News

08 May 2023

SoundCloud Is Now Giving Artists One-On-One Access to Their Biggest Fans

SoundCloud is bringing music creators even closer to their biggest fans with a new product that gives artists access to granular user data and facilitates direct, one-on-one interaction with their most loyal listeners.

Dubbed simply “Fans” and now available on SoundCloud for Artists, the tool allows artists to tap into the platform’s proprietary data and sort their most engaged listeners based on factors like comments, listening behavior, sharing habits and location — and even identify who among their listeners are fellow artists. Using SoundCloud’s pre-existing messaging feature, they can also directly message individual fans to share previews of upcoming releases via private links; sell tickets and merch; and/or just say thanks. (SoundCloud notes there’s an opt-out option for users who don’t wish to be contacted by artists.)

Tracy Chan, svp of creator at SoundCloud, says there’s a special power in fans receiving direct acknowledgment from their favorite artists that can unlock “real revenue opportunities” for creators.

“[It’s] one thing to blast out, ‘Hey, come attend my concert or my show,’ but actually asking specific people, like, ‘Hey, I know you’re a super fan, will you come to my show?’ is a very kind of different way to ask,” Chan says. “You can imagine the possibilities of commerce that open up between artists and fans once the communication lines are open.”

Prior to Monday’s announcement, SoundCloud had been running a six-week test of the tool, which is currently in beta, with roughly 10,000 artists. Starting now, the platform is opening up the product to an additional 50,000 artists who are part of its premium Next Pro tier.

Chan describes the tool as “the next step” in SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties payment system first unveiled in March 2021, which has since been opted into by both Warner Music Group and Merlin. Unlike the traditional pro-rata model, under which streaming services collect all subscriber revenue and then pay out earnings based on each rightsholder’s share of total streams, fan-powered royalties direct a portion of every listener’s subscription or advertising revenue to the rightsholders for the specific tracks they listen to. Some of the user data SoundCloud artists now have access to under the new tool derives from that fan-powered royalties system.

As part of the unveiling, SoundCloud noted several successful individual use cases among the 10,000 artists included in the previous phase of the tool’s beta period. These include Lil West, a hip-hop artist from Delaware who used the artist filtering tool on Fans to connect with fellow artists 100 gecs and nothing,nowhere., leading to collaborative track releases. After gaining access to the tool, Def Jam artist Armani White worked with SoundCloud and his label to set up a listening party/meet-and-greet with his top fans at SoundCloud’s Los Angeles office on Thursday.

Fans is the latest effort by SoundCloud to differentiate itself as a more artist-friendly alternative to rival streaming services. Chan frames the tool in opposition to the limited functionality offered by other major streamers along with ticketing and merch platforms, which don’t allow artists to identify their individual fans or connect with them one-on-one.

“When artists are like, ‘Cool, I want to go connect with my fans’ [on other streaming services] … they see lots of charts and graphs describing their audiences, but the platforms will not tell artists who their fans are…so that means you can’t market to them,” he says.

According to data provided by SoundCloud, the platform currently boasts more than 320 million tracks from over 40 million creators and operates in 193 countries.

08 May 2023

Alicia Keys Talks Bringing ‘Magic’ to ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ With All-Female Orchestral Cover: ‘This Is What Our Ancestors Never Experienced’

When Bridgerton first hit Netflix back in 2020, it captivated audiences not only with its stunning Regency-era visuals and romantic storylines, but also with its gorgeous orchestral covers of pop songs that seamlessly connected the characters to its modern viewers.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Now, the show’s recently released prequel series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, is following in the same musical footsteps by transforming songs from Beyoncé, SZA, Whitney Houston and, most notably, Alicia Keys. The 15-time Grammy-winning superstar’s 2003 hit, “If I Ain’t Got You,” got an orchestral rearrangement from the Vitamin String Quartet for the series’ soundtrack, but Netflix teamed up with Keys for another incredibly special musical moment.

To celebrate Queen Charlotte and the power of women worldwide, Keys brought together more than 70 female musicians from all over the world — from South Africa, Barbados and Germany to Sweden and Egypt — to create a first-of-its-kind global orchestra made up entirely of women of color. Together, the Queen Charlotte’s Global Orchestra delivered a captivating rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” to celebrate the song’s 20th anniversary.

