Scooter Braun
Page: 2
Idina Menzel parted with manager Scooter Braun at the beginning of the year, sources close to the situation tell Billboard, adding the actress and recording artist to the growing list of Braun’s clients who have recently departed his management company, SB Projects. Another source says the “amicable” split happened last year. Menzel announced she had […]
Ariana Grande has split with longtime manager Scooter Braun, sources close to the situation tell Billboard. Grande has been with Braun and his SB Projects since 2013, the year she released her breakthrough debut album, Yours Truly. News of the split comes the same day Billboard learned that Demi Lovato, who signed with SB Projects […]
Demi Lovato is seeking new management after splitting with manager Scooter Braun last month, sources tell Billboard.
Lovato signed with Braun and his SB Projects firm in 2019. She was previously managed by Phil McIntyre of PhilyMack.
One source close to the situation says it was time for Lovato to go in a new direction, even though she was thankful for her time with SB Projects. She does not yet have new management, though conversations are taking place.
Reps for Lovato and Braun declined to comment.
Lovato has released two albums since signing with Braun: 2021’s Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and last years’ pop-punk Holy Fvck, which scored a No. 7 on the chart. Since the start of her career in 2008, Lovato has charted 36 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, four of which went top 10. All eight of her studio albums debuted within the top 10 of the Billboard 200, with 2009’s Here We Go Again entering at No. 1.
On Sept. 18, Lovato will release Demi Lovato Revamped, which includes reworked rock versions of her biggest hits including “Heart Attack,” “Sorry Not Sorry” featuring Slash, “Cool For the Summer” and more.
Upon signing to SB Projects, Lovato shared on Instagram: “Dreams came true today for me…Couldn’t be happier, inspired and excited to begin this next chapter with you Scooter!!! Thank you for believing in me and for being apart of this new journey.” (All of Lovato’s pre-2022 posts have since been wiped).
Scooter shared on his Instagram at the time: “She is a special person and a special talent. I’m… we.. are honored. Welcome to the family Demi.”
SB Project’s artist roster currently includes longtime clients Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, among others. Following a report Friday that Bieber was looking to leave SB, reps for both parties told Billboard that such “rumors” were “not true.”
J Balvin, who also signed with Braun in 2019, left in May and is now managed by Roc Nation.
Additional reporting by Dan Rys.
Ozuna has signed with Scooter Braun‘s SB Projects, Billboard has learned. The management deal is a partnership with Edgar Andino, founder and CEO of Andino Marketing Group. The Puerto Rican star joins a SB Projects roster that includes Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, among others. The company also previously managed Colombian powerhouse J Balvin, who parted ways with SB in June 2022 and is now signed to Roc Nation.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“We’ve been following Ozuna’s career for years and we’re excited to be bringing him into the family to work with him and Edgar,” Jennifer McDaniels, president of management at SB Projects, said in a statement. “Ozuna’s music is unmatched. His ability to work across genres including reggaeton, Latin pop, and more, is phenomenal. With unique songs offering fresh perspective and beautiful sounds, we’re thrilled to amplify his artistry with this partnership.”
“Working with Ozuna over these past years, one thing is for certain, we always go big,” added Andino. “For us, Scooter and SB Projects align with our vision. They are the perfect partners to help in our continued approach and take Ozuna to the next level of his career. We cannot be more thrilled and cannot wait for everyone to see what we have coming next.”
A key figure in Ozuna’s team, Andino has helped the singer-songwriter land global deals that range from NFT collaborations to releasing a song for the Call of Duty video game. Most recently, he led negotiations for Ozuna’s inclusion in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Soundtrack, performing “Arhbo” with rapper GIMS. The uplifting song, which they performed at the World Cup’s closing ceremony, peaked at No. 1 Billboard‘s Latin Airplay chart.
In May, he released Afro, a seven-track EP where he experiments with Afrobeats. It followed his 2022 studio album, Ozutochi, which landed at No. 5 on the Top Latin Albums chart. Ozuna is set to embark on his Afro Tour across Europe this summer, which has 16 confirmed dates, including stops in France, Spain, Italy, Israel and Holland. The monthlong trek kicks off July 7 in France and wraps Aug. 6 in Spain.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Quality Control Music, one of the most popular record labels in Hip-Hop, was acquired by Hybe America, the entertainment company helmed by Scooter Braun. According to reports, Quality Control Music was purchased at the price of $300,000.
The news was first announced on Wednesday (Feb 8.) by Hybe America and QC Media Holdings as reported by the New York Times. Hybe shared that the price of the acquisition includes both cash and stock holdings. Braun, one of the top music executives in the business, was named CEO of Hybe America in January. Hybe America’s parent company, Hybe, is based in South Korea and manages the K-pop group BTS.
