MASTER CARDS: UMG, which had a fantastically successful 2024, has come out of the gate at a furious pace in 2025. The label group currently owns the entire Top 15—and 18 of the Top 20—at Spotify U.S.

John Janick-led Interscope Capitol’s Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga have been ubiquitous since the start of the year, and both segued from gigantic Grammy looks to even bigger Super Bowl moments while ruling the DSPs.

This is naturally a testament to their importance in the cultural firmament and their fiercely focused creative and commercial instincts. But it also speaks to the savvy and marketing genius of Janick, Berman and company.

Kendrick’s dominant showing at the Grammys after the amazing run of “Not Like Us” and his explosive new pgLang/Interscope album flowed effortlessly to his magnificent turn at the Super Bowl, where his halftime set—the first by a solo rapper—showcased both his verbal dexterity and his command of the stage. (The segment was also trenchantly political.) The setup, as his music overran the DSPs, was peerless.

K. Dot has also given much credit to collaborator Mustard, who joined him onstage at the halftime show and was on hand to share in the trophy bounty on Grammy night.

It's likewise worth mentioning that Kendrick will hit the road this year for the first 100% stadium tour by a rap act. He’ll be co-headlining with frequent duet partner SZA (another halftime guest). Both artists are repped for live worldwide by Brent Smith at Wasserman.

And then there’s Gaga.

Let’s start with FireAid, where she delivered the emotional finale. Next came Music’s Biggest Night: With her Bruno Mars duet already at the top of the streaming charts (it was just dubbed Spotify’s longest-running global #1), she won a Pop Grammy for that song alongside her collaborator, made a killer speech (partly in fierce defense of the LGBTQ+ community), performed “California Dreamin’” with Bruno to support those affected by the wildfires and appeared in a lavish, full-length video for new song “Abracadabra,” which the label’s maestros rolled out as a Mastercard spot. This cutting-edge move launched the new song with a bang, and it soon vaulted into the Spotify Top 5. Then Gaga delivered a soulful “Hold My Hand” in New Orleans, surrounded by first responders, just ahead of the start of play at the Super Bowl.

Not a bad teeing up of the protean artist’s new album, MAYHEM, which drops on 3/7.

Meanwhile, Team Interscope is enjoying Billie Eilish’s ongoing run after her big FireAid and Grammy looks (“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” remains Top 5 worldwide on the Spot) and Gracie Abrams’ continued growth (“That’s So True” is Top 10 global). As of this writing, the label owns the entire Top 4 on Spotify global and eight of the Top 10, with Kendrick leading.

On the Tower side, the breakthrough of TDE/Capitol’s Doechii is one of the year’s most exciting developing-artist stories. Grammy night definitely marked her graduation to the bigs—her Alligator Bites Never Heal won Rap Album, her performance was seismic, her emotional speech was gorgeous and her tracks have begun to fly at the DSPs. Tom March and team have started the year powered by the glow of an emerging star.

EXCLUSIVE “CLUB”: Monte Lipman’s Republic (or maybe it’s REPUBLIC) enjoyed a sizable look for The Weeknd as he ended his Grammy boycott and performed at the show, boosting the already very substantial first week for his new album (is Harvey’s arm sore from patting himself on the back? Inquiring minds want to know).

The two supernovas of Imran Majid and Justin Eshak’s Island, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, upped the ante with shiny hardware and knockout perfs. Chappell’s well-deserved BNA win (in a very tough field), not to mention her heart-rending “Pink Pony Club” segment and feisty speech, cemented her burgeoning stardom. We await new music from her in the near-ish future, notably the astounding country tune “The Giver,” which she performed on SNL. The biz is naturally following this huge artist’s quest for new management with great interest. And Island has new breakouts in Gigi Perez and Lola Young.

Look for the massively anticipated new set from Morgan Wallen (via Big Loud/Mercury/Republic) very soon; the country megastar delivered a new single, “I’m the Problem,” on 1/31. And who knows—we could also see three or four new Taylor records.

ATOMIC DAWG: Kendrick Lamar’s career odyssey, of course, began at TDE, and Top Dawg remains firmly in his orbit. But Top and team have more recent successes to celebrate. Just before the big game, SZA, who joined Lamar onstage at the Super Bowl (partly to perform their smash duet, “luther,” from his current huge album), dropped four new songs to add to her already augmented TDE/RCA set, SOS (aka LANA). Her stadium tour with Kendrick will be one of the year’s most noteworthy. And now, with Doechii’s phenomenal arrival, Top Dawg overcomes the doubters as regards his ongoing impact; TDE has been integral to three giant careers, and Top’s importance to the evolution of hip-hop and R&B can scarcely be overstated.

TROPHIES ALL AROUND: Bizniks were largely impressed by the Grammys, which demonstrated how much breaking acts have shifted the center of gravity. Both the Academy and the TV team of Ben Winston, Jesse Collins, Raj Kapoor and company acquitted themselves with aplomb. The BNA nominees were particularly impressive in their performances, underscoring the deep bench of newly anointed stars glittering in the marketplace.

MUSIC CITIES: The biggest complaint we’ve heard about the Grammys was how marginalized Nashville appeared. Though Beyoncé (who took Best Country Album as well as AOTY for COWBOY CARTER) and Shaboozey represented the genre and Lainey Wilson appeared in the Quincy Jones tribute, there was indeed scant representation of Music City. Fingers continue to point at the Nashville chapter of the Academy, which looks increasingly out of touch—as does the larger Nashville establishment.

Of course Music City has been going through changes of late, with leadership at the Big 3 labels turning over; Cris Lacy and Taylor Lindsey have moved to the top posts at WMN and SMN, respectively, while Cindy Mabe’s recent exit sets the stage for a fascinating new approach at UMGN, with Mike Harris (previously the label’s COO before a brief tenure at Republic’s Nashville outpost) becoming CEO and esteemed producer Dave Cobb assuming the newly created role of chief creative officer.

Wonderers are nonetheless wondering if more radical changes are in the offing in Nashville as the coastal labels continue to enjoy big success in country and Americana.

OLD-SCHOOL VISION: The Grammys and the Super Bowl—not to mention the massively successful FireAid benefit, which has raised north of $100m—attest to the continued power of broadcast TV, as underscored by the two-week halo effect of these big telecasts on the marketplace.

This has not always been the case, as broadcast has sometimes struggled to balance its upper-demo viewership with the pace of the present music world. But clearly the mix of new and established stars on Grammy night and at the Azoff-led fundraiser hit the mark, and Kendrick’s splashy halftime extravaganza made for an edgier segment than is usually sandwiched into the game, which set a new average viewership record of 127.7m, with the 133.5m for the halftime show topping USHER’s 2024 record.

Ratings don’t tell the whole story, however, as on-demand streaming of shows and clips has driven awareness and interest and helped produce the aforementioned effect, which has helped the top acts put yet more points on the board.