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DJ Khaled is on the move. During a press conference in Miami (Feb. 9), Khaled announced a partnership with Def Jam Recordings for his We The Best imprint. Under the deal, Khaled will also serve as the global creative consultant to Def Jam and UMG.
Khaled joins the label following an eight-year tenure with Epic Records. His run there included four Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, most recently his 2022 release God Did. He also netted six Hot 100 Top 10 tracks, highlighted by his 2017 chart-topper “I’m The One.”
“This new chapter marks a special time for me,” said Khaled in a press release. “The energy at this point in my career is at an all-time high and I’m grateful to Sir Lucian Grainge for allowing me to join his empire at this stage in my journey. Together, we will achieve even greater heights and take it to the next level. I feel blessed and so inspired with renewed energy. I’m excited to not only partner, but to come back home to Def Jam. Tunji Balogun is not only an extraordinary A&R, but a true music-man and visionary who continuously is responsible for introducing the world to some of its next greatest superstars. I’m excited to join my sister and visionary executive LaTrice Burnette once again, as we have had tremendous success on every single project we have collaborated on in the past. Def Jam is the culture and together we will make history yet once again.”
DJ Khaled is a great artist, hitmaker, mentor, and cultural innovator,” added UMG chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge. “It gives me great pleasure to welcome him home to UMG where we look forward to working together to amplify his brilliant creative instincts and unique vision.”
Def Jam chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun also shared his jubilation regarding Khaled’s signing, saying: “Beyond a proven hitmaker, incredible producer, undeniable artist, and consummate showman, DJ Khaled occupies the rarified air of cultural icon. His uncanny ability to continuously have his finger on the pulse of the culture, to reach audiences all over the world in innovative yet authentic ways, and his remarkable savvy for marketing, promoting and eventizing everything he touches is absolutely second to none. We are thrilled to partner with DJ Khaled and We The Best, both as a multi-platinum, award-winning artist and as a valued executive. Without a doubt, Khaled can only make us better.”
Khaled is fresh off his Grammys performance of “God Did,” which featured Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Fridayy and John Legend. He also had five nominations at this year’s show.
“We’re back!” Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said to a round of applause, opening the first UMG Grammy week artist showcase in three years due to the pandemic. “A lot has happened in these last three years, but today is about the music.”
UMG’s pre-Grammy artist showcase at Milk Studios has always been about the emerging artists that are coming through the ranks at Universal Music Group in a given year, and the performances are a highly-anticipated event each year. But the pandemic meant that this year’s was the first since 2020, and this edition also included highlights from a series of forthcoming docu-films that the company is set to release.
Grainge spent a few moments in his opening remarks shouting out the artists who were set to perform, as well as those in attendance, which included Elton John, Jon Batiste, Sabrina Carpenter, Yo Gotti, Niall Horan, Fletcher, Ice Spice, Queen Naija and Natalie Jane. “We all know the extraordinary power of music; it touches each of us,” he said. “Music’s power increases in a socially conscious way whenever artists use their talents to promote positive change in our community. When we at UMG employ the vast reach and resources of our company to support our artists in their efforts to promote change, the power of music blossoms even more.”
He then introduced a video that focused on Billie Eilish and her mother’s efforts to address climate change and promote sustainability with her tours and the way she lives her life, as well as UMG’s own efforts to promote sustainability and limit their carbon footprint and waste. Then Grainge introduced Eilish herself, who came out and accepted UMG’s Amplifier Award for her efforts.
“I do as much as I can — I feel like I can always do more — but I feel very impressed and excited that you guys are actually making this a priority and thinking about it and doing your part to support me,” Eilish said while accepting the award. “I would just say I’m really thankful — I feel really seen right now. I spend a lot of my time feeling really anxious because I don’t feel like a lot of people, and especially people in the business, care very much, and it’s really nice to see that this is happening and that you guys do. And I just wanted to say, everyone in this room, we can all do our part. I know a lot of you got some money in your f—in’ pocket, so you can use it for good things and not stupid things,” she added, laughing. She then thanked her mother, and continued, “I’m always trying to think of how to do things in the least wasteful ways possible, and it’s shocking how little I feel that gets reciprocated, and it makes me feel like nobody’s doing anything. So it’s nice to see that you are, and I’m really thankful.”
Then the performances got underway, beginning with Kim Petras, who sang her song “brrr” before bringing out Sam Smith for their chart-topping collaboration “Unholy.” Verve Records artist — and best new artist nominee at this year’s Grammys — Samara Joy then came out to perform a beautifully jazzy “Sweet Pumpkin,” with her vocals taking things to the next level with her trio on stage, and GloRilla hit the stage with highly energetic performances of her songs “Tomorrow” and “FNF.”
Elton John then emerged from the crowd to introduce Stephen Sanchez, a young singer and guitarist signed to Republic Records. John thanked the Universal staff — the label group that he’s been with his entire career — before noting how when he was a young artist he benefited from and valued the support he got from established artists who reached out to him and encouraged him. He then turned his attention to Sanchez, who he compared to Roy Orbison and Ricky Nelson. “I am so thrilled to see this boy, at 20 years of age, taking the reins and writing this great song — he’s gonna be a big, big star,” John said. “I really think he’s the bee’s knees.”
