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Bad Bunny is set to break records across Latin America, Europe and Australia with his Debí Tirar Más Fotos tour after generating hundreds of millions of dollars from 2.6 million tickets sold, according to data provided to Billboard by promoter Live Nation.
“Bad Bunny is having incredible success without crossing over [musically]. In fact, it’s the audience — millions of people across the world, who are crossing over [to] him,” says Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring for Live Nation, which is co-promoting the 54-date tour with Rimas Nation. Schafer notes that the superstar will be the first Spanish-language artist to perform a stadium concert in seven of the countries he’s visiting on the tour, which kicks off Nov. 21 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and ends July 22 in Brussels, Belgium.
The new tour is set to break the records Bad Bunny first broke in 2022 when he became the first Latin act to earn the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Year-End Boxscore Top Tours chart, grossing $373.5 million from 1.8 million tickets across 65 shows.
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Thanks to a massive demand for tickets, what began as a 24-date tour early last week has blossomed into a 54-show run across 18 countries. Bad Bunny expanded his Mexico City visit from two shows at Estadio GNP to eight shows. In South America, he grew his stops in Medellin, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aires from one show to three shows in each market. And in Madrid, he expanded his plans for two shows to a staggering 10 concerts at the 70,000-person Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium.
Bad Bunny is playing two-night engagements at almost every stop on his tour and is breaking new records in nearly every market. He is the first and only Latin act to sell out a stadium concert in Australia and became the only artist in Colombia’s history to sell out three stadium concerts in 24 hours. He broke the record for the fastest-selling concert in the history of Costa Rica, and in Mexico, he broke the record for the most tickets sold in a single day by any artist.
The superstar now holds the record for the most tickets ever sold by a Latin artist in France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. And with 12 stadium shows booked for Spain — including two in Barcelona — he now holds the record for the biggest concert run ever for an artist in the country with 600,000 tickets sold.
He’s also become the top-selling Latin artist in the U.K., breaking the record previously set by Karol G.
“Bad Bunny is a true global artist and this tour is testament to his power as an international superstar,” Schafer says. “We’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida’s 13th district is calling for Tory Lanez’s freedom. The Republican urged California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom to review the Toronto singer’s 2020 shooting case and issue Lanez (born Daystar Peterson) a pardon in a message posted to X on Monday (May 19).
“I am calling on Gov. Newsom @CAgovernor to review Tory Lanez’s case and issue a pardon,” she wrote. “His 10-year sentence was based on flawed evidence, political pressure, and prosecutorial bias. Justice must be blind— not driven by headlines. Free Tory Lanez.”
Lanez is currently serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted on three felony counts tied to shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet following a July 2020 party in Hidden Hills, Calif.
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Rep. Luna has also claimed via X on Tuesday (May 20) that new “compelling evidence” will be presented in the next 36 hours, which she believes will exonerate Lanez. “We have compelling evidence proving Tory Lanez’s innocence, and it will be released within the next 36 hours,” she wrote. “Those who rushed to call for his incarceration, and worse yet pushed false evidence, should prepare to be held accountable.”
Billboard has reached out to Megan Thee Stallion’s rep for comment on Luna’s messages on X.
Reps for Lanez from the Los Angeles nonprofit social justice organization Unite the People presented alleged new findings in Tory’s case during a press conference last week. Attorney Walter Roberts claimed that Kelsey Harris’ bodyguard, Bradley James, filed an affidavit claiming he overheard Harris admit to firing the weapon and not Lanez.
Megan Thee Stallion’s attorney, Alex Spiro, released a statement refuting Roberts’ claims. “Tory Lanez was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers and his case was properly adjudicated through the court system,” he said. “This is not a political matter — this is a case of a violent assault that was resolved in the court of law.”
The “Savage” rapper herself also slammed the claims of new evidence on Monday. “FACTS ARE FACTS, he did it , it was PROVEN IN COURT f–k the hate campaign on the internet TORY YOU SHOT ME !!” she wrote in a social media post. “Ain’t no new f–king evidence yall been saying the same s–t for years.”
