Business
Page: 127
Lasso has inked a management deal with WK Entertainment, the company tells Billboard.
The signing entails a comprehensive 360 contract — supporting the Venezuelan singer-songwriter in touring, brand partnership strategies, A&R and marketing at a global level — under the leadership of WK Entertainment GM Andres Gomez.
“I have always been a fan of the artists that WK manages,” Lasso (real name: Andres Vicente Lazo Uslar) said in a statement. “I’ve always thought of it as a far reached goal and to be able to form part of their roster is still unbelievable. I’m very excited for everything that is to come, for all the changes for my music and my career.”
“I am thrilled to be able to work with Lasso and support his creative vision in this new chapter,” Gomez added. “He is an artist who has become one of the industry’s most respected live performers — a singer-songwriter who will continue to push the boundaries of the contemporary pop genre for years to come.”
Kolm added, “We are very excited to be a part of this new phase in his career.”
Trending on Billboard
Lasso simultaneously unveiled the dates for his first U.S. tour dubbed Quedarse Solo Para Siempre (translation: “staying alone forever”). Promoted by Live Nation, the 15-date stint kicks off Sept. 11 in San Francisco and wraps Oct. 26 in Houston (see more below). General tickets go on sale on June 19 at 10 a.m. local time via LassoMusica.com.
In addition, Lasso revealed that his fifth studio album is set to release this fall. Its 13 tracks will include the previously-released singles “Bilingües” with Mau y Ricky and the Micro TDH-assisted “No Escuches Esta Canción.”
Recognizing Lasso’s talent and versatility, Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, added, “We see a bright future for him […] and are excited to develop a tour showcasing his unique sound to his dedicated followers and new audiences.”
Lasso released his debut album, Sin Otro Sentido, in 2012. In 2021, he was nominated for best new artist at the 2021 Latin Grammys; the following year, he entered the Billboard charts for the first time with “Ojos Marrones.” The feel-good pop tune peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and No. 39 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. The single also won him best pop rock song at the 2023 Latin Grammys.
Lasso
Courtesy Photo
Billy Ray Cyrus‘ divorce from his wife of seven months, singer Firerose, took an unexpected turn last week when the 62-year-old “Achy Breaky Heart” singer filed an emergency motion in Tennessee court on Thursday (June 13) seeking a temporary restraining order, according to People magazine.
Cyrus, 62, filed for divorce from the Hannah Montana alum and 37-year-old Australian singer born Johanna Rose Hodges in Nashville on May 22 citing “irreconcilable differences” and “inappropriate marital conduct,” in addition to seeking an annulment on fraud grounds.
Now, according to papers reportedly obtained by People, weeks after filing for divorce Cyrus’ emergency motion is meant to keep his estranged wife from any “unauthorized” use of his personal and business credit cards and accounts. In the docs, Cyrus reportedly alleges that in recent weeks Firerose has spent $96,986 on 37 unauthorized charges on his business account, including $70,665 in payments to her attorneys.
Trending on Billboard
At press time a spokespeople for Cyrus and Firerose had no comment when asked for additional information on the restraining order.
“As a result of these fraudulent charges… I am concerned that Ms. Hodges is in possession of other information that she may use to make fraudulent, unauthorized charges to my business and personal credit cards and accounts,” Cyrus wrote in an affidavit. The latest filing claims that the unauthorized charges began on May 23, the day Cyrus filed for divorce after almost seven months of marriage.
People reported that Firerose’s response to the emergency motion claimed there was “no emergency,” saying that she has had access to Cyrus’ American Express card since June 2022; the couple first began dating in 2022 after years of friendship and got engage later that year before marrying in October 2023. “To claim Wife has made 37 unauthorized charges is untrue,” Firerose’s attorneys wrote in the response filing according to a copy obtained by People. “Throughout the divorce proceedings, the parties are to live as per the status quo during the marriage. Wife was simply living as she has since October 10, 2023, and Husband has no right to cut her off.”
