State Champ Radio News
Page: 437
Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
We’re only a few days into the trial of P. Diddy and already the Hip-Hop world has been collectively clutching their pearls as Cassie’s testimony about her experiences during Diddy’s “Freak Off”‘s were scenes straight out of porno movies.
Still, as disturbing as her memories were, we’re now learning that Diddy’s life of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll nearly cost him his life as Cassie revealed that Diddy actually suffered a drug overdose back in 2012. According to HipHopDX, the “Me & U” singer recalled the time that Diddy went overboard with his opioid intake while at Hugh Hefner’s famous residency and had to be taken to get medical attention due to the state of his condition.
Per HipHopDX:
On the stand, Cassie said: “That evening, we had a freak off. We went to a sex club in San Bernardino. And then he had a party at the Playboy Mansion that night, and I went home. From what he told me, he took a really strong opioid that night. But we didn’t know what happened, so we took him to the hospital.”
Cassie also claimed that they both heavily used drugs during the length of their relationship, mainly opioids and painkillers.
Cassie would also admit to having become addicted to opioids and that she has been clean since 2022.
We’re kind of surprised news of a Diddy overdose never got out.
Also surprising was that Cassie recalled the time that Diddy called off a Freak-Off (mid-freak mind you) at one of his LA properties when he learned that Suge Knight was at Mel’s Diner. Wanting the smoke with his one-time rival, Diddy rounded up the troops and took off to confront Suge.
Cassie added: “I was screaming and crying, ‘Please don’t do anything stupid.’ I didn’t know what they were going to do. It’s like I wasn’t even there.”
Knight later claimed that he was never confronted by Diddy and his associates.
Them drugs really had Diddy on some sh*t!
What do y’all think about Cassie’s testimony so far? Is it as shocking as you expected or were y’all not ready for all this tea? Let us know in the comments section below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Sam Hunt rolls up his 13th top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated May 24, as “Country House” rises 12-10. The song advanced by 17% to 16.3 million audience impressions May 9-15, according to Luminate.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Hunt co-authored the cut with Ross Copperman, Michael Lotten and Josh Osborne. It’s from his four-song set Locked Up. The single from the Cedartown, Ga., native follows “Outskirts,” which became his 10th Country Airplay No. 1, for three weeks beginning in April 2024.
In April 2022, “23” marked Hunt’s fourth straight Country Airplay leader, after “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90’s” (May 2021), “Hard to Forget” (July 2020) and “Kinfolks” (February 2020). He launched his career with three consecutive No. 1s: “Leave the Night On” (November 2014); “Take Your Time” (May 2015); and “House Party” (September 2015). “Make You Miss Me” became his fourth leader in September 2016, and his crossover blockbuster “Body Like a Back Road” dominated for three frames in May 2017. It also ruled Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs list for a then-record 34 weeks.
Trending on Billboard
Currently touring, Hunt will perform at the Gulf Coast Jam on May 28 in Panama City, Fla.
Still a ‘Problem’
Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” tops Country Airplay for a fifth total and consecutive week (32 million, up 4%). It became the third No. 1 from his album of the same name, ahead of its May 16 release, following “Love Somebody” (three weeks in February) and “Lies Lies Lies” (one week, November). His latest single being promoted to country radio, “Just in Case,” rises 16-15 (13.4 million, up 21%).
“I’m the Problem” marks the fourth of Wallen’s 17 Country Airplay No. 1s to reign for five weeks or more. His longest-leading hit, “You Proof,” began a 10-week command in October 2022. It’s tied for the longest No. 1 run in the chart’s 35-year history with Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” (2023-24).
Source: Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers / Getty
A post by former FBI director James Comey is being spun as a threat against President Donald Trump, with social media disagreeing.
On Thursday (May 15), former FBI director James Comey posed a photo to his Instagram account. It showed shells on the beach arranged into a formation of numbers – “86 47”. The cryptic image was accompanied by the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” In restaurant culture, to “86” something means to get rid of something or someone. In pairing it with “47”, it drew immediate assumptions that the photo was a call to violence from President Donald Trump and his staff.
Comey would delete the post shortly afterward, writing that he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.” In a follow-up post, he continued: “It never occurred to me but l oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the administration is now investigating Comey, stating that “D.H.S. and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of national intelligence, called Comey out on Fox News’ Jesse Waters Primetime saying that Comey should be “held accountable” and “put behind bars” for allegedly “issuing a call to assassinate [Trump]”. Comey was fired by Trump during his first term. Trump also attacked Comey in another interview on Fox News. “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump said, adding: “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant? That meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear. Now, he wasn’t very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant.”