Lanez was stabbed in prison on May 12 inside California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi. He was hospitalized for his injuries, and a statement posted hours later to his social media said he was stabbed 14 times, but was in “good spirits” while recovering. It also noted that his lungs had collapsed, but was breathing on his own at the time of the posting.
Hailey Bieber is Vogue‘s summer cover star, despite what Justin Bieber once told her during a heated moment that he now regrets.
Following the publication of the model’s big feature in the fashion magazine Tuesday (May 20), the pop star congratulated his wife by posting photos of the shoot on Instagram and proudly revealing that her achievement had caused him to eat his words from a long time ago. “Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight,” he wrote in his caption. “I told hails that she would never be on the cover of vogue.”
“Yikes I know, so mean,” he continued. “For some reason because I felt so disrespected I thought I gotta get even.. I think as we mature we realize that we’re not helping anything by getting even … So baby u already know but forgive me for saying u wouldn’t get a vogue cover cuz clearly i was sadly mistaken.”
The Biebers have certainly come a long way since the fight in question, with the couple getting married in 2018. Last August, they became parents when they welcomed son Jack Blues, about which Hailey told Vogue: “Giving birth was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. … That s–t was so crazy. That was not fun. They broke my water. I went into labor and I labored for a few hours. No epidural, nothing.”
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The pop star also gushed about his marriage to the Rhode founder in the piece. “I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life,” he told the publication, “but the smartest thing I’ve ever done was marry Hailey.”
“She’s in the spotlight, and has the attention because of her effortless knack for style, business, art and fashion,” he added when sharing his thoughts on why his partner attracts so much hate online. “And the way she makes being a mom and wife look easy.”
Hailey’s Vogue cover comes just two days after she and Justin attended the Stanley Cup playoffs together to cheer on the Toronto Maple Leafs, cuddling up in their seats as the “Peaches” artist fawned over the players. A week prior, Justin celebrated his spouse by throwing a lavish Mother’s Day celebration for her, complete with a candlelit dinner and Mariachi band.
With four years passing since Justin last released an album — 2021’s Justice, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — fans are eager to hear new music from the star. Luckily for them, Hailey confirmed that her husband is working on something new. While welcoming Vogue into her home, she said as the sounds of him singing bled through the walls: “I forgot Justin is recording, otherwise I’d say let’s get cozy.”
See Hailey Bieber’s Vogue cover below:
Rihanna fans have been waiting not so patiently the last three years for new music, and it finally arrived Friday in the form of the Smurfs soundtrack song “Friend of Mine.” The vibey new song is the perfect backdrop for a Smurf dance-off, as evidenced by the mostly animated music video, but the three-minute-plus track […]
Sometimes, a serendipitous moment happens while writing a song that in hindsight seems like it was just meant to be.
Such is the case was with Scotty McCreery’s new single “Bottle Rockets,” which features Hootie & the Blowfish revisiting their breakthrough hit, 1994’s “Hold My Hand.”
McCreery was with songwriting buddies and producer Frank Rogers at his cabin in the North Carolina mountains for a writing retreat. There were six inches of snow on the ground when thoughts turned to warmer times and the soundtracks to their memories of summers past.
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“I had mentioned how much I loved Hootie & the Blowfish, and Frank being from South Carolina and a frequent collaborator with Darius [Rucker] knew exactly what to do with that,” McCreery says. “We started strumming the tune that would eventually become ‘Bottle Rockets,’ and at the end of the makeshift chorus we had at that point, Frank went into ‘Hold My Hand.’ It fit like a glove. Everyone was laughing and high-fiving because we knew we were on to something. The song really just spilled out from there.”
“Bottle Rockets,” which came out last Friday (May 16) and was added to more than 100 country radio stations’ playlists, is a mid-tempo, nostalgic slice of summers past — with McCreery fondly recalling a time with a young love at the beach, feet in the sand, beer in hand and playing “Hold My Hand” on the guitar. And, as if by magic in the song, Rucker and his bandmates’ voices appear, rising up like a swelling wave. It feels like the perfect summer jam.
