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Throughout history, music has embraced constructive change and innovation. And we will do so again as we confront the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence.
Done right, AI should offer avenues for new growth and artistic accomplishment. When creators’ rights are respected, innovation thrives.
Already, music companies have unveiled compelling projects that use AI technologies in groundbreaking ways — with full consent and participation of the artists and rights holders involved. Working together with responsible AI companies, music companies are finding new ways to enhance production and marketing, gain new understandings from data and research, and improve wellness and health. They’ve used it to help identify new audiences for artists and pioneer new ways to celebrate iconic catalogs and performers. This is just the beginning of a new era of possibilities.
But many AI developers are resisting collaborative efforts by the creative sector to develop a responsible policy framework for AI, even though the elements of such a framework are straightforward and common-sense. In short, AI companies must honor:
Authorization: only use copyrighted music if it is authorized (for example, through a license)
Transparency: keep and disclose adequately detailed records of the content on which they train their systems
Authenticity: prevent deepfakes, voice clones, and similar violations of individuals’ rights in their own voice, image, name likeness and identity.
These foundational, consensus principles are detailed by the Human Artistry Campaign and supported by virtually the entire creative community. They set forth a baseline for responsible development and deployment of AI.
But as if on cue, some of the worst instincts of Big Technology have returned. Some AI developers claim it’s “fair use” to scrape up protected music so it can be copied and repackaged by their models. That’s just wrong.
Put bluntly, that’s digital theft.
In every legitimate market in the world, the use of others’ property requires the owner’s consent and agreed-upon compensation. Together, for example, music and technology have developed a burgeoning streaming market built on the common-sense principle that use of copyrighted creative works requires licensing and consent.
Indeed, the developers’ claim that they can use decades’ worth of iconic and extremely valuable recordings for AI without bothering to ask or pay the rightsholders is so far-fetched that former Stability AI developer Ed Newton-Rex quit his job in November rather than be party to an extreme effort to rip off artists and misappropriate their work, explaining via X:
“Companies worth billions of dollars are, without permission, training generative AI models on creators’ works, which are then being used to create new content that in many cases can compete with the original works. I don’t see how this can be acceptable[.]”
It’s not.
This is why transparency is essential. AI developers must keep accurate records of the copyrighted works used by their models and make them available to rights holders seeking to enforce their rights. We need rules requiring that developers maintain adequately detailed records and share this information — or bear the consequences if they fail to produce it. We were pleased to see that the European Union enshrined this as a core principle in its landmark AI Act.
AI policy must also establish clear rules protecting every performer’s right to their own voice, image, name and likeness — the most fundamental cornerstones of individual identity. AI fakes that mine an artist’s body of work to create artificial replicas and voice clones, fashion phony endorsements, or depict individuals in ways they haven’t consented to represent the worst kind of personal invasion. Congress needs to put an end to wrongful appropriation of the most central components of individual human identity.
These are the challenges of 2024.
We either work to continue a strong and sustainable foundation for music in the era of generative AI that moves both art and technology forward together, or generative AI devolves into just another “move fast and break things” novelty that fails to deliver anything of value while eroding our culture.
These are the choices policymakers will face this coming year. Let’s work to help them forge the right path.
Mitch Glazier is chairman/CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America.
Now that Warner Music Group chairman/CEO Robert Kyncl has had a full year at the helm of the major label, he has released a New Year’s note to staff, obtained by Billboard, outlining a plan to kick into gear and set the company up for the next 10 years of changes in the music business.
In the note, Kyncl says he’s referring to the year 2024 as “The Year of the Next 10 — the year when we move at velocity to set ourselves up for a winning decade in the new world.”
“As we start the new year, one thing I’d like us all to remember is that our world has fundamentally changed… the music business is in a very different place than it was 10 years ago,” Kyncl writes. “Now, we’re in a position of strength. That is the time to get ahead for the future.”
He then emphasizes three key areas that he sees as crucial for the next year: growing the engagement with music; increasing the value of music; and evolving how the team works together.
