News

13 Jul 2023

Hipgnosis Songs Fund Says One-Off Charges Aside, Fiscal Year Ended Up on Streaming and Synch Gains

Merck Mercuriadis‘ publicly-traded Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd reported a gross revenue decline for its fiscal year ended in March due to one-time charges and a tough year-ago comparison, but said adjusted revenues in 2022 grew on strong growth in streaming revenues and the return of live performances.

Gross revenues for Hipgnosis Songs Fund declined by 11.5% to $177.3 million for the year ending March 2023 compared to the year-ago period, mainly due to two large, non-recurring adjustments related to usage accrual and other factors. Net revenues also declined to $147.2 million from $168.3 million a year ago.

Stripping out those one-time items and taking into consideration a $16.1 million benefit Hipgnosis expects to gain from the CRB III retroactive accrual, the fund’s underlying revenues rose $12.9 million, chief financial officer Chris Helms said during an investor presentation discussing the results.

The fund’s pro-forma annual revenue (PFAR), which reflects revenue earned from royalty statements and strips out impacts from new catalog acquisitions and one-time items — the metric executives say best reflects the fund’s revenue performance — rose by 12.1% to $130.2 million for the year ending December 2022, rising strongly for catalogs aged younger and older than 10 years.

Overall, streaming income rose 14.8% to generate $52.1 million for the fund, while syncronization income rose 24.7% to make up $19.4 million and performance income rose 9% to $30.8 million, all compared to the year ago period. Mechanical income edged 2% lower to 4.9 million, while digital downloads made up $2.5 million and other publishing income comprised $3.9 million of revenues.

The fair value of the fund’s portfolio rose 4% to $2.8 billion, and the operative net asset value broken down by share price rose 3.6% to $1.9153, driven by revenue exceeding the fund’s independent valuer’s forecast.

Nonetheless, Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s operative EPS for the period is negative 7.41 cents, and adjusted earnings per share is 4.12 cents, down nearly 43% compared to the year leading up to March 2022.

Mercuriadis said this was the company’s “best revenue performance since coming to market in 2018,” reflecting the fund’s high-quality catalog and active song management.

“The songs in our portfolio we’ve bought carefully and we’ve bought well,” Mercuriadis said during the investor presentation. “We have a relatively small portfolio with a very high rate of success. We optimize revenues and collect them as efficiently and cost-effectively as we can.”

Mercuriadis pointed to major synch wins Hipgnosis had from four songs Rihanna sang during the SuperBowl Halftime Show, including “Birthday Cake,” “All of the Lights,” and “Umbrella,” which Hipgnosis from its acquisition of rights held by The-Dream, J eff Bhasker and Tricky Stewart. Other major placements included some on The Masked Singer, where Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora performed Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” and “Brass In Pocket” by The Pretenders.

Billboard and The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Hipgnosis has selectively shopped around a portfolio of non-core assets, possibly with the aim of raising money to buy back shares and shore up the fund’s stock price.

Mercuriadis declined to comment on whether a portfolio was being shopped or what assets it could contain, saying the fund is exploring its options with shareholders and the board.

The fund’s adjusted operating costs were 21.2% lower for the period to $29.5 million, due to lower advisory fees “as a function of the company’s lower share price during the year,” reduced administration, legal and professional fees, and lower aborted deal costs, the CFO Helms said.

The company also recognized a $43.8 million catalog performance provision or bonus relating to 6 catalogs. The provision will be paid out contingent on performance hurdles being met by the catalogs, Helms said, declining to detail the targets, which were detailed in the acquisition agreements.

Here are the key points from HSF’s disclosure:

  • Gross revenues declined by 11.5% to 177.3 million for the year ending March 2023 compared to 2022, due to two large, one-off adjustments. Stripping out those two non-recurring costs, underlying revenues rose by 10.9%.
  • PFAR rose 12.1% to $130.2 million.
  • Hipgnosis operative net asset value per share rose 3.6% $1.9153
  • Syncronization revenues rose 24.7% to 19.4 million.
  • Streaming revenues rose 14.8% to 52.1 million
  • Performance income increased by 9% to 30.8 million

13 Jul 2023

Troye Sivan Sets Release Date For Third Studio Album, ‘Something to Give Each Other’

Troye Sivan has announced the release date for his upcoming third studio album, Something to Give Each Other. The collection described as a “celebration of sex, dance, sweat, community, queerness, love and friendship” will drop on Oct. 13.

