The recorded music market in Europe is at risk of falling behind other global regions unless regulators enforce tougher protections for artists, creators and rightsholders, according to a new report from international labels trade body IFPI.

In Europe, music sales grew to over $8 billion in 2023, representing more than a quarter of global revenues (28.1%) and maintaining the continent’s long-held status as the second largest region in the world for recorded music sales behind the U.S. and Canada, according to IFPI data.

Europe’s prominent position is coming under threat, however, from other music markets that are growing at faster rates, states IFPI’s first-ever report focused specifically on recorded music in the European Union, published Tuesday (Sept. 10).

Last year, music sales among the 27 members of the European Union trading block — which the U.K. exited in 2020 — grew by 8.7% to 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion), says IFPI. While that places the EU below only the U.S. in total revenue terms, several other international markets are significantly outpacing its growth rate thanks to the widespread global adoption of music streaming services.

Examples cited by IFPI include China, which grew music sales by more than 25% to 1.3 billion euro ($1.4 billion) in 2023; Sub-Saharan Africa, up 25% to 85 million euros ($93 million); Mexico, up 18% to 454 million euros ($500 million); and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which climbed 14% to 102 million euro ($112 million).

Although all of those territories are developing from far lower bases than mature EU markets such as France and Germany — and all have some way to go before they come close to surpassing EU music sales — IFPI said their rapid growth represents “warning signs” that the region is facing strong competition from its global competitors. Notably, some of those fast-growing music markets were virtually non-existent just over a decade ago.

The report, which is titled “Music in the EU: A Global Opportunity,” comes three months after European Parliament elections and ahead of the unveiling of the new European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, which is expected to take place later this month.

The new cohort of Brussels politicians will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing already passed EU legislation such as the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act and the AI Act, which all impact the music business to varying degrees, in some instances significantly.

“The EU is a vitally important place for music,” said IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley in a statement. “However, the data in this report shows us that other parts of the world are developing and growing rapidly and the EU risks falling behind.”

To ensure that the EU’s music market stays competitive, Oakley called on European policymakers to provide “legal certainty and protection for music rightsholders, supporting the development of responsible and ethical AI and creating a competitive playing field on which today’s dynamic music sector can evolve.”

“Today, European music faces great risk but also great opportunity,” Oakley continued. “How policymakers address these issues will help determine its future.”

An accompanying press release from IFPI said its research sets out how policymakers can help “secure a positive future for music at what is a pivotal time for music in Europe” amidst rising global competition.
The report notes that when adjusted for inflation, recorded music revenue in the EU last year was only 61% of where they were in 2001, the music industry’s revenue peak.

Specific areas in which IFPI says policymakers can support creators and rightsholders include effective implementation of the EU’s AI Act, which passed earlier this year, and upholding existing EU copyright laws preventing the use of copyright-protected works and music from being used for training AI systems without prior consent. AI developers must also maintain and provide records of the materials used in training and developing generative AI models that enable rightsholders to exercise and enforce their rights, says IFPI.

When it comes to individual EU markets, the report highlights the continued strong performance of domestic acts in their home countries. In the 22 EU markets where IFPI collects yearly chart data, on average, 60% of the Top 10s were tracks by domestic artists in 2023, compared to only 47% in non-EU markets.

EU markets fared less well in terms of top 10 global chart exports, which were once again dominated by U.S. artists like Miley Cyrus, SZA and Taylor Swift last year, though Latin and Central American artists, most notably from Columbia and Puerto Rico, also performed well.

The MTV VMAs are looking pretty good for 40. They have a red-hot host, Megan Thee Stallion; a highly credible show-opener, Eminem; and a cast of performers that includes two of the buzziest artists of the year, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan.

The 2024 VMAs are set to air live on Wednesday (Sept. 11) at 8 p.m. ET/PT from New York’s UBS Arena. Katy Perry, who won video of the year for “Firework” in 2011 and hosted the show in 2017, is set to receive the Video Vanguard Award and also perform a hit medley. (She’s the first person in VMA history to host, win video of the year and get the Vanguard – the MTV trifecta.)

