Blog
Page: 48
Skillet’s John Cooper has a good sense of humor about some of the hard lessons he’s learned about the music business in nearly three decades as a musician. The outspoken, gregarious singer, fresh off the release of a new album (Revolution) and a European tour, laughs heartily when asked what lessons he wish he learned early his career.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I would go back to my younger self and say, ‘They call it the music business for a reason,” he tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. “That part — ‘business’ — actually matters. Because when you first start — I mean, I don’t know if everybody’s like this, but I certainly was like, ‘No, no, it’s not a business, it’s art. It’s no business involved. It’s just what I want to sing about. It’s all about me and my feelings and my artwork, and I’m never gonna let anybody bastardize my art.’ And you just end up making a bunch of dumb decisions because you don’t realize that, yes, it is about art, but you still got to pay bills. And you’re in the van in the middle of the night — if anybody’s in a band out there, they’re going to know what I’m talking about — you’re driving the van, and all of a sudden you feel something. You look out the side as you’re driving and you see one of the wheels from the trailer going past you [and] it flies off in the middle of the night. And I’m sitting there going, ‘I don’t care. It’s all about my art.’ That’s not real! You’ve got to pay for that, man!”
It took Cooper a few years to realize he needed to be more hands-on and not expect others to handle his business the way he wants. “If you want it done right, you have to get involved,” he insists. “That’s not to say [my manager and business manager] didn’t do their job, but they’re never going to do it the way you want it done. And it’s easy to complain about it, but just get your hands dirty.”
Trending on Billboard
The need to be more involved in the business side of his career “really hit home” early in Cooper’s career when the person preparing his taxes asked to see his taxes for the band’s first four years. “And I said, ‘Well, we lost money for the first four years, so I didn’t turn them in,’” Cooper recalls. “He’s like, ‘Well, you’re gonna pay for that now. You’ve gotta pay a fee for not doing it right.’ And so I would go back and just say [to my younger self], ‘Hey, yes, it’s about the art, but you can’t be a moron. You’ve got to grow up.’”
Over time, Cooper has learned the business side of music from a variety of people, including a manager that arrived six years into his career and his business manager. He also took inspiration from Mötley Crüe bass player Nikki Sixx, who Cooper says “understood it’s about art, but you got to take care of your business. You want to be around for 30 years? You better get it in gear, son!”
The lessons Cooper learned will help now that Skillet is independent and self-releasing its music. After nearly two decades with Atlantic Records — 99% of which was positive, Cooper says — the band released Revolution on its own Hear It Loud imprint. While Atlantic Records helped Skillet find mainstream success (“Awake and Alive” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Active Rock chart in 2011) there was more bureaucracy than Cooper would have preferred. “A lot of red tape,” he says. “A lot of people having to approve the songs.” Now, Skillet now has greater creative control and can release music more frequently.
“We wrote 11 songs for this record, and I loved it,” he says. “I loved making the project. It was so much fun. We wrote, recorded and released this album in 13 months. And I’ll tell you what, it was so fun, and I love the music.”
Listen to the entire interview with Skillet’s John Cooper using the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty
Rapper and professional hypeman 50 Cent and DJ Khaled are officially on good terms, and baseball legend Reggie Jackson helped make it happen. The two were spotted earlier this week in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where they were about to hit the golf course together. As they linked up, 50 and Khaled hugged it out and dapped each other up, showing they’d squashed their beef.
Khaled reached in for a dap and said, “Nothing but love and respect.”. The two had been throwing shots at each other for years, with 50 Cent especially trolling Khaled on social media. But it looks like Reggie Jackson, who’s close with both, stepped in and got them to make peace. He’s known for being a leader, both on the field and off, and he helped bring the two together.
Now that they’ve buried the hatchet, fans are hoping this is the start of them working together. It’s a reminder that sometimes the right person can help people let go of old beefs and move forward, especially in the world of hip-hop.
50 Cent has been keeping busy with his newest endeavor, his own residency in Las Vegas. He’s been hitting one of the city’s hottest venues with a series of shows, where he’s been performing his classic hits and bringing that high-energy vibe fans love. It’s a big move for 50, showing he’s not just a rapper but a full-on entertainer. With his acting and business game already strong, this Las Vegas residency is just another flex in his legendary career. If you’re a 50 fan, you don’t want to miss this—he’s about to turn up in the Vegas spotlight.
