Business
Page: 47
LONDON — Proper Music Group, the U.K.’s leading physical distributor for independent labels and artists, has been acquired by Netherlands-based Artone, bringing an end to a tumultuous three-year period during which the firm was owned by Swiss fintech company Utopia Music.
Completion of Artone’s acquisition of Proper Music Group was announced by the company Friday (Feb. 28), one day after Proper was placed in administration (roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection).
The new ownership structure sees Proper’s longstanding managing director, Drew Hill, take a minority stake in the British firm, which handles physical distribution for more than 5,000 indie labels, as well as provide a range of digital distribution, publishing and artist and label services for artists and music companies.
Trending on Billboard
Proper’s clients include Absolute Label Services, Believe, Cherry Red, Concord, Epitaph, FUGA, The Orchard in addition to Warner Music Group-owned ADA and Sony Music Group-owned AWAL. The company says its clients collectively make up around 13% of the United Kingdom’s physical music market, which totaled £330 million ($412 million) in 2024, up 6.2% on the previous year, and accounting for nearly 14% of music revenues, according to figures from the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA).
Announcing the acquisition of Proper, Artone CEO Jan Willem Kaasschieter said the company plays “a vital role in the supporting independent labels and artists in the U.K. By bringing Proper Music Distribution into the Artone family, we ensure its continued success and provide stability for its partners.”
“We now have some certainty about the future,” a relieved Hill tells Billboard. He describes the past three years of Proper being owned by Swiss fintech firm Utopia as being like a “pantomime rollercoaster” that has seen the company often existing “under a cloud” of negativity. “I’m glad it’s finally over,” says Hill, who continues as managing director of Proper Music Distribution.
Got records? A wide view of the Proper warehouse in Dartford.
Proper Music Group
Utopia Music had originally acquired Proper for an undisclosed sum in January 2022 as part of a frenetic buying spree that saw the Swiss fintech firm rapidly acquire 15 companies spanning music tech, finance, publishing, marketing and distribution over a two-year period.
A just-as-quick downsizing followed, encompassing multiple rounds of job cuts, company divestments, numerous legal actions and successive executive departures, including the exit of co-founder Mattias Hjelmstedt.
Early last year, Utopia rebranded as Proper Group AG, named after its core physical music distribution business, but the widespread changes failed to turn the company around. In September, the firm was placed into bankruptcy by a Swiss court over an unpaid debt of 23,000 Swiss Francs ($25,000).
As a result of the court action, Utopia’s two main U.K. physical distribution businesses were placed up for sale with both attracting multiple bidders. Utopia Distribution Services, which was formerly known as Cinram Novum and whose clients include Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and [PIAS], was acquired by DP World Logistics for an undisclosed sum in December.
Artone and Hill’s subsequent joint acquisition of Proper Music Group is “fantastic news for the independent community,” says Gee Davy, CEO at U.K. trade body the Association of Independent Music (AIM).
“Drew’s 18 years’ experience at the helm of Proper Music Distribution combined with Artone’s pan-European expertise will no doubt ensure that the U.K.’s physical music sector continues to thrive,” says Davy in a statement.
“It’s an ownership structure absolutely rooted in what is our core business,” Hill tells Billboard, pointing to Artone’s range of physical music solutions, which includes its own vinyl pressing plant, the Netherlands’-based Record Industry, capable of pressing 40,000 to 60,000 records per day, as well as Bertus Distribution, one of Europe’s largest independent distributors. Artone additionally operates several indie labels, including Music On Vinyl and V2 Benelux, and last year acquired U.K. D2C e-commerce music retailer and distributor Townsend Music.
The production line at the Proper warehouse in Dartford.
Proper Music Group
“Utopia never really understood what Proper was or what we did or maybe even why they bought us,” says Hill. “Day-to-day, operationally nothing really changed under their control but what was always difficult was the negative association. It just became a PR disaster and I was constantly having to reassure labels that whatever they were reading about the parent company, their money and their stock was safe. It’s great that I no longer have to do that.”
Hill says the financial losses suffered by Proper Music Group, which was a profitable company prior to 2022, over the past several years are spun out of Utopia’s kamikaze approach to business, which prioritized turnover over profit. According to its most recent Companies House figures, Proper made a loss of £1.9 million in the year ending Dec. 31, 2022. There will be further losses to be reported in 2023, says Hill.
“Now we can go back to making sure we’re growing as a sustainable business rather than just growing for growth’s sake,” he states. “The physical music business is in a very healthy place right now and Proper will continue to be right at the heart of it.”
