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NFTs are back — but don’t worry about holding onto your wallet. At least in the music business, the NFT (non-fungible token) is quietly starting a second, more practical life far removed from the deafening hype that surrounded the digital assets just a few years ago.
At the beginning of the decade, some artists made millions selling NFTs while celebrities were helping legitimize them, with stars like Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Madonna and Paris Hilton all buying NFTs from the then-hot Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. Then, predictably, the NFT bubble burst in fantastic fashion. In less than a year, Bieber’s Bored Ape, which he purchased for $1.3 million, was worth around $69,000.
NFTs were often a bad investment, but the underlying technology still has many believers. Last week, Sony quietly launched a music NFT collection on its Soneium blockchain platform. The fact that Sony — the larger company, not Sony Music Entertainment — is investing in Web3 technology may come as a surprise, but its efforts go back more than a year. Sony Network Communications, later renamed to Sony Block Solutions Lab, revealed in September 2023 that it had created a joint venture with Startale Labs to develop “a blockchain that can become the backbone of global web3 infrastructure” and create “killer web3 use cases to drive the adoption of web3.” Eleven months later, Sony announced the development of the Soneium blockchain that will form the infrastructure for those so-called “killer use cases,” with the goal of expanding Web3 technology and services to a broader audience and “build[ing] a world where web3 services permeate people’s daily lives.” The launch of Soneium was announced on Jan. 14.
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One of the applications on Soneium is a new fan marketing platform through which companies can issue NFTs. So far, two of Sony’s music divisions, Sony Music Entertainment France and Sony Music Publishing (Japan), issued NFTs as “demonstration experiment[s]” for its entertainment companies to “provide new value to creators and fans through web3 services.” In France, Sony celebrated the second anniversary of a Web3 community called Sunny B. 1991 by distributing limited-edition NFTs to the community. In Japan, Sony will distribute limited-edition NFTs to coincide with a live event for the girl group SANDAL TELEPHONE.
Sony’s blockchain push comes at a time when music companies are increasingly targeting superfans through digital platforms and merchandise offers. “NFTs are uniquely suited for this because they are programmable digital assets that can evolve over time,” says Cherie Hu of Water & Music, a music industry research and consulting practice. NFTs and their “smart contracts” — self-executing code on the blockchain — allow artists to create membership experiences that can evolve over time. And because NFTs use decentralized technology, they aren’t reliant on any one platform or company — a notable advantage when a country can outright ban a social media platform. “This is quite different from traditional fan clubs, where fan data is otherwise fragmented and hard to act upon from the artist’s perspective,” says Hu.
Sony’s slow launch of its blockchain ambitions will ultimately be helpful to other companies in the music space, says David Greenstein, CEO of two blockchain-related startups, Sound and Vault. “Any legacy company that’s trying to innovate, I have a lot of respect for because I think the industry needs more innovation,” he says. Three years ago, releasing high-priced yet useless NFTs was seen as innovative. In 2025, innovation means using blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and NFTs to create consumer-friendly products that bring artists and fans together.
A fresh approach to NFTs makes sense now that the market is tanking. NFT trading volume fell 19% in 2024, according to DappRadar, making it the worst year for NFTs since 2020 and far below their height in 2022, when they boasted $57.2 billion in trading volume. Last year’s leading NFT collection was Pudgy Penguins, which goes far beyond Web3 by selling plushy toys in brick-and-mortar retailers and sponsoring the uniforms of Spanish soccer club CD Castellón. Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs still generate a relatively large amount of sales activity, but prices in the last 30 days were down about 91% from their highs in 2022.
As enthusiasm for NFTs waned, some worthwhile experiments went belly up. Universal Music Group’s foray into NFTs was Kingship, a virtual band comprised of three Bored Ape characters and a rare Mutant Ape. The 5,000 NFTs, which would unlock music and other perks for owners, quickly sold out in July 2022. The group landed a sponsorship with M&Ms in 2022 and a Kingship game launched on Roblox in 2023. But by all appearances the project is now dead, and Kingship NFTs that sold for 0.23 ETH three years ago (approximately $300 at the time) are trading for less than 0.002 ETH ($5) today.
“There’s going to be very fruitful, better things that come out of [blockchain technology] that are non-speculative, just because the technology is awesome,” says Greenstein. His latest company, Vault, allows artists to build relationships with fans and creates a blockchain-based digital wallet for each user. But Vault has made a conscious choice to put the technology in the background, and although “everything is Web3 enabled,” he says, it’s not germane to the fans’ relationship with artists. “Nobody asked what the tech stack of Spotify is,” he points out. “They just use the product.”
Sing, a Seattle-based startup that sells both digital collectibles and physical merchandise, also puts Web3 technology in the background. “We don’t talk about NFTs,” says CEO Geoff Osler. “We don’t lead with that, because I don’t think people care.” But Sing has the same end goal as early NFT proselytizers: to facilitate a relationship between artists and their biggest fans while allowing artists to realize more value from those relationships. “We think that artists should make a great deal more money than they already do on the releases,” says Osler. “And that there’s this overall feeling — at least among superfans — that there’s a gap in the market. People want to own their music and own that connection with the artists.”
Speculation isn’t gone, but it’s migrated. Blockchains like Solana that have lower transaction costs and higher speeds than Etherium have become “hotbeds” for the trading of memecoins, says Hu. Rather than pump money into NFTs, people are buying into the TrumpCoin and the Hawk Tuah coin. “In certain segments of pop culture and politics, I’d say the appetite for high-risk digital assets remains really strong,” she says.
But players in the music space seem content to focus on practical use cases and leave the speculation to memecoin hustlers. “Once we come out of this period, and people start to accept blockchain tokens, there’s some very, very interesting stuff that the technology will enable,” says Osler. “But for now, meet them where they are. Let’s sell them records from artists they love. Show them there’s this amazing digital stuff that goes along with it, and that it’s collectible, and just leave it at that.”
