The 59th Annual CMA Awards nominees, as well as the CMA Broadcast Awards finalists, will be revealed during a livestream on the CMA’s official Facebook and YouTube channels on Monday, Sept. 8.
The nominations will honor the artists, songwriters, musicians and industry professionals who have helped shape the genre over the past year.
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The 59th Annual CMA Awards will broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov. 19 on ABC and will stream the following day on Hulu. The second ballot for the CMA Awards opens today, and as part of the awards show’s peer-voting tradition, the second ballot allows CMA members to help shape the final slate of nominees across all 12 categories. The second ballot voting ends Monday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. CT.
This year’s CMA Awards Week will be filled with events leading up to the CMA Awards ceremony on Nov. 19. “Country Forward,” the CMA’s bi-annual day party will kick off CMA Awards Week on Nov. 16, while the CMA Media Remote, a two-day media hub for country artists to connect with radio and digital outlets, is set for Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. The CMA Broadcast Awards Presentation will take place during the pre-telecast ceremony on Nov. 19, prior to the live primetime show, and will honor winners in radio and broadcast categories. The CMA International Awards will recognize honorees from around the world during the CMA International Reception on Nov. 19.
Following the CMA Awards on Nov. 19, the official CMA Awards After Party will celebrate honorees and the country music community. (CMA Members can purchase tickets beginning Aug. 13.) Meanwhile, the CMA Awards Backstage Academy, which is designed to cater to students, will offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the CMA Awards as well as a panel featuring key leaders in the country music industry.
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Additionally, All Access On-Site, which supports artist and crew wellbeing, will return for a second year to provide licensed mental health professionals during CMA Awards rehearsals and on show day. The program offers confidential, in-person support to artists and crew-members navigating the high-pressure demands of live production.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 16:16:542025-08-05 16:16:54Here’s When The 2025 CMA Awards Nominations Will Be Revealed
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This marks the third time Gaga has paced the nominations, having previously done so in 2010 (13 nods) and 2020 (when she was tied for the lead with nine nods). Gaga has won 18 VMAs, so she is within striking distance of the top of the VMA leaderboard. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are currently tied for most VMA wins (30 each). (Both of those superstars received one nod this year, artist of the year.)
Mars has two nominations for video of the year. He’s nominated for both “Die With a Smile” and “APT.,” his collab with ROSÉ. Mars is just the fourth artist to land two video of the year nods in the same year, following David Lee Roth (1985), U2 (1988) and Lady Gaga (2010).
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is also up for video of the year. The smash won five Grammys on Feb. 2, including best music video. Lamar has won video of the year at the VMAs twice, as featured artist on Swift’s “Bad Blood” and for his own “HUMBLE.” If he wins again this year, he’ll stand alone as runner-up to Swift for most wins the most wins in this category. Swift has won the award five times, including the last three years in a row. Lamar is currently in a five-way tie for second place with Beyoncé, Eminem, Missy Elliott and Rihanna.
Grande’s “brighter days ahead” is nominated for both video of the year and best long form video. The latter award has been awarded only three times – to Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection (1991), Beyoncé’s Lemonade (2016) and Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film (2022). Swift’s title also won video of the year.
This year’s other nominees for video of the year, not already named, are Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Carpenter’s “Manchild” and The Weeknd/Playboi Carti collab “Timeless.”
Swift isn’t nominated for video of the year – her only eligible video was “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” – which means we’ll see someone other than Swift win video of the year for the first time since 2021, when Lil Nas X took the prize for “Montero (Call Me by Your Name.”) Swift also won artist of the year the last two years running, and is competing in that category again — this time with Lady Gaga, the 2020 winner; Bad Bunny, who won in 2022; and four artists who have yet to win in the category: Beyoncé, Lamar, Wallen and The Weeknd.
The nominees for best new artist are Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Gigi Perez, Lola Young, sombr and The Marías. All are also seen as strong candidates in the upcoming Grammy race for best new artist. (Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 7.)
The Marías are also nominated here for best alternative for “Back to Me.” The female-fronted indie pop band is the only group or duo to receive two or more nominations this year.
ROSÉ received eight solo nominations, but the Blackpink star was not eligible for best new artist. Nor was Damiano David of Måneskin fame, who received two solo nods. JENNIE and JISOO (both also of Blackpink) and Jimin (of BTS) also earned their first solo nods.
Eminem, who has won 15 VMAs, more than any other male artist, has three more nominations this year.
The VMAs finally added a country category in their 42nd year. The nominees for the inaugural best country award are Chris Stapleton’s “Think I’m in Love With You,” Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood’s “I’m Gonna Love You,” Jelly Roll’s “Liar,” Lainey Wilson’s “4x4xU,” Megan Moroney’s “Am I Okay?” and Morgan Wallen’s “Smile.”
The VMAs have added several other genre-specific categories in recent years — best Latin (2010), best K-Pop (2019) and best Afrobeats (2023).