Presenters include Cyndi Lauper, who won a Moon Man for best female video at the very first VMAs on Sept. 14, 1984. (The show is now more woke: The award is now referred to as a Moon Person all categories are gender-neutral.) Carson Daly is also set to present. Daly hosted MTV’s popular TRL from 1998 to 2003, back when the channel still played music videos instead of endless reruns of Ridiculousness and Catfish.

Eminem will open the show just weeks after his latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace), became his 11th album to enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1. Just this week, his 2005 hits compilation Curtain Call: The Hits became the first hip-hop album ever to log 700 weeks on the Billboard 200.

Eminem landed eight nominations this year. His smash “Houdini,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, is up for six awards, including video of the year and song of the summer. In addition, Eminem is nominated for artist of the year and VMAs most iconic performance for his 2000 performance (joined by 100+ Eminem lookalikes) of “The Real Slim Shady” and “The Way I Am.”

If Eminem wins in just one of the eight categories, he will break out of a tie with Peter Gabriel for the most wins by a male artist in the show’s history (13).

Taylor Swift leads all artists with 12 nods this year. If she wins five or more, she’ll pull ahead of Beyoncé as the artist with the most VMAs in history. Bey currently has 27, followed by Swift (23), Madonna (20) and Lady Gaga (18).

Teddy Swims and Jessie Murph are set to make their VMA debuts by performing on the Extended Play Stage. Le Sserafim will make their U.S. award show debut by performing on the VMAs pre-show. 

General fan voting closed Friday (Sept. 6) on MTV’s website. Voting for best new artist remains active through the show.

With the addition of social categories, Swift still leads in terms of most nominations (12), followed by Post Malone (11), Eminem (eight), Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, Sabrina Carpenter + SZA (seven each); Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, GloRilla, LISA, Olivia Rodrigo + Teddy Swims (four each).

Swift and Malone are not scheduled to perform, nor are such other heavily-nominated artists as Grande, SZA, Boone and Eilish.

The 2024 VMAs will air live on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT across MTV’s global footprint, including BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Nick at Nite, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, VH1 and Univision.

Hosted by Nessa, Dometi Pongo and Kevan Kenney, the 90-minute live VMAs pre-show special airs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, MTV2, CMT and Logo.

Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic are executive producers. Barb Bialkowski is co-executive producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba are executives in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is music talent executive.

Here are all the performers and presenters for the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

Performers

Anitta (feat. Fat Joe, DJ Khaled + Tiago PZK)

Benson Boone

Camila Cabello

Chappell Roan

Eminem

GloRilla

Halsey

Jessie Murph (Extended Play stage) 

KAROL G

Katy Perry (Video Vanguard Award)

Le Sserafim (pre-show)

Lenny Kravitz

LISA

LL COOL J

Megan Thee Stallion (also host)

Rauw Alejandro

Sabrina Carpenter

Shawn Mendes

Teddy Swims (Extended Play stage)

Presenters

Addison Rae

Alessandra Ambrosio

Amelia Dimoldenberg

Big Sean

Busta Rhymes

Cyndi Lauper

Damiano David (Måneskin)

DANNA

DJ Khaled

Fat Joe

Flavor Flav

French Montana

Halle Bailey

Jordan Chiles

Lil Nas X

Miranda Lambert

Naomi Scott

Paris Hilton

Suki Waterhouse

Thalía

Tinashe

SiriusXM’s stock rose 2.6% on Tuesday (Sept. 10), the first full day of trading since it merged with Liberty Media’s tracking stock to create a single, streamlined public stock.

SiriusXM said last December that it would merge its stock with Liberty SiriusXM Holdings to simplify and eliminate confusion around its multiple share classes and create one entity with greater trading liquidity. In June, the company announced a 1-for-10 reverse stock split that ultimately reduced SiriusXM’s outstanding common stock by about 12% in a bid to give the single stock an additional boost.

