Publishing
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Anti Social Camp is returning to New York City this summer, featuring a roster of over 200 artists, writers and producers. Perhaps the largest annual songwriting camp in the world, Anti Social Camp is a five day camp and festival, and this year, it will host artists like Jacob Collier, Alec Benjamin, Miranda Lambert and Rob Thomas.
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The team at Anti Social Camp hope to offer a more inclusive approach to the concept of a writing camp, which are typically private affairs tailored to the needs of one artist or project. Anti Social, by contrast, is a front-facing event that celebrates New York’s music scene.
In recent years, many of New York’s top talents have dispersed to other creative hubs, like Los Angeles, Nashville, and Austin, and to help grow local opportunities, Anti Social Camp is part of a larger effort each June to celebrate New York Music Month.
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“We want to put a spotlight on New York as a music capital of the world,” says Anti Social Camp Founder Danny Ross. “Artists are going to walk away with new hit records, access to key industry players, and new collaborators who will be influential in their careers far past the six days of Anti Social Camp. We’re making a real impact on creators and the New York music scene. What else can we ask for?”
That same month, the Big Apple will play host to a bevy of music industry events, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)’s Indie week conference, the Libera Awards, Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Annual Meeting, the National Music Publishing Association (NMPA) annual meeting, and more.
Anti Social Camp
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Anti Social Camp is supported by New York City council member Carlina Rivera, chair of the committee on cultural affairs and libraries, who says “New York City is a beacon of creativity and the return and impact of Anti Social Camp demonstrates our city’s role as the music capital of the world. The music sector has an outsized economic output of over $20 billion and contributes to the vibrancy that makes our city one of a kind.”
The camp is continuing last year’s traditions and adding in new ones. This year, the camp will once again put together a compilation album of music created at the event, released with the help of Amuse. It will also be adding a new Anti Social ICON Award at this year’s opening ceremony. This year’s inaugural pick is multi-hyphenate musician Jacob Collier.
Other artists include: Lawrence, MICHELLE, Rosa Linn, Rachel Grae, Overcoats, Thutmose, Tim Atlas, Jukebox The Ghost, 41, Joe West, Kamino, Meryll, Riell, Chandler Leighton, Marian Hill, Ant Saunders, Morgxn, Kevian Kraemer, CID, Public Library Commute, Verite, Kidd Kenn, The Happy Fits, Haiden Henderson, Jared Benjamin, Zoe Ko, Madalen Duke, Jillian Rossi, Dezi, Norma Jean Martine and more. Platinum writers/producers include Doug Schadt (Maggie Rogers, Claire Rosinkranz), Andrew Maury (Shawn Mendes, Lizzo), Idarose (Joji, Becky G), Noise Club (Hailee Steinfeld, Tate McRae), Brent Kolatalo (Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey), Chelsea Balan (AJ Mitchell, lilyisthatyou), Ebonie Smith (Janelle Monae, Cardi B) and hundreds more.
Partners include: Title Partner Grayson Music; Presenting Partners Amuse, TIDAL, SoundExchange, DistroKid, Audio Technica and SESAC, The New York City Mayor’s Office of Media + Entertainment, SNGL, Ilegal Mezcal, YouTube Songwriters, Sound Royalties, Cloud Microphones, The Orchard, ONErpm The MLC, BMI, Amazon Music, Samply, Audiomovers, Topo Chico, Spotify; and Contributing Partners The Perfect Wines, ASCAP, Twitch, Groover, Duvel, Recording Academy New York Chapter, Jammaround, Bandsintown and New York City Tourism + Conventions.
In March, Spotify began paying music publishers and songwriters a discounted royalty rate for streams on its premium tiers — and the music business isn’t accepting the change without a fight. Spotify says that by adding audiobooks to its premium offerings, these subscriptions have been reclassified as “bundles,” a type of plan that qualifies for […]
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) has filed a lawsuit against Spotify, calling the way the streamer reclassified its premium, duo and family plans as “bundles” and started paying a discounted royalty rate to publishers and songwriters “improper.”
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“The financial consequences… are enormous for songwriters and music publishers,” the MLC writes in the complaint.
