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Kordhell stumbled upon the YouTube channel Evil Aesthetic (stylized Ǝ V I L Æ S T H Ǝ T I C) by happenstance while digitally crate-digging in 2020. The U.K.-born, Los Angeles-based producer had a background in black metal; Evil Aesthetic specializes in phonk — a style indebted to ’90s Memphis hip-hop. Kordhell heard a kinship. “Phonk sounded similar to what I was already doing,” he says. “It was super dark, with almost a horror vibe, but in a hip-hop way.”
The producer decided to try his hand at phonk, and since then, the genre’s profile and Kordhell’s have risen together. Phonk fandom had primarily been underground, but starting in 2020, it became increasingly popular on TikTok, popping up in clips of car racing, weight lifting and more. That same year, Kordhell scored a record deal with independent label Black 17 Media. He now has two of the most commercially successful singles associated with the genre and has landed a spot on the upcoming mixtape that will accompany the 10th Fast and Furious movie — much of which is phonk-based.
“I signed him in October 2020 when he was doing 5,000 plays a day,” says Tyler Blatchley, who co-founded Black 17 Media in 2015. “Now he’s doing 4 million plays a day on Spotify alone.”
While phonk encompasses a slew of subgenres, one macho variant known as drift phonk has become most popular. Drift phonk hits like Pharmacist’s “North Memphis” and Kaito Shoma’s “Scary Garry” are icy and volatile. They nod to lo-fi Memphis rap mixtapes — creeping basslines, caffeinated hi-hats, eerie, pitch-shifted electronic cowbells — and incorporate samples of drilling, rat-tat-tat lines from rappers like Kingpin Skinny Pimp and DJ Paul, founder of Three 6 Mafia.
Blatchley first discovered “Scary Garry” on TikTok, where it appeared in adrenalized automotive videos. Black 17 had previously distributed some of DJ Paul’s solo releases, making the label ideally positioned to clear Shoma’s sample and officially release the track. “Scary Garry” started to gain attention on Spotify, and after that, Blatchley says, “I found more of these phonk songs and started playing middleman, clearing the samples and putting them on Spotify.” Black 17 now works with more than 300 phonk acts.
Word spread in the drift phonk community that there was an avenue to officially release songs with Memphis samples — and actually make money. Blatchley estimates that 60% of his signings have been brought to him by another act he was already working with; as a result, Black 17 pays an A&R fee out of its profits to any artist that brings a future signing to the label’s attention.
Because many of drift phonk’s most successful producers are based thousands of miles from the source of the samples that animate their work, they may have little understanding of Memphis hip-hop lineage — or of the lines they are sampling. But DJ Paul and Kingpin Skinny Pimp, at least, have said they are happy to be poached from. Phonk’s recent popularity has offered both a new source of income and a new source of exposure: The two are often credited as featured vocalists on tracks with hundreds of millions of streams.
Black 17 focused its phonk marketing in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, and South America, both because the music was already resonating there, and because the cost of TikTok influencer and advertising campaigns is considerably less in those regions than it is in the U.S. Black 17 co-founder Jake Houstle led an effort to establish exclusive relationships with a number of TikTok pages that were active in the phonk scene, which helped drive attention to the label’s new releases.
At the moment, the biggest threat to drift phonk’s growth is geopolitical: Many of its most popular artists are from Russia and Ukraine, two countries at war. A number of acts on Black 17’s roster have tried to flee their homes since fighting broke out in February.
But this tumultuous backdrop hasn’t slowed phonk’s rise. Earlier this year, Artist Partner Group took notice of the genre’s streaming numbers and connection to car culture and decided it would fit well on the next Fast and Furious mixtape. (APG has worked on multiple installments of the Fast and Furious soundtrack.) “We wanted to use a lot of fun music and really lean into the genre,” says Olly Shepard, APG’s vp of film/TV and synchronization. And in May, Spotify launched its official phonk playlist.
Yokai, a “phonk connoisseur” who chronicles its artists and subgenres on YouTube, used to “not even bother trying to explain to most people what the music was,” figuring he’d only elicit blank stares. Now, he says, the genre “has grown to a point where most people have at least a passing familiarity with it.” By the end of 2022, Black 17’s roster of phonk signings is on track to earn over 4 billion Spotify streams. And after experiencing streaming success abroad, Houstle says, “we’ve reached a point where we have the marketing dollars to start playing around in the U.S.”
As for Kordhell, he recently became one of the 500 most popular artists on Spotify, a first for a phonk producer. He’s been busy with upcoming productions and remixes. “I’m exhausted,” he says. But he wouldn’t have it any other way: “I want to ride the wave.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
Since the Academy Awards handed out their first statuettes for best original song in 1935, almost two-thirds of the winners have been writing duos, including such legendary twosomes as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
Now, 87 years after composer Con Conrad and Herb Magidson won the inaugural trophies for penning “The Continental” from the 1934 film The Gay Divorcee, some observers say the Oscars need to update their rules to better reflect how songs are now created.
Current academy rules favor fewer songwriters at a time when the number of writers per song is increasing. So far this year, the average number of songwriters credited on a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 is 6.4, compared with 4.77 over a decade ago in 2009.
Yet the academy considers any combination of more than two writers for a best original song contender an exception. According to the rules, if there are three or four songwriters, “a third statuette may be awarded when there are essentially equal writers of a song. The Music Branch Executive Committee has the right, in what it alone determines to be a very rare and extraordinary circumstance, to award a fourth statuette.”
If there are five or more credited songwriters, only one statuette is awarded to the collective, and the rules state “each songwriter must agree to the single ‘group statuette’ option by signing and returning a Group Award form prior to the submission deadline.” (Though a handful of other categories limit the number of eligible nominees, only best original song and best original score have the group statuette option.)
To deny all eligible songwriters their own statuette, regardless of the number, is “antiquated thinking,” says a senior A&R executive at a major label who has worked on Oscar-nominated songs. “The creation of art evolves over time. And as an organization that represents art — whether it’s visual media art or recorded art — you have to adapt and evolve.”
The academy (which declined to respond to the anonymous opinions in this piece) is clinging to a tradition “going back decades, that the way a song got written was essentially by two people, a composer and lyricist,” says the head of music at a movie studio. “They’re out of touch.”
Only two best original song winners have had four songwriters (“Arthur’s Theme” in 1982 and “Shallow” in 2019), and no Oscar has gone to five or more songwriters. Only once have more than five writers been nominated, when all seven members of Counting Crows earned a nod for “Accidentally in Love” from Shrek 2 in 2004. The next year, the limitation on the number of statuettes was introduced.
As a result, when there are more than four songwriters, it’s often up to them to make a hard decision. In January 2019, “All the Stars,” from Black Panther, received a best original song nod, but only four of the five songwriters — Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave and Anthony Tiffith — were credited. Fifth collaborator Alexander Shuckburgh (aka Al Shux) was not listed, even though a month earlier, when “All the Stars” received a Grammy nod for song of the year, his name was. (Shux did not respond for a request for comment.)
“Because of the constraints of the rules, we’ve had to have really uncomfortable conversations with songwriters to say, ‘Hey, you guys, go away and figure this out,’ ” says the movie studio executive, adding that in some cases, the writers have come back with participating songwriters left off to cull their total to four. “It’s hurtful and unfair.”
At least two tracks that could potentially make the shortlist of 15 songs to be announced Dec. 21 have five or more songwriters. “Lift Your Wings” from Netflix’s My Father’s Dragon has five credited songwriters. It was entered as a group submission so all writers would be recognized. The title track to My Mind & Me, Apple Original Films’ documentary about Selena Gomez, has six songwriters.
The group submission form requests a detailed explanation of the creative process, and songwriters may be deemed ineligible at the Music Branch committee’s discretion.
“I understand from the perspective of the academy that they want to keep it special and not be perceived as handing [awards] out like a participation prize,” says another label executive, “but some of the best songs of the past 20 years have been written by an army of collaborators, [and] we’ve seen an evolution of thought in terms of how those songs are regarded.”
The head of music at another movie studio sees the issue as more nuanced and, while not necessarily agreeing with the limitations on the hardware handed out, appreciates the seriousness of the academy’s deliberations when there are several songwriters.
“Each song can be a unique situation, and you have to be able to consider that,” the executive says. “You do have to look at who has done the majority of the work. It’s really important that you have music that was determinately created from scratch for that project. You have to put guardrails somewhere.”
This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
The 94th annual Academy Awards telecast in March got off to a strong start, with Beyoncé singing her best original song contender, “Be Alive,” from King Richard on the tennis courts where Venus and Serena Williams practiced as children. Depending on how the 2023 Oscar nominations shake out, the producers of next year’s telecast just might be able to book an opening number with comparable star power.
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reveals its shortlists of 15 contenders for best original song and best original score (as well as 10 other categories) on Dec. 21, Rihanna is a strong contender for “Lift Me Up,” which she co-wrote for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. So are Doja Cat for “Vegas” (Elvis), Taylor Swift for “Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing) and Lady Gaga for “Hold My Hand” — the last of which could be in contention along with fellow Top Gun: Maverick song “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic. If Gaga’s power ballad and OneRepublic’s joy bomb both make the shortlist, it will mark the first time that two songs from the same film have done so since 2019, when two tracks from the reboot of The Lion King made the cut.
Nominations-round voting is open Jan. 12-17, 2023. Nominations will be announced Jan. 24. Final-round voting is open March 2-7. The awards will air March 12 on ABC. Expect the shortlists for best original song and best original score to look something like this.
“Lift Me Up”Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, TemsBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel
“All the Stars” from the original Black Panther was nominated in this category four years ago. Coogler directed and co-wrote both Black Panther and this sequel. The four co-writers could hardly be more international: Coogler was born in the United States, Göransson in Sweden, Rihanna in Barbados and Tems in Nigeria.
“Vegas”Rogét Chahayed, Doja Cat, David SprecherElvis, Warner Bros.
The academy’s music committee will determine whether this song, which borrows heavily from the 1950s classic “Hound Dog” is eligible. (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote the Elvis Presley hit, would not be.) Incredibly, no song from a movie Presley starred in was ever nominated for best original song.
“This Is a Life”David Byrne, Ryan Lott, MitskiEverything Everywhere All at Once, A24
Byrne won an Oscar 35 years ago for best original score for The Last Emperor. Lott is a member of the trio Son Lux, which performs this song, with backing by Byrne and Mitski. This would be the first Oscar nod for both Lott and Mitski.
“Turn Up the Sunshine”Jack Antonoff, Patrik Berger, Sam Dew, Kevin ParkerMinions: The Rise of Gru, Illumination/Universal Pictures
This would be the first Oscar nomination for all four songwriters. The Antonoff-produced soundtrack consists mostly of contemporary artists covering ’60s and ’70s songs. It also includes new tunes such as this one, recorded by Diana Ross and featuring the Parker-led Tame Impala.
