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Downtown Music has launched a new royalties and financial services division called DR&FS, which will streamline all of its royalty services, accounting and payments systems, the company announced Tuesday (May 14). The division is an outgrowth of Curve Royalty Systems, a royalty processing platform acquired by Downtown in January 2023. Curve’s founder, Tom Allen, has been […]
iann dior (featured on the 24kGoldn smash “Mood”) signed to Big Noise Music Group, which released his latest single, “Edge of Tomorrow,” on Friday (May 10). Formerly signed to 10k Projects, dior is managed by Andile Ndlovu at Fractal and booked by Mitch Blackman and Griffin Perkiel at IAG.
Fourteen-year-old singer-songwriter Maddox Batson (“Tears in the River”) signed with WME for global representation across departments including touring, brand partnerships, TV, film and digital. Batson is also signed to Prosper Entertainment and OH Creative.
BRITs Rising Star award-winning trio FLO (“Cardboard Box”) signed to PPL for the collection of the group’s international neighboring rights royalties. FLO is composed of Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer and Stella Quaresma. The group’s debut album is slated for release on Island Records this year.
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Stockholm-formed, Los Angeles-based band Solence signed with Better Noise Music, which will release the group’s new album this fall (preceded by the track “F— the Bad Vibes”). Solence is managed by Mike Mowery and Anna Greenhall at 10th Street Entertainment.
Country singer-songwriter Vincent Mason (“Hell Is a Dance Floor”) signed with WME in multiple areas.
Alt-rock artist Kami Kehoe (“SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD”) signed with Coup D’Etat Recordings and 10k Projects, which released her new single, “WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG,” on May 3. Kehoe is managed by Alyce Hayek at Grass Fed Music and booked by Tom Windish and Andrew Buck at Wasserman. Her lawyer is Matthew Kamen of Grubman Shire Meiselas. This is the first joint venture signing for Coup D’Etat and 10k.
R&B artist Skylar Simone signed with Def Jam Recordings, which released her new single, “Shiver,” on May 3.
Singer-songwriter Zach John King, who plays what’s described as a blend of country, Americana and indie rock, signed with The Neal Agency for booking. King is slated to release his debut EP, Wannabe Cowboy, on May 24. He’s managed by Matt Reed at Hyphen Media Group, Boom Music Group for publishing and CMDSHFT for distribution.
Aric Improta and Stephen Harrison, coming together under the moniker House of Protection, signed with Red Bull Records. Improta and Harrison — previously of Night Verses and The Chariot, respectively — both recently departed the group Fever 333. The duo’s debut single is “It’s Supposed to Hurt.” The project is described in a press release as “bridging the disparate worlds of hardcore, electronica and punk.”
Nashville alternative band Jive Talk signed with War Buddha/Warner Records, which released the group’s new single, “Rat People,” on May 3. The band kicked off its tour on May 8 and is slated to play Bonnaroo. Jive Talk is managed by Neil Mason and Patrick Waters at Red Light.
Folk-pop singer-songwriter Julia Minichiello signed with Nashville-based Odyssey Entertainment Group for management. In 2021, Minichiello won the #Sing2gether TikTok contest held by Universal Pictures, which secured her a guest spot on The Kelly Clarkson Show. She’s also represented by lawyer Matt Cottingham.
In 2025, the annual Music Biz conference will be held May 12-15 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel.
The conference attracts more than 2,300 music industry executives each year and has been held in Nashville for nearly a decade. The 2024 conference kicks off this week in Nashville, running from May 13-16.
Music Business Association president Portia Sabin announced the new dates and venue during her address during the Music Biz Brunch at the Music Biz conference on Tuesday morning (May 14), held at the JW Marriott Nashville.
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Sabin previously told Billboard that the conference’s move from Nashville to Atlanta was inspired by the September 2022 start of the Music Biz Roadshow program, which has previously traveled to cities including Atlanta, Dallas and Miami.
“With the Music Biz Roadshow, we bring our members to different cities across the U.S. for free educational programs for artists and musicians,” Sabin told Billboard. “We got inspired by doing that because there are so many great music cities out there in the U.S.”
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Beginning in 2025, the Music Biz event will revert to the way the conference had been scheduled when it was then-called NARM, when the conference frequently shifted to a new city.
“We will be on probably a two-year schedule, staying in a town for two years before going to another town,” Sabin said. Sabin noted that the conference could potentially be hosted in cities including Miami and San Diego in the future.
The Music Biz conference’s panel lineup for Tuesday (May 14) includes a wide range of topics currently impacting the industry, including neighboring rights, metadata, catalog sales and the growing popularity of Latin music in sync.
