In this issue

“Despacito” becomes the first Spanish-language No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart.

The 12 best institutions producing the music industry’s next generation of entertainment litigators.

Thirty-five years ago, Jennifer Holliday’s “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” hit No. 1.

How Asian “smog couture” and two selfconscious rappers gave rise to fashion’s hottest trend: masks.

pandora's risky business

with 78 million users, streaming’s original music service remains an online radio giant — but increasingly threatened by subscription blue chips like spotify and apple music. now, amid layoffs and acquisition rumors, co-founder/ceo tim westergren is about to launch an ambitious bid for subscribers of its own: “the other products out there are unsatisfying”

10+ mins

The Three Amigos

A rowdy trio raised together in North Atlanta, Migos cut a singularly now path to pop stardom: STEP 1 Launch a dance craze. STEP 2 Score a No. 1 with the help of a meme. STEP 3 Spend Grammy night partying with superfans Chance the Rapper and Chris Brown — as Billboard tags along. “I try not to be cocky,” says Takeoff, “but hey, we the shit, man”

10+ mins

California's Hero Of Cannabis Legalization

Lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom has rock star friends, his own clubs and a progressive agenda that got his state’s landmark Proposition 64 legislation passed — and the music industry rallying behind him

7 mins

The Green Album

As vinyl sales hit a nearly 30-year high, Slightly Stoopid’s managers create a novelty that music-loving potheads could only dream of: an LP made entirely of hash

1 min

Simon Cowell, the Svengali's Second Act

From 1D to Fifth Harmony, the TV and music mogul owns pop culture. Now 56, he’s going in front of the camera again as he heads to America’s Got Talent, talks Harry Styles solo, plays with his 2-year-old son and reveals a certain sentimentality about American Idol: ‘I like to torture myself’

10+ mins

Twenty One Pilots on Their Musical Bromance and Fleeting Fame

Twenty One Pilots have blown up at top 40 radio, sold out massive arenas and even drawn the ire of millennial-bashing columnists with an unapologetic mashup of suburban angst, rap and reggae. But to Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, all that matters is their bond - with each other and their (millennial) fans. “It probably seems like two good-looking guys making pop music. But really it’s just the opposite.”

10+ mins

Gone Girl

Camila Cabello Kicked Off Her Solo Career and Her Band Sisters in Fifth Harmony Unexpectedly Denounced Her for It. Now She’s Got a Top Five Single, a Much-anticipated Album Coming and Zero Second Thoughts: “you Have to Honor That Inner Voice”

10+ mins

The Rise And Fall And Rise Of Nicky Jam

Born in the USA, catapulted to teen fame in Puerto Rico and practically washed up by his 20s, Nicky Jam went to Medellín, Colombia — a city haunted by its drug kingpin past — to find sobriety, love and greater-than-ever success. Billboard spends 48 hours with the reggaetón superstar in his adopted home as he prepares for his wedding — and, oh yeah, scores a No. 1 Latin album

10+ mins

Fifth Harmony: Pretty Little Fighters

Girl groups were supposed to have been kaput when The X Factor threw together five ambitious teens with hard-knock childhoods. But as Fifth Harmony finally attains the upper reaches of the Hot 100, the tight-knit group finds itself “traumatized” by the strain of prepackaged fame, isolated from family and struggling to stay balanced. Now, they’re eager to assert their opinions on the industry, politics and Kanye West: “We finally have a damn voice.”

10+ mins

Jennifer Nettles: A Star Goes Back To Her Roots

Four years after Sugarland’s split, Jennifer Nettles is supporting Hillary and advocating for female artists (bro country be damned): “It’s in my blood”

5 mins

Life's Been Good To Niall (So Far)

A year-and-a-half ago, Niall Horan was basking in the shrieks of One Direction superfans. Now, with the group in limbo and his mates making moves in everything from R&B to acting, “the cute one” is painstakingly crafting an album as a California rocker — and hanging with astronauts, Selena Gomez and (yes) the Eagles. All while staying truly hashtag-humble: “I’m a simple old soul, me”

10+ mins

Becoming Chris Cornell

Years before he was minted as a proper platinum-selling star, the late Soundgarden frontman tore off his thrift-store T-shirts and wailed like Robert Plant, transfixing a fledgling Seattle scene with little use for rock gods.

