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Trending on Billboard Ice-T was having a little too much fun messing around with AI and had a laugh at putting all of “the Ices” of hip-hop together in one photo. The 67-year-old posted an AI-generated picture featuring himself in a Yankees fitted cap next to Vanilla Ice, Ice Cube and Ice Spice hitting an […]
Trending on Billboard Keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky — and the ice. Ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, two British skaters shared a mesmerizing routine set to Taylor Swift‘s “The Fate of Ophelia,” proving that showgirls can shine on frozen stages too. In a clip shared by the Olympics’ official […]
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The release of CTS Eventim’s third-quarter results on Thursday (Nov. 20) marked the last earnings report from a major music company until early 2026 (a few smaller companies tend to announce much later), meaning it’s time for Billboard’s awards-style recap running down the best and worst of the bunch.
Music companies generally had a good quarter. Live Nation set yet another record for third-quarter revenue. Spotify delivered the double-digit revenue growth people have come to expect. K-pop companies delivered strong revenue growth, although earnings usually didn’t keep pace.
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In a rare occurrence, a handful of music streaming companies actually posted revenue declines. China’s Netease Cloud Music was down 2%, Deezer was off by 1% and LiveOne, hobbled by changes at Tesla, fell 42%.
Aside from the financial numbers, AI gave companies a great deal to talk about. Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group took the force-multiplier approach by announcing major AI licensing deals a day before they released earnings. Each company went into their conference calls with analysts in the immediate wake of a positive development on a hot-button topic: Recently signed agreements with AI music generator Udio, which will turn into a rights holder-friendly walled garden when it re-launches in early 2026.
For more details, check out Billboard‘s recap of all music companies’ earnings results released through Nov. 21.
Without further ado, here are the highlights from the latest round of earnings results.
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Greatest Progress on a Business Model: Sphere Entertainment Co.
It’s not difficult to find a critic of Sphere, the massive, spherical venue in Las Vegas with huge production costs and a mountain of debt, as sustained profits are a long-term project and aren’t likely to appear until Sphere franchises open in Abu Dhabi and other markets. Still, Sphere Entertainment Co. — which also includes MSG Networks — made progress in the third quarter. Sphere landed a hit with its AI-assisted update of The Wizard of Oz, which has sold over 1 million tickets to date at an average price analysts put at well over $100. Showings of Oz and other movies rose to 220 from 207 in the prior-year quarter, and a winning residency from Backstreet Boys helped the Sphere division turn a negative adjusted operating income (AOI) into $36 million of positive AOI.
Best Revenue Growth Rate, All Companies: YG Entertainment
Third quarter revenue jumped 107% to $128 million for the company behind such K-pop groups as BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, beating out fellow K-pop company JYP Entertainment, which topped the list last quarter with a 126% year-over-year growth rate. Because K-pop companies focus their resources on relatively small rosters, their financial results tend to have greater volatility than Western companies with far more artists under their roofs. Revenue rises and falls based on the success of a handful of new albums and tours.
Best Revenue Growth Rate, Digital Service Providers: Tencent Music Entertainment
Online music revenue jumped 27.2% to $979 million as the number of paying users rose 5.6% to 125.7 million. Tencent Music didn’t break out the number of subscribers to its high-priced Super VIP tier — it’s been at 15 million for a few quarters — but the quarter’s 10.2% increase in average revenue per user suggests that Super VIP made a positive impact.
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Best Stock Price Bump: SiriusXM
SiriusXM shares jumped 10% the day the company released earnings — not because of the results, but because the company raised its full-year guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow by $25 million. The satellite radio company, which also owns streaming brand Pandora, is trying to manage declining subscribers and a soft advertising market by cutting costs. The plan mostly worked in the third quarter as SiriusXM’s adjusted EBITDA fell just 2.5% to $676 million, and revenue fell 1%. Net cash from operating activities jumped to $430 million from $309 million in the prior-year period.
