Business
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JYP Entertainment, the K-pop company behind such artists as TWICE and Stray Kids, is on a roll, with its stock closing Friday (Nov. 22) at 66,100 won ($47.06) — up 11.3% for the week and marking its highest closing price since May 10. This week, the company seemingly got a nudge from the Monday (Nov. 18) announcement of Stray Kids’ 20-date, Live Nation-produced stadium tour in 2025 that will cover North America, Latin America and Europe. But the momentum has been building for a while; over the last three weeks, JYP shares have gained 35.6%.
Other K-pop stocks also posted gains this week: YG Entertainment rose 7.7% as “APT” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars spent a fourth week atop the Billboard global charts and reached No. 1 in Japan. Elsewhere, HYBE improved 4.4% and SM Entertainment increased 4.3%. Collectively, the four K-pop companies have gained an average of 20.7% in the last three weeks and narrowed their average year-to-date deficit to 15%.
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Another high-flying music stock was Live Nation, which jumped 8.7% to an all-time high of $140.26 on Friday after more analysts increased their price targets. Citigroup increased its target on the concert promoter to $163 from $130, while Deutsche Bank upped its target to $150 from $130. As of Friday’s closing price, Live Nation shares have gained 49.8% in 2024 and 19.8% in just the last three weeks. The company’s third-quarter earnings on Nov. 11 can take credit for some of the recent gains, though Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election played a part, too, as investors believe Live Nation’s ongoing lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice will see a more favorable resolution with the incoming administration.
In other music stocks news, Spotify continued its hot streak by gaining 3.7% to $475.27, marking its second-highest closing price ever. A week earlier, Spotify shares gained 14.5% after the company’s third-quarter earnings showed the company achieved a record operating profit. The streaming company’s stock has gained 153% in 2024 and is up 23.6% in the last three weeks alone.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index rose 2.1% to a record 2,208.32 as 14 stocks finished the week with gains, putting it in line with stocks around the globe. In the United States, both the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 increased 1.7%. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE was up 2.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 3.5%. Only China’s Shanghai Composite Index was an exception, dropping 1.9%.
Elsewhere, music streamer LiveOne gained 12.8% to $0.88, while iHeartMedia improved 8.6% to $2.40 after the radio giant announced terms for a debt exchange that will ease the company’s financial burden and extend most of the maturity dates for its debts. As of Nov. 14, note holders representing approximately 85% of outstanding debt have agreed to exchange notes under the new terms.
Just six of the index’s 20 stocks finished the week in negative territory. The sharpest drop came from German concert promoter CTS Eventim, which fell 9.7% this week after the company’s third-quarter earnings showed an increase in revenue but a drop in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin for both the promotion and ticketing segments.
Lastly, label giant Warner Music Group (WMG) dropped 3.3% to $31.85 following the release of its latest quarterly earnings on Thursday (Nov. 21). JP Morgan dropped its price target to $40 from $41 after lowering its estimate for fiscal 2025 adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) to $1.49 billion from $1.527 billion. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank cut its WMG price target to $34 from $36.
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In the last four months, two of the three major labels have seen their stock price punished for missing expectations of subscription growth — effectively sending the message that in 2024, delivering substantial revenue gains isn’t enough. In its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday (Nov. 21), Warner Music Group (WMG) revealed streaming growth of 8.2%, which was below some analysts’ estimates — helping explain why the company’s share price fell 7.4% on Thursday and erased approximately $1.29 billion of market value. The same thing happened to Universal Music Group in July — albeit to a far greater extent — when its lower-than-expected second-quarter subscription growth led to a 24% drop in its share price despite total revenue climbing 8.7%.
To say analysts and investors place a great deal of attention on streaming growth is an understatement. During WMG’s earnings call on Thursday, six of the 10 questions from analysts concerned subscription revenue, including topics such as drivers of expected growth, the setting of wholesale rates and how streaming royalties are calculated and distributed. That’s because analysts — and the investors they speak to — know that platforms such as Spotify and YouTube are critical to record labels and publishers’ fortunes.
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Judging from their introductory remarks, WMG and UMG would rather talk about their companies’ global expansions. On Thursday, WMG CEO Robert Kyncl highlighted the company’s focus on India, a country of 1.4 billion that he called “more like a continent than a country.” Currently dominated by ad-supported streaming, India has the fifth-largest gross domestic product but ranks just 14th amongst recorded music markets. But Kyncl said he believes the country “will become an increasingly influential global force in the music business,” adding that WMG is “well positioned to keep taking market share” through acquisitions and partnerships. Meanwhile, during UMG’s latest earnings call on Oct. 31, CEO Lucian Grainge talked about acquisitions, partnerships and expansions in emerging markets such as China, Thailand and Nigeria.
Constantly pulled back to the topic of music subscriptions, Kyncl and WMG CFO Bryan Castellani attempted to quell any concerns that streaming growth is petering out, explaining how WMG intends to obtain high, single-digit subscription revenue growth even as that growth has been slowing. Relatively few Americans have a music streaming subscription, at least when compared to streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) options such as Netflix; during the call, Kyncl noted that subscription penetration in the U.S. is 30% while SVOD services are at 50%. “There’s a lot more to grow in United States for music,” he said.