The company said Tuesday that the simplified capital structure will support its strategy for growth. It also announced a $1.166 billion stock buyback program funded by cash on hand.

“Today SiriusXM embarks on a new phase in our journey as an independent public company, building on our leading position in audio entertainment,” Jennifer Witz, SiriusXM CEO, said in a statement. “We’ve created a strong and profitable business, anchored by a subscription service that fosters deep and loyal connections with our listeners and a growing digital audio advertising platform which extends our reach to fans around the world, and we are excited about the future as we look to expand and strengthen both platforms.”

Last week, SiriusXM’s stock fell 17.0% to $2.73 after it and Liberty Media announced the final exchange ratio for the merger with Liberty Media redeeming each outstanding share of Liberty SiriusXM common stock for 0.8375 shares of the new SiriusXM stock. That meant SiriusXM shareholders received 0.1 shares of the new SiriusXM stock, which is trading under the same SIRI ticker as the original SiriusXM stock.

Following Tuesday’s merger, the former holders of Liberty SiriusXM stock own roughly 81% of the new shares.

Concord Records and Fantasy Records have merged, their parent company Concord Label Group announced Tuesday (Sept. 10). The combined label will be called Concord Records.

The label will be headed up by co-presidents Margi Cheske, who was formerly president of Fantasy Records, and Mark Williams, who previously served as interim president of both Concord Records and Rounder Records (now led by Stephanie Hudacek). Both are based in L.A. and report to Concord Label Group CEO Tom Becci.

While leading Fantasy Records, Cheske built a roster that includes Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Allison Russell, James Taylor, Seether, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Lake Street Dive, Valerie June, Diiv, Lucius, LS Dunes, Taking Back Sunday, Marcus King Band, Grace Potter, Devon Gilfillian and Tanya Tucker. Prior to that, she was senior vp of marketing at Concord.

In his prior role as interim president at both Concord and Rounder Records, Williams shepherded the release of music by artists including Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings and The Revivalists and signed acts including Thirty Seconds To Mars, John Vincent III, Bella White, Amythyst Kiah, Daffo, Nitefire, Luke Tyler Shelton and Spacey Jane.

Cheske and Williams met while both were working at Virgin Records, where Cheske was The Smashing Pumpkins’ product manager and Williams was in A&R. Williams boasts a 44-year history in the business and previously founded Outpost Recordings before joining Interscope in 2001 and Columbia in 2010.

The new Concord label’s roster includes esperanza spalding, Lindsey Sterling, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Taking Back Sunday, Seether, The Offspring and Thirty Seconds To Mars, along with emerging acts like Russell, Vincent and Matt Berninger.

Along with the announcement comes the reveal of a new Concord Records logo.

“In a music landscape where radical change has become the norm, it is vital that labels position themselves to manage complex challenges deftly,” said Becci in a statement. “This merger allows Concord to best utilize our global platform while maintaining the boutique level of service artists have come to expect. I know Mark and Margi share this notion, and their combined resources, alongside their complementary skill sets, will be a real benefit to the artists we serve.”

Added Williams, “Both Concord and Fantasy Records have always pursued artists with a unique vision and story to tell; the combined Concord Records will have an environment where those creative visions will be nurtured and supported.”

“This merger will allow us to better maximize our resources in service of those visions,” said Cheske. “Ultimately, this means a much more global, interconnected approach—allowing us, in concert with our incredible roster of artists, to bring their music to audiences around the world.”

The merger of the Fantasy and Concord labels is just the latest among several recent changes at the label group. Becci, who joined as CEO in August 2023, has previously restructured parts of the company, including by naming Hudacek president at Rounder Records and making changes to executive leadership in operations, marketing, and data analysis and streaming.

In a previous interview with Billboard, Becci alluded to the merger by calling the appointments of Cheske and Williams “a formidable frontline duo that can deliver on both new and developing artists,” adding, “They were swimming in the same pond, and I think together they’re going to own the pond.”