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Go to any given spa or yoga studio and you’re likely to hear music or soundscapes designed to help you relax. Sometimes the sound is of a pan flute, or soft rain. Most often, though, you’ll hear some form of ambient music: gentle, often instrumental “chill out” productions meant to enhance the serene atmosphere.
Now, two longstanding electronic music industry executives, in partnership with leaders in the wellness and music audio technology spaces, are getting into the genre through a new ambient label: Sacred Society Music Group.
The label is a project of founders Bradley Roulier, who also co-founded the electronic music digital download store Beatport in 2004, and Barbie Beltran, a wellness expert and co-founder of a Denver wellness center also called Sacred Society. Co-founders include Paul Morris — the founder of electronic agency AM Only, which was acquired by Paradigm in 2017, and Tiësto’s longtime manager — and Dolby Atmos specialist Adelio Lombardi. Matthew Evertsen handles A&R and special projects.
With Sacred Society, the label’s founders are aiming to heighten the quality and effectiveness of ambient music by producing its entire catalog in Dolby Atmos — a move they believe can increase the well-being of listeners who use the genre for relaxation, sleep and various wellness practices.
“As label owners, we felt we could make this music that is part of life extraordinary,” Roulier tells Billboard.
Based in Denver, the label launched this week with a collection of more than 55 tracks and over six hours of immersive content. A track named “Ancient Chant” features hand drum, a rain stick and lapping water with various bells and a voice repeating, “You have it all inside.” A meditation track, “Inside The Womb Of The Earth,” is precisely 11 minutes and 11 seconds long.
This music, organized by more than two dozen tags to help users find ambient sounds best suited for certain activities and times of day, is currently available on Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music. (It’s not yet on Spotify or YouTube, as those platforms don’t currently support Dolby Atmos.) So far the label features music from nine contributing musicians including Dynasty Electric, Matthew James Kelly, Cobane Ivory, Sean Stolar and Roulier himself, with all artists appearing under the “Sacred Society” name.
While a barrage of ambient music already exists on the market (a search for “ambient” on Spotify results in upwards of 30 playlists), the Sacred Society founders believe their output is distinguished by its production in Dolby Atmos. The spatial audio technology adds dimension and depth to music and can only be made, and played, through specialized equipment. The label founders claim that listeners will benefit from this technology; as Roulier says, by helping them “explore meditative and ambient soundscapes more deeply than [they] ever thought possible.”
Sacred Society Music Group’s side3 studio in Denver, Colo./Photo Courtesy Sacred Society Music Group
Sacred Society music is produced exclusively at Denver’s Dolby Atmos-equipped side3 studio, which was built by Lombardi. While construction of the studio required, as a Sacred Society rep says, “significant financial investment,” it was more intensive to set up the precise technical specifications necessary to record in Dolby Atmos.
But this investment was worth it, Lombardi tells Billboard, because “adding immersive audio to this [music] experience elevates it significantly.”
This may all sound like a niche endeavor, but there’s potential to tap a wide audience given how many people engage in wellness practices at home and how often this music is licensed for use in facilities like spas and yoga studios. Roulier says the group “wants our music to be widely available within the wellness space globally,” and has discussed launching a subscription service tailored for practitioners, hotels and spas that would allow them to use Sacred Society content commercially.
The demand for ambient music is also expected to grow; the label cites a report that says the genre was valued at $1.8 billion in 2022, with that number expected to rise to $3.21 billion by 2030. The demand for Dolby Atmos is also expanding, with the label citing a statistic that 90% of Apple Music users have engaged with the format, as well as that plays for music available in spatial audio have more than tripled in the past two years.
All this work is ultimately meant to deliver on the founders’ goal of sharing the holistic benefits embedded in the genre.
“I have always enjoyed ambient music, and I truly believe that music has the power to heal,” Morris tells Billboard. “With anxiety, depression, and mental health problems having escalated to unprecedented levels in our society, I can’t think of a more fitting time for the launch of Sacred Society Music. I have made a living from music my entire career and, by helping to put this music out into the world, I feel I am giving back in a small way through a medium that has given so much to me.”
“It’s about providing a unique and serene musical journey for our listeners, regardless of market trends,” Beltran adds. “We aim to offer a path to serenity, self-discovery and inner harmony through the transformative power of sound.”
Two men accused of murdering Run-DMC‘s Jam Master Jay will finally head to trial Monday (Jan. 29), more than 21 years after the rap icon’s killing.
Karl Jordan, Jr. and Ronald Washington, who were charged with Jay’s long-unsolved 2002 murder in 2020, will stand trial at a Brooklyn federal courthouse. Prosecutors say the two men killed Jay as payback after a failed cocaine deal; if convicted, they each face the possibility of life in prison.
Following the selection of a jury last week, opening statements are slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Monday. The trial, before U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall, is expected to run for a month.
Run-DMC, a trio consisting of Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell, Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, is widely credited as one of the most influential early acts in hip-hop history. The trio’s 1985 release, King of Rock, was hip-hop’s first platinum album, and the group’s 1986 cover of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jay’s shocking 2002 killing had long been one of hip hop’s famous cold cases, joining the unsolved murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. Though witnesses were in the room when the murder happened, and police generated a number of leads, no charges were filed until August 2020, when prosecutors finally unveiled the case against Washington and Jordan.
