State Champ Radio Business
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The Kid LAROI has seen the world, and, at times, owned it with a string of chart hits, awards and records smashed. On Monday night, Nov. 17, the inner-Sydney raised, Los Angles-based singer returned home in triumphant fashion for a secret gig, a launch pad for ARIAs Week.
Performing with a four-piece backing band, and wearing an all-black ensemble, including a black tie and leather jacket, LAROI is grateful and in a soulful mood, laughing at times as he slides through a mid-tempo collection of songs.
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Gone are the hoodies, baggies and the floppy blonde locks. This 22-year-old is all grown up.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 17: The Kid LAROI performs onstage the Spotify Artist Party at Cell Block Theatre on November 17, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Hanna Lassen/Getty Images for Spotify)
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“It’s been a crazy last year. I don’t know how to process it still,” he tells the gathering at Cell Block Theatre in Darlinghurst, where the likes of Ninajirachi, Baker Boy and members of the Wiggles watch on.
When he last time performed on home soil, exactly a year ago, LAROI played arenas for his The First Time tour, and at Accor Stadium, for the NRL Grand Final. On Monday, for this inaugural Spotify Artist Party, LAROI played to a space smaller than some of the L.A. parties he attends.
ARIAs Week is always a special time of year. The Australian sun is typically baking in mid-to-late November, the holiday period is closing in, and the ARIA Awards, the national recording industry’s flagship event, is the crescendo for the year in music.
Homegrown stars Dom Dolla, Missy Higgins, Amy Shark and many more will stroll the red carpet, and brave the heat, alongside internationals Kacey Musgraves and Olivia Dean.
LAROI won’t be there. He bailed for a flight early Tuesday. The Kid admittedly has work to do setting up his next record, but he played his part in this annual celebration of Aussie music.
Spotify wants in, too. 2025 marks the first in the streaming giant’s three-year partnership with the ARIA Awards, and comes at a time when domestic artists are struggling to impact the national charts, the official singles tally in particular.
According to data supplied by Spotify, this campaign has already driven hundreds of thousands of additional streams for ARIA-nominated artists, and included 800-plus “high-impact” placements across Australia and key global markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Korea and Japan.
Ahead of the big show, more than 250,000 Australians have already cast votes in-app for the public-voted categories, including best music festival, a new category. That result is said to surpass total engagement for the past two years combined.
Billboard caught up with Joe Hadley, Spotify’s global head of music partnerships & audience, to peel back the layers on the ARIAs collaboration.
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Billboard: Let’s talk about the three-year partnership, how that came about and why?
Joe Hadley: If you were to just zoom out and look at our partnership strategy as a whole, we really want to show up as a company where culture is happening, in a way that we can be supportive of both the industry and the artists.
When we were looking at the ARIAs, it was a no-brainer to show up here for this community.
It’s not about sponsoring an event. It’s about creating something together with the artists and the labels and our partners to build long-lasting impact.
You worked closely with the Music Awards Japan. Were there any lessons to learn from that?
That was a little bit different. It was the first year that something like that had happened in Japan. It was an incredible moment, so we were really in it with them from the beginning, to build something special. The ARIAs are long-established. We wanted to make sure that if we were to partner, we could amplify and take a national event and make it truly global, so we’ve worked really hard in partnership with the ARIA to do that. One thing you’ll hear me keep repeating through this is we’re taking something that has been a truly incredible national event and helping to globalize it.
Spotify is traditionally looked at as a digital company. We wanted too show up in real life in places where it matters, so seeing the artist-facing billboards in-person adds another layer of realness, to what we’re doing. But then having the event, the party with some incredible performances, that was also a key part of bringing this all together.
Do you have any takeaways from the ARIAs’ in-app voting?
What I think is more interesting is that the last couple of years, the most voted-for category has been international artist of the year, and with this shift to in-app voting on Spotify, that’s now changed to song of the year, which is obviously local artists. Which is a really incredible moment for us in the ARIAs to really push local music.
Is Australian music having a moment, or is it anywhere near having a moment?
Australian music is always having a moment. Dance and electronic music is leading the global breakthrough story. Dom Dollar, FISHER, Ninajirachi are in that genre and it’s having a real explosive moment right now.
The sheer number of artist signings announced on a weekly basis makes it difficult to keep up, no matter how closely you pay attention to the industry news cycle. That’s why every other Tuesday, Billboard compiles the latest signings to labels, distributors, agencies, management companies and more, in an effort to provide a snapshot of the latest moves in the artist space, from household names to indie stars to emerging acts.
First up this week, UTA signed singer-songwriter, actress and model FKA twigs for global representation in all areas. Twigs most recently released the album Eusexua Afterglow, a follow-up to her acclaimed album Eusexua from earlier this year that just nabbed a Grammy nod for best dance/electronic album. She’s slated to perform at Coachella next April.
Renowned Mexican singer Lucero is embarking on a new chapter in her career with Seitrack Records, the record label division of Ocesa Seitrack. On Oct. 29, the star, who has more than 45 years of experience in TV, film and music, signed an agreement with Octavio Padilla, the company’s director. Ranchera music will be the focus of this new phase of her career, with an upcoming album produced by Aureo Baqueiro. — Tere Aguilera
Miami company Fundamentals, led by Horacio Rodríguez, signed Ecuadorian rising star Jombriel and his longtime collaborator and producer Jøtta. Hailing from Esmeraldas, Jombriel was featured in Billboard‘s On the Radar Latin earlier this year. In March, the 22-year-old earned his first No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 with the Ryan Castro-assisted remix of his viral hit “Parte & Choke,” also featuring Alex Krack and Jøtta. Jombriel’s breakthrough single, “Vitamina” with DFZM and Jøtta, has garnered more than 325 million Spotify streams, according to Fundamentals, and is included on his debut 2025 album, Jombriel de la Suerte. Jøtta, a rising creative force in the Latin music world, is the producer behind these chart-topping hits, which blend dancehall, reggaeton and tropical sounds. — Isabela Raygoza
Check out more recent artist signings below.
Mad Tsai (Rebellion Records)
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Aspen Live, the annual live music industry conference, is returning to Aspen, Colo., Dec. 4-6. Capped at an attendance of 150 people and scheduled around Colorado’s winter activities, the event is the brainchild of longtime touring and event producer Jim Lewi, who heads up production and business development for Embarc Events.
