image Rihanna's 'Anti' Album Sells Only 460 Copies but Still Considered a Platinum Album

Rihanna's highly anticipated album,Anti,did not top the Billboard album charts as expected, but it still managed to earn a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

The album earned a platinum rating after Tidal -- Jay Z's streaming music service that partnered with Rihanna -- teamed up with Samsung to give one million downloads of the album away to fans. Billboard's policies do not count promotional giveaways of albums and therefore the one million downloads given out did not help Rihanna climb the blockbuster album chart.

 by Jackie Willis 7:51 AM PST, February 02, 2016
image Independent Artist suffering a major industry blow!

With the expiration of the Webcaster Settlement Act small webcasters facing a steep increase in royalty rates forcing large number of independent stations to go silent. The rate hikes favor the big guys and destroys the little guys. Live365 had with over 5000 stations on their platform is closing its doors on January 31, 2016. This is a major loss for independent webcasters and artists. All Live356 was a convenient platform providing one stop blanket agreement for all PROs. Stations using their servers left a tangible digital footprint that could be used to verify actual spins. Assuring fair and equal payment to all artists.

I support fair and transparent payment to artists and labels when their work is used. But we are losing our small broadcasters. Small broadcasters are more important todays digital musical culture. As commercial FM radio, Pandora and Spotify become increasingly focused on narrow repetitive playlists squeezing out independent webcasters, indie labels and artist. Commercial Radio, Major Record labels and Publishers have long since consolidated with wall street money. Relying on algorithms to socially engineer the music choice provided to the public. While surrounding themselves with financial firewalls to keep the little guys in check.

 If you love good, weird, or just different music choices support the little guys anyway you can.
image SMALL WEBCASTERS, ARTISTS, & INDIE LABELS STAND TOGETHER
We believe artists and small webcasters are on the same team. Let’s keep it that way! We’re optimistic that a solution can be found to allow many small commercial webcasters to continue to operate, and ensure that great music continues to get played and artists continue to get paid—directly, transparently and fairly.
image Janet Jackson Joins Elite Company With 'Unbreakable'
Janet Jackson claimed her seventh career Number One album as the singer's Unbreakable, her first LP in seven years, cruised to the top spot on the Billboard 200. Unbreakable sold 116,000 total copies in its debut week to give Jackson her second consecutive Number One album......
image Drake's 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' is 2015's best selling digital album
Drake's 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' is 2015's best selling digital album."When you get around Future it's like a vortex," Drake said while presenting OVO Sound Radio. He went on to explain that he originally went to Future's hometown of Atlanta to do "a few songs" but the collaboration grew into something more considerable. "It's a little soundtrack for the people who need it right now," .