“Naatu Naatu”M. M. KeeravaniRRR, Variance Films
This Indian Telugu-language song would be the first foreign-language track to win this category since “Jai Ho,” the festive Hindi song from Slumdog Millionaire that took the prize 14 years ago. The scene in which it appears was filmed at the Ukraine Presidential Palace in Kyiv a few months before the Russian invasion.
“My Mind & Me”Amy Allen, Jonathan Bellion, Selena Gomez, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Michael PollackSelena Gomez: My Mind & Me, Apple Original Films
This documentary was directed by Alek Keshishian, who also directed Madonna: Truth or Dare, as well as such music videos as Gomez’s “Hands to Myself.” The film follows Gomez on a six-year journey that has included both health challenges and professional successes, among them her first Emmy and Grammy nods.
“Do a Little Good”Benj Pasek, Justin PaulSpirited, Apple Original Films
Pasek and Paul have been nominated three times in this category, with two songs from La La Land and one from The Greatest Showman. They have no shortage of contenders this year — this song and “Good Afternoon” from Spirited, as well as two others from Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.
“Applause”Diane WarrenTell It Like a Woman, Samuel Goldwyn Films
With this song, Warren vies for her 14th nomination in this category. She would be the first songwriter or songwriting team to be nominated six years running since Marilyn and Alan Bergman’s 1968-73 streak. Warren will receive a Governors Award from the academy on Nov. 19.
“Stand Up”Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, Jazmine SullivanTill, Orion/United Artists Releasing
D’Mile won in this category two years ago with “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah. If he triumphs again, he would become the first Black songwriter to win this award twice. Sullivan won her first two Grammys in April, for best R&B album and best R&B performance.
“Hold My Hand”BloodPop (Michael Tucker), Lady GagaTop Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures
This would be Gaga’s third nod in this category following “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground (2015) and “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (2018), which took the award. “Take My Breath Away” from the original Top Gun won the 1986 award in this category.
“I Ain’t Worried”Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, Tyler Spry, John ErikssonTop Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures
The Oscars’ music committee will determine whether this is eligible. “I Ain’t Worried” borrows elements from “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John. The writers of that 2006 song (Björn Yttling and Peter Morén) would not be eligible.
“Nobody Like U”Billie Eilish, Finneas O’ConnellTurning Red, Pixar
The siblings are the reigning champs in this category for the title song from No Time To Die. “Nobody Like U” is performed in the animated Turning Red by the fictional boy band 4*Town, which O’Connell helped voice. The film was written, directed and produced entirely by women.
“Dust & Ash”J. RalphThe Voice of Dust and Ash, Matilda Productions
This would be Ralph’s fourth nod in this category following “Before My Time” from Chasing Ice (2012), “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction (2015) and “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story (2016). Ralph and Norah Jones sing this song on the soundtrack to the documentary.
“Carolina”Taylor SwiftWhere the Crawdads Sing, Sony Pictures
This Appalachian folk-style ballad could result in Swift’s first Oscar nomination. She has received three Golden Globe nods (for “Safe & Sound” from The Hunger Games, “Sweeter Than Fiction” from One Chance and “Beautiful Ghosts” from Cats).
“New Body Rhumba”Pat Mahoney, James Murphy, Nancy WhangWhite Noise, Netflix
LCD Soundsystem recorded this song for the soundtrack of the Noah Baumbach film. Mahoney, Murphy and Whang all belong to the Brooklyn-based band, which won the best dance recording Grammy five years ago for “Tonite.” The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle.
Babylon (Paramount Pictures)Justin Hurwitz
Babylon is the fifth film directed by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle. Hurwitz has scored all five, including most famously La La Land, for which he won in this category six years ago. Babylon’s cast includes Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Jean Smart.
The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)Carter Burwell
This would be Burwell’s third nomination in this category following Carol (2015) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). The Banshees of Inisherin is a black comedy-drama written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who also did the honors on Three Billboards. It stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
The Batman (Warner Bros.)Michael Giacchino
This would be Giacchino’s third nomination in this category following Ratatouille (2007) and Up (2009, for which he won). The Batman, a reboot of the Batman film franchise, stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel)Ludwig Göransson
Göransson won this honor four years ago for the original Black Panther. Should he do so for this sequel, he’ll become the second composer to win for two installments of the same franchise. Howard Shore did the same for two films in the Lord of the Rings franchise.
Empire of Light (Searchlight Pictures)Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Reznor and Ross are two-time category winners for The Social Network (2010) and Soul (2020, which they won in tandem with Jon Batiste). Should they win again, they’ll become the first composer or composing team to win three scoring Oscars in this century.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)Son Lux
The band, consisting of Rafiq Bhatia, Ian Chang and Ryan Lott, composed the music for the science fiction/action film that was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. They produced it with siblings Anthony and Joseph Russo.
The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)John Williams
This would be Williams’ record-extending 48th nomination in a scoring category. Moreover, it would give him scoring nods in seven consecutive decades. If he wins, Williams, 90, would surpass James Ivory as the oldest Oscar honoree — Ivory was 89 when he won best adapted screenplay for Call Me by Your Name.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)Alexandre Desplat
Desplat won for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017). Should he win again, he’ll tie the late Maurice Jarre as the Frenchman with the most scoring Oscars. Jarre won for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India.
Clockwise: Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Pattinson and Kravitz (left) in The Batman, Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) and Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley) in Pinocchio and Letitia Wright in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Illustration by Elena Scotti
A Man Named Otto (Sony Pictures)Thomas Newman
Newman is vying for his 15th nomination in a scoring category. He’s tied with the late Alex North for the most nods in this category without a competitive win. If Newman is nominated again and loses, he’ll hold the record outright.
The Son (Sony Pictures Classics)Hans Zimmer
Zimmer is the reigning category champ, having won in March for Dune. Should he win for The Son, he’ll become the first composer to take home back-to-back scoring awards since Gustavo Santaolalla, who won with Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006). Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern star.
Strange World (Walt Disney Animation)Henry Jackman
This film marked Jackman’s third collaboration with director Don Hall, following Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6, and his fifth feature-length score for Walt Disney Animation. The film features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu.
TÁR (Focus Features)Hildur Guðnadóttir
This would be the second scoring nod for Hildur, who won three years ago for Joker. The Icelandic composer would become just the third woman to receive multiple nominations in this category following the late Angela Morley (who had two nods) and Rachel Portman (who has had three).
White Noise (Netflix)Danny Elfman
This would be Elfman’s fifth nomination in a scoring category following Good Will Hunting and Men in Black (both in 1997), Big Fish (2003) and Milk (2008). White Noise is a black comedy written and directed by Noah Baumbach, adapted from the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo.
The Woman King (Sony Pictures)Terence Blanchard
This would be Blanchard’s third nomination in this category, which would tie Quincy Jones for the most scoring nods ever by a Black composer. Jones was nominated for In Cold Blood, The Wiz and The Color Purple — he has yet to win.
Women Talking (MGM/United Artists Releasing)Hildur Guðnadóttir
Hildur is vying to become the sixth composer to have two films on the shortlist in this category since 2018, when the academy began making its shortlists public. She would follow Alan Silvestri (2018), Nicholas Britell (2018), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (2020), Hans Zimmer (2021) and Jonny Greenwood (2021).
This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
This past February, the rising star Blxst got an unexpected text: Anthony Saleh, Kendrick Lamar’s manager, wanted to connect him with his client — and soon enough, the two artists were on FaceTime.
“[Kendrick] was like, ‘Yo, I respect what you got going on. I’m a fan of your last project. I want you to be a part of my album,’ ” Blxst recalls.
He had no idea if what he recorded would end up on the album — or when the album would even arrive. “This album is never finna come out. He ain’t dropped a project in four years,” Blxst remembers thinking at the time, with a laugh. Lamar sent him an instrumental and told Blxst to “do whatever you want to it,” he says. “He came with a melody of his own for the bridge. I got voice memos of him singing and telling me what notes to hit.” So Blxst did what he does best: He added an earworm of a hook.
Both the track and the album it landed on — Lamar’s acclaimed 2022 project, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers — came to fruition. “Die Hard,” featuring singer Amanda Reifer, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is now nominated for the best melodic rap performance Grammy, and Lamar is just one of the high-profile co-signs Blxst has attracted lately. Since releasing his debut solo EP, No Love Lost, in 2020, Blxst (real name: Matthew Burdette) has become a go-to feature for artists like Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg and Nas, and something of a modern-day Nate Dogg in the process — a “king of hooks” in his own right who surprisingly never charges for his services.
“I’m more about the art,” the 30-year-old explains. “If I’m a fan of the song or if it fits with the direction that I’m going in, I’mma jump on a song off the strength. If I don’t like it, I’mma just not do it.”
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, and attending high school in safer Upland about 40 miles east, Blxst taught himself how to rap, sing and produce as a hobby. A self-described introvert who’s still remarkably reserved and calm, he spent the rest of his free time at the local skate park, which Tyler, The Creator also happened to frequent. “I used to go up to him rapping lyrics [of his] that he would drop on his Myspace, before he was super big,” Blxst recalls.
Blxst photographed on October 25, 2022 at GenQ Studio in Los Angeles.
Sage East
In 2018, he founded his own label, Evgle (pronounced “Eagle”) Records, and started to release singles. The following year, Blxst’s business partners — manager Vic Burnett and attorney Karl Fowlkes — joined him as Evgle co-founders. “I wanted to create a platform where I could control my narrative. I think it’s important for people to be able to control their intellectual property,” says Blxst. “Especially with me being a producer as well, I’m doing most of the work.”
Over the next couple of years, Blxst released his first collaborative EP (2019’s Sixtape, with fellow South Central artist Bino Rideaux) and Evgle struck a partnership with Red Bull Records, under which Blxst maintains his independence as an artist. By the time No Love Lost came out in 2020 (and, a few months later, its deluxe version), the buzz around Blxst had grown, and his music — with its two-step rhythms evoking the comfort of a Black cookout — provided a sense of solace for fans post-quarantine. That year, both Evgle and Blxst individually signed publishing deals with Warner Chappell.
This past spring, his debut full-length album, Before You Go, arrived, acting as “a note to self, speaking on the transition I feel like I’m facing as an artist, as an executive,” he told Billboard at the time. From slow jams to upbeat tracks oozing L.A. flair, No Love Lost yielded singles like “Hurt,” “Got It All” and “Chosen” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga, which recently went platinum.
Not that Blxst has had much time to celebrate. He has been too busy picking up accolades, including a spot in XXL’s Freshman Class of 2021, the first-ever Rising Star award at Billboard‘s 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Summit and now, Billboard’s Rookie of the Year honor. And when we talk, he’s wrapping up his first headlining world tour — and clearly still wrapping his mind around his newfound fame.
