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The three major label groups have been in talks with the big music streaming services to find a way to get them to remove recordings with AI-generated vocals created to sound like popular artists, Billboard has learned. The idea under discussion with Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music would operate much like the one laid out by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act but would cite violations of rights of publicity, rather than copyright, according to sources at all three majors. Unlike the DMCA, however, this arrangement appears to be voluntary.
The 1998 DMCA gives online services that use, store or transmit copyrighted works a “safe harbor” from secondary liability for copyright infringement as long as they abide by a notice-and-takedown system that allows rightsholders to ask them to remove copyrighted content. That law would not apply to most AI-generated soundalike tracks because they do not infringe protected elements of copyrighted recordings or compositions but rather a trademark or a right of publicity, the protection celebrities may be able to receive to protect their names and likenesses from unauthorized commercial exploitation.
Songs that imitate the voices of big-name talent have become a trend over the past month, reaching widespread attention in mid-April when the track “Heart on My Sleeve,” which apparently used AI to mimic the style and tone of vocals by Drake and The Weeknd, was uploaded to streaming services and then swiftly removed. (The song did not credit those artists, although they were referred to in social media posts about it.)
Citing rights of publicity can be more complicated than copyright, because they are matters of state law in the U.S., backed by limited legal precedent. Rights vary by state, protections for deceased artists vary even more widely, and the use of soundalike vocals for creative purposes may in some cases be protected as free speech. Further complicating matters, these rights almost always belong to artists, not labels, which would presumably file notices on their behalf with authorization. Right now, however, this is the most obvious legal argument with which to keep AI-generated soundalikes off major streaming platforms.
In an April 26 earnings call, UMG CEO and chairman Lucian Grainge seemed to signal this approach to investors. “The recent explosive development in generative AI will… create rights issues with respect to existing copyright law, in the US and other countries, as well as laws governing trademark, name and likeness, voice impersonation, and right of publicity,” he said. “Further, we have provisions in our commercial contracts that provide additional protections.” It is not clear if takedowns issued by the majors would rely on these provisions, state law, goodwill, or some combination.
Some executives have raised concerns that AI soundalikes that imitate the voices of popular artists could result in consumer confusion. Still, a few artists like Grimes and Holly Herndon have embraced the technology, training their own AI voice models and making them available to the public.
Meanwhile, companies like Uberduck, Supertone, Lingyin Engine, and Covers.ai are marketing models with which to replicate voices. Covers.ai, which launched last week, has said that it received over 100,000 sign-ups in anticipation. Tencent Music Entertainment executives announced in November that with the company’s Lingyin Engine they had created and released over 1,000 songs containing synthetic AI voices already, one of which amassed 100 million streams.
This stance taken by the leading streaming services counters a recent announcement from the blockchain-based music platform Audius, which announced that artists can now “opt-in” to allow AI-generated works on their artist page. To organize this new music and avoid confusion, Audius would create a separate tab on the artists’ page especially for user-generated content.
Representatives for Universal, Sony, Warner, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music did not respond to requests for comment.
Universal Music Group shareholders approved on Thursday (May 11) the 2022 compensation packages for CEO Lucian Grainge and his deputy, Vincent Vallejo, plus a special $100 million stock option awarded to Grainge to stay on the job for five more years.
The company did not immediately disclose the percentage of votes cast in support of the advisory vote on the pay packages or other voting items at its annual general meeting held in the Amsterdam, and the meeting was live-streamed only to registered shareholders.
Since the global financial crisis, these kinds of annual meetings become a stage for shareholders to express their gripes about a company’s policies or performance. The vote of support for the world’s largest music company’s pay practices comes despite criticism raised by influential shareholder advisory groups, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, who had advised investors to reject Grainge’s pay packages.
Shareholders approved Grainge’s 2022 pay, which totaled more than 47 million euros (roughly $50 million), and re-appointed him as executive director, along with Sherry Lansing and Luc van Os as non-executive directors. Entertainment mogul Haim Saban was also appointed as non-executive director.