News of the lawsuit arrives just a week after Billboard published its estimate that publishers and songwriters will earn about $150 million less in U.S. mechanicals in the next year, compared to what they would have been owed had the services not been bundled.
The root of the conflict started late last year when Spotify added 15 hours of free audiobook listening to Spotify premium, duo and family plans in the United States and other markets. At the time, this was a free extra for subscribers, and Spotify continued to pay the original full mechanical royalty rate for musical works in the United States.
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Starting in March, however, Spotify quietly launched an audiobook-only plan, then started to reclassify its premium, duo and family plans as bundles because audiobooks were included. According to Phonorecords IV, the agreement that dictates U.S. mechanical royalty rates for 2023-2027, bundles of multiple products are an inherently different type of subscription and thus use a different, lower royalty rate, given that multiple offerings must be paid for from the same subscription price.
In the lawsuit filed by the MLC, which processes and distributes mechanical royalties to publishers and songwriters in the United States, the organization argues “premium is exactly the same service” as it was previously. “Prior to March 1, Spotify paid mechanical royalties on the entirety of Premium revenues, subject to certain specific reductions identified in Section 115, despite the fact that Premium subscribers also had access to the same number of hours of audiobooks as Audiobooks Access subscribers now have,” the lawsuit reads.
“On March 1, 2024, without advance notice to the MLC, Spotify unilaterally and unlawfully decided to reduce the Service Provider Revenue reported to the MLC for Premium by almost 50 percent,” reads the complaint. “[This was done] by improperly characterizing the service as a different type of subscription offering and underpaying royalties, even though there has been no change to the premium plan and no corresponding reduction to the revenues that Spotify generates from its tens of millions of Premium subscribers.”
Spotify provided a statement to Billboard in response to the lawsuit, saying: “The lawsuit concerns terms that publishers and streaming services agreed to and celebrated years ago under the Phono IV agreement. Bundles were a critical component of that settlement, and multiple DSPs include bundles as part of their mix of subscription offerings. Spotify paid a record amount to publishers and societies in 2023 and is on track to pay out an even larger amount in 2024. We look forward to a swift resolution of this matter.”
Reports of Spotify’s change to its royalty rate structure for premium, duo and family plans first arrived in April. Immediately, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) began speaking out against Spotify’s reclassification, calling it an “end to our period of relative peace” and “potentially unlawful.”
On Wednesday (May 15), the NMPA sent Spotify a cease and desist letter regarding a separate issue: allegedly unlicensed lyrics and video. In the letter, NMPA general counsel/executive vp Danielle Aguirre also mentioned there might be some publishing content that “will soon become unlicensed” by its members. Spotify fired back at the letter in a statement, which read: “This letter is a press stunt filled with false and misleading claims.”
In its lawsuit filed Thursday, the MLC claims that to qualify for the bundle subscription rate, “an offering must include at least two distinct products or services. Premium does not,” adding, “Premium already consisted of unlimited music and access to other audio products including up to 15 hours of audiobook listening” as well as other offerings like podcasts.
The MLC further argues that the audiobook-only plan Spotify launched in March is not a different product, saying that it offers more than just audiobooks. “New Audiobooks Access subscribers are being granted access to 15 hours of audiobooks listening and the same access to unlimited, ad-free, on-demand music that Premium subscribers are provided. The only difference is that subscribers to Audiobooks Access are paying $9.99 per month, rather than $10.99, to receive the same product,” reads the complaint.
The MLC also notes that the “audiobook access subscription page does not appear to be directly accessible from Spotify’s website” — making the point that the offering is difficult to find. As a consequence, the MLC says it believes “there is little doubt that the number of subscribers who will sign up for Audiobooks Access is likely to be a fraction of the Premium subscribers.”
A few months ago, the MLC also sued Pandora, another streaming service it collects mechanical royalties from in the United States, for what it says is a failure to properly pay streaming royalties. That lawsuit is ongoing.
The MLC and the Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC) — the organization intended to represent the majority interests of digital music providers affected by the blanket license set up by the Music Modernization Act (MMA) — are also currently in the process of their first five-year check-up (called a “re-designation” process) to ensure both are effectively fulfilling their duties. This routine, five-year check, conducted by the U.S. Copyright Office, allows the two organizations to self-report on their progress and gives key stakeholders — including the Digital Media Organization (DiMA) — the opportunity to speak to the strengths and weaknesses of the organizations.