Lately, though, the success of music streaming platforms has looked one-sided. The licensees, not the licensors, appear to be keeping most of the spoils of price increases and subscriber acquisitions. As one WMG analyst put it, the major labels’ content is a must-have for digital service providers (DSPs) such as Spotify, but “a lot of value has instead accrued to the DSPs” rather than content owners. At least by one measure, Spotify has reaped the benefits of price increases far more than major labels. Since Spotify announced its first U.S. price increase on July 23, 2023, its share price has risen 177%, compared to 3% for UMG and 4% for WMG.
To level the playing field and reap more of the benefits of subscription music’s popularity, WMG intends to tweak pricing — which it believes the labels will benefit from — to help drive continued subscription growth. For starters, the company expects improvements to come from the launch of a high-priced subscription tier for superfans that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in July could cost $17 or $18 per month. Kyncl and Castellani also pointed to changes in wholesale prices that would establish per-subscriber minimums to reduce the discounts given to family plans and other multi-user accounts. “With both subscriber growth and opportunities for wholesale price increases, the formula for streaming growth is strong and there’s plenty of room for acceleration,” said Kyncl.
The U.S. and other mature streaming markets will deliver subscription growth more immediately than emerging markets still dominated by ad-supported streaming. But over the long term, said WMG, high-growth, emerging markets like India have substantial potential. As Kyncl explained, WMG is betting on countries like India that have rising gross domestic product (GDP) because advertising spending will increase as GDP increases —and rising GDP will eventually translate to more subscribers. Again, Kyncl talked about closing the gap between music and TV; in India, he put the number of music subscribers at 15 million and the number of households with TVs at 100 million.
Streaming has shaped today’s music business. WMG and UMG would not have gone public had it not transformed a once-moribund industry. Investors wouldn’t have poured money into Hipgnosis Songs Fund and other investment funds were it not generating massive royalties for aging catalogs. And prominent institutional investors such as Blackstone and Pimco would not be so enthusiastic about music assets if streaming couldn’t open new markets around the world.
That strong enthusiasm has created high expectations, though, and labels’ mandate to deliver high, single-digit subscription growth is going to transform streaming in the years to come. Prices will be higher. Streaming services will launch high-priced superfan tiers. And if the labels have their way, ad-supported on-demand streaming would no longer be free. However things shake out, the majors seem confident they can deliver.
Merely existing in the world in the past few weeks would be enough for most people to know that the film adaptation of the beloved Broadway play Wicked is arriving in theaters today (Nov. 22).
Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, the musical film is one of the most anticipated releases of the year, with first-week box office projections of $100 million and a marketing campaign that includes everything from billboards to merchandise to late-night TV appearances and even its own category on Jeopardy! earlier this week.
But it’s impossible to separate the spectacle that is Wicked from its songs, and there has also been intense interest in both how the music is incorporated into the film and the construction of its soundtrack, given the original cast recording from 2003 won a Grammy Award in 2005 for best musical show album. And that’s something that NBC Universal president of music Mike Knobloch knew to take extra seriously. “The original cast recording is iconic, so priority number one was to not mess it up,” Knobloch tells Billboard. “It has also been a great opportunity to make a soundtrack for a beloved musical that will only be the second Wicked album in two decades. But while our primary mission was to make the film, we didn’t want the soundtrack to simply be a ‘copied and pasted’ byproduct.”
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To make that happen, Knobloch and original Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, along with the filmmakers, producers and the rest of their music team, got to work more than two years ago to make sure they struck the right notes. And as the film and its soundtrack finally make their way into the world today, Knobloch earns the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Knobloch discusses the work that went into helping Wicked come to life, as well as the marketing campaign behind the project and the state of musical films these days. “Wicked is the perfect example of how it all comes down to just making an excellent movie, whether characters on the screen are singing or not,” he says. “It’s got an engaging story, it’s timely and relevant — eerily so for something written 24 years ago — has performances that take your breath away, it’s visually stunning, exhilarating, innovative and multidimensional in a way that makes the state of the musical movie feel pretty epic right now to me.”
This week, the new film Wicked opened wide in theaters, and the official film soundtrack was released, featuring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and more. What role did you play in helping make this project come to life?
There’s no handbook for how to take an existing stage musical and adapt it for the screen, especially with the film’s scope and scale and lack of constraints compared to the stage, and how cherished these songs are to so many. I worked closely with the filmmakers, Jon Chu and Marc Platt, and composer Stephen Schwartz from the very beginning, starting with the critical task of putting together the right team of best-in-class creative and technical personnel so we could be equipped to make something really special. And then I pretty much assumed the role of the “music team coach” through every stage of production all the way through the delivery of the soundtrack.
When did the work for it first start, what challenges did you face and how did you overcome that?
We started in earnest very early in pre-production more than two years ago, and we had a lot to figure out, starting with the production methodology — how to go about equipping the production for live singing, developing the instrumental tracks, adapting the structure of the music to the requirements of the film and so on. We had to start with demos and record in phases in order to put Schwartz’s brilliant music up on the screen. This allowed the music to have the flexibility to follow the actors’ performances, which provided them a great deal of creative freedom.
We consistently found ourselves in uncharted territory, so we put a lot of emphasis on the “how to” from the jump so that we could drive the process as efficiently as possible — and especially make sure the cast and crew had what they needed well in advance of each day of filming. We did some atypical things, like building a bespoke recording studio tailored to our unique needs and routines, for example. The music team was entrusted with this huge responsibility to work closely together and realize the music of Wicked at a level that’s never been done before. It just required an intense level of teamwork and collaboration at every step.
