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Dr. Richard James Burgess will step down as president/CEO of The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) at the beginning of 2026, he announced at the annual general meeting that closed out A2IM Indie Week on Thursday (June 13). Upon his exit, he will have led the organization for 10 years. The A2IM board of […]
Sometime in 2000, Patrick Brown nudged Paul Epstein, then-owner of Twist & Shout in Denver. “Hey,” the record store manager told his boss, “I think Eric Clapton‘s out there shopping.”
“What should I do?” Epstein said.
“How about you say, ‘I’m Paul, I own the store, how can I help you?’”
Epstein helped Clapton search for an obscure Bing Crosby soundtrack from the ’40s, and the two bonded over blues and jazz records. Epstein learned Clapton was waiting for his clothes to dry at the laundromat across the street from Twist & Shout’s then-location. And Brown listened quietly. “It’s not my thing so much,” he recalls. “I said hello and that was it.”
Today, Brown is the owner of this music community capital on the west side of Denver, a soothing gallery of colorful rectangles, from the Madonna and Pete Townshend portraits facing off at the top of a west wall to the rows of books, CDs and LPs that seem to go on forever. Epstein and his wife, Jill, who co-founded the store in 1988, retired in 2022 and sold to Brown, one of two remaining employees who has worked at each of the three locations where Twist has existed over the years. “Patrick is a little less likely to fanboy, even over people he is a fan of,” says Alf Kremer, the store’s longtime bookkeeper. “With him, it wouldn’t be Clapton — it’d be, I don’t know, [Robert] Fripp.”
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Brown landed his first job at Twist in 1992, after he’d spent an earlier summer wandering the aisles, blasting indie rock and avant-garde jazz through his headphones. Epstein put Brown to work tearing up cardboard CD longboxes and slipping their liner-note booklets into plastic sheaths; the idea was to store the actual CDs in the back to avoid in-store theft.
He turned out to be not only a loyal employee but an indispensable one. “Six months, this guy’s on the fast track. Whatever I ask him to do, he does it. And then he just stayed,” Epstein says. “He went from the absolute lowest part-time additional help to doing every single job at the store over the years.” Eventually, Brown rose to general manager.
Patrick Brown
Courtesy of Twist & Shout
Today, the 11,000-square-foot Twist & Shout remains Denver’s signature record store, having weathered the Napster-era downturn that felled chains from Tower Records to Virgin Megastore, then leaned into the unexpected vinyl revival that has kept indie retailers afloat for two decades. Twist’s sales mix, according to Brown, is roughly 60%-70% vinyl, 15%-20% CDs, 10% merch and posters, 5% movies and 3% stereo equipment. “There are not a lot of stores like this,” he says. “Waterloo in Austin, the Amoeba stores, Record Archive in Rochester, Music Millennium in Portland. We’ve all had that old-school-record-store depth of catalog. We do all genres. We’ve invested heavily in physical. There just aren’t stores with the big footprint.”
Brown, a soft-spoken 55-year-old who is just as comfortable talking about seeing experimental-jazz composer Anthony Braxton at a festival as the evolution of music-retail inventory, has a more low-key presence among staff and customers than Epstein did. “I want it to still be what it always has been — a comfortable space for anybody to shop,” he says. “Record stores have a reputation for being snotty and disdainful of your tastes, and we try to avoid that as much as possible. We’re here just to help you find what you’re interested in.”
The store’s historical customer roster includes not only Clapton but Morrissey, who once made an impromptu visit with two beefy bodyguards, whom he positioned on each side of the “M” aisle so he could be unbothered while shopping. “I’m charitable — I think he was buying those as gifts for other people,” Brown recalls. “But he was still buying his own music as gifts.”
