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TikTok Launches Emerging Artist Program Elevate

TikTok has announced the launch of ‘Elevate,’ its program to uplift emerging artists both through in-app promotion and the sponsorship of in-person events. The inaugural class for Elevate includes artists CHINCHILLA, Sam Barber, Omar Courtz, Isabel LaRosa, Kaliiii, and Lu Kala.

In an exclusive interview with Billboard, TikTok’s North America artist partnerships lead, Rachel Dunham, says the program is designed to “represent artists across diverse genres and backgrounds, signed and unsigned,” she says. “The main intention of this program is really to help artists create sustained careers.”

To do this, the Elevate program will provide its talent with promotion on the @musicontiktok social handles and will host concerts in each of them in their hometowns until the end of the program in October. This year’s class is from is from a range of places, including Canada, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Puerto Rico, and the U.K. and TikTok’s artist team will “amplify” their local, in-person activations with Elevate artists “so that the rest of the world can be introduced to them through the lens of their hometowns and their roots,” says Dunham.

The news comes as the social media app continues to expand its reach into the music business. Earlier this month, TikTok launched a “social media streaming service” called TikTok Music in Brazil and Indonesia, replacing previous TikTok-founded streaming service Resso, which was launched in March 2020 in India, Indonesia and later Brazil. The new TikTok Music will be a subscription based service that allows users to synch their existing TikTok accounts in order to listen to, share, and download the tracks they discover on the social media app.

The company is also continuing to build its roster with SoundOn, its music distribution service that is aimed at helping independent emerging artists get music onto all streaming services. The tool was originally launched in Brazil and Indonesia in early 2022 and then in the U.S. and the U.K. shortly after. It was expanded to Australia in February 2023.

According to Dunham, Elevate is “separate from those efforts, but as those efforts continue to build we will absolutely leverage them when possible.”

TikTok joins the likes of YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud and others in forming a program geared towards amplifying young talent through on-platform promotion, but Dunham highlights a key difference in TikTok’s Elevate: “The level of discoverability that TikTok provides I think is truly unparalleled. That’s a huge credit to our recommendation system as well,” she says. “I think it’s also pretty incredible that unlike other platforms where artists just share content to their fans, on TikTok, the fans are sharing content back and using the artists’ music to soundtrack their lives too. It creates this incredible feedback loop.”

According to the company, more details will be revealed about Elevate as the program continues into the fall.

Jennifer Lopez Teases Another Romantic Ode to Ben Affleck With Anniversary-Themed ‘Midnight Trip to Vegas’

She loves him, she really loves him. Jennifer Lopez teased her latest homage to husband Ben Affleck on Monday (July 17) when the singer/actress dropped a 20-second preview of her ode to the couple’s Sin City wedding, “Midnight in Vegas.” The first listen to the sweet ballad came a day after the first anniversary of their wedding at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas.

“Then you whispered in my ear/ Said, ‘let’s get out of here’/ We can disappear tonight/ What about a midnight trip to Vegas?/ Just me and you, baby/ Throw the kids in the back of the pink Cadillac/ And us in the bathroom changing,” she sang in a selfie lip synch video posted to her On the JLo page.

The song opens with the lines, “I always dreamed that I’d find somebody like you/ We’re drowning/ In orchid arrangements/ Dresses and pastries/ What if it’s raining, yeah?/ Is this what we’ve been dreaming of?/ It’s crowded with families and agents/ Room reservations/ Which destination/ Paps helicopters/ Event of the ages/ Caught in the matrix.”

“One year since our Midnight Trip To Vegas … ?♠️❤️ Go to On The JLo for a special surprise… #ThisIsMeNow,” she wrote on Instagram along with two glam shots of herself in a glittery dress. The preview of the song is the first listen we’ve had so far of This Is Me… Now, JLo’s sequel to her 2002 Affleck-inspired album This Is Me… Then. It is also at least the third song she’s written to honor Affleck, following up on the earlier album’s “Dear Ben”; “Dear Ben Pt. II” is slated to appear on Now, whose release date has not yet been announced.

Lopez and Affleck first began dating in July 2002 and were engaged in November of that year. The couple postponed their wedding in Sept. 2003 just a few days before the wedding was slated to take place and broke up before reuniting in 2021.

Ghetto House Pioneer DJ Deeon Has Died

Chicago-based ghetto house pioneer DJ Deeon has died.

An update posted to the artist’s Facebook page on Tuesday (July 18) by an administrator states that “I am sorry to announce the legendary Artist, Producer, DJ, Label owner, and my friend Deeon ‘DJ Deeon’ Boyd gained his wings today. The family thanks you for your support and will announce arrangements in the coming days. Thank you for your understanding.”

