ALL THE LADIES, IF YOU READ ME-

 

Mat Hayward/Getty Images for The Recording Academy ALL THE LADIES, IF YOU READ ME-  — ALLISON B, DANIELA T & JOHN O Help me sing it out: Happy Women’s History Month! Leading this week’s issue are some feel-good stories for the girlies, followed by a call from chokers and over-the-knee socks, a look at behind-the-screens music experiences, and a whiff of where the Grammys are headed after shaking hands with a very famous mouse. We're also excited to join in on the Grammy Org's celebration of Music In Our Schools Month this March with an inspiring conversation with Jennifer Jimenez, the recipient of the 2026 Music Educator Award, down in The Green Room.

LADIES FIRST  That’s the rule! We’re kicking things off by spotlighting news in music that’s all about the gals 💅  👢 What, Like It's Hard? Rising superstars Megan Moroney and Ella Langley made country music history by simultaneously topping the Billboard charts this week; Megan takes the top slot on the Billboard 200 with Cloud 9 and Ella reigns the Billboard Hot 100 with "Choosin' Texas." Believe it or not, it marks the first time country women have been on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 at the same time 🥹  🎸 Women In Male-Dominated Fields: The field being rock star biopics. We've seen Timmy as Bob, and Rami as Freddie, and Austin (and Jacob) as Elvis, and the list goes on. But Angie Martoccio at Rolling Stone has us pumped for upcoming biopics about the women who shaped music. We're talking Zendaya as Ronnie Spector, Selena Gomez as Linda Ronstadt, Lizzo as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jessica Gunning as Cass Elliot, and Shailene Woodley as Janis Joplin . We're simply too seated 🍿  🌹 Anything for Selenas! And the Grammy Museum means it – which is why the Museum is extending its pop-up exhibit  Selena: From Texas to the World through May 11, and even bringing in a special jumpsuit beginning March 18 💜

DISNEY DARLINGS  ICYMI: The Grammys are moving to ABC, Hulu and Disney+ in 2027, and in addition to practicing our wand ID, we’ve got some new moves cooking. Last week, our CEO spoke with Billboard about what we're working on next. Here are some highlights: 🌍 Global Growth: We’re determined to grow as global as the music and music creators we represent. Our plans for international growth include extending more membership invites in regions with surging music scenes like Africa, Asia and the Middle East 👥  🎬 New Content: We want to expand our storytelling across more platforms. In addition to specials and livestreams of Grammy Week events, we're exploring how we can tell more music stories, whether that's through series, documentaries or even feature films. 😮 📢 💡 Advocacy & Education: Our dedication to protecting music creator rights is only getting stronger, as are our efforts to educate and uplift the next generation of creators and professionals 🌱

OMG, I SAW THEM LIVE ... ON NETFLIX?  The new best seat in the house for live music is quite literally in your house. NPR did a deep dive on how audiences are turning to concert livestreams and films during the age of high ticket prices and residency eras.  Here are our key takeaways:  More concert livestreams and films are on the way: This Month, Netflix will livestream BTS’ comeback concert for their upcoming album Arirang from Seoul. Plus, they'll later release a documentary on the making of the band's upcoming album. The ta-dum streaming service will also house a taping of Harry Styles' performance in Manchester for his new album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. Coming to theaters in May is Billie Eilish's 3D concert film, directed by James Cameron and captured during her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour. With concert livestreams and films offering easier (and much cheaper) access to performances, theater releases are becoming increasingly popular for fans who still want that feeling of "community" (and concert pics).  The push for these behind-the-screens music experiences stems from inaccessible tickets and resale ticket prices. Queue the lawsuits against Ticketmaster and currently Live Nation – more on that below👇

