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A Louisiana federal judge has finalized an unusual legal decision that says American copyright termination rules apply not just stateside but also across the globe, unswayed by warnings that it will cause “destabilization of long-settled business practices” in the music industry.
Ruling on a dispute over the 1963 rock classic “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love),” Judge Shelly Dick said Thursday that songwriter Cyril Vetter could win back full copyright ownership to the track from publisher Resnik Music Group via termination — an important federal provision that allows artists to take back their rights decades after they sold them away.
What makes the ruling notable is that Judge Dick said Vetter could recapture rights to the song “throughout the world,” not just in the U.S. That’s a big departure from the status quo under longstanding legal precedents, which say that reversions apply only to the American market and have no effect on rights in foreign countries.
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Resnik has warned that such a decision will be deeply disruptive to the music industry. In court filings, the company has argued it will “upend” existing practices and could even violate international treaty obligations: “The result would be chaos … rather than the orderly system that the nations of the world have in fact developed over more than a century.”
Music attorneys have also taken notice. Tal Dickstein, a prominent litigator at the law firm Loeb & Loeb, wrote in August that Judge Dick was “breaking with existing precedent” by extending the power of termination overseas. Eric J. Schwartz, an attorney at the firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, said the ruling would be a “major upheaval” if upheld (though he said that “seems unlikely”). Bill Hochberg, another longtime music attorney, went much further, saying the “Double Shot” case could “radically revolutionize the way the music business runs” and might be “financially devastating” for large entertainment companies.
The ruling for Vetter — largely explained in an earlier decision last summer and finalized in Thursday’s judgment — is likely to be challenged at a federal appeals court; defense attorneys already attempted to file an appeal at an earlier stage in the case. An attorney for Resnik did not immediately return a request for comment on the ruling on Friday (Jan. 31).
If it were to be adopted in courts across the country, Judge Dick’s approach would be a boon for songwriters and their heirs. Under existing precedent and practices, publishers often continue to own foreign rights even after a U.S. termination, giving them potential veto power over cross-border projects and a bargaining chip in negotiations with the artist. Under the new ruling, songwriters would get back all of their rights, not just their American copyright.
For Tim Kappel, the attorney who represented Vetter in the case, that’s exactly the point — helping songwriters truly get the artist-friendly protections that federal lawmakers envisioned when they created the termination right in the 1970s.
“The [ruling] is consistent with Congress’ intent to provide creators with a second chance to benefit from the fruits of their labor,” Kappel tells Billboard. “There’s a fundamental fairness to that result that Mr. Vetter is dedicated to defending.”
Asked about the cries of “chaos” from his opponents, Kappel called those claims “speculative and fairly alarmist.” As to whether the ruling will “destabilize” music industry practices, he said those practices might just be ripe for disruption.
“A court is not bound to interpret the Copyright Act so as to conform to comfortable business practices,” Kappel said. “In fact, to the extent these business practices rely on misguided legal theories that prevent artists and writers from receiving the full benefit of their termination rights, we believe such practices are rightfully destabilized.”
Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday (Jan. 31) entered into a joint venture with Cutting Edge Group, an investor and manager of niche media music rights, aimed at generating more revenue from its massive catalog of iconic film and TV songs, including the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises.
Cutting Edge, which works with wellness music for hotel spas and orchestral renditions of pop songs for shows like Bridgerton, will jointly manage the new business, while Warner Bros. Discovery will keep creative and operational control of the catalog. Global asset manager DWS Group co-invested and sponsored the transaction with Cutting Edge.
Warner Bros. Discovery previously explored selling part of its catalog and hired famed entertainment attorney Allen Grubman to shop it for as much as $1 billion. The launch of a company dedicated to exploiting the catalog of more than 400,000 compositions and song cues signals its potential value is even higher.
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The catalog spans almost 100 years of copyrights, including music from the DC Comics movies, Rebel Without a Cause, The Exorcist, A Star is Born, Blade Runner and Shawshank Redemption; and hit TV shows like Friends, Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, Two and Half Men, Succession, The White Lotus, The West Wing, ER, Full House, Sex & The City and Gossip Girl.
Warner Bros. Discovery was formed in 2022 through the merger of AT&T’s WarnerMedia Unit and Discovery Inc. Universal Music Publishing Group will continue to administer the works from Warner Brothers, HBO and Turner Networks, while the works from Discovery and Scripps will continue to be administered by Sony Music Publishing.
“This partnership … is the perfect way to expand access to our unparalleled music library while honoring our long history of strong creative oversight and protecting the integrity of the works and artists,” Paul Broucek, Warner Bros. Discovery’s president of music, said in a statement.
Cutting Edge head Philip Moross said the joint venture was the result of years of work.
“This truly is an iconic assembly of catalogs created over almost a century by one of Hollywood’s original studios and to have the opportunity to invest in and manage this JV alongside WBD is an incredibly exciting prospect for us,” Moross said.
Cutting Edge said last year it secured a $500 million credit facility from Fifth Third Bank, Northleaf Capital Partners and other banks.
January is not even over and 2025 already feels like a peak year for animosity toward Spotify — and that’s saying something given the criticism the company has attracted since emerging in 2008 as a potential savior for a piracy-riddled music industry. Even though music and commerce have always been uncomfortable partners in a marriage of necessity, the relationship has never been sourer.
Call it “the Spotify paradox.” Streaming — led by Spotify — has made the music business the biggest it’s been in 25 years, allowed unsigned artists to reach fans around the world, revived the popularity of local language music and enabled artists to sell their catalogs at valuations unthinkable a decade earlier — and yet discontent has never been greater. Industry revenues are soaring, but many artists and songwriters are struggling and angry.