Welcome to the latest Executive Turntable, Billboard’s weekly compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music business. There’s a full slate of personnel news this week, so let’s hop to it.
EMPIRE‘s global expansion is afoot with the appointment of Guillermo Ramos as managing director of Europe, and Ted May as senior vice president of international marketing, both based in its London headquarters. Ramos will oversee European operations, including France and German-speaking regions, while May will lead global marketing strategies across six continents. Their roles aim to drive EMPIRE’s rapid international expansion and artist success. “Our London operation is integral to this as the centerpiece between the Americas, Africa and Asia,” said EMPIRE COO Nima Etminan. “With Guillermo and Ted, we feel confident to have found two seasoned, yet motivated individuals who will understand how to solidify our presence in Europe and expand our global footprint in international territories.” Ramos, formerly GM at Virgin Music Group, brings 18 years of experience, having worked with artists like Rema, Hozier and The Weeknd. May, with over 25 years, previously led MNRK/eOne’s UK and international operations, supporting acts like The Streets, Cher and The Lumineers. Ramos commented that “steady and meaningful expansion in Europe – and the globe – is a priority for our next chapter, driven by our leadership in the independent sector, at a time when an industry-wide paradigm shift is underway.”
Brian Wagner will take on the role of executive director for the International Entertainment Buyers Association, or IEBA, effective March 1. Wagner replaces Pam Matthews, who retired following 12 years leading the Nashville-based booking trade group. Wagner’s nearly three-decade career includes his work founding Flashpoint Entertainment (which launched Nashville venues Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom). He also led marketing for the Ryman Auditorium, including curating the venue’s annual bluegrass series and the “Sam’s Place” series. In 2015, Wagner took on the role of assistant commissioner of marketing for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, forging the “Soundtrack of America, Made in Tennessee” campaign. –Jessica Nicholson
Trending on Billboard
Merlin announced several key promotions within its team. Marta de la Hoz, with over seven years at the company, is now senior director of business analytics. Matt Rose was promoted to senior manager of strategy and growth. Nick Cashmore, instrumental in enhancing reporting, is now director of reporting. Pavan Vasdev steps into an expanded role as senior director of strategy and growth. Lastly, Tom White, a key player in advancing data analytics, is now senior data analyst.
The Syndicate hired veteran music publicist Sue Marcus from Stunt Company Media as vp of publicity, where she will co-lead the department with Brendan Bourke. Marcus brings her entire roster from Stunt Company and will be joined by publicist Anna Jenkins and new hire Cassidy Berstler, expanding the press team at the marketing agency to nine members. All three are based in Weehawken, NJ. Jeff Kilgour will now lead business development as svp, alongside Rob Gross. Marcus, with over 30 years of experience, worked at director levels at Roadrunner Records, Mercury Records and Island Def Jam before founding Stunt Company in 2001. She has led media campaigns for a wide range of artists and festivals, including Monica, Ra Ra Riot, Tom Verlaine, and Moon River Music Festival, among others. Her current roster includes Drew & Ellie Holcomb, JOHNNYSWIM, XiXA and Mayday Parade. “Sue’s incredible expertise, passion for storytelling, and the powerhouse roster she brings from Stunt Company will strengthen our expanding publicity department,” said Kilgour.
The Music Fights Fraud Alliance selected Michael Lewan to lead the anti-fraud collective. As executive director, Lewan will lead the MFFA’s strategic initiatives from Washington, D.C. Previously, he served as managing director of state and federal advocacy at the Recording Academy. Founded in June 2023, MFFA unites major music companies, including Downtown (CD Baby and FUGA), Believe (TuneCore), Amazon Music, Spotify, EMPIRE and United Masters, to combat fraud through cross-platform collaboration. The Alliance has mobilized working groups to address fraud identification, mitigation, and enforcement across distributors, labels and DSPs. Andreea Gleeson, CEO of TuneCore, emphasized Lewan’s role in strengthening the industry’s fight against fraud, citing his expertise in government relations and policy advocacy. “His leadership and vision will be crucial as we continue working toward a more equitable and transparent music industry,” she said.
NASHVILLE NOTES: The W.O. Smith Music School appointed Valerie Cordero, Ph.D. as its new executive director. Dr. Cordero succeeds Jonah Rabinowitz, who led the school, which provides vital music education to Nashville’s underserved youth, for nearly 30 years. A Nashvillian since 2012, Dr. Cordero joins from Families for Depression Awareness, where she served as co-executive director, leading fundraising and marketing efforts and advocating for affordable mental health care … Black River promoted Ally Roden to publicity manager from coordinator … Red Street hired Patrick Waters as senior director of country A&R after a run as a Red Light artist manager. The company also crowned Kelly King vp of publishing.
