The Eagles of Death Metal are a band desperately trying to recover from the horrific events of November 13th, with a public apology from frontman Jesse Hughes revealing a tormented post-traumatic struggle.

Last week, Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes dropped an accusatory bombshell by implicating Bataclan security officials in the bloody attacks of November 13th.  “When I first got to the venue and walked in, I walked past the dude who was supposed to be the security guard for the backstage,” the singer relayed.  “He didn’t even look at me.  I immediately went to the promoter and said, ‘Who’s that guy?  I want to put another dude on.’  He said, ‘Well, some of the other guards aren’t here yet.’  And eventually, I found out that six or so wouldn’t show up at all.”

“Out of respect for the police still investigating, I won’t make a definite statement, but I’ll say that it seems like they had a reason not to show up,” the Eagles of Death Metal singer concluded.

That prompted an angry response from the Bataclan venue, which blasted the comments as both “defamatory” and downright “insane” in an issued statement.

“Jesse Hughes spread some very grave and defamatory accusations against the Bataclan teams.  A judicial investigation is undergoing. We wish to let justice proceed serenely. All the testimonies gathered to this day demonstrate the professionalism and courage of the security agents who were on the ground on November 13.  Hundreds of people were saved thanks to their intervention.”

Whether half-a-dozen Bataclan security guards were mysteriously absent is a serious issue that remains unanswered.  And Hughes’ accusations of suspiciousness involving guards actually on duty are similarly unaddressed.  Perhaps those questions aren’t worth answering, however: this weekend, Hughes offered a heartfelt apology, while opening up about serious post-traumatic disorders that are complicating a once-hopeful recovery.  “I humbly beg forgiveness from the people of France, the staff and security of the Bataclan, my fans, family, friends and anyone else hurt or offended by the absurd accusations I made,” Hughes offered in a formal response.  “My suggestions that anyone affiliated with the Bataclan played a role in the events of November 13th are unfounded and baseless — and I take full responsibility for them.”

“I’ve been dealing with non-stop nightmares and struggling through therapy to make sense of this tragedy and insanity.  I haven’t been myself since Nov. 13.”

“I realize there’s no excuse for my words, but for what it’s worth: I am sincerely sorry for having hurt, disrespected or accused anyone.”

Image by Anna Hanks, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

The post Eagles of Death Metal Singer Battling ‘Non-Stop Nightmares,’ ‘Struggling Through Therapy’ appeared first on Digital Music News.

A list of executive shuffles across the music business…

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has hired Jennifer Drake as Senior Director, A&R.  The role will be based in Los Angeles. Prior to this role, Drake worked as Creative Director at UMPG for two years.

Universal Music Group has bid farewell to Pat Monaco, reports Billboard.  Monaco has worked for UMG for over 26 years, most recently working as Executive Vice President of Commerce at Def Jam.

Republic Records has hired Nick Pacelli as Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Partnerships.  Pacelli will report to Charlie Walk, Republic Group President.  Prior to Republic Records, Pacelli worked as Executive Director, Entertainment Marketing.  Whilst working within Entertainment Marketing, Pacelli interfaced with various partners which including Google Play Music, Budweiser Made in America, Sprite Music, Samsung Mobile, and American Eagle.

Elsewhere…

Omnifone has hired Doug Imrie as Chief Executive Officer.  Imrie starts his new role instantly, and will be responsible for leading the strategic productisation of Omnifone’s music cloud, MusicStation.

Cooking Vinyl Group has announced its own executive shuffles to broaden its operations by expanding in the US market.  The company plans to open a full service label division, Cooking Vinyl America, which will be based in New York City.  The division will be overseen by Howie Gabriel, who will take on the role of President.  Gabriel will report to Martin Goldschmidt, founder and CEO of Cooking Vinyl Group.

Image: Seattle Municipal Archives, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).

The post Executive Shuffles: Sony/ATV Music Publishing, UMG, Republic Records… appeared first on Digital Music News.

The future of music listening isn’t happening at home.

Parks Associates has released new data which shows that 68% of US-based smartphone owners listen to music via streaming outlets on a daily basis, a stunning stat that further reaffirms the mobility of music fans today.

