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Following the example of its bustling Nashville division, BMG is moving headfirst into its focus as a frontline label and investing heavily in developing U.S. acts.
Less than six months after Jon Loba was promoted from president of BMG Nashville to president of frontline recordings at BMG North America, he now expands his reach to president of frontline recordings, The Americas, to include Brazil under his watch. He will oversee new releases across all genres, including pop, rock, R&B/Hip-Hop, country and Latin.
“We’re going to become much more frontline focused,” Loba tells Billboard. “There’s a reallocation of resources to the U.S. We’re going to be much more frontline competitive, including building out our LATAM division.”
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The move comes with a heavy investment in A&R, A&R research and digital resources, with BMG doubling the dollars it had been spending on U.S. signings and acquisitions. “The whole idea of putting me in this position was [BMG] very much wanted the rest of the U.S. to match the culture of Nashville and how we broke acts,” Loba says.
BMG’s country division has been a frontline powerhouse with such platinum artists as Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Parmalee, Dustin Lynch and Blanco Brown, while the non-country genres were “focused on acquisition and established artists,” Loba says. “We want to be intentional about growing organically, as well as being a home for new viral acts.”
Running BMG Nashville has taught Loba that “the icons come from fringes” and copycats need not apply. “We want to be a home for artists that maybe don’t easily find a home elsewhere or that others don’t immediately see the value in,” he says. “We want to be home for a different perspective, a different voice.”
Part of BMG Nashville’s success has come from the strength of its radio promotion team, and Loba expects that team to work to select non-country records going forward. “Radio tends to be the rocket fuel of streams too,” he says. “You may have streaming airplay for a certain amount of time without radio’s involvement, but I still don’t know an artist who doesn’t care about radio airplay, so to be attractive to our current and potential artists, you can’t afford not to have a radio presence.”
BMG expects to still be very involved in the acquisition space, with the focus on signing new acts coming as an additive to the existing business. According to its 2023 year-end report, the Berlin-based BMG made 30 acquisitions last year as revenues grew to 905 million euros (the equivalent of $986 million), up 4.6% over 2022. Among its main acquisitions were the purchase of Paul Simon’s royalty income in his Simon & Garfunkel recordings as well as acquiring the catalog of British rock band The Hollies.
Unlike a number of labels that are combining frontline and catalog operations, BMG’s will remain separate (even though, before new BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld took over last July, the plan had been to unite the two). Thomas Scherer, who formerly ran the publishing division, is now head of global recorded catalog. According to the 2023 report, recordings account for 34% of BMG’s revenue, 61% comes from publishing and the remaining 5% comes from broader rights.
Loba has also set his executive team, many of whom are refining their duties. Below are the key members of his team and their defined roles.
*JoJamie Hahr, executive vp of recorded music, BMG Nashville, will oversee day-to-day management of BBR Music Group and its three imprints, which are home to such acts as Jelly Roll, Aldean and Wilson. Hahr, who joined the company in 2017, reports to Loba.
*Zarah Ortiz, vp of repertoire and campaign management, will oversee BMG’s building presence in Latin American markets including Mexico and Brazil and such genres as Afro-pop. Based in Miami, Ortiz, who oversees a team in Mexico, reports to Loba, as does GM Daniel Fernandes in Brazil.
*Dan Gill, executive vp of recorded music, West Coast, will oversee the pop, rock, R&B/Hip-Hop and international outbound repertoire. Gill, who joined BMG following its 2014 acquisition of Vagrant Records, led the success of such acts as blink-182 and LP at BMG and will lead the campaign on upcoming releases from YG, Chief Keef, Wiz Khalifa and others. He reports to Loba.
*Gill’s direct reports include Cyndi Lynott, senior vp of marketing, who will lead BMG’s recorded frontline strategy for pop artists including New Kids on the Block and The Script; Sean Heydorn, senior vp at Rise Records, who will now lead all rock frontline efforts, including Rise’s roster and BMG rock acts Godsmack, Lenny Kravitz and Sum41; Shane Cosme, senior vp of international marketing for BMG U.S., who will be responsible for handling U.S. repertoire outside the United States; and Tim Reid, senior vp of repertoire & marketing, who will oversee R&B/Hip-Hop in the United States as well as handle RBC Records, home to Chief Keef and Run the Jewels. Reporting to Reid is Jecoure Lemothe, vp of A&R and marketing, who will also handle day-to-day operations for RBC Records. Lynott, Heydorn, Cosme and Lemothe are L.A.-based, while Reid has relocated from L.A. to Nashville.
