International
Page: 26
Nora Fatehi, a Canadian-born Bollywood star with Moroccan roots, has signed a recording contract with Warner Music as the actress, dancer and singer looks to add “global music star” to her professional accomplishments. Based in India, Fatehi will work closely with WMG teams in the U.S. and globally on music-related releases and projects, but remain signed with Indian label T-Series for her Bollywood work.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Fatehi made her name across India performing what are known as item songs — special musical numbers inserted into a movie — in numerous Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. Her appearance in the 2018 film Satyameva Jayate, in which she performed the Bollywood classic “Dilbar,” led to her recording and sining an Arabic version of the song in collaboration with Moroccan group Fnaire that has racked up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube.
Her other musical endeavors have included collaborations with Tanzanian artist Rayvanny for the Afropop track “Pepeta,” as well as British singer Zack Knight for the pop song “Dirty Little Secret.” She has also released several solo tracks, including “I’m Bossy” earlier this year. According to WMG, Fatehi’s Bollywood songs have garnered over five billion views on YouTube, such as “Saki Saki,” Kusu Kusu” and “Garmi.”
Trending on Billboard
In late 2022, Fatehi shared the stage with global stars Davido, Ozuna, Manal, Balqees, Rahma and GIMS at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, where she grabbed the spotlight for the English version of Cup anthem “Light the Sky.”
Indian music fans spend over 24 hours each week listening to music, with top genres including Bollywood and Indian Pop, among others, according to IFPI’s latest Engaging With Music report. Fatehi’s background and versatility, along with being fluent in multiple languages, means she won’t be limited to the vast market of her home base. The Middle East and North Africa, for example, was the fastest growing region for music in 2022, jumping 24%, reported IFPI, while Asia grew by 15.4%.
“Nora is an extraordinary talent, electric performer, and cross-cultural superstar whose music reflects the rich diversity of her background,” said WMG CEO Robert Kyncl. “Her passion and ambition are infectious and we’re excited to help her reach new audiences, places, and heights across the globe.”
Alfonso Perez-Soto, president of emerging markets for WMG, added: “I’ve been blown away by Nora’s star power. She has the creative ability and sheer stamina you need to become one of the world’s biggest artists. We can’t wait to put the global resources of Warner Music at her disposal as she starts the next chapter of her music career.”
In the meantime, Fatehi’s film career continues in its upward trajectory with the release on Friday (Feb. 23) of Crakk – Jeethegaa Toh Jiyegaa, a Hindi-language film billed as the “first-ever extreme sports action film in India.”
“I’ve enjoyed great success in my career so far, but this deal is a significant step forward in my musical journey, a new chapter in my international career,” she said. “My ambition is to be a global music star and performer, connecting with fans all over the world. I want to use my diverse cultural background to create music and dance that brings everyone together! I’m excited to work with Warner Music to leverage their experience and expertise to help me fulfill this goal.”
The culture of Palestine is celebrated in “Deira,” a new song and video from artists Saint Levant and MC Abdul released in the wake of Levant’s recent signing to Universal Arabic Music (UAM).
Levant is a singer, rapper and songwriter of Palestinian, Algerian, French and Serbian descent. MC Abdul is a 15-year-old rapper from Gaza whose 2021 viral hit, “Palestine,” brought him global prominence.
Done in the traditional Shaabi Arab musical style native to Algiers, “Deira” — which translates to “the Kasbah or “the old city” — is an homage to Levant’s lineage, with the video highlighting daily life, food, fashion, sports and more in the Middle East through a dreamy and nostalgic lens.
“Deira is the name of the hotel that my father Rashid, an architect, built with my mother in 2000 when they moved to Gaza,” Levant says in a statement. “He built this hotel with mud because it was impossible to import cement at the time. Located on the beach, this hotel was one of the most beautiful in Gaza, made up of 22 rooms. It was a true architectural marvel. On July 16, 2014, four children playing ball out front of the hotel were killed by Israeli rocket fire and most recently the hotel was totally destroyed by bombing three months ago.”
Trending on Billboard
MC Abdul — who left Gaza for the United States a month before the war started — delivers a verse acknowledging the current conflict with the lyrics, “Big dreams, heavy nights/praying that my family can stay alive/imagine trying to fly with no wings/but I promise you the caged bird sings.”
[embedded content]
Levant’s catalog includes a host of singles and two EPs, including 2023’s From Gaza, With Love. Based in Los Angeles, the artist recently signed to Universal Arabic Music (UAM) via a partnership with Republic Records and UMG launched by The Weeknd’s manager Wassim “Sal” Slaiby in 2021.
The Middle East has recently become a growth area for the music industry, with major labels like Universal setting up imprints and local offices there. Spotify launched in the Arab world in 2018, while Abu Dhabi-based streaming company Anghami received a $5 million investment from the venture capital arm of the Saudi Arabia media company SRMG last August. (SRMG is also behind the recently launched Billboard Arabia.) San Francisco-based distribution company EMPIRE has an operation covering the Middle East/North Africa, bringing on Spotify’s Suhel Nafar to oversee it in 2021.
The 2022 IFPI report notes that the Middle East and North African (MENA) region posted the world’s third-highest growth rate in 2022, seeing revenues from recorded music climb by 23.8%. Streaming accounted for the majority of the market, with those revenues making up a 95.5% share.
