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Attorneys for Ed Sheeran and his copyright accusers sparred before a Manhattan federal jury Tuesday morning, kicking off a closely-watched trial over whether his “Thinking Out Loud” infringed Marvin Gaye‘s famed “Let’s Get It On.”
With Sheeran himself watching impassively, attorney Benjamin Crump repeatedly told the jury to use their “common sense” to see that the pop star had stolen the “magic” from the earlier song.
“If you remember nothing else about this case, simply remember it is about giving credit where credit is due,” Crump said during his opening statement, occasionally speaking directly to Sheeran just feet away.
Teasing testimony that will unfold during the trial, Crump said he would show jurors “smoking gun” evidence: a much-debated video of Sheeran toggling between the two songs at a concert.
“That concert video is a confession,” Crump said.
Firing back for Sheeran was attorney Ilene Farkas, who told the jury during her own opening statements that Sheeran had “independently created” his song. And more importantly, she said, the only overlap with “Let’s” were his use of “exceedingly common musical building blocks” that cannot be “monopolized” by his accusers.
“Plaintiffs do not own them, because nobody does,” Farkas said. “All songwriters draw from this same basic toolkit.”
Ed Sheeran arrives at Manhattan Court to testify on the copyright trial where he is accused of copying Marvin Gaye’s song, in New York, United States on April 25, 2023.
Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via GI
She said her clients had been “wrongly accursed of taking something they did not take,” and warned jurors that a verdict for Sheeran’s accusers would “change the what that songwriters are able to write.”
“We ask you not to let that happen,” Farkas told the jury.
Tuesday’s opening statements mark the start of a long-awaited trial in a copyright lawsuit filed way back in 2017 by heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s longtime producer who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On,” over Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” — a commercial and critical success that hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 before winning the Grammy Award for song of the year.
The case claims that Sheeran infringed copyrights by stealing the “heart” from one of the most “instantly recognizable songs in R&B history.” But the pop star’s lawyers say he simply used commonplace musical elements that are free for all to use.
The trial, taking place at the U.S. federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, kicked off Monday with jury selection on Monday before actually getting under way with opening statements on Tuesday. Testimony is expected to run at least through Friday, meaning a verdict could arrive Friday or early the following week.
Testimony will continue on Tuesday afternoon, potentially with Sheeran himself taking the witness stand.
If found liable, Sheeran could be facing millions in potential damages. After a jury ruled that the 2013 megahit “Blurred Lines” had infringed Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up,” Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ultimately ordered to pay a $5 million judgment, plus ongoing royalties from their song.
New Oreleanians traveling along US Route 90 may not suspect that the revered Caesars Superdome is on the cusp of a renaissance.
Since 2020, the nearly 50-year-old stadium has been going through a $450 million renovation, scheduled to conclude by the end of next year. According to Evan Holmes, general manager at Caesars Superdome, Smoothie King Center and Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District (LSED) Properties for ASM Global, as the Louisiana State University Tigers exited the building having clinched their fourth national football championship earlier this April, contractors were making their way in to pop off old ceiling tiles and get to work.
The multi-phase, multi-year renovation has been moving forward since then — with minimal impact on events at the nearly 75,000-capacity venue — as the Superdome’s managers look to improve the guest experience and modernize amenities, without replacing the building’s architectural characteristics.
“A lot of communities would kill to have something like [the Superdome], let alone something like this, for 50 years,” says Holmes.
The exterior of the Superdome will remain unchanged, while the interior concourse is being expanded. Roughly 80,000 sq. ft. of ramps on each level – previously used for ingress and egress – are being pulled out and replaced with staircases to make wider concourses, with enhanced food and beverage options, more restrooms and better merchandise stations. The building has new field level suites that open to the endzone — “If [New Orleans Saints running back] Alvin Kamra scores a touchdown, he’s liable to jump on your lap,” says Holmes — and a field level club for games and private events, eight viewing decks with standing room overlooking the field with up-to-date ADA accommodations. So far, the East side of the building has undergone its renovations — and, by the 2024 Saints season, the West side will be completed, with new grab-and-go concessions and a new atrium.
