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Warner Chappell Music is the first major publisher to step into Web3 through a new deal with Defient — a Web3 entertainment incubator. The deal will allow the Warner Chappell roster, which includes Bruno Mars, David Bowie, Katy Perry and Lizzo, to tap into blockchain technology through digital collectibles, events and memorabilia.
The first project is a digital museum launching early 2023 called “Archives,” which will shine a light on songwriters through an exhibition of music, artwork and collectibles built around the song creation process. A limited-edition NFT mint pass will also give holders access to highly curated drops, auctions and virtual experiences.
WCM believes the partnership will allow the publisher to unlock new methods of monetization. “By embracing the power of blockchain technology, we can create impactful new revenue streams and creative opportunities for our songwriters while giving music fans access to unique experiences,” said WCM senior vp of creative services Ashley Winton. “Not only are [founder & CEO] Sidney [Swift] and his whole team at Defient experts in this space, but they also have deep roots in music and know how to champion the voices of creators.”
Defient is a Web3 incubator with experience across the music industry and the emerging NFT landscape. Founded by Grammy-nominated producer Sidney Swift, Defient was instrumental in developing a Web3 record label, ChillRx, which has generated over $1 million in volume since launching in February 2022.
In a statement about the collaboration, Swift said, “We’re proud to be working with Warner Chappell as they expand into the web3 community that Defient is already so ingrained in. Having started my career as a songwriter and producer, it’s exciting to join forces with a forward-thinking partner and work towards making it easier and more accessible for songwriters and artists to leverage web3 platforms. Together, we want to use technology to empower creatives and help them elevate their brands.”
Major labels have already made the leap into NFTs via dedicated Web3 imprints such as 10:22PM at Universal Music Group and Probably a Label at Warner Records UK. Publishers have taken a slower approach, but WCM is optimistic that blockchain technology will offer new opportunities for its songwriters. “This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of music publishing,” said WCM co-chair and CEO Guy Moot and co-chair and COO Carianne Marshall in a joint statement. “With Defient’s support, we’ll be able to unlock new avenues in web3 on behalf of our songwriters and find different ways for them to grow their legacies and engage with fans.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek on Wednesday (Nov. 30) blasted Apple for “stifling innovation and hurting consumers,” publicly renewing his company’s longstanding grievance that the tech giant abuses its dominant position over the market for smartphone apps.
In a series of tweets, the Spotify founder said Apple was “shameless in their bullying” of app developers and called on lawmakers in both the U.S. and the European Union to take “action” against a company that he said “doesn’t seem to care about the law or courts.”
“Over and over again @Apple gives itself every advantage while at the same time stifling innovation and hurting consumers,” Ek wrote. “Apple offers consumers the illusion of choice and give[s] developers the illusion of control.”
A spokeswoman for Apple did not immediately return a request for comment on Ek’s tweets.
Spotify has long been an outspoken critic of the rules Apple imposes on its app store — namely a 30% surcharge on most transactions made within the platform, and provisions that restrict how apps steer customers toward outside payment systems.
Apple says tight rules for app developers are needed to protect users from payment fraud and privacy violations. But critics say the company — which currently controls more than half the U.S. smartphone market with the iPhone and iOS operating system — is merely exploiting its dominant position to extract more money. Those complaints are even stronger from Spotify, since it also directly competes with Apple Music for subscribers.
Google, which accounts for the vast majority of the rest of the market for smartphone apps, is facing similar criticism and litigation.
The arguments against Apple’s app policies won a powerful ally last week when new Twitter owner Elon Musk raised the issue amid his own messy dispute with the tech giant. After claiming Apple had pulled its advertising and had threatened to pull Twitter from its app store, the polarizing billionaire asked his 120 million followers if they were aware that Apple “puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy.”
In Wednesday’s thread, Ek directly quoted Musk’s tweet, as well as others who have voiced similar criticism. Citing “bipartisan support and global interest,” he said that “momentum” was building for some kind of action against Apple.
“So how much longer will we look away from this threat to the future of the internet?” Ek wrote. “How many more consumers will be denied choice? There’s been a lot of talk. Talk is helpful but we need action.”
Apple is already facing a high-profile lawsuit, filed by Fortnite creator Epic Games, that claims the app store policies violate federal antitrust laws. A trial court issued a split ruling on the case last year, and the battle is currently pending before a federal appeals court.
