International
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Replying to mounting criticism from the public and Mexican officials, Ticketmaster Mexico issued a formal statement on Monday (Dec. 12) following a ticketing fiasco that led to hundreds being denied access to Bad Bunny’s Mexico City shows Dec. 9 and 10.
“As has been reported, on Friday an unprecedented number of fake tickets were presented at the entrance of [Estadio Azteca], purchased outside our official channels,” wrote Ticketmaster in its release, posted on Twitter late Monday. “In addition to causing confusion among entrance officials, this situation generated a malfunction in our system, which for moments at a time, couldn’t properly identify legitimate tickets. It’s important to underscore that there was no oversale of tickets. Ticketmaster took the technological and logistical measures needed to ensure what happened on Friday would not happen on Saturday.”
Mexico’s Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers (PROFECO), reported that more than 1,600 people were denied entry to Bad Bunny’s Friday show, leading to crowds of angry ticket-holders clamoring outside the gates of Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. At the time, Ticketmaster attributed the issue to fake tickets that caused their system to malfunction. On Saturday, just 110 were denied entry.
PROFECO, however, said the ticketing problem for the Puerto Rican superstar’s shows was triggered by an “oversale” of tickets and that Ticketmaster would be fined as a result. “The difference between those defrauded in the first and second concert is proof of it. 1,600 tickets in the first concert… and 110 in the second”, PROFECO head Ricardo Sheffield explained on TV program Aguila o sol.
The fine for Ticketmaster México could amount to up to 10% of that company’s total sales in 2021, Sheffield said.
“Ticketmaster claimed they were counterfeit, but they were all issued by them,” Sheffield said in an interview on Saturday with Radio Fórmula.
PROFECO’s investigation determined that many tickets claimed as false were indeed legitimate and had been purchased through legitimate channels, according to Sheffield.
In its new missive, Ticketmaster says the Bad Bunny shows were the most in-demand ever in the country’s history, with 4.5 million people attempting to purchase just 120,000 available seats for both Azteca dates. The company said it’s collaborating “openly and widely” with the investigation and will refund ticket buyers in addition to paying them the 20% indemnization mandated by law.
Read full statement in Spanish below:
Ticketmaster has technology that can prevent the type of fraud that allegedly impacted entry to the show, but so far it has only been deployed in the United States. The technology, known as SafeTix, digitizes tickets and eliminates easy to duplicate barcodes that can be resold to multiple people. It’s unclear when the technology will be available in countries outside of the U.S.
Ticketmaster Mexico had been owned and operated by OCESA-CIE since the 1980s but last year Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation finalized its acquisition of Ticketmaster Mexico, transitioning the company from a license holder to a Ticketmaster subsidiary. Ticketmaster Mexico is forecast to sell 20 million tickets this year.
Massive overselling of tickets for the last two concerts of Bad Bunny’s World’s Hottest Tour in Mexico City this weekend led to hundred of people being denied entry to the superstar’s shows and will have million-dollar consequences for Ticketmaster Mexico, according to Mexican authorities.
The head of Mexico’s Federal Attorney’s Office for Consumers (PROFECO), Ricardo Sheffield, told the Televisa network on Sunday that those affected must receive a 100% refund plus a 20% compensation, and that the company will also be fined.
In a statement, Ticketmaster México acknowledged on Saturday that “the access problems were the result of the presentation of an unprecedented number of counterfeit tickets, which caused an unusual crowd of people and an intermittent operation of our system” which “generated confusion and made entrance to the stadium complicated, with the unfortunate consequence that some legitimate tickets were denied entry.”
Sheffield confirmed the ticketing problem for the Puerto Rican super star’s shows was triggered by an “oversale” of tickets. A total of 1,600 faulty tickets were reported for the first concert Dec. 9, and 110 for the second on Dec. 10. Both shows were at Estadio Azteca. Organizers said some 80,000 people attended each night.
“The difference between those defrauded in the first and second concert is proof of it. 1,600 tickets in the first concert… and 110 in the second”, Sheffield explained on TV program Aguila o sol.
The fine for Ticketmaster México could amount to up to 10% of that company’s total sales in 2021, the official said.
“Ticketmaster claimed they were counterfeit, but they were all issued by them,” Sheffield said in an interview on Saturday with Radio Fórmula.
