Business News
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The board of Downtown Music Holdings, the parent company of independent distributors CD Baby and FUGA as well as a number of other publishing and rights administration businesses, is exploring a sale, sources familiar with the deal tell Billboard.
The publishing administrator for the catalogs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Miles Davis and the Wu-Tang Clan, among many others, Downtown has held talks with private equity firms and at least one major music company, as its longtime backer, the family of the late Douglas Myers, looks to exit its investment, according to two of those sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
The fast-growing independent sector of the music industry has seen a flurry of dealmaking activity in the past year, as both outside investors and traditional music companies shop for ways to control more of the market that services and distributes the music of do-it-yourself artists, songwriters and indie labels.
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In June, the consortium composed of Denis Ladegaillerie, EQT and TCV bought 95% of the outstanding shares of of French music company Believe after Warner Music Group backed out of an acquisition bid the major floated earlier in the year. Later that same month, the Chicago-based private equity firm Flexpoint Ford bought a stake in Create Music Group for $165 million. Last year, Apple veteran Larry Jackson raised about $1 billion and purchased distributor Vydia as the engine to launch his new company gamma, while Exceleration Music bought indie distributor Redeye for an undisclosed sum.
Downtown declined to comment on a possible sale beyond an emailed statement that said, “There has always been strong market interest in and excitement for our platform. We remain steadfastly focused on serving our clients and expanding our business by continuing to drive innovation across the global music industry.”
The market share of recorded music revenue generated by labels and artists that release music outside of the major-label system has been growing globally for around a decade. Non-major labels and self-releasing artists’ collective share of the recorded music revenue market grew from 28.6% in 2015 to 36.7% in 2023, according to research by MIDiA.
Founded by Justin Kalifowitz in 2007 as a publisher in New York, Downtown quickly grew into a global company with more than 20 offices around the world, and its scale makes it among the more attractive acquisition targets in this segment of the music industry. It reaches more than 4 million creators and services some 50 million tracks from 5,000 business clients.
Downtown has explored a sale before, and that process led it to sell its 145,000-song publishing catalog in 2021 to Concord for around $400 million. In recent years, Downtown has transformed from a leading indie publisher to a full-stack music company.
It has made over a dozen acquisitions in recent years, including the direct-to-creator distributor CD Baby, and the direct-to-business technology and distribution platform FUGA, as well as rights management company AdRev and service providers DashGo, Soundrop, Simbals, Found.ee, Curve and Sheer Music Publishing.
Operated in four divisions — artist & label services, which includes CD Baby; distribution services, which includes FUGA; publishing services, which includes administrator Songtrust; and royalty and financial services, which includes Curve — Downtown is expected to generate about $40 million in EBITDA on about $130 million in net revenue, or $900 million in total revenues, according to three sources familiar with the company’s financials.
Sources say Downtown uses the agency accounting model to record its financials, which counts only the fees from companies like FUGA toward the company’s overall revenue.
Sir Douglas Myers was a New Zealand businessman and longtime chief executive of the beverage company Lion Nathan, who sold his stake in that company to Japanese brewer Kirin in 1998. Myers, who died in 2017, reportedly invested in Downtown because of his son Campbell Myers‘ love of music. Cambell Myers served as Downtown’s director of business development for a year from 2009-2010, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Billboard was unable to determine which companies are in talks with Downtown. But Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl told investors in May it is exploring mergers and acquisitions that could expand its “lower-touch” services for independent creators and labels, and in June, it hired Goldman Sachs’ global head of music & live entertainment investment banking Michael Ryan-Southern to lead M&A.
Kyncl said on a conference call discussing WMG’s quarterly earnings on May 9, “We have a clear plan to develop this area of our ecosystem, and we’re building solutions in-house while staying vigilant about M&A opportunities, which could accelerate our capabilities.”
