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Universal Music Group and Facebook parent Meta have forged an expanded agreement that will “advance social music opportunities” for the music major’s roster of artists and songwriters across the tech giant’s platforms.
The new arrangement, announced Monday, Aug. 12, covers Meta’s platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads and for the first time, WhatsApp.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed, although a joint statement indicates the partnership ensures that “artists and songwriters are compensated fairly.”
Also, Meta and UMG will continue working together to address, among other things, unauthorized AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters.
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UMG has been proactive on the issue of AI in music over the past year, and taken stands to protect against what it sees as harmful uses of AI. It was UMG that partnered with YouTube on a series of AI principles and an AI Music Incubator to help artists use AI responsibly, formed a strategic partnership with BandLab to create a set of ethical practices around music creation, and partnered with Endel on functional music, among other initiatives.
The origins of this arrangement can be traced back to 2017, when Facebook and Universal entered into what Billboard described at the time as an unprecedented and global licensing partnership that would shake-up the way people listen to and share music on the popular social platform.
With that deal, Facebook was finally on good terms with its content partners after a years-long relationship that was, for the most part, frosty.
This renewed partnership “builds on the recognition that music can help connect us and bring fans, artists, and songwriters closer together, not only on established platforms such as Instagram and Facebook,” says Tamara Hrivnak, VP music and content business Development at Meta, in a statement, “but also in new ways on WhatsApp, and more. “We’re extremely grateful to the Universal team, and look forward to growing our partnership in the future.”
Adds Michael Nash, chief digital officer & EVP, Universal Music Group: “Since our landmark 2017 agreement, Meta has consistently demonstrated its commitment to artists and songwriters by helping to amplify the importance music holds across its global network of engaged communities and platforms, creating new opportunities and applications where music amplifies and leads engagement and conversations.”
In recent months, both parties have collaborated on “landmark campaign rollouts” across the Meta ecosystem for artists including Billie Eilish, Karol G and Taylor Swift.
During a chaotic week for stock markets around the world, Universal Music Group (UMG) shares rose 3.3% to 22.15 euros ($24.20), enough to make the Amsterdam-listed company the top-performing music stock of the week.
Stocks were hammered on Monday (Aug. 5) as markets reacted to a disappointing U.S. jobs report the prior Friday (Aug. 2), leading to mounting concerns the economy could fall into a recession. The Billboard Global Music Index fell 2.0% on Monday, though it experienced a lighter decline than both the Nasdaq (down 3.4%) and the S&P 500 (down 3.0%). Investors didn’t panic, however, and markets made gains over the remainder of the week. On Friday (Aug. 9), the Nasdaq closed down 0.2% for the week while the S&P 500 broke even.
UMG received a boost on Wednesday (Aug. 7) from Warner Music Group’s quarterly earnings report — a welcome change after a second-quarter slowdown in UMG’s streaming growth so worried investors that the company’s shares fell 24% the following day. WMG’s latest earnings results, which showed that recorded music streaming revenue grew 8.7% after a few adjustments, may have convinced some UMG investors that they overreacted. In light of this new information, UMG shares jumped 6.6% to 22.74 euros ($24.85) on Wednesday. Notably, this Friday’s closing price is 14% above the lowest closing price — 21.12 euros ($23.08) — since the 24% decline occurred on July 25.
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WMG shares rose 0.3% to $28.34 this week after the company announced that quarterly revenue dropped 1% and net profit improved 14%. The third-largest major’s streaming gains satisfied some, but not all, analysts. Morgan Stanley analysts cited “lowered streaming growth outlook” in lowering their price target to $35 from $41. Guggenheim, encouraged by WMG’s subscription revenue growth acceleration and performance relative to UMG, maintained its $44 price target. JP Morgan, which sees WMG as “well positioned” to capture paid streaming adoption, left its $41 price target unchanged.
The Billboard Global Music Index, a float-adjusted measure of 20 companies’ market capitalizations, rose 3.1%, breaking a streak of four consecutive weeks with a loss. Spotify, the index’s largest component, gained 2.6% to $339.69. Tencent Music Entertainment, which will report earnings on Tuesday (Aug. 13), rose 2.8% to $12.97.
In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 declined 3.6% to 8,168.10. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index fell 3.3% to 2,588.43. China’s Shanghai composite index dropped 1.5% to 2,862.19.
iHeartMedia shares fell 10.7% to $1.33 following the company’s second-quarter earnings on Thursday (Aug. 8). The company reported a 1% increase in second-quarter revenue and sounded optimistic that political advertising will provide a boost to the full-year results. Both third-quarter and full-year revenue are expected to be up by mid-single digits.
Shares of radio broadcaster Townsquare Media dropped 5.8% following the company’s second-quarter results on Tuesday. Revenue fell 2.5% and net loss increased to $48.9 million from $2.7 million in the prior-year period. Its $0.14 earnings per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.42.
If your last name is Grainge, you probably oversee a large chunk of the U.S. music business.
Following Elliot Grainge’s promotion to CEO of Atlantic Music Group effective Oct. 1, the Grainge family— Elliot and his father, Lucian Grainge, chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG) — will control roughly 37.6% of the U.S. recorded music market, according to Billboard’s analysis of data from Luminate.
