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The Country Radio Broadcasters/Country Radio Seminar board of directors has made two significant updates to the eligibility and selection criteria for its annual New Faces of Country Music Show.
Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart has been introduced as a qualifying measure for New Faces eligibility, joining the existing Mediabase Country Chart published in Country Aircheck. The expanded chart criterion incorporates digital sales and streaming data alongside terrestrial radio airplay to offer a more comprehensive view of music performance metrics.
RJ Curtis, executive director at Country Radio Broadcasters, said in a statement: “The revised New Faces Show chart criteria more broadly reflects how our music is being exposed and consumed in 2024, and how its performance is measured. While radio airplay continues to be the critically important calculation for artist success, digital sales and streaming data are also important, accurate factors in identifying the rising New Faces and voices in country music.”
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The second update places the responsibility of determining artist eligibility and management of the submission process on record labels and artist representatives. Representatives will now confirm that artists meet the minimum criteria, submit their names for ballot inclusion, and verify artist availability and willingness to perform if selected.
This shift is also aimed at increasing the level of industry involvement and accountability, ensuring artists chosen reflect the current and future landscape of country music. The new criteria are in effect for the Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 27, 2025, qualification period, which will impact the New Faces of Country Music Show lineup for the Country Radio Seminar 2026.
Artists must have at least one but no more than five top 25 singles on Country Aircheck‘s Mediabase Country Chart or Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart during the qualification period. Voter eligibility requirements state that “voters must be full-time employees in programming, promotion, or distribution of country music, excluding those with vested interests in individual artists.”
The ballot will include all qualifying artists submitted by their representatives, with artists listed in alphabetical order. Ballots will be reported to and approved by the Country Radio Broadcasters executive committee before final selections are made.
The 2024 New Faces of Country Music Show, held during March’s Country Radio Seminar, featured artists Megan Moroney, George Birge, Dillon Carmichael, Corey Kent and Conner Smith. Since its inception in 1970, the show has put some of country music’s brightest new talents in the spotlight, including Tim McGraw, George Strait, Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Jelly Roll.
TikTok took another step to integrate itself deeper into the music streaming ecosystem on Thursday (Nov. 7), as Spotify and Apple Music users gained the ability to easily share songs on the short-form video app — posting them to their For You Page, for example, or sharing them via DM.
When TikTok’s popularity exploded in 2019 and 2020, it seemed like a competitor to many of the older streaming services. Suddenly users didn’t want to leave the addictive short-form video app to listen to songs elsewhere. TikTok proved to be especially effective at driving music discovery for younger listeners.
So it wasn’t surprising that, when Spotify celebrated new features at its Stream On event in 2023, executives poked at TikTok — “There’s a disconnect between where music is being teased and where music is actually being streamed,” for example — without naming it. In recent months, however, two platforms that once looked like rivals appear increasingly interested in collaboration.
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In November 2023, TikTok unveiled the “Add to Music App” to serve as “a direct link between discovery on TikTok and consumption on a music streaming service, making it easier than ever for music fans to enjoy the full lengthy song on the music streaming service of their choice,” as Ole Obermann, TikTok’s global head of music business development, said in a statement at the time. In addition, TikTok shuttered its own streaming service, TikTok Music, in September.
At the same time, Spotify has said it is newly focused on finding ways for users to share the music they love. For a long time, “sharing was generally seen as an afterthought to the core features on the Spotify platform,” Priscilla Chan, associate director on the business development team, explained in a blog post in September.
“Now, these partnerships and features are vitally important drivers of the viral loop of growth for Spotify,” she continued. It’s all part of the platform’s goal of “being everywhere where our existing and potential users are” to “extend our global reach.”
As iHeartMedia deals with weak advertising trends and another round of layoffs, the country’s largest broadcast radio company will save $200 million in 2025 compared with 2024 and has renegotiated 80% of its long-term debt, the company revealed on Thursday (Nov. 7) in its third-quarter earnings release.
