The Biz: Zach Bryan’s Merch Bonanza, Spotify CEO Steps Down, TikTok Saga

Big Merch Numbers At The Big House For Zach Bryan’s Big Show

The big headlines from country megastar Zach Bryan’s seven-hour concert at Michigan Stadium (see page 24) focused on the fact that it was the highest-attended ticketed concert in U.S. history, coming in at 112,408, filling America’s biggest stadium to the brim.

But the show also set a record with $5 million in merchandise sales.

That’s a big number, no doubt; the biggest ever, in fact, according to promoter AEG Presents, but there’s an interesting wrinkle.

That figure works out to a per-cap of $44.48. That’s basically the midpoint between the price of a baseball cap and a T-shirt at Bryan’s merch stand and roughly half the cost of a hoodie.

It’s also far below the average merch per-cap for an American concert, which is currently at $61 in 2025, according to a study from tour services provider atVenu. For concerts with attendance above 20,000, the average is $90, more than twice Bryan’s Big House per cap. That same study showed, however, that country fans tend to be the most parsimonious merch buyers, with only 16% buying merch at shows. 

The concert’s attendance bested the record set by George Strait, who drew 110,905 fans at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field in 2024, and the Grateful Dead‘s 1977 concert at Raceway Park in New Jersey, which drew 107,019.

Spotify’s Ek Stepping Down Near By

Spotify founder Daniel Ek is stepping down as CEO to become the executive chairman at the beginning of 2026, the company announced Sept. 30.

In a corresponding move, the streaming giant said Chief Product and Technology Officer Gustav Söderström and Chief Business Officer Alex Norström will be upped to co-CEOs and will report to Ek.

Spotify claims the move “formalizes” how Spotify has been operating since 2023, with Söderström and Norström largely leading strategic development and operational execution. Ek said his executive chairmanship will follow a European model — where the position is more proactive — rather than an American model, where executive chairmen tend to be figureheads with little actual power or responsibility.

“I think most investors may come at it from a U.S. perspective, where it’s mostly a ceremonial role,” Ek said during a Q&A with analysts following the announcement. “In Europe, it isn’t. In fact, a chairman is someone who’s quite active in the business; sometimes even represents the business to different stakeholders, like, for instance, governments or key partners.”

Still, Ek said he truly is handing the reins to his successors.

“I do want to make it clear, this is really they’re in charge. They’re the ones making the decision, but I will be there as a friend, a coach, a cheerleader, whatever I’m needed to do for the day in making this happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Daniel Kaefer, the Spotify exec leading the music business and audiobooks divisions for the streamer, is leaving the company at the end of October. The new SVP and Global Head of Music is Charlie Hellman who has been with the company since 2011. In a memo, Norström wrote the company is “centralizing all music functions under [Hellman’s] leadership.”

Is TikTok Saga Over? Probably Not

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Sept. 25 that provides a roadmap that ends with Chinese company ByteDance’s divestiture in the popular social media shortform video app TikTok in the U.S., as required by a law passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in 2024 and upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court. Under that law, TikTok would be barred in the U.S. unless ByteDance sold its stake in the company to American (or allied) owners by Jan. 19, 2025. Trump has, under dubious authority and unclear legal reasoning, delayed the ban while a buyer was sought.

American investors would control more than 80% of the app’s U.S. operation. Those investors would likely include Oracle founder — and Trump ally — Larry Ellison. Oracle would be responsible for operating, retraining and monitoring TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, in order to “ensure content is free from improper manipulation or surveillance,” according to White House officials.

Details are still unclear — including who else is part of the basket of investors ponying up the $14 billion to bring TikTok stateside — and its likely the sale won’t be finalized until January 2025.

Given the reported make-up of the joint venture — in addition to Ellison, Trump suggested that Fox magnate Rupert Murdoch and his family could be involved despite Trump’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal — there are concerns from creators about the future of moderation and content creation on the app, citing what became of Twitter (now X) after Elon Musk’s takeover.