Needtobreathe Has the Number 1 Selling Album in the US

The top-selling album of the week is NeedToBreathe’s H A R D L O V E, which debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The set earned 50,000 units, of which 46,000 were in traditional album sales.

 H A R D L O V E is the band’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, surpassing the No. 3 debut and peak of its 2014 album Rivers in the Wasteland. That set bowed with the group’s best sales week: 49,000.

 The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Aug. 6-dated chart (where Views is No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, July 26.

Remedy Drive Featured in TN Hyundai Promotion

Remedy Drive is currently featured in Middle Tennessee Hyundai Dealers' "Music that Drives" promotion. "Hyundai Presents Music that Drives with Remedy Drive," a video of the band cruising through Nashville, including a stop at celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart's studio. The video is featured at musicthatdrives.com, along with Remedy Drive's "Love Is Our Weapon," from their latest recording, Commodity.

"We've had a blast doing the video and being part of the Hyundai 'Music that Drives' promotion," said Remedy Drive founding member and frontman David Zach. "We were able to share our heart in the video, as well as to revisit some of our favorite hometown locations which brought back special memories. Hopefully, people who are introduced to us by the video will be drawn to learn more about our music and our motivation for what we do."

The band's latest recording, Commodity--inspired by their ongoing commitment to fight human trafficking--featured the #1 title track which remained atop national Christian rock charts for seven weeks. Music from Remedy Drive has been utilized on NBC, SpeedTV and VH1, while the band's song "Daylight" was featured in the feature film "The Perfect Summer."

Needtobreathe Performs ‘Happiness’ on TODAY

Grammy-nominated rock band Needtobreathe’s new album “Hard Love” is a hit with critics. Watch the band perform the single “Happiness” live on TODAY on NBC.

Switchfoot's New Release Debuts At #10 On Billboard Top 200

Switchfoot's 10th studio album Where The Light Shines Through debuts at #3 on the Rock, Alternative and Overall Digital Albums charts and #10 on the Billboard Top 200, with more than 29,000 albums sold in the first week. Where The Light Shines Through was produced in collaboration with John Fields, who helmed the multi-platinum breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown.

Where The Light Shines Through marks an important milestone in Switchfoot's successful career. The band’s journey began in 1997 with the first of three indie releases before signing with a major label in 2003. Since then, the San Diego, CA based outfit have sold 5.7 million copies worldwide of their nine studio album. Where The Light Shines Through marks the band's return to the indie world.

Switchfoot will embark on a fall co-headline “Looking for America” Tour with Grammy-nominated alternative rock band Relient
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Lauren Daigle to Appear on NBC's "Today" Show

Lauren Daigle, will perform live on NBC's Today show August 2  during the 10:00 a.m. ET hour.

Daigle, who is currently opening on the Hillsong UNITED Empires tour, will embark on her first headline tour, titled "A Night with Lauren Daigle," with special guest Chris McClarney, sponsored by CURE International, from October 12-29.

How Can It Be, her debut album, logged more than five weeks at #1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart, and premiered in the Top 30 on the Billboard 200. It also reached #1 on the iTunes Christian Gospel Top Albums Chart with more than 360,000  album sales and 880,000 track sales, positioning her as the fastest-selling new artist in Contemporary Christian music in the past decade. Daigle has had more than 90 million YouTube and Vevo views, with approximately 300,000 subscribers.

PledgeMusic Acquires NoiseTrade

PledgeMusic has announced that it has officially acquired NoiseTrade. As part of the deal, the company will retain Derek Webb as their PledgeMusic Nashville GM.

PledgeMusic is a platform that enables crowdfunding of musicians. NoiseTrade, which Derek Webb co-founded in 2008, is a platform where artists can give their music away to fans in exchange for information and an optional tip. With both companies revolutionizing the way artists and fans interact, the pairing makes sense.

"The integration of NoiseTrade into PledgeMusic is igniting a real powder keg in Nashville. I'm thrilled to be the boots on the ground as the new GM," Webb told Music Week. "We feel there are several real growth opportunities for us here, and as a 15+ year resident, I don't think there's ever been a better moment than now to invest into the community of musicians and their teams here in Music City."

You can find out more in the full story here.

Casting Crowns Featured in Amazon's Prime Day Promotion

Amazon is offering its 2nd annual "Prime Day" with savings and deals exclusive to their elite Prime Membership club. In addition, there are contests and promotions planned such as 12 Artist -- 12 Winners which includes Casting Crowns.

One lucky winner will win a trip for two to see Casting Crowns in Denver as well as a meet and greet with the band. For your chance to win, stream one of the songs on Amazon's exclusive Casting Crowns Prime playlist. For more information on this promotion, check out Amazon's page about the contest.

This promotion comes as Casting Crowns readies their brand new album The Very Next Thing for a fall release.