EXTENDED PLAY 🔗 NPR Explains the Live Nation Trial ⚖️ Read how the federal antitrust trial against the world’s largest live entertainment company could impact the music industry 🔮  🔗 Hypebot Highlights Women In Live Music 🎤 Read about 15 women who helped shape live music's past, present and future 🫶 🔗 Marshall Amps Up Local Music 🔈 In Marshall’s new Amplify membership, 1 percent of the money from online purchases will go towards supporting local music communities🤝  🔗 Puth Perfects AI Pitch ✨ Charlie Puth has just been named the Chief Music Officer at AI music company Moises, which offers non-generative AI music production tools for artists 🛠️   🔗 Apple Tags AI 🍎 Apple Music launched Transparency Tags, which labels and distributors can apply to AI-generated content delivered to the platform 🏷️

2010 IS CALLING...📞  ...and she noticed indie icons from her era are all over this year’s festival lineups 👀  🌉 The XX, Empire of the Sun, The Strokes and Death Cab for Cutie are headed to San Francisco's Outside Lands, among additional headliners like Charli xcx, Baby Keem, Dijon, and more. ⚡ LCD Soundsystem, Modest Mouse, Santigold, Jet and OK Go are "Taking Back Sunday" at Shaky Knees in Atlanta, sharing stages with industry veterans like Gorillaz and Wu-Tang Clan and new blood like Geese and The Two Lips. 🏜️ Foster the People, Lykke Li, Alex G, and Röyksopp are headed to the desert for Coachella, which features headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, and the ultimate 2010s heartthrob Justin Bieber. Coincidence? Or are festival organizers dialing into nostalgia and anticipating a rebirth of indie sleaze? We’ll keep you posted as we proceed to reactivate our Tumblr accounts and dust off our 500 Days of Summer DVD.

THE GREEN ROOM WITH JENNIFER JIMENEZ Celebrate Music In Our Schools Month with Jennifer Jimenez, the 2026 Music Educator Award honoree.   Tell me about your teaching philosophy.   The most basic part of my teaching philosophy is that music is going to be the tool and the platform with which students are able to pursue their future careers, to use those skills that music teaches them to pursue and to aid them and get into those other opportunities. My goal is not to make the next band director or the next artist, although if they want to do that, obviously we can teach that here. The artistic pursuit is very high, but to use the skills and the discipline of music to really get them focused on that next level, wherever that may take them.  You were honored at our annual Special Merit Awards ceremony in the same room as Chaka Khan and Bernie Taupin. What was it like being in that room with those legends?   It was just such an honor to be included. I'm so grateful that the Grammys, the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum, specifically, feel like it's necessary to elevate music educators to that level, to include us in that honor.  Why do you think musical education is important for the next generation of the music industry?   I think music education and [having] great teachers produces great artists. Throughout history, it's been proven and shown that music educators are those folks that are educating, guiding the next generation of artists. No matter how big or small you think your impact is, I think it's essential that everyone, no matter what industry and music they're in, gets a mentor and gets somebody who can guide them through their career. We're going to make more developed artists, more artists that are going to stay in that path and have longevity to continue making art. In addition to being an educator, you're also an advocate for music education. I think that's essential, because it's a very difficult task to be working professional in music education without consistently advocating for your profession and for yourself. It's our job to continue to advocate for the things that are going to make the best well-rounded students with the best opportunities. I believe kids should have the right to a free education in music. I believe every kid should be able to hold an instrument if they want and have it be playable. But you have to advocate. You have a professional mantra: "Band is the family that you choose." Tell me more about that.  That's our slogan, "Band is the family you choose." You might not get to pick what family you're born into. You might not get to pick your circumstances because of what hand you've been dealt in life. But you can choose to be friendly with each other. We're going to respect everybody, and we're going to disagree without dishonoring. We're choosing to do this thing together. We're going to disagree at some point, but we're going to have an actual face-to-face conversation and disagree with somebody without going after them or dishonoring them. — Interview by John Ochoa, Director of Content    Presented by the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum, the Music Educator Award honors current educators who have made a significance to music education and who demonstrate a commitment to maintaining music education in the schools. Applications for the 2027 Music Educator Award are now open. Nominations are due March 15, 2026.  Applications are due March 31, 2026.