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On the Charts: Mumford & Sons Fans Can't 'Wait' for 'Babel' | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Mumford & Sons. Babel, the roots-rock superstars' follow-up to 2010's Sigh No More (2 million in sales and counting), isn't out for another month and a half, but its pre-orders launched it...
August 15, 2012 1:50 PM ET -
Nielsen's Music 360 Report Concludes Music Discovery Still Led by Radio | BLOG ENTRY
For all the hullabaloo over the past decade about iPods, iPhones, satellite radio, Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify, illegal music piracy and YouTube, old-school radio continues to dominate the way fans consume new songs. Forty-eight percent of listeners discover...
August 14, 2012 5:15 PM ET -
On the Charts: Rick Ross Is the Boss | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Rick Ross. It's all good news for the bearded Florida rapper and record mogul, whose God Forgives, I Don't LP arrives at Number One and earns the MC his best-selling debut week ever...
August 8, 2012 12:55 PM ET -
On the Charts: 'Life Is Good' for Nas | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Nas. The veteran rapper's Life Is Good album sold 149,000 copies – while that doesn't exactly make it the sales sensation of the year, it opened at Number One, and its singles...
July 25, 2012 1:15 PM ET -
On the Charts: Zac Brown Band and Frank Ocean Duke It Out | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Fans of chart cage matches. On the traditional sales charts, Zac Brown Band's Uncaged was the clear winner over Frank Ocean's super-hyped Channel Orange. The country-rock jam band hit Number One...
July 18, 2012 2:10 PM ET -
Roger Waters, Michael Jackson 'Immortal' Tour Top Mid-Year Concert Sales | ARTICLE
Two years after the most disastrous summer touring season in decades, the concert business has crept back to almost full health, according to mid-year sales numbers released Thursday by industry magazine Pollstar. Led by Cirque du...
July 13, 2012 3:20 PM ET -
On the Charts: Big Week for Chris Brown, Frank Ocean | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Katy Perry. Putting aside Chris Brown for a moment – his Fortune sold 134,000 and hit Number One on the Billboard 200 – we'd like to talk about an email we received last...
July 11, 2012 1:30 PM ET -
Inside Dance Music's New Boom | ARTICLE
It took nine minutes last fall for Swedish House Mafia to show the concert business that electronic dance music was suddenly big enough to compete with Jay-Z or Phish in the world's biggest venues. In late September,...
July 6, 2012 2:30 PM ET -
On the Charts: Justin Bieber Thrives, Fiona Apple Falls Short | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Justin Bieber. To all you Biebs-haters who hoped he'd be a temporary tween phenomenon, blowing away when the winds of pop music changed: ha, ha! Not only did his new album, Believe,...
June 27, 2012 2:00 PM ET -
Questions Linger After Radiohead Stage Collapse | ARTICLE
As Canadian investigators sift through the remains of last Saturday’s Radiohead concert in Toronto, looking for clues as to why the stage collapsed before the show and killed the band’s drum technician, veteran concert producers...
June 23, 2012 12:30 PM ET -
On the Charts: Usher's View From the Top | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Usher. In its first week out, the hunky R&B/pop veteran's Looking 4 Myself album hit Number One and sold 128,000 copies. It's not a lot for one of the world's biggest stars...
June 20, 2012 1:10 PM ET -
On the Charts: The Beach Boys' Best Debut Ever | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: The Beach Boys. Unbelievably, That's Why God Made the Radio is the first Beach Boys album to debut in the Top 10. It sold 61,000 copies and finished at Number Three, behind Adele's...
June 13, 2012 12:40 PM ET -
On the Charts: Prepare for the Summer of the Biebs | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Justin Bieber. What may potentially be The Summer of the Biebs officially begins this week, as "Die In Your Arms" opens on Billboard's Digital Songs chart at Number Four, with 185,000 sales. It's...
June 6, 2012 12:15 PM ET -
On the Charts: John Mayer Knocks Down Adam Lambert | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: John Mayer. Despite a serious throat condition that prevented him from doing many shows or interviews, the singer-guitarist parked Born and Raised at Number One on Billboard's album chart, selling 219,000 copies....
May 30, 2012 3:45 PM ET -
Mastered for iTunes Offers Boost in Digital Sound Quality | BLOG ENTRY
For over 50 years, rock stars, engineers and producers have labored in the studio to find the perfect sound – and in the last decade, they've been wrestling with more limitations than ever, thanks to the way...
May 29, 2012 7:45 PM ET -
On the Charts: Adam Lambert Makes History | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Adam Lambert. (And American Idol, whose past and present eras make their presence known on the charts this week). Lambert's Trespassing album debuts at Number One on Billboard's album chart by...
May 23, 2012 1:40 PM ET -
Van Halen Postpone Summer Tour Dates | ARTICLE
Van Halen have abruptly postponed all tour dates after their June 26th show in New Orleans with no explanation. The band yanked more than 30 long-planned dates, including shows in Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Salt Lake City and...
May 17, 2012 4:45 PM ET -
On the Charts: Rihanna's 'Ship' Sails | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Mother's Day. We're not comfortable generalizing about mothers' musical tastes – this writer's wife, who is a mother, favors George Jones, Parliament and the Sex Pistols – but stereotypical mom-oriented albums got...
May 16, 2012 1:50 PM ET -
On the Charts: Carrie Underwood Blows Away Norah Jones | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Carrie Underwood. The onetime American Idol queen's album Blown Away hits Number One on Billboard's albums chart, and it's the kind of country album that might follow the Lady Antebellum-Eric Church-Zac Brown...
May 9, 2012 1:04 PM ET -
Chart Watch: Jack White Is Moving and Shakin' | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Jack White. And, to a lesser degree, rock. The White Stripes/Dead Weather/Raconteurs frontman's first solo album hits Number One, with sales of 138,000. (For the record, our favorite moment on White's new...
May 2, 2012 12:29 PM ET