Ticketmaster partnered with Shazam for a deal allowing artists to link to their Ticketmaster-listed events directly in the Shazam app. Through that integration, Shazam users will be able to see where that artist is playing and buy tickets to their show “with just a few clicks” after Shazaming their music, according to a Ticketmaster blog post. The ticketing giant previously announced similar integrations with TikTok and Snapchat.
Fraud detection company Beatdapp Software partnered with Beatport, a digital service that offers high-quality downloads for DJs to use in live sets, in a deal that aims to banish fraudulent activities on Beatport by integrating Beatdapp’s fraud detection technology into the platform. “We launched streaming products under the Beatport and Beatsource brands in 2019, and despite the fact that they have not historically been a target for streaming fraud, suspicious activity has been on the rise in recent months,” said Helen Sartory, chief revenue officer of The Beatport Group, in a statement. “Although our fraud rates still remain half that of the industry average, we rely on accurate streaming data not only to preserve fair compensation to artists and labels, but also for track recommendations and analytics. We are excited to be able to work with Beatdapp to ensure that our data is representative of authentic listener engagement.”
Virgin Music Group announced a “strategic relationship” with Frontier Works, a Japanese animation-related content production company, to release anime music projects. Virgin will provide Frontier Works with access to its music distribution and marketing platform and global team to support Frontier releases worldwide. This includes Virgin’s AI-driven music marketing technology, which filters streaming data “to create dynamic and actionable insights,” as well as “Smart Audience,” an advertising platform that uses “ethical AI” to increase fan engagement and help drive streaming consumption, according to a press release.
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Believe acquired a 25% stake in Global Records, an independent dance music company covering Central and Eastern Europe, and signed a strategic partnership with the label. The acquisition expands Believe and Global Records’ existing relationship, which since 2016 has allowed the latter to ramp up its territorial expansion and catalog development, according to a press release. Global Records’ catalog racked up more than 6 billion streams across all platforms last year alone and has seen more than 20 billion streams to date, the release adds. Global’s roster includes INNA, Minelli, Carla’s Dreams, Antonia and Holy Molly; it has offices in Germany, Romania and the United States.
Artist manager Matt Musacchio‘s Champ Management partnered with Red Light Management in a deal that brings Vincent Mason, Jessie James Decker and Dawson Anderson to the Red Light roster. Kyle Marsh will also join the Red Light team as a day-to-day manager.
ASM Global expanded its reach into Portugal by taking on the operation of two venue spaces located in Lisbon’s LX Factory, which is located inside a converted factory complex in the Alcantara area. ASM Global will additionally manage the venues’ adjacent outdoor bar, terrace and gallery spaces.
Web3 creator platform DRiP acquired limited-edition music platform Vault Music. Both platforms are on the Solana blockchain. Under the deal, all Vault Music drops and users will transition to the DRiP platform. “Vault was our first music partner on DRiP,” said CEO Vibhu Norby in a statement on the acquisition. “They did a phenomenal job harboring musicians from outside of the existing ecosystem, and we’re excited to help them continue that effort.”
ADA Canada signed a global distribution deal with country music label MCM Recordings, which is home to Jess Moskaluke, Charlie Major and The Redhill Valleys.
The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) extended its agreement with the International Copyright Enterprise (ICE) for several more years. According to a press release, the extended deal “will facilitate faster royalty payments to IMRO members for online performances of their works and enhanced usage transparency.” The release claims IMRO’s online revenue saw 30% growth in 2023.
Independent dance music label Armada Music signed a long-term partnership with Amsterdam-based DJ and producer KI/KI and her self-founded label, slash. Armada will work with KI/KI and her team on A&R, label management, distribution and promotion/marketing for upcoming slash releases. The first release under the joint venture is KI/KI’s latest EP, slash 010.
