Harry Styles' 'Harry's House' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 ...

Harry Styles’ Harry’s House debuts atop the Bill-board 200 albums chart (dated June 4) with a mas-sive 521,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending May 26, according to Luminate. It’s the largest week of 2022 for any album and only the fourth album in the last 18 months to earn at least 500,000 units in a single week. It logs the biggest week for an album since Adele’s 30 debuted with 839,000 units in the week ending Nov. 25, 2021 (chart dated Dec. 4, 2021). (Styles and Adele also are label-mates — both are on Columbia Records.)

Harry’s House is Styles’ third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the entirety of his solo releases. And all three have bowed at No. 1. He also topped the list with 2019’s Fine Line and his 2017 self-titled debut. Harry’s House was released on May 20.

Harry’s House also logs a modern-era record for single-week vinyl album sales, as it sold 182,000 cop-ies on vinyl in the U.S. That marks the largest week for an album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. It beats the previous high, set last year, when Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) sold

114,000 vinyl copies in the week ending Nov. 18, 2021.The vinyl sales for Harry’s House were so large

that vinyl sales alone would have made the album No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in all but three weeks of 2022 thus far.

Harry’s House was preceded by the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit song “As It Was,” which has spent three weeks atop the list (through the most recently pub-lished chart, dated May 28).

Styles ushered in the album with interviews and/or performances on Apple Music with Zane Lowe (May 16), SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show (May 18), NBC’s Today (May 19) and NPR’s Morning Edition (May 20). Apple Music also live streamed Styles’ One Night Only in New York concert from UBS Arena on May 20.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equiva-

Harry Styles’ ‘Harry’s House’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With

Half-Million-Plus First Week in U.S.B Y K E I T H C A U L F I E L D

(continued)

YOUR DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE

BulletinM AY 3 1 , 2 0 2 2 Page 1 of 25

• Harry Styles Returns to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 With ‘As It Was,’ Debuts 3 Songs

in Top 10

• Why Is Vinyl Getting So Expensive?

• The Kid LAROI Reunites With Scooter Braun

for Management

• The Ledger: Sony Music’s Cautious

Catalog Approach & Other Investor Call Highlights

• BTS Has April’s No. 1 Tour With Just Four Shows Earning

$35.9 Million

• ‘Her Country’ Author Marissa Moss

on the Inequalities Women Artists Face

in Country Music

INSIDE

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COUNTRYPOWER PLAYERS

2 0 2 2

Billboard’s ninth annual Country Power Players issue will profile the people who have driven another solid year for the country music industry in sales, streaming and publishing.This special feature will highlight the top executives, artists and change-makers who kept the music playing during chal-lenging times, as well as coverage of the changing face of country music.

Advertise in Billboard’s Country Power Playersissue to congratulate this year’s honorees while reaching key decision-makers who are driving the music business.

C O N T A C T SJoe [email protected]

Lee Ann [email protected]

Cynthia [email protected]

Marcia Olival [email protected]

Ryan O’Donnell [email protected]

Page 3 of 25

lent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new June 4, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 1 (one day later than usual, owed to the Memorial Day holiday on May 30 in the U.S.). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Harry’s House’s 521,500 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 330,000 (the largest sales week of 2022), SEA units comprise 189,000 (equaling 246.96 million on-demand streams of the set’s 13 tracks — 2022’s largest streaming week for a non-R&B/hip-hop or Latin al-bum) and TEA units comprise 2,500.

In the last 18 months, only four albums have earned at least 500,000 equivalent al-bum units in a single week, and all did so in their debut frames: Harry’s House (521,500), Adele’s 30 (839,000); Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) (604,500) and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy (612,500; chart dated Sept. 18, 2021).

In terms of traditional album sales, the last album to sell more copies than Harry’s House in a single week was Adele’s 30, when it debuted with 692,000 copies sold in its first week (ending Nov. 25, 2021; chart dated Dec. 4, 2021). The only other album to sell

more than Harry’s House in the past 18 months was Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), when it sold 369,000 copies in its opening frame (week ending Nov. 18, 2021; chart dated Nov. 27, 2021).

Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti holds at No. 2 on the latest Billboard 200 (155,000 equivalent album units; down 15%) after bowing at No. 1 three weeks ago. Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers falls 1-3 in its second week with 96,000 units (down 68%). Future’s former No. 1 I Never Liked You rounds out the top four, slipping 3-4 in its fourth week with 77,000 units (down 14%).

Singer-songwriter Zach Bryan makes his Billboard 200 debut with his first major label album, American Heartbreak, bowing at No. 5. The 34-track set enters with 71,500 equivalent album units earned — the big-gest week for a country album in 2022. Of the set’s starting sum, SEA units comprise 64,500 (equaling 84.09 million on-demand official streams of the album’s 34 songs), album sales comprise 6,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000.

American Heartbreak was preceded by three top 40-charting hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, including the break-out single “Something in the Orange.” The cut became his first entry on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 7.

Bryan made his Billboard chart debut in September of 2019 when his DeAnn album

reached No. 10 on Heatseekers South Cen-tral regional chart (which ranked the week’s top albums by new and developing artists in the south central region of the U.S.). By the end of 2021, Bryan had charted a trio of top 20-charting efforts on Billboard’s Ameri-cana/Folk Albums chart.

Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 Danger-ous: The Double Album falls 5-6 on the new Billboard 200 with 51,500 equivalent album units earned (down 7%), Jack Harlow’s Come Home the Kids Miss You dips 6-7 (41,000; down 26%), Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Sour rises 9-8 (32,500; up 1%), TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child falls 4-9 in its second week (30,500; down 55%) and Lil Durk’s former No. 1 7220 is a non-mover at No. 10 (27,000; down 7%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to the final calculation.

IN BRIEF

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DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS

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ASHANTI2 0 2 2

Ashanti is a Grammy Award-winning singer/song-writer, actor and author. Ashanti burst onto the music scene with her smash hit, self-titled debut album Ashanti. It landed the #1 spot on both the Billboard Top 200 and R&B album charts, selling a whopping 504,593 units in its first week and set a SoundScan record as the most albums sold by any debut female artist in the chart’s history, granting her a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records, which she still holds today. Ashanti has released six studio albums and received eight Billboard Awards, a Grammy, two American Music Awards, two Soul Train Awards, six ASCAP Awards, and many more awards and illustrious honors. Ashanti has continued to reign at the top as one of Billboard’s “Top Females of the Decade from 2000-2010” and continues to break Billboard records as having a Hot 100 entry in the 2000’s, 2010’s and 2020’s. To celebrate her contributions to music and recording, Ashanti will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2022.

Please join us in celebrating 20 years of the Princess of R&B, the Queen of Written Entertainment and “Baby” the woman that is never “Foolish” and writes the melodies that stay in our minds and hearts forever…..ASHANTI.

C O N T A C T SJoe Maimone201.301.5933 | [email protected]

Lee Ann Photoglo615.376.7931 | [email protected]

Cynthia Mellow615.352,0265 | [email protected]

Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | [email protected]

Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | [email protected]

20TH ANNIVERSARY

Harry Styles Returns to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 With ‘As It Was,’ Debuts 3 Songs in Top 10BY GARY TRUST

Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” rebounds for a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. It soared in at the

summit seven weeks earlier.The track is the lead single from Styles’

new album Harry’s House. Released May 20 on Erskine/Columbia Records, the set blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 521,500 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 26, ac-cording to Luminate – the biggest week for an album in the U.S. this year.

Concurrently, three other songs from Harry’s House debut in the Hot 100’s top 10: “Late Night Talking” (No. 4), “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” (No. 8) and “Matilda” (No. 9).

Styles is the first British soloist to chart

as many as four songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously. Among all British acts, he joins only The Beatles, who achieved the feat for five weeks in 1964, including two frames in which they logged five each.

Additionally, Lizzo‘s “About Damn Time” hits the Hot 100’s top five, climbing 9-5.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. stream-ing (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated June 4, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (June 1, a day later than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. May 30). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“As It Was” tallied 73.7 million radio air-play audience impressions (up 5%) and 35.6 million streams (up 58%) in the May 20-26 tracking week. The song scores its high-est weekly radio reach and its second-best streaming sum, following its debut (43.8 million; April 16).

The track spends a third week at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart and surges 10-1 for a second week atop Streaming Songs, after it debuted at the summit.

“As It Was” is joined in the Hot 100’s top 10 by three debuts also from Harry’s House: “Late Night Talking” (No. 4), “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” (No. 8) and “Matilda” (No. 9). The cuts start at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 on Streaming Songs with 27 million, 20.8 mil-lion and 20.4 million streams, respectively.

“Talking” additionally drew 6.1 million in radio audience and debuts at No. 35, as an unpromoted track, on the Pop Airplay chart; “As It Was” leads the list for a third week.

Styles ups his count to seven solo Hot 100 top 10s – one more than One Direction, in which he broke through, achieved (in 2012-15).

As Styles becomes the first British solo-ist with four concurrent Hot 100 top 10s, he’s the 12th act overall to land the honor, following Drake (a record nine on the Sept. 18, 2021, chart), Juice WRLD (five, July 25, 2020), The Beatles (five, April 4 and 11, 1964), Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Future, J. Cole, Post Malone, Lil Wayne, T-Pain and 50 Cent (highs of four each).

Meanwhile, after a sluggish start for new music this year – as only two of the 26 songs to appear in the Hot 100’s top 10 between January and the April 9 chart were released in 2022 – a hefty 20 top 10s released this year have reached the region in the eight weeks since, by Styles, Jack Harlow, Morgan Wallen, Future, Lizzo, Bad Bunny and Lamar. The latest list marks the fourth in a row on which an artist has logged four top 10s from a new album, as Styles follows Lamar (May 28), Bad Bunny (May 21) and Future (May 14).

Harlow’s “First Class” descends to No. 2 on the Hot 100, after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1; it flew in atop the April 23

Page 5 of 25

IN BRIEF

Sam Hunt’s second studio full-length, and first in over five years, Southside (MCA Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville), debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart dated April 18. In its first week (ending April 9), it earned 46,000 equivalent album units, including 16,000 in album sales, ac-cording to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

Southside marks Hunt’s second No. 1 on the chart and fourth top 10. It follows freshman LP Montevallo, which arrived at the summit in No-vember 2014 and reigned for nine weeks. To date, Montevallo has earned 3.9 million units, with 1.4 million in album sales.

Montevallo has spent 267 weeks on the list, tying Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party as the sixth-longest-running titles in the chart’s 56-year history.

On the all-genre Billboard 200, Southside ar-rives at No. 5, awarding Hunt his second top 10 after the No. 3-peaking Montevallo.

Hunt first released the EP X2C, which debuted and peaked at No. 5 on Top Country Albums in August 2014. Following Montevallo, Between the Pines: Acoustic Mixtape started at its No. 7 high in November 2015.

Montevallo produced five singles, four of which hit the pinnacle of Country Airplay: “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party” and “Make You Miss Me.” “Break Up in a Small Town” peaked at No. 2.

Hunt co-penned all 12 songs on Southside, including “Body Like a Back Road,” which was released in 2017. The smash hit ruled Country Airplay for three weeks and the airplay-, streaming- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart for a then-record 34 frames. It now ranks second only to Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” (50 weeks atop the latter list in 2017-18).

“Downtown’s Dead,” which is also on the new set, reached Nos. 14 and 15 on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay, respectively, in June 2018. “Kin-folks” led Country Airplay on Feb. 29, becoming Hunt’s seventh No. 1. It hit No. 3 on Hot Country Songs.

Latest single “Hard to Forget” jumps 17-9 on Hot Country Songs. It’s his eighth top 10, having corralled 8.2 million U.S. streams (up 96%) and 5,000 in

sales (up 21%) in the tracking week. On Country Airplay, it hops 18-15 (11.9 mil-lion audience impressions, up 16%).

TRY TO ‘CATCH’ UP WITH YOUNG Brett Young achieves his fifth consecutive and total Country Airplay No. 1 as “Catch” (Big Machine Label Group) ascends

2-1, increasing 13% to 36.6 million impressions.Young’s first of six chart entries, “Sleep With-

out You,” reached No. 2 in December 2016. He followed with the multiweek No. 1s “In Case You Didn’t Know” (two weeks, June 2017), “Like I Loved You” (three, January 2018), “Mercy” (two, August 2018) and “Here Tonight” (two, April 2019).

“Catch” completes his longest journey to No. 1, having taken 46 weeks to reach the apex. It out-paces the 30-week climb of “Here Tonight.”

On Hot Country Songs, “Catch” pushes 7-5 for a new high.

