Business
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Prince’s former business advisors have won a key ruling in their ongoing legal battle with three of the pop legend’s heirs over the management of his estate.
In a decision issued Friday, a Delaware judge ruled that advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. could not be ousted as mangers of Prince Legacy LLC, a company created to operate half of Prince’s lucrative estate.
Three of Prince’s heirs, led by his sister Sharon Nelson, had argued they could amend the LLC agreement to remove McMillan and Spicer from their leadership positions, but the judge ruled that such efforts were clearly invalid under the terms of the agreement.
“The LLC agreement is unambiguous and [McMillan and Spicer]’s interpretation is the only reasonable one,” Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick wrote in the decision, which was obtained by Billboard.
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Ruling that Prince’s heirs had vested the two advisors with “broad and exclusive management authority,” the judge said they could not now amend their agreement simply because they “came to regret this decision.”
An attorney for Sharon Nelson and the other Prince heirs did not immediately return a request for comment on the ruling.
Prince had no will when he died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, leaving six heirs to inherit equal shares in his valuable estate and sparking a long legal battle in Minnesota probate court over how the estate would be managed in the future.
When the court case finally wrapped up in August 2022, the estate was split into two companies – one controlled by Primary Wave after it purchased the shares of three heirs, and another (Prince Legacy) controlled by McMillan, Spicer and the three remaining relatives. At the time, both sides vowed to work together to bring Prince’s music and legacy to a new generation of music fans.
But in January, McMillan and Spicer sued their partners within Prince Legacy, claiming Nelson and other heirs were improperly trying to force them out as managers and “install themselves” in their place. McMillan and Spicer claimed Nelson had become “disgruntled” because they had refused to comply with her “unreasonable demands. They cited one incident in which she allegedly attempted “replace the entire staff” of Prince’s legendary Paisley Park home “with individuals of her choosing.”
The lawsuit argued that the efforts to oust McMillan and Spicer were not only barred by Prince Legacy’s operating agreement, but also posed a threat to their efforts “to preserve and protect Prince’s legacy.”
“The individual defendants lack any business and management experience, have no experience in the music and entertainment industries, and have no experience negotiating and managing high-level deals in the entertainment industry,” attorneys for McMillan and Spicer wrote at the time. “They have a documented history of infighting. Based on the amount and complexity of the work that Prince Legacy is involved with, they are simply not capable of stepping in and managing its business.”
In Friday’s decision, McCormick sided decisively with McMillan and Spicer, granting them summary judgment on their core allegation: That Nelson’s effort to amend the LLC agreement had been invalid under terms of the deal.
“Defendants’ interpretation … would lead to the absurd result of giving the non-managing members the authority to unilaterally take actions on behalf of the company and bind the company without the approval of the managing members,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
In a statement to Billboard following the ruling, McMillan said: “We are pleased with the judge’s decision and wish we were not forced to take legal action for the wrongdoing of the defendants (and their advisors) yet we have a heavy responsibility to preserve and protect Prince’s legacy and all he created, by all appropriate means necessary. I have protected Prince and been his partner for decades. Nothing will change our history and my loyalty to him and his legacy.”
Friday’s decision will not end the lawsuit, because McCormick also ruled that McMillan and Spicer could to pursue their related allegation that Nelson and the other heirs had breached that contract when they attempted to amend the LLC agreement. That claim will be subject to future litigation.
Primary Wave, which controls the other half of Prince’s estate, is not involved in the litigation nor accused of any wrongdoing.
The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape.
It also signals rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle.
Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares though the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone. She had battled to maintain control of the company that owns CBS, which is behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.”
Just weeks after turning down a similar agreement with Skydance, however, Redstone agreed to a deal on terms that had not changed much.
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“Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” said Redstone, who is chair of Paramount Global.
The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion.
Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years, including Tom Cruise films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.
Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison and it quickly formed a production partnership with Paramount that same year. Ellison, if the deal is approved by U.S. regulators, will become chairman and chief executive officer of what’s being called New Paramount.
The on-again, off-again merger arrives at tumultuous time for Paramount, which in an annual shareholder meeting in early June laid out a restructuring plan that includes major cost cuts.
Leadership at Paramount has been volatile this year after its CEO Bob Bakish, following a number of disputes with Redstone, was replaced with an “office of the C.E.O,” run by three executives. Four company directors were also replaced.
Paramount, however, has struggled to find its footing for years and its cable business has been hemorrhaging. To capture today’s growing streaming audience, the company launched Paramount+ back in 2021, but losses and debts have continued to grow.
Sumner Redstone used National Amusements, his family’s movie theater chain, to build a vast media empire that included CBS and Viacom, which have merged and separated a number of times over the years. Most recently, the companies re-joined forces in 2019, undoing the split consummated in 2006. The company, ViacomCBS, changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022.
Under Sumner Redstone’s leadership, Viacom became one of the nation’s media titans, home to pay TV channels MTV and Comedy Central and movie studio Paramount Pictures.
It is a company with a rich history, as well as a deep bank of media assets, ankd Skydance wasn’t the only one to gun for Paramount in recent months — Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures also made competing offers.