Bad Bunny is this year’s top Latin nominee with four nominations – best Latin for “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and three in all-genre categories: artist of the year, best album for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and best long form video for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film).” Bunny won the artist of the year award in 2022 and was nominated again last year.
All VMA categories are gender-neutral for the ninth consecutive year.
The VMAs will air on CBS for the first time this year, and will simulcast on MTV and stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. The show, set for Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will be held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y for the second year in a row.
Fan voting is now open in 19 categories (which is everything but the six technical categories). Fans can vote by visiting vote.mtv.com until Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. Voting for best new artist will remain active into show. (Fans can get additional votes for video of the year, artist of the year and best new artist by commenting under the pinned posts on @VMAs Instagram using the artist-specific hashtags through Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Fans get double the votes per category every day during “Power Hour,” running daily 1-2 p.m. ET from Aug. 7 through Sept. 4.)
There are initially 10 nominees for song of the year. On Aug. 18 at 12 p.m. ET, the field will narrow, with the top six vote-getters moving on to Round 2. (The eliminated artists will retain their nominations in MTV’s official nominations tallies.) Voting for Round 2 continues through Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET, when voting closes for all categories except best new artist.
The 2025 VMAs are executive produced by Bruce Gillmer, Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic, and Barb Bialkowski. Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler is producer. Alicia Portugal is co-executive producer. Jackie Barba is executive in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is executive in charge of music talent.
The 2024 VMAs delivered the show’s biggest multi-network audience in four years (up 25% year-over-year). Moreover, it ranked as the most social VMAs ever (66.7 million social interactions).
Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, followed by a list of every artist who received two or more nominations this year.
Video of the Year
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Artist of the Year
Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment
Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records
Kendrick Lamar – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – Interscope Records
Morgan Wallen – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
Taylor Swift – Republic Records
The Weeknd – XO/Republic Records
Song of the Year
Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
Gracie Abrams – “I Love You, I’m Sorry” – Interscope Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
Lorde – “What Was That” – Republic Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Tate McRae – “Sports Car” – RCA Records
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Best New Artist
Alex Warren – Atlantic Records
Ella Langley – SAWGOD/Columbia Records
Gigi Perez – Island
Lola Young – Island
sombr – SMB Music/Warner Records
The Marías – Nice Life/Atlantic Records
Best Collaboration
Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)” – Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “luther” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me a Drink” – Mercury Records
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 16:05:592025-08-05 16:05:59Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars Are 1-2 in Nominations for 2025 MTV VMAs (Full List)
Indie finance platform beatBread said on Tuesday it secured $124 million in loans and equity investment to expand its lending products for unsigned artists, writers and labels.
Equity investors leading the funding round include global banking giant Citigroup and venture investors and long-time beatBread backers Deciens Capital and Mucker Capital. Other investors include Advantage Capital, while GMO provided additional credit funding.
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“At beatBread, we’re building a financial foundation for true artist and label independence,” beatBread CEO Peter Sinclair said in a statement. “By giving creators more choice, more access and more control, we’re helping them stay independent on their own terms … [to] compare multiple funding options from multiple funding sources and make the choice that’s right for them.”
Peter Sinclair, beatBread CEO
Courtesy Photo
The latest fundraise follows two earlier capital infusions in 2022 when beatBread raised $34 million from Deciens, Mucker and others, and separately $100 million secured through an institutional funding agreement with Variant Investments.
Launched in 2020, beatBread’s offerings include providing artist advances, which can range from $1,000 to $10 million. Artists, songwriters and indie labels with over 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify can secure loans by pledging a portion of their back catalog to beatBread for a term of several years and/or future release royalties from streaming. The platform’s funding network and deal comparison tools present clients with offers from multiple distribution and finance companies. Most artists put the advance toward paying fees for collaborators, creating music videos and funding digital marketing campaigns.
The investment from Citi, made by the banking group’s fintech investment arm called SPRINT, marks its first investment related to music royalties, Citi’s head of markets and innovation investments Lee Smallwood said in a statement.
Citi recently signed an agreement with the global private equity firm Carlyle to partner on debt and equity financing for growing financial technology firms through SPRINT.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 16:05:592025-08-05 16:05:59Backed by Mega-Bank Citi, Indie Artist and Label Financer beatBread Raises $124 Million
Good things come to those who wait, and the country community waited a long time for its own category at the MTV Video Music Awards. The VMAs announced on Tuesday (Aug. 5) that they are finally adding a country category this year, the 42nd edition of the iconic show.
“Think I’m in Love With You,” “I’m Gonna Love You” and “4x4xU” were among the nominees for visual media of the year at the ACM Awards in May.
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The announcement of the new VMA category comes less than two months after the Recording Academy announced that they are adding a fifth Grammy category devoted to country music, best traditional country album.
The VMAs have included a performance from one country artist on each of their last four telecasts, showing an awareness that country is less niche than it used to be. Kacey Musgraves performed “Star-Crossed” on the 2021 show, followed by Kane Brown (“Grand,” 2022), Kelsea Ballerini (“Penthouse,” 2023) and Jelly Roll (as a featured artist on Eminem’s “Somebody Save Me,” 2024).
