UMG-EMI OP/ED: Digital-entertainment blogger Moses Avalon came down in favor of the consolidation of the Big Four into three this morning in a commentary he headlined in part, “Why Artists Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Universal/EMI Merger.” Avalon gives two reasons for his support: “The future of music, according to Universal Music’s Peter Lofrumento, who told Reuters , ‘depends on providing consumers with as many legal alternatives to piracy as possible.’ He’s right. So, unfortunately, as uncompetitive as it might seem, what the industry needs right now is some form of unification to ease the ability for universal licensing (no pun intended).” The other reason, he argues, is that “The fewer large music companies Google and other ISPs have to deal with, the stronger music’s negotiating position will be.” His conclusion: “The only people who I can see having a reasonable argument against this merger would be Warner Music, who in the end will end up being the RC Cola to Universal/Sony’s Coke and Pepsi. ISPs will object as well… But as far as artists whose revenue is generated from both advances and royalties, this merger should be a welcome one. For now. Timing is everything. Ten years ago I would’ve staunchly objected to this, now I think it must happen at this time or the consequences could be severe. Ironic as it seems, right now, for music, consolidation is the new growth.” How’s that for a catch phrase? (5/25a)
COMMOTION: At times, the AmericanIdol finale looked like a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, between Aerosmith and Creedence auteur John Fogerty, who made a surprise appearance to sing “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”—embedded above—and “Bad Moon Rising” with winner Phillip Phillips. Fogerty’s been networking quite a bit lately, between joining the Black Keys onstage at Coachella and revisiting his classics with Foo Fighters, Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Bob Seger, Miranda Lambert and My Morning Jacket on his upcoming album Wrote a Song for Everyone, his first for Vanguard. Fogerty was signed by label A&R exec Bill Bentley, who spent most of his career as part of the brain trust at Warner Bros. Records. (5/25a)
EVEN STEVEN: Steven Tyler talked about Aerosmith’s upcoming Music From Another Dimension, during a press conference Wednesday night after the Idol finale, Rolling Stone reported. "It’s the kind of thing where it represents who you are," he said. "Who are you? We don’t know. Sometimes our music speaks for us, so this album—as Joe Perry said on one of his solo records—'Let the music do the talking,' and this one does. Your album is like a wave, and you ride that album all the way and see what you got. Hopefully we have three or four deep, which means radio play. Jack Douglas and I and Joe, we worked this thing for the last year, and we’re so happy about it." Tyler also asserted that first single “Legendary Child,” which Aerosmith played for the first time on the show, "depicts who we are." And when asked whether he'd be upset if Jennifer Lopez didn't return next year, Tyler responded, "Probably. Everything evolves, though. Who you’re gonna sit next to makes it really worthwhile. Don’t take that out of context!" (5/25a)
HIS NAME IS… In a phone interview Thursday morning, Eminem told Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg (no relation to Em’s manager Paul Rosenberg)that he’s started work on the first album under his own moniker since the 2010 smash Recovery. He's also completing work on a new album from Slaughterhouse, and he’d better hurry—the hip-hop supergroup’s debut is out on Shady June 12. (5/25a)
Hot on the heels of Sony edging past UMG in total marketshare comes news the music group has the potential for nine of next week's Top 15. Here's how it looks headed into the weekend:
*John Mayer (Columbia) 225-250k Adele (XL/Columbia) 55-60k Carrie Underwood (19/Arista Nashville) 50-55k Lionel Richie (Mercury Nashville) 35-40k
*MercyMe (Fair Trade) 35-40k One Direction (Syco/Columbia) 35-40k
*Slash (Dik Hayd/EMI Label Services) 30-35k
*Sara Bareilles (Epic) 30-35k Now 42 (Capitol/EMI) 30-35k Glee Cast (Columbia) 25-28k Adam Lambert (19/RCA) 24-27k
*Kimbra (Warner Bros.) 21-24k Norah Jones (Blue Note/EMI) 21-24k
*Tedeschi Trucks Band (Sony Masterworks) 18-21k Luke Bryan (Capitol Nashville/EMI) 18-21k Gotye (Fairfax/Universal Republic) 18-21k Of Monsters and Men (Universal Republic) 18-21k
*Haley Reinhart (19/Interscope) 18-21k Nicki Minaj (YM/CM/Universal Republic) 18-21k
IDOL RATINGS IDLING: Last night’s American Idol finale, which crowned 21-year-old Georgia singer/songwriter Phillip Phillips champ, delivered a 6.3/19 rating adults 18-49, down 32% from last year’s 9.2/26, and the lowest ever, drawing 21.5 million viewers. Compared with last week, Idol was up 43%, leading to Fox winning the night in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key demos. Idol’s 18-49 rating was also 43% higher than The Voice’s Season 2 finale. For comparison, the show’s season 2 finale attracted 38 million viewers, with a 16.8/37 rating back in 2003. Last season, the first with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, was up a full percentage point in the ratings over the previous year. (5/24p)
