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Usually when Lyle Lovett performs, the stage does not move. But the 2010 Cayamo music festival took place on a luxury liner in the Caribbean — and 14-foot waves shook him out of his usual stoicism. “I grew up being the carsick kid. Couldn’t ride in the back seat,” says the Texas singer-songwriter. “I was doing an interview with Steve Earle for his Sirius radio show [while on board], and I had to step out of the room and come back in.”
Cayamo is one of 18 festivals this year run by Sixthman, an Atlanta-based company founded in 2001 when Sister Hazel’s then-manager, Andy Levine, invited 400 of the rock band’s superfans to take over 200 cabins of the Carnival Jubilee. It ended up kicking off an appealing new concert-business model: Music cruises gave artists the rare opportunity to play intimate shows for core groups of well-off devotees — all while enjoying access to high-end meals, luxury hotel rooms and slot machines (the occasional need for Dramamine notwithstanding).
Since then, Sixthman (which is now a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line) has paid hundreds of acts to perform on various cruise-ship decks — at first, late-1990s stars like Edwin McCain and Tonic; then a relatively unknown Zac Brown; then bigger names ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock to KISS to Paramore. Today, Sixthman focuses on booking veteran acts with loyal, affluent fan bases — big enough to fill a 2,500- to 4,000-passenger cruise, but generally not an arena.
Lovett is one of dozens of artists, from Broadway divas to metalheads to EDM DJs, scheduled to headline Sixthman cruises over the next year. That’s because, unlike traditional, tightly curated festivals like Bonnaroo or Coachella, the company is open to booking acts of any genre — as long as their fans can afford roughly $600 to $5,000 for a cabin over four to seven nights.
In 2023 and 2024, Sixthman’s headliners include 311 (which just finished a cruise from Miami to Mexico and Honduras), guitar hero Joe Bonamassa (whose two Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea voyages per year include a trip from Greece to Croatia in August), Stevie Van Zandt (who curated this year’s eighth installment of Outlaw Country Cruise, topped by Blackberry Smoke, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle) and Lamb of God (which headlines the Headbanger’s Boat on Halloween, along with GWAR, Mastodon, Hatebreed and others). “If it’s a passionate community, that is an opportunity for us,” says Jeff Cuellar, Sixthman’s vp of events, community management, marketing and branding. “We’ve done our research. We know their numbers.”
Performers aboard Cayamo 2023 in February 2023.
Will Byington
Although the COVID-19 pandemic dealt music cruises a one-two punch in 2020, when both cruises and concerts were shut down, the sectors have returned to full strength. Almost every event sells out quickly, according to Cuellar; some, like the old-school hip-hop Rock the Bells festival, even before their lineups are announced.
“You’ve got a really dedicated fan at your fingertips that artists get to be in front of for three, four, five, seven days,” says Lindsey Myers, a CAA music touring agent whose team has handled cruise bookings for artists including KISS and Kesha. “They wouldn’t necessarily have the same sort of avid fan at your average festival.”
Cruise attendance in general has boomed since the lockdowns: According to the latest Cruise Market Watch report, passenger numbers rebounded in 2021 with more than 13 million (though that’s still nearly half of 2019’s pre-pandemic attendance). The top company, Royal Caribbean, recently reported that yearly revenues jumped from $1.5 billion in 2021 to over $8.8 billion last year (due to high operating expenses, the cruise line did experience a net loss of $2.2 billion in 2022). Norwegian, according to its fourth-quarter 2022 results, disclosed a higher-than-expected loss (mostly due to $13.6 billion of debt), but overall revenue was up 225%, to $1.6 billion, and revenue generated from each passenger rose 23% compared with the same period in 2019.
Joe King Carrasco on the Outlaw Country Cruise 7 in January 2023.
Will Byington
Many cruise companies have music events — Royal Caribbean’s annual ’80s Cruise starred Devo, The Church and Living Colour in March, and Celebrity Summit’s Disco Cruise recently had Kool & The Gang and KC & The Sunshine Band. But Sixthman excels at lineups that feel contemporary — not like Sailing With the Oldies. “Sixthman have really become masters at determining which artists will work and which ones won’t,” says Cory Brennan, founder/CEO of management company 5B, which represents perennial Norwegian headliners like Flogging Molly and 311. “There’s a lot of homework and research that goes into this.”
And for such headliners, a ship is one giant marketing and branding opportunity. Train, which has its own wine company, holds tastings on its Sail Around the Sun cruises; singer Hayley Williams has sold her Good Dye Young hair color on Paramore’s Parahoy! cruises in recent years; and Melissa Etheridge raised money for her charitable foundation, which supports scientific research on opioid addiction. “That’s invaluable advertising,” Cuellar says. “Now everybody who’s there is converted: ‘I’m not only a fan of Hayley, I’m going out and spreading the word.’ ”
Artists who headline cruises participate in an economic “host model” as opposed to a standard flat-fee festival model, according to Cuellar. Part of their income is usually a guaranteed payment, similar to what they might receive at any land-based event. But they might also share some of the revenue from food and alcohol sales, which is not part of the deal for most concerts and festivals.