Within this group, Parks also found users listening to streaming music approximately 45 minutes per day, on average.  The finding underscored the strong preference for mobile-based streaming consumption, with two-thirds of US smartphone users listening to music via a streaming service of some sort.

Desktop is starting to look like a totally different terrain.  Indeed, the rankings change drastically when you compare the popularity of music subscription services between fixed-line broadband and mobile broadband.  According to Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research of Parks Associates, “Amazon Prime Music is the most popular paid music subscription service among U.S. broadband households, thanks to its inclusion in Amazon Prime,” a service that is way down the smartphone list.

Wang also noted that ”the streaming music war has intensified as the large connected entertainment companies are driving to consolidate their offerings,” suggesting a more blended, multi-platform push ahead.

Exactly how many Prime users are accessing music is unclear, though ranking Amazon Prime Music as the biggest paid subscription service in the world seems like a stretch.  Especially when the discussion shifts to mobile: a few months ago, DMN reported the top 10 music streaming apps worldwide, citing information released from App Annie.  Spotify and Pandora Radio topped the rankings on both iPhone and Android, with Amazon Music not even hitting the top 5 apps on either operating systems.

The research, 360 View Update: m-Commerce and Entertainment Apps: Usage Trends, also presented information relating to the different operating systems and the trends of media consumption.  In terms of OS, the study also found that ”those who owned an iPhone consumed more media content than Android users or any other operating systems”.

The research also delved into trends related to different mobile networks, with some surprising results.

Breakdown of Smartphone Music Listening by Carrier

The research found that T-Mobile and Sprint customers carried the ‘highest incidence of daily music consumption’ among U.S. carrier.  Over 75% of subscribers for T-Mobile or Sprint listen to streaming music every day, as opposed to ‘66% of Verizon subscribers.

Perhaps most interestingly, a report stated that there are more than double the amount of Verizon users (140.1 million as measured in Q4 of 2015) than there are T-Mobile (63.2 million) and Sprint (57.9 million).

(Image via Pixaby, licensed under Creative Commons)

The post 68% of Smartphone Owners Stream Music Daily, Study Finds appeared first on Digital Music News.

Updated: Sonos says the layoffs were not ‘major’ or ‘significant’ as previously reported, though the company is declining to offer concrete numbers.  Specific layoff figures have not yet been published.  

A recent study revealed that 55 percent of Americans typically listen to music through their laptop speakers.  That raises serious questions over the future sophisticated, next-generation stereo systems, a category led by Santa Barbara-based Sonos.

Early this morning, Sonos revealed an unspecified number of layoffs, with the heavily funded company re-steering the ship towards a music fan that seems more willing to invest in headphones than high-end speakers.  “These last few weeks have been tough for everyone at Sonos,” wrote Sonos co-founder John MacFarlane in a company blog post.  “We’re a tight bunch, so saying goodbye is particularly painful. But I know that making these changes is the right thing to do for Sonos as we look to the future.”

Sonos’ turbulence is happening alongside an absolute surge in music streaming, with paid subscriptions easily crossing the 50 million-mark. Many of those subscribers are serious music fans, with portable music collections often accessed through high-end, $300-plus headphones.  The problem for Sonos is that many of those ‘higher-end’ users aren’t taking the next step towards audio hardware, especially those that favor flexible, on-the-go lifestyles that are easily dragged down by ‘stuff’.

The rest aren’t subscribing to services like Spotify, and seem heavily disinterested in perks like higher-end fidelity.  But are stereos dying?  Tough question, though the same dataset that shows heavy use of computer speakers and headphones also shows a core, niche attraction to higher-end products like wireless speakers and ‘loudspeaker’ component systems.

All of that is undoubtedly affecting Sonos, a company whose smart stereos seamlessly integrate with a range of streaming platforms.  That includes Spotify, Rhapsody, Apple Music, and Pandora, though it’s becoming unclear if enough consumers want the go-between.  “The shift is not complete as a few laggards continue to cling to fading business models, but it’s inevitable now,” MacFarlane wrote.  “The only question that remains is how fast the growth of paid subscription services will be.”

