bmg
Page: 3
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.
Trending on Billboard
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.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“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.
Trending on Billboard
“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.
Trending on Billboard
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.”
BMG is reshuffling its deck in North America as the independent music powerhouse “doubles down” on its commitment to the world’s biggest music market.
Leading the changes is Jon Loba, who rises from BMG Nashville president to become president Frontline Recordings, North America. Moving forward, Loba is responsible for BMG’s entire North American frontline records business across Nashville, Los Angeles, New York and Canada.
The realignment continues with new duties for Thomas Scherer, until now running publishing and recordings activities in Los Angeles and New York. Scherer is named as head of global recorded catalog, while retaining responsibility for publishing, North America.
Now, Loba, Scherer and CFO Joe Gillen form BMG’s North American leadership triumvirate.
“We are making good on our promise to double down on our U.S. operation with a distinctive new approach,” comments BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld, that is, an integrated frontline operation “spanning the whole of North America plus a global catalog business steered from Los Angeles.”
BMG, he continues, “is stepping up. This is an integral part of our new strategy to deliver for artists and songwriters and go for growth.”
Loba, who joined BMG in 2017, when the company acquired Nashville-based BBR Music Group, is rewarded for delivering BMG its first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town,” and achieving success with Jelly Roll.
Loba, explains Coesfeld, is “the ideal person to take responsibility for our L.A.-based recordings business” as the group evolves in the streaming era.
A company stalwart, Scherer joined BMG in 2008, moving to L.A. as executive vp of global writer services in 2014, and enjoying several promotions thereafter.
“He is the ideal person to lead our new streaming-first global catalog operation based in Los Angeles, while also retaining oversight of our important U.S. music publishing business, the backbone of BMG’s U.S. operation,” Coesfeld says of Scherer. “With Thomas at the helm of our Global Catalog Recorded organization, BMG will step up its investments in catalog.”
The changes, announced today (Jan. 25), come six months after Coesfeld was appointed as CEO, succeeding the retiring CEO Hartwig Masuch.
Coesfeld’s “energetic and strategic approach to the business has been very inspirational for all of us, because that’s the way our Nashville team runs,” comments Loba in a statement. “I’m looking so forward to working even closer with our staff throughout North America and as important, helping bring the visions of our amazing artists to life.”
Following his promotion to the top job in July, Coesfeld wasted no time in reshaping the company to maximize growth and capture opportunities. Among the changes announced to staff last November, a new global catalog team based in Los Angeles; a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe in line with the new local-global emphasis, which will involve focusing on “functional centers of excellence within Europe,” as well as aggregation of budgets and expertise; a further acceleration of its investments in tech and its myBMG system for artists; and the clarification of roles and structures that the company says will make it “more accountable to its artist and songwriter clients.”
The changes didn’t end there. BMG ended its distribution agreement with the Warner Music Group’s ADA and brought its digital distribution in-house, while striking a deal with the Universal Music Group for its physical distribution; formed direct deals with Spotify and Apple Music; and “a number of existing positions” were made redundant – with some 40 staffers let go, Billboard reported.
“We are changing the way we do things,” Coesfeld said in a statement at the time. “We will combine creative intuition with data-driven insights to deliver the best service for our clients and customers.”
BMG is getting out of the live music business. The German music company agreed to sell its stakes in two live music companies, Undercover and Karo, to the minority shareholders, the company announced Friday (Dec. 22). The move comes less than a month after the company said it would focus on its core recorded music […]
BBR Music Group senior vp of promotion Carson James and senior director of A&R Chris Poole have exited the company as part of a global restructuring at BMG, which eliminated their positions, Billboard has confirmed. Country Aircheck first reported the news of their exits.
Earlier on Thursday (Nov. 30), BMG revealed a new structure for its global staff, which BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld stated is part of “a strategy for future growth” and “local where necessary, global where possible.” The restructure moves BMG’s catalog, sales and marketing teams in its recorded division into global roles, joining the already global purview of its investments, technology, rights and royalties functions. In local markets, artist relations and marketing campaign managers will have access to these global teams for analytics, content creation and media planning/buying, the company’s announcement noted.
