Beyonce & Jay Z Announce Summer Stadium Tour
Beyonce & Jay Z Announce Summer Stadium Tour
The Carters have officially announced their rumored joint tour. Beyonce and Jay Z will head out on a 16-date stadium tour they’re calling On The Run, to kickoff in Miami on June 25th and wrap in San Francisco on August 5. The tour is sponsored by Chase.
Chase cardholders as well as Beyonce Fan Club members will be granted access to a ticket pre-sale tomorrow, April 29, at 10AM. General pre-sale will be available at 10AM on May 1. $1 from each ticket sale will be donated to the Shawn Carter Foundation, which provides scholarships to underserved students. The donations are in partnership with Beyonce’s #BeyGOOD initiative, which supports a number of charities.
The couple recently made surprise appearances during the first weekend of Coachella, with Beyonce popping in during her sister Solange’s set and Jay Z dropping by Nas’ midnight set in Indio.
Jay Z’s tour with Justin Timberlake in 2013 brought in an average of $5 million a night, according to Billboard Boxscore. Check out concert schedule after the jump.
Beats Music’s First 100 Days: A Bumpy Start
Beats Music’s First 100 Days: A Bumpy Start
As Spotify allies with Sprint, labels say Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre’s streaming service is off to a slow start.
Two of music’s most successful brand marketers, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, are in the hot seat as label sources grouse that the first 100 days of the duo’s subscription streaming service, Beats Music, has been a disappointment and soon will face competition on the mobile platform when Sprint begins bundling Spotify with its “Framily” plans.
Spotify founder Daniel Ek will debut the rival wireless partnership — a direct challenge to Beats Music’s alliance with AT&T — on April 29, at a time when a number of label sources are expressing concerns that Beats, which launched in January, has yet to catch fire in the streaming music market.
“Jimmy is finding out this is tougher than it looks,” says one senior executive. “This business takes time.”
Beats Music was started by Iovine and Dre with backing led by Warner Music Group owner Len Blavatnik in a $60 million funding round a year ago. The music service is in the process of closing a new round valued between $60 and $100 million.
Although the labels remain supportive of Beats Music for the long term, these sources estimate early subscriber numbers as “disappointing” despite a marketing launch valued in the “tens of millions of dollars.” (Beats has not released subscriber numbers, but labels have gauged use by its revenue impact.) The push included a splashy Ellen DeGeneres Super Bowl TV ad and the lucrative mobile phone bundling partnership with AT&T, the No. 2 wireless carrier in the United States, which has 110 million mobile customers. Sprint, the No. 3 carrier, has 54 million, which should put Spotify at a competitive disadvantage.
The key metric for the labels is the so-called “conversion rate” — the rate at which free trials to road-test a streaming service lead to paying subscribers. Label sources estimate the Beats Music subscriber count to be in the “low six figures.” Beats representatives declined to comment for this story, but company insiders argue that subscriptions and consumer reaction has met expectations and that the “millions of people” trying out the service exceeded internal projections.
Some label sources say Beats Music should scrap its original advertising-led approach and give away more free music. “We’ve learned from Spotify that you have to fund free for a length of time with users investing time, creating playlists and getting used to the service,” says one senior executive.
Spotify has just over 2 million subscribers in the United States, according to people familiar with the company’s data. They point out that it took two-and-a-half years of educating the U.S. market and giving away millions of dollars’ worth of music for subscribers to reach that number.
Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers on SXSW Man Vs. Machine Panel: ‘I Haven’t Seen Anything Replicate the Human Experience’
Despite their concerns, label executives predict the tipping point for the subscription streaming business is near now that two of the largest mobile phone carriers are bundling Beats Music and Spotify subscription fees, at a discount, into customers’ bills — which, they contend, is an easier hurdle than having users sign up for automatic billing through the streaming site. They also say they are excited the streaming services will benefit from their wireless phone partners’ huge marketing budgets. Kantar Media reported that last year, AT&T spent $1.8 billion on marketing, while Sprint spent $765 million.
The music streaming business grew 33% in the first quarter to, Billboard estimates, $171 million, while music download sales fell 13% to an estimated $473 million.
The labels not only want more entrants to boost the market size. They also want more competition so they’re not beholden to a dominant market leader like Apple’s iTunes, which has as much as a 70 percent share of U.S. digital music revenue.
Music industry insiders widely acknowledge that Beats Music is still young and has plenty of runway to match expectations. Some label executives also contend that Iovine and Dre’s success at building Beats Electronics into a world-class brand in just five years created unrealistic expectations for their streaming service.
“We are rooting for them,” says one.
Posted by Alex Pham (Via Billboard)
Dirty Lou on Club Killers Radio
Drake Discovers What People Really Think of Him
Jay-Z’s Made In America Expands To L.A.
Jay-Z’s Made In America Expands To L.A.
