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A decade ago, sound engineer John McBride and country music vocalist/five-time CMA Award winner Martina McBride launched Blackbird Academy — an educational extension of the couple’s Nashville recording studio, Blackbird Studio, that opened in 2002 and has since hosted artists including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Queen, Kings of Leon and Keith Urban.
Now, the McBrides will further delve into offering accessible musical education via Inside Blackbird, a new subscription-based platform aimed at teaching viewers about the processes of recording, studio producing, songwriting and live sound/production. The series features more than 200 hours of content covering different aspects of the music industry, as well as exclusive interviews and educational videos featuring top-shelf producers, musicians and engineers.
In one video, producer Nathan Chapman (known for his early work with Swift) discusses comping vocals. In another, session player Tom Bukovac discusses building a song from start to finish, while in another, producer Dann Huff (known for his work with Urban, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton and more) discusses the delicate art of discussing ideas in a recording session. Another video features Young Thug producer Bainz as he discusses navigating a studio session.
New videos will added to the platform each week.
Other contributors to the platform include artists like Billy Corgan, Garth Brooks, Yelawolf, Aly+AJ, Vince Gill and Young the Giant, as well as producer Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket), guitar legend Joe Bonamassa, producer/engineer Niko Bolas (Neil Young, KISS), vocal coach RAab Stevenson (Rihanna, SZA, Justin Timberlake), front of house engineer Dave Natale (The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Fleetwood Mac). The platform also offers tutorials on live sound, including motors, rigging, power distribution, consoles, monitor engineering and wireless audio.
“Anyone with an interest or curiosity about music will benefit from Inside Blackbird,” John McBride said in a statement. “Learn more about instruments, gear, plugins, the recording process and live touring from the best in the business. Find out how artists start their careers and what it takes to succeed. If we don’t have the answer, we know someone who does, and that is who you will find at Inside Blackbird.”
The Inside Blackbird platform is now available to users for $15.99 per month and to students for $9.99 per month. Further discounts are available through an annual subscription, while the Creator Plan offers users access to not only Inside Blackbird’s content but also KIT Plugins’ complete suite of audio tools released to date. This includes the historic Blackbird Studio emulations for $24.99 per month or an annual subscription of $249.90 (two months free). Any future Blackbird plugins will also be included in the plan as they are released.
Inside Blackbird has additionally partnered with Save the Music by donating an unspecified portion of each subscription to the organization.
See the trailer for Inside Blackbird below:
BIME, the music industry gathering that last year celebrated its 10th anniversary, returns to Bogotá, Colombia this week for its second annual Latin American confab.
The fair, created and hosted by Bilbao-based event production firm Last Tour, will feature over 100 events, including panels, chats, showcases and concerts. Guests include speakers from Colombia, but also from the United States and neighboring countries.
Key topics in this year’s edition are Web 3.0 and AI, as well as sustainability and the rights of those who work in the music industry, an issue that was profoundly highlighted during the pandemic and is now a source of further discussion.
Also in the forefront is the vinyl industry, which still makes up a tiny proportion of music industry revenues but is growing strongly in the Latin music realm and in Latin America.
In a twist, this year’s event is taking place at the campus of Universidad Ean, a fitting locale given BIME’s desire to educate and train a new generation of music industry professionals. An entire track is labeled “Campus,” featuring a series of didactic panels, including “How to develop a successful PR campaign” and “How to become a music supervisor.”
Notable booked speakers from both sides of the Atlantic include singer-songwriters Maria Becerra, Jessie Reyez, Catalina García and Kany Garcia; Baja Beach Festival co-founder Chris Ben Ujil; Daniel Merino, producer of Viña del Mar festival and GM of Bizarro Entertainment; AIE General directo José Luis Sevillanos; YouTube Music head of Label relations Mauricio Ojeda; Paz Aparicio, director of Madrid’s Wiznik Center; and Nelson Albareda, CEO of Loud and Live.
For a full schedule and information, visit the official BIME site here.
Duetti, a new music financing startup led by former Tidal COO Lior Tibon and former Apple Music business development executive Christopher Nolte, has closed a $32 million funding round to launch its new service, the company announced Wednesday (May 3). The round includes money from Viola Ventures/Viola Credit, Roc Nation, Untitled and Presight Capital.
