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RCA kicked off 2023 on a hot streak — this week, SZA’s album S.O.S. spent its 10th week on the Billboard 200, dominating the early part of the year (and she was also named Woman of the Year at Billboard’s Women in Music event this week as well). And this week RCA also landed a double feat atop the charts as P!nk’s latest album, Trustfall, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with the majority of its first-week units coming from sales.
It’s the ninth top 10 album of P!nk’s career, and her first since 2019’s Hurts 2B Human, while the single “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” became the artist’s 30th Pop Airplay hit and 35th entry on the Hot 100, milestone marks for a decorated career. And the continued success of P!nk and her latest project help earn RCA Records’ senior vp/head of marketing Val Pensa the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Pensa discusses the marketing effort behind the latest P!nk album, the importance of setting up a worldwide campaign for an artist with such a global reach and fan base, and her long history of working with the artist, which stretches back years. “I learned very early on that P!nk is a fierce competitor who is willing to take risks,” Pensa says. “She is always open to evolving and growing based on the ever-changing marketplace and has a hunger to learn. I often joke that she could teach a masterclass in how to be a global superstar, but all jokes aside, she is one of the smartest, hardest-working, businesswomen out there and that shows in everything she does.”
This week, P!nk’s Trustfall debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, her ninth top 10 album on the chart. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
P!nk is a global superstar, so one of the key elements in her campaign is always to make sure that the album is set up properly in every single market around the world to leverage the best of the best in terms of global opportunities and exposure. We have an amazing partner in Roger Davies, who manages P!nk, and puts in a great deal of work to help us make sure that all partners around the world have access to music, understand P!nk’s vision and to ensure we have the right activations in place to support the music. This is a project that every single department at RCA touches, and my job, along with that of my marketing partner in crime on this project, Aaron Stern, is to work to ensure that timelines, assets and vision are communicated to the team at large to allow everyone to deliver top-notch plans within their respective fields.
This is her first album since 2019. How did you approach the marketing campaign for this album?
We had the exciting task of creating a well-rounded campaign that incorporated traditional media, digital activations, in-person activations and a lot of fan-focused events. We really honed in on creating a campaign that would reach P!nk’s massive audience and then from there developed a marketing strategy that would engage and bring in new fans. Shortform content is a sweet spot for P!nk and we had a lot of fun getting creative in that space. Aaron and I worked with the team at large to develop ideas around the “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” music video which lead to us creating the hotline and infomercial for Vicious Bitches Chipses, which was a fun companion piece for the music video and generated additional excitement upon launch.
One of P!nk’s most notable and memorable qualities is her ability to move people through her songwriting and vocal performances. Alex John, who spearhead’s P!nk’s press here, crafted an incredible campaign that allowed P!nk to touch viewers through traditional television performances and interviews, which in addition to reaching her core audience, also served as the catalyst for additional conversation around the album.
Her single “Never Not Gonna Dance Again” also became her 30th Pop Airplay chart entry and 35th song to reach the Hot 100. How big is radio to the full campaign and rollout?
Radio has historically always been super supportive of P!nk and is a major way for us to reach her audience around the world. The RCA radio team put together an incredible radio strategy to support this campaign. We always engage with radio early on; in this case the radio programmers were among the first to get to hear the album — we hosted a playback at our RCA Studio space and P!nk got the opportunity to see the programmers in person and share her vision for the album and her influences and meaning behind her songs with them directly.
This album also debuted with 59,000 of its 74,500 units coming from sales. In a streaming-dominant business, how do you still make sure that record sales are prioritized in a campaign?
For a campaign like this we spend a lot of time thinking about who the audience is and how to reach them and give them what they want. In this case, we had every physical configuration on a global scale that was possible and put a long pre-order window into place that allowed us to really double down on marketing the album date, the creative and the configurations with all the various retail partners. The support has been incredible, which speaks to the long-standing relationships that P!nk has made across the industry throughout her career.
You’ve worked with P!nk for years. What have you learned over that period working with her that you applied to the rollout of this album?
I learned very early on that P!nk is a fierce competitor who is willing to take risks. She is always open to evolving and growing based on the ever-changing marketplace and has a hunger to learn. I often joke that she could teach a masterclass in how to be a global superstar, but all jokes aside, she is one of the smartest, hardest-working, businesswomen out there and that shows in everything she does. As it relates to our marketing approach in the rollout, we worked to present a plan where P!nk is undeniably everywhere, knowing full well that she will always bring her A game and deliver.
You’ve been head of marketing at RCA for around 18 months now. What is your marketing philosophy for the label? Are there any good examples you can point to that illustrate that?