Though not directly involved in the Epic case, Spotify filed its own complaint against Apple in 2019 with the European Commission, the EU’s regulatory enforcement watchdog. Last year, EU regulators released preliminary findings that Apple had likely broken the law, saying the company “deprives users of cheaper music streaming choices and distorts competition.”
Even bigger changes could be coming via new legislation. In Washington, D.C., a bipartisan trio of senators are pushing a bill called the Open App Markets Act, which would impose strict new rules on both Apple and Google’s app stores. And lawmakers in the EU have already passed a new statute called the Digital Markets Act, which will place a raft of new restrictions on how app stores are run.
Though it will take time for the new EU law to fully go into effect, it was aimed directly at complaints like the one Ek voiced Wednesday against Apple. In an interview with Wired last month, one of the law’s architects said he expected “significant” consequences: “If you have an iPhone, you should be able to download apps not just from the App Store but from other app stores or from the internet.”
Emboldened House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday (Nov. 30) with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year.
Showing rare party unity after their midterm election losses, the House Democrats moved seamlessly from one history-making leader to another, choosing the 52-year-old New Yorker, who has vowed to “get things done,” even after Republicans won control of the chamber. The closed-door vote was unanimous, by acclamation.
“It’s a solemn responsibility that we are all inheriting,” Jeffries told reporters on the eve of the party meeting. “And the best thing that we can do as a result of the seriousness and solemnity of the moment is lean in hard and do the best damn job that we can for the people.”
Many in the music business are likely celebrating Jeffries’ election today. The Congressman, who has served as the U.S. representative for New York’s 8th Congressional District since 2013, has been a longtime champion of music creators. Among other efforts, he co-sponsored the Music Modernization Act, the most important copyright law passed in decades, as well as the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020, a.k.a. the CASE Act, which streamlined copyright disputes by creating a small claims tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office to adjudicate small claims infringement cases.
A noted hip-hop fan who once gave The Notorious B.I.G. a shout-out from the House floor, in 2018 Jeffries hosted the sixth annual “Hip-Hop on the Hill” political fundraiser. He was also an honoree at the Recording Academy’s GRAMMYs on the Hill in 2019, an annual event that honors congressional leaders and music creators who fight for creators’ rights. This September, Jeffries was honored by the RIAA as well, along with hip-hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash and MC Lyte, at RIAA Honors 2022: Hip-Hop, where he received the policy maker of the year award. (Billboard sponsored this event.)
This creator-friendly mindset may have stemmed in part from Jeffries’ days as a lawyer prior to entering politics. During that period, Jeffries worked on several copyright cases, including representing Lauryn Hill in a case brought by some of her collaborators. In a previous statement, National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) president David Israelite said that Jeffries “has a deep understanding of copyright law” and “may know the subject better than anyone else in Congress.”
In a statement sent to Billboard, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. applauded Jeffries’ election: “Since his first year in Congress in 2014, Hakeem has been a dynamic leader in shaping music policy and fighting for legislation that benefits and protects music creators. From signing on as a lead cosponsor of the Music Modernization Act in 2018 and the CASE Act in 2020, to being celebrated as a GRAMMYs On The Hill Honoree in 2019, he’s been a key ally to the music community and instrumental in achieving bipartisan support for music people. We’re thrilled for him to take on this new role, and we look forward to seeing how this will impact the important issues facing our ecosystem of music creators.”
It’s rare that a party that lost the midterm elections would so easily regroup and stands in stark contrast with the upheaval among Republicans, who are struggling to unite around GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker as they prepare to take control when the new Congress convenes in January.
Wednesday’s internal Democratic caucus votes of Jeffries and the other top leaders came without challengers. Cheers broke out after the elections.
The trio led by Jeffries, who will become the Democratic minority leader in the new Congress, includes 59-year-old Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts as the Democratic whip and 43-year-old Rep. Pete Aguilar of California as caucus chairman. The new team of Democratic leaders is expected to slide into the slots held by Pelosi and her top lieutenants — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Democratic Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina — as the 80-something leaders make way for the next generation.
But in many ways, the trio has been transitioning in plain sight, as one aide put it — Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar working with Pelosi’s nod these past several years in lower-rung leadership roles as the first woman to have the speaker’s gavel prepared to step down. Pelosi, of California, has led the House Democrats for the past 20 years, and colleagues late Tuesday granted her the honorific title of “speaker emerita.”