Most music cruises offer all-inclusive meal packages as part of the cost, but attendees pay extra for what Deb Klein, Etheridge’s manager, calls “onboard revenue” — including casinos, excursions in destination cities, art auctions and alcohol. Etheridge, whose most recent Sixthman headlining date was last fall, takes a guarantee, then participates in a 50-50 “rev share” deal for the rest of her salary, Klein says. (Transporting band, crew and freight to the cruise docks and on and off ships costs artists out of pocket.) “It’s really a joint venture,” Klein says. “Believe me, it’s a lot of work. For us, it’s about the community and the connection. And the finances, too.”
A crowd-surfing fan of Jericho’s.
Troy Walsh
Overall music-cruise revenue, Bonamassa says, can be 30% to 50% higher than what a club promoter might pay for a Wednesday-night gig. So an artist making $10,000 for a dry-land festival date might make $15,000 for a cruise. (Nonheadliners’ salaries are comparable to traditional festivals, artist representatives say.) “Why does it cost more?” Bonamassa asks. “You’re doing multiple shows. You have the band and crew out there, you’re paying salaries for a week. By the time you add it all up, it’s an expensive undertaking.”
But other artist reps say expenses are low compared with traditional arena, amphitheater and festival dates. “The narrative you are going to hear from agents and managers is a justification for charging outrageous guarantees, because ‘you are locking up our band for a week and asking them to play multiple times,’ ” says Mark Willis, host partner for pro wrestler Chris Jericho’s Rock ’N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea, a Sixthman cruise that sails every January and stars Jericho’s own metal band, Fozzy. “But that agent/manager will never admit how much money their budget saves in accommodations and meals and drinks and backline and crew and staging and production and runners and bus drivers and hotels.”
Pro wrestler Jericho at his Rock ’N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea: Four Leaf Clover cruise in February 2023.
Troy Walsh
As for the cost of admission, the ticket price is in line with a Bonnaroo or Coachella VIP experience, with Sixthman more like a travel agent than a box office, helping fans coordinate advance planning for food, lodging and transportation in addition to the concerts themselves. Attendees are what land-based concerts and festivals might call “super VIPs,” Cuellar adds — they pay extra to experience artist meet-and-greets, unexpected musical collaborations and glimpses of, say, The Beach Boys participating in a Family Feud game somewhere on deck or singer Mike Love bowling (as they did on their own cruise). Lovett has spied his bandmates playing poker in the ship’s casino. Headlining artists can “curate” their own festivals, too: Flogging Molly, for its cruise in November, will offer “the only floating skate ramp that I’m aware of,” says Brennan, and during its cruise, 311 plays basketball with fans. “Every aspect of the cruise is a chance for you to be involved financially and creatively,” he adds.
When cruises restarted in mid-2021, they required proof of vaccination and conducted COVID-19 testing on board — which worked for early music-cruise headliners such as Etheridge, who was doing the same for her own shows at the time. For Norwegian, COVID-19 remains a concern: In its December financial filings, the organization predicted the virus will still have “a significant impact on the company’s financial results and liquidity.”
But from a concert-business perspective, cruise-ship life is back to normal. “For a while, it seemed like, ‘Were people going to want to do these things anymore?’ ” says Bob McLynn, whose management clients include Train. “Just like the live industry, as far as I’m concerned, it’s fully back.”
This story will appear in the April 1, 2023, issue of Billboard.
The LAMC (Latin Alternative Music Conference) will honor a group of 24 women in the 2023 LAMC Wonder Women of Latin Music program. Journalists, publicists and executives from multiple areas of the music business will be recognized in partnership with Amazon Music.
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Launched in 2020, Wonder Women of Latin Music is part of the LAMC, which kicks off later this month as a virtual event; the live event will take place in July in New York City. Wonder Women specifically recognizes women in all fields of the Latin industry, and, to date, has given an award to 85 women and celebrated them via a social media campaign.
“For the fourth year in a row, it is such an honor to join LAMC in presenting 2023’s Wonder Women of Latin Music awards that celebrate the impact these women have in our industry,” says Rocío Guerrero, Global Head of Latin Music for Amazon Music. “It is so important that we continue to recognize, uplift and thank them: the global impact of Latin Music would not be the same without their contributions.”
This year’s class of Wonder Women features several music journalists, including Sigal Ratner-Arias, deputy editor of Billboard Español, Isabela Raygoza, associate editor of Billboard Español and Florencia Mauro of Billboard Argentina. Past honorees have included Leila Cobo, Billboard’s Chief content office for Latin/Español. The list, which is curated by the LAMC and celebrates “women making a difference in the industry,” also includes veteran publicists like Nanette Lamboy and Blanca LaSalle.
