Entertainment
In Canada: Universal Music Canada’s Julie Adam Is Billboard Canada Women in Music’s 2025 Executive of the Year
Julie Adam is having a milestone year — and it’s getting even bigger.
The president & CEO of Universal Music Canada is this year’s Billboard Canada Executive of the Year. She will accept the award at Billboard Canada Women in Music on Oct. 1 at Rebel in Toronto.
Adam was promoted to the head role at the beginning of this year and is now the only woman heading a major label in Canada.
Adam’s rise comes after decades of breaking barriers. She started in radio, becoming Canada’s first female Vice President of Radio Programming, and spent more than 20 years at Rogers Sports & Media before moving to Universal in 2023 as EVP & GM. It wasn’t long before she stepped into the top role, taking charge of Canada’s largest record company during a moment of change.
UMC is the market share leader amongst labels in Canada (the label has 7 of the top 10 albums year to date), with both domestic success for international artists and rising stardom for homegrown artists.
The past year has seen chart breakthroughs for artists like Josh Ross (who was among the most nominated artists at the Junos and CCMAs) and Toronto pop artist Sofia Camara, who hit the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 for the first time this week. Other artists, like Mae Martin and Owen Riegling, continue to make a big mark.
It’s no surprise Adam was named to the Billboard Canada Power Players list this year and to Billboard’s Global Power Players.
What makes Adam stand out — and what this award underlines — is not just the business, but the way she leads. Her book Imperfectly Kind doubles as her philosophy: that empathy and generosity can fuel success. Colleagues and artists alike point to her ability to create space for others to thrive, a rare quality in an industry often driven by competition.
Read more here. — Peony Hirwani
Canadian Music Industry Weighs in on How to Support Canadian Audio Content at CRTC Public Hearings
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)’s “Supporting Canadian and Indigenous audio content” hearings are underway.
The CRTC proceedings are centred around the Online Streaming Act, a legislation that updates Canada’s Broadcasting Act for the new digital media landscape. It’s a once-in-a-generation update to CanCon regulations, and many stakeholders have been weighing in about how it should be implemented.
An important aspect to these hearings is last year’s CRTC decision to enforce major foreign-owned streaming services with Canadian revenues over $25 million to pay 5% of those revenues into Canadian content funds, like FACTOR and Musicaction. It’s been a major hot button issue, with pushback from the big major streaming services like Spotify and Amazon. After appealing the base contributions, the courts paused payments until an appeal.
That has been a big topic of conversation in arguments over a series of five days of hearings in Gatineau, Quebec, from September 18 to September 29.
The country’s federal government is under heavy pressure from the United States to forego the base contributions in the legislation, with 18 members of Congress signing a letter, claiming the act “imposes discriminatory obligations and threatens additional obligations imminently is a major threat to our cross-border digital trade relationship.”
CRTC regulations state that at least 35% of popular music picks on commercial radio stations must be Canadian content — but this standard doesn’t currently extend to music streaming services.
The goal of the hearings is to discuss how CanCon regulations can be adjusted in support of the changes taking place in the music industry and the Canadian broadcasting system, including the rise of streaming services, the decline of radio broadcasting alongside increasing support for Indigenous music and diverse Canadian artists.
In its notice of consultation on the hearing that began last week, the CRTC said streamers should “contribute to the discoverability of Canadian, French-language and Indigenous music either through financial contributions or through initiatives targeting the promotion and exposure of these songs to their users.”
Read more about the hearings here. — Heather Taylor-Singh
Kneecap Say They Haven’t Received Any Formal Notice After Ban From Canada
Kneecap have yet to receive official confirmation of its ban in Canada.
Last Friday (September 19), the Irish hip hop trio was ruled ineligible to enter the country by Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Combating Crime Vince Gasparro in a video posted to X.
While the ban forces the group to forfeit scheduled concerts in Toronto and Vancouver next month, Kneecap’s manager, Dan Lambert, said that the band hasn’t gotten any communication from the federal government.
“Nobody has instructed Kneecap that they can’t travel to Canada except Vince and his social media video,” Lambert tells CBC News.
During Gasparro’s video, he claimed the trio “have amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” and said he was making the announcement “on behalf of the Government of Canada.”
The ruling blocks Kneecap’s planned shows at Toronto’s History on October 14 and 15, as well as concerts at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre on October 22 and 23.
Soon after the news broke out, Kneecap rejected the claims in an Instagram statement addressed directly to Gasparro, calling his remarks “wholly untrue and deeply malicious.”
