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Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) COO Michele Ballantyne has been promoted to president, the organization has announced. She will continue to serve as COO, running daily operations and managing RIAA’s 56-person team.
A 2024 Billboard Women in Music honoree, Ballantyne serves on the RIAA executive leadership team alongside chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier while spearheading daily operations and helping lead advocacy efforts across the industry. During her tenure, she’s played a key role in the passage of the landmark Music Modernization Act as well as the PRO-IP Act, which established the first U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator in the executive office; and the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which provided colleges and universities with tools to reduce the illegal downloading of copyrighted works on campuses.
“I love my job, and I feel really lucky to have it,” Ballantyne tells Billboard in an exclusive interview (full Q&A below). “Music is something that is so important to everyone, and there are obviously lots of challenges…AI, TikTok, COVID. But one thing I’m really proud about is that at RIAA we’re nimble and we punch above our weight and I think that speaks a lot to the team we have in place. I really feel grateful to be at the helm with Mitch and see where we can take things.”
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Mitch Glazier, Busta Rhymes and Michelle Ballantyne
Daniel Swartz
More recently, Ballantyne has focused particular attention on the growing use of artificial intelligence in music and its ethical implications for creators. Under her leadership, the RIAA became a founding member of the Human Artistry Campaign, a coalition of music and entertainment organizations supporting ethical standards around AI that launched in August. The organization also supported the ELVIS Act, the landmark law designed to protect creators from AI deep fakes that was signed into law in March. On the federal level, the RIAA is supporting bills including the No AI FRAUD Act in the House and the NO FAKES Act in the Senate.
“Michele and I have had the privilege of guiding RIAA and supporting our member companies through amazing celebrations and challenges in the industry,” said Glazier in a statement. “I am grateful for her remarkable leadership and genuine care for people. Our playlists may not always be in sync, but our determination for a thriving and equitable community for music creators is.”
Ballantyne earned her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and started her career in government, serving in roles including general counsel for Sen. Tom Daschle, special assistant for President Bill Clinton and special counsel for former White House chief of staff John Podesta. She joined RIAA in 2004 as senior vp of federal government and industry relations. A Black female executive, Ballantyne’s work at the organization has also focused on social justice advocacy, including mobilizing RIAA members to support police reform bills, guiding the implementation of members’ social change commitments and managing the most diverse RIAA board of directors in its history.
On the occasion of her promotion, Billboard spoke with Ballantyne about her new role, the importance of combatting AI deep fakes, Universal Music Group’s dispute with TikTok and the possible implications of the upcoming presidential election.
You’ve been COO for several years now, but you’ve now added “president” to your title. How will your purview at the RIAA change?
It will change a little bit, but maybe not that much. It does catch up to the way we’ve been working, especially Mitch and I, who sort of approach things as a partnership. But the COO part, which is the sort of the nuts and bolts of running the organization and dealing with the internal stuff, it’s not all that I do. I do a lot of industry relations and coordinating with outside groups and coordinating with our member companies and making sure everything runs smoothly, that people are communicating. And so I think it reflects that piece of it too. I’m grateful for the recognition because I enjoy the work, and the title makes it clear to everybody.
You’ve been with the RIAA for around two decades now, and you’ve helped tackle some of the biggest issues in recorded music over that time. What do you see as some of the biggest issues facing the RIAA and its members currently?
No question it’s AI. AI has sort of supercharged everyone’s work. I am not the lead on it, but it’s everybody’s issue. We’re out talking about it and thinking about it and trying to figure out, “How are we gonna meet the challenges that it brings for artists and for labels and everyone in music?” It’s such a challenging time and everything is moving so fast. We’re just trying to figure out how we’re going to navigate all of it. And it’s an exciting time. It brings a lot of innovations to the table.
I think that the music industry in general is usually, in the time that I’ve been at RIAA, in the front. We’re the — I’m not fond of the saying — but the canary in the coal mine. All of these issues are ones that we confront first, the same as with file-sharing or any of those other issues that happened way back when. And the policymakers are grappling with how to handle these changes confronting society with AI, so it’s so multifaceted and very challenging.
We’ve been working on the deep fakes issue. That is one thing that pretty much everyone can come together around. We had that bill pass in Tennessee last week [the ELVIS Act] and we’re working on some federal bills as well. So, this is, I think, where all the focus is going to be. But in general, I think things are good, the industry is moving in a positive direction. You probably saw our revenue numbers came out earlier this week. One of the things that we’re so excited about, and I think that music companies have really embraced, is offering so much choice to fans. And I think that’s really positive.