Sanchez then played “Evangeline” and “Until I Found You,” two songs with his retro feel, adding that he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to talk on stage instead of just performing — “It feels like I broke into a party I’m not supposed to be at,” he joked — and thanking Elton before walking off to a big ovation. Singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer-Smith got a huge ovation as well, with the crowd audibly gasping at her vocal performances of brand-new, unreleased track “Best Friend Breakup” and her breakout hit “Fingers Crossed.” And Universal Music Latino signee Feid brought a Latin presence to the afternoon, with guitar-rocking performances of “Tengo Fe” — “the song that changed my life while we were in lockdown,” he noted — and “Porfa.”
Def Jam signee Muni Long showcased her powerful vocals and impressive range with the new, unreleased song “Made for Me,” a gorgeous ballad that will be included on her upcoming debut album, which she added she’s still working on, before shimmering on her own breakout hit from last year, the sultry “Hrs and Hrs.” And TDE/Capitol artist Doechii wowed those in attendance with a breathlessly insistence dance set of “Persuasive” and “Crazy” that packed raw energy into every second of her performance.
The show didn’t just contain performances, but was also an opportunity for Universal to preview three new documentaries that it will be releasing in the coming months, including Love to Love You, a Donna Summer doc directed by her daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, as well as Roger Ross Williams, that will arrive on HBO in May, and a Paul McCartney documentary directed by Morgan Neville focusing on his post-Beatles career in the 1970s, when he had to reinvent himself with his solo work and his band Wings, that is called Man on the Run and will be released in 2024.
Batiste was also on hand to speak about an upcoming documentary that follows his life for the past year, called American Symphony, that explores the emotional highs of his big Grammy wins last year, when he took home album of the year, and the devastating lows of his wife’s cancer battle, a film that he says became about a lot more than he originally envisioned while he worked on his next musical project.
“Making things is difficult. Being an artist is vulnerable process, it’s a vulnerable existence. It takes so much to express the truth of how you feel, where you’re from, to connect to the universal humanism, humanity, that everyone has from the beginning of time until now,” Batiste said, also praising director Matthew Heineman. “It’s like you’re connected to a source that exists on a plane that you can’t see but we can all feel. It’s just as real as this table, just as real as anything. And I really believe the process of that is a messy process. You gotta scrap with it a little bit. You gotta roll around. You gotta get a handle on it. I wanted to make a film that captured the process of it all — a lot of unprecedented moments in my life over this year, highs and lows, intense highs and very intense, near tragic, lows.”
The showcase ended with a surprise set from Shania Twain, whose new album Queen of Me came out this past week. The Canadian icon performed a stripped down “You’re Still the One” and an abbreviated honky tonk “That Don’t Impress Me Much” — complete with a tweak of a lyric to “OK, so you’re Lucian Grainge” — before grabbing an acoustic guitar for “Honey I’m Home.” Twain’s appearance capped an afternoon of star-studded performances, showcasing that UMG has another new crop of young stars with bright futures ahead.
Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge is calling on music industry executives to come together to get artists paid. Last night (Feb. 1), Grainge addressed an audience of Billboard Power 100 honorees in Los Angeles with the hope that the most powerful business figures in the industry can come together on the side of creatives.
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“Our industry is entering a new chapter where we’re going to have to pick sides, all of us are going to have to pick sides,” Grainge said from the stage in Hollywood. “Are we on the side of FinTech [Financial Technology] and functional music, functional content? Or are we on the side of artistry, and artists?”
Grainge was the first executive to take the stage after Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp opened the ceremony and introduced Grainge who, once again, landed the top spot on the Billboard Power 100 list this year. Grainge takes the top spot as the leader of UMG which reported third-quarter earnings of 2.66 billion euros (approximately $2.9 billion), up 13.3% year over year in constant currency, a fifth-straight quarter of growth since the company spun off from Vivendi in fall 2021.
His call to action was based on the idea of disrupting the music industry, but from those who care most about it. “I’ve always seen opportunity in disruption. And for those of us that have been in the business, made our living out of music, boy have we seen an enormous amount of disruption,” said Grainge. “But the problem is that all too often we’ve let others disrupt our industry. But if we work together across the music community, we can disrupt the status quo instead. And that offers enormous opportunity for real music, real artists. Now, that’s what I call powerful.”
The executive was also quick to thank his colleagues at UMG and provided a shout out to its label Republic Records, which landed the No. 1 label of the year based on current market share. But Grainge’s short and poignant speech focused on his love of music and those who work on behalf of artists.
“Working on behalf of artists and working to grow this industry has been my life’s passion and I’ve been very lucky,” Grainge said. “I feel very strongly that if we’re to succeed, more than ever, we need to come together as an industry, to fight for artists, and for music.”
He continued: “Let’s focus our energy on rewarding those that make great music and those that made music great. Let’s break artists, fight to get them paid, and to give fans real joy.”
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The music business, historically speaking, has not been great at consensus. But there does seem to be growing agreement from many quarters now that the existing payment structure for streaming royalties isn’t working for everyone and that a different approach is required.
This isn’t a new idea, but it’s one that’s quickly gathering steam in the wake of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge’s internal staff memo/open letter to the industry earlier this month, in which he called for an “updated model” for the music industry — one that will be “an innovative, ‘artist-centric’ model that values all subscribers and rewards the music they love.”
