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SYDNEY, Australia — Sounds Australia stalwart Esti Zilber will take the reins at the national music export body, succeeding Millie Millgate as executive producer.
With effect from Monday, Nov. 20, Zilber, currently creative producer, will lead a team that includes Glenn Dickie (export music producer), Dom Alessio (digital export producer) and Larry Heath (associate producer).
“Esti has been such an integral part of the growth of Sounds Australia over the last 13 years,” comments Millgate, who leaves the organization to lead Music Australia as its inaugural director, “and I’m truly excited for the future of the program knowing what a compassionate and formidable leader she will be. Sounds Australia is in extremely safe hands.”
Joining Sounds Australia in 2010, Zilber has played a key role in developing and delivering Sounds Australia’s program around the world. “Her work with inbound buyers across Australia’s domestic music conferences has seen thousands of invaluable connections made between international industry and local artists and managers,” reads a statement announcing her promotion.
During the peak-pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, Zilber managed Sounds Australia’s Export Stimulus Program, which saw $1.2 million distributed, across three rounds, to over 320 Australian artists, crew and music professionals. That financial support was used to realize “significant career-defining moments” in global markets and earn much needed income after 18 months of cancelled work due to the impacts of the pandemic.
Prior to working at Sounds Australia, she was the executive assistant to legendary concert promoter Michael Chugg and managed the offices of Chugg Entertainment and, before that, worked in book publishing in New York and was the executive producer arts and culture at FBi Radio, the Sydney community radio station.
Sounds Australia will next year celebrate its 15th anniversary. Since its launch in 2009, Sounds Australia has managed the presentation of over 2,200 Australian artists on global show stages, covering 86 different international events, in 75 cities, across 26 countries. Its presence can be felt at the Aussie BBQ and Australia House at SXSW, and, for its 10th anniversary in 2019, the Central Park SummerStage with Australian artists San Cisco, Hermitude, The Teskey Brothers, WAAX, Tkay Maidza Australian Music Prize winning Indigenous hip-hop act A.B. Original.
Sounds Australia will “imminently” kick start a recruitment process for Zilber’s replacement, reads a statement.
Just like the zombies, vampires and ghouls that inspired him, Bobby “Boris” Pickett rises from the dead every October to haunt the radio, streaming services, TV commercials and the hundreds of products named after his 1962 smash “Monster Mash.”
“Every single year my entire life, I get to hear my grandfather’s voice for a month,” says Pickett’s grandson, Jordan Huus, 34. “And he’s not crooning or loudly singing. I get to hear his speaking voice.”
Although more recent spooky hits challenge “Monster Mash” for dominance every October, Pickett’s weird Boris Karloff imitation remains an immortal Halloween anthem. During the past four Halloweens combined, the track received more than streamed 15.4 million on demand streams; during the same period, Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” scored 16.7 million, Ray Parker Jr.‘s “Ghostbusters” 12.8 million and Andrew Gold‘s “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” 8.85 million, according to Luminate.
Billboard estimates “Monster Mash,” which was released in 1962, has generated nearly $350,000 in average annual revenue globally over the last three years from the master recording, not including whatever synch revenue it enjoys from commercial and film/TV use, nor licensing revenue from the various compilation albums the song has appeared on; and about $500,000 in annual global publishing revenue, including cover versions and synchronization. In all, combined revenue for the song could easily hit $1 million each year, Billboard estimates.
“We had a great year last year with ‘Monster Mash,’” says Rell Lafargue, president/CEO of Reservoir, which owns Pickett’s publishing share and scored a “nice, healthy six-figure synch” for a 2021 General Mills cereal commercial relaunching Franken Berry, Boo Berry and Count Chocula. “We probably have 15 to 20 licensing requests on the line as we speak. Every year, people gear up for Christmas and other holidays, but the ‘Monster Mash’ is always there.”
Since its release on the late producer Gary Paxton‘s independent label, Garpax, “Monster Mash” has navigated a complicated path through the music business. Its two songwriters are Pickett and a friend, Leonard Capizzi, who sang doo-wop together on the beach in Los Angeles before cooking up the novelty song. After Paxton failed to sell the single to a bigger label, he gave it to radio DJs, who turned it into a hit; afterward, London Records agreed to distribute, and Stuart Hersh, Pickett’s longtime manager, says the company retained ownership of the master — now controlled through major label Universal Music Group’s Decca U.K. subsidiary.
As for publishing, Capizzi, who died in 1988, retained his share, and, as Pickett said in a 1995 interview, “his widow and child are getting all of his royalties.” Paxton, the “Monster Mash” producer, took over Pickett’s publishing and made a deal with publisher Acoustic Music, which changed hands to several other companies before Reservoir acquired it in 2014. Huus doesn’t know all the specifics, but his mother, Pickett’s daughter Nancy Huus, received publishing royalties until her death in February 2023, leaving her widower to control the family share.
“My mother left those to my father, who will in turn leave those as a split to my sister and I,” Huus says.
After its original 1962 release, various indie labels reissued “Monster Mash,” including Parrot Records 11 years later, when the song returned to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 10. By the ’90s, according to Hersh, Pickett had participated in a K-Tel compilation remake that included backup Tennessee vocalists who pronounced the chorus “monster may-ash.” Pickett called this version “Monster Mish.”
