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For the last 30 years, Lance Bass has been inexorably famous, known to the general public as one of the five founding members of boundary-breaking boy band *NSYNC. Yet amongst his family, he’s still considered the second-most famous member.
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That No. 1 spot among the Bass clan continues to belong to his paternal grandfather Jimmy, an icon in his hometown of Laurel, Miss., thanks to his years of military service during World War II. “He’s so proud of his service, so proud of his family, and so proud of his town,” Bass tells Billboard of his grandfather over a video call. “He’s the famous one in our family, not me. I’m just a little side note.”
Yet while Bass grew up hearing his grandfather’s stories from the front he says it wasn’t until very recently that he got to learn much more about Jimmy Bass’ service in WWII. In his latest partnership with Ancestry as part of the organization’s Thank You for Your Service campaign, Bass got to learn even more about both of his grandfathers’ service in the war.
The new campaign from the genealogy company is designed to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, providing users with free access to over 200 million documents from WWII from Nov. 10 to 12, in honor of Veteran’s Day in the U.S.
For Bass, that access allowed him and his family members to find even more information about both of his’ military history, including enlistment cards, photos, and even documentation that his maternal grandfather Elza was a dance hall manager, a fact that he’d never learned before his death in 2019.
“It made so much sense, because he loved to square dance — so it was just kind of fun to take that picture I saw of him and put him in this dance hall and see him in that element of knowing that he just loved that,” Bass says.
Bass’ new work with Ancestry comes at a critical time, he says. With misinformation spreading rampantly across the internet — in some cases at the behest of Donald Trump’s administration in the U.S. — Bass hopes that access to these records reminds people the importance of preserving history so we don’t make the same mistakes of the past.
“We know history repeats itself. We’ve been told that over and over and over again — but as you can see, it’s happening again,” he says. “I feel like no one’s really paying attention to that and honoring what they fought for, because I feel like we’re just going backwards right now. It’s an insult to what these brave men and women went through.”
Specifically, Bass points to the administration’s orders to scrub government websites of certain words, photos and historical references — oftentimes related to the LGBTQ+ community, anti-racism efforts and the civil rights movements of the past — as an attempt to alter our perception of reality.
“It is important that we tell these stories of the past in a truthful way, because so easily you can rewrite history,” he says. “We see it happening right now, in front of our eyes, they’re physically rewriting history on websites of our official government documents. It’s insane. What is this Twilight Zone that we’re living in?”
Bass takes it a step further and points out many of those same politicians use their ties to the military to redefine what is and is not patriotic — which, he says, is not what his grandparents fought for. “It’s sad to see people using veterans and military service and their patriotism … they’ve changed what patriotism is,” he says.
It’s why Bass calls it an “honor” to learn more about his own family’s history of service. “It makes you proud. You’re honored to be attached to that past, and you get to learn from the past,” he says.
Even when looking at his own history, Bass says he sees the influence of both of his grandfathers imbued in him. After *NSYNC celebrated their 30th anniversary earlier this year — “it’s insane that that went so quickly,” Bass quips — the singer found himself thinking about the ways his grandfather Jimmy helped mold his own outlook on his work.
“Everything correlates to how he is as a person. It really was the biggest influence in my life,” he says with a smile. “I was always raised with this man that everyone loved, especially the way that he just brought this positivity with all the stories he would tell, and the way he treated people. I think he really rubbed off on me, and my personality really comes out because of him.”
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Gwen Stefani is in a joyous holiday mood, but she definitely has some notes for old St. Nick. The solo star and No Doubt frontwoman dropped a new Christmas classic on Wednesday (Nov. 5) morning, “Shake the Snow Globe,” as part of Amazon Music’s new clutch of holiday exclusives from artists including Marc Anthony, Mariah the Scientist, Vanessa Mai and others.
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“Oh this season’s got me thinking ’bout Mrs. Claus/ Why does Kris get the credit?/ Can we take a second and give her a round of applause?,” Stefani sings over the bouncy, horn-spike arrangement of the original song that is part of Amazon MGM’s upcoming star-studded holiday film Oh. What Fun. The movie, directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, The Idea of You) stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Leary and Chloë Grace Moretz and will debut on Dec. 3.
