Record Labels
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After scoring a Hot 100 No. 1 single with Kendrick Lamar for “Not Like Us” last month, Mustard partners with BMG for his forthcoming studio album, Faith of a Mustard Seed.
“I’m happy to join forces with BMG, a company known for its dedication to nurturing artistic independence, integrity, and innovation,” Mustard tells Billboard. “Together, we’ll continue to push the boundaries of creativity and deliver groundbreaking music that resonates with audiences worldwide.”
On Friday (June 21), Mustard kicked off the rollout to his fourth studio by releasing a first single, “Parking Lot,” featuring Travis Scott. Slated to drop July 26, Faith of a Mustard Seed follows Mustard’s 2019 release Perfect 10, which featured Hot 100 charting hits “Pure Water,” “100 Bands” and “Ballin.” Upon its release, the effort debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and included an all-star lineup with Migos, Young Thug, Gunna, Roddy Ricch, Future, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, and more.
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“Mustard’s approach, coupled with a proven track record of chart-topping hits, delivers unparalleled musical experiences to audiences worldwide,” says Dan Gill, BMG’s executive vp of recorded music, West Coast. “We look forward to supporting and working alongside him as we continue to elevate his artistry and the impact of his music.”
Adds Tim Reid, BMG senior vp of repertoire & marketing: “Mustard’s anthems have consistently orchestrated the soundtrack to the Culture. Partnering with Mustard and the 10 Summers Team on his next movement is an exciting opportunity for the BMG Team to help propel his brand and turn the ordinary into extraordinary.”
Mustard recently featured at Lamar’s Juneteenth Concert celebration, which honored the West Coast. During his set, he brought out Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy, Ty Dolla $ign, Roddy Ricch, Blxst, Dom Kennedy, and 310 Babii. He also joined Lamar for his performance of “Not Like Us,” where the Compton rapper performed the song five times.
Rimas Entertainment has announced new corporate appointments, adding two key executives to its leadership team, Billboard has learned.
Rodrigo Prichard has been named general manager of Rimas Entertainment, and will begin July 1, reporting directly to the company’s chief operating officer, Jorge Bracero. Kristen Quintero-Garriga has been named vice president of brand partnerships under RIT.MO, Rimas’ new division that acts as a creative consultancy and sales force.
“I am thrilled to welcome Rodrigo Prichard and Kristen Quintero-Garriga to our corporate leadership team,” Bracero said in a press statement. “Their deep knowledge and experience in the music industry and in creating strategic alliances are invaluable to us at this time of growth and evolution. I am confident that their leadership will be crucial in further driving Rimas’ success in the future.”
Prichard, who was vp of legal and business affairs at Universal Music Latin before joining Rimas, will oversee all departments of the record labels within the Rimas conglomerate (Rimas Music, Sonar, Nain Music) in Puerto Rico, the United States and all other markets.
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Prior to joining Rimas, Quintero-Garriga was market manager at Puma Energy LATAM, Burger King and Advice Global. In her new role, she will lead brand partnerships, offering her expertise to Rimas, Habibi, Rimas Sports, Fundación Rimas and Rimas Nation, among others.
“Rimas is what all other brands aspire to be right now: agile, smart and passionate,” Prichard expressed. “I am honored to join this family of visionary professionals and look forward to contributing to the brand’s success.”
Quintero-Garriga added: “The speed and efficiency with which each business line under Rimas Entertainment has developed have created great opportunities to forge strategic alliances with local and international brands, which we will capitalize on. We are focused on creating unparalleled collaborations with brands and our world-class artists, athletes and events that we are bringing to Puerto Rico.”
In May, Taylor Swift notched her 14th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with the help of 14 different vinyl versions of The Tortured Poets Department, which sold an astounding 859,000 units in the album’s debut week. She has now stayed atop the Billboard 200 for eight consecutive weeks by rolling out additional variants, proving the pop megastar has mastered the art of giving superfans what they want.
Swift isn’t alone in upping her variant game. Luminate looked at the number of physical variants — defined as distinct UPCs per project — in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart each week since the beginning of 2019 and found that the amount has trended upwards since that year, when the average number of physical variants in the top 10 was 3.3 per week, according to data shared with Billboard. While that number fell to 2.8 per week in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on release schedules and supply chains — physical album sales also fell, from 73.5 million units in 2019 to 68 million units in 2020 due to a sharp drop in CD sales — the average number of physical variants in the top 10 has increased sharply in the post-pandemic years.
