State Champ Radio Business
Page: 528
The last time film and TV screenwriters went on strike, for a hundred days in the winter of 2007 and 2008, production on shows and movies abruptly shut down, advertising plunged and pink slips were passed out. Freelance music supervisors like Julie Glaze Houlihan, whose credits include Malcolm in the Middle and Roswell, also felt the pain.
“My husband and I both were independent music supervisors, so the money just fell. We struggled,” she recalls. “We had savings and we dipped into it. We had three small children. It was a difficult time.”
Unlike actors, directors, music editors and other unionized professionals who would still receive contractual benefits in the event of a strike, music supervisors are a largely freelance group of specialists who lack employer-provided healthcare, paid leave and safety protections. So the supervisors are more vulnerable than many of their colleagues if the Writers Guild of America follows through with a walkout when its members’ contract with studios and networks expires May 1.
“We all care about the writers getting a fair deal. We’re all in it together,” says Houlihan, who recently supervised music for Glass Onion and is working on upcoming ESPN and MGM+ docuseries. “But if they strike, it’ll affect all of us. Other people have some type of safety net and we have nothing.”
The Writers Guild unions, east and west, represent 11,000 movie and TV writers and began negotiations March 20 for a three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Few expect a fast resolution over issues like higher compensation, more contributions to health and pension funds and improvements in workplace standards. Anticipating a strike, studios are rushing production schedules for existing shows.
A strike “would definitely be scary,” says Justin Kamps, who works on Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton. “If you can’t get the scripts written and the shows brought into post-(production), there’s not much you’re going to be doing as a supervisor. You’re going to be out of luck.”
A prolonged strike could narrow the opportunities for music synchs in shows and movies, which generated $318 million in 2022, or 2% of overall revenue, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. “The most obvious point is that if there is a strike, it’s going to put a hold on shows being put out, which means there’s no music being requested for shows,” says Sara Torres, synch and licensing supervisor for ASAP Clearances, which clears songs for TV.
Uncertainty has kicked in. “I’ve been meeting on a new project and they have been in a holding pattern, waiting to see what happens. They are not able to actually hire anybody until that is sorted out,” says Kier Lehman, a music supervisor whose recent works include Abbott Elementary and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. “Without having new things starting, it definitely would affect us and our income — if it goes on for a long time, I could see it having a big effect.”
Like everybody in Hollywood, music supervisors are scrambling to figure out where the money might come from in the event of a strike. Houlihan doubles as a music editor, an industry with its own unions, so she expects to receive certain benefits no matter what. Torres’ company emphasizes reality shows, which surged in the ratings during the last strike (including, notably, Donald Trump’s The Celebrity Apprentice); she suggests reality shows might temporarily dominate the synch business and indie artists might have more opportunities to place songs.
“People are always looking for music,” she says. “It’s just being able to pivot.”
Music supervisors are not unionized, but last October, a group of Netflix supervisors filed to certify their union with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking representation with the labor union the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE. Netflix opposed the move and the NLRB’s decision is pending. (Netflix reps did not respond to inquiries.) If the board rules in the supervisors’ favor, they can negotiate a contract with the streaming giant — “which would make a great precedent,” says Lindsay Wolfington, a music supervisor for shows including Virgin River and The Venery of Samantha Bird and has been active in the Netflix unionization efforts.
Laura Webb, who frequently works with Wolfington, says the supervisors want more reliable payment deliveries, cost-of-living increases and healthcare and retirement and pension plans — as opposed to relying on the gig economy. “We’re not paid by the studios that would allow us to have the same safety net that most employees get,” adds Joel High, president of the Guild of Music Supervisors. “We don’t have health insurance through anybody. We don’t have a 401(k). We’re basically left to our own devices, working from show to show and studio to studio.”
Supervisors say they’ll keep working on shows after writers have finished their work. “Most of our job is post-production, so hopefully things don’t change that much,” says Webb, who works on Wolf Pack, Monster High the Movie Sequel and others. Adds Lehman: “If there was a show that was already written, and just being finished, that becomes the complicated issue.”
For now, music supervisors remain hopeful the writers and studios will come to an agreement and avoid a strike, even as unionization is gathering momentum in the U.S., with workers from Amazon to YouTube Music filing for certification. “If there’s an atmosphere to strike in, it would be now,” Houlihan says. “Go, writers! I hope they don’t have to strike.”
