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Mexican-American singer-songwriter Jacqie Rivera has signed a global deal with Virgin Music Group, Billboard can announce exclusively today (Aug. 29). Her first single under this new partnership, “Si Pasa Una Mosca,” will be released on Friday.
Daughter of the late “Diva de la Banda” Jenni Rivera and sister of fellow singer Chiquis, Jacqie Rivera is best known for her participation in reality shows about her family like The Riveras and I Love Jenni. In 2018, she released a version of a classic love song in Spanish, “Qué Ganas De No Verte Nunca Más,” which her mother had previously recorded, and between 2020 and 2021 she put out a series of singles independently, including “La Razón,” “When It Hurts,” “Existo Yo” and “Hurt.”
This is her first record deal and will include “multiple albums,” her publicist tells Billboard.
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“Being a part of the Virgin team is an answered prayer,” Rivera said in a press release. “It feels so good to have people on your side that believe in your dreams. This is just the beginning for us. Thank you Virgin for being part of my history.”“Everyone at Virgin is so happy to partner with Jacqie on this next phase of her career,” added Victor Gonzalez, President of Latin America and Iberian Peninsula, Virgin Music Group. “Jacqie has made an incredible album, and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”
No further details about the deal were provided.
As for her first single under the label, “Si Pasa Una Mosca” (which means “If a fly passes by”) was written by Salvador Aponte and Leslie Laraim, and produced by Carlos Alvarez. According to the release, the song combines melancholic sounds with a moving narrative that explores the pain and resignation of a relationship that is coming to an end.
“The first time I heard the song, I was driving my car and immediately felt a lump in my throat and started to cry,” Rivera said. “The lyrics are powerful, and I felt connected to them.”Jacqie Rivera is the executor of her mother’s estate, whose latest posthumous releases have been under Sony Music Latin.
A federal judge says Universal Music Group and Playboi Carti didn’t abuse the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when they issued a takedown notice – erroneously, it turns out – against another rapper’s song that used the same beat.
A rapper named G-Baby (Jordan White) sued the label and artist last year after they red-flagged his song “Oi!” for using the same underlying beat as Carti’s “Right Now.” The takedown turned out to be wrong — G-Baby had legally licensed the same beat that Carti had, and he had actually released his song first.
The lawsuit claimed that the move violated the DMCA’s safeguards against improper takedowns, but a judge dismissed those claims Tuesday – citing previous decisions that such restrictions only prohibit intentionally false use of the takedown system.
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“Because the DMCA requires only a good faith belief that material is infringing, a copyright holder is not liable for misrepresentation under the DMCA if they subjectively believe the identified material infringes their copyright, even if that belief is ultimately mistaken,” Judge Analisa Torres wrote.
In G-Baby’s case, the judge noted that he had effectively conceded that the UMG employee who flagged “Oi!” as a copyright infringement did not know that the rapper had properly licensed the beat: “This admission alone dooms White’s claim against UMG,” Torres wrote.
According to Tuesday’s decision, G-Baby paid $250 to producer Pi’erre Bourne (Jordan Timothy Jenks) in 2017 for a non-exclusive license to an instrumental track, which he later used as the basis for “Oi!” The next year, Carti (Jordan Terrell Carter) used the same beat in “Right Now,” a track on the album Die Lit, which reached Number 3 on the Billboard 200.
Shortly after Carti’s song was released, a UMG “content protection specialist” flagged two posts on Twitter in which G-Baby had shared his song. Eventually, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a DMCA takedown, which succeeded in getting the track pulled down from Twitter.
In his lawsuit, G-Baby claimed that UMG had intentionally sought out his song because of animosity from Carti, who he claimed was unhappy that the same beat had been used by someone else.
“Carter and Jenks knew that ‘Oi!’ was properly licensed and not infringing, yet decided to conspire with Universal,” the rapper wrote in his complaint. “Carter, Jenks, and Universal sought the take-down of White’s song with the specific intent of harming White.”
But in Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Torres ruled that even if Carti and Jenks knew that G-Baby’s song was properly licensed, there is no evidence that this information was ever communicated to the UMG staffer who flagged the song for removal.
