News

03 May 2023

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Reveals Class of 2023

On Wednesday morning (May 3), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame revealed the inductees for the Rock Hall’s Class of 2023.

The performer category boasts a stacked lineup of inductees gaining entrance: Kate Bush, the art rock cult fave whose idiosyncratic and undersung impact was propelled into the mainstream by an inescapable Stranger Things sync in 2022; Sheryl Crow, the rootsy yet polished hitmaker who draws on rock, folk, country and pop; Missy Elliott, the forward-thinking hip-hop mastermind behind a string of mind-bending classic albums; George Michael, the blue-eyed soul pop king who died in 2016; Willie Nelson, an outlaw country exemplar turned beloved elder statesman; Rage Against the Machine, a politically motivated rap-rock firebrand force; and The Spinners, a long-running vocal group who achieved their greatest success as a smooth soul outfit in the ‘70s.

That’s not all. The “musical influence award” sees DJ Kool Herc – the Bronx-based DJ whose breakbeat-focused turntable techniques are widely cited as the clearest starting point of hip-hop music – enters the Rock Hall; presumably, it’s not a coincidence his induction aligns with the year the music industry is celebrating as the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as a genre. The same category sees the induction of Link Wray, the distortion guitar rock rebel credited with inventing the power chord.

The “musical excellence award” invites three additional acts: Frequent Rock Hall nominee and funk queen Chaka Khan finally sees induction this year, as does Al Kooper, an invaluable player and/or producer on key recordings from Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blood, Sweat & Tears. In the same category, Bernie Taupin – Elton John’s longtime lyricist whose poetic and imaginative take on American folklore set a new standard for rock songwriting – is also inducted.

Finally, Don Cornelius – who hosted the R&B and Black culture bedrock Soul Train on TV from 1970-1993 – is inducted with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

The Rock Hall’s Class of 2023 sees four of the seven performer inductees gaining entrance on their first nomination: Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael and Willie Nelson; of those four, Elliott was the only artist eligible for the first time in 2023.

To be eligible for the Rock Hall, an artist’s first commercial release must have come out at least 25 years prior to the nomination year. [Though Elliott’s first album was released in 1997, the nominating committee at the Rock Hall recently started meeting the same year the inductees are honored, as opposed to the year before. This means 2023 is a sort of “make-up year” for artists whose first release was in 1997 or 1998, which explains 2023 being Elliott’s first year of eligibility.]

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 3. Ticket information will be announced in the future.

03 May 2023

BIME Returns to Bogotá for Second Year

BIME, the music industry gathering that last year celebrated its 10th anniversary, returns to Bogotá, Colombia this week for its second annual Latin American confab.

The fair, created and hosted by Bilbao-based event production firm Last Tour, will feature over 100 events, including panels, chats, showcases and concerts. Guests include speakers from Colombia, but also from the United States and neighboring countries.

Key topics in this year’s edition are Web 3.0 and AI, as well as sustainability and the rights of those who work in the music industry, an issue that was profoundly highlighted during the pandemic and is now a source of further discussion.

Also in the forefront is the vinyl industry, which still makes up a tiny proportion of music industry revenues but is growing strongly in the Latin music realm and in Latin America.

In a twist, this year’s event is taking place at the campus of Universidad Ean, a fitting locale given BIME’s desire to educate and train a new generation of music industry professionals. An entire track is labeled “Campus,” featuring a series of didactic panels, including “How to develop a successful PR campaign” and “How to become a music supervisor.”

Notable booked speakers from both sides of the Atlantic include singer-songwriters Maria Becerra, Jessie Reyez, Catalina García and Kany Garcia; Baja Beach Festival co-founder Chris Ben Ujil; Daniel Merino, producer of Viña del Mar festival and GM of Bizarro Entertainment; AIE General directo José Luis Sevillanos; YouTube Music head of Label relations Mauricio Ojeda; Paz Aparicio, director of Madrid’s Wiznik Center; and Nelson Albareda, CEO of Loud and Live.

