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That warm, impish smile. Infectious laugh. Eyes that literally twinkled as he talked about music and life. Those were the first things that came to mind after learning of Quincy Delight Jones’ death on Nov. 3. And how lucky I was to get the chance to chat several times with someone who truly personified every sense of the word “legend.”
It just so happened that the day before Jones died, I was cleaning out some old files and came across the yellowed pages of the first interview I ever did with him when I was an editor at the trade publication Radio & Records. It was November 1984: two years after Michael Jackson’s seismic success with Thriller in 1982 and a year before pulling an epic all-nighter with Jackson, Lionel Richie and a collection of music superstars to record “We Are the World.” When I interviewed him for a special Radio & Records feature, “Master of Music,” the perpetually multitasking Jones was co-producing, with director Steven Spielberg, the film adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple.
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“The primary motor of pop music, as we know it today, has always been Black music,” he told me then before pulling back the curtain on his creative strategy. “The one thing I fight for is the selection of tunes,” he said. And he was way ahead of the industry’s globalization, shouting out Africa as a music “gold mine” and, in subsequent chats, South Korea and Indonesia.
Rereading the interview all these years later, it also shows Jones was more than just a creative wunderkind. He was insatiably curious, always searching for the next. Given the advent of computers at the time, he spoke about the “archaic record distribution system,” while presciently envisioning that “it could be possible in five years for you to have no inventory in your house; no records, tapes, anything. If you had access to a satellite, a code book/catalog and a television set, you could punch up anything you wanted anytime.”
A few weeks after that interview was published, I learned what a thoughtful and humorous person Jones was as well. One of my treasured mementos is a signed personal note card of thanks (stamped with an embossed “Q” in the upper left-hand corner): “With the great editing you did, I was made to look like I know what I’m talking about.” Such a simple but impactful gesture.
That was just one facet of Quincy Jones. Born in Chicago and raised in Seattle, he jumpstarted his estimable legacy as a big band- and jazz-loving trumpeter who, beginning at the age of 14, played for Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine. After a year on scholarship at the Berklee College of Music, he toured with Lionel Hampton’s band, adding “pianist” and “arranger” to his résumé. Within a few years, he was working with Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey. In 1957, he joined Mercury Records as an A&R director and later vice president, becoming the first Black senior executive at a major label.
Best friends with Ray Charles since their teen years in Seattle (“He taught me my first music in braille”), Q — a nickname given to him by Frank Sinatra — arranged Brother Ray’s classic albums The Genius of Ray Charles and Genius + Soul = Jazz. He went on to discover and produce “It’s My Party” and other hits for early 1960s pop darling Lesley Gore, while simultaneously earning the first of his eventual 28 Grammy Awards and 80 nominations for arranging Basie’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” And there’s no forgetting Jones’ momentous collaborations with Basie and Sinatra, which produced the timeless romantic romp “Fly Me to the Moon.”
Thanks to the initial unwavering support of actor Sidney Poitier and filmmaker Sidney Lumet, Jones racked up credits for film scores to In the Heat of the Night, The Wiz, The Italian Job and The Color Purple, as well as TV series Roots and theme songs for Ironside and Sanford and Son. Jones’ own musical output was prolific and demonstrated a rare talent for evolving with contemporary music. Signing with A&M Records in 1969, he released the Grammy-winning instrumental jazz set Walking in Space that year, which sparked further forays into jazz, funk, R&B, pop and dance through 1981, with albums such as Body Heat, I Heard That!, Sounds … and Stuff Like That!! and The Dude, the last of which introduced newcomer James Ingram (“Just Once”).
Jones’ work with Jackson is well known, but his innate ear also brought other hit-makers to the forefront, such as George Benson, Patti Austin, Tevin Campbell and Tamia, through his Warner joint venture, Qwest Records, which he founded in 1980.
In the latter part of his career, Jones ventured into media that explored and celebrated Black culture and music. He produced The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which made Will Smith a bankable star, and launched Vibe as both a magazine and talk show.