Here is the full list of 2023 honorees:
Isabel Quinteros from TikTok
Celia Carrillo from Universal Music Latin
Claudia Arcay from Loud And Live
Romina Magorno from Imagine It Media
Ana Martínez from Amazon Music
Ana Christina Ordoñez from Magnus Media
Leticia Ramirez from Pandora
Ashley Gonzalez from WME
Marcela Moreira from Warner Latina
Isabel Feria from Sony Latin
Claudia Ochoa from The Orchard
Nanette Lamboy from Artist Solutions
Isabela Raygoza from Billboard
Beatriz Marfa-Linley from Sounds from Spain
Gaby Herrera from WK Entertainment
Fernanda Bas from Meta
Roberta Pate from Spotify
Julyssa Lopez from Rolling Stone
Suzy Exposito from the LA Times
Florencia Mauro from Billboard Argentina
Krystina De Luna from Apple Music
Blanca Lassalle from Creative Link NY
Laura Dergal from LARAS
Sigal Ratner-Arias from Billboard Español
The Rolling Stones’ famed “tongue and lips” logo is at the center of a new federal lawsuit, launched by a small clothing chain that says it was unfairly threatened by Universal Music Group’s Bravado merch company with “unfounded” infringement litigation over a similar logo.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday (March 29), apparel retailer Simply Southern claimed it had received a cease-and-desist letter from Bravado, a unit of UMG that sells licensed merchandise for the Stones and dozens of other major artists. The letter allegedly took aim at T-shirts that featured a “disembodied mouth,” claiming they were confusingly similar to the iconic logo.
But lawyers for Simply Southern say its apparel designs were “clearly and demonstrably different,” and they want a federal judge to rule that the company “has not infringed Bravado’s asserted intellectual property rights.”
“Simply Southern’s mouth images show many elements that are very different from Bravado’s asserted tongue/lips image,” the company wrote in its complaint. “For example, Simply Southern’s images have a more plump lower lip, more square teeth, and a wider and more open mouth when compared to Bravado’s asserted image.”
A representative for Bravado declined to comment. The Rolling Stones themselves are not named in the lawsuit and are not accused of any wrongdoing; a rep for the band did not respond to a request for comment on the situation.
Called “the most famous logo in rock ’n’ roll” by the New York Times, the “tongue and lips” image was created in 1970 by John Pasche, a London art student who had been commissioned by the band to create a poster for its upcoming European tour. The design was then tweaked slightly by designer Craig Braun before it appeared in its final version on the back cover of the band’s 1971 album Sticky Fingers.
Since then, the Stones logo has appeared countless times — on music releases, T-shirts, stickers, posters and even as the stage for the band’s halftime performance during Super Bowl XL.
According to Wednesday’s lawsuit, Bravado sent Simply Southern a letter on March 1, claiming to be the exclusive licensee to sell Rolling Stones merchandise. The lawyers for Bravado warned Simply Southern that its products were “confusingly similar” to the tongue and lips design, and that such offending merchandise infringed the band’s trademarks.
The complaint filed in federal court (available in its entirety here) includes images Simply Southern’s two offending logos. Both appear visually similar to the Stones logo, but with differences. One is highly similar in shape, but features a different pink-and-leopard print color scheme; the other features the same red color scheme as the Stones logo, but includes a different orientation with different tongue placement.
From Simply Southern’s perspective, that’s enough difference to avoid liability for trademark infringement.
“Because the mouth is an inherently expressive body part, subtle changes in shape and positioning result in markedly different interpretations of emotional expression,” the company wrote. “Bravado’s asserted image is mostly devoid of emotion but has slight hints of either playfulness or defiance. By contrast, Simply Southern’s images are deeply expressive.”
Read Simply Southern’s full complaint here:
Each year during the penultimate week of March, the city of Miami is inundated with superstar DJs, up-and-coming producers, fans and electronic music industry insiders — all of whom flock from around the globe to have a little fun and seek their fortune at Miami Music Week.
As is annual tradition, from Tuesday to Sunday — or in the case of Club Space, which hosts a 48-hour closing party, the following Tuesday — every venue, warehouse, hotel lobby, art gallery and alley that can fit a pair of turntables is transformed into a party; the piece de resistance being Ultra Music Festival, the three-day mega-fest that takes over downtown’s Bayfront Park the weekend following MMW.
But other than throwing parties, booking every hotel room within a 20-mile radius and getting roughly five hours of sleep a night, what is everyone actually doing? What, exactly, is Miami Music Week actually for?
This business-laced bacchanal got its start in 1986 when dance music fans Louis Possenti and Bill Kelly organized the first Winter Music Conference. What started in a Fort Lauderdale Marriott over the years expanded to host an estimated 100,000 people in its golden age in the ’90s. The conference lured a who’s who of DJs, record label executives and everyone in between to Florida’s tropical beaches to talk shop, swap records, test the latest gear and share a cocktail or 20.
WMC also hosted informative panels alongside a lineup of official pool parties, demo submission opportunities for up-and-coming artists and capped this celebration with the International Dance Music Awards.
Soon, satellite parties not officially associated with WMC popped up around the city, taking advantage of the wealth of talent flying in. The first Ultra Music Festival came to life on South Beach in 1999, and by 2011 had grown from one day to three, becoming one of the largest and most successful dance music festivals not only in the United States, but the world. In 2011, when WMC decided to move to early March while Ultra kept it’s later in the month dates (effectively forcing the industry at large to choose one of the other week), the MMW brand was born to give a name to the week of parties leading up to the festival.
In 2018, Ultra bought WMC outright, putting on small iterations of the Conference in 2018 and 2019. After the pandemic, however, there’s been no conference at all. (Its official website has been updated for 2024, suggesting a return next year.)
Still, hundreds of thousands of electronic music makers, lovers and executives keep returning for MMW. But how important for business is Miami Music Week? Or is it just a party? In an industry that parties for business, does it accomplish both goals?