James joined BBR in 2009, having previously spent nine years with Curb Records in a similar role. Prior to his work at Curb, James programmed country station WLWI in Montgomery, Ala.
Poole joined BBR in 2018 and previously worked at CTM/Writer’s Ink, where he served in artist development. Poole initially launched his career working in artist management at Paravel Management, which he co-founded in 2013.
James noted to Billboard in a statement, “I’m honored to have had such an amazing run.”
BMG’s restructuring announcement also outlined a new, Los Angeles-based global catalog team, as well as a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe as part of its local-global emphasis, which will focus on “functional centers of excellence within Europe.” This is in addition to the aggregation of budgets and expertise, the further acceleration of its investments in tech and the myBMG system for artists and the clarification of roles/structures, which the company says will make it “more accountable to its artist and songwriter clients.”
“Fifteen years after the emergence of streaming, music is going through another tectonic change,” Coesfeld said in a statement. “It is vital we now reengineer our business to make the most of that opportunity. BMG has challenged the conventions of the music industry ever since we began, bringing music publishing and recordings under one roof with a distinctive service-orientated and transparent approach. Now new ways of creating and consuming music and looming changes in streaming economics are challenging us to do even better for our clients.”
BBR Music Group’s artist clients include reigning CMA Awards entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson and new artist of the year winner Jelly Roll, as well as “Try That in a Small Town” hitmaker Jason Aldean, Dustin Lynch, Elvie Shane, Parmalee, Blanco Brown and Brooke Eden.
Indie music conglomerate BMG announced a “new structure” for its staff across the globe today (Nov. 30), one which new CEO Thomas Coesfeld says is part of “a strategy for future growth.”
The plan, which BMG executives communicated to staff today, is part of a strategy that Coesfeld calls “local where necessary, global where possible,” and will move BMG’s catalog, sales and marketing teams in its recorded music division into global roles, joining its investments, technology, rights and royalties functions, which already have a global purview. In local markets, artist relations and marketing campaign managers will be able to tap into those global teams for analytics, content creation and media planning and buying, the company said.
“We are changing the way we do things,” Coesfeld said in a statement. “We will combine creative intuition with data-driven insights to deliver the best service for our clients and customers.”
Additional changes outlined by the company include a new global catalog team based in Los Angeles; a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe in line with the new local-global emphasis, which will involve focusing on “functional centers of excellence within Europe,” as well as aggregation of budgets and expertise; a further acceleration of its investments in tech and its myBMG system for artists; and the clarification of roles and structures that the company says will make it “more accountable to its artist and songwriter clients.”
“Fifteen years after the emergence of streaming, music is going through another tectonic change,” Coesfeld said in a statement. “It is vital we now reengineer our business to make the most of that opportunity. BMG has challenged the conventions of the music industry ever since we began, bringing music publishing and recordings under one roof with a distinctive service-orientated and transparent approach. Now new ways of creating and consuming music and looming changes in streaming economics are challenging us to do even better for our clients.”
The new structure is the latest move that Coesfeld has made since taking over from longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch in July. The biggest change involved ending its distribution agreement with the Warner Music Group’s ADA and bringing its digital distribution in-house, while striking a deal with the Universal Music Group for its physical distribution. Then, last month, BMG laid off around 40 employees, which involved discontinuing its international marketing department for recordings, its television, film and theatrical departments and the shuttering of its Modern Recordings label, and saw executives like executive vp of global repertoire Fred Casimir and senior vp of global repertoire Jason Hradil leave the company.
The news means that “a number of existing positions will end,” the company tells Billboard, while Los Angeles will now become the primary hub for catalog. The company says that the approach aligns recordings with its existing strategy in its publishing division.
“This is a strategy for future growth,” Coesfeld added. “But in a business in which change is a constant, we ourselves need to change to grow further. Standing still is not an option if we want to deliver for our artist and songwriter clients.”
