Sony Music Group’s revenues are growing faster than the industry average, and it is the only major to grow its market share, CEO and chairman Rob Stringer said during an investor presentation on Friday.
For nine straight years, the major music company and subsidiary of the Japanese film, gaming and media conglomerate Sony, said it has achieved record-setting revenue, growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% over the past four years compared to the industry’s 11.3% CAGR, while streaming revenue grew at a 15.1% CAGR. And according to MIDiA Research, Stringer said Sony was alone among the three majors to increase its market share from 2020 to 2024, due to it’s “higher independent market share than any other label or distributor” as a result of owning the indie distributor The Orchard.
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In the wide-ranging investor presentation, Stringer said Sony is benefitting from the commercial success of albums by superstar artists, including Beyonce, Bad Bunny, Chappell Roan, Tyler the Creator and Charli XCX, and the more than 60 acquisitions and investments worth over $2.5 billion dollars that it has entered into over the past year alone across global frontline, catalog, creative and service businesses.
Stringer said Sony Music’s dominance of the independent market stems from The Orchard, Sony’s independent distribution organization, which has more than 26,000 label partners; AWAL which works with 20,000 artists, and the Alamo Records umbrella group, which includes Foundation distribution and Santa Anna’s incubator, and now works with nearly 3,000 artists.
“In an environment where nearly half the marketplace is made up of the independent music sector, sales flowing through our independent distribution businesses more than doubled the last four years,” Stringer said in a pre-recorded video presenation. Addressing the skepticism of some investors around Sony Music’s $1.27 billion acquisition of Queen’s recorded music, publishing and name, image and likeness rights — the highest amount ever paid for an artist’s catalog — Stringer said, “these acquisitions… are in no way based on random financial speculative tactics.”
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Investments like these are made back by exploiting listeners’ growing demand for older catalog music, Stringer through merchandise sales, sync placements in films and synergies with the gaming industry.
“We see more of our catalog in the charts as every year passes,” Stringer said. “In 2020, 24 percent of the Top 200 tracks were catalog songs. In 2024, that percentage grew to about 50 percent. This trend is extremely beneficial to Sony Music given our rich, deep working content.”
Since Sony’s investment in merch company Ceremony of Roses in 2022, the company has grown revenue by seven times, and its neighboring rights division collected more than $65 million for its artists last year.
Stringer reiterated calls for price increases and new tiers across the digital streaming platforms, and called for flexible pricing structures in high growth and developing markets.
Stringer said Sony Music has worked with 800 technology companies “on ethical product creation, content protection, detection, enhancing metadata and audio tuning and translation,” and that they are going to do “deals for new music AI products this year with those that want to construct the future with us the right way,” creating and adhereing to a clear remuneration system.
“New subscription ideas with fair revenue sharing arrangements will be further additive … [and] will start to slowly and rapidly scale,” Stringer said. “We will share all revenues with our artists and songwriters whether from training or related to outputs, so they are appropriately compensated from day one of this new frontier.”
Stringer said he hopes the industry’s proof of concept will give government regulators the evidence they need to pass laws reinforcing that system.
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Will Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Manchild’ Take Alex Warren’s ‘Ordinary’ Out of the No. 1 Spot?
His spell was broken by Carpenter’s “Manchild,” which achieved the feat with 6.8 million streams in its opening week. The song and its playful video were released last Thursday (June 5) and will feature on the newly-announced Man’s Best Friend LP, due out on Aug. 29. The song makes for Carpenter’s fourth U.K. No. 1 single in a little over a year following “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste.”
Warren’s “Ordinary” had ruled for 12 consecutive weeks and broken a number records in that stint. His song became the longest-running No. 1 of the 2020s, and the longest-running streak by a U.S. male solo act ever, eclipsing Slim Whitman’s longstanding record from 1955. “Ordinary,” which ends the week at No. 2, first hit the top spot in March, and will feature on his upcoming debut LP You’ll Be Alright, Kid.
The rest of the top five features familiar songs from recent weeks. Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” closes at No. 3, with Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” at No. 4. Sombr’s “Undressed” falls one place to No. 5, but his “Back to Friends” hits a new peak at No. 7.