In 2013, the organization formerly known as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) rebranded as the Music Business Association. The conference spent four years in Los Angeles before relocating the conference to Nashville in 2015. The Music Business Association headquarters continues to be based in Nashville.
Led by SZA’s SOS, Travis Scott’s UTOPIA and growth in paid subscription streaming services, Sony Music revenue grew 16.9% to 1.59 trillion yen ($11.05 billion) in its fiscal year ended March 31, its parent company, Sony Corp., reported Tuesday, May 14.
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Sony Music’s revenue topped guidance of 1.56-1.57 trillion yen given in Sony Corp’s previous quarterly earnings in February. Its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (AOIBDA) of 368.7 billion yen ($2.55 billion) also topped guidance of 350-360 billion yen.
The yen-denominated revenue figures were boosted by foreign exchange rates. Of Sony Music’s revenue gain, about 32%, or 76.5 billion yen ($529 million), came from foreign exchange. Both recorded music and music publishing divisions enjoyed higher revenue from streaming services and paid subscriptions — Spotify’s price increase in July 2023, and continued subscriber growth at all platforms, also provided a boost to recent earnings by Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
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Recorded music revenue of 1.07 trillion yen ($7.39 billion) was up 20.4% from the prior year. While physical revenue dropped 7.4% to 101.3 billion yen ($701.7 million), streaming jumped 18.5% to 709.5 billion yen ($4.91 billion) and accounted for 66.5% of recorded music revenue, down from 67.7% in fiscal 2022. The “other” category, which includes merchandise, rose 59.8% to 221.4 billion yen ($1.53 billion).
Other top releases for the fiscal year were Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, Miley Cyrus’s Endless Summer Vacation, Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old, Peso Pluma’s Genesis, Doja Cat’s Scarlet, Rod Wave’s Nostalgia and Beyoncé’s Renaissance.
Music publishing full-year revenue rose 18.1% to 326.7 billion yen ($2.26 billion). Streaming revenue improved 21.1% to 185 billion yen ($1.28 billion) and accounted for 56.6% of publishing revenue, up from 55.2% in fiscal 2022.
Visual media and platform revenue declined 0.4% to 202.1 billion yen ($1.4 billion). Within the segment, gaming revenue fell 9.5% to 98.2 billion yen ($680 million).
Stray Kids’ “Social Path (feat. LiSA)” was the top music release for Sony Music Entertainment Japan for the full fiscal year. Other top releases in Japan were King Gnu’s The Greatest Unknown, SixTONES’ The Vibes and two releases by Nogizaka46: Monopoly and Ohitorisama Tengoku.
For the second straight quarter, Sony Music’s operating income of 301.7 billion yen was the largest of any Sony Corp. business and accounted for about a quarter of the parent company’s total operating income. Although Games & Network Services’ revenue of 4.26 trillion yen ($29.55 billion) was more than 2.5 times Sony Music’s revenue, it had operating income of 290.2 billion yen ($2 billion) – about 4% lower than Sony Music’s operating income.
Even though Sony Corp.’s full-year revenue grew about 13% on a constant currency basis, the company is wary of uncertain business conditions and volatility. As such, Sony Music’s parent company is putting a greater focus on earnings, efficiency and business profitability.
During the earnings call, Sony Corp.’s management discussed the company’s “mid-range plan” that includes a partial spin-off off its financial services division in Oct. 2025 and increasing focus on growth in its three entertainment segments — music, film and games and network services — and its imaging and sensing solutions business. The parent company aims to achieve an annual growth rate of 10% or more in these business segments.
“In the music segment, we continue to aim to grow faster than the market by strengthening our efforts in emerging markets, increasing monetization opportunities for our music catalog, and incorporating adjacent businesses such as merchandising,” said Hiroki Totoki, president, COO and CFO.
Looking ahead to the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, Sony Music expects 4% increases in both revenue and operating income.
Sony Music’s fiscal fourth quarter revenue climbed 23.5% to 422.2 billion yen ($2.85 billion). Recorded music revenue in the quarter rose 29.4% to 288 billion yen ($1.94 billion) due to 23.9% growth in streaming revenue and a 91.9% improvement in the “other” category. Music publishing revenue grew 25.5% to 82.9 billion yen ($558.6 billion). Visual media and platform revenue dropped 3.8% to 51.4 billion yen ($346.6 million) due to a 22.2% decline in gaming revenue.