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“This is the first time I’ve ever been asked to write a song for a specific moment in a film,” Stefani said in a statement. “It made me nervous, excited, and inspired to take on the challenge of creating a Christmas song that feels up tempo, nostalgic and reflects the sentiment of the movie, Oh.What.Fun.” The singer also previewed the snow-flaked, technicolor video for “Shake the Snow Globe” on her Instagram on Wednesday morning, writing, “the Holidays are so magical and i wanted this video to capture the sparkle + joy of the szn.”
In addition to Stefani’s ray of sunshine track, other artists contributing to the Amazon Music holiday celebration include Anthony, with a cover of José Feliciano’s Christmas classic “Feliz Navidad/ I Wanna Wish You a Merry Christmas,” Mariah the Scientist’s take on Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” and Mai’s new original, “Christmas in the Room.”
Other Amazon Music Originals holiday songs from the international lineup of artists include: composer/pianist Kris Bowers’ new composition “Someplace Like Here,” France’s Amir covering F.R. David’s “Words,” Canadian singer Jamie Fine taking on Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” Australian indie act Spacey Jane covering the Eagles’ “Please Come Home For Christmas,” Italian singer Marco Mengoni’s first English-language release, the original “Coming Home,” a medley of carols from Las Migas titled “Navidad con Las Migas (Medley)” and Canadian singer-songwriter Eli Rose’s dance-y cover of Beau Dommage’s “23 Décembre.”
“The holidays are about cherishing traditions while making space for new ones, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with our Amazon Music Original holiday songs and programming throughout our service,” said Amazon Music’s U.S. head of music Stephen Brower in a statement. “We’re privileged to work with both legendary and emerging artists to create fresh holiday music that resonates with fans and becomes part of their seasonal traditions. The incredible success of our Original holiday tracks shows how contemporary holiday music can bridge the gap between nostalgia and discovery, creating new classics that families will enjoy for years to come.”
Past Amazon Music Originals holiday hits include Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm (Old Timey Version), as well as Katy Perry’s “Cozy Little Christmas” and Carrie Underwood’s “Favorite Time of Year.”
Amazon Music is also launching limited edition vinyl and merch collections from artists around the world to celebrate the holidays, including Mariah Carey’s new Christmastime Holiday Collection with cozy apparel, holiday décor and kitchen accessories, Mai’s collection of T-shirts, sweaters and custom-designed phone cases and Mengoni’s exclusive limited-edition vinyl of “Coming Home,” which will be available beginning on Nov. 14.
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Plenty of drag queens can sing, and plenty of drag queens who can’t sing have released songs anyway. So when an alumnus of RuPaul’s Drag Race makes a foray into the world of recorded music, you can be forgiven for greeting it with a shrug.
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Which is part of the reason why season 16 breakout Plasma is making her debut a live album. She wants you to know that when she’s teasing out those melancholic money notes or whizzing through a difficult-to-untangle patter song, there’s no studio trickery and it isn’t the tenth take — it’s just her honest-to-goddess voice doing what it does best.
As Drag Race viewers know, Plasma is a Broadway baby through and through, a Gay White Way devotee whose humor and style draws on legends like Barbra Streisand and Bernadette Peters. While Plasma’s decision to make her debut LP a live record is an impressively risky one, the fact that it consists mainly of Broadway faves isn’t a shock — but smartly, the 26-year-old from Texas has peppered in a few surprises.
When I attended the Joe’s Pub show where Is Miss Thing On? (Live from Joe’s Pub) was recorded on July 28, there were two tunes I didn’t recognize: “A Schloon for the Gumpert” and “80 or Above.” The former is a song Streisand trotted out at her famous A Happening in Central Park show in 1968 but wasn’t included on the live album’s track list; the latter, however, is neither a Broadway classic nor an obscurity — it’s a new tune written by Plasma herself. But damned if it doesn’t sound like it could be a long-lost gem from some old musical forgotten over the decades.