“To travel and see people still singing [my songs] word-for-word, it’s like, ‘What is going on?’ ” he marvels. “I still be tripping off the position I’m in.” And he’s in no rush to “take an elevator” to the top. “I’m moving at a slow pace because that’s what I want to do,” he says. “I elevated a lot in just this one year but being in control of my deal and being in control of my narrative, it allows me to take a look at every step.”
That means remaining a student of the game — and appreciating the little lessons along the way. “I remember I was in the studio with Snoop, just playing music for him and seeing him nod his head, and after I pushed ‘stop,’ him reciting certain lines I said,” Blxst recalls. “It was just a reminder for me to believe in myself even more.”
Blxst photographed on October 25, 2022 at GenQ Studio in Los Angeles.
Sage East
This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
As job applications go, Tim Hinshaw’s wasn’t quite traditional.
While angling for a position in the hip-hop & R&B division of Amazon Music in 2018, Hinshaw recruited a few old friends to record themselves hyping him up. “Oh, hey. This is Donald Glover/Childish Gambino saying you should probably hire Tim,” the multihyphenate star says, winking at the camera. Cut to Anderson .Paak: “I’m telling you, he’s the one. You need him on your squad.” “Tim is a good dude, and he knows what he’s doing!” Scarface adds before noting that he himself is an Amazon Prime member. The video closes with the late Mac Miller playing a white grand piano, then turning to the camera to implore: “Hire Tim. I know I would.”
Hinshaw edited the clips together, then passed the supercut to Amazon — an effort, he says, “to show the breadth of my relationships, from the current generation to the legends.” The promo worked: Within a few weeks, Hinshaw was hired as Amazon Music’s senior manager of hip-hop artist relations and within a year, he was promoted to head of hip-hop & R&B. But it was also an apt advertisement for the talents that would help Hinshaw succeed long term at the company. The close relationships and credibility he has within the artist community — developed over the course of 13 years working in management and artist relations roles — along with a penchant for innovation and a personality that Amazon Music vp Steve Boom calls “super smart, genuine and incredibly humble” have all allowed Hinshaw and the team he has built to elevate Amazon Music’s hip-hop & R&B division into a global leader in the genre.
“Tim has put Amazon Music into the conversation in the hip-hop and R&B community in a massive way,” says Boom, “and in a way, frankly speaking, we were not.”
“When I thought about the landscape, it was like, ‘Amazon is already in everybody’s homes,’ ” says Hinshaw of his initial strategy. “I knew if I could authentically bridge the gap between company and artist and tell that story to consumers in an authentic way, I could help Amazon be a major player in this entertainment space.”
Thanks to his efforts, in the past year hip-hop and R&B have become the leading genres for Amazon Music livestreams, with the platform’s three most-viewed livestream events featuring Kanye “Ye” West, Drake and Tyler, The Creator. “Tim’s trajectory is so amazing to watch,” says Tyler. “I love him so much.”
Tim Hinshaw photographed on October 27, 2022 at Harun Coffee in Los Angeles.
Kathryn Boyd Brolin
Last December, Drake and Ye’s #FreeLarryHoover benefit concert at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum streamed in 240 countries on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel and the Amazon Music app. Just weeks later, Amazon Music partnered with The Weeknd for a livestream event promoting his new album, Dawn FM, and the platform livestreamed J. Cole’s Dreamville festival in April.
Hinshaw has also been instrumental in securing talent for the just-launched Amazon Music Live. Airing after Thursday Night Football, the weekly livestream program, which launched Oct. 27, is hosted by 2 Chainz and has already featured performances from Lil Baby, Megan Thee Stallion and Kane Brown. In late October, Hinshaw and his 12-person team — “a bunch of young, hungry Black and brown executives,” as he describes them — touched down in Paris to produce a livestream of the second of Kendrick Lamar’s two shows in the city on his current The Big Steppers Tour. That 65-date run is sponsored by Amazon Music’s flagship hip-hop and R&B Rotation playlists — an idea Hinshaw originated and oversaw. (Hinshaw also led the 2019 development and launch of Rotation itself, which encompasses the R&B Rotation and Rap Rotation brands.)
“For me to be on a business-class flight to Paris with arguably the world’s biggest hip-hop artist,” says Hinshaw, “it was like, ‘Wow, we’ve come a long way from Compton.’ ”
Tim Hinshaw (right) with Kendrick Lamar in October 2022 in Paris.
Greg Noire
Like Lamar, Hinshaw, 32, was raised in the South Los Angeles neighborhood where so many of hip-hop’s legends started out. With his father serving a 20-year prison sentence for nonviolent drug-trafficking charges while he was young, Hinshaw was raised by his mother. Once he was a teenager, she enrolled him 30 miles away at the tony Palisades High School, driving her son 60 miles round trip so he could experience life outside the three blocks in which he had grown up.
After graduation, Hinshaw nearly joined the U.S. Coast Guard, but was talked out of it by his brother, the singer-songwriter Prince Charlez, who encouraged him to pursue music instead. Hinshaw co-managed his brother to a joint-venture label deal with Island Def Jam before landing management jobs in the artist relations and music marketing divisions at Fender and Vans, respectively, and through them forging the relationships that have proved invaluable in his current role.
“I can’t tell you the number of meetings I’ve been to with Tim and an artist or manager where the level of respect and love they have for him is transparent,” says Boom. “It leads to very different, more productive and more collaborative meetings that benefit the artist and Amazon Music.”
In genres where authenticity is paramount, the trust Hinshaw has developed in the hip-hop and R&B community has also helped bridge the gap between a massive corporation and the artists it hopes to work with. Most crucial are honest conversations about “getting what we want out of said deal without making the artist feel like they’re a walking commercial,” says Hinshaw. “You’re not going to put a logo on Kendrick Lamar’s forehead.”
Tim Hinshaw photographed on October 27, 2022 at Harun Coffee in Los Angeles.
Kathryn Boyd Brolin
That straightforward approach has led to collaborations with A-list figures like H.E.R. and Kid Cudi; Summer Walker; Chance the Rapper; Tyler, The Creator; DJ Khaled; LeBron James and Mav Carter, co-founder/CEO of James’ entertainment company, SpringHill. But Hinshaw’s team’s cred also extends to emerging acts, which it supports with Rap Rotation. Since its 2019 launch, streams on the playlist have doubled — just one indication of overall demand for the genre exploding on Amazon Music since Hinshaw’s arrival. Global customers asked Alexa to play hip-hop and R&B tracks over a billion times in 2021 alone.
The ripple effect of Hinshaw’s work extends across Amazon Music. Boom calls his artist merchandise collaborations “instrumental” in the growth of fashion initiatives like The Showroom, a collection from Amazon Music and Hypebeast creative agency Hypemaker that paired rising artists like Flo Milli, Lucky Daye and Fousheé with rising streetwear designers. Philanthropy initiatives Hinshaw and his team have carried out — like sponsoring 21 Savage’s 2021 and 2022 back-to-school drives in Atlanta — build different kinds of bridges, Hinshaw says, “open[ing] doors for kids in communities like the one I grew up in.” And his team’s work with Prime Video through livestreams has, Boom adds, “allowed us to expand our ambitions as a company.”
Those successes are the product of 11-hour workdays that begin after Hinshaw and his wife drop off their two kids (Sadie, 5, and Tim Jr., 4) at school. If he’s not in back-to-back meetings, he’s cold-calling managers to follow leads about forthcoming projects he wants to get involved with — efforts Hinshaw says are still crucial in determining next steps for his already accomplished team.
As Hinshaw’s sphere of influence keeps expanding, however, its core remains the same as when he wrangled his superstar pals to help him land the job. He’s still in close and constant contact with artists and their teams (his email alert dings roughly 30 times during our interview), knowing that, as details can get lost in translation, the ability to get an artist or manager on the phone is essential to keep things in motion. And as always, he knows those relationships aren’t just about business: Hanging with artist friends for birthday parties and casual dinners, or just sending a text to check in, could be the key to making the next big project happen.
“Continuing our artist-first vision,” he says, “is always going to put us in the place we need to be.”
This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
Rising Philadelphia phenom Fridayy is in a rare class of hitmakers: the kind with two top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — alongside some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B of the 21st century — both of which were released before he even dropped an EP of his own.
The 25-year-old artist born Francis LeBlanc — a singer, writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist — grew up influenced by both R&B and gospel, with his mighty voice, modern touch, studio proficiency and versatility earning him production credits with Chris Brown and Rae Sremmurd in June. DJ Khaled called his name for an even bigger opportunity soon after, featuring him as a vocalist on his epic God Did title track, a star-studded affair that also included appearances from John Legend, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. The track, which Fridayy also co-produced, earned a No. 17 debut on the Sept. 10-dated Hot 100, marking his first entry on the all-genre songs chart.
But perhaps the biggest look Fridayy has received amid his breakout year came in October with “Forever,” from Lil Baby’s Billboard 200-topping It’s Only Me. The song, which boasts impassioned bars from Lil Baby, is based on a collaboration of Fridayy’s with singer-rapper Vory that the latter posted to Instagram. Upon hearing it, Lil Baby demanded to know who the piercing voice on the clip’s hook belonged to — and after Fridayy elevated its production (with help from Bizness Boi and Fortune), it became an early fan favorite on It’s Only Me, debuting at No. 8 on the Hot 100.
Still riding the momentum from his two spotlight-stealing guest appearances, Fridayy talks with Billboard about the different receptions to those two top 20 hits — as well as his recent debut EP Lost in Melody, released Oct. 21, and what other collaborations are currently in the works.
How did you first get hooked up with Lil Baby?
It was actually through an artist named Vory. The song was originally me and Vory — I was on the hook and Vory was on the verses — and Vory posted it on Instagram. And then Lil Baby hit up Vory, like, “Who’s singing on the hook?” And then Vory was like, “That’s Fridayy.” And Lil Baby was like, “Man, I need that hook.” That’s how it came about: Vory showed love and helped me out on that part.
Had you ever gotten in contact with Lil Baby before? Did you have any kind of relationship with him?
Nah, I talked to him after, though. He FaceTimed me and all that, we talked. And then we was just choppin’ it up about the record.
At first, when I produced it, it was just piano. And then when I got on the phone with him, he was like, “Bro, I need like a beat.” He said it was so crazy, he forgot it ain’t had no beat! So I was like, “Bro, I’mma add the beat for you. And I’mma send it back to you tonight.” So I called my brothers Bizness Boi and Fortune — two producers that produced on it with me — and we got that right.
Did he give you any kind of instruction on what he wanted it to sound like, or did you just take it from what was already there on the song?
Yeah, at first I sent him like a couple ideas. But it was similar to, like, trap drums. But when I sent him it, he was like, “Bro, I want it more simple. You know what I mean? I don’t want too much going on.” So he kinda explained it to me how he wanted it, when it was like, a kick and a snare — just some simple vibes, not too much hi-hats. Once he told me that, we got it in the first try.