Shareholders declined to reappoint Anna Jones as a non-executive director, and her current term will run until the company’s next annual meeting in 2024.
Shareholders also approved a final 2022 dividend payout of 0.27 euros per share, which investors will receive in June. The vote brings UMG’s full year 2022 dividend to 0.51 euros per share.
In an April report, ISS recommended shareholders vote against UMG’s 2022 remuneration policy, saying the pay packages were out of step with industry standards in part due to “excessive” base salaries. That Grainge’s total pay was 12.4 times higher than the median of peers “raises substantial concerns,” ISS wrote.
Grainge’s 2022 pay package included a base salary of about 15.4 million euros and short-term incentives totaling 28.77 million euros, including a portion equivalent to 1% of UMG’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) that was part of an agreement reached prior to UMG going public.
In its annual report, the company says that full-time UMG employees receive an average of 142,039 euros annually,up from 131,961 euros in 2021.
The board explained its reasoning for the remuneration for its executive directors saying that Grainge was a one-of-a-kind executive, and that certain incentive payments were due to legacy arrangements agreed to before the company went public.
In the proposed future pay agreement, which was part of an extension of Grainge’s contract through May 2028, the board said it did away with the incentive that paid Grainge 1% of UMG’s consolidated EBITA. In addition, the new agreement transitions Grainge from an all-cash compensation package to a combination cash and equity package “with a broad set of performance-based objectives aligned with shareholders’ interest and corresponding to the company’s long-term growth strategy.”
UMG ended the European trading day up 0.43% at 18.79 euros ($20.52).
Universal Music Group’s revenues rose 11.5% to 2.45 billion euros ($2.71 billion) last quarter, as sales generated by Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift, TOMORROW X TOGETHER bolstered results in both recorded music and music publishing.
The world’s biggest music company reported revenue from its recorded music division rose 11.7% to 1.92 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in the quarter ending March 31 compared to the same period a year ago. Revenue from subscriptions and streaming rose by nearly 10% to 1.33 billion euros ($1.47 billion) and physical revenue rose a whopping 32% to 313 million euros ($346 million), while revenue from downloads and other digital revenue — the smallest line item in the division — fell by 19.1% to 55 million euros ($60 million).
The publishing division’s overall revenues rose 13.3% to 425 million euros ($469 million), with digital revenue contributing the most, increasing by nearly 21% from a year ago to 231 million euros ($255 million). Synchronization revenue rose around 11% to 69 million euros ($76 million), while performance revenue slipped 1% to 90 million euros ($99 million).
“Our strong start to the year demonstrates our consistency in developing great artists and introducing their music to fans around the world,” UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge said in a statement. “We look forward to building on this momentum and furthering our track record of transforming disruptive technologies into opportunities to accelerate our business for our artists, fans and shareholders.”
Overall earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter fell by nearly 43% to 261 million euros ($288 million), driven primarily by equity-based compensation expenses UMG began rolling out in the fourth quarter of 2022. Stripping out those compensation expenses, UMG reported adjusted EBITDA rose 14.7% to 522 million euros ($576 million) compared to the year-ago quarter, and adjusted EBITDA margin grew 0.6 percentage points to 21.3%.
UMG’s Earnings Highlights:
Revenue rose 11.5%, or 9.3% in constant currency, to 2.45 billion euros ($2.71 billion) versus the year ago quarter.
EBIDTA fell 42.5% to to 261 million euros ($288 million)
Adjusted EBITDA rose 14.7% to 522 million euros ($576 million)
Adjusted EBITDA margin grew 0.6 percentage points to 21.3%
Recorded Music Division Highlights:
Recorded music revenue overall rose 11.7% to 1.92 billion euros ($2.1 billion)
Subscriptions and streaming revenue rose by nearly 10% to 1.33 billion euros ($1.47 billion)
Physical revenues rose 32% to 313 million euros ($346 million)
License and other revenue rose 9.2% to 226 million euros ($250 million)
Downloads and other digital revenue fell by 19.1% to 55 million euros ($60 million)
Music Publishing Highlights:
Music publishing revenues overall rose 13.3% to 425 million euros ($469 million)
Digital revenues rose by nearly 21% from a year ago to 231 million euros ($255 million)
Performance revenues slipped 1% to 90 million euros ($99 million)
Synchronization revenues rose around 11% to 69 million euros ($76 million)
Maggie Rogers has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group. The deal sees Rogers recorded music and publishing all joining under the Universal Music Group roof, given the singer-songwriter has been a longtime signee of Capitol Records.
