AJR'S EXCEPTIONAL RISE

We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback to our piece about A&R and the logjam at Pop radio. And while there are plenty of examples of breaking acts that have been victims of this syndrome (only a handful of artists now on the Pop chart are first-timers there), there are a few exceptions. Amid all the traffic, BMG/RED’s AJR has just gone Top 30 at Pop with single “Weak.” The song has scored 180m+ streams on Spotify, is selling, researching, and Shazaming, and the band is selling tickets, as evidenced by its sold-out show at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom. We hope the gatekeepers will continue to recognize such well-earned success stories.