Says Hersh: “Mish-mosh aside, I said to Bobby, ‘Why don’t I produce a new version for us that’ll be our master, and I’ll try to cut it as close to the first one as possible?’” Hersh brought in 1950s drums and created the track-opening creaky door with an actual creaky door, as opposed to the original effect, a nail slowly pulled out of a surface.
Convincing Pickett to use his higher-pitched voice from the 1962 version, Hersh re-released the track, Taylor Swift-style, and landed synch deals such as the 2005 John Cusack movie Must Love Dogs and a line of musical Hallmark greeting cards for Halloween. “I said to Bobby, ‘We’ve got to make this thing sound perfect and give it to independent films, and give people a chance, and it’ll be your master,’” Hersh recalls. After Pickett died in 2007, Nancy Huus gave the rights to the re-recorded 1993 master to Hersh, who still manages Pickett’s career, attending seasonal conventions and linking to streams and downloads of the reissue on themonstermash.com. “Our [version of the track] is the one with the black-and-white photo of Bobby over the gravestone,” Hersh says.
Hersh has no idea, however, who owns the name “Monster Mash” as it pertains to product titles. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lists 60 active and abandoned applications carrying that name, including General Mills (for its Monster Mash cereal), Friendly Ice Cream (Monster Mash sundaes) and a Hong Kong company called Longshore Ltd. (for board games). “It was never trademarked back then, and I really don’t know who did it this time,” Hersh says. “I would think it’s been used so many times, at this point, it’s just like a regular phrase.”
Jordan Huus was 8 when his late mother, who was adopted, met Pickett, her biological father, for the first time. Since then, Huus recalls a family fascination with Halloween that lives on in his own household. “Oh, man, if you have like an hour or two, I could point out each decoration,” Huus says, describing his mother’s hand-crafted Halloween wreaths, plus posters and records honoring Bobby “Boris” Pickett. “Of course, we have to bring out the ‘Monster Mash’ stuff.”
Ed Christman contributed to this story.
LONDON — Currently languishing near the bottom of the fourth tier of English football, Forest Green Rovers don’t have the global profile, colossal riches or superstar players of the world’s top teams. But despite their small stature, the Rovers enjoy one major bragging right: they’re the first European soccer club to be sponsored by Rock & Roll Hall of Famers the Grateful Dead.
“For us, it’s a perfect match,” says the California band’s archivist and legacy manager, David Lemieux. “Forest Green Rovers is a team that really follows Grateful Dead values, which is to say that we’re both conscious of the world around us and we want to make sure that we leave it a better place than when we arrived.”
Grateful Dead’s decades-long promotion of environmental causes is well-known throughout the music business, but Forest Green Rovers’ eco credentials are equally impressive.
Based in the small town of Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, just over 100 miles outside London, Forest Green Rovers Football Club has been recognized by both the United Nations and football’s international governing body, FIFA, as “the world’s greenest football club.” The team and its owner, Dale Vince, have won praise for pioneering sustainable practices like using renewable energy to power its 5,000-capacity ground, transporting players in an electric bus and serving vegan food to players, staff and fans.
Forest Green Rovers Chairman Dale Vince at a Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Oct. 8, 2023.
OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
The idea to partner Grateful Dead with Forest Green first landed on Lemieux’s desk 18 months ago when it was presented to him by the retail and licensing team at Warner Music Group’s services division WMX, which looks after the group’s merchandising rights outside of touring and online. (Grateful Dead’s music catalog is handled by WMG’s Rhino Records, which also runs the band’s Dead.net website, while Warner Chappell Music represents the act’s publishing interests globally, in conjunction with the Grateful Dead’s company, Ice Nine).
At the time of WMX’s pitch, Lemieux wasn’t familiar with Forest Green Rovers, which has spent much of its 134-year history competing outside the top level, with its best-ever finish coming in the 2021/22 season when the club was crowned champions of League Two (they were relegated 12 months later). But after researching the club and its energy industrialist owner, he says it was a natural fit for the two organizations to team up on a clothing merch deal that sees Grateful Dead’s iconic green skull logo featured on a range of Forest Green co-branded sporting wear, t-shirts and hoodies, produced by U.K. sustainable clothing business I Dress Myself.
“We love to partner with cool people, cool companies and cool organizations who are trying to make a positive difference,” says Lemieux, a self-confessed “hippy Deadhead” who has worked for the legendary California-formed group for 25 years and been a follower of English football since the late 1990s, when he studied in the United Kingdom and would regularly attend matches.
Courtesy of Warner Music and Forrest Green Rovers.
Financial terms of the deal with Forest Green have not been disclosed, although Lemieux describes it as “not a huge money-maker for anyone.” (The most expensive clothing item on sale in the Forest Green online store is a “Grateful Dead Lightning Hoodie” featuring the green skull motif that costs around $75.00.)
For custodians of Grateful Dead — which officially disbanded in 1995 following the death of guitarist and songwriter Jerry Garcia but has continued to tour in various incarnations, most recently as Dead & Company, featuring original members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart — the tie-up with Forest Green is the latest in a vast and ever-growing line of merch and licensing deals helping keep the Grateful Dead brand alive.
At present, the band has deals with more than 100 merch partners and more than 750 products on sale in over 50 territories, spanning everything from water bottles to cosmic mushroom foraging tools to camping equipment to Grateful Dead-branded skis and snowboards, as well as an extensive range of t-shirts and clothing.
