FORBES LIST: 25 RICHEST MUSICIANS

The Forbes list of the World’s 25 Highest-Paid Musicians is out!

1. U2
   Coming in at #1: Forbes named U2 as the top earners with $195 million last year. The band sold over $700 million worth of tickets and performed to over 7 million people.
   
   
2. Bon Jovi
   In second place with $125 million. The band grossed $200 million playing 74 shows in the last 12 months and it had a top number one aIbum on top of it all.
   
   
3. Elton John
   He made $100 million. Over the past 30 years, Elton John has sold over 250 million records! He still grossed $204 million on 102 live shows in 2011.
   
   
4. Lady Gaga
   She made $90 million but actually grossed $170 million from touring in 22 countries playing 137 shows within the past year. She also has endorsements for many companies such as Viva Glam by MAC, Monster Cable, and Virgin Mobile.
   
   
5. Michael Buble
   Making $70 million last year, he has heavy radio play and strong album sales to thank for his spot.
   
   
6. Paul McCartney
   The most commercially successful songwriter made $67 million but grossed $130 million on 30 shows last year.
   
   
7. The Black Eyed Peas
   They made $61 million however they grossed $68 million after performing 62 times around the world in the last 12 months. They also receive endorsement deals from Pepsi, Honda, and Verizon among others.
   
   
8. The Eagles
   Still on the charts with $60 million because they are still touring!
   
   
9. Justin Bieber
   Bieber is in ninth place with $53 million. He is 17 years old, making him the youngest musician on the charts.
   
   
10. Dave Matthews Band
    Made $51 million grossing about one million dollars per show for 68 shows Iast year.
    
    
11. Toby Keith
    At number 11 with $50 million in earning. He doesn’t get money just for his music: he’s endorsed by Ford and owns his own restaurant called I Love This Bar and Grill which does quite well.
    
    
12. Usher
    He earned $46 million, for touring and promoting his album Raymond v. Raymond.
    
    
13. Taylor Swift
    With a new triple-platinum album, Taylor Swift is at number 13. She made $45 million. TayIor grosses $750,000 per show.
    
    
14. Katy Perry
    At number 14 is Katy Perry with $44 million. She had four chart-topping singles, gets endorsements from Proactiv and Ubisoft, the French video game company, as well as owning her own fragrance line, Purr.
    
    
15. Brad Paisley
    The American singer-songwriter for classical country and southern rock is in 15th place making $40 million with help from his sponsors Chevy, Skinny Water, and Sea Ray boats.
    
    
16. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
    They are at number 16 with $38 million from playing 46 shows.
    
    
17. Jay Z
    He made $37 million thanks to his Watch the Throne tour, many endorsements, and other business deals.
    
    
18. ACDC (tie)
    With $35 million after grossing $60 million from touring!
    
    
19. Sean “Diddy” Combs (tie)
    Owning a record label and clothing line helped "Diddy" make $35 million. Also, his Vodka line, Ciroc, is estimated to be worth $475 million.
    
    
20. Beyonce (tie)
    The new mom is lower the list this year with $35 million because she didn’t tour for her new album “4” but she still has her clothing line Dereon and is endorsed by L’Oreal, DirecTV, and General Mills.
    
    
21. Tim McGraw (tie)
    Also made $35 million this year despite pushing the release date of his new album. He also made a perfume and stared in the movie Country Strong opposite Gwyneth Paltrow.
    
    
22. Muse (tie)
    Making $35 million last year, the alternative rock band grossed $76 million and have landed tracks on three Twilight soundtracks.
    
    
23. Rascal Flatts
    Earned $34 million after 61 shows and endorsement deals with JC Penny.
    
    
24. Kenny Chesney
    Made $30 million promoting his new album Hemingway’s Whiskey and touring.
    
    
25. Rihanna
    She made $29 million although she grossed about one million dollars per show. She performed 38 shows for her new album Loud. Rihanna is also the face of CoverGirl and Secret.
    

ANN’S MUSIC PICK THIS WEEK: JASON MRAZ

Jason Mraz holds the number one spot on the iTunes chart this week with his new single “I Won’t Give Up”. IT IS MY NEW FAVORITE SONG! It comes as a surprise to the chart as it has been dominated by dance songs – or Adele – for the past few weeks.

Mraz, singer-songwriter, was born on June 23, 1977. He released his debut album “Waiting for My Rocket to Come” in 2002 and it contained his hit single “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)”.

It wasn’t until his second album “Mr. A-Z” in 2005 that Mraz achieved major commercial success as the album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200.

Mraz is known for his amazing melodies and inspirational songs. "I Won't Give Up" has an unforgettable melody and his lyrics are made to inspire. The whole song seems to move so smoothly making the music and words blend together.

Jason Mraz – Mraz is Czech for “frost” – was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. His grandfather had moved to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1915.

Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and enjoys eating mostly raw vegan foods. He also owns an avocado farm in Bonsall in Northern San Diego County. He is an active supporter of several charities including VH1's Save The Music Foundation, MusiCares, and Free the Children among others.

ANN’S MUSIC PICK THIS WEEK: GOTYE

Wouter “Wally” De Backer, also known as Gotye, is a Belgian-Australian, multi-instrumental musician, and singer-songwriter on the iTunes charts right now. Born in Belgium in 1980, De Backer moved to Australia with his family when he was two.

He has released three studio albums independently – Boardface, Like Drawing Blood, and his most recent, Making Mirrors – as well as one remix album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums. De Backer is also one-third of the Melbourne indie-pop band The Basics, who have released three studio albums and numerous other titles since 2002.

Gotye was awarded four iTunes Rewind Awards in December 2011 for:

• Song of the Year – "Somebody That I Used to Know"
• Australian Album of the Year – "Making Mirrors"
• Alternative Song of the Year – "Somebody That I Used to Know"
• Alternative Australian Album of the Year – "Making Mirrors"

You should definitely check out his new single titled Somebody That I Used To Know.

