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27 Oct 2022

Kanye West Claims He Lost $2 Billion in Just One Day In Wake of Antisemitic Remarks

Kanye West has put a hard, shocking number on the gargantuan financial free-fall caused by his recent spate of antisemitic remarks. In an Instagram post on Thursday morning (Oct 27) addressed to Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel — who last week urged companies to stop working with West — the rapper who now goes by Ye wrote, “Ari Emanuel. I lost 2 billion dollars in one day. And I’m still alive. This is love speech. I still love you. God still loves you. The money is not who I am. The people is who I am.”

At press time Billboard was unable to confirm the figures cited by West, who over the past week has been dropped by his reps at CAA, lost partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga, had his Essentials playlist pulled from Apple Music, his products taken off shelves at TJ Maxx and was cut off by Foot Locker. The end of the Adidas deal will reportedly result in a $246 million loss for the company this year and is believed to be the linchpin in Ye’s loss of billionaire status.

The athletic company had stated earlier this month that its collaboration with Ye was “under review” after he claimed on a now-removed episode of the Drink Champs podcast that “the thing about it being Adidas is, like, I can literally say antisemitic s–t and they can’t drop me … I can antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?” Then, after several weeks of interviews in which Ye repeatedly made derogatory comments about the Jewish people — after also raising ire over the “White Lives Matter” shirts he unveiled at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month — the team at Adidas said they had had enough.

In further blows to the once-esteemed rapper’s crumbling public image, he was unceremoniously escorted out of the Skechers office on Tuesday (Oct. 26) after showing up “uninvited,” even as his wax figure was removed from Madame Tussauds London and his Donda Academy basketball team was bounced from a tournament over his hate speech. In addition, two of the prominent athletes signed to his Donda Sports marketing firm severed ties citing their objection to West’s repeated amplification of anti-Jewish tropes. At press time Billboard was not able to reach a spokesperson for West for comment on his Instagram post.

West’s fall from grace has been accompanied by condemnation from nearly every corner of his once-formidable music and fashion empire, with longtime label Universal Music and publisher Sony also denouncing his hate speech and his longtime engineer Andrew Dawson vowing to donate his royalties to Jewish organizations.

West appeared to mock his dire situation in an earlier post on Tuesday featuring a fake headline from a fictional news agency (whose offensive name Billboard will not publish) that read, “Ye has reportedly cut ties with Kanye West,” in which he seemed to mock his business empire’s meltdown alongside the comment “Had to cut ties bro.”

The swift reprisals have taken an ax to a war chest Ye once claimed was closer to $3.3 billion, but which Forbes now estimates is in the still-formidable $400 million range; the multi-year Adidas partnership alone was reportedly worth around $1.5 billion. The financial magazine said that what remains of West’s financial empire now consists of “real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims.”

See West’s Insta posts below.

27 Oct 2022

Alan Jackson to Receive 2022 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award

Singer-songwriter Alan Jackson will be celebrated during the upcoming CMA Awards, when he receives the 2022 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. The ceremony will air live on ABC on Nov. 9 from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

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Feting Jackson will be Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood, and Lainey Wilson, who will all take to the CMA Awards stage for an all-star tribute to the Country Music Hall of Famer.

The CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an artist who has reached the highest degree of recognition in country music, and recognizes an artist who has earned national and international prominence through concert performances, humanitarian efforts, philanthropy, streaming numbers, record sales and public representation, and has contributed to the growth of the country music genre throughout a number of years that have had unprecedented historical impact on fans and the industry.

Previous recipients of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award include Willie Nelson (2012), Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash (2015), Dolly Parton (2016), Kris Kristofferson (2019), Charley Pride (2020), and Loretta Lynn (2021). 

Jackson may be “a singer of simple songs,” as he croons in “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” but it is those songs, paired with his relatable, straightforward vocal, that have gained Jackson his status as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, among other accolades.

Since the release of his debut single, “Blue Blooded Woman” in 1989, Jackson has earned 26 Billboard No. 1 country songs (and 51 top 10 singles), with hits including “Midnight in Montgomery,” “Chattahoochee,” and “Livin’ on Love,” and was the sole songwriter behind many of his fan-favorite songs. Jackson has won the CMA’s entertainer of the year honor three times. Following the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson saw his song “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” become an anthem of hope and healing. The song earned Jackson his first Grammy Award (for best country song), and in November 2001, Georgia congressman Mac Collins read the song’s lyrics on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, securing it in the permanent Congressional Record.

He’s released more than 20 albums and collections during his career, and in 2014 was given the first ASCAP Heritage Award, which recognized him as the most-performed country music songwriter-artist of the last century. Jackson has sold nearly 60 million albums, and has won more than 150 awards during his career.

