News

06 Jun 2023

Universal Music Group to Raise $800 Million in Bond Sale

Universal Music Group plans to raise 750 million euros ($801 million) from the sale of 4.000% senior unsecured notes due 2031, the company announced on Tuesday (June 6). The notes will be issued from UMG’s Euro Medium Term Note program and listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and pay transaction fees and expenses. UMG expects the offering to close on June 13.

For this issuance, BNP Paribas and BofA Securities acted as global coordinators. They, along with Crédit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, ING and Mizuho, were active bookrunners. Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG, Intesa, Mediobanca, Morgan Stanley Europe SE, MUFG Securities (Europe) NV, Natixis, Santander and Société Générale acted as co-managers.

UMG had total debt of 2.25 billion euros ($2.41 billion) at the end of 2022, according to the company’s financial statements, and a net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.9. The company sold 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) of bonds in June 2022. Half of the amount was 3.000% senior unsecured notes due 2027. The other half was 3.750% senior unsecured notes due 2032.

Moody’s gave a rating of Baa1 and an outlook of stable for UMG’s notes issued in 2022. The ratings agency cited UMG’s “best-in-class music catalog,” “experienced management team” and “solid financial profile” in addition to the assistance it receives from “secular tailwinds” for the global music industry. Moody’s rating also reflected challenges such as UMG’s “continued need for investments to secure new hits,” “increased competition from the emergence of financial players” in the catalog acquisition space and unforeseen “risks related to evolving technologies” that in the past have hurt music companies’ revenues.

06 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘Speak Now’ Track List, Nicki Minaj’s New Album Release Date, BTS’ ‘Take Two’ Gets to No. 1 & More | Billboard News

Taylor Swift & Matt Healy have reportedly split and the pop star reveals the track list for her upcoming ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ album, Nicki Minaj gives a release date for her first album in five years, BTS’ “Take Two” goes to No. 1 on the Hot Trending Songs chart, what you should know about K-pop girl group NewJeans & more.

Tetris Kelly:
Taylor Swift and Matty Healy break up as she readies her new album. And so does Nicki Minaj. BTS is trending with a new track. We tell you a K-pop girl group you need to know about. And five things you didn’t know about Jelly Roll. It’s Tuesday, June 6th, and this is Billboard News. Taylor Swift and Matty Healy have reportedly called their reported relationship quits and we know exactly what she’s speaking now. After splitting from longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn, Taylor was linked to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. This caused an uproar from Swifties and fans stemming from information like Matty being caught watching racist pornography and laughing at racial slurs about Ice Spice. Now reports are saying Taylor is single, with People source saying, “She had fun with him, but it was always casual” and an ET source adding, “They realize they’re not really compatible with each other.” Matty has now been seen kissing security guards on tour again and drinking from a flask. All this as Taylor reveals the track list for ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ out on July 7th. The additional tracks include songs with Hayley Williams from Paramore and Fall Out Boy — and Taylor isn’t the only massive star with an album to look forward to.

Watch the full video above!

06 Jun 2023

Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock Announces Debut Solo Single ‘DSL’

Leigh-Anne is coming. On Monday, Leigh-Anne Pinnock — a member of the Brit Award-winning girl group Little Mix — tweeted the hashtag “#LeighAnneIsComing” with a message encouraging fans to join her Discord. On Tuesday (June 6), fans finally got some clarity.

After wiping her Instagram profile, Leigh-Anne posted a 26-second snippet of her forthcoming debut solo single “DSL.” In the video, Leigh-Anne dons an iridescent bodysuit as she struts through the shadows to the soundtrack of the U.K. garage-inflected snippet.

This “DSL” snippet is the first piece of concrete information regarding the release of solo music from any of the Little Mix ladies who stayed in the group after the departure of Jesy Nelson. “Guys, I’m screaming,” Leigh-Anne wrote on Twitter shortly after launching the snippet. “Can’t believe it’s happening!”

Since Little Mix began their hiatus, Leigh-Anne has been making strides across the entertainment industry. In February of last year, she signed a solo deal with Warner Records and partnered with TaP Music for representation across media. The following month, Leigh-Anne won documentary of the year at the Visionary Honours Awards for her eye-opening Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power film. More recently, in March of this year, Leigh-Anne partnered with Audible UK to narrate The Little Mermaid.

Musically, Leigh-Anne has been angling herself toward R&B, with several lauded covers including renditions of SWV‘s “Weak,” Dionne Warwick‘s “I Say A Little Prayer,” and Coco Jones‘ “ICU.” Little is known regarding the sound and title of Leigh-Anne’s solo debut beyond the snippet and acronymic title, but more news is certainly on the way.

