Business News
Page: 36
Live Nation’s share price has proven to be resilient following the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit and effort to break up the company’s concert promotion and ticketing operations. Eight days into what is likely to be a multi-year journey through the court system, shares of Live Nation dropped 2.3% to $93.74 and have held steady after an initial drop the day of the DOJ’s announcement.
Live Nation shares closed at $101.40 on May 22, the day before the DOJ announced its lawsuit, and dropped 7.8% to $93.48 when the news broke the following day. Since the announcement, however, Live Nation shares are up 0.3%. Still, amidst the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the lawsuit, Live Nation’s year-to-date gain has been pared to just 0.1%, while its 52-week gain has been reduced to 13.2%.
Regardless of the outcome, the mere existence of a protracted legal battle is enough to exert a drag on the stock. In lowering their price target for Live Nation to $116 from $126 this week, J.P. Morgan analysts said in a Wednesday (May 29) note to investors they doubt the DOJ will succeed in breaking up the company and its Ticketmaster ticketing arm, but noted the effect of a “sentiment overhang.” J.P. Morgan maintains its “overweight” rating on Live Nation and analysts “believe that continued execution on [adjusted operating income] growth should drive shares higher, with significant valuation upside should developments in the lawsuit break positive.”
Trending on Billboard
Music stocks were broadly down this week as the biggest companies in the Billboard Global Music Index lost ground. The index fell 2.3% to 1,799.07 as Spotify fell 3.8% to $296.53, Universal Music Group dropped 0.9% to 28.58 euros ($31.03), Warner Music Group sank 2.2% to $29.78 and HYBE dipped 0.2% to 200,000 won ($144.60). Ten of the 20 companies in the index were losers this week, nine gained ground and one was unchanged.
The index has gained 17.9% year-to-date on the strength of music streaming companies. Tencent Music Entertainment and Spotify lead all stocks with gains of 60.4% and 57.8%, respectively, through the end of May. Elsewhere, Hipgnosis Songs Fund has gained 39.7% due to the company’s pending sale to Blackstone, German concert promoter CTS Eventim is up 26.8% and Chinese music streamer Cloud Music has gained 22.7%.
Radio company iHeartMedia has the distinction of being the top-performing music stock of the week while carrying the worst year-to-date performance. Shares of the radio giant rose 6.4% to $0.926, marking a respite from a month-long free fall during which the stock has traded below $1.00 per share over the last seven trading days. Even after this week’s gain, iHeartMedia finished the month of May down 56% and has lost 65.3% year to date.
Reservoir Media shares gained 2.4% to $8.04 this week following the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings release on Thursday (May 30). The company beat guidance for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA and its share price rose as much as 15.5% in the wake of the news. Following the earnings results, B Riley raised its price target for Reservoir to $11.50.
Music streaming company LiveOne fell 6.3% to $1.65 this week after fiscal year results on Thursday showed the company’s revenue grew 19% to $118.4 million. LiveOne shares are up 17.9% year to date.
Overall stocks were broadly down this week but performed better than the Billboard Global Music Index. In the United States, the S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 5,277.51 and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.1% to 16,735.02. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 8,275.38. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index sank 1.9% to 2,636.52. China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined just 0.1% to 3,086.81.
When it comes to music, Canada punches above its weight. Artists like Drake, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber and Alanis Morissette have spent the last few decades among the biggest in the world – a feat for a country that pales in population to its neighbour down south. In boardrooms, too, Canadians are well represented in positions of influence.
That’s evident in Billboard Canada’s 2024 Power Players list, the first expansion of the Power Players and Power 100 to Canada. The list features music executives who are working on the world’s biggest tours, managing the industry’s most valuable song catalogues, and breaking artists from all over the world.
Trending on Billboard
One of the country’s biggest strengths when it comes to music is cultural fluency and a seemingly innate ability to globalize. As Punjabi music, K-pop, Latin music, Afrobeats and more global genres become ever more popular, Canadians are ready to both export talent across borders and capitalize on trends others might not even know about yet.
This year’s set of submissions and nominations were extremely competitive. The Power Players list recognizes achievements across the board but highly prizes impact in Canada and breakthroughs by Canadians on the international and world stage, especially those that can be clearly measured and substantiated.
The Leaderboard features executives from Live Nation, Warner Music Canada, Reservoir Media and more. Find the whole list here.
Canada’s No. 1 Power Player: Arthur Fogel
The industry icon behind many of the biggest world tours of the last year started out at a punk venue in Toronto.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour topped Billboard’s 2023 Boxscore list as the highest-grossing tour of the year and one of the biggest of all time. U2’s opening residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas redefined big-stage sound-and-vision spectacle and became the fastest-grossing residency in Boxscore history. And Madonna culminated her career-spanning Celebration Tour with a massive, record-setting concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attended by more than 1.6 million people.
