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Madonna Hacker Suspect Arrested in Israel

Meghan Trainor’s ‘Title’ Album Earns Mighty Debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars Top Hot 100, Maroon 5 Debuts at No. 8

Billboard Debuts Expanded, Revamped Weekly Charts

President Obama Defends Net Neutrality in State of the Union Address

Grammy 2015 Performers: Pharrell, Sam Smith, Usher & More Join Lineup

It’s Volume, Silly: Thinking Global on Digital Music Revenues

BY GLENN PEOPLES

Global digital revenues will explode in the next five years, according to a new market research report. But where will new digital consumers come from and how much will they pay?

Technavio, a market research company that covers sectors ranging from healthcare to aerospace, believes global annual digital revenues will nearly double to $16.02 billion in 2019 from $8.10 last year — a cumulative annual growth rate of 14.61 percent. That alone is a bold prediction considering global digital revenues have been far less spectacular in the previous five years. From 2008 to 2013, global digital revenues grew 48 percent, according to the IFPI.

In any case, TechNavio expects a huge influx of digital music users to drive this revenue gain. The company forecasts the number of digital music consumers — it employs the broad term “users” — will increase 126 percent to 2.55 billion, from 1.42 billion. These users could be anything from paying downloaders to subscribers to services such as Spotify and Deezer.

Developing markets are thought to offer potential. Rising incomes, increased access to broadband and availability of affordable data plans are believed

to be among the main drivers in these countries. TechNavio singled out China, a country with a relatively small digital marketplace in spite of having the world’s largest population, and the Asia-Pacific region, or APAC. In fact, TechNavio believes APAC countries will surpass North America in market share by 2019.

North America certainly isn’t primed for
dizzying digital growth in the next five years. While subscription and ad-supported revenues are growing fast, disappearing download revenues are eroding their gains. In the first half of year, the net result
was a slight, $5-million gain on $2.16 billion of retail spending, according to the RIAA. Future gains could far outstrip future download losses, but double-digit digital revenue growth is unlikely in the next few years.

Developing markets won’t have the same problem. Large markets like China and Indonesia could provide the growth TechNavio has forecast. But there’s a strange aspect to the Global Digital Music Market report: it assumes the average revenue per (digital) user, or ARPU, will increase over the next 5

BILLBOARD’S POWER 100 ISSUE

Take this opportunity to congratulate the Power 100 on their outstanding achievements.

[In Brief] years, to $6.28 in 2019 from $5.71 last year.

Put another way, Technavio believes early digital music adopters have a lower ARPU than the later adopters. (Billboard could get its hands on only a summary that provides broad brushstrokes rather than the more nuanced details of the report.)

This isn’t how new products usually work — especially in technology. Early adopters tend to have a greater price threshold
than later adopters. (In marketing terms, the two earliest categories of consumers are innovators and early adopters, but for the sake of this discussion the term “early adopters” will refer to the first wave of consumers.) Prices are highest when new products are released and manufacturing costs are at their highest. Early adopters are willing to pay these prices. Prices drop as demand increases and manufacturing costs drop. The lower prices, and time allowing for greater awareness and education, attract later adopters (called
the early majority and late majority by marketers).

Demand for digital goods is not much different. Although the cost of goods doesn’t decline as demand increases — there are no economies of scale that exist in the physical world — demand tends to increase when prices decline. Using data from a 2011 survey by NewMediaAge, Professor David Touve showed that

demand for music subscription services increases as their prices decrease. Whereas 17 percent of respondents would pay £3.99 a month for a subscription service, only 5 percent would pay £7.99 and just 1 percent would pay £10.99. As an aside, £3.99 was the revenue-maximizing price and the £10.99 price resulted in the least revenue.

Although it’s not the most plausible outcome, a rising ARPU is not impossible. In one scenario, consumers actually spend more on digital music as they transition from download stores to subscription services. In another scenario, subscription services are able to derive more revenue from a substantial portion of their customers through upgrades to a more expensive, high-definition audio tier of service.

Yet most likely future scenarios will follow the current trend in subscription pricing: lower prices that attract more customers.

