Record Labels
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Sony Music has set up a joint venture with label ONEWAY. Records focused on English-language repertoire from Israel.
ONEWAY. Records, which was founded by music executives and brothers Josh and Sam Fluxgold, who formerly managed Dennis Lloyd, the Israeli indie-pop artist known for his 2016 single “Nevermind” (released by Warner Italy).
The new venture will work to discover and develop new artists from Israel with “international appeal,” Sony says in a press release.
The Fluxgolds discovered Lloyd and helped guide his international success, which has featured Gold and Platinum records across several markets and sold-out world tours in the U.S., Europe and Australia. “Nevermind” peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2018 and reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.
“Josh and Sam have a proven track record for breaking Israeli talent abroad,” said Daniel Lieberberg, president of Sony Music Entertainment Continental Europe and Africa, in a statement.
The Fluxgolds will remain in Toronto, Canada, where they run ONEWAY., a Sony Music spokesperson confirms.
“During our time working in the Israeli market, we recognized the substantial talent that is being overlooked and underrepresented in the region,” the Fluxgold brothers said in a joint statement. “Together with our partners at Sony Music, we look forward to showcasing the unique Israeli sound and artists that the world has been missing.”
Sony will continue to lead its Israel business from its Continental Europe and Africa Head Office in Berlin, a spokesperson says, in contrast to its two main rivals, which have set up operations there over the past three years. Universal Music Group opened an office in Tel Aviv in 2020, becoming the first major label to set up standalone operations in the country; it is led by Yoram Mokady, a lawyer and entertainment executive. Universal Music Publishing Group followed suit in 2021, hiring Itamar Shafrir as general manager of the new outpost.
Warner Music Group said in May that it was launching Warner Music Israel and would open an office in Tel Aviv. Running the new imprint is Mariah Mochiach, general manager of Warner Music Israel, a veteran A&R and artist manager who worked for more than 10 years at Lev Group Media, which has acted as an Israeli distributor for Warner Music.
While still a relatively small market, Israel is a growing territory that ranked 27th in global music collections in 2021, with 35.6 million euros ($35.2 million), up 5.5% from 2020, according to international collections body CISAC. Pop artists like Noa Kirel, who is signed to Warner Music imprint Atlantic Records, are big at home but have struggled to cross over, though that could change for Kirel, who is slated to represent Israel at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, U.K. (Israel has won the contest four times since 1978.)
Last year, UMG and Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment said they would award an international recording deal to the winner of the upcoming season of The X Factor Israel, something previously unheard of in the Israeli music market. Cowell was set to be a judge on the fourth season of the show but pulled out in May of 2021, Variety reported.
Universal Music Group on Thursday reported its fifth-straight quarter of revenue gains since its public spinoff from Vivendi last year, increasing revenue 13.3% as its many, varied business divisions helped offset slow-downs in areas sensitive to global economic uncertainty.
On a call with analysts, UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge attributed the company’s strong quarter — coming amid a downturn in the advertising market — to its diversification strategy. Over Grainge’s 17-years at the helm, UMG has built dominant positions in multiple geographic markets and across nearly every major segment in music, making it less susceptible to “the inevitable ebbs and flows in revenue of any particular business,” he said.
That helped UMG offset a slowdown in ad-supported streaming revenues, which have been hampered by companies spending less amid fears of a recession. Ad-supported streaming revenues for the quarter grew by 5.2% in constant currency compared to the third quarter last year. That’s a slowdown from the second quarter this year when ad-supported revenues grew by 15.6% in constant currency compared to second quarter 2021.
“We noted we would not be immune to a downturn in the advertising market, which is indeed what happened,” Grainge said on the call discussing the company’s earnings for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. “The slower growth in the third quarter in ad-supported streaming revenue was offset by growth in so many other areas of our business. From subscription to licensing, live touring to merchandising, to continued growth throughout music publishing.”