BMI’s C-suite continues to grow with the appointment of Tom Kershaw as chief technology officer and Justin Rohde as chief transformation officer. The respective CTOs, both new hires with 40-plus years of experience between them, will report to BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill. Kershaw arrives from travel retail platform Travelport, where he served as […]
Indie folk singer-songwriter Shaya Zamora has signed with Atlantic Records, which will release his new single, “Sinner,” on Friday (July 12), the label tells Billboard. Atlantic says shortform content teasing the upcoming track has already generated more than 24,000 creates and 20 million views on TikTok.
A native of rural Washington, Zamora only officially began releasing new music last summer and dropped his debut EP, Eulogize, in late January. The set was propelled by the success of its breakout track “Cigarette,” which boasts more than 25 million streams on Spotify alone. That was followed by his Atlantic debut, the single “Pretty Little Devil,” which caught fire on TikTok where it has racked up more than 160,000 creates and over 260 million views, according to the label (“Devil” was added to TikTok’s #NewMusic global discovery hub.) On Instagram Reels, “Devil” boasts more than 16,000 creates and over 85 million views.
More new music from Zamora is slated to drop later this year.
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Zamora is managed by Matt Reed at Hyphen Media Group and Devin Poindexter at Mad Jack Management.
Also this week…
Ciara signed with WME for worldwide representation in all areas. The singer, who a press release states has sold more than 23 million records and nearly 30 million singles worldwide off hits like the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step” featuring Missy Elliott, is currently working on her eighth album, which will include the previously-released single “How We Roll.” In addition to her music, Ciara was recently featured in Warner Bros.’ 2023 musical adaptation of The Color Purple. She also recently signed with align PR and continues to be represented by IMG Models.
Also at WME, Belgian techno DJ and producer Amelie Lens signed with the agency which will represent her for touring and support the expansion of her labels and brand across events and collaborations. Lens owns two labels: Lenske (Farrago, AIROD, Ahl Iver) and Exhale Records, which is geared toward aspiring producers and is behind the EXHALE event series. Lens’ upcoming tour dates include performances at festivals including DOUR Festival, Tomorrowland and Junction 2.
Vector Management welcomed several new artists to its roster under the leadership of Vector West head Nicki Loranger. They include rapper Yung Gravy, electronic duo 3OH!3, DJ Valentino Khan, indie pop band The Aces, singer-songwriter Jack Harris and DJ-producer 4B. Gravy, Khan and 4B came to the agency through manager Henley Halem, who also officially joins Vector as a manager alongside Bryant Barnes and Gabriel Apodaca, who brought 3OH!3 to the firm.
Nashville-based label and management company Gravel Road, led by Anthony Martini and Rich Barnerhas, signed country-rock duo Lakeview to the label side of the business. According to a press release, the duo’s Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy earned nearly 30 million streams with their breakthrough hit “Home Team” and recently released the new song “Money Where Your Mouth Is” featuring Gideon. The Gravel Road roster also includes Compton Cowboys and producer Scattered Brains. – Jessica Nicholson
Big Machine Label Group imprint Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment (formerly BMLG Records) signed rising singer-songwriter Shaylen. Following a decade in Los Angeles making pop music, Shaylen returned to Nashville in 2022 and has since scored successes on the country music front including the single “What If I Don’t,” which currently boasts more than 29 million streams on Spotify alone. She’s managed by Two Hats Music Group in Nashville.
Brazilian electronic artist and DJ Victor Lou (“Diu Diu Lai”) signed with UTA for global representation, excluding Brazil, in all areas. Lou recently came off his international tour Summer All Day, which concluded in Orlando, Fla., at the end of March. It was Lou’s first run in the U.S. Festival performances on the tour included Rock in Rio, Lollapalooza, Tomorrowland, XXXperience and Só Track Boa.
Nettwerk signed San Jose, Calif.-based lo-fi beatmaker and multi-instrumentalist Knowmadic, who has scored streaming success with tracks including “Faces” and “Fade.” The label will release his upcoming album, rain check, later this summer.
