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Billionaire Elon Musk is already floating major changes for Twitter — and faces major hurdles as he begins his first week as owner of the social-media platform.
Twitter’s new owner fired the company’s board of directors and made himself the board’s sole member, according to a company filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He’s also testing the waters on asking users to pay for verification. A venture capitalist working with Musk tweeted a poll asking how much users would be willing to pay for the blue check mark that Twitter has historically used to verify higher-profile accounts so other users know it’s really them.
Musk, whose account is verified, replied, “Interesting.”
Critics have derided the mark, often granted to celebrities, politicians, business leaders and journalists, as an elite status symbol.
But Twitter also uses the blue check mark to verify activists and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, as an extra tool to curb misinformation coming from accounts that are impersonating people.
“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” Musk tweeted Sunday in response to a user who asked for help getting verified.
On Friday, meanwhile, billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said he and his Kingdom Holding Company rolled over a combined $1.89 billion in existing Twitter shares, making them the company’s largest shareholder after Musk. The news raised concerns among some lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.
Murphy tweeted that he is requesting the Committee on Foreign Investment — which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign buyers — to investigate the national security implications of the kingdom’s investment in Twitter
“We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting U.S. politics, are now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform,” Murphy tweeted. “There is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should do a review.”
Having taken ownership of the social media service, Musk has invited a group of tech-world friends and investors to help guide the San Francisco-based company’s transformation, which is likely to include a shakeup of its staff. Musk last week fired CEO Parag Agrawal and other top executives. There’s been uncertainty about if and when he could begin larger-scale layoffs.
Those who have revealed they are helping Musk include Sriram Krishnan, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which pledged back in the spring to chip in to Musk’s plan to buy the company and take it private.
Krishnan, who is also a former Twitter product executive, said in a tweet that it is “a hugely important company and can have great impact on the world and Elon is the person to make it happen.”
Jason Calacanis, the venture capitalist who tweeted the poll about whether users would pay for verification, said over the weekend he is “hanging out at Twitter a bit and simply trying to be as helpful as possible during the transition.”
Calacanis said the team already “has a very comprehensive plan to reduce the number of (and visibility of) bots, spammers, & bad actors on the platform.” And in the Twitter poll, he asked if users would pay between $5 and $15 monthly to “be verified & get a blue check mark” on Twitter. Twitter is currently free for most users because it depends on advertising for its revenue.
Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion in April but it wasn’t until Thursday evening that he finally closed the deal, after his attempts to back out of it led to a protracted legal fight with the company. Musk’s lawyers are now asking the Delaware Chancery Court to throw out the case, according to a court filing made public Monday. The two sides were supposed to go to trial in November if they didn’t close the deal by the end of last week.
Musk has made a number of pronouncements since early this year about how to fix Twitter, and it remains unclear which proposals he will prioritize.
He has promised to cut back some of Twitter’s content restrictions to promote free speech, but said Friday that no major decisions on content or reinstating of banned accounts will be made until a “content moderation council” with diverse viewpoints is put in place. He later qualified that remark, tweeting “anyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail.”
The head of a cryptocurrency exchange that invested $500 million in Musk’s Twitter takeover said he had a number of reasons for supporting the deal, including the possibility Musk would transition Twitter into a company supporting cryptocurrency and the concept known as Web3, which many cryptocurrency enthusiasts envision as the next generation of the internet.
“We want to make sure that crypto has a seat at the table when it comes to free speech,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao told CNBC on Monday. “And there are more tactical things, like we want to help bring Twitter into Web3 when they’re ready.”
He said cryptocurrency could be useful for solving some of Musk’s immediate challenges, such as the plan to charge a premium membership fee for more users.
“That can be done very easily, globally, by using cryptocurrency as a means of payment,” he said.
From deconstructing Rosalía’s success to announcing a novel partnership between See Tickets and Spain’s powerful media conglomerate Grupo Prisa, networking, technology and live events were at the forefront of the tenth annual edition of BIME, the international music industry gathering that took place in Bilbao, Spain, Oct.26-29.
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Created by entertainment company Last Tour, best known for its live events, BIME remains focused on bridging the Latin American and European markets, with a focus on live events.
