Katy Perry managed to the grab the first spot on the annual list of the highest-paid women in music. She made $83 million for the year topping Taylor Swift ($80 million), Beyoncé ($60 million) and Pink ($52 million).

Despite releasing an album that fell below expectations, Katy’s tour earned $1 million a night and American Idol gave her a $20 million paycheck which helped her secure the #1 spot.

Here is the complete list:

Katy Perry ($83 million), Taylor Swift ($80 million), Beyoncé ($60 million), Pink ($52 million), Lady Gaga ($50 million), Jennifer Lopez ($47 million), Rihanna ($37.5 million), Helene Fischer ($32 million), Celine Dion ($31 million), Britney Spears ($30 million)

The music business is known as the business of exception and this is definitely an exception. Pop singer Mariah Carey who fell out of the public eye recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote her new album Caution. Ironically, her album Glitter, a commercial flop, that was released nearly 20 years ago became a topic of discussion. In fact, she said that her life was nearly ruined when she recorded the album Glitter. In reaction to the interview, her fans created the hashtag #justiceforglitter which propelled the album on top of the iTunes Album Chart. Consequently, it beat out new releases by Lil Wayne, Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, and John Legend.

During the recording of Glitter, Mariah suffered emotional problems that caused her to check into the hospital. Her spokeswoman said that she “suffered an emotional and physical breakdown” due to lack of sleep and was under psychiatric care.

Mariah says, “I can say it now that they got it to No. 1, so I thank them,” she continued. “This is all about them. And I should not have to feel bad about that because it was all about the circumstances when the album came out, so it’s exciting.” CONTINUE READING

Tech companies are about the data. For instance, when the techs discover that the photo of an A List celebrity gets less clicks while the ad spot without the photo gets more clicks; what is the answer? Well, the answer is simple, promote the ad spot without the celebrity photo. But that may hurt the celebrity feelings. In other words, technology can measure consumers desires and wants, and Hollywood is fighting against it. But will tech companies cave to Hollywood or will Hollywood cave to tech companies? The battle is raging.

For instance, Netflix Inc.’s executives were worried about ticking off Jane Fonda.

“After the streaming-video giant released the second season of the comedy “Grace and Frankie” in 2016, its product team put up an image to promote the show to U.S. subscribers that only included Ms. Fonda’s co-star, Lily Tomlin. Tests showed that more users clicked on the show when the photo didn’t include Ms. Fonda”.

The decision set off a high-pitched internal debate. The Los Angeles-based content team was concerned that Netflix risked alienating Ms. Fonda, and that the move could even violate her contract, while the tech group in the Los Gatos, Calif., headquarters argued the company shouldn’t ignore the data, according to people familiar with the discussions.”

In the end, Netflix chose to put images that included Ms. Fonda back in the mix”.

People in Hollywood aren’t numbers driven. What happens when numbers and provable tests are at odds with A-listers and image-conscious talent? CONTINUE READING

David Guetta recently broke down a formula for success. He said success is mostly down to hard work and luck — not talent. His formula for success is “talent 20 percent, work probably 70 percent and 10 percent of luck.” In fact, he credits his long lasting career to hard work and persistence.

He goes on talk about his calloborations with Nicki Minaj and Sia.” I think we made records that were really life-changing together. And I feel like they became such huge stars and I think it’s amazing that they’re always here from me and really appreciate it.”

Unlike most DJ’s and producers, Guetta is motivated to make records because he loves the stage. “You know, like, I think a lot of new producers, DJs … they start by being producers and then because of having a successful record they go to [the] stage and become DJs. For me it’s the other way around. I go to the studio because when I’m making music, I’m imagining the moment I’m going to drop this record. And the amazing feeling of happiness … [is] what makes me want to work those 16 hours a day sometimes in the studio.”

Guetta’s dream collaboration is Adele. “There are many people that I want to work with. I would love to work with Adele, which I never did. But, at the same time, probably the biggest dream is to find a new Sia. Someone that can write and sing and that is unknown and that we can develop something together. That’s the ultimate dream really.

Today, the Music Modernization Act has been officially signed into law by President Trump. Kanye West among others witnessed the historic moment. Artists have been treated very unfairly for a long time. The Music Modernization Act will modernize copyright protection for recording artists and songwriters in the digital and streaming age. Simply, artists will get paid fair market value.

The bill revamps Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act. Their are the act’s three main pieces of legislation:The Music Modernization Act, which streamlines the music-licensing process to make it easier for rights holders to get paid when their music is streamed online. The Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, & Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act for pre-1972 recordings. The Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act, which improves royalty payouts for producers and engineers from SoundExchange when their recordings are used on satellite and online radio.