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18 Aug 2023

Tashawnda Nicole Drayton aka Rapper 23 Brazy Wanted For Murder Of 10-Year-Old Boy

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23 Brazy Mugshot

Source: Franklin Virginia PD / Franklin Virginia PD

Crazy news coming out of Virginia as U.S. Marshalls have issued an arrest warrant for rapper 23 Brazy who they allege shot and murdered a 10-year-old child.

On Tuesday (Aug. 15), U.S. Marshalls shared a press release in which they explain that Tashawnda Nicole Drayton aka 23 Brazy is being sought in connection with a shooting that left a 10-year-old dead and a 37-year-old adult male injured in Franklin, Virginia Aug. 9.

From U.S.Marshalls.gov:

Drayton is a Black female, with brown eyes and black hair.  She stands 5 feet 11 inches and weighs approximately 250 pounds. She has “only loyalty” tattooed above her left eyebrow, “23 Brazy” in red letters on her forehead, along with several tattoos on her face and neck. Drayton also has multiple tattoos on both of her arms and hands.

Drayton has ties all over the Hampton Roads area and should be considered armed and dangerous.

Following the shooting authorities issued the arrest warrant for Drayton, which includes counts for “first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, threat to burn or damage a building, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharge of a firearm in a public place,” according to the press release.

No motive for the shooting has been revealed as of yet, but don’t be surprised if you don’t hear a new record from 23 Brazy for a very long time whether she’s still roaming free or locked up behind bars.

In a Facebook post detailing the murder, Police Chief Steve Patterson wrote, “This is a very sad day for the City of Franklin. Any loss of life is unwarranted but for a 10-year-old to be the victim of violent crime is unacceptable and we as a community must come together and end this senselessness. The Franklin Police Department offers its condolences to the family of the young man killed today and hopes the community will come together to support both families during this time.”

A $5,000 reward is being offered for anyone who can help tip authorities to Brazy’s whereabouts and arrest.

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18 Aug 2023

Warren Zeiders Translates Viral Hits Into Debut Album ‘Pretty Little Poison’: ‘I Have Always Loved Connecting With People’

On Friday (Aug. 18), singer-songwriter Warren Zeiders, who first broke through with his 2021 hit “Ride the Lightning,” issues Pretty Little Poison — his debut, full-length major label project on Warner Records. But a scant four years ago, Zeiders had his sights set on a sports career, not music.

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Growing up in Pennsylvania, Zeiders’ childhood was focused on lacrosse games, tournaments and practices. Outside of the occasional tinkering with a guitar he picked up in sixth grade, there were none of the childhood musical outlets that singer-songwriters typically espouse, such as church choirs or high school bands. He continued playing lacrosse while studying at Frostburg State University, until a series of sports concussions ultimately sidelined his sports ambitions in 2019, swiftly followed by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which forced him to find a new outlet.

“I had an identity crisis when I had to give up lacrosse,” Zeiders tells Billboard, calling from a tour stop in Montana. “I was a collegiate athlete; that’s what me and my family had worked for — the money invested, the travel, the tournaments and leagues. They were always at sporting events, traveling with me, meeting with colleges and all that. So going through seven concussions, I went through a bit of depression, because concussions are not easy to go through. I had a really severe one my freshman year of college. I was confined to a black room for a while, missing classes, missing exams. I could barely watch TV, because of how jacked up I was.”

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he began posting acoustic cover songs on TikTok, reengaging with his love for music. The videos’ views began soaring, and soon, listeners were asking for original material.

Zeiders grew up in a business-oriented household; his parents were entrepreneurs; his mother was a CFO, with an accounting background. Meanwhile, his father sold insurance and investments. So when fans began asking Zeiders to post his own original songs, he says, “I had that business mindset of, ‘If they want this from me, maybe I should start marketing myself,’ because I was starting to build traction.”

In December 2020, Zeiders released his original track “On the Run.” Soon after, Underscore Works’ Charly Salvatore signed Zeiders as one of his flagship management clients at the company. Zeiders came to Nashville for a series of co-writing sessions, resulting in “Ride the Lightning,” which he wrote with Rob Crosby and Eric Paslay.

