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02 Feb 2024

Harry Styles, Bad Bunny and SZA Don’t Record for Universal Music — But Their Songs Will Get Pulled From TikTok, Too

The greatest impact of Universal Music Group and TikTok’s licensing stalemate will likely not come from UMG’s superstar artists leaving the platform, it will come from the loss of its songwriters.

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Losing music from record label signees like Taylor Swift, Drake, Morgan Wallen, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo and more on TikTok is seismic on its own, but media coverage of the now-expired license that lapsed on Jan. 31 has largely ignored that the world’s largest music company’s songwriters are leaving, too. That means that any record that was touched by a Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) songwriter will also be subject to removal from the platform — even if it was released on a non-UMG label. Artist-songwriters like Harry Styles, Bad Bunny and SZA are three of many notable examples of UMPG writers that release music under non-UMG labels that will be affected. Artists who work with UMPG hitmakers like Metro Boomin, Jack Antonoff or Fred again.. could also face this.

In today’s pop and rap markets, writing rooms are considered to be bigger than ever, crediting anywhere from one to 30 contributors in extreme cases like cases like Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.” A typical pop song on the radio likely has at least three or four people receiving publishing. This, mixed with the fact that UMPG is one of the largest music publishers in the world with 4 million copyrights to its name, means that removing all songs with UMPG interests will impact just about every other record label and music publisher in some way.

In the third quarter of 2023, it was calculated that UMPG held a fifth of the market share on the Billboard’s Pop Airplay and Hot 100 charts. For Country Airplay, UMPG represented a tenth of the chart.

There’s also a chance of this standoff spreading to other publishers this spring. On Thursday (Feb. 1), at the Association of Independent Music Publishers event in Beverly Hills, National Music Publishers Association president and CEO David Israelite revealed during a speech that his organization’s TikTok model license is up for renewal in April. This license is negotiated by the trade association and adopted by a large number of the country’s independent publishers.

The NMPA has been known for its aggressive approach to licensing negotiations with other social media sites, games and apps in recent years, including a recent $250 million lawsuit against X (formerly Twitter) for alleged copyright infringement, and it would not be surprising if the trade organization considered following suit with UMG. If that happened, all indie publishers would be on their own to decide whether they wanted to negotiate with TikTok directly or leave the platform.

Already 21 of the 50 tracks on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart have been removed due to their UMG affiliation, but so far those take downs have focused on the company’s recordings, not publishing. Removing UMPG songs will be a far more arduous and complicated task than removing UMG records, given there are sometimes multiple recordings by multiple artists for the same underlying song. Publishing metadata — which keeps track of who wrote what song — is also notoriously incomplete or incorrect. In some cases, the metadata is often not even finalized and input until weeks or months after a song is released, making matters even more complicated.

It is widely believed that the process of taking down publishing interests will likely take a while and will be piecemeal and spotty, potentially forcing the UMPG team to police the platform and to issue takedown notices.

In the interim, UMG and TikTok are showing no signs of backing down. TikTok said the music company had “put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters” after the letter was released. UMG fired back with another statement Thursday, calling TikTok’s view on compensating artists and songwriters “woefully outdated.” Amidst all the finger pointing, TikTok users are attempting to fill the gaps with non-UMG songs or covers of UMG records, while at least one UMPG writer, Metro Boomin, took to the internet to show his support: “It’s about damn time,” he posted to X.

02 Feb 2024

Who Will Win the Latin Categories at the 2024 Grammys? Our Predictions

Who will win in the Latin categories at the 2024 Grammy Awards?  Every year, Billboard’s Latin and Español teams gather to predict who we think will win in the Latin categories at the ceremony. Our predictions are based not only on our appreciation of the music, but also on our knowledge of the market and the understanding of the voting history of Academy members. Our predictions are not endorsements, but rather educated guesses.

Leading up to Sunday’s 66th annual Grammy Awards, we’ve gathered our Latin and Billboard Español editorial team and embarked on a lively discussion, with educated guesses based on the marketplace and past voting behavior (not endorsements). Our participants are Leila Cobo, Billboard’s Chief Content Officer, Latin/Español; Jessica Roiz, Billboard‘s assistant editor, Latin; Griselda Flores, Billboard‘s senior editor, Latin; Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard Español’s deputy editor; and Isabela Raygoza, Billboard Español’s associate editor.

The Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+. The ceremony will be hosted by Trevor Noah for the fourth consecutive year.

Below, our predictions of who should or who will win the Latin categories at the Grammys. Most of these categories are awarded during the Pre-telecast ceremony where more than 80 of the 94 Grammy categories are announced. The Premiere Ceremony, which will begin at 3:30pm ET can be streamed on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.

Best Latin Pop Album

La Cuarta Hoja, Pablo Alborán
Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1, AleMor
A Ciegas, Paula Arenas
La Neta, Pedro Capó
Don Juan, Maluma
X Mí (Vol. 1), Gaby Moreno

SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS: I really like all the albums on this list, and I am having trouble predicting who will win. But I’m bidding on Maluma for Don Juan, an ambitious and eclectic 25-track set spanning different genres, with hot collaborations like “Según Quién” with Carin León, “Luna Llena” with Ryan Castro and “Ojitos Chiquiticos” with Don Omar. It is Maluma’s third Grammy nomination, and the third time may be the charm. By the way, neither of the Latin Grammy winners of the two pop album categories were nominated here (Julieta Venegas for Tu Historia, and Andrés Cepeda for Décimo Cuarto.)

GRISELDA FLORES: The album I think should win is Paula Arenas’ A Ciegas. It’s truly a touching and beautifully-produced set. So is Pablo Alborán’s La Cuarta Hoja. I think those two are the strongest contenders in this category. On the other hand, Maluma is a household name so voters may choose him. Although it may not seem fair given that Maluma’s set should perhaps have been nominated in the urban category, not pop because while it’s an eclectic set, it still leans more urban.