View From Spinnins Sessions Miami Music Week 2023
@10kphotography
“I’ve been going to Miami for more than 10 years already, and I almost never went to the conference,” says Jorn Heringa, Head of A&R at Spinnin Records. This year, he and VP of Marketing Susanne Hazendonk flew to Miami from Spinnin’s Dutch HQ to take advantage of what they see as one of the most important business opportunities of the dance calendar year.
“You have a little drink together and it makes our chats a bit easier,” Hazendonk laughs. “But I wouldn’t say it’s just partying. It’s definitely also business — otherwise we wouldn’t be allowed to fly over.”
“It’s great for us to be here, because normally you don’t see a lot of American artists and managers,” Heringa continues. “Amsterdam Dance Event is just the overall business, and I think Miami is more DJ-minded — there’s a lot of DJs and managers around.”
With so many of Spinnin’s DJs and producers in one picturesque locale, the label books tons of talent for its Spinnin Sessions Pool Party and asks these artists to take part in press runs and on-site shoots, filming content that can be shared on social media for months to come.
“We also try to launch a couple of really important club tracks, so DJs can test the waters,” Heringa says. “If it feels good, they hopefully will play it in their sets at Ultra or one of the bigger pool parties — because it’s the starting point of the summer, and if it works over there, they will play it the whole season.”
Ultra proudly proclaims itself as one of the most globally attended festivals in the electronic world. Heringa and Hazendonk liken its global impact with that of Tomorrowland in Europe. Add to that the Ultra livestream broadcast, viewed by millions, and you’ve got a recipe for serious exposure.
“That has a lot of impact on our current marketing strategies,” Hazendonk says, “so it moves the needle for sure.”
You don’t have to be a record label or artist playing Ultra to feel the impact. Brownies & Lemonade is an event production brand that started in Los Angeles and now hosts a variety of concepts across the country. After hosting a stage takeover at Ultra and its first MMW event in 2018, B&L considers MMW pivotal.
“Miami Music Week is one of the few events where, no matter how big or small you are, you can have some sort of involvement,” says co-founder Kush Fernando. “It’s a week long and stretches all around Miami from small to big events, as well as Ultra. If you’re into dance music in some capacity, you should definitely try to take advantage and do something.”
For Fernando and his team, MMW has become a spotlight and launch pad for whatever the B&L brand sees as its most important activations. “Our drum’n’bass parties [DnBnL] are a big initiative for us, so we really wanted to have the presence of that at Miami Music Week,” he continues. Fernando says that in the past, B&L’s Miami events made enough to cover their expenses, although this year’s sold-out events turned a profit.
Madeon Plays Brownie & Lemonade’s Miami Music Week 2023 Show.
Acre Media
Standing on the side of the stage at B&L’s Thursday night party, the impact MMW can have on an artist could be seen first-hand. Madeon was delivering a massive DJ set, complete with his hyper-saturated Good Faith Forever visuals. A group of industry insiders gathered in VIP to watch, including up-and-coming producers ISOxo and Moore Kismet, both of whom were scheduled to play Ultra in the coming days.
When Madeon started mixing into ISOxo’s single “Beam,” the friends looked at each other, jaws on the floor. They started jumping up and down, and then Madeon turned and waved ISOxo to join him on stage. You could tell it was a moment the 22-year-old would never forget.
“When I first experienced Miami Music week, I was a college student in Miami working as a waitress,” remembers Stefania Aronin, known now to fans as DJ and producer Nala, with releases on Dirtybird, Pets Recordings and her own label Mi Domina. “It was the first time I realized I could pursue a career in music and be part of the arts and entertainment world. By the time I left the infamous Hard to Leave Sunday party at 7:00 a.m., I decided to quit my waitressing job two hours later and throw myself into the music events industry 100 percent.”
Aronin lived in Miami at the time, and though she now lives in LA, she returns each year to take advantage of booking and networking opportunities.
“While partying is still a big part of the week, I’m at a different point in my career where the goal is to discuss track releases, tour dates, and collab opportunities with old and new colleagues,” she says. “It’s about sending unreleased tracks to friends and playing parties that showcase your art direction. This past week, I spent a lot of time reconnecting with artists, promoters, agents and label managers from cities across the world. It’s a mix of a reunion and a reminder that we’re all pushing full speed ahead in our careers.”
“Miami Music Week is definitely a highlight of my year,” says Brandon Kessler, co-founder of Miami-based management company Super Music Group, whose roster includes Grammy-nominated artists Amtrac and Durate and Major Lazer member Ape Drums. “Being from Miami, it’s amazing for everyone in our industry and the artists we manage to be together in our city playing shows and networking. This year was my 15th MMW, and every year it reminds me of the growth we’ve made during the previous year.”
Kessler’s client Amtrac used MMW as a platform to launch a new party concept called Go Time!, going back-to-back with his friend Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, a show Kessler says “had the nostalgia of an OG MMW event.” While Kessler declined to comment on the profitability of these shows, he calls them “a labor of love.”
Ian O’ Connor
So too was the panel that LP Giobbi and her Femme House non-profit organized at the W South Beach on March 24.
“During a week that is chaotic to say the least, it was important to me to take a beat to set intentions on what we are all doing out in Miami in the first place,” LP Giobbi says. “Hearing all the panelists and my co-founder, Lauren Spalding, speak about allyship and equity gave me the fuel I needed to power through that week.”
