Island Def Jam is reviving the Mercury imprint in the U.S. and has tapped Sony Music A&R guy David Massey to serve as president of the division.

Industry insiders are claiming that its doom and gloom for big-box retailers….
Borders are on an buying freeze through the end of April. Handleman is in the midst of dragging down approx. $25 million in inventory from its WalMart stores and is taking a more conservative route to new releases than in the past.

KOAR doesn’t typically talk about Talk Radio. But we couldn’t refrain after hearing the breaking news that CBS fired IMUS and terminated his morning talk radio show. Firing Imus but not holding others accountable is a double standard and selective profiling. This won’t be the end, expect an uproar…..check out the TIME article “Who can Say What?”

Lastly, rap artists will also be held accountable including Snoopy Dog, Ludacris, etc. Certain broadcasters that have millions of viewers are going to dedicate airtime exposing these artists and the people behind these artists including industry executives. Could this be end of the hedonistic empire? Check out the KOAR’s last article ‘Hip Hop Taking Criticism While Sales Tank’.

Unsigned One Less Reason just sold out a 1,000 capacity club in Jackson, MS. The track ‘If you want Me’ has sub power rotation at the top 40 station y101.

The October is charting on CMJ. The alternative act is close to completing a new EP as they continue to tour regionally while selling out their hometown. Check out the recent radio interview.

Several A&R’s at EPIC were let go as of yesterday…..

A new study claims that Internet radio listenership has doubled. “There’s no question that listening to the radio over the Internet is well on its way to becoming more of a rule than an exception,” said AMS President/CEO Edward Seeger.

Soundscan

NOW 24
Various
TW 213,160
Total 443,325
*consumers love HITS, which is what every artist should strive for.

Daughtry
TW 98,426
Total 2,204,219
*Nickelback, Hinder and now Daughtry. The US loves melodic rock. This record is going to hit 4-5 million. This summer you will be hearing more Daughtry tracks hit the airwaves. Read KOAR’s article ‘The Trouble With Nickelback’

Chevelle
Vena Sera
TW 61,901

Kings of Leon
Because of the Times
TW 41,919

The Academy Is
Santi
TW 33,163

J LO
Coma Ama Una..
TW 25,658
Total 74,069

The US will be filing two new trade cases against China over copyright piracy and restrictions on the sale of American movies, music and books there. China is costing American companies billions of dollars in sales because of rampant copyright piracy. China is more concerned jailing journalists than protecting copyright material. What a great leap backward.

KOAR will be posting several NEW artists soon.

My Favorite Highway is performing today in NYC for Virgin staffers.

Check out Jenny Owen Youngs, listen to the first track HOT IN HERE.

Studio in the bedroom to the TOP of I Tunes
Acoustic guitarist Kate Walsh has knocked Take That off the top of the iTunes download album chart – but does not even own an iPod. The 23-year-old guitarist recorded her album in a friend’s bedroom . The homemade album is an unexpected hit with iPod fans who had downloaded it from iTunes in the thousands – knocking Take That and Kaiser Chiefs from the top spots.
Kate Walsh said: “You end up looking at it every day to see if you’re still number one. I think I’m ahead of Elton.

Regardless, these tracks are really tame. Makes KOAR wonder……

Warner and EMI in the news again…
Warner Music is considering pursuing a merger with EMI by making a direct appeal to its rival’s shareholders in an attempt to undermine the opposition of EMI’s management, The Sunday Times reported

The Foo Fighters have resigned with RCA Records.

KOAR predicts Daughtry could do Nickelback numbers (3 to 5 million range)

NE-YO branded Whitney Houston’s new album boring when he was was invited by pop guru Clive Davis to give his verdict on eight new Whitney tracks. NE-YO has now been called in to relaunch Whitney’s career.

MTV’s Vice President, Jeff Yapp, explains why the television network believes games are the next step in music entertainment.

Music business grads far outnumber Music Row jobs….
Approx. 500 music business grads from Belmont and Middle Tennessee State University soon will be competing for jobs and internships, but the entry-level music industry jobs are few each year.
Universal Music Group Nashville, which takes on about 12 interns each semester, has only two or three entry-level positions open each year — usually for jobs as receptionists or in the mailroom.

Check out a new track They Tried to Kill Chivalry… from My Favorite Highway. For more information contact Dan Friedman. MFH are scheduled to perform a private showcase for Virgin tomorrow.

J Lo
Como Ama Una Mujer
TW 49,179

This is a stiff. J Lo sold 49,452 copies. Lopez’s first Spanish language album was a calculated move to win back the audience she lost as her pop albums became increasingly more and more about herself and her celebrity. The failure of “Como” is alarming for many reasons, not the least of which is that Lopez’s already questionable recording career is now in severe jeopardy. Her last ENGLISH album was a sales disaster too. A lot of room at the top for NEW music folks. Consumers are no longer purchasing these pop records sung by socialites.

Amy Winehouse
Back to Black
TW 46,300
Total 144,922

Carrie Underwood
Some Hearts
TW 39,245
Total 5,155,202

Nickelback
All The Right Reasons
TW 32,536
Total 5,156,389

Gym Class Heroes
As Cruel As School Children
TW 15,810
Total 261,486