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For years, ASCAP and BMI were seen as the Coke and Pepsi of the performing rights management business — two giant entities with complicated formulas that seemed the same from a distance but quite different if you examined them closer. The November agreement to sell BMI to a group of investors led by New Mountain Capital, which was completed Feb. 8., has changed that — and the songwriters for whom they compete have already seen it in the marketing. BMI is making the case that a for-profit model will let it invest more aggressively in technology, among other things, while ASCAP pointed out on social media that “private equity never wrote an iconic love song.” The Pepsi Challenge seems quaint by comparison.
There were always differences between the two — ASCAP is governed by members, BMI was owned by its licensees; ASCAP charged a onetime $50 fee to join, while BMI was free, though that changed and now ASCAP is free to join and BMI charges $75. And although it’s hard to know for certain, this could end up being more of an evolution than a revolution: Nonprofits invest in technology and operations all the time, although it can be tricky, and the music business wasn’t exactly unsullied by greed before the days of private equity.
BMI and ASCAP collect and distribute more money than any other rights organizations in the world, though. So any changes in the way BMI operates — let alone whatever changes ASCAP makes in response — will reverberate through the entire competitive ecosystem to their less regulated U.S. rivals SESAC and GMR (which invite only the songwriters they want to join); to performing rights societies around the world; and ultimately to everyone who writes, owns or publishes songs.
New Mountain Capital wants a return on its investment, so BMI will need to make a profit — plus grow. Some of this will presumably come from higher-margin new businesses, including international venture — think cooperations or partnerships with societies in India, Africa or the Middle East. (BMI and ASCAP are subject to consent decrees that limit what other businesses they could get into in the U.S.) There’s already some competition in some of those places from European organizations, though.
Presumably, some of the profit is going to have to come from BMI’s traditional U.S. performing rights operations — and that won’t be easy, according to about a dozen rights organization and music publishing executives I spoke with for this column. (None has any inside knowledge about BMI’s plans.) Essentially, BMI will need to hold back enough of the money it collects to both cover its operating costs and make a profit on top of that, while paying its songwriters and publishers more than they can get from its rivals.
BMI has said a bit about how it plans to do that. In an Oct. 12 letter to “BMI affiliates and industry partners,” CEO Mike O’Neil said that for the next three years, BMI’s goal would be to retain 15% of its licensing revenue, as opposed to “around 10%,” although it would take a higher margin on “incremental growth we create for the company,” including acquisitions and new services. To make sure that additional 5% doesn’t come at the expense of songwriter and publisher royalties, BMI will need to negotiate deals that are significantly better than ASCAP’s on a consistent basis.
The only way to do that is to have the most in-demand repertoire from top songwriters like Taylor Swift, probably BMI’s biggest songwriter— and getting and retaining it may require offering better terms to top writers. That would almost presumably involve attractive advances (which all four U.S. performing rights organizations sometimes offer) and some form of bonus structure for top performers (which ASCAP and BMI offer, although their methodology differs). BMI said that advances have always been part of its strategy and it has no plans to change its general approach to this or its bonus structure, or its distribution policies. But what if BMI’s rivals also offer higher advances and better bonuses? If getting the best deal terms means having the best repertoire, they have every reason to do so.
The question is how those writers will be rewarded for the leverage they provide, and if Swift’s popularity helps her fellow songwriters, it’s only fair that she should benefit. But this can also create a temptation to pay out even more to the most successful writers — to give a bit more to Peter and a bit less to Paul and Mary. It’s good for everyone — until at some point it starts to feel unfair. And everyone who writes songs or manages those who do is either deeply concerned about this issue or simply eager to make sure they end up on the right side of it. Competition is all well and good, and it will be interesting to see which creators look for better deals and which stick with their current rights organization. (It can be harder than it should be to switch in some cases, which will be the subject of another column.) Ultimately, though, all these creators may find themselves fighting for bigger slices of the same pie.
An advantage of being an aspiring artist in 2023, rather than 1983 or even 2003, is having near-instant access to millions of pre-made instrumentals — a club-wrecking drill track or soothing South African amapiano beat is just a few clicks away. For many acts today, the first step in the songwriting process is scouring sites like BeatStars, Soundee or YouTube for the right piece of music. “I just go on YouTube and look up ‘indie-pop-type beat’ or ‘R&B Daniel Caesar-type beat,’ ” Island Records artist Diego Gonzalez told Billboard last year. “I scroll through those until I find one I really like. Then I download it and start humming melodies.”
