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06 Nov 2023

Machine Gun Kelly Reacts to Backlash Over Viral Formula 1 Interview: ‘My Anxiety Has Won’

Machine Gun Kelly attended his first Formula 1 event with the Brazilian Grand Prix over the weekend, but the “Bloody Valentine” rocker came under fire on social media following an awkward interaction with Sky Sports reporter, Martin Brundle.

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In the short grid-walk interview, MGK is visibly uncomfortable as he seemingly struggles to hear Brundle over the sounds of the crowd and racetrack. When Brundle asked what’s currently going on in his career, the musician simply replied, “I don’t think about my career.”

After a series of awkward questions and responses, MGK eventually asks Brundle to play air piano to accompany his air guitar. When Brundle confused, Kelly gave the camera a thumbs down and left the interview, to which Brundle joked that he won’t be making the rocker’s Christmas card list this year.

The tense interview was met by mixed reactions online, with fans calling out MGK for being rude to Brundle and having the “worst” vibe. “My vibe is ‘the worst’ how?” Machine Gun Kelly responded on Twitter on Sunday (Nov. 5). “Because someone put a microphone in my face essentially forcing me to do a random interview when I was just trying to enjoy an event? Because car engines were so loud I couldn’t hear him? Please tell me more about why I’m the worst.”

He followed up by asking another Twitter user why they “posted this pointless video” of the interview. The “I Think I’m Okay” star concluded his thoughts with an insight into how he’s doing mentally. “My anxiety has won. I hate being in public,” he wrote. See below.

06 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift’s First-Week Sales on Every ‘Taylor’s Version’ Re-Record (And How They Compare to The Originals)

Few artists will ever reach the sales numbers that Taylor Swift has racked up over the course of her career — and even fewer will ever do it two times over.

What started as a passion project to reclaim her master recordings is now a cultural phenomenon. Supported symbiotically by her blockbuster Eras Tour — which reportedly made the pop star a billionaire in October 2023 — the “Taylor’s Version” re-recording project both caters to the nostalgia of O.G. Swifties while roping in new ones, breathing a second commercial life into albums that were already wildly successful upon their original releases between 2006 and 2017.

Kicking off in April 2021 with the release of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Swift’s years-long project has raked in millions in sales and billions in streams, while also affecting the value out of the original editions of her first six albums. The undertaking has been so successful, in fact, that major labels are actively working to avoid becoming the next “Big Machine,” with Billboard reporting that outlets like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have started overhauling contracts for new signees and demanding that artists wait an unprecedented 10, 15 or even 30 years to re-record releases after departing their record companies.

Part of Swift’s secret formula for scoring so big with each Taylor’s Version is her inclusion of “From The Vault” tracks, or songs that she initially wrote for each album but ultimately left off of their final track lists. These previously unreleased time-capsule songs have given the superstar a second chance at topping the charts, as well as more opportunities to collaborate with other artists, be it Phoebe Bridgers on Red (Taylor’s Version)‘s “Nothing New,” Paramore’s Hayley Williams on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)‘s “Castles Crumbling” or a litany of country stars on Fearless.

Keep reading to see the first-week traditional album sales of every “Taylor’s Version” re-record (so far), plus how they compare to their original counterparts below:

06 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Charts All 21 Songs From ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ on the Hot 100

Taylor Swift returns with another massive week on Billboard’s charts (dated Nov. 11), as all 21 songs from the standard edition of her latest re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), land on the latest Billboard Hot 100.

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The set debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, her 13th leader, with 1.653 million equivalent album units earned in its opening week (Oct. 27-Nov. 2), according to Luminate. That’s not only the largest one-week total of 2023, but the biggest week for any album since the opening week of Adele’s 25 in November 2015 (3.482 million). Of the new set’s 1.653 million units, 1.359 million are from album sales, marking Swift’s largest sales week for a title to date.

