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LIVERPOOL, U.K. — On Saturday, 26 music acts from Europe, Israel and Australia — many dressed in a dazzling display of outlandish outfits — will take the stage at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena to compete in the Grand Final of what can justifiably call itself the biggest music competition in the world: the Eurovision Song Contest.
When it comes to music television shows, Eurovision, taking place this year in Liverpool on behalf of war-torn Ukraine, dwarfs them all. More than 161 million people across 34 countries watched last year’s show, held in Turin, Italy and won by Ukrainian rap-folk band Kalush Orchestra, an increase of 7 million viewers (4.5%) from 2021, according to organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
In audience terms, that puts Eurovision ahead of the Super Bowl, the biggest annual U.S. television event, which drew 113 million TV and online viewers for February’s contest. Comparing to awards shows, 12.5 million viewers tuned into this year’s Grammy Awards, a rise of 31% year-on-year, while 2022’s MTV Video Music Awards averaged 3.9 million viewers, up 3% on the prior edition. This year’s Brit Awards, the U.K.’s biggest music awards show, also drew a television audience of just under 4 million.
While many viewers in the United States and United Kingdom have long regarded Eurovision as little more than a kitsch joke with novelty costumes, the song contest’s enormous audience gives it an unrivaled reach as a marketing platform, making the competition – famous for introducing ABBA to the world — an increasingly attractive launching pad for record labels to develop artists.
Netflix 2020 musical comedy film “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, further elevated the event’s international profile, introducing its idiosyncrasies to a wider global audience.
But it was the success of Italian rock band Måneskin, whose international career exploded after winning 2021’s contest with “Zitti e buoni” (Shut up and behave) that “changed the game completely” in how executives and labels approach the competition, says Andrea Rosi, CEO of Sony Music Italy, which counts Måneskin on its roster.
Earlier this week, the Italian act played a sold-out show at London’s 20,000-capacity The O2 arena, while the band’s most recent album, Rush!, topped the charts in multiple countries and debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 in January – Måneskin’s highest ever U.S. chart placing.
In the past, Eurovision “was not so important for the Italian market,” and there were some years when it was not televised in Italy at all, says Rosi. “Now the picture is completely different. National television is giving much more space to the [competition] and it brings massive exposure to the artists [taking part] across the world.”
Italy’s entry in Eurovision’s 67th edition, which wraps up Saturday, is Marco Mengoni, already an established star in his home country, who came seventh in the competition 10 years ago and is signed to Sony Music Italy. Rosi is confident that Mengoni’s song, “Due Vite” (Two Lives), a soaring orchestral ballad sung in Italian, will help open up new markets for the artist.
Ahead of the competition, which kicked off Tuesday with the first of two semi-finals, Sony Music Italy worked with its international label partners to devise an extensive marketing campaign to build Mengoni’s profile in Europe. Last month, he played club dates in France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. A larger follow-up European tour, promoted by Live Nation, is scheduled for the fall. This summer, Mengoni will play a series of sold-out stadium shows in Italy, wrapping July 15 at Rome’s Circus Maximus.
Since being selected in February to represent his home nation at Eurovision, Mengoni’s “Due Vite” has topped the charts in Italy and, says Rosi, is now “starting to have traction” in other European countries, including Germany and Switzerland. “It’s been a long time [since] an Italian pop artist has been successful outside Italy,” he says. “We have big hopes for Marco.”
As one of the so-called ‘big five’ countries taking part in Eurovision, Italy’s entry automatically qualifies for a place in Saturday’s grand final because of their broadcaster’s financial contributions to the event. The rest of the big five is made up of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain, while Ukraine also receives a free pass as last year’s winner. In total, 37 countries are taking part in Liverpool across two semi-finals and the main show.
Among this year’s favorites to win is Sweden’s Loreen, who won the competition in 2012. Her 2023 Eurovision entry “Tattoo” has earned around 20 million combined views on YouTube. (The singer’s official Eurovision video has 3.8 million views).
Another hotly tipped act is Finnish rapper Käärijä, whose catchy entry “Cha Cha Cha” has generated around 15 million combined views on YouTube, by Billboard’s calculations. Since being first released in January, the song has been streamed more than 18 million times and has become “the biggest phenomenon ever in Eurovision history in Finland,” says a spokesperson for Warner Music Finland.
The publicity has given a massive boost to Käärijä’s profile. At the start of the year, the artist had around 1,500 followers on TikTok. Following the first semi-final on Tuesday, that number had grown to just under 100,000. Monthly listens on Spotify have jumped from just under 50,000 in January to 1.2 million.
Käärijä is one of four Warner Music entries in this year’s contest – the others being Austria’s Teya & Salena’s “Who The Hell Is Edgar?”, Reiley’s “Breaking My Heart representing Denmark and Polish singer and model Blanka, whose song “Solo” marks her debut for the label. Since its release in November, “Solo’s official video has had 23 million views, while Spotify streams have crossed 10 million — largely fueled by the publicity from Eurovision.