This approach has led to breakout singles and major-label deals for Muni Long, ThxSoMch, dv4d, Tai Verdes, Wisp and more. The affordability of the online beat economy, where an instrumental might cost as little as $2.99, makes it extremely convenient for young artists. But the casual nature of the business arrangements can come back to haunt them.
Acts typically license the instrumentals they want for cheap rather than buying them outright (which can cost significantly more). What they may not understand, however, is the agreements they accept to access these beats typically grant them limited rights by capping the number of streams a song can earn and allowing other acts to license the same piece of music. If a song built on a leased instrumental becomes a hit, the artist then has to circle back and try to buy out that beat. They have essentially built a highly desirable house on real estate they don’t own.
That’s when negotiations can become fraught and even lead to litigation, according to entertainment attorneys. “When we come on board and a song is starting to go, the first question is always: ‘Do you have paperwork with whoever did this track?’” says Todd Rubenstein, founder of Todd Rubenstein Law. “Licenses don’t give you exclusive rights, so there’s an opportunity for people to come back and leverage you when a record explodes.”
A producer may also be reluctant to assign exclusive rights to an instrumental they’ve already licensed hundreds of times. “If a song is going viral and a record company wants to enter into an agreement, the value of the track is impacted by the fact that you don’t have original materials and the beat exists elsewhere,” explains Leon Morabia, a partner at Mark Music & Media Law.
“These things happen all the time,” says David Fritz, co-founder of law firm Boyarski Fritz. “A baby act is doing well, and then they get a producer saying, ‘You’re over the streaming threshold on this track and we didn’t work out a deal; you have to take the song down’ ” — just at the point where artists and their teams need to slam the pedal to the metal by pouring money into marketing.
Not surprisingly, many producers like these nonexclusive agreements. “The leasing system allows the producer to be at the [negotiating] table if that beat turns into something bigger,” BeatStars president of music and publishing Greg Mateo says.
The music industry is “skewed toward artists and labels having the power,” adds Tiffany Almy, an entertainment attorney. “Producers are part of this, too,” she continues, “and [the licensing economy] gives them a voice, a platform and, potentially, a way to have more opportunities going forward.”
Fritz says the risks involved with beat-licensing deals are one of the reasons he co-founded Creative Intell, a subscription-based educational platform that dissects music contracts, among other business topics, across 18 different courses. Steven Ship, who co-founded the company with Fritz, says they hope to “revolutionize the way dealmaking is conducted in the business.” The first step toward that goal, he adds, is education “so people can understand what they’re signing and how to protect themselves.”
Creative Intell relies on animated modules to take users through beat-licensing agreements paragraph by paragraph, focusing in particular on BeatStars. (Fritz says his company is in negotiations with several music distributors, including Vydia, UnitedMasters and ONErpm, to make Creative Intell available to their clients.) The courses warn artists to look out for streaming limits and clauses that let the beat-makers end a lease at their sole discretion. Creative Intell also offers users an alternative licensing agreement that Fritz and Ship say is more artist-friendly.
The platform advises acts to be especially wary of “beat trolls” — people with mercenary motives who target viral songs built on licensed beats and try to acquire the underlying instrumental. If the trolls succeed in this effort, they own a piece of the artist’s most important track and acquire substantial power to influence — and extract money from — any subsequent label negotiations, Rubenstein says.
If a song explodes “and you don’t have perfect title to all your work, then you’re going to be a target for people, guaranteed,” adds Nicolas Tevez, founder of Tevez Law.
Mateo says he’s aware that the licensing system can create issues and has personally helped some artist lawyers get contentious deals done. BeatStars also has started to provide some major labels, including Atlantic Records and Island Records, with an assortment of instrumentals where terms of use have been agreed upon ahead of time. That way, if an act likes a beat and it turns into a hit, there aren’t any additional complications. “The last thing we want is for a placement to die,” Mateo says.
Despite the potential pitfalls of beat marketplaces, they remain popular with artists and serve as a lifeline for some beat-makers.