Ahead of its release on Friday (Nov. 7) via Joy Machine Records, Plasma hopped on a Zoom with Billboard to talk about the advice from her family (both biological and drag) that influenced this album, how she landed Tony and Grammy winner J. Harrison Ghee for a duet, and which post-Covid Broadway show gave us “one of the most pivotal performances in American theater history.”
Why did you decide to make your debut album a live album, as opposed to a studio LP where you can do multiple takes and fix mistakes?
The primary inspiration was from my dad, actually. He raised me listening to Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden and Adele’s Live From SoHo sessions, and all the greats who recorded live in the mid-century up until now.
When it came up that I wanted to record a debut album, my dad said, “Well, you could do it in the studio and feel perfect about it — but as we’ve always taught you, perfect is the enemy of great, and you are great in front of a live audience, because you are always better when you are performing, instead of sitting in a silent room worrying about the way you sound. So do it, don’t leave anything out. Don’t leave any stone unturned. Do it live, do it bold. Do it bravely, and don’t look back.” My dad’s very wise.
That’s great advice. Another marvelous live album you mentioned during your Joe’s Pub show is Barbra Streisand’s Live at the Bon Soir, which she recorded in 1962 but didn’t release until 2022. It’s so good, I can’t believe she didn’t release that back in the day.
I can’t either. And I found out very recently that the day after she recorded her last session at the Bon Soir, she did a cabaret series at the bar in the West Village called the Duplex in their upstairs cabaret space. That is genuinely, literally, the first bar in New York City that gave me a weekly show and it was in the upstairs space. So the Barbra connection deepens and deepens. That is the album that truly inspired this live album.
How did you pick the songs? Obviously there are Broadway faves, but there’s also some random, obscure stuff, even one I wasn’t familiar with.
Good! That is the goal. I’m actually wearing a t-shirt from an off-Broadway show called The Big Gay Jamboree, which is a very niche hit. I realized in my adult homosexual life that an obscure, niche reference gets me a lot of street cred with a tiny group of people that I respect, so the niche reference really guides my hand a lot in my work. I had a live show last year, right on the heels of my run on Drag Race, called All That Plazz. It was a diaristic approach of my life as it stood a year and a half-ish ago. I took that as a blueprint, and I whittled out the kinks or the things that didn’t really feel relevant anymore, or the things I didn’t identify with as personally, and I filled them in with things that felt really personal.
“Cry Me a River” [ed. note: the Arthur Hamilton song from the ‘50s, not the Justin Timberlake single] has always been one of my favorite songs. I’m also a Scorpio, so “Cry Me a River” is a bit of a vengeance anthem, which I love. “More” from Dick Tracy — I never sung that live until Joe’s Pub, but that was one of the first songs I lip synced to when I started doing drag in New York. I like to lure people in with songs that they will know, and then keep them sat with niche references that they’ve either forgotten about or they’ve never known existed. Uncovering that is how I fell in love with mid-century music, as well as people introducing me to music that no one hears anymore.
I love that you did “More.” It’s a fantastic song that kind of disappeared, because it’s on a Madonna album, I’m Breathless, that most people don’t return to.
I actually didn’t even know what it was from, or that Madonna had done it, for years — because I was obsessed with Ruthie Henshall’s version from Putting It Together, the Sondheim review on Broadway with Carol Burnett. That’s the one I lip synced to, and she’s just a powerhouse. Then when I learned that it was a Madonna song, I was like, “Well, I’ve already heard it sung correctly, so I don’t need to go back now.”
Look, I love Madonna, and her version is great, but I get that it’s certainly not like doing a Barbra song where you’re thinking, “How am I ever gonna match that range?”
Oh, my God, yeah. She has a cup of hot tea on the stage because she wants one. I have a cup of hot tea on stage because I have to do it. I have to treat my voice correctly if I’m gonna sing Barbra’s stuff.
That leads to one of the things I wanted to ask. Of the songs in that setlist, what’s the easiest one to sing for you, and what is the most challenging one?