But social media users called Trump and his supporters out for ramping things up too far, and recalled his own rhetoric against former President Joe Biden. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, user Drew Savicki wrote: “Nobody actually believes James Comey was threatening Trump. It’s all performative outrage.” In a segment with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, legal analyst Elie Honig dismissed Gabbard’s claims. “This is not criminal,” he said. “This is not a criminally chargeable threat against the president. It’s political speech. It’s way too broad. It’s stupid, it’s reckless. It’s not criminal. That’s just hyperbole that you’re hearing from the Cabinet members there.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Donald Trump is not too happy with Bruce Springsteen, whom the president called “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock” in a heated post on Truth Social after the musician slammed his administration during a concert in Manchester, England.
On Friday morning (May 16) — two days after Springsteen voiced his disdain for the United States government’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” leadership at the kickoff show of his 2025 European tour — Trump began by writing, “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.”
“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” Trump continued. “Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)?”
“This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare,’” Trump added. “Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Billboard has reached out to Springsteen’s reps for comment.
The twice-impeached president’s comments come after The Boss greeted his Manchester crowd Wednesday (May 14) by saying, “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll, in dangerous times.”
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” he continued before launching into 2001’s “Land of Hopes and Dreams.” “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”
Springsteen — who also posted the speech on his Instagram — has long been open about his stance on American politics, endorsing Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Four years prior, he called the POTUS — who in May 2024 was convicted of all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial — a “threat to our democracy” in an interview with The Atlantic.
The “Born in the U.S.A.” singer is just one of many major music stars who has made their stance against Trump clear — and Springsteen also isn’t the only one of them whom the former reality star has put on blast recently. Also on Friday, Trump insulted Taylor Swift, writing that the 14-time Grammy winner is “no longer ‘HOT?’”
Doechii’s “Anxiety” rises a spot to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart dated May 24.
The song becomes Doechii’s first leader on the list. She hit a previous No. 3 peak with her first entry, “What It Is (Block Boy),” featuring Kodak Black, in November 2023.
Notably, “Anxiety” interpolates Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” (featuring Kimbra), which ruled Pop Airplay for three weeks in 2012. It’s not the first Pop Airplay No. 1 to have reworked a prior leader; Latto’s 2023 No. 1 “Big Energy,” via a remix, samples Mariah Carey’s 1995 leader “Fantasy” (with both stemming from Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love”), while Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” from 2017, gives partial writing credit to three authors of TLC’s 1995 No. 1 classic “No Scrubs.”
(“Somebody That I Used to Know” itself samples Luiz Bonfá’s “Seville,” from 1967.)
Meanwhile, “Anxiety” follows the chart-topping crossover success of “Somebody That I Used to Know.” “Anxiety” led Rhythmic Airplay for two weeks earlier in May. It concurrently climbs 7-6 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, 15-14 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay and 21-16 on Adult Pop Airplay.
Trending on Billboard
Gotye’s smash ruled Adult Alternative Airplay, Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Airplay, Alternative Airplay, Dance/Mix Show Airplay, Pop Airplay and the all-format Radio Songs chart. It dominated the multimetric Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and finished 2012 as the year’s top song.
“Anxiety,” on Top Dawg/Capitol/ICLG, surged by 11% in pop radio plays May 9-15. (The Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on more than 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.) Leading supporters for the song among Pop Airplay reporters include KMVQ and KYLD San Francisco, WBBM Chicago and SiriusXM’s Hits 1.
On March 29, Doechii was honored with the 2025 Woman of the Year award at Billboard’s Women in Music celebration. “I cannot believe it was just two years ago I stood on this stage and accepted the Billboard Rising Star Award,” she said in her acceptance speech. “And here I am … Always go full out, always go hard and always be fab.”
All charts dated May 24 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, May 20.
Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight haven’t seen eye-to-eye for years, and the Long Beach legend took his beef with his former boss to his new Iz It a Crime? album.
Snoop fired away at Knight on the explosive “ShutYoBitchAssUp,” on which he boasted about taking ownership of Death Row from Knight, and then went on to label the incarcerated former music executive a snitch.
