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Warner Music Group reported quarterly revenue was up 9% as of mid-year, as the third-largest U.S.-based music company beat Wall Street estimates for revenue and profit on big album releases by Ed Sheeran, Melanie Martinez others.
WMG reported revenue for its fiscal third quarter ending June 30 rose to $1.56 billion — analysts had expected $1.47 billion — driven by strong releases and a 15.5% uptick in music publishing revenue of $283 million. Streaming revenue rose by 9.5% overall and digital revenue was up 8.8% to $1.03 billion compared to the year ago quarter. Net profit edged slightly lower to $124 million from $125 million a year ago but still beat analysts’ expectations.
“We had a great release slate with lots of momentum and success, but at the same time our catalog has also delivered,” WMG Chief Executive Robert Kyncl said on a call with analysts. “We are firing on both engines.”
WMG’s stock was up 8% by mid-day trading in New York.
Executives said the current quarter is off to a good start with major releases from Lil Uzi Vert, Dua Lipa and the Barbie movie soundtrack, and upcoming releases from Zach Bryan and Charlie Puth.
“Our results show we’re gaining real traction,” Kyncl said, adding that as price increases from Spotify, YouTube and others filter in to WMG’s financials this quarter, the company can expect continued strength.
“We see these initial price increases as an encouraging start,” Kyncl said. “There’s no evidence that the services are experiencing elevated levels of customer churn. We believe the market will bear further price increases in the future, and we’re expecting that they’ll arrive on a more regular cadence than in the past. “
The growth in music publishing revenues was driven by a 26.4% uptick in digital revenue and 27.1% increase in streaming revenue, reflecting the impact of digital deal renewals and a revenue true-up of $9 million from the CRB. Mechanical revenue spike about 45% primarily due to a higher share of physical sales in the quarter.
Recorded revenue rose 7.8%, bolstered by a 5.6% increase in digital revenue and a 6.3% increase in streaming revenue on the stronger release schedule and growth in ad-supported revenue.
WMG prefers to use operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) as a metric to assess its overal business health, and OIBDA increased 18% to $275 million in the quarter compaired to $233 million a year ago. Adjusted OIBDA rose 16% to $297 million from $255 million a year ago.
Key WMG financial highlights:
Total revenue rose 9% to $1.56 billion for the second quarter 2023, from $1.43 billion in the same quarter 2022.
Net profit, or net income, was flat at $124 million this quarter compared to $125 million in the year ago quarter.
Digital revenue rose 8.8% to $1.03 billion from $944 million in in the year ago quarter.
Streaming revenue rose 9.5%
Recorded music revenue rose 8% to $1.28 billion from $1.19 billion in the year ago quarter.
Music publishing revenue rose 16% to $283 million from $245 million in the year ago quarter.
Operating income was up 29% to $189 million from $146 million in the year ago quarter.
OIBDA was up 18% to $275 million compared to $233 million in the year ago quarter, with OIBIDA margin of 17.6%, up from 16.3%.
Warner Music Group and TikTok struck a multi-year licensing deal allowing creators on the short-form video app to use WMG music on Tuesday, marking the first publicly announced deal between a major music company since the popular social media platform since licensing renegotiations began about 18 months ago.
The companies said in a joint statement that the multi-platform agreement licenses the full repertoire of Warner Recorded Music and Warner Chappell Music to TikTok, TikTok Music, CapCut, and TikTok’s Commercial Music Library.
It is the first sizeable deal struck since WMG’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Kyncl took over in January, and it marks the cooling of what has at times been tough negotiations between TikTok and the music industry establishment.
Kyncl and TikTok’s chief execurtive Shou Chew said the agreement would benefit artists.
“We are very excited to partner with Warner Music Group to create a shared vision for the future in which artists, songwriters, music fans and the industry can all benefit from the power of discovery on TikTok platforms,” Chew said.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Kyncl described the deal as an “expanded and significantly improved partnership for both companies. We can jointly deliver greater value to WMG’s artists and songwriters and TikTok’s users.”
TikTok has been engaged in ongoing negotiations for roughly the last year over remuneration to the 100-plus rights holders through whom it must license music played on its app. Billboard reported that TikTok had struck short-term licensing deals in 2020 with most major music companies–shorter than the 18-24-month licenses common between the music and tech industries–to use 30-second clips of songs.