“We are thrilled to honor Alan Jackson this year with the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO “A three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, he is responsible for so many iconic moments in CMA Awards history. Just as Alan has been influenced by many Country legends throughout his career, he too has inspired a generation of artists to stay true to the authenticity of Country Music. We are so excited to bring Dierks, Jon, Carrie and Lainey together on the CMA Awards stage for what will surely be an incredible and touching tribute to an artist they each deeply admire. Having had the great fortune of working with Alan over the years, I am delighted we are honoring him with this milestone award next month.”

27 Oct 2022

Pandora’s ‘Cartel’ Claims Tossed Out By Judge In Comedy Copyright Fight

A federal judge has rejected one of Pandora’s key arguments in its legal battle with comedians, dismissing claims that a licensing group called Word Collections was operating as an illegal comedy “cartel.”

Months after a slew of comedians (including the estates of George Carlin and Robin Williams) sued Pandora to seek more royalties for spoken-word content, the streamer fired back in May with allegations that the comics had violated federal antitrust laws by doing so.

Pandora claimed that by teaming up with Word Collections to demand such royalties, the comedians were effectively trying to create a “monopolistic portfolio” of comedy rights, aimed at “dramatically increasing” the prices streamers must pay for comedy.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Mark C. Scarsi dismissed those claims. He said Pandora had not properly alleged that Word Collections and the comedians had conspired to fix prices, nor that they amounted to an illegal monopoly in the comedy world.

“Pandora’s description of Word Collections’ impressive but short list of comedians whose works it licenses does not suffice to demonstrate that Word Collections owns a dominant share of the comedy recording market in the United States,” the judge wrote.

The ruling is a blow for Pandora, though not a fatal one. The judge left open the possibility that the streamer could re-raise the issue, and the company can still pivot to other defenses, like the more fundamental argument that comics are simply not legally entitled to the added royalties they’re seeking.

A rep for Pandora declined comment.

Judge Scarsi’s decision came amid a long and tricky fight over how and when streamers like Pandora must pay for the comedy recordings that appear on their services – a more unsettled legal question than one might think.

Every piece of music is covered by two copyrights – one for the sound recording itself and another for the underlying work that’s been recorded. Streaming services like Pandora pay for both when it comes to songs, but for comedy records, they’ve typically only ever paid for the recordings.

Part of the problem is that there is no society like ASCAP or BMI to collect such royalties for spoken works. Over the past 18 months, two groups – Word Collections and Spoken Giants – have moved to fill that void and have begun asking streaming services to pay those fees for comedy; those efforts are what prompted Spotify to pull down some comedy content last fall.

And since February, a number of comedians have taken the issue to court, accusing Pandora of willfully refusing to pay for content: “Pandora did what most goliaths do: it decided it would infringe now to ensure it had this very valuable intellectual property on its platform to remain competitive, and deal with the consequences later. Later is now.”

Pandora has sharply refuted the allegations, arguing it has “always satisfied its copyright obligations” by paying “millions of dollars in license fees every year” for comedy recordings. It says that comedy records are less akin to music and more like movies, for which streamers like Netflix typically pay only a single, all-encompassing license, regardless of the various elements that are used in the film.

If Pandora’s antitrust counterclaims remain dismissed, those core arguments about copyrights and licenses could now take center stage in the case.

Richard Busch, a prominent music litigator who is representing the comedians, told Billboard on Thursday that he and his clients are “obviously very happy with the decision.”

“We always believed the antitrust counterclaim Pandora brought was ludicrous and a transparent attempt to intimidate these legendary comedians,” Busch said. “The court could not have been clearer in its ruling. We now hope to be able to focus on and litigate the serious copyright infringement claims that are at the heart of this litigation.”

27 Oct 2022

David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & More Set to Perform at 2022 MTV EMAs

Fans who tune into the 2022 MTV EMAs on Nov. 13 have an excellent chance of seeing David Guetta and Bebe Rexha perform their international hit “I’m Good (Blue),” which jumps from No. 16 to No. 14 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100. MTV has announced that both stars are set to perform on the show, along with Ava Max, Gorillaz, Lewis Capaldi and Muse.

The 2022 MTV EMAs, hosted by Rita Ora and Taika Waititi, are set to air live from the PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Five of these six acts are nominated for 2022 EMAs. Guetta is vying for best electronic and best collaboration with Rexha for “I’m Good (Blue).” Max is also up for best collaboration for “The Motto” with Tiësto.Gorillaz is nominated for best alternative. Muse is up for best rock.

Three of these acts have albums slated for release in the first half of 2023. Max’s sophomore album Diamonds & Dancefloors is due Jan. 27. Gorillaz’ eighth studio album Cracker Island is due Feb. 24. Capaldi’s sophomore album Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent is due May 19. “Forget Me,” the first single from Capaldi’s album, dips from No. 95 to No. 99 on this week’s Hot 100. But it may very well turn around. The Scottish artist topped that chart in November 2019 with “Someone You Loved” and climbed as high as No. 9 in September 2020 with “Before You Go.”

