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In a rare investor reproach for Live Nation, at the company’s annual meeting held earlier in June, a majority of its shareholders voted against ratifying chief executive Michael Rapino‘s $139-million pay package for 2022.
In an advisory say-on-pay referendum on June 9, more than 53% of votes cast rejected the 2022 compensation packages for promoter Live Nation’s named executives — Rapino, president and CFO Joe Berchtold, chief accounting officer Brian Capo, executive vp John Hopmans and general counsel Michael Rowles, according to a filing released on June 15. In contrast, 94% of the votes cast at its 2020 shareholder meeting were in favor of the say-on-pay proposal, according to Live Nation.
As the shareholder vote was advisory and non-binding, Live Nation’s board will have the ultimate say on any future actions around executive compensation.
Shareholder rebukes like this are rare, and it comes as the Ticketmaster owner is already under fire from fans and regulators over its role in the Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticket debacle. As of May 31, only 1.5% of companies in the Russell 3000 index have failed Say on Pay votes so far this year, according to a report by Harvard Law School’s Forum on Corporate Governance.
In Live Nation’s proxy statement, the company said it believes its “compensation program is reasonable, competitive and strongly focused on pay for performance principles.” A company spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
“We believe that the fiscal year 2022 compensation paid to our named executive officers was appropriate and aligned with Live Nation’s fiscal year 2022 results,” the company stated in its proxy, citing the company’s 44% growth in revenue to $16.7 billion in 2022.
Influential shareholder advisory groups Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended shareholders vote against Live Nation’s executive officers’ compensation, citing a “misalignment” between pay and performance in the structure of certain stock equity grants.
ISS actually estimates Rapino’s 2022 compensation higher than what Live Nation published in its proxy — at $156 million for the year. The group raised specific concerns over a “mega grant” Rapino received in July 2022 that it said was worth $120.5 million and a similar award CFO Berchtold received worth $52.6 million. ISS contends the grants were not adequately linked to achieving sustained higher stock prices. Total Live Nation shareholder returns were negative over a one-year period and underperformed the S&P 500 Index, ISS says.
“The current structure could reward these executives for short-term or merely temporary increases in stock price,” ISS researchers wrote, adding that the large one-time equity grants paid were “multiple times larger than the total CEO pay for the company’s peer group…lack clear disclosure regarding the rationale for the size of the awards and other details necessary to assess them.”
Glass Lewis also raised concerns over cash signing bonuses of about $6 million received by Rapino and Berchtold.
“The (bonuses) are not subject to any performance or recoupment provisions,” Glass Lewis researchers wrote. “Such pay levels on a one-time basis outpace total compensation levels afforded executives at some of the largest companies in the U.S. despite being subject to considerably weaker vesting and performance conditions.”
Additional reporting by Glenn Peoples.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Twitter is facing a lawsuit from dozens of music publishers over copyright infringement; Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee and other reggaeton stars fight back against a massive lawsuit; unsealed documents offer key details on the gun charges against Boosie BadAzz; and much more.
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THE BIG STORY: Twitter’s $250 Million Music Problem
In last week’s least surprising development, the music publishers sued Twitter. After years of warnings from National Music Publishers’ Association — David Israelite called Elon Musk’s website his “top legal focus” earlier this year — dozens of the group’s members filed a sweeping copyright lawsuit in federal court.
Surprise or not, the case is a big deal. The publishers claim that Twitter has infringed over 1,700 different songs from writers like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — a claim that, if proven, could put the social media giant on the hook for as much as $255 million in damages.
Damages aren’t likely the end goal for the publishers. Licensing deals outside the realm of plain ole music streaming, ranging from social media sites like Instagram to gaming platforms like Roblox to fitness services like Peloton, have become an increasingly large slice of the revenue pie for publishers and songwriters in recent years. But many of those deals only came as settlements to lawsuits — just ask Roblox and Peloton. Twitter, the publishers say, is one of the last holdouts refusing to sign such a deal.
To read more about the lawsuit, including the actual complaint itself, go read our entire story here.
If it doesn’t end in a quick settlement, the case will also be a fascinating look at the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, a federal law that limits how websites like Twitter can be sued over copyright infringement by their users — and one that has long frustrated content owners. The DMCA provides sites like Twitter with immunity from litigation over material uploaded by their users, so long as they promptly remove infringing content and ban repeated violators from the platform. The new lawsuit claims Twitter failed to do either of those things, meaning the site has legally forfeited the DMCA’s protections.
