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South Korea-based media company Kakao Entertainment, which owns Monsta X‘s K-pop record label Starship Entertainment, said on Thursday (Jan. 12) it raised 1.2 trillion won ($966 million USD) from a group of investors led by sovereign wealth funds.
The move signals strong investor interest in Korean music and media. Kakao Entertainment owns three other record labels in addition to Starship: Antenna, Edam Entertainment and IST Entertainment, the latter of which lists The Boyz on its roster. Kakao Entertainment also owns the leading South Korean music streaming app Melon, the North America-based webtoon company Tapas Entertainment and several media production companies and is a subsidiary of the tech conglomerate Kakao Corp.
The company plans to use the investment to “spearhead growth in K-culture worldwide,” including expanding its record labels’ reach through distribution partners and its artists’ fanbases through touring, according to a company statement.
“It’s significant that we were able to secure funds of this scale at a time when both the Korean and global markets face a lot of uncertainty and investment sentiment is weaker,” said Kakao Corp.’s chief investment officer and executive vp Bae Jae-hyun in the statement. “This is [a] testament to the global competitiveness and future growth potential of Kakao Entertainment’s unique IP value chain, which spans multiple categories in the entertainment industry.”
Singapore’s GIC and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) each invested 600 billion won ($484 million USD) as part of the deal, the Korea Economic Daily reported earlier on Thursday. GIC and PIF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kakao Entertainment will issue new shares through a third-party allotment, it said.
ASM Global acquired talent buying agency Madison Entertainment, which works with both small-capacity venues and larger concert series/multi-day festivals. “We are committed to add resources to our promoter and live content division in order to ensure that all of our managed venues continue to be leaders in live-event performances,” said ASM Global president/CEO Ron Benison in a statement. “Under Roger’s leadership, the addition of Madison Entertainment will further grow live music content for our clients, particularly within our industry-leading nationwide theater network.”
DJ Pee .Wee, the “vinyl-spinning alter ego” of rapper Anderson .Paak, signed with the Las Vegas-based MAC Agency for representation. DJ Pee .Wee has several headlining dates on the schedule, including appearances at the Sundance Film Festival and a slot at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest in February. Previous appearances included Spotify Beach with Kendrick Lamar in Cannes, the Ami After Party at Paris Fashion Week and Dave Chappelle‘s set at the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Hollywood Bowl, among other engagements.
TikTok signed a licensing deal with Saudi Arabia-based Rotana Music Group, whose portfolio includes artists across the Arab world and Gulf region such as Mohamad Abdo and Amr Diab, among many others. “We at Rotana are very thrilled with this licensing agreement, which will facilitate Arab Music reach into the MENA music industry and young communities,” said Rotana Music Group CEO Salem Al Hendi in a statement. “The creative culture in MENA is so vibrant and diverse, and this agreement will enhance the exchange of music content, while promoting and supporting local artists on a proven leading platform for short-form videos.”
Vevo partnered with TikTok to create and program Trending on TiKTok, a new weekly Vevo show that will round up the music videos for the top trending songs on the TikTok platform, alongside clips of creators using the songs in their content. The show will be available across the Vevo networks in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil and will be a staple TV premiere on Vevo’s FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels, with consecutive airing during peak viewing hours throughout the week.
Warner Music Group (WMG) partnered with digital fashion retailer DRESSX to provide WMG artists with a new revenue stream. Under the agreement, select WMG artists will collaborate directly with DRESSX to design and launch 3D and AR virtual clothing that fans can collect on Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms.
Independent singer-songwriter Cody Jinks’ Late August Records signed a partnership with The Orchard, under which the latter company will provide Late August artists “with the tools and support to build, sustain and elevate their global reach.” The first artist signed to Late August (other than Jinks, who previously started the label as a home for his own music) is singer, songwriter and guitarist Erin Viancourt, who will release her debut album in May 2023. Late August Records will continue to be led by Jinks and his longtime manager Arthur Penhallow, Jr., while Stephanie Hudacek will lead the label’s new Nashville office.
Event technology company Events.com secured a capital commitment of $100 million in the form of a share subscription facility (SSF) from Gem Global Yield (GGY). The investment will accelerate the company’s growth strategy through acquisitions, partnerships and other initiatives. Under the deal, Events.com will be able to draw down up to $100 million following an equity exchange listing. The company — which previously acquired an AI event discovery company, an event sponsorship technology company and a ticketing company — is set to announce a new acquisition soon.
Mastercard will use the Polygon blockchain to host its newly-announced Mastercard Artist Accelerator, which will connect five artists from across the globe with mentors and a “dynamic fanbase as they learn and create in Web3,” according to a press release. Slated to launch this spring, the program will give selected artists exclusive access to special events, music releases and more while teaching them how to build their brand via Web3 experiences including minting NFTs. Music fans will also be invited to purchase a limited-edition “Mastercard Music Pass” NFT that will give them access to the new platform. The Mastercard Artist Accelerator will culminate in a livestreamed artist showcase later this year.
Music marketing firm Feature.fm partnered with YouTube in a deal that will allow Feature.fm users to enjoy access to conversion and attribution data reporting to track streams in YouTube and YouTube Music that came from a Feature.fm smart link. Under the partnership, artists, managers and labels will be enabled to automatically connect YouTube and YouTube Music to their smart links, allowing them to better understand how to effectively market their music on the YouTube platform.
Music and influencer management firm Innovo Management invested in content aggregation platform JamFeed, marking them as the first investor in JamFeed’s second round of financing. JamFeed manages over a dozen TikTok creators/artists — enabling them to build their businesses and connect with fans — and also boasts a brand marketing division. As part of the investment, Innovo co-founder Sam Saideman has been added to JamFeed’s board of advisors to assist in the next phase of the company’s expansion.
Rapper Asian Doll signed a distribution partnership with music tech company Vydia, which will provide her with a suite of services, including video and audio supply chain, global distribution, analytics, rights management, payments and detailed revenue reporting in support of her forthcoming EP slated to drop on Jan. 31. The first new music released under the deal is the single “Sky Falling.”