Muse’s ninth studio album, Will of the People, debuted and peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 in September. It was the band’s sixth consecutive album to reach the top 15.The album did even better on the Official U.K. Albums chart, where it became the band’s seventh album to reach No. 1.

Rexha hosted the 2016 EMAs in Rotterdam. Max took home best push artist at the 2019 show. Capaldi is making his EMAs debut.

Muse are Matt Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme. Gorillaz, created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, currently consists of singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and guitarist Noodle.

Additional performers and presenters will be announced at a later date. 

The 2022 MTV EMAs will broadcast live on MTV in more than 170 countries and on Pluto TV in select territories across the U.S., Latin America and Europe and Comedy Central in Germany on Nov. 13. The show will be available on Paramount+ and Pluto TV globally beginning Nov. 14.

Fans may vote for their favorites across 17 gender-neutral categories at www.mtvema.com until Nov. 9 at 11:59pm CET. There are two new categories this year, best longform video and best metaverse performance.

Bruce Gillmer and Richard Godfrey are executive producers of the 2022 MTV EMAs. Debbie Phillips and Chloe Mason are producers.  

27 Oct 2022

The Deals: WMG Partners With NFT Platform OpenSea; Audius Acquires SoundStage.fm

Warner Music Group (WMG) is collaborating with NFT marketplace OpenSea to enable select WMG artists to build and extend their fan communities in Web3. Under the partnership, WMG artists will be offered early access to OpenSea’s new drops product along with improved discoverability, personalized storytelling on customized landing pages and OpenSea’s safety and security features. They will also receive dedicated support and best practices from the OpenSea team while enjoying their own dedicated drop pages to host limited-edition projects. The first collection will be a collaboration between Warner Records UK and Web3 company Probably Nothing, which recently launched Probably a Label, a Web3 record label in partnership with Warner Records.

Audius, a decentralized music community and discovery platform for developers, artists and fans, acquired virtual music experience platform SoundStage.fm. Based in Barcelona, SoundStage.fm offers interactive experiences for fans — enabling engagement through dancing and live-reaction based functions — while providing new branding and monetization opportunities for artists. The platform has featured artists including Firebeatz, Kill Paris and ill.Gates.

Independent digital music licensing partners Merlin signed a new partnership with China-based short-form video platform Kuaishou. Under the agreement, Merlin members’ music will be available across Kuaishou products including Kwai and SnackVideo. Kuaishou boasts over 1 billion monthly active users across the globe, according to a press release.

Exceed Talent Capital, a platform that enables people to purchase SEC-compliant shares of talent, partnered with Lil Durk to offer an IPO for his upcoming OTF collaboration release of the song “Bedtime” with his artist Doodie Lo, allowing fans to participate in revenues of royalties from the song. To celebrate the partnership, Lil Durk and Exceed will release the “Trenches All-Access Pass” NFT, enabling exclusive access to the private Grand Theft Auto roleplay server built by Lil Durk and his OTF Gaming company. The Exceed presale will grant immediate lifetime access, limited edition in-game wearables and offer holders first dibs on shares from the music IPO.

Sony Music Entertainment Middle East and Kuwait-based creative studio, music and video production company Ghmza partnered to produce music and promote emerging Khaleeji pop artists across the Middle East. Actor and Arabic pop singer Bader Al Shuaibi and Kuwaiti singer, songwriter and TV personality Bashar al-Shatti will be the first two artists to work with Sony under the new partnership.

FaZe Holdings, parent company of gaming and youth culture platform FaZe Clan, will develop original content, private fan events, exclusive merchandise and more in partnership with Xfinity. Under the deal, Xfinity will become the official internet and mobile provider for FaZe Clan. The two companies will also host The Gig, a series of private music and gaming-crossover events for college students, featuring hip-hop artist and longtime FaZe Clan family member Offset. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to meet FaZe Clan members, learn about exclusive Xfinity offers for students and more. The first show will take place Nov. 3 at Boston’s MGM Ballroom, followed by a second at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on Nov. 10. The two companies will additionally produce an original series, Rig Raiders Brought to you by Xfinity, featuring FaZe Clan members and special guests delivering game set-ups for underserved creators and communities. Xfinity branding will also be integrated into FaZe Clan’s ongoing programming across all channels and content.

Community-driven, open-source artificial intelligence company Stability AI announced $101 million in funding. The round was led by Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners and O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC. The company will use the funding to accelerate the development of open AI models for image, language, audio, video, 3D and more, for consumer and enterprise use cases worldwide. Stability AI is the company behind Stable Diffusion, a free and open-source text-to-image generator that launched in August. Stability AI’s consumer-facing product DreamStudio boasts over 1 million registered users across more than 50 countries, according to a press release.

