Category: Music

Round Hill Music, the name of the Josh Gruss-led, private-equity backed company with more than $1.1 billion in music assets under management, now adorns a physical music store in Greenwich, Conn.

The 1,100-square-foot outlet, which opened last month, hawks high-end guitars and amps as well as a healthy offering of vinyl and other merchandise in a store designed to appeal to the entire family, says Gruss, who is the store’s sole owner. In his day job, Gruss is the CEO of Round Hill Music, the music asset company that’s also a full-service music company which owns or represents rights in music written or performed by the likes of Bobby Darin, Brittany Howard, Gil Scott-Heron, Rob Thomas, Ashley Gorley, Bruce Cockburn, Massive Attack, Collective Soul, Skid Row, Craig Wiseman and Randy Bachman, according to the company’s website.

While the impetus may have been to open a guitar store, Gruss says he wanted it to have broad appeal for the whole family: “If parents come in with a son for a guitar, maybe mom will pick up a shirt or a candle. Another family had a 4-year-old daughter, and we had a kid guitar for her. While the main focus is the high-end guitars and amps, we have something for everybody.” Beyond the above items, the store’s inventory includes sunglasses, rock ’n’ roll t-shirts, hand-made jean jackets, art for sale and even an ashtray. 

But in the first few weeks of operation, the big eye-opener has been the strength of the record store component, says Gruss. The shop carries some 1,500 vinyl albums, all new — and that has turned out to be the surprise selling category. “Everyone loves music, and we all know vinyl has resurged in popularity,” says Gruss. While he says he was hoping that vinyl would be the secondary reason customers visited the store, “it turns out it’s the primary reason,” he reports. “So far, about 20% of our vinyl inventory is getting sold per week. So far, our No. 1 seller is a local jam band called Goose. Everyone comes in asking for them.”

In assembling the retail outlet, Gruss, who plays guitar in an original rock band called Rubikon and a cover band called Kaintuck, says he was inspired by memories from when he was younger. “My favorite thing to do as a kid was look at guitars in guitar stores, especially those on 48th Street,” he recalls, referencing the Manhattan block between 6^th and 7^th Avenues that, in the 1960s through the 1990s, was known as Music Row for the many musical instrument stores lining the street (the most famous being Manny’s Music).

“Even today, when I travel to places like Stockholm and Paris, I check out guitar stores,” says Gruss. Over the years, he adds, “I built up an idea of what I like in a guitar store.”

It wasn’t until the COVID pandemic that Gruss decided to act on his vision. “It was during the height of COVID when I was going through town [and] I see the ‘for sale’ sign on this building,” he remembers. “With my contrarian hat on, I thought, maybe I can get a good price.” After buying the building, he set about planning for the guitar store, a category that Greenwich — although rich in various types of retail — lacked.

In conceptualizing the Round Hill Music store, Gruss explains he didn’t want it to focus on things you can find at Guitar Center, which he acknowledges as the dominant merchant of musical instruments and equipment in the U.S. As a result, he gave the store a high-end boutique slant, which, considering its location, makes sense: Greenwich is consistently ranked as one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S., with a median household income of $180,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

While there are many affordable and recognized guitar brands in the store, it also has more unique items. Case in point: a $20,000 replica of “Greeny,” a 1959 Les Paul Standard guitar named after its owner, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, who sold it to Thin Lizzy’s Gary Moore and which eventually wound up with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. Gruss says the store ordered the replica from the Gibson Custom shop, noting the company only made 50 as part of a limited-edition run.

With guitars by Gibson, Fender, Paul Reed Smith, Taylor LsL Instruments, Ernie Ball, Rock N Roll Relics and Suhr, Gruss says he wants the store to be a haven for musicians and collectors as well as younger consumers, which is why it also carries guitars attractive to beginners. Beyond guitars, the store carries premium speakers from Devialet and Transparent and apparel by Madeworn, Daydreamer and Rowdy Sprout.