Hubert Augustyniak, head of non-urban A&R at Warner Music Poland, is confident that competing in the competition can help break Blanka outside her home market, where, he says, Eurovision has already made her a “really well-known” star.
“It is not easy to do international marketing when you are a Polish label,” says Augustyniak, “so this is a huge opportunity for us.”
After months wrestling over the fate of milions of unsold Yeezy shoes, Adidas said Thursday it will sell a portion of its remaining inventory and donate the proceeds to charitable organizations.
The German sportsware company cut ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, in late October, following his antisemitic comments on social media and in interviews. Since then, the fate of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of the unsold Yeezys, a lucrative sneaker line launched with Ye, has been up in the air.
At Adidas’ annual shareholders meeting, CEO Bjorn Gulden said the company had spent months trying to find solutions. He said the company spoke to nongovernmental organization and groups that were harmed by Ye’s comments and actions.
“Burning those shoes cannot be the solution,” Gulden said, adding that Adidas will try to sell part of the remaining Yeezy inventory and “donate money to the organizations that help us and were harmed by what Ye said.”
Exact details of the plan — including how many shoes will be sold and the timeline of selling them — were not disclosed. Gulden said the company will provide updates as it moves forward.
The move comes as Adidas is trying to stage a comeback and move beyond the Yeezy partnership. Cutting ties with Ye has cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars — contributing to a loss of 600 million euros ($655 million) in sales for the last three months of 2022, helping drive the company to a quarterly net loss of 513 million euros.
Adidas reported 400 million euros ($441 million) in lost sales at the start of 2023, the company announced last week.
Net sales declined 1% in the first quarter, to 5.27 billion euros, and would have risen 9% with the Yeezy line, the company said. It reported a net loss of 24 million euros, a plunge from a profit of 310 million euros in the same period a year ago.
Operating profit, which excludes some items like taxes, was down to 60 million euros from 437 million euros a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Adidas is also facing a class-action lawsuit from investors who allege the company knew about offensive remarks and harmful behavior from Ye years before terminating its pact with him. Adidas has pushed back on the allegations made.
Still, Gulden reminded investors that the nine-year partnership between Adidas and Ye was “sensational.”
While he noted that Ye is a difficult person, “he’s the most creative person in our industry,” Gulden said. “He created a model with Adidas that was sought after around the world.” But he added, “We lost that in a month.”
Mary Rahmani, the founder of Moon Projects and former director of music content and artist partnerships at TikTok, has joined Songfluencer and its parent company, Genni & Co., as a strategic advisor, Billboard can reveal.
Songfluencer is a social media marketing agency for the music industry that has led digital marketing campaigns for artists including Samara Joy and Wet Leg. Genni & Co. is also home to the marketing technology service Genni, social media competition platform Preffy and short-form content agencies Genni Agency and YO SUZY!
In her new role, Rahmani will provide insights and guidance to both companies based on her robust background in music and technology.
“If you have been at the intersection of creators and music over the last few years, it would be difficult to not bring up Mary Rahmani,” said Songfluencer CEO/founder Johnny Cloherty. “We are very proud to be working with her and excited to learn from her expertise.”
“Johnny has been behind some of the most exciting trends in music and short-form video, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with him and adding my own perspective to his business,” added Rahmani.
Rahmani’s Moon Projects is described as a multi-disciplinary firm that provides curation, strategy and digital consulting services for musicians and brands. It’s also a joint venture music publishing company with Warner Chappell Music and a joint venture record label with Republic Records. Moon Projects is home to “Numb Little Bug” singer/songwriter Em Beihold.
Albert Piedrahita was appointed director of national publicity at Universal Music Latino, while Sebasti Daneilas was upped to manager of publicity. Piedrahita has been key in developing and leading communications strategies in both the Latin and general market, including campaigns for Karol G, Jhayco and Feid. Daneilas, who will report to Piedrahita, will continue managing and supporting communications strategies for the roster. Piedrahita can be reached at albert.piedrahita@umusic.com.
David Ecker was named label development manager at Exceleration Music, while Rachel Cunningham joined the company to lead fan engagement and commerce. Ecker, who boards Exceleration after spending eight years on Spotify’s artist and label partnerships team, will play a crucial role in managing day-to-day relationships with Exceleration’s family of label and artist partners. Cunningham will lead the development of audience growth and e-commerce strategy to drive Exceleration’s direct-to-fan business, including the development of online stores and the building and rollout of the company’s marketing technology stack. She comes from Gimme Radio, where she served as head of fan engagement & e-commerce marketing.
Andrew Ellis joined Ground Control Touring, bringing with him acts including Manchester Orchestra, Men I Trust, New Found Glory, The Front Bottoms, Alkaline Trio, Thrice, Bayside, Cults and Senses Fail. His longtime associate, Gabe Sunshine, will join him at the company’s New York office. Ellis can be reached at ellis@groundcontroltouring.com.
Whitaker Elledge was promoted to GM/senior vp of artist development at Dualtone Music Group, up from his previous role of vp of artist development. Based out of Nashville, Elledge will now oversee all Dualtone staff and daily operations, including continuing to lead all album rollouts, marketing campaigns, teams and spends against budget performance. He will be the point person for all artists and their teams through album cycles as well as third-party team members.