“Ride the Lightning” surged on TikTok, while Zeiders issued an acoustic covers project and The 717 Tapes EP. By the time Zeiders revealed he had signed with Warner Records in January 2022, he was also celebrating an RIAA Gold certification for “Ride the Lightning.”

The song proved a showcase for his grainy, full-throated voice, something he says he painstakingly worked on throughout his upcoming project, produced by Ross Copperman, Bart Butler and Ryan Gore.

“There was a heartache with doing this, because I’m such a perfectionist, and I think most artists are in our own ways,” Zeiders says. “I must have sang ‘Pretty Little Poison’ a thousand times in the studio. I wanted the instrumentation to be perfect, to fit the vibe of what this song is saying. Each individual song has its own life and its own story to tell. I believe it needs its own character for each song, and you can sing a song a million different ways. I wanted to be in the mindset of that character to convey each story with absolute truth.”

He wrote the album’s title track last summer, with Jared Keim and Ryan Beaver; the song has now cracked the top 40 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

“I remember when we got [to the writing session], I said, ‘I want to write a love song, in Warren Zeiders’s terms.’” Zeiders recalls. “It was minor keys, and a dark twist on a love song, because the lyrics are really about someone’s who you know isn’t great to be in a relationship with, but you keep going back to them. Ryan had the concept a possible title called ‘Pretty Poison.’ I added the word ‘Little’ to it, and once we had that concept and title, we were off to the races. We wrote the song in just over an hour, maybe two hours and I was like, ‘I need that demo as soon as possible.’ They got it to me the next day, I sent it to my manager and it went to A&R, the label. Everyone felt it was going to touch a lot of lives.”

Elsewhere on the album, homage to his Pennsylvania roots in “Pittsburgh Steel” and leans on his faith in “God Only Knows.” He reunited with his “Pretty Little Poison” co-writers to craft the album’s closer, “Cowboy Rides Away.”

Zeiders is a co-writer on nearly every song on Pretty Little Poison, with the lone exception being “What Goes on Inside Your Head,” written by Chris Stapleton and Lee Thomas Miller.

“I remember meeting Lee at our listening party a couple of months ago, after the record was recorded,” Zeiders recalls. “Lee thanked me for recording the song and was like, ‘You have no idea how many years this song has been passed around town and how many ‘Nos’ we’ve gotten.’ I was like, ‘How would no one want to cut this song? It’s beautiful.’ And he was like, ‘You’d be surprised. Some people can get scared to cut it after they listen to a Chris Stapleton demo.’ But I loved the song and I wasn’t trying to do Chris Stapleton’s version — I wanted to do my own version. I loved recording it and I was like, ‘This is one I will sure as hell sing the crap out of.’”

With the hit songs have come a surge of performances; in May, Zeiders played his first stadium show — ironically, opening up for Stapleton and Little Big Town during George Strait’s show at Ohio Stadium. In June, he joined Jelly Roll onstage during the Tailgates and Tallboys festival, for a rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” Jelly Roll also recently gave Zeiders a shoutout on social media. This fall, Zeiders will return for the second half of his own headlining Pretty Little Poison tour.

Zeiders’ strong familial bonds continue now in his music career — his mother has taken on the role of his business manager, while his father will be joining him on the road this fall.

“He just wants to help out any way he can, so he might be selling merch or whatnot,” Zeiders says. “He just likes seeing the shows and meeting the fans. They are actually moving to Nashville as we speak, packing everything up in Pennsylvania, which is crazy to think I won’t be back home to say goodbye to my old house.”

Zeiders may not have spent his entire life performing onstage, but says his extroverted personality and the discipline he learned on the sports field have been assets.

“I’ve always had a big personality; I was always the talker in my family and had a marketing and sales background. I sold cars for two years. I just have always loved connecting with people. After I played my first show, it just felt like this is what I was made to do. I try to keep myself in a good position, physically and mentally, because people who come to shows are giving their time, their money, getting babysitters for the night, doing what they have to do to be at shows. My job is to be the best version of myself to put on a show, so I can welcome them into what I’m building and hopefully keep them as fans.”

18 Aug 2023

Lil Nas X to Give a Peek Behind the Curtain in New Documentary ‘Long Live Montero’

Sure, Lil Nas X may be known for his love of trolling fans and haters alike. But with his latest announcement, the pop sensation is ready to show everyone a more sincere side of himself.