On Valentine’s Day, Drake teamed up with OVO signee and frequent collaborator PARTYNEXTDOOR to release the collaborative album Some Sexy Songs 4 U, a 21-track project that marks his first release since the three-track project 100 Gigs last August.
More significantly, it’s his first release since he filed a lawsuit against his record label, Universal Music Group (UMG), on Jan. 15 for defamation over the release of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” the searing, chart-topping diss track aimed at the Canadian rapper that was released by UMG’s Interscope Records. In the lawsuit, lawyers for Drake alleged that “UMG intentionally sought to turn Drake into a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse,” by pushing a “false and malicious narrative” that the star rapper was a “certified pedophile,” as Lamar rapped on the track. (UMG, in response, said in part, “Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist—let alone Drake—is illogical.”)
That raises the question: How is Drake able to release an album while he’s actively suing the record label to which he’s signed?
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First, the logistics: The new album was released jointly through OVO Sound, to which PARTYNEXTDOOR is signed, which is distributed by Santa Anna, a company under Sony Music Group’s Alamo Records umbrella; and OVO, which is Drake’s vehicle through UMG’s Republic Records. They are co-billed that way and in that order on digital service providers like Spotify and Apple Music. These types of joint releases are relatively common; think Future and Metro Boomin’s back-to-back We Don’t Trust You albums last year, released jointly via Future’s label Epic Records (also a Sony label) and Metro’s label Republic Records. (Coincidentally, We Don’t Trust You contained the song “Like That” featuring Lamar, the track that kicked off the Drake-Kendrick beef in earnest.) Another, more current, example is the Lady Gaga–Bruno Mars collaboration “Die With A Smile,” currently sitting at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for its fifth week, which is co-billed to Gaga’s Interscope and Mars’ Atlantic Records.
That means UMG would have had to legally clear Drake’s appearance on the album, an outcome that a handful of lawyers consulted by Billboard say would not necessarily be affected by any ongoing litigation. “Suing UMG shouldn’t preclude him from working with them legally,” one lawyer says. “As for their desire to be in a contractual relationship with him while he is litigating against them, that’s a different story.” Adds another, who agreed that it would not affect his ability to release an album: “Whether or not UMG decides to properly fund and support a release that Drake wants to do while Drake is suing UMG is another question.”
A UMG spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In its response to the initial lawsuit last month, the company wrote, “We have invested massively in [Drake’s] music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success. … Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.”
An artist suing their record label is not an unheard-of occurrence; it has happened several times through the years, often over royalty payments or other contractual disputes. Suing their own record label for defamation over a diss track, however, is unprecedented; given the mutually beneficial financials involved in an artist and an album’s commercial success, it would stand to reason that UMG would not aim to materially harm one of their superstar artists. But that’s a determination for the courts to make.
Additional reporting by Elias Leight.
This week, all eyes have been on one of the biggest stages in the world: the Super Bowl. And while Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show rightfully has had many people talking, he wasn’t the only performer that stole the show at the NFL’s main event — New Orleans native Jon Batiste kicked off proceedings with a stirring, emotional rendition of the National Anthem, seated behind a multicolored piano on the Super Dome field.
And that was just the most high-profile moment for Batiste, the seven-time Grammy winner and former bandleader for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The day before the main event, Batiste also put on the Love Riot festival in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward neighborhood, which featured performances by him, Ledisi, Preservation Hall band, Flavor Flav, Dee-1 and more. And helping knit all that together was Culture Collective founder/CEO and Batiste’s business partner Jonathan Azu, who earns the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Azu — a Superfly and Red Light Management veteran, who also teaches music business at USC and is a governor of the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy, among other endeavors — explains his role in helping Batiste secure those events during Super Bowl weekend, as well as the other projects he and Batiste have in the works. “When you’re working with someone as innovative as Jon,” Azu says, “the best thing you can do is give them the freedom to create and then support them and lead our internal team in bringing that vision to life.”
This week, Jon Batiste performed the National Anthem prior to Super Bowl LIX. How did that come together?
We received a call from the team at Roc Nation, which selects all Super Bowl performers, asking if Jon would be interested in performing the National Anthem in his native New Orleans. I was thrilled that he said yes — there’s truly no one better suited for the moment than him. Additionally, the other co-producers on the halftime and pregame performances, Diversified Production Services and Jesse Collins Entertainment, were teams I had recently collaborated with on NBC’s Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central in May of last year. Having just worked closely with them on a major live broadcast, I was excited to reunite for another high-profile moment only months later.
How did he want to present his rendition differently from others, and how were you guys able to pull that off?
Reimagining the National Anthem is always a challenge because it has been performed — at the Super Bowl alone — 57 times before. The goal was to create something that would not only stand out but also move people in a way they hadn’t experienced before. Jon is the perfect artist to take on this challenge, bringing a blend of musicality, storytelling and emotional depth. My role was to provide him with the tools, resources and space to develop and execute his vision. When you’re working with someone as innovative as Jon, the best thing you can do is give them the freedom to create and then support them and lead our internal team in bringing that vision to life.
The day before, he put on the Love Riot Festival in New Orleans. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
When Jon committed to performing at the Super Bowl, it was important to both of us to integrate a meaningful community outreach initiative into the weekend. Jon is from New Orleans, and my mother is as well, so I spent a lot of time there growing up. While most visitors during Super Bowl weekend stay in or near the French Quarter, we wanted to ensure we were making an impact in communities that don’t always receive the same economic boost — particularly the Lower 9th Ward.
To bring this vision to life, we sought a partner who shared our commitment to community engagement. We were fortunate to connect with He Gets Us, a faith-driven media campaign that was already involved in this year’s Super Bowl advertising. They became an invaluable partner in helping us realize the festival. My role was to work closely with their team to execute Jon’s vision seamlessly — overseeing guest talent coordination, production logistics, sponsorship integration and advising on the overall audience experience.
