Business News
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Now that the pandemic is over, “it is anything but ‘business as usual’” at CISAC, the international trade organization for copyright collecting societies, according to director general Gadi Oron in its 2023 annual report.
In a time of change for collecting societies, which bring in a combined 9.6 billion euros a year, CISAC’s priorities include lobbying governments in support of member societies, continuing its campaign to support the ISWC code system to identify works, and navigating the challenges of AI, which Oron calls “our biggest priority now in terms of policy.”
The biggest news in the report about a particular market is the success of Autodia, the Greek collecting society that has become prominent since the 2018 dissolution of AEPI. “In 2018, I gave a presentation to the board [of CISAC and said we must do something,” Oron remembers. AEPI’s collapse was epic, complete with a 2017 police raid and a failure to pay out 42.5 million euros (more than the total amount it distributed some years), according to an audit ordered by the Greek Ministry of Culture. Oron feared the potential collapse of a market that had been worth about 50 million euros a year in the late 1990s, so he asked the CISAC’s board to support a plan to fund and help Autodia, which was then a small nonprofit society that in 2018 collected less than a million euros.
In 2022, Autodia collected 16.2 million euros, and it now collects for all three major publishers, BMG, and many of its sister societies, according to CEO Margarita Panagiotopoulou. “We are growing fast and gaining market share,” Panagiotopoulou says, “and that is on track to continue.”
Autodia now faces competition from EDEM, which mostly represents Greek repertoire and took in about 8 million euros last year.
The first phase of CISAC’s plan was to get Autodia loans from its member societies and send to Athens consultant Declan Rudden, who became interim CEO of Autodia to get the society running. He helped make reciprocal agreements with international societies and court publishers, as well as compete with EYED, a government-controlled entity that was designated as the temporary successor to AEPI. (Some major publishers originally signed with EYED but most of them are now with Autodia.) One day, as Rudden and team were putting together desks in the Autodia office, it was raided by the Greek department of labor and fined for keeping employees after 5pm without notifying them in advance. (This is illegal in Greece, but raids are uncommon.) “They did everything to make our life difficult,” remembers Rudden, who runs the consultancy SaorServices.
Gradually, the local team took over, and Autodia took in more than 4 million euros by 2019, then more than 12 million euros by 2022, as the pandemic subsided. “The contribution of CISAC was very important,” Panagiotopoulou says, in terms of funding, legitimacy and lobbying both the Greek government and songwriters themselves.
Greece is still a contested market. “Market share is a matter of disagreement,” says EDEM COO George Myzalis. (Panagiotopoulou says Autodia has more than 85% market share, but the respective royalty collection numbers imply a lower number.) Along the way, the technology company Orfium, which has some operations based in Athens, almost entered the market as well, but it ultimately withdrew. (The company operates in other sectors and did not respond to a request for comment.) Right now, venues and broadcasters in Greece need licenses from both Autodia and EDEM, especially if they want to play both the international repertoire that Autodia dominates as well as the Greek compositions that EDEM tends to have.
Some big publishers believe that the growing success of Autodia limits the possibilities for the kind of direct licensing model that they see as more efficient. One idea that at least some of them favored was to establsh EDEM as an organization that would offer more optionality by requiring less exclusive grants of rights – and a model for what they believe could be a more efficient future for the publishing business. As Autodia grows, that is becoming less likely – which some publishers see as a wasted opoortunity and other societies and some other publishers and songwriters see as a win for the current structure, which for all of its complexity offers more of a balance of power between big players and small ones.
The only things most executives seem to agree on is that the situation in Greece is far better than it was under AEPI and that it is getting better, even if it’s not where it should be. “AEPI was a disaster,” says Peermusic European president Nigel Elderton. “Autodia have their act together and they’re paying royalties through and they’re starting to grow.”
At a time when the traditional collecting society model is being challenged by direct licensing and a growing number of for-profit royalty organizations, both the other societies that supported Autodia and the publishers that favored another model agree that the implications of the society’s success go beyond Greece. Now that CISAC has showed it can help turn around a society in a market that’s perceived to be dysfunctional, it could potentially do so again.
“This was 10 times harder than I could have imagined,” Oron says. “But we’ve proven to ourselves that we can do it. Whether we can do it in other countries depends, but we have proof that we can do it.”
Indie music company Reservoir Media has acquired the rights to the full catalog of drummer and songwriter Enrique “Kiki” García. García, who was part of Miami Sound Machine, penned many of the group’s biggest hits in its heyday with Gloria Estefan as its lead singer, including the much synchronized “Conga.”