Both SOS and UTOPIA were also Sony Music’s top two albums in the fiscal fourth quarter as well as the full year. Other top albums in the quarter were 21 Savage’s American Dream, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Bad Bunny’s nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana, Peso Pluma’s Genesis, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, Tate McRae’s Think Later, Justin Timberlake’s Everything I Thought It Was and Harry Styles’ Harry’s House.
Executives of Tencent Music Entertainment Group said on Monday that higher than expected subscriber growth pushed its first quarter profits up 28% to RMB1.53 billion ($212 million). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Through marketing promotions timed around the Chinese New Year holiday, TME was able to […]
Live Nation was the top-performing music stock and one of four stocks in positive territory this week. The concert promoter gained 2.5% to $97.02 while three other concert promotion stocks — Sphere Entertainment Co., Madison Square Garden Entertainment and CTS Eventim — each lost ground.
The Billboard Global Music Index fell 1.9% to 1,788.83 as 16 of its 20 stocks finished the week in negative territory. Music streaming companies Deezer and Anghami were two of the week’s other big winners with gains of 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively. Still, the index has risen 16.6% year to date and 12 of the 20 stocks have posted gains in 2024.
Another notable gainer this week was Believe, which closed Friday at 15.04 euros ($16.21), up 0.3% from the prior week. A closing price of 15.04 euros is above the 15.00 euros offer price by consortium of investors that aims to take Believe private. Some minority shareholders may remain, however, because the consortium, which has lined up 71.92% of share equity, will not implement a squeeze-out and force shareholders representing the remaining 28.08% of share capital to sell.
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iHeartMedia shares declined 42.7% to $1.30, leaving the radio broadcaster with a market capitalization of just $194 million. Its shares fell 36.1% on Thursday following its first-quarter earnings release and dropped another 5.8% on Friday.
As streaming has surged in popularity and economic importance, radio companies have struggled to reinvent themselves. In 2021, iHeartMedia shares surpassed $28 after the advertising market recovered from a COVID-19 pandemic-related collapse. But in the subsequent three years, its shares have lost nearly all their value as sluggish radio advertising has overshadowed iHeartMedia’s budding podcast business.
The index didn’t fall further than 1.9% because many of its most valuable companies suffered only minor losses this week. Spotify, the largest contributor to the float-adjusted index, dropped only 0.5% while HYBE, one of the index’s more valuable components, fell just 1.5%.
Those small losses, and Live Nation’s 2.5% gain, helped offset larger losses by some other valuable components of the index. Universal Music Group fell 3.1% to 28.01 euros ($30.22) and Warner Music Group dropped 7.3% to $31.64 following its fiscal second quarter earnings release on Thursday. Evercore and Morgan Stanley both dropped their price targets by $2 on WMG’s stock on Friday. Guggenheim maintain its WMG price target.
While music stocks had a rough week, stocks were broadly up around the world. In the United States, the S&P 500 gained 1.9% to 5,222.68 and the Nasdaq composite improved 1.1% to 16,340.87. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 2.7% to 8,433.76. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 1.9% to 2,727.63. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.6% to 3,154.55.
Billboard Canada and SOCAN will recognize the unsung heroes behind the country’s biggest songs.
The Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award will pay tribute to the talented songwriters who create powerful music and exemplify the songwriter’s indispensable role in the music ecosystem.
This is the first award of its kind in Canada, for professional songwriters who make a major impact writing for other artists. Rarely do they get the spotlight, until now. The inaugural Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award will be presented at Billboard Canada’s Power Players event in Toronto on Sunday, June 2.
The award is presented by SOCAN, which collects and distributes royalties for musicians and rights-holders in Canada. The crucial rights organization is a champion of music industry professionals, with more than 190,000 members – songwriters, composers and music publishers – ensuring that they are properly recognized and compensated for their work.
“Fierce champions of songwriting, SOCAN is proud to present the Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award, shining a light on the architects behind the anthems,” says Jennifer Brown, SOCAN CEO. “A first in Canada, this award celebrates the impact of professional songwriters, who, from behind the scenes, create songs that resonate internationally, and we’re thrilled to partner with Billboard to give them the recognition they so richly deserve.”
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On the nomination form, submit three songs that the nominee wrote for another performer in 2023. Songs must have been released between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023. The three songs should represent and show their creative success during that period. There are also optional fields for number of sales, streams and spins.
Nominations for the award open today, May 7, and will close on May 17 at 11:59 PM EST.
Find more information here.
deadmau5 Will Be Inducted Into Canadian Music Week Hall of Fame in 2024
After 25 years in the music industry, deadmau5 will enter the Canadian Music Week (CMW) Hall of Fame.
