epic records
A diss-track battle between two of the world’s biggest hip-hop stars has led to cryptic allegations that Drake directed his heavyweight record label to yank a hit featuring Kendrick Lamar from the airwaves. But would such a move be possible?
Probably not, say legal experts who study broadcast rights and the music business. “As a general law, broadcast stations have a lot of discretion over what they put on the air — almost unlimited discretion,” says Charles Naftalin, a Washington, D.C., attorney for Holland & Knight who specializes in telecommunications law. “A station is virtually free to pick and choose what it wants.”
Lamar’s new song “euphoria,” which he released April 30, alleges Drake and Republic had attempted to “try cease and desist on the ‘Like That’ record” — a reference to the recent Future–Metro Boomin hit containing a Lamar verse that attacks last year’s Drake-J. Cole track “First Person Shooter,” and helped spark the recent back-and-forth between the two rappers. Then a screenshot of an alleged email appeared on social media purporting to be from a Republic business-affairs executive declaring “we are not granting radio rights” for “Like That.” (Reps for Republic and Universal Music Group, the label’s parent company, did not respond to requests for comment, and the screenshot could not be verified.)
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Hypothetically, if Lamar’s lyrical allegation were true, and the Republic exec’s email were legitimate, how could a label, even the home of Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, The Weeknd and Post Malone, which has the industry’s largest market share, pull off such a move? One conceivable explanation stems from the fact that “Like That” is an unusual business collaboration — it’s a joint release from competing major labels, Universal-owned Republic and Sony-owned Epic. The former is Metro Boomin’s label; the latter is Future’s label. (Adding confusion to the affair: Lamar records for Interscope, also owned by UMG, so he is, in a very broad sense, Drake’s labelmate.)
Because Republic had a hand in releasing “Like That,” it is conceivable — though extremely unlikely — that the company could demand that radio stations stop playing its own song. “I don’t readily see a legal reason to request takedown from radio solely based on certain lyrics being in the song,” says Matt Buser, an attorney who represents top artists and music companies. “However, there could be a justified legal reason for takedown based on the promotional grant of rights and understanding between the two collaborating labels.”
Like Buser, Larry Kenswil, a retired top business and legal affairs executive for UMG, has no idea what is in the contractual agreement between Republic and Epic for “Like That.” (A rep for Sony, Epic’s parent company, also did not respond to a request for comment.) But he’s certain that Republic has no right to demand a radio takedown. If Lamar’s “euphoria” lyric about a cease-and-desist is true, Kenswil says, “The artist [Drake] complained to the label [Republic] and the label felt like they had to do something to satisfy the artist. But, of course, we probably don’t have the full story.”
He adds: “That happens all the time. Artists tell their lawyers: ‘Send a cease-and-desist.’ The lawyer says, ‘Uh, I don’t think they’re doing anything wrong.’ ‘Send a cease-and-desist or I’ll fire you.’ And they send the cease-and-desist — and don’t follow up.’” Evidence on behalf of Kenswil’s theory: “Like That” not only came out, but radio played the track, it debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks. And as of this writing, “Like That” is No. 21 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart.
Few stories have captivated the past couple of months like that of Tyla, the young South African singer whose single, “Water,” emerged as a sultry blend of Afrobeats and R&B and exploded across the globe. The song first debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in October — her first appearance on the chart — and quickly took off from there. It almost immediately reached the top of the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart — where it has spent 14 weeks at No. 1 — and climbed all the way to No. 7 on the Hot 100, where it has spent the past two weeks. It has also been sitting comfortably at No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for eight weeks.