There is a beloved recording made by the Broadway cast that won a Grammy in 2005 for best musical show album. How did you approach making the soundtrack different, or expand upon it, given that original material?
The original cast recording is iconic, so priority number one was to not mess it up. It has also been a great opportunity to make a soundtrack for a beloved musical that will only be the second Wicked album in two decades. But while our primary mission was to make the film, we didn’t want the soundtrack to simply be a “copied and pasted” byproduct. Stephen Schwartz worked extremely closely with executive music producer Stephen Oremus — who has also been the music director of the stage play since its beginning — producer and mixer Greg Wells, and the rest of the music team to make sure the album would be a standalone and complete aural experience.
So without the dialog — except for some snippets for narrative context — and the rest of the sound from the film, a great deal of time and effort went into balancing the vocals with all the orchestral and other instrumental elements and editing the songs together into a cohesive structure. A lot of care went into capturing cast vocals throughout filming that would be production-quality for the soundtrack so that it would reflect their true performances from the movie. This new soundtrack isn’t really meant to be compared to the Broadway recording since it’s a different medium, obviously — but everyone was extremely careful to be faithful to and respectful of what people know and love about the music of Wicked, as well.
How difficult is it to adapt a Broadway production to film, and how did you navigate that from a music point of view?
With genuinely brilliant talent like Ariana, Cynthia, Jonathan Bailey and the rest of the cast, combined with Jon Chu’s imaginative direction, the “adaptation” of the music really gets to be led by their amazing performances. There are orchestration choices, instrumentation and dynamics that differentiate what these songs sound like on stage versus onscreen. Of course, Wicked is a break-out-into-song musical, but something it does very well is to transition in and out of songs without having any of those obvious flags that make you think, “Oh, she’s about to sing something now.” It’s all very fluid and organic, and the musical “bed” was subsequently built to support the performances on the screen. John Powell coming in to score the movie with Stephen Schwartz was also a big part of differentiating the style, scope and scale of the storytelling on the screen. Their score is what glues it all together and makes it feel cinematic.
Wicked has benefited already from an extensive marketing campaign. What role did you play in that, and how have you seen that pay off?
Wicked, the film and the campaign, is just the biggest thing we’ve ever done. Accordingly, we needed a soundtrack partner that could rise to that level and bring an appropriate amount of supplementary marketing muscle to the campaign. We’ve had a great deal of soundtrack success with Republic Records over the years. For Wicked, we had the fortuitous advantage with Republic in that they are also the label to which Cynthia and Ariana are both signed. Our combined teams — along with Verve Records — have been working together since the beginning and our shared mandate was to swing for the fences and treat this soundtrack like an A-list artist record. That has really framed what we’ve done at every step to put together an impactful global campaign filled with “first-ever” initiatives and top-tier programs with partners.
Also, Ariana and Cynthia have been in the war room and a critical part of creative and strategic decisions alike. So it’s just been much different than a typical movie soundtrack of songs and/or score in terms of the level of anticipation, fandom and demand. That said, we are not leaving anything on the table with this global marketing campaign. It’s been a really special, once-in-a-lifetime, lightning-in-a-bottle experience and an honor to be part of it.
How do you feel about the state of the musical movie in general right now?
I feel great about it. Audiences show up for quality films of all genres and, as you may have noticed from our campaign, nobody is trying to disguise the fact that this is a break-out-into-song musical — but that isn’t singularly what defines it. Wicked is the perfect example of how it all comes down to just making an excellent movie, whether characters on the screen are singing or not. It’s got an engaging story, it’s timely and relevant — eerily so for something written 24 years ago — has performances that take your breath away, it’s visually stunning, exhilarating, innovative and multidimensional in way that makes the state of the musical movie feel pretty epic right now to me.
What other projects do you have on the horizon?
Following Twisters and The Wild Robot and Wicked, we have a diverse portfolio of projects in the pipeline: Our specialty shingle Focus Features is releasing Nosferatu and is also in production on a biopic that’s the true story of a Neil Diamond impersonator. We’re in production on another Super Mario Bros film as well as a Shrek reboot, and we’ve also got another Jurassic World film coming next year, a live-action How To Train Your Dragon to name just a few. And of course, Wicked Part Two!
SiriusXM violated federal consumer protection law by making it too difficult for listeners to cancel their subscriptions, a New York judge says.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed last year by Attorney General Letitia James, who accused the satellite radio company of subjecting cancelling subscribers to a “burdensome endurance contest” that required phone conversations with a live agent and extended time spent on hold.
In a decision issued Thursday, Jude Lyle Frank said that SiriusXM’s policies didn’t rise to the level of fraud or deception, but had still violated the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act – a federal law requiring such services to provide a “simple” cancellation process.
In doing so, the judge ruled that SiriusXM had made it far harder to cancel a subscription than it was to sign up for one in the first place. He cited “inevitable wait times” before customers speak to agents who SiriusXM had instructed to “think of every ‘no’ simply as a request for more information.”
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“Respondents allow for a customer to sign up to a subscription without interacting with a live agent but require that a customer do just that in order to cancel,” the judge wrote. “The policies may not rise to the level of fraud … but they do fail the simple mechanism requirement of ROSCA.”
Though the court sided with New York on that question, he also dismissed four of the lawsuit’s five counts, including the attorney general’s allegations that SiriusXM’s practices violated New York state laws barring fraudulent conduct or deceptive practices.