In that sense, the lawsuit against Twitter is something of spiritual sequel to a series of cases filed against internet service providers like Cox, which pioneered the argument that providers had waived the DMCA’s safe harbor by failing to crack down on subscribers who repeatedly infringed. After a federal judge ruled that Cox had lost the DMCA’s protections, a jury later ordered the company to pay $1 billion in damages to the three major music companies. Yes, billion, with a “B.”
Will those same arguments work against Twitter? Stay tuned.
Other top stories this week…
MASSIVE REGGAETON CASE – Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Karol G and dozens of other artists asked a federal judge to toss out a sprawling copyright lawsuit that claims hundreds of reggaeton tracks infringed a single 1989 song. In their motion to end the case, Daddy Yankee and many other stars argued that the accusers are “effectively claiming ownership of an entire genre of music.” Bad Bunny, in his own filing, said the case aims to “stake monopolistic control over the reggaeton genre.”
BOOSIE BADAZZ GUN CHARGE – Newly-unsealed charging documents against rapper Boosie Badazz revealed that his recent federal gun charge came after San Diego police tracked his Instagram account and even used a helicopter to locate him in an allegedly gang-affiliated neighborhood.
BAD SERVICE? A judge ruled that Sony Music Entertainment could serve a copyright lawsuit on a TikTok rapper by sending him a message through his DMs. The ruling detailed how the label’s lawyers had spent months unsuccessfully trying to do so in-person — including showing up to his mom’s house on Mother’s Day “in hopes that he would be there to celebrate with her.”
50 CENT ENDS BOOZE BATTLE – The rapper reached a settlement with Rémy Martin to resolve a lawsuit that claimed his Branson brand of cognac copied the design of the company’s bottles. The confidential deal will end litigation that 50 Cent’s company had called “meritless” and designed to “destroy a competitor.”
Street Mob Records has signed a worldwide deal with Cinq Music to distribute the label and expand its opportunities in branding, sponsorships, merchandising and synchronization. The deal will also include new talent discovery for Street Mob Records.
Founded by Fuerza Regida’s frontman Jesús Ortiz Paz (a.k.a. JOP), Street Mob Records’ artists include Chino Pacas, Calle 24, Ángel Ureta, Chuy Montana, Linea Personal and more rising regional Mexican music — or música mexicana as it is also called — acts.
“We have worked with Cinq for years and know that they’re committed to the genre,” said Paz in a statement to Billboard Español. “It’s only natural that we should partner with them to grow and expand Street Mob – combining their infrastructure, experience, and reach with our talent.”
“We bet on people, not just music, and it’s obvious that Jesus Ortiz Paz is going to carry his success as an artist into his label,” added Cinq Music president Barry Daffurn. “We are excited to team up with Street Mob Records to accelerate their growth. Cinq already brings billions of streams a month to the music world – now, we’re going to add incredible fuel to that fire with these important artists.”
Since 2018, Cinq Music has also been working with Rancho Humilde — Fuerza Regida’s label — another independent label at the forefront of música mexicana’s recent growth.
“Regional Mexican [music] is one of the hottest and fastest genres in the world right now, so to have that relationship with someone like Jesús means a lot to us,” continued Daffurn. “From the time we first started working in regional Mexican music, and the first time I sat down with Jimmy [Humilde] of Rancho Humilde, our goal was to bring this music global. The vision at that point was not to make it regional Mexican music, but more música mexicana, expanding it outside that network, to all the countries outside of [Latin America.] Corridos are leading that global expansion.”
Earlier this month, Street Mob Records and Cinq Music teamed up to release Chino Pacas’ “Yo Preferí Chambear,” which was the premiere of their new partnership. The video already racked up 2.1 million views on YouTube since it dropped 11 days ago.
In March, Chino Pacas entered the Billboard Hot 100 with “El Gordo Trae El Mando,” the artist’s first entry in the historic, all-genres chart.
“We’re operating as a distributor, from a technical standpoint, but as a company, we don’t work with everyone. The artists and labels that we do work with are very high touch,” said Daffurn. “We’re helping them with administrative support, full service marketing, and there’s money involved to make investments so they can build their own infrastructure and grow that way.”