Ed Sheeran earns his 65th U.K. top 40 single with “Sapphire” which debuts at No. 9. The track will feature on upcoming album Play, and previous singles “Azizam” (No. 10) and “Old Phone” (No. 33) also appear on this week’s charts.
Following Olivia Dean’s appearance with Sam Fender at his huge London Stadium show last Friday (June 6), the British star’s “Nice to Each Other” is the week’s highest climber, up 10 places week-on-week to No. 18. Addison Rae’s “Fame is a Gun” lifts to No. 23, and her Addison LP ends the week at No. 2 on the Official Albums Chart.
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 17:00:412025-06-13 17:00:41Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Manchild’ Hits No. 1 in U.K., Ousts Alex Warren After 12 Weeks at Summit
Pulp has scored its first No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart in 27 years with eighth LP More (June 13).
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The Jarvis Cocker-led band previously had two chart-toppers to its name (1995’s Different Class and 1997’s This is Hardcore), and a number of top 10 placings throughout its career: 1994’s His ‘N’ Hers (No. 9); 1996’s greatest hits Countdown: 1992-1983 (No. 10); and 2001’s We Love Life (No. 6). The group are currently on an arena tour of U.K. and Ireland, and rumors point to them making a return to Glastonbury Festival for a secret slot, 30 years on from their 1995 headline set.
Addison Rae’s debut album, Addison, lands at No. 2, and Little Simz has achieved a new career-high with sixth LP Lotus, which closes at No. 3. The latter achieved her previous high with 2021’s Mercury Prize-winner Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (No. 4) and 2023’s surprise drop, NO THANK YOU (No. 40). Meltdown Festival at London’s Southbank Centre, curated by Simz, kicked off on Thursday (June 12) with a show by The Streets and she’ll headline the Royal Festival Hall next Sunday (June 22).
As she announces her new LP Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album Short n’ Sweet ends the week at No. 4, its 42nd consecutive week in the top five. By doing so, Carpenter becomes the female solo artist to have earned the most consecutive weeks in the top five. Her recent single “Manchild,” which will appear on her forthcoming LP, has broken Alex Warren’s streak atop the Official Singles Chart after 12 consecutive weeks.
Marina’s Princess of Power (No. 7) earns her highest-charting LP in 13 years, and Turnstile’s Never Enough (No. 11) gives the hardcore band their best finish on the U.K. Albums Chart, coinciding with a headline appearance at Outbreak Festival in London on Friday (June 13).
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 17:00:402025-06-13 17:00:40Pulp Score First U.K. No. 1 in 27 Years with Reunion LP ‘More’
In the latest episode of Sharpe’s Nightcap podcast, the NFL legend said he was sorry to Minaj, and explained how their misunderstanding led to him being name dropped on Weezy’s new track.
“Bout to cop you slides, all you do is flip-flop / If I send a pic of Shannon, you ain’t that Sharpe,” Minaj rapped. The line appeared to be a jab about Sharpe commenting “Nicki who?” after a fan asked him on social media to get her on his Club Shay Shay program.
“I used to go back and forth with people. I was talking about Nikki Haley,” Sharpe clarified on Nightcap. “Nikki Haley said it’s really great for everybody of Black America, and I was like … ‘When has it ever been great?’”
He went on to say: “Nicki, I was not trying to be disrespectful. Of course I know who you are. I would be remiss to say that I thought you knew who I was, or that you knew anything about Club Shay Shay. I’m not that arrogant. Nicki, I apologize. I meant no disrespect. You’ll always have an open invitation if you ever want to come sit down and have a conversation. Even if you just want to have a private conversation on the phone or something. It won’t go any further between you and I.”
Of the perceived slight, Sharpe concluded, “That was not my intent, but intent only matters to me because clearly you’re still offended. So I apologize sincerely and hopefully we can move forward.”
On “Banned From NO (Remix),” Minaj also spit some bars many believed were aimed at Jay-Z. “NFL, fire some n—s and then call us,” she spit. Minaj was one of the most vocal critics of the NFL’s decision to overlook Wayne in favor of Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this year.