Provident Entertainment has signed five-time Grammy winner Brandon Lake to its artist roster.
Lake’s song “Gratitude” is in its 11th week atop Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart and previously reached No. 1 on the Christian Airplay chart (where it currently resides at No. 3).
“I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Provident and for what’s to come,” Lake said via a statement. “With their team, I feel a genuine friendship and partnership, and know that there is a united goal of wanting to serve. This isn’t just about success, or trying to get the next #1; it’s about people, and serving people well.”
Lake’s most recent album, Help!, draws awareness to mental health and includes the Christian Airplay top 20 hit “Fear Is Not My Future (featuring Chandler Moore) and “Don’t Give Up on Me.” In addition to his solo music, Lake is known for his collaborations with Elevation Worship, Bethel Music and Maverick City Music. He is currently on the road on the 26-city Miracle Nights Tour with guest Benjamin Williams Hastings, and this fall, Lake will co-headline arenas on the Summer Worship Nights Tour with Phil Wickham.
“Very rarely do you get to come alongside an artist like Brandon whose songs, music, and ministry are already having such a significant impact around the world,” said Holly Zabka, president of Provident Entertainment, via a statement. “His passion for the Gospel and desire for teamwork has been evident each time we met about this new partnership. We are thrilled to welcome Brandon, his family, and the entire Brandon Lake team as new members of the Provident Entertainment family.”
“We’re thrilled to announce that Brandon Lake has signed with Provident Entertainment,” added Lake’s manager, Brandon Breitenbach. “Brandon is an exceptional artist whose music has already touched countless lives, offering a message of hope and redemption that have the power to transform hearts and minds. With Provident’s support, I’m confident that Brandon will continue to make a meaningful impact in the world. We’re excited to witness this next chapter in Brandon’s career and look forward to supporting him every step of the way.”
At this year’s Grammy Awards, Lake was honored for his work on a few songs, including “Fear is Not My Future,” which won best contemporary christian music performance/song, while his work with Maverick City Music on the 2022 EP Breathe garnered a best contemporary christian music album Grammy.
Lake previously told Billboard that he is working on a new album.
“I have a ton of songs and we are figuring out which ones will land on the new album and we are getting into pre-production,” he said. “We also have some songs on the next Elevation Worship record that are coming out, so collaboration is not slowing down.”
Latin music revenues in the United States hit an all-time high last year, exceeding the $1 billion mark on the wings of 24% growth that outpaced the overall market.
According to the RIAA’s year-end Latin music report for 2022, total revenue jumped from $881 million in 2021 to $1.1 billion in 2022, with Latin music’s overall share of the total music market lifting from 5.9% in 2021 to 6.9%.
“Latin music revenues in 2022 exceeded $1 billion for the first time and grew significantly faster than the broader industry. That sustained expansion speaks to an openness to new artists, music and ways of listening,” says RIAA senior VP, state public policy & industry relations Rafael Fernandez Jr.
Months earlier, the RIAA’s mid year report had already suggested that Latin music revenues would reach a new peak, driven by the success not only of Bad Bunny — who ended the year as the most streamed artist in the U.S. and around the world — but also a cadre of other artists who have had major streaming success, including Rosalía, Karol G and Rauw Alejandro.
Streaming makes up a stunning 97% of Latin music revenue, accounting for more than $1 billion. Within that, paid subscriptions were the biggest growth driver, contributing 71% of streaming revenues and posting revenue growth of 29% to $758 million.
Another major contributor to growth was ad-supported on-demand streams (from services like YouTube, Vevo and the free version of Spotify), underscoring how important video is to the Latin fan. Revenue from this space grew 24% to $230 million, a 21% share of total Latin music revenues, over-indexing compared to the 11% average of the overall market.
Conversely, revenue from digital services like Pandora and SiriusXM decreased 5% to $73 million, making up 7% of streaming revenues. Permanent downloads also fell 15% to $11.7 million. They now make up only 1% of revenue.
And while physical sales remain a tiny percentage of revenue – less than 1% – they are growing. CD revenues were up 60% to $3.1 million and vinyl grew 67% to $9.1 million, signaling a fresh area of growth potential for Latin music.