Late last year, Warner Bros. Discovery also made headlines for exploring a potential merger with Paramount. But by February, Warner had reportedly halted those talks.
Leading all music stocks this week, SiriusXM shares rose as high as $4.14 on Friday (July 5), its highest point since March 13, and closed at $3.71, up 31.1%. The satellite radio company, which also owns music streaming service Pandora and has high hopes for its revamped SiriusXM streaming app, is likely benefitting from an upcoming 10-to-1 reverse stock split and merger with Liberty Media’s SiriusXM Group tracking stock. The merger eliminates any confusion amongst investors by creating only one way to invest in SiriusXM. And although the split doesn’t affect the company’s value, it will increase the share price by reducing the number of shares outstanding. That, in turn, could help SiriusXM’s image with investors and further help prop up the share price.
French streaming company Deezer rose 20.3% to 2.07 euros ($2.25) after it completed a public offering that transferred shares from the professional to the general segment of the Euronext Paris. (The professional segment is dedicated to companies that did not have an initial public offering or sale of shares. Deezer gained entry to the Euronext Paris through a merger with I2PO, a special purpose acquisition company, in 2022.) With that improvement, Deezer’s year-to-date loss improved to 12.3% from 19.2% a week ago. The company will report first-half earnings results on July 30.
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The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 1.6% to 1,844.87, nearly matching the all-time record of 1,847.64 set the week ended May 17, with the large gains enjoyed by SiriusXM and Deezer helping offset losses by 11 of the index’s 20 stocks. The index’s most valuable companies had small gains this week: Live Nation rose 1.7% to $95.34, Universal Music Group added 0.9% to 28.03 euros ($30.41) and Spotify gained 0.8% to finish at $316.85.
Music stocks couldn’t match many major indexes this week. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite gained 3.5% to 18,352.76 and the S&P 500 rose 2.0% to 5,567.19 — both record closes. Stocks were aided by data released on Friday by the U.S. Labor Department that showed that the economy added more jobs than expected in June while the increase in hourly earnings met expectations. The rise in the unemployment rate rise from 4.0% to 4.1% was a surprise, however.
Internationally, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 improved 0.5% to 8,203.93. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 2.3% to 2,862.23. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.6% to 2,949.93.
Sphere Entertainment Co. improved 6.8% to $37.43, bringing its year-to-date gain to 10.1%. On Wednesday (July 3), the company announced it had given executive chairman/CEO James Dolan a new three-year employment contract that runs through June 30, 2027. That ensures Dolan will continue to oversee the growth of Sphere in Las Vegas and additional locations the company will target. Looking ahead, Dead & Company’s 30-show residency at the venue concludes on Aug. 10 while the Eagles will begin a 16-date residency — eight weekends of Friday and Saturday concerts — on Sept. 20.
Music streaming company LiveOne fell 14.6% to $1.34, putting the stock down 4.3% year to date. On Monday (July 1), the company announced a partnership with Seekr to build an AI-powered search engine for beats and sounds. The platform, expected to launch by the end of the year, is intended to help creators and music licensors.
Korean companies continued to struggle this week. HYBE fell 2.5% to 197,400 won ($143.30), bringing its year-to-date loss to 15.5%. SM Entertainment fell 3.5% to 77,600 won ($56.33) and has fallen 15.7% in 2024. Two K-pop companies not in the Billboard Global Music Index fared even worse: JYP Entertainment, home to TWICE and Stray Kids, dropped 2.8% to 55,700 won ($40.43) and has fallen 45% this year; while YG Entertainment, home to BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, sank 5.3% to 38,150 won ($27.69) and has lost 25% year to date.
Veteran music manager and record label executive Mary Martin — a champion, career guider and musical connector for artists including Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill — died on Thursday (July 4) at age 85, according to a statement from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Born on June 15, 1939, Martin, a Toronto native, studied briefly at the University of British Columbia before moving to New York in the 1960s and working as an executive assistant to Albert Grossman, a manager for Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Peter, Paul and Mary.
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“Working for Albert Grossman in those days, it didn’t matter how menial the task was,” Martin said during a 2009 interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where she was honored as part of the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum. “It was that we were surrounded and enveloped by all these great artists.”
After returning to Toronto, Martin got involved with the folk music scene and became aware of the band The Hawks, which inclueded members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko. The group would later become known as The Band, and Martin is credited with connecting the group with Dylan in the mid-1960s.
Martin went on to become an artist manager for artists including Cohen, who would later release songs including “Suzanne” and “Sisters of Mercy.” She began managing Morrison just as he released such star-making albums as Astral Weeks, Moondance and Tupelo Honey.
Throughout much of the 1970s, Martin worked as an influential A&R executive for Warner Bros. Records, signing and developing the careers of artists including Emmylou Harris and Leon Redbone.
“If you take her out of the equation, my life would be very, very different,” Harris said in the trailer for the documentary Mary Martin: Music Maven.