According to charging documents and statements by prosecutors, Washington and Jordan broke into Jay’s studio on the night of Oct. 30, 2002. Washington allegedly initially pointed a gun at another individual in the studio; as he was doing so, Jordan allegedly fired two shots, one of which struck Jay in the head at close range, killing him almost instantly.
The motive for the killing was allegedly a drug deal gone bad. Prosecutors say Jay had arranged to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine that would be distributed in Maryland by Washington, Jordan and others. When Jay backed out of the deal, prosecutors say, the two decided to kill him.
“The defendants allegedly carried out the cold-blooded murder of Jason Mizell, a brazen act that has finally caught up with them thanks to the dedicated detectives, agents and prosecutors who never gave up on this case,” prosecutors said at the time. “The charges announced today begin to provide a measure of justice to the family and friends of the victim, and make clear that the rule of law will be upheld, whether that takes days, months, or decades.”
Jay Bryant, a third man allegedly involved in the killing who prosecutors charged with murder last May, will have a separate trial later this year.
Ahead of the trial, Jordan and Washington argued that prosecutors waited too long to charge them, meaning they wouldn’t be able to properly defend themselves. For instance, Jordan said cell phone records that would support his alibi were no longer available, and that key witnesses would have trouble remembering information.
But in September 2022, the federal judge overseeing the case rejected those arguments, calling them “speculative” and unsupported by evidence: “The court has no idea what Jordan believes the phone records contain, how they could conceivably contradict the Government’s evidence, and how those contradictions could conceivably demonstrate that Jordan did not commit the crime.”
A jury found Friday that celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D did not violate a photographer’s copyright when she used his portrait of Miles Davis as the basis for a tattoo she put on the arm of a friend.
The Los Angeles jury deliberated for just over two hours before deciding that the tattoo by the former star of the reality shows “Miami Ink” and “LA Ink” was not similar enough to photographer Jeffrey Sedlik’s 1989 portrait of the jazz legend that she needed to have paid permission.
“I’m obviously very happy for this to be over,” Von D, who inked her friend’s arm with Davis as a gift about seven years ago, said outside the courtroom. “It’s been two years of a nightmare worrying about this, not just for myself but for my fellow tattoo artists.”
The eight jurors made the same decision about a drawing Von D made from the portrait to base the tattoo on, and to several social media posts she made about the process, which were also part of Sedlik’s lawsuit. And they found that the tattoo, drawing and posts also all fell within the legal doctrine of fair use of a copyrighted work, giving Von D and other tattoo artists who supported her and followed the trial a resounding across-the-board victory.
“We’ve said all along that this case never should have been brought,” Von D’s attorney Allen B. Grodsky said after the verdict. “The jury recognized that this was just ridiculous.”
Sedlik’s attorney Robert Edward Allen said they plan to appeal. He said it the images, which both featured a close-up of Davis gazing toward the viewer and making a “shh” gesture, were so similar he didn’t know how the jury could reach the conclusion they did.
“If those two things are not substantially similar, then no one’s art is safe,” Allen said.
He told jurors during closing arguments earlier Friday that the case has “nothing to do with tattoos.”
“It’s about copying others’ protected works,” Allen said. “It’s not going to hurt the tattoo industry. The tattoo police are not going to come after anyone.”
Allen emphasized the meticulous work Sedlik did to set up the shoot, to create the lighting and mood, and to put Davis in the pose that would make for an iconic photo that was first published on the cover of JAZZIZ magazine in 1989. Sedlik registered the copyright in 1994.
And he said that subsequently, licensing the image to others including tattoo artists was a major part of how he made his living.
Von D said during the three-day trial that she never licenses the images she recreates, and she considers work like the Davis tattoo a form of “fan art.”
“I made zero money off it,” she testified. “I’m not mass-producing anything. I think there is a big difference.”
Her attorney Grodsky emphasized for jurors that that lack of an attempt to cash in on the image was essential to the tattoo being a form of fair use, an exception in copyright law used for works including commentary, criticism and parody.
Allen argued in his closing that the social media posts about the tattoo were a promotion of her and her studio, and thus a form of monetizing the image.
If jurors had sided with Sedlik, they could have awarded him as little as a few hundred dollars or as much as $150,000.
Von D was among the stars of the reality series “Miami Ink” then was the featured artist on its spinoff “LA Ink,” which ran on TLC from 2007 to 2011.
The 41-year-old Von D, whose legal name is Katherine von Drachenberg, was already a prominent young tattoo artist when she became a TV personality through her appearances on TLC’s “Miami Ink” starting in 2005 on TLC. She was the central star of its spinoff, “LA Ink,” which ran from 2007 to 2011 and made her possibly the most famous tattoo artist in the country.
Von D said that despite the victory, she’s not enthused about getting back to work.
“I think I don’t want to ever tattoo again, my heart has been crushed through this in different ways,” she said. “We’ll see with time.”