Joanna Noyes was promoted to senior vp of global marketing & brand strategy at The Orchard; she was previously vp of brand marketing and communications. She will now oversee global marketing and brand strategy in over 45 markets globally, leading a team of over 40 employees.
Otto Price joined WME as an agent in the Christian music department at the company’s Nashville office. He joins the agency from Square One Creative Group, where he worked as a producer, arranger, composer and musician; he previously worked in A&R at Warner Music Nashville’s label group. In his new role, he will oversee the daily touring, TV, literary and sponsorship opportunities for artists as well as bookings in international territories. Price can be reached at OPrice@wmeagency.com.
Kirsty McDonagh joined Various Artists Management as senior manager. Based in London, McDonagh joins the firm from Insanity Group, where she spent eight years. In her new role, she will be working day to day with Tom Grennan, Melanie C, Caseyette, Kingdoms, Rndmbeats and Liv Dawson. McDonagh can be reached at Kirsty@variousartistsmanagement.com.
Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called — and it’s a woman. He did not name her but said she will be starting in about six weeks.
Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted he is not the company’s permanent CEO. The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter’s executive chairman and chief technology officer.
In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.
While testifying, Musk said “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”
More than a month later, he tweeted in December: “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.” The pledge came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in a Twitter poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.
In February, he told a conference he anticipated finding a CEO for San Francisco-based Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.”
Shares of Tesla rose about 2% Thursday after Musk made the announcement. Shareholders of the electric car company have been concerned about how much of his attention is being spent on Twitter.
Last November, he was questioned in court about how he splits his time among Tesla and his other companies, including SpaceX and Twitter. Musk had to testify in the trial in Delaware’s Court of Chancery over a shareholder’s challenge to his potentially $55 billion compensation plan as CEO of the electric car company.
Musk said he never intended to be CEO of Tesla, and that he didn’t want to be chief executive of any other companies either, preferring to see himself as an engineer. Musk also said at the time that he expected an organizational restructuring of Twitter to be completed in the next week or so. It’s been nearly six months since he said that.
Musk’s tenure at Twitter’s helm has been chaotic, and he’s made various promises and proclamations he’s backtracked or never followed up on. He began his first day firing the company’s top executives, followed by roughly 80% of its staff. He’s upended the platform’s verification system and has scaled back content moderation and safeguards against the spread of misinformation.
Bantering with Twitter followers late last year, Musk expressed pessimism about the prospects for a new CEO, saying that person “must like pain a lot” to run a company that “has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy.”
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor,” Musk tweeted at the time.
On Thursday (May 11), Roc Nation penned an open letter about their desire to build a casino in the New York City. The full page letter — which resides in the New York Post, New York Daily News and Amsterdam News — includes plans to “enhance the lives of everyday New Yorkers” as the company is currently competing with four other billionaire groups, which include New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, Stefan Soloviev, and John Catsimatidis.
“The winning group must have a track record of turning words into deeds—of putting New York City and its residents first—people of all races, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and socio-economic statuses,” reads the letter. “New Yorkers in every corner of every borough – all of us. The winning organization must have a history of campaigning for fair hiring, representation, and reform. Hate, as well as groups that have a history of oppressing the most vulnerable, have no place in New York.”
In December 2022, Jay-Z partnered with SL Green and Caesar Entertainment in their bid to open NYC’s first full-scale casino in Times Square. “The winning licensee must always put the well-being of New Yorkers at the top of their agenda and do right by its residents,” the letter continues. “This is too important of a moment in our city’s illustrious history. Times Square, the epicenter of entertainment with a palpable energy, is unmatched. Roc Nation and our partners are here to ensure Times Square remains connected to all facets of culture. There’s no better location for a Caesars Palace entertainment destination than the Crossroads of the World.
Roc Nation lays out the plan to bolster the lives of New Yorkers, which includes “giving back to all surrounding businesses, investing money into sanitation and security from the bowtie all the way west into Hell’s Kitchen, developing and delivering a much-needed transportation plan, and protecting the interests of the actors, producers, theatre staff, writers and patrons that represent the true heart and soul of Broadway.”
Read the full letter here:
pic.twitter.com/YY71guGYgB
— Roc Nation (@RocNation) May 11, 2023
PJ Harvey signed with Partisan Records, which will release her tenth studio album, I Inside the Year Old Dying, on July 7. The album — Harvey’s first since 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project — was preceded by the song and video, “A Child’s Question, August.” Harvey is managed by Sumit Bothra at ATC; her agents are Marsha Vlasic at AGI in North America and Alex Bruford at ATC for the rest of the world.
Rising Toronto artist ThxSoMuch signed with Elektra Records, which will release his debut EP, Sleez, on May 19, preceded by the single “Crumbled.” ThxSoMuch is managed by Tommy Kiljoy at mad world and Mac Moon; his booking agents are Jay Belin, Jesse Robbins and Robby Fraser at WME.