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Making albums available in different colors, formats and packages has proven to be a shrewd move for prominent artists aiming for the top of the chart. In 2021, Adele’s 30 debuted atop the Billboard 200 with a Target-exclusive CD, vinyl exclusives at Amazon and Walmart, and three items sold through her official webstore: a cassette and two deluxe boxed sets.
Like she did with The Tortured Poets Department, Swift has frequently topped the Billboard 200 with the help of physical variants. Her 2022 album Midnights had the biggest week for an album in nearly seven years. And in 2023, her 1989 (Taylor’s Version) had the biggest week in nearly a decade with the help of 15 collectible physical formats.
Also in 2023, Travis Scott’s Utopia reached No. 1 thanks to 84 variants, as the album was made available in three different track lists and multiple CD and LP variants including zine and merchandise bundles. The same year, Fall Out Boy’s So Much (for) Stardust had a whopping 116 physical variants, according to Luminate, although it reached only No. 6 on Billboard 200.
CD variants have helped numerous K-pop artists achieve high Billboard 200 debuts. K-pop fans have long clamored for collectibles from their favorite artists, and in South Korea, labels employ lottery-style marketing strategies and package CDs with merchandise — even though many fans don’t own a CD player. In March, With YOU-th by TWICE debuted atop the Billboard 200 with the help of 14 CD variants. “To the fans, it’s not just an issue of buying music,” Bernie Cho, the head of DFSB Kollective, a Korean music export agency, told Billboard in 2020. “You’re showing your loyalty.”
But physical variants aren’t the exclusive domain of albums popular enough to land in the top 10. “For certain records, multiple variants can support a chart position, but it’s not the main driver for Concord,” says Joe Dent, executive vp of operations at Concord Label Group.
“Fans want to support their favorite artists of course, but oftentimes they want to support a particular shop or webstore that they love as well,” Dent continues. “We strive to meet those fans wherever they are.” For example, Concord’s Rounder Records made vinyl variants of Sierra Ferrell’s Trail of Flowers available as exclusives to indie record stores, Magnolia Record Club and Spotify Fans First, while several other vinyl variants sold through her website and the Rounder Records webstore, says Dent.
AWAL, home to such indie artists as Laufey and JVKE, has a similar mindset. “The way we look at physical never starts with the commercial opportunity,” says CEO Lonny Olinick. “It starts with how the artist wants to express themselves and what the fans are likely to love. And what it really comes down to is how an artist can deepen the connection they have with their fans.”
Variants can also be a marketing strategy for catalog albums that aren’t likely to achieve a high chart position. “We use the variants as an opportunity to excite the market,” says Rell Lafargue, president/COO at Reservoir Music. “For example, if we have something that has been out of print for decades, we might want to do a color variant to reintroduce it into the marketplace as a new, distinct and fun physical product.” Reservoir’s Tommy Boy Records took this approach for the upcoming reissue of Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force’s 1986 album Planet Rock by opting for a limited edition pressing with a three-color splatter.
Each additional variant adds to the complexity of releasing an album. That challenge was exacerbated by COVID-related supply chain issues, leading to longer lead times and searches for alternate manufacturers. But while logistical challenges remain, says Lafargue, they aren’t as persistent. “While it can be challenging to manage multiple variants or exclusives instead of a singular version, it is worth the extra effort to expose the record to different retailers and get it into the hands of even more fans,” he says.
The proliferation of physical variants doesn’t come as a surprise. Streaming has made music both plentiful and easily accessible — almost to a fault. Some artists are now releasing physical albums a week or two before making them available on streaming platforms. So while chart position remains a big motivator for many, there’s also something to be said for the way physical variants can foster a feeling of closeness between artists and fans.
Artists “look to cut through the volume of digital music being released,” says Olinick. “Bringing that connection into the real world, whether through live shows or physical products, is hugely impactful.”