SONY & SHARE: The N.Y. Post’s Claire Atkinson has written a story about the epic battle being waged by Sony Music and UMG for marketshare dominance. “So much depends on the release schedule,” a Universal insider told her. “There’s a lot of back and forth. It’s the year-end that counts.” And though she doesn’t add anything that our own I.B. Bad has already told you about the neck-and-neck competition, the Post art department came up with a typically wacky graphic to accompany the article, as you can see. (5/24a)
SHOWBIZ KIDS: The EDMbiz Conference, set for June 5-7 at The Cosmopolitan of Lost Wages, has announced a list of additional speakers, led by Michael Rapino, who will deliver the keynote "conversation with." The effervescent Perry Farrell will then have a one-on-one tete-a-tete with his old Lollapalooza cohort, William Morris Endeavor’s Marc Geiger. Also confirmed are Ultra’s pioneering Patrick Moxey,Jono Grant and Tony McGuinness from Above & Beyond, Richie Hawtin, Junkie XL and Astralwerks GM Glenn Mendlinger. These speakers join an already impressive list including Kaskade, Swedish House Mafia’sSteve Angello, Craig Kallman, TopSpin Media’s Ian Rogers, WME’s Joel Zimmerman, Red Light Management’s Richard Bishop, Glassnote’s Daniel Glass and Goldenvoice’s Skip Paige. Hosting the conference is KCRW MD Jason Bentley. (5/24a)
AHEAD OF THE CURVE: “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Michael Rapino and Perry Farrell have joined our incredible group of speakers,” said Pasquale Rotella, CEO and founder of Insomniac, which is presenting the confab. “Perry has been an ardent champion of electronic music dating back to Nine Inch Nails being on the first Lollapalooza, to producing the trailblazing ENIT festival in the mid-’90s, through today with ‘Perry’s,’ his personally curated EDM stage at Lollapaloozas around the world. And as CEO of the largest concert promotion company on the planet, Michael Rapino is uniquely positioned as EDM becomes more popular and expands globally. This is going to be a great conference!” (5/24a)
A PHIL-GOOD STORY:American Idol crowned a new champion last night. The play-by-play from Ryan Seacrest went like this: "After a record breaking 132 million votes, the winner of American Idol season 11 is ... Phillip Phillips!" Last year's winner Scotty McCreery then handed the trophy to the 21-year-old Georgia native, while the top 12 crowded around him and the judges gave him a standing ovation. Phillips tried to sing his new single, "Home," but got choked up and couldn't finish the song, opting to hug his parents and the judges instead. He prevailed over big-voiced 16-year-old Californian Jessica Sanchez. (5/24a)
UMG-EMI OP/ED: Digital-entertainment blogger Moses Avalon came down in favor of the consolidation of the Big Four into three this morning in a commentary he headlined in part, “Why Artists Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Universal/EMI Merger.” Avalon gives two reasons for his support: “The future of music, according to Universal Music’s Peter Lofrumento, who told Reuters , ‘depends on providing consumers with as many legal alternatives to piracy as possible.’ He’s right. So, unfortunately, as uncompetitive as it might seem, what the industry needs right now is some form of unification to ease the ability for universal licensing (no pun intended).” The other reason, he argues, is that “The fewer large music companies Google and other ISPs have to deal with, the stronger music’s negotiating position will be.” His conclusion: “The only people who I can see having a reasonable argument against this merger would be Warner Music, who in the end will end up being the RC Cola to Universal/Sony’s Coke and Pepsi. ISPs will object as well… But as far as artists whose revenue is generated from both advances and royalties, this merger should be a welcome one. For now. Timing is everything. Ten years ago I would’ve staunchly objected to this, now I think it must happen at this time or the consequences could be severe. Ironic as it seems, right now, for music, consolidation is the new growth.” How’s that for a catch phrase? (5/25a)
EVEN STEVEN: Steven Tyler talked about Aerosmith’s upcoming Music From Another Dimension, during a press conference Wednesday night after the Idol finale, 
IDOL RATINGS IDLING: Last night’s American Idol finale, which crowned 21-year-old Georgia singer/songwriter Phillip Phillips champ, delivered a 6.3/19 rating adults 18-49, down 32% from last year’s 9.2/26, and the lowest ever, drawing 21.5 million viewers. Compared with last week, Idol was up 43%, leading to Fox winning the night in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key demos. Idol’s 18-49 rating was also 43% higher than 
SHOWBIZ KIDS: The 
AHEAD OF THE CURVE: “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Michael Rapino and Perry Farrell have joined our incredible group of speakers,” said Pasquale Rotella, CEO and founder of Insomniac, which is presenting the confab. “Perry has been an ardent champion of electronic music dating back to Nine Inch Nails being on the first Lollapalooza, to producing the trailblazing ENIT festival in the mid-’90s, through today with ‘Perry’s,’ his personally curated EDM stage at Lollapaloozas around the world. And as CEO of the largest concert promotion company on the planet, Michael Rapino is uniquely positioned as EDM becomes more popular and expands globally. This is going to be a great conference!” (5/24a)
