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Uber Eats’ commercial featuring Diddy, Montell Jordan, “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?),” the guy who sings “What Is Love,” an oddly-timed haircut and two pineapples may be the first clue that Super Bowl ads are going lighter in 2023 — a pattern reflected in the music synchs for the big game.
After three years of the pandemic, Jordan’s 1995 smash “This Is How We Do It” and Kelis’ 2003 hit “Milkshake,” both Universal Music Publishing Group synchs used in the Uber Eats spot, represent a shift from apocalyptic and inspirational Super Bowl commercials and soundtracks starring old-timey crooners and string sections to familiar, upbeat hits and plentiful comedy.
“Humor remains the dominant theme this year,” says Tom Eaton, senior vp of music for advertising for UMPG, which represents the Jordan and Kelis tracks and suggested them to the brand’s music supervisors. “There have been a few sentimental commercials, but the vast majority have trended towards humor — and music can be such an important aspect of creating that mood.”
“I haven’t seen that heightened seriousness, which I think is a good thing,” adds Keith D’Arcy, senior vp of sync and creative services for Warner Chappell Music, whose synchs at this year’s Super Bowl include DMX‘s “What’s My Name,” for a Downy spot starring Danny McBride. “The country is in a good place where we’re more inclined to want to laugh and celebrate.”
That means lots of feel-good tracks, many of which were released in the ‘90s – from “What’s My Name” and “This is How We Do It” to a Clueless throwback ad for Rakuten starring Alicia Silverstone and Supergrass‘ 1995 U.K. hit “Alright.” The ’90s trend may have begun last year with Doja Cat‘s cover of Hole‘s “Celebrity Skin” for Taco Bell, says Rob Christensen, executive vp and head of global synch for Kobalt, whose lone synch this year is soul singer Lee Fields’ “Forever” for pet-food brand The Farmer’s Dog. “The ’90s are back,” he says. “That seems to be around pop culture everywhere right now.”
“It’s cyclical,” adds Scott Cresto, executive vp of synchronization and marketing for Reservoir Media, which has three synchs, including a Pringles spot with Meghan Trainor singing Tina Turner‘s “The Best.” “Most folks’ favorite music is from [ages] 13 to 30. They’re down the line in their careers and making the decisions and picking their favorite songs.”
Although not all final synch tallies for nationally televised spots were available at press time — publishing execs say permissions and requests for songs were unusually late this year, including a rush job that came in from an agency this past Monday — Sony Music Publishing (SMP) scored the most with 15, UMPG had seven, Warner Chappell Music had six or seven, BMG landed five, Primary Wave and Reservoir had three apiece and Kobalt had one.
Despite inflation, layoffs, high interest rates and sporadic recession talk, synch rates were stable this year, according to publishers. “It’s in line with past Super Bowl campaigns,” says Marty Silverstone, partner/senior vp creative/head of synch for Primary Wave, whose synchs include Missy Elliott‘s “We Run This” for Google Pixel. Adds Dan Rosenbaum, vp of licensing and advertising, for BMG, whose synchs include Supergrass’ “Alright” and co-writes for Turner’s “The Best” and Elliott’s “We Run This”: “Recognizability is so important in commercial usage. If that song is going to work for them, they’ll pay the price.”
Super Bowl LVII is the first since Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” landed on Stranger Things in May 2022, became a No. 1 hit and unexpectedly dominated the synch business. Do publishers believe the big game, for which 30-second ads cost a reported $7 million, will have a similar impact for their songs? Yes and no.
“That Kate Bush song wasn’t well-known and the show blew it up. On the Super Bowl, they play it a little more safe by using more tried-and-true hits,” says Brian Monaco, president/global chief marketing officer for SMP, which represents Len‘s “Steal My Sunshine” (for a Sam Adams spot), Sarah McLachlan‘s “Angel” (Busch) and Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Good 4 U” (Pepsi). “On a TV show, it’s a little easier, because the fees are lower. If it doesn’t work, you’re on to the next one.”
