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Sony Group Corporation has pledged $5 million to support relief efforts related to the Los Angeles-area wildfires. The sum will be allocated to organizations supporting first responders, community relief and rebuilding efforts, as well as employee assistance programs. “Los Angeles has been the home of our entertainment business for more than 35 years. Through our […]
Professional basketball player and “Tweaker” rapper LiAngelo Ball has signed a label deal with Def Jam and Universal Music Group (UMG), according to ESPN reporter Shams Charania. On Monday (Jan. 13), Charania, whose main beat is NBA news, tweeted that the recording deal for Ball, who performs under the name G3, was confirmed by “a […]
As wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles, the Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund is stepping in to help. On Sunday (Jan. 12), the organization announced a pledge of $1 million to support fire relief and rebuilding efforts in the region. The funds will be directed to organizations assisting the Los Angeles community, […]
Four K-pop companies’ stocks fell in value by an average of 19.0% in 2024, a significant reversal of fortune after gaining an average of 30.0% the prior year.
Some of the K-pop companies’ declines can be attributed to the poor showing of Korean stocks in general. The KOSPI composite index, an index of all stocks traded on the stock market division of the Korea Exchange, fell 9.6% in 2024. Korean stocks especially suffered from political turmoil in the year’s waning weeks. Since South Korean Prime Minister Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Dec. 3 through the end of the year, the KOSPI fell 4.3%.
But collectively and individually, HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment fared worse than the South Korean stock index. The South Korean companies are expanding beyond their home country, establishing roots in the Americas and exporting their K-pop model of artist development to local markets. Many of the new projects have yet to pay dividends, however, and a lack of new releases or concerts by major artists often resulted in lower revenue and profits in recent quarters.
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YG Entertainment, home to BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, fared the best, dropping 10.0% to 45,800 won ($31.07). In the third quarter, YG Entertainment’s revenue dropped 42% year over year while a 14.8 billion won ($10 million) net income in the third quarter of 2023 turned into a 937 million ($636,000) net loss.
BTS’s label HYBE fell 17.2% to 193,400 won ($131.18), with its third-quarter net profit dropping 99% on lower concert and recorded music revenue. In the second quarter, HYBE set a company record for quarterly revenue but its operating profit fell 37.4%. The company was also hampered by controversies in 2024. Chairman Bang Si-hyuk is reportedly being investigated by South Korean regulators over a profit-sharing deal with early investors that led Bang to realize a $285 million profit from the company’s 2020 initial public offering. HYBE has also been embroiled in an ongoing feud with Min Hee-Jin, the former CEO of HYBE’s ADOR imprint.
SM Entertainment, the home of aespa and NCT Dream, sank 17.9% to 75,600 won ($51.28). In the third quarter, net profit fell 95.6% on 9% lower revenue. In the second quarter, net profit was down 70.3% while revenue increased 5.9% from the prior-year period. The company has a new North American joint venture with Kakao Entertainment that launched in late 2023 and has produced a new British boy band, dearALICE, launched through a BBC miniseries.
Faring the worst was JYP Entertainment, home to Stray Kids and iTZY, which plummeted 31.0% to 69,900 won ($47.41). In the first three quarters of 2024, JYP’s revenue was down 1.6% and net profit was 30.4% lower than the prior-year period. In the second quarter, an absence of major artist activity caused the company’s revenue to drop 36.9% from the prior-year period while its net profit fell 95% year over year. JYP was able to rebound in the third quarter, however, as revenue and net profit were up 22.1% and 11.7%, respectively.
In 2025, indie digital rights nonprofit Merlin will double down on its recently unveiled AI policy while moving forward with its “first AI pilot program” in tandem with an unnamed “global partner,” CEO Jeremy Sirota said in a New Year’s memo to staff.
Sirota’s mention of the new program in the Thursday (Jan. 2) letter, obtained by Billboard, includes a nod to Merlin’s recently released memo outlining the organization’s position on AI, in which it warned tech companies not to harvest data from Merlin members to train AI algorithms while also stating that it supports “AI products that aid human creativity, or provide new opportunities for artists to create and collaborate in developing new original works.”
“We are proving that innovation, respect for artists and delivering on our policy on AI and abiding by our position on AI can go hand in hand,” Sirota wrote in the memo. “Let’s continue to identify AI partners who want to be on the right side of history about copyright, consent and culture.”