There are numerous examples that
show subscription services’ ARPU drops over time. Consider the mid-year 2014 subscription revenue figures released by the RIAA. Subscription services’ ARPU declined to $7.94 from $9.13 in the first half of 2013. That works out to a 23.2-percent revenue increase, astride a 41.8-percent increase in subscribers. This decline isn’t a surprise. As time has passed, subscription

services have offered consumers more ways to save money: family pricing, student pricing and, as Spotify employed in November, heavy discounting.

Subscription ARPU also drops outside
of Western countries. Take Saavn, a streaming service offered in India,
the United States and numerous other countries. Saavn’s top tier costs $3.56 per month in India at current exchange rates (it’s $3.99 per month in the United States). A less expensive tier that’s available only in India costs $1.78 per month. Lower prices can be obtained by buying 1-day (8 cents) or 7-day (49 cents) plans through mobile carriers.

ARPU in developing countries cannot be judged by Western standards. As the Saavn example shows, a streaming service must take into account the realities of the markets in which it operates. A service might have a relatively low ARPU in India, but the size of the market — currently about 1.25 billion people — means big potential. The same can be said for developing markets in general: billions
of consumers, not previously included in the legal digital marketplace, are potential customers for music streaming services on their smartphones.

Going back to Technavio’s report, ARPU will decline if APAC countries lead global digital revenue growth in the next five years. These markets will not be able to sustain the high prices being charged in Western markets. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Given the high piracy and low ARPU in many of these countries, successful digital services APAC markets will be like found money to the music industry.

Lower ARPU — which could decrease per-stream royalties, by the way — has
its advantages. According to Touve’s calculations, subscription revenue in the United Kingdom would have been £57.2 million at the £3.99 price compared to £29.9 million at the £7.99 price and £6.8 million at the £10.99 price. One could point to Apple’s 2009 decision to raise iTunes track prices to $1.29 from $0.99 — with nary a dent in demand — but this was an aberration. Prices of digital music are going down.

Madonna Hacker Suspect Arrested in Israel
BY DAVID CASPI

Police in Israel have arrested a local man on suspicion of hacking into Madonna’s computer and releasing demo versions of songs on her new album Rebel Heart online.

Israeli television’s Channel 2 news reports that the 39-year-old was
arrested Wednesday following a month- long investigation involving a private investigation firm and the cyber crime unit of Israel’s Lahav 433, a crime-fighting organization comparable to the FBI.

According to a statement by Lahav
433, the suspect “broke into the personal computers of several international artists over the past few months and stole promotional final-cut singles which have yet to be released and traded them online for a fee.” It added: “In light of the findings of the investigation the unit collaborated closely with the FBI, with suspicion of even

more break-ins to computers owned by unknown international artists, stealing and selling their works.”

Several demos from Madonna’s Rebel Heart album leaked online in December, a move the artist called “artist rape” and “a form of terrorism.”

Speaking to Billboard, Madonna’s longtime manager Guy Oseary called the leak “devastating” and said it prompted the surprise pre-release of six songs from Rebel Heart on Dec. 20 on iTunes.

While an official gag order has been issued on the suspect’s name, local reports have already surfaced identifying the man as a former contestant on one of Israel’s most popular singing competition TV shows. The suspect is said to have allegedly broken into several musicians’ personal computers, but it was the Madonna leak that led to the investigation.

Tel Aviv-based investigations firm Wizman Yaar Investigations released a statement saying it began looking into the case after receiving a complaint
from Oseary’s office. According to the statement, it sent an agent to New York “to check the singer’s personal computer, confirming there was indeed a break in from a computer in Israel.”

The firm said it then traced the source of the computer to Tel Aviv and contacted Lahav 433, which continued the formal investigation. The resulting in a warrant to search the suspect’s home, culminating in the arrest.

Additional reporting by Azri Amram.

This article originally appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.

Meghan Trainor’s ‘Title’ Album Earns Mighty Debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200

BY KEITH CAULFIELD

Meghan Trainor debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with her first full-length album, Title. The set arrives with 238,000 equivalent units earned in the week ending Jan. 18, according to Nielsen Music. It was released Jan. 13 on Epic Records.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Title’s chart-topping arrival comes after Trainor earlier led the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with her introductory hit, “All About That Bass.” The tune ruled the Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks in 2014.

