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12 Jul 2023

Manuel Turizo Scores Career-High Debut on Latin Pop Airplay Thanks to ‘Copa Vacía’ With Shakira

Manuel Turizo rewrites his career-best debut on Billboard’s Latin Pop Airplay chart as “Copa Vacía,” his collaboration with Shakira, bows at No. 4 on the chart dated July 15, his first top 10 launch, among 12 top 10s.

According to Luminate, “Copa Vacía” traces its start in the upper region on Latin Pop Airplay to 4 million in audience impressions earned in the U.S. during the June 30-July 6 tracking week.

With the new top 10 entry, Shakira collects her 42nd top 10, dating back to the four-week champ “Estoy Aquí” in 1996. She ties with Ricky Martin for the second-most top 10s among all acts, both with 42, just behind Enrique Iglesias who leads with 45. Here’s the scoreboard:

45, Enrique Iglesias
42, Ricky Martin
42, Shakira
33, J Balvin
31, Daddy Yankee
30, Chayanne
30, Cristian Castro

For Shakira, “Copa Vacía” starts at an equal No. 6 as her predecessor, “Acróstico” which rose to No. 2 in its seventh week (dated July 8).

Back to Turizo, as mentioned, “Copa Vacía” becomes the Colombian’s best debut to date, after 25 chart visits. Previously, his best start was his last entry, “Vagabundo,” with Sebastián Yatra and Beéle, at No. 12 in June; the song later peaked at No. 6 (July 8-dated ranking).

12 Jul 2023

Local News Anchor Re-Enacts Beyonce’s ‘America Has a Problem’ to Welcome Renaissance Tour to Philly

According to Beyoncé, “America Has a Problem” — but Philadelphia’s Fox 29 news host Alex Holley is unbothered.

Leading up to the arrival of Bey’s Renaissance Tour in Philly on Wednesday night (July 12), the Good Day Philly co-host got dressed in a costume that mirrors Bey’s own when she performs “America Has a Problem” in order to pay homage to the singer and celebrate the highly anticipated tour touching down Stateside at last.

The funny video kicks off with Holley — wearing a black and gold sequined dress and dark cat-eye sunglasses to evoke Beyoncé’s Mugler bee outfit — behind the news desk, mimicking the instrumental’s introductory dance moves. With the help of a crew member, a fan blows air through her honey-colored locks as she looks in the camera and says, “We got a problem in the studio, because Philly! Are you ready for Beyoncé? I know I am!”

Fellow hosts on Good Day Philly join in on the shenanigans, dressed in all black as Holley’s backup dancers. “Heard you got that D for me/ Pray your love is deep for me/ I’mma make you go weak for me/ Make you wait a whole week for me,” Holley lip-syncs in the video. “Had to make sure Philly was ready to kick off #RENAISSANCEWORLDTOUR on the news!!!!!” she captioned the post.

Fans in the comments section flocked to tell the host she nailed it. One user wrote, “It took me far too long to figure out you weren’t Beyoncé!” while another added, “Lol we found the perfect opening act to Beyoncé.”

Bey’s tour stop in Philadelphia marks her first in the United States since the Renaissance World Tour kicked off; the performer will continue throughout the U.S. until her final Sept. 27 gig at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Watch Holley’s video below.

12 Jul 2023

Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma’s ‘La Bebe’ Tops Latin Airplay Chart

Yng Lvcas picks up his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “La Bebe,” with Peso Pluma, ascends 2-1 to lead the list dated July 15. The collab checks into the penthouse on the overall Latin chart in its fourth week at No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay.

“La Bebe” takes over Latin Airplay with 10 million audience impressions, up 1% from the week prior, earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 6, according to Luminate.

The song replaces Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “X100to” from its six-week domination, dipping 2-1 with a 14% decline in impressions, to 9.3 million.

“La Bebe” grants Lvcas his first Latin Airplay champ, who joins four other acts who have also taken over the tally in 2023 with their first leaders: Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera through “Bebe Dame” (one week, March 25), Marshmello with the Manuel Turizo-assisted “El Merengue” (one week, June 10), and his contemporary Peso Pluma, as “Ella Baila Sola,” with Eslabon Armado, placed the Mexican at the lead for one week (June 17). Thus, the latter collects his second ruler.