Sony Music struck a joint venture with Josh and Sam Fluxgold under the banner Oneway Records to sign and develop artists in Israel. The JV will focus on artists with international appeal. (Variety)

Dim Mak En Fuego — the Latin imprint of Steve Aoki‘s record label Dim Mak — has signed Ecuadorian-Colombian producer and DJ 2DEEP. The co-owner of reggaeton-electronic event Reggaetonlandia, 2DEEP most recently co-produced Natanael Cano and Aoki’s “Nataaoki,” which dropped earlier this year. He’s slated to release his freshman EP next year, his first project under Dim Mak En Fuego. 2DEEP is the first producer/DJ to join the label’s roster, which includes artists such as Andrezka and AquihayAquihay. – Griselda Flores

Melle Brown and ESSEL are among the first signees to Parachute, Virgin Music UK‘s new distribution and artist services arm for dance and electronic artists with crossover appeal. The imprint is inspired by the late ’70s sounds of Casablanca’s Parachute Records. The first unofficial single from Parachute was Brown’s “Feel About You” feat. Annie Mac. It was followed by ESSEL’s “Don’t Walk Away.”

Volumetric capture and immersive content company YOOM, formerly known as Tetavi, raised $15 million from investors including Jimmy Iovine, Finneas O’Connell, SpringHill Company CEO Maverick Carter, Darkroom CEO Justin Lubliner and Main Street Advisors founder, chairman and CEO Paul Wachter. All have signed on as strategic partners, joining the company’s largest existing investors and shareholders including Insight Partners, Marc Rowan and Aaron Stone.

Musician and Web3 artist Daniel Allan signed with CAA for representation. According to the agency, Allan’s NFT music projects have generated over $700,000 and more than 20 million streams worldwide. Like his sophomore EP Overstimulated, his latest EP Glass House was released with the use of NFTs on Sept. 30.

Session and Songwriters of North America (SONA) partnered to make Session’s app, Session Studio, available to all SONA members. Session Stuio allows SONA members to capture song and recording data at the point of creation and deliver it downstream to managers, labels, publishers, CMOs and digital service providers. Members will also have access to Session Studio’s collaboration tools. Exclusive resources will be rolled out to SONA members as part of the collaboration.

American Idol runner-up HunterGirl signed with 19 Recordings/BMG. The singer-songwriter released her debut track on the label, “Hometown Out of Me,” on Friday (Oct. 21).

Oak View Group (OVG) signed an exclusive multi-year arena naming rights agreement with Baltimore-based CFG Bank. Under the deal, OVG’s forthcoming arena in the city will be renamed CFG Bank Arena. The venue is projected to open in February 2023. The agreement includes prominent exterior and interior signage, exclusive benefits to CFG Bank clients, cardholders and employees and the launch of a new community engagement program. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Hives signed with Matt Greer at ATC Management. Greer will co-manage the Swedish five-piece rock band alongside Brian Message and Courtyard Management’s Chris Hufford. The band was previously managed by Cyndy Villano at Do Good Work Management.

Production music company KPM Music launched a Web3 community that will offer music creators the opportunity to purchase digital collectibles entitled KPM Music Genesis Collection, including music from KPM’s “Greensleeves” series. The collectibles will be available exclusively on TuneGO, a Web3 platform operating on the Flow blockchain.

Indie singer VÉRITÉ partnered with Troy Carter and Suzy Ryoo‘s Venice Music. Venice offers tools, services and support on part with major labels while allowing artists to retain ownership and creative autonomy over their work.

J-Pop star Ado signed with Geffen Records. Ado — the voice actor behind the lead character in One Piece Film Red, the 15th film in the blockbuster Japanese franchise — provided vocals for seven songs featured in the film and on its official soundtrack.

Vietnamese/Chinese-American artist Spence Lee, formerly known as Shotta Spence, signed with 88rising in partnership with Mike WiLL Made-It/Ear Drummers Records. He will release his latest single, “On God,” on Friday (Oct. 28).

Turkish rapper and DJ Lil Key signed with Atlantic Records Germany, marking the first time the label has signed an artist from outside Germany.

CD Baby signed an agreement with fan engagement platform Laylo to offer CD Baby users an exclusive discount on Laylo’s Pro tier. Laylo allows artists to notify their fans about new music releases, content, merch and event announcements via text, email and Facebook Messenger.

Nettwerk Records signed Massachusetts-based lo-fi artist and music producer Towerz and Mississippi-based rapper/singer/producer Laeland.

27 Oct 2022

No, Jack Harlow Is Not a ‘Sexy Yeti’ in ‘SNL’ Promo, That’s Just His Actual Coat

Jack Harlow is pumped and totally ready to pull double-duty as host/musical guest on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live. In the promo for the show Harlow runs into SNL long-hauler Kenan Thompson and new guy Marcello Hernández who seem kind of confused about the “First Class” rapper’s sartorial style.