After leaving Warner Bros., Martin began managing Crowell, a relationship that lasted from 1979 to 1983. In 1983, she became the manager for Gill, who was at the time a guitarist in Crowell’s band The Cherry Bombs. After Martin connected Gill with then-RCA Records Nashville head Joe Galante, he signed a label deal with RCA, which would launch Gill to country music stardom on the strength of songs including “Oklahoma Borderline,” “When I Call Your Name” and “I Still Believe in You.”
In the Music Maven documentary trailer, Gill calls Martin “one of the special people on earth that uses her gift for the right reasons. There’s no question she’s a rare breed.”
“Mary and I started working together in ’85,” Galante tells Billboard in a statement. “Her knowledge, frankness, humor and wit were a powerful combination. We hit it off instantly. She was never interested in musical trends. Mary was focused on artists that could make music that would last. She was respected and loved by people throughout the industry. Mary raised the bar for us all creatively. I will miss that smile and distinctive laugh.”
Martin halted work as Gill’s manager when she joined RCA in an A&R role. While at the label, she signed artists including singer-songwriter Matraca Berg and guided the careers of artists including Lorrie Morgan and Clint Black.
Over the course of her career, Martin also worked at Asylum and Mercury Records (where she co-produced the Grammy-winning Hank Williams tribute album Timeless). It was also Martin who offered early career encouragement to another triple-threat singer-songwriter-guitarist named Keith Urban, encouraging him to move to Nashville from Australia to pursue his musical aspirations.
“Time and again, Mary Martin spotted great talents and elevated their careers,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement. “Early on, she connected Bob Dylan to her friends the Hawks, who became the Band. She managed Leonard Cohen in his first musical outings, then guided the budding solo careers of Van Morrison, Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill. At Warner Bros., she signed future Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris, at RCA she helped sign and develop Clint Black and Lorrie Morgan, and she encouraged a young Keith Urban to move from Australia to Nashville. Mary’s unerring feel for songs and performers was legendary, and she was a fierce ally for the artists she represented.”
Martin was also a survivor of sexual assault and became a strong advocate for justice for fellow survivors.
In 2007, Martin was given a lifetime achievement award by the Nashville music industry group SOURCE and celebrated with the Americana Music Association’s Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, she was honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as part of the Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum.
Two Canadian legends are three spots apart on the charts this week.
Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne both have new debuts on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. Dion lands at No. 68 for the soundtrack to her new documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, chronicling her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). Lavigne comes in at No. 71 with Greatest Hits, her new compilation of fan favorites.
Though neither is a blockbuster debut, both chart placements show that two of Canada’s biggest stars in the 2000s still have staying power. Dion’s soundtrack features many of her biggest hits, including “My Heart Will Go On” and “Pour que tu m’aimes encore,” as well as a score by Redi Hasa.
Lavigne isn’t quite as decorated as Dion, but the Napanee, Ontario pop-punk singer has been stepping into a new echelon of Canadian legends as of late, with recognition from Canada’s Walk of Fame as well as a recent appointment to the Order of Canada. Greatest Hits comes alongside a tour of the same name, which just saw Lavigne play at Glastonbury to one of the U.K. festival’s biggest crowds this year. – Rosie Long Decter
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Anthem Music Publishing’s Gilles Godard Enters Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced Gilles Godard as the 2024 Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame Stan Klees Builder inductee. Both Godard and recently named fellow Hall Of Fame Artist inductee k.d. lang will be honored and celebrated in an induction ceremony during Country Music Week 2024, taking place in Edmonton from September 11–14.
A native of Cornwall, Ontario, Godard boasts over five decades of music industry experience and currently serves as the president of Anthem Music Publishing Nashville. He began his career with Anthem (formerly known as ole) as a writer, working his way up through various key positions. Godard oversees Anthem’s extensive roster of country songwriters including Canadians Meghan Patrick, Chris Buck, Jimmy Thow and Patricia Conroy.
An accomplished writer, publisher, artist and producer, Godard’s talents have earned him two CCMA Awards, two BMI Awards, four SOCAN Awards including an International Songwriter Achievement Award, a Felix Award and multiple JUNO Award nominations. Over 400 of his songs have been recorded, including by artists such as Terri Clark, Patty Loveless, Anne Murray, Ricky Skaggs, Tommy Hunter, Blackhawk, Tracy Byrd, The Road Hammers, Colleen Peterson and Ronnie Prophet. – Kerry Doole
Karan Aujla Becomes the First Punjabi Artist Featured In Apple Music’s Up Next Program
Karan Aujla is continuing to break new ground this year.
The Punjabi-Canadian musician became the first artist of Punjabi descent to win the Juno Fan Choice Award in March, and now he’s the first Punjabi musician to be featured as part of Apple Music’s global Up Next initiative.
The program highlights emerging stars, devoting Apple Music’s editorial resources to uplifting featured artists through original short films, interviews with Apple Music radio hosts and more. Aujla’s short film finds him venturing into his favourite spots in Vancouver, like barbershop Eddy’s, and reflecting on his musical ambitions.
“I feel like my music helped a lot of people that don’t know my language,” he says in the film. “There don’t have to be barriers around it, like ‘Oh, this is this is a Punjabi song. I can’t listen to this.’ I don’t think that’s right. I listen to Spanish music all the time. I don’t know a word of Spanish.”