Working behind the walls for four years is a herculean task, but pales in comparison to the cost of a new NFL stadium. (The NFL’s newest stadiums, Allegiant in Las Vegas and SoFi in Los Angeles — both opened in 2020 — have cost roughly $2 billion and $5 billion, respectively). The $450 million renovations are being funded by the State of Louisiana, the LSED and the New Orleans Saints, subsequent to the team’s new lease agreement. By not closing the venue for renovations, the Superdome will hold on to valued college football events like the Sugar Bowl and the Bayou Classic, as well as Essence Fest, which brings half a million attendees to New Orleans.
Gensler/Trahan Architects
If you’re building a new stadium, “you’re missing those big, high-impact events in the market. So, the hotels aren’t having that content, the restaurants don’t have [that content],” says Holmes. “There’s a cascading list of reasons why it makes sense for us not to take the building down.”
In addition to keeping tenants and established events, updating the building means hanging on to “the skin,” as Holmes calls it, of the storied venue. The Superdome has hosted seven Super Bowls, as well as concerts from The Jacksons, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Buffet, Willie Nelson, Al Green, The Temptations, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Whitney Houston, KISS, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and many more legendary artists.
Holmes explains that the renovation is not to change the look of the Superdome or generate exorbitant amounts of money for the team, but to make a better overall experience for fans. “You’re competing for these big events and we think the Superdome, especially after this renovation, can do all the things that these other buildings can do operationally,” he says. “It may not have all the brand-new bells and whistles that they may have, but functionally we can do it all. We’ve got character that other buildings wish they had.”
Caesars Superdome will once again host the Super Bowl in 2025 (it was originally scheduled to host the 2024 Bowl, but the schedule conflicted with New Orleans’ world-renowned Mardi Gras), just as the building celebrates its 50th anniversary. “It’s not just a football stadium,” says Holmes. “It means a lot of things to a lot of people, so we want to celebrate that.”
Live Nation’s new destination festival company Vibee has partnered with LN-owned dance promoter Insomniac to launch Tiësto | ‘Chasing Sunsets’ taking place Nov. 9-12 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Headlined and curated by Dutch DJ and dance legend Tiësto, the four-day event will include multiple performances from the Grammy Award-winning artist along with sets from yet-to-be announced acts, plus beach activities, local cultural excursions and more.
The weekend’s home base and headline venue will be ME Cabo, a five-star resort located on the beach, near the marina in Cabo San Lucas. Guests heading to ‘Chasing Sunsets’ will also be met with pool parties, exclusive cocktail parties, a special “Drive into Sunset” set by Tiësto and additional weekend events at Cabo hot spots Mango Deck, Funky Geisha, Taboo and SUR. Attendees can customize their getaway with high-end add-ons including a “Taste of Mexico Brunch” with Tiësto, boat parties, jet skiing, parasailing and tequila tastings.
Tiësto | ‘Chasing Sunsets’ will be the first of many collaborations between Vibee and Insomniac, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
“Through their exclusive worldwide agreement to produce customized experiences and festival integrations, Insomniac and Vibee will bring even more unique events to their communities and amplify the fan-to-artist connection,” a press release announcing the partnership explains.
More information on packages and pricing can be found here.
Keep your eye on us!” declares New Orleans music entrepreneur Nate Cameron Jr. “We’re in a very unique renaissance now.”
Cameron, a co-founder of the New Orleans creative collective glbl wrmng and tour/space production manager for the Grammy Award-nominated group Tank and the Bangas, gives a shoutout to the global music community with an enthusiasm that reflects the current upbeat mood in New Orleans music industry circles.
Such excitement is sparked in part by the emergence of a sophisticated music business infrastructure in a city where that essential knowledge has been conspicuously absent in the past. Despite the abundant talent in New Orleans — one of the world’s great musical locales — this shortcoming previously made some view it as something of a business backwater. As a result, hometown musicians missed many lucrative national-level opportunities and were vulnerable to industry exploitation.