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In the bit, Harlow is waiting by an elevator while dressed in a full length white shearling coat when Thompson and Hernández excitedly roll up. “I’m so hyped to host this week,” Harlow says as Thompson assures him that he’s gonna kill it. “Looks like you’re already in the Halloween spirit,” Kenan says while pointing to the jacket and Jack’s all-white outfit for the 2022 Halloween edition of SNL. “Yeah, bro, costume goes crazy,” Marcello laughs.

The two then begin a riff-off guessing what Harlow is dressed as, tossing out a variety of options, from a box of Kleenex to a cotton ball, “the whole White Lotus,” sanitary napkin, pimp on a cruise ship and sexy yeti. Harlow thinks a second on that last one, but says the answer is still no, it’s none of those things.

The hits keep coming, though, including MC Teddy Roosevelt, Fluff Daddy, Almost Historically Accurate Jesus and, sigh, Macklemore. “Guys, this is just my outfit!” Harlow assures them before getting into the elevator and whispering the real inspiration behind the ‘fit.

Harlow follows fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion, who also recently pulled double duty as host and musical guest; while it’s his first hosting run, Harlow performed on SNL last year and appeared in a bit about NFTs that parodied Eminem’s “Without Me.” And, earlier this month, Jack got some late-night television practice time in with Jimmy Fallon when he co-hosted The Tonight Show.

Check out Harlow’s SNL promo below.

27 Oct 2022

Ryan Coogler, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Cast on Landing Rihanna, Honoring Chadwick Boseman

Four long years after the culture-shifting debut of Black Panther, its sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, took over Hollywood on Wednesday night (Oct. 26) for its world premiere. There was one major piece missing, though, in Chadwick Boseman’s absence, as the cast and crew talked about moving forward without him.

Ryan Coogler, who returned to co-write and direct the sequel, rewrote his original premise following Boseman’s death in August 2020, noting that “the best way I got through was leaning on my collaborators.”

“Chadwick had people who were in his life creatively, as well as family, and we were in close contact with those people, very close specifically with his wife, Simone, and his creative partner Logan Coles,” Coogler — who wore a gold chain featuring Boseman’s image on the carpet — told The Hollywood Reporter of consulting the late star’s loved ones during that rewrite. “We were staying tapped in with them as much as we could, and it gave us the space to create, but obviously we were seeking out their opinion all the time. We’re looking forward to sharing it with everybody.”

The cast also came together to support each other on set, as star Danai Gurira noted that the grief particularly hit her when walking into T’Challa’s throne room, where Boseman sat in the first film. “I hadn’t seen that throne since we had lost him, so the last time I had seen that throne he had been sitting in it,” she said.

Angela Bassett, who plays T’Challa’s mother, Queen Ramonda, had to be the one to “sit on that throne and fill it. It was very daunting, it was very important. We all held it in great reverence,” she said, while also revealing that the cast visited Boseman’s resting place before they started shooting.

“We were able to do that to give love and feel his spirit and stand there with him before we did one frame of anything,” Bassett said. “That was such an important grounding for us because, as you can imagine, emotion was all over the place. People are on the verge — his [onscreen] sister, his love, his general, all of us. I’m getting goosebumps now. We were on the verge of tears, of ‘How are we going to do this, go on without him?’”

“We did with our full hearts, our full effort and really seeking to honor our brother,” Gurira added. “We can just hope and pray that it’s received that way and that people have an experience with it as a result of that.”

Another major story surrounding the film is that Rihanna will debut new music on its soundtrack, marking her first recording since 2016 with single “Lift Me Up.” Coogler said for this film they were “looking for artists who would embody it thematically,” similar to the success he had with Kendrick Lamar on the first Black Panther. Rihanna, who will be headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year, was at the top of the list.

“Rihanna, man, we knew she was at a point in her life as well where she was focusing on different things — focused on business, motherhood, which is a big theme in our film. We were holding out hope that maybe it could work out and boy did it for this song,” Coogler teased. “I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sees the return of stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, in a story of Wakanda following the death of King T’Challa and the crowning of a new Black Panther. Michaela Coel and Tenoch Huerta join as newcomers to the world, with Huerta as Marvel mutant Namor.

With a character who spends much of his time underwater, Huerta had to learn to swim for the role and has been flattered to see the internet’s (frequently thirsty) reaction to his shirtless appearance. “It feels so good. The people are giving their love and their passion,” he said. “All of them are embracing the character and are embracing all the narratives behind it.”

And while Black Panther broke box office records and made history with a best picture Oscar nomination, Bassett and husband Courtney B. Vance have some bold predictions for the sequel.

“He says the second is going to be better than the first, it’s going to be greater than the first,” Bassett said of Vance, though he hadn’t yet seen the film. “Reading the script, the attention to detail that Ryan as director and co-writer with Joe Robert Cole put into this and just trying to get it right — What is the story that we want to tell? Where do we want to go? Who is carrying this world on when your heart is destroyed? The mothers. I think they did an excellent job.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters Nov. 11. 

