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22 Mar 2023

Ana Bárbara Becomes First Regional Mexican Songwriter to Receive Icon Award at 2023 BMI Latin Awards

It was a night of firsts at the BMI Latin Awards, which took place March 21 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles.

Mexico’s Ana Bárbara, the dynamic singer known as the Grupera Queen, became the first regional Mexican songwriter to ever receive a BMI Icon Award.

And Edgar Barrera, the prolific songwriter who seamlessly navigates between genres, was given the first ever Impact award for his remarkable presence and influence across the charts of many genres.

The evening — hosted by BMI President/CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President, Creative, Latin Jesus Gonzalez — was also evening of encores. Tainy won the contemporary songwriter of the year award for the second year in a row, and Horacio Palencia also repeated his regional Mexican songwriter of the year award, this time tying with Edgar Barrera. Sony Music Publishing, home to Tainy and Barrera, took home the contemporary Latin publisher of the year award, marking the seventh time in 10 years that it does so.

Universal Music Publishing Group won Regional Mexican publisher of the year, and the smash “Pepas” — performed by Farruko and written by Víctor Cardenas VIIC, IAMCHINO, Axel Quezada “Ghetto” and Keriel K4G Quiróz — was named contemporary Latin song of the year. “Jugaste y Sufrí” by Daniel Balderrama Espinoza won the Regional Mexican song of the year.

But the belle of the ball was undoubtedly Bárbara. The Mexican singer, resplendent in a shimmering dress with a pink feathered skirt, delivered a set of her own compositions, backed by a her band and ending with “Lo Busqué,” during which she accompanied herself on guitar. The performance was a reminder of just how prolific Bárbara has been in her 30-year career, placing 16 hits on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and 14 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart.

“Songwriting was something I didn’t always speak about,” Bárbara told Billboard earlier. “I was always shy about my songwriting, from the time I wrote [her first major hit] ‘Quise Olvidar,’ because composing wasn’t common among women. Now, I believe in all my songs, and I believe they’re all for me.”

Her inspirations, said Bárbara, were the greats of Mexican music, including José Alfredo Jiménez; Joan Sebastian and Marco Antonio Solís, who both mentored her; and Ana Gabriel, also a singer and composer.

Now, Gabriel is also inspiring a new generation, as evidenced by the opening number of the night, a tribute to her music performed by young Mexican singers Adriana Ríos, Alisun Solís, Angélica Gallegos and Lupita Infante.

22 Mar 2023

Accounting Firm Armanino Acquires Blue Sky Group and Royalty Compliance Organization

Accounting and consulting firm Armanino is adding two veteran music industry organizations to its portfolio, beginning April 1: music business management company Blue Sky Group and rights and royalty auditing firm Royalty Compliance Organization. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Blue Sky Group, led by Harlan Hallet and Steven McMillan, and Royalty Compliance Organization, led by Wayne Coleman and Darla Crain, will give Armanino a pair of eight-person staffs steeped in business management experience, royalty compliance, valuation services and litigation support. Hallet began his career as a staff accountant at a business management firm in 1975. His Hallet and Associates was founded in 2004 and folded into Blue Sky Group in 2014. Coleman’s experience in music audits started in 1971 working with country legend Johnny Cash.

“I found Cash some cash,” says Coleman. “He paid me some cash. I thought this was a good business to be in.”

Armanino, one of the 20 largest accounting firm in the U.S., specializes in tax, audit and business management and has more than 2,000 employees in offices around the country. With the two acquisitions, Armanino has about 150 people in its business management group in New York and Los Angeles in addition to Nashville-based Blue Sky Group and St. Louis-based Royalty Compliance Organization, says Craig Manzino, partner, business management at Armanino.

To Manzino, the two new additions better situates Armanino for a music industry where artists can increasingly remain independent but need teams to navigate a complex business. “That idea of breaking away from the majors and doing things on your own as an artist requires a bigger team behind you,” he says. “For us to be able to fulfill that circle of needs around an artist was really important.”

