It’s all about Ed Sheeran now. He has 4 tracks in the top 15. Maroon 5 “Maps” lands at #7 and it’s very “The Police” and “Bruno Mars”, it was written by Adam Levine, Benny Blanco, Max Martin, Shellback and Ryan Tedder.

via Showbiz 411

UPDATE TUESDAY AFTER MIDNIGHT: “AKA” finally appeared on the iTunes chart at number 29 around 2am. It’s an inauspicious start.

EARLIER: Do I know what’s going on? Not all the time. I do not know why Jennifer Lopez’s “AKA” album, set for release tomorrow, is not listed on iTunes. It doesn’t exist. That’s a bad sign. Where the heck is it? “AKA” isn’t even listed in the iTunes search engine. Is Capitol Records advertising it? Not there.

“AKA” is ranked at number 63 on amazon.com. That’s also not good. All the rest of tomorrow’s big releases are ranked in the top 10 thanks to advance orders. “AKA” is lacking in that area.

Lopez’s last album was a bust. This was supposed to be a comeback. But considering Mariah Carey’s problems with her new album, Lopez has reason to worry.

It does seem that even core fans are not turning up for the divas. It’s a little like Tom Cruise’s problem with “Edge of Tomorrow.” They’ve done the same thing over and over. It’s finally become a bore to the public. All talented people– but they’re not reinventing themselves.

Look for “AKA” to do even worse than Carey’s “Me I Am Mariah.” The gravy train stops here. For Lopez, it’s even harder than for Carey since she’s not really a, um, singer. She’s more of a performer.

Who’s going to land big tomorrow? Lana Del Rey. Who’d a thunk it? Her “Ultraviolence” album is already number 1 on iTunes.

YouTube is about to pull music videos by artists including Adele and the Arctic Monkeys, after a number of independent record labels refused to sign up to the licensing terms for its new subscription service.

YouTube will start blocking videos “in a matter of days” to ensure that all content on the new platform is governed by its new contractual terms, said Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s head of content and business operations.

The dispute is that YouTube and the labels are unable to agree on royalty terms the subscription service in addition to existing terms with its free service.

YouTube executives argue that they cannot offer music on the free service without it also being available on the paid service as this would disappoint its subscribers. The solution? To take down songs that can’t be available on both services.

via Showbiz 411

Beyonce is pregnant! Jay Z is cheating! Beyonce is cheating! Solange, Beyonce’s sister, is fighting with Jay! The headlines are all over the internet and splashed on the supermarket rag racks.

Is any of it true? No, none of it. Here’s what is true: tickets are selling slow as molasses for the Jay Z-Beyonce “On the Run” tour of stadiums that’s set to start in 10 days.

Right now, there are over 11,000 tickets in motion on StubHub for the couple’s July 11th show at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands. Several more thousand are available for the second show, on July 12th.

Even on Ticketmaster.com’s own system, a quick check shows a very bald stadium, with lots of tickets for sale and official resale. Right now, getting to see the first couple of modern R&B is pretty simple. And relatively inexpensive.

All told, Beyonce and Jay Z are going to play 17 stadium dates in the US and two in Canada beginning June 25 in Miami. But right now, tickets are available in every city and at every price.

What’s happening? Over saturation. Jay Z played a year long tour with Justin Timberlake, for an album– “Magna Carta Holy Grail”– that was given away for free by Samsung. Beyonce already toured. She just finished the worldwide “Mrs. Carter” tour in March 2014. It took in over $229 million.

Even with her “Visual” album scoring a big first month last December, Beyonce just hasn’t had a breakout single like “Single Ladies” or “Crazy in Love.” The album is off the top 200 for a while now. Jay Z’s is long gone.

Maybe this would have worked at smaller venues.

And the gossip? With no denials, but lots of “unnamed sources,” my guess it’s mostly made up to keep some interest in the couple while they’re on tour. Just wait for some “staged” episodes to lure in passive ticketholders.

Meantime, surprise, guess who’s doing well? Lady Gaga. Her tour has sold very well, and the number of available seats going into each show is fairly normal. Maybe that’s because her audience has been pining for her since illness took Gaga off the road a year ago.

Absence does make the heart grow fonder !

This week the industry will see three big releases from Lana Del Rey, Sam Smith, and Linkin Park. This is a monumental week because all three artists are expected to sell over 100k which is rare.

As of now, Lana Del Rey is on the top of the heap with expected sales to reach 175k. Lana Del Rey is at the peak of her career and has definitely captured the public’s curiosity. Her “sad melancholic sexual songs” along with her carefully crafted Instagram videos have done well for her.

Smith could move over 150,000 with his debut album or higher. His single “Stay With Me,” has sold 697,000 downloads so far, and moved 167,000 in the week ending June 8th.

Linkin Park’s stands at 100,000 to 125,000. This band is one of the few rock acts that can still burn up the charts with a new record.