“QC is one of the most significant independent labels in the world,” Braun said to The New York Times in a statement. “They not only distribute music, but they also distribute culture. Their artists are the voices of their communities.”
Quality Control Music was established in 2013 under the leadership of Pierre “P” Thomas and Kevin “Coach K” Lee. The label is the home of Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, and the Migos. According to P and Coach K, they are still the heads of the label but Braun will direct all business moves.
“We want to take our brand worldwide and need partners with mind-sets like ours — ground up, self-made and building companies from nothing,” P added in a statement regarding the new deal. “All of Hybe’s leaders are entrepreneurs with track records for finding, growing and amplifying their talent globally.”
—
Photo: Getty
South Korean music company HYBE has made a major entry into the U.S. market by acquiring Atlanta-based QC Media Holdings, the company behind hip-hop label Quality Control Music and a roster that includes Migos, Lil Baby, City Girls and Lil Yachty.
Founded in 2013 by CEO Kevin “Coach K” Lee and COO Pierre “P” Thomas, Quality Control will fall under the HYBE America umbrella and the leadership of its CEO, Scooter Braun. HYBE America encapsulates SB Projects, as well as Big Machine Label Group, which HYBE obtained through its 2021 acquisition of Braun’s Ithaca Holdings.
“Based on hip-hop, QC has been making a strong presence in the American music scene,” HYBE CEO Jiwon Park said in a statement. “With our shared vision, I have high hopes in what we can operate and achieve together.”
In HYBE, Quality Control gets a team with a history of building artists from scratch into global stars. “All of HYBE’s leaders are entrepreneurs with phenomenal combined history [of] finding talent and taking it to the next levels,” said Thomas in a statement.
“P and I are ecstatic about this partnership with Scooter and HYBE and are confident they can get us to our global ambitions we’ve had in our scope since the beginning of the company as nothing means more than our artists impacting worldwide,” Lee added. “Over many years, Scooter and I have cultivated real trust and a common way of looking at the world and culture.”
Quality Control expands Braun’s purview to a genre that has been missing from HYBE’s broad roster. SB Projects clients include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Kid Laroi. Big Machine’s country-focused roster features Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett and Rascal Flatts. HYBE has dipped its toes into hip-hop with Big Machine’s partnership with Blac Noize! Recordings, the label behind the 2022 summer anthem “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” by Hitkidd and Glorilla.
HYBE dominates K-pop with artists such as BTS, the BTS members’ solo projects, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen and Seventeen. In December, it launched a new Japanese imprint, Naeco, and signed Japanese singer Yurina Hirate. HYBE also has a joint venture with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records and is developing an international girl group in the U.S. But the ambitious Korean company had a limited presence in the world’s largest music market until the 2021 Ithaca acquisition. Quality Control, Braun’s first major acquisition as HYBE America CEO, further diversifies HYBE and gives it a premiere hip-hop brand.
Quality Control’s recordings have been distributed through Universal Music Group’s Motown Records, which formed a joint venture with Quality Control in 2015 along with UMG’s Capitol Music Group. A HYBE spokesperson did not comment on the state of the joint venture following the acquisition. Quality Control’s Thomas noted that both companies have a relationship with “the Universal Music Group family of companies [that] makes this seamless,” he said in a statement.
In 2022, Motown/Quality Control’s overall market share rose to 0.97% from 0.90% in 2021. In terms of current market share — music released over the previous 18 months — Motown/Quality Control improved from 1.18% in 2021 to 1.33% in 2022. It had remained part of Capitol’s market share during that period, despite its ostensible status as a standalone entity. Capitol’s overall market share declined from 6.81% in 2021 to 6.40% in 2022 while its current share dropped from 5.64% in 2021 to 4.97% in 2022.
In 2022, Lil Baby had 2.97 million equivalent albums – a metric that combines sales and streams – and 4.3 billion on-demand streams in the U.S. in 2022, according to Luminate. His track “In a Minute” peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 in April and ranked No. 43 on the year-end Hot 100 Songs chart. Despite not releasing a new album in 2022, Migos had 2.9 million album equivalent units and 4.3 billion on-demand streams last year. Lil Yachty had 424,000 album equivalent units and 637.8 million on-demand streams. City Girls had 251,000 album equivalent units and 361.6 million on-demand streams.
The acquisition also broadens HYBE’s tech portfolio. HYBE built its own social media platform, Weverse, to create a direct connection with its K-pop groups’ massive fan bases. It also owns a controlling stake in AI audio startup Supertone. Last year, Quality Control’s Solid Foundation Management, the company’s artist management arm, invested an undisclosed sum in music streaming platform SoundCloud. “This partnership is a vital part of our plan to innovate the entertainment industry through a diversified portfolio and innovative technologies,” said Bang Si-Hyuk, HYBE’s chairman, in a statement. “We will work together to continue adding to the global depth of hip-hop.”