For a full schedule and information, visit the official BIME site here.

03 May 2023

Former Tidal, Apple Execs Launch Music Financing Firm for Indie Artists With $32M in Funding

Duetti, a new music financing startup led by former Tidal COO Lior Tibon and former Apple Music business development executive Christopher Nolte, has closed a $32 million funding round to launch its new service, the company announced Wednesday (May 3). The round includes money from Viola Ventures/Viola Credit, Roc Nation, Untitled and Presight Capital.

The company is aiming to get in on the catalog sales market by providing funding to rising or independent artists in exchange for full catalogs, individual tracks or parts of tracks — then optimizing and growing their returns through marketing and/or social platform promotion. Duetti likens the deals it’s making as akin to the big catalog sales that major artists like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and others have executed in recent years, but for smaller artists — or at least those who have had songs on streaming platforms for two years and racked up at least 500,000 streams within the past 12 months.

Lior Tibon

“In recent years, the trend of legacy A-list musicians selling their entire catalogs has left independent artists out of the equation,” said Tibon, who serves as Duetti’s CEO, in a statement. “Now, artists at all stages of their careers can easily capture the potential of their tracks and catalogs to help them reach the next step of their journey. We are arming artists with the information they need to choose when, and how, to leverage their assets from a position of strength.”

Duetti has been in stealth mode, and during that period it says it has partnered with over 60 artists — including Sylvan LaCue, CVBZ and Croosh — across 100 tracks, with acquisitions totaling as much as $400,000; Duetti’s deals take roughly 30 days to complete on average, according to the company. It now sees an opportunity to open up this funding model to more than 70,000 additional independent artists. The company plans to use the seed funding to expand its staff, onboard more artists and boost the value of the tracks already in its catalog. It’s tapping into a market that includes companies like Sound Royalties, which recently sold to GoDigital, that aim to help artists finance their lives and careers by selling royalty streams and other assets and seeing higher returns in the long run.

“Duetti’s cutting edge technology enables efficient analysis of an artist’s potential for successfully monetizing a catalog or track — we are incredibly excited by the potential of their business model and the new, independent investment class it unlocks,” said Avi Zeevi, fintech investor and co-founder of Viola Ventures, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Independent artist revenue growth is outpacing the entire industry and their highly scalable model returns revenue uncorrelated to broader market and economic conditions. A win-win for investors and musicians.”

02 May 2023

BTS’s Suga Is an NBA Ambassador

Forget Steph Curry and LeBron James: BTS’s Suga is the NBA’s latest secret weapon.

Suga will play ball with the Association, which this week unveiled the South Korean rapper, songwriter, and producer as an NBA Ambassador.

In this sporty new role, Suga will be expected to “engage NBA fans around the world” through the remainder of the 2022-23 NBA season and beyond, reads a statement from the league.

“Music and basketball have been shared passions of mine since my youth, and it’s a dream to be named an NBA Ambassador,” says Suga in a statement. “I’m excited to formalize my relationship with the NBA, and I can’t wait to share some exciting collaborations I have planned with the league over the coming months.”

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The alliance goes both ways. Suga will also participate in several league initiatives that will be featured on both the NBA and Suga’s social channels. Among them, Suga will participate in promotional activities, and attend NBA games and events in Asia and the United States — which he has already done this season, including the Dallas Mavericks game at Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 12.

Also, the NBA will “have a presence” throughout Suga’s D-Day Tour, which is currently winding its way around the U.S., in support of his debut solo album as Agust D.

“We’re thrilled to join forces with Suga – a superstar musician, fashion icon, and passionate NBA fan,” comments NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum. “We look forward to working with Suga to bring the same excitement he engenders from his global fanbase in support of our continued efforts to grow our brand.”

Suga loves that game. Earlier in the week, he talked ball with Jimmy Fallon when he stopped by The Tonight Show. His stage name, he explained, is a contraction of “shooting guard.” And when asked if he could beat the other BTS lads in a game of one-on-one, he responded: “Are you kidding me?” Adding, “I don’t think any of the other members know the basketball rules.”

