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15 Sep 2023

Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From RL Grime, TSHA & Ellie Goulding, Camelphat, More

This week in dance music: Kah-Lo wrote about the sometimes rocky path that led to the release of her debut album, Calvin Harris got hitched, we spoke with Peggy Gou about her viral hit “It Goes Like (Nanana),” Alesso signed with CAA, Gou signed with WME, on the 10-year anniversary of Avicii’s True we talked to the label exec who signed the album, and Splash House shared nine hours worth of sets from its August editions.

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The week marks some big releases as well. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

RL Grime, Play

The Label: Sable Valley

The Spiel: RL Grime returns with a mic drop of a new project, his third LP PLAY. His first album since 2019, PLAY is actually made up of three mini-albums: APEX, GRID and RUSH. Each contains seven tracks highlighting different sound styles, with APEX delivering the same peak-time body-pummeling bass we’ve known and loved the producer (born Henry Steinway) for since the Void days; GRID being comprised largely of slick, smart collabs with artists including 070 Shake and Baauer; and RUSH delving into more experimental “headphones” music that demonstrate the producer’s efficacy with what is for him a newer type of sound. RL Grime will tour the album starting in October, with 17 dates across the U.S. and Canada.

The Artist Says: “Currently sitting in a park reflecting on the last few years and wanted to get some random thoughts down,” the producer wrote this week on Instagram. “From feeling completely stuck and sitting at home with no drive to make music whatsoever, to where we are today, hours away from releasing my third album is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around. It’s hard not to get caught up in the relentless and ever impending content/virality race of the current music industry .. for a long time it weighed down on my creativity and ultimately pushed me away from engaging at all with social media. thankfully this album process set me on a trajectory to regain my confidence not only as a producer but more importantly as a person…want to extended an eternal thank you to everyone involved in this project.”

The Vibe: Three to choose from

TSHA, Ellie Goulding & Gregory Porter, “Somebody”

The Label: Ninja Tune

The Spiel: TSHA checks in with a somber but resolute, and also resonant, collab with Ellie Goulding and Grammy-winning soul singer Gregory Porter. Over the London producer’s shuffling, tinny beat, Goulding references post-pandemic anxieties in singing “Feelin’ older than my years/ But ain’t it so when you’ve been staying home?” with her genuinely contemplative-sounding delivery juxtaposed with Porter’s earnest plea that “I really need somebody.”

The Artist Says: “The idea for this collaboration was sparked by Ellie sliding into my DM’s last year to reach out about a session. I of course jumped at the opportunity in a heartbeat – she’s someone that I’ve admired and respected for a long time, so to have the opportunity to work together was a complete no brainer for me. It’s been an absolute pleasure working together on ‘Somebody’, Ellie’s a real sweetheart and I’m so pleased with how the track has come together. The icing on the cake is the vocals that Gregory Porter has added, which for me really elevate the track and add another dimension to the music. Having a living legend like Gregory featuring on my music is a huge milestone moment for me.“

The Vibe: Lonely and pretty

Camelphat, Spiritual Milk

The Label: When Stars Align

The Spiel: The Liverpool duo, Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, have always been adept at making music that’s simultaneously deep, complex and pristinely produced, and that fingerprint is all over their sophomore album, Spiritual Milk. Out via the pair’s own When Stars Align label, the 16-track LP features loads of guests, including Kölsch, Delilah Montague, Shimza, Jake Bugg, London Grammar and Anyma, who all bring different moods to an album that nonetheless feels cohesive and fundamentally Camelphat.

The Artists Say: “We’ve felt a lot less pressure delivering this record possibly due to the fact it’s on our label, but also we’re at a point in our career where we can possibly afford to be more expressive and less fearful about what other people think,” the duo say in a joint statement. “It has definitely come from the heart and feels honest both as writers and musicians. We’ve had fun with it, we’ve made music less with the dance floor in mind and more with our emotions. The whole thing came together surprisingly very easily.”

The Vibe: Raw, whole and yes, in moments kind of creamy

Diplo & Walker & Royce Feat. Channel Tres, “Diamond Therapy”

The Label: Higher Ground

The Spiel: “See me as a ticket to foreign lands, I’m the pathway,” Channel Tres beckons on “Diamond Therapy,” three minutes of pure uncut tech house from Diplo and Walker & Royce. Together, the production trio lay a thumping, sometimes spare foundation for Tres to deliver lyrics about “diamond therapy, carat clarity” in his signature purr, with the hypnotic build leading to a crescendo of thick synth.

