Business
Page: 38
Deezer’s total quarterly revenue edged 1.1% higher in the first quarter of 2025, the French streaming company reported on Tuesday (April 29), as its top executive reiterated the company’s target to achieve profitability this year.
Deezer reported revenue of 134 million euros ($145.08 million) in the first quarter, driven primarily by 6.3% growth in its direct subscriber base in France, bringing the total number of subscribers there to 3.5 million.
Deezer achieved positive free cash flow and its first break-even year in fiscal 2024, and CEO Alexis Lanternier said the company will achieve positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBIDTA) in 2025. Deezer expects total revenue for 2025 to be flat or slightly decline from fiscal year 2024, as it forecast no meaningful increase in average revenue per user (ARPU). However, the company maintained it will “generate positive free cash flow for the second consecutive year,” according to a press release.
Trending on Billboard
“We started the year with positive momentum, delivering revenue growth in line with our expectations and further increasing our direct subscriber base in France,” Lanternier said in a statement. “With confidence, we confirm our 2025 guidance and our objective of reaching profitability this year.”
Founded in August 2007, Deezer has embarked on a range of initiatives aimed at achieving profitability, including raising prices on its direct subscribers in France; doubling-down on its strategy to gain subscribers through partnerships with companies like the German broadcaster RTL, American speaker company Sonos and Latin America’s Mercado Libre; and through the introduction of new customization features for users and opportunities to directly interact with artists.
Deezer’s total subscriber base now stands at 9.4 million, down from what it said was 10 million subscribers on a like-for-like basis in the first quarter of 2024. Of those 9.4 million subscribers, 5.3 million are direct subscribers, mostly in France, while 4.1 million subscribers come from partnerships. Revenue from Deezer’s direct subscriber base contributed 86.6 million euros ($93.8 million), up from 86 million euros ($92.8 million) a year ago. Partnership subscribers contributed 39.2 million euros ($42.4 million), down from 43.3 million euros ($46.7 million) a year ago.
The decline in partnership subscriptions, which drove an overall 3.4% drop in the revenue Deezer receives from countries outside of France, was primarily due to the conversion of users who came to Deezer through its partnership with Mercado Libre called MeLi+. Some promo users converted to premium users “with higher [average revenue per user] & margins,” the company said. The decline in partnership subscriptions and revenue was partly offset by a ramp up in Deezer’s partnership with RTL+, the company said. Deezer renewed long-term partnerships with Bouygues and Orange in the first quarter.
Strong subscription revenue helped Universal Music Group’s first quarter revenue rise 11.8% year over year (or 9.5% in constant currency) to 2.9 billion euros ($3.05 billion at the average exchange rate in the first quarter), the company announced Tuesday (April 29). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also rose 11.8%, to 661 […]
Hugh Forrest is out at South By Southwest, four months after assuming leadership of the music, tech and film conference, following a decision by the SXSW board to select Penske Media Corporation executive Jenny Connelly to lead the festival, Billboard has learned.
Connelly, a longtime executive vp of product and technology at PMC and a SXSW board member, has been appointed director in charge of the annual event in Austin. Consequently, Forrest was offered the opportunity to retain his titles as president and chief programming officer, reporting to Connelly in her new role, according to PMC. “When Hugh was told he wasn’t going to get the CEO role at SXSW, and would be reporting to her, Hugh made the decision to leave SXSW,” said the spokesperson for PMC, which has had control of SXSW for two years and is also Billboard‘s parent company.
Since joining PMC in late 2017, Connelly has overseen multiple teams responsible for engineering, data, IT, product and SEO, and also leads the subscriptions and email teams. Pre-PMC, Connelly was senior vp of product at Dreamworks NOVA, tasked with bringing that company’s 3D imaging technology to other industries. Earlier, she spent seven-plus years at Live Nation Entertainment, rising to senior vp of digital at Live Nation Studios.
Trending on Billboard
Connelly is based in Los Angeles but has begun traveling to Austin on a weekly basis, the company said.
“I’m happy to announce that after 3+ years on the SXSW board of directors, I’m now working as Director in Charge of SXSW,” she said in a social post on Tuesday (April 29), adding she’s “working with a killer group of dedicated, creative & skilled people who throw the world’s most influential festival. We are dreaming up the evolution of this event, so that SXSW never stops helping creative people achieve their goals.”
Several other key moves were announced Friday (April 25) during a company town hall as part of ongoing succession planning at the festival, the PMC rep said, along with additional promotions for festival veterans Peter Lewis, Greg Rosenbaum and Brian Hobbs. The organization said it has several open jobs to fill at SXSW.
Forrest declined to comment on last week’s chain of events when reached by Billboard but remarked in a statement over the weekend that “leaving South by Southwest was definitely not my decision,” adding, “I put my heart and soul into this event for more than 35 years, and I was looking forward to leading several more editions.”
