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Dr. Dre’s solo debut album, The Chronic, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a special re-release on Interscope Records and a return to streaming services after nearly a year away. “I am thrilled to bring The Chronic home to its original distribution partner, Interscope Records,” says Dre in a press release, adding that working with the label “to re-release the album and make it available to fans all over the world is a full circle moment for me.”
Steve Berman, vice chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, expressed similar excitement, saying: “Dr. Dre is without a doubt one of the most iconic and groundbreaking artists in the modern era. He has also used his platform to fuel some very impactful philanthropic efforts that will ensure his legacy is felt for generations to come. Dre’s solo career all started with the The Chronic, one of the most celebrated recordings of all time. To have this album at Interscope once again where we work with Dre and his amazing team at Aftermath day in and day out is incredibly gratifying for me personally and all of us at Interscope.”
Earlier this month, Billboard reported that Dre sold his music assets to Universal Music and Shamrock Holdings for a deal estimated to be $200 million. According to sources, the assets include mainly passive income streams, such as artist royalties from two of his solo albums and his share of N.W.A. artist royalties; his producer royalties; and more. The Chronic had long been available on streaming services but was pulled, along with several other Death Row classics, after Snoop Dogg purchased the label early last year.
Considered one of the most storied albums in hip-hop, The Chronic had a splashy debut on the Billboard 200, entering the charts at No. 3. Released in 1992 on Death Row Records / Interscope, Dre’s magnum opus earned three Hot 100 top 40 hits, “most notably “Nothin’ But a “G” Thang,” which peaked at No. 2.
John Janick, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, said: “From my first day at Interscope the significance of Dr. Dre as a foundational artist at this label was incredibly important to me. We take our responsibility to Dre and his amazing body of work very seriously and we are honored to work closely with him on this re-release of one of the most important albums of all time.”
As Billboard publishes its 135th volume throughout 2023, stay in the know on the magazine’s print schedule for the year, along with each issue’s corresponding theme. This is an updating post, so be sure to check back for any changes.
Issue Date: Feb. 4, 2023Theme: The Billboard Power 100
Issue Date: Feb. 25, 2023Theme: Women in Music
Issue Date: March 11, 2023Theme: SXSW
Issue Date: April 1, 2023Theme: Touring*This issue will include Top Music Lawyers
Issue Date: April 22, 2023Theme: K-Pop*This issue will include International Power Players
Issue Date: May 13, 2023Theme: 40 Under 40
Issue Date: June 3, 2023Theme: Country Power Players
Issue Date: June 10, 2023Theme: Pride*This issue will include Indie Power Players
Issue Date: July 15, 2023Theme: Publicity
Issue Date: Aug. 5, 2023Theme: R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Issue Date: Aug. 26, 2023Theme: Tech/Fall Music Preview
Issue Date: Sept. 16, 2023Theme: Latin Music Week
Issue Date: Oct. 7, 2023 (Double Issue)Theme: Grammy Preview*This issue will include Top Music Business Schools
Issue Date: Oct. 28, 2023Theme: Producers/Managers*This issue will include Top Music Business Managers
Issue Date: Nov. 18, 2023Theme: Gaming
Issue Date: Dec. 9, 2023Theme: No. 1’s and Year In Music
Issue Date: Dec. 16, 2023Theme: Grammy Voter Guide
Rosalía and her highly-regarded manager, Rebeca León, have amicably parted ways, Billboard has learned. The split comes after an almost six-year stint that saw Rosalía rise from unknown flamenco artist to global superstar. Prior to working closely with Rosalía, León helmed the careers of fellow superstars J Balvin and Juanes.
The split, which sources say was agreed upon under good terms, leaving both parties with “gratitude and pride for everything they have accomplished together,” allows both León and Rosalía to explore new paths. Rosalía has yet to announce new management.
León will focus her energy on her production company, Lionfish Studios, with which she closed a content deal with Sony Music last year. Projects in development include Alice with Gunpowder & Sky; Redemption Song with Fifth Season and director Jessica Kavanaugh; Mona Carmona with José Ignacio Valenzuela, Paul Pérez Pictures, Malule Entertainment and Lucas Akoskin; and Biscayne Baby with Sebastian Ortega and Enrique Murciano, in addition to a project León is developing with Steven Levinson for HBO.