This panel, Allyship and Amplification: Creating Equity in Dance Music invited representatives of Spotify, UTA, Diplo’s Higher Ground label and more (including the author of this piece) to discuss the current state of the industry’s diversity initiatives. It was well-attended, demonstrating that there’s still a demand for informative panels during this party marathon. One of the young women in the audience told me days later on Instagram that it was the highlight of her MMW.
“If we just go into the city, throw a party and then leave, it kind of seems like we’re missing the point,” says Bryan Linares, Label Manager at Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak. He’s worked with the company for more than 15 years and has been coming to Miami for 14.
“What we’re trying to do is figure out how we make this more of an interactive experience,” he says. “How do we create more of a community with fans, but also with up-and-coming artists?”
Toward that end, Dim Mak set up a demo submission opportunity for emerging artists to have their songs heard by label heads, who in turn gave them instant feedback. It’s something Dim Mak started at last year’s ADE and hopes to continue in cities across the U.S.
Speaking of upcoming talent, there is one segment of MMW that still feels under-represented no matter where you go: Miami itself.
“The scene is kind of getting run over — like, trampled,” says Miami event producer Justin Lobo. “It’s all become super-commercialized, and there’s not really a place for locals to have the spotlight shined on them. Club Space kind of does that for some of our locals, but they’re basically a huge conglomerate. At the end of the day, the majority of people that come here are tourists, and we live here. We should be able to get a piece of that.”
Rather than sit and complain, Lobo and his buddies put on a massive house party some 20 minutes west of the main MMW hub. Happening on March 25 (the second night of Ultra), the cheekily titled Miami A– Party fit a few hundred locals into two downstairs rooms and a backyard, transformed with club-quality sound systems, lighting tech and some of the highest-tier DJ and live music talent I heard all week — all of whom are born or based in Miami and south Florida.
Anastasiya Verbytskaya
Cars lined every edge of grassy lawns for a roughly five-block radius, while inside, the kitchen was completely covered in silver wrapping; disco grooves bounced off the refrigerator and through the ears of sweaty dancers. Another room was set up with a folding table where DJs played straight-up electro records in the dark for hours on end. Every time someone accidentally hit a light switch, the room of kids would shout until someone turned them back off.
There were full bars set up in each room, and a merch table with Miami A– Party t-shirts in the backyard. Here, I heard a live band play everything from ‘80s new wave covers to country music before having my mind totally blown by the improvisational grooves of three-piece band Eris. Lobo says he lost money on the party, but, “For the sake of the party and the community, I said, ‘F–k it.’”
It was particularly insane that all this was going on in a two-story residence, while just a quick drive away, essentially every major electronic artist in the world was playing. The party went until 9 a.m. the next morning, until one of the neighbors finally called the cops.
“I think that there’s a possibility we might bring this thing to the [94th Aero] Squadron,” Lobo says, referencing one of Miami’s large and off-the-beaten path venues near the airport. “That’s a big dream of mine. You put a thousand people in there that don’t know any of these f—ing locals—well, guess what? After that party? You’re going to know who they are.”
In a new open letter signed by Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Andrew Yang and more on Wednesday (March 29), leaders in technology, academia and politics came together to call for a moratorium on training AI systems “more advanced than Chat GPT-4” for “at least 6 months.”
The letter states that “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity,” including the increased spread of propaganda and fake news as well as automation leading to widespread job loss. “Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?” the letter asks.
By drawing the line at AI models “more advanced than Chat GPT-4,” the signees are likely pointing to generative artificial intelligence — a term encompassing a subset of AI that can create new content after being trained via the input of millions or even billions of pieces of data. While some companies license or create their own training data, a large number of AIs are trained using data sets scraped from the web that contain copyright-protected material, including songs, books, articles, images and more. This practice has sparked widespread debate over whether or not AI companies should be required to obtain consent or to compensate the rights holders, and whether the fast-evolving models will endanger the livelihoods of musicians, illustrators and other creatives.
Before late 2022, generative AI was little discussed outside of tech-savvy circles, but it has gained national attention over the last six months. Popular examples of generative AI today include image generators like DALLE-2, Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, which use simple text prompts to conjure up realistic pictures. Chatbots (also called Large Language Models or “LLMs”) like Chat GPT are also considered generative, as are machines that can create new music at the touch of a button. Though generative AI models in music have yet to make as many headlines as chatbots and image generators, companies like Boomy, Soundful, Beatlab, Google’s Magenta, Open AI and others are already building them, leading to fears that their output could one day threaten human-made music.
The letter urging the pause in AI training was signed by some of AI’s biggest executives. They notably include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, Conjecture AI CEO Connor Leahy, Unanimous AI CEO and chief scientist Louis Rosenberg and Scale AI CEO Julien Billot. It was also signed by Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and Ripple CEO Chris Larsen.
Other signees include several engineers and researchers at Microsoft, Google and Meta, though it notably does not include any names from Open AI, the firm behind the creation of Chat GPT-4.
“This does not mean a pause on AI development in general, merely a stepping back from the dangerous race to ever-larger unpredictable black-box models with emergent capabilities,” the letter continues. Rather, the industry must “jointly develop and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts.”
