Billboard has released it's 2009 Money Makers list, detailing the top 40 earners in the music industry. The tally takes into account sales of CDs and downloads, merchandise, and most importantly, concert tickets. Touring is the most lucrative aspect of popular music, and it's evident with U2 topping the list. The group is currently halfway through what is expected to be the highest grossing tour in history, the 360 Tour. Billboard estimates that U2 earned $108,601,283 in 2009. The 360 Tour is U2's first under their new all-inclusive music/touring/merchandise deal with concert promoters Live Nation.
Bruce Springsteen landed in second place after a successful year that included a Super Bowl performance, studio album, exclusive Wal-Mart hits compilation, as well as an extensive touring schedule. Last year's chart topper, Madonna, came in third. The Queen of Pop completed her Sticky & Sweet Tour which is now the most successful tour by a solo artist in music history. Her touring revenues made up for her music sales which are lagging relative to earlier years.
AC/DC mixed touring revenues with music sales, including strong sales of their back catalog to finish in fourth. Britney Spears came in fifth following her wildly successful Circus tour and strong digital download sales of her singles. Rounding out the top ten are Pink, The Jonas Brothers, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, and Metallica.
If you thought Britney Spears was on the road to being taken seriously, think again. Only two albums after her first hits compilation, Spears is ready to drop The Singles Collection later this year featuring her biggest hits and a brand new track, the Max Martin penned "3".
Max Martin was once one of the world's great pop songwriters. Like a Swedish Holland-Dozier-Holland, Martin created gems like "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, "It's Gonna Be Me" by NSync, and "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. These were songs that made unpretentious critics admit they were pretty good pop songs, even if they weren't performed by the most legitimate acts.
When the teen pop bubble burst, Martin proved he could do more than straight up bubble gum pop and co-wrote "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi and "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. Martin seemed destined for a place in the pantheon of songwriting greats, but then "I Kissed A Girl" happened. Katy Perry's trashy, gimmicky breakthrough was co-written by Martin and somehow managed to reach No. 1 across the globe. That was quickly followed by the faux-hardcore worthless "So What" by Pink, and the "Since U Been Gone" lite "My Life Would Such Without You" by Kelly Clarkson which followed suit and topped the charts in the United States.
Spears left Martin as she sought to rid herself of her teeny-bopper image but, considering the hits he was popping out as of late, it was inevitable the two would get back together. The result was "If U Seek Amy", an excuse for a controversy and the lamest thing she has ever recorded.
Now we can add "3" to this list of horrendous tracks. They all have a few things in common besides being bad. The lyrics are terrible, often trying too hard to be edgy or controversial, the synthesizers sound like they were bought at the dollar store, and people don't seem to mind and they buy them from iTunes like it was going out of fashion. If "3" goes No. 1, I'll be devastated and Max Martin will continue to pump out this filth.
...Actually...I take that back. I'm rooting for anything that can end our national nightmare and knock the Black Eyed Peas off of the Hot 100, even if Max Martin wrote it.
iTunes Watch Last week, Kanye West set a personal record for highest debut when "Love Lockdown" opened at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. With virtually no radio airplay and only a couple of days of sales, he seemed a shoe-in for this week's #1 as Pink's "So What" barley beat him out in digital downloads despite having an entire week of sales. West had a lock down on the one spot on iTunes until yesterday when Pink's "So What" snatched it (who's still buying this song?) followed by Katy Perry's rising "Hot N Cold". That'll throw a wrench in Kanye's plans.
Meanwhile, new releases by Christina Aguilera ("Keeps Gettin' Better") and The Killers ("Human") are now available for legal download on the site. Neither of these tracks have made it to the top ten yet, but T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life" has. The song, from T.I.'s Paper Trails album (out today) samples the infamous "Numa Numa Song" (actually titled "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-Zone) and is Rihanna's best song since "Umbrella". It's current #9 place on iTunes top 100 songs is made all the more impressive considering it has yet to be officially released as a single, has received little airplay, and doesn't even have a music video. Rihanna is an unstoppable force of nature.
T.I. Reclaims Pole Position After being knocked off the top spot for a solitary week, "Whatever You Like" by T.I. reclaims the #1 spot thanks to strong gains in airplay. Pink's "So What" drops down to #2. Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" debuts at #3 due to strong first week digital downloads. In our last poll, we asked 17 Tracks readers their thoughts on Katy Perry and her girl kissing single. 42% believed Perry to be a one hit wonder. She proved them wrong today as "Hot N Cold" jumped 12-9, giving her a second top ten hit. She's a double hit wonder now. Can she do it a third time?
1. T.I. - "Whatever You Like"
2. Pink - "So What"
3. Kanye West - "Love Lockdown"
4. Rihanna - "Disturbia"
5. Taylor Swift - "Love Story"
6. M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
7. Ne-Yo - "Closer"
8. T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne - "Can't Believe It"
9. Katy Perry - "Hot N Cold"
10. Estelle feat. Kanye West - "American Boy"
Pink Scores First Ever Solo Number One In 2001, Pink was included in the all-star cast for the remake of Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" alongside Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, and Mya. The track was #1 for five weeks. Seven years later, Pink finally gets a #1 all to herself. "So What" is about a pop star pretending to be a rock star and steals it's "na na na na na na na" from Barney. It sold 253,000 digital downloads.
"Swagga Like Us" is this week's hot shot debut at #5. "Swagga" featuring a superstar line-up of Jay-Z, T.I., Kanye West, and Lil Wayne and sold 139,000 digital downloads. "American Boy" jetted from a disappointing #53 placing to its new peak at #8 after Atlantic Records decided to put it back on iTunes.
Pink - "So What"
T.I. - "Whatever You Like"
Rihanna - "Disturbia"
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
Jay-Z & T.I. feat. Kanye West & Lil Wayne - "Swagga Like Us"
Chris Brown - "Forever"
Ne-Yo - "Closer"
Estelle feat. Kanye West - "American Boy"
Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain - "Got Money"
Metronomy - "Heartbreaker" They hail from Devon, England. They are electronic. This is "Heartbreaker" and it is rather good. It is the fourth single from Nights Out, an album that hasn't even been released yet.
Solange Knowles - "Sandcastle Disco" Beyonce's younger, "indie"-er sister releases Sol-Angel And The Hadley St. Dreams today. Trying to distance herself from the R&B of her sister she has made a record hearkening to the soulful sounds of the 60's and 70's with a hint of electronica. How do you think Mom and Dad Knowles came up with their names?
Pink - "So What" I've never really understood Pink. Who is she? Where did she come from? Did she even try out for Mickey Mouse Club? It seems that everyone knows at least one Pink song but I've never heard of anyone who is a self proclaimed Pink fan. Well, this is her new single. Humorous video, but calling herself a rock star is a joke. Even Avril is more hardcore than this.