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McCreery reached out to Rucker — and then Rogers also reached out to Rucker and the rest of the band about being on the record. “To be honest, I was nervous to ask them about this song, because ‘Hold My Hand’ has to be one of their babies,” McCreery says. “I knew I loved how the song came out, but I obviously couldn’t be sure what they would think until they heard it. I was very glad to hear each one of the guys loved ‘Bottle Rockets’ and were very open to the idea of getting back in the studio and being on this song with me. You should have seen the smile on my face when I got that text back.”
Hootie drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld tells Billboard he was surprised at how well the songs fit together. “I was certainly intrigued to see how ‘Hold My Hand’ would be woven into a contemporary song,” he says. “It’s not an easy task to do it tastefully. But geez! It truly sounds like all the parts were meant to be together when you hear the single.”
Any idea of sampling the original song was never really considered. “Frank Rogers knows Hootie & the Blowfish come from the old school, and we were gonna want to get in there and sing our own parts the old-fashioned way,” Sonefeld says.
“I’m not sure much thought was ever even given to just sampling the song,” McCreery says. “The thought in my head was always how cool it would be if the whole gang got back in the studio and sang ‘Hold My Hand’ for the song.”
Once the band agreed, it came together quickly. Almost too quickly, McCreery says. “Mark [Bryan], Dean [Felber] and Soni actually called us while we were in the studio tracking for the new EP and said, ‘We’re all together right now at the studio. Can we just record right now?’ We hadn’t even recorded the song yet,” McCreery says. “So, we got our band together real quick to find a tempo and a key, gave that to them, and they recorded their parts for ‘Bottle Rockets’ before ‘Bottle Rockets’ was ever even recorded.”
Sonefeld, Bryan and Felber recorded their parts at Bryan’s studio on the South Carolina coast. “Luckily, we were still nice and warmed up from our 2024 Hootie tour,” Sonefeld says. “Heck, we’ve all sang those parts so many times I think we could do it in our sleep.”
Rucker was in Nashville from London, where he now lives, and recorded his part in Rogers’ home studio, where McCreery does his vocal recordings as well. “Frank sent me a clip of D singing in the booth and I could tell it was just going to be killer,” McCreery says.
Sonefeld brought “Hold My Hand” to Hootie & the Blowfish when he joined the band in the early ‘90s, and it’s been the delight of his life to see it travel the world. “If you would have told me in 1989 when I wrote ‘Hold My Hand’ that the song would later be sung by our fans at concerts from South Carolina to South Africa to Australia to Ireland, and all around the globe, I’d have told you that you’re a big liar,” he says. “Heck, if you told me I’d be in a band named Hootie & the Blowfish I would have told you the same thing!”
McCreery was less than a year old when “Hold My Hand” was a hit — but growing up in North Carolina, Hootie & the Blowfish (who are from neighboring South Carolina) were practically in McCreery’s DNA.
“Being born and raised in the Carolinas, Hootie & the Blowfish is really just a part of the culture here,” he says. “Their music was always around when I was growing up. It was on the radio, in the background at restaurants, you would hear their songs at sporting events or the DJ would play their songs when everyone was on the dance floor at weddings. You couldn’t and still can’t really go anywhere without hearing them somewhere. In college was probably when I started jamming to them the most. I never performed their songs live, but I’m sure I’ve held a beer can up like a microphone and gave my friends a rousing performance of “Only Wanna Be With You” a time or two.”
Though McCreery is friendly with the band, his main connection is Rucker, with whom he shares a warm friendship. “Darius and I have golfed a bunch together — he normally wins, but I’ve gotten him a time or two — and football also is something we bond over,” McCreery says. “We’re in the same fantasy football league, and then we love to talk smack about college sports as well. He is a big [University of South Carolina] Gamecock fan, and I’m a [North Carolina State University] Wolfpack guy. D is full of stories and has shared lots of knowledge and wisdom with me over the years. Whether it be in a golf cart or on a ferry ride through the night from Dublin to London, I’m all ears anytime I’m around him trying to soak up some of that knowledge.”
McCreery’s biggest challenge has been trying to figure out how to replicate the song live, which he did for the first time this past weekend. “At the moment, I’m having my band singing the ‘Hold My Hand” hook lines and I’m singing most of Darius’ lines myself,” he says. “It’s working, and the crowds have given us a great response to it live. We may change how we do it as the summer goes on, potentially utilizing the video wall we have on the road, but for the moment, that’s what we are doing.”