Aujla hopes that Punjabi music will have its own “Despacito,” moment, he says, referring to the Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee song’s international impact, as the Punjabi wave continues to rapidly grow in markets outside of India.
Aujla got his start as a lyricist in Vancouver working with Punjabi artists like Diljit Dosanjh, but has since made his own name as an artist, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart last year with Making Memories, his collaborative album with producer Ikky.
Aujla also has a new EP, Four Me, as he prepares to kick off his first Canadian tour this summer that will take him to three arenas around the country. – RLD
Cardi B (born Belcalis Almanzar) has been sued for copyright infringement by Joshua Fraustro and Miguel Aguilar, who make up producer duo Kemika1956, alleging that the Grammy-winning rapper used their “Greasy Frybread” track without permission in her hit single “Enough (Miami).” According to court documents filed in Texas federal court on Wednesday (July 3), Fraustro […]
The U.K. has elected a new government. Following the country’s General Election on Thursday (July 4), Labour won an overwhelming majority with 412 elected MPs, and its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, is the new Prime Minister. The U.K. had been under Conservative rule since 2010, but the Rishi Sunak-led party lost 249 seats, finishing with just 121, the worst result in its history.
This comes as little surprise, as polling consistently put the left-wing party Labour ahead of its rivals. The only real question was how comprehensive the result would be. Starmer’s success rivals previous Prime Minister Tony Blair and his landslide victory with Labour in 1997’s General Election.
Starmer ran his campaign on a ticket of “Change,” but few knew quite what that meant. There were promises of economic growth and a greater respect for the office, but a final YouGov poll released the day prior to the election found that only 5% of registered voters were choosing Labour MPs for “policy reasons.” Despite the seat majority — 326 elected MPs are required to win in the U.K.’s first-past-the-post electoral system — Labour’s vote share has increased by just 1.5% from the 2019 General Election that it lost comprehensively. It’s been a line of attack hammered repeatedly: What does Labour actually stand for?
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It’s a question that the music industry has been asking, too. Between the cost-of-living crisis, the rise in inflation and the long-running impact of Brexit, a perfect storm has been brewing under the Conservatives which, Ed Sheeran suggested earlier this week, did “not value art at all”.
There are positive noises. In its manifesto, Labour says it “will implement our creative industries sector plan as part of our Industrial Strategy, creating good jobs and accelerating growth in film, music, gaming, and other creative sectors.” There are references to assisting performers in touring through the EU, ensuring “new consumer protections on ticket resales” and plans to ban “no fault” evictions which, as NME previously reported, is contributing to the housing crisis felt by creatives and society at large.
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), is optimistic that the members he campaigns on behalf of — venues, clubs, bars, performers, workers and more — feel positively towards the new government. Fourty four percent of respondents to the NTIA’s Consumer Insight Survey feel that Labour is supportive of the arts, culture and sport, compared to the Conservatives at just 11%.
“There’s been lots of positive rhetoric behind the scenes,” says Kill, but “it still seems very unclear where Labour is from the manifesto.” There will now be additional concern that Thangam Debbonaire, who had been widely expected to become the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sports, failed to win her seat in her Bristol Central constituency; she is one of just two shadow cabinet ministers to not join the party in government.
The changes that Kill and other industry bodies like the Music Venue Trust (MVT) are calling for are simple. He points to the VAT rate (Value Added Tax) that campaigners like the NTIA and Save Our Scene want reduced to 12.5%, and a reduction of VAT on tickets for music events at grassroots venues. They say these changes would bring them closer to comparative rates in Europe.
In 2022, it was estimated that the nighttime economy generated £136.5 billion, an increase from 2019’s pre-pandemic figure of £121.3 billion, but the NTIA’s report notes that inflation and an increase in operating costs means that any turnover gains will be “essentially wiped out.” Between policy, legislative and financial issues, the live music and hospitality industry is on the back foot.
“We do need to change the attitude in terms of the value we bring,” Kill says. “The nighttime economy needs to start to be perceived as non-burdensome and more value-driven. The worry that we have is that the U.K. is going to lose that status as a real driver of culture.”
There are similarly pressing issues for artists, too. Lily Fontaine, lead singer of indie-rock band English Teacher, which released its critically acclaimed debut album This Could Be Texas on Island Records this year, says artists like themselves are in a dire position. “I’m still not earning. It’s still a struggle for me and my band,” she says. “And it’s even more of a struggle for smaller artists that are trying to make a career.”
When Fontaine gave evidence to the Culture Media & Sport Parliamentary Committee on Grassroots Music Venues in March, she pointed out the “cost-of-touring” crisis and the burden it places on her and her band to keep their tour crew — from technicians to production staff — employed and paid. Though the band received funding from PPL Momentum Accelerator to help record its first single, the sheer cost will lead to a landscape unrepresentative of the U.K.’s diverse music scenes.
“We didn’t have enough time to maintain full-time jobs to get enough money,” Fontaine says. “It was so hard to create and to enjoy creating [our debut album] when you’ve got to think about earning. Then that creates a homogenised scene because only the people that can afford it would do it.”