A group of Los Angeles’ key promoters and venues are coming together to raise money in the wake of the fires that have devastated the city over the last eight days.
L.A. Gives Back: Fire Relief will happen Jan. 29 at The Bellwether in downtown Los Angeles. The show is being organized by IHEARTCOMIX, Brownies & Lemonade, Another Planet Entertainment (which owns The Bellwether) and Teragram.
The show — the lineup for which will be announced in the coming weeks — will raise money to support victims of the fire, along with first responders and animals. One hundred percent of the funds raised will go to charity.
The Jan. 29 show marks a special edition of L.A. Gives Back, which typically takes place during the holiday season to raise money for charitable causes in the city. Previous editions have featured artists including Zedd, Bonobo, Madeon, Flying Lotus, Tokimonsta, Boys Noize, A-Trak, JPEGMafia, Louis the Child, Tim Heidecker & Weyes Blood, Eric André and more. The event series has collectively raised over $250,000 for L.A.-based charities and initiatives.
This show is a new addition to a growing list of benefit shows to support victims and first responders of the wildfires, which have claimed at least 25 lives, killed countless animals and destroyed or damaged roughly 12,300 structures in the city since Jan. 7.
“There’s nothing the IHEARTCOMIX team and I care about more than our Los Angeles community — it’s what made us who we are,” IHEARTCOMIX founder Franki Chan says in a statement. “Over the past few days, it has been extremely painful to witness so many close friends, family members and colleagues lose their homes. Even more heartbreaking is knowing the road to recovery will be long. In moments like these, we believe it’s our duty to channel our best talents to support those in need. L.A. Gives Back has always been that vehicle for us, so we hope this event will make a meaningful contribution in providing some relief to our community.”
“The devastation Los Angeles has endured the past week from these wildfires made it clear we had to do something,” the organizers of electronic dance events company Brownies & Lemonade say in a joint statement. “L.A. Gives Back has been our longstanding event series focused on providing aid to our city and we’re so happy to bring it back for this crucial moment to provide wildfire relief for our city.”
“Los Angeles is home to a vibrant independent creative community,” adds Casey Lowdermilk of The Bellwether. “We’re proud to open our stage in support of our neighbors who lost everything in this disaster.”
LA Gives Back Fire Relief
Courtesy Photo
Cardi B took to Spaces to accuse Offset and his mother of stealing from her, and reiterating she wants the divorce papers signed. Keep watching for her rant. Cardi B:I ain’t listen after you and your momma robbed me. Yeah, you and your mom robbed me cold, right under my nose. Tetris Kelly:Cardi say what?! […]
Boiler Room, a longstanding event and streaming series, has been acquired by European festival organizer Superstruct Entertainment. A representative for the company declined to disclose the terms of the deal.
Boiler Room was previously owned by ticketing platform Dice, which acquired it in 2021. Dice will remain Boiler Room’s official ticketing partner.
A statement on the deal notes that Boiler Room’s team will remain responsible for leadership of the business under Superstruct, “and it will retain its identity with active support for theirdevelopment through Superstruct’s global resources and expertise.”
Trending on Billboard
A representative for Superstruct confirms that Boiler Room will continue generating revenue through brand partnerships (Boiler Room has had long-term deals with Pernod Ricard and Ballantine’s), along with ticketed events and its apparel brand. While Boiler Room videos regularly rack up millions of streams on YouTube, Boiler Room makes almost nothing from this YouTube content, as it doesn’t own any rights to the music.
“As we turn 15 and enter our next stage of growth, we’re excited to be partnering with Superstruct for this chapter,” Boiler Room founder Blaise Bellville said in a statement. “We feel in good company with their roster of brands, they offer us new opportunities to grow, whilst understanding the importance of staying true to the authenticity that, at its core, is what makes Boiler Room special.”
“We are proud to welcome the talented team at Boiler Room, who have managed to consistently grow the platform over the last fifteen years whilst maintaining a distinct cultural approach,” added Superstruct Entertainment CEO Roderik Schlösser. “This partnership perfectly aligns with Superstruct’s mission to celebrate and amplify cultures through creativity, collaboration, and live entertainment. Boiler Room is in the best position it has ever been and we are excited to support them in their promising future ahead.”