But the war in Gaza has disrupted that opportunity for many Palestinian acts, and increased attention around the conflict has not brought any significant streaming gains to Palestinian artists. MC Abdul’s global streaming numbers did, however, see a spike last fall in the weeks following the start of the war.
Beyoncé’s Chart Hit Is Also a Win for Canadian Songwriters
This week, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
There are some surprising Canadian connections. The song is co-written and co-produced by Ontario-born writer/producer Nathan Ferraro, who co-produced the track with Killah B and Beyoncé. Two other Canadian songwriters also participated in the runaway hit: Megan Bülow (who records and performs as bülow) and Elizabeth “Lowell” Boland (a.k.a. Lowell).
Ferraro was in an alt-rock band called The Midway State that had some success in Canada in the late 2000s. A signing to Interscope as a teenager brought him to Los Angeles, where he splits time with Toronto (his signing with the label also led to a collaboration with a then up-and-coming Lady Gaga).
After writing for mostly Canadian artists, including Carly Rae Jepsen and Jessie Reyez, Ferraro had a modest hit with bülow in “Not A Love Song,” which started their collaboration as songwriters. He also wrote with Lowell (signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts), with the two forming a songwriting team that picked up steam in 2022 when they collaborated on the Charli XCX song “Yuck.”
“[The collaboration] works well for us,” Ferraro tells Billboard Canada. “We’re such good friends and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I think we all have a lot of mutual respect, so we have a lot of confidence together and that allows us to take risks. We’ve written probably 100 songs together.”
Trending on Billboard
But none of their credits have been as big as “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which could become a breakthrough for Ferraro and his collaborators.
“Honestly, since I was 14, I had the vision that I would write songs that could have a major impact,” he says. “And it’s pretty delusional because it’s just so, so far away. I grew up in Collingwood, Ontario. But you put one foot in front of the other and write lots and lots of songs and don’t give up.” – Richard Trapunski
Neil Young’s New Album FU##IN’ UP Includes Live Recordings from Intimate Toronto Venue The Rivoli
Canadian icon Neil Young is adding to his immense discography with a new release this spring: a live album titled FU##IN UP. The album, featuring Young’s longtime band Crazy Horse, consists of nine live recordings from 2023 and is set for a limited edition two-LP release this April in partnership with Record Store Day.
According to the album’s credits, it was recorded at Toronto’s Rivoli club, meaning it likely captures Neil Young & Crazy Horse‘s secret show at the venue last November.
At that show — supposedly a private birthday party for Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss — the band performed most of its 1990 album Ragged Glory, according to reports that generated a lot of buzz when they appeared online days later. FU##IN’ UP features primarily songs from Ragged Glory, with new titles taken from lyric fragments. (“Over and Over,” shared as a single, is now “Broken Circle.”)
The album features performances from Crazy Horse members Billy Talbot on bass, Ralph Molina on drums, and Nils Lofgren and Micah Nelson on guitar and piano, while Reiss is credited as a presenter.
To tease the album announcement, Young previously shared a version of “Cinnamon Girl” recorded at the Rivoli on his site, Neil Young Archives. “This version of Cinnamon Girl is an example of the energy captured as the horse road through the RIVOLI club in Toronto Nov 4, 2023,” the post reads.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse will be returning to Toronto to tour the new album, though this time at a venue with a higher capacity: They’ll play Budweiser Stage on May 20, as part of their 2024 Love Earth Tour — their first major tour in a decade. – Rosie Long Decter
Tanya Tagaq Plays a Pivotal Role in True Detective Season Finale
The new season of True Detective wrapped up this past weekend, and timed with the tense final episode, HBO also released the show’s gripping soundtrack. Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq, one of the most celebrated contemporary musicians in Canada, contributed to seven songs on the soundtrack and made appearances in the show itself.
Subtitled Night Country, the fourth season of the HBO detective show takes place in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska. It stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, two police officers trying to figure out how the recent bizarre deaths of six scientists are linked to the murder of Iñupiaq activist Annie Kowtok. Through its mystery framing, the show explores themes like colonial violence, environmental destruction, and missing and murdered Indigenous women.
While the score was primarily composed by British composer Vince Pope, Tagaq’s vocal work and throat singing add power to his compositions. Tagaq is listed as a featured artist on six tracks on the soundtrack and is the sole artist credited on “Tanya’s Lullaby,” a beautiful composition where Tagaq’s voice is layered to ghostly effect.
Tagaq had an impact on the series in more ways than one. She appears as an actress in the show, playing a doula, and her family’s names also provided inspiration for two of the series’ characters: Danvers and Navarro visit a fisherman named Oliver Tagaq in one episode, while Navarro also periodically spends the night with a sweet bartender named Qavvik, a version of Tagaq’s daughter’s name. Tagaq thanked season four showrunner Issa López for including the names in the show.