Worst Stock Price Drop: StubHub
The secondary ticketing company went public on Sept. 17 and released its first earnings report on Nov. 13. Revenue was up 11% year over year — it would have risen 24% if not for Taylor Swift ticket sales in 2024 — but the company didn’t issue guidance for the fourth quarter. Investors reacted as if StubHub was hiding bad news, and the share price dropped as much as 31% the following morning and finished the day down 21%. Right on cue, news broke on Monday (Nov. 17) that the U.K. government plans to ban the resale of tickets at a profit, causing StubHub’s stock to drop an additional 30.7% over the next four days.
Best Attempt at Earnings Call Levity: Spotify
Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek is stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, who are currently co-presidents. As Ek explained when the company released third-quarter results, the Nov. 4 earnings call would mark his final such appearance before he transitioned to the position of executive chairman. At the end of his introductory remarks, Ek then turned the call over to Norström. “Thanks, Daniel,” Norström said. “No pressure.”
Worst Quarter: Vivid Seats
The secondary ticketing company’s revenue plummeted 27% to $137 million and adjusted EBITDA fell to $4.9 million from $34.1 million in the prior-year quarter. The news sent the Chicago-based company’s share price down 11.3% in a single day. But Vivid Seats is taking steps to improve: It replaced CEO Stan Chia with Lawrence Fey, who was previously CFO; doubled its annualized cost-savings target to $60 million; and “simplified” its corporate structure “to maximize our operating efficiency,” the company stated in a press release. On a positive note, the news about the U.K. government’s intention to limit ticket resales to face value doesn’t hurt Vivid Seats, which has international aspirations but gets virtually all its revenue from North America.
This week in dance music: Fred again.. played the first North American set in his 10 shows/10 songs/10 cities run, Dom Dolla told Billboard that “My head’s definitely spinning a bit, but I’m having so much fun along the way,” ahead of the ARIA Awards in Sydney on Nov. 19, where the producer became the […]
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Rissi Palmer, Coffey Anderson, Miko Marks, Reyna Roberts and Pynk Beard were among the winners at the second Origins Impact Awards, held Thursday (Nov. 20) at Nashville’s The Cowan.
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The awards were launched last year by boutique entertainment agency Origins Music Group to recognize emerging, independent and underrepresented artists and executives in the Nashville music community.
Palmer, who received the Academy of Country Music Honors Lift Every Voice Award in August, took home two awards: the Cultural Impact Award for her Apple Music podcast Color Me Country, and the Innovative Project Award for From Where I Stand, a newly expanded version of a boxed set originally released in 1998 by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Warner Music Nashville that highlights the works of Black country and Americana artists. Palmer shared the latter award with BMI’s Shannon Sanders and the CMHOF.
Angie K won artist of the year, while Sacha’s “Hey Mom I Made It” captured song of the year.
The nominees were selected from a write-in ballot from industry members and fans.
Hosted by Justin Lee, performers included Pynk Beard, Wendy Moten, Grayson Russell, Sam Pounds and Coffey Anderson.
Below is the full list of Origins Impact Awards winners.