Or maybe he can just reach out to his friends. “Give us a call if you need some background vocalists,” Sonefeld jokes, but seriously adds he is thrilled with the result and that a new generation may hear “Hold My Hand.” “It’s a timeless message about lifting each other up during difficult times,” he says. “And I think a younger audience will really vibe on that.”
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Memorial Day sales are finally blossoming, as the national holiday is right around the corner. For those looking to stay hydrated […]
The members of King Gnu chatted with Billboard Japan for its Monthly Feature series spotlighting currently notable artists and works. The popular four-man band’s latest single “TWILIGHT!!!” was written as the theme song for the blockbuster anime movie Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback and dropped digitally on April 18.
Last year, the “SPECIALZ” band’s first-ever domestic five-dome tour entitled King Gnu Dome Tour “THE GREATEST UNKNOWN” drew crowds totaling 380,000 people. Soon after, the quartet embarked on its first Asia tour visiting Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai, and Seoul, expanding its overwhelming presence outside of its home country.
The band’s new single is being featured in the latest movie version of the hugely popular Detective Conan anime, also known for having a history of famous theme songs. “TWILIGHT!!!” fuses ’80s synths and Afro-inspired grooves to create a danceable track that transforms incredibly live. The four members — Daiki Tsuneta, Yu Seki, Kazuki Arai and Satoru Iguchi — talked about this new single, which they say is an extension of a new way of working they settled upon during the making of their most recent album THE GREATEST UNKNOWN.
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First, tell us about your KING GNU LIVEHOUSE TOUR 2025 CLUB GNU EDITION that ran from February to March. Most of your performances of tracks off your albums CEREMONY and THE GREATEST UNKNOWN probably took place in arena-sized venues or larger, so were there any new takeaways or insights when you performed them in a club setting?
Kazuki Arai (Bass): The audience was really close to us, so I think there was more tension because of that. We could feel the passion from the audience directly without loss, which was unconsciously reflected in our staging and performance. But our dome tour was followed by our Asia tour, so it wasn’t like we suddenly downscaled to club-sized venues, because we also did halls during our Asian trek in between and there was also a bit of time after that as well, so it was a bit more of a gradual process.
Satoru Iguchi (Vocals/Keyboards): During the Asia tour, the show in Seoul had this really great vibe, so we thought it’d be nice to see that in Japan at a venue around the same scale. The Seoul crowd sang a lot and cheered really loud. It’s not like our fans in Japan aren’t energetic, but they are shy, it’s just how Japanese people tend to be. So regarding our domestic fan club tour, we did hope that we’d be able to perform with that kind of energy again.
You also seemed to actively hype up the audience on many occasions, Mr. Tsuneta.
Daiki Tsuneta (Guitar/Vocals): It’s no fun when people are just listening to you. There’s no point in performing live like that, is how I basically feel. Our energy level of the day changes depends on whether or not we get something like a response, to the point where we might seem like a different band.
Your new song “TWILIGHT!!!” is the theme song for the movie Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback. It’s tied into a work that’s been on the air since you were kids and has been loved for a long time.
Iguchi: Yes. I used to watch the anime at the time.
Tsuneta: I used to read the manga.
Yu Seki (Drums): Of the movie versions, I liked Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital.
What was the reaction like when you announced the tie-in?
Arai: I have friends who are fans and when I told them directly, they went crazy. They were like, “That’s so awesome!” A lot of people contacted me about it, so personally, there was a lot of response.
The movie is set in Nagano Prefecture, where Mr. Tsuneta and Mr. Iguchi are from.
Arai: Did you get a feel of home when you saw it?
Iguchi: Yeah, I did. Yatsugatake (mountains) and Zenkoji (temple) appear in the movie.
When you were tapped to write the movie theme song, what kind of song did you envision when you first started working on it?