But negotiations to reach more permanent agreements had been fraught, with the music industry pushing for greater incentives for rights holders and TikTok exploring what music was really worth on its platform.
Kyncl’s WMG being the first to announce it struck an agreement with TikTok comes after he signaled a friendlier tone during comments he made at a banking conference in March. Kyncl expressed empathy for executives at TikTok at the Morgan Stanley conference, who he said are at “a company that’s kind of embattled today with lots of different institutions around the world.”
“That’s all I look for, fair setup on both sides and to grow a business together,” Kyncl said in March.
Vinyl Me, Please, the ebullient record of the month club (and pressing plant) based in Denver, hired creative veterans Rob Jones and Alan Hynes to add some rocket fuel to VMP’s product line. In their new roles (Jones as executive creative director and Hynes as senior creative director), the duo will help guide VMP’s artistic direction and work alongside existing creatives on custom record packaging designs for releases. They’ll also work with studios and composers to bring movie scores to vinyl as part of its new Soundtracks offering, beginning with a new pressing of Dave Grusin’s score for The Goonies later this summer. Jones joins VMP after a successful couple of decades as co-founder of Mondo, the maker of pop culture collectibles (including vinyl records and posters) that was acquired by Funko last year. Hynes also arrives from Mondo, where he played an integral role in its design department for years — creating original record packaging for films like Fight Club, Eyes Wide Shut and others.
“Bringing joy to people through tangible, transcendent experiences with music is what VMP is about and what we’re always striving to offer our customers,” said Cam Schaefer, CEO of VMP. “The addition of Rob and Alan to the team takes us to the moon creatively and fills out a 1992 Olympic Dream Team of art and design. Their experience, mind-bending creativity, and passion for exploration will allow them to make a deep impact within VMP and help us to elevate and expand our product line for customers. We’re lucky to have them.”
Liliahn Majeed exited her post as Universal Music Group‘s first global chief diversity, inclusion and belonging officer for a similar DEI role at L’Oréal. During her three years at UMG, Majeed led a team focused on boosting the label giant’s inclusion and equity efforts, and she notably co-chaired one of the committees of UMG’s high profile “Task Force for Meaningful Change.” Before Majeed traded the globe’s No. 1 music company for the No. 1 beauty firm, she held senior marketing and diversity roles at the NBA and earlier, at Frito-Lay. Majeed moves into the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, North America role at L’Oréal following the retirement of Angela Guy.
Warner Music Latina appointed Andrés Shaq as A&R director. He’ll be based in Miami and report to Hector Ruben Rivera, senior vice president and head of A&R Latin Music. Shaq was previously senior A&R manager at Warner Music Colombia, where he spent three years and played a key role in the careers of artists like Piso 21, Mike Bahía and Blessd. He also signed notable Colombian producers such as ICON, DJ MAFF, and SOG. “Colombia and the Andean region have an abundance of incredible talent waiting to be discovered. I’m fully committed to discovering and fostering future Latin superstars,” said Shaq. –Leila Cobo
Sony Pictures Television tapped Palash Ahmed to lead new efforts to develop more music-connected projects at the studio. As head of music development — a newly created role — Ahmed will work with studio president of international production Wayne Garvie on synergistic pairings with obvious partners (Sony Music’s recorded music and publishing divisions), as well as with non-Sony artists and labels. In announcing Ahmed’s new role, studio chairman Ravi Ahuja said film and TV content with a music tie-in “comes with a built-in, highly engaged fanbase, and we are excited to begin leaning in to opportunities to develop projects with musical artist connections.” Ahmed, who is based in Los Angeles, joined Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2017 and most recently held the title of senior vp of corporate development.