In addition, country artists pop up in various other categories on the 2025 VMA nominations list. Wallen is nominated for two other awards – artist of the year and best album for I’m the Problem. Jelly Roll is nominated for three other awards – best hip-hop and video for good for his featured role on Eminem’s “Somebody Save Me,” and best alternative for “Lonely Road,” his collab with mgk.
Two country pairs are nominated for best collaboration — Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs for “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)” and Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton for “Pour Me a Drink.”
Ella Langley is nominated for best new artist. Langley won new female artist of the year at the ACM Awards in May. She is also seen as a strong contender for a Grammy nod for best new artist when those nominations are announced on Nov. 7.
Two country artists, Shaboozey and Dasha, are nominated for MTV Push Performance of the Year.
The VMAs have added three other genre-specific categories in recent years: best Latin (2010), best K-Pop (2019) and best Afrobeats (2023).
Even without a dedicated country category at the VMAs, a few country artists have been nominated in the show’s most prestigious category, video of the year. In 1985, the second year of the VMAs, USA for Africa’s “We Are the World” was nominated for video of the year. The all-star video featured three country icons – Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
Johnny Cash was nominated in 2003 for his aching version of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt.” Taylor Swift received her first of seven video of the year nominations in 2013 for “I Knew You Were Trouble,” a pop-leaning song from Red, her last studio album before her pivot to pop. Billy Ray Cyrus was nominated in 2019 for “Old Town Road (Remix),” his smash collab with Lil Nas X.
The Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards both added a music video category on their 1985 telecasts. Hank Williams Jr.’s cameo-studded “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” was the inaugural winner at both shows.
The VMAs will air on CBS for the first time this year, and will simulcast on MTV and stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. The show, set for Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will be held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y for the second year in a row.
Fan voting is now open in 19 categories (which is everything but the six technical categories). Fans can vote by visiting vote.mtv.com until Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. Voting for best new artist will remain active into show. (Fans can get additional votes for video of the year, artist of the year and best new artist by commenting under the pinned posts on @VMAs Instagram using the artist-specific hashtags through Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Fans get double the votes per category every day during “Power Hour,” running daily 1-2 p.m. ET from Aug. 7 through Sept. 4.)
Genre-Specific Categories Timeline
Nine genres currently have genre-specific categories at the VMAs. Here they are, listed in the order that they were introduced.
Best Rock: 1989
Best Alternative: 1991
Best R&B: 1993
Best Pop: 1999
Best Hip-Hop: 1999
Best Latin: 2010
Best K-pop: 2019
Best Afrobeats: 2023
Best Country: 2025
Best Country Nominees
Here are this year’s nominees for best country, showing record labels.
Chris Stapleton – “Think I’m In Love With You” – Mercury Nashville
Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You” – CoJo Music / Warner Music Nashville
Jelly Roll – “Liar” – BBR Music Group/BMG/Republic Records
Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU” – Broken Bow Records
Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?” – Columbia Records
Morgan Wallen – “Smile” – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
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Over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones have a way of helping you sink even deeper into your favorite tunes, especially if you’re a music fan. They’re a great way to block out the world around you to really focus in on your music, or to just get some peace and quiet in loud and busy spaces.
To make the search a little easier, we’ve rounded up a list of the best over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones. Our list are from top brands, like Sony, Bose, Sonos, Apple and others, that are known for top-of-the-line audio, while these cans are available to purchase at popular online retailers, like Walmart, Amazon and more, for quick and convenient ways to shop online.
On sale for $429.99 (regularly $449.99), the Sony WH-1000XM6 Noise-Canceling Headphones are a step up from their previous model with improved audio, enhanced immersion, and overall better and more functional design. They feature sharp and detailed sound for a wide range of music genres, while their deep and booming bass adds more depth and texture to your favorite songs. We like their folding design, which makes them easier to travel with while on a flight.
For deep immersion and standout noise-cancelation, we like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones — especially with their comfortable design and all-day battery life. Priced at $449, these headphones are ideal for those times you really want to focus on your music, or just escape into your own space of silence. They come in four eye-catching colors, including deep plum, lunar blue, white smoke and black.
Let’s face it. If you’re going to wear a pair of headphones over your head and ear, then you want to look good doing it. The Sonos Ace Headphones are sleek, stylish and clean with splendid audio quality and immersive noise-cancelation features to match. One of the best things about these headphones is they brilliantly and seamlessly sync to other Sonos products. This comes in handy with Sonos soundbars and speakers because you can pair the headphones to your Sonos home theater system for nighttime viewing. Now you won’t disrupt your household, if you’re watching Top Gun: Maverick when everyone is asleep.
First of all, the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 Headphones look great with a sharp design and comfortable fit with three gorgeous colors. However, the headphones have a great level of performance with detailed and rich sound, and deep and rumbling bass. They perform very well with phone calls too.
British design company Nothing is known for their unique smartphones, but in 2025, they launched the Nothing Headphone (1), the company’s first noise-canceling headphones. They features excellent audio that’s natural, robust and deep with sound by KEF, while the headphones have a unique design that’s just as quirky and eye-catching as the new Nothing Phone (3).
