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Trending on Billboard Post Malone has earned his first CMA Awards win. The singer-songwriter was among the artists named in an early round of CMA Awards wins announcements in two categories on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Post Malone and Blake Shelton won for CMA musical event of the year for their collaboration “Pour Me a Drink,” […]
Trending on Billboard Avex Music Group is launching a new division that will offer artists the type of comprehensive career direction that’s typically associated with managers, the company tells Billboard. Related Dubbed Artist Advisor Services, the division — led by Avex Music Group CEO Brandon Silverstein — will offer artists strategic support via an à la […]
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Attorneys for Live Nation and Ticketmaster are hoping to end the Department of Justice’s sweeping antitrust case before it goes to trial, filing a 51-page summary-judgment motion that argues the claims of the DOJ and the 41 state AGs who joined the suit have failed to prove that the concert giant operates like a monopoly.
The filing, submitted to Federal Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York, casts the government’s lawsuit as an overreach that collapses due to a lack of evidence.
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Live Nation’s attorneys at Latham Watkins and Cravath, Swaine & Moore allege that the DOJ began the litigation with harsh accusations against Live Nation, saying the DOJ accused the global promoter of operating “multiple, self-reinforcing monopolies” replete with “‘systematic’ and ‘intentional’ corruption of competition across ‘virtually every aspect of the live music ecosystem.’”
“Strong words,” Live Nation lawyers write. “If there was a lick of truth to them, one would expect Plaintiffs to now have mountains of evidence… And yet… Plaintiffs have barely a molehill.”
Live Nation’s attorneys go on to argue that the government has not proven the most fundamental element of a monopolization claim: monopoly power. Citing long-standing Supreme Court precedent, the company notes that “monopoly power is the foundational element of every monopoly maintenance case,” and insists the DOJ has failed to meet that threshold.
Instead of using traditional evidence of monopoly power to make its case – like high prices or significant barriers to entry — Live Nation says the DOJ case is built on inferences and derivative legal arguments, relying on “gerrymandered” market definitions to make its case. According to the motion, the government relies on a convoluted formula to define a “major concert venue,” singling out venues with capacities above 8,000 that host 10 or more concerts during at least one year in the 2017–2024 period. Stadiums, large theaters, smaller amphitheaters and many other common concert venues are excluded.
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Live Nation argues this structure ignores how competition in the concert business actually works, noting that “made-for-litigation markets plainly do not encompass ‘the area of effective competition’ that the law requires,” pointing out that rival ticketing companies such as SeatGeek, AXS, Eventim and Paciolan compete broadly and do not restrict their efforts to the DOJ’s handpicked venues.
Company attorneys argue that the DOJ’s narrowed market definition is the only way the government can claim Ticketmaster has a monopoly. According to Live Nation, the DOJ’s own expert calculated that Ticketmaster’s market share would fall from 86% to 49% if stadiums — venues the DOJ included when it challenged the Live Nation–Ticketmaster merger in 2010 — were defined as “major concert venues.”
“Far from having the ‘power to exclude competition,’ Ticketmaster has lost over 30 points of market share since the merger,” in 2011 between Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the company’s attorneys claim.
Beyond market definition, the company spends considerable space pushing back on one of the DOJ’s central theories: that Ticketmaster’s long-term exclusive ticketing contracts with venues hamper competition. Live Nation argues that exclusivity has been the industry standard in North America for decades and remains preferred by venues because it leads to higher up-front payments, smoother operations, integrated technology, and reduced consumer confusion about where to buy tickets.
“Every venue witness has testified that they seek and prefer exclusive ticketing contracts,” the memo reads, arguing that no venue manager interviewed in the lawsuit claimed to be coerced into an exclusive contract or pushed for a multi-ticketer system and was prevented from pursuing one.
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The DOJ has also accused Live Nation of tying concert promotion to its Ticketmaster’s offering, alleging that the company threatens or retaliates against venues by steering Live Nation-promoted tours away from buildings that choose rival ticketing services. Live Nation’s lawyers said evidence behind these allegations was paper thin, writing, “At most three venue witnesses support this claim—one in the last five years. … Three out of thousands could not possibly prove the market-wide anticompetitive effects required for a monopolization claim.”