R&B singer-songwriter TA Thomas signed with High Standardz/Def Jam Recordings, which released his new single, “Risky,” on June 27. Thomas’ debut album, Caught Between 2 Worlds, dropped last September. Thomas is managed by Tosh Mac.
King Thief, billed as a “punk supergroup” featuring members of Teenage Bottlerocket, This Is a Standoff, Choke and The Fullblast, signed to Thousand Islands Records, which will release the band’s debut single, “Gymposter Syndrome,” on Wednesday (July 10), followed by an album this fall. The band consists of Eric Neilson (Change Methodical, Midnight Peg), Ryan Podlubny (Fullblast), Shawn Moncrieff (Choke), Nick Kouremenos (Fire Next Time, This Is a Standoff, TheJohnsons) and Darren Chewka (Teenage Bottle Rocket, Old Wives).
Six years after going public on the London Stock exchange, a majority of Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders voted on Monday (July 8) to sell the fund to Blackstone for $1.6 billion, according to a regulatory filing. According to the filing, 99.97% of shares voted voting in favor of selling to the private equity giant–59.21% of […]
The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape.
It also signals rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle.
Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares though the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone. She had battled to maintain control of the company that owns CBS, which is behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.”
Just weeks after turning down a similar agreement with Skydance, however, Redstone agreed to a deal on terms that had not changed much.
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“Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” said Redstone, who is chair of Paramount Global.
The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion.
Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years, including Tom Cruise films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.
Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison and it quickly formed a production partnership with Paramount that same year. Ellison, if the deal is approved by U.S. regulators, will become chairman and chief executive officer of what’s being called New Paramount.
The on-again, off-again merger arrives at tumultuous time for Paramount, which in an annual shareholder meeting in early June laid out a restructuring plan that includes major cost cuts.
Leadership at Paramount has been volatile this year after its CEO Bob Bakish, following a number of disputes with Redstone, was replaced with an “office of the C.E.O,” run by three executives. Four company directors were also replaced.
Paramount, however, has struggled to find its footing for years and its cable business has been hemorrhaging. To capture today’s growing streaming audience, the company launched Paramount+ back in 2021, but losses and debts have continued to grow.
Sumner Redstone used National Amusements, his family’s movie theater chain, to build a vast media empire that included CBS and Viacom, which have merged and separated a number of times over the years. Most recently, the companies re-joined forces in 2019, undoing the split consummated in 2006. The company, ViacomCBS, changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022.
Under Sumner Redstone’s leadership, Viacom became one of the nation’s media titans, home to pay TV channels MTV and Comedy Central and movie studio Paramount Pictures.
It is a company with a rich history, as well as a deep bank of media assets, ankd Skydance wasn’t the only one to gun for Paramount in recent months — Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures also made competing offers.
Late last year, Warner Bros. Discovery also made headlines for exploring a potential merger with Paramount. But by February, Warner had reportedly halted those talks.
Leading all music stocks this week, SiriusXM shares rose as high as $4.14 on Friday (July 5), its highest point since March 13, and closed at $3.71, up 31.1%. The satellite radio company, which also owns music streaming service Pandora and has high hopes for its revamped SiriusXM streaming app, is likely benefitting from an upcoming 10-to-1 reverse stock split and merger with Liberty Media’s SiriusXM Group tracking stock. The merger eliminates any confusion amongst investors by creating only one way to invest in SiriusXM. And although the split doesn’t affect the company’s value, it will increase the share price by reducing the number of shares outstanding. That, in turn, could help SiriusXM’s image with investors and further help prop up the share price.
French streaming company Deezer rose 20.3% to 2.07 euros ($2.25) after it completed a public offering that transferred shares from the professional to the general segment of the Euronext Paris. (The professional segment is dedicated to companies that did not have an initial public offering or sale of shares. Deezer gained entry to the Euronext Paris through a merger with I2PO, a special purpose acquisition company, in 2022.) With that improvement, Deezer’s year-to-date loss improved to 12.3% from 19.2% a week ago. The company will report first-half earnings results on July 30.