Tsuneta: Personally, when I’ve been asked to write a song for an anime show, singing about that work itself doesn’t sit well with me. Because when we perform that song live, I’ll be like, “Who is this song about, anyway?” and won’t feel comfortable with it. I believe strongly that the song has to be ours that it has to be a King Gnu song. In that sense, I’m not writing about any of the characters in particular, but the inspiration from the world of Detective Conan that I felt after seeing the movie is there, so I suppose what’s most important is maintaining a good sense of distance. I’ve been conscious of that since “SPECIALZ” (opener for the Shibuya Incident story arc of the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen). Though of course I do want it to overlap with the anime as well.
Arai: I was thinking about something like that too. Like SLAM DUNK, anime songs from back then weren’t about the content of the work itself, you know?
Tsuneta: I’m aware of things like words that resonate with the audience, but try not to narrow it down too much. I really try to keep in mind that the music has to be believable when we play it as a band.
I think the sound is a new departure for King Gnu, with synths that have an ’80s feel, for example. Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do from the demo stage?
Tsuneta: Yes, I’ve really been into that ’80s feel recently. I used lean more into alternative music before and that kind of sparkly, disco vibe wasn’t something I liked. But now that I’m at this age, I’m starting to like that type of music because I think it’s refreshing in a different way.
Did you come across any particular works that sparked that interest?
Tsuneta: The Weeknd, Daft Punk, I’ve been wanting to try stuff like that recently.
What were your first impressions of the demo?
Seki: It had an Afro feel to it, but I sensed that he wanted to take it in a city (sophisticated) direction. I personally found it kind of difficult because it wasn’t in my deck of cards.
Tsuneta: The beats are definitely Afro-oriented. I imagine it’s super hard for our audience. They’ll probably have a hard time grooving to it.
Seki: But when I listened to the finished song, I think we settled on a really good place.
Tsuneta: It has a mixture feel to it, doesn’t it?
The chorus also references Jersey club.
Seki: Yes, it does. We did sneak in a little bit of that context of club music. But we hadn’t decided on anything until the four of us got together to play it. We just inserted the samples and were like, “Let’s figure it out during rehearsals.” That’s how King Gnu’s new songs are finished up these days. We have no idea where we’ll end up, so we just get the samples ready and sit down and figure it out. And it all seems to work out somehow.
Arai: It works out, doesn’t it? It was the same with “Asura”
Seki: Both “Asura and “IKAROS” worked out.
Speaking of which, “Asura is one of those songs that transformed during your live performances.
Arai: It feels like that this time, too.
Seki: I think I’m getting more comfortable with the instruments. I use electronic drums on this one.
I see. What about the bass?
Arai: The bass ended up copying the groove and nuances that Daiki had included in his demo. We tried various takes, but agreed that it’d be better if the bass could be heard together with the beat. We usually just put in what each of us wants to do, but this time, I think we were more conscious of putting (the bass and drums) together as a set than in other songs. The nuances (Tsuneta) wanted were already apparent in the demo stage, so in the end we went full circle and settled on that. Our approach was to make it work with a minimum of bass sounds.
Seki: Since we’re a band, doing things like that can be awkward or difficult, but I did want to try it out. I’ve noticed that some of the songs that are popular overseas feature the bass guitar and bass drum doing the same thing.
Tsuneta: I’ve been thinking that it’d be better if (the bass and drums) aren’t divided. They’re often separated when a band is producing the song, but in today’s mainstream music, they’re very much one and the same, so that was something I wanted to try. “Nekko” was the complete opposite, with each member playing their own part, very much like a band, and I was getting a bit tired of that. Both have their merits, of course, and we’ll separate them in our live performances, but I thought we could try something like that in the production.
It’s also a continuation of your production style after THE GREATEST UNKNOWN, isn’t it?
Tsuneta: Yes. I felt pretty confident about “SPECIALZ” and “Asura and realized there aren’t any bands that can create these kinds of sounds. My current mood is to pursue that further.
How was the vocal recording process?
Iguchi: My voice has a lot of overtones, so it doesn’t work too well with Auto-Tune, and it took me a while to find a good place to land. It also took me a while to get used to the rhythm patterns. So it was pretty fun in terms of it being a challenge, but we started rehearsing recently and I’m finally getting used to it and want to record it again. I feel like I could sing it better now.
Tsuneta: You mean you’re evolving?
Iguchi: Yeah, basically.
Arai: Daiki also said, “I should have recorded the guitar.”