LIFESTYLE TREND: MIXING MUSIC & FOOD

A huge new trend in music is to pair it with food. It is a combination of the senses. Music and meals are now becoming one.

Drinkify:  This sites allows you to type in what you’re listening to, and will tell you which drink goes best with it. For example, they suggest you listen to Lady Gaga with a 6 oz. vodka served neat with an olive whereas with Van Halen, they suggest only Jack Daniel’s on the rocks. www.drinkify.org

The Recipe Project: This is a CD-book mix that transforms recipe instructions and their ingredients into songs. One Ring Zero, an indie rock band from Brooklyn, performs the songs. The words are written by famous chefs like Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, David Chang, Michael Symon, Chris Cosentino and more.  Each chef has a different musical style. The disc has music ranging from hip hop to heavy metal. It also features interviews with chefs on their food and music influences. www.therecipeproject.com

Turnable Kitchen: This is a blog created by a music and food loving couple Kasey and Matthew Hickey. Kasey creates the recipes and Matthew selects musical pairings for each dish. If you subscribe you could get monthly offerings like limited edition 7-inch vinyl records, a digital mix tape, three seasonal recipes, and a special ingredient that can be used in one of the recipes featured on the site. www.turnablekitchen.com

ONLINE MUSIC STORAGE SERVICE: ‘GOOGLE MUSIC’

There is a new online music sales and storage service called Google Music. Like iTunes, you can both upload and store your own music (up to 20,000 tracks it says) and you can share music with others. However, the only music you can share is the music you bought through Google from their Android Market. The store has more than 13 million tracks available. There is a lot of free older music right now. There are some advantages and some disadvantages but I love iTunes. No need for me to change is what I say.

AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS:
JLO STEALS THE SHOW

Never has Jlo’s body moved so spinelessly and with such seduction that the audience could not take their eyes off her. She rocked the room. With a rendition of three songs back to back, she also kept stripping down until all that was left was a nude and beaded body hugging sheer costume. It was tough for any act to follow that one! Shortly after she took the top prize for Best Latin Artist.

Rain in Los Angeles did not stop the American Music Awards from going on with the same flair as all previous shows. Held at the Nokia Theater, fans lined up, circling the theater for hours while the stars walked the tented red carpet to avoid the cold and dampness.

The show started off with David Guetta and Nicki Minaj who sang "Turn Me On" followed by her hit single "Super Bass" to pump up the crowd.

The second performance was Justin Bieber singing his Christmas single "Mistletoe" off of his new album titled "Under The Mistletoe". Despite his soft choice of song, he nonetheless had the crowd screaming and on their feet. The Band Perry performed "If I Die Young".

The awards given out early in the evening were Favorite Band/Duo or Group, won by Maroon 5. Taylor Swift took three this night including Best Artist of the year and Favorite Female Country Artist.

Chris Brown performed two songs, one had a slow R&B feel, while the other showed off his MJ like dance moves.

Kelly Clarkson's performance had a theme to it which was about gossip and media from decades past. A lot of animation filled the stage on the video walls and she wore a long red sequined dress; while singing her hit "Mr. Know It All".

Enrique Iglesias sang two hit songs. The first being "I Like How It Feels" and the second "Tonight I’m Loving You." Needless to say he had the crowd singing and dancing right along with him and his back up dancers.

It was Jennifer Lopez who stole the show! A barely there sheer outfit kept your eyes riveted on her every slithery move. She has never been better performing the catchy "Papi" followed by "On The Floor" which featured Pitbull. Everything from her body to her dance moves, voice and costumes were so fabulous, if you didn’t see it, it truly is just too hard to explain how good it was! She put on one of the best performances of the night and had everyone on their feet.

One Republic then took the stage singing "Good Life".

At this point in the night, Nicki won 2 awards, including favorite album for "Pink Friday" against Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Watch The Throne" as well as Lil Wayne's "The Carter 4" which both Hip Hop/Rap albums did amazing on the charts. Rihanna won Favorite Soul/ R&B album for "Loud".

Marc Anthony and Pitbull sang "Rain Over Me" and it actually rained on the stage!

Katy Perry played the guitar and sang her new slow hit single "The One That Got Away". She looked amazing up there with strong vocals. She was then honored a special award for being the first female artist in history to have five hit singles on one album. Previously given to artists such as Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey, Perry was the first to have singles off one album.

The queen of Soul and R&B, Mary J Blige, sang her new single "Mr. Wrong" off her new album "My Life II". She also took a moment after she was done performing to thank the audience and take a moment to remember the late Heavy D's legacy and impact on her life.

In the category for Favorite Female Soul/R&B Artist, the nominees were Beyonce, Rihanna and Kelly Rowland. It is rare for two former band mates, not to mention pretty much sisters, are in the same category. For these two former Destiny's Child members, it is not an issue as their friendship continues to grow to this day. Beyonce won and thanked her fans via video from New York City as she was there to promote her DVD "Beyonce Live at Roseland" which drops November 21, 2011.

Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera hit the stage singing "Moves Like Jagger" - and it was great! The crowd was on its feet dancing and singing along. Lead singer Adam Levine then crossed the stage to perform with Gym Class Heros to their song "Stereo Hearts", with the visual of a giant stereo behind them on stage that was the highlight backdrop for every act.

Later, Daughtry sang its new single "Crawling Back To You".

AMA for best new artist went to Hot Chelle Rae, its single being the radio haunting hit "Tonight Tonight".

Taylor Swift then won that artist of the year award for "Speak Now." She was SO surprised, excited and bubbly, she could barely give her speech!

Drake performed on stage with a band behind him, performing his single "Headlines" off of his second album "Take Care" that dropped last week. With his album hitting high numbers the first week, he is expected to be the next big thing in Rap and Hip Hop. He had everyone out of their seats rapping along with him, including Minaj.