Many New Orleans artists who sought to bolster their careers by connecting with respected professionals felt that they had to relocate to New York, Los Angeles or Nashville — and some pros who stayed home came to feel stigmatized for hailing from New Orleans. “I know someone in the music business here, now, who has an L.A. phone number so that people from out of town will take him seriously — and that is just bananas,” says Melissa O’Brien, producer of NOLA MusicCon, the music business conference that will return for a second annual in-person event Oct. 24-27.
“Many people think of New Orleans music exclusively in terms of its historic traditions, especially from the classic R&B era of Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, The Neville Brothers and Irma Thomas — the ‘giants’ of New Orleans R&B. And we have The Radiators, who are like our own Grateful Dead,” says Quint Davis, producer-director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which runs April 28-May 7. “But I think people need to understand that New Orleans music is not frozen in time, that another generation of younger artists has emerged who are commercial and hot and rocking. They are very innovative and forward-thinking, and they are building high-profile, nationally successful careers — artists such as Trombone Shorty, Jon Batiste, Big Freedia, Galactic, The Revivalists, Tank and the Bangas, Boyfriend, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. In contemporary jazz, there’s Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison and Terence Blanchard playing a role on the national stage. The list goes on and on in all genres. This exciting surge of fresh creativity is important for the global music business to understand about New Orleans today.
“There is now a significantly increased level of management,” Davis continues, “that can lead artists into making wise career choices; getting good publishing deals, which was lacking here for years; getting good record deals; and all the other career benefits that come with having national-level, nationally respected, well-connected, competent professional management people, such as Dino Gankendoff and Rueben Williams. There are good, new recording studios here as well. It has taken a long time for the highest standard of business infrastructure and technology to come to New Orleans. Now we have a lot of it, and that is a very promising recent development.”
David Shaw and Ed Williams of The Revivalists perform during the 2022 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 07, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage
Today, the word is out that local musicians can acquire essential business acumen without leaving town. Jonathan McHugh, the Hilton-Baldridge eminent scholar and chair of music industry studies at the city’s Loyola University, is “enthusiastic about the opportunities to be a filmmaker, record producer, publisher and music supervisor here. I’m invigorated by the potential to help [continue to build] the industry here and supply it with great young talent entering the workforce.”
Reid Wick, senior manager of membership and industry relations with the Recording Academy in New Orleans, explains that “over the last 15-plus years, many of us in the music industry here, with the support of the Recording Academy, worked to establish an impressive set of incentives for music industry growth. The state of Louisiana now has the strongest suite of incentives in the country, which includes investor rebates for recording and touring projects, as well as the growth of music jobs via payroll tax incentives.
“Additionally, we have garnered support from the economic development, tourism and government sectors to give the local music industry a seat at the table … These developments have led to the creation of the New Orleans Music Economy initiative, working with the international consulting firm Sound Diplomacy, under the auspices of [the economic development agency] Greater New Orleans Inc. We have been able to raise the awareness of the economic impact and importance of the local music industry as a true industry, as well as a cultural driver of the city’s overall economic health and well-being.”
Greater New Orleans Inc. vp of communications Matt Wolfe agrees. “The next step for the city is to execute on the business side of the industry — managing intellectual property, legal work, marketing, record labels, tour coordination and the other services that artists utilize in their growth trajectory,” he says. “The opportunity is here for the majors to capitalize on a market where artists already come to write and record.”
Walt Leger, president/CEO of New Orleans & Company, the city’s tourism board, credits this new climate to, in one word, “partnerships. I think what you are seeing is planning and ideation around the music business and its development happening in a very collaborative spirit, with higher education, the business community and state and local leadership.”
Nicholas Payton of the Nicholas Payton Trio performs during the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival at Fort Adams State Park on July 29, 2022 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Douglas Mason/GI
Cameron explains, “The global music business needs to know that New Orleans today is as vital, unique, innovative and modern as it has always been. At the core, New Orleans music has always been known for having genre lines that are blended by people from different cultures and different communities. The most promising recent development is the intentionality of our leading artists not only working together, collaborating with each other on music, collaborating with each other on tours, and collaborating on business ventures and properties, but also the spirit of fellowship and collaboration leading artists and cultural bearers and influencers, having the intentionality of bringing along the younger generations. We have a lot of young artists who are authentic to New Orleans, but they’re also very plugged into the national and international mix.”