Subscription revenues grew by 8.7% from a year ago in constant currency — a measure UMG uses to strip out fluctuations in foreign exchange markets. UMG chief financial officer Boyd Muir said subscriber growth among the digital streaming providers remains healthy and “we have not seen any signs of economic related slowdowns.”
Licensing and other revenue grew by 30.2% in constant currency due to the recovery of live touring in certain European, Latin American and Asian markets where UMG is involved in that business. Merchandising and other revenue grew by over 100% in constant currency compared to the year ago quarter, also helped by growth in touring.
The company saw an $80 million increase in touring revenues in the quarter compared to last year from top selling acts like BTS, BLACKPINK, Ado, INI and Morgan Wallen, executives said.
While a significant contributor to the company’s quarter, touring earns UMG a lower profit margin compared to its other businesses, Muir said.
“As I’ve mentioned before, that’s a very low-margin business — let’s call it, the 8% to 10% kind of area,” Muir said. “Nevertheless, it’s an incredibly important part of our business. And it means that we can actually connect the fan with the artists. So it’s of increasing importance to us as we address the requirements of the super fans.”
Looking to the next quarter, the executives said to expect the company’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin, a closely watched metric of profitability, to be flat for the year at around 20.8%.
The company’s stock price closed down 5.61% on Friday (Oct. 28).
Universal Music Group said revenues rose 13.3% to 2.66 billion euros in the third quarter at constant currency, as sales from BTS, BLACKPINK and Ado helped the world’s largest record label report growth across all segments on Thursday. Without considering changes in foreign currency exchange rates, revenues were up 23.7%.
The first of the major labels to report earnings this season, UMG said recorded music revenue grew 10.1%, music publishing revenues grew 6.9% and merchandise and other revenues grew 101.1% in the third quarter ending compared to a year ago based on constant currency conversion.
“Through our innovation, global reach, and unique understanding of the evolution of the market, we are continually improving the monetization of music and music-related content, generating high-quality revenue and recurring income from more sources than ever before,” UMG Chairman and Chief Executive Sir Lucian Grainge said in a statement.
UMG’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 9.1% compared to the year ago quarter, driven by the strong increase in revenue.
Included in the revenue growth for the quarter was a 71 million euro benefit from the settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit with an internet service provider, the company said. UMG also said the quarter included a 21 million euro hit in its music publishing division from a change in accounting policy. These factors also provided a 52 million benefit and a 7 million euro drag respectfully to the company’s EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter.
Q3 Results:
Company-wide revenues rose 13.3% to $2.664 million in constant currency for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 from a year ago.Recorded Music revenues rose 10.1% to €2,060 million in constant currency.Subscription and streaming revenue grew 7.7% in constant currency, with subscription revenue up 8.7% in constant currency.Ad-supported streaming revenue grew 5.2% in constant currency.Physical revenue declined 9.6% in constant currency, which the company attributed to a weaker release schedule compared to the prior year.Downloads and other digital revenue were up 55.7% in constant currency in large part due to the settlement of the copyright infringement lawsuit.License and other revenue rose 30.2% in constant currency helped by strong touring revenues.Merchandising and other revenue of 189 million euros was up 101.1% in constant currency due to a rebound in touring-related merchandise revenue.
Kanye West‘s former record label and music publisher have joined a chorus of companies in denouncing antisemitic rhetoric following a rash of recent statements made by the rapper.
Though Universal Music Group (UMG) — which worked with West for many years via Def Jam and its merchandise company Bravado — and Sony Music Publishing (SMP), which administers West’s song catalog, no longer work with the rapper now known as Ye, both have taken a public stand against his recent antisemitic comments in statements sent to Billboard.
A spokesperson for UMG clarified that “Def Jam’s relationship with Ye as a recording artist, Def Jam’s partnership with the GOOD Music label venture and Ye’s merchandise agreement with Bravado all ended in 2021.” The company owns the copyright on his recordings up to 2016 and distributed his recordings until last year. The spokesperson continued, “There is no place for antisemitism in our society. We are deeply committed to combating antisemitism and every other form of prejudice.”