Manchester-based musician Chloe Slater — who released her single “Nothing Shines On This Island” earlier this year — is concerned that young people are being priced out of music events that help inspire creativity, and that grassroots music venues are closing at an alarming rate. The MVT says that 125 grassroots venues shut down in 2023, while the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) says that 50 independent music festivals have been canceled, postponed or closed in 2024.
“Grassroots venues and festivals [are] where young musicians hone their craft, and the industry is an ecosystem,” Slater says. “And if you lose those venues, it’s such a massive part of that. I don’t understand where all the new artists are supposed to come from if they’re not there.”
A levy on tickets at larger venues to help support the grassroots venues has been recommended by MPs. Kill welcomes this suggestion but wants to ensure the whole ecosystem is supported, not just music venues. Elsewhere, Labour has suggested a crackdown on secondary ticket touts, but its position on AI is still uncertain, even as it’s become a pressing topic in the music industry and beyond.
The in-tray is bulging and the U.K. music industry is holding its breath, hoping that the incoming Labour government can meet the challenge.
James Dolan will continue his run as Sphere Entertainment Co.’s executive chairman/CEO for another three years. Sphere Entertainment gave Dolan a three-year contract extension that runs from July 1 to June 30, 2027, according to a July 3 regulatory filing. Sphere Entertainment consists of Sphere, the groundbreaking, $2.3-billion venue in Las Vegas; MSG Networks, which […]
Our interview starts with one of the many stories that make up the legend of Paul Anka. For the soon-to-be 83-year-old, the tale is one of many he enjoys regaling people with from his generations-spanning career, where he’s been both in front of the mic (he first topped the Billboard Hot 100 as a teen idol in 1959 for four weeks with “Lonely Boy” and recently wrapped his Seven Decades tour) and behind the pen (he wrote the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” and co-wrote Michael Jackson’s “Love Never Felt So Good,” and even has credits on modern hits by Drake and Doja Cat). No wonder there’s a long-in-the-works Broadway show dedicated to his songbook.
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Now, the Canadian singer-songwriter is adding ‘podcast host’ to his stacked resume. Dubbed Our Way (naturally), his podcast is produced by iHeartMedia and showcases Anka alongside co-host and friend Skip Bronson talking shop with an eclectic array of guests including Michael Bublé, Clive Davis, Sebastian Maniscalco and Jason Bateman. (Bateman, who co-hosts the SmartLess: On the Road podcast alongside Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, also happens to be Anka’s son-in-law.) It’s the perfect medium considering Anka is bursting with stories: butting heads with Jerry Lee Lewis, hanging out with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas steam rooms, having Michael Jackson crash at his house. Did we mention the time Vladimir Putin sang to him?
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Wondering where to start, let’s allow Anka to take the lead considering he recently added ‘interviewer’ to his skill set: “I brought The Beatles to the United States,” Anka declares. “We can start there.”
Let’s talk about you bringing The Beatles to America.
Well, I got my start before them. I got lucky in ‘55; I was the luckiest teenager in the world and became an international creature traveling all over the world and wound up settling down with my wife in France, may she rest in peace. On one occasion in the early ‘60s, I went to Paris to see a friend of mine working at the Olympia Theater. In the course of it all, an announcer came on: “Ladies and gentleman, The Beatles.” I’m going, beetles? But these four guys came on. Being a musician, I was like, “Wow. What’s happening here?” So when I performed at the Olympia myself, they showed up to see me. We continued the relationship into London where we hung out socially. When I came back to New York where I was living part time, (I talked to) my agents at General Artists and I said to them, “There’s these guys! There’s something going on there.” I kept hounding them, and they went over and met with their manager Brian Epstein, and it evolved from that. They came over to Sullivan in ‘64 and all of the sudden music was a thing, like on Madison Avenue. When I was hopping around, it was a smaller industry.
Before The Beatles, you were a teen idol. Did you take full advantage of that?
It’s kind of like how it is today: same bullsh-t, more lights. But back then, we were under the thumb, if you will, of agents and managers because it was all new. I couldn’t leave my hotel because there’d be thousands of kids outside. I was living the dream but saying, “What’s going on here?” I was hiding away trying to deliver three albums a year.
Did you date any of the starlets of the era?
Starlets? Not really. I’m 15, 16 and 17. The only time I ever got serious was with Annette Funicello, a product of Disney who evolved to become America’s sweetheart. I wrote an album for her and we traveled together on tour. But much to the chagrin of the Disney people, I was trying to make the best of the situation. They had people around watching us and trying to curtail it. She wanted to get married and I didn’t, we were too young. Ultimately, she married my agent, Jack Gilardi.
Was there anybody you worked with or met who was most unlike their public persona?
Good question. Well, I knew everybody. We all traveled together and there weren’t a lot of venues. People like Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, I saw their gentle sides; they were caring. Someone like Jerry Lee Lewis was wilder than I thought. I had to travel to Australia with him and he didn’t like me much. The most gentle, though, was Buddy Holly, who was my friend. We became very close and I knew everything going on in his life. We were going to start a company, and my manager booked him on that tour when he ultimately died [in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959, alongside Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson].