Country singer/songwriter/rapper David Morris signed with Virgin Music Group via a partnership with Grey Area Music. The label will release Morris’ new single, “Jenny’s Song,” on May 23.
British rock band Skunk Anansie signed with Blue Raincoat Artists for management. They will be managed by the company’s co-founder/CEO Jeremy Lascelles, in partnership with Kat Kennedy of Big Life Management (Lascelles signed the band to their first music publishing agreement in 1994 while at Chrysalis Music). Skunk Anansie was previously managed by Leigh Johnson, who oversaw the band’s career for over three decades. The group is currently working on tracks for a new album to be released next year, with plans to tour in 2024 and 2025.
Singer-songwriter BJ the Chicago Kid signed with Yeti Beats‘ Reach the World Records, a joint venture with RCA Records. His latest single, “Forgot Your Name,” was released May 3, with a second single expected soon. He is managed by Myisha Brooks; his booking agent is DeMont Callender at Wasserman.
Jonas Group Entertainment announced two new management signings: Country-pop artist/songwriter Levi Hummon (“Good Riddance,” “Paying for It”) and country singer MaRynn Taylor. Hummon is signed to Reservoir Media for publishing, while Taylor, who will work directly with Blue Raincoat CEO Phil Guerini, is signed to Black River for both recording and publishing.
Mysterious artist-producer underscores signed with Mom+Pop Music. Her first release on the label is the new song and video, “Cops and robbers.”
Swedish synth-pop duo Kite signed with Dais Records, which released their single, “Don’t Take the Light Away,” last month. Kite is represented by manager Adam Borjesson and booking agent Robin Sumpton at Luger.
Married Americana artists Mark and Maggie O’Connor signed with ONErpm Nashville, which will release their latest album, Life After Life, this summer. It will be preceded by the lead single “Verbovaya Doschechka,” which is a new arrangement of the Ukrainian folk song of the same name. Maggie will play violin and sing leads on the new album, while Mark will add harmonies while playing acoustic guitar, violin and mandolin. They’re represented by Skyline Artists for booking and managed by MOC Enterprises. They were previously signed to Sony/The Orchard for distribution.
Jazz artist/pianist/producer/composer Kayla Waters signed with Shanachie Entertaiment, which will release her label debut album, Presence, on July 7.
Australia garage rock band Girl and Girl signed to Sub Pop, which released their single, “All I See,” last month. The group is currently working on new music and touring throughout May. Girl and Girl are managed by Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi; they’re signed to Virgin in Australia.
Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse signed to Kill Rock Stars, coinciding with the release of their new single, “Sun Inspector.” Kinsella has played with bands including Joan of Arc, Carp’n Jazz and Owls; Pulse is a vocalist, electronic musician and producer who has released dance-oriented pop songs under her own name as well as experimental soundscapes and field recordings as Spa Moans. The duo is represented by booking agent Robin Taylor at Inland Empire.
Montreal quartet Nora Kelly Band signed with Mint Records for the release of their debut album, Rodeo Clown, on August 25. The label released their new single, “Lay Down Girl,” earlier this month. The group is managed by Kathryn Huyhn at Danagement.
Americana artist and songwriter Al Staehely signed with Quarto Valley Records, which will release his new album in June. Staehely is also a music/entertainment attorney; as a musician, he has played with Spirit, the Staehely Brothers and more. He has also released music as a solo artist and written songs for acts including Bobbie Gentry, Marty Balin and Keith Moon.
If Netflix, HBO, Disney, The CW and others slash their budgets for TV and movie content, as they’ve been suggesting for more than a year, the music industry could take a hit in the steady song-placement business that generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for rightsholders.
“We’ve been in a boom period. Cutting back on production would cut down on that revenue, for labels and publishers,” says Kier Lehman, a music supervisor who works on Abbott Elementary and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. “It’s a pretty direct effect.”
After the COVID-19 quarantine ended, the decrease in demand helped create some problems for the streaming business. That has created challenges for the video streaming business: Netflix’ spending on content declined in 2022, after company officials announced a “pulling back”; HBO Max removed dozens of streaming titles last summer to cut costs; and Disney announced $5 billion in cuts two months ago, including 7,000 jobs, although newly returned CEO Bob Iger has emphasized streaming growth. The CW, Showtime and others have also removed content or cut costs.
“We’re trying to be smart about it and prudent in terms of pulling back on some of that spend growth to reflect the realities of the revenue growth,” Spencer Neumann, Netflix’s CFO, said last year.
So far, executives at labels and publishers – which generally split revenue from synch licenses 50-50 – say they haven’t noticed a change in licensing volume or rates, but in a wobbly economy beset with entertainment layoffs, they’re bracing for a harder business. “The idea of less content is always going to be a concern for us,” says a source at a major label. “If there’s going to be a slowdown in content production, it’s going to be a slowdown in music usage — it’s definitely something we’d be keeping an eye on.”
While its impact won’t be felt for a while, the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has already pushed the pause button on numerous productions, including Stranger Things, Saturday Night Live and Loot.