The Vibe: An actual gem

Chris Lake & Aluna, “More Baby”

The Label: Astralwerks/Black Book Records

The Spiel: We know Chris Lake and Aluna work well together, with their recently released “Beggin’” currently sitting at No. 11 on Dance Mix Show/Airplay. Today, the duo double down with “More Baby,” which Lake previewed during his massive b2b set with FISHER at Coachella this past April, and on which Aluna repeats the titular demand over a bouncy, elastic track co-produced by her, Lake and the duo Parisi, known for their work with Swedish House Mafia, Fred Again… and Black Eyed Peas.

The Vibe: Yes please, more please

15 Sep 2023

*NSYNC Isn’t Planning a Reunion Tour — But Could Earn $100M If They Did

NSYNC thrilled fans Wednesday night at the MTV Video Music Awards when they came out to present Taylor Swift with the VMA for best pop video for “Anti-Hero.” The moment would turn out to be bittersweet for fans hoping for a reunion tour from the five-member group, however; Billboard has confirmed there are no such plans.

It turns out that *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake has touring plans of his own for 2024. Billboard has confirmed that Timberlake has holds on dates at arenas in North America for a major run, with sources saying the trek will be accompanied by a new album from the singer. As they say in the business, Timberlake is going back into cycle, which means there won’t be any full-fledged *NSYNC tour any time soon.

That leaves some serious money on the table for the group’s other four members. While not a boy band, the reunion of Blink-182 earlier this year shows that fans are willing to pay big bucks for nostalgia. An arena tour could gross for the five could easily generate $2.2 million to $2.4 million per night in ticket sales — equaling a take-home of $265,000 to $290,000 per night for each member of the group (assuming the profits were split evenly). That means a full 40-city North America tour could gross upwards of $95 million. Add in merch sales and other opportunities, and it could easily be a $120 million earner.

On the bright side, if *NSYNC does decide to return to the road sometime in the future, the road map to successful boy band reunification has been charted by their contemporaries –notably New Kids on the Block, who reunited in 2008 more than 14 years after the end of the band’s Face the Music tour in 1994.

“There really wasn’t a proven runway for pop bands of any kind to reunite and feel like it was going to be a financial success,” says talent manager Jared Paul, the group’s manager and architect of its 2008 reunion and tour.

“It has to start with the music — that’s what turned the idea of ‘maybe someday’ into a reality for New Kids when some music fell into their laps that really inspired them,” explains Paul. “The real challenge though was, it was so unproven, we had to make so many decisions that we’re just betting on ourselves.”

Today, Paul runs Faculty Inc., a full-service entertainment company, tour producer and partner with Live Nation. Besides managing New Kids on the Block (who have now been reunited longer than they were broken up), Faculty Inc. also owns the touring rights for Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance and manages the recently reunited boy band Big Time Rush.

Paul says he’s rooting for an *NYSNC reunion one day and says pulling off a boy band reunion is the ultimate moon shot — where everything has to align perfectly for there to be even a chance of success.

“You have to align your schedules, but more importantly, you have to align your creative vision,” says Paul. “You have to be willing, if you’ve gone off on your own or shifted your focus on your family, to essentially agree on your time commitment, what you are going to sing, where you’re going to tour, what you’re going to wear and, if there is new music involved, which direction the album is going to lean.”

There’s also the challenge of rebuilding the *NSYNC business, but much of that work has already been done thanks to licensing deals with merch companies like Epic Rights, which manages some of the group’s rights. That can significantly reduce the window of time it will take to reunite.

There are also murmurs that the group could reunite without Timberlake. The band has fielded offers for a four-man reunion in the past, following its appearance at Coachella in 2019. But a source with knowledge of the group’s thinking says it was never seriously considered, noting that anything short of a five-person comeback is off the table.

15 Sep 2023

SZA’s Manager Pulled Her 2023 VMAs Performance Over ‘Disrespectful’ Artist of the Year Snub

When Ashanti and French Montana presented best R&B at Tuesday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, the category’s winner, SZA, was not present to pick up her Moon Person for “Shirt” — but she didn’t just skip the show for no reason, her manager revealed.