God, that night, “More” was my biggest challenge. I went into it new, and I love the song, and I’ve known the song, but it is literally a key change minefield. Thank you, Stephen Sondheim. It’s also fast and it’s patter-y and it has some particular vocabulary that you have to really enunciate because it’s theatrical, so you want to make sure everyone is hearing the words. Whereas on something like “Misty” or “Cry Me a River,” you’re gooey, floaty, lovely.
“Cry Me a River” is one of those songs that I could sing if I had just gotten vocal fold surgery. For some reason, the older I get, the more I can put that song on vocal autopilot and listen to the words again and find new meaning in them. It just falls out of my mouth, and then by the end, I’m screaming, and I realize, “Oh, sorry that was really loud.” That one is the easiest, just because it comes naturally. I’m having an organic artistic response. [Laughs.] God, how pretentious.
You open with “Let Me Entertain You” from Gypsy. Did you see the latest Broadway staging of it with Audra McDonald, and what did you think of it?
I adored it. In the album, I talk about how jazz and mid-century music is largely accredited to, or it should be more accredited to, people of color. Because jazz, of course, has its roots in New Orleans and in the Black community. I think we think of jazz and we think of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, but we don’t think about Eartha Kitt and we don’t think about Carmen McRae or Sarah Vaughan or this plethora of Black artists who gave us the gift that, in my world, keeps on giving.
Seeing a production like Gypsy, which is written in a time of oppression but always talking about the white plight of show business, and then having it come under new direction and new vision from George C. Wolfe about Black people fighting even just for minimal visibility, and then still being robbed of it. And then, of course, the spiritual connection of Audra losing the Tony after one of the most pivotal performances in American theater history on the Tonys. Seriously, it feels like we’ve seen one of the first post-Covid truly monumental theater-making attempts with Audra’s Gypsy. And, of course, Joy Woods is a sensation.
Speaking of Tonys, you had J. Harrison Ghee come up for a duet during the show, which was beautiful. How did that come about?
Like all great queer connections, we met at a bar. I met J. a couple times, but the one that really stuck was we met at my friend Blacc Cherry’s Drag Race viewing party at Dive 106 earlier this spring. After that, we ran into each other at the Smash Broadway opening night red carpet. I grew up idolizing Tony Award winners and the Broadway theater excellence that implies. And when I met J., I still felt very much at home and very friendly and very communicative and also sisterly. There’s a lot of kiki energy, there’s a lot of “yes and” energy that you couldn’t quantify in a theater improv class. You could only quantify it by being human adults who have lived a little bit of the queer experience in New York City.
I asked them out of the blue. I was like, “How can I, as a white cisgender man, a twink, celebrate Black artistry through a jazz medium and also not invite a true, gifted informant of Black artistry–Black queer, non-binary artistry—into the room with me?” J. is also so generous. They have their Tony and their Grammy, and then cut to them gluing down my lace on the back of my neck that I didn’t know was there.
That’s a pro.
That’s a pro, that’s an empath. That’s generous. That’s someone who you want in the room with you.
During the show, you performed one song you had written, “80 or Above.” I don’t mean to sound backhanded, but it was surprisingly good. Usually when someone is singing a bunch of classics and then is like, “Here’s one I wrote myself,” you’re thinking, “OK, here we go,” but I was impressed. I could even imagine other singers singing it. What’s your songwriting process like?
Thank you so much. First of all, that’s very flattering. I will also tell you that I had reservations about writing music, because I’ve also sat in rooms where people will say, “You guys, the next song is a song that I wrote,” and it’s just like, oh my god, clench your napkin in your fist — because you’re gonna have to get through three minutes of someone’s passion project. And I will not name names.
I don’t even know what my songwriting process is. I read a lot of poetry in high school. I started back when I had a more regular journaling practice. I find myself writing in rhyme structure — maybe it’s just because I’m dramatic as hell and I’m a secret Shakespearean-hearted dramatic goon. I was feeling silly one day and started writing things out. And I was like, “what if I wrote this little song, and what if I came up with a melody that sounds like it came out of the Anita O’Day songbook?” And did something funny and kitschy and campy, but also poignant? As long as I came up with a melody that wasn’t irritating or TikTok, AI-generated, then I could be comfortable putting it out there, as long as it didn’t interrupt the flow of my grander show.
