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08 Mar 2023

SiriusXM CEO Says Job Cuts ‘Right Thing’ for Company’s Future

SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz said on Tuesday that the company’s recent job cuts were difficult but “the right thing to do” as the business grapples with lower ad sales, a still-delayed recovery in automotive subscription business and major investments in its technology.

SiriusXM announced this week it was letting go of 475 employees, or roughly 8% of its workforce, which totaled 5,869 employees as of Dec. 31, 2022.

“It’s really tough to see the number of talented employees leaving the business,” Witz said Tuesday at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley. “It was the right thing to do for the business. We absolutely want to make sure we’re disciplined. We will operate much more efficiently going forward and that’s going to give us even more flexibility to invest where we need to to build out this platform and generate future growth.”

Among the employees impacted were Steve Leeds, vice president of talent and industry and a 17-year veteran of the company who developed SiriusXM’s artist branded stations like E Street Radio and recruited talent like Lou Reed and Marshall Chess; and Roger Coletti, senior director and executive producer talk programming who, during his eight years at SiriusXM, helped create Volume, SiriusXM’s talk radio channel dedicated to music topics.

SiriusXM is the latest in a long list of companies in technology, consumer products and other industries to announce it was cutting its workforce and operating leaner due to the uncertain economic climate. Layoff.fyi, a website tracking job cuts in the technology sector, estimates more than 126,000 employees have been let go from tech company jobs so far in 2023, compared to 161,000 employees let go in all of 2022.

Witz, a former Viacom executive who has been with SiriusXM since 2002, said the company has been reviewing areas to reduce costs since the middle of last year. It made cuts to new hiring, content development, discretionary marketing and the company’s real estate footprint, but ultimately prepared to reduce staff as ad sales slowed in December.

“Advertising is definitely a headwind,” Witz said. “That’s 20% of our revenue… And subscriber volume — we expect this to be modestly negative. The auto sales, we haven’t seen a recovery materialize. The first quarter is going to be tough.”

Witz said that operating with a leaner workforce will enable the company to capitalize on growth opportunities she sees in automotive subscriptions at the high end, where customers pay as much as $35 per month.

SiriusXM reaches roughly 150 million listeners across its divisions, including 34.3 million Sirius XM subscribers, 6.2 million Pandora subscribers, and podcasts, according to the company’s most recent annual report.

SiriusXM’s core product — satellite subscription radio programs — have historically been consumed in cars, with SiriusXM radios available in about 152 million vehicles, as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to filings.

As the company looks to smart speakers and other connected devices to expand its reach to consumers, it is also expanding it content offering and prioritizing podcasting.

“We do see a bright spot in podcasting,” Witz said.

08 Mar 2023

Sony Music Teams Up With Soccer Star Lionel Messi for New Animated Series

An animated series inspired by Argentine fútbol icon Lionel Messi is underway. Sony Music Entertainment’s premium content division announced a partnership with Leo Messi Management SL to develop the new original series that will feature original music by Sony Music artists and composers, according to a press release.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved animated series and my kids are big fans of animated characters,” the Argentine soccer star said in a statement. “Being able to participate in an animation project makes me happy, because it fulfills one of my dreams! I would like to thank Sony Music for joining this project and we hope that everyone will like the result, especially the girls and the boys.”

Currently in development, the series — which will be available in English, Spanish and other languages — will portray Messi as “a child who confronts obstacles while traveling throughout a video game.”

“It is a privilege for Sony Music to collaborate with Lionel Messi on this project to showcase the power and lessons of sports in partnership with the greatest football player of all time and one of the greatest athletes in history,” added Fernando Cabral, executive vice president, business development, Latin-Iberia regional, Sony Music Entertainment. “We look forward to bringing this heartwarming and humbling series to screens for audiences of all ages around the world.”

Sony Music’s premium content division will oversee the development and distribution of the series.

The new series announcement comes after Messi — who has so far won seven Ballon d’Or awards — led Argentina to a World Cup win over France in December.

