Elias Leight
billboard
United States
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Past articles by Elias:
ByteDance Launches Tool That Can Turn a Hum Into Music for TikTok
Ripple, which launched in Beta on Friday, would allow TikTokers to create audio for their clips without ever leaving a ByteDance app. → Read More
SoundCloud Ups Tracy Chan to Chief Content Officer
The company also promoted Ama Walton and added a senior vp of strategy. → Read More
Hip-Hop’s No. 1s Shortage: Is It Actually a Crisis or Is It ‘All Cyclical’?
Veteran executives discuss the challenges facing hip-hop — and why some chart statistics may not be the best measure of a genre’s reach. → Read More
TikTok COO V. Pappas Steps Down
TikTok COO V. Pappas has stepped down and chief of staff Adam Presser will take over operations. → Read More
Black-Owned Record Stores Have Been in Decline. They’re Banding Together to Reverse the Tide
Just around 3% of U.S. record stores have Black owners. The F.A.M.S. coalition wants to get them more support from the music industry. → Read More
‘Both of Us’ Made Jayda G a Star. With ‘Guy,’ She Turns Inward
DJ/producer’s new album explores the life of her father, who died when she was 10. → Read More
Gen Z Is Drinking Less and Clubs Aren’t Thrilled
Some small venue owners are noticing that younger audience’s alcohol consumption is dropping, impacting a key revenue stream. → Read More
Is the Music Business Slipping on Its Pledge to Diversity?
Black music executives say that, despite promises of greater diversity and inclusion, not enough advances have been made since Blackout Tuesday. → Read More
Are Major Labels Cooling on Viral Artists?
After years of paying big for songs going viral on social media, labels’ strategies may be shifting. → Read More
CD Baby Is No Longer Distributing CDs
“We have better opportunities and things to focus on on the digital side,” says president Scott Williams. → Read More
Universal Music Partners With AI Company to Win Sleep Playlists
Endel, a leader in the lucrative “functional music” space, will transform projects from UMG’s roster into soundscapes for relaxing or studying. → Read More
Terrace Martin Partners With BMG for Jazz Album Series
BMG will support six releases through Martin’s Sounds of Crenshaw label, with the first coming this summer. → Read More
Targeted Payments and Overnight Spins: How Labels Influence Airplay Charts
Documents obtained by Billboard show how payments from labels to one independent radio promoter seemingly result in spins at specific stations. → Read More
The Music Business Is Finally Starting to Pay Attention to Streaming Fraud
The Music Biz conference in Nashville devoted three panels to the issue, which attorney Mona Simonian said is “financially impacting everyone in the industry.” → Read More
Streaming Fraud 'Hurts Everyone.' Beatdapp Wants to Change That
Beatdapp works to prevent fraud from impacting payouts. “It’s already hard to make something,” co-CEO Andrew Batey says. “You should get paid correctly.” → Read More
‘It’s Not ‘All Good”: Black Music Action Coalition Offers Lukewarm Assessment of Industry Diversity
The music industry's racial diversity efforts need improvement, says a new BMAC report assessing companies' progress in addressing historical racism. → Read More
TikTok Debuts New Music Discovery Hub
#NewMusic “will give artists a new way to connect with our global community,” according to the platform’s global head of music operations. → Read More
Spotify Pulled Thousands of Songs to Fight Fraud — Not AI
Tracks from AI music company Boomy were removed, but streamers take down songs all the time, regardless of whether AI is involved. → Read More
SoundCloud, Merlin Strike Deal on Fan-Powered Royalties
Merlin members — including independent labels and distributors — will explore “new revenue opportunities” via the platform’s user-centric payment model. → Read More
Billboard Introduces ‘Fan Packs’ to Album Charts
The Billboard 200 will count some package offerings of music and collectibles as fans seek to support their favorite acts through merch purchases → Read More