On the first point, Kyncl breaks it down into four main focus points. The first, he writes, is about focusing A&R more on capturing opportunity, including geographically (“based on where artists and songwriters come from and where their streams are going”) and looking forward, as with identifying genres that will grow in the future. The second, in marketing, he emphasizes the partnership between marketing, A&R, tech and business intelligence to better focus efforts and better use the data available. The third, in catalog, emphasizes the ability to market and promote WMG’s extensive catalog on the same lines as it does its frontline music, particularly in digital optimization, given that catalog is driving some 70% of consumption in the current market. And finally, he emphasizes distribution and administration, in beefing up both the services available to the “middle class of artists” and in the major’s publishing admin business, which he wants to scale up further.
The second point, focusing on value, is about solving in 2024 for some of the conversations that rose up and started to dominate in 2023: namely, the value of artists and music on streaming platforms, as well as the issues surrounding the dilution of the royalty pool from the likes of functional music and white-noise tracks. Kyncl has previously spoken about the importance of streaming services raising prices, which many did in the past year, which he stresses as well. And finally, he stresses the need to further develop artist-to-superfan relationships, which he calls “relatively untapped and under-monetized,” though notes that WMG has initiatives in the works in many of these areas already.
The final point, on working together, is about reorienting how the WMG team works, including through leaning into expertise, transparency, flexibility, collaboration across departments and within teams, relying on metrics and not being afraid to lead rather than follow the industry.
Kyncl also takes time to point out some of WMG’s successes in the past year, including big years by the likes of Zach Bryan, Jack Harlow and Gunna; returns from Dua Lipa, David Guetta and Ed Sheeran; and catalog victories for the music of David Bowie, Madonna and Talking Heads, among others, while looking forward to new music from Gabby Barrett, Maria Becerra, Green Day and more.
Looking at the past several decades in 10-year chunks is a useful way of catching snapshots of how markedly things have changed. In 2004, the CD boom had decidedly stalled, as piracy began to take chunks out of the record industry and the business was in the midst of its protracted struggle with piracy and the digital revolution. By 2014, the industry had effectively bottomed out, with recorded revenues hitting their nadir as streaming had been introduced but had yet to catch on as a viable, much less dominant, format for the business. Now, in 2024, with streaming far and away the biggest source of revenue for a booming business, the revenue model is being hotly scrutinized, as new technologies and increasing fraud and volume threaten to overwhelm the now-established status quo.
In that respect, Kyncl sees this year as a pivotal one to answer several of these big questions, and set WMG up for the next decade of challenges and opportunities in the business. “We’re going to fuel the growth of this company using the same resourcefulness and determination with which we develop our artists and songwriters,” he writes. “Because ultimately that’s what will serve them best.”
Sports and music company The Familie has expanded to Nashville, and is set to make Music City the company’s national headquarters.
“Nashville is a city that is inspired by culture, diversity, arts and entertainment, and – from a business perspective – encourages entrepreneurship and growth with no state-income tax and a low barrier to entry for real estate, including commercial real estate,” The Familie founder/CEO Steve Astephen tells Billboard via email.
The Familie’s roster includes Machine Gun Kelly, Avril Lavigne, Jaden Hossler, Games We Play and sombr.
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Former Universal Music Group Nashville executive vp of promotion Royce Risser will lead the company’s new country music division and oversee the Nashville office’s operations. Chase Berlin has been hired as the company’s first artist manager in Nashville.
Risser has more than three decades of music industry experience, starting at MCA Records as an intern in 1991 before being hired as a promotion assistant. Risser rose through the ranks at UMGN, leading promotion efforts and rising to executive vp of promotion. Along the way, Risser worked with artists including George Strait, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton, Sam Hunt, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi and Brothers Osborne.
Berlin will work under Risser to sign and develop country artists and build out the genre’s division for The Familie. A University of Florida graduate, Berlin previously worked at management company The AMG and at WME.