Further, “La Bebe” is the only collaborative charting effort by Lvcas on any Billboard chart. He captured his maiden entry on any Billboard tally when the original version of the song, sans Pluma, debuted on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 152, reaching a No. 2 high in April, after the remix with Pluma dropped.

Since then, the successful partnership has experienced a rewarding performance across charts. Here’s the recap:

Peak Position, Chart, Peak Date

No. 2, Latin Streaming Songs, April 8
No. 2, Hot Latin Songs, April 15
No. 1, Latin Digital Song Sales, April 15
No. 2, Global Excl. U.S, April 22
No. 5, Streaming Songs, April 29
No. 2, Global 22, June 10
No. 1, Latin Rhythm Airplay, June 24 (four weeks atop)
No. 1, Latin Airplay, July 15

Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “La Bebe” holds steady at its No. 2 high for a seventh week on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, despite a 5% decline in streaming activity: it logged 13.2 million clicks in the U.S. during the same period. Plus, it also sees a fall in sales: 12% from the previous week to 1,000 downloads.

12 Jul 2023

Disclosure to Release New Album This Week

Disclosure is coming back in a big way.

On Wednesday (July 12), the Lawrence brothers announced a new album, Alchemy, will be out this Friday.

The 11-track LP is their first since 2020’s Energy, and their first to drop since the pair left Capitol Records. Alchemy will be out via the brothers’ own Apollo Recordings, in partnership with AWAL, the independent distribution and label division of Kobalt Music Group.

“This record is a celebration of us feeling liberated right now,” Guy Lawrence says in a press release. “We’re no longer signed to a major record label. We’re not going to tour this record. We can do whatever we like and be super creative.” 

A statement about the album also reveals that “Alchemy was written while the British duo were at two very different points in their lives. On one hand, Guy was recently married and settling into a new home in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. On the other, Howard was reeling from heartbreak and exhausted from a 150-date tour.”

“There was this combination of deep heartbreak and sadness, but also deep admiration and appreciation,” Howard Lawrence says of this period. “Let’s turn this horrible feeling into something beautiful. The whole idea was to channel pain into beauty—which, in hindsight, is always the aim.”

Alchemy will not incorporate any features or samples, instead promising a “back to basics” approach and production melding jungle, breaks, “trance-like supersaw synth riffs” and club tracks” See the album’s cover art below.

In tandem with the LP’s release, Disclosure will host a pair of release parties in London on Thursday and Friday.

This announcement comes on the heels of the 10-year anniversary of Disclosure’s landmark debut album, Settle, released in June 2013 and voted the No. 1 EDM album of the decade by Billboard. The LP was commemorated with a deluxe anniversary edition due in August.

12 Jul 2023

Jelly Roll Scores First Hot Rock & Alternative Songs No. 1 With ‘Need a Favor’

Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” spends its first week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts, rising 2-1 on both July 15-dated tallies.

The track earned 32.4 million airplay audience impressions and 11.5 million official U.S. streams and sold 5,000 downloads June 30-July 6, according to Luminate.

The singer-songwriter earns his first No. 1 on each chart. He first appeared with “Son of a Sinner,” which hit No. 3 on Hot Rock Songs and No. 4 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs in September 2022.

“Need a Favor” also rises to No. 3 on Hot Country Songs. It’s his highest-charting song on the survey, having surpassed the No. 8 peak of “Son of a Sinner.”

Concurrently, as previously reported, “Need a Favor” crowns Mainstream Rock Airplay, becoming Jelly Roll’s second ruler on the ranking, after “Dead Man Walking” in May 2022. He is the first soloist to send two initial entries to No. 1 in the chart’s four-decade history.

In June, “Need a Favor” made crossover history, becoming the first song to have reached the top 10 of both Mainstream Rock Airplay and Country Airplay; it rises 7-6 on the latter list. (“Son of a Sinner” hit No. 1 on Country Airplay for a week in January 2023.)

“Need a Favor” is the lead single from Whitsitt Chapel, Jelly Roll’s seventh studio album. Released June 2, the set debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated June 17 and has earned 288,000 equivalent album units to date.