Queen Charlotte's Global Orchestra, Alicia Keys

Tyler Twins

“The entire idea was quite ambitious,” Keys tells Billboard with a laugh, adding that Netflix was excited to take on the challenge and shift the perspective of what an orchestra looks like. “I feel like it’s going to open the minds of many people to realize that women of color belong everywhere and we’ve always been everywhere. It’s magical.”

The final result, shared exclusively with Billboard on Monday (May 8) is equally magical. The instrumentalists are donned in eloquent 1700s-inspired gowns as they deliver sweeping strings, ethereal percussion and grounding horns — all working together to uplift Keys’ honeyed vocals and piano melody. “I know they’re gonna be very emotional when they see it because the women we who were there were extremely emotional,” Keys recalled. “Our conductor [Ofentse Pitse] said, ‘It feels like when we have an orchestra of all women of color from all over the world, that we’re finally doing something right.’ This is what our ancestors never experienced.”

Pitse, a Tshwane, South Africa, native who is the youngest and first Black African woman to conduct and own an orchestra, shares with Billboard that the experience felt “historic” from the very first moment. “I think I knew the importance of it when I was on the airplane, but when I actually got there, it just really changed my perspective of the reason why we are all there. We should not just be the first and only ones to do something like this.”

Pulling together such an inspiring group of women is nothing out of the ordinary for Keys, who has always been a fierce advocate for gender equality, something that she says she learned from her mother. “My mother is definitely a feminist for sure. She raised me, and that desire for equanimity and fairness was really instilled in me, and then I would see how it will come out in my songs,” she says. “I would see it on ‘A Woman’s Worth,’ or ‘Superwoman’ or ‘Girl on Fire,’ and I know that the majority of those songs and feelings have come from needing a boost, needing that extra energy. Those songs, in a lot of ways, were what I wished and hoped to feel. Then, I was thinking of how beautiful this moment was with Queen Charlotte and how it really felt like what’s possible came to life, and it’s possible to create special moment when you pay attention to what’s needed.”

The “No One” singer is bringing that extra energy and even more special moments to her upcoming Keys to the Summer Tour, which is set to stretch across North America this summer. Keys is certainly no stranger to touring, but is entering this upcoming run with a sense of celebration, self-liberation and a whole lot of love. “We’re all after the ability to be liberated, to just feel comfortable in our skin, to be allowed to be who we are. To demand that from ourselves and to practice that is so important,” she says of the upcoming trek, during which she promises to revisit some deep cuts from her extensive discography and “tune back into them.”

Watch the Queen Charlotte’s Global Orchestra rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” exclusively via Billboard here, and catch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story over on Netflix.

08 May 2023

Ed Sheeran Performs New ‘Subtract’ Songs in Surprise NY, Dallas and LA Pop-Up Street Gigs

Ed Sheeran had a lot to celebrate this weekend between Friday’s release of his – (Subtract) album and a win in his high-profile “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarism trial last week. Sheeran blew off some steam by debuting songs from the new collection during surprise pop-up shows on the streets of New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.

The street party began in Soho, New York on Friday, when Ed jumped on top of a Volvo to perform half a dozen solo acoustic songs — including “Thinking Out Loud” and his latest single, “Boat” — in the same neighborhood where his limited-time “The Subtract Experience” pop-up shop is located.

In another video, Sheeran manned an ice cream van and handed out some treats to fans in Dallas and performed “Eyes Closed” before kicking off his Mathematics tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday night. The weekend also included a pop-up show atop a double-decker tour bus in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The singer wrapped his big weekend by appearing on Sunday night’s American Idol alongside another guest performer/judge, Alanis Morissette, as fill-ins for panelists Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who were busy celebrating King Charles III’s coronation.

Sheeran came out on top last week after the family of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” co-writer, Ed Townsend, lost a $100 million case last week in which they claimed that Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” had infringed on the copyright of the Gaye hit.

Watch footage of Sheeran’s New York, Dallas and L.A. surprise shows below.

08 May 2023

UK Taking Hosting 2023 Eurovision Very Seriously

There’s nothing like nearly winning to wake people up. And the U.K.’s second-place position at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest has helped kickstart widespread enthusiasm for 2023’s edition — taking place in Liverpool this week.

Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” restored the nation’s interest last year with his smiling enthusiasm, soaring vocals and great song despite coming on the heels of James Newman in 2021, who received no points at all, and 2019’s Michael Rice, who also came in last.

Normally the winner of the previous contest would host the next one, but that winner was Ukraine, and the ongoing war there has made that impossible. So the U.K., as runnerup, is hosting instead. Singer Rita Ora says Eurovision — the semifinals begin Tuesday (May 9) and the final is Saturday — has received another lease on life in the U.K.

“The Eurovision is suddenly just (becoming) huge again and I’m really here for it,” she said. She’s performing during the interval at a semifinal in Liverpool, but her connection to the event goes back much further: Ora was lined up to represent the U.K. in 2009, but decided not to. After all, until Ryder, competing in Eurovision was no guarantee of a sparkling career for a Brit.

The last time the U.K. won the contest was 1997, thanks to Katrina and the Waves and “Love Shine A Light.” The intervening years have seen five last-place results for the U.K. That could add up to a lot of pressure on this year’s U.K. entry, Mae Muller, but she seems to welcome it.

“The energy feels different,” Muller said.

The London singer-songwriter is representing the U.K. with “I Wrote a Song,” and says Ryder helped change the way people inside and outside the U.K. view its participation in Eurovision.

“I feel like with the U.K., we have the tendency to be quite like self-deprecating,” Muller said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously and I feel like that might have been like half our problem maybe with Eurovision. And I feel like now we’re like, ‘Let’s take this seriously. Like, let’s do this.’”

Liverpool singer Rebecca Ferguson is performing in her hometown alongside Ukrainian singer Aloysha in a duet during the semifinals interval. Ferguson thinks that the U.K. had become disheartened with the scores, but that being “so close” in 2022 changed things. “The U.K. were like, yeah, OK then … I can get into this,” she said. “We like winning, basically.”

Ukrainian rock star Julia Sánina, the frontwoman of The Hardkiss, is one of this year’s Eurovision hosts and a lifelong fan of the competition. She agrees that the U.K. is taking it more seriously in 2023 “because of Sam Ryder and his musicality.” But in addition to last year’s success, there is added enthusiasm because Liverpool is hosting on behalf of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra won in 2022. When the U.K. agreed to host in Ukraine’s place, it promised to celebrate Ukraine’s culture and people in every way. Sánina says she has felt that warm welcome in Liverpool. “Beautiful city, super friendly people. And what was heartwarming for me that I saw lots of Ukrainian flags and Ukrainian blue and yellow colors all over the city,” she said.

After all, the U.K. does like a party. “Eurovision, in my culture and when I grew up, was everything,” Ora said. The Kosovo-born singer grew up with Albanian parents in London.

“It was like getting around the TV, all the music, like, ‘Everyone shut up,’ when there’s like a song on. There’s drinks flowing, everyone’s having a good time because it’s like, it was almost like rooting for your country or like where you’re from,” she added.

“It’s just a cool way of everyone getting together,” she said.

08 May 2023

Katy Perry, Lionel Richie Perform at Coronation Concert, King Charles and Queen Camilla Return the Royal Favor With ‘Idol’ Pop-In

Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were absent from American Idol on Sunday (May 7) for very good reasons. The judges were busy performing at King Charles III’s coronation concert at Windsor Castle in London a day after England’s new monarch was seated in a ceremony rich with tradition and mega-charged pomp.

Some 20,000 people gathered at the Castle for the show that found Richie performing “All Night Long” and the Commodores’ “Easy” for the royals and their invited guests. The AP reported that Princess Charlotte and her mother, Kate, Princess of Wales sang along as Perry performed her hit “Roar” while decked out in a gold foil ball gown as drones formed into the shape of a lion to honor the new king’s coat of arms. Perry closed out the show with “Firework,” which she dedicated to the King, saying “Thank you for bringing out the firework in so many young people.”

There was even a fly-by from Tom Cruise, who appeared in a video message saying, “Pilot to pilot. Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time.” The evening hosted by Downtown Abbey star Hugh Bonneville also featured performances from the Pussycat Dolls, British man band Take That, Paloma Faith, opera singer Andrea Bocelli and a global choir led by Steve Winwood singing a version of his hit “Higher Love.”