Fuerza Regida earned its first entry on Billboard Hot 100 in January with “Bebe Dame” alongside Grupo Frontera, a romantic cumbia jam with a grupera swing that peaked at No. 25. Since then, they’ve placed three other tracks on the all-genres chart, “Ch y La Pizza” with Natanael Cano, “Igualito a Mi Apá” with Peso Pluma, and their latest “TQM” on their own.
Niall Horan has signed a new worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group. Already a signee of Capitol Records, his new deal with UMPG sees the artist uniting both recorded and songwriting efforts under the Universal Music umbrella. Previously, he was signed to an administrative agreement with Downtown Music Publishing, beginning in 2017. The […]
Garage rock revivalists The Hives and their management company, ATC, signed with music distributor FUGA to release the band’s first album in over a decade. The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons arrives Aug. 11, though the group has already released two singles with videos — the scorchers “Bogus Operandi” and “Countdown to Shutdown.” The sharp-dressed Swedes, who made a splash in the early-aughts with singles including “Hate to Say I Told You So” and “Main Offender,” haven’t released a new album since 2012’s self-released Disque Hives. “Bridging the gap between old and new, FUGA’s digital-first approach will help lead The Hives into this new era of music consumption, and allows us the flexibility and transparency the band were looking for with their new release partner,” said Matthew Greer of ATC.
Synthpop confectioners Magdalena Bay signed with Mom+Pop Music. The duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin recently played Coachella, with Lollapalooza on deck later this summer, and are coming off the April release of digital EP Mini Mix Vol. 3 and its accompanying VHS-quality video. The band’s debut album, Mercurial World, was released in October 2021 by Luminelle. Details on their upcoming Mom+Pop releases will be announced later this year, the label said.
Red Dirt mainstays Josh Abbott Band signed with Make Wake Artists / Deep Roots Management. The Texas road warriors will be co-managed by Make Wake’s Chris Happy and Deep Roots’ Dylan Wright and be day-to-day’d by Make Wake’s Eric Berger. Since singing with new management — they were previously with Triple 8 — the band has dropped two singles off their Pretty Damn Tough imprint: “Country Nights” and “My Dad And His Truck.” JAB’s agent remains Henry Glascock at WME.
Rapper-producer Cash Cobain signed to Giant Music, the label venture launched last year by Irving and Jeffrey Azoff. The NYC artist’s first release on Giant, “Slizzy Gods,” dropped last month. Giant Music’s roster includes Tay B, Ayleen Valentine, K.Flay, New West (with Republic), and SwaVay (with Def Jam). Cash’s managers are Makeda Tewodros, Glyn Brown and Will Foster.
Nashville (by way of Long Island) singer-songwriter Ben Goldsmith signed with Sony Music Nashville, UTA and Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville, and over this past weekend played a little festival called Bonnaroo. Not bad for an artist who graduated high school less than two weeks ago. Goldsmith has released four tracks to date, the most recent being the big-voiced ballad “Flowers In Your Hair,” which’ll be part of his debut album, The World Between My Ears, coming Sept. 22. He is managed by Mike Crowley of Crowley Artist Management.
Chris Lane established his own label, Voyager Records, and formed a partnership with Jay DeMarcus’ Red Street Records ahead of new music. The country star previously was signed to Big Loud, scoring three No. 1s on Country Airplay — most recently with 2019’s “Big, Big Plans” — and a pair of No. 8s on the Top Country Albums chart. In explaining his pair-up with Red Street, Lane said the label “supports my vision for music” and called DeMarcus a “great friend.”
Nashville-based alternative pop group Nightly signed with ONErpm, which will release their sophomore album Wear Your Heart Out on Aug. 25. The trio consisting of Jonny Capeci, Joey Beretta and Nick Sainato have been featured on a slew of tracks in recent years, including by Ayokay (“Sleepless Nights,” “Amnesia”), NOTD (“About You”) and Vaultboy (“why u gotta be like that”). They recently dropped the up-tempo title track off the upcoming album. Nightly’s manager, Nikki Boon of Neon Coast, commented, “Because of the quality of Nightly’s new music and their headline touring alongside our new partner ONErpm, we believe that Nightly is poised to have their biggest year yet and grow their fanbase on an even larger international level.”
Seattle hardcore band Filth is Eternal has signed with MNRK Music Group for a worldwide deal ahead of new music this fall. Scott Givens, MRNK’s senior vp of rock & metal, says, “Filth Is Eternal are an amazing band and an amazing addition to our roster. MNRK Heavy is committed to breaking new artists, and we look forward to working together with the band to bring their artistic vision to the masses.” FIE are managed by Mike Messina at Quiet Panic and booked by Ian Koletsis aT Sound Talent Group.
