It’s a one-two punch for Metro Boomin this week as the hitmaking producer takes over at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. The former comes through the No. 1 arrival of “Creepin’,” with The Weeknd and 21 Savage, while the latter’s new champ is “Superhero (Heroes & Villains),” with Future and Chris Brown. Both tracks appear on Metro Boomin’s new album, Heroes & Villains, which likewise debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

“Creepin’, by itself, scores another double play as the song also storms in at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It traces its entrance on the list, which factors streaming, radio airplay and sales into its rankings, mostly to 30.8 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 8, according to Luminate. The sum prompts a No. 1 arrival on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. It also begins at No. 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart with 3,000 downloads sold in the same period and registered 2.3 million in radio airplay.

The new champ also brings a former genre hit back into play. “Creepin’” heavily reworks Mario Winans’ “I Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring P. Diddy and Enya, which reached No. 2 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 2004.

“Creepin’” gives Metro Boomin his first No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. He previously reached a No. 5 best on another 21 Savage collaboration: The pair’s “Runnin” debuted and peaked there in October 2020.

21 Savage, for his part, picks up his fifth Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs leader and third of 2022, after a featured turn on Drake’s “Jimmy Cooks,” a one-week No. 1 in July and “Rich Flex,” with Drake, for the four prior weeks. Thus, as “Creepin’” replaces “Rich Flex,” 21 Savage is the first act to complete a self-replacement at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs since Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” ceded the throne to “Good as Hell” in November 2019.

The Weeknd, meanwhile, adds his seventh career No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. On Hot R&B Songs, though, The Weeknd achieves his 10th leader and extends his record as the artist with the most No. 1s on the list since it launched in 2012. Here’s an updated look at his chart-topping collection on Hot R&B Songs:

“Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey),” 14 weeks at No. 1, beginning April 11, 2015
“Can’t Feel My Face,” 11, July 18, 2015
“The Hills,” 14, Oct. 3, 2015
“Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, 20, Oct. 15, 2016
“Call Out My Name,” one, April 14, 2018
“Heartless,” one, Dec. 14, 2019
“Blinding Lights,” 48, March 7, 2020
“You Right,” with Doja Cat, one, Sept. 4, 2021
“Sacrifice,” one, Jan. 22, 2022
“Creepin’,” with Metro Boomin & 21 Savage, one (to date), Dec. 17, 2022

Both Metro Boomin and 21 Savage each earns his first No. 1 on Hot R&B Songs.

Over on the Hot Rap Songs chart, “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)” begins with 27.4 million official U.S. streams, 1,000 in download sales and 149,000 in radio airplay in the week ending Dec. 8.

In line with the Hot R&B Songs achievements, Metro Boomin acquires his first Hot Rap Songs No. 1. “Runnin,” with 21 Savage, which peaked at No. 5, was his prior best showing.

Future gets his third Hot Rap Songs No. 1, after he and Young Thug’s guest spots on Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” led for two weeks in 2021, and his own “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, a two-week champ earlier this year.

Chris Brown grabs his fifth champ on Hot Rap Songs and returns to the summit for the first time in almost exactly eight years. “Superhero” joins this crew as the latest of Brown’s chart-toppers:

“Shortie Like Mine,” Bow Wow featuring Chris Brown & Johnta Austin, seven weeks at No 1, beginning Dec. 2, 2006
“Look at Me Now,” featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, 10, April 23, 2011
“My Last,” Big Sean featuring Chris Brown, two, July 2, 2011
“Only,” Nicki Minaj featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown, one, Dec. 27, 2014
“Superhero (Heroes & Villians),” with Metro Boomin & Future, one (to date), Dec. 17, 2022

Elsewhere, both songs start in the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, with “Creepin’” arriving at No. 5 and “Superhero” at No. 8. The pair lead all 15 songs from Heroes & Villians onto the chart.

Amazon Music announced Wednesday (Dec. 14) that 21 Savage will perform on the upcoming season finale of Amazon Music Live.

The superstar rapper will take the stage on Dec. 29 for the new series’ final show of the year, which will be hosted as always by 2 Chainz following Amazon’s Thursday Night Football. According to a release, the Grammy winner is expected to perform songs from Her Loss, his new collaborative album with Drake, as well as debut new and unreleased tracks.

Premiering in October on both Prime Video and Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, the inaugural season of the Thursday night concert series has also included performances by — and exclusive interviews with — Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion, Kane Brown, Lil Wayne and Anuel AA. Plus, Anitta is slated to take over for this Thursday’s episode (Dec. 15) ahead of 21 Savage’s finale.