“The first year we did it in 1996, everybody who came was a skier or snowboarder,” says Lewi. “It was dumping snow, and everybody wanted to go out and ski. So I said, ‘Okay, no meetings until after the lifts close.’”
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That philosophy continues today, even though only half of the attendees ski or snowboard, according to Lewi. Mornings feature a group breakfast, followed by activities — skiing, cooking classes, nature walks — that are designed to keep attendees networking. Panel discussions happen in the afternoons, followed by cocktail parties and dinners around town.
The conference’s most anticipated panel brings together Dave Marcus from Ticketmaster, Dean DeWulf from AXS and Sean Stewart from StubHub, moderated by manager Randy Nichols. It’s a lineup that Lewi acknowledges could get contentious.
“I warned StubHub before they said yes that it could get rough with people in the room,” Lewi says. “But this is part of our distribution network now. We can fight it, or we can do business with them and try to get rid of the bots.”
Lewi sees the secondary market as an opportunity for rights holders to capture upside they’re currently missing. “If you’re gonna charge more money for my ticket, I want to get paid on the upside,” he explains. “That’s Sean’s job — to have that direct relationship with the rights holders.”
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Aspen Live’s programming reflects Lewi’s belief that the live music industry can learn from adjacent sectors. One panel focuses on Latin music, exploring how that market has grown beyond border states to continually expand its audience. Another panel brings together performing arts center executives with venue operators and artist managers.
“How do we utilize their models?” Lewi asks. “They have subscribers, they have mailing lists, they book further in advance. What can we learn from them?”
Perhaps most intriguing is a session featuring representatives from minor league baseball team the Nashville Sounds. “They sell more tickets than Major League Baseball, without the names, without the money,” Lewi says. “How are they so good at engaging fans? They’re selling the same product over and over again.”
What distinguishes Aspen Live is its commitment to honest discourse in an intimate setting. “We want it to be more of a discussion and a dialogue than a monologue,” Lewi says. “People yell out their own thoughts throughout the meetings.”
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Lewi notes with pride that the conference has spawned numerous business relationships and partnerships over the years: “A lot of people have created their whole business out of Aspen,” he says.
As the live music industry faces mounting challenges — from affordability concerns to changing consumer behavior — Aspen Live’s intimate, problem-solving approach feels increasingly relevant. As Lewi puts it, the goal is for the industry to find sustainable models in an increasingly difficult market.
“The theme is always, ‘Solve problems and try to learn from each other,’” Lewi says. “I’ve always been very dreamy. I dream that Aspen becomes a place where problems can be resolved.”
Learn more and register at AspenLive.com.
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Primary Wave Music announced on Tuesday (Nov. 18) that it has acquired a stake in both the publishing copyrights and master recordings of jazz icon Dave Brubeck through a major partnership with Derry Music Company. The partnership also grants Primary Wave a share in licensing Brubeck’s name, image and likeness, with the company collaborating closely with the Brubeck family on future creative decisions.
According to the company, it will leverage its marketing and publishing infrastructure to amplify Brubeck’s legacy through branding initiatives, digital campaigns, synch placements and film and television projects. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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“The Brubeck family enjoys a rare position in the musical world as we have inherited an exceptional legacy,” the family said in a statement. “Our father, Dave Brubeck, was a world figure known for his talent, originality, international diplomacy, and decency. We are thrilled about our new partnership with Primary Wave, whose innovative team will enable us to further extend the appreciation of our parents’ musical and humanitarian heritage.”
Brubeck’s cerebral style transformed West Coast jazz in ways that remain unparalleled. Forming the Dave Brubeck Quartet with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond in 1951, the World War II Army veteran helped usher cool jazz into the mainstream with groundbreaking college tours and albums like Jazz at Oberlin and the on-the-nose Jazz Goes to College.
By the end of the decade, the iconic quartet featured Desmond, drummer Joe Morello and bassist Eugene Wright — the lineup behind Brubeck’s 1959 landmark album Time Out. The record, which opens with “Blue Rondo à la Turk” and includes the iconic “Take Five,” shattered conventions with its daring time signatures and became the first jazz album to sell over a million copies. (It went double platinum in 2011, according to the RIAA.)
Today, Time Out stands alongside albums like Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme as one of jazz’s defining works.
This quartet, which recorded for Columbia, also produced such classic albums as 1961’s Time Further Out and 1963’s The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall. His later work included collaborations with baritone saxman Gerry Mulligan and various projects with his children Darius (electric piano), Chris (bass), Matt (cello) and Dan (drums).
Beyond his musical innovations, Brubeck was a staunch advocate for racial integration, famously canceling performances at venues that refused to welcome Wright, who was Black. His six-decade career earned him the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, eight Grammy nominations and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award before his passing in 2012 at the age of 92.
“I’ve worked on dozens of acquisitions for Primary Wave in the 15 years I’ve been with the team, but this one is personal,” said Primary Wave’s John Luneau. “Dave Brubeck and his classic Quartet were my first musical idols – three years before the Beatles! – and remain so still. It’s the honor of my career to help bring about this brilliant marriage of Dave’s musical genius with Primary Wave’s skill at preserving and expanding the legacies of iconic artists.”
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Primary Wave noted it will continue to pursue iconic jazz catalogs, having recently struck deals with Pat Metheny, the late Chuck Mangione, and previously partnered with the Count Basie estate.
The deal comes on the heels of Reservoir Media’s acquisition of Miles Davis’ publishing catalog, signaling a renewed industry focus on preserving jazz’s greatest legacies.
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Like many technologies, generative AI developed slowly — then suddenly, all at once. That’s how it looks from a music business perspective, anyway. One day a few top executives at UMG were telling me about it as a future issue — then next “Fake Drake” made news and now AI-assisted artists account for a third of the top 10 on Billboard’s Nov. 15 Country Digital Song Sales chart. Breaking Rust and Cain Walker, the names credited with the songs, are about as country as a server farm.
So where did those songs come from?
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The assumption is that the kind of generative AI software that created them was trained on copyrighted songs and recordings, presumably without a license, since few have been granted. That’s probably going to change soon. On Nov. 11, German rights group GEMA won its infringement case against OpenAI (which only involves song lyrics, but the principles are the same and it is also suing Suno). And after all three major labels sued Suno and Udio in the U.S., Universal Music Group announced a settlement with Udio in late October.