I was curious about the year-end report. One interesting takeaway is that the record labels may have become almost too reliant on paid subscriptions for revenue and revenue growth. Do you think that revenue mix needs to be more dynamic? And if so, how do you feel labels can get there?
That’s a very tricky question. I’m not sure I can really answer that one. There are a lot of different components that go into it. And a lot of the pieces that are business issues, we aren’t at RIAA going to be able to see into those. It is a concern, for sure, and something that our folks are paying attention to.
I will say that one of the things that I have noticed that has changed most over the time that I’ve been at RIAA is this willingness to innovate and pivot. When I first came to RIAA in 2004, the focus was on how do we address file sharing? It was the Grokster case, and I think that within the companies, the old guard has sort of shifted out and the folks who are there now and have come in have very successfully navigated those challenges to the place we are today.
Today, everyone streams and anybody can get the music they want, whenever they want it. And it is not something that even occurs to young folks. I have a 16-year-old. He doesn’t even think about like, “I can just go on Spotify and listen.” To me, watching that change has been really impactful. And I’m just trying to think about it, like, something exciting will happen next. I’m not sure what it is. But I think it will happen.
One of the other big stories in the last few months was UMG pulling its catalog from TikTok and the ripple effect that that’s had on the industry. What do you think needs to happen to resolve that dispute?
I don’t know. TikTok has has grown so fast, and even among our companies and among policymakers, there’s differing opinions on how to handle that. Universal certainly put their marker down, and we haven’t commented because our companies aren’t all in the same place about it. So I don’t know how that’s going to resolve and I also don’t know what’s going to happen with the federal bill that policymakers are pursuing to say that they’re going to ban TikTok. I mean, it passed the House. It’s very tricky.
We have a big election coming up. What should RIAA members be on the lookout for when either candidate wins, whether it’s Trump or Biden?
We used to go, Mitch and myself, to our companies and board meetings and we would talk to them about what’s happening in D.C. and how it’s all gonna shake out and what we think will happen based on what we know and our experiences working both in the House and the Senate. It’s really hard to tell now. We gave up some years ago on doing our own punditry. The polling doesn’t seem to be as reliable and, as a D.C. person, even some of my colleagues from prior administrations or from the Hill, they’re like, “It’s really hard to tell.”
The good news for everyone in the music industry, not just RIAA, is that largely music issues are bipartisan, and on the committees that handle intellectual property, policy and copyright issues, the Judiciary Committee, they are dealing with many more complex issues such as guns and immigration and reproductive rights and so on. So a lot of times they are more willing to come to the table to talk about music issues, for a variety of reasons. One is that they can get to an agreement, there can be some bipartisan action, and, you know, music touches everyone. And policymakers are no different.
I think that hopefully we can get some action on making sure that we continue to protect the rights of artists and labels and songwriters and others in the music community, and not roll back any rights. We’ll be paying particular attention to AI and deep fakes and making sure that their rights are protected there. But it’s not clear how things will go, either from the standpoint of the election, but also getting bills passed is really hard nowadays. But can we get some engagement? Yes, we’ll get engagement. A lot of times what we try to do too, is if members feel like bills won’t pass, there are other ways to get them to engage, to help bring parties, stakeholders to the table to talk through issues and see if we can get some resolutions and things like that. I expect that to continue. But, you know, D.C. is…it’s tricky.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Country artist Orville Peck has signed with Warner Records – and has already teased new music on the way.
“I was ready for a change,” Peck tells Billboard. “I spent most of last year making several huge changes to all aspects of my life – my career being just one of them. I was ready for a clean start.”
Today (April 1), Peck announced his first release on the label: a collaboration with Willie Nelson. The pair will duet on a cover of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” a song originally released in 1981 by Latin country artist Ned Sublette and covered by Nelson in 2006. Peck himself previously performed a rendition for SiriusXM and at his 2023 Hollywood Bowl show.
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Jeff Sosnow, EVP of A&R at Warner – whom Peck calls “the GOAT” – tells Billboard he met Peck a few years ago and was taken “not only by his musical acumen and knowledge, but also his sense of purpose, ambition and curation of his own world, which all extends from the music.”
“It’s rare to come across an artist who checks so many necessary boxes for a path to success – great songs, singular voice, curation of overall aesthetic and visuals, ambition, communication and work ethic. With [what’s ahead], we have a real opportunity to fortify and grow Orville’s base and reach.”