What were some of the toughest aspects of putting together that festival on Super Bowl weekend?
One of the biggest challenges was assembling available production teams and securing guest talent in the middle of one of the busiest entertainment weekends of the year. Super Bowl weekend brings an influx of major events, making it difficult to lock in resources and availability. However, we were able to navigate these hurdles and successfully produce the festival.
The end result was incredible — we had over 5,000 people come out for what turned into a beautiful day. The festival featured performances from guest artists like Ledisi, Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball, Preservation Hall, Flavor Flav and Dee-1, creating an environment that was both celebratory and impactful. From an executive producer standpoint, my role was to ensure everything came together in the right way, including logistical planning for artists to seamlessly move in and out of the festival while keeping the focus on community engagement.
You’ve worked at Superfly and Red Light before beginning to work with Jon. How has that past experience helped you to help grow his career?
Superfly and Red Light laid a strong foundation for me, both in terms of skills and relationships. Being among the first handful of employees at Superfly, the co-founders of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and Outside Lands Music Festival, equipped me with the skill set, knowledge and relationships essential for organizing large-scale events in a city. My time at Red Light, where I operated as general manager, provided me with a deeper understanding of representing talent on significant stages, whether at festivals or high-profile events like the Super Bowl. Both experiences were instrumental in preparing me for the multifaceted demands of supporting Jon’s career.
He’s been a staple on late night television and won a Grammy for album of the year. How do you keep pushing his career forward?
Jon is the ultimate multi-hyphenate, and there’s truly no limit to where his career can go. I’m incredibly excited about what lies ahead for him, not just in music, but in business as well. We’re working closely to develop intellectual property and dynamic business opportunities that go beyond the stage. A great example is the launch of the new Jon Batiste Jazz Club at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas. Jon and his programming team are curating what happens on those stages 365 days a year, and Jon is involved in all aspects of the consumer experience — from what they see on stage to the artwork within the venue to the dining experience. This holistic approach ensures we’re not only expanding his artistic footprint but also building a lasting legacy.
What do you have in the works moving forward?
Like many of the talented individuals I work with, I’m a multi-hyphenate in the business world. In addition to Culture Collective, where I’m focusing on developing artists like Leon Thomas — whose album MUTT is skyrocketing — I have multiple business ventures on and off the stage. I partner with Jon Batiste and his company, JBI, to build out his multi-layered ecosystem around the world. In my partnership with Joe Killian, we are forging groundbreaking collaborations through our consultancy, Killian + Co., where we’ve spearheaded innovative, high-impact campaigns with artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator and Eminem for global brands like Ford, American Express and Julien’s Auction House.
In the academic space, I’m dedicated to cultivating the next generation of music executives. This includes my four-year tenure as an adjunct professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music, where I teach music business. I also serve on the Board of Trustees at Drake University, my alma mater, where I first started in music as president of the concert committee. Additionally, I help steer the Recording Academy into the future by serving as a governor of the Los Angeles chapter.
TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Google in the U.S., after President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a TikTok ban. TikTok, which is operated by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores on Jan. 18 to comply with a law that requires ByteDance to divest […]
The rap feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has broken out beyond the hip-hop world so that now even the mainstream media is all over it and keeping score, thanks to Lamar winning record and song of the year at the Grammys for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” and his performance a week later at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
While it’s unclear how this is all going to play out, music industry label executives know that rap feuds, in general, are good for business — as long as they don’t go too far.
As it is, Lamar’s high-profile performance is landing him the most ink, which in turn is driving plenty of business his way. It’s only five weeks into the year as tracked by Luminate, and already his recorded music catalog is closing in on 1 billion on-demand streams in the U.S., which it will probably reach next week; while his global streams are heading toward 2 billion. As of the week ending Feb. 6, those counts stand at 862.8 million (U.S.) and 1.69 billion (globally), according to Luminate. Overall, Lamar’s catalog has accumulated nearly 664,000 album consumption units in the U.S. in 2025 so far.
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That’s nearly three times larger than during the same period in 2024 when Lamar posted 233,000 album consumption units and almost 301 million on-demand streams in the U.S. and global streams of 650 million. Of course, besides his high-profile TV appearances this year, Lamar’s streaming and sales activity is still enjoying an added boost from riding in the afterglow of his recently released GNX album on Nov. 22.
But is all this attention also helping Drake? It’s unclear. Drake is slightly trailing Lamar in terms of U.S. album consumption units and streaming in 2025 so far. Album consumption units came in at 620,000 units, or 7.1% short of the Compton rapper; while his total of nearly 834 million on-demand streams is 3.5% below Lamar’s U.S. total and his global total of 1.529 billion is 10.3% short of his musical rival’s.
Besides that, Drake’s 2025 performance is also down from how his catalog performed in the first five weeks of 2024, when he accumulated 930,000 album consumption units; and, within that, 1.281 billion streams in the U.S. Those 2024 numbers are 50% and 53.6% greater, respectively, than his U.S. activity in 2025 during the same period; while his 2024 global on-demand stream total was 2.246 billion, or nearly 47% greater than this year.
Drake, of course, does not have the added momentum of having released a new album at the end of 2024. (He is releasing his PartyNextDoor collaborative EP, Some Sexy Songs 4 U, this Friday.) Not only that, his current year’s numbers are competing against his prior year’s numbers which did have that benefit thanks to the afterglow of his eighth studio album, For All the Dogs, which was released on Oct. 6, 2023.
Still, the above numbers do not reflect the impact that Lamar’s Super Bowl performance is having on the activity of his and Drake’s catalogs. Those numbers, for the week ending Feb. 13, won’t be available from Luminate until Monday (Feb. 17).