Title’s first-week units includes 195,000 in pure album sales, an impressive figure, considering January is traditionally a sleepy month for big new releases. The last album released in January to open with a larger sum was Justin Bieber’s Believe: Acoustic, which hit retail on Jan. 29, 2013, and opened with 211,000.

In addition, Title logs the biggest debut for a female artist’s first full-length album in over five years. The last woman to start larger was Susan Boyle, who sold 701,000 copies of I Dreamed a Dream in its first week (ending Nov. 29, 2009).

Trainor’s entrance is the largest opening for any solo artist’s first full-length set
in more than three years, since Scotty McCreery’s Clear as Day arrived with 197,000 (in the week ending Oct. 9, 2011).

Both Boyle and McCreery had great TV exposure assisting their debuts, as they both competed on talent competition shows before their albums were released. Boyle rose to fame thanks to her star- making turn on Britain’s Got Talent, while McCreery won the 2011 season of Fox’s American Idol.

As for Trainor, while she wasn’t a reality-show competitor, she has had months of major exposure leading up to Title’s release. Her smash No. 1 single
“All About That Bass” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 26, 2014, on its way to an eight-week reign atop the list. In the meantime, Trainor’s introductory four-song EP — also named Title — was percolating on the Billboard 200 chart. The set debuted and peaked at No. 15 and has sold 171,000 copies.

Trainor followed up the success of “All About That Bass’” with another top five single, the No. 4-peaking (so far) “Lips Are Movin.’” (While both “Bass” and “Lips” are on the full-length Title album, only “Bass” appeared on the EP.)

Lastly, Title is Epic Records’ first No. 1 album since the Sept. 25, 2010-dated chart, when Sara Bareilles’ Kaleidoscope Heart bowed atop the tally.

If Trainor is No. 1, that means Taylor Swift’s rule in the penthouse with 1989 is over — at least temporarily. 1989 slips 2-1 in its 12th week on the list, after hanging out at No. 1 for eight nonconsecutive weeks. It shifted 131,000 units for the week (down 15 percent).

Kidz Bop Kids warble their way to a No.
3 arrival on the Billboard 200 with Kidz Bop 27, moving 80,000 units. It’s the 20th top 10 album for the long-running series, which garnered its first top 10 effort nearly 10 years ago, when Kidz Bop 7 opened at No. 7 on the March 12, 2005-dated chart.

As usual, the new Kidz Bop 27
album features child-friendly covers of contemporary pop hits, like Swift’s “Shake It Off ” and Trainor’s “All About That Bass.”

Notably, of Kidz Bop 27’s first-week units, just over 77,000 were comprised of pure album sales. That’s the largest sales week for a Kidz Bop album in two years. The last Kidz Bop set to post a bigger week was Kidz Bop 23, when it entered at No. 2 with 81,000 copies sold (on the chart dated

Feb. 2, 2013).
Ed Sheeran’s x slips 2-4 on the Billboard

200 with 77,000 units, up 2 percent. Of x’s total for the week, 47 percent of its sum was comprised of pure album sales.

Next up on the Billboard 200, producer Mark Ronson — powered by his smash No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Uptown Funk!” — arrives
at No. 5 with his album Uptown Special. The set starts with 77,000 units and marks Ronson’s first top 40 album. (He previously topped out at No. 81 with 2010’s Record Collection, and No. 129 with 2007’s Version.)

Uptown Special’s chart rank is bolstered by units earned from TEA and SEA, thanks to “Uptown Funk!,” featuring Bruno Mars. Sixty-one percent of the set’s opening-unit total is driven by TEA and SEA. (The album enters at No. 6 on the Top Album Sales chart, which ranks the week’s top selling albums.)

Back on the Billboard 200, Nicki Minaj’s The Pinkprint falls 3-6 (54,000 units; down 10 percent) and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour descends 4-7 (50,000 units; down 12 percent).

Maroon 5’s V zooms back into the top 10, rising 15-8, thanks in part to the success
of its single “Sugar.” The song’s wedding- crasher-themed video went viral last week, helping spur the album to a 138 percent unit gain (to 48,000 for the week). V’s album sales were also on the rise, jumping by 158 percent to 19,000 (zipping 27-12 on Top Album Sales).

Hozier’s self-titled album moves 6-9 on the Billboard 200 with 42,000 units (down 15 percent), while J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive closes out the top 10, falling 7-10 with 38,000 units (down 16 percent).

Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars Top Hot 100, Maroon 5 Debuts at No. 8

BY GARY TRUST

Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!,” featuring Bruno Mars, leads the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift’s newest fan — in blue — sparks a resurgence for “Shake It Off ” and Maroon 5 blasts in at No. 8 with its new single “Sugar” following the premiere of its video.

As we do each Wednesday, let’s look at the key numbers throughout the top 10 on the sales/airplay/streaming-based Hot 100.

“Funk!,” released on RCA Records, spends a fourth week atop Digital Songs with 400,000 downloads sold (up 17 percent) in the week ending Jan. 18, according to Nielsen Music, and nets the Hot 100’s top Digital Gainer award. It also leads the subscription services-based On- Demand Songs chart for a second week with 5.3 million U.S. streams (up 14 percent). “Funk” retreats 1-2 on Streaming Songs despite a 28 percent gain to 14.9 million, while on Radio Songs, it flies 6-2 with a 31 percent burst to 135 million in all-format audience, good for top Airplay Gainer honors on the Hot 100, as well.

Aiding the momentum of “Funk”: Ronson’s new album, Uptown Special, which debuts on the Billboard 200 at No. 5 with 77,000 equivalent units (including 30,000 in pure album sales).

Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” charges 4-2 on the Hot 100, reaching a new peak (and marking a new best career rank for the singer/songwriter). The third single from X stays at No. 2 on Digital Songs (241,000, up 8 percent); lifts 4-3 on Streaming Songs (10.5 million, up 14 percent); and pushes 9-7 on Radio Songs (93 million, up 27 percent).

Thus, after a lengthy (and well- documented) run of women ruling the Hot

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[In Brief]

100’s upper reaches, solo men now control the chart’s top two. It’s the first time that male soloists have ranked at Nos. 1 and
2 simultaneously in eight months; John Legend and Pharrell Williams last doubled up on the May 24 chart with “All of Me” (No. 1) and “Happy” (No. 2).

And, as predicted here last week, “Funk” (up 23 percent in overall activity) and “Loud” (up 13 percent) appear in line to lock up the Hot 100’s top two spots for the foreseeable future, with “Funk” likely to lead, given its significant current advantage in chart points.

After topping the Hot 100 for seven weeks, Swift’s “Blank Space” drops 2-3, while fellow former No. 1 (for four weeks) “Shake It Off ” rebounds 9-5 as the chart’s top Streaming Gainer. Behind the latter hit’s comeback? Master Cpl. Jeff Davis of the Dover, Del. Police department went viral with his sassy lip sync of it after it was posted to the department’s Facebook page. On Streaming Songs, “Shake” returns to the top, vaulting 8-1 with a 132 percent increase to 16.7 million U.S. clicks (with more than two-thirds of its weekly streams from YouTube views of the user-generated clip). The song leads the chart for a second week, having first topped it the week of Nov. 22.

Meanwhile, “Space” crowns Radio Songs for a sixth week, extending her longest command (145 million, down 4 percent). Plus, “Style,” newly confirmed as the official third single from 1989, surges 72-52 on the Hot 100, powered largely by its 37- 23 bump on Digital Songs (51,000, up 22 percent).

Also in the Hot 100’s top five, Hozier’s No. 2-peaking “Take Me to Church” slips 3-4. It holds at No. 3 on Digital Songs (159,000, down 20 percent) and No. 4 on Radio Songs (117 million, up 7 percent)
and rebounds 5-4 (after reaching No. 2) on Streaming Songs (9.2 million, up 2 percent). On the Hot Rock Songs chart, “Church” rules for a 14th week.

Meghan Trainor keeps at No. 6 on the Hot 100 with her No. 4-peaking “Lips Are Movin,” while her debut eight-week No. 1 “All About That Bass” holds at No. 10. As “Bass” spends a 25th week in the top 10, it

becomes just the 10th song in the Hot 100’s 56-year history to log that many weeks or more in the region. (LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live” holds the record with 32 weeks in the top 10 in 1997-98.) “Lips” reaches the Radio Songs top 10, climbing 11-8 with a 17 percent jump to 75 million in audience.