Will.I.Am performed with a light video show along with JLo again performing his song "T.H.E." (The Hardest Ever) with a screen on the side that showed Mick Jagger dancing in video form. The visuals in his performance incorporated this glow in the dark and moving objects and dancers…

and what would a party be these days…. without LMFAO.

They closed the show with "Party Rock Anthem" as well as "Sexy and I Know It" (they are sooo not sexy, and they know it) with guest appearances by Justin Bieber and David Hasselhoff who looked as silly as the LMFAO guys. As much as their performance could be thought of as ridiculous (as it appeared on TV) those in the audience felt it was a fun closing. As with much of the show, it had the crowd dancing and enjoying the last moments of the AMA's all the way to the closing credits.

JAY Z AND KANYE WEST IN CONCERT: THE REVIEW

Written by guest reporter:
Amanda Aziz

Jay Z and Kanye West are together in concert with their 'The Throne Tour' - on the road with a show that makes a statement on social issues. The concert truly was "a celebration of black excellence", two hours long and not one dull moment. They succeeded greatly in captivating the audience despite the all black bare scene, all black wardrobe, having no dancers or back up singers, band or crazy effects. This concert was truly about the music and the art.

It all started with the lights dimmed. The stage was simple. There were actually two stages set up, the main one in front and one in the crowd itself. All of a sudden we see him -Kanye appeared on the main stage while Jay-Z appeared on the back stage. Very cool that they did it simultaneously. Laser lights filled the stadium. They started the show with their first single off the album "H.A.M." When the opera section of the song came on, both stages rose from the ground hyping the crowd up even more! It was great!

They performed mainly songs from the "Watch The Throne" album such as "Who Gon Stop Me", "Otis", "Welcome to the Jungle" and "What You Need" we're performed one after another.

Jay's last verse of "Who Gon Stop Me" was rapped acapella which was incredible. Then, "Welcome to the Jungle" incorporated the jungle theme with a cheetah on screen.

Jay and West performed many old classic hits from former albums before segueing into more songs off the new album.The next was a story about success and making it in America. Needless the say, the song was titled "Made It In America".

Lighters filled the arena and Jay shared some inspiringwords telling us if anyone has a dream know it's possible. While they were performing, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X filled the screens. Each rapper gave a brief story about their own success.

Next up, was another mellow track. This one called "New Day." Both sat on stage singing. Jay's last words to his verse are "my Dad left me and I promise never repeat him". He then spoke to the audience and said "all the fathers that take care of they kids but your hands up". - a touching moment for everyone.

Next, Jay wanted to bring us back to his city and home. Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" came on and was mixed in with the famous hit single "Empire State of Mind". At the end of the song, he pulled out his Yankee cap to the crowd and puts it back on backwards and walked off stage.

Both then paused to look at the screens that are showing disasters and tragedies of the world while the song "What a Wonderful World" was playing. This irony was sure to lead into there first track song off "Watch The Throne" titles "No Church In The Wild". They performed "Lift Off" followed by the closing song: "Ni**as in Paris". In previous shows, it was expected to be performed three times. On this night, they performed it five! The crowd went crazy each time and couldn't get enough! Jay asked security to lay low and let everyone dance and enjoy themselves. They even walked off stage the 2nd time it was performed and came back for an encore...three more times!

What's a Jay-Z concert without finishing the show with the actual song "Encore!". What a show it was…

AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS: “OUR NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD”

Written by:
Hollywood Trend Report
Guest reporters: Amanda Triconi and Amanda Aziz

Cold, damp and pouring. This was the weather we endured the day of the American Music Awards. The state of "sunny California" hosted its 39th Annual AMA's at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles but the rain wasn't enough to dampen our thrill of a lifetime.

In a foolish attempt at trying to fit into a very high scale awards show, we girls, hired a limo...when in Rome do as the Romans we thought...

So we arrived and our driver, Eddie (nice guy) was denied access to drop us off at the red carpet. Seems we didn't have the VIP "pink or purple" driving passes (live and learn) We tried pretending to have forgotten the pass back at the hotel room to no avail. Bottom line: No pink, no purple - no passage.

The security guard in the green poncho, without even the slightest attempt at trying to be polite, quickly shooed us out of the way with no indication of where to turn to next. This is Hollywood and they mean business if you do not belong - limo or no limo. We asked him kindly (we're Canadian) where the "general admission" commoners should proceed and his answer was rushed and sounded something like "I do not know but you need to move". We had no idea how serious this security thing is at these events. They really don't mess around. Feeling a slight sense of rejection and disarray, we simply followed the crowd (in the car, not on foot in our heels of course) and finally, we found 'our' entrance (not where Justin and Selena were entering. This was the commoners entrance)

Waiting in the very long line in the freezing cold was enough to give us all pneumonia (Justin where are you boy..come help your fellow Canadians)
We decided to grab a quick bite. The meal was delicious, fulfilling, and gave one of the girls enough energy to casually sneak into line with some guys who we knew we would have some power over. It didn't take long for us all to be acquainted and before we knew it, we had made ourselves some new friends (no need for the Beebs now)

When we entered the Nokia Theater, we decided to linger around the entrance for just a bit longer in hopes of catching a glimpse of a celeb. To our surprise, Jennifer Hudson entered the same way as the rest of us common folk did. She looked gorgeous with her glowing skin, sleek and straight brown hair, and flattering silver dress complementing her WeightWatchers figure. One of our girls said to her as she walked by us, how beautiful she looked and the lovely Ms. Hudson turned her head back to us and said in a most sincere tone, "thank you". Her bodyguards then brought her deep into the depths of the awards in which we were obviously incapable and unworthy of approaching. (JUSTIN, where are you when we need you?)

