HITS HIGH FIVE: FIRE IN THE SKY

Before we set off some bottle rockets to shoot across Hollywood Boulevard, we made a list of stories that added a little sparkle in our lives this week. So before you light that Roman Candle, take a gander at the HITS’ High Five.

The chart battle between new albums from Imagine Dragons and DJ Khaled was too close to call in the hours after polls closed. Fortunately, we’re led to believe there are no hanging chads.

Our Grammy Whisperer looks at the Big Four categories with just a quarter of the eligibility period remaining. Here are his current nomination predictions on Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Record and Song of the Year.

iHeartMedia gave everyone a taste of Jay-Z’s new album 4:44 in its first 24 hours of release. It’s a Tidal exclusive, but if you don’t have Sprint…

Here’s a stat to chew on: Spotify and Apple Music have delivered about 160 billion individual song streams through the first half of the year, a 60% spike.

Keenly aware of the value of copyrights in the streaming age, Sanctuary CEO Merck Mercuriadis is floating his music royalties fund, Hipgnosis Songs, on the London Stock Exchange.