The MLC’s operational costs are paid for by DiMA members, including Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon Music and more, as set forth by the Music Modernization Act (MMA). In a blog post in March, DiMA’s CEO/president, Graham Davies, pointed out that the MLC is “suing one of the licensees [Pandora] that pays its costs.” The NMPA replied to this post by defending the MLC, saying that streamers “do not want what is in the best interests of music publishers or songwriters,” calling DiMA’s “new…strategy…an effort by the world’s largest digital companies to leverage their power to pay less.”
The NMPA’s president/CEO David Israelite provided a statement of support for the MLC lawsuit, saying, “we applaud the MLC for standing up for songwriters and not letting Spotify get away with its latest trick to underpay creators. The MLC is tasked with challenging services who falsely report royalties, and we commend their swift action. The lawsuit sends a clear message that platforms cannot improperly manipulate usage — in this case unilaterally redefining services as a bundle — in order to devalue music. We strongly support the MLC and will continue to pursue justice.”
Kevin Parker of Tame Impala has sold his complete song catalog to Sony Music Publishing. The deal expands Parker’s longstanding relationship with SMP, which has published him since 2009, and includes all of his works released as Tame Impala as well as his writing credits for other songs, including his contributions to Dua Lipa‘s new album Radical Optimism, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 this week.
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Parker has also expanded his publishing deal with Sony to include the administration of the full catalog as well as future works.
The Australian mutli-hyphenate musician has made an indelible impact on music since he began his psychedelic rock band in 2008. Through the project, Parker has released four albums — InnerSpeaker (2010), Lonerism (2012),Currents (2015) and The Slow Rush (2020) — all of which were solely written, produced, recorded and mixed by Parker.
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Along with Tame Impala, Parker has also written and produced for a number of top acts, including Travis Scott, Dua Lipa, Mick Jagger, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, The Gorillaz, Mark Ronson, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, Flaming Lips, A$AP Rocky, Lil Yachty, Don Toliver, Daft Punk, Miguel, and Australian children’s group The Wiggles. Rihanna also covered his Tame Impala-released single “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” (which she retitled “Same Ol’ Mistakes”) on her acclaimed 2016 album ANTI.
Parker says of the deal: “The idea of passing on ownership of my songs is one that I don’t think about very lightly, at all. They are the fruit of my blood, sweat and creativity over all the years I’ve been a recording artist and songwriter so far. I have a lot of love and trust for the Sony publishing family and have only had great experiences with Damian Trotter and the rest of the gang worldwide. I don’t think my songs could be in any safer hands than Sony’s, and I’m excited for the future and happy I can keep working with them on whatever the future brings…”
“I have always admired Kevin Parker and I believe he is one of the most versatile songwriters of our time,” says Jon Platt, chairman and CEO of SMP. “Kevin has built a catalog of songs with incredible range and enduring power, and he has always stayed true to his vision. It is a privilege to represent his music, and we are committed to broadening his legacy of success.”
Damian Trotter, managing director of Australia for Sony Music Publishing said: “Kevin is a singular talent whose creativity and dedication to his art has enthralled fans and artists since he arrived on the music scene. Having worked with Kevin since before the release of the first Tame Impala album, it has been thrilling to witness his rise to success worldwide, which is so well deserved. We are proud and humbled to be taking custodianship of this iconic catalogue of songs and to be continuing our relationship with Kevin in this exciting phase of his music making career.”
IMPEL has added The Administration MP, Drive Publishing, Red Brick Songs and Lofi Chill & Lofi Jazz to its membership. Now, IMPEL, a international collective representing digital publishing rights, will help its new members with licensing their catalogs.
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They join other independent music publishers like Bucks Music Group, Beggars Music, Reservoir Music, Kassner Music, CTM, ABKCO, Truelove Music, Faber Music, Mute Song, Budde UK, Phrased Differently, Legs Music, Reach Music Publishing and Regard Music who are all already members of IMPEL.
