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 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Billboard
The Magic Is Strong: Encanto, ‘Bruno’ Continue Their Chart Commands
TOOL TIME • THE HARD-ROCK BAND GRABS THE TOP TOUR FOR JANUARY — DESPITE IT BEING THE LOWEST GROSS FOR A NO. 1 IN TWO YEARS
Rough Road Ahead For Tour Managers • Artists are eager to get back on the road, but personnel, trucks and stages are hard to find — will profits be in short supply as well?
Selling A Song Catalog? Now’s The Time • Wealth managers explain what rising interest rates mean for the publishing market
Inflation Impacts Merch And Vinyl • “Everybody is paying more to make less money,” says one executive
ADELE MAKES IT LOOK ‘EASY’ FOR SONY • The music publisher tops both fourth-quarter rankings despite market-share declines
BRAZIL COMBATS FAKE STREAMS • In 2021, an initiative dubbed “Operation Anti-Doping” shut down 84 stream-boosting sites with ties to Russia — the first time that fake streams have been prosecuted as a crime there
From The Desk Of… Ghazi • FOUNDER/CEO, EMPIRE
At Long Last • Reggae singer Koffee made Grammys history as a teen. Now, with a new record deal and full-length debut, she wants to move her genre forward
GOT the beat
JAMEE RANTA • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
THE COLLABORATORS
Aṣa
WOMAN OF THE YEAR Olivia Rodrigo
GAME CHANGER Saweetie
RULE BREAKER Karol G
ICON Bonnie Raitt
POWERHOUSE Doja Cat
TRAILBLAZER Phoebe Bridgers
IMPACT H.E.R.
CHART BREAKER Summer Walker
RISING STAR Gabby Barrett
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR Golnar Khosrowshahi • In August, the Iran-born entrepreneur became the first female founder and CEO of a publicly traded, independent music company when Reservoir Media was listed on NASDAQ. “It was a true moment of arrival,” she says
HALL OF FAME HONOREES • CHOSEN AS THE FIRST AMONG THEIR PEERS IN PRIOR YEARS, THESE FORMER EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR HONOREES REFLECT ON THEIR RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS — AND OFFER THEIR THOUGHTS FOR ADVANCING WOMEN AND OTHER UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Christy Castillo Butcher • Senior vp of programming and booking, SoFi Stadium/YouTube Theater/Hollywood Park
Ethel Gabriel
Marion Keisker
Leaders Of The Mechanical Licensing Collective
Christine Farnon
Suzanne de Passe
María de Jesús “Chuyita” Lizárraga
Theresa Velasquez • SENIOR VP, LIVE NATION MEDIA AND SPONSORSHIP
Bonnie Garner
THE BORDER KID WHO CROSSED OVER • After topping Billboard’s four Latin genre charts, Edgar Barrera — aka Edge — talks about his first decade in music and his new label venture with Sony Music
TRIBUTES • BARRERA’S ARTIST COLLABORATORS SHARE WHAT MAKES HIM STAND OUT MOST
MUNI LONG • The singer-songwriter’s breakthrough hit, “Hrs and Hrs,” is the result of years of hard work — and a career reinvention