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Merlin, the digital licensing partner for the independent music sector, announced that it renewed its licenses with Meta on Wednesday (June 12). That means the music of Merlin members — releases from labels like Domino, Secretly, Ninja Tune, Warp Records and many more — can continue to be discovered on Facebook and Instagram.
“This renewal is about more than simply licensing music – it’s about the strength of building long term relationships, seeking innovative ways to deliver music to fans and those discovering our artists for the first time, and the value of the dynamic nature of independent music,” Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, said in a statement. “Merlin, on behalf of its members and their artists, is leading the way to build an ethical, sustainable, and indie-centric world.”
“Meta is thrilled to renew our partnership with Merlin, one of the leading champions of independent music,” added Tamara Hrivnak, vice president of music & content business development at Meta. “Our continued collaboration will foster further innovation in music discovery and creative expression. We’re excited for what the future holds.”
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Merlin’s global membership accounts for around 15% of the recorded music market, and Merlin negotiates deals not only with Meta but with Apple, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more than 40 other platforms.
“In an industry that has always been in flux, Merlin is the steady hand,” Sirota explained earlier this year. “Merlin doesn’t have investors looking for an exit. There is no parent company with different motives. We are a mission-driven organization that operates like a not-for-profit and is funded entirely by our members.”
As short-form video platforms have become increasingly important for driving music discovery, artists are eager to make their songs available through platforms like Reels. And Reels took on even more importance earlier this year when Universal Music Group’s licensing negotiations with TikTok fell apart.
Historically, no short-form video platform has been able to match TikTok when it comes to causing a previously unknown song to erupt into the public consciousness overnight. When the wider music industry realized it might have to live without TikTok as a marketing tool at some point, many marketers redoubled their efforts to reach an audience through Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Indie digital rights group Merlin is launching a new initiative today (June 5) called Merlin Connect, aimed at helping up-and-coming social and tech platforms license independent music. The new program, which will work on an application basis, is aimed at helping promising startups utilize music while also helping Merlin’s labels and distributors, and thus indie artists, get paid for their use.
For years, new digital startups have often adopted a policy of “asking for forgiveness not permission” — dating back to the old Facebook motto of “move fast and break things” — which often meant that music and other media would be used without licenses, and recompense, while an app or platform found its footing and users, due to the high expense of licensing media catalogs. That tended to result in contentious licensing negotiations when such apps or platforms became too big to ignore — and, on occasion, lawsuits if such companies continued to utilize music and media without agreeing to deals with rightsholders.
Merlin Connect is trying to smooth that process for both new startups and its members, offering flexible terms and licenses that also get rightsholders paid as a startup develops.
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“Our overarching goal is to discover new opportunities for music monetization,” Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota told Billboard in an exclusive statement. “Many emerging technology platforms lack access to, or do not even realize, how quality music can help them build and retain new audiences, resonate with cultural movements and drive their growth. Our members are handpicking a curated catalog of music that is perfect for any platform’s evolution… By bringing independent music to new spaces, we’re delivering exclusive opportunities for our members, ensuring they are at the forefront of innovation.”
Merlin says the program will be aimed at creating fair value for music, as well as marketing opportunities and the development of relationships with the next generation of platforms early on in their existence. On the other side of that equation, it will allow the platforms to have access to a simplified process within which they can utilize fully-licensed independent music and explore collaborations with Merlin members, and find ways “to maximize the impact of music on their platform,” according to a press release.
“The industry has been in need of an easier way for new platforms to access high-quality music and, in turn, foster growth for quite some time,” Ninja Turn managing director North America Marie Clausen said in a statement. “I am excited to see the Merlin team taking such a visionary approach to exploring new business opportunities. It’s a crucial step to ensure that new commercial opportunities have the best chance to succeed and diversify and secure new income streams for Merlin’s members. From an independent point of view, this initiative is excellent news — especially given the current market challenges.”
Emerging platforms will be able to apply, after which their application will be reviewed and Merlin will “selectively engage with the most promising platforms,” the organization said. Merlin will prioritize a platform’s potential for innovation and evolution; its leadership and the resilience of its team; with the goal of a more sustainable and ethic industry.
