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Warner Music Group announced over the weekend that it has called off plans to submit a binding offer to acquire French music company Believe. The label did not elaborate on its decision, only that it was made “after careful consideration.” Believe followed up in a statement, saying it will “review the situation with all interested […]
Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone joke about 3 Body Problem, the Netflix series that everyone is watching and talking about. The comparison between them and the three planets comes naturally, also because Il Volo’s new album, Ad Astra, talks about stars and human fragility. The unsolved astrophysics problem that the series talks about is the difficulty of accurately predicting the way in which the three planets move, as well as the evolution of the system they constitute. Il Volo also shows a notable evolution with this new album, released on March 29.
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After 15 years of career and 13 albums, in Ad Astra, Il Volo for the first time decided to interpret original songs written for them by some of the most important Italian songwriters and producers (except for the cover of “Who Wants To Live Forever” by Queen): Michelangelo, Federica Abbate, Edwyn Roberts, Michael Tenisci, Stefano Marletta, Federico Nardelli, Luca Faraone and Bungaro.
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But it’s just the beginning. On April 20, their new world tour will start from China and then move to Japan. It will then touch the main European capitals in autumn and will arrive in the USA, Canada and Latin America in 2025.
Billboard Italy met them on a rainy morning at the end of March in Milan. They joke with each other from the start, except when they reflect on what their music means to their audience.
What determined this change of approach?
Gianluca: After great projects in recent years, especially the tribute to Ennio Morricone, we thought the time had come to sing original songs. We wanted to try to be ourselves 100%. Being an interpreter is great, but singing your own songs is a completely different thing. The songwriters got to know us personally because they came to our concerts. We tried to make a real concept album, very diverse, with an intro and an outro. The album perfectly reflects who we are. Well, some songs reflect one or the other of us in particular. We want to demonstrate that diversity is our strength.
Which song represents each of you the most?
Ignazio: I’d rather say which songs I would listen to every day: “Succede,” “L’infinito,” “Il Mondo all’Incontrario.” I don’t know which one represents me the most. Gianluca: My favorites are “Capolavoro,” “Frammenti di Universo” and “Ad Astra,” with that Genesis-style progressive suite and its theatrical and cinematographic inspiration.
Piero: I too would say “Ad Astra,” then “Saturno e Venere” featuring Irama. We immediately got on well in the studio with him, despite coming from different worlds, and we saw the way he writes his songs. Irama thinks of the melody first, then the words come. It was very fascinating to watch him at work. I also really love “Opera” for the message it sends: try to live your days without thinking too much about tomorrow. It is in small gestures that we must seek happiness.
What’s the most important message you would like to convey to young people who feel under pressure?
Piero: Always look for enthusiasm in what you do, always persevere by pursuing your passions, without putting money first.
Gianluca: I’d say the meaning of the Latin expression “Per aspera ad astra” [“to the stars, through difficulties”]: you cannot achieve great results if you don’t sacrifice yourself. The main problem for young people, but also for adults, is not knowing themselves enough. That way, you don’t feel a sense of purpose.
What kept you together for so long?
Ignazio: We could say the love for music, but that would be too obvious. It is the awareness that our strength lies in our unity and our diversity. As soloists we would never be the same.
Do you feel respected by other artists?
Piero: Things have changed over time: at the beginning we were just newcomers who had signed a contract in the United States, then we made ourselves known. The best answer was the “Tutti per uno” concert at the Verona Arena, with all the artists who wanted to participate. At the beginning it wasn’t easy for them to want to sing with us, but what could they do? There are already three of us and ours is a completely different genre from that of the other singers. But with “Tutti per uno” everyone was able to express themselves as they wanted and it was much simpler. This year too we already have many confirmations for the four night at the Verona Arena in May.
What is the most significant international tour you have done?
Piero: Definitely Japan, where we’ll be returning in a few weeks. We can’t wait. Our music genre gave us the opportunity to have unique, unrepeatable experiences. Last year they wanted us for the inauguration of the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, a world heritage site immersed in a forest. We sang between the columns, dressed in white. The emotion was indescribable. Japan is a destination that we recommend to everyone: it showed us how we should behave, always. Respect for others, even for strangers, is an essential value there.
