Elias Leight
billboard
United States
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Past articles by Elias:
Warner Chappell Extends Guy Moot and Carianne Marshall Through 2028
The pair have co-chaired the publisher since 2019. → Read More
Peggy Gou’s ‘Nanana’: How a Festival Video and a Mashup Turned It Into a Breakout Dance Hit
The DJ-producer earned her first Billboard chart entry with an ode to ’90s dance music. “I really did not expect this reaction,” she says. → Read More
ByteDance Shutters Free Tier of Resso Streaming Platform
Resso's free tier is going away as ByteDance focuses the streaming platform on a premium-only strategy. → Read More
RIP Heardle: Spotify Plans to Nix Song-Guessing Game
Heardle is shutting down. Spotify is folding the Wordle-like song-guessing game less than a year after buying it. → Read More
Universal Music Group Trims Radio Expenses as Format’s Influence Wanes
The move comes at a time when there is debate around the music industry about the most effective methods of spending promotion dollars. → Read More
Spotify Expands Access to Controversial Discovery Mode Program
Artists can now opt in through the Spotify for Artists tool, the platform announced during its Stream On event. → Read More
1B French Streams Were Fake in 2021, Report Finds: ‘Fraud Seems to Be Getting Easier’
The French organization CNM published the first country-wide investigation into streaming fraud based on data from Spotify, Deezer and Qobuz. → Read More
Public Radio’s Winning Strategy: Music Discovery
A handful of public radio stations dedicated to playing new singles have enjoyed notable ratings bumps in recent years. → Read More
Fake Streams Aren’t Slowing Down
The problem is bigger than most people realize, and it seems to benefit major-label stars as well as developing acts, according to internal data from SoundCloud. → Read More
Is the Music Industry’s Love Affair With TikTok ‘Dead’?
Marketers used to leveraging promotional tools are finding it increasingly tough to impact the popular app. → Read More
Sped-Up Songs Are Taking Over TikTok and Driving Songs Up the Charts
Hard-charging reworks of popular singles have been thriving on the social media platform, and labels are leaning into the trend. → Read More
Kodak Black Is Headed to Capitol — He Just Has to Release Some More Records With Atlantic First
The “Super Gremlin” rapper plans to drop Kutthroat Bill: Vol 1 later this month. → Read More
Too Many Songs, Not Enough Hits: Pop Music Is Struggling to Create New Stars
Execs say that a deluge of new music — and the difficulty of influencing TikTok’s algorithm — has made building an audience harder than ever for new acts. → Read More
When Old Hits Compete With New Singles, Do Artists Win or Lose?
The unpredictability of TikTok-spurred viral success has resulted in countless contemporary acts seeing older songs take off while their newer material hangs in limbo. → Read More
Sony Music’s Catalog Has Been Removed From Resso, the ByteDance-Owned Streaming App
Sony Music's catalog, which includes artists such as Harry Styles, Lil Nas X and Doja Cat, is no longer available on the ByteDance-owned streaming app Resso. → Read More
YouTube Wants to Make Music Licensing Easier for Video Creators
The new Creator Music hub is a “digital storefront” that streamlines the licensing process — and allows music rights holders to access a new source of revenue. → Read More
Why Indie Artists Are a Rarity on Radio: ‘If You Don’t Pay, You Don’t Move Up’
Promotion executives from independent labels tell Billboard that a pay-to-play “toll” is keeping them off the airwaves. → Read More
BMI Layoffs Hit 'Just Under 10%' of Workforce
The PRO said the cuts were “necessary… to ensure that we are best positioned for continued success in the future.” → Read More
TikTok Curators Are Helping Songs Go Viral — and Labels Are Writing Checks
TikTokers used to find music primarily through dance trends. Now they’re gravitating to creators who recommend new songs. → Read More
Spam Acts Use This Trick to Get Songs on a Major Streaming Playlist
People are trying to game streaming by uploading songs that claim to feature popular acts — except the bigger artists have no involvement. → Read More