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Just this February, Apple launched its iPhone 16e, the latest and greatest in a series of products developed with all new bells and whistles to streamline calls, texts and so much more. It also has the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone.

Starting at $599 for the 125GB model, or $699 for 256GB, the iPhone 16e delivers Apple’s signature performance in a compact design. But if you’ve ever tried upgrading to a new iPhone, you know the real challenge isn’t picking the phone — it’s navigating the swirl of prices, storage options and wireless providers. If there’s one thing ShopBillboard has an eye for, it’s finding the best deals to save our readers money and boy, have we hit the jackpot.
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Lucky for you, Metro by T-Mobile just launched its “iPhone 16e on Us” promotion, a no-fuss, no-tricks, no gimmicks promotion that works just as advertised. Plain and simple. If you switch to one of Metro’s prepaid plans, you’ll get an iPhone 16e on them. To qualify for this deal, you’ll need to bring your number to Metro, pay $99.99 for your new phone and activate the $50 Unlimited Plan with AutoPay (the first month is $55). After your third monthly payment, Metro will send you a $100 Virtual Prepaid Mastercard — essentially giving you your money back. It’s a win-win. Note that this offer isn’t available to customers who’ve been on a Metro or T-Mobile plan within the past 180 days.

With this new iPhone via Metro by T-Mobile, you’ll also be getting a reliable and straightforward wireless plan, no tricks, no activation fees or hard-to-understand contracts attached. Customers also have the option to choose a $40 period plan, a cost-effective option for those looking for the best plan in their price range. For $40 a month, you’ll have no activation fee, plus your price is guaranteed for five years. This gives customers unlimited 5G data, unlimited talk and text and, most importantly, a free 5G phone. Both plans are budget-friendly options with all the bells and whistles a person might need to get their phone’s essential services working for you and all your needs.
 
​For students or wireless beginners looking into a streamlined plan for their new or old phone, the $25 BYOD Plan is our pick. Customers can get unlimited 5G data for just $25 a month. Plus, there are no pesky activation fees. Taxes and fees are included. You will be able to keep the phone you love, get a new number or keep your own. With Autopay, your first month is $30. Metro makes it easy.

The 2020s have been a turbulent time for agents and the musicians they represent. The decade started off with an unprecedented global pandemic that forced the shutdown of live shows indefinitely, and as lockdown orders lifted, early concerts often dealt with no-shows, rising costs and an over-supply of acts going back on the road at once.

Now, in 2025, the live music market is stabilizing, but it’s never looked quite like this. Artists are bringing more production value to shows than ever, festival ticket sales are softening and talents like Harry Styles and Beyoncé are offering fewer tour stops — but more nights in each location.

Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) top agents are in the midst of it all, often singlehandedly sparking trends with the decisions they make with their superstar clients when they are ready to hit the road. To talk through the evolution of live entertainment post-pandemic, CAA managing director Rob Light (Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Fleetwood Mac) and co-head of global touring Rick Roskin (Slipknot, Eric Clapton, Santana, Kelly Clarkson) joined Billboard‘s new music industry podcast, On the Record w/ Kristin Robinson, this week.

Below is an excerpt of that conversation.  

Watch or listen to the full episode of On the Record on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts here, or watch it below.

How did you make sure to help your artists’ tours stand out after pandemic lockdowns lifted and everyone rushed back onto the road?

Roskin: You have to make a statement because there’s a ton of volume. I mean, you can look at what plays in every city on a weekly basis, and there are a ton of shows. So somehow you have to figure out a way to cut through the clutter and break through and get noticed.

Light: A great example of that was three summers ago was with Harry Styles and his management team. Harry could have easily sold out two or three or four nights at MetLife Stadium. But everybody was playing Met Life Stadium. It wasn’t a big event, everybody was doing it. They came up with the idea of ‘let’s do 15 nights at Madison Square Garden.’ And he owned New York. Didn’t matter who was playing stadiums those nights. Everybody was talking about that move. It was a huge statement and intentional. I really do believe, you know, trying to find those moments are really part of our job. You can’t create them every day. You can’t create them on every tour, but any moves you’re making should hopefully lead to something.

We’re also seeing artists like Beyoncé doing fewer cities, but more dates within those cities. I’m wondering why you think that’s occurring now?

Light: The cost of touring has gone up exponentially and the size of these productions becomes more and more intricate so that if you can sit in one place you can actually make them a little bigger and better — and the audience is willing to come to you. Beyoncé goes to New York for a week, for example, and Boston, Washington and Philly, they’re all gonna come to her if that’s the only place to see it. Also, if you have kids, sitting in one place actually makes touring more palatable.

I don’t think that the idea of day-to-day playing a city, getting on a bus and going to the next will ever go away, but if you have control of your career at that moment, it’s certainly easier to tour this way.

Roskin: To get a little technical, you know, a huge tour eight years ago or ten years ago, was about 13 semi-trucks [of production equipment]. I mean, that would be like, ‘Oh my God. That is a massive tour.’ You know, tours now are carrying 30, 40, 50 trucks of production. To move that is incredibly expensive. Everything has been amped up. In this boom post-Covid, artists are taking it to a level that no one’s ever seen before…Actually — The Weeknd’s stadium tour had about 60 trucks.

