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Looking to save money this Presidents’ Day? The holiday weekend gives you plenty of time to score discounts on items that you may have been eyeing for months.

To make finding all the good deals easier, we collected a list of over a dozen of the best sales that you can shop online — or pick-up in store, in some cases. You’ll find markdowns on clothing, shoes, beauty, mattresses, sheets and more. And if you’re more of a techie than a fashionista, headphones and earbuds, speakers, sound systems and much more are on sale at places like Walmart, Amazon, Sony, Coach, Adidas, Lululemon and other major retailers.

See below for a roundup of the best sales to shop over Presidents’ Day weekend.

Tech Deals

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Bose SoundLink Flex II Wireless Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker

$129 $149 13% off

Buy Now at walmart

A pill-shaped speaker with a multitude of colors.


Starting with something basic but dependable, Bose Soundlink Flex is a good choice in portable speaker option, if you’re looking for a no frills, Bluetooth speaker that you can carry around. Bose has a nice selection of speakers in stock – the cheapest of which is the Bose Soundlink Micro ($119). The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is a bit pricier ($399), while the Soundlink Flex falls on the more affordable side of the price scale.

The Soundlink Flex is engineered with a custom transducer that’s designed to flood the room with powerful sound. Available in black, red, white or blue, the speaker’s rugged exterior makes it easy to take on the go, and with up to 12 hours of battery life, you can play tons of songs before it’s time to recharge. The accompanying utility loop is perfect for hanging the speaker on a clip or carrying it around (the Bluetooth range stretches up to 30 feet). The Soundlink Flex is also IP67 certified waterproof and dust-proof.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Beats Studio Buds

$99.95 $169.95 41% off

Buy Now On Amazon

These Beats Studio Buds are on sale for 41% off. The style is compact and offers larger-than-life sound, despite its size.


Rapper and producer Dr. Dre created Beats back in 2006. When an audio tech brand is founded by a musician, you know the product is bound to be good. ShopBillboard loves Beats’ Studio Buds, a compact and easy-to-use pair of earbuds that come in a charging carrying case. These buds have active noise cancellation and immersive audio that lets you focus on music and calls without distraction. We really love this model because it is so compact with its accompanying carrying case that can be popped into a back pocket or purse without fear of losing it.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Sony WH-1000XM4 Premium Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones

$199.99 $349.99 43% off

Buy Now at sony

Sony’s WH-1000XM4 Premium Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones are currently 43% off, now just $199.99. The style has 30 hours of battery life, active ANC and intuitive touch controls for ease of use.


Sony has a slew of great audio tech that we ShopBillboard folks love. The Sony WH-1000XM4 Premium Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones are our favorite for ANC, or active noise cancelling, tuning out the world and letting you get back to the music. These headphones also have 30 hours of battery life and come in a stylish and non-complicated design with ample colors to choose from. Speaking of futuristic, these headphones also have touch controls that come in handy if you don’t want to get out your phone to change the volume, take calls, or pause a song.

Best Presidents' Day Deals

Sonos Ace Headphones

$319 $399 20% off

Buy Now at Walmart

These Sono Ace Headphones are now 20% off. The style has active ANC, 30 hours of battery life and spatial audio for a more immersive experience.


Sonos is best known for its over-the-ear headphones. While styles from the brand can be extremely expensive, your best bet to snag headphones for yourself is to get them during sales, like Presidents’ Day. The Ace model is currently 20% off, a beloved headphone style that features active noise cancellation to block external sounds, 30 hour battery life and a plush and comfortable fit on the head so you can wear them for hours on end. Our favorite facet of these headphones is the spatial audio, which creates an immersive, three-dimensional soundscape that makes audio feel like it’s coming from all directions.

Best Presidents' Day Deals

Udreamer Record Player

$45.99 $100.99 54% off

Buy Now at Walmart

This record player is portable, features Bluetooth compatibility and has easy-to-use controls to adjust sound. The style is just $45.99 at Walmart now.


This one’s for our music nerds who prefer the sound of music spun on a record player. This Udreamer Record Player from Walmart is a great standard model and is currently just $45.99. The player has Bluetooth functionality, built-in speakers with a bigger sound and comes nestled in a portable case. If you’re not happy with the sound, you can fix pitch control and the cueing lever for precise audio adjustments on the fly. If you know someone who’s looking to get into record players, this Udreamer model is excellent for beginners because of how intuitive the design is.

Best Presidents' Day Deals

Sony SRS-XG300 Bluetooth Party Speaker

$278.60 $349 20% off

Buy Now at Walmart

This Sony speaker delivers crisp, quality sound and a killer LED light show. It also comes with a handle, so it’s easy to carry around.