You said that at one of your concerts you initially thought the audience had fallen asleep.
Ignazio: The Japanese close their eyes to concentrate. At the end, however, everyone gets up and wants to come and say hello on stage – strictly waiting for the right moment, of course. Even the way of clapping is different, it’s quieter.
What have been the biggest sacrifices of these 15 years?
Gianluca: Sacrifices are constant, especially in terms of homesickness, despite we do what we love most. There were moments when we didn’t know what to do, like the year before we won Sanremo. In 2014 we kept changing record companies and didn’t know which path to take. With this new album we want to show who we are even more.
And the best moments?
Gianluca: There are many. The victory of Sanremo 2015, the tour with Barbra Streisand, the “We Are The World for Haiti” concert in 2010. But this last edition of Sanremo was also a way to show how much we have grown as artists.
What’s the most unexpected feature you would like to have in one of your songs?
Piero: Lazza, also because he’s very good at playing piano.
Canadian artists are speaking out against anti-trans legislation.
The Tegan and Sara Foundation has published an open letter signed by some of Canada’s best known musicians and entertainers, including Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Elliot Page, k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Carly Rae Jepsen and many more. The letter, titled Artists Against Anti-Trans Legislation in Canada, has over 400 signatories. Its publication date, Mar. 31, is also Trans Day of Visibility.
Led by indie pop siblings Tegan and Sara, the open letter is an explicit pushback on recent and in-progress legislation that limits trans rights in several Canadian provinces.
“We are trending towards more harmful anti-trans legislation in Canada, and we call on our communities and local and national policymakers to put a stop to this concerning surge in anti-trans policy,” the letter states.
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Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have both implemented policies that require parental consent for educators to use chosen names and preferred pronouns for students under sixteen. In February, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced plans for policy changes to LGBTQ+ health care, education and sports, including banning hormonal treatment and puberty blockers for trans youth. Smith’s policies would also require parental consent for students to participate in educational instruction that addresses sexual orientation and gender identity.
At the national level, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has made recent comments indicating he would support banning trans women from women’s sports and washrooms. With a federal election on the horizon, LGBTQ+ rights could face rollbacks across the country.
“Far right groups are tapping into fear and pitting us against each other so they can create a Canada where we’re afraid of difference,” reads the letter. “The government should never put themselves between parents, their kids, and evidence-based healthcare and supports.”
While the letter is primarily written to affect change within the country, it also combats the perception of Canada as a human rights haven. “The reality is that Canada is not immune to the global attack on the trans community and their access to inclusive spaces, healthcare and freedoms.” – Rosie Long Decter
Industry Remembers Trailblazing Booking Agent and Label Executive Pegi Cecconi
Pegi (Margaret Anne) Cecconi, a trailblazing Canadian booking agent and record label executive, died on March 28, at age 70. She had been battling PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy).
Her immense impact on the Canadian music industry over almost five decades was rightfully recognized in 2020 when she received the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the Juno Awards, only the third woman to have received that prestigious honour.
An obituary posted by Cecconi’s family on her Facebook page noted, “As social convenor, Pegi booked bands for school dances, an undertaking that required serious grit when dealing with both performers and patrons. It was a quality that prepared her well for her trailblazing career in the male-dominated entertainment industry where she would thrive for almost 50 years.”
Female booking agents were rare in the 70s when Cecconi started, but she built her name to help establish SRO Management and later the record label Anthem. It started with a small roster spearheaded by Rush and Max Webster, alongside Liverpool and A Foot in Coldwater. Prior to Anthem, Rush was on Moon Records, and the three members, Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson, became associate directors of Anthem.
Decades of work with Rush is a clear highlight of Cecconi’s CV. On learning of Cecconi’s death, Rush frontman Geddy Lee posted this salute to Cecconi on Instagram: “Pegi Cecconi – whose laugh could be heard the moment she entered any venue. Thanks Peg, for 50 years of having our backs… wherever you’re headed they ain’t ready for ya!”