Country singer Bryan Martin signed with WME for global representation. Martin has a national tour and a new album in the works, with a single, “Wolves Cry,” slate for release on Jan. 27 via Average Joes Entertainment.
Talking Stick Resort is the new name-in-title sponsor of Live Nation‘s 20,000-capacity outdoor Phoenix venue the Ak-Chin Pavilion. The venue is now known as the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre.
The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) partnered with r.Cup, a sustainable platform that provides reusable cups to replace single-use plastic cups. Under the deal, NIVA members in r.Cup operating cities Denver and Seattle will be able to reduce their environmental imprint by using r.Cup’s reusable cup system, with $.01 of every cup used by a NIVA member donated to NIVA’s National Independent Venue Foundation (NIVF). NIVA members in Los Angeles and Milwaukee will also soon have the option to utilize the platform.
Griffen Palmer, winner of a 2020 episode of NBC’s Songland, signed with Big Loud Records, which will release his solo debut single “Second Guessing” — originally crafted during his appearance on Songland — on Friday (Dec. 13). Palmer’s debut album is slated to drop later this year. He previously signed a publishing deal with Big Loud Publishing in 2019.
Get Physical Music added the master and publishing catalog of house-music imprint Definitive Records (Jetstream, Dance Fever, Robot Man) to its portfolio of labels. Definitive co-founder John Acquaviva will remain with the label and continue to be active on the A&R front while working with the Get Physical team.
Canadian lifestyle brand October’s Very Own (OVO) partnered with FaZe Holdings, parent company of gaming and lifestyle brand FaZe Clan, on a collection that will include FaZe Clan and OVO co-branded gaming controllers, mouse pads, hoodies, varsity jackets and more. The collection was made available starting Dec. 21 at OVO’s online store and OVO retail locations. Further initiatives under the partnership are expected later this year.
In a happy ending to one of the music industry’s grimmest and longest tales, John Fogerty has gained worldwide control of his Creedence Clearwater Revival publishing rights after a half-century struggle.
At a time when Fogerty’s peers such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Neil Young are selling their copyrights for hundreds of millions of dollars, the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has done the opposite: He recently bought a majority interest in the global publishing rights to his historic CCR song catalog from Concord for an undisclosed sum. The treasure trove includes such rock classics as “Proud Mary,” “Down on the Corner,” Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising” “Up Around the Bend” and “Green River.”
Concord has owned the rights since 2004 when the company bought Saul Zaentz’s Fantasy Records. One of the first moves Concord made was to reinstate and increase Fogerty’s artist royalties, which Fogerty had relinquished to Zaentz in 1980 to get out of his Fantasy deal and had not received in 25 years.
Concord retains the CCR master recordings already in its catalog and will continue to administer Fogerty’s share of the publishing catalog for an unspecified limited time.
Seated on the spacious patio of his Southern California home with his golden retriever, Creedy (short for Creedence) by his side, Fogerty, 77, admits gaining control of his copyrights is a day he never thought would come. “I tried really hard,” he says to get them back in the decades since he signed his label and publishing deal in 1968 with Fantasy but suffered setback after setback at the hands of Zaentz, who died in 2014.
“I’m the dad [of these songs]. I created them,” he says. “They never should have been taken away in the first place. And that hijacking left such a massive hole in me.” With the support and love of his manager and wife of 36 years, Julie Fogerty, he says he had gotten over the anger that plagued him for decades over Zaentz’s treatment, but the longing to own his songs never went away.
John Fogerty
Julie Fogerty
“The happiest way to look at it is, yeah, it isn’t everything,” he says of acquiring a majority, but not full ownership. “It’s not a 100% win for me, but it’s sure better than it was. I’m really kind of still in shock. I haven’t allowed my brain to really, actually, start feeling it yet.” Fogerty, who had retained his writer’s share of his CCR copyrights, also owns the masters and publishing to his solo material, including such hits as “Centerfield,” “Rockin’ All Over the World,” and “Almost Saturday Night.”
The reclaimed CCR copyrights number more than 65, mostly written by Fogerty during the group’s short, but extremely prolific career. As one of America’s seminal rock bands, CCR had a tremendous run, including landing five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 between 1969 and 1970 before breaking up in 1972. Their popularity continues with new generations: CCR’s Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, released in 1976, has spent 622 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, the fifth highest of any album on the chart. More than 50 years after its initial release, CCR hit “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Songs Sales Chart in 2021.
Keep On Chooglin’
The latest effort to gain ownership of his publishing began 18 months ago as the Fogertys realized that under U.S. copyright law, rights to his compositions would begin reverting back to him in a few years as the songs turned 56 years old, but that wouldn’t have included rights outside the U.S. “Julie began to think larger and [told Concord], ‘John would like to buy his songs. He’d like to figure out a way’,” Fogerty says.
“While John is having the time of his life out there on the road, with his kids playing with him and celebrating this music, [I thought], why can’t we take those few years left [before the titles revert] and not have them give them to us, but we’ll buy them,” Julie Fogerty says. “Whatever the value plus a little bonus. We’ll figure out how to come up with the money and we’ll just buy that. [Concord’s] not going to lose because they’ll have the value.”
Concord initially declined and Fogerty was once again resigned. “I was sort of a bump on the log going, ‘Never going to happen,’” he says.
Julie Fogerty then brought in Irving Azoff, who had briefly managed Fogerty more than 20 years ago, to help mediate. She says Azoff called Concord chairman and CEO Scott Pascucci and said, “‘Scott, you’ve made so much money on Fogerty. Do you want to be known in the music business as Saul Zaentz or [revered late Warner Brothers Records head] Mo Ostin?’ And I think he heard that. And [Concord president] Bob Valentine has been incredible as well.’” Azoff encouraged the Fogertys to pursue worldwide rights, advising they would have to give up an ownership percentage in order to do so.
“John Fogerty is one of music’s greatest treasures. Now, finally after decades of suffering, I’m thrilled to see John regain ownership of his music,” Azoff tells Billboard in an email. “And kudos to Concord for understanding that doing the right thing for artists is great for their business as well.”