“Oliver Tagaq and Kavvik. Kavvik is my youngest daughter’s name. Thank you @IssitaLopez for including our names in #TrueDetective” she tweeted. – Rosie Long Decter
What exactly was Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Vultures Listening Experience” at Milan’s Mediolanum Forum on Thursday (Feb. 22) night? Some sort of pagan mass where the audience celebrated his myth? A branch of the Milano Fashion Week where the important thing was just to be there? Or maybe a huge party where the fans themselves became the protagonists? Well, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s performance was all that and more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Some people expected something particularly crazy to happen, like a Vultures 2 spoiler or a short speech. But during the hour-long show, none of this happened.
Before the eyes of the audience was a completely empty parterre overlooked by only a floating cylindrical LED wall, the only illuminated part of the show. All around there was only smoke and, literally, nothing. An almost dystopian scenario, too minimal to be defined as apocalyptic, in which only silence dominated – that of the music (there was no selection accompanying the beginning of the show) and that of the audience waiting for Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign who, once they arrived, positioned themselves at the center of the scene with their faces completely covered, without even a microphone in hand, moving to the rhythm of their latest album and approaching the crowd.
Trending on Billboard
With them there was a platoon of top-notch guests, the same ones from Vultures 1. Among these, Quavo, Playboi Carti, Freddie Gibbs, Rich the Kid and Jaden Smith.
Some people might have been taken aback by all this – as it was a gathering to listen to an album exactly as they could have done in their car or bedroom, with the difference of watching Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign and some of the spearheads of the U.S. rap scene vibe on their own songs without rapping. But true Kanye West fans know this: the only thing you can expect from him is the unexpected, and for many of them the thing that really mattered was just being there, regardless of the content of the show.
The public’s attention was entirely focused on Kanye – on his movements, on his progressive approach to them and then disappearing into the darkness like something elusive, very close and very distant at the same time.
At exactly 10:30 p.m. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign disappeared (not before having gathered everyone for the encore with “Carnival”), and West’s wife Bianca Censori left the bleachers, like the influencers and the fashion addicts of the Fashion Week.
Yet the show was not over — it entered its heart, in a way. There remained the kids who got excited like never before about Kanye’s older hit songs: “Runaway,” the 2010 single with Pusha-T, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and many others.
The audience became the true protagonist for the rest of the listening party – In front of an empty venue, illuminated only by the lights of cell phones. Will this be a new frontier of live performances? Or will it be a unique thing that only Kanye could do in Italy? The show will be replicated tomorrow in Bologna and on Sunday in Paris.
This article originally appeared on Billboard Italy.
LONDON — The British government’s Intellectual Property Office has said that bringing streaming in line with TV and radio broadcasts in the U.K. by obligating record companies to pay performers ‘equitable remuneration’ does not provide “a simple solution” to creators’ concerns over low returns from services like Spotify and Apple Music – and is “unlikely to yield a net positive income for the industry at large.”
In its report into the potential impact of equitable remuneration on the U.K. music business, published Monday, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) says its introduction could result in labels reducing their investment in developing new acts and would see rightsholders paying out “a significant sum of money” in administration costs.
The report goes on to say that more work is needed to fully assess whether labels’ ability to negotiate competitive deals with streaming services on behalf of artists would be weakened — as claimed by record labels – by changing how royalties are paid out for music streams.
Trending on Billboard
“While not a satisfying conclusion, it is clear that more research is required into the nuances of how best to balance the incentives to create with the need to monetise creation,” states the report.
The IPO research paper into equitable remuneration is the latest chapter in a long and ongoing series of government-led interventions into the U.K. music industry fuelled by artist discontent over low payments from streaming.
In 2021, a Parliamentary inquiry into the music streaming business called into question the major record labels’ dominance of the industry and branded the global streaming model as unsustainable in its current form, saying it “needs a complete reset.”
One of the key proposals made by the Parliamentary inquiry was changing the revenue model for music streaming by forcing record labels to pay performers equitable remuneration — equivalent to a 50/50 royalty split — on music streams, which it called “a simple yet effective solution to the problems caused by poor remuneration.”
A similar statutory right to equitable remuneration has existed in the U.K. since 1996 for TV and radio broadcasts, where revenues are split 50/50 between labels and performers and distributed via by the collecting society PPL. The statutory right guarantees royalties to non-featured performers, such as session musicians, whenever a song they played on is broadcast on U.K. radio or television.
By contrast, under the current music streaming model only the copyright owner receives payment from streaming platforms, which it then shares with the artist according to the terms of their contract. Average royalty rates are typically set between 25% and 30% on new artist deals and far less on legacy contracts, while some indie labels now offer artists 50/50 profit-share deals. (Session musicians do not typically receive any royalties from music streaming).
The IPO’s report examines what impact equitable remuneration would have on the U.K. music business by applying several predictive models to streaming over a five-year period.
When equitable remuneration is applied to 100% of streaming income — based on a scenario where a record company invests £150,000 and a release generates £240,000 (3 times the recoupable advance) — earnings for featured artists almost double to just under £115,000, while record label revenues move from a £90,000 profit to a loss of almost £13,000. Session musician income jumps from zero to just under £30,000.
In instances where equitable remuneration is applied to 35% of streaming income, the same metrics see label revenues drop from £90,000 to just under £54,000, while featured artists’ income rises from a flat £60,000 advance to almost £100,000 (including recoupable costs spent).
The research also models the impact on loss making deals and instances where 7x the record company advance is generated, as well as the impact of equitable remuneration on DIY artist deals.