Synchs have been a remarkably consistent revenue stream for the record business over the last five years, as Netflix, Hulu, HBO and others competed for viewers and created a content boom. Synch revenues for recorded music hit $285.5 million in 2018 and, after a slight dip, rose to $318 million last year. (Publishing revenue has been even more robust in recent years, growing from $696 million in 2018 to more than $1.2 billion in 2021, according to the National Music Publishers Association; synch makes up nearly 26% of that total revenue.) Synch executives at labels and publishers say they’re preparing for more challenging times. “I don’t think anybody’s not going to be affected by cutbacks,” says Oscar Martinez, creative director for film, TV and Hispanic advertising with publisher peermusic. “We expect to feel a little bit of it.”
How will labels and publishers contend with content cuts once they kick in? “We have a plan in place,” Martinez says, predicting a pivot to placing music in games such as Fortnite and FIFA. “There’s still content being made and opportunities to be had.”
Amy Hartman, svp of creative services for film and TV music at Spirit Music Group, adds that the publisher is emphasizing “budget-friendly” moves — remixing classic hits such as Billy Squier’s “The Stroke” for the Air trailer, and encouraging songwriters to create originals that can be licensed more affordably than familiar hits. “That’s one way we can make up loss of synch revenue,” she says.
Sara Torres, sync and licensing supervisor for ASAP Clearances, which works with labels and publishers to clear songs, suggests the number of scripted shows may decline in favor of reality shows — which tend to use more tracks on tighter budgets. A scripted show might blow its budget on one big song, by, say, the Beatles, then try to round out its song lineup with more affordable music by indie artists or “library music.” The reality shows Torres works with have “most favored nations” clauses, so all synchs receive the same fees. “There’s always a whisper of cutbacks with any network, so you just have to be ready,” she says.
For now, label executives say they’re not worried about content cutbacks or more inflexible network demands for lower rates. “It’s business as usual. It’s not doomsday,” says Esther Friedman, Sony Music Publishing’s svp of creative marketing for film and TV, although she adds: “This could be a different conversation in six to nine months.”
Those who work every day with production companies say labels and publishers should prepare for cutbacks. “You might be looking at the same amount of TV shows, but they have less episodes,” says Justin Kamps, music supervisor for Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton. “That is rough for everyone involved.”
At least to some extent, any decrease in production would hurt the music business at least somewhat. “If there are fewer shows, there will be fewer places to place music,” says Lindsay Wolfington, a veteran music supervisor whose current shows include Netflix’ Virgin River and Starz’ The Venery of Samantha Bird: “That’s just a fact.”
Brooke Primont was promoted to executive vp of global sync at Concord Music Publishing, where she will lead the company’s 17-person synch team worldwide, the company tells Billboard.
Based in New York City, Primont will lead all of Concord’s publishing synch operations, managing teams in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia — along with the company’s global sub publisher network — while creating synergies across the Concord catalog. She will report to chief publishing officer Jim Selby.
Primont joined Concord more than five years ago as head of the North American publishing synch department. Recent achievements by her team include a Super Bowl ad for UberEats featuring Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”; Ericdoa’s “ >one (greater than one)” for the Valorant video game series; Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” in the trailer for Air; and The Polyphonic Spree‘s “Hold Me Now” in the trailer for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“I am excited to expand my role by bringing together Concord’s sync teams around the world, allowing us to broaden the scope and diversify the opportunities that we can offer our songwriters and composers,” said Primont in a statement. “The global Concord Music Publishing sync team is truly something special, we have developed unparalleled relationships across the entertainment industry, and it doesn’t hurt that our catalog is full of some of the best songs ever written.”
Selby added, “Brooke has already taken our sync division to new heights. I know that this new role will further expand her capabilities, bringing more opportunities to more of our writers and enriching our catalogue.”
Over her 25 years in music publishing, Primont has served in roles at BMI, Cherry Lane Music Publishing and Razor & Tie. She currently serves on the executive boards for the AIMP New York chapter and Kid Pan Alley.
The Paley Center for Media announced that Combs Global and REVOLT chairman Sean “Diddy” Combs and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joined the entertainment industry nonprofit’s board of trustees alongside LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Alibaba Group co-founder/executive vice chairman Joseph C. Tsai. Additionally, FOX Entertainment CEO Rob Wade joined the Paley Los Angeles board of governors. According to a press release, the organization’s board of trustees “offers guidance in support of the organization’s mission to lead the conversation around today’s rapidly evolving media landscape and provides critical input on strategy and operations, including public programs and exhibits, educational classes, workshops, and industry events hosted by the Paley Media Council.”
Recently formed multimedia platform gamma., founded by Larry Jackson, is expanding operations into Africa and the Middle East and has named Sipho Dlamani as president of Africa & Middle East and Naomi Campbell as special advisor of Africa & Middle East. The Africa operation will be based in Lagos, Nigeria and the Middle East operation will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dlamini most recently served as CEO of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa; Campbell, an internationally recognized supermodel and UN Commonwealth Ambassador, is the founder of Fashion For Relief and The Emerge Initiative, among other endeavors. In its debut in the region last Friday, gamma. exclusively distributed and marketed Rema‘s album, Rave & Roses (Ultra) in African territories.
