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We are just months away from the release of the highly-anticipated second half of Wicked, Wicked: For Good, and everyone’s getting excited, including Ariana Grande.

If you didn’t know, film’s second half is set to release in theaters on Nov. 21. Grande is so excited for the release, in fact, that she dropped a Wicked: For Good-inspired makeup collection under her beauty brand R.E.M. Beauty. The limited-edition collection includes nine Wicked-inspired products, including everything from eyeshadows and blush to plumping glosses and so much more, all imbued with the spirit of the films and the unbreakable bond between Glinda, portrayed by Grande, and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. Pricing ranges from $20 to $65.

You can shop the full collection, brushes and all, right now at Ulta Beauty. You’d better be quick, however, R.E.M. Beauty’s past Wicked collection went fast, and we’re sure this one will too. To help you shop like a beauty expert, we’ve picked out five of our favorites from the collection that we think are worth the splurge. We’ll be breaking down pricing, formula and everything in between. Keep reading to shop Grande’s Wicked: For Good collection.

What To Shop From R.E.M. Beauty's 'Wicked: For Good' Makeup Collection

R.E.M. Beauty Wicked Cherry Blossom Blush Palette

A three shadow blush palette.


Blush is one of our favorite parts of any makeup routine. It truly brings any look to life. This $40 Cherry Blossom Blush Palette is a great piece to have in your makeup kit because it offers users many ways to flush all in one product. You’ve got three pans of blush, one matte, one shimmer & one with a melange finish, meaning it’s mottled with shimmer.

Each shade is a warm pink in varying hues that will give you different effects when applied. The matte finish is your standard wash of color, while the other two shades offer a flush with a slight wash of shimmer, giving your look that extra oomph. We’d recommend this product to our readers with a lighter complexion, while the Coral palette in the Wicked collection might work best for those with deeper complexions.

What To Shop From R.E.M. Beauty's 'Wicked: For Good' Makeup Collection

R.E.M. Beauty Elphaba Makeup Set

A four-piece makeup collection.


Four products for the price of one? Sign us up. This Elphaba Makeup Set retails for $65, that is roughly $16.25 per item. The set comes with a liquid eyeshadow, blush & lip stick, lip liner and a glossy balm. Every color featured in the collection is inspired by Elphaba’s color palette. The liquid eyeshadow is a bronzy hue with green undertones.

The shadow is blendable and doesn’t crease despite ample weartime. The blush & lip stick is a berry tone in a balmy formula that works on both the lips and cheeks, as the name suggests. The lip liner is formulated to work with the accompanying glossy balm. The liner is chocolate brown while the lippie is a plum hue. This set is well worth the price tag.

What To Shop From R.E.M. Beauty's 'Wicked: For Good' Makeup Collection

R.E.M. Beauty Wicked Glinda Makeup Set

A four-piece makeup set.


Like the Elphaba set, the Glinda set is inspired by Glinda’s opalescent pink-heavy color scheme and retails for $65. You get four products: a liquid eyeshadow, a glow stick, lip liner and a glossy balm. The eyeshadow is a non-creasing blendable purple hue with a duochrome pink and blue shift. The glow stick is similarly shiny with a lavender and pink shift. It can be used on the lips and cheeks for a unique shine. The lip liner is a comfortable, smudge-proof formula in a warm pink hue that works well with the accompanying pink glossy balm with iridescent shimmers throughout. Like the last set, you’re getting a great value for the price.  

What To Shop From R.E.M. Beauty's 'Wicked: For Good' Makeup Collection

R.E.M. Beauty Wicked Ozian Forest Eyeshadow Palette

A 12 pan eyeshadow palette.


This is one of those products that is a must-buy in our books. This Ozian Forest Eyeshadow Palette retails for $60 and comes with a total of 12 shadows, including a mix of mattes and shimmers. The color scheme is pretty neutral, save for some greens and pinks here and there. The mattes are pigmented but extremely user-friendly, blending out with the simplest of touches. The shimmers are equally as impactful, giving even the simplest of eyelooks a head-turning aspect. Whether you want this palette for everyday use or to create something bold and unforgettable, these shadows will get you there.

What To Shop From R.E.M. Beauty's 'Wicked: For Good' Makeup Collection

R.E.M. Beauty Wicked Poppy Plumping Lip Gloss

A plumping gloss in a shimmering finish.


The plumpest pout in all of Oz can be yours with this Wicked Poppy Plumping Lip Gloss. Retailing for $20, the gloss comes in three shades total, although we like the Pretty as Poppy shade the best. These glosses are both pigmented and hydrating, sitting comfortably on the lips without that stinging or burning feeling you get with most plumping products.

