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When Motown Records chairwoman and CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam announced on Tuesday she would be stepping down to “pursue new endeavors,” the news was met with surprise, concern and the one inevitable question: What’s next for the storied label founded by Berry Gordy?
“Nobody saw this coming,” says one veteran label executive of the stunning announcement, stemming from the fact that Habtemariam was promoted to the chairwoman/CEO post in March 2021, only 20 months ago. Her groundbreaking appointment as the third woman — and only the second one of color — ever to hold that title at a major label was concurrent with other major news: Motown was being re-established as a standalone label after first being under the Island Def Jam umbrella and most recently under the Capitol Music Group banner.
During Habtemariam’s tenure — which also includes six years as president — she has rebuilt Motown into the strongest position it’s held in years. After overseeing the label’s relocation from New York to Los Angeles in 2014, Habtemariam announced her first major signing in 2015: a joint venture with Atlanta-based Quality Control. The alliance yielded such now-marquee names as Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Migos and City Girls for the label’s roster. Other entrepreneurial ventures ensued, including Blacksmith Recordings (Vince Staples) and Since the 1980s (Asiahn, Njomza), alongside roster mates Erykah Badu, Kem, Tiana Major9 and Nigerian star Tiwa Savage. This fall, Motown signed Youngboy Never Broke Again after inking a global joint venture with his Never Broke Again collective last year. Also new to the roster are Brandy and Sean “Diddy” Combs with a one-album deal for the first release from his R&B-focused label Love Records.
At the time of Habtemariam’s promotion to chairman in 2021, Motown’s overall U.S. market share was 0.85%, having grown from 0.4% in 2017 to 0.59% in 2020, and she’s since grown it further, to 0.95% to date in 2022. While catalog had primarily driven Motown’s performance in the past, its market share growth in 2020 and 2021 was largely due to its frontline commercial releases, thanks primarily to the QC roster, Staples and veteran R&B chart-topper Kem. In April 2021, its current market share — essentially the performance of music released in the 18 months prior to the measurement period — was just shy of 1%. That’s after averaging 0.14% from 2015 to 2019 and more than doubling that number to 0.32%, according to Luminate data. In 2022 so far, Motown’s current market share has risen to 1.30%.
Habtemariam has also wielded influence at the corporate level, too, having co-founded and served as co-chair of Universal’s Task Force for Meaningful Change, dedicated to supporting initiatives designed to support marginalized communities battling injustice, inequality and inclusion issues. Having spent 20 years at UMG in various roles, Habtemariam was well-respected internally, several sources note.
Habtemariam’s pending departure will leave only two people of color running major labels as chairmen/CEOs: Epic Records’ Sylvia Rhone, now in her eighth year at the label and third as chairman/CEO, and Def Jam Recordings’ Tunji Balogun, who will celebrate his first anniversary at the label in January. As to who will succeed Habtemariam, inside sources say nothing has been decided yet. And in talking to several other industry executives, no one had any contenders they wanted to suggest. Given past precedent, however, UMG could opt to have a senior executive oversee the label for an interim period, as happened in 2020 when Paul Rosenberg exited as Def Jam CEO and Universal tapped Jeffrey Harleston, its general counsel and executive vp of business & legal affairs, to temporarily oversee label operations while it conducted a search, which lasted almost two years and ultimately resulted in the appointment of Balogun. Universal Music Group had no comment when contacted.
Just as important as diversity and inclusion in the search for Motown’s next chief is what happens now with the label itself. Will it remain a standalone or be folded back into the Capitol Music Group or another sister label?
One senior-level executive notes that Motown “has never been set up to run on its own.” The label shares some services through Universal and still uses Capitol’s radio promotions team, while its market share still goes through Capitol Music Group, a setup similar to those at other UMG labels like Island, whose market share goes through Republic. Another label executive who agreed to talk on background said that while it’s too soon to predict what happens with Motown, bringing the label back under CMG isn’t an unrealistic scenario. In an uncertain economic climate that’s already sparked layoffs at CNN, Twitter and other companies, such a move would reduce overhead while strengthening Capitol’s R&B/hip-hop presence.
However, given the strides made under Habtemariam’s watch, one major label executive says Motown shouldn’t be viewed as “disposable.” They continue, “I would hope that Motown stays standalone. Its legacy remains an important part of Black culture and pop music, thanks to its generational talent then — and now.”
Additional reporting by Dan Rys.
Jeff Blackburn is retiring.
The head of Amazon’s Global Entertainment Group will sign off from the company in January after more than two decades with the retail giant and streaming platform. The moves were announced Friday via internal memos from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Blackburn himself.
The news comes a year and a half after Blackburn returned from a yearlong sabbatical in a new role as head of the company’s global entertainment group that included combined oversight of music, audio entertainment, games and video for the company.
Blackburn’s decision to retire comes after a busy week at Amazon. The e-commerce giant this week fully integrated MGM into its exec ranks after its $8.5 billion purchase of the storied studio closed in May. Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke was given oversight of MGM’s film and TV divisions, while senior vp Mike Hopkins landed premium cable network Epix and unscripted content. With Blackburn’s exit, Hopkins will report directly to Jassy. Salke, who won MGM’s film oversight, reports to Hopkins.
Before his sabbatical, Blackburn had been a key intermediary between Amazon’s head office, Amazon Studios and head Jennifer Salke as Amazon Prime competes in an increasingly competitive streaming space with Netflix and new Hollywood studio entrants.
With Blackburn’s retirement, Jassy said Hopkins will continue to lead Prime Video, Amazon Studios and MGM and will report directly to the CEO. Steve Boom will now add Audible, Twitch and games on top of Amazon’s music and podcasting teams, also reporting to Jassy.
Here are memos from Jassy and Blackburn:
I wanted to share the news that Jeff Blackburn has decided to retire from Amazon.