Her Loss debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent four weeks atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart after its release in early November via OVO Sound and Republic Records.

Following his new album with Drake, Savage — who was named an honorable mention in Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Stars of 2022 — also collaborated with Nas on their fiery single “One Mic, One Gun.”

SoundCloud Holdings GmbH and its subsidiaries reported revenue in 2021 of 230.7 million euros ($273 million at the average exchange rate in 2021 of 1.18308), up 19% from the prior year, according to audited financial statements published by the privately held company in Germany on Tuesday (Dec. 13). 

SoundCloud, which originally gained popularity for its embeddable streaming widget, has a unique business model that mixes tools for music creators and listening for fans. Fan revenue — from advertising and subscriptions — improved 16.6% to 143.3 million euros ($170 million), or 62.2% of total revenue, down from 63.5% in 2020. Revenue from subscribers grew 20% year over year and exceeded internal expectations, according to the financial statements. Advertising revenue was in line with expectations, with 12% year-over-year growth. 

Revenues from creator tools grew 23.7% to 87.3 million euros ($103 million) and increased to 37.8% of total revenue, up from 36.5% in 2020. The company attributed the improvement to the number of artists that chose to self-release music through the platform to take advantage of organic growth at major DSPs such as Spotify, as well as improving monetization of platforms such as Meta, TikTok and Twitch. 

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud originally gained popularity through its ubiquitous, embeddable music player. It eventually launched a subscription streaming service, SoundCloud Go, in 2016, but did not rank in the top eight music subscriptions in the second quarter of 2022, according to figures released on Dec. 7 by MIDiA Research. Deezer was the eighth-largest subscription service with 9.5 million subscribers and a 1.5% global share. Spotify had the largest share with 30.5%, equal to 187.8 million subscribers. SoundCloud’s financial statements did not reveal the number of subscribers to its streaming service. 

Unlike its peers, though, SoundCloud has always been a unique destination for artists to connect with listeners. The platform offers SoundCloud Next Pro, a service that allows artists to upload tracks to the platform and distribute them to other streaming services as well as pitch music to SiriusXM, which owns a minority stake in SoundCloud following a $75 million investment in 2020.  A 2019 acquisition of Repost Network, an artist rights management and distribution platform, provides SoundCloud with a subscription product that offers creative services such as promotion and marketing.

In January 2022, SoundCloud added a third business segment, called roster, to connect fans and artists. Roster provides support services for emerging and developing artists. Its launch coincided with the announcement of a joint venture with artist management firm Solid Foundation Management to “identify, invest in, and foster the careers of artists featured.”

Gross profit margin — defined as gross profit as a percent of revenue — improved 12% to 35.4% on the strength of growth in subscriptions. Content costs — mainly royalties paid to record labels, publishers and independent artists — totaled 120.8 million euros ($143 million), up 14.1% from 105.9 million euros ($125 million) in 2020. As a percent of fan revenue, content costs declined to 84.2% from 86.1% in the prior year. 

Despite the improved gross margin, operating loss deepened to 21.1 million euros (-$25 million) from 15.4 million euros (-$18 million) in 2020. SoundCloud increased its marketing spending 69.7% and made “significant investments” in headcount to help “propel the company into its next phase of growth.” Although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created uncertainties and disrupted supply chains, it has had a limited impact on SoundCloud’s financials, as direct business with partners in Russia accounted for only 0.5% of its annual revenues. 

Since the end of the period covered by these financial statements, SoundCloud announced in August its plans to lay off 20% of its workforce due to “a significant company transformation and the challenging and economic and financial environment,” a spokesperson told Billboard at the time. The company had an average of 451 employees in 2021, up from 392 in 2020, with growth spread across its technology, business and operations segments. 

SoundCloud expects slower growth in 2022 due to inflation and other macroeconomic trends that could stifle consumer spending levels. It expects gross profit “to grow slightly” with a similar or higher gross margin as in 2021. Free cash flow from operations is expected to be “slightly negative” in 2022. 

It also believes it has opportunities to find acquisition targets. In April, it acquired Musiio, an artificial intelligence and machine learning company, for approximately $7 million cash and an undisclosed amount of equity, according to the financial release. SoundCloud believes Musiio allows it to “further leverage its vast data to identify what’s next in music trends and talent” and create playlisting tools for the music industry.