“I can see why you mad/ I bought everything you own/ Now you in PC snitching on the phone/ But I can slap the taste out your muthaf–kin’ mouth/ Pull up on your n—a, make you wanna reroute/ And if he hit the main line, he gon’ see what we bout/ Oh b—h-ass n—a, I’m a rich-ass n—a,” he raps.
Trending on Billboard
Snoop Dogg’s abrasive bars come months after Suge Knight claimed Snoop was “destroying” hip-hop’s credibility along with Death Row during an interview from prison with The Art of Dialogue.
“You trying to create something that Suge Knight created, but instead of making something big, you disappointed the world by making everything flops,” Knight said in March. “When I put out Tha Dogg Pound, they sold records. You put out Tha Dogg Pound, they sold nothing — it flopped.”
He continued: “You don’t got to talk tough. We don’t got to talk about each other that gets [us] nowhere. One person or three or four people is not bigger than hip-hop. We should be trying to figure out how to make hip-hop better. Everybody destroying hip-hop — you guys are making it worse. If you have Death Row, you destroyed it. You messed up the name.”
While Snoop acquired the Death Row Records brand from the Blackstone-controlled MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music) in a February 2022 deal, Suge Knight still isn’t buying it.
Knight demanded that Snoop show some paperwork before Suge gives him his respect on that endeavor. “Snoop, you said I’m mad because you bought Death Row,” Knight said, also on The Art of Dialogue. “What you buy? Shut me up. Show me where y’all paid the money to buy it. Show me the paperwork — show me what you own.”
Suge Knight, 59, is currently serving a 28-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter charges that are tied to the death of businessman Terry Carter and injuries to his rival Cle “Bone” Sloan. The former rap mogul is eligible for parole in October 2034.
Iz It a Crime? arrived on Thursday (May 15) and features assists from Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell Williams and Sexyy Red.
Listen to “ShutYoBitchAssUp” below.
The following story contains spoilers from Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Four months after The Weeknd released his Billboard 200-topping album Hurry Up Tomorrow, XO fans are finally able to watch the film that inspired its inception in theaters, starting Friday (May 16).
Directed by Trey Edward Shults, Hurry Up Tomorrow follows a fictional version of the superstar (also named Abel) who’s “plagued by insomnia” and “is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence,” according to the official synopsis. But what’s soundtracking his nightmarish journey digs even deeper into The Weeknd’s lore.
“Wake Me Up,” the Justice-featuring synth-pop album opener, also serves as the film’s opening “concert song.” The show The Weeknd performs at a that looks identical to the ones he held in Brazil and Australia last fall, where he wore a black and gold kaba — a hand-embroidered Ethiopian robe historically worn by royals and traditionally worn at weddings — and sang atop a rock-hewn church, resembling Lalibela, in the northern region of his motherland. He debuted “Wake Me Up” at his São Paulo show in September.
“We always wanted a performance song that we can open the film with, and in the vein of a pop record, and ‘Wake Me Up’ was the inspiration,” The Weeknd tells Billboard. He performs the song again at a different concert later in the film, where he ends up losing his voice – mimicking The Weeknd’s real-life experience at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in September 2022, when he had to cut his concert short for the same reason. That incident, as well as The Weeknd’s sleep paralysis diagnosis, are key influences in Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Trending on Billboard
The film’s Oscar-winning sound designer Johnnie Burn says they remixed the first “Wake Me Up” performance in the film “35 times, trying to get the balance of how much crowd sound you would hear, how the music would come across. Are you hearing it from Abel’s perspective? We tried that. Are you hearing it from the audience’s perspective? No. Are you hearing it from a deeply psychological, emotional ride? Yeah, you are.”
Burn, who says he went from “dancing around my kitchen to Abel’s music” as a fan to “dancing around the mixing room” with the man himself, says the process involved everything from asking Mike Dean for “a new synth line that sounds a bit more live” to miking The Weeknd while he recorded new lyrics that better suited the storyline. When The Weeknd was changing up a few lyrics during the cutaways, “I said, ‘Well, you’re probably in quite an adrenaline state when you go out in front of 80,000 people.’ So I made him do push-ups to get kind of worked up,” Burn recalls with a chuckle. “He was like, ‘What, now?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, get down and give me 20.’”