After various encounters at industry events over the ensuing years, I got the chance to interview a still-indefatigable Jones — who survived two brain aneurysms in 1974 and a diabetic coma in 2015 — for Billboard during his 80th and 85th birthday celebrations in 2013 and 2018. His gait was more measured and later, he began making his rounds in a wheelchair. But his musical and entrepreneurial drive had not slowed: He established an artist management consultancy, partnered with Harman on a line of AKG headphones and squeezed in time to write his 2001 autobiography, Q.
On both occasions, we sat in the screening room of his home in Bel-Air, Los Angeles. It was decorated with vintage posters of the films he had worked on, and its hallway walls were jam-packed with Jones-produced album covers and autographed sheet music for “We Are the World.” Display cases held his 28 Grammys.
Having traded wine for protein-rich smoothies at this point, Jones discussed such topics as co-founding Qwest TV, the first subscription, video-ondemand service for jazz, and how music had substituted for the absence of his mother, who was hospitalized for mental illness when he was 7. It had served him well.
Never content to stay the course, Jones kept evolving from musician, arranger, composer and producer to label owner, artist manager, mentor, business entrepreneur and global ambassador. As he declared in 1984, “If I had 200 more years, I still wouldn’t have enough time to do all the things I dream about.”
This story appears in the Nov. 16, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Canadian Music Week is undergoing a major identity shift.
For the first time since 1982, the music festival and conference will have a new name: Departure. The newly-christened Departure Festival + Conference will take place from May 6-11, 2025.
Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG) bought the festival from retiring founder Neill Dixon this year. They announced the changes in a cocktail reception on Tuesday (Nov. 12) at the festival’s new Toronto headquarters, Hotel X.
“Departure honours where we’ve come from and celebrates where we are going,” said Kevin Barton, executive producer at Loft Entertainment. “We’re creating a launchpad that opens doors to deeper, more inclusive conversations and showcases the richness of Toronto’s cultural scene, celebrates Canadian creatives, and welcomes global artists.”
In speeches and a fireside chat, Barton along with Loft co-founder Randy Lennox and chief operating officer Jackie Dean joined OVG Canada president Tom Pistore to share the new vision for the festival.
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Lennox and Barton pointed to the ambition of the event, which will expand to include comedy, tech and food in year one — plus film, fashion and other subjects in the near future. They will take big swings, which might mean they may have misses along the way, they acknowledged.
This year’s festival will include a songwriter showcase, comedy performances, food trucks, and a new app and digital infrastructure.
The goal with Departure is to expand and modernize, they said, while honouring the history of Canadian Music Week. Next year, they will honour CMW’s former leader Neill Dixon with a lifetime achievement award.
Comedian Russell Peters opened with his own less rehearsed speech, and shared his hopes for the festival. He’s both a comedian and a DJ, but says he and his friends had avoided CMW in the past “because it was soup — full of crackers.” He joked that the festival’s idea of diversification was Kardinal Offishall and that’s it.
Barton stressed an inclusivity mandate and said they have been meeting with different equity-seeking communities in the Canadian arts industry. Over 160 languages are spoken in Toronto, and the goal is to represent that multiculturalism.
Pistore said Departure is part of the Denver-based Oak View Group’s expanded footprint in Canada, which includes new hires and a $280 million project to transform an arena in Hamilton, Ontario. There is an ambition to be bigger, “but rooted in a Canadian foundation.”
The response on social media and at the industry event was mixed. Some were optimistic for the long-running conference to change and evolve and provide a bigger platform for Canadian artists. Others hoped that the new ownership, including the American Oak View Group, and removal of “Canadian” from the name, will not sacrifice the Canadian identity or the focus on the homegrown industry.
Karan Chahal is a music and business lawyer and agent at LSC Law. A former musician and engineer himself, he now works with independent artists, especially in Punjabi music, including producer Deep Jandhu.
