Shares of Spotify rose 8.0% to $365.00 this week to lead all music stocks in a week the Billboard Global Music Index reached a new high and many of its largest components posted mid- to high-single digit gains.
The Swedish music streaming giant was boosted by a report by Pivotal Research Group that increased its price target to $510 from $460 and reiterated its “buy” rating. Spotify’s intraday high of $368.29 on Thursday set a new 52-week high for the stock and was its best mark since Feb. 21, 2021.
Spotify led the 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) to a record high 1,873.87, up 4.1% for the week, as ten of the stocks posted gains this week, nine lost value and one was unchanged. After a 4.8% drop the week ending Sept. 6 and stagnating since March, the BGMI has gained 7.4% in the last two weeks and raised its year-to-date gain to 22.2%—more than two percentage points above the gains of the Nasdaq composite (up 19.6%) and the S&P 500 (also up 19.6%).
Stocks generally had a good week after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday a rate cut of half a percentage point, the first time the central bank lowered the overnight borrowing rate since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Investors had expected the Fed’s move, though, and had priced the effect of a rate cut into stock prices. Still, the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5% to 17,948.32 and the S&P 500 rose 1.4% to 5,702.55. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index improved 0.7% to 2,736.81 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2% to 2,736.81. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 8,229.99.
Warner Music Group gained 4.9% to $30.44. WMG’s Atlantic Music Group laid off about 150 people Thursday as part of a restructuring plan that began in February. The week’s intraday high of $30.88 was WMG’s highest price since reaching $32.34 on July 24. The company also announced in an SEC filing this week it secured a $1.3 billion term loan that will be used to repay an existing loan and pay associated fees and expenses.
Live Nation shares also gained 4.9% to $103.65 and brought its year-to-date improvement to 10.7%. Thursday’s intraday high of $105.42 was its highest mark since April 1 and less than $2 below its 52-week high of $107.24. The concert promoter scored a win in Portland, Ore., this week after the city council upheld an August decision to allow the development of a 3,500-capacity music venue that will be operated by Live Nation.
Two other promoters also posted gains this week. MSG Entertainment, rose 4.6% to $42.16, while CTS Eventim improved 1.2% to 87.90 euros ($98.23). Another live entertainment company, Sphere Entertainment Co., dropped 2.7% to $41.09.
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K-pop companies’ modest decline was an improvement from their consistently steep drops in recent weeks. The four South Korean companies had an average loss of 1.2% this week. HYBE fell 2.4%, JYP Entertainment dipped 1.2%, YG Entertainment slipped 0.9% and SM Entertainment lost 0.2%. After surging in previous years, the quartet has an average year-to-date loss of 40.4%.
Universal Music Group fell 3.6% to 22.75 euros ($25.42) following its Capital Markets Day on Tuesday. Analysts generally felt UMG set reachable financial targets and presented a believable roadmap about its strategy for the next four years. The Amsterdam-listed company laid out a strategy to achieve 8% to 10% cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) for its subscription revenue and above 7% CAGR for total revenue.
Music streamer LiveOne had the biggest decline of the week, dropping 6.1% to $1.38. That put shares of LiveOne into the red for 2024 with a 1.4% year-to-date loss.
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Donald Trump took to his Truth Social site this week to repost a doctored image of Kamala Harris that implied she attended one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sexual “freak off” parties.
The photo, shared by TMZ, shows the Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee posing alongside Diddy and another woman. “Madam Vice President, have you ever been involved with or engaged in one of Puff Daddy’s freak offs?” the original poster wrote over the snap.
However, the photo was doctored and Harris was actually posing with her ex Montel Williams and his daughter Ashley at the 2001 Race to Erase Multiple Sclerosis.
Trump previously came under fire in August for re-posting a doctored series of photos to his Truth Social account that falsely showed Taylor Swift appearing to endorse his 2024 presidential run. Swift has since endorsed Harris.
“I didn’t generate them,” Trump said during an interview with correspondent Grady Trimble that aired on FOX Business Network’s The Evening Edit. “Somebody came out. They said, oh, look at this. These were all made up by other people. A.I. is always very dangerous in that way.”
He continued, “It’s happening with me too. They’re making — having me speak. I speak perfectly, I mean, absolutely perfectly on A.I., and I’m, like, endorsing other products and things. It’s a little bit dangerous out there.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 23:13:562024-09-20 23:13:56Donald Trump Shares Fake Image of Kamala Harris at a Diddy ‘Freak Off’
Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” takes flight to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart dated Sept. 28.
The track, released on Darkroom/Interscope/ICLG, gained by 8% in plays Sept. 13-19. (The Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on over 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.)