This year’s anniversary event highlighted a recovered, post-COVID scene, with some 2,500 in-person attendees for both the “Pro” side of the event (made up of panels, speed dating and networking) and over 60 live shows through out Bilbao. Here are some stand out moments:
1. Rebeca León on her gut instinct and Rosalía’s au natural posts: “The pendulum has swung to the less pretentious,” said super manager León when asked about Rosalía’s frequent clean-faced, home-made posts. “It’s more about hand-held videos as opposed to showing things like a private plane.” And while León’s instinct may have served her well when she signed a still-unknown Rosalía several years ago, León admits she sometimes has to quiet her gut to take stock of opportunity. “Even when my intuition says run, run, run, I stop and listen. It’s important to consider all offers.”
2. De La Ghetto gets pragmatic: The Puerto Rican reggaetonero with multi-genre sensibility displayed sophisticated business savvy and was generous in his advice to up and coming artists. He is involved “in every single aspect of my business,” he said bluntly. In his early days, he recounted, he was relentless in giving away his music–CDs were still around—so fans would get to know him. Now, he uses social media relentlessly for the same objective. “Believe in yourself,” he said. “No one thought someone who looks like me, and who sang with an R&B sensibility would do well.” More important, he stressed, never sign anything that your lawyer doesn’t look at. “I have my lawyer, my manager has his lawyer,” he said. “Having a lawyer is the best investment.”
3. Ady Harley and Nerea Igualador on digital marketing strategies: Harley, Meta’s head of music label partnerships for Latam and U.S. Latin, and Igualador, VP of digital business for Sony Music Entertainment, provided a roadmap for effective social media marketing and promotion. “Today, you can create a marketing plan on social media that leads to consumption,” said Harley.
It starts with generation an audience, says Igualador, and that requires three steps: “Discovery; I need my audience to discover me. It’s one of the biggest challenges. There are 60,000 songs released per day, and you have to define their place and audience.” The second step, she says, is taking that audience to consume the music. “All our actions have consumption as a final objective.” And finally, there’s engagement. “Once my audience discovers me, how do I keep them engaged.”
4. James Cruz gets emotional: In a conversation with BBC London’s Beatriz de La Pava, the rap and hip-hop producer lamented the loss of community in rap music. “I come from hip-hop where we really tried to help each other,” he said. “I don’t see a unified front anymore.” Cruz also recalled growing up Latin at a time when being Latin was far from appreciated. “When I see the growth of Latin music, I get tears in my eyes. It’s incredible. We had to take the jobs no one wanted to do […] We had to create our on status and our own algorithm.”
5. See Tickets and Grupo Prisa Announce partnership: The global ticketing platform, which operates in 10 countries, and the Spanish media conglomerate announce an exclusive alliance. Not only will See Tickets sell Prisa’s many festivals and concerts, it will also receive promotion and placement on Prisa’s multiple media platforms, including leading Spanish daily El País, leading radio network 40 Principales and its social media.
6. Billboard announces the launch of Billboard Español: Billboard officially launched Billboardespañol Sept. 15. A little after the one month mark, visits to the all-Spanish site are growing 24% week by week. The site was officially presented to the Spanish industry during BIME.
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online.
Apple Music may have opened the floodgates on Monday when it announced that it will raise prices on its Apple Music subscription service, as well as its Apple TV+ streaming video on-demand service and its Apple One bundle of services (which includes Apple Music).
Apple wasn’t the first music streaming company to broadly raise prices. Deezer started raising prices in France in January. In May, Amazon hiked prices for Prime members for Amazon Music Unlimited from $7.99 to $8.99 (or $79 to $89 if paid annually) and for the single-device plan (for Amazon’s Echo and Fire TV devices) from $3.99 to $4.99 per month. And Spotify started testing the waters in 2021 by modestly raising prices on some plans in select markets – 46 price increases in total, according to company executives. In the U.S., the family plan price increased from $14.99 to $15.99.
But Apple’s decision to ask subscribers for more money signals a tide change and will likely embolden competitors to follow suit. Speaking during Spotify’s earnings call on Tuesday, CEO Daniel Ek strongly signaled the company would follow Apple’s lead. A price increase in the U.S. “is one of the things we would like to do,” Ek told investors, and Spotify could raise prices in 2023 after it has conversations “in light of these recent developments with our label partners.”
