Live Nation, TicketMaster, StubHub Apps Add Support For Apple's New Passbook

Apple began pushing out its new iOS 6 operating system Wednesday that includes support for Passbook, a new Apple application that acts like a wallet for concert tickets, boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons and loyalty cards. Applications that support Passbook started showing up at iTunes Wednesday from such companies as Ticketmaster, Live Nation, StubHub, Major League Baseball, Fandango and American Airlines.

Business Matters: Apple Still King of Digital Music, Unveils New iTunes, iPhone, iPods Passbook should be a helpful tool for mobile ticketing. iOS device owners can use Passbook rather than a handful of mobile ticketing, customer loyalty and other apps individually. Adding a ticket to a Passbook is as easy as clicking a button in a confirmation email.

One early Passbook review was fairly positive. CNET took Passbook to a Major League Baseball game - the San Francisco Giants are one of four teams currently using Passbook.

Also on Wednesday, Apple issued iOS 6 updates on Wednesday for GargaeBand, AirPort Utility, iPhoto, iTunes Movie Trailers, Podcasts, iMovie, Keynote, Numbers and a number of other applications. An update was also issued for the upcoming iPhone 5.

No update was issued for iTunes. A revamped version of the popular music player and store, revealed at last week's press event in San Francisco, will be released in October. The new iTunes will have a new interface and music player, a redesigned iTunes Store and App Store and iCloud integration.

Fiona Apple Arrested In Texas

Fiona Apple was reportedly arrested at a Texas border stop yesterday for hash possession, according to TMZ. Authorities arrested Apple in Sierra Blanca, Texas, after they allegedly found hash during a search of her tour bus. She's being held at the Hudspeth County Jail.

The Sierra Blanca border stop is no stranger to big time arrests – Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson have both been previously busted at the checkpoint.

ROSCOE DASH TWEETS ABOUT BEING EXCLUDED FROM 'CRUEL SUMMER' ALBUM CREDITS

With the release of one of the year'ss most anticipated album, G.O.O.D Music’s Cruel Summer, fans and critics alike have been serving up varied opinions of the compilation, some loving it, and others, not so much. Rapper and songwriter Roscoe Dash is siding with the latter, not because he isn’t a fan of the music, but because he was not featured in the credits for the album. Dash took to twitter, in a 7-tweet rant that left the music industry wondering, what the hell is going on?

“Everybody go get the G.O.O.D album and listen to #1 then watch @Kanyewest interview & tell me y I’m not in the credits”

“Can’t do favors for niggas bcuz no matter how humble and generous u r to ppl niggas will take everything u have … even niggas u look up to”

“The most talented ppl get the lease credit for everything and the crazy part is they put in the MOST work…”

“same shyt with @wale lotus flower bomb I wrote that for him b4 he even signed to ross & it went #1”

“…but nobody would kno that cuz I’m not in the credits”

“but EVERYTHING must eventually come to the light…..”

“& I’m only speaking on this publicly bcuz there are so many ppl who wanna be apart of the industry but dnt kno half the shit that goes on”

AEG CEO Tim Leiweke On Impending Sale: 'We Won't Miss a Beat'

According to Anschutz Entertainment Group President/CEO Tim Leiweke, if a press release had never been issued regarding the potential sale of AEG two days ago, "No one would have ever noticed the change." 

While the announcement of AEG being on the block has created a furor in the sports and entertainment industry, Leiweke considers that an over-reaction. "People act like this is going to be some seismic earthquake within our company and it won't be," Leiweke tells Billboard.biz. "We won't miss a beat."

Suitors Circle AEG as Company Goes on Market for $7 Billion, Sources Say

Leiweke, 55, cited the stability in AEG's upper management as a testament to the company's preparedness to transition to new ownership. That includes commitment to bringing the National Football League back to Los Angeles and building a downtown stadium with a naming rights deal in place with Farmers Insurance.

Anschutz Company To Sell AEG "The reality is the management team here has been the same management team since we started this," he says. "I hired these people, I brought them together, we've had very little change here. I have the same people I've had all along in this process. Everyone's re-upped, everyone's committed long term, I'm going to be cutting the ribbon at Farmers Field. And, with all due respect to Mr. Anschutz, the people that run this thing day-to-day are not going anywhere, and we're still as committed."

It was that day-to-day management team that negotiated with the City to build the stadium, Leiweke points out, again stressing AEG's on-going commitment to the project. "The fact is, AEG is the corporation that entered into the agreement with the city and will enter into the agreement with the NFL on Farmer's Field, not Phil Anschutz or the Anschutz Corporation," Leiweke says. "This was always driven by AEG. We're not going away, we're not going to change. In fact, we're going to dramatically continue to grow as we go on in time. This is an investment change, this is not an organizational change. This is phase II of AEG, and I predict our best years are ahead of us, not behind us."

Billboard Power 100: Tim Leiweke

Leiweke declined to confirm the reported price tag of between $7 and $8 billion for AEG. "The price is what someone's willing to pay for it, so we'll see what that may be," he says. However, he did confirm that the company would not be broken up. "That's not gonna happen. These assets are inter-connected. Our ticketing company ties into our facility management company ties into our real estate development company ties into our content company ties into our sports company. We don't do things for the purpose of a simple investment, we do things for the purpose of a simple operational company. That's the uniqueness of AEG and we're not breaking the pieces apart."

As for speculation that a local consortium, including management, would be involved in the new ownership group, Leiweke says, "I would say that there is a philosophy of participation that has existed and will continue to exist in the company. We all have a vested interest in this company today and we'll have a vested interest in this company tomorrow."