Over her long career, Cecconi took prominent roles in some of the Canadian music industry’s major trade organizations. She had long stints on the board of directors of both the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings (FACTOR), also serving as Chair and Treasurer at the latter. She also served on the Board of MMF Canada, receiving its Brian Chater Pioneers Award in 2015, and held positions with the Independent Digital Licensing Agency (IDLA) and the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA).
Equally important was her invaluable role as a mentor and role model for women wanting to succeed in the male-dominated world of the Canadian music business. Effusive tributes to Cecconi on social media posts in the wake of her passing certainly testify to that.
Read more tributes from all facets of the Canadian industry here. – Kerry Doole
Last Week In Canada: New Funding Is Coming
Jesús López, chairman/CEO of Universal Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula, has received a special honor from the King and Queen of Spain. On Wednesday (April 3), the music executive received the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts — an award that recognizes individuals and entities who have “excelled” in the field of […]
KAI Media, a company that focuses on physical K-pop music and fan events in brick-and-mortar locations, raised $3 million from existing investor CRIT Ventures to fund expansion beyond its Los Angeles base. The company, which operates under the name hello82, had previously raised $5 million from CRIT Ventures, Kakao Entertainment, Snow Corp. and other investors. […]
German concert promoter and ticketing company CTS Eventim agreed to buy French media company Vivendi‘s festival and international ticketing businesses, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday (April 2).
CTS Eventim and Vivendi have signed a put option agreement for the deal, which includes leading U.K. ticket merchant See Tickets along with Vivendi festivals Junction 2 in the U.K. and Garorock in France. The financial details of the deal, including price, were not disclosed.
CTS Eventim is the world’s second-largest provider of ticketing and live entertainment services, and acquiring the businesses could help it maintain an edge over rival Live Nation in its home market of Europe.
“The acquisition supports our internationalization strategy and will also benefit artists and their managers, as we will be able to offer even more seamless services on a global scale,” said CTS Eventim chief executive Klaus-Peter Schulenberg in a statement.
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Vivendi’s festival and ticketing businesses, housed under the subsidiary Vivendi Village, generated 137 million euros ($151.2 million) in 2023. See Tickets sold around 44 million tickets last year, generating 105 million euros ($115.8 million). It is the second-largest ticketing company in the United Kingdom and also operates in the United States and seven European nations.
The festival activities that CTS Eventim is set to acquire generated 32 million euros ($35.3 million) last year. Vivendi will retain its stake in the performance hall L’Olympia in Paris, See Tickets France and the Brive Festival.
“We at Vivendi are convinced that CTS Eventim will be the right company to bring our ticketing and festival activities to new heights, supporting See Tickets to remain a state-of-the-art company … while fostering the growth of the festivals and preserving their unique identities and audience,” said Hala Bavière, CEO of Vivendi Village, in a statement.
CTS Eventim is coming off a banner year. The Munich-based company’s revenue topped 2 billion euros for the first time ever in 2023, rising 22% to 2.36 billion euros ($2.53 billion at the average exchange rate in 2023). Normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was also up 32% to 501.4 million euros ($542.7 million).
The companies said they expect to finalize the deal within a few months, pending approval from each of their employee works councils.
CTS Eventim’s stock briefly hit a new 52-week high of 83.85 euros ($90.28) following the news on Tuesday before closing at 82.70 euros ($89.04), up 0.3%.
When brothers Oscar and Jesús Flores launched the first-ever of Pa’l Norte in 2012 in Monterrey, Nuevo León — under Apodaca Group, their father Oscar Flores Elizondo‘s entertainment and promotion company — they figured it would be a one-time thing.
“We thought it would happen once, and then we’d just move on with our other projects,” Oscar says. He, along with Jesús and their sister Blanca, comprise the leadership of Apodaca alongside their dad, who founded the company in 1978 as Representaciones Artísticas Apodaca. At the time, the brothers were young executives and, as much as they liked their dad’s business, they wanted to put their own stamp on it. “My brother and I had never produced a festival when we decided to launch Pa’l Norte; fun fact, we had never even attended a festival in our lives,” Oscar says with a chuckle.
