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Singer-songwriter Josiah Queen recently accomplished a relatively rare feat in the CCM space when his first album, The Prodigal, debuted atop Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart for the week dated June 8: the 21-year-old Florida native reached the chart’s pinnacle without the help of a record label with his self-released album.
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Additionally, the album’s title track is in the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart and has earned more than 45.7 million on-demand official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. Queen also has three additional songs on the Hot Christian Songs chart. Meanwhile, Queen has seen his Spotify followers mushroom over the past year or so to over 2 million monthly followers, thanks to his acoustic-based, folk-tinged sound — which also stands out on CCM radio among sleeker, pop-oriented fare.
“I think since [the] COVID [pandemic], people have been drawn to a raw-sounding, folk sound. People just love to feel something,” Queen tells Billboard via Zoom.
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Like many Gen Z singer-songwriters in the pop, hip-hop and country spaces, Queen began releasing his music and initially built his following through social media, but he also spent years performing at worship conferences around the country.
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Queen released his first batch of songs on TikTok and Instagram at age 16, starting with “God of Miracles” in 2020, and has followed with a steady stream of new music ever since — including 2022’s “Use Me” and “Grave Clothes,” and his breakthrough 2023 songs “I Am Barabbas” and “Fishes and Loaves,” which musically recounts the Biblical story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with fish and bread.
A year ago, a TikTok clip for “I Am Barabbas” went viral, earning nearly two million views. It was around that time Queen began working with co-managers Matt Reed (Hyphen Media Group) and Devin Poindexter (Mad Jack Management). The song also marked Queen’s first entry on Hot Christian Songs in April, peaking at No. 38.
“He would tease songs before they would release, sometimes up to four or five weeks before and kind of test the songs to see which ones would get traction,” Reed tells Billboard.
When Queen released “The Prodigal” this year, he instinctively knew the power of continuing to place the song in front of audiences on social media, further building listeners’ familiarity and engagement with the song.
“’The Prodigal’ had nearly 40,000 uses on Instagram by the end of the year, when Josiah had the idea to do a year-end video recap that utilized the song, and it earned another 15,000 uses,” Reed says. “I think [it’s about] just finding new ways to talk about a song and giving people the opportunity to insert themselves into what the song represents.”
According to Luminate data, the Christian/Gospel genre is the fourth-fastest growing music genre in the U.S. in 2024 in overall consumption (following pop, Latin and country), having grown 8.9% in overall consumption so far this year. Luminate research shows that a developing younger audience is one driver of this growth, with research showing that the share of listeners that are millennial and younger has grown from 39% of overall genre listenership in 2022, to 45% in 2024.
“I think God has used these songs to reach my age demographic,” Queen says. “That’s the biggest dream come true, because there are so many people that are my age that are underserved with Christian music. Seeing the people at the live shows and the fan base that was sharing the music with friends through word of mouth — not even just through social media — it wasn’t a planned thing.”
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Recent Luminate data also highlights the word-of-mouth growth in Gen Z (those born between mid-1990s and early 2010s), with Gen Z audiences being 20% more likely to cite friends and family as a music discovery source than the average consumer of Christian/Gospel music.
Reed says approximately 72% of Queen’s fan demographic is within the 13-24 year-olds demographic, below CCM radio’s typical core demographic of 24-54 year olds listeners.
“When you look at CCM music, it typically is ages 30 or 40 and up,” Reed says. “Josiah’s music is on the front line of all these other Gen Z artists making music for their peers. It’s not that CCM hasn’t had young artists, but typically they’ve made music for radio specifically. But I think [for] Josiah’s music and who it’s connecting with, he is on the front lines of creating music for his generation.”
Queen says he initially wrote songs that he hoped would appeal to labels and radio before he realized the need to shift toward music that simply felt personal. “I think so many people write music because they think getting a record deal is what you need to do to make it,” Queen says. “I was doing that for a while, but I realized it wasn’t working — so I just started making music I genuinely believed in.”
His acoustic-based, Americana-leaning sound first gained early support on Spotify’s folk-oriented playlists. Now, his music is found not only on playlists such as Spotify’s Top Christian Contemporary and Christian Road Trip playlists, but remains on the acoustic-oriented Homegrown and Indie Spirit playlists. He’s also been featured on Amazon’s Folk for Summer and Divine Summer playlists.
Once Queen began releasing music, he says Amazon Music’s Lauren Stellato and Apple Music’s Steve Blair reached out to him directly, based on his growth on the platforms and on social media. This year, Queen was the only Christian artist who was part of Amazon’s Artists to Watch program. “It does feel like we’re in that space where the music is going beyond the typical CCM/Christian market, and DSPs have been really helpful in getting us exposure in other avenues,” Reed says.
A team of independent radio promoters signed on to work Queen’s music to radio, including Grant Hubbard, formerly a vp at Capitol Christian Music Group for many years, as well as Jen Mouttet, Rick Steimling and Hyphen Media Group’s Tamara Moore. But even prior to bringing the team on board, Queen says CCM radio giant K-LOVE already had reached out to him directly, saying that they would be adding his song into rotation—a tide change that led him to reconsider his stance on signing with a label.