Huskins-Harris Business Management rebranded as Harris, Huelsman, Barnes & Company, with John Huelsman and Morgan Barnes joining Becky Harris as principals at the company. Together, Harris, Huelsman and Barnes have over 40 years of experience, with the company’s current clients including Chris Young, producer James Stroud, Drew Baldridge, Frankie Ballard, Austin Brown, Scotty Hasting, Angie K, Alexandra Kay, Julian King, Nicotine Dolls, Michael Ray and American Idol winner Noah Thompson. –J.N.
AEG Presents is opening a new office in Oslo, Norway, led by industry veteran Peer Osmundsvaag starting March 1. Osmundsvaag, with 35 years of experience, was a founding partner at All Things Live and began his career as a DJ and party promoter in 1989. He founded Atomic Soul in 2001 and has worked with major artists like Eminem, Prince, and Justin Bieber. He also co-founded Norway’s Hove Festival and established Oslo’s PiPFest in 2014. Recognized for his contributions, he received Oslo’s Culture Prize in 2017. Notably, he promoted Norway’s two largest ticketed concerts to date: Eminem at Voldsløkka (55,000 attendees) and Rammstein at Bjerke Travbane (60,000 attendees). He’ll report to Adam Wilkes, president and CEO of AEG Presents Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Catch Point Rights Partners promoted Annie DeConto to director of business development, reporting to co-founders Richard Conlon, PJ Miklus and Patrick Riordan. Since joining in 2020 from stints at Morgan Stanley and Warner Music Group, she has played a key role in acquisition sourcing, marketing, and catalog analysis. “Her work underscores the firm’s dedication to developing data driven, creative liquidity solutions in collaboration with music creators, rights holders and the firm’s investors,” the founders said. Catch Point acquires rights and royalties from various music entities, offering liquidity solutions to copyright and royalty owners. Its portfolio includes thousands of sound recordings and musical works, including songs by The Smashing Pumpkins, Black Eyed Peas, Nine Inch Nails and Lil Wayne, among others.
RADIO, RADIO: Brian Kelly stepped down as vice president of Top 40 programming at Audacy. A 29-year veteran of the company, Kelly was also operations manager in Milwaukee, where he helped launch 103.7 Kiss FM and programmed 99.1 The Mix … European audio branding company PURE Jingles appointed Ilja Volkers as its new chief commercial officer. He joins with experience from BMG, Sony Music and Warner Music.
Breakaway Projects, the newly launched label and management division of Breakaway Music Festival, has announced its leadership team. Jaime Neely, a former Warner and BMG exec, will serve as president, bringing experience working with Lewis Capaldi, 5 Seconds of Summer and Monsta X. Harrison Bamel has been named vice president, also continuing his role leading Breakaway’s artist management team, where he oversees emerging electronic acts like Night Tales and Mojave Grey. Bamel will focus on A&R and artist development for the label. Matt Oliver joins as director of PR, leveraging over a decade of experience working with Facebook, Wu-Tang Clan, DMX and dirtybird records, among others. His role will center on increasing Breakaway Projects’ brand visibility across digital platforms.
Major Bob Music made three key leadership changes, promoting Andy Friday to chief operating officer and Emily Hasty to creative director, while bringing in Aubrey Daniels as head of publishing. Friday, who has worked with Bob and Mike Doyle for over 15 years, will now oversee all Doyle-owned companies while continuing his role as day-to-day manager for Treaty Oak Revival. Previously head of publishing, he played a key role in signing Zach Top and Treaty Oak Revival to Major Bob Music/Bob Doyle & Associates. Daniels joins as head of publishing, bringing extensive experience from Bluewater Music, SNG Music, and KP Entertainment. A Belmont alum, she was nominated as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence in 2021. Hasty, now creative director, first joined Major Bob as an intern in 2022 before working her way up to creative coordinator. She signed her first writer, Anslee Davidson, in 2023. Major Bob Music, founded by Garth Brooks’ longtime manager Bob Doyle, said it has notched over 70 No. 1 singles in its 39-year history.
DawBell, a UK-based communications agency, reappointed Lewis Fromberg as account director to lead brand, sports and popular culture communications and commercial strategy. Fromberg previously spent six years at DawBell, working with major artists and brands and earning the PR Campaign of the Year award for work on a Lewis Capaldi album. After a period at Red Bull, he returns in an expanded role. Additionally, DawBell promoted Rachael Chinery and Charlie Brun to associate PR directors for music. Both have played key roles in campaigns for top artists and events, including Elton John, Dua Lipa and The BRIT Awards.