The NBA has never been more popular with sports fans abroad, and the game itself had never been more “international.” When the 2022-23 season tipped off, franchise rosters included 120 international players from 40 countries, led by Canada (22) and Australia (10). When the regular season came to an end, international players led the league in points per game and rebounds, and internationals have won the Most Valuable Player award for each of the past five seasons.

02 May 2023

Irv Lichtman, Venerated Billboard Editor and Columnist, Dies at 87

Irv Lichtman, for decades one of Billboard’s most respected and beloved editors and columnists and an advocate for songwriters who chiseled out a niche as the go-to expert in music publishing, has died at the age of 87.

Lichtman passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday (May 2), his son David Lichtman confirms to Billboard.

Born May 21, 1935, Lichtman worked at Cashbox right out of college, from 1956 until 1975.

He went on to work for NY Times Music Publishing for roughly a year, before joining Audio Fidelity Records. From there, Lichtman made the leap to Billboard, joining the music trade in late 1978. 

It proved a perfect fit. 

Former executive editor Ken Schlager remembers Lichtman as a “genuinely warm and funny man,” whose columns Inside Track and Words & Music were a “must-read.” 

“When I joined Billboard as managing editor in 1985, Irv as deputy editor unselfishly guided me every step of the way, from putting out the weekly magazine to learning my way around the business,” Schlager says. “I could not have asked for a more generous or knowledgeable mentor. It was, as Bogie would say, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
 
An “incredibly sensitive soul,” Lichtman cared deeply about his colleagues and the music industry, notes Schlager, especially the publishing business, and, “through his deep and wide network of sources, served the industry well as a conduit for scoops they couldn’t find anywhere else.”

His joyful trait was always close to the surface, recounts Linda Moran, CEO/president of Songwriters Hall of Fame.
 
“Irv was one of the wittiest guys I have ever known with a great sense of humor,” she says. “For many years he was the face of Billboard because he knew everyone and he was respected for his encyclopedic knowledge of music while exuding trustworthiness which is a tremendous asset for any journalist.”

As a Songwriters Hall of Fame Board member he represented the SHOF on the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board due to his extensive knowledge of music, from decades before his birth through to contemporary. 

Those who knew him well remember Lichtman’s love for show tunes, and “he could always be counted on to be the champion, fighting for the Broadway songwriters on the [SHOF] induction ballot because he felt they were under-appreciated,” recounts Moran.

But his love for music went far beyond show tunes, as he stayed up with contemporary artists. “I recall a moment walking on Broadway when we encountered the rapper M.C. Hammer. Irv bubbled over with enthusiasm, greeting Hammer like an old friend. I don’t believe they had ever met,” Schlager recalls.

After retiring from Billboard in February 2001, Lichtman devoted much of his time to the Friedberg Jewish Community Center, where he remained an active participant in the Current Events Club. His favorite charity was Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the country.

He never lost his love for the Yankees or that famous, “if corny,” sense of humor, remarks Schlager. The pair frequently lunched together. “Invariably, when the waiter or waitress first approached out table, Irv would greet the server with his patented line: ‘We’re in a hurry. Can we please get the check?’ Some got it, some didn’t. We lunched for what I didn’t know would be the final time last fall. On that occasion I noticed he didn’t use his usual line. His explanation: ‘I can’t. They know me here.’ Amazingly, he had come up with a fresh punchline.”

Fellow former Billboard Pro Audio editor Paul Verna has similarly fond memories. “It’s telling that on my first day at Billboard, no one thought to tell me where the bathrooms were. Irv literally showed me the way, and then would proceed to show me the ropes of the music industry and our role in covering it,” he comments. “To say he was a mentor is an understatement. I’ll always cherish having had the guiding hand of someone who had seen so much. But as we all know, the best thing about Irv wasn’t his industry experience — it was his humor, his generosity, and his always cheerful spirit.”