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Sirota’s memo also highlights new deals with both Meta and Audiomack signed in 2024, adding that “nearly 400 of our members joined” the latter agreement, “putting it near the top of deals for the total number of members opted in.” He additionally touts new agreements with social streaming platforms Rhythm and Turntable/Hangout as well as renewals with Peloton, Tencent, Twitch, YouTube, Anghami, Deezer and iHeart, among others.
Additionally, Sirota makes special mention of Merlin’s Data Warehouse and Insights initiative, noting that in 2024, Merlin “greatly expanded the access independents have to critical insights” via its recorded music data, which he notes is “one of the largest sets” in the industry. He also makes sure to hype Merlin Connect — a new initiative launched in June that aims to help emerging tech and social platforms license independent music while increasing earnings for Merlin members — stating that the program is “creating a blueprint for how music powers the next wave of digital experiences.”
Elsewhere in the memo, Sirota says that Merlin’s effective admin fee for members, which “is initially set at 1.5%,” was just 1.17% between 2021 and 2023 thanks to nearly 16 million pounds paid back to members in the form of rebates. “Every year we set a goal of maximizing how much we pay back to our members as a rebate,” Sirota writes, adding that while there’s “no guarantee we can always achieve these incredibly low rates… this is a remarkable achievement to celebrate.”
For 2025, Sirota outlines three major goals: to “super serve” Merlin members via its “Insights visualization rollout,” which he says “will expand the scope of business intelligence available to our members”; “supercharge Merlin Connect”; and expand Merlin Engage, a mentorship program that aims to “empower the next generation of female leaders in the independent music space” and which last year expanded to 30 participants, he says.
Read Sirota’s full memo below.
Hi Merlin Team,
As we start a new year, I’m struck by a simple truth: while our members represent over 15% of the global recorded music market, the music industry’s future will not be shaped by those with the broadest reach or even deepest pockets. It will be owned by those with the clearest vision and strongest commitment to artists. This is why we stay laser-focused on our singular mission: strengthening the world’s leading independents to compete and strengthen their independence. I couldn’t be prouder of our mission and this team.
Let’s never forget that our difference is more than just a business model; it’s a belief system. We deliver true independence as the only global deal making organization that is member-led, member-owned and member-governed. Every single day, we wake up and get to solve the most important question: how can we better serve our members? Our key performance indicator is simple: the success of our members and the artists they represent.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t specifically acknowledge your incredible cross functional work in December, which culminated in the launch of Merlin’s first AI pilot program. This was an impressive accomplishment achieved in close partnership with our members. It also marks an exciting start to our AI journey with a global partner. We are proving that innovation, respect for artists, and delivering on our policy on AI and abiding by our position on AI can go hand in hand. Let’s continue to identify AI partners who want to be on the right side of history about copyright, consent, and culture.
Let’s reflect back on 2024 and then look forward to 2025.
Membership
Collectively, our membership rivals the largest players in music. Merlin stands as the guardian of independence in digital music, not just through deals and technology, but as a force that protects and empowers independents to thrive on their own terms. We are indies – smart, adaptable, and fiercely dedicated to proving that independence, partnership with artists and market leadership can go hand in hand. From our newest team member to our longest-serving partner, we share one goal: ensuring independent music maintains its significance and voice in the digital future.
Everyone at Merlin is inspired by the diversity of artists, music, and experimentation our independent members bring to the world. This year we were proud to welcome a number of leading and innovative independents into Merlin deals: Artist Partner Group (U.S.), Nettwerk Music Group (Canada), Rostrum Pacific (U.S.), UNFD (Australia), VP Music Group, and Wide Awake (Netherlands).