IMPEL CEO Sarah Williams said of the new additions: “It feels as though we have reached a tipping point as an organization when it comes to awareness around what we do, how we do it and the unique benefits we bring to our members. The number of independent publishers that want to become part of our collective family is increasing all the time, and it’s great to be able to add such a diverse group of US operators to our ranks at once. We continue to make real in-roads into the biggest music market on the planet, which will benefit our membership as a whole.”
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The Administration MP
This publisher, founded in 2013, boasts over 1,300 clients and 60,000 copyrights. It’s repertoire primarily focuses on hip-hop/rap, and its clients have written songs for Drake, MGK, the Notorious B.I.G., Migos, Nicki Minaj, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Tyga, and Chris Brown.
Drive Publishing
Founded in 2013 by Ana Ruiz, Drive Music Publishing offers global administration, creative consulting, royalty collection, and sound recording services, emphasizing expertise, transparency, and clarity. The company represents Grammy-winning and nominated writers, including Jackson Browne, jazz saxophone legend Benny Carter, and ‘the Poet of Havana’ Carlos Varela.
Red Brick Songs
Red Brick Songs supports songwriters through multimedia song placement, royalty administration, and career development. Their catalog includes works by Toni Braxton, Bootsy Collins, Alison Krauss, Paula Cole, and Ronnie Spector, among others. Notable hits in their collection include Julie Gold’s Grammy-winning “From A Distance,” Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit,” and jazz standards like “Bemsha Swing,” “Moanin’,” and “Joy Spring.”
Lofi Chill & Lofi Jazz
The publishing counterpart of a label by the same name, Lofi Chill and Lofi Jazz represent a catalog of top ambient and lofi artists, including Dontcry, Phlocalyst, Casiio, SwuM, and Mujo.
Spotify is changing the way it pays songwriters and publishers in the United States — leading to an estimated $150 million cut to U.S. mechanical royalty payments — and the music business is speaking out.
By adding audiobooks into Spotify’s premium, duo and family tiers, Spotify now claims it qualifies to pay a discounted “bundle” rate to songwriters for premium streams given that it now has to pay licensing for both books and music from the same subscription price tag — which will only be a dollar higher than when music was the only offering.
Spotify argues that adding audiobooks reclassifies the service from a “standalone portable subscription” to a “bundled subscription offering,” according to the royalty rate formula provided in Phonorecords IV. The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), both of which represented the music business in Phono IV proceedings, disagree with Spotify’s reading of the settlement, with the NMPA calling it “a cynical and potentially unlawful move” that is a “perversion of the settlement we agreed upon in 2022.”
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Last week, Billboard calculated that this change will lead to an estimated $150 million cut in U.S. mechanical royalties from premium, duo and family plans for the first 12 months the bundle rate is in effect, compared to what songwriters would have earned if the three subscription tiers were never bundled. The change affects payments starting in March 2024, so it will not impact Spotify’s premium, duo or family payouts for the first two months of 2024. Specifically, the estimate refers to losses for the first 12 months after the premium, family and duo tiers are qualified as a bundle, not calendar year 2024.
As Spotify grows, the music business fears that the difference between what payments to songwriters and publishers would have been if premium continued to be counted as a regular standalone service versus what will be paid now that music and audiobooks have been bundled will continue to increase.
Spotify says it will soon offer a music-only subscription tier that will pay out in the same way Spotify premium used to, but there’s not yet a timeline for when this option will launch.
Back in March, Spotify released a statement about the change to the bundle rate, stating that the company is “on track to pay publishers and societies more in 2024 than in 2023. As our industry partners are aware, changes in our product portfolio mean that we are paying out in different ways based on terms agreed to by both streaming services and publishers. Multiple DSPs have long paid a lower rate for bundles versus a stand-alone music subscription, and our approach is consistent.”
Below is an updating list of music industry reactions to the news:
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)
“It appears Spotify has returned to attacking the very songwriters who make its business possible. Spotify’s attempt to radically reduce songwriter payments by reclassifying their music service as an audiobook bundle is a cynical, and potentially unlawful, move that ends our period of relative peace. We will not stand for their perversion of the settlement we agreed upon in 2022 and are looking at all options.”
Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP)
“Two weeks ago, we spoke out about the potential consequences for independent music publishers should Spotify go forward with its plan to bundle a previously free service, audiobooks, with music subscriptions. Now that an actual number has been put to the potential lost revenue for music publishers, a staggering estimate of $150 million per year, we feel the need to speak out again.
“It is a deeply cynical move for Spotify to attempt to circumvent the CRB settlement agreed to by the NMPA & NSAI and DiMA in 2022 via this bundling ‘loophole,’ and further insulting that the price of a Spotify subscription will actually increase for users while cutting revenue for the songwriters who keep their business alive. This is especially problematic for independent music publishers, as they and all publishers are legally prevented from negotiating protections against bad-faith tactics such as this, while labels are allowed to do so in a free market.
“At this point, we still do not know how Spotify plans to notify its subscribers of this change. The right thing to do is to default existing subscribers to music-only accounts, and then give them the option to add-on the audiobook service for an additional $9.99 per month — Spotify’s proposed standalone rate for audiobooks. This ensures a proper, non-devalued royalty rate for both music and audiobook publishers and rightsholders, who will otherwise both be negatively affected by bundling.
“The AIMP offers its unequivocal support to the NMPA as they fight this critical battle to prevent Spotify’s scheme from taking effect. We encourage all independent music publishers to join us in this stance and make their songwriters aware of this attack on their livelihood. We cannot allow bundling to become a precedent that can be used to deprive songwriters of their well-earned royalties.
“The AIMP has also been speaking with the Coalition of Concerned Creators and are happy to report that we are aligned on this issue. Please find their statement on this issue below.
“From the Coalition of Concerned Creators:
“All musicians, creator advocacy groups, unions and organizations, and other creator stakeholders — including authors and podcasters — must stand firm against Spotify’s recent policy shift. It is essential to advocate for equitable compensation for music creators, who are pivotal to the industry’s sustainability. Additionally, this is a clear pattern of behavior and we continue to be concerned about Spotify’s bridge into new audio formats, like audiobooks, and how this pattern of behavior will affect other creators, like authors, as well.”
Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)
“Spotify, we are writing regarding Spotify’s decision to ‘bundle’ music with audiobooks, resulting in an estimated annual loss of as much as $150 million in mechanical royalty payments to American songwriters, composers and music publishers. This attempt at lowering royalty payments to an already beleaguered songwriter community is in the worst bad faith and a perversion of the Copyright Royalty Board settlement that the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the National Music Publishers Assn. (NMPA) and the Digital Media Assn. (DiMA) agreed to in 2022. It counters every statement Spotify has ever made of claiming the company is friendly to creators.
“‘Bundling’ music with other offerings without a music-only option does not comport with our view of the intent of the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) in recent Phonorecord procedures in which the NSAI participated. Further, this move negates gains awarded to songwriters by the CRB. NSAI will not accept what we view as an attempt to manipulate the intent of the court through a ‘bundling’ gimmick. NSAI calls for Spotify to immediately reverse its course and offer separate music subscription choices at price points that will fairly remunerate songwriters.
“The American songwriter community is appalled that this is happening while Spotify is reporting record profits, and while founder Daniel Ek has recently cashed in a reported $180 million in stock options, including $118 million that practically coincided with the ‘bundling’ announcement which reduced Spotify’s yearly royalty obligation. The amount Ek cashed in conveniently mirrors the estimated amount that Spotify wants to leech off the back of songwriters who create the product on which streaming services are making billions.
“Reporting record profits while reducing songwriter royalties as the company founder cashed in millions in stocks proves a greedy, offensive and callous disregard for the songwriters on whose backs these revenues are generated.
“Signed unanimously by Nashville Songwriters Association International”
Sony Music Publishing swept Billboard’s Publishers Quarterly rankings for the first three months of 2024 — its fifth consecutive quarter atop the Top Radio Airplay and Hot 100 Songs lists.
Sony also had a piece of the song that ruled both charts — Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me.” The other top 10 publishers with a stake in the song: Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), Warner Chappell Music and Kobalt.
