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Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but according to a new lawsuit, singer Rick Astley disagrees.
Astley filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles court claiming that while Yung Gravy and his collaborators secured rights to re-record the melody and lyrics of some of his 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” for their track “Betty (Get Money),” they recorded it too close to the original and infringed on his “right of publicity” by “flagrantly impersonat[ing]” Astley’s voice.
Recreating the magic of older songs in new hits is not unique to “Betty (Get Money).” It’s common for artists to secure the rights to use the underlying musical work, like Gravy’s team did with “Never Gonna Give You Up,” and re-record portions of the song’s melody, lyrics and more for use in a new song, a process called “interpolation.” Sometimes, this ends up sounding incredibly similar sounding to the original recording, and other times, the team will put its own spin on the old track.
By opting for an interpolation rather than a true sample, teams avoid the tedious and costly process of securing the rights to the original recording as well, a separate right from that of the musical work. With interpolations, only the songwriters and publishers involved in writing the song have to approve of the new use of their song, not the singer. Interpolations also have the added bonus of providing producers with more flexibility and creativity. But now Astley’s lawsuit has music executives questioning if it could “open the floodgates” to litigation or at least tamp down the practice.
To the average listener, the “Betty (Get Money)” intro hinges on what sounds like a direct sample of “Never Gonna Give You Up.” But, as Gravy told Billboard months ago, he and his collaborators instead “basically remade the whole song,” in the studio. “[We] had a different singer and instruments, but it was all really close because it makes it easier legally,” he said.
Similarly, “I Like It” by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin is widely believed to include a sample of of “I Like It Like That (A Mi Me Gusta Asi)” by Pete Rodriguez, but the iconic-sounding recording is also a dupe. In an interview with The Verge, the song’s engineer, Leslie Brathwaite, explained that, “a lot of people think that’s the actual sample, but it was actually replayed. Craig [Kallman, chairman of Atlantic Records and one of the track’s producers] hired people to replay every aspect of that sample, and it turned out to be like, 60 tracks worth of stuff… because they didn’t want to clear the sample.”
Nick “Popnick” Seeley, the producer who recreated Rick Astley’s voice for “Betty (Get Money),” told Billboard in a previous interview that he was also part of the replay process for “I Like It” by Cardi B, along with “Dirty Iyanna” by Youngboy Never Broke Again (which replays “Dirty Diana” by Michael Jackson). “I have a knack for vintage stuff… this is a really cool way for me to participate in what’s going on in pop music right now,” he said in the past interview. (Seeley is named alongside Gravy, fellow collaborators Dillon Francis and David “dwilly” Wilson, and Republic Records as defendants in the lawsuit. He declined Billboard’s request for comment.)
Danielle Middleton, senior director of producer/songwriter management firm Page 1 and former A&R at Sony Music Publishing, notes that sampling and interpolation is bigger than ever. “Nostalgia is huge right now,” she says. With songs like “First Class” by Jack Harlow (which features a sample of “Glamorous” by Fergie), “I’m Good (Blue)” by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha (which interpolates “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” by Eiffel 65, Gabry Ponte), “Big Energy” by Latto (which borrows from “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club, which is also featured in “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey) and more dominating the Hot 100 in recent years, many artists are looking to quickly jump onto the trend by flipping familiar tunes into something new.
Music attorney Todd Rubenstein wagers that most music creators have likely not considered there could be any legal risk in creating closely imitated interpolations. Producer Marc “Fresh2Def” Soto, half of duo ClickNPress and has worked with J. Cole, Queen Naija, and Alessia Cara, says music execs have often encouraged him to convert samples into interpolations. “A record label will be like, ‘Hey we can’t get the clearance for the sample, but we can get an interpolation, would you be able to replay XYZ thing?’ I’ve been through that on several records with different labels.”
While Soto explains it’s not unheard of for a producer to strive for an exact dupe, far more commonly, he says, producers will make small changes to create distinction. Soto also says an exact imitation is often nearly impossible, anyway. Without access to the same studios and equipment as the creators of a track made decades ago did, re-recordings usually sound different from the original track, even if the attempt was to imitate. It’s most common to hear imitations of guitar parts, drum loops and other instrumentals. Vocals are more rare.