The nature of these deals could shape the music business of the future — or could be remembered as something music executives thought was important for some reason they can’t recall. Although little is known about the UMG deal, its unexpected provision is that it restricts the music “output” created by AI by removing the ability of users to download it. That’s a fundamental shift in expectations, and it suggests that UMG envisions AI music as existing apart from music on streaming services — more of a hobby akin to an amateur garage band than a professional product. Obviously, there’s no stopping the flood of AI music, and Udio users who want to “free” their creations can play them and record them to another device — but it’s interesting to note how Udio and UMG think this will work.
The UMG-Udio deal is opt-in for artists and songwriters, so it will take time to see what they think and whether they sign. But the deal casts Udio as “the good guy,” eager to work with the industry’s biggest company, less combative in its public statements and more willing to talk, according to two sources. Suno was already on its way to becoming “the bad guy,” responding to the label lawsuit by accusing the majors of reverting “to their old lawyer-led playbook,” hiring Timbaland to create some space between labels and artists and taking a more oppositional stance, according to one source. (It seems worth noting that the line about the “lawyer-led playbook” may not have aged as well as Suno CEO Mikey Shulman thinks: Anyone who is 30 today was five when the major labels sued Napster and 10 when the Supreme Court ruled in the Grokster case.)
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It’s hard to know what the better strategy is in the abstract: Udio scored the first deal, but Suno is said to be raising money at a $2 billion valuation, although it’s also facing a GEMA lawsuit that Udio isn’t. Now that Udio has gone legit, though, Suno has a big incentive to do the opposite, just to differentiate itself. In tactical terms, it will be both more powerful and more vulnerable. If Suno loses its big court case in the U.S., it could get stuck settling its lawsuit under terms worse than Udio’s. If the decision has limited scope or splits, which seems more likely than some executives realize, it could have to make some of the same feature-set compromises as Udio, but under pressure. If it wins the case completely, though, it ends up with a product that is superior to the competition, with a much better cost structure.
Making the first big deal also gives UMG the power to set a pattern that could influence later agreements, at least in structure if not specifics. So far, the big issue executives are talking about is the split between labels and publishers. The latter, which customarily get half of synch rights revenue, want the same deal, and this is one of the few cases, along with synch licenses, where rights to a song might be useful without a recording. (In the case of synch, the song can be played by another artist; theoretically, an AI could be trained on a written composition.) The major label groups all own publishing businesses but have an incentive to favor the recorded music side, since they have more financial exposure to it and the financial model is more favorable. As is generally the case, though, the majors aren’t saying anything about the issue.
Finding the right balance between recording and publishing rights is tricky, and I would bet the publishers end up with a much higher percentage of revenue than they make on streaming, but less than 50%. But will that be all? The opt-in structure of the UMG deal implies that either the biggest company in the industry is feeling especially nice or that it may also need likeness or personality rights from artists. (It’s also possible that those rights are not needed for training purposes — just specific uses of prompts.) But it suggests some other questions. Most important, will artists with especially distinctive voices want a better deal than the standard one on offer?
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Then — and here I’m really getting ahead of myself — what happens when artists have recorded for multiple labels or released the same album on different ones in different territories? If you want to use the voice of Johnny Cash, do you want young Cash (from his Sun Records work), prime Cash (Columbia), late Cash (Mercury), or very late Cash (American)? More complicated, what happens if you don’t much care — and how does that affect the structure of licensing? I am offering more questions than answers, but in this case I don’t think anyone has all the solutions. But we should know more soon — and the one thing we know for certain is that it’s going to be very interesting.
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THE BIG STORY: Almost 20 years after Kim Kardashian burst into the national consciousness with a leaked sex tape, the male participant in the video says it wasn’t actually leaked at all.
In an explosive lawsuit filed last week, the R&B singer Ray J claimed the film was intentionally released by his then-girlfriend, Kardashian, and her mother, Kris Jenner, who have since spent nearly two decades “peddling the false story” that it was leaked.
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That’s not an entirely new claim; rumors have long swirled about the infamous tape that launched the billion-dollar Kardashian empire. But the family has always denied the claim, and there was no hard evidence or inside knowledge to argue otherwise.
How exactly did Ray J and Kardashian get to this point? And how do you sue someone over this? For the full backstory and the breakdown of the case, go read our story here.
You’re reading The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, go subscribe here.
Other top stories this week…
GIMME DAMAGES – The company that owns the early Rolling Stones catalog filed a lawsuit against Behr Paint over an Instagram ad that allegedly featured “Paint It, Black” without a sync license.
DAY IN COURT – Lil Nas X made his first court appearance since leaving an inpatient treatment program following his August arrest for attacking police officers during a late-night naked walk.
CONVICTION AFFIRMED – An appeals court upheld the conviction of Tory Lanez for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, rejecting his arguments aimed at overturning his 10-year prison sentence.
CONTEMPT OF COURT – Elsewhere in the Tory-Megan saga, a judge held Lanez in contempt for refusing to be deposed: “Whatever the fines are, I’ll pay them,” he said. “I’m a millionaire. I don’t care.”
RELEASE DATE – Sean “Diddy” Combs’ projected release date was pushed back by a month, a move that came after media reports that he violated prison rules by drinking homemade alcohol.
DOWNTOWN DISPUTE – Downtown Music faces a lawsuit claiming it threw licensing partner Blast Off Media under the bus as a “sacrifice” to lessen regulatory scrutiny of its acquisition by UMG.
DEATH THREATS? – Lil Durk’s lawyers say they’ve been “kept in the dark” about alleged death threats that were called in to a judge and the lead prosecutor in his murder-for-hire case.
DRAKE SUED, AGAIN – A new lawsuit against Drake claims his music video ripped off the work of an Italian photographer — and, in a strange twist, that he did it as part of his feud with Kendrick Lamar.
NO SEQUEL – Cardi B’s lawyers scoffed at the idea of a second trial in Emani Ellis’ failed assault case against the superstar, calling it “absurd” after jurors easily rejected the allegations.
CASE DROPPED – A$AP Relli is ending his civil lawsuit against A$AP Rocky over an alleged Hollywood shooting, months after Rocky was acquitted on such accusations at a criminal trial.
FREE, FOR NOW – Music executive Ángel Del Villar will remain a free man while he appeals his convictions for doing business with Mexican drug cartels and the resulting four-year prison sentence.