It wasn’t clear what, exactly, Grainge meant in the letter. And on Tuesday (Jan. 31), it became a little bit clearer that, as of yet, there isn’t much clarity on what it will mean — though UMG is hoping to find it. To that end, Universal has announced a partnership with TIDAL to “research how, by harnessing fan engagement, digital music services and platforms can generate greater commercial value for every type of artist,” according to a press release. Essentially, there are a lot of unknowns here other than that something needs to change.
That was more or less what UMG’s executive vp/chief digital officer Michael Nash said in a statement accompanying the release. “As the digital landscape continues to evolve, it’s become increasingly clear that music streaming’s economic model needs innovation to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future,” he said. “Tidal’s embrace of this transformational opportunity is especially exciting because the music ecosystem can work better — for every type of artist and fan — but only through dedicated, thoughtful collaboration. Built on deeply held, shared principles about the value of artistry and the importance of the artist-fan relationship, this strategic initiative will explore how to enhance and advance the model in keeping with our collective objectives.”
This is not TIDAL’s first attempt at stepping out of the traditional streaming royalties model, in which streaming income is collected and divvied up among rights holders according to their share of total streams. In November 2021, the streamer announced a new three-tier membership structure and a step into a user-centric royalty model for its premium tier, which endeavored to pay rights holders based on the streaming activity of each individual user — with the additional element that 10% of each user’s subscription fee would go directly to their most-streamed artist.
That, in itself, is a twist on the “fan-powered royalties” that SoundCloud first rolled out in March 2021, which allocated streaming revenue to artists based on which acts a given user listened to, and which Warner Music Group opted into last year. (Deezer has also publicly supported a user-centric model.) SoundCloud says that artists using FPR generate 60% more streaming revenue than those who use the more traditional model, though it’s currently only being offered to indie artists and WMG artists on the SoundCloud platform; a MiDiA study said that 56% of artists were better off with FPR. Access to the data on who the fans are who are streaming that music the most, SoundCloud has said, is the true game-changer for the model.
There has, however, been some hesitance around that user-centric idea, mainly due to studies conducted in the last few years surrounding who would benefit, and at the expense of whom, by the switch. One study found that for 99.4% of artists, the switch would equate to less than a 5% bump in royalties — for many, effectively just a few euros per year — which could be offset by the administrative costs of the switch itself for the platform. That could disproportionately affect R&B/hip-hop artists, given that the genres have thrived in the streaming era, to the benefit of other, smaller or more niche genres. And it would definitely take away from top earners’ revenue — i.e., artists who wield an outsized voice in the business. A general view became that the switch would equate to moving money from one bucket to another, without really moving the needle for most artists at all.
TIDAL, in today’s announcement, effectively conceded the point and said they are stepping away from the user-centric model they were pursuing in order to take a step back and join in this new research project with UMG. “We are setting aside our current fan-centered royalties investigation to focus on this opportunity for more impact,” TIDAL’s Jesse Dorogusker said in a statement. “This partnership will enable us to rethink how we can sustainably improve royalties’ distribution for the breadth of artists on our platform.”
What they’re saying is, essentially, it’s time for a new study to see if there are better, perhaps more nuanced, ways to change up a model that pretty much everyone is beginning to agree is no longer functioning the way it was originally intended. “At TIDAL, we learned from [fan-centered royalties] there is an opportunity to build a royalties distribution model that could be better at compensating the breadth of genres and artists that contribute to streaming catalogs,” TIDAL’s global head of communications Sade Ayodele tells Billboard. “Many of the alternative models explored, however well intended that they are, unfortunately create a new set of winners and losers. With this partnership, we’re hoping to find a fairer and more equitable distribution approach that benefits a broader set of genres and artists contributing to the culture of music.”
Which brings us, again, to the original question: What will that look like? The answer could be varied, and it could be different for each streaming service. There have been some conversations in some sectors of the industry about weighting music streams higher than background sounds, for instance, or more heavily weighting intentional listening (searching for or clicking on a song or artist) over background listening (a playlist, or an algorithmically-chosen next song). There are already different models around ad-supported vs. paid subscription payouts, and there is a conversation to be had about how fan engagement should or could influence where money is directed. What UMG and TIDAL are trying to say with Tuesday’s announcement is, let’s go try some things and see what works, and let everyone else know what we’re doing so that maybe they can try to find an innovative answer, too.
Consensus is a hard thing to come by. There likely won’t be a consensus around what the end solution is, and several options could eventually emerge. But streaming has been around for more than a decade now, and if there’s any consensus at all, it’s that something needs to change.
A federal judge ruled Friday that hundreds of artists cannot join forces to sue Universal Music Group to regain control of their masters, saying the case raised big questions about “fairness” but that it was ill-suited for class-action litigation.
The ruling came in a closely-watched case brought by “Missing You” singer John Waite and others over copyright law’s “termination right.” The rule is supposed to let authors take back control of their works, but the lawsuit claims UMG has flatly ignored that requirement when it comes to sounds recordings.
Waite wanted to certify the case as a class action — a make-or-break move that would have allowed hundreds of UMG artists to bring their claims as a single lawsuit, represented by a single set of lawyers.
But in a crucial ruling issued Friday, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied that request, citing the complex and unique questions raised by each individual artist’s relationship with UMG.
“Plaintiffs’ claims raise issues of fairness in copyright law that undoubtedly extended beyond their own grievances,” the judge wrote. “However, the individualized evidence and case-by-case evaluations necessary to resolve those claims make this case unsuitable for adjudication on an aggregate basis.”