The first quarter’s top songwriter on the Hot 100 Songs ranking was Noah Kahan. He landed at the peak due to two songs, including the No. 10 track on the chart, “Stick Season.” Not surprisingly, on Top Radio Airplay, Taylor Swift was the No. 1 songwriter thanks to the success of three songs on that list, including “Is It Over Now (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” at No. 5.
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Returning to Sony, the publisher finished the quarter with a 29.19% slice of market share on the strength of shares in 66 songs — an improvement over the 64 songs and 27.69% the company claimed in the prior quarter. For the first quarter’s Hot 100 Songs chart, Sony ended up with a 28.60% share with 58 songs — again, an improvement over the prior quarter’s 27.14% share, but one song less than the 59 tracks it snared in that quarter.
Sony’s showing marks the 12th quarter in a row that it ranked No. 1 among Top Radio Airplay publishers. Remarkably, it has held the top spot for 25 of the last 26 quarters. On the Hot 100 Songs chart, Sony ranked No. 1 for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Meanwhile, Warner Chappell Music continued its surge, finishing in second place for a second consecutive quarter on both publisher rankings. The publisher increased its quarter-to-quarter market share in both rankings — from 19.12% to 21.93% on Top Radio Airplay and 20.65% to 22.05% on Hot 100 Songs. Warner Chappell’s Top Radio Airplay song count also grew from 54 to 63 quarter to quarter, and its Hot 100 song count ballooned from 44 to 58. It was also No. 1 on the Country Airplay publisher rankings.
UMPG came in third on both charts, posting a stronger showing on the Hot 100 Songs ranking, with a 17.42% share and 43 songs. That’s up from the prior quarter’s 15.78% and 41 songs. Its top track on both charts was Harlow’s “Lovin on Me.” On Top Radio Airplay, UMPG posted a 14.65% share with a stake in 44 songs, down from the prior quarter’s 18.47% and 48 songs.
Kobalt and BMG, respectively, came in at No. 4 and No. 5, their usual spots on both publisher rankings. Kobalt upped its game in the Top Radio Airplay category, amassing a 9.65% share of the market with stakes in 31 songs — an improvement over the fourth quarter, when it had an 8.81% share and 30 songs. Kobalt performed even better on the Hot 100 Songs chart with a 10.19% market share, but that was still down from the 10.83% share it had in the fourth quarter of 2023.
BMG’s market share declined on both charts. Its Top Radio Airplay share fell from 6.77% to 5.86% quarter to quarter and from 5.95% to 5.47% on Hot 100 Songs, while its song counts fell from 18 to 14, and from 16 to 14, respectively. Its top song on both charts was Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red,” which ranked No. 7 on the Top Radio Airplay chart and No. 12 on the Hot 100 chart.
The publishers that ranked sixth through ninth on Top Radio Airplay were Concord, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Tracy Chapman’s Purple Rabbit Music and Pulse in that order. Concord held steady at No. 6 for its second consecutive quarter, albeit down slightly from 3.71% in the fourth quarter to 3.38%. Its song count also fell from 14 to 10. On the other hand, Hipgnosis rose from No. 9 last quarter to No. 7, growing its market share from 1.48% to 2.29%, even though its song placement on the chart stayed the same — six —in both quarters. The wattage of Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” finally seems to be fading as Purple Rabbit’s market share decreased from 2.07% to 1.67%, despite holding on to its No. 8 berth for a second quarter. Pulse traded places with Hipgnosis, falling from No. 7 in the fourth quarter with a 2.66% share to No. 9 in the first with 1.52%.
On the Hot 100 publisher ranking, Purple Rabbit fared better, rising from No. 7 to No. 6 quarter-to-quarter thanks to a slight uptick in market share from 1.99% to 2.06%. Likewise, Pulse rose from No. 10 to No. 8 over the same period, its market share growing from 1.31% to 1.96%. And Hipgnosis returned to the Hot 100 chart after being absent since the fourth quarter of 2022. Its 1.59% share put it in ninth place. Big Machine took Top Radio Airplay’s tenth slot, returning to that ranking for the first time sinced the fourth quarter of 2022. And Empire Publishing made its Billboard Publishers Quarterly debut at No. 10 on the Hot 100 list, with a 0.97% share, based on the strength of three song placements: Justin Timberlake’s “Selfish,” 310babii’s “Soak City (Do It)” and Morgan Wallen’s “Spin You Around.”
