Business
Page: 189
Fresh off of winning her second career Grammy, Kylie Minogue has signed with UTA for live representation and acting endeavors in North America. The Australian singer won the best pop dance recording Grammy — a new award — earlier this month for her viral hit “Padam Padam.” The song is from her 16th studio album Tension, which was released last year and […]
Kanye West is no longer facing a copyright lawsuit that claimed he illegally posted a 2021 viral video clip of a public speech about his then-wife Kim Kardashian, after his accuser dropped the case.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The embattled Donda rapper (now legally named Ye) has been repeatedly sued over the past two years, and he might soon be hit with new lawsuits over allegations of illegal sampling from Ozzy Osbourne and Donna Summer. But at least one such lawsuit is now in the rearview mirror.
In court papers filed last week, videographer Elijah Graham agreed to voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit he filed against West last year. The case claimed the rapper had stolen Graham’s clip — which captured West speaking candidly about Kardashian and his kids while serving a Thanksgiving meal to homeless people on Skid Row in Los Angeles – and posted it to Instagram without permission.
“We’ve made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve publicly done things that were not acceptable as a husband, but right now today, for whatever reason — I didn’t know I was going to be in front of this mic — but I’m here to change the narrative,” West says in the video, which went viral after he posted it.
In a complaint filed in October in Los Angeles federal court, Graham’s lawyers claimed that West’s post amounted to willful copyright infringement. But since filing the case, they have done little to move the case forward; in an order last month, the judge overseeing the lawsuit threatened to dismiss the case entirely because it was not being “prosecuted diligently.”
An attorney for Graham did not return a request for comment on why he was dropping the case. A rep for West did not immediately return a request for comment.
Graham’s case might be over, but Ye is still in legal hot water. He’s currently facing two separate lawsuits filed by employees at his Donda Academy over allegations of unsafe conditions and wrongful termination; he’s also defending against another copyright case that claims his “Life of the Party” illegally sampled a song by the pioneering rap group Boogie Down Productions.
And more copyright cases could be on the way. Last week, both Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer publicly accused West of using their songs without permission on his new album ‘Vultures 1’, even after they had specifically rejected his requests for licenses. In an interview with Billboard, Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon said they had “been in touch with his team” about legal issues, while Summer’s estate directly alleged “copyright infringement.”
Sony Music Publishing, the world’s largest music publisher, is expanding its operations across the Middle East and North Africa with a new office in Dubai. The region will be led by managing director Dounia Chaaban, who will report to SMP senior vp of international Dan Nelson.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Chaaban began her career at Anghami, the leading music streamer in the Middle East. After working there for seven years, serving as the Arabic indie community lead, Chaaban then became an artist relations manager at Believe Music. “I look forward to working hand in hand with the incredibly talented team at Sony Music Publishing to propel the MENA music industry to new heights,” says Chaaban of her new appointment. “Together, we will create an environment that nurtures creativity, fosters innovation, and unlocks the boundless potential of the region’s musical landscape.”
The news arrives just a day after Universal Music Group announced the opening of a new Capitol Studios location in the UAE as part of a collaboration with DGMC, a local music organization. The two say they will work together to build a “Music City” that will serve as a regional hub for local and global recording artists and songwriters in the MENA region.
Other music companies have also expanded more into the MENA region in the last year. In October, Warner Music announced its investment in HuManagement, a Dubai-based talent agency; In the last twelve months, Reservoir Media joined with PopArabia to acquire Lebanese music company Voice of Beirut, Egyptian label 100COPIES, and Saudi Arabian label Mashrex; In May, BMI partnered with Music Nation, a UAE music rights management organization.
Billboard also expanded into the region with the launch of Billboard Arabia in June. A partnership with media giant SRMG, Billboard Arabia is a region-specific editorial site, featuing two new global charts to track the success of music from the MENA region.
Nelson says: “We are excited to welcome Dounia to the Sony Music Publishing team. Dounia’s extensive experience working with local talent will be invaluable as we expand opportunities for new and established songwriters and artists across the region. There couldn’t be a more opportune moment to launch our business, and we look forward to growing our presence in the MENA region.”
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has sued Pandora for allegedly failing to adequately pay and report its monthly royalties, including in its accounting for its ad-supported tier “Pandora Free” (also known as “radio” or “free Pandora”).
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In a lawsuit filed Monday (Feb. 12) in Nashville federal court, The MLC seeks to recover the royalties that Pandora allegedly owes them and all associated late fees. The MLC is particularly concerned with “unusually low royalties per stream” reported and paid out by Pandora, starting in 2021 which they say is due to the exclusion of substantial “Service Provider Revenue and TCC for Pandora Free.” (Total Content Cost or “TCC” refers to the amount paid by streaming services to record labels for the right to stream sound recordings. The TCC and Service Provider Revenue are essential to calculating the royalties due for this blanket license).