The IPO’s modeling surmises that equitable remuneration would make record label investment “more risky and more difficult to justify,” while DIY artists would see increase in administration costs and receive little financial gain or, for heavily streamed releases, a reduction in profits.
“If the intention is to better support the careers of current and future artists then there is a significant risk that introducing” a full version of equitable remuneration “would make it more difficult for the current label investment model to continue,” says the report.
The research paper, which was carried out by the IPO in conjunction with a working group made up of industry stakeholders, additionally looks at the potential impact of the U.K. introducing a version of equitable remuneration similar to what already exists in Spain.
In Spain, 5.6% of streaming income is currently shared out between featured artists and non-featured performers, with equitable remuneration paid by streaming platforms, not labels. However, the practice has been mired in litigation since its introduction in 2006 and critics say that it resulted in only marginal gains for artists and performers.
When applying the so-called ‘Spanish model’ to the U.K. business, researchers found that it offers a much less significant shift in revenue than other ER methodologies but raises unanswered questions around whether it would make “a material difference” to creator earnings.
The report warns that if an equivalent to the Spanish version of ER was introduced in the U.K. streaming services might look to recover “some or all” of the extra revenue they would have to pay out from their deals with rights holders.
Reaction among U.K. music trade groups to the IPO’s findings was mixed.
Jo Twist, CEO of labels trade body BPI, said the report reinforces record company’s long-held concerns around equitable remuneration. Making such a change to how streaming royalties are shared “would undermine the essential role that labels play in investing in and supporting artists,” Twist said in a statement.
The Council Of Music Makers noted that the IPO report “reaches no conclusions, and no decisions should be made on the basis of its ambiguous findings.” The trade group said it would continue to work with all industry stakeholders on a “wider discussion” around creator remuneration from streaming and various solutions that have been proposed.
Responding to the IPO’s research, government ministers Julia Lopez and Viscount Camrose said that “in light of the risks” highlighted in the report, “the government does not intend to apply the ‘broadcast model’ of equitable remuneration to on-demand streaming.”
Instead, the findings “lend weight to the view that the best way to address creator concerns is through dialogue among industry and, where appropriate, industry-led actions,” said Lopez and Camrose in an open letter to Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
On this week’s Billboard Canadian Hot 100, the late Punjabi music sensation Sidhu Moose Wala debuts in the top 10, with posthumous single “Drippy.”
The hard-hitting track finds Moose Wala and Canadian rapper AR Paisley trading verses — the former in Punjabi, the latter in English — over an ominous trap beat from producer MXRCI. “Stop playing these games / cause out in these streets s–t could get pricey,” raps Paisley, “could cost you your life / so don’t take that lightly.”
The song arrives nearly two years after Moose Wala’s 2022 murder in Mansa, India. The artist moved to Brampton in 2016 and quickly rose to prominence in the Punjabi rap scene, eventually starting his own label and moving back to India, where he became involved in politics. His shocking death came right before a planned eight-date Canadian tour, during which he was booked to play Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum.
Trending on Billboard
Moose Wala has previously had 13 charting songs on the Canadian Hot 100, with several landing after his death — but has never cracked the top 10 before. As Punjabi music becomes a major force in Canada, he leaves behind a significant legacy, evident in the strong support for singles like “Drippy.” His influence also shows in artists like Paisley, who’s signed to 91 North, the joint label between Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India to promote South Asian music worldwide. – Rosie Long Decter
Canadian Indie Rock Band Hollerado Reunite as Tokyo Police Club Break Up
It’s been five years since Canadian indie group Hollerado called it quits. But they’re getting the band back together in order to send-off fellow indie rockers Tokyo Police Club, who are playing their final shows this November. Hollerado will open for Tokyo Police Club at two of their four dates at Toronto’s History.
The shows mark a full circle moment for both bands, who came up around the same time in the late 2000s Canadian indie scene. Tokyo Police Club opened for Hollerado at their final shows in 2019. “When they told us that it was their turn to hang up the skates, and asked if we would come out of retirement to join em,” the band wrote on Instagram, “of course we said YES.”
Hollerado had a gold record with 2010’s “Juliette,” off the Ottawa band’s debut album Record in a Bag. The band also hit No. 42 on Billboard‘s Canada Rock chart in 2019 with “One Last Time.” Since breaking up, members have focused on other projects and ventures, like popular label Royal Mountain Records, helmed by the band’s frontman Menno Versteeg.
Now, they’ll be joining their friends in Tokyo Police Club one last time, to give the Newmarket, Ontario band a proper goodbye. Tokyo Police Club were one of the biggest breakouts of Canada’s indie rock wave in the 2000s, playing Coachella and Letterman. The success of their 2006 EP A Lesson in Crime helped inspire guitar bands across the country. In 2010, they spoke with Billboard about the sessions for their sophomore album, Champ.
Guitar music has gone through a whole cycle of falling out of style and coming back in since 2010, its forms evolving and expanding along the way. If Tokyo Police Club hasn’t had as big a profile in recent years, there’s clearly still a lot of love for the band: three out of four of their farewell shows have already sold out. The last one, on Nov. 26, still has a few available here. – Rosie Long Decter
Canadian Music Appointments and Signings
Quebec City-based country singer and songwriter Alison Daniels has signed on with 604 Records with her debut “Who, What, Where, When, Why?” released Feb. 9 via Warner Music Canada.