*Bryan Columbus, vp of recorded music, Canada, reports directly to Loba; he returns to BMG following a stint at Concord Label Group. Before Concord, Columbus led Canadian market campaigns for Nashville’s Broken Bow Records Music Group through BMG’s partnership with Black Box Music.
Loba hints there will also be more changes coming, including additions to the frontline, global and U.S. teams.
YG has agreed to a multi-album partnership deal with BMG under his 4Hunnid record label, it was announced today (April 3). “BMG is making big waves in the industry right now,” YG tells Billboard. “This partnership will take my music to new heights. The BMG team understands the vision for my music and business. Excited for […]
BMG reported record high revenues of 905 million euros ($998 million) in 2023 as catalog acquisitions and growth in its publishing division from hit songs and albums by Bebe Rexha, the Rolling Stones and Lewis Capaldi contributed to 5.7% in organic revenue growth.
Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) adjusted — BMG’s preferred metric for profit — was flat at 194 million euros ($214 million, based on the foreign exchange rate as of Dec. 31, 2023) compared to last year’s 195 million euros ($208 million, based on the year-end foreign exchange rate), as the German-owned music company incorporates a slew of changes introduced by new chief executive Thomas Coesfeld. Coesfeld said his strategy is improving revenue and operating EBITDA going forward, two metrics the company said have risen by roughly a third from 2021 to 2023.
“Many of these changes are having an immediate impact,” Coesfeld said in a letter to staff viewed by Billboard. “In the first two months of 2024 we have already seen a strong double-digit increase in revenue and an increase in EBITDA versus prior year.”
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Since Coesfeld took the helm in mid-2023, BMG announced a plan to take over digital sales of its artists’ music, a new physical distribution deal with UMG and increased investments in technology for a new client-facing mobile app, improved data analytics and speedier processing of royalties.
Catalog acquisitions have been a key component of Coesfeld’s contributions since he became BMG’s chief financial officer in 2021. Backed by the deep pockets of its parent company, the European media conglomerate Bertelsmann, BMG continued its steady pace of buying in 2023 with 30 catalog acquisitions, including those by The Hollies, Jet, Dope Lemon, Martin Solveig and Paul Simon’s music interests in Simon & Garfunkel’s recordings.
Major hits for the publishing division in 2023 included “I’m Good (Blue),” co-written by Bebe Rexha, and “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2,” by BMG songwriter Mura Masa and performed by Pink Pantheress and Ice Spice, and the release of Hackney Diamonds by the Rolling Stones and Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent by Capaldi.
Country music was a big driver for BMG’s label business in 2023 thanks to Jason Aldean‘s “Try That In A Small Town,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart during the first week of August, and three country chart-topping hits from Jelly Roll, including “Save Me,” recorded with Lainey Wilson, another of BMG’s country stars.
Here are some of BMG’s 2023 highlights:
Operating EBITDA adjusted remained stable at 194 million euros ($214 million) from the previous year of 195 million euros ($208 million).
From 2021 to 2023, revenue has risen by more than 36% and operating EBITDA adjusted has risen by more than 34%.
EBITDA margin was 21.4 percent compared to the previous year of 22.5%.
BMG made 30 catalog acquisitions in 2023.
Dominique Casimir, chief content officer for BMG, announced she is exiting the company on Thursday (Mar. 21).
“It has been an exceptional journey to have been part of shaping BMG’s story from almost day one,” Casimir said in a statement. “We built something unique — a global company with a genuinely artist-focused spirit — and celebrated many milestones together. I am truly grateful for the possibilities I have been given and the amazing people I work with, but I have decided that it is time for something new in my life and career.”
“I would personally like to thank Dominique for her outstanding contribution and unparalleled commitment to BMG over many years,” added BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld. “We respect her decision to move on, and I would like to wish her all the very best for her personal and professional future, personally, on behalf of the BMG Board — and the wider BMG team.”
Casimir’s departure comes during a period of transition for BMG.
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In April 2023, the company claimed to be the first to combine its new release and catalog recordings businesses. The following month, BMG announced that it would shorten its long-term succession plan for longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch, meaning that Coesfeld stepped into the role on July 1 instead of New Year’s Day 2024.
BMG subsequently exited its distribution agreement with Warner Music Group’s ADA and took “direct control of our relationships with streaming services,” as Coesfeld said in a statement at the time. In October, BMG laid off around 40 employees. (Layoffs have swept through the music industry in the last 15 months.)
