Record Labels
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TOKYO — A court ruling in South Korea on Friday added further confusion to K-pop’s biggest corporate shakeup in years: the rollercoaster battle for control over SM Entertainment, the once-industry leader bedeviled by corporate governance concerns, which rival HYBE is eager to take control of.
The Seoul Eastern District Court granted a provisionary injunction to block SM from issuing new shares, which Kakao, a Korean tech giant, had agreed to buy as part of a partnership deal between the two companies. The court ruled that SM’s decision was taken without shareholders’ consent, accepting the argument from SM founder Lee Soo Man, who has been battling SM’s management over the future of the company he created in 1995.
The ruling marks a win for HYBE, K-pop’s largest agency and home to boy band BTS, which in recent weeks acquired a 14.8% stake of SM shares from Lee – and announced plans to take control and overhaul SM’s management and board of directors. HYBE was offering shareholders a premium to boost its stake up to 40%, but the market price has since exceeded the offer price. SM’s management has slammed HYBE’s acquisition as a “hostile takeover.”
Following the ruling, HYBE, in a statement, thanked the court for the “appropriate” ruling. “With this result, everything should now fall back into place,” the company said.
In a statement from his lawyers, Lee said the decision “clearly confirmed that the resolution by SM’s current management to issue new shares and convertible bonds was made in an unlawful attempt to influence the company’s control and governance.” The attorneys added that “if SM’s current management further attempts to commit unlawful acts in the future, we will respond firmly by taking appropriate legal actions.”
A Kakao spokesperson said late Friday that the company didn’t immediately have a comment but “plans to issue a response after internal discussions.” A SM spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached.
Lee and the company he founded are widely considered trailblazers, developing K-pop’s signature formula of visually driven performances and dance pop, and tirelessly knocking on overseas markets’ doors. But in recent years SM’s output has slowed, which its management has blamed on the founder-led single-pipeline structure.
SM’s co-CEO Lee Sung-su, a nephew of the founder’s late wife, has lashed out at the uncle with a litany of accusations, from using artists’ music for personal gains to tax evasion through a Hong Kong-based paper company. Shareholders in recent years have also objected to the founder’s ballooning producer fees, which he was receiving via a separate entity he owned.
Kakao in February agreed with SM’s management to buy 9.05% of SM shares, as part of a wider partnership agreement. The messenger-app-and-search-engine company, which has successfully expanded into e-finance and music, was going to distribute SM’s music and related content on its platforms. Kakao has also acquired several entertainment agencies in recent years, leading some, including HYBE, to argue Kakao was trying to gain managerial control over SM. Both SM executives and Kakao have rejected the claim.
With an annual shareholders meeting scheduled for March 31, SM and HYBE are expected to spend the coming weeks courting SM investors, which includes South Korea’s National Pension Service.
RCA kicked off 2023 on a hot streak — this week, SZA’s album S.O.S. spent its 10th week on the Billboard 200, dominating the early part of the year (and she was also named Woman of the Year at Billboard’s Women in Music event this week as well). And this week RCA also landed a double feat atop the charts as P!nk’s latest album, Trustfall, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with the majority of its first-week units coming from sales.
It’s the ninth top 10 album of P!nk’s career, and her first since 2019’s Hurts 2B Human, while the single “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” became the artist’s 30th Pop Airplay hit and 35th entry on the Hot 100, milestone marks for a decorated career. And the continued success of P!nk and her latest project help earn RCA Records’ senior vp/head of marketing Val Pensa the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Pensa discusses the marketing effort behind the latest P!nk album, the importance of setting up a worldwide campaign for an artist with such a global reach and fan base, and her long history of working with the artist, which stretches back years. “I learned very early on that P!nk is a fierce competitor who is willing to take risks,” Pensa says. “She is always open to evolving and growing based on the ever-changing marketplace and has a hunger to learn. I often joke that she could teach a masterclass in how to be a global superstar, but all jokes aside, she is one of the smartest, hardest-working, businesswomen out there and that shows in everything she does.”