The younger Grainge, whose record label 10K Projects was acquired by UMG competitor Warner Music Group in 2023, will lead a record label group with about 7.9% of the U.S. market’s equivalent album units (EAUs). That includes Atlantic Records, which had a 5.3% share through Aug. 1, along with the remaining labels that comprise Atlantic Music Group — 300 Elektra Entertainment (which includes the labels 300, Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA and Public Consumption) and 10K Projects — with an estimated 2.6% share.
Led by Republic Records’ 10.5% share and Interscope/Geffen/A&M’s 10.0% share, UMG-owned record labels have a 29.8% share of the U.S. market’s EAUs. Other labels under UMG’s umbrella are Island Records, currently basking in a string of hits by Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, and Universal Music Group Nashville, a collection of labels that are home to Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood, among others. UMG also distributes labels it does not own, although for these purposes, Billboard is comparing market share of owned labels only. Billboard estimates that UMG’s distributed labels have an aggregate market share of 8.8% of EAUs.
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The Grainge’s father-son CEO dynamic is unprecedented even for an industry that often sees the offspring of heavy hitters follow a parent into the business. There have been many family businesses run by successive generations — music publisher peermusic, for example — but never in modern history have a father and son been CEOs of a global music company and a major label music group simultaneously.
Grainge, age 30, will ascend to CEO of Atlantic Music Group as WMG restructures its organizational chart and Atlantic retools to market music to digital natives (a.k.a. young people). CEO Robert Kyncl is “excited by the prospect of taking Atlantic’s culture making capabilities and adding the 10K Projects founder’s digitally native approach into the mix,” he said during Wednesday’s earnings call.
As Billboard reported in February, Atlantic laid off about two dozen staffers with the intention of “bringing on new and additional skill sets in social media, content creation, community building and audience insights,” with the goal of “dial[ing] up our fan focus and help[ing] artists tell their stories in ways that resonate,” Julie Greenwald, the company’s chairman/CEO, said at the time. Greenwald was to assume the new role of chairman upon Grainge’s promotion but announced her resignation on Tuesday (Aug. 6). She will officially step down at the end of January 2025.
Universal Music Group (UMG) reached a strategic agreement with ProRata.ai, a new company that enables generative artificial intelligence platforms to fractionally attribute and compensate content owners. Bill Gross, chairman of technology incubator Idealab Studio — which launched ProRata — will serve as CEO. ProRata’s technology allows generative AI platforms to attribute and share revenues on a per-use basis with content owners while preventing “unreliable content from driving AI answers,” according to a press release. In addition, ProRata is building a consumer AI answer engine set to launch this fall that will feature the company’s attribution technology.
“Current AI answer engines rely on shoplifted, plagiarized content,” Gross, the inventor of the pay-per-click monetization model underlying internet search, said in a statement. “This creates an environment where creators get nothing, and disinformation thrives. ProRata is pro-author, pro-artist and pro-consumer. Our technology allows creators to get credited and compensated while consumers get attributed, accurate answers. This solution will lead to a broader movement across the entire AI industry.”
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In his own statement, UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said, “We are encouraged to see new entrepreneurial innovation set into motion in the Generative AI space guided by objectives that align with our own vision of how this revolutionary technology can be used ethically and positively while rewarding human creativity. Having reached a strategic agreement to help shape their efforts in the music category, we look forward to exploring all the potential ways UMG can work with ProRata to further advance our common goals and values.”
Along with UMG, ProRata has struck early agreements with media publishers including the Financial Times, The Atlantic and Fortune.
In describing the technology, the release reads: “ProRata’s technology analyzes AI output, measures the value of contributing content and calculates proportional compensation. The company uses a proprietary algorithmic approach to score and determine attribution. This attribution method enables copyright holders to share in the upside of generative AI by being credited and compensated for their material on a per-use basis. Unlike music or video streaming, generative AI pay-per-use requires fractional attribution as responses are generated using multiple content sources.”
ProRata is in “advanced discussions” with additional news publishers, authors, and media and entertainment companies. The company’s leadership team and board of directors include executives who have held senior roles at Microsoft, Google and Meta, as well as Michael Lang, the president of Lang Media Group and one of the founders of Hulu. Early investors include Revolution Ventures, Prime Movers Lab and Mayfield.
Immersive technology, media and entertainment company Cosm raised more than $250 million in funding to drive the growth of its “Shared Reality” venues — described in a press release as an “experience that seamlessly bridges the virtual and physical worlds by merging state-of-the-art visuals with the energy and excitement of the crowd and elevated food and beverage service.” The new funding round includes existing investors Steve Winn and Mirasol Capital and first-time investors Avenue Sports Fund led by Marc Lasry, Dan Gilbert‘s ROCK, Baillie Gifford, and David Blitzer‘s Bolt Ventures. Cosm will use the funds to scale, grow its technology and media business units, and speed up the development of more Cosm venues worldwide. The second Cosm venue is slated to open in Dallas later this year, with a third in Atlanta recently announced. “Cosm venues are a new paradigm in live sports, music, and artistic entertainment,” said Chris Evdaimon, investment manager at Baillie Gifford, in a statement. “The mesmerizing viewing experience guarantees the Cosm customer the best seats in the arena and the best viewing angle at any moment of the live event, at an affordable ticket price.”