COMBS ‘DOES’ IT AGAIN Luke Combs’ “Does to Me” (River House/Columbia Nashville), featuring Eric Church, ascends 11-8 on Country Airplay, up 10% to 24.7 million in audience. The song is Combs’ eighth straight career-opening top 10, following a record run of seven consecutive out-of-the-gate, properly promoted No. 1 singles.

Church adds his 15th Country Airplay top 10.

THAT TOOK QUITE ‘A FEW’ MONTHS Travis Denning shatters the record for the most weeks it has taken to penetrate the Country Airplay top 10 as “After a Few” (Mercury Nashville) climbs 12-10 in its 57th week, up 4% to 21.4 mil-lion in radio reach.

The song surpasses two tracks that took 50 weeks each to enter the top 10: Easton Corbin’s “A Girl Like You,” which reached No. 10 in January 2018 be-fore peaking at No. 6 that February, and Aaron Watson’s “Outta Style,” which achieved its No. 10 high in December 2017.

“After” is Denning’s second Country Airplay entry. “David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs” traveled to No. 32 in September 2018.

SamHunt’s Southside Rules Top Country Albums; Brett Young ‘Catch’-es Fifth Airplay

Leader; Travis Denning Makes History

ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER [email protected]

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE APRIL 13, 2020 | PAGE 4 OF 19

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NEW

11,000 Grammy™ Voters will be mailed a copy of this

special issue

B O N U S D I S T R I B U T I O N

+

On July 16th, Billboard will publish a GRAMMY® First Look special

feature showcasing the artists, producers and other creative

professionals whose music was released from October 1, 2021-

September 30, 2022. We will look at the early contenders for the

65th GRAMMY® Awards in the categories of Record Of The Year,

Song Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Best New Artist.

July 13 – August 31 Online Entry Process Access Period

Take advantage of this early opportunity during the eligibility period

to showcase accomplished work to the music industry as they prepare

to cast thier entries for Music’s Biggest Night®

ISSUE DATE 7/16 / AD CLOSE 7/6 / MATERIALS DUE 7/7

Joe Maimone | [email protected] Lee Ann Photoglo | [email protected]

Cynthia Mellow | [email protected] Marcia Olival | [email protected]

Ryan O’Donnell | [email protected]

C O N T A C T S

tally. The song wins the Hot 100’s top Air-play Gainer award for a sixth straight week (tying Imagine Dragons and JID’s “Enemy,” in February-April, for the best such streak this year), as it pushes 3-2 on Radio Songs, up 14% to 68 million in audience.

“First Class” concurrently claims a sixth week atop both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100.

Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, rebounds 4-3 on the Hot 100, three weeks after it debuted at No. 1.

Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” reaches the Hot 100’s top five, leaping 9-5, fueled by its 25% gain to 35.3 million in radio audience. All four of her top 10s have now reached the top five, as her latest follows “Truth Hurts” (seven weeks at No. 1, beginning in Septem-ber 2019), “Good as Hell” (No. 3, November 2019) and “Rumors,” featuring Cardi B (No. 4, August 2021).

“Time” clocks in at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales for the first time (despite a 14% drop to 11,900 sold). Lizzo adds her third leader on the chart, after “Truth Hurts” (for five weeks in 2019) and “Good as Hell” (one, 2020).

“Time” concurrently returns for a second week atop the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart.

Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” rebounds 12-6 on the Hot 100, after five weeks at No. 1, as it rules the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a 36th week each, and Latto’s “Big Energy” bumps 10-7 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 3.

Elsewhere in the Hot 100’s top 10, Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito” rises 14-10, revisiting its highpoint first reached in its debut frame two weeks earlier. The track tops the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart for a second week.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated June 4), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (June 1).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive

and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to final calculations.

Why Is Vinyl Getting So Expensive?BY CHRIS EGGERTSEN

On May 20, Universal Music Group raised its wholesale prices on roughly 2,400 vinyl titles, adding new pressure to a

format struggling to keep up with increased demand, supply chain issues and skyrocket-ing materials costs. Whether the vinyl boom will suffer from sticker shock remains to be seen, but retail prices are climbing.

“Out of the 2,400 [UMG] titles that are lifting, 1,200 of them will now have a [wholesale] cost of $19 or higher,” says Carl Mello, director of brand engagement at Newbury Comics. “So those are all essen-tially becoming like $30 price tag items.”

Some vinyl albums are already selling for even more: Harry Styles’ new Harry’s House, released by Sony/Columbia, has a wholesale cost of $24, according to Mello, while retail prices range from $32 to $40.

UMG’s pricing increase follows a similar move by Warner Music Group, which raised wholesale costs on roughly 600 titles last October. “We’re waiting for the shoe to drop from Sony, too,” says Laura Provenzano, senior vp of purchasing and marketing for vinyl wholesaler and distributor Alliance Entertainment. “They’re all feeling the same cost pressure.”

Vinyl sales spiked 51.4% in 2021, with 41.72 million vinyl albums sold, making it the biggest year for the format since Lumi-nate began tracking it in 1991. It’s too early to say how much the price increases will

affect sales, but rising materials costs and shortages are stretching the vinyl industry to the breaking point.

Pressing plant executives tell Billboard that over the past year there have been three price increases on vinyl pellets that have nearly doubled the cost. “Pre-pandemic, the price of black compound [PVC] was $1.16 and $1.17 a pound. Now it’s over $2 when you factor in all the fees,” says Mark Rainey, co-founder/CEO of Cascade Record Pressing in Milwaukie, Ore.

Another emerging concern for the indus-try is a potential shortage of nickel, a crucial element for producing the metal stamp-ers used to press records. In early March, the London Metal Exchange temporarily suspended the trading of nickel after prices more than doubled on fears that the supply chain would be disrupted due to sanctions against Russia, which supplies roughly 10% of global nickel output. Ed Gross, who runs Nipro Optics, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that supplies stampers to press-ing plants across the United States, says the price of nickel doubled in early March to more than $30 before settling into the $20 range by late April. As a result, the plant was forced to tack on an additional $16 surcharge per stamper that went into effect on May 1. Matt Earley, co-founder/vp sales and marketing for Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland, says that his plant — which he estimates goes through 5,000 to 6,000 stampers per year — is absorbing the stamper price increase for now, banking that the situation will resolve itself quickly.

Electricity, labor and fuel costs have also all spiked, and those costs are being passed down to labels. Andy Hsueh — global direc-tor of label operations at Partisan Records, home to IDLES, Fontaines D.C. and Laura Marling, among other acts — says costs per unit have increased anywhere from a few cents to $2, depending on packaging needs and quantity.

A greater concern is turnaround times, which have stretched to nearly a year in some cases, according to Zena White, man-aging director/senior vp at Partisan. “Vinyl production’s a volume game,” says White. “It inadvertently hurts independents more than majors because majors are able to guarantee

Page 7 of 25

IN BRIEF

a higher volume.”Catalog has also been hard-hit. “It’s aston-

ishing when you look at the gold catalog titles that are not available for months at a time,” says Mello, who cites as one example Taylor Swift‘s 1989, which Newbury hasn’t received on vinyl since last August.

To try to meet demand, more pressing plants are coming online and others have increased their production. Cascade has moved to a seven-days-a-week schedule, looking to increase production by 50%. The Denver-based record club Vinyl Me, Please plans to open a 14,000-square-foot pressing facility by the end of the year, and Memphis Record Pressing is working on a nearly $30 million expansion, including 36 pressing machines slated to be operational by September.

With vinyl demand surging as production struggles, some are looking to CDs to fill the void. The CD manufacturing process is less complex, the turnaround time quicker and sticker price more consumer-friendly. De-mand for the format is also robust. Accord-ing to the RIAA, CD shipments rose from 31.6 million in 2020 to 46.6 million in 2021, a 47% increase, while revenue rose from $483.2 million to $584.2 million. That’s the first sales increase for CDs since 2004, and proof that the clamor for physical product is expanding to other formats.

“More vinyl-only stores need to start con-sidering adding at least some [CD] offerings to the mix, particularly when it’s a key artist where they don’t have a vinyl counterpart to sell,” says Steve Harkins, vp of sales and marketing at distributor and wholesaler Ingram Entertainment.

CD manufacturing also suffers from sup-ply chain issues, but “it’s nowhere near the same ballpark as vinyl,” says Harkins, who adds that manufacturing times have in-creased from three to four weeks to roughly six to eight weeks today.

Some sources voiced concern that rising prices and the unavailability of product might slow sales. But most remained hope-ful about the future, with some suggesting that production problems might even have an upside. “You could also argue,” says Provenzano, “that the scarcity of product kind of drives the demand, too.”

The Kid LAROI Reunites With Scooter Braun for ManagementBY JASON LIPSHUTZ

After parting ways last year, The Kid LAROI has re-upped with Scooter Braun for management.

The Australian star previously partnered with Braun in June 2021 before leaving SB Projects last September to join Adam Leber’s Rebel Management roster. The Kid LAROI then split with Leber’s team earlier in May when Leber resigned amicably.

A source tells Billboard that LAROI and his mother, Sloane Howard, re-approached Braun, and a deal was finalized a week ago. After the singer previously left SB Projects due in part to Braun’s lack of direct in-volvement, the source says Braun will now oversee all aspects of the hitmaker’s career.

During The Kid LAROI’s previous stint with Braun, the singer-songwriter linked up with another SB superstar, Justin Bieber, for the synth-pop single “Stay.” The song became LAROI’s first No. 1 hit on the Bill-board Hot 100, and sits at No. 21 on this week’s chart.

Last month, LAROI teased his new single “Thousand Miles” with a TikTok montage encouraging fans to “show me ur last mistake,” that included images of Braun. In-stead of a Braun diss, however, the manager was in on the joke — and encouraged fans to stream “Thousand Miles,” produced by SB Projects artist Watt.

The Kid LAROI, who’s currently work-ing on his Columbia Records debut album after his F*ck Love mixtape became his first Billboard 200 chart-topper, scored a top 20 Hot 100 debut last month with “Thousand Miles.” On May 26, he played a sold-out show at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena — and Braun was in attendance, sharing clips of the performance on his Instagram on Friday (May 27) and writing in his Stories,

“Just the beginning.”The Kid LAROI received his first two

Grammy nominations late last year — best new artist and album of the year as a featured artist on the deluxe edition of Bieber’s Justice.

The Ledger: Sony Music’s Cautious Catalog Approach & Other Investor Call HighlightsBY GLENN PEOPLES

The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version

of the newsletter is published online.Sony’s annual investor presentation was a

rare opportunity for Rob Stringer, chair-man of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, to go on record on the important financial issues of the day. Any analyst or investor listening in got some helpful insight into Stringer’s thinking about how Sony spends money and what will ac-count for future revenue growth.

Stringer’s presentation recapped Sony Music’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, as well as its double-digit growth over the pre-vious five years. Revenues were up $3 billion since 2017, profit margins have improved and streaming now accounts for 70% of total revenues. Sony had a busy year in terms of acquisitions: Brazilian label Som Livre, art-ists services platform AWAL, Alamo Records and the remaining share of Ultra Records, among others. Those deals, along with its chart success, helped SME improve its U.S. market share from 23.2% to 24.2%, accord-ing to Luminate, and maintain the top spot in Billboard’s Publisher’s Quarterly rankings for radio and Hot 100 market shares.

From a financial point of view, the pre-sentation and Q&A session provided three major takeaways about Sony’s investments

Page 8 of 25

IN BRIEF

and growth expectations.Not Getting Carried Away with Catalog

AcquisitionsSony Music is choosy in its catalog

acquisitions and closed “about six” deals across recordings and publishing, Stringer said on Wednesday. Stringer’s comments were meant to ease any analyst or investors’ concerns that Sony is getting caught up in a mad rush to acquire intellectual property. Music executives routinely field questions from analysts who see valuations skyrocket-ing and wonder if companies are going to get a fair return on their investment. The first question Stringer addressed was about Sony’s capital allocation to catalog deals and their expected return.

Stringer went out of his way to say that Sony isn’t doing deals based merely on hunches. “We are extremely aware of the data that is available on, say, a Bruce Spring-steen that has been with our company [for] 50 years,” said Stringer, “on a Bob Dylan that has been with the company 60 years, on Paul Simon, who’s been with our company pretty much for 50 years, on Jeff Lynn, who’s been with our company on records and publishing [for] 40 or 50 years.

“This is not a sort of flippant response to the market,” he continued. “It would be clear cut that we are interested in retaining the catalogs of our key cornerstone icons — at the right price. We have an enormous amount of data on those catalogs. So, we think we have [an] inside track…I think we’ve been really careful on this. We’re not starting a brand new business where we’ve never represented catalogs before, but we think the margins are good and therefore it’s boom time. We have an enormous amount of research and development on the artists we’ve done long-term catalog deals with and that will continue in the future.”