Last Quarter: Taylor Swift and Doja Cat Score Top Songs
Prescription Songs and Emily Warren‘s Under Warrenty have signed singer-songwriter bülow to a global publishing deal. Fresh off the release of her two co-writes “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyonce and “Yuck” by Charli XCX, bülow says of her deal, “I’m very excited to start this journey with Emily and Prescription. So many serendipitous moments led us here organically, and I have the utmost admiration for this team.”
Kobalt has signed songwriter Imani “Mocha” Lewis. News of her signing comes after the whirlwind success of Tyla‘s Grammy-winning track “Water,” which was co-written by Lewis, along with eight other tracks on the South African artist’s debut album.
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Position Music has signed Golden to a worldwide publishing deal as part of a joint venture with Global 7 Publishing. A Colombian writer, musician and Grammy-nominated producer, Golden has worked on tracks for Coco Jones, ¿Téo? and Shenseea.
peermusic has signed award-winning Chilean producer and songwriter Vladi Cachai (Don Omar, Gloria Trevi, Bryant Myers, J Quiles) to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal. The deal was signed jointly by peermusic Spain and peermusic Chile and will encompass both Cachai’s existing song catalog and his future works.
Budde Music has signed songwriter Billy Mann to a go-forward “creative and administrative” publishing agreement. A hitmaker with thirty years of expertise, Mann has worked with stars like P!nk, Backstreet Boys, David Guetta, John Legend, Céline Dion, Carole King, Burt Bacharach and more.
Warner Chappell Music and The Core Entertainment have signed a joint global publishing deal with Hannah McFarland. A rising singer-songwriter and opener for artists like Kelsea Ballerini, Old Dominion, and Travis Tritt, McFarland was recently invited to sing “I Remember Everything” alongside Zach Bryan at a show in Alabama, introducing her talent to a stadium of new listeners. “We are so excited to work with Hannah McFarland and represent her unique talent,” says Bryce Sherlow, A&R manager at WCM Nashville.
Sony Music Publishing Nashville has announced the signing of country songwriter Brian Fuller to a global publishing deal. Fuller is a fast-rising songwriter in Nashville, and news of his SMP deal follows the release of his first-ever major label cut “I Could Be That Rain,” from Randall King’s 2024 album Into The Neon.
Nashville-based rights management company Muserk is expanding its royalty and administration services in Asia. This includes the signing of a series of new clients with impressive cultural impact in their home markets, including Thai neo-soul artist Phum Viphurit and Japanese label and publishing company Midi Inc/Yano Music Publishing. In the coming months, the company says it also plans to bring in more Chinese and Indonesian clients.
Nick Ditri’s career as a dance music producer got a big boost when Tiesto used a 2013 bootleg remix of Avicii’s “Silhouettes” by his duo, Disco Fries. But like countless other unauthorized remixes, “Silhouettes” isn’t found on most of the popular streaming platforms. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t live anywhere outside of YouTube when Tiesto played it,” Ditri tells Billboard.
That could soon change. Eleven years later, Ditri is trying to give commercial legitimacy to tracks in that commercial gray area. He is a managing partner of ClearBeats, a startup that enables derivative works — remixes, interpolations, mashups and alternate versions — to become properly licensed tracks. ClearBeats’ other managing partner, Bob Barbiere, is a former Dubset executive and veteran in digital technology and rights clearances. Ditri and Barbiere created the company with Suzanne Coffman and Yolanda Ferraloro of veteran music sync company Music Rightz.
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Digital platforms are awash in unauthorized derivative works because “it’s the easiest way to get your foot in the door, especially in dance music and in hip hop,” says Ditri. In a perfect world, those tracks would be licensed for distribution to digital platforms or synchronizations in TV shows, advertisements or movies. “But the problem is it usually ends at SoundCloud where it might get muted or pulled down,” he says. “[Or] it ends at YouTube or a DJ pool.”