“It an important moment for the caucus — that there’s a new generation of leadership,” said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., ahead of voting.
Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri called the leadership election “historic” and a “time for change.”
While Democrats will be relegated to the House minority in the new year for the 118th Congress, they will have a certain amount of leverage because the Republican majority is expected to be so slim and McCarthy’s hold on his party fragile.
The House’s two new potential leaders, Jeffries and McCarthy, are of the same generation but have almost no real relationship to speak of — in fact the Democrat is known for leveling political barbs at the Republican from afar, particularly over the GOP’s embrace of former President Donald Trump. Jeffries served as a House manager during Trump’s first impeachment.
“We’re still working through the implications of Trumpism,” Jeffries said, “and what it has meant, as a very destabilizing force for American democracy.”
Jeffries said he hopes to find “common ground when possible” with Republicans but will “oppose their extremism when we must.”
On the other side of the Capitol, Jeffries will have a partner in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as two New Yorkers are poised to helm the Democratic leadership in Congress. They live about a mile (1.6 kilometers) apart in Brooklyn.
“There are going to be a group, in my judgment, of mainstream Republicans who are not going to want to go in the MAGA direction, and Hakeem’s the ideal type guy to work with them,” Schumer said in an interview, referencing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Jeffries has sometimes been met with skepticism from party progressives, viewed as a more centrist figure among House Democrats.
But Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a progressive and part of the “squad” of liberal lawmakers, said she has been heartened by the way Jeffries and his team are reaching out, even though they face no challengers.
“There’s a genuine sense that he wants to develop relationships and working partnerships with many of us,” she said.
Clark, in the No. 2 spot, is seen as a coalition builder on the leadership team, while Aguilar, as the third-ranking leader, is known as a behind-the-scenes conduit to centrists and even Republicans.
Clyburn, now the highest-ranking Black American in Congress, is seeking to become the assistant democratic leader, keeping a seat at the leadership table and helping the new generation to transition.
But Clyburn faces an unexpected challenge from Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who is openly gay and argued Wednesday in a letter to colleagues that House Democrats should “fully respect the diversity of our caucus and the American people by including an LGBTQ+ member at the leadership table.”
The election for the assistant leader post and several others is expected to be held Thursday.
Jeffries’ ascent comes as a milestone for Black Americans, the Capitol built with the labor of enslaved people and its dome later expanded during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency as a symbol the nation would stand during the Civil War.
His Brooklyn-area district was once represented by Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, who was born on the same day as his election, Nov. 30, in 1924.
“The thing about Pete, Katherine and myself is that we embrace what the House represents,” Jeffries said, calling it “the institution closest to the people.”
While the House Democrats are often a big, diverse, “noisy family,” he said, “it’s a good thing.” He said, “At the end of the day, we’re always committed to finding the highest common denominator in order to get big things done for everyday Americans.”
What happens when you let 5,555 music fans make decisions at a major label? Warner Records is about to find out through its new Web3 imprint Probably a Label. After selling out a collection of NFT access-passes, the holders will now gather in a Discord server to help develop artists together, share the credits of any future awards such as a Grammy, and ultimately offer intellectual property rights in some of the projects to NFT holders.
The experiment is a collaboration between Warner Records UK and Web3 brand Probably Nothing, whose debut NFT collection fetched $500k in seven minutes in October. Each NFT comes with different rarity and label roles (4,000 scouts, 1,500 managers and 55 label heads), allowing holders to vote on certain decisions. The rarest — and most expensive, currently at $2,138 — come with priority voting and access to exec dinners.
“This is a vehicle for us to explore new ways of working as a label,” says Sebastian Simone — vp of audience & strategy at Warner Records UK. For the first time at a major label level, fans will be involved in artist development, starting with the creation of a virtual artist. “[The virtual artist] will be built in conjunction with the community of holders through a voting system on design, storyline and other creative.”
Holders have already been gifted a free music NFT — “Money on the Table” by Diddy and Jason Martin — but the label isn’t just focused on NFTs. It will also run traditional campaigns to help break emerging talent within the Web3 space. Simone envisions a future where Web3-native artists developed through the label are “Selling out global tours, winning awards and crossing over into the mainstream.” There will also be crossover from the existing Warner roster where Probably a Label will act as the first touchpoint for established acts to experiment with NFTs.