On Friday (Aug. 18), Lil Nas X announced the official world premiere of his new documentary Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero. Chronicling his life on the road during the Long Live Montero tour, the project is set to debut during the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off on Sept. 7.

The film — directed by Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel and produced by RadicalMedia — will not only deal with the creation, production and execution of the star’s globe-spanning tour of the same name. Long Live Montero will also take a look back at Lil Nas X’s many achievements, and deal with “an artist on tour navigating identity, family, expectations and acceptance, all while reflecting on his place within the legacy of Black, queer performers,” according to a press release.

Speaking about the film, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey called the documentary “a triumphant ode to the extraordinary power of self-expression,” while also expressing his excitement for audiences to see it. “In this groundbreaking documentary, we witness Lil Nas X challenging boundaries and reshaping the artistic landscape. The film’s captivating journey underscores the profound impact of Lil Nas X, who fearlessly brings audiences together through the universal language of music. We are thrilled to host Lil Nas X at TIFF this year.”

To learn more about the Toronto International Film Festival, including how to get tickets, click here. See the poster for the project below:

18 Aug 2023

Britney Spears’ Estranged Husband Sam Asghari Denies Threats to ‘Exploit’ Singer Amid Divorce

Representatives for Britney Spears’ estranged husband, Sam Asghari, are denying reports that the fitness instructor/actor has threatening to challenge the couple’s pre-nuptial agreement and release damaging information about the singer in the midst of their divorce proceedings.

Asghari, 29, filed for divorce from the pop icon on Wednesday (Aug. 16) in Los Angeles Superior Court, per documents obtained by Billboard. The filing noted that the couple separated on July 28, with Asghari citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for divorce their divorce. He is seeking spousal support from Spears, 41, who regained control over her personal and business affairs in Nov. 2021 after 13 years.

“There are many claims that Sam is challenging the prenup and threatening to exploit his ex-wife with videos. However, all these claims are false, as no negative intention has ever been directed towards her and never will be. Sam has always and will always support her,” Asghari’s manager, Brandon Cohen, told NBC. The statement came after several tabloid reports claimed that Asghari was prepared to released embarrassing information; at press time spokespeople for Spears and Asghari had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the reports.

A day after filing for divorce from Spears, Asghari — who an unnamed source reportedly told NBC has moved out of the couple’s home — posted a statement on his Instagram Stories on Thursday in which he wrote, “After six years of love and commitment to each other, my wife and I have decided to end our journey together. We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always. S— happens. Asking for privacy seems ridiculous so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.”

Spears and Asghari began dating in 2016 after they met on the set of her “Slumber Party” music video and after dating for five years they got engaged in September 2021 and married in a star-studded Los Angeles wedding in June 2022.

18 Aug 2023

Pink Changes ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’ Lyric About Britney Spears Amid Sam Asghari Divorce

It looks like Pink is showing support for Britney Spears amid the latter pop star’s divorce from Sam Asghari.

At her Wednesday night (Aug. 16) concert at Detroit’s Comerica Park, the “So What” singer subtly changed a lyric in her 2001 song “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” sneaking in a compliment to Spears. “Tired of being compared to sweet Britney Spears,” Pink sang, instead of the original line, “Tired of being compared to d–n Britney Spears.”

“She’s so pretty,” Pink continued with the original lyrics, singing with nothing but an acoustic guitar accompanying her. “That just ain’t me.”

The gesture came on the heels of reports that Spears and her husband, dancer Sam Asghari, are splitting. Asghari filed for divorce in Los Angeles Wednesday, and shared a statement on Instagram Thursday (Aug. 17) about the two ending their marriage. “After six years of love and commitment to each other, my wife and I have decided to end our journey together,” he wrote. “We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always. S–t happens. Asking for privacy seems rediculous [sic] so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.”

The split comes a little over a year after the couple married in June 2022, tying the knot with a star-studded ceremony in L.A. They’d gotten engaged in 2021, about five years after first meeting on set of Spears’ “Slumber Party” music video.

Earlier this year, Pink — who’s currently in the middle of Summer Carnival tour — clarified her intentions behind the Spears name-check in “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” revealing she’s “always felt like a big sister” to the “Toxic” musician. “I’m very protective of her, and she’s the sweetest person in the world,” Pink told People in February, though later added she’s not currently in touch with the Princess of Pop. “I wish her well. I cover her in light all day long.”