The trio added that they’ve instructed their lawyer to initiate legal action against Gasparro. “We will be relentless in defending ourselves against baseless accusations to silence our opposition to a genocide being committed by Israel,” they said.
Kneecap vowed that if they win in court, they will donate all damages to “some of the thousands of child amputees in Gaza.”
“We’re pretty shocked that this could happen in Canada,” Lambert said to CBC News, adding the band has played in Canada multiple times. He noted that the only country where the group has been banned is Hungary.
Lambert said the case is due in court on Friday, and he fully expects the band to win.
Read more here. – H.T.S.
Taylor Swift and fiancé Travis Kelce might be “End Game,” but according to her longtime friend Ed Sheeran, even he was in the dark about their recent happy announcement.
During a chat with Andy Cohen ahead of the four-time Grammy winner’s performance for SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series held Wednesday (Sept. 24) at New York City’s Irving Plaza, Sheeran revealed how he learned about the couple’s engagement, which was announced on Aug. 26.
During a series of rapid-fire questions from the TV personality, the singer had a one-word answer for how he found out about the proposal: “Instagram.”
A surprised Cohen responded, “Instagram?! Like everyone else? You didn’t even get a DM in advance?” To which Sheeran replied with a simple shake of his head and a “no.”
The singer also replied in the negative when the Radio Andy host asked whether he had heard Swift’s upcoming new album, The Life of a Showgirl, yet, and whether he had received a save-the-date for the wedding.
While he may not yet have a save-the-date, it is bound to come, as the two musicians have been good friends and collaborators for more than 10 years. The two Grammy winners first collaborated in 2012 on “Everything Has Changed” off her album Red, which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. They’ve since gone on to work together on multiple songs together, including “The Joker and the Queen,” “Run (Taylor’s Version)” and the aforementioned “End Game,” all of which landed on the Hot 100.
He also was her supporting act on the Red tour, with the two often performing together during the 2013 trek. Sheeran also shared how close the two are during an April chat with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, with the discussion coming while he reflected on digging up his old cellphones and going through text messages the two stars exchanged.
“I lived in Nashville, and she lived in Nashville, and we used to fly to and from the gigs together and do all sorts of … I don’t know,” he told Cooper. “I literally spent almost every single day with her for about six months, so I think that period of time [was my favorite].”
He also shared on the podcast that he sees Swift about four times a year now. “Like, instead of catching up the whole time, we have a proper sit-down, six-hour catchups,” he said at the time. “I think that’s like a really nice way to do it.”
Watch Sheeran chat with Cohen about how he learned about Swift’s engagement above.
Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson and Post Malone will lead the pack at Stagecoach 2026 as headliners when the famed country fest returns to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., on April 24-26.
The stacked lineup of performers for the Goldenvoice-produced Stagecoach will also feature Bailey Zimmerman, Riley Green, Brooks & Dunn, Ella Langley, Red Clay Strays, Warren Zeiders, Nate Smith, Sam Barber, Gavin Adcock, Wyatt Flores, Hudson Westbrook and Cameron Whitcomb.
Journey, Pitbull, BigXthaPlug and Counting Crows will perform at the Mustang Stage, which is being reimagined for 2026 and provides a space for the after-dark performance moments that have become an essential part of Stagecoach. Boot Barn will serve as the presenting sponsor of the new Mustang Stage.
Johnson said in a statement, “I’ll never forget the first time I got the call to play Stagecoach. We were on one of the smaller stages and I remember wondering if anyone wouldeven know our songs. Now here we are invited back to headline the Mane Stage. What a ride. I hope y’all bring the energy … because it’s gonna get Western.”
Wilson also reflected on her roots with the festival in her statement. “My first Stagecoach was in 2022 on the SiriusXM Stage at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon,” she shared. “Look how far we’ve come y’all! I’m honored to headline this year. This is a career highlight and I can’t wait to see everyone there.”
Post Malone enthused in his statement: “Had a hell of a time at Stagecoach in 2024 alongside so many incredible artists and friends. Can’t wait to be back next year!”
Zimmerman added, “I played my first Stagecoach in 2023. Since then, it’s become a tradition, and I somehow was lucky enough to get to come back in ‘24 with Morgan Wallen and then in ‘25 with Luke Combs. Coming back in 2026 is unbelievable, and I’m so thankful to whoever made the decision to let me come back. I promise I won’t take my pants off this time … or maybe I will. See you soon, Stagecoach2026!”