This is all short-term, of course. Looking at the two artists’ career numbers, Drake swamps Lamar, even though the “Just Like Us rapper” has pretty impressive counts in his own right. Over the past 10 years, Drake has gone toe-to-toe with only Taylor Swift in claiming the title of the biggest artist in the U.S., if not the world, at least as far as recorded music activity goes.
Drake and Lamar’s first commercial releases came out within about a year of each other. Drake’s debut album, Thank Me Later, hit the streets in June 2010, while Lamar’s Section 8.0 album came out in July 2011. Since then, Drake has issued eight albums and Lamar six, and each has also released mixtapes, EPs, collaborations and/or compilations and soundtracks.
By the end of 2024, Drake’s catalog has accumulated nearly 80.7 million album consumption units in the U.S., versus Lamar’s 29.1 million album consumption units, according to Luminate. In fact, the combined activity of just three of Drake’s studio albums alone is higher than Lamar’s total, as each of those albums — Take Care, Scorpion and Views — have garnered slightly over 10 million album consumption units a piece. Meanwhile, Lamar’s best album showings come from his major-label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city, with 9.3 million album consumption units, and DAMN, at nearly 9 million units.
(These career numbers exclude collaborations where most of the collaborators are each considered a primary artist but do include songs where artists are “featured” on a Drake or Lamar song because Luminate credits those songs’ activity to just the primary artist. Album consumption units count each album sale as one album consumption unit; while track equivalent albums, whereby 10 tracks sold equal one album consumption unit; and stream equivalent albums, whereby 1,250 paid subscriber streams equal one album consumption unit, or 3,750 ad-supported streams equal one album consumption unit. Also, Luminate only tracks album consumption units in North America; globally, it only tracks streams and downloads, not album consumption units.)
Within the album consumption unit numbers, Drake’s streaming total in the U.S. is 84 billion and 127 billion globally, as of the Luminate year ended Jan. 2, 2025. Meanwhile, Lamar’s U.S. career streaming total is nearly 29 billion and more than 47 billion globally.
Those numbers are extremely impressive given that 2015 was the first year in which streaming’s impact was widely felt. While huge rock stars, not counting pop artists, are lucky to break the 1 billion on-demand streams milestone in the U.S. each year — and none of them yet appear to have broken the 2 billion mark in the U.S. in a single year — these days, R&B and hip-hop artists regularly hit the multi-billion on-demand stream mark each year — usually led by Drake.
Over the past five years — from 2020 to 2024 — Drake’s U.S. streams have totaled 46 billion, for an annual average of 9.2 billion streams, while globally he’s averaged 15.9 billion streams per year. In contrast, Lamar’s U.S. stream count during that same period averages 3.29 billion, while his annual global count averages nearly 6.4 billion streams. Any way you cut it — by album consumption units or by stream count — Drake’s activity over the course of his career, or even just within the 2020 to 2024 period, is more than twice that of Lamar’s.
So even though Lamar is the top dog this year when measured against Drake’s activity, it remains to be seen if this rap feud changes the dynamics of whose swagger — Drake’s, the reigning champ, or Lamar’s — can be backed up long-term. Only time will tell.
This Valentine’s Day, show your love by sidling up 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, but first, peruse our second annual list of the most powerful people in sports and music, our weekly interview series spotlighting a single c-suiter and our calendar of notable industry events.
The Bandier Program at Syracuse’s Newhouse School formed a new advisory board to guide the vaulted music business program. This board consists of 13 distinguished alumni who hold leadership positions across the recording and entertainment industries, with a goal to foster innovation, mentorship and career development for students. Notable members include Jon Cohen (co-founder/CEO of The FADER and Cornerstone Agency), Jacqueline Saturn (president of Virgin Music), Joel Klaiman (CEO of ASCEND4M, former evp at Columbia), Alex Coslov (evp of Mercury Records), Justin Shukat (president of Primary Wave) and Margaret Tomlin (vp of A&R at Sony Music Nashville), among others. They’ll work with Bandier program director Bill Werde and managing director Lisa Steele to keep the program aligned with industry trends, promote diversity and overall enhance its reputation. Since its first graduating class in 2011, the Bandier Program has consistently been ranked among Billboard’s top music business schools. This fall, it will expand with a new master’s degree program in music business, a joint effort between the Newhouse School and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Named after legendary music publishing executive Martin Bandier, the program offers students a multidisciplinary education, industry connections, and practical experience. Newhouse Dean Mark Lodato commended the alums, saying “the diverse skills and career paths of the 13 inaugural members of the Advisory Board shine a light on the legacy of excellence in music business education at Syracuse University and the Newhouse School.”
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Joey Papoutsis ’13, Bill Werde, Caitlin Lytle ’16, Max Weinberg ’12, Michelle Santosuosso, Suryansh Singh ’25, Tamzin Folz ’26, Darius Baharlo ’27, Rachel Kelly ’25, Margaret Tomlin ’13, Bria Lewis ’26, Gabz Landman ’12, Joel Klaiman ’90, Lisa Steele, Grant Palmer ’13, CJ Strock ’00, Jon Cohen ’90, Justin Shukat ’96, Steve Magee ’16
Courtesy Photo
Sony Music Publishing elevated Henry Naldjian to chief technology officer, reporting to chief information officer Bill Starke. Based in Nashville, Naldjian will oversee technological transformation, drive innovation and ensure global team alignment. With over 34 years of experience at Sony, he has played a key role in SMP’s IT advancements, including developing the Tempo copyright and royalty system and leading cloud computing initiatives. Naldjian, who previously helped build Sony Music Entertainment’s global royalty system, expressed his passion for supporting songwriters: “In a world where technology evolves at the speed of thought, our greatest asset is not the code we write, but the empowerment we provide to our songwriters and clients.”