Spotify shares gained 4.7% to $214.13 this week, helping the Billboard Global Music Index improve 2.3% to a record 1,595.11. Spotify’s fourth consecutive weekly increase came two weeks ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 6, which will show the full impact of its recent price increases in the United States and other major markets.
If a rising tide lifts all boats, Netflix’s superlative fourth-quarter earnings report explains why Spotify shares posted yet another positive week. Netflix shares rose 18.1% to $570.42 this week — including a 10.7% gain on Wednesday alone — after the company said it added 13.1 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, the most since 2020, with revenue up 12.5% to $8.8 billion. Not only was the quarter encouraging for streaming in general, the video streaming giant offered the music business some insights about finding growth in a maturing market: Netflix’s growth hasn’t been hurt by either the company’s constant price increases or its recent efforts to limit password sharing. In fact, pricing played an important part in that growth.
“As we invest in and improve Netflix, we’ll occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect those improvements, which in turn helps drive the positive flywheel of additional investment to further improve and grow our service,” the company stated in a letter to shareholders. Cutting down on password sharing has made an impact, too. Netflix said “millions” of subscribers are using features such as Transfer Profile (a user transfers a profile from a shared account to a new account) and Extra Member (adding a user to an account for $7.99 per month in the United States), and that paid sharing “is now a normal course of business.”
Because of its large market capitalization, Spotify’s gain was a major factor in the Billboard Global Music Index’s 2.3% gain this week. The top-performing music stock of the week was iHeartMedia, which gained 26.7% to $2.85, putting it 68% below its 52-week high of $9.01. Music streaming company LiveOne was another high performer, gaining 13.5% to $1.51. The company announced on Thursday that Podcast One — LiveOne spun off the podcast company and remains a majority owner — reached new agreements with two of its most popular podcasts, The Adam Carolla Podcast and The Adam and Dr. Drew Show. Elsewhere, Sphere Entertainment Co. shares rose 8.7% to $34.45 following the company’s recent hire of Jennifer Koester, a former Google executive, as president of Sphere Business Operations, effective Feb. 5. One of Koester’s duties will be to develop a corporate conference business for product launches and other events.
Eight of the index’s 20 stocks fell this week — although none dropped more than 3%. SiriusXM shares fell 1.5% to $5.34; the company announced Wednesday that it would maintain its quarterly cash dividend at $0.02666 per share. Hipgnosis Songs Fund fell 2.1% to 0.7057 pounds per share amidst multiple regulatory filings that hinted at tension between the company’s new board and its investment advisor, Hipgnosis Song Management. Hipgnosis shareholders will vote on Feb. 7 on a proposal that would result in paying a fee to bidders on its catalog.
Stocks were broadly up in the United States this week as positive economic news made an impact on markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.9% to 15,455.36 and the S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 4,890.97. Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta reached new highs this week, though Tesla shares fell 13.6% after the company warned vehicle unit sales in 2024 “may be notably lower” than last year. On Friday, Intel shares fell 11.9% after the company offered investors a disappointing outlook for the current quarter during its Thursday earnings release.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released data that showed gross domestic product grew at a better-than-expected annualized rate of 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Then on Friday, the Department of Commerce released data that showed personal incomes ended the year on a high note by increasing 0.3% in December. What’s more, a measure of how much people are spending showed that price increases have slowed. Personal consumption expenditures in December were 2.6% higher year over year (and 2.9% higher excluding food and energy). Last week, new consumer sentiment data showed an improvement in Americans’ feelings about the economy and their expectations for future inflation.
Stocks also improved outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 2.3% to 7,635.09. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index improved 0.2% to 2,478.56. And China’s SSE Composite Index jumped 2.8% to 2,910.22.
Taylor Swift‘s relationship with Travis Kelce has been a touchdown for the NFL, which has benefited in multiple ways since the two publicly became an item in the fall. On Sept. 24, the rumored romance between the pop superstar and Kansas City Chiefs tight end was seemingly confirmed when Swift was seen cheering on Kelce […]
Earlier this week, Anna Wintour, chief content officer of media company Condé Nast, announced that Pitchfork will become a vertical at men’s magazine GQ and will undergo restructuring and layoffs. Many Pitchfork employees were laid off, including features editor Jillian Mapes, longtime employee and executive editor Amy Phillips and current editor-in-chief Puja Patel, according to Wintour’s memo to staff.
“Without Pitchfork, there will be fewer avenues for Canadian artists to reach a broad American audience,” says Polaris Prize-winning musician Cadence Weapon — real name Rollie Pemberton — who received coverage from the site early in his career and began writing reviews for it as a teenager.
“When Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire got boosted by the Pitchfork Effect in 2003 and 2004, it gave independent Canadian musicians hope,” Pemberton tells Billboard Canada. “Back then, anything that wasn’t on a major label was largely ignored by our own country.”
“Getting a thoughtful and favourable Pitchfork review for The Shape of Your Name in 2019 cracked open the door for me into the U.S., which ultimately led to American labels and my agents coming on board,” says Canadian singer-songwriter Charlotte Cornfield. “I think that ultimately the changes at Pitchfork will create another barrier [to] entry for Canadian musicians when it comes to growing their careers outside of Canada.”