See some of the red carpet interviews below.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

27 Oct 2022

CISAC 2021 Report: Pandemic Recovery in Live is Slow, Digital Collections Bolster Losses

In 2021, collections began to rise again after their all-time low the year before due to COVID-19 and its restrictions on travel and live music, according to the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (CISAC). Still, in its annual report for 2021, CISAC has found music collections for its worldwide membership are still down 5.1% from pre-pandemic levels as live and public performance income struggles to regain footing. For 2021, collections totaled €9.58 billion ($11.33 billion) compared to €9.32 billion ($10.64 billion) in 2020.

However, there is reason to be optimistic for future reports: CISAC has found that concerts and festivals appear to be faring well in 2022 so far, and the tourism industry is eyeing 2023-2024 as a target for a return to normal collections. Japan in particular has become a thought leader in pandemic recovery, offering its citizens discounts, coupons and subsidies for domestic travel to stimulate the economy. This, CISAC says, helped the return of large scale festivals like Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic. In South America, major festivals and tours like Rock in Rio and Lollapalooza are also expected to have a strong impact on 2022’s forthcoming numbers for live music in its region.

Though in-person events were reported as off to a slow start for 2021, streaming and digital music income is “exceeding expectations” with a 27.5% increase in collections from €2.40 billion ($2.74 billion) in 2020 to €3.06 billion ($3.62 billion) in 2021. This makes digital income an unprecedented high 36.1% share of the total music collections for 2021. Futuresource, the company which provides the data for CISAC’s report, anticipates further grow with double digit hikes in music subscriptions year over year and that there will be over 1 billion music subscribers by 2026.

Subscription numbers for streaming video on demand (SVOD) are expected to falter amid inflation, recession and what they call the “cost of living crisis,” but subscriptions for music are expected to be more impermeable because users only need to pay for one service to receive a rapidly growing catalog of songs rather than paying for multiple services, each with exclusive, smaller libraries.

As Marcelo Castello Branco, CISAC chair of the board and CEO of Brazilian collection management organization União Brasileira de Compositores, wrote in his foreword for his report, “subscription prices are already undervalued and need to be raised.” His comments come just after Apple Music announced that it was raising its subscription price, as did YouTube for the price of its family plan earlier this month. More price hikes for music streaming subscriptions are expected in the coming months with some eyeing Spotify’s long awaited hifi tier as a way to up its price.

When speaking to Billboard about the report, Branco said, “as streaming services move into a more mature phase, it is the right time to review pricing policies for the future…We also need to keep the share of revenue paid to the songwriter constantly under review. This is a fundamental concern.”

Another concern flagged by CISAC leadership: data management or “metadata.” As digital becomes a more and more pivotal piece of rights holders’ income for mechanical and performance royalties, CISAC president and ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus says he estimates “hundreds of millions of dollars… is left on the table” when the data needed to identify and remunerate creators is incomplete or missing.

This can stem from ignorance on the part of composers, honest mistakes and typos, or incomplete information for songs that are released before samples and interpolations are properly cleared. Issues with metadata are expected to continue to rise if left unchecked as more and more artists and songwriters hold out on signing deals with companies who can handle these headaches for them, opting for the DIY route. Not to mention the sheer volume of songs being released has risen significantly in the past decade.

This year, Universal Music Group (UMG) CEO Lucian Grainge told a crowd at Music Matters, a conference in Singapore, that 100,000 new songs are added to streaming platforms each day, most of which are likely from do-it-yourself newcomers. While Ulvaeus notes that work to upgrade ISWC, the identifier for musical works, and educational initiatives like “Credits Due” are helping alleviate this problem, there is still a long way to go.

Certain collection societies are independently working on solutions to this issue. The newfound Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which is not a member of CISAC, is attempting to match unclaimed mechanical royalties in the U.S. to their rightful owners. In Japan, rights society JASRAC has founded KENDRIX, a data exchange platform to protect authors from “impersonation and other abuses,” says its president Kazumasa Izawa.

Some countries, like South Korea, were greatly affected by systemic changes — some positive, some negative. KOMCA, the country’s collection society, proved to have a success story this year as changes in its digital collection rules led to increased promotion of music subscriptions by the major music platforms. However, in Bulgaria, authors are faced with continued “poor enforcement” of copyright ownership from its authorities, and in Argentina and Brazil, fluctuations in currency exchange rates left its composers and publishers negatively affected.

Brazil’s collection society found that half of the country’s musicians had lost all of their income due to lockdown restrictions over the last few years, and half of the musicians have been forced to find another professional activity.

Live income for 2021, CISAC found, grossed €1.49 billion ($1.76 billion), only up 0.1% from the €1.49 billion ($1.70 billion) made in 2020. Compared to 2019 levels, which Billboard reported as €$3.04 billion, the aftermath of a global pandemic remains stark.