Of Swift’s 22 total entries on the Hot 100 – all 21 from the new set, plus “Cruel Summer” (which falls to No. 6 after two weeks at No. 1) – 19 debut and two re-enter: “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” and “This Love (Taylor’s Version),” at Nos. 20 and 43, respectively, both new highs. Her re-recorded “Wildest Dreams” charted for one week at No. 37 in October 2021, after it appeared in the trailer for the 2021 DreamWorks Animation film Spirit Untamed, while the new version of “This Love” spent one frame, at No. 50, on the chart in May 2022, after its appearance in the trailer for the Amazon Prime Video series The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Here’s a look at all of Swift’s songs on the Nov. 11-dated Hot 100, all of which are debuts except where noted.

Taylor Swift on the Nov. 11-dated Hot 100:

  • No. 1, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
  • No. 2, “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
  • No. 3, “Slut! (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
  • No. 5, “Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
  • No. 6, “Cruel Summer” (down after two weeks at No. 1)
  • No. 7, “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 9, “Style (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 10, “Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
  • No. 12, “Blank Space (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 14, “Welcome to New York (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 16, “Out of the Woods (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 19, “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” (re-entry; new peak)
  • No. 20, “All You Had to Do Was Stay (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 28, “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 29, “New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 30, “Clean (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 31, “I Wish You Would (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 36, “I Know Places (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 39, “Wonderland (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 40, “How You Get the Girl (Taylor’s Version)”
  • No. 42, “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” (re-entry; new peak)
  • No. 43, “You Are in Love (Taylor’s Version)”

With 18 debuts, Swift brings her total to 230 Hot 100 hits in her career, the second-most after Drake’s 321. She also ups her counts to 31 top five hits (passing The Beatles, Mariah Carey and Madonna for the second-most after Drake’s 41); 49 top 10s (second after Drake’s 76); 85 top 20 titles (second after Drake’s 132); and 137 top 40 entries (second after Drake’s 199).

Meanwhile, this is just the fourth week in which an artist has tallied at least eight songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously. Here’s a look at every such instance.

Most Simultaneous Entries in the Hot 100’s Top 10:

  • 10, Taylor Swift, chart dated Nov. 5, 2022
  • 9, Drake, Sept. 18, 2021
  • 8, Drake, Nov. 19, 2022
  • 8, Taylor Swift, Nov. 11, 2023

As “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” debuts at No. 1, Swift ups her total to 11 career Hot 100 No. 1s, breaking out of a tie with Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder to tie Whitney Houston for the eighth-most of all time (dating to the chart’s 1958 start). The Beatles lead all acts with 20 No. 1s, followed by Mariah Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Drake (13), Michael Jackson (13) and Madonna (12) and The Supremes (12).

06 Nov 2023

Heat For Free: J. Cole Reveals That He Doesn’t Charge For Features, Says “It’s Just A Bar Bro”

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J. Cole Doesn't Charge Rappers For Guest Features

Source: Christopher Polk / Getty / J. Cole

J. Cole is best known for dropping albums without any features, but when other Hip-Hop stars throw up the Dreamville signal, he never lets them down, delivering straight heat. Now, many fans are shocked to learn that his lyrical prowess doesn’t come with a ridiculous asking price.

Speaking with Lil Yachty on a recent episode of his A Safe Place podcast, J. Cole spoke on his collaborative process. The conversation eventually landed on how much the North Carolina flame spitter charges for a verse and we were all shocked to learn he doesn’t charge for features.

“Yo, bro, it’s just a bar, bro. Like, a lot of my bars be really on point but that’s just a flex. I’m not gonna charge a ni**a $2,000 a word. I don’t even charge ni**a for the verse, I’m doing this shit because I’m inspired to do it,” Cole told Yachty.

Jermaine Cole’s comments come after the rapper, who is “first to do everything,” Soulja Boy, claims he charges $1 million for a feature.

“If you want a verse, it’s gon’ cost you a M. You want a show, it’s gon’ cost you $100k,” the “Turn My Swag On” rapper said to fans during a recent live stream.

