bbbiz
Guy Oseary Stepping Away From Day-to-Day Role at Maverick
He will continue to manage Madonna and U2 and consult Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, extending his deal with the touring company. Guy Oseary is stepping away from his day-to-day role at his management collective Maverick to consult for Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and further concentrate on his tech and entertainment entrepreneurial interests. The news comes with a three-year extension of Oseary’s existing partnership with Live Nation, which purchased Maverick in 2013. He will still continue to manage Madonna and U2 under the Maverick banner. Other managers using the Maverick umbrella will continue to operate under Live Nation’s Artist Nation division. “I’m ready for my new chapter and welcome the opportunity to have more time to focus on management of Madonna and U2 while f...
How We Work Now: Midem Director Alexandre Deniot
In a new series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now, with much of the world quarantined at home and unable to take in-person meetings, attend conferences or even go into the office. Submissions for the series can be sent to HowWeWorkNow@Billboard.com. Read the full series here. This installment is with Midem director Alexandre Deniot, who was forced to make some big decisions about this year’s music business conference as the pandemic shut down France less than eight weeks before the annual event. Here, he speaks about how he balanced home and work while shifting the focus of the conference, which kicks off next week and runs June 2-5, to the first digital version of Midem in its 5...
Big Hit Entertainment, Home to BTS, Strikes Deal With Seventeen Label PLEDIS
Expanding its strategy to build a multi-label structure, Big Hit is now the largest shareholder of PLEDIS Entertainment. South Korea-based powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment has become the largest shareholder of record label PLEDIS Entertainment, home to K-pop superstars Seventeen and NU’EST, it was announced Monday. Under the terms of the deal, PLEDIS will retain its independence as a label, though its artists will now receive support from Big Hit’s business entities and support organizations to expand their reach into overseas markets — similar to the way Big Hit turned boy band BTS into a top-charting phenomenon across the globe. The PLEDIS deal is the latest move in Big Hit’s strategy to expand its multi-label structure following the company’s acquisition of Source Music last ...
From Webb Pierce to Tupac: Country’s Roots Are Showing
Many artists aren’t just singing in one style and hoping to make a career out it. The fences officially have been moved. When Sam Hunt slid “Hard to Forget” into country radio playlists, he expanded the playing field for the format. On one hand, he introduced modern listeners to Webb Pierce‘s “There Stands the Glass,” a 1953 single that demonstrates the whiny twang that once defined the genre. But he packaged it with start-and-stop, tech-based rhythms that pulled directly from hip-hop. It’s a stunning development: blending musical sounds that are separated by seven decades on the calendar and perhaps an even greater distance on a sonic map. But it’s also indicative of the increasingly elastic nature of the format. Jon Pardi‘s “Ain...
What Place Will Virtual Tipping Have in the Post-Pandemic Music Industry?
In China, virtual tipping provides a widespread, legitimate revenue stream for artists. Some think the pandemic will help (finally) normalize the practice Stateside. Andy Bothwell, a Brooklyn-based artist who performs under the moniker Astronautalis, has an online hub that lists links to his music, social media accounts and merch site. But after the coronavirus pandemic cut off the touring income he relies on to pay his bills, he added two new links to the top of the list: His Cash App and Venmo accounts, allowing fans to send him money directly. “I’m curious to see if I keep it there,” he says. His decision is more than a curiosity. As the pandemic has shut down economies across the globe, many artists are asking fans directly for cash — and music companies like SoundCloud and Spoti...
CTS Eventim’s Quarterly Earnings: Revenue Down 34.7%, Liquidity Looks Good & More Takeaways
Live entertainment revenue at the German event producer fell 40.4% due to the suspension of concerts across Europe. Europe’s coronavirus crisis took a huge toll on German event producer CTS Eventim in the first quarter, leading to a 34.7% decline in revenue to €184.6 million ($202.1 million) and clouding the outlook for the remainder of 2020. Due to countries’ suspensions of concerts and other gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic, CTS Eventim’s live entertainment revenue fell 40.4% to €108.6 million ($118.9 million) while ticketing revenue fell 24.4% to €79 million ($86.5 million). CTS Eventim had been growing quickly until the pandemic threw the touring industry into disarray. In 2019, revenue rose 16.2%, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in...