Jeff joined Amazon in 1998 after helping guide the company through its IPO at Deutsche Bank. He’s done a lot of building over two-plus decades, including helping build our 3P marketplace, Advertising, Amazon Studios/Prime Video, and Music businesses, as well as leading our A9/Search and CorpDev & BusDev orgs.
As you know, Jeff returned to Amazon in May of last year to lead our media and entertainment businesses (Prime Video and Amazon Studios, Music, Podcasts/Wondery, Audible, Games, and Twitch). Over the past year and a half, he’s helped set us up for continued success in media and entertainment. Just to name a few successes, in its first season, Rings of Power broke all previous Prime Video records for the most viewers, and has driven more Prime sign-ups worldwide during its launch window than any other previous content; the first season of Thursday Night Football on Prime is driving higher viewership across the board than last year’s linear TV results for TNF, including with the important 18-34 age demographic where viewership has grown 20% over last season; and we recently closed and integrated the acquisition of MGM. Amazon wouldn’t be the same company without Jeff, and I’d like to thank him for his many contributions to the company’s success thus far and in the future.
We’re going to take this time to make some leadership changes. Mike Hopkins, who leads Prime Video, Amazon Studios, and MGM, will continue to lead these teams and report to me directly. Steve Boom, who has been leading our Music and Podcasting teams, will also now oversee our Audible, Twitch, and Games businesses — and report into me as well. Both Mike and Steve are excellent, deeply experienced leaders, and I look forward to working more with them both (and their teams).
This transition will happen effective January 1st, though Jeff will remain at Amazon through early 2023 to help ensure a smooth transition.
Please feel free to share the news with your teams as you wish.
Andy
Team, some news today:
I’m planning on retiring from Amazon in January, after more than 25 years and working closely with the company since its 1997 IPO. The last 18 months have been a thrill – working with all of you in GME and launching some of our biggest, boldest projects ever in entertainment and sports. But I’ve decided to spend 2023 differently, giving more time to family, and feel strongly this is the right decision for me. Andy & I have been working through a transition plan and he’ll be sharing those details soon, stay tuned.
Amazon’s opportunities in media, entertainment and sports have never been bigger. I see exciting times ahead for you all. Please know that I’ll remain close … as a fan, mentor, and ambassador for Amazon’s creative businesses – forever. I’m very grateful for all the close friendships, across all the 25 years, and all of the teams, studios, streaming services and businesses that we were able to build together.
Thank you, amazing Amazonians. –jblack
This story was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Few artist development stories in the past few years have been as impressive as that of Tems, the Nigerian singer-songwriter whose arresting voice and infectious melodies have wormed their way into the mainstream in her steady, insistent way. Since self-releasing her debut EP, For Broken Ears, in October 2020, Tems has become an in-demand voice for some of music biggest hitmakers, a status that accelerated after her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence,” the song that broke through and established Afrobeats as a genre to be reckoned with on the American charts last summer.
Since then, she’s collaborated with the likes of Drake, Beyoncé and Future, signed to RCA for the release of her second EP, If Orange Was a Place, last September, covered Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” for the Wakanda Forever soundtrack and landed Grammy nominations in back to back years, one for best global recording for “Essence” in 2022; two more for best melodic rap performance and best rap song at the upcoming 2023 Grammys for her feature on Future’s “Wait For U” and another for her guest spot on Beyoncé’s Renaissance. (And, if not for an inexplicable Grammy rule that meant she was ineligible for best new artist due to the “Essence” nomination, even though she was just a featured artist, she would almost certainly be up for that top four honor this year. But we digress.)
This week, Tems’ still-nascent career notched another milestone, as she became the the No. 1 artist on Billboard’s first-ever year-end U.S. Afrobeats Songs Artists ranking, landing four songs in the top 10 of the year-end chart, led by “Essence” but also including her song “Found” feat. Brent Faiyaz and two songs from her debut EP, “Higher” and “Free Mind,” impressive for a two-year-old project in an era when music moves so fast. And that steady ascent to stardom has earned her manager, Muyiwa Awoniyi, the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Awoniyi breaks down how he’s helped guide Tems to impressive heights, and the strategies that have gotten them to this point. “I have always felt that if you focus on what is important, what feels urgent will take care of itself,” he says. “In this case, focusing on the actual music and her brand appeal, instead of the charts, allowed us to tell an authentic story that people could relate to.”
This week, Tems landed four songs in the top 10 of Billboard’s first-ever year-end Afrobeats chart, the most of any artist, including the No. 1 song, her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence,” which gave her the No. 1 spot on the year-end US Afrobeats Songs Artists ranking. What key decisions did you make to help make this happen?
I have always felt that if you focus on what is important, what feels urgent will take care of itself. In this case, focusing on the actual music and her brand appeal, instead of the charts, allowed us to tell an authentic story that people could relate to. Handling those things properly allowed us to attract people instead of chasing them and as a result, we built organic bonds with so many people as a team. Proper product placement, which in music means the right ears hearing the music, was a very key focus as we moved forward. It was important to utilize our network optimally and align with those that saw our vision — God has been extremely kind on that front. I have met some amazing people who have played parts in making sure Tems’ music gets heard, and the by-product of that has led to so many of her songs achieving great things such as charting on the U.S. Afrobeats Billboard chart and the Billboard Hot 100 as well. All that being said, though, I do my best and leave the rest to the Almighty.
Two of her songs in the top 10, “Higher” and “Free Mind,” are from her 2020 EP For Broken Ears. How have you kept the momentum from that project going over the past few years, particularly in an era when music moves so fast?
The first time I heard “Free Mind,” I actually wept. I knew that song was special and I feel everyone that has heard it probably feels the same way. The nature of the song preserved itself while we, as a team, focused on marketing the record and the EP as a whole. As a manager, being aware of your talent’s unique selling point is very essential and when we finished For Broken Ears we knew we had something special. It was music for those who want to feel. Which is why records like “Higher” got sampled by ATL Jacob for the “Wait for U” track with Drake and Future. I still feel some records will catch on, “Ice T” especially. As for music moving fast? There is a difference between McDonalds and soul food.