He’ll be inducted on Tuesday, June 4 at the Live Music Industry Awards, which takes place at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle in the Frontenac Room.
Before that, though, deadmau5 will take part in a Fireside Chat at the CMW Music Summit Conference that will be hosted by Billboard. He’ll speak with Billboard Canada editor Richard Trapunski in a conversation that will delve deep into his colourful two-and-a-half-decade career on some of music’s biggest stages.
“deadmau5 is a legend,” says Andrew Valle, General Manager and Festival Director of CMW. “His unparalleled creativity has not only reshaped the sonic dance landscape but has also inspired countless artists and producers worldwide.”
Born Joel Zimmerman, deadmau5 arose at a time when electronic dance music was becoming one of the most popular genres in North America. One of the defining superstars of the late 2000s and early 2010s EDM boon, he’s headlined the biggest stages and major festivals electronic music has to offer. Recognizable for his signature LED stage helmet, also known as his mau5head, he’s become known for his big-stage spectacle and earth-shattering productions.
He remains one of electronic music’s most bankable stars. As of 2023, his catalogue has clocked more than 1.5 billion streams. In 2022, he teamed with his longtime collaborator Kaskade to form Kx5, a superduo that played a handful of festival dates. Now hitting the road with a rotating slate of famous friends, he’s embarked on his “retro5pective: 25yrs of Deadmau5” tour, which has already seen guest appearances from artists like Lights, Kiesza and Tommy Lee.
Security Guard Shot Outside Drake’s Toronto Mansion, Police Confirm
Toronto Police are investigating a shooting that took place early in the morning on May 7 outside Drake’s mansion.
According to reports from CBC and The Toronto Star, the entrance to the rapper’s house had been taped off after a reported shooting. The Star also reported police going in and out of the house as they investigate.
Toronto Police Operations posted on X that they were investigating the shooting that took place at 2:09 am at Bayview Avenue & Lawrence Avenue East, near the site of Drake’s Park Lane Circle mansion in the Bridle Path neighbourhood — one of the most expensive areas of Toronto.
According to the tweet, a man was transported to hospital with serious injuries and a suspect fled in a vehicle. The Toronto Star reports that it is unclear whether Drake was at home at the time.
Drake has been embroiled in an ongoing rap battle with Kendrick Lamar. The art for Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us features a Google Maps image of Drake’s Toronto house. The location of Drake’s estate is already well known in the city and the rapper filmed his 2020 music video for Toosie Slide inside.
The victim was identified as a “security guard” working at the residence. They were transported to the hospital and have since undergone surgery for injuries sustained during the event.
No suspects have been named, but Inspector Paul Krawczyk of the Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force confirmed the shooting and says the suspect’s vehicle was captured on video by surrounding security cameras.
The following day, on May 8, there was another incident at Drake’s house when a person attempted to gain access to the property.
“The person was apprehended under the mental health act, and they were taken to receive medical attention,” Toronto Police said in a statement.
The person reportedly did not enter the house, but was immediately confronted at the gate by security and arrested by police.
Last Week In Canada: Diljit Dosanjh Makes Punjabi Music History
It’s time for another spindle around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. On Thursday we revealed this year’s Country Power Players list, where Big Loud partner and CEO Seth England was named top executive and WME’s Jay Williams earned the peer-voted Power Players’ Choice Award.
BMG‘s new head of global corporate communications is Kristal McKanders Dube, who joins the music company following a six-year tenure leading media strategy for Warner Chappell Music. McKanders Dube will stay in Los Angeles but report to BMG’s Berlin-based chief executive Thomas Coesfeld; her main role will be to spearhead both internal and external communications effort while also connecting the dots between BMG and its parent company Bertelsmann. Prior to joining Warner, where she held the position of svp of communications and marketing, McKanders Dube worked in the consumer brand and luxury hospitality space with IHG Hotels & Resorts, and agencies MSL Group and Jackson Spalding. She succeeds Steve Redmond as BMG’s communicator-in-chief.
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“It’s an exciting time at BMG with the company uniquely positioned for growth in a rapidly evolving music landscape, and we’re happy to have Kristal join us at such a pivotal moment and bring a fresh perspective to our business,” said Coesfeld. “Kristal’s innate storytelling ability, coupled with her expertise in corporate and music publishing communications, makes her an invaluable addition to our team.”