Even if producers secure prominent placement on a major-label album — a dream scenario — their future is hardly secure; they might not see any money for more than a year. But in online beat marketplaces, producers can earn a good living through a steady stream of leasing transactions. “A bunch of my clients are crushing it on BeatStars, making $100,000 a year,” says Adam Freedman, an entertainment attorney.
Still, for unsigned artists, learning the ins and outs of the licensing agreements remains paramount. While Ship from Creative Intell and Mateo from BeatStars have conflicting ideas about the best way to draft a beat license, both agree that there needs to be more education about how these deals work.
“Read through the terms and conditions,” says Jason Berger, a partner at Lewis Brisbois. “There’s nothing worse than you not understanding how something is going to play out based on an agreement you’ve already entered.”
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Snoop Dogg sues Post and Walmart for allegedly sabotaging his brand of breakfast cereal, Taylor Swift threatens to sue a college student for tracking her private jet; Kanye West is accused of illegal sampling by Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of Donna Summer; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Snoop Says Post & Walmart Were Cereal Killers
If you had “Snoop Dogg,” “cereal” and “lawsuit” on your 2024 bingo card, congrats.
Broadus Foods, a company owned by Snoop and Master P, filed a lawsuit last week accusing food giant Post of sabotaging the rollout of the company’s Snoop Cereal brand. As you might expect, the complaint had some rhetorical flair — leveling charges of “underhanded dealing” and “diabolical actions.”
The case claims that Post signed a deal to produce and distribute the brand, but then secretly “ensured that Snoop Cereal would not be available to consumers.” The rappers claim the move was payback after Snoop (Calvin Broadus) and Master P (Percy Miller) refused to sell their company to Post.
“Essentially, because Snoop Dogg and Master refused to sell Snoop Cereal in totality, Post entered a false arrangement where they could choke Broadus Foods out of the market, thereby preventing Snoop Cereal from being sold or produced by any competitor,” lawyers for Snoop’s company wrote.
The case – filed by prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump — also named Walmart as a defendant, claiming that the retail giant played a key role in “the most egregious example” of Post’s alleged wrongdoing.
For more information, go read our full story on the lawsuit, including access to the actual docs filed in the case.
CALLING ALL MUSIC LAWYERS! For the first time, Billboard is expanding its peer-voted Power Players’ Choice Award to cover music’s top lawyers, and we’re asking industry members from all sectors to honor the attorney they believe had the most impact across the business in the past year. Voting is now open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member per round.
Other top stories…
TAYLOR SWIFT PLANE TRACKER – Days before her big Super Bowl appearance, news broke that Taylor’s lawyers had threatened to sue a Florida college student named Jack Sweeney who runs social media accounts that track celebrity private jets, including Swift’s. In their cease-and-desist letter, her lawyers called Sweeney’s posts “stalking and harassing behavior” and warned that they “have no choice but to pursue any and all legal remedies” if he did not stop posting the locations of Swift’s private jet. What might those remedies actually be? It wasn’t specified.
SWIFT STALKER WON’T STAND TRIAL – Whether or not it’s illegal to track her plane, Taylor’s lawyers have good reason to be concerned about stalkers. On Friday, a man criminally charged for lurking outside the star’s Manhattan apartment was declared mentally unfit for trial, meaning his case will be dismissed and he will be transferred to a mental health facility until doctors clear him to be released.
KANYE SAMPLES SNAFU – Both rocker Ozzy Osbourne and the estate of legendary singer Donna Summer publicly accused Kanye West of using their songs without permission on his new album, even after they had specifically rejected his requests for licenses. Calling West an “antisemite,” Ozzy took to social media to blast the rapper: “I want no association with this man!” The Summer estate, meanwhile, claimed the embattled rapper had committed “copyright infringement” by seemingly interpolating her song. In an interview with Billboard’s Robert Levine, Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne explained the backstory: “We get so many requests for these songs, and when we saw that request, we just said no way.”
PANDORA SUED BY MLC – The Mechanical Licensing Collective – the group created by Congress in 2018 to collect royalties – filed a lawsuit against Pandora, alleging that the internet radio platform has been failing to adequately pay and report its monthly royalties. The case could dive into tricky questions about whether or not Pandora’s free ad-supported service is an “interactive” platform like Spotify, or more similar to a “noninteractive” radio broadcast – a key distinction under the law.