SMP has been the administrator for West’s extensive catalog of musical works for years but the rapper’s publishing administration deal expired in early 2022. In an internal memo to employees, Sony leadership assured their staff that “at Sony Music Group, commitment to tolerance, inclusion and equality for all are at the heart of who we are as a company. Consistent with these values, we denounce antisemitism. Through our partnership with the UJA Federation, we work to combat prejudice against the Jewish community.”
Pursuant to the old agreement, SMP will continue to administer West’s musical works for an undisclosed period of time. Because SMP’s dealings with West were purely administrative and did not include ownership, after this period ends the company will no longer have any interests in his catalog.
West’s former manager, Scooter Braun, who is Jewish, posted a graphic today on Instagram, seemingly in response to his former client’s recent statements. “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — there was no one left to speak for me,” the post read.
These statements all follow West’s three-hour interview with MIT scientist Lex Fridman on Tuesday in which the rapper said, “It’s genocide and population control that Black people are in today in America, that is promoted by the music and the media that Black people make, that Jewish record labels get paid off of.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Adidas announced that it had ended its partnership with the Yeezy designer and rapper over his offensive remarks — a decision that the German sportswear brand said will affect its bottom line significantly — after celebrities and others on social media urged the brand to join the many other companies in fully cutting ties with West. As a result of being dropped from Adidas, West has lost his billionaire status, according to Forbes.
In a now-removed episode of the Drink Champs podcast, West told interviewer N.O.R.E., “the thing about it being Adidas is, like, I can literally say antisemitic s–t and they can’t drop me … I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
The hateful and discriminatory rhetoric West voiced on Drink Champs followed a number of other concerning statements from the rapper in recent weeks. On Oct. 3, the rapper wore a White Lives Matter shirt to his Yeezy Paris Fashion Week show. Just days later on the evening of Oct. 8, he sent out a tweet saying he wished to go “death con 3” on Jewish people, which was subsequently removed by Twitter. West is currently suspended from Twitter and Instagram for antisemitic posts that the social networks both said violated their policies.
Over the weekend, a group of demonstrators, inspired by West’s antisemitic remarks, unfurled a banner on a Los Angeles overpass that read “Kanye is right about the Jews.”
Other business partners of West’s have also dropped him in recent weeks, including Creative Artists Agency, MRC, Balenciaga and JPMorganChase, though the latter relationship was severed prior to the rapper’s antisemitic outbursts. On Tuesday, Gap said it was taking immediate action to remove all West-related products from shelves a month after the rapper severed his relationship with the retailer.
Kodak Black is headed for Capitol Records — he just has to fulfill his obligations to his current label, Atlantic Records, first. That’s according to sources familiar with the situation, who note that Black still has two releases left under his agreement with Atlantic.
The rapper’s eventual move follows last month’s announcement that Orlando Wharton — who previously signed Black to Atlantic — had joined Capitol as executive vp and president of the relaunched Priority Records. Wharton starts the new role early next year.
Representatives for Atlantic and Capitol declined to comment.
Black released his major-label debut album through Atlantic Records in 2017, and has scored 34 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 to date, including “Super Gremlin,” a solo cut that climbed to No. 3 last year. When he moves to Capitol, he will be one of the biggest active artists on the label’s roster.
While Black has enjoyed commercial success, he has also faced a series of charges for sexual assault, drugs, robbery and weapons. The rapper was sentenced to 46 months in prison on federal weapons charges in 2019; former president Donald Trump later commuted that sentence on his last day in office. During a sexual misconduct case last year — Black was accused of sexually assaulting a high school student following a 2016 show — the rapper pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and battery.
While Black’s decision to eventually leave the label where he built his career is notable, entertainment attorneys say it’s not unusual for artists to start having conversations with potential new label partners once they enter into the final stretch of their current recording contract. Recording agreements are typically structured so that an artist is required to deliver a certain amount of music during an initial contract period. Labels can then usually choose to pick up an “option” (they have a set amount of months to mull over the decision), which triggers the release of another advance payment and recording budget for the artist to put towards the next project for that company. If the label decides not to pick up the option, it ends its relationship with the artist.
