International
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With interest growing in the fast-developing Middle East music industry, global labels body IFPI has launched a weekly streaming chart to track the popularity of singles among listeners in the region.
Charts compiler BMAT is preparing the chart, which will cover 13 countries in the MENA region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates. Those markets collectively represent more than 300 million people.
IFPI is making the chart publicly available, with a top 10 announced via Instagram and Facebook, and the top 20 released every Tuesday on the Official MENA Chart website (www.theofficialmenachart.com).
IFPI says its Official MENA Chart is the first music streaming chart in the world to track music in a particular region and the first ever official chart in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). While other music charts, including those put out by Luminate, have tracked the popularity of music in individual countries, such as India, a chart looking at streaming performance in a region is less common.
The new chart will bring more legitimacy to the Middle East’s music market, which has been historically plagued by piracy. Anghami, the first legal streaming service in the Arab world, which went public on the Nasdaq last year, offers daily and weekly charts tracking the most-streamed songs in the region.
The MENA singles chart is supported by IFPI and includes chart-eligible streams from Apple Music, Spotify, Anghami, YouTube and Deezer. IFPI says that in accordance with its global chart principles, streams from each market are “weighted to take into account the difference in economics between the free and paid tiers of streaming services and are also weighted to account for the differences in economics across countries, using IFPI’s global market measurement expertise.” Unlike many charts, the IFPI chart also lists each song’s label affiliation.
An IFPI spokesperson tells Billboard that IFPI has no plans to offer more regional charts at this time, nor to make the chart positions below No. 20 available, even as a subscriber product.
For the MENA chart’s first official week, covering Nov. 18 to Nov. 24, Nigerian artist Rema claimed the top spot with “Calm Down.” (The Virgin Music artist entered the Billboard Hot 100 on Sept. 17 for the first time with a remix of the song with Selena Gomez, which is at No. 82 on the most recent list). Five of the top 10 songs were by Arab artists, with Egyptian artist Farid at No. 2 with “بأمارة مين,” while countryman Ahmed Saad took the No. 4 position with “Wasa3 Wasa3.” (Saad held three spots in the top 20, also taking No. 8 with “El Youm El Helw Dah” and No. 19 with “Aleky Eyoun.”)
IFPI, in a press release, says that the influence of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar can be clearly seen on the MENA chart’s debut. Two songs from the official tournament soundtrack — “Arhbo” at No. 3 and Jungkook’s “Dreamers” — featured in the top 10, while Shakira’s classic “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” — originally released for the 2010 World Cup — charted at No. 9 and “Tukoh Taka” by Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares came in at No. 11.
Other international artists in the MENA Chart’s top 20 include “Unholy” by Sam Smith featuring Kim Petras at No. 6, “Under The Influence” by Chris Brown at No. 13 and “Rich Flex” by Drake and 21 Savage at No. 14.
Few artist development stories in the past few years have been as impressive as that of Tems, the Nigerian singer-songwriter whose arresting voice and infectious melodies have wormed their way into the mainstream in her steady, insistent way. Since self-releasing her debut EP, For Broken Ears, in October 2020, Tems has become an in-demand voice for some of music biggest hitmakers, a status that accelerated after her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence,” the song that broke through and established Afrobeats as a genre to be reckoned with on the American charts last summer.
Since then, she’s collaborated with the likes of Drake, Beyoncé and Future, signed to RCA for the release of her second EP, If Orange Was a Place, last September, covered Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” for the Wakanda Forever soundtrack and landed Grammy nominations in back to back years, one for best global recording for “Essence” in 2022; two more for best melodic rap performance and best rap song at the upcoming 2023 Grammys for her feature on Future’s “Wait For U” and another for her guest spot on Beyoncé’s Renaissance. (And, if not for an inexplicable Grammy rule that meant she was ineligible for best new artist due to the “Essence” nomination, even though she was just a featured artist, she would almost certainly be up for that top four honor this year. But we digress.)
This week, Tems’ still-nascent career notched another milestone, as she became the the No. 1 artist on Billboard’s first-ever year-end U.S. Afrobeats Songs Artists ranking, landing four songs in the top 10 of the year-end chart, led by “Essence” but also including her song “Found” feat. Brent Faiyaz and two songs from her debut EP, “Higher” and “Free Mind,” impressive for a two-year-old project in an era when music moves so fast. And that steady ascent to stardom has earned her manager, Muyiwa Awoniyi, the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Awoniyi breaks down how he’s helped guide Tems to impressive heights, and the strategies that have gotten them to this point. “I have always felt that if you focus on what is important, what feels urgent will take care of itself,” he says. “In this case, focusing on the actual music and her brand appeal, instead of the charts, allowed us to tell an authentic story that people could relate to.”
