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Triller & Veteran Exec Steve Rifkind Launch Spring Singles Artist Discovery Platform
“We’re creating a new pathway to finding and launching the kind of raw talent that makes people stop and say, ‘Whoa, there’s a new star,’” said Rifkind in a statement. “Triller’s ability to amplify these new voices to the right audiences using their AI tools and sophisticated marketing is the way we hope to empower new voices so they can have a very real opportunity to potentially break through. We want to create a rhythm to our song releases. By scheduling them every two weeks, we will hopefully have created something that people pay attention to and look forward to. We have already found some amazing talent that we can’t wait to introduce.” Added Mahi de Silva, CEO of TrillerNet, parent company of Triller, Verzuz, FITE, Triller Fight Club, TrillerVerz and Amplify.ai, “Steve Rifkind is sy...
Spotify Partners With Shopify for Artist Merch Sales
In an interview with Billboard, Camille Hearst, the head of Spotify for Artists, said the goal for that program is to provide “the information and resources that artists need to grow their fan bases and ultimately get paid for them,” and the Shopify partnership is the latest example of that. “As we think about what are all the ways we can help artists get paid, what are the ways we can help artists maximize additional revenue streams, merch is one of the things that comes top of mind,” Hearst says. “That’s why we are announcing this partnership with Shopify because we think it really is the next step in creating a holistic audience development platform.” “It’s just a natural fit for Spotify in many ways,” Hearst continues. “...
TikTok Launches First ‘Discover List’ to Highlight Top Creators
In the icon category, which TikTok defined as creators who are “well-known up and down the [for you page] and outside of TikTok,” features names like Bella Poarch, Tabitha Brown, Brittany Broski, Boman Martinez-Reid, Leo Gonzalez, Challan Trishann and Christina “Tinx” Najjar. Innovators, defined as those who are “pioneers in their fields” and are “constantly pushing boundaries,” featured talent like Wisdom Kaye, Devon Rodriguez and Parker Locke. The foodie category, meant to highlight TikTokers adding a “creative spin” to food-focused videos, honored Joanne Molinaro (a.k.a. @thekoreanvegan) and Ana Regalado (@saltycocina), among others. TikTok’s change maker creators, advocates and educators who “speak up and speak out,” included Taylor Jones, the Valentine Brothers and Ebony and Deni...
UK Music Streaming Sector Faces Probe From Competition Watchdog
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee raised concerns about how the dominance of Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music was “distorting the market” and that the benefits of the music streaming boom were not being passed on to musicians. In the U.K., the three majors make up 75% of the recorded music market, with independents accounting for the remaining 25%, according to the Association of Independent Music (AIM). Streaming now accounts for four-fifths (80.6%) of all music consumption in the U.K., according to labels trade body BPI. “The U.K. has a love affair with music and is home to many of the world’s most popular artists. We want to do everything we can to ensure that this sector is competitive, thriving and works in the interests of musi...
Live Nation, Oak View Group and GL Events Team Up for New São Paolo Arena
The 20,000-capacity venue begins construction next year and is slated to open in 2024. Live Nation, the world’s largest entertainment company, and global development company Oak View Group are teaming up for a 20,000-capacity arena in São Paulo, Brazil. The city’s mayor, Ricardo Nunes, announced the collaboration — which will be in partnership with Brazilian-based event company GL Events — on Friday (Oct. 15). The city of São Paulo, which has a population of 12 million, awarded the three entities a 30-year lease for the Anhembi campus, which spans 4 million square feet. Arena São Paulo, as it will be called, will anchor the Anhembi entertainment district and produce live even...
Beatles Royalties & Family Conflicts: We Read UMG’s 300-Page Prospectus. Here’s What We Found
In order to become a publicly traded, stand-alone company, Vivendi had to do an internal reorganization in 2020 to align the parameters of what would become Universal Music Group. As part of that, some of the liabilities directly assumed by Vivendi had to be transferred to UMG for the latter company to have control of all the music assets. It also had to assume the obligations and liabilities that came with them. One such Vivendi obligation that UMG had to take on was to provide security for royalty payments capped at $100 million euros to the Beatles, Yoko Ono and certain Apple entities. But that’s not surprising considering that the ownership of EMI, acquired in 2012, was directly under Vivendi, not UMG, so they had to do some internal asset a...