Arthur Fogel was instrumental in all of them.
Fogel is the Chairman of Global Music & President of Global Touring CEO of Global Touring at Live Nation. He’s stationed at the company’s Los Angeles headquarters, but he’s one of several high-powered Canadian executives in their boardroom. Michael Rapino, Live Nation’s President and CEO, is also from Canada.
And, Fogel notices, like they are on big stages, Canadians are overrepresented in some of the most important positions in the music industry.
“I don’t think the Canadian industry gets enough credit on any number of levels. If you look at the artists that have come out of Canada over a number of years and generations, it’s pretty incredible how much talent that has come out of a country this size,” Fogel says. “The same holds true for the business side.”
Read a wide-ranging Q&A with Fogel in Billboard Canada’s latest digital cover story.
Shortlist Announced for the Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award
Five impressive songwriters have been shortlisted for the inaugural Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award, presented by SOCAN.
These songwriters each had a banner year in 2023, penning memorable songs with indelible melodies that garnered Grammy nominations, top chart placements, and millions of streams.
They are recognized for their work as songwriters for other artists, making an impact from behind the scenes – a first for an award of this kind in Canada.
Here are the nominees, with the winner being announced at Billboard Canada’s Power Players event on June 2 at the CN Tower:
Elizabeth Lowell Boland
Lowell is a singer, songwriter and producer known for her collaborations with Madison Beer, Charli XCX, Tate McRae, Charlie Puth, Lennon Stella, Hailee Steinfeld, bülow, Lu Kala and many more. With two songs on Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed new album – the international smash “Texas Hold’em” and upcoming single “Bodyguard” – Lowell has become a trusted collaborator for the legendary artist. She also wrote “Blame Brett,” the breakout hit for Toronto band The Beaches.
Aaron Paris
Aaron Paris is a songwriter, record producer and composer from Toronto. Having worked with artists including Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Drake, DJ Khaled, Russ, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Kali Uchis, NAV, Charlotte Cardin and more, Aaron has built a strong international reputation as a musical composer and collaborator. In 2023, Aaron co-wrote over 70 major artist releases and received five Juno nominations and 2 Grammy nominations for songs he co-wrote.
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Tobias Jesso Jr. is a North Vancouver-born, L.A.-based songwriter and two-time Grammy-winner. In 2023, he earned the first-ever Grammy Award for Songwriter of The Year for his work on releases by Harry Styles, Adele, FKA Twigs, Orville Peck, King Princess, Diplo and Omar Apollo in addition to taking home Album of The Year for his contributions to Harry Styles’ Harry’s House. He was also a major contributor on Dua Lipa’s most recent album Radical Optimism co-writing on multiple tracks including the big single, “Houdini.”
Jeremy Fedryk
Jeremy Fedryk – a.k.a. Sarcastic Sounds – spent much of 2023 immersing himself in the budding folk-pop scene. The year was highlighted by his writing contribution to David Kushner’s international smash “Daylight,” which accumulated over 1 billion Spotify streams and reached multi-platinum status in every major market. His success continued with the release of Chance Pena’s “I am not who I was,” which has amassed over 170 million Spotify streams and reached the top 20 of Billboard’s alternative chart.
Ali Willa Milner
Fresh off a Grammy nomination for her work with The Knocks and Dragonette, Ali Willa Milner found herself part of six Juno nominations for her work in 2023. Her writing led to nominations with Rêve, Katie Tupper, and multiple nominations for Aysanabee who won two, including Songwriter Of The Year.
It’s time to drop the needle on another Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. We also have an interview series spotlighting a single executive each week and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Denise Stevens joined Pierson Ferdinand (aka PierFerd) as partner and co-chair of the firm’s global media, entertainment and sports practice. Based in Nashville and Los Angeles, Stevens’ expertise is in talent, creative and tech across music, publishing, touring and other fields. She was previously a partner at Loeb & Loeb and this year made Billboard‘s list of top music lawyers. Earlier this century, she authored the bill that ultimately became the Songwriters Capital Gains Tax Equity Act, which was signed into law in 2006, and she regularly offers counsel and assistance to songwriters and their heirs on copyright recapture issues. “I have known Denise essentially my entire career, having been on the opposite side of deals from her from time-to-time for more than two decades,” said Steven S. Sidman, co-chair of PierFerd’s Global Media, Entertainment & Sports practice. “I much prefer being on the same team as her, and I am delighted to finally work alongside Denise as one of the co-leaders of our group.”