Last year, León was also a co-producer of the Father of the Bride remake starring Andy García. León will also continue working in music projects, including management of st. pedro and a partnership with BRESH via her music company, Lionfish Entertainment.
Rosalía, fresh from performing at the Louis Vuitton men’s show in Paris in January, is in the midst of prepping a series of festival dates, including headlining Lollapalooza in Argentina and Chile and playing the main stage at Coachella in April. She is also close to announcing a deal with Coca-Cola, according to sources.
The León-Rosalía manager-client partnership was widely regarded as one of the most successful in the music industry. In a narrative that closely mimics the movie-like storyline of how a brilliant manger takes a hugely talented unknown artist and makes her a star, León signed Rosalía after watching her perform in Madrid in 2017, at the urging of her then-client Juanes.
At the time, Rosalía was a highly respected and unorthodox flamenco artist, little known outside Spain. Rosalía told Billboard in 2019, “I had never met any manager nor had I had a manager.”
Rosalía told León she was looking for someone to internationalize her and her music and help her grow.
León was hugely impressed.
“I’m never looking for another artist,” she told Billboard in the same interview. “But she was captivating. She was inspiring.” The following day, she watched Rosalía’s videos and saw yet another realm of possibilities.
“She sang flamenco and then she sang hip-hop. Her movement, her attitude, I thought, that’s going to change everything. She had reinvented something.”
Rosalía was in the process of signing with Sony Music Spain, and under León, moved to Columbia in a joint deal with the label.
In the five years that followed, she became perhaps the most elite Latin artist in recent history, recording with the likes of Billie Eilish and The Weeknd, and becoming the first artist that sings in Spanish to ever be nominated for best new artist at the Grammys. She went on to best Latin rock, urban or alternative album for El Mal Querer, which also won album of the year at the Latin Grammys.
Last year, her Motomami also won album of the year at the Latin Grammys and is once again nominated for the since-renamed best Latin rock or alternative album award at the Grammys.
All told, Rosalía has placed six songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and 17 on Hot Latin Songs, including six top 10s.
Charles “Chip” Rachlin, the trailblazing agent for Billy Joel and the Beach Boys, died last Wednesday (Jan. 25) following a short illness. He was 73.
A rock pioneer, Rachlin, like so many others of his generation, had a life-changing experience when the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show back in February 1964. He started a band, the Gremlins. But it was in presenting and showcasing talent that he found his calling.
Born in Summit, New Jersey, Rachlin — a lifelong Yankees fan — learned the ropes as an agent working for Bill Graham at the Fillmore East, and later, as a junior agent with the Millard Agency.
Rachlin and his Fillmore friend Michael Klenfner showed their entrepreneurial chops when, in February 1971, they booked the Beach Boys to headline Carnegie Hall. It was a turning point for everyone involved, as Rachlin soon found himself representing the group, and its lead singer, the late Carl Wilson during his solo career.
Once Graham closed the Filllmore, “Millard went ‘uptown,’’” remembers Rachlin in a timeline on the Rachlin Entertainment website.
“We built an All Star Team with Danny Weiner, Tom Ross, Budd Carr and Shelly Schultz,” with a roster that swelled to include Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, America, Seals & Crofts, Loggins & Messina, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, CSN, and Eagles.
By the mid-‘70s, Rachlin was a major figure in ICM’s music department, where he repped the future Rock And Roll Hall of Famers the Beach Boys and a young Billy Joel.
“By the end of my run with ICM we were the top concert department among the major agencies,” he recounts. “It was an amazing eight years and the best training ground in the music business.”
He toured with the Rolling Stones, and rode the “fantastic rocket ship ride” that was the launch of MTV.
As styles and formats changed, Rachlin went out on his own. In the early 1990s, he launched Rachlin Entertainment, an enterprise that would become a “unique talent resource” for elite buyers such as Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Cunard Cruise Lines.