And in November, the company announced a restructure that Coesfeld described as “local where necessary, global where possible.” “Fifteen years after the emergence of streaming, music is going through another tectonic change,” Coesfeld said in a statement at the time. “It is vital we now reengineer our business to make the most of that opportunity.”
Casimir started working at BMG in 2008. Her portfolio eventually grew to encompass GSA (2016), Continental Europe (2019), Asia Pacific and Latin America (2020), and the company’s global synch operation (2021). She was promoted to chief content officer in May 2022.
Country music duo LOCASH has launched Galaxy Label Group in partnership with Studio2Bee Entertainment, founded by veteran Nashville music executives Skip Bishop and Butch Waugh.
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BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville will distribute the label, Billboard can reveal.
LOCASH’s Preston Brust and Chris Lucas celebrated the newly-announced venture on Wednesday evening (Feb. 28) during an event in downtown Nashville, just as radio programmers descended on Music City for the annual Country Radio Seminar.
“We’re all blessed to be part of this music business and we have a chance to do what our passion is, and to have Skip and Butch back on the team with us, it’s great,” Lucas tells Billboard during a Zoom call with LOCASH and Bishop.
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In launching the label, LOCASH, who formed in 2008, draw on nearly two decades of experience as artists and writers. In 2016, they earned a top 5 Country Airplay hit with “I Love This Life,” and followed with the chart-topper “I Know Somebody,” top 20 song “Ring on Every Finger,” and in 2019, earned another top 5 Country Airplay hit with “One Big Country Song.”
“We’ve talked about doing a label for years,” Lucas says. “Some of the best success we’ve had was when were have been more hands-on with it.”
Bishop and Waugh had previously worked on the campaign for “I Love This Life,” and the full-fledged staff that Studio2Bee has with marketing and radio reps, “seemed like a perfect match,” Bishop explains.
A nod to the label’s name, Brust says the ideal artist roster will include genres beyond country, though they haven’t signed additional artists just yet. The hard lessons LOCASH has learned along the way as artists and songwriters influence the business model for the new label.
L-R: PETER STRICKLAND, GENERAL MANAGER, BMG; KATIE KERKHOVER, VICE PRESIDENT, A&R, BMG; SKIP BISHOP, STUDIO2BEE ENTERTAINMENT; PRESTON BRUST, LOCASH;
CHRIS LUCAS, LOCASH; JON LOBA, PRESIDENT, FRONTLINE RECORDINGS, NORTH AMERICA, BMG; QUINN BAUDUCCO, SENIOR MANAGER, BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS, BMG; JOJAMIE HAHR, EVP, RECORDED MUSIC, BMG NASHVILLE
Courtesy Photo
“The main thing that we’ve seen on some bigger labels is that sometimes some artists would be to the side because another artist was hot at that moment,” Brust says. “We’ve always talked about that and how it’s not fair, because there is so much talent in this city.”
Galaxy Label Group will also serve as home to LOCASH’s new music; BMG Nashville’s Wheelhouse imprint had previously released their albums. The duo has been in the studio working on their upcoming album, with their first single, “Hometown Home,” expected to release in the spring.
“This song just stepped into the roots of what Locash is about,” Lucas says. “It’s about hometown love and being the guy who says, ‘We could go anywhere in the world and start a new life together, but if you want to stay here in our hometown, that’s good with me too, because I just want to be with you.’ It’s one of those messages that is relatable and hits you in the heart.”
Beyond signing artists, Galaxy Label Group aims to aid songwriters. The duo says Galaxy Label Group will give songwriters a percentage of the master royalties (out of the label’s share) on every recording for the label, including Locash’s upcoming album. The commitment could mean a boost for songwriters, whose incomes have seen significant, negative impact in the steaming era. When physical albums sold regularly, songwriters would be paid on each album sold, earning a solid income regardless of whether their song was picked as a radio single. But with streams comprising the bulk of music consumption, songwriters are increasingly dependent on radio hits, losing out on the valuable income avenue physical records once provided.
The commitment follows in the footsteps of some smaller indie labels such as Facet Records and Good Boy Records, as well as individual artists such as Kip Moore, who in 2017 pledged an annual bonus for songwriters.
“We want to be fair,” Lucas says. “It’s one of those things where if we sit down and before the album comes out, we say, ‘This [percentage] seems fair.’ We could get down the road and if the single just goes into another realm, who knows? We could change a percentage at that point.”
Ultimately, Brust says, they hope to “create new revenue streams in this the industry.” He adds, “Nashville is built on the song. The best songwriters in the world—I would put us up against anyone. Nashville has it, period. There’s no one better than that. We want songwriters to have a fair chance. If someone’s getting 700 million streams and the songwriter’s barely seeing a dime, that’s not fair. We want to get a part of this ahead of the game and get a fair percentage for them. That’s what we’re most excited about right now—giving back to the community that has been there for us.”