This week, Tems landed four songs in the top 10 of Billboard’s first-ever year-end Afrobeats chart, the most of any artist, including the No. 1 song, her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence,” which gave her the No. 1 spot on the year-end US Afrobeats Songs Artists ranking. What key decisions did you make to help make this happen?
I have always felt that if you focus on what is important, what feels urgent will take care of itself. In this case, focusing on the actual music and her brand appeal, instead of the charts, allowed us to tell an authentic story that people could relate to. Handling those things properly allowed us to attract people instead of chasing them and as a result, we built organic bonds with so many people as a team. Proper product placement, which in music means the right ears hearing the music, was a very key focus as we moved forward. It was important to utilize our network optimally and align with those that saw our vision — God has been extremely kind on that front. I have met some amazing people who have played parts in making sure Tems’ music gets heard, and the by-product of that has led to so many of her songs achieving great things such as charting on the U.S. Afrobeats Billboard chart and the Billboard Hot 100 as well. All that being said, though, I do my best and leave the rest to the Almighty.
Two of her songs in the top 10, “Higher” and “Free Mind,” are from her 2020 EP For Broken Ears. How have you kept the momentum from that project going over the past few years, particularly in an era when music moves so fast?
The first time I heard “Free Mind,” I actually wept. I knew that song was special and I feel everyone that has heard it probably feels the same way. The nature of the song preserved itself while we, as a team, focused on marketing the record and the EP as a whole. As a manager, being aware of your talent’s unique selling point is very essential and when we finished For Broken Ears we knew we had something special. It was music for those who want to feel. Which is why records like “Higher” got sampled by ATL Jacob for the “Wait for U” track with Drake and Future. I still feel some records will catch on, “Ice T” especially. As for music moving fast? There is a difference between McDonalds and soul food.
The other two songs in the top 10, “Essence” and “Found” feat. Brent Faiyaz, are collaborations. She’s also had some high-profile collaborations with Drake, Future and Beyoncé. How have strategic collaborations helped boost Tems’ career and find new fans?
Collaborations have been very important. I actually feel if artists removed their limiters, some of the most innovative sounds can come from collaborations. Regarding Tems, I wouldn’t say these were “strategic.” Yes we are aware of the exposure collaborating with such huge superstars would bring, but it has to be organic. It has to feel good. It has to feel right. That’s the only way you get records that transcend borders. If not, you just have another song. We have been approached by basically the whole music industry but the collaborations we took, and have taken on, felt right. Expect more.
Tems’ rise has coincided with a growing global appreciation of African music and African artists. How have you guys been able to capitalize on that, and what has that meant for the opportunities you’ve gotten?
When you manage one of the leading artists from our region, you tend to see it all. So capitalizing for us has always been based on where we were, where we are, and where we are trying to go. This is why we started off by not signing a record deal immediately. You cannot fully capitalize if you do not own and owning For Broken Ears has been such a huge blessing. God is good.
Tems has also been nominated at the Grammys for the second year in a row. What does that mean for you guys, and how can you use that to further Tems’ career?
It’s a blessing. It makes us know that we are on the right track. We try not to make accolades define us in any capacity but the feeling of gratitude is always prominent. In terms of furthering her career, this is another page of her story, so we have to be aware to enjoy the moment, but not dwell on it. There are more pages in the book of Tems and we have to keep moving forward ’til the book ends. It’s really just staying focused and putting the work in while keeping God first in all things.
What have you learned about management during your career?
I’ll summarize it with this sentence: I have learned how important it is to gain equity within the hearts of human beings. One must master the art of selflessness. It takes you further than your ego ever would.
Where do you go from here to continue building Tems’ career further?
At the moment? Album mode. We have been working on this for quite a while. It’s her first baby and we all know how important it is for her. So all focus goes into that and then we allow God to take care of the rest. Definitely expect more from us at [my company] The Leading Vibe. We are always working.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has purchased a 49% stake in the indie label group [PIAS], expanding on a strategic global partnership that began last year. As part of the deal, [PIAS] founders Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot will retain control of the company, “remain fully independent” and UMG will have no seats on the indie’s board.
In March 2021, [PIAS] rebranded its distribution and services arm to [Integral], bringing on a new managing director to expand its business globally. Three months later, [PIAS] entered into an agreement with UMG that gave the major label group access to the [Integral] platform, which also handles distribution services for more than 100 indie label partners including ATO, Beggars Group and Secretly Group. The newly announced minority investment is said to be an extension of that initial deal.
“We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Universal Music Group team since we announced our strategic global alliance with them last year,” said Lambot — who co-founded [PIAS] in Brussels, Belgium, in 1983 alongside Gates — in a statement. “Kenny and I are celebrating our company’s 40th anniversary this year and we are still as ambitious as we were when we started out about growing our global presence and providing a world class service to the independent music community.”