The company is aiming to get in on the catalog sales market by providing funding to rising or independent artists in exchange for full catalogs, individual tracks or parts of tracks — then optimizing and growing their returns through marketing and/or social platform promotion. Duetti likens the deals it’s making as akin to the big catalog sales that major artists like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and others have executed in recent years, but for smaller artists — or at least those who have had songs on streaming platforms for two years and racked up at least 500,000 streams within the past 12 months.
Lior Tibon
“In recent years, the trend of legacy A-list musicians selling their entire catalogs has left independent artists out of the equation,” said Tibon, who serves as Duetti’s CEO, in a statement. “Now, artists at all stages of their careers can easily capture the potential of their tracks and catalogs to help them reach the next step of their journey. We are arming artists with the information they need to choose when, and how, to leverage their assets from a position of strength.”
Duetti has been in stealth mode, and during that period it says it has partnered with over 60 artists — including Sylvan LaCue, CVBZ and Croosh — across 100 tracks, with acquisitions totaling as much as $400,000; Duetti’s deals take roughly 30 days to complete on average, according to the company. It now sees an opportunity to open up this funding model to more than 70,000 additional independent artists. The company plans to use the seed funding to expand its staff, onboard more artists and boost the value of the tracks already in its catalog. It’s tapping into a market that includes companies like Sound Royalties, which recently sold to GoDigital, that aim to help artists finance their lives and careers by selling royalty streams and other assets and seeing higher returns in the long run.
“Duetti’s cutting edge technology enables efficient analysis of an artist’s potential for successfully monetizing a catalog or track — we are incredibly excited by the potential of their business model and the new, independent investment class it unlocks,” said Avi Zeevi, fintech investor and co-founder of Viola Ventures, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Independent artist revenue growth is outpacing the entire industry and their highly scalable model returns revenue uncorrelated to broader market and economic conditions. A win-win for investors and musicians.”
Irv Lichtman, for decades one of Billboard’s most respected and beloved editors and columnists and an advocate for songwriters who chiseled out a niche as the go-to expert in music publishing, has died at the age of 87.Lichtman passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday (May 2), his son David Lichtman confirms to Billboard.
Born May 21, 1935, Lichtman worked at Cashbox right out of college, from 1956 until 1975.
He went on to work for NY Times Music Publishing for roughly a year, before joining Audio Fidelity Records. From there, Lichtman made the leap to Billboard, joining the music trade in late 1978.
It proved a perfect fit.
Former executive editor Ken Schlager remembers Lichtman as a “genuinely warm and funny man,” whose columns Inside Track and Words & Music were a “must-read.” “When I joined Billboard as managing editor in 1985, Irv as deputy editor unselfishly guided me every step of the way, from putting out the weekly magazine to learning my way around the business,” Schlager says. “I could not have asked for a more generous or knowledgeable mentor. It was, as Bogie would say, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” An “incredibly sensitive soul,” Lichtman cared deeply about his colleagues and the music industry, notes Schlager, especially the publishing business, and, “through his deep and wide network of sources, served the industry well as a conduit for scoops they couldn’t find anywhere else.”His joyful trait was always close to the surface, recounts Linda Moran, CEO/president of Songwriters Hall of Fame. “Irv was one of the wittiest guys I have ever known with a great sense of humor,” she says. “For many years he was the face of Billboard because he knew everyone and he was respected for his encyclopedic knowledge of music while exuding trustworthiness which is a tremendous asset for any journalist.”As a Songwriters Hall of Fame Board member he represented the SHOF on the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board due to his extensive knowledge of music, from decades before his birth through to contemporary. Those who knew him well remember Lichtman’s love for show tunes, and “he could always be counted on to be the champion, fighting for the Broadway songwriters on the [SHOF] induction ballot because he felt they were under-appreciated,” recounts Moran.
But his love for music went far beyond show tunes, as he stayed up with contemporary artists. “I recall a moment walking on Broadway when we encountered the rapper M.C. Hammer. Irv bubbled over with enthusiasm, greeting Hammer like an old friend. I don’t believe they had ever met,” Schlager recalls.After retiring from Billboard in February 2001, Lichtman devoted much of his time to the Friedberg Jewish Community Center, where he remained an active participant in the Current Events Club. His favorite charity was Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the country.