Beyond inventory, Gruss says he wanted Round Hill Music to have a different feel than Guitar Center. “We want our store to be as welcoming as possible and we want people to sit and play as much as possible,” he says. In contrast, he says Guitar Center can be intimidating for customers, with a sales staff that he believes measures whether people have money to buy a guitar and may require some kind of collateral if a customer wants to play one of the nicer models on the floor.

Consequently, he says he wants the Round Hill Music store to be welcoming to all ages and hopes it will give young customers the opportunity to enjoy the same experience he had as a teenager at similar shops. He also expresses the hope that the store can be a place where music fans interact with one another.

To make sure the Round Hill store is correctly merchandised and boasts a welcoming atmosphere, Gruss says having the right staff is key, citing the “super knowledgeable” John Mahoney, who works as the store’s operations manager. He adds that his vision was carried out “by a great group of people” who previously worked in retail at other music instrument stores, including Sam Ash. In total, the store is currently staffed with six employees.

At the store’s opening event, what Gruss sees as intrinsic to the store’s future success — an in-store stage — was put to good use by the Mike Stern Band, which played a high-energy set that left the crowd wanting more. “We will program the store with plenty of in-store artist events, including up-and-coming songwriters and local singer-songwriters,” Gruss says. 

Gruss points out that he’s also using the store to promote the Round Hill Music catalog business, noting that artists and songwriters in the music-asset company’s catalog have their own section in the shop; the inventory there includes albums by Soul Coughing, System Of A Down and Neon Trees. “The store is a great way to spread the Round Hill network,” he says. “It will really help out the rest of the business.”

Usher was sitting at home watching the 2025 BET Awards Monday night (June 9) when he recognized host Kevin Hart‘s fuzzy red coat.

Ahead of Teyana Taylor‘s television debut performance of her new single “Long Time,” Hart strutted down the aisle of Peacock Theater at L.A. Live wearing Usher’s signature jacket from his most recent Past Present Future Tour, as evidenced by the label on the inside that had Usher’s name crossed out and Hart’s name written in red marker. He even tried pulling one of Usher’s notorious tour stunts by feeding cherries to different women in the audience, from Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold to Kerry Washington — but to no avail.

“You’ll get it, you’ll get it bad, if you don’t get your Black ass away from us!” Campbell and Arnold clapped back at him to the tune of Usher’s 2001 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “U Got It Bad.”

Usher posted a TikTok video Tuesday morning (June 10) of him watching Hart impersonate him. “How the hell he get my jacket?” he asked in disbelief. According to Vogue and British GQ, Usher’s coat is a custom red Ferrari faux fur coat designed by Rocco Iannone, creative director of Ferrari. “It’s a showstopper,” Usher told the former publication. “You know red is a hot, fiery color, right? It’s fun, I just let it speak to what it makes them feel.”

Unlike Hart, Usher has successfully fed many famous women cherries at his tour stops and other performances, including Rubi Rose, Summer Walker, Tiny and Sabrina Carpenter, the lattermost of whom the iconic R&B singer apologized to her father after Carpenter received a disapproving text from him.

See Usher’s hilarious reaction to Hart’s BET Awards stint below.

Macklemore’s Seattle home was the target of a robbery early Saturday (June 7). According to The Seattle Times, the pair of burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, shoes and designer watches after bear-spraying a nanny inside the Capitol Hill residence.

Macklemore’s three children were sleeping inside the property while it was being ransacked, but they were left unharmed. The nanny reportedly bit one of the burglars and escaped before going door-to-door in the neighborhood looking to be let in to call 911.

The pair of men entered the home through a patio door and maced the nanny, who was caring for the children, inside. One of the burglars allegedly helped clean her eyes of the mace while the other demanded they be brought to the location of the “jewels.”

A police report acquired by The Seattle Times stated that the nanny was then thrown to the ground and had her phone stolen. She claimed not to see any weapons on the burglars, who had their identities hidden behind face masks, gloves and tactical vests. Authorities arrived at the scene after the burglars fled and safely brought Macklemore’s kids to the care of another family member.

