Bill Werde

U2, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry are among the megastars teaming up to benefit earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan. But their compilation, “Songs for Japan,” will have a long road to match the success of early efforts like “We Are The World” and Live Aid. We look at why contemporary charity singles and albums tend to fall short. 

Yesterday on the show we discussed Rebecca Black’s viral music video for the song, “Friday” – which, at last count, had more than 42 million views on YouTube. The conversation sparked a debate on our website among listeners about whether all those views translate into dollars and cents. Joining us to explain how YouTube hits can turn into cash is Bill Werde, Billboard’s Editorial Director.

Our series of follow-ups for the 1-year anniversary of the Your Uncommon Economic Indicators project continues. Gerry Segal, YUEI contributor who you may remember as the winner of the BLS satire slam, talks about how his exposure on The Brian Lehrer Show and social media has allowed ...

Contrary to popular opinion, the music industry's transition from physical to digital music is not helping the environment and may actually be causing more harm than good. Billboard Editor Bill Werde tells us why.

The Consumer Electronics Association has launched a website to help earth-minded consumers responsibly ...

With so many concerts, festivals and hot new albums on tap for this summer, what's a poor fan to do? Rest easy: Let Soundcheck guide you through the next three months of music madness. Bill Werde of Billboard magazine tips us off on the best events and new releases.