Business
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iHeartMedia expects first-quarter revenue to decline in the low single digits and full-year revenue to be flat, suggesting the radio giant hasn’t yet turned the proverbial corner financially, according to the company’s latest earnings release. After revenue was up 5.5% in January, February is on track for a 7% decline as consumer sentiment dropped to a level not seen since 2021, CFO Rich Bressler said during Thursday’s earnings call.
The company ended 2024 with fourth-quarter revenue up 4.8% to $1.11 billion, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) spiked 18.2% to $246.2 million. Revenue growth was below the company’s previous guidance due to lower-than-expected political advertising and a slowdown in non-political advertising before the election, said Bressler.
The fires in Los Angeles created a disruption to iHeartMedia’s business in the first quarter, although CEO Bob Pittman called it “a little bit of a blip” and said a larger impact comes from people returning to work. “Traffic is getting long again, and I hate to sound cynical here, but traffic jams are our friend,” he said. “We’re a company that benefits from people with longer commutes and more time in the car.”
Mired in a weak advertising market for broadcast radio, iHeartMedia is busy finding ways to create value from its broadcast assets. To that end, in March the company will make its broadcast advertising inventory available to programmatic buyers through Yahoo DSP and Google’s DV360 ad-buying platforms. “This is a critical early step in aligning our broadcast assets with digital buying behavior,” said Pittman, “which will allow iHeart’s broadcast radio assets to participate in the growing digital and programmatic [total addressable markets].”
Last year, iHeartMedia took steps to cut costs and improve its balance sheet. The company expects to have net savings of $150 million in 2025 and beyond — $200 million from cost reductions undertaken in 2024 and an additional $50 million of expenses. In December, iHeart reduced its debt load and extended maturity dates through a debt exchange that attracted a 92.2% participation rate.
For the full year, iHeartMedia’s revenue totaled $3.86 billion, up 3% year-over-year (and flat if political advertising is excluded). Adjusted EBITDA increased 1% to $705.6 million while EBITDA margin improved to 22.0% in 2024 from 19.5% in 2023. The multiplatform group, which includes the company’s core broadcast stations, saw its revenue decline 2.6% to $2.37 billion, while the digital audio group’s revenue increased 8.9% to $1.16 billion due to increased advertising demand for podcasting. The audio and media services group had revenue of $327 million, up 27.4%.
Cumulus Media, the country’s third-largest radio company by revenue, fared a bit worse in 2024. For the full year, Cumulus’ revenue fell 2.1% to $827.1 million and adjusted EBITDA dropped 8.8% to $82.7 million. While digital revenue grew 5.3% to $154.2 million, broadcast revenue slipped 5.1% to $564.1 million. In the fourth quarter, revenue dipped 1.2% to $218.6 million and adjusted EBITDA grew 9.8% to $25 million.
Cutting costs and restructuring debt are common tactics in the radio business. Just as iHeartMedia shaved its expenses, Cumulus will realize $43 million in annualized cost savings, with $15 million of savings coming in 2024. In addition, in May, Cumulus completed a debt exchange, which lowered its outstanding debt by $33 million and extended maturity dates while securing “attractive” interest rates.
iHeartMedia shares fell 7.9% to $2.09 before earnings were released, and dropped another 9.9%, to $1.90, in after-hours trading. Through Thursday, iHeartMedia shares are down 1.9% year-to-date but have more than doubled since May 2024.
Cumulus, which reported earnings earlier in the day, saw its share price decline only 0.3% to $0.90. Year-to-date, Cumulus shares have gained 16.9%.
A woman has sued 300 Entertainment CEO Kevin Liles for allegedly harassing and raping her while the two worked together at Def Jam in the early 2000s, according to documents filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Filed by attorneys Lucas Franken and Mallory Allen at New York firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis, the suit claims that Liles began sexually harassing the woman — identified as Jane Doe in the complaint — beginning in 2000, shortly after she started working as the executive assistant to Def Jam’s then-GM. During this time, she alleges that Liles — who was then serving as president of the storied hip-hop label — “pressed his body” against her breasts, grabbed her buttocks and made “sexually inappropriate comments and advances towards her on numerous occasions, “which she rebuffed.”
The woman claims this behavior ultimately culminated in Liles sexually assaulting and raping her.