One publishing executive, who spoke to Billboard on the condition of anonymity, says they feel switching out a sample for a close interpolation is not just used to speed up licensing and save money. It’s also incredibly common for “creative reasons,” allowing the producers to control the parameters and tone of each individual element of the song.
In a previous story with Billboard, Primary Wave, the company that owns the rights to “Never Gonna Give You Up” songwriter Pete Waterman’s catalog, explained that the creation of “Betty (Get Money)” was part of a strategy the company has been working on for the past few years. In hopes of boosting the popularity and earnings of their catalog, the team will encourage artists and producers to interpolate or sample from songs they hold some or all rights to.
So far, the technique has been quite successful for Primary Wave. In addition to “Betty (Get Money),” this strategy has produced songs like “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Channel Tres (which sampled Teddy Pendergrass’s “The More I Get The More I Want”), “Thought It Was” by Iann Dior and Machine Gun Kelly (which interpolated the melody of Semisonic’s “Closing Time”) and “What a Night” by Flo Rida (which borrowed from Frankie Valli’s “Oh What A Night”). Primary Wave was not named in this lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Astley’s lawyer claims the singer has been “looking to collaborate with another artist and/or producer to create something new with his voice from ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’,” but because of the “nearly indistinguishable” imitation of Astley in “Betty (Get Money),” his opportunities to do this have been “obliterated.”
While Milk & Honey founder Lucas Keller says the popularity of Yung Gravy’s tune with such a prominent interpolation of “Never Gonna Give You Up” may hinder opportunities for a major sample placement for Astley’s original tune in the short term, the other publishing executive adds that they believe the opposite is true long-term. “If you’d look at James Brown or Parliament Funkadelic or any number of people that are often sampled, I feel like statistically, the more your work is used, it means you’re more likely to get sampled again.”
As to the lawsuit, Keller, who manages a number of top producers, says it “could set creators back.” The publishing executive agrees, arguing the case could scare creators and hinder creativity in sampling, covering and interpolating.
Soto says this would not be the first time a lawsuit affected producers in recent years, citing the controversial Blurred Lines trial, which claimed the Hot 100-topping hit of that name by Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. plagiarized the composition “Got To Give It Up” by Marvin Gaye because some felt it centered on similar feels of the two songs — perhaps widening what elements are protected under copyright law. The same lawyer who represented the Gaye family in that trial, Richard Busch, is representing Astley in his lawsuit. With this case, Soto adds, “We might get to a place where things start to feel like, ‘Why am I interpolating anyways when I might get sued?’”
Even if Astley and Gravy settle out of court, Rubenstein believes we’re likely “going to see other lawsuits off the back of this lawsuit” from artists who feel emboldened to fight imitations or similar-sounding interpolations of their voices in songs they were not a part of. He says, “I could see older artists that had this happen to them in the past realize, ‘Hey, I have the same claim.’”
Busch, Republic Records, Primary Wave, and Gravy did not respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, will testify in front of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in late March in his first appearance before Congress, according to a statement from the committee’s chair, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
The Republican representative from Washington said Chew is expected to comment on TikTok’s data security and user privacy policies, its impact on children and the company’s ties with China’s Communist Party.
The popular short-form video app and influential music discovery tool has become a lightning rod for political controversies as lawmakers on both sides have questioned the company’s handling of U.S. users’ data and whether it’s obligated to share user data with China’s ruling Communist Party. The app is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
In an emailed statement, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed the hearing was to take place on March 23 and said they welcome the opportunity to “set the record straight about TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we are making to address concerns about U.S. national security.”
“We hope that by sharing details of our comprehensive plans with the full committee, Congress can take a more deliberative approach to the issues at hand,” the spokesperson said.
Congress is currently considering a bill introduced in December by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Flor.), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) that would effectively ban TikTok and any other social media company headquartered in China, Russia or a handful of other countries from operating in the United States.
In addition, a number of U.S. states and large state universities have issued orders restricting access to TikTok on state-issued mobile devices and over campus internet.
In her own statement, Rodgers said that Bytedance has “knowingly allowed” the Chinese Communist Party to access U.S. users’ data, and her committee aims to ask TikTok for “complete and honest answers for people.”
“Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security, as well as what actions TikTok is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms,” Rodgers said.