Warner Music México has announced the launch of Gorgona, a label which will be “completely” run and managed by women, and will also be focused on promoting women talent.
According to a statement issued by the company Wednesday (April 12), the “historically low” presence of women in key senior industry roles initially led to the formation of Warner Music México’s Gender Equality Committee, comprised exclusively of women across the organization. Then came the idea of creating a label in which all roles — from songwriting to digital music services — would be executed by women.
The creation of Gorgona — a creature who is a protective deity of women according to Greek mythology is — led to their first songwriter’s camp attended by Ali Stone, Erika Vidrio, Escarlata, Ingratax, Marian Ruzzi, and other artists, producers and songwriters.
“The atmosphere in our first camp was very friendly because everyone felt that their opinions and voices were validated in the studio,” says Andrea Fernández, A&R manager at Warner Music Mexico and the label’s creative leader. “They had practically never attended a camp where the participation of women was greater than that of men. We came out with a network of creative women who were able to get to know themselves and their work and produced spectacular songs.”
“Cypher 1: Ella”, which dropped on International Women’s Day, was the first release under Gorgona. A collaboration between singers and emcees Mabiland, Emjay, Mare Advertencia and Delfina Dib, the alternative, urban-leaning song was produced by Maria Vertiz, mixed by Marcella Araica and mastered by Natalia Schlesinger.
The underrepresentation of women in the industry in Mexico reflects the reality of music in general. A report on inclusion issued by The University of California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative earlier this year found that women have been woefully underrepresented across the recorded music industry.
The number of women with producer credits continues to be low. In 2022, only 3.4% of producers were women across all songs included on the year-end Hot 100 chart, according to the report, which examines the gender of artists, songwriters and producers across all 1,100 songs included on Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end charts spanning from 2012 to 2022. Moreover, women represented only 30% of the 160 artists on the Hot 100 year-end chart, while men made up 69.4% and artists who identified as non-binary made up less than 1%.
Amazon Music will serve as the exclusive streaming home for this year’s Stagecoach Festival, which takes place April 28-30 in at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
The livestream will be available on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and Prime Video, starting at 3 p.m. PDT each day, courtesy of sponsors T-Mobile, Magnum Ice Cream and finance company SoFi.
As part of the build-up to the Goldenvoice-presented festival, Amazon will release Amazon Originals from a number of artists preforming at the event, including BRELAND’s reimaging of his track “Happy Song” featuring Danielle Bradbery, and Luke Grimes’ cover of Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons.”
Among the other acts playing the 15th edition of Stagecoach are Chris Stapleton, Jon Pardi, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Old Dominion, Gabby Barrett, Brooks & Dunn, Diplo, Bryan Adams, Jackson Dean, Priscilla Block, Keb’ Mo’ and Bailey Zimmerman.
Once on site, Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson, hosts of Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast, will interview participating artists from the Amazon Music backstage set.
Amazon Music will also host the Amazon Music Live lounge, located in the vendor area. The air-conditioned lounge will include charging stations and behind-the-scenes content broadcast on a jumbo screen.
In addition to seeing Yellowstone star Grimes perform, Stagecoach will provide an ever bigger Yellowstone tie in as the Dutton Ranch from the Paramount Network’s hit show will be transported to the desert. Fans will be able to play in a Yellowstone cornhold competition, as well as purchase items from a Yellowstone Airsteam pop-up shop.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Mötley Crüe faces a lawsuit claiming the band unceremoniously terminated its longtime guitarist; Kanye West’s Donda Academy is hit with a wrongful termination suit packed with bizarre details; Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler responds to a sexual abuse case; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Mötley Crüe Heads To Court
A private feud between longtime members of the legendary rock band Mötley Crüe has burst into public view.
Crüe co-founder Mick Mars filed a lawsuit last week demanding access to the band’s books — and thus also disclosing for the first time that he and his former bandmates have been locked in private arbitration proceedings for months over the legal mechanics of his exit from the band.
According to Mars, his former “brothers” tossed him to the curb after he said he could no longer tour due to a “tragic” disability called ankylosing spondylitis. The rest of Crüe, on the other hand, says they offered Mars “generous compensation” as a courtesy, but that he instead chose to file an “ugly public lawsuit.”