BITTER BREAKUP – There’s a new front in the nasty legal war between hip-hop producer Madlib and his longtime manager Eothen “Egon” Alapatt: The copyrights to their songs.
MORE ALLEGATIONS – After Calvin Harris’ bombshell fraud lawsuit against business manager Thomas St. John, fellow star DJ Eric Prydz has now filed his own case claiming the manager stole $269,000.
LOCK HIM UP – Prosecutors want Tekashi 6ix9ine sent back to prison over multiple violations of his supervised release, including assaulting someone who taunted him as a snitch.
LIBEL LAWSUIT – Biggie’s son filed a defamation case against a Florida music producer who accused him — he says falsely — of participating in one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sexual assaults.
Trending on Billboard Audio entertainment and satellite radio company SiriusXM Holdings said on Tuesday its chief financial officer Tom Barry will step down by the end of the year. Zac Coughlin, currently CFO for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp, was named to succeed Barry. Coughlin previously held CFO titles at the Nike […]
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Eminem has launched a legal battle with an Australian beach umbrella brand called “Swim Shady,” claiming the company is just imitating his “Slim Shady” alter ego.
The rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, is fighting a legal action at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, seeking to cancel an American trademark that the Sydney-based Swim Shady secured on its name earlier this year.
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Eminem’s attorneys say the similar-sounding name “uniquely and unmistakably” points to the “internationally renowned recording artist and entertainer” – and that customers will be “deceived” into thinking he’s somehow involved.
“The petitioned mark is highly similar to petitioner’s name,” his lawyers write in their September petition, obtained by Billboard. “Consumers and potential consumers, and anyone seeing one of respondent’s products in the marketplace … will assume that the source of the goods emanates from [Eminem].”
Eminem debuted the Slim Shady name in 1997, using it for an aggressive alter ego that explores darker and more violent subjects. His 1999 album The Slim Shady LP, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, focused heavily on the name, including his breakout “My Name Is” and his smash hit “Real Slim Shady” that reached No. 4 on the Hot 100.
The star has had “Slim Shady” registered as a federal trademark since 2001, holding rights to the name covering a wide range of goods. And he’s not afraid to enforce those rights: In 2023, he filed a similar case against Real Housewives stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon over their efforts to get a trademark for the name of their “Reasonably Shady” podcast.
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Swim Shady launched earlier this year to sell a small, foldable beach umbrella – a product it says is aimed at “solo beachgoers who wanted better sun protection without the hassle.” And the company has big plans: According to its website, it is seeking or has secured trademarks for that name around the globe, including in China, the U.S. and the European Union.
In September, the USPTO formally granted the company an American trademark registration for its name, covering both beach gear and a wide assortment of apparel. Such a registration makes it easier to sue someone selling a knock-off brand and allows a company to use the ® symbol.
But Eminem’s lawyers, in their Sept. 29 petition, say Swim Shady’s trademark never should have been registered. Such cases, filed with the PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, are a common way that brand owners prevent others from securing rights to their names.
Eminem knows that process well. Since 2003, his lawyers have filed at least six such cases at that trademark dispute body — including not just the Real Housewives case but also one against an apparel brand called “Shadzy” and another against a sunglasses brand called “Shady Character.”
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Many other superstar artists have taken similar proactive measures to defend their names against similar-sounding trademarks filed by third-parties, which are cheap to file and sometimes slip through the approval process. Taylor Swift filed a case in 2017 to block a “Swifty” trademark; Jay-Z has filed more than ten over the years.
Such cases don’t legally stop a company like Swim Shady from using a brand name on their products, but merely from securing their own trademark rights to it; only a full-fledged federal lawsuit can shut down an infringing company. But in his new case, Eminem suggests that he thinks Swim Shady’s use of the name violates his rights.
“Petitioner is and will continue to be damaged by any sale or any offering for sale of Swim Shady goods by respondent, since there will exist a false association and suggestion as to the source of the goods involved,” his lawyers write. “Any inferior quality of respondent’s goods will damage the reputation of petitioner’s premium goods and services.”
Reps for both Eminem and Swim Shady did not immediately return requests for comment.
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The 2020s have been a turbulent time for agents and the musicians they represent. The decade started off with an unprecedented global pandemic that forced the shutdown of live shows indefinitely, and as lockdown orders lifted, early concerts often dealt with no-shows, rising costs and an over-supply of acts going back on the road at once.
Now, in 2025, the live music market is stabilizing, but it’s never looked quite like this. Artists are bringing more production value to shows than ever, festival ticket sales are softening and talents like Harry Styles and Beyoncé are offering fewer tour stops — but more nights in each location.
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Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) top agents are in the midst of it all, often singlehandedly sparking trends with the decisions they make with their superstar clients when they are ready to hit the road. To talk through the evolution of live entertainment post-pandemic, CAA managing director Rob Light (Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Fleetwood Mac) and co-head of global touring Rick Roskin (Slipknot, Eric Clapton, Santana, Kelly Clarkson) joined Billboard‘s new music industry podcast, On the Record w/ Kristin Robinson, this week.
Below is an excerpt of that conversation.
Watch or listen to the full episode of On the Record on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts here, or watch it below.
How did you make sure to help your artists’ tours stand out after pandemic lockdowns lifted and everyone rushed back onto the road?
Roskin: You have to make a statement because there’s a ton of volume. I mean, you can look at what plays in every city on a weekly basis, and there are a ton of shows. So somehow you have to figure out a way to cut through the clutter and break through and get noticed.
Light: A great example of that was three summers ago was with Harry Styles and his management team. Harry could have easily sold out two or three or four nights at MetLife Stadium. But everybody was playing Met Life Stadium. It wasn’t a big event, everybody was doing it. They came up with the idea of ‘let’s do 15 nights at Madison Square Garden.’ And he owned New York. Didn’t matter who was playing stadiums those nights. Everybody was talking about that move. It was a huge statement and intentional. I really do believe, you know, trying to find those moments are really part of our job. You can’t create them every day. You can’t create them on every tour, but any moves you’re making should hopefully lead to something.
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We’re also seeing artists like Beyoncé doing fewer cities, but more dates within those cities. I’m wondering why you think that’s occurring now?
Light: The cost of touring has gone up exponentially and the size of these productions becomes more and more intricate so that if you can sit in one place you can actually make them a little bigger and better — and the audience is willing to come to you. Beyoncé goes to New York for a week, for example, and Boston, Washington and Philly, they’re all gonna come to her if that’s the only place to see it. Also, if you have kids, sitting in one place actually makes touring more palatable.