HYBE Interactive Media (HYBE IM), the interactive media and games division of the storied K-pop company, raised $80 million in a round led by Makers Fund with participation from IMM Investment and parent company HYBE. The funds will be used to expand the company’s games publishing and development efforts, allowing HYBE IM to invest in more games, introduce them in global markets and bolster the division’s in-house development capabilities. HYBE IM’s previously-released titles include Rhythm Hive and BTS Island: In the SEOM. It’s also signed publishing contracts for Macovill’s OZ Re:write and Flint’s RPG Astra: Knights of Veda.
Believe acquired Doğan Music Company, Turkey’s largest independent record label, four years after purchasing a 60% majority stake in the company in 2020; it acquired the remaining 40% of the company for 38.3 million euros ($41.84 million). The transaction is pending approval by the competition regulator.
The U.K. office of Believe signed a global services deal with electronic music brand fabric. Under the agreement, fabric joins the client base of b:electronic, Believe’s electronic music imprint and part of the company’s label & artist solutions division. B:electronic will provide genre specialist label management, video and audience development, editorial and marketing partnerships internationally, and distribution for both catalog and new releases. Fabric’s labels include fabric Originals, fabric Records and Houndstooth, while a new imprint is slated to launch in the near future.
Beatchain partnered with Indian radio network Radio City India to launch Muzartdisco, a digital platform and app that will allow Indian artists to release and promote their music using Beatchain’s A&R tool and artist services platform. Through the platform, artists can also compete for opportunities including studio sessions; mentoring; collaborations with established artists, writers and producers; radio breakout campaigns, social media shoutouts and other opportunities courtesy of Radio City India; and more. Meanwhile, A&R teams using the platform will be able to find artists using a tailored filtering process that makes it easier to find talent that aligns with their mission and niche. According to a press release, Radio India is the country’s leading radio network, boasting a listenership of more than 69 million across 39 cities.
Sports and entertainment collectibles company Panini America partnered with The Rolling Stones to produce the first fully licensed, career-spanning trading card set for the band. Titled Prizm The Rolling Stones, the set will chronicle the Stones’ 60-year recording and touring history, with additional collections to come.
AEG Presents partnered with Jacobs Entertainment — a developer, owner and operator of gaming and entertainment facilities — on Globe Iron, a new indoor 1,200-capacity venue in Cleveland that was once home to the Globe Iron Works Foundry built in 1853. AEG, which will operate and exclusively book the venue’s programming, already books and operates two other Cleveland venues: the Agora Theatre and the Jacobs Pavilion.
Indie record label The Programm, led by Peter “S.Y.” Pestano, struck a joint venture with LLC4/Capitol Records to break new artists, starting with Mexican-American rapper NHC Murda 60x. The joint venture will be steered by Orlando Wharton, executive vp at Capitol Music Group, president of Priority Records and CEO of LLC4. NHC Murda 60x and other Programm artists will have the potential to be upstreamed under the deal.
Independent entertainment company Unity 7 Entertainment announced a distribution partnership with Forecast Music Group (The Orchard/Sony), which will provide global distribution, marketing and promotional support for Unity 7’s artist roster. The partnership will kick off with the release of hip-hop artist Alantra’s debut single, “Get It,” which is set to drop on Sept. 5.
AI-powered, ethically-trained music generation company Soundful teamed with SoundCloud and Kaskade on an AI songwriting competition that will offer the winner a chance to perform alongside Kaskade and have their winning track completed and released by Kaskade as a featured artist.
Slowing growth in subscription streaming sent Universal Music Group’s share price down 23.5% following the company’s second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday (July 24).
On Thursday (July 25), UMG shares dropped as far as 19.93 euros ($21.61), 29.8% below Wednesday’s closing price, before closing at 21.70 euros ($23.53) – a 23.5% decline that erased 12.2 billion euros ($13.25 billion) from UMG’s market capitalization.
Investors were reacting to a marked slowdown in streaming revenue in UMG’s recorded music division: In the second quarter, music subscription revenue grew 6.9%. That was down from 12.5% in the prior-year quarter, while overall streaming revenue grew 4.1% compared to 11% a year earlier. Non-subscription streaming revenue dropped 4.2% after growing 2.9% in the prior-year quarter.
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Analysts had expected far better. Barclays, for example, forecasted overall streaming growth of 10.5% and subscription growth of 11.0%. Guggenheim had forecast subscription growth of 11.3%.
During Wednesday’s earnings call, Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vp of digital strategy, singled out Spotify, YouTube and “local and regional” platforms for continuing to add subscribers. Apple Music and Amazon Music were conspicuously not mentioned, leading some analysts to believe those platforms are struggling to add new subscribers. “Other larger partners have been less successful at driving global adoption,” said Nash, “and there’s been some slowdown in terms of subscriber additions there.”
Despite the streaming slowdown, UMG managed to improve both top-line revenue and margins. Overall revenue grew 8.7% to 2.93 billion euros ($3.16 billion). As a percentage of revenue, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved to 22.1% from 21.9% in the prior-year period. Physical music sales grew 14.4% and merchandise sales jumped 43.7%. Analysts were far more concerned about the change in streaming, however, and seemed less concerned about improvements in lower-margin physical and merchandising that tend to naturally fluctuate based on new release and touring activity.