No cause of death was provided, although the producer has suffered myriad health issues including cancer, multiple strokes, diabetes, quadruple bypass surgery and a leg amputation. The producer recapped his list of health challenges in a 2020 fundraiser to cover his medical bills. Last week, he posted a photo of himself in the hospital with the caption “pray for me.”

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DJ Deeon was a pioneer of ghetto house, a house subgenre developed in Chicago in the early 1990s that was driven by 808 and 909 drum machines and sexually explicit lyrics. The producer was namechecked in Daft Punk’s 1997 track “Teachers” for his contributions to the genre, including the classics “Bomb 96,” “Wicked,” “Back 2 Skool” and “House-o-matic.”

The producer is being mourned by the dance music community, with Defected Records — who released the Lee Walker and DJ Deeon collab “Freak Like Me” in 2016 — writing that “his music and productions transcended genres and were loved by the whole dance music community. His impact on our scene is huge. Sending our thoughts and love to his family and friends.”

Fellow Chicagoan The Blessed Madonna posted a tribute noting that “It would be hard to overstate his importance to Chicago and all of dance music. He was also an extremely sweet guy who will be missed terribly. Damn.”

Listen to “Freak Like Me” below.



J Hus, Taylor Swift and Rita Ora Battle For U.K. Albums Chart Title

It’s tight at the top of the midweek U.K. albums chart, as J Hus’s Beautiful and Brutal Yard (Black Butter) takes the lead.

Beautiful and Brutal Yard leads Official Chart Update and, if it holds its spot, would give the Stratford, England rapper his second leader following 2020’s Big Conspiracy. J Hus enjoyed a critical and commercial breakthrough with his 2017 debut Common Sense, which peaked at No. 6 on the national survey and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

Close behind is Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI), last week’s leader which dips to No. 2 on the chart blast.

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Coming in at No. 3 on the midweek survey is Rita Ora’s long-awaited third studio album You & I (BMG), which could give the British pop star a second top 10, after her debut Ora from 2012 which went all the way to No. 1. You & I is the followup to 2018’s Phoenix, which peaked at No. 11 on the weekly list.

According to the Official Charts Company, fewer than 2,000 chart units currently separate the top three albums.

Meanwhile, Glasgow, Scotland singer-songwriter Gerry Cinnamon is set to arrive at No. 4 with Live At Hampden Park (Little Runaway); American alt-pop artist Pvris who could bag a second top 10 with Evergreen (Hopeless), poised to debut at No. 5; Lauren Spencer Smith’s debut full-length album Mirror (Island) could bow at No. 6; and Mahalia’s second record IRL (Atlantic) is on course for No. 9, for what would be the British R&B artist’s first top 10 entry.

Finally, U.S. rapper Lil Tjay could snag a third top 40 with 222 (Columbia), new at No. 24 on the chart blast, while Joel Corry’s singles collection Another Friday Night (Atlantic) is at No. 28, and could give the British DJ and producer his first appearance on the Official Albums Chart.

All will be revealed when the national survey is published this Friday, July 22.

BTS’s Jung Kook Is Challenging For U.K. Crown With ‘Seven’

BTS‘s Jung Kook is enjoying a healthy start to his solo career in the U.K., where “Seven” (via BigHit Entertainment) is challenging for the chart title.

Featuring U.S. rapper Latto, “Seven” is just 2,000 chart sales behind the leader on the midweek chart, Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Live Yours/Neighbourhood).

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“Seven” could go where no member of BTS has gone before – to the summit of the U.K. singles survey.

All seven members of the K-pop phenomenon – Jin, Jimin, Suga, Jung Kook, RM, V and J-Hope – have shared solo material, with Jimin setting the bar with a top 10 for “Like Crazy” (peaking at No. 8); he separately landed a top 40 hit with “Set Me Free Pt. 2,” hitting No. 30. Bandmate j-hope was the first member of BTS to secure a U.K. top 40 single, with his J. Cole collaboration “On The Street” peaking at No. 37.

All told, BTS has accumulated nine U.K. top 40 singles, including four top 10s (with a No. 3 best for 2020’s “Dynamite,” plus “Butter” and “My Universe” with Coldplay, both from 2021). Two BTS titles have led the national albums chart.

Dave and Central Cee’s hip-hop hit “Sprinter” has proven hard to beat. It’s reigned over the Official U.K. Singles Chart for six consecutive weeks.

Meanwhile, Billie Eilish is making a play for the top 10 with “What Was I Made For?” (Interscope), lifted from the Barbie movie soundtrack. If it holds its position, “What Was I Made For?” will give the U.S. pop star her ninth top tier appearance.