We’re curious how much Trey Songz paid for that “LOL Smiley Face” feature.

J.Cole Has Thoughts On Him “Washing” Drake On “First Person Shooter”

Anyway, later in the podcast, sticking on the topic of features, Cole spoke about having his first No. 1 track on the Billboard Hot 100 with his feature on Drake’s “First Person Shooter.”

“If it would’ve went No. 2 it wouldn’t have mattered. I wouldn’t have felt no way. If the other song would’ve went No. 1, it’s like, bruh, I’m cool. If that other song would’ve gone No. 1, ni**a, I’m still grateful I’m a part of it,” Cole said.

By the way, many agree that J. Cole washed Drake on the track, including J.I.D and Joe Budden.



Consider us shocked that Cole doesn’t charge for features. This is just another reason his legend continues to grow in the Hip-Hop world.

But, also, when you’re really good at something, you never do it for free.

Just saying.

—

Photo: Christopher Polk / Getty

06 Nov 2023

Want to See Doja Cat Live? Here’s How to Snag Last-Minute Tickets to The Scarlet Tour

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Doja Cat’s first-ever headlining arena tour is off to a strong start. After performing to a packed house at Crypto Arena in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, Doja will take the tour a little further south to Anaheim, Calif., where she will perform at the Honda Center on Monday (Nov. 6).

The Scarlet Tour, which opened to a sold-out crowd in San Francisco on Oct. 31, will hit two dozen cities over the next few weeks, including Las Vegas; Houston; Atlanta; Denver; Boston; Washington, D.C.; San Diego, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Newark, N.J. and Omaha, Neb.

Ice Spice and Doechii will join Doja on select dates. The tour wraps on Dec. 13 in Chicago.

Read on for ways to get tickets and cheapest prices.

Where to Get Tickets

Tickets for The Scarlet Tour were originally released in June via Ticketmaster. Fans who pre-registered got access to presale tickets on June 28. General onsale tickets went on sale on June 30.

If you missed the first ticket run, you still have time to secure passes to see the Grammy winner live. Tickets are available on sites like StubHub, Vivid Seats, Ticketmaster and Seat Geek.

TicketNetwork and Game Time also have affordably priced tickets. In fact, most of the resale tickets that we’ve found are priced well below $100.

How to Get Tickets on StubHub

StubHub is a solid choice for last-minute tickets. Right now, tickets are available for as low as $27 for select dates. However, the majority of cheap tickets range from around $40 to $75, while VIP passes can cost more than $600 depending on the concert date, location and ticket availability.

At StubHub, Tickets are selling quickly for tonight’s show in Anaheim, as well as concerts in Denver, Atlanta and Newark, N.J.

How to Get Tickets on Vivid Seats

Like the other ticketing sites, tickets at Vivid Seats are affordably priced. Tickets start at approximately $34. You’ll find a good number of tickets still available at Vivid Seats, but some concert in Anaheim, Toronto and Phoenix are selling out faster than other dates on the tour.

Vivid Seats also offers ticket deals for dates on the tour including Chicago, Toronto, Miami and Dallas.

How to Get Tickets on Seat Geek

Seat Geek has some of the cheapest ticket prices that we’ve seen online. Tickets to Doja’s tour are currently priced as low as $22, but most fall within the $30-$75 range. And VIP packages are priced from around $300 and up.

Looking for a discount? Save $10 on a purchase of $250+ with code BILLBOARD10. Offer valid on first purchase only.

What can fans expect to hear at The Scarlet Tour? The 24-track setlist includes “Agora Hills” “Paint the Town Red” “Demon,” “Tia Tamera,” “Woman,” “Say So,” “Need to Know,” “Shutcho,” “Ouchies” and “Wet Vagina.”

06 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Makes History With Top 6 Songs, All From ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version),’ on Billboard Global 200 Chart

Taylor Swift’s “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 songs chart (dated Nov. 11). Swift claims the top six songs on the survey – a first in the chart’s three-year-plus history. She one-ups the prior mark, which she also held, as she swept the top five on the Global 200 dated Nov. 5, 2022, when her album Midnights made its chart start.