Burn says the song that required the most fine-tuning was the cathartic centerpiece “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which The Weeknd explains was inspired by the titular track from Robert Altman’s 1973 satirical noir film The Long Goodbye, because of how frequently it appears. “You hear it throughout the entire film, different iterations of it. You hear it on the radio, you hear a pop version of it, subjectively in the score, diegetically, a mariachi band will sing it every time he goes to Mexico. And I wanted to do that with ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow,’” he explains.
Abel first plays Anima (played by Jenna Ortega) a stripped-down draft of it off his phone in a hotel room. Moved to tears, Anima admits she relates to its autobiographical lyrics — because her father left when she was a kid, her mother struggled to raise her alone and she abandoned home to forge her own path that’s fraught with inescapable loneliness. The next morning, Abel turns around while sitting on the hotel bed and faintly hears Anima singing some of the first verse in the shower behind closed doors. He later encounters his younger self, who’s swaddled in a gabi, a white handwoven Ethiopian cotton blanket, and singing a few lines in Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia. But after Anima douses him and the hotel bed he’s tied to with gasoline — and right as she holds a lighter above him — Abel belts an a cappella version that feels like he is literally singing for his life: “So burn me with your light/ I have no more fights left to win/ Tie me up to face it, I can’t run away, and/ I’ll accept that it’s the end.”
“You’re seeing the making of it, not literally me making it, but the themes and the concept and the melody and the soul of it is being made throughout the film. By the end of it, it’s fully blossomed into this song, which essentially is what the film is saying,” says The Weeknd, who adds that he had “to finish the lyrics the night before I had to perform it at the end.”
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as Abel and Writer/Director Trey Edward Shults in ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow.’
Andrew Cooper for Lionsgate
But outside of the Hurry Up Tomorrow tracks, fans will be surprised to hear two earlier songs from The Weeknd’s discography in the film: his 2021 blockbuster hit “Blinding Lights” – which is the top Billboard Hot 100 song of all time – and “Gasoline,” the first track from his 2022 album Dawn FM. Anima analyzes the emptiness and heartache in the songs as she hysterically lip-syncs and dances to them, and she later questions Abel if he’s the true toxic subject behind his music.
“What I am doing by the end of the film is, I’m lighting my persona up on fire. But to tap into that, you need to go into the back catalog a little bit, and take in what I’m saying in some of these lyrics and how they’re masked by pop elements,” he says. “It’s always been a joke that joke with The Weeknd music, where it makes you sing and dance and it feels jolly. And then when you actually get into the themes of it, it’s something much deeper — and maybe a call for help, who knows. That’s how [Anima’s] reading it, and essentially forcing myself to face myself.”
There are other callbacks to his catalog in the sound design. The guttural shrieks heard right after Anima swings a champagne bottle over Abel’s head and knocks him out when he first tries leaving the hotel room sound reminiscent of the title track of his 2013 debut studio album Kiss Land. The “Easter eggs,” as Burn calls them, extend beyond the film — as fans pointed out online that the ending of “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which serves as the final track of The Weeknd’s album, seamlessly transitions into the beginning of “High For This,” the first track off his 2011 debut mixtape House of Balloons.
While Hurry Up Tomorrow bids farewell to the character Abel Tesfaye has played for over a decade, it also underscores the long-standing symbiotic relationship between music and film in The Weeknd’s world. “When you hear the screams in the record and you hear all these horror references and you feel scared, listen to the music — because I want you to feel what I’m feeling. Kiss Land is like a horror movie,” The Weeknd told Complex in his first-ever interview back in 2013.
“We wanted to do something we’ve never seen or heard on screen before,” he says now. “We were able to do these big swings, and I think they landed well in the film. I’m really proud of the music, and I’m proud of the sonics of it. It’s much different from the album. It’s like its own experience.”
It was an understandably sensitive process for Carl Falk to complete the work on “Let’s Ride Away,” a previously unreleased Avicii track that’s officially out today (May 15) and comes seven years after the Swedish producer’s death at age 28.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Falk, who was a frequent Avicii collaborator during the artist’s lifetime and who also helped complete some of the music for the 2019 posthumous album Tim, says that when he originally received the music for “Let’s Ride Away,” the experience was like being thrust back in time.