Also named as defendants are Def Jam and its corporate parent Universal Music Group, which the woman accuses of “permitting, aiding, abetting, conspiring, ratifying and enabling” Liles’ harassment and rape. The suit alleges that the companies “knew or should have known of” Liles’ alleged propensity for sexual abuse “motivated by gender animus” and are liable for “ignoring, dismissing, and failing to take any action” against him, including by reporting him to the police. It also claims that the companies “permitted” Liles “to entrap their employees in locations that enabled his sexual abuse, assault and rape.”
As a result of the alleged harassment and assault, the woman says she suffered “severe emotional and psychological distress and personal physical injury…including severe mental anguish, humiliation, and emotional and physical distress.”
The lawsuit was brought under the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law in New York, which allows survivors of gender-motivated violence whose claims were previously time-barred to file suit against their alleged abusers.
The woman is asking for compensatory and punitive damages, among other relief.
Liles served as president of Def Jam Recordings in the late 1990s and early 2000s before being named executive vp at Warner Music Group. He went on to found the management firm KWL Enterprises in 2009 and, later, record label 300 Entertainment alongside Lyor Cohen, Roger Gold and Todd Moscowitz in 2012. Following 300’s acquisition by Warner Music Group in 2022, he assumed the role of chairman/CEO at 300 Elektra Entertainment. He stepped down from that role in September.
Representatives for Universal Music Group, Def Jam and Liles did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
R. William “Bill” Freston, a former executive at Columbia Records who worked with superstars including The Rolling Stones and Billy Joel, died on Thursday (Feb. 20) following a “traumatic fall” on the Caribbean island of Bequia, his family announced Wednesday (Feb. 26). He was 76. Freston began his career in the early 1970s after graduating […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of yet another lawsuit, as a male escort has accused the disgraced Bad Boy Records mogul of sexual assault. The victim, who filed in the Southern District of New York as John Doe on Wednesday (Feb. 26) through his attorneys at Eisenberg & Baum, claims Combs sexually assaulted him […]
Amazon has partnered with AI music company Suno for a new integration with its voice assistant Alexa, allowing users to generate AI songs on command using voice prompts. This is part of a much larger rollout of new features for a “next generation” Alexa, dubbed Alexa+, powered by AI technology.
“Using Alexa’s integration with Suno, you can turn simple, creative requests into complete songs, including vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation. Looking to delight your partner with a personalized song for their birthday based on their love of cats, or surprise your kid by creating a rap using their favorite cartoon characters? Alexa+ has you covered,” says an Amazon blog post, posted Wednesday (Feb. 26).
Other new Alexa+ features include new voice filters, image generation, smart home operation, Uber booking and more. It also includes an integration with Ticketmaster to “find you the best tickets to an upcoming basketball game or to the concert you’ve been dying to go to,” according to the blog post.
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Suno is known to be one of the most powerful AI music models on the market, able to generate realistic lyrics, vocals and instrumentals at the click of a button. However, the company has come under scrutiny by the music business establishment for its training practices. Spearheaded by the RIAA, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group came together last summer to sue Suno and its rival Udio, accusing the AI music company of copyright infringement “on an almost unimaginable scale.” At the time, neither AI company had admitted to training on copyrighted material.
In a later filing, Suno admitted that “it is no secret that the tens of millions of recordings that Suno’s model was trained on presumably included recordings whose rights are owned by the Plaintiffs in this case.” Its CEO, Mikey Shulman, added in a blog post that same day, “We see this as early but promising progress. Major record labels see this vision as a threat to their business. Each and every time there’s been innovation in music… the record labels have attempted to limit progress,” adding that Suno felt the lawsuit was “fundamentally flawed” and that “learning is not infringing.”
More recently, German collection society GEMA also took legal action against Suno in a case filed Jan. 21 in Munich Regional Court.
Still, a couple of music makers have sided with Suno. In October, Timbaland was announced as a strategic advisor for the AI music company, assisting in “creative direction” and “day-to-day product development.” Electronic artist and entrepreneur 3LAU has also been named as an advisor to the company.
