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The arbitration process governing SESAC’s performance license rates has determined that for the 2023-2026 licensing period, a blanket fee of 0.2824% of revenue — or a 10.4% increase from the prior period’s rate of 0.2557% of revenue — will be set, according to a press release from the Radio Music License Committee (RLMC).
The rate represents the amount SESAC, a performing rights organization (PRO), can charge stations in exchange for playing works from their repertory over terrestrial radio.
Each side characterized the final rate determination differently, with the RLMC claiming victory because the arbitration panel rejected SESAC’s efforts to more than double the rate, and also substantially expand the license revenue base. But SESAC says the arbitration award reflects a failure by the RLMC in its attempt to lower the rate.
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The rate decision is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2023, which means that stations paying the SESAC interim licensing fee at 2022 rates will receive “a modest true-up adjustment.” The arbitration process governing SESAC’s rates came about as a result of a 2015 RMLC antitrust litigation settlement with SESAC that set forth a rate arbitration process for the next 20 years.
The RMLC announcement claims SESAC sought to justify its efforts to increase rates and expand the licensing revenue base by relying upon rates set for other music licensors.
Meanwhile, SESAC’s statement on the determination says the RMLC failed in its attempt to tie SESAC’s rates to those of BMI and ASCAP, the two U.S. PROs, which operate under consent decrees that mandate a rate trial in the Southern District of New York when negotiations fail.
“Despite the fact that no increase was warranted, the arbitration decision reported here constitutes a significant victory for RMLC-represented radio stations given SESAC’s demands, and comes at a challenging economic time for the industry,” RMLC chairman Ed Atsinger said in a statement. “The RMLC intends to continue to defend and protect the interests of its members at a time when all of the performing right organizations are seeking to aggressively increase their fees.”
In another aspect of the rate determination, the RLMC said that “long-form license terms are still being worked out but it is expected that the non-music format stations will continue to pay the same 77.5% discount” off of the above music stations’ headline rate. Mathematically speaking, that means the RMLC expects that the non-music rate fee will be set at 0.06354% of revenue, or a 10.5% increase from the prior rate of 0.0575%, Billboard estimates.
“The arbitration award reflects another failure of the RMLC to impose regulated rates on SESAC since SESAC and the RMLC concluded their settlement in 2015,” SESAC performing rights president and CEO Scott Jungmichel said in a statement. “The panel awarded SESAC an over 10% increase while rejecting the RMLC’s attempts to lower the rate, turn back the clock, and yoke SESAC to the regulated rates paid by ASCAP and BMI. In addition, the revenue base subject to the fee is significantly greater than the revenue upon which station groups had sought to pay under the 2017 award.”
Lady Gaga endorsed Kamala Harris on social media Sunday (Nov. 3), when it was announced she’ll be headlining the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign rally in Philadelphia on Monday (Nov. 4), the eve before the election. Katy Perry leads the lineup of the VP’s Pittsburgh rally on the same day.
“It’s time to get ready to vote. I’ll see you guys in Pennsylvania,” Gaga said in a video posted on Instagram Sunday, soon after the lineup for Harris’ Philadelphia rally, as well as the lineup for her Pittsburgh rally, was released. The pop star’s clip was captioned with “HARRIS WALZ 2024!!”
Lady Gaga will support the Harris-Walz campaign in Philly on Monday (Nov. 4) as the Vice President holds her final campaign events, the Vote for Freedom rallies, which will be livestreamed. Gaga was announced as a headlining musical guest, along with Ricky Martin, The Roots, Jazmine Sullivan, DJ Cassidy and Adam Blackstone. Oprah Winfrey, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fat Joe are on the lineup as guest speakers.
The Nov. 4 Philadelphia rally will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. ET at The Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Those interested in attending can RSVP online here.
Katy Perry, Andra Day, D-Nice and DJ Arie Cole are the musical guests set to headline Harris’ rally in Pittsburgh, also happening in the evening on Monday (Nov. 4).