Champion Award
Winner: Coffey Anderson
Breland
Nina “Teapot” Owens
Jacqueline Marushka
CULTURAL IMPACT AWARD
Winner: Color Me Country
FEMco
Country Proud
Country Latin Association
Community Advocate Award
Winner: Song Suffragettes
BMI Rooftop on the Row
Kinfolk (Warner Records)
Equal Access
Executive of the Year
Winner: James Marsh – Warner Music Nashville
Gina Miller – Waters Edge Entertainment
Rakiyah Marshall – Back Blocks Music
Candice Watkins – Capitol Records Nashville
Best Collaborative Effort Award
Origins Music Group x Country Latin Association – Country Con Corazon
Color Me Country x The Long Road Festival
Don Louis & Sammy Arriaga – Mine in My Mind
Winner: Frank Ray & Shy Carter – Jesus at the Taco Truck
Innovative Project Award
Winner: From Where I Stand — Shannon Sanders, Rissi Palmer & CMHOF
Country Forward — CMA
Biscuits and Banjos — Rihannon Giddens
Country Con Corazon — Origins Music Group & Country Latin Association
Female Country Pop/Rock Artist of the Year
Tristan McIntosh
Kasey Tindall
Ashlie Amber
Winner: Leah Galván Turner
Male Country Pop/Rock Artist of the Year
Grayson Russell
Winner: Sam Pounds
Ollie Gabriel
Zeus Rebel Waters
Female Country Soul Artist of the Year
Brei Carter
Ashley Ave
Winner: Miko Marks
Shae Nicole
Male Country Soul Artist of the Year
803 Fresh
Winner: Pynk Beard
Tonio Armoni
Mike Clark Jr.
Female Country Latin Artist of the Year
Angie K
Ana Cristina Cash
Andrea Vasquez
Winner: MŌRIAH
Male Country Latin Artist of the Year
Alejandro Medina III
Frank Ray
Louie TheSinger
Winner: Sammy Arriaga
Female Country Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
Stormie Leigh
Winner: Reyna Roberts
Tanner Adell
CieratheRapper
Male Country Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
2’Live Bre
Chris Detroit
Winner: Kng Ego
Ron Killings
Emerging Artist of the Year
Steve Ray Ladson
Scoot Teasley
MŌRIAH
Winner: Rodell Duff
Song of the Year
“EYA”— Louie TheSinger
“Happy and You Know It (Drink a Beer)”— Coffey Anderson
Winner: “Hey Mom I Made It”— Sacha
“Bigger Than the Song”— Brittney Spencer
Artist of the Year
Tonio Armani
Winner: Angie K
Madeline Edwards
Louie TheSinger
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Music documentaries are well-represented on the list of 201 features that are eligible in the documentary feature film category for the 98th Academy Awards. Docs about BTS’s avid fan army, Tejano star Selena, rock gods Led Zeppelin, John Lennon & Yoko Ono and songwriter Diane Warren are in the running for nominations.
The Warren doc includes a new song that she wrote for the film, “Dear Me,” which may bring the veteran songwriter a 17th Oscar nomination for best original song.
The longlist includes two films about very different live experiences that became cultural touchstones – Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror and Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery – the Untold Story.
There’s the cheekily titled Billy Idol Should Be Dead, as well as docs about some music and entertainment personalities who are, in fact, dead, including songwriter Jeff Buckley, Selena and Lennon (both shot to death, tragically), comedians Andy Kaufman and Stiller & Meara, 1960s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and ventriloquist and puppeteer Shari Lewis.
There are two films about Oscar-winners for best actress — Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (Liza Minnelli) and Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.
Members of the Documentary Branch will vote to determine the shortlist of 15 films and then the five nominees.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also released the list of feature films eligible in the animated feature film and international feature film categories. Thirty-five features are eligible in the animated feature film category. Eighty-six countries or regions have submitted films that are eligible in the international feature film category.
Shortlists in 10 categories will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22. The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC.
Here are music and entertainment documentaries that are eligible in the documentary feature film category.
BTS ARMY: Forever We Are Young
Becoming Led Zeppelin
Billy Idol Should Be Dead
Diane Warren: Relentless
14 Short Films about Opera
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery– The Untold Story
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (Liza Minnelli)
One to One: John and Yoko (John Lennon and Yoko Ono)
Selena y Los Dinos (Tejano star Selena Quintanilla)
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
Viva Verdi! (about a retirement home for elderly opera stars)
Who in the Hell Is Regina Jones? (publisher of Soul newspaper)
Other Entertainment Documentaries
Being Eddie (Eddie Murphy)
Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie
Chronicles of Disney
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (Jayne Mansfield)
The New Yorker at 100
Shari & Lamb Chop (puppeteer Shari Lewis)
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara)
Thank You Very Much (Andy Kaufman)
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.