“White cites no caselaw for the proposition that one employee’s knowledge that a use may be non-infringing should be imputed to another employee who independently issues a takedown notice on behalf of the company,” the judge wrote.
As for Carti himself, Judge Torres ruled that there was no evidence that the rapper had any involvement in or knowledge of the takedown process – meaning he, too, could not have violated the DMCA’s rules.
“Although Carter may well have been aware of (and displeased with) White’s license to use the beat, White has failed to establish that Carter had any part in the takedown notices,” the judge wrote.
Attorneys for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment.
Musicians and songwriters don’t tend to agree on much, but many of them want former president Donald Trump to stop playing their music at his political rallies and campaign events. Whether they can is a quadrennial quandary. The legal answer is yes, at least for songwriters: The big two U.S. performing rights organizations (PROs), ASCAP and BMI, require political campaigns to buy special licenses, from which rightsholders can pull specific works. (The other two, SESAC and GMR, do not issue campaign licenses but can make songs available.) But campaigns don’t always honor those requests.
The use of pop music in campaigns goes back at least a century: Franklin D. Roosevelt used “Happy Days Are Here Again” in his 1932 campaign, and Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis, also a singer, used “You Are My Sunshine,” to which he owned the copyright but did not write. Over the last decade, though, as politics has become more polarizing and pop culture has taken over life in the U.S., this has gone from a subject of occasional interest to one that gets considerable mainstream attention.
In most cases, the unauthorized use of music at a campaign event follows a sort of script: A candidate uses a song and musicians or writers have their lawyers send a cease and desist letter, partly because some campaigns will respect it but often because it’s just a good way to communicate their disapproval in public. How much do I dislike Trump? Enough to have my lawyer write a letter! Some musicians have these letters written, even though a public performance license for an event is only required for a composition, not a recording. Approval is only needed from musicians if the use of music implies an endorsement or involves video, which requires a separate synch license from a song’s publisher.
Now a few recent cases are making this issue more complicated. In mid-August, the estate of Isaac Hayes filed a lawsuit against Trump and his campaign for regularly using “Hold On, I’m Coming” as “outro” music at campaign events. (The estate is suing for copyright infringement, as well as under the Lanham Act, which would cover an implied endorsement, and there will be an emergency hearing in the case on Sept. 3.) Beyoncé has warned the Trump campaign about its use of her song “Freedom,” which has become a theme song for vice president Kamala Harris. And the Foo Fighters objected to the Trump campaign’s use of their song “My Hero” as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the stage to endorse Trump. (They have not sued.)
It seems like an accident of legal history that those three examples fall under the same law as playing a song during an hourlong wait for a candidate to take the stage. In the latter case, no involvement or endorsement is implied — the songs are just used as background music. These cases are different, though. The Hayes estate’s lawsuit claims Trump has used “Hold On, I’m Comin’” 134 times, often as “outro” music, which arguably makes it something of a theme. Beyoncé’s “Freedom” has become identified with the Harris campaign, which uses it with permission. And the Trump campaign used the Foo Fighters song to soundtrack a particular moment, knowing that it would spread widely on video, even though the campaign didn’t have a license for that.
These songs haven’t just been played in public — they have arguably been drafted into service for a cause the writers don’t agree with. “Hold On, I’m Comin’” has been played at Trump events both often and purposefully. Beyoncé should have the right to be identified with the candidate she wants to win. And the Foo Fighters song shows up in news coverage and online video, with the implication that Kennedy is some kind of hero for endorsing Trump.
Although we think of the use of music as a copyright issue involving a public performance, there’s more going on in all three of these cases. The current license system seems to work fine for the way campaigns use music at events in the background. But it would be nice if campaigns could agree with rightsholders, or even with one another, to get permission if a song is used in a way that will identify it with the candidate — and especially if it’s used for a moment that will be widely shared on video. This doesn’t necessarily follow legal logic, but it seems like common sense: If a campaign deliberately selects a song like “My Hero” to soundtrack a moment that is essentially designed to spread on video, doesn’t it make sense to get a video license? Who are we kidding?