LEILA COBO: It’s hard to imagine that Maluma won’t win here for his Don Juan, especially in the wake of the recent success of his single “Según Quién” alongside Carin León. It’s not just the name recognition, which carries major weight for a Latin act in the Grammys, but also the fact that Don Juan features run of the mill perreo and reggaetón, but also, some solid, thoughtful hits. While the other nominees here are worthy, and four of them — Paula Arenas, Gaby Moreno, Pablo Alborán and Maluma himself — have been previously nominated for this award, the nod will likely go, finally, to the superstar of the group. 

JESSICA ROIZ: Every singer-songwriter in this category is so deserving of the Grammy; however, I would like to see Pedro Capó win it this year. La Neta symbolizes a life-changing moment for Capó, one that he captures in this ultra-personal set, where he navigates emotions of honesty and vulnerability, and belts lyrics about love, happiness, loneliness, life and death. Recorded and produced entirely by him at his house during the pandemic, the Puerto Rican artist notes that the “silence was necessary for me to come back to my roots […] Very personal. It’s a pandemic album, a picture of everything that happened to me in my life,” he previously told Billboard.

ISABELA RAYGOZA: I appreciate the mix of straight Latin pop with more folky sounds in this category, and I would love to see Gaby Moreno take this one. There’s a whimsical quality that harkens back to the Great Latin American songbook on Moreno’s X Mí (Vol. 1), that channels the spirit of Victor Jara, or even Woody Guthrie if we’re thinking bilingual in general. There’s so much poetic depth in songs like “Fronteras” and “Luna de Xelajú” with Oscar Isaac, that also has a haunting quality to it. And that vibrato!

Best Música Urbana Album

Saturno, Rauw Alejandro
Mañana Será Bonito, Karol G
Data, Tainy

S.R.A.: Karol should take this Grammy home with Mañana Será Bonito. It already won the Latin Grammy for best música urbana album and was crowned, more importantly, as album of the year. With a contemporary, eclectic sound and empowering, honest songs like “Provenza,” “Mientras Me Curo del Cora” and “TQG” with Shakira, it should win, and I really hope it does.

G.F.: Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito should and will win. This is probably the only Latin category with an obvious winner. It’s a history-making set that was not only commercially and critically successful, having already won album of the year at the Latin Grammys, it was a groundbreaking album for Karol and Latin music in general becoming the first-ever Spanish-language album by a woman to top the Billboard 200. I have no doubt Karol will take this award home.

L.C.: Karol G already won this very category at the Latin Grammys, in addition to album of the year. That pedigree, alongside Mañana being hands down one of the best albums of the year, should clinch Karol G’s win, even in the face of daunting competition from Rauw Alejandro and hitmaker producer Tainy. Among the three contenders, only Karol G delivered not one, but a handful of global hits, including “TQG,” her top 10 Hot 100 smash alongside Shakira. The fact that Karol G is a woman and would be the first woman to snag this win, is a bonus, but should not for one second take away from the fact that this set is a tour de force.

I.R.: Uff, I have to say that these three albums are all fire, and it’s definitely a hard one to choose, because the three albums transcend the “música urbana” category.  I think the easy choice is to give it to Karol G, because this album saw her rise to superstardom, while becoming a stadium performer. However, my personal favorite, admittingly, must be Tainy’s Data. Tainy not only lived up to the anticipation of his debut but surpassed it, transforming his abstract musical configurations into a dazzling journey with plenty of ethereal moments in technicolor well beyond the música urbana soundscape. Shout out to Saturno too for the freestyle reemergence, which was brilliant too. This was a bold move after coming off the success of the more mainstream sound of Vice Versa and the trap thump of his Eps.

J.R.: I must admit that Tainy’s debut studio album is a masterpiece that laces his unmatched skills, good music taste, and A-list artist friends such as Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Julieta Venegas, and more. And though his creativity shines in various reggaetón bangers fused with synth-based dance and pop beats, I believe that Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito should and will win the award. After all, not only did La Bichota make Billboard history reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 but the set nabbed the coveted album of the year at the 2023 Latin Grammys. It only makes sense. 

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

MARTÍNEZ, Cabra
Leche De Tigre, Diamante Eléctrico
Vida Cotidiana, Juanes
De Todas Las Flores, Natalia Lafourcade
EADDA9223, Fito Paez

S.R.A.: Vida Cotidiana. Grammy darling Juanes may add one more gramophone to his long list with this raw, emotional album, in which he reflects on his relationship with his wife and children and the problems that affect his native Colombia. With 11 songs including “Gris,” “Amores Prohibidos,” “Ojalá” and “Veneno,” and a return to his rock roots, it already won the Latin Grammy last November for best pop/rock album.  

G.F.: This is a tough one because all albums are worthy of taking this award home. But to me there is one that stands out: De Todas Las Flores. Natalia Lafourcade is an artist who’s won multiple Latin Grammys through the years and, in November, won best singer/songwriter album for De Todas Las Flores. Deservingly so. The album — produced by Adan Jodorowsky — is a gorgeous project that cements Lafourcade as one of the best musicians and songwriters of this generation. She deserves all the flowers.

L.C.: Perhaps the most competitive category in the Latin field — one where every album was meticulously thought out as a cohesive body of work — but my bets are on Juanes and his much-acclaimed Vida Cotidiana, despite formidable opposition from Latin Grammy darling Natalia Lafourcade and icon Fito Páez. But Juanes has the historic pedigree of Grammy approved fare, not to mention he’s the one artist here who has actually performed at one of the ceremonies. Last but not least, Vida includes gems.