Lichtman is survived by his wife Phyllis, sons Steven and David and grandchildren, Kate, Jane, Emma, Jack, Frank and Ben. He was preceded in death by his son, Robbie.

His funeral will take place Friday (May 5) on Long Island. Details are to come. 

02 May 2023

Lil Wayne Visits World Series Champion Astros Ahead of Houston Concert

Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Wayne visited the World Series champion Houston Astros on Tuesday night (May 2) before their game against the San Francisco Giants.

The Louisiana-born rapper was in town for a show later Tuesday, but stopped by the ballpark to hang with the Astros before taking the stage.

“It meant the world,” Lil Wayne said. “They showed me way too much love and it seemed like they’re a pretty big fan and I’m a fan as well so it was all good.”

He was thrilled to meet Astros manager Dusty Baker and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who now works as a special adviser to Houston owner Jim Crane.

“I just pulled both of them to the side and had a long speech, a long talk with Mr. October and Dusty,” he said. “It was awesome.”

He also came away with a jersey signed by several players that he said he planned to hang on his wall. He was asked where the experience stacked up in his life.

“I don’t rank them, but this is pretty up there,” he said.

02 May 2023

IVE Discuss the ‘Power and Confidence’ Within Themselves & First Full-Length Album

IVE arrived on the K-pop scene in November 2020 and quickly became the industry’s next reliable hitmaker with three addictive yet distinctly unique singles: the exotically intriguing pop of “Eleven,” the snappy, runway-ready throbber “Love Dive,” and the Gloria Gaynor–sampling disco update “After Like.” But through the differing sounds, the girl group’s identity connected with K-pop fans thanks to undeniable cohesion and confidence to pull off whatever genre or concept that came next. That spirit stays strong in their first full-length album, the multidimensional I’ve IVE, which sees the K-pop stars to watch taking the next big step of their career alongside a new U.S. label partner in tow.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Even before IVE’s official debut, anticipation was already high for the six-piece led by Yujin and Wonyoung, two of the most popular members from the sensational-but-temporary girl group IZ*ONE (who earned three entries on the World Albums chart and six on World Digital Song Sales during their two-and-a-half years together), as well as fresh faces in eldest member Gaeul, Japan-born Rei, power vocalist Liz, and youngest member Leeseo. From high kicks off the ground to simultaneously spinning and singing, the group developed under Korean super-label Starship Entertainment stood out for moving equally as one, even with varying degrees of original star power between members.

The same substantial stability comes through in I’ve IVE as the girls previewed their LP with the fun and rowdy chant-a-long buzz track “Kitsch” before dropping the power-pop bomb lead single “I Am.”

Within the LP, IVE is keen to present themselves as whatever kind of girl group the listener may enjoy but with their own added bite of self-assurance. The first listen of the sunny “Not Your Girl” recalls any flirty, feel-good ditty until the lyrics make it clear they’re not staying unless there’s a commitment and intention from the love interest. Plus, the opening track, “Blue Blood,” takes a common belief in South Korea that one’s blood type predicts their personality for IVE to declare themselves pure-hearted and exceptional over a dark, marching beat. Other standouts include the bossa nova influences through a plead for honesty on “Lips,” while “Heroine” is an invocation of self-assurance written by Yujin told through quirky electro-pop production, and “Mine” explains adorable infatuation through angelic harmonies and candy metaphors penned by Wonyoung.

Yujin, Wonyoung, Gaeul and Rei all boast writing credits through the LP that IVE says spotlights their belief in self and one another above any style or sound.

“Power and confidence are, outright, the most key concept,” Wonyoung says during an evening Zoom interview with Billboard. The member most comfortable with English, Wonyoung’s warmness is palpable through the screen as she’s eager to speak about the group’s dreams and her perspectives on fame. As untouchable as IVE appear on stage, there’s an undeniable relatability from sitting down to talk with them. Liz has a hilarious, no-bars-held candidness to her responses. At the same time, Gaeul uses her perspective as the oldest to fill in any missing details from her members and ensures everyone gets due credit, including shouting out their leader’s abilities when Yujin prearranged schedule didn’t allow her to join this chat.