“Even from my earliest interviews, the question was always ‘Why aren’t you with a label?’ It’s so strong in the industry, the ties to radio and the labels, so taking these songs to radio comes with its challenges,” Queen says. “Around December [2023], we were like, ‘Should we sign?’ and we decided not to at the time. Then, I got a direct message from the people at K-LOVE, and they said they were going to add my song. That was in January, and it changed my whole trajectory.”
Reed notes that though Queen hasn’t yet signed with a label, they are in discussions with multiple labels.
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Queen, who is repped by Jeff Roberts Agency for booking, wrapped his headlining The Prodigal Tour earlier this year. Starting in July, he will open shows for another rising young CCM hitmaker, 29-year-old “Good Day” singer Forrest Frank, alongside plans for Queen to launch another headlining tour in the fall.
“We didn’t know what to expect on the spring tour when we put it on sale, so the capacities and venues were a little scattered,” Poindexter says. “We had some 250-300 [capacity shows] that we had to add shows for, and then we did three or four shows that were over 1,000 capacity. We did about 23 shows total and every single one sold out.”
Meanwhile, Queen and his team aim to keep expanding upon the success of The Prodigal with his folk-tinged sound.
“The name of the game is building onto each song. One song has its moment and, hopefully, people love it, then you build onto that with the next song.”
David Furnish felt a rush of endorphins wash over him. It was a warm June evening in 2023, and the surging crowd of over 120,000 had gathered to witness the first-ever Glastonbury Festival set — and, at least for the time being, the last public concert in the United Kingdom — by Elton John. That crush of concertgoers was screaming for Furnish’s star client — who also happens to be his husband.
“Even the concession stands in the back closed down so that they could watch the show,” Furnish recalls, still flabbergasted nearly a year later. “The crowd just filled in around the stands and along the entire north barrier. It was a sea of joy.”
The performance would break records for the annual festival: Along with that in-person crowd, John’s performance garnered 7.3 million overnight viewers on BBC One, making it the most-watched Glastonbury set in history. And if not for Furnish, it never would have happened.
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“Elton and I have been talking about it for years. He would say, ‘I just don’t know if I’m right for Glastonbury,’ ” Furnish tells Billboard over Zoom today as John chuckles next to him at their home in Windsor, just outside of London. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? You’ll go down really, really well.’ And sure enough, it was overwhelmingly wonderful on every level.”
While Furnish, 61, has been a part of John’s life for just over three decades — the couple began dating in 1993, entered a civil partnership in 2005 and officially tied the knot in 2014 — he has spent the last nine years working as the icon’s manager, bringing his years of experience in advertising to preserving John’s legacy, reestablishing him as a legendary singer and revitalizing his brand. That meant taking an aggressive approach to telling John’s life story through a tell-all memoir (Me) and blockbuster feature film (2019’s Rocketman), introducing his music to a younger audience through strategic partnerships and closing out his touring career with a record-setting farewell outing that was the highest-grossing trek by any artist prior to Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.
“I cannot think of anybody in the world who would have done a better job than David has over the last nine years,” John says. “This man has done the most incredible job with my career, and what’s more, he has helped me enjoy it even more than I thought I could.”
Jack Alexander
Born and raised in Toronto, Furnish didn’t imagine a future where he would be working behind the scenes for an entertainment legend. After graduating from high school, Furnish says he originally dreamed of becoming “a musical theater-type actor.” But on his family’s advice, he instead pursued a business degree at the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated in 1985. Recruited out of college by storied advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, Furnish thrived, becoming the youngest director at the company by the time he was 30.
“At the end of the day, I’m more of a creative than a businessman. That’s just the dominant side of my brain,” he explains. “I chose advertising because it was the most creative business I felt I could get into.”
But after meeting John in 1993 at a dinner party hosted by a mutual friend (they began dating shortly thereafter), Furnish found himself in need of something a bit more flexible. Leaving advertising behind, he pursued a career in film, producing multiple movies, including 1999’s Women Talking Dirty and 2006’s It’s a Boy Girl Thing, through John’s own cinematic imprint, Rocket Pictures — where he also made his directorial debut with the singer’s 1997 tell-all documentary, Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras.
During that time, Furnish noticed that his husband’s career needed further direction. “I was trained to understand how you start at the beginning of a journey and then figure out what steps to take with the audience to get them from point A to point B,” Furnish explains. “I also knew the most important thing for Elton was keeping his songs alive and relevant for the next generation. So the rest came rather naturally.”
Taking over as the star’s manager in 2015, Furnish devised a business plan to reinvigorate John’s career — an approach the singer points to as a marked improvement from his past management. “Before David started managing me, our relationship with the record company [Universal Music Group] was just my former manager saying, ‘Let’s go in there and ask them for more money.’ And that is a terrible attitude to have,” John says with a laugh. “Now I have the best relationship with my record company because [David] came in with a plan to get us in better shape.”
Elton John and David Furnish with party attendees (clockwise, from left) Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Lucien Laviscount, Andrew Watt, Charlotte Lawrence and Brandi Carlile at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s annual Academy Awards Viewing Party in March.