When the Epsteins opened Twist, they were “selling obscure music to a small but dedicated clientele from an over-cluttered building on a quiet Denver side street,” as Billboard later reported. They upgraded twice over the years, to new locations throughout the city, finally settling on West Colfax Avenue, what Brown calls “The Cultureplex,” a busy corner that includes iconic but struggling bookstore Tattered Cover and indie-movie haven Sie Film Center. During an interview on a weekday afternoon, packs of East High School students roam the stores. (The Epsteins own the building, and Twist & Shout, along with the adjacent Chipotle and a sushi restaurant, pays rent to them.)
“It feels like, ‘This is our world, here,’ all in this space,” says Mollie O’Brien, a veteran Denver folk and R&B singer. “It’s welcoming.” Like the Epsteins, she adds, Brown continues to purchase physical albums by local artists, even if they don’t record for major labels or big-time distributors. Usually, though, Twist & Shout buys wholesale from all the major labels, plus big indies such as Sub Pop and Secretly Group and one-stop distributor Alliance Entertainment. “I wouldn’t change our mix,” Brown says.
Like everybody, the Epsteins spent the early part of the pandemic terrified that consumers would stay out of record stores forever — but business quickly picked up as shelter-in-place customers rediscovered their turntables and records; Epstein told the Denver Post that 2021 sales were 25% higher than 2019 sales. The Epsteins, though, realized they were tired of running the business. After the longtime owners of The Record Exchange in Boise, Idaho, sold to three employees and one of their spouses in fall 2021, Epstein made a similar offer to Brown, who took over the store in March 2022.
When the Epsteins called a staff meeting to announce the new owner, Brown told employees, “I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m going to change. And I’m not going to be changing anything. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want this business.” Kremer, who moonlights as a Denver dance-music DJ in a gorilla suit called There’s An Ape for That, says this prediction came true: “The philosophy is the same. The approach to the business is the same.”
In his 36 years at Twist & Shout, Brown has experienced micro and macro changes in the record business. In the ’90s, dance music and rave parties exploded in the Denver area, and the store emphasized vinyl to accommodate DJ demand, which diminished when dance-music performers went digital in the early 2000s. Then came mp3s, file-sharing, Napster, the iTunes Store, YouTube and Spotify, and demand for physical products briefly dipped. Once the LP revival kicked in, Brown says, “We were ready for that.”
Large record retailers are rare in this era of tiny stores devoted to punk or dance or other niches, according to Andrea Paschal, president of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, of which Twist & Shout has been a member since the coalition’s 1995 inception. Since Napster and file-sharing disrupted CD sales, she says, “It’s really tough to build a store with the catalog and inventory that Twist & Shout has when you don’t have the decades of doing that.”
Twist & Shout isn’t invulnerable. Brown acknowledges the vinyl boom could dissipate, and while CD and cassette sales are rising again, they’re unlikely to make up the difference. If something happens to neighbor Tattered Cover, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, foot traffic could drop at The Cultureplex. And Brown won’t even try to predict record-business trends. He’s a steward of the store, not a visionary. “Nothing drastic,” he says. “Keep it as it is.”
Billboard’s peer-voted R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Choice Award is back for 2024 — and we’re asking music industry members from all sectors to honor the executive they believe had the most impact across R&B and hip-hop in the past year. Voting is now open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote […]
UTA has a new COO.
The talent agency says that it has hired Bob Roback to serve as its COO, running business operations, growth, strategy, technology and other key areas of the firm. He will report to UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer and president David Kramer, and will join the firm’s board of directors.
Andrew Thau, who had been COO while also serving as co-head of UTA Sports, will focus exclusively on expanding UTA’s sports business.
Roback was most recently CEO of Ingrooves Music Group, which is now part of Universal Music Group, and before that was president of the musical instrument company Fender. He also co-founded a number of companies, including Dashbox, The Media Farm and LAUNCH Media, which became Yahoo Music.
“I’m delighted to welcome Bob Roback to UTA,” said Zimmer in a statement. “Throughout his accomplished career, Bob has built and led multiple businesses at the intersection of entertainment and technology, and he will be a valued partner at UTA as we help our clients thrive in an increasingly global and complex marketplace.”