Now that it’s officially summer, we can start calling 2024 the summer of BRAT. Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, released June 7 on Atlantic Records, has taken the internet, and dance floors, by storm, spawning memes, jokes and posts galore, all colored the fluorescent “brat green” on social media — and that’s before you even get to the music. The record itself is a triumph of dance-pop that has not only ignited Charli’s legions of fans but brought her the biggest debut week of her career, having moved 82,000 equivalent album units in the United States to debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
It’s a testament to the groundswell of support that Charli has cultivated, and that her management team, creative and design teams, and label Atlantic Records have helped nurture. The album arrived with 14 different vinyl variants and a number of exclusive editions, helping to sell 45,000 copies (the biggest sales week of Charli’s career) while becoming nearly inescapable in the cultural discourse. It also proved that Charli is a true innovator who’s much more than the “Boom Clap” and “I Love It” hits of a decade ago, or even the songwriting superstar she’s been for other artists throughout her career. All that hype and success has helped Atlantic’s vp of marketing Marisa Aron earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Aron discusses the marketing plan and rollout of BRAT, how Charli helped build hype for the album more than a year ago and the groundswell of support — including a gigantic record-store listening party at more than 170 stores across the country three days before the album’s release — that led into BRAT’s debut. But just as the solstice has only passed this week, there’s much more to come: as Aron puts it, “BRAT Summer has just begun.”
This week, Charli XCX’s BRAT debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 82,000 equivalent album units, her biggest first week ever. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
The success of BRAT is a testament to Charli’s incredible artistry and vision. She not only created the most culturally important pop and dance album of the year but also delivered a masterclass in artistic direction and marketing strategy. Charli has an amazing team, and together with the unwavering support from our team at Atlantic we all worked to execute her vision to the fullest. Our key decision? To trust her implicitly. We fully embraced her vision, her plan, her ideas and helped her bring BRAT to life.
What was the overall marketing plan for the release?
The marketing plan for BRAT is all about amplifying Charli’s authentic voice and connecting directly with her fans. We knew we had an incredibly important album on our hands, one that was innovative, bold, fun, loud and would create a lot of conversation. We wanted to put together a campaign that captured that energy and put BRAT into the cultural zeitgeist. The plan doesn’t end with the album release; stay tuned, there is a lot more to come.
The album also sold 45,000 copies, her largest sales week ever, including 14 different vinyl variants. What was your guys’ approach to physical for this album, and how did it pay off?
The physical release plan was so much fun to put together. It was a collaborative effort between Charli; [creative director] Imogene; design team SPECIAL OFFER, Inc.; Charli’s management team; and our team at Atlantic. From the start, we wanted to create a series of limited-edition drops that would keep fans excited throughout the campaign. It was important that each variant felt unique and special both in design and in the rollout.
We started the campaign ahead of the album and artwork announcement with the limited edition 360_brat vinyl, released at first only to Charli’s followers on her private Instagram. This moment helped set the tone for the rest of the campaign. When the official album pre-order went live, we partnered with major retailers like Target and Urban Outfitters, as well as local record stores, Blood Records and more to create exclusive variants that gave fans more options to choose from.
On Tuesday, June 4th, we unleashed BRAT into the world a little early. Thousands of Charli’s fans went to their local record stores for a first listen, three days before the official release. It was a massive undertaking — Atlantic’s biggest listening event campaign ever — with 179 stores across the country.
BRAT’s physical release wasn’t just about sales figures; it was about creating a deeper connection with fans. From the unique packaging that you have to rip into to get to the music, to the events and limited-edition drops, it is a reminder that in the digital age, the physical album can still be a powerful, personal and meaningful experience.
This album almost immediately became a cultural touchstone, and was a huge talking point online, with fans making memes of the cover art and the color palette seemingly everywhere. What was your approach to the digital marketplace for the project?
The BRAT campaign started in February when Charli threw a legendary Boiler Room in Brooklyn with A. G. Cook, George Daniel, Finn Keane and Doss, drawing a record-breaking 40,000 RSVPs — the most in the history of Boiler Room. There were surprise appearances from Addison Rae and Julia Fox. This was the first time people got to hear a few tracks from the forthcoming album, turning it into one of the year’s most viral moments and really setting the tone for what was to come.
The approach was about creating really memorable moments both online and in real life, from surprise DJ sets, exclusive Club Angel events, single reworks with Addison Rae, Robyn, Yung Lean, Skream and Benga to one of the most talked about music videos of the year (“360”) and so much more. We carefully planned out the timing of it all.