Streaming Prices Could Rise, But…Much of the value of today’s music busi-

ness is predicated on how much the stream-ing industry will grow in the coming decade. Analysts and investors build their forecasts using two main drivers: subscription growth and pricing change. There’s universal consensus that emerging markets provide opportunity for subscription growth – albeit at a lower price than established markets.

And there’s evidence from Spotify’s limited price increases that established markets can withstand higher prices without leading customers to cancel their subscriptions. But Stringer noted Sony doesn’t set the prices. “That’s down to the [digital service provid-ers], not us,” he said. “Do we think the mar-ket and the mature markets can withstand pricing increases? We do.”

Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge made the same com-ment during UMG’s first quarter earnings call on May 3 – without commenting on DSPs’ ability to raise prices. “We have to be aware that the DSPs directly determine how they price,” he said. “Any questions with regards to pricing are going to have to be di-rected at them. We can’t comment.” Labels can influence prices, however. After all, they negotiate the licensing terms that influence the prices the DSPs can reasonably set. If a DSP is going to maintain a decent margin – and Spotify is constantly under pressure to improve its margins – it can keep prices only so low. Publicly traded music companies also wield soft power by using a pulpit such as investor presentations and earnings calls to discuss matters such as pricing.

New Business Models Growing QuicklyA bucket of new revenue streams that

Sony Music calls “growth platforms” gave the company about $500 million annually, up from $400 million a year earlier. “[W]e] see social, fitness, gaming, all these are rev-enue models that we see increasing dramati-cally,” said Stringer. Social platforms include TikTok and Snapchat. Gaming platforms in-clude Roblox and Fortnite. A slew of fitness apps (Peloton is the best example) produce streaming royalties. Sony includes Web3 in its growth platforms bucket, too, although NFTs and the metaverse are in their early stages and don’t generate much revenue yet. Combined, these revenue streams are small compared to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazona and the other major streaming platforms that now dominate the business. But the important question is always, “What’s next?” At half a billion dol-lars a year and growing, this bucket is proof that labels and publishers can look beyond traditional streaming for substantial revenue growth.

STOCKSThrough May 27, the % change over the

last week, and the year-to-date change.Universal Music Group (AS: UMG):

20.86 euros, +2.2%, -15.8% YTD Spotify (NYSE: SPOT): $112.97, +5.4%, -51.7% YTD Warner Music Group (Nasdaq: WMG): $29.72, -0.1%, -31.2% YTD HYBE (KS 352820): 218,500 KRW, -1.1%, -37.4% YTD Live Nation (NYSE: LYV): $95.49, +7.1%, -20.2% YTD iHeartMedia (Nasdaq: IHRT): $11.47, -5.4%, -45.5% YTD Cumulus Media (Nasdaq: CMLS): $11.44, -8.5%, +1.7% YTD Tencent Music Entertainment (NYSE: TME): $4.09, +11.4%, -40.3% YTD Cloud Village (HKE: 9899): 81.70 HKD, +42.1%, -48.0% YTD

NYSE Composite: 15,942.62, +5.8%, -7.1% YTD Nasdaq: 12,131.13, +6.8%, -22.5% YTD S&P 500: 4,158.24, +6.6%, -12.8% YTD

BTS Has April’s No. 1 Tour With Just Four Shows Earning $35.9 MillionBY ERIC FRANKENBERG

The biggest tour in April wasn’t even really a tour. Bad Bunny led the February and March charts with 12 and 20 shows, respec-

tively, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra were in two places at once throughout Decem-ber, performing 71 shows as the month’s top earner. But in April 2022, BTS sets another in a long string of Boxscore records by playing the fewest shows – four, to be exact — for a No. 1 tour since the monthly charts launched in 2019.

The South Korean superheroes hit Al-legiant Stadium in Las Vegas for perfor-

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mances on April 8, 9, 15 and 16, dominating the entire month in just two weekends. The four shows collectively earned $35.9 million and sold nearly 200,000 tickets according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, claiming the No. 1 position on Top Tours and Top Boxscores.

That massive haul makes the April gross the biggest of BTS’ career, immediately re-placing its’ SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif.) shows from last year at the top of the list. As previously reported, those dates earned $33.3 million and, excluding multi-artist festival events, and became one of the 10 highest grossing engagements in Billboard Boxscore’s history.

And just as the L.A.-area shows became the biggest Boxscore ever in California, April’s Allegiant Stadium dates claim the all-time record for Las Vegas and the state of Nevada. It’s also the second biggest North American Boxscore ever, only behind Bruce Springsteen’s $38.7 million sweep in 2003 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. All in all, it’s the fifth biggest Boxscore of all time.

BTS’ recent stop in Las Vegas performed similarly, but slightly better than the SoFi shows. On average, the Vegas dates earned $8.99 million per night, compared to $8.33 million in Los Angeles. Seating was scaled smaller at Allegiant, averaging 49,924 fans each night, versus 53,438 in L.A., but the average ticket bumped from $155.87 to $180, forcing Vegas’ per-night gross closer to $9 million.

The Las Vegas run is the 10th Boxscore with reported earnings of more than $30 million. BTS, Take That and U2 each have done it twice, while Springsteen, Roger Wa-ters, the Spice Girls and the Grateful Dead round out the $30 million club. That makes BTS the only artist not from the U.S. or the U.K. to gross as much at a single venue.

These shows were BTS’ first visit to Las Vegas, having only previously played the greater New York area, the greater Los An-geles area and Chicago, among U.S. markets. The isolated group of performances could be a sign that the Korean superstars are getting closer to a nationwide tour, just as labelmate SEVENTEEN prepares a 12-city North American run later this summer.

BTS’ April victory makes the group the seventh act to rule Top Tours chart more than once, following Elton John (four times), The Rolling Stones (three), Bad Bunny, P!nk, Post Malone and Trans-Sibe-rian Orchestra (two apiece). After doing the math and considering the charts’ COVID-induced hiatus, there have only been 22 editions of the Top Tours ranking, meaning its rarer to rule list once than multiple times. Only five artists – Backstreet Boys, Los Bukis, Ed Sheeran, Spice Girls and Tool – have done it once. BTS previously topped the list in May 2019 with a $51.7 million gross from eight stadium shows in North and South America.

BTS’ victory over the April charts was swift but narrow. Once again, Elton John is No. 2. That makes four consecutive months for John in the runner-up position, having sat behind Tool in January and Bad Bunny in February and March. His 14 shows in April grossed $35.1 million and sold 195,000 tickets, just 3% off from the top spot.

Based on pure attendance, BTS and John rank third and fourth for the month, behind Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, each of whom sold more than 200,000 tickets. They rank at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively, on the gross-based chart from their international stadium runs. For Coldplay, it was four shows at Mexico City’s Foro Sol, grossing $19.5 mil-lion from 260,000 tickets sold.

For Sheeran, it was two shows in Dublin and two in Cork, Ireland, plus two warm-up club shows earlier in the month, total-ing $18.4 million and 211,000 tickets. The stadium dates were the official kick-off to his Mathematics Tour, the follow-up to the Divide Tour (2017-19) which was named the highest-grossing and most-attended tour of all time.

Not only do BTS’ four Vegas shows rule over Top Tours and Top Boxscores, the $35.9 million take makes Allegiant Stadium the highest grossing venue of the month and brings HYBE to No. 4 on the Top Promot-ers chart, behind Live Nation, AEG Presents and OCESA.

‘Her Country’ Author Marissa Moss on the Inequalities Women Artists Face in Country MusicBY MELINDA NEWMAN

In new book, Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be, journalist Marissa Moss chroni-

cles the way that the country music industry has proved inequitable for women artists, and especially women of color. Though she provides a broad history of women in coun-try music — including the ongoing influence of pioneers like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, and a fond look at the early-’90s heyday when women artists achieved near parity with their male counterparts on radio — she primarily looks at the contemporary scene, through the careers of Maren Mor-ris, Kacey Musgraves and Mickey Guyton.

Despite their overwhelming talents, Morris is the only one of that trio of artists whom country radio has largely embraced — and even that embrace is at times tentative, in an atmosphere that can be very bleak for women artists. Between radio consolidation and consultants insisting that listeners do not want to hear women with any frequency on terrestrial radio stations, women artists still lag far behind their male counterparts. For example, only two solo women topped Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart in 2021 — two others reached No. 1 as part of a male-female duet, and one as part of a co-ed trio.

Below, Moss (who is a Billboard contribu-tor) discusses her book, published by Henry Holt, and the outlook for women artists moving forward.

What is a theory that you went into re-searching the book that you expected to

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prove true that ultimately did not — and what else did you learn while writing this book that surprised you?

I don’t know if I was expecting a smok-ing gun, and while I certainly did find a few (namely some radio programming manuals online that explicitly advised against playing women back-to-back), what became clear is less an environment where you can point one specific finger and more a systematic failure where so many people have main-tained the status quo.

On a brighter note, I found out so many awesome tidbits and intersections – how Amanda Shires and Maren Morris actu-ally met when they were teens at a chili cookout in Texas, how Maren opened up for Sturgill Simpson at her first proper show as a Nashvillian; how they all passed through this house on Villa Place in Nashville where the Brothers Osborne lived with Charlie Worsham and others and made music and mischief, or Kacey getting high with Kree Harrison and Ashley Monroe. Or Hailey Whitters and Kacey getting into car troubles on the way to a Miranda Lambert event in Texas, or Mickey getting to know John Osborne back in 2013.

I don’t think we always hear these stories – we’re always so enchanted by the mysti-cal life of the men of outlaw country (and rightly so! Those are great stories!) but there are so many other stories, too. I wanted folks to see these women as the extremely complex people and artists they are, and the artistic community they thrived in.

As you write in the book, radio con-solidation and advice from consultants helped lead to the ongoing drought of female artists on the airplay charts. How can listeners who want to hear more women on terrestrial radio make their voices heard?

Radio stations aren’t taking requests the same way they did when I was a kid, calling up my local station asking them to play Fiona Apple for the 1000th time (and sometimes it worked back then!). But it certainly can’t hurt to try, or to speak out on social media. But again, this is a systemic problem, especially given that consolidation. I always thought a targeted campaign to radio advertisers would be useful. And these

women, to be able to make a sustainable living outside of the framework of country radio, need to sell albums – so buy, don’t just stream, albums!

You quote a statistic in your book that Black women made up .01 percent of spins in country airplay in 2020. We’ve seen Black and bi-racial males including Kane Brown, Jimmie Allen and Breland have country airplay success. Does that bode well for the talented number of young Black female artists coming up like Tiera, Britney Spencer and Reyna Roberts or is there no correlation? We haven’t seen it help Mickey.

I do not want my default posture to be pessimism, especially since I think those three mentioned are not only insanely good, but incredibly radio-friendly in three very unique ways. But Black women in country music sit at the intersection of multiple oppressions – as women, and being Black. Centering their experience and freedom is so crucial to getting where we need to go in country music, and beyond honestly.

Streaming has helped level the play-ing field, as have streaming shows and playlists dedicated to inclusion, such as Rissi Palmer’s “Color Me Country” and Hunter Kelly’s “Proud Radio” Apple radio shows, as well as Spotify’s Country Latino playlist. How important is terres-trial radio play to a female artist still?

Well, it’s very important if that’s the career you want – and it’s the fastest and easiest route to success in many ways. And it’s also so many women in country music’s dream, as they grew up listening to Shania Twain and Reba on the radio. So that dream should be accessible if they want it. I inten-tionally told a story of mainstream country and women who wanted to be in that space, to show how difficult it is — and that there are other paths, too. And thanks to “Color Me Country” and “Proud Radio” and all the other Apple radio shows and SiriusXM and platforms like Gimme Country or even TikTok, there are some alternate routes that are really valuable.

You write about how in the ’90s Chely Wright received a smaller demo budget than a male artist, even though she was on a major label and he was not, because

the built-in expectation was that she would not have a hit because she was female. Are we still seeing that stagger-ing disparity that sets women artists up to fail, when they don’t have the same re-sources going into the recording process?

We definitely are, and that bore out in my reporting. There is a base level of expecta-tion for a man’s mainstream country album, and if a woman goes into a project with her label knowing the massive uphill battle, will they get the same resources? They often don’t. Women are also expected to look a certain way, have certain clothes, and that costs money too!

