business
DatPiff Owner MediaLab Buys Genius for $80M
The company has had a series of high-profile partnerships with major music streams — from a lyric deal with Spotify to display context behind songs, to a built-in Apple Music player on the Genius website — and even launched its own livestreaming platform last year called Genius Live. But none of its initiatives were enough to move its valuation up in the past few years. The result is a sale that will come with job cuts. “We are restructuring the way in which original content is produced at Genius and as part of that some very talented individuals on the content and production teams were let go,” MediaLab said in a statement to Bloomberg. MediaLab says it will invest in the “community platform” as it focuses on emerging artists for the platform. MediaLab owns a small group of co...
Helene Fischer Renews Deal With Universal Music Germany
Fischer has sold 16.3 million albums, counting equivalent streams and downloads, many of them as CDs, which still sell well in Germany. As of 2018, she had scored the top-selling album in the market for five of the previous six years. To get a better sense of how popular she is, though, remember that Germany has a population of 83 million – about a quarter that of the U.S. – and the German-speaking market is roughly 100 million. Fischer also hosts in “Die Helene Fischer Show,” an annual Christmas program on the German public television network ZDF. Fischer’s new album, Rausch, is due out Oct. 15, and the first single, “Vamos a Marte” – Spanish for “let’s go to Mars” – is a duet with the Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi, who is signed to Universal...
David Bowie Estate and Warner Music Partner to Bring Icon’s Entire Catalog to Label
Among the artist’s later works covered by this new pact are 2002’s Mercury Prize-nominated Heathen; 2003’s Reality; 2013’s The Next Day; and his final studio album, 2016’s Blackstar, also shortlisted for the annual Mercury Prize. Blackstar dropped just two days before Bowie’s death, on Jan. 10, 2016. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving Bowie a posthumous, first leader. The following year, during the 59th Grammy Awards, Blackstar swept all five awards it was nominated for. Warner Music Group has controlled the lion’s share of Bowie’s recordings since 2013, when the company acquired the Parlophone Label Group, following the split-up and sale of EMI. In the intervening years, WMG has pulled the trigger of several releases showcasing Bowie’s...
YouTube Is ‘Now the Largest Content Licensor in the World,’ Says Exec
Second-quarter advertising revenue at YouTube was reported at $7 billion, up 83 percent from the year-ago period, after $6 billion in the first quarter, up 49 percent. That don’t include subscription revenue generated by YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. Netflix recorded $7.3 billion in the latest quarter, up 19 percent, after $7.2 billion in the first quarter, up 24 percent. The executive also discussed content spending. “When you think about our payouts, we are now the largest content licensor in the world,” Kyncl said. He mentioned that YouTube’s partner program covers about 2 million creators, with the company paying out $30 billion to them over the past three years. Kyncl said to ensure diversity, companies must focus on it, including in hiring and c...
The Big Boss Talks: Daddy Yankee Is Teaching Reggaetón’s Stars How to Own Their Careers
Yes. When I’ve had to pay someone for the respect, I’ve done so. “I’m worth so much” — OK. I’ve always understood an artist’s value. If we collaborate and you charge me X, that’s fine. Most of my collabs are exchanges, but remember, there’s a very fine line there. What if my song works, but yours doesn’t? Hopefully both tracks work, but that’s not always the case, and I get that. I get that you have a value that you need me to cover so that in the end, we’re all in a good place. But the business is flexible, and I’m flexible in many areas. I understand that sometimes, we’re talking about cultural moments rather than simply chart position. “China” [Anuel’s hit featuring Karol G, J Balvin, Ozuna and Yankee] is a good example. I saw it as a song that was important for the genre. Whe...
9 Burning Questions That Will Be Answered at the 2021 Emmy Awards
As the Super Bowl halftime headliner, The Weeknd stands to win an Emmy if that show wins. There might be some satisfaction for him in beating the Grammys, after the Grammys failed to give him a single nomination last year. The Weeknd’s megahit “Blinding Lights” was widely expected to be a leading contender. Remarkably, Jesse Collins has three chances to win in this category. He was one of the top producers of the Grammys, the Oscars and the Super Bowl halftime show. Here are eight more burning questions that will be answered Sunday night. 2. Will RuPaul become the first person of color to win 11 career Emmys? RuPaul may become the first person of color to win 11 Emmys. He’s currently in a tie with Donald A. Morgan, a cinematographer and lighting director, with 10 Emmys each. RuPaul won two...