Chahal has been attending CMW for years, and credits it as one of the most important conferences in Canada. He especially appreciated last year’s edition, which included a spotlight on India’s music industry and Punjabi music in Canada, he says.
“It’s an amazing platform, because everyone there is there for the same reason: music,” he says. “The music industry in Canada is still growing, and artists need support. There’s so much incredible talent here, and CMW is a spot where the artists, the labels, the agents can gain those relationships in the industry.”
Chahal’s hope is that Departure’s expanded focus into other areas will not dilute the support for music, specifically.
“I think we need more eyes on it, we need to grow it. More strategic individuals getting involved is only going to help,” he says. “I just hope we aren’t going to lose what it initially stood for, and will uphold the duty to support the culture.”
Rudy Blair is an independent music journalist and interviewer who has been covering Canadian Music Week for nearly 30 years. Over the past few years, he’s also worked for the festival under Dixon as a conference host.
Blair says the new name will take some getting used to, but he thinks the growth can only be a good thing.
“We always have to move forward, and as long as it shows respect for what came in the past, change is a good thing,” he says. “Moving forward, looking at things differently, presenting things differently, that always needs to happen. Departure is part of that evolution.
“The mandate from day 1, 42 years ago, to 2025 is the same,” he continues. “It is all about fans, artists, educating people, and making sure the rest of the world knows that Canada has some of the best talent in the world. As much as they’re looking at other things, I hope they keep the dream Neill (Dixon) had, which is promoting Canadian talent.”
This story originally was originally published by Billboard Canada.
Anthem Entertainment has acquired a “wide” selection of songs from Darell‘s catalog, the company tells Billboard. Included in the deal is the urbano superstar’s star-studded “Te Boté (Remix)” with Casper Mágico, Nio García, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Bad Bunny, which peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2018 and ruled the Hot Latin Songs chart for 14 weeks.
Additional Darell songs that are part of the acquisition include “Otro Trago” with Sech and “Asesina” with Brytiago, along with tracks featuring Jennifer Lopez, Rauw Alejandro, J Balvin and more.
The Darell catalog acquisition further boosts Anthem’s presence in the Latin music space. The indie music company’s publishing catalog also includes an array of hits by Latin acts such as Pitbull, Karol G, Farruko, Camilo and Ricky Martin.
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Also on Wednesday (Nov. 13), Anthem also announced that industry veteran Victor Mijares has been appointed as the company’s first vp of Latin music and will “work closely” with Anthem’s acquisitions team to “source and evaluate investment opportunities in the Latin market,” according to a press release.
“We are excited to welcome Victor as Anthem’s first-ever Vice President of Latin Music,” Anthem CEO Jason Klein said in a statement. “With his deep expertise in Latin music and culture, alongside his extensive industry experience, Victor will play a crucial role as we expand our presence in this vibrant and rapidly growing market. Under Victor’s leadership, Anthem’s acquisition of this extraordinary catalog of songs from Darell is a significant step in our strategy to invest in exceptional Latin music, further diversifying and enriching our already impressive catalog of songs.”
“I am honored and thrilled to have joined Jason Klein’s outstanding team and to contribute to Anthem’s Entertainment’s continuing success,” Mijares added. “I believe that the potential to grow our business in the Latin sector is open-ended. We have the passion, commitment, and resources to shape exciting opportunities for our partners. The acquisition of a large portion of Darell’s catalog is a very important step for us as a company as well as for the Canadian music industry. We are delighted to add Darell’s masterful works to our growing repertoire.”
Darell was represented in the deal by Angie Martinez, Esq., Denny Marte at MPA Advisors, LLC and Eddy Perdomo at EPM Entertainment.
Liberty Media signaled on Wednesday that longtime president and CEO Greg Maffei will step down at the end of the year, with chairman John Malone sliding in as interim CEO. Starting Jan. 1, Maffei will serve as a senior advisor for the company, aiding in the changeover amid a planned spin-off of its live entertainment assets into a new, publicly traded business.