The MSG Family of Companies — MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports and Sphere Entertainment — appointed Stephanie Andino as executive vp of people practices, effective Feb. 24. Reporting to executive chairman and CEO Jim Dolan, she will oversee benefits, compensation, employee engagement, talent acquisition and policy compliance at the venue and live entertainment giant. Andino arrives from Crate and Barrel, where she served as chief human resources officer, and brings extensive experience from roles at Victoria’s Secret, Legends Hospitality, PepsiCo, Fox, JWT, and Gap Inc. Dolan praised her ability to develop impactful programs in dynamic organizations, adding, “we look forward to leveraging her expertise to lead this critical area.”
Concord Music Publishing nudged Kourtney Kirkpatrick to senior vp of synchronization and Matt Turner to vp of A&R in its Nashville office. Kirkpatrick will continue to lead the television sync division, managing a team across New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, and promoting catalogs from artists like Phil Collins, and John Fogerty. Her team has secured placements in popular shows such as Euphoria and Stranger Things, and trailers for brands like Netflix and Apple. She also leads Concord’s annual Nashville sync camp, which has resulted in over 350 placements globally. Previously, Kirkpatrick worked at Razor & Tie and Big Yellow Dog Music. Turner, meanwhile, will focus on signing and developing talent across country. His efforts have led to multiple radio staples for artists like Morgan Wallen and Dan + Shay, and he has also secured publishing deals for Josh Miller, Andy Albert and other writers. Turner’s previous experience includes roles at Big Loud and Downtown Music Publishing, where he helped launch the careers of Morgan Wallen and Chris Lane.
Jordan Saxemard‘s brief tenure as chief marketing officer of Sonos is over. Saxemard, who joined Sonos last May from Dyson and previously spent a decade at Coty, leaves amid backlash over a poorly received app update that damaged the company’s reputation with customers. His exit, effective immediately according to The Verge, comes a month after Patrick Spence’s resignation as CEO. In the interim, Lindsay Whitworth, a 20-year veteran of Sonos, will take over brand marketing leadership as the company navigates the fallout from the update and works to restore consumer confidence.
The Academy of Country Music made several key promotions and new hires. Christina Bartko joins as vp of accounting and finance, bringing experience from Warner Music Group and Live Nation, and will report to CEO Damon Whiteside. Haley Montgomery has been promoted to head of artist relations and awards, overseeing artist relations, membership, awards voting and governance, and will also report to Whiteside. Steve Mekler is now senior director of creative and marketing, leading marketing campaigns and content strategy, reporting to evp and chief business officer Gil Beverly. Jennifer Davis has been promoted to director of live events and production, managing logistics for major ACM events, and will report to vp of live events and production Ben Carter. Lastly, Karson Leighton joins as executive assistant to the CEO and CBO, handling internal operations.
Entertainment business management firm FBMM announced that Dan Killian is now an owner and shareholder of the company. Killian, who has nearly 15 years of music business experience, and more than a dozen years with FBMM, is now the youngest owner in FBMM’s history. In addition to managing business needs of clients spanning various genres of music, Killian also plays a key role in internal initiatives including creating a health and wellness program, leadership training and mentorship, and business development. FBMM was founded in 1990 and has offices in Los Angeles, New York City and Nashville. –Jessica Nicholson
TuneCore named Kevin Ferguson as senior vp of technology, tasked with driving innovation, scalability and user experience. Reporting to chief technology and product officer Luxi Huang, Ferguson will enhance TuneCore’s platform and programs like TuneCore Accelerator, focusing on digital tools that help artists connect with audiences and monetize their work. Ferguson brings extensive experience from BentoBox, where he scaled operations globally and integrated technology post-acquisition by FiServ. He has also held leadership roles at Audible, Morgan Stanley and the Vanguard Group. Huang praised Ferguson’s ability to lead high-performing teams, saying his “strategic foresight—makes him the ideal leader to further accelerate our innovation and ensure we remain at the forefront of the evolving music industry.” Ferguson expressed excitement about using technology to empower independent artists and strengthen TuneCore’s impact in the music industry, “all while ensuring that every artist has access to the most intuitive and powerful set of tools.”
Merlin appointed Sarah McNabb as director of content integrity, effective immediately. Based in London, McNabb joins from Audoo, where in three years she rose to head of partnerships, enhancing music royalties with advanced recognition technology. In her role at Merlin, she’ll work with members and digital platforms to maintain high content integrity standards. McNabb’s extensive experience with PROs and CMOs while at her last gig make her “uniquely suited to spearhead Merlin’s efforts to combat streaming manipulation and fraud,” the indie digital rights nonprofit said. Previously, she advocated for diversity and inclusion at Tech Talent Charter, a UK not-for-profit promoting gender parity in the IT sector.
RADIO, RADIO: Jenna Weiss-Berman stepped down as evp of podcasts at Audacy to become head of audio at Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions. In her new role, she’ll lead the expansion of the company’s podcasting and digital audio content. Weiss-Berman, who co-founded Pineapple Street Studios before its acquisition by Audacy in 2019, will continue consulting for Audacy … Townsquare created three new upper-management positions and promoted executives to the roles. Cristina Cipolla steps up to chief data officer from senior vp of data and analytics, Matt Kiger rises to chief revenue officer from senior vp of sales, and Kelly Quinn is lifted to the Ignite division’s chief revenue officer from senior vp of sales.
Humanable appointed Tim Wipperman as its first chief executive officer, announced by president Lili McGrady. Wipperman, a Billboard Country Power Player in 2022, has had a distinguished career, starting in Nashville in the 1970s. He has led Vector Music Publishing, Cedarwood Publishing and Combine Music, working with writers like Kris Kristofferson. He notably spent nearly three decades at Warner Bros. Music (later Warner Chappell) and led Equity Music Group, Wipperman Music Group, Rezonant Music Group, and held roles at Anthem Music Publishing Nashville and ONErpm. Humanable’s software certifies that creators’ work is made without Generative AI, reducing fraud in the supply chain. The certification provides a unique identifier to protect against AI-generated music, with 3.4 million songs certified to date. Wipperman emphasized the importance of protecting artists, stating, “Humanable is a first-to-market, author-driven way to mitigate the danger GenAI poses to creators.”