The marketing team constantly hears me talking about “the art of the campaign.” Every song, every album, every artist deserves a fully thought-out campaign that is targeted to support both the artists’ vision and tailored to reach their audience. One of the best examples of that is Doja Cat’s Planet Her campaign that helped us to keep the album in the top 10 well over a year after album release.
Previous Executive of the Week: Lallie Jones of 300 Entertainment
American Express continued its commitment to supporting women in music by honoring Becky G with the American Express Impact Award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards, recognizing her profound dedication to uplifting communities and advocating on behalf of women everywhere. Building on their support, American Express is continuing to raise awareness of the importance of shopping small by using the Billboard Women in Music Awards to feature multicultural, women-owned small businesses in the custom reusable tote bags given to attendees. Learn more about the businesses and their top products below.
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The Old Town Soap Company’s Signature Soap
Nicole Albrecht for Billboard
The Old Town Soap CompanyThe Old Town Soap Company is a Black-owned, woman-owned, and veteran-owned and operated wellness brand. Founded in 2012 by Ernestine Brown, the company sells all-natural products. Brown originally used the art of soap making as a form of mental therapy while serving on active duty in the United States Navy. She now educates consumers on the connection between all natural ingredients and mental health. The Old Town Soap Company’s signature soap, gifted to Billboard Women in Music attendees in a variety of scents, is made of butters and oils that contain anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties.
Sukie’s Candle Co. Travel Size Candle in Golden Rose
Nicole Albrecht for Billboard
Sukie’s Candle Co.Sukie’s Candle Co. is an eco-conscious Black woman-owned business established with relaxation in mind. Founder Sukie Jefferson sees candles as a tool with which users can come to know deeper levels of relaxation, self-love and sensuality. Her extensive background in cultural anthropology and global health informed the essence of her high-quality candles, carefully crafted to burn evenly with no residue. American Express included Sukie’s travel size candles in its gift bags so that recipients can experience handcrafted bliss wherever they go.
Flatbush Granola flavor Cranberry Classic
Nicole Albrecht for Billboard
Flatbush GranolaFlatbush Granola is a Black woman-owned business that infuses culture into healthy granola blends. Founder Tracy Solomon pays homage to different regions across her flavors: take the blend “Say Olé” for example, a granola that celebrates the flavors of Mexico by incorporating regional crops like bananas and peanuts. Solomon seeks to increase representation for the BIPOC community in outdoor recreational activities like camping. Her granola blends are available in REI locations around the U.S.
Treslúce Beauty Forever Brilliante Metallic Liquid Shadow
Nicole Albrecht for Billboard
Treslúce BeautyTreslúce Beauty is a vegan-friendly, cruelty-free makeup brand founded by this year’s American Express Impact Award winner Becky G. The company is inspired by Becky G’s Mexican roots, designs on every package are created in collaboration with Latinx artists and LatinX sourced ingredients. The American Express gift bags included a variety of Treslúce Beauty’s best-sellers including the Bold y Atrevida Liquid Lip Tint, Lips B Like… Plumping Lip Gloss, and Forever Brillante Metallic Liquid Shadow.
Mented Cosmetics Lipstick
Nicole Albrecht for Billboard
Mented CosmeticsMented Cosmetics is a Black woman-owned business that makes makeup for women of all skin tones. Co-Founders KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson developed their brand with inclusivity in mind so that no one is made to feel like an afterthought. Their top-selling Red Rover Matte Lipstick blends browns and pinks to be flattering on multi-hued lips. If you’re looking for other beauty products, Mented’s website includes a shade finder to help you find foundation to match your skin tone.
Def Jam Recordings announced on Friday (March 3) a joint venture with Philadelphia-based entertainment company Stack or Starve Records. The full service label will help develop the careers of their growing roster and newest signees D Sturdy, the Philly Goats and Saadi Four.
“Def Jam is one of the greats, I want Stack or Starve to be recognized in the same vein one day. With this partnership, I want to help our artists build wealth, understand financial literacy and most importantly, I want them to be able to help others and pay it forward,” said Curtis “Boonah” Brinkley, CEO of Stack or Starve. “We aim to do this by connecting them with financial advisors and wealth coaches, building real estate portfolios and helping them diversify their assets. The strategic moves that will be put in place for our artists and team will put them in a position that began with music but elevated them in all realms of life. Personally, I want them to be able to take care of their kids and families.”
The primary focus of the venture will be empowering, teaching and expanding Stack or Starve’s roster by leveraging Def Jam’s robust resources including A&R, marketing, PR, distribution, creative, touring, management, promo and more.
