Entertainment
Concord in Advanced Talks to Acquire Stem

Concord is an advanced talks to acquire music distributor Stem, according to multiple sources close to the talks.
Los Angeles-based Stem is a 10-year-old digital distributor that gives independent artists ownership of their works and retains a distribution fee. Nashville-based Concord has vast music publishing and recorded music catalogs that include the compositions of Rodgers & Hammerstein, classical music publishing company Boosey & Hawkes, and the catalog of Round Hill Music, which it purchased in 2023 for $469 million.
Financial terms are unknown, but a report at Music Business Worldwide claims the deal could reach $50 million. The Hollywood Reporter cites sources as saying that figure “is wildly inaccurate” and that negotiations could result in a partial sale.
Stem would help Concord in its ambition to develop its frontline business. While Concord’s annual revenue is split roughly 50-50 between its publishing and recorded music divisions, it has notched more publishing hits, such as Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” which Concord owns a piece of through Tyler Johnson’s co-writing credit. In September, Concord merged its Concord Records and Fantasy Records into a single label, naming Margi Cheske and Mark Williams as co-presidents.
Concord’s frontline record label business includes Rounder Records, Concord Jazz, Fearless Records, Concord Theatrical Recordings and the Kidz Bop franchise. Concord also has joint ventures in Loma Vista Recordings with Tom Whalley; Easy Eye Sound with Dan Auerbach; and PULSE Records with PULSE Music Group. Launched in 2023, PULSE Records saw major success with Tommy Richman’s 2024 hit “Million Dollar Baby.” Billboard estimates the song generated $4.99 million from on-demand audio streams and digital song sales, based on Luminate data.
Stem, which raised $40 million in three fundraising rounds from 2017 to 2022, has been looking for a strategic investor since at least last year to give it access to more funding for artist advances after losing a series of stars to major labels. Competition for artists seeking distribution deals had picked up enough that Stem “lost numerous deals historically as it wasn’t able to be competitive with advances,” according to a Stem pitch deck Billboard obtained in 2024.
In 2023, Stem secured a $250 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital to expand its advance check product, which has funded projects by Brent Faiyaz and Justine Skye. That line of credit was “restrictive,” a source with knowledge of the company tells Billboard, because it was doled out on a deal-by-deal basis, requiring each artist’s project to recoup its own advance. Lewis says a better option is to borrow against the whole company’s balance sheet so that if one artist’s project flops, the loan can be repaid by a successful one.
“Music is a hit-driven business, and you need to have capital that understands that and is willing to allow you to take the risk across multiple projects, knowing that the overall portfolio will perform,” this person says.
It was for that reason that Stem was looking for equity investors rather than debt. Outside investors, many from the venture capital world, already own a majority of Stem’s equity. Stem’s decision to provide artists with advances came at a time when interest rates were lower than they are today, and one industry source speculates that rising interest rates were a pressing matter for Stem. Concord would likely be able to provide Stem with a lower cost of capital, this source tells Billboard. Concord has raised more than $3 billion from three asset-backed securities led by Apollo Global Management.
Warner Music Group (WMG) has also been in the market for a distribution company, having passed on an opportunity to acquire TuneCore owner Believe in 2024. But speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference on Monday (March 11), WMG CEO Robert Kyncl suggested the company could build rather than buy a distributor at the going rates. “I’ve looked at all distribution companies over the last 18 months … and what I can tell you is that we’re not willing to grow this at all costs,” Kyncl said.
Entertainment
Jelly Roll Brings Grit & Heart to In-Ring Debut at WWE SummerSlam 2025