Tim McGraw‘s management and marketing company, EM.Co, appointed Doug Phillips as vp of marketing and digital. Phillips has previously worked at companies including Q Prime South, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Nashville. Concurrently, EM.Co vice president Brian Kaplan joins McGraw’s media venture Down Home as co-founder and chief strategy officer. Down Home launched earlier this year with partners Skydance and social content studio Shareability. –Jessica Nicholson
Faryal Khan-Thompson joined Downtown-owned music distributor CD Baby as senior vice president of marketing and community engagement, responsible for strategy around the disciplines in her job title, as well as branding initiatives, artist education efforts and growing the company internationally. The NYC-based Khan-Thompson was previously vp of international at TuneCore. “I am committed to building on the great work that has been done and positioning CD Baby as the leading provider of music distribution services for independent artists,” she said. CD Baby recently made headlines by sunsetting most of its physical distribution business — namely, that it will no longer warehouse or distribute the CDs that it makes for artists.
ICYMI: Big Machine Music elevated Mike Molinar to president of the publishing company.
Justin Chacona was named vice president of brand & marketing at Stockholm-based production music company Epidemic Sound, where he’ll lead a team of 40-plus staffers working on marketing and PR initiatives, social media strategy and consumer relations as the company eyes expansion into new markets. Launched in 2009, Epidemic offers a catalog of restriction-free music for use in videos, podcasts and other content. Chacona joins from Polar Electro where he’s been group chief marketing officer since 2020. Earlier in his career, Chacona worked at Rovio Entertainment, where he led marketing efforts surrounding the video game developer’s hit movie for Angry Birds. Chacona’s appointment follows the hiring of Rob Bullough as global brand director earlier this year.
Vickie Nauman was appointed to the advisory board of Interstellar Music Services, a specialist digital rights management company. Based in Los Angeles, Nauman is the founder and CEO of music and tech consultancy CrossBorderWorks and before that held executive roles at 7digital and Sonos. Interstellar, which launched in January, works to maximize the collection of royalties via a suite of services that includes digital distribution, brand partnerships, metadata cleaning, neighboring rights, publishing administration and detailed analysis/reporting. “The Company sits right at the intersection of music and innovation,” said Nauman, “so I hope that it will benefit from my experience as it enters its next phase of growth.”
Youth-focused social media platform Zigazoo hired Joe Kelley as director of music partnerships. In his new role, Kelley will lead outreach efforts with the music industry at large as the short video app looks to build on the recent launch of its product for kids 13 and up. Kelley had plenty of experience connecting with music acts during his four years as Billboard‘s head of artist relations — booking talent for a wide swath of events and other branded franchises. After leaving Billboard, Kelley worked as an artist manager and, more recently, as head of artist partnerships at music impact events platform WithOthers.
The Royal College of Music has enlisted James Williams to be only its 11th director since the prestigious school, located in South Kensington, London, was founded in 1882. Williams will join RCM on Sept. 1, 2024, succeeding current director Colin Lawson, who is retiring. Williams is managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since June 2016.
Nashville Bites: Universal Music Group Nashville hired Charlene Bryant as senior vp of business development and strategy. For the last five years, she ran her own company, Riveter Management, a multigenre firm whose clients have included hip-hop artist Trippie Redd… Rachel Burleson was promoted to Big Machine Label Group director of streaming from Big Machine Records project manager… SMACKSongs promoted Sam Sarno to creative director from creative manager… Mark Turcotte starts July 18 as Nashville-based Outback Presents senior vp of marketing. He arrives from Cox Media/Atlanta, where he was general sales manager. –Tom Roland
Chinese pop star G.E.M. is looking to grow her Latin American fan base — and break the mold for Chinese artists — by putting out a full-length Spanish version of her latest album, Revelation. And the idea to do it didn’t come from an executive or carefully plotted strategy by her new label, Warner Music China, which released the original Mandarin version in September.
“It wasn’t necessarily something we sat down with her and sort of guided her towards,” Simon Robson, Warner Music Group’s president, international, for recorded music, tells Billboard. “It was more that she wanted to do this, and we wanted to support her.”
Robson says G.E.M.’s Revelación, which Warner Music plans to release on July 10, will be the first Spanish-language album by a major Chinese music artist at any label (as far as WMG is aware). The experiment, the executive says, is “quite indicative of what’s happening with music at the moment and just how impactful Spanish music is becoming.”