The other two songs in the top 10, “Essence” and “Found” feat. Brent Faiyaz, are collaborations. She’s also had some high-profile collaborations with Drake, Future and Beyoncé. How have strategic collaborations helped boost Tems’ career and find new fans?
Collaborations have been very important. I actually feel if artists removed their limiters, some of the most innovative sounds can come from collaborations. Regarding Tems, I wouldn’t say these were “strategic.” Yes we are aware of the exposure collaborating with such huge superstars would bring, but it has to be organic. It has to feel good. It has to feel right. That’s the only way you get records that transcend borders. If not, you just have another song. We have been approached by basically the whole music industry but the collaborations we took, and have taken on, felt right. Expect more.
Tems’ rise has coincided with a growing global appreciation of African music and African artists. How have you guys been able to capitalize on that, and what has that meant for the opportunities you’ve gotten?
When you manage one of the leading artists from our region, you tend to see it all. So capitalizing for us has always been based on where we were, where we are, and where we are trying to go. This is why we started off by not signing a record deal immediately. You cannot fully capitalize if you do not own and owning For Broken Ears has been such a huge blessing. God is good.
Tems has also been nominated at the Grammys for the second year in a row. What does that mean for you guys, and how can you use that to further Tems’ career?
It’s a blessing. It makes us know that we are on the right track. We try not to make accolades define us in any capacity but the feeling of gratitude is always prominent. In terms of furthering her career, this is another page of her story, so we have to be aware to enjoy the moment, but not dwell on it. There are more pages in the book of Tems and we have to keep moving forward ’til the book ends. It’s really just staying focused and putting the work in while keeping God first in all things.
What have you learned about management during your career?
I’ll summarize it with this sentence: I have learned how important it is to gain equity within the hearts of human beings. One must master the art of selflessness. It takes you further than your ego ever would.
Where do you go from here to continue building Tems’ career further?
At the moment? Album mode. We have been working on this for quite a while. It’s her first baby and we all know how important it is for her. So all focus goes into that and then we allow God to take care of the rest. Definitely expect more from us at [my company] The Leading Vibe. We are always working.
November 2022 in the crypto world will forever be marked by the collapse and bankruptcy of FTX — formerly the second-largest crypto exchange. The shockwave rippled through every inch of the Web3 ecosystem, even dragging Coachella into the collateral damage with up to $1.5 million of Coachella NFTs paralyzed on the FTX exchange.
Unsurprisingly, NFT volumes are down across the board. OpenSea’s volume dipped to just $253 million — the lowest in almost 18 months. Across the ten biggest music NFT projects tracked by Billboard in November, sales volume is down 72% in ETH terms (585.2 ETH) and down 78% in dollar terms ($743,181) compared to a strong October.
While November lacked any large Web3 music project launch, the independent scene in Web3 took the spotlight. Sound.xyz — one of the leading platforms for independent music NFTs — saw a record number of drops as well as record new wallets and active collectors (although pure dollar sales are still well off the highs). Meanwhile, several independent artists generated large sales volume through self-released projects. For that reason, seven of the top ten music projects last month came from fully independent Web3 native artists.
Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases combined with secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 biggest-selling music NFTs and collections in November 2022.
1/ DeafbeefMonthly trading volume: 205 ETH ($260,350 at month-end conversion rate)Primary sales (Nov.): N/ASecondary sales: 205 ETHDrop date: March 2021
Deafbeef is a vintage synth project with a twist. The entire collection is ‘generative’, which means the music was created by an algorithm, and coded into existence on a 10-year old computer by musician Deafbeef.
Released back in March 2021, the collection is considered one of the most important early projects among crypto collectors. Minted straight to the Ethereum blockchain at the moment of creation, it represents an experimental artform only possible through Web3. These rare items are often referred to as “grails” and thought of like art pieces. There were only two sales in November — one at 30 ETH ($38,100) and one at 175 ETH ($222,250) but that was enough to take the top spot.
View the collection on OpenSea.
2/ KINGSHIP – “Key Cards” / “Kurt the Roadie”Monthly trading volume: 127 ETH ($161,290)Primary sales (Nov.): N/ASecondary sales: 127 ETHDrop date: May 2022
The Bored Ape supergroup put together by Universal’s Web3 label 10:22PM stays in the top ten for the sixth month running. The project triggered a wave of new trading activity in November after dropping a free NFT — Kurt the Roadie — to all holders. Kurt is an animated flamingo character, hired by the band to join them on tour, according to the story. The roadie also grants holders access to the “tower” and will fly them to the “floating villa” in the elaborate KINGSHIP map.
The main KINGSHIP collection generated 61 ETH ($77.4k) in volume while the new Kurt the Roadie collection generated 66 ETH ($83.8k) as fans swapped and traded their favorite traits and rare features, some of which were designed by James Fauntleroy — the Grammy-winning producer working on the music for KINGSHIP alongside Hitboy.
View the collection on OpenSea.
3/ Violetta Zironi – “Moonshot” / “Gypsy Heart”Monthly trading volume: 56 ETH ($71,120)Primary sales (Nov.): 30 ETHSecondary sales: 26 ETHDrop date: April 2022
Singer-songwriter Violetta Zironi continues to be one of the most consistent artists in Web3, generating 25 ETH volume in November for her Moonshot project — a collection of 2,500 NFTs which features four songs accompanied by unique artwork by her father, a former Disney animator.
Zironi’s first collection sold out back in April, but she returned in November with a new project called Gypsy Heart and sold 500 early mint passes at 0.06 ETH each. Early holders will lock in a discount before the project goes live to the public in January 2023.
View the collection on OpenSea.
