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Several more players in the independent music community have called on regulators to block the acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings by Universal Music Group (UMG) announced this week, arguing the deal “would seriously distort the global music market” and “reduce competition and the independents’ bargaining power.”
Virgin Music Group, which is owned by UMG, announced Monday (Dec. 16) that it had agreed to buy Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million in a deal that would beef up the music giant’s market share by absorbing Downtown’s stable of indie distributors, publishing and rights administrators including FUGA, CB Baby, AdRev and Songtrust. The deal came just two months after UMG acquired the remaining shares of indie label group [PIAS], including its services division, Integral — an agreement that was similarly criticized by indie trade groups, who have asked regulators to launch an investigation into the pact.
In a joint release Thursday (Dec. 19), several indie music leaders said the deal, if allowed to go through, would result “in fewer options for smaller companies to negotiate fair terms and compete on equal footing, leading to higher costs and less choice.”
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“We are the global independent music community,” said Noemí Planas, CEO of Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), in a statement. “UMG trying to present this as an investment in the independent ecosystem is fooling no one. This is wealth extraction from the independents, another step in UMG’s relentless path to dominance and stifling competition. Independent music is the lifeblood of cultural innovation and market consolidation threatens the diversity that makes music so rich and compelling around the world. We call on regulatory bodies to block the deal.”
Also speaking out against the acquisition was A2IM CEO Richard James Burgess, who stated: “Universal Music Group’s acquisition of Downtown Music’s assets continues a troubling trend of consolidating independent music infrastructure, following acquisitions of InGrooves, MTheory, and PIAS. This increasing level of market concentration chips away at the competitive landscape, making it increasingly difficult for truly independent artists and companies to operate freely and equitably. These acquisitions risk silencing the independent voices that drive innovation and creativity in the music industry.”
Added Darius Van Arman, CEO of Secretly Distribution and co-founder of Secretly Group, “When near-monopolist Universal acquires Downtown, one of the largest independent music ecosystems, and does so in the name of independence, it cheapens what the word means. Market consolidation at this scale is not only anti-competitive, it is a fundamental threat to true independence.”
Virgin’s purchase of Downtown is just the latest in a string of similar acquisitions by major labels over the last several years. In 2024 alone, UMG acquired Outdustry, a label services and rights management firm that works across China, India, and other Asian markets; Thailand-based recorded music catalog RS Group; Nigerian record label Mavin Global; and a minority stake in U.S.-based Chord Music Partners, among others. Two years ago, Sony Music made a splash when it acquired AWAL and Kobalt Neighbouring Rights from Kobalt Music Group, followed by the more recent acquisitions of companies like Spanish label and distributor Altafonte and Greek independent label Cobalt Music. And Warner Music Group has snapped up minority stakes in European indie labels of late, including Dancing Bear Music (Croatia), NIKA (Slovenia) and Mascom (Serbia); it also fully acquired the Dutch label Cloud 9 Recordings in October.
“Whilst we are in favour of free enterprise, monopolies dominate market forces and remove the ability to compete,” said Maria Amato, CEO of Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), in a statement on the Downtown deal. “There must be regulation to ensure that Universal who is already the largest music business in the world with a large stake in Spotify does not dictate prices and the ability for artists and labels to negotiate fair and equitable terms.”
“The recent acquisition by large corporations of companies that until recently were independent is a red alert for the entire global independent music community,” added Felippe Llerena, president of Brazilian trade association ABMI. “The Orchard, AWAL, Som Livre, Proper Music, Altafonte and now Downtown Music are examples of how multinational capital is reshaping the sector. ABMI believes that it is our duty to protect and promote an independent ecosystem, where artists, labels and companies can create freely and sustainably. Our fight is for the appreciation of music as art, culture and expression, not as a simple market product.”
In her own statement, Cecilia Crespo, GM of the association of Argentinian record labels ASIAr, said: “Concentration not only has a negative impact in the way platforms distribute royalties to artists and rights holders (based on market share), but also due to the unregulated use of data and intelligence from the analysis of the data and the behavior of all actors involved (artists, audiences, and users).”