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In 2019, Peck released his debut album Pony on Sub Pop. The following year, in 2020, he signed with Columbia and released his major label debut EP Show Pony. Two more EPs followed in 2022 leading up to his second full-length that August, Bronco.
“I was drawn to Warner because of their unique emphasis on their artists,” says Peck. “It may seem like it should be the standard but more and more, the music industry invests less and less in artists.” He says in addition to Sosnow being “a genuine fan of music,” he has “great respect” for Warner CEO and co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck along with COO and co-chairman Tom Corson. “They have helped me to feel so motivated,” he adds.
Currently, Warner is on a hot streak with its superstars and emerging talent alike. Next month (on May 3), Dua Lipa will release her anticipated album Radical Optimism, while Zach Bryan is currently playing to sold-out arenas on his The Quittin Time Tour. Plus, rising acts like Teddy Swims and Benson Boone occupied the Hot 100’s top two slots last week with “Lose Control” and “Beautiful Things,” respectively.
“The last five years have proven Warner has the patience and ingenuity to work with real artists with vision and songs and grow with them,” says Sosnow. “The structure of the company has put us in a unique place where we do indeed have a special sauce.”
Peck is signed to Brandon Creed’s Good World Management, and is managed by Creed along with Dani Russin and Anika Capozza. The firm says: “Warner has been in Orville’s corner for many years and when the moment arose to work together, they immediately seized the opportunity with incredible support and enthusiasm…We are so excited for this new partnership and couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them.”
As Peck says, this next chapter can be defined by “evolution and exploration. I have honestly never felt so excited about my career before.”
Adds Sosnow: “The possibilities are really limitless for Orville. He is a generational talent.”
Orville Peck
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Concord has named veteran label executive Stephanie Hudacek president of its Rounder Records, the company announced Thursday (March 28). Hudacek, who founded and has served as president of distributor and label Soundly Music since 2017, takes over the label that is home to the likes of Billy Strings, Ruston Kelly, Sierra Farrell and Katie Pruittand has recently released posthumous albums from Gregg Allman and Dr. John.
Established in 1970 in Nashville, Rounder has been the home of artists like George Thorogood, Alison Krauss and Béla Fleck through the years, racking up 54 Grammy Awards along the way. Acquired by Concord in 2010, it’s one of eight standalone labels under the Concord Label Group umbrella, alongside Fantasy, Fearless, Loma Vista, PULSE, Easy Eye Sound, Concord Records and Concord Jazz.
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Stephanie Hudacek
“Throughout her career, Stephanie has shown a deep commitment to artists and songwriters as well as an incredible intuition for what it takes to bring their music to the world,” said Concord Label Group CEO Tom Becci, who took over the top job last August, in a statement. “She has the requisite skills to preserve the label’s distinct history while ensuring her artists and team have the resources necessary for continued success in an evolving environment.”
Prior to launching Soundly Music, where she worked with artists such as Maggie Rose and Pony Bradshaw, Hudacek was GM of Riser House Records in Nashville, working in the country and Americana realms. Before that, she was an artist and tour manager, working with the likes of Joan Baez and Darrell Scott. For the past two years, Hudacek also doubled as president of Late August Records.
“It is an unbelievable honor to be able to lead Rounder Records,” Hudacek said in a statement. “Throughout its history, Rounder has shown an uncompromising devotion to great, authentic artistry, which has made it a natural home for artists seeking the same. That is a tradition I am thrilled to carry on.”
The RIAA’s release of 2023 revenue figures show U.S. record labels are increasingly reliant — possibly too much so — on paid subscriptions for both revenue and revenue growth. While consumers continue to pay for premium streaming services, ad-supported on-demand streaming is languishing and newer platforms like TikTok provide more promotion than they do royalties.
The top-line takeaway of the RIAA’s 2023 report is that the U.S. market grew 7.7% to $17.12 billion, an improvement from the 6.6% uptick seen in 2022. Without adjusting for inflation, 2023 revenue was about 17% above the CD-era peak of $14.6 billion set in 1999, marking the ninth straight year of revenue growth after the U.S. market bottomed out at $6.95 billion in 2014. After nearly a decade of gains, the record business is healthy and stable.