The plumping effect is gentle, activated through ingredients like vanilla-spiced pepper, cotton seed oil, and botanical retinol. These combined ingredients stimulate the skin, creating a warm, tingling sensation, essentially increasing blood flow to the lips to make them appear plumper. It’s not magic like Glinda would have you believe. It’s all science, baby.

Cardi B says that she will not be dropping a video to her BIA diss track “Pretty & Petty” because she doesn’t wanna be a bully.

BIA dropped off her new album, Bianca, on Friday (Oct. 10), and during a recent livestream with fans Cardi B said she recognized that putting out an album is a lot of stress and work. Due to this, Cardi, who dropped her album Am I The Drama? back in September, said she would not be dropping off the Instagram visual to her song “Pretty & Petty.”

“I know how stressful it is to put an album out and I know how f—ked up you be in the mind when you put an album out and s—t, so I feel like if I do a video to ‘Pretty & Petty as F—k’ this week or today, I feel like I would be bullying,” Cardi said. “I don’t wanna feel like a bully. Because when I bully, then God takes from me.”

She continued, “If the b—h ain’t messing with me and she didn’t sub me in her f—king dusty a– album, I’m not gonna do a video, like, reciting her diss track and s—t like that on a day that I know she’s stressed. Because then God will punish me. So I’ll do a video tomorrow morning to another song. Probably next week, I’ll do a video for ‘Pretty & Petty as F—k.’ I’mma be nice to you because it’s your album day. I don’t wanna add to your stress. I’m not that bad person that people think I am.”

The empathetic response comes just a few days after Cardi B fired back at BIA following the “Whole Lotta Money” rapper’s recent interview with Hot 97. BIA addressed her feud with the Bronx native in the interview, and said it all stemmed from fans noting similarities in BIA’s Really Her project and Cardi’s “Enough (Miami).”

“That was the only thing it was about for me,” BIA clarified on Hot 97, before dispelling rumors that it had anything to do with both rappers flipping Missy Elliott’s “She’s a Bitch.”

Cardi responded almost immediately on X Spaces on Wednesday (Oct. 8).

“After we resolved that conversation on the phone, the ‘Enough’ music video comes out and then you start subbing me again because you in your delusional mind think I copied one of your music video contents,” Cardi said. “It’s like, b—h, I done told you before. You’re not interesting enough for me to look at you. You’re not creative, your music is boring, everything about you is boring. I don’t care nothing about you. You’re bugging.”

Check out Cardi B’s latest response below.


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As Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, forges an historic first week, its accolades extend to Billboard’s radio charts.

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The Republic-released set’s lead single promoted to radio, “The Fate of Ophelia,” blasts in as the first song ever to debut in the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart, at No. 8 on the list dated Oct 18. It passes two hits — one by Swift — that each started at a prior No. 12 best: her own “Shake It Off” (Sept. 6, 2014) and Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover” (Aug. 14, 1993). Those hits went on to two and eight weeks at No. 1, respectively; Swift holds the record for the most leaders — 13 — in the chart’s 33-year history.

Multiple chains gave “The Fate of Ophelia” concentrated play on its first day of release (Oct. 3), while Swift has made promotional rounds including on iHeartMedia’s Elvis Duran and the Morning Show that day. “That one, just as soon as we wrote it, I had a feeling it would be the that one we’d go with first and the one I’d get to make a music video for,” she told Duran of the song.

“The Fate of Ophelia” also makes an unprecedented start on Adult Pop Airplay, at No. 8. It’s just the third song — all by Swift — to open in the chart’s top 10, outpacing No. 9 bows for “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone (May 4, 2024), and “Shake It Off” (Sept. 6, 2014).

Plus, “The Fate of Ophelia” charges onto Adult Contemporary at No. 10, Swift’s first top 10 debut on the chart and the best beginning since Adele’s “Easy of Me” (No. 6, Oct. 23, 2021, on its way to a 24-week command).

Given its entrance on Pop Airplay, “The Fate of Ophelia” is, thus, the first song ever to debut in the top 10 of all three pop/adult radio rankings.

Swift scores her 27th top 10 on Pop Airplay, second only to Rihanna’s 30. On Adult Pop Airplay, Swift adds her record-extending 33rd top 10. On Adult Contemporary, she ups her count to a milestone 20 top 10s.

Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on more than 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate. Adult Pop Airplay ranks songs by weekly plays on nearly 80 adult top 40 stations and Adult Contemporary ranks songs by weekly plays on more than 80 adult contemporary stations.

Meanwhile, other songs from The Life of a Showgirl make airplay chart debuts. “Opalite” (No. 34); the title track, featuring Sabrina Carpenter (No. 38); and “Wi$h Li$t” (No. 39) all enter Pop Airplay. On Adult Pop Airplay, they start at Nos. 24, 32 and 33, respectively, along with “Elizabeth Taylor” (No. 39) and “Cancelled!” (No. 40). On Adult Contemporary, “The Life of a Showgirl” debuts at No. 26.

More cuts from the album are receiving early play, including the frisky “Wood.” Notably, a radio edit of the song changes the line, “His love was the key that opened my thighs,” to the squeaky-clean, “His love was the key that opened my skies.” “It really started out in a very innocent place,” Swift said sheepishly on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on Monday, Oct. 6. “I don’t know what happened, man …”

Billboard is expected to announce the debut of The Life of a Showgirl on the Oct. 18-dated Billboard 200 albums chart on Sunday (Oct. 12). Highlights of the set’s impact on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100 songs chart are scheduled to post Monday (Oct. 13), with all charts dated Oct. 18 updating Tuesday (Oct. 14) on Billboard.com.


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Following a sold-out 2025 edition that marked its most successful year yet, the Same Same But Different (SSBD) Festival is breaking new ground by inviting fans to buy into its future. 

The Southern California festival, held each September at Lake Perris State Park in Riverside County, has launched a first-of-its-kind public ownership campaign through WeFunder, allowing attendees to invest directly in the company. The soft launch, open only to 2025 attendees, raised $409,000 in its first week. Now, WeFunder is opening the investment opportunity to the general public, making SSBD one of the first music festivals in the U.S. to pursue what co-founder Brad Sweet is calling a “fan-funded ownership model.” 

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“For as little as $100, fans can move from just attending to becoming part-owners,” says Sweet of the offering, which starts Friday (Oct. 10). “We’re making sure SSBD grows with the people who made it possible — and that it stays independent for years to come.” 

Founded 2018 by musicians and friends living together in Southern California, Same Same But Different has steadily built a loyal following around its lakeside setting, immersive art and eclectic music lineup. This year, the festival capped attendance at 5,000 — a sellout — and achieved a 34% year-over-year increase in ticket sales, beating its own projections, the festival says. 

“Our theme this year was ‘less but better,’” Sweet explains. “Rather than expand and do everything that comes across the plate, we wanted to hone in on what we already do well and make it better, smoother, more dialed in.” 

Sweet says SSBD’s goal is to cap attendance permanently at around 7,500 to maintain the intimate, community-driven atmosphere that defines the event. “It’s a reflection of the festivals I loved the most,” he says. “You can still stay profitable and be a business that makes sense — but keep that intimacy that makes it special.” 

Because SSBD is attempting to raise money through WeFunder, it is required to disclose internal financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC). According to the company’s public filings, SSBD has $242,811 in assets, more than double the previous year, with $234,620 in cash on hand. The company is carrying $726,962 in short term debt, up from $353,726 in the previous year, and long-term debt of $1.5 million, up from $1.1 million the previous year. The company reported $2.2 million in revenue this year, slightly up from the previous year, and negative net income of $911,994, down slightly from the previous year. 

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Under the new WeFunder model, fans can purchase actual shares in the company. “This is true ownership,” says Sweet. “We filed with the SEC, so it’s real — not just crowdfunding. It’s ownership, perks, and participation.” 

Investors can buy in for as little as $100, with perks starting at $250 and scaling up to lifetime VIP passes for investments of $10,000. At the $500 level, investors will be invited to annual meetups and early access events — including a cannabis-themed show this November where Sweet plans to discuss next year’s plans with the community. 

Investors at higher levels will have opportunities to weigh in on creative decisions, like lineup choices or art installations, though voting rights in company operations will remain with festival management. 

“We didn’t want hundreds of people voting on business matters,” Sweet says with a laugh. “But creatively, we want their input. These are the people who understand the culture.” 

Sweet says he wanted to prove that independent festivals could stay independent — and financially healthy — without selling to Live Nation or AEG. “We’re doing this because we’re profitable,” he emphasizes. “We didn’t want this to feel like a donation. We wanted fans to know they’re investing in a strong business with a future.” 

If successful, investors could receive dividends within a few years, as the festival grows into its 7,500-attendee ceiling. Sweet says any future acquisition — though not the goal — would pay out investors equally alongside founders. 