The top six songs on the latest Global 200 are from Swift’s newest rerecorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which bounds in atop the Billboard 200 chart, becoming her 13th No. 1 set, extending her mark for the most among women.

Swift also becomes the first artist to score new Global 200 No. 1s in consecutive weeks, as her new leader follows the coronation of her “Cruel Summer” a week earlier.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Six-cess: Swift Scores Record on Global 200

“Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” premieres at No. 1 on the Global 200 with 63.7 million streams and 7,000 sold worldwide in its first week (Oct. 27-Nov. 2). Swift earns her fourth No. 1 on the chart, following “Cruel Summer” a week ago and two songs that, like her latest, debuted on top: “Anti-Hero” led for four weeks beginning in November 2022 and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” reigned for a week in November 2021.

Swift breaks out of a tie with Olivia Rodrigo for the most Global 200 No. 1s among women. Overall, she ties Bad Bunny for the most among all soloists; among all acts, their four each trail only BTS’ seven.

As noted above, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” leads six songs from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in the Global 200’s top six spots. Here’s a recap of their ranks, and worldwide streaming totals in the tracking week:

  • No. 1: “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” 63.7 million streams worldwide
  • No. 2: “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” 55.9 million
  • No. 3: “Slut! (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” 55 million
  • No. 4: “Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” 53.4 million
  • No. 5: “Style (Taylor’s Version),” 52 million
  • No. 6: “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version),” 46.3 million

Swift additionally starts at No. 9 on the Global 200 with “Blank Space (Taylor’s Version),” also from 1989 (Taylor’s Version), led by 45.2 million streams.

With seven new top 10 Global 200 hits, Swift ups her count to 24 top 10s since the chart began. She passes Bad Bunny (19) and ranks behind only Drake (35) for the most.

(Among the onslaught of Swift’s new top 10s, “Cruel Summer” falls to No. 11 on the Global 200.)

Quintero Continues Atop Global Excl. U.S.

Iñigo Quintero’s “Si No Estás” spends a second week at No. 1 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 51.6 million streams (down 5%) and 1,000 sold (down 9%) outside the U.S. Oct. 27-Nov. 2. The piano-pop song is the first entry on the ranking for the Spanish singer-songwriter.

Jung Kook’s “Seven” featuring Latto keeps at No. 2 following nine weeks at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S. beginning in July; Tate McRae’s “Greedy” is steady at its No. 3 high; and Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” rebounds 5-4, following two weeks on top starting in September.

Plus, Swift debuts three songs in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, all from 1989 (Taylor’s Version): “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” at No. 5 (32.1 million streams outside the U.S.); “Style (Taylor’s Version),” at No. 7 (30.7 million); and “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” at No. 10 (27.9 million).

Swift now boasts 14 Global Excl. U.S. top 10s, moving her closer to Bad Bunny’s record 18 since the chart began.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Nov. 11, 2023) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (Nov. 7). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

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.

06 Nov 2023

Radio Dominates Hispanic Listening in the U.S., According to New Nielsen Report

While radio may no longer be the only game in town when it comes to promoting and playing music, its importance is still outsized, according to Nielsen’s newly released Audio Today 2023 report focused on Hispanic consumers.

According to the report, which took into consideration listening by adults (18 plus) in more than 250 U.S. markets, radio reaches 94% of Latins every month, more than any other linear or digital media platform. That includes live and time-shifted TV (85%), smartphones (89%) and PCs (67%).

In terms of audio services only, the difference is stark. While radio reaches 94% of Hispanic adults 18 plus, its closest competitor, YouTube Music, reaches 44%, followed by Spotify (31%), Pandora (23%), Amazon Music (15%), Apple Music (14%) and satellite radio (11%).

