Record Labels
Concord’s HitCo Acquisition Includes Catalog & New Releases, Not Brand
Concord has officially confirmed its acquisition of what it calls “certain assets” of Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Charles Goldstuck‘s HitCo Entertainment, “including (with limited exclusions) its entire sound recording catalog and certain recent releases.” The deal is also expected to include some upcoming tracks from top HitCo acts Saint JHN and Rubi Rose, sources say. Additionally, sources tell Billboard the ongoing transition does not include the purchase of the HitCo brand or the label, though Concord is working with a handful of HitCo staffers during the changeover and may continue to work with some after that is completed. Reid and Goldstuck will not have ongoing involvement, however, sources confirm. The deal, which is worth an undisclosed amount, was first reported in August by Variety...
Defected Records Sets 30% Minimum Royalty Rate for Recording Artists and Producers
Defected Records‘ new royalty rate is all but defective. Shortly after Defected announced Wez Saunders as the company’s new CEO, it’s making moves that aim to set a new royalty rate standard for artists and music producers around the world. Saunders has set the tone for the industry with Defected’s minimum 30% royalty rate for any recording artist and producer signed to the label, Music Week reports. A majority of the label’s roster is already locked into the rate and Defected will also provide quarterly royalty reports to all of its producers, artists and songwriters in an effort to add transparency. Defected Records CEO Wez Saunders. Gavin Mills Scroll to Continue Recommended Articles In addition to the heightened royalty rate, Defected has reportedly w...
Music Industry Author-Activist Dorothy Carvello Tests Her Power As Shareholder With Letter to WMG
A lawyer for author, social activist, public relations consultant and former music industry A&R executive Dorothy Carvello has sent a letter to board members of the Warner Music Group requesting records relating to the company’s investigations into previously-reported sexual misconduct claims and royalties accounting at the label, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Billboard. In the letter, which references several previously–reported allegations of misconduct against Warner executives, Carvello’s lawyer writes that Carvello has “concerns that WMG’s management is not doing enough to investigate and act upon allegations of sexual misconduct at the company, and not monitoring the distribution of artist royalties in a manner that ensures sound accounting and payment. Both issue...
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...
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 ...
Cleopatra Records Founder on How to Make It as an Indie Label for 30 Years
Goth, industrial, punk and space-rock fans were the first to discover Los Angeles’ Cleopatra Records in the 1990s. The independent upstart — formed in 1992 by Brian Perera — initially rode the second wave of goth music right into the bins of indie record stores and chains. During that decade, it presciently created electronic music label Hypnotic Records (in 1996) and hair metal imprint Deadline Music (1998) ahead of the EDM explosion and the hard rock revival. Perera noticed the electronic body music movement in Europe expanding into trance and big beat and licensed earlier releases by U.K. stars like Juno Reactor and The Future Sound of London. The business strategy of signing ’80s hard-rock groups for moderate advances with low expectations and then watching the genre revive worked out ...
Provident Entertainment Promotes Holly Zabka to President, Terry Hemmings to Depart
Provident Entertainment president/CEO Terry Hemmings will exit the company at the end of August, while Holly Zabka has been promoted to president. Zabka will report to Randy Goodman, chairman/CEO at Sony Music Nashville. Over the course of two decades at Provident, Hemmings forged a roster of faith-based artists including Casting Crowns, CAIN, Kirk Franklin and Zach Williams. Zabka, a 14-year veteran of Provident, most recently served as senior vp of Essential Music Publishing and head of creative for Provident Label Group. During Zabka’s career at Provident, the company has earned over 60 No. 1 songs and partnered with artists and songwriters including Jason Ingram, Ethan Hulse and Matt Maher. Goodman said via a statement, “Over the last two decades, Terry has played an important part in ...
Verve Label Group Ups Jamie Krents to President of Verve Imprint, Dawn Olejar to GM
UMG’s Verve Label Group has promoted Jamie Krents to president of its Verve, Impulse! and Verve Forecast labels, while the company’s executive vp Dawn Olejar has added the role of general manager to her responsibilities. The New York-based executives will both report to Dickon Stainer, president and CEO of Verve Label Group and Universal Classics and Jazz. “These two exciting promotions mark a crucial moment in the evolution of Verve,” said Stainer in a statement. “Jamie Krents becoming President of Verve and Impulse! is a true testament to his unique and exceptional vision for artist development as these legendary labels enter a new era under his stewardship. Dawn Olejar is a role model for outstanding label management, and her new combined responsibilities as EVP and General Manager refl...
Sony Music Latin & HBO Max Place All Bets on Original Premium Content
En Letra de Otro is Sony Music Latin and HBO Max’s perhaps most notable and longest-running original premium content series to date. With superstar names such as Farruko, Pedro Capó, Gente de Zona and, most recently Goyo attached to the HBO special — which is a conceptual series where artists sing other’s compositions — Ruben Leyva, Sony’s Sony Music U.S. Latin senior vp, artist services and premium content, says these types of projects have “become quite a big part of our business at U.S. Latin.” Original audiovisual content has taken centerstage across streaming, DSPs and social media platforms that are pumping out original recordings and documentaries featuring Latin acts (although this type of content isn’t Latin specific). While HBO is at the forefront, other projects include Amazon M...
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...
Warner Records CEO Mo Ostin Remembered by Producer Russ Titelman: ‘He Had No Ego’
Grammy-winning producer Russ Titelman first met Mo Ostin, the legendary executive who ran Reprise and then Warner Records from 1960 to 1994, in the early ’60s when Titelman was still a teenager and freshly signed to Screen Gems-Columbia Music as a songwriter. Eventually, Ostin, who died July 31 at 95, and then head of A&R Lenny Waronker convinced Titelman to come to Warner Records, where he had an extraordinary run as an in-house producer for 25 years, working with such artists as Randy Newman, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Chaka Khan and so many more. Titelman, whose Grammy wins include record of the year for Winwood’s “Higher Love” (1986) and again for Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” as well as album of the year for Clapton’s “Unplugged” (1992), talked with Bill...
‘Lost’ Creedence Clearwater Revival 1970 Royal Albert Hall Show Coming Out for First Time: Exclusive
On April 14, 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival—fresh off of three Top 10 albums in less than a year—stepped onto the stage of London’s Royal Albert Hall for the first of two shows. Now, more than 52 years later, that concert by the revered rock band is being released in its entirety for the first time on Concord’s Craft Recordings on Sept. 16. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The release serves as the audio companion to the Jeff Bridges-narrated documentary, Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, which will be released on the same day. The movie, directed by Bob Smeaton, follows the band from its El Cerrito, California-roots in the mid-to-late ‘60s through the Royal Albert Hall show. The documentary had b...
