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18 Nov 2022

Taylor Swift Says Ticketmaster Meltdown ‘Pisses Me Off’: ‘I’m Extremely Protective of My Fans’

Taylor Swift has spoken on the Ticketmaster fiasco, and it seems that she’s just as angry as her fans are. In a lengthy Friday (Nov. 18) message posted to her Instagram story, the 11-time Grammy winner shared that the mass outages and hours-long delays her fans experienced while trying to purchase tickets during her Eras Tour presale on Nov. 15 “pisses” her off.

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“Well. It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans,” she began in the statement. “We’ve been doing this for decades together and over the years, I’ve brought so many elements of my career in house. I’ve done this SPECIFICALLY to improve the quality of my fans’ experience by doing it myself with my team who care as much about my fans as I do.

“It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse,” Swift continued. “There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could.”

So many attempts — 14 million, to be exact — flooded Ticketmaster’s website on the day of the presale that the company’s site experienced major technical difficulties, causing some Swifties to walk away without securing a single ticket, even though they had previously been sent a special “Verified Fan” presale code by Ticketmaster. Hours later, the company posted a statement saying that it had been unprepared for the “historically unprecedented demand” Swifties exhibited that day, and postponed other Eras Tour onsales scheduled for that day.

Consumer response to the situation was so overwhelmingly negative, Live Nation chairman Greg Maffei appeared on CNBC to apologize to fans.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” Swift added in her note. “And to those who didn’t get tickets, all I can say is that my hope is to provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs.”

“Thank you for wanting to be there,” she concluded. “You have no idea how much that means.”

18 Nov 2022

Google’s Pilot Program for In-App Billing Is Music to Spotify’s Ears — Is Apple Next?

Spotify’s quest to improve its margins has taken another step forward, as a pilot program for billing subscribers using Google devices expands to the U.S. and additional markets. Called “user choice billing,” the system allows app developers to provide Google Android smartphone users with the option of paying the developer directly — at a reduced fee — or through Google Play.

Last week, Google’s user choice billing pilot expanded to the U.S., Brazil and South Africa, and Google announced that dating app Bumble also joined the program. Spotify was the first developer to join the pilot program in March with test markets of Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and the European Economic Area. With the additional markets, user choice billing will be tested in most of the world’s largest smartphone markets and most valuable music markets.

With user choice billing, prospective Spotify subscribers are presented with two payment options side-by-side in an Android app: Spotify and Google Play. Choosing Spotify will take the user to a form to fill out credit card information to sign up for a subscription. Importantly, it all happens within the Spotify app, not Spotify’s external website. Choosing to pay with Google Play prompts the user to enter a password to pay with the credit card on file with Google.

Billing is an under-appreciated but important issue in the subscription music business. Because music streaming is inexorably tied to smartphones, and because consumers have come to expect simplicity when engaging in e-commerce on smartphones, in-app billing helps a company like Spotify sign up subscribers. The problem for a music service like Spotify operating on thin margins, though, is that app stores run by Apple and Google have traditionally demanded a cut of these in-app purchases. That’s left music companies either paying the app store fees themselves, without raising prices, eroding each subscription’s profitability, or raising the price to compensate for the fee, which could turn away potential subscribers. Prior to 2016, Spotify charged users 30% more for an in-app upgrade to Premium to offset Apple’s 30% fee.

There’s one other option, of course: To save on fees, a music service may disallow in-app subscriptions and encourage a customer to take a few extra steps and subscribe at its website. That process risks losing potential subscribers along the way, but nevertheless, Spotify has gone this route and not allowed in-app purchasing on its Apple app since 2016.

Companies have faced this quandary for years. In 2019, for example, Pandora raised the price for subscribers who used Apple’s in-app purchasing premium subscription service from $9.99 to $12.99 to offset the fees. Pandora reported paying $50 million in fees to Apple and Google in 2015 – 3.7% of its annual revenue.

“It certainly puts independent music services at a disadvantage where we’re paying 30% of the economics out to the platforms that distribute our apps, who also happen to be competing with us, and for the same users, and the same economics,” Pandora’s then-CFO Mike Herring told investors in 2016.

Apple typically charges a 30% fee for in-app purchases during the first year of a subscription and 15% thereafter, according to Apple’s website for developers. Neither Apple nor Spotify have said publicly what fees are paid for Spotify subscriptions. The fees that Spotify pays Google are also private.

“We’re not going to comment on the terms of our agreement with Google because they are confidential,” a Spotify spokesperson tells Billboard, “but it’s safe to say that our [user choice billing] partnership is based on commercial terms that meet our standards of fairness.” 

Generally, subscription services such as Spotify pay a 15% fee for in-app purchases, but the fee can go lower. App developers in Google’s Play Media Experience Program, which integrates apps into Google’s ecosystem of wearables and other hardware products, can pay less than 15%, for example. For subscription-based services with significant licensing costs — such as music, video, books and audiobooks — fees “can be as low as 10%,” according to a Google spokesperson.  