Victoria-based musician Michael Kaeshammer has just announced the release date for his new album and a new worldwide deal with Seven.One Starwatch/Sony Music Germany. He recently wrapped up what is described as SRO tours in China and Germany and heads back to Germany in May for a theatre tour. He recently signed a touring deal with German event promoter MMP/Starwatch. Meanwhile, Kaeshammer’s Kitchen, his television show fusing music with cooking, has been renewed for its second season, airing on Yes and CHEK stations.
Secret City Records has named Magali Ould as GM. A former independent publicist, she joined in 2011 and has held various positions with the Montreal-based music company since. In naming her to the role, president/CEO Justin West stated: “Secret City’s tremendous growth, as well as the accelerated pace of the changing market, both bring new challenges and opportunities and drive the need for additional management infrastructure to ensure the relevant parts of the organization continue to function at the highest level. The General Manager role addresses that need and will help unlock our potential for future growth and expansion.”
Quebec rapper Lost has been named as a participant in YouTube’s FIFTY DEEP Music Class of 2024, a grants program that champions and provides support for Black artists, songwriters and producers in the hip-hop arena. The class is comprised of 27 global artists, songwriters, and producers from the U.S., Brazil, Sub-Saharan Africa, Canada and beyond. Read more about FIFTY DEEP here. – David Farrell & Kerry Doole
Last Week In Canada: This Unsung Canadian Cleaned Up at the Grammys
The rumors arrived on Thursday (Feb. 15) evening, and now everything is confirmed officially. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign will be in Italy next week to present their joint album Vultures 1 at two listening parties, one in Milan (Feb. 22) and another Bologna (Feb. 24). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]
Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” extends its reign over the Billboard Japan Hot 100 to three weeks on the chart released Feb. 14.
The MASHLE season 2 opener saw an increase of about 13.8% in streams from the week before, racking up a whopping 20,118,604 weekly streams and holding at No. 1 for the metric. This figure ranks fourth on the all-time list for weekly streams, following BTS’ “Butter,” YOASOBI’s “Idol” and Official HIGE DANdism’s “Subtitle.” “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” also ruled downloads with 16,450 units, up 26.7%, and karaoke soared 63-32. Overall points for the hip-hop banger have gained 14.5% from the week before.
On the chart tallying the week ending Feb. 11, seven songs in the top 10 stayed in the same position as the week before. tuki.’s “Bansanka” at No. 2 collected 2,218,839 video views (up 1.4%) to rule the metric for the first time, and both downloads and streaming for the poignant ballad remain relatively unchanged.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
[embedded content]
Then three of the biggest hits of 2023, Ado’s “Show,” YOASOBI’s “Idol” and two songs by Mrs. GREEN APPLE (“Que Sera Sera” and “Nachtmusik”), follow suit.
Trending on Billboard
OWV’s eighth single “BREMEN,” the only top 10 debut this week at No. 9, sold 48,912 CDs in its first week to earn the group its first No. 1 in CD sales and the highest position yet on the Japan Hot 100. The figure is up by about 6.3% over the four-member boy band’s previous single, “Let Go.” The latest track also collected points in radio airplay, coming in at No. 12 for the metric.
[embedded content]
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Feb. 5 to 11, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
Even for casual dance fans, the format is immediately recognizable. A tight shot of a DJ behind the decks, with a heaving, usually very enthusiastic, typically quite stylish crowd packed behind them, going for it.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Launched in 2010, as it so often touts “with a webcam taped to a wall,” Boiler Room has become one of the most influential brands in dance music, using a globally understood visual language to telegraph dance music from around the world to a sprawling online fanbase of roughly seven million subscribers across YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok. Based in London, Boiler Rooms claims its content reaches 283 million viewers every month.
They’re tuning in to watch DJ sets from Uzbekistan, Mumbai, Johannesburg, Osaka and other locales far from the standard-issue club circuit. This year, the platform will release a documentary on a pair of simultaneous shows it did in Damascus, Syria and in Berlin, home to a large population of the Syrian diaspora.
Trending on Billboard
“These kind of breaking ground events, like in Soweto, or Syria, or Uzbekistan, really come from the belief that there is club culture everywhere,” Boiler Room’s creative director Amar Ediriwira tells Billboard over Zoom from London. “In some cases it might exist as a form of political resistance, like in Palestine or in Syria. In other cases, it’s just a lens on youth culture, but it’s really our remit to go there and switch on the camera.”
The brand has also become an IRL juggernaut. Its 2023 World Tour hosted nearly half a million attendees in dozens of cities, drawing an average of 5,500 people to not just well-trod club culture capitals like New York City, Paris and Amsterdam, but to Seoul, Mexico City, Mumbai and Bristol. 20,000 showed up for Boiler Room’s festival at London’s Burgess Park last September, marking the platforms biggest ever show. Launching this spring, Boiler Room’s 2024 World Tour will hit 24 cities including Delhi, Bogota, Edinburgh, Rio de Janeiro and Las Vegas.