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After sharing his plan with John, Furnish says he immediately sent the strategy to UMG CEO Lucian Grainge, aiming to show the label that “things were going to be different.” That open line of communication led to a groundbreaking deal between Rocket Entertainment and UMG in 2018, in which the two companies signed a global partnership spanning recorded music, publishing and licensing rights for the rest of John’s career.
Furnish explains that, with John’s label contract set to expire in 2018, it felt right to begin renegotiations with UMG as soon as he signed on. “To do any negotiation, you want to have the most robust environment, and you want to do it at the right time,” he says. “We didn’t go in and say, ‘Here’s the new plan, so we want a new deal.’ It was a simultaneous conversation, and we all walked away happy with the results.”
With negotiations at UMG squared away, Furnish set his sights on bolstering John’s reputation among younger audiences. The first step in that direction came with Apple Music. Meeting with co-creator Jimmy Iovine “back when it was still called Beats Music,” Furnish pitched him on John as an asset for what would become Elton John’s Rocket Hour, now one of Apple Music’s longest-running programs. “We just took what Elton naturally does in his everyday life — he listens to everything — and found a passionate vehicle for it,” he says. The strategy worked: Along with burnishing John’s reputation among young listeners, the show has also championed vibrant new talent like Lil Nas X, Rina Sawayama and, most recently, Chappell Roan.
Another cornerstone of Furnish’s plan came to fruition with the 2019 release of Rocketman, the award-winning musical biopic starring Taron Egerton and covering the early years of John’s career. The film scored John his second Academy Award win for best original song — with longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” — and introduced John’s catalog to an eager, younger audience.
As John puts it, “Things really started to change with the film.” Its themes of “self-love, addiction, familial love and acceptance” helped make the living legend’s career more accessible for less-familiar viewers, Furnish says. In the years since Rocketman’s release, he reports, 58% of John’s streams have been generated by 18- to 35-year-olds.
Elton John (left) and David Furnish onstage at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s annual Academy Awards Viewing Party in March.
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With more youthful listeners hearing John’s music, he and Furnish ensured that he would keep their attention with a pair of hit remixes: 2021’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” featuring Dua Lipa, and 2022’s “Hold Me Closer,” featuring Britney Spears. The tracks returned John’s music to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in over 20 years, with both songs putting him in the chart’s top 10 for the first time since his 1997 No. 1, “Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight.”
The active effort to bolster John’s audience reflects the pair’s shared interest in holding on to his legendary catalog. While other legacy artists have sold off their song collections to companies like Primary Wave or Concord, Furnish and John remain steadfast in their desire to maintain control.
“To be the custodians of that legacy that Elton and Bernie built is more important to us than anything. Elton’s catalog is about as blue chip as I would want an investment to be,” Furnish says. “Look at the disruption that has happened with Hipgnosis [Songs Fund]; I can’t think of anything more worrying than selling your catalog to a group you liked and then suddenly, it’s in the hands of somebody else. That’s heartbreaking, especially after spending your life protecting it.”
With their two sons, Zachary (now 13) and Elijah (11), reaching school age, John and Furnish enacted the final component of their plan: ending the singer’s touring career. “It was never a question whether I wanted to stop, because I knew I needed to be with our boys. I had been on the road since I was 16, 17 years of age,” John says, sighing. “Of course, I’ve enjoyed it all, but you have to know when to quit. And I wanted to quit at the top.”
Starting in September 2018 and running through July 2023, John achieved his goal with the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Across 330 shows spanning five continents, the trek grossed a whopping $939 million in ticket sales, according to Billboard Boxscore, becoming the first tour in history to surpass the $900 million mark.
That figure is a point of pride for both John and Furnish, especially considering all the work they had invested in making John’s departure as spectacular as possible. “Elton put the most extraordinary foundation in place at the beginning of his career, and I got such a greater sense of appreciation for how hard he worked throughout this tour,” Furnish says. “As a businessperson, I knew how to chart a path that could get him to where he deserves to be. When you put those together, it’s a winning combination.”
The tour also secured John a prestigious honor held by only 18 other creatives — an EGOT — thanks to an Emmy win for outstanding variety special (live) for his Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium special on Disney+. “It was such an important moment for Elton professionally and for us as a family,” Furnish says of the November 2022 performance, John’s last in North America. “To have it honored that way, and preserved in time forever, is really beautiful.”
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Yet despite pulling together an unheard-of string of accolades in his husband’s career, Furnish also speaks with unparalleled passion about his work as chairman for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Throughout his conversation with Billboard, he regularly mentions the organization’s work in Johannesburg, the southern United States and elsewhere to improve community access to standard HIV testing and treatment, reduce the stigma surrounding the spread of the virus and raise millions of dollars to help end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
It’s important, Furnish points out, to translate the success of both his and John’s careers into actionable, meaningful change in the world. “You need the other side of life to keep your feet on the ground, to take the gifts that you’ve been given and the opportunities that you’ve been given and help other people,” he says. “We both work incredibly hard, but we also realize we’re incredibly lucky. We have an obligation to give back.”