Drew Silverstein joined SourceAudio as president and head of AI strategy. The hire coincides with the launch of SongLab, SourceAudio’s new AI-powered suite of music tools designed to credit and compensate artists for AI-generated works. Silverstein, co-founder and former CEO of Amper Music, is tasked with leading all AI initiatives, focusing on forming partnerships with companies seeking ethically sourced AI training data and ensuring that all 33 million songs in the SourceAudio catalog can be used with full creator consent. Silverstein, a former vp of music at Shutterstock, will report to SourceAudio CEO Geoffrey Harding.
Big Loud Rock named Brooks Roach as senior vp of marketing. In this role, Roach will oversee the label’s marketing strategy, reporting to Big Loud partner Joey Moi and evp/general manager Lloyd Norman. Roach brings extensive industry experience, having previously served as svp of marketing at Giant Music, vp of marketing at Atlantic Records, and head of marketing and brand partnerships for Coldplay at Dave Holmes Management. He began his career at The Agency Group.
Peermusic executive Frank Handy was elected national chair of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) for 2025-2026 term. In this role, he will work with the executive committee, including chapter brass, to unify all four AIMP Chapters (Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Atlanta) in educating the independent music publishing community on industry trends. Handy will also serve as president of the LA Chapter. With years of involvement in AIMP’s LA outpost, Handy has previously served as treasurer and vp. Currently vp of catalog royalties administration at peermusic, Handy has held leadership roles at Position Music and AllTrack Performing Rights.
The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, welcomed back Stefanie May as its marketing director. May, a seasoned live music marketer, previously held various roles at the venue from 2014 to 2022, including marketing coordinator, manager and director. She joins general manager Alyssa Kitchen as part of the Cap’s leadership team. May brings over a decade of industry experience, having worked with Brooklyn Made Presents and the Fairfield Theatre Company. She also played a key role in the National Independent Venue Association’s successful campaign to pass the Save Our Stages Act.
Laura Gonzalez has been promoted to vp of marketing at Disney Music Group. She will lead the Disney-branded marketing team, overseeing music and soundtrack strategies for Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Disney Theatrical and Disney Parks. She’ll also manage marketing for DMG playlists, music franchises, and activations at D23 Ultimate Fan Events. Since joining DMG in 2008, Gonzalez has played a key role in major marketing initiatives, contributing to the success of projects like Encanto, Turning Red, Moana 2, and Frozen on Broadway.
Tape Room Music added Katherine Godwin as manager of A&R, where she will focus on maximizing catalog constructs and managing calendars for writers on the Tape Room Music roster. Godwin began interning with Big Machine Label Group’s publishing arm while completing her undergrad degree at Vanderbilt University. She then worked as a publishing assistant at BMLG’s publishing division before serving as a creative coordinator, managing a catalog of over 14,000 songs for three years. -J.N.
NASHVILLE NOTES: UMG Nashville director of media marketing Jodi Dawes exited the label after a three-and-a-half year run … Mtheory expanded its Nashville office with two new hires. Branden Bosler joins as vp of artist services and business development, bringing experience from Stand Together Music, BMI and Warner Music Nashville. Carine Abraham has been appointed as a day-to-day manager, overseeing the career of Mickey Guyton. She previously worked as a project manager at UMG Nashville … The Touring Career Workshop rebranded as ECCHO, an acronym for Education, Community, Connection, Health and Opportunity.
Calling All Crows, an advocate for feminist actions in the music industry, appointed Ben Whitehair as its new executive director, succeeding Heatherjean MacNeil. Whitehair, formerly the executive vp of SAG-AFTRA, brings nearly two decades of entertainment and leadership experience. Board chair Monica Hinojos-Capes said Whitehair’s “ability to catalyze communities, foster impactful partnerships, and drive meaningful change aligns seamlessly with our mission to mobilize music fans and artists to fuel feminist movements and social activism.” Co-founded by Chadwick Stokes and Sybil Gallagher, the nonprofit engages music fans, artists and venues in activism. It has donated over $1 million and facilitated over 50,000 actions for feminist causes, the org said. Under MacNeil’s leadership, initiatives like Here For The Music, promoting safer music spaces, gained national traction.
ICYMI:
Deborah F. Rutter
In a totally normal move, Donald Trump fired Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter and installed himself as chair … Sony Music Nashville restructured its promo team, appointing Dennis Reese as svp of radio marketing & promo and letting several staffers go … WMG announced Tomás Talarico as new managing director in Argentina and Chile … the label also expanded its corporate development team by appointing Alfonso Perez-Soto as evp of corp dev and Michael LoBiondo as svp of corp dev … and Ronald Day is out at Telemundo. [Keep Reading]
Last Week’s Turntable: Capitol Gets ‘Busy’ and Atlantic Picks ‘Figs’
Look at your favorite album from the past year, and there’s a good chance that 10 to 30 different producers contributed to it. And yet in this “age of collaboration” that continues to produce culture-defining hits, we have a problem: How do we handle all these producer contracts?
In the U.S. model, producer deals are seldom discussed until after a label signs a recording agreement with an artist. Once the deal is set, the artist contracts directly with any producers working on their music — a requirement in the artist’s deal with the label. The artist then requests that the label pay, credit and account to the producer per the terms of their agreement. Unfortunately, this complicated process often becomes a game of broken telephone.