Reid Martin, owner of New Orleans-based artist services firm MidCitizen Entertainment, is pleased that “we have some of the best business incentives in the country.” Recently, Louisiana launched the MIC’D UP (Music Industry Career Development University Partnership) program. To offer a $15-per-hour internship, “the state pays half of the wages, so the private business only has to [pay] $7.50 an hour,” he says. “At the end of the year, the hope is that the participating companies hire their interns, thus creating a new full-time, music industry job in New Orleans, and start the process all over again the next year with a new intern.
“In addition to this program,” adds Martin, “we have two sets of tax incentives, the qualified music company tax credit and the qualified entertainment company tax credit, that give tax breaks to companies that hire three employees at $35,000 per year [the QMC credit] or five employees at $45,000 per year [the QEC credit].”
Historian, educator and event planner Melissa A. Weber points out that local artists can benefit from “several endeavors that are invested in educating musicians about the business of music,” she says. “My favorites include workshops and legal clinics presented by the Ella Project, a nonprofit that offers pro bono legal assistance, arts business services and advocacy to the local cultural community; the New Orleans Music Economy Initiative, a project of Greater New Orleans Inc., focusing on intellectual property management and a competitive economic development strategy for New Orleans music; and Loyola University New Orleans’ Music Industry Studies program, which allows students to work with producers, managers, attorneys and other music business professionals.”
New Orleans’ brick-and-mortar facilities, large and small, also inspire enthusiasm. Since opening in 1975, Caesars Superdome has hosted The Rolling Stones; the Ultimate Event bill of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr.; the Essence Music Festival; and the Bayou Country Superfest headlined by George Strait and many others. The iconic stadium is in the home stretch of a multiyear (2020-24) upgrade of its physical spaces and technology. “We’ve got character other buildings wish they had,” says Evan Holmes, GM of Caesars Superdome, the adjacent Smoothie King Center and LSED Properties.
Big Freedia performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, on Saturday, May 7, 2022, in New Orleans.
Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Robert Mercurio, bassist for Galactic — the band that bought renowned nightclub Tipitina’s in late 2018 — says that, for promising new developments, “one of the best things is that we have a record-pressing plant in the city limits now, New Orleans Record Press, vinyl only. I feel like this has opened up the window for artists to have easy access to the most popular album format and actually make some real money from their music.” Since launching in late 2020, Tipitina’s Record Club has released albums, many of them archival, by Dr. John, Ernie K-Doe, Danny Barker, Donald Harrison, Fats Domino, Johnny Adams, Etta James, Trombone Shorty and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Dizzy Gillespie and James Booker, with more on the way.
And PJ Morton — a Grammy-winning musician, vocalist, songwriter, producer and label owner — is proud to announce that “we just [began] renovating the historic Dew Drop Inn, a place that brought so much talent to town years ago. I feel that it’ll be that same type of go-to club now.” From the mid-’40s through the late ’60s, the Dew Drop was one of the most important venues for classic New Orleans R&B performed by masters including Allen Toussaint, Earl King and Huey “Piano” Smith.
New Orleans’ newfound business climate doesn’t mean the city has become too serious or lost its charm. As music, sports and entertainment banker Charles Gaspard of First Horizon Bank says, “I know everyone says this about their hometown, but there is something about New Orleans that you just can’t find anywhere else. There’s a magic to this city. A dysfunctional magic, maybe, but a magic nonetheless. It’s in our architecture, it’s in our food, it’s in the people, it’s even in the potholes, and it lingers in the air as thick as the year-round humidity. It seeps into the sounds mastered here and feeds the creativity of the artists that welcome our beautifully chaotic energy.”