Merlin members rule. Here’s just a small sample of the incredible releases from our members’ artists in 2024 (and a soundtrack to start the new year):
Armada Music – the world is always a better place when Armin van Buuren releases new music
Better Noise – The Hu’s live album
Curb Records – the resurgence of Sixpence None the Richer “Kiss Me”
Domino Records – who doesn’t love Arctic Monkeys, but, also, what an amazing debut solo album from Beth Gibbons
EMPIRE – one word: Shaboozey
Exceleration & Redeye – Daptone Records released the new album from Thee Sacred Souls “Got a Story to Tell”
Hopeless – a new Neck Deep album and 30 years of Hopeless
Lex Records – the album by Eyedress “Vampire in Beverly Hills”
Muting the Noise – Adam Port’s amazing track “Move”
Nettwerk – bôa “Duvet”
Ninja Tune – the viral hit by nimino “I Only Smoke When I Drink”
Pony Canyon – the new album “Rejoice” from OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM
Secret City – Patrick Watson “Je Te Laisserai des Mots” (the first French language song to reach 1bn streams on Spotify)
Secretly – the continued success of Mitski “My Love Mine All Mine” and Khruangbin (Best New Artist nod at Grammys)
Sub Pop – Suki Waterhouse
UnitedMasters – what a year for FloyyMenor
Warp Records – releases from Flying Lotus and Nighmares on Wax
Finally, you know that our Admin Fee is used to cover our budget and is initially set at 1.5%. Every year we set a goal of maximizing how much we pay back to our members as a rebate (i.e., the difference between our actual budget and the 1.5%). I’m pleased to report that, over the last three years, we have paid back nearly £16,000,000 to our members in rebates. From 2021 through 2023, our average effective admin fee was 1.17%. There’s no guarantee we can always achieve these incredibly low rates, but this is a remarkable achievement to celebrate. It’s a testament to your hard work and the creativity in how we operate this organization.
Partnership
Yes, we renewed our licensing agreement with Meta. More importantly, we strengthened and expanded our partnership. Meta is a partner who values Merlin, its members, independent music and building together. That’s why I continue to prioritize this partnership. The Meta team is keen on helping our members and their artists drive culture, are keen on fandom, and appreciate the unbelievable talent of independent artists.
We also struck a new deal with Audiomack, an artist-first music streaming platform that empowers artists to reach and engage with fans worldwide. Despite being in business for over twelve years, and a significant number of our members having direct deals, nearly 400 of our members joined the Merlin deal, putting it near the top of deals for the total number of members opted in. That is the value of Merlin and the importance placed by Audiomack on our partnership.
We ensured our members are at the forefront of social streaming platforms, striking deals with Rythm, the pioneering community-based group listening platform, and Turntable (Hangout), designed to make music a more social experience.
Every partnership matters to me, but I want to applaud your enhanced approach to dealmaking and partnership in renewing with Peloton (new features), Tencent (VIP tier), Twitch (DJ program), and YouTube (working in partnership with them on the full spectrum of our relationship from content integrity through to their product innovations).
Beyond new deals, we renewed our partnerships with Anghami, Deezer, FLO, iHeart, JioSaavn, JOOX, KKBox, Kuaishou, Lickd, and VEVO.
These are music services that value Merlin, its members and independent music. One stand-out you might have missed is our Soundtrack Your Brand partnership where, thanks to a cross functional team effort, we have increased our members’ deal participation by over 50%.
Another stand-out is our Canva partnership, where Merlin members and their artists’ music account for over 40% of Canva’s music library. That’s the power of independent music.
Merliners
2024 was our Year of Connectivity. To continue providing opportunities for the Merlin team to build closer relationships with our members, our partners, the trade associations, and each other, we held our first ever company-wide global retreat (which you affectionately called The Great Merlin Escape). We set goals of fostering greater understanding and empathy, building context across teams, and leaning more into strategic thinking. It was great to have a dedicated facilitator to help Merliners better understand their own strengths, learn how to more effectively collaborate cross functionally, and implement practices that help Merliners more effectively serve the needs of our members. Don’t forget you can find the group photo here.
For a small team, I am amazed at how many opportunities we create to connect with our partners, members, and the network of dedicated trade associations around the world. The web sessions and in-person meet-ups we hosted had attendees numbering in the thousands; we traveled to over 30+ countries; we participated in dozens of panels, moderated many more, and delivered keynotes; and we were proud to organize unique visits to our members’ offices where so many Merliners could listen to, learn from and interact with our members. I can’t wait to do more of those this year.
We integrated these connections into our daily operations by launching and improving the internal systems that make knowledge-sharing about our business relationships easier throughout the org, all in the service of helping members and partners get more from Merlin.