In June, Billboard reported that global investment firms KKR and CVC had agreed to acquire Superstruct Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners. Superstruct — which has a portfolio of more than 80 events including the electronic festivals DGTL, Mysteryland, Parookaville, Brunch Electronik, along with Sziget, one of the largest music festivals in Europe, and the world’s largest heavy metal festival, Germany’s Wacken Open Air — was founded in 2017 by Providence and James Barton, a former Live Nation executive who also founded the Liverpool-based night club Cream. The terms of that deal were not disclosed, though the Financial Times reported that Superstruct sold for around €1.3 billion ($1.39 billion).
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Marvel Television / Disney+
After largely taking a break from superhero films and shows in 2024, Marvel Studios is looking to get back into the swing of things in 2025 and is already ginning up hype for the highly anticipated return of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil.
Source: Marvel Television / Disney+
ON Wednesday (Jan. 15), Disney+ released their first teaser trailer for Marvel’s upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again, and it seems like it’s going to remain true to the extremely violent nature that made it a fan favorite series on Netflix. Once again, starring Charlie Cox as the Man Without Fear and Vincent D’Onofrio as his archnemesis the Kingpin, the series seemingly picks up where it left off in 2018 with Matt Murdock having retired from the superhero scene and instead fighting crime in a court of law.
Unfortunately, for him, Wilson “The Kingpin” Fisk has become the new mayor of New York City. And if we’ve learned anything about politics the last few years it’s that corruption is no longer hidden and instead on full display. Though Matt is reluctant to return to his bone-breaking ways, something pushes him over the edge and he ultimately throws on the red devil costume and takes it back to the streets.
Featuring appearances from Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle aka The Punisher and Wilson Bethel’s Benjamin Poindexter aka Bullseye, the trailer promises a helluva rebirth of Daredevil. The trailer also features a shot of new Marvel villain Muse, who’ll no doubt play a big role in the upcoming season.
There’s also rumors that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man may make a surprise cameo at some point, but we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to fruition.
We. Can’t. Wait.
Check out the trailer for Daredevil: Born Again below, and let us know if you’ll be checking for this when it premiers on Disney+ on March 4.
At the end of 2023, Republic Records’ industry-leading current market share of 13.47% represented the best full-year mark for a label since at least 2015, encompassing the streaming era for the music industry.
But in 2024, Republic surpassed that: powered by mega albums by Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter (the latter whose label Island Records is included in Republic’s market share along with Cash Money, Wallen’s labels Mercury and Big Loud and indie distributor Imperial), Republic posted a 14.90% current share, the second year in a row it led all labels by more than 4%.
Much of that can be attributed to the all-conquering success of Swift, whose Tortured Poets Department album was more than twice as big in the U.S. in 2024 than the second-biggest, Wallen’s 2023 album One Thing At a Time. But it also had to do with the remarkable rise of Island’s one-two punch of Carpenter and Chappell Roan, who each broke out this year with an album that ended the year among the 10 biggest of 2024: Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet and Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Year over year, Island quadrupled its current market share, from 0.62% in 2023 to 2.49% in 2024, helping Republic reach new heights.
Trending on Billboard
But Republic wasn’t the only label to have a big year: in second place was Interscope Geffen A&M, which saw its current share grow nearly two full points year over year, to reach 10.72% in 2024 — a share which grew steadily each quarter as the year went along. (Interscope’s market share also includes Verve Music Group.) Billie Eilish’s banner album Hit Me Hard & Soft led the way for IGA, but Kendrick Lamar’s cultural juggernaut “Not Like Us” was among the biggest songs of the year, while his Billboard 200-topping November album GNX helped capitalize on that momentum. Interscope, too, posted a share more than 4% higher than its next-closest competitor, Warner Records.
(One note: market share rankings do not reflect the Universal Music Group’s reorganization carried out this past February, which brought Def Jam under Republic’s purview and Capitol under Interscope’s; if it did, REPUBLIC would stand at a 15.46% current share, with Interscope Capitol at 14.70%.)
