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14 Feb 2023

TikTok Considers Paywalling Videos, Changing Creator Fund Payouts & Eligibility

TikTok is working on a feature that will allow creators to charge a price of their own choosing for some videos, according to The Information. 

In addition, the popular app is rethinking its creator fund and experimenting with a change that would pay out more to creators than the initial version of the program, The Information reports. The new iteration of the fund may also potentially change the limits of who is eligible; creators might need to have more than 100,000 followers, for example. This “Creator Fund 2.0” could launch as early as March.

“We’re committed to exploring new ways to create a valuable and rewarding experience for the TikTok creator community,” a TikTok spokesperson says in an email. “On TikTok, anyone can be a creator and everyone can enjoy entertainment from our inspiring creators, and we aim to continue innovating this experience so people can express themselves, find their community, and be rewarded for their creativity.”

TikTok originally launched its creator fund in the summer of 2020 with $200 million “to help support ambitious creators who are seeking opportunities to foster a livelihood through their innovative content.” Shortly after, TikTok announced that the fund would eventually grow to more than $1 billion in the United States. 

While TikTok’s growth has been meteoric in the last few years, it actually slowed in the United States in 2022, according to The Information, which reports that after the platform hit 114 million monthly users in June, the number has since decreased to 111 million. 

As TikTok explores these new features, the company is also engaged in another test in Australia, where the platform is temporarily restricting the use of major-label songs in videos. “This will only affect certain music and is scheduled work while we analyze how sounds are accessed and added to videos, as well as looking to improve and enhance the wider Sounds Library,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “We appreciate it’s disappointing if a certain track is unavailable or if a sound is muted on a previous video. This change will not be in place for long and not all music is affected.”

14 Feb 2023

Academy President Deems Will Smith Slap Response “Inadequate”

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94th Academy Awards - Back Stage

The president of the body responsible for the Oscars recently said that its response to Will Smith’s slapping of Chris Rock last year was sub-par.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Janet Yang made the remarks at the 2023 Oscars Nominees Luncheon held on Monday (Feb. 13th). “As I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” she began, referencing the incident where Will Smith stepped onstage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada-Pinkett Smith at last year’s ceremony.

“What happened on stage was wholly unacceptable and the response from the organization was inadequate. We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions and particularly in times of crisis.”

Yang went on to declare that “we must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less from us going forward,” finishing her comments on the subject before pivoting to her thoughts on an expanded vision for the Academy.

“I want to remind us of the deep respect and love we have for our fellow colleagues and for the art of filmmaking. I invite us to grow together because the collective power of this room and this industry are unstoppable,” she concluded in front of a packed audience.

Yang’s remarks are a reiteration of the stance the Academy held in the wake of the infamous moment. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented,” they said in a statement.

The Academy had spent several weeks after the situation at the 94th edition of the Oscars deciding what to do before announcing that it would bar Smith from appearing at any of its events for a period of 10 years. The Oscar-winning actor would go on to resign from the Academy and issue several public apologies online.

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Photo: Robert Gauthier / Getty

14 Feb 2023

Everything We Know About Lele Pons and Guaynaa’s Wedding: Date, Bridal Party, Honeymoon & More

Lele Pons and Guaynaa are celebrating their Valentine’s Day as Billboard Español’s first cover story of the year, fittingly published today (Feb. 14). 

In the hour-long interview, the Latin power couple revealed exciting details about their upcoming wedding and their plan to release a joint album together. They admit that doing both — planning their special day and recording new music together — can be a stressful process. 

“We try to help each other with the stress, and the people around us, too,” Pons tells Billboard Español. “Like your dad, he calms me down a lot. Your mom calms me down a lot,” she says to Guaynaa. 

“It’s a process,” he admits, “but we always take a couple of days a week to do nothing and be at home snuggling, watching TV, talking. That makes us more appreciative and makes us step out of the house with the idea that someone is waiting for you at home to have a nice time when the lights go out, that someone is there for you.” Read Sigal Ratner-Arias’ complete Billboard Español cover story here.