I.R.: Another category with more than one great albums, from Fito Paez reimagining this timeless songs from El Amor Después del Amor in EADDA9223, to Juanes’ rollicking but vulnerable Vida Cotidiana, and Natalia Laforcade’s De Todas Las Flores which she recorded live on analog tape — I also saw her perform this album live on its debut in Carnegie Hall and I was blown away. Although there are several Grammy darlings here, I’ll predict this one will go to Lafourcade for the reasons aforementioned. The classical strings, the jazzy playfulness, and her introspective songwriting make this one a winner.

J.R.: I think Juanes’ Vida Cotidiana should win — another ultra-personal album created during the pandemic. The set not only marks the Colombian artist’s return to his rock roots meshed with funk, son, and cumbia, but it’s also an homage to his everyday life, including the challenges and differences his family faced after spending 24 hours a day together in quarantine. I do believe, however, that Recording Academy sweetheart Natalia Lafourcade will win the Grammy with De Todas las Flores, a beautifully-crafted set with lyrics that delve deep into personal growth and self-love.

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

Bordado A Mano, Ana Bárbara
La Sánchez, Lila Downs
Motherflower, Flor De Toloache
Amor Como En Las Películas De Antes, Lupita Infante
GÉNESIS, Peso Pluma

S.R.A.: Génesis. Peso Pluma didn’t get to see his breakthrough album nominated to the 2023 Latin Grammys, but it sure deserves the love of the Academy and his peers. A chart-topper on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums, the 17-track set took the music world by storm, with hits like “Rosa Pastel” with Jasiel Nuñez, and “Lady Gaga” with Gabito Ballesteros and Junior H. It also made history on the Billboard 200 chart, where it became the highest ranked debut for a regional Mexican album at No. 3.

G.F.: As a woman, I would love to see a woman take home this category. Honoring genre veteran Ana Bárbara with this award for such a solid album would be beautiful to see. But in all fairness, this award should go to Peso Pluma. The Mexican corridos singer revolutionized the genre with Génesis, giving the decades-old genre a massive boost around the world. His global movement should be recognized.

L.C.: How very unlikely to find four women competing in any single category, much less this one. Although the gut reaction is to go for Peso Pluma — not just for his album but also for his global renown and chart prowess — this one may go to Ana Bárbara, in a nod to her 30 years of music and her exquisitely crafted Bordado a Mano (no pun intended), which includes Vicente Fernández’s last duet, a high bar. Ana Bárbara is also boosted by her recent BMI Icon award and the fact that she’s being honored at the upcoming Premio Lo Nuestro.

I.R.: I admit, Lila Down’s potent voice usually finds its way to the depth of my soul. I’ve been a fan of hers since my undergrad days. But Flor de Toloache’s Motherflower is truly riveting. It brims with passion and it fuses sounds from the frontier, a mariachi, bolero outing with cutting-edge production, and Mireya’s gut-wrenching rasp is chilling. I think they will win. But the album, admitingly, that received the most plays for me was Peso Pluma’s Genesis, while mega boosting corridos bélicos scene to the mainstream, and for that we applaud. 

J.R.: My best bet is that one of the ladies will win the grammy for best música Mexicana (including Tejano) album — perhaps Ana Bárbara’s Bordado a Mano, which is the only set in this group that was nominated at the 2023 Latin Grammys for best ranchero/mariachi album. On the other hand, I also think Peso Pluma could potentially win his first career Grammy with Génesis. The historic set became only the fourth regional Mexican effort to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums this decade, following Alejandro Fernández’s Hecho en México (Feb. 29, 2020) and two Eslabon Armado albums: Vibras de Noche (Aug. 2020) and Desvelado (May 2023), and reached No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. 

Best Tropical Latin Album

Voy A Ti, Luis Figueroa
Niche Sinfónico, Grupo Niche y Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia
VIDA, Omara Portuondo
MIMY & TONY, Tony Succar, Mimy Succar
Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así, Carlos Vives

S.R.A.: It is a tough category since it combines multiple tropical music styles all in one. Three of these nominees already received Latin Grammys in November: Grupo Niche for best salsa album, Carlos Vives for best cumbia/vallenato album, and Omara Portuondo for best traditional tropical album. Ruben Blades wasn’t nominated to the Latin Grammys neither this or last year, but he took the best pop latin album Grammy in 2023 for Pasieros with Boca Livre. So, anything could happen here.  

G.F.: I loved Carlos Vives’ album, and I think it will win. His passion for vallenato beautifully translates in Escalona. After winning best cumbia/vallenato album at the Latin Grammys in November, I think it has a pretty good chance at winning this category.

L.C.: This competition among icons pits Ruben Blades, Carlos Vives, Grupo Niche and Omara Portuondo against each other, plus newcomer Luis Figueroa and Tony Succar in his poignant collab with his own mother. But Vives’ highly personal look at tradition and history is in a league of its own, a masterful fusion of cultural understanding and commercial execution that is hard to match.

I.R.: My prediction here goes to Carlos Vives’ Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así, a heartfelt homage to the legendary Colombian composer, Rafael Escalona. The vallenato revivalist simply breathes new life into Escalona’s classics, and they sound as fresh as ever, preserving the beauty of Vives’ musical heritage and reinventing it for a new era.

J.R.: I believe Carlos Vives’ Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así will win best Tropical album, but personally, I would like to see Niche Sinfónico by Grupo Niche and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia take the Grammy. The latter tributes some of the biggest compositions by the late Jairo Varela (Niche’s founder and director) and delivers elegant versions of timeless salsa tunes like “Mi Pueblo Natal” and “Cali Pachanguero.” Both Colombian acts already nabbed a Latin Grammy for their respective albums, which makes me believe this Grammy will stay in Colombia.