According to the Mexican official, in its investigation, PROFECO determined that many tickets claimed as false were indeed legitimate and had been purchased through legitimate channels.
Those affected are also preparing a class action suit against the company. PROFECO opened an investigation and invited those who had irregularities with their tickets for Bad Bunny and other major events to file a complaint.
“As we are a fiscal authority, if they don’t want to pay of their own will, we will seize their accounts then, and they will pay because they have to,” said Sheffield.
The ticket issue delayed Bad Bunny’s show on Friday for almost an hour, while a crowd of hundreds outside Estadio Azteca demanded an explanation. Some people climbed through the main gate of the compound in an attempt to gain entry but were stopped by law enforcement. On Saturday, PROFECO announced plans to assist those affected.
Billboard Español reached out to both Ocesa and Ticketmaster Mexico for comment on Friday and Monday, but had not received a reply by press time. On Saturday, Ocesa sent Billboard the press release issued from Ticketmaster Mexico about what had happened at Estadio Atzeca the night before. Last year, Live Nation acquired 51% of the operations of the Mexican company Ocesa and Ticketmaster México.
Cancellations or duplications of tickets for concerts operated by Ticketmaster México and concert promoter Ocesa have increased in recent months for massive concerts, including those of Daddy Yankee, Harry Styles and Dua Lipa, according to complaints from users of the popular ticket sales platform.
The situation in Mexico comes after fans of pop star Taylor Swift collectively sued Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation in the United States for the chaotic ticket sales of her The Eras Tour. Thousands of the singer’s followers were unable to get tickets for her concerts.
BERLIN — It is Rammstein’s time to shine on this year’s German sales charts.
The veteran hard rock band had the best-selling album in Germany in 2022 with Zeit (which literally means “time”), according to GfK Entertainment, which tracks music sales and streaming in the German market. The most popular single was “Layla,” by DJ Robin & Schürze.
GfK’s “Official German Charts” count streams, downloads and physical sales – which can still be significant in Germany – plus airplay for singles. The annual charts count music consumption from the 50th week of 2021 to the 49th week of 2022.
Like last year, Universal Music Group dominated the market with the four top albums – Zeit, Helene Fischer’s Rausch at No. 2, ABBA’s Voyage at No. 3 and Taylor Swift’s Midnights at No. 4. Two of those – Rausch and Voyage were also on last year’s charts where Fisher’s album also came in at No. 2.
Universal also had the No. 7 album, Kontra K’s Für den Himmel, durch die Hölle. The top three singles were “Layla,” “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals – boosted to No. 2 by TikTok two years after its release – and “Beautiful Girls” by Luciano at No. 3. UMG also had the No. 9 single, “Cold Heart,” by Elton John and Dua Lipa.
Two of the other top 10 albums were international hits from Sony Music Entertainment – Harry Styles’ Harry’s House at No. 5 and Adele’s 30 at No. 10. The company also had Roland Kaiser’s Perspektiven at No. 9.
The two other top 10 albums came from Warner Music Group. A career-spanning collection from the veteran German punk group Die Toten Hosen came in at No. 6, while Ed Sheeran’s = – released last year – was at No. 8.
Sony scored three of the top 10 singles – “As It Was” by Harry Styles at No. 6, “Where Are You Now” by Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott at No. 7, and “Wildberry Lillet” by Nina Chuba at No. 10. Warner scored two of the top 10 singles – “abcdfu” by gayle and “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran. The remaining single, the No. 8 “Sehnsucht” by the German rapper T-Low and the production duo Miksu and Macloud, came out on the independent label Future.
Few things faze Noah Assad, Bad Bunny’s manager. But even he admits that launching a stadium tour barely three months after an arena tour was a bit daunting.
“We knew it was going to be a learning experience and something none of us had done before,” Assad says now, “but we went for it and worked through it with the help of old and new partners and set new industry standards.”
Bad Bunny ends the year as the top touring act of 2022, grossing $373.5 million from 1.8 million tickets across 65 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore, and that number doesn’t even include his last 20 Latin American stadium shows. This makes Bunny — born Benito Martinez Ocasio — the first act who doesn’t perform in English to ever top the year-end tally.
World’s Hottest Tour broke venue revenue records in 12 of the 15 U.S. markets that it hit, including Chicago and Washington, D.C., and New York, where he played Yankee Stadium. All told, the North American leg of tour averaged $11.1 million per show – the biggest per-show average gross by any artist in any genre in Boxscore history (dating back to the late 1980s).