Despite SMP’s success at landing Super Bowl synchs this year, Monaco’s staff was unable to successfully pitch one key artist: Bruce Springsteen, who sold his music rights to the company for a reported $550 million in 2021. “It just didn’t fit,” he says, while noting that even for a superstar like Springsteen, getting a Super Bowl synch is a coveted career highlight: “Everyone’s hope — every writer, every artist — is the Super Bowl platform. We need more big events like this to get more music played.”
After earning his first Latin Grammy nomination for his work on Rauw Alejandro’s Trap Cake, Vol. 2, YENSANJUAN (real name: Roberto Rivera Elias) signed a global publishing deal with Rimas Publishing. In addition to Alejandro, the emerging Puerto Rican songwriter, who says he’s “living one of the most exciting moments of my career,” has worked with artists such as Sebastian Yatra and Feid. He joins Rimas’ star-studded roster, which includes Bad Bunny, Eladio Carrión, Mora, Súbelo NEO and Tempo.
Variety show host, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur Pat Boone has reorganized his 2,300-song catalog, which consists of both his own works and others he acquired over the years from other talents. As a songwriter, Boone penned the lyrics to “The Exodus Song (This Land Is Mine)” and a number of film scores, but his catalog also contains compositions and recordings he purchased from others along the way, including cuts from David Gates, Leon Russell, Ralph Carmichael, Paul Smith, Donn Thomas, Jimmy & Carol Owens, Roger Dollarhide and Mort Lindsey, as well as masters from Boone’s Gold Label by legacy artists such as Jack Jones, Sha Na Na and Toni Tennille. Boone’s catalog, which is held under the self-owned companies Spoone Music and Cooga Music, will team up with Honolulu-based Craft Brewz Music, a creative agency specializing in catalog data collection and film/TV licensing. Spoone also has partnerships with Sweet on Top, a company that’s subpublished by peermusic, to pitch Boone’s catalog for placements.
Lickd, a music licensing platform for content creators, has partnered with Warner Chappell Music. Under the deal, which expands upon the partnership Lickd has already forged with the publisher’s parent company, Warner Music Group, Lickd will provide YouTube creators full, precleared access to use WCM’s music catalog in their video content.
Sony Music Publishing is currently holding its first-ever West Africa songwriting camp in Accra, Ghana, Jan. 5-12, 2023. Organized by Wale Davies, the company’s head of A&R, Africa, the camp will encompass a week’s worth of sessions, wellness activities and community outreach workshops to further the development of the next generation of songwriters in the region.
Sony Music Publishing U.K. has signed rising artist Naomi Kimpenu to a global publishing agreement. Awarded the Rising Star honor at the 2022 Ivor Novello Awards for her songwriting skills, the newcomer is already gaining the attention of Jack Saunders and Sian Eleri of BBC Radio 1.
Concord Music Publishing and Stax Records collaborated to host a songwriter workshop at Stax Music Academy in Memphis. The two companies have collaborated for the last three years on other songwriting workshops, but this is the first time they’ve been able to host the classes in person. Young students got instruction from hit-makers like songwriter Varren Wade, founding Soulsville president/CEO Deanie Parker, Concord senior vp of A&R Jeremy Yohai and Concord senior manager of A&R Matthew Megan.
Michèle Hamelink was named managing director of Sony Music Publishing Benelux. In the role, Hamelink will oversee and implement creative strategy across Benelux, including building and strengthening relationships with clients, local societies and industry partners and expanding songwriter support and service offerings. Based in the company’s Benelux office, Hamelink will also continue in her existing role of senior A&R. She reports to Sony Music Publishing president of international Guy Henderson.
Layla Amjadi was hired as head of music expression at Spotify. In her new role, Amjadi will oversee a team that builds formats enabling “artists, aspiring creators and fans to creatively express themselves through and around music in new ways.” She arrives at the streaming service from Gemini, where she served as vp of product and general manager. Prior to that, she worked in various roles at Meta/Instagram for nearly a decade. She reports to Charlie Hellman, vp and global head of music product.