Additionally, Firerose’s filing reportedly claimed that after the couple’s 2023 wedding she continued to use his cards with Cyrus’ full permission and that the couple would “routinely” review her expenses on that card.
In contrast, according to People, Cyrus’ motion claims that he and Firerose do not have any joint accounts, credit cards or real estate and that neither was ever an authorized user or signer on one another’s accounts. Cyrus’ motion also claims that Firerose owns real estate in L.A. worth more than seven figures and that she has more than $500K in “liquid and investment assets at her disposal.”
After filing for divorce from his third wife — Cyrus was married to Cindy Smith from 1986-1991 and to Tish Cyrus from 1993-2002 — Cyrus reportedly reached an agreement in court that called for Firerose to move out of his home immediately with the provision that he would provide her with financial support for 90 days or until the dissolution of their marriage, or whichever comes first.
Scooter Braun announced his retirement from artist management on Monday (June 17), officially putting a cap on a 23-year run during which he guided the careers of some of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, J Balvin, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Kid Laroi and others.
“I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump’-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen,” Braun said in a statement issued on social media. “I’m constantly pinching myself and asking ‘how did I get here?’ And after 23 years this chapter as a must manager has come to an end.”
Braun sold Ithaca Holdings, the parent company of his management company SB Projects, to South Korean entertainment conglomerate HYBE in 2021.
Trending on Billboard
Braun will continue his work as HYBE America’s CEO.
A good portion of Braun’s 1,300-plus word send-off is spent recalling some of his fondest memories as a manager, including seeing Andrew Wyatt win a producer of the year Grammy, watching Quavo succeed as an entrepreneur, seeing Dan + Shay “go from local Nashville writers to sold out headliners,” and enjoying “brother Usher dominate the Super Bowl this year.” He also said he was “Kanye’s ‘gateway drug to business’ as we had amazing years of success when I was once able to call him my friend.”
He made sure to single out his two crowning clients — Bieber and Grande — “a 13 year old kid busking in Canada” and “a young actress on Nickelodeon” when he signed them.
“To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors,” he said. “As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings… There will never be a day where I don’t take great pride and honor in what we accomplished together.”
Read Braun’s full announcement:
23 years. That’s how long I have been a music manager. 23 years ago a 19 year old kid started managing an artist named Cato in Atlanta, GA and my journey began. Along the way I have had so many experiences I could never have dreamt of. I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump”-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen. I’m constantly pinching myself and asking “how did I get here?” And after 23 years this chapter as a must manager has come to an end.”
It’s a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question “who would I be without them?” I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years I loved it. It’s all I had known. But as my children got older, and my personal Iife took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn’t willing to lose. The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify. It was time to step into a new role.
In this next chapter I have been honored to join as a board member of Hybe and serve as the CEO of Hybe America. My brilliant partner these past 3 years, Chairman Bang, has a vision I truly believe in. But even beyond that he has become a true friend who understands where I must be in my life these days. And that is a father first, a CEO second, and a manager no more.
Over the past 2 years I have been heading towards this destination, but it wasn’t until last summer that this new chapter became a reality. One of my biggest clients and friends told me that they wanted to spread their wings and go in a new direction. We had been through so much together over the last decade, but instead of being hurt I saw it as a sign. You see, life doesn’t hand you YOUR plan, it hands you GOD’s plan. And God has been pushing me in this direction for some time. I have nothing but love for those I have worked with over the years, and as we develop a different working relationship, I will always be in their corner to consult and support them whether it be directly or from afar. Every client I have had the privilege of working with has changed my life, and I know many of them are just beginning to see the success they deserve. I will cheer for every single one of them.