Trending on Billboard
Alex Machurov joined the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) as head of business development, effectively immediately. At his new job, Machurov oversees the indie label trade body’s strategic partnerships and develops sponsorship opportunities for the org’s tentpole events such as the Indie Week Conference and the Libera Awards. The live events veteran arrives from Tandem, a digital charity fundraising platform he co-founded in 2020. He was previously chief revenue officer at Revolution Marketing and a vp of national event partnerships at iHeartMedia, but he spent the bulk of the last couple decades at Superfly, where he clocked 10 years overseeing brand partnerships and activations at Bonnaroo, Outside Lands and other festivals. “Alex’s expertise and his passion for the independent music community will enrich our current activities and steer A2IM to more expansive opportunities,” said Richard James Burgess, CEO of A2IM. “We welcome his vast network of connections and the knowledge he brings to the independent sector.” Feel free to contact Alex@a2im.org.
Warner Chappell Music UK promoted Andrew Howell to vice president of sync at the publisher, effective June 1. He’ll continue reporting to Rich Robinson, evp and global head of sync, and Shani Gonzales, managing director of WCM UK and head of international A&R. Howell joined Warner Music in 2016 following career stops at both Universal Music and Sony Music. While at WCM UK, his team has landed several branding campaigns and connected multiple placements in games, films and television, including The Crown, Space Ape and Saltburn. Howell and company also run a monthly sync writing sessions in Warner Chappell’s London studios. “Andrew’s collaborative spirit has helped him build relationships with the songwriters and clients who place their trust in him,” said Gonzales. “He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of our songbook and an unrivalled instinct as to what placements will work. He’s also an amazing mentor to his team, so this is A very well-deserved promotion.”
Anthony Martini and Rich Barner teamed up to launch the Nashville-based label and management firm Gravel Road. The venture’s roster includes Compton Cowboys, Randy Savvy, Justbrandon, and producer Scattered Brains (Jelly Roll, Struggle Jennings). Over the years, Martini has worked with clients including TYGA, Jelly Roll, Killer Mike, and Lil Dicky. Under Martini’s previous label, Commission Records, Lil Dicky’s album Professional Rapper debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s rap albums chart. Most recently, Martini served as CEO of Royalty Exchange. Serial entrepreneur Barner’s film company Global Pictures Media has worked with actors including Robert DeNiro, while his fragrance company was recently honored by the New You Awards for ASH by Ashley Benson. –Jessica Nicholson
Venue management giant ASM Global welcomed Andy Gorchov as the new general manager of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Gorchov will be tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations, management and promotion at the 65,000-capacity venue, the climate-controlled home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. Gorchov’s decades of ginormous stadium experience includes time as general manager of Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos, and he also led State Farm Stadium in Arizona, home of the Cardinals. “ASM Global has been a trusted partner of the Raiders for years, and we are confident under Andy’s care that Allegiant Stadium will remain one of the greatest sports and entertainment venues in the country,” said Sandra Douglass Morgan, president of the Raiders.
Romeo Entertainment Group, which books talent at fairs and festivals across 35 states, promoted three of its staffers and hired six more at the 70-year-old Nashville family business. Promotions at REG include Adriana “Dri” Valadez, Taylor Williamson and Carly Dibble — all upped to talent buyer/event producer. New hires at the firm include Scott Kernahan as a tb/ep, Briannon “Bree” Griffin as executive assistant to company leaders R.J. and Michelle Romeo, and Chloe Dubrovay, Ali J. Stinehour, Alexandra “Alex” Hargiss and Grayce Keefer as event coordinators. “These promotions and new hires reflect our ongoing commitment to growth and excellence,” said R.J. Romeo, president. “As we celebrate these achievements, we are reminded of the legacy of innovation and leadership instilled by my grandfather, Don Romeo, and we continue to build on this foundation with a forward-thinking approach.”
Nashville-based worship label Integrity Music and its parent organization, David C. Cook, have named Blaine Barcus as president of the imprint, taking the helm from Jonathan Brown, who will become chief global officer. Barcus most recently served as senior vp of A&R at Provident Entertainment, and has held leadership roles at Word Entertainment/Warner Music Group and Creative Trust. Along the way, he’s worked with artists including Zach Williams, Third Day, Steven Curtis Chapman, Matthew West and recent breakout artists Ben Fuller and Seph Schlueter. –JN
ICYMI:
Patch Culbertson
A Seoul court barred K-pop company HYBE from dismissing Min Hee-jin as CEO of its ADOR subsidiary label … Big Loud Records elevated Patch Culbertson to executive vp and general manager … Amy Homma, Jennifer Davidson, Jenny Galante and Matt Severson were promoted at the Motion Picture Academy … and run-don’t-walk to our annual 40 Under 40 list of the music business’ top young leaders.