Judge Frank said the company had “taken repeated steps” to prevent its cancellation process from crossing the line from “aggravating” into outright fraud. He cited other training materials in which the company told agents to be “fast, friendly, and efficient” and that “it’s ok to let a customer leave.”
“That Sirius, when contacted by customers requesting a cancellation, then engages in a conversation that offers some customers a different or better deal on their subscription before proceeding to cancellation is not deceptive or misleading,” the judge wrote. “It may be frustrating, but it is not deceptive.”
In a statement to Billboard on Friday, SiriusXM stressed those aspects of the decision, saying the court had “dismissed almost all of the charges” and found the company’s process to be “neither misleading nor deceptive.”
“While the court found some technical violations of a federal statute, it did not find that SiriusXM ever deceived anyone or committed any fraud,” the company wrote. “SiriusXM intends to appeal the court’s ruling as to those technical violations.”
In her own statement, the attorney general said the ruling would force to Sirius to “change its cancellation procedures in New York” and ensure the company’s customers are “no longer required to speak or chat with a live agent in order to cancel.”
“No one should have to endure a lengthy and frustrating process to cancel a subscription, and any company that forces customers to jump through unnecessary hoops to end their subscriptions is breaking the law,” James said. “My office sued SiriusXM to protect consumers, and as a result of our actions, they will have to simplify their cancellation process to stop taking advantage of New Yorkers.”
Thursday’s written decision says New York is entitled to an injunction against SiriusXM forcing the company to alter its practices to adhere to the federal statute. He also ordered an “an assessment of damages against respondent Sirius XM,” but did not say how large of a monetary penalty it might be.
It’s time to drop the needle on Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music.
Read on for good news and don’t forget to cast your vote for the Power 100 Players’ Choice Award, plus peruse our annual list of the industry’s savviest financial advisers, our weekly interview series spotlighting a single c-suiter and our calendar of notable industry events.
Gee Davy was officially named chief executive of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), following her interim leadership since the April departure of Silvia Montello. Joining AIM in 2017 as head of legal and business affairs and becoming chief operating officer in 2020, Gee has played a pivotal role in championing the UK’s independent music sector. As CEO, she’ll continue to advocate for the music community, focusing on issues like funding, streaming reform, and the ethical use of AI. AIM chair Ruth Barlow commended Gee’s leadership over the past eight months and underscored the importance of protecting the independence of the industry amidst creeping corporate consolidation. “True independence remains a vital counterbalance to the consolidation of power that major corporations wield,” she said. “It’s never been more important for the independent community to stand together for integrity and values that genuinely support and respect artists and rightsholders.” At AIM’s annual general meeting this week, four new board members were also elected: Junior Foster, Leah Ellis, Matt Bristow and Rachel Buswell. They replace outgoing members Alice Whittington, Clare McKinney, Jason Rackham and Sarah Cole.
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CTS Eventim named Karel Dörner as chief technology officer of the German concert promoter and ticketing company, effective New Year’s Day. A seasoned expert in digital transformation among Europes’s business community, Dörner brings experience from leading McKinsey Digital Labs in Western Europe and co-founding eBay Europe. In this newly created role, he will oversee the IT, product and information science divisions, driving digitalization, data-centered business models and the integration of generative AI. Key team members, including Christoph Bodi and James Brooke, will report to him. This appointment allows COO Alexander Ruoff, the current point-person for IT and product, to focus on international development. Dörner’s expertise aligns with CTS Eventim’s growth strategy, with CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg lauding his “proven expertise” and “entrepreneurial skills,” adding that “he will bring fresh impetus to the company.”
Concord announced the formation of its new advisory board of noted executives who’ll guide the music company’s strategic direction and innovation. The board includes Greg Ballard, former CEO of Glu Mobile and Warner Custom Music; Liat Ben-Zur, a digital transformation expert with experience at Microsoft and Philips; Janicza Bravo, an acclaimed writer and director; Darien Dash, a business leader in music, technology, and finance; Marc Geiger, co-creator of Lollapalooza and founder of SAVELIVE; Nick Grouf, an entrepreneur and investor known for co-founding Firefly and Pluto TV; TJ Haynes-Morgan, chief audit executive at Raymond James Financial; Scott Pascucci, former CEO of Concord and current executive chairman of Morrison Hotel Gallery; Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running Company; Tom Whalley, a veteran music executive and founder of Loma Vista Recordings; and Jake Wisely, a co-founder and equity partner of Concord.
BOARD SHORTS: Michelle Escoffery was elected chair of The Ivors Academy Trust, a UK charity supporting disadvantaged songwriters and composers. As the Trust approaches its 25th anniversary in 2025, Escoffery’s dedication to music creators is clear, having joined as a Trustee in 2023. With over three decades in the music industry, she is currently president of PRS for Music Members’ Council, a Trustee of the PRS Foundation, and a member of ICMP’s Industry Advisory Board … Sarah Morris, general manager of NPR‘s affiliates in Kansas City, has been elected to the public broadcaster’s board of directors.
Vanessa Brennan | Orfium
Vanessa Brennan joined Orfium as chief transformation officer, a newly created position at the Los Angeles-based music rights management tech firm. Reporting to CEO Rob Wells, she’ll align cross-functional teams for strategic growth. Brennan previously held senior roles at Slack, including director of engineering, and at Spotify, where she managed security and system monitoring. Wells praised her strategic insight and technological expertise as vital to Orfium’s growth, saying her “leadership abilities will be instrumental as we expand our global footprint and continue innovating to drive value for the entertainment industry.”