Part of the disgruntlement can be explained by simple math. There are more songs by more artists chasing a finite amount of listeners’ attention. Spotify had a catalog of 35 million songs at the end of 2017, according to its F-1 filing. At the end of 2023 — the latest count available — Spotify had over 100 million tracks and 5 million podcasts. That’s nearly a threefold increase in catalog in just six years. And although its subscribers grew more than threefold to 236 million from 71 million over that time span, Spotify’s success at keeping its listeners engaged is such that the per-stream royalty — the metric people associate with economic health and fairness — is lower than that of its peers. (See Liz Dilts Marshall’s recent article that ranks streaming services by per-stream royalties, according to a report from catalog investor Duetti.) Global recorded music revenues have improved greatly over that time span, rising 81% to $28.6 billion in 2023 from $15.8 billion in 2017, according to the IFPI.
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But as industry revenues have consistently grown, individual artists — whose numbers are growing fast because barriers to entry no longer exist — don’t feel like they’re receiving a fair share of the bounty. Discontent is so noticeable because, in part, there are more artists to complain. Three decades ago, it required a record contract to enter the commercial music world. Today, anybody can do it. Luminate tracked an average of 99,000 new tracks uploaded to DSPs per day in 2024. That’s about 36 million new tracks competing for listeners’ attention each year. On Spotify alone, 5 million artists had a catalog of at least 100 tracks, according to the company’s latest Loud & Clear report.
Of course, per-stream payouts could be improved if Spotify encouraged people to listen less, thereby reducing the number of songs paid out from a fixed pool of money and raising the average per-stream royalty. With less music streamed, the average payout would shoot well beyond its current 0.3 cents per stream. But that would be counterproductive. In the streaming world, growth comes from keeping people engaged and, ultimately, turning them into paying subscribers. Turn away listeners and they could end up at social media platforms, where payouts are even skimpier, or broadcast radio, which pays artists and record labels nothing.
Many people see that royalties from purchases are fairer than streaming royalties, but listening and buying habits have changed how the money flows. As more people streamed more often, artists and songwriters received less money from old formats. In the fourth quarter of 2017, AM/FM radio accounted for 48% of Americans’ time spent listening to audio while streaming (including YouTube and podcasts) took a 26.5% share, according to Edison Research. By the fourth quarter of 2023, AM/FM commanded just a 36% share, while streaming (including podcasts) accounted for 45%. (Including audiobooks, which are both streamed and downloaded, that number rises to 48%.) Owned music’s share of listening — a.k.a. sales of CDs, vinyl and downloads, which fell sharply over that time span — dropped from 13% in 2017 to 4% in 2023. Also, in the streaming economy, new artists are competing for royalties with older songs. In the U.S. in 2024, catalog music (defined as more than 18 months old) accounted for 73.3% of total album equivalent consumption, according to Luminate.
Much of the discontent over Spotify, however, is less wonky and more human. The company’s actions have become widely seen as antithetical to the artists it claims to support. A turning point came in December when Harper’s ran an excerpt from Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine, a book that reveals, among other things, how Spotify bought music from nameless musicians to infuse some playlists — namely background music such as “chill” where brand names aren’t necessary — with cost-saving alternatives to professional musicians who would receive royalties for each stream. This alleged use of “fake” musicians has been reported in music circles for years, but Pelly’s book, in part because of its deep reporting and previously unknown details, captured mainstream attention rarely attained by a music industry topic that doesn’t involve Taylor Swift.
The Harper’s article, and Pelly’s ensuing book tour, spawned a flood of reviews and reaction articles about how Spotify devalues music, hurts artists, gives users a poor listening experience and is an algorithm-driven song-picker that provides its users only an illusion of choice. But the onslaught of Spotify coverage at old-school media is nothing compared to the countless videos uploaded to YouTube over the years. Enter a search phrase such as “Spotify hurts artists” or “Spotify royalties” and you can wade for hours through such topics as Spotify’s change in royalty payouts (“Spotify no longer paying artists for streams in 2024?”) and explainers on royalty accounting (“Spotify doesn’t pay artists….this is why”).
Contributing to the storm clouds was Spotify’s scheme to lower its royalties to songwriters and publishers. Last March, Spotify incensed the songwriting community when it adopted a lower mechanical royalty rate by contending its premium subscription tier’s music-and-audiobook offering qualified for a reduced royalty rate granted to bundles of digital services. Unsurprisingly, the publishing community, including numerous Grammy songwriter of the year nominees, said they wouldn’t attend Spotify’s Songwriter of the Year Grammy party, which ended up being canceled in the wake of the fires in Los Angeles. Earlier this week, a U.S. court agreed with Spotify, saying the federal royalty rules are “unambiguous” and rejecting the Mechanical Licensing Collective’s lawsuit arguing that Spotify was not actually offering a bundle of services.
Writing the biggest checks of any streaming service doesn’t get Spotify out of this paradox. This week, Spotify announced it paid $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, a tenfold increase from a decade earlier. That figure implies Spotify generated nearly 20% of the global music copyright, assuming 2024 saw an 8% increase from Will Page’s latest estimate of $45.5 billion in 2023. As Spotify’s payments to the music industry increased tenfold over the last decade, streaming’s growth helped compensate for declines in CD and download sales, and global recorded music revenues more than doubled from 2014 to 2024. But, again, aggregate industry gains don’t capture the experiences of individual artists who feel cheated by streaming economics.
Help could be on the way — someday. If it’s higher per-stream royalties artists want, then changing how royalties are calculated could make a difference. Currently, a streaming service pays royalties by divvying up all users’ subscription and advertising revenue amongst all the tracks streamed during a given month. Whether or not you listened to Taylor Swift, your subscription fees go into the same pile of money funded by Swift’s fans. An alternative method that has gained some traction is a user-centric approach that pays artists from each individual listener. Under this scheme, a listener’s subscription fees, or advertising revenue, goes only to the artists that person streamed. That’s a more favorable approach for album-oriented and niche artists and less appealing for popular songs that get repeat listens. So far, only SoundCloud has adopted the user-centric model.