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 16:53:142025-06-13 16:53:14Shannon Sharpe Apologies to Nicki Minaj After She Disses Him: ‘Hopefully We Can Move Forward’
Ye — the rapper formerly known as Kanye West — has shown up to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial in New York City, pulling up to the courthouse in an all-white outfit Friday (June 13).
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In footage shared by TMZ, the Yeezy founder steps out of the backseat of a car and walks inside, shaking a couple hands and throwing up a small wave on his way. In addition to a matching white denim jacket-and-jeans set, he sports a pair of sunglasses.
According to Variety, Ye told one journalist that he had come to show support for the disgraced Bad Boy Records founder. The publication also reports that West’s name had been included in a questionnaire for potential jurors to test whether they were familiar with any of the “hundreds of celebrities and people in Combs’ orbit.”
Combs has been on trial since May on allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering, with federal prosecutors accusing him of running an elaborate criminal enterprise aimed at facilitating his so-called freak-offs — drug-fueled events wherein he allegedly forced people, including his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, to have sex with male escorts while he allegedly watched and masturbated. His legal team has denied all of the charges, with Combs’ attorney Teny Geragos telling the jury in opening statements a few weeks ago: “Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. We take full responsibility that there was domestic violence. Domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”
If convicted, Combs faces life in prison.
A few days prior to Ye’s appearance at the trial, Combs’ legal team’s motion for a mistrial was denied. The defense had tried to claim that the prosecution had knowingly introduced false testimony by Bryana Bongolan – a witness who last week alleged that Combs had dangled her from a 17-story balcony in 2016 — but Judge Arun Subramanian ultimately ruled: “This is not fodder for a mistrial. This is the adversarial process at work.”
Ye has previously shown support for Combs amid the latter’s legal issues, with the former asking President Donald Trump to “please free my brother Puff” on X in February. Combs had already spent months in custody at that point following his September arrest.
In March, Ye dropped a song titled “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine” that appeared to feature Combs’ voice on a phone-call recording. “I just want to thank you so much for just taking care of my kids, man,” the voice seemingly belonging to Diddy said in the snippet. “Ain’t nobody reach out to them, ain’t nobody call them.”
Ye replies on the track: “Absolutely, I love you so much, man. You raised me. Even when I ain’t know you, know what I’m saying?”
The two hip-hop titans also worked together in the past, both appearing on Ty Dolla $ign’s “Guard Down” in 2015. In 2022, Ye presented Combs with the Lifetime Achievement honors at that year’s BET Awards.
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 16:45:402025-06-13 16:45:40Kanye West Pulls Up to Diddy’s Sex-Trafficking Trial in New York City
This week, almost the entirety of the independent music community descended upon New York City for A2IM’s annual Indie Week conference, which kicked off Monday night (June 9) with the Libera Awards, celebrating the best of independent music in the past year. Held at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall, the awards, presented by Merlin, honored records, songs, artists and labels across a slew of genres, with performances by Top Shelf Records’ Ekko Astral, Secretly Canadian’s serpentwithfeet and Oh Boy Records’ Swamp Dogg and a posthumous lifetime achievement award for !K7 founder Horst Weidenmüller.
But the biggest winner of the evening was Mexican Summer artist Jessica Pratt, who took home record of the year for her album Here In the Pitch, as well as best folk record and best singer-songwriter record. For Mexican Summer — which itself also won label of the year (6-14 employees) — it was a big achievement, one forged in the partnership they made with Pratt ahead of her 2019 album Quiet Signs. And those achievements help Mexican Summer’s co-founder, co-president and director of A&R Keith Abrahamsson earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Abrahamsson talks about the making of Pratt’s award-winning album, the different marketing tactics the label took this time around, his approach to A&R and what comes next. “We’ve got a lot on the horizon — new music from Cate Le Bon, Sessa, Connan Mockasin, L’Rain, Zsela, Iceage, Robert Lester Folsom and more,” Abrahamsson says. “The rest of ‘25 and ‘26 will be incredibly busy!”
