A cursory glance at the year-to-date urban radio chart reaffirms an age-old music industry adage: Sex sells. You can see the Top 10 at the bottom of this post, but first let’s talk about a few of the chart’s recurring themes. Sex Sells: Miguel’s “Sure Thing” occupies the top spot with 86,785 spins, followed closely [...]
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Approaching Oblivion
How many times has this happened to you: You’re driving home from work. A song comes on. Drums. Guitar strums. A wimpy voice: “Say, oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight…” You’ve heard this same song three times in 30 minutes, and it bores you to tears. Unlike the imaginary audience the station’s program [...]
The Power of Jeggings
Last week, the music world laughed up a hiccup as Lil Wayne pranced around the VMA stage in nut-suffocating, Le Tigre-inspired jeggings. While that performance affirmed that Wayne is no fashion guru, his chart performance a week later reminded us that he’s very good at something else-selling records, tons of ‘em. His latest, Tha Carter IV, [...]
Facebook Music Cometh
No one’s willing to confirm anything, but all indications point to the same scoop: Facebook is planning to launch a new music service this fall. Here’s what we know so far. CNBC’s John Fortt broke the news Kanye West-style – in ALL CAPS: “YES INDEED NEXT MONTH IS GOING TO BE A BIG ONE FOR MUSIC [...]
Eminem’s Huge Payday
Every day, Rocks Off is reminded that we should have taken rapping a bit more seriously in our younger days. Today’s friendly reminder comes in the way of a report saying that Eminem cashed a $3 million check for two nights of work at the UK’s V Fest. Em’s scenario isn’t typical, though. Concert fees run the [...]
Google x Motorola
Google stunned the tech world last week when it tied the knot with Motorola for $12.5 billion. But it’s the music business that should be raising its brows at the union. Like any typical suitor, Google weighed Motorola’s considerably large assets in its decision to get in bed with the mobile giant. On one side of this [...]
Watch the Leaks
The kingdom is safe. The throne has been watched. In an age where albums spring leaks like baby diapers, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne arrived on the appointed date without even as much as a drip. For the first time in over a decade, we witnessed a major label release with no leaks. [...]