Over his 19-year tenure, Maffei led Liberty Media through significant growth, investing in high-profile companies including the Charter Communications, Live Nation Entertainment, the Atlanta Braves, SiriusXM, Formula 1 and DirecTV. The company said that under Maffei’s leadership, Liberty’s composite value has enjoyed an annual growth rate of 17%.
Maffei has held numerous leadership roles across Liberty’s portfolio companies and, post-resignation, will remain as chairman of Qurate Retail, Liberty TripAdvisor, Tripadvisor and SiriusXM, and he’ll keep his director post at Charter, Live Nation and Zillow.
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In a statement, Malone commended Maffei’s impact, particularly his strategic vision that drove Liberty Media’s evolution and asset growth. Malone credited Maffei with establishing Liberty’s current streamlined structure and Maffei expressed gratitude for his nearly two decades at Liberty Media. “He has grown our asset base and made the company better and more valuable for shareholders, along the way overseeing as many as five separate public companies simultaneously,” said Malone.
The announcement of Maffei’s departure coincides with Liberty’s disclosed plans to spin off its Liberty Live Group — consisting of Liberty’s 30% stake in Live Nation and its minority interest in other companies like Kroenke Arena Company — into a separate public entity. Before the split, Liberty Media’s subsidiary Quint will be reattributed from its Formula One Group to the Liberty Live Group in exchange for private assets and cash consideration determined later. The company said the moves should simplify Liberty Media’s capital structure.
Post-split, expected to be finalized in the second half of 2025, Liberty Media will focus mostly on sports, while the newly formed Liberty Live will become a separate publicly traded company, ending Liberty Media’s tracking stock structure.
Earlier today, Charter Communications announced it will acquire Liberty Broadband in an all-stock transaction.
“Following today’s announcements at Liberty Media and Liberty Broadband, all the Liberty acquisitions completed during my tenure are now in structures where shareholders can have more direct ownership in their upside,” Maffei said. “The corporate structure is optimized, and the portfolio companies are in strong positions with talented executive teams in place. While it’s never easy to leave an organization as dynamic as Liberty, I am confident that this is the right time.”
Rapper Freddie Gibbs signed with AWAL. The announcement coincided with the surprise release of Gibbs’ long-awaited album, You Only Die 1nce, which dropped Nov. 1. AWAL senior vp/head of urban music Norva Denton previously attempted to sign Gibbs twice before finally partnering with him at his former label, Warner Records. Denton went on to executive produce Gibbs’ 2022 album, $oul $old $eparately, alongside Gibbs and Gibbs’ manager/partner Ben “Lambo” Lambert. “Happy to be where they want me…I feel Celebrated,” said Gibbs in a statement. “I’m Awal Shawty! I love the freedom… We’re able to create at our own pace and it feels good at this stage in my career.”
Madison Beer (“Make You Mine,” “15 Minutes”) signed with WME for global representation. The singer-songwriter recently finished her The Spinnin Tour, which hit 63 venues on multiple continents. She continues to be managed by Tina Kennedy at Full Stop, with legal representation by Kenny Meiselas at Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks.
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Vocalist/producer/writer Oliver Tree (“Life Goes On,” “Alien Boy”) also signed with WME. According to a press release, Tree has garnered more than 2 billion streams across major platforms. His third studio album, Alone In a Crowd, was released in September 2023. He continues to be managed by Dan Awad and Paul Donatelli at Good Luck Have Fun, with legal representation by Nicky Stein.
Hard rock band Saliva signed with Judge & Jury Records, the label founded by producer Howard Benson and Neil Sanderson of Three Days Grace. The first release under the deal is the new single “Time Bomb.” Saliva is managed by Frank Mastalerz, Dino Kourelis and Bob Hathaway at FM Music Management and booked by Ian “Newy” Koletsis at Sound Talent Group and Spencer Zubrow at Pinnacle Entertainment.
