Management
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Alternative-pop artist Mod Sun has signed a management deal with Shelter Music Group, the company tells Billboard. The firm is home to iconic artists and acts including ZZ Top, Joe Perry and Fleetwood Mac. Mod Sun will be represented by Carl Stubner alongside Jackson Stubner and A&R James Robinson. “We at Shelter Music Group are beyond […]
Rapper, actor and activist Common has signed with SMAC Entertainment. The Grammy-, Emmy- and Academy Award-winning artist will work with the talent management, music, branding and production company to pursue “strategic brand partnerships and endorsements, non-scripted projects and brand development for future projects and collaborations,” according to a press release announcing the signing.
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Stated SMAC Entertainment CEO Constance Schwartz-Morini in the release, “We are beyond thrilled to welcome Common to the SMAC family. His commitment to keeping it real and making a difference aligns perfectly with our motivating force at SMAC, and we believe Common is not just a great fit; he’s a game-changer. We can’t wait to take off on this exciting journey together!”
Beginning immediately, the new association will be overseen by Schwartz-Morini and fellow SMAC executives April Guidone and Derek Sanderson. They will be working in tandem with Common’s teams at UTA, Ceremony Music, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, The Lede Company and Tamara Brown at Think Common Entertainment.
Upcoming on Common’s project slate is the Jan. 23 release of his latest book, And Then We Rise. Focusing on health and wellness, the book addresses various topics such as achieving overall well-being and health disparities within the Black community as well as share Common’s insights and advice gleaned from his own personal wellness journey.
On the acting front, Common appears in Apple TV+’s sci-fi drama series Silo, which has been renewed for a second season. He also debuted on Broadway in the 2022 production of Between Riverside and Crazy. During the show’s run, Common hosted “Justice Nights on Broadway,” which featured a special performance and discussion about the show for invited justice advocates, formerly incarcerated people, their family members and community activists.
The Chicago native is actively involved in his Common Ground Foundation’s Dreamers & Believers mentoring program. He’s also a co-founder of the tuition-free creative arts school, Art In Motion.
Established in 2011, SMAC Entertainment represents rapper Wiz Khalifa, television personality Michael Strahan and Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, among other clients. The company’s recent television and film productions include the documentary BS High on MAX, the second season of Coach Prime for Prime Video as well as that streamer’s forthcoming feature film, The Underdoggs, produced by and starring Snoop Dogg.
Sports and music company The Familie has expanded to Nashville, and is set to make Music City the company’s national headquarters.
“Nashville is a city that is inspired by culture, diversity, arts and entertainment, and – from a business perspective – encourages entrepreneurship and growth with no state-income tax and a low barrier to entry for real estate, including commercial real estate,” The Familie founder/CEO Steve Astephen tells Billboard via email.
The Familie’s roster includes Machine Gun Kelly, Avril Lavigne, Jaden Hossler, Games We Play and sombr.
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Former Universal Music Group Nashville executive vp of promotion Royce Risser will lead the company’s new country music division and oversee the Nashville office’s operations. Chase Berlin has been hired as the company’s first artist manager in Nashville.
Risser has more than three decades of music industry experience, starting at MCA Records as an intern in 1991 before being hired as a promotion assistant. Risser rose through the ranks at UMGN, leading promotion efforts and rising to executive vp of promotion. Along the way, Risser worked with artists including George Strait, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton, Sam Hunt, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi and Brothers Osborne.
Berlin will work under Risser to sign and develop country artists and build out the genre’s division for The Familie. A University of Florida graduate, Berlin previously worked at management company The AMG and at WME.
“It’s been immediately clear to me that The Familie does things differently,” said Risser in a statement. “I appreciate the team’s non-transactional approach to management, thoughtfully building artist brands and legacies through collaboration and a vast network of cross-industry alliances. Steve Astephen could easily be the smartest, most connected person I’ve ever met and can’t wait to work alongside him in this role. I know this team will be a refreshing addition to the Nashville scene while also integrating with and honoring the history and pedigree of Music Row. I’m absolutely fired up and honored to be at the helm of The Familie’s arrival in Nashville.”