Those who’d like to attend the Western Pennsylvania event, to be held at the Carrie Blast Furnaces, can RSVP here.
This weekend, Harris made a cameo on Saturday Night Live. She appeared live in an election pep talk sketch during the Nov. 2 episode’s cold open — opposite Maya Rudolph, who was portraying her. Rudolph’s Kamala Harris, preparing a speech, looks into a mirror and sees the real Kamala Harris. “It’s nice to see you, Kamala,” says her reflection (the true Harris). “I’m just here to remind you that you got this — because you can do something your opponent cannot: open doors.”
See Gaga’s endorsement of Harris in her video below, a reminder to vote that was shared with the singer’s 57 million followers on Instagram.
Tyler, the Creator scores his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as his new studio effort, CHROMAKOPIA, arrives atop the tally (dated Nov. 9). The set launches with 299,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 31 — his best week ever in terms of units. Its starting sum — the sixth-largest debut of 2024 — is also notable because the album arrived on an off-cycle Monday (Oct. 28), and thus only had four days of activity in its first chart tracking week. (Most albums are released on a Friday, giving them a full seven days of activity in their opening chart week.)
The album was announced on Oct. 17, slightly more than 10 days before its release on Oct. 28.
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CHROMAKOPIA also claims Tyler, the Creator’s biggest streaming week ever for an album, and largest sales week ever — again, after only four days of availability. Streams and sales were so strong for the set, it would have been No. 1 off streams alone, or solely on sales.
He previously hit No. 1 on the chart with his last two releases, Call Me If You Get Lost (in 2021) and Igor (in 2019). In total, CHROMAKOPIA marks his seventh top 10-charting set on the Billboard 200 — the entirety of his charting efforts.
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Halsey logs her fifth top two-charting set as The Great Impersonator debuts at No. 2, Kelsea Ballerini achieves her highest-charting album ever as Patterns opens at No. 4 and Eminem’s chart-topping The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) vaults 44-6 after its vinyl release.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Nov. 9, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday, Nov. 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of CHROMAKOPIA’s 299,500 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 157,000 (equaling 212.55 million on-demand official streams of the 14 songs on the streaming edition of the album, his best streaming week ever; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 142,000 (his best sales week ever; it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart) and TEA units comprise 500 units. Vinyl sales accounted for 66,000 of the album’s first-week number, which is Tyler, the Creator’s best week ever on vinyl, and the third-biggest debut week on vinyl for a rap album since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
CHROMAKOPIA was issued as an 11-song standard digital download album, a 14-song album on CD and vinyl, and a 14-song digital deluxe and streaming album. (The two 14-song editions each had three additional songs versus the standard 11-song album. The 14-song CD and vinyl added “Mother,” “Sticky” (featuring Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne) and “Thought I Was Dead” (featuring Santigold). The 14-song digital and streaming edition added “Balloon” (featuring Doechii), “Sticky” (featuring GloRilla, Lil Wayne and Sexyy Red) and “Thought I Was Dead” (featuring ScHoolboy Q and Santigold).
Album sales were bolstered by the set’s availability across six deluxe collectible CD boxed sets (each containing a CD, poster and another branded merch item) and a green-colored vinyl pressing. The boxed sets and vinyl were exclusively sold via the artist’s official webstore. A stand-alone CD was available to pre-order, exclusively, in the same store, but has yet to be shipped to customers. All physical editions of the album are only available via the artist’s webstore.
The standard 11-song digital download album, as well as the 14-song deluxe digital edition, was widely available through the iTunes Store and similar services (but were not sold on the artist’s webstore).
At No. 2 on the Billboard 200, Halsey’s The Great Impersonator debuts with 93,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 81,000, SEA units comprise 12,000 (equaling 16.05 million on-demand streams of the songs on the streaming edition of the album) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The Great Impersonator is the fifth top 10-charting set for Halsey, all of which have debuted in the top two positions of the list.