The new royals returned the favor on Sunday night’s live coast-to-coast broadcast of Idol during an episode featuring mentors Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morissette, appearing in a chat with Perry and Richie from Windsor Castle. “I just wanted to check how long you’ll be using this room for?” King Charles joked to Richie and Perry, as he walked into the shot with Queen Consort Camilla after the “Dancing on the Ceiling” star called the coronation “unbelievable.”

“We have to give the room up right away,” a nervous Richie said after the King’s bone-dry jape about whether the production would be using the room “all night long.”

“Thank you so much for your brilliant performance,” Charles said as Perry interrupted in a distinctly West Coast English accent to ask, “are we making too much noise?” There was then some scripted cross-talk about the coronation party they were all going to attend, with Perry curtsying as the royal couple made their exit.

Watch highlights from the concert and the Idol drop-in below.

08 May 2023

Run My Coins: Kanye West And YEEZY Ordered To Pay $300K To Freelancer

HipHopWired Featured Video

Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - October 14, 2022

Source: MEGA / Getty

Kanye West has another unpaid tab to pay. A court has ordered him and his YEEZY brand to pay a freelancer 300K in unpaid wages.

As spotted on Hype Beast  New York based creative got a favorable ruling earlier this week regarding her ongoing claim that the rapper’s label has failed to properly pay her. Back in December 2022 Katelyn Mooney filed a lawsuit against Kanye West and YEEZY claiming that she was informally contract to curate a product shoot for SHDZ sunglasses line. She says she was promised $110,000 for the job but was only paid $15,000 of that. While she did not have a binding contract in place she was able to provide text messages with YEEZY employees to back her allegations.

Related Stories

Needless to say she was never paid the balance of the monies she was offered to which she says she was forced to “max out her credit cards” and take out loans to meet her personal financial commitments including her monthly rent. On Monday a judge made a default ruling since no one from YEEZY ever responded to the court documents or showed up to court to counter her claims. Kanye West has yet to formally respond to the allegations of nonpayment.

Photo:

08 May 2023

Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morissette Show Top 8 ‘Idol’ Contestants How It’s Done

Ed Sheeran capped an eventful week with a performance on American Idol – and the opportunity to show the remaining contestants how a pro gets about his work.

On Sunday night’s (May 7) Top 8 episode, the English singer and Idol mentor hit “Eyes Closed,” the lead single from − (subtract), the fifth and final album in his mathematics-themed collection.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Sheeran is a big-stage animal, and, as he’s proved to millions in stadiums around the globe, he doesn’t need more than a mic, a guitar and a splash on digital effects behind him. And that’s all he had.

The Brit crammed more into his week than most of us do in, well, forever. The “Shape of You” singer won a copyright court case earlier in the week, released Subtract on Friday, and was on the ABC stage by week’s end. Watch his performance below.


Not to be outdone, fellow guest Idol judge and ‘90s icon Alanis Morissette performed “Thank U,” a rocking number from her fourth studio album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, the followup to her juggernaut Jagged Little Pill. Watch below.


Though Sheeran and Morissette are household names, the eight remaining contestants all harbor dreams of being the next big star. They all got another chance to get there, three were sent home.

The famous five are Colin Stough, Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle, Wé Ani, and Zachariah Smith. Leaving season 21 is Haven Madison, Oliver Steele and Warren Peay.

Next Sunday (May 14) is Disney Night. For the occasion, multiplatinum singer-songwriter Sofia Carson will serve as the Idol mentor for the Top 5, and Halle Bailey will perform “Part of Your World” from Disney’s upcoming film The Little Mermaid, in which she portrays Ariel.

08 May 2023

The Lottery Winners Hit the U.K. Chart Jackpot With ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’

The Lottery Winners roll to their first U.K. No. 1 with Anxiety Replacement Therapy (Modern Sky), their fifth studio album.

After leading at the halfway mark, the British four-piece (Thom Rylance, Robert Lally, Katie Lloyd and Joe Singleton) completes a tight finish ahead of new albums by Nines, Jessie Ware and the National, the Official Charts Company reports.