BMG announced a new A&R structure for its Madrid-based operation, with Marcos Fairweather leading on the recordings side and Javier Doria fronting the publishing side. Fairweather joins from Universal Music Spain, where he was A&R director. Doria has been with BMG since July 2020, when he joined the company to lead A&R across publishing and recordings. Both will report to Albert Slendebroek, who also oversees BMG in Scandinavia. Under their direction, the company will target growth in the Spanish language market, with a renewed focus on established artists.
Dani Oliva was named vp of business and legal affairs at Suzy Ryoo and Troy Carter‘s Venice Music. Oliva, a transgender man, joins the company from Oliva Law Group, P.C., which he established in 2017. “We are beyond proud to welcome Dani to Venice,” said Ryoo in a statement. “With his legal expertise as well as the distance traveled in his personal & professional journey, he is an incredible addition to our team and community at Venice.” Oliva can be reached at dani@venicemusic.co.
The Association of Independent Music (AIM) appointed Nina Radojewski as head of membership, a newly created role that brings together AIM’s membership, events and marketing and communications functions under her leadership. Previously AIM’s professional development lead, Radojewski will oversee the creation and execution of the organization’s membership strategy while continuing to lead professional development initiatives for members, including the AIM Academy and the Associate Members’ Knowledge Base. AIM’s outgoing membership manager, Jude McArdle, is stepping down after more than five years in the role. Radojewski can be reached at nina@aim.org.uk.
Cameo Carlson was appointed CEO at mtheory, where she’s worked since 2017. Also promoted at the artist development and management services company are Michael Corcoran, upped to general manager; Carmela Frangella, formerly controller, elevated to CFO; Amy Davidson, promoted to executive vp; Vince Amoroso, named senior vp, head of marketing; Jonah Berry, upped to vp of marketing out of New York and Los Angeles; and Kaitlyn Moore, promoted to vp of marketing out of Nashville. The company also hired Ed Rivadavia as senior vp, head of digital. Carlson can be reached at cameo@mtheory.com, Corcoran can be reached at michaelc@mtheory.com, Frangella can be reached at carmela@mtheory.com, Davidson can be reached at amy@mtheory.com, Amoroso can be reached at vince@mtheory.com, Berry can be reached at jonah@mtheory.com and Moore can be reached at kaitlyn@mtheory.com.
On-demand vinyl platform elasticStage appointed Raoul Chatterjee as COO. He joins the company from SoundCloud, where he served as vp of content partnerships & operations. Based in London, the Billboard 2021 International Power Player will report to elasticStage founder and CEO Steve Rhodes. Chatterjee can be reached at raoul.chatterjee@elasticstage.com.
Megan Schultz was promoted to label manager at Riser House Entertainment. She will continue to oversee all label operations and scheduling for artists signed to the company’s Riser House Records label, along with label services clients. Schutz can be reached at Megan.Schultz@RiserHouse.com.
Chase Butters was named vp of sync at Concord Music Publishing out of Los Angeles. Butters will lead a team focused on increasing and enhancing Concord’s synch placements in advertising. He reports to senior vp of sync Brooke Primont and can be reached at chase.butters@concord.com.
ATC Management added a trio of new manager partners: Brandon Sanchez, Jordan Alper and Ben Rafson. All three will join manager partner Fabienne Leys and general manager Jessica Fekete at ATC’s newly opened New York office. Sanchez and Alper bring their joint management client Yaeji to the company, while Rafson brings artist clients Avalon Emerson and Jacques Greene. Sanchez joins from New York-based record label RVNG Intl. and also co-runs independent record labels SLINK and Human Pitch; Alper has worked as a talent buyer and producer for Red Bull Music Academy NY, Trevanna Entertainment and Does Festival; and Rafson, who has been in management for nearly 15 years with a focus on electronic musicians, recently founded and serves as executive director of The Rising Artist Foundation grant system. Rafson can be reached at ben@atcmanagement.com, Alper can be reached at jordan@atcmanagement.com and Sanchez can be reached at brandon@atcmanagement.com.
