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A billionaire in the music business usually doesn’t start out in the music business. They begin in less glamorous industries until, with a large enough bank account, they can buy a record label, music venue or concert promoter and earn entry into the world of media moguls. Or the billionaire joins the equally exclusive fraternity of professional sports team owners. Some do both music and sports.
Charles Dolan, the patriarch of the Dolan family, majority owners of MSG Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment Group —not to mention a few sports teams —began with a closed-circuit service that sent tourist information into New York City hotel rooms. Ron Burkle got his start working for a grocery store before turning into a grocery M&A titan. Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries holding company owns most of Warner Music Group, earned his fortune buying aluminum smelters after the breakup of the Soviet Union. For Vicent Bolloré, maritime freight and paper manufacturing were the pathway to media and entertainment. For Phil Anschutz, it was oil. For Hassan Khosrowshahi, it was consumer electronics.
In a few instances, billionaires came to the music business through Wall Street. Two celebrity hedge fund kings, Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Holdings) and Steve Cohen (Point72), have purchased stakes in public music companies. Ackman acquired 10% of Universal Music Group (UMG) before its 2021 initial public offering, becoming a helpful cheerleader for UMG — and music assets in general — as more institutional investors put money into a growing slate of public and private music companies. Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, quietly has small stakes in two of the Dolan family’s companies, MSG Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment Co.
Warren Buffet is an outsider here. Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Holdings looks for undervalued companies with competitive advantages — think insurance companies and railroads. A media mogul he isn’t. Buffet has a reputation for investing in boring companies with good management and avoiding the crowds that drive up prices. “Price is what you pay; value is what you get,” he once said. Berkshire Hathaway owns a considerable stake in a radio company, SiriusXM, that is trying to keep satellite radio relevant in an era of high-flying streaming services. But SiriusXM, which represents just a small part of Berkshire’s portfolio, isn’t an entryway to glitz and glamour.
For this list, Billboard is highlighting ten billionaires — some well-known, others less so — who have built music companies or invested in them but didn’t originally build their fortunes in the music business. Billboard excluded CEOs or musicians. According to Forbes, Jay-Z is worth $2.5 billion, Rihanna is worth $1.4 billion and Taylor Swift is worth $1.1 billion. Two founder/CEO billionaires, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, are also excluded.
Phil Anschutz
Since the Kendrick Lamar–Drake beef broke into the mainstream earlier this year, the six tracks at the heart of the rap battle have generated nearly $15.4 million in streaming, digital sales and publishing revenue in the United States through the week ending Nov. 21, according to Billboard estimates based on data from Luminate. Kendrick’s “Not […]
Winter Music Conference is returning to Miami Music Week in 2025.
Organizers today (Dec. 12) announced that the three-day conference will happen during the annual dance music industry gathering in Miami this March, with the conference taking place March 26-28 at the beachfront Eden Roc Miami Beach hotel.
This will be the first time since 2019 that the conference, which has a history going back 35 years, will be part of Miami Music Week, as the 2020 conference was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The 2025 event is set to focus on myriad facets of dance music business and culture through educational panels, keynotes and networking sessions. Specific topics will be announced in the coming months, with conversations to focus on agency dynamics, licensing, streaming, publicity, A&R, emerging social media platforms, brand longevity and more. Registration for the conference is open now.
WMC 2025 will end with a March 28 awards show, which will be the first ever hybrid event from the Electronic Dance Music Awards (EDMAs) and the International Dance Music Awards (IDMAs). This show will feature live performances and award presentations.
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Winter Music Conference is owned by Ultra Music Festival, which kicks off in Miami the same day the conference ends, Friday, March 28. The three-day festival will again happen at its longtime home in Miami’s Bayfront Park, with the 2025 lineup thus far featuring artists including Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Afrojck, Tiësto, Martin Garrix and Hardwell, along with pairings like the previously announced Anyma b2b Solomun set and Pendulum playing both solo and back to back with Deadmau5, with the latter artist also performing his first ever career-spanning “retro5pective” set.