“It’s been immediately clear to me that The Familie does things differently,” said Risser in a statement. “I appreciate the team’s non-transactional approach to management, thoughtfully building artist brands and legacies through collaboration and a vast network of cross-industry alliances. Steve Astephen could easily be the smartest, most connected person I’ve ever met and can’t wait to work alongside him in this role. I know this team will be a refreshing addition to the Nashville scene while also integrating with and honoring the history and pedigree of Music Row. I’m absolutely fired up and honored to be at the helm of The Familie’s arrival in Nashville.”
Astephen tells Billboard, “Diversity of thought and experience is what helped us transform sports representation in the 2000s and it’s what will help us do the same in music — which is essentially to not just think outside the box, but to create the box…I entered sports representation from a brand and retail perspective, then music management from a sports agency perspective. Royce has been in radio, which, of course, drives country music. He’s been in marketing and promotions. These are the types of things that add additional opportunities for an artist who signs with us. If you sign with The Familie as a musical artist, we’re looking at: How do we bring you into the sports world? How do we bring you into radio marketing? We’re not just managing an artist’s career, we’re expanding it.”
The first artist signed to the company’s country division is singer-songwriter Evanthia Theodorou.
“She’s the perfect example of the type of artist we look for, which is someone with a 360 degree brand, who is highly marketable, personable, has good values, and appeals to a wide audience through various channels of promotion,” Astephen says, estimating that the country music division could represent up to seven artists.
Astephen launched The Familie in 1998; the company also works with sports figures including football player Daniel Carlson, surfer Eli Hanneman, rally driver Oliver Solberg and tennis player Cooper Williams.
Looking ahead, Astephen says The Familie is making its move into Nashville at the perfect time. “I see the industry shifting to show how marketable the country music genre is globally,” he says. “Obviously, we have to respect what Nashville is to country music, but country artists are global superstars and only growing. So with us coming in–along with other companies–I think you’ll see more brand partnerships, more national television commercials. I’m really excited for us to be part of this and to help challenge the industry to do more than just traditional music management.”
Alfredo Delgadillo has been appointed president and CEO of Universal Music México, Billboard can exclusively announce.
Previously Universal Music México’s managing director, Delgadillo’s newly-expanded role includes Universal Music Group’s regional Mexican label, Fonovisa-Disa. The Mexico City-based executive will continue to report directly to Jesús López, chairman/CEO, Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula.
“We are in a unique moment of growth for Latin music and Regional Mexican music, so this new responsibility comes with an even stronger commitment to continue growing the success and reach of our artists both in Mexico and around the world, alongside growing our live and management businesses,” Delgadillo said in a statement.
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“Now with the addition of the Fonovisa-Disa labels,” he continued, “I am looking forward to working closely with its leader Antonio Silva, for whom I have absolute respect and their entire team, to ensure that the legacy of Fonovisa-Disa, as the symbol and leader of Regional Mexican music, continues to grow and expand to the rest of the world.”
After a 10-year run with EMI Music México, Delgadillo returned to Universal in 2013 (when UMG acquired EMI) as general manager of Universal Music México, and in 2017 was promoted to managing director where he was key in the development of local acts, such as Mon Laferte and Caloncho, while contributing to the growth of international acts in Mexico like J Balvin, David Bisbal, Metallica, U2 and Taylor Swift, among others.
During his time with the label, the industry veteran, who began his career at Universal Music México in 1998, has overseen strategies to “take UMG’s international acts to the top of the Mexican charts” and “was responsible for the development and consolidation of Global Talent Services (GTS),” according to a press release.
“Alfredo is an executive with extensive experience in all fields of entertainment, including records, management and touring,” added Jesús López, Universal Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula chairman and CEO. “He has incredible leadership capacity and a great track record of developing and integrating young executives into his teams. These are among the many reasons for his ongoing success at Universal Music Mexico. I wish him every success in his new mission within the company. He has the support of our entire team.”
U.K.-headquartered TV-based music streaming service Roxi, backed by such investors as Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Sheryl Crow, is gearing up to launch in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2024 via partnerships unveiled on Sunday.