BOARD SHORTS: The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame welcomed DJ Johnny “Juice” Rosado to its board of directors. Juice (class of 2008) said he aims to enhance the diversity of artist representation in the hall. Known for his roles as a composer, producer, turntablist, and educator, Juice has contributed to some of hip-hop’s greatest works, thanks to a longtime association with Public Enemy and other acts … Los Angeles College of Music is introducing 370 Music Group, a non-profit, student-run record label and music licensing company aimed at supporting and showcasing talent from the LACM community. The initiative is guided by LACM’s Faculty Advisory Board, which includes industry pros Erin Workman, Adam LaRue, Jennifer Smith, Karla Ortiz and Michael Chrysanthou. The label will officially launch at this weekend’s inaugural Music Industry Summit at the college in Pasadena.
ICYMI:
Katie Fagan
Jukebox, a music platform where investors can buy royalty shares, appointed Mike Coppola to be its new CEO. He succeeds Scott Cohen, who led Jukebox since its launch in 2022 … Mom+Pop Music is the latest coastal label to sink roots in Music City, appointing Katie Fagan as president of Mom+Pop Music Nashville. Previously, Fagan clocked years as head of A&R at Prescription Songs in Nashville, where she launched the company’s first office outside of LA. [Keep Reading]
Last Week’s Turntable: SiriusXM Hires Ex-Airbnb Legal Chief
Titan Content formed a strategic partnership with Imperial Music (a division of Republic Records) to collaborate on its upcoming girl group, AtHeart. The group — which released a new teaser video and launched official social media channels alongside the announcement — will share a “pre-debut introduction song and video” on March 14, according to a press release. AtHeart consists of seven members: Michi, Katelyn, Seohyeon, Aurora, Bome, Arin and Nahyun. The group’s formation was led by former SM Entertainment CEO Nikki Semin Han.
Spotify began accepting audiobooks from ElevenLabs, an AI software company that provides voice narration technology. Authors can now distribute their ElevenLabs content to Spotify and other audiobook retailers via audiobook distributor Findaway Voices. According to a blog post, all digitally narrated titles will be “clearly marked in the metadata on Spotify” and other platforms, while the book description “will be prepended with the first sentence stating, ‘This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.’”
Korean entertainment group Starship Entertainment struck a copyright partnership with Chinese music platform NetEase Cloud Music. The deal brings Starship’s entire catalog, including Korean girl group IVE, to Chinese audiences. According to a press release, NetEase Cloud Music boasts 206 million monthly active users.
Universal Music Japan acquired a majority stake in A-Sketch, a Japanese artist management business and record label that boasts acts including Saucy Dog, Flumpool and Ayumu Imazu on its roster. A-Sketch is also home to Mash A&R, a rock management company in Japan that manages The Oral Cigarettes, FREDERIC and Saucy Dog. Under the deal, Universal Music Japan will acquire the stake in A-Sketch that’s currently owned by Amuse. A-Sketch will now operate as a label division within Universal Music Japan and continue to be led by A-Sketch representative director/president Nobuyuki Soma, who will report to Universal Music Japan president/CEO Naoshi Fujikura. “The acquisition will further bolster Universal Music Japan’s in-house artist management capabilities and expand its ability to drive new creative and commercial opportunities for its artists,” as stated in a press release.
Reservoir Media acquired U.K. dance and electronic label New State. The deal includes New State’s entire recorded music catalog consisting of more than 13,000 tracks by artists including Zero 7, The Beloved, Paul Oakenfold, Dirty Vegas, D:Ream, Double Trouble, Rebel MC and Congo Natty. Reservoir will continue marketing and releasing new music by New State artists via its Chrysalis Records label.
Create Music Group announced a strategic catalog acquisition and go-forward venture with Pack Records (a.k.a. Pack.), a New York and New Orleans-based indie record label, publisher and artist partnership company co-founded by Sky McElroy, Jett Wells and Gavin Chops. The companies previously established a publishing joint venture. Under the deal, Pack. and its artists will have access to Create’s proprietary technology, global distribution, data-driven marketing insights and monetization tools. Pack.’s roster includes aldn, CONNIE, Blood Cultures, daine, Dava and Godly the Ruler. Its catalog boasts recording and publishing rights “at the heart of internet and gaming culture viral moments,” according to a press release, including aldn’s “icantbelieveiletyougetaway,” Ezekiel’s “help_urself,” Godford’s “Downtown,” and Internet Girl’s “PULL UP,” as well as the CONNIE-produced “DIVE IN!” by JELEEL! and “Stupid” by Lexa Gates.