News of Amazon’s deal with Suno comes just months after its streaming service, Amazon Music, was commended by the National Music Publishers’ Association for finding a way to add audiobooks to its “Unlimited” subscription tier in the U.S. without “decreas[ing] revenue for songwriters” — a contrast to Spotify, which decreased payments to U.S. publishers by about 40% when it added audiobooks to its premium tier.
This analysis is part of Billboard’s music technology newsletter Machine Learnings. Sign up for Machine Learnings, and other Billboard newsletters for free here.
In an interview in 2023, Techstars managing director Bob Moczydlowsky told Billboard, “If Streaming 1.0 was about making all the music play, Streaming 2.0 should be about being able to play with all the music.”
In 2025, that statement feels prescient. Bloomberg reported on Feb. 14 that Spotify’s long anticipated superfan tier will likely roll out later this year and include extra features like high-fidelity audio, access to concert tickets and song remixing tools for an additional fee on top of Spotify premium.
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Also this month, the AI remixing app MashApp launched on the Apple App Store, offering users the ability to quickly and easily mash up selected songs from the Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music and Kobalt catalogs. Similarly, Hook, a competitor, just announced a new partnership with indie distributor Too Lost to license its works for Hook’s library of mashable, customizable songs. (Hook also previously struck a deal with Downtown for its library of music.)
Even though remixes of songs have dominated TikTok and other short-form video apps for years — and were all over SoundCloud and YouTube before that — participating in the fun of creating them has had barriers to entry. A user would need to learn how to use a digital audio workstation (DAW), like Garageband or ProTools, to create a good-sounding rework of a song, and they’d likely need the stems (the individual instrument tracks that make up a song), too. Now, with AI-powered stem separation and remix apps, there’s almost nothing left standing between a music fan and getting creative with their own derivative mashups.
But copyright law, the longtime nemesis of remixing, remains a major obstacle. For years, record labels and publishers have been playing an ever-expanding game of whack-a-mole with unauthorized remixes online, trying to retain control over their sound recordings. In the TikTok age, unauthorized remixes have gotten even further out of control as sped-up, slowed-down and other types of reworkings gained prominence. But it seems some companies are now taking the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy by uploading officially sanctioned sped-up, slowed-down, a cappella and other alternate renditions of their work to streaming services.
Music companies, sensing the business opportunity, are also licensing to Hook and MashApp. While both have properly licensed libraries of songs to work with, these apps still leave a lot to be desired for users today. MashApp only has selected songs licensed from the three majors and Kobalt — among the recommended tracks are “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Tequila” by Dan + Shay. Hook has a similar problem — its top songs include “Buy The World” by Kendrick Lamar, Mike WiLL Made-It and Future, “Fall Back” by Lithe, “fisherrr” by Cash Cobain and Bay Swag, and more. If you look up a major artist on either of these apps, odds are they either have only a few of their tracks licensed, or don’t have their catalog at all.
For these apps to succeed, they must get deals done with, essentially, every rights holder on the recorded music and publishing sides to offer a comprehensive catalog — and if you look at the songwriter credits of any major pop or rap song, you’ll realize how challenging getting all of these parties to agree could be. Just one songwriter or company could hold up the licensing of a top song.
Spotify has already done the hard part by getting all the music on the service during what Moczydlowsky calls the “Streaming 1.0” period, but significant challenges still remain ahead if it wants to integrate these much more playful 2.0 remix features. The top streaming service made an enemy of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the trade organization representing the vast majority of publishers in the U.S., in March 2024 by decreasing the royalties paid to publishers and songwriters in the U.S. on premium-tier streams by about 40%. Known colloquially as the “bundling” issue, Spotify argued that adding audiobooks into its premium subscriptions meant it could divide the royalty pool between music and book publishers.
The NMPA’s president and CEO, David Israelite, said Spotify “declared war on songwriters,” and to fight back, the NMPA launched a series of attacks, including sending Spotify a cease and desist letter warning that if it launched tools to “speed up, mash up and otherwise edit songs from their favorite artists… without the proper licenses in place from our members,” it “may constitute additional direct infringement.”
In January, Spotify’s standing with publishers seemed to be getting better. The streamer forged direct deals with Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, which included improved remuneration on the publishing side. At the time, I noted in my analysis of these deals that Spotify likely came back to the negotiating table with publishers because the streamer knows it needs the publishers to voluntarily license their catalogs to support these upcoming features, including remixing. Still, that doesn’t mean all publishers, or the NMPA, have buried the hatchet.
