BY WOLFGANG SPAHR

German media conglomerate Bertelsmann an-nounced its financial results for 2016 on Tuesday, touting bumps in operating earnings and sustained growth in publishing and recorded music.

Last year, overall revenues remained virtually unchanged at 17 billion euros ($18.4 billion) despite negative exchange rate (previous year: 17.1 billion euros), and operating EBITDA rose to a record 2.57 billion euros ($2.8 billion), up from 2.49 billion euros, even though start-up losses were incurred for digital and new businesses. Despite a higher tax burden, group profit once again exceeded the previous year’s figure, rising to 1.14 billion euros (previous year: 1.11 billion euros).

Bertelsmann chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe said revenues for BMG rose by 12.2 percent to 416 million euros ($451 million), up from 371 million euros. This development was driven by the publishing business in the United Kingdom, Australia and continental Europe; a strong recorded music business in continental Europe, the United States and the U.K.; and the worldwide increase in

revenue from streaming services. Operating EBITDA rose by 13.1 percent to 95 million euros ($103 million), up from 84 million euros, thanks to the development in the U.K. and the U.S. The EBITDA margin increased to 22.8 percent (previous year: 22.6 percent).

“BMG now has operations in countries that account for 75 percent of the global music market,” Rabe told Billboard. “Only a few months after its market entry in Australia, BMG concluded its takeover of the music operations of Alberts, one of the country’s foremost music companies. In China, BMG expanded its collaboration with the Alibaba Music Group to make it easier for international artists to access to the country’s digital music platforms.”

BMG strengthened its portfolio through a series of acquisitions and catalog acquisitions. The acquisition of a majority stake in the ARC Music publishing catalog secured the rights to songs by artists including Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys and John Lee Hooker. Rabe: “The company also expanded its business with the acquisition of Blondie’s catalog

INSIDE BMG Revenue Up Double Digits in 2016, Thanks to Streaming, Global Deals, Portfolio Adds

Drake Sets Streaming Songs Chart Record With ‘More Life’ Tracks

Warner Music Launches Fan-Driven, Vinyl-Only Label Run Out Groove: Exclusive

LCD Soundsystem Announces 5-Show Run to Open New Brooklyn Steel Venue

Ultra Music Festival Arrests and Medical Calls Continue to Decline in 2017: Report

(continued)

March 28, 2017 Page 1 of 10

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[In Brief]and acquired a publishing catalog from the BBC. BMG also largely completed the consolidation of its worldwide distribution of digital and physical recorded music.” BMG went to the top of the UK charts with Rick Astley’s album “50” and to No. 1 in both the United States and Britain with the album California by Blink-182.

Rabe explained the BMG philosophy to Billboard: “BMG’s growth is organised in a different field, namely the acquisition of catalogues of established artists. This is a good match for Spotify and other streaming platforms, where established artists meet with a brisk reception.” He said that BMG was operating an artist services business. “That’s a frontline business in which we invest,” he said. “Last year we placed two no. 1 albums in the US. This is a purely organic business that we’ve established. In other words, we do both. We’re primarily a rights business and monetize these rights to the best

of our ability; we found out many years ago — evidently earlier than others — that streaming platforms can be monetized very well with established catalogues.”

He indicated that BMG was investing in country music in Nashville, and that country music was not only gaining in popularity in the US, but also elsewhere in the crossover segment.

He added that BMG expects to see “substantial growth” in its Nashville business. “Artists say if we want to grow significantly there, we need a platform,” he said. “For this reason, we bought the Broken Bow Music Group featuring Jason Aldean and other country artists who are very successful and established, and we will use this platform investment to expand the country business, namely from Nashville.”

Does Bertelsmann intend to engage in further expansion with BMG? “We don’t have ambitions to operate in every

single music market the world over,” he conceded. “That is highly inefficient. Others have made that mistake. We’re in 10 or 11 music markets, and that gives us a coverage of over 80 per cent of global music sales. We work in those countries in which we are not engaged with sub-publishers ourselves to represent our rights in these world markets. In recent years we also went to China and Brazil. And we’re also going to look at India.”

