Steve Knopper | Rolling Stone

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How Baauer Took 'Harlem Shake' to Number One | ARTICLE

Last June, a little-known Brooklyn DJ named Baauer released an EDM track called "Harlem Shake" on a free website without much fanfare. By earlier this month, it had become the latest Psy-level mass phenomenon: Skydivers, underwater stormtroopers,...
February 22, 2013 3:09 PM ET
On the Charts: Mumford & Sons Lead Post-Grammy Bounce | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: The Grammy Awards. Although the CBS telecast's ratings dropped compared to last year (due, understandably, to not having an emotional last-minute Whitney Houston tribute), the numbers were nonetheless respectable. They were even...
February 20, 2013 1:05 PM ET
Cost of Lady Gaga's Tour Cancellation Could Exceed $30 Million | ARTICLE

Lady Gaga's canceled Born This Way Ball – which was set to run 22 more nights at arenas through March 20th – will lead to nearly $30 million in refunds, according to estimates based on...
February 15, 2013 3:18 PM ET
On the Charts: Josh Groban, Tim McGraw Debut One-Two | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Pop stars old people like. In a slow week, before the Grammy Awards have kicked in, the artists who sell the most albums are beloved by old-school record buyers. Josh Groban, whose perfect...
February 13, 2013 11:55 AM ET
Grammys Ratings Second Best in 20 Years | ARTICLE

Sunday night's Grammy Awards drew 28.12 million viewers, a 29.5 percent drop from the record-breaking CBS telecast in 2012. (Viewers between 18 and 49 also dropped 27 percent.) The decline was no surprise – last year, the...
February 11, 2013 12:55 PM ET
Pink Floyd, Radiohead Catalogs Change Label Hands | ARTICLE

Warner Music's $765 million purchase of the Parlophone record label, which includes the rights to catalogs by Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Radiohead and Daft Punk, gives the third-biggest record label a much-needed power boost with...
February 8, 2013 1:20 PM ET
American Concert Industry Questioning Safety After Brazilian Nightclub Fire | ARTICLE

The Brazilian nightclub fire on January 31st that left 238 people dead and more than 100 hospitalized prompted officials in Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Mexico to intensify club safety regulation, accelerate inspections and temporarily close dozens of...
February 7, 2013 3:20 PM ET
On the Charts: Justin Bieber Hits Back, Acoustic | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Justin Bieber. I knew the Biebs would be back! After sales were (relatively) low for his Believe album last year, he didn't receive any Grammy nominations, his singles stalled on the charts,...
February 6, 2013 12:15 PM ET
On the Charts: Lumineers Jump Up in Dead-Slow Week | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: The Lumineers. The Mumford & Sons Lite band from Denver takes advantage of yet another slow January week (country singer Gary Allan was Number One with just 106,000 sales) to jump from Number...
January 30, 2013 1:10 PM ET
Flaming Lips' Super Bowl Commercial | VIDEO

The Flaming Lips are one-upping fun., the Lumineers, Phillip Phillips and other acts who've boosted new singles with prominent TV commercials over the past year by writing an original song, "Sun Blows Up Today," for a...
January 29, 2013 1:35 PM ET
Coachella's Red Hot Chili Peppers Booking Came 'Down to the Wire' | ARTICLE

The Red Hot Chili Peppers signed on to headline Coachella about an hour before the annual Indio, California, festival announced its lineup last night, one of the band's managers tells Rolling Stone. "We've been in talks...
January 25, 2013 4:10 PM ET
On the Charts: A$AP Rocky's 'Long.Live' Sets the Pace in Debut Week | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: A$AP Rocky. Buzz on the New York City rapper has been building for two years, thanks to mixtapes, a guest spot on Rihanna's "Cockiness (Love It)" remix and an opening slot for Drake's...
January 23, 2013 12:45 PM ET
On the Charts: Goodbye to the Smash Hits of 2012 | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Thrift Shop," which came out in 2012, has a chance to be the Lady Antebellum-Mumford & Sons-Lumineers chart story of the year. That's not just because it's laid back...
January 16, 2013 12:35 PM ET
On the Charts: 'Les Miz,' Mumford Lead Deep Discount Week | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Discounts. The one-week surge of Mumford & Sons' Babel is continuing evidence that reasonable prices on newish titles spark serious sale: a $6.99 iTunes promotion last week pushed the album to 91,000...
January 9, 2013 12:55 PM ET
Irving Azoff's Live Nation Exit Leaves Many Questions Unanswered | ARTICLE

Days after announcing his surprise resignation as Live Nation Entertainment's executive chairman, powerful Eagles and Christina Aguilera manager Irving Azoff revealed his frustration that he couldn't use his position to lower ticket prices, kill service...
January 4, 2013 12:55 PM ET
On the Charts: Digital Songs Close 2012 With Record Sales Week | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Digital songs. By downloading Psy's "Gangnam Style" for a New Year's Eve party mix last week – and yes, haters, some of us still like that song, and for the record, it's way...
January 3, 2013 2:10 PM ET
On the Charts: T.I. Takes Off | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: T.I. Prison seems to have done minimal damage to the Atlanta rapper's career, as his Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head sells 179,000, second only to Taylor Swift's Red, which sold 276,000, an...
December 27, 2012 6:10 PM ET
On the Charts: Rod Stewart's Christmas Cage Match | ARTICLE

WINNER OF THE WEEK: The Christmas Cage Match. Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas, Baby had emerged as the early holiday-season favorite, wavering around Number Three and Number Four since it came out in October. But look out!...
December 19, 2012 12:15 PM ET
Radio Stations Pull Ke$ha's 'Die Young' From Rotation | ARTICLE

Dozens of radio stations have pulled Ke$ha's "Die Young" after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut – for reasons of "sensitivity," says a source close to the Cumulus Media chain, which owns 525 stations,...
December 19, 2012 10:22 AM ET
Top Artists Adjust to New World of YouTube Bootlegs | ARTICLE

Plug "Metallica" and "full concert" into YouTube and dozens of incredible clips come up: a full, two-hour concert from earlier this year; a two-and-a-half hour 1989 show from Seattle; the band's complete set from the 1999 Woodstock...
December 17, 2012 10:56 AM ET