I think you also see this just in the way labels are reluctant to push a woman’s songs to radio with the same promotional cam-paign as a man’s… The labels [often] put the promotional dollars towards the dude, even when there is some bubbling momentum for a woman. So everyone has to get on board to make this change. I have spoken to a lot of frustrated radio programmers, too, who want to play certain songs but have trouble if it’s not properly serviced to them.

One thing that has changed dramati-cally over the last several years is that women manage many of today’s country superstars: Maren, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett and Dierks Bentley all have female managers. How has that changed the playing field and helped women artists get treated more fairly?

I wrote about some of those women in my book, like [Lambert’s manager] Marion Kraft and [Morris’s manager] Janet Weir, and they absolutely make a difference — because they understand the unique challenges that women face, but are able to advocate for their artists in an authentic, and non-tokenizing, way. They are also just really damn good at their jobs, gender aside. Women are really damn good at their jobs!

Similarly, the heads of A&R at four of the five biggest labels in Nashville are female. How does that change the equa-tion?

I mean, just look at Tracy Gershon – she was an early advocate for both Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves. We are all so much better when we have different

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people with different perspectives scouting talent, to better reflect the country. These women look for talent, not just what goes on a conveyor belt. But even they have to be beholden to possible radio success, and that’s the real shame of it.

Mickey, Maren and Kacey are among three of the most outspoken artists in country music when it comes to speak-ing out on diversity and inclusion — you even quote Kacey’s tweets after George Floyd’s death in your book. As we grieve in the wake of another devastating school shooting, few country artists have spoken out. Why are they still so reticent and is the fear of getting “Dixie-Chicked” (when the Dixie Chicks were dropped from country radio after lead singer Natalie Maines criticized then-president George W. Bush from stage in 2003), still real in 2022?

That fear is still so real. And like politi-cians taking money from the NRA, country music profits from these relationships in overt and subtle ways. I focused on “Dixie-Chicking” because it had such ripples to this day — but this was in the water before that event, too. As far as gun control is concerned, because country music speaks to rural people who enjoy hunting and respon-sible gun ownership, country artists are in a position of extreme possible influence, and I personally find it beyond reproach to not use your power in ways that can save lives, especially given the tragedy of [the] Route 91 [massacre in Las Vegas in 201 7].

I do not own a firearm myself, but I have spoken to many, many responsible gun owners over the years and they are all very different, but the one thing they do have in common is a belief in safety and respon-sible ownership. Imagine what a wonderful steward and agent of change someone in a position of power in country music could be with that point of view – good hunters don’t need an AR-15. Why wouldn’t you want a future where you can enjoy deer season but also keep children alive? Now THAT to me is good country values. I truly implore any country artist to think about this. Would you prefer to maybe lose three or four hundred loud fans on Instagram, or more children?

While the good old boy network is still

in effect, it does feel like more male art-ists are giving women opening slots on their tours. We’re also seeing established male artists duet with up-and-coming females, like Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson and Dustin Lynch and Mackenzie Porter. What other ways can male artists be allies?

It’s interesting, I was talking to a radio DJ the other day and he was saying that his friends in the industry were complaining of some difficulties with all of these male-female duets, because it’s so engrained that you can’t play two women back-to-back — so is it OK to do so when they are in duets? The fact that they have to ask that is very disturbing, but I hope there are some who are pushing back and doing so anyway, and maybe the idea of two women back to back won’t be such a crazy concept.

Taking women on tour and in the record-ing studio are both very important ways to push some change, and then we can look even deeper – getting more women in the writing room, more women producers and engineers, session players, anything that pushes back against that boys club mental-ity of just calling your pals, or your pal’s pal. And if we want real deep and meaningful change, it cannot only be white women.

Maren, Mickey and Kacey have all found ways outside of terrestrial radio to gain audiences and find their own paths. For young country female artists today, what do you hope they take away from the book as they plot their careers?

I know there is some despair in this book, and I needed to be honest. But I also hope that these women do not get discouraged and see that there are other paths, other ways to get their art in the world and reach and impact lives the way they want to. There is a rainbow coalition, as Allison Rus-sell calls it. There are the paths that Maren and Mickey and Kacey have paved, and they are all willing and ready to help others tackle that path or carve their own in unique ways. Do not get discouraged by the good ol’ boys club, because we need your music to drown it out.

Goldenvoice Elevates Melissa Ormond to Chief Operating OfficerBY DAVE BROOKS

AEG Presents announced today that Melissa Ormond has been appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Goldenvoice, the Los

Angeles-based concert promoter and live-event company owned by AEG Presents . Ormond will also retain her current title as COO of festivals for AEG Presents, a posi-tion she’s held since October 2017.

As COO of Goldenvoice, Ormond will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company’s concert promotions, venue port-folio, and festivals, as well as strategic growth initiatives throughout California and the western U.S. In her concurrent role as COO of festivals for AEG Presents, she’ll continue to work with the multitude of festival teams responsible for producing 30 festival brands across the U.S. and in London and Paris. Generating more than 2.5 million ticket sales annually, these brands include Coachella, Stagecoach, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, British Summer Time Hyde Park, and Electric Forest, among others. Her new role will see her reporting to Goldenvoice chief executive Paul Tollett alongside her current reporting to AEG Presents chairman and chief executive Jay Marciano.

“Melissa’s reputation precedes her,” com-mented Tollett. “She’s a brilliant executive and one of the most dedicated, clear-eyed, hardworking people I’ve met. I’m so happy she’s joining Goldenvoice in this new role.”

Added Ormond: “Goldenvoice has an extraordinary history…the name itself has become synonymous with a curation of live experiences on the West Coast that’s unmatched. I am thrilled to be working directly with the company across the entire business and helping the Goldenvoice team guide its exciting future.”

Prior to joining AEG Presents, her previ-

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ous roles include serving as president of Madison Square Garden Entertainment (a segment of The Madison Square Garden Company), and leadership positions at House of Blues Entertainment/Universal Concerts/MCA Concerts in Los Angeles and Delsener/Slater Enterprises in New York City. Ormond began her career in Washing-ton, DC at the legendary 9:30 Club, rising to general manager while simultaneously working for the concert promotion firm I.M.P., Inc.

Over the course of her career Ormond has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including such honors as being named to Billboard‘s Power 100 four times (most recently in 2021) and recognized as one of Billboard‘s notable Women in Music in 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2019. She’s also a five-time winner of Pollstar’s Talent Buyer of the Year award, as well as the recipient of the publication’s Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year prize. In addition, Ormond has served on the board of directors for the T.J. Martell Foundation and Homeboy Industries.

Warren ‘Waz’ Costello, Mushroom Group Label Veteran, Dies After Battle With IllnessBY LARS BRANDLE

Warren “Waz” Costello, a kingpin of Australia’s independent label industry, died Sunday (May 29) after

a battle with cancer. He was 64.Costello co-founded Liberation Records

with the late Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski, and remained one of Gu-dinski’s closest and most trusted allies until his own passing in March 2021.

The Mushroom family is “deeply sad-dened by the passing of Warren Costello

after a long battle with illness,” reads a state-ment from the indie music company.

Since joining the label division “he has been an essential fabric of life at Mushroom. He was a true music man, a beloved friend to our artists and integral to the success of our business over the past three decades,” the message continues. “Warren was re-nowned for his positive energy, integrity and family values, all of which are now etched into the DNA of Mushroom forever.”

Based in Melbourne, Costello joined Gudinski’s independent music giant in 1990, exiting in 1999 following the sale of Mushroom Records to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

He returned to the fold in March 2000, when he joined forces with Gudinski to launch Mushroom Group’s Liberation label, and later, as managing director of the indie powerhouse’s label activities.

In 2017, Costello and Gudinski co-found-ed the Bloodlines label, offering creative services to its stable of heritage acts. Blood-lines has had several No. 1s on the ARIA Al-bums Chart, including Jimmy Barnes’ Flesh And Blood, the title track for which Barnes dedicated to Gudinski at the late industry legend’s state memorial.

Waz, as he was affectionately known, was respected across the industry, a good guy and a quiet achiever in a sea of chest-thump-ers. Throughout his career, he showed a knack for spotting an opportunity. In August of 2021, he launched Mushroom Group’s new film distribution and production com-pany, Long Play Music Films.

With Long Play, “we’re positioning ourselves as a vehicle to tell the stories, the real stories and hopefully using a lot of pre-existing footage, rather than shooting from scratch,” Costello told this reporter at the time. “There’s a lot of gold out there, sitting in archives and record company shelves and warehouses.”

The idea for that venture was work-shopped with Gudinski “right up until just before he passed,” he explained. “We were trying to cook up ideas, ones that would complement each other, and this was one of them. I’m pretty determined to see it through.”

Several months later, Costello stepped

down to focus on his health and spend time with family.

Costello is survived by his wife Leith, three daughters Caitlin, Alex and Hannah, and grandson Finn.

Gibson Wins Jury Verdict Against Dean Over Guitar ShapesBY BILL DONAHUE

A federal jury mostly sided with Gibson Brands on Friday (May 27) in a lawsuit that accused rival Dean Guitars of copying the

shape of the company’s guitars like the Fly-ing V, though the jurors awarded Gibson just $4,000 in damages.

The verdict came after more than three years of litigation and two weeks of trial over whether Dean parent company Ar-madillo Enterprises infringed trademark-protected design elements of several Gibson guitars, including the Flying V, Explorer, ES, SG and the Dove Wing.

In a key win for Gibson, the jurors re-jected arguments by Dean that those designs had become so commonplace that they’re now “generic” and free for all to use. And with that finding, the jurors also said Dean had infringed those designs by selling look-alike guitars.

But the jury also found that Gibson had legally waited too long to sue Dean over sev-eral of the designs, including the Flying V and the Explorer. And the jury said Gibson had suffered no actual harm as a result of any of Dean’s infringement, resulting in an award of just $4,000 in so-called statutory damages.

Big damages or not, the ruling still means that Gibson could potentially win an injunc-tion barring Dean from selling the designs that jurors said were infringed and hadn’t been delayed. The ruling will likely be ap-pealed, first to the judge the oversaw the trial and then to a federal appeals court.

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In a statement following the verdict, Gibson said it was “very pleased with the outcome after years of simply trying to protect their brand.” The company said its guitar shapes are “iconic, and now are firmly protected for the past, present, and future.”

Armadillo did not immediately return a request for comment on the outcome.

Read the full verdict below:

Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ Soars in Streams Thanks to ‘Stranger Things’: Inside the Preliminary Spotify GainsBY JASON LIPSHUTZ

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Kate Bush’s classic 1985 single, has received an explosion

of new interest thanks to its use in the re-cently premiered fourth season of Stranger Things – and while next week’s Billboard charts will reflect its overall surge, new data from Spotify demonstrates the Netflix se-ries’ impact on its streaming totals thus far.

According to data collected by Spotify on Monday (May 30), “Running Up That Hill” posted an 8,700% increase in global streams compared to its total on Thursday (May 26), the day prior to the Stranger Things season four premiere on Netflix. Meanwhile, the song’s U.S. streams increased by 9,900% over the same time period. “Running Up That Hill” currently sits at No. 2 on Spotify’s top 50 U.S. chart and No. 4 on its top 200 global chart.

“It’s incredible to watch iconic songs get rediscovered and have global moments with new listeners,” says Jeremy Erlich, Spo-

tify’s global head of music, in a statement to Billboard. “‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) ‘ is one of those ‘perfect storm’ examples. It’s a classic song that has been introduced to a wide fandom and has now taken on a whole new meaning.”

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” the lead single to the British legend’s 1985 album Hounds of Love, soundtracks the story of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), still reeling from a family death, in the fourth season of Stranger Things. Max plays the song on her Walkman in the first episode of season four, and the song serves as a recur-ring theme for the character leading up to a pivotal sequence in the fourth episode.

In addition to “Running Up That Hill,” the new season of Stranger Things, set pri-marily in 1986, is full of indelible ‘80s hits, from Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” to Musical Youth’s “Pass the Dutchie” to Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus.” According to Spotify, the platform’s official Stranger Things playlist has scored 1,784% increase in daily global streams from Thurs-day to Monday, with “Running Up That Hill” scoring the biggest individual bump.

“More than ever, Stranger Things is a cultural phenomenon that resonates with fans all over the world,” says Alexandra Patsavas, Netflix’s director of music/creative production for series, in a statement. “We are thrilled to see fans connect so enthusias-tically with such a key part of the [showrun-ners] Duffer Brothers incredible storytelling — the music. It’s remarkable to see how the reaction to Kate’s song has engaged new and old fans alike, and has also transcended generations — 37 years later!”