Hook, the AI-powered platform that allows users can legally remix songs and earn income for doing so, signed a strategic partnership with digital music distributor Too Lost. More than 300,000 artists and labels will be brought to Hook through the deal, including Teddy Swims, Tommy Richman, Ty Dolla $ign, Fivio Foreign, Kodak Black, Justin Beiber, Playboi Carti, James Blake, Pink Sweats and Emei. This is Hook’s fourth distribution partnership following deals with FUGA/Downtown, Revelator and Gyrostream.
iHeartMedia and the government communications office of the State of Qatar signed a multi-year partnership that aims to develop a state-of-the-art podcast studio in Qatar and release both original and existing podcast content to Arabic audiences. Under the agreement, iHeart will also offer specialized masterclasses to develop local podcasting talent and host global industry events, including annual Web Summit gatherings — the partnership was announced at this year’s Web Summit in Qatar — in an effort to position the Middle Eastern country as a regional podcasting hub.
Synch platform SourceAudio struck a deal with the Wolfman Jack estate through which the company will repurpose and discover new monetization opportunities for the radio legend’s shows. Through the AudioGenius tool on SongLab — SourceAudio’s AI-powered suite of music tools — the Wolfman Jack estate will be able to “reuse, repurpose, control, and monetize their valuable content archives across today’s digital platforms and ecosystem,” according to a press release. According to Tod Weston Smith, son of Wolfman Jack and president of Wolfman Jack Entertainment, AudioGenius “has significantly streamlined our process, allowing our Wolfman Jack team to access and retrieve clips from our extensive digital archives in seconds, rather than spending hours searching, and we are now able to generate additional revenue from previously underutilized or unused content.”
SoundCloud partnered with Ticketmaster and its self-serve event ticketing and marketing platform Universe in an integration that will allow SoundCloud’s Artist Pro users to create and manage events; sell tickets and share shows directly on the streaming platform; and enjoy amplification opportunities across SoundCloud, Ticketmaster and Universe. They will also have the ability to use Universe to manage and track ticket sales.
Former Bad Boy Entertainment president Kirk Burrowes has sued Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mother, Janice Small (a.k.a. Janice Combs), for allegedly coordinating with her famous son and other co-conspirators to forcefully strip him of his alleged ownership stake in the iconic hip-hop label.
Per the complaint — filed by attorney Tyrone Blackburn on Wednesday (Feb. 26) in the Southern District of New York — Burrowes claims that alongside her son, then-Bad Boy Entertainment attorney Kenneth Meiselas and other unknown co-conspirators, Smalls illegally seized his alleged 25% financial stake in Bad Boy and his 15% share of the label’s annual earnings through “intimidation, violence, fraudulent, misrepresentation and financial concealment.”
The complaint references a specific incident in May 1996 during which he claims Combs stormed into his office and proceeded to threaten him while wielding a baseball bat. Fearing for his safety, Burrowes — who claims to have co-founded the label — claims he signed a contract under duress without seeking any legal counsel, effectively conveying what he claims was his 25% interest in Bad Boy to Combs.
Burrowes, who says he served as Bad Boy’s COO/GM at the time of the 1996 incident (he was promoted to president the following year) and was “instrumental in shaping the company’s success,” alleges that losing out on his claimed 25% ownership stake and Bad Boy stock options caused him “significant financial compensation and employment benefits” along with “irreparable personal, psychological and professional harm.”
“Smalls carefully maintained a facade of integrity, portraying herself as an innocent bystander while orchestrating plaintiff’s financial and professional downfall behind the scenes,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit further claims that Smalls requested Burrowes’ counsel as recently as 2021 on a documentary about the history of Bad Boy, but that she ultimately reneged on their compensation agreement.
Burrowes previously filed suit against Combs over the alleged 1996 incident in 2003, but that earlier complaint was eventually dismissed in 2004 by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. (Combs is currently behind bars awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in a wide-ranging criminal case.)
Burrowes is seeking the return of his alleged 25% Bad Boy stake or compensatory damages matching the value of that stake, as well as an audit of Bad Boy’s earnings since the company’s origination.
Last April, Burrowes’ attorney Blackburn was referred to the grievance committee for New York’s federal court district by Judge Denise Cote for his alleged history of frivolous lawsuits. The judge cited his conduct in five different cases and claimed his filings featured “glaring deficiencies.” Two months prior, Blackburn had filed a sprawling lawsuit against Combs on behalf of producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr., who accused the mogul of sexual assault, sex trafficking and various other forms of misconduct.