“We’re able to sell out these shows largely based on trust,” says Ediriwira. “People trust our curation, and they trust the experience and the special-ness you get our shows, which I think means we can platform more emerging artists, be more conceptual and present interesting programs.”
Boiler Room’s signature livestreams, invite-only events where the crowd is made up of people closest to the artist, have maintained the sort of underground authenticity that’s heavily valued in certain sectors of the dance scene, even while drawing its share of stars, with M.I.A. performing for 50 people in the Boiler Room office in 2022 and a 2023 reunion show from U.K. pop outfit Sugababes. A livestream from U.K. greats Chase & Status was the platform’s most viewed stream of 2023. But despite this star power, Ediriwira says the company is “fully focused on grassroots sounds, documenting local stories, spotlighting emerging artists.”
Boiler Room New York City 2023
Muccitas
To find these scenes, Boiler Room employees a 50-person London-based staff and “a giant network” of researchers, artists, curators, producers, designers, technicians, stage managers and promotion partners who offer expertise and the support often especially needed more off the beaten path locales. A 2022 livestream in Karachi, Pakistan required the team to locate CDJs and speakers when organizers ran into, Ediriwira recalls, “a complete lack of equipment.” Livestreams have also happened from a fish-and-chips shop, from beaches and from the top of a mountain.
Boiler Room’s ambitious efforts have had a huge impact in showing grassroots club culture — via programming that’s vastly more diverse and equitable than most U.S. club and festival lineups — to the world. So too has it turned local artists into global names. Palestinian producer Sama’ Abdhuladi became a star after her 2018 Boiler Room set, as did Pakistani producer Lyla. Fred again..’s viral 2022 Boiler Room set put a rocket launcher on an already rising name, with his stream generating 30 million YouTube views to date.
Boiler Room was acquired by ticketing platform Dice in 2021, and Ediriwira says the integration with DICE’s platform “has been transformative to us as a business” in how it allows for seamless ticket sales and a better connection with fans. The Dice deal also centralized operations like finance and human resources, leading to “a much happier and more aligned team.” While Boiler Room makes almost nothing from its YouTube content, as it doesn’t own any rights to the music (Ediriwira says the channel generates “significant revenues” for rights holders,) its revenue comes from brand partnerships — including long-term deals with Pernod Ricard and Ballantine’s — along with ticketed events and its apparel brand.
The rise of TikTok has also fueled the expansion of Boiler Room and its star-making power, with its easily recognizable, audio-lead format uniquely suited to create viral moments. Such moments help turn hyper-local artists into globally known names, with subsequent bookings on Boiler Room World Tour show offering a pipeline of exposure for some of these acts.
The brand has become so ubiquitous in the dance vernacular over the last 14 years that when Skrillex, Fred again.. and Four Tet announced they’d be closing out Coachella 2023 with a show in the round, many declared they’d be doing it “Boiler Room-style.”
“Boiler Room invented this type of communication that didn’t exist before, and so anyone from Fred again.. and Skrillex and Four Tet to these smaller localized streams could replicate that format,” says Ediriwira. “I don’t think we really see it as competition.”
Here, he discusses the past, present and future of the project.
Boiler Room puts on so many livestreams. With the number of events you’re doing, how do you assure each experience feels special?
The biggest conversation we have is about being cautious and protecting Boiler Room. I think we’ve gotten to this point by being super consistent and investing in this format. One of the most important goals for us is growing slowly and staying grounded in our values. We could probably double the capacity of some of our festivals next year, but we want to nurture what we’re doing.
One of the ways [we do that] is by limiting the number of broadcasts and productions each year [to] 100, which still sounds like a lot. But in the past, we’ve been doing 150 and even more. Scaling back in this way sounds counterintuitive, but it allows us to focus on the curation and experience of all these shows.
What was lost when you were doing 150-plus shows?
When you don’t have necessarily a limit, it means there isn’t competition for ideas. If there’s a potentially a never-ending supply of productions and broadcasts, you can just keep adding things in. As soon as you put a limit of 100, it just forces this idea of quality. Like, we’re only going to do one broadcast in Seoul this year, so what’s the one idea the world should see.
You mentioned Boiler Room’s values — what’s the mandate there?
Our vision for programming has always been very consistent. Our thesis has always been around championing grassroots scenes and genres, emerging artists and hyperlocal [scenes.] That’s really in our DNA. It’s what the original streams in London were about — spotlighting and opening a vantage to a community, a scene and a sound coming out of London that happened to be incredibly fertile and had lot of artists involved that went on to have really big careers. Now, it’s that very localized emerging talent approach and the stories around those artists and the immediate community surrounding them.
[embedded content]
Boiler Room claims that 283 million people watch its content every month. Break that number down for me.
The format has been wildly famous. We’ve been working year after year, event after event with this one format in a very consistent way, building up an audience of fans.
I’d go as far as saying it’s become more than a brand; it’s become a global phenomenon and a dominant method of visual communication of club culture. Almost a form of documentary journalism, except that it’s very fun and entertaining and voyeuristic. And also, unlike journalism, it doesn’t have to impose a narrative, you’re simply putting a camera and decks in the room, and you can do whatever you want in that space.
