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Record Store Day already has a magnificent track record of bringing music fans out to stores, but this year, the event received an added boost from Taylor Swift’s folklore, the long pond studio sessions — a double LP that resulted in longer-than-usual lines at retailers.
While the spread of Record Store Day (RSD) releases is now a major draw unto itself, the Swift release, which enjoyed a 75,000-unit distribution to stores across the U.S., was the best-selling title by far. Or as Stu Goldberg, owner of Mr. Cheapo CD & Record Exchange on Long Island, N.Y., put it: “Today, it was all about Taylor Swift.”
An assessment of Record Store Day wouldn’t be complete without a call to its administrator and co-founder, Michael Kurtz, who noted that RSD is on course to break the sales record for the most vinyl sold in a single day. When RSD “began 16 years ago, we had 30 releases that sold about 80,000 copies,” Kurtz says. “On Saturday, we had one record, Taylor Swift, selling 75,000 or almost that amount, and plenty of sales from other releases.” It’s likely that her release could be a Top 5 record on next next week’s Billboard 200.
Likewise, Rough Trade store manager George Flanagan said the store’s line was “informed by Taylor Swift fans,” while Newbury Comics store manager Therrien Dolby says the Swift release was the “big draw.” And In Patchogue, NY, Jeff Berg, the owner of Record Stop, says there were so many Swift fans, the store had to create two lines: one for fans seeking her release and one for everybody else. The Swift line had its own dedicated cash register too.
In acknowledgement of the day’s impact, Alliance Entertainment, the largest music wholesaler, says that more than 800,000 units of vinyl were created and shipped for RSD, with retail sales expected to surpass $32 million. “Record Store Day has been a long-time partner to Alliance Entertainment, always collaborating to benefit the independent record store community,” Alliance senior vp of sales Ken Glaser said in a statement.
RSD In NYC
Billboard began its New York City-area Record Store Day trek by driving out to Newbury Comics at Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island. Upon arrival at 9 a.m., about 40 people were lined up outside. Like other stores later in the day, store manager Dolby positioned himself at the front door, regulating entry to make sure the store didn’t get too crowded and overwhelm the staff. At the 8 a.m. opening time, about 150 people were waiting, Dolby reported, including one customer who arrived at 1 a.m. (Dolby added that mall management, the Simon Property Group, was very helpful and accommodating to the store for the event.)
A common sight on RSD.
Ed Christman
Inside the store, a quick scan revealed that roughly 25% of its bin floor space is devoted to music, with 17 bins dedicated to vinyl and two dedicated to CDs. The store also carries a healthy stock of music merch, mainly artists-t-shirts, and music titles also enjoy a prominent position in front-of-the-store end caps.
Upon leaving Newbury Comics, Billboard headed to Mr. Cheapo CD & Record Exchange in Mineola (the store has a second location in Commack, Long Island). When co-owner Goldberg arrived at the store on Saturday morning, he found a line around the block due in large part to the Swift record, though he admitted that the store underbought the title and quickly ran out of it as a result. That was the store’s number one title for the day, he says, and “if we had more, it would have been the biggest by a mile.”
Fortunately for Goldberg, most people stayed in line after learning the Swift release had sold out. The other big sellers on Saturday were Billy Joel‘s Live at the Great American Music Hall, 1975 and Eric Carr’s Rockology, because “Kiss is always a great seller here,” he adds. Behind the counter, store staffer Jessica commanded the cash register and bagged purchases while touting her band T.O.Y.S.’ next gig with a bag-stuffer flyer for their set supporting hardcore punk band Urban Waste at the Amityville Music Hall on May 5.
Beyond the vinyl explosion, Goldberg noted that CDs are again becoming a big deal because young fans “want something tangible” from their favorite artists.
While at Mr. Cheapo, Billboard ran into respected sales/commerce executive Ken Gullic, who was doing his best to support RSD by picking up Soul Asylum‘s MTV Unplugged 1993 and Tori Amos‘ Little Earthquakes – The B-Sides. Most recently with MNRK, Gullic is entertaining freelance options; entertainment suppliers can reach him at kengullic@gmail.com.
After Long Island, Billboard decided to hit record stores in Ridgewood, Queens and then Bushwick, Brooklyn, on the way to Rough Trade Records on Sixth Avenue near 49th Street in Manhattan. Trying Google for Ridgewood, Billboard hit Scorpio Records and then Deep Cut Records, but things didn’t work out so well. At 11:30 a.m., Scorpio Records was closed and, as it turns out, generally doesn’t open until 2 p.m.
While Deep Cut Records was open and had about 20 people in line, the owner effectively told Billboard to get lost by slamming the door after being asked what his best-selling title was.
Onward Octopus Records in Bushwick. While Octopus didn’t stock any RSD titles, Nigel, who identified himself as the store owner, says it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He explained that his store is relatively new, having opened last summer and that an e-mail to the Record Store Day website was never returned. Nevertheless, the store advertised a 10%-off sale for RSD on a sign placed outside to celebrate the event. Nigel says Octopus Records has a deep selection of electronica music and is now building out other genres.
Down the block from Octopus, Brooklyn Vintage, a clothing store that also sells other merchandise, including records, was getting some Record Store Day action too, with crates of vinyl set outside the door (where a DJ was spinning tunes) and a bin of vinyl inside.