Rogers got her start as a NYU student, writing and producing her own material. When Pharrell Williams gave a master class at the university, Rogers showed him a song she had been working on called “Alaska.” His astonishment at Rogers’ prowess as a producer, songwriter and singer was captured in a viral video that catapulted the young singer to instant acclaim. “Alaska” became her first major label release.
Since then, Rogers earned herself a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and released two albums Heart It In a Past Life — which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums and No. 2 on Billboard 200 — and Surrender (2022) — which landed at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums chart and No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart.
News of the publishing deal arrives just as Rogers prepares for her next tour through the U.S. and Europe. In an attempt to combat bots and scalpers, Rogers “went old school” as she put it in a recent Instagram post: she opted for an in-person, box office pre-sale for all tour stops. “F–k bots + f-k fees. come buy a ticket in person. tomorrow only… Come kick it like its 1965,” she wrote.
Rogers was previously signed to Sony Music Publishing.
Rogers said of her new publishing deal: “I’m so proud to call UMPG my home and can’t wait begin this next chapter of my career alongside so many writers and professionals I respect and admire.”
Jennifer Knoepfle, evp and co-head of A&R at UMPG, added, “Maggie is one of my favorite songwriters, and I have been lucky to work alongside her since the early stages of her incredible career. We are so excited for her next chapter in her new home at UMPG, and she will have the best support for her creative journey.”
Universal Music Group’s revenues surged 21.6% to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for all of 2022, boosted by strong returns from recorded music subscriptions and streaming.
The world’s biggest music company reported the revenue its recorded music division gets from subscriptions and streaming rose by nearly 19% to over 5.3 billion euros ($5.6 billion), while digital revenues in its music publishing division rose by nearly 50% to over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) in 2022, all helping it achieve a nearly 15% uptick in operating profit.
UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge said the earnings were evidence the company’s diversified revenue streams has made it an example of the music business’ steady strength amid a darkening economic outlook.
“We continue to successfully manage the company for long term growth while driving strong results in our core business — developing great artists and introducing their music to fans around the world,” said Grainge. “Our roster … achieved enormous commercial and creative success in markets around the world. We also worked to evolve and expand relationships with our existing DSP partners as well as establish new ones in fitness, health, gaming and the metaverse, driving the industry forward though leadership, creativity, innovation and collaboration.”
UMG was home to seven of the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, 15 of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) top 20 global artists and four of Spotify’s top five global artists in 2022.
UMG reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 19.4% to 2.14 million euros ($2.26 billion) for 2022 from a year ago. Adjusted EBIDTA margin fell by 0.4 percentage points to 20.6%.
The company’s free cash flow increased by a whopping 70.2% to 638 million euros ($675 million) largely from the growth in adjusted EBITDA, according to the company’s filings.