There’s something remarkable in the way that spotlighting hyper-local scenes has become one of the most recognizable and influential things in the dance space. Why do you think there’s such a fascination with locations that one might not immediately associate with club culture?
I think the world has moved in that direction. I think it’s interesting, when you think of pop stars or famous people, a lot of them have some link back to an underground sensibility or something very localized. That’s increasingly happening. That’s something we’ve always been focused on, but the world has shifted in that direction.
We do also have bigger artists play the platform, obviously Fred again.. was a massive moment. We’ve had people like PinkPantheress, Sugababes, M.I.A. Largely when we work with them, we still keep to this concept of staging it in an underground setting, making it super intimate, invite-only… But at the same time, I think we’ve become known as one of the biggest early-stage springboards an artist can have. A lot of artists become overnight sensations with us, and a lot of artists kind of attribute that career-breaking moment to their Boiler Room moment. We saw that start happening with more frequency four or five years ago.
Tell me more about that.
What’s interesting is noticing how these breaking moments on our platform are starting to happen all over the world, and not just in Western or global northern cultural capitals like London or New York. The obvious example is when we did our first broadcast in Palestine [in 2018], and Sama’ [Abdulhadi] became an internet sensation overnight practically. That show’s on like, 10 million views.
Similarly, when we did Pakistan, Lyla’s went viral and hit half million plays in a matter of months. I think there’s just this fascination of, “What does club culture in Pakistan look like?” Especially when the dominant media narrative about place like Pakistan is very different.
[embedded content]
Obviously social media was much less of a factor when Boiler Room started in 2010. What affect have platforms like Instagram and TikTok had on Boiler Room?
In recent years, it’s completely exploded in short form. When we started out, short-form wasn’t even a consideration — but now with Instagram and Tiktok in particular, a key thing for us has been the rise of moments. You’re seeing a lot of artists break from their moments, not necessarily from their broadcasts. Tiktok has said to us that our format works really well because it’s recognizable in the feed, and it’s audio-led. Our content was popular there before we even started our own [TikTok] channel.
Then at the same time, it’s interesting, because people’s attention spans are shrinking — not to sound like an old person — but at the same time as short-form blowing up for us, we’re one of the few platforms I can think of in the music space, at least, that’s committed to long-form content. That’s our core format. That’s the archive.
Given Boiler Room’s cultural cachet, are a lot of brands vying to work with you? How judicious do you have to be about who you’re letting in?
It’s a good question. There’s a lot of brand interest in what we do. What’s interesting about that interest is people usually come to us because they know what we do, and because we’ve been investing in this one format in a very consistent way. So usually, they’re not coming to us looking to white label something or create some new concept, so much as to just invest in what we do.
It’s a really great position to be in, because I think it allows us to stay focused and consistent in what we want to do and stay true to the values we have. For us, it’s mainly about making sure we align with the brands that are interested in us, and if they’re about championing local sounds, championing emerging artists, all of those kinds of things, there’s no reason why we wouldn’t work with them, in theory.
Are there brands that come to you looking for a partnership where you’re just like, “Nah, not gonna work“?
No comment.
Is there anywhere in the world Boiler Room is particularly interested in going?
We just kicked off a series spotlighting music and cultures in the Pacific Islands with a show in Rarotonga, so we’re excited to make our return to this part of the world over the coming months and years. We’re also currently exploring launching a similar series in the Caribbean.
Is there anywhere you won’t go?
I don’t know if there’s an outright ban on anywhere off the top of my head. It all just comes down to what the story is and championing a local story or scene we feel is authentic and part the club culture we care about.
As Elyanna steps into a warehouse in downtown Los Angles for Billboard Arabia’s February cover interview and shoot, the weight of anticipation hangs heavily in the air. Despite battling nerves a mere 24 hours before her Dallas gig, the first show in her debut North America tour, Elyanna exudes a quiet determination characteristic of her rapid ascent in the music industry. With only two EPs to her name and a handful of singles, she’s already achieved the remarkable feat of selling out nearly every venue on her tour circuit – a testament to her burgeoning fanbase, undeniable talent and her unique sonic proposition, driving a future sound of global pop music unbound by language.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Guided by her artist management team at SALXCO and her family, Elyanna navigates the shoot with a delicate balance between preparation and preservation, immersing herself in a playlist with unreleased tracks off her forthcoming LP, shuffling alongside tracks by Ice Spice, Sherine and Doja Cat. The 22-year-old artist starts to find her groove, but she does this silently. In the hush of a prescribed, pre-tour vocal rest, moments of introspection emerge – and it is in these moments of silence we hear Elyanna’s message to the world.
Trending on Billboard
Elyanna aims to elevate Arabic pop music onto the global stage while using her art to depict her homeland and culture beyond the lens of conflict. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, and moving to L.A. with her immediate family at the age of 15, she seeks to showcase her culture’s beauty in its entirety – its layers, textures, multi-colors and history – countering the media’s portrayal, dominated by the specter of war and destruction.
This carries into every one of her songs and live performances. Whether expressed through her instrumentation, lyrics or Arab-inspired fashion and accessories, we see Palestine through Elyanna’s eyes but also through that of her family. One cannot tell the story of Elyanna without also talking about how each family member plays a pivotal role in her career. Her sister Tali is her stylist, her brother Feras is her co-producer and video director, whereas her mother Abeer contributes to her songwriting. Meanwhile, her father, Amer, is the glue that holds the operations together.