The concerns extend beyond Pitchfork. Many artists, writers and music industry members see the layoffs as part of broader trends in the music and media industries.
Andrew McLeod, who releases music as Sunnsetter and performs in Zoon and Ombiigizi, argues that the only obvious way to make new fans is to go viral.
“In the phase of the internet that we’re currently living through, it’s much harder to create new mechanisms of any significant size that exist outside of the structures of these massively capitalized platforms like Spotify, Meta, TikTok,” he explains. Major labels have the resources to mount massive social media campaigns, but for independent artists, it’s challenging to break through.
Read more about the impact of the loss of music media here. – Rosie Long Decter
Boots and Hearts Producer Launches Management Arm, RLive
Republic Live, producers of the annual multi-day Boots and Hearts country music festival north of Toronto, has launched a management division called RLive. Newly appointed Alberta native Casadie Pederson has been named as director of artist management and development.
RLive will be based in Nashville, where Pederson will work alongside Republic Live’s festival booker Brooke Dunford. The Republic Live Canadian office has also added Hannah Buske in Toronto. She will support Dunford in future festival bookings and support management and marketing initiatives.
RLive is a natural extension of the festival’s opening night emerging artist showcase. In an earlier interview, Dunford stated that promoting Canadian talent at Boots and Hearts Music Festival — which annually attracts 40,000 a night and offers on-site camping, carnival rides, food trucks and other amenities — has always been one of its chief mandates.
The first signing for RLive is Tyler Joe Miller, a Surrey, B.C. singer-songwriter who has scored seven top 10 Canadian country hits since launching himself in 2019 with two back-to-back No. 1 hits – “Pillow Talkin” and “I Would Be Over Me Too.” Miller joins fellow CanCountry stars Shawn Austin and Andrew Hyatt on a 20-city, west-to-east Country MixTape Tour of casinos, theatres and concert venues that opens in April.
Republic Live is a privately held Canadian company formed by the Dunford family that owns the 585-acre Burl’s Creek Event Grounds north of Toronto, where Boots and Hearts is staged annually.
Canadian venture capitalist Stan Dunford and Nashville-based live music promoter Nick Kulb were early backers of what has become one of the largest multi-day festivals in North America. – David Farrell
Chantal Kreviazuk Sells Song Catalogue to Anthem Entertainment
After decades as a Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada songwriter, Winnipeg-born singer Chantal Kreviazuk announced that her song catalogue has been acquired by Anthem Entertainment.
It’s a major acquisition. In addition to CanCon hits of her own like “Before You,” “Boot,” “In This Life,” “Time,” “Weight Of The World” and “Get To You,” she’s also written songs by artists like Drake, Avril Lavigne, Shakira and Carrie Underwood. Her catalogue includes diverse hits like “Feel This Moment” by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera, and “Rich Girl” by Gwen Stefani.
Kreviazuk has won three Juno Awards and was awarded the Order of Canada in 2014, along with her husband, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, for their efforts to raise awareness and support for human and animal rights, mental health, education and the environment.
As for Anthem Entertainment, the Toronto-based company has made a major move into acquiring more publishing catalogues over recent months, including rising country singer Jordan Davis and some of Timberland’s catalogue, including cuts with Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z.
Last year, the independent company made some major executive moves, instating Jason Klein as the new permanent CEO. – David Farrell & Richard Trapunski
Last week in Canada: Top Vinyl Sales & Amazon Music’s Artists to Watch
50 Cent is facing a new civil lawsuit over an incident last summer in which he was captured on video throwing a microphone at a concert, filed by a Los Angeles radio host who says she was struck by the mic and suffered “severe and permanent injuries.”
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles court, Power 106 host Bryhana Monegain accused 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) and concert giant AEG of legal negligence over the August episode, in which the rapper chucked the mic off to the side of the stage after he became frustrated that it was not working.
Monegain – who publicly shared images of gash on her forehead the next day – claims in her lawsuit that the microphone hit her in the face and left wrist, causing major injuries.
“Plaintiff was transported by ambulance to the Los Angeles General Medical Center emergency department for treatment of injuries, including but not limited to, a concussion, laceration over her forehead, and pain in her left wrist,” her lawyers write. “Plaintiff complained of dizziness, headaches, light and sound sensitivity, and nausea [and] continues to suffer from here severe injuries and emotional distress.”
Part of the incident — which happened on Aug 30. while 50 Cent was performing at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles as part of his Final Lap Tour — was captured in viral videos. In them, the rapper is seen looking frustrated with a microphone, then throwing it down off the side of the stage. Later in the performance, while Nas was onstage, videos show 50 getting annoyed again before hurling the new mic to the same offstage section.
While the viral video doesn’t show the microphone hitting anyone, Monegain appeared in photos shared on social media with a wound on her forehead that was allegedly caused by 50 Cent’s mic.
Reps for 50 Cent did not return a request for comment on Friday. In a statement at the time, his lawyer Scott Leemon told Billboard that “Curtis would never intentionally strike anyone with a microphone.”
