Business
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Facility management company Marathon Live is opening the music venue FIVE, located at Jacksonville, Fla.’s, historic Five Points, on Tuesday night (May 13) with Korean-American singer, musician and internet personality BoyWithUke performing. FIVE is located in a historic 1927 theater that was recently renovated. The work began in August with crews working to preserve the […]
Ineffable Live has signed an exclusive talent buying agreement with Majestic Ventura Theater, previously managed and booked by Live Nation since 2019. Ineffable Live is the concert promoter and talent buying division of Ineffable Music Group, the Oakland-based record label, management company and concert promoter. Ineffable’s stable of California venues include the Uptown Theatre in […]
Jeremy Sirota will leave Merlin at the end of the year, the licensing organization announced on Tuesday (May 13).
Sirota has served as CEO since 2020, guiding Merlin as it steers digital music licensing for independent labels and distributors. During Sirota’s tenure, Merlin reached new deals with Apple, Audiomack, Canva, Peloton, Snap, Twitch and more.
In a statement, Darius Van Arman, who is both chairperson of Merlin and co-founder/co-owner of Secretly Group, called Sirota “an extraordinary CEO” who brought “great focus, tremendous energy and brilliant thinking to one of the most important and challenging roles within the independent community.”
“His work and leadership has Merlin more prepared than ever to manage an increasingly complex music licensing landscape and to achieve our mission of enabling greater independence for all Merlin members,” Van Arman continued.
In his own statement, Sirota called helming Merlin “the privilege of a lifetime.” He added that the organization continues “to be the most important organization representing independents” and that it “has a bright future.”
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Sirota previously worked as a tech lawyer before spending nine years at Warner Music Group and then jumping to Facebook Music.
That experience “gave me the ability to relate to people at different levels in the business, whether it’s a product manager at a digital platform, or an engineer who’s now a founder of a startup, or it’s a member who runs a metal label,” he told Billboard last year. “I’ve always been on the service side, and that’s always been the through line.”
During Sirota’s time as CEO, Merlin added over 100 members. In addition, the organization launched Merlin Engage, a program to mentor the next generation of women executives, and Merlin Insights, to help members analyze the deluge of data that’s available in world of streaming.
“We now have a data operations team to make sure that all trends data is being delivered in the right format,” Sirota explained in 2024. “Our market share on some of these platforms is significant — more than just the 15% we talk about. So we have this incredible wealth of data. We have the ability to pull out interesting stories that help our members — things they don’t know because they’re not on the ground.”
Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) said on Tuesday a 17%-surge in music subscription revenue drove higher first quarter revenue for China’s fast-growing streaming platform.
Total revenues rose 8.7% to RMB7.36 billion (US$1.01 billion), with music subscription revenue up 16.6% to RMB4.22 billion (US$581 million) for the quarter ending March 31, 2025, compared to the same time period a year ago. TME’s total subscriber base now stands at 122.9 million, up 8.3% from a year ago. While that is still less than half of Spotify’s total number of paying subscribers — Spotify reported 268 million subscribers in the first quarter — it drove monthly average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) up to RMB11.4 ($1.57) from RMB10.6 ($1.47) a year ago.
“With the sound foundations we have built, a thriving music ecosystem, and healthy financial position, we are well equipped to navigate global uncertainties,” TME’s executive chairman Cussion Pang said in a statement. “We remain on track … to achieve sustainable growth in 2025.”
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The Chinese music streaming company operates three music streaming services — Kugou Music, QQ Music and Kuwo Music — as well as WeSing, a karaoke app. In recent years, Tencent Music’s business has become dominated by music services, while its social entertainment business has declined.
Online music revenue increased by nearly 16% to RMB5.80 billion (US$800 million) from a year ago, driven by the rise in music subscription revenues and an increase in advertising revenue. The business also benefitted from higher merchendise revenue from physical album sales for artists like Teens in Times and Silence Wang, and offline performance revenue.
Chinese genres are still the most popular music streamed on its platform, TME executives said, but the growing popularity of Korean, English and Japanese tracks on Tencent Music drove the company to expand existing partnerships with South Korea’s Starship Entertainment and YG Entertainment and Japan’s ACG entertainment company during the quarter.
The company also disclosed it signed a new multi-year licensing agreement with Sony Music Entertainment and extended agreements with Emperor Entertainment Group and Rock Records during the quarter.
TME’s social entertainment business, which has been in decline in part due to government crackdowns on social platforms, fell by nearly 12% to RMB1.55 billion (US$214 million). TME said the decline was “mainly the result of adjustments to certain live-streaming interactive functions and more stringent compliance procedures implemented.”
The strength in subscription revenues drove TME’s gross margin to 44.1% from 40.9%, with a total operating profit of RMB4.84 billion (US$666 million) in the first quarter of 2025, a whopping 146.9% increase from a year ago. Net profit attributable to equity holders was RMB4.29 billion (US$591 million), representing 201.8% year-over-year growth.