UMG’s Earnings Highlights:
Revenue rose 21.6%, or 13.6% in constant currency, to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for 2022 from 8.5 billion euros ($9 billion) in 2021
EBIDTA rose 20.3%, or 12.5% in constant currency, to 2.03 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in 2022 from 1.69 billion euros ($1.78 billion) in 2021
EBITDA margin fell to 19.6% in 2022 from 19.8% in 2021
Adjusted EBITDA rose 19.4%, or 11.7% in constant currency, to 2.14 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in 2022 from 1.79 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in 2021
Operating profit rose 14.8%, or 7.9% in constant currency, to 1.6 billion euros ($1.69 billion) in 2022 from 1.39 billion euros ($1.48 billion) in 2021
Net debt fell 10% to 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in 2022 from 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in 2021
Free cash flow rose 70.2% to 1.09 billion euros ($1.15 billion) in 2022 from 638 million euros ($675 million) in 2021
Recorded Music Division Highlights:
Recorded music revenue overall rose 16.3%, or 8.8% in constant currency, to 7.9 billion euros in 2022 from 6.8 billion in 2021
Subscriptions and streaming revenue rose 18.7%, or 9.8% in constant currency, to 5.3 billion euros in 2022 from 4.5 billion euros in 2021
Physical revenues rose 7.7%, or 4.1% in constant currency, to 1.2 billion euros in 2022 from 1.12 billion in 2021
License and other revenue rose 19.6%, or 13.4% in constant currency, to 1 billion euros in 2022 from 896 million in 2021
Downloads and other digital revenue rose 4%, or fell 2.9% in constant currency, to 337 million euros in 2022 compared to 324 million in 2021
Music Publishing Highlights:
Music publishing revenues overall rose 34.8%, 26.3% in constant currency, to 1.8 billion euros in 2022 from 1.3 billion euros in 2021
Performance revenues rose 24.9%, or 18.2% in constant currency, to 371 million euros in 2022 from 297 million euros in 2021
Synchronization revenues rose 18.6%, or 10.3% in constant currency, to 236 million euros in 2022 from 199 million euros in 2021
Digital revenues rose 49%, or 38.7% in constant currency, to 1.04 billion euros in 2022 from 698 million euros in 2021
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Universal Music Group (UMG) has struck a deal to acquire a 49% shareholding in PIAS Group, the leading European independent music company.
Financial terms of the arrangement, announced early Wednesday (Nov. 30), were not disclosed.
By taking a minority stake in PIAS Group, UMG, the world’s leading major music company, expands on its strategic global alliance struck with the indie powerhouse in June 2021.
PIAS, or Play It Again Sam, was founded in Belgium 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, both career-long advocates for the independent music sector.
Gates and Lambot will retain majority control of the company, a joint statement reads, and UMG will have no seats on the company’s board.
Headquartered in London and Brussels, PIAS is said to be one of the largest independent and privately-owned music companies in the world.
The group includes the PIAS Label Group, which oversees the business’ various record label interests, and Integral Distributions Services, which provides support to its own, in-house labels and upwards of 100 independent label partners, including ATO, Beggars Group, Bella Union, Chrysalis, Domino, Epitaph, LSO, Mute, Ninja Tune, Partisan, Secretly Group, Transgressive and Warp.
Today, PIAS boasts 16 offices around the world with 300 employees.
“The boldly independent and music-centric culture that Kenny and Michel have built over the last four decades has provided a vital creative network to so many artists,” comments UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, in a statement.
“While much of the past was focused on ‘majors versus indies,’ it’s clear that today, the important divide in our industry is about those committed to artist development versus those committed to quantity over quality. “
He continues, “We share Kenny and Michel’s passion for developing artists and moving culture, and we recognize that a healthy music ecosystem needs companies like PIAS who are committed to amplifying the best voices in independent music.”
As PIAS celebrates its 40th anniversary, Gates and Lambot insist the new arrangement will enable its artists, clients and team to flourish.
Says Lambot, one of the founders of the pan-European independent music companies’ trade body Impala, “we are still as ambitious as we were when we started out about growing our global presence and providing a world class service to the independent music community.”
Gates adds, “These days we are competing with finance and tech giants and a partner like Universal Music Group provides the additional support for us to compete and grow. Universal made it clear that they like us, they trust us and they need us, because they can’t do what we do and they value it highly.”
This move, Gates continues, “makes us stronger and secures the future of our brand, our staff and our partners while maintaining control of our destiny.”
Created in a Brussels cellar four decades ago by Gates and Lambot, PIAS began life as a distributor of independent labels. Four years, the pair launched publishing company Strictly Confidential, and PIAS continued to grow its footprint, including the opening of offices Paris and London (in 1994), Hamburg (1995), Madrid (2000), New York and Stockholm (2013), and Sydney (2017) through the acquisition of Inertia.
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.