Had you been a fan of Lil Baby’s before this?
Of course. Like, that My Turn album? Even before that! I had been listening to Baby for a minute, since 2017, around “My Dawg,” around like “Freestyle” days. He one of them rappers today that like everybody look up to — my little cousin, my brothers look up to [him], you know what I mean? So that’s crazy to me.
How does being on a song with Lil Baby compare to being on a song with legends like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and Rick Ross?
That’s a great question right there, bro. It’s like — the Jay-Z record, it was cool, it was great. Them the legends. But that one was more of, like, icon music-wise. And then Lil Baby one was like… for now. ‘Cause my little cousins are not listening to “God Did” every day. But the Lil Baby one? It opened me up to the youth.
Do you feel like those two songs prepared audiences for what to expect with you with your solo stuff? Or do you feel like that’s more just one side to you and there’s a lot more of you still to come on the EP and whatever else follows?
No, I feel like it was a good balance. Because “God Did” is really like a part of who I am. Even if you listen to the song, you hear the choirs, you hear the three-part harmony, you hear the piano. And if you listen to my EP, that’s how I’m coming on: with piano, choirs [and] soulful notes. So “God Did” was definitely like the perfect introduction to me. And “Forever” was like the perfect introduction to me, too. Just to show that side, with like the females and all that. Which, I got like two records [like that] on my EP.
How has the reaction been to the EP so far? Are you happy with the sort of response you’ve gotten to it?
Man, bro. I ain’t even have no expectations for my EP… So when I woke up the next day [after releasing it], I’m like, “Lemme just check the charts.” I’m thinking maybe I’d be like No. 199 R&B — like, late, late in the joint. I woke up, we was like No. 30 R&B on iTunes! I’m like… the f–k? And the sh-t kept going up! Right now, we at No. 11 R&B on iTunes! It went up to 7! Right now it’s sitting at 11.
But just to see my album next to SZA, next to The Weeknd, next to Summer Walker… it’s like, “damn!” I just look it at every day, like, “What the f–k?”
What is up next for you? Do you have any singles, any features, maybe an album coming?
Yeah, you already know. We working on the next project. We don’t know if it’s an album or an EP, but I’m already working on that. And I’m producing for a lot of [people in] the industry. I got two songs on Lil Tjay’s project coming out. I just produced a track on G Herbo’s album that just came out. You know, I’m still producing and writing for a lot of people. And then, it’s like, a lot of features coming, too. Just expect a lot of Fridayy features, for sure.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.
Elvis was angry — and broke.
In a 1970s showdown in Las Vegas with Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley fired his longtime personal manager — only to have Parker respond by presenting the singer with a multimillion-dollar bill for unrecouped expenses that went back decades, from the cost of gasoline for Elvis’ first trip to the Louisiana Hayride radio show to fuel for the Lisa Marie, his private jet named after his daughter.
In his hit film Elvis, director Baz Luhrmann depicts the confrontation — a true story, according to Alanna Nash, author of the definitive biography The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley — and in his dramatization of the episode, a distraught Elvis lashes out at his father, Vernon, blaming him for his lack of oversight: “You are my business manager! You’re supposed to be taking care of this!”
Elvis should have had the guidance of one of the advisers profiled here.
Members of the 2022 class of Billboard’s Top Business Managers — nominated by their firms and peers and chosen by our editors — have guided artists and executives through the pandemic. But now, they face an array of challenges not seen in years.
“Financial instability, the economic downturn, persisting inflation, higher borrowing costs triggered by the increase in interest rates, cybersecurity and retention of key talent” — all are among the most pressing issues facing business managers, says Maria del Pilar Lopez, a director with Citrin Cooperman.
The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters has allowed touring to resume. But shows continue to be rescheduled due to the pandemic, adding to the financial pressures on artists already dealing with production costs driven higher by inflation, rising insurance premiums and more.
The ongoing strength of the seller’s market for music catalogs promises windfalls for some but comes with caveats, says Sean Granat, a partner with CohnReznick. “Some of my clients have been inclined to want to sell their publishing rights for a quick infusion of cash,” he says. “If a client wants to move forward with this course of action, I make sure that they are aware of what they would be giving up in terms of control, future revenue and the effects a sale would have on their estate.”
Business managers deal with hard numbers but also the unpredictable emotions of their clients. As Michael Kaplan, managing partner with Miller Kaplan, says, “We are experiencing a glut of FOMO — fear of missing out — especially related to unorthodox investments and an excessive willingness to absorb risk” in the crypto, meme stock and non-fungible token (NFT) spaces.
Then there are the clients with the more unusual investment plans, from garlic products to dinosaur skulls. “I did recently have a client feel they were becoming too recognizable in their yellow sports car — so they had it painted bright purple,” says Kristin Lee, founder of business management firm KLBM. “They said it was an investment in their security.”
Fasbender Financial Management founder/president Tina Fasbender adds: “I’ve been doing this for 35 years — and ‘unusual’ is getting weirder and weirder.”
Iván AlarcónCo-founder/CEO, Vibras Lab
Alarcón says that despite “the rise in touring costs [and] shortage of equipment and personnel” making tours hard to “budget, plan accurately and execute” this past year, Vibras Lab has served as CFO for Latin music’s biggest stadium and arena tours for acts like Bad Bunny, Grupo Firme and Karol G. The company also played a part in closing the collaboration between J Balvin and Air Jordan, as well as renegotiating Karol G’s publishing deal with Kobalt. “The music-catalog sales boom has made us a firm that looks deeper into our artists’ catalogs,” says Alarcón. “What we recommend to somebody that is planning to sell their catalog is to make sure that the investment return of the net amount received from the sale of the catalog is higher than the royalties received from the catalog.
Iván Alarcón’s Vibras Lab acted as CFO for Bad Bunny’s two world tours.
Kevin Winter/GI
Belva AnakwenzePrincipal owner, Abacus Financial Management Group
For Abacus, the big story of the past 18 months has been getting its live-entertainment clients back to work, says Anakwenze, noting that the sector’s continued volatility in the wake of the pandemic has required diligent engagement between Abacus and the artists it works with. The full-service firm also handles business management, tax preparation, virtual CFO services and more, with Anakwenze emphasizing the education of creatives. (Along with some of her professional peers profiled here, Anakwenze declines to name musicians she advises, citing client confidentiality.)
Most Pressing Issue: “With several festivals being shut down early for safety concerns, many festivalgoers are looking for event refunds. This impacts artists’ ability to get paid at the contracted amount, but yet artists have hard production costs that have to be paid.”
Claudia ArcaySenior vp, Loud and Live
Loud and Live’s Arcay actively helped artists return to the road. As touring resumed, she sought to reestablish demand for live shows. “The pandemic has been extremely detrimental to the industry, and artists were some of the most affected,” Arcay says. Within the last 18 months, Loud and Live curated 350 shows and sold over 2 million tickets across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It also produced and managed shows for Camilo, Farruko, Ricardo Arjona and others.
Most Pressing Issue: “The incremental costs of touring, which are likely at an all-time high. Factors [for this] include the impact of inflation [and] increased fuel and general production costs — staffing, lighting, sound, equipment rental, etc. — many of which are up more than 30% versus pre-pandemic levels.”
Jesús Arredondo Luis Del RioHeads of finance booking, Cárdenas Marketing Network
This year, Del Rio managed “all financial aspects with the artist’s camp, venues, vendors and service providers” for Bad Bunny’s two world tours and all financial matters for the U.S. run of Daddy Yankee’s farewell swing. Aside from packing venues, CMN also has a hand in building them: Arredondo provided financial analysis for the new Coliseo Live Bogotá in Colombia, including management of the construction budget.
Most Unusual Client Investment: “After the pandemic, unusual investments became the norm,” says Del Rio. “From jewelry to art to even acres of land in unexpected locations.”
Louis BarajasCo-founder/CEO, Lab Business Management FirmAngie BarajasCo-founder/COO, Lab Business Management Firm
Under its husband-and-wife leadership, LAB Business Management Firm has continued to expand in 2022 with the addition of its U.S.-LATAM (Latin America) Tax Group, which works with and provides wealth and business management advice to up-and-coming artists. The Barajases also have hired more in-house Latino professionals to help with clients including Mau y Ricky, Yandel and Nicky Jam. Louis’ role in providing financial consumer advocacy on a national level to underserved communities will be reflected in a 13-episode PBS TV series he will co-host titled Opportunity Knocks in November. He says many hedge fund managers have offered to acquire LAB’s client catalogs in 2022, and “planning for the intelligent use of those funds has opened many new opportunities to our artists.”
Investment Tip: “We believe 2023 will be a good opportunity to purchase real estate at discounted prices from the overinflated values we have seen in the last couple of years,” says Louis.
Harrison BaumanFirst vp of investments, Bauman Wealth Management
Bauman sees his management company as the “financial quarterback to our clients’ financial needs” and notes catalog sales and the return of touring as the biggest developments currently affecting them. In addition to working closely with singer-songwriters to sell their music catalogs, Bauman provides long-term planning advice, including facilitating the purchase of a first home.
Most Pressing Issue: “Inflation, the rise of interest rates and budgeting for the future. We work closely with our clients to manage their day-to-day budgeting needs and … to build additional sources of passive income.”
Tyson BeemCEO, Gelfand Rennert & FeldmanChris Fazzolari Todd Kamelhar John Menneci Melissa Morton Rick Mozenter Mike SkeetManaging directors, Gelfand Rennert & Feldman
In 2022, 25-year GRF veteran Beem stepped into the company’s CEO role formerly held by Todd Gelfand, who’s still active in the firm’s leadership as a managing director and continues to focus on his clients. Beem will stay the course that has enabled GRF to deliver for its clients for 55 years: staying on top of evolving business opportunities and revenue streams — of late, potential catalog sales and the resumption of touring — as well as managing risk and keeping up with changes in tax regulation. “We can’t only be concerned about gross income. We have to remember that controlling costs is just as important to determine the viability of opportunities,” says Beem.
Marius BercoviciJustin KobayVenicia MesteyBruce SeckendorfPartners, LL Business Management
From its offices in New York and Los Angeles, LL represents Lil Nas X, Timbaland, Lauv, producer Omer Fedi and other creators — and Kobay says many young artists come to the table already savvy about means of diversification and passive income streams. “They get it,” he says of Gen Z performers, who often prioritize socially conscious investing and bankable skills over college degrees. Some clients also prize real estate as an investment, but “that doesn’t mean you should buy 10 Airbnbs before you own a primary residence.”
Proudest Moment: The current world tour by Lil Nas X is a “first of its kind,” says Kobay. “He’s a pioneer. He has opened doors that had traditionally been closed to African American and gay artists. Even when there was resistance, he [persevered] and has made this industry a much more welcoming place for all.”
LL Business Management has overseen branding deals for Lil Nas X with vitaminwater, Coach, Gucci, M&M’s and Google.