Hugh Forrest speaks onstage during the 2023 SXSW Conference at Austin Convention Center on March 10, 2023.
Diego Donamaria/Getty Images
Forrest joined SXSW in 1989, when it was in its nascent stage, and spent the bulk of his tenure as chief programming officer. In 2022, he was promoted to co-president alongside then-chief brand officer Jann Baskett, succeeding the retiring CEO Roland Swenson. Forrest became the sole president late last year following Baskett’s departure to start her own consultancy.
As president, Forrest had been tasked with driving business growth and collaborating closely with the event’s board of directors, which includes co-founder Swenson, Jay Penske (CEO of Penske Media and SXSW’s largest shareholder) and Amy Webb (CEO of the Future Today Institute), among others.
The company told Billboard that the 2025 edition achieved the highest sponsorship revenue in the event’s history, while the SXSW EDU conference had its best turnout since its 2011 founding.
The Austin Chronicle hinted at a wider staffing shakeup at SXSW, reporting on Saturday (April 26) that “another 10 or more staff members … have left the company, either through previously planned departures or unexpectedly.” One departure, James Minor, the vp and head of music at the conference, was one of those planned exits. Minor told the Austin American-Statesman on Sunday he “already had plans to leave SXSW in motion for the fall.”
Founded in 1987 by Swenson, Nick Barbaro, Louis Black and Louis Jay Meyers, SXSW has grown into a globally influential event in Austin, which also now includes satellite events like the two-year-old SXSW Sydney and the upcoming debut of SXSW London, which launches in June. Swenson, who led SXSW for 36 years, transitioned to executive chairman in 2022.
The leadership change follows a recent announcement that next year’s conference will be on the shorter side, running from March 12-18, with interactive, film/TV and music programs happening concurrently. The reduction in days — and by extension, the number of showcasing music artists and shows — is due to the $1.6 billion redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center, which is underway. The new center, expected to open in 2029, will nearly double its size and focus on accessibility and sustainability. “A shorter SX gives attendees more of a chance to be here for the entire run,” a spokesperson told Billboard at the time.
Note: Billboard’s parent company PMC is the largest shareholder of SXSW and its brands are official media partners of SXSW.
Udio, a generative AI music company backed by will.i.am, Common and a16z, has partnered with Audible Magic to fingerprint all tracks made using the platform at the moment they are created and to check the generated works, using Audible Magic’s “content control pipeline,” for any infringing copyrighted material.
By doing this, Udio and Audible Magic have created a way for streaming services and distributors to trace which songs submitted to their platforms are made with Udio’s AI. The company also aims to proactively detect and block use of copyrighted material that users don’t own or control.
“Working with Audible Magic allows us to create a transparent signal in the music supply chain. By fingerprinting at the point of generation, we’re helping establish a new benchmark for accountability and clarity in the age of generative music,” says Andrew Sanchez, co-founder of Udio. “We believe that this partnership will open the door for new licensing structures and monetization pathways that will benefit stakeholders across the industry from artists to rights holders to technology platforms.”
Trending on Billboard
Last summer, Udio, and its top competitor Suno, were both sued by the three major record companies for training their AI music models on the companies’ copyrighted master recordings. In the lawsuits, the majors argued this constituted copyright infringement “at an almost unimaginable scale.” Additionally, the lawsuits pointed out that the resulting AI-generated songs from Udio and Suno could “saturate the market with machine-generated content that will directly compete with, cheapen and ultimately drown out the genuine sound recordings on which [the services were] built.”
Udio’s new partnership with Audible Magic stops short of promising to eliminate copyright material from its training process, as the majors want, but it shows that Udio is trying out alternative solutions to appease the music establishment. Suno also has a partnership with Audible Magic, announced in October 2024, but the two partnerships believes these deals hold key differences. Suno’s integration focus more specifically on its “audio inputs” and “covers” features, which allow users to generate songs based on an audio file they upload. With Audible Magic’s technology, Suno prevents users from unauthorized uploads of copyrighted material.
“This partnership demonstrates Udio’s substantial commitment to rights holder transparency and content provenance,” says Kuni Takahashi, CEO of Audible Magic. “Registering files directly from the first-party source is a clean and robust way to identify the use of AI-generated music in the supply chain.”
BeatStars has partnered with Sureel, an AI music detection and attribution company, to provide its creators with the ability to express their desire to “opt out” of their works being used in AI training.
To date, AI music companies in the United States are not required to honor opt-outs, but through this partnership, Sureel and Beatstars, the world’s largest music marketplace, hope to create clarity for AI music companies that are wishing to avoid legal and reputational risks and create a digital ledger to keep track of beatmakers’ wishes regarding AI training.