Fan favorites Diplo’s HonkyTonk and Guy Fieri’s Stagecoach Smokehouse return for another year. New this year, Nashville’s Whiskey Jam will offer a new element to the Palomino Stage. Known for spotlighting rising artists in Nashville, Whiskey Jam will host special sets and curate afterhours sets at Stagecoach’s Palomino Stage.
Passes for the 2026 Stagecoach will go on sale beginning Thursday, Oct. 2, at 11 a.m. PT at on the festival’s website. Amazon Music returns as the livestream partner for a fourth year. Fans can watch livestreamed performances from artists on Twitch, Prime Video and Amazon Music’s app each day of the fest.
Find the full lineup below:
Adrien Nunez
Amos Lee
Avery Anna
Bailey Zimmerman
Bayker Blankenship
Benjamin Tod
BigXthaPlug
Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters
Brandon Wisham
Braxton Keith
Brett Young
Brooks & Dunn
Bush
Cameron Whitcomb
Charles Wesley Godwin
Chase Matthew
Chase Rice
Cody Johnson
Corey Kent
Counting Crows
Diplo
Eli Young Band
Elizabeth Nichols
Ella Langley
Gabriella Rose
Gavin Adcock
Guy Fieri
Hannah McFarland
Hootie & the Blowfish
Hudson Westbrook
Ink
Jake Worthington
Josh Ross
Journey
Julia Cole
Kameron Marlowe
Kevin Smiley
Lainey Wilson
Lane Pittman
Larkin Poe
Little Big Town
Ludacris
Lyle Lovett
Marcus King Band
Max McNown
Michael Marcagi
Nate Smith
Neon Union
Noah Cyrus
Noah Rinker
Ole 60
Pitbull
Post Malone
Redferrin
Red Clay Strays
Riley Green
Ryan Hurd
S.G. Goodman
Sam Barber
Something Out West
Tayler Holder
Teddy Swims
The Road
The Wallflowers
Third Eye Blind
Treaty Oak Revival
Tyler Braden
Ty Myers
Warren Zeiders
Willow Avalon
Wyatt Flores
Wynonna Judd
Zach John King
Entertainment
‘Bottle Rockets’ Send Scotty McCreery and Hootie & the Blowfish to Top of Country Airplay Chart
Scotty McCreery and Hootie & the Blowfish climb two spots to the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Oct. 4) with “Bottle Rockets,” marking unique feats for McCreery and the band’s frontman, Darius Rucker, as well as McCreery’s label, Triple Tigers.
How Hootie & the Blowfish’s Classic ‘Hold My Hand’ Came to Be on Scotty McCreery’s ‘Bottle Rockets’: ‘It Fit Like a Glove’
Scotty McCreery Calls His New Album ‘Rise & Fall’ His “Favorite Project” He’s Ever Done | ACM Awards 2024
The single, which features newly recorded vocals from Hootie & the Blowfish built around its classic song “Hold My Hand,” credits 11 writers, including McCreery, Rucker and producer Frank Rogers. It increased by 14% to 30.5 million audience impressions in the Sept. 19-25 tracking week, according to Luminate. “Hold My Hand” became Hootie’s first major hit, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995.
The ascent of “Bottle Rockets” to No. 1 puts Rucker in exclusive company with Tyler Hubbard. They are now the only artists who have ruled Country Airplay both as solo acts and with a duo or group, dating to the chart’s start in January 1990. Hubbard scored 16 leaders as half of Florida Georgia Line before earning the first of three solo No. 1s with 2022’s “5 Foot 9.” Rucker has collected nine No. 1s as a solo artist, beginning with “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” in 2008.
Triple Tigers, launched in 2016 as a joint venture between Thirty Tigers, Sony Music Entertainment-owned distributor The Orchard and Triple 8 Management, also notches a milestone. Directly following Russell Dickerson’s two-week reign with “Happen to Me,” “Bottle Rockets” gives the label its first successive Country Airplay No. 1s. To date, the imprint has powered 11 singles to the top, six by McCreery and five by Dickerson.
Meanwhile, “Bottle Rockets” joins such Country Airplay No. 1s that interpolate prior hits as Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” his 2022 leader that reimagines Jo Dee Messina’s 1996 breakthrough single, “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”
For the 31-year-old McCreery, “Bottle Rockets” is his first Country Airplay leader since “Damn Strait,” which spent three weeks at No. 1 in 2022. He wraps his quickest trip to the top spot: 20 weeks, nearly halving his previous fastest coronation (37 weeks for “This Is It” in 2018-19).
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