Drake s More Life Bows at No. 1 on Billboard 200 & Sets Streaming Record

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1 March 27, 2017 Page 1 of 9 INSIDE Drake s More Life Bows at No. 1 on Billboard 200 & Sets Streaming Record Drake Breaks Hot 100 Records: Most Hits Among Solo Artists & Most Simultaneously Charted Songs Ed Sheeran s Shape of You Tops Hot 100; Drake Debuts Two in Top 10 Chuck Berry s Back in the Top 40 of Billboard 200 Albums Chart for First Time in More Than 40 Years Canadian Music Publisher ole Seeking At Least $650 Million in Recapitalization Bid Adele At Final 25 Show: I Don t Know If I Will Ever Tour Again BY KEITH CAULFIELD Drake scores his seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and sets a new streaming record, as his More Life set bows atop the tally dated April 8. The effort, which was released on March 18, earned 505,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 23, according to Nielsen Music. That s the biggest week for any album since Drake s own Views launched with 1.04 million units on the list dated May 21, The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multimetric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new April 8, 2017-dated chart will be posted in full to Billboard s websites on Tuesday, March 28. Of More Life s starting sum, a record 257,000 units were driven by streaming equivalent album units, equating to million streams of songs from the 22-track album during the tracking frame (each unit equals 1,500 streams of songs from the album). More Life s streaming sum beats the previous record holder of Drake s Views, which launched with 163,000 streaming equivalent units (245.1 million song streams). With 257,000 units of More Life s debut sum comprised of SEA, the remaining amount was comprised of 23,000 TEA units and 226,000 in traditional album sales (all from digital downloads of the album, as it is so far initially commercially available only through digital retailers). The latter sum is the second-largest sales week of 2017, behind only the arrival of Ed Sheeran s (Divide), which launched with 322,000 copies sold (it was available as both a digital and physical album). Drake s last album release, Views, bowed with 852,000 copies sold (all from digital albums). Drake s More Life was released to all streaming and digital retail services on Saturday (March 18). Its streaming and commercial release was preceded that day by the project s premiere on Drake s OVO Sound radio program on Apple Music s Beats 1 Radio at 3:30 p.m. PT. It will be released on CD on March 31, with a vinyl LP release to follow in the coming weeks. (continued)

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3 Page 3 of 9 More Life is Drake s seventh consecutive album to debut at No. 1. Only his debut EP, So Far Gone, has missed the top slot, as it debuted and peaked at No. 6 back in Drake s seven No. 1s ties him with Kanye West and Eminem for the second-most No. 1s among hip-hop acts, trailing only Jay Z, with 13 leaders.last week s No. 1, Ed Sheeran s, falls to No. 2 after two weeks leading the list. earned 119,000 units in the latest tracking frame -- down 34 percent. Rick Ross nabs his ninth top 10 album, as his new Rather You Than Me starts at No. 3 with 106,000 units (70,000 in traditional album sales). Ross last album, 2015 s Black Market, debuted and peaked at No. 6 with 65,000 units earned in its first week (and 54,000 in sales). Rather You Than Me logs Ross largest sales sum since Mastermind debuted at No. 1 in 2014 with 179,000 copies sold. All nine of Ross studio albums have debuted in the top 10. His hot streak began with the No. 1 arrival of Port of Miami in The Beauty and the Beast soundtrack is pushed down one spot to No. 4, despite a 74 percent gain in units. The set earned 99,000 units in the week (up from its debut of 57,000 units), as the album profits from publicity generated by its parent film s blockbuster opening in theaters on March 17. (The latest album tracking week ran from March 17 through March 23.) Beauty and the Beast sold 74,000 copies last week -- up 52 percent. That s the largest sales week for a soundtrack since the Suicide Squad album bowed with 128,000 copies sold on the chart dated Aug. 27, Depeche Mode clocks the third and final debut in the new Billboard 200 s top 10, as the band s Spirit starts at No. 5 with 64,000 units (62,000 in traditional album sales). It s the act s eighth top 10 album and follows the No. 6 debut and peak of 2013 s Delta Machine (52,000 sold in its first week). The alt/dance vets last ranked higher in 2009 with Sounds of the Universe (No. 3). All eight of the group s studio efforts dating back to 1990 s Violator have reached the top 10. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200: Bruno Mars 24K Magic moves 4-6 with 51,000 units (down 6 percent), the soundtrack to Moana falls 5-7 with 50,000 units (down 4 percent), Future s self-titled album dips 6-8 with 40,000 units (down 19 percent), The Weeknd s Starboy descends 7-9 with 39,000 units (down 12 percent) and Migos Culture slides 8-10 with 37,000 units (down 12 percent).