A TikTok spokesperson refuted Rodgers’ statement.
“There is no truth to Rep. McMorris Rodgers’ claim that TikTok has made U.S. user data available to the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok,” the spokesperson said. “Moreover, under the proposal we have devised with our country’s top national security agencies through CFIUS, that kind of data sharing—or any other form of foreign influence over the TikTok platform in the United States—would not be possible.”
[Trigger warning: this article contains descriptions of domestic violence, as well as sexual and physical abuse.]
Marilyn Manson is the subject of a new lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct. The suit by the woman — identified anonymously as “Jane Doe” in the filing — alleges that the singer, now 54, groomed and sexually assaulted the then-underage girl during the early portion of his career.
Manson (born Brian Warner) is named as a defendant in the suit filed in Nassau County Supreme Court in Long Island, New York, alongside former labels Interscope and Nothing Records in a filing that includes accusations of sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the singer, and negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the labels.
The suit says Doe, then 16, first met Manson in 1995 after a show in Dallas when she waited outside his tour bus and the singer invited her and “one of the other younger girls” onto his tour bus where he allegedly asked for their ages and school grades while jotting down their phone numbers and addresses.
A spokesperson for Manson and the singer’s lawyer had not returned a request for comment on the Doe lawsuit at press time, and a spokesperson for Interscope/Universal Music Group had not yet responded to a request for comment.
“While on the tour bus, Defendant Warner performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon Plaintiff, who was a virgin at the time, including but not limited to forced copulation and vaginal penetration,” the lawsuit claims. At the time, the age of consent in Texas was (and still is) 17 and the suit notes that one of Manson’s band members watched “Defendant Warner sexually assault Plaintiff… Plaintiff was in pain, scared, upset, humiliated and confused. After he was done, Defendant Warner laughed at her. … Then Defendant Warner demanded Plaintiff to ‘get the f–k off of my bus’ and threatened Plaintiff that, if she told anyone, he would kill her and her family.”
More than a dozen women have accused Manson of sexual, emotional and physical assault, including actress Evan Rachel Wood, who was the subject of the two-part HBO documentary Phoenix Rising last year that delved into her claims of the abuse she claims she allegedly suffered at the rocker’s hand during an on-and-off relationship that began when she was 18.
Manson and one of his accusers, actress Esme Bianco, recently reached a settlement to end her sexual assault lawsuit, and earlier in the month a judge dismissed another sexual abuse suit from model Ashley Morgan Smithline over her failure to find a new lawyer. Last May, an L.A. Superior Court judge dismissed a suit against Manson filed by a former personal assistant alleging sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Manson has denied the allegations.
The new Jane Doe lawsuit alleges that a member of Manson’s crew gave her a 1-800 number and a password so she could meet up with the singer again, noting that the teen began using drugs and alcohol soon after the alleged sexual assault, and continued to do so for years after. The suit also alleges that Manson would call and chat online with the teen while asking her for explicit photos of her and her friends.
In the same year they met, Doe claims that Manson convinced the teen to meet him in New Orleans, where he “groomed” her by complimenting her artwork before he became more “aggressive and again sexually assaulted Plaintiff, including kissing, biting her breast, oral copulation, and penetration,” the complaint alleges. “After the second assault, Defendant Warner acted in a kinder manner nicer to Plaintiff and told her that he wanted to see her again.” As with Texas, the age of consent in Louisiana at the time was, and is, 17.
Doe said she continued to be in touch with Manson and his band, and when she was 18 moved to Los Angeles and began dating then-Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna. (Billboard has reached out to Vrenna for comment.) In 1999, she allegedly attended a Manson show in New Orleans, describing a typical backstage scene that included “the availability of large amounts of drugs for her and others to use.” The suit claims that the woman then spent the next month on the road with Manson, taking drugs and spending time with the disgraced singer during which he would “groom, harass and sexually abuse” her.
The suit goes on to describe Manson’s increasing psychological control over Doe, in which he allegedly “purposefully and intentionally laid the groundwork necessary to intimidate and control her … As he did on countless occasions, Defendant Warner exploited this vulnerability to keep Plaintiff under his control. Defendant Warner often made Plaintiff feel alone and isolated by telling her that no one understands her other than him, which included her family. At the time, Plaintiff believed Defendant Warner and was compelled to keep following him.”