Finally, Billboard headed to Rough Trade in Manhattan, where things were still swinging at 2 p.m. Upon arrival, at least 150 people were still in line, which ran to the corner of 6th Avenue and then a third of the way down 49th Street. The size of the line held steady throughout most of the day, as security never let more than eight or so customers in the store at one time to allow staff to handle sales in an orderly manner.
Store manager Flanagan reports that the first customer lined up sometime before 8 p.m. on Friday night and that the same customer has been the first person in line for at Rough Trade on RSD for at least five years. Meanwhile, beyond the hundreds of copies of the Swift record sold by the store, The 1975’s Dirty Hit release, Live With The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, was its second most popular, having sold out by 3 p.m.
After Rough Trade, Billboard called it a day but is sorry to have bypassed Record Stop in Patchogue on Long Island, as that store put on an old-school Record Store Day bash reminiscent of the early days when stores threw parties for the annual event. “The town of Patchogue is very pro-business, so we did a block party, getting permits and had the street closed off from cars,” Record Stop owner Berg reports. “We had a food truck and the nearby Burgerology restaurant was hawking Blue Point beer, while we had five bands and a DJ.” According to a Record Stop flyer, the bands were Thee Unsung, the Detonators, Bang For Your Buc and War Pigs, while the DJ set was supplied by Vinyl Guy Tom.
Berg says he decided to make this year special because he wanted to thank his customers as well as his staff. “Record Store Day is about a celebration of what we do,” he says.
Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to run alongside its annual Country Power Players list of country music industry’s most influential executives. This new Country Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive whose peers believe has had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to managing and touring and beyond. Vote here.
Voting is now open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.
Billboard launched its first Players’ Choice Award with the Power 100 list earlier this year.
The first round of voting will begin April 25, with an open call for nominees.
The second round of voting will begin May 8, in order to narrow down the top 25 nominees into the final five top executives.
The third round of voting will begin May 15, to select the winner from that list.
If you are not yet a member of Billboard Pro, you can join here.
Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to run alongside its annual Country Power Players list of country music industry’s most influential executives. This new Country Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive whose peers believe has had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to managing and touring and beyond.
Voting is open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.
Billboard first launched its Players’ Choice Award with the Power 100 list earlier this year.
The first round of voting is now open and will run through May 7 with an open call for nominees. Vote below.
The second round of voting will begin May 8, in order to narrow down the top 20 nominees into the final five top executives.
The third round of voting will begin May. 15, to select the winner from that list. Voting concludes May 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Vote here:
The annual IMS Business Report was presented today (April 26) at IMS Ibiza. The dance industry conference annually presents the report, which breaks down notable growth (and lag) sectors of the scene and also provides a yearly valuation of the worldwide industry.
For the first time, the report was authored by MIDiA Research’s Mark Mulligan, who presented it today to a packed room. These are eight of the key findings.
1. The Global Dance Music Industry Grew By 34% In 2022, Reaching a Value Of $11.3 Billion
This number is 16% higher than it was before the pandemic, during which the value of the global industry reached historic lows as live events shut down. But, the report states, “2022 saw festivals and clubs rebound, finally shaking off most of the effects of the pandemic, representing nearly half of all dance industry revenues.”
The report notes that hardware and software combined were the next largest revenue source, but also the slowest growing. Music rights around recording and publishing grew by 14,% representing just under a fifth of the overall total.
2. The U.S., Germany & U.K. Have the Three Biggest Spotify Monthly Listener Bases for Electronic Music
This makes sense, given that these countries are also three of the world’s biggest music markets. But while Netherlands and Australia are smaller, they are multiple times higher as a share of the total population (Netherlands rate is seven times higher than the US). This means that electronic music simply has more cultural reach and impact here in these two countries.
3. Electronic Music Is Outperforming Hip-Hop In Social Follower Growth
Electronic music’s fanbase growth is happening most powerfully on social platforms, and TikTok especially. Here it’s growing 10 times faster than hip hop. TikTok launched #ElectronicMusic as its latest genre campaign in 2021 and hosted LIVE events from artists including Disclosure, BICEP and David Guetta As of March 2023, since June 2022, average daily creations for #ElectronicMusic are up 113% on the platform.
4. Music Software, Skills & Hardware Are Becoming Increasingly Valuable
Music production boomed during the pandemic, fostering more creators than ever before. And although growth slowed in 2022, revenues around software, hardware and production skills hit $6.6 billion, of which $2.8 billion was from dance producers and DJs.
5. Electronic Music Artists Represented 39% of All Festival Bookings In 2022
That’s up from 33% in 2021.
6. Female DJs Gained Traction, But 2022 Still Saw Male DJs Increase Their Share of Global Bookings
Though female DJs represented 15% of top 100 DJ bookings at festivals and other events, in 2022, this share fell from 21% in 2021. In the post-Covid return to live, male top 100 DJs saw their bookings grow 1.7 times faster than their female counterparts. Meanwhile, 67% of female artists reported feeling pressure to look good, while only 14% of male DJs reported feeling this same pressure.
7. Ibiza Came Back Big Following the Pandemic
Ibiza club ticketing revenue reached €124 million ($137 million) in 2022, up 55% from the €80 million ($88 million)registered in 2019. This growth was a result of increases in the number of events per venue, average ticket prices, and the total number of tickets sold going from two million in 2019 to 2.5 million in 2022.