The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across many permutations: a dozen deluxe collectible CD boxed sets (each containing a CD and branded merchandise), a standard CD, a standard signed CD, four alternative cover CDs (each signed) and eight vinyl variants (including one signed edition). Most of the offerings were exclusively sold in Halsey’s official webstore. The album was also released as a standard digital album, and via seven alternative digital download albums (each with one to three exclusive bonus tracks unique to each of the seven editions) — all of which sold for a discounted $4.99.
The vinyl sales added up to just over 26,000 copies — Halsey’s best week on vinyl ever.
Sabrina Carpenter’s former leader Short n’ Sweet falls 2-3 on the new Billboard 200 with 74,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).
Kelsea Ballerini’s Patterns bows at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, marking the artist’s highest-charting album ever and second top 10-charting set. It arrives with 54,000 equivalent album units earned — her best week by units. Of that sum, album sales comprise 35,000 (her second-largest sales week), SEA units comprise 19,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
Ballerini had previously gone as high as No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with Unapologetically in 2017.
The new album was preceded by the song “Cowboys Cry Too,” with Noah Kahan, which reached the top 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart in July.
The set’s first-week sales were encouraged by its availability across eight vinyl variants (including one signed edition), three digital download editions (a standard set, one with bonus commentary tracks and one with two bonus song tracks), and two CDs (including one signed variant). Her vinyl sales totaled 12,000 for the week — Ballerini’s best week ever on vinyl.
Rod Wave’s Last Lap dips 4-5 on the Billboard 200 with 51,000 equivalent album units earned (down 24%), while Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) jumps 44-6 with 49,000 units (up 193%) after its release on vinyl and cassette. The latter was issued across five vinyl editions (mostly color variants) which combined to sell 31,000 copies in the tracking week — Eminem’s best week ever on vinyl.
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200: Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us rises 8-7 (49,000 equivalent album units earned; down less than 1%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time falls 6-8 (46,000; down 9%), Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft is steady at No. 9 (nearly 46,000; down 5%) and GloRilla’s Glorious falls 7-10 (45,000; down 11%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
The Weeknd and Anitta‘s collaboration “São Paulo” has taken the top spot in this week’s new music poll, showcasing a variety of genres. In a poll published on Friday (Nov. 1) by Billboard, music fans voted the superstar collab as their favorite new release, with “São Paulo” garnering nearly 66% of the votes. This impressive […]
The long-awaited reunion of the Hot Boys has finally taken place.
On Saturday (Nov. 2), the iconic rap supergroup — featuring Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Turk and B.G. — performed together for the first time in more than 15 years at Wayne’s Lil WeezyAna Fest in New Orleans.
The group’s 22-minute set included songs like “Get Your Roll On,” “I Need a Hot Girl,” and “Neighborhood Superstar,” during which the act was joined by Big Tymers’ Mannie Fresh and Birdman, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Watch the performances here.
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This year’s Lil WeezyAna Fest also featured solo performances from Juvenile, who brought down the house with “Back That Azz Up,” and B.G., who delivered “Bling Bling.”
During his solo performance, Lil Wayne once again spoke about being snubbed for the Super Bowl halftime show, expressing his disappointment at being overlooked in favor of Kendrick Lamar.
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“I told myself I wanted to be on that stage in front of my mom, and I worked my ass off for that position. It was ripped away from me, but this moment right here… they can’t take this away from me,” the rapper told the crowd at the Smoothie King Center.
Wayne previously teased the Hot Boys reunion on X (formerly Twitter) in September. Earlier this year, rumors began swirling when Juvenile hinted at a performance at Essence Fest in New Orleans and mentioned the group was working on a new album.
“Hot Boys is back together, man. What you talkin’ about put the Hot Boys back together? Show y’all ain’t keeping up with sh–,” he said on Instagram Live in May. “Turk gonna be with me tonight, I’m gonna be with B.G. next week. Me, Wayne, Turk and B.G., all of us gonna be on stage in New Orleans with Mannie Fresh and Birdman. And we already done started working on a Hot Boys album. Any other f—ing questions? Keep on askin’ put the Hot Boys together. Have some f—in’ patience.”