“John’s songs are some of the greatest compositions of the 20th century,” Valentine said in a statement. “We’ve been honored to own and represent these works ever since we acquired Fantasy in 2004. Given the unique set of circumstances around the history of John’s relationship with Fantasy, we were more than happy to oblige John and Julie in working out an agreement for these songs to revert back to him early. And we’re profoundly grateful that John has agreed to partner with Concord for the remaining worldwide copyrights on the share of these songs that we will retain.”
Fogerty was represented by Barnes & Thornburg partner Jason Karlov and associate Amanda Taber. Reed Smith’s Steven Sessa and Josh Love represented Concord.
The winding journey to reclaim his rights and undo the damage from his contentious relationship with Zaentz has been long and, at times, debilitating for Fogerty.
In addition to taking his artist royalties for decades, in 1985, Zaentz sued Fogerty for $144 million, alleging the artist’s then current hit, “The Old Man Down the Road,” ripped off CCR’s “Run Through the Jungle.” Even though Fogerty had written both songs, Zaentz claimed Fogerty was now plagiarizing a song Zaentz owned. After Fogerty won, his effort to be reimbursed for his $1.3 million in legal fees went all the way to the Supreme Court in 1993.
For years, Fogerty refused to play CCR songs live, unable to stomach Zaentz making money off his performances, but he softened his stance in 1987 with a little prodding from Bob Dylan. While at revered North Hollywood, Calif., club the Palomino, Fogerty, Dylan and George Harrison joined headliner Taj Mahal on stage. “The crowd started asking for ‘Proud Mary,’” Fogerty recalls. “Bob looked at me and said, ‘John, if you don’t do ‘Proud Mary,’ everybody’s gonna think it’s a Tina Turner song,’” referencing Ike & Tina Turner’s 1971 cover. “It’s Bob Dylan, for crying out loud. In my mind, I was still committed that I wasn’t going to do those songs, but I decided I guess I can give that up for three minutes.” Later that year, Fogerty began incorporating CCR songs back into his set.
‘They Tried to Erase Him’
Fogerty last tried in 1989 to buy his publishing when he and Zaentz sat face-to-face with legendary rock empresario Bill Graham acting as a mediator. They agreed on a sum, but then months later in final negotiations in the early ’90s, Fogerty says Zaentz doubled the price to a figure Fogerty couldn’t afford. Fogerty went to Warner Chappell and asked if the publishing company would go in on a deal with him. “I met with the top guy, and he looked at me and said, ‘It’s not sustainable.’ That might have been, at least as business kinds of things go, the worst day of my life,” Fogerty says. “I don’t think I could even impart to [Julie] how final that was: ‘There’s no hope for you. You’re dead.’”
He had a freeing revelation shortly thereafter when on a jog, he was listening to a radio therapist counsel a woman who had been with a man who refused to commit to marriage. The therapist told the women her boyfriend was never going to change, and she needed to understand that. “The light goes on in my head as I’m listening and I just fell on the ground,” Fogerty says. “I actually started laughing. I realized it was never going to happen. It was a horrible realization. Anyway, that was the end of that: Saul was a jerk and will be eternally that and, in some way or fashion, I got over that.”
When asked if he now would pursue ownership of his CCR masters, Fogerty says, “My heart of hearts would love if that ever happened, but I’m not actively sitting around worrying about that. The fact that I didn’t own my own songs was much more bothersome to me because of the treatment that I received.”
For now, Fogerty, whose last release was the socio-political track, “Weeping in the Promised Land,” in 2021, is focused on playing live. With his two sons in his touring band, he says, “playing is more joyful now than in any time in my life…. The last years of Creedence got to be like every band that dissolves, it was so tense. I mean, I miss my brother, [Creedence rhythm guitarist] Tom, who passed at a time when we were not really in each other’s lives [in 1990]. I’m looking forward to getting to heaven and playing in God’s band and Tom will be there.”
With control over how his music is used now, Julie Fogerty says she’d like “to take these iconic songs and reintroduce them to the new generation because I think the songs will be around forever,” adding there’s talk of both a biopic and a documentary about Fogerty. “But it’s mostly I think just connecting John to those songs. There were a lot of years where he felt like they tried to erase him.”
For Concord’s part, which released Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall last year without Fogerty’s participation, Valentine tells Billboard he hopes regaining his copyrights “gives John a sense of closure for the years of the feelings that he’s had ever since he signed with Fantasy…. Also, hopefully, [with] that sense of peace that it’s a new beginning. We hope he will be reinvigorated and continue to do things that promote the catalog. It’s extraordinarily important — not only culturally as one of the greatest American bands ever, but it’s an important component of Concord’s legacy. We hope it gives him a feeling of partnership and moving forward in a way that makes him feel more invested in the songs and Creedence with us.”
As Fogerty moves into the next chapter with the “lingering specter” that has haunted him for so long finally gone, he says with a big grin, “I’m ready to feel really good about music.”
A lawyer for Marjorie Taylor Greene responded Wednesday to a cease and desist letter from Dr. Dre over her unlicensed use of the rapper’s 1999 smash hit “Still D.R.E.,” promising that the conservative lawmaker would make “no further use” of the song.
Two days after attorneys for Dre threatened to sue the Republican congresswoman for posting a video featuring the song to “promote your divisive and hateful political agenda,” Greene waved the white flag in a brief response.
“We are in receipt of your correspondence of January 9, 2023,” Greene’s lawyer wrote in a copy of the letter obtained by Billboard. “On behalf of Congresswoman Greene, please be advised that no further use of Mr. Young’s copyright will be made by a political committee or via social media outlet she controls.”
Notably, the response letter was signed by Stefan Passantino, a former Trump administration lawyer who briefly made headlines last month over his work representing White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a key witness for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The video in question — posted Monday morning (Jan. 9) on Greene’s social media accounts — featured the Republican representative strutting through the halls of Congress in slow motion, grinning at the camera as Dre’s infamous piano riff from “Still D.R.E.” repeats on a loop. By Monday evening, the video had already been disabled by Twitter.
After the video was posted, Dre quickly released a public statement, saying he would never license his music to someone as “divisive and hateful” as Greene. In a letter later that day, his attorney Howard King threatened to sue for copyright infringement — warning Greene that a federal lawmaker “should be making laws not breaking laws.”