SZA entered the Sept. 12 ceremony as one of the night’s most-nominated artists, with eight nods total, including video of the year (“Kill Bill”), best art direction (“Shirt”) and album of the year (SOS). Despite being one of the most omnipresent artists of the past year, however, SZA’s name was left off the list of nominees for artist of the year.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Friday (Sept. 15), Terrence “Punch” Henderson, SZA’s longtime manager, said, “Obviously, she had one of the best years, if not the best year, of any artist at this point. I don’t see why she wouldn’t be nominated for artist of the year. It just really didn’t make any sense to me. It’s disrespectful.”

SZA released SOS in December, and her critically lauded sophomore studio album has dominated 2023. The record has been present in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 nearly every week this year, spending 10 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 and ranking at No. 2 on Luminate’s 2023 Midyear Music Report. “Kill Bill,” the record’s breakout hit, topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and spent months in the chart’s top 10. On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, “Kill Bill” broke the record for most weeks spent at No. 1 (21 weeks).

SOS also yielded the Hot 100 top 10 singles “Nobody Gets Me” (No. 10) and “Snooze” (No. 7), which reached the top 10 in its 35th week on the chart. Prior to the album’s release, two other singles hit the top 10: “Good Days” (No. 9) and “I Hate U” (No. 7). The VMA-winning “Shirt” peaked at No. 11 and topped both the Rhythmic and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts.

During a call about a potential SZA performance at the show, Punch says MTV “couldn’t give a clear answer as to why she wasn’t [nominated for artist of the year]. It was just, ‘Well, she’s nominated for all these other [awards].’” The nominees for artist of the year at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were Beyoncé, Karol G, Shakira, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and eventual winner Taylor Swift.

The nearly four-hour-long 2023 VMAs ceremony featured an overwhelming amount of performances, none of which included SZA — despite the initial efforts to have her grace the show’s stage. During one of those negotiations, “because there were people on [the call] about logistics for the show who didn’t have anything to do with [the nominations],” Punch said, “they ended up saying, ‘OK, well we could do another call.’” Nonetheless, MTV “didn’t want to discuss artist of the year, which to me was really a slap in the face,” he remarked.

“Why wouldn’t she be nominated for artist of the year? Even with the other artists that were nominated for artist of the year, some of them were even off-cycle. They didn’t have an album out. I mean, no disrespect to them or anybody else; everybody’s great and all of that, but still, you can’t discredit what SOS has done and is currently doing,” Punch added.

Three of the nominees — Doja Cat, Minaj and Shakira — had not released albums since the 2022 VMAs ceremony.

Ultimately, MTV’s failure to provide an explanation for the snub and reach a resolution spurred Punch to pull SZA’s performance. “I figured, why go perform and do this if she’s not going to be respected to the highest level? So it was my call to actually pull out of the performance,” he explained. However, the Top Dawg Entertainment president noted that SZA is “a very sweet person and she’s not for all of the nonsense and the politics and the back-and-forth and all of that. So, our feelings might be a little different.

“Ultimately, I felt it was disrespectful and I was very stern on that and influencing that,” Punch concluded. “If there’s any issues or backlash and all of that, I’m taking all of that.”

Despite the VMAs kerfuffle, SZA is currently powering through the final leg of her SOS headlining arena tour. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour has grossed $34.5 million and sold 238,000 tickets. On Friday (Sept. 15), the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter released two singles: a Justin Bieber-assisted acoustic reboot of “Snooze” and a highly anticipated Drake collaboration titled “Slime You Out.”

Last week (Sept. 8), SZA announced a deluxe edition of SOS titled LANA at a surprise event at New York’s Brooklyn Navy Yard. The expanded version of her triple-platinum album will arrive “this fall.”

SZA, an Academy Award-nominated songwriter, has earned eight top 10 hits on the Hot 100 from 40 career entries. On the Billboard 200, she has earned two top five albums: 2017’s Ctrl (No. 3) — which has spent a whopping 326 weeks on the ranking — and 2022’s SOS (No. 1).

