Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 78

Pussy Riot Members Freed In Russia: What It Means For Music

Vladimir Putin was named the most powerful person in the world earlier this year by FORBES, but even he has his limits.

Two members of the music collective Pussy Riot, who in 2012 were sentenced to two years in jail for performing an anti-Putin song in Moscow’s main cathedral, were released today under a new amnesty law.Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was set free from a prison in Krasnoyarsk, a town in Siberia; co-defendant Maria Alyokhina was permitted to leave a facility in the western city of Nizhn...

From Toby Keith To Tech N9ne: My Top Stories Of 2013

It’s that time of year again. The time when most news outlets stop reporting original stories and fall back on best-of-the-past-year retrospectives. Here at FORBES, we are still hard at work on new material–namely, the latest 30 Under 30 issue, due out in early January.But that won’t stop me from indulging in a quick glance in the rearview mirror.

Notable moments of my 2013 coverage included traveling to Kansas City to see the inner workings of Tech N9ne’s midwestern hip-hop empire, heading to...

Rdio’s Year-End Charts Underscore Big 2013 For Macklemore, Drake, Jay Z

Jay Z has already had quite the year, notching nine Grammy nominations and punctuating his debut as a baseball agent by landing the third-largest contract in sports history for Robinson Cano. Same goes for Drake, who’s in the midst of an arena tour following the release of his latest platinum album, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who scored seven Grammy nods.

More accolades are on the way for all three acts in the form of music subscription service Rdio‘syear-end charts, released today. Macklemo...

Nas Joins Andreessen Horowitz As Investor In Tristan Walker’s Bevel

More often than not in his young career, Tristan Walker has ended up at the forefront of his field. The 29-year-old Stanford business school grad worked as director of business development for Foursquare before becoming venture firm Andreessen Horowitz’s entrepreneur in residence.

But whenever he visited his local pharmacy, Walker found himself in quite a different position. As a black man with curly hair, he’d always have to head to the back of the store in order to buy cosmetic products—the...

Breaking Down Beyonce’s Record-Breaking Album Launch

Beyoncé released her self-titled surprise album via iTunes less than a week ago, and the record-breaking results are pouring in.

According to Apple, Beyoncéreached the top spot on the iTunes charts in 104 countries en route toselling828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days–including 617,213 in the U.S. That’s more than the combined opening week sales of Katy Perry’sPRISMand Lady Gaga’sARTPOP, and the numbers makeBeyoncé’s latest effort the fastest-selling album in iTunes history.

“The f...

Macklemore: The Biggest Grammy-Nominated, Platinum-Selling Paradox In Music

In the midst of one of his recent sold-out shows in the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Ben Haggerty—better known as one half of the superstar duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis—told the crowd a story.

That very morning, he said, he stripped naked and jumped into the frigid waters of the Hudson River. But after rubbing his eyes and looking back to the shore, he noticed a pair of thieves running away with his clothing. He swam back to the shore, at which point an old lady invited him to hop on her b...

Beyonce’s Surprise Album Could Help Make 2014 Her Most Lucrative Year Yet

For Beyoncé fans who happened to be awake in the wee hours of Friday the 13th, Christmas came early this year–in the form of a surprise album by the superstar singer.

The self-titled visual album was released exclusively via iTunes as a complete download for $15.99; individual songs will be available starting December 20th. The list of collaborators onBeyoncé features a who’s-who of the music business, including Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Drake, Timbaland, Frank Ocean, Michelle Will...

Jay Z Got Scott Boras To Fall For The Oldest Trick In Rap’s Book

“Scott Boras, you over baby / Robinson Cano, you coming with me.”

Jay Z rapped those words this summer on “Crown,” a song from his latest album,Magna Carta … Holy Grail. The line was acelebration of luring the all-star second baseman away from superagent Boras; at the time, it seemed to be a brash, cocky, even careless move–one that would earn Jay Z a considerable amount of criticism. Many observers suggested he was in over his head.

Then Canolanded a whopping $240 million contract from the Sea...

The Top-Earning Women in Music 2013

see photosChris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

Click for full photo gallery: The 10 Highest-Paid Women In Music 2013

In her classic song “Like A Prayer,” Madonna notes that life is a mystery and “everyone must stand alone.” That holds true for the Material Girl herself, at least when it comes to earnings: she’s all by herself atop this year’s list of the highest-paid women in music.

Madonna pulled in $125 million over the past year, making her music’s top earner of any genre or gender and the highes...

Grammy Nominations 2014: The Full List

see photosJohn Shearer/Invision/AP

Click for full photo gallery: The 55th Annual Grammy Awards

The nominations have been announced for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, with Jay Z’s nine nods leading the pack. Four acts garnered seven nominations apiece: Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

But there are plenty more superstars–and lesser known but stupendously talented musicians–among the nominees in the ceremony’s 82 categories. The names range from pop...