BMG has promoted Los Angeles-based executive Marian Wolf to lead its North American publishing operations. With the official title of senior vp of music publishing, North America, Wolf now heads the company’s single largest business unit, leading employees in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and Canada.
He will report to Thomas Scherer, the newly appointed president of global catalog recordings and music publishing, North America.
Wolf is a longtime member of the BMG team. He started at the company in Berlin in 2011 before relocating to Los Angeles in 2014 and has worked his way up through various roles, including vp of global writer services and China and senior vp of publishing and chief of staff. During his tenure, the company has added a number of key songwriters to its publishing roster including George Harrison, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Riot Games, Jessie J, and Dave Gibson, among others.
Wolf has also played a key role in BMG partnerships. In 2016, Wolf developed the BMG SoundLab, its songwriting camp, which has collaborated with parters like American Idol, She Is The Music and major U.S. labels. The writing camp even once partnered with the United Nations and Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser. Wolf also has spearheaded opportunities between BMG and its parent company Bertelsmann, including a partnership with European broadcast and content leader RTL.
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The news of Wolf’s promotion arrives after significant restructuring at BMG. In October, the company terminated about 40 employees, including those in its international marketing, film and theatrical divisions, to reconfigure the company. Thomas Coesfeld, the company’s recently appointed chief executive, said this was part of its new strategy, called BMG Next, to better position the company for the future.
“With Marian’s expertise and success in the US and globally, he is the ideal leader for our North American music publishing business,” says Scherer. “We are confident he will continue to grow and transform the opportunities and digital services for our music publishing catalog clients, as well as frontline songwriter signings.“
“I am excited to lead our North American publishing teams into this next chapter,” says Wolf. “Publishing continues to be a corner stone of BMG’s business and I am thrilled to continuously innovate the way we serve our songwriters and publishing clients as creative partners.”
BMG announced on Monday (Feb. 26) an exclusive recordings agreement with the estate of the iconic Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. In a partnership with the Paco de Lucía Foundation, BMG is set to release Pepito y Paquito, an album featuring 21 previously unreleased tracks by Paco de Lucía and his brother Pepe, in May 2024.
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“We are delighted that these very special recordings, completely unknown until now, will finally be released with BMG on such a special date as the 10th anniversary of Paco de Lucía’s departure,” representatives of Paco de Lucía’s Estate said in a statement. “These recordings are an extraordinary document that reflects the first steps in the career of Paco de Lucía and Pepe de Lucía, and they are already part of the history of flamenco.”
According to a press release issued by BMG, the recordings — which date back to 1959 and 1960 — give flamenco fans an insight into the “early musical endeavors” of Pepe and Paco at the ages of 13 and 11, respectively. AI was used to help restore the recordings from a vintage Grundig TK46 tape recorder.
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“I never thought these recordings would ever see the light of day, but thanks to the tireless work of the team that has been part of this process, the tapes have finally been restored and are ready to be released,” added Pepe. “When I listened to the tapes again, more than 60 years after their original recording, I couldn’t believe that those children were my brother Paco and me. It is a wonderful recording that brings back fond memories of the happiest time of our lives and serves as a fitting finale to our careers.”
“It has been a privilege to work hand in hand with Pepe de Lucía and the Paco de Lucía Foundation for more than a year to document, restore, and finally publish these tapes that showcase the genius of these two brothers who changed the history of music in Spain and around the world,” said Javier Doria, BMG director A&R Spain.
The deal comes on the heels of a Paco de Lucía Legacy Festival, which took place in New York from Feb. 20-24 commemorating the 10th anniversary of Paco de Lucía’s death. A historical figure in flamenco and a key figure in the globalization of the music, Paco de Lucía was honored by more than 30 flamenco artists at the four-day event.
L to R: Francisco Sánchez Gómez (Paco de Lucía) and José Sánchez Gómez (Pepe de Lucía) with their mother Lucía Gomes Gonçalves
© Family Photo Archive
New Kids on the Block are back. The legendary boy band is all grown up and ready for another release cycle, this time through a new global recording agreement with BMG.
Through the new deal, which Billboard can exclusively confirm, NKOTB will release an eighth studio album, their first new studio LP in more than a decade, and support it with a “big” tour.