Astephen tells Billboard, “Diversity of thought and experience is what helped us transform sports representation in the 2000s and it’s what will help us do the same in music — which is essentially to not just think outside the box, but to create the box…I entered sports representation from a brand and retail perspective, then music management from a sports agency perspective. Royce has been in radio, which, of course, drives country music. He’s been in marketing and promotions. These are the types of things that add additional opportunities for an artist who signs with us. If you sign with The Familie as a musical artist, we’re looking at: How do we bring you into the sports world? How do we bring you into radio marketing? We’re not just managing an artist’s career, we’re expanding it.”
The first artist signed to the company’s country division is singer-songwriter Evanthia Theodorou.
“She’s the perfect example of the type of artist we look for, which is someone with a 360 degree brand, who is highly marketable, personable, has good values, and appeals to a wide audience through various channels of promotion,” Astephen says, estimating that the country music division could represent up to seven artists.
Astephen launched The Familie in 1998; the company also works with sports figures including football player Daniel Carlson, surfer Eli Hanneman, rally driver Oliver Solberg and tennis player Cooper Williams.
Looking ahead, Astephen says The Familie is making its move into Nashville at the perfect time. “I see the industry shifting to show how marketable the country music genre is globally,” he says. “Obviously, we have to respect what Nashville is to country music, but country artists are global superstars and only growing. So with us coming in–along with other companies–I think you’ll see more brand partnerships, more national television commercials. I’m really excited for us to be part of this and to help challenge the industry to do more than just traditional music management.”
Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi has filed a lawsuit against her former manager and music producer Sergio Andrade, claiming he was a “true predator” who subjected Trevi and other girls to “total control and sadistic abuse” in the late 1980s and 1990s.
The filing also serves as a counter-lawsuit to the complaint filed Dec. 30, 2022, by two Jane Does who sued Trevi and Andrade for “grooming” and “exploiting” them when they were between the ages of 13 and 15 in the early 1990s.
Now, Trevi — who has for many years categorically denied such claims — alleges in the lawsuit, filed Dec. 27 in Los Angeles, that she is also one of Andrade’s victims. According to Trevi’s suit, Andrade took advantage of his position as a successful music executive often called “Mr. Midas” for being able to recognize and promote young, female artists promising them to turn them into stars.
“That position allowed him to draw many young girls into his sphere of influence, who gathered around him in the hopes that he would guide, mentor, and launch their careers in entertainment, as he had previously done for others,” the lawsuit reads. “But once these young girls and women had been drawn into his sphere by dreams of stardom, he subjected them to total control and sadistic abuse – mental, financial, physical, and sexual. Ms. Trevi was one of those young women.”
According to Trevi’s lawsuit, the “Todos Me Miran” singer met Andrade as a child just as she was gaining recognition in Mexico as a singer, and soon he took over her career. “But Andrade also recognized Ms. Trevi as an isolated and vulnerable girl who was easy prey to his manipulation, control, and abuse,” Trevi’s lawsuit claims. “He took full advantage, subjecting the rising child superstar that he had taken on to grotesque abuse calculated to break her spirit.”
The filing includes graphic allegations, such as Trevi being “brutally beaten” by Andrade, at times to the point of unconsciousness, that she was sexually assaulted by him and raped repeatedly. The abuse inflicted by Andrade “eventually drove Ms. Trevi to attempt suicide,” the suit states.
Trevi, who is being represented by Johnny Depp’s former attorney Camille M. Vásquez, explained in a statement to Billboard that she chose to take legal action to fight for justice. “No one should have to go through what I experienced and I am determined to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions,” she expressed.
Vásquez added, “Our client, Gloria Trevi, has shown great strength and courage in stepping forward and filing this counterclaim. We are fully prepared to present our case and seek justice on her behalf.”
Trevi’s legal woes resurface more than 20 years after Trevi, Andrade and backup singer María Raquenel Portillo, also known as Mary Boquitas, were arrested in January 2000 in Rio de Janeiro for allegedly luring young girls into a cult-like pornographic ring. Former vocalist Karina Yapor, who filed criminal charges against the so-called “Trevi-Andrade clan,” alleged that backup recruits wanting to join the band were forced to have sexual relations with Andrade.