“As one of the founders of Merlin, I’ve had the opportunity to support the incredible growth of our organization from its inception to now,” !K7 founder Horst Weidenmüller said in a statement. “Merlin has always been dedicated to empowering independence, ensuring that its members receive the access and opportunities they deserve. With the launch of Merlin Connect, we are taking a significant step forward in this mission.”
Added Hopeless Records founder Louis Posen, “Hopeless is a passionate and longtime supporter of Merlin and its mission to ensure the fair value of music for the independent music community. With Connect, Merlin can now expand the reach of members’ music into new areas where music fans interact with the music they love. We are excited to see Merlin Connect open new doors for our artists and bring their music to innovative platforms around the world.”
Some of the most important workplace skills can only be learned on the job — from building relationships with colleagues to positioning yourself for a promotion to dealing with long hours to being able to tell if a work situation is truly strange or totally normal.
But for women — many of whom find it easier to confide in other women at work — finding a colleague to figure these things out with can be harder in a male-skewing industry like the music business.
A 2023 study conducted by Luminate, Tunecore and Believe found a host of female-specific challenges in the music industry, including increased instances of sexual harassment, ageism and unequal representation along with a persistent wage gap. These challenges are particularly acute in the indie realm, where, despite some improvements, senior leadership continues to be largely male.
“Independents tend to be niche spaces and our company sizes are smaller,” says Katie Alberts, COO of the Atlanta-based Reach Records. “If you have a historic trend of men being in leadership and your company only has 10 people, you might not have that female executive within your company as an example for other women.”
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To take on the issue, Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for independent labels, launched a new mentorship program for women, Merlin Engage, early last year. The program paired 18 executive-level mentors with mentees from around the indie label space for a six-month program designed to offer community, leadership skills and advice on how to thrive and rise within the industry and the indie space in particular. The program was initiated by Marie Clausen, managing director of Ninja Tune North America and a Merlin Engage mentor. The 2024 Merlin Engage program starts March 20.
When she applied for the debut program, Magali Ould of Secret City Records was in discussions with upper management about a possible promotion. “We’re 14 employees,” she says. “It’s not a huge company, so every promotion is crucial.”
Magali Ould and Katie Alberts
Nadia Zheng; Courtesy Photo
Secret City president/CEO Justin West, who’s also a Merlin board member, suggested that Ould apply to the Engage program to connect with other women in leadership roles. Ould was accepted and paired with Jenna LoMonaco, the head of U.S. marketing at digital distribution service ONErpm. Over the next six months, the pair regularly spoke on the phone, discussing things like how to build and demonstrate leadership skills, how to prioritize, personality management within the company, public speaking, and presenting skills and relationship building.
Having a mentor, Ould says, gave her a “better understanding and perspective on what it takes to be upper management.” It also helped her score the promotion she was aiming for: Secret City GM.
Ould says working with LoMonaco also helped her see that many of the situations she was dealing with at work, and which seemed potentially unique to her work life, were actually common. Ould says this understanding enhanced her confidence, particularly in moments when she would have previously second guessed herself. She says this knowledge and confidence have helped her stand her ground as a woman in a leadership position.
“Jenna said, ‘Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness,’ which was very helpful for me,” Ould recalls. “I think women can be perceived as being nice, but then we don’t take our space so people might think they can just get their way. This experience showed me how to be caring and also how to still get s— done.”
Alberts of Reach Records served as a mentor in the program and says the experience was extra special because her mentee was pregnant. As such, the pair not only talked about professional goals, but also created a plan for her transition back into work after maternity leave and adjusting to life as a working mom. While the official program is over, Alberts and her mentee are still in touch on work and life matters.
“To see that we did the prep work for a smooth transition back to work, then seeing her reintegrate into working life as a new mom, is super cool,” says Alberts.
In addition to ongoing one-on-one meetings (for which mentors and mentees set their own schedule), the debut Engage program included three program-wide meetings over Zoom, with participants from across the United States. along with cities including London, Brussels and Cape Town, South Africa. The second Engage program will include 15 mentor-mentee pairings, with participants from 10 countries and 28 different Merlin-affiliated companies.
Alberts, who’s returning as a mentor, says there won’t be any major changes to the program except for potentially more of the program-wide Zoom meetups given how much information was mined from hearing about other mentor/mentee experiences. These wider meetings also allowed for participants to collaborate across companies and territories, with the diversity of Merlin affiliated labels allowing for noncompetitive knowledge sharing.