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The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 1.6% to 1,844.87, nearly matching the all-time record of 1,847.64 set the week ended May 17, with the large gains enjoyed by SiriusXM and Deezer helping offset losses by 11 of the index’s 20 stocks. The index’s most valuable companies had small gains this week: Live Nation rose 1.7% to $95.34, Universal Music Group added 0.9% to 28.03 euros ($30.41) and Spotify gained 0.8% to finish at $316.85.
Music stocks couldn’t match many major indexes this week. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite gained 3.5% to 18,352.76 and the S&P 500 rose 2.0% to 5,567.19 — both record closes. Stocks were aided by data released on Friday by the U.S. Labor Department that showed that the economy added more jobs than expected in June while the increase in hourly earnings met expectations. The rise in the unemployment rate rise from 4.0% to 4.1% was a surprise, however.
Internationally, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 improved 0.5% to 8,203.93. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 2.3% to 2,862.23. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.6% to 2,949.93.
Sphere Entertainment Co. improved 6.8% to $37.43, bringing its year-to-date gain to 10.1%. On Wednesday (July 3), the company announced it had given executive chairman/CEO James Dolan a new three-year employment contract that runs through June 30, 2027. That ensures Dolan will continue to oversee the growth of Sphere in Las Vegas and additional locations the company will target. Looking ahead, Dead & Company’s 30-show residency at the venue concludes on Aug. 10 while the Eagles will begin a 16-date residency — eight weekends of Friday and Saturday concerts — on Sept. 20.
Music streaming company LiveOne fell 14.6% to $1.34, putting the stock down 4.3% year to date. On Monday (July 1), the company announced a partnership with Seekr to build an AI-powered search engine for beats and sounds. The platform, expected to launch by the end of the year, is intended to help creators and music licensors.
Korean companies continued to struggle this week. HYBE fell 2.5% to 197,400 won ($143.30), bringing its year-to-date loss to 15.5%. SM Entertainment fell 3.5% to 77,600 won ($56.33) and has fallen 15.7% in 2024. Two K-pop companies not in the Billboard Global Music Index fared even worse: JYP Entertainment, home to TWICE and Stray Kids, dropped 2.8% to 55,700 won ($40.43) and has fallen 45% this year; while YG Entertainment, home to BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, sank 5.3% to 38,150 won ($27.69) and has lost 25% year to date.
Veteran music manager and record label executive Mary Martin — a champion, career guider and musical connector for artists including Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill — died on Thursday (July 4) at age 85, according to a statement from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Born on June 15, 1939, Martin, a Toronto native, studied briefly at the University of British Columbia before moving to New York in the 1960s and working as an executive assistant to Albert Grossman, a manager for Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Peter, Paul and Mary.
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“Working for Albert Grossman in those days, it didn’t matter how menial the task was,” Martin said during a 2009 interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where she was honored as part of the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum. “It was that we were surrounded and enveloped by all these great artists.”
After returning to Toronto, Martin got involved with the folk music scene and became aware of the band The Hawks, which inclueded members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko. The group would later become known as The Band, and Martin is credited with connecting the group with Dylan in the mid-1960s.
Martin went on to become an artist manager for artists including Cohen, who would later release songs including “Suzanne” and “Sisters of Mercy.” She began managing Morrison just as he released such star-making albums as Astral Weeks, Moondance and Tupelo Honey.
Throughout much of the 1970s, Martin worked as an influential A&R executive for Warner Bros. Records, signing and developing the careers of artists including Emmylou Harris and Leon Redbone.
“If you take her out of the equation, my life would be very, very different,” Harris said in the trailer for the documentary Mary Martin: Music Maven.