“It’s almost like you open someone’s drawer of clothes who’s not there anymore, and you look at the T-shirt like, ‘Oh, remember this old thing?’” Falk tells Billboard over Zoom from his home studio in Stockholm. “It’s kind of the same opening a song like this, because there were so many elements in it that were like, ‘Oh, the way he colored his piano chords, or the way that pick bass plays. It’s so simple, but so good.’ I was just listening and enjoying it for a second, like ‘I miss this; I miss this style of music; I miss making it, and I miss the blend of of organic and electronic elements.’ It was like a memory coming back.”
Trending on Billboard
“Let’s Ride Away” is defined by this collision of past and present. The track was originally written in Nashville circa 2017 by Avicii and Kacey Musgraves, along with prolific country songwriter Luke Laird, who’s penned music for a laundry list of greats, including Eric Church and Carrie Underwood.
“New [writing sessions], you just never know how they’re going to go,” Laird says in a video accompanying the song’s release. “I got in there and [Tim] couldn’t have been more welcoming and warm. Honestly it was very similar to a normal Nashville songwriting session. Sat down, started with the guitars, and then he just started doing his thing.”
The artist born Tim Bergling eventually layered up the song with a kickdrum and other electronic elements, Musgraves recorded the vocals and the trio named the track “Ride Away.” The song, however, was never released, although versions of it have leaked onto the internet over the years.
Now called “Let’s Ride Away,” the song is officially out of the vault and part of Avicii Forever, a new compilation that features many of the artist’s biggest hits, like “Levels” and “Wake Me Up,” with “Let’s Ride Away” being the project’s only previously unreleased track. (While a handful of Avicii remixes have been released since his death, “Let’s Ride Away” is the first original song to come out since Tim.)
Falk says Johnny Tennander of Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia reached out to him in October of 2024 to ask if he would complete the track. “[Johnny] said ‘Hey, no one knows this yet, but we’re going to do a best of album, and I think we found a song that could potentially be super good,’” Falk recalls. “‘He said, ‘I’m not going to jinx it or anything, but do you mind coming up to my office, just to to hear it?’”
Falk went to the office, where Tennander played him two versions of “Ride Away”, one at at a BPM familiar to the Avicii wheelhouse and another at a slower tempo. “One thing I instantly felt,” Falk says, “was the typical Tim thing of introducing a new instrument into his palette of sounds. I can tell by hearing the pedal steel that this is Tim for the first time trying out a new instrument, to try to make it an Avicii instrument.”
Given that Musgraves had bowed out of the song, there was also the task of finding a new vocalist. The team eventually landing on Elle King. In early 2025, Falk worked with King over Zoom while she was in the studio with another frequent Avicii collaborator, Albin Nedler. “Tim was really particular with his melodies,” says Falk, “and also when I listen to Kacey’s vocals, she had a specific style of singing — so I really wanted Elle to sing it in her own way, but also be respectful of the melody.”
King was keen to get it right. As Falk recalls, she was like, “‘Okay, whatever you need. One more take. One more take. One more take. I’m gonna try this, and I’m gonna go for this note.’ It was a really easy, fun process and such a relief to to hear like, ‘She gets the song.’ You don’t have to really transform it into something else. You just have to get it recorded, and it will be great.”
On the production front, Falk says he was given “a couple of different demo versions of the song, and they were slightly different. That was easy to hear, because I asked for all the files from anything I could get, to really dig in and listen to what exactly was in there.” He says a couple of elements were hidden low in the mix, with his completion work bringing them more to the fore.
“It was quite obvious what we should do,” he says. “It was more fixing and touching up. The whole idea was already there. For me, that’s the big challenge and big responsibility, to finish something. It was the same with the Tim album, where it’s like a guessing game, because usually you’re two people sitting in the same room.”
To aid the process, Falk opened a computer file in which he keeps roughly four dozen signature production elements Bergling used in his work: kick drums, bass drums, transitional sound effects and more. “I’m not going to use these sounds for anything else ever,” Falk says. “But in this case, they got used one last time.” He also returned to songs like 2015’s “Broken Arrows” and “Sunset Jesus” that he and Bergling worked on together, to recall how they’d made certain sounds. (Falk also has songwriting credits on songs including One Direction‘s “What Makes You Beautiful” and Nicki Minaj‘s “Starships.)”
Of course, finishing the work of your deceased friend and collaborator is both technically and emotionally delicate work. Falk says that compared to doing the work for Tim less than a year after Bergling died on April 20, 2018, he was more emotionally prepared this time, adding that the process “gave me a bit more confidence that this song is too good not to be heard.”