And while listening numbers for radio’s competitors vary between age segments, radio consistently reaches 90% or more of listeners across demographics. Among the 18-34 demo, for example, it reaches 91% of listeners, followed by YouTube Music at 44% and Spotify at 41%.

That dominance also holds true among non-Hispanic listeners, though it’s a little less pronounced. Radio reaches 90% of all non-Hispanic listeners 18 plus (compared to 94% for Hispanics) and 82% of non-Hispanics 18-34 (compared to 92% for Hispanics).

Radio additionally leads in terms of listening time. The “share of ear time” for radio among adults 18 plus is 30%, followed by streaming audio at 21%.

Radio’s massive consumption comes down to accessibility and culture, says Stacie de Armas, Nielsen’s senior vp of diverse intelligence & initiatives.

“Radios’ reach is exceptional and always has been,” notes de Armas, who says the numbers weren’t surprising for her. “In fact in the past 10 years, it’s only dropped three percentage points. And that means that radio is a deeply embedded part of Hispanic life. It’s accessible everywhere, and a very important part of the Latino experience in a way I don’t see replicated in other groups. Radio serves a unique role in the lives of Hispanics. Radio is local. It gives people touchpoints into what’s happening.”

Accessibility has also given radio staying power among Hispanics, and it has a major bearing on the strength of YouTube Music, one of the first platforms to offer a multiplicity of content in Spanish.

Historically, says de Armas, Spanish language television has long been a part of the Hispanic experience in the United States with Univision and Telemundo. But cable was inaccessible for many people because the consumer had to pay, and there was an additional cost for Spanish programming. YouTube, on the other hand, was free, as long as you had Internet access.

“So, a lot of shifting went to YouTube. It was very easy to introduce YouTube Music,” says de Armas, noting that Hispanics spend 51% of their TV viewing on streaming, and 16% of that streaming comes from YouTube (although Netflix is a close second at 13.1%).

By the same token, Pandora is the third most listened-to option (after radio and YouTube) among the 35-49 and 50 and over segment of the Hispanic population because it was the first audio streaming service to focus on Spanish. But it doesn’t have the same accessibility as radio or YouTube.

Despite the numbers demonstrating radio’s continued reach, the format has been all but dismissed by some in recent times — in part because it wasn’t as measurable as other platforms. But, says de Armas, when advertisers make the effort to measure radio’s audience, they see results. “There’s engagement potential there that’s being lost on brands that are under-utilizing radio,” she says.

It’s not lost on the user, however.

“Community engagement is key,” de Armas says. “The cultural connection with radio hosts, for example, which fosters a sense of community. There’s a trust factor we’re underestimating, and I don’t think it exists in the same way with streaming platforms. And there’s also nostalgia and habit.”

06 Nov 2023

Lainey Wilson Announces Headlining Shows in Australia & Europe for 2024

Wild horses don’t easily slow down, and neither does Lainey Wilson. The country singer-songwriter will expand her headlining shows with Lainey Wilson: LIVE, a string of nearly a dozen shows across Europe and Australia. The trek will launch March 20 in Melbourne, Australia, and will make stops in cities including Sydney, London and Amsterdam before wrapping May 3 in Oslo at Rockefeller.

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Harper O’Neill will open for Wilson on the European dates, while Jackson Dean and Kameron Marlowe will open the Australia shows.

“There’s no better feeling than putting on a show for a group of folks who have supported from afar for so long,” Wilson said in a statement. “I’m so excited to bring the LIVE show overseas next year and perform in some brand-new cities for the first time.”

Following her international shows, she’ll return to North America to headline her Country’s Cool Again Tour. The Country’s Cool Again Tour launches May 31, 2024, with a show in Nashville and runs through mid-November 2024, wrapping with a show in Monroe, La.

Tickets for Lainey Wilson: LIVE will be available starting with the Wild Horses presale beginning Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale beginning Friday, Nov. 10, at 10 a.m. local time at laineywilson.com.