I have gotten to see my friend Andrew Watt win the Grammy for Producer of the year. I have laughed and cried as Lil Dicky truly became DAVE. I have witnessed an angel of a human Tori Kelly win Grammys and star in films. I have seen J Balvin live out his dreams of breaking boundaries, and Demi show kindness and grace that few megastars have. I have been moved as Zac Brown Band raised our flag and delivered the hits. I was excited the first time I heard Animals with Martin Garrix, and learned a new world with David Guetta and Steve Angello. I have danced to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe and smiled ear to ear as PSY brought us Gangnam Style. I have watched Quavo grow to be an entrepreneur, and served as Kanye’s “gateway drug to business” as we had amazing years of success when I was once able to call him my friend. I have marched with YG and flown to Australia with Laroi to see the hometown kid rock an arena. I have seen Dan Shay go from local Nashville writers to sold out headliners and award winners. The list of artists goes on and on over 23 years. So many stories it would take me forever to name. From those first years with Asher Roth to watching my partner and brother Usher dominate the Super Bowl this year, it is truly overwhelming.But it was this past Christmas Day when Ariana and Justin became the biggest male and female in the history of the Spotify Billions club that I just smiled and thought “what a ride.” Justin and Ariana were both young teenagers when I began with them. Justin a 13 year old kid busking in Canada and Ariana a young actress on Nickelodeon. To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors. As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings. I remember the pranks and the water park shows with Justin, and the first time Ari opened an arena tour and her excitement side stage. I remember as they both stepped up for others and I got to witness them each change the world and make history. There will never be a day where I don’t take great pride and honor in what we accomplished together. The same can be said for so many I have had the pleasure of once being called “manager”.
There has been a lot said about what is happening in our company… and in my career. When we had success I smiled, and when we were attacked I tried to always take the high road. But for the last 3 years I have begun to feel that taking the high road has created confusion and ambiguity as to who we are. I may have left my role in management, and my business relationship with many clients will alter and change, but this does not mean we as a company are leaving. Both Allison Kaye and Jennifer McDaniels are more than capable to lead and as we combine new resources the opportunities with their leadership are endless. These two incredibly powerful women will now step into a role that I know will grow into the most impressive women-led management business our industry has even seen. While my name may have been on the door all these years, the truth is there is no one as brilliant as Allison Kaye, and few who can manage with the grace and poise of Jen McDaniels.
We at Hybe will continue to grow. With the addition of QC to Hybe America and our existing business at Big Machine, we will continue to add amazing execs and artists to the roster. Our WeVerse platform and growing gaming unit is something the whole industry can celebrate and join. Getting the opportunity to A&R and Executive Produce the solo career of Jung Kook last summer, and work with the other members of BTS as we break worldwide records, has been an absolute honor. With new acts like NewJeans, TXT, LE SSERAFIM, Seventeen, ILLIT, The Scarlet Opera, Ava Max, and many other new artists and ventures, the future is bright. I’m honored to join Chairman Bang and Jiwon Park as we grow HYBE from the multi-billion dollar publicly traded company it is today to the worldwide multifaceted entertainment platform it is destined to be.
With Hybe going strong I am also looking forward to continuing to invest in a new generation of entrepreneurs and serve as a national board member of Make A Wish and help individuals and communities through our family’s Braun Foundation. Between all of this and coaching my kids I’m not worried about being busy 🙂
So yes, it’s been 23 years. And yes, this chapter has come to an end. But the great Berry Gordy once told me “young man, it never ends the way you wanted, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” That wisdom has proven to be correct. I never saw how this chapter would end, hell, I never even saw it happening. But it did. And I will cherish every moment of it. I made my plan… but it turns out I like God’s plan better. Cheers!
The Museum of Broadcast Communications has announced the selection of eight new inductees into the Radio Hall of Fame for 2024 – The Crook & Chase Countdown (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase), Lee Harris, Phil Hendrie, Jaime Jarrin, Kraig Kitchin, Barry Mayo, Mary McCoy and Matt Siegel.
Six of the eight inductees were determined by a voting participant panel comprised of more than 900 industry professionals. The remaining two inductees – Kitchin and Mayo – were voted on by the Radio Hall of Fame nominating committee.