Last Week’s Turntable: LOCASH Label Staffs Up
As we come to the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, the music community would be remiss to not critically examine the mental health of the most vulnerable among us — specifically, the child and youth labor that represents a significant portion of our market share, revenues, and slots on the new artist charts. The state of our entertainment union, one that venerates youth above seemingly all else, ironically puts a low value on artist’s holistic wellbeing, putting them in myriad situations that are age-inappropriate, and that are dangerous mentally, emotionally and physically.
The discussion of youth safety in the workplace is hardly new and as the recent documentary about abuses at Nickelodeon, Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, showed, we’ve seen embarrassing and tragic cases of industry putting commerce before conscience. Having only minimal guard rails in place, such practices in the entertainment industry have resulted in mental health damages that oddly run counter to the fiscal goals of the industry itself, but more importantly, cause mental scars on young artists that are carried long into adult life.
Trending on Billboard
A study published by JAMA Psychiatry last month echoed what so many other studies have shown: over 40% of adult mental illness — anxiety, depression, substance use and suicidal ideation — is directly linked to traumatic events sustained in childhood and adolescence. The study strongly advocates for policy-driven prevention measures to reduce the rates of youth mistreatment, thereby reducing the rates of serious mental illness in adulthood.
The entertainment industry, and specifically the music industry, needs to enact deep systemic, policy-driven changes, ones that introduce the presence of mental health therapists in virtually all situations and venues encountered by new artists. Shadows, if you will, that protect the artist, thereby indirectly protecting the asset the label has so dearly invested in: the artist themselves.
What would this look like? Just as we require on-set academic tutoring and child labor OSHA protections, the music industry should lead the way and have 24/7 mental health support people shadowing each and every new label signing, helping the artists navigate their new reality of constant adoration, free-flowing money, highly-sexualized environments, the prevalence of drugs and alcohol, and long, unsupervised hours in studios and on the road where rampant sexual/gender-based harassment and assault can and does occur. Labels and publishers would present standardized curricula related to mental health on-boarding upon signing, mental health de-boarding upon termination (ie, when an artist is dropped), gender-based assault/harassment safety best practices, recording studio safety, balanced and healthy touring, and general psychotherapy, among other things.
Some forward-thinking industry players are already part of that change. Nettwerk Music Group builds “wellness budgets” into their artist deals. Limited Edition Music Publishing, a new independent publisher, is doing the same. There are also non-profits including MusiCares, Sweet Relief and Backline that offer valuable assistance. But the list of agencies, labels, and publishers giving only lip service during Mental Health Awareness Month is pathetically long.
For more than 15 years, I was a senior level A&R guy. Over those years, I signed a number of young songwriters and bands (Disturbed, Michelle Branch, Hoobastank, BRMC, Remy Zero, among others). The industry thrives on the young. Michelle Branch was 14 when I signed her. The stories many young women tell of being harassed, including Phoebe Bridgers and Billie Eilish, very likely could have been minimized or outright avoided with the presence of therapist shadows (and zero tolerance for the men doing the harassing). But as it stands now, mental health initiatives in the music industry are mostly just performative talking points.
Artists are our livelihood. Artists are our passion. We as an industry need to do better, proactively protectingthem at all costs from predatory, dehumanizing behavior that relegates them the status of a disposable widget (and not someone’s daughter or son). To be sure: artists will be dropped, singles won’t be worked, and albums will be shelved — that’s business — but how the artist is treated when these events occur can make all the difference in their lives going forward.
And what’s the payoff? How about fewer artists with devastating identity issues, severe depression, debilitating anxiety, substance use disorders, suicidal ideation and more? How about artists that don’t flame and burn out? How about artists whose creativity is boundless and ever evolving? And how about cultivating a whole generation of young artists who are emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically at the top of their game — thriving and creating — and not traumatized by the very industry meant to nurture them. Now there’s a legacy we could all be proud of.
David Andreone is the founder of ArtistServices Therapy, a psychotherapy and coaching practice tailored to artists, creatives and creative executives. Andreone has held senior level A&R positions at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, and Columbia Records, and continues to manage artists and produce TV content.
