Business News
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Welcome to a jacked edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. While you’re catching up on a busy week of moves-and-shakes, check out Billboard’s fresh list of top R&B and Hip-Hop executives leading the genres forward, plus our weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive, our helpful calendar of notable events across the biz, and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Industry veteran Jamie Younger joined The Core Records as the Nashville-based label’s new vp of artist development, effective immediately. Younger is coming off a 12-year tenure at Warner Music Nashville, where she created marketing strategies to help boost the careers of Bailey Zimmerman, Gabby Barrett, Zac Brown Band and Ashley McBryde, among others. “Younger’s ability to navigate the evolving music landscape has consistently resulted in history-making projects,” said Core co-founders Chief Zaruk and Simon Tikhman. “We are excited to have such a visionary joining our team.” Prior to WMN, Younger held roles at Thirty Tigers and American Songwriter. Younger has also served on the Recording Academy Nashville Chapter’s MusiCares Fundraising Committee and has mentored through GrammyU.
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Warner Chappell Music made key updates to its European A&R team with two promotions in the Nordics and a major appointment in Germany. In the Nordics, Marion Skogseth has been promoted to A&R manager, while Leslie Tay steps into the role of senior A&R manager. Meanwhile, in Germany, Jost Kaiser has rejoined the company as head of A&R dance. Skogseth will report to Petter Walther Walthinsen, the head of A&R in Norway, and Tay will beeline to Lars Karlsson, managing director of WCM Scandinavia. Kaiser will report to Natascha Augustin, the MD of WCM Germany, and Shani Gonzales, head of international A&R. Tay, based in Sweden, joined WCM in 2022 and has played a crucial role in signing top talent like Bolaget and MONZA. Skogseth, based in Norway, has been with the WCM A&R team since 2021 (after interning a year), helping to secure deals with artists like Moyka and SKAAR. Berliner Kaiser previously worked with WCM from 2020 to 2022 and now returns — following a sojourn at Stefan Dabruck Management as senior creative & repertoire manager — to strengthen the dance music division. WCM’s co-chairs, Guy Moot and Carianne Marshall, had nothing but good things to say: “Marion and Leslie are brilliant members of the team, and we are really happy to have Jost returning to us. We’re delighted to be strengthening our A&R teams in such an exciting time for music across Europe and for us as a company at Warner Chappell Music.”
The Mechanical Licensing Collective unveiled significant leadership changes to bolster its outreach, education, member services and internal operations. Ellen Truley was elevated to chief marketing and external affairs officer, overseeing the org’s advertising, marketing and communications efforts, while also coordinating its educational activities, industry partnerships, government relations and all other external affairs. Lindsey Major is now chief member experience officer, responsible for designing, implementing and coordinating the MLC’s suite of tools that help members to register works, claim their shares of previously registered works, submit proposed matches of their works to unmatched usage and more. Andrew Mitchell‘s new title at the MLC is chief analytics and automation officer, a role that will see him continue leading the org’s matching efforts as well as designing strategies to harness MLC’s data and bolster fraud prevention. Joya Carmichael, who has led every royalty distribution since the first one in April 2021, has been elevated to chief administration officer. She’ll continue leading the team while also managing other key internal processes. Finally, Rick Marshall can add general counsel to his business cards. In this new role, Marshall will lead The MLC’s in-house legal team and coordinate all of the organization’s legal matters, including its interactions with the U.S. Copyright Office. Since its inception, the MLC has distributed over $2 billion in royalties to its 45,000 members, achieving a 90% match rate for royalties processed.
High Rise PR welcomed Lily Golightly to the crew. Golightly was most recently senior vp of publicity at Universal’s Verve Label Group, where she crafted press campaigns and worked closely with Jon Batiste, Samara Joy and other artists across VLG’s storied labels (including Decca, Impulse! And Deutsche Grammophon). Prior to Verve, she spent seven years at 300 Entertainment, handling campaigns for Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug and Gunna. She also founded No Big Deal PR, where she developed emerging talent, and earlier in her career was head of press at Wind-up Records. High Rise PR’s roster includes major acts like Billie Eilish, Finneas, Cage The Elephant, Duran Duran, Travis Scott, Bryan Ferry, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Tove Lo and Yungblud. “I have admired Lily’s work for close to a decade now,” remarked High Rise founder Alexandra Baker. “She’s thoughtful, strategic, and is highly respected in our field. Her experience in, knowledge of, and relationships in pop, rock, indie and rap are next to none, as is her understanding and passion within the business and corporate world.”