As a member of Little Mix, Leigh-Anne has earned a pair of top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 albums chart, including 2013’s DNA (No. 4) and 2014’s Salute (No. 6). The X Factor-bred vocal group has also reached as high as No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 2015’s “Black Magic.”

06 Jun 2023

Apple Unveils New 15-Inch Macbook Air, AR Headset & More: Where to Pre-Order

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.

Apple is serving us up with some new and upgraded gadgets after unveiling various upcoming releases during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023. Among the tech showed off was a 15-inch MacBook Air — the largest of the MacBook Air models to date. Other new releases announced included an AR headset called the Vision Pro, which won’t be available until early 2024, but will transform how you surf the web, watch TV shows and movies on streaming platforms and even communicate with friends and family.

Apple iPad

Act Fast! The iPad Pro Is On Sale at Amazon

The new 15-inch MacBook Air isn’t being released until June 13, but you’re currently able to order it in advance. Rather than wait in long lines in store or be met with the dreaded “sold out” message, preordering the highly anticipated model will ensure it’s delivered to you right when the laptop drops. You can find it wherever Apple products are sold including Amazon.

gold 15-inch MacBook Air with display screen on

Amazon

Apple 2023 15.3-inch MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip

$1,299.00

The new MacBook Air comes with a 15.3-inch screen, maintains a lightweight feel (weighing a little over 3 pounds) and is made from recycled aluminum. The slim width remains the same allowing you to easily slide it into your laptop tote bag. Plus it comes in four shades including gold, silver, midnight and space gray. Features you can look forward to using are Apple’s new M2 processing chip, which contains a powerful 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU and up to 24GB of unified memory. It’s also made with a liquid retina display that’ll allow you to stream your favorite Apple TV+ shows with a crystal clear picture. It’s also available in two storage sizes: 256GB and 512GB to fit your needs.

New tech announcements weren’t the only thing that took place during the WWDC 2023: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) made their presence known. On Monday (June 5), the writers strike continued during what the group called its “Apple Day of Action,” Deadline reported. Rather than stand outside with signs, though, the group was handing out leaflets to spread the word.

This comes as Apple TV+ grows in scale and relies on writers to create the stories we all know and love for shows including Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Platonic, Loot, Ghosted, Black Bird, Severance, Dear…, Carpool Karaoke: The Series, Tetris, The Problem with John Stewart, Bad Sisters, The Reluctant Traveler, Schmigadoon! and The Morning Show.

While you wait for the new tech to be released, take advantage of the deals we’ve found on AirPod Pros and iPads on Amazon that you can add to your travel necessities.

06 Jun 2023

What Is Firebird? The Startup With $1B to Spend Supercharging Acts Like Arlo Parks & Maggie Rogers

For the past 17 months, Firebird Music Holdings has quietly been investing in some of music’s top management companies and independent labels specializing in developing artists. The vision, says co-founder and executive chairman Nat Zilkha, is to “participate across a much broader range of all the activities artists participate in by having a horizontal relationship with them so that we can be more forward leaning in terms of how we invest in artists’ careers.”

This do-it-all approach, Zilkha says, “optimizes the investment behind an artist’s career” by breaking down “silos” with a focus on “how intentional, coordinated, thoughtful marketing and brand building behind an artist can be optimized, which allows us to invest heavily in any one area that might benefit the whole ecosystem.” Put plainly, with a hand in everything, Zilkha believes the company can invest in what may be a riskier business for any one artist such as recorded music, for example, knowing it will profit from touring and merch sales.

In its brief existence, the enterprise — with access to over $1 billion in equity and backed by institutional investors including the Raine Group and KKR Partners — has spent a “several hundred million dollars,” according to Zilkha, acquiring stakes in companies in an approach it describes as “holistic” in nature, “where the individual components mean more together than they would apart.”

Here are five takeaways from Zilkha’s Billboard Pro interview and read the full story here.

The list of companies Firebird has acquired stakes in is long… and growing. It includes (but is not limited to) such music firms as Mick Management, which works with Maggie Rogers; Transgressive Records, home of Alvvays and Arlo Parks; Tommy Mottola’s Latin company Ntertain; and perhaps most notably, Coran Capshaw’s Red Light Management, with its stacked roster that includes Dave Matthews Band, Chris Stapleton and Brandi Carlile. “We’re like-minded in focusing on the success of artists over the long run of their careers,” says Capshaw. “There was a need for more artist-friendly options out there, and our partnership with Firebird is helping to fill that need.”

