UPDATE (June 10): AMC Theatres announced that the Arena One screenings originally scheduled for June have been postponed to later this year.

“Week after week in 2026, the domestic box office performance has exceeded or met expectations,” said a statement from AMC Theatres sent to Billboard. “With a robust lineup of films and strong advance ticket sales in the weeks ahead, AMC is making some programming adjustments during the month of June.

“As part of those adjustments, the previously announced Arena One at AMC Girls Night Live concert series featuring Maren Morris, Paris Hilton, Kim Petras, and Bebe Rexha will move to later in 2026. Tickets purchased for the originally scheduled events have been automatically refunded.

“AMC is very excited about its partnership with Arena One, and we look forward to announcing updated dates and additional artists in the weeks and months ahead.”

PREVIOUSLY:

Your favorite performer is coming to a movie cinema near you.  

Bebe Rexha, Paris Hilton, Maren Morris and Kim Petras are among the first wave of artists participating in new, interactive concert experience that will beam the show into hundreds of theaters across the United States.

Arena One, the new live entertainment company, and AMC Theatres, the giant theatrical exhibitor, join forces for Arena One at AMC, a real-time, interactive concert format that will be pumped into 300 AMC locations in 89 markets from June.

The concerts are an upgrade from the cinecast experience that found traction with some a-list artists and their fans in the late 2000s, when a slew of live concerts and exclusive events were fed into participating cinemas.

Through this new concept, announced this week, the artist will perform on Arena One’s purpose-built stage, while “seeing and responding to fans at AMC locations through innovative interactive technology,” reads a statement from organizers.

The advantages are obvious. For the artist, the initiative enables them to reach more fans, in more places, without hitting the road. And for those fans who can’t physical get to see their hero, due to cost, distance or other reasons, they now have a virtual front-row seat.

“The next chapter of live shows isn’t about proximity to big venues, it’s about creating visceral, intimate, affordable live connection between artists and fans no matter where they are,” explains Rohit Kapoor, founder and chief creative officer of Arena One. “Arena One gives artists a new cinema-native canvas to create live performances, while amplifying the raw energy and shared fandom that makes live shows unforgettable.”

First up, Bebe Rexha will perform an Arena One at AMC concert June 17, followed by Paris Hilton (June 18), Kim Petras (June 19) and Maren Morris (June 20).

Ticketholders will soak up an atmosphere that’s “designed to feel immediate and electric, featuring powerful sound, massive screens,” comfortable seats, and more, reads a statement.

“We consider this to be a major announcement,” explains Adam Aron, chairman and CEO of AMC Entertainment, and an “innovative step forward” for the business.

Additional artists and dates will be announced in the coming weeks, with ticket prices varying by market.

“We built a cinematic stage optimized to translate seamlessly to cinemas, but artists are defining what it becomes,” adds Peter Hamilton, CEO of Arena One. “They’re not adapting tours; they’re building something new. That’s when a medium sparks reinvention.”

Showtimes are available on AMCTheatres.com, the AMC Mobile App, and at arenaonelive.com/shows.

Shakira and Burna Boy’s “Dai Dai” has been named the best World Cup song of all time by Billboard readers. 

In a poll published by Billboard on June 1, we asked our readers to vote for the best soccer anthem. The list included the 10 official songs released by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 1990 to today, from the first official song, “Un’estate italiana (To Be Number One),” performed by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini for the 1990 games in Italy to the most recent “Dai Dai” for the 2026 match.  

The latter ultimately won the poll with more than 31 percent of the vote. Shakira’s own “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” which she recorded with Freshlyground for the 2010 World Cup, came in a very close second with more than 26 percent of the vote. 

In May, Shak and Burna joined forces for this year’s official FIFA World Cup song, blending Afrobeats, dance-pop, world beats and reggaetón, and sending an uplifting message that’s true to the spirit of the sport. They even shout out some of the legends of the sport, including Maradona, Maldini, Romário, Cristiano Ronaldo, Beckham, Kaká and Messi. 

Moreover, Ricky Martin’s “Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida)” recorded for the 1998 World Cup tournament in France ended up in third place with almost 25 percent of the vote. The euphoric and timeless bop ultimately became a defining moment in the Puerto Rican artist’s career with the song peaking at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a Grammy for best Latin pop performance.