“We are very excited to show such a variety of music styles in IVE’s first album,” Yujin says in a statement to Billboard after the interview. “This album is super meaningful to me as it’s our first full-length album and also because I participated in writing the lyrics for the first time. This album is like a package of different versions of IVE, and it has the unique color of IVE. I hope you look forward to our album and many other plans.”

Learn more about IVE’s colors, plans and more below.

Congratulations on this impressive full album, IVe. What’s everyone’s favorite song on the album?

Wonyoung: Mine is “Mine,” I wrote the lyrics too, so, I love it.

Liz: My favorite song is our title track [single], “I Am.”

Gaeul: I like the song “Hypnosis” because me and Rei wrote the lyrics to it, and it was the most fun to write the lyrics for that song.

Leeseo: “Shine With Me” is my favorite song because Wonyoung wrote the lyrics to it to link us to our fans, DIVE. It’s a message to their fans and the melody is especially very emotional to me.

Rei: “Cherish” because when we first listened to the demo, I could imagine how the members would be able to sing the song. And then once I listened to the completed song, I really loved the way it turned out.

We’re only with the five of you today. Does anyone know Yujin’s favorite song?

Wonyoung: “Heroine” or “Kitsch,” maybe?

As you mentioned, you were very involved in a lot of the songwriting on this album, some of you even the sole lyricist. What are your songwriting processes like?

Wonyoung: At first, I just listen to the song, just to get the feeling and set my mind right, usually at my home or in my room. If I get a certain feeling, I just write the whole song first and then just make little mixes, little changes. I love the process and I really love writing lyrics.

Rei: Once I receive the song, it’ll will have a blank portion without the rap, so I just kind of imagine a story and write lyrics according to that.

IVE has been successful with just three singles, but now it’s a full-length album with many more songs. Why was now the right time to make a studio album with “Kitsch” and “I Am” for singles?

Wonyoung: We’ve always had the desire to show a full album and our full power. For “Love Dive,” “After Like” and “Eleven,” I think we just made steps and strides with little-but-strong energy between us and DIVE. Now, we just thought this is the time to show our full-length and full energy to them. We really prepared a lot for this season and, now, we are ready.

Gaeul: We chose “Kitsch” as the pre-release single because we want to show a side of IVE that we haven’t shown before and kind of break free from the image that we’ve always had as a group. We wanted to challenge ourselves. And I feel like “I Am” is the lead single because our album title is I’ve IVE, and we thought that “I Am,” as a track on its own, would fit the most to the concept of the album.

I’ve heard debates about this but, in your own words, what is IVE’s concept or main message?

Wonyoung: I think the most important concept of us is of self-loving and self-love. But not just for us, we always want to say, “Please love yourself” to all of the listeners too. The power and confidence is, outright, the most key concept for us.

There are great messages in the “Kitsch” video too: The “You’re so weird, don’t change” neon sign. Or your jackets with “Books, not gun. Culture, not violence” patches. Can you talk about other messages you’re embracing?

Wonyoung: Mainly, we wanted to say, not just for us, but that you can change like us and can do everything and anything like us. The main [point] was, it’s not just about us—join us, join our culture and join in on everything. We just wanted to give listeners the power of believing in themselves. If we’re honest, the sentence and mottos were a little in cooperation with our director and the director’s ideas too but we worked on it all together.

I want to also congratulate you because IVE just signed with Columbia Records. What can we look forward to with this partnership?

Wonyoung: We’re really honored for that. First, we are really excited to work with another label and with other places like Columbia. We are, right now, really excited, and we’re really looking forward to that right now. For the start with Columbia, we really want to reach out to global fans all over the world. We are, right now, preparing a lot for our global fans.

Are there any plans you can share right now? Any planned visits to the U.S.?