Like her Chinese original, the Spanish album — which G.E.M. says she wrote on her own, after essentially teaching herself the language — will feature 14 songs. After debuting in 2008 with her self-titled EP G.E.M, the Shanghai born, Hong Kong-raised singer, whose real name is Gloria Tang Sze-wing (G.E.M. stands for Get Everybody Moving), became one of the top-selling female artists in Asia. Often dubbed China’s Taylor Swift, she holds the record for most-viewed music video on YouTube among all Chinese artists with “Light Years Away” (267 million views), the Chinese theme song for the sci-fi movie “Passengers.”
“It has been an incredible journey working on this project as I do not speak Spanish, but I was determined to fulfill a prophecy that was made to me 10 years ago that one day I would sing in the language,” G.E.M. says in a press release announcing Revelación. “After receiving support from South America for my Chinese album Revelation, I taught myself Spanish and wrote the entire album by myself.”
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A devout Christian, the singer rose to fame in 2014 after appearing on the TV competition show, “I Am A Singer 2.” Her second-place finish boosted her popularity in mainland China. She also received a nomination for an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Mainland China & Hong Kong Act and in 2016 Forbes named her to its 30 Under 30, the only Asian artist featured on the list. She composes songs in Cantonese and Mandarin, and also speaks English.
G.E.M. signed with Warner Music China last July, after a sticky separation from her Hong Kong-based label, Hummingbird Music, which sued her in 2019 to enforce their 2014 contract, which the label said was valid until 2022. Hummingbird was seeking HK $120 million ($15.3 million) in damages, according to Chinese media reports. G.E.M. filed a countersuit for unspecified damages, claiming Hummingbird had failed to fulfill its contractual duties. Both parties were seeking exclusive rights to her copyrighted works, including her stage name. (It is unclear if the suits have been resolved. A WMG spokesperson says he does not have any information about the situation.)
Revelation, G.E.M.’s seventh studio album, is named after the New Testaments’s Book of Revelation. In the wake of the pandemic last summer, the artist found herself prone to melancholy and other negative emotions, and developed the habit of praying, she told Billboard China. Her album was a “direct dialogue between me and heaven,” she said. “I write letters to heaven, and they write back. This is what gradually gave shape to the concept behind Revelation.”
Warner Music released two songs from the album every week — accompanied by videos — for seven weeks leading up to Sept. 22. G.E.M. began noticing that user-generated content and remakes of the song in local languages by Spanish-speaking content creators were appearing on social media platforms, particularly in South America. “Whether it was due to the album’s themes or its vibes, it was evident that it was connecting strongly with Spanish speakers globally,” a WMG spokesperson says. So, she decided to learn Spanish and convert the songs into Spanish “to better share her message and music with this fanbase.”
While the plan is still in its preliminary stages, G.E.M. is planning to perform the Spanish version of the song throughout the next year, with live performances in Latin America, the spokesperson tells Billboard.
Robson says WMG currently has no plans to release any other Chinese artists’ albums in Spanish. “But I think that obviously there is an element of seeing how successful this album is,” he says. “It’s something I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of just because Spanish music, in the broadest terms, is becoming increasingly influential around the world.”
The Warner Music executive acknowledged that there is an element of risk for G.E.M. and the label with the Spanish project but declined to define what success would look like for the artist. “It’s more about building her fan base in Latin America,” he says. “It’s step by step, really.”
WMG continues to lean into Latin music, at a time when the genre is exploding globally. Between 2020 and 2022, Latin music grew 55.29% in album consumption in the U.S., according to Luminate, more than double the overall industry’s 21.61%.
Robson points to recent tracks like Peso Pluma’s remix of Yng Lvcas’ “La Bebe,” which is holding at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, and the upcoming album or EP from Mexican rapper Natanael Cano, which is scheduled to drop at the end of June, as signs of Warner Music’s efforts on the Latin front. (Yng Lvcas performed last week at a songwriting camp in Madrid organized by Warner Music Spain and Warner Chappell Music Spain, part of an effort by the company, Robson says, to host more joint writing camps for both publishing and recorded music.)
Two years ago, the label named former Universal Music Group executive Alejandro Duque as president of Warner Music Latin America. Duque helped oversee the release of Anitta’s Versions of Me, whose signature single, “Envolver,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200. But now the Brazilian pop star is gone, after separating with the label in April and signing with UMG’s Republic Records, a definite blow to WMG.
“We’re already starting to build up our roster [in Brazil],” Robson says, noting the recent signing of Brazilian urban funk artist Kayblack.