The album was previewed on Thursday (July 13) with the ecstatic disco anthem “Rush,” which features the dizzying chorus, “You got my heartbeat racing/ My body blazing/ I feel the rush/ Addicted to your touch/ Oh, I feel the rush/ It’s so good, it’s so good/ I feel the rush/ Addicted to your touch/ Oh, I feel the rush/ It’s so good, it’s so good.”

In a statement about the song, The Idol co-star Sivan said, “‘Rush’ is the feeling of kissing a sweaty stranger on a dancefloor, a 2 hour date that turned into a weekend, a crush, a winter, a summer. Party after party, after party after after party. All of my experiences from a chapter where I feel confident, free and liberated. Independent, yet somehow the most connected to the music and community around me.”

The appropriately sensual, sweaty Gordon von Steiner-directed video for “Rush” is meant to evoke, “big groups of people feeling the joy of life and sex,” according to a release announcing the project. In the clip Sivan attends a hedonistic day party in which revelers pull off impressively choreographed dance routines in an abandoned warehouse, with Sivan getting in on the action by doing a keg stand and making out with a fellow party animal.

Sivan wrote the album with Oscar Görres (Taylor Swift, Sam Smith), Ian Kirkpatrick (Dua Lipa, Britney Spears), Leland (Selena Gomez, Ava Max) and Styalz Fuego (Khalid, Imagine Dragons). Something to Give Each Other is the follow-up to Sivan’s 2018 second full-length album, Bloom; he released the EP In a Dream in 2020.

The Australian-born singer/actor recently teased that he was prepping his first album in half a decade. “It’s not lost on me that some of you guys have been following along since i was the kid w the stye in my eye in that first video,” he captioned a series of videos posted to Instagram in June. “Btw — I didn’t mean to take 5 years to make this album.”

In addition to the album, Sivan is prepping the launch of Tsu Lange Yor, described as an “independent luxury lifestyle collection of fragrances and art-driven objects.”

Watch the “Rush” video below.

13 Jul 2023

Teacher Who Wanted to Feature Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton’s ‘Rainbowland’ in School Concert Fired

A Wisconsin elementary school teacher who got into hot water earlier this year for trying to include Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton‘s anthem of love and acceptance “Rainbowland” at her school’s spring concert has been terminated.

According to WISN, the School District of Waukesha Board of Education voted unanimously (9-0), on Wednesday (July 21) to end teacher Melissa Tempel’s employment at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, WI after saying she violated three school board policies. District officials said Tempel was place on leave on April 3, followed by a May letter in which Superintendent James Sebert said he would recommend to the Board of Education that her job be “terminated.”

During the hourslong termination hearing Tempel and school administrators testified, with lawyers for the school board saying that the teacher violated board policies by expressing her feelings on social media before she talked to her supervisors.

“Ms. Tempel deliberately brought negative attention to the school district because she disagreed with the decision as opposed to following protocol and procedure and I believe that behavior is intolerable,” said Waukesha School District Superintendent Sebert; Tempel’s lawyers argued that their client was exercising her free speech rights.

“I thought that the fact that the tweet that I made, that ‘Rainbowland’ wasn’t going to be allowed, was something that the public would be really concerned about and that they would be interested in knowing about it,” said Tempel during the hearing.

Back in March, language teacher Tempel called out the school’s administration after claiming that they vetoed the inclusion of a pair of rainbow-themed songs in the spring concert. “My first graders were so excited to sing ‘Rainbowland’ for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end?,” she tweeted at the time, along with hashtags for the school system, Parton, Cyrus and GSafe (which create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin schools) and civil rights.

Tempel also included the lyrics to “Rainbowland,” the Cyrus/Parton duet about acceptance that appeared on Miley’s 2017 album Younger Now. “Living in Rainbowland/ Where you and I go hand in hand/ Oh, I’d be lying if I said this was fine/ All the hurt and the hate going on here/ We are rainbows, me and you/ Every color, every hue,” they sing on the song.