The revelation of SZA’s situation comes after another R&B artist — Grammy-nominated “On My Mama” singer Victoria Monét — revealed to fans that MTV told her team that it was “too early in [her] story” to perform at the VMAs. Monét is a three-time Grammy nominee with writing credits for a range of artists including Ariana Grande and BLACKPINK. She has also charted a pair of albums on the Billboard 200 and two songs on the Hot 100; Monét made her recording debut in 2014.

15 Sep 2023

BTS’ V ‘Tiny Desk Korea,’ SUGA’s New NBA Merch, New Music From Drake, Demi Lovato & More | Billboard News

BTS’ V becomes the first K-pop idol to perform on NPR’s international version of their hit ‘Tiny Desk’ series, ‘Tiny Desk Korea’; his bandmate SUGA debuts new merch in collaboration with the NBA called the “Dynamite” capsule collection from Mitchell & Ness; Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan are working in the studio together; Billboard gives you an exclusive look at the VMAs, as well as concerts from Karol G and Gunna; Vic Mensa talks about his newly released sophomore album ‘Victor’; and we have new music from Drake and SZA, Demi Lovato, Diddy and more.

Tetris Kelly
The boys of BTS are bringing us to NPR and the NBA. Hot 100 No. 1 artist Zach Bryan teams up with Noah Kahan. Vic Mensa stops by to talk about his new album. We take you to the hottest music events around town, and we’ve got new music from Drake, Diddy, Dan + Shay and so much more.

Tetris Kelly
We’ve almost made it to the weekend. I’m Tetris Kelly for Billboard News, it’s Friday, September 15th, which means we’ve got new music and our Friday music guide. Drake surprised us with his first SZA collab. It’s called “Slime You Out” from his upcoming album ‘For All the Dogs.’ We’ll have more new music throughout the show, but first let’s get to our top story.

Tetris Kelly
V brings it to the Tiny Desk and SUGA teams up with the NBA.

Tetris Kelly
BTS’ V played NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk Korea,’ making him the first solo K-pop artists to participate in the honored tradition.

Tetris Kelly
Previous acts to play NPR’s ‘Tiny Desk’ include Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa and so many more icons. It’s the first ‘Tiny Desk’ performance since creator Bob Boylan announced his retirement. V’s not the only BTS member making moves: SUGA just launched his collab with the NBA. You can get some merch for your favorite teams with that BTS spin now, but you gotta hurry because they’re flying off the shelves.

Watch the full video above!

15 Sep 2023

Warner Chappell Extends Guy Moot and Carianne Marshall Through 2028

Warner Chappell Music entered into new contracts with Guy Moot, co-chair/CEO, and Carianne Marshall, co-chair/COO, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday (Sept. 15).

The new employment agreements go into effect on Oct. 1 and lock in both executives until Mar. 31, 2028. Both Moot and Marshall enjoyed 25% raises; the former’s base salary jumped from $1,750,000 to $2,187,500, while the latter’s rose from $1,250,000 to $1,562,500. Annual discretionary bonus targets for the pair increased as well, climbing from $1,750,000 to $2,187,500.

Marshall ascended to the COO role in April 2018, while Moot was named CEO the following year. They’ve since moved to sign acts like Frank Ocean, the Quincy Jones catalog and the Pop Smoke estate. “I don’t want us to be looking at every deal just because it’s in the market — we want to pick the winners, be selective [but] aggressive in how we close those deals,” Moot told Billboard in 2020.

“We can drive value for a lot of these catalogs by not just continuing to take good care of the big copyrights but also doing a deep dive,” Marshall added. “For the first time, we have a global head of synchronization, which is really important: We want to work with anyone who wants to use our songs to try to figure out how to create solutions for them. It’s important to us to be able to search our catalog to find something in every genre and at every price point with a quick turnaround.”

In the first quarter of 2019, Warner Chappell had a 16.13% share of the top 100 radio songs. In the first quarter of 2023, that share rose to 20.71%, though it fell to 17.21% in the second quarter. Also in the second quarter, Warner Chappell’s Hot 100 Songs market share was 19.94%.

15 Sep 2023

7 Halloween Makeup & Face-Paint Kits to Complete All Your Costumes

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Spooky season is calling, and if you’re planning on hosting or attending a Halloween party this year, thinking up a popular costume is only the start. Besides deciding between a Barbie costume or musician costume, crafting your makeup look is just as essential.

