WME
Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum artist Maren Morris has signed with WME for representation globally. Morris was previously represented by CAA. Morris is currently managed by Red Light Management. In addition to her Grammy win, Morris has garnered five ACM Awards (including winning female artist of the year twice), five CMA Awards and three Billboard Music Awards. […]
For the second year, Billboard is presenting the peer-voted R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Choice Award, an accolade chosen by Billboard Pro members to honor the executive they believe has made the greatest impact across the hip-hop and R&B music business over the past year. After three rounds of voting, Billboard Pro members have chosen WME partner […]
Billie Eilish and FINNEAS have a new touring and live events agent in William Morris Endeavor (WME), a representative for the two superstars confirms to Billboard. “While grateful to their former live booking agents at Wasserman, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell have opted to have film, TV, and music handled by the same agency, WME, […]
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone has signed with WME for global representation in all areas. Boone gained popularity with the release of his viral hit “Beautiful Things” in January. The track has been an international hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 for seven weeks and leading the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for eight […]
Argentinian music sensation Paulo Londra has inked a deal with WME for worldwide representation, the company tells Billboard.
Since exploding onto the scene in 2019, the 25-year-old singer/rapper has been a dominant force in the Latin American music scene and is widely considered one of the pioneers of Argentina’s burgeoning trap movement.
Born Paulo Ezequiel Londra, he began his musical journey as a battle rapper in Buenos Aires’ El Quinto Escalón. Soon after, he released popular singles like “Relax” and “Condenado para el Millón” in 2017.
However, it was his 2019 debut album, Homerun, that catapulted Londra to international recognition. The album debuted and peaked at No. 12 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart and at No. 10 on Latin Rhythm Albums, with its hit single, “Adan y Eva,” landing in Spotify’s Global Top 10. Its music video currently boasts over 1.2 billion views on YouTube.
In 2022, the Córdoba-born artist released his second album, Back to the Game, under Warner Music Latina. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart and boasts collaborations with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Travis Barker, Timbaland, Feid and Duki.
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Adding another feather to his cap, Londra performed the official Latin remix for “The World is Yours To Take,” a song off the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack, alongside Lil Baby and Tears for Free.
Most recently, Londra signed with indie powerhouse label Dale Play Records — home to producer Bizarrap, rapper Duki and urban/pop act Nicki Nicole — and is currently working on new music.
Additionally, plans are underway for Londra to embark on a global tour. He continues to be managed by Ignacio Amato and Cruz Pereyra Lucena from Buena Productora.
Endeavor, the sports and entertainment giant that owns agencies WME and IMG, announced on Tuesday it will be acquired by private equity firm Silver Lake in a deal that values the company at $13 billion. The move arrives three years into Endeavor’s tenure as a publicly traded company and just six months since WME’s chief rival, CAA, came under new ownership.
Silver Lake is Endeavor’s largest shareholder, having made its initial investment in WME in 2012 and purchasing IMG two years later, and plans on acquiring 100% of the remaining shares by offering stockholders $27.50 per share in cash, representing a 55% premium to the unaffected share price of $17.72 per share. Endeavor noted that was the price of shares on Oct. 25, 2023, a day before the company disclosed a review of strategic alternatives that included going private.
The company, which went public in 2021 following pandemic-era delays, currently trades as EDR on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $25.81 on Tuesday (April 2).
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In addition to WME and IMG, Endeavor’s portfolio includes live event hospitality firm On Location, marketing agency 160over90 and sports betting data firm OpenBet. Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, formed last year to merge its martial arts league UFC with World Wrestling Entertainment. TKO is not part of the Silver Lake acquisition, however, and will continue trading on the NYSE as “TKO” and “will continue to benefit from its connectivity to Endeavor’s expertise, relationships, and significant capabilities,” the company clarified.
Led by co-CEOs Egon Durban and Greg Mondre, Silver Lake’s $102 billion in combined assets includes a portfolio of companies like Oak View Group, Fanatics, TEG, Waymo, Stripe, Plaid, SoFi and Madison Square Garden Sports, among others.
Endeavor said the transaction is fully financed through equity from Silver Lake and additional capital from partnering investors, including Mubadala Investment Company, DFO Management, Lexington Partners, and funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Members of Endeavor’s leadership team, including chief executive Ari Emanuel, executive chairman Patrick Whitesell and president and COO Mark Shapiro, will also roll over their equity, and new debt financing was secured by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America and other institutions.
“Since 2012, Endeavor’s strategic partnership with Silver Lake and Egon Durban have been central to our evolution into the global sports and entertainment leader we are today,” said Emanuel. “We believe this transaction will maximize value for all of Endeavor’s public stockholders and are excited to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company.”
Stephen Evans, managing director of Silver Lake and a director of Endeavor, said: “The team at Silver Lake is proud of our longstanding partnership with Endeavor, marked by more than $3.5 billion of direct investment across six distinct transactions over 12 years. We are excited about what we can achieve together in this next phase, spearheaded by Endeavor’s visionary expertise across talent representation and content and ownership of truly special, marquee assets in sports.”
Mexican American artist Xavi has signed with WME for global representation in all areas, as reported by Billboard last week. The last few months have been pivotal for the 19-year-old singer-songwriter (born Joshua Xavier Gutiérrez) who kicked off 2024 with his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart thanks to his romantic corrido “La Diabla,” […]
WME‘s music leadership team outlined a new organizational structure for the company’s contemporary music department today in a company-wide memo, detailing strategic changes for the Endeavor-owned agency built around A&R, bookings and crossover opportunities.