With so many career-defining victories over the last decade, John says he feels privileged to share them with his companion — in no small part because their partnership is what helped make those victories happen. “The complete trust that we have in each other is a godsend,” he says. “Looking at this from a completely egotistical point of view, I’ve always been a big artist. But what David has done lifted me into the echelon of artists like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Paul McCartney. That’s how good he is.”
Furnish quickly interrupts to correct his husband: “No — that’s how good you are.”
This story will appear in the June 22, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Lasso has inked a management deal with WK Entertainment, the company tells Billboard.
The signing entails a comprehensive 360 contract — supporting the Venezuelan singer-songwriter in touring, brand partnership strategies, A&R and marketing at a global level — under the leadership of WK Entertainment GM Andres Gomez.
“I have always been a fan of the artists that WK manages,” Lasso (real name: Andres Vicente Lazo Uslar) said in a statement. “I’ve always thought of it as a far reached goal and to be able to form part of their roster is still unbelievable. I’m very excited for everything that is to come, for all the changes for my music and my career.”
“I am thrilled to be able to work with Lasso and support his creative vision in this new chapter,” Gomez added. “He is an artist who has become one of the industry’s most respected live performers — a singer-songwriter who will continue to push the boundaries of the contemporary pop genre for years to come.”
Kolm added, “We are very excited to be a part of this new phase in his career.”
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Lasso simultaneously unveiled the dates for his first U.S. tour dubbed Quedarse Solo Para Siempre (translation: “staying alone forever”). Promoted by Live Nation, the 15-date stint kicks off Sept. 11 in San Francisco and wraps Oct. 26 in Houston (see more below). General tickets go on sale on June 19 at 10 a.m. local time via LassoMusica.com.
In addition, Lasso revealed that his fifth studio album is set to release this fall. Its 13 tracks will include the previously-released singles “Bilingües” with Mau y Ricky and the Micro TDH-assisted “No Escuches Esta Canción.”
Recognizing Lasso’s talent and versatility, Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, added, “We see a bright future for him […] and are excited to develop a tour showcasing his unique sound to his dedicated followers and new audiences.”
Lasso released his debut album, Sin Otro Sentido, in 2012. In 2021, he was nominated for best new artist at the 2021 Latin Grammys; the following year, he entered the Billboard charts for the first time with “Ojos Marrones.” The feel-good pop tune peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and No. 39 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. The single also won him best pop rock song at the 2023 Latin Grammys.
Lasso
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Scooter Braun announced his retirement from artist management on Monday (June 17), officially putting a cap on a 23-year run during which he guided the careers of some of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, J Balvin, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Kid Laroi and others.
“I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump’-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen,” Braun said in a statement issued on social media. “I’m constantly pinching myself and asking ‘how did I get here?’ And after 23 years this chapter as a must manager has come to an end.”
Braun sold Ithaca Holdings, the parent company of his management company SB Projects, to South Korean entertainment conglomerate HYBE in 2021.
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Braun will continue his work as HYBE America’s CEO.
A good portion of Braun’s 1,300-plus word send-off is spent recalling some of his fondest memories as a manager, including seeing Andrew Wyatt win a producer of the year Grammy, watching Quavo succeed as an entrepreneur, seeing Dan + Shay “go from local Nashville writers to sold out headliners,” and enjoying “brother Usher dominate the Super Bowl this year.” He also said he was “Kanye’s ‘gateway drug to business’ as we had amazing years of success when I was once able to call him my friend.”
He made sure to single out his two crowning clients — Bieber and Grande — “a 13 year old kid busking in Canada” and “a young actress on Nickelodeon” when he signed them.
“To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors,” he said. “As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings… There will never be a day where I don’t take great pride and honor in what we accomplished together.”
Read Braun’s full announcement:
23 years. That’s how long I have been a music manager. 23 years ago a 19 year old kid started managing an artist named Cato in Atlanta, GA and my journey began. Along the way I have had so many experiences I could never have dreamt of. I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump”-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen. I’m constantly pinching myself and asking “how did I get here?” And after 23 years this chapter as a must manager has come to an end.”
It’s a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question “who would I be without them?” I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years I loved it. It’s all I had known. But as my children got older, and my personal Iife took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn’t willing to lose. The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify. It was time to step into a new role.
In this next chapter I have been honored to join as a board member of Hybe and serve as the CEO of Hybe America. My brilliant partner these past 3 years, Chairman Bang, has a vision I truly believe in. But even beyond that he has become a true friend who understands where I must be in my life these days. And that is a father first, a CEO second, and a manager no more.
Over the past 2 years I have been heading towards this destination, but it wasn’t until last summer that this new chapter became a reality. One of my biggest clients and friends told me that they wanted to spread their wings and go in a new direction. We had been through so much together over the last decade, but instead of being hurt I saw it as a sign. You see, life doesn’t hand you YOUR plan, it hands you GOD’s plan. And God has been pushing me in this direction for some time. I have nothing but love for those I have worked with over the years, and as we develop a different working relationship, I will always be in their corner to consult and support them whether it be directly or from afar. Every client I have had the privilege of working with has changed my life, and I know many of them are just beginning to see the success they deserve. I will cheer for every single one of them.