02 Feb 2024

Travis Kelce Says He’ll ‘Cherish’ Taylor Swift PDA Moment After AFC Championship

Travis Kelce is loving having Taylor Swift by his side as he and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to dominate the NFL season.

During a press conference on Friday (Feb. 2), the tight end was asked about having Swift and family members like brother Jason Kelce on the field with him after the Chiefs won the AFC Championship the week prior. “It’s another memory in the journey that we get to cherish,” he replied. “I’m fortunate that I got all the support I need off the field.”

Kelce added that having his loved ones around gives him a “reason to play that much harder.”

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After the Ravens vs. Chiefs game, in a sweet viral moment, Swift and Kelce kissed on the field in celebration of the Chiefs’ triumph, and in a clip shared by the NFL, he says “I love you” to the pop star. In the Monday (Jan. 29) video, a tearful Kelce – wearing an AFC Champions shirt over his shoulder pads – makes his way through a loud crowd to get to Swift. “Tay, I’m going to enjoy with the guys,” he says before kissing the 12-time Grammy winner. “I love you. So much it’s not funny.” 

Kansas City’s latest win means that the reigning Super Bowl champions will once again head to the big game on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas. They will face off against 2024’s NFC Championship victors, the San Francisco 49ers.  

Swift has been there for much of the Chiefs’ outstanding season, becoming a mainstay at Arrowhead Stadium ever since going public with her and Kelce’s relationship in September.

02 Feb 2024

Clive Davis on What to Expect at This Year’s Pre-Grammy Gala, If Taylor Swift Will Attend and His Dream Guests

Barack and Michelle Obama, if you don’t already have plans for Saturday night, Clive Davis would like a word. When asked whom he’d like most to attend his and the Recording Academy’s Pre-Grammy gala who never has, the legendary executive and chief creative officer of Sony Music says the 44th president and his wife. “They should come this year, they’d love it!” he adds with a laugh. No sitting or past president has ever attended the event, though former Vice President Al Gore attended in 2007 with his then wife Tipper. 

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Obamas in attendance or not, Davis will preside over the Feb. 3 event — as he has since the first gala in 1976 — at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, which promises to bring together the usual constellation of stars from the worlds of music, sports, film and politics. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to attend for the 24th or 25th time (Davis can’t remember exactly), as are athletic greats Scottie Pippen, Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova. SZA, this year’s top Grammy nominee (whom Davis met Wednesday at Billboard’s Power 100 party), will be there, as will best new artist nominees Noah Kahan, Ice Spice and Jelly Roll, as well as icons like Gladys Knight, Diana Ross and Berry Gordy.

Not in attendance this year (though certainly invited) will be Taylor Swift, whose touring rehearsals didn’t permit for her to come, Davis says — before he launches into a touching story of how his respect for Swift grew even greater when she sang every word to “Chances Are” in 2015 as the renowned crooner Johnny Mathis performed a greatest hits set. 

Davis, clad in a resplendent purple blazer and purple pullover — with his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Charlie, by his side at the Beverly Hilton — talked with Billboard about this year’s gala on Thursday (Feb. 1), as well as some memories of past years. As always, the list of performers remains secret until the evening, though attendees can expect the usual mix of hot newcomers, superstars and at least one classic artist among the 10 or 11 performances. The most Davis will reveal is to tease a possible duet between two artists who have never met. 

See our conversation below.

When you started the party in 1976 to honor Barry Manilow and his Grammy nominations, did you imagine it would still be going 48 years later?

It never occurred to me. What I did know was Barry had come to me — he said, “Every label has a party, where’s our party?” And I said, “Barry, we just started, we’ll have two tables at Chasen’s. We can have the party the night before. We just started Arista; people will want to wish us well.” We ended up having it at the Bel Air Hotel. Stevie Wonder came, John Denver came, Elton John came. That is why that tradition has continued, and it is unceasingly touching that every company’s top players [attend]. 

Are you already thinking about the 50th? 

No. I take it one year at a time.

When do people start asking you for an invite?

I would say months in advance, because it’s not based on any one factor, [like] who’s performing. They know the tradition; they know the history. What they usually ask if they have come before is for a plus-one, which is usually out of the question.

And then the most painful thing, as we welcome the new players from Spotify, from the streaming world, from the new organizations and those who have become president of labels that have never been there, we have a finite number of people we can invite. For every new member, we really have to cancel either a plus-one or say, “I’m sorry.” It’s not just they want to be there, they feel if they’re professionally in the music business, somewhat diminished [if they don’t receive an invitation]. And that is painful. And I don’t want to talk about that lightly or matter of factly. It’s painful especially to me, who’s been in the business as long as I have. And we have no other choice because they’re not really still active. 

You could move it to a bigger location. 

We don’t want to do it any place bigger. I mean, you can taste the performances; you can see them interact, artists asking John Legend to help on this song, Melissa Etheridge to help on that song. That framework’s a part of the evening. 

What can you say about the documentary that’s in the works about the gala? 

The documentary is pure and simple the history of the party. The team is going over the history of the entire party and gasping at the incredible history of legendary performances. I mean, Whitney [Houston] played the party six times. The year [2000] that I started J Records and she knew that we were not going to work together, we never knew we’d be reunited as quickly as we were. But that year, the party had only two performers out of choice. That was Santana, because of the hugeness of their success, and Whitney. And the coverage of Whitney performing, and coming over to me and singing to me, “I Believe in You and Me” and “I Will Always Love You” — oh, I mean, it will tear your heart out. So, they’ve got all that, they’re thrilled with what’s there. 

Has every party been filmed? 

They’re going through it. We have a lot of parties that have been filmed. Certainly, they’ve been filmed the last few years, but we have coverage of [past parties.]

You mentioned the Obamas as people you’d like to attend. Who is someone you wish had performed, living or dead? 