The suit claims the alleged controlling and grooming behavior continued — including “coerce[ing] Plaintiff to have sex with him and other band members or his assistant at the same time,” while “providing Plaintiff with drugs.”
In details that bear a resemblance to allegations from a number of the other women who’ve accused Manson of abuse, Doe’s lawsuit claims that the singer employed “hostile and verbally abusive behavior,” as well as racially charged language mixed with the sharing of intimate personal details. The suit also claims that Interscope and Nothing Records “were well-aware of Defendant Warner’s obsession with sexual violence and childhood sexual assault,” and that the labels did not have a “reasonable system or procedure in place to investigate, supervise, or monitor its staff and/or agents, including Defendant Warner, to prevent pre-sexual grooming and sexual harassment, molestation, and assault of fans, including minors and women.”
The suit continues, “As a result of Brian Warner’s sexual abuse and assault, enabled and encouraged by Defendants Interscope and Nothing Records, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional, physical, and psychological distress, including shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and emotional loss.”
Doe is seeking damages to be determined at trial and an order “enjoining Defendants from future unlawful business practices including, but not limited to, exposing minors and vulnerable adults to sexual abuse and exploitation.”
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
MUMBAI — Drawing more than 60,000 music fans over two days, with 40 artists performing on four stages spread across 50 acres, the inaugural edition of Lollapalooza India this weekend conquered the mantle of the largest multi-genre festival ever held in India.
In the country’s exponentially growing live music scene, Lollapalooza was somewhat late to the party, arriving more than a decade after multi-genre properties such as the Bacardi NH7 Weekender and Vh1 Supersonic. That meant audience expectations for an international brand like Lollapalooza were somewhat higher, especially because ticket prices (between $70 and $90 for advance purchase) were almost double those for its homegrown Indian counterparts.
To Indian music fans it felt like a super-sized Weekender, with some of the former programming and production team members working for Lollapalooza. The main difference: huge stages with amped-up sound and light production. Lolla’s crowd of roughly 30,000 per days also topped Supersonic’s latest edition in 2020, which pulled in about 20,000 over two days; and last November’s Weekender, which drew a little less than 20,000 per day over three days, according to people who work with the festivals.
Indian promoter BookMyShow — which previously produced stand-alone concerts by Justin Bieber and U2 at a cricket stadium in the outskirts of the city — staged the first installment of Lollapalooza India at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, situated in the heart of Mumbai on a narrow road that frequently witnesses traffic snarls.
For many of the domestic acts — which made up 60% of the line-up — Lollapalooza was the biggest event they’ve played in their career to date. The festival featured headliners Imagine Dragons, The Strokes, Diplo, Cigarettes After Sex and Indian hip-hop star Divine, with debut India performances from Chinese pop star Jackson Wang and U.K. indie rock trio The Wombats.
Watching the performances, Lollapalooza felt a lot like a festival in the U.S. or Europe. But it also suffered from the same problems that plague other Indian festivals. Sound-related issues hindered some sets. Attendees lost cell phone service towards the evening. Bottlenecks at the end meant those who drove to the venue needed over an hour to leave, despite BookMyShow having encouraged the use of public transport by not providing on-site parking.
Lollapalooza India will also be remembered for the rampant reselling that took place prior to the festival, over WhatsApp groups and through messages shared on posts from the festival’s official Instagram page. The majority of resellers weren’t scalpers, but rather customers who bought early bird tickets in August and were disappointed by the line-up when it was revealed in November, according to one poll on Twitter.
The roster had been rumored to include such names as Metallica, Pearl Jam and Green Day, who had played the 2022 editions in the U.S., South America and Europe, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arctic Monkeys, who are touring Asia right now. BookMyShow, which co-produced the festival along with Perry Farrell and C3 Presents, neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, fueling speculation that at least some of those names might be on the bill. (Billboard reached out to BookMyShow for comment on Monday about the rampant reselling and fan issues with the final lineup but has not heard back yet.)
The Indian edition included a bunch of acts, such as metal band Bloodywood, pop ensemble Easy Wanderlings, alternative rock group The F16s and pop-rock outfit The Yellow Diary who have already performed at several festivals this season — as well artists like Divine and singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, who have recently gone on nationwide tours.