Waite and other artists sued UMG in February 2019, claiming the label had effectively refused to honor the termination right. The case was filed as a proposed class action, aiming to eventually represent hundreds of others in a similar situation. A nearly-identical case was filed on the same day by the same attorneys against Sony Music Entertainment, claiming it had adopted a similar stance on terminations.
According to the lawsuits, the labels have long claimed that sound recordings – unlike the underlying musical compositions controlled by music publishers – are effectively never subject to the termination rule. The basic argument is that most recordings are so-called works for hire, meaning the label essentially creates them itself and simply hires artists to contribute to them.
In seeking to pull hundreds of other artists into the lawsuit, lawyers for the artists argued that UMG has made those “fictitious” and “erroneous” arguments “in every instance” that an artist invokes the termination right – meaning they represent the kind of “systematic wrongful conduct” that is best addressed by a huge class action.
But in Friday’s decision, Judge Kaplan disagreed. “The … analysis requires understanding for each artist the circumstances in which the recordings were produced, the creative involvement, if any, of the record label, and the types of resources and payments the record label provided the artist.”
To decide if a record really was produced simply as a work for hire, the judge said tricky questions would need to be answered for each separate artist. Judge Kaplan said the evidence indicated that UMG sometimes only provided “big picture approval authority,” which could help an artist prove their right to terminate. But for other artists, he said the label was “more involved in the creative process.”
“Did the record label agree on the lyrics and music with the artist?” the judge asked. “Did the record label select the producers and sound engineers to work on the sound recordings? What level of substantive artistic feedback, if any, did the record label provide?”
The ruling is not necessarily a death-knell for the lawsuit against UMG, which will now proceed on behalf of Waite and a handful of others. Evan Cohen, the attorney who represents the artists, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The case could still make a big impact, class-or-no-class. Countless other artists have similar arrangements with record labels over highly-lucrative masters, but the legal arguments about when sound recordings are subject to the termination right have thus far only been lightly tested in court. A final ruling in favor of Waite could provide key legal ammo for those other artists, even if they need to bring their own cases.
A representative for UMG did not immediately return a request for comment.
But it will doubtless be a severe logistical hurdle for such cases actually being filed, since they’re expensive to litigate and artists typically lack the same kind of legal resources as the major labels who have denied their termination requests. A class action would have allowed the artists to pool their resources and secure a sweeping decision with only a single set of legal costs.
Friday’s decision will not directly apply to the similar proposed class action against Sony, which has been on pause for months as the two sides attempt to strike a settlement. But the new ruling, issued by a judge in the same federal court district as the Sony case, certainly does not bode well for that case being certified as a class action.
Read the entire decision here:
TV producer and recording industry executive Roey Hershkovitz was named vp of sound & picture at Universal Music Group (UMG), a newly-created position. In the role, Hershkovitz will lead visual content capture across UMG’s studios, develop new programming and build on the company’s immersive audio efforts. Alongside head of video services Joe McCrossan, he will also develop new strategies to build on the company’s multimedia services and capabilities available to record labels, artists and songwriters. In addition to his vp of sound & picture title, Hershkovitz will also serve as head of West Coast studios, where he will continue to oversee Capitol Studios and its ongoing renovation. He was also appointed to UMG’s audio leadership team to drive innovation and audio quality, including Dolby Atmos Music adoption across a broad array of consumer products. Now based out of Santa Monica, Hershkovitz will report to executive vp of digital studios Christopher Jenkins and senior vp of recording studios & archive management Pat Kraus. Prior to his promotion, Hershkovitz was vp of Capitol Studios & Digital Studios.
Rapper Papoose was named head of hip-hop at TuneCore, where he will lead the Believe-owned company’s artist ambassador program for hip-hop and rap, scouting emerging talents, overseeing artist education and career advice workshops and acting as a brand advisor for new programs and technology launches. He’ll report to CEO Andreea Gleeson. In addition to his new executive role, Papoose also announced the release of his new single, “Making Plays” featuring Jim Jones and Jaquae, which drops Feb. 10. He can be reached at papoose@tunecore.com.
Colton McGee was named senior vp of business and legal affairs at Concord Label Group. Based at the company’s Nashville headquarters, McGee will work with executive vp of business and legal affairs Gregg Goldman as a key member of the business and legal affairs team for Concord’s recorded music division. McGee previously spent 13 years at BBR Music Group in Nashville, handling business and legal affairs for both BBR and BMG (the latter since 2017). He can be reached at colton.mcgee@concord.com.
Warner Chappell Production Music (WCPM) will expand into Brazil with a new team based in São Paulo, headed by Renato Moraes. In his role, Moraes will lead a team focused on building out a local repertoire and work to expand the company’s footprint by servicing the region’s film, TV, radio and advertising clients with WCPM’s catalog. The team will also provide custom music services and work to broaden creative partnerships. Moraes will report to vp of licensing & music creative Sinéad Hartmann and work closely with director of strategic, commercial, film, synch and licensing Flávia Cesar. He joins the company from Music Branding Brazil, where he was head of recordings and publishing. Moraes can be reached at Renato.Moraes@warnerchappellpm.com.