AWAL announced the appointment of its U.K. executive leadership team, including Matt Riley as managing director; and Victoria Needs and Sam Potts as senior vps. Riley will expand his current oversight as the company’s head of A&R, working with AWAL president Paul Hitchman and CEO Lonny Olinick to sign new artists and develop the company’s roster. Needs will add the U.K. market to her existing international marketing duties for AWAL, while Potts will continue working with the executive leadership team to maximize audience development and growth strategies for AWAL artists across traditional and digital media.
Also at AWAL, Cami Operé was named vp/head of publicity. She joins the company from Sacks & Co., where she was vp of publicity and led public relations efforts for artists including Lizzy McAlpine, Jungle and Bruno Major. She can be reached at cami.opere@awal.com.
Sara Knabe was named senior vp of A&R at Big Loud, where she will work with both the Big Loud Records and Big Loud Publishing A&R teams. Knabe joins following a year spent founding and developing Cake Maker Music, her own music publishing, artist development and A&R consulting company; she previously served in roles at BBR Music Group and BMG, among others. Knabe can be reached at saraknabe@bigloud.com.
Steve Ziff was named chief business officer at Loud And Live, where he will oversee the company’s marketing services and enterprise-wide business development efforts, offering strategic guidance to grow the company’s portfolio. He joins the company from Thrill One Sports, where he served as chief marketing officer/chief communications officer. Ziff can be reached at sziff@loudlive.com.
Second Estate Records, a new label founded by A&R veteran and entrepreneur Mel Carter, appointed Katie Kay as general manager and Adise Bellille as president. Together, Kay and Bellille will oversee forthcoming releases from 2Rare and more acts in partnership with Warner Records, with which Second Estate has a joint venture. Kay most recently served as vp of marketing at Cinematic Music Group, while Bellille is an entertainment and hospitality entrepreneur who founded New York-based nightlife hub Carefree Nation, among other endeavors. Kay can be reached at Katie@secondestaterecords.com and Bellille can be reached at Adise@secondestaterecords.com.
Suzi Ibbotson was named director of communications at PPL; she joins from Unilever Global, where she held the same role. She will report to CEO Peter Leathem and join the company’s executive management team. Ibbotson can be reached at suzi.ibbotson@ppluk.com.
The board of Hipgnosis announced that Vania Schlogel stepped down as a director, effective April 30, to focus on her firm, Atwater Capital. “Vania is an exceptional executive and her experience in every aspect of investment and music has been invaluable in making Hipgnosis the market leader,” said Hipgnosis Songs Fund CEO/founder Merck Mercuriadis in a statement. “We appreciate her terrific contributions to Hipgnosis Songs Fund during her time on the Board and wish her every success in the future.”
Independent publishing company peermusic announced three promotions in its Canada office as well as its neighboring rights division, including Neville Quinlan to managing director of publishing & neighbouring rights, Canada; Cheryl Link to general manager of peermusic’s Toronto publishing operations; and Rachael Clark to head of administration at peermusic Canada. Quinlan can be reached at nquinlan@peermusic.com, Link can be reached at clink@peermusic.com and Clark can be reached at rclark@peermusic.com.
The U.K. office of independent record company Because Music and London Records has announced several senior appointments. They include Rhian Emanuel, promoted to managing director at Because Music UK; Laura Kelly, promoted to managing director at London Records; Ed Pearson, promoted to senior vp of marketing, dance & electronic at Because Music UK; and Junior Foster, hired as digital marketing & strategy manager at London Records, which he joins from Deezer.
Brian Celler was named senior vp of content and programming, Europe at ASM Global. He will be responsible for the company’s music, entertainment and sports content throughout its European and U.K. portfolio. The 25-year veteran has previously held roles at Q Prime, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Principle Management. Celler can be reached at Brian.Celler@eu.asmglobal.com.
Ashley Gorley‘s publishing and artist development company, Tape Room Music, promoted all three members of its team. Blain Rhodes was named president, Kelly Bolton was named senior vp of A&R and Caroline Hodson was named manager of A&R.
Holly Schomann was promoted to senior director of program & project management at TuneCore, where she will now oversee a team of project managers to ensure proper execution of software development processes and internal reporting.
Todd Bonder joined Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt‘s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice. Bonder focuses on intellectual property and general civil litigation, emphasizing entertainment, new media, trademark, copyright, rights of publicity and privacy and publishing matters, as well as unfair competition, trust, probate, contract, real estate and construction disputes. He can be reached at tbonder@reitlerlaw.com.
Veteran agent Stefanie Purificati joined The Feldman Agency in Canada, where she brings clients including Digging Roots, Aysanabee, iskwē and Tynomi Banks to the roster. She will be based out of the company’s Toronto office and can be reached at purificati@feldman-agency.com.