Finally, J Hus is poised to make a noise on the U.K. chart, thanks to the release of his third and latest album, Beautiful and Brutal Yard.

His current single “Who Told You” (Black Butter/OVO/Republic) with Drake is unmoved at No. 4, while album cuts “Militerian” with Naira Marley (No. 21) and “Masculine” with Burna Boy (No. 22), both via Black Butter, are set for top 40 debuts.

All will be revealed when the Official Chart is published late Friday, July 22.

Tones And I, Jessica Mauboy Among Finalists For 2023 AWMAs

Toni Watson, the chart-busting Australian singer and songwriter who, as her alias Tones And I, set records around the globe with “Dance Monkey,” is one of the finalists for the 2023 Australian Women In Music Awards (AWMAs).

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Watson is up against Tanya Batt and The Superjesus leader Sarah McLeod for the songwriter award, which recognizes an outstanding female songwriter or composer.

Other high-profile artists nominated for this year’s event include Kate Ceberano, the one-time ARIA Award winner for best female artist, who is a finalist for the AWMAs lifetime achievement award, a category that also includes Jeannie Lewis and Clare Moore.

Meanwhile, chart-topping pop artist Jessica Mauboy will face-off with Beccy Cole, and Vika & Linda for the artistic excellence award, which celebrates “exceptional creative achievement from a female artist/musician across any genre.”

Established in 2018, the AWMAs acknowledges the contributions and shines a light on the accomplishments of women across all areas of industry from on stage, including those behind the scenes, technicians, leaders, elders, performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, filmmakers and photographers, music journalists and more.

One of those awards is the inaugural ARIA executive leader game changer, which rewards the “exceptional leadership” of an executive leader who “creates significant and positive change to bring about equality for women in the Australian music industry,” and is open to a CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, MD or GM.

“I have seen the industry of music in this country change so much and the education and delivery of music through the eyes and hearts of Australian women, my peers Renée, Chrissie, Olivia, Colleen, Kylie and more,” says Ceberano in a statement.

“It has been an education and at times a baptism by fire. But we are hardy and the Australian singers that are striking notes globally, not only with their music but with their minds, is outstanding.” She continues, “I’m glad to be a part of this modern community of likeminded artists who wish to share their wisdom and prevail despite all provocation to do otherwise.”

Twenty AWMAs will be handed out at a ceremony Sept. 27 in Meanjin/Brisbane, the designated 2032 Olympic city, and broadcast later on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Each category is assessed by a 37-seat jury, with representation across a diverse range of music disciplines and cultures.

The 2023 AWMAs and conference program is supported by the Queensland government together with corporate, industry and community partners.

The event “not only celebrates the most innovative, committed, and visionary singers and songwriters in Australian music, it provides an opportunity to further promote gender equality and diversity including the voices of First Nations women,” comments Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “The future looks bright for the music industry as our government invests in a 10-year roadmap to promote arts, culture, and creativity.’’

AWMA is an initiative of the not-for-profit Charity Cicada International Ltd, and is spearheaded by AWMA founding executive producer and program director Vicki Gordon.

“AWMA has raised the collective voice – demanding equitable access, safety and recognition for women in the Australian music industry. We support and promote women as vital, essential contributors to the future business growth of the sector and are calling on the industry to adopt gender equality as a core music industry value,” explains Gordon. “Gender equity is still a long way in the future and we all need to remain vigilant.”

For the full list of nominations visit womeninmusicawards.com.au.

‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Rok’s Momma Thinks His Relationship With Krystal Is Toxic, Puma Checks AMH For Overstepping

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Black Ink Crew NY Season 10

Source: Courtesy VH1 / Black Ink Crew

On this week’s episode of Black Ink Crew, Krystal makes a solid pitch to Rok, and it looks like we got a new Spyder in one of the newbies.

Rok Says Yes, His Momma Isn’t So Sure He Should Jump The Broom

After realizing she doesn’t want to be single, Krystal makes another attempt at winning back Rok after kicking him to the curb. Rok is surprised when he walks into the shop and is greeted by candles and photos of himself and Krystal.

Krystal apologizes again to Rok for giving him mixed signals and makes her pitch to give their relationship another chance. She even proposes, and Rok is blown away and says yes.

Excited to be a fiancé again, Rok speaks to his mom about the new developments with him and Krstal, and it turns out she is not as enthusiastic as he is about him marrying Krystal.

Rok’s mom thinks her son is rushing into things and accurately points to Krystal always leaving her son on a dime the minute something goes wrong. She also calls Rok’s relationship with Krystal toxic. Rok’s momma told no lies, but Rok disagrees and leaves the conversation disappointed his mother feels that way.