On Feb. 4, the NMPA issued 2,500 podcast takedowns against Spotify, in a move that signaled that the NMPA will continue to hold a grudge. (Spotify called this move “a press stunt.”) Press stunt or not, Spotify needs the rest of the NMPA members on its side to make a remix tool with a full working library. Otherwise, they’ll be forced to launch with a piecemeal catalog like their start-up competitors.
But if anyone is poised to take over this budding remix market, it’s likely Spotify, given its pre-existing relationships and significant resources. Still, it remains to be seen how much users will even take to this type of feature. Is remixing the next big thing, or just another fad?
The music business needs a hug…and a punch to the gut.
As someone who cares deeply about mental health, wellness and supporting people in need, my intentions with this letter come from the purest place of love and empathy. But if I’ve learned anything from my time in the music industry — it’s to be direct. Today, I’m calling for more consistent, accessible personal and professional development support for the people who keep the music industry’s wheels turning. These include things like leadership and communication training, adaptability and resiliency coaching and a basic understanding of emotional intelligence. We cannot have a healthy industry inhabited by healthy humans without the intersection of mental health and professional and personal development. We need to move beyond just checking boxes for things that look good on paper, but do not actually impact those owning the day-to-day operations of our business. It’s unsustainable long-term. What good are resources if the business itself doesn’t support their use? How can we seriously promote wellness while maintaining conditions within the workplace that undermine it? The need to invest in both our well-being and create healthier work environments is becoming dire as we navigate unprecedented mergers and acquisitions, rampant layoffs due to our ever-evolving business, and an increasingly competitive landscape that shows no signs of slowing down.
To start, we could benefit from operating with less ego and more empathy. Leaders can always strive to be better decision-makers and communicators, with a focus on humility and understanding for their teams and partners. They hold the power to make change, but also face immense pressure, and we need to support them in guiding the industry. We also need more people who genuinely care about human growth, and are equipped to fight for changing outdated systems.
These precursors are required to address what our artists are expressing on stage at award shows and what professionals are discussing off the record over dinner. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for the hundreds of people I’ve met over the past five years, including those who attend our jump.global Annual Summit, where we host open forums on these critical topics. Yes, we’re good at calling this all “mental health,” and to some extent, it fits under that umbrella. But it’s so much more than that. It’s dealing with the real-life effects of endless company reorgs, constant performance critiques, burnout from the grind, lack of healthy work-life boundaries and an industry that prioritizes making money without making sure its people are happy with their personal growth.
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These aren’t new revelations. The industry has long been criticized for its broken promises and dehumanizing culture, but we’ve reached a tipping point. People are mentally and physically exhausted, overwhelmed by constant fatigue and the whiplash of relentless demands. They are caught between morning meditation and breathwork sessions, only to be thrown into the chaos of endless emails and unclear paths to advancement. It’s real, and it’s widespread, impacting every part of our personal and professional lives. The music industry must embrace the people who have always been its heart and soul — artists, fans and workers alike. It’s time to nurture the relationships that sustain it, offering the support, care, and recognition that has often been overlooked, and ensure that everyone involved feels valued, heard, and connected. It needs to become so systemic that it’s as common as composing an email or pitching a release. Are we truly listening to the feedback of our teams as much as we are to the charts? If we put people over profit, we can turn this around — but without this shift, we risk burning out the very people who keep this industry alive.
This sentiment is echoed by the coaching community I’ve turned to for my own research and development. “When mental, physical and emotional health are prioritized as part of the fabric of an organization, company culture changes, people get more creative, productivity increases, communication improves, performance gets stronger,” says Marni Wandner, board-certified health coach, executive coach and 22-year music industry vet. “I work with both executives and artists, most of whom are trying to prevent burnout, or recover from it. When people are at their best, the whole industry benefits – and the way we take care of ourselves and each other affects the wellbeing and success of the artists.”
Outside of overall health, It’s important to note how much leadership training plays such a crucial role in all of this. “When we develop our leaders and prepare them well, they can manage their teams effectively and compassionately. We can create better work cultures, retain talent in the industry, reduce burnout and improve performance,” Tamara Gal-On and Remi Harris, UK-based coaches and Co-Founders of the Music Leaders Network, share in a joint statement.