Singer-songwriter Kyla Imani signed with PULSE Music Group and Stargate as part of their LAAMP Music initiative for new talent. Imani, a NYC native, has already reeled in millions of streams for her songs, including “These Boys Ain’t It” and “it’s not that deep.” — and earlier this month released the track “21 Forever.” She is managed/booked by L. Londell McMillan and The NorthStar Group.
Virtual characters Jun Akane and Yuki Kitashiro have been added to the roster of the PRISM Project, a virtual talent management agency in the Sony Music Entertainment family of virtual talent brands.
Music City Signings: Concord Music signed Lindsay Ell to a publishing administration deal … Singer-songwriter Joey Hendricks reached a joint-venture publishing agreement with Warner Chappell Nashville and daschent … Houston native Triston Marez inked a management contract with the Erv Woolsey Co.
D. Tobago Benito started his first brick-and-mortar record store in Atlanta in 1996. At the time, “there were about 400 to 500 Black-owned record stores around the country,” he recalls. “There were a lot of conferences. When I came in, senior store owners took me under their wing and showed me how the business operated.”
Benito’s still in physical retail 27 years later, running DBS Sounds. But the pool of Black-owned record stores has been decimated, falling to around 70, according to his count. (Some think it’s closer to 60.) Depending who you ask, there are between 1,800 and 2,100 independent record stores in the U.S., which means that Black-owned outlets now represent just a sliver of this market.
The decline is at odds with the popularity of Black music. R&B and hip-hop’s share of overall consumption was 26.8% in 2022, according to Luminate. While R&B and hip-hop doesn’t fare as well in the physical market, it still accounted for 14.3% of physical sales last year. Yet “we make up about 3% of the record stores out there,” Benito says. “It’s unacceptable. There are major markets around the country with no Black-owned stores: Birmingham, Nashville, Charlotte.”
“The numbers are astounding,” adds Sharod Bines, owner of Retrofit Records in Tallahassee, Florida. “A generation ago, it was not as uncommon to be a Black record store owner.”
While vinyl sales have been growing for 17 consecutive years, this rising tide hasn’t yet led to a major lift in the number of Black store owners. Benito is spearheading an effort he hopes will change that: In 2021, he joined with more than 20 other Black-owned stores to create the F.A.M.S. Coalition (Forever a Music Store). Some of the hurdles facing Black record stores are systemic — the racial wealth gap, gentrification, bias in the loan-application process. But for outlets that have overcome these obstacles, F.A.M.S. is intent on gaining more support from the music industry. This could be financial assistance as well as windowed exclusives, vinyl variants and release parties pegged to notable albums that might boost the presence of coalition members.
“We need people like Tobago to push to say, ‘we’re here, we’re growing, and we need equality,’” says Drew Mitchell, owner of 606 Records in Chicago. “We need to make sure there is equal opportunity for minority-owned stores — in the music business and in any business.”
In the early ’90s, “Black independent stores were really thriving, and they were an important part of the ecosystem when it came to breaking records,” adds Steve Corbin, Warner Music Group’s senior vice president of sales, counsel and culture. “We are in discussions with [F.A.M.S.] and working with them, whether it’s mentoring store owners or figuring out other ways to get involved with the community.”
One of the coalition’s biggest wins to date came when Beyoncé released the vinyl version of Renaissance in October 2022; F.AM.S. stores were given the chance to sell the LP a week before their peers. At the time, the coalition contained 26 stores — it’s now at 22 — which sold more than 1,000 copies of Renaissance combined. “That was huge for us,” says Marketta Rodriguez, a F.A.M.S. member from Houston who runs Serious Sounds. The first week of June, F.A.M.S. stores were able to boost their profile by hosting listening parties for Janelle Monae’s The Age of Pleasure three days before the album hit streaming services.
Some Black-owned stores serve up all styles of music — “I cover as many bases as possible,” Bines says — while others focus on historically Black genres. The latter camp faces a challenge as it tries to stabilize and ultimately grow. “There is a lack of new releases and catalog that are not available physically in rap and R&B,” explains Steve Harkins, vp of sales and marketing at Ingram Entertainment, the distributor that has been working closely with F.A.M.S. “It’s getting better with new releases, but these stores need more product in the marketplace. And this is also product that would benefit other independent stores as well.”