The moves add to Trainor’s monumental week, as her debut full-length Title roars to the top of the Billboard 200 with 238,000 equivalent units (with 195,000 from pure album sales).

Below Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the only One,” which falls to No. 7 from its No.
5 high, Maroon 5 launches at No. 8 with “Sugar.” The band instantly adds its 11th top 10 and equals its second-best bow; “Payphone” rocketed in at No. 3 in 2012 (before peaking at No. 2), while “Moves Like Jagger,” featuring Christina Aguilera, also started at No. 8 in 2011 (eventually spending four weeks at No. 1). Notably, “Jagger” jumpstarted Maroon 5’s profile (unsurprisingly, as frontman Adam Levine and Aguilera had begun their runs as coaches on NBC’s The Voice). The group has logged eight of its 11 Hot 100 top 10s starting with “Jagger.” It had first reached the tier three times in 2004-07.

“Sugar” starts at No. 4 on Digital Songs (150,000, up 3,577 percent) and at No. 7 on Streaming Songs (8 million), following the Jan. 14 premiere of its buzzy official video in which Maroon 5 goes on a wedding- crashing spree. The soulful pop track nears Radio Songs with a 184 percent gain to 22 million.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10 (above “Bass”), Nick Jonas’ “Jealous” backtracks to No. 9 from its No. 7 peak.

Visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 22), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety and Digital Songs, Radio Songs and Streaming Songs, will refresh, as they do each Thursday.

Billboard Debuts Expanded, Revamped Weekly Charts

BY BILLBOARD STAFF

Following Billboard’s successful reimag- ining of the online Billboard Hot 100 chart, Billboard is excited to share the revamped online layout for our entire slate of re- nowned weekly charts.

The new changes follow the more intuitive, informative layout of the revamped Hot 100 that debuted in October.

An unprecedented new feature is that the weekly chart archives have been expanded significantly — you can now peruse the entire weekly Hot 100 back to 1958, presented in the same format as the current Hot 100. (For instance, check out the very first Billboard Hot 100, topped by teen idol Ricky Nelson, from August 1958).

Similarly, the Billboard 200 charts are now viewable in full going back to 1985, so you can digest 30 years of album history with the same ease.

“For decades, the Billboard charts have been the definitive source for recorded music rankings,” said John Amato, co- president of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. “The updated online charts now allow fans to easily access the songs and albums that served as the soundtrack to any moment in time.”

What are you waiting for? Check them out now.

President Obama Defends Net Neutrality in State of the Union Address

BY KATIE ATKINSON

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday night (Jan. 20) — amid talk of the economy, national security and health care — President Obama took time to highlight the hot-button tech issue of net neutrality.

Back in November, Obama spoke out about the issue, calling on the FCC to reclassify broadband web access, therefore allowing the commission to regulate providers and keep them from slowing down or speeding up certain websites.

“I intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks, so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world,” Obama said Tuesday, ahead of an expected February vote on the issue by the FCC. “I want Americans to win the race for the kinds

of discoveries that unleash new jobs
— converting sunlight into liquid fuel; creating revolutionary prosthetics, so that a veteran who gave his arms for his country can play catch with his kid; pushing out into the Solar System not just to visit, but to stay.”

The idea behind net neutrality is that all content on the Internet is treated equally, so users aren’t charged differently or
get varying degrees of speed or access. Obama’s plan intends to treat broadband Internet like telephone service is treated now.

“Twenty-first century businesses need 21st century infrastructure — modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest internet,” Obama also said during the address. “Democrats and Republicans

used to agree on this. So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come.”

Another tech issue addressed in the State of the Union speech was cybersecurity, in the wake of last month’s Sony hack.

“No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids,” he said. “We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism.”

Grammy 2015 Performers: Pharrell, Sam Smith, Usher & More Join Lineup BY JOE LYNCH

On Wednesday morning, the Grammys announced even more performers for the already star-stacked Feb. 8 awards show.

Pharrell, Sam Smith, Usher and Miranda Lambert are joining the 2015 Grammy performers lineup. Common and John Legend will also drop by to perform “Glory,” their Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning song from Selma.

Previously announced performers are

Madonna, AC/DC, Ariana Grande, Eric Church and Ed Sheeran.

