Written for music industry professionals and fans. Contents provide news, reviews and statistics for all genres of music, including radio play, music video, related internet activity and retail updates.
Smooth Start: BTS’ ‘Butter’ Bows At No. 1
BILLBOARD 200
BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200
HOW VINYL GOT ITS GROOVE BACK
Billboard
A Whole Lotta Letters • Labels are overwhelmed with requests from artists asking to direct their royalties straight to the buyers snapping them up as assets. How much direction can they take?
Jam On • THANKS TO LIVESTREAMING, ACTS LIKE GOOSE AND BILLY STRINGS ARE EMERGING FROM THE PANDEMIC BIGGER THAN EVER
How’s Spotify Doing? • Depends on whom you ask. Family plans and other subscriber deals are causing tension between the company and creators
BREAKING B.A.D. • How a spreadsheet of Black artists on Bandcamp ballooned into a database of 3,500 creators
Tencent Faces The Music • Chinese antitrust regulators are circling the company — but competitors are already diminishing its dominance
JOSH DEUTSCH • Founder/Chairman/CEO Premier Music Group
NEED FOR SPEED • Vinyl became the top-selling album format just as the pandemic delayed manufacturing. How are pressing plants keeping up?
Going Clubbing • As record-club subscriptions spiked through the pandemic, Vinyl Me, Please expanded users’ options — and its reach
Gold Rush • How exclusive vinyl on limited-edition color variants drives insatiable demand
JAZZING UP REISSUES
Pressing For The Planet • How some vinyl plants are tackling the pollution and waste of record manufacturing
Call Her By Her Name • With her genre-obliterating sound and gripping lyrics about identity, RINA SAWAYAMA became one of the most exciting queer voices in pop. Now she’s making room for anyone else who feels like an outsider
The 2021 PRIDE List • AFTER ENDURING A YEAR OF UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES, 40 LGBTQ+ PROFESSIONALS FROM ACROSS THE MUSIC BUSINESS SHARE THE WINS THAT HAVE KEPT THEM GOING, THE INNOVATIONS THAT INSPIRE THEM AND THE STEPS THEY’RE TAKING TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS A PLACE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
SOPHIE, Forever • The visionary late producer’s brother shares plans for posthumous releases
Sam Houston • ● director of visual content production RCA RECORDS
Mark McDevitt • ● senior vp/deputy chief content protection and enforcement RIAA
Tapping In On TikTok • JORDY and Allison Ponthier are winning fans on the app by showcasing their creativity — and giving queer stories a spotlight
Latin’s Coming Out Party • At long last, established and rising stars across its genres are publicly embracing their LGBTQ+ identities
Acts Of Kindness • The producer says that simply sharing information can make the industry more inclusive
Hyperpop Pops Off • Rising star ElyOtto explains the genre’s connection to the queer and trans communities
2021 Indie Power Players • THESE ARE THE EXECUTIVES TO WATCH — AT LABELS, DISTRIBUTORS AND ASSOCIATIONS — WHO HAVE WEATHERED THE PANDEMIC AND IGNITED THE SUCCESS OF ARTISTS ON THE CHARTS, UNCONSTRAINED BY THE MAJOR-LABEL SYSTEM
A2IM’S LIBERA AWARDS RETURN AS A LIVESTREAM • THE VIRTUAL INDIE WEEK CONFERENCE WILL CONCLUDE WITH A MULTIGENRE CELEBRATION OF THE BEST OF THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC COMMUNITY
10 YEARS, ZERO REGRETS • GERARDO ORTIZ’S VIDEOS HAVE BEEN PULLED FROM YOUTUBE, AND HE’S BANNED FROM PERFORMING IN PARTS OF MEXICO, BUT THE GENRE-BENDING SINGER-SONGWRITER SAYS HE CONTINUES TO DELIVER HITS BY LISTENING TO HIS FANS
Corridos Without Borders
JESSIA • How TikTok helped the emerging artist turn insecurities into a hit and score a major-label record deal