International
With ‘Help and Persistence’ From Grammy-Winning Friends, Iranian Composer Mehdi Rajabian Risks Prison to Share New Album
A group of Grammy-winning and nominated musicians and artists have come together — virtually — to help Iranian dissident composer Mehdi Rajabian get another shot at the Recording Academy’s highest award. On Sept. 10, Rajabian will once again risk arrest and imprisonment by the Iranian government when he releases his new age composition It Arrives on both his Barg Music label and Grammy-winning conductor and producer Amy Andersson’s Higher Purpose Music label. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Mehdi’s music has sparked international interest, so Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated musicians from around the world have collaborated with him,” says Andersson of It Arrives. “Many of the featured artists are colleagues and friends of mine, and...
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy Awards Universal Music With Peace Prize for Wartime Support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Universal Music Group the Ukraine Peace Prize for its support of Ukraine during the country’s war with Russia. At a ceremony on Monday (Sept. 5) at UMG’s Belgium headquarters in Brussels, Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, presented the award to Frank Briegmann, UMG’s chairman and CEO of Central Europe. UMG, which was among the first major labels to declare its support for economic sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, is the first music company to receive the award from Ukraine. “Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Universal Music has proven that they are true friends of Ukraine,” Stefanishyna says. The label says its efforts include support f...
The Ledger: Buying Into the K-Pop Craze Just Got Less Risky for US Investors
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, focused on Korean music started trading on the NYSE Arca exchange on Thursday, giving American investors a means to buy shares of companies that trade on exchanges in South Korea. But the ETF stands out for another reason: a bundle of K-pop stocks will carry less risk than standalone companies that rely on dozens of labels, each with a handful of top artists as well as deep catalogs. Trading under the aptly named ticker KPOP, the ETF includes the stocks of 30 corporations, including several music companies: HYBE, the home of K-pop megastars BTS and up-and-coming acts Tomorrow X Together ...
Australia’s Music Industry Issues Apology as Review Into Abuse, Discrimination is Published
BRISBANE, Australia — A united Australian music industry has apologized to the many women and men who’ve been subjected to abuse in the workplace, details of which are exposed in a damning new report. Following a months-long consultation process, Raising Their Voices, a review into sexual harm, harassment, and systemic discrimination across the contemporary music industry, was made publicly available Thursday (Sept. 1) for the first time. It makes for uncomfortable reading. Based on the contributions of 1,600 victims, witnesses and advocates, the document paints a picture of widespread sexual harassment, sexual harm and bullying, with the vast majority of those incidents going unreported. Among the key report figures, 55% of respondents experienced some form of workplace sexual harassment ...
CAA Signs Italian DJ Duo Tale Of Us
CAA has signed Tale Of Us in all areas in North and South America. Formed in 2008, the world-renowned Italian duo is helmed by artists Anyma (Matteo Milleri) and MRAK (Carmine Conte). Milleri and Conte founded Afterlife Recordings in 2016, which is the best-selling melodic house & techno label on Beatport, according to CAA, and Tale of Us has put on many of the biggest electronic music events around the world. Tale Of Us is currently hosting their acclaimed Afterlife residency at Hï Ibiza for its third installation in the summer of 2022. The duo have participated in artist residencies on the island since 2016. Tale Of Us released the album Enter Endless via the label Deutsche Grammophon in March 2017, an album the band describes in its bio as “profound and beautiful,” which “liberated ...
Billboard China Announces Partnership With Tencent Music Entertainment Group
Billboard announced on Wednesday (Aug. 31) that the company has partnered with Tencent Music Entertainment Group to develop its new Billboard China brand. As the leading online music and audio entertainment platform in China, Tencent will work with Billboard to launch the “Chinese Music Gravity Project,” a pioneering initiative that will shine a spotlight on Chinese music artists through a series of engaging content collaborations and other features. By enlisting TME, Billboard will also share its global content — authoritative charts, expert recommendations, music news coverage and more — across the platform’s many channels, including QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing. As of late 2020, Tencent Music, which licenses Billboard China, controlled 77% of China’s streaming ...