“We’re able to learn and grow from each other through this exchange of information,” says Alberts. “Like, ‘Hey, we made this mistake on this platform, or here’s how we optimized in this in a really interesting way.’”
“That allows us to pool resources,” she continues, “And I think there’s a lot of alignment with Merlin’s vision in that too, because it’s about the collective weight of independents together.”
Merlin, the global digital licensing agency for the independent music industry, has unveiled its new board – one that doesn’t feature co-founders Martin Mills and Michel Lambot.
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The new board comprises leaders from the indie sector in 12 different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania, and includes six new faces.
Exclusively revealed by Billboard today (Jan. 10), Merlin welcomes new board members Golda Bitterli, VP of sales, Revelator (Israel); Jeffrey Chiang, director of global business, Fluxus (South Korea); Fer Isella, founder and CEO, limbo music (Spain); Irina Lipczyk-Kolakovska, digital distribution lead, e-muzyka (Poland); Simon Wheeler, director of global commercial strategy, Beggars (U.K.); and Megan Jasper, CEO, Sub Pop (U.S.).
They join returning Merlin board members Pascal Bittard, founder and CEO, IDOL (France); Marie Clausen, managing director North America, Ninja Tune (U.S.); Tom Deakin, head of EMEA, AudioSalad (U.K.); Chris Maund, COO, Mushroom Music (Australia); Carlos Mills, founder, Mills Records (Brazil); Louis Posen, president & executive director, Hopeless Records (U.S.); Michael Ugwu, CEO, Freeme Digital (Nigeria); Darius Van Arman, co-CEO, Secretly (U.S.); Horst Weidenmueller, CEO & Owner, !K7 (Germany); and Justin West, president & CEO, Secret City (Canada).
Van Arman is reappointed as chairperson for a second term, having first joined the board in 2015, and playing an “instrumental” role in guiding the organization’s strategic direction, reads a statement.
Additionally, Jennifer Newman Sharpe, general counsel, Exceleration, and Dorothee Imhoff, CCO, FUGA, are appointed board advisors this year.
Merlin’s board is elected from and by its membership, which represents tens of thousands of independent record labels, distributors, and rightsholders, including K7!, Because Music, Beggars Group, Better Noise, CD Baby and Downtown Music (including FUGA), Exceleration, and many others.
In the upcoming year, explains Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota in a statement to Billboard, the organization “is committed to fostering meaningful, sustainable and value-driven member growth.”
Its mission, “to support labels and distributors who invest in artists and their unique cultural contributions. By associating with members who invest in high-quality music around the world, Merlin aims to strengthen its network, while offering unparalleled access and benefits to our members, and enriching the global music landscape.”
Sirota and Merlin also pay tribute to outgoing board members Martin Mills (Beggars), Merlin co-founder, board member and former chairperson, and Michel Lambot ([PIAS]), Merlin co-founder and board member, two giants of the independent music community whose “long-standing leadership” helped members “around the world own their independence.”
Also, Sirota points to the completion last year of the initial build of a Data Warehouse, which should enable Merlin to make “significant strides in data, analytics, and insights to further advance our mission and our members.” In 2024, “we will now start to provide actionable insights derived from our collective data,” he adds. Part of that plan includes expanding Merlin’s data and insights team, which in time should “deliver insights that help our members make informed decisions and foster growth.”
Adam Wright, a veteran executive at several agencies and major labels, has been appointed chief financial officer of indie rights non-profit Merlin, succeeding Helen Alexander, who exits the organization after five and a half years.
Wright arrives from CAA, where he oversaw brand licensing in Europe, Middle East, and Africa as the firm’s director of finance. Previously, Wright held top-tier positions at Sony Music, handling operations across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore; and at Cooperative Music (now [PIAS] Cooperative), which was UMG’s indie-focused global licensing and distribution network until being sold in 2013.
Based in the UK, Wright will be responsible for all of the org’s financial, treasury and tax functions on a global basis. He arrives at a time of growth for Merlin, which says it has added 37 new members since last summer and is coming off deals and/or partnerships with Pinterest, Twitch Lickd and others.