12 Jul 2023

‘Ghosts’ Stars Devan Chandler Long, Rose McIver & More Share Their Favorite Songs to Sing in the Car

Shut up and … sing? The lovable paranormal beings and the “livings” of CBS’ Ghosts may not be trapped in a car like Sasappis’ ex-girlfriend Jessica, nor have they belted out Rihanna’s 2007 hit “Shut Up and Drive” on the sitcom, but they — or at least, the actors portraying them — did leave Woodstone Manor to take part in Carpool Karaoke: The Series.

In a new episode of the Apple TV+ series born from James Corden’s viral segment from The Late Late Show, the sitcom’s stars Devon Chandler Long (who plays Thorfinn), Rose McIver (Samantha), Utkarsh Ambudkar (Jay), Rebecca Wisocky (Hetty) and Román Zaragoza (Sasappis) not only argue about the best of the dead, but also show off Ambudkar’s freestyling skills. And of course, they sing.

Among the hits the cast took on while cruising around in a black SUV were a trio of Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s: Tiffany’s 1987 teen-pop anthem “I Think We’re Alone Now,” Silk Sonic’s sensual 2021 slow jam “Leave the Door Open” and Meat Loaf’s classic 1993 power ballad “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” But perhaps most fittingly, the castmates tried their vocals with Harry Belafonte’s “Jump in the Line,” which was featured in Beetlejuice, the 1988 film starring Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis and Catherine O’Hara about a family of “livings” who move into a home occupied by … yup, ghosts — just like the CBS sitcom that would come more than 30 years later.

While the Ghosts stars belted out some hits together for five-time Emmy-winner Carpool Karaoke: The Series, the songs they prefer to sing while driving around on their own are more varied, ranging from shoegaze to the Disneyverse to swing and beyond. Read on to see which tunes Long, McIver, Ambudkar, Wisocky and Zaragoza told Billboard they love singing at the top of their lungs while behind the wheel.

And until Ghosts returns with new episodes, revisit the sitcom on Paramount+, and check out all seasons of Carpool Karaoke: The Series on Apple TV+.

12 Jul 2023

Backstreet Boys Are Loving Coldplay’s ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ Cover

Coldplay got everybody to rock their bodies during a recent Music of the Spheres tour stop, where the band performed a cover Backstreet Boys’ 1997 classic, “Everybody (Backstreet’s’ Back).”

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The boy band took to Instagram on Wednesday (July 12) to share excitement over Coldplay’s cover, posting a clip from the performance, in which frontman Chris Martin is seen singing the hook with the whole audience singing along with him.

“Buzzing from @coldplay’s cover of Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)! Truly an honor,” the Backstreet Boys captioned the post, which you can see here.

Coldplay continues to take its Music of the Spheres tour across the world through the end of this year, as they added a series of new North American dates for the fall, slated to kick off at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Sept. 20 and wind down on Oct. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. 

Back in January, the group revealed in an interview with Toronto’s City News that they’re nearing completion of the follow-up to their 2021 album, Music of the Spheres. “We’re finishing an album called Moon Music,” Martin told the outlet, “which is the second Music Of The Spheres volume, but that won’t come out for a little bit.”

12 Jul 2023

‘The Bear’ Season 2: The Hardest (And Easiest) Songs to Clear, From Taylor Swift to AC/DC

Just before the restaurant opens in Season 2 of FX’s hit show The Bear, chef de cuisine Sydney Adamu releases nine episodes of built-up tension by declaring, “Let it rip!” – and AC/DC‘s “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” explodes into the foreground. For executive producer Josh Senior, securing the song promised some metaphorical bloodshed of its own — but the process turned out to be far easier than expected.

“Everybody I’ve ever talked to about licensing music always told me AC/DC was hard to get, hard to pay for, hard to contact, hard to deal with. And we knew we wanted that song,” he says. “They ended up being amazing and awesome. But the hype was intimidating.”

The Bear is known for its musical needle drops. Rather than relying on music composed for the series, the show uses mostly familiar rock and pop songs to illustrate characters, moods and relationships. That gives it a sort of instant familiarity — but also makes the music-licensing process more complicated. Senior says most of the memorable tracks used on Season 2, such as R.E.M.‘s “Strange Currencies,” Lindsey Buckingham‘s “Holiday Road” and Liz Phair‘s “Supernova,” were easy to clear. But Senior, creator-executive producer Christopher Storer and producer Tyson Bidner, who do not maintain a separate budget for licensing songs (as is the case with most shows), had to “press every penny into place,” especially in the frantic last few weeks of production, he says.