Kitchin is co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame. Mayo is a former radio executive at WRKS in New York, RKO General, Emmis Broadcasting and Radio One. He is credited with helping to launch WRKS in New York as the first station to play rap.
Trending on Billboard
Dennis Green, co-chair of the Radio Hall of Fame, said: “The Radio Hall of Fame welcomes eight new members that have made a lasting impact on the industry. … These individuals have entertained, informed, and enriched listeners with their special talents, and it is an honor to recognize them as the Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2024.”
2024 Radio Hall of Fame nominees who were not chosen this year are: Bert Weiss, Big D & Bubba, Big Tigger, Bob and Sheri, Bob Stroud, Dede McGuire, Diane Rehm, Free Beer and Hot Wings, Funkmaster Flex, John & Ken, Johnny Magic, Kid Leo, Larry Elder, Laurie DeYoung, Lincoln Ware, Mojo in the Morning, Richard Blade and Shelley “The Playboy” Stewart.
The 2024 Radio Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the in-person 2024 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 19 at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville. Tickets are on sale now at: www.radiohalloffame.com. A portion of the ticket price is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
The Radio Hall of Fame was founded by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. The Museum of Broadcast Communications took over operations of the Hall in 1991. Each year, 24 nominations in six categories are determined by the organization’s nominating committee.
Warner Music Group shares rose 6.6% to $31.47 this week, narrowing the stock’s year-to-date loss to 12.1%. Other gainers in the record label and music publisher space were HYBE, up 1.8% to 200,500 won ($144.95), and Universal Music Group, up 1.4% to 28.63 euros ($30.67).
Streaming companies had the best week, however. Led by LiveOne’s 6.4% gain, music streaming stocks had an average gain of 0.3% — versus an average 0.3% decline for record labels and publishers. Elsewhere, Tencent Music Entertainment gained 5.2% to $14.80 and Spotify added 1.6% to $313.02. The three companies also boast three of the top four year-to-date performances: Live One is up 30.0%, Tencent Music is up 64.3% and Spotify is up 66.6%. The fourth company in that equation is Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which is up 41.4% due to its upcoming acquisition by Blackstone.
Despite overall strength among streaming companies, three of them posted losses. Cloud Music fell 2.4% to 103.00 HKD ($13.19), lowering its year-to-date gain to 14.8%. Anghami lost 2.8% to $1.03, putting the stock’s year-to-date loss at 1.0%. And Deezer stumbled 6.1% to 1.86 euros ($1.99), bringing its year-to-date loss to 12.7%.
Trending on Billboard
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index rose 1.1% to 1,820.01, bringing its year-to-date gain to 18.7% and its 52-week improvement to 36.5%. Although the index mustered a small gain, 11 of its 20 stocks lost value compared to seven gainers and two that were unchanged.
While overall music stocks managed only a small increase, the Nasdaq composite rose 3.2% to 17,688.88 and enjoyed its fifth-straight closing record on Friday (June 14). Th eS&P 500 improved 1.6% to 5,431.60. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 1.3% to 2,758.42. On the losing side, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.6% to 3,032.63 and the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 fell 1.2% to 8,146.86.
The Billboard Global Music Index is outperforming these major indexes in 2024, however. Through June 14, the Nasdaq is up 17.8% and the S&P 500 is up 13.9%. Indexes in other countries have managed smaller gains. The FTSE is up 5.3%, the KOSPI composite index is up 3.9% and the Shanghai Composite Index is up 1.9%.
LiveOne shares improved 6.4% to $1.82 after the company announced it had surpassed 3.8 million total members, a 25% year-over-year increase, while Tesla memberships rose to 1.8 million, up 32% year-over-year (nearly all new Tesla vehicles sold in the United States come with a paid membership to LiveOne’s Slacker Radio). “Our goal is to forge meaningful alliances with companies that share our passion for innovation, bespoke programming, and delivering exceptional customer value,” Brad Konkol, head of Slacker Radio, said in a statement.