This week, P!nk’s Trustfall debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, her ninth top 10 album on the chart. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
P!nk is a global superstar, so one of the key elements in her campaign is always to make sure that the album is set up properly in every single market around the world to leverage the best of the best in terms of global opportunities and exposure. We have an amazing partner in Roger Davies, who manages P!nk, and puts in a great deal of work to help us make sure that all partners around the world have access to music, understand P!nk’s vision and to ensure we have the right activations in place to support the music. This is a project that every single department at RCA touches, and my job, along with that of my marketing partner in crime on this project, Aaron Stern, is to work to ensure that timelines, assets and vision are communicated to the team at large to allow everyone to deliver top-notch plans within their respective fields.
This is her first album since 2019. How did you approach the marketing campaign for this album?
We had the exciting task of creating a well-rounded campaign that incorporated traditional media, digital activations, in-person activations and a lot of fan-focused events. We really honed in on creating a campaign that would reach P!nk’s massive audience and then from there developed a marketing strategy that would engage and bring in new fans. Shortform content is a sweet spot for P!nk and we had a lot of fun getting creative in that space. Aaron and I worked with the team at large to develop ideas around the “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” music video which lead to us creating the hotline and infomercial for Vicious Bitches Chipses, which was a fun companion piece for the music video and generated additional excitement upon launch.
One of P!nk’s most notable and memorable qualities is her ability to move people through her songwriting and vocal performances. Alex John, who spearhead’s P!nk’s press here, crafted an incredible campaign that allowed P!nk to touch viewers through traditional television performances and interviews, which in addition to reaching her core audience, also served as the catalyst for additional conversation around the album.
Her single “Never Not Gonna Dance Again” also became her 30th Pop Airplay chart entry and 35th song to reach the Hot 100. How big is radio to the full campaign and rollout?
Radio has historically always been super supportive of P!nk and is a major way for us to reach her audience around the world. The RCA radio team put together an incredible radio strategy to support this campaign. We always engage with radio early on; in this case the radio programmers were among the first to get to hear the album — we hosted a playback at our RCA Studio space and P!nk got the opportunity to see the programmers in person and share her vision for the album and her influences and meaning behind her songs with them directly.
This album also debuted with 59,000 of its 74,500 units coming from sales. In a streaming-dominant business, how do you still make sure that record sales are prioritized in a campaign?
For a campaign like this we spend a lot of time thinking about who the audience is and how to reach them and give them what they want. In this case, we had every physical configuration on a global scale that was possible and put a long pre-order window into place that allowed us to really double down on marketing the album date, the creative and the configurations with all the various retail partners. The support has been incredible, which speaks to the long-standing relationships that P!nk has made across the industry throughout her career.
You’ve worked with P!nk for years. What have you learned over that period working with her that you applied to the rollout of this album?
I learned very early on that P!nk is a fierce competitor who is willing to take risks. She is always open to evolving and growing based on the ever-changing marketplace and has a hunger to learn. I often joke that she could teach a masterclass in how to be a global superstar, but all jokes aside, she is one of the smartest, hardest-working, businesswomen out there and that shows in everything she does. As it relates to our marketing approach in the rollout, we worked to present a plan where P!nk is undeniably everywhere, knowing full well that she will always bring her A game and deliver.
You’ve been head of marketing at RCA for around 18 months now. What is your marketing philosophy for the label? Are there any good examples you can point to that illustrate that?
The marketing team constantly hears me talking about “the art of the campaign.” Every song, every album, every artist deserves a fully thought-out campaign that is targeted to support both the artists’ vision and tailored to reach their audience. One of the best examples of that is Doja Cat’s Planet Her campaign that helped us to keep the album in the top 10 well over a year after album release.
Previous Executive of the Week: Lallie Jones of 300 Entertainment
Universal Music Group’s revenues surged 21.6% to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for all of 2022, boosted by strong returns from recorded music subscriptions and streaming.
The world’s biggest music company reported the revenue its recorded music division gets from subscriptions and streaming rose by nearly 19% to over 5.3 billion euros ($5.6 billion), while digital revenues in its music publishing division rose by nearly 50% to over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) in 2022, all helping it achieve a nearly 15% uptick in operating profit.
UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge said the earnings were evidence the company’s diversified revenue streams has made it an example of the music business’ steady strength amid a darkening economic outlook.
“We continue to successfully manage the company for long term growth while driving strong results in our core business — developing great artists and introducing their music to fans around the world,” said Grainge. “Our roster … achieved enormous commercial and creative success in markets around the world. We also worked to evolve and expand relationships with our existing DSP partners as well as establish new ones in fitness, health, gaming and the metaverse, driving the industry forward though leadership, creativity, innovation and collaboration.”
UMG was home to seven of the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, 15 of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) top 20 global artists and four of Spotify’s top five global artists in 2022.
UMG reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 19.4% to 2.14 million euros ($2.26 billion) for 2022 from a year ago. Adjusted EBIDTA margin fell by 0.4 percentage points to 20.6%.
The company’s free cash flow increased by a whopping 70.2% to 638 million euros ($675 million) largely from the growth in adjusted EBITDA, according to the company’s filings.
UMG’s Earnings Highlights:
Revenue rose 21.6%, or 13.6% in constant currency, to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for 2022 from 8.5 billion euros ($9 billion) in 2021
EBIDTA rose 20.3%, or 12.5% in constant currency, to 2.03 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in 2022 from 1.69 billion euros ($1.78 billion) in 2021
EBITDA margin fell to 19.6% in 2022 from 19.8% in 2021
Adjusted EBITDA rose 19.4%, or 11.7% in constant currency, to 2.14 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in 2022 from 1.79 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in 2021
Operating profit rose 14.8%, or 7.9% in constant currency, to 1.6 billion euros ($1.69 billion) in 2022 from 1.39 billion euros ($1.48 billion) in 2021
Net debt fell 10% to 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in 2022 from 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in 2021
Free cash flow rose 70.2% to 1.09 billion euros ($1.15 billion) in 2022 from 638 million euros ($675 million) in 2021
Recorded Music Division Highlights:
Recorded music revenue overall rose 16.3%, or 8.8% in constant currency, to 7.9 billion euros in 2022 from 6.8 billion in 2021
Subscriptions and streaming revenue rose 18.7%, or 9.8% in constant currency, to 5.3 billion euros in 2022 from 4.5 billion euros in 2021
Physical revenues rose 7.7%, or 4.1% in constant currency, to 1.2 billion euros in 2022 from 1.12 billion in 2021
License and other revenue rose 19.6%, or 13.4% in constant currency, to 1 billion euros in 2022 from 896 million in 2021
Downloads and other digital revenue rose 4%, or fell 2.9% in constant currency, to 337 million euros in 2022 compared to 324 million in 2021
Music Publishing Highlights:
Music publishing revenues overall rose 34.8%, 26.3% in constant currency, to 1.8 billion euros in 2022 from 1.3 billion euros in 2021
Performance revenues rose 24.9%, or 18.2% in constant currency, to 371 million euros in 2022 from 297 million euros in 2021
Synchronization revenues rose 18.6%, or 10.3% in constant currency, to 236 million euros in 2022 from 199 million euros in 2021
Digital revenues rose 49%, or 38.7% in constant currency, to 1.04 billion euros in 2022 from 698 million euros in 2021
Women in Music honoree Doreen Schimk has one of the more interesting backstories in the music business: She escaped from the former East Germany as a teenager.
In the late 1980s, she and her sister Susann, both promising athletes, went to an East German training camp where she met a teenage boy she liked. Schimk took a bigger step than most girls her age, though, sneaking across the border in his car and moving to Hamburg in what was then West Germany. In 2011, this journey became the subject of the fictionalized German film Westwind.
In 1990, not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Schimk moved to London, and later New York, where she says she “picked up English on the street.” “But I was obsessed with music – I was a DJ for a few years – and I thought this was the place I could get into the business, but I didn’t know the difference between an agent and a manager and a label.”
Then a friend from back home called about an opening for an internship at the German indie label Edel Records. Schimk moved back within 48 hours and then spent six years learning about promotions before taking a job at Sony Music Germany – and then, eventually, at Warner Music.