New Orleans native, NPR journalist and author Gwen Thompkins feels that the city “is as it ever was — a wellspring of tremendous talent with multiple opportunities every day to hear live music worth listening to.” She notes that the public radio station WWOZ-FM (90.7) makes on-air announcements every other hour about upcoming concerts. “Those announcements usually take more than five minutes to deliver because of the sheer number of performances,” she says. “Musicians here are both singular and awe-inspiringly collaborative. They play well with others, cross-pollinating in ways that musicians in other locales often do not. Players known mostly for their work in funk, for example, will perform live with others known for contemporary jazz. A bounce artist will organize a gospel music concert for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Other artists may explore the connections between jazz and opera, or join hip-hop, electronica and the musical traditions of the city’s Black Masking Indians. Singer-songwriters and avant-garde artists have standing dates in clubs around town.
“And, most importantly,” adds Thompkins, “many artists here shoulder the responsibility of tutoring younger generations in the city’s music traditions — from early jazz to hip-hop, to bounce and R&B. The city is, and has always been, a giant incubator of talent.”
As Cameron says, “It’s a new day for New Orleans, an exciting new day for our culture, in a way that our ancestors never could have imagined.”
Contributor Ben Sandmel produces the oral history/interview venue at New Orleans’ Jazz Fest, produced and played drums on the Hackberry Ramblers’ Grammy-nominated Deep Water and wrote Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans.
This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Concert promoter Goldenvoice of AEG Presents has re-upped its partnership with the historic Santa Barbara Bowl, extended its booking contract through 2032, company officials tell Billboard.
Built in the 1930s under the federal Work Projects Administration as part of President Franklin Roosevelt‘s New Deal, the sandstone-kissed 4,500-seat open-air rock and roll coliseum has hosted concerts by the likes of Bob Marley, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and more.
Since the early 1990s, the Bowl has been managed by the not-for-profit Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation and programed by long-time talent buyer Moss Jacobs. For most of the 1990s, Jacobs was aligned with concert promoter Goldenvoice, which held the booking contract until the 2001 purchase of Goldenvoice by AEG. Jacobs left Goldenvoice that year and joined Nederlander Concerts as a vp of booking, bringing the booking rights to the bowl with him. In 2016, he quit Nederlander and went back to Goldenvoice, where he works as a Goldenvoice senior vp. Following his 2016 exit, the foundation exercised a key man clause in its contract with Nederlander, allowing it to end its deal and hand booking rights back to Goldenvoice.
“The Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation has been a vital partner,” states Jacobs, “helping Goldenvoice to foster incredible talent at one of the finest outdoor venues in the world. The Foundation understands the significance of partnering with a substantial national organization to benefit this amazing local community. This contract will allow us to build on the foundation of past great events to improve the already amazing stature of the Santa Barbara Bowl.”
Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation executive director Rick Boller said he was “thrilled to sign this booking agreement with Goldenvoice for another decade.” Since taking over management of the facility, the foundation has helped raise over $43 million for capital improvements at the Bowl.
The world of collecting societies used to be simple: The French SACEM was pronounced “sa-sem,” the German GEMA was pronounced “gay-ma,” the international organization CISAC was pronounced “si-sak” (except in Europe, where it’s usually “see-zak”), and the American SESAC was pronounced “see-sak” (except in Europe, where it’s usually “say-zak”). Then the passage of the 2014 European Union (EU) collecting society directive made things really complicated.
That landmark legislation made the collecting societies compete to represent songwriters and publishers in the online world in Europe. While the European societies would continue to collect from the bars, concert venues and TV and radio stations in their home territories, they would now license to streaming services across Europe compositions from the rights holders they represented. And over the past decade, many other countries — much of the world, with notable exceptions that include the United States, China and Japan — have adopted this system. “All of the societies now compete to sign publishers and creators to represent,” says SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber.
Two global licensing giants are emerging from this competition: SACEM and ICE, a licensing hub formed as a joint venture by GEMA, the Swedish STIM and the British PRS for Music; Peter de Mönnink has run the Berlin-based ICE since early 2022. SACEM, the oldest songwriters collecting society in the world, collects for Universal Music Publishing online in most territories outside the United States, while ICE collects similar royalties for Sony Music Publishing; Warner Chappell Music’s rights are split between the two.