The case is technically about dry issues like LLC operating agreements. Mars says the band did not have cause to terminate his 25% stake in Crüe’s corporate entities; the band says they all signed an agreement in 2008 that clearly states they owe Mars nothing after he resigned. But each side has also already made much splashier allegations, too.
In his complaint, Mars claimed that Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx “did not play a single note” during a recent tour, and instead essentially mimed along to recorded tracks. In response, the band released sworn statements from touring staffers claiming that it was Mars who had needed backing tracks during concerts: “There were times when he played a completely different song than the rest of the band. This happened at almost every show.”
For a full breakdown of the case against Crüe — including access to the actual complaint Mars filed against the band — go read the entire story here.
Other top stories…
TROUBLE AT SCHOOL – Two former teachers at Kanye West’s Donda Academy filed a lawsuit against the embattled star, alleging wrongful termination, discrimination and unpaid wages. The allegations included bizarre details about West’s controversial school, including that students were fed only sushi and that classes were restricted to the ground floor because West is afraid of stairs.
ROCHESTER CONCERT TRAGEDY – Ronisha Huston, an alleged victim of last month’s deadly stampede at a GloRilla concert in western New York, filed notice that she was formally preparing to sue over the incident. Saying she had suffered emotional distress, Huston’s lawyers need “pre-action discovery” to obtain video footage, emergency plans and other key information from the concert venue.
STEVEN TYLER DENIES ABUSE CLAIMS – The Aerosmith singer denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman named Julia Holcomb when she was a minor in the 1970s. The filing raised eyebrows because Tyler’s lawyers argued, among many possible defenses, that Holcomb had possibly consented to his conduct, or that he was immunized from her claims since he had been granted legal custody over her.
TRADEMARK ON A MANTRA? Insomniac Events, a major promoter of dance music events, made waves this week when fans noticed that it had recently filed an application to secure a federal trademark registration on the term “PLUR” — an acronym (peace, love, unity, respect) that has been heavily used in the dance scene since the early ‘90s.
LOVERS & FRIENDS LAWSUIT – Live Nation was hit with a lawsuit over injuries at last year’s Lovers & Friends festival during a stampede triggered by false reports of gunfire. The three fans who filed the case say the concert giant “failed to take basic, reasonable steps” to protect them from such an incident: “Plaintiffs screamed for emergency medical care for their injuries, but none came.”
PANDORA CLAIMS TOSSED – For a second and final time, a California federal judge rejected Pandora’s allegations that comedians have been illegally conspiring to extract unfair prices from the digital streaming service. Those accusations came as counterclaims after the comics sued Pandora, demanding to be paid the spoken-word equivalent of publishing royalties for their underlying jokes.
POP SMOKE KILLER SENTENCED – One of four men charged in the killing of rapper Pop Smoke during a robbery at a Hollywood Hills mansion pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The man, whose name has not been released because he was a minor when the killing occurred in early 2020, was sentenced to four years and two months in a juvenile facility.
This is Signed, a new biweekly column that rounds up artist signings at labels, agencies, management companies and more.
Paris Hilton signed with management company YMU, where she will be represented under the recently formed FM Group banner — a new division of YMU Music led by FM president Alex Frankel and FM COO Chris Maher. The company will work with Hilton on her music business globally, including a new album that will mark her first since 2006’s Paris.
Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, best known for his decades-long collaboration with legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, signed with Deutsche Grammophon. The deal encompasses the full scope of Hisaishi’s career as composer, conductor and pianist. His first album on the label — A Symphonic Celebration, slated for release on June 30 — contains symphonic arrangements of his original soundtracks for Studio Ghibli films including Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro. All tracks on the album were recorded in London by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Hisaishi.
Stockholm-based artist Waterbaby signed to Sub Pop Records globally. On March 29, she released her new single, “Airforce blue,” on the label. She is represented by managers Phil Jones and MNRK in the United Kingdom and Johan Calissendorff in Sweden as well as agent Tom Windish at Wasserman.
Nashville indie-pop singer-songwriter MORGXN signed to Nettwerk, which will release his new single, “Beacon,” on Friday. He is managed by Ron Shapiro.