Artists’ royalties also stand to benefit from efforts to clean up streaming services’ catalogs. Spotify and Deezer have signed on to Universal Music Group’s plan to reward professional musicians by demoting “functional” music and incentivizing distributors to crack down on fraud. Deezer has removed tens of millions of low-quality tracks, and anti-fraud measures may explain why the number of daily new tracks uploaded to streaming services fell about 4% in 2024, according to Luminate. But not all artists feel like they are benefiting from these changes. Spotify’s move to limit royalty payments to tracks with at least 1,000 streams was widely seen as harmful to developing artists (as seen in this column on the streaming threshold from Ari Herstand).
The Spotify paradox may never end, but artists can adjust to their new environment. In 2014, Swift’s catalog was removed from Spotify by her record label, Big Machine Label Group. Earlier that year, Swift had penned an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal that argued “music should not be free” and urged artists to “realize their worth and ask for it.” Her entire catalog returned to Spotify and other streaming platforms in 2017. Did the economics of streaming change during Swift’s three-year hiatus? No, not really. Licensing deals may have extracted marginally better terms for artists and record labels, but streaming royalties are still a fraction of a cent per stream. One thing that changed was that more of Swift’s fans became subscribers to Spotify, Apple Music (which launched in 2015) and other streaming platforms. Today, free streaming still exists, and a stream is still worth a fraction of a cent, but Swift is a case study in how to cultivate a vibrant streaming business while reviving the lost art of album sales.
At this point in his career, Bad Bunny is way beyond breaking records. In 2020, he became the first artist to notch a No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with an all-Spanish album, and he’s the only one to repeat the feat — not one, not two, but four times.
Now, Bad Bunny’s latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, has spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — and it currently seems poised to notch a third consecutive week atop the tally. Of his four No. 1 albums on the all-genre chart, it’s now the second longest running at the top spot; his 2022 set, Un Verano Sin Ti, collected the most weeks there with 13 non-consecutive weeks.
This week, Debí Tirar Más Fotos is also No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, and the song “DtMF” is No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart for the second consecutive week. Bunny, in fact, occupies more than half the top 10 on the Global 200. On Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, nine of the top 10 songs are Bunny’s, including “DtMF” at No. 1.
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It’s an astounding showing, even for an artist as big as Bad Bunny. It’s also worth considering that Debí Tirar Más Fotos debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 following an incomplete debut tracking week due to his decision to release the album on a Sunday — Jan. 5 — in anticipation of the Jan. 6 celebration of Three Kings Day, which is a big deal in Puerto Rico and ties with the album’s love of Puerto Rico theme.
But Bunny quickly made up for lost time with a blitz of finely-tuned and very creative publicity efforts that ping-ponged from the U.S. to Puerto Rico, including his stint co-hosting The Tonight Show alongside Jimmy Fallon, playing a surprise concert at a New York subway station, co-hosting a morning news show in Puerto Rico and surprising local podcaster Chente Ydrach with Puerto Rican parranda.
The final flourish was announcing a 21-date residency at Puerto Rico’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico, with the first several dates available exclusively to Puerto Rican residents.
A major architect in Bunny’s marketing and promotional strategy is Monica Jiménez, director of marketing and brand partnerships at Rimas’ Bad Bunny Division.
Jiménez, who worked with brands like Coty and Procter & Gamble before joining Bunny’s label and management company, works together with Rimas CEO Noah Assad on everything Bad Bunny and was pivotal in executing the artist’s complex vision. The success of Debí Tirar Más Fotos earns her the title of Billboard‘s Executive of the Week.
What exactly was your role in this album’s roll-out?
One of my duties is understand and bring to life the vision of the artist for the album. Benito is an artist who fully immerses himself in the many facets of a release process, including marketing, and it’s crucial to achieve what he visualizes for the project. I usually bring together the amazing ideas of the entire team and also look for new ideas to ensure a robust and strategic plan. I also focus on implementing the plan so it meets expectations, but above all, so it truly represents Benito’s essence as an artist and conveys the message of the project.
So, what was this message? And what was the overlying strategy for the album?
The strategy was telling a story through nostalgia and taking a message of love and appreciation for our upbringing, regardless of where or what that upbringing was. With this album, we underscored our pride for Puerto Rico, and we wanted the whole world to feel this same pride. That’s what we’ve presented in all our storyline and in everything we’ve done inside and outside the island. I think that’s what’s pushed such a special connection between the album and its listeners.
We’re closing in on a third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, more than any other of Benito’s albums except for Un Verano Sin Ti. What do you attribute that success to?
DEBí TiRAR MáS FOToS has been a very special project. I think the entire world has seen and understood the essence of what the album wanted to communicate: Benito’s love for his culture and for his Latin people. I believe this has made the reception to the album different [from other albums].
This feels like more of a passion project than any of Benito’s previous albums. Do you think that has had an impact on people’s obsession with it?
Definitely. Benito has always been very vocal about his commitment and love for Puerto Rico. But here, he’s devoted an entire project to his island — not only conceptually but also musically, betting on root genres and on young, local talent like Los Sobrinos [the band on the album, made up of students from Puerto Rico’s Escuela Libre de Música] and Los Pleneros de La Cresta. It’s made people look at the project from another point of view and value it even more.
Benito did more promo for this album than any other. Why? And how did you convince him to do it?
I truly think his connection with the project made everything flow easier. He wanted to do it that way, to support the release in the way he did. The key is ensuring that what we do resonates with him, with his personality as an artist and with his vision. Once we have that, everything is easier.
Can you give me examples of marketing strategies that you thought were particularly effective?