Which is not to say Warner Records had a down year: after posting a huge 5.96% current share in 2023, Warner had an even bigger 2024 and bested its sister label Atlantic Records for the first time in years. Warner (whose share includes Warner Nashville, Warner Latina and Rhino) reached a 6.55% share, led by breakout hits by Grammys best new artist nominees Benson Boone (“Beautiful Things”) and Teddy Swims (“Lose Control”), as well as the continued momentum of Zach Bryan, whose latest album The Great American Bar Scene delivered another major release for the label.
That meant Atlantic Records (which encompasses 300 Entertainment and Elektra) finished in fourth, dropping 1.21% from 2023 to land at 5.64% current share, in a year that was marked by a major transition in leadership. In fifth was Columbia Records, whose share includes some indie labels from distributor RED, which delivered a major album in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter (and, later in the year, Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia) and a song in Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” but slipped slightly year over year to 4.59%. In sixth, RCA Records also dipped year over year, coming in at 4.11%, down from 4.67% in 2023.
Another label that saw an executive overhaul, Capitol Music Group — which includes Motown/Quality Control, Blue Note, Astralwerks and some of Virgin Music’s share — also decreased significantly, falling from a 5.91% current share in 2023 to 3.98% in 2024, dropping them to seventh overall. But the eighth and ninth labels — Epic Records and Alamo Records, respectively — saw significant gains, with Epic jumping to 2.59% from 2.31% last year and Alamo nearly doubling its share, from 1.13% in 2023 to 2.11% in 2024, with much of that coming from the success of its Santa Anna distribution company, which debuted in January 2023. Rounding out the top 10 is another Sony label, Sony Music Latin, which also grew, up to 2.04% in 2024 from 1.94% in 2023.
Among the label groups, two sectors saw significant growth, offsetting the others. The Universal Music Group, fueled by the huge successes of Republic and Interscope, grew 1.09% year over year, posting a 36.90% current share. Sony Music, on the other hand, fell 1.13% in current share year over year, to 25.96%. Warner Music Group also fell, dropping from 16.96% in 2023 to 16.33% in 2024 in current share, while the indie sector grew 0.67% year over year by current distribution, from 20.14% to 20.81%. By label ownership, the indie sector accounted for 38.91% of current share.
At the label group level, overall share — which includes catalog in addition to frontline releases — told a different story. Sony Music actually grew the most year over year, up 0.22% to 27.39% in overall share in 2024, while UMG grew 0.17% to 38.61%. Warner Music Group dipped from 18.63% to 18.39%, while by distribution ownership the Indies also fell slightly, from 15.77% to 15.62%. By label ownership, the indie sector accounted for 36.19% overall share.
Among the individual labels in overall share, Republic and Interscope still held the top two spots — at 10.39% and 10.17%, respectively — though Interscope’s deeper catalog made it closer than with current share. Similarly, Atlantic Records’ deeper catalog meant it took third place in overall share, leapfrogging Warner Records in fourth, at 7.63% and 6.88%, respectively. Columbia (5.97%) maintained the fifth spot, just edging Capitol Music Group (5.95%) in sixth, while RCA, Epic, Sony Nashville and Universal Music Nashville rounded out the top 10.
In catalog share — those releases that are older than 18 months — it was Interscope’s deeper bench that led it to an industry-leading 9.98% share, ahead of Republic’s 8.84% and Atlantic’s 8.31%. Warner Records (7.00%) came in fourth, while Capitol Music Group (6.62%) jumped to fifth, ahead of Columbia (6.44%) and RCA (5.31%) in sixth and seventh, respectively. Epic (2.70) landed in eighth, while Def Jam’s illustrious history, celebrating 40 years in 2024, carried it up to ninth, at a 2.19% share.
Among the label groups, UMG’s catalog share was an industry-leading 39.19%, while Sony posted a 27.87% share and the Warner Music Group ended at 19.09%, with the indies at 13.85%. Sony’s share was up from the 27.21% it claimed in 2023, while each of the other three declined slightly year over year.
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.
Janet Jackson is headed back to Sin City as part of her new residency at Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas.
The “Janet Jackson: Las Vegas” residency kicked off over New Year’s Eve weekend and has now been extended until the end of May. With a setlist that spans her entire career — and lengthy catalog — Jackson’s show includes all of her greatest hits, along with “deep cut” fan favorites.