Launched in 1985, Winter Music Conference was held every March in Miami (prior to the pandemic) and is part of the larger event known as Miami Music Week, a marathon of dance music performances and parties. Drawing an estimated 100,000 attendees and 3,500 music professionals from more than 70 countries at its height, WMC hosts a schedule of events, parties, seminars and workshops and serves as one of the largest industry networking events in the dance/electronic music genre.
Though the Ultra Music Festival was originally spawned by the conference, it eventually surpassed it in terms of influence, and its parent company went on to acquire WMC in 2018.
Winter Music Conference
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While Afrobeats has been hailed as Africa’s biggest cultural export, its growth on the continent is also cause for celebration.
The 2023 and 2024 IFPI Global Reports revealed Sub-Saharan Africa was the fastest-growing region in the world, with this year’s report documenting a 25% rise in music sales largely driven by increased adoption of paid subscription services (up by just under a quarter). And no other streaming service has been as innovative and effective at expanding their reach on the continent as Audiomack.
The company has been applauded for bolstering artists with user-friendly promotional and analytics tools while providing fans with a solid discovery experience, and its unparalleled work in Africa has been critical in the rise of Afrobeats and other genres on the continent. Audiomack opened its first African office in Lagos, Nigeria in 2020 and made three key hires, including Charlotte Bwana, who officially joined the company as head of media and brand partnerships and has since risen to vp of marketing, EU, Africa & MENA.
Bwana had been living in Nigeria at the time and working in Audiomack’s ambassador program, where she met with and onboarded artists onto the platform and continued expanding its Afrobeats division through social media marketing, idea generation, playlist curation and outreach to major labels, artist managers, booking agents and more. Once travel was allowed after the pandemic, Bwana “literally backpacked across Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa – doing Audiomack masterclasses, meeting artists and teaching them Audiomack one-on-one but also about the entertainment business,” she tells Billboard. “Somebody said to me, ‘A lot of companies are companies in the cloud, but you are a company that exists, we can actually meet you and shake your hand and call you on the phone. The difference between you and many other streaming companies is your availability.’”
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Bwana emphasizes that that “human touch” element has significantly helped scale Audiomack, which is the No. 1 music streaming app on Apple’s App Store in 22 African countries — including Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe — and the No. 1 music streaming app on the Google Play Store in Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. According to the company, in Nigeria alone Audiomack boasts 15.3 million monthly active users and 4.9 million daily active users and has racked up 58 billion total Afrobeats streams since 2020.
While the streamer hasn’t added more offices on the continent outside of its Lagos headquarters – which now has 12 people across its social media, graphic design, curatorial, business development and content operations departments – it has deployed ambassadors in additional countries like Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Those ambassadors help Audiomack better navigate the African market with “ideas of which artist is popping, which sound is buzzing in this territory, what the scene is like [and] what artists should we be focusing on,” Bwana explains.
Audiomack has also had to focus on tackling two key issues that hinder the platform’s mission to democratize streaming on the continent – the first being accessibility. “In Africa, before we talk about affordability of music, we have to talk about accessibility. A lot of people couldn’t access music in the first place, and Audiomack opened that door… and reshaped the landscape of the African music industry,” Bwana says.
In 2021, the streaming service partnered with MTN Nigeria, the fastest 5G network in West and Central Africa, to introduce the Audiomack+MTN Data Bundle program. Through the program, the company offered the more than 76 million MTN subscribers tailored data bundles, allowing them to stream unlimited music and access Audiomack content without the hassle of data charges. This year, the partnership expanded with the Audiomack+ subscription program, which offers MTN subscribers seamless access to premium Audiomack content – including uninterrupted streaming and offline downloads – through three flexible subscription plans. “We have a monthly subscription, a weekly subscription and a daily subscription, because we figured that people sometimes just buy premium for the day,” says Bwana, adding that 41% of Audiomack users use MTN. “They don’t need it for a month, or they can’t afford to pay that for the month. But if a big artist drops an album today, and they just want to listen to the album, they just pay for premium for the day.”