In a memo to WME’s contemporary music department, global head of contemporary music Lucy Dickins and global co-head of contemporary music Kirk Sommer further detailed their plans, introduced over the summer months, to build upon the 45,000 concerts their team booked in 2023.
For A&R, which covers new artists signings and artist development, “new artist discovery will be coordinated across all genres and regions,” the memo explains. “Given the globalization of our business and the speed at which new artists break today, we believe this is a critical piece to identifying new talent. Kevin Shivers will be leading these efforts on behalf of the team, working with regional and genre leads.”
For booking, Dickens and Sommer explained, WME will continue to build upon its “multiple regional servicing groups, including an Asia-Pacific presence, Latin-American team, and a robust European operation,” the memo reads. Ron Opaleski will lead global bookings and international touring strategy across North America, while Tony Goldring will lead similar efforts for the company’s international clients. Josh Kurfirst will lead efforts on behalf of festivals, Clint Mitchell will lead non-traditional touring and Ryan Jones will cover the company’s private and corporate events.
Dickens and Sommer wrote also detailed changes at the company’s crossover department, which the two leaders said “is our #1 differentiator.”
“Given its importance,” the memo explained, “WME partner Keith Sarkisian will be stepping in to oversee the coordination of non-touring services for the agency’s roster, working with divisions from across WME and Endeavor.” That includes working with Dvora Englefield, WME partner/head of new music strategy, “who will continue to identify new business opportunities and strategic partnerships on behalf our artists.”
Citing “the growth across each of our offices,” Dickens and Sommer also announced the appointment of the company’s first-ever regional office leads, managed by Brian Aherns who oversees operations for the music team. The leads for WME’s international officers are Kevin Shivers (Beverly Hills), Michael Coughlin (Nashville), Stephanie LaFera (New York), Josh Javor (London) and Brett Murrihy (Sydney).
“These new roles and areas of responsibility reflect the evolution of our business today — we are a truly global operation, we have unparalleled scale, and we have more opportunities to provide our artists than ever before,” the memo continued. “With this new structure highlighting key areas of responsibility and the leadership behind it, we will now be even better equipped to provide best-in-class services to our music clients and partners.”
The memo also announced the promotion of seven agents — Kyle Bandler, Mark Claassen, Andrew Colvin, Beth Hamilton, Sloane Logue, Austin Mullins and Travis Wolfe — to partner at WME, along with the promotion of 16 employees to agent: Sam Dolen, Janelle Flint, Jacob Fox, Josh Green, Lindsey Hastings, Carly Huffman, Dan Kuklinski, Sean McHugh, Meera Patel, Adam Sherif, John Showfety, Jeremy Upton, Carlile Willett, Laura Williams, Cecilia Yao and Ben Yekuel.
Ice Spice has signed with WME for international representation in all areas, Billboard can confirm. A representative for the rapper confirms that veteran hip-hop agent Cara Lewis and C Lewis Group continue to represent her in North America and Canada. The news of the WME signing was originally reported by Variety. The Bronx rapper has […]
WME announced on Tuesday (Oct. 24) that the agency has signed the estate of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti for management worldwide under its WME Legends division.
WME Legends is focused on estate and legacy brand management, with the objective of growing the legacies of artists and brands for a new generation.
Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti) is a Nigerian-born musician, bandleader, composer, political activist and Pan-africanist who created the Afrobeat genre, a percussion-heavy fusion of funk, jazz, fuji and highlife music. That eventually led to the genre’s 21st-century polyrhythmic offshoot, Afrobeats, which has been steadily crossing into the mainstream over the last few years. Kuti died in 1997 after suffering from complications with AIDS.
The WME Legends team will manage Kuti’s name, image, likeness, life, IP, music and publishing rights across WME and parent company Endeavor’s departments and companies worldwide in partnership with the administrators of Kuti’s estate. All existing deals controlling his recordings and music publishing remain. Partisan Records will continue to distribute Kuti’s catalog in North America, while Universal Music still distributes it in the rest of the world. His music publishing is split between BMG and Sony worldwide.
WME Legends is focused on growing Kuti’s legacy for a new generation with various projects, including a definitive scripted biopic; an expansion of the Fela! stage musical franchise; previously unreleased masters and unpublished songs; licensing and merchandising; commercials and endorsements; and more. It has not yet been determined who will distribute and admin the previously unreleased material.
The Kuti biopic is currently in development. Notably, 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen was previously developing a Kuti biopic for Focus Features to star Chiwetel Ejiofor. In 2013, McQueen dropped out and was replaced on the project by Nigerian director Andrew Dosunmu, though McQueen told The Hollywood Reporter the following year that the project was “dead.” However, in the same story, producer Lydia Dean Pilcher told the outlet the biopic was still in development outside of Focus. It’s unclear whether any of the above-named players are involved in the current version of the biopic.
WME Legends also represents the estates of The Notorious B.I.G., Andy Kaufman, Eartha Kitt, Waylon Jennings, Peter Tosh and Charlie Sifford, as well as Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation and the iconic New York punk/new wave club, CBGB.
During the course of the negotiation, the Kuti estate was represented by Olajide Oyewole, a member of DLA Piper Africa.