“One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country,” King wrote. “It’s possible, though, that laws governing intellectual property are a little too arcane and insufficiently populist for you to really have spent much time on.”
Wednesday’s response from Greene was exactly what was requested of her by Dre and King, who demanded that she respond with confirmation that the video had been removed by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. But it would not prevent the star from still choosing to sue her over the republication of his song, however briefly it existed online.
Perhaps hinting at that possibility, Greene and Passantino’s letter stressed that it should not be read as “an admission of any fact or waiver of any rights or defenses.” Dre’s lawyer King did not immediately return a request for comment on whether he would pursue additional action against Greene.
The response is a notable change of tone for Greene, who on Monday responded to Dre’s threats with a sharply-worded statement to TMZ: “While I appreciate the creative chord progression, I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs.”
Singer and influencer Malú Trevejo is being sued by four former staffers for abuse.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by Billboard, plaintiffs Victoria Barreto, Ralph Colon, Edwardo Vidal and Witchneverson Lacroix allege they “endured mental, emotional, sexual and physical punishment” during their employment with the 20-year-old artist. They are now suing her for battery, defamation and sexual misconduct, among other complaints, and are seeking $4 million in damages.
Trevejo’s ex-employees — who stopped working for her between 2021 and 2022 — also claim that the Cuban-American social media star, who rose to prominence in 2017 with her first single, “Luna Llena,” berated them with racial slurs.
According to the civil lawsuit — filed in Miami against the singer and her company — Trevejo made sexual advances toward Barreto, who was hired in October 2021 as Trevejo’s personal assistant, once she began working for her. Barreto claims Trevejo asked her to “sleep with her in her bed, cuddle with her and watch television, controlling and claiming possession of” her during the course of her employment (which lasted three months). When she turned down Trevejo’s requests, Barreto “experienced increased aggression, dismissive responses” and would be called “stupid” or “dumb,” she claims.
Also in the complaint, Colon, who is listed as Trevejo’s security/bodyguard, claims he was “abused” by her one week after starting the job. According to Colon, Trevejo “frequently ignored” his security advice, “forcing” him to put himself in the line of danger in “avoidable” situations.
In a statement to Billboard, Trevejo’s attorney said, “Ms. Trevejo is aware of the false allegations in the lawsuit and looks forward to defending herself against these baseless claims.”
The lawsuit comes almost five years after Trevejo was granted a motion to disaffirm her obligations under her recording agreement with Universal Music Latino, a division of UMG Recordings. Malú asserted that her contract with Universal Music Latin was void on grounds that she was underage (14 years old) when she signed the recording and co-management agreement with Universal Music Latino imprint In-Tu Linea, adding that it was never certified by the court.
You can read the full lawsuit below.
With 2022 now officially in the books, the U.S. market share report is in: with Bad Bunny, Lil Nas X and Harry Styles leading the way, it was a banner year for Sony Music, as it gained in both overall market share and, more drastically, in current market share on the leading Universal Music Group, narrowing the gap among releases less than 18 months old to 6.58% in 2022 — a chasm that stood at 13.7% at the end of 2021.
But there was good news for UMG, too, as Republic Records rode a red-hot fourth quarter — led by Taylor Swift’s Midnights, the No. 2 album of all of 2022 despite only being released in October — to rank No. 1 among labels in current market share for the entirety of 2022, coming in at 10.38%. That makes it the only label to top double digits in the final ranking of the year. And UMG maintained a double-digit lead in overall market share over second-place Sony, leading 37.54% to 26.87% despite the latter’s gains throughout the year. Interscope Geffen A&M finished the year as the No. 1 label in overall market share once again, coming in at 9.63%, though it was down from the 10.08% share it held at the end of 2021.
Sony’s overall market share grew 0.76% year over year — up to 26.87% in 2022 from 26.11% in 2021 — marking a big stride forward for the music group. That gain was largely at the expense of Universal Music Group, which dropped 0.66% year over year, from 38.20% in 2021 to 37.54% at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, Warner Music Group’s market share grew from 16.06% in 2021 to 19.05% in 2022, though that is not an apples-to-apples comparison; this year, Warner-owned distributor ADA — which distributes dozens of independent labels — was factored into WMG’s market share, adding 2.96% to its total and accounting for almost all of Warner’s jump. (The move more accurately aligns Warner’s distributed market share with the other majors, which also include their distribution wings in their totals.) That switch also explains the commensurate dip for the indie sector, which fell from 19.63% in 2021 to 16.54% in 2022.
In current market share, Universal fell more than 4%, from 37.89% in 2021 to 33.57% in 2022, with all three other major players picking up that slack, led by Sony, which ballooned significantly almost 3 percentage points to 26.99% in 2022 — up from 24.19% in 2021. Warner — even taking into account the 3.32% in current share added by ADA — was also up, from 14.42% in 2021 to 18.30% in 2022 (an increase of 0.56% beyond the ADA bump), while the indie sector went from 23.50% last year to 21.14% in 2022, which is up 0.96% year over year when taking into account the loss of the ADA labels. Universal did, however, raise its catalog percentage from 38.33% in 2021 to 38.94% in 2022, while the other three all fell slightly.
Following Interscope in overall market share, Atlantic remained in second, at 8.89%, although it, too, was down slightly from 2021, when it posted a 9.17% overall share of the market. Republic ended the year in third — the only label in the top five to grow its overall market share year over year — with an 8.44% mark, up from 8.28% through the end of 2021, while Columbia (6.98%) and Capitol Music Group (6.40%) rounded out the top five. (A note on these labels: Interscope’s market share includes Verve [0.85%]; Atlantic’s includes the now-combined 300 Elektra Entertainment Group [2.35%], which would have been good enough for ninth place on its own; Republic’s includes Island [1.51%], Cash Money [0.71%], Big Loud, Imperial and Mercury; Columbia includes some indie labels from distributor RED; and Capitol includes Virgin [1.78%], Motown/Quality Control [1.05%], Capitol Christian Music Group [0.61%], Astralwerks and Blue Note.)