But even if it was a one-hit wonder, they wanted to give it a shot in hopes of diversifying the company’s roster of live music events. Apodaca was, and still is, a leader in the regional Mexican scene producing several shows and concerts for that genre in Monterrey, where the company is based. So, the brothers — taking the years of experience they already had working under their father — decided the company’s first festival would be a rock-only lineup. The first edition, Pa’l Norte Rock Festival, a one-day event, featured artists like Calle 13, Carla Morrison, Kinky and Zoé.
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Even with hiccups along the way, including being understaffed and a hailstorm the day before which they thought would cancel the event, they pulled through. And, unlike today, the event didn’t have a lot of support from sponsors, even with the Apodaca name attached to the festival. It was also at a time when the city, located in a state that borders Texas, was recovering from a brutal wave of murders linked to organized crime. Which is not to say Monterrey is a crime-less city today — but although organized crime is still a major concern in the city, it has not affected the festival in its 12 years. Its security plan includes city and state police officers (Fuerza Civil) inside and outside the festival, plus private security.
When Pa’l Norte first launched, Monterrey — an important commercial entry port between the Northeastern region of Mexico and the United States — was also on its way to becoming a modern economic region exploding with tech innovation. “It was like the perfect musical symphony,” says Francisco Orozco, professor at the school of business at the prestigious Tecnológico de Monterrey. “There was a political change in the city that opened doors for these types of events to happen and people gained the confidence and courage to leave their homes again. We proved we weren’t just bullets.”
Three years into the festival, Oscar and his brother dropped the rock-only label because “we wanted to grow and bring more commercial artists,” says Oscar (the festival also adopted the slogan “Siempre Poderoso y Ascendente,” or, “Always Powerful and Ascendant”). They also scored a partnership with concert promoter OCESA, which Live Nation acquired in 2021 for $416 million, doubling down on their efforts to expand their reach. “OCESA has been a great ally that has supported us a lot,” Oscar says. “We are partners in many festivals, but this partnership was key for Pa’l Norte because together with them, we were able to grow in many areas such as sponsorships, international artists.”
The now re-branded Tecate Pa’l Norte — after landing a major sponsorship deal with the beer giant — has gone through massive changes, which has led to its global appeal. “Apodaca has been very meticulous with their alliances, from the beer industry to teaming up with the ministry of tourism to have hotels and transportation available when the festival takes place, [and] also partnering with airline Viva Aerobus for sponsorship,” Orozco says. “It’s a business model that works. They know the importance of allies and that’s why the festival has grown the way it has.”
Today, it’s the “most important musical event in Northern Mexico,” according to Nuevo León’s Ministry of Tourism. “Every year we are talking about more than 75% hotel occupancy derived from Pa’l Norte, but this year will be much more special because it coincides with Easter,” the government agency told Billboard in a statement. “Throughout these 12 years, it has positioned itself not only to impact the creative industries in Nuevo León, but also as one of our most important economic and tourism engines. This year we estimate a revenue of close to 750 million pesos (approximately $46 million U.S.).”
Pa’l Norte’s three-day event now has nine stages that gathers 100,000 people per day at the emblematic Parque Fundidora (before, the capacity was 37,000 when it started at Parque Diego Rivera). Its lineup has evolved from genre-specific to super-eclectic with past headliners including Billie Eilish, Foo Fighters, Caifanes, Maná, Tame Impala, The Killers, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and 50 Cent. This year’s edition was headlined by Peso Pluma, Blink-182, Imagine Dragons, Maná and Fuerza Regida.
“At the end of the day, promoters are looking to have the most popular acts on their lineup,” says Alan David Robles-Soto, director of the music production program at Tecnólogico de Monterrey. He’s also a guitarist who’s performed alongside Mexican bands like Jumbo and División Minúscula. “It’s the same case with Coachella: it used to be a rock festival and then it wasn’t. It’s in the promoter’s best interest, they want to push sales and the ones who are going to sell are bands like Blink-182.”