Continuing with the theme of connectivity, I want to again extend a warm welcome so many talented people who joined in 2024 across virtually every discipline: Alice Moss arrived from SoundCloud into our Member Operations team; Carol Zuma-Hall from Platoon/Apple as our new Controller; Ceri Brown as our new UI/UX designer; Emillia Walsh as our talented Paralegal; Gary Watson moved from a consultancy role on our Data Warehouse initiative to leading our Data Operations team; Jac Powell came from Universal Music as senior data analyst; Kirsty Langdell as our new People & Culture Lead; Leah Kraft with time at Spotify and Disney joined Member Relations; Maria Lavric in our newly-formed Data Operations team; Martin Vovk joins from Sony Music as our new Insights lead; Matt Price as a Data Engineer supporting our warehouse; Molly Kempen on our reporting team; Sara Oman on our analytics team; Simon-Turner Thompson as our new product manager; and Wes Green as our first-in-kind Product Owner.
I also want to welcome back Kaoruko Hill, our second boomerang employee, as our new GM for APAC. And the unbelievably talented Neil Miller, who joined as our new General Counsel, supporting the best Business Affairs team in the world.
Technology and Innovation
We’re building a future where independent music thrives on its own terms – innovative, authentic, and uncompromised. This isn’t about competing with or trying to recreate the past. It’s about redefining what’s possible when technology and independence join forces.
But scale alone is not enough. Music discovery and consumption have fundamentally changed. Gaming, social platforms, and new consumption models have shifted power toward independents. Our deals don’t just ride these changes – they shape how value flows to rightsholders.
This is how Merlin helps our members stay at the forefront of the industry. We are in this business because we love music and the artists who make it. Our superpower at Merlin is built on supporting our global membership through three core philosophies: rights, relationships, and resourcing (here).
Along those lines, I’m thrilled with how far along we’ve come with our Data Warehouse and our Insights initiative. Merlin sits on one of the largest sets of recorded music data in the industry. Our ability to leverage that data will unlock so many opportunities for our members. From helping our members understand rapidly changing platform trends to navigating new markets, we have greatly expanded the access independents have to critical insights. Kudos to the team in refining and improving Dremio and our capability for better business analytics and insights performance. This sets the stage for 2025 in continuing to improve how we help members understand their performance within the global marketplace.
And, of course, Merlin Connect. While others guard old models, we saw that emerging platforms needed a fresh approach to music licensing. These platforms want quality music but traditional licensing remains complex, slow, and expensive. We built something different: a streamlined path to independent music, backed by API delivery and hands-on support. This isn’t another licensing deal – we’re investing in the future of independent music and creating a blueprint for how music powers the next wave of digital experiences. What’s most exciting? The unlimited possibilities we can explore and technologies we haven’t even heard of yet.
Through Merlin Connect, we’re opening new channels for our members’ music while solving a critical market problem. It’s exciting that platforms want to work exclusively with Merlin and its members as their music solution of choice. They know the transformative impact our members’ music will have on their platforms and we can’t wait to be the catalyst for that impact this year.
2025 and Beyond
Let’s crank our initiatives up to 11:
Super Serve Our Members: With our Insights visualization rollout, we will expand the scope of business intelligence available to our members, and deliver it via a self-serve tool in the Wizard.
Supercharge Merlin Connect: Let’s continue to drive opportunities into emerging platforms and create monetization opportunities by making music accessible to more business innovators.
Expand Merlin Engage; Build More Community: This mentorship program, from across the global Merlin membership, is helping empower the next generation of female leaders in the independent music space. Last year, we expanded our program to 30 participants, brought on board a seasoned facilitator (Miriam Meima), and offered additional workshops in managing up, storytelling (also offered to program alumni), and other workshops in soft skills. This year we’re going bigger.
Enjoy a well-deserved break with your friends and family. I look forward to our work together in 2025 and beyond.
Let’s build a future for true independence!
Jeremy
In the ‘00s, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan looked at the disruptive nature of early social media platform MySpace and saw the death of the record label. It didn’t exactly work out that way — not with MySpace, not with Facebook, not with TikTok. In fact, the major music companies became adept at using these platforms to break artists and perpetuate their market power; if there’s a breakout song on TikTok, labels rush into an old-fashioned bidding war. While social media certainly disrupted the music business, it didn’t uproot the traditional record label model.