Effective communication has also been identified as a crucial component of strong leadership. Tracey Pepper, a veteran media and public-speaking coach and certified personal coach, shares, “I work with high-level executives every week who are expected to inspire and motivate their teams, whether it’s sharing ideas or delivering feedback, but who have never sought support around developing their communication style. Yet, how they interact with colleagues and co-workers has a significant effect on company culture and, in turn, productivity. Being aware of how you’re impacting others by how you speak to them is a game-changer in leadership.”
I ask nearly everyone I meet about this disconnect, and the consensus is clear: our industry doesn’t necessarily lack awareness of how important professional and personal development resources can be, it lacks the time for people to properly dedicate themselves to it because of how intense and fast-paced their jobs can be. Without an immediate ROI, development often feels like a “luxury” that companies and people can’t afford or something we save for an end-of-year planning session. But what if we stopped viewing it that way and started treating it as the necessity it clearly is?
While I applaud any music company with Learning & Development programs already in place, I hope the journey doesn’t stop after one-off grants, seminars or annual workshops. We need to create ongoing learning environments where professionals are empowered with the tools to thrive personally and professionally. The strength of the business lies not just in the artists we promote or the music we create, but in the culture we nurture within our teams. Developing strong, emotionally intelligent humans that work in music isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s critical for the long-term success and sustainability of the industry. “What is emotional intelligence?” is a fun one to type into ChatGPT, and then compare back to the music business.
Of course, there has been discussion and debate over whose responsibility it is to provide tools in these areas. To be fair, I think it’s everyone’s collective responsibility. Thankfully, generous programs and organizations are already leading the charge to end stigmas and provide essential resources, research and guidance. Again, while much of the headlines focus on mental health, a lot of them work intersectionally through all the areas I mentioned. Backline, Music Industry Therapist Collective, Music Health Alliance, MusiCares, Amber Health, Keychange and numerous coaches and therapists are making a lasting impact and creating meaningful, sustainable change in the industry. We owe a lot to these organizations, as well as those leading ongoing efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, gender parity, fighting ageism and supporting neurodivergent education.
That said, there is always more that can be done and this is an invitation for all of us to do our part if you are not already. While innovating and commercializing music, we must also dismantle outdated systems and create forward-thinking support for both creatives and the workforce. As we work to heal the world with music, we must first extend that same care to those who make it all possible. Through compassion, empathy and kindness, we can do this.
We are all human, and no matter our title, company, or paycheck we all can, and will, benefit from these changes. To the artist managers who just lost their biggest client, the marketing directors struggling to juggle 20 releases, the people who have devoted their lives to a role only to see it eliminated, the CEO who ascended the corporate ladder only to be knocked back down and to anyone who has ever felt unseen, unsupported, or confused by the industry they love … I see you. This is why we need systemic change that supports you consistently, not just when it becomes impossible to ignore. Whether it’s implementing a new way to foster open communication within your department or simply gifting a coaching session to a colleague – we can all work together to shape more resilient cultures.
So, dear music business humans, I hope you’ll accept this hug and pass it on to the friends you’ve made along the way, the teams you manage, the interns you inspire, the artists you collaborate with and those you’ve yet to meet. To all of the music business-at-large, the gut punches may feel like love taps, but I promise you they carry enough weight to impact your bottom line — today or tomorrow.
With immense love, gratitude and concern,
Nick Maiale
Nick Maiale is the founder & CEO of jump.global – an agency solution for music executives and companies looking to grow their influence through B2B trade marketing, conferences & panels, international relations, college mentorship and more. He is studying to become a certified executive coach with a mission to bring more personal and professional development events, such as the jump.global Annual Summit, to the music business masses.
Crypto proponent Snoop Dogg is officially partnering with Tune. FM as the face of the Web3 music streaming platform, Billboard can exclusively report. The first project being streamed under the new partnership is the newly released single “Spaceship Party.”
The rapper/entrepreneur also plans to move more of his catalog, including his Death Row Records material, to Tune.FM.
In publicly announcing the switch, Snoop bluntly states in a comment given to Billboard, “I don’t f**k with Spotify anymore. I’m only on Tune.FM.”