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Drake Sets Streaming Songs Chart Record With ‘More Life’ TracksBY KEITH CAULFIELD

As Drake’s More Life blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, he also sets a new record on the 50-position Streaming Songs chart dated April 8: the hip-hop star places 21 tracks on the tally, besting his own record for the most con-currently charting songs. He surpasses the 20 simultaneous tracks he posted on the list dated May 21, 2016, the same week his last album, Views, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

All 21 of Drake’s titles on the new Streaming Songs chart are from More Life: 20 tracks debut, while one, “Fake Love,” is in its 22nd week on the tally (after reaching No. 6 in November). (Of More Life’s 22 tracks, only “Can’t Have Everything” missed the cut.) When he logged 20 tunes on the May 21, 2016-dated tally, 19 were from the 20-track Views album (only “Summers Over Interlude” missed the chart). His one non-Views cut on that week’s tally was his featured turn

on Rihanna’s “Work.”The weekly Streaming Songs chart

launched in January 2013 and ranks the U.S.’ top streamed songs (including programmed radio plays, on-demand streams and video plays) on leading online music services, as tabulated by Nielsen Music. The latest chart reflects the tracking week ending March 23.

Drake’s Record 21 Tracks on the Streaming Songs Chart:

No. 4 (Debut), “Passionfruit”No. 5 (Debut), “Portland,” featuring

Quavo & Travis ScottNo. 7 (Debut), “Free Smoke”No. 9 (Debut), “Gyalchester”No. 10 (Debut), “Sacrifices,” featuring 2

Chainz & Young ThugNo. 11 (Debut), “Blem”No. 12 (Debut), “Teenage Fever”No. 14 (Debut), “No Long Talk,”

featuring GiggsNo. 16 (up from No. 29), “Fake Love”No. 18 (Debut), “Get It Together,”

featuring Jorja Smith & Black CoffeeNo. 19 (Debut), “Jorja Interlude”No. 21 (Debut), “KMT,” featuring GiggsNo. 23 (Debut), “22,” featuring SamphaNo. 24 (Debut), “Madiba Riddim”No. 29 (Debut), “Glow,” featuring Kanye

WestNo. 31 (Debut), “Nothings Into

Somethings”

No. 35 (Debut), “Lose You”No. 36 (Debut), “Ice Melts,” featuring

Young ThugNo. 37 (Debut), “Do Not Disturb”No. 41 (Debut), “Skepta Interlude”No. 42 (Debut), “Since Way Back,”

featuring PARTYNEXTDOORIn total, the 21 titles Drake places on the

April 8 Streaming Songs chart garnered 376.2 million streams in the tracking week. That whopping sum represents 41.4 percent of the streams on the 50-position list. Drake’s most-streamed tune of the week, “Passionfruit,” logged 29.1 million U.S. streams, while his lowest ranked selection on the chart, “Since Way Back,” collected 11.7 million. (Outside the chart, Drake’s lone More Life track to miss the tally, “Can’t Have Everything,” snagged 10.3 million domestic streams.)

As previously reported, the entirety of More Life charts on the Billboard Hot 100 (which blends streaming, airplay and sales data), led by “Passionfruit” at No. 8 and “Portland” at No. 9. In more Drake chart superlatives, he posts 21 debuts and 24 total songs, including all 22 tracks from More Life, on the Hot 100, all one-week records. He also passes Lil Wayne for the most total entries (154) among soloists in the Hot 100’s 58-year history.

[In Brief]

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Warner Music Launches Fan-Driven, Vinyl-Only Label Run Out Groove: ExclusiveBY LYNDSEY HAVENS

Warner Music Group is officially unveiling its new fan-driven, vinyl-only record label: Run Out Groove.

The label’s forward-thinking format calls upon fans each month to determine which of three records — either previously unreleased, out of print, or an entirely new collection compiled from the Warner Music vault — will become available for purchase in a limited run.

“The crate-digging community is steering the ship,” said Billy Fields, vp of sales and account management for WEA, the artist and label services branch of Warner Music Group, in a statement. “We are crowd-sourcing niche but in-demand selections from our vast vault to be pressed on high-quality vinyl, and it’s going to be a lot of fun to see where the community decides to take us.”

Each month, fans will vote on the record

they want pressed to vinyl from a trio of selections; the popular vote wins. The record with the most votes will then be available to pre-order for 30 days, and once the window closes the quantity being pressed will be revealed. Run Out Groove already opened operations quietly; its first release was MC5’s The Motor City Five, though its first fan-chosen release was a new collection from Echo & The Bunnymen, It’s All Live Now, recorded in Sweden, which features live covers of “Paint It Black,” “Soul Kitchen” and “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.”