MNJR, a new full-service artist and label management group launched in Nashville by Mike Reynolds and Norman Jacob, signed country band The Mavericks as well as the group’s frontman, Raul Malo, for his solo projects. Also signing with the company are alt-country group 49 Winchester and emerging artist McKinley James. The Mavericks and Malo release music through their own imprint, Mono Mundo Recordings, in partnership with Thirty Tigers; they’re booked by Clint Wiley at CAA in the United States, Nick Meinema at AEC in Canada and Nigel Hassler at CAA in other territories. 49 Winchester are on New West Records and represented by Jacob Lapidus and Will Scott at CAA for the United States and Lizzie Ford at CAA internationally. James is represented by Clint Wiley at CAA in the United States, Tom Brandt at Brando Bookings for the United Kingdom and Europe and Juan Diego at El Mico Entertainment for Spain.
Appalachian country-folk singer-songwriter Charles Wesley Godwin signed with Big Loud Records. Godwin is managed by Arthur Penhallow Jr. and Reed Turner at True Grit Management.
Producer-artist Michaël Brun (J Balvin, Ed Sheeran) signed to Astralwerks, which recently released his song “Clueless” featuring Oxlade; more music is on the way in 2023. Brun is represented by manager Ardie Farhadieh at LoyalT Management and agent Scott Schreiber at UTA.
Brazilian singer-songwriter Any Gabrielly signed to Republic Records. Formerly a member of the Simon Fuller-assembled pop group Now United, Gabrielly is managed by Fuller at XIX Entertainment.
Moroccan-American singer-songwriter Dounia signed a global distribution deal with ADA Worldwide and will soon begin releasing new singles. She is managed by Matt Geffen, Jamil Davis and Matt Bauerschmidt at The Revels Group, Carron Mitchell at Nixon Peadoby and Julie Greenberg at CAA.
“Zamrock” legends WITCH signed with Desert Daze Sound, a new record label launched by Southern California music festival Desert Daze in partnership with Partisan Records. The label will release Zango, the group’s first album in nearly 40 years, on June 2. WITCH is represented by manager Gio Arlotta and agents Joey Massa at Space Agency in the United States and Polly Miles at FMLY Agency in the United Kingdom and Europe.
TAG Music, a new record label founded by artist-turned-executive Gabe Saporta (Cobra Starship, Midtown), signed Los Angeles-based singer Sophie Powers and emo alt-rock artist Jules Is Dead under a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. The label released Powers’ new single “Nosebleed” on March 31 and will release Jules Is Dead’s single “Red is My Favorite Color” later this month.
ONErpm Nashville announced a pair of signings: country singer-songwriter William Michael Morgan (“I Met a Girl”), who will release his Keith Stegall-produced EP on the label later this year; and singer-songwriter (and former The Voice contestant) Jesslee, whose debut single, “Unmet You,” is out now. Morgan is managed by Joe Carter and Mike Taliaferro at Carter and Company while his booking is handled by The Kinkead Entertainment Agency; Jesslee is represented by Black Label Nash Entertainment Group for both management and booking.
Hannah Georgas signed to Lucy Rose‘s Real Kind Records, which released her latest single, “This Too Shall Pass.” Georgas is managed by Jen Long, while her booking is handled by Todd Walker at Outer/Most in the United States, Julien Paquin at Paquin Agency in Canada and Colin Keenan at ATC Live in the rest of Europe.
Husband-and-wife country duo The Dryes — comprised of Katelyn and Derek Drye — signed with Wasserman Music for global representation. Formerly contestants on The Voice, the duo is managed by Carrie Lelwica.
Country singer Georgette Jones — daughter of country legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette — signed an artist management deal with Dr. Gerald Murray at Gerald Murray Music; Murray previously managed her father. Jones also signed with PLA Media for public relations.
African producer Dr. Wang signed with independent label KSR Group, which will release his new single, “Love Takes Me Higher” with Josh X, on April 21. Hailing from the Ivory Coast, Wang has produced for artists including Yannick Noah and Aya Nakamura.
Live Nation is facing a lawsuit from three people who say they were injured at last year’s Lovers & Friends Music Festival in Las Vegas, during a stampede triggered by false reports of gunfire.
In a complaint filed last week in Los Angeles, plaintiffs Carla Thomas, James Thomas and Aaliyah Aguilar claimed that Live Nation had “failed to take basic, reasonable steps” to protect them from such an incident.