Jelly Roll made his WWE in-ring debut this weekend, and teamed up with Randy Orton to battle Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2025. Jelly didn’t disappoint, as the brute country force rattled McIntyre and Paul with a series of slams and elbow drops, before ultimately falling short in his Saturday night (Aug. 2) WWE match.
Ahead of the match, Jelly introduced tag partner Orton and performed his entrance theme song, “Voices,” electrifying the MetLife Stadium crowd in East Rutherford, N.J.
Kicking off the match against Paul, Jelly impressed early. Not only did he deliver some offense, including an impressive shoulder tackle on Paul, but he absorbed a flurry of attacks. The defining moment came when Paul sent Jelly crashing through the announcer’s table with a high-flying splash. Despite the setback, a hobbled Jelly Roll delivered a clinical performance: first chokeslamming Paul before issuing a punishing bodyslam. But Paul had the last laugh, connecting with a frog splash and scoring the 1-2-3.
Jelly, a lifelong wrestling fan, trained rigorously at WWE’s Performance Center ahead of his match, which contributed to his 230-pound weight loss.
“This is about belief — believing in myself — and wanting to selfishly be a part of a beautiful moment,” Jelly said earlier this week in an interview with WWE’s Jackie Redmond. “I love this business. I just wanna bring value. I’m not here to take nothing away. I’m not here to take nobody’s spot. I want to bring value. I think this is one of the greatest ages of storytelling I’ve seen in wrestling this decade.”
See clips of Jelly’s SummerSlam in-ring debut below.
Entertainment
Jerry Garcia Has Childhood Street Named for Him in San Francisco

A few hundred people gathered Friday (Aug. 1) to name a tiny San Francisco street after legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia on what would have been his 83rd birthday, and as part of a citywide celebration to mark the band’s 60th anniversary.
Harrington Street, which is one block long, will also be called “Jerry Garcia Street.” Garcia died in 1995, but the band’s popularity has only grown as younger generations discover the Dead’s improvisational music, which blended rock, blues, folk and other styles.
Garcia spent part of his childhood in a modest home in the city’s diverse Excelsior neighborhood. He lived with his grandparents after the death of his father, Jose Ramon “Joe” Garcia.
“I hope that you all get a chance to enjoy the music, dance, hug, smile,” said daughter Trixie Garcia, growing emotional during her brief remarks. “Cherish what’s valuable, what’s significant in life.”
Tens of thousands of fans are in San Francisco to commemorate the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary with concerts and other activities throughout the city.
The latest iteration of the band, Dead & Company, with original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, play Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field for three days this weekend (beginning with Friday’s show), with an estimated 60,000 attendees expected each day.
Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead played often and for free in their early years while living in a cheap Victorian home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The band later became a significant part of 1967’s Summer of Love, and the Grateful Dead has become synonymous with San Francisco and its bohemian counterculture.
On Friday, fans in rainbow tie-dye and Grateful Dead T-shirts whooped and cheered as the sign was unveiled. Nonfans with shopping bags and some using walking canes maneuvered around the crowd on what was for them just another foggy day in the working-class neighborhood.
Afterward, devotees peeled off to pose for photos in front of Garcia’s childhood home.
Jared Yankee, 23, got the crowd to join him in singing “Happy Birthday.” Yankee said he flew in from Rhode Island for the shows. He got into the music about a decade ago.
“It’s a human thing,” he said of his impromptu singing. “I figure everyone knows the words to ‘Happy Birthday.’”
Entertainment
Fans Choose Mariah The Scientist & Kali Uchis’ ‘Is It a Crime’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

“Is It a Crime,” the new duet from Mariah The Scientist and Kali Uchis, tops this week’s fan-voted music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 1) on Billboard, choosing the pair’s fresh collaboration as their favorite new release of the past week.
“Is It a Crime” rose above a plethora of new releases — among them, songs from hitmakers like Demi Lovato, Chappell Roan, Reneé Rapp and more. Mariah and Kali’s collab track topped the poll by a landslide, bringing in more than 57% of the vote.
“Is It a Crime,” a slow jam that has the two artists singing about the return of a past love — and defending the relationship if anyone’s got anything to say about it — dropped on July 31, with spicy, jail-themed single art. (“very intentional, very grown woman,” Uchis commented of their shoot on Instagram.)
The chorus of the song says it all: “And so what? I fell, you fell in love a couple times/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime/ To fall, to fall in love, in love a couple times?/ Tell me, what’s it to ya? Tell me, is it a crime to fall?”
Among the new releases trailing behind “Is It a Crime” on this week’s poll are Demi Lovato’s “Fast,” coming in with 17% of the vote; Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” with 16% of the vote, and Reneé Rapp’s “Bite Me,” with 2% of the vote.
See the final results of this week’s poll below.
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