I have gotten to see my friend Andrew Watt win the Grammy for Producer of the year. I have laughed and cried as Lil Dicky truly became DAVE. I have witnessed an angel of a human Tori Kelly win Grammys and star in films. I have seen J Balvin live out his dreams of breaking boundaries, and Demi show kindness and grace that few megastars have. I have been moved as Zac Brown Band raised our flag and delivered the hits. I was excited the first time I heard Animals with Martin Garrix, and learned a new world with David Guetta and Steve Angello. I have danced to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe and smiled ear to ear as PSY brought us Gangnam Style. I have watched Quavo grow to be an entrepreneur, and served as Kanye’s “gateway drug to business” as we had amazing years of success when I was once able to call him my friend. I have marched with YG and flown to Australia with Laroi to see the hometown kid rock an arena. I have seen Dan Shay go from local Nashville writers to sold out headliners and award winners. The list of artists goes on and on over 23 years. So many stories it would take me forever to name. From those first years with Asher Roth to watching my partner and brother Usher dominate the Super Bowl this year, it is truly overwhelming.But it was this past Christmas Day when Ariana and Justin became the biggest male and female in the history of the Spotify Billions club that I just smiled and thought “what a ride.” Justin and Ariana were both young teenagers when I began with them. Justin a 13 year old kid busking in Canada and Ariana a young actress on Nickelodeon. To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors. As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings. I remember the pranks and the water park shows with Justin, and the first time Ari opened an arena tour and her excitement side stage. I remember as they both stepped up for others and I got to witness them each change the world and make history. There will never be a day where I don’t take great pride and honor in what we accomplished together. The same can be said for so many I have had the pleasure of once being called “manager”.
There has been a lot said about what is happening in our company… and in my career. When we had success I smiled, and when we were attacked I tried to always take the high road. But for the last 3 years I have begun to feel that taking the high road has created confusion and ambiguity as to who we are. I may have left my role in management, and my business relationship with many clients will alter and change, but this does not mean we as a company are leaving. Both Allison Kaye and Jennifer McDaniels are more than capable to lead and as we combine new resources the opportunities with their leadership are endless. These two incredibly powerful women will now step into a role that I know will grow into the most impressive women-led management business our industry has even seen. While my name may have been on the door all these years, the truth is there is no one as brilliant as Allison Kaye, and few who can manage with the grace and poise of Jen McDaniels.
We at Hybe will continue to grow. With the addition of QC to Hybe America and our existing business at Big Machine, we will continue to add amazing execs and artists to the roster. Our WeVerse platform and growing gaming unit is something the whole industry can celebrate and join. Getting the opportunity to A&R and Executive Produce the solo career of Jung Kook last summer, and work with the other members of BTS as we break worldwide records, has been an absolute honor. With new acts like NewJeans, TXT, LE SSERAFIM, Seventeen, ILLIT, The Scarlet Opera, Ava Max, and many other new artists and ventures, the future is bright. I’m honored to join Chairman Bang and Jiwon Park as we grow HYBE from the multi-billion dollar publicly traded company it is today to the worldwide multifaceted entertainment platform it is destined to be.
With Hybe going strong I am also looking forward to continuing to invest in a new generation of entrepreneurs and serve as a national board member of Make A Wish and help individuals and communities through our family’s Braun Foundation. Between all of this and coaching my kids I’m not worried about being busy 🙂
So yes, it’s been 23 years. And yes, this chapter has come to an end. But the great Berry Gordy once told me “young man, it never ends the way you wanted, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” That wisdom has proven to be correct. I never saw how this chapter would end, hell, I never even saw it happening. But it did. And I will cherish every moment of it. I made my plan… but it turns out I like God’s plan better. Cheers!
Rauw Alejandro, in the midst of touring and releasing new music, has assembled a new core management and business team, Billboard has learned.
Leadership includes his longtime attorney and business manager José Juan Torres and his longtime personal manager Matías Solaris.
In addition, sources confirm Alejandro has brought in Jorge “Pepo” Ferradas, founder of and CEO of FPM Entertainment, to head overall strategy of his career moving forward.
Rauw Alejandro was previously managed by Eric Duars, who signed him in 2017 and with whom he split last year.
“It’s a different vision, a different perspective,” Alejandro told Billboard last week about his new team during the Governors Ball music festival, where he was performing. “What we did together was great,” he said about working with Duars, and added: “I have a great team right now. I’m 31 years old, a grown ass man. I feel really happy at this moment of my life. I feel in control of my whole career. I know what I want to do. I have my notes. I learned. It’s just part of growing.”
Ferradas is Camilo and wife Evaluna’s longtime manager, and also co-manages Rels B along with Fede Lauria of Dale Play. Prior to launching FPM, Ferradas’ management experience includes managing Colombian star Shakira in all Spanish-speaking markets as well as overseeing her deal with Live Nation. Ferradas later helped found and develop GTS, Universal’s tour and management company, and was president of music at Univision.