The “brat green” that we all have filling our timelines right now goes back to Charli’s brilliant vision for BRAT artwork. Once the artwork was revealed fans started to recreate it themselves, which inspired us to launch the brat generator. From there, it really started to take on a life of its own. We continued to incorporate brat green throughout all the marketing. One of the most fun pre-album moments in the campaign happened in Brooklyn a few days before “360” was released. Terry [from the digital team] had an amazing idea of painting a huge wall “brat green” during a livestream, and thus the “brat wall” was born.
It’s been 12 years since Charli first hit the Hot 100 top 10 with her feature on Icona Pop’s “I Love It,” and 10 years since Charli’s first solo Hot 100 top 10 with “Boom Clap.” Her career feels bigger now than it’s ever been. How did you energize those day one fans and pull in new ones for the run-up to this release?
Speaking from my own experience, it honestly is just really fun to be a Charli fan. For example, a full year before the album campaign even started Charli brilliantly started a new private Instagram account, @360_brat. What goes down on that account is strictly confidential, so I won’t give too much away. But Charli’s early vision and authenticity has made BRAT an undeniable phenomenon which really resonated with her early fans, and then throughout the campaign brought new fans in.
Steve Aoki‘s longstanding Dim Mak label has a new president, with Lorne Padman — the imprint’s vp for the last decade — assuming the position. In the role, the Los Angeles-based Padman will oversee strategy for the imprint, which was founded by Aoki in 1996 while he was a student at UC Santa Barbara.
The current Dim Mak roster includes producers like Henry Fong, Chyl, Ookay, Deorro, Cash Cash, Cheyenne Giles, Sikdope, 4B and more, with upcoming releases from Ray Ray, Mila Falls, Nostalgix and Aoki and Afrojack’s collaborative Afroki project, among others.
“Throughout Lorne’s ten years as vice president, he has been an integral part of the label’s success story,” Aoki tells Billboard. “His ability to cultivate strong relationships within the industry has been critical in elevating the reputation of Dim Mak’s brand. I’m confident that Lorne’s leadership and hard work will continue to steer the label toward further growth and excellence.”
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Padman tells Billboard that for him, the label’s health and vibrancy is demonstrated by the fact that artists from across the roster collaborate often, without being pushed to by management. “For me,” he says, “that’s an indication we must be doing something right, if we’re creating an ecosystem of talent that all want to work with each other and get along socially and musically.”
These artists make many different styles of electronic music, with Dim Mak focused less on cultivating a specific sound and more on releasing compelling, relevant output. The idea, Padman says, is to offer a “complementary roster of different sounds, from really fresh underground and cool and new. But also, a bit like a financial portfolio, you can’t only be taking moonshots, you also need to have some established things that will guard our reputation and can also financially open the possibility of being able to take swings at emerging artists.”
Taking swings is built into Dim Mak’s business model, with the label’s New Noise imprint having released music from a totally new artist every two weeks for the last decade. This structure offers artists with what is often their first official release, providing them with the Dim Mak visibility boost while helping the label identify emerging sounds and trends. Altogether, Padman says, it’s “an avenue to market for development artists that are potentially too small for some other other labels.”
Padman brings decades of experience to the role, having DJ’d in Australia for 18 years. (“With only six Saturday off,” he says.) He was part of the development teams for the first releases by Avicii and The Chainsmokers and also has experience in management, radio, television, production and songwriting.
This history gives him the ability to speak the same language as artists and offer feedback in technical terms. But, he says, “I only ever feel like I have 49% of the vote” regarding the creative decisions any artist or member of the team — which includes staff across A&R, video, marketing, social media and art direction — should make.
“I want the artists to feel good and empowered, and I definitely don’t want to feel like Dim Mak is a distributor and that we’re not adding any value,” he says. “But at the same time, I don’t want them to feel like they’re being told what to be, because they have to choose that themselves.”
Padman’s previous label experience includes a run as national promotions and label manager at Australia’s Vicious Recordings, where he was working when he met Aoki. “At that time I felt Vicious was quite successful,” Padman says, “then Steve said something to the effect of, ‘But no one’s wearing a Vicious t-shirt.’ That stuck in my head. People will wear Dim Mak shirts and get Dim Mak tattoos, but no one’s wearing Sony or Warner or Universal or Republic shirts. There are labels and lifestyle labels. I always have to keep cognizant of the fact that Dim Mak is a lifestyle label.”