See below for a full list of Lainey Wilson: Live global tour dates:

  • March 20 – Melbourne, Australia – Margaret Court Arena
  • March 22– Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavilion
  • April 17 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Ulster Hall
  • April 19– Glasgow, England – O2 Academy Glasgow
  • April 20 – Manchester, England– Manchester Academy
  • April 23 – London, England – O2 Forum Kentish Town
  • April 25 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg Max
  • April 29 – Cologne, DE – Kantine
  • April 30 – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theatre
  • May 2 – Stockholm, SE – Nalen
  • May 3rd – Oslo, NO – Rockefeller Music Hall

06 Nov 2023

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Darkness’ Era Captured in New Book: Exclusive Photos

Lynn Goldsmith, who calls herself a “quote-unquote rock ’n’ roll photographer,” returned to her late-‘70s muse, Bruce Springsteen, for her new picture book covering the E Street Band’s Darkness On the Edge of Town period. She had unprecedented access to Springsteen and cohorts such as guitarist Steven Van Zandt, the late saxophonist Clarence Clemons and manager Jon Landau, all of whom she captures in intimate, surprising moments.

“The band of brothers were ready for any musical or physical changes — adding to the ‘play’ Bruce provided by jumping off speakers or running into the crowd,” she writes in the introduction to her upcoming book for Taschen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Darkness On the Edge of Town.

Among the revelations here: a curbside Springsteen holding a boombox like a briefcase; Clemons and the late organist Danny Federici nuzzling each other in a studio; Springsteen donning the sequined leather jacket belonging to Goldsmith, his then-girlfriend, who notes wryly in her intro that this coat now hangs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; rehearsal images of Van Zandt in a purple velvet jacket; and an abundance of killer performance shots, including one of the Boss giving the thumbs-up to an applauding pre-teen girl in the audience.

“When there is a brotherhood, the power of something increases exponentially,” Goldsmith tells Billboard. “You have a group of individuals, led by someone, who are totally aligned with rock ‘n’ roll being being the spiritual vehicle for saving people’s lives, for bringing people together, for celebration as well as for reflection.”

06 Nov 2023

Rock Photographer Lynn Goldsmith Beat the Warhol Estate at the Supreme Court, But It Cost Her Millions

The intimate photos of late-’70s Bruce Springsteen on concert stages, train tracks and hotel-room beds, due in an upcoming book that documents his Darkness On the Edge of Town period, are not Lynn Goldsmith‘s most important images of 2023. It turns out that the veteran photographer’s 1981 shot of Prince, which Vanity Fair licensed for $400 but never published, carries far more significance. In May, Goldsmith won an intellectual property case in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled the late Andy Warhol infringed on her copyright with his Prince rendering. 

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From her Nashville home, Goldsmith, 81, recalls how the legal battle ravaged her financially and why she’s putting out Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Darkness On the Edge of Town through Taschen after her 2022 book, Music in the ’80s, was released by a different publisher. “I have that identity, of a quote-unquote rock and roll photographer,” says Goldsmith, who has published 16 photo books — including for KISS, Marky Mark and The Police — and dated Springsteen when she shot the intimate photos included in the Darkness book, available for pre-order here. “I don’t quite get it, but at my age, it sounds very sexy, so I’ll take it.”

In addition to the photos of Springsteen, I notice the intimacy between members of the E Street Band — there’s a striking series of the late organist Danny Federici sort of cuddling up against the late saxophonist Clarence Clemons. How did you capture this camaraderie?

One of the motivating factors for the book was, I felt that most people focus just on Bruce Springsteen. The band itself never got anywhere near the coverage that I felt should be brought to the attention of people. What Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show is that when there is a brotherhood, the power of something increases exponentially. You have a group of individuals, led by someone, who are totally aligned with rock ‘n’ roll being the spiritual vehicle for saving people’s lives, for bringing people together, for celebration as well as for reflection.

Why put out this Springsteen book now?