García also wrote Miami Sound Machine’s 1984 breakout “Dr. Beat” and co-wrote several tracks along Estefan, including “1-2-3,” “Give It Up,” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” for the group’s final album, Let it Loose.
But García is best known for “Conga,” which he famously penned on a flight from Utrecht, in the Netherlands, after playing a successful club show the night before.
“The performance stayed on my mind all night,” García recounted in the book Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music. “The next day, as we got on the plane and I sat down, this song comes flying out of my mind. I start tapping on the seat table in front of me and I’m singing, “Come on, shake your body, baby, do the song. The rest was sketchy, but by the time we landed I had it all put together. I got up and sang my idea to Emilio and he loved it from the start.”
“Conga” would go on to became an international hit, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 8, 1986.
After leaving Miami Sound Machine, García continued working with top Latin musicians like Chayanne and Julio Iglesias, while “Conga” and his other hits remain widely and constantly licensed.
“Kiki has contributed so much to the face of modern music as we know it. His collaborations with the Miami Sound Machine brought Latin music to mainstream audiences,” said Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir’s founder & CEO, in a statement. “Embarking on this deal with Kiki marks a notable expansion of our rights in Latin American music and is an exciting opportunity to further diversify our catalog while maintaining our focus on acquiring the rights to evergreen hits.”
Lizzy McAlpine, whose TikTok-driven hit “Ceilings” topped Billboard‘s Alternative Streaming Songs chart in March while also marking her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, has signed with artist development company Godmode for management, Billboard can reveal.
McAlpine, who recently completed her North American tour, signed with RCA Records in April and is represented by Ben Buchanan, Marlene Tsuchii and Brian Greenbaum at CAA for booking.
Led by co-founder/CEO Talya Elitzer, Godmode’s roster also includes Channel Tres, SG Lewis and JPEGMAFIA. The company additionally encompasses a record label and publishing arm.
Poolside, the artist project of producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Paradise, signed with Ninja Tune imprint Counter Records after self-releasing his three previous albums via his Pacific Standard Records imprint. Poolside’s first release under the label, the single “Each Night” featuring Australian indie-pop band Mazy, dropped Wednesday (May 17). He’s represented by managers Bryan Duquette and Michael Bigham at Another Planet Management and booking agents Avery McTaggart at TBA and Latane Hughes at Wasserman.
Australian electronic rock band Pendulum signed with Mushroom Group and Universal Music Group’s global independent music division Virgin Music Group, which will release the group’s new single, “Halo” featuring Matt Tuck of Bullet For My Valentine, on June 2.
Country singer/songwriter Matt Schuster (“Vienna”) signed with WME for booking and Extended Play for management; he previously signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group.
Rock band Krooked Kings and its label home, Nobody Gets It, signed a deal with Matt Geffen‘s Coup D’Etat Music for distribution (in partnership with ADA Worldwide) and publishing (in partnership with AVEX USA). This is the first signing for Coup D’Etat’s newly-launched distribution division. The band, which just released the album All Out of Good Days, is represented by manager Wade Davis of Nobody Gets It and Alex Douma of CAA for booking.
Country singer/songwriter Tyler Halverson signed to The Erv Woolsey Company for management. Halverson recently released his major label debut single, “Her,” on Atlantic Records.
Lebanese singer Maya Diab (“Sawa,” “Habibi”) signed to Warner Music Middle East, which will release her EP, #MyMayaV, later this year. In addition to her music career, Diab is known across the Arab world as a music producer, TV personality and fashion influencer.
Los Angeles-based indie-electronic duo The Hellp (comprised of vocalist Noah Dillon and producer Chandler Ransom Lucy) signed with Atlantic Records, which released its new single, “California Dream Girl,” on March 16.
Ambient artist/mastering engineer Taylor Deupree signed to Nettwerk, which released his latest song, “Eev,” on May 12. Deupree previously released music via his own label, 12k.
Country, bluegrass and gospel duo Dailey & Vincent signed to Morris Higham Management. Made up of Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent, the duo is signed to BMG Nashville and represented by booking agents Tony Conway, Brandon Mauldin and Cody Payne at Conway Entertainment Group.
Grammy-nominated production and songwriting team Futuristiks: Mike & Keys signed a two-album partnership with Lowly/Create Music Group, kicked off by the release of their new EP, 10 Toes Down featuring Casey Veggies. The duo served as executive producers on Nipsey Hussle‘s Crenshaw mixtape and have also worked with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, 50 Cent and more.