The debt “exchange offers,” which are expected to close by the end of the year, will extend the majority of iHeartMedia’s debt maturities by three years, allow cash interest expense to “remain essentially flat,” and provide for “some overall debt reduction,” CEO Bob Pittman said during an earnings call. “The transaction support agreement marks an important step in our effort to optimize our balance sheet, and it provides the company with the flexibility to remain focused on iHeart’s transformation.”
The disclosure about cost savings and revamped debt comes days after news broke that iHeartMedia had laid off dozens — hundreds, according to one report — of staffers from radio stations around the country. Pittman called the layoffs part of iHeartMedia’s “modernization journey” that will create a flatter organization, eliminate redundancies and make it easier to do business with the company. Those cuts add to three rounds of layoffs in 2020 as the radio business struggled with an advertising slump during the first year of the pandemic.
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Throughout the earnings call, Pittman and CFO/COO Rich Bressler underscored the company’s embrace of technology to make improvements and cut costs. “Technology is the key to increasing our operating leverage and is a constant focus for us,” said Pittman. “It allows us to speed up processes, streamline legacy systems and it enables our folks to create more, better and faster.” Technology alone will reduce annual expenses by $150 million in 2025, he said, while measures taken earlier this year will bring the total annual savings to $200 million.
In explaining how iHeartMedia uses technology to save such a large sum of money, Pittman gave the example of expanding the reach of on-air talent. “What we’re able to do now, because we’ve got technology, is we can take talent we have in any location and put them on the air in another location,” he explained. “So it allows us to substantially upgrade the quality of our talent in every single market we’re in and allows us to project talent into the situations in which you’re going to have the best impact.”
As for the financial performance, iHeartMedia’s third-quarter revenue increased 5.8% to $1.01 billion, meeting the company’s prior guidance of mid-single-digit growth. Excluding political revenue, revenue was up 2.0%. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a common measure of operating profitability, was flat at $204 million and fell on the low end of the guidance range of $200 million to $220 million.
At iHeartMedia’s multi-platform group, which includes broadcast stations and radio networks, revenue fell 1.1% to $619.5 million and adjusted EBITDA dipped 20.1% to $129.9 million. Broadcast revenue dropped 1.4% due to lower spot revenue but was helped by an increase in political advertising.
The digital audio group, which includes podcasts and iHeartMedia’s digital service, saw its revenue jump 12.7% to $301 million and its adjusted EBITDA improve 6.8% to $100 million. Podcast revenue grew 11.1% to $114 million. Audio and media services revenue rose 45.3% to $90 million due to the political advertising spending for the recent national and local elections.
iHeartMedia’s Q3 2024 financial metrics:
Revenue: up 5.8% to $1.01 billion
Adjusted EBITDA: flat at $204 million
Net loss: up 360% to $41.3 million
Free cash flow: up 8.4% to $73.3 million
Rapper Plies is suing Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, Cardi B and Souja Boy for copyright infringement over allegations that the 2024 song “Wanna Be” features an uncleared sample from his 2008 track “Me & My Goons.”
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court, says the Megan and GloRilla stole Plies’ material indirectly – that they used a legally-licensed sample of a Soulja Boy song that itself illegally borrowed from “Goons.”
“Defendant Soulja Boy authorized Megan thee Stallion and GloRilla to sample [his song,]” lawyers for Plies write. “[Wanna Be] incorporates substantial elements of the copyrighted material underlying ‘Me & My Goons,’ without authorization from plaintiffs.”
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“Wanna Be,” released by Megan and GloRilla in early April, debuted at No. 11 on the Hot 100. A remix, featuring Cardi, was released in late May. The song features a prominent sample of Soulja Boy’s 2010 track “Pretty Boy Swag,” which spent 16 weeks on the chart that summer.
Plies (Algernod Washington), best known for his 2007 singles “Shawty” and “Hypnotized,” names all four stars (Megan Pete, Gloria Woods, Belcalis Almanzar and Deandre Way) as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as various companies and labels allegedly involved in the song.
Reps for the defendants did not immediately return requests for comment.