Pons and Guaynaa first met in 2019 and dropped their first collaborative effort, “Se Te Nota,” in 2020. After much speculation about whether they were dating, Pons made the relationship Instagram official in December of that same year. Guaynaa popped the big question at the 2022 Tomorrowland during Steve Aoki’s set. 

“Guys, this is my beautiful girlfriend Lele Pons and I want to ask her a quick question,” the Puerto Rican artist said to the many thousands of fans in the audience. “I know what this means to you and how much you love Tomorrowland — Lele, will you marry me?” Among tears of joy, the Venezuelan influencer-turned-singer said “yes” without hesitation. 

Below, find out everything we know about their wedding day (so far) from the new cover story.

14 Feb 2023

Depeche Mode’s ‘Ghosts Again’ Tops Hot Trending Songs Chart

“Ghosts Again,” Depeche Mode’s first single since 2017, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, dated Feb. 18.

Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by Twitter, track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across Twitter, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday, with the latest tracking period running Feb. 3-9.

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“Ghosts” was released Feb. 9. Despite just one day of data toward the latest tracking week, it not only earned a No. 1 debut on Hot Trending Songs but is also bubbling under Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.

It’s the first taste of music from Memento Mori, the band’s 15th studio album and first since 2017’s Spirit. Due March 24, it’s the group’s first LP since the death of keyboardist Andy Fletcher last year.

Further appearances for “Ghosts” are expected on the Billboard charts dated Feb. 25.

Future’s “I’m Dat N***a,” from his 2022 album I Never Liked You, follows at No. 2. Its surge in activity is owed to a viral social media post showing LeBron James playing the song after he broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record on Feb. 7.

New music from Gracie Abrams, BSS, Linkin Park, Luke Combs and more also appears.

Keep visiting Billboard.com for the constantly evolving Hot Trending Songs rankings, and check in each Tuesday for the latest weekly chart.

14 Feb 2023

Searches For Red Fashion Skyrocket After Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance

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Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show

Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty

Rihanna’s influence on popular culture can’t be denied. Searches for red clothing have skyrocketed since her Super Bowl performance.

It’s official, “Rihanna Red” is officially a thing. On Sunday, February 12 the Barbadian songstress, cheered on by boyfriend A$AP Rocky, performed at the Super Bowl LVII. And now her outfit is one of the hottest sought-after trends around the world. The superstar made her mark on this year’s game in an all-red custom Loewe and Alaïa look, composed of an unzipped jumpsuit, leather corset, sleeping bag coat, gloves, and Maison Margiela x Salomon sneakers.

According to a study by Boohoo, Google searches skyrocketed by over 610% worldwide for ‘red jumpsuit’, an increase of over seven times the average, and 203% for the term ‘red coat’, after Rihanna’s Super Bowl half-time show. The same analysis reveals searches for ‘red puffer jacket’, ‘red boots’, and ‘red sneakers’ have soared 188%, 173%, and 78% worldwide after the performance.

RiRi wore the all-red ensemble while performing 12 hit songs – including Only Girl in the World and We Found Love at the major sports event in Glendale, Arizona. In the last few minutes, she donned an Alaïa sleeping bag coat in tribute to fashion legend André Leon Talley, which resembles his iconic Norma Kamali coat. Talley’s official Instagram account acknowledged the tribute with the caption: ‘When the sun shines, we’ll shine together. Told you I’ll be here forever… said I’ll always be your friend,’ the caption reads, tagging Rihanna and including the Super Bowl hashtag with a photo of Talley in the coat mentioned above.

Rihanna also appeared to reveal baby bump number two on stage, later confirmed by her rep. The superstar also plugged her brand Fenty Beauty on stage, which saw a massive 1,860% spike in searches worldwide after applying makeup during the setlist.

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14 Feb 2023

Adidas Aims To Repurpose & Sell Yeezys

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Street Style - LFW September 2022

In a bid to get ahead of profit losses in the wake of its split with Ye aka Kanye West, Adidas intends to rebrand its Yeezy stock.