The MLC — which is tasked with administering the blanket mechanical license for musical works, created by the Music Modernization Act — also takes issue with Pandora’s lack of retroactive royalty accounting for 2021 and 2022.
In August 2023, the royalty rate for the license administered by The MLC for the years 2018-2022 was finally determined after a five year battle in which some streaming services fought to pay lower rates for music than the Copyright Royalty Board judges initially decided on. While awaiting the final rate determination, streamers, including Pandora, paid out the previous, lower royalty rate to the music business. Once the final determination was made, it set the rates higher than what the streaming services were paying previously. As a consequence, streamers were tasked to go back and retroactively pay the proper 2018-2022 rate for music.
The MLC says it “repeatedly” reminded Pandora to report its retroactive adjustments due for 2021 and 2022, and it set a deadline for Feb. 9, 2024, which it says Pandora did not reach. (The MLC did not open its doors until 2021, and thus the retroactive adjustments for 2018-2020 are not within its purview).
Pandora has made “repeated and significant underpayments of the royalties due,” says the MLC in its lawsuit.
The news comes just weeks after the MLC and its counterpart the Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC) entered their first-ever re-designation process, a routine five year check-up to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the two organizations. The MLC has also made headlines recently for issuing its first-ever audit of streaming services. The organization is also being audited itself by Bridgeport Music, which represents George Clinton and Funkadelic.
Lately, the music business has been fighting back against what it feels are unfair or unpaid licensing rates. Universal Music Group recently pulled its catalog from TikTok, citing the app’s inability to pay “fair value” for music. Last summer, SoundExchange, which collects and distributes performance royalties for the digital transmission of sound recordings, sued SiriusXM, which owns Pandora, for an alleged $150 million in unpaid royalties, and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) sued Twitter for $250 million for “refusing to pay songwriters and music publishers.”
Representatives for Pandora and The MLC did not respond to Billboard’s request for comment at press time.
Cinq Music has raised $250 million from parent company GoDigital Media Group to fund further acquisitions of music rights, the company announced Monday (Feb. 12). This latest funding round builds on the $160 million GoDigital had previously given Cinq to build a repertoire of music rights — $20 million in August 2017, $40 million in […]
Eleven months after SiriusXM cut 8% of its workforce, the company announced on Monday (Feb. 12) that it will eliminate another 3% of its staff. The layoffs will impact about 170 jobs based on the company’s head count of 5,680 full-time and part-time employees as of Dec. 31, according to its 2023 annual report.
The cuts will affect every team and business unit and will enable SiriusXM to invest in its content, marketing and technology platform, a company spokesperson told Billboard.
In a memo to staff announcing the cuts, CEO Jennifer Witz used much of the same language that executives at Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Spotify employed to explain decisions to restructure those companies and reduce headcount. Not only is SiriusXM reducing its salary expense, but it’s also building for the future and investing in new technologies.
“We made significant progress on the transformation of our business in 2023, but we have just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible here at SiriusXM,” Witz wrote in the memo. “To continue on our path to future subscriber growth and sustain our Company’s success as the competitive landscape evolves, it’s imperative that we become even more efficient, agile, and flexible. Therefore, today we are making several organizational changes, including the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles, which will allow us to move faster and collaborate more effectively in support of our long-term objectives. From uniting teams and better aligning initiatives, to investing in new technologies that will power our transformation, we are focused on increasing efficiencies and redeploying resources to support the strategic priorities of our business.”
Once-dependable revenue growth has been harder to find as many consumers shift their listening to streaming services. In 2023, SiriusXM’s revenue fell 0.6% to $7.95 billion as the company lost 445,000 self-pay subscribers to its satellite radio service. Despite reducing its headcount to 5,680 from 5,869 during 2023, general and administrative expenses increased 5% to $550 million last year, and its operating margin fell from 22.6% to 21.7% .
SiriusXM is hopeful its revamped streaming app — and a $9.99-per-month price tag, which is lower than the satellite radio service — will attract new subscribers and mark the return of revenue growth. The new app launched Dec. 14 and “is yielding promising signs of improved engagement,” Witz said during the Feb. 1 earnings call. The apps personalization features and reduced latency, along with a redesigned SiriusXM logo, have created “a positive lift in brand perception among the growth audience segments we are looking to attract,” she added.
Investors tend to react positively to news of layoffs made to reduce costs and speed a transformation. Shares of SiriusXM rose as much as 3.1% to $5.05 Monday morning and stood at $5.01, up 2.1%, in the mid-afternoon.
Universal Music Group is poised to open its first Capitol Studios outside of Hollywood, plus live performance spaces, music education academies and a new record label, as part of a collaboration with DGMC in the burgeoning music hub of the United Arab Emirates. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
Believe founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie has formed a consortium with investment funds EQT and TCV as part of a wider effort to acquire full ownership of the French music company and take it private. The triad announced their intentions on Monday (Feb. 12), and the Believe board of directors unanimously voted to welcome the proposal to review.