The societies behind ICE are also formidable on their own. Under CEO Andrea Martin, PRS for Music collected 777.1 million pounds ($960.3 million) in 2021, the last year for which results are available — a 22.4% increase over the previous year on a constant currency basis. Also in 2021, GEMA revenue increased 8.4% to 1 billion euros ($1 billion); the Munich-based society is expected to name a new CEO by summer because Harald Heker, who has helmed it since 2007, is said to be retiring this year. (By comparison, SACEM took in 1.1 billion euros [$1.2 billion] in 2021.) STIM had 2.2 billion kronor ($213.2 million) in 2021 revenue, up 13%, although Sweden is a far smaller country. (These financial results reflect 2021, since not all of the societies have released their 2022 numbers.) STIM has always been more important because “there is an exceptional demand for Swedish music,” says CEO Casper Bjørner, “and STIM has a strong focus on innovation of digital services for our members.” Besides its work with ICE, STIM also has a deal with a PanAsian licensing hub run by the Australian society APRA.
The budgets these societies possess give them the ability to compete globally — not all the smaller societies have the budgets to develop the technology to handle all the data that digital service providers offer. But the growing number of works they represent also give them more negotiating leverage. The interests of big and small societies alike, as well as those of creators in general, are represented by CISAC, a trade organization of collecting societies led by director general Gadi Oron.
Competition is usually collegial but fierce. SACEM has made deals to represent rights holders and societies from the Middle East and Francophone Africa, while ICE and PRS for Music have done better in English-speaking Africa. And, much as the EU envisioned, that competition among societies gives them an incentive to aggressively represent the interests of their clients. “We want to be the best collecting society in the world,” says Rap-Veber, “both in terms of revenue and also getting creators the most money possible.”
This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Artist, producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist SG Lewis signed with multi-dimensional artist development company Godmode, founded by former Capitol Records A&R Talya Elitzer and songwriter-producer Nick Sylvester. Lewis joins a roster that also includes Channel Tres and JPEGMAFIA.
“I am thrilled to formally welcome Sam to Godmode. Sam is an incredible talent and already a part of the Godmode family, I can’t wait to see what we are going to build together,” said Elitzer in a statement.
Lewis, who performed at this year’s Coachella music festival, previously released two studio albums: 2021’s Times and this year’s AudioLust & HigherLove, both via Virgin EMI/PMR Records. As a songwriter and producer, he’s collaborated with artists including Dua Lipa, Elton John, Robyn and Tove Lo.
Scott Schreiber at UTA represents Lewis for booking.
Singer-songwriter Goth Babe (aka Griff Washburn) signed with Mom+ Pop, which recently released his debut single on the label, “Alone in the Mountains.” He’s represented by manager Sean Sheahan and booking agents Jackie Nalpant and Kiely Mosiman at Wasserman Music.
Doe Boy (“100 Shooters”) signed with Salxco for management. The rising rapper is also signed to Epic Records, which released his latest single, “Roll the Dice” featuring DeJ Loaf, on April 14.
Singer-songwriter Sarah Kinsley (“The King”) signed to Verve Forecast and Decca Records UK. Kinsley is managed by Beth Warren at Everybody’s Management.
Christian singer-songwriter Chris Davenport signed with Capitol CMG, which recently released his single, “Plead the Blood.” His debut album, Time, is slated to drop on June 30. He’s managed by the Breit Group.
Deer Tick signed with ATO Records for the release of their forthcoming album, Emotional Contracts, which is due out on June 16. The band is represented by managers Ryan Matteson and Kevin O’Halloran at Ten Atoms and agent Will Scott at CAA.
Swedish pop artist Sarah Klang signed with Nettwerk Music Group, which released her latest single, “Mercedes,” earlier this month. Klang is managed by Petter Seander at Birds Will Sing For You and Johan Calissendorff at Pangur Music; her booking agent for the United Kingdom and European Union is Bas Flesseman at Belmont Bookings.