The fact that you can hear other people sing it means a great deal to me. I really am proud of it, and I’d like to write more. I ever were to record more music, I’d want to do a studio album, because I’ve done the live album, toss, toss [fake tosses hair]. I’d like to do something that’s half-original, half-niche covers, so that the line between things you know I wrote and things you don’t know at all is blurred.
What are your hopes for this album when it comes out? What do you want to do next?
I’d love for every Broadway producer in town to listen to it. It’s a great, big audition for something else. In the theater world, we say every audition is an audition for something else, or every interaction is an audition. At the same time, I am trying to identify myself post-reality TV as a real human with autonomous thoughts and control over my own narrative. I’m trying to position myself for opportunities that come beyond reality TV, for people who are equipped to take on narrative roles and theatrical roles and musical roles.
I would love to collaborate with other jazz artists. I’d love to be on Broadway. I’d love to sing live more. I’d love to blur the line between Plasma and Taylor, which is my legal name. I want to have the full breadth of what is possible for a queer person in 2025 available to me. The whole reason why you listen to a live album is because it doesn’t sound like the studio album, because someone is trying something in real time that is dangerous. If you mess up, everyone will see it, and that’s vulnerable, and it’s scary.
One of my dear friends is Privilege, a drag artist in Brooklyn. The night before I left for Drag Race, they gave me a little totem to take with me and they said, “I just want to encourage you to feel whatever fear you feel, and then do it scared.”
More great advice!
I don’t know a single queer person who’s not scared right now. I’d rather do something scared than rest on technological improvement or the gloss of legitimacy helping me out. I am who I am, and I rest on the laurels that I can present to you in real time and nothing else. And so that’s my priority, to live as authentically and unashamedly as possible.
Anything else you want to add, about the album or your life?
[Jokingly] Well, I’m still single and I’m still drinking too much, so that original song has never hit harder. No, I would encourage Drag Race fans to broaden the scope of what they perceive as possible from a Drag Race alumnus. I would also encourage music fans and theater fans to broaden their perspectives beyond Kinky Boots and La Cage aux Folles into what queer artists are capable of telling.
Trending on Billboard If all you want for Christmas is a Yo Gabba Gabba! holiday album, you’re in luck: A Very Awesome Yo Gabba Gabba! Christmas! arrives Nov. 14 on all streaming platforms, via BMG. The album gathers the full collection of holiday music across Yo Gabba Gabba!‘s Christmas episodes over the years, including “Christmas” […]
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Jelly Roll appears to be having the time of his life on his first-ever tour of Australia. The country superstar who was previously barred from playing international shows due to his felonious past has been tearing it up Down Under, appearing at three stops on the inaugural Strummingbird Festival on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Newcastle and Perth, as well as playing shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and the Harvest Rock festival.
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By all accounts it’s been a blast. But this week the “Son of a Sinner” singer said he hit a snag while trying to indulge in some high-end retail therapy. In an Instagram Story posted on Wednesday (Nov. 5), Jelly said he hit a Louis Vuitton store during some down time and claimed the staff treated him like he was a common criminal.
“Hey man, The Louis Vuitton in Sydney, legitimately just treated us like we were finna come in and rob that place,” Jelly said with a smile on his face as he laughed about the incident, with the store’s logo clearly displayed behind him. “I have never been looked at more like a crim… Listen, the last time I was looked at like a criminal this bad.. I was an actual criminal this bad.”
Jelly Roll, 40, announced his first-ever non-U.S. dates in June 2024 with a run of Canadian gigs, just a week after telling Howard Stern that his dozens of bids behind bars on drug charges in his youth — dating back to when he was 14 — had been keeping him from booking shows outside the lower 48.
From the looks of it, though, JR is otherwise having the very best time on his Aussie run, arguing with the locals about the inexplicable difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit, getting the obligatory snap with the Sydney Opera House in the background, falling in love with Australian football and, of course, helping his drummer do a shoey.