But look over the RIAA’s report and you’ll see the U.S. market is missing the dynamism it could — and wants to — have. The revenue mix doesn’t have the diversity of past years. It’s not for lack of effort: Record labels are partnering with AI startups, licensing music to social media platforms and looking for new ways to engage with big spending superfans. But emerging categories remain just that — emerging — while other categories don’t yet provide much of a revenue boost. On-demand streaming turned around the industry, made music into an appealing asset class for investors and allowed handfuls of companies to go public. But where does it go from here?
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Here are five takeaways from the report.
The U.S. market is more reliant on paid subscriptions than ever.
Revenue from paid subscriptions from premium music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music totaled $10.15 billion and accounted for 59.3% of total recorded music revenues in 2023, an increase from 57.8% in 2022 (and far higher than percentages seen during the preceding years: 57.2% in 2021, 57.4% in 2020, 53.4% in 2019 and 47.3% in 2018). But U.S. labels were even more reliant on subscriptions for revenue growth, with paid subscriptions accounting for 79.4% of that growth in 2023. Ad-supported streaming — services such as TikTok and Facebook — grew 21.5%, or $56.2 million, but accounted for only 4.6% of annual growth.
New subscribers are harder to find.
For all the growth attributable to subscription services over the last decade, it might not be enough for some markets. As Billboard noted on March 15, SNEP, France’s recorded music trade group, warned that revenue growth from subscriptions “is slowing down here while our market is far from having reached maturity.” Fortunately for the United States, subscription penetration has surpassed 50% of U.S. internet users, according to MusicWatch. But the 2023 RIAA figures suggest streaming services have already picked the low-hanging fruit and will need new products to attract new customers. With far fewer new subscribers in 2023 than in previous years, labels were fortunate that Spotify raised the price for its standard individual plan in 2023. After adding 7.6 million subscribers in 2022 and 8.5 million in 2021, the U.S. market added just 5.2 million in 2023. That’s a sharp drop from the 15.1 million new subscribers gained in 2020 when pandemic restrictions caused an uptick in both music and video on-demand streaming services. Price increases by Spotify in July and Amazon Music in both January 2023 and August helped average monthly revenue per user improve to $8.74, up from $8.35 in 2022.
Advertising has stumbled.
A few years after advertising revenue surged, ad-supported streaming’s strength is probably its potential to convert some free users into paying customers. Ad-supported, on-demand streaming revenue rose just 2.3% in 2023, an even worse showing than the 3.5% improvement in 2022. Things looked much better a couple of years ago after ad-supported, on-demand streaming revenue jumped 46.7% in 2021 following a slowdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ad-supported on-demand streaming actually did better in pandemic-stricken 2020, rising 32.2% even though the bottom fell out of the ad market when brands braced for a recession by curtailing their ad spending. It was a remarkable turn of fortune for the promise of ad-supported music; after Spotify’s ad-supported revenue jumped 81% in 2021, CEO Daniel Ek said the growing online ad market bode well for India, Indonesia and other developing markets where Spotify operates. Since then, however, subscriptions — especially in mature markets like the United States — have carried the load for Spotify and others.
Social media is growing fast but remains small.
The highest growth rate of any category in 2023 came from “other ad-supported streaming,” which includes relative newcomers to licensing agreements such as TikTok. Other ad-supporting streaming jumped 21.5%, to $317.7 million, making the category about 75% as valuable as the fast-declining download and ringtone category (which was down 12.2% last year). The downside is that the category remains a small part of labels’ business:. Last year, other ad-supported streaming accounted for less than 5% of total revenue growth — about 6% as much as subscription services.
Physical sales were dependable, not explosive.
Both LPs and CDs had double-digit growth in 2023 — 10.3% for LPs and 11.3% for CDs — as physical formats benefitted from enthusiasm for vinyl collectibles and K-pop fans’ penchant for buying multiple CD variants of new releases. Total physical revenue increased by $181 million, or 10.5%, to $1.91 billion, and it has grown 66% since 2018. That more than compensated for the $60 million decline in legacy digital formats such as track and album downloads and ringtones. Still, vinyl and CD sales accounted for 14.8% of 2023’s revenue gains compared to subscriptions’ 79.4%.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has expanded its relationship with HYBE to include the exclusive digital and physical distribution rights to the company’s artists for the next 10 years. UMG will also continue to collaborate with HYBE’s Weverse to onboard more UMG signees to the superfan platform.
Scooter Braun, CEO of HYBE America, will take on new responsibilities with the new agreement. The SB Projects founder and former manager to Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and J Balvin will now oversee all promotional and marketing collaborations between HYBE and UMG in North America.