Upon its 1985 release, “Running Up That Hill” became the highest-charting Hot 100 single of Bush’s career, reaching No. 30 on the tally. The song has been covered numer-ous times since its release, including a Pla-cebo version in 2003 that was synched on The O.C., and a Meg Myers version in 2019 that topped Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart. Per Spotify, Bush’s full catalog has seen a 1,600% uptick in global streams since the Stranger Things premiere.

“We’ve watched the song grow tremen-dously over the weekend, showcasing the massive cultural impact of Stranger Things

and streaming’s power to share and discover music instantaneously,” says Erlich. “Most importantly, Kate Bush has deservedly increased her fanbase to a new generation of music lovers. Max / Sadie Sink and the Stranger Things crew have great taste!”

Harry Styles Tops Billboard Global Charts With ‘As It Was,’ Infuses Tallies’ Top 10s With ‘Harry’s House’ HitsBY GARY TRUST

Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” re-mains the biggest song in the world, as it adds an eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global

200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.Meanwhile, the British-born superstar

boasts five songs in the Global 200 top 10 and four in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, all from his new album Harry’s House. The set, released May 20, soars in at No. 1 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200 with 521,500 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 26, according to Luminate – the biggest week for an album in the U.S. this year.

The two charts, which began in Septem-ber 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Billboard Global 200 is in-clusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital

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music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Styles Scores Five in Global 200 Top 10Harry Styles’ “As It Was” logs an eighth

week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, all from its debut week, with 116.9 million streams (up 33%) and 19,300 sold (up 18%) worldwide in the May 20-26 tracking week. The song’s streaming sum is the second-best in a single week this year, trailing only its opening frame (122.1 million, on the chart dated April 16).

The lead single from Harry’s House, the third solo album from the singer-songwriter who broke through in One Direction, heads up four other songs from the set in the Global 200’s top 10. Here’s a look at all five Styles songs in the region and their world-wide streams and sales for the week:

No. 1, “As It Was” (116.9 million streams; 19,300 sold)

No. 2, “Late Night Talking” (66 million; 4,900)

No. 5, “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” (49.5 million; 2,200)

No. 6, “Matilda” (49.5 million; 2,100)No. 10, “Little Freak” (43.5 million; 1,400)Styles is the third artist to chart at least

five concurrent Global 200 top 10s, follow-ing Drake (eight, Sept. 18, 2021) and Bad Bunny (seven, May 21, 2022).

Meanwhile, Bad Bunny sports four songs in the Global 200’s top 10, all from his album Un Verano Sun Ti: “Me Porto Bonito,” with Chencho Corleone, rises from No. 4 to a new No. 3 high; “Ojitos Lindos,” with Bomba Es-téreo, pushes 6-4, also for a new best; “Tití Me Preguntó” rebounds 8-7, after reaching No. 5; and “Moscow Mule” falls 3-8, after hitting No. 2.

Breaking up Styles and Bad Bunny’s hold on the Global 200 top 10, Jack Harlow’s “First Class” descends 5-9, after reaching a No. 2 high.

‘As It Was’ Passes ‘Easy on Me’ for Longest-Leading Global Excl. U.S. No. 1 Among British Acts

As on the Global 200, Harry Styles’ “As It Was” posts an eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, all from its debut atop the list, with 83 million streams (up 24%) and 9,500 sold (up 13%) in

territories outside the U.S. in the May 20-26 tracking week.

Among British acts, the song surpasses Adele’s “Easy on Me” (seven weeks at No. 1 beginning Oct. 30, 2021), for the longest domination so far on the Global Excl. U.S. chart. “As It Was” is also now a week from potentially tying for the chart’s longest command overall, held by nine-week leaders “abcdefu” by GAYLE (beginning this Janu-ary), “Stay” by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber and “Drivers License” by Olivia Ro-drigo (both in 2021). (BTS’ “Dynamite” also led for eight weeks, in 2020-21.)

Styles debuts three other songs in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, also from his album Harry’s House: “Late Night Talking” (No. 3, led by 39.8 million streams outside the U.S.), “Matilda” (No. 8; 29.1 million) and “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” (No. 10; 28.7 million).

Elsewhere in the Global Excl. U.S. top five, Bad Bunny’s “Ojitos Lindos,” with Bomba Estéreo, holds at its No. 2 high, his “Me Porto Bonito,” with Chencho Corleone, keeps at its No. 4 peak and his “Tití Me Preguntó” rebounds 8-5 for a new best. Bad Bunny adds his sixth top five Global Excl. U.S. hit, the most among soloists and second overall only to BTS’ seven.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated June 4, 2022) will update on Billboard.com Wednesday (June 1, a day later than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. on May 30). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s sub-scription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboard-charts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to final calculations.

Sidhu Moose Wala, Popular Indian Rapper, Shot Dead at 28BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Indian police are investigating the kill-ing of a popular Punjabi rapper, who blended hip-hop, rap and folk music, a day after he was fatally shot, officials

said Monday (May 30).Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known

around the world by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was killed Sunday evening while driving his car in Mansa, a district in northern India’s Punjab state. Moose Wala, 28, was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.

Punjab state’s top police official VK Bhawra said the initial investigation has re-vealed the killing to be an inter-gang rivalry.

A day before the attack, the Punjab gov-ernment had pulled security cover for over 400 individuals, including Moose Wala, in a bid to clamp down on VIP culture, local media reports said.

Moose Wala started off as a songwriter before a hit song in 2017 catapulted his sing-ing career, making him well known among the Indian and Punjabi diaspora in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada.

Most of his singles have an English title even though the songs were mainly sung in Punjabi. His glossy music videos were most famous for his rap lyrics and often focused on macho culture. His debut album in 2018 made it to Canada’s Billboard Albums chart.

Moose Wala was a controversial figure, in part due to his lyrical style. In 2020, police charged him under India’s Arms Act for al-legedly promoting gun culture in one of his songs.

His latest track, “The Last Ride,” was released earlier this month.

The rapper joined India’s Congress Party last year and unsuccessfully ran in the state’s assembly elections.

Punjab’s chief minister Bhagwant Mann

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said “no culprit will be spared” and that he was deeply shocked and saddened by the killing.

Rahul Gandhi, a senior Congress leader, took to Twitter to express his condolences over the killing.

“Deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of promising Congress leader and talented artist,” he said.

Harry Styles Teams Up With Everytown for North American Tour in Support of Ending Gun ViolenceBY RANIA ANIFTOS

Harry Styles has joined the fight to end gun violence after two devastating mass shootings in the United States over the

past two weeks, announcing on Instagram Friday (May 27) that his upcoming North American tour will partner with nonprofit organization, Everytown for Gun Safety.

“Along with all of you, I have been absolutely devastated by the recent string of mass shootings in America, culminating at the latest in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas,” Styles wrote in a statement on Instagram. “On our North American tour, we will be partnering with Everytown who work to end gun violence, donating to support their efforts, and sharing their sug-gested action items.”

According to a press release, Styles will be donating proceeds from the tour, with Live Nation matching, equaling over $1 million to Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.

He followed up by sharing a statistic from Everytown, noting that firearms are the No. 1 “leading cause of death for American chil-dren and teens.” The post also encouraged

fans to text “ACT” to 64433 to join Every-town’s mission.

“End gun violence,” Styles captioned the post.

On Tuesday (May 24), an armed 18-year-old entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers. The heartbreaking massacre of in-nocent children came 10 days after an heav-ily armed 18-year-old white supremacist opened fire and allegedly killed 10 people in a Buffalo, New York supermarket where he reportedly went to specifically target and murder Black shoppers. The attack on Robb Elementary came nearly 10 years after a 20-year-old gunman killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.

The incident marks the nation’s 27th school shooting so far this year, which has also seen 212 mass shooting incidents in 145 days so far.

Ronnie Hawkins, Rockabilly Legend, Dies at 87BY KAREN BLISS

Ronnie Hawkins, the larger-than-life Arkansas-born rockabilly singer who called Canada home for more than 60 years, died Sun-

day morning (May 29) after a lengthy illness. He was 87.

Hawkins, also known as The Hawk or Rompin’ Ronnie, had an ear for talent. His band The Hawks — which he originally formed during his days at the University of Arkansas — served as a farm team for many musicians, most notably Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson, who went on to back Bob Dylan before creating The Band.

Hawkins’ wife, Wanda, confirmed the news of the musician’s death to The Ca-nadian Press. “He went peacefully and he looked as handsome as ever,” she said in a phone interview with the wire service.

On Saturday, Terry Danko (Rick’s brother)

wrote on Facebook that his bandmate of 15 years had been removed from life support. He followed it up on Sunday with, “RIP my friend. Travel well Ronnie. Say hey to the gathering of Hawks.”

While he remained a U.S. citizen, Hawkins received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2002. He was also made an Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada in 2014. The artist lived in a 6,800-square-foot home he called “Hawkstone Manor Estate” on Stoney Lake in the Kawarthas, which was put up for sale in 2017.

“Ronnie was the godfather. The one who made this all happen,” says Robbie Robert-son in a social post. “He had us rehearsing constantly into the wee hours. We balked about it, but we got better and better. Our goal whether we knew it or not.”

Hawkins was diagnosed in 2003 with pancreatic cancer and given a few months to live. His choice of alternative treatment was covered in the documentary Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kickin’.

“If the world had more people like Ronnie Hawkins, we’d do less stupid things to each other, we’d hurt fewer people, we’d have a lot more laughs. I’ve never met another one like him,” former President Bill Clinton said in the film.

Hawkins leaves behind his wife, Wanda, and children Ronnie Jr., Robin and Leah.

As word started getting out about Hawkins’ passing, musicians and members of the music industry have posted tributes.

“Rest in Peace to Mr. Rompin’ Ronnie Hawkins,” metal singer Sebastian Bach tweeted. “My sincere condolences to the family Leah and Robinm who I used to jam with when I was 13 years old. Had a great day @Ronnie’s house years ago smoking with him & hanging out. I was so honored to meet the man. Heaven just got rompin’.”

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Harry Styles Charts All 13 Songs From ‘Harry’s House’ in Hot 100’s Top 30BY XANDER ZELLNER

Harry Styles charts all 13 songs from his new album Harry’s House in the top 30 of the latest Billboard Hot 100 (dated June

4).The set charges in at No. 1 on the Bill-

board 200 with 521,500 equivalent album units in the week ending May 26, according to Luminate – the biggest weekly total for an album this year, surpassing the opening frame of Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (295,500) a week earlier. Styles’ third solo LP logs the biggest week for an al-bum since Adele’s 30 debuted with 839,000 units (Dec. 4, 2021).

Leading Styles’ haul on the Hot 100, four Harry’s House songs rank in the top 10, paced by “As It Was,” which rebounds for a fourth week at No. 1. He ups his career total to seven top 10s (one more than One Direction — in which he broke through — achieved, in 2012-15).

Here’s a recap of Styles’ 13 entries on the newest Hot 100. All are debuts except for “As It Was”:

Rank, TitleNo. 1, “As It Was” (up from No. 2; fourth

week at No. 1)No. 4, “Late Night Talking”No. 8, “Music for a Sushi Restaurant”No. 9, “Matilda”No. 13, “Daylight”No. 14, “Little Freak”No. 15, “Grapejuice”No. 21, “Satellite”No. 22, “Cinema”No. 24, “Daydreaming”No. 25, “Keep Driving”No. 29, “Love of My Life”No. 30, “Boyfriends”

In the Hot 100’s 63-year history, Styles is just the second act to place at least 13 songs in the top 30 simultaneously. He joins Drake, who has achieved the feat twice, tallying 17 songs in the top 30 on the July 14, 2018, chart, concurrent with chart debut of parent set Scorpion, and a record 19 simul-taneous top 30 hits on the Sept. 18, 2021, survey, as Certified Lover Boy launched atop the Billboard 200.

By adding 12, Styles swells his career solo total to 17 top 40 Hot 100 hits. (One Direc-tion has earned 13.)

Executive Turntable: Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus Launches VC Music Startup; S10 Promotes FourBY CHRIS EGGERTSEN, DARLENE ADEROJU

Veeps founder & COO Sherry Saeedi, Blink-182’s Mark Hop-pus and Lippman Entertainment partner Nick Lippman launched

Verswire, a new venture capital music startup, with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz serving as a strategic advisor. The compa-ny’s founding team also includes director of A&R and branding Myia Ingoldsby as well as numerous advisors and investors includ-ing Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and tour manager Gus Brandt. Verswire is described as a development incubator for both emerging and established artists that tailors a custom investment for each, includ-ing “funding, resources, tools, mentoring, support from prominent music executives and an ecosystem to own and operate their businesses within while allowing them to keep majority ownership of their masters,” according to a press release. The company provides primary label services includ-ing A&R, distribution, marketing, brand

partnerships, sponsorships and publicity, all individualized to each artist’s needs. Ver-swire’s debut signing, Beauty School Drop-out, recently released the single “Assassin.”