There have been numerous other game-changers over the years that failed — on their own, at least — to radically alter how major labels do business, including independent distribution. After TuneCore launched in 2006, major labels continued to sign artists and own their intellectual property, albeit to broader “360” deals that incorporated more than recorded music rights. Nor did the advent of streaming by itself reshape the structure of major record labels. The artists with the most streaming success are involved with major labels in one way or another, be it a traditional record contract, a joint venture or, in rare cases like Taylor Swift, a distribution deal.
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Corgan may have misjudged social media’s sole impact on record labels, but he wasn’t entirely wrong about its ultimate influence. When combined, social media, independent distribution and streaming form a potent combination that has changed the balance of power and induced major labels to change how they promote music around the world. This dynamic isn’t exactly new, but it was never clearer than in 2024. This year, major labels have increasingly embraced the role of being service providers to those parties who prefer to remain independent and retain ownership of their intellectual property.
A few years ago, Universal Music Group (UMG) was pouring money into superstar acquisitions such as Bob Dylan’s and Sting’s song catalogs. More recently, the company has been focusing on its artist services model. In the last three months alone, UMG acquired indie label group [PIAS] and agreed to acquire Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million, though the proposed deal has encountered opposition from the independent music community and will need to pass regulatory scrutiny before being finalized. The company also purchased Outdustry — which has an artist- and label-services arm that focuses on China, India and other high-growth emerging markets — and bought a stake in Chord Music Partners, giving UMG distribution and publishing administration duties for the more than 60,000 songs in the investment vehicle’s catalog.
In fact, 2024 played out much like UMG CEO Lucian Grainge said it would. His January memo predicted the company would continue to expand globally and offer labels outside of mature markets a “full suite of artist services” while “acquiring local labels, catalogs and artist services businesses.” To be fair, UMG was already on that path: In 2022, it acquired m-theory’s artist services company and installed its founders, JT Myers and Nat Pastor, as co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group to expand Virgin’s independent music division globally.
Warner Music Group (WMG) appears to have sensed the shifting landscape, too, as there has been a noticeable shift in messaging during Robert Kyncl’s tenure as the company’s CEO. In the Stephen Cooper era, WMG was the music community’s leading investor in Web3 startups. In contrast, Kyncl has chosen to focus on expanding WMG’s footprint globally. WMG briefly signaled its interest in acquiring Believe in March and April after the French company announced a CEO-led effort to take the company private. Notably, Believe has a global label services business and a presence in developing markets that take advantage of the “glocalization” of local markets and global streaming platforms’ ability to help music travel across borders. WMG ultimately passed on pursuing Believe, but Kyncl has followed his peers’ interest in emerging markets, purchasing stakes in Indian companies Divo and Global Music Junction.
The service model isn’t an entirely original approach. Grainge wrote that UMG is “creating the blueprint for the labels of the future,” but UMG is doing what major music companies have always done: following trends and buying independent companies that established a particular market. Sony Music already bought into the service model with The Orchard and AWAL, the latter purchased in 2022 for $430 million. Independents such as Believe, OneRPM and Symphonic Distribution have become established players by combining distribution and artist services, while investors have poured money into independents such as Create Music Group — which this year raised $165 million at a $1 billion valuation — and gamma, which is backed by $1 billion.
But the well-established blueprint was never more of a hot commodity than in 2024. In the music business, nothing signifies the relevance of a business model like the major labels’ desire to buy it and integrate it into their systems — especially when the largest music companies feel they have no choice. The holy trinity of social media, independent distribution and global streaming platforms has given artists an alternative to the much-derided major label record contract. Artists who want to own their intellectual property and have more creative control have never had more of the tools necessary to be independent. That includes financing options, such as advances from well-funded independents or royalty advances from a new breed of financial services companies. When there’s no need for radio promotion and shelf space at brick-and-mortar retailers, the independent model looks a lot more attractive — not only for artists but for the major labels that have become increasingly keen on buying into it.
Ironically, the major labels’ acceptance of the independents’ business model means the music business is becoming less independent. Trade groups such as the Association of Independent Music and IMPALA quickly spoke out against UMG’s agreement to purchase Downtown, just as they did with Sony Music’s purchase of AWAL. U.K. regulators ultimately concluded that AWAL was a “relatively small player” and that the deal did not substantially reduce competition. Time will tell if competition watchdogs feel the same about UMG’s much larger purchase of Downtown. In any case, the independents have proved that artist and label services businesses are a good fit for the modern music business. The next step was always going to be consolidation.