“Plaintiffs screamed for help from the event organizers and security, but none came,” lawyers for the trio wrote. “Plaintiffs screamed for emergency medical care for their injuries, but none came.”
The two-day Lovers & Friends festival, held over a weekend last May, featured several R&B and rap artists, including Usher, Ludacris and Ne-Yo. But performances were briefly halted that Saturday when a large group of panicked attendees fled the venue over rumors of gun shots. Police later said that there was no evidence that a shooting took place.
Stampedes amid false reports of gunfire have cropped up several times in recent years. Fans suffered injuries during gunfire panics at a Future concert in Brooklyn in 2017, at Lil Wayne and Cardi B concerts in 2018, and at the 2019 Rolling Loud festival in Miami. Just last month, three fans were killed during a stampede at a GloRilla concert in western New York reportedly sparked by fears of a shooter.
In their lawsuit, Thomas, Thomas and Aguilar claimed that the rush at Lovers & Friends was triggered by a “loud noise,” causing a “sea of people” to surge toward them. They said they were “pushed, smashed, dragged, kicked, stepped on, trampled and crushed to the ground” during the incident, causing them “serious injuries” and emotional distress.
And their lawyers say that Live Nation is to blame – specifically, that the company was negligent in how it planned and operated the festival.
“Defendants failed to employ adequate, properly trained, monitored, and supervised reasonable security, safety and medical provision measures,” they wrote. “Defendants failed to provide a safe venue, one that provided adequate signs and warnings that would have guided the crowd into a particular emergency exit route in the event of an alarm or emergency.”
Such lawsuits are common after incidents in which fans are injured at concerts, but they’re not easy to win. Lawyers for the accusers will need to show that the incident was something Live Nation could have seen coming, and that it failed to take specific steps that would have prevented the injuries suffered by their clients.
A rep for Live Nation did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
The authors of a new report that paints a dismal portrait of gender diversity in recording studios are calling on major labels to step up their efforts to hire more women producers and engineers.
Published by Fix the Mix — an initiative launched in 2022 by nonprofit We Are Moving the Needle and official music credits database Jaxsta — the first annual report, created in conjunction with Middle Tennessee State University and Howard University and released Tuesday (April 11), found that women and non-binary people are drastically underrepresented in audio producing and engineering roles in recording studios.
Analyzing 1,128 songs from 2022, the report (Lost In The Mix: An Analysis of Credited Technical Professionals in the Music Industry Highlighting Women and Non-Binary Producers and Engineers Across DSP Playlists, Genres, Awards, and Record Certifications) found that only 16 of the 240 credited producers and engineers (6.7%) on the top 10 most-streamed tracks of 2022 across five major digital service providers (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube and TikTok) were women and non-binary people.
The levels of representation varied across genres. Among the top 50 songs across 14 genres examined in the report, metal had the lowest percentage of women and non-binary people credited in key technical roles at 0.0%, with rap and Christian & gospel coming in at 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, electronic stands out for its relatively high representation of women and non-binary people in producer roles, accounting for 17.6% of all producer credits on the top 50 songs of 2022, while folk & Americana was close behind at 16.4%.
“While this research notes the genres that have the best and worst gender representations, it is important to note that every genre needs improvement in representation of women and non-binary people,” said report co-author Beverly Keel, dean of Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Media and Entertainment, co-founder of Change the Conversation and co-founder of Nashville Music Equality. “It is difficult to fathom that representation remains so pitifully low in 2023. In any other industry, these low percentages of the genres that have the best gender representation would be an embarrassment, so I hope these ‘high achievers’ are not resting on their laurels.”
Analyzing data from streaming services that report assistant credits, the report also found that women and non-binary people are better represented in assistant roles, which have 12.6% percentage points more women and non-binary people on average than key technical roles. The report suggests that, “while this higher concentration of women and non-binary people in assistant roles may indicate a growing pipeline of these contributors rising into key levels, it could be indicative of a glass ceiling preventing this demographic from an upward trajectory.”