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“I also want to acknowledge the many contributions of Andrew Thau, who served as our COO since 2007 and became co-head of UTA Sports last year,” Zimmer added. “I’m excited for what Andrew will accomplish as he focuses full-time on building out our sports presence in the global arena.”
“I’ve long admired UTA’s dedication to its clients and ability to lead the way in defining what it means to be a global agency during a time of tremendous change and opportunity,” added Roback. “I’m thrilled to be joining the company at this exciting time and look forward to shaping the future with UTA’s talented and ambitious team.”
“Bob’s experience and approach make him an ideal fit in UTA’s entrepreneurial and future-focused culture,” Kramer added. “Artists, athletes and brands are looking to participate globally across every part of the entertainment landscape, and Bob will help ensure we continue to operate at a level that exemplifies best-in-class representation.”
This story was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Downtown Music has named Molly Neuman president of its direct-to-creator division CD Baby. Neuman succeeds CD Baby’s previous president, Scott Williams, who will stay on as a consultant to Downtown and CD Baby. In addition to Neuman’s appointment, it was announced that CD Baby COO Christine Barnum is leaving the company. Neuman boards CD Baby […]
Billboard’s peer-voted R&B/Hip Hop Power Players’ Choice Award is back for 2024 — and we’re asking music industry members from all sectors to honor the executive they believe had the most impact across R&B and hip-hop in the past year. Voting is open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote […]
When deadmau5 got the masters of four of his biggest albums back from Ultra Records last June, his team had a plan to capitalize on the newly acquired intellectual property.
The first move was the release of a remix of the 2009 deadmau5 and Kaskade classic “I Remember” by current house phenom John Summit. After that dropped last July, the entire deadmau5 catalog saw a 45% streaming bump, the producer’s team reports. Additional remixes from these albums followed, wiht each LP subsequently seeing a 48% to 82% streaming increase. Vinyl reissues of the albums sold 25,000 units.
“All for albums that are over ten years old,” says deadmau5’s longtime manager Dean Wilson.
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With The Circuit Group — the company launched last year by Wilson and his wife/business partner Jessica Wilson along with Brett Fischer, David Gray and Harvey Tadman — the mission is to create this type of increasingly valuable IP for electronic artists at all levels, and in so doing help them create and maintain independence.
Upon launching last October, the company – which brought together members of management companies Seven20 and Ayita — outlined plans to acquire 50% ownership in artists’ IP portfolios and partner with them to build opportunities across verticals while also offering traditional artist management.
Now, The Circuit Group — which has offices in L.A., the United Kingdom and Miami — is expanding as it works to fulfill that mission, announcing seven key hires on Wednesday (June 12). They include James Sutcliffe, who joins as chief strategy officer, bringing years of leadership experience at companies including Ministry of Sound and LIVENow; and Simon Birkumshaw was hired as director of operations of label services, having formerly served in A&R roles at companies including LabelWorx and Defected Records.
Elsewhere, Ian Massoth, who helped launch projects including Chris Lake’s Black Book Records and Fisher’s Catch & Release label and event concept, joins as director of A&R of label services. Shivani Phull is the company’s new CFO advisor, Bianca Price joins as social media manager, Nick Sung is the new director of marketing and Charlie Tadman was hired as director of A&R. Together, the group of new hires have served in roles at companies including PIXELYNX, Spotify, various Insomniac Events properties and a variety of high-profile artist projects.
The company’s artist roster currently features more than 40 acts, including original clients like Chris Lake and Fisher, whose collaborative project, Under Construction, drew 12,000 people to a party on Hollywood Boulevard last October. (Dean Wilson says such events “are all done independently” under The Circuit Group umbrella in conjunction with various partners.)
Recently signed clients include longstanding electronic singer/producer Anabel Englund, ascending electronic act Clonee, and producer and vocalist Aluna, who will work with The Circuit Group to grow the events side of her Noir Fever label. While artists work with the company in varying capacities across publishing, management and development, Jessica Wilson says the focus is “all driven to the IP at the end of the day.”