4 Page 4 of 9 Drake Breaks Hot 100 Records: Most Hits Among Solo Artists & Most Simultaneously Charted Songs BY GARY TRUST As Drake s new album More Life blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated April 8), the hip-hop superstar smashes records on the Billboard Hot 100. Most notably, with all 22 tracks from the set, as well as two others, on the Hot 100 at once, Drake passes Lil Wayne for the most charted titles among soloists (154) in the Hot 100 s 58-year history, while breaking his own mark for the most simultaneously charted Hot 100 titles in a week (24). Drake also rewrites his own record for the most Hot 100 debuts in a week, sending 21 songs, all from More Life, onto the list for the first time. First, Drake takes over as the soloist with the most Hot 100 appearances dating to the chart s Aug. 4, 1958, inception. With 21 debuts, he ups his count to 154 visits, blowing past Lil Wayne (135), who had held the mark among solo artists since October 2012, when he passed Elvis Presley, 109 to 108; notably, Presley s career predated the Hot 100 s origin by more than two years. Among all acts, only the cast of Fox s Glee (a rotating troupe with certain members present throughout the TV show s sixseason run in ) boasts more: 207. Here is an updated count of the acts with the most Hot 100 entries all-time: 207, Glee Cast 154, Drake 135, Lil Wayne 108, Elvis Presley 91, James Brown 87, Jay Z 82, Chris Brown 81, Kanye West 77, Nicki Minaj 75, Ray Charles Drake s coronation as the soloist with the most charted Hot 100 titles occurs a week after Nicki Minaj passed Aretha Franklin (76 to 73, as of last week) for the highest total among female soloists; Franklin had held that honor for nearly 40 years. (This week, Minaj adds her 77th Hot 100 entry, as Jason Derulo s Swalla, featuring Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, debuts at No. 98.) Of his 154 Hot 100 titles, Drake has charted 103 as a lead artist (or 67 percent of his total). Only the Glee Cast (207) and Presley (108) have notched more entries as leads, showing lead billing on all of their charted titles. As for the single-week record for the most charted Hot 100 entries, Drake s 24 on the new April 8-dated list passes his own mark of 20, which he logged on the Hot 100 dated May 21, 2016, the week that his prior album Views debuted atop the Billboard 200. Additionally, Drake s 21 Hot 100 debuts on the April 8 chart are the most in a single week, topping the 16 songs, all from Views, that bowed on May 21, And, one more historic total: With all 22 tracks from More Life on the new Hot 100, Drake breaks the record for the most simultaneously charted Hot 100 titles from a single album, lifting past the 18 each for Views (May 21, 2016) and The Weeknd s Starboy (Dec. 17, 2016); like Views, the latter set tied the record the week that it arrived atop the Billboard 200. Here is a look at the record 24 songs that Drake places on the April 8-dated Hot 100: No. 8, Passionfruit (debut) No. 9, Portland, feat. Quavo and Travis Scott (debut) No. 15, Fake Love (up from No. 31 in its 22nd week after reaching No. 8 in February) No. 18, Free Smoke (debut) No. 29, Gyalchester (debut) No. 35, Teenage Fever (debut) No. 36, Sacrifices, feat. 2 Chainz and Young Thug (debut) No. 38, Blem (debut) No. 40, No Long Talk, feat. Giggs (debut) No. 45, Get It Together, feat. Jorja Smith and Black Coffee (debut) No. 48, KMT, feat. Giggs (debut) No. 49, Jorja Interlude (debut) No. 50, 4422, feat. Sampha (debut) No. 51, Madiba Ridim (debut) No. 54, Glow, feat. Kanye West (debut) No. 58, Both, Gucci Mane feat. Drake (down from No. 51 in its 14th week after reaching No. 41 in January) No. 60, Do Not Disturb (debut) No. 61, Nothings Into Something (debut) No. 62, Ice Melts, feat. Young Thug (debut) No. 64, Lose You (debut) No. 70, Since Way Back, feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR (debut) No. 76, Skepta Interlude (debut) No. 82, Can t Have Everything (debut) No. 84, No Frauds, Nicki Minaj, Drake & Lil Wayne (down from No. 14 in its second week) With Passionfruit and Portland debuting at Nos. 8 and 9 on the Hot 100, respectively, Drake is just the second artist to notch simultaneous top 10 debuts, following Ed Sheeran, whose Shape of You (the No. 1 song on the chart for a ninth week on the April 8 survey) and Castle on the Hill entered at Nos. 1 and 6, respectively, on Jan. 28. Drake s two new Hot 100 top 10s up his count to 20 for his career as he becomes the 17th act to hit that milestone. (Madonna leads all acts with 38 top 10s.) Streaming is the main driver for each of More Life s Hot 100-charted songs this week. As previously reported, the set drew a record million streams for its songs in its first week (ending March 23), according to Nielsen Music, besting the million song streams that Views songs garnered in their first frame. On the Billboard 200, More Life vaults in at No. 1 with 505,000 equivalent album units in its opening week. The Hot 100, Billboard 200 and all Billboard charts will update tomorrow (March 28) on Billboard.com.