08 Mar 2023

Without Kanye West, adidas Has No Way To Move Recalled Yeezy Sneakers

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adidas Creates 747 Warehouse St. in Los Angeles - An Event in Basketball Culture

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty

For the past few weeks rumors had been swirling that adidas was closing a deal with Kanye West to move the remaining half a billion dollars worth of Yeezy products that adidas pulled from shelves after they cut ties with him due to his anti-semitic outbursts on social media.

Now it seems like those rumors was much ado about nothing as Raw Story is reporting that adidas still have no clear plan on what to do with the inventory they have stashed in their warehouses. Announcing that they recorded a revenue loss of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in 2022, adidas find themselves stuck with $500 million worth of product that many sneakerheads still want to get their hands on, but can’t sell due to the circumstance that Kanye West put them under.

“Should the company irrevocably decide not to repurpose any of the existing Yeezy product going forward,” it would have to write-off the entire inventory, it said.

That would lower the company’s operating profit by an additional 500 million euros in 2023, it said.

Y’all know adidas isn’t trying to take a $500 million dollar loss like that but at this point what else can they do? It was reported that Yeezy apparel accounted for roughly 60% or Adidas sales the past few years with Kanye’s popularity easily eclipsing any athlete or celebrity that adidas had under their umbrella. Still, the three stripe brand is going to try to make the most of this year in hopes that it’ll serve as a launching pad into a more fruitful future going forward.

Bjorn Gulden, the group’s new chief executive, said the company will use 2023 as a “transition year to build the base for 2024 and 2025”.

“We need to reduce inventories and lower discounts. We can then start to build a profitable business again in 2024,” he said.

Next year was shaping up to be a key one for sporting apparel companies, with both the European football championships and the Olympic Games taking place.

Good luck with that, b.

08 Mar 2023

ASCAP Scores Double-Digit Growth in Both Revenue and Payouts for 2022

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers on Wednesday (March 8) posted a 14% increase in collections to $1.522 billion while also reporting its fund available for distributions to songwriters and publishers grew 10.7% to $1.388 billion in 2022. In the prior year — 2021, when the economy was still impacted by the COVID pandemic — the performance rights organization disclosed revenues of $1.335 billion and distribution funds at $1.254 billion.

Moreover, the double-digit percentage increase for collection and distribution funds represents a significant bump from the pandemic-scarred 2021 when ASCAP posted a less than 1% increase in collections from 2020’s $1.327 billion and a 3.4% increase in distribution funds from $1.213 billion.

The PRO attributed its rebound and continued growth to its 2015-launched strategic growth plan, which focused on revenue growth, technological innovation and operational efficiency.

“It is our technical innovation coupled with an unparalleled work ethic that grew our domestic revenue 16.5% in 2022 and yielded a 6% compound annual growth rate since the inception of our strategic plan eight years ago,” ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said in a statement. Beyond that, ASCAP also noted the organization had achieved a 7% compound annual growth rate for total distributions to members over the same time period.

In an apparent reference toward ASCAP’s competitors — BMI, SESAC and GMR — Matthews continued her statement by noting it is “the only US PRO that operates on a not-for-profit basis which is a key differentiator among PROs. ASCAP creator and publisher members are the sole beneficiaries of this growth because we invested years ago in cloud computing, enabling us to address the challenges of digital streaming efficiently, and because we only pay songwriters and publishers, not private investors.”

Breaking out collections, ASCAP said its domestic receipts grew 16.5% to $1.178 billion from 2021’s $1.011 billion; while foreign receipts grew 6.3% to $344 million from the prior year’s total of $323.5 million. It attributed the discrepancy in growth rates to “challenges due to foreign currency exchange volatility.”

Moving over to funds available for distribution, ASCAP said domestic distribution funds totaled $1.048 billion — a 14.9% increase over the prior year’s total of $912.6 million, and further noted that it was the first time those funds had surpassed the $1 billion mark.