It’s a true breakout story for the artist, who also saw “Water” land a Grammy nomination in the brand-new category of best African music performance at the upcoming awards this February — not to mention a testament to the work of her management and her team at Epic Records, where she signed in 2021. The song began picking up organically, got a lift off a TikTok challenge and catapulted onto radio, picking up remixes from Travis Scott and Marshmello along the way. And the song’s success so far earns Epic Records president Ezekiel Lewis the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Lewis breaks down how “Water” erupted onto the global stage, the multiple genre influences that went into its final version and how the singer can build on the song’s success leading into her debut album, which is due out in the next few months. “From the beginning of the record-making process, we made it a point to find the best chemistry between creatives from different backgrounds to reflect the worldly influences you hear in the song,” Lewis says. “That is a key factor in enabling it to appeal to audiences not only in the U.S. but across the globe.”
This week, Tyla’s “Water” spent its second week at No. 7 on the Hot 100, its 14th week at No. 1 on U.S. Afrobeats Songs and was certified platinum by the RIAA. What key decision(s) did you make to help make that happen?
The story starts with the creation of the song. I feel like a big part of our job is to curate an environment that creates an opportunity for magic to happen. Consider the fact that the four key writers of the song had never worked together as a collective before Tyla. From the beginning of the record-making process, we made it a point to find the best chemistry between creatives from different backgrounds to reflect the worldly influences you hear in the song. That is a key factor in enabling it to appeal to audiences, not only in the U.S. but across the globe.
“Water” blends an Afrobeats/Amapiano drum pattern with more traditional R&B elements, combining a number of different styles. Why do you think it was able to break through in such a big way?
The song not only has elements of Afrobeats but also more specifically Amapiano which is integral to the music culture of South Africa. While the wider Afrobeats influence is obvious, the use of the log drum by Sammy Soso is key to tying in that specific South African element. Then moving on to the top line, the lyric and melody, R&B and pop dominate in terms of influence there. We really hit a sweet spot in terms of multiple influences coming together seamlessly. There’s something for everyone.
The song has also done very well at radio, with eight straight weeks at No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. What was the strategy there and how has it paid off?
Once we accomplished a strong Shazam, digital and streaming story, the stage was set for radio to follow through. The audience talked back loudly and let us know it wanted to hear more and more of the record. The song’s gains at playlists across multiple genres gave us a strong sense that radio would be able to replicate that success, and that we could have a chart topper across multiple formats. Once all of the indicators pointed upward, we went for it, and thankfully we were correct in doing so.
The song was also boosted relatively early on with remixes from Travis Scott and Marshmello. How have remixes fit into your strategy, and what has been the payoff?
When thinking about remixing the song, we did not want to significantly compromise the implicit nature of the track by doing something simply to gain more audience. Authenticity is sometimes hard to articulate, but you know it once you press play and begin to listen. Travis came to the table organically, as a fan of the song, and wanted to join. We knew immediately that it would make sense creatively and would only add to the prominence of the track. Travis is a preeminent curator himself, so the vote of confidence was welcomed. His involvement gave listeners a different take on a song that they had already embraced.
Similarly, and maybe less obvious, was Marshmello, who also was a fan of the song and asked if he could do a remix. Once we heard how he re-imagined the track, we were excited to have him join us. His version has definitely given the track wings in the dance space and helped to take it further with additional streaming in that world. All of this cross-pollination has helped the track ascend the Billboard Hot 100.
So far, music from African artists has mostly broken through singles in the U.S. How do you plan to keep Tyla’s momentum going through to releasing a full album?
We will continue to build on Tyla’s momentum by keeping African culture at the center of what we do musically and creatively overall. There is a sonic consistency that listeners will hear across this first project and we expect this to go over well with the new fan base that she has developed. There is already a nearly completely sold-out tour scheduled in both Europe and the U.S. Also, her new track, “Truth Or Dare,” is showing early signs of greatness as we build daily and sits in the top five of both the U.S. and U.K. Afrobeats charts.
The song also earned a Grammy nomination in the first-ever best African music performance category. What do you see as the future of African music in the U.S. moving forward, both from a musical perspective and an industry perspective?
The sky is the limit for African music in the U.S., as I foresee continued cross-pollination to move it forward. It has proven its potential to top charts in urban, pop, and even in the dance space. It simply cannot be ignored and the Recording Academy has made an intelligent and timely decision. I could not be more excited for the future. Everyone wants a piece of the action.