User choice billing provides additional savings for app developers on top of any other program or discount. If an Android user presented with user choice billing opts for the app developer’s payment system, Google lowers the fee by 4%. So, if an app developer were paying a 10% fee to Google, user choice billing would reduce the fee to 6%.  

Small improvements to gross margin are crucial to a music service that pays more than three-quarters of its revenue to rights holders. Spotify’s gross margin on its Premium subscription service was 28% in the third quarter of 2022, meaning that Spotify paid out 72% of its subscription revenue for licensing fees and some smaller costs of sales. Every percentage point of revenue represents about $100 million in subscription revenue in 2022, based on past earnings and Spotify’s fourth-quarter guidance. If Spotify can move its gross margin by a small amount, it would greatly impact the company’s free cash flow. To put it in perspective, Spotify’s net cash flow from operations for the first three quarters of 2022 was $109 million.  

While Google seems willing to consider alternative approaches to in-app billing, Apple does not. Prominent app developers, including Spotify, have been fighting for better terms for years. In 2019, Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission for anticompetitive behavior alleging that Apple “continue to give themselves an unfair advantage at every turn.” 

Additionally, Apple is currently involved in a lawsuit brought by Epic Games regarding its control over the App Store. Although the judge in the case has mostly sided with Apple, the judge did order Apple to allow apps to provide links to payment alternatives outside the App Store. The lower court’s requirement has been delayed until the appeals court rules on the case. The two sides began oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday (Nov. 14). 

Apple’s strict rules are particularly meddlesome to Spotify’s latest attempt to improve its margins — audiobooks. In September, the streaming service began selling 300,000 audiobook titles following its acquisition of audiobook distributor Findaway in June. The plan makes sense: Audiobook purchases on its platform can provide Spotify with 60% gross margins — about twice the margin in music streaming – and audiobooks are a natural addition to its burgeoning podcast business.  

But Apple’s rules for in-app purchases would make audiobooks purchased through an iOS app far less profitable — and a less straightforward process. Whereas the Google app provides “a beautiful experience,” CEO Daniel Ek said during the Oct. 25 earnings call, the process of buying an audiobook through Apple “is inherently broken because Apple decided it wanted it to be broken.” Spotify had lawyers “in the room” working with developers, but Apple rejected Spotify’s app multiple times, according to Ek. “It holds developers back and holds creators back,” he said. “And it’s bad for consumers.” Plus, there’s the added element here that Apple happens to be Spotify’s leading competitor for music streaming.

With audiobooks, Spotify currently sells titles on its website rather than inside the app to avoid fees (the user can listen using the Spotify app after the title is purchased). But just getting people to its website isn’t straightforward. As Spotify claimed on a website called Time to Play Fair, Apple does not allow Spotify to explain how to purchase an audiobook outside of the app, include a link to direct the user to a Spotify audiobook page, request or receive an email with instructions on how to purchase an audiobook or reveal an audiobook’s price in the app or in an email. Spotify’s Android app does not sell audiobooks, but the app allows users to receive an email with a link to Spotify to purchase a title.  

In its June investors’ day presentation, Spotify management looked beyond music, podcasts and audiobooks. In the next ten years, Spotify will add sports, news and education to the platform and double the current average revenue per user, said Gustav Norström, chief freemium business officer. The user choice billing pilot program can only help with that goal.

18 Nov 2022

Why Do Five or More Songwriters Have To Share a Single Oscar?

Since the Academy Awards handed out their first statuettes for best original song in 1935, almost two-thirds of the winners have been writing duos, including such legendary twosomes as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

Now, 87 years after composer Con Conrad and Herb Magidson won the inaugural trophies for penning “The Continental” from the 1934 film The Gay Divorcee, some observers say the Oscars need to update their rules to better reflect how songs are now created.

Current academy rules favor fewer songwriters at a time when the number of writers per song is increasing. So far this year, the average number of songwriters credited on a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 is 6.4, compared with 4.77 over a decade ago in 2009.

Yet the academy considers any combination of more than two writers for a best original song contender an exception. According to the rules, if there are three or four songwriters, “a third statuette may be awarded when there are essentially equal writers of a song. The Music Branch Executive Committee has the right, in what it alone determines to be a very rare and extraordinary circumstance, to award a fourth statuette.”

If there are five or more credited songwriters, only one statuette is awarded to the collective, and the rules state “each songwriter must agree to the single ‘group statuette’ option by signing and returning a Group Award form prior to the submission deadline.” (Though a handful of other categories limit the number of eligible nominees, only best original song and best original score have the group statuette option.)