Prices for music subscription services have remained stubbornly low for the past decade — to the chagrin of rights holders and creators who want higher royalties from streaming platforms. Spotify launched in the U.S. in 2011 at $9.99 per month. Apple Music launched in 2015 with a standard $9.99 individual plan and a $14.99 family plan, the first of its kind to offer up to six subscriptions per account for $14.99. Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music and the now-defunct Google Play Music followed with equivalent offerings in the following months. Family plans resulted in a lower average revenue per user but helped reduce churn, Spotify has said repeatedly, and has increased the average subscriber’s lifetime value. Those gains obviated the need to raise prices and allowed Spotify and others to focus on growth instead.
Apple and Amazon certainly had incentive to raise music subscription prices. Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited offer high-fidelity audio as a standard feature even though licensing deals with record labels for premium audio are more costly for streaming services, according to industry sources. Unless Apple and Amazon raise prices to offset the lower margins, they must eat the higher costs associated with offering better audio quality. Spotify, on the other hand, does not yet offer high-fidelity audio. Plans for just such a product, called HiFi, have not materialized after announcing the project would come out in 2021. Recently, the company has been surveying customers regarding a more expensive package that would include HiFi, as well as other products.
But now Apple has effectively given its competitors cover to raise their prices, too — whether they offer high-fidelity audio or not. Deezer already planned to raise prices in the U.S. and Germany this month and in Brazil in December. Still, its competitors’ decisions to raise prices “makes us more competitive,” Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folgueira said during Friday’s earnings call, and “opens the door for further prices increases down the line.”
Spotify certainly appears confident it can charge more. Thus far, its price increases had results “as good as we would have hoped for,” said Ek said during the earnings call. “We believe we have significant pricing power and we’re offering an amazing consumer value proposition.” Other metrics seem to have convinced Spotify the time is right to raise prices: engagement continues to increase, and Spotify has “the lowest churn of any competitor,” according to Ek. Put another way, Spotify thinks it can raise prices without fear that a significant number of people will walk away.
Apple services, the category which encompasses Apple TV+ and Apple Music, saw another slight drop in revenue during the fourth fiscal quarter ending in September.
The category generated $19.2 billion in revenue, down slightly from the $19.6 billion reported during the third fiscal quarter ending in June — a figure that was another decline compared to the record $19.8 billion in sales the services collectively generated during the second quarter. But compared to the previous year, Apple’s FY Q4 services revenue represented a five percent year-over-year increase.
Apple now has more than 900 million paid subscriptions, up from the 860 million reported during Q3, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Accounting for the tech giant’s product sales, Apple brought in $90.1 billion during the quarter — a quarterly record for the company driven by continued iPhone sales. “Our record September quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to execute effectively in spite of a challenging and volatile macroeconomic backdrop,” Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in announcing the results.
The company’s earnings report comes just days after Apple instituted price hikes across Apple TV+, Apple Music and the Apple One subscription bundle. Apple TV+ — home to Ted Lasso and Severance — now costs $6.99 per month, compared to the $4.99 per month price point the service has maintained since its 2019 launch, while the annual plan for Apple TV+ now costs $69, compared to $49.
Speaking with analysts on the company’s earnings call, Cook said the increased price for Apple TV+ was a reflection of the increase in content available on the streamer. “We’re very focused on originals only, and so we had four or five shows or so in the beginning and priced it quite low,” he said. “We now have a lot more content and are coming out with more each and every month, and so we we increase the price to represent the value of the service.”
Apple Music subscriptions now start at $10.99, making it more expensive than Spotify, while the family plan costs $16.99 per month and the annual plan costs $109.
Apple also quietly updated its App Store rules to require iOS publishers to give the company a 30 percent cut for any boosted, or sponsored, posts purchased within their respective apps. The move has frustrated platforms like Meta, which sells sponsored posts.
This article was originally posted on THR.com.
Universal Music Group on Thursday reported its fifth-straight quarter of revenue gains since its public spinoff from Vivendi last year, increasing revenue 13.3% as its many, varied business divisions helped offset slow-downs in areas sensitive to global economic uncertainty.
On a call with analysts, UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge attributed the company’s strong quarter — coming amid a downturn in the advertising market — to its diversification strategy. Over Grainge’s 17-years at the helm, UMG has built dominant positions in multiple geographic markets and across nearly every major segment in music, making it less susceptible to “the inevitable ebbs and flows in revenue of any particular business,” he said.
That helped UMG offset a slowdown in ad-supported streaming revenues, which have been hampered by companies spending less amid fears of a recession. Ad-supported streaming revenues for the quarter grew by 5.2% in constant currency compared to the third quarter last year. That’s a slowdown from the second quarter this year when ad-supported revenues grew by 15.6% in constant currency compared to second quarter 2021.