Los Angeles-based, Toledo, Ohio-bred rapper CNN Mikey signed to Polo G‘s label ODA (Only Dreams Achieve), which will drop the video for his ODA debut single, “FOR MY PEOPLE,” on Wednesday (May 24). CNN Mikey is managed by Mike Maloian and Patrick MacDonald of 25/7 Management.
Sony Classical signed Frankfurt, Germany-based cellist Anastasia Kobekina and will release her debut major label album early next year. Kobekina is managed by Gregor Kotow and Shannen Liu at Liu Kotow International Management & Promotion.
Lauren Records signed Talking Kind, the solo project of Big Nothing member and former Spraynard frontman Pat Graham. The label released his first song, “Damn Shame,” on Thursday (May 18).
The Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective (BMC) and Amazon Music selected five students as the recipients of the Your Future Is Now scholarship, designed to give students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) the opportunity to learn and explore all facets of the music industry.
The scholarship, first launched in February 2021, offers students the chance to receive $10,000 for the 2023-24 school year and the opportunity to be part of an immersive rotation program with Amazon Music and Recording Academy department leads, providing each student a detailed look at their particular field of work within the music industry.
The five students chosen are Joseph Michael Abiakam (Norfolk State University), Langston Jackson (Hampton University), Kennedi Amari Johnson (Clark Atlanta University), Courtney Roberts (Texas Southern University), and Caleb Wilkerson (Florida A&M University).
“We are immensely proud to collaborate with Amazon Music in renewing this exceptional scholarship program for the third consecutive year,” Ryan Butler, vp of DEI at the Recording Academy said in a statement. “The imperative of Black representation in the music industry cannot be overstated, and this scholarship is a tangible manifestation of our unwavering commitment to promoting the aspirations of future Black music leaders.”
“The Your Future Is Now scholarship was created to foster an inclusive environment where Black creators can realize their career objectives,” Phylicia Fant, head of music industry and culture collaborations at Amazon Music, said in a statement. “…This year’s class of students represents the next generation of Black musicians and executives, and it’s an honor to play a part in their development as individuals and future leaders.”
The BMC and Amazon Music will also award two HBCUs a $10,000 grant each for equipment for their music programs to be announced later this summer.
In addition, as part of Your Future Is Now, Amazon Music, The Same House and the Recording Academy are coming together to host the Your Future is Now Business Development Seminar for select members of the 2023 graduating class of Morris Brown College. Revealed this past weekend at Morris Brown’s commencement by the Recording Academy’s chief DEI officer, Zing Shaw, this new, half-day music business seminar taking place on June 17 will offer professional development expertise in music business, publishing and music production. Facilitators at the event will include Recording Academy’s Atlanta chapter president Justin Henderson and Frankie Yaptinchay of Amazon Music.
Following the music business seminar, graduates will be treated to a suite experience at State Farm Arena in Atlanta for the annual ATL Birthday Bash Concert where they will have the opportunity to network with representatives from the Recording Academy and Amazon Music, as well as other key music industry executives.
For more information on the Black Music Collective and the Your Future Is Now scholarship, visit here.
It was a good week for music stocks overall and an even better week for concert promoters, who made the biggest gains on the Billboard Global Music Index ahead of the blockbuster summer touring season.
The index rose 4.4% to 1,256.06 this week, with 15 of the 21 stocks ending in positive territory. It was led by concert promoter Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s (MSGE) 19.4% gain amidst multiple news items that influenced the share price. On Wednesday (May 17), Guggenheim initiated coverage of MSGE with a buy rating, while a report claimed that MSG Entertainment may sell the theater at Madison Square Garden for about $1 billion. On Thursday, the company released first-quarter results that showed a 4% increase in revenue to $201 million, though the company’s executives did not comment on the report during Thursday’s earnings call.
Shares of German promoter CTS Eventim also made big gains, rising 9.2% to 64.30 euros ($68.61). On Thursday, the company’s first-quarter earnings showed a 163% revenue jump to 366.2 million euros ($396 million) — beating pre-pandemic levels from the first quarter of 2019 by 29.5%. Year-to-date, CTS Eventim has sold 18 million tickets online, a 58% increase from the prior-year period. Meanwhile, Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, improved 8.4% to $84.73 and is now up 21.5% year to date. Sphere Entertainment Co., which spun off MSG Entertainment in April, improved 6.1% to $23.61.
The S&P 500 improved 1.6% to 4,191.98 and the Nasdaq composite rose 3% to 12,657.90. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was unchanged at 7,756.87, while South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 2.5% to 2,537.79.