Prior to Anxiety Replacement Therapy, the Lottery Winners had never entered the top 10, and impacted the top 40 just twice — with 2020’s The Lottery Winners (No. 23 peak) and 2021’s Something To Leave The House For (No. 11).

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Anxiety Replacement Therapy is the best-selling title on physical formats and digital downloads, the Official Charts Company reports.

Coming in at No. 2 is Londoner Nines with Crop Circle 2 (Warner Records). It’s his fourth top 5 album, following 2017’s One Foot Out (No. 4), 2018’s Crop Circle (No. 5) and 2020 leader Crabs in a Bucket.

Completing the podium is Jessie Ware’s That Feels Good (EMI). It’s new at No. 3, for the British singer and songwriter’s third top 5 album.

The latest albums survey, published May 5, is stacked with new releases. Among them, U.S. alternative rock outfit the National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein (4AD). Thanks in part to assists from Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, the set opens at No. 4, and leads the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.

Meanwhile, Reverend & the Makers’ Heatwave in the Cold North (Distiller) bows at No. 6, for the Sheffield-formed rock act’s first top 10 appearance in 16 years. That’s just one spot adrift of the band’s 2007 album The State of Things, which peaked at No. 5.

Also enjoying top 10 debuts this week are English artist Freya Ridings’ Blood Orange (Good Soldier), new at No. 7 for her second top tier effort; and punk veterans the Damned’s Darkadelic (Ear Music), new at No. 9, also for the English punk veterans’ second stint in the top frame.

08 May 2023

Fifty Fifty’s ‘Cupid’ Flies Into U.K. History Books

With Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” soaring into the U.K. top 10, South Korea’s latest pop export snags a slice of U.K. chart history.

On the latest Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, “Cupid” improves 18-9, giving Fifty Fifty honors as the first K-pop girl group to appear in the top 10.

True, BlackPink has smashed various records, and chalked up eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

In the U.K., however, their best showing on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. BlackPink does, however, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 peak for 2020’s The Album.

Comprising Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio, Fifty Fifty was formed in 2022 by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT.

The track caught fire on TikTok, where it has generated more than 8 million TikTok videos, and views on the short-video platform are at about 12 billion.

As “Cupid” opened its wings and took flight on sales and consumption charts last month, Warner Records/Warner Music Group Korea announced a partnership for the group.

Australians, meanwhile, are officiallysmitten with “Cupid”. The track zooms 6-2 on the latest ARIA Chart, also published last Friday. Blackpink already has its flag planted in the land Down Under; their Born Pink hit “Pink Venom” blasted to No. 1 there last August.

08 May 2023

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding Extend ‘Miracle’ Streak on U.K. Chart

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding keep the good times rolling, as “Miracle” (via Columbia) rules the U.K. survey for a fourth non-consecutive week.

The throwback ‘90s club tune continues to rack-up a market-leading volume of streams, bagging 5.4 million over the latest chart cycle, the Official Charts Company reports.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“Miracle” matches Goulding’s 2015’s release “Love Me Like You Do” for her longest reigning U.K. leader. It’s still a month off equalling Harris’ eight-week reign with “One Kiss,” his 2018 collaboration with Dua Lipa.

Meanwhile, David Kushner’s “Daylight” (Miserable Music) holds at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, while Libianca’s Afrobeats sensation “People” (5K) lifts 4-3.

Another club tune dances up the chart this week — Switch Disco’s “React” (Relentless) featuring Ella Henderson, and sampling Robert Miles’ mid-’90s dream-house classic “Children”. “React” lifts 8-7, for a new high.

Close behind, “Cupid” (Attrakt) opens its wings and gives K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty a new chart high — and a piece of history. The slick pop production flies 18-9, giving the four-piece honors as the first K-pop girl group to crack the U.K. top 10.

Blackpink has set all manner of records, and accumulated eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way. However, their best effort on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy,” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. Blackpink does, though, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 best for 2020’s The Album.

Finally, London rapper Nines grabs his first U.K. top 10 as “Tony Soprano 2” (Warner Records) lifts 11-10. It’s one of three numbers from his new album Crop Circle 2 to make an impression on the top 40, as “Calendar” opens at No. 19 for the highest debut on the latest survey, while “Favela” featuring J Styles is new at No. 34, lifting Nines’ tally of U.K. top 40 hits to five.