The Recording Academy appointed Taymoor Marmarchi as executive director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Marmarchi will spearhead efforts to broaden the Academy’s presence and its support of music creators across the region. He will work to forge strategic partnerships and oversee event and content production and talent relations, and implement long-term strategies to advance the Academy’s global mission expansion. In June, the Academy announced its plans to extend its efforts to support music creators on an international scale. Prior to joining the Academy, Marmarchi amassed more than 25 years of experience across music, film, television, live events, content production, communications, marketing, government relations and national projects. He launched his career as executive director of Quincy Jones’ Global Gumbo Group in Dubai. –Paul Grein
Universal Music Sweden selected Mattias Caliste to lead the newly launched Def Jam Recordings Sweden. The label’s opening roster includes Asme x Sarettii, Sebastian Stakset and Zikai. His team will include Hamid Jamshidi and Hermon Alemseghed, plus UMG’s regional and global network. Caliste is a former member of Swedish hip-hop group Fjärde Världen (Fourth World) and was most recently in charge of Virgin Music Sweden, where he worked with artists including 23 and Asme. “Def Jam raised me!” Caliste said. “I grew up on artists like Public Enemy, EPMD, LL Cool J, Redman & Method Man, Warren G and many others who all released some of their most outstanding albums under Def Jam. The label has a legacy that is incredibly important for hip hop as both a genre and a subculture.” The label said to stay tuned for announcements on new signings and other projects.
Josh Deane, Shannon Corsi and Josh Tangney are the newest members of the Position Music A&R team. They’ll support Position Music’s existing roster while expanding it with new talent. Deane boasts a decade of label A&R experience, dating back to his A&R coordinator days at Atlantic before putting in four years as director — and then senior director — at Interscope. Prior to joining Position earlier this year he served as vp of A&R at Live Nation. Corsi, meanwhile, spent the past five years building up Facet, the Warner Chappell-backed publishing company of hit songwriter Justin Tranter, where she oversaw a roster including Skyler Stonestreet and Russ Chell. Tangney’s bonafides include a lengthy stretch as day-to-day manager of Andy Grammar while at Small Giant Management + Records. He is also credited with helping grow Rachel Platten’s career and is a CMT and CCMA-nominated songwriter who has collaborated with numerous Grammy Award-winning artists. Deane, Corsi and Tangney will all report to Position Music’s partner and head of A&R Mark Chipello, who described the trio as “talented and dynamic creative executives who will play significant roles in our next phase of growth.”
Audoo, a music tech company that provides data allowing artists, songwriters and PROs to see in real-time where their music is played, appointed three senior music executives as board advisors: Steve Clark, COO of Round Hill Music; Isabel Garvey, COO of Warner Music UK; and Sean O’Malley, CEO and founder of Regard Music. They join existing advisors Cliff Fluet and Alistair Macdonald to provide strategic guidance alongside music executives Chris Herbert and chair Nigel Elderton. Clark’s experience at Round Hill Music brings valuable expertise in copyright and royalties. Garvey, known for her leadership in digital transformation, previously launched Europe’s first music tech incubator, Abbey Road Red. O’Malley, a co-founder of Global Music Rights alongside Irving Azoff and Randy Grimmett, has deep experience in royalty collection, distribution and publishing. “The combined experience of Steve, Isabel and Sean brings a powerful wealth of knowledge across labels, publishers, rightsholders and creators – to have such revered executives join our existing world-class group of board members and advisors demonstrates the strength of belief in the business as we continue to build and refine the Audoo offering,” said Audio founder and CEO Ryan Edwards.
The Royalty Network appointed Daniel Abowd as its new president and general counsel. In his role, Abowd will collaborate closely with chief executive Frank Liwall to uphold the company’s ethos of being an independent, culturally-focused publishing firm. He will also provide in-house legal counsel, ensuring the company navigates the complexities of today’s music publishing landscape. This is Abowd’s second go-round at The Royalty Network following an eight-year run beginning in 2013 that saw him rise to vp before leaving in 2021. In the ensuing years he clerked in federal courts and most recently practiced law as litigator at Quinn Emanuel. “Danny understands our company’s mission and the importance that plays in the protection, collection, and further utilization of our catalog, with the quality and care that we strive to achieve,” said Liwall. “He personifies the exact balance required to be President.”
Shane Tarleton, former Sony and Warner Music Nashville executive vp of artist development, joined Morris Higham Management, management home to artists including WMN artist Kenny Chesney and Sony Music’s Old Dominion. Though no title has yet been revealed, Tarleton’s role will include creative and content as management firms oversee more of these needs for their rosters. “It’s the Wild West out there and having Shane’s expertise both in management and label services is invaluable,” said Clint Higham, president of MHM. –Jessica Nicholson
BOARD SHORTS: The National Independent Talent Organization, which represents more than 150 independent U.S. management companies and booking agencies, announced its new board of directors. Former member Stormy Shepherd (Leave Home Booking) is back on the board and is joined by newly elected members Amy Butterer (outer/most), David Gottlieb (Death Or Glory) and Maria Matias (Maria Matias Music). Returning for another two-year term are Tom Chauncey (Partisan Arts), Wayne Forte (Entourage Talent Associates), Jon Grau (This Is Management), Fielding Logan (Q Prime), Paul Lohr (New Frontier Touring) and Jack Randall (The Kurland Agency) … NPR elected four new member directors: Debbie Hiott (KUT News, Austin), Maria O’Mara (KUER, Salt Lake City), Tina Pamintuan (St. Louis Public Radio) and Shawn Turner (WKAR, East Lansing) will serve three-year terms.