“We noted we would not be immune to a downturn in the advertising market, which is indeed what happened,” Grainge said on the call discussing the company’s earnings for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. “The slower growth in the third quarter in ad-supported streaming revenue was offset by growth in so many other areas of our business. From subscription to licensing, live touring to merchandising, to continued growth throughout music publishing.”
Subscription revenues grew by 8.7% from a year ago in constant currency — a measure UMG uses to strip out fluctuations in foreign exchange markets. UMG chief financial officer Boyd Muir said subscriber growth among the digital streaming providers remains healthy and “we have not seen any signs of economic related slowdowns.”
Licensing and other revenue grew by 30.2% in constant currency due to the recovery of live touring in certain European, Latin American and Asian markets where UMG is involved in that business. Merchandising and other revenue grew by over 100% in constant currency compared to the year ago quarter, also helped by growth in touring.
The company saw an $80 million increase in touring revenues in the quarter compared to last year from top selling acts like BTS, BLACKPINK, Ado, INI and Morgan Wallen, executives said.
While a significant contributor to the company’s quarter, touring earns UMG a lower profit margin compared to its other businesses, Muir said.
“As I’ve mentioned before, that’s a very low-margin business — let’s call it, the 8% to 10% kind of area,” Muir said. “Nevertheless, it’s an incredibly important part of our business. And it means that we can actually connect the fan with the artists. So it’s of increasing importance to us as we address the requirements of the super fans.”
Looking to the next quarter, the executives said to expect the company’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin, a closely watched metric of profitability, to be flat for the year at around 20.8%.
The company’s stock price closed down 5.61% on Friday (Oct. 28).
A celebrity accountant is suing Kanye West for $4.5 million in allegedly unpaid fees, claiming the embattled artist and entrepreneur abruptly fired him just weeks after hiring him and told him he was “insane” if he thought he would stick to their agreement.
In a lawsuit filed Oct. 21, Thomas St. John claims he was hired in May by Yeezy LLC to serve as its chief financial officer for an 18-month contract with a $300,000 per month fee. He says he demanded those guarantees because of the “risks” of working with West and to assure the star “would not simply walk away.”
But St. John claims that West then did exactly that. At a June meeting at the pricey Malibu restaurant Nobu Ryokan, the accountant claims West “became heated and aggressive” and then abruptly terminated his new CFO.
“He screamed at Mr. St. John and made clear he no longer wanted to work with Plaintiff,” St. John’s lawyers wrote. “When confronted by the 18-month commitment that had just been made, Mr. West stated words to the effect of ‘the 18 month term was bullsh–’ and ‘you’re insane for even thinking I would stick to it.’”
If the new lawsuit is any indication, it looks like St. John plans to stick to it. He says West has made just three of the 18 payments he owes — and is demanding that a court order him to pay the $4.5 million owed on the deal.
Even though it involves millions of dollars, St. John’s new lawsuit might barely even register on the list of problems currently facing the once-beloved rapper.
After a string of antisemitic statements earlier this month, West has lost nearly every aspect of his once-formidable business empire. His representatives at CAA have dropped him, and his signature fashion partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga have all been terminated. It’s hard to know if he’ll even have lawyers to rep him in the current case, since many of his attorneys have begun to cut ties as well.
Even before the current whirlwind, West was already being accused of stiffing business partners. In early July, the high-end fashion rental service David Casavant Archive said West never returned more than a dozen “esteemed” items and owed $400,000 in late fees. A few weeks later, the production company Phantom Labs said the star owed $7.1 million for work done on his cancelled Coachella and other events.
A spokesperson for West could not be located to comment on the new lawsuit. Multiple former press representatives for West have recently told Billboard that they no longer work with him.
While accepting the Spirit of Life award at the City of Hope’s star-studded 2022 gala alongside his longtime business partner and even longer-time brother Monte on Thursday evening, Avery Lipman couldn’t let the moment pass without nodding to the siblings’ breakthrough act.
“After a few close calls with Chapter 11, our first big break came…with a band called the Bloodhound Gang,” said the Republic Records co-founder, eliciting a clap from what sounded like a single person in the crowd. “Yeah, I usually get that reaction,” he cracked. “Liked by few, hated by most, but what can I say.”
