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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
The Cure is back with a new remix album titled Mixes of a Lost World.
The new album, released Friday (June 13), features 24 remix tracks from the British band’s 2024 album Songs of a Lost World. The album was inspired by a collection of unsolicited remixed tracks from their 2024 album that were sent to The Cure’s lead singer Robert Smith. He began to wonder what the whole album would sound like if it was reinterpreted, and thus, the remix project was born. Remixes featured on the album have been re-worked by guest artists like Four Tet, Paul Oakenfold and Orbital.
In celebration of the new album, we’ve compiled a short list of some of our favorite The Cure-inspired pieces to shop now from top brands like Urban Outfitters, Funko, Pacsun and Redbubble. From t-shirts to figurines and stickers, we know fans and fanatics of the band will find something that they’ll love.
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Backstage Graphic Cropped Muscle Tee
A black cropped tee with blue, yellow and black graphics on the front.
This cropped muscle tee gives pure rocker vibes, and it’s only $35.00. Made of ultra-soft cotton, this piece features a vintage quality with a distressed graphic, short cut-off sleeves and a cropped fit. Sizing options range from small to XXL. A blue, yellow and black graphic of The Cure’s lead singer Robert Smith, fixed to the front.
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The back features lyrics from The Cure’s song “In Between Days” in a contrasting white font. Although this tee is marketed toward men, we can see this easily being unisex thanks to the androgynous cut and fit. For a rocker look, we can envision this tee worn alongside boot-cut jeans and a good old pair of low-top Converse, beat up or otherwise. For a more feminine look for the ladies, this t-shirt would look great with a gauzy white maxi-length skirt and riding boots.
Funko Pop Rocks The Cure Robert Smith Vinyl Figure #306 Black Metallic Expo Exclusive
$25.97
$28.99
10% off
A figurine of the lead singer of The Cure.
Figurines are a staple of fan culture. Funko has capitalized on that craze in all sectors from comic fans to music lovers. That being said, this Funko Pop figurine is perfect for The Cure fans. It’s dark and grungy black metallic hue, forgoing the classic figurine coloring, in order to appeal to fans of the rock band. The figure is currently on sale for $25.97 and depicts Robert Smith in his signature “Boys Don’t Cry” attire. Perfect for display, the figure stands 3 inches wide, 3 inches long and 4 inches tall so you can prop this little guy on your shelf or desk so you can proudly show off your undying love for the British band.
The Cure Graphic Stainless Steel Insulated Tumbler
A black stainless steel tumbler with The Cure graphics throughout.
This gothic The Cure-branded stainless steel tumbler is for those fans looking for practical merch that’s cute too. Retailing for $22.99 via Amazon, the tumbler is made of scratch-proof BPA-free stainless steel that’s dual wall insulated to keep iced beverages cool and hot beverages hot. From coffee and tea to soft drinks, this tumbler can hold up to 20 oz of liquid.
This piece also perfectly matches the gothic aesthetic of fans of The Cure with spooky and whimsical graphics like a crescent moon, cats and a haunted-looking house. The lid of the tumbler is certified-leak proof, equipped with a clear slider to open and close. If the black metallic look isn’t your thing, the themed tumbler also comes in a silver brushed metal look.
Where’s Robert Smith – The Cure Zipper Pouch
A The Cure-themed zipper pouch.
This merch item is a little out of left field. It’s colorful and playful, aesthetics that The Cure fans are not too keen on. While it’s not dark and gothic, this zipper pouch is extremely practical. The pouch’s design is a play on “Where’s Waldo?,” but in The Cure fashion. Owners must search for a cartoon graphic of Robert Smith in a sea of people in a game cheekily coined “Where’s Robert Smith?” The graphic is colorful and striking, printed on a rectangular 100% polyester canvas pouch with a zipper closure in gold. The pouch is great for organizing your bag. With this pouch, you can carry every essential from pens to makeup and even your phone.
The Cure Band Sticker Pack (10 Stickers)
A The Cure sticker pack with 10 unique stickers.
If you’re like me, you smack stickers on everything. From laptops to binders and iPads, stickers look good on pretty much every surface. This sticker set comes with 10 unique stickers with graphics that reference The Cure in colorful fashions. These stickers feature a slightly shiny finish, giving them a vintage quality. For those looking to decorate their water bottles, these stickers are waterproof too.