Also signing to Judge & Jury Records was L.A. metal band Butcher Babies, coinciding with the release of its new single, “Sincerity.” The band is managed by Zachry Yoshioka at Powerline and booked by Jim Sennett and JJ Cassiere (North America) and Ian Fintak (rest of the world) at 33 and West.
Tunde Adebimpe, the frontman for TV on the Radio, signed a solo recording deal with Sub Pop and released the new single “Magnetic,” his solo debut. Adebimpe’s solo debut album is slated for release next year.
“Country-infused” sister quartet The BoykinZ signed to Quality Control Music, marking the indie label’s first country music signing. The group’s latest single, “Fell in Love With a Cowboy,” will be released on Friday (Nov. 15). The BoykinZ is managed by Craig King at Gentle King Group.
Singer-songwriter Ali Sethi (“Pasoori”) signed an exclusive global distribution deal with The Orchard for his label Zubberdust Media. Sethi plans to release new music later this year and into 2025. He’s managed by Aroop Sanakkayala at Roopster Entertainment.
Egyptian artist Amr Diab signed an exclusive partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Middle East. The multi-album deal includes the acquisition of Diab’s music catalog, including popular tracks like “Inta El Haz,” “Zay Manty” and “Ya Ana Ya La.”
Warner Music Nashville signed Texas native Braxton Keith to its roster. Keith just released the song “Fall This Way” from his upcoming EP Blue, out Dec. 6. Keith is managed by Alex Torrez and Emily Vincent at Torrez Music Group and booked by Andrew McWilliams at Evergreen Artist Group. – Jessica Nicholson
ONErpm signed Nashville-based artist Tyler Rich, who has notched RIAA-certified gold singles “The Difference” and “Leave Her Wild.” ONErpm will release the first single from Rich’s sophomore full-length album this fall. – Jessica Nicholson
Indonesian R&B duo Galdive signed with Mom+Pop Music and released the first single under the new deal, “Night Charade.” More music will be released soon.
Wynn Williams signed with CAA for exclusive booking representation. Texas native Williams, known for songs including “Country Therapy,” is signed with GCE Records and has opened shows for Randall King, Aaron Watson, Cody Johnson and others. – Jessica Nicholson
Japanese-British artist, model and influencer Hana Kuro signed a global production/management deal with Handcraft Entertainment, marking the second major signing for the J-pop-focused company following Anna Aya earlier this year.
Ikenna Nwagboso, the co-founder/global head of label services and partnerships at emPawa Africa, will exit the company in January, it was announced Monday (Nov. 11)
Nwagboso launched the Nigeria-based talent incubation enterprise in 2018 alongside CEO/co-founder Mr. Eazi (real name Oluwatosin Ajibade). Since then, he’s overseen the signing and development of artists such as GuiltyBeatz, Joeboy, Tekno, Fave, King Promise, Minz, Xenia Manasseh, Nandy and Nezsa. In May, Tekno joined emPawa Africa as an investor and partner, and his Cartel Music label struck a joint venture with the company. Nwagboso has also secured crucial partnerships with Vydia, YouTube Music, Kobalt Music and Beyoncé‘s Parkwood Entertainment while spearheading the company’s flagship emPawa 100 and emPawa 30 campaigns, which are first-of-their-kind artist development programs that have launched the careers of 130 emerging artists across the continent.
“Ikenna has served emPawa with dedication over the past eight years, building some of the biggest new superstars in the industry,” Mr. Eazi said in a press release. “We look forward to building on the strong foundation he has established.”
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After Nwagboso leaves emPawa Africa at the top of next year, the Toronto-based executive will focus on developing artists through his new Image Ent./Exodus Music Group. Canadian artist Chrissy Spratt and British songwriter Geo are signed to the company, which is consulting on Rwandan artist Bruce Melodie’s upcoming debut album via S-Curve Records.