Historically, the bulk of those merch deals have been with companies in North America, Grateful Dead’s biggest market for touring and record sales. But Lemieux says he’s now seeing an increasing number of licensing offers come in from Japan, England, South America and other international territories.
“Brand awareness is growing and it’s growing fast in the international markets,” says Lemieux. He credits Warner Music’s licensing teams in New York and England for working hard to find “best in class” partners.
“At the heart of everything Grateful Dead do is sustainability, so when we work on projects for them, whether it’s a multi-million-dollar deal or a small project, they need to know about its sustainable nature,” says WMX licensing and record retail account director Alex Mitchell, who oversaw the merch deal with Forest Green Rovers.
Courtesy of Warner Music and Forrest Green Rovers.
Mitchell says the season-long partnership with the club (with an option to renew next year) is one of several licensing deals WMX are working on to “make the Grateful Dead story better known” in the United Kingdom and Europe beyond “just being a cool band t-shirt.”
Sports and music brand tie-ups are, of course, nothing new, and Grateful Dead has struck similar deals in the past (the band famously sponsored Lithuania’s cash-strapped 1992 Olympic basketball team and more recently held one-off brand partnerships with various baseball, basketball and ice hockey clubs in North America). But Forest Green marks its first real foray into the world’s most popular sport.
The deal comes at a time when soccer’s profile in the United States continues to climb, especially among young Americans, fueled by the arrival of global superstars like Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer and the crossover success of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and the hit FX series Welcome To Wrexham, which documents the fortunes of Wrexham A.F.C (who play in the same league as Forest Green) and its Hollywood actor owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Why are hip-hop and R&B still popular streaming-wise but less so on the live music front? How can superfans and generative AI help further music industry growth? Those are just two of the hot topics addressed in Trapital’s second annual report on major trends in music, media and hip-hop. Presented by the ticketing company DICE, 2023’s The Trapital Report is being released today (Oct. 31) in tandem with Billboard‘s exclusive first-look preview.
“This report is for the key decision makers in music, media and entertainment, the executives, founders and investors in the space,” Trapital founder Dan Runcie tells Billboard. “These are the people who are working actively to serve the artists that they work with. They’re working actively to provide an experience to the end consumers as well as fans. And to do that they need to be as close as possible to the current trends that are happening within the actual revenue. But looking fast forward, what are the things that they need to invest their time and money in? How do they better understand this audience? Our report is able to offer those insights.”
The report begins with a look at the slowing growth of streaming. While music streaming revenue was $17.5B in 2022 versus $15.7B in 2021, that only represents 11% growth. That percentage figure is down from 24%, 19% and 29% in prior years, per Trapital’s analysis of data from Luminate, MRC, Nielsen and the IFPI Global Music Report 2022.
Explains Runcie, “Streaming growth has started to slow down from a revenue perspective year over year, especially from the heights that we had seen in the pandemic. That has sparked a lot of industry discussions about how to split the pie like pushes to raise prices and increase the payouts to certain types of artists; reducing the noise and fraud. But I do think that the two big opportunities that the industry has to grow the overall pie is to look at the superfan and lean into generative AI.”
“I do think even alone on the streaming services, they have a lot of valuable data and understanding as to who the superfans are,” says Runcie. “And as well to all of the combinations of things that can be offered, whether it’s exclusive access to fans, community input … I think there are different ways to have different tiers to enable that.”
Acknowledging the intense discussions emanating over the use of generative AI, Runcie says the emerging technology represents another growth opportunity by increasing derivative work.
“Anytime in the history of recorded music, derivative work grows and that overall demand grows the pie,” he explains. “And it can do that because the underlying asset that a lot of popular derivative work comes from is work that the record labels already own. It’s what the rights holders already have. So being able to find the right attribution, being able to do it in a way that acknowledges both the safety and rights that the artists and the rights holders have, I think all of this is possible if you accept the fact that this isn’t necessarily a genie that’s going to go back in the bottle. It’s still very early, but no different than YouTube being able to figure out Content ID. The same can be possible for generative AI and allowing superfans to create making music, anything that enables that as that continues to grow, it only adds more value adds to the artists and the rights holders who have the valuable intellectual property.”
On the hip-hop front, the report notes the genre’s total global revenue rose slightly between 2021 ($2.72B) and 2022 ($2.78B). But its share of total revenue has dipped from 27.7% in 2021 to 26.8% in 2022. And while only three rap albums have hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2023 — Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, Travis Scott’s Utopia and Drake’s For All the Dogs — hip-hop still reigns as the top genre. It accounts for 33% of all albums on the Billboard 200, more than twice pop and rock combined at 16% each.
However, in the report section titled “From URL to IRL” it points out the glaring fact that despite hip-hop and R&B’s popularity in terms of streaming and social media, pop and rock still command the live music front: 27% of concert revenue/33% of streaming revenue in the U.S. versus 11% of concert revenue/27% of streaming revenue for R&B/hip-hop according to Trapital’s analysis of stats from Pollstar and Luminate.
The report explains the disconnect is related to several factors. Among them: that hip-hop artists didn’t consistently begin touring on a global arena level until the 2000s; the hesitancy on the part of concert promoters to book rap acts owing to violence and safety concerns even though “rock acts often had worse violence issues”; younger fan bases; and the fact that many hip-hop and R&B acts “have clustered around larger festivals like Rolling Loud, the club circuit and other festival appearances” which are more economical than paying for expensive concert tickets.