ADA, the independent music distribution and artist services division of WMG, is expanding in Southeast Asia with new operations in Indonesia and Thailand. Rasti Sryantoro, founder of Solar Sounds Jakarta and a veteran of Sony Music, will lead ADA Indonesia, while Arisa Maruekatat, with 18 years of expertise at LINE TV, TikTok and elsewhere, will head up ADA Thailand. In Indonesia, ADA has extended its partnership with DPM, connecting with 28 independent labels to amplify artists’ international profiles. Notable names like Armada and Marcell are part of this collaboration. Additionally, ADA signed an exclusive deal with Voice of Baceprot (VOB), the first Indonesian band to perform at Glastonbury, to further their global reach. These initiatives highlight ADA’s commitment to supporting independent music and strengthening its presence in Southeast Asia, fostering growth and international opportunities for regional artists.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Michele Singer joined Penske Media as vice president and associate general counsel, overseeing legal matters for a swath of publications including Robb Report, SheMedia and the art-focused outlets Art News, Art in America and Artforum, while also supporting Fairchild alongside Nicole Brandofino. Based in New York, Singer will report to Judith Margolin, senior vp and deputy general counsel. Singer brings a wealth of media law expertise, having previously served as G to the C for JAF Communications and MRC Media, where she backed teams here at Billboard and at The Hollywood Reporter. Her skills encompass newsroom counseling, strategic partnerships, data privacy, litigation and advertising law. Before transitioning to media law, Singer spent two decades in the music industry with Sony Music, BMG and EMI Music, handling business affairs … Ex-Billboard news director Shirley Halperin is joining Maer Roshan as co-editor-in-chief of our sister publication, The Hollywood Reporter. It’s a sequel for Halperin, who previously had a seven-year tenure at THR before taking her talents to Variety and, most recently, Los Angeles Magazine.
Believe announced a new leadership structure in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), appointing Liliana Abudalo as head of label & artist solutions and Celine Hitti as head of artist services. Both will report to regional managing director Dolly Makhoul. Based in Dubai, Abudalo brings over 16 years of experience, having worked with YouTube and other key music companies in the region. Hitti, based in Paris, will focus on empowering independent artists through marketing strategies. Previously head of editorial & marketing partnerships, she has significantly contributed to the Arab music scene and was recognized in Billboard Arabia’s 40 under 40 list. “This new leadership team represents a bold step forward in our mission to deliver unique value to our partners and clients, accompanying them at every stage of their development,” said Dolly Makhoul, Believe’s regional managing director. “Through our MENA footprint, we aim at continuing to establish Believe locally as a leading music company in line with our own vision, model and values: independence, expertise, respect, fairness and transparency.”
Belinda Dinwiddie Havron | Musicians On Call
Musicians On Call, which brings live music to hospitals, named Belinda Dinwiddie Havron as its first Chief Development Officer. Havron will lead all fundraising efforts, including support from individuals, corporate partnerships, events and grants. Over her 37-year career, Havron has raised millions for various causes, including $60 million for capital and special projects. She previously worked at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, creating charitable funds and securing significant support for nonprofits. “Her incomparable reputation in Nashville and decades of experience helping charities grow and thrive will be invaluable as we build the future of our organization,” said MOC president and CEO Pete Griffin. “I know with her leadership we will see great success in expanding our programs to new communities.”
Independent distributor IDOL appointed Rayen Gonzalez as DSP editorial & partnerships manager (UK) to support its growing London roster. Gonzalez, previously with [PIAS], will report to UK general manager Roo Currier and head of DSP editorial & partnerships Paul Pétel. This appointment aligns with IDOL’s new global services deal with UK labels Full Time Hobby and Hassle Records. IDOL will manage worldwide digital distribution, marketing, and audience development for these labels, excluding Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The team will work closely with the labels and artists to expand international audiences using advanced analytics to track playlist performance and consumption trends.
Joanna Batemits launched CLUB S’AKOÚO, an independent music supervision and consulting agency in New York. She previously led the music department at Carousel Collective, working with brands like Victoria’s Secret, Pepsi, Spotify and Calvin Klein, among others. CLUB S’AKOÚO, which deals in music supervision, copyright clearance, licensing, production and talent negotiations, looks to help client integrate music thoughtfully into media projects and create impactful campaigns. Recently, the agency secured the Spice Girls’ “Never Give Up On The Good Times” for Victoria’s Secret’s holiday campaign.
Peter Ratcliffe is the new director of content protection at UK labels trade body BPI, effective immediately. With a 32-year career in The City of London Police, where he managed the UK Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit and served as Detective Superintendent, Ratcliffe brings extensive expertise in intellectual property protection. He will lead BPI’s 16-member Content Protection Unit, working closely with BPI’s legal team to address digital and physical music piracy. Reporting to CEO Dr. Jo Twist OBE and supported by Niki Haywood, Ratcliffe’s appointment underscores BPI’s commitment to safeguarding artists’ work in the evolving music landscape. Dr. Twist highlighted Ratcliffe’s invaluable experience in IP infringement as a crucial asset “at a pivotal time in the transformation of our industry, when human artistry needs more safeguarding than ever.”
Jack Clulow, tvg hospitality‘s group operations director, is relocating from the UK to New York to join the U.S. team. Since 2017, Clulow has been instrumental in launching and managing 13 music and hospitality venues in London and Alabama, with three more projects underway in the U.S., including a new venue in Los Angeles. Founded by Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett, tvg hospitality venues — including the Orion in Huntsville, Ala. and Flat Iron Square in London — and are known for their high quality designs and attention to hospitality that emphasize local character.