The company also said it received 2% equity stake in Universal Music Group in March as a result of a “distribution-in-kind from one of our associates” worth RMB2.37 billion (US$327 million).
Pershing Square Holdings, the hedge fund run by UMG board member Bill Ackman, sold 50 million shares of its UMG holdings — approximately 2.7% of UMG’s outstanding stock — in mid-March as part of a campaign to get UMG to list in the United States.
After shaping some of the biggest acts in global pop, HYBE is setting its sights on Latin music with an ambitious new reality series from its subsidiary, HYBE Latin America. Billboard has exclusively learned that production kicks off this week in Mexico City on the yet-to-be-titled project, which aims to form a new all-male pop group.
The series will train and develop 16 contestants from countries including Mexico, Brazil, the U.S., Peru and Spain, narrowing the field to a final five by the end of the season this fall.
The series’ format and execution differs from other reality talent competition in multiple key ways. First and foremost, it’s HYBE’s first artist development venture of this scale focused entirely on Latin talent, combining the development discipline the company has applied in K-pop with Latin American cultural and artistic sensibility.
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Further, instead of airing as a carefully formatted weekly television show, the reality show is a multi-platform production that integrates long-form storytelling, performance content and behind-the-scenes narratives distributed across streaming, social and music platforms.
The project also features a roster of mentors that may be unprecedented in a Latin reality show. It includes director and choreographer Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, The Descendants) as executive producer; Charm La’Donna (Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 Super Bowl, Bruno Mars) as head choreographer; and Robert J “RAab” Stevenson (SZQ, Rihanna) as head vocal coach.
“This project is about much more than music. It’s about reimagining how Latin talent can be discovered, developed and presented to the world. We are building the foundation for the next generation of global Latin artists with the highest creative and production standards,” said J.H. Kah, CEO of HYBE Latin America, who is leading efforts on the venture, in a statement.
The new project joins a roster of properties that includes newly-announced talent competition Pase a la Fama, which HYBE Latin America developed with Telemundo. The competition show seeks to find the next regional Mexican band and premieres on Telemundo June 8 with Ana Bárbara, Horacio Palencia and Adriel Favela as judges.
This show, however, doesn’t have a partner network.
While contestants officially arrive in Mexico this week (beginning May 12), preproduction for the show has been underway for months. Hundreds of applications poured in from across Latin America and the U.S., leading to an initial shortlist of 300 candidates. From there, 16 finalists were selected to begin intensive training at a custom-built “bootcamp” located in Mexico City’s Parque Bicentenario.
The bootcamp will include some 30 instructors, including vocal coaches, producers, fitness trainers and choreographers and is supported by Weverse, HYBE’s extremely successful social media/fandom platform.
HYBE Latin America
courtesy of HYBE Latin America. ©️ 2025 HYBE Corporation.
Make no mistake — this is a distinctly Latin production. The show is being helmed by two seasoned Colombian producers: showrunner Jaime Escallón (X Factor, Survivor) and production designer Lucas Jaramillo. Both serve as executive producers and co-creators of the format, with a clear mission to build a production environment that authentically reflects Latin culture.
“This is different from other talent reality shows in that it takes place in a space designed for the city to participate in,” says Jaramillo, noting that production is working closely with Mexico City government and fans will be allowed to actually visit the space and be part of performances and media experiences. “That’s why we’ve developed a cultural program that’s both artistic and media driven, and includes things like podcasts. This is a show that’s alive.”
The project is HYBE Latin America’s latest venture after launching in 2023 with the acquisition of Exile Music, the music division of Spanish-language studio Exile Content, led by Isaac Lee, who is now chairman of HYBE Latin America. The company has moved quickly since then. With offices in Mexico City, Miami, and Los Angeles, the division houses labels such as DOCEMIL Music and Zarpazo Entertainment.
DJ duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike have signed with Independent Artist Group in all areas, including film and television for Dimitri Vegas Thivaios’ burgeoning acting career. The pair had previously been represented by CAA. Belgian-born brothers of Greek heritage, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike made history as the first duo to be named the […]
The U.K. government’s plans to allow artificial intelligence firms to use copyrighted work, including music, have been dealt another setback by the House of Lords.
An amendment to the data bill which required AI companies to disclose the copyrighted works their models are trained on was backed by peers in the upper chamber of U.K. Parliament, despite government opposition.
The U.K.’s government has proposed an “opt out” approach for copyrighted material, meaning that the creator or owner must explicitly choose for their work not to be eligible for training AI models. The amendment was tabled by crossbench peer Beeban Kidron and was passed by 272 votes to 125 on Monday (May 12).
The data bill will now return to the House of Commons, though the government could remove Kidron’s amendment and send the bill back to the House of Lords next week.
