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Let’s start with: Correlation is not causation. (Listen to your imploring math teachers, kids; the ramifications of shoddy data science are no joke.) And yet, when the most popular band in the world releases a song primly named after a pantry staple, one has to wonder — by which I …

This story appears in Rolling Stone‘s 2021 Future of Music issue, a special project delving into the next era of the multibillion-dollar hitmaking business. Read the other stories here. RAC, born André Allen Anjos, was creating digital art well before it was cool. In May 2020, before music’s 2021 blockchain …

Less than a month after announcing a $100 million fund to acquire catalogs from female music makers, Influence Media has made its first purchase. It has struck a deal with prominent songwriter Ali Tamposi for her publishing rights, the company tells Rolling Stone. Tamposi has co-written an extensive catalog of …

The music business is kind of bored. Outside of the churn of big-money catalog acquisitions and enthusiasts wibbling on about the potential of Clubhouse and NFTs, the industry (like many of us?) is in an oddly inert place right now. A big part of that is, obviously, the omission of …

As the live music industry’s return remains fairly nebulous amid the ongoing pandemic, Mint Talent Group — a booking agency started last year by former CAA, William Morris Endeavor, and Paradigm agents — is working with ticketing platform Lyte to set up a reservation system for a swath of its …

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s largest music company, and Big Hit Entertainment, the Korean record label behind international superstars BTS, are partnering in a new label joint venture to develop a new boy group, the two companies announced in a pretaped livestream on Wednesday. The new venture, based in …

It doesn’t matter what kind of artist you are — a weekend-warrior cover band, a multi-platinum singer-songwriter, or a composer, or an instrumentalist — because musicians everywhere are coming to terms with the wrench that Covid-19 has thrown into their livelihoods. The majority are dealing with big losses in income …

Shani Gonzales, the new head of international A&R for Warner Chappell, is an American who makes sure Americans hear music from outside America. Gonzales has form in this area: Before joining Warner Chappell last year, she spent nearly six years at rival BMG, where she rose to co-head of A&R …

As the live music industry enters its seven month of virtually zero revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new coalition comprised of some of the biggest live music groups and corporations in the industry launched on Thursday. The #SaveLiveEventsNow coalition — made up of promotion giants Live Nation Entertainment …

Six months ago, Money Man had 400,000 Spotify monthly listeners. Now he’s at 4.9 million. Much of that boost comes from the trap rapper’s Kobe Bryant tribute song “24,” which further soared in popularity after Lil Baby jumped on a remixed version in August. But that collaboration wasn’t just good …