Many fans are celebrating the release of new Avicii music, and there are also critics who argue it would be better to cease new Avicii projects — which over the years have included the release of Tim, the opening of the Avicii museum in Stockholm, a photo book, a biography and a documentary released this past December. (In 2022, Swedish entertainment company Pophouse acquired 75% of the recording and publishing catalog, with the other 25% remaining with the Bergling family.)
But Falk says the opportunity in “Let’s Ride Away” is in how it meaningfully expands the Avicii repertoire. “It doesn’t sound like you’re just releasing something that sounds like 10 other things he’s done,” he says. Falk adds that his teenage children are just now getting into Avicii, and that he believes “Ride Away” and the Avicii Forever project are ways for new fans to potentially discover the late artist, his sound and his substantial catalog.
I suggest that there are few people who could do justice to the song better and more respectfully than someone who knew and worked with Avicii so closely while he was alive.
“I hope that’s the case,” says Falk. “It’s surely the case for for me, and my reason for doing it was exactly that.”
Welcome to another Executive Turntable, Billboard’s weekly compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music business. Later, carve out some time today to peruse our annual list of the industry’s top whippersnappers (aka 40 Under 40).
Matt O’Neil is now chief marketing officer of the combined Legends + ASM Global. A seasoned sports and entertainment marketing executive, O’Neil joined Legends in 2022 as chief content & experience officer and has since led successful strategies that expanded the company’s client base and revenue. In his new role, he’ll oversee all marketing, creative, content and event initiatives, focusing on enhancing customer experience and driving growth. O’Neil previously held key leadership roles with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Red Bulls, where he developed fan engagement and branding strategies. His appointment follows Legends’ 2024 acquisition of ASM Global from AEG and Onex, forming a powerhouse that now operates iconic venues including Crypto.com Arena, Soldier Field, and AO Arena. CEO Dan Levy praised O’Neil’s expertise in fan experience and storytelling, saying his background “makes him the right person to shape our unified identity and help our clients thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.”
Trending on Billboard
Armada Music Group named industry veteran Maarten Steinkamp as interim president, a new gig designed to support the company’s next phase of growth. Previously serving as an interim board consultant, Steinkamp will now lead efforts to strengthen internal operations and prepare Armada for future expansion. He’ll report directly to CEO Maykel Piron and be based in the Netherlands. Steinkamp brings extensive global experience, having held top leadership roles at BMG and Sony BMG Europe, where he was president of BMG International and chairman/CEO of Sony BMG Europe. Founded in 2003 by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis, AMG encompasses Armada Music, BEAT Music Fund and Armada Music Publishing. Piron praised Steinkamp’s “leadership, strategic insight, and deep understanding of our industry,” adding, “with Maarten’s continued support, I’m confident we will unlock new opportunities together and take Armada Music Group to even greater heights.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Rolling Stone appointed Gus Wenner as executive chairman and Julian Holguin as CEO. Wenner, who has led the company since its 2017 sale to Penske Media, will now focus on strategic vision and new ventures. Under his leadership, RS expanded its digital presence, launched live events and film divisions, and earned prestigious awards, including National Magazine Awards and an Emmy. Holguin brings extensive experience from another Penske pub, Billboard, where he led major mergers and revenue growth across advertising, events and licensing. He also served as CEO of Doodles, a next-gen entertainment studio. As CEO, Holguin will oversee the brand’s business operations and report to Penske Media CEO Jay Penske. “Rolling Stone is poised for continued success leveraging Gus’ deep experience and vision for the brand and Julian’s keen business instincts and passion for innovation,” said Penske. “Rolling Stone will continue its rich legacy of world class journalism and culture shaping conversation while creating new avenues for growth” … Congrats to PMC vice chairman Gerry Byrne, who received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award recognizing individuals for their leadership and service across diverse fields.
Matt Harmon is the new head of rights development at Exceleration Music, an investment fund supporting indie music artists and labels. In this role, he will oversee label operations, A&R development, marketing and catalog growth across Exceleration’s portfolio, which includes +1 Records, Kill Rock Stars, Yep Roc, and more. Harmon brings over 20 years of experience from Beggars Group US, where he rose from Head of Sales to President, helping expand labels like Matador, 4AD, and XL Recordings. Exceleration Partner John Burk praised Harmon as the “perfect leader to guide and support our rights development activities,” while Harmon, a lifelong New Yorker based in Brooklyn, said he’s “energized by the opportunity.”
