Second week of January. Year of the Horse. Back in the saddle. As I point my GPS toward a familiar constellation of pursuits, here’s a topline look at what I’m watching and where I think the music business is headed in 2026. These aren’t predictions, they’re signals. Conferences → The Real Intelligence Layer The conference […]
A flame-haired, dirty white-suited Tyler Childers strides with intent through a standing, whooping, exultant ovation in Nashville and takes the stage to give his rejection speech at the Americana Music Association’s annual awards ceremony. Freshly anointed as Americana’s Emerging Artist of the Year, Childers wastes no time ripping the genre a new asshole. After declaring […]
Each week, SPIN digs into the catalogs of great artists and highlights songs you might not know for our Deep Cut Friday series. Beyoncé got a prestigious co-sign from Prince early in her career, when they performed the opening medley together at the 2004 Grammys. The most Prince-influenced music of her career came later, though, […]
As I greet Mike Dean over a video call, it’s five days until the closing of the first round of voting for the 2026 Grammy Awards. His production work on the Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow is up for 10 categories. I ask him if there’s a particular category he’d like to win. “I’ve never won […]
Today’s live music industry is at an inflection point. Global acts that once sold out stadiums in mere seconds, like Beyoncé and Katy Perry, seem to be facing unexpected ticket sales challenges, such as sluggish demand. Beloved bands like the All-American Rejects are opting to play backyard gigs in the heart of their communities rather […]
Beyoncé has teamed with The Isley Brothers for a new rendition of their 1975 song “Make Me Say It Again, Girl,” which will also be the name of the latter group’s upcoming album due next month on the RI Top Ten label. The update is a duet between Beyoncé and the 81-year-old Ronald Isley; Beyoncé […]
Beyoncé‘s latest album, Renaissance, is out now. So far, the album has been met with universal acclaim. However, that didn’t stop people from noticing that the pop icon used “spazz,” which is considered an ableist slur to those with cerebral palsy, on “Heated.” A rep for Beyoncé said that “the word, not used intentionally in a […]
Hours after Beyoncé unveiled the track list for her upcoming album Renaissance, Apple Music has published the album credits, which reveal a host of superstar songwriting collaborators such as Drake, Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams. Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z is credited on the songs “Alien Superstar,” “America Has a Problem” and first single “Break My Soul,” while […]
In just nine days, Beyoncé will be releasing Renaissance, her first proper solo album since 2016’s Lemonade. Today (July 20), the pop icon revealed in an Instagram Story that the album will contain 16 songs, including first single “Break My Soul,” a ’90s dance jam featuring Philly rapper Tierra Whack. Featuring provocative titles such as “America Has […]
TikTok users let out a collective scream of joy today (July 14) with the news that Beyoncé has finally joined the social media platform. The artist’s entire catalog, including her recent hit single “Break My Soul,” is now at the disposal of TikTok’s billions of content creators, who have wasted no time adding her music […]