Lawsuits like the one Plies filed Wednesday – claiming that a legal sample featured an unlicensed sample – sound strange but aren’t uncommon. In the modern music industry, all samples in major releases are strictly cleared, and even borderline interpolations are often licensed to avoid any risk of litigation. But copyrighted material featured within the sampled songs can be trickier to identify.
Last month, a lawsuit filed by Barry White’s estate claimed that Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” sampled from a 1980s hip-hop song that had ripped off White’s music. And in May, a little known New Orleans group sued Beyoncé for the same thing over a sample of Big Freedia featured in “Break My Soul,” though they dropped the case several months later. White’s case remains pending; the case against Beyoncé was quickly dropped.
Read the entire lawsuit here:
Is the music business, traditionally an arbiter of cool, out of touch with U.S. consumers? It’s a tough question to ask — and a tough time to ask it. But if you compare the results of the presidential election with the politics of artists and executives, it’s hard not to.
The dominant mood among people I know is shock at the scale of Donald Trump’s victory — most expected a race so close that ballot-counting would continue all week — and an unsettling feeling that the U.S. is not the country we thought it was. What happened and why will be discussed for years. There’s also a more immediate question: Why didn’t more people see this coming?
Part of the reason is that this still seems so weird — I’m old enough to remember when talking about a professional golfer’s private parts would have been disqualifying in politics, let alone the Republican party. But part of it is that, unintentionally, many people in the media business now live in a bit of a bubble. I’m one of them: I live in Berlin and spend most of my time in the U.S. in or near New York, and I read The New York Times and The New Yorker. When it comes to music, none of my favorite artists supported Trump, and one, Bruce Springsteen, actively campaigned against him. Some of the biggest musicians in the world also supported Kamala Harris — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter — as did most music executives. Many of them must share my surprise.
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Are they — are we — too detached from the mainstream?
A significant number of Trump supporters are right-wing racists — certainly enough to make one worry. But it’s hard to make the case that Trump supporters are extremists if they account for more than half the vote. By definition, they’re mainstream. Worryingly, the Democrats don’t seem to know how to talk to them in a way that addresses their concerns. Calling them deplorables didn’t work, and making the case that Trump would be a disaster for democracy didn’t, either. (Democracy means that people vote for their leaders — it doesn’t mean that they vote for the leaders you want.) The Democrats focus more on what people can do for their country at a time voters seem more interested in what their country can do for them. Ideas are important, but many people seem more focused on the affordability of groceries.
For whatever reason, it’s now clear that there are more Trump voters than many people, including musicians and music executives, thought. They are also younger and more diverse than people realized. Many of them must listen to pop music. But is the music business listening to them? The idea that it’s controversial just to endorse Trump, without echoing any of his uglier rhetoric, means turning one’s back on more than half of American voters. That’s not how mass marketing works.
The challenge Trump presents to American democracy is far more important than selling music, of course. And I suspect I will get a few emails about how crazy it is to suggest that anyone market music to people who think immigrants are eating cats. But reaching different kinds of people with different kinds of art is what the music business does.
It’s also what politics is supposed to do. Both the music business and politics need to do better at reaching large, diverse audiences. That often means connecting with existing fans, but it has to also mean reaching out to new ones. Often, people simply won’t buy what they’re being sold, whether it’s a new album or a new candidate. But it’s important to have those conversations — both for those of us who want to help elect a new president in four years and those of us who want to argue that this one is going to do a great job.
More and more, politics seems stuck in a loop, in which ideas are marketed to, and cheered, by those who have already decided on them. In music, that’s known as a superfan strategy, and it’s very important. But building one requires reaching new people to turn into fans, or supporters, in the first place.
The rise of DIY music distribution platforms like TuneCore and DistroKid has been unequivocally transformative for artists — it has given them the ability to reach listeners without traditional label constraints.
