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Billboard Launching ‘On the Record’ Music Business Podcast With SickBird Productions

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Billboard has announced the launch of On the Record With Kristin Robinson, a new weekly video podcast that takes listeners inside the music industry, drawing on original reporting from the Billboard newsroom and featuring exclusive interviews with top executives and artists. Created in partnership with SickBird Productions, the first episode of On the Record will go live Thursday morning (Sept. 18) on all podcast platforms.

The first episode was filmed backstage at Sphere in Las Vegas and features a conversation with the venue’s head of booking (Josephine Vaccatello) and head of Sphere Studios (Carolyn Blackwood) about how their residencies for artists like U2, Dead & Company and Eagles come together from booking to opening night. Other early episodes will include discussions about how Trump administration policies impact Latin concerts, and how streaming services will respond to the onset of the AI music revolution and more. Other episodes will also feature conversations with artists about going independent, planning unique rollouts and embracing technology.

From left: Carolyn Blackwood, head of Sphere Studios and Josephine Vaccarello, Head of Booking for MSG Entertainment and Kristin Robinson.

On the Record has its finger on the pulse of what the industry is actually talking about and will present the information in a way that opens up these insider conversations to everyone — whether that’s to other industry pros, curious fans or aspiring artists.

SickBird Productions is onboard as On the Record’s co-producer. An award-winning global production company, founded by Jade Watson, SickBird has launched more than 20 shows to date.

Since joining Billboard in 2021, On the Record host Kristin Robinson has become a leading music business and technology reporter, covering all things AI, streaming, publishing, digital marketing, labels and more. Her newsletter Machine Learnings about the intersection of music and tech is widely read across the industry and boasts 50,000 organic subscribers. Since 2021, Robinson has earned five journalistic honors for her work, including a National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award nomination for exposing a $23 million YouTube royalty fraud impacting Daddy Yankee and Julio Iglesias. When not covering the business side of things, she also writes cover stories and profiles for the publication, including features on Charli xcx, Addison Rae, Laufey, DJ Mustard, $uicideboy$ and Ghostwriter.

“Covering the music business at Billboard has shown me how closely the decisions being made in boardrooms impact the music fans are streaming, buying and experiencing live,” says Robinson. “With On the Record, my goal is to bridge that gap — bringing fans, artists and industry professionals into the same room to understand not just what’s happening in music, but why it matters.”

“The stories that drive the music industry go far beyond the charts. With On the Record, we’re creating a space to unpack the decisions, technologies and power shifts that define today’s music business,” says Hannah Karp, Billboard editor-in-chief. “Kristin has a unique ability to connect fans, artists and executives in one conversation, making the complexities of the industry both engaging and accessible.”

Diona DaCosta, head of content at SickBird, says: “Listeners can expect unfiltered conversations that bring them closer to the people and decisions shaping the music business today. Teaming up with Billboard gives us the perfect platform to tell these stories with both authority and depth. At SickBird, we’re uniquely positioned to translate these narratives for today’s digital-first audience. In a landscape where transparency is more important than ever, people don’t just want the headlines; they want to understand the strategy, the stakes and the voices behind the music industry’s biggest moves. This podcast pulls back the curtain to reveal the stories that usually stay behind closed doors.”

Watson adds: “Billboard has been defining the music industry for decades, and we’re proud to combine their unmatched authority in music reporting with SickBird’s 360° podcasting approach to launch this new show. By partnering, we have the opportunity to deliver the exclusive, ahead-of-the-curve content that Billboard’s audience craves whilst giving listeners unprecedented access to the people shaping the music business.”

Listen to On the Record With Kristin Robinson on Apple, Spotify and YouTube, and follow along with the show on Instagram.

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Justin Bieber Throws Water Bottle Toward Paparazzi During L.A. Date Night With Wife Hailey

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Justin Bieber had yet another tense encounter with paparazzi during a recent date night in Los Angeles with wife Hailey.

On Friday (March 6), the 32-year-old pop superstar lost his cool as photographers swarmed him in a parking garage following a late-night dinner at Sushi Park in West Hollywood.

Footage captured by TMZ shows Justin visibly frustrated, covering his face as he and Hailey made their way toward a black SUV. Once inside, the singer hurled a half-empty Fiji water bottle toward the paparazzi. The bottle didn’t hit anyone and fell to the ground, and the couple quickly drove off.