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This week, Mexican Summer artist Jessica Pratt won three awards, including record of the year, at the 2025 Libera Awards. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
I had been a huge fan of Jessica’s music when we first started discussing working together several years ago. My goal was to give her a creative environment that had freedom and flexibility, and most importantly, trust in her artistic vision over everything else. Logistically, we were able to offer her access to our studio and connect her with her now long time collaborator, Al Carlson, our in-house producer at Gary’s Electric. We also took this same approach to the creative buildout and overall marketing of the record, making sure that her exacting artistic vision was always the priority and never compromised.
This is the second record you’ve done with Jessica. What was different this time around for you guys?
Jessica is a perfectionist and it took a moment — years! — to hone the sound on this one. More than anything, I would say that was one of the main differences time — granted, there was also a pandemic thrown in there. She wrote and recorded this album between Los Angeles and New York again, again working with Al Carlson in and out of our studio. This time around, there was a goal to carefully and subtly expand the sonic palette. Achieving this required a lot of experimentation and for Jessica to bring in new instrumental elements and players. I don’t want to give too much of a peek behind the curtain, though!
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It was also her first album in five years, a lifetime in today’s music era. How did you guys work to present this album to her fans in a new way?
As soon as we heard Here in the Pitch, we knew we had a future classic on our hands, truly, so we were banking on the idea that Jessica’s fans would feel it was more than worth the wait. It certainly helped that in the five years leading up to HITP, the mythology around JP and her music only seemed to grow — we saw a couple of key syncs, Troye Sivan sampled “Back, Baby,” etc. — and… absence makes the heart grow fonder. In presenting the record and its first single, “Life Is,” we created a suite of creative assets that supported Jessica’s vision and carefully rebooted her socials, mailing list, etc., teasing out the moment the past five years had been building to and letting JP speak directly to her fans. We ran a tight ship logistics-wise, but really the strength of the launch was rooted in the brilliance of the song.
Mexican Summer also won label of the year (6-14 employees) at the Libera Awards. How have you guys worked to set yourselves apart and succeed these days?
As a label, we definitely take a “head and heart” approach — working from our gut when it comes to identifying our partners and developing the music and creative, but also closely following the data to help inform our campaign strategy. Overall, we’re blessed to work with incredible talent on the artist side, and really amazing and knowledgeable people and partners on the label side. Our ethos always has been and always will be artist-first.
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You started the label in 2009, a tough time economically both in general and specifically for the music business, and have kept things running through the industry’s streaming resurgence and the volume tsunami of content that has unleashed. How have you kept the label going and flourishing through the years?
I started the label with my business partner, Andres Santo Domingo, off the back of our previous label, Kemado. Mexican Summer was able to start without many expectations — it actually began as a record club — and carefully scaled as our releases and label footprint grew. And importantly, as there have been industry shifts with formats, content, etc., we’ve tried to approach scale in a realistic way without pressuring our artists, but arming them with options and best practices to reach new and existing fans.
What’s your approach to A&R, and how has that changed through your career?
The writing is always what it comes down to for me, and whether or not I’m compelled to revisit something multiple times. Discovery is still what motivates me the most; the thrill of hearing a song for the first time that really cuts deep never seems to get old.
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 16:35:552025-06-13 16:35:55How Mexican Summer Helped Jessica Pratt’s ‘Here In the Pitch’ Reach Award-Winning Status
This beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar may last forever like the beef between 50 Cent and Ja Rule has.
On Thursday night (Jun. 12), the Grand National Tour had its first of two back-to-back shows in Drake’s hometown of Toronto and it didn’t disappoint in the drama department. The Compton rapper performed his knockout punch “Not Like Us” as the crowd rapped along and even asked for an encore with footage surfacing of the audience screaming, “One more time, one more time!”
The crowd’s reaction after Kendrick performed “Not Like Us” in Toronto.
There was also talk of beefed up security with rumors flying around about a 25-police escort according to Akademiks and footage of a line of cops outside of the venue being shared on social media. There’s also video of fans breaking out into song while dining at New Ho King — the Chinese restaurant that found itself in the middle of the rap battle last year and has embraced the publicity, offering fans a first round of drinks on the house. For those who remember, New Ho King made an appearance in the “Family Matters” video where an employee was seen wearing all of Pharrell’s chains that Drake bought in an auction.