What was it like when you found out his plane had crashed? I know you even wrote a song for him, 1959’s “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.”
It was devastating to all of us. We were very close. Unlike today, I’m not sure how close people are with each other when egos and narcissists emerge in the industry. But back then we were a bunch of close kids. Buddy was probably more talented than all of us. His music influenced us, too.
Paul Anka
Paul Anka Productions
Who else influenced you at that time?
There was also The Everly Brothers, another major influence. But I’d go on tour with them and they wouldn’t even talk to each other; there was real hatred, fighting and carrying on, then they’d go on stage and that was it. So they were great guys, but they couldn’t be together or socialize and that was very sad to us. Chuck Berry was another wild man; we loved Chuck and his talent, and then we realized he was a real womanizer. It got to a point where if we had to take a bus from New York to a distant state, he was always wanted for something or other by the cops. So he had to be flown over two or three states where he was wanted, and then we’d have to pick him up. He ultimately went to jail at the end of that tour.
Tell me about your first time meeting Frank Sinatra.
For all of us, he was on our radar as someone we wanted to emulate: be like him, dress like him, play his same places. It was always Sinatra, Sinatra, Sinatra. He made it difficult for anybody to stand in front of a band after him. The first time I met him socially was at Trader Vic’s, the restaurant. I left my table and went over to introduce myself, intimidated to death. He was very kind and very nice to me. Once I started working in Vegas and hanging out in the steam room with him, we were friends. But I’m still very young. I’m still a kid in the steam room with all of these guys walking around nude trying to avoid eye contact.
What would go on in the steam room?
Unimaginable. I’ll leave it at that. Everybody’s walking around, having laughs, talking business. There were moments when certain times we’d have girls come in and meet us late at night. We were free back then — nobody was afraid of the press the way they are today. I wasn’t really asserting myself. But I certainly absorbed it, enjoyed it and went with the flow. I’ve seen a lot of experiences with him. When you went out with him, you brought your passport because you’d never know where you’d wind up. I saw a show with him in Philadelphia and he had his Learjet waiting. He said, “Come to New York tonight and stay with me.” When we got to New York, he said, “Let’s go to the boat” and we were going up and down to Connecticut. So the one night out turned into a week. It was monumental to me, because I had never spent so much quality time with him like that. We’d go out and there’d be cherry bombs being thrown around. It’d be a lot of frolicking around.
Another time we were in the Fontainebleau in Miami. There’d be holes in the wall, because the FBI was always trying to bug him which pissed him off. We got in there one night and it was late. He said, “Empty the terrace” and threw all these lawn chairs over the terrace on the beach. It was all kinds of fun stuff like that. There was nobody like him.
Is there a song you wrote that you wished Sinatra had recorded?
Well, one of the last ones he recorded but didn’t come out at the time, “Leave It All To Me.” It was actually only released a year ago or so. I kept pushing it and he finally recorded it, but he wasn’t well at that time and he left the studio early. They tabled it for a while and then put it out. So there you go!
Throughout your career you always championed artistic expression. I’m thinking of your album of rock covers, for example. But I wanted to ask you about two different moments, and very different artists. What did you think when Doja Cat sampled “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” for her song “Freak”?
Well, “Shoulder” started before Cat came along. It had a life before her and was very hot on TikTok. But I thought she was talented and knew her manager. They sent it to me for approval and I said, “Why not?” So I signed off on it and away she went and gave it that next life, if you will. I was in full accord. But we’re suffering badly from the music business today, there are no real great heroes happening with it. It’s all about (Daniel) Ek right now and streaming. The music industry is just not what it was anymore. So it’s getting very difficult to sell, so I said let Doja Cat go with it and see what happens. It’s very difficult for anybody to really be heard and seen today.
From one spectrum to another, Sid Vicious recorded a punk cover of your iconic song “My Way,” which famously featured at the end of the movie Goodfellas. How did that come about?
Sid called for a license and I said “no” originally to that, then said, “Why did I say that?” He was sincere. So I said, “Let me think about it.” I had to live with it for a while obviously. Once I computed everything and looked at it hard, I said, “Yeah, go.” And I approved it. Later (the director Martin) Scorsese called for a license to use it. I admire Marty greatly, he’s one of our greatest directors and I loved the cast.
Did you check in with Sinatra for that? After all, it’s by all accounts an insane cover of one of his signature songs.
No, an artist would have no say in that whatsoever unless you use his record. There were certain artists he would verbalize (not liking), but I’ll leave that alone. They were more in another vein. He didn’t like rock n’ roll music from the inception, we all know that. But in terms of “My Way,” I got no feedback on something that he disliked.
The legacy of “My Way’ is still going strong. In the past year alone, the song opened the broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII, was played at Alexei Navalny’s funeral, and is featured in the trailer for the new Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie Wolfs. What are your thoughts on this endurance?