Rock Paper Scissors hired Adam McHeffy as the agency’s first-ever chief creative officer. He will lead a new initiative to expand RPS’s marketing and creative services, including advertising, artist collaborations, video production, and web development. McHeffey brings a strong track record from his time as CMO at Artiphon, where he led product launches, helped sell over 250,000 instruments, and raised more than $3.6 million on Kickstarter. He has also directed major marketing campaigns for innovative instruments like the Demon Box and MyTRACKS, and contributed to platforms like Musio and Feeture. His creative work spans brands such as Slack and Rivian. A singer-songwriter and children’s book author, McHeffey is praised by RPS CEO Dmitri Vietze as a top-tier music tech marketer. “Adam’s skills make him the marketing Swiss army knife every music tech company should have on hand and make our team a formidable force,” Vietze said. “Combining his marketing expertise with our PR strategy and placement creates exponential results for our clients.”
Andrew Farwell has been named president of Outback Presents, the independent live promoter. Formerly vice president, Farwell worked closely with founder and co-CEO Mike Smardak, helping produce thousands of concerts and events across the U.S. and Canada. Based in Nashville, Farwell’s promotion coincides with his recognition in Billboard’s just-released 40 Under 40 list. Farwell also serves as vp of the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) and is a 2023 Leadership Music alumnus. He previously won IEBA’s Rookie of the Year Award and has been nominated for promoter of the year. “We all have built something we are ALL incredibly proud of, and had fun doing it together,” said Smardak. “Andrew’s ethics and class are what I am most proud of. It is a great day for Outback Presents.”
NASHVILLE NOTES: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum promoted Ed Schulte to senior director of facilities, operations and sustainability from director. He replaces Leigh Anne Wise, who is retiring after 41 years at the museum … Doug Montgomery, Townsquare Media‘s country format lead since 2017, will retire on July 31. He previously led country content and served as director of content in Grand Rapids. Prior to joining Townsquare, he spent over 20 years at iHeartMedia’s Country B93.7, where he was svp and format brand coordinator … and Empire Nashville svp of operations Heather Vassar parted with the company on May 2, six years after she joined the firm.
G Major Mgmt, known for a roster that includes ACM entertainer of the year winner Thomas Rhett, is bolstering its team. Led by founder/artist manager Virginia Bunetta, G Major Mgmt has added Emilie Gilbert as manager of insights & fan engagement strategy, and Madeline “Sledge” Lary as digital manager. Samantha Thornton has been promoted to senior director of marketing, while Harry Lyons has been promoted to senior director of business operations, leading G Major’s lineup of day-to-day managers, while leading touring and business expansion. Bunetta continues to guide the company, while also continuing management for Thomas Rhett. –Jessica Nicholson
Alternate Side has expanded its artist management team with key promotions and hires. Cory Hajde, a Clevelander who manages Hot Mulligan and Dayseeker, becomes the first partner outside the co-founders. He also leads BravoArtist and owns venues in Ohio. Mike Scrafford, based in Brooklyn, joins as a manager, bringing artists like Beach Bunny and Car Seat Headrest, and is known for his artist-first approach. L.A.-based Ally Ehasz, with the company since 2022, is promoted to manager, overseeing acts like Pastel Ghost. The company recently celebrated success with Sydney Rose’s viral hit “We Hug Now.” Co-founders Evange Livanos and Zack Zarrillo emphasized their commitment to intentional artist development. Founded in 2019, Alternate Side represents artists like Cavetown and Chloe Moriondo, continuing to grow with a DIY, artist-focused ethos.
Octavius “Doc Ock” Crouch launched Red Octave, an Atlanta-based R&D and label services company designed to streamline talent discovery and reduce risk for labels and investors. Leveraging proprietary software, automated outreach and deep data mapping, Red Octave delivers vetted, ownership-cleared artist opportunities. Operating like a real estate brokerage for music IP, it uses a commission-based model with no monthly overhead, in an appeal to catalog buyers and distributors. Beyond data, it offers full label services including marketing, tour support, and DSP distribution. Crouch aims to restore Atlanta’s music industry prominence by building infrastructure to match its creative talent. “We don’t just need reps—we need real estate from the majors,” he said. “It’s time to build the infrastructure to match the creativity. Red Octave is my blueprint to make that happen.”