To deny all eligible songwriters their own statuette, regardless of the number, is “antiquated thinking,” says a senior A&R executive at a major label who has worked on Oscar-nominated songs. “The creation of art evolves over time. And as an organization that represents art — whether it’s visual media art or recorded art — you have to adapt and evolve.”

The academy (which declined to respond to the anonymous opinions in this piece) is clinging to a tradition “going back decades, that the way a song got written was essentially by two people, a composer and lyricist,” says the head of music at a movie studio. “They’re out of touch.”

Only two best original song winners have had four songwriters (“Arthur’s Theme” in 1982 and “Shallow” in 2019), and no Oscar has gone to five or more songwriters. Only once have more than five writers been nominated, when all seven members of Counting Crows earned a nod for “Accidentally in Love” from Shrek 2 in 2004. The next year, the limitation on the number of statuettes was introduced.

As a result, when there are more than four songwriters, it’s often up to them to make a hard decision. In January 2019, “All the Stars,” from Black Panther, received a best original song nod, but only four of the five songwriters — Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave and Anthony Tiffith — were credited. Fifth collaborator Alexander Shuckburgh (aka Al Shux) was not listed, even though a month earlier, when “All the Stars” received a Grammy nod for song of the year, his name was. (Shux did not respond for a request for comment.)

“Because of the constraints of the rules, we’ve had to have really uncomfortable conversations with songwriters to say, ‘Hey, you guys, go away and figure this out,’ ” says the movie studio executive, adding that in some cases, the writers have come back with participating songwriters left off to cull their total to four. “It’s hurtful and unfair.”

At least two tracks that could potentially make the shortlist of 15 songs to be announced Dec. 21 have five or more songwriters. “Lift Your Wings” from Netflix’s My Father’s Dragon has five credited songwriters. It was entered as a group submission so all writers would be recognized. The title track to My Mind & Me, Apple Original Films’ documentary about Selena Gomez, has six songwriters.

The group submission form requests a detailed explanation of the creative process, and songwriters may be deemed ineligible at the Music Branch committee’s discretion.

“I understand from the perspective of the academy that they want to keep it special and not be perceived as handing [awards] out like a participation prize,” says another label executive, “but some of the best songs of the past 20 years have been written by an army of collaborators, [and] we’ve seen an evolution of thought in terms of how those songs are regarded.”

The head of music at another movie studio sees the issue as more nuanced and, while not necessarily agreeing with the limitations on the hardware handed out, appreciates the seriousness of the academy’s deliberations when there are several songwriters.

“Each song can be a unique situation, and you have to be able to consider that,” the executive says. “You do have to look at who has done the majority of the work. It’s really important that you have music that was determinately created from scratch for that project. You have to put guardrails somewhere.”

This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.

18 Nov 2022

Snoop Dogg Gets Into the Pet Business With Snoop Doggie Doggs Clothing & Accessories

Snoop Dogg is here to make your dog the most fashionable pup in town. On Tuesday (Nov. 15), the “Doggyland” rapper announced the arrival of his pet line, Snoop Doggie Doggs, in partnership with SMAC Entertainment, Little Earth Productions, Inc. and Amazon.

“If my dogs ain’t fresh I ain’t fresh. These dogs and their apparel are a reflection of Tha Dogg himself, so they gotta look the role of a Top Dog, ya dig?!?!” Snoop Dogg said of the line in a press release.

Snoop Doggie Doggs has accessories for dogs ranging from pet harnesses, bandanas, hats, leashes and collars. Clothing is also available, and ranges from jerseys, hoodies and shirts. For dog lovers who wants their pet to live in the lap of luxury, silver and gold doggy bowls are offered in small and large size. And for owners whose pup is in need of another toy for their good girl or boy’s collection, three options on the site include a “Doggie Doobie” blunt shaped toy, a boom box toy that plays audio of Snoop rapping “bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yay,” and a steering wheel shaped toy inspired by low riders in Southern California.

While the line is primarily meant for dogs, cats have not been excluded from the rapper’s newest business venture — the brand’s official website, snoopdoggiedoggs.com, also feature cats wearing bandanas.

Snoop Doggie Doggs is available to shop on snoopdoggiedoggs.com and on Amazon now. See the first advertisement and a preview of the collection below.

18 Nov 2022

Justin Bieber’s Deflated Bored Ape NFT Says ‘Sorry, Not Sorry’ Amid Crypto Meltdown in ‘Late Show’ Bit

Remember way back last year when Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were all the rage thanks to high-dollar purchases of the digital images of cartoon apes that were snapped up by everyone from Snoop Dogg to Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paris Hilton?

Well, in the wake of the implosion of the FTX platform and a precipitous meltdown of digital currency prices over the past month, one of the celebrities who bet, and spent, big on Bored Ape is likely feeling pretty humbled this week. A video parody that opened The Late Show on Thursday night (Nov. 17) chronicled the reported precipitous plunge in value of Justin Bieber‘s Bored Ape.