The incident marks yet another clash between Bieber and photographers. Last summer, ahead of the release of his seventh studio album, Swag, the “Yukon” singer went viral for seemingly confronting intrusive paparazzi, irritably asking, “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” The phrase quickly became a widespread meme.

In April 2025, Bieber criticized the “darkness” in L.A., particularly the treatment he faces from paparazzi. At the time, he shared an Instagram video showing his perspective as he stepped outside amid blinding camera flashes, with photographers following his every move and often blocking his path to the car.

“Look at these guys, man,” Bieber’s voice says disapprovingly from behind his camera, while his security guard repeatedly told the paps to back up.

Bieber has long battled with the paparazzi. Since his debut in 2009 at just 15 years old, the “Baby” artist has endured relentless hounding and spoken out against the invasive practice multiple times. The April 2025 incident echoed a similar moment in 2014, when his Ferrari was rear-ended by a persistent photographer.

“There should be laws against what I just experienced,” he posted on X at the time. “We should have learned from the death of Princess Diana…”

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Bad Bunny Performs First Asia Concert at Star-Studded Spotify’s Billions Club in Tokyo

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Bad Bunny made his Asia debut at Spotify’s Billions Club in Japan.

Fresh from his headline performance at Super Bowl LX, the 31-year-old Puerto Rican superstar performed at Tokyo’s Tipstar Dome Chiba for an invite-only show attended by roughly 2,300 of his top Spotify fans in the country on Saturday (March 7).

Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl LX Pregame + Apple Music Halftime Show Press Conference on February 05, 2026 in San Francisco, California.

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Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform at Super Bowl LX held at Levi's Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California.

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Bad Bunny performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show at Levi's Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California.

Bad Bunny Set For Spotify’s First Billions Club Live Performance In Asia

During his first-ever performance in Asia, Bad Bunny delivered 17 of his biggest hits, including “DtMF,” “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” “NUEVAYoL” and “EoO.” The artist has a total of 29 songs that have surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.

Adding to the spectacle, the stage was transformed with a Japan-inspired sakura theme, featuring cherry blossom trees, yakisugi wood accents and a glowing sun that illuminated the performance.

The show — Spotify’s first Billions Club Live in the region — also debuted a salsa version of his 2018 hit “MIA,” featuring guest appearances by Puerto Rican musicians Los Pleneros de la Cresta and Los Sobrinos. Other highlights included “Yonaguni,” during which fans sang along to the Japanese lyrics, a salsa rendition of “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” and a surprise appearance by Jowell & Randy for “Safaera.”

The evening opened and closed with music provided by DJ Nasthug. Celebrities in attendance included BLACKPINK‘s Lisa and contemporary artist Takashi Murakami.

Bad Bunny has been shattering numerous records in recent weeks. Last month, he landed a record-breaking 29 simultaneous titles on the Hot Latin Songs chart, including the entire top 25 — led by “DtMF” for a 47th week — while also bagging the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

The Latin star’s Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8 also pulled in 128.2 million viewers, marking the fourth-biggest halftime audience in history.

Check out more photos from Bad Bunny’s Spotify Billions Club event in Tokyo on Instagram here.

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Bruno Mars’ ‘The Romantic’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

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Bruno Mars notches his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, and first in more than a decade, as The Romantic debuts atop the tally (dated March 14). The set launches with 186,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending March 5, according to Luminate. Mars was last on top with his second full-length studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox, which climbed to No. 1 in March 2013 (nearly three months after it debuted). In turn, The Romantic is also Mars’ first No. 1-debuting album.

Bruno Mars performs onstage at the 68th GRAMMY Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles.

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All told, The Romantic marks the fifth top 10 for Mars, following his An Evening With Silk Sonic collaborative project with Anderson .Paak (No. 2, 2021) and his solo set 24K Magic (No. 2, 2016), Unorthodox Jukebox (No. 1, 2013) and Doo-Wops & Hooligans (No. 2, 2010).