4/ TK – “Eternal Garden”Monthly trading volume: 36.8 ETH ($46,736)Primary sales (Nov.): 36.16 ETHSecondary sales: 0.727 ETHDrop date: November 29
Singer-songwriter TK is among a new wave of independent artists building their early career through Web3. In November, he launched an ambitious collection of 700 audiovisual NFTs called Eternal Garden. It features 7 tracks with an emotional R&B feel, each with a different rarity, revealed only when the sale ends. At the time of writing, TK has almost sold out, with 670 sales.
Like many independent artists, TK laid the groundwork over the past year through several smaller NFT drops, building a strong community of collectors before launching a bigger project. The Eternal Garden drop is the largest collection to use Sound.xyz’s new Sound Protocol which allowed TK to host the drop on his own custom website built with a Web3 tool called Bonfire.
5/ Mija – “Desert Trash” & “Acoustic Album lol”Monthly trading volume: 30.5 ETH ($38,735)Primary sales (Oct.): 12.5 ETHSecondary sales: 18 ETHDrop date: November 2
Independent artist Mija embarked on a Web3 blitz in November, dropping 18 songs as NFTs on Sound.xyz from her 2020 album “Desert Trash” and a new unreleased record “Acoustic Album lol”. Like TK, Mija has fully embraced the Web3 space, often making her music available exclusively on NFT platforms first.
Although Mija’s mints were priced relatively low — at approximately 0.01 ETH ($12) or often free — the sheer volume of music helped her generate 12.5 ETH in primary sales and a further 18 ETH in secondary volume. Mija also used some guerilla marketing tactics to capture attention such as airdropping music NFTs to Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin’s crypto wallet and minting a song about a pseudonymous music collector known only as Hamburglar.
View collection on OpenSea.
6/ Matt Cooper – Something BeautifulMonthly trading volume: $31,600Primary sales (Oct.): $31,600Secondary sales: N/ADrop date: October 6
Matt Cooper is a rising country star with more than a million TikTok followers and a number one track on the iTunes all-genres songs chart. In November he made his Web3 debut with a drop on Royal. Fresh from launching its new music rights marketplace, Royal allows collectors to earn streaming revenue alongside the artists.
Matt Cooper issued 400 tokens of “Something Beautiful,” each offering a 0.0812% share of future streaming revenue, while 8 ‘diamond’ holders will unlock 2.187% of streaming royalties per token and a virtual meet and greet. The exclusive diamond token is currently changing hands for an average $1,499.
View collection on OpenSea.
7/ Rae Isla – “Rocks”Monthly trading volume: ~27 ETH ETH ($34,290)Primary sales (Oct.): ~27 ETHSecondary sales: N/ADrop date: November 28
Rae Isla spent the last year dedicating herself to Web3, hosting countless Twitter Spaces and building a loyal community. She minted music videos as NFTs on a Web3 video platform called Glass and sold out a music drop on Sound.xyz in 50 seconds.
Rocks, however, is her most ambitious project. It’s a collection of 1,000 NFTs released through Nifty Music — a music NFT accelerator. The collection is made up of four tracks, each with different visual traits and rarities. Holders can unlock rewards depending on how many NFTs they hold, such as free concert access. At the time of writing, Isla has sold 600 from the collection so far.
8/ Probably A Label / Money on the TableMonthly trading volume: 28 ETH ($35,560)Primary sales (Nov.): N/ASecondary sales: 28 ETHDrop date: October 6
Warner Records UK partnered with Web3 brand Probably Nothing to launch a new NFT imprint, Probably a Label. The label’s access passes sold out in 7 minutes in early October and continued to generate secondary sales through November. The label dropped a free music NFT “Money on the Table” featuring Diddy and JasonMartin in November, driving an additional 3 ETH in volume.
View the collection on OpenSea.
9/ Sammy Arriaga – “Pixelated”Monthly trading volume: 25 ETH ($31,750)Primary sales (Nov.): N/ASecondary sales: 25 ETHDrop date: June, 2022
Bringing country to crypto, Sammy Arriaga is a singer-songwriter that launched an NFT project called “Pixelated” back in June. Based around 12 different versions of one song, Pixelated is a collection of 4,000 NFTs, each with a unique pixelated profile picture which Arriaga’s fans use across their social media accounts. The Pixelated project has enjoyed steady volume on secondary markets like OpenSea since the launch, but volume soared in November.
View the collection on OpenSea.
10/ Daniel Allan – VariousMonthly trading volume: 25 ETH ($31,750)Primary sales (Oct.): 1.076 ETHSecondary sales: 24.025 ETHDrop date: Dec, 2021
Most of Daniel Allan’s sales in November can be attributed to one large collector, or “whale.” An unknown crypto address spent approximately 20 ETH “sweeping” up Allan’s earliest drops on Sound.xyz on the secondary market. Allan also had a small primary sale in November via a collaboration with Reo Cragun released through Cragun’s “LNRZ” collective.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and combined with secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between November 1 – November 30, 2022. Conversion rates from crypto to US dollars were calculated on November 30.
Disclosure: The author owns music NFTs from TK, Mija and Daniel Allan, however, the above list is based purely on sales data.
Mexican singer-songwriter Danna Paola has signed an exclusive go-forward and full catalog publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Mexico, Billboard has learned.
“I’ve been waiting for a music partner like this for a while now and couldn’t be happier,” the “XT4S1S” singer said in a statement. “As a songwriter, I’m glad to be part of a company that supports and respects their artists’ creativity, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to create magic together!”
Since releasing her album K.O. in 2021 — which peaked at No. 9 on Billboard‘s Latin Pop Albums chart (dated Jan. 30, 2021) — the 27-year-old artist has released a handful of singles including her latest “XT4S1S,” a euphoric and liberating track. Her 2020 project, SIE7E+, also entered the charts. It peaked at No. 16 on that same tally.
About the deal, Carlos Ruíz, Warner Chappell Music Mexico managing director, added: “Danna is an artist in every sense of the word. Her talent, professionalism, and dedication are the basis of her solid career and why she has become an icon of her generation — not only in Mexico but in many parts of the world. She provokes a unique connection with her fans through her music, and we are delighted that she has entrusted us to accompany her in all the successes that are to come.”