If you’re an Android smartphone or tablet user, then the Yamaha YH-L500A Headphones are a must — especially for their Google Fast Pair features. The headphones automatically sync to just about any Android device without digging into setting or holding pairing buttons. Just turn them on near your Android phone and you’ll be synced in seconds. The headphones also feature stellar audio that’s crisp, clear, and rich, while their home theater settings makes it feel like you’re in your own private home entertainment center when watching movies and TV shows or listening to your favorite music.
Great audio and top-of-the-line noise-cancelation features don’t have to cost you an arm and leg anymore. Enter the OneOdio Focus A6, a great pair of noise-canceling headphones that has sharp sound, keen design, long battery life and a wallet-friendly price — now on sale for $69.99 (regularly $79.99).
Dyson is getting into the headphone game and their first pair is quite impressive. The Dyson OnTrac, which are on sale for $299.99 (regularly $499.99), are super stylish with a wide range of colorways that’s customizable with detachable ear cups and ear cushions. They feature outstanding audio quality that’s crisp and rich, while their noise-canceling features are immersive and solid. It feels and sounds as if you’re hermetically-sealed tube of audio. However, they’re claim to fame is their long battery life of up to 55 hours per charge, as the headband’s cushions double as external batteries for additional juice throughout days of use.
For Apple iPhone and Apple iPad users, the Apple AirPods Max are our pick for best noise-canceling headphones. Not only do these headphones feature best-in-class noise-canceling features that block out just about all background and ambient noise, they also seamlessly sync to Apple devices with ease. This is ideal if you have multiple Apple products, like an Apple MacBook, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV 4K and others, and want to switch back-and-forth between devices. Now you can listen to an audiobook on your favorite songs on Apple Music on your iPhone and then keep listening to the same song on your MacBook without skipping a beat.
If you’re a fan of Dolby Atmos audio quality, then the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100 Headphones are for you. At $2,200, the B&O Beoplay H100 — which are made with titanium drivers — feature studio reference-level audio quality that optimized for Dolby Atmos for immersive and detailed sound. In fact, the audio is so deep that you can actually feel the audio quality, as well as hear it.
For complete luxury, then look no further than the Hermès Headphones. Yes, the luxury fashion company just entered the headphone market with a sleek pair of cans that’s made for high-fidelity audio, which is balanced, precise and natural. Priced at a whopping $13,499 (€11,800), the Hermès Headphones are the height of luxury, tech and soundscape.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 16:05:572025-08-05 16:05:57The Best 11 Noise-Canceling Headphones for Music Lovers
Offset announced his third album, KIARI, on Monday (Aug. 22), which is slated to arrive later this month on Aug. 22 via Motown Records.
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Lending his birth name — Kiari Kendrell Cephus — to the project, it appears Set will get introspective as the press release notes that the album will be his “most personal body of work yet.”
Offset had revealed Sabrina Carpenter as his celebrity crush, but the speculation surrounding a possible collaboration appears not to have come to fruition, unless he’s saving that as a surprise.
The rapper made the album announcement official in Times Square on Monday, which found him surrounded by hundreds of doppelgangers holding up the cover art to the project and dancing through the NYC tourist attraction. Footage showed him also filming scenes for a possible upcoming visual.
The 33-year-old had been teasing an album throughout 2024, but ended up continuing to delay the LP amid estranged wife Cardi B filing for divorce and welcoming their third child together.
KIARI serves as Set’s third solo album and first since 2023’s Set It Off; both his sophomore album and Father of Four debut which arrived in the Billboard 200′s top five.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 15:50:012025-08-05 15:50:01Offset Taps John Legend, Gunna, Ty Dolla $ign & More for New Album ‘KIARI’: Here’s When It Arrives
In a new collaborative effort to help the music industry get a handle on managing vinyl inventory, the Vinyl Alliance and Luminate are partnering on an initiative through which they will collect data on how many vinyl records are being pressed at vinyl plants around the globe.
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The move was announced at the Record Store Day Summer Camp held last week in New Orleans, where more than 450 record store owners, label and distribution executives, and other companies involved in physical music convened to discuss the state of the business.
As such, the Vinyl Alliance and Luminate both had prominent placement in the conference’s programming. While Luminate and its antecedent companies have been around since 1990, the Vinyl Alliance came together in 2020 thanks to the resurgence of the vinyl format. It consists of key members of the physical music sector, including record labels, retail and distribution merchandisers, replay hardware companies and vinyl component suppliers. The alliance also includes more than 25 pressing plants, from which the initiative hopes to collect manufacturing data (several big players in the sector have already agreed to report to it, including GZ, described in the announcement as the world’s largest producer of vinyl records.).
“This will provide a 360 picture on vinyl,” Luminate director of partnerships Chris Muratore said when telling conference attendees about the initiative. Vinyl Alliance general manager Ryan Mitrovich added, “The production data has never before been linked to the retail sales data.”