Notably, this exclusive distribution deal does not include social media sites YouTube, Meta and TikTok, allowing HYBE artists to remain on the short-form video app despite UMG’s current licensing feud with TikTok.
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The announcement builds upon the already established relationship between HYBE and UMG which started in 2017 with a partnership that gave UMG distribution rights to HYBE’s BTS in Japan. In late 2021, HYBE expanded the deal to grant UMG’s Geffen Records distribution rights for BTS in the United States and other regions, moving their U.S. distribution over from Sony Music’s Columbia Records.
Geffen and HYBE also worked together via a joint venture to put together the Netflix and YouTube streaming documentary series The Debut: Dream Academy in which the two music companies work together to form an American girl group using HYBE’s K-pop methodology.
Last year, BMG also moved some of its distribution to Universal Music. In October, the company announced that it would move its physical distribution to UMG’s Commercial Services divison, starting in the second quarter of 2024. It will be fully transitioned by the end of 2024.
“A partnership of this magnitude only comes together when both sides are equally committed to continued growth,” says Bang Si-Hyuk, Chairman of HYBE. “UMG is an iconic music company and together with HYBE, the potential is endless. We are certain that this will expand our global footprint, while benefiting our fans, artists, and labels.”
“Chairman Bang, Scooter Braun and Jiwon Park have brought an innovative and progressive vision to the industry that underscores music’s global power,” adds Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group. “With the opportunities in engaging the superfan via their groundbreaking Weverse model, we’re thrilled to grow and expand our platform business collaboration as we evolve together leading the music industry’s evolution.”
“This incredible partnership between our companies will ensure mutual benefits and collaborations for the fans, teams, artists, and labels around the world,” says Braun, CEO of HYBE America. “The opportunity created here not only allows us to help our current roster, but grow opportunities for independent artists and labels globally. I’ve known and respected Sir Lucian Grainge for many years, and alongside chairman Bang and HYBE CEO Jiwon Park, we look forward to the undeniable opportunities that will come from this partnership as we together grow the music industry’s future.”
Multiple Grammy-winning jazz guitarist-vocalist George Benson is rejoining the Warner Music Group (WMG). In addition to new music arriving later this year, the legendary artist and WMG are celebrating the reunion with a previously unreleased video featuring Benson in a live performance of the track “Lady Blue” in the late ‘70s. Explore Explore See latest […]
Paulo Londra has signed a new recording deal with Argentine indie Dale Play Records, Billboard has learned. The new deal will have Londra releasing new music under Dale Play, a label that has specialized in young, urban leaning artists from Argentina and whose roster includes producer Bizarrap, rapper Duki and urban/pop act Nicki Nicole, who all have scored major global hits. As with all Dale Play signings, Londra will be distributed via Sony’s The Orchard.
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Londra, 25, was one of the core pioneers of Argentina’s burgeoning urban and trap movement when he exploded onto the scene in 2019 with his debut album, Homerun. Signed to indie Big Ligas and distributed by Warner, Londra, with a sweet, distinctive voice and look that contrasted with his freestyle rhymes, was an immediate sensation whose music was able to cross over from Argentina to the world. Homerun debuted and peaked at No. 12 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums and at No. 10 on Latin Rhythm albums.
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After this quick success, however, Londra entered into a lengthy, multi-million dollar dispute with Big Ligas partners Cristian (Kristo) Salazar and renown producer and artist Daniel Oviedo (Ovy on the Drums). Big Ligas alleged breach of contract while Londra filed his own suit accusing Salazar and Oviedo of fraud and negligent representation.
The dispute was finally settled nearly two years later in a Miami courtroom, but until then, Londra didn’t release new music. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but both parties issued a statement at the time saying they had “resolved their differences.”
Londra then signed directly with Warner Music Latina in March of 2022 and released his second album, an EP titled Back to the Game, which features collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Travis Barker, Timbaland, Feid and Duki. A first single, “Plan A,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Argentina’s Hot 100 chart.
The rapper and singer has been working on new music and is set to release new material in 2024 under Dale Play. He continues to be managed by Buena.
Dasha, the singer-songwriter behind the viral hit “Austin,” has signed a label deal with Warner Records.
“We met with every label, and all of the labels were incredible,” Dasha tells Billboard of selecting Warner Records. “It was a difficult decision, but Warner just felt like they had the most heart. Everyone on that team are genuinely fans of the music. It just came down to a gut feeling. They were so passionate about my songwriting, which is my priority. First and foremost, I’m a songwriter and they champion my storytelling.”