TIKTOK DISCRIMINATION CASE – With the social media giant currently at the center of a high-profile showdown with Universal Music Group, the company was hit with a gender discrimination lawsuit from a top female executive named Katie Ellen Puris, who says she was fired because TikTok’s upper leadership required “docility and meekness” from women.
CABO WABO IN COURT – Sammy Hagar‘s company demanded that a federal judge shut down an allegedly unauthorized Hollywood location of his Cabo Wabo Cantina, claiming that a former franchisee had effectively gone rogue and was damaging the rock star’s reputation.
KANYE CLASS ACTION – Adidas AG asked a federal judge to dismiss a class action that claims the company violated securities laws by failing to sufficiently warn investors about Ye’s offensive behavior and the risk it posed to the company’s share price. “This lawsuit is a misguided attempt to transform the dramatic and unfortunate end of the commercial partnership between Adidas and Ye… into a claim for securities fraud,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
Using our editorial expertise and Boxscore metrics, Billboard has selected 26 venues that artists clamor to play and fans gather at to enjoy. These selections are divided by region and venue type, as well as fan-favorite categories honoring the elements that add magic and energy to local music scenes.
Top West Coast Stadium: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif.)
The Los Angeles NFL venue is the highest-grossing stadium for concerts in the world, according to Billboard’s 2023 year-end Boxscore chart, reporting 19 concerts that grossed $175 million in ticket sales to Billboard Boxscore. SoFi Stadium also nabbed the top-grossing Boxscore of the year with Beyoncé’s three-night run in September, which brought in $45.5 million. Unlike other football palaces, SoFi Stadium was built with concerts in mind, and it already has an eclectic mix of pop, rock, R&B/hip-hop and Latin dates on the books for 2024.
Top Central U.S. Stadium: NRG Stadium (Houston)
Dallas’ AT&T Stadium has long dominated the Lone Star State, but in 2023, NRG Stadium showed it could hold its own. Last year, both facilities landed three Taylor Swift shows, but the latter, managed by ASM, hosted two Beyoncé concerts over Dallas’ one, shifting the balance of power back down to southern Texas and the greater Houston metroplex.
Taylor Swift at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Bob Levey/TAS23/Getty Images
Top East Coast Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
The home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons has dominated Georgia as the region’s must-play stadium since its 2017 opening. In 2023, Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted its biggest year of concerts ever with multiple dates from Beyoncé, Swift, Ed Sheeran, Karol G, Grupo Firme and George Strait.
Top International Stadium: Foro Sol (Mexico City)
This 30-year-old racetrack and stadium has become Mexico’s must-play venue and the second-highest-grossing stadium in the world. In 2023, Foro Sol generated $145 million in sales from 33 concerts, including a five-show run by Daddy Yankee in November that netted $24 million.
Top International Festival Location: Hyde Park (London)
Ever since AEG took over programming for one of London’s largest green spaces — the Royal Parks Society’s Hyde Park near Buckingham Palace — the concert promoter has transformed the region into a global music destination with its British Summertime Series. Last year’s programming didn’t disappoint with a series of one-day festivals headlined by P!nk, Take That and Bruce Springsteen.
Top U.S. Festival Location: The Gorge (George, Wash.)
The Gorge — a natural amphitheater in rural Washington that overlooks the Columbia River — is a pristine venue for all genres of music. Managed by Live Nation, the Gorge is home to festivals like Beyond Wonderland and Watershed Festival and last year hosted multinight residencies by Brandi Carlile (featuring Joni Mitchell), Dead & Company and more.
Joni Mitchell (left) and Brandi Carlile at The Gorge in George, Wash.
Gary Miller/Getty Images
Top West Coast Arena: Kia Forum (Los Angeles)
The former home of the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers has not had a tenant team since 1999, but in 2012, Madison Square Garden Co. purchased the arena and converted it into a music-only venue with clean sightlines, incredible acoustics and the invite-only Forum Club. Since 2019, the Forum has held the distinction as the highest-grossing arena in California and the third-highest-grossing in the world.