Warner has been an early-adopter in Web3, launching the Stickmen Toys NFT project in August — an early experiment in granting IP rights to fans from a major label. Stickmen Toys holders own the full rights to the music and can use it however they like. Warner Records also landed the UK’s first ever No. 1 with a chart-compatible NFT release through Muse’s Will of the People. “WMG is focused on ensuring that our artists are deeply embedded in this world of Web3 so that they are not just using the technologies but helping to define them,” says Oana Ruxandra, chief digital officer and executive vp, business development. “We are putting a lot of time and energy behind this burgeoning space.”
Courtesy Photo
Rather than keep everything inside the Warner machine, however, the label partnered with Probably Nothing — a Web3 brand founded by former restaurateur and TV chef Jeremy Fall. The brand already has a community of thousands and previous experience with NFT drops including the Probably Nothing Genesis Pass which generated 879 ETH (~$1.03 million) in volume since launching in May 2022. The idea is to co-sign Warner’s NFT activities with an established name in Web3. “We’re in a new market exploring and learning,” says Simone. “It’s crucial we partner with people who have a deep, early-adopter understanding of new technologies and the culture.”
On paper, it’s a smart move. Many music companies and major label artists have blundered into Web3 without engaging with the existing community or taking the temperature of the market, leading to disastrous results and backlash. Collaborating with native Web3 teams appears to be a winning formula for bigger corporate entities.
For Fall, the venture allows him to dive deeper into music, which he says has always been part of his identity. During his days as a TV chef, he hosted a “Beats for Breakfast” show with Miguel. “Anytime I can be creative in a new way gets me excited. I have a vision on how I could help impact the music industry … and having Warner Records help bring those ideas to life excites me the most.”
The label’s biggest promise of all, however, is to “redefine IP ownership in music.” Although specific details are still cloudy, Fall says “We will be granting IP rights to certain [label] projects, depending on how they are structured … disrupting the traditional label model by opening the doors to sharing ownership in valuable content.” The team can’t yet confirm whether this will extend to the virtual artist currently in development or any of the songs.
Some of this IP experiment will also be explored in an initiative called Studio A and Studio B. “Studio A is our IP incubator,” explains Fall. “It allows our holders to pitch their existing [NFT-related] IP to us.” For example, if a member of the community owns a Doodles, Azuki, Bored Ape Yacht Club or select other NFTs, they can pitch an idea to the label based around the NFT, such as a music video, virtual artist, song or short-film. If accepted, Probably a Label will help provide resources, financing and marketing.
Studio B is more like a pooled music library. Anyone with a label pass can submit tracks to Studio B, and someone else from the community could use that music in their own project, such as a movie or sample for a beat. “If someone from our community wants to use one of the tracks for a project,” says Fall, “We will broker the communication between holders that allows them to license it.”
Critics might ask whether any of this requires NFTs at all. Fan voting mechanisms and shared communities can be created without Web3. Fall explains, “The traditional Web2 model doesn’t allow us to … give [fans] any ownership in projects. NFTs are this exact core that give people emotional ownership and value in projects they are a part of.” Important to note, however, that owning an NFT does not automatically guarantee IP ownership unless it’s explicitly stated.
In terms of providing value, the NFT label pass could be expected to rise if the label and its artists are successful, rewarding holders for their participation. However, the label will have to contend with the fact that the current price of the NFT (0.03 ETH) is now worth less than half the mint price (0.09 ETH). Anyone that purchased on the day of launch is now underwater unless they pulled one of the 55 rarest passes. While this is not unusual for NFT projects in the current down-market, it is uncharted territory for a major label that will now have to manage expectations of thousands of music fans who may have lost money on paper. The team isn’t fazed yet, though. “We’re focused on providing the best experience and value to our community,” says Simone. “The rest will fall into place.”
For record executives, the story of Michael Jackson‘s Thriller begins in 1979, three years before the album came out, when disco crashed and record stores returned millions of unwanted LPs to major labels. That year, recorded-music revenues dropped 10% from the previous year prior, according to RIAA data, and vinyl sales were just beginning to decline after years of growth. CBS Records had massive layoffs that summer; Warner Bros. followed with 55 in December.
