Jay-Z Accused Of Faking Record Sales Again (Wall Street Journal)

Jay-Z

Scared his next album will be another sales disappointment, rapper Jay-Z has signed a deal with Samsung, who will buy and distribute for free, 1 million copies of his forthcoming CD. Many are criticizing the move as a sales scheme on Jay-Z's end.

Previously, Jay-Z was slammed for a massive sales scandal that discredited well known music industry company Soundscan (Jay-Z turned it into Soundscam). Jay-Z, a one time drug dealer who still brags about said misbehavior in a manner not helpful to impressionable people, rather than denouncing it, bribed retailers to scan the same copy of his CD through the register repeatedly to register higher sales.

It gave him undeserved and unearned number one records on Billboard, also discrediting and tainting their charts, while robbing others of their rightful position and accolades. From day one Jay-Z entered the music industry with drug money, using it to fund his record company Rockafella and engage in illegal payola to guarantee him airplay, which counts towards number one singles on the music charts.

Jay-Z, who has been faced with a string of business failures, has a career that is all smoke and mirrors, to create the illusion of success. It's one thing to take payment for advertising tweets on Twitter, as many have done so as a legitimate business. However, things have gone so far regarding Jay-Z that he pays people to tweet compliments about him, his appearance, daughter, wife and career. That's just sad. 

STORY SOURCE

Samsung to Give Away 1 Million Copies of Jay-Z’s New Album

June 16, 2013, 9:26 PM - ...The connection: Samsung has purchased 1 million copies of Jay-Z’s coming album, entitled "Magna Carta Holy Grail," slated for release July 4, and plans to give them to Samsung Galaxy smartphone users for free – 72 hours ahead of the release. The users are to receive the music through an app they’ll receive later this month. (Recipients won’t be able to share it until the official release date.). Samsung paid $5 apiece for the albums, according to a person familiar with the matter. It wasn’t immediately clear if Nielsen SoundScan will count Samsung’s purchases in its sales tallies.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy

Singer Miguel Facing Lawsuit From Audience Member He Kicked In The Head

Bruce Lee he is not. You need a helmet to go to a Miguel show.

This month at the Billboard Music Awards, singer Miguel decided he could fly and jumped over a portion of the audience while singing on stage. He ended up landing on the head of an audience member, while kicking another one. The woman whose head ended up face down on the stage staggered away.

The woman he accidentally karate kicked in the head, Khyati Shah, is now talking about suing the singer, retaining an attorney to represent her in any potential legal action. Miguel referred to her as "my new friend" knowing this day was coming when she'd want to sue.

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Miguel falls under legal threat after landing on fan

Friday 31 May 2013 07.53 EDT - A young woman who was accidentally kicked in the head by Miguel is 'considering legal action.' After landing on some audience members, Miguel may be landing in court. A young woman has met with doctors and lawyers following an incident on 20 May, when the singer accidentally kicked her in the head during a performance at the Billboard awards.

A misjudged leap meant that Miguel crashed into two fans in the Billboard awards audience, slamming their bodies into the stage floor. Although Miguel finished the song, he immediately tried to make it up to Khyati Shah, the woman who suffered the brunt of his mistake. Meeting up backstage, he described the icepack-clutching victim as "a new friend"...

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Chris Brown Kissed Karrueche Tran At The Billboard Awards While Rihanna Dined Alone (Video)

According to Hollywood Life, Chris Brown was spotted kissing model Karrueche Tran, his date for the Billboard Awards, while Rihanna skipped the show and dined across town alone. Much to the rage of the Rihanna navy dinghy, Brown has rekindled his romance with Tran, a woman who has stuck by him through much.

However, it is just a matter of time before Rihanna tries to break them up again. But things are still on the up for Tran, who recently auditioned for a project, after landing several modeling assignments this year. Brown has been very supportive of her career, as she has been the same regarding him.

Trouble could be brewing for Brown as Hollywood life is reporting his enemy Drake and fellow rapper and critic Jay-Z are in the studio together and may make a diss track about the R&B singer. Considering Brown is the type that doesn't care, he will respond in kind with a track of his own if they take it there. Will Brown pull a Nas and go for Jay-Z's jugular. Stay tuned...

STORY SOURCE

Drake & Jay-Z: In The Studio Together — Dissing Chris Brown?

Why Justin Bieber Was Booed At The Billboard Awards (Video)

Pop singer Justin Bieber received a lesson yesterday in how fickle the music industry can be when he was loudly booed at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, after being presented with the Milestone Award. The diminutive 19-year-old star stated, "I'm an artist and I should be taken seriously." The irony is, had Bieber not been a teen pop star, with his musical abilities, such as playing guitar and the drums, critics would take him more seriously for his artistry.

However, traditionally, with the way the music history and the industry has worked, teen pop stars, including boybands, are rarely commended for artistry and usually have a short career span. The New Kids On The Block were a big teen pop sensation in the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling even more records that Bieber has today, but their fame ended overnight, due to their demographic moving on to the next trend.

For a teen pop star to enter adulthood with a successful career embraced by the public and critics alike, it takes a really savvy manager with an understanding of music history (it rarely happens). Certain career moves must be avoided, thinking of the long run as opposed to short term gains.