Thursday’s lawsuit is purely a civil matter. At the time of the incident, Monegain reportedly filed a police report on the night of the concert alleging criminal battery. But court records show that no charges were ever filed, and TMZ later reported that both the L.A. District Attorney’s office and the L.A. City Attorney’s office had both declined to bring a criminal case against the rapper.
As in any negligence lawsuit, Monegain claims that 50 Cent and AEG had a duty to keep her and other attendees safe from any dangers that they either knew about or should have seen coming. Instead, she says they “failed to create an environment that was safe for attendees on the subject premises.” She claims that 50 Cent should have known “the dangerous nature of a performer throwing a microphone into a crowed area” but did so anyway.
The lawsuit does not say how much money Monegain is seeking, but asks for “past and future wage loss, hospital and medical expenses” and other unspecified “general damages” over the harm she allegedly suffered.
A spokesperson for AEG did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit’s allegations.
During an October earnings call, Universal Music Group CFO Boyd Muir told investors the company was conducting “a careful review” of its costs. In the world of public company statements, that was a hint that UMG expected to make cuts to its workforce of roughly 10,000 — specifically hundreds of jobs in the first quarter of the year, as Bloomberg later revealed.
UMG has plenty of company. Until late last year, the music business had mostly escaped the job-cutting that ravaged industries that depend more on advertising in 2022 and 2023. That was still the best of times for the industry, which had found double-digit revenue growth in streaming. Since 2020, 10 music companies have gone public to take advantage of investors’ enthusiasm for music, including labels and publishers (UMG, Warner Music Group, HYBE, Reservoir Media, Believe, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund), streaming services (Deezer, Anghami, Cloud Music) and live-entertainment firms (a spinoff of MSG Entertainment).
That changed during 2023. In March, WMG’s new CEO, Robert Kyncl, a former YouTube executive, laid off around 270 people — 4% of the company’s workforce — to focus more on technology initiatives and “new skills for artist and songwriter development,” as he wrote in a memo to staff at the time. Downtown Music Holdings — owner of CD Baby, FUGA, Songtrust and more — also thinned its payroll in May. BMG laid off about 30 people in October. Digital music companies fared even worse in 2023: Spotify cut about 23% of its workforce in two rounds of layoffs, TIDAL cut 10%, SoundCloud cut 8%, and Bandcamp chopped half its head count after being acquired by Songtradr.
But UMG? The company’s revenue in the first nine months of 2023 was up 9.4% on a constant currency basis, 6.8% as reported due to foreign currency fluctuations. More than two years after spinning off from former corporate parent Vivendi, UMG is a profitable, hit-making machine that controlled 29.4% of the U.S. recorded-music market in 2023, easily besting Sony Music’s 18.9% and WMG’s 15.6%. It has Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Drake and many other big stars. Perhaps understandably, there has been talk that other labels could follow, with cuts of one size or another.
UMG’s decision may be the most dramatic example of just how profoundly the music business is changing — and how quickly. Lean is the new black. Bloat, or anything that evokes it, is out. The old ways of finding, developing and marketing artists no longer work the way they used to. How big a radio promotion department does a label need — how many radio promotion departments does its parent company need — at a time when radio no longer plays as important a part in breaking hits? Social media and data analysis might matter just as much. So could developing markets that once didn’t account for much revenue.
UMG’s next focus, chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge wrote in a memo to staff in early January, will be “creating the blueprint for the labels of the future” by building the technology to do more work in-house, expanding in developing markets and finding ways to better monetize superfans. That requires moving resources away from the “legacy business,” Muir said in the October earnings call, to “benefit from all of the opportunities that we see ahead.” What that will mean for how UMG reshuffles its organizational chart remains to be seen, but it is already building an artist services business with Virgin Music Group and making aggressive moves in developing markets with investments in TM Ventures in India and Chabaka in the United Arab Emirates.
Other music companies are also reassessing their priorities. BMG’s staffing changes were spurred by new CEO Thomas Coesfeld as a response to an international marketing structure that didn’t meet expectations and duplicated the efforts of local teams, he wrote in a memo to staff.
“Businesses are repositioning themselves slightly to become more competitive,” Downtown Music president Peter van Rijn says. “One must always be mindful to not get complacent,” he adds, noting that his company needed to stay nimble enough to respond to the marketplace. “What you do see, in general, is the music industry is maturing. The digital growth is still there, but it’s slowing down.”
The world is changing, too. Along with the major labels, companies like Believe and Reservoir Media are investing in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions where music revenue is growing. And both new companies and the established majors are expanding their artist services businesses to court creators who can now choose from among an increasing number of alternatives to a traditional major-label deal. Sony acquired the artist services company AWAL in 2022, UMG is building up Virgin, and WMG’s Kyncl wrote in an early-January memo that he wants to augment services to the “middle class of artists” and scale up the company’s publishing administration business.
Public companies in the music industry face pressure from investors to constantly improve their bottom lines, especially as streaming growth levels off. “Two-and-a-half years ago, we started making cuts because we knew the market was no longer about just growth,” says Rob Ellin, CEO of music streaming company LiveOne, which is cutting up to 100 staffers in a restructuring. “You had to be profitable.”
