Contributor
240 items by Steve Knopper Steve Knopper’s Profile on
-
On the Charts: Michael Buble Gets a Boost From 'Saturday Night Live' | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Saturday Night Live. Could it be that the late-night show legendary for helping to transform acts from Nirvana to Public Enemy into superstars is getting its sales-making power...
December 21, 2011 2:15 PM ET -
On the Charts: The Black Keys Debut High After Dissing Spotify | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: The Black Keys. After withdrawing their new album, El Camino, from newfangled streaming services such as Spotify, the band sold 206,000 copies in their first week. Did the (non-)move contribute to sales? Hard...
December 14, 2011 12:45 PM ET -
On the Charts: She and Him, the Killers Score With Christmas Pop | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Christmas music on iTunes. In a slow, post-Black Friday, pre-last-minute-shopping week, five albums on iTunes' Top 10 had holiday themes: the Killers' (RED) Christmas, She and Him's A Very She and Him Christmas,...
December 7, 2011 3:40 PM ET -
The Grammys: Who Will Win in the Key Categories | ARTICLE
We read this year's Grammy nominations news as blah blah blah blah blah Common, Lupe Fiasco and LL Cool J performed a tribute to Grandmaster Flash last night blah blah blah blah. It's about time...
December 1, 2011 2:15 PM ET -
On the Charts: Nickelback Defies Doubters | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: As natives of Detroit who still lionize the Lions, we were amused by the Nickelback-halftime-performance controversy on Thanksgiving Day. Some opponents of Nickelback's appearance tried to spin it as "a Canadian...
November 30, 2011 2:35 PM ET -
On the Charts: Drake Comes Out Swinging | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Drake. The holiday shopping season has officially begun, and the record industry is dutifully rolling out its sure things. Although Drake's Take Care sold fewer copies than retailers expected – 631,000 as opposed...
November 23, 2011 2:30 PM ET -
How the Universal-EMI Deal Will Change the Music Industry | ARTICLE
A little more than a decade ago, there were six powerful major labels. Now, with the sale of EMI's recorded-music division – home to the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Coldplay and Katy Perry – to...
November 23, 2011 12:30 PM ET -
On the Charts: Katy Perry Scores Again | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: The big chart story this week is rapper Mac Miller, whose independent debut Blue Slide Park sold 144,000 copies and hit Number One on the Billboard album charts. But we're more intrigued by...
November 16, 2011 3:50 PM ET -
On the Charts: Coldplay Takes Rock to the Top | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Coldplay. All year, we've been criticizing rock bands, from Cake to Hollywood Undead to the Strokes, for jumping onto the charts in their debut weeks then dropping off so quickly we barely remember...
November 2, 2011 3:10 PM ET -
Adele Battles Vocal Issues | ARTICLE
Claiming serious vocal problems, Adele – the bestselling artist of 2011 – canceled her second run of U.S. dates this year on October 4th. The soul superstar has yet to announce when she'll return. "If I continue...
October 27, 2011 10:00 AM ET -
On the Charts: Rihanna Keeps Cranking Out the Hits | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: All year Rihanna, whose last couple of tours were not exactly massive universal sellouts, has been steadily parsing out great singles from her underrated 2010 album – including "S&M," which sold more than...
October 26, 2011 1:50 PM ET -
The New Economics of the Music Industry | ARTICLE
In the old days, it was much easier for pop stars to keep up with how much they were getting paid. Somebody would buy a CD at a Tower Records for $15 and a few dollars would...
October 25, 2011 4:35 PM ET -
On the Charts: Evanescence Leads Rock Back to the Top | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Rock. Check out the iTunes album chart this week: Evanescence (Number One), Five Finger Death Punch (Number Three), Ryan Adams (OK, he's country-rock, but still, Number Four) and Coldplay (Number Eight). Plus,...
October 19, 2011 1:40 PM ET -
On the Charts: 'American Idol' Winner Scotty McCreery Debuts at Number One | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: American Idol. Scotty McCreery – who knew? Other than the Idol judges and millions of voters, of course. Last season's winner lands at Number One on Billboard's Top 200, selling 197,000 copies...
October 12, 2011 4:20 PM ET -
Steve Jobs’ Music Vision | ARTICLE
Downloading music before iTunes wasn't hard, as long as you didn't mind breaking the law. But paying for a song online and storing it legally on a hard drive? All but impossible. Major labels had responded to...
October 7, 2011 7:10 PM ET -
On the Charts: J. Cole Moves Into the Spotlight | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: J. Cole. The 25-year-old North Carolina rapper, who memorably guest-starred on Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 two years ago, sold 218,000 copies of his debut Cole World: The Sideline Story this week, hitting Number...
October 5, 2011 4:20 PM ET -
On the Charts: Tony Bennett Hits Number One With a Little Help From His Friends | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: The moral to this week's column is: The music business is simple! All you have to do to hit Number One is perform relentlessly high-quality material for almost 70 years, never yield...
September 28, 2011 4:20 PM ET -
On the Charts: Lady Antebellum Gets Comfortable at the Top | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Lady Antebellum. But first, a quote from country star Eric Church, who hit Number One on the Billboard album charts a few weeks ago. "Up until now I've not had a Number...
September 21, 2011 4:50 PM ET -
On the Charts: The Beatles Rock iTunes | ARTICLE
WINNERS OF THE WEEK: Old guys on iTunes. The Beatles, who made their long-delayed iTunes debut late last year with much fanfare, released their modern greatest-hits album 1 on iTunes this week, selling 60,000 copies...
September 14, 2011 1:10 PM ET -
On the Charts: Beyonce Capitalizes on VMAs Appearance | ARTICLE
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Lil Wayne. Although Lady Gaga's Born This Way sold more than 1.1 million copies in its first week, relegating Weezy's Tha Carter IV to second-best debut of 2011, the rapper's 964,000...
September 7, 2011 1:15 PM ET