S10 Entertainment announced several internal changes, including the promo-tions of Jay Cao and Justin Hunter, plus the hires of Miranda McEvoy and Jessica Roxana, who will all report to CEO and founder Brandon Silverstein out of the bi-coastal firm’s Los Angeles offices. As vp, Cao will work across S10’s management roster, record label, publishing catalog and ven-tures. As chief of staff, Hunter now oversees the link between S10 divisions, optimizing and streamlining communication channels. As head of operations, McEvoy will oversee day-to-day operations at S10, working closely with Silverstein to ensure that both short and long-term company objectives are achieved. As director of artist management, a role she assumed in January, Roxana will handle day-to-day management of Anitta for the company.

Nick Barr was hired as vp of A&R and creative strategy at Island Records in Los Angeles, where he will play a key role in signing new talent while bringing his mar-keting, digital and creative strategy to bear.

Daniel Gillick was hired in the newly created role of head of content strategy at Motown Records in Los Angeles. Report-ing to executive vp and COO Alison Finley, Gillick will oversee original content strate-gies across platforms and new content types across all of Motown’s artists and partners.

Stephanie Lamoureaux was hired at Live Nation Entertainment to build the legal operations function for the brand starting in late June. She will help “define processes, organize initiatives, and lever-age technology to create efficiencies and elevate” how the legal team operates, ac-cording to a LinkedIn post by Lamoureaux. Her official title was not available at press time; she was previously global head of legal operations at Block, Inc. (formerly Square).

Sherry Alaghehband was elevated to vp of promotion and radio marketing at Atlan-tic Records.

Warner Music Canada hired Madelaine Napoleone as vp of marketing in Toronto. She will report to Warner Music Canada ex-

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ecutive vp and general manager Andy West.Concert promoter Move Concerts Brazil

hired Tiago Maia as managing director. In the role, Maia will lead the company’s opera-tion and help maximize its growth. He can be reached at [email protected].

Tanya Keogh was hired as strategy direc-tor at Huxley, where she’ll work with Hux-ley founder and director Anna Meachem to oversee strategy for Huxley talent, brands, business and team development. Huxley’s artist clients include Megan Thee Stallion and The 1975. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) in the U.K. hired Genneah Turner as general manager. She will play a key role in ensuring that artists’ rights and interests are represented as the organization “enters a new phase in its mission to drive greater fairness for artists and music creators,” ac-cording to a press release.

Metaplex Studios, described in a press release as “the organization dedicated to advancing the Solana NFT protocol Meta-plex,” hired Ash Pampati as head of music. In the role, Pampati will steer the company’s investments in Web3 applications and tools for the music community.

Pharrell Williams, Nina Chanel Abney, Shaun Neff, Todd Kramer, Easy Otabor, Nick Adler and J1mmy.Eth are among the founding team members behind the Gallery of Digital Assets (GODA), a new platform designed to allow contemporary artists “to explore the NFT and digital space,” accord-ing to a press release. GODA will work with artists to leverage the new medium while providing users with access to drops from a collection of established figures from the traditional art world as well as up-and-com-ing artists. The first drop is slated for early this summer.

Nora Lyons was hired as director of pub-licity at multi-disciplinary PR firm Shore Fire Media. Based out of the Brooklyn of-fice, Lyons will report to senior vp Rebecca Shapiro while representing talent, musi-cians and businesses in arts and entertain-ment.

Jason Allen was promoted to senior director of infrastructure operations at TuneCore, where he will continue to man-

age the DevOps and database teams, which lead the implementation and delivery of the infrastructure, security, data and back-end automation processes behind TuneCore’s product. Additionally, Allen will manage TuneCore’s internal IT functions, working closely with TuneCore’s parent company, Believe, to coordinate activities for all global employees.

Bill Walker, Producer, Arranger & ‘Johnny Cash Show’ Music Director, Dies at 95BY JESSICA NICHOLSON

Producer, music arranger and music director Bill Walker died Thursday. He was 95 years old.

Walker served as the musical director on The Johnny Cash Show on ABC, which ran from 1969 to 1971. In the ’70s and ’80s, Walker also wrote, arranged and con-ducted music for network and syndicated television. Among his credits are 15 years of the CMA Awards for CBS, Perry Como and His Nashville Friends, Nashville Remembers Elvis on His Birthday, The Grand Ole Opry at 50, Lynn Anderson & Tina Turner in Nash-ville, Ann-Margret’s Rhinestone Cowgirl, Opryland in Russia, That Great American Gospel Sound (with Tennessee Ernie Ford and Della Reese), Conway Twitty: On the Mississippi, The Tenth Anniversary of the Reopening of Ford’s Theater, The Music City News Cover Awards Show (also for 15 years) and more.

As a record producer, arranger and con-ductor, Walker’s hit included Eddy Arnold’s “Make the World Go Away,” “Turn the World Around,” “Misty Blue,” and “What’s He Doing in My World”; Bobby Vinton’s “Roses Are Red (My Love)” and “My Elusive Dreams”; Roy Clark’s “Come Live With

Me,” Jim Reeves’ “From a Jack to a King”; Sammi Smith’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night”; Marty Robbins’ “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife”; Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down”; Bob Dylan’s “Cop-per Kettle” and Nashville Skyline; and Donna Fargo’s “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face.”

Walker was born April 28, 1927, in Sydney, Australia. After earning his degree at Sydney University’s Conservatorium of Music, Walker took a job with RCA Records at its office in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he arranged cover versions of songs that had already become popular in America. Walker recorded 23 albums, including the collec-tions Walker’ Round the World and Walker’ Round the Shows.

Walker came to Nashville in 1964 to work with Jim Reeves. When Reeves died in a plane crash, Eddy Arnold enlisted Walker’s services, and the two worked together through 1968. The following year, Walker joined The Johnny Cash Show as musical director. Cash would end each show by saying “Goodnight, Bill Walker!” The show lasted 58 episodes. After Cash’s show ended, Walker worked as an independent producer for Capitol Records, masterminding sessions for Roy Rogers, Billy Walker, Ferlin Husky and Wanda Jackson, among others. Walker’s work producing Donna Fargo’s “The Hap-piest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face” played a role in each song becoming a multi-week No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.

Walker also guest-conducted orches-tras in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa and Hartford, Conn., and frequently wrote arrangements for artists performing with the Boston Pops, as well as sometimes sitting in with them as a pianist.

From the late ’70s, Walker ran his own in-dependent label, Con Brio Records, serving as its talent scout, arranger and producer, working with artists including Don King, Dale McBride and Terri Hollowell. Walker also worked for The Statler Brothers Show on The Nashville Network.

Walker composed music for movies featur-ing Kirk Douglas, Tony Franciosa, Robert Mitchum, George Kennedy and Gregory Peck.

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Walker is survived by his wife, singer Jeanine (Ogletree) Walker, daughter Beth Walker, son Colin Walker, sister Julianne Smith, brother Robert Walker, 13 grandchil-dren, and 21 great-grandchildren. Walker was predeceased by his son, AristoMedia Group founder Jeff Walker, son Peter Walker and daughter Lisa Gibson. Details surrounding the service will be released.

Snoop Dogg Scraps 2022 International ConcertsBY LARS BRANDLE

Snoop Dogg is scrapping all in-ternational dates from his 2022 calendar, blaming “unforeseen scheduling conflicts”.

As previously reported, the rap star had postponed his forthcoming tour of Austra-lia, what was to be his first visit there since 2014. Those shows are “looking likely” to be rescheduled to February 2023, say the pro-moters for that planned outing, TEG MJR.

In a statement posted to his Instagram account, Snoop confirms he’s “canceling all upcoming non-U.S. tour dates” for the remainder of 2022, citing “family obligations and upcoming tv and film projects” among factors.

The Doggfather “regrets” the cancel-lations. “He was excited to see his fans around the world and apologies to all that had already made plans to see his show,” the statement continues. “He looks forward to rescheduling dates in the future.”

The rapper had been booked to perform concerts at venues across the U.K. and Eu-rope from Aug. 26 to Sept. 19.

Snoop’s slate is now clean, with the exception of several appearances, including a DJ slot at next month’s MTV Movie & TV Awards. He remains committed, however, to his remaining concerts in the U.S. for the rest of the year, the statement adds.

Snoop’s now-shelved tour was produced

by the freshly-formed partnership with TEG MJR, the U.K.-based promotion arm of Australian live entertainment, ticketing and tech giant TEG.

Through that multi-million-dollar ar-rangement, announced in March 2021 and stuck in collaboration with MPI Artists, TEG MJR promotes all Snoop Dogg tours globally outside of North America.

Halsey’s New Song Is Finally Coming After Claiming Label Was Holding Up ReleaseBY HANNAH DAILEY

Halsey is getting her wish. A little more than a week after the 27-year-old singer-songwriter began venting frustrations on-

line over having a new song allegedly held from release by their record label, Halsey announced Tuesday (May 31) that “So Good” is finally coming out on June 9, with a music video arriving the next day.

“I didn’t expect so much conversation about this record,” the “Without Me” singer tweeted. “All I know is that I wanted you guys to hear it and now you can. So Good, song on June 9th and video the next day.”

They also shared a photo of the song’s cover art — which shows the pop star kiss-ing someone who appears to be boyfriend Alev Aydin, who she previously said “So Good” was written about — as well as a photo with the couple’s son, Ender, and a bouquet of roses. “Endy gave me my flow-ers,” Halsey shared in her tweet. The singer-songwriter also revealed on Instagram in a similar post that Aydin directed the “So Good” video.

About 30 minutes ahead of Halsey’s announcement, the artist’s label, Capitol Records, also shared a statement on its

social media accounts. “@Halsey, we love you and are here to support you,” the label wrote. “We are an artist first company that encourages open dialogue. We have nothing but a desire to help each one of our artists succeed, and hope that we can continue to have these critical conversations.”

The talks in question began May 22, when Halsey first posted a TikTok captioned “I’m tired” that claimed their label wasn’t going to release “So Good” until viral TikToks promoting the single could be staged. The “Closer” singer went on to answer fan ques-tions on Twitter, and posted a follow-up Tik-Tok capturing a purported conversation with someone on her team discussing marketing moves — all of which catalyzed a wave of discourse on social media about the fairness of expecting artists to first be profitable on social media in order to release music.

The saga came full circle once Halsey took to TikTok, the platform where it all started, again on Tuesday. In a video show-ing herself brushing her hair as a recording of “So Good” plays, Halsey wrote: “After a tremendous amount of f–k s–t, So Good is finally coming out. Thanks for keeping up with this fiasco. Hope you love the song.”

“Literally all I care is that you get to hear it now,” they captioned the video. “Thank u bye luv u.”

Anita Baker Thanks Chance the Rapper For Helping Her Regain Ownership of Her MastersBY GIL KAUFMAN

Anita Baker shouted out Chance the Rapper during her Sunday night (May 29) show at the Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas

after she said the Chicago MC helped her regain control of her master recordings.

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Baker had been battling her former label for ownership of her recordings until last year, when she finally wrested them back and over the weekend she was in a mood to celebrate her victory.

“Would you guys say hello to a friend of mine by way of the music industry, by way of helping me get a hold and ownership of my master records, Mister Chance The Rapper is right there,” Baker said as the audience burst into applause and Chance stood up and waved at the acknowledgement.

Chance appreciated the shout-out, writ-ing in a response to a video of the moment, “I saw one of THE greatest performances of my LIFETIME last night! Thank you so much @IAMANITABAKER for being an in-spiration and an icon to so many of US.” The mutual admiration society continued online when Baker responded to Chance’s sweet post writing, “Had no idea you would be in our Midst. Such a nice Surprise. Brought Tears, to my eyes,” she wrote.

Chance was super blown-away, pro-fusely thanking Baker for acknowledging his friend’s birthday and for her friendship. “WOW the fact that you remembered my friends name AND that it was her birthday just echoes what an INCREDIBLE PERSON you are on top of all that you’ve given artisti-cally. Honored and blessed to call you friend miss @IAMANITABAKER,” he tweeted. At press time it was unclear what role Chance (born Chancelor Bennett) played in Baker’s masters win against her former label, Elek-tra Records.

Baker is in the middle of a sold-out lim-ited residency at the Venetian that is slated to run through June 4. Back in September 2021, Taylor Swift congratulated Baker for winning her masters fight, writing, “What a beautiful moment, CONGRATULATIONS ANITA!!” A day earlier, the R&B singer had shared with fans that the battle over her catalog was over. “All My Children Are Coming Home,” she tweeted with a photo of her first five albums: The Songstress (1983), Rapture (1986), Giving You the Best That I Got (1988), Compositions (1990) and Rhythm of Love (1994). “Impossible Things Happen … Every. Single. Day. Gratefully.”