About 10 minutes before show time, we went to find our seats in the loge section of the theater. We sat in anticipation and wonder because this is the first time any one of us Canadians had ever attended an event as extravagant as this. The screens, the stage, the cameras...It was a wonder to observe. The countdown clock on the giant screen on each side of the stage said we had only a minute and a half left until the show would begin. At this point, Vanessa Manillo-Lachey wrapped up her final interview with Lionel Ritchie and the show was about to begin.

The theater got dark and the ride was underway.

What an experience of a lifetime that we will never forget.

Our trip to LA has been a great time. We haven't stopped and yet there is so much more to do.

I guess we'll just have to come back…

MUSIC TREND:
INDIETRONICA

The hot trend in music right now is indietronica. One band setting trends with this its synthesizer and percussion sound is Foster the People. Foster the People is an indie pop band from here in LA. Their hit Pumped Up Kicks reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, number three on the Rock Songs tally and number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Right now it’s number six on iTunes top 200.

Foster the People's brandmark Indietronica (also called Indie-electronic) is a music genre of indie electronica, rock and pop.  Instruments used are the electric keyboard, synthesizer, and a drum machine. The song was also heard in TV series such as Entourage, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries and in the 2011 film Friends with Benefits.  Another great song they have is I Would Do Anything For You.

Mark Foster originally named his band Foster & the People, but people misheard it as "Foster the People". He liked the vision of "taking care" of the people, so the name remained.

MICK JAGGER:
NEW MOVIE PROJECT ‘TABLOID’

Mick Jagger is returning Hollywood, reportedly about to produce  a thriller tentatively called Tabloid which was derived from his original idea. Mick Jagger came up for the idea and has signed the writer of A History of Violence. He may star in it as a global media mogul with poor morality. If he does, it will be his first acting gig since 2001 in The Man from Elysian Fields.  It’s about a journalist gets seduced and sucked into that immoral world.

He's 68 now. He co-founded the production company Jagged Films in 1995 and received production credits for 2001's Enigma and 2005's TheWomen.

ANN’S MUSIC PICK:
PIXIE LOTT

Have you heard of the British singer Pixie Lott? Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott is a hot singer song-writer, dancer and actress. Her debut single Mama Do went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Great song. Her debut album Turn It Up had five consecutive Top 20 singles, and sold over a million copies.

Pixie's first single All About Tonight from her second album Young Foolish Happy (which is due out November 7) premiered this month on the UK Charts. So far she's produced eight Top 20 Singles on the UK Singles Chart. The album will include collaborations with Stevie Wonder and John Legend.

She's got such a varied sound. One minute she's Lily Allen, next she's Amy Winehouse then she retreats into Britney Spears. When she's Lily Allen - she's great!

AMY WINEHOUSE:
WHAT TONY BENNETT WANTED TO TELL HER

Amy Winehouse’s final recording with Tony Bennett appears on Duets II, with the full version of the CD due out September 20. This song with Amy is the first piece from his Tony Bennett: Duets II album. “My life, a wreck, you’re making,” Winehouse opens, her voice strong and sure, singing as if she lived the lyric.The song, Body and Soul, was recorded in March at Abbey Road Studios in London as Bennett’s 85th birthday album. Bennett told reporters that recording with Winehouse was his favorite part of creating Duets II. He compared Winehouse to greats with which he’s worked: Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey and Duke Ellington. 

Tony Bennett on Amy Winehouse:

“She was really the best of all the young artists that I met in the current scene in the last 10 or 15 years. She was really singing true jazz. It’s just too tragic. I wanted to talk to her and tell her that if she doesn’t stop she’s going to die. I wanted to talk her out of the drugs, but unfortunately I never had a chance to talk to her.”

MUSIC PREFERENCE:
STRONG PERSONALITY PREDICTOR

Say you're at a business cocktail party, you don't have time to waste and you want the most information about a new person you just met as quickly as possible. Asking them what music they like is the way to do it. A study shows that college students getting to know each other over the internet were more likely to ask about music preferences than all other conversation topics combined.

It helped them predict their personality characteristics and values. Studies also show that when we find out that someone shares our musical interests, it increases how much we like them. When you have a similarity in music preferences, you normally have a similarity in values.

People like music for the same reason they like eating or having sex: It makes the brain release a chemical, dopamine, that gives pleasure. It is anticipating a particularly thrilling musical moment and in feeling the rush from it. It is also what helps produce the euphoria from illegal drugs.

The tie to dopamine helps explain why music is so widely popular across cultures. The study used only instrumental music, showing that voices aren't necessary to produce the response.

BEHIND THE SCENES:
‘SUPERHEAVY’, HOTTEST GROUP TODAY

You’ve probably heard by now of Super Heavy the new rock supergroup consisting of Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley, and A.R. Rahman. It’s amazing. They come together with many different musical styles Rock, Reggae, Ballads and Indian genre. Recording the album, all the different artists came together each with lyric snippets and guitar rifts. The rest just happened naturally when the group put their heads together. It all came together in a very random, improvised way. They recorded 29 songs in 10 days – some even going as long as an hour and 10 minutes! In total, there was more than 35 hours of music recorded.

MUSIC TREND:
ADELE SHIFTS; GOES COUNTRY

Adele plans to go country for her third album, a country/bluegrass sound.Although the singer may have to reschedule most of her U.S. summer tour due to laryngitis, she kept busy absorbing American music styles, and wants to use what what she's learned on her next album. "I was exposed to a lot of country, rockabilly and bluegrass” says Adele.The singer will have a huge audience for her country creation; her smash-hit sophomore album, 21, has sold over 2.8 million copies. It is the top-selling album in the world so far this year.

LADY GAGA’S NEXT ENDEAVOR:
PHOTO BOOK

Lady Gaga the book is next. It was to be expected. It will be the muse for controversial photographer Terry Richardson. They have done lots of provocative photo shoots and now they will collaborate again for a book that will have her life in pictures. Released by Grand Central Publishing on November 22, 2011, LadyGaga will chronicle her life over the past year, beginning with the Lollapalooza Festival in August 2010 and ending with the final shows of her Monster Ball tour in 2011. Hopefully we will see shots of her sans glitz too. The book will be a photo book with an estimated 350 new and previously unseen images. Gaga will write for its forward.