ICYMI:
Gerardo Mejía
Pam Matthews will retire next year from her role as executive director at the International Entertainment Buyer’s Association (IEBA) … Global Citizen has made two key appointments to their executive leadership team … Gerardo Mejía of “Rico Suave” fame got a promotion at UnitedMasters … Kevin Lipson was elevated to chief revenue officer at Republic … and Sony Music Nashville named Taylor Lindsey as chairman and CEO. [KEEP READING]
Last Week’s Turntable: Universal Hires Warner Veteran to Lead EMI Japan
Michael “Mike” Bryan Martinovich, a music industry veteran best known for his work at CBS Records/Sony Music in Nashville and later as a consultant, died Monday (Nov. 18) in Nashville at age 81.
Martinovich joined CBS/Sony in 1969 as a sales representative for its St. Louis branch. He later became promotion manager for Epic Records in that same market before relocating to Atlanta to work as a sales manager and, later, Cincinnati to serve as a branch manager. He was later promoted to vp of merchandising and spent the next decade at CBS Records’ New York headquarters, working with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Journey and James Taylor. He subsequently took on the role of vp of marketing when he relocated to CBS Records Nashville in December 1988. In that role, he directed marketing strategy for artists including Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Charlie Daniels, Joe Diffie and Rodney Crowell.
In 1994, Martinovich joined with Garth Brooks’ marketing leader Joe Mansfield to form Mansfield-Martinovich Associates. While working as strategic consultants to Wal-Mart’s music merchandiser Anderson Merchandisers, the duo created Wal-Mart’s Country Music Across America’s Parking Lot Tour, which highlighted more than 50 rising country artists in 60 markets over three touring seasons.
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In 2003, Martinovich and a trio of partners launched The Consortium, which offered strategic consulting for Broken Bow Records (BBR) and oversaw branding and licensing for The Weather Channel.
A 1992 graduate of Leadership Music, Martinovich served on the organization’s board of directors. He also served as vp at large on the ACM board of directors, on the marketing committee of the Recording Industry Association of America and filled the role of chairman of CMA’s marketing development committee. He was also a member of the Recording Academy.
Martinovich’s sons followed him into the music industry, with Bo Martinovich becoming an executive at Sony Music Nashville and Michael Dimitry Martinovich working in artist management with bands including My Morning Jacket and Good Charlotte.
Visitation and viewing will take place on Friday (Nov. 22) from 3:30-6:00 p.m. at Eastland Funeral Home, located at 904 Gallatin Avenue in Nashville. A funeral service will be held Saturday (Nov. 23) at 12 p.m. at Svetka Petka Serbian Orthodox Church, located at 1712 5th Avenue North in Nashville. Contributions may be made in Michael’s name to Svetka Petka Serbian Orthodox Church.
Warner Music Group (WMG) reported earnings on Thursday (Nov. 21), and there was much that its executives wanted to discuss beyond the usual profitability metrics and balance sheet management. On a call with financial analysts, CEO Robert Kyncl discussed Warner’s recent reorganization — how it built a simpler, flatter, faster structure, according to him — as well as why he’s so confident that streaming revenues will continue to deliver strong growth and the company’s M&A and internal investment plans.
Here are some of the highlights.
Bullish on subscription streaming growth
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WMG executives said they expect subscription streaming revenue to continue to grow by high single-digit increases, and analysts peppered them with questions about how they will achieve that. WMG CFO Bryan Castellani said that roughly 70% of that growth will come from more people paying for music streaming subscriptions everywhere — from markets like the United States, where many already pay to stream music, to places like India, where far fewer people do so but where there is much room for growth. To bolster his argument, Castellani pointed to the 70 to 80 million new subscribers he says began paying for streaming subscriptions in the past year.
Additionally, WMG gained a greater share of the most streamed songs thanks to popular releases from Rosé, Bruno Mars, Teddy Swims, Benson Boone, Charli XCX, Zach Bryan and others. Kyncl said WMG’s market share of the Spotify 200 has increased by 10 percentage points since he became CEO.
The final reason for their optimism is the various price increases at the DSPs that Kyncl believes his side will benefit from, including things like higher wholesale prices earned off of family plans and other multi-user subscription streaming plans that currently get discounts; higher-priced subscriptions for super fans; and premium audio or further audience segmentation. “Wholesale prices generally go up,” Kyncl said. “It may not have happened that way in music in the past, but it is how it happens in 99% of industries. We are just trying to align with the way the world works.”
Elliot Grainge’s Star Rises Inside and Outside WMG
Kyncl kicked off the call with comments about WMG’s recent restructuring, which included promoting Elliot Grainge, the founder of the independent label 10K Projects and son of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, to lead the renowned Atlantic Records Group. Kyncl described Atlantic and Warner Records as “important twin engines of growth” and said Elliot’s team has “an impressive ability to discover extraordinary talent across multiple genres and find fresh ways [to make them] stand out from the crowd.” Kyncl added that Warner Records, under the leadership of Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson, is adroit at driving hits and creating superstars.
“I cannot stress enough how exhilarating it is to watch the creative success of both Warner Records and Atlantic are having,” Kyncl said.
An analyst later asked Kyncl what it is about Grainge that worked at 10K and if that will translate to future success at Atlantic, acknowledging that Grainge “has stepped into a much larger, broader and important role.”