Our strategy to reveal the song names generated a lot of buzz. We collaborated with Google Maps and Spotify, and as part of the collaboration, coordinates for each song on the album’s tracklist were revealed on Spotify, encouraging fans to dive into Google Maps for hidden clues. We not only looked for a different, interactive way to do this, but it led to many people discovering different places on our island.
Another major effort was the short film released prior to the album. The story it told [of an older man, played by filmmaker and actor Jacobo Morales, who reminisces of his life and love for Puerto Rico] was a great preamble to the album. It was an emotional, well-done piece [directed by Bad Bunny himself] that connected with many people in and out of Puerto Rico. Plus, those short previews of different tracks that were included in the video opened up an enormous conversation on social media on what people could expect from the album.
Does it surprise you that such a Latin album is the most consumed in the U.S.?
More than a “Latin” album, it’s about the [Puerto Rican] rhythms that make up the album. I’m definitely positively surprised, and as a Puerto Rican, it fills my heart. It’s a huge step for music as a whole.
What’s next with this album?
We never stop. There are many things coming up around the album. Plus the residency in Puerto Rico, which is something historic and will definitely be special for everyone who comes to visit and enjoy.
About a year and a half into Gimme Gimme Records’ existence in New York City’s East Village, a leak erupted from an upstairs tenant and landed directly on the only section of CDs. Shop owner and founder Dan Cook says he took the leak – supposedly caused by an upstairs tenant falling asleep while filling the bathtub – “as a sign from God.”
Cook admits that the CD section was quite paltry despite it being the mid-1990s, but he still decided to stick strictly with vinyl going forward.
Plus, he could stick with the tried and tested format since the small space he rented on East 5th Street was incredibly cheap. It was a small storefront, painted forest green with an overhang informing passersby that they both bought and sold records, that Cook shared with “an eccentric dude” who sold items he found on the street and taught piano lessons in the mornings.
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“The building was kind of crummy, honestly,” says Cook of the space he rented out a little over 30 years ago. “We were right next to the 9th Precinct, the police station, so kind of odd vibes for a record store. But for cheap rent, you put up with a lot.”
Despite the eccentric neighbors in the “old East Village,” as Cook puts it, the store was a legitimizing step up from the flea market where he was used to selling his collection. Growing up in Massachusetts, Cook was obsessed with vinyl and would buy records from yard sales and flip them at local record stores for albums he actually wanted. “Then, I moved to New York City and tried doing the same thing, and the stores were not as generous. It was just like, ‘here is 11 cents credit.’” he says, “So, I started saving them up and selling at the Chelsea flea market.”
Dan Cook
Jennifer Black
The store was only open Thursday through Sunday and served as a side business for Cook, who also worked at a bookstore and was the lead vocalist for the Matador Records-signed Lynnfield Pioneers, which formed in 1996 and disbanded by 2000. The band was self-described as “hip-hop-no-wave,” which seems fitting for Cook who calls himself and his store “generalist.”
“That’s something that used to set me apart in New York, being a generalist. I like all types of music. If I go through a box of country records or a box of hip-hop records, I know the good ones,” says Cook. “It broadens my opportunities to bring in stuff.”
The pre-streaming era was ripe with genre purists, but besides some questioning glances, Cook’s love for all kinds of music set him up for success whether it is purchasing new vinyl or sifting through used collections. A genre-agnostic store is more of the norm today and suits the pedestrian traffic of Gimme Gimme’s new location in Highland Park, a retro-leaning neighborhood in Los Angeles.
After 18 years in the New York location (and a rent increase of only $50 from 1994 to 2012), the owner of the East Village location sold the building and Cook decided to move the collection to Highland Park where he and his wife had moved in 2010. For two years, Cook had been assessing vinyl inventory over Skype with friends who were running the shop in New York. But once the building had a new owner, Cook found a 1,200 sq. ft. location on Highland Park’s York Boulevard. The street is full of vintage clothing and furniture shops, small cafes, a 100-year-old bowling alley and plenty of popular restaurants that keep the foot traffic steady in front of the new Gimme Gimme Records.
Gimme Gimme Records
Dan Cook
But the high concentration of vintage lovers also means there’s lots of competition in the area. There are six record stores within a half mile of Gimme Gimme Records, which Cook says both helps and hurts.
“Getting record collections is super competitive,” Cook explains. “I am not just competing with other record stores. There are people with Discogs or eBay and that’s their side hustle.”
On the bright side, having that many record stores in one area makes it a destination for folks visiting. The vinyl enthusiasts and foot traffic are especially valuable since Gimme no longer hosts live shows (they weren’t worth the effort) or sell much outside of its roughly 10,000-15,000 vinyl collection (Cook also collects and sells photography and art books that make up about 2% of Gimme sales).
With about 60% new and 40% used records and a hearty selection of all genres, Gimme is seeing Cook’s generalist tendencies paying off. When the store opened more than 30 years ago, Cook says the clientele was almost exclusively male, but now it’s not uncommon for him to look up from his back counter and see all genders and generations.
“When I first opened the store, it was just sweaty dudes. That’s a cliche, not everyone was, but now its teenagers coming in and grandma/granddaughter duos coming in,” says Cook. “It’s really amazing to see.”
More in this series:
Twist & Shout in Denver, Colo.
Grimey’s in Nashville, Tenn.
Home Rule in Washington, D.C.
Sweat Records in Miami, Fla.
A new report by the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) reveals that live music contributes billions to the Canadian economy.
That’s over $10 billion in GDP during 2023 alone to be precise. Hear and Now: Understanding the economic power and potential of Canada’s live music industry is the first-ever economic impact assessment of Canada’s live music industry, identifying the significance of live music in Canada at the same time as it emphasizes major challenges.