The bit included tape from a report about the parallel tanking of crypto art that noted that an Ape purchased by Bieber in January for $1.3 million is now worth around $69,000, a calamitous come-down for the series of more than 10,000 NFTs that became the best-selling NFT art collection ever with a one-time reported value of more than $1 billion.

In one of their signature song parodies, Stephen Colbert and the gang re-purposed one of Bieber’s most beloved ballads to offer some gently stinging commentary on the latest celebrity crypto crack-up in the guise of a message to JB from his Bored Ape. “Is it too late not to say sorry?” the cartoon ape sang over the strains of Justin’s “Sorry.”

“‘Cause I lost you lots of money/ But you have to admit it’s funny/ I’m not even a real baboon/ A million bucks for a dumb cartoon,” the sad simian sang before offering another hot virtual stock tip: invest in a Cautious Cow NFT. NFT Price Floor reported that the floor price for the Bored Ape collection — the price of the cheapest-available NFT listed on the marketplace — is down to around 58.2 ETH, or around $69,800, marking a 33% dip in Bored Ape value in just the last month.

At press time a spokesperson for Bieber could not be reached for comment on the alleged plunge in worth of his digital investment.

Watch the Bored Ape bit below.

18 Nov 2022

Burna Boy’s Mom Bose Ogulu Named Manager of the Year at 2022 Artist & Manager Awards: Full Winners List

Bose Ogulu received the award for manager of the year from her son and star client, Burna Boy, at the 2022 Artist & Manager Awards, which were presented at London’s Bloomsbury Big Top on Thursday (Nov. 17). The event, presented in association with beatBread, is organized by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum (MMF) and celebrates creative and commercial successes across the artist and management community. 

With deep roots in the Lagos music scene, Ogulu has overseen Burna Boy’s rise to global stardom. Co-founding the pioneering Spaceship Collective in 2020, Ogulu has become a leading light in advocating for African artists to maintain greater control and ownership of their repertoire. Sheniece Charway, artist relations manager at YouTube Music, joined Burna Boy in presenting the award.

Becky Hill was named artist of the year. Hill had a top five hit on the Official U.K. Singles Chart in 2022 – “Crazy What Love Can Do,” a collab with David Guetta and Ella Henderson. She won a BRIT Award for best dance act in February. Her award was presented by her manager Alex Martin and tour manager Amanda Barker, alongside music legend Nile Rodgers and Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis.

Awards for Breakthrough Artist and Breakthrough Manager were also presented, with the former going to Beabadoobee and the latter to Callum Reece at One House for his success with the likes of Eliza Rose, Sherelle, cktrl and Mwanjé.

ABBA Voyage received the Innovation award. The album at the center of the project topped the Official U.K. Albums Chart and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It received a Grammy nomination for album of the year on Tuesday Nov. 15. ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus sent a video message to Svana Gisla, Ludvig Andersson and Baillie Walsh, the producers and director behind ABBA Voyage. They were presented with the award by Imogen Heap and Utopia Music’s Roberto Neri. 

Lifetime achievement awards, dubbed Artists’ Artist and Managers’ Manager, went to songwriter and performer Tim Burgess and manager Martin Hall, respectively. Hall has managed Manic Street Preachers, The Script and Wet Leg, among others.

Burgess received his award from Brix Smith and PPL Chief Executive Peter Leathem. Hall’s award was preceded by video messages from Manic Street Preachers, The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue, Wet Leg and Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer, who said: “How many managers can say that 25 years ago they were taking a new band to No. 1 in the album charts, and here they are again, in 2022, managing a new band to No. 1 in the album chart. That longevity speaks volumes for you, Martin.” 

Indeed, Manic Street Preachers’ This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours topped the Official U.K. Albums Chart in 1998. Wet Leg’s Wet Leg topped that same chart this year. Moreover, Wet Leg was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including best new artist, on Tuesday.

The ongoing challenges surrounding live music were raised in a joint opening address by the FAC’s CEO, David Martin, and Annabella Coldrick, chief executive of the MMF. 

“There’s no point pulling any punches,” Martin said. “For the majority of artists, the past few years have been pretty hard. We’ve had Brexit, a pandemic, and now a cost-of-living crisis. It’s been tough to make a living from music, and it remains tough.”

“Without addressing these issues, the next generation will really struggle to break through – and that will have ramifications for every promoter, record label, music publisher and tech company here tonight,” Coldrick added.

The show also recognized the work of Music Declares Emergency as 2022’s Industry Champions for driving momentum towards more environmentally sustainable practices – particularly in live touring. Presented by Sam Lee, the award was accepted by co-founder Lewis Jamieson and director of creative strategy and artist spokesperson Fay Milton. 