He never lost his love for the Yankees or that famous, “if corny,” sense of humor, remarks Schlager. The pair frequently lunched together. “Invariably, when the waiter or waitress first approached out table, Irv would greet the server with his patented line: ‘We’re in a hurry. Can we please get the check?’ Some got it, some didn’t. We lunched for what I didn’t know would be the final time last fall. On that occasion I noticed he didn’t use his usual line. His explanation: ‘I can’t. They know me here.’ Amazingly, he had come up with a fresh punchline.”Fellow former Billboard Pro Audio editor Paul Verna has similarly fond memories. “It’s telling that on my first day at Billboard, no one thought to tell me where the bathrooms were. Irv literally showed me the way, and then would proceed to show me the ropes of the music industry and our role in covering it,” he comments. “To say he was a mentor is an understatement. I’ll always cherish having had the guiding hand of someone who had seen so much. But as we all know, the best thing about Irv wasn’t his industry experience — it was his humor, his generosity, and his always cheerful spirit.”
Lichtman is survived by his wife Phyllis, sons Steven and David and grandchildren, Kate, Jane, Emma, Jack, Frank and Ben. He was preceded in death by his son, Robbie.
His funeral will take place Friday (May 5) on Long Island. Details are to come.
Sean Heydorn was promoted to the joint role of senior vp of Rise Records and frontline catalogue at BMG. The announcement follows last week’s news that BMG has fully integrated its catalog and new release recordings businesses. In his new dual role, Heydorn will continue leading Rise Records while overseeing a newly-established frontline catalog team that will be responsible for marketing recent releases (i.e. projects designated as having been released 18 months ago or more) while ensuring the ongoing success of frontline music. The Los Angeles-based executive will continue reporting to executive vp of recorded music Dan Gill. Heydorn can be reached at sean.heydorn@bmg.com.
Tricia Arnold was promoted to executive vp of global artist/label services and sales at The Orchard, up from her prior role of senior vp of global label management and sales. Arnold will continue overseeing the company’s global distribution strategy and international sales and label services teams. The New York-based executive, who was named to Billboard‘s Women in Music List in 2023, will continue reporting to president/COO Colleen Theis. She can be reached at tarnold@theorchard.com.
Tim Plumley was promoted to vp of media and artist relations at UMe, the global catalog company of Universal Music Group. In the role, Plumley will strategize and execute 360-degree catalog media campaigns for both frontline album releases and catalog initiatives. Based in Los Angeles, he reports to executive vp of media and artist relations Sujata Murthy. Plumley can be reached at Tim.Plumley@umusic.com.
Sony Music Entertainment UK relaunched Epic Records UK and appointed Sarah Lockhart as president of the revamped label, effective May 1. Epic Records UK will relaunch as a frontline label alongside other Sony Music labels including RCA and Columbia. Lockhart takes on the role following a stint at Sony Music Publishing, where she was head of A&R for three years.
Jeff Geasey joined Page 1 Management as GM, West Coast out of Los Angeles. In the role, Geasey will sign new creators, service existing clients and work closely with Page 1 founder/CEO Ashley Page. He joins from Fast Casual Management, which he co-founded. Geasey can be reached at Jeff@page1management.com.
Sound Royalties announced several hires and promotions. On the promotions front, Shaun Kilmartin was named vp of technology and special projects; Allison Portlock was named vp of marketing; Marysol Aldaba was named royalty support manager; Emma Blake was named administration manager; Bryan Fried was named royalty analyst manager; Erin Regan was named marketing manager; and Kimberly Guisao was named digital marketing coordinator. New hires include Michael Aufiero as royalty specialist; Leandro Castro as junior systems administrator; Nicole Hanrahan as data management specialist; Natasha Mikazens as royalty specialist; Yvonne Swaby as accounting manager; Zachary Vega as royalty analyst; Kateleen Vera as royalty support specialist; and Christian Vernis as junior royalty specialist. Portlock can be reached at allison@soundroyalties.com.
Abby Sprague was promoted to vp of marketing at Mom+Pop Music. In her new role, she will run global campaigns for Mom+Pop artists and expand her roster to include SEB, Frances Forever and the newly-signed act Goth Babe.
Veteran music PR executive Cara Wodnicki departed her role as executive vp of publicity at BMF to launch her own firm, CSW Publicity. She will bring her personal roster of clients to the new company, including AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys, J-pop act Perfume, Emergency Tiara, RADWIMPS and Canadian pop singer Olivia Lunny. She can now be reached at Cara@CSWPublicity.com.