If you want to get a party going, you’ll want to secure a speaker with big sound that will last you jam sesh after jam sesh. The Sony SRS-XG300 Bluetooth Party Speaker is a reliable model on sale for 20% off. The speaker features speakers on both ends that deliver power, clarity and distortion-free audio, all accompanied by LED lights. The speaker lasts up to 25 hours of playtime and is water and dustproof. If all that wasn’t enough, the Sony product is equipped with a handle for portability.

Best Presidents' Day Deals

VIZIO 5.1 Soundbar SE

$187 $228 18% off

Buy Now at Walmart

This soundbar comes with two surround sound speakers and a wireless subwoofer for more powerful 360 sound. The tech is on sale for $187.


Looking for immersive audio that you can feel while watching movies or playing music on your TV? You’ll likely need a soundbar like this one from Walmart. The VIZIO 5.1 Soundbar SE is 18% off and features 360-degree immersive surround sound that rivals something you’d hear at the theaters. The soundbar comes with two surround speakers and a compact wireless subwoofer that delivers powerful sound, all for just $187.

Fashion Deals

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Lululemon Align™ High-Rise Pant

These Align leggings from Lululemon are currently 24% off. The style has no ample seams, so they fit like a second skin.


No style of leggings is more popular than Lululemon’s Align High-Rise silhouette. Olivia Rodrigo and Hailey Bieber have been known to wear these leggings from time to time while out grabbing coffee or hitting the gym. The reason? These leggings are made of a breathable material with no hefty seams, so they fit like a second skin. The Align style also comes in a multitude of colors and prints, beyond this spring-ready lavender hue, that are also on sale now.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Adidas Adizero SL2 Shoes

$65 $130 50% off

Buy Now at adidas

Adidas has a ton of running shoes on sale, like these Adizero SL2 shoes. This style is 50% off and comes in black and white with a springy outsole.


Adidas’ running shoes are springy and come in a ton of stylish models. The Adizero SL2 Shoe is the epitome of style and bounce and is available right now for $65, 50% off the OG price. The black and white model features ample outsoles that are thick and buoyant, giving runners a spring in their step. Beyond the performance, this shoe is also very versatile because of its monochrome coloring. Sizing is currently available from six to 10.5. 

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Kate Spade Carter Ksnyl Cargo Crossbody Bag

$99 $299 67% off

Buy Now at kate spade

This bag is made of nylon and comes in five different colorways. The bag and its other colorways are currently 67% off.


Designer bags are hard to come by on sale, but Kate Spade is always the exception. The brand has a ton of styles on sale right now for up to 70% off. The Carter Ksnyl Cargo Crossbody Bag is 67% off and is a shoulder style with ample room, something you don’t see often. The bag is made of nylon and comes in five colorways, some more intense than others. The bag has two pockets on the front for extra storage. This could be an everyday bag for people who like smaller bags because of how much extra room this bag has.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Fiona Zip Tote Bag In Signature Canvas

$89.40 $298 70% off

Buy Now at coach

This tote bag features Coach branding throughout. The bag is a spacious everyday bag for $89.40.


Looking for an everyday bag to take to the gym, to work, or for grocery shopping? Well, you’ll need something durable, spacious and cute like this tote from Coach. The shoulder style features Coach branding throughout and a branded hang-tag, per usual. The straps sit at 9.5 inches, while the bag is deep and wide enough that it can hold everyday essentials, including books or a laptop.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

VintageSoft Oversized Crop Logo Hoodie

$63 $79.95 21% off

Buy Now at gap

This vintage-inspired Gap hoodie is on sale for 21% off. The hoodie is cropped and comes in this to die for butter yellow hue.


Gap is having a major sale on almost all of its sweats and hoodies, some of the most comfortable around. This hoodie is just as stylish as the rest, and it’s currently 21% off. The butter yellow silhouette is oversized but cropped, sat just below the navel for a stylish fit that combats the bulkiness up top. Sizing is available from XXS to XL.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Abercrombie & Fitch High Rise 90s Relaxed Jean

These high-waisted jeans are currently on sale for 63% off and come in this versatile light wash. The denim is your everyday pair with a comfortable, baggy fit and ample pockets.


Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez and even Bella Hadid are big fans of baggy denim. The style is casual, effortless and, most importantly, comfortable. This pair from Abercrombie & Fitch retails for $32.97, 63% off the OG price. The denim is light-wash and high-waisted, a quintessential pair of denim that you can wear over and over again without getting sick of them. These aren’t baggy like a barrel jean. The silhouette is more like an early 2000s style, but with a high waist to keep you secure.