Stack or Starve Records was founded by Philly natives Brinkley and Shana Sherman, Def Jam’s director of A&R. Sherman has a history of working with major labels such as RCA and BMG alongside executives like L.A. Reid and Tunji Balogun. She has also aided in breaking and developing viral artists such as Armani White and Raveena and has worked with Maxwell, K. Michelle, India.Arie, Ledisi, and more.
The company was founded with the belief of improving the lives of young people in Philadelphia and its surrounding neighborhoods. With that goal in mind, the label strives to become a global name as it seeks to grow and empower artists around the world.
“We want to change the culture of music from this era of trending and virality to a movement that’s being spurred right out of Philly,” said Sherman. “The kids on our roster have created sounds and cultural moments that cannot be duplicated; we’re working with kids who have started their own waves, built their own organic followings, and we’re helping them achieve their goals and accomplish their vision, seeing this come to life puts the fun back into my job and the joy back in music.”
Coinciding with today’s news is the announcement of D Sturdy and the Philly Goats signing with Def Jam via the Stack or Starve partnership, joining label mate Saadi Four. In 2018, D Sturdy and the Philly Goats got their start as a Philadelphia dance and music collective comprised of D Sturdy, Sou and Spence.
“We, as a team, always speak of ownership, so the joint venture was something that we all wanted from day one. In doing that, Def Jam recognized and gave us a great opportunity to come together,” said Brinkley.” “I have a great partner, Shana Sherman, and we have a team of young and dedicated individuals working extremely hard. We invested a lot of time and resources into finding and developing several hot young artists and providing them with the platform to be recognized. We are definitely building something special here, and it’s all based on the grind, hard work and great talent.”
BRISBANE, Australia — A brouhaha between Bluesfest and a touring party that includes the Soul Rebels and Big Freedia is entering legal territory after the groups — which also includes Talib Kweli and GZA — has jointly claimed they were canceled by the Australian event “in bad faith and in breach of contract.”
All of those acts were initially slated to perform at the festival this Easter in Byron Bay, in addition to several theater shows on Australia’s east coast promoted by Bluesfest Touring.
And then, they weren’t.
When the second artist announcement for Bluesfest dropped in October 2022, the growing lineup included The Soul Rebels & Friends with special guests Talib Kweli, GZA and Big Freedia.
The bill as it stands for Bluesfest 2023 no longer features the four acts.
A strongly worded statement from the tour’s reps, seen by Billboard, lays all the blame at Bluesfest and its director Peter Noble.
“The artists had fully executed signed contracts with Peter Noble and had already booked travel to Australia and were looking forward to returning to the country to perform for their fans,” the statement reads.
“Peter Noble removed the artists and the tour without further communication or reason from Bluesfest other than him stating his decision to not want to pay the artists.”
Furthermore, it continues, “these are all black artists, and Big Freedia is an LGBTQ icon.”
Bluesfest
Courtesy Bluesfest
The statement then points to the controversial Australian rock group Sticky Fingers, which, after a weeks-long backlash, has been removed from the lineup.
“It appears the tour may have been replaced by other artists including Sticky Fingers,” reads the statement, which was originally distributed to a handful of media outlets in late February, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Double J network. “We are uncertain about who else on Bluesfest may have also been cancelled.”
Noble’s “cancellation of the tour of the aforementioned artists and on Bluesfest has resulted in significant financial loss to the artist,” the statement continues. “Peter’s egregious treatment and disregard of his contractual and moral obligations and disrespect can be completely supported by his actions and written communications.”
Speaking with Billboard on Friday (March 3), Noble read from a prepared statement from Bluesfest’s lawyers.
“The termination of the Soul Rebels contract by Bluesfest has nothing to do with the announcement of Sticky Fingers playing at Bluesfest 2023,” the statement reads. “The Soul Rebels contract was terminated because they did not comply with the contractual terms. By that, we mean, Soul Rebels, Big Freedia, GZA and Talib Kweli.”
Noble declined to go off script.
The impresario and his long-running festival have rolled with many punches these past few years, from the pandemic to floods, to the border closures and public health orders which saw the 2021 edition nixed just hours before showtime.
In the new year, a new problem.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Sampa The Great recently bailed from the bill, a boycott to the booking of Sticky Fingers, whose frontman has a well-publicized and controversial past.
On Thursday of this week, after a weeks-long backlash on social media, Noble and Bluesfest announced that Sticky Fingers “is to step off the Bluesfest 2023 line-up.”
The 2023 edition of Bluesfest is set for April 6-10 at Byron Events Farm, with headliners including Gang of Youths, Paolo Nutini, Tash Sultana, Bonnie Raitt, the Doobie Brothers and more. Last year’s event reported more than 100,000 attendees.