Tsuneta: I added some guitar for the live performance, and thought it sounded great.
Seki: That happens a lot with this band. The songs change again after playing them live.
Iguchi: Yeah.
Tsuneta: Very few of the songs are done the same way as the original recordings.
You constantly update them.
Tsuneta: So next time, it’d be cool if we have the luxury of rehearsing, then recording. We could probably make them even better if we try to input them first, then record them based on that.
Seki: That would make them really King Gnu.
Arai: Yeah, make them purer.
We look forward to your upcoming music.
Tsuneta: I think the next one is another completely different type of song, so I can’t wait to release it. It’ll probably help people understand this one better.
I see. Is “TWILIGHT!!!” symbolic in some way in terms of where the band is at musically?
Tsuneta: It’s quite symbolic in one aspect, but only in one aspect. We’ll be releasing some more new songs, and only then will certain things become apparent.
Iguchi: I think all four of us are more grounded now.
So your personal development is showing in your music as well.
Tsuneta: I mean, Kazuki is raising a kid and we’re all at an age where such things are relevant.
You’re more deeply rooted in your daily lives in that sense.
Tsuneta: Yes. I want to face that kind of reality in the things we create and also in the way we work.
—This interview by Takuto Ueda and text by Maiko Murata first appeared on Billboard Japan
YOASOBI dropped its latest single “Watch me!” on digital platforms over the weekend (May 18) and shared the accompanying music video.
The “Idol” duo’s new number is being featured as the opening theme song for the anime series Witch Watch. The lyrics express the innocent and adorable charm of the main character Nico, with ikura’s voice adding playful touches to the song.
The accompanying animated visuals were produced entirely by the Witch Watch animation team. The video is filled with the comical and cute elements of the original story and music, using new drawings alongside selected scenes from the episodes in the show.
In 2022, Pophouse Entertainment premiered ABBA Voyage in London, a virtual concert in which avatars of the Swedish powerpop foursome as they appeared in 1979 — one of them Pophouse co-founder Björn Ulvaeus — performed their biggest hits in ABBA Arena, a custom-built venue at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park that seats 3,000.
More than 40 years after ABBA’s initial success and the subsequent popularity of the Mamma Mia! musicals and movies, fans have purchased more than 3.3 million tickets to over 1,000 ABBA Voyage shows, according to Pophouse, which cost approximately $185 million to mount. Now, armed with $1.3 billion from its first round of private equity fundraising and the backing of Swedish investment giant EQT, Pophouse CEO Per Sundin is eager to replicate the franchise’s success.
Sitting in front of photos of Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Lana del Rey, Billie Eilish, Barry Gibb and other artists Sundin worked with during the decades he spent as Sony and later Universal Music Group’s top executive in the Nordics, he sees ABBA Voyage as a template to attract the devoted fan bases of certain other acts. KISS, which completed its End of the Road tour in 2023 and whose catalog Pophouse acquired the following year, will be the next act to get the avatar treatment. Another possible candidate is Cyndi Lauper, whose farewell tour ends in August and whose catalog Pophouse owns. The company’s portfolio also includes the catalogs of two of Sweden’s most famous electronic music artists, Swedish House Mafia and the late DJ Avicii, for whom the company recently said it will release new music.
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Speaking at the New York offices of law firm Morrison Foerster, Sundin says Pophouse didn’t cut any corners in creating ABBA Voyage — even footing a “shocking” Dolce & Gabanna clothing bill, Sundin says, for the avatars’ costumes. (“They should have sponsored us, it was so expensive,” he jokes.)
Sundin says that after KISS vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley saw ABBA Voyage, he asked to meet the band members backstage. Pophouse, he adds, is dedicated to producing the same realism for the blood-spitting, fire-breathing “Black Diamond” boys.
Geopolitical uncertainty and tariffs have not directly affected music assets. Did that motivate investors who participated in this latest funding round?
I don’t want to comment on what’s going on in the world today because I can’t guess where anything is going. But music is totally uncorrelated to inflation or interest rates, and that is a key message for people who invest from the financial world. When we said to investors, “This is a yield business because you have royalties coming in every quarter,” the financial support for music is fantastic. Even though you have tough times, maybe you don’t go out to restaurants or do big trips, but you will never cancel your Spotify, YouTube or Apple account.