8. Tech House Remains Beatport’s Leading Genre
The genre is followed in popularity by techno, house, melodic house and techno and drum and bass, dance/electropop, deep house, progressive house, indie dance, minimal/deep tech and trance. Despite the dominance of these sounds, 33% of all sales on the dance world digital download platform come from genres outside the platform’s top 10.
9. SoundCloud Is Foundational to Dance Music Culture
The platform saw a 24% growth in dance/electronic plays in 2022. The platform also hosts DJ sets, mash ups, rarities not presented on other platforms, and allows DJs and producers to connect with their fans in a way Spotify does not.
10. The Dance Scene Is In a Better Place Than It Was Pre-Pandemic
The reports states that “the dance music industry has shaken off the effects of the pandemic, coming out the other side, bigger, better, stronger and more relevant than ever.”
The annual IMS Ibiza dance music industry conference launches today (April 26), marking the opening weekend on the famed Spanish clubbing mecca.
IMS Ibiza 2023, the dance second largest conference after Amsterdam’s ADE, is expecting roughly 1,300 delegates from around the world at the luxe Destino Pacha Ibiza resort, which IMS is once again taking over for the three-day event. Co-hosted by dance world legend Pete Tong and BBC Radio 1 DJ and dance producer Jaguar, IMS 2023 is happening April 26-28 with a cavalcade of artists, agents, managers, journalists, managers, label owners and more, altogether representing a flurry of companies including YouTube, Tunecore, Deezer, BBC Radio 1, WME, Wasserman, Beatport, Ultra Music Publishing, the Association For Electronic Music and more.
The intensely robust IMS 2023 schedule — “An absolute monster in terms of curation and the level of speakers coming,” says IMS co-founder Ben Turner — features more than 130 keynotes, discussions, parties, workshops and networking events happening at Destino and satellite locations. Naturally, these include the island’s prestige clubs including Amnesia and Hï, along with the historic Dalt Villa, a UNESCO world heritage site that will once again become a rave during the IMS closing party.
But while the conference will span many topics, Turner anticipates the practicalities and legalities of artificial intelligence to be a major topic of conversation as the music industry at large grapples with how to not just profit from AI, but to understand its potential and sustainably contain its capabilities.
“Electronic music culture has been driven by independence from its roots,” Turner says, “and I think that’s still is a core component of why we’re different… I think our industry is in the best position to embrace AI, because of that independent spirit and that understanding of ownership of IP, and how ownership of masters and publishing gives you more freedom to experiment with this stuff — whereas the majors are just going to do what they always do, which is freak out and shut all the doors.”
IMS will also once again feature the presentation of its annual business report, which surveys the health of the dance music industry across sectors including streaming and live events, and which serves as an industry tool to determine growth sectors. For the first time this year, the report has been prepared by MIDiA Research, and will find new focuses in music publishing and the creator economy, “which around electronic music is obviously huge,” says Turner. This year’s report also reflects “a huge bounce back” of the industry following the pandemic, with this year’s report reflecting 2022 metrics.
IMS Ibiza 2022
Courtesy of IMS Ibiza
Also new this year is IMS’ partnership with Beatport, the digital download platform that acquired a 51% majority stake in IMS this past January. With conferences typically presenting slim margins and IMS’ 2022 partnership with Pollen falling through in the wake of that company’s collapse, the Beatport sale has allowed IMS to create a new level of financial solvency.
“Being really honest about it,” says Turner, “we nearly didn’t survive the pandemic. We had to do refunds, we didn’t have a show for three years, we had zero income coming in, we had to cut overhead, we had to cut our small but core team. There was a big question of, ‘Can we still do this? Can we afford to still do this? And can we afford to risk doing this?’”
Turner emphasizes that he and the other IMS founders are maintaining organizational and curatorial control the conference, that Beatport can help IMS grow and that the IMS team has “been really encouraged and feel extremely supported by them.”
But while the Beatport acquisition is presenting new opportunities, it also came with baggage due to a 2022 VICE article alleging sexism, racism and a toxic work culture within Beatport. Following Beatport’s acquisition of IMS, longstanding music industry diversity and inclusion advocacy group shesaid.so announced — after a seven year partnership with IMS — that it would be putting a “temporary pause” on its participation in IMS this year. (Read shesaid.so’s complete statement on the topic.)
So too did U.K. advocacy group Black Artist Database, which suspended its partnership with Beatport last August. The organization also recently released a statement that it would not be sending any members to IMS 2023. In an April 13 statement, IMS noted that the conference “understands and respects the need to make such decisions and will continue to remain strong supporters of both organizations and the values that they stand for. Our continued, long-term, widely-acknowledged commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality in all its intersections is demonstrated in our 2023 programming and it remains a core tenet of our ethos.”
“We understand why they needed to make their statements, Turner says. “Our door is always open, and we hope that we can work with both organizations in the future. I don’t see why that can’t happen. I think there needs to be dialogue between all of the parties, I don’t think this gets resolved any other way than people communicating and trying to understand each others perspective.”
“I’m on a mission is to help make dance music a more equal place that is representative of minorities, while supporting emerging artists,” IMS co-host Jaguar adds. “I’m really proud of the work we are doing alongside Ben and the IMS team to achieve this at the summit.” She adds that “It wouldn’t feel right to go into this week without extending my love, support and solidarity to Black Artist Database and shesaid.so, who will sadly not be present at IMS this year. What [they] both stand for is incredibly close to my heart and so important.”