Jelly has two more shows left on his outing, including a Thursday (Nov. 6) gig in Townsville at Queensland Country Bank Stadium and Saturday (Nov. 8) at the Outer Fields at Western Springs in Auckland, New Zealand.
Billboard’s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, click here.
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BTS‘ Jimin and Jung Kook are hitting the road again next month. No, the K-pop group has not (yet) announced the dates for what fans are hoping will be their 2026 comeback tour. But the bandmates will be packing their bags for the upcoming second season of their hit reality travel series Are You Sure?!, which will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on Dec. 3.
According to a release, the second go-round of the show was filmed after the duo completed their mandatory South Korean military service and it “captures Jimin and BTS lead vocalist Jung Kook embarking on an unforgettable 12-day journey that spans from the majestic mountains of Switzerland to the vibrant shores of Vietnam. Traveling light with only their luggage, a modest budget, and a trusty guidebook, the pair dive into a mix of thrilling adventures, serene getaways, and spontaneous, fun-filled moments.”
The show will cover their 12-day adventure across eight episodes, with two new ones releasing every Wednesday from the premiere date through Dec. 24. “Viewers can look forward to plenty of heartwarming camaraderie, breathtaking scenery, and the unfiltered humor and chemistry that made the first season a fan favorite,” according to the release.
In the first season, fans watched the pair explore New York state, as well as Jeju Island in their native South Korea and Sapporo, Japan.
The show will be the table-setter for the main course, which will find the pair reuniting with Jin, Suga, RM, J-Hope and V next year now that all the group’s members have completed their military training. Their comeback will come a full five years after the release of their last proper studio album, Be, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in Nov. 2020. Since then, fans have had their thirst for BTS content slaked thanks to a series of solo albums, singles and tours.
Now, the countdown is ticking on what promises to be a big year for the crew, with an album and world tour on tap.
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Live Nation reported an 11% increase in total revenue in the third quarter on Tuesday (Nov. 4), the result of continued fan demand for live music and a shift to stadiums from amphitheaters and arenas.
On a call with analysts and investors, CEO Michael Rapino and COO Joe Berchtold discussed the finer points of the results. Although it’s only November, all signs point to more growth in revenue, ticket sales, attendance and sponsorships in 2026. Fan demand isn’t falling back to earth any time soon, and Live Nation has made investments — renovations, new venues and acquisitions — to capture as much of that demand as possible.
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Here are some of the highlights from the earnings call and Tuesday’s earnings release.
Stadiums Dominated 2025 and Will Be Big Again in 2026
In the concert business, the venue matters. Live Nation’s owned and operated amphitheaters historically generate better margins than other venues, but in 2025, there have been more stadium shows. “A lot of artists decided not to play arenas and amphitheaters and go for stadiums,” said Rapino. In fact, in the third quarter, Live Nation had 250 fewer amphitheater shows and 120 more stadium shows, according to Berchtold. But because Live Nation operates some of those stadiums — such as Rogers Stadium in Toronto and Estadio GNP in Mexico City — those shows boosted the quarter’s per-fan profitability, Berchtold said.
With the FIFA World Cup taking place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026, there have been some concerns that soccer matches would limit stadiums’ availability and put a damper on North America tours. But those fears “haven’t seemed to come to life,” Rapino said, adding that stadiums should have “a very strong year [in 2026].”
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Fans Keep Spending
People may be suffering through nagging inflation and feeling economic jitters, but music fans are proving to be a resilient bunch, as per-fan spending at Live Nation’s owned and operated venues rose 8% through October. Part of the growth comes down to offering the right products. Non-alcoholic drink sales were up by 20%, and ready-to-drink options were up, too. The growth can also be attributed to renovations at amphitheaters that created VIP areas with premium food and beverage options.
Amidst the growing importance of VIP options to Live Nation’s business, the company said it’s not seeing any pullback from lower income brackets. “No, we have not seen any of that,” Rapino said when asked by Citi analyst Jason Bazinet if there was evidence of “bimodal” consumer behavior. Many shows for 2026 are already on sale, Rapino noted, and the company saw “no pull-back anywhere.”
