Top 10 pop music stories in 2010

By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times staff writer Once again, technology played a large part in the music world this year, as artists and consumers employed hardware and software to continue to try and regain ground lost to technological advancements. And with the music biz in a recession along with the rest of the country, a flood and a concert downtown didn’t help matters. Here's a look at pop music in 2010: In a year in which concert megalith Live Nation merged with ticketing giant Ticketmaster, the business of music witnessed another blow to its bottom line: The concert industry fell on hard times. Pop diva Rihanna, above, postponed six dates on her "Last Girl on Earth" tour; the Lilith Tour was forced by poor attendance to cancel many of its dates; and Christina Aguilera pulled the plug on her 20-date tour because of "prior commitments" in June. Even the "American Idol" brand suffered as producers canceled eight engagements and rescheduled other dates on the "Idols Live!" tour. Related: Musical acts' summer tours encounter heavy weather

By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times staff writer

Once again, technology played a large part in the music world this year, as artists and consumers employed hardware and software to continue to try and regain ground lost to technological advancements. And with the music biz in a recession along with the rest of the country, a flood and a concert downtown didn’t help matters. Here’s a look at pop music in 2010:

In a year in which concert megalith Live Nation merged with ticketing giant Ticketmaster, the business of music witnessed another blow to its bottom line: The concert industry fell on hard times. Pop diva Rihanna, above, postponed six dates on her “Last Girl on Earth” tour; the Lilith Tour was forced by poor attendance to cancel many of its dates; and Christina Aguilera pulled the plug on her 20-date tour because of “prior commitments” in June. Even the “American Idol” brand suffered as producers canceled eight engagements and rescheduled other dates on the “Idols Live!” tour.

Related: Musical acts’ summer tours encounter heavy weather  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Patti Smith wins National Book Award

In a year in which e-books began raining chaos on the publishing industry in a similar way as MP3s upended the music business, a memoir by a rocker took the National Book Award for nonfiction. Patti Smith, long the poet laureate of the punk movement, made it official with a loving remembrance of her time spent with friend Robert Mapplethorpe.

Related Critic’s Notebook: Patti Smith shines between art’s boundaries  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Taylor Swift keeps on rolling

She’s young, pretty and writes her own songs. The Nashville belle this year is, once again, a story in and of herself. Taylor Swift tallied the best first-week sales of the year when her new album, “Speak Now,” rang up 1,047,000 copies. Expect next year’s tour to be one of the biggest of 2011.

Related Taylor Swift reaches out to fans, and they to her  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Justin Bieber is everywhere

It was the year of the tween, evidence that -- the Beatles notwithstanding -- Baby Boomer hegemony has been supplanted, surprisingly, by a 16-year-old Canadian with a beaming smile and bangs to die for. His name is Justin Bieber, and if you don’t recognize the name, you need to sell your N’Sync albums and step into the 21st century.

Related Live Review: Justin Bieber at Nokia Theater L.A. Live  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

'American Idol' tries to regroup

Before 2010, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler were seldom mentioned in the same sentence, let alone in conjunction with Randy Jackson. But with the departure of “American Idol” judges Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi, the vocalist-actress and the Aerosmith lead screamer landed on the lips of American pop culture by being named judges on the prime-time ratings king. Whether the pair will help rejuvenate a fading reality show is another story.

Related ‘American Idol’ plotting more business-like hurdles for contestants  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Flooding in Nashville hits the country world

Somebody should write a country song about the woes of the music’s hometown. Hit with what was considered a “300-year flood” when the Cumberland River burst its banks in May, Nashville is still recovering from what is considered to be one of the most expensive natural disasters in American history. The water flooded the Grand Ole Opry, causing a temporary closure. Perhaps even worse, the Cumberland flowed into Soundcheck, a storage facility where hundreds of musicians housed their prized possessions. Among others, pickers Keith Urban, Raul Malo, Brad Paisley and Vince Gill lost instruments.

Related Lost in the Nashville flood: Musical instruments galore  (Erik S. Lesser / EPA)