Concert touring company Live Nation on Thursday said it reached a two-year, multimillion dollar, worldwide touring deal with tween rockers Jonas Brothers. Live Nation caused a stir in October when it lured pop star Madonna from her long-term music label Warner Brothers with an estimated $120 million multi-album, touring and merchandising global partnership. The Los Angeles-based company said the deal calls for the band, comprised of three siblings from New Jersey, to play more than 140 theatres and arenas around the world. The first wave of tour dates kicks off in Tucson, Arizona on January 31. The announcement follows the… Read more »
High-priced reunion tours by the Police, Van Halen and Genesis failed to prevent the North American concert industry from posting its worst year since 2004, according to a music industry trade publication. The top 20 tours generated $996 million, down 15.6 percent from the year before, according to preliminary data issued on Friday by Pollstar, which covers the concert business. The previous low was $951.1 million in 2004, when Prince and Madonna topped the box office, it said. The comeback tour by Anglo-American rock trio the Police was the top draw this year with ticket sales of $131.9 million, followed… Read more »
Josh Groban’s “Noel” led the U.S. pop album charts for a third week Wednesday, tying Elvis Presley as the record-holder for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 with a Christmas album. Now in its ninth week of release, “Noel” moved 581,000 units in the period ended December 9, according to Nielsen SoundScan, an 8% boost over the previous frame. Presley’s “Elvis’ Christmas Album,” meanwhile, ruled the charts for three weeks in 1957. Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” rose one to No. 2 with 234,000 copies, swapping places with the Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden,” which sold 204,000. The… Read more »
Amid an uproar over the huge demand for seats to pop idol Hannah Montana’s tour, a U.S. federal judge on Monday barred the use of automated software to make mass ticket purchases from the leading box-office service Ticketmaster. U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins issued a preliminary injunction against Pittsburgh-based software maker RMG Technologies, whose computer programs, Ticketmaster says, have enabled scalpers to gain rapid, repeated access to its online retail system. The court order stems from a lawsuit brought against RMG by Ticketmaster, a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp, in April, before tickets for the 54-date Hannah Montana concert tour went… Read more »
Faced with a protracted sales slump, record labels are now tapping into the tween scene, after Walt Disney Co. has become the unlikely hitmaker of the year with chart toppers like “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical.” “A lot of entertainment companies are trying to figure out how to replicate Disney’s formula and crack the tween code since it’s one of the market’s few sweet spots,” said entertainment lawyer Fred Goldring. After mostly ignoring tweens, kids aged 6 to 12, music labels from Sony BMG Music to Warner Music Group and EMI Group Plc are now signing or distributing tween… Read more »
The MTV Video Music Awards isn’t just a superficial awards show. It’s an institution that has crafted some of pop culture’s most iconic moments. Frankly, no other awards show has created massive ripples in the cultural zeitgeist such as Miley Cryus’ famous twerking moment and Beyoncé’s baby bump reveal alongside bands such as Alien Ant Farm playing their cover of “Smooth Criminal” or Rage Against The Machine and Limp Bizkit feuding onstage in 2000. However, many viewers equate the MTV VMAs to purely celebrating the efforts of most American Top 40 artists. This could not be further from the truth.… Read more »
Today we have the new Stranger Things 4 teaser, Summerfest’s 2021 lineup, and a new Loki announcement from Marvel Studios.