“[Wright] is highly respected in his field and brings the right blend of long-term thinking, technical skills, and impressive leadership to benefit Merlin, its members and our partners around the globe,” said Jeremy Sirota, Merlin CEO.
Wright added that he was thrilled to return to the indie sector. “Independents’ passion for music is only matched by their level of innovation and entrepreneurship,” he said. “It’s a privilege to join Merlin as they continue to deliver on that ethos on behalf of their members and digital partners around the world.”
Warner Music Group (WMG) is collaborating with NFT marketplace OpenSea to enable select WMG artists to build and extend their fan communities in Web3. Under the partnership, WMG artists will be offered early access to OpenSea’s new drops product along with improved discoverability, personalized storytelling on customized landing pages and OpenSea’s safety and security features. They will also receive dedicated support and best practices from the OpenSea team while enjoying their own dedicated drop pages to host limited-edition projects. The first collection will be a collaboration between Warner Records UK and Web3 company Probably Nothing, which recently launched Probably a Label, a Web3 record label in partnership with Warner Records.
Audius, a decentralized music community and discovery platform for developers, artists and fans, acquired virtual music experience platform SoundStage.fm. Based in Barcelona, SoundStage.fm offers interactive experiences for fans — enabling engagement through dancing and live-reaction based functions — while providing new branding and monetization opportunities for artists. The platform has featured artists including Firebeatz, Kill Paris and ill.Gates.
Independent digital music licensing partners Merlin signed a new partnership with China-based short-form video platform Kuaishou. Under the agreement, Merlin members’ music will be available across Kuaishou products including Kwai and SnackVideo. Kuaishou boasts over 1 billion monthly active users across the globe, according to a press release.
Exceed Talent Capital, a platform that enables people to purchase SEC-compliant shares of talent, partnered with Lil Durk to offer an IPO for his upcoming OTF collaboration release of the song “Bedtime” with his artist Doodie Lo, allowing fans to participate in revenues of royalties from the song. To celebrate the partnership, Lil Durk and Exceed will release the “Trenches All-Access Pass” NFT, enabling exclusive access to the private Grand Theft Auto roleplay server built by Lil Durk and his OTF Gaming company. The Exceed presale will grant immediate lifetime access, limited edition in-game wearables and offer holders first dibs on shares from the music IPO.
Sony Music Entertainment Middle East and Kuwait-based creative studio, music and video production company Ghmza partnered to produce music and promote emerging Khaleeji pop artists across the Middle East. Actor and Arabic pop singer Bader Al Shuaibi and Kuwaiti singer, songwriter and TV personality Bashar al-Shatti will be the first two artists to work with Sony under the new partnership.
FaZe Holdings, parent company of gaming and youth culture platform FaZe Clan, will develop original content, private fan events, exclusive merchandise and more in partnership with Xfinity. Under the deal, Xfinity will become the official internet and mobile provider for FaZe Clan. The two companies will also host The Gig, a series of private music and gaming-crossover events for college students, featuring hip-hop artist and longtime FaZe Clan family member Offset. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to meet FaZe Clan members, learn about exclusive Xfinity offers for students and more. The first show will take place Nov. 3 at Boston’s MGM Ballroom, followed by a second at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on Nov. 10. The two companies will additionally produce an original series, Rig Raiders Brought to you by Xfinity, featuring FaZe Clan members and special guests delivering game set-ups for underserved creators and communities. Xfinity branding will also be integrated into FaZe Clan’s ongoing programming across all channels and content.
Community-driven, open-source artificial intelligence company Stability AI announced $101 million in funding. The round was led by Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners and O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC. The company will use the funding to accelerate the development of open AI models for image, language, audio, video, 3D and more, for consumer and enterprise use cases worldwide. Stability AI is the company behind Stable Diffusion, a free and open-source text-to-image generator that launched in August. Stability AI’s consumer-facing product DreamStudio boasts over 1 million registered users across more than 50 countries, according to a press release.
