Andrew Mall 5/16/25 Andrew Mall 5/16/25

Do phone-free concerts lead to better experiences? We asked Northeastern experts

NGN (2025). “If you have 10,000 people at a concert and 8,000 of them are holding a phone, there’s something deeply disconnected,” said Tobias Forge, the frontman of Swedish rock group Ghost. Forge was explaining why the band’s world tour is mandating a no-phones policy. A music expert, philosopher and psychologist explain what is going on when artists restrict what their fans can do at their performances.

Andrew Mall 5/1/25 Andrew Mall 5/1/25

Fyre Fest is up for sale. Could someone buy the brand and turn it around?

Northeastern Global News (2025). The doomed festival’s founder Billy McFarland said the brand can be purchased, but one Northeastern expert said it’s “poisonous.” Could someone purchase the Fyre Fest brand and revive it? It would be a difficult endeavor, said Andrew Mall, associate professor of music at Northeastern University.

Andrew Mall 1/31/25 Andrew Mall 1/31/25

Will Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show push NFL’s buttons or play it safe?

Northeastern Global News (2025). One of the biggest rappers of his generation, Kendrick Lamar is a logical choice for the NFL’s biggest stage. But the politically conscious rapper also stands in stark contrast to the league’s image.

Andrew Mall 12/12/24 Andrew Mall 12/12/24

What is the legacy of Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’? Cultural impact goes beyond music, expert says

Northeastern Global News (2024). Taylor Swift ended her nearly two-year-long tour on Dec. 8. The Eras Tour broke records as one of the highest-grossing tours in history.

Andrew Mall 11/13/24 Andrew Mall 11/13/24

Why are the best new artists nominees at the Grammys not that new?

Northeastern Global News (2024). Northeastern music expert Andrew Mall sounds off on this year’s Grammy nominations, including Beyonce’s nominations for her first country album.

Andrew Mall 10/2/24 Andrew Mall 10/2/24

What is dynamic pricing and why is it hiking ticket prices for Oasis, Taylor Swift and your favorite artist?

Northeastern Global News (2024). Dynamic pricing was meant to stabilize the market; instead, fans have been hit with spiking ticket costs. How do we fix concert ticketing? A Northeastern music industry expert weighs in.

Andrew Mall 9/12/24 Andrew Mall 9/12/24

Could Fyre Festival happen again? Billy McFarland thinks so, but experts have their doubts

Northeastern Global News (2024). The disgraced founder behind the original Fyre Festival is out of prison and announced his plans to run a second iteration of the failed music festival in April 2025. His intentions to bring back the festival, which led to him doing jail time for wire fraud charges, was shocking to people in the music world.

Andrew Mall 8/8/24 Andrew Mall 8/8/24

Are Taylor Swift concerts still safe after terrorist threat? Experts explain why stadiums are still viewed as “soft targets”

Northeastern Global News (2024). Authorities in Austria say they’ve subverted a planned terrorist attack targeting several of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in Vienna, shows that would have drawn as many as 200,000 concertgoers to three stadiums.

Andrew Mall 6/21/24 Andrew Mall 6/21/24

Young Thug—and his rap lyrics—are on trial. Northeastern experts say the case raises legal and ethical concerns

Northeastern Global News (2024). The trial of Jeffery Lamar Williams, better known as Young Thug, has made headlines not just because the defendant is a celebrity rapper. It is already the longest trial in Georgia history, with no end in sight. But Northeastern University law and music experts say the case also raises legal and ethical concerns based on the prosecution’s use of the state’s RICO Act, as well as its strategy of using the defendant’s rap lyrics to implicate him in an alleged crime.

Andrew Mall 5/31/24 Andrew Mall 5/31/24

How can you stay safe during a music festival?

Northeastern Global News (2024). Safety has always been an issue when it comes to music performances, according to Andrew Mall, an associate music professor at Northeastern University. Whether it be an outdoor concert, a traveling event like Lilith Fair in the ’90s, or the destination festivals of today, organizers have had to contend with issues like crowd crush, equipment collapse, fires, interpersonal violence and shootings.

Andrew Mall 4/29/24 Andrew Mall 4/29/24

Musi, a new, free music streaming app, begs the question: Can anything compete with Spotify?

Northeastern Global News (2024). A new music streaming service –– Musi –– is turning heads with its free, silent ad-based platform that runs on audio from millions and millions of YouTube videos. Musi isn’t like major streamers like Spotify or Apple Music, but its entry into the streaming wars begs the question: Can anything compete with the likes of Spotify, or is the music streaming landscape set in stone?

Andrew Mall 4/22/24 Andrew Mall 4/22/24

Live Nation and Ticketmaster face an impending federal antitrust lawsuit. Will the government finally break up the monopoly?

Northeastern Global News (2024). The 2010 merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster is “essentially unfixable,” says a Northeastern antitrust expert. But could the Justice Department take the incredible step of breaking up the two companies?

Andrew Mall 4/17/24 Andrew Mall 4/17/24

Taylor Swift keeps releasing different vinyl editions of “The Tortured Poets Department.” Is this wasteful?

Northeastern Global News (2024). Billie Eilish recently called out artists who make multiple variants of the same vinyl like Swift does. But Swift is not the first artist to do this, said Andrew Mall, an associate music professor at Northeastern University. Swift is part of a larger trend of those “gamifying” vinyl collecting, where consumers will buy every variant of a record — whether they offer a different cover, record color, or bonus tracks — in order to complete their collection.

Andrew Mall 2/5/24 Andrew Mall 2/5/24

Why Taylor Swift’s album announcement during the Grammys is unusual

Northeastern Global News Magazine (2024). Swift had been dropping hints about new music leading up to the Feb. 4 ceremony, but using an awards show to announce a new project isn’t an industry standard, said one Northeastern music expert.

Andrew Mall 12/11/23 Andrew Mall 12/11/23

From Kate Bush to Glass Animals, how TikTok and TV help give music a new life

Northeastern Global News Magazine (2023). Whether it be reviving a decades-old holiday classic or breathing new life into an older release, TikTok, television and movies hold great sway. Where DJs and dance clubs once influenced people’s musical tastes, social media and entertainment are the new tastemakers as they introduce or resurrect music. This leads to songs released years ago hitting charts in a way they didn’t upon release.

Andrew Mall 12/5/23 Andrew Mall 12/5/23

How this class is preparing students for the world of music festivals

Northeastern Global News Magazine (2023). Want to try your hand at a designing a music festival or learn about the history of these events? These Northeastern experiential learning courses help create the next generation of festival organizers.

Andrew Mall 12/1/23 Andrew Mall 12/1/23

Is Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film a sign of things to come for movie theaters and the concert experience?

Northeastern Global News (2023). Part concert film and part behind-the-scenes tour documentary, “Renaissance” promises to give fans a glimpse into the famously private superstar’s life during her recent Renaissance tour. It also promises to be a bright spot for movie theaters in the post-Thanksgiving box office doldrums. But could “Renaissance” be something more: a sign of things to come for the movie theater business and the theatrical experience?

Andrew Mall 10/4/23 Andrew Mall 10/4/23

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie is a lesson for other artists and the music industry

Northeastern Global News (2023). Taylor Swift will soon extend her pop culture dominating reach to the big screen, with the release of a concert film of her record-shattering Eras tour set to hit theaters on Oct. 13. It is Taylor Swift’s world –– we’re all just living in it.