“It’s finding and building opportunities outside the core business of making a record then putting a pair of headphones on and some USB sticks in and playing to fans,” adds Dean Wilson. “What we’re trying to show with The Circuit Group is that we can help artists grow their business better than anybody else, from the label, to publishing, merchandise business, tech ventures, touring IP and so on.”
The Wilsons say it’s especially crucial for artists to identify such business opportunities given how low, and volatile, streaming rates are.
“Even if they’re in a current deal or not, all of these artists want to get involved in building their own indie brand,” says Jessica Wilson. “They don’t want to be a so-and-so label artist. They want to be synonymous with their own label, and we’ve put the right people in the right places to help artists build their own brands, make their own output and do it as they want to do it.”
Below, Dean and Jessica Wilson talk to Billboard about expanding the company, creating independence for artists and electronic music’s growing value in the marketplace.
So an emerging artist signs with the company, then what happens?
Dean: It’s building a plan. In dance, you can be making records at home, then all the sudden one of them starts to get traction and suddenly they’ve got an agent and shows and are making real money.
We’ve all been there in this company, and we all made the decisions that, at that point, we were told to make, which was that you signed to a record label, got an agent and signed publishing. Those label and publishing deals paid you some money, so you’re selling your rights at that point. No one’s thinking 10 or 15 years down the road. They’re thinking, “I’m broke right now, so I need to do these deals.” And the manager, who’s also often a friend of the artist, is broke too, so he or she is happy to do the deals.
That’s not bad. We’ve all done those deals. What we want to impart is our knowledge of, “You don’t need to do those without the right infrastructure and the right team. You can do all of that and hang on and control your rights.”
How?
Dean: The first step is sitting down and planning with each artist what they want to do and showing them how we did things for [a variety] of artists. Each artist has a different brand and a slightly different mindset and might not want to do something a certain way. It’s about how far down the road you can look and work your way back from. That’s hard to do without a team infrastructure and people who’ve been there before who can help and advise, because otherwise you’re going to continue doing those short-term things that you have to do to pay the bills.
Jessica: We’re geared up and ready to go. We have a distribution deal we’ve put in place. We’ve got a beautiful backend for rights that is going to make it easy for every label to plug into and automatically get everything uploaded… The excitement for us right now is that we’ve hired all of these key people to actually make it work. You’ve got deadmau5 bringing in great talent, you’ve got Chris [Lake] bringing in great talent. You’ve got people attracted to Fisher and Cloonee. All these people want to come and work with us, and we’re giving them a direct output line to go and do this themselves instead of helping to rely on a major.
How fundamental has deadmau5’s career as an independent artist been as a model for what you’re doing with The Circuit Group?
Dean: We’ve learned from the stuff that hasn’t worked more so than the stuff that did. He was the first electronic act to ever do a 360 deal when he was with EMI/Virgin. It was a complete and utter f—ing disaster. I put this beautiful business plan together and showed it to them, and within the first couple of months I’d gone, “Oh my god. They don’t get it.”
I remember talking to the chairwoman at the time and saying, “If we own the business together and we owned an ice cream shop and were 50/50 partners, and I had six people working full time and you had no one working full time, do you think that would be an equal partnership that would work?” She said no, and I said, “Well that’s how you’re behaving. You’ve done a deal for all the rights, but all you talk about is when the next record is coming.” It was that dawn of that moment of “Okay, we’ve got to work out how to do this independently.”
In terms of intellectual property, are there opportunities that are unique to electronic music?
Dean: In electronic music we’re really lucky because we do remixes and stem packs and remix competitions. And you can move quickly because it’s not like pop or country where there’s 20 writers on a record. And [The Circuit Group] can do all of these things because we’re in control of it all.
So you can jumpstart pre-existing material with strategic moments like John Summit’s “I Remember” remix?