The backlash posed some interesting questions: Is it fair game for festival promoters to sell tickets before the line-up is announced? How many of its headliners does a global festival have to replicate to live up to its “international” reputation? Does India have enough festival-worthy acts to sustain the number of festivals being staged?
Despite a consistently growing listenership for international music on audio-streaming services, promoters in India have yet to solve logistical and infrastructure challenges. The economics of bringing million-dollar international artists to the country for a one-off show are far trickier than booking them for multi-city dates across Europe and South America, other continents to which Lollapalooza has expanded. This is coupled with the severe lack of venues for events the magnitude of Lollapalooza in cities such as Mumbai where there are few vast open grounds.
Among the most talked about sets were those by Imagine Dragons, The Strokes, Greta Van Fleet and Canadian-Punjabi hip-hop star A.P. Dhillon (who some criticized for relying heavily on a backing track).
Lollapalooza India 2023.
Courtesy Photo
From the number of revelers that flocked to their stages, it was evident India has a fervent following for acts as wide-ranging as dream-pop band Cigarettes After Sex and former K-pop idol Jackson Wang, to electronic music producer Madeon and indie pop group Japanese Breakfast.
While the organizers might have played it relatively safe with the Indian line-up, most local artists drew sizable crowds, with Divine and Kuhad attracting thousands in a testament to their current superstar status. Farrell, meanwhile, was seen walking around the festival site and being stopped for selfies by fans.
A substantial proportion of the attendees comprised first-time festival goers, including Mumbai residents who didn’t have to take the effort of traveling to neighboring city Pune where Weekender and Supersonic are held.
After originally debuting in 1991 as a farewell tour for Farrell, the singer of Jane’s Addiction, Lollapalooza has been an annual multi-genre event in Chicago’s Grant Park since 2005, after Farrell and William Morris partnered with Austin-based Capital Sports Entertainment (now C3 Presents). The festival expanded to South America — Santiago, Chile; São Paulo and Buenos Aires — and to Berlin, Paris and Stockholm. In 2014, Live Nation bought a controlling interest in C3.
As they get set to work on the 2024 edition of Lollapalooza India — C3 Presents partner Charlie Walker told Billboard in July that they “don’t go anywhere with the expectation of not going on forever” — the organizers have plenty of feedback to consider when planning its return.
Baroline Diaz has founded her own label, Great Day Records, in association with Santa Anna and Alamo Records. Formerly vp of A&R at Interscope Records, Diaz will serve as chairwoman of Great Day, which will be based in New York.
The announcement follows the recent launch of Santa Anna, an artist and label services company established by Sony Music Entertainment and Alamo CEO/founder Todd Moscowitz. Under terms of the partnership with Diaz, Great Day’s roster of artists will have access to Santa Anna’s resources and promotional support.
“Baroline is a force to be reckoned with and a major player in the music industry,” said Moscowitz in a statement. “We cannot wait to work alongside her and develop new ways to scale her impressive roster and discover new ways to expand her growing empire.”
Diaz joined Interscope in 2019 as senior director of A&R before receiving her vp stripes a year later. During her tenure at Interscope, she collaborated on projects from DaBaby, Moneybagg Yo, Est Gee, Rob 49 and Lil Poppa, among others. She will continue to manage rapper Babyface Ray.
“I want Great Day Records to bring back real artistry and artist development,” commented Diaz in the Sony press announcement. “I want it to be a label where we are building the next generation of superstars in music, and I feel that Alamo/Santa Anna is going to be the best partner to execute that. They understand my vision and what the future of music is going to look like.”
Warner Music Group will launch Rhythm City — a “music-themed social roleplay experience” — on the gaming platform Roblox on February 4th.
Not only will Rhythm City host events and shows from Warner’s artists, it will allow users to take on roles like DJ, producer, or dancer as they explore the virtual world and purchase digital items only available on Roblox. Rhythm City was developed in partnership with Gamefam, a metaverse-focused gaming and content company.
Warner is the latest music company to partner with Roblox, which has been around for more than 15 years but exploded in popularity with young users during the pandemic. Sony Music and BMG announced partnerships with Roblox in 2021. Spotify became “the first music-streaming brand to have a presence on Roblox” last year.