Billboard reached out to Combs Global in an effort to reach a representative for Smalls but did not hear back by press time.
iHeartMedia expects first-quarter revenue to decline in the low single digits and full-year revenue to be flat, suggesting the radio giant hasn’t yet turned the proverbial corner financially, according to the company’s latest earnings release. After revenue was up 5.5% in January, February is on track for a 7% decline as consumer sentiment dropped to a level not seen since 2021, CFO Rich Bressler said during Thursday’s earnings call.
The company ended 2024 with fourth-quarter revenue up 4.8% to $1.11 billion, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) spiked 18.2% to $246.2 million. Revenue growth was below the company’s previous guidance due to lower-than-expected political advertising and a slowdown in non-political advertising before the election, said Bressler.
The fires in Los Angeles created a disruption to iHeartMedia’s business in the first quarter, although CEO Bob Pittman called it “a little bit of a blip” and said a larger impact comes from people returning to work. “Traffic is getting long again, and I hate to sound cynical here, but traffic jams are our friend,” he said. “We’re a company that benefits from people with longer commutes and more time in the car.”
Mired in a weak advertising market for broadcast radio, iHeartMedia is busy finding ways to create value from its broadcast assets. To that end, in March the company will make its broadcast advertising inventory available to programmatic buyers through Yahoo DSP and Google’s DV360 ad-buying platforms. “This is a critical early step in aligning our broadcast assets with digital buying behavior,” said Pittman, “which will allow iHeart’s broadcast radio assets to participate in the growing digital and programmatic [total addressable markets].”
Last year, iHeartMedia took steps to cut costs and improve its balance sheet. The company expects to have net savings of $150 million in 2025 and beyond — $200 million from cost reductions undertaken in 2024 and an additional $50 million of expenses. In December, iHeart reduced its debt load and extended maturity dates through a debt exchange that attracted a 92.2% participation rate.
For the full year, iHeartMedia’s revenue totaled $3.86 billion, up 3% year-over-year (and flat if political advertising is excluded). Adjusted EBITDA increased 1% to $705.6 million while EBITDA margin improved to 22.0% in 2024 from 19.5% in 2023. The multiplatform group, which includes the company’s core broadcast stations, saw its revenue decline 2.6% to $2.37 billion, while the digital audio group’s revenue increased 8.9% to $1.16 billion due to increased advertising demand for podcasting. The audio and media services group had revenue of $327 million, up 27.4%.
Cumulus Media, the country’s third-largest radio company by revenue, fared a bit worse in 2024. For the full year, Cumulus’ revenue fell 2.1% to $827.1 million and adjusted EBITDA dropped 8.8% to $82.7 million. While digital revenue grew 5.3% to $154.2 million, broadcast revenue slipped 5.1% to $564.1 million. In the fourth quarter, revenue dipped 1.2% to $218.6 million and adjusted EBITDA grew 9.8% to $25 million.
Cutting costs and restructuring debt are common tactics in the radio business. Just as iHeartMedia shaved its expenses, Cumulus will realize $43 million in annualized cost savings, with $15 million of savings coming in 2024. In addition, in May, Cumulus completed a debt exchange, which lowered its outstanding debt by $33 million and extended maturity dates while securing “attractive” interest rates.
iHeartMedia shares fell 7.9% to $2.09 before earnings were released, and dropped another 9.9%, to $1.90, in after-hours trading. Through Thursday, iHeartMedia shares are down 1.9% year-to-date but have more than doubled since May 2024.
Cumulus, which reported earnings earlier in the day, saw its share price decline only 0.3% to $0.90. Year-to-date, Cumulus shares have gained 16.9%.
A woman has sued 300 Entertainment CEO Kevin Liles for allegedly harassing and raping her while the two worked together at Def Jam in the early 2000s, according to documents filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Filed by attorneys Lucas Franken and Mallory Allen at New York firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis, the suit claims that Liles began sexually harassing the woman — identified as Jane Doe in the complaint — beginning in 2000, shortly after she started working as the executive assistant to Def Jam’s then-GM. During this time, she alleges that Liles — who was then serving as president of the storied hip-hop label — “pressed his body” against her breasts, grabbed her buttocks and made “sexually inappropriate comments and advances towards her on numerous occasions, “which she rebuffed.”
The woman claims this behavior ultimately culminated in Liles sexually assaulting and raping her.