“These days we are competing with finance and tech giants and a partner like Universal Music Group provides the additional support for us to compete and grow,” Gates said in his own statement. “Universal made it clear that they like us, they trust us and they need us, because they can’t do what we do and they value it highly. For Michel and I this is our life’s work and an ongoing journey and I am excited about the prospect of this new chapter in the life of [PIAS]. This move makes us stronger and secures the future of our brand, our staff and our partners while maintaining control of our destiny.”
The expansion of the deal comes at a time when many major labels — Capitol Music Group, Republic, 300, Interscope and more — are increasingly launching or enhancing their distribution offerings for independent artists and labels. This deal with [PIAS] presumably expands UMG’s access to independent distribution moving forward.
“The boldly independent and music-centric culture that Kenny and Michel have built over the last four decades has provided a vital creative network to so many artists,” UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement. “While much of the past was focused on ‘majors versus indies,’ it’s clear that today, the important divide in our industry is about those committed to artist development versus those committed to quantity over quality. We share Kenny and Michel’s passion for developing artists and moving culture, and we recognize that a healthy music ecosystem needs companies like [PIAS] who are committed to amplifying the best voices in independent music.”
MILAN — Warner Music Group has hired Pico Cibelli, a Sony Music Italy executive involved in the global breakthrough of rock band Måneskin, to helm its Italian label.
Cibelli, who will be based in Milan, will take over as president of Warner Music Italy, which Marco Alboni led for nine years. Cibelli will start in the role “in the near future” and report to Simon Robson, president of international, recorded music for Warner Music Group, the label said in a press release.
Cibelli spent more than a decade at Sony Music Italy, where he worked in A&R and helped develop the company’s frontline domestic artists. According to Italian media reports, Cibelli’s early involvement with breaking Måneskin could have played a major role in Warner’s decision. While at Sony, he was instrumental in hiring A&R Fabrizio Ferraguzzo, who has acted as Måneskin’s manager since June 2021.
Before joining Sony in 2011, Cibelli spent 10 years at Universal Music Group, first as television marketing manager and dance music A&R, then as A&R manager. Cibelli previously worked in an independent, family-run record store; as a DJ/producer; and later as an executive at local independent distributors Dig It International and Self Distribuzione.
The announcement of Cibelli’s appointment comes in a week when Warner artists hold two spots on Italy’s Top 10 album charts: Trenches Baby by Milan-based trapper Rondodasosa, whom Alboni signed, and The Beatles Songbook from veteran singer Mina.
“The success of artists such as Måneskin,” Cibelli said in a Warner Music press release, “has shown that Italian artists can take the world by storm, something we’ll see more of in the years ahead.”
Robson, in a statement, said that Cibelli “has a proven track record of developing artists and maximizing their potential.”
As a source of domestic talent, Italy is one of the strongest markets in the world. In 2021, Italian acts accounted for 76 % of the annual Album Top 100 compiled by FIMI, the local federation for the recorded music industry with which major companies and some local independent labels are affiliated. The Italian music market regained the No. 10 spot in the world in 2021, according to FIMI, showing an 18.33% increase from 2020 and a turnover of 153 million euros ($170.8 million) in the first half of 2022, with digital sales accounting for 83% (revenues from subscription streaming rose by 13.7%).
Alboni has not indicated where he is heading next, saying only on his LinkedIn page that he will soon start a new job as a music industry executive. He has worked as an artist manager and had prior stints with EMI Music Italy, PolyGram and Virgin Music Italy before being appointed Warner Italy’s chairman and CEO in 2013 when WMG acquired EMI Music Italy.
LONDON — The U.K. competition regulator has ruled out making further interventions in the music business and says that low returns from streaming, which songwriters and artists have expressed concerns about, are not being driven by the major labels’ dominance of the market.
In its final 165-page report into the U.K. music business, published Tuesday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says, however, that it is a matter for policymakers to determine whether current streaming revenue splits are “appropriate and fair” and if “wider policy interventions are required.” To that end, the regulator says it will share its final findings with the British government.
The CMA’s final 165-page report into the U.K. music business shows that consumers have greatly benefited from streaming, with the monthly price of streaming subscriptions falling by more than 20% in real terms between 2009 and 2021 due to not keeping pace with inflation. The monthly cost of an individual subscription to Spotify has remained £9.99 ($12.00) for the past decade.
At the same time, there’s been a huge rise in the amount of music that is available to consumers, from both paid subscription services and free ad-supported streaming, making it increasingly harder for all but the most popular artists to reach large audiences and earn a decent income.
