No. 1s 2020
How to Take Diva Collaborations to ‘Another Level of Badass’
Long-standing assumptions about female artists competing with one another have also dissolved, says Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, CEO/owner of management firm SALXCO, whose roster includes Doja Cat and Bebe Rexha. The idea that there’s room for only one chart-topping female at a time is “very unrealistic,” he says. “When artists come together and have healthy competition, everyone wins.” But executives aren’t suddenly having epiphanies dispelling sexist myths, notes Calhoun — audiences are voicing demand for female collaborations through their listening habits. “The fans are hungry for it and the fans are playing it, so there’s a business there,” she says. “Male artists have held the throne for a minute now, and I think women want to hear women artists.” Perhaps no fan spends more time thinking abo...
What Does ‘Alternative’ Mean in 2020?
Laura Ohls, senior editor, folk and AAA, Spotify: I’ve always thought of “alternative” as referring to any artist creating music that challenges what’s being popularized in the mainstream, across all genres. In the ’90s, rock music was still very much at the core of popular music culture, and as a result, “alternative” [was more] guitar-driven in sound. Fast forward to 2020, where hip-hop, pop and Latin are the titans of genre, and you’ll find that the class of artists defying what’s expected are doing so within these genre spaces. As a result, there is an amalgamation of genres that make up modern “alternative” sounds. We launched our Alternative Hub earlier this year in order to unite all of our alternative programming into one dedicated space. The idea was to have a destination that enc...