Nashville was a desired location for expansion, according to Manzino. When Hallet moved to Nashville more than two decades ago, “it was just country music,” he says. Today, the genres have expanded beyond country music and many companies have expanded their back-office functions to Nashville from more costly markets. That led Blue Sky Group to get “an array of personnel here dealing with entertainment,” says Harlan, but it’s also made it harder for a smaller firm to lure employees. He believes that partnering with Armanino will help Blue Sky Group attract talent in the hot job market.

“If we think larger in terms of the entertainment industry, these people are becoming brands,” says Manzino. “They’re getting into fashion, not-for-profits, social impact, liquor brands, private donations. To be able to serve people at this level, you can’t be a one-trick pony. You need to provide a full suite of services.”

Generation Z is driving the industry, he says, and smaller firms “aren’t able to offer a lot of the things that this generation wants.” That includes musicians and athletes setting up private foundations to give money to the school districts in their home towns or creating a private foundation for a non-profit. “Being a B Corp” — a certification for a business that meets standards on performance, accountability and transparency on factors ranging from employee benefits to charitable giving — “I think we’re really appealing to our staff and our clients.”

22 Mar 2023

UTA Opens Atlanta Office With KLUTCH Sports Group 

UTA has officially set up shop in Atlanta.

Along with its partner company KLUTCH Sports Group, the agency opened its new Atlanta bureau Wednesday (March 22) to extend its ability to discover and serve artists, athletes, musicians and brands in the region. Steve Cohen, Rob Gibbs and Arthur Lewis will serve as co-heads of the new office.

“Atlanta is an entertainment and cultural hub, and planting our flag here gives us the ability to support clients with investments and opportunities across the city’s growing creative ecosystem,” said Cohen and Gibbs in a joint statement.

UTA will offer representation in Atlanta across its multitude of divisions, including music, sports, film, television, digital talent, marketing, gaming, fine arts and more. This includes advising top global brands based in the Southeast on a range of growth initiatives, including ways to partner with the creative community.

“Atlanta is a vibrant city for music, sports and arts, and there is a ripe opportunity to create another center of gravity for film and television,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer in a statement. “We are excited to bring our full range of services to the community of talented artists, athletes, musicians and creators who call the Southeast their home.”

The new office is located at 1401 Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta and occupies nearly 20,000 square feet across three floors. It was designed by the firm Hastings Architecture, which also designed UTA’s office in Nashville.

The Atlanta bureau will additionally feature a fine art gallery called The UTA Artist Space to showcase programming from the Atlanta art community and across UTA’s global fine arts roster. The inaugural show will feature Atlanta-based artist and musician Lonnie Holley in the first exhibition of his work in the city in over 10 years. Entitled “The Eyes Were Always on Us,” the exhibition will feature sculptures constructed from found materials in the tradition of African-American sculpture. The gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

UTA also boasts offices in Beverly Hills, Nashville, New York, Chicago and London.

22 Mar 2023

Tasha K Apologizes To Cardi B After $4M Defamation Verdict Upheld

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Tasha K, one of the biggest celebrity bloggers in the game, apologized to Cardi B after a $4 million defamation lawsuit verdict was upheld this week. Taking to Twitter, the media figure promised that the snafu leading to the lawsuit will never happen again but seemingly deleted the tweet although it was shared via Instagram.

Tasha K, birth name LaTasha Kebe, filed an appeal to the $4 million defamation lawsuit filed by Cardi B after Kebe made a post in 2018 accusing the rapper and social media star of having sexually transmitted diseases. The court sided with Cardi B, ordering Kebe to pay just under $4 million in damages. Tasha K was, at first, defiant after the ruling and kept the posts up until she was presented with further legal action that would have led to her imprisonment.

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An appeal against the defamation lawsuit was appealed by Kebe last September and she was ordered the next month to pay the outstanding damages until a hearing in court transpired.