Prince. He attended, but he never performed. He’s been in the audience.

We lost so many amazing artists this past year, including Jimmy Buffett and Tina Turner. Are you paying homage to them or any of the other people we lost this year? 

We have done, in the past, tributes. We’re not doing a tribute [this year]. In a way we’re celebrating one artist, but not because we’ve lost this artist. The evening will end with a tribute to one artist. 

That’s another tantalizing hint. This year, Sony Music Publishing’s chairman/CEO Jon Platt will receive the Industry Icons Award. Does he get to select any of the performers? 

The honoree will have two artists, historically, to perform in his honor that he has chosen. We’ve never really worked together, but I’m a big admirer of his talent. I admire the talent of someone who has established a deep personal connection with artists, where they feel they’ve got to show up and represent for him. That’s a big talent. And he’s one of those people that has a wonderful personal connection with artists. [Davis confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that Platt’s friends, Beyonce and Jay Z, would be in attendance].

How much attention do you pay to the seating chart — even though your son, Doug, and longtime event producer Stacy Carr, handle many of the details? 

I pay a lot of attention — because, with all due respect to them who make the initial [seating chart], having been in the industry all those years, you really want to seat people so that they understand that there is parity between them and others. It’s human nature amongst those artists. So I do look it over very carefully, and the [seating chart] board will be rolled out, probably beginning tonight. 

Where will you watch the Grammys on Sunday night? 

I have a select number of people watch with me in my suite at the hotel. I like the close-ups. It’s definitely more personal. I have a number of people come over, some business associates and friends, and we watch it together. And then I’ll go to the Sony party. 

02 Feb 2024

Lizzo Sexual Harassment Moves Forward As Judge Denies Singer’s Request to Toss Lawsuit

A Los Angeles judge on Friday (Feb. 2) denied Lizzo’s motion to toss out a bombshell sexual harassment lawsuit filed by three of her former backup dancers, dismissing certain accusations but allowing the case as a whole to move forward toward a trial. 

Facing allegations of harassment and discrimination, Lizzo argued last year that case should be dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP statute — a special law that makes it easier to quickly end meritless lawsuits that threaten free speech (known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation”). Her lawyers argued that the accusers were using the lawsuit to “silence” her. 

But in a detailed, 34-page decision, Judge Mark H. Epstein ruled that the anti-SLAPP statute didn’t quite fit all of the lawsuit’s allegations. He tossed out some claims – including a particularly loaded charge that Lizzo fat-shamed one of her dancers – but ruled that remainder of the case could go forward. 

Figuring out the proper balance – between protected speech and illegal discrimination – was “no easy task,” Judge Epstein wrote, but he said he had “tried to thread this needle.” 

“It is dangerous for the court to weigh in, ham-fisted, into constitutionally protected activity,” the judge wrote. “But it is equally dangerous to turn a blind eye to allegations of discrimination or other forms of misconduct merely because they take place in a speech-related environment.” 

The case against Lizzo, filed in August by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, accuses the singer (real name Melissa Jefferson) and her Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. of creating a hostile work environment through a wide range of legal wrongdoing, including not just sexual harassment but also religious and racial discrimination. The alleged weight-shaming, the lawsuit claims, amounted to a form of disability discrimination. 

In one particularly vivid allegation, Lizzo’s accusers claimed she pushed them to attend a live sex show at a venue in Amsterdam’s famed Red Light District called Bananenbar, and then pressured them to engage with the performers, including “eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.” After Lizzo herself allegedly led a chant “goading” Davis to touch one performer’s breasts, the lawsuit says, Davis eventually did so. 

Repped by Hollywood defense attorney Martin D. Singer, Lizzo fired back in October, arguing that Davis, Williams and Rodriguez had “an axe to grind” against the star because they had been reprimanded over “a pattern of gross misconduct and failure to perform their job up to par.” 

“Plaintiffs embarked on a press tour, vilifying defendants and pushing their fabricated sob story in the courts and in the media. That ends today,” Singer wrote. “Instead of taking any accountability for their own actions, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against defendants out of spite and in pursuit of media attention, public sympathy and a quick payday with minimal effort.” 

The filing came with sworn statements from 18 members of Lizzo’s touring company who dispute many of the lawsuit’s specific factual accusations. That included several who challenged the headline-grabbing claim that Lizzo fat-shamed some of her dancers — a particularly loaded allegation against a singer who has made body positivity a key part of her brand. 

Lizzo’s counter-attack came under the anti-SLAPP law. Anti-SLAPP motions are filed every day, but it was unusual to see one aimed at dismissing a harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed by former employees against their employer. They’re more common in precisely the opposite scenario: filed by an individual who claims that they’re being unfairly sued by a powerful person to silence accusations of abuse or other wrongdoing. 

In their filings, Lizzo’s lawyers argued that the anti-SLAPP law could still apply to the current case because of the creative nature of the work in question. They called the lawsuit “a brazen attempt to silence defendants’ creative voices and weaponize their creative expression against them.” 

But in his ruling on Friday, Judge Epstein largely rejected that argument. He said that conduct relating to speech is protected and that California law “law wisely disfavors chilling such conduct.” But he cautioned that free speech was not a magic wand against allegations of employer wrongdoing. 

“The fact that the alleged incidents take place in the entertainment or speech world is no shield of invulnerability or license to ignore law enacted for the protection of California’s citizens,” the judge said. 

The judge dismissed a sexual harassment allegation involving a nude photoshoot on the set of the reality competition series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls; a disability discrimination accusation around one dancer’s allegation that she was fired from Lizzo’s tour after disclosing her mental health issues; and another allegation stating that Lizzo’s camp intentionally interfered with the dancers’ other job prospects after placing them on a “soft hold” and telling them they could not accept other work. 