With more than 10 million listeners on Spotify and collabs with artists such as Sebastián Yatra, David Bisbal, Mau y Ricky, among others, Paola — who also starred in Netflix’s popular series Élite — is currently on the XT4S1S Tour in Mexico.
Advocates representing a wide cross-section of the music industry are again urging Congress to pass the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, the long-simmering legislation that would provide an extra tax break to musicians, technicians and producers for recording sessions.
“Prior to the conclusion of the 117th Congress, the American music community calls on you to support American music creation that is still reeling from the pandemic by passing into law the bipartisan and bicameral Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act,” reads a Nov. 15 letter sent to Congressional leadership, co-signed by 23 groups across the business.
The Recording Academy, which made the bill a major focus of its Grammys on the Hill event in April as well as its annual District Advocate Day in October, continues to lead the charge. During the latter event, held on Oct. 6, approximately 2,000 Academy members participated in lobbying for the HITS Act and other music industry priorities at nearly 200 U.S. congressional offices in Washington, D.C.
“Our hope is that we can get it done here before the 117th comes to a close because we have a lot of bipartisan support, bicameral support [in the] House and Senate,” says Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. “I really feel like this is something we should be able to get done and we’re hoping we can get done in the next few weeks.”
The HITS Act would allow musicians, technicians and producers to deduct 100% of recording expenses up to $150,000 on their taxes in the year they’re incurred. That’s a change from the current law, which requires music creators to amortize those expenses over the economic life of a sound recording, a period that usually ranges between three and four years.
The bipartisan bill was first introduced in the House on July 31, 2020 (followed by a companion bill in the Senate on Dec. 3, 2020), though it failed to pass as part of the two pandemic relief packages or as part of the $3.5 billion budget reconciliation package known as Build Back Better, which was ultimately halved and renamed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 before being signed into law in August. Now, with only a month to go before the changeover to a new, split Congress — Democrats will retain control of the Senate while Republicans will control the House of Representatives — advocates are hoping the bill can finally, successfully make it through the gauntlet as part of a must pass bill during the last few weeks of the year.
“[During] the lame duck period with these must pass bills, if there’s any kind of tax language in there or any kind of economic language in there that ties in with this, we’re really hopeful it will get in this time around,” says Richard James Burgess, president and CEO of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), which has long served as a key advocate for the legislation.
In the entertainment realm, music production is an outlier in terms of taxation; film, TV and live theater productions already enjoy a 100% first-year deduction. The HITS Act would simply apply the same standard to music, Burgess says, while also encouraging future music creation: “I think if anybody needs it, it’s musicians that need it really badly. It affects independent musicians and independent artists and independent labels probably more than anybody else because they have less bandwidth financially. The idea of getting $150,000 per project [that can be] written off against your taxes in the year that you incurred it, could really make a difference between being able to make another record next year or not.”
Burgess adds that the bill won’t just affect musicians and producers but trickle down to other parts of the industry and the greater economy. “Every artist that makes a record, that has a knock on effect to many, many other musicians and ancillary workers in the music industry,” he says. “Getting these kinds of tax benefits will make a difference across the board.”
While Burgess and Mason jr. were both relatively confident HITS could make it through the next Congress given the bill’s bipartisan support, they’ve clearly grown impatient on behalf of creators, many of whom lost income during the early stages of the pandemic. After more than two years of disappointment, Mason jr. puts it in stark terms: “Yes, it could get passed next year, but…I don’t think we should continue to have it laid off and cut out of bills. This is something that’s important for us coming out of COVID. We’ve seen this community suffer enough.”
You can read the full Nov. 15 letter below.
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy, and Leader McConnell: The 117th Congress has witnessed significant bipartisan and bicameral accomplishments that have benefitted American workers, families, and consumers, and levelled the playing field so some important domestic industries can grow. Prior to the conclusion of the 117th Congress, the American music community calls on you to support American music creation that is still reeling from the pandemic by passing into law the bipartisan and bicameral Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act (H.R. 1945/ S. 752).
The HITS Act is a low-cost and commonsense modification to existing U.S. tax law that will incentivize the production of new sound recordings by allowing qualified productions to deduct 100% of their costs upfront. With an annual deduction limit of $150,000, the bill is designed and tailored to specifically incentivize independent creators and labels to produce new music, sparking important creative investments in countless music small businesses across the country. This targeted approach makes the HITS Act a fiscally responsible investment in the American creative economy.
The HITS Act also brings much-needed parity to the tax code for all creative industries. Currently, under Sec. 181 of the Internal Revenue Code, qualified film, television, and live theatrical productions may elect to fully deduct new production costs in the year they are incurred. Music production, which occurs in every state and congressional district, deserves the same treatment. Instead of being able to fully deduct production expenses in the year they occur, independent recording artists must currently amortize production expenses for tax purposes over the full economic life of a sound recording. For small creators, this timing difference slows down their reinvestment in new projects that can fuel growth. The HITS Act harmonizes the tax code and ensures that all the major creative industries are treated similarly.
As you consider end-of-year legislation, the music community strongly urges you to pass the HITS Act. It represents exactly the type of bipartisan, bicameral, and non-controversial economic investment that Congress should be proud to support. Passage of H.R. 1945/S. 752 is a smart and simple step that will make a lasting difference for countless independent music creators and music small businesses.
On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of music makers and music businesses across the country, thank you for your consideration.
Signed,
American Association of Independent Music
Artists Rights Alliance
ASCAP
Black Music Action Coalition
Broadcast Music Inc.