Earlier in the day on Wednesday (July 30), the first general session of the conference kicked off with a Luminate presentation on the state of the U.S. industry regarding physical music. That presentation showed that physical sales were down 3.2% at mid-year 2025 with 34.2 million copies of vinyl and CD scanned so far this year versus 35.3 million last year. But Muratore pointed out that’s only because this year’s numbers are going up against the juggernaut that was Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department last year. According to Luminate, by midyear in 2024, that album had rung up just shy of 2.08 million copies in physical formats.
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In a detailed analysis of the state of physical, Muratore relayed that vinyl accounted for 60% of all physical sales by midyear 2025, while CDs stood at 40%. While he didn’t break it out by piece counts, that works out to 20.33 million vinyl copies and 13.63 million CD copies. Further, he reflected that those percentages had shifted since 2021, when vinyl had a 51% share of physical albums while CDs stood at 49%.
Looking at physical sales by type of retail store, independent stores are by far the largest segment of physical sales, having scanned 11.9 million copies by midyear, or 34.7%. That was followed by e-commerce, which has a 28.5% share; mass market — which besides Target and Walmart now includes chains like Barnes & Noble — at 24.1%; non-traditional retail at 1.4%; venue sales at 1.1%; and the growing direct-to-consumer channel at 10.1%, as reported by Muratore.
Unlike in the overall U.S. market, where R&B/hip-hop is the dominant genre, especially in streaming, rock music is dominant in terms of physical sales, where it has about 45% market share. While Muratore didn’t provide physical piece counts for genres, his chart showed rock with slightly over 15 million copies scanned so far this year (up 6% from last year), while noting that R&B/hip-hop, at slightly over 5 million units, was up 26% on a unit basis over the genre’s performance at midyear in 2024. Finally, he added that physical sales in pop had fallen 28%, though he once again attributed that to Swift’s performance last year.
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In other news, Muratore noted after Luminate’s misstep in un-weighting indie retail at the beginning of 2024 — which ultimately resulted in a new and improved way of collecting indie data after Luminate partnered with StreetPulse — over 400 stores are now reporting sales to the StreetPulse/Luminate system. “That’s the largest amount of stores ever reporting sales going all the way back to 1991,” Muratore said. “We want to break the 500-store mark by the end of the year.”
In contrast, under the old, flawed weighting system, Luminate only had about 70 indie accounts with 140 stores reporting, he said.
Turning his attention to Record Store Day, Muratore noted this year, the U.S. industry had 1 million album sales that week, marking only the 12th time in the last 10 years that the U.S. industry has achieved 1 million sales in a weeklong period. In fact, Record Store Day in total has accounted for five of the 12 weeks that topped 1 million vinyl sales. This year, he reported, there were 337 exclusives, while over 100 titles sold out.
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Muratore also pointed out that while physical is slightly down this year, when the new weighting formula is backdated to the unweighted sales in the first half of 2024, the indie sector is actually up 12% in vinyl, while indie CD sales are up 25%. He noted that one of the factors in the CD sales increase is likely pricing, considering elevated pricing on vinyl records has pushed more consumers to buy cheaper CDs.
Finally, Muratore urged store owners in the audience who are not yet reporting their sales to see StreetPulse CEO John Weston and sign up. “It’s a benefit to everybody if you report,” Muratore said. “Your numbers matter and need to be counted.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 15:50:012025-08-05 15:50:01The State of Physical Music in 2025: Vinyl’s Share Increases, R&B/Hip-Hop Rises, Taylor Swift’s Effect & More
Lizzo has had it with the right’s weird obsession with Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad. After parodying the controversial spot earlier in the week with a PhotoShopped image of her body in a Canadian tuxedo striking the same sultry pose as the Euphoria star with the captions, “If the Democrats won the election” and “My jeans are black…” Lizzo doubled down on Monday (Aug. 4) with what sounds like a new song taking on the body politic(s) of the second Trump era.
“We are over this woke agenda, we are over the Lizzos, we are over the Dylan Mulvaneys. If this was a 300-pound, non-binary person they would be applauding her,” a Fox commentator opines in a clip from the conservative channel’s report on the backlash to the Sweeney campaign from critics who’ve suggested her “good jeans” campaign features a not-so-subtle racially coded, eugenics-embracing message about genetic purity.
The intro leads into what sounds like a sultry new song from Lizzo in which she raps, “F–k outta my face/ Ho gimme some space/ It’s way too hot up in here y’all, sweatin’ outta my lace/ Don’t need no bottle service, we pulled up with our drinks/ Trunk fulla that ace.” Over a soul-stirring 1970s-era R&B backing track, Lizzo speaks directly to the camera while rocking a jeans and jean jacket ensemble with just a black bra underneath as she describes exactly what she wants her man to do.