More broadly, “when you look back two years prior, although we were sort of active, [it is] nothing like to the degree we are now, and are not having the success we have,” Robson says. “Alejandro is an incredibly strong executive and we’re trying to support him as much as possible.”
The three major label groups have been in talks with the big music streaming services to find a way to get them to remove recordings with AI-generated vocals created to sound like popular artists, Billboard has learned. The idea under discussion with Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music would operate much like the one laid out by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act but would cite violations of rights of publicity, rather than copyright, according to sources at all three majors. Unlike the DMCA, however, this arrangement appears to be voluntary.
The 1998 DMCA gives online services that use, store or transmit copyrighted works a “safe harbor” from secondary liability for copyright infringement as long as they abide by a notice-and-takedown system that allows rightsholders to ask them to remove copyrighted content. That law would not apply to most AI-generated soundalike tracks because they do not infringe protected elements of copyrighted recordings or compositions but rather a trademark or a right of publicity, the protection celebrities may be able to receive to protect their names and likenesses from unauthorized commercial exploitation.
Songs that imitate the voices of big-name talent have become a trend over the past month, reaching widespread attention in mid-April when the track “Heart on My Sleeve,” which apparently used AI to mimic the style and tone of vocals by Drake and The Weeknd, was uploaded to streaming services and then swiftly removed. (The song did not credit those artists, although they were referred to in social media posts about it.)
Citing rights of publicity can be more complicated than copyright, because they are matters of state law in the U.S., backed by limited legal precedent. Rights vary by state, protections for deceased artists vary even more widely, and the use of soundalike vocals for creative purposes may in some cases be protected as free speech. Further complicating matters, these rights almost always belong to artists, not labels, which would presumably file notices on their behalf with authorization. Right now, however, this is the most obvious legal argument with which to keep AI-generated soundalikes off major streaming platforms.
In an April 26 earnings call, UMG CEO and chairman Lucian Grainge seemed to signal this approach to investors. “The recent explosive development in generative AI will… create rights issues with respect to existing copyright law, in the US and other countries, as well as laws governing trademark, name and likeness, voice impersonation, and right of publicity,” he said. “Further, we have provisions in our commercial contracts that provide additional protections.” It is not clear if takedowns issued by the majors would rely on these provisions, state law, goodwill, or some combination.
Some executives have raised concerns that AI soundalikes that imitate the voices of popular artists could result in consumer confusion. Still, a few artists like Grimes and Holly Herndon have embraced the technology, training their own AI voice models and making them available to the public.
Meanwhile, companies like Uberduck, Supertone, Lingyin Engine, and Covers.ai are marketing models with which to replicate voices. Covers.ai, which launched last week, has said that it received over 100,000 sign-ups in anticipation. Tencent Music Entertainment executives announced in November that with the company’s Lingyin Engine they had created and released over 1,000 songs containing synthetic AI voices already, one of which amassed 100 million streams.
This stance taken by the leading streaming services counters a recent announcement from the blockchain-based music platform Audius, which announced that artists can now “opt-in” to allow AI-generated works on their artist page. To organize this new music and avoid confusion, Audius would create a separate tab on the artists’ page especially for user-generated content.
Representatives for Universal, Sony, Warner, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music did not respond to requests for comment.
Warner Music Group reported quarterly revenues grew 1.7% to $1.399 billion (4.6% in constant currency) as strong revenues from its music publishing revenue helped offset a slow quarter for recorded music releases.
WMG, the music industry’s third largest major label, reported revenue from its recorded music revenue was effectively flat at $1.143 billion for the second fiscal quarter ending March 31, compared to $1.147 billion in the year ago quarter. (In constant currency, recorded music revenue rose 2.5%.) Streaming revenue in the quarter was down 0.4% (or, in constant currency 2.2% higher) on fewer releases and a slowdown in ad-supported revenue due to macroeconomic uncertainty.
In contrast, music publishing revenue rose 12% to $257 million from $230 million a year ago.
“While our publishing was best in class, we underperformed in recorded music,” Robert Kyncl, chief executive officer, said on a conference call.