Beauty Deals

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Wavytalk Hair Dryer with Diffuser

$33.21 $49.99 34% off

Buy Now On Amazon

The Wavytalk is a hair dryer that is best known for its anti-frizz capabilities. The dryer also comes with three interchangeable heads to create unique looks.


If you struggle to do your hair, or you’re picky about the way your locks should look, the Wavytalk is a great investment. On sale for 34% off, that’s just $33.21, this hair dryer is best known for its anti-frizz drying and comes with an easy on-off switch and three interchangeable heads that are tailored to create specific looks. Want to define your curls? Use the diffuser attachment. Looking to volumize while you dry? Try the concentrated nozzle. 

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Pat McGrath Labs Dramatique Major Icons Lip Duo Set

$24 $40 40% off

Buy Now at nordstrom

This is a lip crayon duo from legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath. The crayon duo is currently 40% off and comes with a neutral hue and a universally flattering red.


If you don’t know who Pat McGrath is, in short, she’s the mother of makeup. The artist created her own brand after working backstage at some of the most famed fashion shows, and her namesake line has become a smashing success. This Dramatique Major Icons Lip Duo Set is one of McGrath’s most useful duos, coming with neutral and bold red lip crayons that glide on with tons of pigment. These crayons can be tossed in your bag for a quick touch-up when you want a little something on your lips.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

PURSONIC LED Light Therapy Face Mask

$69.99 $169.99 59% off

Buy Now at nordstrom

LED masks like this one from PURSONIC are meant to reduce inflammation, target fine lines and even your skin tone. This product is currently on sale at Nordstrom for $69.99. 


LED or Red Light Therapy has become all the rage as of late. The beauty technique is said to stimulate mitochondrial function in cells, thus improving circulation and reducing inflammation, which includes acne and redness. Instead of going to a spa to get this technique done, brands like PURSONIC are bringing the pamper session to your home. This LED mask is currently 59% off. The mask has seven different LED light modes and targets fine lines, acne and skin tone, as mentioned above.

Misc.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Stanley Quencher ProTour Flip Straw Tumbler 30 oz

$26.00 $40.00 35% off

Buy Now On Amazon

Stanley’s Quencher is currently 35% off in this pretty pink color. The tumbler comes with a leak-proof lid and a straw for easy sipping.


Stanley is another super-popular brand that we’ve seen everyone from Adele to Olivia Rodrigo using on occasion. The tumbler is available for 35% off on Amazon in a pretty pink hue. The style chosen is 30oz, but this tumbler can hold as much as 40oz and as little as 14oz. The lid is leak-proof, while the base is made to fit in compact spaces like a cup holder. You also get a straw for easy sipping. Tumblers like these are insulated, meaning they keep your beverage your desired temperature for up to nine hours.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Sleep Number P5 mattress

$2,648 $3,148 16% off

Buy Now at sleep number

This mattress offers the sleeper support, pressure relief and a cooling effect. The styles is currently 16% off.


Mattresses are a common Presidents’ Day purchase because they tend to go on super-sale for the holiday. In honor of the tradition, Sleep Number is having a major sale, up to 50% off, on their most plush and cozy styles. Our choice? The P5 Mattress, currently 16% off. This style is cooling, for our sweaty sleepers, supports areas of tension and offers sleepers pressure relief. If you’re really picky, the settings of your mattress can be controlled through an app.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Ribbed Matelasse Duvet Cover Full/Queen

$119.52 $249 52% off

Buy Now at brooklinen

This is a ribbed queen/full duvet cover from Brooklinen. The piece is made of 100% cotton and features a lovely blue hue.


To go along with your brand new mattress, we’ve included this duvet cover from Brooklinen, now 52% off. The bright blue duvet comes in sizes full/queen and king/cali king. The cover features a ribbed texture and is made of 200 thread count 100% cotton for a breathable and comfortable experience while dozing. The Storm colorway is a standout that acts like an accent piece when arranged on any old bed.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat

$159.99 $239.99 33% off

Buy Now at nordstrom

This foot massager is less money than a trip to the spa and it comes with a built-in warmer. The shiatsu machine is also curretnly 33% off.


This Miko Shiatsu Foot Massager Machine is bound to save your wife tons of trips to the spa, giving her the power to destress in the comfort of her own home. The massager currently retails for $159.99, down from $239.99, and features a heated element that warms the soles of the feet while massaging stress and tension away.