Bunny also became the only artist to ever launch separate tours each topping $100 million in the same calendar year. His stadium tour launched after he played his 35-date El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo, an arena tour that earned $116.8 million from 35 shows.
So, how did an artist who only records in Spanish, who is signed to an independent label and has only been five years in the market achieve this feat? To find out, Billboard spoke with agents, promoters and producers to piece together the ingredients of Bunny’s spectacular touring success.
The seeds for World’s Hottest Tour, which ends with sold out shows Friday (Dec. 9) and Saturday (Dec. 10) at Mexico city’s Estadio Azteca, were sown April 15, 2021, when tickets went on sale for Bunny’s April 2022 arena tour. The tour sold out in a matter of hours, says Jbeau Lewis, one of Bunny’s agents at UTA, with some 200,000 to 300,000 people in virtual queue in individual arenas trying to score tickets, and it became clear how much demand there was for Bad Bunny concerts.
“I remember vividly Noah having a discussion that day and saying, ‘We have to hold some stadiums for next year.’ We saw the unprecedented demand for [2022 arena tour] Ultimo Tour del Mundo,” says Lewis. “And knowing that tour was going to be nine months away and that Benito had plans to release more music, the only way to provide enough supply to alleviate the demand was to move to bigger venues. And that’s when we started working on it.”
Last year Assad signed on with Henry Cardenas of Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN), Bunny’s longtime promoter who was already doing his arena tour who’d been booking him since he played 1,000-people club shows back in 2017 and 2018 in cites like New York and Miami. Cardenas brought in Live Nation, which has vast experience with stadiums, as his partners in the U.S.
In the U.S., the biggest challenge was not the prospect of selling out stadiums; Lewis felt very confident that wouldn’t be an issue if they stuck to those markets where Bunny had strongest demand. Scheduling was the problem, given that the tour was being booked just 15-16 months in advance, and MLB and NFL teams already had dates locked down. Assad and Bunny were also adamant that he not play more than two dates per city, so fans wouldn’t think that one market was preferred over another.
In the end, they settled on 15 U.S. cities and tickets went on sale before the tour design even was finalized, something tour producer Roly Garbalosa says is unusual. “Normally for a tour this big, you design, then look for the markets. Not here. Here we just went.”
Bad Bunny hit road Aug. 5 with a massive production hauling his massive “beach,” palm trees, LED screens and of course, the contraptions needed for his flying stunt, where he gets on top of a small island with a palm tree and soars over the crowd, singing all the way. While a typical tour will take about 20 cargo trucks, Bunny traveled with up to 36, carrying 100 tons of equipment. While CMN and Live Nation promoted the entire U.S. trek of the tour, in Latin America CMN took over seven concerts. The others went to independent promoters Assad has long worked with in the past, including Bizarro in Chile, Westwood Entertainment in Mexico and Dale Play in Argentina.
“Noah has a code of honor,” says Fede Lauria, the founder of Dale Play, who promoted Bunny’s two shows at Velez Sarsfield Stadium in Buenos Aires. “I promoted Benito’s first tour here in Luna Park in 2016. This time, it’s been the biggest production I’ve ever done. We sold 90,000 tickets, but I would have sold 900,000. We sold out in half an hour. I had over a million people in virtual line trying to buy tickets.”
For Latin America, Bunny again insisted on his no more than two shows per city rule. He also insisted that his show had to be exactly the same as what his fans saw in the U.S. This is easier said than done. Usually, promoters will pay artists their guarantee plus the cost of local production. But Bunny couldn’t rely on local production for such a technically complicated show. Many countries and venues simply don’t have the equipment necessary to replicated what can be done in state-of-the-art stadiums in the U.S. And many local promoters can’t afford to pay the costs of importing production and still break even, especially in countries that are suffering from massive devaluation. So, instead of modifying the show to meet local production standards, “He took all his equipment, put it inside a 747 jet, and took it with him,” Cárdenas says. “And he paid for that.”
Even then, says Garbalosa, adjustments were required. Bunny’s flying stunt in the U.S. is done commonly by hitching the equipment to the lights and towers. Because many stadiums in Latin America don’t have that capability, “We had to rent cranes and place them outside the stadium,” says Garbalosa.
