Billboard Magazine

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.

A Year For The Weeknd In The Top 10

Billboard

NFTs: WTF? • In the past two weeks, digital non-fungible tokens have grown from a niche interest to mainstream million-dollar sales — and the music business wants in

THEY’RE DOWN WITH NFTs

THE LATE SHOW

iTunes Discounts: Not Just A Cheap Trick • Streaming rules the music business, but consumers still buy downloads for the right price – think .34 + .35 = $uccess

Fare Play • Streaming services pay by overall popularity, which makes superstars more dominant. Now SoundCloud is trying a new approach. Will others follow?

Are Real MCs Getting Fake Clicks? • Problems with fraudulent streams in Germany trigger global concerns

JENIFER MALLORY • Executive VP/GM, Columbia Records

WHOLE NEW WORLD • Sister duo Aly & AJ used their Disney start to educate themselves on driving their career — and are now more empowered than ever

BEHIND THE HIT

Ready, Headset, Go! • Why virtual reality workouts set to top-charting songs are the future of fitness

BIG IN… South Africa

A NEW PURPOSE • Pandemic downtime and marital bliss helped JUSTIN BIEBER make peace with his past. As he gets back to work with his new album, Justice, he’s taking ownership of his career — and his music

Sonic Youth • With a mentor in Quincy Jones, co-signs from R&B’s cool kids and now an album of the year nod, 26-year-old polymath JACOB COLLIER leads a pack of refreshingly unexpected nominees

From Broadway To The Ballot • With his soulful debut single, MYKAL KILGORE makes the rare leap from musical theater to mainstream recognition

Where There’s D Smoke There’s • How did a teacher-turned-Netflix competition star become a Grammy hopeful? It actually makes perfect sense

The Wise Guys

‘Nobody Believed In Me. Nobody Saw Me’ • MICKEY GUYTON’s “Black Like Me” took off amid last year’s reckoning with systemic racism. But its success is bittersweet

Making R&B Magic • BEFORE HIS LATEST GRAMMY NODS, WRITER-PRODUCER NASRI ATWEH ALMOST LEFT HITMAKING BEHIND

An Eye For Talent • Americana nominee MARCUS KING is the latest artist to gain Grammy cred after working with a particularly discerning producer and label founder: DAN AUERBACH

‘It Feels Like Doors Opening’ • For pop savant DEVONTÉ HYNES, his first-ever nomination — for classical music — has a deeper meaning

How Kaytranada Found His Groove • THE BEST NEW ARTIST NOMINEE IS HONORING DANCE MUSIC’S PAST

A Seat At The (Kids) Table • When the children’s music album category produced an all-white ballot, three nominees protested — and the conversation about the diversity that should define it is just getting started

Rocking In The She World • HOW SIX WOMEN-LED A CTS MADE HIS TORY AND TOOK OVER A DUDE-DOMINATED GENRE CATEGORY

Nice Work If You Can Earn It • RALEIGH MUSIC GROUP CO-FOUNDERS PETER RALEIGH AND STEVEN STORCH MARK THE PUBLISHER’S FIFTH ANNIVERSARY BY DISCUSSING THEIR OLD-SCHOOL APPROACH TO SERVICING THEIR BLUE-CHIP SONG CATALOGS AND UP-AND-COMING INDIE TALENT

The 56th Annual ACM Awards Return To Music City • THE WEST COAST-BASED ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC EMBRACES NASHVILLE FOR A SECOND CONSECUTIVE CELEBRATION; MAREN MORRIS AND CHRIS STAPLETON LEAD THE FIELD OF NOMINEES; KEITH URBAN AND MICKEY GUYTON TO CO-HOST

Country Music Community Benefits From $3.5 Million Raised By ACM’s Lifting Lives During Pandemic

The Top ACM Award Nominees

SONG OF THE YEAR • THE ACM HONOR GOES TO THE ARTIST, SONGWRITERS AND...