The letter comes only a few weeks after several major organizations in the entertainment industry, including in music, came together to release a list of seven principles, detailing how they hope to protect and support “human creativity” in the wake of the AI boom. “Policymakers must consider the interests of human creators when crafting policy around AI,” the coalition wrote. “Creators live on the forefront of, and are building and inspiring, evolutions in technology and as such need a seat at the table.”
YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen is being honored with the City of Hope’s 2023 Spirit of Life Award, the cancer research and treatment organization announced Wednesday (March 29). The award will be presented at a gala dinner Oct. 18 at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.
“City of Hope is proud to honor the notable contributions of Lyor Cohen and celebrate 50 years of philanthropic partnership with the Music, Film and Entertainment Industry group,” said Robert Stone, City of Hope CEO and Helen & Morgan Chu CEO distinguished chair, in a statment. “This collection of industry leaders has made extraordinary contributions to our mission and continues to enhance our ability to deliver tomorrow’s breakthrough innovations today. We look forward to partnering with Lyor and the larger music community in the years ahead to develop new cures and save patient lives.”
Cohen started his career as a road manager for Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys before moving on to executive leadership roles at companies including Def Jam, Warner Music Group and 300 Entertainment, which he co-founded in 2012. Cohen joined YouTube as global head of music in 2016. He sits on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Independent Venue Association and is an acting director for the New York-based charity SCAN-Harbor.
“If you have the opportunity to give a gift back to the industry you love, with an organization like City of Hope, whose doctors and scientists’ passion for helping others is so extraordinary, it’s a no-brainer,” said Cohen. “My career has been shaped by a contrarian point of view. Open to making mistakes, making big bets, unpopular decisions and being comfortable with change; that is how culture shifts and how breakthroughs happen. To me, these are many of the same qualities that make City of Hope’s mission to transform the future of cancer care across all communities so impactful. I am honored to join this admirable group of Spirit of Life recipients and look forward to continuing the tradition of leaning on music to bring us together.”
Wednesday’s announcement kicks off a year-long fundraising initiative for City of Hope that includes such events as the Taste of Hope wine dinner and auction on May 17 in New York City, the Music Trivia Bowl on July 20 in Los Angeles and the annual Songs of Hope event.
Evan Lamberg, president of Universal Music Publishing Group North America and president of City of Hope’s Music, Film & Entertainment Industry board, added that the board is “thrilled” to honor Cohen: “In addition to Lyor powering American Hip Hop as a cultural and musical phenomenon, I have known him to have a big heart and passion when it comes to helping others. This is certainly a prime example of that as he now takes an incredible step in helping City of Hope fight cancer, diabetes and HIV.”
Previous recipients of the Spirit of Life Award include Republic Records co-founders Monte and Avery Lipman, Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, Epic Records chairman/CEO Sylvia Rhone and former Greenberg Traurig attorney Joel Katz.
As a kid, I dreamed of being a unicorn. Now that I am one, I recognize I’m just one of the herd. When I gaze at festival lineups, skirt cables backstage, log onto Zoom meetings with labels or give the post-COVID elbow bump before settling down for an in-person, women are still scarce. We make up a fraction of the music industry, both in presence and recognition. However, we are here and always have been.
The world of jazz is a microcosm within the industry, but it mirrors the greater whole. While the majority of celebrated titans are men, the smattering of women in the pantheon are often finely coiffed, smiling behind mics and backed by an entirely male band. However, people need to take a closer look. For example, Louis Armstrong wouldn’t be an international icon without wife Lillian ‘Lil’ Hardin Armstrong. She was a celebrated pianist, composer/arranger, bandleader and singer in her own right long before taking Louis under her wing. Yet, few know her name.
There are countless other women in front of and behind the scenes who remain obscured, despite the valuable contributions they’ve made to the music and business. How do we bring the overlooked to center stage and expand the spotlight? Enter Grammy- and Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter-actress Dee Dee Bridgewater and The Woodshed Network.
Bridgewater launched this artists residency in 2019 with me as co-artistic director and program curator. We‘re steadily building community, providing support and educating cohorts of women in jazz. The annual 10-day program (Feb. 27-March 10 this year) is bolstered by a who’s who of women executives, creatives and legends including Sheila E., Lizz Wright, Regina Carter, Maria Schneider and more. Alumnae are busy topping charts (Lakecia Benjamin’s “Phoenix”), releasing albums (Candice Hoyes’ “Nite Bjuti”) and winning Grammys for arrangements and compositions (Marta Sanchez’s “Unchanged” on Terri Lyne Carrington’s New Standards. Vol. 1).
However, this is just one piece of a very large puzzle. Before you can hold space, you have to create it. The most enduring line from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams can be applied to jazz and the industry more broadly: “If you build it, (s)he will come.” Across the world, various programs are creating spaces for women in all sectors of the industry … and women are joining in droves.
Here are a few tangible examples of those fields plus several accompanying myths that spring to mind. So let’s get down to busting those myths, shall we?
Myth 1: There are no women sound engineers.
Women may make up only 2.1% of engineers, but they’re flipping all the right switches and turning award-winning knobs. Examples: Woodshed mentors Jett Galindoand Grammy winner Jaclyn “Jackie Boom” Sanchez. This dynamic duo has been with the program since its launch, breaking down process, equipment and production in all formats from recording to release. Organizations like Women in Vinyl, SoundGirls and Women’s Audio Mission are also training, supporting and getting gigs for women in sound recording, mixing and mastering.