Christian Music Trade Association
Digital Media Association
Future of Music
Global Music Rights
Gospel Music Association
Music Artists Coalition
Nashville Songwriters Association International
National Independent Talent Organization
National Independent Venue Association
National Music Publishers Association
Recording Academy
Recording Industry Association of America
SAG-AFTRA
SESAC
The Society of Composers and Lyricists
Songwriters Guild of America
Songwriters of North America
SoundExchange
CC Chairman Ron Wyden, Senate Finance Committee
Ranking Member Mike Crapo, Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Richard Neal, House Ways and Means Committee
Ranking Member Kevin Brady, House Ways and Means Committee
Try using some of your favorite songs on the short-form video app Triller, and you’ll be hard pressed to find what you’re looking for.
On Thursday, the music catalogs for Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music and Merlin — which provides digital licensing to many top independent labels and distributors — were removed from the platform.
A Triller spokesperson says the platform is “reassessing each of our label deals as they come due as our catalogue music usage is a small fraction of our overall business with creators.
“Some labels are more used than others and if we can make financial arrangements which make sense for the platform, on a label by label basis, we will. In other cases the usage does not justify the cost.”
The news follows a lawsuit filed by Sony Music Entertainment in August, claiming Triller had “historically failed to make payments in a timely manner” but that this issue got even worse in March 2022 when Triller “failed to make any monthly payments required under the Agreement, totaling millions of dollars.”
A source at one of the other major music companies says similar breach of contract and failure to make payments, including “millions and millions in past due royalties,” was behind Triller’s decision to pull these catalogs. The Triller spokesperson, however, called that claim “false and grossly inaccurate.”
Representatives for Universal, Warner, Sony and Merlin declined to comment.
In a Thursday morning email, Merlin’s senior director of business and legal affairs alerted members that Triller had “commenced the takedown of Merlin content.” He continued, writing “at this stage we do not believe that Merlin is the only licensor/content provider to have had content taken down. The term of our current agreement with Triller has now expired. We will update members as soon as we can regarding renewal discussions.”
Merlin members include Secretly Group, Mom + Pop, Monstercat, Symphonic, Ninja Tune, Beggars Group, FUGA, ONErpm, Domino, SubPop, Vydia and more. The Triller spokesperson told Billboard when asked about the Merlin email, “We are in active conversations with Merlin and expect to renew our relationship and continue our friendly and successful partnership.”
“As Triller has grown and expanded its portfolio of services for creators as an open-garden platform, we are recalibrating some of our partnerships with a focus towards showcasing talent and maximizing their monetization,” that statement continued.
A glance at Triller’s Discover Music page shows that there are now few official music options available after the takedowns, and the promoted new releases and top picks are largely artists with no label affiliation. The only traces left of some label-signed artists are available through searching “OG Sounds,” which are typically user-created soundtracks like remixes that sometimes contain copyrighted material, or if a signed artist collaborated as a feature on a song released independently.
The public rift between Triller and the music business dates back to about 2020, when chairman and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) David Israelite criticized the app in an Instagram post, saying Triller needed to fully license its members works. “It’s a simple proposition – license songs before you use them,” he wrote.
In November of that year, Wixen Music Publishing filed a 15-page lawsuit against Triller, suing the company for $50 million dollars, stating in the complaint that Wixen felt encouraged when Triller’s CEO appeared to agree with the NMPA’s criticism that summer, but then, after months with no agreement reached, Wixen opted to file the lawsuit.
In the indictment, Wixen alleged Triller had “brazenly disregarded copyright law and committed willful and ongoing copyright infringement,” of its more than 1,000 song catalog. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2021.
Eventually, in March 2021, Triller came to an agreement with the NMPA on behalf of its members.
Also in early 2021, Universal Music abruptly pulled its catalog from Triller, saying the app “shamefully withheld” artist payments. A source familiar with the matter told Billboard at the time that the payments UMG claims Triller is withholding went back several months. Three months later, the two companies announced a new, worldwide licensing agreement, spanning recorded music and publishing and restoring the UMG catalog to the app.
This August, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz also sued Triller for failing to make payments due on the sale of their popular Verzuz livestream series the year prior. They claimed the platform still owed them $28 million from the deal 18 months later. That lawsuit was settled in September.
Outside of music, there have been other claims against Triller for allegedly failing to make owed payments. Boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported that Triller had not fully paid several fighters and crew members from a May 2022 fight. In August, the Washington Post reported that Triller “promised millions to Black creators” to use the app as part of a paid influencer program, but “nearly a year after…its payments to many creators have been erratic — and in some cases, nonexistent.” In September, it was also sued by a smartphone app consulting firm that said it was owed more than $132,000 in unpaid fees.
Over the past two years, Triller has repeatedly announced plans to go public but has so far failed to do so — initially through the formerly-popular ‘SPAC’ merger process, and then in June this year filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicating that it plans to take a more traditional IPO route. In late September, the company announced it had secured $310 million from Luxembourg-based private alternative investment group for a 36-month term following a public listing of Triller’s common stock and would aim for a public listing by early in the fourth fiscal quarter (October-December).
Michèle Hamelink was named managing director of Sony Music Publishing Benelux. In the role, Hamelink will oversee and implement creative strategy across Benelux, including building and strengthening relationships with clients, local societies and industry partners and expanding songwriter support and service offerings. Based in the company’s Benelux office, Hamelink will also continue in her existing role of senior A&R. She reports to Sony Music Publishing president of international Guy Henderson.
Layla Amjadi was hired as head of music expression at Spotify. In her new role, Amjadi will oversee a team that builds formats enabling “artists, aspiring creators and fans to creatively express themselves through and around music in new ways.” She arrives at the streaming service from Gemini, where she served as vp of product and general manager. Prior to that, she worked in various roles at Meta/Instagram for nearly a decade. She reports to Charlie Hellman, vp and global head of music product.
BMG announced a new A&R structure for its Madrid-based operation, with Marcos Fairweather leading on the recordings side and Javier Doria fronting the publishing side. Fairweather joins from Universal Music Spain, where he was A&R director. Doria has been with BMG since July 2020, when he joined the company to lead A&R across publishing and recordings. Both will report to Albert Slendebroek, who also oversees BMG in Scandinavia. Under their direction, the company will target growth in the Spanish language market, with a renewed focus on established artists.
