Billboard Magazine

Written for music industry professionals and fans. Contents provide news, reviews and statistics for all genres of music, including radio play, music video, related internet activity and retail updates.

Billboard US

‘Small Town,’ Big Hit: Aldean’s First No. 1

8  “Barbie World” Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua

5  “K-POP” Travis Scott, Bad Bunny & The Weeknd

Swift’s Historic ‘Summer’

New Rock Radio No. 1s

‘Bachata’ Puts Chayanne Back At No. 1

Tomlin’s Latest Leader

STYLES POINTS • The top 30 tours in June did record-breaking business, helped along by the pop singer’s gargantuan attendance totals

Top Venues

When Pop Won’t Pop Like It Used To • Executives worry the genre is dominated by fleeting moments rather than breakout careers and are readjusting expectations

WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT VOICE BEFORE? • Songwriters are shopping tunes recorded with generative AI that mimics the vocals of the artists being pitched

IRVING AZOFF EXPANDS HIS PANTHEON • The multisector mogul has added Cher and the estate of close friend Dan Fogelberg to the roster of his Iconic Artists Group

Reversion Revolution • A new wave of publishing rights to classic song catalogs may open up to investors thanks to U.S. copyright law, but master recordings are another story

From The Desk Of... Kakul Srivastava • CEO, SPLICE

ODES TO HIP-HOP 50 • This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, a milestone that is being celebrated with curated concerts, special programming and more. To commemorate such a momentous birthday, influential hip-hop executives and artists honor the groundbreaking and culture-defining genre with personal love letters to the art form that continues to inspire them every day — and will for many more years to come.

WAYNE’S WORLD • Over almost three decades, restless innovator Lil Wayne has proved that singular talent, personality and work ethic add up to longevity in hip-hop — and in the process, he has bridged the genre’s past and future

SIX DEGREES OF WEEZY • From his days in the Hot Boys to making moves as a label founder to his wide-ranging collaborations, there are few corners of the industry Lil Wayne hasn’t touched. Here’s just a sampling of the web that has emerged around him over nearly 30 years

THE MASTERMIND • Hip-hop’s 50th anniversary could have passed without the celebration it deserved. Then Nas and his company, Mass Appeal, got involved

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR LARRY JACKSON • From his days as a teen radio whiz to building on long-standing relationships with star artists at Apple Music, he has translated a lifetime in the industry into business gold — and now, with the launch of gamma, offers a very deep-pocketed alternative to the major-label system

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR ICE SPICE • With four Hot 100 top 10s and two collaborations with her idol (plus one with Taylor Swift), the 24-year-old “People’s Princess” has her eye on the rap game’s throne

SEXYY RED • How the rising rapper’s “Pound Town 2” with Nicki Minaj and Tay Keith hammered home her biggest strengths