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Despite U.S. consumer sentiment falling to its second lowest rating on record in May, new studies show that concertgoers have grown comfortable spending $300 a month on tickets — and that this summer they plan on paying even more.
A Bank of America survey examining the spending data of its 69 million consumer and small business customers in the United States found customers spent an average of $150 a month on entertainment — such as tickets to live events or amusement parks — between May 2024 and April 2025. When researchers looked at credit card holders specifically who spent money on live event tickets, those individuals spent an average of $300 a month last year. Asked if they plan to attend more live events this year than last year, a third of people surveyed said yes.
That’s good news for live event promoters. The world’s largest concert promoter and ticket company Live Nation reported sluggish revenues for the start of the year, and online ticket marketplace and resale company Vivid Seats reported lower consumer interest in live events. The first quarter before spring and summer festivals kick off is usually slow, but Vivid Seats executives warned that negative consumer sentiment and “uncertainty can impact how and when artists and rights-holders come to market.” For its part, Live Nation is still predicting double-digit profit growtht this year.
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Prices for concert ticket have risen by more than 32% over the past five years, with the average concert ticket costing $130.36 in 2024. Those numbers have been driven by post-pandemic demand and major acts adopting dynamic, or surge, pricing — in which demand can increase a ticket’s price in real time — according to Billboard Boxscore data.
While $300 would have been enough to score tickets to see Bad Bunny or The Rolling Stones last year — average ticket prices were $280.67 and $266.16, respectively — it likely would not have been enough for one of U2’s 38 shows at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Those tickets cost on average $367.13.
And prices continue to rise. This year, for example, Bad Bunny fans will have to dig deeper into their pockets to see one of his shows. A study by GIGAcalculator, an online platform that creates converters and calculators for different uses, found it cost an average of $354 to attend his residency at Coliseo de Puerto Rico, but it could be argued that the reggaeton superstar gives a lot of bang for the buck. His 135-minute, 33-song shows average out to a cost of $2.62 per minute, almost a dollar cheaper than Charli XCX, whose shows are the most expensive at $3.55 per minute.
The soaring price of tickets is one reason more young concert goers report going into debt to see shows, according to a study from Cash App, the digital wallet company owned by Block.
More than half of Gen Z concertgoers, who were born after 1995, reported using buy now, pay later services to cover the cost of tickets or related expenses, such as travel to a show, overnight accommodations, or clothes to wear to the concert, according to the study. (Can’t imagine putting concert outfits on layaway? Coachella fashion inspiration boards, including those by artists like Ludmilla and Victoria Monet, were a big hit last year on Pinterest, a popular shopping tool among Gen Z.)
According to Cash App, one in five Gen Z concertgoers reported spending beyond their means to attend concerts in the past two years, and yet 65% of the roughly 2,000 adults in the survey overall said they would spend more in 2025.
Gen Z respondents paid an average of $2,100 on concert tickets over the past two years, according to Cash App.
While the top 100 tours grossed more than $10 billion in 2024, including Taylor Swift’s record-setting Eras Tour, only a handful of acts can charge more than $200 a ticket and sell out, Billboard Boxscore data shows.
Nonetheless, more than 75% of Gen Z respondents in Cash App’s study said they were willing to pay a premium on resale platforms if that’s what it takes to see a show.
Bad Bunny is set to break records across Latin America, Europe and Australia with his Debí Tirar Más Fotos tour after generating hundreds of millions of dollars from 2.6 million tickets sold, according to data provided to Billboard by promoter Live Nation.
“Bad Bunny is having incredible success without crossing over [musically]. In fact, it’s the audience — millions of people across the world, who are crossing over [to] him,” says Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring for Live Nation, which is co-promoting the 54-date tour with Rimas Nation. Schafer notes that the superstar will be the first Spanish-language artist to perform a stadium concert in seven of the countries he’s visiting on the tour, which kicks off Nov. 21 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and ends July 22 in Brussels, Belgium.
The new tour is set to break the records Bad Bunny first broke in 2022 when he became the first Latin act to earn the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Year-End Boxscore Top Tours chart, grossing $373.5 million from 1.8 million tickets across 65 shows.