Despite the hype, fans were disappointed when the anticipated reunion at Essence Fest didn’t occur; while Birdman, Mannie Fresh, Juvenile, and B.G. took the stage together, Wayne opted for a solo set afterward, and Turk was absent.
The Hot Boys’ last album was 2003′ Let ‘Em Burn.
British prosecutors say they have been given a file of evidence from police about alleged sexual offenses by comedian Russell Brand and are considering whether to charge him. The Crown Prosecution Service said late Saturday (Nov. 2) that “we have been passed a file by the police to consider a charging decision in this case. […]
Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance during Saturday Night Live on Nov. 2.
With Election Day just around the corner, the vice president stopped by Studio 8H during the cold open of the episode, hosted by comedian John Mulaney.
Harris joined SNL cast member Maya Rudolph, known for her spot-on impression of the Democratic presidential nominee during the show’s 50th season, in a hilarious opening sketch.
Saturday’s episode launched with a parody of CNN, featuring Chloe Fineman as anchor Kaitlan Collins, who reports on a rally with former President Donald Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) and his running mate J.D. Vance (Bowen Yang). The scene then shifts to a conversation in Pennsylvania involving Rudolph’s Harris, Andy Samberg’s Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan’s Tim Walz, and Dana Carvey’s Joe Biden.
Rudolph’s Harris later steps aside to prepare for her campaign speech, saying, “Well, this is it, the last campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Gosh, I just wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes — a Black South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area.”
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She then sits down and looks into a mirror, where the real Kamala Harris is reflected back at her. “It’s nice to see you, Kamala,” the actual vice president says. “I’m just here to remind you that you got this because you can do something your opponent cannot: open doors.”
Rudolph delivers her signature Kamala laugh, saying, “Now Kamala, take my palm-ala.” The two then start finishing each other’s sentences: “The American people want to stop the chaos and end the drama-ala with a cool new step-mamala. Look, let’s get back in our pajamas and watch a rom-Kamala, like Legally Blonde-ala. And start decorating for Christmas, Fa-la-la-la-la.”
In other highlights from the Nov. 2 episode, Mulaney returned as host for the sixth time, while musical guest Chappell Roan made her debut, performing “Pink Pony Club” and premiering a new country song titled “The Giver.”
Watch SNL‘s “2024 Pre-Election Cold Open” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
Chappell Roan debuted a new country song during her musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live.
The 26-year-old pop star launched the musical portion of the John Mulaney-hosted episode on Nov. 2 with a vibrant and elaborate performance of her popular song “Pink Pony Club,” from her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. The Studio 8H stage was decorated with a throne-like chair and a backdrop of digital galloping ponies, while the singer dazzled in a striking red wig with white streaks, heavy makeup, and a glittery white gown.
In her second dramatic performance, Roan premiered a country-infused song titled “The Giver,” where she confidently asserts her ability to “get the job done” and satisfy a female partner better than any man. During a spoken word segment of the fiddle-driven track, she remarked, “All you country boys think you know how to treat a woman right. Well, only a woman knows how to treat a woman right. She gets the job done.”
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Later in the song, Roan sings, “You ain’t gotta tell me/ It’s just in my nature/ So take it like a taker/ ’cause baby I’m a giver.”
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Saturday’s show marked Roan’s SNL debut. In late October, the singer appeared to tease her next music era in an Instagram post in which she shared some selfies and hinted at the follow-up to her debut breakthrough LP.
“Album kinda popped off imo but it is time to welcome a hot new bombshell into the villa,” she captioned the pics, in a reference to the Love Island catchphrase welcoming new contestants that led fans to speculate that she’s working on her sophomore project.