The Cure Faces T-Shirt
A black t-shirt with a colorful The Cure graphic on the front.
Pacsun’s The Cure Faces T-Shirt is subtle in design but packs a major colorful punch. Retailing for $29.00, this tee features a vibrant The Cure graphic on the front set atop a black background to make the motif pop. The piece also includes short sleeves and a crew neckline. Like the other tee on our list, this one can easily be unisex. Whether you’re a fan of the band, or a poser looking for a colorful and comfy tee, this shirt makes a great addition to your wardrobe. We can envision this shirt styled with baggy distressed jeans and lifestyle sneakers or black micro shorts and bright red ballet flats. However you choose to style it, this t-shirt is a statement-maker for sure.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Want to see Billboard cover star Chris Stapleton live this summer? Fans can find plenty of affordable ticket options to experience the country star’s 2025 All-American Road Show Tour in a city near you. Earlier this year, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter added nine new concert dates spread across the U.S. including New York, Denver, Utah and Florida.
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The tour extension kicked off on June 6 in Charlottesville, Va. and is heading to Grand Rapids, Mich. next on June 13. Stapleton’s tour will continue throughout the summer with upcoming shows at Tinley Park, Ill. (June 28), New York, N.Y. (July 26), Noblesville, Ind. (Aug. 2), Phoenix, Ariz. (Aug. 9), Salt Lake City, Utah (Aug. 16), Denver, Colo. (Aug. 23) and ending with Hollywood, Fla. (Oct. 11).
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Where to Find Chris Stapleton 2025 Tickets Online
Want to see Chris Stapleton in person? Tickets to Chris Stapleton’s concerts first went on sale through Ticketmaster, but many of the dates have either sold out The best ways to find Chris Stapleton tickets online is through a third-party site, like StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Ticket Network and others — all of which guarantee authentic tickets in time for your event. Here’s where to find tickets still available and on sale online below.
TOP PICK
Find Chris Stapleton Tickets at StubHub
Stubhub has Chris Stapleton tickets available. Stubhub’s Fan Protect Guarantee ensures valid tickets or your money back. And if your event is canceled and not rescheduled, you’ll receive 120% in credit or be given the option of a full refund.
EARN REWARDS
Find Chris Stapleton Tickets at Vivid Seats
You can also find Chris Stapleton tickets online at Vivid Seats, which lets you search by price, location and “Super Sellers,” which denotes reputable sellers with the best deals on tickets.
Vivid Seats is also great for group tickets: the site has a rewards program that gives you your eleventh ticket free (in the form of a credit) after you buy ten tickets online. And as a bonus, you can use our exclusive promo code BB30 to take $30 off your purchase at VividSeats.com.
BEST PRICES
Find Chris Stapleton Tickets at SeatGeek
One of the lowest prices we’re seeing for Chris Stapleton tickets is at SeatGeek, which has stubs from $50 and up. Use our discount code BILLBOARD10 to save an additional $10 at check out.
PROMO CODES
Find Chris Stapleton Tickets on TicketNetwork
TicketNetwork has tickets to Chris Stapleton’s concerts with all-in pricing that lets you see exactly what you’ll pay up front (fees included). For a limited time, you can use our exclusive code BILLBOARD150 to save $150 off $500 or BILLBOARD300 to save $300 off orders of $1000 and up.
See the slate of newly added tour dates below:
June 13: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)+
June 18: Greensboro, N.C. (First Horizon Coliseum)^
June 20: Albany, N.Y. (MVP Arena)^
June 27: Tinley Park, Ill. (Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre)#
July 11: St. Louis, Mo. (Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre)‡
July 12: Milwaukee, Wis. (Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival)
July 23: Belmont Park, N.Y. (UBS Arena)~
July 25: New York City (Madison Square Garden)~
Aug. 1: Noblesville, Ind. (Ruoff Music Center)**
Aug. 8: Phoenix, Ariz. (Desert Diamond Arena)‡‡
Aug. 15: Salt Lake City, Utah (Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre)*
Aug. 22: Denver, Colo. (Ball Arena)**
Oct. 10: Hollywood, Fla. (Hard Rock Live)
*with special guest Marcus King†with special guest Nikki Lane‡with special guest Brittney Spencer+with special guest Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs^with special guest Maggie Rose# with special guest The War and Treaty~with special guest Grace Potter**with special guest Allen Stone‡‡with special guest Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
With the highly anticipated release of the Nintendo Switch 2 comes a slew of new and improved tech.
