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The Recording Academyâs 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).
âWe are immensely proud to collaborate with Amazon Music in renewing this exceptional scholarship program for the third consecutive year,â Ryan Butler, vp of DEI at the Recording Academy said in a statement. âThe 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.â
âThe Your Future Is Now scholarship was created to foster an inclusive environment where Black creators can realize their career objectives,â Phylicia Fant, head of music industry and culture collaborations at Amazon Music, said in a statement. ââŚThis yearâs class of students represents the next generation of Black musicians and executives, and itâs an honor to play a part in their development as individuals and future leaders.â
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 Brownâs commencement by the Recording Academyâs 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 Academyâs 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 Entertainmentâs (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 companyâs executives did not comment on the report during Thursdayâs earnings call.
Shares of German promoter CTS Eventim also made big gains, rising 9.2% to 64.30 euros ($68.61). On Thursday, the companyâs first-quarter earnings showed a 163% revenue jump to 366.2 million euros ($396 million) â 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 worldâs 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.âs FTSE 100 index was unchanged at 7,756.87, while South Koreaâs 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 Noiseâs 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 Billboardâs 2022 Indie Power Players list, said the label âis continuing to grow our international cumulative sales through our global offices.â Billboard named Better Noise the No. 1 mainstream rock airplay label and No. 1 mainstream rock airplay imprint of 2022.
âIn this new role,â said Waite, âIâll 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.â
Kline, who has been Better Noiseâs COO since 2016, has worked for 18 years under the Kovac Media umbrella, first at artist management firm 10th Street Entertainment. âI 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,â said Kline. âI am incredibly excited to work with Allen and Dan in leading our amazing global team to future success.â
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 BTSâ 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 Columbiaâs 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 Billboardâs 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 companyâs 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 wifeâs job. Levin will continue leading the organization through his departure as the DiMA board searches for a successor. âI have been honored to lead this organization over the past four-plus years and am deeply proud of our many successes during that time,â said Levin on LinkedIn. âWe 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 todayâs music industry.â
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 âcompanion albums with wide tonal range, complimentary palettes, transitions, and recurring themes, along with extensive stem and submix options,â 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 âBethâ 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 Brandsâ 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. âOur 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,â said ONErpm head of U.S. marketing Jenna LoMonaco in a statement. âWith Casey and the Digital Strategy teamâs work, we can now provide hands-on help with social growth, engagement, and new forms of revenue.â Childers can be reached at casey@onerpm.com.
Donald Robins was named director of promotion at Warner Music Canada, where he will lead the companyâs 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 âcrossing and fusing genres, cultures and boundaries,â 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 Tomorrowlandâs music division, including the Tomorrowland Music label. He will be joined by the newly-appointed Pieter-Jan Nuytten, who will serve as COREâs dedicated A&R manager; Nuytten arrives at the label from PIAS/Strictly Confidential Music Publishing. The labelâs 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 companyâs growth. Mark Dinerstein was also promoted from executive vp to president of LiveCoâs 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 publisherâs 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 companyâs 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 peermusicâs 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 Hallwoodâs 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 Angelesâ 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 firmâs 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 ÂŁ100 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 Servicesâ 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 âŹ4 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 â lead guitarist, keyboardist and primary songwriter for The Go-Goâs. Caffey wrote some of the groupâs biggest hits, including their breakthrough song, âWe Got the Beat,â as well as âHead Over Heels,â âVacation,â âHow Much Moreâ and âTurn To You.â Caffey has also written songs for artists including Keith Urban (âBut for the Grace of Godâ) and her Go-Goâs 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, âBad Bitchesâ featuring Lola Brooke and Kali, earlier this month.
Songtradr announced a partnership with TikTok around the video-sharing platformâs Commercial Music Library. Under the deal, Songtradr is now a certified âSubscription Sound Partner,â 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 Revelatorâs Web3 tech. âThese 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,â according to a press release announcing the deal. Added Revelator CEO/founder Bruno Guez: âThis partnership lets music lovers collect NFTs in fan-friendly ways where they are already experiencing music. Fans wonât need to mess with wallets or special Web3 players, or even leave their favorite music platform. Theyâll pay with a credit card. This access and ease will open up new revenue streams for artists, as more fans jump in.â
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, Googleâs 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. Audioshakeâs 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 platformâs 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 companyâs board of directors includes Pitbull and Claude VonStroke.