According to the filing, the rest of the government’s evidence comes from rival ticketing companies — statements Live Nation calls inadmissible hearsay that cannot survive summary judgment. The company further notes that similar allegations were investigated by the DOJ in 2019, leading to a modification of the consent decree but not a finding of systemic misconduct. Since then, Live Nation says, “the outside antitrust monitor… has not reported a single violation.”
The company also disputes the government’s claims tied to Live Nation’s amphitheaters. Prosecutors allege that Live Nation illegally ties access to amphitheaters to its own promotion services, discouraging artists from working with independent promoters. Live Nation responds that this theory is contradicted by how touring actually works: artists, it says, control routing decisions, approve venues, set ticket prices, and choose their promoters based on guarantees and deal terms. The filing points out that the DOJ deposed only one artist throughout the entire case and that his testimony did not support the government’s claim. According to the motion, the artist “answered, without ambiguity or qualification,” that he had not been coerced to hire Live Nation as a condition of playing an amphitheater. “That is no basis for a trial,” the filing states.
Live Nation insists its amphitheaters are a competitive asset and not a leverage point to suppress competition. The company analogizes amphitheaters to tools of the trade: promoters, not artists, rent the venues, and the ability to offer those venues is part of how promoters compete for tours. The motion argues that amphitheaters typically are not rented to competing promoters for structural business reasons, not because of an anticompetitive scheme.
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Throughout the filing, Live Nation repeatedly invokes the DOJ’s own prior statements from 2010 in which the agency acknowledged the benefits of the company’s vertical integration with Ticketmaster. In approving the Live Nation–Ticketmaster merger, the DOJ wrote that “vertical integration can produce procompetitive benefits” and that “most instances of vertical integration… are economically beneficial.”
Live Nation attorneys also argue regularly in their memo that the DOJ cannot show harm to consumers—not through higher prices, a drop in shows or a decline in concert quality. Citing Microsoft and other precedent, Live Nation argues that such evidence is indispensable in a monopolization case. The filing states, “There must be evidence of actual harm to consumers; ‘harm to one or more competitors will not suffice.’ Plaintiffs never show that anything Defendants have done harmed artists or venues.”
The motion concludes by arguing that after extensive discovery, there are no triable issues remaining to be adjudicated. “The faithful application of law to the evidence adduced should yield summary judgment for Live Nation and Ticketmaster,” the filing states.
Attorneys for the government will have their chance to file a response in the coming weeks before Judge Subramanian determines whether the case proceeds to trial. If the summary-judgment motion is granted, much or all of the government’s case could be dismissed outright or the government could be forced to refile parts of its lawsuit.
Live Nation is also facing a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission over how the company operates its secondary ticket business.
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One of late KISS guitarist Ace Frehley’s signature “smoker” guitars is going under the gavel in a rock and roll auction. The signed Sunburst Gibson Les Paul that Frehley played on the band’s 1999 Psycho Circus tour as well as their 2000 farewell tour is up for sale now via Gotta Have Rock and Roll, with a minimum opening bid of $100,000.
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“This custom-made Sunburst Gibson Les Paul ‘Smoker’ guitar was owned and signed by Ace Frehley, featuring modifications for his signature ‘Smoking’ effects,” reads a description on the auction house’s site. “It was heavily played and used during the 1999 and 2000 ‘Psycho Circus’ and ‘Farewell Tour’ concerts. The guitar is part of Ace Frehley’s personal collection and represents a unique piece of rock history from an influential period of his career.” The instrument comes with a letter of authenticity, with the auction slated to end on Dec. 5.
Frehley, who joined KISS in 1973, was beloved for his funky Spaceman (aka Space Ace) character in the greasepaint-wearing band, which he originally left in 1982 before rejoining in 1996; the 2000 tour was his final outing with the band fronted by singer/guitarist Paul Stanley and bassist/singer Gene Simmons. He legendarily rigged his guitars with a number of fan-favorite effects, including ones that shot fireballs from their headstock, others that lit up and the one on the auction block now that emitted plumes of smoke from its neck.
In 2023, Ultimate Guitar described how Frehley rigged the guitar to smolder after he first tried to embed smoke bombs inside the cavity of the instrument, only to have it mess up the volume and tone controls. The magazine said he worked with an engineer to remove the pickup from the guitar’s neck and slip a fog machine into the cavity for the effect that became one of his signature on-stage tricks.
