Jay-Z promised to force some #newrules on the music industry when he announced his ground-breaking deal with Samsung electronics last month. And now, just weeks after springing the news about his 12th solo album on the world in a series of high-profile commercials, he's already changed the game.

On Monday (July 1), the director of the Recording Industry Association of America, Liz Kennedy, announced that the music industry's trade organization would change its long-standing rules to meet the challenge of Jay's roll-out.

"We think it's time for the RIAA ... to align our digital song and album certification requirements. That's why today we are officially updating this rule in our G&P Program requirements," Kennedy said of the organization's gold and platinum certification program, which typically requires a 30-day wait from release day to tally sales certifications. "Going forward, sales of albums in digital format will become eligible on the release date, while sales of albums in physical format will still become eligible for certification 30 days after the release date."

The rule switch was inspired by Jay's deal, which includes a pact with Samsung to buy 1 million copies of the album and offer it early to consumers who download a special app.

"It is a novel and creative marketing move and it has rightly stimulated a healthy conversation about the sale's meaning and implications for the modern music business," Kennedy wrote about the scheme. "For us, the move prompted a re-examination of our historic Gold & Platinum (G&P) Program award rules. As we dug through the records of audits, ...

Ariana Grande has long been a favorite artist for the legion of tween and teen fans who know her from her work on Nickelodeon. But earlier this spring, the actress became one of the hottest new voices in pop when she dropped her debut single, a flirty love jam featuring pal Mac Miller.

As she preps the August release of her debut album, Daydreamin', MTV News spoke to her manager, Scooter Braun, about why he wanted to add the "Sam & Cat" actress to his roster of A-list musical talents. "She reminds me of both Mariah [Carey] and Christina [Aguilera]. Christina was this young, petite girl with this gigantic voice and Ariana kind of has the same thing," he explained about the 20-year-old actress/singer. "And her tone and her range remind me of Mariah."

Braun, who manages Justin Bieber, Psy, The Wanted and Carly Rae Jepsen, knew he wanted to work with her as soon as he heard that signature voice.

"I kept seeing this girl online. And I knew she had a show that she was involved in on Nickelodeon, ['Victorious,'] and I would see her at different award shows and there was something very charismatic about her," he explained. "I started watching videos and I started getting blown away by what an incredible voice she had. There's kind of a natural beauty about her and this charisma that make you gravitate towards her. She kind of has this warmth that makes you want to root for her, and that's what you want with an artist. The fact that ...

Meet the new Kim, same as the old Kim? The Pixies have announced that Kim Shattuck, of Los Angeles rock band the Muffs, will replace bassist and singer Kim Deal on their upcoming European tour this fall.

The Pixies announced founding member Deal's departure from the band on June 14, just a few weeks before the band released a new song, "Bagboy," on their Artist Platform page June 28. The jam — their first since 2004's "Bam Thwok" — is a driving, debauchery-tinged thumper and is accompanied by a chaos-filled music video. Neither Deal nor Shattuck appear on the track; the bassline is covered by musician Jeremy Dubs, according to Rolling Stone.

The band wrote on their website that they plan to play more new material on their tour, which kicks off on September 29 and marks their first in two years.

"Along with everyone's favorites, we'll be playing songs that we haven't played in ages or never played live before," said frontman Black Francis on the band's blog. "Songs like 'Brick is Red,' 'Havalina,' 'Tony's Theme.' and 'Sad Punk.' We've probably rehearsed some 80 songs, so we'll be able to change up the set at the last minute if we feel like it. We're all really looking forward to this tour."

The tour will span three months in more than 10 countries, wrapping up in the U.K. on November 24. Check out all the tour dates on the band's website.

Justin Bieber has fans on their edge of their seats to hear his new single, which he first announced last month. No date has been confirmed for when it will hit the streets, but Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, noted that when it does finally get its first play, it will quiet everyone down, especially the 19-year-old's biggest critics.

"I'll just tell you that we're gonna release music it in a very, very different way with him," he told MTV News about Bieber's new song and album, billed as his "And people and fans should be very excited for the end of this year because he's just written so many songs on the road. And we decided there needs to be a way to release these songs in a different way than the normal album and be able to allow him to express himself in music while dealing with so many different bullsh-- stories every single day."

Bieber has become the subject of many tabloid stories in the last several months, with the headlines focused on his personal life instead of the music. Among the many hot topic items are his on-again, off-again relationship with Selena Gomez and his on-going car troubles, including reported feuds with his Calabasas, California, neighbors over speeding around town.

But Braun hopes that the new music and the highly-anticipated "Heartbreaker" will silence it all because Bieber will finally have the chance to address the very public ups and downs.

"So we're hoping the witch hunt [is] gonna end when he really just speaks ...

2 Chainz probably never meant to be prophetic, but given everything that's come out over the past month about the National Security Agency, well, it turns out the Feds have been watching ... or at least listening.

But rather than be dismayed by that, Chainz has decided to celebrate the fact that he's inadvertently written the anthem of these paranoid times ... by renting out Jackie Treehorn's house, pulling on a brand-new pair of snakeskin pants, and surrounding himself with a bevy of beauties. Oh, and he's letting Pharrell crash on the couch. Hey, it sure beats writing your Congressman.

Yes, much like the song itself, the "Feds Watching" video is a big, bold, bodacious thing, essentially a non-stop ode to excess. Why get one model when you can have ten? Why shoot at a mansion when the space-aged bachelor pad in the hills is available? There are, of course, some subtle jabs at said Feds, like when a bad-ass female smashes a camera, places a single stiletto atop a patrolmen's helmet and defiantly stares down a hovering helicopter, but mostly, this is a video about living the good life, and not caring who notices. In fact, the more folks paying attention, the better.