I don’t think that the idea of day-to-day playing a city, getting on a bus and going to the next will ever go away, but if you have control of your career at that moment, it’s certainly easier to tour this way.
Roskin: To get a little technical, you know, a huge tour eight years ago or ten years ago, was about 13 semi-trucks [of production equipment]. I mean, that would be like, ‘Oh my God. That is a massive tour.’ You know, tours now are carrying 30, 40, 50 trucks of production. To move that is incredibly expensive. Everything has been amped up. In this boom post-Covid, artists are taking it to a level that no one’s ever seen before…Actually — The Weeknd’s stadium tour had about 60 trucks.
Let’s talk about Coachella 2026. Coachella decided to put its tickets for 2026 on sale very early this year. I have to say, I read that at the time as them maybe being nervous about not selling out. I know that that’s been an increasing issue for them over the last few years, but Coachella 2026 sold out pretty immediately. Why do you guys think it sold so quickly?
Light: Nothing replaces star power, and it’s a great lineup. Let’s be fair, but I think part of the reason they decided to go earlier is that they realize the public is getting more and more trained to buying earlier and so waiting till January feels late now… It was a great way for Coachella to make a statement about the festival season. They want to buy in advance, they want to make those plans, they want to be able to travel. I think was very smart on Paul [Tolette] and his team’s part to go earlier, and when you have that lineup — with Sabrina [Carpenter] and Justin [Bieber] — you’re going to do great. Why not go early?
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In general, it seems like festivals aren’t quite as hot as they used to. Ticket sales across the board are softening. Why do you think that is happening now?
Light: There’s a lot of factors. There’s no one answer that fills the floor. Part of it is, you’ve got so many shows and ticket prices have gone up. There’s decisions being made now, like ‘how much money do I have?’ I have to pick and choose where I am going to go. Part of it is who the headliners are, and then another part of it was just a proliferation of festivals. They were everywhere and you couldn’t go to every one. So when you feel softness at the edges, it’s really a function of ‘I can’t beat everyone. I have to pick and choose.’
Lately, festival attendees are arriving later to the festival, which means those baby artists who are at the bottom of the poster and the top of the day are going to have even less crowds than before. I’m wondering, do you still think that, for emerging artists at CAA, that being on those festival lineups is still as worthwhile as it once was?
Light: I’ve said this for years about those slots, and this is where agents really play a role in the artist development of a career. Part of getting on a festival is being on the poster. You want to be part of that and playing at 12 or one or two o’clock may not be great, but a great agent is going to stop and say, How do I get back to that market within four or five months of having done that gig? Because two or 3,000 kids who might have seen me and have told their friends now want to be able to see them on their own, and so to just show up anywhere and play one day at two o’clock and disappear for a year? Is bad management, bad agenting. If you’re going to get one of those slots, how am I going to take advantage of that moment and make other things happen off the back of it?
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Along with the cost of touring rising, we’re also seeing ticket prices rise as well. I remember that Bruce Springsteen tried dynamic ticketing a few years ago, and that led to some of the tickets ending up being thousands of dollars. I’m wondering now, a few years later, like we’re reflecting back on that, how you feel about dynamic ticketing as a model for big tours?
Light: Bruce got a really bad rap because at that same time that one guy bought a ticket at a high price, Elton John and the Rolling Stones were charging tickets for twice the price. But because he was a working man, somebody took a shot at him. There’s always going to be supply and demand. It just is. And what we try to create, and all the ticket companies try to create, is the closest way to be fair, where the money is going to the artist, right? If we’re going to do dynamic pricing, and you’re buying a ticket at a higher price, but the artist is getting paid. He or she deserves that. They built that career. What we hate is when you know, scalpers and bots and stub hubs and all these middle people now are making money with no skin in the game. They did nothing other than got a ticket, and now they’re reselling it. The artist doesn’t see any of that money…But I’m a fan of dynamic pricing, simply because it allows everybody to be equal in the process so if I can afford it, and it’s a show I want to see, I get to pay for it. I want to see the artist get paid. I don’t want to see some outlier get paid.
The federal government is attacking Ticketmaster on multiple fronts right now. This includes the FTC suing the company, and it has to deal with resale. Do you think that Ticketmaster should play a part in the resale of tickets, and if it does, does there need to be a cap on the secondary market?
Roskin: On platinum ticketing, most artists have a cap on what they allow the tickets to sell for, usually the cap ranges from two to three times value. So even if the secondary tipping market exceeds that, it doesn’t feel like it’s so harsh. But as far as the secondary ticketing market goes, it isn’t going anywhere.
This was one of Rob’s stories, but I’ll tell it. Years and years ago, AC/DC was doing a tour, and they go out on the road, and they’re like, ‘we’re gonna sell all tickets paperless. You’re gonna have to walk in with your credit card, scan your credit card at the door. They’re gonna see your name. You go into the venue,’ and through this they thought they were going beat scalpers, and they’re going to finally win. What ends up happening is that the scalpers sent gift cards to their own people who bought tickets, and they walk up with the gift cards, scan the tickets, and they beat AC/DC’s brilliant idea to get rid of scalpers. They are always gonna find a way to get ahead. Be it bots, be it AI, whatever — it is our responsibility as agents is to figure out ways that as much money stays with the artist.
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“This year has been a nail-biter when it comes to investing,” says Kristin Lee, founder of the business management firm KLBM. “Most of our clients have chosen to keep it more conservative and keep an eye on markets rather than doing anything major. We’re always keeping an eye out for unique opportunities in times like these.”
Lee expresses a view that many share in the financial community, including Billboard’s 2025 class of top business managers.
Nominated by their firms and peers and chosen by our editors, the financial advisers profiled here take on tasks for clients that have never been more complex: auditing streaming royalties, negotiating concert tours, building equity through branding deals and selling or buying music catalogs — to say nothing of conventional chores like budgeting, filing taxes, guiding investments or estate planning.
The passage in July of major tax and spending legislation — formally a budget reconciliation act — is having a significant, but mixed, impact.
“The 2025 reconciliation act significantly favors tax relief for high-income individuals and corporations while reducing funding for essential social programs,” says Jordan L. Josephs of Royal Entertainment Business Management. “The top 10% of earners are expected to receive nearly 80% of the legislation’s total benefits. While this may positively impact our high-income clients — particularly established entertainers and executives — it could present challenges for middle-income creatives, especially those who rely on public support or educational grants.”