Tim Mosenfelder/GI
David BolnoName partner, NKSFBMichael KarlinFounding partner, NKSFBMatthew SegalLarry TylerPartners, NKSFBHarley NeumanFounding partner of Neuman + Associates, A Division of NKSFBMichael OppenheimFounding partner of NKSFBGO, A Division of NKSFBDavid WeiseFounding partner of David Weise & Associates, A Division of NKSFBJaime Masuda Beth Sabbagh Rob SalzmanPartners of David Weise & Associates, A Division of NKSFB
The number of NKSFB’s honorees reflects mergers that expanded the firm’s reach. A Focus Financial company, NKSFB is home to advisers for artists including Beyoncé, Eminem, Steve Aoki, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres, Coldplay, Common, deadmau5, Usher and The Weeknd. NKSFB also has guided major transactions like Bolno’s lead role in the $1 billion acquisition/merger between Ithaca Holdings and Hybe America, as well as his assistance in the integration of Hybe Korea and Hybe America, and Karlin navigated and assisted in closing a nine-digit sale of a client’s business, including advanced tax planning. In addition, says Salzman, “our firm’s partners focused on exploring outside-the-box pandemic programs,” including the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.
Julie BoosOwner/business manager/chairman, FBMMDuane ClarkOwner/business manager/president, FBMMJamie Cheek David Boyer Carmen RomanoOwners/business managers/vps, FBMMChris HughesBusiness manager, FBMM
Artists are still weathering the major shift in touring economics, including supply chain issues and cost increases related to equipment and production personnel, as well as overcrowded, pandemic-driven tour planning. These elements “have clients feeling the squeeze this year,” Clark says. However, NFTs and the metaverse have recently offered promising new opportunities. “I can’t say it has had a big effect on our clients’ income today,” says Clark, “but I can see how that day is coming.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “We don’t view any investments as unusual, just potentially more specific to the interests of each particular client,” says Clark. “So we gather information on the specific idea, along with measuring to see if it would fit well, holistically, with the client’s current plan.”
Joseph Callaghan Mark Carter Bruce Kolbrenner Lahteefah “Lah” Parramore Thomas Smith Simon WintersPartners, Prager Metis
Citing Prager Metis’ presence as “one of the first accounting firms in the NFT space,” Parramore says she and her colleagues provide clients with the “thought leadership they need to navigate that new form of income.” (The company opened a virtual office on metaverse platform Decentraland in late 2021.) A Miami-based CPA whose Prager Metis clients include indie labels and entertainers, Parramore joins her peers to help artists with business activities such as, on the touring side, “managing last-minute costs because of the post-COVID-19 environment, whether it’s shipping of the staging or the production.”
Deedra Carroll Director of touring, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group Bret Guest Business manager, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group
Carroll and Guest, previously recognized, respectively, on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players and Country Power Players lists, advise chart-topping clients but keep their roster confidential. A 17-year veteran of Tri Star, Carroll has been the firm’s director of touring for nine years, overseeing staff and client affairs from the company’s Los Angeles and Nashville offices. Her role involves liaising with artist managers, booking agents, legal advisers and promoters and creating tour budgets to ensure profitable runs. Since joining Tri Star in 2015, Guest has advanced from senior accountant to his current position, where he advises clients from breakout artists to major tour headliners.
Adam CaswellDirector of business management, Fineman West
Since joining Fineman West in 2020, Caswell has helped the long-standing accounting firm leverage its expertise in real estate, retail, hospitality, joint ventures, taxes and investments to lure a growing list of entertainment clients. Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Maroon 5’s Sam Farrar, producer J.R. Rotem (Gwen Stefani, Jason Derulo, Rihanna) and singer-songwriters Josh Kelley and Kim Petras are just a few who have turned to Caswell to create diverse income streams. “We’re building custom business management solutions from the ground up,” says Caswell.
Advice to Clients: “Everyone on their team — business manager, manager, attorney, wealth manager and estate attorney — needs to be on the same page to make sure they get the most value out of [a] deal and that their interests are protected.”
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is among the artists whom Adam Caswell advises at Fineman West.
Araya Doheny/GI
Lauren Cooper Mark Kaplan Sharon Sullivan Errol Wander Victor WlodinguerPartners, Citrin CoopermanMaria del Pilar LopezDirector, Citrin Cooperman
In the past year, Citrin Cooperman has grown geographically, with new offices in Chicago and Florida, as well as an expanded presence in Southern California. It also bolstered its expertise with the addition of music valuator Massarsky Consulting, “establishing an in-house music economics and valuation practice within reach for our business managers and their music clients who may be interested in catalog sales,” says Lopez. Citrin Cooperman’s clients include Jack Antonoff, The Strokes, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Pablo Diaz-Reixa (aka El Guincho), Father John Misty and Tenacious D. The return of touring and catalog sales have strengthened clients’ finances. “As business managers,” says Lopez, “we are involved in tracking and overseeing all income streams and costs on behalf of our clients. It is our responsibility to provide them with meaningful financial data and adequate business structures that allow them to make informed financial decisions.”
Jose CruzBusiness manager, Aura Music
For Cruz, who oversees business operations for Puerto Rican artist Ozuna’s label, Aura Music, planning for the future is as important as planning for the next single. The company’s pandemic-era focus on data analysis lets it “react and respond with more agility” to volatile markets and also informs strategic decisions about the emerging worlds of NFTs and catalog sales. “The challenge is to evaluate all the aspects of these offerings and choose the right buyer/partner,” he says. He describes NFTs as “one of the trendiest and newest income-generation streams during the past year. As for any new trend, we highly encourage our customers to take the time to get familiar with their markets of interest and understand the risks and pros and cons of every business decision they want to make.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “A startup garlic-based products manufacturing company in the U.S.”
Lester DalesDirector, Dales Evans
Helping clients “restart their businesses after COVID-19” has been a priority for London-based Dales Evans, which handles the finances of Dua Lipa and Queen, among others. “Many tours that had been postponed have rolled out along with a number of new outings. These tours are facing many new challenges relating to the constriction of the supply chain and cost increases,” he says.
Most Pressing Issue: “The current financial climate — both as it affects the price of touring and other activities with our clients’ businesses — and protecting their assets against political and financial volatility.”
Kella Farris Stephanie Self Catherine MoorePartners, Farris Self & Moore
Although Nashville-based Farris Self & Moore keeps growing, welcoming additional clients and employees over the past 18 months, the company maintains “a boutique feel,” according to Self. “FSM prides ourselves on our ‘future work,’ ” Self says. “Making sure our clients are set for life is a primary goal.” As for the present, she adds, “Client income is back to pre-COVID-19 levels, though expenses have risen significantly. We are seeing a shortage of tour personnel availability — and the world needs more buses.”
Influencing Client Income: “Catalog sales are still happening and are life-changing for writers, although not at the fast pace we saw in 2020 and 2021,” says Self. “We are able to use the favorable tax treatment and time value of money to stabilize an income stream after a catalog sale versus the unstable income flow of [performing rights organizations] and publishing mechanical/digital/streaming income. The [value] gap between owning master [recording] rights and owning the publishing rights is still very significant in favor of the master, and we’d like to see that become more equitable.”
Tina FasbenderFounder/president, Fasbender Financial Management
Business management is more than “handling taxes and paying bills,” says Fasbender. “I think of it more as reality therapy.” Guiding clients through the economic impact of COVID-19 and adjusting to “new normals” have been the most important tasks for her firm. Carefully managing diminished cash flow and finding alternative streams of income were both critical, and catalog sales have proved to be life preservers for many. “Keeping [clients] calm, positive and hopeful, while making sure they understood the need for curbed spending and thoughtful decisions on money and health, was priority one,” she says, emphasizing the necessity of effective rapport-building and communication. “It’s about them having the confidence that you will guide them through the minefield of money and their art,” she says.
Most Unusual Client Investment: “Parking lots and abandoned lots near proposed new venue/stadium sites. ‘Art’ purchases that somehow don’t really seem like what most might define as art. I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and ‘unusual’ is getting weirder and weirder.”
Colin FinkelsteinFounder/CEO, COFINK Business Music Management
COFINK “is a boutique business management company” that provides “a high level of personal service,” says Finkelstein. “The continued growth of music master and publishing sales has made it essential that we have the skill set to be able to provide financial advice on valuations and a general business sense to these events as they present themselves.” Other factors influencing client income? “Artists are back touring, and Web3 presents new opportunities, new channels for music distribution — including the monetization of new social media platforms — and increased synch and branding opportunities post-COVID-19 [lockdowns].”
Most Pressing Issue: “The proliferation of different revenue sources provides added risk to an artist to make sure that all earnings are maximized and all cash is collected. This provides a special challenge to make sure that systems are in place to track and monitor the vast array of revenue opportunities.”
W. Shane GlassPresident, The Colony Group
Because many of its music clients operate through S corporations and limited liability companies, The Colony Group was able to implement techniques that significantly reduced their federal taxes in 2021 and 2022, says Glass. He also helped clients navigate the sales of catalogs and rights to create liquid assets. On what’s most affecting the income of his clients, Glass says “the return of touring is helping bring back steady cash flow to many musicians. The music catalog sales have [also] helped create significant liquidity that changes the way artists budget.”
Lesson From the Pandemic: It is “an unfortunate reminder to clients that they should be paying themselves first by putting aside savings, investing and working toward building a net worth. While my singer, songwriter, recording and touring artists earn significant sums of money, they also have significant lifestyle costs to cover.”
Reggie GoodenCo-founder/managing partner, 360 Business Management
After working for other firms, Gooden and partner Josh Martin opened 360 Business Management in August. Working with creatives such as Grammy Award-winning producer HARV, songwriter Cory Henry and actors Bella Thorne and Frankie Shaw, Gooden says he and Martin “definitely go all the way for our clients, helping them out in concierge ways” that include branding management and brokering, and even providing management support when “shake-ups” left those clients in temporary need. “The landscape can be very tricky for a creative who doesn’t really have a grasp on business and what the music business entails,” says Gooden. “This is more rewarding for me now to help people and advise them and make sure they’re self-empowered.”
Sean GranatPartner, CohnReznick
Granat is proud that CohnReznick has become “an industry leader in the environmental, social and governance [ESG] space, introducing a range of new services to help private companies and investors meet stakeholder needs by implementing comprehensive ESG strategies.” To reinforce these goals, the firm launched its Gamechanger awards this year, with entertainment and hospitality clients among the inaugural event’s winners. “My clients continue to see the business and societal value of ESG-focused investments, which were very profitable over the past few years,” he adds. During the pandemic, CohnReznick also helped clients obtain forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program loans and receive relief through programs such as the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
Most Pressing Issue: “Income streams, notably for touring musicians, dried up considerably during the pandemic, so I’m working with clients to help them make the most judicious decisions about their finances going forward.”