Discussions on this topic can quickly lead to finger-pointing. But the issues that producers are facing today, speaking generally, are not a matter of “us versus them.” The label, which has no direct contractual relationship with the producers, is asked by the artist on multiple occasions to honor deal terms that the label had little role in negotiating. Even if the producer agreement says the producer will be paid within five days of signing, unless the label agrees to pay within that timeframe, that schedule won’t be honored and the producer’s only option is to take it up with the artist.
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This disconnect becomes even more problematic when the volume increases. I currently represent over 30 producers and, on average, my office handles 20 to 40 producer agreements a week. That includes review on behalf of our producers as well as drafting agreements for our artist clients, the latter of which could require multiple agreements — even as many as five or six — to clear one song. For a boutique firm like mine, it keeps us busy and the clearances can be a big headache if not done in a correct and timely way. In some cases, they can hold up release dates and, if not executed properly, result in copyright infringement claims that could lead to lawsuits.
When negotiating a record deal for an artist, I make sure to have pointed conversations with the label about how they pay and account to producers because securing clarity in advance about the label’s policies is an absolute must.
It hasn’t always been this way. In the past, prior to the start of recording a project, artists would submit a budget proposal to the label encompassing all the creators on a given project. Oftentimes, the artist would use the label-provided budget to hire one producer, who would be responsible for hiring, managing and paying the musicians and other creatives needed to complete the album.
Today, however, unless you’re already an industry-leading producer, the odds are you’re coming into the studio on spec. This means that you and over 20 other hopeful producers work with the artist on 40 or so songs, with 12 to 15 songs typically making the final cut for the album. The songs that don’t make it are considered speculative, trial-based work done for free. If one or more songs by a given producer do make the cut, the hope is that that producer’s lawyer can negotiate good terms.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of good music that doesn’t see the light of day due to clearance issues, not to mention music that gets removed from streaming services after release due to a failure to adhere to producer deals (or a failure to do them at all). But even in the best-case scenario when things can be worked out, most producers typically have to wait a long time before they get a single cent due to an overly complicated process.
In the first step of this process, the agreement has to be signed by both the artist and producer, a sometimes daunting task if that artist is touring. After that, the label has to accept the agreement (which can sometimes conflict with the recording deal originally inked with the artist), receive an invoice (sometimes multiple times before it’s actually “received” and in line with label policies) and new vendor paperwork, and wait for the producer to register with the label’s specific payment system.
“A lot of people think that all we do is push a button and money goes out, but there are so many checks and balances that admin does on the back end to ensure that payments are processed properly and within a timely fashion,” says one senior executive at a major label who asked to remain unnamed. Of course, we have to understand the logistical burdens and practical business realities that label employees are up against. But at the same time, we have to recognize the plight of producers who, despite making money for the label, are forced to wait on the payments they depend on to feed their families. Many employees at the labels understand this and know the system has to change.
“There is a huge disconnect when it comes to paying creatives in a decent time frame,” says Malita Rice, vp of A&R at Warner Records. “We have to keep their livelihood in mind and not only think from a label and artist perspective. If you can’t walk out the grocery store without paying, why should music be released without the creative getting paid or waiting months or years to be paid?”
While these systems and disconnects continue to exist, producers who have “made it” will continue to struggle to pay bills, even while their music becomes a viral TikTok sound.
Managing these clearances is such a burden on resources that any lawyer aspiring to make it in music should learn clearance docs first. And for producers who want to put themselves in a better situation? My friend and colleague, Bob Celestin, shares this advice: “One of the many obstacles to producers and songwriters getting paid their publishing monies is the neglect or outright refusal, at times, to document their respective ownership interests in songs they jointly create,” he says. “The easiest way to solve this problem is by utilizing split sheets at some point after they’ve jointly created a song.”
Still, while being diligent about this can help producers, it doesn’t fix the overall problems with the system itself.
So what’s the path forward here? Suggestions have been floating around for years: Unionize producers. Leverage AI to cut down on admin work. Develop a new “default” producer agreement that kickstarts the process. Go the way of the U.K. music industry and have labels contract directly with producers.
The truth is, all of these so-called solutions would help alleviate the current problems while also creating new ones. This isn’t about producers versus labels versus artists but rather about fixing a problem that has negative ripple effects across the industry. It’s imperative that we bring everyone to the table to create a more just system.
Acclaimed attorney Matt Buser leads Buser Legal — the Miami-based law firm at the crossroads of entertainment, sports and intellectual property matters — dedicated to empowering creators and safeguarding elite talent with strategic, personalized counsel. Since its founding in 2014, his blend of deep legal expertise, business acumen, and a passion for the arts has earned the firm acknowledgment from Billboard to USA Today, embodying the innovative spirit behind #NotYourAverageLawFirm.
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Live Nation Urban, helmed by its president Shawn Gee, announced on Thursday (Feb. 13) an investment partnership in the Breakr platform, which aids creators in marketing their wares. Breakr, founded by a pair of brothers, aims to empower recording labels, online content creators, and related creatives in their marketing endeavors.
Breakr, founded in 2020 by siblings Anthony and Ameer Brown, frames its company as one that “operates at the intersection of music, creators, and technology, empowering music labels, creative agencies, owned media properties, and brands to discover, select, pay, and contract with independent online content creators for promoting songs, products, and services.”
With the backing of Live Nation Urban, Breakr introduced its BreakrPay™️ system, which puts its focus on making paying creatives a seamless process and cutting down on payment delays. In short, BreakrPay™️ is designed to make sure that content creators and influencers, all of whom truly push brands to the forefront, are paid equitably and on time while doing away with the outdated net 30-90 payout structure.
Breakr has broken deals in the past with Sony Music, Interscope, and BMG among other partners in order to push through innovative musicians in the TikTok and Instagram spheres to break their records and reach larger audiences. Breakr has also worked with brands such as Celsius, Samsung, Billboard, and more.