The guitarist died last month at age 74, with his family announcing his passing in a statement that read, “We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth. We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”
An autopsy report revealed that Frehley’s death was caused by blunt trauma injuries to his head after suffering a fall, with the manner of death listed as accidental.
Zach Bryan opened up to his fans on Tuesday (Nov. 18) about some hard, deeply meaningful work he’s done on himself over the past few months in an Instagram post about his sobriety and mental health journey. Along the way, the 29-year-old “Pink Skies” singer also revealed that he hasn’t touched any alcohol in two months after confronting what he described as his “toxic” relationship with booze.
“Recently, I went on a motorcycle trip across the country. For 20 days I camped and rode looking for a solution,” he wrote in the lengthy post. “At the end of this ride, I was sitting in a parking lot in Seattle, Washington thinking, ‘I really need some f–king help.’” The singer said that after spending a a decade in the Navy before being “thrown into the spotlight” that he wasn’t fully prepared for, he realized the “subconscious effects” of that sudden fame had on him.
“I was not content but I also feared showing weakness because that’s not who I am or how I was raised. To charge forward and to never settle was the motto,” he said. “I was stuck in a perpetual discontent that led me to always reaching for alcohol, not for the taste, but because there was a consistent black hole in me always needing its void filled.”
Bryan described the anxiety of being “lied about and doxxed” on the internet, as well as helping a close friend following a severe mental break and tending to another best friend who was put into a coma following a motorcycle accident while touring the country and playing five or six nights a week. The resulting stress led to what he described as “earth-shattering panic attacks” and “paralyzing” anxiety. “I thought since I was successful, had the money I always longed for, and had great friends, that I could tough anything out,” Bryan wrote.
He found a therapist and made what he called a “conscious decision to do something about my toxic relationship with booze” and how he copes with major life changes. Bryan then revealed that he hasn’t touched alcohol for nearly two months, something he did in search of his own “personal clarity. I needed to see the world objectively.” The singer said his family supported him on every step of his journey, with conversations about his future, possibly having children one day, his health and girlfriend Samantha Leonard’s happiness pushing him to prioritize not just himself, but his whole family.
“I feel great, I feel content, I feel whole,” Bryan wrote. “There is nothing I need to get me by anymore. If you or any of your friends are too tough, too scared or too stubborn to reach out, know that the most stubborn dumbass on the planet did and didn’t regret it.” Bryan concluded by saying that he doesn’t believe in absolutes, and that one day he might learn to control his habits. For now, though, he wanted fans to know that “it is okay to be weak at times and need help.”
In addition to the stresses Bryan addressed, he also went through a very public, messy breakup with former girlfriend podcaster Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia last year and then got into a dust-up with fellow country singer Gavin Adcock in September following months of back-and-forth.
In the caption, Bryan stressed that he knows he’s one of the luckiest men alive and didn’t share his thoughts in a “greater than thou” effort, but because he knows there are many other people out there silently battling mental health challenges alone. “I hope it helps someone struggling to find words when they’re down on their luck,” he said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) is available 24/7.
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The 2026 edition of the O2 Silver Clef Awards will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Scheduled for July 9, the event will be held at the prestigious venue for the first time, having been held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in recent years.
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The O2 Silver Clef Awards are Nordoff and Robbins’ largest annual fundraising event. Since 1976, they have raised over £17 million ($23.5 million) for the British music therapy charity, fueling its growth and helping it deliver sessions to vulnerable people in need across the country.
Recipients of the 2025 awards included Rick Astley, IDLES, Noah Kahan, Chase & Status and The Last Dinner Party. The ceremony raised £715,00 ($937,425) for Nordoff and Robbins, who is also a key beneficiary of the BRIT Trust, a music industry charity that receives proceeds from the annual BRIT Awards.
Other acts who have been honoured at the O2 Silver Clef Awards over the years include David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Paul McCartney, George Michael, Kylie Minogue, The Rolling Stones, Oasis and Coldplay.