— Kendrick Lamar Updates (@KendrickChart) June 13, 2025
The Toronto rapper was in the news yesterday when Kai Cenatannounced that he and Drake would be doing a livestream and picking the winners of their “Somebody Loves Me” music video treatment on the same night as Lamar’s Toronto show. However, they decided to reschedule due to needing more time to go through the submissions with Kai posting on his Instagram Story that the stream will happen in a few more days.
Kendrick and SZA will perform in Toronto’s Rogers Centre once again on Friday (June 13).
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 16:33:132025-06-13 16:33:13Kendrick Lamar Performs ‘Not Like Us’ In Toronto, Crowd Asks for Encore
Serbia’s long-running EXIT Festival says that this summer’s edition of the event might be its last in the country.
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The electronic event reports that its government funding and cultural grants have been revoked due to the festival publicly aligning with student-led anti-corruption protests that happened after the Novi Sad railway station collapse in November 2024, a tragedy that killed 15 people. The festival also says its sponsors have withdrawn due to pressure by pro-government entities.
“This is the hardest decision in our 25-year history but we believe that freedom has no price,” EXIT founder and director Dušan Kovačević says in a statement provided to media and posted to EXIT’s social channels. “With this act we are defending not only EXIT but the fundamental right to free expression for all cultural actors around the world. We invite them to stand with us in this fight.”
EXIT Festival is set to happen July 10-13 in Novi Sad, Serbia. The lineup features Tiësto, The Prodigy, Eric Prydz, Solomun, DJ Snake and many others.
The event has a long history with pro-democratic movements, starting in 2000 as a pro-student movement meant to fight for freedom in Serbia and the Balkan countries. Happening at the Petrovaradin Fortress in the city of Novi Sad, the festival has won myriad awards that have distinguished it as one of the top festivals in Europe.
“Through music, creativity, and activism, EXIT has connected generations and nations, rebuilt broken ties, and built bridges where others route to divide,” Kovačević’s statement continues. “We have brought numerous European festival awards to our country and region, along with hundreds of millions of Euros in tourism revenue and international recognition that global experts consider invaluable.
“However, ever since we publicly stood with the students of Serbia in their fight for a freer and more just society, we have been subjected to immense financial and political pressures aimed at stripping us of our fundamental rights to freedom of thought and expression. Despite being completely cut off from public funding at all levels of government, and with some sponsors forced to withdraw under state pressure, we refuse to be silenced. As a result, this year’s anniversary edition will be the last to take place in a Serbia where freedom of speech is systematically suppressed.”
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 16:27:262025-06-13 16:27:26EXIT Festival Lost Government Funding After Supporting Protestors – Now, It May Leave the Country Entirely
New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
Grupo Frontera, Y Lo Que Viene (Grupo Frontera)
Following Mala Mía, the joint EP with Fuerza Regida that dropped last December, Grupo Frontera surprises fans with a new five-track EP called Y Lo Que Viene (and what’s coming). The set kicks off with the Carín León-assisted “Mutuo,” a country-tinged norteño song where they chant about unreciprocated love. In the following tracks, “La Buena Eras Tú” with Netón Vega and “¿Qué Haces Por Acá?” with Mister Chivo, the Texas-based group delivers two refreshing cumbia tunes. “No Se Parece a Ti,” the only solo track on the set, is a weeping Tejano highlight where frontman Payo Solís compares his “perfect” new girlfriend with his “unforgettable” ex. Meanwhile, in a second collaborative effort, Frontera teamed up with Manuel Turizo for “La Del Proceso” — a soft cumbia single that effortlessly transitions into a thumping electro-merengue groove.