“I am chuffed that our fans came out in droves and voted for us,” Will Sergeant of Echo & The Bunnymen said. “It’s a historical document of another time, another place, another me and a very interesting stop off traveling the road map of the band’s life.”

Once the pre-order window for a particular record closes, fans may still be able to snag the release at local participating retailers. Potential future releases, which can be voted on right now, include Solomon Burke’s Best Of Atlantic Soul 1962-1965, Secret Machines’ Now Here Is Nowhere and Golden Smog’s Down By The Old Mainstream.

“With LP’s you feel like you have actually got something worth having, to hold and read while you listen,” Sergeant added. “I love the organic visceral nature

of the record, a piece of plastic that can bring forth such wondrous sound. It’s all pretty weird when you think about it, some sort of wonderful sonic voodoo.”

LCD Soundsystem Announces 5-Show Run to Open New Brooklyn Steel VenueBY CHRIS PAYNE

The back-from-the-dead version of LCD Soundsystem will play the first shows at Brooklyn Steel, an 1,800-capacity-venue on the east side of the borough’s Williams-burg neighborhood. Just unveiled this afternoon (March 28), the opening run manages to include more shows (five!) than the New York City dance punks have studio albums (three).

April 6 marks the first gig, followed by shows on the 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th. For those still hankering for a taste of Murphy and company after their festival-heavy

[In Brief]

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2016 reunion run, tickets go on sale March 30 at 12 p.m.

Upon reuniting last year (their first show back was March 27 at NYC’s Webster Hall), LCD inked a deal with Columbia Records and announced plans to release a fourth studio album. That still hasn’t materialized, though Murphy recently insisted the new music isn’t far away. Could the band be planning to unveil more than just a new venue?

After the LCD run, Brooklyn Steel’s schedule features previously-announced shows with the likes of the Decemberists and PJ Harvey over the next several months.

The new venue is booked by Bowery Presents, the promoter that also books NYC venues like Terminal 5 and Music Hall of Williamsburg. It recently announced a partnership with AEG Live, which operates festivals like Coachella and Goldenvoice, both of which LCD played last year.

JUST ANNOUNCED: @LCDSoundsystem will officially open @BkSteel w/ 5-shows on April 6, 7, 8, 10 & 11 — Details here > https://t.co/tmDfxVtq7S pic.twitter.com/0AphpzimX2

— Brooklyn Steel (@BkSteelNYC) March 28, 2017

Ultra Music Festival Arrests and Medical Calls Continue to Decline in 2017: ReportBY ALEXA SHOUNEYIA

This year’s Ultra Music Festival in down-town Miami saw an almost 50% drop in ar-rests from the previous year, a number that has been steadily decreasing since 2013, as reported by the Miami Herald.

Over the course of the 3-day festival,

only 35 arrests were made, and 59 attendees were taken to hospitals, out of over 150,000 people from around the world enjoying the festival. The Herald says that according to Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carrol, “crowds were more mature and overall calls for service were also much lower than in previous years.

Miami police Lt. Freddi Cruz credits this dip to “education, co-operation and [everybody] maturing,” while Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll offered, “This year people were definitely following advice.”

After a 2014 incident resulted in the trampling death of a security guard, things at Ultra have changed. From having to be 18 or older to attend to only water and fannypacks being allowed inside the park, it looks like the new rules are having a positive impact on the festival.

Billboard has reached out to Ultra for further comment.

Nick Lowe, Ani DiFranco, Talib Kweli to Perform at A2IM’s Libera Awards: ExclusiveBY ANDY GENSLER

Nick Lowe, Ani DiFranco and Talib Kweli will perform at the 2017 American Associa-tion of Independent Music’s (A2IM) Libera Awards to be held June 8 at New York City’s PlayStation Theater. Ted Leo will host the sixth annual event which will also include performances by Twin Peaks (Grand Jury) and Nick Hakim (ATO Records).

Lowe (Proper Records) was Stiff Records’ inaugural artist and house producer and helmed historic early recordings for The Damned, Elvis Costello and The Pretenders. This year’s Independent Icon Award will be awarded to DiFranco who launched her Righteous

Babe Records in 1990 and has released over 20 albums. She will drop Binary, her first album since 2014, in May and has a memoir slated for later this year.