Found Objects, the music and sound collective founded by film/TV composers Jay Wadley and Trevor Gureckis, promoted Katt Matt to executive producer and Nick Chomowicz to senior producer. The collective specializes in sound design and music supervision for film, TV and brands.
Sue Ann Cordell joined Reliant Talent Agency, where she will be responsible for human resources, office administration and executive assistance. She has held roles at companies including WME and is also the owner of life coaching and event-speaking company Shineworthy Lifestyles, among other ventures. Cordell can be reached at sacordell@relianttalent.com.
Maria Eiliert was named account executive at Shore Fire Media out of its Nashville office, elevated from junior account executive. She joined the firm after graduating from Belmont University with a music business degree in November 2020.
Rachel Brittain joined The Neal Agency as a commercial and brand partnerships agent. She joins from FlyteVu, where she served as an account manager and was part of the talent team, connecting artists to brands. She can be reached at Rachel@TheNealAgency.net.
Labelcoin, a blockchain-based song exchange and investment marketplace “striving to end artist poverty with fan-supported investment in artists’ songs,” according to a press release, launched a business advisory council that so far includes Mark Dvornik, former head of U.S. distribution at Paramount Pictures; Hummingbird Productions founder/president Bob Farnsworth; G2G Enterprises founder/CEO Lee Guzofski; and MRSV Media CEO Loren Johnson.
It’s been nearly seven months since Adidas split with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and boxes of his popular Yeezy shoes are still piled up in warehouses.
The fate of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of unsold Yeezy stock is weighing on the German sportswear company as it tries to engineer a turnaround from the loss of the lucrative sneaker line and the continued fallout over its former ties to Ye.
Adidas is “getting closer and closer to making a decision” on what do to with the sneakers and the “options are narrowing,” new CEO Bjorn Gulden said in a conference call Friday (May 5) after reporting 400 million euros ($441 million) in lost sales at the start of the year. But with “so many interested parties” involved in the discussions, no decision had yet been reached, he said.
Adidas is stuck with stacks of its flagship Yeezy brand shoes after ending its relationship with Ye in October over his antisemitic and other offensive comments on social media and in interviews.
Gulden, who became CEO in January after the Ye split, declined to say if destroying the shoes had been ruled out but that the company was “trying to avoid that.” He has previously said other options have drawbacks: selling the sneakers would mean paying royalties to Ye, restitching them to remove the brand identification would be dishonest, and giving them away to people in need could lead to resale because of their high market value.
Gulden would not say how many pairs of Yeezy shoes that Adidas is stuck holding “because then the consumer would know how many we have and that could have an impact on demand.”
Losing the Yeezy brand is “of course hurting us,” Gulden said in a statement. The breakup will reduce earnings by 500 million euros this year if Adidas decides not to sell the remaining Yeezy stock, the Herzogenaurach-based company said.
Net sales declined 1% in the first quarter, to 5.27 billion euros, and would have risen 9% with the Yeezy line, the company said. It reported a net loss of 24 million euros, a plunge from a profit of 310 million euros in the same period a year ago.
Operating profit, which excludes some items like taxes, was down to 60 million euros from 437 million euros a year earlier. Gulden said the results for the Adidas were “a little better than we had expected” as the company seeks to restart growth and move beyond the breakup with Ye. He called 2023 “a year of transition” on the way to “a better ’24 and a good ’25.”
The company faces other problems tied to the rapper. Investors sued Adidas a week ago in the U.S., alleging the company knew about Ye’s offensive remarks and harmful behavior years before the split and failed to take precautionary measures to limit financial losses.
The lawsuit — representing people who bought Adidas securities between May 3, 2018, and February 21, 2023 — pointed to 2018 comments where Ye suggested slavery was a “choice” and reports of Ye making antisemitic statements in front of Adidas staff.
The company said last week that it rejected “these unfounded claims and will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them.” Ending the Ye partnership also cost Adidas 600 million euros in lost sales in the last three months of 2022, helping drive the company to a net loss of 513 million euros.
An operating loss of 700 million euros is possible this year, Adidas said, mostly due to the 500 million-euro hit it would take if it doesn’t sell the existing Yeezy shoes.
Grammy-winning singer and actress Toni Braxton inked a new, all-encompassing production deal with Lifetime and A+E. Under the agreement, Braxton’s Braxtoni Production will oversee and executive produce multiple projects for the network. The production company will be based at Lifetime’s Los Angeles offices. Braxton has starred in and executive produced multiple movies for Lifetime over the last decade; in 2016, the network premiered Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, a biopic about Braxton starring Lex Scott Davis as the singer.
Primary Wave Music partnered with Indian record label and music publisher Times Music. Under the deal, Primary Wave will invest “significant capital” in the company while providing resources for additional Indian catalog investments and helping accelerate the growth of its existing regional, film and non-film music catalogs by assisting the Times Music team in uncovering opportunities in the United States, Europe and other markets in A&R, branding, synch, film/TV and digital marketing, according to a press release. Times Music is looking to make further investments in Bollywood and South Indian cinema music as well as “iconic Indian catalogs,” the release states. Times Music is a subsidiary of The Times of India Group.