In sixth, Warner Records — which includes Rhino, Warner Latin and a chunk of Warner Nashville in its market share — grew year over year, from 6.16% in 2021 to 6.35% in 2022, having steadily increased its share each quarter of the year. RCA, whose market share stands alone, did the same; the label came in seventh, growing in each quarter to a finish of 5.12% — up from 4.89% in 2021 — wrapping the year strongly with the four-week No. 1 run of SZA’s S.O.S. In eighth, Epic Records also picked up market share, rising to 2.63% in 2022 from a 2.38% share in 2021. Def Jam, in ninth, faltered to 2.07%, down from 2.25% in 2021; while Sony Nashville jumped into 10th, leapfrogging UMG Nashville by growing its market share from 1.99% to 2.04% year over year.
UMG Nashville dropped to 11th, slipping from 2.04% in 2021 to 1.85% in 2022, while Concord jumped from 13th (1.68%) in 2021 to 12th (1.73%) in 2022. Disney — with its early-year Encanto boost — was up to 1.60% in 2022 from 1.40% the year before, good for 13th, while Universal Latin (1.47%) and Sony Latin (1.24%) rounded out the top 15, both up from the year prior as well.
Republic had a big fourth quarter (9.57%), with four major releases — Stray Kids’ Maxident, Swift’s Midnights, Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss and Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains, all of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — collectively topping the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. That helped boost its current market share from 8.77% through the first three quarters of the year to 10.38% by year’s end, with that late push taking it to No. 1 among all labels in terms of current market share in 2022.
Atlantic, in second place in current share, essentially maintained its level from last year, coming in at 9.15% (from 9.16% in 2021), though it moved up one spot from third place; while Interscope dropped sharply, from a stellar 11.05% in 2021 to 8.72% in 2022, falling from first to third. Columbia and Capitol, in fourth and fifth, respectively, both fell in share, the former from 6.83% to 6.67% and the latter from 5.64% to 4.97%; while Warner and RCA, in sixth and seventh, both grew in share, the former from 4.48% to 4.86% and the latter from 4.37% to 4.65%.
Outside the top seven labels, there was a bigger shakeup in current market share. Epic Records moved up to eighth place, gaining from a 2.04% current share in 2021 to 2.23% in 2022, while Sony Nashville jumped up to ninth, growing to 1.89% from 1.59% in 2021. Alamo made the biggest leap, all the way up to 10th in current share in 2021 at 1.56% in its first full year as a standalone Sony Music label; in 2021, its share was split between UMG and Sony as it was sold midway through the year, making an apples-to-apples comparison difficult. BMG, in 11th, held steady at 1.42%, while Disney, perhaps unsurprisingly, surged into 12th, up to 1.36% year over year from 0.52% in 2021. Def Jam, however, saw its current share sink from 2.21% in 2021 to 1.27% in 2022, finishing 13th, while Sony Latin (1.24%) and UMG Nashville (1.23%) rounded out the top 15.
As is generally the case, catalog market share tracked similarly to overall market share, as older titles generally perform consistently as a percentage of the market year over year. But both UMG and the indie sector grew year over year, while Sony and Warner, the latter accounting for the ADA switch, were both down slightly as well.
Harry Styles is on the legal offensive to combat fake merch on the internet.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Chicago federal court, the pop star sued a number of online sellers for allegedly violating his intellectual property rights by selling counterfeit merchandise to unsuspecting Harry fans.
Arguing that the counterfeiters use misleading tactics to make it “difficult for consumers to distinguish such stores from an authorized retailer,” attorneys for Styles want a judge to issue a sweeping court order that would, among other things, force big web platforms like Amazon and Etsy (who are not named as defendants) to immediately shut down the listings.
“Plaintiff is forced to file this action to combat defendants’ counterfeiting of its registered trademarks, as well as to protect unknowing consumers from purchasing counterfeit products over the Internet,” the star’s lawyers wrote.
In bringing the case, Styles is employing an anti-counterfeiting tactic that’s frequently used by big brands to fight fakes on the internet.
Such cases, filed against huge lists of URLs rather than actual people, allow brands to shut pirate sites down en masse, win court orders to freeze their assets, and continue to kill new sites if they pop up. The lawsuits also usually result in massive monetary judgments against the sellers, but those are typically hard to actually collect from elusive counterfeiters.
Notably, the counterfeiters that Styles is targeting in the lawsuit are not currently disclosed, because such lawsuits are designed to take them by surprise: “If defendants were to learn of these proceedings prematurely, the likely result would be the destruction of relevant documentary evidence and the hiding or transferring of assets to foreign jurisdictions,” the pop star’s lawyers told the judge.
Such lawsuits are more common among big retails brands — Nike, Ray-Ban, Toyota and Tommy Hilfiger have all filed nearly-identical cases in the past two months — but the music industry also regularly uses the same tactic. Nirvana sued nearly 200 sites for selling fake gear in January; a few months later, the late rapper XXXTentacion’s company filed a similar case.
In his lawsuit, Styles claimed the counterfeiters are mostly located in China, or in “other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement system.” And he claimed they used sophisticated methods to target fans searching for Harry’s merch while avoiding detection, including “multiple fictitious aliases” and the use of meta tags.
“Tactics used by defendants to conceal their identities and the full scope of their operation make it virtually impossible for plaintiff to learn defendants’ true identities and the exact interworking of their counterfeit network,” the star’s attorneys wrote.
Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge has sent out his annual New Year’s memo to staff at UMG, within which he touted several of the wins — both artistically, but also culturally and socially — that the world’s largest music company achieved in the past year. But he also laid out several issues that he feels have arisen in the decade-plus since streaming was introduced and began to take over the music industry, and called for an “updated model” for the business that will be “an innovative, ‘artist-centric’ model that values all subscribers and rewards the music they love.”
Grainge, who just guided UMG through its first full year as a public company, touted the advances that UMG’s Task Force for Meaningful Change and other community efforts made around the world, including helping artists with health insurance through a partnership with Music Health Alliance and, through various initiatives, contributing to 500 organizations around the world. He also highlighted chart successes on all platforms, including the Billboard charts in the U.S. and in countries like Japan, China and the U.K., and UMG’s role in ushering in immersive and spatial audio, which has grown significantly in the past year.