“A2IM’s Libera Awards are growing rapidly,” said A2IM ceo Richard James Burgess in a statement. “We are delighted to share an amazing performance lineup. Dress up in your freewheeling finery and celebrate the extraordinary range of our Independent music community.”

Burgess was named CEO last year. In 2017, the Libera Awards will hand out 19 independent music awards with nominees being announced in the coming weeks. For the first time, this year the public can purchase tickets to the ceremony.

Last year’s Libera winners included Alabama Shakes (Album of the Year, Best Live Act, and Best Sync Usage); Run the Jewels (Marketing Genius and Video of the Year), Kamasi Washington (Groundbreaking Album of the Year), Daptone Records (Label of the Year with less than 5 employees) and Sub Pop (Label of the Year with more than 6 employees).

According to Nielsen Music data, Billboard estimated the 2015 independent music label sector comprised 34.4 percent of the U.S. music industry’s recorded music sales market based on copyright ownership. This made the combined independent labels sector the largest in the music industry.

A2IM’s current board of directors is comprised of the following members: ATO vp Stephanie Alexa, Razor & Tie’s coo Craig Balsam, Red Eye Worldwide co-owner Glenn Dicker, INgrooves evp and gm Amy Dietz, Epitaph/Anti gm Dave Hansen, Big Machine coo Andrew Kautz, Beggars Group founder/ceo Martin Mills, Hopeless Records owner Louis Posen, Dualtone ceo/co-founder Scott Robinson, Tommy Boy owner & ceo Thomas Silverman and Secretly Label Group co-owner Darius Van Arman.

[In Brief]

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Carrie Underwood Signs Global Deal With UMG’s Capitol NashvilleBY LAUREN TOM

After a 12-year partnership with Sony Music’s Arista Nashville imprint, Carrie Underwood has signed a new worldwide record deal with Universal Music Group. Announced today (March 28), the sev-en-time Grammy winner will team up with Capitol Records Nashville as part of UMG for the next phase of her career.

“Already a top tier force in country music, Carrie’s vast talents and creative bravery show that she is an artist who is prepared to take on a wide range of artist challenges,” says Mike Dungan, Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman and CEO.

The country superstar sky-rocketed to fame immediately after winning American Idol in 2005, and has gone on to sell 64 million records worldwide and recorded over two dozen No. 1 singles. Her debut, Some Hearts, has sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen Music. Subsequent studio albums include Carnival Ride (2007), Play On (2009), Blown Away (2012) and Storyteller (2015). Each topped Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and the middle three earned No. 1s on the overall Billboard 200 chart as well.

The first female artist to be honored twice as the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, Underwood has been a trailblazer in the music industry. “It’s so inspiring to me as an artist to feel this excited about the future,” Underwood states about the new move to UMG. “The incredible team at UMG shares the heart and passion I have for music as well as the drive, and their innovative spirit has shown that together the possibilities are endless.”

Excited for the new partnership, Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of

Universal Music Group said in a statement that he is “thrilled” about her decision to join Capitol Records Nashville. “As a talented writer, recording artist, performer and actor, Carrie is that exceptionally rare artist who can do it all.”

The transition to UMG will be a smooth one with Cindy Mabe, UMG Nashville President on board, who also released Carrie’s debut album. “We were a team and I had the opportunity to watch her leave American Idol as a kid and mature into one of the most important artists with the most powerful voice in music,” says Mabe. “It was amazing to be a small part of that ride. I am so proud and humbled that she has chosen to sign with Universal Music Group Nashville and that we will once again join forces as she writes the next chapter of her soaring career as a global superstar of enormous integrity and talent.”

Recently, the country star celebrated her 100th appearance at Grand Ole Opry and is gearing up to work on a sixth album.

Aside from Capitol Records Nashville, the UMG family of country labels includes EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville. Underwood’s new label group mates include such fellow superstars as Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum, to name a few.

Lil Wayne Launches Young Money RadioBY ADELLE PLATON

Despite his legal woes with Birdman, Lil Wayne will be staying busy on the airwaves. The rap mogul announced on Twitter (March 27) that he has partnered up with digital radio network, Dash Radio, to launch Young Money Radio.