Well, there’s actually a major documentary coming out about “My Way” which I think is going to Cannes next year. I can’t tell you what really jarred me aside from the Vicious record. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by many of the versions: the Gipsy Kings’ version is amazing, Brook Benton, Nina Simone’s version is amazing. I wrote when I was 25 after Sinatra told me was quitting. When I went to write it in New York, it was a spiritual moment; I don’t know where the hell it came from. What really jarred me in relation to the song, is when I started to hear what was happening in the Philippines where they take their karaoke seriously: one person who sang “My Way” got killed, then another person got shot. I think it’s up to eight or nine people who got shot because they sang it wrong! I went to the Philippines just a few months ago and they said, “Yeah, it’s for real! If they don’t like the way you sing it, they shoot you.” And of course I’ve sung it all over the world, to presidents. To Putin.
Wait, you have to tell me what it was like singing to Vladimir Putin.
I had been to Russia a few times before, but singing to him (at a charity event in 2010) and knowing his station in life and his vibe was monumental and moving. He’s into the song, like a lot of others, for whatever reason. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done, and it paid off because I went to the Hermitage Museum with him after until three in the morning eating the greatest caviar I’ve ever had in my life.
What did you talk about?
He was gracious. He didn’t speak English that well, so there were interpreters and bodyguards. It was really about music. He loves the song “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino and played it on the piano.
You’re saying Putin played it on the piano?
Yeah, and he sang it. But we also talked about the art that was on the wall. But you have to be careful when you talk, especially with someone who’s not fluent with you. You want to keep civilized without him thinking, “Why am I being asked this?”
One more person I wanted to ask you about is Michael Jackson. He’s now this mythic figure, but what was Michael like one-on-one?
I go in with the Jackson family because they’d come to Caesars Palace to see me or Sinatra when he was much younger. But when he started to take off, I was with Sony Records when he was there. In the early ‘80s I was doing an album of duets and I got a call that he wanted to be part of the project. We already had people like Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, but I liked how Michael was evolving. He came out to my house in Carmel, California and stayed with us; that’s when I really got to know him. You know immediately this is a talented person. I was listening to the sounds and arrangements in his head and I’d be banging away at the piano, feeling it differently than anybody else I had worked with. He had that honest innocence. Michael was a sponge too, he wanted to know everything that I could teach him. We talked a lot of shop. We even had conversations about plastic surgery… We know where he went with that. I remember him being competitive with the Osmonds at the time. But I loved Michael; he had a sincerity, a love and a passion for show business and what he was doing.
We wrote three songs, including “This Is It” and “Love Never Felt So Good.” Years later, Drake showed up at my house to work on another track, “Don’t Matter To Me.” Working with him was different because he was all computer stuff. But the only negative part for me with Michael was when he took the tapes out of my studio, because Thriller was taking off and he changed his mind about what we worked on. But I was already into it, spent my money and was getting ready to sweeten them. I ultimately got my tapes back. All of the other stuff with Michael is none of my business, it’s all unfortunate. The Michael I knew was gentle, complimentary and a friend. And that was it.
You went from records to the streaming era as host of the Our Way podcast. What’s it like navigating the show? Do you enjoy interviewing people?
I like it conceptually, and I was living vicariously through it with my son-in-law Jason Bateman who has the best one, SmartLess. I was approached a few times after I did that one, and Howard Stern. I like to talk very openly and honestly, so timing is everything in my business and now I have talked to people like Clive Davis, Gayle King and Bill Burr, and sit there for an hour and a half and just talk. But what I also like is that I’m a listener, and I love it.
You were always the young guy working with these older artists. How do you feel now that it’s flipped?
Well, it’s great living both sides. It’s gratifying that I’m here still doing what I love, and still working and advising. Someone like Michael Bublé has been a dear friend and we talk constantly. Young people don’t understand how we’d go in the studio without any technology except a piece of tape, then rehearsed and rehearsed until we got it. Instead of now, “Oh, we’ll take a year to do this.” But giving wisdom and direction is very heartwarming. The greatest thing in life and my biggest thrill is when you give and see what it does for people. When I was a kid, even the guys I was hanging with like Sinatra or Dean Martin, nobody came from a sophisticated background. We all got lucky and found our groove and vibe. Now I wear the hat of the guys I witnessed; you become who you see. At my age right now, I still do that. And while I enjoy it, I also don’t look at life through a rearview mirror. If you stand still, they throw dirt on you.
Paul Anka
Paul Anka Productions
It’s time for a July 4th weekend edition of the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Check out this year’s Pride List of top LGBTQ+ executives in the industry. We also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Thomas Coesfeld celebrated his one-year anniversary as CEO of BMG by joining the executive board of Bertelsmann, parent company of the Berlin-based music giant. The 34-year-old executive is point-person for Bertelsmann’s music business as a member of the board, which also includes chief executive Thomas Rabe and Thomas’ big brother Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of its venture capital arm, as well as company CFO Rolf Hellermann and chief human resources officer Immanuel Hermreck. Coesfeld took the reigns of BMG from longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch on July 1 of last year, and in short order instituted a new organizational structure by globalizing its catalog, sales and marketing teams and a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe, among other changes. Prior to rising to CEO, Coesfeld had been named deputy CFO at BMG in October 2021 before taking over as full-on CFO the following spring. During that time he oversaw BMG’s balance sheet and helped the company land 70 deals, including acquiring the catalogs of Mötley Crüe and Tina Turner, as well as those of Paul Simon, The Pointer Sisters, Peter Frampton and others.