The Budweiser Made In America festival is expanding to Los Angeles – and staying in its birthplace of Philadelphia, with two simultaneous two-day festivals set to take place this Labor Day Weekend. Founding partner and curator Jay Z made the announcement from the steps of Los Angeles’ City Hall Wednesday (April 16) morning alongside the city’s mayor Eric Garcetti, Budweiser vice president Brian Perkins, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson and President and CEO United Way of Greater Los Angeles Elise Buik.
Budweiser Made In America will be the first festival to operate simultaneously on both U.S. coasts. Official lineups for both festivals are expected in early May. Performances from both festivals will also be livestreamed by Budweiser.
In its second year, attendance to the 2013 Made In America doubled from 40,000 to 80,000, a sign that further expansion might be afoot. Budweiser, Jay Z’s Roc Nation and the City of Los Angeles spent the better part of the last month convincing the City Council to hold an event in L.A.’s Grand Park downtown before a final agreement was reached.
“I want to thank Budweiser for putting together a show that’s in the city, not some far-off place you can’t get to,” Jay Z said in his remarks at the press conference, before quickly adding, “No disrespect to any other festivals, no shots. Look how beautiful this park is, it’s accessible to everyone, it’s inclusion it’s not exclusion. We started two years ago in Philadelphia and had huge success, and I’m sure we’ll have even more success here in Los Angeles. We’re very proud to be here in America.”
As lineup details are finalized over the new couple weeks, Budweiser’s Perkins says that each festival will be distinct and unique to its respective city. Los Angeles, for example, is a city whose population is 40-45% Hispanic. “That’s not the case in Philadelphia,” he told Billboard. “You’re going to see that manifest itself in food options, certain artists, the way that we talk about the festival, the way that we advertise the festival. It has to be meaningful to the city otherwise we wouldn’t do it.
The last time Jay Z made an announcement regarding Made In America, he stuck around for one-on-one interviews on the steps of Philly’s iconic art museum where the festival ended up taking place. The rapper-mogul was not on hand for further comment Wednesday, however, to respond to reports that he would soon be hitting the road with wife Beyonce on a joint stadium tour.
The inaugural Made In America festival in 2012 was a notable success, grossing over $5 million in ticket sales and reporting over 40,000 attendees to Billboard BoxScore. Los Angeles’ capacity is anticipated for 50,000, while Philly will likely once again be designed to accommodate the 80,000 that attended last year’s festival.
Posted by Andrew Hampp
A FAMILIAR FACE ON THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS
Lil Jon Feels ‘Great Validation’ Thanks To ‘Turn Down For What’ Success
Lil Jon Feels ‘Great Validation’ Thanks To ‘Turn Down For What’ Success
Nearly eight years after last visiting the Top 10 of the Hot 100 chart as a lead act, Lil Jon returned last week with “Turn Down The What,” his manic dance banger with DJ Snake, which jumped 15-10 on the tally. The surprise crossover hit, which also reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart last week, is Lil Jon’s first major hit as a lead artist since “Snap Yo Fingers” in 2006, and the producer tells Billboard that it “definitely feels good” to return to the Top 10 after years of experimenting with EDM music.
“Some people think I just disappeared off the face of the earth,” says the 42-year-old Lil Jon, “but other people in the EDM world know that I’ve constantly been on hit records over the last couple years. It’s great validation to the fact that I’m still around, I’m still doing my thing, and I’ve got a classic voice.”
Indeed, after becoming arguably the most recognizable face of the crunk rap movement in the mid-00’s thanks to smashes like “Get Low,” Usher’s “Yeah!” and “What U Gon’ Do,” Lil Jon began dabbling in dance music and scored three tracks on the Dance Club Songs chart from 2009-2012. He views his energetic 2007 collaboration with Pitbull, “The Anthem,” as a pivotal moment that “opened up a world that I didn’t really know about,” and that song was followed by dance cuts like Pitbull’s “Krazy,” his remix of David Guetta’s “Sexy Bitch” with Chuckie, LMFAO’s “Shots” and Paradiso Girls’ “Patron Tequila.”
Lil Jon, who began his first Las Vegas DJ residency in 2010 and has become a regular at Ultra Music Festival, says that fans shouldn’t have been surprised when his musical focus started shifting toward electronic music.
“I have always been a person who has not wanted to be put in a box, so I was the always the artist and the producer that did stuff that normal hip-hop artists don’t do,” he says. “I like to collaborate with all kinds of artists, so this is nothing new from what I’ve been doing my entire career… I make club music, whether it’s rap or dance. I make music for people to dance to and party to. It doesn’t matter the tempo, or who the artist is.”
Posted by Jason Lipshutz (Via Billboard)
City of Miami continues to push for Ultra Music Festival ban.
City of Miami continues to push for Ultra Music Festival ban.
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The brewing debate between the city of Miami and Ultra Music Festival continues to unfold as representatives of the festival have finally responded to demands from Mayor Regalado to kick the three-day dance music festival out of the city completely. As the city representatives continue to fire angry demands, the festival organizers have bowed out in silence, awaiting results from a “comprehensive review of all security procedures” that was announced through an official statement that was published on Wednesday.