MUSIC INDUSTRY:
ALBUM & CONCERT SALES UP

The music industry is looking good. Album sales are up! Not by much – but it’s the first time we’re seeing an increase in six years. Total sales for albums, CD's and digital album are up one per cent in the first six months of 2011. It doesn't sound like much, but it’s better than the drops we've seen. Among the singers, Adele holds three top spots in the tally. Rolling in the Deep, her latest album, was named the year’s top selling album to date - 2.5 million copies. Overall music sales, encompassing albums, singles, music video and digital tracks, are up 8.5% over last year at this time. Katy Perry’s E.T., featuring Kanye West, is the top selling digital song, a category that combines all versions of the song, with just more than 4.1 million sales.

I spoke to Randy Lewis, a music expert here in the US and pop writer for the LA Times. He says the total revenue from the Top 50 tours worldwide is up more than 11%. Totals for those 50 tours was 1.65 billion, even though ticket sales were down 19.4 million. That means the increase in the total box office was a result of higher ticket prices on average really. Ticket prices were up by an average of 13.6 per cent, that means just over 10 dollars. Artists learned their lesson last year when they over reached and over priced their tickets.  They’ve scaled back a bit and things have picked up.

Why is it that some artists sell out concerts while others of the same caliber don’t? It’s all about their they connect with the public. If people feel a connection to them through their music and through their media appearances, they’re going to want to see them live person.  Taylor Swift has done a good job at this with all the social media that she’s employed. 

A tour that has been outstanding is U2’s 360 Tour. It is now the highest grossing tour of all time.  The band made a whopping 10.25 million dollars a night! Their ticket price averaged at 97.65 dollars in places averaging more than 104 thousand people per show. When you look at last year, Bon Jovi was the top grossing tour making 201.1 million worldwide but that was over the entire year, so it really doesn’t compare to U2. Then there is Lady Gaga. Her average ticket price this year is 96.77 dollars. She made 65.3 million on her tour. Usher was next in the rankings. His tickets go for about 83 dollars on average. He made just over 62 million dollars.

The other big tour money makers:

• Kylie Minoque -  $52 Million
• Kenny Chesney - $47 Million
• Andre rieu - $46 Million
• Elton John - $44.6 Million
• Taylor Swift - $43 Million

Now you're probably asking yourself, who’s Andre Rieu? He’s a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating the waltz playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.

ANN’S MUSIC PICK:
JOSS STONE’S ‘LP1’

GREAT CD! Joss Stone released her new CD a few days ago. Smokey Robinson calls her the modern day Aretha Franklin. LP1 is the fifth studio album by the English recording artist. She partnered with Surfdog Records to released the album on her own label, Stone’s record, after she left EMI. It was recorded in Nashville, Tennesee within six days only. It’s really good. She co-wrote and co-produced the album with Eurythmics co-founder, David A. Stewart. What a voice! She is incredible. She’s sold over 11 million records globally and she’s just turned 24. She’s a Grammy winner, five-time Grammy nominee, and the receipt of five Brit Awards. This is the first album Joss has recorded with total creative freedom.

NEW ONLINE MUSIC SERVICE: ‘SPOTIFY’

The latest music trend is a new online service called Spotify. It claims 1.6 million paying subscribers in Europe. With Pandora’s soaring IPO and the recent launch of Turntable.fm, Spotify allows you to play songs for others as if you were a DJ. Spotify has secured contracts with all the major record labels, along with some independent ones. It lets you import the ones you already own and share playlists. Unlike the on-demand music-listening service, Rhapsody, it's totally free. There are also paid options that get rid of the ads. However, there are restrictions: users will be capped at 20 hours of listening per month, and you can only play a single song so many times. How do you get on it? Spotify is invite-only for now, unless want to pay for a subscription. You can "request" an invite on their site by giving them your e-mail.

MUSIC:
COST OF MAKING HIT RECORDS

Everwonder how much it costs to make a hit record? To better the singer's chances of creating a Billboard-worthy song, a lot of money has to be pumped into promoting it. The costs were calculated for Rihanna’s "Man Down" song: $1,078,000. About $78,000 went toward the actual cost of making the song, while $1,000,000 went into marketing efforts that ensure the song will get radio time, featured on BET, and the like.

MUSIC NEWS:
KATY PERRY’S ‘SORTA’ DIVA DEMANDS

So what does Katy Perry’s tour rider say? She needs quite a bit!

When she is staying overnight, she's to be booked into the presidential suite of a five-star hotel along with five junior suites and 45 single rooms.

Her dressing room at the venue needs to be able to accommodate six to 10 visitors. It is to be decorated in pink and cream, have lots of fresh flowers but there is one thing that is clear - there must be 'ABSOLUTELY NO CARNATIONS'.

The only alcohol requested is two bottles of Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio. She also wants organic fruits and vegetables on hand, ‘properly sanitized.’

There is a whole page devoted to his do’s and don’ts, including not starting a conversation with Perry or staring at her through the rear view mirror.

What's caused the most commotion about the rider, with people in the music industry who have seen it, is that Perry's peeps reserve the right to have the venue hold back some of the tickets for them to move through ‘resellers’.

 

Katy underwent a strict diet and training regimen to get in shape for her world tour, is serious about eating well. She demands that high-protein pretzels, baked potato chips, whole wheat pita bread and hummus be in her dressing room at concert venue.

Perry, who's currently on the Japan leg of her 95-city California Dreams world tour, also requires organic fruit (apples, bananas, oranges and grapes) as well as fresh-cut crudites, including cucumber, broccoli, carrots, snap peas and celery accompanied by ranch dip.

