• Best Digital Sellers by Genre: Rihanna, Carrie Underwood and More

    Carrie Underwood received official word this week that she was the bestselling country music performer of the digital era, having moved for than 29.6 million tracks in her career. That places her ahead of Jason Aldean and his 23.5 million digital sales, at least for the time being. Despite moving more than 5 million copies of hits such as "Before He Cheats," Underwood is still far, FAR behind some of the best sellers in the digital history of other genres (country musicians benefit from having a fan base still very dedicated to buying albums, as Luke Bryan will note when he tops Dr. Dre on the album charts at the end of this week). It got us thinking: What performers are at the top of their respective genres?
  • Ranking Bond Theme Songs: Adele, Madonna, Tina Turner and More Join James

    Bookies in the UK have closed betting on the performer behind the theme song for the new James Bond film, Spectre, as an anonymous bettor placed a £15,000 wager that Radiohead will perform the track. There's no official word yet from the band or the studio...but it's safe to say that no one throws away that much money without a good hunch. Although director Sam Mendes says that a song has indeed been recorded and will be officially released soon, all we can do right now is wonder. In the meantime, take a look at the theme songs from the previous seven installments of the Bond series, which we've ranked from worst to first.
  • Radiohead Behind 'James Bond: Spectre' Theme? Betting Agencies Convinced

    The performer behind the theme song behind Spectre, the new James Bond film, is technically a mystery but all signs seem to suggest that Radiohead is the artist in question. Although neither the band nor the studio behind the film has released any information, a bettor in the UK recently placed a huge bet on the band and that's got other bookmakers convinced.
  • Adele Working with Pharrell Williams on '25'; Guest Appearance Possible?

    It's been a while since we've gotten any new music from Adele, but the newest update seems to suggest that she's going for a uranium record (or whatever comes after platinum status): She'll be working with Pharrell Williams on the forthcoming '25.' The Neptunes producer and pop star in his own right let the details drop while being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest at the Cannes Film Festival last week.
  • Branding Study Finds Country Women Like Carrie Underwood Resonate Most with Buyers

    A country radio DJ recently made headlines when he declared that if broadcasters were to feature less female-fronted music in their rotations, listener numbers would increase. That statement struck most decent human beings as stupid, and now a study from Creative Artists Agency—a company that specializes in branding—has given some solid proof that the statements were legitimately stupid. Turns out that three of the biggest six names among advertising's six biggest stars are country performers: Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Faith Hill.
  • Sony Pulls Adele, Miguel, Hozier, Passion Pit Music From Soundcloud

    The relationship between the majors and Soundcloud has been complicated. The labels know they need the influential discovery and streaming service to help find new artists and to promote their own music. However they are frustrated at the copyright infringement and lack of monetization opportunities present on the platform. Sony apparently is fed up with Soundcloud as the two parties are at an impasse over licensing negotiations. In response, Sony has pulled down the pages of more than a dozen artists including, Miguel, Adele, Hozier, Kelly Clarkson, Passion Pit, Leon Bridges and MS MR.
  • Flo Rida, Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas and More: Digital Download Landmarks

    Five years ago today, the Black Eyed Peas' single "I Gotta Feeling" were confirmed by Nielsen Soundscan as the bestselling song in the history of digital downloads, having become the first song in history to pass the 6 million-download mark. In the five years since, the track has continued to become the first song to break both the 7 million and 8 million-download mark as well, maintaining its role as the most downloaded song ever. It got us thinking however: What songs were the first to pass the respective million marks? Flo Rida, Gwen Stefani and more pitch in to history.
  • 9 Longest Streaks in Billboard 200 Top 5: Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and More

    Taylor Swift and her album '1989' continued to make history last week as it became only the ninth album to ever spend each of its first 24 weeks in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200. That makes it the country/pop star's most consistent album to date in terms of chart placement. So what other hot acts have gotten to at least 24 weeks? Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and the Backstreet Boys number among them.
  • Beatles' 5 Best Years at The Grammys: Battles with Frank Sinatra and A Surprising Peak Point

    The Beatles were kind of a big deal, as their countless hits and no. 1 singles can attest to, but their shelf wasn't nearly as full of Grammys as you might think. The group "only" managed to snag nine of the most vaunted awards in music across its entire career (compared to 27 for Allison Krauss). April 13 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Grammy ceremony where the band won a trophy and Music Times is marking the occasion by counting down the five years in which the greatest band in popular music history managed to land a win, going from "fewest wins" to most (ties will be broken by taking the "winning percentage" based on nominations).
  • 5 Acts Who Have Landed Three Hot 100 Hits at One Time: The Beatles, Ariana Grande and A Disco Icon

    Rapper 50 Cent set a new high during 2005 when he became the first rapper to have three songs in the Top 5 of the Hot 100 at one time. We're not going to hold everybody to that standard, as only one band in history has ever landed three songs of its own in the Top 5 at the same time. In fact, 50 Cent's accomplishment was aided in that one of those songs featured him as a guest on a Game single. Fitty's accomplishment was still impressive, but he's never managed to get even three of his own songs into the Top 10 of the Hot 100 at the same time. Only five acts have, without relying on guest spots in other performers' songs.
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