You may not cancel your Spotify account, but you do buy fewer Broadway tickets. How are you changing your forecasts for the ABBA virtual show or other live- entertainment projects?
You have to value in assumptions and calculations for every venture, but we’re not going to do nothing for four years. The world we’re living in, it’s always SNAFU [an acronym for “situation’s normal: all fucked up”]. There is also opportunity. There is so much need for entertainment. ABBA Voyage is the next generation of music concerts. It’s on seven days a week, and it’s almost always sold out. I’ve been 16 times, and I’m emotionally connected every time. That’s how contagious this show is. Of the 50 biggest artists in the world still alive, I would say that 40 have been there to see it.
Given the show’s popularity with big stars, how’s your pipeline for acquisitions?
Really good. The press release about how much money we raised helped. We hope to announce at least one catalog we’re buying by summer. But we don’t just want to buy it and put it on the shelf. We create a road map for five to 10 years, and then we execute that road map. From the beginning, we told our investors that we want to buy eight to 10 catalogs. We have four. That leaves six to buy. The record companies have thousands of catalogs.
In the United States, ABBA Arena would be comparable to Sphere in Las Vegas. Will the KISS virtual show take place there?
No. The Sphere is a fantastic building, a fantastic venue, but for the type of avatar concert we are planning with KISS — which is something else — we are looking at more intimate sites. I’ve been to the Sphere four times [to see U2 live, a video replay of a U2 show, Anyma and the Eagles]. The first time I saw U2 at Sphere, the visuals were amazing, but I didn’t feel emotionally connected. Bono is a preacher. He has something to say to the world, and I didn’t find he was in the right element. I saw U2 virtual [a recording of a prior Sphere performance], and Bono was more of a preacher there. With U2 [both times], I asked people, “Did you go for U2 or did you go for the Sphere?” Two-thirds said they went there for the Sphere.
How will you give KISS fans something new for the virtual show?
Every catalog we buy will not be an avatar show. ABBA was only active for eight to nine years. KISS toured for 40. Kiss is more male-biased. ABBA is more female-biased. But they both have fans of all ages. That’s why their brands are so valuable. If you’re a KISS fan, you’re a fan for life.
Pophouse also owns Avicii’s catalog, another artist with hyper-engaged fans who are very sensitive to coverage and monetization of that catalog, given his suicide at the age of 28 in 2018. Would Pophouse buy another catalog that comes with a significant risk of offending fans?
There is so much data available to look at before we buy catalogs today. We also do brand and narrative due diligence. KISS has superfans. Taylor Swift has superfans. The same goes with Avicii. On Spotify, 2% of listeners of a catalog stand for 80% of a catalog’s streams in an average month or year. In some cases, we have found 5% [of listeners] stand for 50% of streams. If I can increase an act’s superfans from 5% to 6%, the total streams will go up 10%, meaning the value of the catalog will go up 10%.
So back to your question about sensitivity: We take this very seriously. With KISS, there are fans that have been fans for 50 years. We did deep research and collected 10 people into a superfan panel and invited them to Vegas [in mid-March]. In workshops, we asked them what they would expect, what they liked and didn’t like because we respect them. That doesn’t mean we will do everything they say. We will adapt their feedback for the next 50 years.
We’re going to do a superfan panel with Avicii, too. His parents are very close to me personally since I signed Avicii in 2010. I am probably the person who is saying, “Do as little as possible.” There are a lot of things Avicii never released, and we are doing Avicii Forever, a collection of his best songs — and one new song.
What’s a challenge you encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it?
The first decade of the century was a true roller coaster for me, but also for everyone in the music industry. It started with the best year ever selling CDs, then came Napster, LimeWire and, eventually, Pirate Bay. Sweden was the most pirated country in the world, and I had to restructure Sony Music Nordic. Then came the merger between Sony Music and BMG, and I moved to Universal Music Nordic. I had to let more than 300 people go, and the music market in Sweden decreased 50%. We tried everything to overcome the shrinking market: ringtones, iTunes and many more. Nothing compensated. When I joined Universal in April 2008, UM Sweden had the lowest digital revenue based on micro [gross domestic product]. Spotify was launched that October, and I decided to go all-in and sign as many new and established artists as possible: Avicii, Alesso, Tove Lo and many more. In 2013, Universal Music Sweden had the highest digital revenue on micro GDP in the [entirety] of Universal Music.