Historically, managers note, it was common for artists to sign longer-term deals — what the industry likes to call a “one plus four” or “one plus five,” meaning that the label was able to exercise four or five options and potentially keep the artist under contract for many years. Recently, in a world where acts are increasingly able to generate streams on their own without help from a label, the balance of power in some deals has shifted.
It’s more common now to hear about buzzing artists signing a “one plus one,” or even a deal for one album with no options attached, if an act has a lot of streaming momentum. Fewer options means that acts who are unhappy with their record company don’t need to stay with that partner for long if the relationship sours. Matt Buser, a music industry lawyer, says “it’s rough when an artist gets locked in with a team that has lost its appeal, or if the artist loses their champion in the building due to lateral movement or termination — that’s one reason why we try to keep the option number low in negotiations.”
When artists start to search for a new partner while still working with an old one, managers and lawyers alike say they usually try to keep these conversations discreet. If an artist still has music to deliver under his current agreement, but he’s flaunting the fact that he’s hunting for a fresh deal, “depending on the circumstances, it might undermine the enthusiasm of his current label to market and promote that last project,” according to Larry Katz, a veteran entertainment attorney.
There are other political reasons for an artist not to upset a record company before his or her contract is up. A label that feels spurned, for example, might decide to classify an artist’s project as a mixtape rather than an album, according to one manager. That seemingly small decision around nomenclature could mean that the act then has to turn in another entire project, depending on the terms of his or her contract, to fulfill recording obligations. (Debates over what constitutes an album and what constitutes a mixtape are more prevalent in hip-hop than in other genres.)
In addition, lawyers say that some artists make another mistake when they are gearing up to switch labels: They turn in the final album required by their contract and then immediately begin to record music in anticipation of a new deal elsewhere. But many exclusive recording agreements extend for nine to 12 months past the date that the last album was delivered or released — meaning songs that artists cut during this period still belong to their previous label partner. (Contract terms vary, of course, and stars have a lot of negotiating power, which gives them more latitude.)
“Artists may not be aware that in most record deals, the recording services remain exclusive during the entire term, and there’s often a period of time in between the release of the last project and the end of that exclusive term,” Katz says. “If you’re not careful, anything you record during that period is owned by the old label.”
Black released his fourth official album under his Atlantic deal, Back for Everything, in February. According to the rapper’s Instagram posts, he is now planning to release a follow-up, Kutthroat Bill: Vol 1, on Oct. 28.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again is headed to Motown, sources familiar with the situation tell Billboard.
Headed from Warner Music Group’s Atlantic Records — where he released four official studio albums and many more mixtapes — YoungBoy will begin releasing music on the Universal Music Group-owned Motown in 2023.
Youngboy’s already been working with Motown since last year, when he signed a global joint venture deal with the label and his Never Broke Again collective. Together, they have released two compilations — Never Broke Again: The Compilation Volume 1 (2021) and Green Flag Activity (2022) — and Oct. 28 will release their third, Nightmare on 38th Street, led by the single “Searching” featuring Ten last Friday.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native Youngboy broke out in 2015 and signed to Atlantic two years later, going on to become one of music’s top acts. Since, he’s charted 24 albums on the Billboard 200 — 11 that were top 10, four of those No. 1. He’s been incredibly prolific, as those 24 charting titles have all hit the chart in just over five years (since Aug. 2017).
This year alone, Youngboy has debuted six projects on the chart — five solo endeavors and one collaborative set with DaBaby (Better Than You). He’s charted four top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in 2022 — more top 10s than any other act this year — and has released four albums in about the past two months: The Last Slimeto, Realer 2, 3800 Degrees and Ma I Got a Family.
Youngboy’s catalog of albums, in total, have earned 16.75 million equivalent album units, according to Luminate. His catalog of songs have tallied 29.04 billion on-demand official streams in the U.S.