After leaving Warner Bros., Martin began managing Crowell, a relationship that lasted from 1979 to 1983. In 1983, she became the manager for Gill, who was at the time a guitarist in Crowell’s band The Cherry Bombs. After Martin connected Gill with then-RCA Records Nashville head Joe Galante, he signed a label deal with RCA, which would launch Gill to country music stardom on the strength of songs including “Oklahoma Borderline,” “When I Call Your Name” and “I Still Believe in You.”
In the Music Maven documentary trailer, Gill calls Martin “one of the special people on earth that uses her gift for the right reasons. There’s no question she’s a rare breed.”
“Mary and I started working together in ’85,” Galante tells Billboard in a statement. “Her knowledge, frankness, humor and wit were a powerful combination. We hit it off instantly. She was never interested in musical trends. Mary was focused on artists that could make music that would last. She was respected and loved by people throughout the industry. Mary raised the bar for us all creatively. I will miss that smile and distinctive laugh.”
Martin halted work as Gill’s manager when she joined RCA in an A&R role. While at the label, she signed artists including singer-songwriter Matraca Berg and guided the careers of artists including Lorrie Morgan and Clint Black.
Over the course of her career, Martin also worked at Asylum and Mercury Records (where she co-produced the Grammy-winning Hank Williams tribute album Timeless). It was also Martin who offered early career encouragement to another triple-threat singer-songwriter-guitarist named Keith Urban, encouraging him to move to Nashville from Australia to pursue his musical aspirations.
“Time and again, Mary Martin spotted great talents and elevated their careers,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement. “Early on, she connected Bob Dylan to her friends the Hawks, who became the Band. She managed Leonard Cohen in his first musical outings, then guided the budding solo careers of Van Morrison, Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill. At Warner Bros., she signed future Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris, at RCA she helped sign and develop Clint Black and Lorrie Morgan, and she encouraged a young Keith Urban to move from Australia to Nashville. Mary’s unerring feel for songs and performers was legendary, and she was a fierce ally for the artists she represented.”
Martin was also a survivor of sexual assault and became a strong advocate for justice for fellow survivors.
In 2007, Martin was given a lifetime achievement award by the Nashville music industry group SOURCE and celebrated with the Americana Music Association’s Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, she was honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as part of the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum.
Two Canadian legends are three spots apart on the charts this week.
Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne both have new debuts on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. Dion lands at No. 68 for the soundtrack to her new documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, chronicling her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). Lavigne comes in at No. 71 with Greatest Hits, her new compilation of fan favorites.
Though neither is a blockbuster debut, both chart placements show that two of Canada’s biggest stars in the 2000s still have staying power. Dion’s soundtrack features many of her biggest hits, including “My Heart Will Go On” and “Pour que tu m’aimes encore,” as well as a score by Redi Hasa.
Lavigne isn’t quite as decorated as Dion, but the Napanee, Ontario pop-punk singer has been stepping into a new echelon of Canadian legends as of late, with recognition from Canada’s Walk of Fame as well as a recent appointment to the Order of Canada. Greatest Hits comes alongside a tour of the same name, which just saw Lavigne play at Glastonbury to one of the U.K. festival’s biggest crowds this year. – Rosie Long Decter
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Anthem Music Publishing’s Gilles Godard Enters Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced Gilles Godard as the 2024 Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame Stan Klees Builder inductee. Both Godard and recently named fellow Hall Of Fame Artist inductee k.d. lang will be honored and celebrated in an induction ceremony during Country Music Week 2024, taking place in Edmonton from September 11–14.
A native of Cornwall, Ontario, Godard boasts over five decades of music industry experience and currently serves as the president of Anthem Music Publishing Nashville. He began his career with Anthem (formerly known as ole) as a writer, working his way up through various key positions. Godard oversees Anthem’s extensive roster of country songwriters including Canadians Meghan Patrick, Chris Buck, Jimmy Thow and Patricia Conroy.