With the release of Y Lo Que Viene, Frontera pledges a portion of all proceeds to support the Latin community during the ICE raids. “In light of the ongoing events across the country and the injustices faced by our fellow immigrants, we feel a deep responsibility to use our platform and music to make a difference […] We will be donating a percentage of all proceeds to organizations on the frontlines, fighting for and supporting our communities. We also encourage our listeners to take action — whether that means donating, protesting, educating others, or simply showing up for those in need. Every voice matters,” the group expressed on their Instagram stories on the eve of release date. — JESSICA ROIZ
Hamilton, “Y Por Ahí Me Dicen y Que” (Cigol Music Group)
Cartagena native Hamilton shares his inspiring life story in his new song “Por Ahí Me Dicen y Que” (“They Tell Me So What”). Produced by Jao Beats, with a soft melody that accompanies his heartfelt interpretation, the artist reflects on his humble origins and expresses gratitude for living what was once just a dream. The song becomes an anthem to perseverance, faith in God, and staying authentic, leaving a powerful message that not giving up has its rewards. In a statement about the release, Hamilton says the song is linked to Juneteenth: “I’m Black and I’m Colombian, and I grew up with few resources, but now I have a different life, and I want other Black artists to know that they can achieve their dreams too.” — LUISA CALLE
Buscabulla, Se Amaba Así (Domino Recording)
On Se Amaba Así, Buscabulla turns inward, examining love, connection, and perception through a kaleidoscope of Latin and tropical influences filtered with ethereal synth-pop precision. The Puerto Rican duo’s second album — its first in five years — sees co-founders Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo del Valle dive deeper into their intimate reflections on modern relationships, infusing stories of romantic struggles with pulsating basslines and dreamy melodies.
The collection’s opening track, “El Camino,” sets the stage with warped disco guitars and laid-back percussion, its mellow sound belying the song’s emotional intricacies. Meanwhile, pre-released single “Te Fuiste” marries a calm yet persistent beat with cascading synths that wash over listeners, inviting them to linger in its serene melancholy. And the focus track, “Miraverahí,” delivers syncopated, thumping bass lines beneath Berrios’ breathy, celestial vocals, exploring the disorienting shifts in love and connection — all while keeping the rhythm alive.
Throughout the 10 tracks, Buscabulla demonstrates its knack for transporting listeners to lush soundscapes that feel intimate yet expansive. While much of Se Amaba Así orbits concepts of vision — understanding the past, assessing romance, imagining the future — the duo keeps listeners tethered with grooves and textures that ground its self-reflective musings. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Judeline, “Chica de Cristal” (Interscope Records)
After making her U.S. debut at Coachella earlier this year, the Spanish-born singer-songwriter is making waves with “chica de cristal,” a gorgeous song that perfectly captures Judeline’s melodic dream-pop essence. Produced by LILCHICK, Sacha Rudy, Tuiste and Gese Da O, Judeline embraces nostalgia as she explores the emotions left behind after a breakup. Her disarming, ethereal vocals soar as a subtle-yet-intentional drum beat sets the tone for this moody track. Judeline released her debut album Bodhiria last year via Interscope, and most recently had released “Tú Et Moi” (featuring Brazilian funk carioca artist Mc Morena), where she sings in Spanish, French, and Portuguese. — GRISELDA FLORES
La Nueva Ola de Cumbia & La Coreañera, “Cumbiando” (Veo Sonora/Universal Music México)
Los Angeles-based collective La Nueva Ola de Cumbia features Tejano accordionist La Cumbiañera on “Cumbiando,” a revamped and upbeat version of the 1980s classic “Bailando,” by Spanish group Alaska y Los Pegamoides. Clearly inspired by icons like Chico Che, Los Ángeles Azules and even Celso Piña, this highly danceable track combines vallenato, pop, hip-hop, and reggaetón, while always respecting cumbia. This innovative Latin-flavored offering is the result of the fusion of cultures among the members of La Nueva Ola de la Cumbia: the voice of Colombian singer Chelyn Dion; the guitar and bass of Mexicans Luzio “El Sucio” Nava and Primitivo Ríos; the timbales of Nicaraguan Tacho Vázquez; the percussion of Peruvian Wereke Valdivia; and the drums of Hipólito Madero. In case this musical madness was missing an extra touch, the group wears Mexican wrestling masks as part of its wardrobe in the fun music video. — TERE AGUILERA
Check out more Latin recommendations this week below:
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.pngYveto2025-06-13 16:27:262025-06-13 16:27:26Grupo Frontera’s ‘Y Lo Que Viene’ EP & More Best New Music Latin
Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor Sly Stone, who died on Monday (June 9) at age 82, by looking at the final of Sly & the Family Stone’s three Hot 100-toppers: the joyous but fractured “Family Affair.”