Television and radio, also known as broadcast, income remains the highest revenue source for music publishing, bringing in €3.19 billion ($3.78 billion) for 2021, but its lead fell by 1.8% from 2020, giving way as users ditched their cable boxes and car radios in favor of on-demand listening and viewing options. This is the fifth successive year of steady decline for this category and weaker advertising rates in some markets have now translated into lower usage fees; still, it accounted for 38% of global collections. Digital only lags two percentage points behind it now.

Systemic shifts also led to two major bright spots in the steadily waning sector of broadcast income. Mexico’s broadcast collections rose by 47.8% after a judicial process concluded in the order for satellite broadcaster, SKY, to pay significant royalties in back payment to musicians. Spain’s broadcast income also rose 47.6% due to agreements signed with the main private TV networks in the country. Unlike many other regions, Spain’s advertising revenues were up in 2021 (though still well-below pre-pandemic levels).

CDs, video and vinyl experienced gains this year, up 3.1% from 2020’s €348 million ($397.21 million) to 2021’s €359 million ($424.66 million). Though it’s only 4.2% of total music collections, this small but gaining subset of the business is expected to grow as the vinyl boom continues. As Billboard recently reported, Nashville, Tennessee is ramping up production on new, higher capacity vinyl pressing plants to meet consumer demand after superstars like Adele and Taylor Swift sell massive swathes of vinyl to mostly American and European consumers.

CISAC also included a number of more minor forms of income for mechanical and performing royalties for the music business in its 2021 report as well:

  • Private Copying Assessment: this category rose an impressive 15.3% for 2021, from $283.0 million in 2020 to $338.31 million in 2021. This represents just 3.4% of the total CISAC society music collections for the year.
  • Sync: this is up 6.9% this year, from $30 million in 2020 to $33.12 million in 2021. This represents just 0.3% of the total CISAC society music collections for the year.
  • Rental and Public Lending: collections are down 16.4% this year, from $14 million in 2020 to $33.12 million in 2021. This represents just 0.1% of the total CISAC society music collections for the year.
  • Publication: collections are up 6.2% this year, from $6.45 million in 2020 to $7.10 million in 2021. This represents just 0.1% of the total CISAC society music collections for the year.
  • Repography: collections are up 38% this year, from $2.48 million in 2020 to $3.55 million in 2021. This represents less than 0.01% of the total CISAC society music collections for the year.

Looking at the largest countries by music collection size, the U.S. ranked No. 1 again for 2021 with a 23.6% market share, down from 2020’s 27% market share. It has grown collections by 3.5% and increased collections to €2.004 billion from €2.21 billion in 2020.

  • France, ranked No. 2 with a 11.2% market share, grew 5.4% to €951 million from €902 million in 2019
  • Japan, ranked No. 3 with a 9.6% market share, declined 2.8% to €818 million from €842 million in 2020.
  • The U.K., ranked No. 4 with a 9.6% market share, grew a whopping 33.1% to €813 million from €611 million in 2019
  • Germany, ranked No. 5 with a 9% market share, grew 4% to €766 million from €736 million in 2020
  • Italy, ranked No. 6 with a 3.6% market share went down -0.2% to €308 million from €310 million in 2020. That year the report showed Italy had fallen a precipitous 35.1% from €477.66 million in 2019
  • Canada, which switched with Australia to rise to No. 7 with a 3.2% market share, rose 14.0% to €268 from €242 million in 2020
  • Australia, which swapped with Canada to fall to No. 8 with a 3.1% market share, rose 9.1% to €264 million from €235 million in 2020
  • South Korea, which from No. 10 to No. 9 this year with a 2.4% market share, grew by 16% to €201 million up from €173 million in 2020
  • Spain, which rose to No. 10 with a 2.3% market share, rose 26.6% to €199 million from €184 million in 2020

A notable gain below the top ten countries is Scandinavia. Denmark, ranked No. 12, grew by 10.2%, Sweden, ranked No. 13, grew by 21.5%; Norway, ranked No. 18, grew by 33.5%; and Finland, ranked No. 19, grew by 9.4% for 2021. CISAC attributes this to the region’s high share of digital income compared to other countries which helped them weather the continued pandemic effects.

Below features a list of additional emerging markets that gained double digit growth in 2021. Though CISAC does not explain why each of these nations have experienced such success in the last year, the report does include that Indonesia, Thailand, and India’s growth can thank digital and streaming gains and that Mexico benefitted from the aforementioned settlement with broadcaster SKY.

  • Mexico, ranked no. 17, which gained 10% to achieve a 1.1% marketshare for 2021
  • China, ranked No. 22, rose a significant 12.3% to hold 0.6% marketshare for 2021
  • Czech Republic, ranked No. 24, grew 19.1% to achieve 0.5% marketshare for 2021
  • South Africa, ranked No. 26, grew 10.1% to hold 0.4% marketshare for 2021
  • India, ranked No. 28, grew a whopping 73.8% to hold 0.4% marketshare for 2021
  • Chile, ranked 32, grew 23.8% to hold 0.3% marketshare for 2021
  • Turkey, ranked No. 33, gained 37.1% to hold 0.3% marketshare for 2021
  • Malaysia, ranked No. 38, grew 31.3% to hold 0.2% marketshare for 2021
  • Thailand, ranked No. 39 grew 68.8% to hold 0.1% marketshare for 2021
  • Greece, ranked No. 43, grew 46% to hold 0.1% marketshare for 2021
  • Indonesia, ranked No. 46, grew 59.4% to also hold 0.1% marketshare for 2021

Visit cisac.org for more.