Many analysts lowered their price targets following Wednesday’s results, albeit by smaller margins than investors dropped the share price on Thursday. Guggenheim dropped UMG by 14% to 27.50 euros ($29.82). Barclays lowered its price target by 12% to 26.00 euros ($28.20). Citi lowered UMG by 7.8% to 29.50 euros ($28.20). And Kepler Cheuvreux reduced its price target 3.5% to 27.00 euros ($29.28).
Universal Music Group (UMG) got a boost from physical sales in the second quarter, but the conversation during Wednesday’s earnings call was mostly focused on streaming. Subscriptions, which accounted for more than half of total recorded music revenue, were a key factor in the company’s 8.7% revenue growth in the quarter. Even so, UMG’s streaming business is not firing on all cylinders. Ad-supported streaming continues to show weakness and UMG revealed that Facebook no longer licenses its premium videos.
CEO Lucian Grainge said the industry has entered “the next phase” of the streaming and subscription business, one characterized by collaboration with streaming companies to produce new products and allow artificial intelligence to allow artists to sing their music in different languages. “The amount of work, win-win dialogue [and] creative discussions that are going on between us is really extremely exciting,” he said.
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Here’s what else you should know about UMG’s most recent quarterly earnings and what was said on the call.
Streaming is growing — unevenly
Although UMG’s recorded music subscription revenue improved 6.5%, not all subscription platforms are performing equally well. CFO Boyd Muir cited a “slowdown in subscriber growth at certain platforms” while noting that Spotify, YouTube “and many regional and local platforms” continue to show healthy growth. Generally, UMG is optimistic about the overall marketplace’s ability to find new subscribers. Michael Nash, executive vp of digital strategy, said UMG’s consumer research has identified 180 million consumers from the top 19 territories “that will form the next wave of subscription adoption,” even taking into account price increases.
“Other” streaming revenue dropped 3.9% in the quarter, which Muir attributed to a decline in ad-supported streaming and some platform-specific issues (see Facebook below). UMG warned of weak ad-supported streaming last quarter, and Muir said UMG needs to see “broad-based improvement across multiple partners and geographies over a longer timeframe before we’re ready to adopt a less cautious view.”
Meta is no longer licensing UMG premium videos for Facebook
Another reason for a slowdown in non-subscription streaming revenue was Facebook’s departure from music videos. “Meta had previously offered previous music videos on Facebook,” Muir explained. “This product offering was less popular with Facebook’s user base than other music products, and as a result, Meta is no longer licensing premium music videos from us. As of May of this year, Meta is now focusing instead on other areas involving music content, and we are working together to expand these areas as part of a multifaceted renewal.” Showing premium videos is not the only aspect of Meta’s licensing agreements with labels, however. As Billboard has previously reported, Meta reached a licensing deal with UMG in 2017 that allowed UMG’s repertoire in user-uploaded videos on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. And a deal reached in 2020 allowed users to add songs from UMG’s catalog to videos on Facebook’s gaming platform.
The noncontroversial Spotify bundle controversy
After Spotify began offering both music and audiobooks, the company asserted it can pay a discounted “bundle” royalty rate to publishers and songwriters for premium streams. When asked about the audiobook bundle controversy on Tuesday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek described it as a not-unusual disagreement between counterparts. “That’s the nature of all supplier and distributor relationships,” he said during the company’s earnings call. UMG had a similarly unsensational response when asked about the bundle controversy. Rather than feeling cheated out of royalties, Muir said UMG “[is] confident our revenue participation reflects the value our artists and our music is bringing to their platform.”
UMG invested 519 million euros ($562 million) in the first half of 2024
Three transactions accounted for 450 million euros ($487 million) of investments in the first half of the year: a majority stake in Nigerian label Maven Global; an investment in Complex; and a $240 million investment in Chord Music Partners, a joint venture of KKR and Dundee Partners that owns over 60,000 copyrights. UMG spent 96 million euros ($104 million) on catalog acquisitions in the half-year, including 75 million euros ($81 million) that had been sitting in an escrow account.
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, strong gains in publishing revenue and a jump in merchandise sales propelled Universal Music Group (UMG) to solid revenue growth in the second quarter of 2024.
Despite a fall in ad-supported streaming that hampered streaming revenue gains, UMG’s overall revenue rose 8.7% to 2.93 billion euros ($3.16 billion at the quarter’s average exchange rate), the company announced Wednesday (July 24). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 17.4% to 580 million euros ($624 million) and EBITDA margin improved 1.1 percentage points to 19.8%. EBITDA was helped by revenue growth and cost savings from layoffs announced earlier in the year, though those benefits were partially offset by an increase in lower-margin revenue from merchandise and physical sales.
In the recorded music segment, revenue grew 5.8% to 2.2 billion euros ($2.37 billion). Subscription revenue improved 6.5% to 1.14 billion euros ($1.23 billion) while other streaming revenue dropped 4.2% to 343 million euros ($369 million). Overall, streaming revenue fell 4.2% due to slower growth at ad-supported platforms and the timing of deal renewals.
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Subscription growth was slowed by two factors, CFO Boyd Muir said during the earnings call. First, price increases in 2023 provided a boost a year ago. Second, while Spotify, YouTube Music and “many regional and local platforms” have continued to show strong growth, some other subscription services “have been less successful in driving global adoption.”
