Music label and distribution platform Slip.stream has acquired the name and brand of independent record label Commission Music from Anthony Martini for an undisclosed sum. Founded by Martini in 2015, the label broke out acts like Lil Dicky, IDK and MadeinTYO. Going forward, Martini will join Slip.stream’s board to help guide the development of Slip.Stream Records, […]

This story is part of Billboard’s 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players package. Read the list in full here. With a career spanning over three decades, Yo Gotti has always dreamed of building the next big-time rap label. After watching the likes of JAY-Z, Birdman and Master P transition from artists to boardroom executives with their respective imprints,

Timbaland and Swizz Beatz — who took Verzuz from pandemic entertainment to a still-evolving, profitable wealth generator for Black artists — rule Billboard’s list of the executives leading the genres forward now. Chris AtlasExecutive vp urban music and marketing, Warner RecordsRay DanielsSenior vp A&R, Warner RecordsEesean BoldenSenior vp A&R, Warner Records Warner Records’ banner year

This story spotlights the executives of the year of Billboard’s 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list. Read the list in full here. In late June, as the temperature warmed and COVID-19 vaccination rates rose, a sense of normalcy started to return to the world. Restaurant patios overflowed; nightclub lines wrapped around the block; festival and tour announcements

Promising new country artist Tiera has signed with Big Machine Label Group’s Valory Records. Tiera, who is signed to Songs & Daughters music publishing and who hosts a daily show on Apple Music Country, was Billboard’s March country rookie of the month based on the strength of her self-released debut EP. At that time, she

On Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated Aug. 3, 1991, Trisha Yearwood’s debut single “She’s in Love With the Boy” rose from No. 4 to No. 1, spending its first of two weeks on top. Fast forward to Aug. 3, 2021. Exactly 30 years after her initial coronation, Yearwood — who was inducted into the Grand

This story is part of Billboard’s 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players package. Read the list in full here. A year later, the quest remains the same. #TheShowMustBePaused and the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) steadfastly continue their fight to achieve sustainable racial diversity, equity and inclusion in the music industry. After #TheShowMustBePaused co-founders Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas

As BTS’ “Butter” adds a ninth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the track keeps atop Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart (dated Aug. 7). The 20-position Songs of the Summer running tally tracks the most popular titles based on cumulative performance on the weekly streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot 100 from

Taylor Swift sent her Swiftie sleuths into overdrive on Thursday morning (August 5) when she released a cryptic 30-second video teaser filled with a series of 13-letter word jumbles floating out of a gilded safe amid swirling copper-colored leaves. The message accompanying the tweet was similarly packed with wink-wink, nudge-nudge clues that will likely be

Finneas is stone alone in the COVID-haunted video for, “A Concert Six Months From Now,” the first single from the producer/songwriter’s upcoming debut album. The 24 year-old singer announced the name and release date of his first full length on Thursday morning (August 5), revealing that Optimist will drop on Oct. 15. “Hope you enjoy,