Also signing to Nettwerk is Atlanta-based dream pop artist Bathe Alone (born Bailey Crone). The label released their latest track, “Awfully Quiet,” earlier this month. Bathe Alone released an album, Last Looks, in 2022 and an EP, Fall With The Lights Down (Louise), last year.
Chicago band Deeper signed to Sub Pop and released their debut single on the label, “Sub,” earlier this month. They’re revving up for the release of their debut album on Sub Pop later this year.
Country singer-songwriter Lauren Watkins signed with Big Loud Records/Songs & Daughters. She released her debut EP, Introducing Lauren Watkins, on April 21. Watkins is represented by managers Seth England at Big Loud Management along with Nicole Galyon and Meanie Mulrain at Songs & Daughters. Her booking agent is Austin Neal at The Neal Agency.
Australian hardcore band Geld signed to Relapse Records, which will release the group’s third album, Currency//Castration, on June 9. The LP is preceded by the single “Fog of War.”
With breakout single “Cupid” fluttering up sales charts on both sides of the Atlantic, FIFTY FIFTY forms a partnership with Warner Records — a deal that should boost the hit and others.
The K-pop girl is very much on the rise, thanks to the streaming power of “Cupid,” with its original recording, a “Twin” mix and an instrumental cut amassing a combined 377 million-plus streams across all platforms.
It’s on TikTok where “Cupid” gets a lot of love. The song has generated over 8 million TikTok videos and views on the platform are climbing towards 12 billion, and the #CupidChallenge has been added to tens of millions of clips.
“Cupid” has made the crossover into mainstream, all-genres charts. The track debuted on the Hot 100 a few weeks back and it’s now up to No. 60. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the single cracked the top 40 on the latest chart, published April 14, at No. 34. Also, the tune has entered the top 10 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, lifting 22-9 on the latest tally.
Comprising Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio, FIFTY FIFTY was formed last year by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT.
Now, through the new alliance with Warner Records/Warner Music Group Korea, FIFTY FIFTY is “poised for worldwide superstardom,” gushes a joint statement issued today (April 20).
“We are grateful to Warner Records for the opportunity to discuss innovative ways to bring FIFTY FIFTY to the forefront of the music industry,” comments Sung-il Ahn, CEO of The Givers and co-CEO of ATTRAKT. “We are thrilled to find that our thoughts and visions align with an artist-centered approach, and we are eager to explore potential avenues for success together.”
Adds Tom Corson, co-chairman and COO, and Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairman and CEO, Warner Records: “We are thrilled to partner with FIFTY FIFTY to amplify their global smash single ‘Cupid’ and we know there is much more to come.” The Warner Records’ team, they continue, “is excited to create additional opportunities for this powerhouse K-pop girl group.”
The group debuted its first single, “Higher,” on its introductory four-track EP, The Fifty, released Nov. 18, 2022. There’s more music on the way, insist the rising foursome.
“We are so honored to be working with Warner Records, and we are excited to see what the future holds for us,” reads a statement from the band. “We are looking forward to bringing more great music and content to our fans around the world. Thank you for your continued support and love.”
PRS for Music, the U.K. collecting society that represents composers and publishers, announced Monday (April 24) that it collected a record-high 964 million pounds ($1.20 billion) in 2022, a 22.9% increase over the previous year and an 18.9% increase over the previous high of 964 million pounds reached in 2019. The organization also distributed a record 836.2 million pounds ($1.04 billion) in 2022, an increase of 23.5% over 2021, while reducing its cost ratio to 9.3%.
“Live revenue came back,” says PRS for Music CEO Andrea Czapary Martin — up 683% from 2021 as the concert business rallied after the worst of the pandemic, and 16.1% compared to 2019. “At the same time, we saw a huge increase in music streaming — 25% — that exceeds market growth.”
PRS for Music is not the only collecting society that’s doing well as live music returns and streaming continues to thrive: In early March, ASCAP announced a 14% increase in collections to $1.52 billion and three weeks ago the German rights body GEMA posted 13% growth to 1.178 billion pounds ($1.25 billion).