Yet, while democratization has opened doors for countless artists, it’s also opened the floodgates to an equally pernicious, unintended byproduct — rampant fraud and copyright infringement. For context, Luminate reported that in 2023, over 120,000 new songs were uploaded daily, a sharp increase from 93,000 per day in 2022. The surge is predominantly due to two things: the ubiquity and growth of the DIY distribution sector and the proliferation of consumer-facing music production resources. This relatively nascent landscape has dramatically increased not only the volume of content but also the industry’s exposure to unauthorized and infringing material.
Universal Music Group’s recent $500 million lawsuit against TuneCore and its parent company Believe highlights the severity — as well as a tipping point. The lawsuit asserts that these platforms are illegally profiting from large-scale copyright infringement, where the culprit for disseminating and monetizing the unauthorized IP is both distributor and unethical user alike. Ultimately, this case highlights a broader, systemic failure, exacerbated by insufficient monitoring, accountability and safeguards for control. But the ecosystem has become too big, too unregulated and too profitable for some of its stakeholders to rectify it on their own. Reform is overdue.
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Democratized Distribution
DIY distribution was originally designed to level the playing field, allowing any artist to release music on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. However, open access came with side-effects — most notably, rampant IP abuse. The sector has become a breeding ground for exploitation; malicious users take advantage of the low barrier to entry by uploading pirated, remixed, or slightly modified versions of copyrighted songs. Collectively, these uploads generate significant revenue, with a portion of that going to the distributors who host them.
This is far from an isolated issue. With millions of tracks uploaded annually, there is an immense challenge in verifying every song. While some platforms claim to have anti-fraud systems in place, policing measures frequently fall short. The sheer volume of uploads makes scalable monitoring difficult, in turn creating a laissez-faire approach that indirectly allows infringement to thrive.
YouTube Royalty Collections Unique Challenge
Nowhere is this problem more pervasive than YouTube, where scale and visibility is inherently even more challenging. Some users deliberately circumvent YouTube copyright policies by uploading and distributing pitched remixes, slowed down/sped up remixes or near-identical versions specifically in order to bypass Content ID. Detection is challenging, and most of this infringement goes unnoticed. Even when violations are flagged, recouping misappropriated payments is impossible. Artists are left to navigate an opaque, complicated system and often leave their rights exposed and earnings minimized. For many independent artists, YouTube is a key, significant revenue stream and copyright fraud siphons away that income with little recourse.
Industry-Wide Consequences
Overvaluing volume vs. quality control creates a system ripe for exploitation because the current model often benefits the infringer. But solving the core issue mandates more than increasing lawsuits. There needs to be enforceable quality-control metrics that are clearly communicated and that actively deter fraud, while protecting rights holders. Transparent protocols to ensure flagged content will not generate income for infringers along with improved early detection systems will help standardize accountability and visibility. An enforceable and sustainable safeguard system will:
A. Prevent infringing content from reaching listeners at allB. Mandate greater transparency when infringement occurs, andC. Ensure rightful compensation for rights holders.
Closing the knowledge gap and developing industry-wide standards are also essential for meaningful change. By raising public awareness, providing a forum where artists and rights holders can report infringement and increasing pressure within the industry, the path to reform is achievable — and similar to regulations that have been implemented to curb other forms of online piracy.
A Call for Collective Responsibility
Setting clear deadlines for reform will hold platforms and distributors accountable while improving transparency. Fundamentally, and despite the challenges of volume, even en-masse DIY distributors must showcase a basic respect for IP and prioritize rights holders/artists while identifying (and deterring) the bad actors who undermine them.
With collective, industry-wide efforts, digital music distribution can become a sustainable model that supports independent artists while upholding their rights. A system that empowers artists while maintaining integrity is essential to preserving the value of music and protecting it from exploitation.
George Karalexis is co-founder/CEO of Ten2 Media. His expertise as a media executive, strategic advisor, and serial entrepreneur spans 15-plus years across multi-sector leadership, with a focus on music, marketing strategy and tactical team building. Donna Budica is co-founder/COO of Ten2 Media. With a degree in finance from The Wharton School and an MBA from USC Marshall, she leads corporate strategy and operations at Ten2 and its subsidiaries.