Warner Music Middle East has a new general manager, with Ahmed Nureni chosen to replace a departing Moe Hamzeh. Nuhreni arrives from music distribution company Qanawat Music, which WMG acquired earlier this year, and will continue to be based in Dubai — though WMME’s headquarters and staff will remain in Beirut.
Nuhreni, who’ll report to Alfonso Perez-Soto, president of emerging markets at Warner Recorded Music, will continue to run Qanawat in tandem with his duties at Warner. In a statement, he said his “dual role will allow me to harness synergies from both businesses and be thoughtful and strategic in the way we grow Warner Music Middle East’s artist roster,” adding, “There’s so much creative potential in our region and we’re only just beginning to tap into it.”
WMME’s mandate is sprawling, covering a total of 17 markets: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Hamzeh helped launch Warner Music Middle East in 2018; the company now says he is moving on to pursue other projects in music. He had previously been head of content at digital streaming platform m.media and, earlier in his career, worked at Temple Entertainment and Virgin Megastores.
Perez-Soto called Nureni a “brilliant exec who combines an amazing ear for music with a brilliant strategic mind,” adding, “With the support of our amazing team in Beirut, he’ll champion artists from the region and help them connect with a global audience. I’d also like to thank Moe Hamzeh for all his amazing support over the last five years and wish him good luck in his next adventures.”
Simon Robson, president of International at Warner Recorded Music, called the Middle East and North Africa a “priority market for us” as “highlighted by our accelerated activity in MENA in the last 18 months” — in early 2021 WMG invested in the region’s largest indie label, Rotana Music — “but we have further ambitious growth plans, which Ahmed will help us deliver.”
Indie label, distributor and publisher EMPIRE has acquired tastemaking electronic label Dirtybird, the imprint founded by producer Claude VonStroke in 2005.
Per the terms of the deal, EMPIRE now owns the entirety of the Dirtybird brand, outside of Dirtybird’s live events including its annual Dirtybird campout. The deal includes Dirtybird’s back catalog and all future releases, with EMPIRE also now handling distribution and publishing for the San Francisco based imprint. A representative for EMPIRE declined to disclose financial details of the deal.
VonStroke, born Barclay Crenshaw, will continue to A&R the San Francisco-based Dirtybird label and also direct creative for Dirtybird apparel.
The sale marks the first foray into the electronic music space for EMPIRE, a San Francisco-based multi-hyphenate music company founded by Ghazi in 2010. The company has offices in New York, Nashville, the UK and the Middle East and has worked extensively in the hip-hop, Latin, country, R&B and Afrobeats, helping build the careers of artists including Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, XXXTentacion and Fireboy DML.
“Growing up in San Francisco and the Bay Area at large, dance music has always been a huge part of our music scene,” says EMPIRE CEO and Founder Ghazi. “EMPIRE at its core is a company that is for the culture. Dirtybird embodies the independent ethos and understands the cultural nuance of everything San Francisco and dance music.”
“I’m so excited to join another incredible independent Bay Area music company,” says Crenshaw, also the CEO of Dirtybird. “I will continue to A&R the Dirtybird label and direct the creative for the music and clothing, while EMPIRE has the capacity and resources to grow the brand globally. This is a dream come true.”
Since it’s 2005 launch, Dirtybird has become one of the United States’ leading independent electronic labels, helping develop and popularize the underground house and tech-house genres via releases by VonStroke and the cadre of Dirtybird artists including Justin and Christian Martin, J Phlip, Justin Jay, Walker & Royce and Nikki Nair. Crenshaw has run Dirtybird alongside his wife, Dirtybird COO Aundy Crenshaw, since launching the imprint.
EMPIRE and Dirtybird are formally announcing the partnership today (October 20) at ADE, the annual electronic industry conference happening this week in Amsterdam.