Pa’l Norte is perhaps Mexico’s biggest, and most diverse, music festival, though other major events like Vive Latino and EDC Mexico (both produced by OCESA in Mexico City) also move significant tickets: The former had a total of 160,000 attendees this year, while EDC Mexico had 200,000 people in attendance for its 2023 edition. Meanwhile, the Machaca festival, also in Monterrey, gathered 65,000 last year, according to local reports, and the Baja Beach Fest in Baja California (which went from six days to three) draws in a daily capacity of 35,000.
“The importance that Mexico has in Latin America in terms of income in the sub-sector of live music is noteworthy,” Orozco says. “Artists are not only performing in Mexico City or Monterrey but also in other states where we did not imagine artists would go. They understood that people are willing to spend a lot of money for these experiences. Geographically and logistically, the country, which borders the U.S., is in a very important spot for them as well.”
Producing more than 600 shows a year, including 15 festivals across the country, Apodaca now has several divisions under its umbrella, including booking, distribution and management. With Pa’l Norte, the goal is only to become more global and, in the future, Oscar hopes to add a streaming option to expand its reach and potentially turn it into a two-weekend event, à la Coachella. For now, he’s pleased with the festival’s growth over the past 12 years and the impact it’s had on the Mexican state.
“As citizens of Nuevo León, we are very proud that Pa’l Norte is a source of work for restaurants, hotels, taxi drivers during that week,” says Oscar. “At the festival, we have more than 10,500 people working per day; generating that number of jobs fills us with pride. We want to keep impacting. The slogan says it all [always powerful and ascending].”
New funding is coming to the Canadian music industry.
Pascale St-Onge, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced at the Juno Awards on March 24 that the government will increase the Canada Music Fund by $32 million over the next two fiscal years.
The Canada Music Fund supports both FACTOR and Musicaction. Those granting bodies provide artists, labels and other organizations with funding for a wide range of activities, including recording, touring, marketing and music video production.
The announcement — though welcomed by Canadian music associations like the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) — falls short of the $50 million that the Liberal government committed to in 2021, and the $60 million increase called for by the industry groups.
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FACTOR has historically received significant funds from Canada’s private radio broadcasters, but as those contributions decline, CIMA and CLMA have been sounding the alarm about the organization’s ability to meet the needs of Canadian artists. FACTOR’s funding challenges come at a time when many artists and organizations are struggling to stay afloat amidst a cost of living crisis.
“CIMA applauds the government’s increased investment in the Canada Music Fund,” said CIMA president Andrew Cash. “This is a recognition of music’s significant contribution to our cultural fabric and national economy.”
L’ADISQ, Quebec’s Association of the Record, Show and Video Industry, highlights that Musicaction — which primarily supports French-speaking projects — has already made cuts in recent months, and this increase will prevent a further reduction in capacity. The association calls the announcement a step in the right direction, but emphasizes the difficult economic context facing music organizations with fewer resources.
The Canadian Live Music Association echoes l’ADISQ’s sentiment, calling the increase “a good start,” and reiterating the tough circumstances industry members are facing. The Canada Music Fund increase was one of three recommendations CLMA put forward for the upcoming federal budget, which the organization hoped would take “urgent action” to protect the live music sector.
With the full budget still to come, more support measures could be in store for Canada’s music sector. -Rosie Long Decter
Canada Ranked 8th Largest Global Music Market In New IFPI Report
Canada’s recorded music revenues are strong, according to a new report from IFPI.
The IFPI’s 2024 State of the Industry report takes a deep dive into the state of recorded music around the world, and ranks Canada eighth in terms of global music markets in 2023, maintaining the country’s spot in the top ten. Canada’s music market grew by 12.19% last year, reaching US$659.6 million in revenues. That growth outpaced both the U.S. market, which grew by 7.2%, and global growth of 10.2% — the second highest recorded global growth rate, according to the report.
Some individual Canadian artists did well on a global scale, too: the report ranks Drake and The Weeknd at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, in its Global Artist 2023 chart, which considers artist, track and album performance. Taylor Swift took the top spot there, followed by South Korean groups SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids.