Meanwhile…
Arista Records upped their co-heads of urban music, Kendell “Sav” Freeman and Khris Riddick-Tynes, to senior vp of A&R. The NYC-based Freeman and LA-er Riddick-Tynes will continue reporting to Arista president David Massey. Since first being named co-heads of urban music in 2021, the pair have added heat to Arista’s roster in the form of rising artists Lola Brooke, Hurry Hazan and Skylar Blatt, while Riddick-Tynes has been instrumental in developing Paul “Lil Boo Thang” Russell. “We are excited for Sav and Khris to begin this next chapter in further elevating our artists around the world,” said Massey. “They have played an integral part in helping build and develop an impressive roster here at Arista … and we look forward to their continued leadership.”
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NASHVILLE NOTES: Academy Award nominated singer-songwriter Allison Moorer (pictured in 2019) and Rolling Stone magazine veteran Jon Freeman joined the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum staff as writer-editors, responsible for wordsmithing across exhibitions, publications, social media and more. The Hall also promoted Brad Henton to senior director of culinary, event and museum sales; Paige Maillet to director of guest experiences; and Kayleigh Shoemaker to director of public programs … Julien’s Auctions hired Cristy Barber as vp of pop culture and business development for its new Nashville office. She was most recently with legacy firm Iconoclast as vp of global marketing and brand partnerships.
Cliff Chenfeld joined Jonny Shipes’ GoodTalk as partner and advisor at the full-service entertainment company. Chenfeld co-founded Razor & Tie, and for years served as co-CEO of the indie label and publisher. If you’re a parent, you can also (hiss/cheer) at him for developing — along with his R&T co-founder Craig Balsam — the ridonculously popular Kidz Bop compilation series, which the pair sold along with Razor & Tie to Concord in 2018. “I’ve known Jonny for 15 years and have been amazed at his ability to identify special artists, to stay on the tip of cultural developments and to expand his vision of himself and his business,” said Chenfeld. “In addition, he is a hell of a lot of fun and a good friend. I have been very selective with how I spend my time since selling Razor + Tie and Kidz Bop and working with Jonny was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Sarah Mitchell is now head of BMG‘s rights and royalties operations across both music publishing and recordings in the UK and across Europe. Mitchell joined BMG in 2022 as svp of neighboring rights and in her tenure has already inked deals with Coldplay, Pete Townshend and Christine & The Queens, among others. In her new capacity as svp of rights and royalties, the London-based exec will handle rights and royalty management for most non-U.S. dealings, and she’ll work with clients on copyright administration, analytics and accounting across recordings and publishing. She reports to Sebastian Hentzschel and sits on the BMG UK board. Prior to joining BMG, Mitchell was director of membership & communications at UK neighboring rights society PPL. “Over the past two years Sarah Mitchell has proven to be a significant addition to BMG’s London-based leadership with an incredible network in the artist and business communities and an impressive ability to think differently and make things happen,” said Alistair Norbury, president of BMG UK.
Italian rock label Frontiers landed Tom Lipsky as its new head of A&R of North America. Lipsky is the former head of several rock and heavy metal labels, including Loud & Proud Records, Sanctuary Records and CMC International Records, which he co-founded, and the indie Carry On Music. Napoli-based Frontiers is the Italian home of a bevy of rock greats including Def Leppard, Winger, Night Ranger, Mr. Big, Blue Oyster Cult, YES and Electric Light Orchestra, among others. Lipsky’s remit is all about translating the label’s bellissima vision for North America. In a statement, Lipsky said he and Frontiers founder Serafino Perugino “share a common vision regarding the continuing relevance and value of veteran artists,” adding, “I look forward to working with him and his team to make Frontiers the label home of choice for the artist community.”
Tixr, the primary ticketing platform based in Santa Monica, Calif., hired industry veteran Steve Oberman as the new vp of partnerships. In his new role, Oberman is tasked with growing the fast-expanding company across music and other industries both in North America and internationally. He joins Tixr from See Tickets, where he was evp and head of music. Prior to entering the ticketing game, Oberman worked in day-to-day management of artists — Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver come to mind — at Frontline and Azoff Music Management. Other recent US-based hires at Tixr include Ravi Durga, also formerly of See Tickets, as director of partnerships; Amir Mozafari, ex-DICE, as nightlife partnerships specialist; and Matt Stallknecht, formerly of NASCAR, as partnerships executive. “Tixr’s platform is the future of modern ticketing and e-commerce,” said Oberman. “The team’s speed to innovate and ship products, eye for design, and unique approach to problem-solving is second to none.”