The Best Presidents' Day Deals We Found In 2026 - Save Up to 70% Off

Walking Pad Treadmill for Home

$89.99 $149.99 40% off

Buy Now On Amazon

This walking pad/treadmill makes getting your steps in or exercise for the day more accessible than ever. The tech is currently 40% off and takes little to no effort to set up.


At-home treadmills and walking pads have gone super viral within the last few years because they make working out or getting your steps in fairly easy. This model is available for 40% off and is small enough to fit beneath a desk or in the corner of a room. The surface is non-slip and shock-absorbing. A remote control is also included to control the speed and incline of your treadmill.

From A-Z: The Best Presidents’ Day Deals You Should Know

Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox dealsstudio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

Call her Professor Siwa. On Thursday (Feb. 12), JoJo Siwa revealed that she recently spoke to a class of Harvard Business School students, which she said “might be the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”

Sharing photos of herself posing on the Harvard campus on Instagram, the dancer shared that she’d had “the incredible honor” of giving a speech with her partners at gut health company Belli Welli to a classroom “full of brilliant minds, passionate entrepreneurs, and future changemakers was truly unforgettable.”

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“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to do this,” Siwa continued. “What a dream. Moments like this remind me why I love what I do and how important it is to keep showing up, keep learning, and to just keep going.”

“Thank you to everyone who made this possible,” she added. “To say I spoke at Harvard might be the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know if it can get much better than this.”

Belli Welli also shared a video of JoJo sitting in the Harvard classroom and writing on the chalkboard.

The Ivy League visit comes after a health scare Siwa experienced toward the end of 2025. Ahead of a scheduled concert in Minnesota, the Dance Moms alum had a cyst rupture in her stomach, forcing her to go to the hospital.

She appears to be feeling much better now, though. Prior to her Harvard side quest, she shared photos of herself and her boyfriend, Big Brother costar Chris Hughes, cozying up on a trip to Palm Springs. She last dropped music in November, releasing “Message to the World (Little Drummer Girl)” — which followed October’s “Waste of a Heartbreak.”

See Siwa visit Harvard Business School below.


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ASCAP hosted its annual meeting, as part of the day-long ASCAP Experience, on Thursday (Feb. 12) at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. There, Elizabeth Matthews, CEO of ASCAP, revealed record-breaking revenue and royalty distributions for 2025. “We have a lot of good news to share,” said Matthews in her opening remarks. “I know you all are bombarded with a lot of bad news in the press. I know you’re stressed, but this should make you feel hopeful.”

Matthews then provided a breakdown of key financial figures for ASCAP’s 2025 calendar year. Those figures are listed below:

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  • $1.945 billion in revenue (up $110 million, or 6%, from 2024)
  • $1.759 billion in available royalty distributions (up $63 million, or 3.7%, from 2024)
  • $1.471 billion in domestic revenue from U.S.-licensed performances (up $74 million, or 5.3%, year-over-year)
  • $474 million in collections from foreign revenue (up $36 million, or 8.2%, from 2024)

Notably, 2025 marked the final year of ASCAP’s strategic growth plan, launched in 2015, to increase revenue and collections for its membership. Since then, ASCAP says it has generated a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% for total revenue and a CAGR of 7.3% for total distributions.

Another bright spot in her presentation: Matthews noted that ASCAP achieved the “highest rate ever paid from radio” this year due to an August 2025 settlement between the PRO and the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) — an organization representing thousands of radio stations — that affirmed higher royalty rates for writers.

Matthews’ speech also noted ASCAP’s work on Capitol Hill to advocate for songwriters, especially in the wake of artificial intelligence and new challenges to copyright law.

“We also know it’s critically important for us to protect songwriters — and what we mean by that is because we know you, as songwriters and composers, are generally in the studio. You’re working on your craft of music. We don’t want you to have to worry about what’s going on with copyright. That’s on us. We got your back,” said Matthews.

The U.S. PRO claims it operates without debt and boasts the lowest overhead rate of any performing rights organization in the U.S. at 10%, meaning 90 cents of every dollar earned is paid back to rights holders. Matthews also pointed out that ASCAP is the only U.S. PRO that is not owned by private equity or outside investors. Instead, it appoints songwriter peers, like ASCAP president and chairman Paul Williams, to lead the organization with songwriters’ interests in mind.

In the last year, ASCAP has added several new hit-making members. They include EJAE, Rosé, The 1975, Lola Young, Myles Smith, Johnny Marr, Boy George, Michael Pollack, Tyler Johnson, Robin Carolan and Daniel Blumberg.

