Noah Kahan caps the quickest rise to No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart in a decade, topping the tally dated Feb. 28 with “The Great Divide.”

The song leads in its third week, up from No. 3 after debuting at No. 15, wrapping the fastest trip to No. 1 since Mumford & Sons’ “Believe” also needed just three frames in March-April 2015.

Kahan claims his fourth Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1, all earned consecutively, extending a streak that began with “Dial Drunk” in 2023 and continued with “Northern Attitude” and as a featured act alongside The Lumineers on James Bay’s “Up All Night,” both in 2024.

That four-in-a-row run isn’t the longest in the chart’s 30-year history (it’s not even the lengthiest active streak), but the feat is still fairly rare. Kahan becomes one of just five acts to score at least four uninterrupted No. 1s at the format; Counting Crows (2004-08) and Dave Matthews Band (2001-02) also earned four consecutively, while U2 (2001-05) and Hozier (2023-25, a streak still active) share the record with six straight. (Hozier’s streak includes a connection to Kahan, as he was featured on “Northern Attitude.”)

Kahan first appeared on Adult Alternative Airplay in 2018 with “False Confidence,” which rose to No. 8. He reached the ranking six times prior to his first ruler.

Concurrently, “The Great Divide” jumps 9-4 as the Greatest Gainer on Alternative Airplay, where it could become Kahan’s second No. 1, following “Dial Drunk.” On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, the song remains at its No. 2 best with 4.5 million audience impressions, up 11%, in the week ending Feb. 19, according to Luminate.

In addition to its rock radio prowess, “The Great Divide” is growing at pop radio. It rises 28-25 on Adult Pop Airplay and debuts at No. 37 on Pop Airplay.

“The Great Divide” launched at No. 1 on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart dated Feb. 14, becoming Kahan’s first leader. It was No. 2 on the most recently published list, dated Feb. 21, reflecting data totaled Feb. 6-12. In addition to its radio airplay, it drew 12.8 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 in that span.

The Great Divide, Kahan’s fourth studio album, will be released April 24.

All Billboard charts dated Feb. 28 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Feb. 24.

The other day, as I was cleaning out my home office, I found a stack of ticket stubs from late 1980s and early 1990s concerts that I had attended as a teenager. This says more than I would like about my age, as well as the state of my home office. But it also says a lot about the live music business.

The ticket stubs sparked memories. There was the first concert I ever saw, Rush, in spring 1986, on the Power Windows Tour, at the Brendan Byrne Arena. (Imagine a time when venues were named for public figures rather than dubious crypto companies!) From two years later, the first Grateful Dead show I saw, at the same venue, where a friend of mine rapturously told me how amazing it was to see live music under the stars, even though we were indoors. Then, from a month and a half later, my first of many Bruce Springsteen shows, at Madison Square Garden. And from a month and a half after that, my first Bob Dylan concert, at the very beginning of his Never Ending Tour.

Then came the sticker shock: Rush had cost $15.50; the Dead, who I would go on to see about a dozen times between then and 1993, $17.50; Springsteen, then at the peak of his popularity, $22.50. My ticket for the Rolling Stones‘ 1989 Steel Wheels Tour cost $30 — a lot of money for the college kid I was at the time! — and the high prices prompted Rolling Stone magazine to ask in a subhead, “How Much money does the Rolling Stones need?” Oh, my sweet summer child….

The difference is not quite as stark as it seems. Those Rush and Springsteen tickets would now cost about $45, once you consider inflation — the Stones ticket $77. Still, though. The cheapest tickets I could see for Rush’s 2026 tour cost $175 — and prices went up from there. Ticket prices for the upcoming Springsteen tour haven’t been announced, but they will range in price from $75 to $400, according to reports. The other big difference is that, in 1988, as a high school senior, I had a chance of scoring good seats by waiting in line. These days, concerts are priced like airline flights, based on some calculation of demand, with an array of prices for a variety of kinds of status. And this assumes that you can see your favorite artist without paying to travel to Las Vegas, Munich or New York.

These changes in the concert business have been great for promoters and performers. But, as I started thinking when I spoke about the concert business on the Vox podcast “Today, Explained,” they are turning concerts from a regular form of entertainment for young people into an occasional indulgence for superfans or the wealthy. People have become obsessed with the fairness of this, which is a bit silly: Fans wouldn’t pay these prices if they didn’t feel they were worth it, and there are plenty of things not everyone can afford, including, sadly, good health care. But it’s worth asking how the rise in concert prices — both generally and especially at the high end, where some shows involve travel of some kind — will affect the live business, as well as the music business as a whole.

My old ticket stubs show what’s been lost. Concerts were special enough that I saved some of the tickets but affordable enough that I could afford to attend them with the money I made at various teenage jobs. (Including a stint as a clerk at Coconuts.) In 1989, as a college student, I was able to see Elvis Costello, Dylan, at least two Grateful Dead shows, Tom Petty, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel and at least a half dozen shows from which I didn’t save tickets. I paid for all of this myself, although I was able to do so partly because my parents covered other expenses. That wouldn’t be possible today. Traveling to one big festival or show might cost more than all of those shows together.

This is just another example of how the biggest stars dominate the market for live entertainment, and if fans would rather spend money on one big show than a dozen smaller ones, that’s up to them. It’s also making concertgoing a rare treat rather than a regular thing, like live theatre. Behavior always evolves, of course — people used to see movies in theaters all the time, and now it’s usually an occasional thing. But eventually, I think this will make touring harder for acts that aren’t at the peak of their careers, as well as for some venues, although you certainly don’t see it in the numbers now.