Until the situation changes, creators will just keep objecting to the unauthorized use of their work — and they are starting to do so in more creative ways. The Foo Fighters have said they will donate the royalties from Trump’s use of “My Hero” to the Harris campaign. While the Hayes estate’s lawsuit goes forward, it might point out that although “Hold On, I’m Comin’” is played regularly at rallies — it was even rewritten as “Hold On! Edwin’s Coming” for the campaign of Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards — the song gets its name from what co-writer David Porter said to Hayes from the Stax Studios bathroom. If Trump isn’t using the restroom, perhaps another song might work better.
Politicians who use songs with permission also have some bragging rights. Tim Walz can say that Neil Young allowed him to use “Rockin’ in the Free Word” at the Democratic National Convention — an odd choice given the song’s sarcastic lyrics, but still great cred from a music icon. Harris can say the real “Freedom” is hers — and Beyoncé’s support with it. And we can all wait to see who Taylor Swift will endorse.
The electronic producer Odetari is popular on TikTok, where he has more than 2.5 million followers. He posts “maybe three to five times a week, probably even less,” according to Alec Henderson, vp of digital strategy at Artist Partner Group, which signed Odetari last year. That’s often not enough to satiate a global audience consuming social media 24/7.
So APG came up with a workaround. “A lot of what we do internally at APG is create multiple profiles for artists across social channels, and we’ll run fan pages in-house for our artists,” says Corey Calder, svp of marketing and creative services at APG. “We utilize these fan pages to continuously serve artists’ audiences with content,” Henderson adds.
The music industry has become increasingly interested in the marketing potential of these fan pages, which can churn out a lot of posts — song snippets, concert footage, backstage shenanigans, and more — but don’t cost much or require the actual artist to do more work. Some fan pages are started by ardent followers, others by the artists’ own team or label.
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Either way, they function “like having a media outlet at your disposal at all times,” says Laura Spinelli, digital marketing manager for Shopkeeper Management. For Tim Collins, co-founder of the digital marketing agency Creed Media, fan pages “can tell the story of an artist without the artist having to be the voice.”
Fan pages have existed for as long as the internet. While initially listeners had to actively seek them out and follow them, now the most popular social media platforms are all driven by powerful algorithms, which feed their users videos and posts according to their taste profile. This means that even passive supporters can be served fan pages, expanding their reach.
“You might like an official Odetari post, and then that serves information to the app that he is an interest of yours,” Henderson explains. “Our fan pages will almost eat off of that, because then the app is going to serve you more content related to that artist.”
For labels, fan pages can hopefully serve as a cost-efficient alternative to influencers. Marketers have been complaining about the saturation of advertising efforts on TikTok for years now — brands, movies, politicians and more use the platform to sell themselves. As a result, any influencers that command an audience can charge a lot more for their services, even though they generally do not get as many eyeballs as they did when the platform was less popular.
“If you’re going to do influencer marketing and you’re a label, you have to hire an agency or reach out to creators and pay them on a one-off basis to post using your song,” says Benjamin Klein, who runs the Hundred Days Digital marketing agency. “Instead of running a sped-up song campaign or a film-edit campaign that way, you can just launch a page” and put them out yourself.
Having all these accounts on hand — fan pages, sped-up song pages, film-edit pages, lyric pages — offers “a way to circulate catalog and help facilitate music discovery without burdening the artist or having to spend money,” Collins says.
To help promote bbno$’s “It Boy,” the rapper’s team “had close to 60 fan pages pumping one to four posts a day,” says Sam Alavi, who co-manages the artist. They covered “a myriad of different content types: Some were anime focused, some were bbno$ focused, some were clips of old podcasts bbno$ had done, and then they ended with ‘It Boy.’” The single peaked at No. 10 on Billboard’s TikTok Top 50 chart in July.
When an artist’s team runs a fan page, they don’t have to pay to post there. And when fan pages are set up by fans of the artist, they’re usually “so cheap” to work with, according to Arthur Lindsell, managing director of Grail Talent, an agency that links brands with creators. “Their dream is to get reached out to by the team of their favorite singer — give the person who runs the fan account tickets to the tour, and they’re going to be over the moon.”