“Damn Winos!” We lost the appeal against Cardi B sad day. But I’m gonna be alright. I appreciate all your love & support. Throughout this fight. Today we throw in the white flag. What happened will never happen again. To Cardi & her team, I apologize sincere. We live and learn,” Kebe’s tweet read.

She followed that tweet with, “Please Do NOT Donate to Any GoFundMe’s in my name at all! If you get scammed, it ain’t on me! Just FYI.”

Leaning into the results of the verdict, Tasha K shared a photo of herself in a McDonad’s uniform with the caption reading, “#TashaKGetsAJOB I will let y’all what Part-Time gig I get so I can pay off this damn debt. #iaintgotit but I’m gonna get it” and tagging fast food brands Wendy’s and Burger King along with the aforementioned McDonald’s.

Cardi B has yet to make a public comment about the defamation lawsuit verdict being upheld.

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Photo: Getty

22 Mar 2023

After ‘Zero To 100’ Pandemic-Era Surge in Popularity, Indie Rockers Wednesday Ready Vivid & Visceral New Album

The Album

Rat Saw God, out 4/7 on Dead Oceans.

The Origin

As a kid growing up in Greensboro, N.C., Karly Hartzman “always wanted to be in a band, but wasn’t,” she tells Billboard. By “going to every show I could and photographing shows and making zines,” she eventually landed in a pop-punk band in high school – “just kind of noodling around” on a microKORG synthesizer – before taking up songwriting and performing in earnest as a student at University of North Carolina Asheville in the mid-’10s. After buying her friend’s guitar in junior year, Hartzman “just kind of fucked around until I made a sound that sounded good,” she says. “I taught myself on a combination of watching live videos of other bands on YouTube and learning covers. I still haven’t had a lesson really – so I’m just kind of flying by the seat of my pants.”

Hartzman conceived alt-country project Wednesday in 2017, subsequently turning to peers in Asheville’s robust indie circuit to make it a proper band. The following year’s self-released yep definitely served as a test run, before the band — by then comprised of Hartzman, Xandy Chelmis (lap steel), Alan Miller (drums), Margo Schultz (bass) and Daniel Gorham (guitar), released I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone (“our first album, like with a label that we were excited about”) on Orindal in February 2020.

“The first time we felt validly like, ‘We’re doing music, this is a record we have on vinyl’ was right before the pandemic,” Hartzman says. “Our release show got canceled because of the pandemic. And then we weren’t playing any shows, [so we] had no idea how people felt about the album.”

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The Sound

Wednesday fuses traditional alt-rock hooks with enveloping shoegaze and country twang for music that’s both familiar and singular, and Hartzman’s evocative, specific songwriting draws on great country music storytellers – Drive-By Truckers, Lucinda Williams, “a lot of the outlaw country people” – who she credits for producing “some of the most amazing lyricism in the world.” Hartzman spent her North Carolina youth “hearing country songwriters ambiently kind of against your will, whether you liked it or not,” and spent years keeping the music at arm’s length due to its conservative cultural connotations. But she reconsidered her stance after discovering artists, like the Truckers, who “[embodied] the fact that you can enjoy country music and promote social justice.”

In 2022, Wednesday released a covers album, Moving the Leaves Instead of Piling ‘Em Up, that epitomized the band’s diverse interests, with songs by country legends (Gary Stewart, Roger Miller), alt-country greats (Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers), The Smashing Pumpkins, and contemporary Brooklyn DIY upstarts Hotline TNT. “We take all of the genres we do have influence from very seriously, and we have a deep love and appreciate for all of that music,” says Hartzman, describing the set as “less of us trying to replicate a sound and more us trying to do justice to where we’re from and how it influenced our taste.”

Another key element: Chelmis’ lap steel work, which took on a distinct character after he accidentally routed it through a distortion pedal and liked the sound. “He’s really revolutionizing that instrument,” Hartzman says. “When you tour with an instrument that is not just a regular guitar, I think it is really engaging, because it brings some of the magic back into music. Not knowing how something works as an audience member is one of the most fun experiences you can have — watching someone who has mastered this mysterious thing.”