Brilliant Corners Artist Management, the San Francisco-based agency representing acts like Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Perfume Genius and more, is launching a new producer management division led by manager Nicole Ficenec. Ficenec, who previously worked at Chrysalis Music and THREEE before launching her own producer management business at NYC’s Electric Lady Studios, will head the division from Brilliant Corners’ newly opened Los Angeles office. Ficenec’s client roster includes Jonathan Rado (Foxygen, The Killers, Weyes Blood), Paul Butler (The Teskey Brothers, The Bees), Noah Georgeson (Devendra Banhart, Johanna Newsom) and Dave Cerminara (Father John Misty, Phosphorescent). Her division will also absorb existing BCAM creatives including Dan “The Automator” Nakamura (Gorillaz, Deltron 3030), Chaz Bear (Toro Y Moi) and Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service).
The International Music Publishers Forum appointed Nicole Schulze as its first secretary general. This newly created role responds to the significant growth IMPF has experienced in recent years. Schulze, a seasoned public policy professional with nearly 20 years of experience, previously served as IP policy lead for Europe at Meta and has worked extensively within the creative industries. In her new position, Schulze will report directly to the president of IMPF’s board of directors, Annette Barrett, who emphasized the importance of this role in supporting IMPF’s expanding membership. Former IMPF advisor Ger Hatton will also join the Board as a Senior Advisor.
Apple Music‘s director of editorial operations & audio production Michael Bryan was promoted to global head of country music, where he will also be supporting Apple Music’s Christian and Gospel teams. Bryan joined Apple Music in 2020. He previously worked as a talent agent/artist development lead at CAA, and was iHeartMedia’s senior vp of programming from 2012-2016. –J.N.
The Oriel Company welcomed Grace Jones as vp and Kaeleah Isaac as manager to the PR agency’s growing team. Both will be based in the Los Angeles office. Since its founding three years ago by veteran music publicists Carleen Donovan, Chloë Walsh and Jen Appel, The Oriel has expanded with offices in New York, LA and Nashville, representing a wide range of clients across music, film, television, fashion, and more. Jones, originally from Australia, has two decades of experience in the music industry, most recently at Grandstand Media, handling PR for artists like Courtney Barnett, MUNA and others. Isaac joins from JONESWORKS, having worked on press campaigns for artists like Lainey Wilson and The Chainsmokers. The Oriel’s co-founders praised both new hires, noting Jones’ leadership and Isaac’s rising star status in the PR world.
Breakaway Music Festival, the annual multi-city event featuring a healthy dose of EDM, hip-hop and pop, hired former Sony vp of corporate development Adam Wright as CFO/managing partner and Gap alum Kay Brown as head of content. The festival also elevated Jarrod Fucci from GM to festival president. This year’s BMF tour has three more dates left: Sept. 27-28 in Charlotte, Oct. 11-12 in Nashville and Oct. 25-26 in San Francisco.
Amuse expanded its suite of services to include in-house sync for self-releasing and independent artists, appointing Daniel Copleston as head of synchronisation. The London-based exec was most recently head of synchronization at [PIAS], where he managed placements across TV, films, video games and ads. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Cooking Vinyl Records and Wipe Out Music Publishing. “The growth of our licensed catalog shows that people are resonating with these tracks, and our vast access to demographics and streaming data creates great synergies for sync opportunities,” said Sean Staranka, head of artist marketing. “Daniel’s experience and eagerness to spearhead our move into sync services will bring great value to Amuse’s roster.”
Outback Presents promoted Emily Scerri from director of touring to vp of entertainment strategy, where she will continue to expand the company’s special events and music initiatives. The Australia native began her career working in the box office for music festivals including CMC Rocks, and later assisted with operations/artist liaison for Bondi Beachfest and The Big Pineapple Music Festival, before relocating to Los Angeles and working roles at Dick Clark Productions and AEG Presents before joining Outback Presents. –J.N.
Select Management Group, a top management firm for next-gen digital creators, promoted Caroline Nardilla to partner. Nardilla joined the company in 2015 and has led its New York office since 2022, and will now expand her leadership across the firm while continuing to drive growth on the East Coast.
ICYMI:
Maximilian Kolb
BMG expats Dominique Casimir, Maximilian Kolb and Justus Haerder formed a new rights company called umn (pronounced “human”) … A newly combined Concord Records and Fantasy Records will be headed by co-presidents Margi Cheske and Mark Williams … and go on, meet the four women leading behind the scenes across the male artist-dominated world of regional Mexican music.
Last Week’s Turntable: Erika Savage Joins King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano
The results of the Greater Nashville 2024 Music Census were disclosed today during a press conference in downtown Nashville with many creatives and industry members voicing concerns surrounding the cost of living, low pay rates, opportunities for younger artists, and gender and racial disparities.
The census was produced by Sound Music Cities and surveyed the Greater Nashville region, which includes the 14 counties in and around Nashville. The census, held from March 1 – April 1, drew 4,256 respondents, with music creatives making up 61% of respondents, industry members making up 31% and venue/presenters making up 7% of respondents. In terms of musical genres, 28% of respondents work in country music, with other genres including American Roots (16%), rock (12%), pop (8%) and alternative (5%). Respondents from other genres including gospel/contemporary Christian, rap and R&B were less than 5% per genre. Industry category respondents primarily work as agents/business services (20%), marketing (14%), production support (13%) and music publishing (10%).
