MEGHAN'S CRITICAL CAREER MOMENT

Meghan Trainor’s Title (Epic) will bow at #1 on next week’s chart with 175-200k, according to early reads. The artist/songwriter, coming off back-to-back smashes and major Grammy nods, zoomed to #1 at iTunes this morning as her album went live. Reviews (including an “A” in Entertainment Weekly) have been stellar across the board—with one glaring exception.

At this vital moment in her career—with Grammy voting coming to a close and show producers weighing her role in the telecast—much chatter surrounds the recent negative review of Trainor’s album in the “industry bible,” which was e-blasted out on Monday.

Why this attempt to diminish Trainor at a definitive point, with her star ascendant? BB’s decision-makers want to be power brokers, and see a high-profile review as one way of exercising veto power on rising stars.

More importantly, a new, female artist having a debut this big, especially in the first weeks of the year, typically the doldrums for sales—and becoming a major star—is huge news for the biz. Blasting out a dismissive review, which could affect Trainor’s TBD role in the Grammy show, among other consequences, suggests the bible has fully missed the point, and has traded its responsibility as a music-biz trade for a few short-term clicks.