Padman also has a close working relationship with the dance/electronic categories at the Grammys, having co-authored proposals including the one that introduced the Dance Pop category to last year’s awards.
“I’ve always felt that it’s about reputation more than anything really,” he says of his and Dim Mak’s position in the wider industry ecosystem. “I’ve always felt like that if I can live my life through the four principles [of coaching expert Dan Sullivan] of showing up on time, doing what I say I’ll do, finishing what I started and saying please and thank you, then I’m going to be referable.”
The three major music companies are weighing a lawsuit against AI startups Suno and Udio for allegedly training on copyrighted sound recordings, according to multiple sources.
The potential lawsuit, which would include Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music, would target a pair of companies that have quickly become two of the most important players in the emerging field of generative AI music. While many of its competitors focus on generating either music or lyrics or vocals, Suno and Udio both allow users to generate all three in the click of a button. Two sources said the lawsuit could come as soon as next week. Reps for the three majors, as well as Suno and Udio, did not respond to requests for comment.
Music companies, including UMG, have already filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, another major AI firm, over the use of copyrighted materials to train models. But that case dealt only with lyrics, which in many ways are legally similar to written subject matter. The new suit would deal with music and sound itself.
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Just a few months from its launch, Udio has already produced what could be considered an AI-generated hit song with “BBL Drizzy,” a parody track created by comedian King Willonius and popularized via a remix by super producer Metro Boomin. Later, the song reached new heights when it was sampled in Sexyy Red and Drake‘s song “U My Everything,” becoming the first major example of sampling an AI-generated song.
Suno has also achieved early success since its launch in December 2023. In May, the company announced via a blog post that it had raised a total of $125 million in funding from a group of notable investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross.
Both companies, however, have drawn criticism from many members of the music business who believe that the models train on vast swathes of copyrighted material, including hit songs, without consent, compensation or credit to rights holders. Representatives for Suno and Udio have previously declined to comment on whether or not they train on protected copyrights, with Udio’s co-founders telling Billboard they simply train on “good music.”
In a recent Rolling Stone story about Suno, investor Antonio Rodriguez admitted that Suno does not have licenses for whatever music it has trained on, but he said that was not a concern to him, adding that this lack of such licenses is “the risk we had to underwrite when we invested in the company, because we’re the fat wallet that will get sued right behind these guys… Honestly, if we had deals with labels when this company got started, I probably wouldn’t have invested in it. I think that they needed to make this product without the constraints.”
In a series of articles for Music Business Worldwide, founder of AI safety non-profit Fairly Trained, Ed Newton-Rex, found that he was able to generate music from Suno and Udio that “bears a striking resemblance to copyrighted music. This is true across melody, chords, style and lyrics,” he wrote. Both companies, however, bar users from prompting the models to copy artists’ styles by typing out sentiments like “a rock song in the style of Radiohead” or from using specific artists’ voices.
The case, if it is filed, would hinge on whether the use of unlicensed materials to train AI models amounts to copyright infringement — something of an existential question for the booming sector, since depriving AI models of new inputs could limit their abilities. Content owners in many sectors, including book authors, comedians and visual artists, have all filed similar lawsuits over training.
Many AI companies argue that such training is protected by copyright’s fair use doctrine — an important rule that allows people to reuse protected works without breaking the law. Though fair use has historically allowed for things like news reporting and parody, AI firms say it applies equally to the “intermediate” use of millions of works to build a machine that spits out entirely new creations. That argument will likely be the central question in any lawsuit over AI training.
Some AI companies have taken what is often called a more “ethical” approach to AI training by working directly with companies and rights holders to license their copyrights or form official partnerships instead.
So far, the majors have embraced partnering with AI companies in this way. Already, UMG and WMG have worked with YouTube for its AI voice experiment DreamTrack; Sony has partnered with Vermillio on a remix project for The Orb and David Gilmour; WMG has worked with Edith Piaf’s estate to recreate her voice using AI for an upcoming biopic; UMG launched an AI music incubator with YouTube Music; and most recently, UMG has teamed up with SoundLabs to let their artists create their own AI voice models for personal use in the studio.
Tanner Adell, known for her breakthrough hit “Buckle Bunny” and her contributions to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album, has signed with Love Renaissance (LVRN).