Respondents in the creative category noted that their primary concerns are “cost of living” (48%), followed by “pay rates not increasing” (38%) and “lack of music work” (26%). Creative respondents also noted that they spend an average of $13,559 annually on music-related expenses for a total of $58 million, with 52% of that money being spent locally.
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The majority of respondents noted that they have never received financial assistance (76%) and are most eager for tax incentives/relief. The census also noted that Davidson County respondents also struggle more with rent or mortgage (30%) versus respondents from other counties (20%). Davidson County respondents are also less likely to own their own home (59%) than respondents from other counties (75%). Additionally, 83% of respondents indicated they were concerned with low pay, while 65% found lack of benefits such as health insurance and retirement a challenge.
The census noted a need for greater representation of Black, African-American, Hispanic and other minority groups in local and independent music scenes. The census’s results showed that Nashville’s music ecosystem is made of primarily white/European persons (85%), which is higher than this segment in Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area’s general population (71%). Black, African and African-American representation is at 6%, lower than the Nashville MSA general population (14%). Hispanic representation in the Nashville music ecosystem is at 4%.
Men made up 61% of the Nashville music ecosystem across all census respondents, while women made up 37%. One percent of respondents preferred not to reveal their gender, while another one percent use a different term than male or female. Among industry members, women led at 55% of respondents, with men at 44%. The creative sector revealed the most stark disparity, with men at 71% and women at 26%.
The average household income for respondents is $93,000 annually, while respondents note that income direct from music-related work is, on average, $52,000 per year, per respondent.
Local performances and touring are the major sources of income for creative professionals at 27% and 20%, respectively. Recordings and studio work also offer supplemental income, with 27% of respondents earning some income from recordings and 25% from studio work. A little over a third of respondents noted they earn very little income from songwriting, while 23% reported that they earn some income from songwriting.
The nearly 300 venue/presenters respondents offered an average of 172 events per year, collectively offering over 26,000 annually. Most are live music venues (31%) or independent promoters (15%). Aid for independent venues was also identified as a key need, including increasing the number of local independent venues that book artists and providing financial/policy support for independent venues to purchase real estate (68% of live music venues rent their spaces) and avoid displacement due to rising property values, such as models used in Toronto and Sacramento.
In terms of efforts that would help creatives continue to stay in the Nashville area, 41% say that tax incentives/relief would be helpful, followed by 37% of respondents saying creative/music-friendly policies such as parking and loading zone policies would be helpful.
Also, work is needed to increase the pipeline for new talent and diverse genres. Increasing opportunities for talent ages 18-24, developing mentorship programs and platforms for younger artists, and increasing performance spaces/opportunities for various musical genres, as well as addressing gender imbalances within the independent music ecosystem, especially for creatives, and enhancing representation of Black, African-American, Hispanic and other minority groups in local and independent music scenes were all cited as much-needed solutions to attract new talent.
Among the other music-friendly cities in the Sound Music Cities cohort are Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, New Orleans and Chattanooga, Tenn.
For the full census results, visit greaternashvillemusiccensus.org.
As the electronic music world continues to grapple with how to get producers credit when their tracks are played by other, usually more famous, DJs, a new campaign is attempting to fix the issue on social media.
Launching today (Sept. 12) and backed by the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM), the Respect the Creators campaign is aiming to get lesser known DJs credit on social media by having DJs, promoters and other platforms.
The campaign offers simple instructions, asking DJs that when they “post a video of a gig or a mix and the music isn’t yours, tag the artists, and list the full names of the tracks in the most visible part of your post.” Online platforms are asked to “include track lists for all sets, visible directly below the video or audio,” while promoters are asked to credit the music featured in all their promotional materials for events when posting to Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and other social media platforms.
The campaign advises that social media is crucial to music discovery, with the proper music attribution having the possibility of highlighting lesser known artists and helping them thrive. In a speech at the annual dance conference IMS Ibiza this past May, Dutch artist Frank Nitzinsky noted research that’s informed this campaign, which shows that on average, only 3% of a DJ’s set is music that they have produced themselves, while up to 90% of DJ performance content shared on Instagram does not credit the music being played in the video.
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In a statement, AFEM COO Finlay Johnson says that while the campaign “may seem like a straightforward initiative, encouraging people to share and credit new music addresses significant challenges in the discoverability of emerging artists. It also serves as a reminder for individuals to consider their metadata, which can directly enhance income through royalty collection. While white label and dubplate culture should be celebrated, the use of generic ‘original audio’ tags on social media does little to support artists. We encourage everyone to acknowledge and promote the team behind a record’s production and release.”
Respect the Creators is supported by AFEM, along with a number of organizations including Dutch collecting society Buma/Stemra, along with several venues and artists like Richie Hawtin.