Label, publisher and distributor Empire Nashville promoted Heather Vassar to senior vp of operations and Sarah Beth Gerlecz to director of business and legal affairs. In addition, Hannah Galluzzi has been hired as director of A&R, having previously worked in A&R at Universal Music Group Nashville for six years. Empire artists Shaboozey, Reyna Roberts and Willie Jones were featured on Beyonce’s album Cowboy Carter, while Shaboozey has the current Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 song “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” The label has teamed with Magnolia Music Group to take “Bar Song” to country radio. –Jessica Nicholson
Four industry veterans launched Fixated, described as a one-stop shop for creators, fans and brands with a goal of “reshaping the digital entertainment landscape.” Co-founders of the company include CEO Zach Katz (ex-president and COO of FaZe Clan, president of BMG North America), president Jason Wilhelm (co-founder Talent X/Sway House and Content Labs), chief studio officer Dean Johnson (co-founder Content Labs), and chief content officer Luc Boulch (content creator). The leadership team of Fixated is rounded out by Phil Ranta and Ali Adab, as chief operating officer and chief growth officer, respectively. “We are this generation’s fans who went on to become creators,” said Boulch. “In doing so, we made virality our religion. And now, whether it’s talent, content or gaming, we have a science for driving traffic to our ecosystem like no one else.”
Music marketing veteran Joe Aboud officially launched consultancy firm 444 Sounds, with a roster including Sony Music, UnitedMasters, Major Recordings and artists such as Jung Kook and Enrique Iglesias. Aboud was most recently vp of marketing and streaming at HITCO, and prior to that worked as a marketing manager at Atlantic Records.
Music Venue Trust hired Sophie Brownlee as external affairs manager and Kimberley Goddard as fundraising manager. The UK charity with a laser-focus on protecting grassroots venues also said it promoted Sophie Asquith to venue support team manager. “These new appointments will bring real experience and energy to Music Venue Trust,” said Beverly Whitrick, COO of MVT. “It is vital that, at a time when the challenges facing the grassroots music sector continue to mount, we can offer support, expertise and guidance to the venues we work with.”
SAVOR, the hospitality arm of ASM Global, added Jason Dowd as senior vp of culinary and innovation, and Craig Condra as regional vp of food and beverage. Combined, the pair have roughly 46 years of experience in the culinary and hospitality business. “At SAVOR we take the force of decades of international experience and implement a hyper-local approach, offering our clients unique culinary innovations of the highest levels while also carefully tailoring services at each venue according to the region it operates,” said Shaun Beard, svp of SAVOR. “With Jason at the helm of the company’s culinary innovation program and Craig managing the facilities at the regional level, we are fully equipped to continue delivering this signature service and unparalleled experience to all of our clients.”
LIVE, a trade group advocating for 16 live music industry associations, appointed Ross Patel to lead sustainability issues as the org’s first-ever Green Impact Consultant. Patel has many hats on already as co-founder and CEO for Whole Entertainment and chief strategy officer at UMA Entertainment Group. Plus, in June 2021 Ross joined the Music Manager Forum as a board member to help them advocate for climate action.
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Lu Mota
Pete Ganbarg is stepping aside as Atlantic Records’ president of A&R to launch Pure Tone Records, a joint venture with the label … Delia Orjuela is the new head of creative Mexican music/música mexicana at Warner Chappell Music … Luis “Lu” Mota left Columbia to join Atlantic as executive vp of A&R.
Last Week’s Turntable: Island Def Jamming With New VP
For much of the last decade, the Spanish collective management organization SGAE was part of one of the weirdest stories in the music business. Over the years, the collective management organization combined larger-than-life misbehavior (“Going to brothels after dinner was normal,” former senior executive Pedro Farré told El País in 2017) with an only-in-the-entertainment-business royalty accounting scheme called “la rueda” (the wheel) in which television companies played music to which they controlled the rights on late-night shows at barely audible levels in order to get back some of the money they paid SGAE in royalties.
Such songs became known as “witches’ music,” since they were played during “the witching hour,” often on astrology programs that could last for hours, and some were barely changed arrangements of public domain classical compositions registered to television executives and their relatives. In 2017, police raided SGAE headquarters.
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How much of this was amusing, as opposed to outrageous, varied directly with whether any of the money belonged to your company or creators with whom you worked, and in May 2019 the collecting society trade association CISAC took the unusual step of ejecting SGAE. Within months, hundreds of creators notified SGAE that they intended to withdraw their rights and alternatives began to emerge, including the Barcelona-based UNISON. That seemed to put more urgency behind the reforms that were already taking place, and two years later SGAE rejoined CISAC and began to rebuild the trust of creators, publishers and other CMOs.