“I would say that takes people who believe in you,” says Elyanna. “So I just surround myself with people that believe in me…. Like my family, like my friends, the people that believed in me and put time in me.”
It is not an exclusively Arab thing to keep your family close by, but it is very Arab to tell a story of generations in one song. We hear this in many of Elyanna’s tracks, first with the ambitious cover of Abdel Halim Hafez’s “Ahwak” (I Love You), a song that consistently permeated every generation since it was released nearly six decades ago. Elyanna’s rendition of “Ahwak” is a mesmerizing homage that breathes new life into the classic by setting the original lyrics against an acoustic piano, as her reverent vocals feel as though they are coming from another time.
“I know it’s a cover,” she says. “But I felt I brought it into my own world. I think that was the point where I knew what I should do next.”
On her 2019 debut original release, “Oululee Leh” (Tell Me Why), Elyanna unveiled her sonic potential to the world. Co-written by her mother Abeer Margieh, her brother Feras Margieh and songwriters Nasri Atweh, Sari Abboud and Martine Sinotte, the song delves into the profound loneliness born from loss and distance. Its poignant lyrics and haunting instrumentation evoke an intimacy that resonates with anyone who has ever felt like a stranger, offering solace in shared experience through a chorus that sings, “Ouloulee lee” (tell me why).
When I asked Abeer, her mother, whether the song was about the loss of a place or a person, she quickly responded with “a place.” But for Elyanna, it has a double meaning, one that the listener is left to decode independently. It is in this co-writing with her mother and brother that Elyanna’s songs cut across the temporal spectrum, collapsing past, present and future in a single note.
In 2020, Elyanna released her debut album, a self-titled body of work made up of six songs, including “Ouloulee Leh,” “Ahwak” and viral hit “Ana Lehale” (I’m on my Own) feat. Massari, showing an artist on the brink of finding her voice. Two years later, Elyanna dropped her follow up EP, Elyanna 2, driven by hits like “Ala Bali,” also featured in Mo Amer’s Netflix show, and “Ghareeb Alay” feat. Balti, which went on to amass over 50 million views on YouTube with its blend of Latin rhythms and relatable lyrics. With a steady flow of singles, including Elyanna’s 2023 release of “Sokkar,” an Arabic cover of the song by Zubi and Anatu, followed by “Mama Eh,” she continued to underscore her budding pop prowess.
In a short time, the artist managed to land a coveted spot in Coachella’s April 2023 lineup, where she performed the first ever complete Arabic set in the festival’s history. In another milestone moment, Elyanna’s heart-wrenching original song “Olive Branch” (co-written with her brother Feras) was performed live at the 2023 edition of the El Gouna Film Festival. It spotlighted the artist’s unique ability to use her music to drive awareness, while celebrating the richness and beauty of Palestinian culture.
[embedded content]
When asked about her role as an Arabic artist, Elyanna articulates a pressing imperative: to disseminate her culture worldwide. While such inquiries often provoke polarizing responses, she gracefully infuses each of her songs with glimpses of cultural richness of her heritage, but she does so in an accessible way.
Much like the intricate stitches of “tarteez” (Palestinian embroidery), Elyanna’s music weaves various influences into a harmonious whole. Each musical passage is akin to uncovering a hidden image as if each thread holds a story waiting to be explored, inviting listeners around the globe to find the patterns that speak to them while resonating with the whole. Now, on the brink of releasing her debut LP, Elyanna continues to blend her multiple cultural influences, be it the Latin textures inherited from her Chilean grandmother or the power of her Palestinian grandfather’s pen, all the while creating an entirely new pop sound.
“It’s really just taking things from life that I love, and now I want to do it in a project that I would call a piece of art,” says Elyanna. “And this project is really experimental.” Lead single “Al Sham” from her upcoming album embodies various cultural elements from the region, showcasing her spirit of experimentation. Fueled by electronic-dabke rhythms, she ingeniously interprets lyrics from Syrian singer Sabah Fakhri’s classic “Khamrat El Hob.” In Elyanna’s version, we dive into the song’s iconic line, “A life without love is like a river without water.” But it’s somewhere within the music video where we get a sense that Elyanna is not a victim of unrequited love or anything else. Instead, she is a formidable force, surrounded by her crew and imagery evoking empowerment, marking a pivotal moment in the lead-up to her debut North America tour.
[embedded content]
“I’m on a Billboard cover, and we have a sold-out tour, and I have an album coming,” says Elyanna. “It feels insane to me. I’m doing things I dreamt of my whole life.” She goes on to mention that the tour has the ability to gather Arabs in America together, which is something she looks forward to most.
After postponing her debut tour due to the war in Gaza, Elyanna eventually announced new dates, with 10 stops through the U.S. and Canada. Within 20 seconds of watching her perform, Elyanna’s star potential is undeniable. It’s not just her voice, message or rich influences, but the combination that shapes her artistry, its impact and the future sound of Arabic pop.
This is a translation of a cover story that originally appeared on Billboard Arabia.
Elyanna
Billboard Arabia