“I thought supporting the community and the musicians who make the musical structure that our scene (and DJs) stand on was simply common decency (and sense),” Hawtin says in a statement. “So why do we see so many social media posts from DJs, promoters and festivals that completely fail to tag the music being played in the clips? It’s disrespectful and only takes further advantage of the musicians who are already struggling for recognition and a fair share of the economic pie of our ‘beautiful’ culture.”
The campaign follows the recent closure of Aslice, a platform with which DJs could donate a portion of their set fee to the artists whose music they played during the performance. The proper crediting and royalty payouts for artists in the electronic scene is a pernicious issue, as DJ sets are often made up of hundreds of songs by a wide variety of artists, many of whom never get credit for the use of their work.
Hawtin recently expressed his displeasure with the closure on social media, saying that “Aslice was working, and the only problem was that not enough DJs, especially the successful ones, agreed to sign up and share back into the music eco-system that they have built their careers on. Aslice did not fail, the famous, most followed DJ’s of our scene failed us all.”
Former BMG executives Dominique Casimir, Maximilian Kolb and Justus Haerder have formed a new rights company, umn — pronounced “human” — that will be based in Berlin. The new company today announced a forthcoming project from German pop star Max Giesinger, whose new album Menschen comes out Sept. 13. But the company will operate […]
The House Judiciary Committee has sent a letter to the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, requesting an examination of “concerns” and “emerging issues” related to performing rights organizations (PROs).
In the letter, signed by the committee’s chairmen Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Darrell Issa as well as member Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, two particular areas of concern are addressed: the “proliferation” of new PROs and the lack of transparency about the distribution of general licensing revenue.
The letter, obtained by Billboard, notes the latter issue is of particular importance to independent artists and smaller publishers. “It is difficult to assess how efficiently PROs are distributing general licensing revenue based on publicly available data,” the letter reads. “For example, it is difficult to determine how accurately lesser known and independent artists as well as smaller publishers are being compensated compared to widely popular artists and major publishers.”
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Concerns around transparency at the PROs are not new. The National Music Publishers’ Association, the trade organization representing music publishers, has spoken publicly about it, as have a number of individual songwriters and publishers over the years. These concerns grew last year after BMI, one of the largest PROs in the country, switched its business model from non-profit to for-profit and was acquired by private equity firm New Mountain Capital.
At the end of BMI’s fiscal year 2022, Billboard reported that “for the first time ever, it hardly contains any financial information.”
“I believe that you have a fundamental right to know what it costs you to use a particular collection society now I will tell you that ASCAP gives you a pretty close look at what it costs not exactly, but they give you a pretty close ballpark,” said NMPA CEO and president David Israelite at an Association of Independent Music Publishers’ Meeting in February. “BMI at the end of the last fiscal year we didn’t get that information.”
The letter states that it “request[s] that the Office examine how the various PROs currently gather information from live music venues, music services, and other general licensees about public performance; the level of information currently provided by PROs to the public; whether any gaps or discrepancies occur in royalty distribution; what technological and business practices exist or could be developed to improve the current system; the extent to which the current distribution practices are the result of existing legal and regulatory constraints; and potential recommendations for policymakers.”
The “proliferation” of PROs is a newer concern. Around the world, most countries typically have one PRO for local writers and publishers to join. In the U.S., it works differently. For over a hundred years, ASCAP and BMI have been the primary choices for a songwriter or publisher looking to collect performance royalties in the United States, but there is also the option to go with SESAC instead, a smaller but still important player in the U.S. PRO landscape, which has been around for almost as long.
Since its founding in 2013, Global Music Rights (GMR), a for-profit PRO founded by industry veteran Irving Azoff, has become a heavyweight in the space as well. GMR business model is to focus on a smaller roster of only the top tier of songwriters and then charging a premium to the bars, venues, shops and theaters that wanted to play them. Because their roster includes major artists including Bruce Springsteen, Billie Eilish, Drake, and more, the GMR blanket license became immediately important for licensees to have, no matter the cost.
In 2017, a fifth U.S.-based PRO emerged. AllTrack was founded by media investor and former SESAC-board member Hayden Bower and is designed to focus on indie creators with a tech-forward approach. This year, AllTrack became the fourth U.S. PRO to be accepted by the International Confederation of Socities of Authors and Composers (CISAC), along with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.
“Licensees [like bars, restaurants and small businesses] have reported receiving demands for royalties from new entities claiming to represent songwriters… Licensees are concerned that the proliferation of PROs represents an ever-present danger of infringement allegations and potential litigation risk from new and unknown sources,” the letter states.
“We request that the USCO examine the increased costs and burdens imposed on licensees for paying an ever-increasing number of PROs, factors that may be contributing to the proliferation of new PROs, and recommendations on how to improve clarity and certainty for licensees,” it continues.
Perlmutter and the Copyright Office cannot make any specific changes to the way PROs work today, but often letters like this are sent in hopes that it will draw attention to particular issues or become the predicate for a hearing or draft bill.
After 17 years in Ibiza, IMS is expanding to the Middle East.