Becky HarrisPresident, Huskins-Harris
For Harris, whose clients include Kane Brown, Chris Young and CeCe Winans, success means adapting to all of the revenue sources available in the rapidly changing music industry. “All of my clients are expanding into other sources of revenue. Podcasts, videogaming, catalog sales [and] NFTs are all things we’ve explored in 2022 for a variety of clients,” Harris says. “Our industry has always been in a state of constant change, but social media and digital platforms have obviously fast-tracked every part of our business, meaning new income streams and ways to monetize them are coming our way at every turn — which, in turn, seems to make every day a new learning experience.”
Proudest Moment: “During an unprecedented — at least since 2008 — economic downturn, all of my clients have not only managed to increase their business and financial portfolios, they also continue to give back, contributing substantially to causes that personally matter so much to them. And I’m proud that my firm plays a role in helping them do so.”
Becky Harris of Huskins-Harris counts Kane Brown among her clients.
Christopher Polk for Variety
Jordan L. JosephsDirector of business management and family office group, SingerLewak
With artists hitting the road to make up for lost time, SingerLewak has been helping clients, who include Grammy-winning producers and TikTok influencers, navigate complicated state and local taxation issues, in addition to working on the “merger of a major publishing company” and the “acquisition of a powerhouse podcast company.” Josephs points to current economic uncertainty — and the reality that most artists can’t tour indefinitely forever — as a reason the firm is steering its clients toward “alternative opportunities to generate evergreen passive income.”
Most Pressing Issue: “Not knowing what the future of a career holds, strategic financial planning and reporting has always been pressing in music and entertainment. Now throw in a turbulent economy heading for recession, volatile markets, high inflation and fear. Our advice on wealth preservation and accumulation is more important than ever. Even tougher is working with younger, newly minted clients walking into this atmosphere and helping them plan.”
Nicholas JuddCo-founder/CEO, leftbrain
Business management firm leftbrain has focused on providing its clients with innovative technology “to improve efficiency and transparency,” which gives it an edge, according to Judd, who’s particularly excited by RYLTY, a recently launched leftbrain subsidiary designed to detect and fix mistakes in royalty reports. “We have found thousands of royalty errors and recovered millions in catalog value on behalf of our clients,” Judd says. “With the growing trend around catalog acquisitions and frequent headlines surrounding stolen [and unclaimed] royalties, we feel [RYLTY] will be a true game-changer not just for our clients, but the industry as a whole.”
Most Pressing Issue: “Finding a safe, effective way to incorporate technology as a way to improve efficiency and transparency is by far the most pressing issue that firms are facing — whether they want to admit it or not.”
Michael Kaplan Managing partner, Miller Kaplan Michael Kane Partner, Miller Kaplan
Kaplan and Kane handle some of the biggest names in music, including Britney Spears and the Michael Jackson estate, and they advise their clients “to stay in it for the long game and don’t sacrifice your catalog because of a short-term problem,” Kane says. That bit of wisdom proved particularly pertinent the last two years. “Many clients were forced to reinvent their business model during the COVID crisis,” says Kaplan. “Predictable revenue streams such as touring, merchandise and meet-and-greets were obviously not available.”
Most Pressing Issue: “We are experiencing a glut of FOMO — fear of missing out — especially related to unorthodox investments and an excessive willingness to absorb risk in the crypto, meme stock and NFT spaces,” says Kaplan. “Recently, it is more important than ever to caution your clients to be frugal and risk-averse when they see unregulated commodities increase 10,000% virtually overnight.”
Matt KlarbergManaging director, Mai Capital
“It’s a great feeling when all your clients listen to your strategic financial planning,” says Klarberg, citing acts such as Kaskade, Tierra Whack, R&B artist Quincy and artist-DJ Alec Monopoly. Klarberg calls touring “the financial centerpiece” for many of his clients and has focused on associated costs from production to insurance, all of which have increased since live music’s return. “It’s important to have a plan in place and make adjustments along the way,” he says, suggesting monthly or weekly financial check-ins. “Navigating the past two years and coming back stronger and smarter than before has really amplified the importance of business managers in sports and entertainment.”
Josh KleinManaging partner, TKG Business Management
As it took on new clients, TKG doubled in size last year, the firm reports, while focusing on catalog organization and royalty collection, among other services. Helping manage budgets for A-list clients like The Chainsmokers, Big Sean, Logic, Normani, Kelly Rowland and others, Klein says the rise of inflation over the last 12 months has meant exercising as much patience as possible, especially when investing in touring, real estate and production. “We’re telling our clients to save your money so you can take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves as the markets correct,” he says.
Most Unusual Client Investment: “I think if you ask anyone about NFTs, most will question a client’s spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a jpeg. While it’s definitely unusual, I think NFTs are the future and we need to get educated on blockchain and how they will be part of everyday commerce and society.”
Kristin LeeFounder/managing director, KLBM
The artists, athletes and actors that Lee advises have weathered the upheaval of the past three years by following Lee’s biggest piece of advice: “Plan for the worst and hope for the best.” That mantra has prepared them financially to occasionally focus on interesting investments, she says. “We’re playing through a period of massive disruption that presents us both chaos and opportunity,” Lee says. “We’ve built new business models and refined old ones to ensure our clients can be focused on one thing — making great art.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “I did recently have a client feel they were becoming too recognizable in their yellow sports car — so they had it painted bright purple. They said it was an investment in their security.”
David LevinManaging director, DL Business Management, a division of Adeptus Partners
Levin merged his firm with Adeptus Partners in 2019 but maintained an intimate business model. “The boutique nature of our practice has allowed us to focus on all the details,” he says, citing John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Hailey Bieber and Imagine Dragons among his clients. Imagine Dragons embarking on its Mercury world tour and Legend opening a Las Vegas residency highlighted “a major boom to recapture that important revenue stream” from live performances, Levin says. The key, he says, is to “save not only for the proverbial rainy day but if or when the music stops.”
John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen are longtime clients of David Levin of DL Business Management, a division of Adeptus Partners.
Denise Truscello/GI
Matt LichtenbergPartner, Level Four Business Management
“Navigating and implementing the post-COVID changes in tax legislation have been an incredible hurdle and challenge for us and, I’d imagine, all business managers,” Lichtenberg says. “The amount of time and resources we’ve had to commit to implement this has been truly unprecedented.” Lichtenberg and his colleagues have also worked with NFTs, although “the jury is still out on how viable they are.”
Most Pressing Issue: “With rapidly rising interest rates and inflation out of control, the financial markets are at best erratic. Our job as gatekeepers is to help our clients navigate and guide them through these uncertain times.”
Mike MerrimanPartner/president, Parr3Bryan GottDirector of business management, Parr3
Parr3 works to ensure its entertainment clientele — which includes Louis Bell, Clairo, LVRN Records, 6LACK, Alison Wonderland and Kehlani — remains financially secure in both the short and long term. “Our advice to clients now is effectively the same as it has always been,” says Gott, who was promoted to director of business management at the firm earlier this year. “First build a foundation for the short term, then turn your sights on the future. Set money aside now to ‘pay’ your 60-year-old self enough to cover the lifestyle you want them to live. Do it while your income supports it and lock that wealth away in a ‘vault’ where it’s held for the long term in diverse and modest investments.” That has been possible as many clients have “scored big wins in other high-risk areas like early-stage investing and the blockchain,” says Gott, and continue to benefit from royalty revenue and the return of the touring industry.
Most Pressing Issue: “We’re aggressively pushing for more transparency and accuracy in the way royalties are accounted to artists, producers and songwriters,” says Merriman. “The technology is ready, but the current standards come from an ancient era, and labels and publishers aren’t allocating resources to do this better. In the meantime, we go ‘royalty hunting’ every quarter and keep finding more money for our clients.”
Enrique NarcisoPresident, ERN Advisors
“The sale of their catalogs has become one of the most important decisions a top artist must make,” says Narciso, who works with Shakira, Maluma and Latin music leader WK Entertainment and WK Records. Over the past 18 months, he has advised clients on the multimillion-dollar transactions, providing them with “not only the right valuation analysis but also an investment strategy that will provide the same or better cash flow returns into the future.” In addition, some artists are becoming more involved in entrepreneurial activities. This shift toward business development, he says, requires skill sets more in tune with investment banking.
Glenn NordlingerBusiness manager, The Nordlinger Group
As business manager for the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Marc Rebillet, The Revivalists and Grace Potter, Nordlinger has gotten to know the music business from different genre perspectives. As live performances resume, he says, “We have an extremely crowded field of artists on tour resulting in short supplies of everything: crew, buses, trucks, drivers, audio, video, lighting, staging, backline gear, et cetera. This has driven up tour costs significantly. Add to that increased fuel prices, inflation and fewer ticket sales due to the competitive landscape. Never has the role of business management been more important in budgeting and monitoring tour costs than this fall.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “One artist made an investment in a small mom-and-pop popcorn company that may get gobbled up by a Fortune 500 company. Multiple puns intended.”
Kerry O’Neil Alvin Hagaman Jr. Legina Chaudoin Cheryl Harris Lillian WilliamsPartners, O’Neil Hagaman
As clients of Nashville-based O’Neil Hagaman return to the road, the pandemic is still affecting touring. Shortages prevail, requiring “a significant amount of additional planning and coordination to successfully hire and deploy the vendors and personnel necessary for great live performance,” says O’Neil, and ongoing supply chain challenges, market saturation and inflation “require the artist advisory team to work closer than ever before to achieve the artist’s goals.” On a positive note, O’Neil says that despite rising interest rates, “the appetite for acquiring intellectual properties from an array of investors has not slowed down.”
Most Pressing Issue: “Given rising costs on a multitude of fronts, the most pressing concern for our touring artists is the ability of the fans to afford going to concerts. Our artists have always been sensitive to this issue — increasing costs have made this goal much more challenging.”
Tony PeyrotManaging partner, Dunn Pariser & PeyrotMark PariserPartner, Dunn Pariser & Peyrot
During a period of consolidation in the business management field, Dunn Pariser & Peyrot has steadfastly remained independent. “During the pandemic … we’ve been able to grow by maintaining a focus on servicing our clients and also helping them grow,” said Peyrot, noting the firm’s 25% growth in staffing over the past 18 months. DP&P has suggested that clients consider moving out of environmentally unpredictable, high-tax California into more tax-friendly music cities such as Nashville or Miami, while also encouraging them to be cautious about investing in emerging markets such as NFTs. “We can’t just say ‘no.’ We have to go down the rabbit hole a bit and tap into their excitement about it and be active listeners,” he says.
Most Pressing Issue: “Having a very good staff that’s educated and proactive,” says Peyrot. “One of the biggest things facing all business managers is that there is still high demand for qualified individuals and a relatively short supply.”