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Sly & the Family Stone’s 10 Best Songs (Staff Picks)
True to its name, Sly & the Family Stone had been the ultimate musical family affair. Of course, it literally comprised multiple siblings — Sly Stone (originally Sylvester Stewart) was of course the band’s brilliant leader and de facto frontman, while brother Freddie sang and played guitar, sister Rose sang and played keys, and sister Vet even occasionally filled in for Rose on tour. But it was the band’s familial spirit that originally sparked its jump-off-the-stereo brilliance, a palpable sense of shared love, excitement and unity. The on-record and on-stage product reflected the band’s real-life late-’60s closeness, as a Bay Area-based unit that happily did everything together: In 2025’s Questlove-helmed Sly Lives documentary, the group waxes nostalgic about how they’d all ride bikes together, watch movies together, even buy dogs together. “I think we spent more time together than we spent with our family members,” recalled trumpeter and singer Cynthia Robinson.
By 1971, the band was decidedly no longer doing everything together, and much of what they did was less than happy. As the band became superstars in 1969, and Sly Stone one of the leading voices and faces of popular music, internal pressures and tensions mounted, outside demands intensified both about their recorded output and their political positioning, and Sly began to retreat. He moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles, self-medicated heavily with drugs, came late to gigs or no-showed altogether, and generally began to isolate himself from the rest of the group. The group’s final single of the ’60s, the double-A side “Thank You Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin”/”Everybody Is a Star,” had been a 1970 No. 1 hit, but already displayed a growing disillusionment with the skyrocketing success of the band’s Stand! and “Everyday People” days. It would be the previously prolific outfit’s final release for nearly two years.
When Sly & the Family Stone returned in late 1971, it was with “Family Affair,” an R&B gem that was at once of a piece with the celebratory pop-soul anthems the group had made his name with, and sounded like a different outfit altogether. Though the song still felt warm, soothing and hooky as hell, the group’s earlier spirit of triumph, jubilation, defiance, energy and above all, togetherness, had largely disappeared. Even “Thank You,” for all its creeping darkness, still felt like the band was all in the fight together; by “Family Affair,” they barely sounded like a band at all.
In fact, the most bitterly ironic thing about “Family Affair” — which served as the lead single from that November’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On LP — is that Sly is the only member of the Family Stone to actually play on it. (Probably, anyway; the Riot sessions were so messy and hazy that no one seems 100% positive of exactly who did what.) Rose does sing the song’s iconic chorus, but instrumentally, the song is nearly all Sly, with additional electric piano by star keyboardist Billy Preston and some guitar croaks from rising soul hitmaker Bobby Womack. The Family Stone’s leader most likely provided the rest, including all the verse vocals, bass and additional guitar.
The final instrument played by Stone on the track was the newest and perhaps most important to the musical direction of “Affair” and Riot in general: the Maestro Rhythm King MRK–2. Drummer Greg Errico had gotten fed up with the discord within the group and left earlier in ’71 midway through the Riot recording; rather than immediately replace him with a new stickman, Stone decided to fill out the remaining tracks with the rudimentary early drum machine and its genre presets. But he allowed the machine to work for his purposes by essentially slotting its canned bossa nova rhythm askew within the song’s groove — like J Dilla might have done decades later — giving the liquid-funk shuffle of “Family Affair” a little extra slipperiness. Even Errico, with every reason in the word to take offense at essentially being replaced by an underqualified robot, had to give it up to the bandleader for his innovation: “[He] took the rhythm that [the machine] was producing and turned it inside out,” the drummer raved in Sly Lives! “It made it, ‘Oh, that’s interesting now.’ And he actually crated an iconic thing with it. It became a game-changer again.”