“This is something I’ve been eager to dig into,” says Runcie. “And I’m glad we were able to do it with this report. When you transition from stream URL to in real life, hip-hop and R&B don’t necessarily dominate in the same way. Even though we’ve seen hip-hop and R&B artists that have done arena tours like Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, other hip-hop/R&B artists who’ve had very popular music haven’t quite gotten to that same point on the live music side.”
To that point, the report includes a breakdown of which artists can sell out a tour at each venue level. The list encompasses 30+ stadiums (Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga), 10K+ arenas (SZA, Lizzo, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Miley Cyrus), 5K+ amphitheatres (Lil Uzi Vert, Janelle Monae, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Baby, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie) and 2K+ ballrooms (Latto, Chloe Baily, Yeat, Denzel Curry, Glorilla).
Also of interest in The Trapital Report is a look at Latin music’s popularity, the largest DSPs and most valuable private companies, indie artist case stories, audience profiles, the most valuable songs streamed on Spotify and YouTube and the top 1% of artists in streaming. According to Runcie, the full reports features detailed analyses on streaming revenue, music genre trends, live entertainment, short-form video, chart analysis among other topics.
For more information, visit trapital.co/report
Spotify’s third-quarter earnings results helped give investors confidence about the company’s path and sent its shares up 10.3% to $170.63 on Tuesday before closing at $159.35 on Friday — up 6.3% for the week. Not only did the streaming giant turn an operating profit of 32 million euros ($34.8 million) — compared to a $247 million euro ($269 million) operating loss a year earlier — it added 6 million subscribers in the same quarter a price increase went into effect.
That third-quarter growth will help the NYSE-listed, Swedish company exceed its expectations for subscriber gains this year. “We walked into 2023 thinking we would do just over 20 million in net subscriber adds for the full year,” CEO Daniel Ek said during Tuesday’s earnings call, “but we’re actually on track to deliver 30 million.”
Morgan Stanley analysts raised their Spotify price target from $190 to $200 on Wednesday, writing in an investor note that the company is “a superior product with pricing power” that will continue to expand gross margins. Likewise, analysts at JP Morgan increased their Spotify price target from $190 to $205 with a belief that the operating margin and free cash flow milestones reached in the quarter will attract more investors to the company.
Led by Anghami’s 11.5% improvement to $1.07, six music streaming companies had an average gain of 4.3% this week. China’s Tencent Music Entertainment, which will report third-quarter results on Nov. 14, gained 7.2% to $7.13, while another Chinese music streamer, Cloud Music, gained 3.3% to 85.50 HKD ($10.93). Meanwhile, U.S.-based LiveOne gained 1% to $1.00.
Overall, the 21-stock Billboard Global Music Index dropped 0.7% to 1,304.74 this week, marking its third consecutive weekly loss and tenth down week in the second half of 2023. The slight decline dropped the index’s year-to-date gain to 11.7%. Of its 21 stocks, 13 finished the week in negative territory, seven posted gains and one, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, was unchanged. (Round Hill’s purchase by Concord for $469 million was approved by shareholders on Oct. 18.)
Despite the widespread losses across the music business, the Billboard Global Music Index fared better than many indexes. In the United States, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite each declined 1.9%, while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.5% and South Korea’s KOSPI composite index fell 3%.
The Nasdaq has slipped 10.3% from its peak on July 31, officially putting it in correction territory — a 10% decline from a high — on Wednesday. The Billboard Global Music Index hasn’t entered a correction yet, but it’s close, having declined 9.9% from its peak of 1,447.32 on July 21.
Shares of Universal Music Group (UMG) fell 4.2% to 23.31 euros ($24.46) this week, with the company’s third-quarter results on Thursday preceding a 7.2% decline on Friday. Guggenheim analysts maintained both their buy rating on UMG’s stock and their 27.00 euro ($28.56) price target. But the analysts dropped their fourth-quarter forecasts for UMG’s streaming revenue (from 4.4% to 3.5%) and subscription revenue growth (13.0% to 12.8%).
Radio stocks were hit particularly hard in the wake of Cumulus Media’s third-quarter earnings, which showed that the company’s revenue declined 11% year-over-year, to $207.4 million. That was chalked up to “weakness in national markets,” the company said on Friday. Cumulus Media’s share price fell 11.7% to $4.77 on Friday and finished the week down 5.4%. iHeartMedia, which will report earnings on November 9, fell 4.9% on Friday and finished the week down 12.7%.
K-pop stocks had a tumultuous week following Wednesday’s arrest of Lee Sun-kyun — an actor and member of the group BIGBANG known as G-Dragon — on charges of using illegal drugs. Lee, whose exclusive contract with YG Entertainment ended in June, denied the charges. Following his arrest, shares of YG Entertainment fell 7.9% to 50,200 won ($37.01) on Thursday, though they recovered most of the loss to finish the week down 2% to 52,600 won ($38.78).
News of Lee’s arrest sparked days of frenetic media coverage in South Korea, hurting other K-pop stocks and eliciting statements from K-pop agencies to quash any speculation their artists might be involved. Shares of HYBE fell 10.7% to 204,000 won ($150.42) on Thursday. The company issued a statement to the local press saying “BTS is in no way related to the rumors spreading online,” according to reports. HYBE shares recovered some of Thursday’s losses with a 3.9% gain on Friday and finished the week down 5.6% to 212,000 won ($156.32).