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Thanks to a massive demand for tickets, what began as a 24-date tour early last week has blossomed into a 54-show run across 18 countries. Bad Bunny expanded his Mexico City visit from two shows at Estadio GNP to eight shows. In South America, he grew his stops in Medellin, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aires from one show to three shows in each market. And in Madrid, he expanded his plans for two shows to a staggering 10 concerts at the 70,000-person Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium.
Bad Bunny is playing two-night engagements at almost every stop on his tour and is breaking new records in nearly every market. He is the first and only Latin act to sell out a stadium concert in Australia and became the only artist in Colombia’s history to sell out three stadium concerts in 24 hours. He broke the record for the fastest-selling concert in the history of Costa Rica, and in Mexico, he broke the record for the most tickets sold in a single day by any artist.
The superstar now holds the record for the most tickets ever sold by a Latin artist in France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. And with 12 stadium shows booked for Spain — including two in Barcelona — he now holds the record for the biggest concert run ever for an artist in the country with 600,000 tickets sold.
He’s also become the top-selling Latin artist in the U.K., breaking the record previously set by Karol G.
“Bad Bunny is a true global artist and this tour is testament to his power as an international superstar,” Schafer says. “We’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
In 2022, Pophouse Entertainment premiered ABBA Voyage in London, a virtual concert in which avatars of the Swedish powerpop foursome as they appeared in 1979 — one of them Pophouse co-founder Björn Ulvaeus — performed their biggest hits in ABBA Arena, a custom-built venue at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park that seats 3,000.
More than 40 years after ABBA’s initial success and the subsequent popularity of the Mamma Mia! musicals and movies, fans have purchased more than 3.3 million tickets to over 1,000 ABBA Voyage shows, according to Pophouse, which cost approximately $185 million to mount. Now, armed with $1.3 billion from its first round of private equity fundraising and the backing of Swedish investment giant EQT, Pophouse CEO Per Sundin is eager to replicate the franchise’s success.
Sitting in front of photos of Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, Lana del Rey, Billie Eilish, Barry Gibb and other artists Sundin worked with during the decades he spent as Sony and later Universal Music Group’s top executive in the Nordics, he sees ABBA Voyage as a template to attract the devoted fan bases of certain other acts. KISS, which completed its End of the Road tour in 2023 and whose catalog Pophouse acquired the following year, will be the next act to get the avatar treatment. Another possible candidate is Cyndi Lauper, whose farewell tour ends in August and whose catalog Pophouse owns. The company’s portfolio also includes the catalogs of two of Sweden’s most famous electronic music artists, Swedish House Mafia and the late DJ Avicii, for whom the company recently said it will release new music.
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Speaking at the New York offices of law firm Morrison Foerster, Sundin says Pophouse didn’t cut any corners in creating ABBA Voyage — even footing a “shocking” Dolce & Gabanna clothing bill, Sundin says, for the avatars’ costumes. (“They should have sponsored us, it was so expensive,” he jokes.)
Sundin says that after KISS vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley saw ABBA Voyage, he asked to meet the band members backstage. Pophouse, he adds, is dedicated to producing the same realism for the blood-spitting, fire-breathing “Black Diamond” boys.
Geopolitical uncertainty and tariffs have not directly affected music assets. Did that motivate investors who participated in this latest funding round?
I don’t want to comment on what’s going on in the world today because I can’t guess where anything is going. But music is totally uncorrelated to inflation or interest rates, and that is a key message for people who invest from the financial world. When we said to investors, “This is a yield business because you have royalties coming in every quarter,” the financial support for music is fantastic. Even though you have tough times, maybe you don’t go out to restaurants or do big trips, but you will never cancel your Spotify, YouTube or Apple account.
You may not cancel your Spotify account, but you do buy fewer Broadway tickets. How are you changing your forecasts for the ABBA virtual show or other live- entertainment projects?
You have to value in assumptions and calculations for every venture, but we’re not going to do nothing for four years. The world we’re living in, it’s always SNAFU [an acronym for “situation’s normal: all fucked up”]. There is also opportunity. There is so much need for entertainment. ABBA Voyage is the next generation of music concerts. It’s on seven days a week, and it’s almost always sold out. I’ve been 16 times, and I’m emotionally connected every time. That’s how contagious this show is. Of the 50 biggest artists in the world still alive, I would say that 40 have been there to see it.