Later in the presentation, ASCAP executives awarded Adam Sandler the ASCAP Founders Award for his “genius” approach to comedy and songwriting and also revealed that the PRO is creating a new healthcare offering for members. This service will include discounted health and well-being benefits, including virtual appointments with clinicians for mental health, dermatology and 24/7 urgent care concerns. It was created in collaboration with MD Live by Evernorth, a virtual healthcare provider.


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Taylor Swift is congratulating Olympic skier Breezy Johnson on getting engaged to Connor Watkins after playing a small part in the couple’s love story.

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On Thursday (Feb. 12), the pop superstar commented a sweet message on the athlete’s engagement announcement on Instagram, which featured a photo of Watkins proposing to Johnson at the finish line of the 2026 women’s Super-G race. The gold medalist also included a snap of her new engagement band and its wooden ring box, on which her new fiancé had a line from Swift’s song “The Alchemy” — “Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?” — engraved.

The 14-time Grammy winner matched the vibe by quoting more lyrics from the Tortured Poets Department track in the replies. “’Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me,’” Swift wrote. “CONGRATULATIONS!!!”

The women’s downhill competition took place on Feb. 8 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy as part of the ongoing 2026 Winter Games. Johnson took home the gold for Team USA, after which she wrote in her engagement post, “Hey guys… meet Connor! My ex boyfriend! And current fiancé!!! Thank you to everyone who made this moment possible. It was everything I ever dreamed of. Kind of like Connor!”

Swift — who, of course, is also an engaged woman, with fiancé Travis Kelce popping the question this past August — is a documented fan of the Olympics. Earlier in February, a video she filmed of herself wishing the athletes luck aired during NBC’s opening ceremony for the Games.

“Getting to learn your stories, and seeing everything you sacrificed and all your determination and hard work and passion … it’s just really inspiring,” she said in the video. “I am very grateful for everything you’ve done to get to this point in your life and grateful that you’ve brought all of us along on this journey.”


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Cardi B jokingly threatened to “jump” ICE agents if they popped out at her Little Miss Drama Tour shows, and the Department of Homeland Security responded to the Grammy-winning rapper on X on Thursday (Feb. 12).

“As long as she doesn’t drug and rob our agents, we’ll consider that an improvement over her past behavior,” the DHS wrote.

Cardi B kicked off her Little Miss Drama Tour at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Wednesday (Feb. 11), which saw her condemn United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement after giving a Selena impression to fire up the Latinos in the crowd.

“B—h! If ICE comes in here, we gon’ jump they a—es,” she said, which drew applause. “I’ve got some bear mace in the back! They ain’t taking my fans, b—h.”

Cardi B fired back on Thursday afternoon, bringing up the files surrounding serial rapist and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019.

“If we talking about drugs let’s talk about Epstein and friends drugging underage girls to rape them,” she clapped back on X. “Why yall don’t wanna talk about the Epstein files?”

Homeland Security’s jab at Cardi calls back to her stripper past, which saw her admit to drugging and robbing clients when she worked as a dancer in the 2010s.

In March 2019, Cardi released a statement addressing the backlash. The Billboard Hot 100-topping artist opened up about her past practices as a stripper to make a living, which came from a resurfaced 2016 video that was going viral at the time, featuring the Bronx native’s admissions.

“I had to go strip, I had to go, ‘Oh yeah, you want to f—k me? Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s go back to this hotel,’ and I drugged n—as up, and I robbed them. That’s what I used to do,” she admitted.

With fans expressing their dismay, Cardi attempted to clarify the viral clip on social media. “So I’m seeing on social media that a live I did 3 years ago has popped back up,” she wrote in 2019. “A live where I talked about things I had to do in my past right or wrong that I felt I needed to do make a living… I never claim to be perfect or come from a perfect world wit a perfect past I always speak my truth — I always own my s—t.”

The “WAP” rapper returns to the stage this weekend when she brings the Little Miss Drama Tour to Las Vegas on Friday night (Feb. 13) and Los Angeles on Sunday (Feb. 15).

Big Machine Label Group CEO/founder Scott Borchetta is departing HYBE America five years after HYBE’s purchase of Ithaca Holdings in 2021. Ithaca Holdings purchased Big Machine Label Group in 2019 for an estimated $300 million, in a deal that also included Taylor Swift’s masters.

HYBE will retain assets of Big Machine Label Group, including distribution, the publishing company Big Machine Music and a number of talent currently on the label’s roster including Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Midland, Justin Moore, Carly Pearce, Preston Cooper, Jackson Dean and Mae Estes. It is expected to announce a new label name and leadership in coming days.