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In the crowded world of reggaetón acts who came up in the mid-to-late 2010s, Rauw Alejandro (born Raul Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz) stands out as an artist who also performs dazzling choreography and experiments with genres like dance. That mix has continued to yield hits; to date, Alejandro has placed 53 songs on Billboard’s Hot Latin songs chart, including 11 top 10s, among them “Santa,” with Rvssian & Ayra Starr, which peaked at No. 8 in May. Thanks to his combined touring, streaming and sales numbers, Alejandro ended 2023 at No. 6 on Billboard’s year-end Top Latin Artists chart.
Alejandro is currently signed to Sony Music U.S. Latin.
Ariana Grande and HYBE, led by CEO Scooter Braun, look forward to continuing their long-standing business partnership and pursuing creative opportunities in Weverse and REM Beauty, according to representatives for the superstar and global company. Grande in this new chapter will continue to be managed exclusively by Brandon Creed and his Good World Management, to […]
Asked to recall his first musical memory, James Rosemond Jr. is quick to answer: R&B duo Groove Theory’s 1995 R&B/pop classic, “Tell Me.” He sings a snippet of the song’s infectious refrain — “Tell me if you want me to…” — and says with a laugh, “I was 4 years old, but that’s the way I fell in love with music.”
Growing up, there was plenty of music to love. Rosemond, now 31, is the son of former artist manager Jimmy Rosemond, who represented Gucci Mane, The Game, Salt-N-Pepa and others. And over the past two years, he has blazed his own path in the profession, helping guide rapper Ice Spice to crossover stardom. Since breaking through in 2022 with the viral TikTok hit “Munch (Feelin’ U),” Ice has garnered four Grammy Award nominations, and in 2023, she released four top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles: “Princess Diana” with Nicki Minaj, “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” with PinkPantheress, “Karma” with Taylor Swift and “Barbie World” with Minaj and Aqua.
Ice is not Rosemond’s sole client. His Miami-based Mastermind Artists also manages the young rapper’s go-to producer, RIOTUSA, as well as DJ-producer Diablo, who works with Diplo. Former clients include Sean Kingston and songwriter Infrared (Fat Joe, French Montana). Prior to launching Mastermind 12 years ago, Rosemond honed his business skills while brokering publishing deals for songwriters and producers with Primary Wave Music CEO Larry Mestel and Ultra International Music Publishing founder Patrick Moxey.
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A painting of the iconic 1968 Esquire cover depicting Muhammad Ali as St. Sebastian. “The photo was shot during the Civil Rights movement and represents sacrifice. As a talent manager, that’s the space I occupy,” Rosemond says.
Alfonso Duran
Rosemond achieved these wins in the face of family upheaval. His father is serving life in prison after being convicted in 2013 of crimes tied to a cocaine-trafficking operation and in 2014 to the 2009 death of G-Unit affiliate Lowell “Lodi Mack” Fletcher. Rosemond says he speaks to his father “all the time” and continues to receive “life advice” from him — “like what any father would give his young adult son in this world.” As for business counsel, he adds, “Times change, and I don’t think he understands streaming, TikTok and other data the way I do, so there’s not much advice there.”
That said, Rosemond came of age watching his father successfully navigate the music business and continues to use much of what he absorbed — especially “creative deal-making,” he says. “Those conversations of how to negotiate and secure a deal, and what to look for in a deal. That always stuck with me.”
He is using some of that advice as he conducts “strategic conversations” to strengthen the firm’s infrastructure, including expanding into more musical genres. Meanwhile, he’s busy preparing for Ice’s debut studio album, Y2K, which is due July 26 on 10K Projects/Capitol Records. The album has been teased by two singles: “Think U the Shit (Fart)” and the latest, “Gimmie the Light,” which she performed at Coachella in April. Also stoking anticipation for the album: 50,000 MetroCards featuring Ice’s image were recently made available in collaboration with Capitol Records at four New York subway stations.
Rosemond says that kind of creative thinking keeps him excited about the music industry. “I love that it keeps me on my toes. I want to feel the challenge.”
A “blur figure” of a $100 bill that friends at the Brooklyn art collective MSCHF gifted to Rosemond.
Alfonso Duran
What was it like growing up with a parent who was such a force in the music industry?
It was definitely an eye-opener. I like to say to people that I live in dog years because of the information and experience that I was privy to early on — the lingo, the conversations and the behind-the-scenes scenarios that I was able to experience. I have to give credit to all of that for where I am today success-wise.
What key lessons did you learn that you use today?
To really listen and forever be a student. A lot of people come into this business quickly and feel like they know it all. No matter what artists my father represented, he still felt like a sponge; always learning new things. I carry that with me to this day.
How has being Jimmy Rosemond’s son affected the way people in the industry deal with you?
I would say that a lot of veterans look out for each other in the way that peers look out for each other. That has always been the spirit in the music industry. There hasn’t been much of a difference between my father being home and not being home.
How did you get into brokering publishing deals?
I always found myself in the same circle as songwriters and producers, who had income or pipeline hits and needed help. And through my relationships with Larry and Patrick — and having a good lawyer by my side — I was able to connect the dots. It’s also how I was able to kick off my company.