The Atlanta-based Love Renaissance was founded in 2016 by Tunde Balogun, Justice Baiden, Junia Abaidoo, Carlon Ramong and Sean “Famoso” McNichol, and features a roster including 6LACK, Summer Walker, DVSN, SPINALL, and TxC. The multi-faceted label and management company offers creative direction, production, marketing and strategic partnerships. LVRN also operates the Atlanta-based LVRN Studios to further cultivate musical talent in the Atlanta area.
“They made it so obvious that they knew exactly who I was and exactly how they were going to help me achieve what I want to achieve,” Adell tells Billboard of her decision to sign with LVRN Records.
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Adell’s upbringing in both California and Wyoming has helped the singer-songwriter in crafting a unique fusion of country, pop and hip-hop on songs such as “Whiskey Blues” and “FU-150,” as well as a signature brand that blends big-city glitz and rural roots. Adell moved to Nashville three years ago with her sights set on a career in country music.
“I was writing in my bedroom, using beats I’d find on the internet. I moved here and just put my head down, working, and kept my vision as straight as I possibly could in trying to create a sound that I felt was unique to me, but relatable,” Adell told Billboard.
Adell, who was previously signed with Columbia Records, issued the song “Honky Tonk Heartbreak” in 2021, followed by her EP Last Call the following year. Most recently, she released her Buckle Bunny debut mixtape last year, followed by a deluxe version of the project, including “Love You a Little Bit,” “Throw It Back,” and “I Hate Texas.”
Then Queen Bey came calling.
On Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, Adell joined with Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts on the song “Blackbiird,” and provided background vocals on “Ameriican Requiem.” Like her Cowboy Carter cohorts, Adell saw a surge in streaming. According to Luminate, the week after Beyonce released “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Adell saw a 188% increase in streaming activity.
This year, she’s built on that surge by performing at top festivals including CMA Fest, Stagecoach and C2C. Adell also wrote and recorded the song “Too Easy” for the soundtrack of the movie Twisters, with her work residing alongside music from artists Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Miranda Lambert.
Baiden, head of A&R for LVRN, said in a statement, “It’s rare these days to be wowed and instantly connect to an artist. Tanner is a generational talent who will change how people feel, perceive, and digest country music. We believe in the stories she tells and her ability to relate to the everyday person; she will touch a global audience. Our decision to support her journey reflects how we at LVRN came into the business and how we see things: fearless, rebellious, loving, Renaissance!”
Amber Grimes, evp/GM of LVRN, added, “Given our profound affinity for storytelling, we were determined to collaborate with Tanner. She has a jaw-dropping story waiting to be shared through her songwriting. We are thrilled to welcome Tanner to our family, amplify her narrative, and continue to cultivate her success as an artist. Our commitment to nurturing talent and supporting artistic integrity extends across all genres.”
Adell recalled the detailed plan the label created for a forward-facing career vision.
“They had about 30 pages of where they felt my trajectory was going, showing how they understood my brand,” Adell told Billboard. “They had a vision for touring, and a deep dive into how the partnership would go if I signed with them. You never see that—it felt like these are real people who really care and understand me.”
Over the past year, Adell has been writing for a new project, one that will draw fans deeper into her story.
“I haven’t talked too much about my family, and my birth family and being adopted and how I’ve dealt with that,” Adell said. “I’m biracial. I was adopted by a white family, but they also adopted my siblings. I haven’t talked about finding my birth family, or any of that. I feel like my fans are ready, and I’m ready to give that part of myself to them. I’m ready to share that side of me. I feel like there will be a lot of people who will be healed.”
Cash Money Records founders/CEOs and hip-hop icons Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams will be the 2024 honorees at YouTube Music’s second Leaders and Legends gala. The invitation-only event will take place in Los Angeles on June 27. Developing a roster that included pioneering hitmakers such as Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Mannie Fresh […]
Black Opry Records, the new Thirty Tigers-distributed label started by The Black Opry founder Holly G, has signed its first artist. Jett Holden’s label debut, The Phoenix, will arrive Oct. 4. The infectious, rock-tinged first single, “Backwood Proclamation,” which feature John Osborne and Charlie Worsham, premieres below.