The 5'5" Katy, who weighs 130 pounds now after her 145, eats five small meals a day and does circuit-training workouts that incorporate cardio exercise, ab work and upper and lower body strength training.

ACTOR TURNED SINGER:
JEFF BRIDGES

The actors turned singer trend continues. Gwyneth Paltrow, Miley Cyrus, Bruce Willis, and Russell Crowe. Now Jeff Bridges is joining the bunch. He really loved that Crazy Heart role, he has just about turned into the character.He will record a solo album for the Blue Note Records division of EMI. He will contribute many of his own compositions and perform songs by others as well.Bridges, who won a Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Crazy Heart, is recording his album with producer T-Bone Burnett, whom he first met on the set of 1980's Heaven’s Gate.

The album is yet to be titled and is due in late summer.

MUSIC TREND:
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE BECOMES A BRAND

Billboard Magazine is now becoming a brand and will be giving the American Music Awards a run for its money. The 2011 Billboard Music Awards will air live on ABC from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 22. The show will be the first of several shows Billboard plans to build around its franchise. The awards are based on the Billboard charts from February of 2010 through March 1, 2011. Top artists will be recognized in many genres, such as: R&B, Rap, Pop, Country, Rock, Latin and Alternative.

BRITNEY SPEARS' 'FEMME FATALE':
NOT SO HOT

Britney Spears is back with her latest album Femme Fatale and it’s not great. It's the first album where she doesn't claim one writing credit – and that’s a good thing. The problem is there’s too much production. It's good to dance or workout to but that’s all. She really needs to do something different now. At 30, it’s just not feeing right anymore.

Meantime, in the world of press interviews, Carson Daly says Britney’s out of line. The talk show host went off recently on her management team after they gave him a set of conditions before conducting a pre-taped interview with her. Daly was upset he had to submit questions for approval and editing before air. They made him pre-record the interview and submit it to her for her approval. He said: "Even when I interviewed Michael Jackson, it wasn’t anything like this."

I have to admit, I've never heard of anything like it. It’s definitely her team doing it. So how much do they control us? They don't ask for pre approval, most of us wouldn't do it anyway. In 15 years covering Hollywood, I have never been asked to submit questions beforehand for pre approval. He's right, it is insane even presidents and prime ministers don’t request that.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
HOT SPOT - DENMARK

The hotspot right now for musical acts is Denmark. Now more than ever, Denmark-based acts in all genres see an opening and are trying to reach North-American audiences.

Oh Land: Oh Land has become one of the buzziest pop singers. It’s all thanks to her video to her song Sun of a Gun that passed 5 million views on YouTube.

Medina: Medina is platinum selling in Europe with her hit Addiction. This year Ultra records is will attempt to get North-American’s just as excited about her.

The Astroids Galaxy Tour: They opened for Katy Perry and their single Around the Bend was used in an iPod commercial. Their music will be featured in some ads this year.

Aqua: Remember the song Barbie Girl from the 90’s? That song was from a Denmark band who are now back with a new serious record. Their new single is called How R U Doing, which is a catch electro-inspired pop song.

ANNS PICK:
BRUNO MARS REMAINS ON TOP

Still doing well is Bruno Mars, one of my favorites. Even after last September, when he was arrested in Las Vegas for cocaine possession, it looked like the upward career of today’s it boy would drop – but it didn’t. His talent was too strong. His songs are too good.

Unlike the Charlie Sheens of today, Bruno owned up right away and owned up to his irresponsible behavior and acknowledged that what he did was foolish. He said he had never used drugs in the past. In return for pleading guilty, the charge against Mars will be stricken out of his record if he stays out of trouble for a year.

A few weeks after Mars' arrest, the Billboard chart was released, At No. 1 was Mars' Just The Way You Are, which was then on a four-week run at the top. At last month's Grammy Awards, there were a good number of upsets, but nobody was surprised when Mars won the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance prize for Just The Way You Are.

Mars' songs remain on our iPods. Who can resist the knockout hooks of Nothing On You (with B.o.B.), Billionaire and Dance in the Mirror? He's a bonafide leading man.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
JESSIE J

A hot new music artist of the moment is Jesse J. She is a cross between the powerful voices of Fergie and Christina Aguilera. Her real name is Jessica Ellen Cornish. She's a British singer and songwriter from London. Her hits are Price Tag, Do It like A Dude and Who's Laughing Now.

She signed a record deal with Island Records and began recording her on first debut album, Who You Are. Due to high demand and interest from fans for the album, the release date was pushed ahead by an entire month, from its original March 28, 2011 release date.

She started writing tracks for Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna and Miley Cyrus. Her most successful was one she co-wrote Party in the USA, which went platinum in several countries.

Jessie J began to record her album six years ago. She stated that the album was completed on January 2011. In January, Jessie J came top of the BBC's Sound of 2011 list. Her first single, Do it Like a Dude was released in December, which missed the top-spot by Bruno Mars.

Jessie released her follow-up single, Price Tag, which went straight to number-one on the UK Singles Chart. It remained at number-one for two exclusive weeks. Her debut album was released on February 25 2011 and charted a number-two on the UK Albums Chart.

MUSIC TRENDS:
ITUNES IMPROVING SOUND

You've probably heard about iTunes music about to get better. Apple has been in talks to improve the quality of songs making them sound more like studio quality. It's hoping this will keep us from joining monthly streaming services like Sony Naptster that offer millions of tracks for the price of a single album!

Music sold on CD’s or online are 16-bit format whereas studio recordings are usually done in 24-bit. The decrease in quality is usually because it allows music to download faster. Beats Audio is a high-end audio equipment company owned by Dr. Dre. It's working with Apple and other digital companies to change everything to 24-bit.

ITunes currently controls 66 percent of the paid music download market.