Bunny traveled through Latin America with the 747 cargo jet for his more than 100 tons of equipment; a passenger jet for his 130-plus crew and personnel and a private jet for himself and his immediate five-to-six-person team. And he paid those costs.
“No other artist does that,” says Cárdenas.” I will say it in plain English: He’s the only artist who invests that kind of money in his production in Latin America.”
What that decision translates to is less money for the artist. Shows in the U.S. make more because ticket prices are higher and the cost of production, in this case, can be far less.
“But he said, my fans deserve the same show,” Cárdenas says. “It will pay off in the future.”
In some ways, you could say it’s already paying off.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” adds Garbalosa, the production manager. “I’ve never worked with an artist that creates this kind of frenzy.”
After years of trying to clean up its act and shed its reputation as a major source of pirated music, Russian streaming service VK is allowing users to upload albums released on major record labels that exited Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
A search by Billboard on Dec. 7 found that dozens of albums from major labels were were available to all VK users and could be found using the service’s search tool. They included Taylor Swift‘s Midnights, released by Universal Music Group’s Republic Records, and Red Hot Chili Pepper‘s Return of the Dream Canteen, a Warner Records Music release.
VK did not reply to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Global labels body IFPI in London did not immediately condemn the apparent copyright violations, nor confirm if they or its label members had issued takedown orders to VK in recent days. “We’re continuously monitoring the situation in Russia with regard to unauthorized services and will take appropriate action as necessary,” an IFPI spokesperson said.
Sony, Warner and Universal all declined to comment. “It’s disappointing and wrong but comes as no surprise considering [Russia’s] current lack of respect for rights or the rule of law,” one senior industry executive told Billboard.
Courtesy Photo
Just some of the pirated Taylor Swift music featured on VK.
Courtesy Photo
Launched as VKontakte in 2007 in St. Petersburg, VK offers music and other features of a social media platform. As of last month, it was the sixth most-popular web site in Russia, according Similarweb, a website tracking company. It is the second most-popular platform offering music in Russia after Yandex.Music.
In the first quarter, VK had 73.4 million monthly average users and a global audience of 100.4 million. The platform offers both an ad-sponsored model and a subscription service with 3.5 million subscribers, according to the most-recent data available. (Before pulling out, Spotify reportedly had 600,000 paid subscribers in Russia.)
VK’s history of piracy is well noted. When VK emerged as Russia’s response to Facebook, it had a feature that Facebook didn’t — a tool allowing users to upload music tracks that immediately became available to all other users.
That feature was, arguably, one of the reasons why VK quickly became popular with younger users. However, it also made the social network an archenemy of international major labels who accused it of facilitating online piracy.
A range of lawsuits were brought against VK, but the company stood its ground, claiming it had no technical capability to control user-generated content but was willing to remove any copyrighted content at rights holders’ request. The problem was that if a pirated music track was removed, another copy of it would be almost immediately added by another user.
For a while, courts accepted VK’s argument about its inability to control user-generated content, but an array of lawsuits eventually forced VK to sign licensing deals with the majors and the streaming platform got rid of user-generated pirated music a few years ago.
Then in March, in support of Western sanctions to penalize Russia for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Sony, Warner and Universal said they were suspending operations in Russia, and their new releases were no longer available on VK. That same month, Amazon, Deezer, Spotify and TikTok either closed their Russian offices or stopped trading in what was previously the 13th largest music market. (YouTube, for its part, suspended all monetization programs for users in Russia in March.) Among major global music providers, only Believe, the French music distributor, has continued to operate in Russia, saying in September that it was doing so “to support its artists, labels and protect its people’s safety as well as ensure access to music production and distribution.”
The pullout by the global music industry slowed the legal development of a market that Spotify, in particular, had targeted as a key country in its expansion into Eastern and Central Europe. Russia was the fastest-growing market among the global top 20 both in 2019 and 2020, when it produced $328 million in recorded-music revenue, a 58% increase over 2020, according to IFPI.
Some Russian officials have called for a regulation that would permit the use of music and movies whose rights holders have left Russia. The most popular proposal was that all royalties owed to foreign rights holders who left Russia would be held in a dedicated account in Russian rubles and then distributed at some point in the future. Nothing concrete has been done in that area so far, but the Russian government has authorized imports of products by companies which left Russia. They cannot be technically sold in Russia, but they are imported via third countries.