For the March 28 episode of Young Money Radio airing at 5 p.m. ET, Young Money signee Hoody Baby will premiere

his project Kitchen 24: Slangin’ Off Key presented by YM and DJ Drama.

Weezy isn’t the only rapper taking his talents to radio. Close collaborator and YMCMB cohort Drake presents his weekly OVO Sound Radio each Saturday on Beats 1, home to shows from the likes of Frank Ocean, Pharrell and other artists.

At the top of the year, Lil Wayne hinted at three potential releases in 2017 including Dedication 6, Tha Carter V and Funeral.

https://twitter.com/LilTunechi/status/846517189549150208/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Farticles%2Fcolumns%2Fhip-hop%2F7743381%2Flil-wayne-young-money-radio

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSL5nqUgV7z/

https://twitter.com/dash_radio/status/846740467341410304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Farticles%2Fcolumns%2Fhip-hop%2F7743381%2Flil-wayne-young-money-radio

https://twitter.com/LilTunechi/status/846517344990089217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Farticles%2Fcolumns%2Fhip-hop%2F7743381%2Flil-wayne-young-money-radio

https://dashradio.com

Songwriters Hall: Caroline Bienstock to Receive Abe Olman Publisher AwardBY MARC SCHNEIDER

Caroline Bienstock, the president and CEO of independent publisher Carlin America, has been selected to receive the prestigious

[In Brief]

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Abe Olman Publisher Award at the upcom-ing Songwriters Hall of Fame induction cer-emony, slated for June 15 in New York City.

The award, named for one of the hall’s founders, is dedicated to music publishers who help further the careers of their company’s roster of songwriters. Previous recipients include Martin Bandier, Maxyne Lang, Ed Murphy, Ralph Peer, Milt Okun and Caroline’s father Freddy Bienstock, among others.

“[Bienstock] has music business blood flowing in her veins from both of her parents,” said SHOF president and CEO Linda Moran. “She has taken a leading role in Carlin America for close to three decades. Caroline is highly regarded by her peers, colleagues and songwriters and is a visible industry leader who serves with distinction on many organization boards while ably guiding Carlin, one of the pre-eminent family-owned independent publishers in the world.”

Freddy Bienstock, who notably owned Chappell Music before selling it to Time Warner, named his family publishing company Carlin Music for his daughter. Caroline’s mother, Miriam Bienstock, was a glass ceiling-shattering music executive who co-founded Atlantic Records with Ahmet Ertegun and her then-husband Herb Abramson. (Billboard famously headlined a 1958 article about her: “Atlantic’s ‘Money Man’ Is a Woman”.)

At Carlin America, Caroline Bienstock runs all aspects of its publishing business, including building the catalog, which includes songs by AC/DC, Chubby Checker and others, as well as licensing, administration and writer development. She’s also a member of the board of directors of ASCAP, the NMPA and of the Songwriter’s Hall.

Others to be honored at this year’s hall of fame gala, taking place June 15 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC, include Ed Sheeran (Hal David Starlight Award) and Pitbull (Global Ambassador Award), as well as the 2017 songwriter inductees Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Berry Gordy, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Robert Lamm & James Pankow p/k/a “Chicago,” Max Martin and Shawn “Jay Z” Carter.

Scooter Braun’s SB Projects Announces New HiresBY LAUREN TOM

Scooter Braun’s SB Projects has announced a series of new appointments and promo-tions at the music, technology, philanthro-py, television and film company.

Ben Sheehan joins SB Projects as vice president of digital content. Previously, Sheehan served as head of talent and executive producer at Funny or Die and most recently as an executive at Save The Day, Joss Whedon’s digital production company and Super PAC.

In his new role, Sheehan will be leading in-house digital content creation including digital shorts, music videos, branded content and digital series as well as various long form comedic TV and film initiatives.

Sheehan is no stranger to the SB Projects family as he was instrumental in putting together Justin Bieber’s “Between Two Ferns” at Funny or Die, as well as video projects with Carly Rae Jepsen, Lil Dicky and Martin Garrix.

More Moves at SBP:Chelsea Avery has been promoted from

A&R/producer manager to senior vp, A&R/producer manager at SB Projects. Avery spearheads the A&R department as well as publishing and producer/songwriter management.