Harry Styles Completes U.K. Chart DoubleBY LARS BRANDLE

It’s official: Harry Styles is the king of the U.K.’s charts.

The former One Direction star cleans up as Harry’s House (via

Columbia) blasts to No. 1 on the national albums chart, and three songs from it domi-nate the Official Singles Chart.

Harry’s House is 2022’s fastest-selling record to date, the OCC reports, as it tallies over 113,000 chart sales in its first week. That figure towers over the results of his two previous albums. His 2017 debut Harry Styles managed just under 57,000 first-week combined sales, while 2019’s Fine Line nabbed 49,000.

Over on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, Styles extends his reign into an eighth con-secutive week with “As It Was,” with 80,000 chart sales counted during the latest cycle.

“As It Was” remains the most-streamed track in the U.K., powering to more than 8.9 million plays, for its best seven-day effort since its opening week.

With its two-month unbroken stretch at the summit, “As It Was” becomes the longest-running No. 1 track of the year, ousting “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s Encanto.

The Styles effect doesn’t end there. Harry’s House tracks “Late Night Talking” and “Music For A Sushi Restaurant” bow at No. 2 and 3, respectively, while Fine Line returns to the albums chart Top 10 at No. 8, and his self-titled LP blasts back into the Top 40 at No. 29.

Styles also scores the chart double in Australia.

In other U.K. chart news, Manchester indie rock outfit Everything Everything grab a career best with Raw Data Feel (Ev-erything Everything), new at No. 4 on the albums chart, and U.K. M Huncho earns a No. 5 start for his debut studio LP Chasing Euphoria (Island).

On the national singles survey, English rapper Aitch enjoys a Top 40 debut with “1989” (Capitol), which samples “Fool’s Gold,” the classic 1989 release from fellow Mancunian act The Stone Roses. It’s new at No. 23.

And finally, N-Dubz return to the chart following a decade-long break. The British hip-hop act’s comeback track “Charmer” (Xploded Music) bows at No. 32, for their 13th Top 40 hit, and first since 2011, as their Greatest Hits collection of that year vaults 38-10 on the albums survey.

Barclays Center Fans Panic After False Reports of Active ShooterBY MITCHELL PETERS

False reports of an active shooter sent fans into a panic early Sunday morning (May 29) during a boxing match at the Barclays Center in

Brooklyn, New York.Approximately 10 people were injured

and taken to the hospital after a loud noise was heard inside 19,000-capacity arena, causing attendees to run in fear, NBC News reports. All injuries were minor, accord-ing to a statement from the New York City Police Department.

Authorities have reportedly determined that no gunshots were fired inside the build-ing. It was unclear what caused the booming sound.

The stampede occurred at around mid-night on Sunday following a championship boxing match between Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero. Celebrities in attendance included Madonna, but it was unclear if the superstar singer was present during the chaotic incident.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka, who was also present, shared her terrifying experience on Twitter. “I was just in the Barclays center and suddenly I heard shouting and saw people running, then we were being yelled

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at that there was an active shooter and we had to huddle in a room and close the doors, I was so f—ing petrified man,” the athlete wrote.

Boxing reporter Ryan Songalia shared a video of the mayhem on social media. “Scary moment as crowds pour back into Barclays Center, my fear was a shooting but those fears proved unfounded,” he captioned a video of people scurrying in the facility.

The panicked moment arrived just days after a deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School.

Snoop Dogg (a.k.a DJ Snoopadelic) to DJ on 2022 MTV Movie & TV AwardsBY PAUL GREIN

UPDATE: On Tuesday (May 31), MTV announced that Awkwafina will present the comedic genius award to Jack Black on the MTV

Movie & TV Awards. Other presenters on that show include Billy Eichner, Chris Evans and Rebel Wilson. MTV also announced that famed DJ D-Nice will take the stage at the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted, which will follow the aforementioned show. Nicole Richie will also present on the Unscripted show.

UPDATE: On Thursday (May 26), MTV announced that Jack Black will receive the comedic genius award at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The actor, comedian and musician is the fifth recipient of the award, following Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Melissa McCarthy and Sacha Baron Cohen. In addition to his other pursuits, Black is a Grammy-winning musician. As a member of the comedy rock group Tenacious D, Black won a Grammy for best metal performance

seven years ago for a track recorded for a tribute album to Ronnie James Dio.

Snoop Dogg (a.k.a. DJ Snoopadelic), will DJ on the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which will air live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday, June 5, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Vanessa Hudgens is set to host the show.

Snoop Dogg gave one of his most high-profile performances ever in February when he performed at the Super Bowl LVI Half-time Show alongside Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar.

MTV also announced the return of the socially voted category “best musical mo-ment” and the 16 nominees competing in the category, which include the Encanto smash “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” a surprise No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Voting opens via MTV’s Instagram Stories on May 30 and closes June 3; the winner will be revealed live on the show.

Here are the nominees for best musical moment:

Bridgerton: “Wrecking Ball”Cinderella: “Million to One”Cobra Kai: “The Moment of Truth”Emily in Paris: “Dynamite”Encanto: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”Euphoria: “Holding Out For a Hero”Heartstopper: “Dance With Me”High School Musical: The Musical: The

Series: “Rose Song”House of Gucci: “Disco Fever”Halo: “Original Score”Last Night in Soho: “Downtown”Peacemaker: “Do Ya Wanna Taste It?”Tick, Tick…BOOM!: “Therapy”Turning Red: “Nobody Like U”West Side Story: “America”Yellowjackets: “This Is How We Do It”In addition, MTV Digital revealed its first

multi-platform “Who Did It Butter?” creator livestream will launch on Friday, June 3, at 4 p.m. ET, which will air simultaneously across MTV’s Facebook,Twitter, Insta-gram, TikTok and YouTube. MTV will meet up with popular creators including Tefi, Boman Martinez-Reid, Ryan Mitch-ell and Mandii B to discuss their favorite movie and TV moments across topics such as “Most Quotable Character” and “Friend Group I Wanna Join.”

As previously announced, MTV made some changes to its Movie & TV Awards for 2022. Most notably, that show and a spinoff that it introduced last year, Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted, will air on the same night. Last year, the two shows aired on successive nights — Sunday, May 16, and Monday, May 17. Leslie Jones hosted the Movie & TV Awards last year. Nikki Glaser hosted the Unscripted show.

Immediately following the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards, MTV will air the Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted, celebrat-ing reality television, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT. TV personality Tayshia Adams (The Bachelorette) will host.

Executive producers for both shows are MTV’s Bruce Gillmer, Wendy Plaut and Vanessa WhiteWolf and Den Of Thieves’ Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowski. Jackie Barba and Alicia Portugal are executives in charge of production and Lisa Lauricella serves as the music talent executive for both events.

Fans were able to vote for their favor-ites across 26 gender-neutral categories at vote.mtv.com. Voting began on May 11 and closed on May 18.

The show originated as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992. It was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th edition in 2017 to signify that it now honored work in television as well as film.

Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was the top-grossing film released in 2021, led the pack of scripted nominees with seven nods. It was followed by Euphoria (six) and The Batman (four).

RuPaul’s Drag Race was the leader in unscripted shows, with four nods. It was fol-lowed by Selling Sunset and Summer House, with three nods each.

In addition to airing the two shows on the same night, instead of on successive nights, MTV is adding six new categories, including two that have a strong music focus – best song and best music documentary.

The two shows will air live on Sunday, June 5, starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Both shows will simulcast across BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Nick at Nite, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1 and will also air internationally on MTV in

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over 170 countries.For updates and additional information,

visit MTVAwards.mtv.com, follow @MTV on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube, use hashtag #MTVAwards and follow @MTVAwards on Facebook and Twitter.

Harry Styles Cruising to Ninth U.K. Singles Chart CrownBY LARS BRANDLE

Harry Styles looks set to lose his U.K. albums chart title to Liam Gallagher, but the singles crown should still fit come Fri-

day, when the chart proper is published.Based on midweek sales and streaming

data, published by the OCC, Styles’ “As It Was” (via Columbia) “races ahead” for what should be a ninth consecutive week at No. 1.

Styles’ hit, lifted from his current No. 1 album Harry’s House, is already the year’s longest-running No. 1 in the U.K., besting “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s animated family film Encanto.

Lizzo’s latest single “About Damn Time” (Atlantic) is the closest contender, as it eyes a new peak position, up 5-2; while Cat Burns’ “Go” could return to its peak position (up 4-3 via RCA/Since 93); and Ed Sheeran’s “2Step” (Asylum) could enter the Top 10 for this first time (up 12-9), following the release of an extended “tour edition” of his chart-leading fifth album = (equals).

The highest new entry on the chart blast belongs to Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa, who reunite for the disco-tinged number “Potion” (Columbia) featuring Young Thug. It arrives at No. 14 on the Official Chart Update.

The forthcoming chart could be twice as nice for Ella Henderson, who could land two singles in the Top 20: “Crazy What Love Can Do” with David Guetta and Becky Hill (up 13-12 via Polydor) and “21 Reasons” with

Nathan Dawe (up 22-16 via Atlantic), both targeting new peaks.

Two more, wildly different tracks could enter the Top 40 for the first time, as Kanye West and the late XXXTentacion bow at No. 32 on the chart blast with collaborative track “True Love” (Columbia), while British punk outfit The K**ts appear at No. 36 with “Prince Andrew Is A Sweaty N***e” (Radical Rudeness), a controversial track released to tie-in with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The Official U.K. Singles and Albums Charts are published late Friday.

Liam Gallagher Heading For U.K. Chart Title With ‘C’Mon You Know’BY LARS BRANDLE

Liam Gallagher is on track for his fourth post-Oasis U.K. No. 1, with C’Mon You Know (Warner Records).

The Manchester singer leads the mid-week chart with his third and latest solo album, and he’s poised to dethrone Harry Styles in the process, as Harry’s House (Co-lumbia) dips 1-2.

Gallagher already has chart crowns with 2017’s As You Were, 2019’s Why Me? Why Not and 2020’s live effort MTV Unplugged, and, with Oasis, a perfect seven No. 1s from seven studio albums.

If C’Mon You Know holds its ground when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published Friday, Gallagher will draw level with his older brother (and adversary) Noel, with eleven leaders.

The “Live Forever” singer looks set to dominate albums tally. At the halfway stage in the chart week, Liam also appears at No. 3 with Down By The River Thames, a recording of his December 2020 lockdown livestream.

Close behind is Def Leppard’s Diamond Star Halos (UMC), the Rock Hall-inducted British band’s twelfth studio album. It’s set

to enter the chart at No. 4, for what would be the Sheffield band’s first Top 5 album since Slang from 1996 — 26 years ago.

Def Leppard has two No. 1s (Hysteria from 1987 and Adrenalize from 1992) and seven Top 10 appearances, their last with 2008’s Songs From the Sparkle Lounge, hitting No. 10.

Elsewhere on the Official Chart Update, Will Young’s career retrospective 20 Years: The Greatest Hits (Sony Music CG) is on target for a No. 5 bow, for what would be the Pop Idol alum’s tenth Top 10 album; while Canadian pop artist Tate McRae is set to start at No. 7 with I Used to Think I Could Fly (Ministry of Sound).

Sex Pistols’ The Original Recordings (UMC), a collection of the English punk icons’ 1976-1978 tracks, is fired up for a No. 8 entry. The LP comes ahead of the re-release of 1977’s “God Save The Queen” this Friday (June 3) in time for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and the ar-rival of Pistol, Danny Boyle’s biopic of the group’s guitarist Steve Jones, on Disney+.

Finally, ABBA climbs the midweek chart following the premiere of the ABBA Voyage residency in London. The Swedish pop legends’ Gold: Greatest Hits rises 18-11 on the chart blast, while the foursome’s 2021 chart-leading comeback effort Voyage (Polar) could return to the Top 40, at No. 28. Gold has logged a record-setting 1,047 weeks (and counting) on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.

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TINI’s ‘La Triple T’ Holds at No. 1 on Billboard Argentina Hot 100 ChartBY BILLBOARD ARGENTINA

TINI’s “La Triple T” holds the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart for a second week (chart dated May 21), two weeks

after it flew in at No. 53. The track is the Ar-gentinian’s first leader as a soloist, unaccom-panied by another act, among a collection of three champs, including her seven-week run atop the list: “Bar,” with L-Gante (starting on the chart dated Nov. 20, 2021).