Let’s talk about Coachella 2026. Coachella decided to put its tickets for 2026 on sale very early this year. I have to say, I read that at the time as them maybe being nervous about not selling out. I know that that’s been an increasing issue for them over the last few years, but Coachella, 2026 sold out pretty immediately. Why do you guys think it sold so quickly?

Light: Nothing replaces star power, and it’s a great lineup. Let’s be fair, but I think part of the reason they decided to go earlier is that they realize the public is getting more and more trained to buying earlier and so waiting till January feels late now… It was a great way for Coachella to make a statement about the festival season. They want to buy in advance, they want to make those plans, they want to be able to travel. I think was very smart on Paul [Tolette] and his team’s part to go earlier, and when you have that lineup — with Sabrina [Carpenter] and Justin [Bieber] — you’re going to do great. Why not go early?

In general, it seems like festivals aren’t quite as hot as they used to. Ticket sales across the board are softening. Why do you think that is happening now?

Light: There’s a lot of factors. There’s no one answer that fills the floor. Part of it is, you’ve got so many shows and ticket prices have gone up. There’s decisions being made now, like ‘how much money do I have?’ I have to pick and choose where I am going to go. Part of it is who the headliners are, and then another part of it was just a proliferation of festivals. They were everywhere and you couldn’t go to every one. So when you feel softness at the edges, it’s really a function of ‘I can’t beat everyone. I have to pick and choose.’

Lately, festival attendees are arriving later to the festival, which means those baby artists who are at the bottom of the poster and the top of the day are going to have even less crowds than before. I’m wondering, do you still think that, for emerging artists at CAA, that being on those festival lineups is still as worthwhile as it once was?

Light: I’ve said this for years about those slots, and this is where agents really play a role in the artist development of a career. Part of getting on a festival is being on the poster. You want to be part of that and playing at 12 or one or two o’clock may not be great, but a great agent is going to stop and say, How do I get back to that market within four or five months of having done that gig? Because two or 3,000 kids who might have seen me and have told their friends now want to be able to see them on their own, and so to just show up anywhere and play one day at two o’clock and disappear for a year? Is bad management, bad agenting. If you’re going to get one of those slots, how am I going to take advantage of that moment and make other things happen off the back of it?

Along with the cost of touring rising, we’re also seeing ticket prices rise as well. I remember that Bruce Springsteen tried dynamic ticketing a few years ago, and that led to some of the tickets ending up being thousands of dollars. I’m wondering now, a few years later, like we’re reflecting back on that, how you feel about dynamic ticketing as a model for big tours?

Light: Bruce got a really bad rap because at that same time that one guy bought a ticket at a high price, Elton John and the Rolling Stones were charging tickets for twice the price. But because he was a working man, somebody took a shot at him. There’s always going to be supply and demand. It just is. And what we try to create, and all the ticket companies try to create, is the closest way to be fair, where the money is going to the artist, right? If we’re going to do dynamic pricing, and you’re buying a ticket at a higher price, but the artist is getting paid. He or she deserves that. They built that career. What we hate is when you know, scalpers and bots and stub hubs and all these middle people now are making money with no skin in the game. They did nothing other than got a ticket, and now they’re reselling it. The artist doesn’t see any of that money…But I’m a fan of dynamic pricing, simply because it allows everybody to be equal in the process so if I can afford it, and it’s a show I want to see, I get to pay for it. I want to see the artist get paid. I don’t want to see some outlier get paid.

The federal government is attacking Ticketmaster on multiple fronts right now. This includes the FTC suing the company, and it has to deal with resale. I’m wondering, do you think that Ticketmaster should play a part in resale, and if they do to, does there need to be a cap on the secondary market?

Roskin: On platinum ticketing, most artists have a cap on what they allow the tickets to sell for, usually the cap ranges from two to three times value. So even if the secondary tipping market exceeds that, it doesn’t feel like it’s so harsh. But as far as the secondary ticketing market goes, it isn’t going anywhere.

This was one of Rob’s stories, but I’ll tell it. Years and years ago, AC/DC was doing a tour, and they go out on the road, and they’re like, ‘we’re gonna sell all tickets paperless. You’re gonna have to walk in with your credit card, scan your credit card at the door. They’re gonna see your name. You go into the venue,’ and through this they thought they were going beat scalpers, and they’re going to finally win. What ends up happening is that the scalpers sent gift cards to their own people who bought tickets, and they walk up with the gift cards, scan the tickets, and they beat AC/DC’s brilliant idea to get rid of scalpers. They are always gonna find a way to get ahead. Be it bots, be it AI, whatever — it is our responsibility as agents is to figure out ways that as much money stays with the artist.

The 15th annual Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Fla. will feature headliners Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance and Bring Me the Horizon. The massive hard rock/punk/metal gathering from Danny Wimmer Presents will take place from May 7-10 at Daytona International Speedway, with more than 160 bands playing on five stages.