In August 2021, she and Fabian Drebes were named co-presidents of Warner Music Central Europe, which oversees operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. One priority is “cultural change,” she says. “There’s a huge opportunity to create a new way of working in terms of changing the mindset and breaking these barriers in terms of hierarchies.” Another is focusing more on dance music and German language hip-hop.
“With dance and EDM we have a huge opportunity to grow globally,” she says. For hip-hop, she and Drebes founded Atlantic Records Germany “to be a new door for German rap artists,” she says. “It’s based in Berlin” – Warner Music’s German headquarters is in Hamburg – “and it’s growing out of the culture there.” Change takes time, she says, but Warner Germany has shown strength this year on the singles chart.
As for the movie, she recalls, “I was in my 30s, sitting with my twin sister Susann on a balcony in Berlin, having a drink, and one of the guys we were with said, ‘Why don’t you make a movie about it?’ — [Her sister is a movie producer] — “From such a young age when I made that decision,” she says, “being fearless has always been a driver for me.”
The 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards take place tonight (March 1) at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. The event will livestream here on Billboard.com and via Billboard’s YouTube account.
Fadia Kader has joined Troy Carter and Suzy Ryoo‘s Venice Music as executive vp and GM, the company announced Wednesday (Mar. 1).
“The team at Venice Music and I share a passion for changing the perception of what it takes to be successful as a DIY artist,” Kader said in a statement. “I’m excited to partner with Troy, Suzy and the team as we continue the dedicated work of educating, empowering and elevating the independent artist experience.”
Kader previously held the position of global head of strategic partnerships at Clubhouse. Before that, she was part of Instagram’s music partnerships team, and she has also worked at Twitter and Def Jam Records. She was named to Billboard‘s 40 Under 40 list in 2019.
Her new role will be wide-ranging, according to Venice Music’s announcement: “Leading teams across A&R, artist marketing, sync and community, streaming/commerce, and Web3” as well as helping to “drive the global A&R strategy, source and secure key music partnerships, and provide counsel on the products and tools [necessary] to help artists build and grow their careers.”
“Fadia has built a reputation as a trusted leader and trailblazer within the artist community,” said Venice co-founder and CEO Carter in a statement. “She’s a unique bridge between music culture and technology and will be a valuable leader within Venice.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Fadia to our team and community,” added Venice Music co-founder and president Ryoo. “Her choice to join Venice Music is a resounding vote of confidence towards artist ownership, creative freedom and the clear opportunity to make a generational impact in music.”
Carter and Ryoo founded Venice Music in 2021. “Our goal has been to help independent artists succeed on par with major label counterparts,” Carter said last year. “To sustain that success, artists need to feel educated, informed, and supported. Over the last 18 months, we’ve attracted high-quality partners and have begun to make a real impact in the independent community.”
U.K. labels trade body BPI has appointed Jo Twist as its new chief executive, replacing Geoff Taylor who exited the London-based organization in December after more than 15 years at the helm.
Twist has been CEO of Ukie, the U.K. trade body for the games and interactive entertainment industry, since 2012 and was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to the creative industries in 2016. BPI’s chief strategy officer, Sophie Jones, will continue as interim chief executive until Twist takes up her role in July.
The labels trade body celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and represents the U.K. arms of all three major labels, as well as more than 500 British independents. BPI says its total membership accounts for approximately 85% of legal music sales in the United Kingdom and around one in 10 streams globally.
Last year, a record 159 billion music tracks were streamed in the U.K., up 8.2% on 2021, and the equivalent of 166 million albums were streamed or purchased across digital and physical formats, up 4.3% on the previous 12 months, according to BPI figures.
The U.K. is the world’s third biggest recorded music market behind the U.S. and Japan with sales of just over $1.8 billion in trade value, according to IFPI’s 2022 Global Music Report.
In a statement announcing her appointment, Twist said she was looking forward to supporting BPI label members and the wider music community “in fully realizing the value of music – growing the market, boosting exports and ensuring the recognition and backing the industry deserves.”
“The industry’s talent, so passionately nurtured by innovative major and independent record labels, is world leading, and the BPI plays an important role in creating an environment where labels and their artists can thrive,” said Twist, who sits on a number of industry and charity boards, including the Creative Industries Council.