Want to see Janet Jackson in Las Vegas? Here’s where to find the best seats and cheap tickets online.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Find Janet Jackson Las Vegas Residency Tickets Online
Ticketmaster is the official ticketing partner of Jackson’s Resorts World residency, but there are a number of third-party and resale sites that may offer better deals and discounts.
Trending on Billboard
We like StubHub, which has Janet Jackson tickets starting from $57 (as of this writing). StubHub’s “FanProtect Guarantee” ensures that you’re purchasing verified tickets and that they’ll be delivered before your event starts. If your event is canceled and not rescheduled, you’ll receive 120% credit or be given a full refund.
Another place to find Janet Jackson tickets online is Vivid Seats. The site has tickets to Jackson’s Vegas residency on sale from $61 right now, with the option to get the tickets delivered digitally for faster transfer. What we like: Vivid Seats’ has a rewards program that gets you your 11th ticket for free after you purchase ten tickets. See more details here.
You can find cheap tickets to see Janet Jackson in Vegas through SeatGeek, another preferred third-party site. Tickets for Jackson’s Vegas residency start from $62 right now on SeatGeek.com. A bonus: use our exclusive promo code BILLBOARD10 to save $10 off your purchase.
You can also score a promo code on Janet Jackson tickets at Ticket Network. Get $150 off orders of $500+ when you enter the code BILLBOARD150 at checkout, or save $300 off ticket purchases of $1,000+ with the code BILLBOARD300.
The cheapest tickets we’re currently seeing for Janet Jackson concerts is through Gametime.co. Typically known as a place to find tickets to sporting events, the site has branched out into concerts and entertainment in recent years, and they have “Janet Jackson: Las Vegas” tickets from $57.
Even better: Gametime guarantees that they’ll have the cheapest tickets available online; If you find a lower price elsewhere, the site will credit your account with 110% of the difference between the price you found and their price on Gametime.co.
Jackson is just one of a number of artists who have residencies in Las Vegas right now. The singer’s show at the the 5,000-capacity Resorts World Theatre comes on the heels of her 2024 “Together Again Tour,” which earned nearly $51 million and became the biggest gross of any tour in Jackson’s Billboard Boxscore history.
Day 2 of MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN, the largest international music awards in the country set for May 21 and 22 at Rohm Theater Kyoto, will be broadcast live on NHK, and both days will be streamed worldwide on YouTube (excluding some regions), it was announced Thursday (Jan. 16) Japan time.
In addition to the previously announced awards recognizing a wide variety of works in eight categories and 50 divisions, prizes have been added in new categories including the “Co-creation categories” linked to companies involved in music.
Toyota Group has been confirmed as a top partner, Kinoshita Group and NTT DOCOMO, Inc. as gold partners, and Kyoto University of the Arts (Uryuzan Gakuen) as a silver partner. Prize partners set to establish their own divisions in the co-creation categories include XING Inc., DAIICHIKOSHO Co., Ltd., JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers), Spotify Japan, and USEN Corporation. In addition, TimeTree, Inc., IRIS Inc. (TOKYO PRIME), LIVE BOARD, Inc., and LY Corporation will be media partners, JTB Corp., Space Shower Networks, Inc., and RecoChoku, Co., Ltd. will be project partners, and companies related to the music industry will support the awards as music industry partners.
Trending on Billboard
In the newly established co-creation categories awarded in collaboration with prize partner companies involved in the music industry, the best song will be chosen from among those enjoyed by general listeners on karaoke and cable broadcasting. Furthermore, the award for “Best Viral Song” celebrating songs that became popular after going viral on TikTok, and the “Radio Special Award” chosen by radio directors and radio DJs in collaboration with radio stations nationwide, have also been announced.
Details of the general voting (Listeners’ Choice) categories, where general listeners can participate in the selection process through Spotify’s voting function, have been revealed as well. Along with the two previously announced awards decided by general vote from Spotify users from both within and outside Japan — Best of Listeners’ Choice: Domestic Song powered by Spotify and Best of Listeners’ Choice: Global Song powered by Spotify — the nominees for the Top Global Hit From Japan category, one of the six main categories that celebrates domestic songs that have become hits around the world, will be selected through votes from Spotify users outside of Japan.