Earlier this month, Roblox announced that it had more than 61 million daily active users in December who spent close to 5 billion hours on the platform. It’s no surprise, then, that record companies are eager to find new ways to seed their music to Roblox users.
“Immersive online environments represent a meaningful opportunity for reaching a growing number of fans who want to use virtual communities to enjoy shared music experiences,” Dennis Kooker, Sony Music’s president of global digital business and U.S. sales, said in 2021. When BMG announced its Roblox partnership, Christopher Ludwig, BMG’s vp of global digital partnerships and strategy, noted that the platform “has transformed the gaming experience for millions and is proving a powerful way to introduce new generations to music they love.”
In a statement announcing Rhythm City, Oana Ruxandra, chief digital officer and evp, business development at Warner Music Group, struck a similar tone. “As our lives become increasingly digital, exciting opportunities are opening up for artists and fans to engage and interact,” she said. “WMG is focused on facilitating the foundations of these new experiences by building and experimenting across evolving ecosystems. This partnership with Gamefam sees WMG creating a place for artists and audiences to come together to define and contextualize their communities within living spaces.”
Joe Ferencz, founder and CEO at Gamefam, added that “we are thrilled to have a chance to combine our passion for developing authentic, highly-engaging metaverse content with our love of music.” “WMG has been a brilliant partner in pushing innovative strategies, and together with our expertise, we’ve channeled that into production excellence creating a new community for music lovers in the metaverse,” he continued.
Warner acts, including Twenty One Pilots and David Guetta, have previously hosted virtual concerts on Roblox.
Colombian record executive Adriana Restrepo has been appointed IFPI’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Restrepo will now head the global record music organization’s regional operations in Latin American and the Caribbean, based out of the organization’s offices in Miami and reporting directly to IFPI chief executive Frances Moore.
Restrepo takes over the post vacated by Javier Asensio, who served as regional director of the IFPI since 2011. Asensio, who’s been on Billboard’s Latin Power Player list on multiple occasions, stepped down from his role at the end of 2022 to return to his native Spain.
“Having worked directly with Adriana for a number of years as she served on our boards, I know first-hand the level of passion, commitment and knowledge of the Latin American music sector that she brings to the role,” said Moore in a statement. “I would also like to thank Javier who has been outstanding in overseeing our work in the region for over a decade and achieved so much during a period of rapid change and evolution in the market.”
Restrepo comes from a business and recording industry background and is one of the very few women who have headed record labels, including multinationals, in Latin America. She was most recently president of Sony Music Andes, based in Bogotá, Colombia, and overseeing Sony’s operation in the Andean region, which includes Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Prior to that, Restrepo was president of powerful Colombian indie Codiscos, one of the region’s oldest and most respected labels and publishers, with a vast catalogue of tropical and popular music.
Restrepo comes to the post at a time when the Latin American music industry is on a path of massive growth. Recorded music revenues in Latin America grew 31% in 2021, exceeding $1 billion in revenues for the first time, and making it the 12th year of consecutive growth for the region.
Restrepo, who served on the IFPI’s main board between 2018 and 2020 is familiar with the organization.
“The region is experiencing a stellar moment due to the massive production of new talent for the entire world,” she said in a statement. “I will continue the good work developed by Javier with the National Groups and the collective management organisations seeking to reach new goals for the benefit of IFPI members.”
At Sony Andes, Maria Mercedes “Mechas” Montejo has been appointed to lead the company.
“We will miss Adriana here at Sony Music Latin Iberia, but we are thrilled to know that her professionalism and experience will be of service to the entire Latin music industry in her new role. We wish her all the best,” said Afo Verde, chairman & CEO Latin America, Spain and Portugal for Sony Music Entertainment.
Verde, and the other regional label heads will be working closely with Restrepo, as they do traditionally with IFPI leadership, and support for Restrepo has been unanimous.
“Adriana brings experience, knowledge and a great capacity for work, at a time when the challenges we face in Latin America continue to be enormous. There is nobody better than her to continue the great job done by Javier Asensio during the last decade,” said Jesús López, chairman & CEO, Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula, Universal Music Group.
Added Alejandro Duque, president, Warner Music Latin America: “I’ve known Adriana for many years and believe she has the right qualities and commitment to lead and execute our industry’s agenda in the region for years to come.”
