Record Labels
Interscope Records Scores Six Songs in Hot 100’s Top 10 Simultaneously, Thanks to DaBaby & Juice WRLD
DaBaby’s “Rockstar” leads at No. 1, followed by five Juice WRLD songs. As previously reported, DaBaby‘s “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch, logs a sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated July 25), while the late Juice WRLD charts five songs in the chart’s top 10. With “Rockstar” released on SouthCoast/Interscope Records and Juice WRLD’s five new top 10s on Grade A/Interscope, Interscope infuses the Hot 100’s top 10 with six songs. That’s the most for a label in a single week since Republic Records also claimed six on the chart dated Sept. 21, 2019. Republic additionally logged six top 10s on charts dated May 18, 2019; Oct. 13, 2018; and July 28, 2018, the most since the label landed seven, all by Drake, on J...
Universal Music Group Makes Election Day 2020 a Company Holiday
The measure sprang from a recommendation by the company’s recently-announced social justice task force. Universal Music Group is making voting easier for its U.S. employees by making Election Day 2020, Nov. 3, a paid company holiday. The company announced the news to staffers in an internal memo Friday (July 17) and obtained by Billboard. “After all, the right to vote is the very foundation of democracy — perhaps of freedom itself,” reads the memo, which notes that only 56% of eligible U.S. voters cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential election. “As Americans, we have fought long and hard to win the right to vote. It took 91 years after the Constitution was enacted until people of color won the right, and even then, it was only males. It took 143 years after the...
Audio Engineer Kesha Lee in Atlanta, in a Pandemic: ‘I’m Getting to the Place Where I’m Wanting to Create’
Lee was planning to travel for audio engineer work when her car broke down — now, she’s collaborating with a local songwriter on her own music. Since getting her start through a chance meeting with Gucci Mane, Atlanta-based audio engineer Kesha Lee has worked on chart-toppers like Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” and is now the go-to audio engineer for rappers including Playboi Carti and Lil Uzi Vert. She spent the past two-and-a-half years working on Uzi’s Eternal Atake album in the artist’s native Philadelphia, before it was released on March 6 — mere weeks before the near-national lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus began. As part of Billboard’s efforts to best cover ...
Atlantic Records Launches Cross-Roster Voter Registration Initiative With HeadCount: Exclusive
“With the 2020 election shaping up to be the most consequential of our lifetime, it’s crucial,” says ATLVotes co-chair Jack Hedges. In January, a group of Atlantic Records employees including Canvasback label imprint vp of marketing Jack Hedges formed a company task force to develop a plan for utilizing Atlantic’s star-studded artist roster, which includes the likes of Cardi B, Ed Sheeran and Meek Mill, to encourage voter registration. A global pandemic later, “You can imagine, the ideas and plans we were formulating were very different from where we are now,” Hedges tells Billboard. But the goal — to inspire more young people to vote in both local and presidential elections — is as urgent as ever. That’s why today (July 16), Atlantic Re...
Music Exec Andrew Jackson Partners With Sony Music Australia for Joint Venture Label Avoca Drive
Music executive Andrew Jackson has partnered with Sony Music Entertainment Australia to launch Avoca Drive, a joint venture label with A&R executives in both Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia. Avoca Drive’s first signing is Tanisha Tishawiana Sadewo and Osvaldo Rio Nugroho Aritonang’s new project Galdive, whose first single ‘Nescience’ drops Friday (July 17). Galdive is “this beautiful young male/female duo who just make pure ear candy – playful, sweet and universally appealing,” explains Jackson, who plans to work with a network of international songwriters and producers to find new artists and promote them “internationally with a hands-on approach tuned to artists’ needs commercially and creatively.” Jackson is the founder and direct...
Louis Tomlinson and Syco Music Part Ways: ‘I’m Really Excited for the Future’
Louis Tomlinson and Simon Cowell’s Syco are saying goodbye. The One Direction-er took to social media on Saturday (July 11) to announce that his relationship with Syco has ended. The 28-year-old singer signed a solo recording contract with the label in 2017. “Hope everyone is doing ok! Just wanted to let you know that Syco Music and I have agreed to part ways,” Tomlinson tweeted. I’m really excited for the future and to be back in the studio writing the next album. Can’t wait to finally see you all on tour!!” One Direction’s five studio albums were released through Syco/Columbia Records. In early 2019, Tomlinson joined Arista Records within the Sony Music family, where he signed to Epic under Cowell’s Syco in 2017. As part of the deal, the sin...