Capitalizing on the new gaming tech drop, Belkin released a gaming charger case, and it’s available now on Amazon. Retailing for $69.99, the charging case currently comes in three colors including black, khaki and olive green.
Great for on-the-go gaming, this case elongates the life of the Switch 2 thanks to a fast-charging Nintendo Switch charger built into the case along with a removable 10,000mAh power bank that delivers up to 30W, charging your Switch up to 1.5x for extended hours of playtime. Said removable charger comes equipped with a nifty LCD screen that tells you the current battery life of your console, perfect for hassle-free marathon gaming sessions.
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Belkin Gaming Charger Case for Nintendo Switch 2
A charging case for the new Nintendo Switch 2.
Perfect for storage or long travel days, the genius of this case is that it offers a custom fit that shields your console with features like anti-scratch lining and shock-absorbing materials that protect your precious console from wear and tear. Looking for extra storage for your collection of games? This case allows storage for up to 10 game cards that can be situated in a dedicated slot system. You can also keep tabs on your Nintendo Switch case by utilizing a hidden AirTag compartment embedded into the case so you’ll never lose it.
Compact and sleek, this carrying case is great for traveling. It’s small enough to store easily in a backpack, purse or carry-on. The case itself is also easy to carry thanks to a short strap fixed to the top.
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Nintendo Switch 2
$499.99
$499.00
The second iteration of the Switch.
According to Nintendo’s IR information, the original Switch sold over 152 million units worldwide. The Switch launched back in 2017, receiving widespread acclaim from everyone including video game-obsessed celebrities like Chance The Rapper, Meghan Trainor, Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Chrissy Teigen. With the success of the OG Switch, it’s no wonder Nintendo launched this new console.
What’s so different about the Switch 2 you ask? Well, the new console is vastly improved, coming equipped with a larger screen and upgraded graphics, something that fans of the console have taken umbrage with about the original. The updated console also includes redesigned Joy-Con 2 controllers that include mouse functionality and a C button for voice chat.
Mario Kart World -Nintendo Switch 2
A new Mario Kart game exclusive for the Switch 2.
Some Switch 2-exclusive games will include Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, along with upcoming titles like Donkey Kong Bananza, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and The Duskbloods. If you’re looking to grab the new Switch 2, prospective buyers can snag the console at Walmart and Target now for $499.00.
Beloved jam band Goose hits the stage this weekend, June 14-15, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and the String Cheese Incident for All Good Now, the 30th anniversary of Baltimore promoter Tim Walther’s 1995 outing with Gov’t Mule and John Scofield at Wilmers Park, Maryland.
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“Back then it was just me, some bands, a fax machine and a bunch of fliers,” Walthers tells Billboard of that first-year effort. Since then, he’s grown his small promotion company into one of the most influential indie promoters in the mid-Atlantic region with over 2 million tickets sold across 3,000 club shows and 68 festivals, staging events at venues across the region, from the famed 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. to the bustling mountaintops of West Virginia.
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“We’ve always stayed true to our roots while also having our eye on something bigger for fans of jam bands and improvisational music,” Walthers says. This weekend’s festival also includes sets from Lawrence, Molly Tuttle, the Disco Biscuits, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and more. The festival is divided by two stages, a symphony woods section and a Shakedown Street where fans can shop and socialize.
Walther notes “there was no promoter playbook” when he first started the All Good Music Festival & Campout in 1997 with landowner Arthur Wilmer to launch “a new kind of music festival—one driven by spirit, spontaneity, and shared values. We were just trying to figure it out and make enough to make it to the next festival.”
Over time, the crowds swelled from 940 people to 23,000 fans, with 1,200 people hired annually to work on the event, which has become a rite of passage for jam band fans from around the world. The festival “never lost its soul,” Walther tells Billboard. “There’s no overlapping sets and whenever possible, fireworks.”
To view set times and buy tickets, visit allgoodpresentslivemusic.com.
Rodney Brown, drummer on 1967’s “Funky Broadway,” a Dyke & the Blazers classic and one of the first hit songs to use a variation on the word “funk” in its title, died May 17 of unknown causes in an unknown location. The lifelong Phoenix resident, who’d been the last surviving member of the band’s original lineup, was 78.