It's a cool, confident clip, and while those are a dime a dozen these days, what separates it — and, really, 2 Chainz himself — from the rest of the field is that the "Feds Watching" video is also quite clever. All of these excesses are presented with a sly wink, as ...

It'll be vampires versus the "Glee" club, Taylor Swift against, well, the glee club at the upcoming 2013 Teen Choice Awards. The second wave of nominations was announced for the August 11 show on Monday (July 1) and the leading nominees include "Glee" with five nods and "Pitch Perfect" with four.

They join previously announced multiple nominees
 including , "Iron Man 3" (six) and Swift (three for Choice Female Artist, Female Country Artist and Choice Smile.)

The new nominations come with a growing roster of stars scheduled to appear at the event, including: Demi Lovato, the Wanted, Rebel Wilson, Emblem3, Max Greenfield, Skylar Astin, Abigail Breslin, Bridgit Mendler, Hailee Steinfeld and Russell Westbrook. They will appear alongside previously announced attendees Lily Collins, Liam Hemsworth, Brandon T. Jackson, Logan Lerman, Chloë Grace Moretz and Tyler Posey.

One Direction and Paramore are slated to perform, along with some other acts to be announced soon.

The Choice Movie Villain category is stacked, with "Skyfall" baddie Javier Bardem facing off against Adam DeVine ("Pitch Perfect"), Tom Hardy ("The Dark Knight Rises"), Ben Kingsley ("Iron Man 3") and Melissa McCarthy ("Identity Thief").

"Pitch Perfect" crooner Ben Platt will have to take on his co-star, Hana Mae Lee, for Choice Movie Scene Stealer, as well as "Dark Knight" cop Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kellan Lutz ("Breaking Dawn") and Channing Tatum ("G.I. Joe: Retaliation").

The love is spread all around for the "Perfect" crew, with star DeVine also getting a nod for Choice Movie Breakout, alongside Alice Englert ("Beautiful Creatures"), Nicholas Hoult ("Warm Bodies"), Ezra Miller ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower") and ...

Demi Lovato has never been shy about her personal struggles. She documented her road to recovery from a number of physical and emotional issues, including cutting and eating disorders, during last year's MTV special And according to a new interview, they're issues that trace back all the way to her days on "Barney & Friends."

"At the time, I was just so grateful to be on TV, but I was also really struggling," she says in the August issue of Cosmopolitan. "Looking back, there was a connection — probably between any kid who's ever sang that song to Barney — a little place in a child's heart, a void, that could be filled. And maybe Barney fills it. Even before Barney, I was suicidal. I was 7. With Barney, I guess subliminally, I did have a relationship with this figure that was saving my life in a way... I've talked about being bullied and the years of being a teenager, but I went through things when I was younger that I've never talked about that probably caused me to turn out the way I ended up turning out."

Since leaving an Illinois treatment facility in January 2011, Lovato since joined the "X Factor" and dropped two albums, including May's Demi.

Last week, Lovato announced the Lovato Treatment Scholarship, launched in conjunction with CAST Recovery. It will cover treatment expenses for those struggling with mental health or addiction issues, one individual at a time. She launched it to remember her father, Patrick Lovato, who died last ...

Jay-Z is outlining a set of "new rules" with his 12th solo album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, and more specifically with the rollout plan for the LP, which he kicked off with a prime-time TV announcement.

Fans are always impressed by Hov's business moves, but his fellow MCs are, too, including Big Sean who told MTV News, "I think how Jay-Z announced his album is pretty bawsed up."

Jay made his official album reveal during game 5 of the 2013 NBA Finals with a three-minute commercial sponsored by Samsung that included super-producers Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Pharrell and Rick Rubin. He later announced that Samsung had already purchased 1 million copies of the album ahead of its release, which those participating users would receive for free.

But even for artists who've been in the game for decades, Jay-Z's power move is something to admire.

"That was one of the dopest moves ever," Warren G said of the Roc Nation boss' album promo plan. "That was huge. For Samsung to collaborate with Jay-Z on an album, that's incredible. Nobody's done it, so I think it's brilliant."

2 Chainz wasn't afraid to admit that he'd like to take a page out of Hov's book as well. "I'm a big fan of Jay-Z's and straight up he showed us how to do it, man, so I can't lie and say I'm not tryna following his footsteps," Chainz said.

For a relatively new rapper like Trinidad James, it's becoming clear that the sky's the limit. "Of course, at the level of life where [he is] right now, ...

Explosions rang out on a small rural road just outside the town of Adrian, Michigan, this weekend, which can only mean one thing: the Autobots and Decepticons were battling it out for cosmic supremacy.

New videos from the set of "Transformers 4" surfaced this weekend, and they've got our hearts racing just thinking about next summer.

Director Michael Bay took several of the movie's new vehicles out for a spin down the road in some Michigan farmland, including a revamped Optimus Prime. The leader of the good space robots can be seen speeding down the highway in the first video uploaded to YouTube over the weekend. Things seem to be going smoothly until a series of explosions go off on either side of Optimus.

It isn't until the second video that we see what may have caused the blasts. During another take with Optimus, a second semi-truck follows closely behind. The black 2014 Freightliner that drives behind Optimus is the same model that was announced on Friday, but we do not know yet what character that vehicle is standing for.

A writer at /Film theorized that the Freightliner could either be a friend — possibly Ultra Magnus — or a rival of Optimus Prime's like the evil Motormaster, a character who has previously appeared as a black semi.

A third video shows two more cars battling it out from a distance. A black vehicles in another sending it spinning off the road.

"Transformers 4" is set for release on June 27, 2014. Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, and Nicola Peltz will star in ...