Sony Music Publishing ruled the Top Radio Airplay, Hot 100 Songs and Country Airplay publisher rankings for its third consecutive quarter of 2023, and Warner Chappell Music surged to No. 2 on the Hot 100 Songs chart — the first time it has held the position since the Hot 100 ranking began in 2019.
For the period spanning July through September, all of the big three publishers benefited from shares in the Afrobeats radio hit “Calm Down” by Rema and Selena Gomez. Sony also benefited from stakes in “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen, which hit No. 5 on the Top Radio Airplay chart, and Taylor Swift’s surprise hit “Cruel Summer,” which reached No. 3 on the quarter’s Hot 100 Songs ranking, four years after its initial release due to its placement as the opening song of Swift’s The Eras Tour.
Last quarter, Tracy Chapman’s Purple Rabbit Music publishing company broke into the Hot 100 and Top Radio Airplay charts (ranking No. 7 and No. 10, respectively) for the first time, thanks to Luke Combs’ cover of her 1988 song “Fast Car.” This quarter, her market share as a publisher/songwriter grew even higher. Chapman finished the quarter as the top songwriter on all three charts, propelling Purple Rabbit Music to No. 5 on Top Radio Airplay and No. 6 on both Hot 100 Songs and Country Airplay.
But she wasn’t the only self-published songwriter to make the charts this quarter. As the sole writer of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Oliver Anthony Music’s publishing company, Christopher Anthony Lunsford Pub Designee, placed at No. 8 on Hot 100 Songs with a 1.49% market share, surpassing such top 10 perennials as Downtown and Reservoir. Like Chapman, Anthony is the sole songwriter of his breakthrough song.
This is the first time that two independent songwriters have broken into the Hot 100 Songs chart at the same time.
Warner Chappell rose to No. 2 on the Hot 100 ranking for the first time in 19 quarters. Previously, it often ranked third or fourth. “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen, “Calm Down” by Rema and Selena Gomez, and 49 other Hot 100 Songs hits accounted for its strong showing of 18.18% of the market share. The publisher held steady in third place on the Top Radio Airplay chart with 15.87% of the market share, and ranked second on the Country Airplay chart with a 26.2% share.
Universal Music Publishing Group took second place on Top Radio Airplay — where its song placements increased to 52 from 49 in the second quarter — and third on Hot 100 Songs. Combs’ “Love You Anyway,” No. 3 on Country Airplay; “Cruel Summer”; and “Calm Down” were UMPG’s highest-ranked songs.
Kobalt held fast to No. 4 on both Top Radio Airplay and Hot 100 Songs but slid to No. 5 on Country Airplay behind BMG. The latter publisher’s share in Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” helped it edge past Kobalt’s 4.59% market share with 4.93%.
BMG and Big Machine Music both climbed in the ranks on the Country Airplay charts this quarter. BMG rose from fifth to fourth ranking, thanks to its share of 12 songs on the chart this quarter, including Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor.” BMM climbed from eighth last quarter (2.57%) to seventh this quarter (2.97%), thanks in part to Luke Bryan’s “But I Got a Beer In My Hand.”
Concord finished 10th on Top Radio Airplay with 1.37%. That percentage might rise in the fourth quarter due to its acquisitions of Round Hill Music and Mojo Music & Media in September. If Concord’s third-quarter market share was combined with those of Round Hill and Pulse, which Concord also owns but lists separately, it would have finished at No. 5 on Top Radio Airplay with 4.96% and at No. 7 on Hot 100 Songs with 3.1%.
Rounding out the top 10, Reservoir fell to No. 8 on Top Radio Airplay with 1.82%, though it improved on its No. 7-ranked second-quarter share of 1.62%. It rounded out the Hot 100 Songs top 10 with 1.17%. Hipgnosis (1.76%) and Downtown (1.44%) finished at No. 9 on Top Radio Airplay and Hot 100 Songs, respectively.
Additional reporting by Ed Christman.