Top Central U.S. Arena: Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee)
Few venues have enhanced the musical trajectory of their host city quite like Fiserv Forum. Milwaukee had long been passed over for tour stops in favor of larger cities in the region like Chicago, but the flurry of concerts booked at the arena since its 2019 opening has changed the map for artists trekking across the upper Midwest, particularly for Spanish-language acts, given the facility’s frequent booking of Latin talent. In 2023, Fiserv Forum hosted nine tours that ranked on Billboard’s year-end Top 40 Boxscores chart.
Top East Coast Arena: Madison Square Garden (New York)
Nicknamed the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” Madison Square Garden is still the biggest game in town — and on the planet — with hundreds of artists clamoring each year to play the Midtown Manhattan landmark. The Garden has been the highest-grossing arena in North America since the launch of Boxscore in 2005, only failing to grab the No. 1 spot in 2011 and 2012, when a $1 billion renovation restricted the venue’s calendar. In 2023, MSG was the highest-grossing arena in the world, generating $223 million from 116 shows.
Top International Arena: O2 Arena (London)
Since its reopening as a world-class music venue in 2007, O2 Arena has consistently been among the top-grossing buildings in the world. While the former Millennium Dome took second place on Billboard’s Top Venues chart (15,001-plus capacity) in 2023, grossing $220 million to MSG’s $223 million, O2 Arena still has its best years ahead thanks to future bookings from top artists, including Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and Karol G making appearances this spring.
Top West Coast Amphitheater: Edgefield (Portland, Ore.)
This sprawling family farm in northern Oregon, home to a winery and resort hotel, is a cultural and musical hub of Portland’s live-music scene. Managed and owned by Pacific Northwest brewer and restaurant group McMenamins, Edgefield is both a tranquil and energetic outdoor concert venue and a popular stopover for indie, Americana and electro-pop bands.
Top Central U.S. Amphitheater: PNC Pavilion at Riverbend (Cincinnati)
During Cincinnati’s hot summer months, the breeze rolling off the Ohio River cools this spacious waterfront amphitheater. Located inside the Riverbend Music Center, PNC Pavilion is booked and promoted by leading Ohio entertainment company MEMI, which brings in national tours from acts such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Alicia Keys and Charlie Puth and has been developing homegrown talent in the city since 2001.
Top East Coast Amphitheater: The Orion (Huntsville, Ala.)
Designed by Mumford & Sons member Ben Lovett’s The Venue Group and financially supported by a who’s who of heavyweights including Forest Hills Stadium’s Mike Luba and Red Light Management’s Coran Capshaw, the classically designed amphitheater draws visitors from all over the world but was built specifically for Huntsville residents. The space is open year-round as a popular dining destination and includes a farmers market, art gallery and large meeting space.
Top West Coast Club or Theater: The Regent (Los Angeles)
Located in Downtown L.A.’s old Broadway theater district, the 110-year-old theater — once a home for grindhouse flicks and adult films — today serves as a friendly neighborhood music venue that rarely suffers a dark night. When The Regent isn’t hosting national tours by performers such as Iggy Pop, The Pretenders, Matt & Kim and Black Country, New Road, it’s hosting oddball theme nights like Grinch Raves or free movie screenings.
Top Central U.S. Club or Theater: Brooklyn Bowl (Nashville)
Come for the Margo Price concert, stay for the fried chicken from in-house culinary group Blue Ribbon. The Nashville outpost of promoter Peter Shapiro’s Brooklyn Bowl was set to open in mid-March 2020 but pivoted to streaming-only concerts during the pandemic before starting to stage in-person events in June 2021. Since, the venue has successfully united the jam band crowd and the fast-growing Americana and indie country scene under one Nashville roof. Every show is fueled by a culinary program led by head chef Steven Stewart, a student of Nashville’s first father of foodies, Jody Faison.
Top East Coast Club or Theater: Roadrunner (Boston)
AEG partner The Bowery Presents manages Roadrunner, which is located in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood and was built in homage to the city’s former Sinclair venue in Harvard Square. Opened in March 2022 and taking its name from the Modern Lovers song “Roadrunner,” the venue is home to New England’s largest general-admission dancefloor and includes a wrap-around mezzanine for stellar views from above. It also features commissioned artwork from local muralist Felipe Ortiz that complements the venue’s understated design.