What is Firebird looking for in a partner? Zilkha believes that with more and more artists shying away from traditional label structures, his firm should align with companies that also help acts tap into other income streams, like branding and live events. “We think there’s an opportunity to create a new kind of partner for artists, one that is fully aligned across everything they do,” he says. “One that has sophisticated capabilities to create content and provide access to capital. What we are doing is long-term and isn’t oriented toward worrying about a near term return on investment.”

How does Firebird plan on differentiating itself from The Orchards and BMGs of the biz? “Most of the music industry is stuck in silos where you’re an artist’s label, or you’re their manager, or you’re their publisher, or you’re their agent or you’re their merch partner,” Zilkha says. “That under optimizes the investment behind an artist’s career.”

Why Firebird gravitated to a company like Ntertain, which gives it a Latin component. “They’re doing it for music, film, and television. They just wrapped up a [Latin music competition] show La Firma… They’ve got a management company; they’ve got recorded music; they have publishing, and they’re doing really interesting things around film and TV. In many ways, it’s already the Firebird model focused on Latin music and Latin culture.”

Why do some deals work out while others don’t? Zilkha mentions that every deal it has made includes Firebird stock as part of the partnership (“We want people who believe in what we’re doing”) but that if a company is “just about dollars” then it should look to a more traditional private equity firm.

Read the full interview here.

06 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift Shares Stunning Photos From ‘Epic’ Chicago Eras Shows

A diamond’s gotta shine! Taylor Swift took to social media following her three-night stint at Chicago’s Soldier Field to share a series of stunning photos from the Eras tour stop.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“Chicago that was sooooo epic. Playing 3 nights at Soldier Field and getting to sing ‘You All Over Me’ with @MarenMorris who I adore. You guys were so much fun to play for, I love you,” Swift wrote alongside four jaw-dropping images of herself onstage in various flowing gowns and sparkling dresses.

The photos were taken by photojournalist Natasha Moustache, who retweeted some of their pictures posted by fan pages. “Appreciate the love y’all,” they tweeted. “It was an incredible experience! Absolute perfection.”

A viral moment from the Chicago shows came on Saturday night (June 3), when Swift almost brought an adorable fan up on stage with her during the “22” performance, when she usually hands her hat to a lucky Swiftie who is escorted up to the front. In a video posted to social media, Swift is seen encouraging the small fan to join her on the actual stage, but suddenly stopped herself, admitted that her brain broke.

“I just had this inclination,” she explained later in the night. “She’s so cute that I wanted to like, I was just like ‘I’m just gonna bring her on the stage, I’m just gonna hug her and put her on the stage.’ And then I remembered we don’t have a safe way to get her off the stage.”

“My brain went completely blank,” she added. “I was just like, ‘You’re so sweet and cute, come up on the stage.’ She was confused. I was confused. So if anybody else was confused, that was because that child was so adorable that I tried to make her a part of the show. I had no control over it.”

06 Jun 2023

Alicia Keys Extends No. 1 Record on Adult R&B Airplay Chart With ‘Come for Me’

Alicia Keys increases her mark for the most No. 1s on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Come for Me (Unlocked),” featuring Khalid and Lucky Daye, ascends to the top of the list dated June 10. The song advances from No. 2 thanks to a 1% gain in plays that made it the most-played song on reporting U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending June 1, according to Luminate.

The new champ gives Keys her 14th Adult R&B Airplay No. 1, furthering her record for the most among all artists. As she distances herself yet again from the competition, here’s a look at the artists with the most leaders since the list began in 1993:

14, Alicia Keys
11, Toni Braxton
9, Charlie Wilson
8, Bruno Mars
8, Kem
8, Maxwell
8, Tank
7, Mary J. Blige
7, H.E.R.
7, R. Kelly

For Khalid, “Come for Me” secures the R&B hitmaker’s fourth champ on Adult R&B Airplay, and second visit with Keys. He previously led with his own three-week No. 1 “Location” in 2017 and 12-week smash “Talk” in 2019, before reaching the top in a featured role on Keys’ “So Done” for one week in 2021.

Lucky Daye, meanwhile, lands his first Adult R&B Airplay chart-topper. His prior best was a No. 2 result though a featured turn on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “You Want My Love” in 2021. As a lead artist, the Grammy winner has achieved a No. 8 high with “Roll Some Mo” in 2019.

Elsewhere, “Come for Me” climbs 19-17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs based on combined audience listenership from both adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the single rises despite a 3% decline, to 6.3 million. On the Hot R&B Songs chart, which blends radio airplay metrics with streaming and sales figures, “Come for Me” debuts at No. 25.

