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.

We posted UK based Classical Soprano Katie Marshall a couple of months ago. She was a finalist in ‘The Next Brit Thing‘ and the youngest singer to ever be awarded the prestigious “Sheila Armstrong” award for excellence. Following in her foot steps is Paula Shtein. From starring in many lead roles in community theatre productions, to recording her album in NYC, to winning awards for her vocal and acting performances, and doing voice-over on the radio, Paula will eventually make a mark. She could be picked up to star in a TV singing competition.  Check out her video Change the track Ani L’Dodi
Contact: paulamusic@insight.rr.com

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.

Los Angeles quartet Kiven recently released their self-titled full-length debut and have converted fans along the way. In fact, for the first time, the drummer/man behind At The Drive-In’s arrangements, Tony Hajjar, stepped behind the board to produce an outside band. Our favorite track is The Blur. The track Into The Fire landed on the Top 5 on KROQ for 9 weeks straight and I Can’t Take It is the latest single. They just completed a 5 week residency at Hemingways in Hollywood and have an upcoming show at The Troubadour in July.
Contact: kivenmusic@gmail.com

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.