“I will continue to offer my advice to Eazi and the executive management team at emPawa, but it’s time to chart a new path. I am humbled and honored to have had the privilege to work with the artists and teams I’ve been fortunate to work with and lead. It’s all been a gift,” Nwagboso said in a statement.
Joeboy, whom Mr. Eazi and Nwagboso discovered as part of the emPawa 100 initiative, became the first artist to sign a publishing and distribution deal with the company in 2017. He left the company earlier this year to launch his own label, Young Legend, in partnership with Warner Records. In a statement, the “Sip (Alcohol)” singer credited Nwagboso with helping guide his career from an unknown artist to an international star.
“I’ve worked with Ikenna since the start of my career and he is one of the most reliable people when it comes to making sure his artists are provided with the best opportunities,” said Joeboy. “He is definitely one of the major game changers and role players to the African entertainment sector to the world. He has also been a very integral part of the foundation of my musical progress and growth.”
Spotify rode a post-election wave of market enthusiasm to close above $400 for the first time on Friday (Nov. 8), valuing the music-streaming giant at nearly $80.5 billion. Before finishing at $400.68, up 4.1% for the week, the company’s stock reached an all-time high of $405.88.
The Stockholm, Sweden-based company’s stock price has increased 113% in 2024 as the company overtook Universal Music Group (UMG) as the most valuable music company. When investors began to tire of high-growth streaming companies with little to show in profitability, Spotify underwent two major rounds of layoffs in 2023, helping reduce costs without sacrificing subscriber growth or revenue. With third-quarter earnings coming on Tuesday (Nov. 12), Spotify will show whether it has maintained that momentum. At least one analyst is optimistic ahead of earnings: Deutsche Bank raised its Spotify price target on Wednesday to $440 from $430.
U.S. stock markets soared this week following the election of Donald Trump on Tuesday (Nov. 5) and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on Thursday (Nov. 7) to lower interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. On Friday, the Nasdaq composite closed at an all-time high of 19,286.78, up 5.7%. The S&P 500 gained 4.7% to close at a record high of 5,995.54. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 5.5% to 3,452.30. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index improved just 0.7% to 2,561.15. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 fell 1.3% to 8,072.39.
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The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index gained 2.4% to an all-time high of 2,043.02, bringing its year-to-date gain to 33.2%. The index had 13 stocks in positive territory while six lost ground and one was unchanged.
The week’s top music stock was iHeartMedia, which jumped 16.7% to $2.44 after the company announced it will restructure much of its retiring debt and plans to save $200 million in 2025 through cost cuts and the embrace of technology. “Technology is the key to increasing our operating leverage and is a constant focus for us,” CEO Bob Pittman said during an earnings call on Thursday. “It allows us to speed up processes, streamline legacy systems and it enables our folks to create more, better and faster.” iHeartMedia shares are down 8.6% year to date but have risen 180% since May 24.
LiveOne gained 15.6% to $0.89 per share after the music streamer announced that revenue increased 14% to $32.6 million and paid members rose 27% to 645,000 in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30. Reservoir Media was another top gainer, improving 9.1% to $9.00.
On the live front, Live Nation shares rose 5.1% to $123.02 following a post-election day boost. The concert promoter is currently facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice but could find a better outcome from new appointments made by the Trump administration. The election wasn’t the only reason for the stock’s gains: Morgan Stanley upped its price target to $140 from $120 based on “a combination of strong underlying consumer demand and powerful artist incentives to tour,” analysts wrote in an investor note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank also increased its Live Nation price target to $130 from $122.
K-pop stocks surged this week despite HYBE and SM Entertainment both reporting sharp drops in profit last quarter due partly to weaker recorded music revenues. HYBE shares jumped 6.4% after the company reported a 99% drop in net income. Likewise, SM Entertainment gained 7.2% the same week the company announced quarterly net profit fell 96% on a 9% revenue decline and a 36% drop in recorded music revenue. Investors may have gained optimism from SM Entertainment’s announcement it will launch a new girl group — its first since aespa debuted five years ago — in 2025 with a single and album release in the first quarter.