J.R. Johnson was named director of communications at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He joins from Refinery29, where he served as senior director of talent relations/special projects; he has also served in comms roles at Warner Bros. Records and Sunshine Sachs & Associates, among others.
Justin Levenson was named professional services product lead at OpenPlay, a leading asset management platform for the music industry. In his new role, Levenson will work with OpenPlay’s engineering team, clients and other stakeholders to ensure the platform is operating properly and meeting client needs, among other duties. He joins the company from Utopia Music, where he served as commercial director of financial services/senior product manager. Levenson can be reached at justin.levenson@openplay.co.
Emilia Huneke-Bergquist joined Stand Together Music to direct project management and events for the organization, which “unites the music industry, musicians, and their teams with proven change-makers to co-create solutions, starting with criminal justice, addiction recovery, education, free speech and peace, and ending the war on drugs,” according to a press release. Huneke-Bergquist will lead a cross-functional team of project managers and event professionals in facilitating marketing and communications efforts along with in-person and virtual experiences across the Stand Together community. Before officially joining the organization, she had previously worked with Stand Together on various partnerships. She can be reached at ehuneke-bergquist@standtogether.org.
Kylie Dembek was named country music project manager at ONErpm. She joins the company from Big Machine Label Group, where she worked as a strategic planning manager helping artists develop their radio and marketing strategies. In her new role, she will focus on creating and implementing release and marketing strategy for emerging and established artists. Dembek can be reached at kylie@onerpm.com.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum named two new additions to its staff: Dave Paulson, who joins as writer-editor in the museum services department, and Austin Taylor, who was named director of event sales. Paulson will contribute to exhibitions, museum publications, public programs, online offerings and other educational initiatives; he was previously a reporter at The Tennessean. Taylor will lead the events and culinary department’s sales team while also being responsible for the event sales annual revenue goal. He was most recently senior sales manager with both the Hilton and HEI hotel brands and previously worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum between 2011 and 2017.
Away co-founder/CEO Jen Rubio has joined the board of directors at tvg hospitality, the venue group founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons.
When Nicole Avant and her brother Alex were growing up, they watched their late mother, Jacqueline, devote her time and efforts to various charities and underserved communities — especially focusing on children and the Watts/Willowbrook neighborhood in South Los Angeles.
“My mom would go back home to Beverly Hills and bring people from there to Watts,” recalls Nicole. “She’d say, ‘Listen, these are our neighbors. And we have a moral obligation as human beings to do the right thing in as many places as we can.’ That was her whole motto.”
That motto comes full circle with the formal dedication of The Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center today (April 28). The opening of the brand-new facility — the first of its kind in South L.A. — comes nearly two years after the December 2021 murder of the philanthropist and wife of music industry legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree Clarence Avant, aka the “Godfather of Black Music.”
Ahead of the ceremony, Nicole gave Billboard a tour of the center (1741 E. 120th Street, Willowbrook, Calif.). Working in association with the MLK Health and Wellness Community Development Corp., the three-floor center houses the MLK Pediatric Clinic. With its first floor already in operation, the center plans to serve 4,000 children and teens annually by providing medical and mental health evaluations for those who have been exposed to violence, and primary pediatric care for children in the foster care system. Enhanced outpatient clinical services for at-risk pediatric and adolescent patients and their families will also be provided.
Nicole Avant and Jacqueline Avant
Courtesy of the Avant family
Slated to open at the end of this year, the second floor will offer family-focused services including an autism wellness center run by the Special Needs Network and a clinic run by Saint John Well Child Center. The third floor, opening next year, will focus on youth mental health services.
The center’s cream-colored walls and warm accent colors, like blue-green, also play a role in creating a comforting and nurturing environment for patients. As do three vibrant paintings by L.A. artist Floyd Strickland, titled The Believers, The Teacher and The Dreamers. Commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the portraits and the wallpaper mural behind the artwork celebrate the rich culture and history of South L.A.’s Watts/Willowbrook community. Floyd collaborated with the neighborhood’s current residents, using family photos dating back to the 1940s as source material.
“It feels safe and healing,” says Nicole who also sits on the board of the after-foster care organization A Sense of Home. “My mom’s whole thing was about physical, emotional and spiritual healing; she really believed in the power of art. And the art here is full of joy with a sense of family and friendship, which is very good for children because that’s the first thing they should see.”