An accomplished writer, publisher, artist and producer, Godard’s talents have earned him two CCMA Awards, two BMI Awards, four SOCAN Awards including an International Songwriter Achievement Award, a Felix Award and multiple JUNO Award nominations. Over 400 of his songs have been recorded, including by artists such as Terri Clark, Patty Loveless, Anne Murray, Ricky Skaggs, Tommy Hunter, Blackhawk, Tracy Byrd, The Road Hammers, Colleen Peterson and Ronnie Prophet. – Kerry Doole
Karan Aujla Becomes the First Punjabi Artist Featured In Apple Music’s Up Next Program
Karan Aujla is continuing to break new ground this year.
The Punjabi-Canadian musician became the first artist of Punjabi descent to win the Juno Fan Choice Award in March, and now he’s the first Punjabi musician to be featured as part of Apple Music’s global Up Next initiative.
The program highlights emerging stars, devoting Apple Music’s editorial resources to uplifting featured artists through original short films, interviews with Apple Music radio hosts and more. Aujla’s short film finds him venturing into his favourite spots in Vancouver, like barbershop Eddy’s, and reflecting on his musical ambitions.
“I feel like my music helped a lot of people that don’t know my language,” he says in the film. “There don’t have to be barriers around it, like ‘Oh, this is this is a Punjabi song. I can’t listen to this.’ I don’t think that’s right. I listen to Spanish music all the time. I don’t know a word of Spanish.”
Aujla hopes that Punjabi music will have its own “Despacito,” moment, he says, referring to the Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee song’s international impact, as the Punjabi wave continues to rapidly grow in markets outside of India.
Aujla got his start as a lyricist in Vancouver working with Punjabi artists like Diljit Dosanjh, but has since made his own name as an artist, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart last year with Making Memories, his collaborative album with producer Ikky.
Aujla also has a new EP, Four Me, as he prepares to kick off his first Canadian tour this summer that will take him to three arenas around the country. – RLD
It’s time for a July 4th weekend edition of the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Check out this year’s Pride List of top LGBTQ+ executives in the industry. We also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Thomas Coesfeld celebrated his one-year anniversary as CEO of BMG by joining the executive board of Bertelsmann, parent company of the Berlin-based music giant. The 34-year-old executive is point-person for Bertelsmann’s music business as a member of the board, which also includes chief executive Thomas Rabe and Thomas’ big brother Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of its venture capital arm, as well as company CFO Rolf Hellermann and chief human resources officer Immanuel Hermreck. Coesfeld took the reigns of BMG from longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch on July 1 of last year, and in short order instituted a new organizational structure by globalizing its catalog, sales and marketing teams and a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe, among other changes. Prior to rising to CEO, Coesfeld had been named deputy CFO at BMG in October 2021 before taking over as full-on CFO the following spring. During that time he oversaw BMG’s balance sheet and helped the company land 70 deals, including acquiring the catalogs of Mötley Crüe and Tina Turner, as well as those of Paul Simon, The Pointer Sisters, Peter Frampton and others.
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He previously served as chief strategy officer on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, but began his career in 2014 as a consultant at McKinsey. Coesfeld is also a member of Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee (GMC), which advises the executive board.
“[Coesfeld] knows Bertelsmann well from various positions,” Rabe raved in the announcement. “As CEO of BMG, he has made important decisions for the future of the business, for example by bringing digital distribution in-house and using artificial intelligence in various areas of the music business. Thomas will enrich the work of the Management Board as well. I look forward to working even more closely with him.”