The annual electronic music conference announced Thursday (Sept. 12) that it will host the debut edition of IMS Dubai on Nov. 14-15 at the W Dubai – Mina Seyahi.
The two-day event will feature MENA region-based speakers from YouTube, Warner Music Group, Anghami, Believe and more, along with artists and organizers of regional events including Morocco’s Oasis Festival, Dubai’s Soho Garden and Groove on the Grass, and Beirut’s Factory People.
Additionally, speakers from outside the Middle East will represent companies and brands including Tomorrowland, Defected Records, CAA, WME, He.She.They and the Association For Electronic Music.
An opening keynote will be delivered by Maha ElNabaw, managing editor of Billboard Arabia. Other speakers will include Aloki Batra, CEO of The Pacha Group and Five Hospitality; Janet Ashak, YouTube’s head of music in the region; and more. Artist participants include Iranian producer Deep Dish, and Saudi Arabian producer Cosmicat. As at the Ibiza event, IMS Dubai will be hosted by BBC Radio’s Pete Tong, who is also an IMS co-founder.
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The two-day conference will feature 13 panel discussions, with topics including navigating the music industry in the MENA region; a look at culture tourism focused on Ibiza and Dubai; MENA region investors; regional talent buyers; the growth of labels and streaming in the region; the underground scene in Dubai; a focus on the Egyptian market; MENA women in music; and more.
Passes for the event go on sale Sept. 19.
“For almost two decades, International Music Summit has united the global electronic music community annually in Ibiza to explore industry trends, innovations, and the challenges our diverse community faces,” the IMS founders said in a joint statement. “To make a global impact, IMS seeks to be where change is happening, which is why we’ve also hosted three editions of IMS Asia Pacific in Shanghai and one in Singapore, five IMS Engage events in Los Angeles, and three IMS College events in Malta. IMS Dubai will debut in the United Arab Emirates, marking a strategic expansion into the Middle East and North Africa.”
Organizers note that the conference “will not receive government or cultural funding or incentives for this initiative.” Digital download platform Beatport acquired a majority stake in IMS in 2023, with support for the event also coming from AlphaTheta, the owner of Pioneer DJ.
“Our goal is to inspire continued growth, support, and investment while addressing the unique cultural challenges musicians and start-ups face,” the statement continues. “Electronic music culture is built on long standing principles of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds on the dancefloor. Music has the power to unify and we all have a part to play in creating safer spaces for all; a principle that IMS and Beatport proudly stand behind.”
The MENA region is indeed a current buzzy growth market for electronic music and more. The 2024 IFPI Global Report found that total MENA revenue rose by 14.4% in 2023 following a 26.8% jump in 2022. According to IFPI, streaming revenue accounted for 98.4% of the region’s market over the last year.
On Saturday (Sept. 14), UFC CEO Dana White will pull off an impressive first in Las Vegas that he never really wanted to do — and has already vowed never to do again.
That day, White will host Noche UFC, a 10-bout celebration tailor-made for Mexican Independence Day (which is coming two days later, on Sept. 16) as the first sporting event inside the Sphere in Las Vegas, the $2 billion arena built by James Dolan that has so far hosted rock residencies by U2, Dead & Company and Phish.
While White has not been shy about plugging Noche UFC as one of the most visually stunning and technologically advanced events ever in combat sports, he’s repeatedly sworn in the media that it’s “a one-and-done,” recently telling MMA reporter John Morgan, “We’re not ever doing an event at the Sphere again.”
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That’s because, as White explains, the cost of doing an event at Sphere is so astronomically expensive — especially building video content for Sphere’s one-of-a-kind interactive video system — that it’s virtually impossible to make one’s money back through ticket sales alone, especially for one-time events.
“Think about U2,” who served as the Sphere’s first 40-show concert residency beginning in September 2023, White said on SNY Sports on Tuesday (Sept. 10). “Whatever that cost them, they had 40 nights to amortize those costs. We just have one.”
The budget for Noche UFC, originally forecast at $8 million, has exploded to more than $20 million due to production costs, sources tell Billboard. Making matters worse, ticket sales for Noche UFC appear to be in a death spiral, with fans balking at the event’s original $3,500 per ticket asking price and scalpers offering nearly as many tickets for resale as are still available on the primary market, often at steep discounts.
That $3,500 ticket price is also considerably more than the average $120 per ticket that the company charged for Noche UFC’s 2023 edition at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, an upcharge associated with Sphere’s huge production costs. Noche UFC is taking place at Sphere because executives with MGM Grand, one of the largest gaming companies in Las Vegas, reached a deal with boxing promoter Al Hayman for the date that UFC was supposed to have under a 2017 anchor tenant agreement at T-Mobile Arena which, White has said, “totally f–ed us.”
Until now, Sphere has hosted U2’s 40-date run; a four-night string of concerts by Phish; and Dead & Company’s 30-show residency that wrapped in July. For each, the bands created custom lighting and video productions designed specifically for Sphere’s groundbreaking display that would be effectively unusable at any other venue, meaning that the possibilities of Sphere being a stop on any artist’s regular tour routing would be essentially untenable.