“I’m gonna give him a grand slam/ He pullin’ off the panties/ The way he hit from the back/ I might give him one of my Grammys,” she adds as the camera follows her swinging her rear end side-to-side, subtly sashaying past her handful of Grammy awards and extensive wig collection. At press time a spokesperson for Lizzo had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional information on the song, which did not appear on Lizzo’s recent mixtape, MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING. The singer-rapper has been teasing her upcoming fifth studio album, Love in Real Life, the follow-up to 2022’s Special, though no release date or track listing has been announced so far.
Lizzo’s jeans/genes commentary comes amid a heated cultural discussion about the recently released “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ad, which has had a number of prominent commenters in the Fox News/conservative universe praising Americana star Sweeney’s beauty in the campaign that plays on the tricky jeans/genes homophone.
Critics have dinged the campaign for featuring a conventionally attractive blonde white woman with blue eyes standing in for the prime example of “good jeans,” while both Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump have taken time to praise the ad.
“My political advice to the Democrats is continue to (call) everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi,” Vance recently the Ruthless podcast. Trump similarly praised the spot, writing on his Truth Social platform that Sweeney has the “HOTTEST” ad in the market, adding “Go get ’em Sydney!”
In a follow-up post — after the original one in which he incorrectly spelled the 27-year-old actress’ name as “Sidney” — Trump added, “Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be.” The latter came after several reports over the weekend that Sweeney is a registered Republican in Florida. “Ohhhhh, now I love her ad. Is that right, is Sydney Sweeney?” Trump said during a scrum with reporters on Sunday. “You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. That’s what I wouldn’t have known, but I’m glad you told me that if Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.” To date, Sweeney has not commented on the campaign publicly.
In the midst of the Sweeney jeansgate, on Monday Trump once again used the controversy as an opportunity to diss Taylor Swift, comparing the two women’s politics in an effort to claim that conservative women are more “hot.”
”Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there,” Trump wrote. “It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves. Go get ‘em Sydney!… Just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!),” he added about the singer who supported Trump rival Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. “She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT. The tide has seriously turned — Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 15:41:332025-08-05 15:41:33Lizzo’s Got ‘Good Jeans’ Too in Video Preview of New Soul Rap Tune Mocking Fox News’ Pants Police: ‘F–k Outta My Face’
In 1999, Big Pun and Fat Joe attended WrestleMania 15 in Philadelphia — a night that flipped the First Union Center into a battleground for some of wrestling’s most brutal showdowns. Stone Cold and The Rock clashed in a no-disqualification classic. The Undertaker and Big Boss Man brutalized each other in a Hell in a Cell match.
Pun, an avid wrestling fanatic, reveled in the chaos. And when the camera panned to him during commercial breaks, the husky locomotive struck a mean flex for the fans — the kind of pose that would’ve made Lex Luger beam with pride. Fast forward twenty-six years to SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium this past Saturday (Aug. 2), and Fat Joe found himself in a similar position. With the camera squarely on him, he delivered that very same pose, a tribute to his late brother-in-bars.
“When they put the camera on me [and I started flexing], that was a tribute to Pun,” Joe tells Billboard on Zoom Monday morning. “In that WrestleMania that we went to in Philly, when they put the camera on Pun, he [flexed]. He had the muscles. I did the Ozempic Joe.”
As the WWE continues tightening its grip on hip-hop — especially its legacy acts — the synergy is too hard to ignore. This past Monday Night Raw in Brooklyn, Netflix hosted Method Man, Joe Budden, and Havoc, cementing the bond and how deep the cultural crossover runs.
“It was an incredible vibe, incredible time. I mean, so much fun,” Joe says of his SummerSlam experience. “It’s crazy to see so many guys from my era still support and fill up stadiums. I’m walking through and I’m like, ‘This is my era.’ It was a great time.”
For 009 of Mic Drops and Elbow Drops, Fat Joe reflects on the golden memory of WrestleMania 15, breaks down Jelly Roll’s in-ring debut and recounts the time Hulk Hogan bodyslammed a studio engineer mid-session.
Your first real wrestling moment came at WrestleMania 15 in Philly, when you pulled up with Big Pun. How would you compare that experience to SummerSlam this year?
Everything that I do with Pun is priceless — we ain’t got him here no more. It’s always that. As a wrestling fan since a little kid, you couldn’t have had a better seat. Jelly Roll’s my guy. I was suckered back in. [WWE] got me. I was like, “Come on, Jelly Roll!” He’s family, bro. To see him on the floor getting beat up, I was like, “Aww, man.” I was all back in.
Like you said, you paid tribute to Pun with your pose at SummerSlam. How deep did his love for wrestling run? Was he just as obsessed with it as he was with music?
He loved wrestling. Me as well growing up. I’ll never forget my first WrestleMania. My uncle took me to see it in a tent. They had a tent in Queens. It wasn’t a stadium — it was a tent. My Uncle Willy. We went to watch WrestleMania on a movie screen — like a satellite. It was amazing. Hulk Hogan passed away. Rest in peace Hulkster. My Uncle hit me up like, “Remember I took you the first time to go see Hulk Hogan?” I was like, “Yeah, Unc.” We were definitely big, big wrestling fans growing up. Like practicing the moves, wrestling in the cribs, all that type of stuff.