“We are elated to share these historic financial revenue and distribution results for 2022 with our songwriter, composer and publisher members, who are the foundation of the music we all love,” ASCAP chairman and president Paul Williams said in a statement. “In the US, we have competition, meaning that creators have a choice, and that choice should be ASCAP. It is in ASCAP’s DNA to ensure that we operate in the best interest of all our members. Our financial success for over 100 years, and a singular commitment to nurture their careers and maximize the value of their music, prove that our not-for-profit model of collective licensing works.”

Meanwhile, foreign revenue funds available for distribution totaled $340 million, or $1 million less than 2021’s total of $341 million. The latter total was larger than the $323 million reported for 2021 foreign receipts, and ASCAP attributed the unusual occurrence to “technological and distribution process efficiencies and timing.”

Finally, the organization said it delivered 90 cents on the dollar back to its members and affiliates, thus implying its expense structure costs 10% of revenue — and that’s down from 12.3% of collections in 2015 — the last time ASCAP publicly revealed detailed financials including a breakdown in its expense structure.

In its latest results, ASCAP said that it grew every major category of performance licensing, reporting general licensing revenue increased by 40%, radio by 32%, audio streaming by 16% and audio-visual by 7%, without breaking out the actual revenue numbers those income streams achieved in 2022 or 2021.

08 Mar 2023

Mary J. Blige & Pepsi Bring Strength of a Woman Festival Back to Atlanta for 2023

Ms. Lauryn Hill, Summer Walker and Muni Long will be among the all-star lineup when Mary J. Blige and Pepsi bring the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit back to Atlanta this year. The second annual event, in partnership with Live Nation Urban, will take place May 11-14.

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Highlights of the upcoming festival and summit include two nights of music at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. In celebration of Hip-Hop 50, a special “MJB B-Sides” set will feature rarely performed hits by the nine-time Grammy Award winner and friends — including Jodeci, Busta Rhymes, Jeezy, Jadakiss, Method Man and DJ Drama — on May 12. The following evening will be an R&B showcase starring Hill, Walker, Long, Lucky Daye and Coco Jones. Bookending those evenings will be a City Winery performance by Glasper on May 11; May 14’s lineup includes a gospel brunch and concert followed by that evening’s closing event, The Purpose Ball. This newly established festival event in honor of the LGBTQAI community will feature a special performance by Saucy Santana. Comedian-actor Mike Epps will headline a comedy night showcase that Sunday as well.

Making the announcement in tandem with the Wednesday (March 8) global celebration of International Women’s Day, Strength of a Woman founder Blige said in a statement, “Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire and build amongst a community of women is the reason why we created this festival. I’m so grateful for all of the support from our performers and participants and, of course, Live Nation Urban, Pepsi and our additional partners who are committed to celebrating and creating community for Black women.”

strenth of woman

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In keeping with its debut last year, the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit will also present impactful and empowering programming for BIPOC women. These workshops will address subjects such as wellness, technology, financial literacy and beauty. Returning and new sponsors include Mielle Organics, CVS Health and Twitch. 

In addition to Blige, the all Black and women-helmed festival and summit team includes her longtime business partner Nicole Jackson, vp of MJB Inc., and Ashaunna Ayars, founder/chief marketing officer of The Ayars Agency. “The popularity and impact of the [2022] inaugural Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit successfully showed how and why Black women are the blueprint for cultural relevancy and inclusion,” stated Jackson in a press release. “Being able to look back and see the global reach the festival had through our livestream and billions of media impressions is confirmation that we are filling a void in the festival space. Mary, Ashaunna and myself are overjoyed to be back in Atlanta again and look forward to continued expansion in our programming and partnerships.”

Added Kent Montgomery, senior vp, PepsiCo Industry Relations and Multicultural Development, in the same release, “The Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit is a testament to the power of amplifying Black women and their voices – starting with Mary, someone whose vision and presence has been instrumental in its success. As a brand and company rooted in celebrating culture and uplifting communities, we are thrilled to show our support and continue to provide new ways to elevate the festival experience for guests throughout the expanded weekend of activities, all while highlighting and supporting the remarkable women of the Atlanta community.”