Los Angeles-based electronic producer Jauz partnered with global distribution company OneRPM to relaunch his six-year-old label, Bite This. Together, the two teams are planning label takeovers, pop-up events and compilations as they bring genre-spanning sounds by rising artists to the release calendar. The partnership with OneRPM — whose client list also includes artists like Chance Peña, Yelawolf, A$AP Twelvyy and Alejo — will provide projects from emerging Bite This acts like Albert Breaker and Edison Cole with label services that would normally be rare to have at an artist-run imprint. – Katie Bain
U.K.-based ATC Management, whose clients include Bring Me the Horizon and Bullet for My Valentine, signed a new cooperation agreement with Chinese independent music company Modern Sky. Through the deal, the two companies will leverage their resources across management, live representation, merchandising, marketing and digital to drive artists’ careers in their respective markets.
Trending on Billboard
AWAL partnered with L.A.-based networking and mentoring program Creative Futures Collective to launch the AWAL Futures program, which will focus on launching the careers of artists and supporting creatives from underrepresented communities. The artists selected into the program will receive an EP release from AWAL (including an EP release event at Soho Warehouse in July) as well as mentorship from AWAL executives. Creatives from the Creative Futures Collective community will assist with marketing assets including music videos, photos and other artwork. Selected artists for the inaugural program are Brooklyn-based project BITTERS featuring British frontwoman Claudia Mills; Columbus, Ohio-based Ghanian-American singer-songwriter NanaBCool; and Chicago rapper/producer Jay Wood.
Two French collecting societies, the SCPP (for sound recording producers) and ADAMI (for music and audiovisual artists), signed a partnership agreement to pool their respective databases and distribution tools for private copying remuneration and equitable remuneration. A study is currently underway to draw up the operational implementation of the pact, which includes a clause under which the two companies may decide to merge within a joint subsidiary being created under the deal. The creation of the subsidiary will be submitted for approval at each company’s upcoming general shareholders meetings. “Both companies jointly acknowledged that the situation in France creates inefficiencies that are detrimental to all rights holders and weakens their ability to negotiate their rights,” according to a press release. “This is because there are 7 related rights collective management organizations in France, whereas in most European countries there is only one.”
U.K. physical distributor Proper Distribution signed a deal with U.S.-based Firebird Music Holdings to service Firebird’s partner labels, artist management agencies and other creative businesses. Proper will spearhead physical sales and distribution for Firebird’s frontline and catalog releases across the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Europe (via Proper’s partner Bertus) for select signed and self-releasing artists on Firebird’s partner rosters. Firebird partners will be granted access to Proper’s facilities and resources, specialist knowledge of local record retailers and marketing and sales teams in agreed-upon territories. Self-releasing artists under Firebird will enjoy a streamlined process to release music on physical formats. The deal will encompass releases by Slash, Chase Rice, The WAEVE, Moonchild Sanelly, Whiskey Myers, Danielle Bradbery and Rainbow Kitten Surprise, among others.
Keywords Studios, an international provider of technology-enabled solutions to the gaming and entertainment industries, partnered with Reactional Music, a music personalization engine that allows music and audio to be generated live in video games. Under the deal, Keywords will offer help facilitate the integration of Reactional into game development projects on behalf of its clients. “Collaborating with [Keywords’] teams and studios provides an incredible opportunity to scale Reactional,” said Reactional Music president David Knox in a statement. “We believe that Keywords’ implementation teams can also enable Reactional to extend its generative music and creator tools in innovative ways beyond the core gaming space.”
Producer Eli Brown (Drake, Giveon, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Chris Brown) signed an exclusive deal with Warner Music Canada through which he will develop and sign Canadian artists to the label via his imprint, Loophole Records.
Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools, particularly for students from underrepresented groups, partnered with Amazon to launch Music Lab, a platform through which K-12 students can learn to code through interactive music composition featuring hit songs by artists including Tinashe, The Chainsmokers, Rosa Linn and Aloe Blacc. Through an educational partnership with Amazon, each artist contributed tracks and samples for use in the platform. Over the past six months, Code.org has tested Music Lab with thousands of students and teachers.
The European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) announced a new partnership with AI-driven msuic funding platform beatBread, which uses billions of data points to forecast an artist’s earnings potential in order to offer advances on existing catalog as well as new and unreleased music. Artists then repay their advances as a percentage of their revenue over a period of time that artists can set. The partnership will kick off with an exclusive online workshop for EMMA members on July 2 that will focus on funding and business building.
.MUSIC, a top-level domain name designed for the global music community, partnered with global identity verification provider Shutfi Pro. Through the deal, Shufti Pro will authenticate the digital identity of the music community to create a “trusted ecosystem of verified artists, creators, industry professionals, organizations, businesses, and brands” under the .MUSIC domain.
Mastercard Midnight Theatre, a 150-seat venue in Manhattan, selected Oak View Group (OVG) to manage its operations. OVG plans to debut a new restaurant concept at the venue, an investment of Dolphin Entertainment, this spring.