Adam Gardiner was named senior vp of international synch at Concord Music Publishing; he joins the company from Universal Music Group’s creative division, Globe, where he served as head of film & TV. In his new role, Gardiner’s purview will include all music publishing synch activity outside the U.S., with the U.K., Germany and Australia synch teams reporting directly to him. He will also coordinate all of the company’s third-party synch activity. Based in London, he reports to president of international publishing John Minch.
Music scholar and musician Jason King was named dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, effective July 1. He currently serves as chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Popular Music Studies.
Joe Conyers III was named senior advisor to global growth investor Warburg Pincus in their technology group, specifically focusing his efforts on new investment opportunities in music and entertainment companies. Conyers was formerly executive vp and global head of NFT at Crypto.com and chief strategy officer of Downtown Music Holdings; he also co-founded Downtown subsidiary Songtrust. Conyers can be reached at jc@joeconyers.com and his website is joeconyers.com.
Erika Montes was named president at Rostrum Records, where she will lead the company’s growth strategy and oversee frontline label operations. Montes most recently led artist and label relations at SoundCloud, where she served as global vp. She reports to Rostrum founder Benjy Grinberg and can be reached at em@rostrumrecords.com.
Artist manager Andy Robinson and cross asset speculator Sean Stockdale launched Interstellar Music Services, a rights management company that “will primarily be made available to those qualifying artists and songwriters who wish to retain full control of their recordings and compositions,” according to a press release. The company will work to maximize the collection of royalties via a suite of services that includes digital distribution, sync and brand partnerships, metadata cleaning, neighboring rights, publishing administration, DSP repitching and detailed analysis and reporting. Joining Interstellar at launch are David Wille and Sarah Bargiela, who join as global head of sync and brand partnerships and head of copyright and royalties, respectively. Robinson formerly launched Interstellar Music and Interstellar Publishing, which informed the establishment of Interstellar Music Services; Stockdale has 13 years of experience in asset management, with a particular expertise in saber metrics. Wille most recently served as senior vp at Kobalt Music Publishing, while Bargiela was senior income tracking manager at BMG Rights Management.
Ru Ping Gan was named vp of digital, Asia Pacific at Warner Chappell Music, where she will oversee Warner Chappell Music Asia Pacific’s digital strategy and commercial operations while working closely with the global digital and WCM Asia leadership team to help shape international policies that support local songwriters. She will also be tasked with driving digital strategic planning initiatives. Gan, who was most recently vp of revenue and deal strategy, joined WCM Asia Pacific in 2013.
Butch Spyridon, longtime head of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) who has served as president and CEO since 2003, will retire from the organization on June 30, 2023, following 32 years as its top executive. He’ll be succeeded by current president Deana Ivey, who will be promoted to president and CEO effective July 1, 2023. On that date, Spyridon will transition into a role as a strategic consultant to the NCVC under a two-year contract that will see him recruiting major global events to the city, including the Rugby World Cup and, if an enclosed stadium is approved, the Super Bowl.
Patra Sinner was named general counsel at Symphonic Distribution, where she will advise the company’s senior management team on both internal and external legal needs and manage and negotiate partner contracts including DSPs, industry organizations and contractors, as well as record labels, ambassadors and artists. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sinner has been in private practice for nearly 20 years and is also the co-founder of Nashville-based artist management, distribution and label services company Vista 22. She can be reached at patra@symdistro.com.
Meike Nolte was appointed business development manager for b:electronic, the dance & electronic division of Believe. Reporting to b:electronic global director Leigh Morgan, Nolte will be tasked with defining and executing the sourcing and acquisitions strategy for labels and artists within the electronic division. She most recently led Beatport’s artist services department.
Dave Felipe was named director of publicity at Zach Farnum‘s 117 Entertainment, where he will oversee all publicity initiatives for 117’s roster. He was most recently public relations manager for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC). Felipe can be reached at Dave@117group.com.
Ra-Fael Blanco was promoted to senior vp of media relations & communications for Universal/Virgin Music’s SRG-ILS Group; he was previously vp of media relations. Blanco will continue overseeing PR and media efforts for SRG-ILS clients including Chaka Khan, Brian McKnight and Erica Campbell, among others. He reports to general manager Michael Cusanelli and founder/CEO Claude Villani. Blanco can be reached at Ra-Fael@2rsentandmediapr.com.
Austin-based publicist Trey Hicks launched his own PR agency, Painting Pictures. Joining Hicks in the new venture is Allison Winkler. Hicks previously worked as an account director at Giant Noise and founded Trey Hicks PR. He can be reached at trey@paintingpictures.co.
Lauren Branson joined River House Artists as vp of publicity, where she will develop and execute PR strategies for the company’s roster. She reports to founder and CEO Lynn Oliver-Cline and vp and gm Zebb Luster. Branson joins from BMI, where she served as senior director of media relations for eight years. She can be reached at lauren@riverhouseartists.com.
Amber Morris was hired as global account director – TikTok at Songtradr. In the role, Morris will build and maintain the company’s relationship with TikTok, working with their team to expand the video-sharing platform’s partnership with Songtradr.
Graham Rothenberg was named partner at entertainment marketing agency The Syndicate, with his title elevated to president & general manager. Rothenberg, who has been with the company for 18 years, has served as general manager since 2018. He will now lead the agency alongside partners Jon Landman, Tracey Zucatti and Chris Elles. During his tenure, he has been a key force in campaigns including the Interpol “Big Shot City” exhibit and Panic! At The Disco’s crop circle tour announcement.