Myth 2: No women run labels or produce music.
Betty Carter launched BetCar Records in 1970. Dee Dee Bridgewater launched DDB Records in 2006. Jazzmeia Horn launched Empress Legacy Records in 2020. Lizz Wright launched Blues & Greens Records in 2022. All produce and release projects on their own labels with distributors. Some 15% of women in the industry overall run labels, while even fewer produce their own material at 2.6%. Throw in songwriting and they figure into that 12.5%. These are just four examples among countless others.
Myth 3: People don’t care about jazz.
Tell that to the Nice Jazz Festival (founded in 1948, France), Monterey Jazz Festival (f. 1957, USA), Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (f. 1959, Canada), Montreux (f. 1967) and New Orleans & Jazz Heritage Festival (f. 1970). They’re all going strong. Globally, jazz is one of the most sought-after genres. Ella Fitzgerald said it best: “Music is the universal language.” Yet, when you turn up to one of these festivals, only 14% of the headliners are women.
Considering that women comprise over 49% of the world’s population, influence more than 80% of purchases and are set to hold 66% of consumer wealth in the coming years, this is not a demographic to ignore.
Something is amiss.
So how do we fix it?
1. Start at the beginning organizationally and include women.
When Woodshed took the Keychange pledge (the global campaign committed to gender equality in the music industry), we realized that we’d already surpassed the goal line. Women make up 90% of our team and 100% of our mentees, mentors and speakers. We have precisely zero problems finding leaders in every category and facet of the music industry who are women. There is so much pent-up desire to mentor and pay it forward that we have a year’s-long list of women who have approached Woodshed to participate on both sides of the table.
2. Make larger tables and bring folding chairs.
When organizations make it central to their mission to include women, not for tokenism, but in acknowledgment of their contributions, experience and expertise, they’re stronger for it. Echo chambers may be good for vocal effects, but they’re terrible for healthy businesses and communities. A quick internet search yields pages of results for women in various fields of the music industry. Let your fingers do the walking and hire more women in all positions. It’s not a capitulation, it’s a sound investment in your organization’s future.
3. Free the unicorns.
Once individuals and organizations take stock of their own houses, they can look outward to the community. The ripple effect is positive in all aspects. By creating, maintaining and ensuring the health of spaces inclusive of and specifically for women, The Woodshed Network is investing in the future. A thriving jazz community fosters dynamic exchanges of ideas and, in its highest form, democracy. Women belong on the bandstand, behind the scenes, and in C-suites. We’re providing support, resources, visibility … and space. What will you do? It’s time to crossfade into the thundering hooves of unicorns.
Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski is the founder and president of Bridgewater Artists Management and co-artistic director and program curator of The Woodshed Network.
Sources: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s “Inclusion in the Recording Studio?” by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Dr. Katherine Pieper, Hannah Clark, Ariana Case & Marc Choueiti, Jan. 2020. Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship’s “Women in the U.S. Music Industry: Obstacles and Opportunities” by Becky Prior, Erin Barra, Sharon Kramer, Ph.D. “Music Festivals’ Glaring Woman Problem” by Alanna Vagianos, Huffington Post. “Tracking the Gender Balance of This Year’s Music Festival Lineups” by Rob Mitchum and Diego Garcia-Olano, Pitchfork. Keychange PRS Foundation’s “Keychange Manifesto: Recommendations for a gender-balanced music industry”; designed by Ian Robson and Infographics by Jon Stanbrook.
Citing a need to make “hard choices in order to evolve,” Warner Music Group chief executive Robert Kyncl announced on Wednesday a slate of cost-trimming measures that includes a 4% reduction in staff and a reallocation of resources towards tech initiatives and “new skills for artist and songwriter development.”
Kyncl, who took over as CEO earlier this year, said in a staff memo seen by Billboard that approximately 270 people will be let go and that there will also be reductions in open positions and various discretionary spending at the company to “provide us with additional flexibility for our future.”
Affected employees will hear from their managers in the next 24 hours, Kyncl said, adding that the actions are not a “blanket cost-cutting exercise” and that “every decision has been made thoughtfully by our operators around the world, who considered the specific needs, skills, and priorities of each label, division, and territory, in order to set us up for long-term success.”
Read Kyncl’s full memo below:
Hi everyone,
As I mentioned at our first All-Hands meeting last month, I’m committed to direct and honest communication with all of you. The music business is filled with new possibilities: more fans are engaging with artists and songs than ever, our reach is enormous, and new business models are constantly emerging. WMG is positioning itself for this new phase of growth at the intersection of creativity and technology.
In my discussions with our leaders across the company, many of them came to the same conclusion – that to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to make some hard choices in order to evolve. Consistent with this direction, we’ve made the tough decision to reduce our global team by approximately 270 people, or about 4%. At the same time, we’re reallocating resources towards new skills for artist and songwriter development and new tech initiatives. We’re also reducing discretionary spending and open positions to provide us with additional flexibility for our future.
I want to be clear that this is not a blanket cost-cutting exercise. Every decision has been made thoughtfully by our operators around the world, who considered the specific needs, skills, and priorities of each label, division, and territory, in order to set us up for long-term success. The leader of your division will either be holding a town hall or sending an email to explain more about this path forward.
