International
‘Patriotic’ Russian Musicians Are Cashing In on Putin-Backed Concerts
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to deep division among local musicians. While critics of the war have trouble playing shows — or are voluntarily refusing to do so — supporters of the invasion are cashing in by playing government-sponsored “patriotic” concerts. With Europe’s largest conflict since World Word II now passing 100 days, throughout April and May, dozens of concerts have been organized across Russia by local authorities to support the Russian “military operation” in Ukraine. Artists participating in those shows were paid sizable fees by local authorities. The folk rock band Pelageya collected 3 million rubles ($49,000) for participating in a patriotic music festival in Stavropol, South Russia, on May 1, and singer Denis Maidanov was paid 2.5 million rubles ($40,000) for taki...
Ichiko Aoba Announces 2022 World Tour: See the Dates
Japanese singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba is set to tour Europe and North America later this year. The folk singer and guitarist announced that she will be traveling to Europe in August and to the U.S. and Canada in October for her 2022 international tour. Ahead of her global trek, the 32-year-old artist will also perform alongside Phonolite Strings at the Blue Note Tokyo on July 21. “The world of Windswept Adan that I wrote two years ago remains vivid in my heart, and I feel that’s a precious thing for a creator,” she says. “Sailing in an ever- changing world, I’ll visit Blue Note Tokyo in July and England’s Milton Court Concert Hall in September along with string musicians and with new sounds in tow. And I’ll also head to the U.S. for the first time on my international tour starting in Augu...
Sevenn Files Copyright Claims Against Alok in Brazilian Court
Dance music producers Sean and Kevin Brauer are formally pursuing copyright claims for 19 songs they say they worked on for the Brazilian DJ Alok over five years, for which they say they were denied proper credit. In a filing in a São Paulo civil court last month, the Brauer brothers, who have performed as the dance duo Sevenn, say they want the court to initiate a technical review of the authorship of the releases, which include some of Alok’s better-known songs, including “Favela” featuring Ina Wroldson, Alok and his brother Bhaskar’s “Fuego,” and a remix of Mick Jagger’s “Gotta Get A Grip.” The songs were produced while the Brauers — who are Brazilian-American dual nationals — were living mostly in Brazil, but their Rio de Janeiro-based attorney Eduardo Senna says that the brothers coul...
Live Nation Electronic Asia’s Label & Management Group Partners With Astralwerks, Capitol Records
Live Nation Electronic Asia (LNEA), Live Nation’s Asian electronic dance music division, has entered into a multi-year global licensing and distribution agreement for its recently launched Fabled Records label. The partnership with leading dance label Astralwerks and Capitol Records China is focused on supporting emerging Chinese electronic music and artists. Per the terms of this partnership, Astralwerks and Capitol Records China will work together on the global release and distribution of Fabled Records artists and projects, with such projects receiving access to Universal Music Group’s international divisions, with global marketing support in China helmed by Capitol Records China and Astralwerks in the rest of the world. UMG launched Astralwerks Asia in 2019 and Capitol Records China ea...
In Record-Setting Fashion, Ukraine Rides Popular Sentiment to 2022 Eurovision Win
Ukraine’s rap and folk group Kalush Orchestra, riding a record number of votes from the public and a kinetic song that became an anthem for suffering mothers, overtook the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain to capture the 66th Eurovision Song Contest in a nail-biter in Turin, Italy. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news While the oddsmakers, pundits and fans pegged Ukraine as the clear favorite to win going into Saturday’s final, it didn’t look good after the jury vote, when Ukraine was in fourth place with 192 points and the U.K. was in first with 283. The juries were not especially kind to Ukraine, with some countries, like the Netherlands, giving them no points at all. Poland, Moldova, Latvia, Romania and Lithuania — all countries that are c...
Heavily Favored Sweden and Poland, and Eight More Countries, Advance to Eurovision Grand Final
Sweden and Poland, both among the favorites to win this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, joined eight other countries advancing to the Grand Final on Saturday (May 14) in Turin, Italy. Also moving on after the second semi-final on Thursday were Finland, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Australia, Estonia, Romania, Belgium and the Czech Republic. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Failing to make the grade were Israel, Georgia, Malta, San Marino, Cyprus, Ireland, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The latest reports from the bookmakers who take bets on who will win Eurovision each year shows that Ukraine has a 57% chance of victory, followed by the United Kingdom with an 11% chance, based on averaging the odds from 13 different companies. That portends a high showi...