See Pink’s lyric change below:

18 Aug 2023

HHW Gaming: ‘Madden NFL 24’ Sacked With Hilarious Bugs & Glitches

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Madden NFL 24

Source: EA Sports / Madden NFL 24

Most reviews for Madden NFL 24 have not arrived, but the game is already getting sacked by players who have had early access to the game.

Is Madden NFL 24 fumbling the ball already? The annual football video game franchise was already reportedly a “make or break” release for management, according to an Insider Gaming report, and it’s looking like the game is already letting some players down like Matt Ryan constantly did for Atlanta Falcons fans.

Type Madden NFL 24 in the X (formerly Twitter) search bar. In that case, you will be greeted with videos of insane glitches and what is becoming the usual dissatisfaction with the iconic sports video game.

In one clip, a player looks like he dies after celebrating a kick return for a touchdown.

In another hilarious video with the caption “MADDEN 24 JUST GOT RELEASED AND I ALREADY UNINSTALLED”, a player has his pass tipped, and it somehow bounces off the back of one of his offensive linemen leading to a pick 6.

In another video, a player can be seen spinning around in circles after his team scores a touchdown.

And this is supposed to be a more polished game this year.

What Are The Critics Saying?

As of this writing, there are only three reviews on Opencritic. Sam Watanuki of SVG gave Madden NFL 24 a 7 out of 10, writing, “Madden 24″ is an enjoyable, polished ride that will please newcomers and veterans alike, but it doesn’t necessarily deliver a transformative experience.”

XboxEra’s Genghis Husameddin gave the game a 6 out 10 writing in his review, “Madden NFL 24 is made for the returning fans,” adding, “But technical issues compounded with an unintuitive user experience and unhelpful tutorials make it difficult for someone new to the sport to really sink their teeth into American Football. Still, the core gameplay is solid and fun to play—I just wish it were easier to get to.”

So basically, it’s the same old Madden NFL.

Madden NFL 24 has a lot of making-up to do, especially after Madden NFL 23 players lost their connected franchise saves due to an update pushed out by EA Tiburon.

The game developer gave players a 50% discount to ensure no goodwill was strained. Based on these early reactions, it’s looking like Madden NFL 24 is more break than make.

We will be debating forever how to restore Madden to its championship form or if the NFL needs to let 2K get its hands on the NFL license, but as of right now, Madden NFL is all we got.

You can see more reactions to the latest installment in the Madden NFL franchise hit the gallery below.

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Photo: EA Sports / Madden NFL 24

2. Howling

3. Man wanted his money back.

4. What is this?

12.

18 Aug 2023

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Quavo, Hozier, Doechii, Addison Rae and More

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Quavo pays homage while moving forward, Hozier takes us to church (and the Inferno), and Doechii wants you to dance at all costs. Check out all of this week’s picks below:

Quavo, Rocket Power 

Quavo’s nephew and Migos co-leader, Takeoff, was nicknamed “The Rocket” — and less than a year after the rapper was killed at the age of 28, his family member and group mate is drawing upon his thoughts and instincts as inspiration for his new solo album. Parts of Rocket Power are racked with grief, including the soulful highlight “Hold Me” and the memory-flooded title track, although Quavo also makes ample room in the sprawling full-length to celebrate life, as on the Future-assisted hit “Turn Yo Clic Up” and the crackling “Stain” with BabyDrill; ultimately, the album depicts a long-running rap star in a more complex light, and immediately makes the case as Quavo’s best solo project.

Hozier, Unreal Unearth 

When Hozier revealed that his third studio album — which follows 2019’s Wasteland, Baby!, the first No. 1 album of his career — would be inspired by Dante’s Inferno and include passages sung in Irish Gaelic, fears that the “Take Me To Church” singer-songwriter was turning inscrutable were only natural. Yet Unreal Unearth not only showcases the strength of Hozier’s voice and songwriting, but also remains accessible to hardcore fans and casual alt-rock listeners, from the snappy single “Eat Your Young” to the gargantuan Brandi Carlile duet “Damage Gets Done” to the restrained grace of closer “First Light.”

