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Inside New App Airbuds’ ‘Fundamentally Human’ Approach to Social Streaming

For nearly 25 years, tech startups have tried to crack the code on a simple idea: Building a social network based on music. The timing wasn’t right for Napster, Imeem, MySpace Music, Lala, Apple’s Ping or Facebook’s Spotify integration, among others. “It’s like a math problem that goes unsolved for hundreds of years and one […]

Producer Kanata Okajima on Giving ‘200 Percent’ to Creating Music that ‘Offers a Bit of Comfort’: Billboard Japan Women in Music Interview

Billboard Japan’s Women in Music initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and entertainment and inspired other women through their work, following the footsteps of Billboard’s annual Women in Music honors. This interview series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry is one of […]

Former Morning Musume Icon Maki Goto on How She Stayed Grounded Through a Whirlwind Career: Billboard Japan Women in Music Interview

Billboard Japan’s Women in Music initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers, and executives who have made significant contributions to music and entertainment, and who inspire other women through their work — following in the footsteps of Billboard’s annual Women in Music honors. This interview series spotlighting female players across the Japanese entertainment industry […]

A Decade After Her First Deal, Sasha Keable Is Riding a Beyoncé Co-Sign to the Forefront of R&B’s Renaissance: ‘It’s Nice to Hear Real Musicality Again’

12 years ago, the stars seemed to be aligning for Sasha Keable. She inked a record deal with Polydor and aced her guest appearance on Disclosure’s breakthrough Settle album (“Voices”), but industry pressures and creative differences led to a years-long break that ended with 2018’s “That’s the S—t” — a swaggering, soulful number that set […]

Roc Nation Distribution CEO Explains New Dashboard That Empowers Independent Artists for Free: ‘We’re Here to Hand Over the Keys’

While sitting with the Roc Nation team at the label’s headquarters in Midtown, Manhattan, Roc Nation’s Distribution President Krystian Santini says the company’s groundbreaking new Dashboard came together after Jay-Z personally called a meeting last year. “Jay-Z himself took us into an all-staff meeting and said, ‘We’re here to hand over the keys. It took […]