Turkish Pop Star Gulsen Jailed Over Joke About Religious Schools
Turkish pop star Gulsen has been arrested on charges of “inciting hatred and enmity” with a joke she made about Turkey’s religious schools, the country’s state-run news agency reported. The 46-year-old singer and songwriter, whose full name is Gulsen Colakoglu, was taken away from her home in Istanbul for questioning and formally arrested late Thursday (Aug. 25). She was then taken to a prison pending trial. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The arrest sparked outrage on social media. Government critics said the move was an effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consolidate support from his religious and conservative ahead of elections in 10 months. The charges were based on a joke Gulsen made during an April concert in Istan...
Deezer Lost Subscribers, Added Revenue in First Half of 2022
With a newfound focus on a small number of lucrative, established markets, music streaming company Deezer reported revenue of 219 million euros ($218 million) in the first half of 2022, up 12.1% as reported (+9.9% at constant currency) versus the prior-year period. The Paris-based company received 132.4 million euros ($131.9 million), or 60.3% of its revenue, in its home country of France, up 11.1% year-over-year. Revenue from the rest of the world improved to 87 million euros ($86.7 million), up 13.6% from the prior-year period, and accounted for 39.7% of revenue, up from 39.1% a year ago. In Brazil, Deezer’s second-largest market, revenues improved 25% at constant currency. Other revenue — advertising and ancillary revenue — grew 58.3% (50.3% at constant currency) to 6.8 million euros ($...
BMG Acquiring German Indie Label Telamo to Gain Control of Local Schlager Market
BMG is growing its share of the world’s fourth largest music market by acquiring German independent powerhouse Telamo, the country’s biggest indie imprint and market leader in Schlager music, a form of easy listening Europop. Berlin-based BMG did not reveal financial terms of the deal, which the Austrian Federal Competition Authority still needs to approve before it can be completed. BMG says it is the company’s largest label investment since it acquired Nashville-based BBR Music Group in 2017. That deal was worth around $100 million, according to sources at the time. In 2021, BMG generated revenues of €40 million ($40.6 million) in Germany across its recorded music and publishing divisions, according to parent company Bertelsmann‘s year-end financial report, with recordings accounting for...
Lollapalooza Expands to India in 2023, Marking Festival’s Asia Debut
MUMBAI — Lollapalooza is traveling to India, a price sensitive live music market where the appetite for international music of all genres has grown considerably in the streaming era. The multi-genre festival will be staged in Mumbai on Jan. 28-29, 2023, marking its debut in Asia. BookMyShow, India’s largest ticketing platform, is promoting and co-producing Lollapalooza India, along with global producers Perry Farrell, WME and C3 Presents, which is owned by Live Nation. The festival’s Mumbai installment, which will take place at an as-yet unannounced venue “in the center of the city,” will feature around 45 acts playing 20 hours of music across four stages to an audience of 60,000 fans each day. The line-up will comprise 60% international artists and 40% local acts, the promoters tell Billb...
Blackpink Set ‘Ready for Love’ Music Video Release Date
Blackpink‘s “Ready for Love” music video is coming soon. After performing the unreleased track during “The Virtual,” PUBG Mobile’s first-ever in-game concert, Blackpink announced on Sunday (July 24) that a visual for the song is scheduled to drop Friday (July 29) at 12 a.m. ET/1 p.m. KST. The group shared the news on social media, where they posted a teaser poster for “Ready to Love.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In July, YG Entertainment released a statement that announced the quartet — Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa — is in the “final stages of recording a new album.” The statement also said that Blackpink’s new music will arrive in August along with “a continuous large-scale project which will extend through the second half of the y...
J-Hope Brings Fans Behind the Scenes of ‘Arson’ Music Video
J-Hope uploaded his very first Instagram Reel to give fans a backstage look at the making of his fiery new “Arson” music video. The BTS rapper, who just released the solo studio album Jack in the Box while the group is on a temporary break, sat down to chat about the music video concept and share a glimpse at its impressive set and special effects. “Many things are being set on fire, leaving ashes behind,” J-Hope said of the artistic vision behind the song’s visual. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “The theme is visualized starting with this outfit,” he noted. “Overall, I plan to capture the message of this song with this music video.” “Since I was young, I’ve been working with sparks of passion. And I thought these sparks are the right material...
