Table Of ContentJUNE 4, 2022 • BILLBOARD.COM
contents
JUNE 4, 2022
VOLUME 134
NO. 7
Features
56
GOOD FOR
BUSINESS
Brandi Carlile built a thriving
career by melding activism with her
art — and she’s determined to leave
the industry, and the world she
lives in, better than she found it.
64
MUSIC’S
NEXT QUEER
GAME CHANGERS
Meet the fearless creators forging
exciting new paths for LGBTQ
musicians now — and busting
through genre lines as they do.
ON THE COVER
Brandi Carlile photographed
by Lia Clay Miller on May 5 at
Pink Motel in Los Angeles.
TO OUR READERS
Billboard will publish its next
issue on June 25. For 24/7 music
coverage, go to billboard.com.
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Since 2015, Voices of Children
has provided psychological and
psychosocial assistance to
children affected by war.
contents
JUNE 4, 2022 / VOLUME 134 / NO. 7
BILLBOARD CHARTS
13
Harry Styles leads the Billboard
200 and Hot 100, and Bad Bunny
and BTS dominate the midyear
Boxscore charts.
THE MARKET
37
With labels increasingly trying
out unreleased songs on TikTok,
producers, songwriters and
even artists are saying it’s bad
for business.
42
Merch tables are booming with
added revenue — and tension.
THE SOUND
51
In an age of ephemeral pop
success, Isaac Dunbar wanted
to avoid the rush — and made
a major label wait for him.
54
How writer-director Ally Pankiw
landed gigs directing a Netflix
original series and music videos
for MUNA.
THE PLAYERS
71
2022 INDIE
POWER PLAYERS
Across every genre, these are
the executives at labels and
distributors driving the success
of the independent music
industry, commanding nearly
one-quarter of the U.S. recorded-
music market.
92
After two years of virtual shows,
A2IM’s Libera Awards return in
person, with Japanese Breakfast
leading the field of nominees.
CHARTBREAKER
96
How singer-songwriter
Em Beihold’s temporary low
led to the high of her breakout
hit, “Numb Little Bug.”
Isaac Dunbar photographed
by Nolwen Cifuentes on
May 20 in Los Angeles.
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FEWOCiOUS hosted a secret painting party
in Brooklyn during NFT.NYC in 2021.
A L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R
A
S A YOUNG TRANSGENDER artist growing up in artists. That report, “The Power of LGBTQ+ Music,”
Las Vegas, FEWOCiOUS — one of the digital art also found that LGBTQ+ Gen Z fans spent an average of
world’s fastest-rising stars — says music offered $136 per month more on music than other listeners, as
him an introduction to “what art is — and how compared with $110 more per month for Gen Z, and were
to tell a story with your feelings.” Today, the 19-year-old’s 78% more likely than their peers to listen to music on vinyl.
digital creations have generated over $50 million — his “The queer community is not some monolith that you
Pride collection, auctioned by Christie’s last June, brought can pander to occasionally,” our staff writer Stephen Daw
in more than $2 million — and music remains core to his said during a panel discussion about the report in May at
art. For his FewoWorld “paint drop” on Nifty Gateway, the MusicBiz 2022 conference in Nashville. “We are out
a 24-hour public non-fungible token sale that generated here spending more money than other groups.”
$20 million, each collectible featured a unique audio This issue also spotlights some of the queer artists
composition. And he continues to draw inspiration from shaping culture — and inspiring the next generation of
musicians ranging from Bob Dylan and David Bowie to creators, executives and fans to express their authentic
Missy Elliott and Kanye West, whose works he sees as selves. It’s a daunting challenge, given the discrimination
expressions of “authentic identity.” still faced by so many, but one that, as FEWO has shown,
For Pride Month this year, we invited FEWO to can pay enormous dividends. We hope that telling the
reimagine the Billboard logo to help us celebrate the stories of these exciting successes will help illuminate
diversity of music’s creators and consumers when it comes some ways forward for many others to come. And
to gender and sexual orientation. In fact, a new report that we hope you enjoy seeing the Billboard logo the way
we produced in partnership with Luminate and Queer FEWO says he does: “When you look at the ‘B’ and the
Capita found that people who identify as queer spend $72 ‘D,’ it almost looks like two different people looking at
more per year on music on average than other consumers, each other. As you get to the center of the logo, it looks
are 20% more likely to buy merchandise and are 15% more like they’re almost getting closer to each other, until
interested in finding and listening to new and emerging eventually they’re holding hands. It’s a love story!”
NE
DI
N
Hannah Karp OXE
HAEL
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR MIC
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