In 2021, more than 138 billion music tracks were streamed in the U.K., yet less than 1% of all artists achieve more than one million streams per month, according to the CMA’s research. That level of streams would earn an artist around £12,000 ($14,500) per year after record company and streaming service deductions, says the regulator. The CMA found that over 60% of streams were of music recorded by only the top 0.4% of artists.
“We heard from many artists and songwriters across the U.K. about how they struggle to make a decent living from these [streaming] services,” says Sarah Cardell, interim chief executive of the CMA. Despite empathizing with creators’ “understandable concerns,” Cardell says the watchdog’s findings show that low returns for the majority of artists “are not the result of ineffective competition” between the three major record labels — Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group – which make up 75% of the U.K.’s recorded music market (independents account for the remaining 25%).
As a result, further intervention by the CMA “would not release more money into the system that would help artists or songwriters,” says Cardell. Therefore, the watchdog will not carry out a ‘phase 2’ full market investigation of the U.K. streaming business over competition concerns, which could have lasted up two years. Instead, it will share its findings with government policy makers for them to consider whether “additional action is needed to help creators,” says Cardell.
The regulator also warned that it may be forced to intervene in the future if the streaming business changes in a way that harms consumers’ interests. Determining factors identified by the CMA include mergers or acquisitions that could lead to a “substantial lessening of competition,” music companies prohibiting innovations that would benefit music fans and significantly higher streaming subscription prices.
The conclusions released Tuesday were a follow-up to an interim report released in July, in which the CMA said that streaming was working well for consumers. The regulator examined the integral role that services like Spotify and YouTube play in the booming music economy — and how those spoils are shared with creators. Just under 50 parties submitted written evidence to CMA officials as part of the study, including all three major labels, Google and independent music companies Believe, Beggars Group and Merlin.
Responding to artist concerns around how little they earn from music streaming, the CMA says its analysis of the market found that “neither record labels nor streaming services are likely to be making significant excess profits that could be shared with creators.”
According to its most recent earnings report, Universal Music Group’s revenue grew 13.3% to 2.66 billion euros ($2.75 billion) at constant currency in the third quarter of 2022. The world’s largest record label reported growth across all segments, including a 10.1% rise in recorded music revenue. UMG’s total revenues for 2021 were 8.5 billion euros ($10.1 billion) with net income of 1.271 billion euros ($1.51 billion) on an adjusted basis.
Sony Music reported on Nov. 1 that its quarterly revenues had risen 5.9% year-on-year to $2.58 billion (¥359.3 billion), with recorded music revenue up 14.2% to $1.62 billion (¥224 billion) in the same period, driven by growth of its subscription streaming income. Last week, Warner Music Group announced its quarterly revenues rose 16% at constant currency (9% as reported) to $1.5 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30.
Despite the concentrated nature of the market, outcomes for artists as a whole seem to be improving, the CMA says. Between 2012 and 2021, the average gross royalty rate increased from 19.7% to 23.3% and artists now have far greater choice over the type of deal available to them, ranging from traditional label deals to DIY distribution or artist and label service type deals. The CMA report also notes that the proportion of record contracts where labels own copyright of recordings in perpetuity fell from 66% to 26.4% in that same nine-year period.
Reaction among U.K. music trade groups to the CMA’s final report was mixed. A spokesperson for labels trade body BPI welcomed the regulator’s decision not to proceed with a full market investigation and said the study reinforces its view that the future health of the music industry is dependent on labels continuing to invest in artists.
Graham Davies, chief executive of songwriters and composers group The Ivors Academy, took an opposing view, saying that the current music streaming business “is concentrating earnings to an unsustainable extent” and “rewards few music creators.” He said government intervention is needed “to fix streaming.”
HONG KONG — Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu was sentenced to 13 years in prison for rape and other sexual offenses, a Chinese court said on its official Weibo account on Friday (Nov. 25).
The Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing said that from November to December 2020, Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, raped three women at his home when they were under the effect of alcohol.
Wu was sentenced to 11.5 years for rape and 22 months for “assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities” in July 2018, according to the Weibo post. Wu, who is a Canadian citizen, will serve a 13-year term in China before being deported.
“Justice was delayed, but now it’s here,” Du Meizhu, the Chinese influencer who blew the whistle on Wu, wrote on Weibo after the announcement.
Born in China and raised in Canada, Wu was a former member of the popular K-pop group EXO before returning to China to pursue his solo career in 2014.
Wu was detained in Beijing in July last year and was formally arrested on suspicion of rape in August, after the then-18-year-old Du accused him of luring her and other underaged girls into having sex under the pretense that they would be promised an acting career. The closed-door trial began in Beijing in June.
The sexual assault allegations against Wu prompted widespread criticism and became one of the most high-profile #MeToo cases in China.
Wu was also ordered to pay a 600 million yuan ($83.5 million) fine for hiding personal income through domestic and foreign affiliated enterprises, local taxation authorities said on their website.