Sony Music struck a joint venture with Josh and Sam Fluxgold under the banner Oneway Records to sign and develop artists in Israel. The JV will focus on artists with international appeal. (Variety)
Dim Mak En Fuego — the Latin imprint of Steve Aoki‘s record label Dim Mak — has signed Ecuadorian-Colombian producer and DJ 2DEEP. The co-owner of reggaeton-electronic event Reggaetonlandia, 2DEEP most recently co-produced Natanael Cano and Aoki’s “Nataaoki,” which dropped earlier this year. He’s slated to release his freshman EP next year, his first project under Dim Mak En Fuego. 2DEEP is the first producer/DJ to join the label’s roster, which includes artists such as Andrezka and AquihayAquihay. – Griselda Flores
Melle Brown and ESSEL are among the first signees to Parachute, Virgin Music UK‘s new distribution and artist services arm for dance and electronic artists with crossover appeal. The imprint is inspired by the late ’70s sounds of Casablanca’s Parachute Records. The first unofficial single from Parachute was Brown’s “Feel About You” feat. Annie Mac. It was followed by ESSEL’s “Don’t Walk Away.”
Volumetric capture and immersive content company YOOM, formerly known as Tetavi, raised $15 million from investors including Jimmy Iovine, Finneas O’Connell, SpringHill Company CEO Maverick Carter, Darkroom CEO Justin Lubliner and Main Street Advisors founder, chairman and CEO Paul Wachter. All have signed on as strategic partners, joining the company’s largest existing investors and shareholders including Insight Partners, Marc Rowan and Aaron Stone.
Musician and Web3 artist Daniel Allan signed with CAA for representation. According to the agency, Allan’s NFT music projects have generated over $700,000 and more than 20 million streams worldwide. Like his sophomore EP Overstimulated, his latest EP Glass House was released with the use of NFTs on Sept. 30.
Session and Songwriters of North America (SONA) partnered to make Session’s app, Session Studio, available to all SONA members. Session Stuio allows SONA members to capture song and recording data at the point of creation and deliver it downstream to managers, labels, publishers, CMOs and digital service providers. Members will also have access to Session Studio’s collaboration tools. Exclusive resources will be rolled out to SONA members as part of the collaboration.
American Idol runner-up HunterGirl signed with 19 Recordings/BMG. The singer-songwriter released her debut track on the label, “Hometown Out of Me,” on Friday (Oct. 21).
Oak View Group (OVG) signed an exclusive multi-year arena naming rights agreement with Baltimore-based CFG Bank. Under the deal, OVG’s forthcoming arena in the city will be renamed CFG Bank Arena. The venue is projected to open in February 2023. The agreement includes prominent exterior and interior signage, exclusive benefits to CFG Bank clients, cardholders and employees and the launch of a new community engagement program. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Hives signed with Matt Greer at ATC Management. Greer will co-manage the Swedish five-piece rock band alongside Brian Message and Courtyard Management’s Chris Hufford. The band was previously managed by Cyndy Villano at Do Good Work Management.
Production music company KPM Music launched a Web3 community that will offer music creators the opportunity to purchase digital collectibles entitled KPM Music Genesis Collection, including music from KPM’s “Greensleeves” series. The collectibles will be available exclusively on TuneGO, a Web3 platform operating on the Flow blockchain.
Indie singer VÉRITÉ partnered with Troy Carter and Suzy Ryoo‘s Venice Music. Venice offers tools, services and support on part with major labels while allowing artists to retain ownership and creative autonomy over their work.
J-Pop star Ado signed with Geffen Records. Ado — the voice actor behind the lead character in One Piece Film Red, the 15th film in the blockbuster Japanese franchise — provided vocals for seven songs featured in the film and on its official soundtrack.
Vietnamese/Chinese-American artist Spence Lee, formerly known as Shotta Spence, signed with 88rising in partnership with Mike WiLL Made-It/Ear Drummers Records. He will release his latest single, “On God,” on Friday (Oct. 28).
Turkish rapper and DJ Lil Key signed with Atlantic Records Germany, marking the first time the label has signed an artist from outside Germany.
CD Baby signed an agreement with fan engagement platform Laylo to offer CD Baby users an exclusive discount on Laylo’s Pro tier. Laylo allows artists to notify their fans about new music releases, content, merch and event announcements via text, email and Facebook Messenger.
Nettwerk Records signed Massachusetts-based lo-fi artist and music producer Towerz and Mississippi-based rapper/singer/producer Laeland.