SM Entertainment, home to K-pop groups NCT and Red Velvet, fell 5.1% on Thursday and closed the week down 8.4% to 103,900 ($73.61). JYP Entertainment, the agency behind Stray Kids and Twice, lost 6.2% on Thursday but finished the week up 2.7% to 103,600 won ($76.39).
Even amid the streaming-driven spectacular recovery of the music business, rights management organizations are thriving. Music rights collections reached €10.83 billion ($11.4 billion) in 2022, according to CISAC, the trade organization of collective management societies, a historic high that represents 28% growth over 2021 revenue, partly because the live business is recovering so fast.
“It’s an excellent result,” CISAC director general Gadi Oron told Billboard. “It’s record-breaking in terms of collections, since we exceeded €12 billion” — CISAC member societies racked up €12.1 billion ($12.7 billion) in revenue, counting audiovisual, literary and other collections — “and it’s record-breaking in terms of year-on-year growth.”
This arguably undervalues the rights business, because it only counts money that goes through rights management organizations — both collective management societies and private businesses that license the same rights — and not revenue from direct deals with publishers. In the U.S., the world’s biggest market, for example, it counts public performance royalties but not the mechanical royalties handled by the Mechanical Licensing Collective. Add in that money and, although an apples-to-Apple Music accounting would get complicated, the total is almost certainly more than half of the $26.2 billion global recorded music revenue that IFPI reported for the same year. That’s a lot of money flowing through organizations with unpronounceable initials.
At first glance, it looks like revenue from collections is growing much slower than those from recordings — music rights collections are up 31% since 2018, while recording revenue is up nearly 50%. But that may not paint a full picture. Most of the growth in the recording business is tied to streaming — much of its future growth will come from streaming in the developing world. The same is true of collections, except that digital only became the biggest source of revenue this year, representing 38% of the total. Most other sources of collections revenue are growing slower, except for live, which was whipsawed by the pandemic and will only recover fully this year. And since 2018, digital collections grew by150% while global digital revenue grew by just under 100%.
The current pace of growth is unsustainable, since it includes the once-in-a-century recovery of revenue collected from live performance, which grew 185.7%. But digital collections alone grew 33.5%, and that revenue will make up a larger share of total revenue in the coming years, which implies faster growth overall. In five years, “the one thing I’m certain of is that digital will become more than a third of the pie,” Oron says. It could even be half — presumably without much erosion in live revenue and other sources of income.
As in the recorded music business, the larger amount of that money will come from countries that thus far have had small, or even negligible, music industries. The countries that brought in the most revenue in 2022 aren’t so different from the usual — the U.S. in the lead with €2.6 billion ($2.7 billion, up 30.5%), then France with €1.3 billion ($1.3 billion, up 39.3%), the U.K. with €1 billion ($1 billion, up 24.3%), Germany with €903 million ($951 million, up 17.9%) and Japan with €848 million ($893 million, up 10.1% in local currency). That’s similar to the biggest markets for recorded music, only France does better in collections, comparatively, while Japan fares a bit worse. (Europe still accounts for 51% of collections revenue, with another 27% coming from the U.S. and Canada.) “The countries in the top 10 have always been the biggest collectors,” Oron says.
The balance of power will tilt even more toward some of these markets, however, as the biggest and most important European societies — SACEM in France, PRS for the U.K. and GEMA in Germany — sign more affiliates to collect more digital revenue. Those societies now have the repertoire, and thus the leverage, to negotiate better deals with big platforms that cover much of the globe. Some of the growth in collections is fueled by the fact that “many societies renegotiated,” Oron says, and he predicts that “hubs” will become more popular over the next decade.
At the same time, the fastest growth is coming from developing markets that are almost entirely digital: Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Collections in Latin America grew almost 65% in 2022. As in recorded music, these markets never accounted for much revenue of any kind, so their emergence is almost entirely pure growth. And since not all of the countries with fast-growing music businesses have collecting societies that function well, rights organizations could face a stark choice: Reform them or work with them in order to collect a range of royalties; or try to license streaming services that operate in those markets from outside the countries to ensure that the fastest-growing stream of revenue will flow more directly to songwriters and publishers?
One of the questions around the future of collections is artificial intelligence, the industry’s favorite savior or bogeyman, depending on the day, and the CISAC report devotes most of two pages to it, in the form of forewords by Oron and CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus. “There is no question that the way we address it now will have a huge bearing on collections in the future,” writes Oron, who calls the technology an “existential issue” that presents both “threats” and “amazing opportunities.”
Ulvaeus takes the same tone. “Fresh from COVID and the economic squeeze, what we now face is a potentially far more serious, existential challenge — that of Artificial intelligence,” he writes. “I think of it as having the power to extend the human mind and potentially create wonderful art. But it brings dangers too, and without hard rules protecting human creators it could also threaten their livelihoods on a huge scale.”
Both Oron and Ulvaeus say CISAC intends to play a leading role in making sure AI helps, rather than hurts, creators. Collecting societies could be an important part of any such solution, given the amount of material that would need to be licensed. Right now, “you don’t know what you’re licensing and to whom,” Oron says. “The most important issue is transparency.”
If it’s Friday that means another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music industry.