D. Tobago Benito
Raphael Simien
Rap was quick to embrace the digital economy — first through free download sites like Datpiff, which hosted copious amounts of mixtapes, and then through streaming, where hip-hop soared. But perhaps as a result of this success, the genre hasn’t paid much attention to the old-fashioned physical market. Harkins notes that “labels have said they’ve had challenges convincing artists and management to release their titles physically in some cases.”
While Tyler, the Creator and Kendrick Lamar have both sold heaps of vinyl, many major rappers still don’t release actual LPs. Often they would “rather put their money into music videos and digital marketing,” says Nima Nasseri, who manages the producer Hit-Boy. And vinyl still requires long lead times — it could be three to four months — which is a drawback in a genre that has thrived thanks in part to its relentless release pace. “By the time that a project is out, the majority of these artists are already working on the next project; they’re just over it,” says Aaron “Ace” Christian, who manages the rapper Cordae.
But around half of vinyl buyers don’t even own a turntable, according to Luminate, suggesting that fans want to support artists they favor through physical purchases even in cases when they can’t actually play the record they buy. And “especially when it comes to recouping, vinyl can put a huge dent in whatever you’re owing to these labels,” says Justin Lehmann, founder of Mischief Management. “It’s a missed opportunity for other artists if they’re not taking advantage of that,” he adds.
Lehmann has worked with his client Aminé to put out a vinyl version of every one of the rapper’s albums. Same goes for Cordae. “We sold out everything,” Christian says of his client’s LPs. “Fans like the memorabilia aspect of it.” “The popularity [of vinyl releases] is rising,” Nasseri adds. “Doing 1,000 copies for the diehard fans is a smart move.”
On the catalog front, some Black record store owners also worry about the “big void for ’90s R&B and hip-hop,” says Phillip Rollins, owner of Offbeat in Jackson, Mississippi. Labels are “re-pressing everything else, like 1,000 Grateful Dead live box sets,” he continues. “Where’s SWV and early Usher?” “It’s starting to look really weird when you can re-press 30 Rolling Stones records but not a core R&B title from the ’70s,” Rodriguez agrees.
Joe Lyle, owner of No Pulp Records in New Orleans, says F.A.M.S. has been working to make the labels aware of the demand for some of this classic material. Benito is starting to see some progress, pointing to represses of LPs from Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu and Kingpin Skinny Pimp. In addition, Harkins helped secure a commitment from the manufacturer GZ North America to set aside capacity for both new hip-hop and R&B titles and represses.
There’s more to come: At the Music Biz conference in Nashville in May, members of F.A.M.S. met with Corbin to talk about the need for additional catalog releases. “What we agreed to is having them be somewhat of a curator — ‘we really think this Anita Baker record would be worth bringing out and repressing on vinyl,’” Corbin says. “Rather than us dictating and saying, ‘Hey, we’re gonna re-release these classic R&B records,’ we’re making it a collaborative effort,” and taking cues from the store-owners who are in touch with record buyers on the ground.
Benito’s dream is to grow the Black-owned sector of independent record stores to more than 5% of the total over the next five years. But for some owners, even just forming the coalition represents a victory. “We’re a minority within the minority of record store owners — it can feel like you’re kind of on an island out here,” Bines says. “It’s been nice to see there’s others out there trying to sustain the same thing that I am.”
After a lengthy delay, Spotify is reportedly planning to launch its high-fidelity subscription tier later this year. The audio streaming service first introduced the idea of a Hi-Fi audio offering in 2021, and is referring to the program internally as “Supremium,” Bloomberg reports. A more expensive subscription service would address two ongoing issues for the […]
Tamla Records, the precursor to the legendary Motown Records, is being relaunched by Capitol Music Group (CMG) and Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) as a mainstream imprint specializing in positive R&B and hip-hop music. Supervising the imprint’s roster and staff will be Nashville-based EJ Gaines, current senior vp of marketing for Capitol CMG.
The first partner to sign with the new Tamla is Thomas “Tillie” Mann and his label Encouragement Music. Mann is Quality Control’s longtime mix engineer and collaborator who has worked with Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Drake and Migos.
CMG chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer said in a statement, “The relaunch of Tamla broadens our company’s commitment to hip-hop and R&B music, as well as to the artists, label partners and creative executives who have joined Capitol Music Group over the past 18 months. The artists EJ and his team will bring to Tamla will complement the incredible talent across our label group and will have everyone’s support throughout the wider company.”
It was 65 years ago that Berry Gordy Jr. founded Tamla Records in June 1958. The label’s first release was the 1959 single “Come to Me” by gospel singer-turned-R&B artist Marv Johnson. Later renamed Motown, Tamla was also the home of icons Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
“We want to honor the iconic history of the label founded by Mr. Gordy,” commented Capitol CMG co-presidents Brad O’Donnell and Hudson Plachy in the Capitol press release. “And Tillie Mann and Encouragement Music are exactly the kind of partners that we want to work with. EJ is a seasoned executive who we know will guide Tamla along with the support of our overall Capitol CMG staff.”
“Tamla has always been home to incredible music that has shifted culture,” added Gaines. “I’m excited to continue its rich legacy with groundbreaking, mainstream music that is faith-formed and culture-forward. I’m grateful to Hudson, Brad and Michelle for trusting me with this honor.”
In an interview with Billboard, Gaines shared additional insights about the new Tamla and fostering what he calls “the positive sound of the generation.”
Why is now the right time to relaunch this legacy label?
As a Black man in America, a former Wall Street attorney and artist manager, I’ve seen virtually every aspect of the music industry. And it’s very incumbent upon me to use my experience and influence in a way that is going to help the music industry as a whole — but with a focus on helping underserved Black communities. I have two sons, six and three years old, and they need to know that their dad contributed to helping make this world better for them in every way. Music is such a powerful tool and that’s significant to me, especially with this being Black Music Month.
I also love the through-line of how Tamla started with Marv Johnson, a gospel singer who released his first song on the label before doing R&B. That’s something I’ve been trying to communicate ever since I got to Capitol CMG: that gospel music is part of Black music. It’s not separate faith music; it’s not exclusive. It’s part of what we do culturally. And Tamla was just sitting there, acknowledged for its value but not really being used to continue the legacy. So that’s where we’re picking up.
How do you describe the new Tamla?
We have great, tried and true artists on Capitol CMG like Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Ricky Dillard and Brian Courtney Wilson. But what I’ve also started to identify is a bunch of creatives — songwriters, producers and artists — that aren’t doing gospel or faith music that way. They want their music to be competitive with what they listen to outside of the [gospel] genre.
But increasingly, mainstream music has not been a place where Christian creatives can find themselves very easily. That’s because the lines have been drawn so distinctly that in order to go mainstream, these creators feel like they have to compromise their values, messaging and lyricism. They’re finding themselves without a space to live in. They want to find their own positive, non-explicit but not corny lane. Over the past seven years, that lane has become more open and ready. You see playlists on all the DSPs that lean toward very progressive R&B and hip-hop; what they used to call urban gospel. And now with TikTok and Instagram, there are opportunities for these artists to engage their fans without gatekeepers blocking them. But we need to be able to serve these creatives; to make the connection between them and the audiences that are sitting there waiting.
I call it “The positive sound of the generation.” It’s of right now; not dated and very relevant. It’s something that would be acknowledged by the mainstream as legitimate lyrically, sonically and production-wise. It’s not watered down. So what we’re doing is trying to identify significant mainstream partners making music who just happen to be Christians. But they don’t want to be referred to as gospel or inspirational. They’re just artists making music; young, hungry, aggressive and very open-minded as to what music can be. And they want desperately to have a voice to engage with their audiences. And Tamla will be the place where their creativity will be fueled to soar.
Who is the label’s target demo?
It’s the 13-25 age range, but people older will also enjoy the music. But I’m really going back to the young market, the market that’s dictating music consumption.
What’s been the reaction of artists that you’ve approached thus far?
When we tell them what we’re launching, they say it’s the supplemental support that they’ve been looking for … that they thought they would have to be independent. But we’re not going to work to cross these artists over. We’re going to place them there first [in R&B and hip-hop] and legitimize them in that space with the support of Capitol and the Universal Music Group. And programmers have said they’ve been looking for content that was positive but that didn’t compromise on the quality of the music. I’m being very intentional about legitimizing this movement so that people don’t see this as a warmed-over version of what they’ve already seen and heard before.
Motown Records is motoring into the metaverse.
The fabled label and its artists will take the leap into the virtual world for the first time, through a partnership with Linden Lab’s Second Life and music integration platform STYNGR, which boasts a pre-cleared catalog of more than 100 million tracks.
Through the arrangement, which Billboard exclusively reveals today (June 20), Second Life will host an immersive Motown venue, where gamers can explore the label’s music and roster, and take a piece for the virtual road.
The digital experience is facilitated by STYNGR, whose licensing, technology, and platform specializes in imports curated music from music companies, and has recently struck deals with Warner Music Group, Merlin, Luminate and ICE Services.
Founded in Detroit in 1959 by Berry Gordy, Jr., Motown is, of course, home to such legendary acts as Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha & The Vandellas, The Four Tops, and The Jackson 5. Its contemporary signings include YoungBoy Never Broke Again, KEM and Ne-Yo.
Alvaro Velilla, senior VP, new business, Universal Music Group, describes the partnership as “unprecedented,” one that provides Motown fans “with an unparalleled immersive experience.”
Visitors to the Motown hub can also nab so-called “Styngs,” which enables Second Life residents to attach music snippets to their avatars, like a digital badge.
Also, the new space is home to a dedicated Motown Records radio station, curated by Motown and STYNGR, with more experiences and music to roll out in the months ahead.
“Motown Records has always been at the forefront of culture and innovation, expanding the perceptions of what is to what could be,” comments Alex Williams, VP gaming strategy and business development, Motown Records, part of UMG. “As the convergence of music, culture, and tech continue to redefine the way fans experience music, partnerships like this enhance that connection building an even greater community among music lovers.”
Opening the doors to its virtual universe in 2003, Second Life was early on the scene. It has since seen nearly two billion user creations, according to San Francisco-based Linden Lab, which formed earlier, in 1999.
Music played a part in its early success, with the likes of Suzanne Vega, Duran Duran and Talib Kweli performing in-game gigs during its formative years.
Through partnerships and collaborations such as this Motown alliance, notes Brad Oberwager, executive chairman of Linden Lab, the tech specialist is keen to “improve, enhance, and enrich the in-world experiences” of the virtual world’s residents. Working with Motown Records and STYNGR on this campaign, adds Oberwager, is an “extraordinary opportunity” for Second Life.
As Trevor Noah builds out his post–Daily Show career, the comedian is adding a new job to his resume: Spotify podcaster.
Debuting later this year, the currently unnamed podcast will release weekly and feature Noah’s commentary on timely topics and in-depth conversations with influential figures from around the world, the company said on Tuesday at Cannes Lions.
The series will be a Spotify Original podcast, produced under the recently combined Spotify Studios umbrella that now includes podcast shops Gimlet and Parcast. But unlike Spotify’s major exclusive talent deals of the past, Noah’s podcast will be available on all major platforms.
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“It’s really exciting to be joining Spotify on a fun new adventure where we’ll engage in interesting and meaningful conversations with some of the world’s most fascinating people,” Noah said.
The comedian previously hosted The Daily Show podcast up until he exited the late-night talk show late last year to pursue other projects. “Maybe this comes with not being raised in America, but I believe that everything should end,” Noah told The Hollywood Reporter last November of his decision to leave the show. “A lot of American business and American media is just like, ‘Keep it going as long as possible,’ but I think it’s healthy for things to end when they’re still in a good place. I want to leave before I’m burnt out, because there are many other things I’d like to do.”
Since his exit, Noah has landed a book deal, hosted the Grammys and gone on tour. He will join Spotify’s roster of podcasting talent — which includes Call Her Daddy‘s Alex Cooper, Anything Goes’ Emma Chamberlain and The Joe Rogan Experience’s Joe Rogan, among others — at a time when Spotify is adjusting its podcasting strategy, rethinking expensive star deals and laying off employees amid pressure from Wall Street to turn a profit on podcasting. The audio giant has also shed or otherwise ended many of the exclusive deals it brokered to help get its podcast business started, notably with the Obamas’ Higher Ground, Brené Brown, Esther Perel, and, as of June 15, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell.
Instead, the audio company has been pursuing a wider distribution model, releasing shows like Chamberlain’s once-exclusive Anything Goes on all major platforms and focusing on its advertising capabilities.
“Spotify is the ultimate audio destination, and partnering with Trevor Noah, one of the world’s most brilliant and distinctive voices, will make for captivating storytelling that will delight our more than 100 million podcast listeners around the world,” Julie McNamara, Spotify vp and head of global podcast studios, said. “We are excited to collaborate with Trevor to create an original podcast that seamlessly combines his unique humor, insightful commentary and consummate interview skills on a global scale.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.