Dani Oliva was named vp of business and legal affairs at Suzy Ryoo and Troy Carter‘s Venice Music. Oliva, a transgender man, joins the company from Oliva Law Group, P.C., which he established in 2017. “We are beyond proud to welcome Dani to Venice,” said Ryoo in a statement. “With his legal expertise as well as the distance traveled in his personal & professional journey, he is an incredible addition to our team and community at Venice.” Oliva can be reached at dani@venicemusic.co.
The Association of Independent Music (AIM) appointed Nina Radojewski as head of membership, a newly created role that brings together AIM’s membership, events and marketing and communications functions under her leadership. Previously AIM’s professional development lead, Radojewski will oversee the creation and execution of the organization’s membership strategy while continuing to lead professional development initiatives for members, including the AIM Academy and the Associate Members’ Knowledge Base. AIM’s outgoing membership manager, Jude McArdle, is stepping down after more than five years in the role. Radojewski can be reached at nina@aim.org.uk.
Cameo Carlson was appointed CEO at mtheory, where she’s worked since 2017. Also promoted at the artist development and management services company are Michael Corcoran, upped to general manager; Carmela Frangella, formerly controller, elevated to CFO; Amy Davidson, promoted to executive vp; Vince Amoroso, named senior vp, head of marketing; Jonah Berry, upped to vp of marketing out of New York and Los Angeles; and Kaitlyn Moore, promoted to vp of marketing out of Nashville. The company also hired Ed Rivadavia as senior vp, head of digital. Carlson can be reached at cameo@mtheory.com, Corcoran can be reached at michaelc@mtheory.com, Frangella can be reached at carmela@mtheory.com, Davidson can be reached at amy@mtheory.com, Amoroso can be reached at vince@mtheory.com, Berry can be reached at jonah@mtheory.com and Moore can be reached at kaitlyn@mtheory.com.
On-demand vinyl platform elasticStage appointed Raoul Chatterjee as COO. He joins the company from SoundCloud, where he served as vp of content partnerships & operations. Based in London, the Billboard 2021 International Power Player will report to elasticStage founder and CEO Steve Rhodes. Chatterjee can be reached at raoul.chatterjee@elasticstage.com.
Megan Schultz was promoted to label manager at Riser House Entertainment. She will continue to oversee all label operations and scheduling for artists signed to the company’s Riser House Records label, along with label services clients. Schutz can be reached at Megan.Schultz@RiserHouse.com.
Chase Butters was named vp of sync at Concord Music Publishing out of Los Angeles. Butters will lead a team focused on increasing and enhancing Concord’s synch placements in advertising. He reports to senior vp of sync Brooke Primont and can be reached at chase.butters@concord.com.
ATC Management added a trio of new manager partners: Brandon Sanchez, Jordan Alper and Ben Rafson. All three will join manager partner Fabienne Leys and general manager Jessica Fekete at ATC’s newly opened New York office. Sanchez and Alper bring their joint management client Yaeji to the company, while Rafson brings artist clients Avalon Emerson and Jacques Greene. Sanchez joins from New York-based record label RVNG Intl. and also co-runs independent record labels SLINK and Human Pitch; Alper has worked as a talent buyer and producer for Red Bull Music Academy NY, Trevanna Entertainment and Does Festival; and Rafson, who has been in management for nearly 15 years with a focus on electronic musicians, recently founded and serves as executive director of The Rising Artist Foundation grant system. Rafson can be reached at ben@atcmanagement.com, Alper can be reached at jordan@atcmanagement.com and Sanchez can be reached at brandon@atcmanagement.com.
Melanie Seddon was promoted to vp of brand marketing at TuneCore. She will oversee all brand marketing efforts for the company as well as brand partnerships.
Elvin Sabla has been named creative brand director at Shore Fire Media, where he will oversee the PR firm’s branding and content strategy. Sabla most recently led editorial for Crypto.com’s NFT platform.
ASM Global named Kelvin D. Moore regional vp and general manager of McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Moore will focus on creating new programs and partnerships. Moore was previously regional vp and general manager for ASM Global at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. He succeeds David Causton, who has served as general manager of the venue since 2004. Moore can be reached at kmoore@asmglobal.com.
Jen Moss was hired as a senior synch executive at Bucks Music Group. Previously at Warner Music UK, she arrives at Bucks after several years away from the industry for personal reasons. She can be reached at jmoss@bucksmusicgroup.co.uk.
Rebecca Trujillo Vest, Carls Woolf and Jordan Stobbe launched Pandion Music Foundation (PMF), a nonprofit organization designed to help foster growth in the music creator community by providing the tools and networks needed to build careers “across all lines of diversity and inclusion,” according to a press release. Partners at launch include Earthstar Creation Center, 2indie.com and Sweetwater. PMF previously partnered with 2indie, a synch coaching agency, to hold a global 24-hour “Sync-O-Thon” on Sept. 28, 2022, which helped support emerging artists by bringing in music professionals to provide feedback on their songs. PMF subsequently offered workshops by Sam Knack, Nick Phelps and others. Trujillo Vest, Woolf and Stobbe first met through an online songwriting course during the pandemic. Trujillo Vest can be reached at rebecca@pandionmusicfoundation.org and Stobbe can be reached at jordan@pandionmusicfoundation.org.
Before Jay-Z became embroiled in a nasty dispute with Bacardi over their D’Usse Cognac brand, he offered to buy out Bacardi’s half of the business for $1.5 billion, according to newly unsealed legal documents that reveal the sweeping size of the ongoing legal battle.
In the new filing, attorneys for Jay-Z’s SCLiquor LLC disclosed that the star made the offer last year after Bacardi offered him just $460 million for his half of D’Usse. Bacardi quickly rejected the offer, the filing said, even though the star had proposed to pay more than three times what the liquor giant itself believed a 50% stake in the business was worth.