The ceremony was hosted by Doc Brown (aka Ben Bailey Smith) and featured live performances by London-based pop-punk artist GIRLI and rapper FelixThe1st. 

Here’s the full list of winners at the 2022 Artist & Manager Awards in association with beatBread:

Artist of the Year: Becky Hill

Manager of the Year: Bose Ogulu

Artists’ Artist: Tim Burgess

Managers’ Manager: Martin Hall

Breakthrough Artist: Beabadoobee

Breakthrough Manager: Callum Reece 

Team Achievement: Groundworks 

Entrepreneur: Krept & Konan

Innovation: ABBA Voyage

Pioneer: Carl Cox 

Writer/Producer Manager: Red Light Management

Industry Champion: Music Declares Emergency

18 Nov 2022

Could Taylor Swift & Doja Cat Earn Oscar Nominations in 2023?

The 94th annual Academy Awards telecast in March got off to a strong start, with Beyoncé singing her best original song contender, “Be Alive,” from King Richard on the tennis courts where Venus and Serena Williams practiced as children. Depending on how the 2023 Oscar nominations shake out, the producers of next year’s telecast just might be able to book an opening number with comparable star power.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reveals its shortlists of 15 contenders for best original song and best original score (as well as 10 other categories) on Dec. 21, Rihanna is a strong contender for “Lift Me Up,” which she co-wrote for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. So are Doja Cat for “Vegas” (Elvis), Taylor Swift for “Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing) and Lady Gaga for “Hold My Hand” — the last of which could be in contention along with fellow Top Gun: Maverick song “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic. If Gaga’s power ballad and OneRepublic’s joy bomb both make the shortlist, it will mark the first time that two songs from the same film have done so since 2019, when two tracks from the reboot of The Lion King made the cut.

Nominations-round voting is open Jan. 12-17, 2023. Nominations will be announced Jan. 24. Final-round voting is open March 2-7. The awards will air March 12 on ABC. Expect the shortlists for best original song and best original score to look something like this.

“Lift Me Up”
Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Tems
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel

“All the Stars” from the original Black Panther was nominated in this category four years ago. Coogler directed and co-wrote both Black Panther and this sequel. The four co-writers could hardly be more international: Coogler was born in the United States, Göransson in Sweden, Rihanna in Barbados and Tems in Nigeria.

“Vegas”
Rogét Chahayed, Doja Cat, David Sprecher
Elvis, Warner Bros.

The academy’s music committee will determine whether this song, which borrows heavily from the 1950s classic “Hound Dog” is eligible. (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote the Elvis Presley hit, would not be.) Incredibly, no song from a movie Presley starred in was ever nominated for best original song.

“This Is a Life”
David Byrne, Ryan Lott, Mitski
Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24

Byrne won an Oscar 35 years ago for best original score for The Last Emperor. Lott is a member of the trio Son Lux, which performs this song, with backing by Byrne and Mitski. This would be the first Oscar nod for both Lott and Mitski.

“Turn Up the Sunshine”
Jack Antonoff, Patrik Berger, Sam Dew, Kevin Parker
Minions: The Rise of Gru, Illumination/Universal Pictures

This would be the first Oscar nomination for all four songwriters. The Antonoff-produced soundtrack consists mostly of contemporary artists covering ’60s and ’70s songs. It also includes new tunes such as this one, recorded by Diana Ross and featuring the Parker-led Tame Impala.

“Naatu Naatu”
M. M. Keeravani
RRR, Variance Films

This Indian Telugu-language song would be the first foreign-language track to win this category since “Jai Ho,” the festive Hindi song from Slumdog Millionaire that took the prize 14 years ago. The scene in which it appears was filmed at the Ukraine Presidential Palace in Kyiv a few months before the Russian invasion.

“My Mind & Me”
Amy Allen, Jonathan Bellion, Selena Gomez, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Michael Pollack
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, Apple Original Films

This documentary was directed by Alek Keshishian, who also directed Madonna: Truth or Dare, as well as such music videos as Gomez’s “Hands to Myself.” The film follows Gomez on a six-year journey that has included both health challenges and professional successes, among them her first Emmy and Grammy nods.

“Do a Little Good”
Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Spirited, Apple Original Films

Pasek and Paul have been nominated three times in this category, with two songs from La La Land and one from The Greatest Showman. They have no shortage of contenders this year — this song and “Good Afternoon” from Spirited, as well as two others from Lyle, Lyle Crocodile.

“Applause”
Diane Warren
Tell It Like a Woman, Samuel Goldwyn Films

With this song, Warren vies for her 14th nomination in this category. She would be the first songwriter or songwriting team to be nominated six years running since Marilyn and Alan Bergman’s 1968-73 streak. Warren will receive a Governors Award from the academy on Nov. 19.