All told, the bid values Believe’s entire share capital at 1.523 billion euros (USD $1.64 billion) based on 101,547 million shares outstanding.
Before they can take Believe private, Ladegaillerie, EQT and TCV first must acquire shares owned by historical shareholders TCV Luxco BD S.à r.l., XAnge and Ventech, which combined amount to 59.46% of the share capital. After this already agreed-upon transaction, Ladegaillerie would then contribute a portion of his company shares, representing an additional 11.7%, to the bidding conglomerate, as well as sell his remaining portion of 1.29%. An additional 3% has been obtained from other shareholders, bringing this group’s share of the company to roughly 75%.
Once these acquisitions are approved by regulators, the conglomerate would then make a tender offer for all Believe outstanding shares at an offer price of 15 euros per share, representing a 21% premium over the last closing price before the proposed buyout was announced (12.4 euros on Feb. 9). If legal conditions are met at the end of the offer, the company will then request the implementation of a squeeze-out procedure.
Completion of the acquisitions of the blocks of shares is expected to take place during the second quarter of 2024, and the filing of the subsequent tender offer would be sent to the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), which regulates the stock market in France, soon after.
The French digital music company, which owns TuneCore, began trading on the Paris Euronext exchange in June 2021.
Believe’s board has appointed an independent expert, Ledouble, to draw up an opinion on the offer, and assigned three board members to assist with that effort and work up their own recommendations for shareholders and employees.
In prepared comments, Ladegaillerie said Believe has “systematically outperformed its objectives, delivering its IPO plan two years ahead of schedule” but “the strength of its operational performance has not been reflected in the share price evolution.”
He added, “Believe has a significant opportunity ahead to consolidate the independent music market and create the first global major independent, at the service of artists at all stages of their career. In achieving this ambition, I am glad to continue benefiting from the active support of TCV who has accompanied Believe since 2014 and to be partnering with Europe-based EQT who has a great track record in supporting high growth companies.”
Believe has appointed Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG and Gide Loyrette Nouel as financial and legal advisers to assist the company and the three-member committee in their evaluation of the offer.
Pay attention future pop stars: Usher’s strategy for harnessing the Super Bowl’s massive audience into sellout headliner concerts is a master class in how to parlay a career milestone into a legacy solidifying tour.
The R&B icon has been able to capture the pre-game buzz around his performance at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime show with a carefully coordinated presale campaign for his fall Past Present Future tour. Once hardcore fans grabbed their tickets (most went on sale Feb. 9), Usher’s team started expanding the dates based on demand to make sure there will still be plenty of tickets available for the general public on the Monday (Feb. 12) after the game.
So far, there have been 360,000 tickets sold in presale for the Past Present Future tour, according to Live Nation Global Touring chairman Arthur Fogel, and dates have expended from 24 to 44 across the U.S. since the initial presale launched on Thursday (Feb 8). Billboard estimates that when the remaining tickets will go on sale Monday after the Super Bowl, the Past Present Future tour with be Usher’s highest grossing tour ever.
“The success of tour began several years ago when Usher launched his residency in Vegas, which re-established his greatness,” Fogel says. “Now he is building off that success with his current tour and the presales prove there is unprecedented demand to see him perform live.”
Ever since Usher was announced as the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show headliner, his touring team — manager Ron Lafitte, agent and WME partner John Marx and Live Nation promoters Colin Lewis and Fogel — have been building an arena touring strategy that fully capitalizes on the big game’s huge audience. Last year’s win by the Kansas City Chiefs over the Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale, Ariz., was watched by more than 115 million viewers in the U.S., making it not only the most watched Super Bowl in history, but also the most popular TV program of all time in America.
Despite the huge viewership, the last five artists to play the Super Bowl halftime show have not announced headlining tours after their performance. And those who did, like Justin Timberlake in 2018 and Beyonce in 2017, didn’t have any tickets on sale so quickly after the event.
Usher wasn’t going to let the momentum go to waste, though. Days after his Super Bowl Halftime performance was locked in, Marx began plotting out an arena tour. His charge from Usher was to try and replicate the intimacy of his Las Vegas residency shows, first in 2021 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and then at the 2022-2023 My Way Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM.
“He wanted to play more multi-night runs in bigger cities,” Marx told Billboard, noting that Usher enjoyed the excitement multi-night engagements generated.
In total, Usher is playing 44 shows in 17 markets (locations for three of dates have not yet been announced). The Past Present Future tour will officially launch in Washington, D.C. (Aug. 20) and includes a four-night stop at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center (Sept. 6-10), four nights at the yet-to-be-opened Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. (Sept. 17-24), three nights in Miami at the Kaseya Center (Oct. 11-14), three nights at State Farm Arena in Atlanta (Oct. 17-20), and three nights at the United Center in Chicago (Oct 28-31).