Here’s how it works: Beatstars will send formal opt-out notices for every music asset and artist on its platform, and all of the creators’ choices will be documented on a portal that any AI company can access. By default, all tracks will be marked as shielded from AI training unless permission is granted. Companies can also access creators’ wishes using Sureel’s API. It will also automatically communicate the creators’ desires via a robots.txt file, which is a way to block AI companies that are crawling the web for new training data.
Trending on Billboard
As the U.S. — and countries around the world — continue to debate how to properly regulate issues related to AI, start-ups in the private sector, like Sureel, are trying to find faster solutions, including tools for opting in and out of AI training, detection technology to flag and verify AI generated works, and more.
“This partnership is an extension of our longstanding commitment to put creators first,” said Abe Batshon, CEO of BeatStars, in a statement. “We recognize that some AI companies might not respect intellectual property, so we are taking definitive action to ensure our community’s work remains protected and valued. Ethical AI is the future, and we’re leading the charge in making sure creators are not left behind.”
“BeatStars isn’t just a marketplace — it’s one of the most important creator communities in the world,” added Dr. Tamay Aykut, founder/CEO of Sureel. “They’ve built their platform around trust, transparency, and putting artists in control. That’s exactly the type of environment where our technology belongs. This partnership proves you can scale innovation and ethics together — and shows the rest of the industry what responsible AI collaboration looks like.”
Spotify’s first quarter revenue rose 15% as its subscriber base increased 12%, the company’s highest first quarter subscriber gains since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the company reported on Tuesday. The music and podcast streaming giant reported total revenue of 4.2 billion euros ($4.54 billion) in the quarter ending March 31, and total paying subscribers […]
LONDON — The U.K.’s LIVE industry group (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has announced that contributions to its music fund has crossed the £500,000 ($668,007) milestone. The fund supports the grassroots music scene, and has been backed by stars such as Diana Ross, Pulp, Mumford & Sons and Hans Zimmer, all of whom have pledged to donate £1 ($1.30) from every ticket sale for upcoming arena shows.
LIVE campaigns and raises awareness for issues facing the U.K.’s live music scene, with a particular focus on the grassroots music scene and its workers. It represents 15 live music organizations, including the Music Venue Trust, the Music Managers Forum, Featured Artists Coalition among others.
Trending on Billboard
The LIVE Trust, established in January 2025, receives funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5000. A funding strategy is then implemented alongside a panel of industry experts, ensuring the funds reach venues, promoters, festivals and artists.
A proposed ticket levy has long been discussed in the U.K. to help stem the tide of grassroots music venues closures. The MVT reports that over 150 venues have closed across the U.K. since 2023, citing a number of financial challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
The current Labour government has supported the idea of the levy. Speaking in a parliamentary debate in January, Chris Bryant (creative industries minister) backed the idea of a levy in either format: “If the scheme does not happen voluntarily, will we make it statutory? Yes,” he said.
A number of big name acts have already committed portions from ticket sales in recent years, including Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Enter Shikari and more. Coldplay will donate 10% of the revenue from their upcoming Wembley Stadium residency to the Music Venue Trust, one of LIVE’s members. The group will play a record 10 nights at the venue in August and September.
Last week LIVE shared their Music Fans’ Voice report, which surveyed 8000 concert goers about the state of the live music industry, with 93% of respondents backing the £1 per ticket contribution.
Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE said, “This is a welcome milestone for The LIVE Trust and marks a very significant contribution to the grassroots live music sector. What this demonstrates is that there is a real appetite from performers and their teams to support the wider live ecosystem and we applaud and thank those that have already taken this initiative. Whilst this is an excellent start there is still much work to do if we are to convince government that a voluntary rather than statutory levy is both workable and sustainable.”
Chappell Roan has new management. The fast-rising superstar has signed with Drew Simmons of Foundations Music, most known for managing Noah Kahan.
Foundations’ roster also includes Laufey, Rebecca Black, Wilder Woods and producer Gabe Simon.
Simmons, who is a partner at Foundations, announced the news on Monday (April 28) after beginning to work with Roan earlier in the year. To share the news, he posted the cover art for Roan’s 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, on his Instagram. The caption read: “Thrilled to be working with Chappell Roan – it’s an honor to welcome her to Foundations.” Meanwhile, Foundations’ website features Roan on the homepage with the message: “Foundations welcomes Chappell Roan to the roster!”
Simmons also tagged the larger team, which includes Roan’s assistant Kyle Goold along with Foundations’ Lauren McKinney, Emily Harlan, Ellie Hocking, Nate Futral, Izzy Newirth, Brooks Dawson and Caroline Scofield.
Last November, Billboard broke the news that Roan had split with her then-manager, State Of the Art’s Nick Bobetsky. Bobetsky met Roan in 2018 and managed the artist through her breakout years, which included such milestones as scoring her first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 with “Good Luck, Babe!” and a top 5 entry for Midwest Princess on the Billboard 200 — plus her first slate of Grammy nominations, including in all of the Big Four categories.
