THE DEATH OF PRINT JOURNALISM: MULLET EDITION

Morgan Wallen shattered records—and expectations—with massive streams for recent single “7 Summers,” and soon thereafter Republic came calling to ink a JV deal for him with Seth England’s Nashville indie Big Loud. Wallen is positioned for plenty more success; with any luck, even this HITS cover appearance won’t slow his roll.

Merck Mercuriadis and his disruptive Hipgnosis operation have been making huge moves lately—acquiring Kenny MacPherson’s Big Deal Music Group as its frontline U.S. biz (now Hipgnosis Songs Group) and hiring Ted Cockle and Amy Thomson as key execs. These developments come on the heels of a huge catalog-acquisition run that has occasioned massive buzz. With everything Merck and his team