“I’ve known Graham for over 20 years and have watched him grow from College Radio Music Director (WICB) to College Radio Promoter at The Syndicate to becoming our General Manager and now being elevated as our President and a Partner of the company,” said managing partner/CEO Jon Landman in a statement. “Graham’s leadership and creativity have been instrumental in advancing our organization to new levels while staying true to the grassroots connection to music and artists on which we founded the company. As we enter our 25th year of The Syndicate, we can’t wait for what’s on the horizon.”
Rothenberg added, “It’s an immense honor to be named Partner at The Syndicate, a company I’ve been privileged to grow with over the past 18 years. Starting as a college radio promoter back in 2004, I’ve been able to watch The Syndicate evolve into the unique agency it’s become today. I’m extremely excited to work even more closely with Jon, Tracey, and Chris while continuing to lead our incredible staff in moving culture forward and helping our clients achieve their most creative goals.”
Jackie Augustus joined Spotify‘s artist partnerships team to lead country and folk artist partnerships for the streamer. Augustus, who was named to Billboard‘s Country Power Players list in 2022, most recently served as strategic partner manager of music at Instagram.
Chris Schuler was named vp of promotion at Capitol Records Nashville where he will lead the promotion team previously headed up by Bobby Young. He most recently served as vp of promotion at Arista Nashville. Schuler can be reached at chris.schuler@umusic.com.
Sherry Lansing was designated chairman of the board on Universal Music Group‘s board of directors, effective Jan. 10. Lansing, a retired film studio executive who previously served as CEO at Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox, succeeds Judy Craymer, who retired from the position to focus on her film and theater production projects.
Jitze de Raaff was appointed president of CTM Entertainment, effective Jan. 1. He was previously managing director of CTM Publishing and Music in the Benelux region. De Raaff, also co-shareholder of the company, will now be responsible for all other CTM activities in addition to music. He will additionally play a bigger role in the company’s international expansion alongside CTM CEO André de Raaff. He can be reached at Jitze.deRaaff@ctm.nl.
BMG appointed Stefan Lehmkuhl programmer for Berlin’s historic 1,700-seat Theater des Westens, which the company announced it had leased for two years last September. Lemkuhl has curated and produced music events including Melt Festival and Lollapalooza Berlin for two decades. He will be joined by event producer Parker “Pansy” Tilghman.
Randy Reyes was promoted to senior director of rhythmic promotion at Atlantic Records. Reyes has worked in rhythmic and pop mix show promotion at the label for the past nine years.
Tvg hospitality, founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, named Jayne Davis COO and Katie Millar gm of the Orion Amphitheater. The New York-based Davis arrives from OTG Management where she served as senior vp of operations development, while Millar previously served as manager at Paramount Fine Foods Centre & Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
James Ainscough was appointed to the role of CEO at the Royal Albert Hall, where he will lead the execution of the venue’s post-pandemic business plan; he previously worked at the Hall from 2008 to 2017 as director of finance and administration and then as COO. He joins in late spring 2023 from the charity Help Musicians, where he currently serves as CEO. Ainscough replaces Craig Hassall, who stepped down from the CEO role last month. COO Dan Freeman will continue serving as interim CEO until Ainscough officially joins.
Mandy McCormack was named executive vp/marketing & partner strategy for Trisha Yearwood, Inc. In her enhanced role as part of Yearwood’s management team, McCormack will manage brand partnerships, oversee marketing plans, seek out new business ventures and provide strategic consultation in all aspects of the country star’s business. McCormack most recently served as senior vp of radio promotion & marketing/artist strategy at Garth Brooks’ Pearl Records and Team TY (Trisha Yearwood). McCormack can be reached at mandy@trishayearwoodinc.com.
Tristra Newyear Yeager was named chief strategy officer at music/tech PR firm Rock Paper Scissors (RPS), while Travis Feaster was named new business manager at the company. Newyear Yeager, who has been with RPS for 17 years, was previously director of strategy and will now oversee PR and client services and guide strategic planning at the firm. Feaster was most recently national sales manager at Boutique Amps Distribution.
Jayne Hamblin was named manager of management and records at Creative Nation, where she will oversee the day-to-day responsibilities for Creative Nation’s artist clients while serving as a liaison between them and outside partners. Hamblin can be reached at jayne@creativenationmusic.com.
Dr. Dre is selling a bundle of music income streams and some owned music assets in a deal that was seeking $250 million when it came to market, according to sources. Those assets, which generate almost $10 million in annual income, are being acquired, apparently in two separate deals, by Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group. Both deals are said to be close to completion and were shopped by Peter Paterno, name partner in King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, sources say.
The assets include mainly passive income streams, according to those sources, such as artist royalties from two of his solo albums and his share of N.W.A. artist royalties; his producer royalties; and the writer’s share of his song catalog where he doesn’t own publishing, which may include the writer’s share of songs on his The Chronic album, which is published by Sony Music Publishing. Sources say that portion of the bundle comprises 75% to 90% of the package’s revenue and is most likely being acquired by Shamrock, which owns some Taylor Swift master recordings, among other past acquisitions. The remaining 10% to 25% of income in the package is generated by owned assets and is probably being acquired by Universal Music Group.