Since then, SGAE has stabilized and turned itself around, a process that solidified and gained ground under new CEO Cristina Perpiñá-Robert, who was appointed a little more than a year ago. Last year, the organization took in €349.1 million ($377.7 million, using the average 2023 conversion rate) and distributed €354.1 million ($383.1 million), according to its 2023 financial results, which will be announced on May 10. (Distributions are higher than revenue in 2023 because of special payments from broadcasters that SGAE received in 2022 and disbursed in 2023.) Those numbers represent a 24.9% gain in revenue and a 26.6% increase in distributions, and they arguably understate SGAE’s biggest achievement: Giving publishers and creators confidence that they’re distributing royalties in a fair way.
Over that same period, the number of SGAE members with authors rights grew from 36,956 to 83,148 as it celebrates its 125th anniversary. Perpiñá-Robert has also helped make SGAE something of a hub for digital rights for Latin American repertoire. SGAE is also benefitting from the global popularity of Spanish-language music, especially a new wave of Spanish urbano musicians like Quevedo and Bad Gyal.
“For them to see SGAE as something that’s not old and bureaucratic, that’s been really good,” says Perpiñá-Robert, who previously worked at SGAE, then left for CISAC and returned last year. The Spanish CMO never had the scale of SACEM (the French CMO) or PRS (in the U.K.), and that may not change – the Spanish economy is much smaller than those of France and the U.K. But it could become a kind of specialist hub. “Everywhere is, in Europe, local music is doing better,” Perpiñá-Robert says. But only a couple of countries manage to export that local music around the world.
Since the European Commission opened up competition among CMOs to manage rights online, two major hubs have emerged to license music for online use in Europe and some other territories: SACEM and ICE, the latter of which is a joint venture of PRS, GEMA (Germany) and STIM (Sweden). (Each society still collects for offline uses of music in its home country.) They compete to represent rights from creators, publishers and even other societies, and the conventional wisdom is that most of the smaller societies will become dependent on these, while those in the middle will get squeezed. But the rise of Latin music offers SGAE another path forward.
“We’re trying to become a pan-European hub for digital for Latin American music,” says Perpiñá-Robert. SGAE collects online royalties in Europe for all the Latin American societies except those in Mexico and Brazil. (Some international superstars from Latin America sign directly to ASCAP or BMI, which make their own international deals.) With CMOs, scale leads to scale – smaller societies that lack the resources to handle the amount of data now needed to manage royalties accurately tend to get smaller, while bigger ones tend to invest, grow and then invest and grow more. And there’s never been a better time to represent any kind of Latin music rights.
As SGAE improves its reputation, its past is also getting another look. Former SGAE president Teddy Bautista, who once faced possible jail time on charges of misappropriation of funds, was acquitted, along with others. And even “la rueda” was more of a failure of organizational governance than anything else: SGAE followed its own rules, but broadcasters gamed them.
SGAE still faces its share of challenges, including a UNISON lawsuit for anti-competitive behavior. But it has already made serious progress toward earning back trust, and it could go from a problem child to a serious player.
Music Business Association president Portia Sabin’s career has reached most of the corners of the music industry, including drumming under the stage name of P-Girl in all-female punk power-pop band The Hissyfits in the late 1990s.
After studying for a doctorate in anthropology and education at Columbia University in the early 2000s, she worked intermittently for the indie label Kill Rock Stars (and married its founder Slim Moon in 2004). Around that time, she also founded Shotclock Management and in 2006 took the reins of Kill Rock Stars when Moon left to work at Nonesuch Records. She led the label — home of Bikini Kill, The Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney and Elliott Smith — for 13 years while serving on the boards of directors for both U.S. label trade associations — the American Association of Independent Music and the RIAA — and the Recording Academy’s Pacific Northwest chapter. “I made a lot of connections across the industry through them and got a good sense of what part trade associations play in the ecosystem, as well as ideas about board management,” she says.
That experience has served Sabin well since she took over the Music Business Association, known colloquially as Music Biz, in 2019. Formerly called the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, the organization initially catered to retailers, wholesalers and labels’ sales divisions. But as the music industry limped through the Napster and digital download era and eventually reinvented itself around streaming, Music Biz took on a much broader mandate. It serves as a forum where all sectors of the industry can unite to discuss mutual problems and explore new opportunities.
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Despite that evolution, Sabin says, “I will always have a soft spot for retailers because I knew them from when I ran [Kill Rock Stars]. There were times when physical sales of Elliott Smith records were literally what kept my family with food on our table. It was very, very tough during those transition years of 2010 and 2011. There just wasn’t much money coming in, except for physical.”