Prior to the dedication ceremony, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, representing the Second District, noted in an email to Billboard, “I am honored to celebrate the unveiling of the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center. The center is a meaningful addition to our community and will provide hope and a multitude of health and mental health services to children and their families in South Los Angeles.”
Nicole credits longtime Avant family friend and Jacqueline’s fellow community outreach devotee Candace Bond McKeever for playing a key role in bringing the center to fruition. Prior to Jacqueline’s death, the two would drive and walk around the Watts/Willowbrook neighborhood — home also to the neighboring Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center and MLK Medical Campus — with Jacqueline visualizing that one day she would raise enough money to build a center to help children.
Jacqueline Avant Center
Greg Baker, the CBRE Facilities Director
“We’d begun raising money and were making progress,” says Nicole. “Then after my mom didn’t make it, people were asking where and what they could donate to honor her. I called Candace and said, ‘It’s got to be at MLK; that’s what she wanted. And Candace said let’s do it.’ It’s a crazy twist of fate, but here we are with exactly what mom visualized.”
At the time of this interview, her dad Clarence had only seen photos of his wife’s dream fulfilled. Asked his reaction, Nicole says, “It was emotional but he was also like ‘Wow, this is amazing. Finally, the world gets to see what Jackie’s been doing this whole time.’”
As for her mom’s reaction, Nicole says, ‘I can feel that she’s very happy. She wasn’t just a collector of art and other things. She was a collector of souls who wanted to make sure everyone got the chance to fly.”
The music industry, like investment banking, is built largely on relationships, and Fred Davis and Joe Puthenveetil have built their careers on being relationship brokers to both worlds.
Partners at merchant bank The Raine Group, Davis — who is the son of music industry icon Clive Davis — and Puthenveetil are two of the most influential financial power brokers in the business. Since one of Raine’s earliest music deals advising Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based Mubadala Investment on its acquisition of EMI, it has advised on or invested in billions of dollars of transactions. In recent years, the pair managed the $230 million sale of CD Baby’s digital operation to Downtown Music Holdings, helped Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Charles Goldstuck raise $75 million to launch the HitCo label and led SoundCloud’s $170 million emergency investment round in 2017, which included recruiting Singapore state fund Temasek to invest alongside it. (Concord acquired Hitco’s entire sound recording catalog and certain additional releases but not the label or brand name in 2022.)
In the past year alone, Davis says the partners have had a hand in more than $1 billion in transactions, including advising Quality Control in its sale to HYBE America, advising private equity firm Francisco Partners in its acquisition of Kobalt and helping Larry Jackson raise $1 billion in capital for his new venture, gamma.
Raine remains an investor in SoundCloud and also helped create Firebird, a conglomerate of independent music labels, publishers and artist management groups that develop and advise artists and help them with business opportunities outside of music.
From left: A photo of Davis’
sons, a memento of Raine’s representation of Providence Equity in its deal with online music technology/instrument retailer Sweetwater, a family portrait with patriarch Clive Davis and a plaque commemorating Raine’s work with Downtown Music to sell its publishing company to Concord.
Paul Stuart
Puthenveetil, a graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, joined Raine in 2010 and was a driving force behind the CD Baby sale and HitCo fundraising, as well Raine’s investments in SoundCloud, concert/festival producer Blackbird Presents and promoter C3 Presents, which was sold to Live Nation. He sits on SoundCloud’s board of directors, with Davis, and on Blackbird’s board.
Fordham University School of Law-educated Davis (who launched his own law firm, Davis Shapiro & Lewit, before joining Raine) says one of the starkest trends shaping music today is that more money from more sources is flowing into the industry than ever before.
“When I was coming up as a music lawyer, there were maybe three, maybe four check writers,” he says. “The diversity of capital is so enormous in this industry right now. You have HYBE investing in Quality Control from South Korea. Eldridge Capital investing in gamma, along with Apple. Francisco Partners acquiring Kobalt. It’s strategic, private equity, high net worth, sovereign wealth.
“This is a new generation of capital investing in the music industry, “Davis adds. “We’ve never had an era like this ever.” Other investors that Raine has recently advised include pro wrestling giant WWE on its $21 billion combination with Endeavor, Japan’s Softbank Group and the crypto exchange Binance.
For those who aren’t familiar with The Raine Group, please provide some background on the firm and its network of investors.