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Accountants typically await guidance on new tax legislation from the IRS, which has been affected by the government shutdown that began Oct. 1. The result is “uncertainty, which is always the problem with this kind of thing,” says Joshua Klein of TKG Business Management. “Clients can handle higher taxes or stricter rules, but when the rules aren’t clear, like in this bill, that’s a hard thing to plan around.”
A perennial top priority for business managers is “security, security, security,” says Mike Merriman of PARR/3. But he adds: “Our industry is on the precipice of a new era of cyberattacks with [artificial intelligence], social engineering and more sophisticated scams than we’ve seen before. Part of protecting our clients’ wealth is to create multilayered security systems that constantly update and stay two steps ahead.”
Timothy J. Jorstad, founder of his own firm, Jorstad, notes that for some clients, “crypto and AI-related investments are very popular but come with very high risks. It is important that clients limit their overall risk exposure to alternative investments to no more than 10% of their total portfolios.”
The alternative investments that clients choose never fail to surprise business managers, and Billboard always invites our honorees to offer examples of the unusual places where artists and executives invest spare cash — while respecting the confidentiality of those clients. This year, those investments range from a cricket team to dinosaur fossils.
One client of U.K. business manager Colin Young of the London-based firm CC Young invested in “a share in a zoo,” he says, “with an optional participation in feeding the hippopotamus.”
Ivan AlarcónOwner/CEOCarolina MedinaJuan RodriguezLaura SuarezProject managers, Vibras Lab
Alarcón was the CFO for Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico residency and will fill that role for the artist’s upcoming European and Latin American tours. His clients also include Karol G and J Balvin. His firm helped close agreements with merchandising company Bravado and spirits maker Casa Dragones for Karol’s new tequila, 200 Copas. Vibras was involved in tours that sold 3.5 million concert tickets in the past 12 months, according to the company, including outings by Natalia Lafourcade and Balvin’s Back to the Rayo tour.
What’s affecting client income: “I believe we are on the verge of a reappraisal cycle: Catalogs could appreciate significantly because they will power the next generation of [artificial intelligence]-driven entertainment, from immersive experiences to personalized music for every listener,” Alarcón says. “My advice to clients has shifted toward protecting, structuring and retaining ownership of their rights because what today is a licensing opportunity could become the foundation of entire new revenue streams tomorrow.”
A booking to play the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on Feb. 8, 2026, has confirmed the superstar status of Bad Bunny, a client of Ivan Alarcón of Vibras Lab, who was the CFO of the artist’s history-making residency in Puerto Rico.
Cheery Viruet
Belva AnakwenzePrincipal/business manager, Abacus Financial Business Management
“The evolving role of business managers is no longer just managing existing income but actively helping clients build long-term wealth through ownership, diversification and strategic capital deployment,” Anakwenze says. Her firm has guided several musician and actor clients in launching everything from wellness brands to tech startups, providing the financial infrastructure and strategic planning needed to transform creative professionals into successful entrepreneurs. “This diversification has proven crucial as AI and industry consolidation continue to pressure traditional revenue sources,” she adds.
What’s affecting client income: “The shift toward playlist-driven discovery and shorter attention spans means our musician clients must fundamentally rethink their creative and business strategies. We’re advising clients to focus on building direct fan relationships through platforms like Patreon and Bandcamp rather than relying solely on Spotify or Apple Music, where payouts remain fractional unless you achieve massive scale success.”
Jose Luis AristizábalFounder/CEO, CamaleOn
Camaleon is turning ambitious artist projects into profitable ventures, made possible by the firm’s “full-service approach and the strong team we’ve built,” Aristizábal says. This is exemplified by how it directly manages the full touring revenue cycle. “We don’t just plan tours — we also [oversee for] our clients all the extra income sources like VIP packages, merch sales and meet-and-greets,” he adds. “By keeping these [operations] in-house and handling everything from logistics to financial planning, we cut out middlemen and increase profits for our artists.” The company also manages legal, tax and royalty matters, while ensuring its artists “keep as much of their earnings as possible” with “a strong, profitable business behind them.”
What’s affecting client income: “Whether it’s AI, streaming changes or other shifts, our team looks at everything through the lens of profit, legal safety and long-term strategy — so our clients always have a clear and complete plan.”
Angie BarajasLouis BarajasCo-founders/business managers, Business Management LAB
Business Management LAB has achieved its highest revenue growth year, something Louis Barajas attributes to the company’s focused attention on its clients. “As [business management] firms consolidate and grow in size, Angie and I made a firm commitment to stay boutique and cater and double down to [serve] musicians and executives in the Latin music community,” he says. Their clients range from regional Mexican music stars like Ivan Cornejo, Natanael Cano and Julion Alvarez to Latin urban and pop acts like Yandel and Elena Rose.
What’s affecting client income: “We are seeing that the younger artists that are more technology-savvy are using AI, new and multiple streaming platforms and the direct-to-fan and creator economy. [They] are learning to monetize their music and rely on less traditional [music label] platforms,” Louis says.
The Alma Tour 2025, promoted by Live Nation, will bring Elena Roseto nine U.S. cities beginning Nov. 28 in Miami Beach. She is among the clients of husband-and-wife business managers Angie and Louis Barajas of Business Management LAB.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Harrison BaumanSenior vp of investments, Raymond James & Associates
Bauman says the most important issue for his clients is their “personal security — planning for their future and setting the right expectations.” He has in-depth conversations regarding the sale of their catalog and how it affects today versus tomorrow. New streaming payment models and catalog sales are affecting clients’ income, he says. Raymond James & Associates has also assisted clients with implementing certain retirement plans at a young age in order to reduce their taxable income and, over the past year, the company has helped with the financing for clients relocating to different states or new homes.
Impact of the Reconciliation Act: “Section 181 allows entertainers to deduct certain production expenses,” Bauman says, referring to the provision of the tax code that previously applied solely to qualified film, TV and live theatrical productions.