Live Nation shares fell 2.0% to $88.75 as the company continued to lose ground in the wake of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking to break up the company’s concert promotion and ticketing businesses. CFRA Research lowered its Live Nation price target to $98 from $105 on Wednesday (June 12). Although its earnings-per-share estimates were unchanged, CFRA opted for a more conservative valuation multiple to reflect “business risk from the DOJ and live entertainment moving to the slower part of the year starting in October,” analyst Kenneth Leon wrote.
The Billboard Global Music Index’s biggest loss of the week came from Cumulus Media, which fell 18.1% to $1.94. The Atlanta-based radio company’s shares are down 63.5% year to date. Fellow radio company iHeartMedia dropped 3.2% to $1.21 this week, bringing its year-to-date loss to 54.7%.
Nine sites that were selling fraudulent streams have been taken offline, according to IFPI and Music Canada.
IFPI, the worldwide recording industry association, and Music Canada, a trade group that represents major Canadian labels, filed a legal complaint with the Canadian Competition Bureau against the sites, accusing them of selling false plays and streams to manipulate streaming service data. The nine connected sites, the most popular of which used the domain name MRINSTA.com, have since gone offline (though you can still see them via the Wayback Machine).
“Streaming manipulation has no place in music,” stated Lauri Rechardt, the IFPI’s chief legal officer. “Perpetrators and enablers of streaming manipulation cannot be allowed to continue to divert revenue away from the artists who create the music.”
As streaming has grown in popularity, so have efforts to game platforms’ royalty models. Vancouver-based fraud detection software company Beatdapp estimates that as many as 10% of music streams are fake. Fake streams are often generated through streaming farms, which use bots to automatically stream particular songs and boost their stats.
Trending on Billboard
Canada recorded 145.3 billion streams in 2023. – Rosie Long Decter
Warner Music Canada’s Head of A&R Leaves to Start New Management Company, SWING
It was only January of this year that Victoria, B.C. pop-funk act Diamond Cafe announced his signing to Warner Music Canada. Now, George Kalivas, the man who signed him, is breaking off on his own to manage him — and building a whole new company around the artist.
SWING is launching as a Toronto-based management company with Diamond Cafe as its first artist, though Kalivas says the eventual plan is to “evolve into a full-service record label in no time.”
Kalivas started in marketing at Warner Canada seven years ago, handling domestic artists signed to the label and international releases signed to subsidiaries like Atlantic and 300. But he had “one foot in A&R,” he says, which became official two years ago when Kristen Burke became label president.
His first signing was Crash Adams, a Canadian pop duo known for viral TikTok trends. After the joint launch of 91 North Records by Warner Canada and Warner India, Kalivas helped sign the label’s second artist, AR Paisley. A long-simmering Canadian rapper, Paisley hit the top 10 of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 this year with “Drippy,” a posthumous collaboration with the late Punjabi-Canadian superstar Sidhu Moose Wala.
But it was Diamond Cafe that made Kalivas realize the time was right to strike off on his own “I haven’t seen a triple threat artist like him — writer, performer and producer — in 15 years,” he says. “He’s next level.”
As publishing and song catalogs become a major money-maker in the music industry, artists like Diamond Cafe, who can work both in front of and behind the scenes, are being scouted heavily. For SWING, it’s enough to structure a whole new company around. – Richard Trapunski
Texas Songwriter Livingston Debuts on the Canadian Hot 100 With ‘Shadow’
Texas singer-songwriter Livingston is making a splash on the Canadian charts this week.
The 21-year-old has landed on the Canadian Hot 100 for the first time with his single “Shadow,” which debuted at No. 100. The ominous single, which finds Livingston warning about the dangers we pose to ourselves, shows off his belt and falsetto over keyboard stabs and jittery percussion. “Shadow” is also performing well on the iTunes charts and has gathered over 1 million YouTube views since its Mar. 7 release.