Other fan favorites included “Ole Ola (We Are One)” by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Claudia Leitte as well as “The Time of Our Lives” by Il Divo and Tony Braxton. 

See the full poll results below:

CeeLo knows who he wants to go up against in a VERZUZ battle, and his pick makes sense when you truly consider it.

He recently sat down with Rickey Smiley and was asked who he would go against if he ever participated in the popular music matchup series. “I would probably had to go up against Lauryn Hill,” he answered while acknowledging their mutual respect and ability to both sing and rap. “But she’s like my sister, and we were all together at the Kanye show, too. So, shouts out to the queen Ms. Hill.”

He added: “But it would just be nothing but a love affair because we did our first tours together. We’ve been friends for years, and she’s a Gemini twin just like me. So that’s my twin sister — but she does rap and sing at the same time, you know? I think I would have to be paired up with somebody who has somewhat of the same dynamic.”

Prior to his answer about a solo VERZUZ, he suggested that his Dungeon Family collective featuring the likes of Organized Noize, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Future and others would likely have to go up against another large collective like the crew out of Staten Island. “Wu-Tang came up because they’re a large collective,” he said before admitting that they might have them beat in terms of straight up bars. “But just straight ahead rap? I think they’re better. And not even to compare, I’m just a fan of theirs, right? But Dungeon Family is just unique in a way where we did it all. I do think that we might be the most critical and commercially acclaimed large collective that hip-hop has given birth to. Ain’t nobody, ain’t nothing like the Dungeon Family.”

You can watch the full conversation below.

Despite releasing her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl in 2025, the last time Taylor Swift mounted a proper performance was way back in December 2024, during her final stop on The Eras Tour. But on Tuesday night, Swift was back behind a piano to live-debut “I Knew It, I Knew You,” her just-released song from Toy Story 5, at the Disney Pixar film’s world premiere, and we were among the lucky few inside Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre for the surprise set.

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie tells Keith all about what it was like inside the room when Swift popped onstage for her own solo performance as well as a special duet with Toy Story musical mastermind Randy Newman for “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” Hear all about it — no movie spoilers, we promise! — below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” debuts atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, while Paul McCartney notches his latest top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Plus, Katie & Keith chat about two other big pop stories this week: P!nk wowing the Broadway world as the host of the 2026 Tony Awards on Sunday and Madonna bringing her Confessions II — The Film premiere to Tribeca late last week.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

You want it to be one way, but it’s the other way.

That’s one of the several Marlo Stanfield lines Jay-Z referenced during his viral “Roots Picnic Freestyle” from the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire. Jamie Hector, who played the ice cold villain, recently stopped by Way Up with Angela Yee and spoke on how he found out about being mentioned by Jigga during such a monumental moment.

“I was grateful. It was a great feeling,” he said. “You know, Jay is the head honcho, right? He gets it done. And he was gone for a minute and then when he decides to reappear and get onstage, he starts talking about the work that was created — ’cause it was art that was created, right? And it’s placed onscreen. Coming from an artist paying homage, and showing love and respect to it, and who it’s coming from, as well. It felt great. And not to mention, my phone started blowing up. I’m talking about coming from everybody. And I was like, “What’s going on?”

He was then asked by Angela’s co-host B-Dot his thoughts on the character he helped make famous becoming a favorite reference for rappers in general, and Hector showed nothing but appreciation for being acknowledged by other artists for his work. “I mean, I appreciate it because the work was done,” he replied. “It’s a collaboration. They’re talking about the character and everything like that, but the character wouldn’t exist without the entire show, without the writing, without the director, without the producers, without everybody putting everything together. Developing that character was fun, it was work, and hopefully it’s timeless. And what do I feel about them mentioning it? I feel good, keep it alive.”

Yee then asked if his kids were aware of his chilling turn as a cold-blooded drug dealer, and he said that his 16-year-old daughter is watching the series for the first time and actually just started the third season while his nine-year-old son has just seen clips online. “My daughter is watching it now and my son, he catches clips and he just be like, ‘You evil.’”

You can watch the full episode below.

Miami’s III Points festival vastly expanded its 2026 lineup on Wedneday (June 10), announcing a long list of additions to the previously announced phase one bill.