Tyson BeemCEOChristopher FazzolariShane GlassTodd KamelharJohn MenneciMelissa MortonRichard MozenterAnton PamerMike SkeetBill TannenbaumManaging directors, Gelfand Rennert & Feldman
As one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most skilled business management firms, GRF plays a leadership role within Focus, an interdependent partnership of wealth management, business management and related financial services firms. Drawing upon the global Focus ecosystem, GRF delivers its guidance to leaders in music, film, TV, sports, social media and other creative arts. As CEO, Beem has connected the various experts and resources across the company including the U.S. and U.K. business management teams, the U.S. and international tax teams, tour accounting, production accounting, music and royalty examination services, music publishing, record-label administration and intellectual-property valuation. Offering “a wide spectrum of expert services,” Beem says, “creates exceptional results for clients.”
What’s affecting client income: “We are continuing to see a proliferation of monetization opportunities for music rights,” Beem says. “That includes acquiring various rights, selling various rights and, of course, confirming that recurring revenues are calculated properly. You’re seeing these valuation opportunities evolve as you see new buyers including private equity enter the market.”
Julie BoosOwner/chairman/business managerDuane ClarkOwner/president/business managerJamie CheekOwner/CEO/business managerErica RosaOwner/vp of royalties and contract compliance/business managerDavid BoyerJen CongerDan KillianCarmen RomanoOwners/business managersPaul BarnabeeDirector of West Coast operations/business managerChris HughesBetsy LeeJason LeissBusiness manager, FBMM
FBMM is focused on ways to find cost savings for clients in various areas, including touring. “We’re constantly looking for opportunities to leverage our clients’ collective buying power to negotiate cost savings, whether that’s through preferred pricing with bus vendors or discounted fuel card rates,” Cheek says. The company also continues working to help clients protect their creative works in the age of AI. “It has been important to work with artists’ legal teams and managers to ensure awareness of the potential issues and developing new best practices for handling the use of AI and evaluating strategies to protect artists’ names, likenesses and intellectual property,” Cheek says.
Pressing issue: “The changing cost structure and ultimate potential impacts on profitability of touring,” Cheek says. “Three primary cost centers that are affecting this are acquiring and retaining great staff with shortages in nearly all departments; travel costs, which have skyrocketed over the past two years; and production costs. These inflationary measures we have seen before — but not all at the same time.”
Charles BradbrookJanice LloydStephen MarksSteven WrenPartners, SRLV
SRLV “has played a key role in supporting high-profile clients through major transitions — including international tours, catalog sales and strategic projects — all while maintaining a personalized, hands-on approach to business management,” Marks says of the company, which launched in 1988. And part of what has contributed to that success is the addition of three partners: two in the creative division and one in the private client international tax division. “These partners,” Marks says, “exhibit our continued commitment to excellence in client service, particularly in navigating complex financial landscapes.”
Impact of the Reconciliation Act: “QSBS [qualified small business stock] relief has been available for some time but has often been overlooked in favor of pass-through tax arrangements,” Marks says. “However, the enhanced QSBS relief provides significant tax advantages. So when new ventures are being discussed, more consideration will be given to a qualifying QSBS structure. This is particularly relevant for the entertainment industry, where asset value appreciation continues to be robust.”
Joseph CallaghanMark CarterSimon WintersPartnersThomas SmithPartner/entertainment industry leaderScott DunnachieDirector, Prager Metis
Over the past year, the Prager Metis team has focused on “creating diverse revenue streams for our clients, from merchandise lines to exclusive VIP experiences,” Smith says. Moreover, when considering possible revenue events, the company’s executives look beyond the immediate rewards that opportunity may provide and consider the question: “ ‘How will this decision impact our client’s business in five or 10 years?’ ” he says. “Thinking ahead allows us to build sustainable growth strategies for our clients, creating long-lasting success in an ever-changing market.”
What’s affecting client income: “With the touring season in full swing, we’re advising artists and touring companies to sharpen their financial strategies, especially by cutting overhead and negotiating smarter contracts,” Smith says. “Industry shifts like AI-driven production tools, evolving streaming revenue models and the surge in music catalog sales are reshaping how income is earned and managed. Staying agile is key.”
Adam CaswellDirector of business managementRoger RamosAccount manager, Fineman West & Co.
Fineman West & Co. has expanded its royalty and catalog valuation division, taking steps that include the integration of AI-driven analytics. This has helped the firm’s clients — a roster that includes Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, producer J.R. Rotem and Sam Farrar of Maroon 5 — “uncover missed royalties, identify new revenue streams and make more informed decisions when evaluating catalog sales,” Caswell says. The changes at the firm reflect “how business management is becoming more proactive, data-driven and creative — serving not just as financial stewards but strategic partners in our clients’ long-term growth.”
Pressing issue: “One of the biggest challenges right now is managing cash flow amid rising costs of living, shifting touring margins and the ebbs and flows of royalty payment schedules,” Caswell says. “Business managers are balancing the need for liquidity with long-term planning — helping clients stay financially steady while continuing to invest in their careers, businesses and future opportunities.”
Lauren CooperFounder/CEO, LC Business Management
Cooper founded LC Business Management in 2024 with one goal in mind: to provide a more tailored and personal experience for talent and creators. Over the past year, her business has doubled in size, which Cooper says “is both exciting and a testament to the need for a more thoughtful, client-first model in this space.” She adds, “We are not just handling numbers but supporting our clients across every facet of their financial lives.” To diversify beyond music, the company works closely with clients to build sustainable, long-term financial health through investments, brand partnerships, entrepreneurship and other ventures that align with their values and lifestyle.
Pressing issue: “One of the most pressing issues we face is bridging the financial literacy gap, especially with younger or emerging talent. We are not just managing money. We are educating clients on taxes, investing and how to build lasting wealth through ownership. Empowering them with that knowledge is essential to protecting their futures.”
José “Pepe” CruzManaging director, Solución Estratégica
Focused on building sustainable financial strategies that support both artistic goals and long-term business vision — like Ozuna’s 2025 summer tour across Europe — Cruz has guided his clients beyond touring and into business ventures across hospitality, agriculture and digital media. “One of the most interesting projects I’m currently overseeing is the development of an entertainment content platform designed to expand Latin music’s digital footprint and audience engagement,” he says. “My goal is to help clients like Ozuna protect their assets while building diverse, forward-thinking business models that extend well beyond music.”
Impact of the Reconciliation Act: “The most meaningful change is the formal enactment of the HITS Act tax breaks. This puts the music industry on equal footing with film and television, giving independent creators financial relief and greater access to professional resources. It’s a game-changer that encourages more investment in new music, supports creative growth and strengthens the overall ecosystem.”