God, Family, Country: Vet Craig Morgan’s New Album Tackles All-American Issues
America is headed into the oddest Memorial Day in its history. The National Memorial Day concert will be broadcast from indoors instead of in front of a crowd outside the U.S. Capitol Building. Seats at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will remain empty. And in many states, citizens are being encouraged to avoid barbecues or, at the very least, to exercise social distancing when they attend. Despite the unusual nature of living through a pandemic-challenged era, Craig Morgan is moving forward with the release of a new album, God, Family, Country. Due May 22, the Friday of the holiday weekend, the project is practically made for Memorial Day: It focuses on meaning-of-life and meaning-of-death issues while exploring sometimes uncomfortable topics. Morgan, who served more than two decades in t...
Why High-Profile Hacks Could Increase Amid Pandemic-Prompted Remote Work
Employees in non-office settings create cybersecurity vulnerabilities, experts say, and without intervention more entertainment companies could fall victim to hacks like the one that hit Grubman Shire. Hackers are threatening to release a treasure trove of private data stolen from one of Hollywood’s top talent law firms if it doesn’t pay a $42 million ransom — and experts say companies are increasingly vulnerable to attacks like this because their employees are working remotely during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks earlier this month was hit by a ransomware attack — with a group called REvil taking responsibility for the hack and posting online part of a Live Nation employment contract for Madonna‘s recent world tour as proo...
Disney’s Kevin Mayer to Become TikTok CEO
Disney veteran Rebecca Campbell will succeed him as chairman of director-to-consumer and international. Kevin Mayer, the Disney executive who oversaw the launch of the streaming service Disney+, is leaving his post at the entertainment giant to become CEO of the fast-growing social media app TikTok. Disney veteran Rebecca Campbell will succeed him as chairman of director-to-consumer and international. “I am very proud of what our extraordinarily talented direct-to-consumer and international team has accomplished in creating and delivering a world-class portfolio of streaming services, particularly Disney+,” Mayer said Monday in a statement. Mayer joins TikTok at a pivotal moment for the app, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate ByteDance. Less than three years old, it has bee...
How We Work Now: Duck Club Presents/Treefort Music Festival Co-Founder Eric Gilbert
In a new series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now, with much of the world quarantined at home and unable to take in-person meetings, attend conferences or even go into the office. Submissions for the series can be sent to HowWeWorkNow@Billboard.com. Read the full series here. This installment is with Eric Gilbert, co-founder of Duck Club Presents and Boise, Idaho’s Treefort Music Festival. Eric Gilbert: Treefort was scheduled for March 25-29 and we [initially] postponed it two weeks. At that point, the state nor the city hadn’t really done anything. We made the decision in consultation with them, but we had to take the lead on that. Two weeks after we postponed, the state fully s...
Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’ Producer Yeti Beats Signs Warner Chappell Admin Deal
Warner Chappell has signed an exclusive administration agreement with Yeti Beats, co-producer of Doja Cat‘s current Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Say So” feat. Nicki Minaj. Announced Friday (May 15), the deal covers all catalog and future works by Yeti Beats, who also served writer, producer, executive producer and A&R roles on Doja Cat’s first two albums — Amala and Hot Pink — and produced such hits as “Candy” and “Juicy” feat. Tyga. He also served as an executive producer on Doja Cat’s 2014 EP Purrr! “I’ve known Yeti for a while, and it’s been incredible to see what he’s accomplished with Doja Cat and her team,” said Warner Chappell Music senior director of A&R, Wallace Joseph, in a statement. “Yeti’s in a great positi...
Arkansas’ Socially-Distanced Concert Now Trying to Reschedule, Adhere to State Law
The venue says Alcohol Beverage Control removed its license on Thursday morning, effectively shutting down the business. At a press conference on Thursday (May 14), TempleLive announced it was rescheduling its socially-distanced Travis McCready concert scheduled for Friday night in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The show was set to be one of the first shows hosted after mass gatherings were banned throughout the county due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The venue is now hoping to hold the concert Monday, in order to adhere to state law. Despite what TempleLive described as an open line of communication with the Governor’s office over the past few weeks, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters on Tuesday that he did not approve of the event, which was scheduled for three...