Tones And I, Julia Jacklin, Flume & More Score Nominations for 2020 AIR Awards
With three nominations, Tones And I has a fine chance of taking home silverware at the 2020 AIR Awards, to be held Oct. 1 in Adelaide. Tones’ global hit “Dance Monkey” is up for independent song of the year, her debut EP The Kids are Coming is in the running for independent pop album or EP and she’s nominated for breakthrough independent artist of the year. The former busker is coming off the type of year most artists can only dream of. “Dance Monkey” led the ARIA Singles Chart for a whopping 24-weeks, easily an all-time record. And in the U.K., the song led the national singles tally for 11 weeks, the longest streak ever by a solo female artist. The track has now raced past seven billion streams across all platforms. In May of this year, Tones snagged two APRA Music Awards — includi...
Executive Turntable: Royalty Network Names Black Empowerment Advisory Council, Grand Hustle Founder Launches Music Incubator
Indie publisher The Royalty Network has launched Black Empowerment Thru Music, a new program designed to connect emerging black musicians, producers, songwriters and entrepreneurs with music industry leaders. As part of the initiative, the company is now inviting professional and established musicians, artists, attorneys, songwriters and others to get involved in the effort in a multitude of ways – whether by providing free studio time, financially supporting designated organizations, donating instruments to schools, matching grants or mentoring, among other activities. A number of established industry players have signed up to serve on the Black Empowerment Thru Music advisory council, including artists stic & M-1 of hip-hop duo dead prez, producer Darien Bankhead, entrepreneur and ex...
MPM Productions Inks Multi-Year Partnership With Universal Music Latin
JD Pantoja is the first artist under the deal. Universal Music Latin has inked a multi-year partnership with Los Angeles-based music and media company MPM Productions. The first artist signed under the deal is Mexican urban act Juan De Dios Pantoja, better known as JD Pantoja, a YouTuber-turned-recording artist. Pantoja’s single “El Error,” has garnered over 50 million views since its release in May. MPM, co-founded in 2016 by Arizona State University alums Eric O’Connor, Dimitri Hurt and Luis Arellano, started out as a company that represented YouTubers. Eventually, says Arellano, president of MPM Latin, “we shifted our business strategy to focus on creating our own intellectual property. That’s why we proposed making music to our talent.” Their first artist to s...
The Deals: Little Simz Renews AWAL Recordings Contract, Licensing Service Lickd Strikes UMG Partnership
Mercury Prize-nominated rapper and songwriter Little Simz (a.k.a. Simbi Ajikawo) has renewed her partnership with AWAL Recordings, which provides a full range of services including global marketing and promotion, digital and physical distribution, campaign coordination, A&R support, synch licensing and brand partnerships. Little Simz garnered acclaim with her most recent album, GREY Area, which was released on her own label, Age 101, via AWAL. In addition to the Mercury Prize, she has been nominated for AIM and BET Awards; additionally, she won the Q Award for best vocal performance and the NME Award for best British album. She has toured with Gorillaz, Lauryn Hill and Anderson .Paak and also starred in the Channel 4 crime drama Top Boy, which currently airs on Netflix. Little Sim...
‘I Just Wanna Live’ Singer Keedron Bryant Signs with Warner Records, Releases Debut Single on Juneteenth: Stream It Now
Keedron Bryant recently drew national attention when his stirring acapella performance of “I Just Wanna Live” on Instagram went viral in the days following the May 25 murder of George Floyd. Now the 12-year-old is making news again, announcing both his signing to Warner Records and the Juneteenth release of the song as his official debut single. Warner Records is donating 100 percent of the net profits from “I Just Wanna Live” to the NAACP. In addition, Amazon Music will donate one dollar for each stream of the song to the NAACP through 9 p.m. PT tonight (June 19), up to $50,000. Of signing to Warner, Florida native Bryant told Billboard via email, “I really want to make an impact on this world, especially the young generation.” The young singer first gained notice on season four of t...
Warner Music Group Moves to Replace Old Debt With New, Better Debt
The music company is conducting a private offering to purchase senior notes due in 2023 with funds from sales of senior notes at a better interest rate due seven years later. Warner Music Group is trading old debt for new debt with a better interest rate and later due date. The music company is conducting a private offering for $535 million of senior secured notes due in 2030 that it expects to close June 29, it was announced Tuesday (June 16). At the same time, Warner wants to use the proceeds to purchase $300 million of new senior secured notes due in 2023. If Warner sells $535 million notes due in 2030 to redeem $300 million of notes due in 2023, it would replace a 5% interest rate with 3.875%. On $300 million of principal, the difference in rates of 1.125% equals $3.375 million of inte...