MUSIC NEWS:
WORLDS FIRST "HIP HOP" EXHIBIT

The GRAMMY Museum in LA has just opened a one of the greatest exhibitsbased on a brand new large-format book of the same name, Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey. This is now the first major museum exhibition to cover the four-decade history of Hip-Hop and its impact on the world. We sat down with Nwaka Onwusa, curator for Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey. She spoke to us about the importance of this impressive exhibit. It shows how important Hip-Hop is to American culture. Even though it was considered a fad, they cover Hip-Hop from the early days with artists like Jill Scott Heron to modern day artists like Kanye West and Eminem. It shows its evolution.

Visitors learn about the history of Hip-Hop through interactive mixing and listening stations, video footage, rare photographs and original artifacts including original handwritten song lyrics by rapper Tupac Shakur.

They also have LL Cool J’s TROOP suit and Kangol hat as well as Run DMC’s leather jacket and pants worn during his Walk This Way performance with Aerosmith.
There is also Grandmaster Flash turntables and a sneaker gallery from the private collection of Hip-Hop recording artist Everlast.

Nwaka says Hip-Hop has become significant in our every day life. She says it tells a story of a genre of music that started off as being just for the intercity kids in the Bronx and has emerged to a global phenomenon with not only music but fashion and slang as well. It’s all over our media and is so engrained in our culture.

Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey is on display at the GRAMMY Museum from February 5, 2011 through till May 4.

MUSIC NEWS:
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Justin Timberlake is red hot these days and he doesn't quit. He is a six-time GRAMMY winner, having taken awards in 2004 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance with Cry Me a River and Best Pop Vocal Album with Justified. In 2007 he won for Best Dance Recording thanks to the hit single Sexy Back.

More recently in 2008 he won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance again for What Goes Around Comes Around and also Best Dance Recording for Lovestoned/I Think She Knows.

He is a triple threat as they say in Hollywood: a singer, dancer and actor.

His critical acclaim for his role as Napster-founder Sean Parker in The Social Network had some feeling like he got cheated out of an Oscar nomination this year.

His latest movie was Yogi Bear where he was the voice of the iconic character’s sidekick, Boo Boo. He says the chemistry between himself and Dan Aykroyd while voicing the film was a lot like Batman and Robin.

By the way, Yogi Bear was received poorly by critics yet it still managed to haul in a respectable $88.6 million at the North American box office. Up next for Justin is a starring role in the romantic comedy Friends with Benefits alongside Black Swan starlet Mila Kunis.

MUSIC NEWS:
JOHN LENNON EXHIBIT

At the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, a John Lennon exhibit is on until March 31 titled John Lennon, Songwriter. Some of the artifacts on display will be guitars used by John, his early albums, his signature round wire framed eyeglasses, his typewriter used to write lyrics early in his career, original drawings he did and his Album Of The Year GRAMMY Award for Double Fantasy. Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum spoke with us on how the opportunity for an exhibit came about and what it focuses on.

Last year Yoko Ono had visited the museum and liked what they were doing. He asked if they’d be interested in coming up with a John Lennon exhibit to coincide with his 70th birthday.

The exhibit examines the influences and roots of John and celebrates his genius as a song-writer both in the Beatles and as a solo artist.

The exhibit also has many handwritten song lyrics including Imagine and Beautiful Boy; early Beatles photographs and original posters; rare historic footage of Lennon and a never-before-seen interview with Yoko Ono about Lennon's songwriting.

Bob says if you want to know about John Lennon all you need to do is listen to the lyrics of his songs because he reveals so much about himself in them. Imagine has become an international anthem. The museum features a short film on how he wrote it. The exhibit in general gives visitors a chance to really understand a huge influencer of music in the 21rst century in a way that hasn’t been done before.

If you want John Lennon memorabilia, now’s your chance! Lennon’s first car was recently put up for auction in Paris. The 1965 Ferrari 330 GT has an estimated value of anywhere from 155,000 dollars to 220,000 dollars!

MUSIC NEWS:
TOP SELLING iTUNES SONG

iTunes says the biggest selling song of 2010 was Train's Hey Soul Sister. Hey Soul Sister is from the Save Me San Francisco album released in October, 2009. As of November 1, it had sold over 4.6 million digital downloads and became the most downloaded song of all-time for Columbia Records. The song featured on several TV shows this year including CSI NY, Hellcats and Medium. The song was also covered on Glee.

GRAMMY NOMINATIONS:
THE PROCESS

Now turning to the nomination process. Have you ever wondered how it’s done? Members are encouraged, but not required, to vote only in their fields of expertise.

The major labels decide on some nominees. Voters then decide on who they’d like to see nominated and it gets winnowed down to five. After nominees have been determined, final voting ballots are sent to recording academy members. They may then vote in the general fields and in no more than eight of the 30 fields.

MUSIC NEWS:
INDUSTRY SALES UPDATE

The music industry has lost one third of its value in the past seven years due to piracy. Revenue from digital music has grown 1,000 percent over the last seven years, but digital music sales have been slowing down.

Sales on iTunes account for around one third of revenue. Music piracy can be downloading music illegally or manufacturing mass numbers of counterfeit compact discs. Global music piracy is the cause of $12.5 billion of economic losses every year. Los Angeles Times music critic Jeff Weiss shares his thoughts on what record labels should do to survive online piracy.

He doesn’t think you can battle online piracy – it’s a lose-lose situation for the major labels. They are finding that they need to cultivate other streams of revenue. They’re bringing in things like Spotify. It’s not very big for Americans just yet but it’s huge in Britain. It’s a streaming service where you can stream any artist and they share revenue. He thinks it’s always going to be an upward climb for the record labels. The CD’s are becoming less and less the focus of the product but it’s more about the packaging including things like posters, and items that are representative for the artists. For example – Lady Gaga could include a wig and Nicki Minaj a Barbie doll.