The study, which is led by research firm Nordicity and commissioned by the CLMA, notes that these numbers have been achieved largely without a dedicated fiscal policy framework incentivizing live music. “$10.92B in combined impact from live music and tourism spending… without trying.”
Erin Benjamin, CLMA president & CEO, emphasizes that these numbers show the importance of supporting music venues.
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“More live music activity — an increase in live music activity at every rung of the venue ladder — will mean more folks spending their income in that space. It generates the tax revenue, it generates the labour income,” she told Billboard Canada at a press launch for the study at Allied Music Centre in Toronto this week (Jan. 30). “Live music is the vehicle that stimulates that kind of economic activity.”
Though the Canadian live industry is a big part of the country’s economy, it faces serious challenges.
In Canada, venues are closing down. Toronto saw roughly 15% of venues close permanently during 2020-2021 alone. A venue shortage especially impacts emerging artists, who need a venue ladder — a scale of increasingly-large venues they can work up to — as they grow their career. “The critical shortage of small and mid-sized venues restricts access to local live music,” the report states.
Benjamin tells Billboard Canada that on a policy level, she would love to see more support for the sustainability and growth of small venues. “The first few rungs on the venue ladder are the most vulnerable. We want to make sure we’re not losing our incubator spaces and our discovery spaces.” She mentions CLMA’s pilot initiative with FACTOR Canada, the Promoters Program, which supports companies presenting live music in Canada. She hopes to see the program made permanent.
Musicians and industry members are also facing increasingly tough conditions when it comes to making a living. The report estimates that in 2023, the average salary for a full-time employee in the Canadian live music industry was around $31,000 — putting music industry workers below the poverty line.
Read more on the report here.
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Canadian Airplay Charts Find a Home on Billboard Canada
Seven charts are debuting on Billboard Canada.
The Canadian Airplay Charts, all of which track Canadian radio airplay, have found a new exclusive home at Billboard Canada’s charts hub.
They’ll be updated every Thursday and live alongside the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
The charts cover seven different types of radio airplay, diving into what’s performing well in adult contemporary, country and rock across Canadian radio.
“Billboard Canada is the official home for Canadian music charts,” says Mo Ghoneim, President of Billboard Canada. “Making these airplay rankings available on our platform is part of our commitment to providing deeper insight into what’s shaping radio and music across the country.”
Together, the new charts provide a snapshot of the radio landscape, which provides a new angle on music distinct from the Canadian Hot 100.
While Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars hold the top spot on Canadian Hot 100 with “Die With a Smile,” Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” holds the No. 1 spot on the Canadian All Format Airplay chart at launch.
The radio charts regularly feature Canadian artists, thanks in part to Canadian content regulation. In Billboard Canada‘s breakdown of the 2024 year-end charts, radio’s influence on Canadian pop was clear, uplifting rising Canadian artists like LU KALA, Preston Pablo, Josh Ross, Alexander Stewart and Jamie Fine.
Weekly analysis of the radio charts will now accompany Billboard Canada’s regular chart beat stories tracking the Canadian Albums and Canadian Hot 100 charts.
The seven charts include: All Format Airplay, AC Airplay, CHR Airplay, Hot AC Airplay, Country Airplay, Mainstream Rock Airplay, and Modern Rock Airplay.
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AI-Generated Album Appears On Nova Scotia Musician Ian Janes’ Spotify Profile Without His Permission
Nova Scotia musician Ian Janes is speaking out against music by Ian Janes.
Janes, a Music Nova Scotia Award winner, says an AI-generated album was falsely added to his Spotify profile, under his name.
He tells CTV that he found out when Spotify sent him a notification urging him to promote his new release — but he hadn’t released anything new.
When he went to his Spotify profile, he says, there was indeed a new album, but not one he had recorded.
“It’s AI-generated music that you would listen to when you’re on hold,” he describes to Global. The album was removed from his profile but remains on Spotify under a separate profile, also using the name ‘Ian Janes.’ Janes’ lawyer says that it’s not technically a copyright violation unless the music uses Janes’ likeness or his actual compositions.
The album bears the hallmarks of fraudulent music designed to score streams. It has a title that means nothing but seems poetic, Street Alone, and a large number of tracks (20). Several of the songs are named after popular hits but are not actually covers of those songs, like “Ho Hey,” “Summertime Sadness,” and “Give Your Heart A Break.” The music sounds like it could be made entirely within Ableton or Logic Pro.
Last year, nine Canada-based music streaming sites were taken down for streaming manipulation. IFPI, the worldwide recording industry association, and Music Canada had filed a complaint stating that the sites were selling fake streams to boost play counts.
It’s not clear how the distributor who uploaded Street Alone was able to gain access to Janes’ profile. But Janes’ situation demonstrates a clear risk for independent musicians as these tactics proliferate.
“If a name isn’t proprietary, and titles aren’t proprietary, what’s going to keep an AI music company from using the name of existing musicians and using the names of the songs they’ve released?” Janes says.
Last Week: How Music Companies Are Fighting the ‘Streaming Tax’
Welcome to Executive Turntable, Billboard’s weekly compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music business.
Earlier this week, we released our annual rankings of the music industry’s top executives, however, Thursday brought the shocking news of the passing of one those honorees. Ben Vaughn, president and CEO of Warner Chappell Nashville, died Thursday of undisclosed causes at only 49. “The music community has lost a truly extraordinary executive and human being,” said Troy Tomlinson, chairman and CEO of rival UMPG Nashville.
Read on for this week’s updates.