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De La Soul is a New York City group and a Billboard chart topper.
The group formed back in 1988 and forged a path forward, armed with unique samples and eccentric lyrics that set the trio up for imminent success. De La Soul came out hot with the release of its debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, in 1989, an offering that became an immediate classic, so much so that the track “Me Myself And I” landed on the Billboard Hot 100, scoring a peak position of 34, and spent 17 weeks on the chart.
With all this in mind, it’s safe to say that De La Soul has a unique legacy, and Levi’s is here to celebrate it with the launch of a three-piece collection. The collaborative collection dropped Nov. 20 and aims at celebrate the group’s greatest hits. Each tee retails for $40 and is available to shop right now on the brand’s website.
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De La Soul Band T-shirt
A white graphic tee.
De La Soul Band T-shirt
A black graphic tee.
Three men, three tees, all repping greatness. You’ve got a plain white short-sleeve tee emblazoned with a print of the trio’s faces on the front and “This is My De La Soul T-Shirt” scrawled on the back in colorful lettering. There’s also a black short-sleeve tee honoring the single “The Magic Number” from the trio’s 3 Feet High and Rising album, featuring colorful graphics such as star bursts and floral motifs, as seen on the album art. The second white tee references the group’s track “Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)” from its 1991 studio album, De La Soul Is Dead, featuring a phone graphic on the front and back.
Each tee is a crewneck crafted of 100% cotton, making the styles breathable and comfy. The fit on every piece is boxy and relaxed. The graphics really set these pieces apart from Levi’s usual offerings, given they’re so animated and colorful. If you’re on the hunt for a graphic tee with personality, then these might just be your best bet, especially for the price. These tees also make a great gift for the die-hard De La Soul fan in your life.
De La Soul Band T-shirt
A white graphic tee.
“From the very beginning, De La Soul have redefined what hip-hop could be – playful, experimental and unapologetically original,” said Leo Gamboa, vp of collaborations at Levi’s, in a press release. “This collection honors their groundbreaking approach to music and style, bringing together the bold, colorful energy of their iconic albums with the authentic, vintage-inspired aesthetic that Levi’s® is known for.”
Matt Winkelmeyer / Chadwick Boseman
The late Chadwick Boseman has been immortalized with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and his wife and other close friends paid a touching tribute to mark the occasion.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward-Boseman, his brothers, Kevin and Derrick Boseman, honored the Black Panther star at his posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
Ledward-Boseman placed a pair of the actor’s shoes at the foot of his star while posing alongside a portrait of him.
During her speech about her late husband, Leward-Boseman said, “In life, Chad was more than an actor, or even an artist. He was a spiritual teacher, fortified by a family and close friends that kept him grounded in faith; a team that believed in him, protected him, and fought for him.”
She continued, “Colleagues that trusted his vision, that lifted him up and forged a real brotherhood: you have no idea how pivotal those moments were.”
“Chad, today we recognize a lifetime of artistry,” she said about Boseman, who tragically passed away at the age of 43 in 2020. “We recognize your skill and your devotion, and we cement your legacy as a hero and an icon.”
Ryan Coogler Called Chadwick “An Incredibly Humble Teacher.”
The touching tributes didn’t end there. Ledward-Boseman and the actor’s brothers were also joined by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and his Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom co-star Viola Davis, who also gave touching speeches.
His Black Panther co-stars Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, plus Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger were also on hand.
During his emotional speech, Coogler had plenty of glowing words for his late friend, fighting back tears as he described him as “an incredibly humble teacher.”
Lupita Nyong’o Reflects On The Significance of The Moment
Lupita Nyong’o, who played Boseman’s love interest Nakia in the Black Panther film, also shared some words about the moment, pointing to the significance of his being immortalized several years after the film’s premiere, which took place near the spot of his star.