But he also sought to position UMG as the lead innovator in the music business globally, particularly in a time of growth for the business in which “bad actors” have come in to take advantage of that growth.
“Unlike so many other players in the music world, especially the newer ones, UMG can never be regarded as merely a ‘checkbook and distribution’ company,” Grainge wrote. “Nor are we some convoluted financial instrument that seeks to exploit the recent growth in our industry. No, we are different. Very different. Because for all of us at UMG, music and the artists who create that music comprise our very raison d’être. It’s what gets us up in the morning.”
While championing the company for helping usher in the streaming era, he also attacked the ecosystem that streaming has created. “Today, some platforms are adding 100,000 tracks per day,” he added. “And with such a vast and unnavigable number of tracks flooding the platforms, consumers are increasingly being guided by algorithms to lower-quality functional content that in some cases can barely pass for ‘music.’ … For example, just witness the thousands and thousands of 31-second track uploads of sound files whose sole purpose is to game the system and divert royalties. The result? A less fulfilling experience for the consumer, diminished compensation flowing to artists that are driving the business models of the platforms, and fewer cultural moments that fans can collectively share, all of which undermines the creativity and development of artists and their music that the platforms were, in part, designed to foster.”
After pointing out those issues, Grainge then called for change — change that he didn’t specify, but that he says will be “absolutely essential to promote a healthier, more competitive music ecosystem, one in which great music, no matter where it’s from, is easily and clearly accessible for fans to discover and enjoy. An environment where great music is not drowned in an ocean of noise. And one where the creators of all music content, whether in the form of audio or short-form video are fairly compensated.”
That, he says, will be one of the main goals for UMG in this coming year.
“[W]e need an updated model,” Grainge wrote. “Not one that pits artists of one genre against artists of another or major label artists against indie or DIY artists. We need a model that supports all artists — DIY, indie and major. An innovative, ‘artist-centric’ model that values all subscribers and rewards the music they love. A model that will be a win for artists, fans, and labels alike, and, at the same time, also enhances the value proposition of the platforms themselves, accelerating subscriber growth, and better monetizing fandom.”
Read Grainge’s entire memo below:
Dear Colleagues,
Happy New Year! I wanted to write to you to welcome you back and as promised, give you my thoughts about the year ahead. It’s hard to believe that just a little more than a year ago, UMG became a freestanding public company. It was a watershed moment in our history. And yet, in some ways, when it comes to what we do every day, we just kept doing what we’ve always done: bring great artists and their music to the world; break performance records of all kinds everywhere; and drive the industry forward though creativity, strategic investments and innovation.
And that’s exactly what we plan to do this year.
Now, with 2022 in the rearview mirror, I’d like to share with you a few thoughts about what was an extraordinary year for UMG and also express my gratitude to all of you for making the year so remarkable. I’ll have something to say as well about the very real challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for us in 2023, but first let’s take a brief victory lap to reflect on what we achieved last year.
Beginning with some accomplishments I’m particularly proud of, here are just a few examples of how, once again, you and our artists showed up big time to make our communities stronger and help those in need:
— Serving more than 20,000 meals around the world;— Building community gardens throughout the US, Europe and Australasia;— Working on vital education campaigns with organizations such as Mental Health Coalition; and— Extending our programs to benefit our artists past and present including assisting hundreds of artists in saving millions of dollars in healthcare costs through our partnership with Music Health Alliance in the U.S.
And our company’s Task Force for Meaningful Change continued its groundbreaking work in a variety of ways: funding programs to mentor the next generation of Black artists and Black music industry executives; fighting for criminal justice reforms; investing in community violence intervention programs and policy organizations; partnering with HBCU medical schools to widen the Black practitioner pipeline; and helping turn out the vote in the U.S. elections by providing more than 13,000 rides to and from the polls. Between the TFMC, our All Together Now Foundation, and our Employee Matching Program, we have contributed to more than 500 organizations in 2022 alone.
On the charts, the performance of our artists and songwriters remained stellar. So many artists from around the world contributed to 2022’s success, with standout performances from: Taylor Swift; Olivia Rodrigo; The Weeknd; The Beatles, Kendrick Lamar; Drake; BTS; Karol G; Luciano; Angèle; Glass Animals; Imagine Dragons; Rammstein; Helene Fischer; ABBA; Ado; Elton John; Eminem; Justin Bieber; King & Prince; Lil Baby; Billie Eilish; among many many others. Here are some examples:
— On Spotify: UMG had four of the Top 5 Artists globally; four of the Top 5 in the U.S.; 7 of the Top 10 in Germany and Italy, including No. 1s in both countries; and the top female artist in France;— On Apple Music: Universal Music Publishing Group had writer-interests in 9 of the Top 10 most-streamed songs globally;— On YouTube: UMG had 7 of the Top 10 Songs in the U.S.;— On Billboard: We had the No. 1 Song on the Hot 100 year-end chart and 7 of the Top 10 Albums;— On Deezer: UMG had the Top 2 Artists globally, and 5 of the Top 10;— In Germany: The Top 4 Albums and the Top 3 Singles;— In the U.K.: 6 of the Top 10 artists including No. 1;— In Japan: The No. 1 Artist on Billboard’s Year-end Chart;— On Vevo: The No. 1 Global Artist— And finally, in China: Eason Chan’s “Gu Yong Zhe” (“The Lone Warrior”), became the most-streamed song in UMG China’s history after topping the charts on all major streaming platforms.
All that — and so much more — didn’t just “happen.” To achieve such astonishing success for both developing and established artists, and to do so year after year, in every conceivable genre, often in regions beyond their home countries, is no accident. UMG’s unique artist-centric culture accounts for that repeated success and is at the heart of our company’s two-fold mission.
Our first, simplest, and yet most difficult imperative is to discover and break new artists and then sustain their careers over the long run. Unlike so many other players in the music world, especially the newer ones, UMG can never be regarded as merely a “checkbook and distribution” company. Nor are we some convoluted financial instrument that seeks to exploit the recent growth in our industry. No, we are different. Very different. Because for all of us at UMG, music and the artists who create that music comprise our very raison d’être. It’s what gets us up in the morning.