“This might become a new financial model for how independent festivals can stay independent,” Sweet says. “Raising funds is often what pushes early-stage festivals into the arms of big corporations. This could be a way to change that — to let the community that loves you also own you.” 

On World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10), J Balvin and Equinox are asking people to do something simple but powerful: pause, disconnect, and focus on the mind.

The campaign, exclusively revealed to Billboard, invites Equinox members nationwide on Friday to “leave their phones at check-in,” says the statement, creating intentional moments to pause and reset. Throughout the day, the Colombian superstar will curate music and messages to remind participants that caring for mental health is essential to high-performance living. “No screens, no scrolling, focus on yourself,” J Balvin emphasizes in the video shared with Billboard Español.

A long-time advocate for mental health awareness, Balvin has used his platform to shed light on his personal experiences with anxiety and depression. The hitmaker has spoken openly about his struggles in interviews, on social media, and through his work, including the launch of his emotional wellness app, OYE, in 2022. 

“I know what it’s like to struggle in private while performing in public. That duality lives in me, and in many others,” Balvin tells Billboard Español. “I want to break the stigma — to say, ‘It’s okay not to be okay,’ and it’s powerful to ask for help. This campaign with Equinox is a step toward making mental well being part of how we measure success.”

Equinox also collaborates with Project Healthy Minds to “shine a light on mental health and create mindful moments for our community. Inner strength is the truest measure of a good life,” says Judy Taylor, svp of communications and philanthropy at Equinox. “The ultimate luxury is peace of mind. At Equinox, we’ve always believed that true strength comes from within.”


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The 2025 edition of Billboard Latin Music Week is set to shine a spotlight on the powerful women shaping the future of Latin music. Whether legends or rising stars, these ladies are breaking barriers, defying stereotypes, and reshaping success in the global music industry. Kicking off Oct 20 in Miami, this year’s program will offer fans, creators and industry folks alike an inside look at their journeys and creative processes.

At the staple Women’s Panel, attendees will have an exclusive look at how bright talents are navigating the international stage and driving Latin music into the future — starring Spain’s Aitana, Colombia’s Ela Taubert, and Mexico’s Silvana Estrada, alongside breakout stars Dominican sensation Yailin La Más Viral and Argentina’s Yami Safdie.

Legends will also share their wisdom, including Italian superstar Laura Pausini who will recount her groundbreaking career during an intimate conversation. She will be honored with the Icon Award at this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Fans can also look forward to an iconic session featuring Gloria Estefan, the first major Latin “crossover” artist, alongside her husband and cultural ambassador, Emilio Estefan. Together, the Estefans will discuss how they have shaped the sound and scope of Latin music while opening doors for generations of artists to follow.

Then, the Queen of Reggaetón Ivy Queen alongside Dominican trailblazer Tokischa will tackle the battle against stereotypes for women in Latin music. Meanwhile, Colombian-American superstar Kali Uchis will offer an intimate look into her artistry as she continues to push boundaries as a bilingual hitmaker. Here are six panels featuring major female stars that you won’t want to miss. For the full program, tickets, and more info, visit www.billboardlatinmusicweek.com.

Note: Schedule is subject to change.


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Billie Eilish‘s show in Miami briefly took a frightening turn Thursday night (Oct. 9) when someone in the crowd forcefully yanked her as the singer was greeting fans in the pit.

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As captured in numerous videos from the pop star’s first of three performances at the Kaseya Center this month, Eilish was walking by concertgoers lined up at the barricade and touching their hands when one person abruptly grabbed her arm, using enough force to spin her around and slam her against the divider. Security personnel immediately intervened, helping the nine-time Grammy winner back up onto her feet and pushing the rogue audience member back.

Some clips show Eilish as she walked away, looking shocked and upset. At press time Billboard had not heard back from the singer’s team for comment on the incident.

Unfortunately, the musician has been dealing with inappropriate fan behavior at shows for years. In 2019, one person put their hand around her neck while she was interacting with the crowd at Austin City Limits. “She probably didn’t mean to,” Eilish later said of the incident in an interview with Vanity Fair. “They’re only trying to be loving, and sometimes it just comes off wrong.”

The two-time Oscar winner has also spoken out about people at her shows throwing things at her while she’s on stage. Last December, she was hit in the face with a necklace during a concert in Arizona, and Eilish has said before that concertgoers will often throw their phones at her.