The Breakthrough

With the pandemic raging in 2020, and little bearing on how much IWTTDYTS was or wasn’t catching on with audiences, Wednesday scored discounted studio time in Asheville and recorded Twin Plagues, which it released in August 2021. (Gorham departed Wednesday before the sessions and was replaced by Jake Lenderman.) When touring restarted and the band hit the road in support of the record, it was shocked by the way positive internet buzz had grown its real-life audiences. “We were like, ‘What the hell? When did this happen?’” Hartzman recalls. “It was very zero to 100 … very surreal. It felt like it didn’t happen fast, because it was years of standing still with the pandemic — but if you put the show before the pandemic next to a show after the pandemic, it’s a huge jump.”

The attention attracted more than just fans: Soon, Wednesday signed with Dead Oceans, the prominent indie label that has in recent years helped catapult Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski and Japanese Breakfast to stardom. (With a laugh, Hartzman describes Dead Oceans as “our Harvard, our reach label. I was like, ‘There is no f—king way.’”) The band returned to Asheville and holed up in a “fancy-schmancy studio” to record its Dead Oceans debut.

The resulting album, Rat Saw God, expands Twin Plagues’ rootsy scuzz to epic proportions; Wednesday announced their Dead Oceans signing to the public with the release of the set’s lead single “Bull Believer,” a blistering, eight-and-a-half-minute opus that covers lyrical ground from Spanish bullfighting to Mortal Kombat before dissolving into squalls of distortion and Hartzman’s shrieks. But otherwise, Rat Saw God finds strength in concision, as sturdy hooks score Hartzman’s vivid and often unsettling verses, where characters might doze off watching Formula One racing, get their stomach pumped after tripping too hard on Benadryl, or overdose in a Planet Fitness parking lot.

While Rat Saw God is sonic step forward for the band, it’s an even bigger advancement for Hartzman’s personal, detailed lyricism, which shines throughout. Take brief and breezy album closer “TV in the Gas Pump” (out today), something of a travelogue documenting a recent two-week Wednesday tour.

“The lyrics for that one were collected in a phone note,” Hartzman says. “Anytime I would see something out the van window or we had an experience that stuck with me, I would write it down.” At one gig, Chelmis took more mushrooms than he planned for a microdose, and found himself overwhelmed in a dollar store across the street from the venue – forever immortalized in the song’s final verse as “Violently came up/ In a Dollar General/ You took too much.”

The Future

As the latest standard-bearers of North Carolina’s prolific indie-rock scene – embodied by revered Durham-based label Merge, and artists including Superchunk, Polvo and Archers of Loaf – Wednesday wants to help their talented peers get their due. Last fall, the band took Raleigh shredders Truth Club on tour as support, and one of Asheville’s most promising young artists lives within Wednesday’s ranks: Lenderman, Hartzman’s partner and Wednesday’s guitarist, released his acclaimed album Boat Songs as MJ Lenderman in April 2022. “I like the fact that we’re kind of coming up together,” says Hartzman, who frequently plays in Lenderman’s band on his solo tours. “It’s very exciting and fun.”

Hartzman’s excited to see how fans receive Wednesday’s new material live once they’ve had time to digest it, and she emphasizes how invigorating life on the road is for her creatively. That said, she cherishes returning home to North Carolina. “I’m glad I live out of the way, where people don’t really give a f—k about indie music a lot of the time,” she says. “My life at home will stay really normal, and then I can have my Hannah Montana moment on tour, and then come home and, like, be a person.”

The Piece of Equipment You Couldn’t Live Without

“I have like a ’90s Rat distortion pedal – I use that and a tuner on stage.”

The Artist You Believe Deserves More Attention

“Honestly, I feel like it’s time for Unwound to get their flowers, especially because they’re playing again [on a just-concluded reunion tour]. I feel like I don’t see people talking about them and how influential and how much their sound has affected a lot of [artists], especially Philly shoegaze sounds. I’m an Unwound head. It’s one of my favorite bands.”