The Rookies Pack Their Bags To Head To Atlanta For Another Black Ink Crew Challenge

Puma and Teddy stop by a much calmer mansion after giving Trilla and Ink Drippin the boot. Jahnova is still sad they sent her boyfriend home, but she knows she has to move on to fulfill her dreams of becoming a member of the Black Ink Crew.

They round up the rookies to tell them to pack their bags because they are heading to Atlanta to do a pop-up event at Miya Bailey’s shop.

The rookies are excited, but the mood quickly shifts when Puma and Teddy tell them someone will be sent home following this next challenge.

Once they get there, things get a bit spicy when it’s time to pick out their rooms where they are staying. Santana and Miracle start beefing when they end up in the same room together, but for the sake of equanimity, Alex gives his room to Santana, shocking everyone.

Speaking of Miracle, she decides it’s time to show Puma, Teddy, and the rest of the rookies what her piercing skills look like, so while the rest of them go hang out, she finds a client to do some work on.

AMH Turns Into Spyder

Spyder’s Ceaser-loving self is not a part of what Teddy and Puma are currently cooking, but his spirit lives on through AMH. While they are hanging out at the bar, AMH calls out Liz, who she feels isn’t showing she belongs. Jahnova decides to get in on the action and trash Liz after she reveals she’s been using Bumble BFF to network and find potential clients.

AMH and Jahnova believe Liz is using a dating site to get her name out, but they sound like haters because Bumble BFF is not a dating app.

Liz leaves the bar crying.

AMH then set her sights on Miracle. Back at the mansion, Miracle brings out the person she did the piercing work on to show Puma and Teddy. The work takes everyone aback, but Puma and Teddy appreciate Miracle’s initiative to show her worth to the team, not fully understanding the piercing she did.

The rookies, mainly Jahnova and AMH, are once again hating. AMH reveals she was also a pierce and critiques Miracle’s work in front of the client. Jahnova is too busy laughing, and Miracle notices.

When the client returns to the room, Puma scolds AMH for overstepping, doing too damn much, and dissing Miracle’s work even though the client loved it.

We couldn’t agree with Puma more.

You can see more reactions to the episode in the gallery below.

Photo: Courtesy VH1 / Black Ink Crew

1. It definitely did

Nearly 1 in 4 Albums Sold Last Week Were Taylor Swift’s Re-Recorded ‘Speak Now’

Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), was a hot seller in its first week of a release in the U.S., according to the data tracking firm Luminate. In the week ending July 13, the set sold 507,000 copies across all of its physical and digital retail formats (CD, vinyl, cassette and digital download album). That sum represents nearly a quarter of all album sales in the U.S. that week (2.131 million).

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Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s share of the album sales market is similar to when she dominated the landscape during the debut week of Midnights in 2022. That album sold 1.14 million copies in the week ending Oct. 27, 2022 – accounting for 41% of all albums sold in the U.S. that week (2.79 million).

Swift can capture a large chunk of the album sales market in a given week because she remains a solid seller at a time when yearly album sales have declined in 10 of the last 11 years, as more music fan adopt streaming services as their primary means of consuming music. Thus, Swift’s outsized album sales dwarf the rest of the industry.

In 2022, Swift was the top-selling act for the year in terms of total album sales, with 2.93 million copies sold across her entire catalog – about 3% of total album sales across all albums from all artists (100.09 million). She also had the year’s top-selling album, with Midnights selling 1.818 million copies (more than twice the sum of the year’s second biggest seller, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, with 757,000).

In 2023 so far, through July 13, Swift’s total album sales across all of her releases stands at 2.096 million – 3.8% of all album sales this year, by all artists (54.519 million).

Swift’s selling power is further evidenced on Billboard’s latest 100-position Top Album Sales chart (dated July 22, reflecting the sales week ending July 13), where Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) debuts at No. 1 with 507,000 copies sold, the Nos. 2-100 titles – combined – sold just 381,000.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 studio album Speak Now, which topped both the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales chart. The 22-track re-recorded edition includes new recordings of the original album’s 14 standard tracks, along with bonus cuts and previously unreleased “From the Vault” recordings. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Swift’s re-recorded Red and Fearless albums, released in 2021.

Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 507,000 copies sold, physical sales comprise 410,000 (268,000 on vinyl; 134,000 on CD and 8,000 on cassette) while digital album download purchases comprise 97,000. The album’s vinyl sales mark the second-largest week for a vinyl album since Luminate began tracking data in 1991 – only the debut week of Midnights posted a bigger vinyl week (575,000).