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He previously served as chief strategy officer on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, but began his career in 2014 as a consultant at McKinsey. Coesfeld is also a member of Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee (GMC), which advises the executive board.
“[Coesfeld] knows Bertelsmann well from various positions,” Rabe raved in the announcement. “As CEO of BMG, he has made important decisions for the future of the business, for example by bringing digital distribution in-house and using artificial intelligence in various areas of the music business. Thomas will enrich the work of the Management Board as well. I look forward to working even more closely with him.”
Meanwhile…
Hannah Neaves
Laura Lewis
Universal Music UK promoted Hannah Neaves to sole president of its catalog division, Universal Music Recordings. Her co-president over the last two years, Azi Eftekhari, has left the company, Billboard can confirm. Neaves and Eftekhari joined UMR in early 2022, roughly a year after the pair launched a London-based creative agency called Remedy Inc. Prior to joining forces, Neaves was creative director at TaP Music and Eftekhari had been head of label relations (EMEA) at YouTube. In the last two years, UMR’s wins include “Now and Then” — the “last Beatles song” — and other releases featuring Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, the Spice Girls and more. “Hannah is, first and foremost, an artist person with an innate understanding of where creativity and discovery meet, something she has brought in abundance since re-joining our team,” said Universal Music UK chief David Joseph, referencing Neaves’ tenure at UMG’s Polydor earlier in her career. “A truly exceptional and inspiring executive, Hannah has already had huge success, most recently creatively leading the global and record-breaking Now And Then campaign for The Beatles, and there’s so much more to come.”
Former BMI executive Jody Williams was elected to a one-year term as the new chair of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum‘s board of officers and trustees. The publishing veteran, who founded Jody Williams Songs in 2020 following a 14-year run at BMI, has served on the museum’s board for 17 years. He replaces outgoing chair Mary Ann McCready, who remains as a trustee. CMHFM CEO Kyle Young remarked that Williams is “woven into the fabric of country music’s creative community in a true and meaningful way” and “resolute in furthering country music’s vitality as a cultural artform.” The Nashville institution also elected several new members to the board, including artist manager Clint Higham and WME agent Becky Gardenhire.
Merlin, the digital licensing partner for the independent music sector, welcomed Neil Miller as its new general counsel. Miller arrives from Greenberg Traurig, where he served as partner of the global law firm for three years. Prior to that, Miller was an associate general counsel at Facebook and earlier in his career spent six years as GC at SoundCloud. He is based in the UK. “Merlin is a dynamic organisation operating in a complex and ever changing legal and commercial environment,” said Charlie Sexton, Merlin COO. “Neil’s wealth of experience across music and digital entertainment is exactly what we need to meet these challenges. He is highly respected across the industry and brings a valuable blend of long-term thinking, technical skills, and impressive leadership.”
Believe has new leadership in place for its efforts throughout China, naming Charles Liu as general manager and Rebecca Dong as managing director for the growth-ready region. Based in Beijing and reporting to Sylvain Delange, Believe’s president of Asia-Pacific, Liu will focus on building partnerships and growing Believe’s roster of labels and artists. Dong rolls up to Liu and will manage all operations, along with legal, finance and HR matters. Believe has operated in China since 2016 and has grown to 80-plus “digital and music experts” across offices in five cities, the company said. “Greater China is both an exciting and challenging market where Believe’s unique approach can significantly contribute to accelerate the rise of a strong, diverse and thriving local music ecosystem as we’ve done is so many other markets in Asia Pacific,” said Delange.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Universal Music Group Nashville hired Houston Gaither as director of radio marketing. She was previously Sony Music Nashville’s manager of content, promotion and artist development … Former PLA Media director of publicity and branding Becky Parsons formed Found Sound Media, a PR and management firm focused on developing LGBTQ+ and female artists … Kylie Taylor joined Black River Entertainment as a graphic designer. Reach her at ktaylor@blackriverent.com.
OTM Music, a boutique publishing company with footholds in London, New York and Los Angeles, welcomed Kristin Genovese as the firm’s new U.S. head of sync and Kate Sweetsur as the new head of A&R. The company, which provides creative services for its roster of songwriters and brands, also noted the recent additions of Chi Chi Nwakodo as senior creative and Ethan Mizen as A&R manager.
ICYMI:
Britney Davis
Hipgnosis Song Management founder Merck Mercuriadis will step down as chairman of the investment manager, months after vacating the CEO role … Stephanie Rosa is managing director of Tixr‘s new London office … Former Capitol Music Group executive Britney Davis was named general manager at Quality Control … Warner Records promoted Robert Santini to senior vp of brand partnerships and ad sync … and Mano Sundaresan is the new head of editorial content for Pitchfork.
Last Week’s Turntable: Audacy OG Elevated