A potential album will follow the release of Roan’s debut, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. After a series of headline-making performances — including at Coachella and Gov Ball 2024 — the 14-track project earned a peak of No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Watch Roan’s SNL performance of “Pink Pony Club” below (“The Giver” was not available at press time). For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
Jason Kelce came to Travis Kelce’s defense in the middle of a crowd when he heard someone verbally attacking his brother Saturday (Nov. 2).
After a heckler made a derogatory remark about Travis for dating Taylor Swift — the person called Travis a homophobic slur — the retired Philadelphia Eagles player grabbed the person’s phone, slammed it to the ground, and yelled it back to him.
The incident was recorded in several cell phone videos filmed by bystanders from different angles and shared on social media, where “Kelce” trended Saturday. Billboard reached out to Jason’s representative for comment.
“Hey, Kelce! How does it feel your brother’s a f—– dating Taylor Swift?” a voice is heard yelling to Jason in one clip in which the former NFL player is seen walking quickly past a cluster of people trying to get his attention.
Jason is seen turning, grabbing the person’s phone and throwing it to the ground in another clip; the harasser had seemingly been trying to film his reaction.
A third video shows Jason facing the person and repeating the slur to him, saying, “Who’s the f—– now?”
Jason’s brother, Travis, has been linked to Swift since 2023. The pop star first appeared at a Chiefs game on Sept. 23 last year, after Travis said on the brothers’ New Heights podcast in July that he’d tried to give his number to Swift via a friendship bracelet at The Eras Tour’s Kansas City stop.
Swift welcomed Travis to her Eras stage in London this past summer during “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” and she gave him a shout-out in her video of the year acceptance speech at this year’s VMAs, which she and Post Malone won for “Fortnight”: “This video seems very sad when you watch it, but it was actually the most fun video to make,” she told the crowd at the awards show on Sept. 11. “I would always just hear someone cheering, like, ‘Whoo!’ from across the studio — that one person was my boyfriend, Travis. Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.”
Jason talked about his experience attending one of Swift’s Miami concerts in October, on a recent episode of New Heights.
“This Miami show was incredible,” he told Travis, who had a game that weekend. “It was on another level. I texted you halfway through it like, ‘Dude, this rain. Tay is killing it.’”
“When Reputation came on and she came out in the new outfit and the rain was coming down, the place could’ve f—ing erupted,” Jason continued. “I mean, it did. The amount of energy was insane.”
Bruce Springsteen is hoping to inspire voters in a new advertisement for the Harris-Walz campaign.
On Friday (Nov. 1), just days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the Boss shared a minute-long video featuring his late October appearance during a rally for the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
In the clip, titled “Hopes and Dreams” (a reference to his 2001 song “Land of Hope and Dreams”), Springsteen criticizes Donald Trump and explains why Americans should support Harris and Halz on Election Day this Tuesday.
“This election is about a group of folks who want to fundamentally undermine our American way of life. Donald Trump does not understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American,” Springsteen tells the Pennsylvania crowd. “I want a president who reveres the Constitution, who wants to protect and guide our great democracy, who believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power, who will fight for women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, and who wants to create a middle class economy that serves all our citizens.”
The iconic singer-songwriter adds, “There’s only one candidate who holds those principles dear, that’s Kamala Harris. At thats’ why on Nov. 5, I’m casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I urge all of you who believe in the American way to join me.”
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At the rally in Pennsylvania on Oct. 28, Springsteen shared the stage with fellow musician John Legend, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, and former President Barack Obama.
The E Street rocker launched his three-song acoustic set with a rendition of his 1978 single “The Promised Land,” followed by a performance of “Land of Hope and Dreams.” He closed the set with “Dancing in the Dark,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1984, making it the highest-charting song of his career.
The Boss’s appearance at the Philadelphia rally came just days after he joined Harris’s rally in Georgia, where he told supporters that while the current VP is “running to be the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant.”
Watch Springsteen’s “Hopes and Dreams” Harris-Walz campaign ad below.