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Brown’s distinctive skipped-beat syncopation on “Funky Broadway,” a track covered by many artists, most notably Wilson Pickett with a Billboard Hot 100 No. 8 hit later that year, turned out to be influential. Clyde Stubblefield employed a similar technique on James Brown’s “Funky Drummer,” released in 1970, which became a widely sampled breakbeat on numerous hip-hop classics.
“‘Funky Broadway’ started the funk beat that was heard around the world,” says Lucius Parr, a veteran Phoenix guitarist whose ’70s band, the Soul Keepers, featured Brown on drums. “‘Funky Broadway’ had a break where they gave Rodney this drumbeat solo — ‘wiggle your waist, baby, shake, shake, shake,’ all that stuff. It was just Dyke and the drummer.”
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The original “Funky Broadway” single, split into two pieces, with “Part 1” on the A-side of the single and “Part 2” on the B-side, peaked at No. 65 on the Hot 100 in August 1967, as well as No. 17 on the R&B chart (now the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart). The band’s independent label, Artco, struggled to break the song on the radio because programmers responded, “You can’t say ‘funk’ on the radio,” according to John P. Dixon, an Arizona music historian who helped found the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. DJs at white stations, at the time, associated the word with Black culture and avoided it: “It was just one of those words, they felt, as a rock ‘n’ roll radio station, they would have a hard time,” Dixon says. “People would get turned off by it.”
(Jazz tracks had used the word several times before “Funky Broadway,” including Horace Silver’s “Opus de Funk” in 1953, but these songs were never chart hits. Also, country singer and comedian Ray Stevens, who is white, had a No. 91 Hot 100 hit in 1966 with “Freddie Feelgood (And His Funky Little Five Piece Band).”)
Pickett’s version had the effect of desegregating the word, but tragically, the Blazers were never able to fully capitalize on the song’s success: Frontman Arlester “Dyke” Christian was shot to death in Phoenix in 1971.
Influenced by James Brown and the Temptations, Rodney Brown first picked up drums after he was playing basketball in a park and happened to see a band playing nearby. His mother bought him a drum kit. Dyke & the Blazers’ saxophonist, Bernard Williams, invited him into the band, and his first gig with them was at a local Elks Club. “When we made the record, they gave me a drum solo,” Brown said in a 2004 interview for the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. “I’d only been playing six months when we made ‘Funky Broadway.’”
After performing before large crowds on a 1967 tour — including a run at New York’s Apollo Theatre, where James Brown was in attendance, according to interviews with band members — the original lineup broke up. Christian convened a new version of the Blazers, which at one point included James Gadson, a prolific session drummer who appeared on songs by the Jackson 5, Paul McCartney, Herbie Hancock, Bill Withers and many others.
This Blazers iteration, including musicians who would go on to play with the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band and Earth, Wind & Fire, hit No. 4 on the R&B chart with “Let a Woman Be a Woman – Let a Man Be a Man” and No. 7 with “We Got More Soul,” both in 1969.
Rodney Brown played in bands sporadically after his Dyke & the Blazers experience. At the time of his death, he was working in real estate. “Funk started right here in the desert,” he said in 2004, “and we were part of the group that started it.”
Father’s Day is this Sunday (June 15), and hopefully, folks have already gotten the dads in their lives a proper gift. But in case Dad is into cannabis, we’ve whipped together a new gift guide that might help inform your choices.
As I always like to share with readers, cannabis has transformed my life for the better by providing me with a variety of ways to consume products. Further, the innovation that some of the brands we’re featuring is astounding. I sometimes have trouble falling asleep, and there are brands out there addressing those who suffer from sleeplessness. As someone who struggles with ADHD, there are even products that bring life into focus.
I don’t want to come off too square here as I believe that we should also enjoy cannabis for relaxing and leisure, and do so responsibly. As much as I am a cannabis enthusiast, I do not encourage overindulgence. However, I believe in finding products that work best in one’s life, and I hope this gift guide will help you find the right path. You’ll see some familiar brands from past coverage, and we thank them for allowing us to highlight their wares.
In full transparency, I wanted to get this guide up earlier in the week, but life got in the way as it typically does. There will be opportunities for interviews, profiles, and even reviews in the coming months. The next roundup I’ll do will be Halloween, then onto the Thanksgiving holiday, then closing the year out with a holiday-themed guide.