This year’s Grammy Award nominees didn’t fare well in terms of representation either. Of all winning albums in the 28 “best in genre” categories in 2023, 17 credited zero women or non-binary people in the key technical roles of producer and engineer. A total of eight projects listed women and non-binary people as producers (representing 11.5% of all producers) and three projects listed women and non-binary people as engineers (representing 3.9% of all engineers). The total number of women and non-binary people credited in technical roles was 19 out of 249, or just 7.6%. Across the eight Grammy Award categories that honored people in technical roles, only one woman was recognized versus 30 men.
To offer a wider look at the music industry, the report also analyzed the RIAA diamond-certified list (songs that have achieved 10-times-platinum status) and the Spotify “Billions Club” (songs that have received 1 billion streams on the streaming platform). Of the top 50 songs on the RIAA diamond-certified list, there are a total of 248 key technical roles credited. Of those, 224 (98.4%) are filled by men while just 4 (1.6%) are filled by women or non-binary people. Of the four women and non-binary individuals credited, three are producers (two of which were the main artist on the track), while one is an engineer. Among the top 50 songs included on Spotify’s Billions Club, women and non-binary people make up only 2% of key technical roles.
The new report acknowledges that its numbers differ from the “pioneering” research conducted annually by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which found that only 2.8% of music industry producers were women in 2022. The Annenberg study uses the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Charts as a measuring stick, while the Fix the Mix report looked at 757 top-streamed songs, 30 Grammy-winning albums, the top 50 songs on the Spotify Billions Playlist, and the top 50 songs certified diamond by the RIAA.
“Ensuring that there is more gender and racial diversity among music’s creators is not actually a complex problem if you want to solve it,” said co-author Emily Lazar, Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer and founder of We Are Moving The Needle. “The most important step is for artists and record labels to be able to hire from a more diverse pool of producers, mixers and engineers, but it’s exceedingly hard to hire people when you can’t find them. We hope this report will give decision makers the motivation and tools they need to make real change in their hiring practices so we can achieve gender parity in production, engineering and mastering roles.”
The report finishes with a list of recommendations and solutions to address the gender gap, including accurately crediting all technical contributors, diversifying hiring practices, educating the industry, finding and hiring women and non-binary producers and engineers, demanding data transparency, amplifying representation and encouraging active participation, supporting the changemakers and developing forward-facing solutions.
To see genre, streaming service and key role breakdowns, you can check out the full report here.
Branded, the parent and organizer of Asia’s annual All That Matters conference and showcase event, is now part of the Nodwin Gaming family.
Announced Tuesday (April 11), the Singapore subsidiary of Nodwin has acquired a 51% stake in Branded, the full-service live media specialist.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
As part of the arrangement, Nodwin, part of Nazara Technologies, will acquire all Branded’s existing event IPs, including All That Matters. Also, Nodwin, one of the world’s leading gaming and esports companies, will “expand its network of international sponsors to grow revenues from its live business as it continues its pursuit to grow as a sports media company” with a focus on esports and gaming, reads a statement unveiling the acquisition.
Branded co-founder and CEO Jasper Donat says both parties will tap into business synergies across APAC and beyond, with a view to expanding on its existing events and IP, and co-creating new properties.
“Over the past few years, Branded has transformed from a live event IP creator and producer to a live media company,” he comments. “We are really excited to become a part of the Nodwin Gaming family and share their vision and commitment to the business of growing media and entertainment and the communities around them.”
Based in Singapore, Branded produces All That Matters, which includes the Music Matters stream and complementary tracks on live entertainment, sponsorship, sports and more. ATM is widely considered the most important music conference in the region, with more than 2,000 guests turning up in a regular year, organizers say. The 2022 program featured guest speakers Universal Music Group Lucian Grainge; Spotify’s global head of editorial Sulinna Ong; and TikTok’s global head of music Ole Obermann; and Adam Wilkes, president, AEG Presents Asia Pacific, among others.
“We share very similar synergies be it our common love for gaming, sports, music, esports or entertainment, so this was a near-perfect match,” says Nodwin co-founder and CEO Akshat Rathee, noting Branded’s IP “will add a new dimension to what we already offer.”
On the flip side, Rathee explains, we “will also look at the talented Branded team taking our existing IPs such as Playground, The Premiership, NH7 and others international.”
This year’s ATM celebrates its “coming of age” 18th edition, with a three-day-long industry powwow at Hilton Orchard, which, again, revs up for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix week.