“Stand Up”
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, Jazmine Sullivan
Till, Orion/United Artists Releasing

D’Mile won in this category two years ago with “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah. If he triumphs again, he would become the first Black songwriter to win this award twice. Sullivan won her first two Grammys in April, for best R&B album and best R&B performance.

“Hold My Hand”
BloodPop (Michael Tucker), Lady Gaga
Top Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures

This would be Gaga’s third nod in this category following “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground (2015) and “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (2018), which took the award. “Take My Breath Away” from the original Top Gun won the 1986 award in this category.

“I Ain’t Worried”
Ryan Tedder, Brent Kutzle, Tyler Spry, John Eriksson
Top Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures

The Oscars’ music committee will determine whether this is eligible. “I Ain’t Worried” borrows elements from “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John. The writers of that 2006 song (Björn Yttling and Peter Morén) would not be eligible.

“Nobody Like U”
Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
Turning Red, Pixar

The siblings are the reigning champs in this category for the title song from No Time To Die. “Nobody Like U” is performed in the animated Turning Red by the fictional boy band 4*Town, which O’Connell helped voice. The film was written, directed and produced entirely by women.

“Dust & Ash”
J. Ralph
The Voice of Dust and Ash, Matilda Productions

This would be Ralph’s fourth nod in this category following “Before My Time” from Chasing Ice (2012), “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction (2015) and “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story (2016). Ralph and Norah Jones sing this song on the soundtrack to the documentary.

“Carolina”
Taylor Swift
Where the Crawdads Sing, Sony Pictures

This Appalachian folk-style ballad could result in Swift’s first Oscar nomination. She has received three Golden Globe nods (for “Safe & Sound” from The Hunger Games, “Sweeter Than Fiction” from One Chance and “Beautiful Ghosts” from Cats).

“New Body Rhumba”
Pat Mahoney, James Murphy, Nancy Whang
White Noise, Netflix

LCD Soundsystem recorded this song for the soundtrack of the Noah Baumbach film. Mahoney, Murphy and Whang all belong to the Brooklyn-based band, which won the best dance recording Grammy five years ago for “Tonite.” The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle.

Babylon (Paramount Pictures)
Justin Hurwitz

Babylon is the fifth film directed by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle. Hurwitz has scored all five, including most famously La La Land, for which he won in this category six years ago. Babylon’s cast includes Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Jean Smart.

The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)
Carter Burwell

This would be Burwell’s third nomination in this category following Carol (2015) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). The Banshees of Inisherin is a black comedy-drama written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who also did the honors on Three Billboards. It stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

The Batman (Warner Bros.)
Michael Giacchino

This would be Giacchino’s third nomination in this category following Ratatouille (2007) and Up (2009, for which he won). The Batman, a reboot of the Batman film franchise, stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel)
Ludwig Göransson

Göransson won this honor four years ago for the original Black Panther. Should he do so for this sequel, he’ll become the second composer to win for two installments of the same franchise. Howard Shore did the same for two films in the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Empire of Light (Searchlight Pictures)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Reznor and Ross are two-time category winners for The Social Network (2010) and Soul (2020, which they won in tandem with Jon Batiste). Should they win again, they’ll become the first composer or composing team to win three scoring Oscars in this century.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
Son Lux

The band, consisting of Rafiq Bhatia, Ian Chang and Ryan Lott, composed the music for the science fiction/action film that was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. They produced it with siblings Anthony and Joseph Russo.

The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)
John Williams

This would be Williams’ record-extending 48th nomination in a scoring category. Moreover, it would give him scoring nods in seven consecutive decades. If he wins, Williams, 90, would surpass James Ivory as the oldest Oscar honoree — Ivory was 89 when he won best adapted screenplay for Call Me by Your Name.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
Alexandre Desplat

Desplat won for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017). Should he win again, he’ll tie the late Maurice Jarre as the Frenchman with the most scoring Oscars. Jarre won for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India.

Michelle Yeoh, Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Pinocchio, Letitia Wright

Clockwise: Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Pattinson and Kravitz (left) in The Batman, Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) and Geppetto (voiced by David Bradley) in Pinocchio and Letitia Wright in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Illustration by Elena Scotti

A Man Named Otto (Sony Pictures)
Thomas Newman

Newman is vying for his 15th nomination in a scoring category. He’s tied with the late Alex North for the most nods in this category without a competitive win. If Newman is nominated again and loses, he’ll hold the record outright.

The Son (Sony Pictures Classics)
Hans Zimmer

Zimmer is the reigning category champ, having won in March for Dune. Should he win for The Son, he’ll become the first composer to take home back-to-back scoring awards since Gustavo Santaolalla, who won with Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006). Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern star.

Strange World (Walt Disney Animation)
Henry Jackman

This film marked Jackman’s third collaboration with director Don Hall, following Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6, and his fifth feature-length score for Walt Disney Animation. The film features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu.