“I’ve been getting hit on stage with things for, like, literally six years,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “It’s absolutely infuriating when you’re up there. I have mixed feelings about it, because when you’re up there, it blows. But you know it’s out of love, and they’re just trying to give you something. You’re in a vulnerable position.”

Eilish will take the stage again in Miami on Saturday (Oct. 11). She is currently touring in support of her Billboard 200 No. 2 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, for which she’s been on the road for more than a year.

The trek will wrap in late November with two shows in San Francisco.


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Before Jay Dee became the lead singer of pioneering trap corridos troupe Herencia de Patrones, the artist born Jesús Diego Orejel spent his days picking peaches in Northern California’s vast agricultural fields. The fuzz from the fruit often caused his skin to itch, a constant reminder of the grueling labor he dreamed of leaving behind to chart a future in music.

His journey from farmworker to frontman is at the heart of CLIKA [“The Gang”], a film executive-­directed by Jimmy Humilde, founder and CEO of label Rancho Humilde. Due for release in January 2026 by Columbia Pictures in collaboration with Sony Music U.S. Latin and Sony Pictures, the movie offers an authentic look at the Mexican American experience while showcasing the corridos tumbados explosion of recent years — and the cultural movement it inspired.

“It all started with an idea, something that had to do with the culture, how we’re building corridos and how we didn’t have to go to Mexico to [do so],” Humilde says. “We created it here in the U.S. for the U.S. audience, and now it has gone global.” Adds Txema Rosique, senior vp of A&R for Sony Music U.S. Latin, “CLIKA is grounded in real experiences, promoting self-worth, perseverance and cultural pride… We see this as the start of a long-term effort to tell more stories that uplift and empower underrepresented communities.”

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The film is loosely inspired by the rise of Rancho Humilde, the independent label Humilde founded in 2011 to elevate artists like Natanael Cano, Fuerza Regida and Herencia de Patrones. For years, the label’s viral music videos, many of which depict artists flexing luxury rides and stacks of cash, have racked up hundreds of millions of YouTube views. These visuals served as storytelling pieces for the budding corridos tumbados movement and helped cement the rise of Jay Dee’s group, which broke through in 2019. Soon enough, Humilde realized those stories could extend beyond music videos: “I thought, ‘Why don’t we make a movie?’ We already had the audience.”

The film was also a natural next step for Jay Dee, who makes his acting debut in the lead role. “It felt like shooting a music video, and because this story was so close to my own life, it was easier to step into those shoes,” he says. “Up here in Northern Cali, that’s what a lot of people know — my family members and the people that I roll with in my crew, they all know farmwork. They all got their hands dirty and know what it’s like to pick peaches, deshijar [“to remove shoots and suckers”], podar [“to prune”].”

Formed in Yuba City in 2016, Herencia de Patrones is widely credited with helping pioneer a style that fuses traditional regional Mexican corridos and norteño with hip-hop wordplay. The film’s narrative parallels Jay Dee’s personal milestones, including the release of “Cosa de la Clika,” his group’s breakthrough corrido featuring Fuerza Regida and Legado 7 from its 2019 studio debut, Pa las Vibras. “That was the track that changed everything,” Jay Dee recalls.

For Humilde, the movie reflects the same philosophy that made Rancho Humilde a success. “This film is to show people that anything you set your mind on to do is possible,” he says. “We created all [of this] with thought, faith and a lot of belief in ourselves.”

This story appears in the Oct. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.

Justin Bieber’s “Daisies” blossoms as his 11th No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart, rising a spot to the top of the list dated Oct. 18.

Bieber ties Bruno Mars for the most leaders among solo males over the Pop Airplay chart’s history, which dates to October 1992. Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Rihanna also each have 11 No. 1s — second only to Taylor Swift’s record 13.

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“Daisies,” on JRC/ILH/Def Jam/Republic, returns Bieber to the Pop Airplay summit for the first time in more than three-and-a-half years, since “Ghost” in February 2022. He extends his span of leaders to a week shy of a decade, after he first reigned with “What Do You Mean?” in late October 2015.

The Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on more than 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.