Dean: It’s exactly that. That’s the opportunity in dance. We’re still a baby genre when it comes to real business. Yes, dance has been around since the early ‘90s, but it wasn’t a real business. It’s really only been 10 or 15 years that it’s been a multibillion-dollar business.
So now you have all this material that’s now 15 or 20 years old. Look at how many “Sandstorm” remixes you’ve heard. It’s still as big now as it was when it first came out, maybe even bigger. Those classic dance records just keep getting remade and resampled, and they live on forever and actually keep making more money. So, you’re creating more value and more IP on top of the original. The material has two value streams that we in the dance world can really only do at the speed that we do it, because of the way it’s made.
How do you see The Circuit Group continuing to grow?
Dean: It’s important to make it clear that we’re not trying to grow a massive management company, we’re trying to grow a business that is IP-centric and that supplies all the services as a flywheel around it. We don’t want 100 acts. We’re not trying to build Red Light. We want to get it right with the people we’re invested in and who we can see growing into the next Chris Lake or the next Fisher.
Jessica: Or the next Aluna. And to reiterate what Dean said, scaling management is not an easy task and not something we want to do in that regard. We are laser-focused on IP and on building those brands.
Natalia Lafourcade has signed with UTA for worldwide representation in all areas, Billboard can exclusively announce. The signing follows the Mexican artist’s latest Grammy win for De Todas Las Flores, which won best Latin rock or alternative album. The critically-acclaimed set also collected three awards at the Latin Grammys last year, including best singer-songwriter album. […]
U.K. music licensing company PPL signed singer-songwriter Kenya Grace for the collection of her international neighboring rights royalties. The company, which has also signed the likes of Ice Spice and Lewis Capaldi as of late, licenses the use of recorded music in the United Kingdom and collects neighboring rights royalties worldwide through more than 110 agreements with collective management organizations (CMOs) internationally.
Country singer-songwriter Carter Faith (“Late Bloomer,” “Strong Stuff”) signed with Universal Music Group Nashville, marking her first major label deal. She’s working on new music expected for release later this year. Faith is booked by Meredith Jones and Bennett Beckner at CAA and managed by Range Media Partners.
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L.A.-based band LA LOM signed to Verve Records, which will release the group’s debut album, The Los Angeles League of Musicians, on Aug. 9. The group is booked by Ethan Berlin and Karl Morse at Arrival Artists and managed by Alex Kadvan and Rick Goetz at Red Light.
Singer-songwriter Liam St. John signed with Big Loud Rock, which will release his upcoming EP, Believer, on June 28. St. John is managed by Aidan Crowley at Legacy Content.
Ashley Ryan signed with ONErpm Nashville. California native Ryan moved to Nashville in 2018 and has honed her skills performing at local venues including Whiskey Jam and The Listening Room. She also caught the attention of country artist Keith Urban, who invited Ryan to perform his hit song, “Without You,” at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena during his 2022 world tour. Ryan’s new single, “Them Cowboys,” was released on May 31. – Jessica Nicholson
London/Madrid-based singer-songwriter pablopablo (a.k.a Pablo Drexler) signed with Mom+Pop Music. The two-time Latin Grammy winner, who won Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2022 ceremony for “Tocarte,” will release his debut album on the label. His new single, “Mi Culpa,” dropped on May 30.
Omaha, Neb., band Cursive signed to Run for Cover Records, which will release the group’s next album, Devourer, on Sept. 13. Cursive is booked by Eric Dimenstein at Ground Control Touring in the United States and Steve Zapp at International Talent Booking in Europe.
Vocalist, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Croixx signed to Elektra Records, which released his new single, “Higher,” on May 31.
Alternative pop-rock artist Liam Benzvi (formerly of Strange Names) signed to Fat Possum. He will release his upcoming album, …And His Splash Band, via the label on Sept. 27.