Prior to joining Ukie, Twist held senior roles at the BBC and commercial U.K. television station Channel 4 and was awarded a doctorate by Newcastle University in 2001. BPI chair Yolanda Brown said the incoming chief executive’s “fresh perspective” and “rich breadth of experience” across the creative industries will prove invaluable to the organization’s members “as we navigate great changes in our industry.”
Among Twist’s duties as head of BPI is overseeing the BRIT Awards, the U.K.’s biggest annual music awards show, and the Mercury Prize, its independent-leaning sister event, recognizing what judges determine to be the 12 best albums of the year by U.K. and Irish artists.
BPI also runs a number of international trade functions, including its annual LA Sync Mission event, and administers the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS), which awards U.K.-based indie artists and labels grants of between 5,000 pounds ($6,000) and 50,000 pounds ($60,000) to help them break international markets.
In 2021, more than 60 U.K. artists whose music was streamed at least 20 million times worldwide received funding from the scheme, including Bicep, Beabadoobee, Wolf Alice and Rina Sawayama.
In the latest episode of the battle of K-pop giants, HYBE, the home of BTS, took some swings at SM Entertainment’s business partnership with tech company Kakao, owner of a popular messaging app, Kakao M, and music streaming service Melon.
On Feb. 6, Kakao announced it would purchase a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment, whose roster includes NCT 127 and Red Velvet. Three days later, HYBE announced it would acquire a 14.8% stake in SM Entertainment by purchasing the majority of shares of the company’s founder and legendary K-pop producer, Lee Soo Man. Following a campaign by an activist investor for SM Entertainment to reduce Lee’s role, the company canceled his producer contract on Dec. 31, 2022.
SM Entertainment called HYBE’s investment “hostile M&A” and said its partnership with Kakao is “the first step” in its long-term transformation plan. HYBE sees SM Entertainment’s relationship with Kakao as one-sided and bad for shareholders.
“The contract between SM and Kakao, which grants acquisition of convertible bonds, undermines shareholder interest,” HYBE said in a statement Friday (Feb. 24). A clause grants Kakao or Kakao Entertainment the ability to “continuously increase its stake in SM” by allocating stocks issued through a paid-in capital increase to a third party, HYBE stated. “This will dilute the value of stocks owned by all shareholders other than Kakao or Kakao Entertainment.”
HYBE further argued the contract would hurt SM Entertainment’s chance of attracting “new strategic investors” and make it easier for Kakao “to seize control of SM’s management rights.”
HYBE also took issue with the Kakao’s role in managing SM Entertainment artists and distributing their music, arguing the contract gives Kakao an “unexpiring, exclusive” right to distribute SM Entertainment’s recorded music and allow Kakao Entertainment to manage SM Entertainment artists in North and South America.
In turn, SM Entertainment subsidiary SM Life Design will produce the recordings of Kakao Entertainment artists and provide a music video shooting set. “Compared with the important business rights that SM is handing over,” HYBE stated, “the return seems unreasonably small.”
After reviewing the contract’s legal issues, HYBE “will take all necessary legal measures, both civil and criminal,” it stated.
Thomas H. Lee, a billionaire private equity investor and part of the group that acquired Warner Music from Time Warner in 2004, died Thursday (Feb. 24) in New York at age 78, his family said in a statement.
A pioneer in the private equity world, Lee was the chairman of Lee Equity and formerly the chief executive of Thomas H. Lee Partners, the namesake firm he founded in 1974. Over nearly five decades in finance, Lee invested $15 billion in hundreds of companies and transactions, including the acquisition and sale of household brands like Snapple.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a New York Police Department source, said Lee was found dead in a bathroom at his Fifth Avenue office from what first responders believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. They were responding to an emergency call placed Thursday morning by Lee’s office assistant, the WSJ reported.
“The family is extremely saddened by Tom’s death,” Lee’s family said. “Our hearts are broken. We ask that our privacy be respected and that we be allowed to grieve.”