Lizzo and Shirlene Quigley, the captain of the singer’s dance team, will still have to face other allegations of sexual harassment, as well as accusations of racial and religious discrimination.

“We’re very pleased with the judge’s ruling, and we absolutely consider it a victory on balance,” said the dancers’ lawyer, Ron Zambrano, in a statement. “He did dismiss a few allegations, including the meeting where Arianna was fat shamed, the nude photo shoot, and dancers being forced to be on ‘hold’ while not on tour. However, all the other claims remain, including sexual, religious and racial discrimination, sexual harassment, the demeaning visits to the Bananenbar in Amsterdam and Crazy Horse in Paris, false imprisonment, and assault. The ruling also rightfully signals that Lizzo – or any celebrity – is not insulated from this sort of reprehensible conduct merely because she is famous. We now look forward to conducting discovery and preparing the case for trial.” 

In his own statement, Lizzo’s lawyer, Stefan Friedman, said: “We are pleased that Judge Epstein wisely threw out all or part of four of the plaintiffs’ causes of action. Lizzo is grateful to the judge for seeing through much of the noise and recognizing who she is – a strong woman who exists to lift others up and spread positivity. We plan to appeal all elements that the judge chose to keep in the lawsuit and are confident we will prevail.” 

02 Feb 2024

Congressional Hearing on AI Deepfake Protections Raises Questions Over Ownership

Country star Lainey Wilson and Recording Academy president/CEO Harvey Mason voiced their support for federal regulation of AI technology at a hearing conducted by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet in Los Angeles on Friday (Feb. 2). 

“Our voices and likenesses are indelible parts of us that have enabled us to showcase our talents and grow our audiences, not mere digital kibble for a machine to duplicate without consent,” Wilson said during her comments. 

“The artists and creators I talk to are concerned that there’s very little protection for artists who see their own name or likeness or voice used to create AI-generated materials,” Mason added. “This misuse hurts artists and their fans alike.” 

“The problem of AI fakes is clear to everyone,” he continued later. “This is a problem that only Congress can address to protect all Americans. For this reason, the academy is grateful for the introduction of the No AI FRAUD Act,” a bill announced in January that aims to establish a federal framework for protecting voice and likeness. 

The star of the hearing was not from the music industry, though. Jennifer Rothman, a professor of law at University of Pennsylvania Law School, offered an eloquent challenge to a key provision of the No AI FRAUD act, which would allow artists to transfer the rights to their voice and likeness to a third party. 

It’s easy to imagine this provision is popular with labels, who historically built their large catalogs by taking control of artists’ recordings for perpetuity. However, Rothman argued that “any federal right to a person’s voice or likeness must not be transferable away from that person” and “there must be significant limits on licensing” as well.  

“Allowing another person or entity to own a living human being’s likeness or voice in perpetuity violates our fundamental and constitutional right to liberty,” she said.

Rothman cleverly invoked the music industry’s long history of perpetuity deals — a history that has upset many artists, including stars like Taylor Swift, over the years — as part of the reason for her objection. 

“Imagine a world in which Taylor Swift‘s first record label obtained rights in perpetuity to young Swift’s voice and likeness,” Rothman explained. “The label could then replicate Swift’s voice over and over in new songs that she never wrote and have AI renditions of her perform and endorse the songs and videos and even have holograms perform them on tour. In fact, under the proposed No AI Fraud Act, the label would be able to sue Swift herself for violating her own right of publicity if she used her voice and likeness to write and record new songs and publicly perform them. This is the topsy-turvy world that the draft bills would create.”

(Rothman’s reference to Swift was just one of several at the hearing. Rep. Kevin Kiley [R – CA] alluded to the debate over whether or not the singer would be able to make it to the Super Bowl from her performance in Tokyo, while Rep. Nathaniel Moran [R – TX] joked, “I have not mentioned Travis Kelce’s girlfriend once during this testimony.”)

Rothman pointed out that the ability to transfer voice or likeness rights in perpetuity potentially “threatens ordinary people” as well: They “may unwittingly sign over those rights as part of online Terms of Service” that exist on so many platforms and are barely ever read. In the music industry, there is a similar problem already causing problems for a number of young artists who sign up to distribute their music through an online service, agree to Terms of Service without reading them, and later discover that they have unknowingly locked their music into some sort of agreement. In an AI world, this problem could be magnified. 

Rothman’s comments put her at odds with the Recording Academy. “In this particular bill, there are certain safeguards, there’s language that says there have to be attorneys present and involved,” Mason said during questioning. (Though many young artists can’t afford counsel or can’t find good counsel.) “But we also believe that families should have the freedom to enter into different business arrangements.” 

Mason’s view was shared by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R – FL). “If tomorrow I wanted to sell my voice to a robot and let that robot say whatever in the world that it wanted to say, and I wanted to take the money from that sale and go buy a sailboat and never turn on the internet again, why should I not have the right to do that?” he asked.

In addition to Rothman, Mason and Wilson, there was one other witness at the hearing: Christopher Mohr, who serves as president of the Software & Information Industry Association. He spoke little and mostly reiterated that his members wanted the courts to answer key questions around AI. “It’s really important that these cases get thoroughly litigated,” Mohr said.

This answer did not satisfy Rep. Glenn Ivey (D – MD), a former litigator. “It could take years before all of that gets solved and you might have conflicting decisions from different courts in jury trials,” Ivey noted. “What should we be doing to try and fix it now?”

02 Feb 2024

Coco Jones Talks 5 Grammy Nods, Collaborating With Reneé Rapp & ‘Bel-Air’ Season 3

Few people had a bigger 2023 than Coco Jones — and she could very well turn 2024 into an even bigger year following Sunday night’s 2024 Grammys, where she’s nominated for a whopping five Golden Gramophones.