Freshsound, a self-serve licensing platform for commercially released music, closed a âŹ2 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 companyâs pre-seed funding round worth âŹ1.3 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 Cosyndâs 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 Studioâs exclusive music streaming provider, delivering LiveOneâs 600 radio stations via OTTâs Music Plus application. The agreement will expand the distribution of LiveOneâs audio and entertainment content to an additional 47 million CTVs in North America via LGâs webOS and Vizioâs 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. SiriusXMâs âmost advanced audio entertainment experience,â 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, Germanyâs mechanical and performance rights society, in a further expansion of LyricFindâs 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, âBe Alright.â 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.
Allengâs 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.
âPlaintiff expressed in words and actions that Jimmie Allenâs conduct was unwelcome, including pushing him away, sitting where he could not reach her, telling him she was uncomfortable and no, and crying uncontrollably,â her attorneys stated in the complaint filed Thursday (May 11). âHowever, Allen made clear that plaintiffâs job was dependent on her staying silent about his conduct.â
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. âIâve 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,â 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, âWe Gonna Be Alright ⌠This Too Shall Pass,â along with prayer hands and fist emojis. Notably, the post incorporated the title of âBe Alright,â which currently sits at No. 60 on Billboardâs 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 âGod Only Knows,â recorded by the CCM sibling duo For King & Country. Allen tagged the duo in the photo and commented, âHe knows!,â 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 RAINNâs National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organizationâs website for more information.Â
Each year, the music industry inevitably loses some of its most influential behind-the-scenes players â 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 âAlbitaâ Eagan, the public and talent relations executive […]
TOKYO â 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, weâve witnessed a huge change in the incentive structure. Iâve 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 everyoneâs looking outside of Japan. Korea opened their eyes.
BTS, BLACKPINK, and other K-pop groups set a precedent and demonstrated whatâs 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 didnât 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 doesnât 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, thatâs 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 thereâs a disconnect is the language barrier, as not everyone in the Japanese industry feels comfortable conducting business in English. They canât communicate the way theyâd 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 Iâve heard about from A&Rs Iâve 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. Itâs safe and administratively simple, by comparison.
Yet if a Japanese A&R exec turns to a producer who isnât 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 thatâs 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 penniesâthis is not new information to anyone. In Japan, however, one play of an artistâs 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 itâs 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 itâs thrilling.
Weâve 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 donât go through decades of rock; itâs 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 unfoldâhow labels, publishers, and established players react to this new global exchangeâare 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 âStoryâ by AI in 2005, which charted in Oriconâs top 10 for 73 weeks. Heâs worked with Earth, Wind & Fire and Little Glee Monster, among others, and is also a former executive and startup member of Breaker, Inc.
When executives from across the United States and international markets convene in Nashville May 15-18 for the Music Biz 2023 conference, they will connect with a trade organization widening its reach, with a leader boasting credentials that are uncommon in the music industry.
Portia Sabin, who became Music Business Association president in September 2019, brings to her role a Columbia University doctorate in anthropology and education and savvy that she gained from a subsequent 13 years as president of the respected independent label Kill Rock Stars and eight years as host of music business podcast The Future of What.
Itâs no wonder that Sabin has cultivated an esteemed fan club of music industry professionals, including the heads of other trade groups.
âBecause of her background and her personality, sheâs got analytical and creative skills to put fresh ideas out there, and sheâs not afraid to push the envelope,â says Mitch Glazier, chairman/CEO of the RIAA.
âShe remains focused on educating and improving this business, pushing for growth and inclusion while helping others to navigate the challenges that come with never-ending technological and economic change,â says Michael Huppe, president/CEO of SoundExchange. âI have a tremendous amount of respect for Portia as a strong and insightful voice in the music industry.â
Highlights of this yearâs Music Biz conference will include four days of panels and workshops, keynote addresses by Kobalt founder and chairman Willard Ahdritz and leaders of the Black Music Action Coalition, as well as the second Bizzy Awards to recognize companies and individuals who are making a difference in improving the global industry. The 2022 Music Biz drew over 2,100 attendees from across some 750 companies, with 8% of participants coming from outside the United States.
âRunning a label made me get very interested in the business of the music industry,â Sabin says of the road that led her to her Music Business Association role. âI was also on the board of A2IM [the American Association of Independent Music] for 12 years, on the board of the RIAA for a couple years, on the Recording Academy Board of Governors in the Pacific Northwest for six years and I also started a podcast about the music industry in 2014, so I had a lot of interest in the business itself.