Livingston’s new album, A Hometown Odyssey, also found a spot on the Canadian Albums chart this week, debuting at No. 92. Livingston first gained popularity as a teenager on TikTok during the pandemic and signed shortly thereafter with Elektra Records. His website states that he “reclaimed his independence” from his major label deal a year ago. Hometown Odyssey is independently released.
Independence seems to suit Livingston well. Though he isn’t charting on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 or Billboard 200 yet, sometimes rising American artists — like Benson Boone — perform better in Canada before gaining steam in the United States. – Rosie Long Decter
Sam Holdsworth, former editor-in-chief and publisher of Billboard, died May 18 at 72 of a heart attack.
Holdsworth, who was also co-founder of Musician magazine, was part of a consortium that bought Billboard Publications Inc. (BPI) in 1984 from the Littleford family in a move that led him to become Billboard’s publisher.
The consortium was helmed by investor Boston Ventures and an internal BPI management group fronted by Holdsworth and Jerry Hobbs in a move that was seen as a non-disruptive way to keep BPI — which included Billboard, Musician and Amusement Business, among other titles — intact. Hobbs, who had served as executive vp of BPI and Billboard’s publisher, became president/CEO of the new entity, while Holdsworth became publisher of Billboard and then publisher/editor-in-chief. BPI had purchased Musician in 1981, which brought Holdsworth into the company.
“As publisher, Sam had a wonderful calming influence on all around him in an otherwise stressful publishing environment. I’ll always appreciate the faith he showed in me and his willingness to delegate crucial tasks to his trusted management team,” Ken Schlager, who served as managing editor under Holdsworth, tells Billboard.
“He and Jerry Hobbs brought Billboard into a new era,” says Adam White, who was Billboard‘s editor-in-chief when Holdsworth became publisher, before leaving in 1985 and then coming back as international editor in 1989. “For that alone, he should be remembered.”
Trending on Billboard
Holdsworth and his childhood friend, Gordon Baird, founded Musician magazine in 1976. “He was the brains and taste and I was the mouth and energy…Our early days as a magazine for school music programs were so rocky, until Sam proposed a left sharp turn after our first year to jazz and rock,” Baird wrote in a piece published Monday (June 10) in The Gloucester (Maine) Times. The two had met in Gloucester 70 years earlier as tots, as their mothers were best friends.
With its new direction, Musician quickly became a must-read for music aficionados and artists alike and was able to attract top-notch music journalists who appreciated the trust Holdsworth gave them to steer their own pieces. “Sam was able to cajole them in to writing major pieces at a fraction of the price [that Rolling Stone paid writers],” Baird continued. “The photogs followed. Musician took off. Readers came to us, record company publicists came to us, Paul McCartney came to us, Springsteen, Michael Jackson, George Harrison, Bono, Clapton and Steely Dan came to us to be interviewed. Sam’s formula was the music first and the lifestyle a distant second.”
When BPI approached Holdsworth and Baird to buy Musician, “Sam was totally visionary and bargained for half the purchase price in Billboard stock,” Baird added.
“At that time, I was responsible for the growth and development of Billboard and its numerous ancillary products,” Hobbs says. “After a lunch in NYC, we quickly decided the fit would be a good one and in early 1981 our partnership began when Billboard Publications acquired [Musician]. Little did we anticipate our relationship would be so fruitful, exciting and long-lasting. Moreover, that it’d evolve into a lifelong personal friendship.”
Hobbs had found the perfect partner to help realize his goal of acquiring and expanding BPI to include not only music properties but also those devoted to film and theater as well as art and design. “During my first year working with Sam, his talents, personality and entrepreneurial spirit became apparent,” Hobbs says. “I realized I’d need a partner to help orchestrate a deal, raise the funds and execute on a plan we would develop to take the business forward.”