Among the success stories for Atlantis Paradise Island are the late David Bowie, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry. It was Rachlin who produced the All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson at Radio City Music Hall in March of 2001, headlined by Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and many more.
Tributes are pouring in for the legendary talent booker. “Thanks to Chip being my agent in the early days,” writes Billy Joel on social media, “the band and I were able to make a living as performing musicians before I became more widely known as a recording artist. I will always be grateful for his efforts on my behalf back in the day.”
Chip Rachlin has died.Chip was responsible for booking us into most of our U.S. concerts during the early and mid 1970s.Thanks to Chip being my agent in the early days, the band and I were able to make a living as performing musicians before I became more widely known as (1/2) pic.twitter.com/7D92tdUERY— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) January 29, 2023
Eagles manager Irving Azoff recounts Chip as “not only a pioneer in how the business operates today,” but, for over 40 years, “he remained somebody who I always wanted to hear from.” The veteran music executive adds: “He was an innovator. More importantly, on a one-to-one level, he displayed all the personal qualities that make this business great. He was not just passionate about the music and any artist he worked with but a great person. This one hurts very badly.”
We’re so saddened to learn of Chip Rachlin’s passing. Chip, seen here with Bill in 1982 on the Rolling Stones tour, went on to produce an amazing array of events. Along the way, he made many friends who now mourn his loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/jlMlICdCw1— Bill Graham Found. (@BillGrahamFound) January 26, 2023
“We’re so saddened to learn of Chip Rachlin’s passing,” reads a post from the Bill Graham Foundation. Chip “went on to produce an amazing array of events. Along the way, he made many friends who now mourn his loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Rachlin is survived by his wife Wendy, his sons Josh and Alex, and their extended family.
Hipgnosis Songs Management has purchased 100% interest in publishing copyrights to 217 songs in the catalog of TMS, the British songwriting and production trio.
This latest acquisition includes the trio’s publishing copyrights, producer royalty streams, and neighboring rights, including “Someone You Loved” and “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi and “Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself” by Jess Glynne.
Comprised of Tom “Froe” Barnes, Benjamin Kohn, and Peter “Merf” Kelleher, TMS has already sold the copyrights of 121 of their other songs to Hipgnosis in the past, including songs recorded by G-Eazy, Sigma and Emeli Sandé. The writers’ share of ownership and royalties of the previous 121 songs is also included in the latest acquisition.
“Someone You Loved” has achieved 7-times platinum status in the U.K. since its release in 2018 and is touted as the U.K.’s most played song of all time on Spotify. Worldwide, it ranks as the fourth most streamed with 2.6 billion and counting. “Someone You Loved” was written by Lewis Capaldi, Samuel Roman, and the TMS trio, meaning Hipgnosis now controls three out of five writers’ shares of publishing. TMS also produced the track.
Hipgnosis Songs Management, the entity managing the publicly traded company’s catalog, acquired these songs on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, an investment vehicle established by Hipgnosis and Blackstone. The world’s largest alternative asset manager, Blackstone pledged $1 billion to further investment in music IP with Hipgnosis and also took a majority stake.
TMS has also worked with Dua Lipa, John Legend, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, Lily Allen and Bebe Rexha, One Direction, Cher, Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Lily Allen, Labrinth, JLS, Years & Years, Oily Murs, Ella Henderson, Birdy, Jem & The Holograms, Sinead Harnett, Kwabs and Dot Rotten.
It is not clear which, if any, of these artists’ songs are included in this deal. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
TMS were represented by Paul Centellas at North Pole Management and Sonia Diwan at Sound Advice.
“Froe, Ben, Merf and their manager Paul Centellas have been an important part of the Hipgnosis family for many years now so it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to continue our relationship with this new acquisition including what will undoubtedly be a contender for song of the decade with Lewis Capaldi’s iconic ‘Someone You Loved,’” says Merck Mercuriadis, CEO and founder of Hipgnosis Song Management.
Barnes, Kohn and Kelleher (TMS) jointly add, We’re incredibly proud of this body of work and know Merck and the family at Hipgnosis will be excellent custodians of these copyrights in future. It’s incredible to see what they’ve built in just a few short years and we know they’ll continue to represent these songs with passion and commitment.”