“We’re super excited to partner with our new label home BMG,” the pop group enthuses in a joint statement. “We promise 2024 is going to be a big year for NKOTB and our blockheads. New label, big tour, we are just getting started! Much more to come. Very soon. And we couldn’t have asked for a better partner than BMG to usher in this new era.”
The label deal follows a buzz of activity, which included the announcement of NKOTB’s Summer Tour 2024, a trek that features guests Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff and serves as a re-imagination of the Boston group’s sold-out 1990 tour of the same name.
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Soon after, the quintet celebrated the 15th anniversary of their reunion album, The Block, with special edition The Block Revisited, including remixes and guest collaborations.
Blockheads were left wondering if fresh music was on the horizon. With today’s announcement, that question is answered.
The as-yet untitled album is the followup to 2013’s 10, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, one of the group’s six top 10 appearances on the tally, a list that includes two leaders, 1988 sophomore effort Hangin’ Tough and 1990’s Step By Step. Career album sales top 80 million, according to BMG.
Formed in 1984 and featuring Boston natives Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, NKOTB has landed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including nine top 10 appearances and a hattrick of No. 1s: 1989’s “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” 1989’s “Hangin’ Tough” and 1990’s “Step By Step.”
“New Kids on the Block are trailblazers in the music world – creating a blueprint for not only pop music, but pop culture,” comments Cyndi Lynott, BMG senior VP, marketing, in a statement unveiling the new recording deal.
“It is an honor to be able to work with this iconic group and deliver brand new music to their passionate fanbase. BMG is full of blockheads, and we could not be more thrilled.”
BMG has entered into a strategic partnership with the TUM School of Management as it looks to fast-track the implementation of artificial intelligence across the Berlin-based company’s marketing campaigns for artists. BMG said in its announcement on Tuesday (Jan. 30) that it sees generative AI as a way to help manage the complex array of […]
Here’s the first change Jon Loba intends to make, in his new position as BMG’s president of frontline recordings in North America: “Immediately ramping up the A&R team in L.A.”
So the Berlin-based music company is hiring? “Yes. Yes!” Loba says, by phone from the Detroit airport, near his home city north of Grand Rapids, Mich. “News at 10.”
Loba, who has spent the past seven years breaking country superstars such as Jelly Roll, Parmalee, Lainey Wilson and Blanco Brown in his role as the company’s Nashville president, will remain in Music City but broaden to other genres and U.S. cities. “BMG wanted to devote more resources to the U.S., and part of that was to focus even further on frontline, looking at the success we’ve had in Nashville,” says Loba, who plans to travel to L.A. every other week and New York sporadically. “The biggest challenge is keeping everyone patient.”
BMG announced the Loba move Thursday morning (Jan. 25) with a concurrent one for Thomas Scherer, who moves from running publishing and recordings in L.A. and New York to head of global recorded catalog. The move effectively puts Loba in charge of new music and Scherer in charge of classics (while still in charge of publishing). BMG’s CEO, Thomas Coesfeld, took over the company last July and, Loba says, has veered away from the company’s April 2023 announcement that it would combine its frontline and catalog divisions.
“[Coesfeld] is incredibly analytical and had a different take on the business,” Loba says, “and felt the catalog business could benefit from even more focus and being separated out a little bit.”
BMG, part of the Bertelsmann publishing empire, was formerly a standalone label, then merged with major label Sony Music Entertainment before a 2007 uncoupling. It has since beefed up as a music company focused on publishing, acquiring or re-signing catalogs by artists from Paul Simon to Tina Turner, and developed a recorded-music division thanks in no small part to its Nashville office. Loba joined the company in 2017 when BMG purchased BBR Music Group — whose roster included stars Jason Aldean and Dustin Lynch — for $100 million.
Bertelsmann, which recently failed to acquire Simon & Schuster, has pledged to invest billions throughout its companies, giving it considerable clout in a music industry dominated by the three major labels and smaller competitors such as Concord and HYBE. The company’s music divisions will be centered in the United States and the United Kingdom, not so much in Bertelsmann’s Berlin home base. “We are in an absolutely beautiful place,” Loba says. “The catalog allows stability and for us to take chances on frontline. We have the resources and reach of the three majors with the heart and tenacity and focus of an indie. There are few companies, if any, that have both.”
When Loba moves into his new position, effective immediately, he’ll begin expanding the label’s ability to discover and sign new artists. “Internally, for sure, there will be resources added. Our immediate focus is getting that world-class A&R team together, while removing, for the rest of the departments and staff, anything that’s not productive, getting rid of bureaucracy if there is any,” Loba says. “It’s just a real watershed moment for BMG. It’s our coming of age.”