While IMS delegates largely arrive from throughout Europe, Turner reports “a growing number of hardcore American attendees,” a demographic he attributes to the fact that “there isn’t a conference with a narrative left around the business of electronic music in America.” (IMS did host a one-day event in Los Angeles for five years, during the apex of the EDM boom.) He says if IMS is to add another event to its schedule, it will be in the U.S.
“I think we’re globally-minded in our output, but I do think America has its own set of issues, its own dialogue, its own need for its own Summit, no question. Because America is so big, and there’s an inward looking industry, quite a lot of people don’t think much beyond America in terms of their travel or their even in some cases, their ambitions. There’s a very strong home grown scene that deserves to have its own moment.”
For this week, though, the moment will once again be in Ibiza. Billboard will be reporting from the conference this week.
Keep your eye on us!” declares New Orleans music entrepreneur Nate Cameron Jr. “We’re in a very unique renaissance now.”
Cameron, a co-founder of the New Orleans creative collective glbl wrmng and tour/space production manager for the Grammy Award-nominated group Tank and the Bangas, gives a shoutout to the global music community with an enthusiasm that reflects the current upbeat mood in New Orleans music industry circles.
Such excitement is sparked in part by the emergence of a sophisticated music business infrastructure in a city where that essential knowledge has been conspicuously absent in the past. Despite the abundant talent in New Orleans — one of the world’s great musical locales — this shortcoming previously made some view it as something of a business backwater. As a result, hometown musicians missed many lucrative national-level opportunities and were vulnerable to industry exploitation.
Many New Orleans artists who sought to bolster their careers by connecting with respected professionals felt that they had to relocate to New York, Los Angeles or Nashville — and some pros who stayed home came to feel stigmatized for hailing from New Orleans. “I know someone in the music business here, now, who has an L.A. phone number so that people from out of town will take him seriously — and that is just bananas,” says Melissa O’Brien, producer of NOLA MusicCon, the music business conference that will return for a second annual in-person event Oct. 24-27.
“Many people think of New Orleans music exclusively in terms of its historic traditions, especially from the classic R&B era of Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, The Neville Brothers and Irma Thomas — the ‘giants’ of New Orleans R&B. And we have The Radiators, who are like our own Grateful Dead,” says Quint Davis, producer-director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which runs April 28-May 7. “But I think people need to understand that New Orleans music is not frozen in time, that another generation of younger artists has emerged who are commercial and hot and rocking. They are very innovative and forward-thinking, and they are building high-profile, nationally successful careers — artists such as Trombone Shorty, Jon Batiste, Big Freedia, Galactic, The Revivalists, Tank and the Bangas, Boyfriend, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. In contemporary jazz, there’s Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison and Terence Blanchard playing a role on the national stage. The list goes on and on in all genres. This exciting surge of fresh creativity is important for the global music business to understand about New Orleans today.
“There is now a significantly increased level of management,” Davis continues, “that can lead artists into making wise career choices; getting good publishing deals, which was lacking here for years; getting good record deals; and all the other career benefits that come with having national-level, nationally respected, well-connected, competent professional management people, such as Dino Gankendoff and Rueben Williams. There are good, new recording studios here as well. It has taken a long time for the highest standard of business infrastructure and technology to come to New Orleans. Now we have a lot of it, and that is a very promising recent development.”
David Shaw and Ed Williams of The Revivalists perform during the 2022 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 07, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage
Today, the word is out that local musicians can acquire essential business acumen without leaving town. Jonathan McHugh, the Hilton-Baldridge eminent scholar and chair of music industry studies at the city’s Loyola University, is “enthusiastic about the opportunities to be a filmmaker, record producer, publisher and music supervisor here. I’m invigorated by the potential to help [continue to build] the industry here and supply it with great young talent entering the workforce.”
Reid Wick, senior manager of membership and industry relations with the Recording Academy in New Orleans, explains that “over the last 15-plus years, many of us in the music industry here, with the support of the Recording Academy, worked to establish an impressive set of incentives for music industry growth. The state of Louisiana now has the strongest suite of incentives in the country, which includes investor rebates for recording and touring projects, as well as the growth of music jobs via payroll tax incentives.
“Additionally, we have garnered support from the economic development, tourism and government sectors to give the local music industry a seat at the table … These developments have led to the creation of the New Orleans Music Economy initiative, working with the international consulting firm Sound Diplomacy, under the auspices of [the economic development agency] Greater New Orleans Inc. We have been able to raise the awareness of the economic impact and importance of the local music industry as a true industry, as well as a cultural driver of the city’s overall economic health and well-being.”
Greater New Orleans Inc. vp of communications Matt Wolfe agrees. “The next step for the city is to execute on the business side of the industry — managing intellectual property, legal work, marketing, record labels, tour coordination and the other services that artists utilize in their growth trajectory,” he says. “The opportunity is here for the majors to capitalize on a market where artists already come to write and record.”
Walt Leger, president/CEO of New Orleans & Company, the city’s tourism board, credits this new climate to, in one word, “partnerships. I think what you are seeing is planning and ideation around the music business and its development happening in a very collaborative spirit, with higher education, the business community and state and local leadership.”