“It means it won’t be missed. A place of prominence for a king, “Nyong’o said.
She continued, “He is on an ancestral plane, and the more we utter his name, the more his spirit stays alive. It’s hard to articulate without sounding grandiose. But there was something about him that you couldn’t explain why he moved you so much. It went through the screen and into so many people’s hearts.”
You can watch the entire ceremony below and see reactions to the emotional moment.
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Olivia Dean took a couple minutes out of her day on Friday (Nov. 21) to put Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG Presents on blast for the resale ticket prices to her 2026 North American tour.
Tickets to Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving Tour went on sale to the general public on Friday and quickly sold out in minutes.
With some resale prices climbing into the thousands of dollars, the “Man I Need” singer voiced her disgust with Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG Presents in an Instagram Story.
“@Ticketmaster @Livenation @AEGPresents you are providing a disgusting service,” she wrote. “The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER.”
Dean added in a separate IG Story that her team was looking into the matter. “I’m sorry that there seems to be an issue with ticket re-selling and pricing. My team are currently looking into it,” she continued. “It is extremely frustrating as the last thing I want is for anyone to be scammed or overcharged for our show. Please be wary buying tickets in the comment sections as it is most likely a scam.”
Ticketmaster later reshared the singer’s Instagram Story that called out the company, writing on its own account: “We support artists’ ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold. @oliviadeano, we will cap resale prices on our site at face value and hope other resale sites will follow.”
The ticket company explained in a July blog post how its Face Value Exchange works, and how it tries to give fans the “best chance to buy tickets at the original price set by artists.”
Billboard has reached out to Ticketmaster, Live Nation and AEG Presents for comment.
Olivia Dean’s 2026 tour kicks off in the U.K. and Europe, beginning with Glasgow, Scotland, in April, and wraps June 20 in Dublin. Her U.S. summer trek is slated to kick off in San Francisco on July 10, and she’ll be making stops in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Toronto, Las Vegas, Boston, Houston and finish up in Austin on Aug. 28. The Art of Loving Tour’s NYC dates include four shows at Madison Square Garden.
Dean had been opening for Sabrina Carpenter on the final leg of the singer’s Short n’ Sweet Tour, and announced her own North American headlining trek earlier in November.
The British pop star has gained significant momentum in recent months, following her Saturday Night Live debut Nov. 15, and her subsequent trip to Australia, where she performed a show in Sydney and at the 2025 ARIA Awards.
Dean currently has four tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Man I Need” sitting at No. 5. The 26-year-old’s The Art of Loving album is also slotted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 22.
Source: Win McNamee / Getty
On Thursday (November 20), White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned about President Donald Trump scolding Bloomberg New reporter Catherine Lucey when she asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein files last week while on Air Force One. “Quiet, piggy!” he replied to Lucey.“What did the president mean when he called the reporter piggy?”, a reporter asked Leavitt. She replied, “Look, the president is very frank and honest with everyone in this room…You have all experienced it yourself and I think it is one of the many reasons the American people reelected this president, because of his frankness. And he calls out fake news when he sees it. He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration.”
Leavitt continued, “The president being frank and open and honest to your faces, rather than hiding behind your backs, is, frankly, a lot more respectful than what you saw in the last administration.”With the last line, Leavitt appeared to suggest that former President Joe Biden’s administration wasn’t respectful of the press. But Trump’s comments to Lucey seems to be part of a growing pattern where he’s comfortable being rude to members of the press, especially if they’re women.Trump became upset with ABC News reporter Mary Bruce on Tuesday during an Oval Office meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. It was in response to her asking about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, with a followup question about the Epstein files.
In September, NBC News White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump “Are you trying to go to war with Chicago?” as he was heading to New York City for the U.S. Open. He called her question “fake news”, and when Alcindor tried to follow up, he snapped “Be quiet, listen! You don’t listen! You never listen. That’s why you’re second-rate.”