Borchetta, who founded Big Machine Label Group in 2005, has reacquired the Big Machine Records brand and is expected to relaunch the label.

“Scott has made a lasting mark on the music industry with his sharp eye for talent and his unique vision,” said Isaac Lee, chairman/CEO of HYBE AMERICA in a statement.  “He recently approached us to ask for our support as he works to pursue a new, independent and entrepreneurial stage of his career, working to advance the Big Machine brand separately from HYBE. While we are sad to see Scott go, we understand – and want him to pursue his passions and are grateful for all he did for the company… HYBE AMERICA will continue to support our artists’ interests across music, film, television, brands and culture in the U.S. market and beyond,” said Lee. “We are beyond excited for our future in Nashville and will make further announcements in due course.”

“I am incredibly appreciative of my partnership with HYBE over these last five years,” Borchetta added. “[HYBE’s] Chairman Bang often talks of his fondness for entrepreneurs and he, Isaac, and the HYBE leadership team have extended that belief with this incredible showing of support by allowing me to continue to build upon my vision of the Big Machine Records brand. For that, I am forever grateful and wish them nothing but continued and incredible global success.”

Jasmine “Jazz” Young, a former Def Jam executive and now director of the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University, has launched VRTEXX, a new global record label.

According to a press release, VRTEXX will be dedicated to discovering, developing and exporting artists from West Africa and the diaspora to international markets. The label will be distributed by Warner Music Group’s global distributor ADA.

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Named a Billboard Global Power Player last year, Young has worked with artists including Jay-Z, DMX, Foxy Brown and Run-DMC over the course of her career. Also in 2025, under her leadership, the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business was named one of Billboard‘s top music business schools in the world for the fourth year running.

In 2024, Young launched the West Africa Music & Arts Festival (WAMA Fest) in Accra, Ghana, in partnership with the country’s government. The VRTEXX roster will make its debut with live performances at the festival’s next installment.

“VRTEXX represents the future, a label, media, and entertainment company built on innovation, culture, and connection,” said Young in a statement. “We’re not just signing artists; we’re building legacies that will span continents and generations. This is the manifestation of decades of purpose and passion.”

“This is a full-circle moment for the culture. Jazz has always been ahead of her time — and VRTEXX is proof,” added Julian Petty, executive vp and head of business/legal affairs at Warner Records, in a statement. “What she’s about to do with this label will redefine the global music industry.”

“Jazz Young is one of the most visionary leaders in our industry, her ability to identify, nurture, and elevate talent is truly unmatched,” said Karibu Bello, former head of A&R EMEA/vp of global A&R at Warner Recorded Music. “What excites me most about this partnership is her deep commitment to bridging culture and commerce in a way that not only amplifies African voices but also creates sustainable pathways for creatives to monetize their art in powerful, authentic ways. VRTEXX represents a new chapter for global music, one where the future is diverse, connected, and full of possibility. Welcome VRTEXX….. I have no doubt that under Jazz’s leadership, this imprint will redefine how the world hears and experiences music from Africa and beyond.”

Added Adriana Sein, global head of artist & market development at ADA, “Jazz brings strong creative instincts and a clear vision to everything she does. ADA looks forward to supporting her next chapter with VRTEXX while championing new talent on the global stage.”

VRTEXX is now accepting artist submissions at WWW.VRTEXX.COM and @THEVRTEXX.


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Gorillaz are set to make their Saturday Night Live debut next month on the March 7 episode hosted by Ryan Gosling, NBC announce Thursday (Feb. 12).

The Damon Albarn-fronted animated band formed in 1998 but has never performed on SNL before. Gorillaz are set to release their ninth studio album, The Mountain, on Feb. 27. Five songs have already been released from the project, including the Jan. 15 drop “The Hardest Thing” / “Orange County.”

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Gosling, however, is an SNL vet: The actor is returning for his fourth time as host, with stints in 2015, 2017 and 2024. He’ll be promoting his new sci-fi movie Project Hail Mary, which hits theaters on March 20. Gosling made his Billboard Hot 100 debut back in 2023 when “I’m Just Ken,” from the Barbie movie, peaked at No. 87.

Thursday’s announcement also revealed that there will be a March 14 episode, though the host and musical guest have yet to be announced.

The next Saturday Night Live episode is set for Feb. 28 with previously announced host Connor Storrie, one of the breakthrough lead actors from HBO’s Heated Rivalry, and musical guest Mumford & Sons, whose sixth studio album Prizefighter is due Feb. 20. Storrie will make his SNL debut, while Mumford have previously played on the show three times before. The British band first performed on SNL in September 2012 and were also musical guests in 2015 and 2018.