Courting fan pages run by fans is the political equivalent of firing up the base. While influencers are mercenaries — their heart is in it as long as the check clears — the people behind fan pages rejoice at the opportunity to be loud advocates for their favorite artists, theoretically helping to indoctrinate others. Fan pages “sometimes can initiate interest in an artist, but most of the time they snowball it,” Lindsell says. “It’s about getting people who are slightly interested and hyping them up.”
In addition, fan pages can shift some of the burden of non-stop social media posting away from artists — or shoulder that burden entirely for those who are averse to TikTok. “A lot of artists are just not comfortable using social media,” Klein says. In that case, fan pages can serve as “a way to get your artists into a space that they might not want to participate in if they don’t want to create content,” Spinelli says.
These accounts can also post clips that artists might not want to put up themselves. “A lot of artists want their personal account to stay curated,” says Jen Darmafall, a director at ATG, a management company and marketing agency that runs fan pages for some of its clients. “There’s a lot of content that will be captured at shows, for instance, that they might not want to post on their main account because it will look a little spammy.” The fan pages can function as a spam cannon.
While they can do quantity, some marketers fear fan pages don’t always produce the eye-catching posts necessary to hook new listeners. “When you find the kid who makes the best film edits on TikTok, he’s probably 16 years old, and he just really likes the aesthetic of Ryan Gosling movies, for example,” explains Jake Houstle, co-owner of Black 17 Media, The Orchard’s top TikTok label. “I would much rather pay that kid $50 to create six Ryan Gosling edits for my song,” and hope that his passion for the actor transforms into truly standout posts.
Fan pages face one other challenge. An artist already has to have genuine followers for them to be helpful — otherwise there’s no signal to amplify. If fans could be created out of thin air, everyone would be a star.
“There’s a threshold of how popular the artist needs to be,” Lindsell acknowledges. “No one really gives a shit if something feels obviously manufactured.”
Maison Arts has re-signed Suki Waterhouse to a global publishing deal, further building upon her longstanding partnership with the Los Angeles-based boutique publisher, which has supported her since the start of her career. Under the new deal, Waterhouse’s upcoming album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, will be included and is set to release on Sept. 13 via Sub Pop Records.
The Other Songs has formed a new partnership with Universal Music Publishing Group and has signed “Easily” and “Nothing” singer/songwriter Bruno Major to a worldwide publishing deal. As part of their expansion, the UK-based independent publisher, founded by brothers Alastair and Billy Webber, has also brought on Jacque O’Leary as its new general manager.
Primary Wave Music has acquired the publishing, artist royalties and neighboring rights for the composer, flugelhorn and trumpet player Chuck Mangione. This encompasses his entire catalog, including jazz hits like “Feels So Good,” “Bellavia,” “Land of Make Believe,” “Give It All You Got, But Slowly,” “Children of Sanchez,” “Once Upon A Love Time,” “Chase The Clouds Away.”
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Kobalt has signed songwriter/producer Max Wolfgang to a global publishing administration deal. Though he is perhaps best known for his production work with BLACKPINK, BTS, Ed Sheeran and Olivia Dean, Wolfgang first gained attention as the frontman of British alt-rock band Wolf Gang.
Platinum Grammar Publishing and LISTEN TO THE KIDS PUBLISHING have signed Adam Wendler to a global publishing agreement. A co-writer for Dasha’s viral hit “Austin,” this is Wendler’s first-ever publishing deal.
Prescription Songs, in partnership with Disruptive Label publishing, is excited to announce the recent signing of JAYA. A rising Nigerian artist, songwriter and producer, JAYA has an upcoming placement on DaBaby’s next album and is currently working on records for Oxlade, RunTown, Lion King 2, and a number of Nigerian acts as well.
Song Sleuth has partnered with Regalías Digitales, the leading royalty collection agency in the Latin music industry and beyond, to identify undetected user-generated live music content and maximize collections for their rightsholders. Song Sleuth has also entered into a 12 month commercial trial with ICE, to ensure that ICE Core Society & Publisher Partners are properly collecting on UGC uses of their catalogs.