The second part of our mission is to promote a healthy, sustainable and exciting music ecosystem in which our artists can thrive for years and decades to come. We fulfill that goal by using our ingenuity to drive the music industry forward as technology and the world around us keep changing. That is why, even as we diligently work, day-in and day-out, to break our artists and songwriters, we’re also pursuing unexplored avenues of creative and commercial possibilities and, whenever appropriate, taking the necessary steps to turn those possibilities into reality.
One powerful example of one of those possibilities becoming reality: immersive or ‘spatial’ audio. Seven years ago, we embarked on a journey to evolve the music listening experience. We approached Dolby with a proposal: if our two companies worked together, we could develop a new format that envelops the listener into a 360-degree immersive environment that provides artists with a broader creative palette on which to express themselves. We believed that this could be one of the most important developments in the recorded music listening experience in decades.
An advance as significant as immersive audio was no easy feat. It required years of investment and innovation. Much more. We built state-of-the-art recording suites within our network of iconic studios — Capitol Studios in L.A. and Abbey Road Studios in London, to name just two. We trained some of the world’s top engineers in how to make the best use of the format. And we conducted an extensive campaign to educate artists and artist estates about the limitless creative opportunities that immersive audio provides.
We’re already seeing the results. Nearly half of UMG’s streaming consumption and 80% of our top-50 streaming artists’ music are available in immersive (or Atmos) versions.
Who benefits from this landmark innovation? For starters, artists, of course. And by “artists,” I mean all artists, not just UMG’s. Thanks to our efforts, the entire industry has been releasing more and more music in immersive audio. And many platforms — including Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music — are offering this far superior experience to the other beneficiaries of immersive audio: music fans. Millions and millions of them around the world. And they simply can’t get enough.
This year fans will get even more. I am confident that we will see significant global growth in the availability of immersive audio as more and more automobile and device manufacturers introduce new products designed to deliver this greatly enhanced musical experience.
Looking beyond the expansion of immersive audio, our determination to drive change will only accelerate this year. Just as we’ve done so successfully in the past, we’re putting in place the strategies and resources to lead through every significant technological advance on the horizon. And each such advance — from web3 and the metaverse, to new applications for health and wellness and medical music delivery — will enable us to connect directly to consumers in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago and deliver significant long-term value to those fans, as well as to our artists, our employees and our shareholders.
That’s exactly the pioneering approach we took at the advent of streaming. Early on, we saw the potential inherent in streaming and subscription and jumped right in. Though it seems like only yesterday that we were working with Spotify to enable their U.S. launch, that “yesterday” was way back in 2011. While other companies were trying to hold their ground even as that ground was shifting beneath their feet, UMG leaned into what was the most profound business model shift the industry had ever seen, redesigning our global organization, becoming the first to adapt to and then thrive in the streaming era.
But if history teaches us anything, it is this: every blazingly transformative technological development inevitably creates new challenges for us to confront. So, it’s no surprise that after almost a dozen years of fundamentally transforming the music business, the manner in which music is presented and consumed on streaming platforms has itself evolved. And while that evolution has created enormous opportunities and benefits for artists and consumers — reflected in increased listening diversity that initially comes with adoption of subscription — it has also created byproducts that are increasingly confusing and unfulfilling for them as the volume of noise in the marketplace has increased. Today, some platforms are adding 100,000 tracks per day. And with such a vast and unnavigable number of tracks flooding the platforms, consumers are increasingly being guided by algorithms to lower-quality functional content that in some cases can barely pass for “music.”
Let me explain. In order to entice consumers to subscribe, platforms naturally exploit the music of those artists who have large and passionate fan bases. But then, once those fans have subscribed, consumers are often guided by algorithms to generic music that lacks a meaningful artistic context, is less expensive for the platform to license or, in some cases, has been commissioned directly by the platform. For example, just witness the thousands and thousands of 31-second track uploads of sound files whose sole purpose is to game the system and divert royalties. The result? A less fulfilling experience for the consumer, diminished compensation flowing to artists that are driving the business models of the platforms, and fewer cultural moments that fans can collectively share, all of which undermines the creativity and development of artists and their music that the platforms were, in part, designed to foster.
While this unsatisfying situation is discouraging, it’s not surprising. Now that the industry is growing again — in large part as a result of UMG’s strategy, investments and innovation — new players as well as some bad actors who do not share our commitment to artists and artistry have been swooping into the reinvigorated industry.
In the past, music industry conflict was often focused on ‘the majors versus the indies.’ Today, however, the real divide is between those committed to investing in artists and artist development versus those committed to gaming the system through quantity over quality. The current environment has attracted players who see an economic opportunity in flooding platforms with all sorts of irrelevant content that deprives both artists and labels from the compensation they deserve.
What’s become clear to us and to so many artists and songwriters — developing and established ones alike — is that the economic model for streaming needs to evolve. As technology advances and platforms evolve, it’s not surprising that there’s also a need for business model innovation to keep pace with change. There is a growing disconnect between, on the one hand, the devotion to those artists whom fans value and seek to support and, on the other, the way subscription fees are paid by the platforms. Under the current model, the critical contributions of too many artists, as well as the engagement of too many fans, are undervalued.
Therefore, to correct this imbalance, we need an updated model. Not one that pits artists of one genre against artists of another or major label artists against indie or DIY artists. We need a model that supports all artists — DIY, indie and major. An innovative, “artist-centric” model that values all subscribers and rewards the music they love. A model that will be a win for artists, fans and labels alike, and, at the same time, also enhances the value proposition of the platforms themselves, accelerating subscriber growth, and better monetizing fandom.
Along with many others in the music world, we share deeply held principles about the value of artistry and the artist-fan relationship. This year, we will be working on the innovation that is absolutely essential to promote a healthier, more competitive music ecosystem, one in which great music, no matter where it’s from, is easily and clearly accessible for fans to discover and enjoy. An environment where great music is not drowned in an ocean of noise. And one where the creators of all music content, whether in the form of audio or short-form video are fairly compensated.
Achieving such a profound change will present challenges as well as opportunities. I’m confident, however, that our long and deep involvement with music and artists will enable us to safely and profitably navigate our way forward through the industry’s next big shift.