Still, Africa’s low internet penetration rate poses a problem for users without MTN coverage. According to the International Telecommunication Union’s Facts and Figures 2024 report, just 38% of the continent is able to use the internet, while only 11% have access to a 5G network. Bwana notes that offline downloads are “everybody’s favorite feature” on the app, with Audiomack reporting 1.9 billion offline downloads since 2020. “You’re able to listen to the music on the go whenever you’re not connected,” she says. “This is a premium feature for many DSPs, and for us, it’s a feature that you still can access on the ad-based tier.”
Charlotte Bwana
Courtesy of Charlotte Bwana
This gets to the second major hurdle Audiomack has been tackling: payment. While the company is making sure its different subscription models are suitable for African users’ limited internet access, it’s also ensuring the payment methods are just as convenient. “In Africa, [there are] 54 different countries, and you’re working with many currencies. As you’re scaling a business, you have to figure out how to accommodate the entire continent,” says Bwana. “Seventy percent of the population [in South Africa] is banked, so they have access to credit and credit cards, and they can pay for stuff online. Then you go to Kenya, where everybody uses mobile money. With every country that I’ve been to, not only am I talking to the artists to market them and create content, but I’m also talking to telcos and fintechs and trying to figure out payment systems so we can make it seamless for people to pay for music.”
Last year, Audiomack partnered with Flutterwave, Africa’s largest payment network, to leverage its expertise in secure and reliable payment processing so artists can “monetize their art effectively,” Audiomack CEO/co-founder David Macli said in a press statement. Audiomack can reach even more users in Africa via seamless payment options, including bank transfers, local cards and mobile money. This year, the company also partnered with Carry1st, Africa’s leading mobile games and digital content publisher, to tap into its proprietary payment solution, Pay1st, so consumers can purchase their subscriptions using local payment methods including mobile money, popular digital wallets and bank transfers. “A lot of people on Audiomack are Gen-Z, they’re in that age where they’re discovering music but they’re also gaming,” says Bwana. “We were thinking of how do we bridge the gap between music and gaming, and also, how do we make sure that the artists are earning more royalties and being discovered even by the gamers.”
Outside of accessibility and affordability, artist discovery is another one of Audiomack’s priorities. The platform has been identifying the continent’s rising stars before they gain global recognition through Keep the Beat Going, an annual campaign that focuses on amplifying artists’ profiles and introducing them to new global markets through billboards in major cities, playlists, digital ads, creator workshops and more. Since its launch in 2022, Keep the Beat Going has highlighted 72 artists from Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, including Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Rema and Uncle Waffles.
Aside from artists, Audiomack is also keeping its fingers on the pulse of new trends coming out of the continent. Bwana believes Nigerian street pop is the “next big thing,” as evidenced by Asake and Seyi Vibez’s success on the platform. The latter is the most streamed artist in Nigeria, accumulating 1.4 billion plays on Audiomack since 2020, while the former is a close second with 1.2 billion plays. To date, Asake’s 2023 album Work of Art is the most streamed Afrobeats album on the platform with 476 million plays, while his hit “Lonely at the Top” from the album is the most streamed Afrobeats song on Audiomack with 87 million plays.
“We have a lot of people achieving their first hundred thousand or million streams on Audiomack,” says Bwana. “[We’ve] accommodated both listeners and artists, and this is what really sets us apart from a lot of the other streaming platforms.”