On March 24, Tempel wrote, “The latest I heard is that the song was banned bc @MileyCyrus is controversial. D’oh, I thought for sure it was @DollyPartonvand her beautiful drag queen followers! Oh well, I can’t stop my students if they still sing ‘Rainbowland.’ It’s a fun, catchy song!” First grade teacher Tempel later speculated that the duet was pulled because of its “beautiful LYRICS. Because saying an ARTIST is controversial would be a very slippery slope and they wouldn’t want to go there. Amirite?,” she wrote.

When a commenter asked why the song was pulled from the concert Tempel responded, “no reason given.” A day later, Tempel reported that the administration had also banned the beloved Muppet Movie ballad “Rainbow Connection,” writing, “so it seems the reason is rainbows”; Tempel later clarified that “Rainbow Connection” had been unbanned after “parents sent emails to admin,” though at the time it appeared “Rainbowland” was still off the lineup.

The mother of a first-grader at the school said she was told the songs were pulled because they were too “controversial,” telling the Los Angeles Times that the local school board had undergone a “conservative flip” following COVID-19 mitigation strategies during the global pandemic. “One of those is a controversial topics policy saying that teachers can’t have any kind of signage that could be deemed political. … Discussion of pronouns with students was another thing that came up. And teachers aren’t allowed to wear rainbows,” parent Sarah Schindler said.

Another parent with a student enrolled in the district told the paper that the Waukesha school district has “really cracked down on anything LGBTQ… so this song being an ‘issue’ has not in any way come as a surprise.” The Board of Education reportedly said that the principal checked with the central office about district policy when the song was suggested and, “they determined that the song could be deemed controversial in accordance with the policy,” the board said in a statement in March.

The school’s principal, Mark Schneider, told the School Board at Wednesday’s hearing that he never said he thought the song should be vetoed or banned, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Schneider also said that he was flooded with voicemails — some of which were threatening — which made him concerned for the safety of the school community, including “vulgar” messages that said he would “get what’s coming to (him).”

Superintendent Sebert also reportedly testified that he got a large volume of inquiries from parents, community members and people outside the district, which also included some threats. “I thought the way in which she disagreed with this decision was in direct violation of multiple board policies,” Sebert said at the hearing. Following a closed-door deliberation, the board voted unanimously to fire Sebert, saying she violated three different school board policies, including not following the chain of command by going to the media before airing her concerns to supervisors, engaging students on social media and making statement that “sowed disharmony among [the] staff.”

In the wake of the ruling, NBC reported that Tempel’s attorney said they believe they have a strong First Amendment case, with the teacher telling reporters she wouldn’t have done anything differently even if she’d known this would be the result. “And I really just want to say ‘hi’ to my students, because I haven’t been able to talk to them since March, and I really miss you guys,” Tempel said.

13 Jul 2023

Rihanna Is ‘So Grateful’ For her 5 Emmy Nominations

Rihanna is always full of surprises. But when the Primetime Emmy nominations were announced and her name was read out, it was RiRi who was left gobsmacked.

Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance scored five Emmy nominations, including outstanding variety special (live), which she shares with executive producer Jay-Z. 

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Until now, she’s never had a Primetime Emmy nod.

The occasion wasn’t lost on the “Umbrella” singer, who dug out her red Super Bowl outfit for a social post. “Pull up breed up 2 d bashment,” reads the accompanying comments. “5 EMMY NOMZ is craaaaazzzyyy!!! Im so grateful for every single person involved in creating these memories!”

The awards will be presented on Monday, Sept. 18.

RiRi’s performance at the football’s showpiece event in February 2022 was huge for several reasons. It represented her first major live performance following a lengthy absence from the spotlight. And she used the occasion to show off her baby bump, a moment that caused the Internet to (nearly) melt down.

The billionaire businesswoman and mom recently became the first female artist to have 10 songs reach one billion streams on Spotify.

Rihanna’s billion-streams club songs on Spotify are “Diamonds,” “We Found Love” (with Calvin Harris), “Love on the Brain,” “Stay” (with Mikky Ekko), “This Is What You Came For” (with Calvin Harris), “Needed Me,” “Four Five Seconds” (with Kanye West & Paul McCartney), “Work” (with Drake), “Umbrella” (with Jay-Z) and “Love the Way You Lie” (with Eminem).