Also named as defendants are Def Jam and its corporate parent Universal Music Group, which the woman accuses of “permitting, aiding, abetting, conspiring, ratifying and enabling” Liles’ harassment and rape. The suit alleges that the companies “knew or should have known of” Liles’ alleged propensity for sexual abuse “motivated by gender animus” and are liable for “ignoring, dismissing, and failing to take any action” against him, including by reporting him to the police. It also claims that the companies “permitted” Liles “to entrap their employees in locations that enabled his sexual abuse, assault and rape.”
As a result of the alleged harassment and assault, the woman says she suffered “severe emotional and psychological distress and personal physical injury…including severe mental anguish, humiliation, and emotional and physical distress.”
The lawsuit was brought under the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law in New York, which allows survivors of gender-motivated violence whose claims were previously time-barred to file suit against their alleged abusers.
The woman is asking for compensatory and punitive damages, among other relief.
Liles served as president of Def Jam Recordings in the late 1990s and early 2000s before being named executive vp at Warner Music Group. He went on to found the management firm KWL Enterprises in 2009 and, later, record label 300 Entertainment alongside Lyor Cohen, Roger Gold and Todd Moscowitz in 2012. Following 300’s acquisition by Warner Music Group in 2022, he assumed the role of chairman/CEO at 300 Elektra Entertainment. He stepped down from that role in September.
Representatives for Universal Music Group, Def Jam and Liles did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
R. William “Bill” Freston, a former executive at Columbia Records who worked with superstars including The Rolling Stones and Billy Joel, died on Thursday (Feb. 20) following a “traumatic fall” on the Caribbean island of Bequia, his family announced Wednesday (Feb. 26). He was 76. Freston began his career in the early 1970s after graduating […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of yet another lawsuit, as a male escort has accused the disgraced Bad Boy Records mogul of sexual assault. The victim, who filed in the Southern District of New York as John Doe on Wednesday (Feb. 26) through his attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, claims Combs sexually assaulted him […]
Amazon has partnered with AI music company Suno for a new integration with its voice assistant Alexa, allowing users to generate AI songs on command using voice prompts. This is part of a much larger rollout of new features for a “next generation” Alexa, dubbed Alexa+, powered by AI technology.
“Using Alexa’s integration with Suno, you can turn simple, creative requests into complete songs, including vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation. Looking to delight your partner with a personalized song for their birthday based on their love of cats, or surprise your kid by creating a rap using their favorite cartoon characters? Alexa+ has you covered,” says an Amazon blog post, posted Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Other new Alexa+ features include new voice filters, image generation, smart home operation, Uber booking and more. It also includes an integration with Ticketmaster to “find you the best tickets to an upcoming basketball game or to the concert you’ve been dying to go to,” according to the blog post.
Trending on Billboard
Suno is known to be one of the most powerful AI music models on the market, able to generate realistic lyrics, vocals and instrumentals at the click of a button. However, the company has come under scrutiny by the music business establishment for its training practices. Spearheaded by the RIAA, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group came together last summer to sue Suno and its rival Udio, accusing the AI music company of copyright infringement “on an almost unimaginable scale.” At the time, neither AI company had admitted to training on copyrighted material.
In a later filing, Suno admitted that “it is no secret that the tens of millions of recordings that Suno’s model was trained on presumably included recordings whose rights are owned by the Plaintiffs in this case.” Its CEO, Mikey Shulman, added in a blog post that same day, “We see this as early but promising progress. Major record labels see this vision as a threat to their business. Each and every time there’s been innovation in music… the record labels have attempted to limit progress,” adding that Suno felt the lawsuit was “fundamentally flawed” and that “learning is not infringing.”
More recently, German collection society GEMA also took legal action against Suno in a case filed Jan. 21 in Munich Regional Court.
Still, a couple of music makers have sided with Suno. In October, Timbaland was announced as a strategic advisor for the AI music company, assisting in “creative direction” and “day-to-day product development.” Electronic artist and entrepreneur 3LAU has also been named as an advisor to the company.
News of Amazon’s deal with Suno comes just months after its streaming service, Amazon Music, was commended by the National Music Publishers’ Association for finding a way to add audiobooks to its “Unlimited” subscription tier in the U.S. without “decreas[ing] revenue for songwriters” — a contrast to Spotify, which decreased payments to U.S. publishers by about 40% when it added audiobooks to its premium tier.
This analysis is part of Billboard’s music technology newsletter Machine Learnings. Sign up for Machine Learnings, and other Billboard newsletters for free here.