The industry has called for a rule of law on the Internet meaning harsher action against those guilty. The most recent action was a court order to shut down the file-sharing website Limewire. It was a major victory for record label companies. Limewire was once the most installed file sharing application. It was ordered to end its entire operation in October.

Weiss suggests record labels will target third party hosting services more and more in 2011. Other companies, such as Pirate Bay, have been blocked in European nations by their respective governments. Many now feel tackling digital piracy is ultimately a task for governments.

GRAMMY MUSEUM:
MICHAEL AND ELVIS ON DISPLAY

The King of Pop and the King of Rock and Roll are on display in Los Angeles at the GRAMMY Museum. It features many exhibits showcasing historic musical artifacts, behind-the-scenes footage of GRAMMY live performances, and interactive touch-screen sensitive booths. The GRAMMY museum has become a Smithsonian museum of sorts to honor the music world.

It has become the place where Michael Jackson’s memory and his legacy continues to live with a display dedicated solely to him. Visitors walking in are demanding it. In June of this year, for the anniversary of his passing, they will have a brand new exhibit for him.

There is the legacy of Elvis Presley, which Bob says must be preserved. He says too many young people look at him as a character – as just someone who wore funny jump suits and sang fluffy songs. He wants to show him as one of the early pioneers of Rock and Roll and a major influencer in American pop culture.

By the way, the saying “Elvis has left the building” came about because of an announcement often heard on the public address system after an Elvis Presley concert to disperse crowds lingering for an encore. Bet you didn’t know that!

MUSIC NEWS:
THE GRAMMY TROPHY

The GRAMMY trophy is produced Colorado, made and assembled by hand, in pieces, and finished off in gold plating. The original GRAMMY design was revamped in 1990. They went from soft lead to a stronger alloy that wouldn’t damage as much. It made the trophy bigger and grander. This was much needed - it was too small before. Here’s a fun fact: the actual trophies, with the recipient's name engraved, are not available until after the award announcements. A series of stunt trophies are used and re-used just for the televised broadcast.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
BRUNO MARS

Now turning to music and the hottest trendsetting music maker: Bruno Mars.

The album Doo-Wops & Hooligans was just released and he is now opening for Maroon 5 on the fall leg of the Hands All Over tour that started October 6.

His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez. His own international number-one single is Just the Way You Are made it to the top of the billboard hot 100.

He was born and raised in Honolulu and is of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent. At the age of two he was nicknamed 'Bruno' by his father, due to him being a chubby baby and there being a famous chubby wrestler at the time called Bruno Hernandez was one of six children and came from a musical family giving him a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip-hop, and R&B.

From a young age, he was impersonating and performing songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
DRAKE

In the music and hip-hop world, Drake is the guy to watch.
His real name is Aubrey Drake Graham. He originally became known for playing character on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.

In November 2009, Lil Wayne released a statement announcing that Drake's first studio album, Thank Me Later, had been completed; the album was released June 15 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

He has an interesting story. His father is an African American from Memphis. His mother is a white Jewish Canadian. He attended a Jewish day school and had a Bar Mitzvah. His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother in Toronto's upscale Forest Hill neighborhood but spent summers with his father in Memphis. He attended high school at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, where he began acting, but did not graduate.

Drake Graham has worked with several other hip-hop artist such as Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z. With the success of his mixtape turned EP So Far Gone, Graham has been nominated for several awards including the Grammys; even being selected to perform at the 2010 Grammy awards. Graham also won several awards, including two Juno Awards in 2010 for Best New Artist, and Rap Recording of the Year.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
PALOMA FAITH

My music pick this month: Paloma Faith.

She is great!

She is a quirky, independent, cleaned up Amy Winehouse with the theatrics of Katy Perry and the costumes of a toned down Lady Gaga. The trend these days is for female singers to have a big stage performance that includes big costumes and offbeat voices.

Faith's first foray into music began when she mimicked Etta James and Billie Holiday whom she admires and cites as influences for her own work.

Her debut CD had the song Stone Cold Sober the fourth official single. My personal favorite is Upside Down.

During a performance at a cabaret show, Faith was scouted by an A&R man from Epic Records, who invited her to sing for the manager of the label. Twenty minutes into the audition, Faith asked the manager to turn his phone off and when he refused she just walked out. Nine months later, the manager called her back and offered her a contract saying - he had seen many acts since and none had been as memorable as hers.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT


My newest music pick: Rufus Wainright

Singer and song-writer Rufus Wainwright, born in Rhinebeck New York, has managed to carve out a unique space for himself in the world of contemporary pop music.

Affectionately referred to by Elton John as "the greatest songwriter on the planet" and praised by The New York Times for his "genuine originality," Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation.

He is the son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and brother of Martha Wainwright but Rufus has achieved his success by carving out his own singular sound in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance and film. He delves into many different genres and synchronizes them all beautifully.

His latest CD All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu has been described as "an exquisite, profoundly intimate grab bag of not necessarily complementary musical ideas".

ANN'S MUSIC PICK: BELLERUCHE


My newest music pick: hip-hop blues soul group Belleruche

Influenced by vintage blues records, punk girl drummers, obscure 60's cover bands and experimental west coast turntablists, they describe their sound as 'Turntable Soul Music' and soulful jazz.

They are a 3 piece London based band whose influences vary from the likes of Nina Simone to Jimi Hendrix.

They've gained popularity in the UK underground music scene.

Their debut album is called 'Turntable Soul Music'

Ann's Music Pick:
Daniel Merriweather


One of my favorite artists overseas today is Daniel Paul Merriweather from Melbourne, Australia. His genre is R&B, meets neo-soul, meets acid jazz. He begun back in 2002, but is now booming in popularity. He's great. Daniel was voted best new act in Europe last year, and claims that Stevie Wonder, Prince and Herbie Hancock were his major influences. His first commercially released album was last June, and it reached #2 on the UK charts. The album was preceded by the hit singles "Change" and "Red". "Red" is my favorite song today.