The Piece of Advice Every New Indie Artist Needs to Hear

“Don’t think about the audience that is going to hear your song when you’re writing and just think about what you want to say.”

The Thing That Needs to Change in the Music Industry

“Oh lord. Everything? I think the first thing needs to be we need to change the way we pay opening bands. It’s really unsustainable for a band, especially if it’s a band in a van that’s trying to catch up with a band on a tour bus. It’s a really unsustainable practice.”

The Thing They Hope Fans Take Away From Their Album

“I just hope they hear this one and trust that I’m gonna keep making music. We’re signed to a bigger label and I think the sellout mentality, it scares a lot of people — but I feel like we are on a mission to stay very true to ourselves. I want them to trust that I’m going to keep doing whatever the f—k I want with my songs.”

22 Mar 2023

Tekashi 6ix9ine Catches The Fade In Florida LA Fitness, Twitter Has No Sympathy

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Notoriously unliked rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was hospitalized after catching a brutal fade. Reportedly, the infamous snitch got jumped while he was in a gym in Florida.

The “Gummo” rapper’s lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, confirmed that his client caught the hand and feet in and outside the sauna of an LA Fitness gym.

Reports Variety:

The 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, sustained injuries to his face and bruises, according to his attorney, Lance Lazzaro.

Lazzaro said the rapper was attacked in and outside the LA Fitness gym sauna by three or four men who beat him up, though he tried fighting back. “He had cuts to his face and bruises,” Lazzaro said. The attorney said that the perpetrators fled after employees heard the disturbance.

Of course footage of part of the beatdown made it onto the Internets. Tekashi can be seen in almost a fetal position as he’s getting kicked in the stomach. Be warned, the clip below is violent.

The police were called but the assailants left before their arrival. Tekashi was then transported to a local hospital. His attorney tells TMZ he plans to call the Feds to get his client protection.

Don’t expect much sympathy for Tekashi’s struggle. The Brooklyn native infamously dropped dime on his team (tagged as members of the Nine Trey Bloods), including his manager, and was thus able to skate free while his crew is doing time for felonies including drug trafficking. In fact, Twitter is getting jokes off, which you can see for yourself in the gallery.

Considering Tekashi’s behavior since getting out of prison, no one should be surprised this incident happened.

6. The Aftermath?

22 Mar 2023

Five Takeaways From the 2023 IFPI Global Music Report

LONDON — An eighth consecutive year of growth is undoubtedly great news for the music business — especially for anyone who worked in the industry during the near-decade of decline brought on by rampant piracy and falling CD sales. But this year’s IFPI “Global Music Report” also demonstrates a slowing rate of growth across all formats and in nearly all established markets. 

Here are five takeaways from this year’s report:

Growth Slows Down 

Total recorded music revenues climbed to $26.2 billion, up 9% in 2022, which, although impressive, is half of 2021’s growth, when revenues were up 18.5%. Paid-for streaming subscription revenue rose 10.3% to $12.7 billion in 2022, compared with a 21.9% year-on-year jump in 2021. 

Total streaming (including paid subscription and advertising-supported) was up 11.5% to $17.5 billion, versus a rise of 24% the prior year. 

Physical format revenue climbed 4%, compared to 16% in 2021, while music sales in the world’s three biggest markets — the United States, Japan and United Kingdom — all grew by around 5% last year, compared with double-digit gains for the U.S. and U.K. in 2021 (+22.6% and +13.2% respectively) and a rise of 9.3% in Japan.

IFPI attributed the slowing to 2021’s exceptional growth, which it said was partly fueled by a post-pandemic bounce back in music consumption, and execs at a London launch event Tuesday said they were confident the market was not about to plateau.

“I do think there are pockets of established markets where there is an opportunity to grow,” said Simon Robson, head of Warner Music Group’s international recorded music operations outside the U.S. and the U.K. He cited France as a major music market where streaming subscription penetration rates remain under 20%. “The challenge for today is how we better monetize other forms of music consumption,” he added, noting that “it would help if music subscription pricing could reflect the realities of inflation, which, as we’ve seen with video streaming services, have been putting up their prices quite significantly.” 