Holly G founded Black Opry in 2021 initially as a blog to talk about her disheartening experience as a Black country music fan, but it quickly evolved into a platform to bring attention to Black artists and help launch their careers. It then expanded to booking shows across the country, under the Black Opry Revue banner, to highlight the unsung Black country artists Holly G found.
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The label became a natural progression and a way to fill a great void.
“Over the years that I’ve been working in and observing the conversations surrounding diversity in country music, we are still not seeing the same resources and opportunities being poured into Black country artists as we do their peers (outside of very few exceptions),” Holly G says. “We’ve got the community, we’ve created a pipeline to touring and show opportunities through the Black Opry Revue, we’ve got all of the work Rissi Palmer is doing with [her Apple Country show] Color Me Country, but we still don’t have people who are in executive positions strategically advocating for and developing Black country artists.”
Watch Jett Holden’s “Backwood Proclamation”:
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That is one reason that the smoky-voiced Holden, 35, had pretty much given up on getting a label deal.
“Being gay and Black had been a nonstarter for me in the industry from the time I started chasing a career in country music when I was 19. I had a developmental deal fall through when they learned I was gay,” Holden says, declining to name the label. “Every time things started to look up for me, all of a sudden I wasn’t marketable because I’m gay or my race or both. But when Black Opry Records became an option, I leapt at it.”
Holden and Holly G first connected on Instagram when she reached out as she was launching the blog and had discovered his music.
“I had actually quit music in 2020 when the pandemic hit, but the community that developed around the blog, and later the collective, drew me in and reinvigorated my drive to create again,” he says. “Then in 2021 everything changed. Black Opry blew up into more than any of us expected.”
Though Holden is only being announced now, he was asked to sign with the label last summer after playing the Black Opry Revue at the Newport Folk Festival.
“When we got back to the Airbnb, they pulled me aside and sat me down by the fire pit like I was in trouble for something,” he says. “And then they told me about the label and that they wanted to sign me first. I’m not used to being chosen first for anything, so it was a huge shock, but a no brainer. It was the easiest yes of my life.”
Jett Holden
Kai Lendzion
For Holly G, talent led the way in signing Holden, but it was also important to send a message with his selection.
“From a big picture standpoint, it was really important to me that we set the tone for who we are as a label by signing an LGBTQ artist right out of the gate,” she says. “I put a lot of pressure on other institutions about their lack of inclusion, and I feel it’s important I lead by example by making sure there are diverse artists even within marginalized communities when I serve on different projects.”
With Holden teed up, Black Opry Records has already signed its second artist, Tylar Bryant, a former MMA fighter-turned-singer-songwriter, but Holly G resists pinpointing the ideal roster size for the boutique label.
“There may be some artists that we have to pour into more than others, which will dictate what my bandwidth is for beginning the next project,” she says. “I have such a long list of artists that I would love to sign but I’m taking things one artist and one album at a time so that we are giving everyone the best chance possible to be successful.”
Holly G will sign artists who align with the Black Opry’s mission to highlight Black talent.
“The Black Opry was created as a platform specifically for Black artists and Black Opry Records will carry on that tradition,” she says. “We have a beautiful community of people from all backgrounds that interact with us behind the scenes, but it’s really important that we have this space specifically for Black artists. When you consider the lack of opportunity for Black artists overall, it would do a huge disservice to them to open the space up for other marginalized groups (though they are all equally deserving).”
Black representation at country labels, both on the artist and executive roster, is meager, at best, and “Black artists need to see that there is a space that will always be held, so they know there is somewhere for them to go,” she says.
For now, Holly G will handle A&R and Black Opry Records will rely on Thirty Tigers’ staff for all other functions.
“Thirty Tigers has already established itself as a leader in the music community in terms of putting artists first and letting music guide the journey,” Holly G says. “With them providing our label services, we want to use that as a foundation to diversify country music by helping Black artists build their careers.”
Holden’s Will Hoge-produced album covers a wide spectrum of country styles, which Holly G thinks will help broaden its appeal and possibilities for airplay, but she’s not counting on terrestrial mainstream country radio stations to lead the way given how limited their playlists are and how conservative they have been.
“As far as country radio, it would obviously be great to have them get on board with this project, but given the dismal track record they have with both Black and queer artists, we aren’t going to depend on that happening,” she says.