In honor of #HipHop50, Mass Appeal and Sony Music Entertainment have agreed to partner to celebrate legendary SME artists and highlight Certified — their R&B and Hip-Hop digital catalog program.
According to a press release, “Sony Music and Mass Appeal will work together to showcase the creative excellence of SME’s dynamic talent and their contributions to music history through original content, experiences, merch and product collaborations in connection with Mass Appeal’s campaign leading up to this key milestone in Hip Hop culture.”
Second, Mass Appeal and SME will construct a new content series, Made By Hip-Hop. Set to debut later this year, Made By Hip-Hop will involve influential figures speaking on the genre’s impact and history. Last week, Mass Appeal and SME kicked off their partnership in NYC with the new photo exhibition Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious. The event showcased over 200 iconic hip-hop photos from 1972 to 2022 and had tremendous star power as Nas, New York City mayor Eric Adams, Raekwon, N.O.R.E., Styles P, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, Havoc, Fabolous, Maino, Dave East, A-Trak and Ralph McDaniels all attended.
The photo exhibit will remain open to the public until May 21.
Last year, Mass Appeal teamed up with Live Nation Urban for several hip-hop-centric events, including festivals and park jams.
“We are thrilled to partner with the world’s leading live entertainment company to bring fans one-of-a-kind experiences in celebration of hip-hop’s 50th birthday, said Mass Appeal CEO Peter Bittenbender. “We are planning to celebrate all facets of the culture and globe via this dynamic partnership.”
BMG has announced a long-term succession plan for Hartwig Masuch, the record label and publisher’s only CEO since launching in 2008. Parent company Bertelsmann said Monday (Jan. 30) that Masuch will be replaced by Thomas Coesfeld, BMG’s CFO, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Thomas Coesfeld
Bertelsmann Printing/Group_Kai-Uwe Oesterhelweg
When he takes over as chief executive, Coesfeld will also receive a seat on the Bertelsmann Group Management Committee (GMC), which advises the Group Executive Board. Masuch will remain in an advisory role after the transition, which will be “finalized at the end of the year,” said Bertelsmann chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe.
Under Masuch’s leadership, BMG has grown to be the fourth-biggest recorded music and publishing company in terms of revenue, trailing only the three majors. At a gathering of senior Bertelsmann execs in early October, Masuch announced BMG would be generating one billion euros in revenue starting in 2024. In the first half of 2022, the most recent final figures available, the company reported revenues grew 25% to 371 million euros ($405.7 million), compared to 2021’s first half.
In recent years, BMG has acquired music rights from Peter Frampton, Harry Nilsson, Simple Minds, Tina Turner and Mötley Crüe, among others, and through a partnership with KKR the company has acquired catalogs from John Legend and ZZ Top. On the label side, BMG has signed Duran Duran, Santana, Bryan Adams, Maxwell and Louis Tomlinson.
“Since 2008, [Masuch] has built the new BMG from scratch with a completely new business model that focuses on the needs of artists and songwriters, based on its core values of service, fairness, and transparency,” said Rabe.
Masuch joined Bertelsmann in 1991, overseeing Germany, Switzerland and Austria as part of BMG Music Publishing first incarnation. In 2008, he advised Bertelsmann when the company sold its share of Sony BMG Music Entertainment to Sony in 2008, and soon, helped start BMG Rights Management — which later became BMG.
“After 32 years at Bertelsmann and more than 14 years at BMG, now is the right time for me to hand over the reins to a new generation,” Masuch said in the company’s announcement. “I am convinced that the company will be in the best hands with Thomas Coesfeld and BMG’s outstanding, highly motivated global leadership team. As our annual results will show, the company is in excellent shape both creatively and financially. I look forward to a seamless transition by the end of the year. I am sure that under Thomas’ leadership, BMG’s core values of service, fairness and transparency will continue to evolve and flourish, leading the company to even greater success.”
Coesfeld was named deputy chief financial officer at BMG in October 2021 before taking over as CFO in April 2021. He previously served as chief strategy officer on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, a division of BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann. He began his career in 2014 as a management consultant at McKinsey in Munich.
“I am sure that under Thomas’ leadership, BMG’s core values of service, fairness and transparency will continue to evolve and flourish, leading the company to even greater success,” said Masuch.