On Tuesday (Dec. 17), several other indie music players came out in opposition to the Downtown acquisition, including indie labels trade body IMPALA, the U.K.-based Association of Independent Music (AIM) and global indie music publishers trade body IMPF.
UMG didn’t immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment on the latest statements of opposition.
There’s been a bunch of Lil Baby headlines on Thursday (Dec. 19) as he rolls out his upcoming album WHAM: Who Hard As Me. He recently sat down with Charlamagne Tha God, where he talked about his relationship with Gunna and getting name-dropped in Kendrick Lamar‘s Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” in which the […]
Wham!’s 40-year-old hit “Last Christmas” continues to find new fans, and new chart accolades, as the evergreen tune reached a new peak recently on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, rising to No. 3 on the Dec. 14-dated tally. The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast recently caught up with one-half of the English pop duo Wham! – […]
It was a lit scene inside the Grammy Museum’s Clive Davis Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday evening thanks to an electrifying dynamo by the name of Doechii.
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As Doechii walked onstage to an ear-deafening chorus of cheers and shout-outs, she was just as psyched as the packed theater as she immediately launched into a rocking and riveting 11-song set. Accompanied by DJ Miss Milan, Doechii powered and danced her way through a mini-concert that opened with “Persuasive” and included “Boiled Peanuts,” “Denial Is a River,” “Spookie Coochee,” “Nissan Altima,” “Boom Bap” and the moving yet affirmative “Black Girl Memoir,” a key audience favorite.
Before segueing into “Death Roll,” an excited yet humble Doechi took time out to directly address the audience, thanking her mom (who was in the audience) and her family, label home Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records, the Grammy Museum and the fervent fans in the room. “I’m so excited to be celebrating such an incredible year and a new era of hip-hop,” said the current four-time Grammy nominee.
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The Tampa-born, Los Angeles-based artist was the perfect guest to close out the last edition of the museum’s American Express-sponsored Spotlight program for 2024. The rapper is coming off a banner year, capped by four Grammy nominations: best new artist, best rap performance (“Nissan Altima”), best remixed recording (the Kaytranada remix of “Ego”) and best rap album (Alligator Bites Never Heal) — the first female rapper to appear in that category since Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy in 2020.
Prior to that, the self-anointed Swamp Princess spent the last 18 months cementing the foundation for her career breakthrough, including a performance on the main stage at Coachella; opening for Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour; touring with Doja Cat; and collaborating with JT on the popular Eurodance/hip-hop-fused “Alter Ego. In the wake of releasing her critically acclaimed mixtape Alligator in August, she guested on Tyler, the Creator’s latest album Chromakopia and performed at his recent music fest Camp Flog Gnaw.
Taking a brief pause after wrapping her set, Doechii returned for an illuminating and humorous conversation with four-time Grammy-winning rapper Killer Mike. During his initial pre-performance introduction, Killer Mike said in part, “She is an amazing representation of that swamp called Florida that’s given us talent in the artistic world from sculptor Augusta Savage to writer Zora Neale Hurston. She is a performer; a rapper rapping her ass off at a time where rap needs some rappers … an artist who I feel is the present, the future — and who’s going to change music forever.”
Killer Mike speaks with Doechii at Spotlight: Doechii at GRAMMY Museum L.A. Live on December 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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Here are five sound bites from the pair’s freewheeling conversation as well as insightful audience questions that touched on Doechii’s childhood, creative process, hard-won confidence and career advice, among other talking points:
What made her put her pure soul into a record: My confidence is truly built and nurtured. I wasn’t always this confident. I wasn’t always in environments that made me feel proud to be a dark-skinned, outspoken girl. So this confidence is truly built behind closed doors. My mother is a single mother of three girls, and she always told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world every single day. I’d leave that home environment with so much confidence, and then I would go to school and get bullied a lot. Eventually, I made a choice that I refuse to be anything but happy. I made a choice that I was going to be myself no matter what it took, no matter what anybody said about me. And that confidence I bring with me on this couch right now is the same confidence that I decided to pour into this project. I wanted to give people an audiovisual experience of what it’s like living in my skin, being in my life, what my brain moves like, what I think about, what I’m afraid of, what I love. And that’s also why I am extremely honored to be representing female rap in the hip-hop album category.