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The company, founded in 2017, has deals with all major labels, touting that it offers its partners “a unique full-catalog music video service – all the original music videos plus over 100 million Roxi virtual music videos.” It said that in the U.S. it would soon become available “on Samsung, LG, Vizio, Sony Bravia, Roku, Comcast, Fire TV, Google TV, Android TV, NVIDIA Shield TVs and set-top boxes.”
It vowed that its free music streaming app would “change the way millions of Americans enjoy music at home with free access to 100 million music videos, hundreds of curated music video channels, music video karaoke, music games and more.”
In the U.K., consumers can use the Roxi app free under the Roxi Standard plan with ads or for £6.99 ($8.85) per month after 30 free days. In the U.S., the company said it would also offer the Roxi Standard service for free, with ads, including “unlimited music videos, exclusive music channels, essential karaoke catalog and essential music games.” The $8.99 a month (after a free 30-day trial) Roxi Premium plan in the U.S. promises consumers to “play anything and everything, with no limits and no adverts.” Roxi TV app users can also claim a free Roxi Karaoke Microphone when taking up a 30-day premium trial or otherwhise purchase it from roxi.tv for $29.99.
With smart TV and pay TV vendors working with Roxi to add voice- and remote-powered on-demand music video search and play, “smart TVs will leapfrog smart speakers with free and instant voice-activated music videos,” the company predicted in announcing its move into the U.S. “Consumers will be able to command their TV to ‘play Taylor Swift’ with their voice – the TV will then automatically turn on and start playing Taylor Swift’s music videos.”
Roxi CEO Rob Lewis touted that the service provides more than audio-only music. “Our partnerships with the world’s biggest smart and pay TV companies brings free and instant access to Roxi’s 100 million music videos on tens of millions of TVs,” he said. “Consumers will be able to use their voice or TV remote to instantly play all their favorite music, all in a music video format.”
The company sees its service as helping TV sets replace the role of audio speakers in many homes. “Music represents 80 percent of listening on smart speakers today; but that’s audio-only listening and audio-only is ridiculous on a TV and when there is a TV in every home,” said Lewis. “The TV will overtake the smart speaker as the preferred music player in the home, not only because an audio-visual experience is better in the home than audio-only but also because a TV provides for a much superior browsing experience.”
Roxi cited results of a survey that it commissioned to highlight its market potential. It found that more than 75 percent of U.S. consumers would want to try Roxi’s free TV app on their smart TVs and 60 percent are “interested in switching their home music listening from audio-only smart speakers to full music videos playing on the TV.”
Matthew Broughton, director, LG smart TV content & services, said: “Roxii’s full catalog of 100 million original and virtual music videos will be integrated directly into the search function on all new LG TVs from 2024, enabling LG TV users to search for music, as well as TV and movies.”
Cowell, Minogue and Crow are celebrity shareholders in Roxi and also serve it as music curators. Other investors in the company include the likes of Robbie Williams, Alesha Dixon, Stephen Fry, former Formula 1 and McLaren executive Ron Dennis, former U2 manager Paul McGuinness and others.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
A judge on Friday declined to immediately put Cher’s son into the legal conservatorship that she is seeking and he is opposing, but the court will take up the issue again within weeks. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica A. Uzcategui ruled that Cher’s attorneys had not given Elijah Blue Allman and his lawyers the necessary documents […]
Music stocks mirrored the poor start to 2024 seen in markets around the world, but K-pop giant HYBE bucked the trend with a 7.9% gain to 252,000 won ($191.67) this week. HYBE made the news multiple times during a relatively slow, holiday-shortened week — though none of it was the type of financial news that […]
Now that 2023 has come to a close and the year-end charts have been digested, it’s time to look ahead. 2024 is already looking to be a big year for music in Canada.
Upcoming Canadian album releases include a double album from long-running pop-punk band Sum 41, a new album from long-running rock band Mother Mother that follows the huge TikTok resurgence of their older song “Hayloft,” plus new ones from well-established bands like The Strumbellas, Chromeo, off-kilter pop artist Allie X, country singer Corb Lund and more. There are also plenty of albums from up-and-coming artists to keep an eye on.