Presale tickets will become available at noon ET March 8; general on-sale begins on March 10.  For ticket information, visit: www.soawfestival.com.

08 Mar 2023

Bert Kreischer Enlists Tiffany Haddish and Lewis Black for ‘Fully Loaded’ Traveling Comedy Festival

Comedian Bert Kreischer is ready to go back out with a blackout, pulling himself up to the bar for round two of his party-driven Fully Loaded Comedy Festival beginning June 14 and hitting 16 ballparks and arenas across the country.

Aside from Kreischer, this year’s lineup includes Mark Normand, Shane Gillis, Tiffany Haddish, Stavros Halkias, Fortune Feimster, Dave Attell, Lewis Black, Jim Norton, Andrew Santino, Big Jay Oakerson, Jay Pharoah, Dan Soder, Chad Daniels, Ralph Barbosa, Rosebud Baker and Tammy Pescatelli.

“Fully Loaded is the best ticket you can buy in entertainment this summer – Indoors, outdoors, baseball stadiums, arenas, and The Gorge,” Kreischer says, calling the traveling festival “an absolute no-brainer for any comedy fan.”

The concept for the Fully Loaded Comedy Festival, promoted by Outback Presents, was conceived during Bert’s 2020 Hot Summer Nights Tour while performing outdoor shows at drive-in venues (a pandemic consideration). The idea was to created a traveling comedy festival inspired by the original Lollapalooza touring festival and encompass everything he loves: “comedy, the outdoors, good times, and drinking with friends to give fans an experience they will be talking about for years to come,” a release announcing the festival explains.

This year the festival will partner with the charity Comedy Gives Back, an organization founded as a safety net for comics by providing them with financial crisis relief, mental health support and more.

On March 14, he will release his highly anticipated fifth stand-up special, Razzle Dazzle on Netflix and will star in the Legendary/Sony Picture film, The Machine, premiering May 26.

“Set 23 years after the study abroad experience he chronicled in his 2016 Showtime stand-up special, the movie follows Kreischer as the Russian mafia finally catches up with him after all these years and seeks retribution for the crimes that he committed in their country as a rowdy, drunken college student,” according to a press release. 

Kreischer is also a popular podcast host with several top comedy podcasts including Bertcast and Two Bears One Cave that he co-hosts with Tom Segura. He also hosts the popular YouTube cooking show, Something’s Burning.

Presale passes are now on sale with a public on-sale scheduled for March at 10 AM.
 
FULLY LOADED COMEDY FESTIVAL 2023:
06/14/23 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
06/15/23 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
06/16/23 – Moosic, PA – PNC Field
06/17/23 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
 
06/22/23 – Traverse City, MI – Turtle Creek Stadium
06/23/23 – Fort Wayne, IN – Parkview Field
06/24/23 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
06/25/23 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
 
07/06/23 – Huntsville, AL – The Orion Amphitheater
07/07/23 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
07/08/23 – Memphis, TN – AutoZone Park
07/09/23 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
 
07/12/23 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
07/13/23 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Arena
07/14/23 – Boise, ID – ExtraMile Arena
07/15/23 – George, WA – Gorge Amphitheatre

08 Mar 2023

Did Harry Styles Just Do Some ‘Late Night Talking’ About That Deleted One Direction T-Shirt Selfie?

Even Harry Styles accidentally posts things he definitely didn’t mean to share on social media. Most recently, he posted to Instagram Stories a photo of himself wearing a throwback One Direction T-shirt while at the gym — something he seemingly confirmed at a recent concert was uploaded by mistake.

“I guess some of us have secrets,” the 29-year-old pop star said while interacting with fans at his Tuesday (March 7) New Zealand concert without specifically mentioning the viral selfie. “Maybe, like some people, you choose to keep it to yourself. And maybe one day, you’ll accidentally post it to your Instagram Story.”