The 55-member board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for 2024-25 will consist of 53% women and 27% members of an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. That’s the same percentage of women as were on the 2023-24 board and a represents a two-point gain, from 25%, for members of an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. The Academy announced its new board on Monday (June 10). The governors will take office at the first scheduled board meeting of the new term.
Lesley Barber was re-elected to the board, representing the music branch. Barber is best known for her score for Kenneth Lonergan’s Oscar-winning Manchester by the Sea. Her other credits include Late Night, Mansfield Park, Irreplaceable You, How to Change the World and You Can Count on Me.
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Barber will join returning governors Charles Fox and Richard Gibbs in representing the music branch.
Fox has scored more than 100 films. He has received two Oscar nominations for best original song, won a Grammy for song of the year for co-writing “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and won two Primetime Emmys for his music for Love, American Style. Fox was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
Gibbs’ film and TV scores include Say Anything, Dr. Dolittle, The Simpsons, Queen of the Damned, 10 Things I Hate About You and Battlestar Galactica. He has served as musical director for Chaka Khan, Tracey Ullman and The Muppets, and produced Eisley and Korn.
Incumbent governors reelected to the board (and their branches), besides Barber, are Rita Wilson (actors), Kim Taylor-Coleman (casting directors), Paul Cameron (cinematographers), Eduardo Castro (costume designers), Jean Tsien (documentary), Pam Abdy (executives), Terilyn A. Shropshire (film editors), Laura C. Kim (marketing and public relations), Brooke Breton (visual effects) and Howard A. Rodman (writers).
Elected to the board for the first time are Patricia Cardoso (directors), Jennifer Fox (producers), K.K. Barrett (production design), Chris Tashima (short films) and Andy Nelson (sound).
Returning to the board after a hiatus is Lois Burwell (makeup artists and hairstylists).
Returning governors (besides Fox and Gibbs) are Wendy Aylsworth (production and technology), Dion Beebe (cinematographers), Howard Berger (makeup artists and hairstylists), Jason Blum (producers), Rob Bredow (visual effects), Ruth E. Carter (costume designers), Megan Colligan (marketing and public relations), Paul Debevec (visual effects), Peter Devlin (sound), David I. Dinerstein (marketing), Ava DuVernay (directors), Linda Flowers (makeup artists and hairstylists), DeVon Franklin (governor-at-large), Rodrigo García (governor-at-large), Donna Gigliotti (executives), Jinko Gotoh (short films & feature animation), Chris Hegedus (documentary), Richard Hicks (casting directors), Lynette Howell Taylor (producers), Kalina Ivanov (production design), Simon Kilmurry (documentary), Ellen Kuras (cinematographers), Marlee Matlin (actors), Hannah Minghella (executives), Daniel Orlandi (costume designers), Missy Parker (production design), Lou Diamond Phillips (actors), Jason Reitman (directors), Nancy Richardson (film editors), Stephen Rivkin (film editors), Eric Roth (writers), Dana Stevens (writers), Mark P. Stoeckinger (sound), Marlon West (short films & feature animation), Janet Yang (governor-at-large) and Debra Zane (casting directors).
The production and technology branch and animation branch did not hold elections this year.
The Academy has 19 branches, each represented by three governors, except for the recently established animation branch, which is represented by two governors; the recently established short films branch, which is represented by one governor; and the production and technology branch, which is represented by one governor. Governors, including the board-appointed governors-at-large, may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional three-year terms for a lifetime maximum of 12 years.
Representing all branches of the Academy, the 55-person board of governors is responsible for the governance, corporate oversight and strategic direction of the Academy. Governors have a fiduciary responsibility to the Academy and preserve the institution’s financial health while ensuring fulfillment of the Academy’s mission.
The board approves annual goals and the annual budget presented by the CEO, and it approves policies concerning governance, membership and awards. Governors generally attend 7 to 10 board meetings annually and serve on a board committee. Governors also serve on their branch’s executive committee and are expected to attend Academy events throughout the year.
To see a list of current 2023-24 Academy governors, click here.