Lee’s Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital, Providence Equity Partners and Edgar Bronfman Jr. bought Warner Music from Time Warner Inc. for $2.6 billion in 2004. The group took the company public the following year, and Lee’s firm, Bain Capital Partners and Bronfman controlled 56% of Warner’s outstanding shares when it was sold to Len Blavatnik‘s Access Industries in 2011 in a deal valued at $3.3 billion.
Lee sat on WMG’s board as a director from 2004 to 2021, when he became a director emeritus.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague Tom Lee,” Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl said in an emailed statement. “Tom made valuable contributions to WMG’s trajectory for almost two decades. Tom’s experience, wisdom, and enthusiastic support helped guide WMG through periods of major transformation, both within our company and in the music industry at large. Our condolences go out to his family and many friends.”
When Lee announced he would retire from the role of WMG board director in 2021, he described the company as having “undergone an extraordinary evolution,” and said he was gratified to have helped it transform and grow.
Lee was worth an estimated $2 billion, according to Forbes, and he was an active philanthropist involved in several New York City cultural institutions, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Museum of Modern Art.
Rising British singer PinkPantheress has been gaining recognition with a set of mixtapes and EPs that have caught the attention of fans, and the U.K. charts, over the past few years. And while she had been bubbling under in the United States, she had yet to crack the Hot 100 until this month, when her single with Ice Spice, “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2,” went viral and debuted at No. 14 on the Hot 100 before rocketing to No. 4 this week. The track is the first Hot 100 Top 10 for both artists, as well as the first duet by two acts who are each making their first Hot 100 Top 10 appearance to reach that mark in only two weeks since February 2021.
The story of “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” started in November, when PinkPantheress’ original, solo version of the song was released and started gaining traction — where else? — on TikTok. A few months later, rising Bronx MC Ice Spice jumped on the remix and the two shot a video in New York City. Released Feb. 3, the “Pt. 2” remix exploded out of the gate, making waves not just in the United States but also globally; this week, it concurrently shot up to No. 4 on the Billboard Global 200. And that earns 300 Entertainment vp of marketing Lallie Jones the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Jones discusses the viral spark that 300 — along with its U.K. and global partners at Warner Music Group — managed to turn into a Top 5 hit, the differences between the U.S. and global marketing campaigns and the impact of radio jumping on the song, which led U.S. spins to increase 258% week over week. “One can embark on a release with what you think will and should happen, but timing and cultural appetite will always dictate the impact of a record,” she says. “The collision of PinkPantheress’ underground notoriety and mystique, mixed with Ice Spice’s ubiquity and virality, led to a pop culture explosion.”
This week, PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a liar, Pt. 2” surged to No. 4 on both the Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200 charts. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
So much about this project has been a collaborative effort amongst PinkPantheress, her management and the global team across WMG. Our goal at 300 was to utilize the remix to broaden her already growing profile and further develop her reach Stateside. PinkPantheress’ music transcends genre, but it was important in the U.S. market to establish her as a Black artist creating on her own terms. As such, we strategically secured support from social accounts that could help accelerate the cultural conversation. We also targeted influential livestreamers and enlisted creators whose reaction videos propelled the track’s consumption. The official video also played a key role in setting this release on fire as the No. 1 trending video on YouTube for 11 straight days. PinkPantheress really wanted to step into Ice Spice’s world and film in NYC with the rising directors George and Fred Buford. Zak Boumlaki, her incredible marketing lead at Warner Records U.K., and I ensured the cast reflected youth and diversity that truly resonated.
The original “Boy’s a liar” was released in November. Why did you guys want to put out this remix, and how did it come together?
The original “Boy’s a liar” sound started to go crazy on TikTok in November, and once released, the track continued its viral trajectory throughout the holidays. The U.S. and U.K. teams pushed for an additional version, believing that the song deserved a longer story. It was PinkPantheress’ decision to enlist Ice Spice for the remix. Coincidentally, Ice Spice had posted the song on her IG stories, and PinkPantheress responded to it by asking if she’d like to team up.
The song has been a smash out of the gate, becoming the first duet by two acts each making their first Top 10 appearance on the Hot 100 to reach that mark in only two weeks since February 2021. What was the marketing plan behind it?