Given the show’s popularity with big stars, how’s your pipeline for acquisitions?
Really good. The press release about how much money we raised helped. We hope to announce at least one catalog we’re buying by summer. But we don’t just want to buy it and put it on the shelf. We create a road map for five to 10 years, and then we execute that road map. From the beginning, we told our investors that we want to buy eight to 10 catalogs. We have four. That leaves six to buy. The record companies have thousands of catalogs.
In the United States, ABBA Arena would be comparable to Sphere in Las Vegas. Will the KISS virtual show take place there?
No. The Sphere is a fantastic building, a fantastic venue, but for the type of avatar concert we are planning with KISS — which is something else — we are looking at more intimate sites. I’ve been to the Sphere four times [to see U2 live, a video replay of a U2 show, Anyma and the Eagles]. The first time I saw U2 at Sphere, the visuals were amazing, but I didn’t feel emotionally connected. Bono is a preacher. He has something to say to the world, and I didn’t find he was in the right element. I saw U2 virtual [a recording of a prior Sphere performance], and Bono was more of a preacher there. With U2 [both times], I asked people, “Did you go for U2 or did you go for the Sphere?” Two-thirds said they went there for the Sphere.
How will you give KISS fans something new for the virtual show?
Every catalog we buy will not be an avatar show. ABBA was only active for eight to nine years. KISS toured for 40. Kiss is more male-biased. ABBA is more female-biased. But they both have fans of all ages. That’s why their brands are so valuable. If you’re a KISS fan, you’re a fan for life.
Pophouse also owns Avicii’s catalog, another artist with hyper-engaged fans who are very sensitive to coverage and monetization of that catalog, given his suicide at the age of 28 in 2018. Would Pophouse buy another catalog that comes with a significant risk of offending fans?
There is so much data available to look at before we buy catalogs today. We also do brand and narrative due diligence. KISS has superfans. Taylor Swift has superfans. The same goes with Avicii. On Spotify, 2% of listeners of a catalog stand for 80% of a catalog’s streams in an average month or year. In some cases, we have found 5% [of listeners] stand for 50% of streams. If I can increase an act’s superfans from 5% to 6%, the total streams will go up 10%, meaning the value of the catalog will go up 10%.
So back to your question about sensitivity: We take this very seriously. With KISS, there are fans that have been fans for 50 years. We did deep research and collected 10 people into a superfan panel and invited them to Vegas [in mid-March]. In workshops, we asked them what they would expect, what they liked and didn’t like because we respect them. That doesn’t mean we will do everything they say. We will adapt their feedback for the next 50 years.
We’re going to do a superfan panel with Avicii, too. His parents are very close to me personally since I signed Avicii in 2010. I am probably the person who is saying, “Do as little as possible.” There are a lot of things Avicii never released, and we are doing Avicii Forever, a collection of his best songs — and one new song.
What’s a challenge you encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it?
The first decade of the century was a true roller coaster for me, but also for everyone in the music industry. It started with the best year ever selling CDs, then came Napster, LimeWire and, eventually, Pirate Bay. Sweden was the most pirated country in the world, and I had to restructure Sony Music Nordic. Then came the merger between Sony Music and BMG, and I moved to Universal Music Nordic. I had to let more than 300 people go, and the music market in Sweden decreased 50%. We tried everything to overcome the shrinking market: ringtones, iTunes and many more. Nothing compensated. When I joined Universal in April 2008, UM Sweden had the lowest digital revenue based on micro [gross domestic product]. Spotify was launched that October, and I decided to go all-in and sign as many new and established artists as possible: Avicii, Alesso, Tove Lo and many more. In 2013, Universal Music Sweden had the highest digital revenue on micro GDP in the [entirety] of Universal Music.
What are you most proud of from your career?
Every artist you sign to a label you feel in some way connected to them. I don’t think they always feel connected to you, but to sign an artist or band is such an important decision [for everyone involved]. Even though I’ve left Sony and Universal, I continue to follow the careers of the artists I signed. It’s emotional. It’s about creating an entertainment brand or artist who can live on their creativity. It’s fantastic.
Federal prosecutors are flatly rejecting Lil Durk’s “false narrative” that they’re unfairly using his lyrics against him, arguing in court filings that the rapper is indicted because of a “brazen murder plot” and not because of his music.