Harry Styles secures his highest ranking dating back to his first entry in May 2020, as “As It Was” climbs 7-2 after a two-week No. 7 high.

While Emilia’s “Cuatro Veinte” holds steady at No. 3 for a fourth week (after its No. 2 peak) and Sofía Reyes and Maria Becerra’s “Marte” sits at No. 4, a new title visits the upper tier: Bad Bunny’s “Ojitos Lindos,” with Bomba Estéreo, surges 19-5 in its second week. The Puerto Rican scores a second top 10 as “Moscow Mule” lifts 11-9. With the moves, Bad Bunny secures his 12th top 10 and enters a tie with J Balvin, both with 12, for the second-most top 10s among all acts, trail-ing only Maria Becerra’s 17 top 10s.

Effective this week, four additional digital music streaming services have been added to the chart calculation, while the chart methodology in relation to streaming has been adjusted to mirror the globally accepted formula assigning a greater weight to streams from a paid subscription tier over those gen-erated on an ad-supported service or tier.

Back to Bad Bunny, as five more songs from his album Un Verano Sin Ti debut on the current list, he places a total of 17 songs and breaks the record for the most entries, surpassing J Balvin’s 14 total simultaneous entries.

Here’s a look at his scoreboard:No. 5, “Ojitos Lindos,” with Bomba Este-

reo No. 9, “Moscow Mule” No. 17, “Me Porto Bonito,” with Chencho Corleone No. 33, “Party,” with Rauw Alejandro No. 39, “Titi Me Preguntó” No, 43, “Tarot,” with Jhay Cortez No. 49, “Un Ratito” No. 54, “Yo Noy Soy Celoso” No. 57, “Después de La Playa” No. 59, “Me Fui de Vacaciones” No. 64, “Andrea,” with Buscabulla (debut) No. 70, “X Última Vez,” with Daddy Yankee No. 84, “Efecto” (debut) No. 85, “Neverita” (debut) No. 91, “Dos Mil 16” No. 92, “La Corriente,” with Tony Dize (debut) No. 99, “Aguacero” (debut)

The Hot Shot Debut of the week goes to Trueno’s “Tierra Zanta,” which starts at No. 45. Trueno concurrently debuts another title as “Argentina,” with Nathy Peluso, starts at No. 48. Both tracks belong to Trueno’s recently released debut album, Bien o Mal, which has not entered the charts.

This week, Polima Westcoast’s “Ultra Solo,” featuring Palita, scores the Greatest Gainer honors as the track rallies 90-55 in its second week.

Lastly, four other debuts arrive this week: Becky G’s “Bailé Con Mi Ex,” which starts at No. 88,;Argentinian rock-pop band Airbag’s “Volver a Casa,” featuring Enanitos Verdes, bows at No. 90; Lady Gaga, who returns to the tally with “Hold My Hand” at No. 95; and Uruguayan’s No Te Va Gustar clocks its third with the No. 98 launch of “A Las Nueve.”

Kenshi Yonezu’s ‘Shin Ultraman’ Theme ‘M87’ Rises to No. 1 on Japan Hot 100 BY BILLBOARD JAPAN

Kenshi Yonezu’s “M87” rises a notch to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, released May 18, after debuting at No. 2 last week.

The theme of the movie Shin Ultraman ruled downloads and look-ups this week, and also excelled in physical sales (No. 2), streaming (No. 4), radio airplay (No. 2), video views (No. 3), and Twitter mentions (No. 6). The CD launched with 241,867 copies, about 80,000 more than the 31-year-old hitmakers previous single “Pale Blue” (161,252 first-week copies), showing signifi-cant synergy between the blockbuster film it’s featured in.

BE:FIRST’s “Bye-Good-Bye” returns to the top 10, soaring 41-2 on this week’s chart. The former No. 1 single remained in the top 100 for 11 weeks since topping the chart released on March 16, and returns to the upper ranks powered by sales and look-ups following the released of the CD version (162,492 copies).

While “Bye-Good-Bye” was the most-streamed track this week with 9,997,340 weekly streams, it’s listed at No. 3 for the metric of the Japan Hot 100’s methodology. The track falls under a new rule that sets a separate coefficient to tracks whose stream counts on a particular platform deviate significantly from the average balance of the overall market due to measures pro-moted by said streaming service. As a result, beginning from the chart released May 11, the ranking of the streaming metric for the Japan Hot 100 may differ from the ranking on Billboard Japan’s Streaming Songs tally.

AKB48’s 59th single called “Motokare desu” (He’s my ex) sold 418,710 copies to top sales this week, bowing at No. 3 on the

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Japan Hot 100 after coming in at No. 7 for look-ups, No. 9 for Twitter, No. 18 for radio, and No. 52 for downloads. Sales are down by about 10,000 copies compared to the girl group’s previous single, “Ne mo Ha mo Rumor.”

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and karaoke data.

For the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from May 16 to 22, click here.

Eurovision Winners Sell Trophy for $900,000 to Buy Drones for UkraineBY GEORG SZALAI

Ukrainian band Kalush Orches-tra, which won the Eurovision Song Contest, has sold off its tro-phy for $900,000 to raise money

for drones for the country’s armed forces fighting Russia’s invasion.

The money raised would be used to buy three Ukraine-made PD-2 drones, TV presenter Serhiy Prytula, who hosted the auction, announced, according to Reuters.

The crystal microphone trophy was auctioned off on Facebook, with the band writing: “You guys are amazing! We appreci-ate each and every one of you who donated to this auction, and a special thanks to the team (of cryptocurrency exchange) White-bit who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners of our trophy.”

The sale on Sunday (May 29) coincided with an appearance of the band at a charity concert at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, whose goal was to raise money for medical care and supplies, the BBC reported. At the concert, bandmember Oleh Psiuk urged people not

to get used to the war, started by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. “It should be on the front pages always, until peace comes,” Psiuk said, according to the BBC.

Sweeping the public vote at the Eurovi-sion Song Contest final on May 14, Kalush Orchestra won the competition with their song “Stefania.” The band had received special permission to leave Ukraine for the event, given that most Ukrainian men be-tween the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to do so in case they are needed to fight.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Ryman Auditorium Designated a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame LandmarkBY JESSICA NICHOLSON

Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, now in its 130th year, is one of country music’s most revered performance spaces. But on

Thursday (May 26), the Ryman was honored for its impact on rock ‘n’ roll, when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame designated the Ry-man as an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark.

Since the first Ryman concert, featur-ing the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, was held on May 4, 1892, numerous entertain-ers, musicians and speakers have taken the stage at the Ryman, such as magician Harry Houdini, actor Charlie Chaplin, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and musi-cians including Johnny Cash (who also filmed his television series, The Johnny Cash Show, at the Ryman from 1969-71), Harry Styles, Wu-Tang Clan (who in 2019 became the first hip-hop group to headline a show at the Ryman), Elvis, B.B. King and more.

During a ceremony held at the Ryman, Mark Fioravanti (president of Ryman Hos-pitality Properties), Greg Harris (president/CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), Nashville Mayor John Cooper and band

Old Dominion gathered to unveil a historic marker to commemorate the milestone.

The Ryman joins 11 other rock ‘n’ roll landmarks throughout the country, includ-ing the Austin City Limits studio, King Records, Surf Ballroom, Whisky a Go Go and others.

“It’s spiritual, and it’s one of the reasons she’s called the Mother Church. Like any good mother, she commands respect and makes you feel at home. As Music City and Country Music continue to expand around her, she remains the center of the family,” Old Dominion singer Matthew Ramsey said in a statement. “She’s a beacon and a bucket list experience for us all, creators and fans alike.”

A multi-year partnership between the Ry-man Auditorium and the Rock Hall was also announced, including a daytime tour exhibit slated to open at the Ryman later this year, highlighting the more than 100 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees who have performed at the Ryman over the decades.

“The Ryman is one of the most sto-ried music venues in the world. With an unmatched role in popularizing country music — one of the pillars of rock & roll — its legendary stage has hosted performances by a staggering number of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees and continues to do so today,” added Harris via a statement. “We recognize the significance of Ryman Auditorium and are thrilled to designate this iconic venue as a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark.”

There are 351 members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and one of those members, Bonnie Raitt, performed at the Ryman on Thursday evening and paid tribute to the Ryman’s contributions to the history of rock ‘n’ roll music.

“The Ryman has played an important role not only in the history of Nashville, but in country music and rock & roll as well,” Raitt said via a statement. “This stage holds a spe-cial place in my heart as I’m able to perform live with many of the incredible Nashville songwriters in the audience whose work has enriched my life and music. I’m honored to help pay tribute to of one of America’s great rock & roll venues.”

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Box Office: Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun 2’ Rockets to Record $156M OpeningBY PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

Superheroes and horror aren’t the only game in town anymore at the pandemic-era box office.

In a promising sign for the sum-mer season, Paramount and Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick scored the best Memorial Day opening of all time with a projected three-day domestic haul of $126.7 million and $156 million for the four days. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was the previ-ous record holder with a treasure chest of $153 million, according to Disney.

A better-than-expected Sunday pushed the estimates higher than the original $151 million weekend reported by Paramount.

Maverick‘s launch is without a doubt a career best for Tom Cruise, and is the first time he has had a film open to $100 million or more.

Top Gun 2 started off with a massive $51.8 million on Friday — including $19.3 million in previews — as it opened in more than 4,700 theaters in North America.

Overseas, Top Gun 2 is doing equally impressive business, considering it isn’t playing in either China or Russia. The film opened to $124 million from 62 markets for an early global haul of $248 million through Sunday.

The release of the long-awaited sequel to the iconic 1986 movie is a defining mo-ment for box office recovery, which so far has been largely fueled by superhero fare propped up by males ages 18 to 34.

More than 70% of Top Gun 2‘s audience was over the age of 25, including 55% over age 35, 38% over 45 and 18% over 55. Ticket buyers bestowed the film with a glowing A+ CinemaScore. And Imax and premium-format screens turned in a whopping 37% of

the gross, while Top Gun 2 performed well throughout the country.

Heading into the holiday weekend, Paramount tried to temper expectations, since tracking showed the film opening to $92 million-plus. Yet many pundits believe the critically acclaimed sequel could soar well north of $100 million domestically. But tracking — one of Hollywood’s favorite pas-times — has become fraught in the pandem-ic era. Exhibitors were especially bullish on the pic and were already thinking it could hit $125 million to $150 million.

The film’s release was delayed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cruise, a relentless promoter, went on a global marketing tour in recent weeks that saw him make stops at a world premiere in San Diego, the Cannes Film Festival, a Royal-sponsored screening in London and another premiere in Japan.

Cruise may be one of the world’s biggest movie stars, but his films — including the Mission: Impossible movies — have never sported the sort of mega-openings that superhero tentpoles or other franchise installments can enjoy (think Jurassic World or Fast & Furious). Instead, his films can play and play.

To date, 2005’s War of the Worlds ranks as Cruise’s top domestic opening with a three-day gross of $64.9 million, followed by 2018’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout at $61.2 million, according to Comscore and not adjusted for inflation. The rest of his films have opened to less than $60 million.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick sees Cruise return as the ultra-gifted and confident Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

The film, which presently sports a stel-lar 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, co-stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell and Ed Harris, while Val Kilmer also makes a brief ap-pearance as “Iceman,” Maverick’s onetime nemesis-turned-pal. The film also features Lady Gaga’s ballad “Hold My Hand,” while the producing team includes Jerry Bruck-heimer, who guided the 1986 film.

Looking to provide counter-program-ming, Disney released 20th Century’s The Bob’s Burgers Movie in more than 3,400

theaters in North America. The PG-13 pic, based on the popular TV show that’s a favor-ite of teen girls, posted a subdued three-day tally of $12.6 million and $15.7 million for the four.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Matthew Morrison Out as ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ JudgeBY RICK PORTER

Matthew Morrison’s stint as a So You Think You Can Dance judge will be short lived.

The former Glee star and Broadway veteran is departing the show — whose 17th season premiered just nine days ago — after violating its competition proto-cols. Reps for Fox declined comment on the nature of the violation.

“Having the opportunity to be a judge on So You Think You Can Dance was an incredible honor for me,” Morrison said in a statement. “Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show. After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly. I cannot apologize enough to all involved and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet.”

So You Think You Can Dance returned to Fox on May 18 after almost three years, with Morrison joining Stephen “Twitch” Boss and Jojo Siwa as judges. He’ll be seen in two more pretaped episodes; Fox says SYTYCD will name a new judge for the next stage of the competition, which is set to begin on June 15.

Us Weekly first reported Morrison’s departure.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

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