5 Page 5 of 9 Ed Sheeran s Shape of You Tops Hot 100; Drake Debuts Two in Top 10 BY GARY TRUST Ed Sheeran s Shape of You leads the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated April 8) for a ninth week. Meanwhile, Drake debuts two songs in the Hot 100 s top 10, Passionfruit and Portland (the latter featuring Quavo and Travis Scott), joining Sheeran as the only artists ever to debut two songs in the top 10 simultaneously. The bows are part of Drake s monster week, as his album More Life rockets in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and he charts a one-week record 24 songs on this week s Hot 100. As we do every Monday, let s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, March 28. As it continues to command the Hot 100, Sheeran s Shape, released on Atlantic Records, also logs a ninth week at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart (97,000 downloads sold, down 7 percent, in the week ending March 23, according to Nielsen Music), as well as a seventh week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (171 million in audience, up 3 percent, in the week ending March 26). Notably, the song is the first to crack the 170-million audience barrier since Adele s Hello (172 million) on Jan. 16, Shape also leads the Streaming Songs chart for a third frame (46.4 million U.S. streams, down 3 percent, in the week ending March 23). Impressively, Shape has topped the Hot 100 s three main component charts (Digital Song Sales, Radio Songs and Streaming Songs) simultaneously for three weeks running. Since Streaming Songs launched in early 2013 (as the youngest of the three lists), only two songs had previously led the trio of tallies (as well as the Hot 100) for at least three straight weeks at the same time: The Chainsmokers Closer, featuring Halsey (six weeks, 2016), and Mark Ronson s Uptown Funk!, featuring Bruno Mars (streaks of six and three weeks, 2015). Speaking of Mars, his That s What I Like holds at its No. 2 high on the Hot 100. It climbs 3-2 on Digital Song Sales (80,000, up 3 percent) and 5-3 on Radio Songs (103 million, up 18 percent), while dipping 4-6 on Streaming Songs despite a 3 percent rise to 27.7 million. The song also nabs the Hot 100 s top Airplay Gainer award for the fourth time in the last five weeks. Like logs a sixth week at No. 1 on Billboard s Hot R&B Songs chart and a second week atop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Rounding out the Hot 100 s top five, Zayn and Taylor Swift s I Don t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker) rebounds 4-3, after hitting No. 2; Migos Bad and Boujee, featuring Lil Uzi Vert, drops 3-4 following three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, while topping the Hot Rap Songs chart for a 12th week; and The Weeknd s I Feel It Coming, featuring Daft Punk, is steady at its No. 5 peak. Kodak Black s first Hot 100 top 10, Tunnel Vision, bullets for a third week at its No. 6 Hot 100 high, while The Chainsmokers again chart two songs in the top 10: Something Just Like This, with Coldplay, rises 8-7 after reaching No. 5, while leading the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a third (nonconsecutive) week, and Paris dips 9-10 on the Hot 100 after rising to No. 6. Meanwhile, The Chainsmokers, the twosome of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, have now spent 47 consecutive weeks in the Hot 100 s top 10, dating to May 21, 2016 (and encompassing four top 10s), moving to within a week of matching Ace of Base s record streak for a duo or group. Here s an update among all acts: Most consecutive weeks in the Hot 100 s top weeks, Katy Perry, weeks, Drake, weeks, Ace of Base, weeks, The Chainsmokers, weeks, Rihanna, weeks, The Weeknd, 2015 In between The Chainsmokers two current Hot 100 top 10s, Drake soars in with two debuts, both from his new album More Life: Passionfruit, at No. 8, and Portland, at No. 9. Drake is only the second artist to debut two songs in the Hot 100 s top 10 simultaneously, following Sheeran, whose Shape and Castle on the Hill launched at Nos. 1 and 6, respectively, on the Jan. 28-dated chart. Passionfruit and Portland both arrive driven primarily by streaming, with the former bowing at No. 4 on Streaming Songs and No. 1 on the On-Demand Streaming Songs chart (29.1 million U.S. streams, almost all via on-demand clicks). The latter launches at Nos. 5 and 2 on the lists (28.5 million U.S. streams; 27.3 million on-demand), respectively. More Drake honors: With the debuts, Drake ups his count to 20 career Hot 100 top 10s, becoming the 17th artist in the chart s 58-year history to hit the mark (and tying the totals of Chicago, The Supremes and Swift). Madonna leads with 38 top 10s, followed by The Beatles (34), Rihanna (30) and Michael Jackson, the front-runner among solo males with 29. As for the featured acts on Portland, Quavo earns his first Hot 100 top 10 as a soloist (in addition to his first and only top 10 as a member of Migos, Bad and Boujee ), while Travis Scott also achieves his first top 10 on the tally. Meanwhile, Drake s week is historic on the Hot 100, as he charts a record-breaking 24 songs overall on the April 8-dated ranking (including all 22 from More Life), besting his prior mark of 20 set on May 21, 2016, the week that his last album, Views, opened atop the Billboard 200. He debuts 21 songs total on the latest Hot 100 (all from More Life; they join the set s Fake Love, which reached No. 8 in February), also a new one-week record, surpassing the 16 songs (all from Views) that he sent onto the May 21-dated Hot 100. Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly Hot 100 Chart Moves column later this week, and visit Billboard.com