“When I came in on Monday, there were half-smoked cigarettes in ashtrays and half-typed memos in typewriters,” recalls Jim Urie, then CBS’ New York branch manager, who pink-slipped 40 on his staff. “It was really, really brutal.”
The industry-wide malaise, coinciding with a worldwide recession, lasted two or three years. “It was the first time all of us young people in the music business had business hit us in the face,” says Dan Beck, Epic Records’ head of publicity at the time, who recalls another “major” wave of company wide CBS layoffs in summer 1982. “One of the first things people cut back was the disposable income — so if somebody bought three or four albums a month, and now they only bought one or two, that was pretty dramatic to our business.”
Thriller, released exactly 40 years ago, on Nov. 30, 1982, helped usher in the music business’ comeback, along with the explosive growth of MTV and the adoption of the compact disc. Jackson’s follow-up to 1979’s Off the Wall took off instantly, beginning with the opening single, “The Girl Is Mine,” a duet with Paul McCartney designed to cross the album over to a white radio audience. All seven of its singles would land in the top 10 of the Hot 100, and the album would spend 37 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Thriller coaxed fans back into record stores to buy multiple copies, thus providing labels with resources to market Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and, later, hair-metal bands. At the end of 1981, CBS Records, which owned Epic at the time, took in $1 billion in revenue, its worst earnings since 1971; by the end of 1983, its net income increased 26% to $187 million.
“It pulled the music industry out of the doldrums,” says Larry Stessel, then Epic’s West Coast marketing vp. “It helped pull us out of the disco days and it became a whole new world.”
Stessel, who worked closely with Jackson on music videos, says the industry recession from roughly 1979 to 1983 helped his staff learn to economize — which made Epic and other labels leaner and stronger when the business came back.
“It allowed us to utilize our dollars more efficiently, develop local campaigns — if you could break an artist out of Kansas City, then obviously your next goal was to spread it to St. Louis, and maybe your next stop would be Milwaukee or Chicago or Detroit, depending where the airplay was,” he recalls. “It made us smarter marketing people when the doors opened up again after Thriller was released.”
Famously, Thriller‘s sales run kept going and going — it spiked after every new single and video, and surged after Jackson did the moonwalk during NBC’s Motown 25 anniversary special in May 1983. Today, Jackson’s label, Sony, claims Thriller as the best-selling global album of all time; in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry Association of America, it is 34 times platinum, behind the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, at 38 times platinum. Even as Jackson’s legacy is tainted with allegations of child sexual abuse in HBO’s 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, the album has generated 3.87 million U.S. album-equivalent units in the past 10 years, including 1.2 million in physical album sales, according to Luminate.
“I knew then,” Stessel says of Thriller‘s staying power. “We started literally selling 1.2 million copies over the country every week. The album went from 4 to 6 million copies to 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.”
Thriller did more than reverse CBS Records’ fortunes in the early ’80s. It helped encourage Sony Corp. to buy the label home of Jackson, Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond and many other stars for $2 billion in 1988. The idea was to unite software (music) with Sony’s new hardware (compact discs), and Thriller was the most valuable content of all. “You don’t buy Michael Jackson because he sounds like somebody else. You buy him because he resonates with you,” says Mickey Schulhof, then Sony’s top executive in the U.S. “Having content, we knew, was going to be an important part of Sony’s future, and the largest content library in the record industry was CBS Records. It was an easy decision.”
Thriller made Urie, CBS’ New York branch manager back then, forget those painful 1979 layoffs — almost. “If you have a big enough record — and this is certainly true today — it throws off so much profit over its lifetime that it really can change things,” he says. “It cures all ills.”
Universal Music Group (UMG) has struck a deal to acquire a 49% shareholding in PIAS Group, the leading European independent music company.
Financial terms of the arrangement, announced early Wednesday (Nov. 30), were not disclosed.
By taking a minority stake in PIAS Group, UMG, the world’s leading major music company, expands on its strategic global alliance struck with the indie powerhouse in June 2021.
PIAS, or Play It Again Sam, was founded in Belgium 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, both career-long advocates for the independent music sector.
Gates and Lambot will retain majority control of the company, a joint statement reads, and UMG will have no seats on the company’s board.
Headquartered in London and Brussels, PIAS is said to be one of the largest independent and privately-owned music companies in the world.
