business
Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ Leads U.K. Chart Race
At the halfway stage, just 400 combined sales separate Montero from the No. 2-placed album, Bob Dylan’s Springtime in New York – Bootleg 16 (Sony Music CG), the market leader on physical sales. Springtime is on pace to be the legendary singer and songwriter’s 41st U.K. Top 10 album. Meanwhile, Drake’s former leader Certified Lover Boy (OVO/Republic Records) is at No. 3, while prog-rock titans Genesis bow at No. 4 with the career-retrospective The Last Domino (UMC/Virgin), which could give the British band their first Top 10 album in seven years. According to the OCC, just 2,500 combined sales separate Montero and the fifth-placed album Green With Envy (Atlantic), the debut from British rapper Tion Wayne. Also chasing top tier debuts are titles from Spiritbox (Eternal Blue at No. 8 via...
In India’s Price-Sensitive Market, Will Customers Finally Pay For Streaming?
Only two countries — China (45% ad-supported), the seventh-biggest market, and Venezuela (58%), IFPI’s lowest-ranked sector — rely more on ad-supported audio streams than India (38%). And China, for the first time, generated more revenue last year from subscription-supported streams than ad-supported streams, IFPI figures show. Lodha, who previously was an executive at hospitality chain OYO Rooms, says it’s time to change India’s revenue paradigm. To help Gaana regain its edge in India’s crowded streaming market against its well-financed competitors, he’s focusing on boosting subscription income, which he says is more important than hitting Gaana’s target of 500 million MAUs — a figure at which he says the streaming platform would finally turn profitable. Subscription income fell from 33% ...
Eco-Conscious, Safety-Centric, Tech-Savvy: 35 New & Renovated Venues to Watch in 2021
Madison Square Garden’s ambitious Las Vegas Sphere continues to be one of the most anticipated music venues in the world, with a price tag of $1.8 billion. Set to open in 2023 following pandemic-related construction delays, the structure will be anchored by what is touted as the largest and highest-resolution LED screen on earth, which will cover an area larger than three football fields. The screen is intended to create an immersive, virtual reality-style experience for ticket holders. In June, MSG completed the construction of the Sphere’s steel frame, while the exosphere is still under construction. Nashville Yards (Nashville)Concert capacity: 4,000 Developed by Southwest Value Partners, the 18-acre Nashville Yards complex will include a 1.3-acre park, two office towers for Amazon Nashv...
Ed Sheeran Debuts at No. 1 In U.K. With ‘Shivers’
It’s not the first time Sheeran has knocked one of his own tracks from the summit. The first time he did it was in January 2018, when Eminem’s “River,” on which he featured, replaced his solo release “Perfect.” Elsewhere on the chart, Elton John and Dua Lipa’s Cold Heart” (Pnau Remix) (via EMI) vaults 11-4, for Lipa’s eighth Top 5 single, and Elton John’s 21st. Meanwhile, Central Cee completes the Top 5 with “Obsessed With You” (Central Cee), new at No. 5. The track samples Pinkpantheress’ “Just For Me” (Parlophone), currently No. 43 on the chart, and becomes the West London rapper highest-charting single. Over on the albums chart race, Manic Street Preachers hold on for a second No. 1 with The Ultra Vivid Lament (Universal), their 14th studio album. The Welsh rockers’ latest LP captu...
2021 Emmy Awards: Complete Winners List
Here’s a complete list of winners. The categories are listed in alphabetical order. Outstanding comedy series black-ish, ABCCobra Kai, NetflixEmily in Paris, NetflixThe Flight Attendant, HBO MaxHacks, HBO MaxThe Kominsky Method, NetflixPen15, HuluTed Lasso, Apple TV+ — WINNER Outstanding competition program The Amazing Race, CBSNailed It!, NetflixRuPaul’s Drag Race, VH1 — WINNERTop Chef, BravoThe Voice, NBC Outstanding directing for a comedy series James Burros, B PositiveSusanna Fogel, The Flight AttendantLucia Aniello, Hacks — WINNERJames Widdoes, MomZach Braff, Ted LassoMJ Delaney, Ted LassoDeclan Lowney, Ted Lasso Outstanding directing for a drama series Julie Anne Robinson, Bridgerton, “Diamond Of The First Water”Benjamin Caron, The Crown, &#...
Ed Sheeran Logs Record-Breaking Year Atop U.K. Chart
With his latest feat, Sheeran becomes the first British solo artist to reign over the chart for a full year across his catalog. In the 69 years since the launch of the Official U.K. chart, just Elvis Presley (80 weeks) and The Beatles (69) have spent more time at the top. Of Sheeran’s songs, 2017’s “Shape of You,” the most streamed song on Spotify, has enjoyed the longest stay at the summit, at 14 weeks, while “Bad Habits” ruled for 11 weeks. Other solo artists in the same ballpark as Sheeran include Englishman Cliff Richard (46 weeks at No. 1), Canadian singer Justin Bieber (38 weeks), Scottish EDM star Calvin Harris and Canadian rapper Drake (31 weeks), and the veteran U.S. pop star Madonna (29 weeks), the OCC reports. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for D...