In the end, they were able to license every song they wanted, from the season-opening Bruce Hornsby & The Range track “The Show Goes On” to Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” — with one crucial exception, as Senior says, in a phone interview from New Jersey that covers some of the songs used in Season 2. 

What was the most difficult song to clear?

An example I haven’t spoken about is the BoDeans song “Still the Night” — not a typical Christmas song. We thought it fit really well for the story we were trying to develop. It turns out that “Still the Night” has quite a few writers on it. I couldn’t find [drummer and co-writer] Guy Hoffman to save my life. We took time to do that, though. If you have a year, you probably can do anything; you have six months, you can probably do most things. Our entire show life-cycle is about three and a half months, from the first day of prep to the thing going on TV. Maybe four. So everything’s an emergency. You get a countdown clock in the back of your head. The theme of the show really does come through to the way the show’s made. That was one that came down to the wire, but we ended up working it out.

For the “Fishes” episode, you used 17 songs, many of them holiday-related. Did you avoid the Christmas classics and use lesser-known tracks for creative reasons, or to save money, or both? 

That episode was one of the last episodes for us to lock and finish. Working with our producer Tyson Bidner to press every penny into place was a big part of those last few weeks. We preemptively made three swaps in [that] episode to songs we didn’t think were possible, but either we had already licensed from that record label, or we had worked with that artist and we felt they were more attainable. We were able to get everything we wanted.

Did it help with Season 2 permissions that the show was already established and had a widely viewed first season?

There’s an argument you can make now. For Season 1, we were able to look at the data carefully and closely and see the lift in artists whose music we licensed and their numbers, streams, record sales, ticket sales. A lot of them saw significant growth. This time around, we were able to not just beg and plead but use metrics and data: “Hey, look, there’s a 300% lift on ‘Strange Currencies’ after we put it in the trailer for the show. This is the type of thing we could do if you work with us.” 

You used multiple versions of “Strange Currencies” prominently throughout the season. What were the R.E.M. people like to work with?

We had worked with R.E.M. in Season 1. We got to meet them through their management and we were able to point to things that worked out well in the past in terms of numbers. They liked what we did. We viewed “Strange Currencies” like a theme for the entire season, and each of our characters are dealing with loss of love or the acceptance of love, particularly in the Carmy and Claire storyline. We think it represents something potentially beautiful and hopeful and mellow. When we contrast that with Christmas dinner at the Berzattos [in a stormy episode six], it’s clear that Carmy isn’t ready for that yet. The R.E.M. team was kind enough to allow us to use the original, the incredible Scott Litt remix and an unreleased demo.

Was Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” difficult to license, for the scene of Richie triumphantly singing the song in the car?

No. A lot of people ask that question and I wonder why they’re asking. Her team was like, “Great. This is cool. How much money do you have? You have that much money? Let’s go.” She was exceedingly generous and cool with one of our actors singing along to the song. Those are things that sometimes people just say no to, and that was probably one of the easiest songs to clear.

Any songs you wanted but weren’t able to get?

I don’t want to answer that question right now, because I think I’m going to get those songs next season. I’m sorry!

What about other stories you can share about journeying through the music business to use a song?

In the third episode, there’s a Stevie Wonder demo that we were chasing for a while that we feel like we got close to, but we weren’t able to fully paper. We had conceived a scene around that song. That episode has two big montages in it. One was originally set to a Stevie Wonder song that was perfect, that Ayo [Edebiri, who plays Sydney] had picked. It’s her episode, we felt really strongly about honoring her wishes to include that music — and we weren’t able to get it. We ended up rejiggering a few things and restructuring the episode ever so slightly and pulling two different songs in — “Future Perfect” from The Durutti Column and “Make You Happy” by Tommy McGee. It ended up working really well.

Why couldn’t you get the Wonder song? And can you name it?

I won’t name the song, but there were just some ambiguous rights about the master side. It was a demo that wasn’t released on much — just a B-side of a record. 

Do you ever use covers if you can’t get the rights to an original?

We just try and pick the music that we like. You’ll see a lot of live versions — a live Otis Redding song, a live Wilco song, a live Neil Finn song, a live Van Morrison song. You’ll find obscure tracks from Italian artists in the sixth episode.