“Sales are beyond anyone’s wildest dreams right now,” Marx says, noting that even more U.S. dates could be added and that a U.K. and European tour will be announced in the future. “Quite honestly, we’re just getting started,” he adds. “Everything I’ve seen and heard has made it clear to me that people everywhere really want to be at these shows.”
At the end of BMW’s new Super Bowl ad, actor Christopher Walken sits down to dine at a restaurant and finds Usher at the next table. They (and a waiter) wind up saying “yeah!” to each other a few times, and for this, publishers for each of the six songwriters on Usher’s 2004 smash “Yeah!” get to split a huge sync payment — even though not another word or any melody from the song is performed during the one-minute spot.
[embedded content]
“We, of course, smiled, and said, ‘You bet, we’ll license this to you guys,’” says Brian Monaco, president/global chief marketing officer for Sony Music Publishing (SMP), which represents James Phillips, one of six writers on “Yeah!” “It was a full fee, like they were using the entire song.” Pamela Lillig, vp of sync licensing for BMG, which represents co-writers J. Que, LaMarquis Jefferson and Sean Garrett, adds that BMW wouldn’t have had to pay the fee if random actors were saying “yeah” in an ad, but “because Usher’s in it, they felt they probably should.”
“Yeah!” — as well as Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s 1970 soul classic “Express Yourself,” which plays throughout the BMW spot — is one of many big, easily recognizable tracks used in Super Bowl advertisements this year. Dove soap licensed “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” (from the Annie soundtrack); Budweiser brought back its Clydesdales for a spot containing The Band‘s “The Weight”; Volkswagen celebrated its 75-year history in the United States set to Neil Diamond‘s “I Am . . . I Said”; and a Popeyes ad includes “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and DJ Snake and Lil Jon‘s “Turn Down for What.”
[embedded content]
“The majority of songs used for us this year are catalog songs,” says Tom Eaton, senior vp of music for advertising for Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), which represents the Band and Diamond catalogs. “They create an immediate impact.” Adds Patrick Joest, head of sync for Hipgnosis, which owns stakes in Heart‘s “Barracuda,” used in a Hyundai commercial, and “Turn Down for What”: “What you’re seeing this year is people are going for the sure shots.”
Super Bowl ads are one of the most lucrative showcases for publishers’ nearly $1.5 billion-per-year synch business each year. According to synch sources, 2024 fees have ranged anywhere from $150,000 to more than $1 million. Last fall, when Hollywood writers and actors were still striking and placing songs for TV and film was paused for the foreseeable future, the beginning of the Super Bowl song-licensing season came as a welcome relief. “It was looking a little shaky,” says Scott Cresto, executive vp of synchronization and marketing for publisher Reservoir, which has a stake in Coi Leray and David Guetta‘s “Make My Day,” used in an E-Trade spot for this year’s game. “In the last quarter, all of our top 20 synchs were ads. It definitely helped our numbers.”
UMPG (whose catalog includes The O’Jays‘ “Love Train,” used in a Coors Light spot, and Perry Como‘s “Round and Round,” for Lindt Chocolate) has 18 synchs during this year’s Super Bowl. Sony landed 14 and Warner Chappell Music had 12 (including “Express Yourself”), while BMG had five, Kobalt four, Reservoir three and Hipgnosis two. (Billboard tallies in-game, national ads that appear during the CBS broadcast.)
[embedded content]
For recent Super Bowls, according to Rich Robinson, Warner Chappell’s executive vp of global synchronization and media, multiple ads used original “sound-design” instrumentals, as opposed to traditional song synchs that generate robust licensing fees for publishers. This year, the pendulum has swung back to the familiar. “It feels like a return,” Robinson says. “Almost every one we’ve licensed is a version of a really well-known hit.”
Still, a minority of Super Bowl LVIII ads showcase newer songs and stars: Ice Spice‘s “Deli” (UMPG) soundtracks an ad for Starry soda and Maizie’s 2021 track “Dumb Dumb” (BMG and SMP) is in an Uber Eats spot. And prolific songwriter Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic received a request this past Monday (Feb. 5) from a T-Mobile contact and wrote a new song, “Try,” in an hour, then submitted it as a voice memo. The ad will broadcast during the Super Bowl. “He works fast,” says Sony’s Monaco.
“There’s a mad rush sometimes. It’s super last-minute,” adds Lisa Bergami, vp of creative sync for Kobalt, whose Super Bowl placements include Flo Rida‘s “Good Feeling,” used in a Veozah menopause medication spot. “Some [advertisers] have gone a million rounds and ended up going with the song they wanted at the beginning. There isn’t much of a rhyme or reason.”