Here’s a rundown of Bieber’s 11 Pop Airplay No. 1s:

  • “Daisies,” one week at No. 1 to date, Oct. 18, 2025
  • “Ghost,” one, Feb. 26, 2022
  • “Stay,” with The Kid LAROI, 13 weeks, beginning Sept. 4, 2021
  • “Peaches,” feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon, four, May 22, 2021
  • “Intentions,” feat. Quavo, one, June 27, 2020
  • “I Don’t Care,” with Ed Sheeran, three, July 27, 2019
  • “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Bieber, five, July 22, 2017
  • “Cold Water,” Major Lazer feat. Bieber & MØ, one, Oct. 1, 2016
  • “Love Yourself,” five, Feb. 13, 2016
  • “Sorry,” three, Jan. 2, 2016
  • “What Do You Mean?,” two, Oct. 24, 2015

“Daisies” is from Bieber’s album SWAG, which in July launched as his 12th top 10 on the Billboard 200. The song became his 27th top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, as he tied Janet Jackson for the 10th-most top 10s in the chart’s 67-year archives.

Also notably, “Daisies” slays Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” which drops to No. 2 after it led Pop Airplay for a record 16 weeks, surpassing Ace of Base’s “The Sign” (14 weeks, 1994) for the all-time mark.

All charts dated Oct. 18 will update Tuesday, Oct. 14, on Billboard.com.


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In the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI, the music industry is facing urgent and profound disruptions. As AI-generated compositions flood digital platforms, mimic human artists (to varying degrees), and go viral under fictional personas, the industry finds itself at a crossroads. At the heart of the issue is a challenge that resurfaces with every technological shift: creating fair and equitable licensing models. Time and again, new (and well-funded) companies enter the market with little interest in paying music creators what they’re truly worth. 

Since the inception of the concept of copyright, there has been an underlying assumption that songs originate from human creators. This foundation underpins everything from copyright registrations to royalty distributions. But in today’s landscape, generative AI can create music with minimal or no human input, and the industry’s legacy systems are simply not equipped to handle this new reality.

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When an AI-generated work appears on a streaming platform, who owns it?  Who should get paid if it racks up millions of streams or is licensed for film, TV or ads? And how is it fair for these AI-created works to siphon off streams — and revenue — that would otherwise go to human-made music?  These questions remain largely unanswered. As a result, AI music continues to enter the market with little to no accurate metadata about how it was created, who owns it or what its legal status is. 

This lack of clarity imposes a serious threat to the infrastructure that sustains the music industry economy. At a time when building a sustainable career as an artist, musician or songwriter is already more difficult than ever, this represents yet another massive challenge. PROs, DSPs, music publishers, record labels and digital distributors all depend on accurate metadata to properly allocate royalties. When a track’s origin is unclear, the system breaks down: payments go unmade, or worse, end up in the hands of bad actors gaming the system. Now multiply that by the virtually limitless volume of AI-generated music, and we’re staring down a full-blown crisis. 

Metadata is the DNA of music. It contains essential information — songwriters, performers, publishers, ISRC codes, ISWC codes — that allows works to be identified, tracked, monetized and ultimately paid on. Unfortunately, the music industry still has massive data gaps for millions of human-generated works. With the arrival of AI-generated music at a global scale, that gap is rapidly widening into a chasm. 

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To future-proof the industry, we need new metadata standards that clearly indicate whether a work is human made, AI-assisted, or fully AI-generated. This added layer of transparency would benefit everyone in the licensing ecosystem: publishers, labels, DSPs, broadcasters, distributors and beyond. It should also extend to the listening public, so audiences know what they’re engaging with. Implementing this could be as simple as adding a few extra few words to the label copy or credits.

A fair and equitable licensing model goes hand in hand with the new standard for metadata. It’s straightforward: the AI needs songs to train off of, and songs have tremendous value. The pushback is that large-scale licensing often comes with challenges in identifying all the rights holders — multiple songwriters and publishers and hard-to-trace sound recording owners can make the process complex. But AI companies that are creating the most powerful learning technology ever known to man should be able to keep track of what songs are being used to train their models. Furthermore, it’s never been easier to find out who owns the rights to a song.  The music industry has worked tremendously hard on transparency over the years, driven largely by the shift from physical formats to a digital streaming ecosystem and the vast amounts of data that come with it.

AI is moving at a breakneck speed, and the gap between attribution and automation is widening by the day. If we fail to act now, we risk losing the ability to properly document, license and protect music at scale. Once metadata is lost — or never created in the first place — it becomes exponentially harder, if not impossible, to recover. The longer we wait to implement clear standards and guardrails, the more vulnerable human creators become to exploitation and erasure. The time to close the gap is now — before attribution becomes a relic of the past.

Frank Handy is the national chair and Los Angeles chapter president of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and a seasoned music executive with two decades of experience in publishing, royalties, and operations. Currently vice president and head of operations & administration at Position Music, he has overseen global catalogs and worked with artists including The Weeknd, Lorde, and Diplo.


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