K-pop companies continued their hot streak this week. Two companies not in the Billboard Global Music Index, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment, gained 22.7% and 17.8%, respectively. Year-to-date, shares of JYP Entertainment, home to Stray Kids and Twice, have gained 70.6%. Shares of YG Entertainment, whose roster includes recent Coachella headliner Blackpink, are up 109.8% in 2023. Shares of HYBE dropped slightly by 0.4% but have gained 62% year to date. Likewise, shares of SM Entertainment gained only 1.1% this week but have grown 40% this year.
Better Noise Music has announced several new leadership changes. Founder Allen Kovac (New York) is now chairman of the label, Dan Waite (London) has been named CEO and Steve Kline (New York) has added the title of president to his existing COO title. Better Noise’s roster includes mainstream rock acts such as Five Finger Death Punch, Dirty Heads, The Hu and Asking Alexandria.
In a statement, Kovac, who was included on Billboard‘s 2022 Indie Power Players list, said the label “is continuing to grow our international cumulative sales through our global offices.” Billboard named Better Noise the No. 1 mainstream rock airplay label and No. 1 mainstream rock airplay imprint of 2022.
“In this new role,” said Waite, “I’ll aim to maximize the careers and album consumption of our signed acts on our label as we grow the label, expanding through new signings, opening up new markets and working closely with the amazing specialists that we have in each department at BNM which has kept us #1 Rock Label for the last five years.”
Kline, who has been Better Noise’s COO since 2016, has worked for 18 years under the Kovac Media umbrella, first at artist management firm 10th Street Entertainment. “I want to thank Allen for putting his faith in me, as he has over the past 19 years, in this enhanced role at Better Noise,” said Kline. “I am incredibly excited to work with Allen and Dan in leading our amazing global team to future success.”
Nicole Kim was named vp of A&R at Columbia Records. Kim arrives at the label from Big Hit Music/HYBE, where she served as head of A&R and head of creative for BTS. During her more than five-year tenure at the Korean company, she worked on BTS’ collaborations with Coldplay, Halsey, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and more. Prior to Big Hit/HYBE, she held creative roles at Starship Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing Korea. Kim will be based out of Columbia’s Los Angeles office and can be reached at nicole.kim@sonymusic.com.
Shahendra Ohneswere was named to the newly-created role of head of creative strategy at Island Records, where he will lead overall creative strategy and digital marketing initiatives for the label. He is based in New York and will report to co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak. Ohneswere joins Island from Columbia, where he has served as senior vp of content development/co-head of digital marketing since 2018. He was named to Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players lists in 2021 and 2022.
Jennifer Cabalquinto was named CFO at EMPIRE, where she will oversee all day-to-day and long-term financial planning and accounting operations while strategizing the company’s expansion into sports, video games, TV/film and live entertainment. She has held CFO positions at 2K Games, Universal Studios Hollywood, Telemundo and the Golden State Warriors.
Garrett Levin is stepping down from his role as president/CEO of The Digital Media Association (DiMA) as he plots a move to Geneva, Switzerland, where he will relocate this summer due to his wife’s job. Levin will continue leading the organization through his departure as the DiMA board searches for a successor. “I have been honored to lead this organization over the past four-plus years and am deeply proud of our many successes during that time,” said Levin on LinkedIn. “We reached a landmark settlement with music publishers and songwriters, continued the important work of turning the Music Modernization Act into operational reality, forged stronger relationships between streaming services and other music stakeholders, and continuously told the story of the vital role that streaming plays in today’s music industry.”
Virgin Music Group announced the promotion of three executives: Leslie Cooper to senior vp of artist development and special projects, Marisa Di Frisco to vp of national promotion and Lauren Holman to vp of streaming marketing. In her new role, the Los Angeles-based Cooper will oversee K-pop releases while also identifying new artist development opportunities within the company and leading collaborative efforts in that area. The New York-based Di Frisco will continue overseeing promotion campaigns at Alternative, Rock, AAA and Non-commercial/College radio. The Los Angeles-based Holman, finally, will lead the streaming and playlisting strategy team. Cooper can be reached at Leslie.Cooper@virginmusic.com, Di Frisco can be reached at marisa.difrisco@virginmusic.com and Holman can be reached at lauren.holman@virginmusic.com.