Emmys 2021: Facts & Feats
RuPaul became the person of color with the most career Emmys. He won his 11th Emmy for outstanding competition program as an executive producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1). RuPaul pulled ahead of Donald A. Morgan, a cinematographer and lighting director, who has won 10 Emmys. This is the fourth consecutive win for outstanding competition program for RuPaul’s Drag Race, which puts it in a tie with The Voice (NBC) for second place on the all-time winners list in this category, behind only The Amazing Race (CBS), which won 10 times. ‘Hamilton’ won outstanding variety special (pre-recorded), five years after it swept the Tonys. The show won one other Emmy — outstanding technical direction, camerawork, video control for a special, at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys. The show won ...
Harvey Mason Jr. on Recording Academy’s Future: ‘We Needed to Improve and We Needed to Evolve’
Still, he’s the first to admit there is plenty more progress to be made in his efforts to “modernize everything about the Academy,” including looking at new areas of revenue, making sure the Grammy voting process is as transparent as possible, and leading industry standards on diversity. Mason started his tenure forged by fire, as chairman of the board of trustees he stepped into the interim president/CEO position in January 2020 after the Academy suspended his predecessor, Deborah Dugan, for alleged misconduct only five months after she’d been hired. Dugan, who was officially fired in March 2020, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just days after being put on leave alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and improper business dealings by the Academy...
Sound Royalties Acquired by GoDigital, MEP Capital in ‘High Eight-Figure’ Deal
Founded in 2014 by Alex Heiche and backed by York Capital, Sound Royalties provides funding to music creators against royalties from all major collection societies, labels, publishers and distributors for a finite duration. Creators who utilize the service get to keep their copyrights, as well as ongoing royalty cash flow over the amount financed. The company caters to both emerging artists, songwriters and producers and established hitmakers, including the likes of DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Rich Robinson and Wyclef Jean. In his own statement, Heiche said that joining GoDigital “will enable us to expand our technology platform and grow more rapidly, while preserving the ability for creatives to speak and work directly with our experienced Royalty Specialists to ensure they receive the...
Twitch & Music Publishers Nearing Licensing Deal
Amazon-owned Twitch has operated under the DMCA for years without backlash, but ever since the pandemic turned the music industry’s attention to Twitch for livestreaming concerts, spurring huge growth for the platform, music trade organizations like the NMPA and RIAA have accused Twitch of taking advantage of the DMCA to avoid paying for music — similar to the way the organizations have pressured TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to sign licensing deals in the past. So the two organizations have flooded Twitch with tens of thousands of takedown requests over the past year, forcing Twitch to the negotiation table by frustrating its users. In response, Twitch vp/head of music Tracy Chan has reiterated that Twitch does not tolerate copyright infringement, arguing that Twitch’s monetiza...
The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s ‘Stay’ Enters 10th Week at No. 1 In Australia
The highest debut on the current frame belongs to Ed Sheeran, as “Shiver” (Warner) shakes into the chart at No. 5, for the Brit’s 23rd Top 10 single in these parts. “Shiver” will appear alongside former No. 1 “Bad Habits” on Sheeran’s new album = (equals), due out Oct. 29. The Anxiety, the U.S. pairing of Willow Smith and Tyler Cole, make their first impression on the ARIA Chart with “Meet Me At Our Spot” (Universal), new at No. 27. Just one place behind, at No. 28, is Tai Verdes’ “A-O-K” (Sony/Orchard), for the singer and songwriter’s first appearance in the Top 50. Verdes’ career in music took off when “Stuck In The Middle” went viral on TikTok last year. Finally, The Voice Australia winner Bella Taylor Smith cracks the chart at her first attempt with “Higher” (EMI), new at No. 31....
Can Social Tokens Pave a New Future for Music? BitClout’s Still Banking On It
“It was almost too good to be true,” says Udell, who has worked with artists like Krewella and ZHU. “All these people involved? Really? But then I read the white paper, and I was super inspired.” That white paper described a platform resembling Twitter, where users have profiles and can post, like, comment and share content. Anyone who joins the platform gets a creator coin in their name, the value of which theoretically fluctuates depending on that person’s social standing and how many coins are in circulation. Users can then can buy and sell each other’s coins using the platform’s native cryptocurrency, BitClout. (“If Elon Musk succeeds in landing the first person on Mars, his coin price should theoretically go up” because more users would buy his coin...