Jay Z Is Not Buying

Hot 97, Station

Owner Says

BY ERIKA RAMIREZ

You know that rumor that Jay Z is in nego- tiations to buy New York radio station Hot 97? Well, “That story is false.”

Emmis Communications, owner of WQHT Hot 97, debunks the rumor by telling Hip-Hop Wired that it’s not true.

The story circulated the Internet after Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex ranted about
Jay Z, specifically his website Life + Times. Life + Times reached out to Flex for an interview on his involvement with Dipset’s reunion. Flex turned around and called the site “trash” and claimed that his ideas for his mobile app were stolen by Jay Z
via a Life + Times interview and used
for his Magna Carta Holy Grail Samsung app. In its original report, MediaTakeOut. com speculated that Flex’s beef with Jay stemmed from Jay’s involvement in a deal to buy the station with a group of investors, also including New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.

Hot 97’s personalities Ebro, Peter Rosenberg and Laura Stylez had fun with the rumor and renamed the station Hov 97 on Tuesday.

Chance the Rapper & Christina Milian Hand a Check
for $100,000 to Chicago Schools

BY ELIAS LEIGHT

Chance the Rapper lent his celebrity to a good cause on Monday (Jan. 19), attending an event to show his support for Chicago’s

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[In Brief]
Get Schooled, Get Connected Challenge.

The initiative’s web site explains that the three-month program — which lasted from October 6, 2014, to January 5, 2015 — offers high schoolers “a chance to connect with students across Chicago as you work to compete in weekly quests; play interactive games, polls, and trivia; and explore a

ton of educational resources to help you make the leap from high school to college without missing a beat!”

Schools received points based on their students’ participation.

Chance was on hand as Internet Essentials — a partner in the Get Connected program — handed students
a $100,000 check. The money will be split between the schools that earned
the most points during the three-month competition. According to HipHopDX, the funds will help “bolster computer labs, increase Wi-Fi access on school grounds and support digital literacy education.” Chance wasn’t the only celebrity musician in attendance — Christina Milian also showed up. The rapper Instagrammed a photo of the two of them with the caption, “It means a lot when celebs come to the city and give back to a community they aren’t from. Made a good friend today.”

James Brown Lawsuit: Judge Orders Release of Emails About Widow’s Diary BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

A judge says South Carolina officials must release emails about the diary of James Brown’s widow and other documents relat- ed to the nearly decade-long fight over the late soul singer’s estate.

Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith Jr. on Friday gave the state Attorney General’s Office 10 days to produce the documents,

even as it appeals to the state Supreme Court against a July ruling requiring their release. Lawyers for the office had argued the records should be kept from the public during the appeal.

The documents include emails about the diary of Brown’s widow, Tomi Rae Hynie, an appraisal of Brown’s assets and discussions about what the state should pay a private law firm for its help in the fight over Brown’s estate.

A freelance journalist sued for access to the documents.

Shazam Valued at Over $1 Billion After Latest Funding Round BY BILLBOARD STAFF

Shazam, the popular music discovery app, has raised $30 million in a funding round that pushes the British company’s value to over $1 billion. The company said the funding will allow Shazam to continue its expansion after a busy 2014.

The identities of the investors have not been disclosed, but Chairman Andrew Fisher told Bloomberg that “a couple of billionaires” were in the mix. Previous investors include Mexican mega-

mogul Carlos Slim, who just doubled his stake in the New York Times Company, as well as DN Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Beyers.

“This funding reflects the substantial progress we have made in delivering a new paradigm for brands and content owners to increase engagement with their audiences whilst magically connecting people to the world around them,” said Fisher. “We are delighted to welcome our new investors as we further strengthen our balance sheet and continue to effectively execute on our corporate strategy.”

The Shazam app, which now includes

music news, real-time trending songs and expanded charts, has been downloaded over 500 million times and boasts over 100 million monthly mobile active users. In December the app was enhanced to give Spotify or Rdio users the ability to listen to full tracks inside the Shazam app.

Apple Reportedly Buys Analytics Company Semetric Ahead of Beats Music Relaunch

BY MARC SCHNEIDER

Apple has acquired Semetric, a London startup that runs the music analytics ser- vice Musicmetric. The move, reported by the Guardian, citing documents filed this month with the Companies House in the UK, comes as Apple prepares to relaunch its Beats streaming service.