Newly added acts include Belgian techno leader Charlotte de Witte, American house treasure Honey Dijon, SoCal’s finest Flying Lotus, UK polymath Blood Orange and Detroit-born globetrotter Seth Troxler.

The bill also adds GZA, who’ll perform his 1995 classic Liquid Swords in its entirety, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Danny Brown, Kettama, Disco Lines, Daphni, Cloonee, VTSS, Mary Droppinz, Haai, Hamdi and more. These artists joined a previously announced bill that includes Underworld, Four Tet, Lil’ Kim and PAWSA.

III Points 2026 will also feature a stage for four hour sets, with the lineup for this 444 stage including Floating Points, Seth Troxler, DJ Harvey, Heidi Lawden, Willikens & Ivkovic and Red Axes. See the complete III Points 2026 lineup below.

The 13th edition of III Points happens Oct. 16-17 at Mana Wynwood. Fest organizers promise increased square footage, more than 10 stages, immersive art installations, flooring improvements to the Isotropic Stage and the debut of an enhanced VIP+ experience. Tickets for the fest go on sale June 12 at 1:11 p.m. ET.

“Phase II completes the vision we set out for 2026,” III Points founder David Sinopoli says in a statement. “We wanted to drop a final wave of talent that feels both nostalgic and completely futuristic, bridging the gap between underground club culture and global live acts. This completes the circuit for our 13th year.” 

Beyond being three of the world’s biggest girl groups, what do KATSEYE, LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT have in common? They’ve all experienced their fair share of hate.

Luckily, the performers also know that the Internet trolls and negativity just means that they have your attention, which is the thesis of “Iconic by Mistake,” their new three-way collaboration. The song doesn’t arrive for two more days, but on Wednesday (June 10), the trio premiered the track by unleashing the cinematic music video.

In the visually stunning video, KATSEYE, LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT appear in a series of chaotic settings, from driving and crashing trucks late at night on the highway to robbing graves in a cemetery, pulling teeth in a creepy dentist’s office and starting a fire in a cornfield after causing an electrical explosion with power lines.

“Hating me is like all you do/ Breakfast to dinner/ Algorithm bulletproof,” the ladies sing. “Breaking your fingers/ Thank you for the comments/ It’s because of all your hate/ I am iconic by mistake.”

All three girl groups are signed to HYBE. Their collision will continue when “Iconic by Mistake” arrives on streaming services at midnight ET first thing Friday (June 12).

The new song comes as something of a detour on KATSEYE’s rollout for upcoming EP Wild, which will feature Billboard Hot 100 hit lead single “Pinky Up.” LE SSERAFIM is fresh off the release of Billboard 200 No. 10 album Pureflow Pt. 1 in May, while “Iconic by Mistake” follows April mini album MAMIHLAPINATAPAI for ILLIT.

Watch the music video for “Iconic by Mistake” starring KATSEYE, LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT above.

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Beginning Thursday (June 11), Mexico, United States and Canada are all hosting matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. World-class fútbol players and top-ranked national teams, like Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador and Paraguay, as well as other nations, gather together to compete for a chance to hoist the FIFA World Cup Trophy on the pitch.

For the 23rd edition, 16 cities in North America, like Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Los Angeles, New York City and others, host matches throughout the fútbol tournament.

How to Watch 2026 FIFA World Cup in Spanish Online, At a Glance:

When Does 2026 FIFA World Cup Start?

FIFA World Cup begins on Thursday (June 11), while it ends on Sunday (July 19) with the final match. Matches for the fútbol tournament can be found live on Telemundo and Universo for Spanish-language broadcasts. Check out a full fixture of matches and start times here.

Where to Watch 2026 FIFA World Cup in Spanish Online for Free

If you want to watch World Cup without subscribing to a cable provider, then there are a few ways to watch matches online for free. There are streaming services, such as DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and others, that have free trials available to new subscribers (and even for returning subscribers too). This is the best way to watch Telemundo and Universo for the World Cup online for free.

To watch World Cup matches in Spanish, go with DirecTV, which offers the “MiEspañol Genre Pack” available for $29.99 per month for the first two months of service ($34.99 per month afterward). The genre pack includes more than 20 Spanish-language channels, like Telemundo and Universo.