Weeks after the feds removed all musical references from the case, they urged a federal judge Monday to reject Durk’s bid to dismiss the charges, arguing there are still more than enough in the allegations beyond the now-deleted lyrics.
“The indictment charges that defendant directed and financed six hitmen to travel across the country to hunt and kill his rival,” prosecutors write. “Defendant is not on trial for his lyrics or his music; he is on trial because he directed, orchestrated, and financed the brazen murder plot at issue in this case.”
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Durk (Durk Banks) was arrested in October on murder-for-hire and gun charges over allegations that the Chicago drill star ordered members of his Only the Family (OTF) crew to carry out a 2022 attack on rival rapper Quando Rondo (Tyquian Bowman) that left another man (Saviay’a Robinson) dead.
Lawyers for the rapper have argued that prosecutors used the lyrics as “false evidence” to persuade a grand jury to indict him – and his family has spoken out that he’s latest rapper to be “criminalized for their creativity.” The use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence is a controversial practice that has drawn backlash in recent years.
But in Monday’s response, prosecutors call Durk’s arguments “meritless” and “moot” in light of the new indictment with the lyrics removed, which a grand jury also endorsed.
“The [new indictment] makes clear that the grand jury indicted defendant for his conduct, not for his status as a rapper or because of the violent lyrics,” the feds say. “These allegations make clear that defendant used his power, his wealth, and his control over OTF to exact deadly revenge on his rival.”
When Durk was first indicted last year, prosecutors cited lyrics from a song called “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy,” claiming they referenced the shooting: “Told me they got an addy (go, go)/ Got location (go, go)/ Green light (go, go, go, go, go),” Durk raps in the disputed track. “Look on the news and see your son/You screamin’, “No, no” (pu–y).”
But Durk’s lawyers sharply pushed back — arguing that “Wonderful Wayne” could not have referenced the Rondo shooting because the rapper wrote and recorded his verses “seven months before the incident even happened.” In April, prosecutors filed a so-called superseding indictment that removed the lyrics.
Monday’s court filing, while focused on the removal of the lyrics, also strongly defends their use in the first place. The feds say Durk has “repeatedly used his pulpit to promote violence” and that the lyrics bear a striking resemblance to the facts of the case.
“Whether or not defendant’s lyrics about ‘greenlighting’ a rival were written before or after S.R.’s death, the release of the song after the murder gave defendant’s fans fodder to associate him with the murder — a claim that defendant himself seemed to admit during an interview on a popular podcast,” the feds write.
In addition to seeking to dismiss the case, Durk is also continuing to seek pre-trial release. Though it was denied by a magistrate judge earlier this month, his attorneys have indicated they will ask a district judge to reconsider the issue. The rapper is currently scheduled to face trial in October.
Sony Music Publishing returned to No. 1 on the Hot 100 Songs and Top Radio Airplay charts in the first quarter, regaining ground it lost to Warner Chappell Music at the end of last year.
The publisher regained the top spot on Top Radio Airplay — which it had held for 14 consecutive quarters until the fourth quarter of 2024 — with 27.61% of the market and clinched No. 1 on Hot 100 Songs with 28.31%, thanks to its share of a whopping 73 songs on both charts, including the No. 1s on each: “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars on the former and “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA on the latter. Lamar also ranked as the quarter’s top Hot 100 Songs writer.
Warner Chappell dropped to No. 2 (22.45%) on Top Radio Airplay and to No. 3 on Hot 100 Songs (20.52%) with stakes in 61 and 62 songs, respectively. The No. 1 Top Radio Airplay songwriter, Amy Allen, co-wrote eight of those tracks, including the Sabrina Carpenter hits “Espresso” and “Taste,” as well as the Rosé and Bruno Mars smash, “APT.”
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Universal Music Publishing Group rose one position to No. 2 on Hot 100 Songs due to a dramatic quarter-to-quarter market-share surge from 19.92% to 25.04%. Its strong showing was fueled by Lamar, who wrote or co-wrote eight songs on that chart.
Kobalt and BMG remained steady at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on both rankings despite Hot 100 Songs market-share declines. Kobalt dropped from 10.89% to 8.23% quarter to quarter, and BMG fell from 4.67% to 3.64%. Each has a piece of “Die With a Smile,” which helped maintain their positions as the top indie publishers in the rankings.
