Billboard

Beyoncé received no 2025 #ACMawards nominations, despite winning two country Grammys in February — including for country album of the year — just weeks before first-round voting opened. "Were we hoping she'd be nominated? Absolutely," says Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside. "The more successful she is, the more we're bringing more mainstream people into the [country] genre which we want." Unlike Grammy voters, who span all musical genres, the more than 5,000 ACM voters primarily make a living in country music and are mostly based in Nashville. "I think, more likely, they're going to be voting for artists that they've got relationships with and work with on a regular basis and that are in the country music business 365," Whiteside says, but adds, "We'd love to have Beyoncé on the show. She has an open invitation to be on the ACM stage anytime she ever wants to." Read more from Whiteside on the 60th ACM Awards: https://lnkd.in/gyJsZxAf

25 years ago this month, Miami’s Club Space first opened its doors. In the decades since, it’s become not just a citywide institution, but a national and international destination that’s risen, then risen again, in tandem with the explosion of underground electronic music. Created by Miami native Luis Puig in 2000 and now operated by a trio of friends and business partners who’ve long been embedded in the city’s?dance?scene, Club Space now hosts roughly 600 annual events, drawing tens of thousands of party people for the both the music and the all-night into morning experience that the club, which possesses a 24 hour license, famously offers. Parties can, and do, go on for days. As it launches a marathon of parties for #MiamiMusiWeek 2025, past and present owners and staff reflect on its history + how it continues to evolve. Read the full feature: https://lnkd.in/eRMPavcw

Ye (formerly Kanye West) is facing a lawsuit claiming he sampled a song by German singer-songwriter Alice Merton despite her refusal to license it — a move she says "shocked and humiliated" her because she's the descendant of Holocaust survivors.? ? In a copyright case filed Monday in federal court, attorneys for Merton say Ye prominently used clips from her 2022 track "Blindside" in his 2024 song "Gun to My Head" with Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi, even after she had expressly refused to clear the sample.? ? When contacted by Ye's reps last year, Merton says she and her publisher told them that they were denying him a license because "the artist's values are contrary to our values" — a reference to the star's antisemitic statements over the years.? ? Merton’s new lawsuit is one of more than a dozen such cases filed against Ye during his career over claims of unlicensed sampling or interpolating.? ? Read more about the lawsuit: https://lnkd.in/gBa-pEkN

The #BBWomenInMusic Executive of the Year recipients were celebrated at the first-ever Women in Music Executive Honoree reception, co-hosted by Spotify and Billboard. ?? #partner On behalf of both Billboard and Spotify, congratulations to: Cara Lewis of the Cara Lewis Group Lucy Dickins of WME Sam Kirby Yoh of UTA Jenna Adler of CAA Marsha Vlasic of ARTIST GROUP INTERNATIONAL

On Sunday, two days after a South Korean court ruled that ADOR, an imprint of K-pop giant HYBE, retains the right to manage the groundbreaking girl band NewJeans, the five-member act performed its first and possibly only concert in Hong Kong under a new moniker, NJZ — a result of its attempt to break free from the label. After debuting a new song, "Pit Stop," the group announced to the sold-out crowd that it was going on hiatus "out of respect for the court’s decision." The controversy with ADOR and NewJeans/NJZ coincided with a steep decline in HYBE’s share price in 2024 — down 31.5% between April 19 (the day HYBE launched an investigation into ex-ADOR CEO Min Hee-Jin) and Sept. 23 (after a YouTube video of the NewJeans/NJZ members demanding that Min be reinstated went viral). While HYBE's share price has almost rebounded, the dispute with NewJeans/NJZ may lead to sunk costs. Read more on how: https://lnkd.in/gTuEhuhm

Taylor Swift's name was brought up during the annual Senate Intelligence Committee hearing this morning.? ? Much of of the meeting was focused on the national security lapse earlier this week, in which national security officials for President Donald Trump, accidentally included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in a group chat discussing plans for military strikes in Yemen.? ? During the hearing, Senator Mark Warner also spoke about the benefits of shared security information between allies.? ? He used an August 2024 incident involving Taylor Swift's Eras Tour as an example, as the Grammy winner's shows in Vienna were abruptly canceled following the arrest of three suspects who reportedly planned to unleash a terrorist attack on the shows.? ? Read more: https://lnkd.in/gzc4WfNi

A decade after "All About That Bass,"?Meghan Trainor?has found longevity in pop music — with an all-ages appeal. ??? ? "Chappell [Roan] and Sabrina [Carpenter] are bringing instruments in and beautiful melodies and taking risks. What Doechii is doing — she’s just changing the world through art and [her] talent is thriving," she said about artists who inspire her today. "Going into my next album, I’m nervous but also excited because there’s no more rules."? ? Read her interview as?#BBWomenInMusic's HITMAKER honoree ahead of accepting the award on March 29 in Los Angeles: https://lnkd.in/e_wQNUJw Get tickets to the show: https://lnkd.in/ebys_dKE

Angela Aguilar?is carving her own path in música mexicana — and producing herself for the first time. ??? ? In addition to "taking care of the arrangements, choosing the songs, directing myself vocally,”?#BBWomenInMusic's BREAKTHROUGH honoree is especially focused on supporting other female talent in her new music. ? ? “Most of the songs on the album are written by Mexican women," she says. "It’s a full mariachi album, but it is a little bit different; it has a modern twist, some subgenres in mariachi that you are not expecting me to ever sing.” ? ? Read her interview ahead of being honored at Billboard's Women in Music in Los Angeles on March 29: https://lnkd.in/ePKaiXa5 Get tickets to the show to see her perform: https://lnkd.in/ebys_dKE

Chappell Roan splashes into the country genre as "The Giver" debuts at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. ??? ? The song also opens atop Country Streaming Songs and Country Digital Song Sales, likewise in her first visit to each chart.? ? Concurrently, "The Giver" enters the Billboard #Hot100 at No. 5 — Chappell Roan's third top 10, following "Good Luck, Babe!" and “Pink Pony Club." ? ? Read more: https://lnkd.in/eSVJRnkK

Revelamos la lista de las ejecutivas de?#BBWomenInMusic?en 2025 ??? ? Conoce más sobre las ejecutivas que están causando impacto antes de la celebración de las Mujeres en la Música de Billboard el 29 de marzo en Los ángeles aquí: https://bit.ly/4hE0p6d Compra tus boletos: https://lnkd.in/ebys_dKE #BBMujeresLatinas