Month: December 2012

‘Les Miserables’ Soundtrack Sales Sizzle, Top 10 Bound on Billboard 200

The “Les Miserables” musical film soundtrack is on course to jump straight into the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart next week. Industry forecasters are suggesting the 20-song “Highlights” set may sell around 100,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, Dec. 30. Unlike most albums — which are released Tuesday…


Live Nation Extends CEO Michael Rapino’s Contract, Raises Salary

Live Nation has amended its employment contract with CEO Michael Rapino, extending its term through December 31, 2017 (from May 31, 2014) and raising Rapino’s base salary to $2.3 million, effective January 1, 2013. The amendments were made Thursday and announced in an SEC filing on Friday. While Rapino gets a new salary, his annual grant of…


Warner Music’s Cameron Strang Gets Pay Raise to $2.25 Million; Lyor Cohen Highest-Paid WMG Employee in 2012

Warner Music Group announced in an SEC filing Friday that Cameron Strang, Chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music, and Brian Roberts, Chief Financial Officer, have signed new employment agreements with the company. Strang, who now oversees Warner Bros. Records and Warner’s West Coast operations as well as Warner/Chappell, will receive a base salary of $2.25 million…


Simon Cowell Wants Britney Spears Out of ‘X Factor’

The departures may be continuing for Simon Cowell’s reality singing show “The X Factor,” with Us Weekly reporting that Britney Spears and her $15 million contract will be following now-ex judge L.A. Reid out the door. “It isn’t working,” said one source to the magazine regarding Spears’ single season as a judge. Another annoyed insider chimed in…


MP3 Player Sales Are Dwindling — And That’s a Good Thing for the Music Business

Falling sales of MP3 players, impacted by feature-filled smartphones, could turn out to be one of the music industry’s biggest opportunities in years. It should come as no surprise that market research company Mintel announced this week that MP3 player sales in the UK had fallen 22% from 2011 and will be cut in half by 2017….


Kim Kardashian Pregnant with Kanye West’s Baby!

Kim Kardashian is pregnant with her first child. The 32-year-old reality star’s boyfriend Kanye West announced the exciting news during his concert at Revel in Atlantic City on Sunday (December 30). Kanye reportedly told the audience to “stop the music and make noise for my baby mama,” referring to Kim who was in the audience. Last week, Kim and Kanye were spotted attending the Los Angeles Clippers game…


New Year’s Eve Concert Guide: From Jay-Z/Coldplay to Skrillex; Nicki Minaj to Willie Nelson, and More

Across the country — from Coldplay and Jay-Z in Brooklyn and  Nicki MInaj in Vegas to Skrillex in Detroit and Willie Nelson in Austin — many American music fans will be kicking off 2013 with their favorite artists. Here then are 13 write-ups (for 2013) and listings of major U.S. concerts. Coldplay/Jay-Z in New York…


Kanye West Rants About Grammy’s, Lady Gaga and Fashion Line at Revel Show

What would a Kanye West show be without a rant? After debuting his designer masks on Friday, Mr. West was back to his old self during his second of three shows at Revel in Atlantic City. While performing “Clique,” he went on a tangent about the media (“They’ll try to tell you Kanye’s so crazy,…


BEYONCÉ INVITES FANS TO PARTICIPATE IN SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCE

Beyoncé is set to make history when she performs for her biggest audience yet during the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. And now you too can be part of Bey’s big moment. Beginning today, Pepsi is asking fans to submit photos of themselves striking “poses” in hopes of being selected for a chance to appear…


Roland Founder Ikutaro Kakehashi To Get Special Grammy

Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi, along with Dave Smith, will be awarded a Technical GRAMMY for their contributions to the development of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) technology. Kakehashi had this to say about the GRAMMY: “It’s already been 30 years since the debut of MIDI protocol in 1983, but it seems to me that those years have passed so quickly….