Wonyoung: First, our “Prom Queens” fan-meeting tour will start with the Asia tour, and, hopefully, in the future, we really want to reach out In America, and everywhere else overseas. And not just for fan concerts, but we really want to visit the world to perform our own concerts. So, just keep cheering for us and hopefully you all can join us soon.

I’ve IVE is your first record eligible for the album charts on Billboard. Do you have any chart dreams?

Wonyoung: Even from our first song, we are really honored to have our name on the Billboard chart and really thankful for that. Hopefully, one day, we really want to visit Billboard in America with the six of us. We will prepare a lot in preparation for that day.

You are all very strong and charismatic personalities on your own but also very cohesive as a team—your choreography is seamless even when you spin and kick. What’s your teamwork secret?

Wonyoung: I think it’s the power of believing in each other; we just have a strong sense of belief between us. I let them do everything they want and they let me do everything I want. I think that makes the best cooperation between us; the belief.

Rei: During dance practices, we’ll use counting to match each other. For a really important part, we’ll stop and repeat that part and keep repeating it so that during the actual performances, we’ll think of the practice in our minds. That’s also how we stay so in sync with each other.

Wonyoung: Dance practices are pretty intense. For a long time, we would make and work on the choreographies every day for six hours or something. I think it’s pretty intense, but we’re always enthusiastic to show our fans and DIVEs the performances so I think that is the motivation for us.

Gaeul: Also, Yujin really helps with the details during dance practices and is willing to teach individual members different parts. She really does her part as the leader of the group.

Similarly, how do you stay well? Fans can see you so busy but may also worry about your physical, emotional, and mental health. How do you stay strong?

Wonyoung: If there’s nothing scheduled for the day, I spend time all by myself, just recovering on the outside and, of course, on the inside. Actually, I love to work out and do a lot of different exercises. On an off day, I’ll concentrate on my inside by listening to music; just hanging out by myself and working out helps me too. It feels like I’m healing myself.

Leeseo: I make sure I’m sleeping a lot, making sure I’m taking my vitamins, and taking care of my body physically.

Liz: I believe that you have to be mentally strong, or internally strong, in order for you to be physically or outwardly strong. For me, I really focus on believing in myself and believing in my decisions.

You do show such strength and confidence in yourselves. Wonyoung, you’ve spoken about this in the past, but what would IVE’s advice be for people needing that extra confidence?

Wonyoung: I want to say, you have more of the good times than tough times. Tough times and bad comments do not take away everything that is good: just believe the good, know you’re a good person, and just concentrate on yourself, your positive relationships and the good times. I think that is the important thing—just don’t mind them.

Liz: I like to just focus on the nice people who are saying good things rather than giving attention to the haters or negativity. I think that you have to be certain in yourself so that you don’t get sidetracked by any hate.

Do you have any other messages? Maybe to the international fans hoping to see you soon?

Gaeul: We’re working really hard to reach our global fans, so I wish they’ll just wait a little bit longer for us.

02 May 2023

How the ACM Awards Plans to Bring the ‘Core Country Audience’ to Amazon Prime for This Year’s Show

As Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside prepares for the 58th edition of the ACM Awards to return to Amazon’s Prime Video on May 11, he says lessons learned from the 2022 edition are guiding this year’s show. 

Last year, the ACM Awards became the first major awards ceremony to switch from broadcast to a streaming platform. “There was a chunk of people that didn’t know we moved from CBS,” Whiteside says. “What we’ve learned is we have to really lean into our core country audience and make sure they’re aware the show is happening. For anybody that is not a regular Prime Video user, we need to bring them into the Prime Video ecosystem and show them how simple it is.”

To make it as accessible as possible, Amazon is offering the show for free to subscribers and non-subscribers alike across more than 240 countries and territories via Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. The full show will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee. 

(Though rare, Prime Video has offered livestreams in the past, including for Kanye West and Drake‘s “Free Larry Hoover” benefit concert in 2021. Amazon could not be reached for comment by press time.)