Position Music has signed Abe Parker to a worldwide publishing deal. An artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, the rising star has experienced viral success with singles “Butterflies,” “Empty House,” and “Stupid Face.”
Warner Chappell Music and Songs & Daughters have signed singer-songwriter Emmi Elliott. A country and Christian songwriter, president and founder of Songs & Daughters, Nicolle Galyon, says “she’s a brilliant creative.”
Marilyn Manson has launched an appeal seeking to revive his defamation lawsuit against ex-fiance Evan Rachel Wood, arguing a lower judge who dismissed much of the case ignored key evidence.
Manson (real name Brian Warner) sued Wood in 2022, claiming she had “secretly recruited, coordinated, and pressured” women to make false abuse allegations against him. But a Los Angeles judge tossed out most of the case in a ruling last year.
That ruling came under California’s anti-SLAPP statute — a law that aims to make it easier for judges to quickly dismiss cases that threaten free speech. Wood’s lawyers claimed Manson’s case was exactly that: a prominent musician using a lawsuit to try to silence someone speaking out about alleged abuse.
But in an appeal lodged on Tuesday, Manson’s lawyers argued that a lower judge had repeatedly misapplied that statute to prematurely end a valid lawsuit that had been aimed at exposing a “malicious campaign” by Wood and others.
“This is an appeal of an order granting two anti-SLAPP motions, in which the trial court rubber-stamped Defendants’ assertions of ‘protected activity’ before weighing and disregarding evidence to conclude that plaintiff Brian Warner could never prevail,” his attorneys write.
Manson also claims that the judge ignored key elements of the case, including “bombshell” testimony from another Manson accuser named Ashley Morgan Smithline, who says she “succumbed to pressure” from Wood to make “untrue” accusations against the singer.
Wood strongly denied those allegations, and the judge ultimately refused to consider Smithline’s testimony because it had been filed far past a key deadline for submitting evidence. In Wednesday’s appeal, Manson’s lawyers say that was a clear and reversible error.
“The trial court prioritized convenience over the core function of the anti- SLAPP statute, which is to dispose of truly meritless suits before discovery,” Manson’s lawyers write.
Wood is one of several women to accuse Manson of serious sexual wrongdoing over the past several years. Manson has denied all of the allegations, and many of the lawsuits filed against him have since been dropped, dismissed or settled.
Manson filed the current lawsuit against Wood in March 2022, accusing her and a woman named Illma Gore of launching an “organized attack” that had derailed his career. His lawyer said the women had carried out “a campaign of malicious and unjustified attacks.”
But Wood quickly fought back, moving to strike Manson’s case under the anti-SLAPP law: “For years, plaintiff Brian Warner raped and tortured defendant Evan Rachel Wood and threatened retaliation if she told anyone about it,” her attorneys wrote. “Warner has now made good on those threats by filing the present lawsuit.”
In May 2023, Judge Teresa A. Beaudet largely granted that motion, ruling that Manson had not sufficiently shown that he would ultimately be able to prove many of those accusations against Wood, including that she had been “pressuring multiple women to make false accusations,” as well as the allegation that she had forged a letter from the FBI.
Anti-SLAPP laws, which exist in states across the country, work by putting more burden than usual on defamation plaintiffs like Manson, forcing them to clearly show at the outset that their case is legitimate. In last year’s decision, Judge Beaudet said Manson had failed to do so.
“The court does not find that plaintiff has demonstrated a probability of prevailing on his [intentional infliction of emotional distress] claim based on the FBI Letter,” the judge wrote, referring to one of Manson’s specific legal claims.
Kobalt announced it has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Yamil, the Colombian hitmaker behind FloyyMenor and Cris MJ’s “Gata Only,” Billboard can announce today (Aug. 29). “Yamil is one of the most creative and successful producers/songwriters making music today,” Nestor Casonu, president of Latin at Kobalt, said in a press statement. “We are so […]
Spotify is demanding that a federal judge toss out a lawsuit filed by the Mechanical Licensing Collective over royalty rates, calling the case “nonsensical” and “wasteful.”