Ten2 Media is a rights management and content marketing company specializing in asset monetization, audience development and content optimization on YouTube. Ten2’s expertise on YouTube and decades of experience in the music Industry is the foundation of its unique approach to maximizing revenue and marketing music for the world’s leading artists and labels.
Billboard, in partnership with AEG Presents and Live Nation, has announced the second round of industry leaders participating in this year’s Billboard Live Music Summit and Awards, taking place on Thursday, Nov. 14 in Los Angeles. Bringing together the brightest stars and leaders in music, the day will be an unparalleled celebration of creativity and achievement in the live space through exclusive panels and conversations.
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The second-round lineup includes:
Inside Global Touring Today: A Conversation with Arthur Fogel & Bobby Campbell: Join Live Nation’s Arthur Fogel as he sits down with artist manager Bobby Campbell to explore the evolution of global touring. From the growing demand for live experiences to advancements in large-scale production, Fogel and Campbell will share insights into how the industry continues to push boundaries and create unforgettable moments for fans around the world.
Trends In Ticketing: The Latest In Innovation and Tools: Sponsored by AXS, this panel will take a deep dive into how artists and their managers are improving the live experience at the point of purchase. Moderated by Greg Schmale from AXS, this panel will include Amanda Gray from Goldenvoice, Katie Nowak from TBA Agency, Thomas Cussins of Ineffable Music and Fielding Logan from Q Prime.
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The Life And Times of Disco Donnie: Veteran dance and EDM promoter James “Disco Donnie” Estopinal sits with Billboard Live Senior Director Dave Brooks to talk about his long career in live music and the future of the fan and artist relationship.
Previously announced talent and industry leaders include:
Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo will be a part of the Superstar Q&A and will receive Billboard’s editorially selected Touring Artist of the Year award.
Louis Messina will be honored with the prestigious Touring Titan Award and recognized as the Executive of the Year in honor of his work producing Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour, as well as tours for Eric Church, George Strait, Kenny Chesney and many more top grossing artists. Following the award presentation, he will sit with Billboard’s Melinda Newman for The Power Players Conversation. Together, they will delve into Messina’s remarkable career, covering his time with Pace Concerts, his work with artists like Tim McGraw, Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes, as well as his plans to build the next generation of touring superstars. This fast-paced, insiders-only conversation will offer attendees a rare glimpse into the business mindset of the 21st century’s most successful concert promoter and showman.
John Summit and his longtime manager Holt Harmon will take part in an exclusive conversation, Inside the Rise of John Summit. Moderated by Billboard’s Katie Bain, the duo will discuss Summit’s explosive rise and the strategy behind it, exploring how the producer went from playing small bars and clubs to becoming one of the leading artists in the global dance scene. They’ll share insights into the creative process behind Summit’s chart-topping hits, the evolving relationship between artists and audiences and the challenges and opportunities DJ’s face in an ever-changing market.
A powerhouse lineup of agents are set to share their insights and expertise during the Agents Power Panel: A New Era of Uncertainty, moderated by Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz, and featuring industry heavyweights like Avery McTaggart of TBA Agency, Brent Smith from Wasserman, David Zedeck of UTA, Jarred Arfa from IAG, as well as Kirk Sommer from WME and Rick Roskin representing CAA. This panel is sponsored by Allegiant Stadium and a must-attend session for anyone involved in talent booking. The Agency Power panel will cover all things related to artist development and representation with a focus on building superstar talent for a growing global audience.
L-Acoustics, the leader in professional audio technologies, is sponsoring the The Immersive Experience: The Future of Sound, Visual and Interactive Programming at Festivals panel. A distinguished group of executives will take center stage to discuss how innovations in sound, video and immersive media are transforming the festival experience. Moderated by Amber Mundinger (L-Acoustics Global Director of Artistic Engagement), the panel features Dave Rat, President of Rat Sound Systems, Polygon’s David Lopez de Arenosa, and WME’s Josh Kurfirst. They will explore the critical role of sound design and technology, including deploying large-scale spatial audio, immersive sound and projection mapping. From deep diving into Electric Forest’s sellout success to new initiatives for developing artists, the Festivals of the Future panel will serve as a roadmap for the next generation of experienced creators.