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Tune.FM styles itself as a decentralized Web3 streaming platform focusing on transparency, security and fairness for artists through blockchain technology. The platform’s native cryptocurrency is something called JAM. Unlike traditional services, it says it provides instant micropayments per second streamed. Users can sign up and start streaming without needing blockchain knowledge. Upon registration, a JAM wallet is automatically created, allowing users to spend JAM tokens on streaming, tipping artists and unlocking exclusive content.
Tune.FM says its AI-driven discovery algorithm promotes independent artists organically, bypassing paid placements. Additionally, artists can tokenize music rights, allowing fans to invest and earn royalties.
Snoop Dogg’s decision to partner with the platform came after meeting Tune.FM founder/CEO Andrew Antar at the Crypto Ball prior to President Trump’s inauguration in January.
“We are thrilled to welcome Snoop Dogg as the face of Tune.FM,” Antar tells Billboard. “Snoop is the OG pioneer who is always on the cutting edge of technology and new ways of doing business. He totally gets it, and we are ready to take on the world together.” A classically trained musician, Antar also plays violin on “Spaceship Party.”
Tune.FM
Cordell Broadus
Beyond moving his catalog to Tune.FM, Snoop Dogg is planning to host fan experiences and giveaways such as a private event at his house and VIP prize tiers. Additional plans include integrating Tune.FM into live events and exclusive concerts, as well as bringing unique artist-fan interactions and collectibles to the platform’s marketplace.
Tune.FM is also in talks with major labels (Universal, Sony), major distributors and high-profile artists to bring more exclusive content to the platform. According to a Tune.FM spokesperson, “Tune.FM operates under non-exclusive licensing agreements, enabling us to unlock new revenue streams for under-monetized catalogs and artist IP on both our streaming platform and marketplace.”
The rep declined to disclose specifics about any deals, but added, “we can share that major distributors and labels are increasingly coming on board to upload catalogs that have long been under-monetized.”
“Truck Bed” hitmaker and multiple award winner HARDY has launched label imprint Crow Records in partnership with Big Loud Rock. The inaugural signing to Crow Records is Sikarus, who will release his label debut, “Nonchalant,” tonight (Feb. 27).
HARDY formed Crow Records with his longtime partners at Big Loud Rock to sign, develop and release music from artists HARDY is inspired by.
Sikarus is the solo project from Nashville songwriter Jordan Brooker, who has written for Luke Combs (2019’s “Refrigerator Door”), among other artists. Brooker was raised on classic rock artists including Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, as well as turn-of-the-century alt-rock and pop-rock artists.
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“The second I heard Sikarus’ music I thought to myself, ‘What a cool sound, I want to do anything I can to be able to work with him,’” HARDY said in a statement. “I’ve known Jordan for many years and I’m so excited to finally be able to say that we are officially working together. I love rock ‘n’ roll, I love exploring new things and I couldn’t be happier for Sikarus to be the first artist signed to Crow Records.”
“I’m incredibly honored to be the first signing at Crow Records,” Sikarus added. “I think HARDY is one of the most brilliant musical minds I’ve ever met. We’ve been friends for a long time, so getting the chance to work with him in this capacity is so dope. ‘Nonchalant’ is all about that attitude of going with the flow and not getting hung up on the little things. It can be a really beautiful quality in a person, so much so that it makes you want to write a song about it.”
“HARDY is a generational talent and all of us at Big Loud Rock are honored to continue strengthening our partnership with him by joining forces on Crow Records,” Big Loud partner/Big Loud Rock president Joey Moi said. “Developing the next generation of alternative and rock artists is at our core, and collaborating with HARDY to sign and foster new talent in the space has the whole team excited as we continue to expand.”
HARDY has earned a trio of Billboard Country Airplay chart-toppers, as well as three No. 1s on the Hot Hard Rock chart. His recent project Quit!! topped the Hard Rock Albums chart with songs including “Rockstar” and “Psycho,’ as well as collaborations with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst. Quit!! follows HARDY’s sophomore album, The Mockingbird & THE CROW, which featured both country and rock songs.
Sikarus will join HARDY on select dates of the Jim Bob World Tour this year, playing arenas and amphitheaters across the United States, including a stop at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sept. 24.