6 Page 6 of 9 tomorrow (March 28), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. Chuck Berry s Back in the Top 40 of Billboard 200 Albums Chart for First Time in More Than 40 Years BY KEITH CAULFIELD The late Chuck Berry ranks in the top 40 of the Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time in more than 40 years, as the rock and roll legend, who died on March 18, debuts at No. 33 on the April 8-dated list with the greatest hits compilation The Definitive Collection. The set marks Berry s first visit to the top and his highest-charting album -- since That year, his The London Chuck Berry Sessions (which includes his No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 novelty hit My Ding-a-Ling ) spent 20 weeks in the top 40, peaking at No. 8 on the Oct. 28, 1972-dated chart. The Definitive Collection, released in 2005, earned 13,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 23 (up from a negligible amount in the previous week), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 6,000 were in traditional album sales. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new April 8, 2017-dated chart will be posted in full to Billboard s websites on Tuesday, March 28. As previously reported, Drake s More Life blasts in atop the list with 505,000 equivalent album units. The Definitive Collection marks Berry s first visit to the Billboard 200 since 2012, when another hits package, The Best of Chuck Berry: 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection spent four weeks on the list, peaking at No The Definitive Collection boasts Berry s familiar hit singles like Johnny B. Goode, Rock and Roll Music, No Particular Place to Go and Roll Over Beethoven. Canadian Music Publisher ole Seeking At Least $650 Million in Recapitalization Bid BY ED CHRISTMAN Toronto-based music publisher ole is being shopped, with the company looking for suitors to place minimum bids of at least $650 million to enter the process, while seeking an overall valuation of $800 million, according to numerous sources. The company confirmed to Billboard that it is involved in a recapitalization process. Those sources suggest that the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, the main equity investor behind the more than $520 million in music assets acquired by ole over the last dozen years, is looking to cash out. While ole management is said to want to replace the pension fund with another equity sponsor, which would allow management and its staff to stay in place overseeing the catalog, it may not get that luxury. According to those sources, in addition to equity firms, some strategic competitors have also been contacted about participating in this sale process. The company confirmed Billboard s reporting in a statement. ole has hired RCB Capitol to conduct a process to recapitalize the equity portion of ole s capital structure, a company spokesman says. It is certainly possible that some party may suggest buying the company, that is not the intention of this process. ole entered into a $500 million credit facility last summer. It remains well capitalized and will continue to operate as usual for the foreseeable future, including seeking acquisitions that make strategic sense. Since its founding in 2004, ole has specialized in acquiring film, TV and production music, but it also has a catalog of pop, rock and hip-hop music. It has also made a point of signing Canadian artists and songwriters. According to a press release announcing a $500 million loan from a consortium of banks led by City National Bank, it had a catalog of 50,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV/film music of all genres. Its catalog includes songs by Timbaland, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, Rush and it has struck various deals with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Nu Image, Cineflix, Compact Media and Millennium Films. Its operations also includes the MusicBox production music company as well as another production operation, Jingle Punks. According to sources, ole produced $57 million in net publishers share (NPS), or gross profit, which is in line with what the company s $60 million projection for 2016, it made last year in announcing a new credit facility. Furthermore, sources estimate the company s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at about $35 million. While ole is a Canadian company, the financial data being circulated with the deal are in U.S. dollars, sources say. That means with a minimum asking bid of $650 million and expectations of an $800 million valuation, ole and the Ontario Teachers are hoping that the assets trade for almost a 11.5 times to 14 times NPS multiple. While a catalog filled with a healthy chunk of iconic songs may be able to realize those kinds of multiples, sources say that ole s catalog only has about percent of its NPS coming from its song catalog. Those sources say that TV, film and other audio visual secondary rights account for about half of its volume, while