I’m also acutely aware of how unsettling this can be. Having to say goodbye to talented colleagues is always difficult. For those of you who will be leaving WMG, please know that we’re deeply grateful for your hard work, dedication, and all you’ve contributed to this company. In all territories, except where you are explicitly told there will be a review or consultation period, anyone affected will hear from your leaders, supervisors, or People team reps within 24 hours. I know this transition will be tough, but we’re committed to supporting you during this process.
In times of great disruption in our world and society, artists and songwriters who have something original to say, who rise to the occasion, will resonate the loudest. Equally, the rapid changes in our economy and ecosystem create the conditions and opportunities for innovation and breakthroughs. I learned when I joined WMG that this is a gritty, incredibly resourceful, and highly impactful team that I want by my side every day of the week. We deliver for our artists, songwriters, and labels with laser focus, inventiveness, and care. And now, more than ever, we need to double down on that.
I’ll have more to say about all of this at our next All-Hands meeting, including more details on our plan.
Let’s support each other with empathy and integrity as we work through this process.
Thank you,
Robert
BMI enjoyed a double win Tuesday (March 28) in a federal rate court decision that will increase the royalties the performance rights organizations’ songwriters earn at live events.
The federally adjudicated decision in BMI’s rate case against Live Nation, AEG and the North American Concert Promoters Association (NACPA) awarded a 138% increase in rate to 0.5% of the event’s revenue. It also expands that revenue base to include the full price of concert hall VIP packages and box suites, tickets sold directly to the secondary market and servicing fees received by the promoters.
Previously, the revenue definition only reflected earnings directly from the face value of primary market ticket sales.
The rate and expanded revenue base applies to the period of mid-2018 through Dec. 31, 2022.
On the flipside, Southern District of New York Judge Louis Stanton, who handed down the rate court decision, rejected BMI’s attempt to ditch the historical 10% discount fee that the trade group and its promoters get for helping to administer the license on behalf of BMI. As well, BMI’s effort to expand the revenue base to also include sponsorship and advertising revenue was also rejected.
“This is a massive victory for BMI and the songwriters, composers and publishers we represent,” BMI president Mike O’Neill said in a statement. “It will have a significant and long-term positive impact on the royalties they receive for the live concert category. We are gratified the Court agreed with BMI’s position that the music created by songwriters and composers is the backbone of the live concert industry and should be valued accordingly. Today’s decision also underscores BMI’s continued mission to fight on behalf of our affiliates, no matter how long it takes, to ensure they receive fair value for their creative work.”
“We advocated on behalf of artists to keep their costs down, and managed to hold the increase to less than 1/3 of BMI’s proposed increase,” said a Live Nation spokesperson in a statement. “This will cost the performers we work with approximately $15 million a year spread out over thousands of artists, and cost increases for Live Nation directly are not material.”
Prior to this decision, BMI and the live concert industry have been operating under a license negotiated in 1998 that was renewed twice through June 30, 2013. That agreement called for promoters to pay a performance licensing rate of 0.3% of revenue for concert venues with under 10,000 seats, and 0.15% of revenue for venues with over 10,000 seats. That rate, and the revenue definition that only covered primary market ticket sales, also served as the interim rate until this decision came down today.
AEG did not respond to immediate requests for comment. The NACPA could not be reached for comment.
Kakao Corp. and its subsidiary, Kakao Entertainment, increased their share of K-pop company SM Entertainment to 39.9% from 4.9% after purchasing 1.66 million shares from HYBE. That left HYBE with 54% of its shares in SM Entertainment, according to a Tuesday (March 28) regulatory filing.
HYBE sold its 1.66 million SM shares for 248.8 billion won ($191.8 million), or 150,000 won ($115.62) per share, leaving it with an 8.8% stake in SM Entertainment. HYBE had planned to sell its entire stake, the company said in a Friday filing, but it did not offload all of its shares during Kakao’s tender offer. Now that the battle for control of SM is over, HYBE’s remaining stake in SM is worth less than its purchase price. With Kakao’s tender having expired on Sunday and SM shareholders no longer able to sell at a premium, SM’s share price dropped 15% to 91,100 ($70.23) won on Monday and improved slightly to 94,300 won ($72.70) on Tuesday.
SM Entertainment, home to such K-pop acts as NCT-127 and Red Velvet, is partnering with Kakao Corp. and Kakao Entertainment to expand globally as it reorganizes following a split with its founder, Lee Soo-man. Kakao Entertainment owns K-pop group Monsta X’s label, Starship Entertainment, as well as the Korean music streaming platform Melon.
HYBE acquired about 3.5 million SM shares from Lee at 120,000 won per share, according to a Feb. 10 regulatory filing. After flirting with a campaign to take board seats and some operational control in SM, HYBE changed course and conceded to Kakao on March 13. “Proceeding with a higher tender offer [to beat Kakao’s bid] may have in turn caused a negative impact on our shareholders and we also judged it may have further overheated the market,” HYBE said in a statement at the time. The company had hoped to acquire an additional 25% stake in SM at 120,000 won ($92.51) per share, but its tender offer fizzled and increased its stake from 14.8% to just 15.8%.