“The creator economy has changed the way we all connect with audiences, driving innovation and economic activity at an unprecedented scale. Breakr is a tech platform that was a core part of Live Nation Urban’s marketing mix for the better part of a year. After meeting the founders and understanding their vision, it was an easy decision for us to invest in Tony and Ameer and their trail-blazing platform,” said Shawn Gee, Founder and President of Live Nation Urban in a statement. “Our investment reflects our belief in the founders and in the transformative power of creators and the technology that empowers them to thrive.”
Anthony Brown, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Breakr added in. the statement, “From Breakr’s founding, projects like our #RoadtoRollingLoud competition with Rolling Loud to our extensive work with indie labels as well as the ‘Big 3,’ we’re committed to creating opportunities, discovering talent, and financially empowering creators and change-makers worldwide. Our partnership with Live Nation Urban and Shawn is the exciting beginning of a new chapter where we can expand our vision further than ever before, particularly with brands.”
“Breakr’s proprietary technology is revolutionizing the way brands and agencies connect with creators, offering seamless campaign management, real-time analytics, and instant payments—all within a single ecosystem. Our white-label infrastructure empowers partners to scale their operations effortlessly while maintaining full control over their campaigns and finances. This partnership with Live Nation Urban will allow us to expand our reach and continue developing industry-leading solutions that drive measurable impact in the creator economy,” shared Ameer Brown, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, of Breakr.
The Live Nation Urban investment will be under a new venture fund known as the Black Lily Capital Fund and has involvement from the larger Live Nation outfit. This fund will grant support to Black founders who work within or are connected to the realm of live music with a special dedication given towards newer businesses.
Learn more about Breakr here.
Source: Live Nation Urban / Breakr
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Photo: Breakr/Live Urban Nation/Getty
Warner Music Group signed an expanded licensing agreement with Audiomack that covers 47 new countries including the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, the Caribbean, Mexico, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The two companies first struck a licensing deal in 2019.
Exceleration Music acquired Mack Avene Music Group, a collection of independent jazz labels that has released the works of artists including Christian McBride, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Kenny Garrett. Following the acquisition, Mack Avenue’s operations will be integrated with those of jazz label Candid Records, which Exceleration previously acquired, to form Exceleration’s overall jazz group. The group will be led by current Mack Avenue president Denny Stilwell and boast a team featuring other key executives from both Mack Avenue and Candid.
Triller Group scored a $50 million equity funding round from institutional investors, secured through a private placement consisting of common stocks and warrants, with the company’s shares priced at $2.20. The money will be used to unveil new AI tools, enhance the Triller platform’s livestreaming capabilities and revamp its video editing suite. An additional fundraise is expected later this year.
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Musical AI, a rights management platform for generative AI, raised an initial investment of $2.1 million led by Canadian VC firm Build Ventures. Select angel investors also contributed, with a seed round expected to close in the first half of this year. According to the company, its attribution model can determine what percentage of a generated output came from what data source, allowing rightsholders to “monitor, take down and sunset usage” of their works. “If we want AI training to be sustainable and ethical, we need attribution. Musical AI is the only company offering it in the audio space,” said Musical AI CEO Sean Power in a statement. “I’m thrilled that discerning investors are backing our efforts to transform how AI is trained.”
Downtown-owned distributor FUGA announced an expansion in the Asia-Pacific region via several new signings and partnerships across Indonesia, India and the Philippines. In Indonesia, FUGA partnered with Jakarta-based label Maspam Company, whose roster includes Pamungkas and Prince Husein; and label/distributor Sintesa Pro, home to Batas Senja. In India, it partnered with digital and music entities including GK Digital, whose catalog includes artists like Karan Randhawa and Max Singh; and music management platform DroomMusic, home to Gajendra Verma. And in the Philippines, it signed GMA Music and battle-rap artist Pricetagg.
Primary Wave Music expanded its relationship with The Piano Guys, with its Green Hill Productions (a member of the Sun Label Group) acquiring an additional stake in the instrumental group’s master audio catalog. Green Hill also signed a new distribution deal with the group that will see it “playing a more active role in the strategic growth of The Piano Guys’ catalog and new releases,” according to a press release.
Live Nation Urban invested in Breakr, a creator marketing and tech platform that allows record labels, creative agencies, brands and more “to discover, select, pay, and contract with independent online content creators for promoting songs, products, and services,” according to a press release. The investment will be made via a new venture fund formed by Live Nation and Live Nation Urban called the Black Lily Capital Fund, which is focused on providing capital and resources to Black founders of companies operating in or adjacent to the live music industry, with a focus on startups in pre-seed and seed round stages. Along with the investment announcement, Breakr unveiled a new instant pay system called BreakrPay that allows companies to fund campaigns instantly, allowing influencers to be paid in real-time.
Virgin Music Group Nigeria partnered with Ghanian distribution and integrated label services company RainLabs. Under the deal, Virgin will help provide comprehensive support for African artists through digital distribution, marketing, creative production and brand partnerships. RainLabs’ roster includes Joey B, Cina Soul and Baaba J.
Warner Music Group’s ADA distribution and artist services arm partnered with Berlin-based neoclassical label Aemeralds, which specializes in building composers’ brands through social media marketing, composer camps and playlists. Under the agreement, Aemeralds will have the ability to partner with the Warner Classics marketing team for local services and expertise globally.
Under an expanded naming rights partnership between the City of Bakersfield, Calif., and Dignity Health, the downtown complex previously known as Centennial Garden and then Mechanics Bank Arena will now be rebranded as Dignity Health Arena, Theater and Convention Center beginning next month. The complex features a 10,000-capacity arena, 3,000-seat theater and 17,840-square-foot convention center.
Reggaetón icon Yandel has signed a worldwide publishing administration deal with Warner Chappell Music, the company announced on Thursday (Feb. 13). The hitmaker joins the publishing company after signing a recording deal with Warner Music Latina in September 2023, which marked his first deal with a major label after releasing albums via his own company, […]