Ahead of Music‘s Biggest Night, Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis sat down with Jones to break down her whirlwind year and her feelings going into her first Grammy Awards as a nominee. At Sunday night’s telecast, Jones is nominated for best new artist, best R&B song (“ICU”), best R&B performance (“ICU”), best traditional R&B performance (“Simple,” with Babyface) and best R&B album (What I Didn’t Tell You – Deluxe).

“The Grammys are just a very respected group of people who earned their voice and their credits and credentials,” she says. “To me, I respect everyone who is nominated and decides because I just feel like the Grammys also help up-and-coming [artists and creatives]. For them to recognize the work that I’m doing, it just feels very affirming.”

The “Caliber” singer continues, “When I first learned I was nominated, I was on the plane. I definitely was asleep. My phone was vibrating so much, I was like, ‘This turbulence is crazy!’ But what I realized was, everyone was texting me congratulations.”

Last year, Jones earned her first Billboard Hot 100 entry with “ICU” (No. 62), which earned a remix featuring Justin Timberlake and also reached the top of Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and R&B Digital Song Sales. The success of “ICU” also gave way to a deluxe version of 2022 EP, What I Didn’t Tell You, which climbed to No. 6 on Heatseekers Albums — her first appearance on the chart in exactly a decade. In addition to her own music, Jones has lent her talents to collaborations with the likes of Brent Faiyaz (“Moment of Your Life”), Lil Tjay (“Grateful”), Adekunle Gold (“Make It Easy”) and Mean Girls movie musical star Reneé Rapp (“Tummy Hurts”).

“I have to say I really loved [working with] Reneé Rapp,” Jones gushes. “I think that was just so cool because it was mixing pop and R&B, and that’s something I want to do moving forward, so I like that. To me, it was kind of like foreshadowing.”

Like Rapp, Jones is also an acclaimed multi-hyphenate. She’s currently gearing up to film the forthcoming new season of Peacock’s Bel-Air, in which she portrays the ever-fashionable Hilary Banks. “I’m excited! A lot is still up in the air, we just ended the strike and I know everybody is getting back to work,” she says. “I’m not sure what’s in store for Hilary, I definitely want it to be surprising though, I’m like ‘Let’s up the stakes!’”

After spending 2023 on a major headlining tour, racking up R&B smashes and promoting season two of Bel-Air, Jones is ready to conquer the new year with the lessons she’s learned from those experiences. “Everything’s in seasons,” she muses. “Sometimes, people come into your life for a season, sometimes you have seasons where you don’t understand what’s going on, but seasons are the weather so they must change and they must evolve and they must go to something different. Don’t try to hold on to whatever has outlasted its season.”

02 Feb 2024

Beyoncé Will Not Perform at 2024 Grammys

Sorry, BeyHive. Beyoncé is officially not performing at the 2024 Grammys, despite rumors to the contrary.

A representative for the 42-year-old superstar confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday (Feb. 2), just two days ahead of this year’s awards ceremony. The news squanders any hopes of Bey paying tribute to the late Tina Turner at the show, which Australian program The Today Show had previously reported was set to take place.

Another big name who was rumored to perform was Taylor Swift, although recent reports have also ruled that out. Artists who are actually confirmed to take the stage on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles include SZA, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Joni Mitchell, U2, Billy Joel, Luke Combs, Burna Boy and Travis Scott.

Viewers can also expect to see everyone from Meryl Streep to Oprah Winfrey, Lionel Richie, Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz, Maluma, Mark Ronson, Taylor Tomlinson and Samara Joy serving as presenters during the broadcast. Plus, Trevor Noah will return to host the show.

Beyoncé is not nominated for any awards this year, but last year’s show saw the Houston singer make history. In taking home four of the night’s prizes — best dance/electronic recording for “Break My Soul,” best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa,” best R&B song for “Cuff It” and best dance/electronic album for Renaissance — she set a new record for the most wins in Grammy history, with 32 total.

“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” Bey said of the feat in a tearful acceptance speech at the 2023 ceremony. “I’d like to thank my parents, my father, my mother, for loving me and pushing me. My beautiful husband and beautiful three children. Thank you to the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre, thank you so much to the Grammys.”

02 Feb 2024

Layoffs, Licensing and More: 5 Things to Watch for in Upcoming Earnings Reports

At the beginning of 2024, the always-changing music business is going through rapid transformation unlike anything in the last decade. How music companies organize themselves is changing. How royalties are calculated and paid is changing. How companies engage with fans is changing. And investors have different expectations of public companies — more focus on margins, less obsession with growth.

Music companies’ earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2023 will provide insights into how companies have performed and, more importantly, what they expect to do in the future. Only one company, SiriusXM, has announced to date. Next week’s earnings releases include Spotify (Tuesday, Feb. 6), Reservoir Media (Wednesday, Feb. 7) and Warner Music Group (Thursday, Feb. 8). Universal Music Group (UMG) announces earnings on Feb. 28. Here are some things to watch for in upcoming earnings calls.

The scope of layoffs

In October, UMG executives primed investors for cost-cutting measures that would improve margins and allow for investments in growth opportunities. The result would be hundreds of layoffs, according to a Jan. 12 Bloomberg report. On Thursday, UMG revealed some details of a bi-coastal label group restructuring. But what’s missing, so far, are details on the number of layoffs and the cost savings UMG expects to get from a restructuring. UMG’s fourth-quarter earnings release on Feb. 28 will be an opportunity for analysts to ask the company to give an update on its restructuring plans. As Billboard noted last week, the music industry is seeing widespread layoffs despite continued streaming growth. Warner Music Group (WMG), Downtown Music Holdings and BMG cut jobs in 2023. Digital music companies have shrunk their head counts, too: Spotify, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Tidal and Bandcamp went through downsizings of various sizes.

