Christmas music may only dominate a few weeks a year, but its impact on the music business lasts for decades. Guy Moot, CEO and co-chair of Warner Chappell Music, and Carianne Marshall, COO and co-chair, join host Kristin Robinson on Billboard On the Record to break down why holiday songs are some of the most valuable assets in any music catalog, why writing a timeless Christmas hit is so difficult and how industry traditions around holiday albums have shifted from mandatory releases to strategic singles. They discuss the evolution from cover culture to artist-driven branding, the role of songwriter camps, and why evergreen holiday songs often travel further than the places they were written. From December chart freezes to the renewed push for trusted brands and long-term fan connection, this conversation explores how Christmas music continues to shape careers, catalogs and the modern music economy.
Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions.
Host:
Kristin Robinson
Executive Producers:
Diona DaCosta
Hannah Karp
Jade Watson
Produced By:
Kayla Forman
Mateo Vergara
Edited By:
Rachel Derbyshire
00:00 Introduction to Holiday Episode
00:20 The Business of Christmas Music
01:45 Revenue and Streaming Trends Analysis
03:30 Guest Introduction: Guy Moot & Kerri-Ann Marshall
05:00 Favorite Christmas Songs Discussion
07:30 The Challenge of Creating New Classics
10:15 Cultural and Regional Holiday Hits
12:20 Nostalgic vs. Contemporary Seasonal Music
15:50 Challenges of Songwriting Seasonal Hits
18:40 Synchronization and Christmas Music Syncs
21:10 Christmas Music Recording and Curation Trends
24:00 TikTok’s Role in Reviving Holiday Songs
27:10 Long-term Value of Holiday Songs
30:40 Community and Collaboration in Songwriting Camps
33:15 Exploring Unique, Lesser-Known Christmas Songs
36:50 Seasonal and Regional Song Highlights
39:25 Behind the Scenes of Music Synchronization Deals
42:10 Fun Playlist Building with Guests
46:25 Guilty Pleasures in Holiday and Sad Songs
50:10 Special Billboard Charts Holiday Recap
52:35 Wrapping Up and Season Finale Teaser
►► Subscribe for more music news: http://blbrd.cm/Proracf
►► See our latest videos: http://blbrd.cm/xOgw6VQ
About: Billboard is the world’s most influential music media brand, with an unmatched authority among artists, fans and the industry. Billboard powers the ultimate global music destination and magazine, featuring unrivaled reporting on music news, issues and trends, the industry’s definitive charts, encompassing the most complete and well respected database of charts across all music genres, and elite conferences and events which regularly convene the industry and consumers around important conversations.
Connect with Billboard Online:
Visit the website: http://blbrd.cm/s5w4vTm
Likes us on Facebook: http://blbrd.cm/ks26yg5
Follow us on Twitter: http://blbrd.cm/uRNqRoN
Follow us on Instagram: http://blbrd.cm/6QaTrhn
#MariahCarey #Wham #MichaelGeorge #BrendaLee #BillboardontheRecord
Inside the Business of Christmas Music: Why Holiday Songs Never Die | Billboard On the Record
Billboard
https://youtube.com/billboard
Billboard Magazine brings you exclusive interviews with chart-topping artists, one-of-a-kind studio performance sessions and in-depth coverage of the world’s biggest music events…only on SloppBoxx.Com.
so so good!!!
Ok now I’m inspired to write the next great christmas song! 🎄🎄🎄
Great episode! About a Boy was the film you were thinking of 😊
Idk..I don’t think buying albums anymore is considered the benchmark that it deserves for record sales. The one thing I can agree with record labels is that internet did change album sales trajectories. So I’m not sure if younger people today can appreciate having to pick one or 3 albums that they could purchase with an allowance rather than just streaming any song. In that sense perhaps there is some sort of cheapening of music sales, when it shouldn’t be like that.
Yeah, I can’t imagine that any of the classical composers had the foresight of imagining that 200 years in the future there would be internet or thousands to millions of new music listeners. But you know perhaps they did not know what would happen but were certain that the future would happen so therefore the focus wasn’t on how music would be consumed. But I doubt that they conceived that the music would be streamable.
Song can’t gatekeep
1. Roll Me In from the Katamari Damacy soundtrack is the most interesting bossa nova Japanese fusion song you wouldn’t expect.
2. Hyperballad the track version or my remaster of the track 😂😅 I would recommend into the Bjork album of work.
3. Whip-whip lash, whip-whip lash by Aespa
I predicted Golden would perform at the Thanksgiving parade Billboard 😜😜😜😜😜😜