Ahead of Music Biz’s annual conference, which will take place next week (May 13-16) in Nashville, Sabin spoke to Billboard about how it has grown and what attendees can expect.
How does this year’s convention compare with 2023?
We had about 2,100 people last year, and we are now more than 50% further along in terms of registrations than last year at this point. I’m anticipating about 2,300. Our board wanted us to grow international attendance, so we have folks from over 30 countries.
How many members does Music Biz have?
We currently have 369 member companies. When I came on board in 2019, we had individual memberships and student memberships. We’ve done away with both of those categories. When we’d have great high-level panels, there’d be a hundred students there, and it was not a good match; it just didn’t work. We still do have some individual members who are grandfathered in because there are folks who are very critical to the music industry, who’ve always been very knowledgeable and helpful. They do a lot of moderating but nowadays, members mainly participate through company memberships. I think that’s important because that’s what we’re in the business of doing — putting companies together at our meetings.
There seems to be a big international presence at this year’s conference compared to past gatherings.
That’s been really growing. That’s part of the mandate that our board gave us. They really want us to grow international attendance and we’ve been doing it. We have folks from over 30 countries, which is exciting.
Artificial intelligence is a big topic this year.
Yes. AI is the big one that everyone’s talking about. We have TuneCore sponsoring our AI track, and [TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson] is going to be doing a keynote with Meng Ru Kuok, the CEO and founder of BandLab, which is on the cutting edge of everything that everybody wants to talk about. The programming is crowdsourced. Our call for proposals or presentations goes out about September; and then everybody has until the middle of December to get in their proposals. And then in January, we review every single proposal, and get a real sense of what the industry is interested in finding out more about. We choose the ones that we think are the best. Every year is different. Two years ago, we probably had 30 proposals on [non-fungible tokens]. This year, we had zero.
I see the conference is still hosting a metadata track.
I always say it’s our least sexy but most popular track. Its stuff that people really need to know — critical knowledge. And there are a lot of advancements in that area, like combining the ISRC [International Standard Recording Code] and ISCW [International Standard Musical Work Code] at creation, with rapid matching. There’s definitely going to be a lot of new things to learn.
Any other programming you want to highlight?
I love that we got so many submissions on social impact — doing good stuff in the world. So, we now have a whole track for this area. We have a streaming track, of course. We have a track on fraud, and we still have a physical track. In all, we have 17 tracks.
The transformation from NARM to Music Biz occurred before you took the helm; and while the conference still has a big legacy physical business presence, overall the meeting’s scope is much larger.
When [NARM] became the Music Business Association, it kind of fell off my radar; and I didn’t find out about it again until about 2017 when I went to the conference, and I was blown away. It was everybody that you would want to talk to and just so many different pieces of the industry in one place. That’s what they did really well when they transitioned.
How are you growing the association and the conference?
We are pushing it even more; expanding [the organization and conference] and diversifying the types of companies that can be members. We still really focus on our core of retailers, labels and distributors. We want to celebrate them, support them and preserve them; and we do so with our physical programming, which happens at the conference but also throughout the year.
In the past, the conference was a hotbed of dealmaking and private meetings between companies up in the hotel suites. Will that ingredient still be prevalent this year?
The programming is important to the Music Biz conference, but networking is just as important. We believe that those deals still happen at Music Biz because when we look at attendance, it’s still like 27% C-suite attendees. A lot of decision-makers are at the conference, which makes a big difference. In order to accommodate private meetings, we created an hour and a half break in the middle of the day, where there’s no programming, and that is for people to have lunch and network. Also, we used to start programming earlier and go until six o’clock, but we decided that by five o’clock everybody’s ready to have a drink in the bar.
What is the relationship between your organization and the RIAA nowadays?
I think it’s great. I learned a lot from them when I was on their board for a couple of years. They are wonderful people and I love what they do, which is very different from what we do. They do so much advocacy work and we really don’t because we’re a Switzerland kind of trade association, with too many [members] with competing positions on the various issues. So, I try to do advocacy and collaboration and consensus building from the inside. For example, look at all of the efforts we’ve been making recently on fraud. That’s an issue where for a while it was very contentious and divisive in our industry. People were pointing fingers and saying, “oh, it’s not my problem; it’s your problem.” And now, I think people are sort of saying, “you know, we’ve got to figure this out, because fraudsters are going make life hard for everybody.” It’s been really, really cool to see the industry coming together around this issue.
The conference goes to Atlanta next year.
Yes, it’s going to be fun. We bought out the whole hotel. It’ll just be the music folks. I hope it feels like going to a sleepaway summer camp.