Nice Life Recording Company promoted Becky Lopez to senior director of marketing and streaming strategy, recognizing her pivotal role in the label’s recent success. Becky joined Nice Life in 2021 and has led campaigns for artists like Lizzo, The Marías, and Tinashe — whose viral hit “Nasty” earned her first solo RIAA Gold certification. The Angeleno began her career at Power106 Los Angeles in 2014, rising from programming assistant to music director, where she supported artists like Cardi B and The Weeknd. She also contributed to programming at 93.5 KDAY and helped launch Cali 93.9. CEO Ricky Reed praised Lopez as a “driving force behind our growth for years. Her promotion… is a natural next step.”
PR firm Milestone Publicity rebranded as Milestone Collective, launching a new digital marketing division to accompany their existing publicity services. Leading the company’s new digital marketing efforts is Caylie Landerville, who previously was part of the team at Red Light Management/Silverback Music. Milestone was founded in 2019 by Mike Gowen and has worked with artists including Blues Traveler, Colt Ford, Bryan Martin, Jerry Douglas, Lonestar, Leftover Salmon, Michael Cleveland and more. –JN
Langham Hospitality Group appointed Andrew Grant as its first Group Director of Music, emphasizing the rising role of audio marketing in hospitality. With over 25 years of experience as a DJ, producer and event specialist, Grant will oversee the development of a global music strategy for Langham’s 40-plus hotels. His responsibilities include curating live performances, artist partnerships, and immersive soundscapes to elevate guest experiences and reinforce brand identity. Grant will also lead music programming and events, including special activations for Langham’s 160th anniversary, while continuing as director of music and radio at Eaton DC in the nation’s capital, where he’s based. Prior to joining Langham in 2019, Grant was a longtime talent buyer and producer for the Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival in Florida, and for years was a resident DJ at Ibiza’s DC10.
Industry veterans Alan Grunblatt and Dave Goldberg launched DNA MUSIC, a hip-hop entertainment company focused on signing talent, acquiring iconic catalogs, producing original TV content and distributing physical formats worldwide. Distributed by Hitmaker Distribution, DNA made a strong debut with Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman by Mathematics and Wu-Tang Clan, which hit over 10 million streams in its first week. The label also found viral success with Eke’s “Ghetto” and is backing Memphis up/comer Flippa T.
ICYMI:
Jeremy Sirota
Merlin announced that Jeremy Sirota, the licensing organization’s CEO since 2020, is departing at year’s end … Candice Watkins is the new president of Capitol Records Nashville and executive vp of Capitol Christian Music Group … Verizon and Tyson Foods veteran Matt Ellis is the new chief financial officer of Universal Music Group. [Keep Reading]
Last Week’s Turntable: Country Hall Curator Retires After 51 Years
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Last year, 50 Cent sued famous social media jeweler TraxNYC for using his name and likeness to sell some diamond-encrusted crosses similar to the one 50 Cent wore, and now the jeweler out of New York City is apologizing for his transgression.
According to TMZ, TraxNYC (born Maksud Agadjani) has officially apologized to 50 Cent for using his likeness to sell the aforementioned iced-out pieces and in the process got the case dismissed. Not only did Agadjani post a public apology on all his social media platforms, but even printed out his apology and posted it on the storefront window of his brick-and-mortar store in New York City.
Per TMZ:
In the apology, Agadjani says he’s “writing to express my sincere and heartfelt apology” and he acknowledges using 50’s name, image and other IP rights to “advertise, market, and sell my jewelry products without your permission.”
Agadjani says he did not have and never had any affiliation with or endorsement from 50 Cent … and he says he removed all the posts and videos about 50 from his social media platforms.
What’s more, Agadjani says he will not use 50 Cent’s name going forward … and he says he respects Fif’s brand and deeply regrets his poor judgment and takes full responsibility for his actions … asking 50 Cent and 50’s fans to accept his apology and forgive him.
50 Cent didn’t name that first G-Unit album Beg For Mercy for nothing.
Agadjani knew that it was either a free public apology or coughing up $5 million to 50 Cent for using his likeness without his permission. It wasn’t that hard of a choice. We’re just surprised it took this long to get done.
What do y’all think about this situation? Did 50 Cent overreact, or was he in the right to sue? Let us know in the comments section below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