Latin Music Streaming Soars, US Market Share Hits 5.8% at Mid-Year: RIAA
Latin music now represents a 5.8% share of the overall U.S. market with revenues hitting $407 million in the first half of 2021 — 96% of which came from streaming for $393 million. The genre’s growth has been rapid over the past few years: The genre’s revenue for the first half of 2019 was $250 million, and then jumped to $298 in the first half of 2020. Paid streaming subscriptions grew 41% to $279 million, while ad-supported on-demand streaming revenue increased 30% to $77 million. Revenues from digital and custom radio services also rebounded, growing 24% to $37 million after a slight decline in 2020. “It’s incredible to see continued double-digit growth in Latin music — outpacing the already strong performance we’ve seen across other music segments and catego...
Two-Thirds of Music Fans Favor Vaccine or Mask Mandates at Concerts: Study
Implementing COVID-19 safety requirements “is the number one thing anyone can do to take care of those around them and we are encouraging as many shows as possible to adopt this model,” said Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino in a letter to staff in August. MusicWatch, which surveyed 753 active music listeners, also found that just 6% of respondents would not frequent a venue where there were COVID-19 safety requirements. Only 15% of fans said they would be comfortable with attendees using “common sense” regarding vaccination and masking requirements for indoor concerts. As general manager of Tipitina’s in New Orleans, Brian Greenberg told Billboard in August that implementing vaccine requirements for his venue was met with mixed reviews. ...
Inside Track: RCA’s Top Two Execs Move West
A source tells Billboard the shift is in large part “because the creative community is in Los Angeles, including artist managers.” RCA had no official comment. With RCA employees still working from home during the pandemic, a source says there is no word on if there will be more shifts from the East to West coast. Mark Pitts, who was upped to president earlier this year, is based in New York. The company announced a number of other changes today, naming Jamie Abzug senior vp/head of publicity. Based in Los Angeles, she replaces Mika El-Baz, who holds the dual title of executive vp West Coast/ executive vp, publicity. El Baz is leaving at the end of this month, as is senior vp publicity Sarah Weinstein Dennison, who is based in New York. Both El-Baz and Weinstein Dennison have been with the...
Joss Favela Inks Worldwide Co-Publishing Deal With Warner Chappell Music
The 30-year-old Regional Mexican star, who has penned over 100 songs for artists such as Alejandro Fernandez, Banda MS, and Natti Natasha, made history at the 2016 Premio ASCAP as the youngest person ever to win songwriter of the year. He nabbed the title in 2017 and 2018. On the Billboard charts, Favela has entered Hot Latin Songs, Latin Airplay, Top Latin Albums, Regional Mexican Albums, and Regional Mexican Airplay, where he has five top 10’s. “When my love for music started I never thought that I’d get to spend my life writing songs,” he said. “I’m continuously surprised by the beautiful things that happen to me, and joining the Warner Chappell family is one of them. I’m grateful for the songs that life has given me, but I’m even more grateful for the ones ...
Kobalt Music Names Jeannette Perez as President and COO
Based in Los Angeles, Perez joined the company from Sony Music in February 2014, where she served as VP, music for brands & advertising/licensing and, before that, as senior director, soundtracks, film & TV music at RCA. “Over the past couple of years,” comments Hubert, “Jeannette has played a key part in Kobalt’s success. From creating one of the best synch teams in the business to advancing key DEI initiatives at Kobalt, she is an integral part of the company. I am excited to work in close partnership with her and to achieve new milestones for our clients.” Perez has racked up awards during her time with Kobalt, including recognition in Billboard’s Women in Music (2020, 2019), Billboard Branding Power Player (2019, 2018), Billboard International Power Play...
Canada’s Kilometre Music Group Closes Catalog Deals Encompassing Drake, Dua Lipa Hits
Across the deals, Kilometre says it acquired underlying copyrights and royalty streams associated with all the songs, but it did not purchase master recordings or revenues from masters. The company declined to reveal purchase prices. According to calculations by Kilometre, the fund now co-owns 10% of the 100 most-streamed songs on Spotify of all time, and 7% of Spotify’s “Billions Club” – songs with one billion streams or more. The Kilometre deals, along with recent acquisitions by Dutch music management company Pythagoras Music Fund, are the latest purchases of publishing catalogs worldwide by investor-backed song funds like London-based Hipgnosis Song Funds as well as the publishing arms of major labels Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. In recent mon...