Hobbs and Holdsworth’s plan changed how Billboard moved forward with a model that still works today. “We were keen to develop data to complement and expand the information we would gather for our publications and the audiences we served,” Hobbs says. “In effect, we would utilize Billboard as the model for our new venture. Unlike most other B2B publishers then who were mainly dependent on advertisers for their revenue, we wanted to create and own products and services that our audiences would be willing to pay for to receive.”
In 1994, Dutch publisher VNU acquired the American titles, at which point Holdsworth left Billboard and moved with his family to New Mexico. He later became part of an investment group led by JP Morgan Partners. One of their acquisitions was Ryko Corporation, which included the Rykodisc label; Holdsworth oversaw the company until Warner Music Group bought it in 2006. “He was very good at looking beyond the past and around the corner,” says Baird, who talked to Holdsworth hours before he died. “He was also good at being the in right place at the right time for some of those label buyouts and sales, some of them came to him.”
Holdsworth continued to work with investments, as well as paint and write, from his farm in Silver City, N. Mex. He was working on the farm when his heart attack occurred. At the time of his death, he was managing director of Sword, Rowe and Company, a New Jersey-based investment banking and M&A firm, according to his LinkedIn profile.
As Hobbs says, Holdsworth was a rare blend of both creative and business acumen and had a discerning eye. “‘Sam was, indeed, a Renaissance man. He exhibited an alluring blend of the mandatory characteristics: authenticity, creativity, curiosity and resilience, the sine qua non elements that draw people in,” Hobbs says. “And he never confused the most with the best.”
Survivors include Holdsworth’s wife, Betsy, and his three children.
Just days after a company established to release solo music by band members of K-pop group EXO declared “war” against the stars’ longtime label and management agency SM Entertainment over a contract dispute, the K-pop giant has filed a lawsuit against the trio. As reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily, SM filed a civil suit […]
Lil Uzi Vert is facing a lawsuit that claims they owe a music touring company more than $500,000 in unpaid bills, including for procuring more than two dozen adult dancers that the rapper demanded appear on stage at last year’s Rolling Loud festival in Miami.
In a complaint filed Thursday (June 13) in Georgia federal court, attorneys for M99 Studios say the company successfully worked with Lil Uzi Vert (Symere Bysil Woods) for years, often serving as a “fixer for all things” and keeping tours running despite “unrealistic” requests.
But M99 claims that the rapper and their company (Uzivert LLC) have failed to pay their bills for four concerts last year, including Rolling Loud in Miami and Roots Picnic in Lil Uzi’s native Philadelphia. “Despite its numerous requests for payment of the outstanding invoices, at no point have Uzivert and/or Artist compensated M99 for the services it provided,” the complaint reads.
Trending on Billboard
The costs incurred by M99 covered “unrealistic production requests just hours before the scheduled performances,” the company’s lawyers claim. That included finding “a bounce house, wooded crosses, and mannequins” for one show, and hiring 30 adult dancers to appear at Rolling Loud.
“M99 managed to fulfill this request, along with countless other last-minute demands all at significant time, effort and expense,” the company says.
For years, the lawsuit claims that Lil Uzi Vert “relied heavily on M99” for all “creative ideas, production, and staffing for all tours, shows and performances.” The lawsuit says the rapper would often fall behind on billing, and that M99 would often have to cover up for their financial shortcomings.
“While Artist’s account would work from time-to-time, his credit card would frequently be declined while on tour, making it impossible for M99 to ensure the safety and well-being of the crew without covering the expenses itself,” the company wrote.
M99 says it finally cut ties after an Australian tour, saying the company “decided not to bill for the Australian services in hopes of parting ways amicably.” But the earlier debts over the four American concerts were never paid, the lawsuit claims, despite repeated promises from the rapper’s longtime manager, Amina Diop.
“M99 respectfully requests that this Honorable Court enter judgment in its favor and against Uzivert and/or Artist in an amount to be determined at trial, but no less than $533,499,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
A rep for Lil Uzi Vert did not immediately return a request for comment from Billboard.