Physical revenue rose 9.5% to 357 million euros ($384 million) thanks to releases by Swift and Billie Eilish, which helped offset a tough comparison against a strong quarter in Japan for physical sales in the prior year, said Muir. Licensing and other revenue climbed 18% to 315 million euros ($339 million). Download revenue fell 21.3% but amounted to just 48 million euros ($52 million).
At Universal Music Publishing Group, revenue rose 10.1% to 511 million euros ($550 million). Digital revenue rose 17.8% to 311 million euros ($335 million) and accounted for most of publishing’s gains. Performance royalties improved 3.1% to 100 million euros ($108 million), while synch royalties grew 1.7% to 61 million euros ($66 million) and mechanical royalties fell 10.3% to 26 million euros ($28 million).
Of the 15 different songs to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year, UMPG had songwriters n 13 of them, which CEO Lucian Grainge called “an extraordinary achievement.”
Merchandising revenue jumped 44.6% to 227 million euros ($244 million) due to higher direct-to-consumer sales and gains in touring merchandise sales. Muir credited tours by Olivia Rodrigo, The Rolling Stones, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage and Morgan Wallen for that growth.
Topline results for Q2:
Total revenue of 2.93 billion euros ($3.16 billion), up 8.7%.
EBITDA: 580 million euros ($624 million), up 14.9%.
Recorded music revenue of 2.2 billion euros ($2.37 billion), up 6.8%.
Recorded music subscription revenue of 1.14 billion euros ($1.23 billion), up 6.5%.
Recorded music other streaming revenue of 343 million euros ($369 million), down 4.2%.
Publishing revenues of 511 million euros ($550 million), up 10.1%.
Merchandising revenue of 227 million euros ($244 million), up 44.6%.
It’s time for a July 4th weekend edition of the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Check out this year’s Pride List of top LGBTQ+ executives in the industry. We also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Thomas Coesfeld celebrated his one-year anniversary as CEO of BMG by joining the executive board of Bertelsmann, parent company of the Berlin-based music giant. The 34-year-old executive is point-person for Bertelsmann’s music business as a member of the board, which also includes chief executive Thomas Rabe and Thomas’ big brother Carsten Coesfeld, CEO of its venture capital arm, as well as company CFO Rolf Hellermann and chief human resources officer Immanuel Hermreck. Coesfeld took the reigns of BMG from longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch on July 1 of last year, and in short order instituted a new organizational structure by globalizing its catalog, sales and marketing teams and a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe, among other changes. Prior to rising to CEO, Coesfeld had been named deputy CFO at BMG in October 2021 before taking over as full-on CFO the following spring. During that time he oversaw BMG’s balance sheet and helped the company land 70 deals, including acquiring the catalogs of Mötley Crüe and Tina Turner, as well as those of Paul Simon, The Pointer Sisters, Peter Frampton and others.
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He previously served as chief strategy officer on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, but began his career in 2014 as a consultant at McKinsey. Coesfeld is also a member of Bertelsmann’s Group Management Committee (GMC), which advises the executive board.
“[Coesfeld] knows Bertelsmann well from various positions,” Rabe raved in the announcement. “As CEO of BMG, he has made important decisions for the future of the business, for example by bringing digital distribution in-house and using artificial intelligence in various areas of the music business. Thomas will enrich the work of the Management Board as well. I look forward to working even more closely with him.”
Meanwhile…
Hannah Neaves
Laura Lewis
Universal Music UK promoted Hannah Neaves to sole president of its catalog division, Universal Music Recordings. Her co-president over the last two years, Azi Eftekhari, has left the company, Billboard can confirm. Neaves and Eftekhari joined UMR in early 2022, roughly a year after the pair launched a London-based creative agency called Remedy Inc. Prior to joining forces, Neaves was creative director at TaP Music and Eftekhari had been head of label relations (EMEA) at YouTube. In the last two years, UMR’s wins include “Now and Then” — the “last Beatles song” — and other releases featuring Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, the Spice Girls and more. “Hannah is, first and foremost, an artist person with an innate understanding of where creativity and discovery meet, something she has brought in abundance since re-joining our team,” said Universal Music UK chief David Joseph, referencing Neaves’ tenure at UMG’s Polydor earlier in her career. “A truly exceptional and inspiring executive, Hannah has already had huge success, most recently creatively leading the global and record-breaking Now And Then campaign for The Beatles, and there’s so much more to come.”
Former BMI executive Jody Williams was elected to a one-year term as the new chair of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum‘s board of officers and trustees. The publishing veteran, who founded Jody Williams Songs in 2020 following a 14-year run at BMI, has served on the museum’s board for 17 years. He replaces outgoing chair Mary Ann McCready, who remains as a trustee. CMHFM CEO Kyle Young remarked that Williams is “woven into the fabric of country music’s creative community in a true and meaningful way” and “resolute in furthering country music’s vitality as a cultural artform.” The Nashville institution also elected several new members to the board, including artist manager Clint Higham and WME agent Becky Gardenhire.
Merlin, the digital licensing partner for the independent music sector, welcomed Neil Miller as its new general counsel. Miller arrives from Greenberg Traurig, where he served as partner of the global law firm for three years. Prior to that, Miller was an associate general counsel at Facebook and earlier in his career spent six years as GC at SoundCloud. He is based in the UK. “Merlin is a dynamic organisation operating in a complex and ever changing legal and commercial environment,” said Charlie Sexton, Merlin COO. “Neil’s wealth of experience across music and digital entertainment is exactly what we need to meet these challenges. He is highly respected across the industry and brings a valuable blend of long-term thinking, technical skills, and impressive leadership.”