“We are so immensely proud to be hosting the 50th anniversary of the O2 Silver Clef Awards at the Royal Albert Hall,” Joe Munns, chair of the O2 Silver Clef Awards Committee, said in a statement. “We’ve had the great privilege of giving these prestigious awards to many legendary artists over the years, and what better place to celebrate even more superstars than a venue that’s equally as iconic.”
“The current fundraising climate is challenging for us all and costs continue to increase across the board, so this amazing event is now more important than ever for the charity,” he added.
In addition to hosting the 2026 ceremony, the Royal Albert Hall has announced Nordoff and Robbins as its official charity partner for the year. The partnership will involve raising awareness and funds to expand music therapy delivery across the U.K., as well as promoting Nordoff and Robbins’ research into how their work can support recovery.
James Ainscough OBE, chief executive of the Royal Albert Hall, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be announcing Nordoff and Robbins as our official charity partner for 2026. We will be collaborating with their brilliant team across a number of projects and events throughout the year, to ensure that the joy and healing power of music reaches far beyond the stage, and making music therapy as accessible as possible.
“It is a real honour to be hosting the O2 Silver Clef Awards on such a landmark anniversary. It is always a monumental night in the music industry calendar, and certain to be even more memorable as we celebrate the wonderful work of Nordoff and Robbins and the 50th year of the awards.”
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Ariana Grande swooped in for a solo Wicked: For Good promo appearance on The Tonight Show on Tuesday night (Nov. 18), and while her movie bestie Cynthia Erivo is skipping interviews on the red carpet ahead of Friday’s opening of the sequel after losing her voice, Grande broke from their silent solidarity pact for a night to belt out some famous duets with host Jimmy Fallon.
The pair ran through a History of Duets, opening with “For Good” from Wicked, naturally, before dipping into Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s titanic “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” bopping and swaying to the soul classic’s groove before taking a hard left turn. Fallon steered into a bit of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better) from the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun, with Grande trying to steal back the spotlight with her “no you can’t!” to his “yes I can!” as the two playfully tried to push one another out of frame.
Grande firmly grabbed the attention back by busting into the powerhouse Lady Gaga bits from “Shallow,” with Fallon sitting back as she dove into the deep end, then joining her to croon about rising to the surface in his best Bradley Cooper impersonation. They then slipped into a few lines from the iconic Brandy and Monica jam “The Boy Is Mine” before cranking things up for Bruno Mars and ROSÉ’s “Apt.” and downshifting into the soaring Aladdin ballad “A Whole New World.”
Fallon slipped on some nerdy glasses for a swoon through “Suddenly, Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors before cueing up the big finale, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ iconic, Oscar-winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing. Fallon surely made his show’s lawyers nervous by offering to do the signature lift from the 1987 Patrick Swayze/Jennifer Grey dance romance. Grande got a head start and then took off, landing in Fallon’s arms as he awkwardly spun her around over his head.
Okay, kidding, it was just a stuffed Ari doll, though she sold it by pretending her hip was sore from the high-flying bit.
Grande had plenty to say during her 10th appearance on the Tonight Show, promoting the anticipated movie musical, of course, but also her upcoming appearance on the Dec. 20 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live, where she will be joined by musical guest Cher. “I’m so excited,” she said, noting that she didn’t find out the pop legend would be joining until two days before it was announced. “I almost passed out. I had no idea what to do. What an honor.”
And not for nothing, Grande predicted that it would be “one of the gayest SNL episodes that has ever happened, right?”
She also talked about what it felt like to film both Wicked movies at the same time, saying it’s been interesting to watch it so many years after the cast finished shooting. “So in my head they’re both one story and one experience,” she said, while happily taking Fallon’s praise for her wand skills in the second half of the blockbuster Broadway adaptation. “It got caught in my wig a few times,” she admitted as Jimmy pulled out a massive glittery prop from the film and asked the movie’s star to show off some of her impressive wand work.
Watch Grande on The Tonight Show below.
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Music financing platform beatBread named former CD Baby and Downtown Music executive Tracy Maddux interim CEO following the death of beatBread co-founder and CEO, Peter Sinclair, the company announced on Wednesday (Nov. 19).