More Gains into the Fourth Quarter and 2026
The fourth quarter and 2026 are expected to continue the trends seen in the first three quarters of 2025. Deferred revenue — money collected but not yet recognized as revenue for accounting purposes — is an important metric for assessing demand for upcoming events. Live Nation’s deferred revenue is up big from a year earlier: Event-related deferred revenue of $3.5 billion was up 37% from the prior-year period, and Ticketmaster’s deferred revenue of $231 million was up 30%. In addition, Live Nation says its large venue show pipeline for 2026 is up by double-digits, and ticket sales for concerts in 2026 have already reached 26 million. Sponsorship commitments for 2026 are up double-digits, too, according to the company.
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An International Tipping Point is Coming
Fans at international concerts are on track to surpass U.S. fans, the company revealed on Tuesday. In fact, international business is driving Live Nation’s growth. Whereas total fee-bearing gross transaction value (GTV) was up 7%, it rose 16% in international markets. And of the 26.5 million net new tickets from Ticketmaster enterprise clients, 70% came from outside the U.S. Additionally, more than half of the 5 million fans expected to attend concerts at Live Nation’s large (over 3,000 capacity) venues in 2026 will come from international markets.
Confidence in the Federal Antitrust Lawsuit
The U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster is set to go to trial on March 6. While the company’s latest quarterly SEC filing admits the case “could involve significant monetary costs or penalties,” its executives are publicly confident the lawsuit won’t lead to a nuclear option: namely, breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Berchtold pointed to the remedies decision in September in the Department of Justice’s case against Google, which aimed to restore competition in the internet search and search advertising markets. The court placed certain remedies on Google — a ban on exclusive distribution of Google Search and Chrome, for example — but didn’t break up the company. To Live Nation, the decision “very much validated our view that the claims in our case can’t lead to a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster even if the DOJ prevails on one claim or another,” said Berchtold.
Trending on Billboard The sheer number of artist signings announced on a weekly basis makes it difficult to keep up, no matter how closely you pay attention to the industry news cycle. That’s why every other Tuesday, Billboard compiles the latest signings to labels, distributors, agencies, management companies and more, in an effort to provide […]
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Imagine the distance between Las Vegas and Chicago. Now imagine a line of 20 million stacked plastic cups and single-use serveware items extending along the 1,700-mile route.
According to reuse company r.World, that’s the actual cumulative number of plastic cups and single-use serveware items it and its partners have kept out of landfills since r.World launched in 2017.
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R.World provides reusable cups and serveware to venues and events, which are then returned by fans and sent out for cleaning at nearby r.World wash stations. R.World products are now in and at venues and events including Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theater, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Warped Tour and myriad Goldenvoice festivals. The company has also partnered with artists including Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish and Coldplay.
According to r.World, its work has thus far stopped more than 110 tons of plastic from being produced (netting out any plastic the company itself used), thereby eliminating 440 U.S. tons of CO2 emissions, saving 1,650,000 kWh of energy and conserving 5,000,000 gallons of water — amounts representing the creation and transport of these single-use items. Every cup or piece of serveware the company delivers that’s then returned is counted to ensure accurate environmental impact tracking and reporting.
“There is tremendous new growth in the world of reuse,” r.World founder Michael Martin tells Billboard. “When we launched the reuse movement back in 2017, no one was doing reuse. Now NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB and college stadiums are implementing reuse. As more and more venues realize the economic and environmental benefits of doing reuse, we are adding more clients every month.”
Martin says the company will be announcing a host of new partners in the coming weeks. Still, amid this growth, he says the biggest hurdle remains the fear of change and misinformation that exists in the marketplace, along with an “imagination gap” in terms of how reuse works. He notes that reuse can save venues money; that it’s a “vastly better” environmental solution than single-use aluminum cups, compostable cups, souvenir cups or plastic cups; that the reuse system is easy; and that guests and servers love it.
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“Reuse is common in most developed countries. The U.S. was behind,” Martin says. “As more and more U.S. venues are discovering the benefits of reuse, the demand is skyrocketing. The country’s leading venues are moving to reuse and away from single-use.”