Doechii, “Booty Drop” 

“Shawty, what it is? / Bring that ass to the club,” Doechii commands on “Booty Drop,” a late bid for the summer’s most kinetic dance song. The Tampa native has shown promise as a recording artist and performer over the past year — signing with TDE, scoring an opening spot on Doja Cat and Ice Spice’s upcoming tour, and mesmerizing audiences whenever she hits the stage — but her latest single, a gleefully explicit take on the Jersey club style that never stops moving, might be the moment where her appeal spills over into the mainstream once and for all.

Addison Rae, AR EP 

Although Addison Rae’s newly released EP rescues a handful of tracks intended for the influencer’s never-released debut album, AR does not sound like a collection of odds and ends: instead, the five songs engross the listener with fresh melodies and bursts of personality, showcasing the 22-year-old as a quick study within this brand of pop. “2 Die 4” with Charli XCX is the highlight — marvel at the mini-hooks jam-packed into that chorus! — but the whole project is worth bookmarking as the potential start of something big.

Anitta, Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story 

When Anitta released her single “Funk Rave” in June, the Latin music star hinted that a deeper dive into Brazilian funk music would be both a way to honor her roots and a rewarding sonic exploration; with Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story, a three-song project that follows up “Funk Rave” with two new heaters, Anitta has more or less confirmed her suggestions. “Casi Casi” and “Used to Be” adopt different approaches — the former a chattering sashay, the latter a slow-building reflection — but Anitta excels at both tempos, and has us hoping for even more to come.

Editor’s Pick: FIFTY FIFTY feat. Sabrina Carpenter, “Cupid Twin Ver.” 

Think of FIFTY FIFTY’s new version “Cupid,” featuring Sabrina Carpenter on the remix, as a well-earned victory lap for both artists: the K-pop group crashed the upper reaches of the Hot 100 chart with the undeniable sing-along, while Carpenter is a little over a year removed from Emails I Can’t Send, one of the strongest pop albums of 2022, and its viral hit “Nonsense.” Together, FIFTY FIFTY and Carpenter reinvent a rock-solid hit ever so slightly, as Carpenter slides into the second verse and handles that sugary “I gave a second chance to Cupiiiiiid!” hook with aplomb.

18 Aug 2023

In 1978, Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty Were the ‘Woman’ & ‘Man’ at No. 1: Chart Rewind

On Aug. 18, 1978, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty’s “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

A story of long-distance love with the Mississippi River in between, the hit was authored by Becki Bluefield and Jim Owen. It was released as the lead single from Lynn and Twitty’s same-named album, their first of four No. 1 sets as a twosome on the Top Country Albums chart.

The hit became Lynn’s 10th of 16 Hot Country Songs leaders and Twitty’s 12th of 40 No. 1s. It marked their third of five leaders as a duo, following “After the Fire Is Gone” and “Lead Me On,” both in 1971, and ahead of “As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone” (1974) and “Feelins’ ” (1975).

The stars shared 11 Hot Country Songs top 10s overall, from “After the Fire Is Gone” through “I Still Believe in Waltzes” in 1981.

Among their many accolades, Lynn and Twitty won the Country Music Association (CMA) Award for duo of the year four straight years (1972-75).

Lynn, who was born in Butcher Holler, Ky., on April 14, 1932, became the first woman to win the CMA’s entertainer of the year trophy (1972) and was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988. She passed away at age 90 last October at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

Born Harold Jenkins on Sept. 1, 1933, in Friars Point, Miss., Twitty died from a stomach aneurysm in June 1993 at age 59. He joined the Country Music Hall of Fame posthumously in 1999.

18 Aug 2023

Executive Turntable: ‘Fix the Mix’ Nonprofit Looks to Skye Landgraf; WME London Calls Josh Javor

Skye Landgraf is the first director of partnerships and programs at We Are Moving the Needle, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and supporting women and non-binary pros in the recording industry. The D.C.-based Landgraf will work to expand WAMTN’s core programs in higher education and oversee the org’s annual Fix the Mix report. (This year’s FtM found that women and non-binary people are drastically underrepresented in audio producing and engineering roles.) Landgraf is also tasked with growing WAMTN’s institutional partnerships to help drive meaningful change in the industry. Prior to joining WAMTN, Landgraf served as the director of institutional advancement at the American Association of University Women (AAUM), as well as the associate director of foundation relations at George Washington University.