Days after a panel of federal judges voted to uphold a new law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning on Jan. 19, the independent label Artist Partner Group (APG) started assessing how that might potentially impact its marketing campaigns — and how the company should adjust.
“It’s hard to imagine a reality where TikTok actually goes down,” says Alec Henderon, head of digital at APG. “But we need to be prepared. We are doing video shoots ahead of time, so if it does go, we have top-tier content hitting other short-form video platforms very quickly.”
J.D. Tuminski, former digital marketing lead at Def Jam and founder of Casadei Collective Marketing Agency, is also advising clients to be ready. “If folks are being smart right now,” he says, “they’re already putting plans in place for other platforms and thinking about alternative marketing strategies.”
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At least most music marketers have been down this road before. President Trump tried to ban TikTok in 2020 but was blocked by the courts. “We’ve had this conversation internally so many times,” sighs Rafael Rocha, CEO of the marketing agency NuWave Digital. “If I was a betting man, I would bet confidently that it will not get banned.”
Or maybe not banned for long. President Trump returns to office on Jan. 20, and recently he has appeared more enthusiastic about TikTok, saying he had “a warm spot in my heart” for the app. In addition, on Wednesday (Dec. 18), the Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to the law that would ban it in the U.S. TikTok’s stance is that a ban would lead to “massive and unprecedented censorship of over 170 million Americans.”
Marketers are trying to prepare for the app’s potential disappearance nonetheless. No one wants to be caught flat-footed, especially because TikTok has “become such a large part of our execution when music is released and for teasing new music,” says Allison Laughter, vp of digital, marketing and streaming for Red Light Management. If the app were outlawed in the U.S., it would “hurt us in the short run for sure.”
The pain would probably be felt more acutely by rising artists who don’t yet have name recognition. “Where is new artist discovery happening in 2025 if this app completely disappears?” asks Johnny Cloherty, co-founder of the digital marketing company Songfluencer. “There is new artist discovery on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — it just doesn’t happen on the same scale as it does on TikTok.”
Some genres that are reaching a new audience abroad might also be more vulnerable if TikTok use is prohibited. “Country music is bigger than it’s ever been, and we’re seeing more global success than we ever have,” Laughter adds. “It would be a shame to have an international platform taken away from us at a moment when we really have leverage with country acts. It’s slowing down a rocket ship while it’s hot for us.”
Many executives got some practice grappling with a TikTok-less existence earlier this year. On Feb. 1, Universal Music Group’s deal with the platform expired, and all its artists’ music was pulled from the app. A month later, many songs from other labels that featured contributions from Universal Music Publishing Group writers were removed as well.
“That was a wake up call for a lot of people,” says Dan Roy Carter, a former TikTok employee who recently launched Carter Projects, his own music marketing company. “That made people look at other platforms [outside of TikTok] and realize they have to develop them.”
But most marketers did not find that other short-form video platforms could fill the void left by TikTok’s absence. “Anyone I’ve spoken to who tried to pivot to another platform during that time frame generally didn’t find anything that was comparable straight away,” Carter says. That was certainly Laughter’s experience: “I don’t think that we found the sweet spot of how to mimic the success or reach we might see on TikTok with any other platform.”
If the TikTok ban did go through in the U.S., however, the platform would still be available for hundreds of millions of users globally (at least for now). And clips that are popular on TikTok often make their way to other social media platforms. “Say TikTok is banned here — that doesn’t mean that internationally it can’t be a part of a strategy to drive streaming,” says Jen Darmafall, director of marketing for ATG Group. “When you see Reels and Shorts make an impact on music consumption, it is often following something that’s going viral on TikTok first.”
Several marketers discussed using VPNs to circumvent a potential ban Stateside and continue to market their acts to audiences in Europe, Latin America and Asia. And digital marketers abroad would almost certainly see an influx of business from American artists and labels. “Hiring companies to be a liaison to TikTok creators outside of the U.S. is something that I would think about if I was a musician,” Tuminski notes.
Artists and labels would also watch carefully to see where TikTok’s large, famously active user base in the U.S. ends up. “If this goes down, we’ll need to be reactive towards where the content and the traffic and energy shifts,” Henderson says. “Short form video is not going away,” Cloherty agrees. “The TikTok audience will go somewhere.”