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Alison Smith, longtime executive vp and chief distribution and publisher relations officer at BMI, announced her retirement after nearly 40 years with the company. Starting in 1985 on a temporary assignment in Nashville, Smith’s career at BMI has evolved through multiple departments, ultimately overseeing all domestic and international royalty distribution and administration services for over 1.3 million affiliated songwriters, composers and music publishers. She’s been based in New York since 1987 and will officially step down at the end of March. In her announcement to colleagues, Smith expressed her deep affection for the PRO and said her decision leaned heavily on wanting to spend more time with family and friends. She pointed out the fact she spent her entire career at BMI “says everything about our company, the people, and our mission to support, guide and protect our songwriters, composers and publishers,” adding, “music has always been my passion and will continue to be, and I know BMI will always be a shining star in this business.” Among her numerous industry accolades, Smith was recognized as one of Billboard’s Women in Music for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, and again in 2023.
BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill commended Smith’s significant contributions to both BMI and the wider music community. He also announced that Smith will serve as a strategic advisor for the next two years, with Shouvik Das, svp of distribution, publisher relations & administration services, assuming her responsibilities and reporting directly to him.
“I have known Alison since I began working at BMI 30 years ago, and she has been a colleague, partner, advisor and friend to me every day that I have been here,” O’Neill said. “Alison is part of the fabric of BMI, and she has helped us become the company we are today. She has touched so many lives in an indelible way, not just internally at BMI but also within the larger music community. She will be missed.”
Meanwhile…
Universal Music Publishing Group welcomed Jamie Kinelski as the publisher’s new senior vice president of A&R, reporting to evp and head of U.S. A&R, Jennifer Knoepfle. Based in New York, Kinelski will focus on signing, developing and mentoring songwriters, artists and producers while helping expand UMPG’s U.S. A&R team. Kinelski previously served as senior vp and head of West Coast creative at Kobalt, where she signed and developed artists like Rogét Chahayed, Cuco, and Father John Misty. She also built key partnerships with Heavy Duty Publishing and 88Rising. Before Kobalt, she was creative director at ASCAP, working with artists such as Big Sean and HAIM. Knoepfle praised Kinelski’s leadership and “fierce” advocacy for songwriters, calling her a “tremendous asset to the dynamic and fresh executive team we are building,” adding, “her vast publishing and leadership experience will be extremely valuable to our company’s continued growth.”
Concord promoted Jonathan Eby to executive vp of information systems and technology. Eby will continue to be based in Concord’s Nashville office, and will oversee the company’s global technology, including infrastructure, development and strategy across all of Concord’s business areas. Eby joined Concord in 2017, and previously served as COO of classical music distributor/label Naxos. –Jessica Nicholson
NASHVILLE NOTES: Former CAA music agent Sabrina Butera launched the artist and influencer management company Collide Talent, offering a full-service platform for artists, influencers and entrepreneurs. The company’s initial roster includes country artist Austin Snell, whom she rep’d at CAA, and DIBS Beauty co-founder Courtney Shields … 615 Leverage + Strategy relaunched as Results Global with its existing partners, chief marketing officer John Zarling and COO Jackie Campbell, remaining atop the organization’s structure. The team, which counts Dolly Parton as its largest client, also includes brands account director Alissa Endres, manager of talent projects and music marketing Dawson Simmons, account coordinator Aden Henke, creative director Frashier Baudry and media planner and strategist Lauren Miskella … Business management firm O’Neil Hagaman added principal Rick Myers. He spent the last three years as Big Machine Label Group svp of finance and IT.
Joseph Morrison and Amy Hart, veterans of Eliot Grainge’s 10K Projects, teamed up with tech entrepreneur Scott Lewis to launch prairy (prairy.xyz), a remote-only label focused on speed in closing deals and servicing artist needs. The prairy team is strategically located across the U.S. and Canada, including Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and Atlanta. Operating without a physical office, prairy uses a San Francisco venture-style model that emphasizes speed, iteration and flexibility. The label has already signed a diverse roster of artists, including Dylan Espeseth, .idk., Ri Wavey, Nicole Amoroso, yurms and has partnerships with TRENCH HOUSE and others. Lewis emphasizes prairy’s commitment to operational agility, saying the “system is broken, and we think there’s a better way. The music industry is accustomed to schedules set by the month – we prefer to get things done in days, not weeks.”
BOARD SHORTS: The MLC appointed four new members to its advisory committees. Jennifer Falco of Hipgnosis Songs Group joins the Dispute Resolution Committee, while Iwona Wyrzykowska of Universal Music Publishing Group, Jessica Richling O’Malley of Warner Chappell Music, and Kristina Johnson of Kobalt Music have been named to the Operations Advisory Committee … NAMM elected eight new board members to three-year terms during its 2025 Show. The newly elected board members are Mayumi Allison, Betty Bennett, Jenna Day, Jeremiah Manriquez, Tim Pratt, Thomas Ripsam, Tom Tedesco and Hans Thomann … The Worldwide Independent Network held aboard meeting on Jan. 23, confirming Zena White and Maria Amato for a third term as chair and treasurer, respectively. New members include Felippe Llerena as director, with Cecilia Crespo and Ian Harrison joining as observers. Tony Kiewel transitioned from observer to director. Outgoing members Alejandro Varela, Sandra Rodrigues and Garry West were thanked for their contributions. A full list of WIN board members is here.
ShopKeeper Management, founded by Marion Kraft in 2009, promoted Crystal Dishmon to co-manager of Miranda Lambert alongside Kraft, while continuing to manage Tenille Townes. Dishmon, with extensive industry experience, including senior roles at AEG and Dale Morris, has been with ShopKeeper since 2010. Additionally, Laura Spinelli has been promoted to day-to-day manager for Lambert and continues as digital marketing manager. Spinelli has led innovative marketing campaigns and brand partnerships during her nearly decade-long tenure at ShopKeeper. Based in Nashville, ShopKeeper represents Lambert, Townes and Pistol Annies. The promotions highlight ShopKeeper’s commitment to mentorship and empowering female leaders in the music industry.