“Nobody is doing more to elevate the standing and value of the songwriter than Merck and the team at Hipgnosis,” says Centellas, managing director, North Pole Management. “We’re very happy to entrust them with these incredible copyrights and look forward to working with them across various initiatives to ensure the songwriter is properly valued and remunerated in future. Without songwriters, there is no music business.”
MUSIC, a holding company co-founded by SONGS Music Publishing founder Matt Pincus, has invested in LVRN (Love Renaissance), the Atlanta-based label and management company behind R&B recording artists Summer Walker, 6lack and BRS Kash.
The investment values LVRN at more than $100 million. Pincus declined to reveal the amount of the investment but disclosed to Billboard that he’s invested a total of $80 million across four deals — including Kobalt, U.K.-based ticketing company Dice and Mayk.it, an AI generative platform — in amounts ranging from $10 million to $40 million. The size of the LVRN investment is “over the midpoint of that range,” he says.
LVRN is expected to use the new capital to expand benefits and programs for its employees while continuing to expand internationally, with a focus on the U.K. and West Africa.
LVRN was founded in 2012 by Georgia State University students Carlon Ramong, Justice Baiden, Junia Abaidoo, Sean Famoso McNichol and Tunde Balogun. Its management clients include dvsn, a Toronto R&B duo signed to Drake‘s OVO Sound label. LVRN’s label is distributed through Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records. It also has a publishing partnership with Warner Chappell Music.
Pincus says he was attracted to LVRN for its combination of youth and experience. “They’re just really good,” he says of LVRN’s founding team. “Young and seasoned is really hard to find.” The co-founders, who were joined by former Capitol Music Group executive Amber Grimes as executive vp/gm in 2022, have built solid relationships throughout the industry, he adds. “They’ve done a good job at championing their artists but also getting people to champion them because they’re good people.”
Pincus’s MUSIC, a joint venture with merchant bank LionTree, with additional backing from JS Capital Management and Schusterman Family Investments, raised $200 million in May 2022.
Previously, Pincus founded SONGS Music Publishing, which was acquired by Kobalt Capital for a reported $160 million in 2017.
Balogun cited Pincus’s entrepreneurship as a crucial factor in his involvement with LVRN. “His hard-earned expertise makes him a very valuable resource for LVRN and we are so fortunate to have him play a role in our continued expansion,” he said in a statement. “This infusion of capital will empower us to continue to expand our operations globally and support local Black-founded businesses as we do so.”
Spotify’s share price rose 12.7% to $112.71 on Tuesday (Jan. 31) following the company’s earnings release for 2022’s fourth quarter earlier in the day.
Now with a market capitalization of $21.8 billion, Spotify has more than overcome the investor exodus following its underwhelming third-quarter earnings results. After delivering a weaker-than-expected gross margin on Oct. 25, Spotify’s share price fell 13% to $84.42 and bottomed out at $69.29 on Nov. 4. Tuesday’s closing price marked a 62.7% improvement in fewer than three months.
Investors want Spotify to continue adding subscribers while improving its margins. Tuesday’s earnings results delivered on both fronts. Its fourth-quarter subscriber growth of 10 million handily beat guidance of 7 million, giving the company 205 million subscribers globally. The company’s monthly active user base of 489 million was 10 million ahead of guidance.
In the fourth quarter, Spotify’s gross margin of 25.3% was 80 basis points — eight-tenths of a percentage point — above guidance “due primarily to lower podcast spend along with broad-based favorability in our core music business,” said CFO Paul Vogel during Tuesday’s earnings call.
Spotify’s licensing deals with record labels and publishers give it little room for improvement on recorded music margins, which were 28% in 2021. Podcasting, however, gives Spotify an opportunity to attract advertising dollars with meaningfully better margins. During a June 2022 presentation to investors, Spotify executives said they expect podcast margins to reach 30-35% within three to five years and 40-50% further in the future.
