Post Malone is having a moment. The rapper will be featured on the upcoming Taylor Swift album and kicked off the epic WM Phoenix Open festivities earlier this week. However, it’s his old body of work that’s making history. Post Malone‘s Spiderman-inspired hit “Sunflower,” produced in collab with Swae Lee, became the RIAA’s first-ever double diamond-rated single. Since its 2018 release, the song has gone 20X platinum, equating to 20 million streams or downloads. 

Spotify surged to new heights in 2023. This week’s quarterly report signaled that the Swedish company eclipsed 236 million paid users. On Tuesday, the company’s CEO, Daniel Ek, revealed that it paid out more than $9 billion to music industry partners in 2023 alone. Collectively, Spotify has distributed more than $48 billion since its founding in 2006. Spotify will release its annual Loud & Clear report, which goes deep into the company’s operations and financials, sometime next month.

When the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, the Davis family eyed the potential for an increased franchise valuation. To drive the 2020 move, the team invested a then-record-setting $1.2 billion on the construction of the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium, which will host this weekend’s Super Bowl. Now, Tom Brady’s proposed minority investment in the team faces a price increase due to its increased valuation, and the deal is subject to approval at this year’s NFL Owners’ meetings in March. Brady first connected with the Davises to position a potential investment during his first requirement in 2022; however, he walked back the offer when he decided to suit up once more. The deal faced resistance from other NFL owners, who feared that the valuation was deflated, which could impact their personal wealth. Sportico valued the team at $5.5 billion, and Brady and his investor group are vying for a 10% stake.

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone without any changes of scenery for the biggest names in the game. With the deadline set for Thursday at 3 p.m. for teams to make their final trades ahead of the final stretch of the season, NBA front offices were busy making a flurry of moves, including the New York Knicks acquiring Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks, the Oklahoma City Thunder trading for Gordon Hayward, and the Philadelphia 76ers getting Buddy Hield. However, some of the bigger names that were rumored to be moved heading in, such as Atlanta Hawks‘ Dejounte Murray or the Golden State Warriors‘ Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, ultimately stayed put. With names like Kyle Lowry and Spencer Dinwiddie potentially on the buyout market, expect teams to remain busy through the weekend.

Caitlin Clark is on the verge of making NCAA history. As the Iowa sharpshooter keeps her sight locked on Kelsey Plum’s scoring record, the price of admission is going up. According to a report from ticket vendor Vivid Seats, the cost of admission is higher than $100 on average, and fans are coming in from far and wide – averaging a 138-mile trip to get there. Routinely, ESPN says Iowa attracts more than 10,000 spectators, more than the average away-game attendance across the Big Ten of 8,200. Over the course of the last several months, Clark has brought in big bucks to her competitors, including more than $100,000 in total game revenue when the Hawkeyes beat the Perdue Boilermakers 96-71 on Jan. 10.

All eyes will be on Usher this Sunday as he takes the stage at the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. Ahead of his primetime performance, he took the stage for the event’s official press conference in Las Vegas. There, Usher revealed that he looks to 50 Cent for inspiration when he considers his future plans, which include building an entertainment empire. He spoke about his hopes to sync his music with TV and film projects, saying, “It’s a matter of managing to monetize [and] at the same time emotionally give people an escape. When you hear a song, you relate to it. … [It’s] a connection.”