“Come for Me” appears on the deluxe edition of Keys’ 2021 album Keys, dubbed Keys II, that dropped in August 2022. (All versions of the album are combined for tracking and charting purposes.) The singer-songwriter will soon embark on a tour in support of the set, Keys to the Summer, a 23-date trek that begins June 28 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and wraps Aug. 2 in Inglewood, Calif.

06 Jun 2023

GRiZ Announces Indefinite Hiatus From Touring & The GRiZ Project

GRiZ‘s upcoming summer shows will be the last time to see the producer for the foreseeable future.

Tuesday (June 6) on social media, the Michigan-born, Colorado-based artist announced that starting in October, he’s taking “a good amount of time off from touring and the GRiZ project.”

“Life is really good and I often make myself too busy to see where I am or how far this project has come,” he wrote. “I’m following my gut instincts so for now, I’m not going to put a hard time limit length on the break.” Read the complete statement below.

GRiZ is currently scheduled to play upward of 15 shows between now and late September, including festival sets at Bonnaroo, Shambhala, Breakaway, Moonrise, Secret Dreams, Bass Canyon and Vortex.

On Tuesday, he also announced that his annual Christmas charity event in Detroit, GRiZMAS, will not take place this year or next year, with the future of the event to be determined. The same goes for his annual Space Camp and New Year’s Eve shows. The post notes that the last GRiZ headlining show and curated event will be announced this week.

“Feels like yesterday that i was DJing to a room of no one at 9 p.m. for a free PBR or two,” the statement continues. “I dropped out of college at 21 and moved to Colorado where I’ve been living now for 10+ years working nonstop…so I’m going to make more time to nurture relationship with myself and to my fam and friends that far too often I’ve ignored in place of my relationship with work. I’m excited to take time to travel, find fresh inspiration, write music and to be in a new headspace. I also got myself a spot in Michigan which I’m excited to, in time, move back to for parts of the year.”

GRiZ, born Grant Kwiecinski, has become a titan of the electronic bass/funk scene over the last 10 years, rising out of Michigan to become a headliner at marquee events and venues including Electric Forest and Red Rocks. His GRiZMAS event has raised more than $400,000 for Detroit charities focused on music education for children.

06 Jun 2023

P!nk’s Best Swimsuit Moments

P!nk loves summer activities, as she’s often taking to social media to show fun family bonding moments with her husband Carey Hart and their two children, Willow and Jameson, as they enjoy time together by the water.

The “Trustfall” singer also never shies away from rocking a cool outfit, even when it comes to her swimwear. From pin-up looks to fun patterns, P!nk always has an envy-worthy swimsuit on as she delves into activities like wakeboarding, jet skiing, swimming or even just lounging.

Most recently, the star took to Instagram on Tuesday (May 30) to share some fun snapshots from her weekend with her family, the first being a selfie wearing a banana-printed bikini top. “Lake weekends and a new ridiculous bathing suit,” she captioned the post, before referring to the second photo, in which she’s is seen taking an outdoor shower.

“If you haven’t showered outdoors while your husband tries to scare you every five minutes you haven’t lived!!!!!!” she joked about Hart, whom she’s been married to since 2006.

She’ll surely get some more bathing suit content as she heads out on her upcoming Summer Carnival 2023 tour, where the longtime arena headliner will bring her hits to stadiums across North America, beginning July 24. 

See below for more great swimsuit moments from P!nk.

06 Jun 2023

10 Must-See Rising Stars at Governors Ball 2023: Ice Spice, Kim Petras & More

Get ready to party, New York City. The 2023 Governors Ball is right around the corner, with festivities kicking off Friday (June 9) and lasting throughout the weekend.

And, with three big stages in Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park and three consecutive days to catch your favorite artists performing, this year’s lineup is packing some serious summer heat. Just take a look at the headliners: Lizzo will lead the charge on Day 1, Odesza is up next on Saturday (June 10) and Kendrick Lamar will take on the closing ceremony duties on Sunday (June 11). And, underlining those names on the marquee are other killer acts, including Lil Uzi Vert, Haim, Diplo, Lil Baby, aespa, Rina Sawayama, Lil Nas X and Giveon.

But while those big names are all no-brainers to catch, there are also dozens of artists who are worth seeing but might not be on your radar yet — even though they definitely should be. Grammy winners, flaming hot rising stars — hello, Ice Spice? — and indie acts who are sure to become your next obsession are all coming to Queens this weekend, and you’re definitely not gonna want to miss ’em.

So to help you get a better idea of who should definitely be on your Gov Ball itinerary, Billboard has rounded up some of this year’s most promising artists for your consideration. And whether you’ve never heard of them or know every one of their lyrics by heart, rest assured: They’re going to rock your world this weekend.

Keep reading to see Billboard‘s top 10 must-see artists at this year’s Gov Ball.