Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 77

Digital Music Sales Drop For First Time As Streaming Soars

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Click for full photo gallery: The World's Highest-Paid Musicians 2013

The mp3 is heading the way of the CD–that’s a sentiment this publication and this writer have been hammering home for quite awhile, most recently in a post of prognostications late last month.

Earlier this week, the clearest evidence of the trend thus far was released amid the flood of data in Nielsen andBillboard‘s year-end music report: digital track sales fell 6% from las...

Diddy Explains New Diageo Joint Venture, DeLeón Tequila

Leave it to Sean “Diddy” Combs to join forces with the world’s largest spirits producer, transform a 50,000-case-per-year vodka into the nearly 2 million-per-year Ciroc, grow a personal fortune exceeding half a billion dollars, then ink a new beverage deal—and declare that, in many ways, it’s even more significant than the first one.

That’s exactly what Diddy did today after announcing he has formed a joint venture with Diageo and purchased DeLeón, a boutique tequila brand currently distribute...

Turning Red And Blue States Green, With Some Help From A Rolling Stone

Joel Babbit brings new meaning to the term “power lunch.” One afternoon in 2008, the advertising veteran was dining with former Young & Rubicam chief Tom Bell and mentioned an idea he had: creating a media company dedicated to producing content related to the environment.

Bell was intrigued, and asked how much it would cost to start such a venture. Babbit suggested $10 million; Bell said he’d commit 20% on the spot. The duo then called Georgia-Pacific CEO Pete Correll, who signed up to contrib...

What Is Lorde Talking About? We Connect The Dots On ‘Royals’

In her smash single “Royals,” New Zealand songstress Lorde lists a handful of luxury items that “everybody” mentions in their songs. While that might be a bit of a stretch for the broader music world, she does have a point when it comes to her fellow 30 Under 30 music list members (and no, they’re not all rappers).

FORBES decided to connect the lyrical dots below. Enjoy! And for full coverage of the 30 Under 30 issue, click here.

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From Cereal To Super Bowl: The Evolution of Bruno Mars

The first paragraph of this post appears in the January 20th issue of Forbes Magazine.

When halftime rolls around at Super Bowl XLVIII, it’s safe to say Bruno Mars won’t be worried about the score. “Hawaii doesn’t have a team, so I bounce around,” says the Honolulu native. “I go for the underdog.” That term hardly describes Mars, who will play the halftime show in the tradition of Paul McCartney, U2, Michael Jackson and other music legends. Mars is the first artist in ten years to headline bef...

30 Under 30: Bruno Mars And Music’s Brightest Young Stars

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Click for full photo gallery: 2014 30 under 30: Music

A little over two years ago, Bruno Mars teamed up with Wiz Khalifa to record “Young, Wild & Free,” an ode to youthful merriment that also features Snoop Dogg. The song appeared on the soundtrack for the film Mac & Devin Go To High School, eventually earning triple-platinum certification and a Grammy nomination.

The track served as a harbinger of something else, too: appearances on FORBES’ 30 Under 30 list. Last year Khalifa was the...

Four Fearless Predictions For The Music Industry In 2014

Tonight 2013 comes to a close, and with it, so does a typically eventful year in the music industry. In the past 12 months, we’ve seen new releases by acts from Jay Z to Katy Perry, continued sparring between streaming services and rights holders–and twerking. So much twerking.

Yesterday I reeled off a few winners and losers in the music business. But 2014 represents a fresh start. In my recent reporting, I’ve been talking with operatives from all corners of the industry about what the new yea...

Music Industry Winners 2013: Beyonce, Streaming, Rap DJs

Earlier today I offered up a few big names in the music industry who’ve seen better years than 2013. Now it’s time to outline three of the biggest winners.

There were certainly other success stories in the music business over the past year, but these three struck me as being particularly notable:

Beyoncé

As discussed in my previous post, 2013 was supposed to be the Year of Gaga. It wasn’t. Instead, three other pop divas stole the spotlight—first Miley Cyrus, then Lorde, and, most boldly of all,...

Music Industry Losers 2013: Lady Gaga, Rock, iTunes Store

There are only a couple days left to take a look back at the year that was before we careen into the new one. And when it comes to the music industry, it’s a fascinating glance—2013 has brought more than its share of change to a business already in flux.

Some in the industry have adapted better than others. As part of a series of year-end posts, I’ll begin by pointing out a few who didn’t fare so well over the past 12 months before moving on to the winners. Away we go.

Lady Gaga

This was suppose...

Radio Power: How Colgate Raised $5.1 Million In One Day

Colgate University has been around for nearly 200 years, but entertainment attorney Bernie Resnick (Class of 1983) is pretty sure he’s the only alum who has ever donated—or will ever donate—a gold plaque from an LL Cool J album.

Resnick earned the artifact while representing Timbaland, the record’s primary producer, and bestowed the plaque upon student-run radio station WRCU in honor of the opening of its state-of-the-art on-campus studio in 2008. Says Resnick: “I gave them something they coul...