The growth-over-profits era finally ended at Spotify, too. When the streaming giant announced it would cut 17% of its global workforce in December, CEO Daniel Ek explained that costs were too high, efficiency was too low and too few people “contribut[ed] to opportunities with real impact.” Cutting roughly 1,500 jobs and seeking a replacement for CFO Paul Vogel, Ek wrote in an open letter, were necessary to become “relentlessly resourceful.”
Record labels and music publishers have better margins than Spotify, which will rarely turn a profit — but investors also expect more of them. In the first half of 2021, UMG — then a subsidiary of Vivendi — had a margin of 21.5% in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and told investors in August it expected to reach the “mid-20s” soon. Two years later, revenue had increased 34% but its EBITDA margin was almost unchanged at 21.5% (or 14.9% after deducting 345 million euros of noncash, share-based compensation for senior management). With layoffs can come better margins. Restructuring saved Warner $19 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, and Barclays analysts estimated UMG’s layoffs could save the company $70 million annually.
To those who remember the crisis caused by the death of the CD, this talk of restructuring might have a familiar ring. As piracy ravaged the music business, the majors scaled back their physical distribution businesses, sold their CD pressing plants and retooled for a digital world. That’s why Grainge reminded investors that UMG is no stranger to managing disruption. “We’ve got decades of experience in executing cost-cutting programs in the various cycles of the industry, right back to the piracy days,” he said during the October earnings call. And currently, “we’re seeing a change in the business.”
It’s time for another quick whirl around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music.
Stem, the music tech company company known for collaborating with Kanye West on his Donda 2 album release, has brought on Ameer Sudan as global head of music label relations. The move comes ahead of plans to release new audio remix products Stem 2 and Stem 3, which includes a built in projector, as well as the Stem Music subscription service. The devices allow users to interact with a track’s stems to engage with audio in a new, real-time format. Sudan also acts as CEO of Silvaback Productions and Management. “Ameer Sudan is joining the growing group of senior music luminaries in unifying Stem,” said Alex Klein, inventor of the Stem Player and founder of Stem and Kano Computing before that. “His level of expertise and contributions in the realms of music label relations and strategic partnerships are invaluable to Stem.”
Sudan added that it will be a “very busy” year for the company, noting discussions are underway with leading labels, fashion houses and media companies. “Stem will change the culture of entertainment,” he said. “I am glad to be a part of such a major juggernaut in the making.”
Meanwhile…
Maverick Nashville has turned to seasoned pro Beville Dunkerley for the newly created role of vp of marketing at the label. She’ll oversee creative and marketing efforts for artists across Maverick Nashville’s stacked roster, which includes Jason Aldean, Lauren Alaina, Darius Rucker (along with Hootie & the Blowfish), Terri Clark and the rebooted Brooks & Dunn. Dunkerley reports directly to Maverick partner Clarence Spalding. She comes to Maverick after a seven-year stretch leading country music industry relations for SirusXM and Pandora. Prior to that, Dunkerley made her mark in music journalism as co-founder of both Rolling Stone Country and The Boot (back when it was one of AOL’s many music-focused verticals), and she serves on both the ACM and Leadership Music boards. “While I’m certainly a huge fan of our artist roster, it was a look behind the scenes at Maverick that really sold me,” Dunkerley tells Billboard. “Clarence and Chris [Parr] have assembled a team of innovative thinkers with big hearts. I’m thrilled to join this incredible team.” Dunkerley can be reached at Bdunkerley@maverick.com.
Max Kaplan, a Sony Music staple for the last decade-plus, was elevated to senior vp and head of commercial partnerships at Columbia Records. Kaplan was most recently vp of sales at the label, and before that spent several years overseeing digital sales. He joined Sony in 2013 as a member of the Columbia sales team and over the years has worked with DSPs and physical retailers to maximize the releases of Columbia megastars like Adele, Beyonce and Harry Styles, among others. Kaplan is based in NYC and reports up to Darren Stupak, Sony Music evp and GM of commercial partnerships. “Max is an established leader who has continually demonstrated an ability to take on new challenges and deliver success throughout his career,” said Stupak. “We are excited to have him supporting the ongoing growth of our business in this new role with Columbia.”
Radio, Radio: NPR has officially tapped Robin Hilton as host of All Songs Considered, succeeding Bob Boilen, who left in October. Hilton has been a co-host of the show since 2008, the same year he and Boilen launched the wildly cool/popular Tiny Desk Concerts series. He first joined All Songs in 2001 as an assistant producer. Off the air, Hilton has been senior producer for podcasts since 2021, and before that was a part of the NPR Music management team. “It’s amazing having Robin back in the host chair of this iconic show,” said Keith Jenkins, NPR’s Vice president of visuals and music strategy. “So much has changed since All Songs debuted, but Robin has the ability to help our audience connect the dots from then to now to the future. With Robin at the helm, All Songs will continue to bring the essence of NPR Music, a celebration of new music discovery, to audiences everywhere.”
