50 BILLBOARD | SEPTEMBER 2, 2017
The Bellas are back:
Pitch Perfect 3
(Dec. 22) reunites
Anna Kendrick, Ester
Dean, Rebel Wilson
and crew with now-pop
star Hailee Steinfeld
for the a cappella
juggernaut’s final
installment.
Calling all Animals:
For her first solo
trek in four years,
Kesha invites you
to “boogie” with
her as she takes her
acclaimed Rainbow
on a North American
tour (starting
Sept. 26).“Got a chance to
start again,” rapped
Macklemore on his
latest single,
“Glorious,” featuring
Skylar Grey; he’ll
do just that with his
first solo record
in 12 years, Gemini
(Sept. 22).Mega-stars on mega-
tours: JAY-Z’s 4:44
kicks off 31 North
American dates on
Oct. 27, Bruno Mars
takes his ongoing
24K Magic show
worldwide, and Lady
Gaga globetrots with
her Joanne spectacle.Posthumous dives into
rock god lives: Dylan
Jones’ epic oral
history David Bowie:
A Life (Sept. 12) and
Anthony DeCurtis’
Lou Reed: A Life
(Oct. 10), based on
extensive interviews
with Reed.Still spooky
after all these
years? Marilyn
Manson has called
forthcoming 10th
studio album Heaven
Upside Down “the
most thematic and
overcomplicated
thing I’ve done.”23 24 25 26 27 2818.
WHO WILL BREAK OUT?
“All signs are pointing to
Trippie Redd. He’s got that
new rap-rock-star persona. It
only makes sense that genre
line is just being blurred
now, and I think he’s one song
away from breaking out.”
—Joey Bada$$IN 2016, STREAMING ACCOUNTED FOR OVER HALF
of U.S. music sales. By the end of 2017, with download
sales continuing to fall, it could be close to two-thirds.
But what this biz’s future looks like — and whether it will
be shaped by music-centric companies like Pandora and
iHeartRadio or digital giants like Apple and Amazon —
depends on what happens in the next few months.
Right now, the paid on-demand business driving
streaming revenue is dominated by Spotify and
Apple, which this summer announced that they have
60 million and 27 million respective subscribers
worldwide. While the RIAA has not released
subscription numbers since April, MusicWatch
analyst Russ Crupnick estimates that, in the States,
there are now between 32 million and 34 million
on-demand music service subscribers. Amazon has
never announced subscriber numbers for Amazon
Music Unlimited, although most analysts now believe
it is, or will soon emerge as, No. 3.
“The question now is, who’s going to win the middle,”
says Crupnick. As TIDAL, Pandora, iHeartRadio andSoundCloud all try to gain traction among more serious
music fans, they must also battle for casual listeners.
“From here on out, every day is hypercritical,” says
Amazon Music director Ryan Redington. “The players
need to establish themselves.”
The fall’s biggest buzz will be around Spotify’s
expected stock market debut, reportedly through
direct listing. Though this probably won’t occur
until early 2018, speculation about Spotify’s success
could stimulate investment that would help smaller
companies in need of cash infusions to keep operating.
Months ago, Spotify started adding video to its
immensely popular Rap Caviar playlist — traditional
clips and artist freestyles — “and that has been really
successful,” says chief content officer Stefan Blom.
“You can expect us to do more of that before the end
of the year.”
In December, Apple will introduce the voice-activated
HomePod speaker. At $350, it’s more expensive than
Amazon’s Echo and, at least initially, will only stream
songs with Apple Music. But Apple is promoting the- STREAMING GLIMPSES ITS FUTURE
As the industry awaits Spotify’s stock market entry — and the sector itself reaches for the
mainstream consumer — the major players usher in new leadership, products and incentives
ROCKING ON The Foos’ ninth LP,
Concrete and Gold, comes Sept. 15 —
the latest chapter in a career that
has spanned over two decades and seen
the band grow into an American rock
institution. But the Foos haven’t
grown complacent, opting to work with
writer/producer-to-the-stars Greg
Kurstin for the first time.
SIZE MATTERS Bandleader Dave Grohl
has said he wants the record to
feel like “Mötörhead’s version of
Sgt. Pepper” and has teased a special
guest as “probably the biggest pop
star in the world.” Kurstin says Foo
fans will be “pleasantly surprised”
by the album’s balance of volume and
variety: “It’s loud and aggressive
but also really beautiful at times.”
RAISING HIS VOICE For the first time
on an album in over a decade, Grohl
passed the mic to drummer Taylor
Hawkins for one track that Kurstin
calls “one of my favorite moments of
the record.” —ANDREW UNTERBERGER
- WHAT WE KNOW
ABOUT FOO FIGHTERS