Check out Dallas Electro Pop act The A-B Theory.  For fans of Owl City and Moby. The A-B Theory consist of Jesse Smith who wrote the entire album himself and won over critics after posting his songs on myspace. Jesse has been working on his next release, “Houses” (due early 2010 and being recorded with Dan Hunter of PlayRadioPlay), and is currently booking a summer tour. Check out the track
Fatal Flaw Attractions. Contact: theabtheory@gmail.com

Jackson’s catalog of solo albums sold 800,000 copies in the Unites States, an increase of 90% compared to the previous week according to Billboard.

“Physical albums accounted for 82% of Jackson’s sales last week — 656,000 physical albums versus 144,000 download albums”.

Jackson’s total song download sales this week total 2.2 million downloads. With that said, Michael Jackson made records, not singles.

Check out the pop rock act Destine who was recently signed by Sony Music/ Netherlands.  Yes, Europe produces pop too. For Fans of Paramore, Anberlin, and There For Tomorrow. They recorded their new EP with producer James Paul Wisner (Paramore, My American Heart, The Academy Is) and played with bands like Fall Out Boy, The Audition and New Found Glory.  Contact: info@destine.nl

Kings favorite Windsor Drive will be performing at The Studio (Webster Hall) on July 13th. The show is free and open to the industry and the public. The complete profile for Windsor Drive can be found here. Contact: info@pingpongmusic.com

Billboard reveals how Michael Jackson changed the music business. In 1984, Epic Records was selling more than 1 million copies every month of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. As of today, Thriller remains the best-selling studio album in the United States, while selling more than 50 million copies internationally.

The success of “Thriller” changed how the music business promoted and marketed superstar releases. For instance, Columbia records released seven singles from Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”, Warner Bros. sent to radio five singles from Prince’s “Purple Rain”, and Mercury released seven singles on Def Leppard’s “Hysteria”. All three album sold more than 10 million copies each in the United States.

It was a bleak time in the music business in 1982, but Michael Jackson changed everything.

“There is no question that ‘Thriller’ was the driving force behind what became the hottest span in Epic’s history,” Beck says. After that, the label had major hits with Cyndi Lauper, Culture Club and REO Speedwagon. The “Flashdance” soundtrack and the Police’s “Synchronicity” also helped lure fans back into stores.

More importantly, Michael Jackson raised the bar for artists. No wonder the world was given some of the biggest superstars after the success of Thriller. Since, the death of Michael Jackson his music and videos are being watched by the world. Maybe todays artists and creators will reflect on the endless catalog that Michael Jackson left behind and learn something from it.