What are you most proud of from your career?
Every artist you sign to a label you feel in some way connected to them. I don’t think they always feel connected to you, but to sign an artist or band is such an important decision [for everyone involved]. Even though I’ve left Sony and Universal, I continue to follow the careers of the artists I signed. It’s emotional. It’s about creating an entertainment brand or artist who can live on their creativity. It’s fantastic.
Soccer, music and community came together on Monday (May 19) at the Tenple field in Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, Spain, where Myke Towers’ Young Kingz Foundation and David Villa’s DV7 Academy officially kicked off their global partnership. The event marked the start of a series of joint initiatives aimed at creating real opportunities for young people in vulnerable situations.
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Towers, one of the most influential voices in Latin urban music, and Villa, the all-time top scorer for Spain’s national soccer team and a 2010 World Cup champion, share the same vision: transforming lives through talent, discipline and social commitment.
“I’m not doing this expecting it to blow up like a song,” Towers tells Billboard Español. “It’s more about leaving a legacy. Creating a habit. Inspiring those who can help to do so, in their own way.”
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“I feel good because this brings together two things I’m passionate about: music and sports,” he adds. “And if I can do something for others through that, even better.”
For Towers, giving back is essential. “When you’re blessed, it’s only natural to want to bless others,” he shares.
Although Villa couldn’t attend the event in person as he was in the Dominican Republic visiting one of his academies, he connected with Towers via video call, where both reaffirmed their commitment to joining forces to provide real resources to young people. Towers took the opportunity to thank Villa for his earlier visit to the Quintana Club in Puerto Rico, a gesture that marked the beginning of the bond between their two foundations.
Villa, on the other hand, celebrated the collaboration with the Young Kingz Foundation. “Soccer is a powerful tool for building community and well-being,” he tells Billboard Español, and reveals that his favorite song by Towers is “Lala.”
The partnership is already underway, with projects in Puerto Rico, New York, Colombia and Spain that include free sports clinics, exchange programs, urban space revitalization and educational support for vulnerable youth. For Villa, the most rewarding part is seeing the immediate impact on the daily lives of young people. “When I visit the academies and see them happy, sharing, and enjoying themselves, that’s the most beautiful thing,” he says. “You can win or lose, but the important thing is that they have a meaningful experience.”
The Young Kingz Foundation was established in July 2024, but Myke Towers’ community commitment had been developing long before that. “Michael had already been consistently supporting his community. The foundation allowed him to organize that effort and amplify its impact,” Derick Luna, president of the board of directors and the artist’s business manager, tells Billboard Español.
One of the standout stories from the event was that of Mateo Bermúdez, a 13-year-old Puerto Rican soccer player who traveled from Galicia to attend; he was sponsored by the DV7 Academy to continue his training in Spain. Mateo was born in the same community as Towers, Quintana, and represents the kind of talent this project aims to highlight and support.
“He has something special. He adapts, smiles when the group smiles and knows how to push through tough moments. That’s not something you can teach,” Ossie Antonetti, president of JDB Internacional (Young Puerto Rican Athletes) and a partner of the Young Kingz Foundation, tells Billboard Español.
“Mateo is a kid I’ve known since he was little, and I have a lot of love for him. I know he’s going to go far because he has humility, and that will take him very high,” adds Towers.
In a conversation with Billboard, Villa emphasizes the importance of supporting soccer development in communities that often go unnoticed. “We know where we can help, and this partnership allows us to do so with real impact,” he says.
During the event in Madrid, Towers also spent time with students from Villa’s soccer academy and took photos with fans who came to the field.
The event coincided with the kickoff of Myke Towers’ Europe Tour 2025, which will begin with two sold-out concerts at the Movistar Arena in Spain’s capital. In the coming weeks, the artist will perform in Cádiz, Barcelona, Paris, Zurich, London and other cities as part of his tour.