It can’t hurt that those live versions are cheaper to license than the versions we all know, right?

One hundred percent. And they are different enough for you to think about them a little. There’s the music you hear in Walgreens and CVS. While we were making the show, I heard “Love Story” by Taylor Swift everywhere I went. It was following me around. But her version, I wasn’t hearing everywhere. Being able to use that was just such a nice little nuance.

12 Jul 2023

Cry Me A River: Britney Spears Is Still BIG MAD At Victor Wembanyama’s Security Detail & Wants A Public Apology

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Britney Spears Wants A Public Apology From Victor Wembanyama

Source: Variety / Getty / Britney Spears

San Antonio Spurs rookie big man Victor Wembanyama should be worried about getting ready for the upcoming NBA season. Instead, he’s got the legendary pop star Britney Spears is still upset following an encounter in Las Vegas.

Spotted on TMZ Sports, the Instagram dancing pop star is still BIG MAD following an “altercation” with NBA rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama’s security detail in Las Vegas.

According to the celebrity gossip site, after hearing a radio personality say she deserved to be hit in the face after running up behind an unsuspecting Wembanyama and trying to touch him only to be stopped by his security details, Spears is demanding a public apology from the rookie.

In a post shared on her IG account, Spears said:

“I’ve been with the most famous people in the world — *NSYNC at one time,” she said. “Girls would like literally throw themselves at them. On my way into the place, actually, I was knocked down by like three 12-year-olds trying to get my picture. My security not one time touched them or even came near them.”

“Point being,” she continued, “I didn’t appreciate the people saying that I deserved to be hit, because no woman ever deserves to be hit.”

Somebody Is Lying

Spears also revisited the incident and claimed she got hit so hard that she fell on the floor, and her friend picked her up. In footage obtained by TMZ Sports, we see a completely different story, so somebody is lying, and it’s not Wembanyama.

In the footage shared by TMZ Sports, Spears never hit the floor, but her glasses did. She also adds Wembanyama’s security later apologized to her while she dined at Catch Restaurant, but she has yet to get an apology from the Spurs or their future superstar.

Following a lengthy note she shared on Instagram where she claimed she only ran up to “congratulate him on his success,” this latest news is her second time speaking on the “altercation.”

We will see if Britney Spears gets that apology she wants, but we feel she really doesn’t deserve it because Wembanyama or the Spurs did nothing to her.

—

Photo: Variety / Getty

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12 Jul 2023

Hipgnosis Sees Flurry of Senior Executive, Staff Departures

A flurry of senior executives and staff members have left posts at Hipgnosis Song Management in recent months, as the company credited with popularizing songs as an asset class explored selling assets to shore up investor confidence ahead of a key vote this fall.

Since March, employees including Hipgnosis’ chief music officer Ted Cockle, along with the global heads of sync operations and song management and an executive vp of digital and innovation, have announced plans to leave the company, according to posts employees shared on LinkedIn and a statement from Hipgnosis.

The staff turnover comes as sources say the roughly 5-year-old Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. has been shopping a package of assets that it apparently hopes to sell before its first continuation vote, where investors will be asked to decide whether the publicly traded trust should continue to operate under the management of founder Merck Mercuriadis or liquidate all assets.

SONG, the fund’s ticker on the London Stock Exchange, is down about 14% year to date and down 28% since it went public in July 2018. The stock was worth 0.75 British pounds ($0.97) on Wednesday (July 12).

At that price, SONG is worth less than half of its $2.2 billion operative net asset value, a discount that sources say has prompted Mercuriadis to explore selling some of the fund’s non-core assets.

For months, analysts at Jefferies and other investment banks have called on Hipgnosis to sell some of the fund’s non-core songs to raise cash to shore up the share price. The Financial Times reported Wednesday (Juy 12) that some Hipgnosis Songs Fund investors also want the fund to sell non-core assets to generate cash for buying back stock.

In addition to providing the fund’s managers with an arbitrage opportunity to boost the stock price, it could leave the company with enough extra cash to issue shareholders a special dividend — a sweetener issued ahead of the fund’s continuation vote at its next annual meeting in September.