Co-creation categories
Karaoke Special Award: Karaoke of the Year powered by DAM & JOYSOUND: An award honoring songs sung the most at karaoke. The top 30 songs sung the most on DAM and JOYSOUND during the target period will be eligible, and the song sung the most on DAM and JOYSOUND during the Karaoke Special Award tallying period after the nominees have been announced will be chosen as the best work. (Two divisions, J-Pop and Enka / Kayōkyoku, are planned.)
Request Special Award: Oshikatsu Request of the Year powered by USEN: An award honoring the song that received the most requests on the USEN Oshikatsu Request Ranking. The song that received the most requests on the year-end USEN Oshikatsu Request Ranking will be awarded as best work.
Creators Special Award: Song of the Year for Creators presented by JASRAC: An award honoring the creator of the song that received the largest distribution of royalties from JASRAC. This award will be given to the creator of the song from among those entrusted to JASRAC for copyright management which received the largest distribution of royalties for 2024.
Song category
Best Viral Song: This award celebrates songs that went on to attract general attention after having gone viral through their use in videos and posts on TikTok. The best song will be selected from the top 50 songs chosen based on an original chart that combines the number of times they were used on TikTok and the total number of views on videos using the songs.
Alliance category
Radio Special Award: An award honoring songs that radio directors and radio DJs think are musically creative and artistic. The directors and DJs of music programs on 53 FM radio stations will each recommend up to three songs, and the top ten with the most nominations will be eligible. All the directors and DJs of the radio stations that recommended the songs will vote to decide the best work.
General voting categories
Best of Listeners’ Choice: Domestic Song powered by Spotify: An award given to the best song decided by general vote from Spotify users from both within and outside Japan.
Best of Listeners’ Choice: Global Song powered by Spotify: An award given to the best global song decided by general vote from Spotify users from both within and outside Japan.
MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025 KYOTO
Date of Ceremony: Wednesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 22, 2025
MAJ Week: From Saturday, May 17 to Friday, May 23, 2025
Venue: ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
The event on May 22 will be broadcast live on NHK.
Events on both days will be streamed globally on YouTube (some regions excluded).
As U.S. TikTok users brace for a potential ban of the platform, some of them are actively testing other options: Two apps with TikTok-like characteristics, RedNote and Lemon8, are now the most popular free downloads in Apple’s App Store.
Lemon8 launched in the U.S. in February 2023 and cracked the top 20 on the Apple App Store four months later, according to Sensor Tower. Like TikTok, Lemon8 features a “For You” feed that recommends clips and a “following” feed that serves up videos from creators that users follow. Sensor Tower reported in October that 94% of Lemon8 users are women and that the app had been downloaded 52 million times globally.
RedNote, which was founded in 2013, is much bigger: Bloomberg recently reported that it has more than 300 million monthly active users and that it made $1 billion in profit in 2024. The platform has a trending feed that resembles TikTok’s, allowing users to vertically scroll through short-form videos. It also incorporates regular photos, text posts, and e-commerce; one tester described it as “Instagram meets TikTok meets Reddit.”
Trending on Billboard
Both Lemon8 and RedNote are owned by Chinese entities — in fact, Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. That could mean these apps also have a precarious future in the U.S., as TikTok is facing a ban because the American government is worried about its Chinese ownership.
“I’ve been concerned, literally for years, that because TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese firm, and every company — based upon Chinese law — has to be first and foremost loyal to the Communist Party of China, not to their shareholders or customers, that TikTok has posed a national security concern,” Sen. Mark Warner said earlier this month. His concerns would presumably extend to other ByteDance-owned companies, like CapCut and Lemon8.
In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to the law that would either force ByteDance to sell the app or bar it from the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump also asked the court to pause the ban, promising to “resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”
But after the Supreme Court hearing last week, most legal experts believe the justices will uphold the law. In that case, ByteDance would have to offload TikTok or face a ban on Jan. 19.
At the Supreme Court hearing, Justice Brett Kavanaugh claimed that China could use data harvested from TikTok to “develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people.” And Chief Justice John Roberts asked how the court was “supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent [company] is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?”
With TikTok’s possible prohibition just days away, some labels have already started gaming out alternative marketing strategies.
“It’s hard to imagine a reality where TikTok actually goes down,” one executive told Billboard in December. “But we need to be prepared.”