In an interview in 2023, Techstars managing director Bob Moczydlowsky told Billboard, “If Streaming 1.0 was about making all the music play, Streaming 2.0 should be about being able to play with all the music.”
In 2025, that statement feels prescient. Bloomberg reported on Feb. 14 that Spotify’s long anticipated superfan tier will likely roll out later this year and include extra features like high-fidelity audio, access to concert tickets and song remixing tools for an additional fee on top of Spotify premium.
Trending on Billboard
Also this month, the AI remixing app MashApp launched on the Apple App Store, offering users the ability to quickly and easily mash up selected songs from the Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music and Kobalt catalogs. Similarly, Hook, a competitor, just announced a new partnership with indie distributor Too Lost to license its works for Hook’s library of mashable, customizable songs. (Hook also previously struck a deal with Downtown for its library of music.)
Even though remixes of songs have dominated TikTok and other short-form video apps for years — and were all over SoundCloud and YouTube before that — participating in the fun of creating them has had barriers to entry. A user would need to learn how to use a digital audio workstation (DAW), like Garageband or ProTools, to create a good-sounding rework of a song, and they’d likely need the stems (the individual instrument tracks that make up a song), too. Now, with AI-powered stem separation and remix apps, there’s almost nothing left standing between a music fan and getting creative with their own derivative mashups.
But copyright law, the longtime nemesis of remixing, remains a major obstacle. For years, record labels and publishers have been playing an ever-expanding game of whack-a-mole with unauthorized remixes online, trying to retain control over their sound recordings. In the TikTok age, unauthorized remixes have gotten even further out of control as sped-up, slowed-down and other types of reworkings gained prominence. But it seems some companies are now taking the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy by uploading officially sanctioned sped-up, slowed-down, a cappella and other alternate renditions of their work to streaming services.
Music companies, sensing the business opportunity, are also licensing to Hook and MashApp. While both have properly licensed libraries of songs to work with, these apps still leave a lot to be desired for users today. MashApp only has selected songs licensed from the three majors and Kobalt — among the recommended tracks are “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Tequila” by Dan + Shay. Hook has a similar problem — its top songs include “Buy The World” by Kendrick Lamar, Mike WiLL Made-It and Future, “Fall Back” by Lithe, “fisherrr” by Cash Cobain and Bay Swag, and more. If you look up a major artist on either of these apps, odds are they either have only a few of their tracks licensed, or don’t have their catalog at all.
For these apps to succeed, they must get deals done with, essentially, every rights holder on the recorded music and publishing sides to offer a comprehensive catalog — and if you look at the songwriter credits of any major pop or rap song, you’ll realize how challenging getting all of these parties to agree could be. Just one songwriter or company could hold up the licensing of a top song.
Spotify has already done the hard part by getting all the music on the service during what Moczydlowsky calls the “Streaming 1.0” period, but significant challenges still remain ahead if it wants to integrate these much more playful 2.0 remix features. The top streaming service made an enemy of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the trade organization representing the vast majority of publishers in the U.S., in March 2024 by decreasing the royalties paid to publishers and songwriters in the U.S. on premium-tier streams by about 40%. Known colloquially as the “bundling” issue, Spotify argued that adding audiobooks into its premium subscriptions meant it could divide the royalty pool between music and book publishers.
The NMPA’s president and CEO, David Israelite, said Spotify “declared war on songwriters,” and to fight back, the NMPA launched a series of attacks, including sending Spotify a cease and desist letter warning that if it launched tools to “speed up, mash up and otherwise edit songs from their favorite artists… without the proper licenses in place from our members,” it “may constitute additional direct infringement.”
In January, Spotify’s standing with publishers seemed to be getting better. The streamer forged direct deals with Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, which included improved remuneration on the publishing side. At the time, I noted in my analysis of these deals that Spotify likely came back to the negotiating table with publishers because the streamer knows it needs the publishers to voluntarily license their catalogs to support these upcoming features, including remixing. Still, that doesn’t mean all publishers, or the NMPA, have buried the hatchet.
On Feb. 4, the NMPA issued 2,500 podcast takedowns against Spotify, in a move that signaled that the NMPA will continue to hold a grudge. (Spotify called this move “a press stunt.”) Press stunt or not, Spotify needs the rest of the NMPA members on its side to make a remix tool with a full working library. Otherwise, they’ll be forced to launch with a piecemeal catalog like their start-up competitors.
But if anyone is poised to take over this budding remix market, it’s likely Spotify, given its pre-existing relationships and significant resources. Still, it remains to be seen how much users will even take to this type of feature. Is remixing the next big thing, or just another fad?