Jabari is taking his talents to Epic Records.
The multi-hyphenate, best known as the star of Peacock’s Bel-Air, is looking to showcase his skills on the mic as the label’s newest signee. On Friday (Dec. 1), he’ll embark on his musical journey with the release of his label debut, “Something Else.”
“With the creation of ‘Something Else,’ I wanted to give life to the grey areas of infatuation,” Jabari tells Billboard. “I wanted to share where I was in that time, and along with my team, we executed that well. Also very excited be to be taking this first step with Epic Records. Shout to Sylvia Rhone and Zeke Lewis for being headlights for the vision. I have a lot more to give. Thanks for being here on this journey.”
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“Jabari is a multi-hyphenate young superstar in the making. Artists like him represent the future of entertainment and we could not resist the opportunity to join and assist with his upward movement,” adds Ezekiel Lewis, president of Epic Records.
On Bel-Air, Jabari plays the lead role of Will Smith (named after the star of the original series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). The show has given momentum to his acting career, though he has previously noted that avid fans of the original ’90s sitcom were initially skeptical about the show’s modern-day twist.
“It just really came from a pure place. And honestly, it’s incredible, because we’re standing on the shoulders of giants,” Jabari told Variety last year. “The wingspan of this show is incredible, because it reaches for so many generations, and everybody knows it. And it’s such a beloved TV series, it’s a quintessential ’90s sitcom. And so it’s so it’s everyone’s baby, and they’re like, ‘We don’t touch that we don’t touch this.’ But I was definitely confident, I was like, ‘Just wait and watch because we got some great things cooking up.’”
Jabari will look to follow in the steps of his co-star, Coco Jones, who recently reeled in five Grammy nominations, most notably in the best new artist category. When asked how he will balance his music and TV responsibilities simultaneously, Jabari says: “Because God is good.”
Mariah The Scientist is the newest signee to Epic Records. The singer/songwriter joins a roster that boasts Future, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Giveon and more. To celebrate, the singer released her newest single, “From a Woman,” released early Friday morning (Oct. 13). “I was reluctant to signing any new deal, “Mariah tells Billboard. “But I was […]
Nigerian DJ/producer Spinall has officially signed with Epic Records, the company tells Billboard.
“Spinall is one of the continent’s best musical exports. A preeminent curator and driver of culture. His collaborations have the potential to take music from Africa to new heights globally, and we are extremely energized about our partnership with him here at Epic,” says Ezekiel “Zeke” Lewis, president of Epic Records, in a statement to Billboard.
“It’s really, really tough when you’ve been independent for a minute. But after discussing with Sylvia [Rhone, CEO/chairwoman of Epic Records] and Zeke, they gave me the most confidence that I would ever need — bringing me on, speaking to me and listening and being so sweet. Sylvia and Zeke convinced me in the first meeting that I’m home,” he tells Billboard.
“They have a proven record of doing amazing partnerships with different talents from all over the world. So I’m super excited, and there’s gonna be a lot of good music. I’m excited to be working with a set of people who genuinely love music. We just want to spread the gospel of good music all around the world.”
Spinall (real name Oluseye Desmond Sodamola) is already spreading the word through his new single “Loju” featuring Wizkid, which he released today (June 30) as his official Epic debut. “It’s a very special record because of our history together as partners in making some of the best Afrobeats records,” he says of his frequent collaborator, with whom he’s worked on “Nowo,” “Opoju,” “Dis Love” (with Tiwa Savage) and more. “Wizkid is someone I respect a lot. He has done collaborations with everybody on the continent, and he’s still doing it. Every time we link up, the energy is just different. Our friendship is beyond the music.”
“Loju” arrives four months after he released his sixth studio album, Top Boy, on Feb. 17 via his own record label/management company, TheCAP Music. Top Boy — which was featured on Billboard‘s 50 best albums of 2023 (so far) list — contains hit singles “Sere” featuring Fireboy DML (and 6lack on the remix) and “Palazzo” featuring Asake, the former of which has 16.3 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. and 71 million official global on-demand streams.