“Under Maddux’s interim leadership, beatBread will focus on maintaining its strong growth trajectory, advancing platform innovation, expanding partnerships, and ensuring operational excellence,” according to a beatBread press release. “He will also play an active role in the company’s search for a permanent CEO, ensuring a seamless transition and long-term continuity.”
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Maddux was Downtown Music’s chief commercial officer from 2020 to 2023, when he was in charge of the distribution, monetization and promotion of Downtown’s umbrella companies CD Baby, FUGA, AdRev, Curve Royalty Systems and DashGo. Prior to that, he served as CEO of CD Baby from 2010 to 2020, via Downtown’s acquisition of the company from AVL Digital. More recently, Maddux invested in and took a seat on the board of rights management platform OpenPlay. He will serve as a long-term advisor to beatBread’s board, the company said.
Sinclair, the company’s late CEO, was a former McKinsey and Green Dot industry veteran and longtime senior vp of consumer and e-commerce at Universal Music Group (UMG). He died earlier this year at the age of 50 after a brief illness.
“Peter Sinclair built beatBread on the belief that independent artists deserve access to the same financial tools as major-label acts, without sacrificing ownership or control,” said Maddux in a statement. “Having known Peter and admired his approach since beatBread’s founding, I’m deeply honored to help carry that vision forward. The company has built an exceptional foundation … and I see enormous potential.”
Earlier this year, beatBread announced it had raised $124 million from equity investors, including banking giant Citigroup and venture investors Deciens Capital and Mucker Capital, as well as loans from financiers Advantage Capital and GMO. In October, the company launched its $100 million Global Independence Fund to support indie labels and distributors, partly in response to UMG’s move to acquire Maddux’s former company, Downtown Music. That deal, which is pending regulatory approval by the European Commission, has faced opposition from several leading independent music organizations, including IMPALA, Beggars Group, IMPF, A2IM and Secretly Group.
Ishan Sachdev, general partner at beatBread’s longtime investor, Deciens, said Maddux’s experience presents “a rare combination” of industry expertise and operational discipline that beatBread needs “right now as labels continue to strive to maintain their independence in an environment that’s been impacted by Downtown’s sale to Universal.”
“Tracy shares Peter’s exceptional commitment to empowering independence, and he’ll work with beatBread’s remarkable team, to advance the company’s growth while maintaining its artist-first mission,” Sachdev said in a statement.
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SXSW London has confirmed its first wave of speakers for its 2026 conference, featuring figures from the worlds of business, technology and culture.
The festival will be returning to the capital from June 1 to 6, following the debut of its U.K. iteration in 2025. Among the first names announced include entrepreneur Jamie Laing, who has pivoted from a successful reality television career (Made In Chelsea) to spearheading confectionary business Candy Kittens and podcast studio Jampot Productions in recent years.
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There will also be talks from Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, as well as Thomas Cwik of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Footballer Lotte Wubben-Moy – who plays for Arsenal in the Women’s Super League and the English national team – will be discussing the intersection of sports and culture, while Hovhannes Avoyan, founder and CEO of photo-editing app Picsart, has been enlisted to chat about the development of his globally successful platform.
Other additions to the conference line-up include names from different corners of the evolving AI landscape, such as Ioannis Antonoglou (co-founder and CTO, Reflection AI), Joleen Liang, (CEO, Squirrel AI North America), and Josh Payne (CEO, Nscale), among others. Further details can be found at the official SXSW London website.
The list of speakers has been partly derived from an online submissions process, which allows potential candidates to directly pitch discussion proposals. From there, a community voting system, known as PanelPicker, opened up to the public, so that fans could help select a portion of SXSW’s conference programming.
According to the SXSW London website, public votes account for 30% of the decision-making process. The remaining percentage is determined by SXSW London staff (30%) and a board of industry experts (40%), to ensure a balanced programme. Further conference line-up announcements are expected to arrive in the coming months.
SXSW arrived in London for the first time this summer, following the continued success of its Austin and Sydney counterparts. The inaugural edition took place in Shoreditch, saw appearances from King Charles and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and welcomed over 20,500 international delegates.
The event also played host to Billboard presents THE STAGE at SXSW London, which featured a performance by global superstar Tems at east London’s iconic Troxy venue. It followed the publication of Billboard’s annual Global Power Players list and its first U.K. Power Players list, whose honorees were recognized at an exclusive gathering.