Please check out our latest cannabis gift guide, and Happy Father’s Day to all the dope dads out there.
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Photo: Getty
1. BRĒZ
Source:BRĒZ
BRĒZ specializes in drinks featuring hemp-derived THC combined with mushroom blends to help with focus, balance, and relaxation. For those who want to play around with their infused spirits to create functional cocktails, the brand’s Spirit release is boosted with THC, CBD, and Lion’s Mane mushrooms with flavors of agave, lemon, and elderflower. Grab a good tonic, fill up a highball glass with good ice, and have a sensible pour.
Learn more here.
2. Betty’s Eddies
Source:Betty’s Eddies
Betty’s Eddies remains one of the best-tasting edibles around, and they’re consistently switching things up with new flavors and functionality. For the summer season, the brand is proud to highlight its Beachtime Betty’s Strawberry Lemonade chews. Packed with both THC, CBG, and vitamins C and D, this sounds like something you’ll want to take along for the next trip to the sands.
Learn more here.
3. Blazy Susan
Source:Blazy Susan
Blazy Susan has everything from their super fresh spinning rolling trays, dabbing essentials, rolling papers, and more. Now, they’re promoting their new Peach Tea Leaf Cones, similar to the previous Honey Lemon release. But whatever you cop from Blazy Susan, you can’t go wrong.
Learn more here.
4. Cake She Hits Different
Source:Cake She Hits Different
CAKE She Hits Different bills itself as the top AIO (all-in-one) THC vape cart in California, and it’s not hard to see why with its handy device pulling off big, flavorful clouds.
Learn more here.
5. Cornbread Hemp
Source:Cornbread Hemp
Kentucky is certainly known for its bourbon. Leave it up to Cornbread Hemp, and the Bluegrass State might have a claim to having some of the best hemp-derived cannabis products on the market. Their THC-infused seltzers are very crushable.
6. Fable
Source:Fable
Fable produces a line of hemp-derived THC-infused canned cocktails that come in three delicious varieties. Swap out the beer for one of these beauties and trust us when we say it’ll be a better time in the morning.
Learn more here.
7. ILGM
Source:ILGM
If Dad has a “green thumb” and is ready to grow his a harvest of his own, introduce him to ILGM’s Blue Dream autoflower seeds. ILGM bills itself as the largest cannabis seed bank in the United States.
8. Lumibloom
Source:LumiBloom
We’ve featured Black and woman-owned Lumibloom in past guides, and we’re excited to share that this is the real deal. With CBD growing as a means to treat rest and recovery efforts, inflammation, and more, Lumibloom would be a great place to shop for Dad.
Learn more here.
9. Nature’s Heritage
Source:Nature’s Heritage
Nature’s Heritage produces a wide range of cannabis products, including flowers, pre-rolls, and edibles. Their latest drop is the Myrcodose pills, which combine mushrooms with unique THC and CBD compounds for varying effects.
Learn more here.
10. Puffco
Source:Puffco
Puffco is for experienced users of concentrates and for those who both like to dab at home or on the go. The brand’s Pivot device is one of their portable options and a handsome conversation starter.
Learn more here.
11. STIIIZY
Source:STIIIZY
STIIIZY has achieved notoriety for its flowers, edibles, and pods among other items. The brand is pushing out its STIIIZY BAR, which works with the brand’s pods and achieves a dual flow effect that puts it above a lot of vape carts out there. Also, the brand has some amazing hemp-based drinks that shouldn’t be missed.
12. Treadwell Farms
Source:Treadwell Farms
We’ve featured Treadwell Farms in previous gift guide roundups, and the Florida-based brand focuses on a variety of hemp products, including its Citrus Spice CBD extract featuring turmeric and ginger to address health needs such as relaxation and inflammation.
13. Vessel
Source:Vessel
Vessel is, in my opinion, creating some of the sexiest looking devices on the market. The brand’s attention to detail, lavish style points, and general affordability make this a fantastic choice for the Dad in your life. Check out the new Sage drop for their Compass Rise device.
14. Weedgets
Source:Weedgets
Folks who smoke flower are well aware of how the heat, resin, and tar can accumulate not only in devices but also in our noses and lungs. Weedgets head off those harmful components with their patented filtration technology that cools the smoke and stops the gunk while delivering the benefits of smoked flower. We’ve been using the Maze-X pipe, and there is nothing on the market that we’ve seen quite like it.
