and other insights. Accepted students who participate in all of the 60- to 90-minut...
Barry Gibb Set for U.K. No. 1 With ‘Greenfields’
The Bee Gees, who were inducted into the Rock Hall back in 1997, have ruled the U.K. albums chart just once, with 1979’s Spirits Having Flown, though the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which features several contributions from the vocal group, led the national chart for a whopping 18 weeks. As fans remember David Bowie on what would have been 74th birthday and the fifth anniversary of his passing, the iconic singer’s Legacy (Parlophone) collection vaults 31-10. Also impacting the chart blast is Swedish post-punk group Viagra Boys, whose second studio album Welfare Jazz (Year0001) bows at No. 25, while Gold career retrospectives from British rockers Ian Hunter & Mott The Hoople (No. 18 via Crimson) and “Final Countdown” singers Europe (No. 34 also via Crimson) are eying Top 40 de...
Inside Radio’s Outsourcing Movement: ‘Voice-Tracking’ DJs Are Working Faster for Less
Although iHeart and Entercom oversee their in-house voice-tracking networks from their home bases in San Antonio and Philadelphia, smaller radio companies rely on talent agencies such as Skid Trax, a 10-year-old service that links stations with veteran DJs such as Marisay and Ashley & Brad, the morning-show duo for Simi Valley, California, country station KWSV. And lately business is booming: Between 2018 and 2019, Skid Trax increased the number of stations it works with by 7%; between 2019 and 2020, the increase was 43%. Skid Trax personalities have been “getting more and more calls,” says Tonya Campos, a former program director who co-founded the company 10 years ago, and co-founder Michael Raffety adds: “For the local talent, it’s sad. For a show like Ashley & Brad, like it or n...
Former CAA Music Agent Aaron Tannenbaum Joins WME
He joins the Hollywood talent agency as a partner, based in Nashville. Veteran music agent Aaron Tannenbaum has joined WME as a partner, based in its Nashville office. The former CAA agent represented country music artists within the touring industry while with the rival Hollywood talent agency since 2010. Before that, Tannenbaum worked at Paradigm. “Aaron has earned a reputation in our business as an agent who has a strong ability to identify talent and takes the long-view in building an artist’s career, making him a great fit for us,” Scott Clayton, WME’s co-head of music, said in a statement. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and ma...
OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder Sells Majority Stake in Catalog to KKR
The catalog of nearly 500 songs written, recorded or produced by Tedder encompasses all OneRepublic songs — including hits “Apologize,” “Secrets” and “Counting Stars” — as well as Tedder’s work with artists like Beyoncé, U2, Paul McCartney, Adele, Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, Cardi B and Jonas Brothers. Going forward, KKR will collaborate with Tedder to “expand upon the success and reach” of his and OneRepublic’s music, according to a press release. Formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., KKR has a long history of music industry investments. It teamed with Bertelsmann for the music rights joint venture BMG Rights Management in 2009, controlling 51% until Bertelsmann t...
Lou Reed Keyboardist Michael Fonfara Dies at 74
In a lengthy, eclectic career that spanned more than 50 years, Fonfara performed with the 1960s rock bands The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros, Blackstone and Rough Trade, as well as adding “keyboard textures” on Foreigner’s multi-platinum 1981 4 album on the No. 4 hit “Urgent” and the track “Girl on the Moon.” Fonfara also recorded with the Everly Brothers, Grievous Angels, Cameo Blues Band and many others in a lauded career that included a 2000 Maple Blues Award honor for piano/keyboard player of the year. Fonfara’s final recording was Downchild’s Live at the Toronto Jazz Festival 50th anniversary performance in 2019, which featured guest appearances from Dan Akroyd, Paul Shaffer, Kenny Neal, Gene Taylor, Erja Lyytinen and David Wil...
Taylor Swift’s Evermore Returns to U.K. Chart Summit
Harry Styles’ Fine Line (Columbia) was one of the U.K.’s most popular albums in 2020, though it has never reached No. 1 on the weekly chart. It’s inching closer to breaking the spell, rising 10-2, a new high, following the release of buzzy new video for “Treat People With Kindness.” Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (EMI), the U.K.’s biggest album for two years straight, according to the OCC, returns to the Top 10 in its 86th week on the survey. This week, Divinely Uninspired rises 12-6. Meanwhile, Sydney-based, Los Angeles-based hip-hop artist The Kid LAROI enjoys his first Top 10 as debut mixtape F**k Love (Columbia) lifts 22-10. The rising, ARIA Award-nominated artist gets a boost from his hit “Without You,” up 26-7 on the national single...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’ Extends Reign Atop Australia’s Albums Chart
Swift’s presence is felt up and down the current chart, which also features Folklore (down 4-7), 1989 (up 48-31) and Lover (up 39-34). In a result that mirrors the top tier of the U.K. tally, Evermore is followed on the ARIA Chart by Harry Styles’ Fine Line, which improves 5-2 for its 52nd week in the Top Ten. Fine Line, the current leader on the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, gets a push thanks to the viral video for “Treat People with Kindness” featuring Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Meanwhile, The Kid LAROI is back in the high life as the deluxe edition of his debut mixtape F*ck Love (Savage) rises 6-3, equaling its chart peak. It’s a third time at No. 3 for F*ck Love. The rising, Australian-born and raised rapper earned three nominations at the 2020 ARIA Awards. In a rare sight, no new ...
Brian May Launches Wildlife Fundraising Fragrance ‘Save Me’
For superfans, May and Xerjoff are stocking an autographed 50ml bottle priced at €410 ($500), and the standard bottle is priced at €197 ($240). “This amazing man is doing something wonderful for animal welfare,” May wrote of Momo, captioning photos of the pair signing bottles with gold pens. Aside from wielding the axe on some of rock music’s indelible songs, May is a long-time advocate for wild animals and co-founder of the Save Me Trust, which has battled the U.K. government on badger culls, among other issues. May — or rather, Dr May — also received a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College in 2017. The rocker endured a rollercoaster 2020, which at its peak saw May, his Queen bandmates and singer Adam Lambert fill stadiums on their Rhapsody tour, and enjoy the rollou...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’ Back at No. 1 for Third Week on Billboard 200 Chart
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 16, 2021-dated chart (where Evermore returns to No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Jan. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. Of Evermore’s 56,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending Jan. 7, SEA units comprise 38,000 (equ...
Taylor Swift Ties Michael Jackson for Fourth-Most Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 16, 2021-dated chart (where Evermore returns to No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Jan. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. Here’s a look at the acts with at least 40 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, since March 25, 1956, whe...