Fred Davis Raine has nine offices around the world and is very global by its DNA. The network we have now in private equity, sovereign wealth, high net worth, family offices and strategic investors is so complementary to the network a traditional music lawyer has. We can collaborate and do what’s best for the client.
Part of a collection of Nike Air Jordans that Puthenveetil’s wife gifted him.
Paul Stuart
Describe what you do and how your services differ from, say, a music lawyer’s.
Joe Puthenveetil While Fred and I specialize in music, our firm specializes in everything around media and technology. For a lot of our clients, a big part of why they work with us is to access unconventional buyers and pools of capital. Being able to leverage that global expertise and global investors, we’ve got a pretty unique and broad set of relationships across the firm.
How did HYBE America’s acquisition of Quality Control happen?
Davis Last September, we took a trip to South Korea, set up a number of meetings with the best music companies in Korea and went there to uncover opportunities. From that trip, we made the connection between HYBE and our preexisting client Quality Control. We work best with the client’s music lawyer. Quality Control is represented by Damian Granderson, with whom we work extremely well.
A plaque commemorating Davis’ inclusion on Billboard’s 2022 Power List.
Paul Stuart
What does scaling Quality Control look like?
Puthenveetil Quality Control has taken its place in music and expanded it across culture to film and TV, sports, branding, and that’s how we think of the modern music industry. Talent is more than just their music. They are real brands and businesses. And the Quality Control team [COO Kevin “Coach K” Lee and CEO Pierre “P” Thomas] understands that better than anyone. Coach and P have been public about their ambitions to make Quality Control one of the biggest businesses in hip-hop and broader Black culture. Having a partner that can help them do that with capital and expertise, they may scale further into film, TV and video games.
Davis One of the visions that Coach and P have shared with us over the years is how they want to make Atlanta the home of hip-hop and street music the way Nashville is the home of country. HYBE will help them accomplish that vision.
Are Quality Control and gamma similar in that they are both trying to take artists beyond music? What are your views on that?
Puthenveetil One hundred percent. They both approach it in slightly different ways, but fundamentally, it’s driving at the same thesis and reality that artists build their careers through music, but build their brands and communities through everything else they do. That is where we see the industry going more and more. Thinking back to our trip to Korea last September, they have fundamentally understood that for a lot longer than we have in the U.S. On the investing side, we helped create a business called Firebird that has a similar belief and is partnering with the best labels, managers and publishing companies to help them expand beyond music and touring.
What is Firebird building?
Davis We invested in [as opposed to simply advising] Firebird. They are in the process of building a new-generation music company that will be a combination of managers and independent record labels as its core. They’ve done about a dozen transactions and are well on their path to building a great new music company.
How is Firebird different from gamma, which also calls itself a new music company?
Davis Gamma will not be in the management business the same way Firebird is. There will be some elements of crossover, but the essence of each company will be different.
What role did Raine play in the launch of Larry Jackson’s gamma?
Davis We’ve known Larry for many years. Larry approached us with an idea many years ago of what he wanted to build. Our role was to find the capital to invest in gamma. We negotiated the Apple investment, and we sourced the Eldridge investment and negotiated the terms of the deal. Raine represented Chelsea Football Club, which Todd Boehly and Eldridge acquired. Through our partner Joe Ravitch’s relationship with Eldridge, we introduced Eldridge to Larry. [Eldridge is an investor in Billboard.]
Puthenveetil We also helped [Jackson] translate his vision into a business plan and marketing materials and helped educate the investors on what this all means.
Paul Stuart
Why do you think investing in the music industry will be resilient even if market conditions worsen?
Davis Simple metrics of supply and demand. There is an incredible amount of capital that wants to get into music. There are not that many great companies. That market dynamic will keep valuations high and opportunities exciting.
Puthenveetil The reason everyone is excited about music is that, structurally, it is healthy. Companies are growing, they’re profitable. There are a lot of opportunities to invest, to acquire. When you look around at the broader landscape, sure, there are a lot of challenging sectors of the broader market. But everyone is still streaming music, everyone is still attending concerts. These companies are all still making record profits.
Historically, periods of economic downturn trigger a risk-off approach to alternative investment areas, which is what music is considered.
Puthenveetil Over the past six to nine months, we have gotten more calls from investors looking to enter this space than ever before.
Where do sovereign wealth funds want to invest in the music industry?