A statement from IFPI, which represents the global recording industry, and Music Canada, an association representing major Canadian labels, attributes much of Canada’s revenue growth to streaming revenues, which jumped by 8.6% here, and subscription streaming in particular, which increased by 10.1%. The associations emphasize the challenges posed by streaming manipulation, highlighting IFPI’s recent legal complaint against nine Canadian-based sites that sold fraudulent streams. The sites are now offline.
Beyond Canadian borders, IFPI’s State of the Industry highlights how national markets are intertwined worldwide, using the growing popularity of Punjabi music in Canada and the launch of 91 North Records — a collaboration between Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India — as an example. “We set up 91 North Records,” Warner’s Simon Robson says, in “reaction to something that is happening organically and a proactive turbocharge to make sure it doesn’t just continue but flourishes and finds a wider audience.” Robson points out that several of the most popular Indian songs in 2022 came from artists based in Canada. – RLD
Karan Aujla Makes History at 2024 Junos
The 2024 Juno Awards looked to the future of Canadian music, while also honouring its history.
A quartet of acts who’ve had major breakthroughs this year won the major awards given out on the CBC-televised broadcast on Sunday night (March 24) live from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Punjabi-Canadian global star Karan Aujla won the TikTok Fan Choice award, the only fan-chosen award of the ceremony. “Sometimes I can’t believe I’m that same kid who lost my parents when I was in India, made my way to Canada, and now I’m here!” said the B.C.-based artist, one of Billboard Canada’s inaugural cover stars. “If you are dreaming, make sure you dream big.”
Dressed in a spiffy white outfit with a four backup dancers in red, Aujla performed early on, playing pop hits “Admirin’ You” and “Softly.” Both came from his album Making Memories, which made history as the highest-charting Punjabi debut ever on the Canadian Albums chart. Ikky, who made the album with Aujla, acted as hype man on an elevated platform.
In the Billboard Punjabi Wave cover story, AP Dhillon talked about his performance at the 2023 Junos ceremony and how he lobbied to ensure majorly popular Punjabi music would have a prolonged platform at the awards. Evidently, they’ve kept their word.
This year’s Junos also had the most Indigenous nominees in award history. Anita Landback, Tanas Sylliboy and Sarah Prosper set the stage with a land acknowledgment that intersected with a performance by Juno winner Jeremy Dutcher in Wolastoqey, who then joined in a duet with Elisapie on an Inuktitut version of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” Along with Aujla and others, it meant performances featured at least six different languages, including English and French.
Several other breakout artists had big wins at this year’s awards. Tate McRae, The Beaches, Charlotte Cardin and TALK all had major years on the charts and were rewarded with awards. The Junos have struggled with star power in recent years — Drake has boycotted the last half decade, while chart-topper Tate McRae was not in attendance to accept her two awards this year — but they have made some strides when it comes to representation of what makes Canadian music unique. -Richard Trapunski
Last Week In Canada: Streaming Fraud Sites Shut Down
Despite reports that Tomorrowland will be launching a Thai edition of the festival in 2026, organizers say this event is not yet a reality.
Last week, the English language Thai news site The Nation published a story quoting Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke, who said the festival was coming to Thailand and could be hosted there for 10 consecutive years.
But in a statement provided Friday (March 29) to Billboard, festival representative Debby Wilmsen says that while “Tomorrowland has a real interest in Thailand and is seriously exploring the possibility of a festival in Thailand … at this stage, there is no confirmation yet on an actual festival taking place.”
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But that’s not to say this event won’t happen, with the statement noting that currently, “Tomorrowland is investigating the feasibility of the project, and has signed an exclusive MOU agreement with a Thai private sector partner to conduct this study together.”
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This memorandum of understanding is a legal agreement indicating an intended common action, with the feasibility study intending to make clear whether or not Tomorrowland Thailand can occur. The statement concludes, “Tomorrowland is very honored that the authorities are eager to welcome us.”