7 Page 7 of 9 production music accounts for about 30 percent and master recordings about five percent. Some industry sources question whether ole will reach its asking price because some of its revenue comes from administration deals, which means that particular income stream could disappear when the contracts expires -- that is, if the owner chooses to move to another administrator. Another source says that production music is work-intensive, so recording, marketing and other expenses will eat up more gross profit than simply representing iconic songs. Consequently, sources suggest that production music usually trades at lower multiples than songs, while film and TV music will have a hard time reaching a 10 times multiple. Since the latter two categories account for more than 75 percent of the net publishers share, and the multiple those types of assets usually trade at are lower than what a song catalog would trade for, ole could have a hard time getting suitors to put up a 11.5 times to 14 times multiple, some financial executives predict. Yet other sources remind that poking holes in valuations is a favorite tactic employed by suitors in negotiating acquisitions. Adele At Final 25 Show: I Don t Know If I Will Ever Tour Again BY TOM BREIHAN Adele doesn t need to tour. By sales alone, she is the biggest pop star in the world several times over right now; money is not an issue for her. And she also has kids, and well-documented issues with stage-fright, and plenty of other reasons to stay home. But Adele still toured the entire world, hard, behind her 2015 album 25. Last night, in Auckland, New Zealand s Mt. Smart Stadium, she played her final show of the 25 tour, singing for 40,000 fans in a torrential downpour. And during the show, she said that this might be the last time she hits the road. The NZ Herald reports that Adele, speaking in between songs, said, Touring isn t something I m good at Applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable. I don t know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I ve toured is you. I m not sure if touring is my bag. If you really are going to retire from touring, a massive show in the middle of a New Zealand monsoon seems like a pretty good way to go out. This article was originally published on Stereogum. Rep Sheet Roundup: Lorde Signs With PMK*BNC BY REBECCA SUN Lorde has signed with publicity firm PMK*BNC s music department. Earlier this month the Grammy winner released Green Light, the lead single for her much-anticipated sophomore album, which is due this summer. Lorde s seven-times platinum 2013 debut single Royals made her, at 16, the youngest solo artist (and only New Zealander) since 1987 to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This summer she will perform at major festivals including Coachella, Governors Ball and Bonnaroo. Oscar-winning Twenty Feet from Stardom documentarian Morgan Neville has signed with RadicalMedia for commercial representation. His recent work for the production studio includes an Audible campaign that aired during last month s Academy Awards, as well as Netflix s Abstract: The Art of Design and Keith Richards: Under the Influence. Neville has shot ads for Google, Microsoft, Bose and Samsung. Los Angeles-based music management company Deckstar has merged with London entertainment firm James Grant Group. While each company will take point on talent that originates from their respective countries, JGG s L.A.-based employees will move into Deckstar s offices on Wilshire Boulevard, while Deckstar founders Lawrence Vavra and Matt Colon will join JGG s boards. Merging with a partner with the same philosophy in music, television, social and sports allows both companies to scale more quickly, said Vavra, while Colon added, By combining our talent roster and knowledge base with James Grant s stable of TV, film, music, sports, digital influencers and talent executives, we are now able to service a wide spectrum of our clients needs via in-house solutions and services on both sides of the Atlantic. Deckstar s roster of 50-plus artists includes blink-182, Steve Aoki and Jane s Addiction, while JGG represents The Script, Manic Street Preachers, Louis Tomlinson, James Arthur and The Horrors, among others. This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter. Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley Say It s Game On! for ACM Awards BY MELINDA NEWMAN By the time the 52nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards airs April 2 on CBS, returning co-hosts Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley will have their routines down pat. I m excited to come back for my fifth year as a co-host, says Bryan, before good-naturedly busting Bentley s chops. Now that Dierks has a year under his belt, maybe he will actually bring something to the table.