Puthenveetil Because of the growth of these funds, they have more people looking at spaces that might not have fallen in their purview before. That has resulted in GIC [in Singapore] investing in [Universal Music Group]. We brought Temasek into SoundCloud alongside us. We’ve seen sovereign funds in the Middle East looking at this space. In every process and transaction, we see more and more of that and expect it to continue. One of the early deals we did in the music space was advising Mubadala when they acquired EMI. At that time, very few people knew who Mubadala was, let alone expected them to buy that asset.
Globally, where do you see the opportunities?
Puthenveetil All of the developing markets. That’s where streaming growth is, and the audiences are younger. But it’s the innovation we see coming out of those markets that is exciting.
Are there any pockets of vulnerability in the music industry?
Davis From a major label’s perspective, the area of vulnerability is the incredible growth of regional music. The percentage of regional music that non-major labels represent around the world in multiple territories is at an all-time high, whether it’s K-pop in South Korea, Afrobeats in Africa or native music to France that’s not on major labels. This is a huge generational trend. From that perspective, it is a vulnerability for major labels.
Record Store Day already has a magnificent track record of bringing music fans out to stores, but this year, the event received an added boost from Taylor Swift’s folklore, the long pond studio sessions — a double LP that resulted in longer-than-usual lines at retailers.
While the spread of Record Store Day (RSD) releases is now a major draw unto itself, the Swift release, which enjoyed a 75,000-unit distribution to stores across the U.S., was the best-selling title by far. Or as Stu Goldberg, owner of Mr. Cheapo CD & Record Exchange on Long Island, N.Y., put it: “Today, it was all about Taylor Swift.”
An assessment of Record Store Day wouldn’t be complete without a call to its administrator and co-founder, Michael Kurtz, who noted that RSD is on course to break the sales record for the most vinyl sold in a single day. When RSD “began 16 years ago, we had 30 releases that sold about 80,000 copies,” Kurtz says. “On Saturday, we had one record, Taylor Swift, selling 75,000 or almost that amount, and plenty of sales from other releases.” It’s likely that her release could be a Top 5 record on next next week’s Billboard 200.
Likewise, Rough Trade store manager George Flanagan said the store’s line was “informed by Taylor Swift fans,” while Newbury Comics store manager Therrien Dolby says the Swift release was the “big draw.” And In Patchogue, NY, Jeff Berg, the owner of Record Stop, says there were so many Swift fans, the store had to create two lines: one for fans seeking her release and one for everybody else. The Swift line had its own dedicated cash register too.
In acknowledgement of the day’s impact, Alliance Entertainment, the largest music wholesaler, says that more than 800,000 units of vinyl were created and shipped for RSD, with retail sales expected to surpass $32 million. “Record Store Day has been a long-time partner to Alliance Entertainment, always collaborating to benefit the independent record store community,” Alliance senior vp of sales Ken Glaser said in a statement.
RSD In NYC
Billboard began its New York City-area Record Store Day trek by driving out to Newbury Comics at Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island. Upon arrival at 9 a.m., about 40 people were lined up outside. Like other stores later in the day, store manager Dolby positioned himself at the front door, regulating entry to make sure the store didn’t get too crowded and overwhelm the staff. At the 8 a.m. opening time, about 150 people were waiting, Dolby reported, including one customer who arrived at 1 a.m. (Dolby added that mall management, the Simon Property Group, was very helpful and accommodating to the store for the event.)
A common sight on RSD.
Ed Christman
Inside the store, a quick scan revealed that roughly 25% of its bin floor space is devoted to music, with 17 bins dedicated to vinyl and two dedicated to CDs. The store also carries a healthy stock of music merch, mainly artists-t-shirts, and music titles also enjoy a prominent position in front-of-the-store end caps.
Upon leaving Newbury Comics, Billboard headed to Mr. Cheapo CD & Record Exchange in Mineola (the store has a second location in Commack, Long Island). When co-owner Goldberg arrived at the store on Saturday morning, he found a line around the block due in large part to the Swift record, though he admitted that the store underbought the title and quickly ran out of it as a result. That was the store’s number one title for the day, he says, and “if we had more, it would have been the biggest by a mile.”
Fortunately for Goldberg, most people stayed in line after learning the Swift release had sold out. The other big sellers on Saturday were Billy Joel‘s Live at the Great American Music Hall, 1975 and Eric Carr’s Rockology, because “Kiss is always a great seller here,” he adds. Behind the counter, store staffer Jessica commanded the cash register and bagged purchases while touting her band T.O.Y.S.’ next gig with a bag-stuffer flyer for their set supporting hardcore punk band Urban Waste at the Amityville Music Hall on May 5.