Warner Chappell Production Music (WCPM) launched SCOREMONGERS, a new music resource that includes a premium underscore label and custom music-to-picture services. Led by WCPM head of production Pat Weaver, the SCOREMONGERS team includes WCPM producers and composers such as newcomer Sean Gould and existing WCPM staffer Scott Reinwand, who assists in overseeing all SCOREMONGERS music services, including custom music-to-picture, music customization and music editing to picture. The company launches with more than 60 albums and over 10 genres inspired by trending films and TV series, including “companion albums with wide tonal range, complimentary palettes, transitions, and recurring themes, along with extensive stem and submix options,” according to a press release. The music was created by film and TV composers including Michael Brook, Lisbeth Scott, Greg Tripi, Tony Morales and John Kaefer. Weaver can be reached at pat@scoremongers.io, Gould can be reached at sean@scoremongers.io and Reinwand can be reached at scott@scoremongers.io.
Elizabeth “Beth” Heidt was promoted to chief marketing officer at Gibson Brands, where she will join the leadership team; she was previously vp of cultural influence. In her new role, Heidt will oversee Gibson Brands’ global brand and marketing teams, entertainment and artist relations, social media, partnerships, public relations, multi-media divisions and the Gibson Gives Foundation.
Rostrum Records founder/CEO Benjy Grinberg launched Rostrum Pacific, a parent company that will incorporate an expanding portfolio of entertainment properties, including a soon-to-be-announced catalog marketing agency. Longtime Rostrum Records GM Jonathan Partch will lead Rostrum Pacific as COO; he can be reached at jonathan@rostrum.com.
ONErpm launched a digital strategy department and tapped longtime staffer Casey Childers to lead it. The Nashville-based Childers was most recently senior project manager at the company. “Our goal is to be able to provide the help artists need to grow their social footprint in a way that is true and organic to them,” said ONErpm head of U.S. marketing Jenna LoMonaco in a statement. “With Casey and the Digital Strategy team’s work, we can now provide hands-on help with social growth, engagement, and new forms of revenue.” Childers can be reached at casey@onerpm.com.
Donald Robins was named director of promotion at Warner Music Canada, where he will lead the company’s promotion team. Robins has worked in radio promotion his entire career; he joined Warner Music Canada in 2006 as a promotion representative for Quebec.
Electronic dance music festival Tomorrowland launched CORE Records, a boutique record label that will focus on “crossing and fusing genres, cultures and boundaries,” according to a press release. CORE, which will work closely with partners Virgin Music/Universal Music Group, will be led by Michel Van Buyten, who oversees Tomorrowland’s music division, including the Tomorrowland Music label. He will be joined by the newly-appointed Pieter-Jan Nuytten, who will serve as CORE’s dedicated A&R manager; Nuytten arrives at the label from PIAS/Strictly Confidential Music Publishing. The label’s first signings including Berlin-based solo dandy producer Afriqua and Belgian electronic duo Mosley Jr; both will perform at CORE Festival in Brussels on May 28. Van Buyten can be reached at michel.vanbuyten@tomorrowland.com and Nuytten can be reached at jan.nuytten@tomorrowland.com.
Steve Tadlock was named senior vp of venue relations at LiveCo, where he will manage facility relationships, content-backed booking deals and continue driving the company’s growth. Mark Dinerstein was also promoted from executive vp to president of LiveCo’s newly-formed corporate development group, where he will oversee the development and execution of company-wide initiatives and new acquisitions, venue deals, strategic partnerships and more. Tadlock joins LiveCo from ASM Global, where he most recently served as GM of Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
Amber Davis was promoted to senior vp at Warner Chappell Music UK, where she will take on a broader role in shaping the publisher’s overall U.K. strategy while continuing to oversee the A&R department as head of A&R. David will report to Warner Chappell Music UK managing director Shani Gonzales.
Donna Vergies was appointed vp of international marketing at Chrysalis Records/Blue Raincoat Music, where she joins the staff full-time following her previous position as a freelance international consultant for the company. Based in London, Vergies will work with artists on the Chrysalis/Blue Raincot roster, overseeing international campaigns and managing relationships with the company’s global partners and distributors. She can be reached at Donna@blueraincoatmusic.com.
Shannan Hatch was promoted from vp of creative serivces to senior vp/head of Nashville creative at SESAC, where she has worked for more than 20 years. In the role, Hatch will continue leading the Nashville-based creative services team while working closely with SESAC senior management to support creator-focused initiatives. She can be reached at shatch@sesac.com.
Rodrigo Dominguez was promoted to managing director of peermusic Spain and Portugal; he previously served as managing director of Portugal alone. He continues to hold the title of Latin American creative coordinator, managing activities for peermusic’s network of operations in those territories. Dominguez is based in Lisbon and Madrid and can be reached at rfernandes@peermusic.com.