In 2004, Trevi was acquitted by a judge and found not guilty on charges of rape, kidnapping and corruption of minors. This resulted in Trevi’s immediate release from prison in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Trevi’s new lawsuit comes six days after a judge dismissed Portillo’s defamation claims against the two Jane Does after she was sued alongside Trevi and Andrade.
Read Gloria Trevi’s counterclaim below:
Santa Fe Klan has signed a management deal with Prajin Parlay Inc., effective immediately, Billboard has learned today (Dec. 22). The indie record label is also home to música Mexicana phenomenon, Peso Pluma.
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“Santa Fe Klan has accomplished an incredible amount for música Mexicana and his community over the last few years,” CEO and manager of Peso, George Prajin, said in a press statement. “He is an impressive young man and we are looking forward to helping him continue cultivating his skills as both a musician and businessman.”
“As I enter this next chapter in my career I’m excited to join the Prajin Parlay roster and I’m excited for my fans to see everything we have planned for 2024,” added the renowned Mexican rapper born Ángel Quezada.
Additionally, Prajin is a partner in Doble P Records alongside Peso, who expressed “I’ve always admired Santa Fe Klan and I know he’s going to make a great addition to our family.”
On the 2023 Billboard Year-End charts, Prajin Parlay Inc.—also home to Jasiel Nuñez, Tito Doble P, and more—landed No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs Publisher chart. The label, next to Doble P Records, had a breakthrough year ranking high on many of the year-end Billboard charts including Hot Latin Songs Imprint, Regional Mexican Albums Labels, and Independent Labels, to name a few.
Born in Guanajato, Mexico, Santa Fe Klan (his artistic name is an ode to his barrio) recorded and uploaded his own music to YouTube and SoundCloud when he was a teenager. His love for rap and hip-hop music was inspired by artists such as Cartel de Santa and MC Davo, and his ultra-personal and raw lyricism ultimately landed him collaborations with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Lupillo Rivera, and Calibre 50.
His first entry on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs arrived in April 2022 with “Mar y Tierra,” part of his fifth studio album Mundo, which debuted at No. 4 on Latin Pop Albums and No. 11 on Latin Rhythms Albums.
Earlier this year, Santa Fe earned his first career No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart with the Los Ángeles Azules and Cazzu-assisted “Tú y Tú.”
Rauw Alejandro and his longtime manager, Eric Duars, have officially parted ways, sources tell Billboard. For the past several months, lawyers for the Puerto Rican superstar and the Puerto Rican impresario have engaged in conversations to wind down a relationship that began in 2017 when Alejandro (born Raul Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz) was 23 years old and Duars signed him as an emerging talent
Aside from being managed by Duars, an experienced promoter, Alejandro was also signed to his independent label, Duars Entertainment, with his music released via a licensing agreement with Sony Music Latin. Duars also promoted many of Alejandro’s tour dates via the tour promotion arm of his company, Duars Live.
In a crowded world of new reggaetón acts who came up in the mid and late 2010s, Alejandro stood out as an artist who also performed dazzling choreography and who was willing to experiment with genres like dance. That mix has continued to yield hits; to date, Alejandro has placed 47 songs on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, including two top 10s, as well as seven hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
On the touring front, 2023 was the year Alejandro consolidated as a major touring act. His Saturno tour, produced by Duars Live in partnership with Outback Presents, sold 551,000 tickets across 36 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore, grossing $50.1 million. It landed as the sixth highest-grossing tour on Billboard’s year-end Latin tally and at No. 46 overall, breaking 15,000 tickets in Miami, New York and San Jose, Calif., among many others. It also sold 58,000 tickets in Mexico City’s Foro Sol.
Duars will no longer promote Alejandro’s tours.
Several sources say there are active conversations regarding new management for Alejandro with an established Latin manager, but nothing has yet been announced or confirmed to Billboard.
Duars will continue to manage a roster that includes Baby Rasta & Gringo, Cauty, Sie7e, Eix and Sanchz.
Neither Alejandro’s attorneys nor Duars’ attorneys replied to requests for comment.