Saturday Night Live airs at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and streams on Peacock. (See all the options to watch SNL here.)

“Back in 2005, I used to only [write], maybe, 15-16 songs in a year,” says Ryan Tedder — member of OneRepublic, songwriter, producer and founder of Runner Music. “My batting average was like three out of five, which was all you needed… Now, I do probably, honestly, 7-10 a week to achieve not even the same level of hits that I had 10 years ago.”

On the season 1 finale of Billboard’s music business podcast On the Record w/ Kristin Robinson, Tedder and NMPA president and CEO, David Israelite, join the show to talk about the challenges facing songwriters today — from the decline of radio, the fall of album sales and the rise of larger writing rooms — leading songwriting talents like Tedder to make up for these challenges by upping their output.

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The two guests offer separate vantage points on what’s happening to the profession. Tedder has experienced the shift firsthand as a working songwriter and producer for the past two decades: During his career, he’s penned hits like “Halo” by Beyoncé, “greedy” by Tate McRae, “Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift and “Turning Tables” by Adele, along with hit songs for his band OneRepublic. Meanwhile, Israelite, at the helm of the NMPA, offers his deep understanding of how songwriter income works and how the profession has been undercut over time. His organization plays a key role in advocating for better publishing royalty rates, specifically at the Copyright Royalty Board, and has helped usher in key legislation like the Music Modernization Act (MMA) to support the music industry through technological change.

You can watch the full episode below, or find it on SpotifyYouTube and Apple Podcasts.

To get started, I’d like to compare and contrast how songwriting used to be. Take me back to the mid-20th century in the heyday of Carole King and the Brill Building system. How does that compare to today’s songwriting business?

Israelite: It’s a completely different industry today than it used to be, which is why it’s so challenging to be a songwriter today. The rules are different…the way the economics work is different. One of the biggest changes is that it used to be that you could be a songwriter that got a song on an album. If the album were successful, you were going to be successful. It didn’t matter whether or not the one song you may have contributed was the hit song from the album, because the economics were all tied into the idea that people bought albums. So getting cuts was a very big goal of songwriters for artists that were going to sell big albums. Today, those economics are completely different. It’s now about singles and about hits, and so getting an album cut can mean nothing, because you’re really talking about a streaming economy where it’s about the individual hits that people listen to. So I think that’s one of the biggest changes for songwriters, is that they have to be hit writers.

Tedder: The difference between now and then is then, you used to be able to show up every day to write, knowing there was a high chance of what you were doing that week, that day would land on an album. And to David’s point, make a meaningful income. Now, you might have to write five to 10 times the volume of songs with zero hope or guarantee that it will earn anything.

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One of the changes in the music business that is seen as a positive is that the barriers to entry, the gatekeepers, are now mostly gone. Anyone can make it. How did the opening of those floodgates in music impact songwriting as a profession?

Tedder: The barrier to entry now is decent Wi-Fi…Anytime you remove barriers to entry in any field, right, in any business, if you remove the barriers to entry, I think chaos reigns until you figure it out…[Back in the day], there was a relationship between mass media and the music industry. It was a beautiful marriage that lasted about 80, 90 years. It was very simple: you did four to five years of development, you got your record deal, you wrote a hit and now we put all our muscle as a record label behind you. We’re going to book you on The Today Show, Tonight Show, The Voice finale, and if you had a record and you did those three things, there was a [huge] chance that you had a hit….[Now, creating a hit song] is a lottery ticket, and winning the lottery isn’t a business plan. It’s not sustainable.

It’s clear that the number of songwriters on hit songs has increased a lot over the last few decades, but to me, it feels like that’s not the only problem. There are also folks that would typically be seen more as artists who also cut into the songwriter’s income. How big of a problem is this today?

Israelite: It’s a huge problem, and you have to understand the sources because there are two different issues at play. The first is that artists always want to be thought of as songwriters…So there is a pressure for artists to take credit for songwriting, even if they didn’t do that, in part because of their own ego or because they think it helps with their connection with fans.

But there’s a completely separate reason, which is that the economics of music and of the music industry has put a greater focus on trying to get some of that publishing money. Because…streaming pays less — there are more people now sharing in that money, including streaming services themselves, which didn’t used to be part of the equation when you sold albums — so artists often look at publishing as a way to supplement their revenue.

