Trace William Cowen
Trace William Cowen is a senior news writer at Complex who covers music within a wider news beat that links artists, online culture, and fast-moving stories across entertainment and society. His work spans quick news hits and expansive features, moving easily between rap debates, scam alerts, and fringe narratives that have broken out of niche communities. He consistently treats music as part of a larger ecosystem of memes, platforms, and public conversation rather than as an isolated industry.
Music News at the Intersection of Rap and Pop Culture
Cowen’s music coverage focuses on how artists and their work sit inside broader cultural narratives, not just release cycles or chart movement. He writes about contemporary rap discourse, including the kind of GOAT debates sparked when Lil Dicky publicly argued there is “no better rapper” than Drake and crowned him the greatest of all time, using those moments to capture how fandom and status talk play out in real time.
He also digs into catalog work, such as a closer look at blink-182’s “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket,” framed as a historic No. 1 punk album, showing an interest in the long tail of influential records rather than only current singles. His portfolio includes interviews and features tied to performers and screen figures like Pete Davidson and Steven Yeun, underlining a tendency to follow artists across mediums when their work and public persona intersect with music, film, and comedy.
Within Complex’s broader music and artists coverage, his byline surfaces around stories that treat records, performances, and collaborations as touchpoints in bigger discussions about legacy, image, and fan culture.
Misinformation, Scams, and Platform Responses
A defining thread in Cowen’s coverage is sustained attention to misinformation and scams that orbit music and celebrity culture. He reported on a purported 58-page memoir tied to the late Kim Porter that was removed from Amazon after being publicly disputed, detailing how the platform ultimately confirmed the book was no longer for sale and situating the incident within concerns about unauthorized or deceptive works presented as intimate accounts.
In another piece, he warned readers about fake accounts impersonating Complex staff, explaining how to verify an official author page and urging caution when confronted with scam outreach that misuses journalists’ names and images.
His news writing also touches on financial and legal fraud, such as a case in which federal authorities said a D.C. pastor bought himself a Tesla after fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan, charting the consequences attached to wire fraud and supervised release in a way that reads as both crime reporting and a look at systems-level exploitation. Across these stories, he writes in a direct, service-oriented style that foregrounds verification steps, platform statements, and legal outcomes, making misinformation and fraud a recurring sub-beat within his music-adjacent news work.
Fringe Phenomena and Cross-Vertical News
Cowen’s beat extends into fringe and cross-vertical stories that sit between hard news and cultural commentary. He has covered testimony from a U.S. Air Force officer and former intelligence official who claimed under oath that “non-human” biologics were recovered from crashed aircraft, treating the hearing as a serious governance story while acknowledging the public fascination with unidentified phenomena. Beyond newsroom pieces, he has organized conversations with surviving members of the Heaven’s Gate group, signalling an interest in how extreme belief systems, cult histories, and their media afterlives continue to shape contemporary culture. His work also includes cases of alleged financial misconduct and institutional failure, such as the PPP loan story, which he situates within broader questions of accountability and trust in public programs. The author page at Complex notes that he regularly covers film, memes, politics, and fashion in addition to music, and his broader portfolio backs this up through stories that cross from entertainment into policy, internet lore, and the aesthetics of how those subjects are presented.
Features, Interviews, and Archival Work
Alongside daily news hits, Cowen invests in features and interviews that build deeper context around cultural figures and visual storytelling. His work includes interviews with casting director Jennifer Venditti, described as the “marty supreme” casting director, and with Nico Ballesteros, director of “In Whose Name?”, where he focuses on process, character, and the way film and television shape audience perception. His personal site highlights interviews with Pete Davidson and Steven Yeun, reinforcing his comfort with long-form conversations that move beyond promotional talking points into career arcs and creative choices.
Within Complex, he has written about a “living archive” of past, present, and future magazine covers, directing readers to a space where the masthead’s visual history is actively maintained and browsed.
He also points to work in print issues of Complex magazine, tying his reporting and feature writing to the outlet’s physical editions as well as its digital presence. Outside of journalism, he is working on his first novel and has launched short stories, suggesting a writer who thinks carefully about narrative structure and voice, whether he is documenting a music scam, unpacking a cult’s legacy, or tracing the impact of an album over time. Across these projects, Cowen’s distinguishing trait is a consistent emphasis on how stories endure - through archives, print, and narrative craft - as much as how they break in the moment.
4 more music journalists.
Andrea Dresdale
Andrea Dresdale manages entertainment content at ABC Audio and covers music-driven pop culture for news and audio platforms. Her beat centers on chart-friendly pop, new releases, mainstream artists, awards, residencies and industry milestones. She also reports on legacy acts, anniversaries, nostalgia, remixes, live performances and music’s links to film, television, streaming and social media. Her notable coverage includes Taylor Swift, BTS, The Weeknd, Madonna, The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Patty Smyth and Miley Cyrus. Her work has appeared through syndicated ABC Audio coverage on outlets such as WRMF, KS95 and Hot 96.7. Dresdale writes concise, timely pieces for radio audiences. She frames songs, tours, specials and career moments through cultural impact, fan appeal, commercial momentum and lasting relevance. Her stories connect current hits with music history and show how artists maintain attention through new releases, collaborations and reinterpretations.
Andrew Weber
Andrew Weber uses accountability reporting to examine who benefits from decisions shaping Austin’s music ecosystem. He reports for KUT as a government accountability reporter and works as a freelance reporter and associate editor for KUT News across the public radio network. His music coverage focuses on musicians’ pay at festivals, health care, mental health services, venue relief and working conditions. He treats SXSW as a workplace and economic system, reporting on low fees, sponsorships, boycotts and the political choices behind the festival. He also covers government and institutional issues, including KUT’s relationship with the University of Texas and the firing of general manager Debbie Hiott. His reporting ranges from nonprofit support systems to experimental sound art. He plays music on the side and brings digital storytelling experience, including an Edward R. Murrow award for social media work.
Andy Greene
Andy Greene is a senior writer at Rolling Stone who stands out for long-form interviews and narrative features that follow artists across entire careers. He focuses on music, especially classic rock performers, live shows, tours, and band dynamics. He runs the interview series Unknown Legends and King For a Day, which center on veteran musicians, sidemen, collaborators, and singers who replace legendary frontmen. He also writes cover stories and major features on high-profile figures, including Radiohead, Howard Stern, Bill Withers, Nathan Fielder, Steve Perry, Pete Townshend, and Stephen King. His reporting relies on access, detailed questioning, and a deep command of rock history. He also writes about film and television when they connect to music and culture.
Anna Grace Lee
Anna Grace Lee is a Vogue reporter who covers pop musicians and celebrities through fashion, weddings, and lifestyle culture, focusing on dresses, events, pets, and subcultures rather than industry news. She writes scene-driven features that place entertainers in vivid settings, from villas to underground food markets, and treats music-adjacent stories as fashion and craftsmanship narratives. Her Dua Lipa Sicily wedding coverage shows how she frames a wedding dress as a haute couture moment and a pop-cultural milestone, emphasizing design, making, and handwork. Her Millie Bobby Brown miniature poodle piece reflects a consistent interest in celebrity pets, fandom, and off-stage persona. She also reports lifestyle features like Brooklyn’s buzziest underground cheese sale, embedding in niche food scenes. At Vogue she contributes to weddings, celebrity, living, and Met Gala coverage, and maintains a portfolio of culture and lifestyle work built around entertainment-adjacent storytelling.