In February 2021, Spotify announced its high-quality audio offering, called HiFi, and released a promotional video featuring Billie Eilish and her brother/producer, Finneas, waxing about the benefits of listening to recordings in their natural state rather than the compressed files that became standard in the digital era. “The streaming war is going Hi-Fi,” Billboard proclaimed a few months later.
But it was a false start. Spotify’s HiFi didn’t materialize, and the company officially announced its delay in January 2022. There were rumblings about HiFi in June 2023, but the rumors amounted to nothing. Instead, Spotify pushed ahead with building an all-in-one audio platform by building its podcast business and launching an audiobook offering.
Trending on Billboard
Now, HiFi appears to be back on track. This month, news broke that Spotify will finally launch a high-definition audio tier later this year. Still called HiFi, Spotify will offer the tier for an extra $5 per month for individual plans ($16.99 compared to $11.99, which bakes in an expected $1 increase from the current $10.99), according to a Bloomberg report. The HiFi tier for family plans is reported to be $19.99, $3 more than the current $16.99.
Waiting three years could come with some advantages. First, there’s a large addressable market that wants high-quality audio. A 2023 MusicWatch survey found that 85 million Americans aged 13 and over agreed that obtaining the highest sound quality is important and that they would be willing to pay more to get it, according to MusicWatch’s Russ Crupnick. That’s a big uptick from 2020 when a previous MusicWatch survey found that it found that 69.2 million people aged 13 to 65 were open to paying more for studio-quality sound. Most of that change represents greater interest in high-quality audio, as population growth has been “only about 1% per year,” says Crupnick.
“Once people realize that audio quality is available and they hear it, it is hard to go back,” says Qobuz managing director Dan Mackta. “The challenge is just getting people to actually hear it.”
There are two types of premium audio streaming: 16-bit, known as “lossless” or “CD-quality,” and 24-bit, which is commonly referred to as “high-resolution.” Both Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited offer CD-quality and higher definition tiers that go up to 24-bit/192 kHz. Qobuz streams 24-bit audio up to 192 kHz. Spotify streams up to 256 kbps for subscribers — far below CD quality of 1,411 kbps— and 128 kbps for ad-supported users.
Early high-definition entrants like Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music have done much of the dirty work educating consumers about audio quality. Amazon Music, which debuted high-definition audio in 2019, saw strong demand and engagement, Amazon Music vp Steve Boom told Billboard in 2021. Apple Music rolled out lossless audio and Spatial Audio in June 2021. More than 90% of Apple Music listeners have engaged with Spatial Audio, the company said in January, adding that plays of music available in the format have more than tripled in the previous two years.
The streaming market has matured over the last three years. Spotify currently has 59 million more subscribers than it did at the end of 2021, giving it a larger base from which to upsell a premium audio tier. Consumers have also warmed to the notion of paying more for a music subscription. Spotify’s first large-scale price increase in July 2023 was followed by an additional increase in May in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the United States will follow later this year — all without a material amount of subscriber churn, company executives have said.
Spotify will have to convince its subscribers that high-quality audio is worth a premium, however. Amazon Music Unlimited originally charged a premium for high-definition audio but later made it a standard feature for the lower-priced, standard subscriber plan. Likewise, Apple Music offers lossless audio and Spatial Audio at no extra cost. To counter its competitors’ pricing strategies, Spotify could make HiFi a bundle of premium features. In 2022, Spotify reportedly surveyed consumers about their willingness to pay for a premium tier that offers high-definition audio, additional playlist and library features, limited-ad Spotify playlists, and other add-ons.
But Spotify HiFi could also encourage its competitors to follow suit by further raising prices. Mackta says Qobuz intends to raise prices at some point in the future. In fact, Qobuz lowered prices in 2019 — a standard plan is currently $12.99 per month — in response to larger services like Apple Music and Amazon Music making high-definition audio a standard feature. “In general,” he says, “music is too cheap.”