WMG executives have said throughout this fiscal year that the label’s major releases of the year would come in the second half, and on the call, they stressed they are already seeing improvement with the late-April releases of Jack Harlow’s Jackman., Tïesto’s Drive and Ed Sheeran’s Subtract, released in early May.
“Our release slate was a little lighter in the first two quarters of the year and will be weighted to (the third quarter) and (the fourth quarter),” Warner chief financial officer Eric Levin said, flagging releases expected from Dua Lipa with her Barbie soundtrack track, among others.
“We absolutely expect this to improve our results in recorded music streaming in the second half of the year.”
Key Points From WMG’s Q2:
WMG’s revenues grew 1.7% (or 4.6% in constant currency, a measure that standardizes foreign exchange fluctuations) to $1.399 billion
Digital revenue increased 1.2% (or 3.7% in constant currency) to
Streaming revenue increased 1.9% (or 4.5% in constant currency) on growth in music publishing streaming
Music publishing revenue increased 12%, or 14.2% in constant currency
Music publishing streaming revenue grew 16.4% (18.3% in constant currency)
Recorded music streaming revenue decreased 0.4% (an increase of 2.2% in constant currency) on a lighter release schedule, foreign exchange currency fluctuations and slowdown in ad-supported revenue.
Net income was $37 million this quarter, down 60% from $92 million one year ago, primarily driven by the negative impact of currency fluctuations on the company’s Euro-denominated debt. Adjusted net income up 5% to $116 million from $111 million a year ago.
Operating income was $124 million, down 25% from $166 million a year ago, with adjusted operating income up 10% to $203 million from $185 million.
Adjusted net income of $116 million was up 5% from $111 million in the year ago quarter.
Warner Music México has announced the launch of Gorgona, a label which will be “completely” run and managed by women, and will also be focused on promoting women talent.
According to a statement issued by the company Wednesday (April 12), the “historically low” presence of women in key senior industry roles initially led to the formation of Warner Music México’s Gender Equality Committee, comprised exclusively of women across the organization. Then came the idea of creating a label in which all roles — from songwriting to digital music services — would be executed by women.
The creation of Gorgona — a creature who is a protective deity of women according to Greek mythology is — led to their first songwriter’s camp attended by Ali Stone, Erika Vidrio, Escarlata, Ingratax, Marian Ruzzi, and other artists, producers and songwriters.
“The atmosphere in our first camp was very friendly because everyone felt that their opinions and voices were validated in the studio,” says Andrea Fernández, A&R manager at Warner Music Mexico and the label’s creative leader. “They had practically never attended a camp where the participation of women was greater than that of men. We came out with a network of creative women who were able to get to know themselves and their work and produced spectacular songs.”
“Cypher 1: Ella”, which dropped on International Women’s Day, was the first release under Gorgona. A collaboration between singers and emcees Mabiland, Emjay, Mare Advertencia and Delfina Dib, the alternative, urban-leaning song was produced by Maria Vertiz, mixed by Marcella Araica and mastered by Natalia Schlesinger.
The underrepresentation of women in the industry in Mexico reflects the reality of music in general. A report on inclusion issued by The University of California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative earlier this year found that women have been woefully underrepresented across the recorded music industry.
The number of women with producer credits continues to be low. In 2022, only 3.4% of producers were women across all songs included on the year-end Hot 100 chart, according to the report, which examines the gender of artists, songwriters and producers across all 1,100 songs included on Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end charts spanning from 2012 to 2022. Moreover, women represented only 30% of the 160 artists on the Hot 100 year-end chart, while men made up 69.4% and artists who identified as non-binary made up less than 1%.
Anitta and Warner Music Group are parting ways, both parties announced in a joint statement the Brazilian star posted on social media on Tuesday (April 4).
“After eleven years of successful partnership, we’ve agreed to go our separate ways,” reads the post. “Anitta would like to thank the Warner Music team for all their support. And the Warner team wishes Anitta all the best in the future.”
Anitta signed with Warner Music in the U.S. in 2020 after previously linking with Warner Music Brazil in 2013. Under the U.S. contract, she produced Versions of Me, which was executive produced by Ryan Tedder. The trilingual album was recorded mostly in English with a few songs in Spanish and one in Portuguese. It included the hit song “Envolver,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart and on Spotify’s Global list, making Anitta the first Brazilian artist to achieve either feat. Meanwhile, the self-directed video for the song claimed the top spot on YouTube’s Global Top Music Videos chart. It currently has more than 500 million views on YouTube.