The rapper was performing in Ireland at the time of the burglary over the weekend. Billboard has reached out to representatives for Macklemore and the Seattle Police Department for comment.

On the music front, Macklemore released his politically-charged single “F—d Up” in February, which saw him stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. All proceeds from the single were donated to the non-profit UNRWA USA.

As part of our continuing efforts to serve the music industry and its creators, Billboard Pro now features a music industry events calendar for readers.

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Taylor Swift had lots to celebrate on May 30, when the megastar announced that she had officially acquired the masters of her first six albums from private equity firm Shamrock Capital, along with videos, concert films, art and other unreleased content. The firm had acquired the catalog in late 2020 from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, after Braun had bought Swift’s old label Big Machine Records the year before.

The purchase marked the end of a six-year kerfuffle that resulted in Swift’s Taylor’s Version project, where she re-recorded four of her first six albums that she recorded for Big Machine. After announcing her big purchase — which Billboard estimated cost about what Shamrock initially paid in late 2020, around $360 million — Swifties were quick to buy and stream her music, resulting in a big Billboard chart week.

Let’s break down the impact of Swift’s announcement, by the numbers (on the latest charts dated June 14 — reflecting activity May 30-June 5, the first full week after the news of the deal).

54,000

Swift’s albums catalog sold a combined 54,000 copies in the U.S. in the tracking week, up 235% from the week before, according to Luminate. This includes each of her albums, re-recordings and all. That 54,000 is the most among all artists this week.

The biggest seller in her catalog was her sixth studio LP and final Big Machine project, 2017’s Reputation, which sold 15,000 copies alone (up 1,183% week-over-week). The album is one of two (along with her 2006 debut, Taylor Swift) that the singer hasn’t re-recorded and released yet. In the letter on her website, she wrote, “Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it.” She left fans hopeful though, adding, “There will be a time (if you’re into the idea) for the unreleased Vault tracks from that album to hatch.” The gains for reputation help the album rank at No. 4 on the Top Album Sales chart and No. 10 on Top Streaming Albums, and surge 78-5 on the Billboard 200 (marking its highest placement since January 2018).

The second-biggest seller was Taylor Swift, which she wrote she has finished re-recording but didn’t announce a release date yet. That album sold 8,000 copies (up 955%) and ranks at No. 6 on the Top Album Sales chart. The set also re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 64, marking its highest rank since 2010.

222 million

Swift’s catalog raked in a combined 222 million official U.S. streams in the week following her announcement, up 32% from the week prior.

“Cruel Summer” was her most-streamed song of the week, tallying 5.4 million U.S. streams (up 6%). Her next four-highest-streamed songs are from Reputation: “…Ready for It” (3.8 million; up 70%), “Delicate” (3.8 million; up 76%), “Look What You Made Me Do” (3.6 million; up 70%) and “Don’t Blame Me” (3.4 million; up 84%).

Those 222 million streams in the U.S. are the second-most among all artists this week, following Morgan Wallen. The country star, who just dropped his latest album, I’m the Problem on May 16, raked in 379 million streams.

11

Swift charts 11 albums on the latest Billboard 200, tying her career weekly best. Here’s a look, with re-entries noted:

No. 5, Reputation
No. 18, The Tortured Poets Department
No. 30, Lover
No. 50, Midnights
No. 52, Folklore
No. 61, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
No. 64, Taylor Swift (re-entry)
No. 73, 1989 (re-entry)
No. 147, Red (Taylor’s Version)
No. 170, Speak Now (re-entry)
No. 185, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (re-entry)

This is the 31st total week that Swift has charted 11 albums simultaneously. The only artists to chart more in a single week — since the list was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing ranking in August 1963 — are Prince (who charted 19 albums after he died in 2016, plus 13 the week after that) and the Beatles (14 albums simultaneously for a week in 2010 and 13 during a week in 2014).