Billboard Magazine June 17, 2017

RAPPER POST MALONE celebrates his first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Congratulations” ( featuring Quavo) rises 13-10. The track bullets at No. 7 on the Streaming Songs chart with 30 million U.S. streams, up 3 percent in the tracking week, according to Nielsen Music, and soars 24-12 on Digital Song Sales, up 13 percent to 37,000 sold, aided by a 69-cent sale price in the iTunes Store. Malone previously peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 with his debut entry, “White Iverson,” in January 2016. Both songs are from his debut album, Stoney, which arrived at its No. 6 peak on the Billboard 200 in December and has spent its first 25 weeks in the top 25. Quavo collects his third Hot 100 top 10 as…

IT HAS BEEN FOUR WEEKS since Sony Music’s new CEO Rob Stringer oversaw the abrupt exit of Antonio “L.A.” Reid from the top job at Epic Records, a bold move that both shocked and impressed the industry amid allegations Reid had sexually harassed a female assistant. The stakes were high for Epic, which was already in the spotlight: DJ Khaled had the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I’m the One,” while Future had risen to No. 5 on the chart with “Mask Off.” Releases from Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello and Big Boi were also lined up from a roster of Epic artists sold on Reid’s vision. The departure of Reid, known for his big bets on young talent and deep ties within the hip-hop and R&B…

For the first time in the Emmy Awards’ nearly 70-year history, music supervisors will be recognized for the artistic role they play in crafting the tone of TV programs. Outstanding music supervision is one of 10 new or amended categories added to the 69th Primetime Emmys, which will air Sept. 17 on CBS. The award will go to a single episode of a series, TV movie or special, and it honors creative contributions through music, including original or pre-existing songs, scores and performances. Two years ago, the Emmys admitted music supervisors into the Television Academy as full members for the first time. The Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) lobbied for both that and the new award, to challenge the notion that they serve primarily as rightsclearing administrators, says music peer…

Season Kent, 13 Reasons Why The emotional, somber music has drawn comparisons to John Hughes’ films. Jen Ross and David Jordan, Empire Fox’s rap-label drama remains a leader for its use of licensed source cues and original music. Zach Cowie and Kerri Drootin, Master of None Aziz Ansari’s Netflix show about looking for love casts a diverse musical net. Liza Richardson, The Leftovers Bold, ironic and bitter, the choices on this drama accent its plot twists. Nora Felder, Stranger Things The ’80s sci-fi thriller won praise for its eerie score and smart covers.…

AFTER THE MAY 22 SUICIDE BOMB attack that killed 22 people following Ariana Grande’s concert at England’s Manchester Arena, her manager, Scooter Braun, wanted to respond by organizing a benefit show. “I was obsessed with it,” he says of the idea. At first, Grande wasn’t sure when, or even if, she’d be ready to go onstage again. Two days after the attack, though, the singer called Braun and said, “ ‘I need to do something,’ ” he says. “I tell her [the idea] and she goes, ‘OK, I’m in.’ ” On June 4, just 13 days after the bombing and one day after a separate attack in London, Grande and Braun, backed by Live Nation, put together One Love Manchester, a stadium show for 55,000 people that featured an all-star…

If terror was the intent of the shooter who killed 49 people at the popular Orlando LGBTQ club Pulse on June 12, 2016, he couldn’t have chosen a city with a more defiant community. In the year since the attack, Pulse owner Barbara Poma has declined the city’s offer to buy her property for $2.25 million. Instead, she formed the onePULSE Foundation with community leaders, artists and the families of victims, which is helping to raise money for grants, scholarships and an official memorial and museum. “We need to memorialize this so future generations will know what happened,” says Poma, who opened Pulse in 2004 to honor her brother, who died of AIDS. “Otherwise you can’t have a voice to create change.” The month of June is when Orlando, a…