Promising B.C. rapper Boslen’s Conversations Over Dinner project is tentatively scheduled for March. Singer/poet Mustafa announced his debut album is coming this year. Montreal rapper Lou Phelps announced his forthcoming album Chélbé, executive-produced by Kaytranada. Speaking of that in-demand Montreal producer, he closed out 2023 with a pair of new solo songs following his collaborative album as Kaytraminé, which seem to signify something new on the horizon.
Indigenous hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids could have a big breakout year coming. They signed to Sony Music Canada last year and announced their major label debut will come out this summer. And after appearing on Billboard Canada’s Punjabi Wave cover, Jonita Gandhi has her first EP on 91 North Records set to release in February.
Some major tours are hitting Canada in 2024 as well.
Diljit Dosanjh is set to play the biggest Punjabi concert outside of India at Vancouver’s BC Place in April. That Vancouver venue is surprisingly the only Canadian host for the Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds tour. And aside from the six dates at Toronto’s stadium Rogers Centre, Vancouver will get the only Canadian dates on Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour.
Pop-punk has reached its stadium era. Veterans Blink-182 and Green Day will both play Toronto’s Rogers Centre (home of the Blue Jays) this summer. Green Day is also joining SZA and Noah Kahan as headliners for Montreal’s biggest music festival Osheaga.
Head to ca.billboard.com for a full list.
Two Canadian Cities Establish Music Strategies
Canadian cities are getting strategic when it comes to promoting and supporting their music scenes.
Following the lead of its neighbour Toronto, Kingston, Ontario is moving forward with a music strategy and establishing an official music office. The Kingston city council approved $200,000 in funding from the capital budget in a meeting just before Christmas. The funding will establish the music office and support music programming in the city for the year. The city will also hire and appoint a music officer in charge of the office.
“The strategy hopes to improve living and working conditions for musicians and industry workers while also better leveraging Kingston’s existing music scene as a piece of the city’s tourism tapestry,” reports Yahoo’s Local Journalism Initiative.
Kingston is the 12th most populous city in Ontario but has a notable music history. It’s home to Queen’s University, which has made it a popular location for student bars and student bands. It’s also famously the city that spawned The Tragically Hip, one of Canada’s most beloved bands. Establishing a music strategy codifies music as a major identity for the city and helps it market its music scene while supporting the artists and infrastructure of those who play there.
Vancouver also has a music strategy and has just appointed a music task force to help the city implement it.
A press release explains that the task force will help the City “celebrate the sound of Vancouver and the music of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.” It will also aim to attract and retain artists, businesses, tourism and events that strengthen the local economy.
The city aims to build a music sector that thrives year-round. – Richard Trapunski & Kerry Doole
Rising TikTok Star Alexander Stewart Makes His Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Debut
Canadian singer-songwriter Alexander Stewart is starting 2024 off with a bang, making his debut on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with the explosive “i wish you cheated,” off of his new EP, if you only knew. The lovelorn single arrives on the Jan. 6 chart at No. 100 after gathering steam since Stewart’s October performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Starting off with mournful piano and Stewart’s voice, the song has a strong premise: Stewart wishes his ex had cheated on him so that he could have clarity and a simple justification for feeling angry and upset. The piano cuts out at the end of the chorus as Stewart asks: “how do I move on / when you did nothing wrong?” Then, Stewart ramps up the energy with backup vocals, dropouts and a theatricality that calls to mind Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license.”
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The Toronto-born musician is now based in L.A. and has built up an impressive online fanbase, with six million followers on TikTok and 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube. He released if you only knew with entertainment company FAE, and according to a press release the initial TikTok campaign for “i wish you cheated” amassed more than 43 million views. Stewart was the second-most popular artist on TikTok in Canada in 2023, behind Lauren Spencer Smith, who charted on the Billboard Hot 100 last year with “Last Christmas.”