Just last week, investors were shown a new commitment to cost-cutting when Spotify announced on Jan. 23 that it would lay off 6% of its global headcount. Among the departures — though technically not part of the layoffs — was chief content officer Dawn Ostroff, the engineer of the company’s strategy to build its podcast business by attracting marquee names such as Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian and Barack and Michelle Obama. Her exit could signal an end to an era of expensive content deals that helped make Spotify the most popular podcast platform in many markets.
For the first quarter of 2023, Spotify forecasts 3.1 billion euros ($3.37 billion) of total revenue and gross margins of roughly 25% excluding severance charges, and an operating loss of 194 million euros ($211 million), including 35 million euros to 45 million euros ($38 million to $49 million) in severance charges.
“Gross margins and operating expenses are expected to improve throughout the year,” said Vogel, adding that first-quarter margins will be the low point for 2023 because “some of the investments we made in the back half of [2022] is still slightly impacting Q1.” In addition, with the recent 6% reduction in headcount, “we see our operating expenses growing slower with a material improvement in our operating loss compared with 2022,” he added.
HARD Summer is returning to downtown Los Angeles. The longstanding electronic music festival will happen Aug. 5-6 at a site spread across the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and BMO Stadium in Downtown Los Angeles.
The event will mark HARD Summer’s return to downtown after a 10-year absence. HARD has strong roots in downtown L.A., launching there in 2008 as an underground warehouse party from longstanding electronic events producer Gary Richards, then growing into downtown’s L.A. State Historic Park amidst the height of the EDM explosion, drawing huge crowds and headliners including Skrillex, deadmau5, Justice and many more.
As electronic music gained a bad reputation in Los Angeles and beyond amidst a flurry of drug-related deaths at electronic festivals including HARD, political red tape pushed events out of the city, with HARD relocating first to Whittier Narrows, then the Pomona Fairplex, then further into the Inland Empire at sites in Fontana and Bakersfield.
By this time, Richards had left HARD, ceding control of the company to Insomniac Events, which currently operates the festival in conjunction with its parent company, Live Nation.
Insomniac Events is also the producer of Electric Daisy Carnival, which itself has roots in downtown Los Angeles, with the first major iterations of EDC happening at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. This location changed following the death of a 15-year-old girl at Electric Daisy Carnival at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 2010, and the indictment of founder-promoter Pasquale Rotella on felony charges in connection to the venue, sparking EDC’s move to Las Vegas, which has become its spiritual home over the last 12 years. (Rotella was cleared of all felony charges in 2016.)
“We are thrilled to host HARD Summer’s return to Los Angeles as part of our centennial anniversary celebration,” Joe Furin, general manager of the LA Coliseum, says in a statement. “As home to the most iconic events in the world, this festival is an exciting addition to our 100-year history.”
The news indicates a thawing in the relationship between Insomniac and the Coliseum, with Insomniac also promoting the headlining show from Kx5 (Kaskade and deadmau5) that happened there Dec. 10. The show drew 46,000 attendees, making it the biggest ticketed global headliner dance event of 2022.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings, and all the fun stuff in between. This week: Rick Astley makes waves by suing an artist who impersonated his voice; an explanation of why Miley Cyrus doesn’t owe Bruno Mars a writing credit on her super-smash “Flowers”; UMG wins a big ruling in a proposed class action over termination rights; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Will Rick Astley Dampen Pop’s Nostalgia Kick?
Popular culture is always cyclical, but we’re living though a particularly nostalgic age of pop music. Just look at the Hot 100 over the past year: Jack Harlow pulled from Fergie, David Guetta riffed on Eiffel 65, Latto made a song that sounded like Mariah Carey, and Beyonce heavily sampled from Robin S. But a new lawsuit could cast something of a pall on the throwback mania.
Rick Astley is suing Yung Gravy over the rapper’s breakout 2022 single “Betty (Get Money),” which borrowed from the singer’s iconic (and frequently-memed) “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The lawsuit claims the new track — an interpolation that sounded a whole lot like an outright sample — broke the law by impersonating Astley’s voice.
Filed by the same attorney (Richard Busch) who brought the blockbuster case over “Blurred Lines,” the new lawsuit has the potential to similarly scare producers about their current studio practices. As Billboard’s Kristin Robinson writes this week, re-recording classic tracks (rather than directly sampling them) has become more common for financial and creative reasons, but Astley’s accusations have some music executives questioning if it could “open the floodgates” to litigation when vocals are involved.