Expect that collection to grow when the Barbadian artist release the follow-up to her last studio album, 2016’s Billboard 200-topping Anti.

As her list of hits builds, so too does her family.  Earlier this week, the 35-year-old musician, mogul and expecting mom showed off her third-trimester baby bump while premiering a coral Savage X Fenty bra and panties set. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky already have a baby son, RZA.

13 Jul 2023

ENHYPEN Enters the Pokémon Universe With ‘One and Only’: Watch

It’s game on for ENHYPEN, which enters the Pokémon universe with the collaborative new single “One and Only.”

Accompanying the new number is a shiny music video, which sees each member of the K-pop boyband team up with a Pokémon buddy, through a partnership with the so-called Pokémon Music Collective.

All the faves are there, including Pikachu, Charizard, Charmander and Snorlax.

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It’s as upbeat a song and clip as you’ll find. Channeling Al Jarreau’s “Mornin,’” the lads get about their daily routine with their animated friends in tow, and enjoy a camping getaway with an unexpected caravan flight.

Announced late June, the collab is “inspired by the sounds of the Pokémon series video game universe by artists across multiple genres,” per a press release.

“We are so delighted to participate in this project, given our love for Pokémon. ‘One and Only’ is a vibrant pop-genre track that perfectly complements the dynamic energy of both Pokémon and ENHYPEN,” the septet says in a statement.

Earlier this month, ENHYPEN announced the dates and venues for its FATE World Tour, which will include stops across cities in Asia and the United States.

The Asian swing of the jaunt— the group’s second world tour — will kick off with two dates at Seoul’s KSPO Dome July 29-30. Japan follows in early September, the first being a visit to Osaka’s Kyocera Dome Osaka Sept. 2-3. Less than two weeks later in Tokyo, K-pop stars will play a pair of dates at the Tokyo Dome on Sept. 13-14.

As previously reported, ENHYPEN will then head to the United States starting with an Oct. 6 stop at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. The group will also play shows in Glendale, Ariz.; Houston; Dallas; and Newark, N.J., before concluding the U.S. leg on Oct. 22 at Chicago’s United Center.

Comprising Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-Ki, ENHYPEN is a creation of BELIFT LAB, making their debut in November 2020.

Since then, they’ve landed two top 10s on the Billboard 200, with 2022’s Manifesto : Day 1 (peaking at No. 6), and 2023’s Dark Blood (No. 4). Three more titles have landed in the top 40.

With “Utau,” J-pop producer imase last year kick-started the Pokémon Music Collective, an initiative of Universal Music Japan and The Pokémon Company.

Watch Pokémon X ENHYPEN’s “One and Only” below.

12 Jul 2023

Lil Wayne & H.E.R. Perform, Angel Reese Wins at 2023 ESPY Awards (Complete Winners List)

The dividing line between music fans and sports fans was all but erased at the 31st annual ESPY Awards, which were presented at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday (July 12). Lil Wayne opened the show performing his 2008 hit “A Milli.” H.E.R. performed her latest single, the elegant power ballad “The Journey,” as a tribute to the 30th anniversary of basketball coach Jimmy Valvano’s inspirational speech at the first ESPYS in 1993 when he was terminally ill with cancer.

Several other music stars were also on board for the three-hour show, which was telecast on ABC. Quavo and Lil Dicky were among the presenters. Common narrated a segment paying tribute to Liam Hendriks, who battled back from Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Angel Reese, who won best breakthrough athlete for leading the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team to the college title this past spring, has become a pop-culture star. Reese recently made a cameo in Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor Again” music video, in which featured act Cardi B raps, “I been ballin’ so damn hard could’ve went to LSU.”

This is the second year in a row that a woman has won in the gender-neutral best breakthrough athlete category. Skier Eileen Gu won last year. This is the first time in the history of the ESPYS that women have won back-to-back awards in this category.

Reese competed in the category with Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark, her NCAA finals foe. But Clark also won an award this year – best college athlete, women’s sports.

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs won two awards – best athlete, men’s sports and best NFL player. The Chiefs also won as best team. Argentina soccer superstar Lionel Messi also won two awards – best championship performance and best soccer player.