Beyond the vinyl explosion, Goldberg noted that CDs are again becoming a big deal because young fans “want something tangible” from their favorite artists.
While at Mr. Cheapo, Billboard ran into respected sales/commerce executive Ken Gullic, who was doing his best to support RSD by picking up Soul Asylum‘s MTV Unplugged 1993 and Tori Amos‘ Little Earthquakes – The B-Sides. Most recently with MNRK, Gullic is entertaining freelance options; entertainment suppliers can reach him at kengullic@gmail.com.
After Long Island, Billboard decided to hit record stores in Ridgewood, Queens and then Bushwick, Brooklyn, on the way to Rough Trade Records on Sixth Avenue near 49th Street in Manhattan. Trying Google for Ridgewood, Billboard hit Scorpio Records and then Deep Cut Records, but things didn’t work out so well. At 11:30 a.m., Scorpio Records was closed and, as it turns out, generally doesn’t open until 2 p.m.
While Deep Cut Records was open and had about 20 people in line, the owner effectively told Billboard to get lost by slamming the door after being asked what his best-selling title was.
Onward Octopus Records in Bushwick. While Octopus didn’t stock any RSD titles, Nigel, who identified himself as the store owner, says it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He explained that his store is relatively new, having opened last summer and that an e-mail to the Record Store Day website was never returned. Nevertheless, the store advertised a 10%-off sale for RSD on a sign placed outside to celebrate the event. Nigel says Octopus Records has a deep selection of electronica music and is now building out other genres.
Down the block from Octopus, Brooklyn Vintage, a clothing store that also sells other merchandise, including records, was getting some Record Store Day action too, with crates of vinyl set outside the door (where a DJ was spinning tunes) and a bin of vinyl inside.
Finally, Billboard headed to Rough Trade in Manhattan, where things were still swinging at 2 p.m. Upon arrival, at least 150 people were still in line, which ran to the corner of 6th Avenue and then a third of the way down 49th Street. The size of the line held steady throughout most of the day, as security never let more than eight or so customers in the store at one time to allow staff to handle sales in an orderly manner.
Store manager Flanagan reports that the first customer lined up sometime before 8 p.m. on Friday night and that the same customer has been the first person in line for at Rough Trade on RSD for at least five years. Meanwhile, beyond the hundreds of copies of the Swift record sold by the store, The 1975’s Dirty Hit release, Live With The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, was its second most popular, having sold out by 3 p.m.
After Rough Trade, Billboard called it a day but is sorry to have bypassed Record Stop in Patchogue on Long Island, as that store put on an old-school Record Store Day bash reminiscent of the early days when stores threw parties for the annual event. “The town of Patchogue is very pro-business, so we did a block party, getting permits and had the street closed off from cars,” Record Stop owner Berg reports. “We had a food truck and the nearby Burgerology restaurant was hawking Blue Point beer, while we had five bands and a DJ.” According to a Record Stop flyer, the bands were Thee Unsung, the Detonators, Bang For Your Buc and War Pigs, while the DJ set was supplied by Vinyl Guy Tom.
Berg says he decided to make this year special because he wanted to thank his customers as well as his staff. “Record Store Day is about a celebration of what we do,” he says.
Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to run alongside its annual Country Power Players list of country music industry’s most influential executives. This new Country Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive whose peers believe has had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to managing and touring and beyond. Vote here.
Voting is now open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.
Billboard launched its first Players’ Choice Award with the Power 100 list earlier this year.
The first round of voting will begin April 25, with an open call for nominees.
The second round of voting will begin May 8, in order to narrow down the top 25 nominees into the final five top executives.
The third round of voting will begin May 15, to select the winner from that list.
If you are not yet a member of Billboard Pro, you can join here.
Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to run alongside its annual Country Power Players list of country music industry’s most influential executives. This new Country Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive whose peers believe has had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to managing and touring and beyond.
Voting is open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.
Billboard first launched its Players’ Choice Award with the Power 100 list earlier this year.
The first round of voting is now open and will run through May 7 with an open call for nominees. Vote below.
The second round of voting will begin May 8, in order to narrow down the top 20 nominees into the final five top executives.
The third round of voting will begin May. 15, to select the winner from that list. Voting concludes May 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Vote here: