State Champ Radio Business
Page: 39
In 2023, Believe CEO Denis Ladegaillerie told Billboard he was eying the U.S. Two years later, the Paris-based company is ready to expand its artist and label services business to the world’s largest music market.
“We’re building teams in 50 countries, and we’re going to build more in other countries, starting with the U.S. this year,” says Romain Vivien, global head of music/president for Europe. In fact, Believe is currently hiring a Los Angeles-based vp of labels and artist solutions for the U.S. who can “grow, scale and motivate high output teams,” according to the job posting.
Founded in 2005 by Ladegaillerie, a former Vivendi executive, Believe has done brisk business by focusing on large European markets and developing markets globally. From 2020 to 2024, Believe’s revenue rose 124% to 988.8 million euros ($1.05 billion) through organic growth and a mix of acquisitions and investments. Its portfolio includes German record labels Nuclear Blast and Groove Attack; French label PlayTwo; and Doğan Music Company, Turkey’s largest independent record label. In 2023, the company moved into publishing by acquiring U.K.-based Sentric Music Group for $51 million.
Trending on Billboard
The opportunity in the U.S. is immense — but the market is crowded. The U.S. accounted for 38% of global recorded music revenues in 2024, according to the IFPI. That’s 2.8 times more than Believe’s top two markets, France and Germany, combined. Competition in the artist and label services realm already exists from Universal Music Group-owned Virgin Music Group, Downtown Music Group (acquired by UMG but not yet approved by the European Commission), Sony Music’s The Orchard, and AWAL and smaller independents.
The Americas accounted for only 15% of Believe’s revenue in 2024, well behind Asia/Oceania/Africa’s 24% and Europe’s 61%, according to the company’s earnings report. Much of that Americas revenue came from U.S.-based digital distributor TuneCore, acquired by Believe in 2015, which had revenue of 64.6 million euros ($69.9 million) but was dwarfed by the 924 million euros ($1 billion) generated from Believe’s “premium solutions” business that spans record labels and services for artists, labels and songwriters.
But the current U.S. market is more amenable to an independent like Believe that has a digital-first mindset. Over the years, legacy gatekeepers such as TV, radio and brick-and-mortar retail — which are impediments or costly promotional vehicles for an indie artist — have waned in influence. The rise of TikTok, Spotify and YouTube presents “more opportunity to develop artists [there] digitally,” Ladegaillerie told Billboard in 2023.
In focusing on mid-sized and developing markets, Believe foresaw a global music business where streaming and social media create vibrant local music scenes. As an independent, Believe didn’t suffer from “the innovator’s dilemma” that might inhibit larger companies from pursuing small opportunities that could contribute significant revenue over time. Those mid-sized and developing markets produced music but organized themselves independently because major music companies were investing in larger markets in North America and Western Europe. When digital services like YouTube and Spotify took off, artists and labels needed digital distribution services and marketing expertise.
“It’s first and foremost about being here for the local community of artists in each local market,” says Vivien, “helping the rise of local artists to develop in their own country and then, of course, outside of their own market.”
India, where Believe has operated for more than a decade, is the company’s third-largest market after France and Germany, according to Vivien, while ranking No. 15 globally in 2024, according to the IFPI. Indian music is hyper-regional but takes advantage of global streaming platforms to reach Indian communities in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. A third of Believe’s Punjabi streams come from outside of India, Vivien says.
In the U.S. market, Believe will find a growing number of artists who want help building a career while retaining ownership of their rights. Independent distributors accounted for 91.8% of the 99,000 tracks uploaded to streaming platforms daily in 2024, according to Luminate, and independents’ recent share of current recorded music consumption has ranged from 15.6% in 2024 to 16.5% in 2022 by distribution. Within the major labels’ share is an increasing number of licensing deals and joint ventures that give the artist greater ownership control.
The exact terms of Believe’s client deals vary, but the company takes a share of the revenue generated by artists’ music. Vivien says the deals can vary from co-production deals to distribution-and-services deals. Believe can cover marketing, promotion, content creation, neighboring rights, synch, merchandising, branding and, in France, touring. Believe sometimes funds advances, too — as of Dec. 31, 2024, the company had 293 million euros ($305 million) of artist advances on its books.
The key, Vivien tells his team, is not to enter into a deal without “perfectly understanding” what the artist needs. “Some of them [have] very strong management. Some of them can produce,” he says. “Some of them are well funded, so they don’t need advances to produce their master. Some of them actually need funding. Some of them need marketing. Some of them are very local. Some of them need services outside of their market.”
Larger competitors have followed Believe’s emphasis on label services and emerging markets. In the last year, UMG acquired the remaining majority interest in [PIAS] and, through its Virgin Music Group, purchased Downtown Music Group. Sony Music bought artist services provider AWAL in 2021. Warner Music Group expanded its presence in India in 2024 through a partnership with Global Music Junction and an investment in live entertainment and ticketing platform SkillBox.
Believe went public in 2021 and was taken private in 2024 by a consortium led by Ladegaillerie and two investors, EQT and TCV. (In April, the company launched a bid to acquire the small number of remaining 3.3% of share capital, valuing the company at $1.75 billion.) The consortium survived an interested Warner Music Group, leaving Believe outside the control of the three major music groups. Not only did the move allow Believe to retain its independence, it left the company well funded to pursue its mission. As Vivien puts it, “We are entrepreneurs who are helping and serving other entrepreneurs.”
After enjoying explosive success with his 2023 single “Praise Jah in the Moonlight,” YG Marley has signed a deal with Tony Bucher‘s Hitmaker Music Group/Hitmaker Distro. The announcement on Friday (June 13) did not include any details of the agreement, but both Bucher and Marley expressed excitement for the new partnership. “We’ve worked together the […]
Sony Music Group’s revenues are growing faster than the industry average, and it is the only major to grow its market share, CEO and chairman Rob Stringer said during an investor presentation on Friday.
For nine straight years, the major music company and subsidiary of the Japanese film, gaming and media conglomerate Sony, said it has achieved record-setting revenue, growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% over the past four years compared to the industry’s 11.3% CAGR, while streaming revenue grew at a 15.1% CAGR. And according to MIDiA Research, Stringer said Sony was alone among the three majors to increase its market share from 2020 to 2024, due to it’s “higher independent market share than any other label or distributor” as a result of owning the indie distributor The Orchard.
In the wide-ranging investor presentation, Stringer said Sony is benefitting from the commercial success of albums by superstar artists, including Beyonce, Bad Bunny, Chappell Roan, Tyler the Creator and Charli XCX, and the more than 60 acquisitions and investments worth over $2.5 billion dollars that it has entered into over the past year alone across global frontline, catalog, creative and service businesses.
Trending on Billboard
Stringer said Sony Music’s dominance of the independent market stems from The Orchard, Sony’s independent distribution organization, which has more than 26,000 label partners; AWAL which works with 20,000 artists, and the Alamo Records umbrella group, which includes Foundation distribution and Santa Anna’s incubator, and now works with nearly 3,000 artists.
“In an environment where nearly half the marketplace is made up of the independent music sector, sales flowing through our independent distribution businesses more than doubled the last four years,” Stringer said in a pre-recorded video presenation. Addressing the skepticism of some investors around Sony Music’s $1.27 billion acquisition of Queen’s recorded music, publishing and name, image and likeness rights — the highest amount ever paid for an artist’s catalog — Stringer said, “these acquisitions… are in no way based on random financial speculative tactics.”
Investments like these are made back by exploiting listeners’ growing demand for older catalog music, Stringer through merchandise sales, sync placements in films and synergies with the gaming industry.
“We see more of our catalog in the charts as every year passes,” Stringer said. “In 2020, 24 percent of the Top 200 tracks were catalog songs. In 2024, that percentage grew to about 50 percent. This trend is extremely beneficial to Sony Music given our rich, deep working content.”
Since Sony’s investment in merch company Ceremony of Roses in 2022, the company has grown revenue by seven times, and its neighboring rights division collected more than $65 million for its artists last year.
Stringer reiterated calls for price increases and new tiers across the digital streaming platforms, and called for flexible pricing structures in high growth and developing markets.
Stringer said Sony Music has worked with 800 technology companies “on ethical product creation, content protection, detection, enhancing metadata and audio tuning and translation,” and that they are going to do “deals for new music AI products this year with those that want to construct the future with us the right way,” creating and adhereing to a clear remuneration system.
“New subscription ideas with fair revenue sharing arrangements will be further additive … [and] will start to slowly and rapidly scale,” Stringer said. “We will share all revenues with our artists and songwriters whether from training or related to outputs, so they are appropriately compensated from day one of this new frontier.”
Stringer said he hopes the industry’s proof of concept will give government regulators the evidence they need to pass laws reinforcing that system.
This week, almost the entirety of the independent music community descended upon New York City for A2IM’s annual Indie Week conference, which kicked off Monday night (June 9) with the Libera Awards, celebrating the best of independent music in the past year. Held at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall, the awards, presented by Merlin, honored records, songs, artists and labels across a slew of genres, with performances by Top Shelf Records’ Ekko Astral, Secretly Canadian’s serpentwithfeet and Oh Boy Records’ Swamp Dogg and a posthumous lifetime achievement award for !K7 founder Horst Weidenmüller.
But the biggest winner of the evening was Mexican Summer artist Jessica Pratt, who took home record of the year for her album Here In the Pitch, as well as best folk record and best singer-songwriter record. For Mexican Summer — which itself also won label of the year (6-14 employees) — it was a big achievement, one forged in the partnership they made with Pratt ahead of her 2019 album Quiet Signs. And those achievements help Mexican Summer’s co-founder, co-president and director of A&R Keith Abrahamsson earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Trending on Billboard
Here, Abrahamsson talks about the making of Pratt’s award-winning album, the different marketing tactics the label took this time around, his approach to A&R and what comes next. “We’ve got a lot on the horizon — new music from Cate Le Bon, Sessa, Connan Mockasin, L’Rain, Zsela, Iceage, Robert Lester Folsom and more,” Abrahamsson says. “The rest of ‘25 and ‘26 will be incredibly busy!”
This week, Mexican Summer artist Jessica Pratt won three awards, including record of the year, at the 2025 Libera Awards. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
I had been a huge fan of Jessica’s music when we first started discussing working together several years ago. My goal was to give her a creative environment that had freedom and flexibility, and most importantly, trust in her artistic vision over everything else. Logistically, we were able to offer her access to our studio and connect her with her now long time collaborator, Al Carlson, our in-house producer at Gary’s Electric. We also took this same approach to the creative buildout and overall marketing of the record, making sure that her exacting artistic vision was always the priority and never compromised.
This is the second record you’ve done with Jessica. What was different this time around for you guys?
Jessica is a perfectionist and it took a moment — years! — to hone the sound on this one. More than anything, I would say that was one of the main differences time — granted, there was also a pandemic thrown in there. She wrote and recorded this album between Los Angeles and New York again, again working with Al Carlson in and out of our studio. This time around, there was a goal to carefully and subtly expand the sonic palette. Achieving this required a lot of experimentation and for Jessica to bring in new instrumental elements and players. I don’t want to give too much of a peek behind the curtain, though!
It was also her first album in five years, a lifetime in today’s music era. How did you guys work to present this album to her fans in a new way?
As soon as we heard Here in the Pitch, we knew we had a future classic on our hands, truly, so we were banking on the idea that Jessica’s fans would feel it was more than worth the wait. It certainly helped that in the five years leading up to HITP, the mythology around JP and her music only seemed to grow — we saw a couple of key syncs, Troye Sivan sampled “Back, Baby,” etc. — and… absence makes the heart grow fonder. In presenting the record and its first single, “Life Is,” we created a suite of creative assets that supported Jessica’s vision and carefully rebooted her socials, mailing list, etc., teasing out the moment the past five years had been building to and letting JP speak directly to her fans. We ran a tight ship logistics-wise, but really the strength of the launch was rooted in the brilliance of the song.
Mexican Summer also won label of the year (6-14 employees) at the Libera Awards. How have you guys worked to set yourselves apart and succeed these days?
As a label, we definitely take a “head and heart” approach — working from our gut when it comes to identifying our partners and developing the music and creative, but also closely following the data to help inform our campaign strategy. Overall, we’re blessed to work with incredible talent on the artist side, and really amazing and knowledgeable people and partners on the label side. Our ethos always has been and always will be artist-first.
You started the label in 2009, a tough time economically both in general and specifically for the music business, and have kept things running through the industry’s streaming resurgence and the volume tsunami of content that has unleashed. How have you kept the label going and flourishing through the years?
I started the label with my business partner, Andres Santo Domingo, off the back of our previous label, Kemado. Mexican Summer was able to start without many expectations — it actually began as a record club — and carefully scaled as our releases and label footprint grew. And importantly, as there have been industry shifts with formats, content, etc., we’ve tried to approach scale in a realistic way without pressuring our artists, but arming them with options and best practices to reach new and existing fans.
What’s your approach to A&R, and how has that changed through your career?
The writing is always what it comes down to for me, and whether or not I’m compelled to revisit something multiple times. Discovery is still what motivates me the most; the thrill of hearing a song for the first time that really cuts deep never seems to get old.
The producers of a horror movie starring 50 Cent are blasting the rapper’s “baseless” lawsuit aimed at blocking its release, calling it a “last-minute shakedown.”
Fifty (Curtis Jackson) sued earlier this year to stop the premiere of SkillHouse, an upcoming horror movie in which he plays a big role, over claims that he never signed off. He claimed producer Ryan Kavanaugh had not paid him “a dime” and he had “no creative input.”
But in a scathing response on Thursday, Kavanaugh’s attorneys say the rap star “time and time again” gave his clear approval for the project – and that he cannot now “kneecap the film on the eve of its release.”
Trending on Billboard
“After almost three years of acknowledging his agreement to appear in the film, Jackson seeks to enjoin SkillHouse from its impending theatrical release,” Kavanaugh’s lawyers write. “This is a baseless and last-minute shakedown.”
Set for release July 11, SkillHouse is billed as a “social media nightmare,” in which ten influencers are kidnapped and forced to compete in a “deadly showdown” where “every like, share, and follow is a fight for survival.” While 50 Cent has the top billing, the movie also stars actual creators (Bryce Hall and Hannah Stocking) with huge followings on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Fifty filed his lawsuit in April, claiming he filmed the movie back in 2022 without a formal contract because he trusted that one would be signed later. But he says it never was — and that the producers cannot use his name and likeness without one.
“Defendants have billed Jackson as the star and producer of the film [and] have shamelessly and deceptively marketed the film as a ‘50 Cent Movie’ and ‘produced by 50 Cent,’ when it is nothing of the sort,” his lawyers wrote at the time.
But in Thursday’s response, attorneys for Kavanaugh and the movie’s production company say they have “a mountain of documentary evidence” that he did, in fact, agree to appear in and promote SkillHouse – including a tweet in which he bragged that it would “elevate horror to another level.” And they say 50 cannot “come close” to showing the kind of permanent damage that would necessitate an injunction blocking the movie’s premiere.
“Jackson cannot show irreparable harm from being associated with a well-received film he repeatedly touted his involvement in,” write Kavanaugh’s lawyers. “Moreover, he certainly cannot show an urgent need for action by the court when he, for almost three years, has known about (and approved) what he now contends is misappropriation.”
An attorney for 50 Cent did not immediately return a request for comment.
While headlines from California, D.C., India and Iran have dominated a chaotic news cycle this week — plus add in a restructuring at MCA and the loss of two stone cold icons — the music industry has actually had a meh few days when it comes to promotions and new hires. So without any further delay here’s the latest edition of Executive Turntable.
BMI‘s board of directors has voted to keep president and CEO Mike O’Neill on for three more years, through Dec. 31, 2029. O’Neill has been with BMI, one of the most dominate performing rights organizations (PROs) in the U.S., for the last 30 years, and since taking the helm as president and CEO, O’Neill has guided the company through some of the biggest business changes in its history. This includes its 2024 sale to New Mountain Capital, its move to for-profit status, and its partnership with Music Nation to establish a licensing infrastructure in the UAE. “I have never been more optimistic about the future of BMI, and there are only greater things ahead,” O’Neill added. “BMI’s mission to drive value for our affiliates, increase our distributions and ensure the long-term success of our family of songwriters, composers and publishers continues at full speed.”
Trending on Billboard
Wasserman elevated Shelley Pisarra to chief insights and innovation officer, reporting to COO Darrell Coetzee. Previously evp of global insights, Pisarra will now lead the company’s strategy and innovation platforms, aiming to fuel growth across sports, music and entertainment. Based in NYC, Pisarra’s new role includes expanding Wasserman’s product offerings and creating proprietary tools to drive revenue for talent, brands, and rights holders. With over 25 years of experience across sports, media, and consumer goods — including positions at PepsiCo, Novartis, Nestle and Bristol-Myers Squibb — Pisarra has played a key role in transforming Wasserman’s insights capabilities through data analytics, consumer profiling, and fan segmentation. “I’m thrilled to step into this role, as Wasserman continues to demonstrate our commitment to putting insights to work to best serve our clients, while anticipating what’s next for the fan at the intersection of sports, music, and entertainment,” said Pisarra.
NASHVILLE NOTES: FEM co-owner Leslie Fram was named governor of the Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter … Artist management company Make Wake Artists launched an in-house digital strategy department. The new department is led by Jess Keifer (head of digital marketing and social strategy) and Kyle Jonas (artist strategy and management coordinator). Make Wake Artists’ clients include Luke Combs, The Castellows, The Wilder Blue, Brent Cobb and Cooper Alan.
Centricity Music promoted four team members to vice president roles, highlighting the Nashville-based Christian label’s growth. Matt Ewald is now vp of A&R, Kris Love becomes vp of promotions, Joshua Wurzelbacher advances to vp of creative and Michael Pons is promoted to vp of finance. These promotions follow five earlier ones this year, with all four individuals having advanced internally since joining between 2013 and 2020. “Centricity has grown over the years in terms of artists, writers and employees,” said Caren Seidle, CEO. “This growth has led to increased responsibilities and work load of our staff. These promotions recognize the leadership these employees provide to their departments consistent with the high level of service for which Centricity is known.”
RockForce, a provider of workforce and production solutions for the live industry, opened a new office in Nashville to support regional productions. The office includes RockForce divisions The Production Collective and Collective Payroll. Jeremy Young, the company’s evp of business development, has also been named vp of operations for the new location. With nearly 30 years of experience in artist management, touring, and commercial leadership, Young began his career at SFX/Clear Channel Entertainment and has worked with artists like Maroon 5 and Gavin DeGraw. He later managed DeGraw’s career and led national sales for CAPS/Cast & Crew before joining RockForce. “RockForce is experiencing meaningful and sustainable growth, and I’m thrilled to be part of it,” said Young.
RADIO, RADIO: Matt Pinfield returns as host of Flashback With Matt Pinfield on Westwood One this weekend, following a near-fatal stroke in January that left him unresponsive for over two months. After extensive rehab in Los Angeles, the former MTV VJ is set to resume hosting duties on June 14–15 on the nationally syndicated rock show. During his recovery, Leslie Fram served as interim host of Flashback. Pinfield also continues his weekday role on The Matt Pinfield Show on 88.5 The SoCal Sound in Los Angeles. Cumulus Media’s Brian Philips praised Pinfield’s recovery, calling him a “warrior.”
ICYMI:
Mike Harris
Under new boss Mike Harris, MCA Nashville laid off nearly 20 employees across multiple departments. The cuts affect several high-level execs, including vps Leigh Malleus (media marketing), Karen Naff (creative services) and Gary Keffer (strategic marketing). Senior directors Michelle Hall, Troy Scott and Leah Ducey were also let go, along with multiple directors and coordinators. [Keep Reading]
Last Week’s Turntable: iHeartMedia Shuffles Top Accountants
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and Luminate unveiled a new certification program on Thursday (June 12) to celebrate commercial success in the independent sector. One Star will signify 50,000 album sales, while Two Star marks 100,000. The Three Star award is a big jump up, equating to 300,000 sales.
In a statement, Dr. Richard James Burgess, CEO of A2IM, said the “certification was created to recognize real achievement on terms that truly reflect how the independent sector operates.”
“Independent artists are integral to the sustainability and creative output of the music industry,” Rob Jonas, CEO of Luminate, added in a statement. “As technology rapidly advances, Luminate remains dedicated to providing accurate, contextualized data. Our collaboration with A2IM on this new certification process aims to highlight and celebrate the independent artists who music is truly resonating.”
Trending on Billboard
While the Recording Industry Association of America also awards artists that pass certain sales benchmarks, those thresholds are set at a higher level: Gold signifies 500,000 units, Platinum marks 1,000,000, and Diamond amounts to a whopping 10,000,000. (Ten downloads or 1,500 on-demand streams count as one album sale.)
Albums can still perform enviably well even if they don’t reach those numbers. A2IM certified an initial batch of 36 records on Thursday, and Three Star titles included Thundercat’s Drunk, Jamie xx’s In Colour, and John Prine’s The Tree of Forgiveness. Cavetown’s Lemon Boy and Muna’s Muna earned Two Star nods, while Deafheaven’s Sunbather and Gregory Porter’s Be Good got One Star.
“There is an idea out there that I’ve tried to bat down during my time as A2IM CEO — the idea is that independent is small,” Burgess told Billboard recently. “It never has [been].”
06/12/2025
Top executives from Billboard’s Indie Power Players list and beyond weigh in on how the independent music sector has changed over the past few years.
06/12/2025
2025 has marked a pivotal year for Japan‘s music culture, with signs of transformation echoing both at home and abroad. But what does the future look like from a global vantage point? To find out, Billboard JAPAN sat down with Joe Hadley – Spotify‘s Global Head of Music Partnerships & Audience – during his visit to Japan in May for the inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025, the country’s first-ever global music awards.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In recent years, a growing number of Japanese artists, like Kenshi Yonezu, Fujii Kaze, YOASOBI, and Ado, have gone on successful world tours. People are saying that J-pop is starting to make sweeping advances overseas. How do you see the current situation?
It’s amazing to see these artists touring globally and resonating with fans around the world. And it’s not just about live shows – the streaming numbers tell a compelling story of growing global interest as well. In 2024, about 50% of the royalties paid out to Japanese artists were from outside of Japan, and nearly three-quarters of that was for tracks in Japanese. In other words, the music doesn’t have to be in English to travel. It does really well in Japanese, which is a very telling sign about the world’s reception and readiness for Japanese music.
Trending on Billboard
Here’s another really fun stat: in 2024 alone, Japanese artists saw about 2.6 billion first-time streams from listeners outside of Japan. This is a pretty incredible number. Japanese music is really expanding its global reach.
So does this mean that Japanese music is drawing a lot of attention, or that the widespread use of music streaming services like Spotify is transforming the structure of the global music business, or both?
It’s a bit of both. We have a really strong product and we also have an incredible editorial team. When you talk about the globalization of music, you also have to talk about global curation groups within Spotify. These are teams of editors specializing in each genre and region who come together from around the world to share music and support one another in getting music playlisted in the right places. Creating playlists like Gacha Pop, which is popular outside of Japan, is really important, and our role is to use curated playlists like this to stream music to global audiences. Personalization features like AI DJ also help share the world discover this music on Spotify.
Could you talk to us a bit about the current state of music culture? What trends and movements are you keeping an eye on?
Music is really travelling around the world. All kinds of artists are being listened to in countries and regions outside the ones they’re from. This is tremendously exciting. Spotify has almost 700 million monthly listeners, and its ability to export music globally just keeps growing and growing.
One recent trend I’m keeping my eye on is the global growth of country music. We’re starting to see it spreading outside of the U.S. to places like the U.K. and Europe, but really in Australia and New Zealand. You’d also be hard-pressed to miss the growth of African music outside Africa.
Of course, Japanese music is important, too. For example, I saw in the news the other day that ONE OR EIGHT’s “DSTM” had become the first song by a Japanese boy band in America’s Media Base Top 40 radio chart. That’s a great starting point. Even beyond the collaboration between Megan Thee Stallion and Yuki Chiba, we’re seeing the potential for a lot of growth around the world. This ties back to what we were talking about earlier, regarding global artists that are touring.
Until now, some have been saying that Japan’s music industry is lagging behind the rest of the world. What do you see as Japan’s current position within the global music scene?
Japan is in the middle of that same movement. That’s why we’re all here in Japan, and I’m really looking forward to going to the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN (MAJ) award ceremony in Kyoto.
What do you think about the launch of the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN?
I think it’s an incredible opportunity and a super exciting one. Spotify is really proud to partner with CEIPA (the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Society, which is made up of five major music industry groups) on MAJ. It’s CEIPA’s role to empower artists and creators, and we want to be side-by-side with them on their journey of developing Japan’s music industry both at home and abroad. That’s why we’re here taking part in this inaugural event.
The five nominees for Top Global Hit From Japan were selected using Spotify’s voting feature, and they were voted on by general overseas Spotify listeners. How do you see this award?
There are a lot of award shows out there, but I think having one that involves ordinary music fans is very meaningful. I can’t divulge any specific voting numbers, but the number of voters was far more than I’d expected, which really impressed on me how interested people are in the award.
I was a part of the voting process, and that was very much a learning experience for me. It made me feel even more involved with Japan and created a stronger sense of responsibility. The selection of nominees was quite diverse, which I think is representative of Japanese music as a whole. I think it’s easy if you’re not familiar with Japanese music to pigeonhole or stereotype it, but there are many different genres. That definitely came across in the nomination process.
What kind of future do you think the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN will help create for Japan’s music culture?
In my opinion, the biggest contribution right away is the very fact that the event is happening. It’s like a wedding, where you gather together people who’ve probably never all been in the same room – in this case, artists, executives, writers, and the like. So this will be the first time, but it’s going to continue and grow to have a massive impact. It won’t just be Japanese artists, but it will get artists from other countries to come to Japan, which is going to have ripple effects. But for me, the most exciting part and the biggest impact will be having those people in the room, feeling the energy and the connections that come from it.
What do you see for the future of Japan’s music scene?
It’s already been going in a pretty incredible direction these last five or ten years. I think if Spotify continues to grow, we continue to work with more local partners like CEIPA, and we continue to think globally, Japanese music will keep growing at the same rate. I do think it’s on the artists, the labels, and their teams to make sure that they’re hitting the markets, going out and continuing to tour, and being intentional about collaborations, but the sky’s the limit. I’m very, very optimistic and excited about the future of Japanese music and music as a whole.
—This interview by Tomonori Shiba first appeared on Billboard Japan
A Los Angeles judge says hip-hop powerhouse Top Dawg Entertainment must face allegations that the company “doxxed” two women after they sued the record label for sexual harassment and assault.
In a ruling Wednesday, Judge Michael E. Whitaker refused to dismiss allegations that the company broke California state law by revealing the identities of the two accusers in a response statement to the media that called the lawsuit a “shakedown.”
Top Dawg had argued that the statement was fair game because lawyers for the two women spoke the media first, but the judge was unpersuaded.
Trending on Billboard
“Defendants argue that it was plaintiffs who initiated the inflammatory press release and it was necessary for them to publicly respond and correct the record,” the judge writes. “Plaintiff’s correctly point out, however, that publicly revealing their true identities was not a necessary part of correcting the narrative in the public record.”
In a statement to Billboard on Thursday, Top Dawg’s attorney Allison Hart vowed to challenge the ruling further: “We have the utmost respect for the court, but believe that yesterday’s decision that our clients were not allowed to disclose the plaintiffs’ names was in error, and we intend to immediately appeal and continue vigorously defending against plaintiffs’ bogus claims.”
An attorney for the plaintiffs, meanwhile, praised the court’s decision: “Our clients believe the Court’s ruling speaks for itself, and are gratified the case has been set for trial,” said Shounak S. Dharap. “They look forward to presenting all the evidence to a jury of their peers.”
Using the pseudonyms Jane Doe and Jane Roe, the two women filed a lawsuit in December against Top Dawg, a top hip-hop label best known for helping to launch the careers of Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Doechii. Doe, a public relations staffer, says she faced “inappropriate workplace behavior,” including harassment and assault, as well as unpaid wages; Roe, a friend of a Top Dawg artist, says she was “sexually harassed twice by TDE employees.”
In addition to the company itself, the lawsuit names execs Anthony “Moosa” Tiffith Jr. and Brandon Tiffith, the sons of TDE founder Anthony “Top” Tiffith, Sr., as defendants.
“TDE’s leadership knew about these instances of sexual abuse, as well as the failure to properly compensate Ms. Doe, yet took no action to prevent further violations, discipline the individuals involved, or offer supportive services to plaintiffs,” their lawyers wrote.
Two months after the case was filed, lawyers for the women issued a press release publicizing their allegations. During the resulting media coverage, Top Dawg issued a strongly-worded denial, claiming the allegations were “fabricated” and filed by women seeking “ten minutes of fame.” Along with those denunciations, it also included the women’s real names, which had been unknown at the time.
A week later, attorneys for the accusers added a new claim to their lawsuit, alleging that the press statement had illegally released the womens’ names. They claimed the move violated a recently-enacted California statute that allows people to sue when they’ve been doxxed – a modern term for maliciously releasing someone’s identity on the internet.
Seeking to dismiss that new accusation, Top Dawg argued that the two women never had a legal right to sue under the “Jane” pseudonyms in the first place. But Judge Whitaker suggests that call had not been Top Dawg’s to make on its own.
“The court need not decide whether plaintiffs’ would ultimately have been able to proceed under pseudonyms or would have been ordered to proceed under their real names,” the judge says. “The court and parties were deprived of that answer when defendants revealed Plaintis’ true names in a public news article, mooting the issue. Thus, at the time the statement was made, it revealed plaintiffs’ true identities, which were not previously publicly known.”
Following the ruling, the entire case against Top Dawg remains pending. The defendants might now ask the judge to dismiss the original allegations of sexual harassment and assault; if such a motion were denied, the case would move forward into discovery and toward an eventual trial.