“Dasha is a star,” says Warner Records co-chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck via email. “She’s a force of nature when she walks in the room, she has real passion, significant talent, clear vision, and really strong music that extends far beyond ‘Austin.’”
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In November 2023, as an independent artist, Dasha released “Austin,” a mesh of vengeful lyrics and immense dance grooves, in which she declares that while she hightails it to Los Angeles, her ex-lover will “still be here, drunk, washed up in Austin.”
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“Austin” spiked on TikTok earlier this year before surging up the Spotify Viral 50 chart. The song now resides at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, while Dasha is at No. 11 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. The song comes from Dasha’s eight-song project What Happens Now?, which came out Feb. 16. “Austin” is also the soundtrack to a corresponding line dance launched by Dasha via a TikTok video last month. To date, “Austin” has earned nearly 450,000 unique video creations on the platform.
The song is resonating on other outlets as well. “It’s been surreal because the song hasn’t slowed down. Yesterday, we did 2.2 million streams on Spotify alone,” says Dasha, who is managed by Alex Lunt of Type A Management.
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Dasha was raised in San Luis Obispo, California, and is now based in Nashville. She wrote her first song at age 13, inspired by her love of country, pop, rock, and Americana, with influences including Kacey Musgraves, SZA, Tyler Childers and Noah Kahan. Dasha enrolled at Nashville’s Belmont University, but after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she returned to California. After releasing the 17-track R&B/pop-oriented album Dirty Blonde in 2023, she reconnected with her love of country music.
She wrote “Austin” in early 2023, with co-writers Adam Wendler, Cheyenne Rose Arnspiger and Kenneth Heidelman.
“Once we kind of got the idea and the chords going, the song flew out in less than an hour,” Dasha recalls. “It just felt natural and everyone I showed that song to after that session was just like, ‘This is going to be a really big song.’ I never doubted it once and no one else did and we were right.”
Warner Records plans to initially take “Austin” to country radio, working in tandem with the promotion team at Warner Music Nashville. This same strategy recently yielded a No. 1 Country Airplay hit for Warner Records artist Warren Zeiders with “Pretty Little Poison.”
“We’ll take this to country radio first, but then we will also take it to pop radio because it is a global song and it deserves that,” Dasha says. “So, I think we are going to work both angles.”
“It’s a two-pronged approach,” Bay-Schuck says. “Obviously, it is everyone’s goal to make ‘Austin’ one of the biggest songs in the world, but never at the sacrifice of telling the artist’s story and solidifying the artist’s proposition. The building of a proper foundation is critical to the mission of never letting a song become bigger than the artist. Our artist development approach will work towards Dasha being accepted and respected by both country audiences and pop audiences, alike.”
It’s not only fans who have taken notice of Dasha’s chart-busting success with “Austin.” She notes that several artists — in the country genre and beyond — have reached out and shown support, but also interest in collaborating.
Dasha says a duet version of “Austin” could potentially be on the horizon. “We’re just trying to figure out what the right collaboration is,” Dasha says. “We’re in no rush, because this song is really just starting, so I think we will wait and see what opportunities come up. I want it to be organic and not a planned business thing — I want to expand the life of the song and give it a new twist.”
Dasha made her television debut of “Austin” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 21. Looking ahead, Dasha will make her debut at California’s Stagecoach Music Festival, with performances at Hangout Music Festival, CMA Fest, Lollapalooza and Country Calling Festival set for later this year.
Though she is now signed with a major label, Dasha praises the independent collective that has helped propel the song thus far, including Type A Management and King Publicity.
“Everything you see now is because of the independent, small team of people we put together who believe in me and the song. As a country artist, to be on the cover of the [Spotify] Pop Rising and all this crazy stuff, has been mind-blowing and bigger than I ever could have imagined. I’m so, so grateful.”
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The IFPI’s annual figure for global recorded music revenue, announced Thursday (Mar. 21) for 2023, is the gold standard for tracking the health of the music business. It’s the number most often cited in corporate reports, market research and media articles. It’s also a bit outdated.
Traditionally, record labels have sold and streamed music, secured synch licenses and collected performance and neighboring rights royalties. But a modern record label also collects expanded rights revenues — from multi-right, 360-degree recording contracts — by taking a share of artists’ income from merchandise, touring and branding, among other sources. Those expanded rights revenues aren’t part of the IFPI’s annual revenue tally, but MIDiA Research includes that — and more — in its annual estimate.