The group includes the PIAS Label Group, which oversees the business’ various record label interests, and Integral Distributions Services, which provides support to its own, in-house labels and upwards of 100 independent label partners, including ATO, Beggars Group, Bella Union, Chrysalis, Domino, Epitaph, LSO, Mute, Ninja Tune, Partisan, Secretly Group, Transgressive and Warp.
Today, PIAS boasts 16 offices around the world with 300 employees.
“The boldly independent and music-centric culture that Kenny and Michel have built over the last four decades has provided a vital creative network to so many artists,” comments UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, in a statement.
“While much of the past was focused on ‘majors versus indies,’ it’s clear that today, the important divide in our industry is about those committed to artist development versus those committed to quantity over quality. “
He continues, “We share Kenny and Michel’s passion for developing artists and moving culture, and we recognize that a healthy music ecosystem needs companies like PIAS who are committed to amplifying the best voices in independent music.”
As PIAS celebrates its 40th anniversary, Gates and Lambot insist the new arrangement will enable its artists, clients and team to flourish.
Says Lambot, one of the founders of the pan-European independent music companies’ trade body Impala, “we are still as ambitious as we were when we started out about growing our global presence and providing a world class service to the independent music community.”
Gates adds, “These days we are competing with finance and tech giants and a partner like Universal Music Group provides the additional support for us to compete and grow. Universal made it clear that they like us, they trust us and they need us, because they can’t do what we do and they value it highly.”
This move, Gates continues, “makes us stronger and secures the future of our brand, our staff and our partners while maintaining control of our destiny.”
Created in a Brussels cellar four decades ago by Gates and Lambot, PIAS began life as a distributor of independent labels. Four years, the pair launched publishing company Strictly Confidential, and PIAS continued to grow its footprint, including the opening of offices Paris and London (in 1994), Hamburg (1995), Madrid (2000), New York and Stockholm (2013), and Sydney (2017) through the acquisition of Inertia.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has purchased a 49% stake in the indie label group [PIAS], expanding on a strategic global partnership that began last year. As part of the deal, [PIAS] founders Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot will retain control of the company, “remain fully independent” and UMG will have no seats on the indie’s board.
In March 2021, [PIAS] rebranded its distribution and services arm to [Integral], bringing on a new managing director to expand its business globally. Three months later, [PIAS] entered into an agreement with UMG that gave the major label group access to the [Integral] platform, which also handles distribution services for more than 100 indie label partners including ATO, Beggars Group and Secretly Group. The newly announced minority investment is said to be an extension of that initial deal.
“We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Universal Music Group team since we announced our strategic global alliance with them last year,” said Lambot — who co-founded [PIAS] in Brussels, Belgium, in 1983 alongside Gates — in a statement. “Kenny and I are celebrating our company’s 40th anniversary this year and we are still as ambitious as we were when we started out about growing our global presence and providing a world class service to the independent music community.”
“These days we are competing with finance and tech giants and a partner like Universal Music Group provides the additional support for us to compete and grow,” Gates said in his own statement. “Universal made it clear that they like us, they trust us and they need us, because they can’t do what we do and they value it highly. For Michel and I this is our life’s work and an ongoing journey and I am excited about the prospect of this new chapter in the life of [PIAS]. This move makes us stronger and secures the future of our brand, our staff and our partners while maintaining control of our destiny.”
The expansion of the deal comes at a time when many major labels — Capitol Music Group, Republic, 300, Interscope and more — are increasingly launching or enhancing their distribution offerings for independent artists and labels. This deal with [PIAS] presumably expands UMG’s access to independent distribution moving forward.
“The boldly independent and music-centric culture that Kenny and Michel have built over the last four decades has provided a vital creative network to so many artists,” UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement. “While much of the past was focused on ‘majors versus indies,’ it’s clear that today, the important divide in our industry is about those committed to artist development versus those committed to quantity over quality. We share Kenny and Michel’s passion for developing artists and moving culture, and we recognize that a healthy music ecosystem needs companies like [PIAS] who are committed to amplifying the best voices in independent music.”
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Motown Records chairwoman and CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam is stepping down from her position “to pursue new endeavors,” the label and parent company Universal Music Group (UMG) announced Tuesday (Nov. 29). A successor will be announced at a later date.