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The best Halloween makeup and face-paint kits will allow you to complete you outfit no matter if you’re going for scary, creepy or full-on glam. Investing in a quality kit will not only spare your new beauty products from running out (especially if it’s a full-body look you’re going for), but can spare your skin from any irritation as well.

Rather than scouring the Internet for the perfect kit, we put together a list of review-loved makeup and face-paint kits from Amazon, Walmart and Spirit Halloween that will help you create a look worthy of winning any costume contest.

Keep reading to shop our picks.

halloween makeup kit with brushes and paint

Amazon

Wismee SFX Makeup Kit

$26.99

This all-inclusive kit comes with dark tones for those looking to achieve a vampire or zombie costume. It comes with a palette of oil-based face paints made from hypoallergenic ingredients. And, if you want an especially gory look, you can use the scar wax, fake blood and 10 brushes to craft a scar, gash and more.

halloween makeup palette

Walmart

NYX Professional Makeup Ultimate Edit

$8.97 $11 18% off% OFF

Dressing up as a fairy or disco dancer? This palette features six bold shadows you can mix, blens and build or use to craft designs on your face.

brushes and face paint kit

Amazon

UCANBE Face Body Paint Set

$17.99

Use this face and body paint set to transform yourself into everything from a ghost, monster, witch and more. It comes with a set of brushes to assist in painting even the smallest details, so that when friends check out your complete costume they’ll be questioning if it’s real or not.

makeup palette, crayons and sponges

Amazon

JOYIN Halloween Makeup Set

$11.99 $13.99 14% OFF

More advanced makeup users may want to consider this makeup set as it not only comes with a palette of face paints, but a mix of prosthetics, skin-friendly glue, fake blood and more to paint up some gorey looks.

white, black and pink makeup kit

Spirit Halloween

‘Beetlejuice’ Makeup Kit

$12.99

Embrace the undead and use this makeup kit to create a bold Beetlejuice look inspired by the characters from the movie. It includes a palette of green, pink and black, lipstick, eyeliner, face paints and more. Don’t be surprised when your friends start saying “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!”

black, white and red face paint

Amazon

BOBISUKA Black White Red Face Paint

$9.99

Keep things simple with just three face paint shades using this trio kit that includes black, red and white face paint along with a brush and sponges. Now you can transform into a clown, the joker and more with just a flick of your wrist.

white, red, orange and black face paint palette, eyelashes, lipstick, eyeliner and face paint

Spirit Halloween

Annabelle Makeup Kit – ‘The Conjuring’

$14.99

Fans of The Conjuring series will appreciate this kit as it aims to help craft the perfect Annabelle look. Using the included palette, eyelashes, lipstick, face paint and eyeliner, you can craft a spooky doll look that’ll most likely have people looking away in fright.

Don’t just stop at your face! Adding some press-on nails will provide those final finishing touches. Check out these bloody, bat-themed and spiderweb designs to help inspire you.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best,

15 Sep 2023

Justin Tranter, Allee Willis & More to be Honored at 2023 SONA Warrior Awards

Songwriters Justin Tranter and the late Allee Willis, country artist and podcast host Rissi Palmer and ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews will be honored at the 2023 SONA Warrior Awards, which will be held on Oct. 29 at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood, California. Songwriters Bonnie McKee and Shane Stevens are set to host the show.

McKee is known for her 2013 Billboard Hot 100 hit “American Girl,” as well as for co-writing hits by Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, Britney Spears, Kesha and others. Stevens has written for numerous country and pop acts, including Lady Antebellum, Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood and Sara Evans.

Performers on the show are Brenda Russell (in honor of Willis), Miko Marks (in honor of Palmer) and Kitchen Swanky Band (representing Songwriters of North America’s – SONA’s –  work in the Caribbean).

The SONA Warrior Awards celebrate the talent and hard work of individuals known for their accomplishments within the music industry, while also honoring their efforts advocating for songwriters’ rights.

SONA brings together music creatives and industry professionals to reimagine the music industry in the 21st century. The organization’s main issues are: a right to fair pay in the age of digital media, the ability to advocate for themselves, the right to safety and equity within their workplaces.

SONA has long tried to unionize and stand for the rights of music artists/songwriters in the same way that the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild fight for the rights of writers and actors, respectively. SONA’s contention is that, just like the talent in those fields, songwriters are often paid unfairly and left uncredited for their work. For more information on SONA, go here.