27 Oct 2022

‘Thor’ Actor Chris Hemsworth Gets Suited Up For Ausmusic T-Shirt Day Campaign

Chris Hemsworth is lending his considerable star power to Ausmusic T-Shirt Day, an annual fundraising campaign that encourage music fans to buy a shirt, wear it, share it and donate.

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Hemsworth, who plays “Thor” in a succession of blockbuster Marvel films, and is recognized as the highest-paid Australian actor, is an ambassador for the music-meets-fashion project, which takes place across Australia on Nov. 18.

The Aussie actor fronts a new marketing campaign, which launched last week and was created pro bono by Mushroom Creative House.

“This Ausmusic T-Shirt Day we not only want you to show your support by wearing a t-shirt with your favorite Aussie artist on it, but we also want you to donate to the cause.”

For the exercise, Hemsworth wears a Teskey Brothers t-shirt, in honor of the ARIA and APRA Award winning blues-rock band from Melbourne, led by Josh and Sam Teskey.

Hemsworth joins more than 30 stars of Australian music, screen and stage who’ve assembled for the initiative, including Darren Hayes, Kylie Minogue, Cub Sport and Jessica Mauboy, who is also announced Thursday (Oct. 27) as an ambassador.

The campaign is soundtracked by The Chats’ “AC/DC CD,” and will splash across Australian TV and social media channels from next week.

Funds raised will flow to Support Act, the Australian music industry charity which supports musicians, managers, crew and music workers through crisis relief, mental health and wellbeing programs.

“Chris Hemsworth has always been a big supporter of Australian Music, wearing a Teskey Brothers t-shirt in this year’s campaign,” says Clive Miller, CEO of Support Act, “so to have someone of his standing alongside such an incredible artist as Jess Mauboy, really takes our fundraiser and awareness of music workers in need to the next level.”

Ausmusic T-Shirt is supported by ARIA and celebrated across triple j, Double J and the ABC as part of Ausmusic Month. The 2021 edition raised more than A$500,000 ($325,000) for good causes, a record sum for the campaign. This year, organizers are targeting A$750,000, with almost A$85,000 of that pledged at the time of writing.

To find out more visit ausmusictshirtday.org.au and supportact.org.au, and use the hashtag #AusMusicTshirtDay.

27 Oct 2022

Kanye West Essentials Playlist Disappears From Apple Music Following Anti-Semitic Rhetoric

Apple Music appears to have joined the widening list of businesses distancing themselves from Kanye West in light of his repeated anti-Semitic remarks.

The streaming music giant has apparently pulled Kanye West Essentials Playlist, after the rap veteran, who now goes by the name Ye, made offensive comments online and, again, in interviews.

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Billboard has reached out to Apple for comment, though the tech giant’s reps hadn’t responded at the time of writing.

Earlier this week, Daniel Ek, CEO at Spotify, Apple Music’s rival, addressed the hip-hop star and his “awful” comments for an interview with Reuters.

Ek, however, noted that his music did not violate the Spotify’s anti-hate policies and that the ball was in the court of Ye’s label, Universal Music Group’s Def Jam, to pull his catalog if they chose to.

“It’s really just his music, and his music doesn’t violate our policy,” Ek told Reuters, noting, “It’s up to his label, if they want to take action or not.”

Ek went on to explain that Ye’s anti-Semitic comments would have been yanked from Spotify if they had made in a podcast or recording, per their hate speech policy, but that wasn’t the case.

A spokesperson for UMG has since clarified that “Def Jam’s relationship with Ye as a recording artist, Def Jam’s partnership with the GOOD Music label venture and Ye’s merchandise agreement with Bravado all ended in 2021.”

The Ye exodus is now in full flight.

WME chief Ari Emanuel directly called on West’s corporate partners, particularly Spotify and Apple Music, to stop collaborating with him.

Since then, talent agency CAA dropped him as a client, MRC Entertainment shelved a completed documentary on the hip-hop icon and Balenciaga, GAP and Vogue cut all ties with him.

Earlier in the week, Ye lost his biggest corporate backer, the sportswear giant Adidas, with which he had a multi-year partnership for its line of Yeezy products, valued at $1.5 billion.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.” 

Other brands and companies that have ended their relationships with West in the aftermath include Foot Locker, TJ Maxx and his  Donda Academy team was removed from the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics season schedule.

Find a full list of the consequences West has faced here.