Quando Rondo was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to a federal drug offense in Georgia. The rapper, whose given name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment by U.S. District Court judge in his hometown of Savannah, local news outlets reported. Bowman, 25, pleaded guilty in August to […]
Grammy-winning vocal group Pentatonix has signed with Republic Records, the label tells Billboard. “Pentatonix have always stood apart,” said Jim Roppo, president/COO of Republic Corps Collective, in a statement on the signing. “There has never been a vocal group like them, and they’ve been able to completely reinvent both a capella and the holidays to […]
Johnny Ramone’s widow, Linda Cummings-Ramone, has won a legal victory over Joey Ramone‘s brother, Mickey Leigh, in their never-ending feud over control of the pioneering punk band’s legacy.
In a decision made public on Tuesday (Dec. 10), an arbitrator ruled that Leigh’s manager, David Frey, must be terminated as a director on the board of Ramones Productions Inc., the corporate entity that controls the Ramones’ music and other assets.
Ruling that Frey had breached his fiduciary duty to the company, the arbitrator said Leigh’s manager had “fostered a dysfunctional and disruptive relationship” with Cummings-Ramone and had engaged “in conduct that harms the Ramone brand, rather than promoting that brand.”
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“Mr. Frey has repeatedly engaged in disruptive and negative conduct that has been detrimental to RPI and promoting the legacy of the Ramones,” wrote Shira Scheindlin, a former federal district judge, in a ruling privately issued Dec. 5. “Undoubtedly this conduct has prevented RPI from achieving greater financial success. Mr. Frey’s conduct has harmed RPI.”
One of the major missteps cited by the arbitrator was Frey’s failure to seek Cummings-Ramone’s approval for a planned movie based on Leigh’s memoir, I Slept with Joey Ramone — a film project that Netflix announced in 2021 with actor Pete Davidson attached to star in the title role.
Scheindlin said Frey was “well-aware” of his obligation to obtain Cummings-Ramone’s consent “before agreeing to this project” since the movie would almost certainly feature the band’s music — the rights to which are owned by Ramones Productions. The judge also cited an email from Netflix that described the planned movie as not just a Joey biopic, but “the story of the Ramones.”
“Based on the preponderance of the credible evidence, Mr. Frey breached his duty of care, honesty and loyalty, in failing to present the [Netflix] deal to Ms. Cummings-Ramone and/or the Board of RPI for their approval,” the judge wrote.
In a statement to Billboard on Wednesday (Dec. 11), Cummings-Ramone said she was “thrilled” that they “will now finally be able to move forward and create and expand the legacy of the best band ever.”
“Preserving this legacy is not just a responsibility but a deeply personal mission for me,” she said. “I have dedicated my life to honoring and safeguarding the extraordinary contributions my husband and his band have made to music, culture, and the lives of millions around the world.”
An attorney representing both Hyman and Frey did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.
Joey Ramone (real name Jeffrey Ross Hyman) and Johnny Ramone (John William Cummings) were not actually brothers, and they had a notoriously chilly relationship during their decades as bandmates. In the years since the two died in the 2000s, that feud has seemingly continued between Leigh and Cummings-Ramone.
As the executors of Joey’s and Johnny’s respective estates, Leigh and Cummings-Ramone each own half of Ramones Productions. But that partnership has not gone smoothly, with multiple lawsuits and arbitrations over the past decade.
The latest scuffle began in January, when Cummings-Ramone sued Leigh in New York state court, including allegations that he and Frey had “covertly” developed the “unauthorized” biopic. In the lawsuit, Cummings-Ramone said that any “authoritative story of the Ramones” would require her sign-off: “To permit defendants alone to tell the authoritative story of the Ramones would be an injustice to the band and its legacy.”
As one key part of that case, Cummings-Ramone demanded the removal of Frey as a director on the board of Ramones Productions — arguing that his “continued involvement and obfuscation remains a significant hurdle toward resolving even the most straightforward of operational issues.” In May, the judge overseeing the case ordered that issue to be resolved in arbitration before Scheindlin.
In her ruling granting that request, the arbitrator cited statements from Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) that Frey had been “extremely disruptive” and from C. J. Ramone (Christopher Joseph Ward) that “I do not believe he was ever working in the best interest of the Ramones’ legacy.” Scheindlin also cited an email from the company’s former accountant telling Frey: “You have made it impossible to do what needs to be done.”