The new document also reveals that Jay-Z believes his share in the business is worth $2.5 billion, the first public hint at how much the star is seeking from Bacardi amid the acrimonious split.
Taken together, the disclosures offer an early glimpse into how much could be at stake in the now-sprawling legal battle over Jay-Z’s efforts to exit D’Usse, which spans at least four lawsuits in two states as well as a private arbitration case.
A rep for Jay-Z declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Bacardi did not immediately return a request for comment on the disclosures.
The legal battle over D’Usse centers on Jay-Z’s exercise of a so-called “put option” — a legal mechanism in the joint venture’s operating agreement that, when triggered, requires Bacardi to buy out Jay-Z’s half of the business. Once invoked, the two sides are supposed to negotiate in “good faith,” exchange information and agree on a fair price for Bacardi to pay.
In this week’s unsealed documents, Jay-Z’s lawyers said he triggered the clause in September 2021, but that when the two sides exchanged figures in December 2021, they came in with vastly different valuations. The rapper suggested his half of the business was worth $2.5 billion; Bacardi said the number was just $460 million.
That was when Jay-Z apparently made his counter-offer: Rather than continue to invoke his put option requiring Bacardi to buy him out, he would offer to go vice-versa. “SC formally offered to buy Bacardi’s 50% interest in D’Usse for $1.5 billion, three times Bacardi’s declared valuation of its share (but less than SC believed it was worth),” his lawyers wrote in the new documents.
When Bacardi turned down that offer, the legal battle began.
As a first step, independent experts at JPMorgan were hired to appraise Jay-Z’s stake in D’Usse, but the process quickly became bogged down in disputes over what processes and data the bank should use to do so. Those disputes were submitted to a private arbitration panel, which then led to multiple New York court lawsuits challenging the arbitration panel’s rulings. Two separate lawsuits have also been filed in Delaware court, accusing Bacardi of “stonewalling” and demanding more access to information from D’Usse.
Those cases are all ongoing, including with a testy hearing in New York court on Thursday (Dec. 1) and a potential arbitration hearing on Friday (Dec. 2).
Notably, the newly unsealed document appears to have been made public accidentally.
Like much of a legal battle that’s been shrouded in unusual secrecy, the filings were originally submitted on Nov. 22 under seal. But on Tuesday (Nov. 29) evening, they were suddenly made public on the court’s digital docket. Letters to the judge indicate that the move was unexpected and that the filing should not have been published until it was further redacted. The document, first reported by Bloomberg Law and independently obtained by Billboard, was then fully re-sealed by Thursday afternoon.
Along with Jay-Z’s massive offer, the filing also revealed other key financial information about the dispute.
For instance, Jay-Z’s lawyers say they wanted JPMorgan’s appraisal to be based on an internal Bacardi document that forecast D’Usse to sell more than 2 million cases of cognac and earn $142.8 million annually by 2026. Bacardi apparently objected, saying those figures were “aspirational” and not a good indicator of the brand’s actual value.
Whether or not JPMorgan can cite the Bacardi forecast is now one of the major points of contention in the litigation.
Read the entire unsealed document here:
Over the years, Jim Shaw had loaned his friend Dave Bell, a longtime producer, publisher and label owner in Bakersfield, California, a couple of thousand dollars for various ventures — bits and pieces at a time. “He was one of the guys who kept rolling the dice,” Shaw recalls. “He’d make a million, then lose a million. Very interesting guy.”
By 2002, Bell was starting to feel guilty about how much money he owed to Shaw, a veteran member of Buck Owens‘ Buckaroos who now runs the late country legend’s foundation. Bell proposed a unique deal: In lieu of cash, he gave Shaw publishing rights to the rockabilly song “The Goo Goo Muck,” co-written and recorded by local country singer Ronnie Cook and his band, the Gaylads, in 1962. “At the time, it was like magic beans,” Shaw says. “[Bell] had a lot of gospel songs. He’d become very religious, and that song didn’t fit into what he wanted to do.”
Shaw knew, of course, that The Cramps had released a classic new-wave psychobilly-punk version of “Goo Goo Muck” in 1981, but since then the band’s popularity had faded and he never expected it to amount to much of anything. In fall 2021, though, the producers for Netflix’s Wednesday series called to license the Cramps’ version for a synch. When the Addams Family revival came out Nov. 23, the series saw record-breaking viewership and the track took off, much like Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill” last spring in Stranger Things, shooting from 2,500 streams the day before the premiere to 134,000 five days later. “It’s a really amazing, fun little bonanza,” says Shaw, 76. “I wasn’t familiar with the show, but I was happy to make the deal, and caught by surprise on all this.”
Bell, who died in 2013, was a U.S. Navy veteran who evolved from directing a church choir to recording artists, including local symphonies and a pre-stardom Merle Haggard, for his Bakersfield-area studio and his Audan Records label. He also owned a couple of publishing companies, including Damosi, named after his wife and daughters. Not much is known about Cook, who wrote “Goo Goo Muck” with Ed James. “I really thought it was a fun little song — the Duane Eddy guitar and that sound,” Shaw says. “I don’t know what this leads to. I was thinking of Pulp Fiction. Remember some of the really cool songs that got dusted off?”
Shaw, who is on the board of directors for the Buck Owens Foundation and has written songs of his own for Garth Brooks and Tom Jones, among others, recalls the late Bell as a character who was both religious and “had a potty-mouth.” Says Shaw, with a laugh: “He said, ‘The problem in this world is that people don’t pay attention to the fucking Ten Commandments.’”
Although Bell had done “very well in his life” as a label and studio owner and song publisher, Shaw says, he hit a rough period in the early 2000s and his friend started loaning him $100 or $200 at a time. “It kind of accumulated, and he was telling me how badly he felt about it. He says, ‘I want you to have this song.’ I said, ‘OK, sure,’” Shaw recalls. “It’s really cool. That’s what every songwriter and publisher hopes will happen. It’s what everybody dreams.”