LONDON — Security services could have prevented a suicide bomber from killing 22 people in a terror attack outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in 2017 if they had acted swiftly on key intelligence, a public inquiry has found.
The chair of the inquiry, John Saunders, says there was a “realistic possibility” that the bomber could have been stopped from carrying out the atrocity if British security service MI5 had acted decisively upon on two pieces of intelligence that they received in the months leading up to the attack. The significance of that intelligence, Saunders notes, “was not fully appreciated at the time.”
A 207-page report, published Thursday (March 2), details the radicalization of bomber Salman Abedi but does not disclose details of either piece of intelligence, citing national security reasons. It does, however, state that neither piece of intelligence was shared by MI5 with counter-terror police — a failing that Saunders calls “a further example of a communication breakdown” between security agencies.
The inquiry found that an MI5 officer, identified as Witness C, failed to write a report on the second piece of intelligence on the same day MI5 assessed it and did not discuss it with colleagues. That delay “led to the missing of an opportunity to take a potentially important investigative action.”
Abedi flew from Libya to Manchester on May 18 — four days before he detonated a homemade explosive device in the foyer of Manchester Arena (now known as the AO Arena) at the end of Grande’s sold-out show. Twenty-two people died in the terror attack, the youngest aged 8 years old. Hundreds of people were injured, many of them children.
The report contends that had MI5 taken the intelligence more seriously Abedi could have been stopped at Manchester Airport upon his return from Libya and followed to his car where he had stored his explosives.
In a press conference in Manchester on Thursday, Saunders said the “failure by the security service to act swiftly enough” had contributed to a “significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack.”
The inquiry chair went on to say that while “it is not possible to reach any conclusion on the balance of probability” as to whether the bombing would have been prevented, he believed “there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained which might have led to actions preventing the attack.”
The report also found that Abedi’s family held “significant responsibility” for the radicalization of both him and his brother, Hashem Abedi, who was sentenced in the U.K. in 2020 to a minimum of 55 years for his role in the murders.
Thursday’s report is the third and final set of findings to come out of the public inquiry into the terror attack. The U.K. Home Secretary launched the inquiry in October 2019 with its first hearings taking place in Manchester in September 2020. In total, more than 250 witnesses gave 194 days of oral evidence, although much of the evidence from MI5 and counter-terror police officers was heard in secret.
The inquiry’s two previous reports have focused on how emergency services responded to the attack and whether police and concert security should have done more to prevent the bombing.
Families of the victims called the failures exposed in Thursday’s report “unacceptable” and a “devastating conclusion” to the inquiry. “Those killed and injured in this murderous attack had every right to feel safe and protected, but as this inquiry has demonstrated, they were failed at every level — before, during and after this horrific attack,” said Richard Scorer, principal lawyer at Slater and Gordon, reading out a statement on behalf of 11 of the victims’ families.
Andrew Roussos, the father of 8-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos, who was one of the 22 victims, said the security services’ actions amounted to a “cataclysmic failure.”
“The fact that MI5 failed to stop [Salman Abedi] despite all of the red flags available demonstrates they are not fit to keep us safe and therefore not fit for purpose,” said Roussos.
Following the report’s publication, MI5’s director general, Ken McCallum, said he was “profoundly sorry” that the security service did not prevent the attack. “Gathering covert intelligence is difficult,” McCallum said in a statement, “but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma.”
Max Lousada, CEO of recorded music for Warner Music Group, will sit down for a keynote interview at this year’s electronic music conference IMS Ibiza. The keynote will mark Lousada’s first appearance at the annual event, which is slated for April 26-28 at Destino Pacha Ibiza Resort.
For the summit’s 14th edition, co-hosted by BBC Radio 1 broadcasters Pete Tong MBE and Jaguar, the theme will be Face the Future. Topics will range from the complexities of AI and Web3, diversity and inclusion and ageism in electronic music. Further, conversations are scheduled to explore music rights management, understanding neurodiversity, the ever-changing dynamic between agents and promoters, an analysis of music journalism and the unveiling of the IMS Business Report.
Lousada is one of the first 10 speakers announced for the 2023 conference. IMS Ibiza will also welcome TaP Music co-founder Ben Mawson, who will discuss spearheading the lawsuit that led to house legends Larry Heard and Robert Owens winning a major court battle to reclaim the rights to their back catalogs after decades of struggle.
Across the three days, there will also be a live podcast recording of Takin’ Care of Lady Busine$$ with Justice Department founder/CEO Jennifer Justice and TOKiMONSTA, who will discuss SONA, a new Web3-based music protocol she co-founded that aims to put artists in control of the culture they create.