Many scientists have noted that the world is currently in a “plastic crisis,” with these items contaminating natural spaces and waterways, harming wildlife and humans. Health Policy Watch reports that 98% of plastics are made from fossil fuels, with plastics “polluting human health through an array of pathways, including direct exposure to waste fills or chemical plants, environmental contamination, absorption through food packaging, microplastics, air and soil pollution, and burning of feedstock fossil fuels.”
R.World is one of several initiatives aimed at dramatically bringing down the use of single-use plastics in the music industry and beyond. In September, electronic producer Blond:ish announced Zero Plastic Club: NYC, a project that’s working to rid New York City dancefloors of single-use items like bottles, cups and wristbands.
“The movement toward reuse is a collective effort, built on partnerships and shared values, with contributions from venue managers, beverage companies, promoters, artists, and fans,” says Martin. “Every time a fan returns a reusable cup instead of throwing one away, they play a part in a larger transformation.”
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Sphere Entertainment Co. reported on Tuesday (Nov. 4) that the success of The Wizard of Oz and the Backstreet Boys residency at its state-of-the-art Las Vegas venue boosted revenue and operating income — though those gains couldn’t offset a nearly $130 million operating loss in the third quarter.
Sphere Entertainment generated revenue of $262.5 million, up 15% or $34.6 million, for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared to the same period last year. Adjusted operating income, an indicator of how much of a company’s revenue will eventually become profit, rose to $36.4 million from negative $10.2 million a year ago. The company also reported an operating loss of $129.7 million, up $12.1 million from a year ago.
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Since opening in 2023, Sphere has become a destination for artist residencies, hosting acts including U2, Phish, the Eagles, electronic act Anyma and now the Backstreet Boys, who recently extended their Into the Millennium residency into February 2026. Upcoming acts include the DJ/producer Illenium, who’s slated for a residency in March and April, and No Doubt, which will play the venue beginning in May.
When Sphere isn’t occupied by a concert, the mega-venue also shows movies, including the U2 immersive concert film recording of its U2:UV Achtung Baby Live residency and The Wizard of Oz at Sphere. The company’s executive chairman and CEO, James Dolan, has said that recording, licensing and adapting these films costs significantly less than live performances and presents meaningful upside revenue.
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere — an immersive adaptation of the classic 1939 movie — has sold more than 1 million tickets and generated more than $130 million in sales since its Aug. 28 premiere, the company reported late last month.
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In a statement, Dolan called The Wizard of Oz “the best example to-date of experiential storytelling in this new medium.”
He added that the film “has been met with strong consumer demand. Looking ahead, we believe our Company is well positioned for long-term growth as we continue to execute on our global vision for Sphere.”
Quarterly revenue generated by the company’s Sphere segment rose 37% overall to $174.1 million in revenue over the same period last year, boosted by $28.3 million more in revenue coming from the venue’s film screenings, collectively known as The Sphere Experience.
The Sphere Experience posted higher per-show revenue from its 220 showings (up from 207 last year) of three movies: Postcard from Earth, the immersive U2 concert film and The Wizard of Oz at Sphere. An additional 16 concert residency shows compared to the prior year quarter also helped boost event-related revenue by $15 million, though that was offset by “lower average per-concert revenue due to the mix of concerts” and the absence of big sporting and corporate events in the quarter. Sponsorship and advertising on the outside of Sphere, along with suite licensing fees, rose $2.7 million from a year ago.
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But more movies and shows mean more expenses, and those associated with The Sphere Experience rose by about $10 million. Meanwhile, event expenses primarily from residency shows rose by nearly $4 million, contributing to an overall 26% increase in the Sphere segment’s operating expenses, which totaled $78.7 million for the third quarter.
Overall, the Sphere segment posted an operating loss of $84.4 million — a $40.6 million improvement from last year — and adjusted operating income of $17.1 million.
Elsewhere, MSG Networks revenue fell 12% to $88.4 million on a more than 13% decline in subscribers and a $12.7 million decrease in distribution revenue.