The latter Dre-owned assets that are said to be headed to UMG include the ownership of the master recording of his first solo album, The Chronic, which is scheduled to revert from Death Row Entertainment to Dre in August of this year; his share of an Aftermath/Interscope joint venture with the Top Dawg label for Kendrick Lamar releases through that deal; and maybe some publishing, though it’s unclear exactly which portion of his song catalogs is included. The bundle of offered assets doesn’t, however, include his ownership stake in the Aftermath label, which he co-owns with UMG’s Interscope.
The way the assets are being divided in the sale process fits with each buyer’s strategic profile. Shamrock, as a financial player, is much more interested in income streams and hopefully incremental valuations down the line. UMG, as an industry strategic player, is more interested in owning music assets than in buying passive income streams controlled through ownership or administration by competitors. Plus, ownership of Dr. Dre assets would give UMG the added bonus of enjoying a closer relationship with the rapper/producer, who — along with his co-ownership in Aftermath — has been on Interscope Records for most of his solo career.
While the sellers were seeking $250 million, sources suggest that the combined payments likely fell short but will collectively bring in upwards of $200 million, which would imply a 20-times multiple. But not all of the pieces of the bundle individually carry that type of multiple. Some of the Dre assets could be trading hands at a lower multiple.
UMG declined to comment while representatives from Dr. Dre’s camp and Shamrock Holdings could not be reached for comment.
Dr. Dre is one of the pre-eminent producers of his generation, as well as a rapper and songwriter who has worked with some of the most iconic R&B and hip-hop artists of all time, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 2Pac, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent and Lamar. He initially rose to fame as a co-founder of seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A in the 1980s, before releasing his first solo album, The Chronic, in 1992, which is widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time and ushered in the West Coast G-Funk movement that helped to popularize the sampling of 1970s and 1980s funk music by the likes of Parliament, Funkadelic and Ohio Players. That album was released under Death Row Entertainment, the pioneering hip-hop label Dre co-founded with Suge Knight that would rise to fame with releases by Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and 2Pac, who became the label’s marquee artist.
Dre would later found Aftermath Entertainment, his own imprint through Interscope, through which he would sign Eminem, 50 Cent, Lamar and Anderson .Paak, among others. In 1999 he released the followup to The Chronic, titled 2001, which was similarly celebrated, with star turns from Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Xzibit and others. In 2015, the famously perfectionist Dre would release his third album, Compton, a companion to the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, which was also released that year. As a solo artist, his three studio albums have amassed close to 20 million album consumption units, with 2001 at 11 million units and The Chronic at 6.6 million units. On an annual basis, those albums have averaged about 600,000 units over the last three years.
Dre also co-founded Beats Electronics alongside Interscope co-founder Jimmy Iovine in 2006, initially as a headphone brand. In 2014, the company morphed into a streaming service, Beats Audio, as well. The company was subsequently purchased by Apple later that year for north of $3 billion, turning Dre into a billionaire, while the Beats Audio streaming service became the backbone of what became the Apple Music streaming service, which was officially introduced in 2015. In subsequent years, Dre and Iovine donated $70 million to the University of Southern California, endowing a program that became the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. Lately, his production has appeared on releases by Anderson .Paak, Eminem and DJ Khaled.
With Dre coming to market and having found a buyer, the deal marks an acceleration of a run on hip-hop/rap assets kicked off by the acquisition of music assets owned by Future and production songwriter duo Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, better known as Dre & Vidal, in groundbreaking deals that finally brought private equity into the R&B/hip-hop/rap world. Future’s assets were acquired by Influence Media Partners, while the latter duo’s assets were purchased by HarbourView Equity Partners. Up until those deals, private equity had been primarily interested in classic rock, country or current mainstream pop music.
Dr. Dre has been in the news lately after his lawyers called out Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green for using his song “Still D.R.E.” in a video posted to social media without permission. A cease and desist letter signed by Howard King of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano LLP informs the Congresswoman that Dre “ will never grant [Taylor Greene] permission to broadcast or disseminate any of his music.” While Dre appears to be selling a large portion of his music rights, that doesn’t mean that the Congresswoman may eventually be able to license his music from some other owner. When such deals are being done, an artist or songwriter might want to retain some control over song use approval rights, though that could result in a discount to a deal’s valuation.
Dan Rys provided assistance in preparing this story.
With 2022 now officially in the books, the U.S. market share report is in: with Bad Bunny, Lil Nas X and Harry Styles leading the way, it was a banner year for Sony Music, as it gained in both overall market share and, more drastically, in current market share on the leading Universal Music Group, narrowing the gap among releases less than 18 months old to 6.58% in 2022 — a chasm that stood at 13.7% at the end of 2021.
But there was good news for UMG, too, as Republic Records rode a red-hot fourth quarter — led by Taylor Swift’s Midnights, the No. 2 album of all of 2022 despite only being released in October — to rank No. 1 among labels in current market share for the entirety of 2022, coming in at 10.38%. That makes it the only label to top double digits in the final ranking of the year. And UMG maintained a double-digit lead in overall market share over second-place Sony, leading 37.54% to 26.87% despite the latter’s gains throughout the year. Interscope Geffen A&M finished the year as the No. 1 label in overall market share once again, coming in at 9.63%, though it was down from the 10.08% share it held at the end of 2021.