[Art-book publisher] Taschen asked me if I would do a Bruce book. I’d already done a book on Springsteen, which I made intentionally small. It was when they did the reunion tour [with the band in 1999-2000] and I wanted it to be affordable. It was like 20 bucks. I wanted a real rough paper. It’s not that I wanted it to be cheap. I wanted it to reflect something. All these people who loved that period of time now have kids, and they could go to the show and they could mark it off. And that’s not the kind of book you do with Taschen.

So how did you come to do this book for Taschen? You’d just put out Music in the ’80s in September 2022 with a different publisher. 

Until the surprise success they had with the Bowie book, Taschen was known for books that were architecture, high-end fashion photographers and artists like [Ai] Weiwei. It was unexpected. The sales were so great. Taschen’s looking at, “What else do we want to do?” After I did my Patti Smith book, an editor there asked me if I would do a book on the ’80s, and I said, “Ah, I hate the ’80s, I don’t want to do it.” He said, “Please, Lynn, put something together.” Upon looking closer at my files, the ’80s were probably one of the most amazing decades of music, because so many different kinds of music were popular, from Herbie Hancock to Thomas Dolby to Barry Manilow to Bananarama. So I got really excited. Then the editor at Taschen who had suggested the book in the first place called me and says, “Listen, we decided we’re not going to do any books on general subject matter, we want it on a specific artist.” I told Taschen I would ask Bruce, and if Bruce was on board, then I would do it. Bruce said, “Go ahead.” I sent him PDFs, just to make sure there were not any images he did not want in the book.

So how did you put out Music In the ’80s?

I went back to [publisher] Rizzoli, who would do whatever I wanted to do because of that New Kids [On the Block] book and they said, “Sure, we’ll do it.”

They agreed based on your New Kids book?

In 1980, there weren’t any art-book publishers that would handle rock ‘n’ roll. If they did a celebrity subject, it was only Elvis or Marilyn Monroe — until I got Rizzoli to do New Kids on the Block. I had gone to every art-book publisher on the planet and everyone, including Rizzoli, had turned me down. It wasn’t until Kodak approached me and said, “We would like to do a book with you, whatever book you want to do,” [that] I said, “Well, this is what I want to do.” There were companies that said, “Oh, these little girls, they’ll buy anything.” I felt it was important for somebody to give [New Kids fans] something that would be sacred to them. That book sold 350,000 copies. Art-book publishers then went, “Oh, there’s a market here.”

In 2019, you estimated your defense in a copyright-infringement case against the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts at $2.5 million. Did you get to recoup any of the costs?

No. The costs were well above $2.5 million. I knew from the start that there were not damages in there for me to collect on because I’m beyond the statute of limitations. Also, I didn’t sue them, they sued me. Not only did I want to stand up to the bullying — wealthy individuals as well as companies or foundations can weaponize the legal system to grab rights — but all photographers were just sick of people thinking they could just take things without permission. 

Did your GoFundMe work? Did you make up at least some of the legal fees?

I’m incredibly happy that I lasted through seven years of stress and fear, because if they had won, they could take everything I have. Well, that’s a threat. When you’re my age, are you going to start over? I didn’t have my house or anything in a trust before the lawsuit so they could have taken everything. When I started out as the Joan of Arc of copyright, I did not think my dress was going to be burning all the way up to my waist, you know? At the moment that I won the case, there were only 150 contributors, and there was about $50,000, after seven years. Now there’s about $68,000 in there. That is really a drop in the bucket.

So you’ve taken a huge personal loss. How did you make it up?

We sold our house in Aspen and we moved to Nashville, where it’s far less expensive. I have a beautiful home, but it’s not Colorado. In addition, I made an agreement with my lawyers at a certain point that they would go pro bono.

I live in Denver so I take your point about Colorado.

So you understand what happened there. You can make a lot of money on your sale in Aspen.

Going back to the Springsteen book: In his introduction, he refers to you in the late ’70s as a “lovely New York apparition.” What do you make of that?

Lovely! [Laughs.] I’m glad he didn’t describe me as a pushy, complaining, criticizing girl.