Believe has new leadership in place for its efforts throughout China, naming Charles Liu as general manager and Rebecca Dong as managing director for the growth-ready region. Based in Beijing and reporting to Sylvain Delange, Believe’s president of Asia-Pacific, Liu will focus on building partnerships and growing Believe’s roster of labels and artists. Dong rolls up to Liu and will manage all operations, along with legal, finance and HR matters. Believe has operated in China since 2016 and has grown to 80-plus “digital and music experts” across offices in five cities, the company said. “Greater China is both an exciting and challenging market where Believe’s unique approach can significantly contribute to accelerate the rise of a strong, diverse and thriving local music ecosystem as we’ve done is so many other markets in Asia Pacific,” said Delange.
NASHVILLE NOTES: Universal Music Group Nashville hired Houston Gaither as director of radio marketing. She was previously Sony Music Nashville’s manager of content, promotion and artist development … Former PLA Media director of publicity and branding Becky Parsons formed Found Sound Media, a PR and management firm focused on developing LGBTQ+ and female artists … Kylie Taylor joined Black River Entertainment as a graphic designer. Reach her at ktaylor@blackriverent.com.
OTM Music, a boutique publishing company with footholds in London, New York and Los Angeles, welcomed Kristin Genovese as the firm’s new U.S. head of sync and Kate Sweetsur as the new head of A&R. The company, which provides creative services for its roster of songwriters and brands, also noted the recent additions of Chi Chi Nwakodo as senior creative and Ethan Mizen as A&R manager.
ICYMI:
Britney Davis
Hipgnosis Song Management founder Merck Mercuriadis will step down as chairman of the investment manager, months after vacating the CEO role … Stephanie Rosa is managing director of Tixr‘s new London office … Former Capitol Music Group executive Britney Davis was named general manager at Quality Control … Warner Records promoted Robert Santini to senior vp of brand partnerships and ad sync … and Mano Sundaresan is the new head of editorial content for Pitchfork.
Last Week’s Turntable: Audacy OG Elevated
It’s time for another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. Check out this year’s Pride List of top LGBTQ+ executives in the industry. We also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive and a regularly updated gallery honoring many of the industry figures we’ve lost throughout the year.
Universal Music Sweden managing director Joakim Johansson has been promoted to president of the entire Nordics region for Universal Music Central Europe. He’ll continue MD’ing on the Sweden side but adds oversight of UMG operations in Denmark, Norway and Finland, as well as the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The individual directors of those markets (Casper Bengtson/Denmark, Kimmo Valtanen/Finland and Bjørn Rogstad/Norway) will now report directly to Johannson, who continues to beeline to Frank Briegmann, chairman & CEO of UMCE and Deutsche Grammophon. Johansson’s expanded role aligns with Briegmann’s ongoing strategy to amplify cross-market collaboration and innovations throughout Central Europe. Johansson joined the company in 2013 as GM of Universal Music Sweden, being promoted to MD six years later. “The Nordic countries boast a rich musical heritage and are at the forefront of industry innovation,” he said. “It’s an honor to lead our talented team in this vibrant region, and I look forward to driving our vision into the future.”
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Audacy elevated journeyman Jeff Sottolano to chief programming officer, effective immediately. Sottolano, who joined CBS Radio in 2001 as an intern and has served as executive vp and head of programing since 2021, will now oversee content strategy and creation in all formats across broadcast, streaming and podcasts, as well as work with product and technology teams on ways to improve creator tools and more. Over a 15-year stretch at CBS, which was acquired in 2017 by Entercom (later Audacy), Sottolano held programming roles in Rochester and Philadelphia before joining the front office in 2014 as director of programming. During the Entercom era, he rose to executive vp of programming, which carried over following the post-Audacy rebrand. For most of the last decade, Sottolano’s brand portfolio has gained market share in the A25-54 demo and he has led numerous company-wide initiatives including Audacy Launch, the company’s new music discovery platform for rising artists. “I consider myself so fortunate to work with our programmers, talent, anchors, reporters and producers who, together, build incredible brands, entertain and inform, and make a difference in the lives of millions of consumers every day,” said Sottolano.
Spirit Music Group appointed Lou Al-Chamaa to executive vp of A&R, a role based in Los Angeles and reporting to Spirit’s chief creative officer, Frank Rogers, who lauded the new hire’s “drive, passion and experience in building successful writer rosters” while in senior roles at AVEX USA, Sony Music Publishing and during his time as a consultant. “The opportunity to collaborate with such a forward-thinking team and contribute to the evolution of music creation is incredibly inspiring,” Al-Chamaa said. “I am deeply committed to fostering an environment where artists, songwriters, and producers can thrive creatively.”
Capitol Christian Music Group boosted its A&R efforts at a pair of its most storied imprints. Walter Thomas is promoted from director of artist development at CCMG to the new position of vp of artist development for Motown Gospel and TAMLA. Thomas, who joined the UMG label group last year, reports to CCMG co-presidents Brad O’Donnell and Hudson Plachy. Working closely with Thomas is Alexandria “Dria” Dollar, who joined CCMG in the role of senior director of A&R at TAMLA and Motown Gospel following a stretch as director of A&R at Reach Records in Atlanta. “These iconic labels have a legacy of inspiring and uplifting music,” said Thomas, adding that “Alexandria’s innovative approach and keen ear for talent are unmatched, and I am confident that together we will elevate our artists to new heights.”