The “Late Night Talking” singer had been conversing with a fan holding a homemade sign with a joke (at least, Billboard hopes it was a joke) about having sold their cat’s leg to buy a ticket to the show. “What’s the person doing with the cat’s leg?” he’d asked the fan, bewildered. “A secret? Cool.”

The off-the-cuff moment came just two days after the “As It Was” singer posted and promptly deleted a mirror selfie showing off his 1D tee on Instagram Stories, which sent fans old and new into a frenzy. The phrase “HE DELETED IT” trended on Twitter for most of that evening, as did “HARRYS” and “THE SHIRT.”

The shirt in question appeared to be a relic from One Direction’s 2012 Up All Night Tour, printed with individual photos of Styles and each of his former bandmates: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne. In the selfie, the Don’t Worry Darling star’s face is obscured by his phone, his wavy hair pinned back with a claw clip, as he poses casually in front of a mirror with exercise balls and free weights sitting in the background.

His fitness attire isn’t the only way in which his boy-band beginnings motivate Styles while at the gym, though. In 2020, the Grammy winner revealed during a game segment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that his “guilty pleasure” is “working out to One Direction” music.

Watch Harry Styles confess to accidentally posting a “secret” on Instagram below:

08 Mar 2023

Bad Bunny to Host WWE Live Event in Puerto Rico

Bad Bunny is about to cross off something else from his bucket list. The global superstar will host Backlash, WWE’s live event set to take place May 6 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan.

“In 2005 when I was a kid, I wasn’t able to attend New Year’s Revolution at el Coliseo,” the Puerto Rican hitmaker said in a statement. “Finally, 18 years later WWE returns to the island with a massive event, and this time I won’t miss it.”

“We’re excited to bring Backlash to San Juan as the demand for WWE premium live events outside of the continental United States continues to grow,” added WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. “Bad Bunny is one of the world’s most popular entertainers and nowhere is that more evident than in his native Puerto Rico.”

Bad Bunny’s love for WWE is no secret. In 2021, the “Booker T” singer had a stint during a tag-team match against The Miz and John Morrison at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., for WrestleMania 37.

Most recently, video game company 2K released a first look at Bad Bunny in WWE 2K23, the newest installment of the WWE video game franchise. From hitting the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania rings in 2021 to becoming a virtual playable character, the Puerto Rican artist is flaunts his wrestling skills in a new 40-second trailer. This is the first time the artist has appeared in the game.

More info on tickets for Backlash on the WWE’s website.

08 Mar 2023

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Reaches Billboard Charts With Brad Paisley Charity Single

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on Billboard’s charts, thanks to his feature on Brad Paisley‘s new single.

“Same Here” enters the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart (dated March 11) at No. 7 with 5,000 downloads sold Feb. 24-March 2, according to Luminate.

The track, Paisley’s co-written first release on Universal Music Group Nashville’s EMI Nashville Records, also begins on Country Digital Song Sales at No. 3.

Featuring a spoken section from Zelenskyy, the song benefits United24, a charitable program to restore Ukrainian homes destroyed during the ongoing Russian invasion (which began Feb. 24, 2022, a year to the day before the song’s release).

“The label [was] so great about it, realizing this isn’t going to be the feel-good hit of the year and this isn’t going to be something that’s going to work long-term at radio, [that it’s] not going to research,” Paisley told Billboard, noting that there will not be a radio edit without Zelenskyy. “I thought, ‘Would President Zelenskyy like to have the last couple of minutes and have a discussion with me on the ways we’re the same?’ This needs to exist in whatever form we can present it.”

Notably, other political leaders have used their platforms to appear on recordings, also resulting in Billboard chart placements.

In December 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama, then in his second term in office, reached No. 10 on the (now-defunct) Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart as featured on JX Cannon’s “Pop Off.” The track was built upon Obama’s G20 Summit speech in Turkey that November in which he mused, “If folks want to pop off and have opinions on what they think they would do, present a specific plan.”