Her ultimate goal: The end goal, beyond the accolades, the money and everything, is I want the world’s next icon to be inspired by me. I feel like they’re out there. They’re watching my interviews, studying me and listening to my music. They’re watching me. So I have to be free. I have to try my best. I have to show up, because I just feel it. She’s out there watching me. And I don’t know if it’s me that’s watching me or if it’s literally somebody, but that’s what is driving me: somebody needs this.
Staying determined while navigating her career pathway: Well, one, it’s in you. It’s not on you. When I said that I want to be the best, it comes from a place of truly healthy competition. My family is very competitive so I’m extremely competitive in a healthy way. I talk about this often, but I miss that competitive sportsmanship in hip-hop where everybody wanted to be the best lyricist. They wanted to tell tstories in the dopest way. And they would battle each other through rap, because it makes you stronger. It makes all of you stronger. Like oh, he just did a double entendre. I’m gonna do a triple. I’m gonna do a quadruple. I like that. I want to be the best at my craft. I love this genre. I love music. I like making it.
Breaking down her writing process: A lot of my writing process, at least for my brain, is I have to move quickly. If I don’t move fast enough, doubt will come in and it’ll slow me down. If I don’t move on to the next line, I’ll be like, ‘Oh dang, that line wasn’t cool. Let me redo that again.’ So I like to literally time myself. I’ll set a timer for one hour and whatever you get that hour, that’s what you get, baby girl. Then you’ve got to move on. It forces you to be in the moment. It forces you to trust yourself. And I also tell myself this all the time: I have the right to suck right now. I have the right to not say something that’s cool, the right to be vulnerable, to be corny, whatever. I have the right to be whoever I am in this hour. Then I must move on.
Advice to creators crafting their careers while dealing with real life: Every creative reaches this point: you have to eventually choose your art. You have to choose your art over whatever thing there is. If it’s a relationship that’s distracting you, you need to choose your art. I choose to record today. I choose to post today. I choose to keep going. I choose to instead of invest my money in that, I’ll invest my money in singing lessons. It’s all about your decisions at the end of the day. And I know it sounds cliche, but seriously, as a creative, you have to choose yourself over and over. Don’t allow yourself to come up with excuses that will stop you. You do whatever it takes, and you continue to work on yourself. Then when you get the thing (you’ve been working toward} there’s a whole other battle. And you have to choose yourself again.
Billie Eilish has been giving back during her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour. The superstar partnered with Support+Feed and American Express to provide support for small businesses across cities including Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The partnership […]
Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” rises even higher in the top 10. Will she be No. 1? Keep watching to find out! Narrator: Christmas hits slip while classics climb up the chart. The choir version of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” rises to No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the chart posting December 19th. […]
After seven years in a row as the top TV show for music synchs, Grey’s Anatomy has ben unseated as top dog, according to Tunefind.
Tunefind, a Songtradr company, has announced its top TV shows, movies, songs, artists and composers for the year, and according to Tunefind, the biggest show of the year was the U.S. version of Love Island.
The music discovery website Tunefind’s year-end rankings are based only on traffic and interaction on its website, which helps fans identify what song they heard in a TV show or film. Tunefind’s year-end charts are separate from the monthly Top TV Songs and Top Movie Songs charts, presented with Billboard. The monthly Top TV Songs chart ranks the top songs that appear in TV shows each month, using a combination of metrics from Tunefind and Luminate, while Top Movie Songs does the same for films released in the preceding three months.
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Love Island, which premiered in the U.S. in 2019 after multiple years of successful iterations abroad (beginning with the original in the United Kingdom), premiered its sixth season in June via Peacock. The 37-episode season featured a number of synchs in each edition, ranging from well-known tracks old (Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor”) and new (Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova”), as well as covers of familiar tunes.
It reigns over the return of Arcane, whose second season propels it to No. 2 on Tunefind’s year-end ranking. Netflix’s animated series from the League of Legends video game universe premiered season two in November, three years after the original. Its soundtrack, featuring a variety of original songs from Twenty One Pilots, Freya Ridings, Marcus King and more, debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 dated Dec. 7 and rose to a new peak of No. 24 on the Dec. 17 tally.