Ross Anderson, a former Warner Music communications executive, has launched Dept. of Connection, a New York-based PR agency focused on helping next-gen artists and brands build lasting cultural connections. The agency’s celestial roster includes Deafheaven and Superheaven, no relation, with more projects t/b/a soon. Anderson previously served as vp of public relations at Elektra Entertainment, leading campaigns for Turnstile, Slipknot, Gojira, Twenty One Pilots and more, until his departure in September of last year. He began his career at Atlantic Records in 2007, working his way up to vp. You can reach Ross here.
Rough Bones, a boutique label based in London, launched a new office in Lagos, Nigeria, to expand into the Afrobeat genre. Leading the office is senior A&R exec Jeffrey Onuoha, operations manager Daisy Ogunlana, digital strategist Eskor Umo, and A&R rep Samuel Mark.
Indie distributor IDOL appointed Camille Floch as international marketing and label services coordinator. Floch, previously a label manager at [PIAS], will work under Constance de Bosredon, promoted to head of international, marketing and label services in 2024. In comments, De Bosredon welcomed Floch and highlighted IDOL’s commitment to labels and artists. IDOL also announced this week that it has partnered with Mexican Summer and Dom Recs for global digital distribution, marketing and audience development.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Former Billboard-er Andrew Hampp is now managing director of music and consumer partnerships at Variety. Since joining the PMC publication in 2022, he has created partnership opportunities with brands like TikTok, Sony Audio and Cash App. Hampp’s priors in the branding space include founding 1803 LLC, where he consulted for clients across media, advertising and music, and a two-and-a-half year tenure as vp at MAC Presents. In a past life, Hampp was Billboard’s senior correspondent, covering branding, sponsorships and tech during much of the 2010s.
ICYMI:
David Field
Warner Records upped Mike Chester to general manager … Arwen Hunt will lead Various Artists Management‘s new office in Australia … AEG promoted Adam Wilkes to president/CEO of AEG Presents, Europe and Asia-Pacific and elevated Alex Hill to president/CEO of AEG International … Wasserman Music hired five key executives … David Field stepped down as president/CEO of Audacy … Katie Welle is now head of U.S. A&R at SMP … Eve Konstan is out as Spotify‘s general counsel … and the longtime president of the Kennedy Center is passing the torch. [Cont.]
Last Week’s Turntable: WMG Changes Things Up in Hong Kong
Prosecutors have filed a superseding indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs that includes additional victims and new allegations in the sprawling criminal case against him, according to documents entered in New York federal court on Thursday (Jan. 30). Though it includes no new charges, the amended indictment extends the amount of time Combs allegedly operated a […]
In case you missed it: Suno has picked up another lawsuit against it.
Before you read any further, go to this link and listen to one or two of the songs to which GEMA licenses rights and compare them to the songs created by the generative music AI software Suno. (You may not know the songs, but you’ll get the idea either way.) They are among the works over which GEMA, the German PRO, is suing Suno. And while those examples are selected to make a point, based on significant testing of AI prompts, the similarities are remarkable.
Suno has never said whether it trained its AI software on copyrighted works, but the obvious similarities seem to suggest that it did. (Suno did not respond to a request for comment.) What are the odds that artificial intelligence would independently come up with “Mambo No. 5,” as opposed to No. 4 or No. 6, plus refer to little bits of “Monica in my life” and “Erica by my side?”
“We were surprised how obvious it was,” GEMA CEO Tobias Holzmüller tells Billboard, referring to the music Suno generated. “So we’re using the output as evidence that the original works were elements of the training data set.” That’s only part of the case: GEMA is also suing over the similarities between the AI-created songs and the originals. (While songs created entirely by AI cannot be copyrighted, they can infringe on existing works.) “If a person would claim to have written these [songs that Suno output], he would immediately be sued, and that’s what’s happening here.”
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Although the RIAA is also suing Suno, as well as Udio, this is the biggest case that involves compositions, as opposed to recordings — and it could set a precedent for the European Union. (U.S. PROs would not have the same standing to sue, since they hold different rights.) It will proceed differently from the RIAA case, which involves higher damages, and of course different laws, so Holzmüller explained the case to Billboard — as well as how it could unfold and what’s at stake. “We just want our members to be compensated,” Holzmüller says, “and we want to make sure that what comes out of the model is not blatantly plagiarizing works they have written.”
When did you start thinking about bringing a case like this?
We got the idea the moment that services like Suno and Udio hit the market and we saw how easy it was to generate music and how similar some of it sounds. Then it took us about six months to prepare the case and gather the evidence.
Your legal complaint is not yet public, so can you explain what you are suing over?
The case is based on two kinds of copyright infringement. Obviously, one is the training of the AI model on the material that our members write and the processing operations when generating output. There are a ton of legal questions about that, but I think we will be able to demonstrate without any reasonable doubt that if the output songs are so similar [to original songs] it’s unlikely that the model has not been trained on them. The other side is the output. Those songs are so close to preexisting songs, that it would constitute copyright infringement.
What’s the most important legal issue on the input side?
The text and data-mining exception in the Directive [on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, from 2019]. There is some controversy over whether this exception was intended to allow the training of AI models. Assuming that it was, it allows rights holders to opt out, and we opted out our entire membership. There could also be time and territoriality issues [in terms of where and when the original works were copied].
How does this work in terms of rights and jurisdiction?
On the basis of our membership agreement, we hold rights for reproduction and communication to the public, and in particular for use for AI purposes. As far as jurisdiction, if the infringement takes place in a given territory, you can sue there — you just have to serve the complaint in the country where the infringing company is domiciled. As a U.S. company, if you’re violating copyright in the EU, you are subject to EU jurisdiction.
In the U.S., these cases can come with statutory damages, which can run to $150,000 per work infringed in cases of willful infringement. Is there an amount you’re asking for in this complaint?