Launched in 2008, Musicmetric is a dashboard tool that helps artists, labels and others track social media activity, sales, streaming and file sharing data. It raised $4.7 million in January 2013 to help expand its business, and that month it struck a
deal to integrate data from Spotify into its dashboard.

The California-based tech giant may
be planning to use Musicmetric as its in-house dashboard within Beats to help artists and labels track their sales and streams. Requests for comment were
not immediately returned, but Apple did provide a statement to the Guardian. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plan,” it said.

In the Companies House documents, Semetric’s address was changed to the same registered address as Apple Europe Limited. Another document, dated

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[In Brief]

October 2014, indicated that senior Apple attorney Gene Levoff had been appointed director of Semetric.

Apple has not announced a relaunch date for Beats, which it acquired in April 2014
for $3 billion, though a rebranded version of the Beats Music app will reportedly be bundled with an upcoming version of iOS as early as March.

Linkin Park Cancels

Tour Due to Injury

BY KATIE ATKINSON

Linkin Park has canceled the remaining dates of the Hunting Party tour after front- man Chester Bennington injured his leg.

“I’m really disappointed this injury has made it impossible to continue with this tour,” Bennington said in a statement announcing the news. “The first couple shows were just magical. We will truly miss not being with our fans for the next few weeks. Hope to see you again soon.”

The band originally canceled just two dates — Pittsburgh (Jan. 20) and Albany, N.Y. (Jan. 21) — before throwing in the towel on the rest of the tour.

The statement didn’t specify how Bennington injured his leg, though it said the injury “requires immediate medical attention.”

Refunds will be offered for all remaining tour dates.

Chet Faker’s

‘Built On Glass’

Shortlisted for

Australian Music

Prize

BY LARS BRANDLE

Chet Faker has another chance to add to his bulging collection of industry awards for Built On Glass, which has made the shortlist for the 10th annual Australian Music Prize.

The electro-soul singer’s debut album is one of nine records which will progress to the final of the AMP, with the winner announced March 4 in Sydney.

Organizers on Wednesday said its longlist of 65 recordings had been pared- back to a list that also features About
Face by #1 Dads, Gon’ Boogaloo by C.W. Stoneking, Grassed Inn by Blank Realm, Laura Jean by Laura Jean, Raw X Infinty by REMI, Tales by The Peep Tempel, The Sleeper by Caitlin Park and Typical
System by Total Control. The winner will receive A$30,000 ($25,000) in prize money donated by the PPCA collecting society.

Faker (real name Nicholas Murphy) saw his career hit another gear when Built On Glass opened at No. 1 on the ARIA albums chart following its release through Future Classic last April. In October 2014, the Melbourne singer won all three ARIA Artisan awards on offer (producer of the year, engineer of the year and best cover art) and the following month, he took out best male artist and best independent release at the ARIA Awards. The album is now platinum-certified Down Under and, recently, he performed the album track “Gold” on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The AMP is modeled on Britain’s Mercury Music Prize and Canada’s Polaris Prize and is decided by a music industry panel, whose single goal is to identify and reward the outstanding creative Australian

album of the past year. This year, more than 300 albums were submitted. Each was released during the period of Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2014.

The nomines for the Coopers-sponsored prize this year includes some faces familiar to AMP-observers. Tom Iansek, one half of last year’s winners Big Scary, features again this time under the guise of his

solo act #1 Dads. Total Control member Mikey Young was a member of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, which won the 2008 AMP for Primary Colours and was shortlisted again in 2010 for Rush to Relax, while C.W.Stoneking featured on the 2008 shortlist with his album Jungle Blues.

AMP founder and prize director Scott B. Murphy will this year launch the American Music Prize, to recognize the year’s best debut American album. The ambition of the new award is to “encourage, discover, reward and promote new music of excellence by USA artists.”

The 10th Coopers AMP shortlist:

“About Face” by #1 Dads
“Built On Glass” by Chet Faker “Gon’ Boogaloo” by C.W. Stoneking “Grassed Inn” by Blank Realm “Laura Jean” by Laura Jean
“Raw X Infinty” by REMI
“Tales” by The Peep Tempel
“The Sleeper” by Caitlin Park “Typical System” by Total Control

Insight & Current Events - January, 2015

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