Meanwhile…
Hannah Neaves
Laura Lewis
Universal Music UK promoted Hannah Neaves to sole president of its catalog division, Universal Music Recordings. Her co-president over the last two years, Azi Eftekhari, has left the company, Billboard can confirm. Neaves and Eftekhari joined UMR in early 2022, roughly a year after the pair launched a London-based creative agency called Remedy Inc. Prior to joining forces, Neaves was creative director at TaP Music and Eftekhari had been head of label relations (EMEA) at YouTube. In the last two years, UMR’s wins include “Now and Then” — the “last Beatles song” — and other releases featuring Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, the Spice Girls and more. “Hannah is, first and foremost, an artist person with an innate understanding of where creativity and discovery meet, something she has brought in abundance since re-joining our team,” said Universal Music UK chief David Joseph, referencing Neaves’ tenure at UMG’s Polydor earlier in her career. “A truly exceptional and inspiring executive, Hannah has already had huge success, most recently creatively leading the global and record-breaking Now And Then campaign for The Beatles, and there’s so much more to come.”
Former BMI executive Jody Williams was elected to a one-year term as the new chair of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum‘s board of officers and trustees. The publishing veteran, who founded Jody Williams Songs in 2020 following a 14-year run at BMI, has served on the museum’s board for 17 years. He replaces outgoing chair Mary Ann McCready, who remains as a trustee. CMHFM CEO Kyle Young remarked that Williams is “woven into the fabric of country music’s creative community in a true and meaningful way” and “resolute in furthering country music’s vitality as a cultural artform.” The Nashville institution also elected several new members to the board, including artist manager Clint Higham and WME agent Becky Gardenhire.
Merlin, the digital licensing partner for the independent music sector, welcomed Neil Miller as its new general counsel. Miller arrives from Greenberg Traurig, where he served as partner of the global law firm for three years. Prior to that, Miller was an associate general counsel at Facebook and earlier in his career spent six years as GC at SoundCloud. He is based in the UK. “Merlin is a dynamic organisation operating in a complex and ever changing legal and commercial environment,” said Charlie Sexton, Merlin COO. “Neil’s wealth of experience across music and digital entertainment is exactly what we need to meet these challenges. He is highly respected across the industry and brings a valuable blend of long-term thinking, technical skills, and impressive leadership.”
Believe has new leadership in place for its efforts throughout China, naming Charles Liu as general manager and Rebecca Dong as managing director for the growth-ready region. Based in Beijing and reporting to Sylvain Delange, Believe’s president of Asia-Pacific, Liu will focus on building partnerships and growing Believe’s roster of labels and artists. Dong rolls up to Liu and will manage all operations, along with legal, finance and HR matters. Believe has operated in China since 2016 and has grown to 80-plus “digital and music experts” across offices in five cities, the company said. “Greater China is both an exciting and challenging market where Believe’s unique approach can significantly contribute to accelerate the rise of a strong, diverse and thriving local music ecosystem as we’ve done is so many other markets in Asia Pacific,” said Delange.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Universal Music Group Nashville hired Houston Gaither as director of radio marketing. She was previously Sony Music Nashville’s manager of content, promotion and artist development … Former PLA Media director of publicity and branding Becky Parsons formed Found Sound Media, a PR and management firm focused on developing LGBTQ+ and female artists … Kylie Taylor joined Black River Entertainment as a graphic designer. Reach her at ktaylor@blackriverent.com.
OTM Music, a boutique publishing company with footholds in London, New York and Los Angeles, welcomed Kristin Genovese as the firm’s new U.S. head of sync and Kate Sweetsur as the new head of A&R. The company, which provides creative services for its roster of songwriters and brands, also noted the recent additions of Chi Chi Nwakodo as senior creative and Ethan Mizen as A&R manager.
ICYMI:
Britney Davis
Hipgnosis Song Management founder Merck Mercuriadis will step down as chairman of the investment manager, months after vacating the CEO role … Stephanie Rosa is managing director of Tixr‘s new London office … Former Capitol Music Group executive Britney Davis was named general manager at Quality Control … Warner Records promoted Robert Santini to senior vp of brand partnerships and ad sync … and Mano Sundaresan is the new head of editorial content for Pitchfork.
Last Week’s Turntable: Audacy OG Elevated