Robert PolayFounding partner, Polay + Swann
During the past two years, Polay + Swann has continued “to tighten up our cloud-based ecosystem in order to increase accuracy, efficiency and to create an environment for our remote force to prosper,” says Polay, whose Atlanta-based firm works with clients such as Killer Mike, Manchester Orchestra, Keith Sweat, Blxst and others. “The suspension of touring with the subsequent inflation of touring costs associated with the return of touring has brought wisdom and maturity to our client’s financial activities,” says Polay, who adds that the artists he works with “have become wiser with respect to their finances post-pandemic.”
Most Pressing Issue: “Staff development and retention of talent that truly cares about their clients’ financial well-being.”
Robert Polay of Polay + Swann counts Blxst among his clients.
Tim Mosenfelder/GI
Michelle RichburgPresident/CEO, Richburg Enterprises
Richburg is among the co-authors of the motivational book Still I Thrive!: 24 Lessons on How to Pivot & Evolve During an Unexpected Crisis, published in August 2021. Her chapter focuses on the importance of financial freedom, and she has gained recognition in media outlets ranging from Harvard Business Review to Black Enterprise. Among Richburg’s clients are the Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund, and she is a faculty member at the WMG Global DEI Institute, which the company describes as “a hub of innovation, learning and action, driving impactful change at WMG and beyond.” Her clients also include Mary J. Blige’s new festival, Strength of a Woman; RCA president Mark Pitts; A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie; and several other artists, labels, influencers and social justice organizations.
Murray Richman Nathan RichmanPartners, Richman Business Management
As the prospect of big paydays from NFTs, cryptocurrency and catalog sales increasingly entice clients, Richman Business Management ensures they also consider the vitally important “budgeting, tax planning and long-term wealth management” ramifications, says Nathan Richman, who has worked alongside his father, Murray, for more than a decade. Amid rising inflation and a saturated live-music sector, RBM implemented a more interactive tour budgeting and reporting application to help clients check profitability in real time. The company also doubled down on proper registration and collection protocols for income tracking, as artists move toward increasingly diversified content ownership.
Most Pressing Issue: “Inflation and rising costs and a slowing economy is a very real force,” says Nathan Richman. “Live-music ticket sales are slowing, and as the market continues to get flooded with artists looking to tour after the pandemic, it’s going to be a major headwind that we all face.”
Phil SarnaFounder/senior managing director, PS Business ManagementAmy HertzSenior manager, PS Business ManagementJuan CumbeManager, PS Business Management
The business opportunities for music and other creative artists have grown more complex and far-reaching since Sarna founded PS Business Management in 2002. Now with offices in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Nashville, the firm has shepherded clients through the pandemic and, in many cases, helped them reprioritize their financial goals. “The value our clients bring to the world outside of music and film/TV has grown exponentially over the past five to 10 years,” Sarna says.
Most Pressing Issue: “Everything is just more complex than it has ever been,” says Sarna. “Deals are more far-reaching. [What clients create] is valued more than ever before.”
John ShaheenPartner, Business Wealth & Tax Management
Shaheen’s firm has been focused on “a variety of activities resulting in cash inflow for clients,” including tax credit opportunities and pandemic-related assistance, from the Paycheck Protection Program to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. “I’m very proud of our internal group of professionals who vary in age, ethnicity, background and experience; we are proud of our collective diversity and synergy,” says Shaheen, whose firm works with Burna Boy, Kenny Beats, Rico Nasty, Breland and Matt Maeson, among others. “I’m also the co-director of a 501c3 organization that connects music industry professionals with sponsoring a one-of-a-kind field trip for students in underserved school districts within greater Los Angeles.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “An ayahuasca retreat center.”
Alex SmithPartner-in-charge of business management, Mann Gelon Glodney Gumerove YeeJustin SrokaPartner, Mann Gelon Glodney Gumerove Yee
“We’ve had the opportunity to oversee a couple of significant legacy catalog sales,” says Smith, and although client confidentiality prevents him from identifying the parties involved, he says the deals allowed “those clients to diversify their balance sheets and save substantial taxes in securing capital gains treatment on those assets.” The firm’s most pressing concern? “Navigating frequent changes to federal and local tax law in a way that maximizes our clients’ net earnings,” says Smith. “We are also very focused on cybersecurity due to increased targeting of high-profile and high-net-worth individuals.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “One recently purchased an over 60 million-year-old Triceratops skull,” Smith says.
Charles SussmanPresident, Sussman & Associates
“With an increase in demand for catalog acquisitions over the past few years, our firm specializes in evaluations and due diligence to negotiate the best offer for our clients,” says Sussman. The firm’s client roster includes Miley Cyrus, Bon Jovi, Bette Midler, Will Jennings, Megadeth, Steve Winwood and the estate of Olivia Newton-John. “One of the biggest [industry] developments is escalation in the mechanical and streaming rates, which will impact the long-term value of catalogs,” Sussman says. “The catalog acquisition multiples have also increased substantially,” he adds, listing inflation and its impact on touring costs as another pressing issue affecting artists.
The estate of Olivia Newton-John is advised by Charles Sussman, president of Sussman & Associates.
Keystone/GI
José Juan TorresOwner/managing member, Torres
“The last two-and-a-half years, we have seen how inequality in all social and economic spheres has dramatically impacted the behavior of human beings,” says Torres, who advises Bad Bunny, Residente, Visitante, iLe, Rafa Pabon, Lunay, Villano Antillano and La Buena Fortuna, among others. “One of the blessings of our clients is that they have great platforms to raise their voices. So we have provided special attention to planning their philanthropy and their non-for-profit entities. We think this helps to highlight their social commitment and how they strongly contribute not only to the world of the arts but in everything that surrounds and affects them.”
Most Pressing Issue: “Keeping track of all content monetization. Today, there are too many revenue streams/channels and being able to maintain visibility across all of them is extremely challenging. It requires a lot of effort, time and technology.”
Sally VelazquezPresident/business manager, Empower Business Management
At Empower, which includes 21 Savage, iann dior, jxdn and Tinashe on its client roster, Velazquez is focused on helping her clients pivot and wisely navigate investments in opportunities including NFTs and “receiving ownership in brands they believe in,” she says. Her key concern now? “Looking for the right place to safeguard our clients’ funds. With inflation increasing, the stock market turbulence and interest rates and real estate skyrocketing, we now are seeking alternative areas, such as private equity, to invest.”
Most Unusual Client Investment: “One of my clients [talked] with me about buying property on the moon, and I almost had a heart attack before I realized the joke.”
Rit VenerusSenior managing director, Cal Financial Group
Venerus has a front-row seat to the current challenges facing touring artists as the adviser to clients including the Dave Matthews Band, Dead & Company, John Mayer, The Lumineers, Bon Iver and Jack White. “While touring has resumed, it has continued to be very challenging with inflation, shortages of touring resources and still dealing with COVID cancellations,” he says. “It has been a very busy year for us guiding our clients through this environment so they can continue to make informed decisions.”
Most Pressing Issue: “There is a great reset going on in markets as the investment world reacts to inflation after years of the government printing too much money. It’s going to take a minute for things to shake out, and our job is to help guide our clients through and not overreact.”
Kris WiatrPresident, Wiatr & Associates
Rising costs, especially surrounding touring, “is the biggest concern to my clients at this point,” says Wiatr, whose roster includes Chris Stapleton, Mick Fleetwood and Parker McCollum. “Bus costs, trucking costs … have risen significantly since before COVID. Sound and video equipment has risen as well. Add the rising fuel costs and it is significantly more expensive to tour in 2022 than it has ever been.” Because of this, Wiatr says, “budgeting is extremely important.” Wiatr & Associates “raised over $10 million of COVID [relief] funding for our clients,” he adds.
Most Pressing Issue: “Finding caring and knowledgeable staffing. We have amazing, caring and compassionate employees that truly care for the artists they work with — and are looking for more.”
Dwight WilesPartner/president, Wiles + TaylorRobert TaylorPartner/vp, Wiles + TaylorKevin Dalton Steve EggartBusiness manager, Wiles + Taylor
In August, the Academy of Country Music presented Dwight Wiles with the ACM Lifting Lives Award for his service to the organization’s philanthropic division. “Wiles’ financial leadership enabled ACM Lifting Lives to give generously to the country music community through the years,” the ACM stated in its announcement of the honor. The Nashville firm has guided its clients through the current challenges of tour budgeting amid a scarcity of buses, trucks, production equipment and road crews, seeking to increase revenue beyond ticket sales with merchandise, VIP packages, livestreams and more.
Giving Back: Wiles + Taylor reports a new focus by its clients on charitable initiatives, from donor-advised funds to local disaster relief, driven by the awareness in the pandemic of how quickly financial circumstances can change.
Colin YoungFounder, C.C. Young
“Touring has returned with vengeance,” says Young. “We anticipated its return and built the touring department, which now extends to 25 staff.” For multinational tours, minimizing tax liabilities is key. That requires planning “early in the tour cycle and technical excellence in the understanding of the double tax treaties around the world,” says Young, whose London-based firm provides financial services for an international roster of over 300 clients. In November 2020, Young gave evidence at a U.K. Parliament inquiry into the economics of music streaming where he argued for a more equitable royalty split between artists and labels. For his clients now, “we undertake the most sophisticated streaming audits, applying a skeptical analysis of units and royalty rates,” he says. “The emphasis is on mechanical and public performance. How does Harry Fox/MLC mechanicals compare to ASCAP/BMI performance? We show our clients the money.”
Bill ZysblatCo-founder/managing partner, RZOTom Cyrana John Gula Lila SweetPartners/managing directors, RZO
With concert tours managing ongoing health risks and artists eager to perform live once more, “everything is amazingly good — from a fan perspective,” says RZO co-founder/managing partner Zysblat. But for artists? “It’s COVID, COVID, COVID,” he says.
Zysblat brings nearly five decades of perspective to discussions of touring. He and his late business partner Joe Rascoff began advising The Rolling Stones in 1975, and they formed RZO in 1988. The firm stands out among its peers in the business management field not only for its focus solely on artists, but also the stature of those names it works with.
RZO still counts the Stones among its clients (although AEG manages the finances of the band’s tours) and also advises Lady Gaga, U2, Steely Dan, David Byrne, Luis Miguel, Shania Twain, Sting, Yoko Ono and the estates of John Lennon and David Bowie, among others. RZO’s partners, each with a specific area of expertise, include Cyrana (royalty compliance), Gula (taxes) and Sweet (business management).
“You can’t insure a show for COVID-19 — which to the average fan means nothing,” says Zysblat. But for an artist, the loss of one or more shows can turn the net result of an entire tour “into a loss from a profit.” Compared with other illnesses, he says, “COVID-19 is causing widespread cancellations over longer periods of time.”
Dave J Hogan/GI
Finances aside, Zysblat says the threat of the coronavirus has significantly changed the nature of touring for artists. “You tour in a bubble,” he says. “People don’t want to give their bandmates or their crew COVID-19. So they’re not having the VIP rooms; they’re not having their friends backstage. They’re not going out to dinner in towns they used to love to wander in.