“In just two short years, WAMTN has already made a difference in the careers of women and non-binary individuals pursuing careers behind the boards, but we still have much work to do,” We Are Moving the Needle founder Emily Lazar. “Bringing in Skye, whose decade of experience in the nonprofit world, deep knowledge of music, and commitment to gender inclusivity and equity, will allow us to make an even bigger impact on our industry.”

Josh Javor departed X-ray Touring and is now a partner at WME and co-head of the talent agency’s music department in London. Javor spent 17 years at X-ray, scoring a spot on last year’s Billboard International Power Players list for his handling of Coldplay’s massive world tour, and for a major partnership between X-ray and Artist Group International. Over the years, he has had a hand in guiding the UK live careers of such artists as Eminem, Phoebe Bridgers, Bright Eyes, Belle & Sebastian and many more. “Josh has not only built a roster of artists that shape music, he’s also been an integral part of building the international touring industry as we know it today,” said Lucy Dickins, WME’s global head of contemporary music and touring, who Javor will be reporting to. “With Josh coming on board, our London office is doubling down on being the leading team in the region and on the international stage.”

Arista Records vp of promotion Mark Neiter announced his departure from the label, effective Aug. 23. The radio promo veteran joined the Sony Music imprint in September 2021 and points to successful campaigns for Maneskin, Lola Brooke and Beach Weather among his top accomplishments. Prior to joining Arista, Neiter put in the work (21 years worth) at Interscope, where as vp of national top 40 promotion he collaborated with — and built airplay dominance for — artists ranging from Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, Imagine Dragons and Eminem. According to RAMP, Neither will continue to consult for Arista. “I want to thank Davi Massey, Nick Petropoulos and the whole Arista team for a great run here,” he said. “I am excited to learn about what future opportunities lay out there.” He can be reached at mneiter11@gmail.com.

RIP Two All-Timers: Clarence Avant and Jerry Moss

Craig Newman joined the loving embrace of Paladin Artists, where he’ll focus on expanding the agency’s performing arts, family, special attractions and comedy divisions. The veteran agent won’t stop rocking, however, and is bringing along his diverse roster of clients that includes Bachman-Turner Overdrive, WAR and former Monkee Micky Dolenz, among others. Based in Los Angeles, this is a reunion of sorts for Newman, who used to work with Paladin co-founders Steve Martin and Andy Somers, as well as Bruce Solar, during his time as head of performing arts at APA. Newman’s diverse client list also includes chef Robert Irvine, illusionist Rick Thomas, American Girl Live! In Concert and Mini Pop Kids. “Craig Newman — aka Craigie Fresh! Master of time, the Ukulele and Arts Centers,” said Martin. “Paladin is happy to welcome Craig and his indomitable spirit, taste in artists, perspective and work ethic.”

Big Machine Label Group advanced Brooke Nixon to director of streaming, while the label’s The Valory Music Co. imprint has named Chris Waters to succeed Nixon in her previous role as southeast director of promotion & marketing. Nixon joined Big Machine Label Group in 2015, serving as the Dot Records promotion coordinator, before to moving to The Valory Music Co. imprint. Waters most recently served as director of promotion at Pearl Records with Garth Brooks. His career has also included radio and record promotion roles with Show Dog Nashville, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Cumulus Nashville WSM Radio. –Jessica Nicholson

Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, a non-profit providing support services to school districts and musical instruments to underfunded music programs, named Tricia Williams as its next president and CEO in anticipation of the departure of Felice Mancini, who guided MHOF for a quarter century. Williams has been program director at the org since 1999 and is credited with creating a novel consulting service that districts use to more efficiently secure music and arts funding. Replacing Williams as program director is Todd Shipley, the former Director of Arts Education for the Tennessee Department of Education. Over Mancini’s tenure, MHOF has invested more than $34 million in musical instruments distributed to thousands of school music programs nationwide. “Felice has been instrumental in molding MHOF into the most admired music education foundation nationwide,” said Scott Holtzman, chairman of the board. “Our entire Board joins me in saying that we feel that Tricia has proven she is exceptionally qualified to lead MHOF at a critical time in the evolution of music and the arts in our public schools.”

