• Black Friday Music Sales Numbers Down; Pentatonix 'That's Christmas to Me' Is Most Popular Holiday Release

    The music industry has taken a few hits over the past few years with physical CD sales continually decreasing. Merchants were hoping for a successful Black Friday, but they were met with disappointment. Album sales were down 15 percent from last year, Neilsen Music reports.On the positive side, online CD sales were up 16 percent while vinyl nearly doubled its numbers from last year thanks to Record Store Day's "Back to Black" promotion. Pentatonix was the clear Christmas winner, having sold 217,000 units of "That's Christmas to Me."Here is a breakdown of the numbers via "Billboard":Retailer CD sales: 7.28 million units — down from 8.6 million last yearOnline CD sales: More than 1 million units — up 16.5 percent from last yearVinyl LP sales: 259,000 units — up from 173,000 last year
  • DJ Earworm Releases "United State of Pop 2014" Featuring Taylor Swift, Hozier, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea & More [LISTEN]

    2014 is coming to a close, and you know what that means...year-end music wrap ups! In the world of mashups, there is no better summation of any given year than DJ Earworm's "United State of Pop" series. Yesterday (Dec. 3), Earworm released "United State of Pop 2014," featuring 25 of this year's biggest hits from the likes of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande in one four-minute extravaganza.
  • Taylor Swift "Blank Space" Crowns Hot 100: Selena Gomez "The Heart Wants What It Wants" & Mark Ronson "Uptown Funk" Crack Top 10

    Be assured, there is no "Blank Space" available at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. For the third week in a row, Taylor Swift's new single from 1989 tops the charts. While she sits snuggly atop the U.S. music radar, two new songs have cracked the top 10, with Selena Gomez's "The Heart Wants What It Wants" and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" (feat. Bruno Mars) vaulting up the charts.
  • Taylor Swift and "Blank Space" Hold Off Hozier on Digital Downloads Charts; Still No "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to Be Seen

    For some reason we had the misguided impression that the new "Do They Know It's Christmas?," celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Band Aid single with contributions from One Direction and Chris Martin (for charity), would easily take the top spot on this week's Digital Downloads chart. We were wrong. Taylor Swift's single "Blank Space," which is most certainly not for charity, took the no. 1 position again, moving 302,000 copies.
  • One Direction, Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX Will Be Final Musical Guests on 'Saturday Night Live' for 2014

    "Saturday Night Live" has some big things planned for the end of 2014. Not only will James Franco, Martin Freeman and Amy Adams be hosting the final three episodes of the year, but they will be joined by Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX and One Direction. Fans can expect holiday hijinks the entire month of December, especially the Dec. 20 episode with Adams and "Story of My Life" singers 1D.The group performed on the show last December, joining host Paul Rudd (below), "Billboard" noted. Minaj made her last SNL appearance in 2011, when she guested on The Lonely Island's song "The Creep." Dec. 13 will mark XCX's first time on the show.December 20, Amy Adams returns to host #SNL for the 2nd time, and is joined by musical guest @onedirection! #SNL40 pic.twitter.com/x6lbCsFVJl — Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) November 20, 2014
  • Taylor Swift Fills Top Digital Downloads Spot with "Blank Space" while Hozier Continues to Rise with "Take Me To Church"

    The streak continues atop the Billboard Digital Downloads chart: Taylor Swift is at no. 1 with current single "Blank Space" and that means for the 15th week in a row, the chart has been topped by either she or Meghan Trainor. Swift sold 328,000 downloads of "Blank Space" last week, a number that has risen as sales of whole album go down (and by "go down" we mean "sold only 312,000 copies this week).
  • 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Releases Official Musical Guests with Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and More

    The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has been one of the most attractive shows on the planet since its inception. In recent years, this has not just been for the beautiful women who parade down the catwalk over the coarse of the night, but also a group of impressive musical guests who threaten to steal the show from the Victoria's Secret models.Victoria's Secret just announced the guests for this year's edition, and they rival any year in the past. 2014 will feature "Shake It Off" singer Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" soundtrack contributor Ariana Grande and rising star Hozier via "Billboard."
  • Taylor Swift "Shake it Off" Reigns Supreme on Hot 100 Again as Ariana Grande & The Weeknd "Love Me Harder" Enters Top 10

    Taylor Swift may be able to shake off a lot of things: players, haters, heartbreakers, fakers... and now she can add off every other mainstream artist. For the fourth week total and the second in a row, Swift's first single from 1989, the infectious "Shake It Off" leads the Billboard Hot 100 as the number one song in America. While Swift dances atop the charts again, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd are coming for her, as their collaborative My Everything single "Love Me Harder" vaults into the top 10.
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