The biggest risk is that people just get out of the habit of going to concerts, much as they got out of the habit of seeing films in theaters a few generations ago. The money spent might continue to grow, but a higher share would go to a relatively small number of superstars. Presumably, they will deserve it. But it could be harder for emerging acts to build a dedicated audience or make money on the road. Even superstars could have trouble thriving once they’re past their commercial peak.

Here’s where I’d like to offer some kind of solution to this, but I just don’t have one. It would be naïve to expect the biggest stars to charge less for the vague benefit of the overall business. (That said, I do think it’s worth encouraging artists to keep some tickets inexpensive, so fans can at least get into the arena.) But the idea that teenagers go to concerts with money from summer jobs is a relatively recent one, and it may not last. And that could change the entire music business.

Kelly Clarkson is opening up about her decision to end her acclaimed talk show following the death of her ex-husband, music manager Brandon Blackstock.

While speaking with fellow The Voice coach John Legend on Today on Friday (Feb. 20), the American Idol alum explained that her choice to step away from The Kelly Clarkson Show after seven years — an ending she announced earlier in February — was all about family. “I think everybody probably gets the timing,” she shared. “Our family life, the dynamic changed a bit, and it has changed for a minute now.”

About six months before she put in her notice about the daytime program, Clarkson became the solo parent of her two kids, whom she shared with Blackstock. The late Starstruck Entertainment executive died in August at the age of 48 after a battle with melanoma.

“You got kids, we’ve all got kids, and it’s one of those things when you kind of start seeing life as how precious it is,” Clarkson continued on Today. “I was like, ‘I know everybody thinks she’s, like, quitting.’ I’m like, ‘I still have other jobs, so I’m still doing stuff.’ There’s just too much on the plate, so I was like, ‘You know what? It’s time to pull back.’”

“That was a really hard thing for me,” she added, praising the staff and crew she worked with on The Kelly Clarkson Show, “but an easy decision as a mama.”

The Grammy winner’s Daytime Emmy-winning show launched in 2019 and is now on its seventh season. After this current installment wraps in the fall, Clarkson will step away, but she’ll continue with other less time-consuming projects as she focuses on parenting her children.

“This was not an easy decision,” she explained in a Feb. 2 statement on Instagram when she first announced the show’s end. “Stepping away from the daily schedule will allow me to prioritize my kids, which feels necessary and right for this next chapter of our lives. This isn’t goodbye. I’ll still be making music, playing shows here and there and you may catch me on The Voice from time to time … you never know where I might show up next.”

The next season of The Voice — on which Clarkson has appeared on and off since 2018 — premieres on Monday (Feb. 23), featuring Adam Levine and Legend as coaches. The American Idol alum last dropped an album in 2023, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with Chemistry.

Watch Clarkson’s appearance on the Today show above.

Virgin Music Group has officially completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, and as part of the deal has appointed Downtown’s CEO Pieter van Rijn as chief operating officer of VMG. The move reshapes the independent music‑services landscape and advances VMG’s goal of building a global, end‑to‑end platform for artists, labels and rights holders.

Based in Amsterdam, van Rijn will report to co‑CEOs Nat Pastor and JT Myers and oversee worldwide operations, technology, product development and strategic integration across the combined companies.

Van Rijn’s career has spanned leadership roles across distribution, publishing administration, neighboring rights and sync. As former CEO of FUGA, he oversaw major expansion, growing the company into a full‑service label‑services platform operating across more than 50 countries.

The deal closes one week after the European Commission approved VMG and Universal Music’s $775 million acquisition of Downtown following a two‑phase competition review. Regulators focused heavily on data‑access risks surrounding Curve Royalty Systems, Downtown’s rights‑management and accounting platform that holds sensitive information for rival labels. To receive approval, UMG agreed to divest Curve entirely, with Curve operating independently until the sale is complete. Beyond Curve, the commission determined that the merger would not significantly reduce competition given the number of alternative service providers and moderate combined market share.

Virgin/UMG first announced plans to acquire Downtown in late 2024, aiming to unify Downtown’s multi-disciplined services — including FUGA, CD Baby, Songtrust and Downtown Artist & Label Services — with VMG’s global distribution, neighboring rights, sync and marketing capabilities. Downtown, founded in 2007 by Justin Kalifowitz, serves more than 5,000 clients and over four million creators worldwide.

The acquisition also marks the exit of Kalifowitz, who confirmed his departure in a public letter reflecting on nearly two decades at the helm. Kalifowitz said Downtown was built during a time when the industry was in “freefall,” but grew by betting on “more music, more entrepreneurs, more global participation.” He emphasized that Downtown’s legacy is not its deals or catalog, but its people, writing: “Service beats control. Infrastructure beats trend‑chasing. Culture beats hierarchy.” Kalifowitz added that he steps away “proud of what we’ve built” and expressed confidence in van Rijn and the Virgin leadership: “Companies evolve. Markets shift. Strong cultures endure.”

In addition, Downtown’s former chairman Andrew Bergman will shift into a senior advisory role.

Executives from both companies framed the acquisition as a long‑term investment in the independent sector.  Pastor called van Rijn’s appointment proof of VMG’s commitment to “thoughtfully and strategically” merging the organizations. Van Rijn emphasized that the “combination enhances the choice, service and global reach available to the independent community,” also pledging that they’ll “strengthen what makes both companies special and deliver even greater value to the entrepreneurs we serve.” Myers credited Downtown’s leadership for building an “organization defined by its powerful belief in independent creators.”