“Palazzo” peaked at No. 6 on Billboard‘s U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, while “Power (Remember Who You Are)” featuring Summer Walker, DJ Snake and Äyanna — which was originally featured in The Flipper’s Skate Heist short film and then added to Top Boy — peaked at No. 16 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
“A lot of amazing records on the tape. The whole goal behind that is to spread the music and spread the entire culture of what we do in Africa,” he says.
After receiving his BSc degree in electrical and electronics engineering at Olabisi Onabanjo University in Nigeria’s Ogun State, Spinall attended several DJ schools to hone in on his musical talent. In 2014, he launched TheCAP Music, which stands for “TheCrazyAzzParty” and also symbolizes the traditional Yoruba caps he wears, and signed producers Killertunes and Stunna the following year. He had previously signed an international record deal with Atlantic Records U.K. and a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music U.K. Spinall has released all six of his albums through TheCAP Music.
Last year, he opened for Bruno Mars in Sydney, Australia for two nights and DJed at Jay-Z‘s Oscars Gold Party. “My work speaks for itself…. I’m not new to the big stage,” Spinall says. “There’s no other goal than making happy music. If you look at my discography, that’s what I’ve done over the years and that’s what I’ll continue to do till the day I die!”
For management, Spinall is represented by Tolulope Shodamola, COO/general manager of TheCAP Music, as well as LVRN’s Tunde Balogun (president/co-founder), Amber Grimes (executive vp/general manager) and Justice Baiden (head of A&R/co-president).
Ezekiel Lewis has been promoted to president at Epic Records. After serving as executive vp and head of A&R at Epic since 2020, Lewis will now help run the company’s daily operations and continue to helm its A&R division. He will also continue to report to Epic chairwoman and CEO Sylvia Rhone.
“Having been a hit songwriter and producer for many years, Zeke brings an invaluable understanding of the artist’s creative journey,” Rhone said in announcing Lewis’ appointment. “His knowledge and experience of the inner workings of the music industry give him an immeasurable edge to drive key business conversations, while staying true to his A&R roots.”
Lewis initially joined Epic in 2017 as executive vp, A&R. Over the last five years, he has worked with an artist roster that includes 21 Savage, BIA, Black Eyed Peas, DDG, Future, Giveon, Madison Beer, Meghan Trainor, Mimi Webb, Southside and Zara Larsson, among others.
“The entire Epic Records team embodies what it means to champion artist development in this fast-moving industry and I’m excited to help shape its future,” said Lewis in a statement. “I will honor the musical legacy of Epic, our artists and partners with my most intentional effort. I look forward to continuing our collaboration, with the singular goal of giving the world some of the most incredible and influential music created to last for generations.”
Prior to Epic, Lewis was senior vp of A&R at Motown Records. During a six-year tenure that began in 2011, Lewis worked on projects by Ne-Yo, Erykah Badu, Migos, Lil Yachty, T.I., Rich Homie Quan and others. Lewis’ extensive list of credits includes co-writing and co-producing artists such as Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Usher and Trey Songz, as well as collaborations with Mariah Carey and Yo Gotti.
Lewis, a 2023 Billboard Power 100 honoree, also founded Bar Music Group in 2010. The music publishing company is home to a roster of songwriters and producers whose credits encompass projects by Chris Brown, Future, Trey Songz and others.
A musician in his own right, Lewis began his career by signing with David Foster’s 143 Records after attending Morehouse College. He later co-founded the songwriter-producer collective The Clutch. The collective is behind hits such as Omarion’s “Ice Box,” Ciara’s “Like a Boy,” Britney Spears’ “Radar” and Timbaland’s “The Way I Are.” Lewis’ additional credits include song contributions on Grammy-winning albums by Luther Vandross (Dance with My Father) and Mary J. Blige (The Breakthrough).