Mars’ gap of nearly 13 years between No. 1s is the longest for any living solo male artist since Paul McCartney returned to the top in 2018 with Egypt Station, 36 years and three months after he was last No. 1 with the third and final week atop the chart with Tug of War on the June 12, 1982-dated chart. (Before Mars, the last male soloist to wait longer to come back to No. 1 was the late Toby Keith, who hit No. 1 after his death, on the Feb. 17, 2024, chart, with 35 Biggest Hits — 14 years and four months after he was last on top with Bullets in the Gun (Oct. 23, 2010).

Also debuting in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200: Gorillaz’s The Mountain, BLACKPINK’s DEADLINE and Mitski’s Nothing’s About To Happen to Me.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 14, 2026-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 10. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.

Of The Romantic’s 186,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week, album sales comprise 93,500 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 90,500 (equaling 93.95 million on-demand official streams of the set’s nine songs, Mars’ best streaming week for an album; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 2,000.

The Romantic’s first-week sales number was bolstered by its availability across 10 vinyl variants, in addition to a standard CD, cassette and digital download. Vinyl sales accounted for 48,000 of the album’s first-week — landing Mars his best week on vinyl ever. All versions of the album contain the same nine songs.

The album was preceded by its lead single, “I Just Might,” which became Mars’ 10th Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 (and first to debut at No. 1) on the Jan. 24-dated chart, and spent its first two weeks atop the list. The track has also been lodged at No. 1 for seven weeks on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs.

Three former No. 1s follow Mars on the Billboard 200: Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS holds at No. 2 with 77,000 equivalent album units earned (down 10%), Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem steps 5-3 (75,000, up 7%) and Don Toliver’s OCTANE pumps 6-4 (66,000, down 3%). Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving rounds out the top five, climbing 7-5 (60,000, down 2%).

Last week’s No. 1, Megan Moroney’s Cloud 9, floats down to No. 6 in its second week (55,000 equivalent album units earned, down 62%).

Gorillaz achieve their sixth top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 with the No. 7 debut of The Mountain. The set launches with 53,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 38,000 (it debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 15,000 (equaling 15.86 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

The album’s first-week sales got a boost from its availability across nine vinyl variants, four CDs, five cassettes, a standard digital download and an iTunes Store-exclusive download edition with one bonus track.

Gorillaz previously visited the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with Cracker Island (No. 3, 2023), The Now Now (No. 4, 2018), Humanz (No. 2, 2017), Plastic Beach (No. 2, 2010) and Demon Days (No. 6, 2005).

The new album was led by a pair of charting titles on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart: “The Happy Dictator,” featuring Sparks (No. 43 peak last September), and “The Manifesto,” featuring Trueno and Proof (No. 49 peak last October).

BLACKPINK scores its third top 10 on the Billboard 200 as DEADLINE debuts at No. 8 with 52,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 41,000 (it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 11,000 (equaling 11.46 million on-demand official streams of the set’s five songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

DEADLINE marks the return of the pop quartet to the Billboard 200 after more than three years. The group’s last release was BORN PINK, which marked the act’s first No. 1 (debuting atop the Oct. 1, 2022-dated chart). Since then, the four members (Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé) have all released solo album projects, all of which have charted on a Billboard album ranking.

The new album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across 13 CD variants (all containing collectible items such as photocards and posters, with some items randomized). CD sales comprise 94% of the album’s first-week sales, with the remainder sold from digital downloads.

DEADLINE was preceded by the Hot 100-charting single “JUMP,” which peaked at No. 28 last July and spent 10 weeks on the list — the most weeks on the chart among the group’s 10 charted titles.

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping The Life of a Showgirl is a non-mover at No. 9 on the latest Billboard 200 with just under 43,000 equivalent album units earned for the week (down 3%).

Closing out the top 10 of the Billboard 200 is Mitski’s Nothing’s About To Happen to Me, debuting at No. 10 with nearly 43,000 equivalent album units earned — the artist’s best week ever by units. Of that sum, album sales comprise 31,000 (her best sales week ever; it debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 12,000 (equaling 12.16 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

First-week sales of the album were aided by its availability across seven vinyl variants (including a signed edition), two CDs and two cassettes, and a standard digital download. Vinyl purchases accounted for 69% of the set’s overall opening-week sales.

Nothing’s About To Happen to Me is the second top 10 on the Billboard 200 for Mitski, following 2022’s Laurel Hell (No. 5).

The new album was preceded by the charting hit “Where’s My Phone?” which hit No. 11 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated March 7 and No. 38 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs in January.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

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