Details regarding the Ultra’s 2014 security plans reveal that over 250 police officers were hired, of which 111 were stationed outside of the event. In the report, Miami business executive Rodney Barreto explained that 318 additional private guards provided security. However, the opposing side continues to stress the faults found in the seemingly comprehensive security plan: Firstly, in regards to the Erica Mack incident, the Miami police force warned festival organizers of the weak spot where Mack was later patrolling and subsequently trampled, and instructed the organizers to provide proper security reinforcement, which was never delivered. Secondly, in a review done of the plans Ultra had submitted to the city, the outline demonstrates plans for the area where the incident occurred to be supplied with “so-called G8 fencing — used to keep protesters out of G8 economic summits — a sturdier, taller fence that was used near the front of the venue,” which were instead replaced by regular double chain-link fences.
Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff continues to push against Ultra’s anticipated 2015 return to the coveted downtown venue, despite acknowledging that a massive amount of tourism income would be lost if the event was evacuated from the area. “I’ve looked at YouTube and Twitter,” he explained. “The injuries that have been sustained, the stampede, no amount of money cures that.” Sarnoff then continued to stress, “Nothing is going to change until [Ultra organizers] acknowledge they need to find a new venue outside the urban core.”
Ultra organizers plan to remain silent as they await results of the review while the city moves ahead with plans to discuss the festival’s future at an April 10th commission meeting. However, Barreto supplied a quick retort that justifies Ultra’s continued hope for the festival’s already announced future: “Some people have seemed to rush to judgment. We should have all the facts before we want to throw Ultra out of town.”
Posted by Valerie Lee (Posted via Dancing Astronaut)
Calvin Harris – Summer (Club Killers Festival Trap Remix)
Elex on Club Killers Radio.
Tell’Em Who You’re With
Tell’Em Who You’re With
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Check it out: https://www.clubkillers.com/store/mens/with-the-dj-red-tshirt/prod_54.html
Posted by famous8
Skrillex Discusses “Recess” & Learning From Kanye West.
Skrillex Discusses “Recess” & Learning From Kanye West.
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Skrillex is taking his inspiration from Kanye West these days.
The electronic music DJ and producer spent a little time with West, sharing a plane flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas where each was to perform two years ago, and came away with an invitation to collaborate and an even deeper understanding of the possibilities in front of him.
“It was cool to see Kanye surrounded by all these creative people constantly on computers, approving stuff, coming up with ideas – the constant machine that Kanye was in the middle of,” said Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny Moore. “And it reminded me a lot of my crew. We have so much going on 24-7 and we’re always on our computers, we’re all approving stuff and going back and forth with ideas. And to see him do it on a massive level is really cool. He’s just so involved with every aspect of his career.”
The 26-year-old Grammy Award winner has decided to emulate that model, and has begun building a creative center in downtown Los Angeles he calls The Nest. Eventually the goal is to have a space for friends – musicians and producers and members of his record label, OWSLA, but also other creatives in the visual and fashion world – to use as a hub, much in the way West keeps scores of satellites in orbit around him. Skrillex’s first official album, “Recess” is one of the most complex examples of this way of thinking. It was recorded as he toured the world and unfettered by corporate rules. His record label, Atlantic Records, had almost no input before it received the album, and is working mainly as a distributor and promoter.
“All the creative comes from us sitting together and vibing out,” Moore said in a phone interview of his collaborators and business partners. “I’m making music and they’re working on other artist stuff and we just kind of have this synergy going on that really bypasses the steps of having to deal with a label and having to clear something through them, and hopefully they’ll get out there and sell the record. It doesn’t have that (old label system) vibe. It’s a whole different way of being. It’s pure, you know?”
Instead of taking a seven-figure advance, Moore recorded “Recess” in much the way he’s produced previous records – on the fly all over the world. As he played shows for a growing number of fans, he’d selectively invite new collaborators to join him as he made stops in New York, Los Angeles, Canada and the United Kingdom. While in South Korea, he hooked up with G-Dragon and the YG Entertainment crew at the suggestion of Diplo and the result was “Dirty Vibe.” He caught up with old friend Chance the Rapper at a show in Seattle and they banged out “Coast is Clear” overnight with a full band.
“Recess” is the first formal release Moore has put out under the Skrillex moniker since 2011’s “Bangarang” EP. He spent much of 2013 occupied with touring as Skrillex and with his band, Dog Blood. He scored Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers” and worked on music obsessively. “Recess,” it turns out, is just the initial salvo in 2014.
“This album is kind of like the first wave of a lot more stuff to come, just (songs) flying out left and right kind of thing,” he said. “That’s kind of what to expect: spontaneous releases. … There’s so many other collaborations that I can’t really say yet but that have been left over from the record, that I’m going to release soon that are so dope. I’m excited for the new stuff to come out that no one’s heard yet.
Posted by Jason Nocito (via Billboard)