7 mins

Nathan Sykes Second Act

Nathan Sykes, 23, has risen from the ashes of boy band fame to propel himself as one of this year’s buzziest new artists. 

3 mins

People Are So Sensitive

Jason Aldean returns from controversy (and blasts “bro country”) ahead of his aptly titled new album, They Don’t Know: “Media tends to make a big deal out of things”

5 mins

A Leap Of Faith

His 1987 blockbuster made him a global icon. By 1992, he’d sued his record company and turned his back on pop stardom. “He had principles,” says his former manager.

7 mins

Town And Country

Taylor Swift wrote their latest hit, and the Ryman just honored them with a residency. But lately, the sumptuously soft-rocking Little Big Town come off less like Nashville insiders than they do outlaws, stirring up controversy with “Girl Crush,” working with Pharrell and urging all people to overcome their differences: “There’s probably not a house in America that’s not divided right now”

9 mins

Bishop Takes Rock

With a big voice and some self-doubt, Bishop Briggs enters festival season: “A huge part of me is in disbelief”

4 mins

'We Carved Our Own Path'

Alt-rock standouts Incubus reflect on prescient sound, 20-year legacy and coming out of it ‘alive’ 

7 mins

Andrew Dreskin

One year in, the ticketing pioneer on why Pandora’s $450 million investment was a “fair price,” and the future of the secondary market.

5 mins

Skylar Grey is Still Evolving

More than a decade into her career, pop singer-songwriter Skylar Grey, 30, has netted a lengthy résumé on the strength of her songwriting (Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie,” Zedd and Foxes’ “Clarity”) and features for others (Diddy and Dirty Money’s “Coming Home,” Dr. Dre and Eminem’s “I Need a Doctor”).

2 mins

Elliot Groffman

The veteran attorney on streaming royalties, revenue models and industry prospects under President Trump.

6 mins

Magic Mike

From Gucci Mane to Queen Bey, producer Mike Will Made It proves the line between hip-hop and pop is just an illusion

6 mins

Zane Lowe

The Beats 1 boss on running a worldwide radio station, his South by Southwest keynote and learning to stay out of artists’ way

6 mins

Luke Combs Will Bring Bearded, Everydude Charm Back To Country

I’m probably going to dip during this interview,” warns Luke Combs as he sinks into the couch at his label head’s East Nashville home, clutching a can of Copenhagen chewing tobacco.

3 mins

Marc Anthony's Mogul Moment

He has sold more than 10 million records, survived a high-profile marriage to J.Lo and is now — from a lavish new home base in Miami — building a management company of musicians and athletes to rival Jay Z’s Roc Nation. As he “steps up” against Trump, the GOP and music-business-as-usual, the odds are in his favor. “There are 610 million Latinos on the planet. If it works, we’ll be miles ahead of a lot of people."

10+ mins

Remembering Prince: The Greatest Musical Talent of His Generation

Is the Congress nothing but the BJP without the Lotus? Despite holding the secular of saffron banner, time and again it has faced the soft Hindutva charge. Such as now.

6 mins

The Re-Education of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

How do two white guys from Seattle atone for coming out of nowhere to commercially dominate hip-hop? As Macklemore & Ryan Lewis return after a turbulent four-year absence, they’re determined to speak out on race — and, perhaps, sacrifice mega-success entirely.

10+ mins

How Halsey Became the Voice of Her Generation

The 21-year-old singer/songwriter/social media sensation has an out-of-nowhere hit album and a surprising sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, but that hasn’t kept her from (over)sharing every detail of her life with her hyper passionate followers, from her history of mental illness to her love of boy bands and Bernie Sanders: “I talk to them like real f—ing human beings”

10+ mins

The Saga of Kesha, Dr. Luke and a Mother's Fight: 'He Almost Destroyed Us'

Kesha’s allegations against her producer, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, have brought support from Taylor Swift and Lena Dunham, howls of protest against his major-label partner, Sony Music, and vehement denials and denunciations from Gottwald. Now, as the case winds through court, the singer’s mother, Pebe Sebert, speaks exclusively about her daughter’s 10 years as a “prisoner” under contract: “Luke almost destroyed us."

10+ mins

smoking in the backroom with 2 chainz

perusing the plants and product at the local dispensary with the stoner rapper royalty and “executive boss"

3 mins

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