Caron Veazey and her nearly four-year-old consultancy firm Something In Common have partnered with global management company Three Six Zero, with Veazey officially joining as partner. The industry veteran brings with her singer-actress Mette Towley (aka METTE), who is fresh off a role as Video Girl Barbie in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie and recently released an EP via RCA, METTENARRATIVE. Veazey is co-founder and co-chair of the Black Music Action Coalition and prior to forming Something in Common, spent nearly a decade managing the career of Pharrell Williams during the pinnacle of his “Happy” and “Get Lucky”-fueled fame. During that time she also general-managed Pharrell’s i am OTHER creative collective.
“I believe things happen at the right time, and now could not be a more perfect time to partner with Mark and the team at Three Six Zero,” Veazey said. “I’m so impressed with what they have built, and very excited about the ambition for the future. They are a group of big forward thinkers, and I am truly energized to join the team.”
Robin Nastri joined Sony Music Publishing in the newly created role of senior vp, global business office. SMP devised the position to oversee what it calls “global transformation initiatives” like streamlining global operations and enhancing its technologies in order to boost the publisher’s growth. She reports to chief financial officer Tom Kelly. Nastri joins SMP after an inventive, 25-year tenure at IT company Accenture, where in 2019 she and her team won inventor of the year for creating the company’s market-leading automation platform. “I am deeply grateful to be joining Sony Music Publishing at such an exciting time,” she sai. “My heartfelt thanks go to Jon Platt, Tom Kelly, and the entire SMP team for entrusting me with this incredible opportunity. It is a privilege to work with such a talented and dedicated team, all with a passion for changing the world by supporting the songwriters who inspire it.”
Sara Benz joined Big Machine Records as a project manager, tasked with overseeing release campaigns and driving audience growth for the label’s star-heavy artist roster (Tim McGraw, Carly Pearce and Midland, heard of’em?). Benz most recently served as a senior A&R coordinator at Universal Music following a stint at Small Giant Records + Management. “She has hit the ground running and is making a huge difference with our team and our artists,” said Big Machine Records’ GM, Clay Hunnicutt. “This is truly only the beginning for her.” Benz is based in Nashville and is at sara.benz@bmlg.net.
What about Bob Papke? Well, ASM Global has tapped him as the venue management firm’s first vp of industry relations and client development. Papke, a member of the ASM family for 33 years, will now oversee all entertainment industry relations for the 80-plus venues that the company manages, including one that he’ll continue to helm: the Maxwell C. King Center in his home base of Melbourne, Florida. He was most recently vp of live entertainment for theaters. Prior to ASM, Papke managed several venues in environs such as Jacksonville, Toronto, Miami Beach and Richmond, Virgina. “Bob has put his heart and soul into this division for years and has created a pathway for our continued success,” said Will Beekman, vp of theater operations. “He has also outlined a strategic and detailed plan for a smooth transition of leadership to ensure that our partners and venues are left in great hands. I thank him for his decades of commitment and look forward to him taking the reins and continuing what he started.”
Across the Board: Ticketmaster veteran Don Orris and former Shazam exec Will Mills joined the advisory board of Tickets for Good, a platform giving UK health and charity works access to free or discounted event tickets … HeadCount, a non-profit that enlists politically engaged music artists to help inspire youth participation in elections, appointed CAA Foundation executive Travis Merriweather to its board of directors.
Boutique publicity firm Reybee, Inc promoted Heather Hawke from publicist to senior director of publicity. Since joining Reybee in November of 2018, she has worked with or led press campaigns for artists such as Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Spice Girls, Eve, Circa Waves and Josie Cotton, among others. The LA-based Hawke is also a veteran journalist and photographer, having founded Decorated Youth Magazine and boasting a portfolio of visual work for clients including Warner Records, Rolling Stone and The FADER. “Ever since she joined my company, I’ve been hard-pressed to find anyone who out-thinks, out-shines or out-hustles Heather,” said president and founder Rey Roldan. “She’s the best in class and provides a tremendous service to our clients across a broad array of creative opportunities. Plus, she gives me a run for the money and challenges me every day to re-think and re-learn some of my old-seated, old school music industry habits. She scares me.”
Create Music Group promoted Mark Hill Jr. to senior vp of A&R and business development. He will oversee the company’s A&R team and continue to sign and develop new acts, as well as manage recording projects for roster artists. Based in Los Angeles, Hill joined CMG in 2016 as an intern and in seven years has helped cement deals with Ice Spice and signed artists like YNW Melly and Lucki, among others. “From the very beginning of his tenure here, Mark has been a powerhouse,” said Create Music Group co-founder and chief business operator, Wayne Hampton. “His passion for music, his keen eye for talent, and his ability to lead our teams, have made him an invaluable member of the A&R team. I look forward to seeing him continue to build his career at Create.” He reports to Hampton and co-founder and CEO Jonathan Strauss.
ICYMI: Live Nation president of Asia Pacific Roger Field resigned this week after more than 13 years with the company. It’s understood that Alex Klos will now step into the permanent role as COO of LN ANZ, alongside his position as CFO … Independent promoter and entertainment company LiveCo promoted Shane Quick to president of touring and strategic expansion … Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders voted to bid adieu to board chair Andrew Sutch (he already signaled his departure), while directors Andrew Wilkinson and Paul Burger also resigned this week.