Danny Berkeley-Scott was named vp at music management company Hallwood Media, where he will look to grow the firm with signings and in-house brand partnerships. In addition to launching Hallwood’s engineer management division, Berkeley-Scott oversees partnerships with Headspace, Bandlab and Soundwide.
FaZe Clan head of communications Chelsey Northern departed the youth gaming and lifestyle company to lead her recently-established public relations company The Untold, which will represent FaZe Clan along with clients including Deadfellaz, Proof Holding, Futureverse and the innovation teams at Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records.
Hillary Smoot joined the Schneider Rondan Organization as Las Vegas director/senior account executive. She brings her clients from the entertainment and hospitality worlds, including Feld Entertainment. Smoot was most recently recruited to create Red Moon PR, overseeing public relations campaigns for Los Angeles’ Viper Room, El Dorado Cantina and Red Mercury Entertainment shows including Purple Reign and MJ Live.
Joe Davis joined entertainment, business and financial management firm KBFM to lead its newly-established in-house tax department. Davis will merge his CPA firm, BootstrapTax, with KBFM. He will support the firm’s clients with all tax matters while overseeing accounting and tax planning for several small businesses and entrepreneurs both within and outside the music industry. He can be reached at joe@kbfmgmt.com.
In order to meet the growing demand for physical music and video in the United Kingdom, Utopia Music has entered a long-term contract with DP World for a £100 million ($124.8 million), 25,000-square meter warehouse in Bicester, United Kingdom. The new warehouse will feature technologically advanced solutions, including high-density storage and robotic transfer of product, to enable the efficient distribution of over 30 million units a year across the United Kingdom and export markets. Stock will be moving from Utopia Distribution Services’ current warehouse in Aylesbury, United Kingdom (inherited from physical distributor Cinram, whose assets were acquired by Utopia in 2022) to the new facility over the summer.
Swedish Web3 music company anotherblock has raised €4 million ($4.34 million) in an investment round led by Stride.VC and joined by Swedish House Mafia member Axwell (whose Swedish House Mafia partner, Steve Angello, previously invested in the company). The money will be used to help anotherblock scale globally and make its product available to a wider range of artists, producers and record companies.
Seeker Music has acquired the masters and publishing catalog of Charlotte Caffey — lead guitarist, keyboardist and primary songwriter for The Go-Go’s. Caffey wrote some of the group’s biggest hits, including their breakthrough song, “We Got the Beat,” as well as “Head Over Heels,” “Vacation,” “How Much More” and “Turn To You.” Caffey has also written songs for artists including Keith Urban (“But for the Grace of God”) and her Go-Go’s bandmate Belinda Carlisle, as well as songs for film and TV including the theme song for the Clueless TV series. The deal was brokered by veteran record executives Michael Rosenblatt and David Simone.
300 Entertainment has partnered with Florida-based imprint Remain Solid, founded by manager and executive 100k Track, for a label joint venture. The first artist signed under the deal is Brooklyn-based rapper BreezyLYN, who released the remix to her single, “Bad Bitches” featuring Lola Brooke and Kali, earlier this month.
Songtradr announced a partnership with TikTok around the video-sharing platform’s Commercial Music Library. Under the deal, Songtradr is now a certified “Subscription Sound Partner,” supplying music for the Commercial Music Library, which gives businesses, organizations and creators access to pre-licensed, rights-safe music for organic content and paid advertising.
Music technology companies Tuned Global and Revelator struck a partnership that will allow digital service providers and other Tuned Global customers to enable artists to mint and distribute music releases as NFTs directly on Web2 streaming platforms using Revelator’s Web3 tech. “These NFTs will coexist with traditional streamed music, enabling fans to enjoy digital collectibles and actively engage with token gated content, while providing artists with blockchain-based payment opportunities through smart contracts,” according to a press release announcing the deal. Added Revelator CEO/founder Bruno Guez: “This partnership lets music lovers collect NFTs in fan-friendly ways where they are already experiencing music. Fans won’t need to mess with wallets or special Web3 players, or even leave their favorite music platform. They’ll pay with a credit card. This access and ease will open up new revenue streams for artists, as more fans jump in.”
AI music startup AudioShake announced a $2.7 million seed funding round led by Indicator Ventures, with participation from Precursor Ventures and Side Door Ventures. Also taking part in the round are Metallica-backed Black Squirrel Partners, AJR, Google’s Black Angel Group, peermusic, Audius CEO Roneil Rumburg, S-Curve Records CEO Steve Greenberg and Crush Ventures, the venture arm of Crush Music, among others. Audioshake’s B2B deep learning technology deconstructs audio into stems so that they can be made available for new uses across music, film, dubbing, transcription, synthetic voice and more. The company has worked with departments from all three major labels as well as publishers including Primary Wave, Hipgnosis, Spirit, peermusic, Concord, Downtown and Reservoir.