Wu’s scandal came at a time when Chinese internet and media regulators have pledged to silence “unhealthy” online fan groups and crack down on “tainted artists” who have used drugs, visited prostitutes or broken the law, from all forms of broadcast.
Artists in China have been under great pressure to refrain from “immoral conduct,” which includes acts as minor as smoking or having tattoos.
Under public pressure from the sex-crimes allegations, some 20 brands — including Lancôme, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and Porsche — cut ties with Wu last year. Chinese music streaming platforms, including Tencent’s QQ Music and NetEase Cloud Music, pulled his songs, and his Weibo social media account, where he had over 51 million followers, was taken down shortly after his detention.
Wu’s former group, EXO, became one of the most successful boy bands of South Korea, selling over 1.4 million albums in their first year, according to its label, SM Entertainment, and performed sold-out gigs around the world.
He has also starred in films and appeared as a judge on The Rap of China, a popular reality television program. By 2017, Wu was named Forbes’ 10th most influential Chinese celebrity of the year, with an annual income of 150 million yuan ($23 million).
In 2018, Wu signed with Universal Music to distribute his music in global territories besides Japan and South Korea. His debut studio album, Antares (2018), knocked Ariana Grande off the U.S. iTunes music charts and was platinum-certified in China. It peaked at No. 100 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, while the single “Like That” rose to No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Each lasted one week on the charts.)
Wu’s contract with Universal expired in March 2021 and the label has not renewed it.
Looking to grow its share of the fast-developing Middle East music market, Warner Music Group has signed Saudi singer Dalia Mubarak, one of the country’s biggest female stars and a leading voice among a new generation of progressive Arabic artists.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The signing — Warner Music’s first Saudi artist signing since it began investing in the Middle East region about four years ago — caps a breakthrough year for 31-year-old Mubarak, who earlier this month won Best Saudi Arabian Artist at the Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards (DIAFA) in Dubai and was featured this summer on the cover of Vogue Arabia.
Since releasing her debut single, “Turn The Table,” in 2014, the singer’s career has flourished in line with the gradual opening up of Saudi society following the appointment of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017, making him the de facto ruler of the oil-rich Gulf state. His reforms have helped modernize the country of 35 million people, where, up until a few years ago, concerts were banned and ultraconservative norms prevailed, including the segregation of unmarried men and women in public spaces.
Historically rife with piracy, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market nearly doubled between 2019 and 2021, and it was the fastest-growing region in the world last year, with recorded music revenues up 35% to $89.5 million, according to IFPI. More than 95% of MENA revenues came from streaming, helping draw the interest of major record companies, which are increasingly looking to emerging markets to find new talent and, in turn, extend their labels’ global reach. MENA’s potential is vast, with a total population of about 430 million people, of which 55% are under the age of 30, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Mubarak signing follows a series of investments and acquisitions Warner Music has made recently in the Gulf region. Last year, the company acquired a minority stake — reportedly worth around $200 million — in Rotana Music, the Arab world’s leading independent record label, which is part of Rotana Group, owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal.
In March, Warner completed the acquisition of Qanawat Music, a leading distributor across the Middle East and North Africa. WMG put roots down in the region in 2018 when it created Warner Music Middle East and opened an office in Beirut, Lebanon.
Mubarak, who mostly sings in Arabic and has previously released music on Rotana, says she fulfilled a childhood dream by signing with Warner Music because of the opportunities and exposure it provides not just in her home country, but internationally as well.
“Everyone is now looking to what’s going on in Saudi Arabia, how it’s changed, and I want to be part of that change and show the world that we have good artists,” Mubarak tells Billboard. “I want to be the bridge [between Saudi Arabia] and the international world.”
Mubarak’s music mixes contemporary R&B and Western-style pop with traditional Khaleeji music, incorporating Arabic instruments like duff drums and mirwas. She says the music, which promotes positive messages of female empowerment, reflects the progressive changes that have occurred in her home country.
The singer has built a large following in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab diaspora with total YouTube views surpassing 350 million, according to Billboard’s calculations (subscribers to her official YouTube channel stand at just over 600,000). Her most popular song is 2020’s “Elly Yemshy 3ady,” which was the artist’s first single sung in the Egyptian dialect; it has generated more than 66 million views on YouTube.
The singer has just under 700,000 followers on Anghami, the most popular music streaming service in the Middle East with around 20 million active users, according to company filings. (Warner was unable to provide comprehensive streaming numbers for Mubarak.)
Mubarak has also performed at many of Saudi Arabia’s biggest music festivals, including 2019’s Jeddah World Fest, where she joined DJ Steve Aoki onstage at the event’s close. (The festival also featured performances from Janet Jackson, 50 Cent and Chris Brown, and saw Nicki Minaj make international headlines when she pulled out of a scheduled appearance in protest against the Kingdom’s treatment of women.)