Even by those standards, PRS’ results are impressive, although currency fluctuations and differences in accounting make exact comparisons between international collecting societies difficult. And it is rare to see a cost ratio below 10% for a society that collects for publishers and songwriters. PRS says it hit its goal to get its cost ratio below 10% four years ahead of its five-year plan.
“I run this like a commercial company, except we’re owned by the members and profits are distributed to our members,” says Martin, who joined PRS in mid-2019. Martin, a newcomer to the music business, worked for a variety of data- and subscription-focused businesses, including Reader’s Digest Association and the U.K. Royal Mail. “My background,” she says, “is in tech and data.”
Other highlights of 2022 include new and renewed licenses — “better agreements and new agreements,” Martin says. Revenue from video-on-demand services rose 16.5%, while that of linear television declined 2.4% and commercial radio, driven by advertising, grew 2.6%. “A TikTok agreement paid out last year,” Martin says, “and we doubled video game royalties.”
ICE, the Berlin-based music licensing hub that PRS owns as a joint venture with GEMA and Sweden’s STIM, is also “helping PRS immensely,” Martin says. “ICE is the biggest growth opportunity for PRS.” Expansion elsewhere is also a priority, Martin says, including in Africa.
PRS, like most of its sister societies, has a monopoly over U.K. collections — at concert venues, bars and restaurants, for example. Starting a few years ago, though, it also competes to represent composers and publishers online, to streaming services. ICE gives PRS the reach and resources to compete with SACEM. And PRS’ push toward efficiency gives it a solid competitive position.
“I’m very optimistic for the future,” Martin says. “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges.”
Carlos “Charly” Pérez, who for over two decades led public relations and later promotion for Universal Music Latino, has been named senior vice president for communications and public relations for Warner Music Latina, effective immediately, Billboard has learned.
Pérez will be based in Miami and report to Roberto Andrade Dirak, managing director of Warner Music Latina, with whom Pérez previously worked closely with when Andrade Dirak managed Colombian star Sebastian Yatra.
In his new role, Pérez will craft strategies to promote WM Latina’s artists and people across a wide range of different media outlets to a business and consumer audience. He will also work closely with Ruben Abraham, svp of marketing and artist strategy, as well as Hector Ruben Rivera, svp and head of A&R, Latin Music, who both also report to Andrade Dirak.
Pérez is widely recognized as a beacon of knowledge, integrity and professionalism in the Latin music world as well as for his knack for singling out promising new acts, having pushed for early coverage of future superstars like Karol G, Feid and Sebastian Yatra, to name just a few.
Pérez is also particularly valuable given his deep knowledge of the pop, urban and regional Mexican markets.
Indeed, he started out 26 years ago working as an assistant to the International department at Mexican media company Televisa, where he later became a label manager. He later joined Univision Music Mexico as a label manager, focusing largely on regional Mexican music and working with acts like Los Tigres del Norte, Ana Bárbara, Banda El Recodo and Jenni Rivera, and subsequently moved to Miami as press and television coordinator.
Pérez rose steadily through the ranks and after Univision Music was acquired by Universal Music Latin Entertainment, he worked as national publicity director. In 2020 he was promoted to international vice president of public relations and promotions, overseeing the parent label, Machete Music and Capitol Latin and working closely with regional Mexican labels Fonovisa and Disa.
“I’m very happy and grateful for this huge opportunity to become part of the Warner Music Latina team,” said Pérez. “I’ll bring my experience to bear as we continue to evolve our company, enhancing our value proposition to artists, and positioning ourselves as a leader at the intersection of music and technology.”
Roberto Andrade Dirak adds: “Charly is an amazing addition to the team here at Warner Music Latina. His knowledge and experience transcend genres and borders, and he’s helped take some of the best Latin music to every corner of the world, empowering the careers of the artists he’s collaborated with. We’re delighted to have him join us.”
Pérez leaves Universal on good terms.