TÁR (Focus Features)
Hildur Guðnadóttir

This would be the second scoring nod for Hildur, who won three years ago for Joker. The Icelandic composer would become just the third woman to receive multiple nominations in this category following the late Angela Morley (who had two nods) and Rachel Portman (who has had three).

White Noise (Netflix)
Danny Elfman

This would be Elfman’s fifth nomination in a scoring category following Good Will Hunting and Men in Black (both in 1997), Big Fish (2003) and Milk (2008). White Noise is a black comedy written and directed by Noah Baumbach, adapted from the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo.

The Woman King (Sony Pictures)
Terence Blanchard

This would be Blanchard’s third nomination in this category, which would tie Quincy Jones for the most scoring nods ever by a Black composer. Jones was nominated for In Cold Blood, The Wiz and The Color Purple — he has yet to win.

Women Talking (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Hildur Guðnadóttir

Hildur is vying to become the sixth composer to have two films on the shortlist in this category since 2018, when the academy began making its shortlists public. She would follow Alan Silvestri (2018), Nicholas Britell (2018), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (2020), Hans Zimmer (2021) and Jonny Greenwood (2021).

This story will appear in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.

18 Nov 2022

Rihanna Bares Booty in NSFW Video Showing Savage X Fenty Lingerie: Watch

Baby, this is what you came for. In a saucy Thursday (Nov. 17) Instagram video, Rihanna showed off both her Savage X Fenty lingerie line and her bare booty — and it’s definitely not safe for work.

In the video, the nine-time Grammy winner stands alone in a room as she models her clothing company’s Renaissance Rose Corset Dress, currently on sale on the Savage X Fenty website. Blowing kisses, staring down the camera and turning around to show how little the dress covers, Ri completed the look with a messy updo, fingerless gloves, leathery black stockings and pumps with heels made to look like rose flowers.

Probably knowing that her video very much speaks for itself, the “Stay” singer simply directed followers to where they can steal her style in her caption. “Savagex.com,” she wrote.

The steamy post comes just over a week after Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show premiered on Prime Video Nov. 9. The fluorescent, surrealistic visual experience debuted new pieces in the Fenty Beauty founder’s apparel collections and featured performances from Anitta, Burna Boy, Don Toliver and Maxwell.

Rihanna is still fresh off releasing her first pieces of new music in six years, earlier this month dropping “Lift Me Up,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and “Born Again” as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. Come February of next year, she’ll perform as the headliner at Super Bowl LVII.

Watch Rihanna model her Savage X Fenty lingerie below.

18 Nov 2022

Judge Says Slacker Must Pay $10M Unpaid Royalties, Despite Warning Of ‘Devastating’ Impact

A federal judge says he won’t undo his ruling that Slacker owes nearly $10 million in unpaid music royalties to SoundExchange, seemingly unmoved by the streamer’s warning that the ruling will have a “devastating” impact on the company’s finances.

SoundExchange claims Slacker’s parent LiveOne has failed to pay royalties for years, and last month won a ruling requiring the streamer to hand over $9,765,396. Slacker said last month that the huge judgment could trigger financial ruin for the company – a warning SoundExchange urged the court to disregard.

In a decision issued Wednesday, Judge André Birotte Jr. did exactly that. He ruled that the seven-figure judgment was simply the result of an agreement that Slacker itself had signed – and noted that the streamer was not actually legally disputing the terms of that deal.

“Defendants cannot argue that the judgment is a result of ‘excusable neglect’ or that it is ‘without fault,’ when the judgment was entered pursuant to stipulation that defendants negotiated for and assented to,” Judge Birotte wrote. “Because Defendants signed the stipulation, and in fact do not dispute the amount of money Plaintiff is entitled to, the court finds the judgment is fair, adequate, and reasonable.”

SoundExchange, which collects performance royalties for sound recording copyrights, sued LiveOne in June, claiming the company had stopped paying artists and labels way back in 2017. And it claimed that a subsequent audit revealed it had been underpaying for years before that.

Court records show the two sides entered into the repayment plan in 2020, which gave Slacker two years to pay off its debts. But in the June lawsuit, SoundExchange claimed that Slacker had quickly failed to live up to the terms of the agreement.

“By refusing to pay royalties for the use of protected sound recordings, Slacker and LiveOne have directly harmed creators over the years,” SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe said at the time. “Today, SoundExchange is taking a stand through necessary legal action to protect the value of music and ensure creators are compensated fairly for their work.”

Just a few months into the litigation, SoundExchange played an unusual legal trump card. On Oct. 12, the group invoked a so-called consent judgment, which had been inked and pre-signed by execs at Slacker back in 2020 as part of the repayment plan. Under the terms of that earlier deal, if Slacker ever defaulted again, its executives agreed that a judge should enter a so-called judgment against the company for the full sum owed.