With DirecTV, you can stream on up to three devices at the same time, while the service features unlimited cloud DVR to record your favorite TV shows, movies and even sports to watch back on-demand. If DirecTV sounds good to you, then sign up for a five-day free trial to start watching online.

Peacock is the official streaming home to World Cup Spanish-language broadcasts in the United States. The service offers the Premium Plan, which is priced at $10.99 per month, or the Premium Plus Plan, which goes for $16.99 per month. Both plans offer Telemundo and Universo for World Cup matches.

Want to save some money with Peacock? The service has annual plans available too, so you can get 17% off your yearly bill. If you pay $109.99 per year, or $169.99 per year, up front, then you can livestream Peacock Premium, or Peacock Premium Plus, respectively, at a lower cost. And aside from World Cup, the streaming service also grants you access to more live sports from Premiere League, MLB, WNBA, NBA, NFL and other pro leagues.

Meanwhile, Peacock doesn’t offer a free trial. However, you can get 30 days of access to Peacock for as low as $1 with a subscription to Walmart+. Streaming access is one of the retailer’s benefits and perks. Learn more about Walmart+ and Peacock here.

If you want to watch international broadcasts of World Cup matches in the United States, then a subscription to ExpressVPN is a must. It’s a virtual private network that allows you to watch other nations’ TV broadcasts, even if you’re not in the same country. The service acts like a key to international broadcasts geo-locks.

So if you’re Argentinian, but you live in Los Angeles, then you can still watch Argentina National Team matches on Telefe and TV Pública in California. Here’s how it works: Just fire up the ExpressVPN app on your a phone, tablet, web browser, laptop or streaming device, set your location to Argentina, and then launch the Telefe website or TV Pública app to start watching matches.

With prices starting at $2.79 per month for 28 months, you can watch content from more than 100 countries from all around the world. Learn more about ExpressVPN here.

For Telemundo, you can watch the network with a subscription to Hulu + Live TV, which offers a three-day free trial to try out the service before you commit. Once the free trial is finished, regular subscription fees starts at $89.99 per month. And at no additional cost, Hulu + Live TV is bundled with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited to watch more originals, live sporting events and other programming.

While Sling TV doesn’t have Telemundo as one of its network offerings, it does have Universo with the Sling Latino plan. It goes for $10 per month and comes with more than 20 Spanish-language broadcast channels too. Please note: Prices and channel availability depends on your local TV market. You can learn more about Sling TV here.

Who Is Performing During 2026 FIFA World Cup?

The opening ceremony of the World Cup is spread across two days, Tuesday (June 11) in Estadio Azteca in Mexico and Wednesday (June 12) in Los Angeles Stadium in the United States and Toronto Stadium in Canada.

For Mexico, Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs and others are scheduled to perform, while Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla are set for the United States and Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé and others are performing in Canada.

And on Sunday (July 19), Madonna, Shakira and BTS are expected to perform during the halftime show of the World Cup Final at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

But until then, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is available to watch in Spanish on Telemundo and Universo, via DirecTV, beginning on Thursday (June 11). In the meantime, you can find how to watch matches with English-language broadcasts here.

Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

At the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) annual meeting on Wednesday (June 10), president and CEO David Israelite announced the “first-ever industry-wide AI licensing deals” for publisher members with AI music firms Udio and KLAY, in his words. He also announced the AI Songs Summit, a gathering in Nashville this fall that will bring together songwriters, publishers, streaming services and other stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI.

“Litigating against bad AI actors and licensing good AI partners is not in conflict,” Israelite explained. “NMPA will do both… There has been hesitancy to make mistakes in these early deals, but there has not been any deal offered across the entire market until today.”

Importantly, Israelite noted in his speech that these AI deals offer publishers equal compensation to record labels on the AI training side. Whether or not publishing receives equal pay on the output side of AI licensing was not addressed in the presentation.

Equal pay for masters and publishing in AI licensing has been a goal of Israelite’s for the last few years. At the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Grammy week event in 2025, he addressed this, saying, “I believe the most important principle is that the song is just as valuable, if not more, than the sound recording in the AI model,” he said, adding, “I am fearful that as these models develop, if we do not protect our rights, we will find ourselves in a situation where we are not getting as much or more than the sound recording when it comes to revenue… That is a responsibility of this entire community to fight for that.”

