Best Fit's Weekly Industry Roundup #5

This weekly roundup will look at the cogs, bolts and inner machinations that whir behind the artists we all love so much. Expect news about music platforms, labels and technology all summed up in easy-to-digest morsels.

First up...

HMV back on top

Kind of. They've officially retaken the crown as the biggest seller of physical music, wrestling it away from online Goliath Amazon. Sales in 2014 lept to £365.7 million - up from £311.2 million in 2013 - with no small thanks to the Black Friday debacle. CD sales bounced up (yes, up) 1.5%, while vinyl sales jumped 170% to their highest level at the retailer for 20 years, mirroring the worldwide upswing in LP sales.

CEO of Hilco (which owns HMV) Paul McGowan, revealed this to City AM: "HMV has captured more and more market share in a year when major new movie releases have been scarce and there have been only a few major album successes. With a bumper year of new releases already planned for 2015 we expect to have overall growth in like-for-like DVD and Blu-Ray sales as well as continued growth in the physical music sector with vinyl also expected to continue its revival".

DJ Semtex is Sony Music UK’s new Director Of Artist Development

The renowned Radio 1xtra presenter will become the new Director Of Artist Development at Sony Music UK. He worked for the company in the '90s in promotions, before jumping to Universal/Mercury in a variety of capacities.

Speaking about the promotion, Semtex said: "I've been fortunate to work with some of the greatest artists of our time and I’m looking forward to working with Jason Iley [CEO of Sony Music UK, former Mercury boss] again in my new role, in a new era at Sony Music. I feel privileged that everything has come full circle and to be in a position to contribute to a flourishing roster of exciting, genre-defining artists."

Feds ensnare Madonna's elusive album leaker

A Israeli man has been arrested after Madonna's management hired Asher Wizman, P.I., to snoop around the nation after hearing rumours that the leak emanated from Israel: "[We] found her computers, at home and at a studio, were broken into from a computer in Israel. We tracked down the computer, and the man behind it. After gathering enough evidence, we turned to the police and he was arrested today."

Venues outlaw selfie sticks

The O2, Wembley Arena and Academy Music Group have all banned the use of the ubiquitous 'selfie stick'. Explaining the choice to Billboard, reps said: "The O2 do not allow selfie sticks into the arena due to safety considerations and so as not to impact the view of other fans. We welcome selfies, but leave the stick at home please."

Shazam valued at $1,000,000,000

Shazam, the music app that can (most of the time) detect what you're listening to, making those 'argh, what song is this' moments a thing of the past, has been valued at a whopping $1 billion. Bloomberg sourced this titbit after hearing that the app had raised another $30 million in investments.

Shazam's head honcho Andrew Fisher said, in a jargontacular fashion, that they enjoyed being given money, and more people should do it: "This funding reflects the substantial progress we have made in delivering a new paradigm for brands and content owners to increase engagement with their audiences whilst magically connecting people to the world around them. We are delighted to welcome our new investors as we further strengthen our balance sheet and continue to effectively execute on our corporate strategy."