BBC Radio 1 resident and Hooversound label boss Sherelle will be joined in conversation with Fabio & Grooverider, while DJ Fat Tony will share the journey of his rise to become a kingpin of the ’80s and ’90s club scene in London.
“IMS returns to open the Ibiza season with a powerful and diverse mix of carefully considered content focused on the key issues facing our industry today. In 2023, we no longer have the luxury of speculating about the future: AI has fully arrived, and things will move fast from this point forward,” said IMS co-founder Ben Turner in a release. “As a tidal wave of AI-generated content sweeps in, some welcome a new era of creative possibilities, while others lament the loss of another aspect of humanity in music, all while a cornucopia of unanswered questions are created concerning the control of rights. It’s time for us to collectively ‘Face the Future.’”
Additional speakers include Femme House founder and music director for W Hotels LP Giobbi, manager Cristiana Simon of Alegria Agency, Wasserman music partner Tom Schroeder, iii Points founder David Sinopoli and artist Yellow Squares.
Check out a full list of events and speakers here.
Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge announced that the company had entered into a new partnership with Deezer during an earnings call on Thursday (Mar. 2nd). The goal? To help develop a “new model” that “ensure[s] continued growth of streaming” while also valuing “the contribution of both artists and fans alike.” UMG previously touted a similar partnership with TIDAL in January.
The need for a “new model” — also highlighted in Grainge’s letter to staff from January — was a recurring theme of Thursday’s call. “Streaming has evolved in a way that undervalues the critical contributions of many an artist as well as the engagement of many fans,” Grainge said. This unfortunately flouts “the basic unarguable truth that is: The artists are the center of everything in the music ecosystem,” he added.
UMG executives offered scant details about what this new model would look like, even when asked directly about the topic, saying it was too early to tell. One key element for Grainge appears to be that “artists are rewarded for the fans they bring in [to subscribe to streaming services] and the engagement they drive [on those platforms].” In addition, he hoped that fans would be “offered more ways to engage.”
These sentiments were echoed by Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vp and chief digital officer. Streaming platforms can do “a better job of monetizing these high integrity, high intense artist-fan relationships,” he said. “That will come with superfan monetization. We’ve been speaking with platforms…about the enhancement of offers to the consumer that reflect the engagement with artists that are really driving the economic models of the platform.”
UMG executives also praised the streaming services that have raised their prices recently, mentioning Apple and Amazon by name (twice). “Fans recognize the enormous value offered by music subscriptions, still a relatively low cost, high-value form of entertainment, which in turn has supported decisions made by a number of our DSP partners to raise prices recently,” Grainge said.
But not all streaming services have gone this route. Grainge added, pointedly, that “ensuring the artists’ work is properly valued should be a critical goal for everyone who wants to keep the industry growing.”
In addition to discussing the future of streaming, UMG executives spent a notable portion of the conference call explaining to analysts, in defensive tones, their place in a highly competitive catalog acquisition landscape and the strategy they use to evaluate potential purchases. Grainge said UMG sees “almost everything” in the music rights investment space that goes up for sale and passes on “most of it” because it does not meet the company’s standards for returns.
He also asserted that many competitors in the catalog acquisition space are “passive participants who do nothing and therefore cannot exploit the full potential” of the rights they own. “There are many who claim they actively manage rights, but they do not,” Grainge said. “Why? Their lack of infrastructure, their lack of experience and expertise and even more critical, in many cases, their inability to acquire all of the rights necessary to actively manage anything.”
Acquisitions “are an important, although relatively small proportion of our total business today,” UMG’s CFO Boyd Muir added during his remarks. “But we will continue to be opportunistic, to add to a roster of iconic artists, in a financially disciplined way.”
February was a big month for music and NFTs. Spotify plugged into Web3 with a token-gated playlist experiment, while Def Jam Records signed a virtual band. Snoop Dogg returned with a fresh NFT drop and Rihanna fans got the chance to own streaming royalties in “Bitch Better Have My Money,” right in time for her Super Bowl halftime show — although the NFT drop was not without controversy.
Overall, crypto prices crept higher in February, with Ethereum now up 46% from the start of the year. Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases combined with secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 biggest-selling music NFTs and collections in February 2023.
1/ Rihanna – “Bitch Better Have My Money”Monthly trading volume: $532,452Primary sales (Feb.): $63,000Secondary volume: 284 ETH ($469,452)Drop date: Feb. 9
While Rihanna was making history at the Super Bowl, her music was making headlines in the NFT space. A portion of streaming royalties in her track, “Bitch Better Have My Money”, were sold via NFTs on Web3 platform Anotherblock, netting $63,000 in sales and a further $469,452 in secondary trading volume. The hype was amplified as Rihanna opened her Feb. 12 halftime set with the track, sending global streaming figures 594% higher in the week ending Feb. 16.