In a statement, Habtemariam said, “It has been the greatest honor to work with some of the most incredible artists, songwriters and partners in the world. I have always had a clear vision for the talent that I’ve had the privilege to work with, which has led Motown to global success and returned the label to the forefront of contemporary culture. I would not have been able to make that vision come to life without the support of my amazing team at Motown, my UMG colleagues around the world, and Sir Lucian. I am incredibly proud of what we have created during my tenure, and I consider this the perfect finale to my 20 years at UMG spanning publishing and recorded music.”
UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge added, “Under Ethiopia’s leadership, Motown has seen strong growth, continuing its legacy of bringing important new voices to modern culture. Not only has Ethiopia been instrumental in developing and breaking incredible artists, but also she has strategically identified and amplified key partnerships that have been, and will continue to be, cornerstones of the UMG creative ecosystem. While I will miss working with Ethiopia, I know she will achieve great things going forward and she leaves with our enduring love and respect.”
Habtemariam was elevated to Motown chairman and CEO in March 2021 following six years as president, making her just the third woman and only the second woman of color ever to hold that title at a major label. During her tenure, she orchestrated creative and entrepreneurial ventures with partners including a 2015 deal with Quality Control Music, under which Motown helped shepherd the careers of QC artists including Migos, City Girls, Lil Yachty, Layton Greene and Lil Baby.
At the time of her hire as chairwoman and CEO, Habtemariam noted Motown would move forward as a standalone label with some shared services, spinning out from under the Capitol Music Group umbrella. Since that time, the label has put out music from Migos, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Vince Staples, Tiwa Savage, Ne-Yo and Kem, among others. In addition to the Quality Control partnership, under Habtemariam’s leadership Motown has also signed joint venture deals with YoungBoy Never Broke Again and his label; singer and rapper Smino, in partnership with his Zero Fatigue and EQT (Equative Thinking) labels; and Sean “Diddy” Combs and his label Love Records.
Before joining Motown in the dual role of label president and executive vp of Capitol Music Group, Habtemariam worked at Universal Music Publishing Group for more than a decade, rising from creative manager to president of urban music & co-head of creative.
In an internal note sent to her team following the announcement, Habtemariam paid tribute to her Motown colleagues while noting her nearly 20-year run with UMG. During her tenure at the publishing division, she built a team that signed and developed songwriters including Cardo, Childish Gambino, Chris Brown, Ciara, Big Sean, Hit-Boy, J. Cole, Jhene Aiko, Justin Bieber, Miguel, Stacy Barthe and Quavo.
Habtemariam also emphasized her dedication “to bringing a renewed vision of Black excellence to Motown – rooted in the past but connected to today, global in nature and a platform for the future.”
“The business has changed so much over those twenty years but throughout its ups and downs, I’ve always felt blessed to have the opportunity to work in so many aspects of the industry,” she continued. “My hunger to learn and continue to evolve led me to the unique experience of working across publishing and recorded music simultaneously. The fact that I was empowered to this unique position reflects my passion for supporting those that are blessed with the gift of music but also speaks to the incredible opportunities I was offered here and for that I want to thank Lucian who recognized my talent as a creative in publishing and gave me the opportunity to lead at a label as well.”
Habtemariam started her career in 1994 at age 14 as an intern at L.A. Reid‘s LaFace Records, where she worked for four years before moving to Universal Music Group. She has been named to numerous Billboard lists, including the 2022 Power List in January. In September, she was honored with The Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award at the first annual BMAC Music in Action Awards.
You can read Habtermariam’s full note to her team below.
Team:
Some of you may or may not know that the top of 2023 marks my 20th year at Universal Music Group. And, after two amazing decades, I’ve made the incredibly hard decision to leave for my next adventure. I’ll address my future plans soon, but today is all about Motown, UMG and you.
First and foremost, to the Motown team, your commitment to our artists, the legacy of this label, and the community at large is not lost on me. It’s been a privilege and honor to work with each and every one of you and I’m so excited to see how you continue to move Motown forward. Over 60 years ago, Mr. Gordy forged a core for this company – one that respects and celebrates artistry and strongly supports creative entrepreneurship – and this continues to live on thanks to all of you. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built.
When I think of my time at UMG, it occurs to me that my career really started at this company. I was a creative manager at UMPG 20 years ago, then by 2010 worked as an A&R consultant and manager while building a creative team at UMPG that signed and developed some amazing songwriters such as Cardo, Childish Gambino, Chris Brown, Ciara, Big Sean, Hit Boy, J Cole, Jhene Aiko, Justin Bieber, Miguel, Stacy Barthe and Quavo among many others. In 2014, I was promoted to the position of President of Urban & Co-Head of Creative at UMPG and appointed to President of Motown Records.