MIDiA’s more fulsome figure for global recorded music revenue in 2023 was $35.1 billion, nearly 23% higher than the IFPI’s $28.6 billion. According to MIDiA, which tells Billboard its estimate came from publicly available information and interviews, expanded rights revenue totaled $3.5 billion in 2023.
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Some expanded rights revenue is in plain sight. Universal Music Group, for example, took in 706 million euros ($764 million) of merchandising revenue from Bravado, its wholly owned merchandise company, in 2023. For other companies, expanded rights are harder to pin down. Warner Music Group had $744 million of artist services and expanded-rights revenue in 2023. WMG’s expanded rights includes merchandising, VIP ticketing, fan clubs, concert promotion and management, according to its latest quarterly report.
Neither global revenue figure is right or wrong; they’re just different. The IFPI’s revenue figures reflect how labels monetize the rights associated with master recordings through sales, streaming and licensing. MIDiA’s revenue figure acknowledges the role of record labels has expanded far beyond monetization of masters.
Even the term “expanded rights” is problematic because it suggests merchandise and branding isn’t central to a record label’s mission. That isn’t necessarily the case in 2024. Consider the wave of K-pop companies expanding globally out of South Korea. HYBE, home of boy band BTS, is a hybrid record label, talent agency and management company with a slow, painstaking artist development process and a business model that captures far more than recorded music sales. In 2023, 55% of HYBE’s revenue came from sources other than recorded music. Concerts accounted for roughly 16% of revenue, merchandise and licensing were 15%, and ads and appearances were 7%. In fact, MIDiA estimated that Korean labels — including SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and Starship Entertainment — accounted for nearly 70% of non-major-label expanded rights revenue.
Another difference between the IFPI and MIDiA reports is the latter’s emphasis on the fast-growing independent artist community. Easy access to recording tools and distribution has gotten the everyday artist’s recordings on digital platforms around the world. MIDiA estimates there was $1.8 billion in “artist direct” revenue in 2023. Artist direct is a category of self-publishing, independent artists who use self-serve platforms like DistroKid and TuneCore, and MIDiA’s 2023 Creator Survey estimated there are 6.4 million artists in this segment. While 38% of these independent artists aspire to be full-time musicians, 36% do not expect to focus on music as a sole career. Deducting expanded rights and artist direct revenues from MIDiA’s $35.1 billion estimate narrows the difference between that and the IFPI’s $28.6 million figure.
Another difference between the two reports stems from MIDiA’s inclusion of revenue from production libraries in its synch revenue figure. Production music — which spans everything from beat marketplace BeatStars to online library Epidemic Sound — often exists outside of the record label system that traditionally develops and markets artists. Unlike artist-oriented music, production music is often nameless and faceless content that advertisers and other content creators license for its specific sound and style rather than artist name recognition. Lacking star power is the point, however: Production music libraries are increasingly popular amongst content creators in need of affordable background music.
Broader measurements will be crucial for tracking the recorded music business of the future. Record labels will pursue “superfans” through products and services that may not produce typical sales and streams. Artificial intelligence will create new licensing opportunities. Greater adoption of the K-pop model will change what it means to be a record label. When that happens broadly, $28.6 billion of annual revenue will be a starting point. Judging by MiDIA’s 2023 report, it already is.
In the mid-2000s, indie rock was booming, and major labels swooped in to sign many of the genre’s biggest acts. Two decades later, MGMT,The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse, among others, have emerged from those deals into a wildly different music industry. For artists who are coming out of long contracts, “it’s a whole new era,” says Kirk Harding, a longtime manager and co-owner of label and management company Bad Habit.
Recording contracts changed drastically between 2004 and 2024. There is also a new set of players for artists to choose from — not just the major labels and prominent indies, but a number of distribution companies that offer some level of services. “You can cherry pick what you want to be in your contract to some degree,” says Scott Brooks, the longtime manager of The Flaming Lips, which is currently without a label contract after fulfilling their deal with Warner Records. (Paramore is also a free agent.)
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“If we end up signing,” Brooks adds, “it’ll be a different kind of record deal than what we would have signed even a decade ago.”
Throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s, the majority of major label acts signed low-royalty deals and typically gave up ownership of three to five albums for a long period (often forever). On top of that, many agreed to what are known as “360 deals,” in which the label also participates in income from merchandise, sponsorships, ticket sales and more.