Also disrupting the landscape are ‘lower-end’ solutions like Amazon’s Echo, a quick-and-easy connected speaker that revolves around smart voice controls.  Indeed, that was mentioned by MacFarlane, who pointed to a strategic realignment around paid streaming and voice-enabled controls.   “Alexa/Echo is the first product to really showcase the power of voice control in the home” MacFarlane continued.  “Its popularity with consumers will accelerate innovation across the entire industry.”

“What is novel today will become standard tomorrow.  Here again, Sonos is taking the long view in how best to bring voice-enabled music experiences into the home.  Voice is a big change for us, so we’ll invest what’s required to bring it to market in a wonderful way.”

The post Are Stereos Dying? Sonos Announces Layoffs and Readjustments appeared first on Digital Music News.

If Kim Kardashian and Kanye West can master the art of controlling the media spotlight, so can Sharon Osbourne.  The 63 year-old talk show host, music manager, and wife of Ozzy Osbourne posted the fearless selfie on Twitter, inspired by an ‘internet breaking’ post by Kardashian.

That is now causing its own mega-reaction, with the most common reaction being… ‘damn!’

Indeed, the Osbourne post is creating its own aftershocks, with massive adulation and reaction coming from all corners.  That includes a broad range of men, many of whom are casting very appraising glances.  But get ready: Osbourne’s copycat may have just spawned an avalanche of covered nude selfies, with a list of potentially attention-hungry women (and men) following the trend.

Sharon’s post is part of a remarkable celebrity surge that started in Osbourne’s 50s.  Inside the industry, Osbourne has a longtime reputation as a tough — and sometimes ruthless — manager of Ozzy, though that hard-as-nails attitude helped to revive her husband’s career (with some spillover into Black Sabbath).  A major instrument in that revival was Ozzfest, a traveling metal-fest that started in the late-90s.

Sharon Osbourne’s name first edged into the mainstream with The Osbournes, with a judging chair on The X Factor and America’s Got Talent soon following.  Presently, Osbourne is a morning mainstay on the The Talk, and one of the richest women on the planet.

The post Sharon Osbourne, 63, Posts Nude Selfie ‘In Solidarity’ With Kim Kardashian appeared first on Digital Music News.

Dr. Luke at the ASCAP Awards, LA, in 2014 (Charles Lee; CC by 4.0)

Sony Music Entertainment isn’t firing Dr. Luke, according to a statement just issued by the producer’s lawyer.  The statement, from attorney Christine Lapera, is as follows:

“This is not true. Luke has an excellent relationship with Sony. His representatives are in regular contact with executives at the highest levels at Sony and this has never come up.”

The clarification comes amidst rumors that Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald) was being dismissed by the major label based on heightening rape allegations involving pop star Kesha.  Specifically, a report in rumor-mongering The Wrap cited a source as saying that Luke was getting sacked because of the Kesha imbroglio.  “There is no contest,” the source relayed.  “Kesha has no case in regards to her contract but they can’t afford the Adeles of the world out in the streets calling the label unsupportive.”

“The fact that this hasn’t already been taken care of with Luke is confusing, especially for people in the building.”

The rape accusations dial back to 2014, when Kesha first filed suit against Dr. Luke.  The producer quickly countersued, and neither side has budged since.

Luke has maintained his complete innocence from the beginning, though Kesha has played ringleader for a shame circus that is now intensifying.  That has been amplified by a storm of Kesha fans, who just recently submitted a petition to Sony demanding Luke’s removal.  The petition was coupled with a protest outside of Sony Music headquarters on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, one of several public gatherings by fans.

In total, the petition carried more than 400,000 signatures.

Importantly, a judge hasn’t yet ruled on the matter, which leaves the distinct possibility that Luke is completely innocent.  Indeed, Gottwald himself has recently spoken out against the accusations, noting that no sexual interaction — coerced or otherwise — has transpired between the two.  Regardless of those protests, mega-stars like Adele and Taylor Swift have rallied to Kesha’s aid, with Swift donating $250,000 to the singer’s legal fund.

Kesha has been accused of using the rape allegations and the surrounding bad publicity to extricate herself from her Sony Music Entertainment contract.  Sony has responded that it doesn’t have to ability to terminate the deal, and offered to accommodate the pop singer’s request to work with another producer.

The post Sony Music Isn’t Firing Dr. Luke, Lawyer Confirms appeared first on Digital Music News.