For a full breakdown of the Astley lawsuit, including access to all the actual court documents, go read our story here.
Other top stories this week…
MILEY DOESN’T OWE BRUNO ANYTHING – Miley Cyrus’ chart-topping new single, “Flowers,” includes clear references to Bruno Mars‘ own No. 1 hit from a decade earlier, “When I Was Your Man.” But as a copyright expert explained to me and Billboard‘s Andrew Unterberger this week, Miley doesn’t need to offer Bruno a credit for an “answer song” that merely riffs on a few lyrics but doesn’t borrow any musical elements.
ON TERMINATIONS, CLASS DISMISSED – A Manhattan federal judge ruled that hundreds of artists cannot join forces to sue Universal Music Group to regain control of their masters, saying the case raised big questions about “fairness” but that it was ill-suited for class-action litigation — a major blow to a closely-watched case over termination rights.
MANSON FACES NEW ABUSE CASE – Marilyn Manson reached a settlement with actress Esme Bianco to end one of the several sexual abuse lawsuits that he’s faced in recent years. But just days later, he was hit with a lawsuit from a new accuser who claims he groomed and sexually assaulted her during the early portion of his career when she was underage. Manson strongly denies the new allegations.
YE SAGA CONTINUES FOR GREENBERG – The Kanye West ordeal isn’t quite over for Greenberg Traurig, the prestigious law firm that’s so frustrated with their ex-client that it asked a judge to allow it to print newspaper ads announcing they’ve dropped him.
MISTRIAL IN T.I.’s TOY CASE – A high-profile intellectual property battle pitting T.I. and wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris against toymaker MGA over a line of dolls ended in a sudden mistrial after jurors heard “inflammatory” — and clearly inadmissible — video-taped testimony claiming the toy company “steals from African Americans.”
CARDI ACCUSER WANTS NEW TRIAL – Months after a jury rejected bizarre allegations that Cardi B “humiliated” a man by photoshopping his back tattoo onto the risqué cover of a 2016 mixtape, the guy wants a do-over. Kevin Brophy formally requested a new trial, arguing that the star “engaged in theatrics” on the witness stand and deprived him of a fair trial.
LIVE NATION WINS CASE OVER SHOOTING – A California appeals ruled that Live Nation is not legally responsible for a deadly 2014 shooting backstage at a Young Jeezy concert. The court said such an attack was not the kind of event that the concert giant should have seen coming — an important decision as Live Nation is facing similar claims over the backstage killing of Drakeo The Ruler in 2021.
BAD BUNNY COPYRIGHT SETTLEMENT – Bad Bunny reached a tentative agreement to end a lawsuit that accused the Puerto Rican superstar of lifting material for his 2020 track “Safaera” from three earlier songs by reggaeton pioneer DJ Playero.
R. KELLY STATE CHARGES DROPPED – Prosecutors in Illinois dropped all state-level sexual abuse charges against R. Kelly, citing “limited resources” and the fact that the disgraced singer has already been sentenced to 30 years in prison on federal convictions — and could soon be facing decades more in another federal case.
The music business, historically speaking, has not been great at consensus. But there does seem to be growing agreement from many quarters now that the existing payment structure for streaming royalties isn’t working for everyone and that a different approach is required.
This isn’t a new idea, but it’s one that’s quickly gathering steam in the wake of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge’s internal staff memo/open letter to the industry earlier this month, in which he called for an “updated model” for the music industry — one that will be “an innovative, ‘artist-centric’ model that values all subscribers and rewards the music they love.”
It wasn’t clear what, exactly, Grainge meant in the letter. And on Tuesday (Jan. 31), it became a little bit clearer that, as of yet, there isn’t much clarity on what it will mean — though UMG is hoping to find it. To that end, Universal has announced a partnership with TIDAL to “research how, by harnessing fan engagement, digital music services and platforms can generate greater commercial value for every type of artist,” according to a press release. Essentially, there are a lot of unknowns here other than that something needs to change.
