What does it really take to cover, analyze and predict the biggest moves in the music industry at Billboard? Dan Rys, executive editor of business, Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, senior finance correspondent and Bill Donahue, senior legal correspondent, sit down with Kristin Robinson on Billboard On The Record to give listeners a peek inside the newsroom that tracks the stories shaping music today. They share their biggest coverage moments of 2025, from Taylor Swift reclaiming her catalog and Shaboozey tying the Hot 100 record to Diddy’s legal battles and leadership changes at Island Records. The team also weighs in on what’s next for the industry, including AI’s role in songwriting, major catalog sales, evolving marketing strategies and predictions for lawsuits, acquisitions and chart-topping hits. Listeners get a behind-the-scenes look at how Billboard decides what matters, what’s trending and how the team interprets the moves that will define music in 2026.
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Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions.
Kristin Robinson:
2026 is here y’all and I have a lot of questions about where the music industry is going to go. Will an AI song crack the Hot 100? What record label will dominate this year? And can Spotify and the music industry ever figure out how to get along? We’re here to talk about all of that and more on our first episode back for the new year. Welcome back to On the Record, a music business podcast from Billboard and SickBird Productions. Liz, Dan and Bill, welcome to On the Record. So to kick off, I feel like we need to explain one thing that’s very important, which is what Dan decided to wear today. I’m sure there’s some people who are just listening to this and can’t see it.
Bill Donahue:
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Dan Rys:
We did discuss briefly wearing matching T-shirts, but we just kind of couldn’t pull it together in time. So I decided to wear this, which is from my understanding, the oldest known map of the contiguous United States, focusing on the Rohan and Gondor regions.
Kristin Robinson:
Oh, okay, of course.
Bill Donahue:
I did explain to Dan that all my Lord of the Rings apparel was at the dry cleaner, but just tough timing, really, you know, yeah, when it came down to it.
Kristin Robinson:
Were you going to come as like Gandalf himself?
Bill Donahue:
Yeah, are you reading my text? I had the whole beard. It was great.
Kristin Robinson:
Okay, well, to get started here today, so this is going to be a conversation all about predictions and questions that we have for 2026, but I thought we’d start by just talking about 2025 a little bit since that just ended, and I’m still thinking about a lot of the stuff that we were working on then, and a lot of that stuff is going to carry on into 2026. Liz, I’ll start with you. Can you tell me about one of the biggest stories that you worked on in 2025?
Keep watching for more!