ESPN sports analyst Pat McAfee gave an opening monologue, though there was no formal host, due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

The show, which was co-produced by ESPN and Full Day Productions, was a lot like a music awards show in a couple of respects. Even with a generous three-hour time slot, it ran over by about 10 minutes. And only eight competitive awards were announced on the show. The other 14 competitive awards didn’t rate so much as a mention (but we have them here for you).

Here’s the full list of winners, including special awards and sports humanitarian awards.

Best Athlete, Men’s Sports
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
WINNER: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Lionel Messi, Argentina

Best Athlete, Women’s Sports
WINNER: Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski
Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns
Iga Świątek, Tennis
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

Best Breakthrough Athlete
Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
WINNER: Angel Reese, LSU Women’s Basketball
Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners

Best Record-Breaking Performance
–Novak Djokovic wins his 23rd Grand Slam title, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men’s tennis.
–WINNER: LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record.
–Mikaela Shiffrin breaks the record for the most World Cup victories with her 87th win.
–Max Verstappen wins the Mexican Grand Prix, breaking the record for most wins in a season.

Best Championship Performance
–Leon Edwards, UFC – defeats Kamaru Usman by fifth-round KO to win UFC welterweight title, handing Usman his first UFC loss.
–Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets – 2023 NBA Finals MVP.
–WINNER: Lionel Messi, Argentina – 2022 World Cup Final – scored two goals and scored in the penalty shootout to win Man of the Match. He won the Golden Ball as FIFA’s best player of the tournament.
–Rose Zhang, LPGA – defeated Jennifer Kupcho in a two-hole sudden death playoff, becoming the first woman in 72 years to win her first professional start.

Best Comeback Athlete
–Jon Jones, UFC – Jones’ first fight in the UFC since 2020. He was last seen in action against Dominick Reyes, where he defended his light-heavyweight championship at UFC 247.
–WINNER: Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets – Murray missed the entirety of last season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. He suffered the injury on April 12, 2021, and didn’t play in the 18 months since then.
–Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun – 2022 WNBA Comeback Player of the Year. Thomas missed all but six games last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. The eight-year veteran started all 36 of Connecticut’s games in 2022, and was an All-Star earlier this season.
–Justin Verlander, Current New York Mets / Houston Astros – 2022 NL Comeback Player of the Year, after being limited to only six innings in 2020 and missing the entire ’21 season due to Tommy John surgery, the Astros’ ace returned this season to go 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA.

Best Play
Michael Block Hole-in-One! GOLF
WINNER: Justin Jefferson with the Catch of the Century NFL
Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to tie the National Championship game NCAA
Trinity Thomas Perfect 10 Tying the All-Time NCAA Record NCAA

Best Team
Denver Nuggets, NBA
Georgia Bulldogs, NCAA Football
WINNER: Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
Louisiana State Tigers, NCAA Women’s Basketball
Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball
Vegas Golden Knights, NHL

Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
Zach Edey, Purdue Men’s Basketball
Duncan McGuire, Creighton Soccer
Brennan O’Neill, Duke Lacrosse
WINNER: Caleb Williams, USC Football

Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma Softball
WINNER: Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
Izzy Scane, Northwestern Lacrosse
Trinity Thomas, Florida Gators Gymnastics

Best Athlete With a Disability
Erica McKee, Sled Hockey Team
WINNER: Zach Miller, Snowboarding
Aaron Pike, Wheelchair Racing & Cross-Country Skiing
Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing

Best NFL Player
Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
WINNER: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Best MLB Player
Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
WINNER: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

Best NHL Player
Jonathan Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights
WINNER: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
David Pastrňák, Boston Bruins
Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins

Best NBA Player
Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
WINNER: Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Best WNBA Player
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
Candace Parker, Chicago Sky (Current Las Vegas Aces)
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (Current New York Liberty)
WINNER: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

Best Driver
Brittany Force, NHRA
Kyle Larson, NASCAR
Josef Newgarden, IndyCar
WINNER: Max Verstappen, F1

Best UFC Fighter
Leon Edwards
WINNER: Jon Jones
Islam Makhachev
Amanda Nunes

Best Boxer
Gervonta Davis
Devin Haney
WINNER: Claressa Shields
Shakur Stevenson

Best Soccer Player
Aitana Bonmatí, Spain/Barcelona
Erling Haaland, Norway/Manchester City
WINNER: Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG
Sophia Smith, USWNT/Portland Thorns

Best Golfer
Wyndham Clark
Nelly Korda
Jon Rahm
WINNER: Scottie Scheffler

Best Tennis Player
Carlos Alcaraz
WINNER: Novak Djokovic
Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Świątek

Special Awards

Pat Tillman Award for Service: Buffalo Bills’ training staff for helping Damar Hamlin recover from a devastating injury

Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team for successfully fighting for pay parity.