Here’s some background on this year’s honorees:

15 Sep 2023

Can Hipgnosis Songs Fund Satisfy Investors With Its $465M Catalogs Sale?

Will Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a trailblazer in making music an alternative asset class in the financial world, fight to see another day? The sale of catalogs for $465 million, announced Thursday, is meant to help Hipgnosis Song Fund’s sagging share price and bring it closer to the company’s per-share net asset value (NAV). But it also intends to give investors a reason to vote for a five-year continuation in the annual meeting that’s likely to be held in October.

Given its need to shore up investor support, the catalog sale didn’t come as a surprise. Board chair Andrew Sutch said at a July 13 investor presentation that the board was pursuing options to boost shareholder value, and Hipgnosis has said that many of its largest shareholders favor share buybacks and partial debt repayment to help the struggling share price. This transaction provides the capital for those measures: Hipgnosis intends to use $180 million for share buybacks and $250 million to pay down the revolving credit facility.

Whether the deal ultimately succeeds depends on investors’ belief they are getting a good deal on the sale — the majority of which is to a sister company, the Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital (a joint venture with the royalty fund’s investment advisory, Hipgnosis Song Management, led by Merck Mecuriadis). Hipgnosis Songs Fund has long traded at a steep discount to its per-share NAV. That could partly be explained by higher interest rates that make the royalty fund, launched when interest rates were lower, a relatively less attractive investment to safer bonds. A larger factor could be investors’ lack of faith in NAV. Hipgnosis, which has argued the share price does not accurately reflect the value of its catalog, is now giving the market a transaction to help prove its point.

In the days following the announcement, some analysts have shown concern about the deal’s terms, transparency and related-party buyer. Investec analysts criticized the deal for valuing the assets “as being little more than the IPO price” in an investor note on Friday (Sept. 15) and stated, “there is substantial value leakage to related parties that again sadly raises significant corporate governance concerns.”

Numis predicts that Hipgnosis investors’ views will be “mixed, particularly given the Round Hill offer,” analysts wrote in a Sept. 14 investor note. In that deal, announced Sept. 8, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund — a royalty fund listed on the London Stock Exchange like Hipgnosis Songs Fund — received a buyout offer from U.S. music company Concord. Unlike the Hipgnsosis deal, Concord bid for the entire publicly traded company — at a price 11.5% below Round Hill’s net asset value. It’s a more straightforward transaction than Hipgnosis’ proposed partial catalog sale.

Numis believes that Hipgnosis’ share price’s discount to NAV “may persist for some time,” which could mean the board and the investment advisor, Hipgnosis Songs Management, “will continue to come under pressure.”

Analysts at Stifel, who have long been critical of Hipgnosis and Round Hill’s music royalty funds’ valuation methodologies, focused on the value Hipgnosis Songs Fund was extracting from Hipgnosis Songs Capital. The $465 million transaction consists of two parts. The first disposal worth $440 million, which accounts for 95% of the purchase price, is 17.5% below the fair value and 26% above the catalogs’ acquisition price.

Little is known about the smaller, second disposal that amounts to a $25 million slice of a catalog acquired from Kobalt Music in 2020 for $323 million. Hipgnosis Songs Capital is not the buyer of the second disposal.

Adding to the deal’s complexity, Hipgnosis Songs Fund is on the hook for bonuses and other payments under the original acquisition agreements; the company believes that will amount to $5.5 million, and it will be capped at $30 million. In addition, Hipgnosis Songs Capital is due royalties on the acquired catalog earned going back to Jan. 1 — about $15.3 million through Sept. 14.

“The complex nature of the deal suggests that it is hard to say the NAV has been validated,” wrote Stifel analyst Sachin Saggar.

If the share price is any gauge of investors’ initial reaction to the deal, opinions aren’t good. Shares of Hipgnosis Songs Fund dropped 6.5% on Thursday and another 7% on Friday. The 13% two-day decline eliminated nearly all of the 15.7% bump the share price received on Sept. 8 following news of Concord’s bid for Round Hill.