Sony’s overall market share grew 0.76% year over year — up to 26.87% in 2022 from 26.11% in 2021 — marking a big stride forward for the music group. That gain was largely at the expense of Universal Music Group, which dropped 0.66% year over year, from 38.20% in 2021 to 37.54% at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, Warner Music Group’s market share grew from 16.06% in 2021 to 19.05% in 2022, though that is not an apples-to-apples comparison; this year, Warner-owned distributor ADA — which distributes dozens of independent labels — was factored into WMG’s market share, adding 2.96% to its total and accounting for almost all of Warner’s jump. (The move more accurately aligns Warner’s distributed market share with the other majors, which also include their distribution wings in their totals.) That switch also explains the commensurate dip for the indie sector, which fell from 19.63% in 2021 to 16.54% in 2022.
In current market share, Universal fell more than 4%, from 37.89% in 2021 to 33.57% in 2022, with all three other major players picking up that slack, led by Sony, which ballooned significantly almost 3 percentage points to 26.99% in 2022 — up from 24.19% in 2021. Warner — even taking into account the 3.32% in current share added by ADA — was also up, from 14.42% in 2021 to 18.30% in 2022 (an increase of 0.56% beyond the ADA bump), while the indie sector went from 23.50% last year to 21.14% in 2022, which is up 0.96% year over year when taking into account the loss of the ADA labels. Universal did, however, raise its catalog percentage from 38.33% in 2021 to 38.94% in 2022, while the other three all fell slightly.
Following Interscope in overall market share, Atlantic remained in second, at 8.89%, although it, too, was down slightly from 2021, when it posted a 9.17% overall share of the market. Republic ended the year in third — the only label in the top five to grow its overall market share year over year — with an 8.44% mark, up from 8.28% through the end of 2021, while Columbia (6.98%) and Capitol Music Group (6.40%) rounded out the top five. (A note on these labels: Interscope’s market share includes Verve [0.85%]; Atlantic’s includes the now-combined 300 Elektra Entertainment Group [2.35%], which would have been good enough for ninth place on its own; Republic’s includes Island [1.51%], Cash Money [0.71%], Big Loud, Imperial and Mercury; Columbia includes some indie labels from distributor RED; and Capitol includes Virgin [1.78%], Motown/Quality Control [1.05%], Capitol Christian Music Group [0.61%], Astralwerks and Blue Note.)
In sixth, Warner Records — which includes Rhino, Warner Latin and a chunk of Warner Nashville in its market share — grew year over year, from 6.16% in 2021 to 6.35% in 2022, having steadily increased its share each quarter of the year. RCA, whose market share stands alone, did the same; the label came in seventh, growing in each quarter to a finish of 5.12% — up from 4.89% in 2021 — wrapping the year strongly with the four-week No. 1 run of SZA’s S.O.S. In eighth, Epic Records also picked up market share, rising to 2.63% in 2022 from a 2.38% share in 2021. Def Jam, in ninth, faltered to 2.07%, down from 2.25% in 2021; while Sony Nashville jumped into 10th, leapfrogging UMG Nashville by growing its market share from 1.99% to 2.04% year over year.
UMG Nashville dropped to 11th, slipping from 2.04% in 2021 to 1.85% in 2022, while Concord jumped from 13th (1.68%) in 2021 to 12th (1.73%) in 2022. Disney — with its early-year Encanto boost — was up to 1.60% in 2022 from 1.40% the year before, good for 13th, while Universal Latin (1.47%) and Sony Latin (1.24%) rounded out the top 15, both up from the year prior as well.
Republic had a big fourth quarter (9.57%), with four major releases — Stray Kids’ Maxident, Swift’s Midnights, Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss and Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains, all of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — collectively topping the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. That helped boost its current market share from 8.77% through the first three quarters of the year to 10.38% by year’s end, with that late push taking it to No. 1 among all labels in terms of current market share in 2022.
Atlantic, in second place in current share, essentially maintained its level from last year, coming in at 9.15% (from 9.16% in 2021), though it moved up one spot from third place; while Interscope dropped sharply, from a stellar 11.05% in 2021 to 8.72% in 2022, falling from first to third. Columbia and Capitol, in fourth and fifth, respectively, both fell in share, the former from 6.83% to 6.67% and the latter from 5.64% to 4.97%; while Warner and RCA, in sixth and seventh, both grew in share, the former from 4.48% to 4.86% and the latter from 4.37% to 4.65%.
Outside the top seven labels, there was a bigger shakeup in current market share. Epic Records moved up to eighth place, gaining from a 2.04% current share in 2021 to 2.23% in 2022, while Sony Nashville jumped up to ninth, growing to 1.89% from 1.59% in 2021. Alamo made the biggest leap, all the way up to 10th in current share in 2021 at 1.56% in its first full year as a standalone Sony Music label; in 2021, its share was split between UMG and Sony as it was sold midway through the year, making an apples-to-apples comparison difficult. BMG, in 11th, held steady at 1.42%, while Disney, perhaps unsurprisingly, surged into 12th, up to 1.36% year over year from 0.52% in 2021. Def Jam, however, saw its current share sink from 2.21% in 2021 to 1.27% in 2022, finishing 13th, while Sony Latin (1.24%) and UMG Nashville (1.23%) rounded out the top 15.
As is generally the case, catalog market share tracked similarly to overall market share, as older titles generally perform consistently as a percentage of the market year over year. But both UMG and the indie sector grew year over year, while Sony and Warner, the latter accounting for the ADA switch, were both down slightly as well.