This is Stewart’s first time on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, and he could be poised to climb higher if he can gather momentum as holiday music drops off the charts in the coming weeks. The top 10 of this week’s Billboard Canadian Hot 100 are all holiday songs. – Rosie Long Decter
On Friday (Jan. 5), the band’s fans began expressing concern online upon noticing that its website and socials had been wiped clean. As a source confirms to Billboard, the fresh start follows the expiration of the band’s 20-year contract with Atlantic Records in late December, meaning the Hayley Williams-fronted group is now a free agent. […]
The modern music industry may run on subscriptions — streaming, satellite radio, Peloton, et al. — but it still depends greatly on the advertising business. Indeed, non-subscription-based streaming, along with social media and broadcast radio, continues to produce important royalties and licensing income for record labels and music publishers.
Unfortunately, 2023 was a lackluster year for advertising-based businesses, as brands held back due to economic pressures. The slowdown extended into the fourth quarter: Trade Desk, a digital advertising platform, warned in November that expectations for revenue growth in 2024 “may be premature.”
So, can people expect improvements in 2024? According to a new report by Mediaocean, the outlook is mixed: While some advertising-based businesses can expect more demand this year, others may not witness a rebound.
In November, Mediaocean surveyed nearly 1,100 marketers, ad agencies, media companies and tech platforms, among other companies, about how they expect to spend on various types of advertising in the coming year. The survey revealed that advertising dollars will continue to flee from legacy media — namely print and television — in favor of social media, digital display and video and connected TVs.
Social platforms such as TikTok top the list of predicted ad spending in 2024: 69% of respondents said they expect to increase their spend in 2024 on social media, while only 28% said they will maintain social media spending and just 3% plan to decrease spending. Social media has taken the biggest jump in the last two years. When surveyed at the end of 2021, 56% of respondents — 13 percentage points less than the latest survey — said they expected to spend more on social platforms, while the percentage of people who planned to maintain spending in 2022 was 10 percentage points higher at 38%.
Digital display and video advertising showed a similar breakdown to social media: 65% of respondents expect to increase, 30% plan to maintain and 5% expect to decrease their spending. Most respondents also expect to increase their spending for connected TV and search. These categories were little changed from the prior year.
Radio and audio advertising will fare about the same as last year: 24% of respondents expect to increase spending on radio and audio in 2024, down from 25% in 2023, while 54% of respondents plan to maintain their spending levels and 22% expect to decrease their spending. Going into 2023, 51% of respondents expected to maintain radio and audio spending and 24% planned to spend less. However, those numbers mark a distinct downward trend from 2022, when 61% of respondents said they expected to maintain radio ad spending while just 15% expected a reduction.
Given that data, radio companies that have both digital and broadcast businesses should fare better than those without a digital component – and they may already be seeing a recovery. Speaking at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit on November 29, iHeartMedia chairman and CEO Bob Pittman said the company’s digital advertising “seems to have already recovered” and that radio advertising will recover when brands see an economic recovery on the horizon. “Advertising tends to be a leading indicator,” he added. The same trend can be seen, albeit in a more negative direction, at Audacy, which faces a possible bankruptcy caused in part by lagging broadcast revenue: In the third quarter of 2023, spot and network advertising was down 8.9% year over year while digital revenue rose 3.4%.
TV advertising has taken the biggest fall over the last two years. Going into 2022, only 15% of respondents expected to spend less on local TV and 13% planned to spend less on national TV. Two years later, 33% expect to spend less on local TV and 27% expect to reduce spending on national TV.
Although audio streaming has eaten into the time people spend listening to radio, about 90% of Americans still listen to the radio each week. The same can’t be said for video, however, as video streaming has sharply reduced the audience for cable television. In the third quarter, the penetration rate of traditional pay TV — cable, telco and satellite — fell to 54.8% after those companies lost nearly 2 million subscribers, according to MoffettNathanson. That marks the lowest penetration rate since 1989.
That can be chalked up to the swift rise of video streaming platforms. In the third quarter, YouTube TV surpassed satellite company Dish Network to become the fourth-largest multi-channel video programming distributor. MoffetNathanson believes YouTube TV could surpass satellite company DirecTV for third place in less than a year.