The song’s untraditional groove was matched by a near-unrecognizable Sly Stone vocal that almost felt like just another instrumental texture. Previous records had featured his clear vocal piercing through his productions with shout-along sentiments, or as one voice among many in delivering strength-in-numbers statements. This was new: a heavily filtered Stone seemingly singing from a remote corner of the studio, feeling more like a disembodied narrator than a leading man. What’s more, his singing register had dropped, as if he’d aged multiple decades (or gone through a second puberty) in between Stand! and Riot, with the result landing Stone somewhere between crooning and sing-speaking.
The vocals were jarring, but so were the lyrics. In 1969, a “Family Affair” would be an occasion for joy and revelry, but by 1971, it was a little more complicated — and the family portrait painted by Stone was of a largely dysfunctional unit, with siblings who head in different directions, newlyweds with maybe-straying eyes, and fraught emotions running high all around. “You can’t leave ’cause your heart is there/ But, sure, you can’t stay ’cause you been somewhere else,” Stone sings of his own conflicted feelings in the song’s most revealing passage. “You can’t cry ’cause you’ll look broke down/ But you’re cryin’ anyway ’cause you’re all broke down.”
But downers don’t usually become No. 1 hits — and indeed, despite the heavy dynamics of this “Family Affair,” the ultimate feeling is still more one of welcoming than of alienation. Partly, that’s because of the gleeful boogie Preston’s plush keys and Sly’s aqueous guitars do around the song’s rain-slicked beat, and largely, that’s because Rose’s “It’s a family affaaiiiiii-iiiiirrrr…” callouts — the first vocals of any kind you hear in the song — are so comforting and inviting that it can’t help but rub off on the rest of the song. But it’s also because, even with Sly’s clearly mixed feelings about his own place within the family, he still feels audibly connected to it; it’s a complex relationship, but still a loving one at heart. “Blood’s thicker than the mud,” he proclaims early in the song, and despite everything, he sounds like he means it.
Unfortunately, the Family Stone had already begun to splinter. Errico was the first out the door, the next year, bassist Larry Graham followed. As the band began to lose its center and as Sly’s productivity and reliability both stalled, so did its commercial success: the long-awaited There’s a Riot Goin’ On topped the Billboard 200 and is hailed today as a classic (despite drawing mixed reviews at the time for its murky production and disjointed jams), but “Family Affair” was its only single to even reach the Hot 100’s top 20. Fresh, released in 1973, saw the band returning to greater accessibility, and kept up its streak of classic lead singles with the slithering “If You Want Me to Stay.” But even that song missed the top 10, and as acolytes like the Ohio Players and Parliament-Funkadelic had replaced the band at funk’s forefront, the Family Stone’s relevance continued to slide until officially splitting in 1975.
Considering Sly Stone was just 32 when the Family Stone dissolved for the first time, it feels both deeply sad and highly improbable that his career never really found a proper second act. But Sly’s subsequent attempts throughout the late ’70s and ’80s to launch a solo career or revive the Family Stone with a new lineup largely fell on deaf ears; even a seemingly world-stopping (or at least potentially career-re-sparking) collaborative endeavor alongside P-Funk leader George Clinton fell into disarray and resulted in an album that was mostly dismissed critically and commercially. Drug abuse continued to take its toll on an increasingly reclusive Sly, and despite sporadic reappearances over the last four decades, a true comeback was never really in the cards for the music legend.
But even if his own presence was minimal over the past half-century, the impact of Sly Stone’s music remained seismic. Outside of setting the early standard for what would become funk’s golden age in the early ’70s, the Family Stone’s catalog remained one of the most well-mined sample sources across the ’80s and ’90s for N.W.A, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, Beck, Janet Jackson and countless other game-changing acts. And that impact certainly endured into the 21st century: In the first couple years of the ’00s alone, D’Angelo released the massively acclaimed and heavily Riot-inspired Voodoo, while OutKast referenced that album’s bullet-ridden American flag imagery on the cover to their universally beloved Stankonia, and Mary J. Blige had a Hot 100 No. 1 with a “Family Affair” of her own. As messy as things could ever get with Sly Stone or his legacy, the blood would always remain thicker than the mud.