According to reports, the global athletic brand pointed to a plan of repurposing its surplus of clothing and footwear already manufactured before its severing of ties with the controversial artist last October as a way to avoid a massive financial loss estimated at $1.3 billion. The company detailed this in a profit warning issued through its website last Thursday (Feb. 9th).

The move to repurpose the Yeezy stock under the Adidas name may play out through a couple of options. The first would see the company sell the inventory removing the Yeezy label and selling the product at its own stores and at a discount to other retail partners.

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Another option is for Adidas to sell the repurposed items in smaller markets outside of the United States. “Somewhere where it’s not visible in their primary markets would be one approach they might take”, said Marshall Fisher, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

The brand could take the drastic move of destroying the remaining stock. The risk of further damaging its reputation is higher with this move as other companies who’ve done so have come under fire in the past. “We’ve seen that happen with other luxury brands out there who didn’t want to see their product discounted at the end of the season,” said footwear expert & former collaborator Matt Powell. Donating all of the stock is also on the table, and according to Fisher would go a long way to bolster Adidas in the eyes of consumers.

Adidas is still investigating the after-effects of ending the deal with Ye after he made several antisemitic comments last October. The brand said at the time that it does not tolerate antisemitism or other forms of hate speech. Shares in the company went down 11% after the news was announced.

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Photo: Source: Jeremy Moeller / Getty

14 Feb 2023

Diplo’s Mad Decent Publishing Sells Catalog to Iconoclast

Diplo’s Mad Decent Publishing has sold its catalog to Olivier Chastan‘s music rights and brand management company Iconoclast, the company announced Tuesday (Feb. 14). Financial details were not disclosed.

Diplo launched Mad Decent with his manager and business partner Kevin Kusatsu as a record label in 2006 before branching into publishing. The deal with Iconoclast includes songs by Mad Decent Publishing songwriters Henry Agincourt Allen (professionally known as King Henry), Philip Meckseper (Jr Blender), Karen Orsted (MØ), Valentino Kahn, Clement & Maxime Picard and Dillon Francis. Songs in the catalog include Major Lazer hits like “Lean On (featuring MØ and DJ Snake),” “Cold Water (featuring Justin Bieber and MØ)” and “Know No Better (featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello and Quavo)” as well as Mark Ronson’s “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (featuring Miley Cyrus).”

Previously the head of Irving Azoff‘s Iconic Artists Group, Chastan founded Iconoclast in 2021 and has been quietly acquiring assets large and small, powered by the heft of institutional backing. In February 2022, the company bought The Band musician Robbie Robertson‘s music publishing, recorded interests and name, image & likeness rights in a deal that Variety valued at worth roughly $25 million.

In a statement, Chastan described the body of work at Mad Decent Publishing as “one of the most exciting and original catalogs where Brazilian Baile Funk and Angolan Kuduro mix with EDM and pop.

“I first became aware of Mad Decent when Kevin Kusatsu and Diplo were working on the first Major Lazer album,” Chastan continued. “The sound was completely different, the songwriting utterly original and fresh-sounding, and the production uniquely creative. Our acquisition of the Mad Decent Publishing catalog illustrates our commitment to preserving and growing culturally significant art of any era including with artists that are shaping contemporary music.”

Representing Iconoclast in the deal were Scott McDowell and Peter Paterno of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano. Mad Decent Publishing was represented by Jordan Bromley, Eric Custer and Alex Spring of Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips.

14 Feb 2023

Morgan Wallen Rebounds for Sixth Week at No. 1 on Artist 100 Chart

Morgan Wallen rises from No. 4 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Feb. 18), becoming the top musical act in the U.S. for a sixth total week. He tallied his first five weeks at No. 1 in January-February 2021.

Wallen returns to the top spot thanks to seven charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “Last Night,” which vaults 27-3 after its first full week of tracking, becoming his fifth top 10 song and highest-charting career hit.