8 Page 8 of 9 Kidding! jokes Bryan. Dierks is a blast, and we have been working on ideas for months. It s game on! For Bentley, the training wheels are off. Last year I was the rookie and really didn t know what to expect, he says. From start to finish, being part of the creative conversations from the monologue to my performance makes the whole experience something I look that much more forward to this year. The show was loose and a lot of fun with Luke. I definitely want to carry that into this year. Bentley received three nominations while Bryan is up for entertainer of the year against Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, who leads the overall field of nominations with seven. Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris received six each, while FGL and Tim McGraw earned five. The hosts may remain the same, but a number of changes are in store for 2017, including a new venue: The awards move down the Las Vegas Strip to the new T-Mobile Arena, a switch that allows the ACMs production partner, dick clark productions, more space to work with and execute bigger design and production ideas, says ACM CEO Pete Fisher, who also is in a new role. The former vice president/gm of the Grand Ole Opry and longtime ACM board member, Fisher became the organization s new head in January. He says his years at the Opry made him appreciate just how big the playing field is in country, both the musical and generational breadth, adding that the ACMs will also stress those multiple dimensions throughout the show. Among the performers will be Aldean, Bentley, Bryan, Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Morris and Florida Georgia Line with Backstreet Boys. Such moments, the producers hope, will lift ratings, which were down 36 percent in 2016 from 2015 when the ACM Awards celebrated their 50th anniversary from Dallas AT&T Stadium. We re clearly focused on pushing all those levers in our marketing portfolio to drive viewership, says Fisher. Partners that will help promote the show include T-Mobile and Xfinity from Comcast. Promoted by the ACM as country music s party of the year, the awards telecast concludes four days of events featuring more than 70 artists spread across 13 venues in Las Vegas. My favorite part of the ACMs is the environment in Vegas, when all of Nashville comes to town, says Bentley. This show is just a total party, and I always look forward to getting out there and seeing everyone. This article originally appeared in the April 1 issue of Billboard. Ultra Music Festival Announces Australian Expansion at UMF Miami 2017 BY KAT BEIN Watch out, ya wallabies, Ultra Music Festival is coming to Australia. The international music festival brand announced its latest international destination via a total Main Stage takeover at its flagship Miami event. This marks Ultra s fifth continent and 17th country in its 19 years. It was a loud announcement, to be sure. Every pixel of the massive LED production shone with the red, white, and blue of the Aussie flag. Damian Pinto, aka The Voice of Ultra, grabbed the mic and spilled the beans. Ultra Music Festival, the global expansion is real, he said after headliners Axwell & Ingrosso finished their Main Stage performance. We re moving to Australia. Give it up for our Aussie fans. Check the announcement out for yourself in the Facebook video below, and head over to Ultra Australia online for more information. videos/ / Executive Turntable: New Moves at Sony/ ATV, Warner Music, Vimeo & More BY LAUREN TOM -- Kieron Donoghue will head Artists To Watch Records, a newly formed company launched by Warner Music UK. -- Proper Music Group appoints Jon Higgs as the Head of Operations. -- Sony/ATV promotes Guy Moot from President of European Creative to President of Worldwide Creative. -- Warner Bros. Records welcomes Monti Olson as Senior Vice President of Artist and Repertoire. He will report directly to the label s president, Dan McCarroll in the Warner Bros. HQ in Burbank, California. -- Ninja Tunes expands their sync department staff with the additions of Isobel Palos and Rob Buckley. -- Geffen Records goes through a relaunch with Neil Jacobson serving as President of the company. -- Mark Wildman is promoted to EVP/ Strategic Partnerships at Westwood One. Wildman s responsibilities include working with the brand partners on strategic marketing solutions and taking on the leadership role in the company s new business developments and ventures. -- Vimeo has brought in Alana Mao as Vice President and Head of Original Content and Kesila Childers and Kelly Miller as new Executives. -- Harold Frogèt joins New Era Media & Marketing as the new Vice President of Corporate & Private Events.