Is it true Bob Backlund actually put you in a crossface chicken wing back in the day? What’s the backstory there?
Yes! I thought I was gonna actually die. You know, Bob Backlund growing up, he was the first real champion. Bruno Sammartino I think was before him, but Bob Backlund had it for like five years. I’d see Bob Backlund and he was already old. I was like, “Bob Backlund! What up?” I don’t even think he knew I was Fat Joe. He threw me in the joint, where I felt like he could crack my spine. That s–t was crazy, bro.
You had front-row seats to Jelly Roll’s debut match at SummerSlam. From your view, how’d he hold up in the ring and is there any chance we ever see Fat Joe crack someone with a steel chair?
Bro, I can do that, but I can’t do what Jelly did. I was watching. They were both body-slamming him. I’d be down for six months. The check won’t be big enough. I can’t work. I’m worried about Jelly’s being today — today!
You were right there when he went through that table.
I’m standing here. I’m worried about Jelly Roll. The kind of ass-whipping…Man, I’m a big boy. So I know every nook and cranny I was like, “Oh. There goes the elbow. There goes the tendonitis. There goes the knee.” Jelly Roll… look, I’m not trying to hype it, but out of all celebrities — even though Logan Paul is an amazing athlete — the Bad Bunnys, everybody that tried to ever get in the ring, I don’t think nobody has done a better job than Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll being a big boy, the type of s–t they were doing to him, I was like, “Awww.” They kept fighting and he came back. It was amazing and fun.
We’ve seen hip-hop fully collide with WWE this year, with Travis Scott, Cardi B and Metro Boomin all stepping into the spotlight. Why do you think the bond between rap and wrestling is stronger than ever right now?
Everybody’s having fun. Cardi came out when the girls [Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill] was fighting. She was like, “Get up. Get up.” I’m looking at Cardi and she was all in. I don’t know. I think when you go to a wrestling match, you just get suckered in. Everybody loves wrestling, man.
I got a quick Hulk Hogan story. Rest in peace to Hulkster. Hulk Hogan used to be in the studio because his daughter [Brooke] was recording an album. One day, Timbaland’s engineer was talking about wrestling and calling it fake. Hulk Hogan used to hang out in the studio all the time with us. He got familiar with him to where he thought he could talk to him like that. Hulk Hogan happened to be in the studio and body slams the kid on top of the mixing board and called him a Jabroni. We was like, “Yooo.” The kid was a good sport. [Hogan] was like, “Is that fake?” The kid was a good sport. He didn’t sue him or nothing like that. That s–t happened. Hulk Hogan body slammed him.
If you could walk out at WrestleMania with one song from your catalog blaring through the speakers, which track are you choosing and why?
I always pick the obvious: Me and Big Pun, “Twinz (Deep Cover).” That gets me the most hype. I don’t think “My Lifestyle” is PG-13 enough. Some boxers would want me to walk them to “My Lifestyle,” but the boxing [commission] would be like, “It’s too hardcore. It’s too real.” I know wrestling would probably be like, “It’s too real. We can’t do that one.” They’d obviously want me to do “Lean Back” for sure.
Steel Cage match. You and one WWE Superstar — past or present — are going to war as tag-team partners. Who’s rolling with you?
Man, I’d go with the past. I’d go with Andre the Giant. I’d take Andre the Giant with me, because he’s the biggest. You seen your man’s? Jelly Roll’s partner [Randy Orton]? That guy is cocked-diesel. He’s a different type [of dude]. I used to be a fan of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Macho Man Randy Savage and you know, that whole era. That reminds me of hip-hop. That reminds me of Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D — that golden era.
From a rap perspective, who do you think has the charisma, mic skills, and star power to actually make it as a WWE Superstar?
You need somebody like a Tyler, The Creator or a Busta Rhymes. Somebody that’s just a walking movie, ’cause even the managers be over there beefing. The managers be beefing with the commentators and all that. You would need somebody animated, like a Busta Rhymes or Tyler, The Creator. You know Bad Bunny, he’s already shown us how much he loves wrestling.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 15:35:272025-08-05 15:35:27How Fat Joe Channeled the Spirit of Big Pun at WWE SummerSlam 2025: ‘I Did the Ozempic Joe’
Barbra Streisand‘s new album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, consists of 11 collaborations, just about any of which would be a strong entry in the upcoming Grammy competition for best pop duo/group performance. The album includes collaborations with Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Sting, Sam Smith and a three-way collab with Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande. And that’s just for starters.
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Streisand and her featured artists have won a combined 80 Grammys – and that’s not counting honorary awards, such as the lifetime achievement awards that Streisand, McCartney and Dylan each received from the Recording Academy in the 1990s. Streisand and her featured artists have received a head-spinning 333 nominations.
In categories where the artist is a nominee, Grammy rules allow “up to two nominations per artist provided at least one is with a co-nominee(s).” So no more than two of the collaborations can be nominated for best pop duo/group performance.