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Chicago White Sox pitcher and cancer survivorLiam Hendriks for battling back from a diagnosis of Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Sports Humanitarian Awards

Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award:Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks) & Lauren Holiday (retired U.S. Women’s National Team)

Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award: Jordan Adeyemi, Ashley Badis, Rishan Patel

Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year: San Antonio Spurs

Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award Honoree: Dr. Richard Lapchick

12 Jul 2023

Peso Pluma on His Rise to No. 1, Working With Bizarrap & More | The Power of No. 1 | Billboard Cover

Peso Pluma opens up about reaching No. 1 with his tracks “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabon Armado and “BZRP: Music Sessions Vol. 55” with Bizarrap, how his life has changed since his recent success, achieving his dream and more.

Peso Pluma:
It was a dream to me. I’m very happy to be up there, but I think the most important thing is to stay and be consistent.

I’m Peso Pluma, and this is The Power of No. 1.

The first few times I stood up in front of a lot of people, in auditoriums and arenas, obviously I was nervous, it’s always there. My heart beats faster, I’ve always been like that. But once I hear people singing they push me to carry on. I wanted to become an artist and share what I feel, what I write from my soul, and what I am. I’m really grateful for this wave. It’s a new era, just as my new album is a GENESIS. It’s just the beginning of what we can do.

George Prajin:
I first met Peso at my studio in Anaheim. I had been pitched Peso three years prior, I thought that there was immense talent at that time. I just wasn’t at a point in my career, that I was going to be able to give a developing act the kind of attention that was needed. Fast forward three years later, when I saw him in person, I saw him play the guitar and I heard him sing everything just clicked and I knew that I had to take this opportunity.

Watch the full video above.

12 Jul 2023

Juanes’ SummerStage Show Halted Due to ‘Excessive Crowds’: ‘I Was Very Eager to Play’

On Wednesday (Jul. 12) evening, Juanes took SummerStage as part of the LAMC summer series to perform in front of an overzealous crowd in a free, outdoor venue that was well-beyond capacity. However, just two songs in, the concert was halted due to “excessive crowds.”

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“Tonight, the Juanes show at SummerStage in Central Park drew a capacity crowd of 5,000 attendees inside the venue with an estimated overflow of 12,000 additional fans outside the gates,” Heather Lubov, executive director at City Parks Foundation SummerStage, said in an official statement sent to Billboard Español. “During the performance of his second song, with continued crowds at the gates and out of an abundance of caution, the show was halted and fans were asked to leave the venue.”

It was the “first time in 30 years SummerStage was required to stop a concert in progress for a non-weather related issue,” she continued. “SummerStage, LAMC and Juanes all agreed that the safety of fans and concert goers was of paramount concern and at the request of the NYPD, made the decision to cancel the show.”

The Colombian rockstar, who arrived clad in all black, opened up with his latest single “Gris” and followed up with mega hit “Mala Gente” to the thrill of thousands. As the excitement began to build, the show got abruptly canceled to everyone’s disappointment. 

“Inside and outside [the venue] we have to be calm, guys,” exclaimed Juanes after wrapping up his second song. “If we are not calm, they are going to stop the concert. Many people were left outside without being able to enter. We want to continue with the show. It’s possible, right?”, he said, turning around to a staff member near the stage.

Unfortunately, it was not. “Thanks for coming out, we’re sorry, we have to ask everyone to please vacate the venue immediately,” announced a staff member at SummerStage.  

Outside, thousands of people snaked around Rumsey Playfield with a line that seemed about a mile long.

“I’m sad because I was very eager to play,” Juanes told Billboard Español moments before its sudden cancellation. Although clearly disappointed, the Latin juggernaut still took the time to take photos with his fans and thank those for coming. 