Kelly Bolton
Credit: Jessica Amerson
Warner Records added Kelly Bolton as vp of A&R. Working out of Nashville, Bolton will work with Warner co-chairman/CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck on signing, developing, and cultivating country artists for the Los Angeles-based label. Bolton will report to executive vp and head of A&R Karen Kwak. Over the past few years, Warner has added artists including Zach Bryan, Dasha and Warren Zeiders to its roster. Bolton most recently served five years at Ashley Gorley’s Tape Room Music, rising to senior vp of A&R. Prior career stops include Big Deal Music and Black River Entertainment. –Jessica Nicholson
RADIO, RADIO: Vox co-founder Melissa Bell is the next CEO of Chicago Public Media, non-profit owner of WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. She succeeds Matt Moog and officially starts Sept. 3 … Not so fast on that retirement, Joe Verbrugge. SiriusXM‘s chief commercial officer was supposed to depart yesterday (June 27) but will instead remain in place until July 31 before switching to a part-time role as advisor to the CEO through the end of the year.
Wasserman Music added three veterans to its global ranks as it looks to build on the firm’s suite of client services. Joining the London team as manager of tour marketing is Adam Clements, who has 15 years of experience between stops at Birmingham’s O2 Academy and O2 Institute, Eventim UK and AEG Presents. Over in Chicago, Oskar Muller joined as director of pricing & ticketing (Chicago) after serving as pricing director at Live Nation Entertainment. Finally, in sunny L.A., Jenn Rilloraza joined as manager of brand partnerships following time as director of marketing, brands and creative services for Create Music Group’s VRTCL vertical. “We are relentless in continually creating new ways to serve our valued clients around the world, and these important new additions to Team Wass reflect that,” glowed Wasserman Music president Lee Anderson.
The Academy of Country Music made promotions and new hires across several departments. Tommy Moore has been promoted to chief of staff and vp, industry relations & awards, board administration and governance. Kris Reyes has been promoted to senior director of finance, operations and HR. Meanwhile, Jesse Knutson has been elevated to director of publicity and media relations. Haley Montgomery has been elevated to director of industry relations & awards, while Jennifer Davis has been promoted to senior manager of events. Brittany Uhniat has been promoted to manager of content & creative production. New hires include Katie Casserly as coordinator of social media, with Maggie Feyrer hired as coordinator of strategic partnerships and Delaney Loughran as assistant, industry relations & awards. –J.N.
BOARD SHORTS: The Association of Music Producers elected Matt Nelson of Yessian Music as the ad music trade group’s new president of its national board. Nelson, who joined the board’s eastern chapter six years ago, succeeds Carol Dunn as national board president. Succeeding Nelson as president of the eastern chapter will be Made Music Studio executive Amy Crawford … The International Bluegrass Music Association elected two new members of its board and welcomed the return of a third. After a year away, former IBMA board chair Mike Simpson is back, and joins newcomers CJ Lewandowski and Annie Savage as board officers … Musicians On Call appointed True Public Relations co-owner Marcel Pariseau and songwriter Sam Hollander to its national board of directors.
Dylan Brewer, a veteran label executive and experiential marketer, launched a new creative music company dubbed FRAUDULENT. Since forming, the Los Angeles-based firm has already worked on campaigns for Laufey (alongside Microsoft) and Jessie Reyez. The two-time Clio award winner was most recently vp of marketing and head of experiential at Epic Records, working on a roster including Ozzy Osbourne, Madison Beer, Bakar, BEAM, AG Club, Headie One, J Hus and more. Prior to joining Epic in 2018, Brewer was a marketing and strategy lead at Def Jam Recordings for over three years, and earlier in his career produced music campaigns at Google. Reach out to Brewer at hi@fraudulent.live.
WHY&HOW added veteran artist manager Patrick Farr to its management team, based in Nashville. Farr arrives following six years at his own Revelator Management company, and another six at Philymack before that. During his career he has worked with such artists as Nick Jonas, DNCE and Demi Lovato, as well as Sophia Scott, who comes with him to WHY&HOW. “Not only does Patrick bring immense experience, but a fitting addition to our roster in Sophia Scott,” said WHY&HOW founder & CEO Bruce Kalmick. “I’ve been a fan of Patrick’s work ethic and savvy approach to artis development for a long time – we look forward to having him jump in with our team.”
NASHVILLE NOTES: Lauren Thomas was promoted to Columbia Nashville svp of promotion from vp and will have a day-to-day role with both the Columbia and RCA Nashville imprints … Big Machine Label Group promoted Ashley Sidoti to svp of promotion and digital for its Valory Music Co. imprint. Sidoti most recently served as vp of promotion and digital … The Gospel Music Association appointed veteran producer, marketer and network leader Steve Gilreath as executive director of the Christian & Gospel Music Museum at the Dove Center. Gilreath will report directly to Jackie Patillo, president of the Gospel Music Association … The Academy of Country Music is looking for a director of brand creative and design, as well as a director of strategic partnerships. View the listings here.