Dalia Mubarak with Max Lousada and Simon Robson, Warner Music UK, Nov 2022.
Warner Music
Max Lousada, CEO of Warner Recorded Music, calls Mubarak a “trailblazer for change,” saying in a press release that she symbolizes “a new generation of female artists from the country who are rewriting the rules and winning fans across the region and beyond.”
The singer, who has an American husband, divides her time between the Saudi capital city Riyadh and Dubai. “Other singers in the past were not as lucky to have this freedom and these opportunities that I’m now grateful for,” she says.
Alfonso Perez-Soto, Warner Recorded Music’s president of emerging markets, tells Billboard that the label intends for Mubarak to be the first of many artists Warner signs from the MENA region as part of its overall long-term strategy. Previously, WMG’s focus has been on establishing itself in the region, “building the access to catalogs and distribution and gaining resources” so it is fully equipped to provide “the best tools” to help break and build lasting careers for Arabic artists like Mubarak.
Perez-Soto says the best of Warner Music’s worldwide resources are being made available to help Mubarak establish an international career. That includes teaming the artist up with English producers and songwriters for a short run of demo recording sessions in London earlier this month.
The plan, says Perez-Soto, is that they will “create product and songs that will be appealing to the Western market,” as well as cater to Mubarak’s existing local fanbase by drawing on the Middle East’s rich cultural heritage. Going forward, releases will vary between English-language songs and Arabic-focused repertoire.
Perez-Soto says he hopes giving Saudi artists like Mubarak a global platform will help bring about further change in a country that, while rapidly developing, still draws widespread condemnation for human rights abuses, including a ban on political protest and discrimination against women and marginalized groups.
“The situation is nowhere near close to perfect, but the country is making a very sincere effort [to change] in the right direction and we have to be part of enabling that effort and help that to happen,” says the Miami-based executive.
“There is no hate in music,” says Mubarak. “Music is something beautiful and it creates peace and hopefully we’re going to be part of that.” She wants to inspire other females in the Arab States, including her two young daughters, to follow in her footsteps. “I hope to be their voice,” she says, “to motivate them and make their dreams happen.”
Bose Ogulu received the award for manager of the year from her son and star client, Burna Boy, at the 2022 Artist & Manager Awards, which were presented at London’s Bloomsbury Big Top on Thursday (Nov. 17). The event, presented in association with beatBread, is organized by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum (MMF) and celebrates creative and commercial successes across the artist and management community.
With deep roots in the Lagos music scene, Ogulu has overseen Burna Boy’s rise to global stardom. Co-founding the pioneering Spaceship Collective in 2020, Ogulu has become a leading light in advocating for African artists to maintain greater control and ownership of their repertoire. Sheniece Charway, artist relations manager at YouTube Music, joined Burna Boy in presenting the award.
Becky Hill was named artist of the year. Hill had a top five hit on the Official U.K. Singles Chart in 2022 – “Crazy What Love Can Do,” a collab with David Guetta and Ella Henderson. She won a BRIT Award for best dance act in February. Her award was presented by her manager Alex Martin and tour manager Amanda Barker, alongside music legend Nile Rodgers and Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis.
Awards for Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Manager were also presented, with the former going to Beabadoobee and the latter to Callum Reece at One House for his success with the likes of Eliza Rose, Sherelle, cktrl and Mwanjé.
ABBA Voyage received the Innovation award. The album at the center of the project topped the Official U.K. Albums Chart and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It received a Grammy nomination for album of the year on Tuesday Nov. 15. ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus sent a video message to Svana Gisla, Ludvig Andersson and Baillie Walsh, the producers and director behind ABBA Voyage. They were presented with the award by Imogen Heap and Utopia Music’s Roberto Neri.
Lifetime achievement awards, dubbed Artists’ Artist and Managers’ Manager, went to songwriter and performer Tim Burgess and manager Martin Hall, respectively. Hall has managed Manic Street Preachers, The Script and Wet Leg, among others.
Burgess received his award from Brix Smith and PPL Chief Executive Peter Leathem. Hall’s award was preceded by video messages from Manic Street Preachers, The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue, Wet Leg and Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer, who said: “How many managers can say that 25 years ago they were taking a new band to No. 1 in the album charts, and here they are again, in 2022, managing a new band to No. 1 in the album chart. That longevity speaks volumes for you, Martin.”
Indeed, Manic Street Preachers’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours topped the Official U.K. Albums Chart in 1998. Wet Leg’s Wet Leg topped that same chart this year. Moreover, Wet Leg was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including best new artist, on Tuesday.
The ongoing challenges surrounding live music were raised in a joint opening address by the FAC’s CEO, David Martin, and Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the MMF.