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And if you’re a writer, it’s a really tough place to be, because you are given a choice of, you can have maybe a very famous artist record your song. That’s a pretty good guarantee that you’ll make some money from your song if a more famous artist records it. But do you want to give up ownership of that, especially if it wasn’t earned? And it’s very difficult to speak out about the practice, because you complain about it, you’ll never write with that artist again, and maybe other artists won’t want to write with you. Songwriters are put in a terrible position about this, and many of them make the choice to just let it go and let the artist take a piece of credit they don’t deserve.

Ryan, I imagine you’ve had a lot of experience with this yourself.

Tedder: I haven’t had a year where it hasn’t happened. I’ve shut it down. I’ve also had times where I’ve realized that even if I lose 10 or 15% of this song, it’s such a massive thing that I’d rather have 80% of something than 100% or nothing. And I’ll just go on record as saying this: It’s happened to me more times than I can count, but when artists do that, the whole writing community finds out. Nothing spreads quicker than that.

Israelite: You also have to understand that he’s experiencing this as Ryan Tedder. Imagine you are an unknown songwriter that’s just starting out, and you don’t have the name, ID and the credibility and the connections that someone like Ryan does. It’s a serious problem.

There have been many ideas thrown around as to how to get songwriters paid better. Per diems is one of them. The Ivors Academy in the U.K. has gotten some labels to agree to pay per diem rates to songwriters. There are also ideas like offering master points to writers, paying for gas and food, etc. Are these effective methods to help songwriters?

Israelite: When it becomes very hard to make a living as a songwriter, you look for solutions of what might help. One of the things being discussed is the idea that writers should participate more in the recording pool of money, whether that’s points on the record, a per diem fee, or some kind of flat upfront fee. Because remember, as a songwriter, you may give your song to an artist, but you don’t necessarily know they’re going to release it as the single, or put a lot of marketing behind it, and yet you’re tying up that song with that one artist that could go to someone else.

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There are a lot of things that are being discussed, and we’re supportive of them, but it’s something that is going to have to be decided by the record label and artist community. And unfortunately, the expectation is that if record labels were to do it, they would probably just charge their artists, and it wouldn’t necessarily come out of the record label side.

There’s been this theory in the industry that the first record label that decides to really embrace this and start saying, “We’ll give points. We’ll give fees,” that would get the writers to want to bring their top songs to that label and those artists. And the idea is that, instead of asking the label to do this as some kind of charity or gift, is there a label that sees this as an economic opportunity for themselves to get ahead of their competitors by attracting the better songs by offering these types of benefits? I think that might be a route that you might see some record labels decide to embrace. I can tell you that I think that the hit writers would absolutely do that.


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Michael Jackson’s estate has slammed Sexyy Red’s explicit flip of the King of Pop’s classic “Beat It” after footage of the St. Louis rapper’s “Just Eat It” version went viral on social media earlier this week.

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“We were totally unaware of this,” a spokesman for the Michael Jackson Estate tells Billboard in a statement on Thursday (Feb. 12). “The use of the music is unauthorized.” 

Billboard has reached out to Sexyy Red’s reps for comment.

Essentially, Sexyy shouldn’t be expecting any sort of clearance for her “Just Eat It” edition from MJ’s estate for the track to receive an official release on DSPs.

The viral craze began when Lil Yachty posted the clip of Sexyy rapping along to her version of Michael Jackson’s anthem while in the studio on Tuesday (Feb. 10) to his backup Instagram page.

The footage quickly spread across social media and drew vehement backlash from MJ fans after Yachty seemingly joked in his caption that Sexyy’s spicy remix was set to appear on the Michael biopic soundtrack in April.

“Just eat it, just eat it/ You better not nut fast because I hate a minute man/ And if that d—k is trash, I’m telling all my friends/ I’ll beat your a— and we bout to throw them hands,” she raps on her risque version.

Sexyy posted a separate clip of her rapping along to “Just Eat It” on her Instagram on Wednesday (Feb. 11), while leaning into the controversy. “Leaked footage from da Michael Jackson movie HOOCHIE TRIBUTE TO DA BEST LLMJ,” she wrote.  

Rap pioneer Monie Love chimed in to condemn Sexyy for her MJ sample flip, calling the move “beyond disrespectful.” “Whoever cleared the ‘Beat It’ sample for Sexyy Red, I hope they know they not seeing heaven,” she wrote on X. “Playing with MJ name and discography like that is beyond disrespectful!”

Sexyy Red has proven to be a fan of Michael Jackson in the past. The 27-year-old brought out MJ impersonator Rico Hampton to perform “Billie Jean” for the crowd at her hometown show in St. Louis in November.

“Beat It” arrived as part of Michael Jackson’s Thriller classic in 1982, and the Quincy Jones-produced anthem went on to top the Billboard Hot 100.


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