Joaquina has signed a management deal with Global Talent Services (GTS), Billboard can exclusively announce today (Dec. 11). The new partnership will strengthen the Venezuelan singer-songwriter’s growth and amplify her artistic potential, and she will be overseen by manager Paula Kaminsky and co-manager Camila Canabal.
“I’m very grateful to count on a team that believes in me and my project, but most importantly, for believing in my songs and what I have to say in them,” the 19-year-old newcomer (born Joaquina Blavia Canabal) said in a press statement. “I’m very excited for this next stage of my career.”
Kaminsky added: “We are very happy and grateful that Joaquina, who is a talented singer-songwriter and performer and someone who holistically embodies the feelings of her generation, has placed her trust in GTS to further develop her career, and together, guide her in achieving her dreams of taking her art to the whole world.”
The exclusive news comes on the heels of Joaquina winning the coveted best new artist award at the 2023 Latin Grammys in Seville, Spain, where she was also nominated for best singer-songwriter album for her debut EP, Los Mejores Años.
Joaquina poses with the award for Best New Artist in the media center for The 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards at FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre on Nov. 16, 2023 in Seville, Spain.
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Born in Caracas but raised in Miami, the well-rounded rising star—who took music, theater, and ballet lessons—is inspired by artists such as Avril Lavigne, and pens songs about teenage angst as heard in her notable track “Los Mejores Años.”
“Although I am very extroverted and I love to socialize, I am also very private and it’s difficult for me to talk about my fears, my thoughts, and ‘Los Mejores Años’ was a big relief song for me,” she previously told Billboard. “It helped me a lot to understand many things I was feeling in a time of normal transition in everyone’s life. It’s a bit that concept of feeling the fear of growing up for the first time in your life.”
Before winning best new artist, Joaquina formed part of the first class of graduates from producer Julio Reyes Copello’s Art House Academy, signed a record deal with Universal Music Latin, and was the opening act for artists such as Alejandro Sanz and Fonseca. She was also spotlighted as Billboard’s Latin Artist on the Rise in November.
Ariana Grande has a new manager in Brandon Creed. The superstar has signed with his newly-launched Good World Management firm, sources tell Billboard.
Grande made major headlines in August when she split with longtime manager Scooter Braun‘s SB Projects. Grande had been with the company since 2013, the year she released her breakthrough debut album, Yours Truly.
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“[Ariana] likes that he understands her on a different level and between acting and music, she has a lot coming up and is excited to have found a new support system to help her execute her plans,” says a source close to the situation.
“She wants the focus to be her art and he puts her artistry and vision before anything else,” adds another source. “He is the perfect person to help her execute her visions for this next chapter of her life and career.”
In 2017, Creed — a longtime manager whose previous clients have included Bruno Mars and Lizzo — merged his own The Creed Company with Irving and Jeffrey Azoff‘s firm to form Full Stop Management. He split with the Azoffs in July, announcing the launch of Good World Management, bringing his clients Mark Ronson, Troye Sivan and Charli XCX along with him. Grande marks his third major signing since then.
In early August, Creed and Lydia Asrat announced they had signed Normani to a co-management deal through Good World and Asrat’s Q10. Then, in September, he signed Demi Lovato — another former Braun client.
Grande has had eight charting albums on the Billboard 200, six of them hit the top 10, with five topping the list. Her last release, Positions, debuted atop the chart in 2020 and spent two weeks at No. 1.On the Hot 100, she’s logged 73 entries — including 20 top 10s, seven of which hit No. 1. She most recently led the tally with her remix collab on “Die for You” with The Weeknd in March 2023.
Across her catalog of songs, she’s generated 23.5 billion on-demand official streams in the U.S., according to Luminate. Her albums have earned 22.4 million equivalent album units in the U.S, of which traditional album sales equal 3.3 million.
Grande recently teased her forthcoming seventh studio album with a series of photos posted to Instagram back in the studio. Artists including Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish and SZA expressed excitement in the comments for the pop star’s anticipated return.
On Saturday (Dec. 9), Grande performed “Oh Santa!” alongside Mariah Carey in New York. Next year, she will star as Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo in the long-awaited Wicked film.
Channel Tres, Lizzy McAlpine and SG Lewis have all left their manager, Talya Elitzer, and Godmode, the boutique firm she co-founded, sources tell Billboard.