It helps that this year, the show’s co-hosts are two of the biggest stars in the world: Dolly Parton (who hosted last year with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett) and Garth Brooks. Whiteside says he’s still “pinching myself” that the music icons are emceeing the two-hour show, which will stream commercial-free from the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Tex.

After Parton hosted last year, “Our goal right away was ‘How can we get Dolly back involved again?’” Whiteside says. Once she was on board, the idea came to pair her with Brooks, who has never hosted an awards show before. “They’re close friends, admirers of each other, so it was actually very organic,” he continues. “We couldn’t have a better pair than the two of them to be the face of the show because we’re a global show and they’re global superstars.”

This year’s show has been thrown the curveball of the Writers Guild of America strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which started at midnight Tuesday (May 2). However, a source tells Billboard that the script was completed before the strike began and the show is not expected to be affected even if the strike is still ongoing.

This year marks the ACM Awards’ return to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for the first time since its 50th anniversary show in 2015 (last year’s ceremony was held at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium). The show’s host venue, the Ford Center at the Star, serves as the world headquarters for the Dallas Cowboys, who are partners for this year’s event. “Ever since I took this job [in 2019], my board said we need to work with the Cowboys again,” Whiteside says. “They’re amazing partners and Texas is a great market.”

HARDY leads all nominees at this year’s show with seven nods, followed by Lainey Wilson with six. Cole Swindell, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert each have five, while Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen landed four. 

This year’s awards will feature several changes. The songwriter of the year category has been split into songwriter of the year and artist-songwriter of the year awards, while the criteria for album of the year eligibility shifted from 51% to 75% previously unreleased material. Most notably, the entertainer of the year category has expanded from five to seven nominees. 

“We have so many amazing entertainer nominees that we’d like to showcase more of a breadth of them and [the expansion] gives more opportunity for more artists to have that spotlight,” Whiteside says. “It gives seven artists now the opportunity to say, ‘I’m an entertainer of the year nominee.’ So, it was to diversify, but also to give more artists the opportunity to be able to wear that badge of honor.”

The show, which is produced by Dick Clark Productions, also has a new executive producer in Raj Kapoor, who takes over for R.A. Clark, who “was ready to pass the baton,” Whiteside says. “We love him and never want to see him go, but we’re really excited about Raj,” who has worked on projects including the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards and numerous Las Vegas residencies. “He’s got a really good sense of what country is about and who the artists are, but at the same time, he’s also got this experience from all these other shows,” Whiteside adds. “He’s got his finger on the pulse of pop culture and what the public wants.” 

Kapoor is joined by fellow executive producers Barry Adelman and Fonda Anita as well as co-executive producer Patrick Menton. Whiteside serves as executive producer for the Academy. 

Performers slated for the event include Jason Aldean, Brown, Combs, Lambert, Wilson, Swindell, Wallen, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban and Bailey Zimmerman. 

For the first time since the pandemic began, the ACM Awards will return to a full slate of activities for the week. These include the ACM Lifting Lives benefit on May 10, featuring Wallen, Wilson, HARDY, ERNEST and Zimmerman and hosted at the golfing green of Topgolf the Colony. 

For the streaming audience, another goal was figuring out how to enhance the show’s ability to push viewers to participating artists’ Amazon Music accounts. “There’s going to be this uber-location where we can push our viewers to discover everything about the [participating] artists,” Whiteside says. “We can literally within the show push people right into streaming music. I’m excited to see how that’s going to lift artists’ streaming numbers and sales numbers after the show.” Ahead of the ceremony, Amazon Music is offering an ACM Awards playlist celebrating this year’s nominees. 

This year’s show concludes the ACM Awards’ initial two-year pact with Amazon, but Whiteside is optimistic that the two partners will find a way to move forward. “Streamers are very much about the metrics, and they do a lot of evaluating around how the show performs,” he says, but adds, “[Amazon is] hugely excited about this show. It’s a tentpole priority for them. We’ve been having discussions about ’24 and ’25.  We’re really just focused on another stellar year and growing from last year. We’re hopeful this is a long-term partnership.”