ICYMI: Oak View Group (OVG) appointed Ade Patton as CFO … Elektra Entertainment promoted Jacob Fain to executive vp and head of A&R .. and the music team at TikTok was hit with layoffs. The cuts affected seven staff members, including senior product strategy & ops lead Kelly Chen and U.S. music partnerships and operations lead Marisa Jeffries.

Kobalt promoted Alaine Fulton to vice president of creative and clearance synch, putting her in charge of the London-based team that tackles strategy across how synchs are used, their clearance, and licensing administration. Fulton was previously director of UK creative and clearance synch and in the past year has negotiated and closed deals with the new Barbie movie, Samsung and Lexus, among others.

Various Artists Management hired Emily Thorpe-Jones as the London-based agency’s new head of brands and corporate. In her new role, which is effective immediately, Thorpe-Jones will work on all brand partnerships, commercial opportunities and corporate live bookings, and report jointly to Group CEO David Bianchi and Various Artists Management USA CEO Matt Luxon. She splits her time between Los Angeles and London. Prior to joining VAM, whose roster includes Melanie C, La Roux, The Libertines and Supergrass, among others, Thorpe-Jones worked extensively in radio PR before moving into the publishing sector, where she agency director at Hearst.

Too Lost, a music distribution and technology company, just added seven new employees — and a pair of promotions — within its office in Los Angeles. Up first at director of communications is Damien Ritter, formerly COO of BeatStars. Next up is Meghan Lyttle, who takes on the role of product manager following her time at Spotify and Peloton. Then its Jennifer Ferrer, a former senior manager at ADA Worldwide, who is Too Lost’s new senior product manager. Jake Selvey, previously with 300 Entertainment, steps into the role of A&R manager. Jheanelle Henry joined Too Lost’s Label Services department from MySeat. Ariana Slater and Carly Golisch round things out as new product and operations coordinators. And finally, Aldo Davalos was promoted to general manager and head of business development, while Buster Ross got bumped up to associate director of A&R. Too Lost offers distribution and publishing services that deliver, monetize and protect the songs of over 200,000 indie artists and labels.

Apple veteran Peter Stern joined Ford as president of the automaker’s new Ford Integrated Services unit. Up until January, Stern was vice president of services at Apple, where he was the driving force in launching non-music pillars including Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Arcade. As part of his job, he headed up all marketing for Apple Music and Apple Podcasts.

UK-based marketing and digital consultancy agency Blackstar hired Dan Alani as head of creative. He’ll oversee Blackstar’s creative studio and work in tandem with the agency’s social and marketing teams on client campaigns. Alani was previously a senior producer at Able Media, working on campaigns for Harry Styles, Beyonce and others. Blackstar was launched in 2018 by former Universal Music Group marketing exec Olivia Hobbs, who is “beyond excited to be welcoming Dan… who brings with him 10 years of experience delivering creative campaigns for some of the world’s biggest icons.”

Dr. Moiya McTier joined the Human Artistry Campaign, a coalition of music and entertainment organizations that support ethical standards around AI, as an advisor and public communicator. The org describes Dr. McTier’s role as essentially “Explainer-in-Chief,” advising and educating policymakers and fellow creatives about the promise and the risks of AI. Since being announced at this year’s SXSW, the HAC’s efforts have been co-signed by music firms including Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), SoundExchange, ASCAP and BMI, among others.

Nashville Notes: Courtney Gregg launched Blue Sky Artist Management, with an artist roster that already includes Gaelic Storm, David Cook and John Baumann, among others. The former Carnival Music president (with previous stops at Billboard and ASCAP) is joined at Blue Sky with Kelsey Fitzgerald (Artist Management as Management Coordinator) and Corey Piper (Social Media and Tour Promotions Coordinator). Reach her at courtney@blueskyartistmgmt.com. … Bobby Bones renewed his affiliation with iHeartMedia. He will continue as an iHeart vp/creative director … Canada’s Corus Entertainment promoted Ronnie Stanton to vp of audio from vp of programming … Bad Blocks Music hired senior director of A&R Autumn Ledgin and creative coordinator Elizabeth Cook. Ledgin arrives from Good Company Entertainment. Cook joins following internships at Creative Nation and King Pen Music … Sarah Bennett joined The GreenRoom PR as senior publicist following a run in the same role at IVPR.