It was a cheeky moment that preceded a moving declaration from Monte, who co-founded Republic with his younger brother from their kitchen table in 1995. After listing all the roles he’s known for filling — music executive, husband and father — he continued, “But what you don’t know about me, [is] I’m also a cancer survivor.”
“What started out as a routine trip to the doctor eight years ago escalated into a full-blown medical emergency that changed my life forever,” Monte recounted. “For those of you in this category, you understand the crippling fear and anxiety you experience during those dark moments. I’ve always been sympathetic and responsive to cancer-fighting initiatives, but until you go through the fire yourself, you don’t really understand the gravitas of the emotional distress which becomes all-consuming. You can’t eat, you can’t sleep and you can barely breathe.”
While the gala, held on the grounds of the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, was an opportunity for music luminaries to mix and mingle, the evening kept a heavy focus on the City of Hope’s life-saving work as a world-class cancer care facility. In addition to soliciting and receiving donations of up to $100,000 — including from the Lipmans themselves — the event featured live testimonials from a number of City of Hope patients who recounted their experiences and successful cancer treatments at the world-renowned facility.
Also offering a testimonial on Thursday evening was Republic signee Billy Porter, who played emcee for the evening, exuberantly making his way through the crowd of well-heeled attendees to solicit personal anecdotes about the Lipmans from longtime colleagues including Michele Anthony, Wendy Goldstein and Jody Gerson. In addition to cancer research and treatment, Porter noted that City of Hope is also devoted to two diseases he has personally been diagnosed with: diabetes and HIV. “Unfortunately these diseases are something that touch us all, but together I know we can make a difference,” he said from the stage.
Of course, every City of Hope gala is ultimately a celebration, and entertainment for the evening was provided by Republic artists including Porter — who performed the single “Audacity” from his forthcoming album — as well as Jack Johnson and new signee Sekou, who performed a stunning rendition of late Republic Records star Amy Winehouse‘s “Back to Black.” Capping the evening was a surprise performance by the Jonas Brothers, who performed two songs: their 2021 Marshmello collaboration “Leave Before You Love Me” and 2019 Hot 100 No. 1 single “Sucker.”
Jonas Brothers perform onstage during the MFEI Spirit of Life Honoring Monte and Avery Lipman on October 27, 2022 in Los Angeles.
Lester Cohen/GI for City of Hope
While Republic’s biggest star, Taylor Swift — currently enjoying massive sales for her latest album Midnights — was not in attendance, she did take part in a pre-taped sketch that saw her pit the Lipman brothers against one another in a Succession-style skit. “I think Monte’s holding you back,” Swift tells Avery over the phone as someone off-camera pours champagne into her glass. “He’s like sort of a house cat and you’re more of a snow leopard type, you know what I mean?”
The night did boast several Republic stars IRL, including John Legend, The Weeknd and recent signee Yung Gravy, who told Billboard that part of the reason he signed with Republic was because the Lipmans “don’t feel like a boss…they feel like friends.”
Speaking of bosses, the evening featured a head-spinning lineup of top music executives. In addition to the Lipmans’ Republic Records and UMG colleagues — also including UMG CFO and executive vp Boyd Muir, Capitol Music Group chair and CEO Michelle Jubelirer, Republic Records CCO Dave Rocco and UMPG president Evan Lamberg, who made the evening’s opening remarks — other bigwigs in attendance included Sony Music Publishing CEO Jon Platt, former Recording Academy chairman and CEO Neil Portnow, iHeartMedia entertainment president John Sykes LaPolt Law founder Dina LaPolt, CAA Music head Rob Light and Epic Records CEO and 2019 Spirit of Life honoree Sylvia Rhone.
Manuel Turizo is a Colombian with no Dominican roots and yet the 22-year old singer, known for catchy Latin pop songs that incorporate urban beats, has scored his biggest hit ever by dipping into bachata. The beloved Dominican genre known for its trademark syncopated rhythm, plucked guitar and guira carries Turizo’s latest single, “La Bachata” (La Industria/Sony Music Latin), which has been steadily rising up the charts since May.
The track, which replaces bachata’s traditional guitar with electronic riffs and R&B vocals, debuted at No. 44 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart June 18 and on Billboard’s Global 200 and Global Excl U.S. charts in July. Since then, it’s been slowly growing, reaching No. 6 on the Global 200 and No. 3 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart this week. On the U.S. Latin Airplay chart, “La Bachata” this week became Turizo’s fifth No. 1 but only his second solo track to reach the top spot since 2019’s “Sola.” And that success so far helps earn Turizo’s manager Juan Diego Medina the title of Billboard‘s Executive of the Week.