“There’s no point pulling any punches,” Martin said. “For the majority of artists, the past few years have been pretty hard. We’ve had Brexit, a pandemic, and now a cost-of-living crisis. It’s been tough to make a living from music, and it remains tough.”
“Without addressing these issues, the next generation will really struggle to break through – and that will have ramifications for every promoter, record label, music publisher and tech company here tonight,” Coldrick added.
The show also recognized the work of Music Declares Emergency as 2022’s Industry Champions for driving momentum towards more environmentally sustainable practices – particularly in live touring. Presented by Sam Lee, the award was accepted by co-founder Lewis Jamieson and director of creative strategy and artist spokesperson Fay Milton.
The ceremony was hosted by Doc Brown (aka Ben Bailey Smith) and featured live performances by London-based pop-punk artist GIRLI and rapper FelixThe1st.
Here’s the full list of winners at the 2022 Artist & Manager Awards in association with beatBread:
Artist of the Year: Becky Hill
Manager of the Year: Bose Ogulu
Artists’ Artist: Tim Burgess
Managers’ Manager: Martin Hall
Breakthrough Artist: Beabadoobee
Breakthrough Manager: Callum Reece
Team Achievement: Groundworks
Entrepreneur: Krept & Konan
Innovation: ABBA Voyage
Pioneer: Carl Cox
Writer/Producer Manager: Red Light Management
Industry Champion: Music Declares Emergency
Unsigned and emerging artists in Africa will soon be able to compete for global distribution deals and record contracts with Sony Music Africa through a new collaboration between the major label and the companies behind the Afrochella Festival in Ghana.
Afrochella’s parent company, Culture Management Group, and media streaming service Audiomack, are teaming up with Sony Music Africa to expand the “Rising Star Stage” competition, which previously entitled winners to a chance to perform onstage at the festival.
With Sony’s involvement, up to 10 prize winners chosen from a short list of 25 will be signed to distribution deals with Sony Music Africa, which will take their music out to the world, Sony says in a press release.
The Grand Prize winner will secure an exclusive recording agreement with Sony Music Africa for the release of a single; marketing support (including a music video); free access to Afrochella’s recording studio as well as mentoring and training from industry executives and “leading musicians and producers,” Sony says. The top winner will also have the opportunity to perform live at Afrochella.
Five winners, including the Grand Prize winner, will also be able to perform on Afrochella’s Rising Star Stage alongside headliners on the festival’s second day, Dec. 29.
To enter the competition, artists need to upload an original song to Audiomack and create an Instagram Reel that includes an introduction about the artist, their approach to music and music-making process, and “what they want their potential audience to know about their style of music,” Sony says.
“With the strong backing of Sony Music, we now have the exciting opportunity to make an artist’s dreams come to life by providing them with a distribution deal and sustainable resources to help jumpstart their musical career,” Abdul Karim Abdullah, CEO and co-founder of Afrochella, says in a statement.
The “Rising Star Challenge” is now underway, and winners will be chosen during the two-day festival. The sixth edition of Afrochella, scheduled for Dec. 28 and 29 in Ghana’s capital Accra, features headliners Burna Boy, StoneBwoy and Fireboy DML.
Last month Coachella Music Festival sued the organizers of Afrochella, saying they infringed on Coachella’s trademarks and had allegedly tried to register the Coachella name in Ghana through the country’s intellectual property office, which was denied. Goldenvoice owns the trademark for both Coachella and the word Chella, preventing it from being added to other event titles in a way that could confuse fans.
TOKYO — This summer, the Japanese entertainment company Avex launched the seven-member girl group XG on a weekly music TV show — in South Korea, instead of Japan. The move was strategic. Rather than promote the group, which was five years in the making, at home, Avex leveraged Korea’s K-pop-rich media market to make an international splash.
It’s a prime example of the newest chapter in K-pop’s globalization: non-Korean acts tapping into the training, promotion, styles and strategies that made the genre an international success.
Korean networks’ many music programs showcase dozens of bands and live performances, which are readily available on YouTube — a key factor in K-pop’s international expansion, according to industry experts. In stark contrast, Japanese TV networks have been slow to embrace YouTube because sharing original content there often leads to unauthorized reuse. “Japanese TV shows are really inside — we can’t really reach to the global fans,” says Reina Aiguchi, a manager in Avex’s digital marketing group who works with XG. “In order to gain the global fans, we had to go on Korean TV shows.”
XG — like JO1 from Japan and boy band SB19 from the Philippines — followed the K-pop star incubation model, drawing their members from thousands of auditioning hopefuls and undergoing yearslong training regimens. Thanks to instruction from K-pop vocal coaches and choreographers, they appear to be gaining traction, accumulating millions of audio streams and YouTube views. What remains unclear, though, is whether they will lure non-Korean listeners away from Korean bands or grow the genre’s fan base by having lesser-known artists attract more listeners.