The MLC sued earlier this year, claiming Spotify had “unilaterally and unlawfully” chosen to cut its music royalty payments nearly in half through bookmaking trickery – namely, by claiming that the addition of audiobooks to the service entitled the company to pay a lower “bundled” rate.
But in a motion to dismiss filed in court Tuesday, Spotify calls those claims “meritless and wasteful” – arguing that making hundreds of thousands of audiobooks available to subscribers was not a “token” gesture aimed at reducing music royalties.
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“MLC’s position is nonsensical and factually unsupportable,” Spotify’s lawyers write. “And it profoundly devalues the contributions of the tens of thousands of book authors whose works are available with a Spotify Premium subscription—from literary luminaries, to mainstays on best sellers lists, to up-and-coming writers who are finding their audience.”
The MLC, which collects streaming royalties for songwriters and publishers, filed its lawsuit in late May — a week after Billboard estimated that Spotify’s move would result in the company paying roughly $150 million less over the next year. In its complaint, the MLC claimed Spotify was “erroneously recharacterizing” the nature of its streaming services to secure the lower rate.
“The financial consequences of Spotify’s failure to meet its statutory obligations are enormous for songwriters and music publishers,” the group’s attorneys wrote at the time. “If unchecked, the impact on songwriters and music publishers of Spotify’s unlawful underreporting could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
At issue in the lawsuit is Spotify’s recent addition of audiobooks to its premium subscription service. The streamer believes that because of the new offering, it’s now entitled to pay a discounted “bundled” royalty rate under the federal legal settlement that governs how much streamers pay rightsholders.
In Tuesday’s motion, Spotify’s lawyers strongly defend that interpretation. They argue that the market for audiobooks has attracted “billions in consumer dollars” and that adding books was the kind of valuable new perk that had been intended to be covered by the lower bundled rate.
“At the heart of this dispute is an easily answered question: Is audiobook streaming distinct from music streaming, offering greater than token value?” the company’s lawyers write. “The answer is indisputably yes, and there is no need for federal court litigation to confirm it.”
The rule at issue says that streamers can use the bundled rate if they offer “one or more other products or services having more than token value.” Claiming that more than 200,000 audiobooks does not qualify under that rule is “baffling,” Spotify’s lawyers write.
“The creative output of these authors is not merely of ‘token value’,” Tuesday’s filing says. “Acceptance of that unassailable, commonsense proposition should end this meritless and wasteful litigation.”
MLC’s attorneys will file a formal response to the motion in court in the coming months. In a statement to Billboard on Thursday, the group said: “The MLC’s general practice is not to comment publicly on pending litigations. That said, we would reiterate that we take the enforcement obligations assigned to us by Congress extremely seriously and would refer you to the complaint we filed in this matter for more details regarding our position on this matter.”
J Balvin has been tapped as ESPN’s official music curator for the 2024-25 NFL Season. Balvin will work with ESPN throughout the 2024-25 NFL season to curate music for select ESPN Monday Night Football games. Balvin’s music selections will play in Monday Night Football promo spots, live telecasts and Monday Night Countdown for seven weeks this season, including two NFL Playoff weeks.
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In all, Balvin will provide music for seven games, kicking off his curation stint with his new song “DOBLEXXO” featuring Feid, off his recently released album Rayo. The first game for which Balvin will curate is the New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers on Monday, Sept. 9. However, Balvin’s music selection will begin playing this Friday (Aug. 30), when his track will be used during ESPN’s Week 1 Monday Night topical spot, a fast-moving clip featuring players from the Jets and the 49ers on the field, with Balvin’s music playing as the soundtrack. You can watch it here.
Balvin is the latest superstar to join the Monday Night Football music curation program, joining a list that includes music curators Timbaland and Justin Timberlake (2023), Marshmello (2022), Drake (2021), DJ Khaled (2020) and Diplo (2019).
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“ESPN’s Music curation program with Monday Night Football continues with an artist that will amplify the bold and new music strategy,” said Curtis Friends, ESPN’s vp of sports marketing, in a statement. “J Balvin is a global icon whose influence hits with diverse cultures and genres. His music choices embrace the anticipation and excitement the ESPN football season offers, and we can’t wait for him to come along the season-long ride with us.”