U.K. taxi app FREENOW announced a third year of financial support for Music Venue Trust (MVT). Under the arrangement, FREENOW customers can opt in via the company’s app to round up the cost of their fares and donate to MVT, which supports grassroots music venues across the United Kingdom. Donations will be collected for every trip completed and sent to MVT, which will use the funds to operate its emergency response service — one MVT claims has saved “hundreds” of venues from closure since being established in 2017.
Billy McFarland‘s long, strange redemption arch is taking another weird turn tonight in Austin, Tex., where the convicted Fyre Fest fraudster will fight in a karate tournament organized to entertain podcaster Joe Rogan and several hundred crypto executives attending a blockchain and Web3 conference.
McFarland will face Justin Custardo, best known for being the founder of the Web3 Breakfast Club channel on YouTube, which has about 1,000 subscribers. Organizers of the conference, dubbed Consensus 2024, insist the fight is an officially sanctioned bout by Karate Combat, a martial arts league built around crypto tokens that fans can trade while watching fights between former Olympians in their late 30s and early 40s. McFarland and Custardo will fight in the heavyweight division of Karate Combat’s Influencer Fight Club series, with Karate Combat oddsmakers giving Custardo a 52%-48% advantage over McFarland.
Since being released from prison in May 2022 after serving most of his six-year sentence on fraud charges related to the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival in the Bahamas, McFarland has managed to stay in the limelight through a variety of media stunts and promises to repay the $26 million he admitted to stealing from investors. That includes a long-running promise to successfully stage Fyre Fest. The date for that event has been pushed back several times — it’s now supposedly scheduled for sometime in 2025 — with a location, lineup and plan of any kind all TBD at the moment.
Trending on Billboard
Tonight’s fight will be streamed across Karate Combat’s social media pages starting at 6 p.m. CT and will be attended by Rogan, who told viewers of his podcast earlier this week that he would be in attendance to watch the main event between American fighters Ross Levine and Adrian Hadribeaj.
McFarland has posted several videos on Instagram that show him training for the match, including one video where he punches through a pizza box housing a large pepperoni pizza and another in which he kicks a watermelon.
McFarland’s opponent Custardo appears to be taking a more holistic approach to training for the fight, focused on weight loss, technical skills work and mental acuity training through philosophical puzzles posed by his followers.
The men have been trading shots over social media in the lead-up to the fight. Yesterday, McFarland and Custardo came face to face at the official weigh-in in Austin, where the two men, clad in blue jeans and white button-up shirts, traded barbs and sized each other up, appearing to almost come to blows at one point.
“I’ve been training Muay Thai and I’m going to kick (Custardo) very hard,” McFarland warned when asked about his training regimen by the event’s emcee. At a press conference after the weigh-in, Custardo fired back, warning that “every punch [McFarland] takes is in honor of every person he scammed.”
McFarland told the audience he would donate all winnings to victims of his fraud.
Besides his restitution fund, McFarland faces a civil lawsuit claiming he ripped off an investor who gave him $740,000 after getting out of prison. An attorney for 54-year-old Jonathan Taylor of New York — who met McFarland while both were serving prison sentences at Elkton Federal Correctional Institute in Ohio, — claims McFarland needs to appear in court and agree to repay him or face legal action for civil fraud, conversion, civil conspiracy, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
An attorney for McFarland said Taylor is trying to profit off his connection to McFarland, stating, “we tried multiple times to repay Jon his money, but his lawyers went silent despite our repeated attempts to contact them. We remain open to a settlement.”
Free music streaming shouldn’t be so free, Rob Stringer, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, suggested Wednesday during a presentation to Sony Corp. analysts and investors.
The value of paid subscription “remains incredible,” said Stringer in prepared remarks during parent company Sony’s Business Segment Meeting 2024. But recent price increases — by Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube and, most recently, Pandora — have widened what Stringer called the “price gap” between free and paid streaming. Now, Sony wants streaming companies to get more from their free listeners.
“In mature markets, we hope that our partners close that gap by asking consumers using ad-supported services to additionally pay a modest fee,” said Stringer. “This would help develop this segment of the streaming business to be more than just a marketing funnel for paid subscription and still be a tremendous value for users. We have a shared interest in better monetization of free tiers. At Sony Music, we think everyone is willing to pay something for access to virtually the entire universe of music.”
Trending on Billboard
Free streaming provides an opportunity to attract paying subscribers but returns far less per listener than subscriptions. Even though Spotify has 62% more free listeners than subscribers, advertising accounted for just 10.7% of first-quarter revenue compared to 89.3% from subscriptions. Another round of price increases by Spotify this month in the U.K. and Australia portend additional price increases in the U.S. and other major markets. Further subscription price increases will widen the gap between premium and free streaming, and “even if advertising will become a better part of the story, it’s still a relatively small part of our overall revenue mix,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said during the April 23 earnings call.