Rogét Chahayed’s TruSauce publishing company recently hired Warner Records veteran Sarah Ferrie as its new head of creative. Ferrie has ten years of music business experience, dating back to an A&R role at Capitol Records before stints at GODMODE and Columbia Records. In late 2018, she joined WMG, where she signed Maude Latour and Sofia Valdes, and worked on major releases including Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia. Ferrie is based in Los Angeles.
Nashville-based business management and bookkeeping firm, Luma Business Services, hired Mallori Kirchenschlager as a business manager. Kirchenschlager joined the company earlier in 2023 after an eight-year tenure at business and financial management firm Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy. The Belmont University grad got her start at CAA as a music agent assistant and later was director of strategic alliances and events at the International Entertainment Buyers Association. “I am thrilled to have Mallori join the incredible team we have built,” shares Luma’s Founder and President Adrien Good. “Her talents and diverse experience across the industry are a huge asset to our clients and I am excited to work alongside her everyday.”
Milestone Publicity promoted Taran Smith and Lily Collins to account executives, and Campbell Jenkins to associate publicist. Smith has been with the Nashville-based PR agency since April of 2022, and has worked with acts including Leftover Salmon and Robbie Fulks. Collins joined the firm in August of 2022 and has assisted national and tour campaigns for Gin Blossoms, Lonestar and others. Jenkins has spent her short time at Milestone assisting other publicists on various client campaigns.
PRG hired Ariane Coldiron as senior vp of corporate events at the live project management firm. At PRG, Coldiron will be in charge of the business-y events being serviced by the company, which offers audio, lighting, video and other technical production services. She arrives after nearly a decade at trade show specialists Freeman, where as svp she drove the firm’s agency business and managed a portfolio that included Google, SalesForce and HP.
Last Week’s Turntable: WHY&HOW Promotes Three Company Veterans
Led by strong subscription growth and a dominant quarter from Taylor Swift, along with strong sales of releases by Olivia Rodrigo, Morgan Wallen and Seventeen, Universal Music Group (UMG) grew revenue 3.3% (9.9% at constant currency) to 2.75 billion euros ($3 billion at the period’s average exchange rate) in the third quarter, the company announced Thursday (Oct. 26).
UMG will get another boost this quarter from Swift’s release of the re-recorded version of her 2014 album, 1989, on Friday. “She is a phenomena,” said UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, listing a string of global chart successes of Swift’s previous 2023 album of re-recordings, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), released in July. “This level of performance can only really be described as truly astonishing.”
UMG’s fourth quarter will also benefit from the new release of an unreleased track by The Beatles, “Now and Then,” on Nov. 2. “Now and Then” was written by John Lennon in the late ‘70s and just recently finished by the band’s remaining members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. “The fact that more than four decades after its original recording, we can use the latest technology to bring this recording everywhere is truly remarkable and something that we’re very proud of,” said Grainge.
Third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EDITDA) increased 5.1%, or 11.3% at constant currency, to 581 million euros ($632 million), and adjusted EBITDA margin improved 0.3 percentage points to 21.1%.
The company’s recorded music segment declined 1.1% to $2.04 billion ($2.2 billion), a 5.2% increase at constant currency (or an 8.9% increase excluding a 71 million euro legal settlement recognized in the prior-year quarter). Subscription revenue grew 6.7% (13% at constant currency), despite not yet receiving a boost from recent price increases at Spotify and YouTube Music. Those benefits are expected to be felt in the fourth quarter, said CFO Boyd Muir, who noted that “each of these services raised prices in certain markets, and on certain plans, not across all subscribers.” YouTube, which Muir said “has a particularly global subscriber base,” raised prices first in the United States and other markets in the following weeks. As a result, “the benefit will initially be more limited.”
Recorded music’s ad-supported streaming revenue grew 5%, the same as the previous quarter. UMG remains “cautious” about ad-supported growth in the coming quarters, said Muir. Results in any quarter come from a mix of fixed and variable deal structures, he explained, meaning UMG’s results aren’t a close reflection of trends in the advertising market. “We do, however, continue to see opportunities for improved deal terms and product innovation driving higher levels of growth in this business over the medium term,” he said.
Downloads and other digital revenue declined 56.9% (53.2% at constant currency) due to the prior-year legal settlement and a broad decline in download sales. Licensing and other revenue declined 11.8% (6.9% at constant currency) due to a strong prior-year quarter that benefitted from artists’ return to touring as the concert business recovered from pandemic-era shutdowns.
Music publishing revenue grew 17.5% (24.6% at constant currency) to 491 million euros ($534 million). Excluding a 53 million euro ($58 million) catch-up payment in the music publishing segment related to the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) Phonorecords III ruling for streaming royalties from 2018 to 2022, publishing revenue improved 4.8% (11.2% at constant currency).
Publishing’s digital revenue grew 25.6% (33.6% at constant currency) on strong streaming and subscription growth and the CRB III catch-up payment. Synch revenue declined 3.5% (and grew 3.8% at constant currency) while mechanical revenue was stable.
Revenue growth “is beyond our expectation and guidance,” said Muir, while noting that “the revenues that are incremental to our expected growth are actually coming from lower-margin areas of our business.” In the third quarter, 75% of UMG’s revenue above analyst’s consensus expectations came from merchandise and physical products. “They are EBITDA-accretive, but margin-dilutive of the business segments we must pursue,” said Muir. UMG still expects a one-point improvement in adjusted EBITDA in calendar year 2023.
Revenue grew 3.3% (9.1% at constant currency) to 2.75 billion euros ($3 billion).