Following the first game on Sept. 9, Balvin will select one song to use for each designated week. Although the tracks to be used have not been announced, they can be his own or someone else’s.
Here is J Balvin’s music curation schedule for the 2024-25 NFL season:• Week 1: New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers• Week 5: New Orleans Saints @ Kansas City Chiefs• Week 6: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets• Week 11: Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys• Week 18 Doubleheader: TBD• Monday Night Super Wild Card: TBD• Divisional: TBD
Balvin has long been associated with different sports and athletes, and in 2022, he became the first Latin artist to headline an NFL kickoff concert, performing at Long Beach, Calif., ahead of the first regular season game of 2022. Below is the first spot using Balvin’s music.
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The U.S. recorded music market grew a little bigger in the first half of 2024 — but not by much. The retail value of total industry revenue reached $8.65 billion, according to RIAA figures released Thursday (Aug. 29), thanks mainly to a modest gain in streaming revenue and a jump in vinyl sales.
While the period’s revenue is a record for the first half of a year, it marked just a 3.9% gain from the prior year’s period. The U.S. market has returned to a more workmanlike trajectory, putting high-single digit and double-digit gains in the rear-view mirror. By contrast, revenue was up 8.8% and 9.0% in the first half of 2022 and 2023, respectively. In the first half of 2021, as paid and ad-supported streaming benefitted from pandemic-era lockdowns that drove consumers to their devices, revenue rocketed 27.0%.
Vinyl EP and LP sales totaled 24.3 million units, up 10.7%, and were valued at $739.9 million, up 17%. Other physical formats gained, too, but the distance between them and vinyl grew larger. CD sales improved just 0.3% to $236.7 million. The other category—encompassing cassettes, CD singles, vinyl singles, DVD audio and SACD—improved 66.6% to $13.2 million.
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Physical sales increased its percentage of total revenue to 11.4% from 10.5% in the prior-year period and 10.2% in the first half of 2022. Vinyl has doubled its share of the market in five years, reaching 8.5% of total U.S. revenue — up from 4.2% in the first half of 2020.
Streaming still dominates industry revenue and provided the single-biggest dollar gain of all the categories. Total streaming revenue grew 3.8% to $7.3 billion and accounted for 84.1% of total revenue, equal to the year-ago period. Paid subscription revenue hit $5.23 billion, up 5.1%, leading all streaming categories by a wide margin. The average number of subscribers reached 99 million, up just 2.6%, suggesting record labels benefitted from price increases by Spotify and other services.
Other streaming segments had a smaller impact or lost ground over the past year. Limited-tier paid subscription revenue dropped 4.1% to $503 million. (Limited-tier services have limited catalogs, interactivity restrictions or other factors that differ from premium subscription plans.) Ad-supported, on-demand revenue rose 2.5% to $899 million. SoundExchange distributions were $517 million, up 3.9%. Other ad-supported streaming—statutory streaming services not distributed by SoundExchange—fell 2.7% to $159.1 million.
Download sales, once the cornerstone of the U.S. market, declined in share for the 14th straight year and amounted to just 2% of industry revenue. Total download sales fell 15.8% to $189.7 million. Track and digital album sales fell 16.1% and 18.5%, respectively. Ringtones and ringbacks dropped 51.1% to $2.9 million. The other digital category, which includes kiosks and music video downloads, grew 22.0% to $17.1 million.
Synchronization royalties dropped 9.8% to $200.9 million, a sharp contrast to sizable gains of 25.3% and 29.9% in the first half of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
In a statement, RIAA chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier highlighted revenue reaching a record $8.7 million and the evolving music ecosystem. “Spanning multiple licensing avenues from fitness apps to short-form video, artists and labels are embracing innovation with responsible partners so more Americans can engage with their favorite music however, whenever and wherever they choose,” he said. “This sustained growth fuels innovation and reflects music’s incredible value, laying the foundation for a healthy creative ecosystem where artists’ and songwriters’ visions can flourish over generations.”