“Every tour is one sneeze away from a cancellation,” he says. “So it has been crazy.”
This past year, RZO has also focused on another area that has increasingly demanded the attention of business managers: non-fungible tokens, which Zysblat describes more simply as limited-edition artwork.
RZO advised the Bowie estate on the September launch of “Bowie on the Blockchain,” a sale of NFTs created by multiple major artists and benefiting CARE, the humanitarian nonprofit for which Bowie’s widow, Iman, serves as global advocate. The venture is consistent with Bowie’s own pioneering enthusiasm for online art during his lifetime.
“David was setting up online galleries for young artists who couldn’t afford to back when web space was expensive,” says Zysblat. Now amid the rise of NFTs, he adds, “of course, David would have supported young artists.”
Contributors: Cathy Applefeld Olson, Megan Armstrong, Nefertiti Austin, Steve Baltin, Dean Budnick, Anna Chan, Jonathan Cohen, Mariel Concepcion, Stephen Daw, Liz Dilts Marshall, Thom Duffy, Chris Eggertsen, Gary Graff, Clayton Gutzmore, Raquelle Harris, Lyndsey Havens, Gil Kaufman, Steve Knopper, Carl Lamarre, Cydney Lee, Elias Leight, Joe Lynch, Geoff Mayfield, Taylor Mims, Gail Mitchell, Melinda Newman, Jessica Nicholson, Ronda Racha Penrice, Glenn Peoples, Kristin Robinson, Crystal Shepeard, Richard Smirke, Jewel Wicker, Deborah Wilker
Methodology: Billboard power lists are chosen by Billboard editors. Nominations for each power list open not less than 120 days in advance of publication. (For a contact for our editorial calendar listing publication dates, please email thom.duffy@billboard.com.) The online nomination link is sent to press representatives and/or honorees of companies previously featured on any Billboard power list, as well as those who send a request before the nomination period to thom.duffy@billboard.com. Nominations close and lists are locked not less than 90 days before publication. Billboard’s Top Business Managers for 2022 were chosen by editors based on factors including, but not limited to, nominations by peers, colleagues and superiors. In addition to nominations, editors weigh the success of each executive’s affiliated artists as measured by chart, sales and streaming performance.
This story originally appeared in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.
As part of our annual Indie Now package, we asked notable figures in the independent scene to offer advice on how to succeed in the industry. Below, Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin talks to Billboard‘s Jason Lipshutz.
I think the label “DIY” is a little misleading — like you’re out on this island, fighting your way toward some sort of success or fame. To me, it’s really about doing it with all the people around you. The DIY community is what sends artists into the next levels of their careers, so it’s about surrounding yourself with people whom you believe in, who believe in you and want to support you. For me, that was mostly going to shows, meeting people who liked music that I liked [and] being open to new situations.
When you place yourself in a community, you learn about your own skill set and what other people are really good at — you realize you’re not an A-plus graphic designer but know how to record a band. Being able to produce and write with people comes naturally to me, and I like being around musicians, so it becomes this endless feedback loop of, “How can we help each other?”
Recording is more accessible than ever [right now] — if you have a laptop, or even an iPhone, you can do so much. It’s so easy to jump in with a limited set of tools, and the best way to get comfortable in that setting is to just do it over and over again: Practice, sit in your room with a guitar, record yourself, and listen back. Some of the music that I’m most blown away by is from high school kids with Ableton on their laptops, making crazy stuff. Or someone who went to a Goodwill, got a tape recorder and started there.
There’s a lot of talk on the internet now about the sustainability of the music industry — it’s hard to tour, and it’s often not fiscally rewarding while also taking a lot of time and energy. With live music feeling a little tenuous, I think DIY could come back stronger than ever because nothing beats a basement show. And that’s what will come back if middle-tier artists can’t afford to put on shows at a 500-capacity venue with sound and lights. We’ll get to go back to the basics of finding a warehouse and a community and feeding the scene.
This story will appear in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.
As part of our annual Indie Now package, we asked notable figures in the independent scene to offer advice on how to succeed in the industry. Below, electronic producer/digital artist Pat Lok talks to Billboard’s Katie Bain.
I was lucky enough to write an NFT clause into an indie single deal of mine back in February 2021, via the Australian label Club Sweat [a subsidiary of Sydney-based record label Sweat It Out]. Verbatim, the contract said, “Licensers shall retain exclusive rights to create and exploit NFTs in connection with license masters.” I actually did exploit that for my Alaska drop, a collaboration with Party Pupils, on [NFT marketplace] Catalog in October 2021.
[These clauses] allow you to be versatile in a way that’s reminiscent of the SoundCloud and Hype Machine era, where the energy was, “Who knows what we’re going to do today?” You can talk to your audience and get them excited about something you’re dropping tomorrow. That’s something labels traditionally shy away from. Often, it’s hard to get even a same-day response from a label because they’re so busy.
The thing to keep in mind is that a lot of NFT collectors are already following artists they like or have found [out about] through the Web3 space, so the marketing of NFTs is really driven by artists doing the legwork. My perspective is to consider the value-add [of a label]. There are a few different scenarios of how they may be involved with an NFT project, but a lot of labels are not even really thinking about it yet because even the majority of artists don’t yet know how to do this. It’s cool if you’re able to say, “We agreed upon 10% for the gross of my share.” That seems super fair, as it’s similar to an agent contract. Meanwhile, the manager/artist split on this stuff is also all over the board, and that should be as important [as a conversation with a label] because the manager is going to be talking to the label side.
These clauses are niche, but very important, and I think the standard is being built deal by deal right now. It’s important we have conversations about NFT clauses so that artists, especially new artists, don’t just give up their NFT projects before knowing what they’re worth. It’s just like with your masters.
This story will appear in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.
Betting big runs in Evan Bogart’s family. His father, the late Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, was known in the 1970s for being as extravagant as the acts he worked with, including Donna Summer, The Isley Brothers, Bill Withers and Curtis Mayfield — to name a few. And his penchant for gambling both in the casino and with his label made him one of the disco era’s most successful and outsize businessmen.
The relation between father and son is obvious: Evan has his dad’s face, entrepreneurialism and golden ear. And most recently, the 44-year-old has made a gamble of his own: launching an independent music empire of catalogs and front-line publishing and label acts, Seeker Music.
Certainly, in the last few years, there has been a flurry of high-priced song-catalog acquisitions by music companies and financial institutions. Though Seeker never formally announced its dealings, it has been quietly keeping pace since its founding in 2020, winning big-ticket bids for certain rights in the master and publishing catalogs of Run the Jewels, Ginuwine and Christopher Cross, among others.
As Bogart walks through the beginnings of Seeker’s forthcoming creative campus, consisting of only exposed beams and freshly laid drywall, his excitement is palpable. “I think there’s a wide-open void right now,” he says. “I watched Big Deal, SONGS and Downtown come off the market, and I think there needs to be another great independent. We can do that.”
Bogart’s career in music began when he was in the eighth grade, promoting shows for childhood friends like Adam Levine at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. It was the start of an impressive run in the business, including a stint in the A&R department at Interscope Records when Jimmy Iovine was at the helm, a job at talent agency APA routing West Coast club tours and, in his free time, trying his hand at pop songwriting for a girl group he was putting together. Though the group never panned out, the second song he ever wrote — initially intended for the act — did. It became the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “S.O.S.,” a surprise hit for then-newcomer Rihanna in 2006. As Levine puts it, “It’s like he woke up one day and decided to write a smash for Rihanna. People don’t just do that.”
The success of “S.O.S.” was pivotal for Bogart’s creative career — but perhaps more importantly separated his identity from that of his father. “It was the moment when I realized I’m telling my own story now,” he says. Today, his experiences as a songwriter inform his current perspective as CEO. “My rule of thumb is only buy or sign projects I wish I wrote,” he says. “If that’s true, I’m going to treat them like they’re my own songs.”
He applies that same level of care to his management joint venture with Live Nation’s Vector and Boardwalk Music Group (a name he took over from his dad), which has signed acts like songwriter Ricky Reed’s artist project to JV deals with majors. Now a longtime friend of Bogart’s, Reed — who has most notably developed and written with Lizzo — says Bogart was “one of the first executives to believe in me and maybe more importantly, to challenge me.”
Bogart adds that being a recovered addict, after getting clean in his early 20s, has also greatly informed his outlook on the business: He now sponsors artists and others in the industry who are struggling. When Bogart first started attending Alcoholics Anonymous, he recalls being given “commitments” for meetings, like sweeping cigarette butts outside the building or setting up folding chairs. He says this kind of selfless, often unglamorous work was instilled in him at a young age. “ ‘Be of service to others’ was like a motto for AA,” he says. He guides Seeker with the same intent: “How can I be of service to a songwriter I sign or a catalog I acquire?”
Bogart holds the creative control of the catalogs and front-line talent he signs, while Downtown handles administration and M&G, a London-based private equity firm, foots the bill. He became acquainted with M&G in 2019 when former BBC executive and a consultant for the firm, John Smith, asked him to grab coffee. Smith, along with Rich Christina (svp, A&R and venture partners, Warner Chappell Music) and Ruby Marchand (chief awards and industry officer, Recording Academy), were all tapped as consultants for M&G to see if there was an opening for the firm to get into the already crowded music business. After Smith, who is now Seeker Music’s chairman, and Bogart got to know each other, the former wrote a report to M&G executives, explaining that there was in fact space for the financial firm to enter the music business — but only if they were to hire a person with the care and creativity of Bogart.
The Seeker approach more resembles the strategy of a creatively driven music publishing company like Primary Wave than a financial firm looking for a hands-off, long-term investment. “We only buy catalogs we think that, under this ownership, we can do interesting things with,” says Smith. This is part of the reason, Smith adds, that Seeker Music’s strategy is to not bid on the tip-top percentage of catalogs. “I do think there’s a danger that you can pay too much with those,” he says. “Right below that level is where we’re interested.” (The company initially focused on catalogs that sold for less than $5 million but has since moved toward much bigger deals.)
Currently, Seeker’s business is 95% catalog and 5% frontline, a ratio that Bogart says will even out more in the next few years. COVID-19 hampered his original aim for parallel advancement with new talent and catalog deals because he says he “invests with heart before money,” which was hard to do when he was forced to meet with talent over Zoom.
But now, standing in Seeker’s soon-to-be office and studio space, Bogart rattles off some of his dreams for a long future — from hosting summer Friday showcases at the campus to enacting an “open door policy” for any creative in need of a place to work for the day. He knows this is an opportunity to create a musical empire in his own image. His pedigree alone suggests he was predestined for this, and yet it’s the biggest bet Bogart has made so far. He swears that, in good time, it will pay off: “We’re built to play the long game.”
A version of this story will appear in the Nov. 5, 2022, issue of Billboard.