“It’s Manuel’s most important song, and it’s the song that’s placing him in the best and most decisive moment of his career,” says Medina — who also manages Nicky Jam and ChocQuibTown — noting that Turizo’s monthly listeners on Spotify went from 19 million to 32.7 million since releasing “La Bachata”.
While Medina built his company, La Industria Inc., to a large degree on the basis of data mining and savvy social media management, he attributes a big chunk of Turizo’s current success to international promotion and to his ability to connect with audiences at a ground level with his very personal take on a very distinctive genre. Now, “La Bachata” — written by Turizo, Edgar Barrera, Andrés Jael Correa Rios, Miguel Andrés Martinez and Medina himself — will kick off what’s likely to be his biggest album yet, 2000, slated for release in early 2023.
“With so many avenues open to promote music,” says Medina, “I’ve opted to go back to the streets, to the root of this business and touch people.”
Manuel has had big hits with pop/urban tracks like “Vaina Loca” with Ozuna and “La Nota” with Myke Towers. Why a bachata of all things?
Manuel is absurdly versatile at a musical level and he doesn’t get stuck on a genre. He wants to do everything. He hadn’t released a bachata before, but he’d recorded another bachata, which actually Romeo Santos produced [and will also be included in 2000]. This track was brought to us by Edgar Barrera, who wrote it with Rios [Andres Jael Correa Rios]. Then, Slo [one third of ChocQuibTown and the producer of most tracks on Turizo’s upcoming album] heard it and thought it would be perfect for Manuel with a bit of an urban touch. Manuel loved it. When they played it for me, I decided to go with it because it was different. It was a bachata, but not the kid of bachata Romeo or Prince Royce would do. It had an urban touch, a sort of hidden dembow. It was a gamble.
What were your expectations?
Truth, 50-50. It was 50% this will kinda work, and 50% this will break all rules. The song began with 400,000, 500,000 daily streams, and that’s a good start. Nowadays, to be on the top five, you have to do 5-6 million daily streams. We started slow, but once we saw that traction, I thought, we have to activate the Latin region. I called Afo [Afo Verde, Sony Latin Iberia’s president and chairman], who was in Croatia, and I said, “If we want this song to do what we want it to do, we need to activate Latin America.”
But before Latin America, you focused on Spain?
Manuel’s consumption in Spain has always been good, and we did our first big campaign there because that’s where the song first took off. Sony has an internal platform that details all consumption and we can see what countries things are working at. It first broke in Spain, then in Mexico. The U.S. is where we’ve had the hardest time. And, keep in mind, there are Spanish artists like C. Tangana and Rosalia who’ve released bachatas, but none had had Manuel’s repercussion, even though he’s neither Spanish nor Dominican. He’s Colombian.
Humbly, this was an organic success. Obviously, it comes with an investment and a strategy. But you don’t reach these levels only with investment and strategy. The song was received well when the algorithm proposed it.
So, Spain was key. What else do you think made a major difference here? Because there are a lot of bachata songs out there, including Romeo Santos’ entire new album, but none are having this impact.
Another key factor is that three, four days after the song’s release, we went to the Dominican Republic and did a lot of press, but we also spent time with bachata and Dominican organizations. That gave a lot of credibility to the fans. There’s a lot of Dominican migration to Spain. So, spending time in the Dominican Republic was key. That came linked to Manuel’s “Bailando Bachata con Manuel Turizo” TikTok campaign. Everywhere he went, he’d get out of the car in the middle of the street — in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Spain, everywhere — and he’d ask a woman to dance bachata with him [filming the interaction and posting on TikTok]. We’ve forgotten to connect with people and to make the fans feel you’re human, like them. Today, there are so many avenues to promote your music, that we’re saturated. I’ve opted to go back to the people, to the root of this business and to feel the street. We went viral on the ground, and then we did the big actions with the big tools. It’s not often that we do both those things. We do the big things, but we forget the people.
You say the U.S. was your hardest market to penetrate. Why is that, especially considering Manuel is so close to the U.S. and you’re based here?