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Grey’s Anatomy, the ABC series that had reigned for the past seven years since Tunefind began sharing its year-end data with Billboard, still maintains its standing as a TV synch juggernaut, ranking at No. 3 on Tunefind’s year-end report, while FX/Hulu’s The Bear and HBO’s Industry round out the top five. Speaking of HBO, its new series The Penguin tops the five-position ranking of the biggest new shows of the year in synchs.
The top TV song of the year in TV, however, is from none of those shows. The distinction belongs to Mazzy Star’s 1994 hit “Fade Into You,” No. 3 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart that September and the band’s only track to date to reach the Billboard Hot 100.
“Fade Into You”’s year-winning synch came from Netflix’s new series 3 Body Problem, which premiered in March.
Meanwhile, the top movie of the year for synchs was none other than Marvel and Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which premiered in July, followed by a home video release in October and streaming on Disney+ in November.
In fact, the film takes up the entire top 10 of Tunefind’s biggest movie synchs, led by *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” which reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 2000 and returned to the ranking in August 2024 at No. 45 following the movie’s theatrical release.
Billie Eilish snags the distinction of the year’s top artist, while Ramin Djawadi takes the top composer honors. Eilish’s year included synchs in Heartstopper, True Detective, Love Island and more, and Djawadi contributed scores to 3 Body Problem, Fallout and the second season of House of the Dragon.
See each of the year-end rankings below.
Top Songs (TV)
“Fade Into You,” Mazzy Star (3 Body Problem)
“Only You,” The Platters (Fallout)
“Heartbeats,” Jose Gonzalez (Brilliant Minds)
“New Noise,” Refused (The Bear)
“Hope We Can Again,” Nine Inch Nails (The Bear)
“Together,” Nine Inch Nails (The Bear)
“White Rabbit,” Jefferson Airplane (Reacher)
“You and I,” Leon (Nobody Wants This/English Teacher)
“Everything In Its Right Place, Radiohead (Everything In Its Right Place)
“See Her Out (That’s Just Life),” Francis and the Lights (Nobody Wants This)
Top Songs (Film)
“Bye Bye Bye,” *NSYNC (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“The Lady in Red,” Chris De Burgh (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“Only You,” The Platters (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“Like a Prayer,” Madonna (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“SLASH,” Stray Kids (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“I’m With You,” Avril Lavigne (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“Angel of the Morning,” Merrilee Rush & the Turnarounds (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“The Power of Love,” Huey Lewis and the News (Deadpool & Wolverine)
“The Greatest Show,” Hugh Jackman with Keala Settle, Zac Efron, Zendaya & The Greatest Showman Ensemble (Deadpool & Wolverine)
Top TV Shows
Love Island (U.S.) (Supervisor: Jordan Young)
Arcane (Jen Malone & Nicole Weisberg)
Grey’s Anatomy (Justin Kamps)
The Bear (Josh Senior & Christopher Storer)
Industry (Ollie White)
All American (Madonna Wade-Reed)
The Rookie (Liza Richardson & Marc Mondello)
True Detective (Susan Jacobs)
Tell Me Lies (Kristen Higurea & Maggie Phillips)
Heartstopper (Mat Biffa)
Top TV Shows, New
The Penguin (Supervisors: Jen Malone & Whitney Pilzer)
Nobody Wants This (Este Haim, Zachary Dawes & Kristen Higurea)
Tracker (Robin Urdang)
The Day of the Jackal (Catherine Grieves)
English Teacher (Jen Ross)
Top Movies
Deadpool & Wolverine (Supervisor: Dave Jordan)
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Rupert Hollier)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (James Balmont)
Twisters (Rachel Levy)
It Ends With Us (Season Kent)
Road House (Randall Poster)
The Fall Guy (Rachel Levy)
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Sarah Maniquis-Garrisi)
Challengers (Robin Urdang)
Venom: The Last Dance (Spring Aspers)
Top Artists
Billie Eilish
Taylor Swift
Radiohead
The Rolling Stones
Nina Simone
Massive Attack
Beck
Mazzy Star
The Cure
Goo Goo Dolls
Top Composers
Ramin Djawadi
Rob Simonsen
Max Richter
Hans Zimmer
Jeff Russo
Dave Porter
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Kris Bowers
Christopher Lennertz
Tyler Bates
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Kicking off the NCAA College Football Playoff, you can watch the primetime game for the first round with Sling TV.