Reels and Shorts are typically mentioned as potential TikTok substitutes due to their short-form video focus. But other platforms can also serve as potential conduits for conveying music to listeners.
X, formerly Twitter, doesn’t pop up in many music marketing conversations these days, but Henderson has seen it bring in new listeners for rappers. He’s been focused on trying to harness the power of Twitch as well. The APG artist Flawed Mangoes saw a sizable jump in streams after appearing on the stream of Kai Cenat, one of the most popular personalities on the platform.
Marketers are also intrigued by the possibilities of Snapchat. “It’s still very heavily used by kids, but it’s not as heavily used by artists,” says Jenna Rosenberg, former vp of digital marketing at Atlantic Records. “There is an audience on there, it’s just that no one’s talking to them.” Darmafall has observed “more and more artists posting about following them on Snapchat.”
And if TikTok gets outlawed, the audience hunting for a substitute might end up on another app altogether, something that isn’t currently part of everyday conversation. “Platforms ebb and flow,” Rosenberg says. “Kids will find one that they’ll gravitate towards, and then we’re all going to have to learn it really quickly and educate the artists on how to utilize it.”
For now though, TikTok continues to operate in the U.S., driving new listeners to songs like Lola Young’s “Messy” and Sam Barber’s “Indigo.” “As people are building out their plans for any releases that are coming at the start of the year, they are still including TikTok as part of that plan,” Darmafall says. “It just can’t be your only plan.”
The Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation has joined forces with Warner Music Latina for a 2025 scholarship that will be good toward a bachelor’s degree at Berklee College of Music, Billboard can announce.
The four-year Prodigy Scholarship, which will cover tuition and room and board for the 2025 fall semester, as well as wrap-around services provided by the foundation, marks the first time a Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation scholarship has been sponsored by a record label.
“This partnership embodies one of our core values: to cultivate intellectual and artistic potential by removing barriers that often impede exceptional musicians from realizing their vision,” said Alejandro Duque, president of Warner Music Latin America, in a statement. “Through strategic educational support we’re not just investing in individual careers, but in the broader cultural landscape of musical innovation.”
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Roberto Andrade, MD at Warner Music Latina, added: “At Warner Music Latina, we’re proud to support young talent through this scholarship. By empowering aspiring musicians, we’re investing in the voices that will shape tomorrow’s soundtrack. This is more than an opportunity — it’s a commitment to creativity, talent and the future of music.”
In addition to the Prodigy Scholarship, three other scholarships — from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, the Gil Family Foundation and Gibson Gives — will be available for music students between the ages of 17 and 25 with financial limitations who have a passion for Latin music.
“The support of our donors makes the fulfillment of our mission to provide educational opportunities that advance Latin music and its heritage a reality,” added Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza, executive director at the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation. “We are grateful to Warner Music Latina, Frost School of Music, Gibson Gives and the Gil Family Foundation for hosting these scholarships, providing opportunities to aspiring Latin music creators in need of financial aid to pursue their dreams.”
Applications for all of the scholarships will be open between now and 11:59 p.m. ET on April 10, 2025. For more information and to apply, click here.
Over the past dozen years, vinyl records have grown from an indie-rock subculture to a significant, established part of the music business. In the U.S. alone, vinyl sales were worth $1.4 billion in 2023, more than CDs — and as much as Latin music — and they will probably be worth more than $2 billion worldwide by 2025.
As the market matures — and growth slows from spectacular to merely healthy — it’s also splintering. A part of the business once dominated by rock and reissues now looks more like the Billboard 200, and labels are releasing different kinds of records for different buyers — low-price products for big box retail, endless color variations for pop fans and, increasingly, high-end vinyl for audiophiles.
The descriptions of these products makes them sound quite impressive — as do the prices. If the new Joni Mitchell vinyl reissues just aren’t good enough for you — and they are very good — $125 will buy you Mobile Fidelity’s UD1S 180g 45RPM SuperVinyl 2LP Box Set, pressed from “analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe.” That’s about five times the price of most records. Mobile Fidelity is selling a few of Mitchell’s albums in that format, plus titles by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen and many more. It’s not the only company selling premium products, either: Analogue Productions is reissuing all the Steely Dan albums on 45rpm on UHQR vinyl for $150 each, plus putting out a treasure trove of deluxe Atlantic Records reissues to make the label’s 75th anniversary. (Both companies have been in business for some time.) The majors are doing this themselves, too. Back in 2019, Blue Note President Don Was launched the Tone Poet series, which reissues jazz records that sell for about $35. And in 2023, Rhino began releasing Rhino High Fidelity reissues of WMG albums, which it sells online for $40.
