THE DEATH OF PRINT JOURNALISM: YEAR-END BLUES EDITION

Mere days remain in 2020, but they're going to feel like months. With COVID raging, no shows or restaurants, a vicious election cycle and outcry over systemic injustice, it was tempting to climb into bed and stay there. Yet the business not only spoke out and got down to work but achieved stunning gains—a tribute to the tenacity and talent of our people and the power of music to provide uplift and solace. The fabulously demented Van Arno limned this ball-dropping cover image for our bulky year-end print edition. We imagine you’ll find it uplifting to toss said doorstop in the recycle bin as you ring in 2021.

IGA boss John Janick, our Contents Page VIP, is wrapping up a record-setting year, having prevailed in the label marketshare contest with a 10.2, scoring 13 of 2020’s Top 50 albums and enjoying a stunning performance by a diverse roster of artists. These include Billie Eilish (who swept the last Grammys), the late, great Juice WRLD, DaBaby, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Summer Walker, Rod Wave, Machine Gun Kelly, blackbear and plenty more. Interscope’s thoughtfully cultivated JVs with Alamo, LVRN, Darkroom, SCMG and others helped it achieve smashes at multiple formats and on every platform. Janick has been patient in developing acts but nimble in pivoting where necessary, forging his own path while staying a step ahead of a rapidly evolving marketplace. He's emerged as one of the highly regarded young execs of his era— carrying the company’s unorthodox sensibility to new heights. Though this HITS Contents shout-out is one joint venture he’d prefer not to smoke.