Melanie Seddon was promoted to vp of brand marketing at TuneCore. She will oversee all brand marketing efforts for the company as well as brand partnerships.
Elvin Sabla has been named creative brand director at Shore Fire Media, where he will oversee the PR firm’s branding and content strategy. Sabla most recently led editorial for Crypto.com’s NFT platform.
ASM Global named Kelvin D. Moore regional vp and general manager of McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. Moore will focus on creating new programs and partnerships. Moore was previously regional vp and general manager for ASM Global at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. He succeeds David Causton, who has served as general manager of the venue since 2004. Moore can be reached at kmoore@asmglobal.com.
Jen Moss was hired as a senior synch executive at Bucks Music Group. Previously at Warner Music UK, she arrives at Bucks after several years away from the industry for personal reasons. She can be reached at jmoss@bucksmusicgroup.co.uk.
Rebecca Trujillo Vest, Carls Woolf and Jordan Stobbe launched Pandion Music Foundation (PMF), a nonprofit organization designed to help foster growth in the music creator community by providing the tools and networks needed to build careers “across all lines of diversity and inclusion,” according to a press release. Partners at launch include Earthstar Creation Center, 2indie.com and Sweetwater. PMF previously partnered with 2indie, a synch coaching agency, to hold a global 24-hour “Sync-O-Thon” on Sept. 28, 2022, which helped support emerging artists by bringing in music professionals to provide feedback on their songs. PMF subsequently offered workshops by Sam Knack, Nick Phelps and others. Trujillo Vest, Woolf and Stobbe first met through an online songwriting course during the pandemic. Trujillo Vest can be reached at rebecca@pandionmusicfoundation.org and Stobbe can be reached at jordan@pandionmusicfoundation.org.
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.
Songclip has announced a partnership with Hipgnosis. Known as the “world’s only patented music clip company,” Songclip helps the music industry get clips of songs uploaded and properly licensed for apps like TikTok. The deal will allow Songclips to work with 100,000 new songs administered by Hipgnosis. This news arrives months after the 2022 NMPA Annual Meeting in which its CEO and president, David Israelite, announced that the organization will be partnering with Songclip to help remedy the issue of unlicensed music on emerging apps. To date, Songclip also has deals in place WMG, UMG, BMG, Kobalt and more.
Sony Music Publishing U.K. has signed producer and artist Lostboy to a global publishing deal. Known for his work with Tiesto and Ava Max’s “The Motto” as well as cuts with Bebe Rexha, Zedd, Kehlani, Why Don’t We, and more, he is considered by the Sony team to be one of brightest talents straddling pop, dance and electronic music. “He is without a doubt one of the world’s most exciting songwriters,” says Saul Fitton, senior a&r manager at SMP U.K.
Concord Music Publishing has signed Russell Dickerson, a multi-platinum country artist and songwriter. The deal includes Dickerson’s back catalog of songs — including “Yours,” “Every Little Thing,” and “Blue Tacoma” — as well as works made moving forward. Dickerson says of the deal, “I love that they are an independent company with worldwide reach. They value songwriters and today I’m humbled to be joining their roster of incredible talent.”
Bosworth Music (Wise Music Group) has announced its new worldwide publishing deal with Grandbrothers. The German-Swiss duo, made up of Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel, release records via indie label City Slang and also work on respected film compositions, including a score for Hors Normes which debuted at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Warner Chappell Music has signed up-and-coming Nashville talent Jon Kraft to a publishing deal. A songwriter and artist in his own right, he will be represented by the company worldwide.
BDi Music has signed Aimée to a global publishing deal. The up-and-coming Irish pop writer and singer has been releasing music since 2018, and she now joins talents like Novo Amor, Amy Wadge, and more on BDi’s roster.