Added Coesfeld, “Under Hartwig Masuch’s leadership, BMG has delivered an impressive growth story and developed into a modern music company in which data, technology, and services play a key role. My aim is to continue this success story together with the company’s top management and its more than 1,000 employees worldwide, and to leverage the enormous creative and entrepreneurial potential of the music industry for Bertelsmann.”
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A youth movement of sorts hit music’s top 10 tracks in the U.S. last year, even as music consumption generally shifted toward older recordings.
The average age of a track in the top ten on-demand streaming songs in the U.S. was nearly five months younger in 2022 (346 days) than in 2021 (492 days), according to a Billboard analysis of Luminate data. In 2021, the top 10 tracks were evenly divided between current (defined by Luminate as younger than 18 months) and catalog (older than 18 months), as of Dec. 31, 2021. Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” released in June 2020, was No. 5 that year. The No. 1 track, Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” was released in March 2020. The No. 10 track, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” was released in 2019.
In 2022, nine of the top 10 tracks were current releases, meaning they were less than 18 months old on Dec. 31, 2022. “Heat Waves” was the lone catalog track in the top 10. The top track, Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” was a spry 276 days old. Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” the No. 9 track, was youngest at 185 days. “Levitating” still resonated with listeners but slipped to No. 20.
Outside of the top 10, however, the most popular music of the year continued to get older.
From 2021 to 2022, the average age of the top 25 on-demand tracks increased about a month and a half to 470 days old, excluding a notable outlier: Kate Bush’s 1985 recording “Running Up That Hill,” the No. 16 track of the year. Including Bush’s 13,620-day-old (as of Dec. 31, 2022) surprise hit, the average age of the top 25 tracks more than doubled.
Aging was more pronounced beyond the top 25. The average age of the top 1,000 on-demand audio streaming tracks increased from 3,287 days in 2021 to 3,462 days in 2022 — an increase of 176 days, or nearly six months. Notably, some younger catalog titles continued to defy gravity. Chris Stapleton’s 2014 track “Tennessee Whiskey” rose from No. 43 in 2021 to No. 33. Morgan Wallen’s “Whiskey Glasses,” from 2016, climbed from No. 62 to No. 32. The Neighborhood’s 2012 track “Sweater Weather,” a TikTok hit way back in Nov. 2020, improved from No. 76 to No. 34.
The aging of on-demand audio streams mirrors the continuing trend of catalog tracks accounting for a larger share of what Americans stream and purchase. According to Luminate, catalog’s share of total consumption — across all formats — climbed to 72.2% in 2022, up from 69.8% in 2021 and 65.1% in 2020.
Years ago, the line between current and catalog music meant more, since it usually followed the way stores shelved music. “That timeframe makes sense when you are talking about an artist’s typical album release cycle,” says Andy Moats, executive vp and director of music, sports and entertainment at Pinnacle Financial Partners.
In a financial sense, however, current music transitions to catalog over a long period of time. After an initial burst of earnings, music will earn less over some number of years — called “decay” — before settling at a consistent amount of annual royalties. “Most new release decay will occur in the first 36 to 48 months from release,” says Moats, and tracks typically level off and show growth from years 7 to 10.
Outliers like “Running Up That Hill” aside, increased catalog consumption stems mostly from music remaining popular beyond the 18-month mark. (Billboard wrote about the longevity of this “shallow catalog” in April 2022.) Today, catalog is as much about Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 song “Dreams” as The Weeknd’s 2020 song “Save Your Tears,” which remains popular on streaming services and was the No. 19 on-demand audio streaming track in the U.S. last year (down from No. 4 in 2021).
To the experts who value music assets, the ability of a relatively young catalog to increase its market share makes it more attractive. While older songs are typically more appealing to buyers because their earnings potential is more predictable than newer songs still experiencing annual decay, the trends seen in Luminate’s data suggest there could be more deals like Hipgnosis Capital Fund’s $200 million acquisition of Justin Bieber’s songwriting catalog and recorded music royalties. Nari Matsuura, partner at Citrin Cooperman, sees the catalog trends in Luminate’s data as a good sign for relatively young music. “This suggests that the value of newer catalogs should increase since their earnings will not decline as much in the near term but will be sustained at a higher level over a longer period.”