The NFT drop was controversial, though. It was not officially endorsed by Rihanna; instead, the royalties were unlocked through producer DEPUTY’s share in the track, and it’s unknown whether Rihanna was aware of it. The NFTs also quadrupled in value on the secondary market, shooting far beyond logical expectations for return based on the streaming calculations.
The collection was later halted on OpenSea for “promising fractional ownership and future profit based on that ownership” — something OpenSea doesn’t allow — proving that NFT projects positioning themselves purely as investments are still at risk of regulatory scrutiny.
View the collection on OpenSea.
2/ Violetta Zironi – “Another Life”Monthly trading volume: 167 ETH ($276,552)Primary sales (Feb): ~110 ETH ($182,160)Secondary volume: 57 ETH ($94,392)Drop date: Feb. 17
After a successful genesis drop last year, singer-songwriter Violetta Zironi returned in February with a new collection, Another Life — an EP encompassing five tracks and 5,500 unique profile picture illustrations. Holders get access to virtual shows, live concerts and the ability to use the songs for their own projects. To celebrate the drop, Zironi hosted a 14-hour Twitter Spaces marathon with her community.
View the collection on OpenSea.
3/ Kids of the ApocalypseMonthly trading volume: 10748 SOL ($243,979)Primary sales (Feb): 6,666 SOL ($151,318)Secondary volume: 4082 SOL ($92,661)Drop date: Feb.. 9
Several years in the making, Kids of the Apocalypse (KOTA) is an ambitious, immersive music NFT project built on the Solana blockchain. It features graphic novel characters, dystopian storylines and a dark-pop soundtrack from veteran Swedish producer Stefan Storm, previously of pop duo Sound of Arrows. KOTA is now the biggest music NFT project on Solana, a blockchain that offers faster speeds and cheaper transaction fees than Ethereum.
View the collection on OpenSea.
4/ MyFi Studio – “Wind Tunnels” + “Circles Are Bad”Monthly trading volume: 94.48 ETH ($156,458)Primary sales (Feb): 70.33 ETH ($116,466)Secondary volume: 24.15 ETH ($39,992)Drop dates: January 2023 (“Wind Tunnels”) and February 2023 (“Circles Are Bad”)
“Wind Tunnels” and “Circles are Bad” are innovative NFT instruments that you can play and interact with in real-time. They are fully coded onto the Ethereum blockchain itself, which is a significant departure from most music NFTs, in which music is typically stored on an external server while the NFT simply contains a link to the music. “Wind Tunnels” and the follow-up drum machine project “Circles are Bad,” however, are fully coded onchain.
View the “Wind Tunnels” and “Circles Are Bad” collections on OpenSea.
5/ Shilly: The Access PassMonthly trading volume: 82 ETH ($135,792)Primary sales (Feb.): N/ASecondary volume: 82 ETH ($135,792)Drop date: Jan. 31
Shilly — a Bored Ape that makes chaotic pop-punk records — dropped a series of access passes in January, letting the community get involved in music releases. The most exclusive pass, the Band Pass, gives fans the opportunity to work on music with Shilly and even feature on tracks. The project was incubated by Universal Music’s NFT imprint Probably a Label.
View the collection on OpenSea.
6/ KINGSHIPMonthly trading volume: 76 ETH ($125,856)Primary sales (Feb): N/ASecondary volume: 76 ETH ($125,856)Drop date: July 11, 2022
The Bored Ape supergroup was part of a new pilot experiment with Spotify in February, through which KINGSHIP Key Card holders can now access an exclusive ‘token-gated’ playlist on the streaming platform. The news triggered a fresh wave of buying activity in the KINGSHIP collection, which captured 76 ETH in volume last month. Spotify has partnered with a total of four projects in the NFT space to test the new feature.
View the collection on OpenSea.
7/ Snoop Dogg – XYZMonthly trading volume: 45.2 ETH ($74,851)Primary sales (Feb): 44 ETH ($72,864)Secondary sales: 1.2 ETH ($1,987)Drop date: Feb. 3
Snoop Dogg returned to Web3 to capitalize on one of the biggest current trends in the space: open editions. Rather than a fixed supply of NFTs, with open editions — which are typically sold at a lower price to make them more accessible to collectors — fans can mint as many editions as they want within a set time frame. Web3 music pioneers RAC and 3LAU both dropped open editions this month, but Snoop Doog blew the doors off. The rapper sold more than 10,000 editions in a 3-day period via Sound.xyz. Snoop Dogg’s “XYZ” sold for 0.0042 ETH (about $7) each, totaling more than $70,000.
View the collection on OpenSea.