Leading up to release, the main marketing anchor was releasing a vibrant visual that placed the two artists in the same world. Initially, we wanted to keep the collaboration a surprise, with the intention of slowly teasing the partnership on both artists’ TikTok accounts. [But] snippets of them shooting together fueled a frenzy, and, even before the partnership was revealed, there was a bubbling conversation amongst their fans fantasizing about what would happen if the two actually came together. One can embark on a release with what you think will and should happen, but timing and cultural appetite will always dictate the impact of a record. The collision of PinkPantheress’ underground notoriety and mystique, mixed with Ice Spice’s ubiquity and virality, led to a pop culture explosion.
The song is not just No. 4 in the U.S., but also globally. How did the worldwide rollout plan differ from the U.S. plan?
In [the U.S.] market, we face the common challenge of tying the artist themselves to their music, especially when they’re not from here. While other markets might have impacted radio at launch, our plan was to first focus on setting the table culturally before pursuing a commercial radio push. We had the fortune of PinkPantheress being Stateside on release weekend and were able to capture her moving around with different artists, including her linking with Ice Spice throughout the weekend. Seeing her outside in the States is all part of her establishing a true U.S. presence.
The song has grown significantly in streams (up 54%) and radio airplay (up 258%) in just its second week out. How do you plan to keep the momentum going?
There’s no ceiling for this song or PinkPantheress as a writer, producer and artist. Despite its online ascension, the radio story is only beginning and the track will see a multi-format impact in March. Radio airplay will take the song’s consumption and visibility to the next level, positioning the track as one of the most popular anthems of the year. Alongside radio, the track will sustain momentum through thoughtful digital strategy, out-of-home campaigns, and her upcoming appearances at U.S. festivals this year. Following her gut and internal compass has resulted in PinkPantheress developing into one of the most intriguing artists of this time. Our North Star is protecting her brand and supporting her vision by pursuing only the right opportunities that will take her to new heights.
BRISBANE, Australia — Three-piece Australian pop outfit Blusher is the latest signing to Atlantic Records, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
Hailing from Melbourne and formed in 2021, Blusher made all the right noises with their debut, the independently-released “Softly Spoken.”
The 2022 tune, a slice of euphoric pop, got support from national youth network Triple J and its Unearthed sister station, and it’s edging towards one million plays on Spotify, where it landed on several playlists, including New Pop Picks and Fresh Finds.
Carrie West, Atlantic senior director of A&R, admits she was “blown away” when she caught the band live. “Blusher embodies the next generation of empowered female artists – a self-contained force of nature who write and produce all of their music,” she comments, lauding their “riveting” stagecraft.
“I look forward to standing alongside them as we continue to channel that irresistible creativity and energy into great records for a global audience.”
Atlantic Records chairman & CEO Craig Kallman welcomes the group into the “Atlantic family.”
They’re among “those rare artists that you know from day one are destined for the world stage, and we’re proud to give this amazing trio the platform to amplify their unique voices and bring their personal visions to life on a global scale,” Kallman notes in a statement.
“From their voracious appetite for creation to their fastidious work ethic, they’re everything we look for in an Atlantic artist.”
Blusher’s career is guided by Powerhouse Management’s Jamie-Rose Fowler (George Alice, Japanese Wallpaper, INXS, ex-YUNGBLUD) and Charlotte Ried (Polish Club, Gretta Ray, Matt Corby, ex-Vera Blue).
The new Atlantic signing is comprised of Miranda Ward, Lauren Coutts and Jade Ingvarson-Favretto, all solo artists before forming the act during the pandemic.
They produce and write together, share vocals on many of their songs and swap instruments during live outings, which have included showcases at the Bigsound conference in Brisbane.
“We’re happy to partner with (Warner Music Australasian president) Dan Rosen and the entire Warner Australia crew to give Blusher the launching pad for what we have no doubt will be a long and successful career,” adds Atlantic’s Kallman.
To celebrate their introduction to major label-world, the trio today (Feb. 24) releases “Dead End,” just their second single — and first with Atlantic.
It’s a crystal-clear pop experience with a chewy bassline and dreamy melodies.
Stream “Dead End” and watch the official music video below.