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All of these are marketed with the exacting specificity of supercar engines — it’s not just vinyl, it’s SuperVinyl! But how much better do they really sound — especially to an untrained ear on a home stereo? This is important to the music business — consumers will only buy so many $125 records if they don’t sound great. And I was also curious myself.
Here I must confess that I’m enough of an audiophile to understand about half of the jargon above. Over the years, I’ve accumulated a few dozen audiophile records myself, including two Mobile Fidelity Linda Ronstadt records (fantastic), a CBS Mastersound version of Bridge Over Troubled Water (incredible), and the Craft Recordings Small Batch pressing of Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul (like being in the studio). Others were just very good — and not worth the money. And I had never really sat down and compared different versions of the same record in any disciplined way. So I decided to do so. A few caveats: I have no real audio expertise; I listened on a very good home stereo, and it doesn’t make sense to buy records like this unless you have one; your mileage may vary. Here’s what I found.
I started with the Analogue Productions reissue of Steely Dan’s Aja because the album has a well-deserved reputation as a fantastic recording. I compared it to an early pressing I have, which is a detailed and vibrant record — it sounds great. This reissue just blew it away. The definition on the reissue was so impressive that on “Black Cow’ and “Deacon Blues,” I noticed sounds that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before. And while the older album sounded spacious, the new one sounded like I could point to which musicians were playing where. If you’re a Steely Dan fan, this is worth $150. If you’re not, this might make you one. It’s that good.
The other Analogue Productions reissue I listened to, Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul, is part of the company’s Atlantic 75 Audiophile Series, and I compared it to my copy of the album that came in a 2017 box set of Redding’s mono studio albums. (I compared these reissues to records I happened to own.) The Analogue version was more detailed and transparent — specific sounds stood out more. But the reissue was of the stereo version of the album, on which Redding’s voice is on one side, and I found that my less detailed mono version had more punch. I prefer the reissue, but it’s a close call.
The first new Mobile Fidelity album I played was Bob Dylan’s Good as I Been To You, which I compared to the 2017 European reissue. Neither record has much of a soundstage — it’s really just Dylan and his guitar — but the Mobile Fidelity version has more detail. For this album, though, that’s everything. Hearing Dylan’s fingers on the strings matters because the album is so intimate — it’s a portrait of a songwriter going back to the music that inspired him. The reissue makes a big difference.
Then I tried Mobile Fidelity’s $125 pressing of Joni Mitchell’s Blue. It’s astonishing. From the opening strums of “All I Want,” I felt like I could better hear more details on a familiar recording. I compared it to my 2007 reissue, which I prefer to an early pressing I used to own. The 2007 pressing is a great record, with the depth and spaciousness this album deserves, and I don’t have a bad thing to say about it. But the Mobile Fidelity pressing offered more space and detail. Here, the deluxe version is better, but it’s hard to go wrong either way.
Last I turned to two Rhino High Fidelity records. (Tone Poet pressings sound great, but I don’t have enough old jazz records to compare them to.) I’ve always been happy with the 2014 reissue of Gram Parsons’ Grievous Angel, a quiet, clear pressing of a detailed recording. But the Rhino High Fidelity reissue blew it away: Details came out clearer, vocals emerged more forcefully, the music just seemed more lively. It just felt more there. Listening to the old record after the new one, it almost sounded veiled. Of all the records I played, this one delivered the biggest difference for the least amount of money. It’s a no-brainer.
I found less of a difference between the Rhino High Fidelity version of the Stooges debut and my 2010 reissue. This is a less detailed recording than Grievous Angel, by design, and it should hit harder – and both versions did. The deluxe version sounded a bit more present, but only if you listened closely. To get another perspective, I also listened to a 2005 CD reissue of the album, which I kept because it came with a disc of extra tracks, and I immediately noticed that it sounded lousy — shrill, unexciting, and hard on the ears at any volume. Here, both vinyl versions are great.
Obviously, pricey records have a limited audience. But at a time when so many music executives are talking about “superfans,” this seems like a product category worth keeping an eye on.
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