âItâs a fascinating industry,â Sabin continues. âThereâs a lot to know, and itâs also one of those weird ones where everybody thinks itâs easy from the outside until you get involved in it. We really saw that in the tech boom, starting about 10, 12 years ago, when all these tech people came into our sector saying, âI donât know what your problem is. We can make lots of money,â and then one by one they have disappeared. The only ones who stuck were the ones who bothered to learn and respect the music industry.â
Portia Sabin
Nashville Corporate Photography
Originally comprised of music wholesalers, retailers and distributors, the Music Business Association had already begun to broaden its scope during the tenure of James Donio, Sabinâs predecessor â a shift indicated in 2013, when the organization changed its name from the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) to the broader moniker it has today. Continuing that expansion was one of Sabinâs early priorities.
âWeâve made a concerted effort to be inclusive, to reach out to companies that are coming in, like tech startups, that are doing cool things and solving problems that people have,â Sabin says.
The music business, she notes, is âan ever-changing landscape, and I think itâs one of those things you have to be comfortable with when you set out to have an inclusive trade association.â
Today, the Music Business Association has several initiatives to more broadly serve the music industry. For example, the Music Biz conference has added programming that focuses on the touring and ticketing industry âbecause that part of our business has always weirdly been a little bit separate,â Sabin says. âI certainly found out when I was running a record label that that whole live side was sort of its own animal. The booking agents are over there, the promoters, the big talent agencies.â
But the pandemic highlighted the fact that the music business âis an ecosystem and we all rely on each other, and when one goes down, the whole goes down,â says Sabin of the live sector. âSo we have made a big effort since 2019 to get those folks involved.â
The conferenceâs programming style has also evolved. âWe have discovered the power of creating tracks for discussion,â Sabin says. âIt helps people get more in-depth knowledge. If youâre going to do three panels on a topic, one right after the other and everybody is having the conversation together, that makes it stronger, so weâre doing quite a lot of tracks at this yearâs Music Biz.â
MIDiA Researchâs Tatiana Cirisano (center) at the UMG Mixer at Music Biz 2022.
Graham Dodd
Sabinâs desire for a larger tent extends beyond the types of companies that make up the Music Business Association. Achieving a more inclusive board âwas a huge goal for me,â Sabin says. âIt has taken us four years, but now weâve gotten to 52% people of color on the board, 57% women, as well as a nice, wide range of diversity in company type. I think thatâs also really important.â
âShe formed a diversity, equity and inclusion committee pretty much immediately, so that was a core element of building and reconsidering the organization,â says Downtown Music Holdings chief marketing officer Molly Neuman, who recalls that Sabinâs early priorities included making the organizationâs board more diverse and expanding the voices heard at its events. âThat was in place when George Floyd was murdered and we had Blackout Tuesday and all the things that happened in the summer of 2020, so we already had this core unit considering these things for the industry, but we were also in a position to offer mutual support as well as long-term plans.â
That commitment to inclusion was illustrated recently when the Nashville-based Music Business Association issued a statement decrying anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed by the Tennessee Legislature.
Broadening the scope of the Music Business Association also includes an effort to increase the involvement of younger music professionals. âWe have a programming track called #NextGen_Now, and we tried our first physical event with them [in March] in Nashville,â Sabin says. âWe had a cocktail mixer and it was incredibly successful; they all had to be kicked out at the end of the evening because they were enjoying themselves too much, which is great.â
The association is also reaching students through its #NextGen_U initiative. Like its predecessor, NARM, the Music Business Association has continued to offer scholarships to help the next generation of music business executives.
âThe programming that we did online for them was very successful over the pandemic and we continued to do those through as recently as February of this year,â says Sabin. âWe think itâs easier for students to attend a two-day virtual conference for $39 rather than flying and getting a hotel room. We also have an academic-partner newsletter now that we send out monthly.â
Willard Ahdritz
Paul Brissman
Another recent Music Biz outreach echoes NARMâs almost-forgotten 1970s-era playbook â the Road Show.
âFor the vast majority of our members, their clients are actually artists and musicians and Music Biz [previously] didnât provide any forums for them to get in front of those people,â Sabin says. âSo I put together what we call the Music Biz Road Show. We usually partner with a trade association in a city and go for a day and do a mini Music Biz, where we put on some panels, maybe a fireside chat and a cocktail hour. The local trade association brings a couple hundred local artists so our members get to get in front of their actual clients, the people who they actually want to meet. And we get to do educational programming for those folks. It has been very successful so far.
âWeâve had them in Atlanta, Portland, Ore., and Memphis and we have them coming up in Huntsville, Ala., New Orleans and Miami,â Sabin continues. âIf my staff doesnât kill me, I would like to have at least one a month.â
Amid such outreach, what are the priorities for this yearâs expanded Music Biz conference?