The NMPA annual meeting takes place each summer and acts as a state of the union for music publishers, gathering together the highest-level executives and songwriters to go over financials for the business, hand out awards to songwriters and their business champions, and have talent perform their greatest hits. This year, the company honored P!nk as its Songwriter Icon for 2026 and Julian Bunetta (“Lose Control,” “Espresso,” “Night Changes”) as its Non-Performing Songwriter Icon.

Israelite also often uses the stage to debut a bombshell announcement, with this year’s being the new landmark AI deals with Udio and KLAY. The license gets the two AI music companies much closer to full music industry support. In a business in which ownership of intellectual property is often divided among several stakeholders represented by a number of different companies, it has historically been a challenging and lengthy process for tech companies to get the widespread support needed to be properly licensed.

Israelite said of Udio: “I thank CEO and co-founder Andrew Sanchez, who is with us today, for his collaboration. Most importantly, this deal delivers something that we have always demanded: Songs are just as important, if not more than sound recordings, when it comes to AI… Starting on Monday, NMPA members in good standing will have the opportunity to review and join this groundbreaking deal.”

Udio and KLAY have previously received industry support. After the former was sued by the three major music companies in a $500 million copyright infringement lawsuit in June 2024 for allegedly training on unlicensed sound recordings, it shifted its platform from creating new AI songs in seconds to remixing licensed, pre-existing songs — and received support and reconciliation from the music business in doing so. In the last year, Udio has inked licensing deals with Universal Music Group (UMG), Warner Music Group (WMG) and Kobalt, all of which are NMPA members, as well as Merlin on the sound recording side.

KLAY, which also will offer customization of licensed songs using AI, has periodically made announcements about its progress with music licensing but has not yet launched. Previous deals between KLAY and music companies include UMG, WMG and Sony on the master and publishing sides, all of which are members of the NMPA.

KLAY’s proactive approach to achieving full music licensing before its launch is unique in the AI music space. The company is helmed by musician and CEO Ary Attie, while Thomas Hesse, former president of global digital business and U.S. sales and distribution at Sony Music, acts as its chief content and commercial officer.

Said Israelite, “This deal will launch later this summer, as NMPA members in good standing will receive instructions about how to opt-in… Both of these agreements represent real progress toward AI and creators working together and benefiting both sides, and for companies that don’t take this approach, you know what’s coming.”

While Israelite expressed a willingness to harness the opportunities of AI licensing for songwriters and publishers, he also reminded the crowd of what he sees as one of the biggest challenges it presents: streaming fraud.

“AI is being used to hypercharge streaming fraud,” he said. “And that fraud is not just stealing from songwriters and artists, but also can be used for a more nefarious purpose. There is growing concern by the U.S. government that it is being used to launder money for organized crime and even to finance terrorism. Streaming fraud is a national security issue.”

For further coverage of the NMPA annual meeting, see Billboard’s recap of financials and awards here.

U.S. music publishing revenue rose to $7.3 billion in 2025, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) revealed at its annual meeting on Wednesday (June 10). This is up from $7.04 billion in 2024, which the trade organization reported at last year’s meeting, and $6.2 billion in 2023.

The meeting, held at Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center, is considered a state of the union for U.S. music publishers and attended by the industry’s highest-ranking publishers and songwriters. This year, its chief legal officer and chief operating officer, Danielle Aguirre, focused her speech on the financial health of the U.S. publishing business. She explained how Spotify and Amazon‘s 2024 moves to shift some of their subscription tiers to “bundles” — meaning a subscription tier that includes multiple offerings for a discounted price tag, thus qualifying it for a reduced U.S. mechanical royalty rate — led to a loss of almost $500 million in value for songwriters and publishers.

This subject was also addressed at the NMPA annual meeting last year, where it was noted that the first year under bundling lost songwriters and publishers $230 million in total. Since it unveiled its bundled tiers, Spotify in particular has inked deals with numerous NMPA members — and the NMPA itself — to improve remuneration for songwriters. However, a source close to the matter previously told Billboard that these deals primarily did this by opening up a new revenue stream for licensing music videos on the streaming service, rather than changing the U.S. mechanical rate.