The news comes after Anitta took to Twitter in March to say she would have “auctioned off her organs” to be let out of her Warner contract. “If there was a fine to pay, I would have already auctioned off my organs, no matter how expensive it was to get out. But unfortunately, there isn’t,” she wrote. “When you’re young and still don’t know a lot, you need to pay close attention to the things you sign… if you don’t, you could spend a lifetime paying for the mistake.”
It wasn’t the first time Anitta has complained about her relationship with WMG. According to Anitta, Warner refused to produce a video when they saw that the song’s performance on streaming platforms was falling below expectations.
“They only invest after it pays off on the internet,” Anitta said in an Instagram livestream in May. “Unfortunately, there are things I can’t get, that’s why I don’t buy millionaire cars, because when I want to do something, I pay for it.”
Recently, it was announced that Anitta has joined the Elite cast for season seven of the hit Netflix show.
Warner Music Group’s chief financial officer Eric Levin told staff on Tuesday that after a “transformative decade” for the company, he will retire at the end of the year, according to an internal memo viewed by Billboard.
Levin said he decided to announce his retirement early in the year to allow the company to move forward with a public search for his successor, similar to WMG’s handling of the successor search for former WMG CEO Stephen Cooper, who stepped down Feb. 1.
Levin joined WMG in 2014, overseeing the company’s global financial operations at a time when piracy and streaming were overhauling the fortunes of companies across the music industry.
“He helped WMG return to growth and profitability, making important contributions to its long-term strategy and the funding of its global expansion and major acquisitions,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl wrote in a staff memo about Levin’s planned retirement. “Eric will be leaving WMG in a much better place than when he joined it.”
Prior to WMG, Levin was based in China as the North Asia CFO and regional controller for Ecolab, a leading maker of disinfectants, and prior to that he was the CFO of the Hong Kong-based English language newspaper the South China Morning Post.
Levin saw WMG through its 2020 initial public offering, which valued the company at around $12.5 billion, and managed through the leadership transition from Cooper to Kyncl. On Tuesday, Levin wrote that he is “ready to pass the baton to a new CFO.”
“It’s going to be a natural progression, at a natural time,” Levin wrote. “Whoever takes this role will be very fortunate. I’m looking forward to helping set them up for another successful decade of growth.”
Daniel Mora has been appointed managing director of Warner Music Andes, where he will oversee the company’s operations in Colombia and Peru, and will report to president of Warner Music Latin America, Alejandro Duque, the company announced. Mora replaces Maria Montejo who left the company earlier this month.
Mora first joined Warner Chappell Music in 2013 as an A&R/Sync consultant at the Colombian office and was later promoted to managing director of WCM Colombia in 2019.
“After spending so many enjoyable years at Warner Chappell Music, I’m pleased to be staying within the WMG family and stepping into this role on the Recorded Music side,” he said in a press statement. “Latin music is in my blood, and I’m delighted to see how it’s currently growing and connecting with people around the world. There are so many great opportunities for our artists to become global stars and I’m looking forward to helping them achieve their dreams. I’d like to thank Alejandro for this new opportunity, and Gustavo Menendez, Guy Moot, and Carianne Marshall for all their support during my time at Warner Chappell Music.”
In addition to his experience as an industry executive, Mora is also an artist and entrepreneur. He previously toured Latin America as part of the tropipop band, Bonka, which made waves with their debut single “El Problemón” (2006) and freshman studio album Lo Que Nunca Nos Contamos; and launched his own audiovisual company in Bogotá, producing films and commercials for brands such as Chevrolet and Adidas, to name a few.
“Daniel is a brilliant exec who has experience of being on both sides of the fence – first as an artist and now as a leading industry figure,” Duque added. “His understanding of both perspectives makes him the perfect fit for Warner Music and our artist-first philosophy. His appointment will enable us to work even closer with our partners at Warner Chappell Music and will open up more opportunities for collaboration. Latin music is exploding around the world and I’m excited to see how Daniel can further propel our Colombian and Peruvian artists internationally.”