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Kidron said: “I want to reject the notion that those of us who are against government plans are against technology. Creators do not deny the creative and economic value of AI, but we do deny the assertion that we should have to build AI for free with our work, and then rent it back from those who stole it.
“My lords, it is an assault on the British economy and it is happening at scale to a sector worth £120bn ($158bn) to the UK, an industry that is central to the industrial strategy and of enormous cultural import.”
The “opt out” move has proved unpopular with many in the creative fields, particularly in the music space. Prior to the vote, over 400 British musicians including Elton John, Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Kate Bush and more signed an open letter calling on U.K. prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to update copyright laws to protect their work from AI companies.
The letter said that such an approach would threaten “the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse,” and signatories included major players such as Sir Lucian Grainge (Universal Music Group CEO), Jason Iley MBE (Sony Music UK CEO), Tony Harlow (Warner Music UK CEO) and Dickon Stainer (Universal Music UK CEO).
A spokesperson for the government responded to the letter, saying: “We want our creative industries and AI companies to flourish, which is why we’re consulting on a package of measures that we hope will work for both sectors.”
They added: “We’re clear that no changes will be considered unless we are completely satisfied they work for creators.”
Sophie Jones, chief strategist office for the BPI, said: “The House of Lords has once again taken the right decision by voting to establish vital transparency obligations for AI companies. Transparency is crucial in ensuring that the creative industries can retain control over how their works are used, enabling both the licensing and enforcement of rights. If the Government chooses to remove this clause in the House of Commons, it would be preventing progress on a fundamental cornerstone which can help build trust and greater collaboration between the creative and tech sectors, and it would be at odds with its own ambition to build a licensing market in the UK.”
Candice Watkins has been named president of Capitol Records Nashville and executive vp of Capitol Christian Music Group.
Watkins’ new role comes as Capitol Music Group brings Capitol Christian Music Group (CCMG) and its country division, Capitol Records Nashville, under the Capitol Music Group Nashville umbrella. Artists who were previously signed to Capitol Records Nashville will remain at the newly formed Music Corporation of America (MCA) Nashville label.
Capitol Christian Music Group, which includes Motown Gospel and Tamla and distribution operations, will continue to be led by its longtime president, Nashville-based Brad O’Donnell, whowill continue to report to Tom March. CCMG is home to artists including Chris Tomlin, Anne Wilson, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Josiah Queen; it also publishes the song catalog for gospel music luminary Kirk Franklin.
Watkins previously served as senior vp of marketing at Big Loud Records, working with artists including Morgan Wallen, HARDY, ERNEST, Stephen Wilson Jr. and Hailey Whitters. Prior to her work at Big Loud, Watkins served in marketing and artist development role at UMG Nashville and held positions at Red Light Management, Mozes Inc., Borman Entertainment and Cross Point Church.
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Capitol Music Nashville is located on Martin Street in the Wedgewood Houston area of Nashville in a 40,000-square-foot space that includes state-of-the-art recording studios, a live performance space and content studios. It will have the support of the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles for all label services.
“This reorganization reflects our commitment to growing our Nashville operations as a core creative hub in Christian, gospel and country music,” said Capitol Music Group CEO Tom March in a statement. “We’re looking forward to signing and developing the next generation of country artists on Capitol Records Nashville and are thrilled to have an executive of the caliber of Candice Watkins to lead our ambitious plans in country music while also bringing her expertise to our gospel and christian music operations.”
“This new structure will empower our Nashville executives to better serve the incredible artists on our roster. Candice is a brilliant music marketing executive who has an amazing track record in developing career artists,” said John Janick, chairman of Interscope Capitol. “Having her lead our country music business in Nashville and also add her extensive artist development expertise to our CCMG team is going to be great for our artists and for the entire executive team.”
Watkins commented: “It’s a true honor to step into the role of President of Capitol Records Nashville and EVP of Capitol Christian. These labels have a rich legacy in partnering with some of the most brilliant artists of our industry and I look forward to contributing to its continued success and cultural impact. Excited to collaborate with John, Tom, Lillia and Brad in boldly championing creatives and visionaries.”
On Friday (May 9), SoundCloud encountered user backlash after AI music expert and founder of Fairly Trained, Ed Newton-Rex, posted on X that SoundCloud’s terms of service quietly changed in February 2024 to allow the platform the ability to “inform, train, develop or serve as input” to AI models. Over the weekend, SoundCloud clarified via a statement, originally sent to The Verge and also obtained by Billboard, that reads in part: “SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes.”
The streaming service adds that this change was made last year “to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform,” including AI-powered personalized recommendation tools, streaming fraud detection, and more, and it apparently did not mean that SoundCloud was allowing external AI companies to train on its users’ songs.