UFC is also leaning into Sphere’s capabilities. Between bouts, the company will screen 90-second video vignettes, produced by outside partners like Valerie Bush and the production company Antigravity Academy. The videos, sources tell Billboard, are custom-built for Sphere’s massive high-definition screens and require expensive post-production work and computer rendering that only Sphere Company officials can handle.
Even the rehearsal hours for Noche UFC are difficult: White recently announced at a press conference that because Sphere airs a nightly film, he can’t get his team into the building to rehearse the show until 1 a.m.
All of which poses additional issues that make Sphere difficult, if not impossible, to accommodate most one-off events, particularly if production costs come with a $20 million price tag. UFC can recoup some of its financial outlay through pay-per-view sales, but it’s heavily relying on average ticket prices of $3,500 that fans aren’t buying, and a pay-per-view model, whether live-streamed or on television, is not straightforward for the music business.
Dolan, however, never marketed the facility as a one-time event host and it’s likely that some of the production costs associated with the Sphere will drop over time as the market for cloud computing recedes. Besides, Dolan hasn’t been shy about how his future ambitions will make Sphere more approachable.
The best way to reduce the costs of producing events for the Sphere, company officials said on a recent earnings call, is to build more Spheres. After losing out on a bid to a Sphere in London, Dolan reportedly has a half-dozen new locations in mind.
Creative/business partnership company COLTURE (Brent Faiyaz, Soulection’s Joe Kay, Emotional Oranges) is expanding its stake in the wellness arena. The firm has launched the Mirrors Wellness Club Studio, a new division under its Mirrors Wellness Club banner. Marking the launch is the studio’s first music release, Sound Bath in Watts. A second project will arrive in October.
Credited to Frankie Rivers — the moniker adopted by COLTURE’s team of producers and creative executives — Sound Bath in Watts features soothing wellness music described as embodying both “soul and character.” Its 10-track set list includes intriguing titles such as “Playas Cry in the Rain,” “$700 Pants Don’t Make You Happy,” “Soft Life Baddie” and “Well Ness Monster.”
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“Mirrors Wellness Club Studio is about telling Black and brown stories via wellness music, visuals and activations,” explains COLTURE co-founder Ty Baisden. “Our next artist launching in October is SafeHouse. Each wellness project focuses on specific sounds. Frankie Rivers is all about the sound bath experience, whereas SafeHouse is about ambiance sounds for sleep and studying.”
Available now, Sound Bath in Watts served as the musical backdrop at the welcome dinner for COLTURE’s annual women’s wellness retreat. Now in its third year and always held during Labor Day weekend, Mirrors Getaway — another Mirrors Wellness Club component — took place at Ambergris Cay in Turks & Caicos.
Inaugurated in 2022 in Saint Maartin with 19 invitees, Mirrors Getaway welcomed 30 invitees in Barbados last year. This year, Baisden and COLTURE’s content team, including productions and events manager Venessa Gonzalez, were among the 39 attendees stepping out of their roles as executives, entrepreneurs, wives, mothers and caregivers to recalibrate and focus on themselves. Each day (Aug. 29-Sept. 2) featured a list of various activities, from yoga, massages and tubing to breathwork/meditation, e-biking, conch/lobster diving and game night/karaoke.
According to Gonzalez, Mirrors Getaway invitees are selected by Baisden, who “brings together women of similar industries and spaces.” Among this year’s invitees, in addition to Billboard: Epic Records vp of A&R Vivian Yohannes, Moet Hennessy vp/head of inclusion, diversity & equity Tiara Chesmer-Williams, confidence coach Karen A. Clark, Cruz Control Digital founder Kisha Maldonado, and COLTURE’s co-founder/head of creative services Jayne Andrew, head of operations Phylicia Goings and head of finance Jennair Rennie.
The 3rd Annual Mirrors Getaway of 2024’s group of extraordinary women on their final night of their trip on a private island resort in Turks & Caicos.
Courtesy of Mirrors Wellness Club
“This year we wanted to be truly intentional about rest and overall wellness,” says Gonzalez. “Oftentimes, women don’t truly get a chance to stop being ‘on’ even when they’re supposed to be ‘off.’ This is our way of saying ‘We see you’ and giving them the space to truly prioritize themselves. For just a few days, they get to disconnect and someone else will take care of it.”
Sharing her own takeaways from the retreat, Irina Melkumyan, vp/ERG program manager at City National Bank, tells Billboard, “This retreat didn’t just give me the opportunity to disconnect to reconnect. It also reminded me of how powerful we are as women, as humans … I walked away empowered.”
Baisden, named Billboard’s Indie Power Players 2024 executive of the year, notes the long-term goal for Mirrors Getaway is “for this experience to be the golf course for women. It’s about community building in an extremely healthy way.” And now with the addition of Mirrors Wellness Club Studio, “there is no Black wellness company that is using storytelling, music and IRL experiences to elevate the wellness lifestyle while simultaneously investing directly into women.”