Top Residency Venue: Resorts World Theater (Las Vegas)
Located at the Resorts World hotel, Sin City’s newest theater reopened after the coronavirus pandemic with a record-breaking Katy Perry residency. Featuring 900 more seats than the neighboring Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the venue’s size and scale helped it land atop the Boxscore chart for venues under 5,000 capacity for the second year in a row. In 2023, Resorts World Theater grossed $45 million from 90 shows attended by 319,000 fans.
The ‘Wow’ Factor: Sphere (Las Vegas)
Few venues have gained as much attention in a single year as MSG’s Sphere at the Venetian in Las Vegas, a $2 billion music venue built by MSG’s James Dolan. Made famous by its LED exosphere and fully immersive interior cinematic screens, Sphere’s opening run with U2 — a $100 million deal brokered in part by Live Nation’s Arthur Fogel and Brooklyn Bowl’s Shapiro — will be followed by a four-night stand by Phish in April.
Sphere in Las Vegas with its LED exosphere as an eyeball.
David Becker/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Top Bucket List Venue: Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Morrison, Colo.)
With a memorable disc-shaped stage cast against a canvas of red sandstone, Red Rocks is North America’s most aspirational venue for both touring artists who long to play the natural amphitheater and fans who travel thousands of miles to attend one of the 200-plus concerts held there annually. Owned and managed by the City of Denver, Red Rocks is one of the few venues of its size that is ticketing-system neutral and nonexclusive to promoters.
Best Concept: The Salt Shed (Chicago)
Opened in 2022 on land previously owned by Morton Salt for nearly 100 years, The Salt Shed features two performance spaces: a 3,500-capacity reimagined indoor shed and a 5,000-capacity outdoor space known as the Fairground that overlooks the Chicago River and Goose Island.
Best Venue Under 500-Capacity: The Rebel Lounge (Phoenix)
This desert oasis of brick, steel and rust has long served as an important tour stop for developing bands traveling Interstate 10. Housed in what used to be the Mason Jar nightclub, The Rebel Lounge is managed by Psyko Steve Presents owner Stephen Chilton and serves as ground zero for Phoenix’s budding music scene with nearly nightly bookings and a loyal following of local supporters.
Local Favorite: Dickies Arena (Fort Worth, Texas)
From its round brick exterior to its western-themed hand-cut tile murals and bronze statues of cowboys and Comanches, Dickies Arena in Fort Worth exudes plenty of Lone Star State pride. And now, less than five years after opening, it is the No. 1 venue in the 10,001- to 15,000-capacity category, grossing $70 million from 110 shows in 2023, according to Boxscore.
Keeping It Indie: First Avenue (Minneapolis)
Authenticity matters to music fans, especially those who want to support independent artists in a rapidly commercializing world. And few venues possess as much authenticity as First Avenue, the anchor nightclub for Minneapolis promoter Dayna Frank, who served as the founding president of the National Independent Venue Association. Frank has run First Avenue since 2009, when she took over the business from her father and longtime owner, Byron, modeling the club’s look, design and attitude after her own experience growing up in the Twin Cities.
Best Food and Music Pairing: Triple Door (Seattle)
Located in Downtown Seattle across from Benaroya Hall on Union Street, Triple Door combines world-class entertainment with a world-renowned menu inspired by local Pacific Northwest ingredients. The Mainstage Theatre features national touring acts, while its MQ Stage & Lounge is considered one the city’s best destinations for happy hour and evening eats. Triple Door’s kitchen focuses on fresh local seafood and Southeast Asian dishes from sister restaurant Wild Ginger.
Most Unforgettable Experience: Snug Harbor (New Orleans)
Located on New Orleans’ jazz-heavy Frenchman Street, Snug Harbor is known for its world-famous Creole cuisine and its hourly jazz sessions featuring local talent from nearly every Big Easy parish. The venue’s food operation is fabled for its giant broiled gulf shrimp, lack of pretension and waiters who won’t take your plate away if you’re drawn to the dancefloor in the middle of supper.
Most Environmentally Friendly: Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle)
In renovating the KeyArena at Seattle Center, developer and operator Oak View Group designed it to be the first net-zero carbon arena and the most sustainable professional sports facility in the world. Named and branded in a historic sponsorship deal inked by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the building was North America’s first to generate zero waste from operations — and it uses reclaimed rainwater to create the greenest hockey ice in the NHL.
This story originally appeared in the Feb. 10, 2024, issue of Billboard.
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.
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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.
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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”).
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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.