See the full list of tour dates below:
Aug. 14—T-Mobile Center @ Kansas City, MO*
Aug. 15—Denny Sanford PREMIER Center @ Sioux Falls, SD*
Aug. 16—Somerset Amphitheater @ Somerset, WI*
Aug. 21—Van Andel Arena @ Grand Rapids, MI*
Aug. 22—Pine Knob Music Theatre @ Clarkston, MI*
Aug. 29—Maine Savings Amphitheater @ Bangor, ME*
Aug. 30—Xfinity Theatre @ Hartford, CT*
Sept. 4—Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview @ Syracuse, NY*
Sept. 5—The Pavilion at Star Lake @ Burgettstown, PA*
Sept. 6—Hersheypark Stadium @ Hershey, PA*
Sept. 11—Brandon Amphitheater @ Brandon, MS†
Sept. 12—Coca-Cola Amphitheater @ Birmingham, AL†
Sept. 13—CCNB Amphitheatre @ Simpsonville, SC†
Sept. 18—Lakewood Amphitheatre @ Atlanta, GA*
Sept. 19—MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre @ Tampa, FL*
Sept. 20—iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre @ West Palm Beach, FL*
Sept. 24—Madison Square Garden @ New York City, NY*
*With Koe Wetzel and Stephen Wilson Jr.
†with Stephen Wilson Jr.
ASCAP, the only not-for-profit performance rights organization in the U.S., which — after covering its overhead — shells out all of its collections to songwriters and publishers, reports revenue increased 5.7% to 1.835 billion from the prior year’s total of $1.737 billion. What’s more the PRO said the amount of its collections available for distribution totaled $1.696 billion, or a 6.5% increase over 2023’s total of $1.592 billion.
Out of that collected revenue, domestic royalties totaled $1.397 billion, up 5.3% from the 2023’s total of 1.327 billion; while foreign receipts grew 6.8% to $438 million, up 6.8% from the prior year’s total of $410 million. Put another way, domestic revenue comprised 76.1% of collections while foreign receipts comprised 23.9%.
ASCAP said its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for total revenue for the 10 years leading up to 2024 was 7%, and that the CAGR for total distributions over the same time period was 8%. Its overhead expense structure remains at about 10%.
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“For songwriters, composers and publishers, ASCAP provides the best return on their performance royalties because they get 90 cents of every dollar we collect,’ ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said in a statement. “It’s that simple. We are the only US PRO that does not take a profit and the only one that can credibly say we put creators first in everything we do.”
In 2023, BMI, ASCAP’s main competitor and the only other U.S. PRO operating under a U.S. Dept. of Justice consent decree, abandoned its not-for-profit status in order to sell to a private equity firm, which occurred in 2024 when New Mountain Capital acquired the collection society. Besides BMI, both SESAC and GMR, aka Global Music Rights, are both for-profit performance rights organizations.
Breaking out its total $1.696 billion available for distributions, ASCAP reported that $1.284 billion was due to domestic songwriters and publishers while $438 million was available for foreign distributions. Overall, its domestic collections available distribution increased 5.5% from the prior year’s total of $1.217 billion, while foreign distribution availability increased 9.8% from $375 million in 2023.
Looking at its activities over the last year, ASCAP reported that signings and renewals include Katy Perry, Timbaland, Kacey Musgraves, Jack White, Justin Tranter, Neil Young, Graham Nash, Def Leppard, Sexyy Red, Max Martin, Hans Zimmer and Tate McRae; along with with the estates of Tom Petty and Jimi Hendrix.
ASCAP said it was active in helping to shape the U.S. Copyright’s Office recommendations on legal and policy issues related to copyright and AI; and formed a strategic alliance with SACEM, France’s collection management organization, to leverage their investments in infrastructure. Finally, ASCAP reported that it moved quickly to launch a $1 million emergency relief fund to assist Los Angeles-based ASCAP songwriter affected by the LA wildfires.
“ASCAP is committed to innovating, growing and evolving in ways that benefit our members, because music creators drive every decision we make,” ASCAP president and chairman of the board Paul Williams said in a statement. “Protecting the livelihoods of songwriters and composers and defending the value of music is a mission we take seriously. For us, this is more than just business – it’s personal, and that’s what sets ASCAP apart from any other PRO.”