Swift announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on May 5, the same day she began taking pre-orders for the album via her official webstore. The set sold as a digital download album, double-CD, double-cassette and in three color vinyl LP variants (orchid marbled, violet marbled and a Target-exclusive lilac marbled color). The iTunes Store also carried an exclusive edition of the album with a short video clip as a bonus feature. On the final day (July 13) of the album’s debut tracking week, Swift released a deluxe digital album download of the set exclusively sold through her official webstore, which added two bonus live tracks recorded during her ongoing The Eras Tour (“Dear John” and “Last Kiss,” both of which were originally released in their studio form on the Speak Now album in 2010).

All told, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the 12th No. 1 on Top Album Sales for Swift.

Elsewhere on the latest Top Album Sales chart, Swift has five more titles in the top 10, as her former No. 1s Midnights (a non-mover at No. 3 with 18,000; up 49%), Folklore (8-6 with 13,000; up 45%), Lover (10-7 with 12,000; up 50%), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (14-9 with 11,000; up 81%) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (19-10 with 10,000; up 89%). It’s the second time Swift has placed at least six titles in the top 10 concurrently. She did it previously on the July 22-dated list. No other act has charted six or more albums in the top 10 at the same time.  

As for the non-Swift titles in the top 10: Stray Kids’ former No. 1 5-STAR is a non-mover at No. 2 (27,000; up 70% after the release of a new CD edition), aespa’s MY WORLD falls 1-4 in its second week (14,000; down 65%), Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. jumps 33-5 (13,000; up 265% after a new vinyl edition of the album was released) and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation debuts at No. 8 (11,000).

In the week ending July 13, there were 2.131 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 22% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.729 million (up 21.8%) and digital albums comprised 402,000 (up 23.2%).

There were 705,000 CD albums sold in the week ending July 13 (up 8% week-over-week) and 1.008 million vinyl albums sold (up 33.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 18.893 million (up 4.1% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 25.371 million (up 21.7%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 54.519 million (up 8.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 44.556 million (up 13.4%) and digital album sales total 9.962 million (down 10.5%).

Will.i.am Teases New Britney Spears Collaboration ‘Mind Your Business’

We’re now rocking with Will.i.am and Britney, b—-!

The Grammy-winning producer took to social media on Monday (July 17) to tease his new collaboration with Britney Spears, the electro-tinged “Mind Your Business.” The 16-second clip features Spears proclaiming over the track, “Mind your business, b—-!”

According to the post, the song is set to arrive on Tuesday (July 18). The duo previously teamed up on 2013’s “Scream & Shout.”

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The track’s title is fitting, as Spears has previously expressed frustration with documentaries about her life and 13-year conservatorship that hit streaming services without her permission. To take back her own story, the pop superstar is unveiling her long-awaited tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me, on Oct. 24. People magazine was first to report the news on the title that’s described as a “brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope.”

Spears teased the memoir last April in a lengthy Instagram post in which she wrote, “Well I’m writing a book at the moment and as it’s actually healing and therapeutic … it’s also hard bringing up past events in my life … I’ve never been able to express openly !!! I can only imagine that I do sound childish but I was extremely young when those events took place … and addressing it now … I’m sure it seems irrelevant to most and I’m completely aware of that !!!”

See the “Mind Your Business” teaser and announcement below.

Tencent Music Chief Strategy Officer Tony Yip to Step Down

Tony Yip, the chief strategy officer for Chinese audio streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), will step down on August 31, the company announced Monday (July 17). He plans to spend more time with his family overseas and pursue other personal interests, according to the press release. The company did not indicate who will replace Yip.

Yip started at Tencent Music Entertainment in 2018 when the company’s four streaming brands — QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing — had 20 million subscribers. He led Tencent Music Entertainment to a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 and a dual listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2022. As of March 31, Tencent Music Entertainment had more than 90 million subscribers — 2.3 times more than the year Yip joined — and revenue of RMB 28.3 billion ($4.1 billion), up about 49% from 2018.

“Tony’s professional expertise was instrumental to TME’s development by continuously refining our strategic focus, providing deep insights into the global online music and entertainment industry, supporting business development, capital markets and investment strategies, and establishing confidence in our Company among the investor community,” said TME executive chairman Cussion Pang in a statement.

Shares of TME declined 2.8% to $7.38 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday and are down 10.9% year to date. While the share price has recovered from an all-time low of $2.95 in March 2022 following restrictions placed on Tencent Music Entertainment and many other Chinese tech companies, it’s still more than 77% below the all-time high of $32.25 set in March 2021.

The company will report second-quarter earnings on August 15.