In those days, labels could get these kinds of terms because it was difficult, if not impossible, for artists to get national exposure without a record company’s help. Now, artists can build a global presence before partnering with any label. That means they have the negotiating power to ask for, and sometimes receive, terms that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. As a result, industry expectations around deal-making have shifted.
“I don’t think I’ve done a deal with anybody in the last few years where the artist hasn’t had at least 50% of the profit,” Harding says. “The new wars to wage are making sure that the deals and the reversions are short term, so that the artist can get through the deal and get back these new recordings quickly.” (If a band licenses its album to a label for 10 years, for example, after that time, the album reverts back to the band, usually conditional on recoupment of the deal.)
All that said, an artist’s leverage in record deal negotiations stems in large part from their ability to generate streams. And this doesn’t always work out in favor of veteran rock bands; rock is the fifth most popular genre when ranked by percentage of current streams, according to Luminate. “There aren’t as many options as one would think right now given what’s going on with rock music and streaming,” says Jordan Kurland, who manages Death Cab for Cutie.
Still, these acts have mostly proven that they can build and maintain an audience — especially on the road, a challenge for many artists who came of age in an era of passive streaming engagement. And some of them have a level of cultural cachet that’s attractive to labels, who always have to think about what will entice the next generation of signings. Friendly deal terms help, as does having artists on the roster that young acts look up to.
Whenever an artist who signed a traditional contract with a major label completes the deal, their old record company typically still has one hook in them because they still likely own the act’s previous sound recordings. “If the label wants you to stay, they have the power to say, ‘We can adjust the royalty rate on your catalog,’ or in rare cases, take your recordings out of perpetuity and set reversions so you eventually get them back,” Harding says.
“That always comes up now in renegotiations,” adds an executive at a prominent indie label. “Artists say, ‘Cool, we’ll re-sign with you, but we want those recordings back in 10 years.’”
This leverage is conditional, of course, on the label wanting to keep the band. In the case of The Flaming Lips, “after American Head, we started the conversation of, was Warner gonna sign us again?” Brooks recalls. “Is Warner even interested? It really came back that they weren’t, to be honest.”
Some veteran bands might still want to find a major label partner for particular services. While radio’s influence continues to diminish, promotion remains expensive, and the majors still have the most radio muscle. “Radio is still a big part of the Death Cab picture,” Kurland says. During “the last Death Cab campaign in ticket sales, for example, if you look at markets that no longer had an alternative radio station, it [negatively] impacted our shows.”
“Could you sell less records and keep more of the money?” Kurland asks. “Yes. But are there other aspects of your business that might suffer by doing that?”
Gandhar Savur, an entertainment attorney who represents Built to Spill and other bands, asks a similar question — but he’s more optimistic about the answer. “If they’re doing really good business as a band, they can sell less records but retain the lion’s share of income and make so much more money,” he says. “That’s why you’re seeing a lot of bands go into situations where they’re no longer doing major label deals or even your standard 50-50 indie deal. They’re looking for something that’s more akin to a label services deal — which is a distribution deal with some services added for publicity and promotion.”
This is the route taken by The Decemberists, who previously released five albums on Capitol, including The King Is Dead, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. For its upcoming album, the band opted to sign with Thirty Tigers, which is distributed by Sony’s The Orchard and offers some services, including radio.
“We found an option that provides label investment and infrastructure without compromising on ownership, and that gives the band and their team real autonomy with the marketing,” says Jason Colton, who manages the band, via email. “It’s a lot of responsibility for a larger release, but ultimately, it’s more investment, more control and outright ownership than we were going to find in a more traditional deal.”
Outside of the majors and major-owned distributors, indie label executives say they have also seen an uptick in interest from veterans leaving majors in recent years. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs signed a deal with Secretly Canadian in 2022 after years of working with Interscope, for example, while PJ Harvey released an album on Partisan in 2023 after a 20-plus-year affiliation with Island Records. MGMT’s new album Loss of Life came out in February through Mom + Pop.
Potential label partners have their own calculations to make. “It’s hard for any label if you only have the new record and someone else has all the catalog, because a new record always drives catalog listening, but you’re not participating in the income,” the indie label executive says. “But there’s always been a thing where labels need and want important artists, even if they’re expensive, to attract other artists.”
“A lot of these bands are in a good position so they can get favorable terms,” the person continues. “Maybe they only do a one-record deal. The hope is we do a good job, the artist is happy, and we renew that contract. Over time, we work with them long term.”
Additional reporting by Melinda Newman.