14th Street Music announced the departure of one of its key members, prolific film, TV and video game composer Lorne Balfe. The music production and publishing company, which Balfe co-founded in 2010 alongside Hans Zimmer and Steven Kofsky, said Balfe left the triad at the end of 2023 to pursue new musical endeavors. “Lorne’s many outstanding contributions made 14th Street Music the leading company it is today,” the firm said. Over the years, Balfe has composed outright or contributed to scores of… scores, including several Mission: Impossible films, The Tomorrow War, Gran Turismo and more. His theme song for National Geographic’s Genius earned him an Emmy nomination, and his video game credits include Assassin’s Creed III and several Skylanders games.
Gibson gearheads in Britain will soon have the “ultimate guitar experience” at the ready with the Feb. 24 opening of a new Gibson Garage store in London, off Oxford Street. It’s the instrument (and amp!) maker’s first-ever flagship shop outside of the U.S. and will feature 4,500 square feet (or 418 square meters) of Gibby goodies. Hold that power chord, who will run the joint? Gibson said they hired Etaoin Fagan (general manager), Andy Wratten (assistant manager-operations), and Sam Gammon (assistant manager-sales) to the leadership team, reporting to Cesar Gueikian, the president and CEO of Gibson Brands. All three have extensive retail and/or music-adjacent experience, ranging from Harrods (Fagan), Watches of Switzerland (Wratten) and Yamaha (Gammon). “The Gibson Garage London is fast becoming a reality and with Etaoin, Sam and Andy at the helm it safe to say that it couldn’t be in better hands,” said Lee Bartram, Gibson Brands’ head of commercial, marketing and cultural influence.
Nick Barr is PULSE Records‘ new senior vp, overseeing digital marketing. Barr will be based in Silverlake, Calif. and report to Ashley Calhoun, president and head of creative at PULSE Music Group. He most recently served as vp of A&R and creative strategy at Island Records, where he worked campaigns for Sabrina Carpenter, Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Lauren Spencer Smith and Keshi, and signed Charlieonafriday. He is also credited with helping the career of Columbia rapper Lil Tjay. Calhoun, along with co-CEOs Josh Abraham and Scott Cutler said: “Nick has an instinct for exceptional music and artists. He is highly respected in the community for his proven ability to develop artists, many of whom he helped launch. His passion for A&R coupled with his marketing and digital abilities are going to strengthen our exceptional team and supports our mission of innovative service around our clients’ artistry.”
BOARD SHORTS: Emma Banks, longtime co-head of CAA London, has been appointed chair of Nordoff and Robbins, the UK’s leading music therapy charity. Banks takes over from David Munns, who steps down after 13 years as leader — and 30 years of support overall. Also stepping down from the board of trustees is Howard Jones and Neil Warnock. Supporting Banks will be AEG Presents exec Lucy Noble, as vice chair … The Association of Independents in Radio elected former Pushkin Industries vp Mia Lobel, independent audio producer Will Coley and Vox Audio exec Rob Byers to its board … Thomas St. John Group board member Matt Ellis was hired as CEO of the business management firm’s U.K. office. He is a former deputy CEO of Deloitte, where he spent over 30 years.
Oak View Group gets extra credit for hiring Visa veteran Andrew Cohen as senior vp of OVG brand consulting and solutions. In this new role, which reports up to president of global partnerships Daniel Griffis and is effective immediately, Cohen manages OVG’s teams handling creative, analytics, solutions and activations. Prior to joining OVG, Cohen put in nearly 20 years at Visa, where he rose to leadership roles across sales, sponsorships and brands (he led negotiations of Visa’s deals with the NFL and FIFA, among others). “Andrew is special because he has been a part of just about every type of major global deal during his [Visa] tenure on the brand side,” said Griffis, “and his wealth of knowledge reinforces our organization’s strengths – our unique ability to drive measurable sales, engagement and brand love for our clients.”
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) hired Emmaline McCourt as membership manager as the indie booster eyes a growth spurt. “In working with Melissa, she will play an integral role in enriching our member experience and will contribute significantly to the growth of A2IM,” said A2IM chief James Burgess in making the announcement. NYC-based McCourt will report to Melissa White, the director of membership, and focus her efforts on label relations and membership engagement strategies. She arrives from hi-res music streaming service Qobuz, where she was a music merchandiser. Prior to that, she worked in Beggars Group’s sales department. McCourt can be reached emmaline@a2im.org.
The Chamber Group promoted Edwin Tetteh to associate director of public relations, and announced the return of former senior director Kerry Smalls as head of brand strategy, at the boutique PR and marketing agency. Tetteh joined TCG in 2021 following stints at Williamson PR and The Lede Company. Smalls returns to the Chamber after building a PR division at iONE Digital/Urban One. He also led PR strategy at BCW Global, where he worked with Hennessy, Hellman’s and more brands. Both report to CEO Chris Chambers. “I’m happy to have witnessed both Kerry and Edwin’s growth over the years, becoming the young executives that we see today,” Chambers said. “They have both earned their rank through dedication, hard work and building effective PR and branding campaigns for our clients.”