So, what did Streisand’s team decide to go with? They are entering “One Heart, One Voice,” a collab with Carey and Grande, for record of the year, song of the year and best pop duo/group performance. They’re entering “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” a collab with Hozier that is the opening track on the album, for best arrangement, instruments and vocals.
“I can share that it was a tough decision!,” Jay Landers, Streisand’s long-time A&R advisor, tells Billboard over email. He ticks off these five factors which played into the decision (which he agreed that we could print):
“An abundance of riches: With the exception of two guests, Josh Groban and Hozier, all the other guests are past Grammy recipients. (Josh and Hozier are previous nominees but have yet to win. According to the Grammy website, Josh has five nominations and Hozier has one.)
“Barbra’s picks: Barbra had her personal favorite choices which, of course, we seriously factored into the final selections.
“Track popularity: We did consider this relative popularity based on the number of streams and downloads for individual tracks on Spotify, iTunes, etc.
“ ‘Cannibalization’: The recognition that it’s historically unwise to submit two songs in the same category for fear of splitting the vote. This made the [best pop duo/group performance] category particularly challenging — weighing legacy artists like Dylan, McCartney, Sting, and James Taylor vs. highly regarded ‘newer’ artists like Hozier, Laufey, and Sam Smith for example.
“Current taste: Trying to second-guess what ‘contemporary’ vs. ‘seasoned’ Grammy voters might think — including their taste and ‘demographics’ — was something that crossed my mind but [was] not seriously explored.”
“One Heart, One Voice” features three of the greatest singers of their respective generations: Streisand, 83; Carey, 56; and Grande, 32. In a way, it echoes a three-way collab on The Judy Garland Show in October 1963, when Streisand, then just 22, teamed with Judy Garland, then 41, and Ethel Merman, then 55, to sing Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
Three-way collaborations among female artists are relatively rare, but Grande has been nominated for best pop duo/group performance with two such collabs over the years – “Bang Bang” (with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj) in 2015 and “The Boy Is Mine” (with Brandy and Monica) earlier this year.
Grande won a Grammy in that same category in 2021 for a collab with another female superstar, Lady Gaga, on “Rain on Me.” Streisand won a Grammy in a predecessor category (best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal) in 1981 for “Guilty,” a collab with Barry Gibb. She was also nominated in that category (as well as record of the year) the previous year for “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” a collab with Neil Diamond.
Over the years, Streisand has also been nominated for collaborations with Michael Crawford (“The Music of the Night”), Celine Dion (“Tell Him”) and Bryan Adams (“I Finally Found Someone”).
Carey has yet to win a Grammy for a collab, but she has been nominated for collabs with Trey Lorenz (“I’ll Be There”), Luther Vandross (“Endless Love”), Boyz II Men (“One Sweet Day”), Whitney Houston (“When You Believe), Joe and 98° (“Thank God I Found You”) and Kim Burrell, Rance Allen and BeBe Winans (“I Understand”).
The Secret of Life… will be entered in album of the year, best traditional pop vocal album, best engineered recording (for Jochem van der Saag) and best album notes (for Streisand and Landers).
The album is a likely nominee for best traditional pop vocal album – an award Streisand has yet to win, despite 13 nominations. (Three of her featured artists have won in the category: McCartney won in 2013 for Kisses on the Bottom, Taylor in 2021 for American Standard and Laufey in 2024 for Bewitched.)
If Streisand is nominated for a Grammy this year, she will tie composer John Williams for the longest span of Grammy nominations – 62 years. He received his first nod in 1962 and his three most recent nods in 2024.
If Streisand wins when the 68th annual Grammys are presented on Feb. 1, she would set a new record for the longest span of Grammy wins. Streisand won her first two Grammys in 1964, so a win early next year would give her a 62-year span of Grammys. The current record-holder is Tony Bennett, whose wins spanned 59 years, from 1963 to 2022.
If Streisand wins, it would be her first Grammy win in any category in 39 years, since she won best pop vocal performance, female for The Broadway Album in 1987. That would be an extraordinarily long gap between Grammys for an artist of Streisand’s stature, but she has endured it without complaint.
Walter Afanasieff and Peter Asher teamed to produce the album. Both are past winners of the Grammy for producer of the year, non-classical. Afanasieff (who worked on many hits for Carey) won in 2000. Asher won in both 1978 and 1990.
Afanasieff and William Ross arranged the Hozier duet, which is being entered for best arrangement, instruments and vocals.
Three Streisand recordings have won in that category over the years. Peter Matz won for his arrangement of “People” (1965), Ian Freebairn-Smith for “Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born)” (1978) and David Foster for “Somewhere” (1987).
First-round voting for the 2026 Grammys runs from Oct. 3 to Oct. 15. The nominees will be announced Nov. 7. Final-round voting will be held Dec. 12 through Jan. 5, 2026.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2025-08-05 15:16:302025-08-05 15:16:30Barbra Streisand’s New Album Consists of 11 Collaborations. Here’s What Her Camp Is Entering in the Upcoming Grammy Race