It was a busy time being in dual roles and laying the foundation for what was to come in an industry with an ever-changing landscape. While continuing to build at UMPG, I was also deeply dedicated to bringing a renewed vision of Black excellence to Motown – rooted in the past but connected to today, global in nature and a platform for the future. In 2015, we signed a landmark deal for Motown with Quality Control which included a distribution agreement ensuring support in developing the next generation of global superstars. By 2016, as that strategy brought Motown success with new groundbreaking artists, Motown became my sole focus as we continued to grow the company with artists including BJ the Chicago Kid, Brandy, Kem, Diddy, Erykah Badu, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Migos, Sebastian Kole, Smino, Tiana MAJOR9, YoungBoy and Vince Staples among others.
The business has changed so much over those twenty years but throughout its ups and downs, I’ve always felt blessed to have the opportunity to work in so many aspects of the industry. My hunger to learn and continue to evolve led me to the unique experience of working across publishing and recorded music simultaneously. The fact that I was empowered to this unique position reflects my passion for supporting those that are blessed with the gift of music but also speaks to the incredible opportunities I was offered here and for that I want to thank Lucian who recognized my talent as a creative in publishing and gave me the opportunity to lead at a label as well.
But one thing that has never changed is the love I have for music—and the artists, songwriters and producers that make such incredible art. That continues to drive everything I do professionally, and it always will.
This is an exciting time in music and I look forward to exploring new creative and entrepreneurial opportunities. I will share more about my future plans but for now I want to focus on winding down my role as we get to the end of the year.
Thank you for this incredible journey. Know that I will always be here to support you all.
With love, gratitude and respect,
Ethiopia
MILAN — Warner Music Group has hired Pico Cibelli, a Sony Music Italy executive involved in the global breakthrough of rock band Måneskin, to helm its Italian label.
Cibelli, who will be based in Milan, will take over as president of Warner Music Italy, which Marco Alboni led for nine years. Cibelli will start in the role “in the near future” and report to Simon Robson, president of international, recorded music for Warner Music Group, the label said in a press release.
Cibelli spent more than a decade at Sony Music Italy, where he worked in A&R and helped develop the company’s frontline domestic artists. According to Italian media reports, Cibelli’s early involvement with breaking Måneskin could have played a major role in Warner’s decision. While at Sony, he was instrumental in hiring A&R Fabrizio Ferraguzzo, who has acted as Måneskin’s manager since June 2021.
Before joining Sony in 2011, Cibelli spent 10 years at Universal Music Group, first as television marketing manager and dance music A&R, then as A&R manager. Cibelli previously worked in an independent, family-run record store; as a DJ/producer; and later as an executive at local independent distributors Dig It International and Self Distribuzione.
The announcement of Cibelli’s appointment comes in a week when Warner artists hold two spots on Italy’s Top 10 album charts: Trenches Baby by Milan-based trapper Rondodasosa, whom Alboni signed, and The Beatles Songbook from veteran singer Mina.
“The success of artists such as Måneskin,” Cibelli said in a Warner Music press release, “has shown that Italian artists can take the world by storm, something we’ll see more of in the years ahead.”
Robson, in a statement, said that Cibelli “has a proven track record of developing artists and maximizing their potential.”
As a source of domestic talent, Italy is one of the strongest markets in the world. In 2021, Italian acts accounted for 76 % of the annual Album Top 100 compiled by FIMI, the local federation for the recorded music industry with which major companies and some local independent labels are affiliated. The Italian music market regained the No. 10 spot in the world in 2021, according to FIMI, showing an 18.33% increase from 2020 and a turnover of 153 million euros ($170.8 million) in the first half of 2022, with digital sales accounting for 83% (revenues from subscription streaming rose by 13.7%).
Alboni has not indicated where he is heading next, saying only on his LinkedIn page that he will soon start a new job as a music industry executive. He has worked as an artist manager and had prior stints with EMI Music Italy, PolyGram and Virgin Music Italy before being appointed Warner Italy’s chairman and CEO in 2013 when WMG acquired EMI Music Italy.