“While I agree that there are two sides to every story, the overwhelming weight of the evidence establishes that Mr. Frey has fostered a dysfunctional and disruptive relationship with Ms. Cummings-Ramone, former band members, and RPI’s vendors and partners,” Scheindlin wrote in her decision. “This conduct has harmed RPI and its shareholders.”
In one particularly colorful passage, the judge described an incident this past summer in which the New York Mets had offered to let the Queens-based band celebrate its 50th anniversary by having Cummings-Ramone throw out a ceremonial first pitch at an August game. But Frey ultimately refused to grant approval for her to take part under the simpler name “Linda Ramone” — a key point of contention in their various legal wranglings over the years.
In her decision, Scheindlin said Frey had had “no credible basis to refuse to agree to Ms. Cummings-Ramone throwing out the first pitch using the name Linda Ramone” and had cost the band a valuable chance to boost its public profile.
“This was obviously a very high-profile opportunity to celebrate the band’s 50th Anniversary,” the arbitrator wrote in her ruling. “There was no reason to lose this opportunity other than to continue the animosity and dysfunction between the two shareholders and their representatives.”
The ruling, which must be confirmed by a New York judge, resolves only a single issue in the larger lawsuit and leaves other issues to be resolved in court. Leigh has also sued Cummings-Ramone in a separate lawsuit in federal court, accusing her of trademark infringement and other violations; that case also remains pending.
Rising Puerto Rican rapper Clarent has signed a global recording deal with Warner Music Latina, the company tells Billboard.
The signing comes on the heels of Clarent’s success with the single “IA” alongside Puerto Rican urban artist Mora. The track has amassed more than 40 million streams on Spotify alone and topped Spotify’s Top 200 chart in Spain.
Born in Caparra Terrace, San Juan, Clarent (real name Fabián Cartagena Torres) began putting out music independently just last year. Since then, he’s amassed millions of streams thanks to tracks that sound raw and real and connected to life on the streets. His song “Traqueto” alongside iZaak has nearly 26 million streams on Spotify, while his solo track “Enzacio” has nearly 14 million.
“Ready for this new season — big thanks to the Warner fam for keeping it real. This is where boys become men,” said Clarent in a statement.
“We are thrilled to partner with Clarent and his team to help build on his unique vision and take his career to new heights,” said Alejandro Duque, president of Warner Music Latin America. “Clarent is a perfect example of how genres get disrupted and authentic sounds emerge and pave new roads in music.”
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Signing Clarent was a months-long process for Warner, added Roberto Andrade, MD of Warner Music Latina. “This isn’t just another record deal — this is an alliance,” he said in a statement. “We crafted a partnership out of months of mutual understanding, collaboration, and shared vision.”
Andrade and Duque worked closely with Clarent and his manager, Jonniel (Jadiel Nuñez Olivera) of Rythmz51, on the deal. On Dec. 13, Clarent is releasing a new track under Warner titled “Babayaga,” a moody trap song.
“Shoutout to the team at Warner Music Latina for believing in this vision and backing us all the way,” said Jonniel. “This is just the kickoff to something amazing. Clarent’s got that raw, undeniable talent, and I’m stoked to be on this journey with him.”
The Music Sustainability Summit has announced programming for its second annual conference, happening Feb. 3 at Solotech Studios Los Angeles. Focused on developing solutions to climate change within the music industry, the event will feature the following talks and panels: C-suite Conversation: What it Takes to Prioritize Sustainability: a conversation with amusic industry executive about […]
In 2024, radio gained a massive star: Shaboozey. Thanks to an ambitious five-format strategy by the EMPIRE label to break “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” to the widest possible audience, the singer-songwriter’s signature track hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July and remained there for a record-tying 19 weeks, making radio history along […]