For the last three months of 2024, Pulse finished ninth on Top Radio Airplay and fell short of the Hot 100 Songs top 10. It has made significant gains since then, ranking at No. 6 on the former and at No. 8 on the latter, thanks to the continued success of Koe Wetzel’s “High Road,” which finished the first quarter at No. 13 on Top Radio Airplay and No. 32 on Hot 100 Songs. Pulse also benefited from shares of five other Top Radio Airplay hits in the first quarter and six more for Hot 100 Songs.
Recognition Music, previously known as Hipgnosis Songs Group, rose one position on Hot 100 Songs to No. 7 but fell one spot on Top Radio Airplay. Its shares of songs included “Espresso” and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” both holdover hits from 2024.
First-timers on the rankings are Whooping Crane Music and Mothership Music, which took the ninth and 10th spots, respectively, on Hot 100 Songs. The former had a share in the No. 14 song, Lamar’s “Squabble Up.” The latter is the home of Latin alt-rock band The Marías, who, after years of building a fan base, have begun to break into the mainstream. This year, their song “No One Noticed” went viral and hit No. 34 on the Hot 100 in the first quarter. The act also appears on Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s “Ojos Tristes.”
Additional reporting by Ed Christman.
Avex Music Group (AMG) announced on Tuesday (May 20) that it has signed fast-rising producer Elkan to a global publishing deal. Additionally, AMG has partnered with Elkan on his JV publishing company, Toibox by Elkan. Under the new deal, Elkan’s catalog, including previous works and future output, will be published through AMG. Already this year, […]
Post Malone is opposing an attempt by his ex to move their nearly three-year-old daughter permanently to California, saying in a new court filing that the child has lived in Utah most of her life and should remain a resident there.
The star (Austin Richard Post) filed a motion Monday (May 19) to dismiss the custody petition brought in Los Angeles court last month by his ex, Hee Sung “Jamie” Park. Post and Park share a child, referred to anonymously in court filings as “DDP,” who was born in May 2022.
According to the motion, the family lived together in Utah until Post and Park ended their relationship this past November. Park then decided to relocate to Los Angeles, and Post says he agreed to share custody and move the child between California and Utah every two weeks.
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In April, however, Post says he learned that Park was planning to file for primary physical custody and change their daughter’s residence to California. Park “rushed to enroll DDP in every type of activity she can” in Los Angeles to demonstrate the child’s residence there, Post claims, even though he says DDP’s nanny and doctor are in Utah and she has long attended daycare, music classes and swimming lessons there.
Post filed a paternity action in Utah on April 14 after learning of Park’s plans, he says. Park then brought her California petition for primary custody two days later, and the singer alleges Park’s petition “intentionally misleads” the Los Angeles judge by failing to mention that the child has lived in Utah nearly her whole life.
“I do intend to work cooperatively with Jamie to ensure that DDP has frequent and equal custodial time with her mother,” wrote Post in his declaration. “I do not consent to Jamie’s back door attempt to change DDP’s residence from Utah to California. I request that the California court admonish Jamie for her lack of candor, gamesmanship in attempting to forum shop, and her intentional action to try to mislead the court about DDP’s home.”
Post wants the California custody petition dismissed. He says the former couple’s dispute should be resolved in Utah, where he was the first to bring a custody action and where their daughter has spent nearly three years.
“Jamie’s conduct of attempting to forum shop to change DDP’s home state without Post’s consent or a Utah court order should not be condoned by the California court,” wrote Post’s attorney, Laura Wasser. “California law provides that, under the facts of this case, DDP’s home state is Utah, and subject matter jurisdiction over her custody remains with the Utah court.”
A judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court is scheduled to consider Post’s dismissal motion in late July. Park’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
Post is currently headlining his Big Ass Stadium Tour and is next scheduled to play U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Tuesday (May 20).
Salt-N-Pepa is taking Universal Music Group (UMG) to court to regain control of the duo’s masters, alleging in a new lawsuit that the record label is refusing to honor copyright clawback rights and has instead “punished” the legendary hip-hop act by removing some of its music from streaming.
The lawsuit, filed Monday (May 19) in New York federal court, accuses UMG of ignoring Salt-N-Pepa’s so-called “termination rights” under Section 203 of the Copyright Act. This provision allows artists who sign over their master recordings to regain control of that intellectual property 35 years after a song’s release.
UMG owns Salt-N-Pepa’s masters per two contracts that the “Push It” singers, Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton, signed with UMG subsidiaries Next Plateau Records and London Records in 1986 and 1992.
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Salt-N-Pepa served UMG with a notice of termination rights in 2022, claiming its albums Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986) and A Salt With A Deadly Pepa (1988) were both up for copyright termination in 2024. The duo also said Blacks’ Magic (1990) and A Blitz of Salt-N-Pepa Hits (1990) are up in 2025 and that Very Necessary (1993) — which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 — is up in 2026 alongside The Greatest Hits (1991).
But UMG allegedly rejected Salt-N-Pepa’s notice as “invalid and ineffective,” claiming termination rights do not apply because the albums were “works made for hire.” UMG then took Hot, Cool & Vicious and A Salt With A Deadly Pepa down from streaming, a move Salt-N-Pepa describes as “punishing” the group by holding their music “hostage.”
“UMG has, in fact, halted exploitation of the relevant sound recordings in the United States, thereby effectively demonetizing plaintiffs’ catalogue,” wrote Salt-N-Pepa’s attorneys from the law firm Blank Rome. “This is an effort by UMG to pressure plaintiffs into giving up on their effort to recoup their rights to their sound recordings. Plaintiffs are not willing to do so.”
Salt-N-Pepa’s lawyers say that contrary to what UMG is claiming, nothing in the duo’s original contracts with Next Plateau Records and London Records defined its music as “works made for hire.” UMG therefore “makes no legitimate argument against the effectiveness of the notices of termination,” alleges the lawsuit.
“UMG appears to take the position that it can unilaterally decide when and/or if a recording artist is entitled to termination,” wrote the Blank Rome team. “This is not the law, and UMG does not have this power.”
Salt-N-Pepa is asking the court to declare the duo’s termination rights valid and award it control of the masters. The duo is also seeking monetary damages for UMG’s alleged wrongdoing in an amount “believed to well exceed $1 million.”
The lawsuit comes just months before Salt-N-Pepa is due to become the second-ever female hip-hop act to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this November. The group’s legal reps say in a statement, “This fight is about more than contracts — it’s about legacy, justice and the future of artist ownership.”
“In a stunning act of retaliation, UMG has pulled their songs from all major platforms in the U.S., punishing them for asserting those rights and silencing decades of culture-shifting work,” the reps add. “Like many artists, they’re challenging a system that profits from their work while denying them control.”
Representatives from UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.
This is not the first time UMG has been pulled into court over termination rights. The label and Sony Music Entertainment both inked class action settlements last year over years of closely-watched litigation, in which recording artists sought to win back control of their masters en masse.
Individual artists have also brought one-off lawsuits over termination rights, such as a case that 2 Live Crew won at trial against a small record label last year. The provision also played a significant role in Cher’s royalty battle with Sonny Bono’s widow, in which a judge ruled that termination rights didn’t trump the couple’s divorce settlement.
LONDON — Dua Lipa has been named as the U.K.’s most-played artist across radio, TV and public places in 2024, surpassing Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and more. This is the second time she has achieved the feat, having first done so in 2020.
On Tuesday (May 20) collection society PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) shared its annual report into the U.K.’s most played music over the past year, with its data reporting the music played on radio, TV and in public places across the UK, including shops, bars, restaurants, gyms, offices and more.
Lipa, who released her third album Radical Optimism in 2024, also features in the most-played songs list, with “Houdini” named as the sixth-most played song in the U.K. last year. Speaking to Billboard U.K. as part of the Global No. 1s issue, Lipa said that 2024 was “the best year of my life,” and that she’s “so proud” of the LP and “where it’s brought me.” The album hit No. 1 in the U.K., and No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
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In June 2024, Lipa kicked off her Radical Optimism era with a huge headline slot at Glastonbury Festival in England, which was also broadcast live on the BBC and streamed online globally. Her ongoing tour will head to London’s Wembley Stadium in June, before continuing into North America this fall.
Data released by PPL says that Lipa’s music is played on average 400 times a day, with her 2018 hit “One Kiss” averaging 55 plays per day across UK radio and TV. Ed Sheeran was 2023’s most-played artist, and has claimed the prize seven of the past 10 years.
Seven of the top 10 artists in the PPL’s list were British, with Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, David Guetta, Coldplay, Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande, Elton John, Becky Hill, and Harry Styles all placing behind Lipa in the top spot, respectively.
Elsewhere, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” was named as the U.K.’s most-played song in 2024, with a number of international superstars dominating the top 10. Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” Dasha’s “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” and Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” round out the top five.
Alongside Dasha’s triumph, country songs perform well overall perform, with Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (No. 7), Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” (No. 11) and Post Malone’s team-up with Morgan Wallen “I Had Some Help” (No. 12) all appearing in the data.
Peter Leathem OBE, PPL CEO, said: “Congratulations once again to Dua Lipa for leading PPL’s Most Played Artist Chart, and to Noah Kahan for securing the most played track of the year. British artists continue to perform well, making up 70% of the Top 10 – proving they have staying power across the nation’s broadcasters, businesses and public spaces. It is also fantastic to see fresh UK talent such as Myles Smith make a big splash in the top five most played tracks, showing there is plenty of promise in UK music going forward.”
PPL Most Played Tracks 2024
Noah Kahan, “Stick Season”
Teddy Swims, “Lose Control”
Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things”
Dasha, “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)”
Myles Smith, “Stargazing”
Dua Lipa, “Houdini”
Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso”
Hozier, “Too Sweet”
Coldplay, “Feelslikeimfallinginlove”
Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard continued her testimony Monday at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial, telling jurors that the rapper would “frequently” assault Cassie Ventura — including once at a restaurant in front of Usher and other celebrities.
The testimony from Richard, who rose to fame on Combs’ MTV reality show Making the Band, kicked off the second week of Combs’ criminal trial, in which the music mogul is accused of coercing Ventura and others into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.”
Days after she told the jury that she witnessed Combs abusing Ventura — including once trying to attack her with a skillet — Richard recounted other alleged assaults, according to CNN, The New York Times and other media reports.
In one alleged incident, she testified that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach at a Los Angeles restaurant where Usher and other celebrities were present. “She immediately bent over, he [Combs] told her to leave,” Richard testified, according to People. “No one intervened.”
A rep for Usher did not immediately return a request for comment from Billboard. The New York Post reported that Richard’s testimony left it “unclear” if Usher and other A-listers present had actually witnessed the alleged attack.
Later on Monday (May 19), Richard was grilled by defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland over apparent inconsistencies in her testimony, including the infamous skillet statements. In one such exchange, defense attorney pressed Richard about changes in her recollections about Combs’ drug use.
“You would agree with me that as time progresses your story changes,” Ms. Westmoreland asked. “Yes,” Richard replied.
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events in which Combs and others allegedly pressured Ventura and other victims into having sex with escorts while he watched and masturbated. Prosecutors also say the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control.
Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.
During opening statements last week, defense attorneys told jurors that Ventura and other women had consensually taken part in the sex parties. They admitted that Combs had committed domestic violence during his and Ventura’s “toxic” relationship and had unusual sexual preferences, but that he had never coerced her into participating in his “swinger” lifestyle.
Ventura, the prosecution’s star witness, spent four days on the stand last week detailing how Combs allegedly controlled and physically abused her during their 11-year relationship.
After Richard wrapped up on Monday, Ventura’s longtime friend Kerry Morgan took the stand, testifying about multiple incidents in which she says she saw Combs attack Ventura. In one, she said Combs entered a bathroom and that she could hear Ventura screaming.
“It was guttural, terrifying. I heard her screaming so I went to the long hallway, they were coming out of the master bedroom and he was dragging her by her hair,” Morgan said, according to NBC News.
Later in the afternoon, jurors heard from David James, a former assistant to Combs, who testified that he once told Ventura she should leave the superstar, but that she felt she was unable to do so.
“I can’t. I can’t get out,” James said Ventura told him, citing the fact that he controlled her music career, paid for her lodgings and was her source of income: “I just didn’t think that she could easily leave.”
The trial is expected to pick up again on Tuesday (May 20) with more testimony from James. The proceedings are expected to last until early July.