• Jay Z Pulls 'Reasonable Doubt' from Spotify, Leaves It on Tidal; Will More Owners Pull Out of Spotify Soon?

    The first shots may have been fired in Tidal's quest to dominate the streaming world Jay Z's Reasonable Doubt has disappeared from competitor Spotify. However, those with a Tidal subscription see that they can still stream the debut album from the rapper and part owner in the service, suggesting that this is a symbolic shot from Hov to demonstrate how much power he (and the rest of Tidal's part owners) holds in this game.

  • Country Fans in The UK Chafe at Bro-Country as Well; New Guardian Editorial Lambasts State of Genre

    The emergence of "bro-country" and how much it irritates the previous generations of country music fans is not news. Americans, as the biggest consumers of the genre, haven't done much to eliminate it from the airwaves however, relative to how much we complain about it. Complaints from the sidelines—performers such as the Zac Brown Band and Ray Price—have largely been criticized by the genre's biggest stars or have been ignored by the music listening body as a whole. Perhaps we need a third party, one disconnected from the scene, to settle the matter. That happened when London's The Guardian published a scathing report on the state of country music in the United States.

  • Jay Z Officially Launches Tidal

    It is official: Jay Z's move into the music streaming business has arrived and he is bringing a lot of his friends with him. At an industry event today at New York City's James A. Farley Post Office in Herald Square, Jay Z announced the launch of TIDAL with his 16 artist partners. The event was live streamed as Jay Z announced his plans for the Hi-FI service with Madonna, Kanye West, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Usher, deadmau5, Jason Aldean, Jack White, Daft Punk, Beyoncé, Arcade Fire's Win Butler, Alicia Keys, Coldplay and Calvin Harris.

  • Ottawa Bluesfest Lineup: Chance the Rapper, Iggy Azalea, Jason Aldean

    The Ottawa Bluesfest has announced its lineup for this year's event, which is scheduled to take place July 8 to 19. Iggy Azalea, Chance the Rapper and Jason Aldean are among some of the big names slated to perform at the 2015 edition. Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 26, for the Ontario festival.

  • George Strait Debuting New Music at ACM Awards; Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and More Also Performing

    George Strait may have travelled off the touring horizon with his "The Cowboy Rides Away" farewell concert at AT&T Stadium in Dallas last year but that doesn't mean he's done with performing, or even new music. In fact, the Academy of Country Music confirmed that the icon would be playing just that, new music, when he appears at the ACM Awards on April 19. Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban will also be performing that night.

  • Rihanna, Sam Smith, Madonna, Iggy Azalea & More To Perform at 2015 iHeartRadio Awards Hosted By Jamie Foxx

    iHeartRadio is putting on its second annual iHeartRadio Music Awards at the end of the month. They revealed the nominees back in February, but now they've announced who will be taking the stage at the ceremony. Rihanna, Iggy Azalea, Sam Smith, Madonna, Jason Aldean, Meghan Trainor, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Snoop Dogg, Nate Ruess, Alesso and Florida Georgia Line will all contribute live performances with Jamie Foxx hosting the show. Taylor Swift will make a non-performing appearance.

  • Kelly Clarkson Had Hard Time Finding Collaborators for 'Piece By Piece' Before John Legend

    Poor Kelly Clarkson... Despite being one of the most successful American Idol alumni of all time, two No. 1 albums, three No. 1 singles and a slew of awards, she can't get anybody to like her. In a new interview ahead of the release of her new album Piece By Piece, the "Heartbeat Song" singer revealed that she had a tough time landing collaborators for her new LP.

  • Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley Will Headline '15 iHeartRadio Country Music Festival

    More festival news out of Austin today, Jan. 22, regarding the iHeartRadio Country Festival. Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley have been tapped as the headliners for the second annual event, which kicks off May 2. Rascal Flatts and Brantley Gilbert will also be on hand for the festivities, "Rolling Stone Country" notes.

  • Ludacris Comes Angry, Stays Polished on 'Burning Bridges'; EP Features Rick Ross, Jason Aldean, John Legend Guest Spots

    Society always celebrates the records that top the Billboard 200 album chart. Back of The Billboards is a Music Times weekly segment that looks at the opposite end: the new record that finished closest to the back of the Billboard 200 for the previous week. We hope to give a fighting chance to the bands you haven't heard of. This week we look at Ludacris' new EP 'Burning Bridges' and its lead-up to a new album during 2015, 'Ludaversal.'

  • Garth Brooks Tops Billboard's Country Albums Chart Moving Carrie Underwood to No. 2

    Garth Brooks returned to the recording scene with "Man Against Machine" in November and his legions of devoted fans couldn't be happier. The album took over the top spot on Billboard's country charts recently. It's the artist's ninth studio effort and his first in 13 years. It dethroned Carrie Underwood's greatest hits collection, which is now at the No. 2 spot.

  • Taylor Swift Continues Reign on 'Billboard' 200 with '1989'; Nicki Minaj's 'Pinkprint' Hits No. 2

    Taylor Swift's "1989" moved back into the No. 1 spot on the "Billboard" 200, bringing its total, nonconsecutive weeks at the top to six. It sold 375,000 copies last week, bringing the total for the year to 3.34 million. The record is on pace to overtake the "Frozen" soundtrack, which sold 3.46 million so far. Nicki Minaj's "The Pinkprint" sits comfortably at the No. 2 spot, "Billboard" notes. Swift is tied with Mariah Carey for total weeks at No. 1 with 30. Only one other woman has them beat with 46: Whitney Houston. The Beatles are still in first for all artists with 132 weeks at No. 1. Pentatonix has the No. 3 spot with "That's Christmas to Me." Minaj was able to crack the top 10 recently, and D'Angelo's new "Black Messiah" hit No. 5. "The Pinkprint" did not perform as well as the artist's previous effort "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded." The former sold 244,000 in its first week while the latter hit 253,000 — it also debuted at No. 1.

  • Eric Church Joins Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Ariana Grande; 'Outsiders' Goes Platinum

    Move over, Jason Aldean, because Eric Church is joining the platinum party. The singer recently became the second country artist to reach the 1-million mark for albums sold in 2014 with "The Outsiders." Church is only the fifth artist this year to hit the milestone. Aldean, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Sam Smith were all certified platinum previously and the soundtrack for Disney's "Frozen" received the honor as well. As Church's website notes, "The Outsiders," released Feb. 11, sold 288,000 copies in its first week. It went straight to No. 1 on the "Billboard" 200 and Top Country Albums charts. Church received four Grammy nods, including Country Album of the Year, Country Song of the Year, Country Solo Performance of the Year and Country Group/Duo of the Year. The Outsiders also won the Album of the Year honor at the inaugural American Country Countdown Awards recently. He stressed the importance of albums during his acceptance speech.
View More
Festivals
Popular Now
Real Time Analytics