âI think everyone is always interested in whatâs coming next, so I think generative [artificial intelligence] is a conversation that people really want to have,â Sabin says. âBecause our conference is crowdsourced, itâs really fun to see what topics come in over and over and which ones fall by the wayside.
âFor example, we had the highest number of [programming suggestions] that anyone can ever remember receiving, like 326 proposals this year, and there was only one on [non-fungible tokens]. So you can tell thatâs no longer of concern to the membership.â
But a perennial concern remains: âWhat are the revenue streams that are out there and how do we capture them? That is what the internet has done for the music industry; it has created boundless opportunities, with this scary downside of, âHow do [creators] collect [revenue for their creations]?â
âI feel like the music business has always been playing catch-up to technology,â Sabin adds. âA new technology comes along and we spend 20 years figuring out how to get it monetized properly, and by that time another technology comes along. But itâs happening so much faster right now and I think thatâs the central interest of our membership, and thatâs really what we are.â
This story originally appeared in the May 13, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Luminate is launching a new platform that will house the companyâs global data capabilities across music, film, TV and more, the company announced Monday (May 15).
An improvement from the companyâs current legacy data platform, Music Connect, the new platform includes the industry-leading music sales, streaming and airplay data that has powered the Billboard charts for over three decades. The design was built to complement the rapidly evolving entertainment industry and allows users to explore a more comprehensive view of music consumption by artist and project at both global and individual country levels. It also provides customers with the ability to extract more in-depth insights.
The news was broken Monday morning at the annual Music Biz conference in Nashville by Luminate CEO Rob Jonas.
âAs conversations of uncertainty surrounding AI and other technological advancements begin to inundate the entertainment industry, thereâs never been a more pressing time for transparency and objectivity in how data is used across music, film, TV, streaming video content and more,â said Jonas. âLuminateâs new platform is built upon three decades of expertise â the information and content we collate and analyze every day forms a rich data asset on which prediction and recommendation will become commonplace for our customers and partners. We are focused on centralized, unbiased information to help keep creators informed, honest, and united by a singular reference point.â
The platformâs improved benefits and features include a more customizable user interface, allowing for various sorting, filtering and grouping functionality; an improved search, with dedicated page and separation per categories (artist/song/album) for quicker access; and the ability for users to share dashboards with team members by copying and pasting a URL for easier collaboration.
Additionally, the platform boasts upgraded data infrastructure, using a multi-cloud architecture incorporating Amazon Web Services and Snowflake, making it faster and more flexible than any of its predecessors. It is designed to ingest thousands of data sources and present them as valuable insights and trends about consumer engagement and behavior, with data exchange and API support available for customers who require data ingestion into their own systems and platforms.
The platform also incorporates more comprehensive artist metadata, including country of origin, language(s) and label information. Additionally, users can drill down to the ISRC or EAN/UPC level, as well as break out the data by different criteria; they also have the ability to separate all activities from Charts Equivalent by providing a dedicated âcharts view.â The platform also includes international market-level data via new global filters â an improvement from Music Connect, which largely represents North America â giving users the ability to drill down to key international data from specific countries.
Lastly, the new platform incorporates support for new forms of consumption, including short-form video and gaming environments.
In the coming quarters, Luminate will integrate its other data offerings into the new platform, including music audience research, film metadata, TV metadata and streaming video analytics. New data provider partners will also be announced in the coming weeks.
âLuminateâs new platform was designed in collaboration with some of our most valued partners across the entertainment industry,â said Luminate chief product officer Arnaud Retureau. âTheir feedback was invaluable to our efforts in providing a user experience that is beneficial to the entire music community, especially in creating a central reference point pertaining to baseline consumption metrics and expert insights. Weâre looking forward to continuing to engage with that feedback to maintain the most effective and useful product possible.â
Luminateâs team is currently on the ground at Music Biz, where theyâre scheduled to participate in featured speaking sessions and curated music data programming and will be offering demos of the new platform for industry professionals. You can learn more about their presence at the conference here.
Luminate rebranded in March 2022 and was previously known as Nielsen Music and P-MRC Data.
Cumulus Mediaâs share price climbed 11.9% to $3.30 on Friday (May 12) after the company announced it commenced a âmodified Dutch auctionâ tender offer to purchase up to $10 million of shares of its common stock at up to $3.25 per share. That news led to a 19.1% improvement this week and made Cumulus, the […]