Kyncl said 10K has demonstrated “phenomenal growth from top line to bottom line” since Warner began a joint venture with the independent label last year, and he thinks Grainge and his team’s digitally native approach gives Warner an edge for how music is being consumed and shared and how artists are being discovered today.
Kyncl also praised Grainge for his intensity — “I love that about him” — and said he takes strong points of view when making decisions, adding that doing so appeals to talent.
The silver lining of cost cuts
Cutting costs, reducing its headcount and restructuring some label groups saved an estimated $260 million on an annualized basis, WMG said in September — money Kyncl says is now freed up for dealmaking and internal investments.
“Our focus on efficiency has freed up capital, enabling us to increase our investments in growth opportunities,” Kyncl said in prepared remarks.
WMG also increased investment in A&R by around 11%, allowing it to sign more new artists and songwriters and to make more catalog acquisitions.
Additionally, WMG continues to explore companies to acquire that could fill a need within its larger companies — so-called bolt-on acquisitions. Billboard reported in June that WMG is shopping for an alternative distribution company, and it poached Goldman Sachs investment banker Michael Ryan-Southern this summer to lead M&A; WMG’s companies around the globe are now exploring the gaps in their services and looking to Ryan-Southern’s team for suggestions on acquisitions to fit those needs. The company is also exploring the launch, with equity partners and debt facilities, of a catalog acquisition platform and fund for artist advances, sources tell Billboard.
Miley Cyrus has filed her first response to a lawsuit claiming her “Flowers” infringes the copyright to Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” arguing the case has a “fatal flaw”: That Mars and his other co-writers chose not to sue.
Filed in September, the lawsuit claims the chart-topping hit stole numerous elements from the earlier song and “would not exist” without it. But it wasn’t filed by Mars — the case was lodged by an entity called Tempo Music Investments that bought out the rights of one of his co-writers.
In her first response to the allegations on Wednesday, attorneys for Miley said that the total lack of involvement from Mars and two other co-writers was not some procedural quirk in the case, but rather a “fatal flaw” that required the outright dismissal of the lawsuit.
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“Plaintiff unambiguously [says] that it obtained its claimed rights in the ‘When I Was Your Man’ copyright from only one of that musical composition’s four co-authors,” write Cyrus’ attorneys. “That is a fatal and incurable defect in plaintiff’s claim.”
Repped by Peter Anderson of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, Cyrus argues that Tempo’s acquisition of a “partial interest” from songwriter Philip Lawrence gave the company only “non-exclusive rights” to the song. Under federal copyright law, her lawyers say such limited rights don’t give him “standing” to sue – a crucial requirement for any lawsuit in the U.S. legal system.
“Plaintiff brings this copyright infringement action alone — without any of that musical composition’s co-authors or other owners,” Anderson writes. “Without the consent of the other owners, a grant of rights from just one co-owner does not confer standing.”
Responding those arguments from Cyrus, Tempo Music lead counsel Alex Weingarten told Billboard on Thursday that the motion from her attorneys was “intellectually dishonest” and that the group clearly had standing to pursue the lawsuit.
“They’re seeking to make bogus technical arguments because they don’t have an actual substantive defense to the case,” said Weingarten, an attorney at the firm Willkie Farr. “We’re not an assignee; we’re the owner of the copyright. The law is clear that we have the right to enforce our interest.”
“Flowers,” which spent eight weeks atop the Hot 100, has been linked to “Your Man” since it was released in January 2023. Many fans immediately saw the Cyrus track as an “answer song,” with lyrics that clearly referenced those in the Mars song. The reason, according to internet sleuths, was that “Your Man” was a favorite of Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth – and her allusions were a nod to their divorce.
When “Flowers” was first released, legal experts told Billboard that Cyrus was likely not violating copyrights simply by using similar lyrics to fire back at the earlier song – a time-honored music industry tradition utilized by songs ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” to countless rap diss records.
But Tempo sued in September, claiming “Flowers” had lifted numerous elements beyond the clap-back lyrics, including “melodic and harmonic material,” “pitch ending pattern,” and “bass-line structure.” The case said it was “undeniable” that Cyrus’ hit “would not exist” if not for “Your Man.”
In Wednesday’s response, attorneys for Cyrus also take aim at the substance of those allegations, arguing that the two songs show “striking differences in melody, chords, other musical elements, and words.” They say the songs might share a “few” similarities but “none of which is protected by copyright.”
“The songwriter defendants categorically deny copying, and the allegedly copied elements are random, scattered, unprotected ideas and musical building blocks,” Anderson writes.
But the filing mostly left those arguments for another day, instead focusing on the requirement that only “exclusive” copyright owners can file infringement lawsuits – a rule that Cyrus’ lawyers exists for a “simple” reason.
“In the case of joint works, the co-authors are joint owners of the exclusive copyright rights, each owning a non-exclusive interest in the undivided whole,” they write. “As a result, a single co-author of a copyright interest, acting alone, cannot assign or license exclusive rights because those rights also are owned by the assignor’s or licensor’s co-authors.”
AllTrack, a U.S.-based collection society founded in 2017, has announced the launch of a mechanical rights division. Now, AllTrack members can opt-in to get their mechanical royalties collected along with performance royalties, making AllTrack the only U.S. performance rights organization (PRO) to collect both through a single platform.