Under current Russian law, the use of music or movies without permission from rights holders remains illegal.
Additional Reporting By Richard Smirke
LONDON — Less than a year after being appointed chief executive of the Association for Electronic Music, Silvia Montello is exiting the global trade body to become CEO of AIM, the London-based Association of Independent Music.
Montello takes up the new post on Jan. 31. She will succeed Paul Pacifico, who leaves AIM later this month to head up the Saudi Music Commission, where he will be responsible for developing and championing the music sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In April, the London-based Montello was appointed the first female CEO of the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM). The New York-headquartered non-profit organization, founded in 2013, represents the interests of over 250 electronic music companies across 25 countries.
Montello’s appointment as CEO of AIM — which represents more than 1,000 U.K. indie labels, artists and music companies, including Beggars Group, Domino, Warp and Ninja Tune — comes on the back of another strong year for independent labels and artists in the United Kingdom. According to labels trade body BPI, independently released music made up 29% of the U.K.’s recorded music market in the first 10 months of 2022, up from 27% for the whole of 2021 — when total recorded music sales reached £1.3 billion ($1.6 million) in the U.K. — and an increase of 30% from 2017, when independents claimed a 22% share.
Independently released albums that have topped the U.K. albums chart this year include Arctic Monkeys’ The Car, Wet Leg’s self-titled debut, Fontaines D.C.’s Skinty Fia and rapper Central Cee’s 23.
“The growth of the indie sector has been fantastic to see and what’s really exciting about it is the rise in grass roots independent artists who are self-releasing and creating their own teams and finding ways of being able to build their own fanbase,” Montello tells Billboard.
Despite the growth, it remains difficult for many DIY and independent artists to make a decent living from streaming alone, she says, echoing well-publicized discontent from the creator community over low returns from music streams.
In her new role as CEO of AIM, Montello — who has been an active member of the U.K. trade body for several years — says she will continue the organization’s push for an “equitable and fair” split of streaming revenues but will also focus on educating and training independent artists and businesses about how they can monetize their art in the fast-changing music ecosystem.
“Looking outside of the reliance on just the major streaming platforms is going to be more of a significant conversation and trend going forward,” she says, citing the metaverse, Web3 and growth of neighboring rights revenues as potential avenues for artists to maximize their future earning potential.
“We always need to be looking forward and making sure that we’re trying to anticipate where there may be new opportunities for our members, but also anticipate where there may be challenges arising and making sure that we’re up to speed with everything,” says Montello.
Prior to heading AFEM, Montello held senior executive roles at the U.K. arm of Universal Music Group, where she worked as director of catalog marketing between 2006 and 2010, and BMG, where, according to her LinkedIn profile, she served as group senior vp of recordings operations and integrations from 2014 to 2016. She was subsequently appointed senior vp of operations at the then-Kobalt-owned artist services company AWAL, a post she held from 2017 to 2020.
More recently, Montello held senior posts at music rights data platform Blokur and Audio Network, a U.K.-based creator and publisher of music for film, television and digital content. Since 2011, she has also acted as CEO of Voicebox Consulting, which has worked with music companies and charities that include BMG, PIAS and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Montello co-founded and is director of #remarQabl, an electronic music label services and publishing company that champions female, LGBTQ+ and underrepresented artists, and is a trustee for U.K. charity Help Musicians.
In a press release announcing Montello’s appointment, AIM chair Nadia Khan called the executive a “fantastic leader” whose “extensive industry background, contact base, business development skills, passion for diversity and inclusion, and vision for the future bring renewed leadership to AIM.”
Association for Electronic Music co-founders Ben Turner and Kurosh Nasseri congratulated Montello on what they called a “landmark appointment” for both her and the genre of electronic music.
“It is amazing to see an organization as influential as AIM looking to our sector and actually to our own trade body AFEM for their next leader,” Turner and Nasseri say in a statement. They thanked Montello for “her valuable input into AFEM in her short time with us” and said the organization has begun the process of recruiting a new CEO to succeed her.
Montello says she looks forward to “really getting under the skin of AIM” and doing all that she can to make the independent music business flourish, help artists avoid burnout and add to the “richness and diversity” of music coming out of the United Kingdom.
“Because if we don’t have that from the independent sector, where a lot of the creativity comes from the grass roots, the margins and underrepresented groups who have got something to say,” she says, “then all music lovers are going to miss out.”
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.