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It would’ve been a big-enough weekend for Morgan Wallen simply from the release of his fourth album Friday’s (May 16) I’m the Problem — his third album this decade to consist of 30+ tracks, this time with six of them already ranking as pre-release Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits. But the biggest star in […]

Rihanna fans have been waiting not so patiently the last three years for new music, and it finally arrived Friday in the form of the Smurfs soundtrack song “Friend of Mine.” The vibey new song is the perfect backdrop for a Smurf dance-off, as evidenced by the mostly animated music video, but the three-minute-plus track […]

After taking a few years off, the irreverent and one-of-a-kind podcast Promoter 101 is back and dropping hot takes on the concert business like it’s 2018 all over again. 
Understanding why music manager Luke Pierce and Live Nation promoter Dan Steinberg revived their podcast is nearly as complex as understanding why they stopped in the first place. When they shelved the show in 2020, shifting priorities and the increasingly complicated post-pandemic concert industry played a major role. But what surprised Steinberg most was that no one stepped in to capitalize on their absence.

“We thought that we’ve been talking for quite a while, and maybe there was another voice; maybe if we got out of the way and somebody else wanted to speak up and fill that void,” Steinberg says.  

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But no one did — and Steinberg and Pierce believe that’s partly because the concert business has only grown more complex in the wake of the pandemic, especially with the rise of dynamic pricing and nine-figure tour grosses. While they plan to keep the show’s popular interview format, they also intend to dive deeper into topics like ticket pricing and the reasons behind the sharp rise in concert costs in the post-pandemic era. 

“I think it’s a mistake to say the promoters are outpricing the market,” Steinberg said. ” I think the managers are setting the prices. The artist may say they want more money, but I think that call is usually the manager, and it’s their job to direct that, and most artists leave that to the manager and the agent to figure out. I don’t know the promoters that want a more expensive ticket — more often, the promoter is trying to bring the ticket price down.” 

Pierce added that there’s a “good swath of working artists that have priced themselves out of the middle class of live music.” 

In the months immediately following the reopening of concert venues, fans were spending significant money on concerts and live experiences, making up for time lost during the pandemic. That period was followed by what Pierce calls a “burnout period” that’s happening “right now.” 

“While fans return to some of their pre-pandemic behaviors, you know, artists continue to kind of tour at peak levels, and I think that will cause some problems with soft tours and unsold inventory,” he said. The result is a “top-heavy touring ecosystem, where the middle is kind of getting squeezed out a little bit, and I think it’s something artists and their teams really need to be cognizant of.” 

The pricing problem will become more acute in the next 24 months based on what happens with the economy, Pierce adds, noting that “we just saw GDP figures come out, and the contraction of the U.S. economy is certainly not a great sign. Paying attention and making adjustments to your business is prudent right now.”  

“Put more simply, the demand in the post-pandemic environment was enormous because we couldn’t do anything for a while, and we got free money from the government for a little bit, and nowhere to spend it,” Pierce says. “But that has to reset somewhere along a sensible trend. And I think it’ll be challenging for some people to figure out what that looks like.” 

 Steinberg notes that while the festival market will need to make some adjustments to navigate a tough economic climate, he remains optimistic about its long-term potential. 

“Festivals are not done, it’s just a competitive space,” Steinberg says. “And they’re for younger people. And so there’s always going to be a cooler festival with a more cutting-edge lineup. But festivals can come back from a bad year. Coachella had some rough years, but they came back. Bonnaroo definitely had some tougher years, but they have come back. It’s very cyclical.” 

One real challenge festivals face, Pierce notes, is “headliner fatigue, due to a lack of inventory of headliners.” Artists can make more money touring, especially artists playing arenas and stadiums, where they can deliver “the exact experience they want their fans to have, and that’s a better business decision for them, top to bottom.” 

Steinberg and Pierce plan to release one new Promoter 101 episode each month and have launched a refreshed brand identity, complete with updated logos and artwork, to mark their return. Their comeback episode, No. 230, features interviews with Paladin Artists agents Steve Martin, Andy Somers and Chyna Chuan. The latest episode is available now at promoter101.net. 

Over the past four years, when Morgan Wallen releases an album, it has camped out at the top of the Billboard 200 for quite some time. Starting with the 10-week No. 1 Dangerous: The Double Album in 2021 and continuing with 19-week chart-topper One Thing at a Time in 2023, Wallen has a pretty unimpeachable […]

Longtime alt-pop star Lorde boasts two new entries on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (dated May 10). One of them is predictable: “What Was That,” her first totally new solo song in nearly a half-decade (and presumed lead single from her upcoming Virgin album, due in June) bows at No. 36, following a big […]

The Golden Globes will have a new category at its 2026 show: best podcast of the year. The top 25 podcasts will qualify for the award; there will be six nominees in the category. Full eligibility criteria and additional details will be announced in coming weeks.  The 83rd Golden Globes are set for Sunday, Jan. […]

Lady Gaga reportedly played to 2.5 million fans during her concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday night. It’s a hard-to-fathom crowd size, considering we’ve never seen anything like it for a concert in the United States. When it comes to free U.S. shows, some estimates put Garth Brooks’ 1997 concert […]

Fat Joe and Jadakiss have joined forces to launch their Joe & Jada podcast. Produced by Colin Cowherd’s The Volume and Roc Nation, the podcast will tackle all things music, sports and culture.
Starting this week, two episodes will be released weekly on YouTube and all major audio platforms. The pair of New York rap titans wear their hearts on their sleeves and are as authentic as they come in the music world. But their in-depth knowledge and respect span plenty of industries outside of the music game, so it only made sense to bring their brash commentary and expertise to the podcasting world.

“My brother Jadakiss and I will be delivering a podcast experience like none other,” Fat Joe said in a statement. “We’re both passionate and opinionated about music, sports, entertainment and culture, so you can definitely expect to get unfiltered analysis, versatile interviews and untold stories. We’re coming to shake up the podcast game and set a new blueprint.”

Trending on Billboard

Fans can expect plenty of special guests to join the pair of diehard New York Knicks fans, with athletes, actors and celebrities from all walks of life sitting down for interviews and embracing debate.

“I’m looking forward to teaming up with Joe on this podcast and showing another side of my personality,” Jadakiss added. “We’ve been friends for a long time, so we have the right chemistry and foundation to make this a really special show. Everyone is finally going to get to hear what we debate and discuss all the time behind the scenes.”

Joey Crack and Jada are no strangers to collaborating. They represented the Big Apple on Ja Rule’s “New York” anthem in 2004, which peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Fat Joe and Jadakiss are legends. Joe & Jada is everything we aim to do at The Volume — bring together strong, authentic voices to create conversations that connect with fans,” said Logan Swaim, who serves as chief content officer at The Volume. 

The Bronx native has hosted his show Fat Joe Talks on Starz, but Joe & Jada is the first podcast venture for the duo. Look for the first episode to drop later this week and follow the pod’s official Instagram here.

This April, the Billboard charts have been largely static — with a couple big exceptions, for which we are thankful — but pop music keeps moving. This was a month for big festivals, with two weekends of Coachella and one of Stagecoach all back to back out in Indio, Calif., and of just-as-big tour kickoffs, […]

With the release of Cowboy Carter last year, a lot of noise was made about whether Beyoncé was “country enough” to put out a country album. More than one year (and her first album of the year Grammy) later, the answer is: of course she was. And she’s further proving her genre prowess on the […]