With the move, AllTrack tells Billboard it hopes to become a competitor of DIY publishing administrators like SongTrust or TuneCore Publishing which offer short-term deals for small independent songwriters, who are often looking for a stopgap solution to collecting royalties before they sign larger publishing deals.
The AllTrack mechanical collection service will charge a 15% administration fee for all royalties collected, and writers using the service must sign a 2 year agreement.
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Around the world, it is customary for collection societies to collect both performance and mechanical royalties on behalf of writers, but these have always been separate services in the United States, adding to the complexity of the royalty collection process for songwriters. Since the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) in 2017, the legislation that simplified the mechanical royalty collection process for the streaming age, mechanicals for interactive streaming have been collected by the MMA-mandated Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC).
The MLC is open for any songwriter who wants to sign up. Unlike PROs, it does not charge an administration fee to any songwriter or publisher for collecting, matching and processing royalties, given the MMA ordered the streaming services to pay for the MLC’s operations. When a songwriter signs up for AllTrack’s mechanical service, those mechanicals still go through processing with the MLC, but AllTrack becomes the liaison that ensures the writer is properly registered and collecting royalties from the MLC. Essentially, the firm wants to offer a one-stop shop for independent writers who find the multi-society system of royalty collection to be too cumbersome.
AllTrack will also collect mechanical royalties for its clients in areas that don’t fall under the domain of the MLC, including social media services like TikTok, YouTube and Meta, as well as fitness and gaming applications.
“We’re thrilled to expand our services to include mechanical rights, which typically represent a significant portion of a music creator’s publishing income,” says Hayden Bower, founder and CEO of AllTrack. “Our integrated approach addresses the independent sector’s long-standing need for a simplified royalty collection process. AllTrack members can now receive the compensation they’re entitled to faster and more efficiently than ever before.”
The news comes just months after AllTrack announced that it had been accepted into CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) and after the U.S. PRO system has come under more scrutiny. In September, Billboard broke the news that the House Judiciary Committee had sent a letter to the Copyright Office asking for further examination into PROs, citing “difficult to assess” royalty collections and the “proliferation of PROs.”
TikTok and ICE have signed a long term licensing deal. The new agreement means that TikTok and its users can will to have access to the broad and wide ranging catalog of songs represented by ICE, which includes many of Europe’s biggest collection societies like PRS, STIM and GEMA. ICE also represents peermusic, Concord and Songtrust.
TikTok also launched its first-ever TikTok for Songwriters event on Tuesday (Nov. 19) at its London headquarters. Featuring appearance by JADE and Kamille, the event celebrating the art of songwriting in partnership with PRS and The Ivors Academy.
Seeker Music, the songwriter-led music rights, publishing and record company, has acquired the publishing rights to indie-rock band The Wombats’ first four albums. Formed in Liverpool in 2003, The Wombats early catalog contains hits like “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” “Greek Tragedy,” and “Turn.” The Wombats said in a statement about the deal: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the team at Seeker and can’t think of a better team to help build our catalogue over the coming years.”
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Slipstream, a music licensing platform with over 650,000 songs in its production library, has partnered with Kobalt for publishing administration. Earlier this fall, Slipstream announced that it had acquired Anthem Entertainment’s production music businesses, including Jingle Punks, 5 Alarm Music and Cavendish Music.
Platinum Grammar Publishing has signed singer-songwriter Morgan St. Jean to a global publishing deal. A co-writer on Chappell Roan’s hit song “Casual,” St. Jean is a fast-rising talent in songwriting world. As an artist, St. Jean got her start as a featured artist on the Borgeous single “Famous” and Loud Luxury’s “Aftertaste.” Since then, she has also released solo material, including the viral hit “Not All Men.” Her new publishing home, Platinum Grammar, was founded in 2022 by Joie Manda as a fully independent, self-funded publishing venture with the hopes of developing new talent. The company also recently signed Adam Wendler, co-writer of Dasha’s “Austin.”
Third Side Music has signed Katie Crutchfield, better known as indie band Waxahatchee, to a global publishing deal. News of the signing arrives just after Waxahatchee earned a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album, and the A&R who signed her, Brontë Jane, received a promotion to become the company’s new executive vp of creative/A&R. In addition, TSM has elevated Mariah Flores to creative/A&R manager.
Maison Arts has signed producer/songwriter Alexander “AYOKAY” O’Neill to a publishing agreement. Along with his own artist project, making dance/electronic music, AYOKAY has lent his production skills to artists like Quinn XCII, Chelsea Cutler, Jeremy Zucker, Carly Rae Jepson and more.
Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Manchester-based singer-songwriter Lusaint to a global publishing deal. The news follows the release of Lusaint’s debut EP, Self Sabotage, released via Heavenly Fire.
Position Music, has announced the signing of SLOE JACK to a worldwide publishing deal. News of the agreement comes soon after SLOE JACK, a 22-year-old multi-genre talent, signed a label deal with Dream Artists and Interscope Records.
Warner Chappell Music and Cornman Music have jointly signed Trent Wayne to a global publishing deal. The southern Mississippi native has collaborated with notable songwriters such as Schmitty, Reid Morris, Noah Hudson, Zach John King, Matt Mulhare, Chase McDaniel, Mia Mantia, and Brett James, among many others.
Bosworth Music GmbH, part of Wise Music Group, has signed a further publishing agreement with the globally acclaimed Icelandic composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds for his entire back catalogue as well as new works. Arnalds began his relationship with Wise Music Group in 2020.