Charging for ad-supported music would break from a long tradition of providing listeners with a free, on-demand streaming option. YouTube and Spotify are the two largest on-demand, ad-supported platforms that stream music. Amazon Music has a free tier with limited functionality. In the U.S., Pandora has about 39 million monthly active users for its ad-supported internet radio service that has less interactive capabilities than YouTube or Spotify. But paid, ad-supported streaming is common in the video world. Video on-demand services such as Hulu and Netflix offer low-price tiers with advertisements and charge higher prices to eliminate advertising altogether.
Sony Music also wants to extract more revenue from short-form video platforms such as TikTok that command huge audiences but provide relatively few royalties. “Premium-quality artistry drives the appeal of these services, with music being central to approximately 70% of videos created on them,” said Stringer. “These companies play a larger and larger role in music discovery and engagement amongst young listeners. More and more, these are primary consumption sources, and they need to be valued accordingly.”
Stringer, who does not comment during the parent company’s quarterly earnings calls, spoke and answered questions for 40 minutes about Sony Music artists, chart successes, growth opportunities and efforts in emerging markets. After highlighting Sony Music’s efforts in Latin America, India and China, he focused on the newest — and most vexing — technology on the music industry’s horizon. Artificial intelligence, he said, “represents a generational inflection point for music” and Sony Music will take “an active role” in creating a “sustainable business model” that respects the company’s rights.
But Stringer was clear that Sony Music is taking a hard line in the battle to shape AI in music. “We won’t tolerate the illicit training of AI models by reckless and unlicensed misuse of this art,” he warned. “We believe strongly that permission is the only way AI models can be trained with our content, and followed protocols of the EU AI act by sending over 700 letters to AI developers to opt our copyrights out of training.” Sony Music has also issued “over 20,000 takedowns of AI generated soundalikes over the past year,” he added, while working with legislators around the world “to shape policy and rights” on AI issues.
“With the right frameworks in place, innovation will thrive, technology, music will benefit and consumers will enjoy your experiences,” Stringer said. “We have prospered from disruptive market changes before so we are confident we can navigate this chapter successfully.”
A well-known hacking group claims to have breached Ticketmaster and is attempting to sell the personal data of 560 million Ticketmaster users, including their payment details, for $500,000, according to the website Hackread.
Alleged hacking group ShinyHunters has claimed credit for the break-in, resulting in the theft of 1.3 terabytes of stolen data that includes usernames, contact information, order info and partial payment details, like the last four digits of a customer’s credit card, expiration dates and even details designed to prevent fraud (i.e. mother’s maiden name).
Officials with Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, have not responded to requests for comment from Billboard or confirmed that the breach took place, but Australian officials with the country’s Department of Home Affairs told the Australian Broadcasting Company that it was aware of a cyber incident that was part of a data leak expected to impact millions of Ticketmaster customers globally.
Trending on Billboard
A spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs told the ABC that the department is “working with Ticketmaster to understand the incident”.
“The data breach, if confirmed, could have severe implications for the affected users, leading to potential identity theft, financial fraud, and further cyber attacks,” the Hackread site explains. “The hacker group’s bold move to put this data on sale goes on to show the growing menace of cybercrime and the increasing sophistication of these cyber adversaries.”
The hack comes as Ticketmaster and Live Nation face attempts by the federal government to break the company up on antitrust grounds. Last week, the Department of Justice’s antitrust division sued Ticketmaster in New York’s Southern District, alleging that the company acted monopolistically. Company officials have vowed to fight the lawsuit.
ShinyHunters emerged on law enforcement’s radar in 2020 and has been linked to breaches affecting more than 60 companies. The group is known to use dark web forums to threaten to leak sensitive consumer information unless the affected companies pay an online ransom. Most breaches are carried out using sophisticated phishing pages that mimic their target’s login portals, tricking employees into entering account credentials and other sensitive data. Members of ShinyHunters then use the stolen credentials to log in to company systems and steal data and customer information.
In January, a U.S. District Court in Seattle sentenced alleged ShinyHunters member Sebastien Raoult to three years in prison and restitution of $5 million after Raoult pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The 22-year-old French national was arrested in Morocco in 2022 and extradited to the United States in January 2023.
ShinyHunters is reportedly selling the Ticketmaster data on Breach Forums, an illegal marketplace that just two weeks ago had been seized by the FBI.