Moments before making it inside the venue, it was clear that the intensity was high. Cops began to swarm by outside, and ambulances were on the scene. At the time of this report, Billboard Español is unaware of any injuries.

The LAMC and Summerstage headlining performance was going to be Juanes’ first live U.S. show of songs from Vida Cotidiana, his tenth studio album released in May.

Throughout his prolific and highly successful career, Juanes has earned three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and seven titles on the Billboard 200. He has has won 24 Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards.

Watch the moment Juanes finds out about the cancellation:

12 Jul 2023

Audacy Starts Talks With Lenders to Restructure Debt

Radio broadcaster Audacy has begun talks with its lenders to restructure the company’s debt as a soft advertising market clouds its long-term outlook.

The discussions, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, follow the May 10 statement by chairman/president/CEO David Field during the company’s first quarter earnings call that Audacy was “finalizing its preparation to commence discussion with its lenders to explore the financing and strategies to manage” its debt load.

“As we have previously stated we intended to do, we have initiated discussions with our lenders to refinance our debt and optimize our balance sheet to position Audacy for long-term growth as we continue to invest in our people, platform, technology, content and growth initiatives,” the company said in a statement to Billboard.

Audacy warned in a May 10 10-Q filing that “challenging macroeconomic conditions” such as interest rates and soft advertising revenue had created “significant uncertainty in operations.” Field said during the earnings call that Audacy’s banks “have historically been willing to amend covenants to provide relief during recessionary periods” but added “there can be no assurance” the banks would do so in these negotiations.

A weak advertising market has required Audacy and other radio companies to cut costs, sell non-core assets and lay off some employees. Audacy’s first quarter net revenue of $259.6 million was down 5.7% year-over-year and 16% lower than the same period in 2019. The downturn only amplifies the strain of Audacy’s debt load. “The number one issue is too much debt in a secular declining industry,” Craig Huber, media analyst at Huber Research Partners, told Billboard in May.

Most of Audacy’s $1.88 billion of long-term debt came from its 2017 merger with CBS Radio. The deal increased Audacy’s revenue more than four-fold but also increased its debt from $468 million at the end of 2016 to $1.86 billion at the end of 2017. As of March 31, the company was in compliance with its debt covenants, according to its latest 10-Q filing. But Audacy warned investors that its forecasted revenue for the next 12 months “is unlikely to be sufficient” to maintain compliance with its covenants. Failing to meet those covenants would put the company in default and require waivers or amendments from lenders.

12 Jul 2023

Wiz Khalifa “Peace and Love,” Blueface “House Arrest” & More | Daily Visuals 7.12.23

HipHopWired Featured Video

Wiz Khalifa

Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz

Wiz Khalifa might be one of the few rappers in the history of the rap game that’s never found himself in a quarrel with another one of his Hip-Hop peers (that Kanye debacle doesn’t count), so it’s not surprising that he’s making records about positivity and good fortune as that’s what he’s known since coming into the game.

In his latest visuals to “Peace and Love,” Wiz Khalifa touches down in a rather interesting neighborhood where the women are much to his liking but everyone else is into their own weird and eclectic lifestyles. Regardless everyone seems to be enjoying life, and that’s the point, right?

Speaking of enjoying life, Blueface seems to be as content as could be in his crib and for his clip to “House Arrest” the controversial rapper spends time playing some PS5 and turning up with two thick young women who probably snuck in while Chrisean Rock was out doing a show or something. Y’all know if they’re there when she gets home it’s going to be a slugfest in that m*th*f*ck*.

Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Hit-Boy, Big Hit and Jay Worthy, EARTHGANG and more.

WIZ KHALIFA – “PEACE AND LOVE”



BLUEFACE – “HOUSE ARREST”


https://youtube.com/watch?v=oXYGVn-cjck&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

HIT-BOY, BIG HIT & JAY WORTHY – “WATCH FOR THE RIDERS”



EARTHGANG – “BOBBY BOUCHER”



GAVLYN & NADIA ROSE – “AURMOUR UP”


https://youtube.com/watch?v=HlqUTMcvs6U&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

LAKEYAH – “WANT EM HOOD”



HURRICANE WISDOM & NLE CHOPPA – “REAL ME”



JACQUEES – “WOMAN’S WORTH”



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