Major Labels Bolster Diversity of Music Teams With ‘A&R Academies’
LONDON — Growing up in the town of Watford, located 15 miles outside of London, Zara Stewart dreamed of pursuing a music career. But she felt she lacked the connections or background to make it a reality. “I assumed it was an industry where it was all about who you know,” says Stewart. “And I didn’t know anybody.” Believing music wasn’t a viable option, Stewart focused her education on languages, studying Spanish and Portuguese at Leeds University. After graduating in 2019, she briefly worked in fashion retail and medical recruitment, but still found herself pining for a job in the record business. Now Stewart, 25, has landed her dream job as a paid A&R intern at Sony Music UK imprint Dream Life Records. She joined the company earlier this year as part of its A&R Academy – one of s...
BTS, Justin Bieber Concerts Boost HYBE’s Quarterly Earnings
Korean music company HYBE, home to K-pop superstars BTS, posted revenue of 285 billion KRW ($226 million) in the first quarter of 2022, the company announced Tuesday (May 3). The result — which marks a nearly 60% revenue increase year over year but a decrease of 37.8% from last quarter — followed a record-breaking year for HYBE in 2021, when the company surpassed $1 billion in revenue for the first time thanks to its acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. The Q1 results were bolstered by a return to large-scale live events, including BTS’ Permission to Dance shows in Seoul in March, which drew over 45,000 fans in person. An additional 1.4 million fans viewed the livestream, which smashed box office records; the March 12 screening alone grossed $6.9 million in North America, making...
Mexican Rapper Gera MX Signs With Sony Music
Gera MX has signed a deal with Sony Music, Billboard can exclusively announce today (May 3). The Mexican rapper and major label have joined forces to “continue the steady growth and impact of his career and celebrate his arrival to the home of artists,” says an official statement. “I feel really excited about this new stage in my career,” Gera (real name: Gerardo Daniel Torres Montante) said. “I know this strategic alliance with Sony will be crucial to continue growing what has already been highly achieved in my career.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Born in Monterrey and raised in San Luis Potosi, the former Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise has a trajectory that spans over 10 years and credits artists such as Molotov, Control Mache...
The Ledger: Tencent Music Highlights Risks of Doing Business in China
Doing business in China got tougher in 2021 after government agencies handed down new rules and levied fines against some well-known companies. For evidence this has made investing in Chinese companies more complicated, look no further than Tencent Music Entertainment’s annual report released Tuesday. All publicly traded companies’ financial statements include risk factors mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission to help investors understand companies’ unique challenges and possible negative outcomes if things go south. TME’s previous annual reports have listed numerous risk factors, ranging from licensing third-party content to its corporate structure. It’s a long list that just got longer. The new risk factors in TME’s 2022 annual report are further evidence of the challenges f...
Jordan Hallpike Joins WME UK Office as Crossover Music Agent
WME today announced that Jordan Hallpike has joined the company as a crossover agent in the music department, based in London. In his role, Hallpike will focus on forging new creative opportunities on behalf of WME’s client roster in addition to serving as a lead for business development projects. Hallpike comes to WME with over 10 years of experience across the music and creative sectors in Europe. He has served as the director of music at the Ibiza Rocks Group where he was responsible for talent booking, event programming, and creative direction. Hallpike is also the co-founder of the creative studio Midnight Movement, where he worked with Live Nation, Island Records, Sky, ITV, and Warner Music Group. Hallpike’s hire comes on the heels of several key promotions in the agency’s musi...
Swedish House Mafia Make History With First-Ever Spotify Livestream at Coachella Afterparty
The dance music mega-group Swedish House Mafia made history early Saturday (April 16) when the trio became the first artists to be livestreamed by Spotify as part of the streaming platform’s new Spotify Live offering. Axwell highlighted the news while the Swedes performed at a private Coachella afterparty hosted by Spotify to celebrate the release of Swedish House Mafia’s first studio album, Paradise Again. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The group performed for over two hours at a highly curated event at a private mansion near the Coachella festival grounds with a faux lake and beach, where a bevy of VIP influencers, the DJ Alesso, the pop star Anitta and Euphoria actress Chloe Cherry also made appearances. They played many of the...