A gold record plaque (left) for Ice Spice’s “Munch” single, “the breakthrough that started it all,” and a platinum plaque for “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,” the record “that crossed us over to top 40,” he says.
Alfonso Duran
Did that prompt your pivot into artist management?
Yes, because I’m a nerd when it comes to business, especially the deal-making. Outside of the day-to-day with an artist, it’s about brokering amazing deals for artists; helping them really understand the difference in what they have versus what others have and then having them see the value of what I can bring to the table. I get high on that.
What was it about Ice Spice, your first female client, that caught your ear?
It was her tone and the production she was picking. When I came across her early on, she only had about two or three songs out. She didn’t have the crazy monthly listeners and social numbers. Then I came across a song called “No Clarity,” a drill flip of Zedd’s “Clarity,” and heard the song’s possibilities. Next, I heard “Name of Love.” One, she’s working with the same producer [RIOTUSA] and they’re creating a sound. Two, her tone, and three, they’re flipping these crossover samples in drills. That got me. Then I saw her image — the curls, which was different — and I’m like, “Whoa!”
Talk about the marketing strategy behind Ice Spice with Dunkin’ and New York’s subway system.
Coming out of the gate, it was always three-dimensional chess. “Less is more” was our conversation and “Let’s not saturate.” Strategically, it was also about digital. When we put “Munch” out, we got the right digital team, which was Create Music Group. Its sister companies include WorldStar and Genius. I never want to feel like an artist is on a treadmill. I always want them to feel like they’re moving forward from A to C, C to E. So I did a strategic play on the digital side to accelerate her growth, social and in the market. “Munch” was everywhere that first week we put it out. And that was due to the strategic play that I was able to put together using the song as currency.
That led to Dunkin’?
Yes. When that opportunity came to us, it was a no-brainer because her fan base is called Munchkins. We always like to tap into social media and see what people are thinking or talking about. It’s not like we’re coming in and saying, “Yo, we should do Dunkin’.” It’s coming up with the idea because we’re hearing the conversations about what fans want to see. It’s there; we’re just listening.
Gold camel souvenir from a vacation in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: “Camels, known for their resilience and adaptability, also represent patience and determination.”
Alfonso Duran
How did you enable her to retain her masters?
It was really about giving her all the right information. Like, this is where the market is going. It’s about independence. It’s about retaining ownership; about intellectual property and generational wealth. That sometimes there are sacrifices — that people may be dangling money. But if you want a certain type of deal, you have to be patient as we do the work to have leverage. That was the conversation early on. And thank God she listened and was able to hold out while we kept running up the numbers on “Munch.” Then it became, “Let’s entertain these deals” and, as I said earlier, begin to shape one in a creative way. Now, she not only retains her masters but also her publishing rights and still gets upfront money as if she’s a work for hire. It’s a hybrid type of deal that you don’t see often. And it comes with doing the work, having patience and creating leverage.
In the wake of major-label restructuring and shrinking promotion departments, is radio still important?
Absolutely. I tell my clients, “Streaming is the club, radio is VIP.” We want to get into the club and we want to get into the VIP section. And radio still feels somewhat exclusive. People are still driving and listening to the radio. And it’s not only about an artist breaking through. Once again, there’s the economics of it. If you have a publishing deal, one important factor is radio airplay. So why wouldn’t you want to have music on the radio?
Is there one thing you always tell a new client up front?
That economics is always going to play its part. That’s No. 1. Artists come in with big expectations like wanting the luxurious stuff. To keep them grounded on that front, I always remind them that it’s about profit and loss. So the more money they spend, they’ve got to crank out hits to make sure labels and publishers will want to continue to spend money on them.
It’s 9 p.m. on a Wednesday evening in Miami, and Ty Baisden is still taking care of business with an energy level that belies the hour.
“I’m a firm sleeper who gets my eight hours,” says Baisden, his Georgian drawl giving way to laughter. “But what I don’t do is the bulls–t. So subtract the bulls–t, and you’ve got a lot of time to work and a lot of time to rest.”
That philosophy has anchored Baisden since he broke into the business as a manager in 2008. During that time, the native Atlantan also closely observed successful creative/business partnerships including Disturbing Tha Peace Records with Ludacris and Chaka Zulu and Grand Hustle Records with T.I. and Jason Geter.
Given the tenuousness of most manager-artist relationships, Baisden wanted to apply that collaborative model to the right act. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to find an artist that will want to partner with me where they deal with all the creative and I deal with all the business. Then we can build a company together, and we’ll be protected because the company is our protection.’ ”
In 2014, he found an ideal artist-partner in Brent Faiyaz after discovering him on SoundCloud. “It wasn’t an easy thing,” Baisden recalls. “I had executives telling me, ‘Don’t partner with artists; that’s dumb.’ And I had artists thinking, ‘No, I’d rather do something with a major label.’ Brent was the first artist that really believed in the overall process of that kind of partnership.”
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Over the last nine years, the business alignment between Baisden’s firm COLTURE — an acronym that stands for Can Our Leverage Teach Us Real Equity — where he is head of ventures and innovation — and Faiyaz’s Lost Kids label has yielded several successes. Among them: Faiyaz’s 2020 EP, F–k the World, bowing at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, followed by his momentous No. 2 debut with second studio album Wasteland — against Bad Bunny’s multiweek No. 1 juggernaut Un Verano Sin Ti — in 2022.