The No. 7-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (10-2) take on the No. 6-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, Dec. 21.
When Does Tennessee vs. Ohio State Game Start?
The Tennessee vs. Ohio State game broadcasts live, with kick-off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The game airs on ABC and ESPN, which are both available on Sling TV.
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Where to Watch Tennessee vs. Ohio State Online
The Tennessee Volunteers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes game broadcasts on ABC and ESPN, and it’s also livestreaming on Sling Orange + Blue. Keep reading for more details on how cord-cutters can watch the Tennessee-Ohio State game online with Sling.
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How to Watch Tennessee vs. Ohio State with Sling TV
A subscription to Sling Orange + Blue — which comes with ABC and ESPN — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $30 for the first month of service and $60 per month afterwards.
You can watch local networks such as NBC and Fox, while you can also watch many cable networks, including ESPN2, FS1, Lifetime, FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, BET, Cartoon Network, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, MSNBC and many others.
Please note: If you subscribe after Friday, Dec. 20, the monthly price goes up starting at $45.99 per month for Sling Orange. Prices and channel availability depends on your local TV market. You can learn more about Sling subscription prices here.
Who Is Performing During Tennessee vs. Ohio State Halftime Show?
Since it’s a game, the Ohio State Marching Band is set to perform at halftime of the Tennessee vs. Ohio State game.
Starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, Tennessee Volunteers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes broadcast on ABC and ESPN, while it’s also available to livestream on Sling TV on Saturday, Dec. 21.
Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
Lil Baby and Gunna may never make music together again.
While sitting down with Charlamagne tha God and his Out of Context interview series, the media personality asked Baby about his relationship with Gunna and if they’ll ever make music again. However, the Atlanta rapper isn’t optimistic about giving fans a follow up to their critically acclaimed mixtape Drip Harder from 2018. “We ain’t got no relationship,” he said before Charlamagne asked about fans on the Internet claiming Lil Baby “can’t make hits without Gunna.”
“The internet will say anything,” he then answered. “You know how many hits I got? So, that don’t even make sense.” Charlamagne then followed up by asking, “I know Thug says what Wham! says goes, but Thug says, ‘Hey, I’mma get in the studio, I’m gonna make some music with Gunna, Baby I want you to participate.’ Would you?”
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“I don’t see that happening,” Baby replied before elaborating that he meant he doesn’t expect Young Thug to ever make that kind of request. “Nah, I’m just saying, like, ‘I want you to participate.’ I don’t know what nobody else will do. But as far as me, know what I’m saying?”
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Charlamagne then brought up his “350” record from 2023 where Baby rapped, “Ain’t never say nothin’ ’bout it, nigga, you know you a rat” on the song’s first verse, but he brushed the controversy surrounding that line off. “That’s just the Internet, what they gonna create,” he answered. “I talk about rats in every song I had since I started rappin’.” Adding, “They just be creating a narrative and I don’t even be talkin’ about a nigga. It’s whoever’s a rat.”
The drama surrounding the former duo dates back to December of 2023 when Lil Baby told his DJ to turn off “Drip Too Hard” during a performance, saying, “F—k the rats, turn this sh—t off.” Since then there’s been conflicting feelings coming out of Thug’s YSL camp such as Thug tweeting, “whateva wham say goes,” in June and his father coming to Gunna’s defense publicly on multiple occasions.
The interesting tidbit in all this is that Thug had to get permission from the judge to be able to record songs with Gunna as a condition of his release.
Lil Baby’s fourth solo album WHAM (Who Hard as Me) is due out Jan. 3, 2025.
K-pop tracks continues to dominate playlists and charts worldwide with 2024 being no exception. This year, top artists delivered an incredible array of songs that define the genre’s innovative spirit, emotional depth and increasing international appeal. As the year winds down, Billboard wants to know which track resonated with you the most. 2024 saw major […]