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The Kid LAROI has seen the world, and, at times, owned it with a string of chart hits, awards and records smashed. On Monday night, Nov. 17, the inner-Sydney raised, Los Angles-based singer returned home in triumphant fashion for a secret gig, a launch pad for ARIAs Week.
Performing with a four-piece backing band, and wearing an all-black ensemble, including a black tie and leather jacket, LAROI is grateful and in a soulful mood, laughing at times as he slides through a mid-tempo collection of songs.
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Gone are the hoodies, baggies and the floppy blonde locks. This 22-year-old is all grown up.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 17: The Kid LAROI performs onstage the Spotify Artist Party at Cell Block Theatre on November 17, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Hanna Lassen/Getty Images for Spotify)
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“It’s been a crazy last year. I don’t know how to process it still,” he tells the gathering at Cell Block Theatre in Darlinghurst, where the likes of Ninajirachi, Baker Boy and members of the Wiggles watch on.
When he last time performed on home soil, exactly a year ago, LAROI played arenas for his The First Time tour, and at Accor Stadium, for the NRL Grand Final. On Monday, for this inaugural Spotify Artist Party, LAROI played to a space smaller than some of the L.A. parties he attends.
ARIAs Week is always a special time of year. The Australian sun is typically baking in mid-to-late November, the holiday period is closing in, and the ARIA Awards, the national recording industry’s flagship event, is the crescendo for the year in music.
Homegrown stars Dom Dolla, Missy Higgins, Amy Shark and many more will stroll the red carpet, and brave the heat, alongside internationals Kacey Musgraves and Olivia Dean.
LAROI won’t be there. He bailed for a flight early Tuesday. The Kid admittedly has work to do setting up his next record, but he played his part in this annual celebration of Aussie music.
Spotify wants in, too. 2025 marks the first in the streaming giant’s three-year partnership with the ARIA Awards, and comes at a time when domestic artists are struggling to impact the national charts, the official singles tally in particular.
According to data supplied by Spotify, this campaign has already driven hundreds of thousands of additional streams for ARIA-nominated artists, and included 800-plus “high-impact” placements across Australia and key global markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Korea and Japan.
Ahead of the big show, more than 250,000 Australians have already cast votes in-app for the public-voted categories, including best music festival, a new category. That result is said to surpass total engagement for the past two years combined.
Billboard caught up with Joe Hadley, Spotify’s global head of music partnerships & audience, to peel back the layers on the ARIAs collaboration.
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Billboard: Let’s talk about the three-year partnership, how that came about and why?
Joe Hadley: If you were to just zoom out and look at our partnership strategy as a whole, we really want to show up as a company where culture is happening, in a way that we can be supportive of both the industry and the artists.
When we were looking at the ARIAs, it was a no-brainer to show up here for this community.
It’s not about sponsoring an event. It’s about creating something together with the artists and the labels and our partners to build long-lasting impact.
You worked closely with the Music Awards Japan. Were there any lessons to learn from that?
That was a little bit different. It was the first year that something like that had happened in Japan. It was an incredible moment, so we were really in it with them from the beginning, to build something special. The ARIAs are long-established. We wanted to make sure that if we were to partner, we could amplify and take a national event and make it truly global, so we’ve worked really hard in partnership with the ARIA to do that. One thing you’ll hear me keep repeating through this is we’re taking something that has been a truly incredible national event and helping to globalize it.
Spotify is traditionally looked at as a digital company. We wanted too show up in real life in places where it matters, so seeing the artist-facing billboards in-person adds another layer of realness, to what we’re doing. But then having the event, the party with some incredible performances, that was also a key part of bringing this all together.
Do you have any takeaways from the ARIAs’ in-app voting?
What I think is more interesting is that the last couple of years, the most voted-for category has been international artist of the year, and with this shift to in-app voting on Spotify, that’s now changed to song of the year, which is obviously local artists. Which is a really incredible moment for us in the ARIAs to really push local music.
Is Australian music having a moment, or is it anywhere near having a moment?
Australian music is always having a moment. Dance and electronic music is leading the global breakthrough story. Dom Dollar, FISHER, Ninajirachi are in that genre and it’s having a real explosive moment right now.