We want to stake out the principle and stop this type of infringement. There could be statutory damages, but the level has to be calculated, and there are different standards to do that, at a later stage [in the case].
Our longterm goal is to establish a system where AI companies that train their models on our members’ works seek a license from us and our members can participate in the revenues that they create. We published a licensing model earlier this year and we have had conversations with other services in the market that we want to license, but as long as there are unlicensed services, it’s hard for them to compete. This is about creating a level playing field
How have other rightsholders reacted to this case?
Nothing but support, and a lot of questions about how we did it. Especially in the indie community, there’s a sense that we can only discuss sustainable licenses if we stand up against unauthorized use.
The AI-created works you posted online as examples are extremely similar to well-known songs to which you hold rights. But I assume those didn’t come up automatically. How much did you have to experiment with different prompts to get those results?
We tried different songs, and we tried the same songs a few times and it turned out that for some songs it was a similar outcome every time and for other songs the difference in output was much greater.
These results are much more similar to the original works than what the RIAA found for its lawsuits against Suno and Udio, and I assume the lawyers on those cases worked very hard. Do you think the algorithms work differently in Germany or for German compositions?
I don’t know. We were surprised ourselves. Only a person who can explain how the model works would be able to answer that.
Tell me a bit about the model license you mentioned.
We think a sustainable license has two pillars. Rightsholders should be compensated for the use of their works in training and building a model. And when an AI creates output that competes with input [original works], a license needs to ensure that original rightsholders receive a fair share of whatever value is generated.
But how would you go about attributing the revenue from AI-created works to creators? It’s hard to tell how much an AI relies on any given work when it creates a new one.
Attribution is one of the big questions. My personal view is that we may never be able to attribute the output to specific works that have been input, so distribution can only be done by proxy or by funding ways to allow the next generation of songwriters to develop in those genres. And we think PROs should be part of the picture when we talk about licensing solutions.
What’s the next step in this case procedurally?
It will take some time until the complaint is served [to Suno in the U.S.], and then the defendant will appoint an attorney in Munich, the parties will exchange briefs, and there will be an oral hearing late this year or early next year. Potentially, once there is a decision in the regional court, it could go [to the higher court, roughly equivalent to a U.S. appellate court]. It could even go to the highest civil court or, if matters of European rights are concerned, even to the European Court of Justice [in Luxembourg].
That sounds like it’s going to take a while. Are you concerned that the legal process moves so much slower than technology?
I wish we had a quicker process to clarify these legal issues, but that shouldn’t stop us. It would be very unfortunate if this race for AI would trigger a race to the bottom in terms of protection of content for training.
Soundstripe, the Nashville-based music licensing company for creatives, agencies and brands, acquired tech startup The Rights, which helps streamline the synch licensing process for labels, publishers and music supervisors. According to a press release, the deal will help Soundstripe “accelerate its development of the music industry’s most robust click-to-license platform,” which is slated to launch in the first half of this year.
Warner Music Group’s indie distributor and artist services arm ADA extended its partnership with Sonny Fodera‘s label Solotoko, which has also released music by Dom Dolla, John Summit and Tita Lau, among others.
Nashville-based Walk Off Entertainment inked a global distribution deal with Virgin Music Group. Walk Off Entertainment was founded by Chris Ruediger, who also founded the creative community/promotional outlet The 615 House. The first releases under the new deal are expected in the first quarter of 2025; the company’s client roster includes Gareth and Abby Anderson. – Jessica Nicholson
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Record label LASAL announced a strategic distribution and joint venture partnership with Capitol CMG, marking “a new era in the faith-based music industry and a significant milestone for both companies,” according to a press release. Capitol will act as a partner in signing and developing artists alongside LASAL. “In Spanish, LASAL translates to ‘The Salt,’ which adds flavor and restores balance within the body,” Samuel Ash, founder of LASAL, said in a statement. “That is our purpose: to restore balance in the music industry while allowing artists to freely express their creativity and faith without limits. Capitol CMG shares this vision, and together, we believe we can inspire and impact the world.” – Griselda Flores
Independent distributor IDOL signed global partnerships with two labels: Brooklyn-based Mexican Summer (Cate Le Bon, Hayden Pedigo) and Dom Recs, a new imprint launched by Dan Petruzzi and Roxy Summers that is gearing up for its first album release, Twin Shadow’s Georgie. Both labels will receive global digital distribution, marketing and audience development services under their respective deals.
Tuned Global, a leading cloud platform for the music industry, partnered with AudioShake in a deal that will give Tuned Global clients access to AudioShake’s AI-based tools, including stem separation and lyric transcriptions. AudioShake technology is now available to Tuned Global’s white-label streaming applications and via Tuned Global’s advanced APIs.
Ticketing and live event marketplace Tixr partnered with full-scale event production company Social House Entertainment. Through the pact, Social House will integrate Tixr technology to optimize ticket sales and allow it to better manage merch, VIP experiences and other event services while streamlining the ticketing process. Social House is behind the popular multi-city Tacos and Tequila Festival and other events.
Tickets for Good, which offers affordable event tickets to healthcare workers, teachers, charity staff and others facing economic barriers, expanded into the Netherlands following launches in the U.S. and the U.K. The launch is being supported by Greenhouse Talent, ID&T, Mojo Concerts and This is Live, as well as ambassadors Robbie Williams and MassiveMusic founder Hans Brouwer. Led by Simone van Hövell and Linda Holleman, Tickets For Good Netherlands encompasses more than 30 healthcare institutions, reaching over 150,000 healthcare workers.
Live Nation Urban partnered with Black on the Block, a monthly vendor festival that highlights Black-owned businesses. Through the deal, Black on the Block will expand to seven cities in 2025, kicking off March 23 at Global Life Field in Arlington, Tex. Other new stops made possible by the pact include Houston, Atlanta, Detroit and Charlotte, N.C.