Financials

The NMPA annual meeting noted that U.S. publishing revenue has climbed again in 2025 to $7.3 billion. The organization reports that this means publishing is outpacing the growth of recorded music for the fourth year in a row, and that it has continued to grow year over year since 2014, around the time that streaming took off. U.S. publishing revenue for 2025 breaks down to the following:

Aguirre also noted that deals negotiated and settled by the NMPA in the past fiscal year have led to the distribution of about $110 million to its membership. This means NMPA’s legal recovery under “the modern NMPA” is nearly $1.5 billion in total. 

“What was in 2024 a DSP-wide royalty distribution of 55% mechanical to 45% performance has flipped to now 53% performance and 47% mechanical due solely to the bundling implemented by Spotify and Amazon,” explained Aguirre. “This is concerning because mechanical royalties, as you guys know, are paid through the MLC, and the MLC does not take out a commission or any fee from you for administration of mechanical rights…you are receiving 100% of them. We will be working hard at the Copyright Royalty Board proceeding to address the issues around DSP bundling and to make sure that regulations cannot be manipulated.”

In providing an update on the Copyright Royalty Board Phonorecords V (2028-2032), which began proceedings in January, Aguirre added: “All parties have expressed an interest to come to the table and discuss how to fix bundling issues and to move forward as partners. That is a welcome first step. But what really counts are actions.”

AI Music Licensing Deals

Israelite later took the stage to make this year’s bombshell announcement: The NMPA has struck licensing deals with AI music companies Udio and KLAY. The Udio deal, in particular, marks the first industry-wide licensing deal with a major AI music company, as Israelite explained. It is also the first that will value songs and sound recordings equally when it comes to AI training in particular, according to Israelite.

For more information on these AI deals, see Billboard’s separate story on them here.

Honorees

This year, the NMPA honored a number of songwriters and executives for their dedication to the music industry. This included a tribute to 2026 NMPA Songwriter Icon recipient P!nk, who hosted the Tonys earlier this week. The songwriter and artist took the stage and performed acoustic renditions of her songs “Who Knew,” “What About Us” and “F—ing Perfect.” In accepting the award, she said, “Most of all, I want to thank every single person who has joined me, singing at the top of their lungs in their car alone, windows up, ugly crying — that image is why I continue to write songs.”

Julian Bunetta, the hitmaker behind smashes like “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter and One Direction’s “Night Changes,” received the NMPA’s Non-Performing Songwriter Icon award. To honor the songwriter, artist Amber Mark and frequent Bunetta co-writer John Ryan took the stage to sing “Lose Control.”

Bunetta said of receiving the honor, “Persistence is hard, but if one day you woke up and you had parents like mine, and you had a brother like mine, and you had a songwriting partner like mine, and you had a wife like mine, and kids like mine, and if you had publishing partners like mine, and you had lawyers like mine, and you had mentors like mine and you had collaborators like mine, and you had a Big Family like mine, I guarantee you’d wake up and say songwriting is easy.”

Recording Academy CEO and songwriter in his own right, Harvey Mason jr., received the NMPA’s Industry Legacy Award for his work to highlight and elevate songwriters since becoming the head of the Academy. Since Mason jr.’s appointment as CEO, the Academy has added the long-desired songwriter of the year award and created a songwriters and composers wing as well.

In a fireside chat with David Israelite, president and CEO of the NMPA, Mason jr. said: “I always wanted to be a songwriter, and so I approach pretty much all my work from that perspective, whether I’m producing a record or doing other work…the collaborative spirit, the way that you write songs is the way that I try and do everything in my life. So, as it relates to the Academy, I consider my team at the Academy my collaborators [too].”

The NMPA also surprised Mason jr. with a surprise tribute to his work as a writer, welcoming Jordin Sparks to the stage to perform “No Air,” one of Mason jr.’s most enduring co-writes.

The event also featured a keynote conversation with Dina Powell McCormick, a former colleague of Israelite’s who now serves as Meta’s president and vice chair. During the conversation, she spoke about AI and music’s role in the Meta ecosystem: “It brings life to every single thing that we do. It brings life to posts on Instagram. It brings life to creators.” She also noted how Meta believes its wearable technology, like its Ray-Ban smart glasses, will change the music listening experience: “People listen to music in a very different way on the Meta glasses… We think that experience is going to become even more meaningful over time…music and sound are so important to what we’re building.”