Additional reporting by Dan Rys.
Related Images:
Related Images:
Scooter Braun has taken the title of CEO, HYBE America, the U.S. division of South Korean music company HYBE.
A HYBE representative confirmed to Billboard that Braun is now the sole CEO of HYBE America. Until recently, Braun shared the co-CEO title with veteran HYBE executive Lenzo Yoon. (Braun and Yoon appeared at No. 18 on Billboard’s 2022 Power List along with HYBE chairman Bang Si-yuk.) The HYBE representative declined to comment on Yoon’s current title or any changes to either executive’s role.
Braun joined the company through HYBE’s $1.05 billion acquisition of his Ithaca Holdings in 2021. Ithaca encompasses SB Projects, the management firm behind Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, as well as the country music-focused Big Machine Music Group. HYBE already had a U.S. presence — the acquisition was made by its state-side subsidiary, HYBE America — but Ithaca gave it the infrastructure and the executive, Braun, to build its presence in the U.S. Today, HYBE America has offices in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville. Braun’s team includes Allison Kaye, president of music, HYBE America and SB Projects; Jennifer McDaniels, president of management, HYBE America and SB Projects; and Jules Ferree, president of brands & ventures, HYBE America and SB Projects.
Yoon has spearheaded HYBE’s efforts to showcase K-pop artists based in the U.S. In a 2021 interview, he told Billboard that the U.S. provided an opportunity to implement the company’s “winning formula” that helped turn BTS into global superstars. HYBE has a joint venture with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records to search for talent, assemble a girl group and release music. “We will find the most effective way to be successful in this project based on the know-how of the two companies,” said Yoon at the time.
Yoon also said Ithica and HYBE would help one another, but suggested Braun would carve out a distinct role in the organization. “We intend to cooperate in the most efficient way without overlapping in terms of structure,” he said.
Scooter Braun, CEO of HYBE AMERICA and founder of SB Projects, was invited as a special guest to &AUDITION – The Howling – FINAL ROUND, which took place Sept. 3 in Tokyo. The audition program produced by HYBE, the company behind BTS, was conducted in an unprecedented style with the aim of launching a global group comprised of members selected from a mix of contestants from I-LAND (the project that launched ENHYPEN) — K, EJ, NICHOLAS and TAKI — and 11 trainees.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
One new aspect of this audition was that its nature was cooperative and not competitive. Audition programs tend to promote ruthless rivalry, but &AUDITION – The Howling placed emphasis on mutual support and growth among the contestants. Sometimes the mission was designed to evaluate the overall perfection as a group rather than the excellence of the individual. As the rounds progressed, a strong bond was formed between all 15 participants, and when the nine debuting members were announced as the new group &TEAM in the final round, the men who weren’t selected congratulated the winners with beaming smiles in the end — though they did shed a few tears when they first learned the results.
Braun is a prominent executive and manager in the music industry. One of his companies, Ithaca Holdings LLC, merged with HYBE in May 2021 to become HYBE America, making it easier for HYBE’s artists — BTS included — and related businesses to penetrate the North American market. The close association between K-pop stars popular in Asian regions and Braun’s artists in North America can further expand the huge base that both companies have in the future.
Braun’s presence at &AUDITION – The Howling – FINAL ROUND shows his commitment to music and artists in Asia. At the same time, expectations for &TEAM’s global expansion are growing.
Braun had some heartfelt and profound words of advice for the nine debuting members of the new band &TEAM. Speaking from experience working with some of today’s biggest stars, he noted that “every great artist has a story of adversity. All the global stars that I’ve had the chance to work with have heard more ‘no’s than ‘yes’es” and “that’s what makes them great.” With that in mind, he encouraged the new members to overcome any adversity together, emphasizing that “you have a team, you have a family now to fight through that together, so never forget that [and] lean on each other.”
Braun promised he would return to Japan for the group’s first stadium show to cheer them on. He concluded his warm message to the group slated to debut as &TEAM by telling them, “Never, never give up. And when one of you falters, the other one pick him up, OK? You are family now. You got it. Congratulations! You can all smile, you’re here now.”
&TEAM consists of nine members: K, FUMA, NICHOLAS, EJ, YUMA, JO, HARUA, TAKI and MAKI. The brand-new band will drop their debut single Dec. 7. There’s a hopeful meaning behind the group’s name: “& is about bonding – people & individuals, humans & the world, fans & artists, fans & fellow fans, and ultimately bonding between nine members each with their vivid colors. In a constant pursuit for a better self, the members’ energy synthesizes to create one team that continues to excel and break through its limits.” Fans of the group will be collectively called LUNÉ, and the group is set to take on the global stage with LUNÉ’s dedicated support.
—This article by Suhi Yoon first appeared on Billboard Japan