If investors vote not to continue with the fund and to liquidate its assets, Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis Song Management — which is majority owned by private equity firm Blackstone — would likely have the right to bid on the assets in the fund; or if it goes up for auction, Mercuriadis, with Blackstone, likely has matching rights. Sources speculate that Mercuriadis and Blackstone would want to buy back the portfolio’s most iconic music assets, minus the non-core assets — the package of assets that has been selectively shopped around and which sources say includes copyrights from The-Dream and The Outfield — for their private, Blackstone-backed fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund will report results for the year ending March 31 on Thursday. In December, the company reported a 7.5% rise in revenues amid a “challenging environment” that “fundamentally undervalues the company,” founder Mercuriadis said during a shareholder meeting discussing the results.

On Wednesday, Hipgnosis announced Cockle, its chief music officer will be leaving the company. A former Universal Music Group executive known for nurturing the careers of Scottish superstar Lewis Capaldi, Bastille, Emeli Sandé and others, Cockle joined Hipgnosis Songs in 2020 as president.

“Given our decision to focus our marketing in the US, Ted Cockle, our Chief Music Officer, will not be moving long term with the Company,” Mercuriadis said in a press release. “He’ll work on the transition to America over the coming weeks. I would like to thank Ted for all he has done for Hipgnosis and I hope there will be opportunities for Ted and Hipgnosis to work together again in the future.”

Last week, Tom Stingemore, Hipgnosis Song Management’s global president of sync & creative, wrote on LinkedIn he was leaving the company after joining in 2021 to build its sync and creative operation. Hipgnosis’ synch team has played a key role in getting the songs that it acquires to generate more money than the often-high price Hipgnosis paid for them, and the team has been successful. In December, Hipgnosis Songs Fund reported sync revenues for the first half of the company’s reporting year rose 32% to 9.78 million compared to $7.41 million a year ago.

“As the division is now fully up & running, my mission is complete,” Stingemore wrote, adding that he may “go & do it all over again” as he works to “plot my next adventure.”

Cockle and Stingemore’s departures follows several other senior staff members. In late May, Nick Jarjour announced on LinkedIn he had left his role as global head of song management at Hipgnosis Songs Fund (a source who declined to speak on the record says his departure occurred six months ago); and in March, Tony Barnes’ announced he would be leaving his role as executive vp of digital & innovation at Hipgnosis Songs Fund in the coming months to lead the metaverse gaming company he co-founded, Karta. Barnes is currently still employed by Hipgnosis.

Stingemore, Jarjour and Barnes did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Hipgnosis continues to hire, announcing two new hires in Hipgnosis Song Management, a separate company from the publicly traded fund, on Wednesday.

Danny Bennett, son of iconic singer Tony Bennett, joined as executive vp leading global marketing and audience development. Bennett joined Hipgnosis from the Verve Label Group, a Universal Music Group company, where he was chief executive officer.

Sara Lord was hired as executive vp content creation from Concord Music, and Patrick Joest, who joined Hipgnosis in 2021, was promoted to the role of head of synchronisation.

In the press release announcing the hires, Mercuriadis said Hipgnosis has continuously invested in new hires and upgrading systems over the past 18 months.

“These appointments demonstrate our commitment to investing in our capabilities and team in order to grow the value of our catalogues, and, most importantly, bring our songs to new audiences around the world,” Mercuriadis said.

Continuation Vote

At Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s annual meeting in September, Mercuriadis’s young company will face one of its biggest tests yet.

In the United Kingdom, publicly traded trusts are required to hold regular continuation votes, where shareholders vote on whether an investment trust should continue in its current form. At this continuation vote, shareholders can choose to stay the course, change managers or liquidate the fund.

Analysts at the investment bank Jefferies issuesd a buy rating on SONG last month, upgrading from their previous “hold” rating, because they said they believe Hipgnosis may sell some non-core assets from its catalog, which would provide a catalyst to narrow its current discount to net asset value ahead of the vote.

However, the continuation vote comes at an inopportune time, only a couple months after Hipgnosis Song Management and Mercuriadis were publicly rebuked by Rod Stewart, who said he called off a deal to sell some his music assets to the company. 

In an unusual move, Stewart issued a statement that said, “It’s become abundantly clear after much time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my song catalog, career or legacy.”

Additional reporting by Ed Christman