Nicholas Payton of the Nicholas Payton Trio performs during the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival at Fort Adams State Park on July 29, 2022 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Douglas Mason/GI
Cameron explains, “The global music business needs to know that New Orleans today is as vital, unique, innovative and modern as it has always been. At the core, New Orleans music has always been known for having genre lines that are blended by people from different cultures and different communities. The most promising recent development is the intentionality of our leading artists not only working together, collaborating with each other on music, collaborating with each other on tours, and collaborating on business ventures and properties, but also the spirit of fellowship and collaboration leading artists and cultural bearers and influencers, having the intentionality of bringing along the younger generations. We have a lot of young artists who are authentic to New Orleans, but they’re also very plugged into the national and international mix.”
Reid Martin, owner of New Orleans-based artist services firm MidCitizen Entertainment, is pleased that “we have some of the best business incentives in the country.” Recently, Louisiana launched the MIC’D UP (Music Industry Career Development University Partnership) program. To offer a $15-per-hour internship, “the state pays half of the wages, so the private business only has to [pay] $7.50 an hour,” he says. “At the end of the year, the hope is that the participating companies hire their interns, thus creating a new full-time, music industry job in New Orleans, and start the process all over again the next year with a new intern.
“In addition to this program,” adds Martin, “we have two sets of tax incentives, the qualified music company tax credit and the qualified entertainment company tax credit, that give tax breaks to companies that hire three employees at $35,000 per year [the QMC credit] or five employees at $45,000 per year [the QEC credit].”
Historian, educator and event planner Melissa A. Weber points out that local artists can benefit from “several endeavors that are invested in educating musicians about the business of music,” she says. “My favorites include workshops and legal clinics presented by the Ella Project, a nonprofit that offers pro bono legal assistance, arts business services and advocacy to the local cultural community; the New Orleans Music Economy Initiative, a project of Greater New Orleans Inc., focusing on intellectual property management and a competitive economic development strategy for New Orleans music; and Loyola University New Orleans’ Music Industry Studies program, which allows students to work with producers, managers, attorneys and other music business professionals.”
New Orleans’ brick-and-mortar facilities, large and small, also inspire enthusiasm. Since opening in 1975, Caesars Superdome has hosted The Rolling Stones; the Ultimate Event bill of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr.; the Essence Music Festival; and the Bayou Country Superfest headlined by George Strait and many others. The iconic stadium is in the home stretch of a multiyear (2020-24) upgrade of its physical spaces and technology. “We’ve got character other buildings wish they had,” says Evan Holmes, GM of Caesars Superdome, the adjacent Smoothie King Center and LSED Properties.
Big Freedia performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, on Saturday, May 7, 2022, in New Orleans.
Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Robert Mercurio, bassist for Galactic — the band that bought renowned nightclub Tipitina’s in late 2018 — says that, for promising new developments, “one of the best things is that we have a record-pressing plant in the city limits now, New Orleans Record Press, vinyl only. I feel like this has opened up the window for artists to have easy access to the most popular album format and actually make some real money from their music.” Since launching in late 2020, Tipitina’s Record Club has released albums, many of them archival, by Dr. John, Ernie K-Doe, Danny Barker, Donald Harrison, Fats Domino, Johnny Adams, Etta James, Trombone Shorty and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Dizzy Gillespie and James Booker, with more on the way.
And PJ Morton — a Grammy-winning musician, vocalist, songwriter, producer and label owner — is proud to announce that “we just [began] renovating the historic Dew Drop Inn, a place that brought so much talent to town years ago. I feel that it’ll be that same type of go-to club now.” From the mid-’40s through the late ’60s, the Dew Drop was one of the most important venues for classic New Orleans R&B performed by masters including Allen Toussaint, Earl King and Huey “Piano” Smith.
New Orleans’ newfound business climate doesn’t mean the city has become too serious or lost its charm. As music, sports and entertainment banker Charles Gaspard of First Horizon Bank says, “I know everyone says this about their hometown, but there is something about New Orleans that you just can’t find anywhere else. There’s a magic to this city. A dysfunctional magic, maybe, but a magic nonetheless. It’s in our architecture, it’s in our food, it’s in the people, it’s even in the potholes, and it lingers in the air as thick as the year-round humidity. It seeps into the sounds mastered here and feeds the creativity of the artists that welcome our beautifully chaotic energy.”
New Orleans native, NPR journalist and author Gwen Thompkins feels that the city “is as it ever was — a wellspring of tremendous talent with multiple opportunities every day to hear live music worth listening to.” She notes that the public radio station WWOZ-FM (90.7) makes on-air announcements every other hour about upcoming concerts. “Those announcements usually take more than five minutes to deliver because of the sheer number of performances,” she says. “Musicians here are both singular and awe-inspiringly collaborative. They play well with others, cross-pollinating in ways that musicians in other locales often do not. Players known mostly for their work in funk, for example, will perform live with others known for contemporary jazz. A bounce artist will organize a gospel music concert for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Other artists may explore the connections between jazz and opera, or join hip-hop, electronica and the musical traditions of the city’s Black Masking Indians. Singer-songwriters and avant-garde artists have standing dates in clubs around town.
“And, most importantly,” adds Thompkins, “many artists here shoulder the responsibility of tutoring younger generations in the city’s music traditions — from early jazz to hip-hop, to bounce and R&B. The city is, and has always been, a giant incubator of talent.”