8/ Sammy Arriaga – “Metagirl (remix) featuring Nessy the Rilla”Monthly trading volume: 30 ETH ($49,680)Primary sales (Feb): 30 ETH ($49,680)Secondary volume: N/ADrop date: Feb. 25
Following in Snoop’s footsteps, independent country artist Sammy Arriaga also launched an open edition on Sound.xyz in February, aiming to beat Snoop Dogg’s 10,000 sales with a series of NFT incentives. The biggest collector will receive a special reward, while the rest will be entered into a lottery to win a valuable NFT. At the time of writing, Arriaga has generated 5,000 sales. One collector purchased more than 1,000 NFTs, briefly becoming Sound.xyz’s biggest all-time collector in terms of NFTs held.
View the collection on OpenSea.
9/ Tycho – “The Science of Patterns”Monthly trading volume: $19,000Primary sales: $19,000Secondary volume: N/ADrop date: Feb. 25
Electronic producer Tycho reissued his 20-year-old EP, The Science of Patterns, in February as a digital release for the first time. As a twist, the record is only available as an NFT through Tycho’s Web3 fan club portal. Powered by Web3 tech company Medallion, the multitrack album format is brand new to Web3, allowing fans to stream the entire album within the NFT itself, unlike previous album NFTs which simply unlocked access to music elsewhere.
10/ WVRPSoundMonthly trading volume: 11.09 ETH ($18,365)Primary sales (Feb): N/ASecondary volume: 11.09 ETH ($18,365)Drop date: January 17, 2022
WVRPSound is the biggest music NFT project ever in terms of trading volume. Since launching in January 2022, the collection of AI-generated music and animated characters have earned more than 6,000 ETH in volume (approximately $7.3 million). The project recently announced plans to launch playable versions of its characters in The Sandbox metaverse.
View the collection on OpenSea.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and combined with secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between Feb. 1 – Feb. 28, 2023. Conversion rates from crypto to US dollars were calculated on Feb 28.
Universal Music Group’s revenues surged 21.6% to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for all of 2022, boosted by strong returns from recorded music subscriptions and streaming.
The world’s biggest music company reported the revenue its recorded music division gets from subscriptions and streaming rose by nearly 19% to over 5.3 billion euros ($5.6 billion), while digital revenues in its music publishing division rose by nearly 50% to over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) in 2022, all helping it achieve a nearly 15% uptick in operating profit.
UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge said the earnings were evidence the company’s diversified revenue streams has made it an example of the music business’ steady strength amid a darkening economic outlook.
“We continue to successfully manage the company for long term growth while driving strong results in our core business — developing great artists and introducing their music to fans around the world,” said Grainge. “Our roster … achieved enormous commercial and creative success in markets around the world. We also worked to evolve and expand relationships with our existing DSP partners as well as establish new ones in fitness, health, gaming and the metaverse, driving the industry forward though leadership, creativity, innovation and collaboration.”
UMG was home to seven of the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, 15 of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) top 20 global artists and four of Spotify’s top five global artists in 2022.
UMG reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 19.4% to 2.14 million euros ($2.26 billion) for 2022 from a year ago. Adjusted EBIDTA margin fell by 0.4 percentage points to 20.6%.
The company’s free cash flow increased by a whopping 70.2% to 638 million euros ($675 million) largely from the growth in adjusted EBITDA, according to the company’s filings.
UMG’s Earnings Highlights:
Revenue rose 21.6%, or 13.6% in constant currency, to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for 2022 from 8.5 billion euros ($9 billion) in 2021
EBIDTA rose 20.3%, or 12.5% in constant currency, to 2.03 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in 2022 from 1.69 billion euros ($1.78 billion) in 2021
EBITDA margin fell to 19.6% in 2022 from 19.8% in 2021
Adjusted EBITDA rose 19.4%, or 11.7% in constant currency, to 2.14 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in 2022 from 1.79 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in 2021
Operating profit rose 14.8%, or 7.9% in constant currency, to 1.6 billion euros ($1.69 billion) in 2022 from 1.39 billion euros ($1.48 billion) in 2021
Net debt fell 10% to 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in 2022 from 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in 2021
Free cash flow rose 70.2% to 1.09 billion euros ($1.15 billion) in 2022 from 638 million euros ($675 million) in 2021
Recorded Music Division Highlights:
Recorded music revenue overall rose 16.3%, or 8.8% in constant currency, to 7.9 billion euros in 2022 from 6.8 billion in 2021
Subscriptions and streaming revenue rose 18.7%, or 9.8% in constant currency, to 5.3 billion euros in 2022 from 4.5 billion euros in 2021
Physical revenues rose 7.7%, or 4.1% in constant currency, to 1.2 billion euros in 2022 from 1.12 billion in 2021
License and other revenue rose 19.6%, or 13.4% in constant currency, to 1 billion euros in 2022 from 896 million in 2021
Downloads and other digital revenue rose 4%, or fell 2.9% in constant currency, to 337 million euros in 2022 compared to 324 million in 2021
Music Publishing Highlights:
Music publishing revenues overall rose 34.8%, 26.3% in constant currency, to 1.8 billion euros in 2022 from 1.3 billion euros in 2021
Performance revenues rose 24.9%, or 18.2% in constant currency, to 371 million euros in 2022 from 297 million euros in 2021
Synchronization revenues rose 18.6%, or 10.3% in constant currency, to 236 million euros in 2022 from 199 million euros in 2021
Digital revenues rose 49%, or 38.7% in constant currency, to 1.04 billion euros in 2022 from 698 million euros in 2021
TikTok is one step closer to being effectively banned on mobile devices in the U.S, though an outright prohibition still faces significant hurdles.