Unitea, a Miami-based engage-to-earn music platform, has raised a seed round of $7 million led by 1st Class Guernsey, Chaos Capital and Fuel Venture Capital. The funds will be used to further expand the platform’s capabilities within the music industry and beyond. The platform allows users to share music and create content to earn digital tokens, called Karma, that can be redeemed for exclusive rewards including custom digital assets, concert tickets and artist meet-and-greets. The company’s board of directors includes Pitbull and Claude VonStroke.
Freshsound, a self-serve licensing platform for commercially released music, closed a €2 million ($2.17 million) seed funding round that will support the company as it seeks to expand internationally while continuing to grow in the Nordic market. The new investment comes less than a year after the company’s pre-seed funding round worth €1.3 million ($1.41 million). The latest investment round was led by Zenith Venture Capital and Aligned. Founded in 2021 by Stevie Gyasi and Sara Larsson, Freshsound boasts a dynamic pricing model that gives clients instant quotes for any use and the ability to license their music for commercial purposes.
CD Baby and creator copyright protection platform Cosynd have expanded their existing partnership with the integration of Cosynd’s Copyright Registration API into the CD Baby platform, which allows artists to register copyrights and establish legal ownership over their work.
Music, entertainment and technology platform LiveOne struck an exclusive content distribution deal with OTT Studio, a streaming technology platform and connected TV (CTV) app publisher. Under the deal, LiveOne will serve as OTT Studio’s exclusive music streaming provider, delivering LiveOne’s 600 radio stations via OTT’s Music Plus application. The agreement will expand the distribution of LiveOne’s audio and entertainment content to an additional 47 million CTVs in North America via LG’s webOS and Vizio’s SmartCast platforms.
SiriusXM announced a multi-year extension and expansion of their services agreement with Mercedes-Benz, under which the automaker is expected to make the installation of SiriusXM a standard feature on Mercedes-Benz models available in the United States, starting with model year 2024 vehicles. SiriusXM’s “most advanced audio entertainment experience,” SiriusXM with 360L, is also expected to be included in future Mercedes-Benz models, according to a press release.
Lyric licensing and data solutions company LyricFind signed an agreement with GEMA, Germany’s mechanical and performance rights society, in a further expansion of LyricFind’s international footprint.
Public relations company Full Coverage Communications is no longer working with singer-songwriter Jimmie Allen, sources tell Billboard. The news is the latest fallout after allegations of sexual abuse were lodged against Allen by a former day-to-day manager via a civil lawsuit filed last week.
Following the allegations, Allen was suspended by his label, BBR Music Group, which included halting radio promotion for his current single, “Be Alright.” Additionally, he was suspended by his booking agency, UTA, as well as his current management home, The Familie, which Allen joined in late 2022. CMA Fest also dropped him from the lineup.
Alleng’s accuser claims that his alleged abuse took place over 18 months from 2020 to 2022, and claims that she was fired after she complained about his behavior.
“Plaintiff expressed in words and actions that Jimmie Allen’s conduct was unwelcome, including pushing him away, sitting where he could not reach her, telling him she was uncomfortable and no, and crying uncontrollably,” her attorneys stated in the complaint filed Thursday (May 11). “However, Allen made clear that plaintiff’s job was dependent on her staying silent about his conduct.”
The artist denied all allegations of wrongdoing in a statement shared with Billboard at the time but admitted to a sexual relationship with his accuser. “I’ve worked incredibly hard to build my career, and I intend to mount a vigorous defense to her claims and take all other legal action necessary to protect my reputation,” he said.
Also on Wednesday, Allen broke his silence with a series of posts via Instagram Stories that seemingly pointed to the allegations against him. In one of those posts, Allen stated, “We Gonna Be Alright … This Too Shall Pass,” along with prayer hands and fist emojis. Notably, the post incorporated the title of “Be Alright,” which currently sits at No. 60 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, a three-position drop from the previous week.
In a separate Instagram Stories post, Allen shared a promotional photo of the song “God Only Knows,” recorded by the CCM sibling duo For King & Country. Allen tagged the duo in the photo and commented, “He knows!,” accompanied by the same emojis as the previous post.
Full Coverage Communications clients include Anderson .Paak, 5 Seconds of Summer, Earth Wind & Fire and Saweetie.