Lester DalesPaul MakinDirectors, Dales Evans & Co.
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour is poised to become the highest-grossing trek ever with the September announcement of another 138 shows. The Dales Evans & Co. client’s tour has already brought in $1.4 billion with its first 211 shows through July 27. A year on from helping shepherd Queen’s record-breaking $1.3 billion catalog sale to Sony, Dales and Makin remain focused on supporting clients in similar one-off “milestone” deals amid the general “constructive support services” they offer. “Decisions around asset sales — to sell or not to sell — remain fundamentally important for many and need to be carefully considered based on each individual client’s circumstances and aspirations,” Dales says. “But for many, tour planning and income generation remain of prime importance.”
Pressing issues: “Maximizing and monitoring income flows,” Dales says. “As many clients become more reliant on worldwide touring, the mitigation of and planning for international withholding taxes. Then the preservation and growth of our clients’ assets.”
With its September announcement of 138 more concert dates, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour is poised to become the highest-grossing trek ever. The band is advised by Lester Dales of Dales Evans & Co.
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Ed EschlemanOlga GoldovskayaDirectors, Armanino Advisory
Eschleman says Armanino Advisory has overseen several successful international tours for his clients, which “involves making sure proper insurance coverage, tax compliance and other regulatory compliance matters are addressed prior to and during touring.” But the biggest questions Eschleman sees are about recordings and listening: “How will artists be compensated for their works that are used to train AI models? Will AI-created music start to make up a large part of the music catalog that consumers listen to?” he says.
Impact of the Reconciliation Act: “The act extends film/TV’s Section 181 treatment to music. You can immediately expense up to $150,000 per project of U.S. sound-recording production costs — think studio time, session players, engineering, mixing/mastering and certain eligible release assets — instead of amortizing over years,” Eschleman says. “Net effect: lower taxes the year you cut the record and more cash for marketing, which is especially powerful for indie artists and labels.”
Kella FarrisStephanie SelfCatherine MooreStephanie AldermanPartners, Farris Self & Moore
Farris Self & Moore marked its 10th anniversary in January and continues to guide clients with their financial needs, from structuring catalog sales to evaluating tour opportunities and setting a proper foundation for emerging artists. FSM has been able to separate itself from competitors by being less of a financial administrator and focusing more on strategic advice. “Whether that’s pressure-testing a tour budget before a client commits to dates, working through the mechanics of a brand partnership or walking someone through what a major transaction actually means for their taxes and long-term planning,” Alderman says, “the goal is the same: help clients understand their options clearly so they can make decisions that align with their goals.”
What’s affecting client income: “Touring economics,” Alderman says. “What used to function as a reliable revenue stream has created a stark divide: Top-tier artists are breaking touring records while emerging acts can still book shows for exposure and experience, but the middle tier has essentially hollowed out.”
Marco FonsecaCEO, Red Mind Global
Fonseca developed a “scalable” business management team to prepare Red Mind Global’s “next stage of growth” and “ensure we can welcome new artists without compromising the quality of service,” he says. “We have invested in building technology-driven tools across our back-office departments to provide managers and artists with real-time financial and operational data,” Fonseca says, encouraging artists to understand how to navigate “today’s overload of information” for more accurate decision-making. “At Red Mind,” he adds, “we believe that streamlined, high-quality data is the foundation that enables artist projects to grow sustainably.”
What’s affecting client income: “Artificial intelligence,” Fonseca says. “My advice to artists is to treat AI as an ally, not a threat: Those who understand it early will be the ones shaping how it works for them instead of having it imposed on them. But AI should never replace artists. The soul, emotion and human experience behind music is irreplaceable, and that is where true value lies.”
Pete FrosticFounder/CEO, The Greenroom Resource
Before Frostic founded The Greenroom Resource to advise entertainment stars, he was an entertainer himself. “I was a touring musician for 10 years prior to gaining my MBA,” Frostic says. “I’m proud of how that ethos informs our interactions with clients.” Although many of his specific achievements are confidential, Frostic is proud “to help clients all across the revenue spectrum find a way to present their art to their fans in a way that is conducive to a profitable business that drives their personal net worth up over time.” As the cost of touring rises, Frostic knows his work is more important than ever, noting that these increasing costs are “always in conflict with our clients’ desire to deliver their performances in a way they envision it creatively.”
What’s affecting client income: “I believe strongly in the long-term value of content ownership. As new monetization models appear and disappear over time, the owners of the [intellectual property] assets are the ones with the power. I do my best to help clients retain and/or reclaim these rights.”
Lidia GámezManuel LópezCo-CEOsDaniel RuizCFO, MAAS/Sympathy for the Lawyer
Dellafuente’s two sold-out shows in June at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium drew 130,000 fans and generated an economic impact of 35 million euros (about $40 million), according to the artist’s business management firm, MAAS/Sympathy for the Lawyer, which oversaw the venture. “Given the ambitious and innovative artistic proposal, which required a massive financial investment and complex structuring, coupled with the challenges currently facing large-scale events in Spain — including a forced venue and date change from the originally planned Santiago Bernabéu — this endeavor represented a monumental challenge that our team successfully managed and delivered,” López says.
Pressing issue: “In today’s industry, artists and managers need far greater control and clarity over their data,” López says. “Yet the information is often fragmented. At MAAS, our commitment as business managers is to provide simple, agile and comprehensive visibility across all three pillars of the business — recorded music, live and publishing — without requiring clients to consult dozens of separate dashboards.”
Some 130,000 fans turned out in June for two sold-out shows at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium by Dellafuente, according to his business management firm, MAAS/Sympathy for the Lawyer.
Aldara Zarraoa/Redferns
Adrien GoodFounder/business manager, Luma Business Management
As a go-to business manager for songwriters and producers who power the top of the Billboard Hot 100, Good has carved out a unique lane in the music industry with Luma Business Management, which marks its fifth anniversary this year. Helping clients like Dan Nigro, Steph Jones, Sam Sumser and Petey Martin, Good says the most important thing he advises writers and producers to do is to future-proof their finances now. For creators with sporadic income, he adds, “that means building real liquidity cushions to help them hit their personal lifestyle goals, not just get them to the next royalty statement.”
What’s affecting client income: “For our producer/songwriter clients, catalog positioning for a potential sale in the next three to five years is front and center. Every new deal comes with a discussion of what that will mean for the catalog value and where they will be in recoupment when that time comes.”