Nettwerk Music Group promoted Sameer Sadhu to senior vp of A&R. The NYC-based exec joined Nettwerk in May 2015 in a management role, and he rose to vp of A&R two years ago. Sadhu’s roster includes Vacations, Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness, Superfan, Miami Horror, Miya Folick, renforshort, Wafia and Wild Rivers, among others. He’s also a partner at the Singapore-based label services and publicity firm Secret Signals, where he works with artists on business development and public relations in Asia.
L-Acoustics, the French loudspeaker specialists and makers of other pro sound systems, hired Amber Mundinger for the newly created role of global director of artistic engagement. She’ll zero in on strengthening the brand’s awareness and bond with elite artists, musicians, DJs, producers, creative directors and other stakeholders. Mundinger will remain in NYC but work closely with L-Acoustics colleagues in Paris, London and Los Angeles. She most recently served as the COO and creative producer at Artists Den Entertainment, where she helped produce such shows as Live from the Artists Den on PBS and Monumental: An Artists Den Experience with Amazon Studios. Prior to ADE, Mundinger held various leadership roles at Billboard parent Penske Media Corporation. “Her deep knowledge of the music business and ability to build meaningful relationships with artists will help elevate awareness with major artists and creatives, and together with our partners, explore new concepts to bring elevated audio experiences to life,” said Laurent Vaissié, CEO at L-Acoustics.
Veteran artist manager Michele Harrison launched her own independent management company MPH Collective, with a rollout roster including R&B singers UMI and Healy, and pop duo Beau. Harrison was most recently partner at Range Music, where she oversaw the careers of Healy, UMI, Justin Tranter and producer KaiGoinKrazy (also now with MPHC). She got her start in music at Virgin Records and Hollywood Records, before spending 15 years at Monotone, Inc., where she cut her indie rock teeth with The Shins and Vampire Weekend, as well as not-indie-rock-at-all Jamie Foxx. In 2018, she became co-head of management of Friends At Work, where she managed Alanis Morissette, before joining Range.
Music industry veteran Tierney Stout officially launched SAUS HAUS, a music strategy and branding agency based in Los Angeles. Stout gets the ball rolling with an impressive client list that includes Dr. Martens, Levi’s and Marshall. Prior to going into business for herself, Stout was director of global music marketing at Vans for over five years, and prior to that she developed artist relations at musical instrument maker Gibson Brands. Earlier in her career, she was director of interactive marketing at The Orchard and worked as a publicist for indie rock favorites such as The Walkment and Passion Pit.
Crowdfunding and distribution platform Angel Studios hired Ryan Svendsen as head of music. In this newly created role, Svendsen will join Angel’s global distribution team helmed by chief distribution officer Jared Geesey, and lead music strategy, creative, licensing, production, and partnerships for the firm’s scores, songs and soundtracks. Svendsen was previously head of music at Millennium Media, where music supervised Expend4bles, The Bricklayer and Till Death, among other films. Before Millennium, Svendsen was director of film and TV music at Lionsgate. He also moonlights as a session musician and his trumpet playing is credited on tracks including “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X and “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell. Find more on Angel Studios at their website, the very succinct angel.com.
Republic Live, known for producing Canada’s Boots and Hearts Music Festival, is launching a new management division, RLive. Casadie Pederson steps into the role of director of artist management and development to lead the company’s expansion beyond festival events and into management and artist development. RLive will be based in Nashville, while Republic Live has offices in both Nashville and Toronto. The first signing to the RLive management division is Tyler Joe Miller. –Jessica Nicholson
Seminole Hard Rock, which operates hotels and casinos in Florida, promoted Keith Sheldon to president of entertainment and brand management for Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International. In this new and expanded role, Sheldon will be responsible for oversight of brand management, consumer marketing, brand partnerships, and sponsorship revenue generation. He’ll also continue doing the programming and talent buying for the music venues at the Hard Rock locations, which are in Hollywood and Tampa. Seminole Gaming also owns and operates four other casino locations throughout the Sunshine State.
ICYMI:
Kakao Entertainment nominated two prominent executives to serve as co-CEOs … Nuria Andreu joined the GTS and is now manager of Spanish singer-songwriter Aitana … Veteran NFL and ESPN exec Gil Beverly (pictured) is now chief business officer of the Academy of Country Music … Jennifer Koester is joining Sphere Entertainment as president of business operations, effective Feb. 5 … BMG promoted Jon Loba to president of frontline recordings in North America and Thomas Scherer as head of global recorded catalog … SONA announced new leadership roles for Erin McAnally, Kellie Brown, Linda Bloss-Baum and Camus Celli … and Warner Chappell Music upped Lázaro Hernández to senior vice president of A&R, U.S. Latin & Latin America.
Last Week’s Turntable: Norwegian’s New Music Cruise Captain
Warner Chappell Music has promoted Lázaro Hernández to senior vice president, A&R, U.S. Latin & Latin America. The Miami-based executive — who most recently helped sign Maria Becerra, Chencho Corleone and Gabito Ballesteros — will lead the U.S. Latin A&R team while expanding his responsibilities to shape the company’s overall A&R strategy in Latin America. He […]