On May 13, FBI officials apprehended the site’s administrator and seized access to login credentials for the entire infrastructure of Breach Forums, including the backend, across its dark web and clear web sites.
“From June 2023 until May 2024, BreachForums was operating as a clearnet marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade contraband, including stolen access devices, means of identification, hacking tools, breached databases, and other illegal services,” FBI official said in a statement at the time.
But several days later, ShinyHunters allegedly contacted the domain registrar of Breach Forums and successfully regained access, according to Hack News, with the FBI seizure notice on the site replaced by a “Site Temporarily Unavailable” message. Earlier today, Breach Forums was updated again, this time with the alleged stolen Ticketmaster data posted on the site for sale.
Sony is the undisclosed suitor that Queen was in an exclusive period with in negotiating the sale of its catalog and other music assets, as reported by Bloomberg today. There have been multiple reports that the catalog was up for sale since Music Business Worldwide first broke the news last May.
So far, Queen is believed to have had initial conversations about the potential deal with Disney, which owns the band’s masters for North America, and Universal Music Group. According to sources, the deal is being shopped by the band’s lawyers.
Trending on Billboard
In fact, each band member was said to have their own lawyers for the deal; early this year, some sources suggested that John Deacon’s share of the band’s assets might not be included in any potential agreement. Putting a deal like this together is a very complex process and with all the personalities involved, it’s still a question of whether one will ultimately be struck. In fact, that very issue — band members with different agendas — is said to have derailed a deal for the Pink Floyd assets a while back. That deal was expected to go for $500 million before it collapsed sometime in 2022.
Sources previously told Billboard that Queen was seeking $1.2 billion for its music assets, a price tag that limited the number of prospective suitors. In order to swallow the hefty price tag, Sony is reportedly partnering with an undisclosed financial player. Previously, Sony had help in acquiring the Bruce Springsteen master recording catalog from Eldridge Industries, which at one time owned Billboard.
Queen’s lawyers and Sony Music representatives were not immediately available for comment.
The Queen catalog includes iconic hit songs such as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Somebody to Love,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “You’re My Best Friend, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Since 1991, the catalog has generated slightly more than 38 million album consumption units in the United States and has nearly 46 billion in global on-demand streams, according to Luminate. Go here for a full breakdown of the band’s catalog and financial performance.
If Sony completes the deal, it could very well be the biggest music asset deal ever made, even if it does not command the highest valuation for an artist’s music assets. Late last year, Sony bought half of the Michael Jackson estate for about $600 million, according to sources, though Sony never confirmed the acquisition.
DMX’s estate has a new partner. The late rapper’s family has selected Artist Legacy Group (ALG) as the estate’s exclusive and global representative, according to an announcement today by ALG CEO Ashley Austin.
“A force of nature. That is how I would describe DMX,” Austin said of the artist, born Earl Simmons, who died in 2021 at 50. “Rapper, poet, actor, preacher—the man’s talent was truly limitless. I am honored to work alongside Desiree and Sasha as we maximize the estate’s potential. Together, we will ensure that his message and music lives on.”
The co-administrators of the estate, DMX’s fiancée Desiree Lindstrom and daughter Sasha Simmons, are confident ALG can continue the hard-hitting MC’s legacy.
Trending on Billboard
“Earl was devoted to his fans. He was grateful that they stayed by his side and walked with him through his ups and downs,” explained Lindstrom. “Sasha and I are confident that ALG is the right team to partner with to honor Earl’s music and legacy. For my son and all of Earl’s children and fans, we will keep Earl’s spirit alive.”
Sasha Simmons added, “My father, Earl, was more than an icon; he was my inspiration and guiding light. His music touched countless lives, and his legacy will forever resonate in our hearts. With ALG by our side, Desiree and I are committed to preserving his spirit, ensuring that his art continues to inspire generations to come.”
With his signature growl and underdog story, DMX made his mark on hip-hop over the years with six top 10s on Rap Airplay, including “What You Want” and “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” as well as the six-week No. 1 “Party Up (Up in Here).” He recently made his Mainstream Rock Airplay debut with a featured role on Five Finger Death Punch’s “This Is the Way,” a mash-up between DMX’s “The Way It’s Gonna Be” and FFDP’s “Judgement Day.”
The family and Artist Legacy Group are working on “innovative projects” for fans, industry insiders, and music enthusiasts worldwide, according to a press release. ALG is a renowned entertainment management and legacy preservation firm that provides comprehensive services for estates, including intellectual property management, brand partnerships, media projects and more. Some of the other acts on their roster include Sam Cook, The Blues Brothers, Iggy Pop, Bootsy Collins, John Belushi and Dean Martin.