Influencer marketing agency VRTCL elevated Imani “Mango” Lewis to director, overseeing operations for the entire VRTCL team. Lewis, who is based in Los Angeles, joined VRTCL in March 2021 as music department manager before rising to head of music — and then director of music — last year. Recent wins for the viral content firm include campaigns for Beyonce’s “Texas Hold Em,” Kasha’s “Austin” and Lil Durk’s “All My Life.” “Imani’s exceptional talent and dedication have consistently driven some of our most successful influencer campaigns in recent years,” said Ash Stahl, CEO of umbrella company FH Media. “Her innovative strategies and unwavering commitment to excellence make her an invaluable asset to the VRTCL team.”
BSI Merch, a UK-based independent music merch and tech company, selected Charlie Simmonds to lead its expansion into the Asia-Pacific market. Located in Tokyo, the new outpost will primarily focus on e-commerce, merch supply, tour support, sales and superfan-related services. “By focusing on e-commerce and localising our services, we aim to deliver world-class support and grow our presence in this key market,” said Andy Allen, CEO. Throughout his career, Simmonds has worked with such artists as Billie Eilish and Sticky Fingers, and events including New York Comic Con and Signature Brew.
ICYMI:
Cheryl Paglierani
UK Music made it official, appointing interim chief Tom Kiehl as full-on chief executive of the music trade body. He succeeds Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, who left last year to work for soon-to-be former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak … Music agent Cheryl Paglierani joins CAA from UTA, where she served as a partner … Rodrigo Prichard was named general manager of Rimas Entertainment, effective July 1. Meanwhile, Kristen Quintero-Garriga has been named vp of brand partnerships under RIT.MO.
Last Week’s Turntable: SXSW London Staffs Up
The three major music companies are weighing a lawsuit against AI startups Suno and Udio for allegedly training on copyrighted sound recordings, according to multiple sources.
The potential lawsuit, which would include Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music, would target a pair of companies that have quickly become two of the most important players in the emerging field of generative AI music. While many of its competitors focus on generating either music or lyrics or vocals, Suno and Udio both allow users to generate all three in the click of a button. Two sources said the lawsuit could come as soon as next week. Reps for the three majors, as well as Suno and Udio, did not respond to requests for comment.
Music companies, including UMG, have already filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, another major AI firm, over the use of copyrighted materials to train models. But that case dealt only with lyrics, which in many ways are legally similar to written subject matter. The new suit would deal with music and sound itself.
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Just a few months from its launch, Udio has already produced what could be considered an AI-generated hit song with “BBL Drizzy,” a parody track created by comedian King Willonius and popularized via a remix by super producer Metro Boomin. Later, the song reached new heights when it was sampled in Sexyy Red and Drake‘s song “U My Everything,” becoming the first major example of sampling an AI-generated song.
Suno has also achieved early success since its launch in December 2023. In May, the company announced via a blog post that it had raised a total of $125 million in funding from a group of notable investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross.
Both companies, however, have drawn criticism from many members of the music business who believe that the models train on vast swathes of copyrighted material, including hit songs, without consent, compensation or credit to rights holders. Representatives for Suno and Udio have previously declined to comment on whether or not they train on protected copyrights, with Udio’s co-founders telling Billboard they simply train on “good music.”
In a recent Rolling Stone story about Suno, investor Antonio Rodriguez admitted that Suno does not have licenses for whatever music it has trained on, but he said that was not a concern to him, adding that this lack of such licenses is “the risk we had to underwrite when we invested in the company, because we’re the fat wallet that will get sued right behind these guys… Honestly, if we had deals with labels when this company got started, I probably wouldn’t have invested in it. I think that they needed to make this product without the constraints.”
In a series of articles for Music Business Worldwide, founder of AI safety non-profit Fairly Trained, Ed Newton-Rex, found that he was able to generate music from Suno and Udio that “bears a striking resemblance to copyrighted music. This is true across melody, chords, style and lyrics,” he wrote. Both companies, however, bar users from prompting the models to copy artists’ styles by typing out sentiments like “a rock song in the style of Radiohead” or from using specific artists’ voices.
The case, if it is filed, would hinge on whether the use of unlicensed materials to train AI models amounts to copyright infringement — something of an existential question for the booming sector, since depriving AI models of new inputs could limit their abilities. Content owners in many sectors, including book authors, comedians and visual artists, have all filed similar lawsuits over training.
Many AI companies argue that such training is protected by copyright’s fair use doctrine — an important rule that allows people to reuse protected works without breaking the law. Though fair use has historically allowed for things like news reporting and parody, AI firms say it applies equally to the “intermediate” use of millions of works to build a machine that spits out entirely new creations. That argument will likely be the central question in any lawsuit over AI training.
Some AI companies have taken what is often called a more “ethical” approach to AI training by working directly with companies and rights holders to license their copyrights or form official partnerships instead.
So far, the majors have embraced partnering with AI companies in this way. Already, UMG and WMG have worked with YouTube for its AI voice experiment DreamTrack; Sony has partnered with Vermillio on a remix project for The Orb and David Gilmour; WMG has worked with Edith Piaf’s estate to recreate her voice using AI for an upcoming biopic; UMG launched an AI music incubator with YouTube Music; and most recently, UMG has teamed up with SoundLabs to let their artists create their own AI voice models for personal use in the studio.