Holden’s goals extend far beyond radio play. “I have a lot of the same hopes as a lot of my counterparts; making my Grand Ole Opry debut, winning a Grammy, and making a living writing and performing,” he says. “But I also hope that I’m fostering a more welcoming industry than I came up in. I hope that kids growing up today feel seen in the ways I didn’t. And I hope that I’m not an anomaly, and other artists of color and queer musicians will continue to get opportunities.”
As for Holly G, she’s already thinking long term as well. “We are always trying to figure out ways to make country music spaces safer and more inclusive. Ideally I’d like to start another label down the line that could serve as a home for artists of any and all backgrounds that are making good country music, but it was important to create this space for Black artists first.”
Connecting to listeners, not making money or signing to a major label, is the most important aspect of success for a musician, according to a new report titled “Sustainability from Chaos” by MIDiA Research and Amuse, a distribution and artist services company. Even if they reach only a small number of people, 89% of all creators surveyed and 94% of full-time professionals believe that success is defined by moving people with music.
Money matters, too, but relatively few artists say they strive to be superstars. Just 17% of creators and 21% of full-time musicians said being famous is critical to success, while 21% of both groups said signing to a record label is a sign of success. Still, 83% of full-time musicians — and 63% of all creators — defined success as making a career out of music.
The report is based on a survey of 450 artists conducted in April 2024 for MIDiA Research’s Creator Survey.
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It’s an important time to consider how artists define success. Artists have a wealth of options for releasing and financing their music. And there are far more independent artists than artists who have signed traditional record deals. MIDiA estimates that 95% of artists are “artist direct,” meaning they work with a distributor or artist services platform. Only 1% of artists are signed to a major label; the remainder are signed to indie labels.
The vastness of the independent artist market, and their desire for control over their careers, explains why companies are investing heavily in distribution and artist services. Universal Music Group has Virgin Music Group. Sony Music Entertainment has AWAL. Warner Music Group was interested in — but did not acquire — Believe, owner of TuneCore. Distributors such as STEM, UnitedMasters, Ditto and Symphonic have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding in recent years.
For these service providers to succeed, they must provide artists with deeper, more meaningful connections with fans. According to MIDiA Research, the old definitions of success are being replaced by newer metrics of success such as community membership (such as Discord and WhatApp groups), sold-out shows and merchandise sales. According to the report, this approach “emphasizes building long-lasting relationships over merely accumulating views and followers.”
In the past, mainstream success was measured by chart position, radio play, awards and cover stories. Those achievements would give an artist a good chance at a sustainable career in music. But in the streaming era, those signals of mainstream success have been replaced by what the report called “misleading” metrics such as listens and follows. Chart position and radio play aren’t seen as meaningful indicators, according to the report, although they have marketing value.
Most full-time, professional artists want to work with a distributor with label services or a self-serve platform with tools that support artists to release their albums and tracks. In fact, these artists would rather work with a distributor (31%) than sign to an indie label (20%) and are nearly as interested in taking a do-it-yourself route (17%) or using a self-serve, online platform with artist tools (16%). Only 10% prefer using a management company to run their businesses, and only 6% prefer to sign with a major label.
Considering all creators — including both professional and part-time artists — a self-serve online platform is the preferred way to release albums and tracks (28%), followed by an indie label (25%), a distributor with label services (20%) and the do-it-yourself route (13%). A major label is preferred by just 7% of all creators. Management companies were the least preferred partner (6%).
Artists surveyed feel that breaking through the noise (54%) is the biggest challenge they face. Not having enough time to create (40%) and not having financial resources (35%) were the second- and third-biggest challenges cited by artists. That “noise” refers to the massive amount of music released every day online. In 2023, there was an average of 103,500 tracks uploaded daily to digital platforms, up 10.8% from 93,400 per day in 2022, according to Luminate’s Year-End Report 2023. Major labels accounted for just 3.9% of those tracks — as measured by new ISRC numbers — compared to 96.1% for the rest of the industry.
Building a sustainable career is made more difficult by the challenges of touring. Skyrocketing costs mean that live music is no longer the best way for artists to make money — but it’s still a goal for many artists and a path to financial comfort. In the report, MIDiA Research recommends that artist services companies provide stipends or salaries for new signings as well as tour support typically offered by record labels: “All artist services companies,” it writes, “need to take a longer-term view on artist relationships.”