Once the song broke in Latin America, it went viral in Asia, and then Europe. The U.S. was last. I feel it’s a market where urban, street music is far stronger today. It’s not an easy market to penetrate when your product is more clean, more lyrical. It sounds contradictory because there are successful pop acts like Camilo. But Manuel’s music is made for adults, not kids, and adult ears are not always geared toward romantic fare. Conquering the U.S. market isn’t easy when you have to compete with acts like Maluma, Balvin, Camilo.
You’re No. 1 on Latin Airplay, which is radio. How important is radio to you?
We always try to work with radio stations. I’m faithful to radio and I think I’m not one of those who thinks it doesn’t matter anymore. Some people are not tech-savvy, they like their radio, they like to hear the DJs. I think radio is the biggest ally of people who want to listen to music free. YouTube is also still very important to us, especially in Latin America.
Manuel has had other major hits. How important is “La Bachata” to him?
It’s his most important song, and it’s placing him in the biggest and most decisive moment of his career. He’s at that stage where he’s poised to go to the next level, and this is the song that will make him a star, God willing.
Do you have more bachatas planned?
Not for the moment [aside from the Romeo-produced track]. I feel we can’t abuse [the genre]. It’s about proposing new things, not getting stuck on a single one.
French music streaming company Deezer posted revenue of 115 million euros ($112.5 million at the Sept. 30, 2022 exchange rate) in the third quarter, up 13.8% from the prior-year period (11.4% at constant currency), the company announced Thursday. Following the news, Deezer’s stock closed up 0.59% on Friday (Oct. 28).
The quarter was bolstered by a 13.8% improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU) to 3.9 euros ($3.81) from the third quarter of 2021. Deezer attributed the improvement primarily to price increases implemented in France in January 2022 — individual plans increased from 9.99 euros to 10.99 euros per month and family plans climbed from 14.99 euros to 17.99 euros per month.
Other subscription services have followed — or likely will follow — Deezer’s lead in raising prices. Apple’s decision on Monday to raise prices on Apple Music “was extremely good news for us,” said Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folgueira during Thursday’s earnings call.
Folgueira also encouraged by comments made Tuesday by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek about possible price increases in early 2023. “We have been the first ones to raise prices very successfully and now that the competitors follow, obviously that is a good thing for the industry as a whole,” Folgueira said. “It also makes us more competitive once competitors increase prices.”
Folgueira does not expect Deezer to further raise prices in 2023 but he didn’t rule it out, either. “We always remain flexible when it comes to pricing,” he said.
Deezer’s ARPU growth was partially offset by a higher proportion of family plan subscriptions, which carry a higher price than individual plans but allow up to six subscribers per account. At the same time, Deezer saw strong business-to-consumer subscription growth in France, adding 300,000 to 3.4 million in its home markets. The ARPU gain more than compensated for a 2.5% decline in total subscribers to 9.4 million — the same number as the second quarter of 2022.
Outside of France, Deezer’s B2C subscribers fell 15.8% year-over-year, from 2.7 million to 2.2 million, although the loss in the third quarter was a more modest 4.4%, or 100,000 subscribers. That decline was due to Deezer’s decision to focus more on a smaller number of larger markets — including France, Germany, U.S. and Brazil — and reducing unprofitable spending in elsewhere. Also, Deezer shut down its business in Russia at the end of the first quarter.
The company expects to finish the year with about 455 million euros ($445 million) of revenue, a 14% improvement from 2021. Deezer expects to see benefits from its new partnership with media company RTL in Germany in the second half of the year. More price increases should help bolster ARPU and revenues, too. In an Oct. 4 investor presentation, Deezer revealed it plans to raise prices in the U.S. and Germany in October and Brazil in December. Additionally, Deezer will increase the price on all existing iOS users in November, which Folgueira said “willl have a substantial impact” on fourth-quarter earnings results.
The inaugural International Anime Music Festival announces its debut tour, bringing virtual music superstars to 37 venues across North America starting Feb. 6, 2023. This marks the first time the popular VTubers (virtually generated animated YouTubers) and Vocaloids (virtual singers with computer generated voices) appear on stage together.
The International Anime Music Festival will feature #kzn, the original singeroid developed directly from the voice of popular Japanese Virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI, vocal duo HIMEHINA, vocal trio MaRiNaSu, Megumi Nakajima voiced anime singer GUMI, and pop twins LiLYPSE. The show will be presented as live DJ-led multimedia concert with the fan-favorites of the international anime-music movement brought to life with state-of-the-art LED and high-definition digital projections.
