Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 68

Country Cash Kings 2014: Preview & Contest

see photosJamie Kripke

Click for full photo gallery: The Ten Top-Earning Country Music Acts of 2013

Taylor Swift had the best year of her career, financially; Toby Keith continued to build an empire to rival those of Jay Z and Diddy; and Garth Brooks announced a massive comeback tour. These are just a few of country music’s commercial milestones over the past year.

But who’s the highest-paid country musician in the world for 2014? We’ll have the answer to that question for you onMonday, July 28t...

Common Explains Why ‘Nobody’s Smiling’ In Chicago

Last weekend 47 people were shot in Chicago—five of them fatally—including an 11-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet from outside while sitting on her friend’s bedroom floor.

Unfortunately, that sort of incident isn’t exactly a rarity in the Windy City. Over Independence Day weekend, 60 people were shot and nine were killed. 415 people were murdered in Chicago last year; its murder rate is three times that of New York, leading Mayor Rahm Emanuel to call gun violence Chicago’s “most urg...

A Stream of Bills: Startups Making Money For Music’s Middle Class

see photosAP

Click for full photo gallery: 12 Music Jobs That Can Pay Six Figures

Elmo Lovano has worn many hats in a career that began in his teenage years—as a drummer, musical director, producer and promoter—working with artists from Skrillex to Miley Cyrus along the way. Now he’s adding another: startup entrepreneur.

This week Lovano’s service, Jammcard, made its debut in the iTunes store; it will allow musicians to find others with whom to perform paid gigs and session work. For Lovano, ins...

How LeBron James Just Made Usher A Little Bit Richer

see photosForbes Images

Click for full photo gallery: Usher

LeBron James’ decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers made quite a few people extremely happy. Among them are the team’s players, who went from playoff absentees to odds-on favorites to win the NBA title; the residents of Ohio, who got the best player in basketball back; and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, whose team’s value increased by at least $100 million overnight.

But there’s another figure who will benefit greatly from The Decision...

The One Thing Garth Brooks Is Doing Wrong In His Comeback

Garth Brooks announced details of his long-awaited return at a press conference yesterday, and he got just about everything right. For the top-selling artist of the past 20 years, the news was suitably significant: a new album on RCA Nashville, due out in time for Black Friday, and a three-year world tour to follow.

He made sure to note that ticket prices would be reasonable. And he clarified that he wouldn’t be changing his sound–his last album,Scarecrow, was released in 2001–to fit the chang...

Jay Z, No Doubt, Tiesto To Headline Global Citizen Festival

Jay Z has performed at just about every iconic location in New York City over the course of his career. He sold out Madison Square Garden numerous times, brought hip-hop to Carnegie Hall in 2012, and even serenaded a crowd at City Hall during the Yankees’ World Series victory parade in 2009.

This fall, he’ll add an even more unusual landmark to the list: Central Park. On September 27th, Jay Z will join No Doubt, Tiësto, fun., Carrie Underwood and The Roots as a headliner at the third annual Gl...

Nielsen’s Mid-Year Report Reveals Demise Of The Digital Download

see photosAP

Click for full photo gallery: 12 Music Jobs That Can Pay Six Figures

Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS released the annual Mid-Year Music Industry Report for 2014 late last week, and the results revealed the acceleration a trend this publication haslongbeen predicting: the demise of the digital download.

According to the report, digital track sales dipped from 682.2 million in the first half of 2013 to 593.6 million in this year’s first six months, a 13% drop. Overall album sales sa...

DJ Khaled Teams With Bang & Olufsen On Headphone Line

DJ Khaled has long been fixated on superlatives. His discography includes album titles like We the Best, Victory and We the Best Forever; his record label is called We the Best Music Group; one of his most popular tracks is dubbed “All I Do Is Win.”

That attitude pervades his approach to his latest venture as well: his own headphone line. A collaboration between Khaled, Bang & Olufsen and Heads Innovation, the product will be launched this fall under the B&O Play H6 name.

[tweet_quote display="...

Google Buys Songza As Streaming Arms Race Heats Up

see photos

Click for full photo gallery: 2013 30 under 30: Music

Songza showed just how easy it was to break into the streaming music market when it debuted its popular concierge feature in March 2012. Just six months later, the Queens-based startup–founded by FORBES 30 Under 30 members Elias Roman, Peter Asbill, Elliott Breece and Eric Davich–had reached2 million users and $1.5 million in funding.

Today, Songza is the latest example of the escalation of the race among the world’s largest tech c...

The World’s Most Powerful Musicians 2014

see photosRobin Harper/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images

Click for full photo gallery: Celebs 2014: Most Powerful Musicians

Beyoncé is hitting the road this summer with husband Jay Z—and unlike a typical family trip, this cross-country excursion will add to the bottom line rather than subtract: the couple is grossing about $5 million per night on their On The Run tour.

For Beyoncé, though, that’s almost like a vacation. She played 95 shows on her Mrs. Carter World Tour from June 2013...