I’m looking forward to being on this journey with all of you!
Our past is prologue to a future where the solutions we find and the steps we take to implement them will contribute to another era of growth for UMG and the industry at large. I believe there is no better team anywhere than the one we have right here at UMG.
Thank you once again for incredible 2022 in which our artists and our company achieved remarkable things.
I am immensely proud of all of you.
I’m excited for what will be an eventful and prosperous 2023.
Lucian
The National Independent Venue Association has announced music policy advocate Stephen Parker as its new executive director. Parker will take over the position from Rev. Moose, who previously served as NIVA and National Independent Venue Foundation founding executive director. NIVA announced in August that they would begin the search to fill both of Rev. Moose’s positions, so he could focus on his creative marketing firm, Marauder.
Parker has served as an advisor and consultant at the Country Music Association, senior special assistant to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, senior policy advisor at the National Guard, and, most recently, as vp of public affairs and communications at gener8tor, an organization focused on entrepreneurship and the creative economy. Parker serves on several non-profit boards, including the Country Music Association Foundation board of directors.
Parker tells Billboard that he greatly admired NIVA for their work since they were founded in 2020 to help independent music venues survive through the pandemic, calling the association the most successful lobbyists in the country in 2020. That year, NIVA successfully advocated for $16 billion in federal funds through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
“I ultimately came upon this job by talking to different members at the conference that they had in July of last year (NIVA ‘22), but also just from knowing independent venue owners, board members, different staff members of NIVA,” says Parker. “This [association] is the crown jewel of anybody who cares about public policy, and in music, and art and live entertainment and comedy. There is no place like it. This organization is built on advocacy. And for me with my political background, it was an incredible fit. I feel honored and humbled every day that they chose me.”
Stephen Parker
Courtesy Photo
In his new role, Parker will be tasked with continuing to grow the association’s numbers and advocate for NIVA members at the federal and state level. One of Parker’s first missions is to advocate for fans who are being impacted by deceptive ticketing practices, including speculative ticketing — where ticket resellers post tickets on secondary sites like StubHub or Viagogo before those tickets even go on sale. Additionally, Parker says some state and local governments still have remaining pandemic relief funds from the federal government that can continue helping independent venues that have not fully recovered from the mass gathering shutdowns and customers hesitancy to return to live events.
Advocacy, he adds, could also come in the form of getting NIVA members elected to local government positions. “We have so many members that want to do something and want to continue to push things forward when it comes to advocacy,” says Parker. “Making sure that they have toolkits and resources to make their voices heard for the communities that they live in is a huge priority for me.”
“We look forward with immense optimism to NIVA’s next crucial chapter of growth and development to best serve members who fight tirelessly to improve their communities, workplaces and entertainment experiences,” said NIVA board president Dayna Frank in a statement. “With Stephen’s leadership, energy, and enthusiasm we are in the best possible hands. His experience with advocacy and relationship development in a longtime-successful association will ensure we flourish together today, tomorrow and in the future. We’re so lucky to have his determination and expertise.”
In addition to advocacy, Parker’s role will be to strengthen the association itself. NIVA intends to expand their healthcare coverage for members and their local venue workers, organize venues for purchasing power on common goods and continue to develop educational programs for members on sustainability, DEI practices and more. In recent months, NIVA has announced partnerships with voter registration non-profit Headcount and r.Cup, a sustainable platform providing reusable cups to eliminate single-use plastic.
“Growth for growth’s sake, is never good, but growth to make sure that we can continue to serve our members better, that we can continue to make a case to new members to join our organization and so we can continue to do the work and the services to make sure our venues can survive and thrive, that’s the reason for growth. And that’s what we’re looking at,” says Parker.
TikTok’s CEO met Tuesday with European Union officials about strict new digital regulations in the 27-nation bloc as the Chinese-owned social media app faces growing scrutiny from Western authorities over data privacy, cybersecurity and misinformation.
In meetings in Brussels, Shou Zi Chew and four officials from the EU’s executive Commission discussed concerns ranging from child safety to investigations into user data flowing to China, according to European readouts from two of the meetings and tweets from a third.
TikTok is wildly popular with young people but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to scoop up user data or push pro-China narratives or misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
U.S. states including Kansas, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Virginia have moved to ban the video-sharing app from state-issued devices for government workers, and it also would be prohibited from most U.S. government devices under a congressional spending bill.
Fears were stoked by news reports last year that a China-based team improperly accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to ferret out the source of leaks to the press.
There are also concerns that the company is sending masses of user data to China, in breach of stringent European privacy rules. EU data protection watchdogs in Ireland have opened two investigations into TikTok, including one on its transfer of personal data to China.
“I count on TikTok to fully execute its commitments to go the extra mile in respecting EU law and regaining trust of European regulators,” Vera Jourova, the commissioner for values and transparency, said after her meeting with Chew. “There cannot be any doubt that data of users in Europe are safe and not exposed to illegal access from third-country authorities.”
Caroline Greer, TikTok’s director of public policy and government relations, said on Twitter that it was a “constructive and helpful meeting.”
“Online safety & building trust is our number one priority,” Greer tweeted.
The company has said it takes data security “incredibly seriously” and fired the ByteDance employees involved in improperly accessing user data.
Jourova said she also grilled Chew about child safety, the spread of Russian disinformation on the platform and transparency of paid political content.
Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, who’s in charge of competition and antitrust matters, met with Chew to “review how the company is preparing for complying with its obligations under the European Commission’s regulation, namely the Digital Services Act and possibly under the Digital Markets Act.”
The Digital Services Act is aimed at cleaning up toxic content from online platforms and the Digital Markets Act is designed to rein in the power of big digital companies.
They also discussed privacy and data transfer obligations in reference to recent news reports on “aggressive data harvesting and surveillance in the U.S.,” the readout said.
Chew also met with Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
Reynders tweeted that he “insisted on the importance” of TikTok fully complying with EU privacy rules and cooperating with the Irish watchdog.
“We also took stock of the company’s commitments to fight hate speech online and guarantee the protection of all consumers, including children,” he said.
Chew is scheduled to hold a video chat with Thierry Breton, the commissioner for digital policy, on Jan. 19.