When Robots Take Over

The future role that artificial intelligence (AI) will play in the record business was raised several times at the London launch event, with executives keen to highlight the technology’s potential for commercial growth, as well as some of the risks and challenges it brings. Some executives saw potential benefits in using AI to better analyze and understand fan engagement trends and artist discovery (something which platforms and music companies are already doing) and optimizing technical aspects of music production, including immersive sound. 

On the flip side, execs issued a stark warning about human artistry being devalued at the expense of technology. AI developers, they said, could fail to respect the rights of creators by using artist recordings to generate new content without authorization – a threat that Michael Nash, executive vp, chief digital officer at Universal Music Group, said he placed “at the top” of industry issues that need to be addressed. “We need to work very hard to define new models so that we can enable generative AI without looking away from what is essentially going to be wholesale hijacking of the intellectual property of the entire creative community,” wrote Nash in IFPI’s “Global Music Report” document.  

Streaming May Dominate, But Physical Is Far From Dead 

Having enjoyed a post-pandemic renaissance in 2021 — when sales of CDs increased for the first time this millennium and overall physical sales grew 16.1% — physical format revenue continued to be surprisingly resilient last year, rising 4% to $4.6 billion. It was the second consecutive year of growth for the format, once considered dead. Almost half (49.8%) of those global revenues came from Asia, where the humble CD remains a popular music purchase, particularly in South Korea and Japan, the region’s largest music market and world’s second biggest behind the U.S. 

Vinyl revenues’ upward trajectory also continued, rising 17.1% over 2021, and while global CD sales slipped 0.4% year-on-year (IFPI didn’t provide financial values for CD or vinyl income), physical revenues still accounted for 17.5% of the overall recorded music market last year. That’s just under what ad-supported streams generate for labels and rights holders (representing 18.7% of global sales) and more than the combined haul from sync, performance rights and digital downloads. 

All Eyes Turn Towards Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa overtook the Middle East and North Africa as the fastest growing region in 2022, with music sales rising almost 35% year-over-year, reports IFPI. Driving that growth was South Africa’s thriving music industry, Africa’s biggest market, which climbed by more than 31% last year, compared to modest 2.4% growth in 2021. 

Nevertheless, the challenge of converting users of ad-based music services to paid subscription remains a considerable one, said Temi Adeniji, president of Warner Music Africa, with South Africa having around 4 million paid subscribers out of a population of nearly 50 million people. Adeniji said the burgeoning global popularity of Amapiano, a genre which originated in South Africa, was already producing crossover hits in markets like Nigeria. She predicts “an infusion of Amapiano elements” into other international music scenes over the next few years to further drive the region’s development as a key music territory. 

China Climbs to Become a Top-Five Music Power  

For years, music executives have talked up China — the world’s most populous country, home to 1.4 billion people, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics – as a huge music market in waiting. In 2022, that potential was finally realized with China usurping France (a long-time mainstay in the upper echelons of the world music market rankings) as the fifth-biggest music market worldwide with revenues of $1.2 billion, up 28.4% year-on-year, according to IFPI. That’s on the back of 30% growth in 2021, when China was the world’s sixth-biggest music market. 

The dominance of local streaming services QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, which are all owned by China-based Tencent Music Entertainment (TME, which publishes Billboard China), means that Western and international acts rarely feature on China’s many of domestic charts, which includes some run by China’s state-owned broadcaster. But the popularity of domestic pop stars like Jay Chou, Yisa Yu, Mao Buyi, Zhou Shen and Jackson Wang is now rapidly driving subscription take up in a country rife with piracy on a decade ago. TME’s most recent company filings report 85.3 million paying music users as of the third quarter of 2022.