A House committee voted along party lines on Wednesday to advance a bill to block U.S. activity on the popular Chinese-owned video app used by more than 100 million Americans. The measure was forced through by Republicans on the committee over opposition from Democrats, who said that the legislation has not been properly vetted and that it could ensnare U.S. businesses that don’t pose a national security risk.
Before the vote, it appeared that the gap between Democrats and Republicans over TikTok’s threat to the U.S. was diminishing. Democrats have increasingly been supporting measures to take action against the social media app, with the White House on Tuesday giving all federal agencies 30 days to delete the app from government devices and a member of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy calling for the separation of TikTok from its Chinese parent company. Wednesday’s vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee represents a split between both sides in the severity and speed of measures that should be taken.
Democrats, for now, are on TikTok’s side concerning a national ban. That will have to change for the bill to pass the Senate.
“Everybody knows what TikTok is,” said committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on Tuesday when the measure was being considered. “It’s too dangerous to be on our phones as members of Congress. In my judgment, it’s too dangerous to be on our childrens’ phones. That’s the whole point of this bill.”
The legislation directs the Treasury Secretary to issue a directive prohibiting Americans from engaging transactions with entities that could transfer sensitive personal data to entities directed or influenced by the Chinese government. It also empowers the President to impose sanctions on certain transactions relating to connected software applications controlled by entities that could facilitated China’s intelligence, censorship or surveillance activities, including efforts to steer U.S. policy and regulatory decisions. Under the bill, the president can waive certain sanctions and make a decision on whether TikTok or any of its affiliated companies meet the criteria for sanctions.
There’s no evidence that the Chinese government has demanded American user data from TikTok or parent company ByteDance or influenced the content users see on the platform.
In a statement, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said that a “U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide.”
“We’re disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok,” she added.
The bill could violate the First Amendment. In a letter sent on Monday, The American Civil Liberties Union detailed constitutional concerns with the measure.
“In a purported attempt to protect the data of U.S. persons from Chinese government acquisition, this legislation will instead limit Americans’ political discussion, artistic expression, free exchange of ideas — and even prevent people from posting cute animal videos and memes,” wrote ACLU federal policy director Christopher Anders. “While the ACLU’s opposition today rests on free speech harms, we note that with more time to review this legislation, we anticipate finding other sweeping implications.”
The ACLU also took issue with the legislation creating a loophole to the Berman Amendment, which removes the president’s authority to regulate the exchange of cultural goods between the U.S. and hostile nations. It said that the bill creates a “slippery slope” that could “leave U.S. residents without some of their favorite international books, movies, and artwork.”
TikTok in 2020 successfully argued that the former president’s effort to force a sale of the company to a U.S. firm violated the Berman Amendment.
In another case dealing with a ban on a Chinese-owned app because of national security concerns that same year, a federal judge blocked a government directive requiring Apple and Google to remove Tencent’s WeChat from their app stores. U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler found that the order could infringe on users’ First Amendment rights by making the app unusable.
Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University, told The Hollywood Reporter that “there are other ways to protect American data than to ban an app because it is foreign-owned.”
“We shouldn’t borrow the Chinese strategy of banning foreign information apps like Twitter and Facebook,” he added. “Banning TikTok would prove the Chinese right in banning our apps. The strength of our democracy is its openness.”
The US Committee on Foreign Investment, which reviews business dealing that may be a threat to national security and is empowered to force TikTok to sell to a U.S. company, is currently reviewing ByteDance’s 2017 merger of TikTok and Musical.ly. In August, TikTok proposed to permit ByteDance to continue owning the app in a deal that would silo U.S. user data and restrict access by employees in China.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.