Either way, experts say the development could help boost K-pop’s long-term viability worldwide. Non-Korean K-pop bands may displease some existing fans, but this expansion evolves the genre beyond Korean pop. “If globalizing Korean acts was the model in the past, now the mindset is to create global-level groups around the world,” says Kim Young-dae, a Seoul-based music critic. “It didn’t happen overnight. This has been the goal that [the industry] has been working on for the last two decades.”
K-pop acts with members from outside Korea aren’t a new phenomenon. Starting in the 1990s, agencies recruited from the Korean diaspora and later expanded the talent pool to such key target markets as Japan and China. From Super Junior to TWICE to Aespa, bands have benefited from members who communicate with fans and media in relevant markets in their own languages.
But this latest wave of K-pop groups has no Korean members. Instead, they are working within Korea to take advantage of the know-how, distribution channels and global attention K-pop has established. They were often exposed to K-pop from childhood and see Korea as a platform for international stardom.
XG
Courtesy of XGALX
XG, for example, is produced by an agency led by Simon Jakops, a former K-pop idol who was born in the United States to Korean and Japanese parents. Avex selected XG’s members from a pool of 15,000 Japanese girls in 2017 and put them through five years of training — starting when they were ages 10 to 15 — to master hip-hop and R&B music, as well as English and Korean. They lived together in a dormitory in Tokyo and moved to Seoul during the pandemic. Singing and rapping in English — with the occasional Japanese word thrown in — the group made 14 appearances on six different Korean TV shows in June and July to promote its first two singles, “Tippy Toes” and “Mascara,” Aiguchi says. The group is marketed by XGALX, an agency overseen in Tokyo by Avex, which, in recent years, has struggled to repeat its J-pop idol successes from the 1990s and 2000s.
“We wanted to refer to K-pop and have those methods for XG,” says Yudai Hasegawa, manager for XGALX, speaking through Aiguchi’s translation. “Second is, we wanted to shoot those music videos in Korea, where they have good music video directors.” Such strategies appear to be making a difference: XG has about 700,000 subscribers on YouTube and around 600,000 on TikTok, while “Mascara” reached No. 14 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, spending 11 weeks on the chart. In addition, the group won the Rising Star award at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan in November. Comments below the group’s videoclips contain English, Bahasa (Indonesia) and Spanish, alongside Japanese.
JO1, a Japanese boy band formed from the 11 winners of the 2019 reality TV contest Produce 101 Japan, also received training in South Korea. Their music, often a collaboration between Japanese and Korean producers, is sung in Japanese with English words peppered into the mix, a K-pop formula for upping the songs’ global appeal. The members have appeared on Korean variety shows and K-pop-focused YouTube channels. (Their latest single, “SuperCali,” borrows the famous compound word from Mary Poppins.) JO1 has racked up several No. 1s on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, including “Bokura no Kisetsu” (“Our Season”), which topped the chart last December and has nearly 420 million combined views on YouTube.
Korean agencies in recent years have also launched non-Korean bands that perform K-pop-like music — notably SM Entertainment’s China-geared boy band WayV, as well as NiziU, an all-Japanese girl group from JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
After an open call for auditions beginning in 2014 involving hundreds of Filipino boys, SB19 was formed by ShowBT Philippines, a subsidiary of Korean agency ShowBT Group. The five-member boy band, which sings in English and Tagalog, trained in South Korea for three years before signing with Sony Music Philippines in December of 2019. They recently have begun cracking the Billboard charts and touring overseas, including a show at Los Angeles’ Avalon nightclub this past Saturday (Nov. 12). “They’ve really raised the bar, the Koreans,” Roslyn Pineda, general manager, Sony Music Entertainment Philippines, said in September. “Number one is the discipline” SB19 members learned in Korea, which led to a “sharpness of [dance] movements…that doesn’t lie,” she says.
“We can’t deny the K-pop influence [on JO1],” says Choi Shin-hwa, CEO of Lapone Entertainment, a joint venture between entertainment conglomerates CJ ENM of South Korea and Yoshimoto Kogyo of Japan that produces JO1. He doesn’t describe Lapone artists as K-pop, but rather envisions “a new genre that is a hybrid of K-pop and Japanese culture.”
In an interview in Tokyo, some members of JO1 told Billboard they grew up listening to K-pop CDs from boy band TVXQ and pop rock band CNBLUE, which their respective mothers, as fans, had played around the house. The members nervously denied they were already stars. “We keep on working with the hopes of catching up with all the awesome K-pop artists who are active today,” says member Issei Mamehara.
Additional reporting by Alexei Barrionuevo