Jackie Augustus has been promoted from associate marketing manager to head of digital marketing. In her role, Augustus manages SBP’s global-reaching social platforms in addition to advising the company’s individual artists, such as Ariana Grande, on their digital and social media strategies.

Alex Berdoff has been promoted from marketing manager to vp of marketing. In this position, Berdoff manages marketing and release strategies for artists on the SB Projects roster, including popular EDM star, Martin Garrix.

Kobalt’s AWAL Releases New App That Simplifies Streaming Data for ArtistsBY DAN RYS

Kelsey Byrne, better known as Brook-lyn-based singer-songwriter Vérité, has come a long way since her days as a waitress at the Applebee’s in Manhattan’s Times Square. But though she’s built up a team around her in the last few years — management via New Torch Entertain-ment, publishing via Kobalt, digital distri-bution via Kobalt-owned AWAL — some habits die hard.

“I’ve always been very intent on being aware and involved in the business aspect [of my career], because from the beginning everything was self-funded,” she tells Billboard over the phone. “If I’m not informed, I’m more likely to make a bad decision and ultimately lose that money. So from the beginning I’ve always been hyper-aware and vigilant.”

Byrne is hardly alone these days; as streaming has exploded and become the leading source of revenue in the global recorded-music industry, artists at every level of their careers have embraced independence by using data gleaned from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music to determine where their fans are and adjust their business initiatives — touring, marketing, promotion, etc. — appropriately. But that data can be dense, fractured and, at times, difficult to attain — or even decipher at all.

That’s the pain point that AWAL has spent the past year trying to soothe, and this morning (March 28) the company publicly unveiled a new app for its 20,000-odd independent artist and label partners, designed to collect and display a slew of

[In Brief]

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data gleaned from each artist’s presence on the two leading streaming services in the business, Spotify and Apple Music. With the app, artists, labels or managers would be able to delve into which songs and albums of theirs were being played and engaged with the most, which playlists their songs were being added to on each service, demographic information — gender, location, age range, even time of day broken out by service — about listening habits, and even a real time chart that tallies up their to-date royalties from streams on each platform, all in one place.

“What’s true today is that the opportunity for independent artists to make a living off streaming is growing. We want to speed that up,” Kobalt founder/CEO Willard Ahdritz, whose company bought AWAL in 2012, said in a statement accompanying the app’s launch. “The first step is helping independent artists de-mystify their streaming data. Today’s artists need to understand the signals that drive future success and be able to act quickly. The AWAL App puts the power of data into the hands of independent artists to help them build a sustainable career from streaming.”

While the initial version of the app only pulls in data from Spotify and Apple Music — other features, including additional services, are in the pipeline and will be added later, Kobalt reps said — its one-touch functionality and hub of data consolidated in one place make the information that much more immediately accessible. (Billboard reviewed a beta version of the app last week.) And short, automatically-generated “insights” that point out trends in engagement, listening habits and growing or declining statistics help artists navigate the numbers and develop a plan based on the results.

“For instance, the insights tool says that while I have many more listeners on Spotify, I have a higher retention rate on Apple Music,” Byrne says when asked for an example of how she’s used the app already. “That piece of information tells me that while there’s a smaller amount of people listening on Apple Music, those people are a much more specific snapshot

of who my core fans are. So that location information for me seems more specific.”

Byrne, who has had the app in beta for the past few weeks, checks it daily for the latest update on Vérité’s listeners, even if it’s to check in on her expected royalties when deciding on budgets for music videos or remixes, for example. “I tend to be busy; if I have time on my hands I can search for the information,” she says about the online hubs and portals that usually host artist data from streamers. “But the fact that I can be walking down the street and have it all makes my life a lot easier.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1nIOAzfKFc&feature=youtu.be

Sunset Music Festival May 2017 Reveals Lineup With Major Lazer, Above & Beyond, RL Grime, Zeds Dead and MoreBY KAT BEIN

Coming up on its sixth edition, it’s fair to call Sunset Music Festival a staple of the Tampa, Fl. dance music scene. The two-day event returns to the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28, and the lineup is stacked with bass, house, trance and more.

Bliss out with trance giants Above & Beyond, or Aly & Fila. Cut it up real funky with A-Trak, get dark and heavy with G Jones, and get groovy with Dusky. Yellow Claw will come through as a special guest, and headliners Major Lazer, RL Grime, and Zeds Dead are gonna set your booty on fire.