For record executives, the story of Michael Jackson‘s Thriller begins in 1979, three years before the album came out, when disco crashed and record stores returned millions of unwanted LPs to major labels. That year, recorded-music revenues dropped 10% from the previous year prior, according to RIAA data, and vinyl sales were just beginning to decline after years of growth. CBS Records had massive layoffs that summer; Warner Bros. followed with 55 in December.
“When I came in on Monday, there were half-smoked cigarettes in ashtrays and half-typed memos in typewriters,” recalls Jim Urie, then CBS’ New York branch manager, who pink-slipped 40 on his staff. “It was really, really brutal.”
The industry-wide malaise, coinciding with a worldwide recession, lasted two or three years. “It was the first time all of us young people in the music business had business hit us in the face,” says Dan Beck, Epic Records’ head of publicity at the time, who recalls another “major” wave of company wide CBS layoffs in summer 1982. “One of the first things people cut back was the disposable income — so if somebody bought three or four albums a month, and now they only bought one or two, that was pretty dramatic to our business.”
Thriller, released exactly 40 years ago, on Nov. 30, 1982, helped usher in the music business’ comeback, along with the explosive growth of MTV and the adoption of the compact disc. Jackson’s follow-up to 1979’s Off the Wall took off instantly, beginning with the opening single, “The Girl Is Mine,” a duet with Paul McCartney designed to cross the album over to a white radio audience. All seven of its singles would land in the top 10 of the Hot 100, and the album would spend 37 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Thriller coaxed fans back into record stores to buy multiple copies, thus providing labels with resources to market Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and, later, hair-metal bands. At the end of 1981, CBS Records, which owned Epic at the time, took in $1 billion in revenue, its worst earnings since 1971; by the end of 1983, its net income increased 26% to $187 million.
“It pulled the music industry out of the doldrums,” says Larry Stessel, then Epic’s West Coast marketing vp. “It helped pull us out of the disco days and it became a whole new world.”
Stessel, who worked closely with Jackson on music videos, says the industry recession from roughly 1979 to 1983 helped his staff learn to economize — which made Epic and other labels leaner and stronger when the business came back.
“It allowed us to utilize our dollars more efficiently, develop local campaigns — if you could break an artist out of Kansas City, then obviously your next goal was to spread it to St. Louis, and maybe your next stop would be Milwaukee or Chicago or Detroit, depending where the airplay was,” he recalls. “It made us smarter marketing people when the doors opened up again after Thriller was released.”
Famously, Thriller‘s sales run kept going and going — it spiked after every new single and video, and surged after Jackson did the moonwalk during NBC’s Motown 25 anniversary special in May 1983. Today, Jackson’s label, Sony, claims Thriller as the best-selling global album of all time; in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry Association of America, it is 34 times platinum, behind the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, at 38 times platinum. Even as Jackson’s legacy is tainted with allegations of child sexual abuse in HBO’s 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, the album has generated 3.87 million U.S. album-equivalent units in the past 10 years, including 1.2 million in physical album sales, according to Luminate.
“I knew then,” Stessel says of Thriller‘s staying power. “We started literally selling 1.2 million copies over the country every week. The album went from 4 to 6 million copies to 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.”
Thriller did more than reverse CBS Records’ fortunes in the early ’80s. It helped encourage Sony Corp. to buy the label home of Jackson, Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond and many other stars for $2 billion in 1988. The idea was to unite software (music) with Sony’s new hardware (compact discs), and Thriller was the most valuable content of all. “You don’t buy Michael Jackson because he sounds like somebody else. You buy him because he resonates with you,” says Mickey Schulhof, then Sony’s top executive in the U.S. “Having content, we knew, was going to be an important part of Sony’s future, and the largest content library in the record industry was CBS Records. It was an easy decision.”
Thriller made Urie, CBS’ New York branch manager back then, forget those painful 1979 layoffs — almost. “If you have a big enough record — and this is certainly true today — it throws off so much profit over its lifetime that it really can change things,” he says. “It cures all ills.”
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