Then in 2023, Faiyaz’s F*ck the World, It’s a Wasteland Tour grossed $5.3 million and sold 68,000 tickets over 18 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore. Separately, in 2023, he launched his own creative agency, ISO Supremacy, in partnership with UnitedMasters. (Baisden is not involved.) ISO joined forces with PULSE Records in an artist development joint venture, and in May struck gold with genre-melding R&B singer Tommy Richman, whose “Million Dollar Baby” has spent two weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Splitting his time between Atlanta and Miami with a 22-member staff, Baisden, 40, works alongside COLTURE co-founder and head of creative services Jayne Andrew and partner Paris “PK” Kirk. The three are also co-founders and equity partners in COLTURE Holdings, which houses the firm’s nonmusic-related businesses.
“I don’t manage artists,” Baisden says of the business he has built with Faiyaz. “The skin that I have in the game is seeing another Black man be successful in whatever they want to do.”
Devin Christopher
What COLTURE accomplishment stands out over the last 18 months?
Our company vertically integrated and built Brent’s [2023] tour from start to finish. Usually, management will hire out for everything to get done. I partnered with Wasserman Music’s Callender to route it and negotiate the deals. Meanwhile, I handled the entire budget. Jayne handled all the band details, creative direction and making sure Brent felt comfortable onstage while PK handled all the lifestyle and afterparty events. And we each split time going to the different [tour stops] and booking the buses, freight and travel.
That’s not the job of managers, but we’re not managers; we build businesses. To build a business, you’ve got to manage the budget so you can determine your margin. Brent’s tour profited because we controlled every single dollar that was spent. I just think that’s very loud. So many people go out on the road and don’t make money. The artist gets paid, but when it’s time to do your balance sheet, you come out in the red. Many times, when you have other people managing a big lift, you’re going to get blindly overcharged.
How does the COLTURE partnership with Faiyaz and Lost Kids work?
Christopher Brent Wood [Faiyaz’s birth name] and I are business partners. When Christopher turns into the artist Brent Faiyaz and I’m operating on the latter’s behalf, then my job title is manager, for which I get a percentage. That’s probably the best way I can put it. We’re 50/50 partners in Lost Kids, under which we have multiple businesses. That was basically our handshake to one another in the beginning. Those projects and his tours are the financial seeds for Brent and me to go out and make individual investments. Lost Kids gave Brent the opportunity to invest in ISO Supremacy with his high school friend Darren Xu, and now they’re having a huge success with Tommy Richman. Beyond music and publishing, our biggest investments under Lost Kids involve real estate in Atlanta and Dallas and more than 20 startup companies, including Athletic Greens, Therabody, Audio Shake and Seed. And the great thing is three of those four companies — Seed, Audio Shake and Athletic Greens — are led by women.
Lost Kids also sponsors annual initiatives on behalf of female executives and entrepreneurs.
We just finished our fourth annual Show You Off grant program, giving 12 women $10,000 grants each to run their own business or launch a new idea. One of the policies of the grant is to reward Black women that are from the DMV [Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia] area. This year was a heavy one with new ideas involving STEM companies, [artificial intelligence] technology, electric batteries, etc. Thus far, we’ve donated about half a million dollars or more to Black women-helmed businesses.
What additional clients and businesses are under the COLTURE umbrella?
On the producer side, we have Nascent, who’s just finishing his project, Don’t Grow Up Too Soon, that we’ll distribute independently; Jordan Waré and Dpat, who have both worked with Brent. We have a partnership with [podcast] Million Dollaz Worth of Game to help [former rapper/co-host Gillie Da Kid] build out a music division. We’re doing their artist N3wyrkla’s first rollout with Troy Carter’s Venice Music. We collaborate as well with [pop duo] Emotional Oranges on distribution and creative direction when needed. Then, in the same kind of partnership I have with Brent, there’s Canadian female artist Kalisway, who writes and produces funk and R&B. Lastly, we’re helping actor Malcolm Mays [Starz’s Raising Kanan] launch his music career to diversify his business.
What’s the biggest issue facing the independent community right now?
An indie company can put out a song and the song can blow up, but more than likely, the company doesn’t have sufficient infrastructure to make sure everybody’s paid fairly based on their contributions to the record that just changed their artist’s life. The artist and the label are going to get big checks, but the songwriters and producers are probably going to get paid a year or two later, depending on how savvy their manager is — if they even have a manager.
Where do you envision COLTURE three to five years from now?
We have a 10-year plan outlining that parent company COLTURE Holdings will be generating $100 million in revenue by 2030. That’s the goal. Over the next three years, we’re launching our full-fledged media department, including TV, film, podcasting and digital content. The sports division is developing, and we’re continuing our real estate operation. We’re basically building a community and a pipeline for disrupters who can either stay within our ecosystem or build their own businesses.
Additional reporting by Shira Brown.
This story originally appeared in the June 8, 2024, issue of Billboard.
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