Welcome to our New Music Weekly’s Holiday & Best of 2021 edition. It’s really hard to believe that this year has already come and gone. Although we seem to be having the same issues regarding this horrible virus, we managed to turn out a far better year than the last one. Looking at our charts in this issue you can see that it sure looks like a healthy music picture. People are getting out and about more and they are going back to live shows and concerts that had been on hold for the past year. During the confinement many found themselves alone during most of 2020, so recording artists and musicians spent some time in their home studios and got things ready for a much better year.

During this issue we will take a good look at some new and exciting holiday music. It seems that many artists did a little extra work in that department, and we have seen a deluge of new holiday music the likes of which we most certainly didn’t see last year at this time. People are finally back to buying music and that has been a good thing for many of us that work in the music industry. Let’s not paint too bright a picture however as our economy is in pretty bad shape with inflation “off the charts”. The goods and services that many thought would be available, especially in the field of musical instruments are stuck on boats and in a limbo situation. Regardless, we are all trying our best to make something good out of a very bad situation. Music still remains our greatest escape through all of this.

It is also that time of year when we get set to honor recording artists, radio stations, programmers, record labels and music industry professionals via our annual New Music Awards. Over the past month we have had an “open ballot” by which our subscribers and the general public have had an opportunity to vote for their favorites and the ones that they feel are deserving of some special attention. We have been flooded with an overwhelming list of artists to consider and as of this writing we are still going over the lists. We have also been in the process of polling our radio stations, their music and program directors, regarding artists and music that fared best for them in 2021.

The New Music Awards is also our opportunity to once again help “level the playing field” by giving independent artists and bands the same chance that the major label artists get when it comes time to music awards. In this issue you will find many indie artists that took the time to lobby “for the vote”. Also, in this issue all you have to do is take a good look at our charts from mainstream to country to see how all of the artists fare back-to- back. Unlike many other trade publications, in our world of the New Music Weekly, all artists are treated the same regardless of label status. Many of our music and program directors feel the same when it comes to choosing music. They are not asking about what record label you are on but rather how the music fits the station & if it works for them.

From a major label perspective, many are very pleased with the progress that they have been handed to them and for some it has been a banner year. It did help a little that an artist like Adele came out with new music just as the year was about to end and that gave the industry a big jolt at a time that it needed the most. Other artists among the majors that were back on track included the likes of Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, Olivia Rodrigo, Coldplay and BTS to name just a few. Again, just take a look at the charts in this issue and you will see many of the major label artists still doing some blockbuster business as we begin to close out 2021.

It’s also been a year of rebound to the many independent music artists and bands in the USA. They have been the life blood of NMW for years and this time out they did not disappoint. Many have even taken to recording and releasing new and interesting holiday music just in time for the Christmas season. You can see many of those titles on our charts from Pop to Country. From all of us here at New Music Weekly, thank you for another banner year and we look forward to an even better go around in 2022.