On Oct. 13, Judge Birotte did so, ordering the Slacker to pay $9,765,396, which covered both unpaid royalties and late fees. He also permanently barred the company from using the so-called statutory license, an important federal provision that makes copyright licenses for recorded music automatically available to internet radio companies like Slacker and Pandora at a fixed price.

A week later, Slacker asked the judge to overturn his own ruling, saying it had been procedurally improper. To support the request, Slacker warned the judge had quickly caused other creditors to call in other debts owed, threatening “economic damage” to the company that would be “unsustainable.”

“Plaintiff’s surreptitious request for entry of judgment has triggered LiveOne’s default on two substantial senior secured notes which are secured by all of LiveOne’s and their subsidiaries assets,” the streamer wrote.

SoundExchange urged the judge to deny the request, saying it had spent years “indulging” the company’s “many excuses for non-payment,” and that it had simply become time for the streamer to be legally forced to pay up: “Five years is long enough.”

In Wednesday’s decision, Judge Birotte sided with SoundExchange, ruling there was no legal wiggle room for Slacker to challenge an agreement signed by its own executives. The judge said that unless there is proof of “fraud or misconduct” – and there is none – there was no reason to undo the ruling. And he was unmoved by the company’s warnings of economic ruin.

“Defendants argue that the ‘repercussions will be devastating to LiveOne, its employees, and to its creditors,” the judge wrote. Defendants, however, have failed to explain what balance is actually due, whether defendants’ creditors have elected to require immediate payment, or how the repercussions will actually impact its business or livelihood.”

A representative for Slacker parent LiveOne did not immediately return a request for comment on the decision.

Read the entire decision here:

18 Nov 2022

First Stream: New Music From Pharrell Williams & Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Maluma and More

Billboard’s First Stream serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Pharrell Williams tosses out another major collaboration, Nicki Minaj and Maluma headline a World Cup anthem, and Saweetie toasts to the single life. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:

Pharrell Williams & Travis Scott, “Down In Atlanta” 

In addition to producing tracks for artists ranging from Rosalía to Kendrick Lamar to Omar Apollo this year, Pharrell Williams also dropped “Cash In Cash Out,” a masterclass from 21 Savage and Tyler, The Creator with one of the most icy-cold beats of the year. Like “Cash In Cash Out,” new single “Down In Atlanta” finds Williams ceding the floor to a fellow superstar — in this case, Travis Scott, who mixes zonked-out warbling with tales of luxury and fills each line with his larger-than-life persona — while the multi-hyphenate focuses on making each drum-and-synth interaction tingle the listener’s senses.

Nicki Minaj, Maluma & Myriam Fares, “Tukoh Taka” 

It’s World Cup season, and to celebrate the 2022 kickoff in Qatar, Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares have joined forces for a frenetic single that is the “Official FIFA Fan Festival Anthem” and sung in English, Spanish and Arabic. “Tukoh Taka” moves swiftly and tries to score efficiently: around the jittery hook, Minaj raps about a girl’s night out (with some soccer references tossed in for good measure), Maluma croons about scoring a goal in the 90th minute of play, and the beat throbs with the intensity of the tournament that the song is designed to celebrate.

Saweetie, The Single Life EP 

Saweetie is winding up for a major 2023, but before this year comes to a close, the ascendant MC demonstrates the combination of her current star power and artistic potential on the six-song project The Single Life. The California native sounds collected and charismatic on tracks like “Don’t Say Nothin’” and “Bo$$ Chick,” but it’s “Handle My Truth” — on which she opens up about staying single over throwback, G-funk-informed production — that reminds us of the lyrical depth that Saweetie is capable of achieving in addition to hits like “Best Friend” and “My Type.”

Disturbed, Divisive 

Overlook Disturbed at your own risk: the long-running, multi-platinum hard rockers are still catering to genre fans as well as a large group of casual listeners who can’t get enough of their inventive pummel. Divisive, their eighth studio album, contains all the hallmarks of a Disturbed project — in addition to the head-banging material, there’s also an effective ballad, this time a team-up with Heart’s Ann Wilson titled “Don’t Tell Me” — and is also a blast to listen to, regardless of how down with the sickness you may be.

Brockhampton, The Family and TM 

If new album The Family and surprise release TM represent the final works of the audacious hip-hop collective Brockhampton, who have been hinting at a going of separate ways for some time, then the group will have gone out with a creative bang: instead of getting lost in contemplation and wobbling toward new beginnings, Brockhampton uses both projects to get back to what made them captivating upon their breakthrough, from zany sing-alongs (the Nickelodeon homage “All That”) to R&B and dance riffs (“Man on the Moon,” which checks both boxes) to hardened bars about who they are and what they want to accomplish (the stirring coda “Brockhampton”). Safe to say that, no matter what happens next, Brockhampton’s music and character will endure.