More troubles in TikTok-land?

When UMG failed to renew its licensing contract with TikTok, it made licensing to the social video platform a major topic of conversation for upcoming earnings calls. Analysts and investors should want to know how a company’s negotiations with TikTok are proceeding and whether to expect an interruption if the two sides cannot reach an agreement. TikTok and WMG reached an agreement in July 2023, but investors may want progress reports from other public companies — Reservoir Media, Believe, Sony Music — about their licensing talks.

UMG’s decision is not without precedent: In 2008 and 2009, WMG pulled its catalog from YouTube for nine months while the two companies’ licensing negotiations were at an impasse. In 2011, Google launched an audio music streaming service, Music Beta by Google, without licenses from both Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and WMG. When Google added MP3s to its Google Music service later that year, the SME and WMG catalogs were initially absent.

The direct financial hit to UMG will be minimal since TikTok accounts for 1% of the company’s revenue, UMG stated in an open letter about the licensing talks. But because TikTok is an important promotional vehicle and a popular place to discover music, the indirect financial hit is more substantial. Investors always want to know about direct dollar impacts of a company’s moves, and they should want to understand the downsides of leaving a hit-making social platform.

How much have price increases mattered?

Music subscription prices didn’t budge for over a decade before succumbing to change in 2022 and 2023. The big fish was Spotify, which finally raised prices in the United States and other major markets in July. A higher price creates a multiplier effect on top of existing subscriber growth and will augment what would have otherwise been record quarterly revenues. The gains should come without an increase in churn: Spotify CFO Paul Vogel said during an Oct. 27 earnings call that Spotify didn’t lose any subscribers in the third quarter due to the price increase.

For record labels and publishers, a 10% price increase atop year-over-year subscriber growth stands to accelerate revenue growth. Guggenheim analysts said in a recent note to investors that they expect price increases at Spotify, YouTube and Deezer to raise UMG’s subscription revenue growth to 14.8% in the fourth quarter from 13.0% in the third quarter.

The state of the advertising business

While the subscription market has been strong, the ad-supported side of the business has struggled to keep chase. Through the first three quarters, Spotify’s ad-supported streaming revenue increased 14.9% year over year. That’s better than the 11.4% improvement in subscription revenue but well below the 22.2% and 62.1% gains in ad revenue in full-year 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Broadcast radio has fared even worse. Companies such as iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media and Audacy have blamed a slowdown in national broadcast advertising on some disappointing earnings in recent quarters.

SiriusXM provided the latest clue about broadcast advertising. “SiriusXM’s advertising revenue remains challenged,” CFO Tom Barry said during Thursday’s earnings call, “which we believe is a product of a tough broadcast advertising market.” Elsewhere, however, SiriusXM’s digital advertising improved versus 2022: Pandora had “strong growth” in its podcasting and programmatic advertising businesses, added Barry.

Some positive news in recent days shows advertising — perhaps not for broadcast businesses — is rebounding. U.S. ad spending in November was up 25% year over year, according to MediaRadar, an advertising intelligence company. The number of advertisers declined 8%, however, suggesting existing advertisers were ramping up spending.

More good news came from major ad-driven tech companies. Google’s advertising revenue in the fourth quarter increased 11% from the prior-year period, the company announced Wednesday, up from year-over-year improvements of 3.3% and 9.5% in the second and third quarters, respectively. Meta’s revenue grew 25% and its ad impressions rose 28% in the fourth quarter, the company announced Thursday.

The mission to reach superfans

Major music companies are suddenly taking a greater interest in serving superfans, those heavy-spending consumers that drive the concert and merchandise businesses but have less effect in a world of flat-rate, all-you-can-eat music subscription services. The 80-20 rule says 80% of a company’s business comes from 20% of its consumers. With music streaming, however, a $10.99-per-month service doesn’t capture a superfan’s willingness to pay more for additional value. Spotify hinted that “superfan clubs” were in the works in an announcement about the Digital Markets Act in the European Union. UMG CEO Lucian Grainge’s letter to staff in January said the company will focus on “strengthening the artist-fan relationship through superfan experiences and products.”

The problem isn’t that consumers won’t pay more money to engage with their favorite artists. The problem is no platforms have found a winning formula. Numerous previous attempts to court superfans fizzled. Drip, a platform that allowed artists to provide fans with music and other items for a recurring monthly fee, lasted from 2011 to 2016 (it relaunched a Kickstarter in 2017 but shut down in 2018). PledgeMusic shut down in 2019 amidst financial problems and allegations of improprieties. Most recently, startups’ attempts to use Web3 technologies to build superfan communities ran headfirst into the public’s sudden distrust of cryptocurrency and disinterest in NFTs. Given Spotify’s market size and resources, though, the company could make a real impact.

02 Feb 2024

Carl Weathers, Beloved ‘Rocky’ & ‘Happy Gilmore’ Actor, Dead at 76

Carl Weathers, the former NFL star known for his roles as Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise and Derick “Chubbs” Peterson in Happy Gilmore, died on Thursday (Feb. 1). He was 76 years old.

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Weathers died in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his manager, Matt Luber, announcing the news. “Carl was an exceptional human being who lived an extraordinary life,” he said. “Through his contributions to film, television, the arts and sports, he has left an indelible mark and is recognized worldwide and across generations. He was a beloved brother, father, grandfather, partner and friend.”

During his time as a football player, Weathers played for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders from 1970 to 71 and for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League from 1971 to 73. Soon after, he landed the role of Apollo Creed — inspired by Muhammad Ali  — in Rocky (1976), and continued to play him throughout the franchise.

He also had roles in Predator and The Mandalorian, in addition to portraying golfer Derick “Chubbs” Peterson in Happy Gilmore.