Originating in Japan, these superstar avatars have exploded globally over the past two years, drawing tens of millions of followers worldwide, generating over 62 million Google searches, and more than 1.2 billion views (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and others).
Artist presale starts on Monday, October 31st at 10am local time. Tickets for all North America shows go on sale Friday, November 4th at 10am local time. VisitIAMF.LIVE to learn more, sign up for presale access and to purchase tickets.
The worldwide festival will continue its tour throughout 2023, in Europe, Southeast Asia and South America.
“I feel honored and privileged to be working with the talented IP holders and character creators of the five acts appearing on our International Anime Music Festival,” says producer and BASE Hologram co-founder Bob Ringe. “The response from the Anime community and Anime creators worldwide has exceeded my expectations. See you all at the festival!”
“I am excited to work with this extraordinary visually exciting Art Form,” says producer and BASE Hologram co-founder Marty Tudor. “The energy that this group of Virtual Artists has is amazing and incites the best of our superb creative team. This show will be a blast!”
Banc of California is underwriting the tour. The International Anime Music Festival is produced by Anime Entertainment LLC with Creative Director Rob Roth (Tony Award winner for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast). The tour is represented by Wasserman Music (North America) and UTA (Internationally).
North American Tour Dates below. Artist Presale starts on Monday, Oct. 31 at 10am local time. Tickets for all North America shows go on sale Friday, November 4th at 10am local time. VisitIAMF.LIVE to learn more, sign up for presale access and to purchase tickets.
Mon, February 6, 2023 | Vancouver, BC | Orpheum Theatre
Wed, February 8, 2023 | Seattle, WA | Paramount Theatre
Thu, February 9, 2023 | Portland, OR | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Sat, February 11, 2023 | San Jose, CA | San Jose Civic Auditorium
Tue, February 14, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA | Microsoft Theatre
Thu, February 16, 2023 | Phoenix, AZ | Arizona Financial Theatre
Fri, February 17, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV | The Theater at Virgin Hotels
Sat, February 18, 2023 | Albuquerque, AZ | Revel Entertainment Center
Sun, February 19, 2023 | Denver, CO | Mission Ballroom
Tue, February 21, 2023 | Kansas City, MO | Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
Thu, February 23, 2023 | Austin, TX | ACL Live at Moody Theater
Fri, February 24, 2023 | San Antonio, TX | Tech Port Arena
Sat, February 25, 2023 | Irving, TX | The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun, February 26, 2023 | Houston, TX | 713 Music Hall
Tue, February 28, 2023 | Oklahoma City, OK | The Criterion
Wed, March 1, 2023 | St. Louis, MO | The Factory At The District
Thu, March 2, 2023 | St. Paul, MN | Myth Live
Fri, March 3, 2023 | Milwaukee, WI | Riverside Theatre
Sat, March 4, 2023 | Chicago, IL | Riviera Theatre
Sun, March 5, 2023 | Detroit, MI | Masonic Temple Theatre
Tue, March 7, 2023 | Indianapolis, IN | Murat Theater at Old National Center
Wed, March 8, 2023 | Cleveland, OH | The Agora
Thu, March 9, 2023 | Cincinnati, OH | Bogart’s
Fri, March 11, 2023 | Montreal, QC | MTELUS
Sun, March 12, 2023 | Toronto, ON | HISTORY
Tue, March 14, 2023 | Pittsburgh, PA | Roxian Theatre
Wed, March 15, 2023 | New York, NY | Terminal 5
Thu, March 16, 2023 | Boston, MA | Roadrunner
Fri, March 17, 2023 | Mashantucket, CT | The Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Sat, March 18, 2023 | National Harbor, MD | MGM National Harbor
Sun, March 19, 2023 | Philadelphia, PA | Franklin Music Hall
Tue, March 21, 2023 | Charlotte, NC | Blumenthal Performing Arts Center – Belk Theatre
Wed, March 22, 2023 | Jacksonville, FL | Florida Theatre
Thu, March 23, 2023 | Durham, NC | DPAC
Fri, March 24, 2023 | Atlanta, GA | Fox Theatre
Sat, March 25, 2023 | Orlando, FL | Hard Rock Live
Sun, March 26, 2023 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Thu, March 30, 2023 | Monterrey, Mexico | Arena Monterrey
Fri, March 31, 2023 | Mexico City, Mexico | Arena CDMX