JYP Entertainment, which has not yet announced quarterly earnings, shot up 12.6%, and YG Entertainment continued its hot streak, rising 6.3% and bringing its gain in the last three weeks to 17.6%. YG has received a boost from the success of “APT” by ROSÉ featuring Bruno Mars. The song is currently in its second week atop both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.
Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) shares rose 2.4% to $11.39 ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings on Tuesday (Nov. 12). Bernstein initiated coverage of TME with a $14 price target. Barclays initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating and a $16 price target.
German concert promoter CTS Eventim was the worst-performing music stock of the week, dropping 10.4% to 87.70 euros ($94.05). The company will release third-quarter results on Nov. 21. Elsewhere, Cumulus Media dropped 6.4% to $0.88, adding to the prior week’s 19% decline, while SiriusXM dropped 5.5% to $26.13.
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The sweeping electoral victory of Donald Trump will change the U.S. government, and the country itself, in ways that no one can yet predict. So far, though, it appears that the music industry will not be affected as dramatically as other businesses.
“I don’t think there will be that much of a change,” said a senior executive at one of the major labels. Partly that’s because music, and copyright, are no longer the hot-button issues they were a decade ago. And partly that’s because, at a time of increased partisan rancor, copyright is one of a few genuinely bipartisan issues, according to a half-dozen executives. Because it brings together Democrats who tend to look favorably on the media business and Republicans who believe in strong property rights, passing legislation often depends more on building a coalition of legislators from both parties.
There are no music companies in Trump’s crosshairs, at least from his own public comments, and he tends to look favorably on entertainers, even when they tend not to return that respect. Indeed, right-wing Republicans have been far more critical of media companies and online platforms than of major labels and movie studios.
The most immediate music business issue before the government is the Department of Justice antitrust case against Live Nation Entertainment, which seeks to break up the company. Trump will appoint a new attorney general to replace Merrick Garland, and that appointee will almost certainly replace Jonathan Kanter, who runs the antitrust division. The future of the case will depend on Kanter’s replacement, and several music executives and antitrust experts said that it’s hard to predict how that person will proceed.
“We congratulate President-elect Trump on his election,” said a spokesperson for Live Nation Entertainment. “Live Nation is proud to help bring joy to fans through concerts, sports and other live events. We look forward to working with the incoming administration to continue driving the positive impacts our industry has on American jobs and local economies.”
Several executives without direct knowledge of the matter speculated that, for optics reasons, the DOJ would be less likely to drop the case than to pursue a low-stakes settlement, but all of them made clear that there was no way to know.
Right now, the big issue in the music business is artificial intelligence, and the industry has been lobbying for the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, which would protect the voices and likenesses of human creators. The bill was introduced in the Senate in July and the House of Representatives in September. It has sponsors on both sides of the aisle, including Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). (One might presume they do not agree on much else.) The industry is going to push to pass it in the “lame-duck” Congress, before the end of the year, but it will conflict with other priorities, and several executives said that would be a long shot. Otherwise, it will be re-introduced next year, and the changes in government are not expected to affect its chances much.
Some of the policies Trump has said he will pursue, such as tariffs for imports, could be bad for U.S. business on a broader level. This could make physical goods more expensive, especially merchandise, such as T-shirts. It could also make CDs and vinyl more expensive, although only by so much, since they could also be manufactured in the U.S.
It is also possible that changes to the tax system could affect catalog sales, as well as the desirability of songs and recordings as an investment. But it is unclear how much taxes will change — and other economic factors, such as interest rates, are likely to affect investment calculations more.
After 18 years on Canadian airwaves, MTV Canada is preparing to go off the air on Dec. 31. The decision to shutter the specialty channel was confirmed by Bell Media, with a company spokesperson citing “changing audiences” on specialty TV as the reason for the closure.