9 Page 9 of 9 Goldenvoice Offering Hacking Victims Free Identity Protection Services BY ANDY GENSLER Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Coachella and the Stagecoach festivals, is still trying to rectify the data breach it reported earlier this month when hackers gained access to some festival goers personal information via its festival websites. To help remedy the situation the promoter is now offering identity protection services to those eligible for one year at no cost. Today the concert promoter, which is owned by AEG, posted a guide of sorts on its website entitled Security Incident Information, which outlined the problem, explained what information may have been obtained and how they are trying to remedy the situation as well as what hacking victims themselves can do. The hackers apparently accessed this information between Sept and Feb As soon as the breach was discovered law enforcement were notified and the security flaw was fully contained and repaired. No passwords or financial information was obtained, according to the promoter. The hackers, however, may have users first and last name; address; mailing address, birth date (if provided during Coachella registration); phone number (if provided); Coachella username; and any additional information you may have provided during wristband enrollment/ pickup (such as a driver s license or other form of identification). Goldenvoice said individuals may be eligible to receive identity protection services from AllClear ID for 12 months at no cost, which would provide both identity repair and credit monitoring. To get these benefits individuals need the driver s license or other form of ID they used when registering. Those who are eligible can call to learn more. The promoter warned that the hacked information may be used in phishing scams to obtain further confidential data. The post recommends never giving out personal information to anyone and to report all illegal or suspicious activities to law enforcement and the appropriate authorities. If there are any concerns about notices coming from the promoter or any of their festivals, Goldenvoice requests you contact them at info@coachella.com. Read Goldenvoice s full post here. Stalemate Over Russian Singer Picked for Ukraine- Hosted Eurovision Contest BY VLADIMIR KOZLOV A stalemate over Russia s participation in this year s Eurovision song contest continues as the organizer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is trying to broker a compromise solution. The EBU s suggestion that Russian participant, Yulia Samoilova, banned from entering Ukraine, perform live via satellite, has satisfied neither side. We find the offer of a remote participation odd and refuse it, for it is going absolutely against the very essence of the event, one of the rules of which reads that the song should be performed live on the stage, Channel One, a Russian network in charge of selecting Eurovision participants, said in a statement sent to Billboard. The network added, We believe that the European Broadcasting Union shouldn t invent new rules for the Russian entrant in 2017 and is capable to hold the contest in accordance with its own order. According to Channel One, the travel ban on Samoilova breaks the rules of the contest. Ukraine, which is hosting this year s edition of the contest in May, would not go for the proposal, either. A [satellite] broadcast of Samoilova s performance by Ukrainian networks would violate the Ukrainian law just the same as her entry into Ukraine, Vyacheslav Kirilenko, Ukraine s deputy prime minister, said on his Twitter account. Last week, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) banned the wheelchairbound Samoilova, 27, from entering the country for three years over her 2015 performance in Crimea, a peninsular region annexed by Russia from Ukraine three years ago. Russia can resolve the issue by entering a participant who does not have problems with the Ukrainian law, Kirilenko was quoted as saying by news agency RIA Novosti. But Russian officials have repeatedly said that Samoilova won t be replaced with another contestant. Meanwhile, Frank-Dieter Freiling, the chairman of the Eurovision Song Contest reference group, was quoted by Der Tagesspiegel as saying that the EBU will continue to ensure that Russia can participate in the show.