Channel Tres is now co-managed by William Robillard-Cole (Kaytranada) and Jerry Edouard (Saint Mino), sources tell Billboard. McAlpine has found a new manager in Molly Clark, who was formerly her day-to-day manager at Godmode and has now left the company as well, sources also say.
Elitzer declined to comment on the departures. The artists and their new managers also declined to comment.
Elitzer co-founded the independent firm in the early 2010s with producer Nick Sylvester. Prior, she worked as an A&R at Capitol Records. Channel Tres signed with Godmode for management in 2018. Last September, Godmode partnered with RCA to sign the artist to a major label deal. Since then, he has released one EP, this year’s Real Cultural Shit. His new single, “Walked In The Room,” arrives Thursday (Dec. 7).
Lewis and McAlpine both signed on as management clients this year, in April and May, respectively, on the heels of major successes. SG Lewis released his second album AudioLust & HigherLove in January, which featured Channel Tres, Tove Lo and others. It peaked at No. 13 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
As for McAlpine, her breakout hit, “Ceilings,” marked her Hot 100 debut in February. By March, it became her first No. 1 on a Billboard chart, summiting Alternative Streaming Songs. This September, she collaborated with Noah Kahan on a duet rendition of his song “Call Your Mom,” while in October she joined Reneé Rapp on stage to perform “For Good” from Wicked.
It’s been more than 27 years since Sublime performed its final show with Bradley Nowell, but recent moves by the late frontman’s family have paved the way for the band’s possible return with Nowell’s son Jakob Nowell as the famed Long Beach punk-ska-reggae trio’s next generation singer.
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Jakob Nowell — who was 11 months old when his father died in 1996 — has been performing and touring for more than a decade, and this year signed a record deal with Epitaph Records for his group Jakob’s Castle and made a surprise appearance with Stick Figure at Coachella. On Dec. 11, he will perform at a benefit concert for Bad Brains frontman H.R. at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles alongside Sublime’s original members, bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, for the first time ever. The trio are not calling themselves Sublime for the benefit show, but Jakob’s manager Kevin Zinger with Regime Music Group and musician-turned-executive Joe Escalante have already been selected by the original band members, along with Bradley Nowell’s wife (and Jakob’s mom) Troy Dendekker Nowell, to manage the rights and intellectual property for Sublime.
Kevin Zinger
Fabrice Henssens
Zinger and Escalante have been hired to manage the “legacy assets, the licensing and all the business in Sublime going forward for Jake, Troy, Bud and Eric,” Escalante tells Billboard. “The guys plan to jam together in support of H.R. at the Teragram Ballroom on Dec. 11. Beyond that we’re not prepared to make any announcements.”
Zinger is a veteran music executive and documentary filmmaker whose clients include House of Pain, Tower of Power, Everlast and Steele Pulse. Escalante is bassist for the famed Orange County punk band The Vandals, as well as a music executive and Hollywood showrunner.
News of a relaunched Sublime has generated significant interest from festival talent buyers who have already begun submitting offers for festival bookings, Zinger tells Billboard. But for now, he says, the three men remain focused on rehearsing for the Dec. 11 show.
Joe Escalante
Aki Yamazaki
“We’re patiently waiting and doing the right thing,” says Zinger. “If the vibe’s there, the vibe’s there.”
Wilson is also a member of Sublime with Rome, a popular touring outfit led by singer Rome Ramirez that plays songs from Sublime’s catalog as well as Ramirez’s originals. The name Sublime with Rome was created as legal a compromise between Ramirez, Wilson and Troy Dendekker Nowell in 2010 after Nowell sued to stop the men from touring under the name Sublime.
Further complicating matters for Sublime relaunch with Jakob Nowell is that Sublime With Rome have a New Zealand tour and a number of big festivals booked in 2024;, as does Jakob’s Castle, who’s opening for G Love & Special Sauce on a tour running through the end of March.
Tickets are still available for Positive Mental Attitude: A Benefit For HR of Bad Brains at the Teragram Ballroom on Dec. 11, priced at $30 apiece. There is also a GoFundMe set up to benefit H.R. here.