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SoundCloud seems to claim the right to train on people’s uploaded music in their terms. I think they have major questions to answer over this.I checked the wayback machine – it seems to have been added to their terms on 12th Feb 2024. I’m a SoundCloud user and I can’t see any… pic.twitter.com/NIk7TP7K3C— Ed Newton-Rex (@ednewtonrex) May 9, 2025
Over the years, SoundCloud has announced various partnerships with AI companies, including its acquisition of Singapore-based AI music curation company Musiio in 2022. SoundCloud’s statement added, “Tools like Musiio are strictly used to power artist discovery and content organization, not to train generative AI models.” SoundCloud also has integrations in place with AI firms like Tuney, Voice-Swap, Fadr, Soundful, Tuttii, AIBeatz, TwoShot, Starmony and ACE Studio, and it has teamed up with content identification companies Pex and Audible Magic to ensure these integrations provide rights holders with proper credit and compensation.
The company doesn’t totally rule out the possibility that users’ works will be used for AI training in the future, but says “no such use has taken place to date,” adding that “SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permissioning controls to govern any potential future use. Should we ever consider using user content to train generative AI models, we would introduce clear opt-out mechanisms in advance—at a minimum—and remain committed to transparency with our creator community.”
Read the full statement from SoundCloud below.
“SoundCloud has always been and will remain artist-first. Our focus is on empowering artists with control, clarity, and meaningful opportunities to grow. We believe AI, when developed responsibly, can expand creative potential—especially when guided by principles of consent, attribution, and fair compensation.
SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a “no AI” tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use.
The February 2024 update to our Terms of Service was intended to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform. Use cases include personalized recommendations, content organization, fraud detection, and improvements to content identification with the help of AI Technologies.
Any future application of AI at SoundCloud will be designed to support human artists, enhancing the tools, capabilities, reach and opportunities available to them on our platform. Examples include improving music recommendations, generating playlists, organizing content, and detecting fraudulent activity. These efforts are aligned with existing licensing agreements and ethical standards. Tools like Musiio are strictly used to power artist discovery and content organization, not to train generative AI models.
We understand the concerns raised and remain committed to open dialogue. Artists will continue to have control over their work, and we’ll keep our community informed every step of the way as we explore innovation and apply AI technologies responsibly, especially as legal and commercial frameworks continue to evolve.”
A modern iteration of Grammy-winning band The Kingston Trio is suing a Los Angeles music attorney for fraud, saying he lied about having an “inside track” to book the folk group at the Greek Theatre last summer.
The lawsuit was filed in California federal court on Friday (May 9) by Trident Concert Productions LLC, a concert promotion company for the lineup that performs as The Kingston Trio following the death of all the legendary folk band’s original members.
The new Kingston Trio claims it retained music lawyer David A. Helfant back in 2023 to help the group secure concert dates at Los Angeles’ famed Greek Theatre the following summer. According to the lawsuit, Helfant promised that he had an “inside track” for booking acts at the venue.
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“Helfant did not have expertise or the inside track or any superior knowledge about how to secure concert dates at the Greek Theater,” writes the group’s current attorney, Konrad L. Trope. “Instead, Helfant created an overinflated bill, along with convincing Trident that it needed to retain a former Greek Theatergeneral manager who could provide inside access.”
The group claims Helfant fraudulently convinced them to pay a hefty $650 per hour billing rate, plus $10,000 to a consultant who supposedly could help “grease the wheels” at the Greek Theatre.
In reality, says The Kingston Trio, neither Helfant nor his consultant had any “inside track.” But that didn’t even matter; according to the group, the Greek Theatre actually has a transparent booking protocol that allows anybody to bid for dates online.
The group was eventually able to secure two August 2024 dates at the Greek Theater using this public bidding system. But the group claims Helfant’s misdeeds delayed the booking process significantly, giving them only seven months to promote the shows.
“Helfant did not help, but rather hindered plaintiff’s efforts,” the lawsuit says.
To make matters worse, the group claims Helfant also spent precious hours pitching his other clients to work as cinematographers on a concert documentary that was to be filmed during the shows, but the pitches lacked proper disclosures about the regulations around private film investors, the lawsuit alleges.
The Kingston Trio is suing Helfant for breach of contract and fraud and asking for at least $250,000 in damages.
Reached for comment on Monday (May 12), Helfant tells Billboard that the allegations in the lawsuit are “are completely without merit.”
“I am confident that when the facts come to light in this action, I will prevail,” says Helfant.
The Kingston Trio, established by Bob Shane, Dave Guard and Nick Reynolds in San Francisco in the 1950s, charted 17 folk songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and won two Grammy Awards for its No. 1 hit, “Tom Dooley.”
All three original members of The Kingston Trio have died, with Shane the last to pass away in 2020. The group continues to perform under a new lineup that’s currently made up of Mike Marvin, Tim Gorelangton and Buddy Woodward.