If launched, the event would mark the fourth edition of Tomorrowland to happen outside of its home in Belgium, with the company hosting TomorrowWorld in Georgia from 2013 to 2015, Tomorrowland Brazil in 2015-2016 and again in 2023, and Tomorrowland Winter in the French Alps annually since 2019.
Meanwhile, the mothership edition will happen in Boom, Belgium, July 19-21 and 26-28, with a genre-spanning lineup of dance artists including Swedish House Mafia, Tale of Us, Alesso, Amelie Lens, Bonobo, Dom Dolla, The Blessed Madonna, Rezz and Deadmau5 performing as REZZMAU5, David Guetta, Solomun b2b Four Tet, Eliza Rose and hundreds of others.
Tomorrowland co-founder Michiel Beers will also deliver a keynote speech at IMS Ibiza 2024, happening next month on the conference’s namesake island.
LONDON — Utopia Music is planning to rebrand as Proper Group AG, named after its core physical music distribution business, to reflect changes to the Swiss-based firm’s “strategic direction,” the company said Thursday (March 28).
The proposed name change, which needs to be approved by shareholders, comes almost two months after co-founder and former head Mattias Hjelmstedt exited Utopia Music following a shake-up of its executive ranks.
“As Utopia has evolved under new leadership, we recognize the need to align our brand with our new strategy and as a result, new market positioning,” said Michael Stebler, who was appointed CEO in January, in a statement sent to Billboard.
“Our previous brand identity doesn’t accurately reflect who we are today and where we aim to go in the future,” said the chief executive – a former managing director of Investment Advisors Zug AG, which operated on behalf of Utopia’s majority shareholder group. Like Utopia Music, Investment Advisors Zug AG is headquartered in the scenic Swiss town of Zug, located close to Zurich.
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Utopia Music acquired Proper Music Group, the United Kingdom’s biggest independent physical music distributor, which provides distribution services for nearly 6,000 indie labels and service companies, for an undisclosed sum in January 2022.
Eight months later, the company bought up the assets of U.K.-based Cinram Novum — which provides warehouse, fulfillment and distribution services to music labels and home entertainment companies, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and [PIAS] — and renamed it Utopia Distribution Services (UDS).
Both acquisitions took place during a period of intense hyper-growth between 2020 and 2022 when Utopia rapidly acquired 15 companies spanning music tech, finance, publishing, marketing and distribution.
A well-documented downsizing followed, encompassing multiple rounds of job cuts, company divestments and ongoing legal actions, eventually leading to the appointment of a new CEO and executive team at the start of the year.
Changing the company’s name to Proper Group “represents a fresh start,” said Stebler, “and reflects the changes to our strategic direction, where distribution sits at the core of the commercial value chain.”
Under the new arrangement, Billboard understands that Utopia/Proper Group will be divided into four main departments: Proper Distribution, Proper Payments, Proper Processing and Proper Music Data.
Together, the company says, they will provide clients with a “comprehensive suite of tech services” — including cross-platform analytics and royalty tracking, processing and payments — all built around the firm’s music distribution business, which has long generated the bulk of its revenue.
“By leveraging the Proper brand,” the company will “benefit from the positive and strong brand equity Proper has in the music industry,” said Stebler.
The company’s executive team remains unchanged with Stebler supported by deputy CEOs Alain Couttolenc and Drew Hill, a long-serving veteran of the U.K. physical music industry, who doubles as Utopia/Proper Group’s chief of distribution.
Hill’s responsibilities include overseeing the U.K.’s biggest distribution warehouse for physical music and home entertainment — a 25,000-square meter facility in the town of Bicester with handling capacity of up to 250,000 units per day — which Utopia opened last year as part of a £100 million ($125 million) long-term deal with international logistics company DP World.
More recently, Utopia successfully secured around half of a Series C funding round (understood to total more than 15 million euros) with a second tranche of C-round funding underway. The funds will be used to drive commercial growth, enhance product development and strengthen the company’s balance sheet, Stebler told Billboard in January.
Shareholders will get to vote on the proposed name change when Utopia holds its Annual General Meeting at the start of May.