22 Mar 2023

Ed Sheeran Has 5 More Albums Planned, Including a ‘Perfect’ Posthumous One He’s Already Working On

Some people make afterparty plans, Ed Sheeran makes after life ones. The singer told Rolling Stone that he’s already begun working on his final album. Though his upcoming May 5 release – (Subtract) will square the circle on his cycle of five mathematically themed studio albums, Sheeran said he’s sketched out his next five releases, as well as a posthumous collection that will be constantly updated during his life.

Sheeran, 32, told RS, “I want to slowly make this album that is quote-unquote ‘perfect’ for the rest of my life, adding songs here and there. And just have it in my will that after I die, it comes out.”

The singer also revealed that while working with his pal Taylor Swift’s recent collaborator The National’s Aaron Dessner on Subtract, the duo produced enough material for another album. After picking 14 tracks for the final maths album, Sheeran said he pulled three others that felt “too joyous” after realizing they felt like the start of a different musical journey.

“It was very quickly seen that we were making two different things,” Sheeran said, adding that he and Dessner then wrote an entire second album together that the in-demand producer is mixing right now. At press time no release date, or title, has been announced yet for that collection, with Sheeran explaining, “I have no goals for the record. I just want to put it out.”

Sheeran will, however, pull the curtain back on his journey to stardom, personal life and musical inspiration in the upcoming Disney+ docuseries Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All. The four-part series due out globally on May 3 is described as the story of “how an unlikely child with a stutter rose to fame to become one of the biggest global music superstars and how his chart-topping hits were born.”

The Disney+ original series will feature exclusive content from Sheeran’s personal archive, interviews with his loved ones and intimate performances. “I’ve always been very guarded in my personal and private life; the only documentary I’ve ever made has been one that focused on my songwriting,” Sheeran said in a press release. “Disney approached me to make a four-part documentary, and it felt like the right time to open the door and let people in. I hope people enjoy it.”

Sheeran’s will drop his new single, “Eyes Closed” on Friday (March 24), which RS described as being built “around a pinging pizzicato riff that builds to an octave-jumping chorus as big as anything in Sheeran’s catalog.” The magazine quoted lyrics including, “I’m dancing with my eyes closed/ ’Cause everywhere I look I still see you… I pictured this month a little bit different/ No one is ever ready.”

22 Mar 2023

Music Video Director Workshop for Women & Non-Binary People of Color Set for L.A. Launch

Everydaydreamer, a purpose-driven creative studio specializing in music video/content commissioning and creative direction/production, is launching a new workshop series specifically for women and non-binary people of color, the company tells Billboard.

Dubbed SheMadeIt, the music video and content director workshop aims to “challenge the status quo in this field” and “make the entertainment industry a more equitable space,” according to a press release. The workshop series will offer intensive experiential opportunities, educational seminars and networking for underrepresented voices to gain access to mentorship and work opportunities. SheMadeIt is launching the series in partnership with Kids of Immigrants, Above Ground, Nowhere, Merman and Youth Mentoring Connection.

“There is a real need for new entry points for underserved and underrepresented talents to be showcased in the directorial and content space,” said Everydaydreamer and SheMadeIt founder Shadeh Smith in a statement. “We have gathered some of the most experienced, talented and respected creative professionals in this field, all with the collective commitment to cultivate new, burgeoning talent. Ultimately, we are dedicated to re-shaping the entertainment industry to be a space of equity, inclusion, and representation for all artists, especially those who aren’t given adequate access to the resources and platforms they need to thrive.”

She made it

Courtesy Photo

The first SheMadeIt workshop will take place in Los Angeles from April 28-30 and feature industry panels, practical assignments and access to long-term opportunities for 10 participants(applications will be available here starting Friday, March 24). Additional series are set to take place in London and New York, with details to be announced soon.