“Our deals are full-on partnerships,” Ghazi told Billboard in March of this year, “so the way the rights are written, recoupment is likely; master reversion, if there is a reversion, is likely; and artists tend to have a lot more creative input, not control.”
Punk icon Iggy Pop has signed with Atlantic Records, in partnership with producer Andrew Watt‘s Gold Tooth Records, for the release of his next album, the companies tell Billboard.
“I’m the guy with no shirt who rocks,” said Pop in statement. “Andrew and Gold Tooth get that, and we made a record together the old-fashioned way. The players are guys I’ve known since they were kids and the music will beat the s— out of you. Have a great day.”
The first release from Pop’s forthcoming album, debut single “Frenzy,” is slated to drop on Oct. 28. The album is Pop’s first since 2019’s Free, released by Caroline International/Loma Vista.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Andrew and Gold Tooth into the Atlantic family,” said Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman. “As a brilliant producer and stellar musician, Andrew has the gift of elevating every project into a work of art. And, of course, we’re over the moon to have the legendary and phenomenal Iggy Pop as our first joint signing. Iggy’s groundbreaking work forever changed the rock landscape, and he continues to make boundary-crashing music. This also marks his return to the Warner family, more than 50 years after he made his recording debut with the Stooges on our sister label Elektra. Iggy’s never stopped evolving, and he’s made a fantastic album that we can’t wait for the world to hear.”
Added Watt, “Iggy Pop is a f—ing icon. A true original. The guy invented the stage dive…I still can’t believe he let me make a record with him. I am honored. It doesn’t get cooler. This album was created to be played as loud as your stereo will go…turn it up and hold on…”
Pop rose to fame as the lead singer of Detroit-bred band The Stooges, which released three seminal proto-punk albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s: The Stooges, Fun House and Raw Power. After parting ways for over three decades, the group re-formed and released two additional albums: 2007’s The Weirdness and 2013’s Ready to Die. As a solo artist, Pop has released a total of 19 albums, including classics like The Idiot and Lust for Life, both produced by David Bowie.
MOBO Award-winning artist Stefflon Don has entered into a global recording partnership with BMG, Billboard has learned exclusively.
The Jamaica-via-London MC will release her debut studio album, Island 54, in 2023.
Among the forthcoming album’s tracks will be “Clockwork” featuring dancehall superstar Spice. The single was produced by Grammy-winning Beam (Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Pop Smoke), while its accompanying video counts five million views on YouTube.
In a statement announcing her new partnership, Stefflon Don said, “I’m excited about partnering with BMG because they trust my creativity. They have an amazing support team across the globe, and I am super excited to expand my fan base alongside my new family BMG.”
Tim Reid, BMG’s senior vp of repertoire & marketing, stated, “Stefflon Don is a unique artist who has already accomplished so much on a global scale, collaborating with some of the biggest names in music while gaining equal acclaim on her solo projects. We are incredibly excited to partner with her on the next chapter of her musical career.”
Added Thomas Scherer, BMG’s president of repertoire & marketing, Los Angeles and New York, said, “Stefflon Don is an artist who knows exactly what she wants to achieve, and we are happy to be part of her journey towards this. Our partnership expands on a string of recent BMG signings with artists who desire more control of their music with our global team fully supporting them in exceeding their goals.”
Prior to upcoming album Island 54, Stefflon Don released the mixtapes Real Ting and Secure. Breaking through in 2017 with the singles “16 Shots” and “Hurtin’ Me” featuring French Montana, she has since collaborated with a diverse array of artists, among them Future, Lil Baby, J Balvin, Mariah Carey, Halsey and DJ Khaled.
Stefflon Don’s more recent collaborations include DJ Frass’ “Sweet Bounce,” “Dip” with Ms Banks, “Amazing” with Vybz Kartel and Dunw3ll as well as Calvin Harris’ “Woman of the Year” with Chloe Bailey and Coi Leray.
The first British female rapper to be featured on Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist, Stefflon Don also performed for the first-ever UEFA Women’s Euro Final show this year. Her other career milestones thus far also include being recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2019.