No one-hit wonder, Obama, following the conclusion of his presidency, received artist credit with singers Christopher Jackson and BeBe Winans on the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned “One Last Time (44 Remix)” from Hamilton. The song hit No. 2 on R&B Digital Song Sales, No. 15 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, No. 22 on Hot R&B Songs and No. 38 on Digital Song Sales in January 2019.

Earlier that decade, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev contributed to an eclectic billing with beloved actress Sophia Loren and the Russian National Orchestra on the album Sergei Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Jean-Pascal Beintus: Wolf Tracks. The set hit No. 5 on Classical Catalog Albums in March 2012, with proceeds benefiting multiple charities. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, it won for best spoken word album for children.

Meanwhile, 10 albums credited to late U.S. President John F. Kennedy hit the Billboard 200, including two top 10s in February 1964: That Was the Week That Was (No. 5), a BBC tribute to Kennedy, and The Presidential Years 1960-1963 (No. 8). One title highlighted two former commanders in chief: Actual Speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy (No. 109, also in February 1964).

Prior to Kennedy’s chart run, an impersonator of his had climbed even higher on the Billboard 200: comedian Vaughn Meader dominated for 12 weeks in 1962-63 with The First Family and hit No. 4 in 1963 with The First Family, volume two. The former also won the 1962 Grammy for album of the year. (The set sports such send-ups as “Press Conference,” in which, after a family dinner, “Kennedy” takes questions on such vital topics as why he didn’t touch the salad that wife Jackie had prepared: “I would prefer if, er-uh, in the future, we stuck to coleslaw …”)

Similarly, Welcome to the LBJ Ranch!, an album ribbing U.S. Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower, as well as former Vice President Richard Nixon, among others, via out-of-context recordings of them (helmed by Earle Doud and Alen Robin), hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in 1965.

Plus, impressionists David Frye and Rich Little made, well, impressions on the Billboard 200: The former charted four albums about then-President Nixon in 1969-73, led by the No. 18-peaking I Am the President in 1969, and the latter hit No. 29 in 1982 with The First Family Rides Again, gently lampooning U.S. President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan (with contributions from Doud and Meader).

Others known for prominent world leadership positions that have hit Billboard charts include Pope John XXIII (a Billboard 200 entry in 1963), Pope John Paul II (multiple chart appearances in 1995-99) and singer – and first lady of France in 2008-12 – Carla Bruni (visits to various charts in 2005-17).

Additional research by Jim Asker, Paul Grein and Alex Vitoulis.

08 Mar 2023

6LACK Announces First Album in 5 Years With Title Track ‘Since I Have a Lover’

Five years after the release of his sophomore album, East Atlanta Love Letter, 6LACK swoops back into the R&B sphere with his new single, “Since I Have a Lover.” 

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In the video by Andrew Donoho, 6LACK floats through Atlanta while embarking on a reflective journey about his newfound love. “Feel like a million bucks or somethin’/ Feel like we need to be up to somethin’/ Not tryna press my luck or nothin’/Don’t wanna love you just for fun,” he sings in the first verse.

In a press release, 6LACK spoke on his latest song. “‘Since I Have a Lover,’ the title track, is the highs of having a healthy love, compressed into song format. It’s a note to self that I’m no longer who I was or where I was and that there’s a bigger purpose starting to reveal itself in the things I create,” he said. “We are simply pushing love because it’s needed. The verses are short and serve as a moment of acknowledgment for how I feel, and the chorus is less of a lyric and more of a feeling. It’s an exhale; it’s relief, it’s trust, it’s happiness, it’s surreal.”

6LACK’s third album, Since I Have a Lover, will drop March 24 via LVRN / Interscope Records. Fans can pre-order the album here. In 2018, East Atlanta Love Letter enjoyed success after netting a top three entry on the Billboard 200 upon its debut. 

Watch “Since I Have a Lover” below.