Warner Music Singapore and Cross Ratio Entertainment, a leading Singaporean independent record label, signed an exclusive global distribution agreement. Under the deal, Warner Music Singapore will work closely with Cross Ratio on new releases, catalogs, brand partnerships, synchronization deals and marketing events as well as on identifying and upstreaming artists. The Cross Ratio roster includes Akeem Jahat, Alfred Sim, Belinda Lee, and Derrick Hoh; the label also distributes over 200 additional artists.
Academy Award-winning composer Justin Hurwitz (Whiplash, La La Land) partnered with music-for-advertising and sonic branding company Score a Score to expand Hurwitz’s “creative energy to the world of advertising — applying his unique ability to create ‘earworm’ melodies on the big screen to short-form campaigns,” according to a press release. Hurwitz has previously worked with brands including De’Loghi, Heineken and Louis Vuitton.
Will Ward — head of the talent, music, production and incubator company, Fourward — launched Fourward Ventures, a $50 million, early-stage growth fund actively investing in sectors including health and wellness, sustainability and consumer packaged goods. The company has successfully closed half the fund and is on track to close the rest by September 15. “The company seeks brands that disrupt traditional consumer categories through innovation and aims to drive change in society through products or services,” according to a press release, and will help “to quickly scale cutting edge early-stage brands into world-class businesses.” The fund has already invested in nine companies: Audio Up, Goodles, Lomi by Pela, Mad Rabbit, Patrake, Samsara, Starface, Julie and Bryn Pharma. Ten percent of carry profits will be set aside for three different charities not named in the release.
Advertising, communications, technology and commerce holding company WPP has acquired sonic branding agency amp sound branding. Under the deal, amp will join WPP’s brand and design consultancy, Landor & Fitch, adding to the agency’s expertise in delivering immersive brand identities for companies. Amp has created sonic identities for brands including Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Kraft Heinz, Deloitte, Shell and General Motors.
The U.K. office of French music company Believe formed a partnership with underground dance music company Rinse to handle distribution and label services for its Rinse Recordings and Bad Music imprints. Under its new b:electronic global imprint, Believe will handle the global distribution for all Rinse and Bad Music frontline and catalog releases. Rinse will continue to handle day-to-day marketing for both imprints while benefitting from Believe’s audience development team across 50 countries, with a focus on audio and video plus editorial and marketing partnerships with digital service providers.
Warner Music UK and independent record label Brownswood Recordings formed a joint venture that will see WMUK “share its expertise in distribution, marketing, and promotion and give Brownswood Recordings access to a global network and a wealth of resources,” according to a press release. The first release under the deal will be Black Classical Music, the debut solo album from drummer/producer/artist Yussef Dayes, which is slated for release on September 8. Brownswood will continue to operate as an independent label, with its leadership team retaining creative control.
Credit Union 1 is the new name-in-title sponsor of the outdoor, 28,000-capacity venue formerly known as Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre at Tinley Park located in southwest Chicago. Now known as Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, the Live Nation venue is described as the latest addition to Credit Union 1’s entertainment naming rights portfolio in the greater Chicago area.
Insomniac Music Group partnered with free creator-safe music platform Slip.stream to make its music catalog — which includes songs from over 120 artists — to be made available and claim-free via Slip.stream’s online subscription license. Through its integration with FUGA and its Licensease API technology, Slip.stream will protect Insomniac’s copyrights on YouTube while allowing creators to use the music and monetize their videos on all platforms. The Insomniac catalog is now available to Slip.stream’s Pro and Commercial subscribers, though creators can sign up free with access to the rest of the Slip.stream catalog.
ASM Global formed a partnership with London Stadium in the United Kingdom to create additional event content for the venue’s upcoming calendar while also developing new commercial opportunities. Originally built to host the London 2012 Olympic Games, London Stadium is home to the Premier League football club in West Ham United as well as U.K. Athletics. It’s the second-largest concert capacity stadium in London.
FIVE Hotels and Resorts has struck a joint venture with Warner Music Group for the Dubai-based luxury brand’s record label, FIVE Music. To kick off the partnership, FIVE Music — alongside Warner Music Central Europe, Dabruck Creative and FIVE Music’s exclusive music publishing partner, Warner Chappell Music — is in the midst of hosting a music writing camp from April 28 to May 14 at FIVE Palm Jumeirah in Dubai with artists including Robin Schulz, Space Motion, Franky Wah and Alle Farben and songwriters including KIDDO, Bully Songs and Gez O’Connell. Through the deal, FIVE Music has also committed to establishing a state-of-the-art music studio — dubbed FIVE Music Studio — at the FIVE Palm Jumeirah.
Dequency — described as “a web3-powered, decentralised marketplace for on-chain sync licensing” — partnered with artificial intelligence music tagging and recommendation engine Cyanite, which develops AI algorithms for music analysis, tagging, search and discovery to help clients including BMG, Nettwerk, UMPG Music Solutions and more unlock the full value of their repertoire. The new agreement with Cyanite “will make discovering new, original works on the Dequency platform for use in content easier than ever,” according to a press release.