Thursday night will kick off with GNR, who will be joined by Five Finger Death Punch (as part of their 20th anniversary world tour), Godsmack and Staind (celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Break the Cycle album), followed by Foo Fighters accompanied by Turnstile, the Offspring and Parkway Drive. Saturday night’s Bring Me the Horizon headlining set — their only Florida show next year — will have support from Breaking Benjamin, Motionless in White and Lamb of God, with the final night finding My Chemical Romance performing alongside A Day to Remember, Rise Against and Yellowcard.

“We are dropping our 10th studio album and kicking off our 20th anniversary world tour in 2026, so starting the year at Welcome To Rockville feels perfect,” said FFDP rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory in a statement. “It is one of the biggest rock festivals in North America, and there is no better stage to fire the first shot of this next chapter of Five Finger Death Punch.”

All passes for next year’s Welcome to Rockville — including single-day, 4-day GA, VIP and the Daytona Owners Club — are on sale here now.

Among the other acts on tap for next year are: All Time Low, Alice Cooper, Ice Nine Kills, Amon Amarth, Simple Plan, Lorna Shore, Coheed and Cambria, Slaughter To Prevail, Sleeping with Sirens, Hollywood Undead, Black Label Society, Highly Suspect, Dance Gavin Dance, Architects, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Poppy, The Warning, Behemoth, Dethklok, Zakk Sabbath, Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm, Tom Morello, Underoath, Black Veil Brides, Mayday Parade, Sepultura, Suicidal Tendencies, Starset, Coal Chamber, Sevendust, Yelawolf, Badflower, Story of the Year, Plain White T’s, Avatar, In Flames, Switchfoot, The Home Team, State Champs, Gym Class Heroes, The Plot In You, Static-X, Hatebreed, We The Kings, Paleface Swiss, Kreator, Eagles of Death Metal, 3OH!3, Cradle of Filth, The Wonder Years and many more.

The Welcome to Rockville Battle for the Big Stage competition will also return next year, with bands encouraged enter the competition here now through Nov. 30. Leading up the festival, viewers can vote on who they want to play Rockville during the Sunday episodes of the Space Zebra show at 6:30 p.m. ET on the DWP Twitch channel.

Check out the 2026 Welcome to Rockville poster below.

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A$AP Rocky graced the cover as part of Vanity Fair‘s Hollywood Issue published Tuesday (Nov. 18), which saw the Harlem native expand on his passion for acting, so don’t expect him to slow up anytime soon.

“Acting is just another component of the great arts,” he told the magazine. “And I’m a Renaissance man … I’ve always had a desire, this innate passion for doing these acting roles.”

2025 was a busy year for Rocky in front of the camera, as he starred in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest alongside Denzel Washington, and then appeared in A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. 

“I’m at a place where anytime I’m around an OG,” he added of being around acting royalty such as Denzel. “I just soak in game … I would love to be silver and that wise one day myself. And still be handsome.”

Covering VF‘s Hollywood Issue made Rocky feel like he belonged with the upperclassmen of Hollywood, as he posed alongside actors Callum Turner, LaKeith Stanfield, Glen Powell and Jeremy Allen White.

“To be in that space and to be acknowledged and respected as an actor, or just an artist in general,” Rocky said while recognizing the company he kept. “Honestly, it was the boys, man.”

Over the years, the rapper has carved out a reputation as one of the fashion icons of his generation, but he knows his time in the sun is coming to an end at some point, and he’s ready to pass the torch.

“After me, it’ll be somebody special, and hopefully I know who that person is,” he said. “And it’ll be a person who I feel like deserves it.”

There’s still no update on A$AP Rocky’s much-delayed Don’t Be Dumb album. Rocky and Rihanna welcomed their third child, a baby girl named Rocki Irish Mayers, in September.

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Ozuna, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican-Dominican música urbana artist, is expanding his empire with the launch of Mucho, a bilingual, video-first media company. According to its website, Mucho is aimed at “amplifying the voices of young US Hispanic audiences” through streaming, talent-driven entertainment, and festivals. The new venture officially kicks off on Tuesday (Nov. 18).

The website also states that Mucho aims to deliver a variety of youth-driven content centered on sports, music, and pop culture, while striving to create an “ecosystem where young Latinos see themselves, their stories, and their passions” reflected through its programming and events. Its first offering will be a YouTube series titled Bodega Sessions, set to debut in December.

Bodega Sessions will kickstart the company’s efforts to build a presence on platforms like YouTube, and its leaders are aiming to expand into live festivals and other media formats as the brand grows. Additional shows focused on soccer and Latin music are already in development, with more announcements expected soon.

The launch of Mucho also coincides with the release of Ozuna’s upcoming collaborative album with Colombian artist Beéle, titled Stendhal, set to drop on Dec. 5, and consisting of 14 tracks. The album video trailer teases a dynamic vibe between the two artists, who are seen in a private jet and outdoors at night, where they seemingly point toward a UFO in the sky. This team-up continues their musical synergy, following last December’s release of “Frente al Mar (Ozuna Remix),” a breezy, tropical-laden track perfect for a beach day.