If investors are considering what Hipgnosis Songs Fund has left after the sale, they will find many jewels remaining in its catalog, including Neal Schon of Journey, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom DeLonge of Blink-182, Neil Young, Blondie, Steve Winwood, Rodney Jerkins, Chrissie Hyde of the Pretenders, RZA, Teddy Geiger and The Chainsmokers. Five of those names — Journey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink-182, Fleetwood Mac and The Chainsmokers — rank in the year-to-date top 500 recording artists ranked by global on-demand audio streams, according to Luminate. Two of them, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fleetwood Mac, are in the top 100. It’s also keeping Walter Afanasieff, co-writer of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which is a No. 1 song in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada every November and December.

Hipgnosis is giving up some quality, though: The 29 catalogs in the first portfolio include 21 of 473 songs in Spotify’s Billions Club, five of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs, and five of YouTube’s 30 most-viewed music videos. They include some older music by Barry Manilow and Rick James as well as newer artists like Poo Bear, RedOne, Martin Bresso and Colombian star Shakira, who ranks No. 55 in global audio on-demand streams. But, on average, these are younger songs with less proven royalty histories than the average song in Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s portfolio. In general, younger songs are less valuable than older, more established songs. Shareholders will vote on the sale at the annual general meeting.

The second disposal represents “non-core” assets worth $25 million that represent a small portion of the 33,000 songs acquired from Kobalt Music for $323 million in 2020. That deal also included the 18,000-song publishing catalog of Canadian music company Nettwerk. Hipgnosis Songs Fund said at the time it paid Kobalt an 18.3 times net publisher share multiple for the catalogs.

Hipgnosis believes the two disposals achieve multiple aims. The $465 million price tag is “the smallest possible that would provide the required capital” for share buybacks and debt repayment, the company stated in a press release. Also, the catalogs the company chose to sell leave intact “the fundamental investment case for Hipgnosis Songs Fund….by protecting the strength of the remaining portfolio.” Come October, we’ll see what investors are thinking.

15 Sep 2023

Percy Jackson Is Coming Back to Bookshelves: How to Preorder the New Rick Riordan Book

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The fates have spoken and your favorite demigod is back for a new adventure in the upcoming book Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods. The new book is set to come out Sept. 26, but for those who don’t want to miss their opportunity to read it the moment it’s released, you can preorder it on Amazon — and for 10% off!

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This only adds to the excitement for fans of Percy Jackson & The Olympians as Disney+ has a new television adaptation of the series in the works. While the new show isn’t set to drop until sometime in 2024, this fresh story can tide you over until the series premieres.

This time around, Percy will face one of his biggest challenges yet: getting into college. It doesn’t help that the Gods are facing him with another quest, but thankfully he’ll have the help of Annabel and Grover to succeed — especially if he wants to get his three required letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus. The quest at hand? Oh, just to make sure Zeus’ cup-bearer retrieves his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Easy.

Keep reading to preorder the book below or click here.

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“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods” by Rick Riordan

$17.99 $19.99 10% OFF

After 10 years of waiting, fans can enjoy the new book that takes place after the initial events of the first five books in the Percy Jackson series. It will be from Percy’s point of view, and you can snag it on Amazon for less than $20. Barnes & Noble has their own exclusive edition available for preorder, which includes bonus material.

For more book product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best female musician memoirs, music books and Taylor Swift recommended books.

15 Sep 2023

Justin Bieber Shares Behind-the-Scenes Look at Recording Surprise SZA Collaboration

SZA surprised fans on Friday (Sept. 15) with a gentle, stripped-back version of her S.O.S. hit “Snooze” featuring a slick new verse from Justin Bieber, who made an appearance on the original song’s music video last month.

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See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Following the new release, Bieber took to his Instagram Stories to give a behind-the-scenes look at recording his part of the track, posting himself running through different vocal takes and moving the microphone in what looks like a stunning home studio. See the clips before they disappear here.

“In a droptop ride with you, I feel like Scarface/ Like that white b–ch with the bob, you’ll be my main one/ Let’s take this argumеnt back up to my place/ Sex rеminds you I’m nonviolent, I’m your day one,” the 29-year-old “Sorry” singer muses on his breezy new verse, supplemented by SZA’s honeyed vocals providing harmonies.

“Snooze” snagged SZA her second No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, topping the list dated July 1. The song was also SZA’s second career No. 1 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay tally.