As Cameron says, “It’s a new day for New Orleans, an exciting new day for our culture, in a way that our ancestors never could have imagined.”
Contributor Ben Sandmel produces the oral history/interview venue at New Orleans’ Jazz Fest, produced and played drums on the Hackberry Ramblers’ Grammy-nominated Deep Water and wrote Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans.
This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Artist, producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist SG Lewis signed with multi-dimensional artist development company Godmode, founded by former Capitol Records A&R Talya Elitzer and songwriter-producer Nick Sylvester. Lewis joins a roster that also includes Channel Tres and JPEGMAFIA.
“I am thrilled to formally welcome Sam to Godmode. Sam is an incredible talent and already a part of the Godmode family, I can’t wait to see what we are going to build together,” said Elitzer in a statement.
Lewis, who performed at this year’s Coachella music festival, previously released two studio albums: 2021’s Times and this year’s AudioLust & HigherLove, both via Virgin EMI/PMR Records. As a songwriter and producer, he’s collaborated with artists including Dua Lipa, Elton John, Robyn and Tove Lo.
Scott Schreiber at UTA represents Lewis for booking.
Singer-songwriter Goth Babe (aka Griff Washburn) signed with Mom+ Pop, which recently released his debut single on the label, “Alone in the Mountains.” He’s represented by manager Sean Sheahan and booking agents Jackie Nalpant and Kiely Mosiman at Wasserman Music.
Doe Boy (“100 Shooters”) signed with Salxco for management. The rising rapper is also signed to Epic Records, which released his latest single, “Roll the Dice” featuring DeJ Loaf, on April 14.
Singer-songwriter Sarah Kinsley (“The King”) signed to Verve Forecast and Decca Records UK. Kinsley is managed by Beth Warren at Everybody’s Management.
Christian singer-songwriter Chris Davenport signed with Capitol CMG, which recently released his single, “Plead the Blood.” His debut album, Time, is slated to drop on June 30. He’s managed by the Breit Group.
Deer Tick signed with ATO Records for the release of their forthcoming album, Emotional Contracts, which is due out on June 16. The band is represented by managers Ryan Matteson and Kevin O’Halloran at Ten Atoms and agent Will Scott at CAA.
Swedish pop artist Sarah Klang signed with Nettwerk Music Group, which released her latest single, “Mercedes,” earlier this month. Klang is managed by Petter Seander at Birds Will Sing For You and Johan Calissendorff at Pangur Music; her booking agent for the United Kingdom and European Union is Bas Flesseman at Belmont Bookings.
Also signing to Nettwerk is Atlanta-based dream pop artist Bathe Alone (born Bailey Crone). The label released their latest track, “Awfully Quiet,” earlier this month. Bathe Alone released an album, Last Looks, in 2022 and an EP, Fall With The Lights Down (Louise), last year.
Chicago band Deeper signed to Sub Pop and released their debut single on the label, “Sub,” earlier this month. They’re revving up for the release of their debut album on Sub Pop later this year.
Country singer-songwriter Lauren Watkins signed with Big Loud Records/Songs & Daughters. She released her debut EP, Introducing Lauren Watkins, on April 21. Watkins is represented by managers Seth England at Big Loud Management along with Nicole Galyon and Meanie Mulrain at Songs & Daughters. Her booking agent is Austin Neal at The Neal Agency.
Australian hardcore band Geld signed to Relapse Records, which will release the group’s third album, Currency//Castration, on June 9. The LP is preceded by the single “Fog of War.”
Tomorrow comes the most wonderful time of the year: Record Store Day. As fun as some fans find it – and I joke that it’s my favorite holiday – it’s hard to remember how odd an idea it seemed when it started, in 2007. Back then, CD sales were sliding fast, download sales were growing a lot slower, and mass-market streaming was still taking shape. The idea of a day devoted to buying vinyl, much less in physical stores, was anything but obvious.
Now look. Vinyl generated more revenue in the U.S. than CDs by 2019, and more unit sales by 2022, according to the RIAA. Last year, vinyl generated $1.2 billion in the U.S. — more than Latin music, which brought in $1.1 billion, although Latin music brings in far more worldwide. And much of this growth came at a time of serious challenges, from insufficient manufacturing capacity to supply chain problems.
Now what? The future of vinyl was one subject that came up at a Nov. 3 panel that I moderated at RIAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. With me were Vinyl Me Please CEO Cameron Schaefer, Byrdland Records co-owner Alisha Edmonson, Thirty Tigers director of physical sales Mike Couse and consultant Simone Piece.
Among the topics that came up:
How vinyl fulfills a need for “better connection with music”
How the pandemic supercharged growth
Whether recent new buyers will stick around for the future
The most important question, of course, is what this means for artists. It was disheartening to hear that delivering vinyl to stores even close to an album’s release date requires up to ten months of advance planning. Even so, many independent acts make more money on vinyl than they do from streaming.
Another highlight? A performance from Lola Kirke:
No one knows what the future holds for vinyl. Judging by the format’s fast growth, however, it will remain an important part of the recording industry’s revenue mix for at least the next few years, and perhaps long after that.
Watch the entire panel here:
Sony Music Corp. is in the process of helping Bad Bunny manager Noah Assad — the CEO of Latin music label and management company Rimas Entertainment — buy out his partner, Rafael Ricardo Jiménez Dan, a former Venezuelan government official who has a 60% majority stake in the company, sources familiar with the matter tell Billboard.