18 Aug 2023

Jerry Moss Fiercely Opposed CDs — But Then They Made Him (and A&M) Super Rich

Jerry Moss once spent a day in Athens, Greece, screaming at the heads of the world’s top electronics companies during a Billboard music-industry convention. It was 1981. Sony’s Norio Ohga and Philips’ Jan Timmer were trying to persuade record executives to switch from their beloved LP to this new, high-tech “compact disc,” and Moss, co-founder of storied indie A&M Records, which would break Janet Jackson, Sting, Soundgarden and Blues Traveler, led the opposition. 

Moss, who died Thursday at 88, believed CDs “would kill the industry because the perfect digital master would invite and facilitate piracy,” according to John Nathan‘s 1999 book, Sony.

As I was researching this subject for my own book, Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age, I had to verify this claim. Nathan described a mob of outraged record execs chanting, like soccer hooligans, a “slogan that sounded like a Madison Avenue nightmare”: “The truth is in the grooves!”

This was the generous and magnanimous sales expert who was endlessly patient with his artists, willing to lose money on an album to advance a long-term career, whom Sting would describe as an “elder brother, a wise head, a man’s man and a mensch”?

I was sure Moss would be too embarrassed to rehash this history, because, eventually, the CD helped him and his partner, trumpeter Herb Alpert, become super rich, selling A&M to PolyGram for $500 million in 1989. (That’s $1.23 billion in today’s dollars.) But the exec who co-founded A&M with Alpert in a garage in 1962, after selling the master for Alpert’s Tijuana Brass instrumental “Tell It to the Birds” for $750, quickly agreed to a phone interview – and a wonkier follow-up later.

“I made a bit of a small statement at the meeting,” understated Moss, who at the time of our interview was running his post-A&M label, Almo Sounds, which had signed Gillian Welch as well as Garbage and Imogen Heap. “I liked the hardware and the whole ease of the CD, and I generally applauded the idea that Sony and Philips were getting together on this one piece of machinery.

“But,” he added, “I thought they could have done something to stop piracy.”

On Second Thought…

What finally turned Moss around was the economics of the CD. The price of vinyl records was stuck at $8.98 — and after Tom Petty threatened to affix a huge “$8.98!” sticker on his 1981 album, Hard Promises, his own label, MCA, and the rest of the industry were blocked from raising prices. The CD allowed A&M to “charge a multiple for this thing,” Moss said. Also, retail stores were charging labels for advertising — a “mighty blow,” Moss called it. After disco crashed in 1979, LP sales plunged. “Retailing and selling became very pinched,” he added.

“The retailers wanted more and artists and producers wanted more for what they were doing. The record companies were getting squeezed further and further,” Moss went on. “And here comes the CD.”

 The shiny, futuristic format was in high demand, and retailers were willing to buy it from labels for $10 wholesale, far higher than the LP, then sell it to customers for $16.

“So A&M, after just a tiny bit of study, decided this was going to be our future,” Moss said.

Like the bigger labels, A&M had to find plants to manufacture the CD, quickly making a deal with a German company. And the CD, to which Moss had been so screamingly opposed in 1981, made A&M profitable beyond anything Alpert and Moss had once imagined: “The company was a different company from 1979 to 1989, certainly.” 

A Bittersweet Sale

Alongside Alpert and the late Gil Friesen, then the day-to-day operations exec who referred to himself as the ampersand in A&M, Moss decided they had no choice but to sell the company they loved. Music stars in the late ’80s and early ’90s were demanding multimillion-dollar advances, and, as an indie, A&M couldn’t compete with bigger labels for the up-front guarantees. The trio stayed on for a couple of years after the sale, but PolyGram had a mandatory retirement age of 61. In 1991, Moss found himself with a new boss, Alain Levy, who became PolyGram’s worldwide president and CEO, and, Moss recalled, “wasn’t laughing at my jokes.”

(In 1998, PolyGram was sold to Seagram, which merged it with Universal Music Group, today the world’s biggest label.)

“I don’t regret selling, because I felt we had nothing but to do that. There was no alternative. We would have had to have gotten a lot smaller, and gotten our investment in different, other ways,” Moss told me. “I can’t say I’m sorry I sold A&M. I will say I’m sorry I had to leave.”