Trending on Billboard
At the 2025 ceremony this February, Roan took home the award for best new artist.
Simmons was previously named to Billboard’s 2023 Managers To Watch list, amidst Kahan’s own breakout year. “There is no off-cycle anymore,” Simmons said at the time, “and that is taxing on the infrastructure around the artist but also on the artist themselves.”
And while speaking of Kahan’s foundation, The Busyhead Project, which raises funds to support and provide mental health resources, Simmons said he was “excited about opportunities ahead for artists as the paradigm shifts, placing more and more leverage in [their] hands.”
His sentiment aligns with Roan’s own vision for how artists should be treated and cared for in the industry. During her Grammys acceptance speech, she said: “I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially for developing artists.”
Roan herself donated $25,000 to Backline – a nonprofit that helps connect music industry professionals and their families with mental health resources. And in the following days, artists including Charli xcx and Kahan supported Roan in her effort, pledging to match her donation. Posting to Instagram Stories, Kahan said: “I’m inspired by you. Happy to get the ball rolling. Money where my mouth is.”
In March, Roan released her latest single, the country-inspired “The Giver.” The song debuted atop Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart dated March 29.
Republic Records will be the label honoree at the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala, which will take place on Friday, May 16 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. John Mellencamp and Conan Gray are set to perform at the event to lead the tribute. Atlantic Records was the initial label honoree […]
For Leslie Fram, the highly respected former senior vp of music and talent for CMT, launching her own company that continues her work advocating and amplifying artists’ voices is a natural move.
Fram, Billboard’s 2021 Country Power Players executive of the year, has founded FEMco (Fram Entertainment & Music), a consulting company with divisions focused on artist development, talent booking and production, as well as a B2B arm that will connect outside businesses to Nashville companies.
“I’ve always wanted to start my own company, leveraging my three decades of accumulated experience and opportunities to intentionally design a purpose-driven business that aligns with my personal and professional aspirations,” Fram tells Billboard. “Through my time in radio and television, I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge, skills and insights from various roles, industries and projects that are not just a collection of past events but a foundation for future endeavors with FEMco. Starting my own company, doing what I enjoy most, was the best choice for me.”
Trending on Billboard
The new company will allow Fram to use her estimable mentoring, community-building and networking skills that she put into practice during her 13-year tenure at CMT, which she left in September. While there, Fram launched a number of programs, including CMT’s Next Women of Country, which gave a platform to nascent female country artists. She also created the Next Women of Country Tour, which paired Next Women of Country participants with established headlining acts. She was also a fierce advocate for equity, pushing CMT to institute its Equal Play initiative, with a commitment to 50/50 video airplay for female artists on the TV network and CMT Music channels.
FEMco
Courtesy Photo
While at CMT, Fram executive-produced the annual CMT Music Awards, CMT Crossroads and Storytellers. In January, she served as talent producer on CBS Presents Ringo & Friends at the Ryman. Prior to CMT, she had an illustrious background in rock and alternative radio, serving as program director and on-air talent at influential Atlanta alternative rock station 99X before becoming program director and morning show co-host with Matt Pinfield at New York rock station WRXP. She moved to Nashville in 2011.
While FEMco’s other divisions focus on all genders, keeping with her groundbreaking work with female country artists at CMT, Fram has already launched FEMco Presents, “the company’s music-focused production arm that will create multiple opportunities for female artists to increase their visibility and reach via events, sponsorships and more,” Fram says. The first franchise under FEMco Presents is FEMcountry, which will work with women country artists as “a continuation of my work in creating programs like ‘Next Women of Country’ and my passion for elevating female voices in country,” she adds.
FEMcountry soft-launched in March with a singer-songwriter event at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia. “Moving forward, FEMcountry will include writer’s rounds, showcases, listening events both in Nashville and nationwide, along with curating festivals,” Fram says. “The goal is to support female artists in all aspects of their career, finding a stage to play on and to get paid.”
Fram sees her new venture as a through-line in her decades-long work supporting artists. “FEMco will absolutely represent the work I did at CMT in elevating women in country music via FEMcountry,” she says. “A program like ‘Next Women of Country’ is still as relevant today as it was when I launched it over 10 years ago — women are still criminally underrepresented in the country music format.”
Fram also plans to launch FEMpop and FEMrock.
The B2B element will connect companies and brands looking to establish a presence in Nashville with the local music and entertainment market. “Through our extensive industry relationships, we are able to help navigate the city’s unique blend of creativity and commerce with relationships to build authenticity and visibility,” Fram says.
Through FEMco, Fram will also continue working with mtheory CEO Cameo Carlson on another former CMT program, Equal Access, which helps artists and management professionals break into the country music industry.
FEMco will work with artists and companies on an a la carte basis depending upon their individual needs, Fram says.