Two day GA tickets are on sale now. Check out the full lineup and the trailer video below.https://youtu.be/zSNCjM_wZY0

The Vape Rebelution: Reggae Band Customizes New Weed Strains for Vape PensBY STEVE BLOOM

Unlike some of their spliff-smoking reggae brethren, Rebelution prefer to vape. “It’s a lot easier to talk and to sing after using the vape pens, as opposed to flowers,” says the Grammy-nominated band’s lead singer, Eric Rachmany.

With this in mind, Rebelution have joined other pot-friendly artists like Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson and 311 with their own line of customized ganja products. The band teamed up with California producer FlavRx to create two specific strains for their pen: the indica Cali-O and the sativa Sour Tsunami. Both come in the form of cartridges that screw into a battery component. They’re currently available in California dispensaries that stock FlavRx’s products.

Rebelution decided to partner with FlavRx because bassist Marley D. Williams is friends with the San Diego-based company. “They’re big fans of the band,” Rachmany explains. “We had our eye on them for a while. They have a good product. Their oil is organic.”

Another plus is FlavRx’s oil doesn’t contain glycol, a toxic ingredient found in many similar cartridges. Cannabis is oil is a concentrated form of marijuana. Glycol is often used to dilute the oil in cartridges.

“We’re pretty particular with what we’re putting in the oils,” Rebelution’s manager Dean Raise chimes in. “It’s not just any kind of weed we’re throwing in there.”

For Raise and the band members, it’s about more than just finding ancillary products to cash in with. “This is definitely medicine,” says Raise, whose

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sister is currently battling cancer with chemotherapy treatments. “We’ve seen friends and family go through it. It reduces nausea and relieves physical pain, and it’s a good way to relax. You don’t need to take chemicals like Valium or Xanax. If you find the right herb, you can use it as a medicine in all different ways. You can also use it recreationally to get into a altered state of mind.”

While acknowledging cannabis’ medical value, Rachmany says the new product line is “for everyone. I’m all for it recreationally. We talk about the medicinal uses of marijuana and cannabis in our music. For me it’s been a source of inspiration and creativity. When people ask me what does it do for you, I tell them that it makes me feel in tune with my body.”

He continues: “I discovered this listening to music, particularly reggae music. Obviously cannabis is a huge part of the Rasta religion. I grew up thinking cannabis was a drug. I found it to be a very different story by listening to reggae music, and actually looking into it some more and discovering that that wasn’t the case.”

Rebelution plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from pen sales to cannabis research and legalization organizations like NORML. “Since the beginning of this band we’ve taken a stance as educators about cannabis,” Rachmany says. “I think these vape pens are a great way to be introduced to it. There’s been tons of propaganda and misinterpretation about cannabis over the years.”

Adds Raise: “There’s no reason why cannabis shouldn’t be legal. It helps so many people and it harms nobody.”

Rebelution also has a line of beer products hitting stores in partnership with Rock Brothers Brewery in Tampa, Fla.; their Feeling Alright IPA, named after a Rebelution song (it’s on the 2007 Courage to Grow album), is currently being sold in stores in the Southeast. Rock Brothers also has 311 Amber Ale and Hootie’s Home Grown Ale (for Hootie & the Blowfish) in their product line.

“It’s a multi-tiered idea and plan,” says Raise. “The band is completely independent. They don’t have a major

label or major radio. It’s not easy these days to keep these guys independent. We’ve been looking into ways. These are thing Rebelution is passionately about. Rebelution is a lifestyle and these products reflect that.”

Coming soon from Rebelution are marijuana strains (flower, not oil), a hemp lotion, and moisturizer and CBD roll-ons to reduce pain. (CBD is THC’s non-psychoactive cannabinoid cousin.) “We’re looking into all these different things,” Raise explains.

As far as new music, Rebelution are currently writing songs for their 2018 follow-up to 2016’s Grammy-nominated Falling into Place. Their 30-date Good Vibes summer tour kicks off on June 14.

Rachmany will surely carry a supply of Rebelution pens during the cross-country jaunt. “I use it probably about 95% of the time,” as opposed to joints or the aforementioned Jamaican-style spliffs or cones, he says. “You eliminate a lot of the carcinogens with a concentrate like cannabis oil. I’m a big fan of it.”

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