Here’s a recap of Wallen’s seven current Hot 100 hits, all of which are on his new album One Thing at a Time, due March 3:

Rank, Title
No. 3, “Last Night”
No. 13, “Thought You Should Know”
No. 18, “You Proof”
No. 38, “I Wrote the Book”
No. 47, “One Thing at a Time”
No. 51, “Everything I Love”
No. 81, “Tennessee Fan”

Also fueling Wallen’s return to No. 1 on the Artist 100 is his prior LP Dangerous: The Double Album, which rises 6-4 on the Billboard 200. The January 2021 release, which sparked his first five weeks atop the Artist 100, spends a 106th week in the Billboard 200’s top 10, tying the West Side Story soundtrack from 1962 for the third-most weeks totaled in the region. They trail only the My Fair Lady original cast recording from 1956 (173 weeks in the top 10) and the Sound of Music soundtrack from 1965 (109).

Wallen extends his record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Artist 100 among primarily country acts. Jason Aldean and Luke Combs follow with three weeks on top apiece. Taylor Swift leads all acts with 63 weeks logged at the summit.

Elsewhere in the Artist 100’s top 10, Shania Twain re-enters at No. 8, as she appears in the top 10 for the first time since reaching No. 2 in 2017. Her new album Queen of Me arrives at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned, becoming her sixth top 10. Notably, she joins Madonna as the only women with newly-charting Billboard 200 top 10s in the 1990s, 2000s, ’10s and ’20s (Madonna’s streak also includes the ’80s).

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

14 Feb 2023

Pharrell Williams Joins Louis Vuitton as Menswear Creative Director

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Pharrell Williams has been named creative director of Louis Vuitton and will debut his first official collection in June during men’s fashion week in Paris, the luxury fashion house announced on Tuesday (Feb. 14).

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“Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome Pharrell as its new men’s creative director. His first collection for Louis Vuitton will be revealed next June during men’s fashion week in Paris,” LMVH, Louis Vuitton’s parent company shared in a statement posted to the brand’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.   

Williams is, of course, no stranger to the fashion world and known for his eclectic style. The Virginia native founded the streetwear brand, Billionaire Boys Club, in 2003 and has previously partnered with Louis Vuitton in the past and other major brands like Adidas. The 49-year-old father of three also launched Humanrace, a unisex skin-care line in 2020.

“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director,” said Pietro Beccari, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”

Williams will take over the position previously held by Virgil Abloh who passed away in 2021 following a battle with cancer. In an 2020 interview with the New York Times, Abloh shared how Williams and his Neptunes partner, Chad Hugo’s, N.E.R.D. album inspired his work.

“There’s an interview where [Williams] classically said, ‘The album is too white for Black radio and too Black for white radio,” Abloh explained at the time. “As a kid growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, skateboarding and finding my own identity, it resonated with me more than hip-hop on its own. [It said] that it was fine to be in between. And I think that has described a whole generation of young Black kids and artists who have since been determined to be themselves and jump through that door that was opened by Pharrell.”

14 Feb 2023

30 Gay Love Songs: Men Singing About Men

For centuries, love stories — in the form of songs, plays, books or films — have used the concept of “forbidden love” as a narrative device to heighten the tension and drive a story forward. So, should it really come as a surprise that LGBTQ artists write some of the best love songs around?

After all, queer folks were told on a regular basis throughout history that their way of loving was wrong (let’s be honest — in many cases and places, we are still being told that). So when given a platform to express themselves openly, it’s no wonder that LGBTQ talents have penned or performed exceptionally moving, deeply affecting love songs. Look no further than Melissa Etheridge’s “Come to My Window” or George Michael’s “Fastlove” for proof.

In recent years, as queer artists have gained more mainstream visibility in the music industry, the content of queer love songs has noticeably shifted in new, bold directions. No longer relegated to writing non-specific ballads of generalized longing, queer artists starting using proper pronouns for their lyrical lovers more regularly, explicitly spelling out the dynamics of relationships and taking the opportunities afforded to straight artists for years to sing frankly about sex and desire. Some of those songs have even gone on to top the Hot 100, making history for the LGBTQ community.

With so many gay love songs to choose from, Billboard decided to offer some help. Below, we list out 30 of our favorite gay love songs — specifically in which men sing about loving men — ranging from sensual dance bangers to tender pop ballads.