Recorded music revenue declined 1.1% to $2.04 billion ($2.2 billion), a 5.2% increase at constant currency.
Publishing revenue grew 25.6% (33.6% at constant currency), or 4.8% (11.2% at constant currency) excluding a CRB III retroactive royalty adjustment.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.1%, or 11.3% at constant currency, to 581 million euros ($632 million).
Adjusted EBITDA margin improved 0.3 percentage points to 21.1%.
Investors in Hipgnosis Songs Fund on Thursday overwhelmingly demanded a new board make structural changes to the troubled music rights company in ways that don’t include selling off part of its 65,000-song catalog, which includes compositions by Neil Young, Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
At the company’s annual meeting of shareholders in London, a majority of investors voted no on a resolution “to continue running the fund in its current form”–what’s known as a continuation vote — and they rejected a plan to sell a package of 29 song catalogs to Hipgnosis’ Blackstone-backed sister fund, according to the fund.
The ‘no’ vote signals unequivocal shareholder anger with the company founded by Merck Mercuriadis, and it kicks off a 6-month countdown for the board to come up with a plan “for the reconstruction, reorganisation, or winding-up of the company,” possibly “liquidating all or part of the company’s existing porfolio of investments,” according to the board’s statement.
“While shareholders have not supported our proposed transaction or the continuation vote, it is clear that they share our belief in the inherent quality and potential of these assets,” Sylvia Coleman, senior independent director of Hipgnosis Songs Fund said in an emailed statement. “Directors are now expediting the appointment of a new chair who will drive the strategic review we have already announced, with a clear focus on delivering improved shareholder value.”
Investors voted against the re-election of Hipgnosis Songs Fund board Chair Andrew Sutch at the meeting, speeding up the timetable for his departure. Sutch had already announced he would step down before the company’s next annual general meeting in 2024. On Wednesday, the day before the company’s annual meeting, fund directors Andrew Wilkinson and Paul Burger resigned, and last week, the board embarked on a strategic review into the company’s management team.
“Shareholders have spoken and sent a clear message that the status quo is unacceptable and that a total reset is required,” Tom Treanor, the head of research at Asset Value Investors, which owns a roughly 5% stake in the fund, said in an email. “We look forward to a refreshed board working closely with shareholders to turn the company around.”
Mercuriadis, the former manager of Elton John and Guns N’ Roses, will continue as Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s investment advisor. Mercuriadis founded Hipgnosis in 2017 and took it public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in July 2018.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s share price rose 1.2% to 75.90 British pence ($0.92) at 11:20 in London.
HarbourView Equity Partners has announced two new acquisitions: a share of Fleetwood Mac‘s recorded royalties owned by Christine McVie‘s estate and a share of Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo’s publishing and recorded music assets.
Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
McVie, who died in November 2022 at age 79, was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists in Fleetwood Mac as well as one of its primary songwriters. She performed on all of the band’s albums beginning with 1971’s Future Games, including the seven-times platinum Fleetwood Mac in 1975 and the 21-times platinum Rumours in 1977. She’s best known for Fleetwood Mac songs including “Don’t Stop,” “Over My Head,” “Say You Love Me,” “Little Lies,” “Everywhere,” “You Make Loving Fun” and “Songbird.”
“Christine’s remarkable talents played an integral role in shaping Fleetwood Mac’s sound,” said Harbourview founder Sheresse Clarke Soares in a statement. “The band’s timeless music and worldwide influence continues to captivate all generations of listeners today. We are honored to uphold that legacy as we welcome Christine’s lifetime of work with the band into HarbourView. Christine is a decorated and iconic legend in the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll. She is a global treasure. We hold her works with pride.”
Together, Benatar and her lead guitarist and producer Giraldo, whom she married in 1982, crafted all of Benatar’s albums, including two that went multi-platinum (Crimes of Passion and Precious Time), and five that went platinum (In the Heat of the Night, Get Nervous, Tropico, Live from Earth and greatest-hits compilation Best Shots). Their biggest hits include “We Belong,” “Invincible,” “Love is a Battlefield,” “Promises In The Dark,” “We Live For Love,” “Heartbreaker” and “Hell Is For Children.” According to a press release, they’ve sold more than 30 million records worldwide.
Clarke Soares added of the Benatar and Giraldo acquisition, “We are overjoyed to welcome into our repertoire the iconic catalog of Pat and Neil. The works are cross generational, inspirational and a perfect complement to our portfolio. The music spans generations and has seen us through moments of hope and healing. We are grateful to be stewards of this canon of work and look forward to partnering with Pat and Neil.”
McVie’s estate was represented in the transaction by her attorney Mario Gonzalez and her estate executors Paul Glass and Martin Wyatt. Benatar and Giraldo were represented by Gary Gilbert at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Harbourview was represented by Fox Rothschild in the McVie acquisition and by Derek Crownover at Loeb & Loeb in the Benatar and Giraldo acquisition.
Harbourview’s portfolio includes more than 24,000 songs across master recordings and publishing income streams. Other recent acquisitions include select publishing assets for “Hot Girl Bummer” star Blackbear, select recorded music and publishing assets for Wiz Khalifa, the artist royalty income stream for Nelly, the publishing catalog of Incubus and the catalog of SoundHouse Acquisitions, which holds some rights to master recordings for artists including Tech N9ne, Trey Songz and George Jones.