In partnership with Faiyaz, COLTURE recently wrapped its fourth annual Show You Off grant program, awarding 12 women $10,000 grants each to run their own business or launch a new idea. Thus far, about half a million dollars have been donated to Black women-helmed businesses. COLTURE also houses a full-fledged media department, including TV, film, podcasting and digital content, plus real estate and start-up investments; a sports division is also in development.
Following the recent announcement that DJ revenue sharing platform Aslice is closing, Richie Hawtin has shared his thoughts on the news.
In a 10-minute statement posted to YouTube and social media, the pioneering techno producer expressed his disappointment that many big-name DJs did not participate in Aslice, a donation-based platform launched by DJ Zak Khutoretsky in 2022 that allowed DJs to voluntarily share their set playlists and contribute part of their performance fee to the artists whose music they played.
“The closing of Aslice is a huge disappointment,” Hawtin says. “Perhaps the biggest disappointment that I felt in our community, our scene since I’ve been part of it.”
Last week, the company announced it was closing and released a lengthy report that cited reasons including industry skepticism (“despite outreach to over 2,000 professional DJs, many remained hesitant,” the report says), difficulties the platform faced in gaining widespread adoption, the company’s difficulty in achieving financial sustainability, mixed engagement among DJs, and limited adoption by the leading and most well-played DJs.
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The report notes that “only 4.7% (56) of the top 1,199 DJs on Resident Advisor [with more than five upcoming performances] participated in Aslice.”
Hawtin has a sharp critique for these non-participating DJs, writing in his Instagram caption that “Aslice was working, and the only problem was that not enough DJs, especially the successful ones, agreed to sign up and share back into the music eco-system that they have built their careers on. Aslice did not fail, the famous, most followed DJ’s of our scene failed us all.”
With its closing announcement, the Aslice team said that since launching, they’ve paid out $422,696 to musicians with money from DJs who participated in the platform. They add that all participating artists with remaining balances will be paid out by the end of 2024.
Hawtin shared that since 2021, he has personally paid out €88,950 (roughly $116,268) to the producers whose music he played during his sets, at the expense of what averaged out to be roughly $800 per gig.
Noting that he wasn’t an investor in Aslice, Hawtin explained that it “was a platform that was built to rebalance the economic inequalities that are a big part of our scene. The economic inequalities between how much a DJ or musician and a producer gets paid for the music they make and the money that goes into the pocket of us DJs when we perform playing other people’s music.”
Hawtin said that while most bands perform their own music and earn commensurate royalties, “in our own beautiful scene where we have the largest paid performers playing other people’s music, that system doesn’t work. And it’s only gotten worse as we moved into digital distribution and streaming.”
He added that he’s seen many talented producers stop making music because they couldn’t support themselves and their families by doing it, even though their music might have been getting played by famous DJs in their sets. He says the platform was “a way to recognize the musicians and support the actual foundation of our whole scene. Without music, there’s no DJs.”
Hear Hawtin’s complete statement below.
The Aslice report notes that the platform was an especially vital tool in the electronic music world, given that PROs’ “failure to support the electronic music scene is evident in several key areas,” including, the report says, their technological stagnation, a lack of proactive outreach and community building, complex registration processes, an inability to track unreleased music, outdated distribution models, low accuracy rates, and a lack of retroactive payments for producers who weren’t registered when their music was played.
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Primary Wave Music and Prince Legacy, two companies with ties to Prince‘s assets, released a statement Monday afternoon in response to reports of an unreleased documentary accusing the late musician of physical and emotional abuse.
“Those with the responsibility of carrying out Prince’s wishes shall honor his creativity and genius,” the statement reads. “We are working to resolve matters concerning the documentary so that his story may be told in a way that is factually correct and does not mischaracterize or sensationalize his life. We look forward to continuing to share Prince’s gifts and celebrate his profound and lasting impact on the world.”
On Sunday, a lengthy report from the New York Times Magazine revealed that an unreleased nine-hour documentary from O.J.: Made in America filmmaker Ezra Edelman featured interviews with dozens of Prince’s former business partners, lovers, friends and associates which included multiple allegations of physical and emotional abuse.
The article chronicled a dense back-and-forth between the film’s production team and Prince’s estate in a battle over the documentary’s release. Per NYT, the project has been in development with Netflix for nearly five years.
The film allegedly includes an interview with Prince’s ex-lover Jill Jones, who recalls a night in which he slapped and repeatedly punched her in the face. Another past relationship, Susannah Melvoin, reportedly told filmmakers that after she moved in with the musician, he monitored her phone calls, told her not to leave the house and tried to keep her separated from her sister. In another interview, his ex-wife Mayte Garcia allegedly recalls being left alone after her and Prince’s child died.
Other interviews allege the famous singer exhibited controlling nature and that he suffered abuse as a child. Additional sources, however, also recall positive memories of the singer, which created what Edelman described as one of the hardest projects of his career.
“How can you tell the truth about someone who, when you’re talking to people, they all had different things to say?” he said.
In a statement to NYT, Netflix said “this documentary project has proved every bit as complex as Prince himself. We have meticulously archived Prince’s life and worked hard to support Ezra’s series. But there are still meaningful contractual issues with the estate that are holding up a documentary release.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.