ClearBeats wants to address what Barbiere calls the “90/90 irony.” He estimates that 90% of artists who create derivative works want publicity and promotion, not the original artist’s rights or royalties. Additionally, 90% of rights owners would rather make money from a derivative work than take it down from a digital platform. But because the proper infrastructure doesn’t exist, Barbiere estimates that less than 5%, and maybe as little as 1%, of derivative works have proper attribution and are earning money for rights holders.
“Why shouldn’t 90% of that content live in an ecosystem where everybody can distribute into it, consume it, be properly attributed to it, and royalties paid downstream?” asks Barbiere.
The status quo not only prevents original recordings’ ability to generate revenue from derivative uses, but it also limits creators’ ability to build their careers, says Ditri. “If [producers] built a playlist network of five amazing Spotify playlists or Apple music playlists, and that’s their main source of promo and then they go and do a bootleg, that bootleg’s only gonna live wherever they posted — which is not going to be Spotify. So, they can’t even tap into their own networks. And it’s limited on Instagram and other socials as well.”
Currently, ClearBeats is helping labels, distributors and artists with bespoke licenses, working on a few long-term, strategic projects and helping companies identify and collect unpaid or suspended royalties. Barbiere says he has been contacted by distributors who want to help clients get licenses for tracks that incorporate samples as well as streaming platforms that want to license music catalogs to allow their users to create derivative works. A subscription-based registry for licensors and licensees is expected to roll out at the end of 2024 into 2025.
As for Ditri, co-founding ClearBeats provides him an opportunity give Disco Fries’ derivative works like “Silhouettes” a life outside of YouTube. “I’m thankful for the video clip,” he says, “but wouldn’t it be wonderful if this had existed back then?”
Olivia Rodrigo and co-writer Daniel Nigro are the 2024 ASCAP Pop Music Songwriters of the Year. It is the second award in the top category for Rodrigo, who first received the honor in 2022.
Chappell Roan, who has a fast-climbing hit with “Good Luck, Babe!,” which she co-wrote with Nigro and Justin Tranter, was scheduled to present Nigro with his award on Wednesday (May 8) at an invitation-only event in Los Angeles celebrating this year’s ASCAP Pop Music Award winners.
Rodrigo and Nigro have shared two Grammy nods for song of the year (for “Driver’s License” and “Vampire”) and one for best rock song (for “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”). In less than three and a half years, Rodrigo has amassed 17 top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including three songs – “Driver’s License,” “Good 4 U” and “Vampire” – that entered the chart at No. 1.
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“Calm Down,” performed by Rema and featuring Selena Gomez, wins ASCAP Pop Song of the Year. Co-written by Rema, Gomez, Michael “LONDON” Hunter, Amanda “Kiddo AI” Ibanez and Andre Vibez, the song reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 and rode the chart for 57 weeks. “Calm Down” is published by Hook Like Behavior, Kobalt Music Publishing, Livelihood Music Company, SMG Tunes, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner Chappell Music.
Publisher of the Year goes to Universal Music Publishing Group for songs including “Calm Down,” “Cuff It” (Beyoncé), “Dance the Night” (Dua Lipa), “Barbie World” (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua), “Lavender Haze” (Taylor Swift), “Paint the Town Red” (Doja Cat), “Star Walkin’ (League of Legends Worlds Anthem)” (Lil Nas X) and “Sure Thing” (Miguel).
Other 2024 ASCAP Pop Music Award-winning songwriters include Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff (their holiday evergreen “All I Want for Christmas Is You”), Noah Kahan (“Dial Drunk”), St. Vincent (“Cruel Summer”), Meghan Trainor (“Made You Look”) and Leon Thomas (“Snooze”).
As previously announced, Charli XCX received the ASCAP Global Impact Award. Charli is gearing up for the release of her sixth solo album, BRAT on June 7 and a North American tour with Troye Sivan, who was set to present her with the award.
The ASCAP Pop Music Awards honor the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most-performed pop songs of 2023. The winners are determined by data on terrestrial and satellite radio and for programmed and on-demand audio streams, all provided by Luminate Data LLC.
More information on the 2024 ASCAP Pop Music Award winners is available here.