MTV Canada launched in 2006 as part of the CTV network, and the channel offered viewers a Canadianized version of the MTV brand, one that has had a huge international impact. MTV Canada’s programming provided a mix of reality TV, music content, talk, lifestyle and pop culture-oriented documentary programming.
Many of the channel’s most popular shows were talk and reality-based, airing The Hills and Teen Mom. MTV Live, launched in March 2006, launched the career of co-host Dan Levy. The flagship half-hour variety show ran for six seasons, and won a Gemini award for Best Talk Series.
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Now best known as the co-creator and co-star of hit Emmy-winning Canadian TV comedy Schitt’s Creek, Dan Levy would gain prominence in Canada co-hosting, co-writing and co-producing the MTV Canada ratings hit The Hills: After Show (later just The After Show) with Jessi Cruickshank.
The channel later become increasingly dependent on such American reality shows as Floribama Shore, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation and Caught In The Act: Unfaithful in its programming, and by the end was playing multiple hours per day of the comedy reality clip show Ridiculousness.
South of the border, the MTV brand has also suffered in recent years, with owner Paramount Media Networks, shutting down MTV News and pulling down its website’s online archives in May 2023, as part of a massive round of layoffs at Paramount.
MTV Canada’s name and branding was used under a licensing agreement with Paramount Global. Unlike MTV channels in the United States and internationally, the channel was restricted in its ability to carry music programming until 2015, due to conditions in the channel’s license issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Those restrictions meant that, unlike its international counterparts, MTV Canada never employed the “Music Television” tagline. As a result, in terms of music programming, the channel struggled to compete with the homegrown and much-beloved MuchMusic channel, which is also owned by Bell Media.
Anthem Entertainment & Wax Records Announce New Creative Partnership
Anthem Entertainment and Wax Records are joining forces.
The independent music company and record label have announced a strategic creative partnership, one they state “is designed to revolutionize the artist development process.”
The Anthem-Wax partnership seeks to remove barriers between songwriters, producers and artists, and give them the tools and resources to create together. That includes initiatives like international song camps to connect people across diverse genres, in-house studio spaces and dedicated writing rooms. These resources are designed to facilitate a higher volume of music and effective market readiness.
Anthem Entertainment is a big player in publishing and licensing, with a stable that includes hit songwriters like Chantal Kreviazuk and Timbaland. The company has a massive catalog of songs, an infrastructure featuring robust creative and executive teams, and creative spaces in Toronto and Nashville. Anthem recently sold its Production Music Group to Slipstream, a deal that included noted production music agency Jingle Punks and added over 650,000 tracks to Slipstream’s catalog.
Since starting in 2009, Wax Records has built a roster headed by platinum-selling artists Alyssa Reid, Shawn Desman and Virginia to Vegas along with bülow, Conor Gains, Blitz//Berlin and more.
The partnership expands the scope of both companies.
“I’m thrilled to welcome the Wax team — and their exceptional roster of artists — into the Anthem family,” says Anthem CEO Jason Klein. “Jamie [Appleby, Wax Records President and Head of A&R] and Ron [Morse, Wax Records CEO] have built an extraordinary label, with a creative and agile approach to artist discovery, development, and marketing that transcends conventional limitations. This partnership will allow Wax to elevate their outstanding work with additional resources and infrastructure, and introduce an exciting new creative pipeline for Anthem’s songwriters.
“The possibilities for global success with this partnership are limitless.”
Anthem and Wax tout the partnership as “an evolution of the music business” and a key to artist empowerment as well as a key to opening doors internationally.
“The global music marketplace is an ever-changing adventure,” says Wax’s Jamie Appleby. “Through countless hours of dedication and hard work, we strive to cultivate a vibrant entrepreneurial culture that supports and provides globalization opportunities for our community. We are excited for the next evolution of Wax Records, and have tremendous admiration for Jason and the exceptional team at Anthem. This new venture will expand our ongoing commitment to our incredible artists, venture partners, and sub label groups.”
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