The Live Music Awards, which will honor touring acts as well as some of the visionary executives behind them, are based on a number of criteria ranging from revenue to tour demand, production, technical ambition, fan engagement, momentum and cultural impact.
Programmed by Brooks, who has worked at Billboard since 2017, the Billboard Live Music Summit and Awards will bring an unforgettable experience, spotlighting some of the biggest names in music and emerging artists who are shaping the future of the industry. The event will feature a series of keynote panels as well as the Billboard Live Music Awards, honoring artists and industry professionals who have made significant contributions to the world of live music.
In addition to exclusive panels and conversations with the brightest stars and industry leaders, the summit will feature insightful panels with leading figures from AEG Presents and Live Nation, exploring trends, challenges, and innovations in the live music sector. The summit aims to foster dialogue and inspire future developments in the industry.
Additional information will be distributed in the coming weeks. For more information on this year’s Billboard Live Music Summit and Awards, visit billboardlivemusicsummit.com.
Deezer has appointed Pedro Kurtz as director of operations for the Americas, Billboard can exclusively announce today (Nov. 7). Kurtz—who joined the company in 2020 as head of music in Brazil and served as director of content for LATAM—will be based at Deezer’s Brazil headquarters in São Paulo and report directly to the global team […]
WK Records has appointed Azucena “Azu” Olvera as GM, the company tells Billboard. According to the label, which was founded in 2020 by executive Walter Kolm, Olvera will leverage her “extensive expertise in talent relations, A&R, global marketing and strategic partnerships to further WK Records’ mission of cultivating groundbreaking music and elevating Latin artists on […]
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has reached a deal with federal prosecutors after his recent arrest over alleged violations of his supervised release, agreeing to spend a month in prison and another under house arrest.
The rapper was charged last week with breaking the terms of his years-long probation, which stems from a 2018 plea deal he struck with prosecutors over his involvement with a gang called Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.
In a letter to the judge filed Tuesday, federal prosecutors said Tekashi had agreed to admit to the probation violations and serve one month in prison, followed by a month of home incarceration, a month of less-restrictive home detention, and then finally a month of curfew.
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The deal will also extend Tekashi’s supervised release — which had been set to expire in six months – to a full year following his release from prison. The rapper’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
Once a rising star in the world of hip-hop and social media, Tekashi was charged in November 2018 with federal racketeering and murder conspiracy charges over his involvement with a New York street gang called Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. Prosecutors claimed the gang “wreaked havoc on New York City” by “engaging in brazen acts of violence.”
But just a day after being arrested, Tekashi cut a deal with federal prosecutors to flip on his crew in return for lenience. Taking the witness stand during a 2019 trial, he offered detailed and frank testimony about his involvement in the gang and his former gang mates.
Under the deal with prosecutors, Tekashi was sentenced to two years in prison and five years of supervised release and ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service and pay a $35,000 fine.
The sentence was set to run until July 2020, but Tekashi was released early, in April 2020, after his attorneys argued that the coronavirus pandemic posed an increased risk to him because he has asthma.
Last week, prosecutors alleged that Tekashi had violated his release conditions on numerous occasions, including by traveling to Las Vegas without permission, failing to submit for drug testing and testing positive for methamphetamine.
At his arraignment hearing, the rapper pleaded not guilty and his attorney argued that the failed drug test was from the use of prescribed Adderall. But the judge was unswayed and ordered him jailed until his next court date, citing a “broader pattern” of misconduct during parole that the judge said suggests a “full spectrum disregard for the law.”
Following Tuesday’s agreement, the judge ordered both sides to appear at a hearing next week (Nov. 12) to explain the plea deal and why the sentence “reflects the proper sentence for these violations.”