Rimas — which manages, records and publishes Bad Bunny — also has a label and management roster that includes Arcángel, Eladio Carrión, Jowell & Randy and Tommy Torres. The company was founded in 2014 in Puerto Rico and now has about 100 employees.
According to sources, Sony will participate in a buyout of Jiménez, who has not been involved in running Rimas’ day-to-day operations since 2018. That will result in a reshuffling of the company’s ownership and will likely leave Bad Bunny with an equity stake in the firm— and either Assad, or the combination of Assad and Bad Bunny, with majority ownership.
However the deal is ultimately financed, Sony itself is expected to wind up with a significant minority share in Rimas, which it will assign to The Orchard, its rapidly growing music distribution and artists/label services powerhouse that currently distributes Rimas.
Billboard estimates that Rimas Entertainment — the record label and the management company — has a valuation above $300 million without including the company’s publishing assets, which sources say are not currently being considered as a part of this transaction.
Assad and Jimenez, respectively, also have the same 40–60% ownership stakes in the music publishing assets, Jiménez tells Billboard. The publishing company, which includes some Bad Bunny songs and was launched by Assad, Jiménez and lawyer Carlos Souffront, is also up for sale. The sellers are seeking a $70 million to $75 million valuation for the overall publishing company, those sources add. As on the recorded music side, Assad plans to retain his stake in the song catalog, which means that the Jiménez stake could potentially fetch $42 million to $45 million.
Assessing a valuation for the publishing deal is tricky, sources say, because many of Bad Bunny’s songs are still widely popular, which makes it harder to calculate how much their plays will decay until they level off and become a predictable income stream, likely in a decade or two from now. As it is, the Rimas publishing portfolio —which is currently being administered by Universal Music Publishing Group — has about $5 million to $7.5 million in net publisher share (gross profit after paying songwriter royalties), a level it is expected to maintain over the next few years.
The music publishing portion of Jiménez’s Rimas holdings have been shopped to private equity players, sources say, and there is currently no known buyer. That’s in contrast to the hoped-for sale of the label/management holdings, which appears to have only been offered to Sony. However, sources wonder if Assad has matching rights on the publishing assets, which means that he could also arrange a deal to buy the Jimenez publishing stake if he matches the highest offer.
Jiménez is being represented for the expected publishing sale by Brian Richards, co-founder and managing partner of the investment advisory firm Artisan. On the record label/management side of Rimas, sources say Jiménez is being advised by Mitchell, Silberberg & Krupp partner Joel Schoenfeld, the former general counsel of eMusic and BMG’s senior vp of business affairs before that; and by Colin Finkelstein, the former CFO for EMI Music, who sometimes consults with investors on music assets and also owns and runs a few artist management firms.
Both deals are said to be very complex, and sources say they have been in the works for months — with some wondering whether the deals have been stalled due to friction between the two partners, Jiménez and Assad.
Another looming issue may be how much financial capacity Sony Music Group has to close deals right now. As Sony negotiates the stake in Rimas, it is reportedly also in talks to acquire part — or possibly all — of the Michael Jackson estate in a deal that could carry a valuation of $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
The question is whether Sony’s corporate leadership in Japan has signed off on the funding and the completion of both deals and if the costs involved in the deals might force Sony to choose to between them.
If both deals are completed, sources suggest that they would likely still need to be approved by regulators. Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, as of Feb. 27, 2023, any merger and/or acquisition that has a transaction value of more than $111 million — or if the contemplated combined entity will have total assets of more than $445 million — must file and seek regulatory approval.
Assad, Jiménez, Sony, Finkelstein, Schoenfeld and Richards either declined to comment or didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Additional reporting by Alexei Barrionuevo
LL Cool J‘s Rock the Bells hip-hop platform announced a $15 million Series B raise led by Raine Ventures, Irving Azoff of Iconic Artists Group and Paramount Global, with participation from Amex Ventures, Wildcat Capital Management and Capstar Ventures. Additional investment came from ASK Capital, North Island, AME Cloud Ventures and XO Capital. The funds will be used to scale the business, including by creating more long-form content projects, launching new retail projects, expanding to the European Union, growing the annual Rock the Bells Festival and launching new experiential events. Under the deal, Rock the Bells and Paramount Global have signed a multi-year first-look deal covering feature films and scripted and unscripted content as well as the opportunity to live-stream the 2023 Rock the Bells Festival. Additionally, they will partner on developing co-branded merchandise opportunities. Paramount Global will also provide marketing support for Rock The Bells content, experiences and activations.
ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund acquired the master royalty income of a catalog of songs owned by High Society Management, including several by Latin star Anuel AA such as “Sola (Remix)”, “Soldado Y Profeta (Remix)” and “Nacimos Pa Morir” featuring Jory Boy.
Snapchat struck new music licensing deals with UnitedMasters, BUMA/STEMRA, SUISA Digital Licensing AG — which includes the repertoire of SUISA (Switzerland), AKKA/LAA (Latvia), Albautor (Albania), Armauthor (Armenia), Autodia (Greece), COMP (Pakistan), EAÜ (Estonia), GCA (Georgia), LATGA (Lithuania), SOZA (Slovakia), Abramus Digital (Brazil), Soundreef (Italy) — and multiple direct-licensing publishers for its Snapchat Sounds library.