The AEG model of building first-class venues and programming them with sports and entertainment is simple in theory but, "It is not easy to do," Leiweke says. "It has taken a lot of Phil's money and our time and energy over the last 15 years. I consider myself to be a young man, and I consider not only our best days ahead of us, we happen to be working on a few things in the company that are going to be as dynamic and big for us as the O2 [in London] and L.A. Live were."

Leiweke repeatedly expressed confidence in the future of AEG under new ownership, and hinted at the timing behind the announcement. "We have come to a point where it's important to find the next phase for AEG and the next owner for AEG, because [Anschutz] is 73 years old, and he does want to go through some planning and a different phase of his life, and I completely respect that," he says. "We've always operated under the understanding that this was an equity investment, and I'd have to cooperate with him to get an exit strategy. That's all this is."

BMI Releases Results, Revenue Down 3.5% Due to Radio Rate Settlement

In the year ended June 30, 2012, Broadcast Music, Inc. reported $898.8 million in revenue, a nearly 3.5% decline from the $931 million collected in the prior year. The organization attributed the decline to " settling a rate litigation" with terrestrial radio. 

The settlement, announced in June, provided that BMI receives 1.7% of radio revenue less certain standard deductions but also included a $70.5 million credit adjustment for payments made by radio to BMI back in 2010 and 2011. Excluding the impact of the settlement's deductions, BMI reported that revenue would have been up 4%, which translates to about $969 million. 

"BMI has weathered the economic storm remarkably well considering the negative conditions that have impacted many of our revenue sources," BMI President and CEO Del Bryant said in a statement. "Our performance in fiscal year 2012 under these difficult conditions is a testament to our prudent fiscal management and to our resolve to responsibly manage the copyrights and income entrusted to us by our publishers and songwriters." 

During the recently completed year, BMI distributed $749.8 million in royalties, down 5.8% from the $796 million paid out in the prior year. "Even with the retroactive radio settlement and a challenging financial landscape, we have still been able to return nearly 84 cents of every dollar we have generated back to our publishers and songwriters," Bryant pointed out in a statement. "Our distributions to music publishers and songwriters have remained predictable and reliable." 

For the first time, international revenues accounted for more than a third of BMI's total revenue, totaling $302 million, up 12% from the prior year, the organization pointed out. Other bright spots included an 8% increase to $108 million in general licensing revenue from physical establishments such as restaurants and nightclubs; and a 27% increase in digital revenue to $35 million. Digital revenue last year comprised 6% of domestic revenue primarily due to the rise in music use by BMI's 10,000 digital licensees. 

BMI songwriters include Lady Gaga, Foster the People's Mark Foster, Maroon 5, Benny Blanco and Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and the Band Perry, while its composers include Mike Post and John Williams. In total, the organization claims 7.5 million copyrights. 

In addition, BMI represents songwriters from other countries including Elton John (PRS), Sting (PRS), Eric Clapton (PRS), The Who (PRS), Alexandre Desplat (SACEM), to current chart toppers Adele (PRS), One Direction (PRS) and Gotye (APRA). 

Going forward, BMI is predicting a return to revenue and royalty distribution growth, resuming its 20-year record of year-over-year increases, according to a statement from the organization.

COLORADO MAN AWARDED $7 MILLION IN POPCORN LUNG LAWSUIT

A Colorado man was awarded $7.2 million by a federal judge after developing a chronic condition known as popcorn lung from a chemical used in flavoring microwave popcorn.

According to Yahoo! News, jurors sided with 59-year-old Watson who claimed that the popcorn manufacturer and the supermarket chain that sold it were negligent by failing to put the warning on labels that the butter flavoring, diacetyl, was dangerous. The condition, more specifically referred to as bronchiolitis obliterans, is a form of obstructive lung disease that makes it difficult for air to flow out of the lungs and is irreversible, according to WebMd. Watson was the first consumer of microwave popcorn diagnosed with the disease, his attorney Kenneth McClain said.

After years of inhaling the smell of artificial butter from the popcorn he said he ate daily, Watson was diagnosed with the disease in 2007. An attorney for the defendants had told jurors that Watson's health problems were from his years of using dangerous chemicals as a carpet cleaner. The verdict was the latest in a line of cases in the past 15 years, starting with workers in popcorn plants where diacetyl was an ingredient and was linked to health problems.

Jurors found Gilster-Mary Lee Corp, the private-labeling manufacturer of the popcorn, liable for 80 percent of the $7,217,961 damages and the King Soopers supermarket chain and its parent, Kroger Co, liable for 20 percent. A spokeswoman for King Soopers and Kroger said the companies intended to appeal the decision while an attorney for Gilster-Mary Lee was not immediately available for comment.

It took the jury a day to reach the verdict after a nine-day trial.

Lady Gaga Debuts Yet Another ‘Meat Garment’

Ready to meet Lady Gaga's meat, yet again?

The superstar singer is continuing on a seemingly endless quest to offend vegetarians with yet another version of her infamous "meat dress"--this time, in a showy corset version much more form-fitting than the original. (Er, as form-fitting as a garment made of meat can be, that is.)

Gaga's "meat corset" debuted at a concert in Budapest last month and made a repeat appearance at her show in Amsterdam this week. The corset featured a strapless neckline and, reportedly, a thong-style backside...how comfortable that could be, we're not quite certain. Of course, Gaga chose matching "meat booties" to complete the look.

Although certainly revealing, this outfit isn't the most risque in Gaga's meat locker. She wore abikini made of the stuff for the September 2010 cover of Vogue Japan. The original "meat dress" was worn for the 2010 Video Music Awards, and is now part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's exhibit "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power," currently touring in Washington D.C.