The 58th ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldredge, a unit of Billboard’s parent, Penske Media Company. 

02 May 2023

Jessie Ware Just Wants to ‘Make People Dance’ With Joyful New Album ‘That! Feels Good!’

Jessie Ware had a straightforward goal with her new album That! Feels Good! (released April 28) – “The goal was to make people dance and make them feel sexy and romantic,” the pop singer-songwriter tells the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to her full interview, below).

The new 10-track set, with production by Stuart Price and longtime collaborator James Ford, is a “delicious disco opus” and follows her warmly received 2020 album What’s Your Pleasure. The latter marked her highest-charting effort on the Official U.K. Albums chart (peaking at No. 3) and garnered Ware her first BRIT Award nomination for British album of the year.

“I wanted [the new album] to feel more live than What’s Your Pleasure?,” Ware continues, “but I still wanted there to be groove, and funk and soul dictating it – and elements of disco, of course. But to feel like a dance record, but a looser dance record, with a bit more color. That was the intention.”

So what’s changed for Ware in the nearly three years between What’s Your Pleasure? and That! Feels Good!? “I feel really centered and excited about putting music out,” she says. “I don’t kind of have that fear like I had before. What else has changed? The podcast [her hit show Table Manners, co-hosted with her mother Lennie Ware] has carried on. I’ve got another baby… I don’t know! I feel like a changed artist since the reception of What’s Your Pleasure?”

Ware will take That! Feels Good! on the road in the United States later this year, with a string of dates beginning in Chicago on Oct. 5. Before that, she’ll play the OUTLOUD @ WeHo Pride festival on June 2 in West Hollywood, Calif. in celebration of Pride Month.

Also on the new edition of the Pop Shop Podcast, we’ve got chart news on how Morgan Wallen continues to lead the Billboard 200 albums chart for an eighth week with One Thing at a Time, how Taylor Swift makes a splash on the list with a stunning 10 albums in the top 100 of the chart, and how for the first time ever, there are two regional Mexican songs in the top five (and 10!) of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)  

02 May 2023

G-Eazy Discusses Time Away From Music, Jay-Z’s Influence & His Return: ‘I Want My Seat at the Table’

G-Eazy is back. The Bay Area artist caught up with Billboard about his time away from the music scene, his come-up and his upcoming album.

“I went through some personal things with losing my mom and there was just a bit of an overall burnout,” he told Billboard R&B/hip-hop reporter Neena Rouhani. “We started aggressively trying to tour and release music independently. That level of grind catches up to you.”

After a soul-searching hiatus, the 33-year-old rapper is back in motion and has no plans of letting up. “I just needed that step back. Once that spark hit it was like, ‘Yeah, it’s over. We found it. Now y’all are in trouble.’”

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

His latest single “Tulips & Roses” is all about giving flowers while someone is still here to receive them. The track centers on “human vulnerability,” G-Eazy says, adding, “People put artists on this pedestal where you’re supposed to be the superhero and invincible. But at the end of the day, anybody could have a bad day or catch an L.”

The rapper is pleased with the fan reaction to “Tulips & Roses,” which has over 1 million views on YouTube. “When you make music, you’re making it in the studio with your closest team. When you put it out, all of a sudden, it has this life because it’s impacting all these people,” he says.

G-Eazy reflected on his journey, from a 13-year-old kid who bumped Too $hort, Mac Dre and E-40 in his bedroom to a world-famous artist playing arena shows. “I started making beats and the beats were trash. I started like writing little raps in my notebooks, I didn’t know how to like structure a song or even how to count bars,” he explains of his early years. “I’m just 14 in Oakland, in size 36 jeans and baggy white tees.”

But one day, while listening to Jay-Z’s critically acclaimed The Black Album, everything changed. “I was like, if we’re gonna do this, I want to chase him. I want to aspire to that,” he says today. “If I could go back in time and tell that 14-year-old version of me that we’d be sitting here doing this or that I’ve done these arenas, that’s unfathomable.”