Panelists and mentors confirmed for the Los Angeles workshop include Kehlani (artist), Diallo Marvel (global creative director, Beats), Alex Thurmond (creative director), Alli Maxwell (executive producer, Somesuch Productions), Devon Libran (senior vp, Republic Records) Laura Tunstall (managing partner, Nowhere), Daniel Buezo (CEO, Kids of Immigrants), David Ali (CEO, Above Ground and artist manager), Ana Julfayan (executive producer), Kevin Kloeker (vp of creative & content development, Capitol Records), Kira Carstensen (managing partner, Merman), Dani Edgren (creative producer), Anna Heinrich (executive producer, Obsidian), Zsuzsa Cook (artist manager), Karine Benzaria (producer/writer), Emmanuelle Cuny (senior vp/head of visual creative & production, Motown Records), Byron Atienza (creative director) and Monica Kran (talent partnerships).

Full entry requirements and applications are available at www.everydaydreamer.co/shemadeit.

22 Mar 2023

The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian Sells His Share of Hits to AMR Songs

John Sebastian‘s songwriter interest in The Lovin’ Spoonful catalog has been acquired by AMR Songs, a music asset investment firm and music company that’s been quietly scooping up rights for the last two years. AMR also purchased all rights from Sebastian’s solo catalog, as well as the master recording catalog of reggae band Soja, among other investments.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

AMR is led by former Billboard editorial director Tamara Coniff, the firm’s founder and CEO, and private equity veteran Steve Reinstadtler, who is CFO. According to sources, the firm has raised $100 million from institutional investors. In addition to acquiring all forms of music royalties, AMR will also sign developing songwriters and work closely with established writers.

The Sebastian deal includes the writer share of his Lovin’ Spoonful catalog, including “Summer in the City,” “Do You Believe in Magic,” “Daydream,” “Younger Girl,” “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” and “Nashville Cats.” It also encompasses the publishing and writer share from his solo career, including the song “Welcome Back,” as well as artist royalties from his band and solo work.

“AMR’s involvement in my catalog, and specifically the enthusiasm I’m feeling from Tamara Conniff about this material, will ensure that my songs will keep singing for a good long time,” Sebastian said in a statement.

Conniff has more than 20 years of experience in music publishing. She began by managing the interests of her late father, band leader Ray Conniff, and has also held executive positions in music publishing, including as executive vp of Roc Nation Music Publishing and COO of Artist Publishing Group. Reinstadtler’s prior experience includes serving as co-head of TD Capital and as a partner in SR Capital Advisors.

“I’m ecstatic to announce the launch of AMR Songs and fully realize our vision of building a truly creative home for our artists and writers — not just acquiring rights, but proactively nurturing and marketing catalogs, signing and developing artists with frontline operations,” Conniff said in a statement. “We’ve established a stellar film and TV sync licensing team, label distribution and digital marketing support to uniquely foster new opportunities and revenue growth for our roster and catalogs.”

AMR’s team also includes Lydia Yerrick, vp of business affairs and administration, and Justin Mandel, manager of social media and royalty analysis, as well various consultants. Additional staff will be announced soon, the company said.

The AMR catalog, which numbers 1,500 songs and growing, is administered by Warner Chappell Music.

AMR’s investment in Soja’s catalog spans from the band’s inception through 2020 and covers music publishing, artist royalties and various master recordings, including the albums Born In Babylon, Strength to Survive and Amid the Noise and Haste.

“We’re passionate about the music and incredibly proud to represent and take care of these amazing works, ensuring they are exposed to new audiences for generations to come,” Conniff adds in a statement.

Other investments include the writer share of funk guitarist Ronald “Kat” Spearman’s song catalog, including Jade’s “Don’t Walk Away”; John Boylan’s producer share, which includes the first Boston album; and the publishing rights of Taylor Philips — namely Luke Combs‘ “Hurricane” and Kane Brown’s “Homesick.”

Beyond that, AMR has signed a global music publishing deal with producer and writer Erik Janson. It is also launching its own label, AMR Songs, and has signed Australian artist EJ Worland to both a recording and publishing deal.

Conniff notes that AMR is “agnostic about which rights we will buy” going forward, adding that the company has an eye on niche genres because each has its own ecosystem and brand of dedicated fans. “Reggae, rock, Christian and jazz fans are not fickle,” she says.