‘Wicked,’ ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Hamilton Reopen to Cheers on Broadway
“The Lion King,” “Hamilton” and “Wicked” all staked out Tuesday to reopen together in early May after then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo picked Sept. 14 for when Broadway could begin welcoming back audiences at full capacity. The trio of shows were beaten by Bruce Springsteen’s concert show in June and the opening of the new play “Pass Over” on Aug. 22, as well as the reopening of two big musicals — “Hadestown” and “Waitress.” But the return of the three musicals — the spiritual anchors of modern Broadway’s success — as well as the return of the long-running “Chicago” and the reopening of the iconic TKTS booth, both also on Tuesday, are important signals that Broadway is back, despite pressure and uncertainty from the spread of the delta variant. The crowds virtually blew the roof off the thr...
2021 ARIA Awards Scrap Gender Categories, Sets Digital Event
Right now, more than half the population of Australia is experiencing lockdown, including the residents of Sydney, the home and birthplace of the ARIAs. Any member of the jet set in these parts has first-hand knowledge of the letdown from lockdowns ruining their travel plans. For organizers, a waiting game wouldn’t work. And nor would a hybrid show. “Unfortunately,” notes ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd, “we are still living through a pandemic. As much as we wish it were different, it is just not possible to come together for an in-person event.” The entire show will stream on YouTube and other platforms, including the free-to-air Channel 9 network’s 9Now digital channel. “There are some cool things you can do on YouTube and we are going to take advantage of those,” Herd tells Billboar...
Ad.Ventures Is Ready to Bring Big Branding Dollars to Venues
“There is a ton of value that we could provide, simply by representing the same folks that are a part of NIVA through sponsorship brand opportunities and new business development,” Sternschein tells Billboard. He’s quick to point out that Ad.Ventures is a totally separate for-profit business that’s not part of NIVA, but says he hopes to help members compete for ad dollars against larger companies by representing multiple venues around the country to national and global brands. The concept for Ad.Ventures is fairly simple – major brands are increasingly looking for a scalable way to spend their marketing dollars and interact with live music consumers, but it’s difficult for a single indie venue to get a piece of the action. Promoters like AEG and Live Nation hav...
Manic Street Preachers on Course for Second U.K. No. 1 With ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’
It’s not the first time these two acts have gone head-to-head on the chart. Back in September 1998, the Manics’ This Is My Truth Now Tell Me Yours beat Steps’ Step One for the crown by a margin of 95,000 sales. What The Future Holds Pt. 2, Steps’ seventh studio album, is the week’s most-downloaded LP, and is on track to become their third consecutive No. 2, following Tears On The Dancefloor (from 2017) and What The Future Holds (2020). Also new to the Official Chart Update is Dark Matters (Coursegood), the first album in nine years from punk rock veterans The Stranglers. It’s at No. 3, and could give the band their highest-charting effort in 43 years, since 1978’s Black & White. The Vaccines are chasing a fifth straight Top 5 album with Back In Love City (Super Easy), new at No. 4, whi...
Arlo Parks’ ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ Is Energized After Mercury Prize Win
Based on midweek data, the album vaults to No. 26. The soulful British singer is enjoying a bright start to her career. In 2020, she won the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch, was longlisted for the BBC Sound Of… 2020 and won BBC Introducing Artist of the Year. Collapsed In Sunbeams opened at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart in February, and, in May, she was declared the breakthrough artist winner at the 2021 Brit Awards, on a night when she delivered an inspiring performance of her song “Hope.” Accepting the Mercury Prize, Parks said “it took a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get here and there were moments where I wasn’t sure whether I would make it through — but I am here today so thank you very much.” The award was established as the Mercury Music Prize in 199...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’ on Course for No. 1 Debut In U.K.
Ed Sheeran looks set to extend his reign over the U.K. singles chart, only he might do it with a new number. Sheeran’s latest “Shivers” gets away to a fast start to lead the First Look chart, which ranks releases based on the weekend’s sales and streaming activity. “Shivers” debuts at No. 1 and opens up a lead of 10,000 chart sales over the No. 2 track, Sheeran’s “Bad Habits,” which has logged 11 consecutive weeks at No. 1. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