That was more or less what UMG’s executive vp/chief digital officer Michael Nash said in a statement accompanying the release. “As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it’s become increasingly clear that music streaming’s economic model needs innovation to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future,” he said. “Tidal’s embrace of this transformational opportunity is especially exciting because the music ecosystem can work better — for every type of artist and fan — but only through dedicated, thoughtful collaboration. Built on deeply held, shared principles about the value of artistry and the importance of the artist-fan relationship, this strategic initiative will explore how to enhance and advance the model in keeping with our collective objectives.”
This is not TIDAL’s first attempt at stepping out of the traditional streaming royalties model, in which streaming income is collected and divvied up among rights holders according to their share of total streams. In November 2021, the streamer announced a new three-tier membership structure and a step into a user-centric royalty model for its premium tier, which endeavored to pay rights holders based on the streaming activity of each individual user — with the additional element that 10% of each user’s subscription fee would go directly to their most-streamed artist.
That, in itself, is a twist on the “fan-powered royalties” that SoundCloud first rolled out in March 2021, which allocated streaming revenue to artists based on which acts a given user listened to, and which Warner Music Group opted into last year. (Deezer has also publicly supported a user-centric model.) SoundCloud says that artists using FPR generate 60% more streaming revenue than those who use the more traditional model, though it’s currently only being offered to indie artists and WMG artists on the SoundCloud platform; a MiDiA study said that 56% of artists were better off with FPR. Access to the data on who the fans are who are streaming that music the most, SoundCloud has said, is the true game-changer for the model.
There has, however, been some hesitance around that user-centric idea, mainly due to studies conducted in the last few years surrounding who would benefit, and at the expense of whom, by the switch. One study found that for 99.4% of artists, the switch would equate to less than a 5% bump in royalties — for many, effectively just a few euros per year — which could be offset by the administrative costs of the switch itself for the platform. That could disproportionately affect R&B/hip-hop artists, given that the genres have thrived in the streaming era, to the benefit of other, smaller or more niche genres. And it would definitely take away from top earners’ revenue — i.e., artists who wield an outsized voice in the business. A general view became that the switch would equate to moving money from one bucket to another, without really moving the needle for most artists at all.
TIDAL, in today’s announcement, effectively conceded the point and said they are stepping away from the user-centric model they were pursuing in order to take a step back and join in this new research project with UMG. “We are setting aside our current fan-centered royalties investigation to focus on this opportunity for more impact,” TIDAL’s Jesse Dorogusker said in a statement. “This partnership will enable us to rethink how we can sustainably improve royalties’ distribution for the breadth of artists on our platform.”
What they’re saying is, essentially, it’s time for a new study to see if there are better, perhaps more nuanced, ways to change up a model that pretty much everyone is beginning to agree is no longer functioning the way it was originally intended. “At TIDAL, we learned from [fan-centered royalties] there is an opportunity to build a royalties distribution model that could be better at compensating the breadth of genres and artists that contribute to streaming catalogs,” TIDAL’s global head of communications Sade Ayodele tells Billboard. “Many of the alternative models explored, however well intended that they are, unfortunately create a new set of winners and losers. With this partnership, we’re hoping to find a fairer and more equitable distribution approach that benefits a broader set of genres and artists contributing to the culture of music.”
Which brings us, again, to the original question: What will that look like? The answer could be varied, and it could be different for each streaming service. There have been some conversations in some sectors of the industry about weighting music streams higher than background sounds, for instance, or more heavily weighting intentional listening (searching for or clicking on a song or artist) over background listening (a playlist, or an algorithmically-chosen next song). There are already different models around ad-supported vs. paid subscription payouts, and there is a conversation to be had about how fan engagement should or could influence where money is directed. What UMG and TIDAL are trying to say with Tuesday’s announcement is, let’s go try some things and see what works, and let everyone else know what we’re doing so that maybe they can try to find an innovative answer, too.
Consensus is a hard thing to come by. There likely won’t be a consensus around what the end solution is, and several options could eventually emerge. But streaming has been around for more than a decade now, and if there’s any consensus at all, it’s that something needs to change.