Learn more here.
15. Wynk
Source:WYNK
Wynk is one of the leaders in the THC seltzers game, and they thankfully come in dosage options for those who want a social buzz or deeper relaxation vibes. We’re very fond of their lemonade line, especially as the weather continues to warm.
Learn more here.
16. Zen Cannabis
Source:Zen Cannabis
Zen Cannabis has the edibles game on lock with gummies, tinctures, and their infused chocolate bars. The brand is available in a handful of states, so tap in and grab Dad some tasty treats. Be sure to check out their effective Nite Nite gummies.
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This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new music, including Grupo Frontera’s surprise EP Y Lo Que Viene and Buscabulla’s LP Se Amaba Así, to name a few. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
Sony Music Group’s revenues are growing faster than the industry average, and it is the only major to grow its market share, CEO and chairman Rob Stringer said during an investor presentation on Friday.
For nine straight years, the major music company and subsidiary of the Japanese film, gaming and media conglomerate Sony, said it has achieved record-setting revenue, growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% over the past four years compared to the industry’s 11.3% CAGR, while streaming revenue grew at a 15.1% CAGR. And according to MIDiA Research, Stringer said Sony was alone among the three majors to increase its market share from 2020 to 2024, due to it’s “higher independent market share than any other label or distributor” as a result of owning the indie distributor The Orchard.
In the wide-ranging investor presentation, Stringer said Sony is benefitting from the commercial success of albums by superstar artists, including Beyonce, Bad Bunny, Chappell Roan, Tyler the Creator and Charli XCX, and the more than 60 acquisitions and investments worth over $2.5 billion dollars that it has entered into over the past year alone across global frontline, catalog, creative and service businesses.
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Stringer said Sony Music’s dominance of the independent market stems from The Orchard, Sony’s independent distribution organization, which has more than 26,000 label partners; AWAL which works with 20,000 artists, and the Alamo Records umbrella group, which includes Foundation distribution and Santa Anna’s incubator, and now works with nearly 3,000 artists.
“In an environment where nearly half the marketplace is made up of the independent music sector, sales flowing through our independent distribution businesses more than doubled the last four years,” Stringer said in a pre-recorded video presenation. Addressing the skepticism of some investors around Sony Music’s $1.27 billion acquisition of Queen’s recorded music, publishing and name, image and likeness rights — the highest amount ever paid for an artist’s catalog — Stringer said, “these acquisitions… are in no way based on random financial speculative tactics.”
Investments like these are made back by exploiting listeners’ growing demand for older catalog music, Stringer through merchandise sales, sync placements in films and synergies with the gaming industry.
“We see more of our catalog in the charts as every year passes,” Stringer said. “In 2020, 24 percent of the Top 200 tracks were catalog songs. In 2024, that percentage grew to about 50 percent. This trend is extremely beneficial to Sony Music given our rich, deep working content.”
Since Sony’s investment in merch company Ceremony of Roses in 2022, the company has grown revenue by seven times, and its neighboring rights division collected more than $65 million for its artists last year.
Stringer reiterated calls for price increases and new tiers across the digital streaming platforms, and called for flexible pricing structures in high growth and developing markets.
Stringer said Sony Music has worked with 800 technology companies “on ethical product creation, content protection, detection, enhancing metadata and audio tuning and translation,” and that they are going to do “deals for new music AI products this year with those that want to construct the future with us the right way,” creating and adhereing to a clear remuneration system.
“New subscription ideas with fair revenue sharing arrangements will be further additive … [and] will start to slowly and rapidly scale,” Stringer said. “We will share all revenues with our artists and songwriters whether from training or related to outputs, so they are appropriately compensated from day one of this new frontier.”
Stringer said he hopes the industry’s proof of concept will give government regulators the evidence they need to pass laws reinforcing that system.
Pulp has scored its first No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart in 27 years with eighth LP More (June 13). The Jarvis Cocker-led band previously had two chart-toppers to its name (1995’s Different Class and 1997’s This is Hardcore), and a number of top 10 placings throughout its career: 1994’s His ‘N’ Hers […]
After three months, Alex Warren’s reign atop the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart has come to an end as Sabrina Carpenter ousts him from the No. 1 spot (June 13). His spell was broken by Carpenter’s “Manchild,” which achieved the feat with 6.8 million streams in its opening week. The song and its playful video were […]