Independent Latin music label The Wave Music Group — founded in 2021 by Angelo Torres and Caleb Calloway — signed a long-term distribution agreement with Capitol Music Group (CMG). The first music to be released under the deal comes from Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter Young Miko, who dropped the first single under the agreement, “Lisa,” in March. CMG will provide The Wave Music Group with a number of services in support of its releases, supplementing the label’s in-house functions.
Reactional Music — which has developed a rules-based music engine that allows any music to be brought into a video game and interact in real time with the game’s visuals, sound and more — closed a pre-Series A funding round led by mobile music games publisher Amanotes and early-stage VC fund Butterfly Ventures. The round was also supported by several angel investors, including former Mediatonic chairman, Red Octane CEO and Take 2 Interactive CEO Kelly Sumner. The funds will be used to deliver the Reactional beta platform and SDK for developers, continue its music licensing operations and scale the Reactional team. Reactional is currently at work on several pilot projects, while the Reactional engine is now being used in a commercially-available game for the Playstation 5 and Playstation VR2; it has also struck multiple music rights agreements, including with Hipgnosis Song Management. The platform is expected to go live this year.
PRS for Music announced a partnership with music rights and metadata management software platform Orfium to expand PRS’s licensing coverage to music users in Africa. Under the deal, Orfium will license the PRS repertoire and provide the underlying technology infrastructure to serve African markets. Coverage provided by Orfium will extend to public performances, radio, cable TV and local and select multi-national online services. The deal will also expand the global reach of PRS’s Major Live Concert Service, a leading royalty collection service for large concerts, making it available for events held throughout Africa. The Orfium partnership will function alongside PRS’s existing agreement with South Africa collecting society SAMRO for its home territories.
SoundExchange announced a new data partnership with music metadata provider Music Story to improve SoundExchange’s creator metadata. The deal is designed to minimize the need for manual claiming and help ensure accuracy in monthly royalty payments. Music Story partner Muso.AI, a verified music credit platform, captures credits, correctly links music creators to their work and spots inconsistencies that impact their rights.
Live events company LiveCo struck a partnership with Park City, Utah-based boutique producing and presenting firm MagicSpace Entertainment to bring the company under the LiveCo umbrella. MagicSpace has launched tours including Simone Biles in the Gold Over America Tour, Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, A Magical Cirque Christmas and Alton Brown Live. LiveCo, which launched at the top of 2023, also boasts partnerships with Icon Concerts, Premier Productions, BASE Entertainment, Rush Concerts, Peachtree Entertainment and Transparent Productions; it also represents talent and productions including Jimmy O. Yang, Criss Angel, Cocomelon Live, Cody Johnson, Jo Koy, Dude Perfect, Zach Bryan, MercyMe, Elevation Worship and Gabriel Iglesias.
Enote, an app that provides a library of interactive sheet music to classical musicians, closed a 10 million euro ($10.97 million) pre-Series A funding round led by Dieter von Holzbrink Ventures (DvH Ventures), the EU’s European Innovation Council (EIC Fund) and the Rudolf Fuchs Family Office. The funds will go toward initiatives that introduce innovations to the app, empower educators and provide more musicians with the opportunity to access the Enote library. There remains an opportunity for angel investors, venture capital funds and family offices to participate in a second closing of the round, which the EIC fund has committed to matching euro for euro.
Web3 company OneOf acquired enterprise rewards and loyalty software company TAP Network, which has developed customized rewards and loyalty solutions for clients including Warner Music Group, Brave and Uber. The acquisition allows for the integration of TAP Network’s loyalty software IP with OneOf’s mass-consumer Web3 technology framework. The resulting Web3-powered tech stack, dubbed OnePlatform, will provide white-labeled turnkey loyalty, commerce and data solutions for enterprise clients in entertainment, media, finance, retail, travel, consumer packaged goods, telecom and more.
SoundCloud and Feature.fm formed a strategic partnership to provide exclusive resources and benefits related to Feature.fm’s marketing tools — including smartlinks and pre-saves — for SoundCloud artists. The benefits, which will become available next month, will include perks and discounts from Feature.fm and provide SoundCloud’s “Next Pro” tier of artists with a free plan and free ad credits, while providing artists in its “Next” tier with discounted pricing. As part of the deal, Feature.fm will introduce a new entry-level pricing plan that will be made available to all SoundCloud artists for the first 90 days.
Turntable LIVE acquired fellow music-centered social platform JQBX. The JQBX brand, domain and community will continue with special features at www.JQBX.fm. The acquisition follows the announcement of Turntable LIVE’s $7 million seed round.
Revelator, which provides digital IP infrastructure to music companies including royalty accounting, distribution and analysis, announced an expansion to Japan under a new partnership with Japanese music tech agency PRTL. Under the deal, Revelator will leverage PRTL head Taishi Fukuyama‘s “expertise to bring its innovative Web2 and Web3 solutions to a market that is experiencing rapid streaming growth and is wildly enthusiastic about NFTs,” according to a press release.
EVEN, a blockchain-enabled platform that allows artists to sell their music directly to fans in exchange for exclusive perks before uploading the music to streaming platforms, announced a $2.2 million funding round led by CSA Partners with participation from gener8tor, VC414, gAngels, Daniel Rotman, Adie Akuffo-Afful, Donte Murry and Ogo.