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
Each year, the music industry inevitably loses some of its most influential behind-the-scenes players — corporate executives, agents, managers, songwriters, producers, engineers, lawyers, promoters, visionaries and more who shaped the business in a multitude of ways. So far in 2023, the industry has lost people like Alba “Albita” Eagan, the public and talent relations executive […]
TOKYO — The traditional path to financial independence through music creation has been evolving for years. While there was once a clear-cut approach that included labels, publishers, touring, and CD sales, now the vast majority of artists need to find a different way to make it. The world is bigger now, and the borders and boundaries of music are being torn down piece by piece. Not only are more and more people listening to music from outside their markets, even in once more locally focused countries like Japan, Korea and India, but more and more people are watching how other music pros operate and taking notes.
This means that new markets are opening up to creators in the United States and that, simultaneously, Asian artists are rethinking their whole approach to the business. Together, these dynamics are leading to new career paths and new sounds.
In Japan, we’ve witnessed a huge change in the incentive structure. I’ve worked for years in the Japanese market as a producer and have watched things change firsthand. One of the biggest sources of change came not from our market, but from South Korea. BTS broke the world charts and now everyone’s looking outside of Japan. Korea opened their eyes.
BTS, BLACKPINK, and other K-pop groups set a precedent and demonstrated what’s possible. Before, everyone assumed you had to change for export, to sing in English, to adjust your look and feel. But these young Korean stars didn’t initially feel a need to sing in English; instead their fans learned Korean. Korean artists and producers were able to prove that an Asian person who doesn’t know English or even have perfect pronunciation can top charts and win a Grammy. The most important factor is entertainment. Are you entertained? If so, that’s all you care about as a fan.
Watching BTS take the world by storm, Japanese artists began to expand their ambitions, and the industry has had to respond. Music professionals used to be focused on monetizing this island and that alone, but now younger artists are looking outside and considering their options. The entire ecosystem of labels and publishers has come into question, as young artists are asking why they should sign to a label. Talented musicians who sign to a major are a huge deal now. Artists know they have to pull through all their fanbase themselves.
As young Japanese creators think globally, the market is starting to open up more and more to new global talent. Yet creating the relationships to make this openness work has proven a slow evolution, not a quick pivot. The first and foremost reason that there’s a disconnect is the language barrier, as not everyone in the Japanese industry feels comfortable conducting business in English. They can’t communicate the way they’d like.
This further enhances local skepticism about working with foreign producers. Instead of a set deal, things change as the project evolves, terms change, as, say, three more writers start asking for advances out of the blue, all problems that I’ve heard about from A&Rs I’ve talked to. Relationships with people in Japan make project management easy. Because of the way publishing works in Japan, local producers cost less and everyone knows the terms of a standard contract. No negotiation is required. It’s safe and administratively simple, by comparison.
Yet if a Japanese A&R exec turns to a producer who isn’t big in Japan, they can feel shocked by higher prices and more complex terms, with international publishers and other parties involved. They have to put out their neck personally and that’s a major risk. As things change at home, however, and Japanese creators rethink their strategies, this risk can feel worth taking, and more and more tools and services are working to enable better communication and collaboration.
This has implications for artists far from our corner of the world. Artists in the United States are fighting for attention for percentages of pennies—this is not new information to anyone. In Japan, however, one play of an artist’s track in a karaoke booth can generate a hundred times as much revenue as a Spotify stream. Write, produce, or perform a hit that gets played regularly in karaoke rooms across Tokyo, especially if it’s a song that works for weddings, birthdays, or graduation, and you could receive a comfortable check for life. Yet even as artists continue to search for new ways to stand out from their peers, opportunities in East Asia often get overlooked as viable options. I see this changing, as both Japanese and non-Japanese players understand one another better, and it’s thrilling.
We’ve entered a space without borders, where business practices as well as sounds cross and blend. We can look at each other, communicate and share information any time, even across languages. The quicker that moves, the quicker the trends flow. We don’t go through decades of rock; it’s a one-month period of rock, until someone comes up with a new crazy sound. This is often happening on platforms with global reach, key gateways to new music and to what kids are making right now. How the next steps unfold–how labels, publishers, and established players react to this new global exchange–are still being determined. But once distant markets are growing closer, and the entire business stands to benefit.
Kenneth Kobori, CEO of SURF Music, is a songwriter and producer in Japan as 2SOUL. He achieved early success with “Story” by AI in 2005, which charted in Oricon’s top 10 for 73 weeks. He’s worked with Earth, Wind & Fire and Little Glee Monster, among others, and is also a former executive and startup member of Breaker, Inc.