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The singer-songwriter earns her third Pop Airplay No. 1. “Therefore I Am” led for two weeks in April 2021 and “Bad Guy” reigned for two weeks in August 2019.
“Birds of a Feather” is Eilish’s second Pop Airplay top 10 from her latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, after “Lunch” reached No. 10 in August. The set, released May 17, has earned 1.5 million equivalent album units in the United States through Sept. 12.
“I’ve always been such an album lover,” Eilish said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Sept. 3. “I really love when something feels like one piece and is cohesive and thought-through.”
“Birds of a Feather” has additionally ascended to No. 5 on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100. It has drawn 396 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 395 million in radio audience and sold 58,000 downloads.
The track also crowned the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for three weeks each in August. Plus, it wrapped at No. 9 on the 2024 Songs of the Summer survey, marking Eilish’s second top 10 seasonal finish, after “Bad Guy” placed at No. 2 for 2019.
Eilish kicks off her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour Sept. 29 in Quebec City.
All charts dated Sept. 28 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Sept. 24.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 23:13:552024-09-20 23:13:55Billie Eilish’s ‘Birds of a Feather’ Flocks to No. 1 on Pop Airplay Chart
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HyunJin, ChanYeon and JiSeok came together as Big Ocean to debut in April this year as the first Deaf/Hard of Hearing group in K-pop. The group’s warm embrace onto the scene by superstars, production and executives across Korea points towards a more inclusive global music scene.
Brought together by Korea’s only agency representing talent with disabilities Parastar Entertainment, Big Ocean sees three stars with different backgrounds and hearing abilities as a sign of hope and possibility.
The group’s main vocalist Park HyunJin lost hearing in his left ear after a childhood accident, but a cochlear surgery led him to learning to play the piano, speak some English, and break out as a YouTube creator and TV personality educating viewers about hearing disabilities. Main rapper Lee ChanYeon, who underwent cochlear implant surgery for both ears, developed his musical interest after experiencing the positive side effects of music therapy. Meanwhile, youngest member and main dancer Kim JiSeok was born Hard of Hearing and attended a special school for those with disabilities before becoming a professional ski racer for Seoul skiing team.
Big Ocean admits that the members’ varying auditory perceptions can present challenges when it comes to learning choreography, singing in rhythm and performing live, but it’s inspired innovative ways for the group and their Parastar team to find new ways to rehearse successfully like utilizing vibrating smartwatches as metronomes or flashing lights for rhythmic counting.
Get to know the rookies more with exclusive photos by Billboard Korea and fun questions below.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 23:07:532024-09-20 23:07:53Big Ocean: See Exclusive Photos of the September 2024 K-Pop Rookie of the Month
A smiling Big Ocean greet you for a nighttime Zoom call with shaking hands — the American Sign Language translation of applause and cheering — which encapsulates a palpable energy bursting from a K-pop trio unlike any other pop group.
HyunJin, ChanYeon and JiSeok came together as Big Ocean to debut in April this year as the first Deaf/Hard of Hearing group in K-pop. The group’s warm embrace onto the scene by superstars, production and executives across Korea points towards a more inclusive global music scene.
Brought together by Korea’s only agency representing talent with disabilities Parastar Entertainment, Big Ocean sees three stars with different backgrounds and hearing abilities as a sign of hope and possibility.
The group’s main vocalist Park HyunJin lost hearing in his left ear after a childhood accident, but a cochlear surgery led him to learning to play the piano, speak some English, and break out as a YouTube creator and TV personality educating viewers about hearing disabilities. Main rapper Lee ChanYeon, who underwent cochlear implant surgery for both ears, developed his musical interest after experiencing the positive side effects of music therapy. Meanwhile, youngest member and main dancer Kim JiSeok was born Hard of Hearing and attended a special school for those with disabilities before becoming a professional ski racer for Seoul skiing team.
Big Ocean admits that the members’ varying auditory perceptions can present challenges when it comes to learning choreography, singing in rhythm and performing live, but it’s inspired innovative ways for the group and their Parastar team to find new ways to rehearse successfully like utilizing vibrating smartwatches as metronomes or flashing lights for rhythmic counting.
While the definition of a K-pop act has expanded from Korean-born pop singers to artists representing a range of different countries, cultures, and languages, Big Ocean not only look the part of handsome, shining stars with international appeal but align with one of the core messages within in K-pop to instill inspiring messages to listeners both with their stories and music.
“The message from our song ‘Slow’ is that if you move forward and continue, slowly and steadily, you can do anything,” HyunJin says of the group’s latest single released last month that features Young K of chart-topping K-pop rock outfit DAY6, marking their latest venture to share more personal storytelling through their songs.
“Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful,” adds JiSeok. “If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
“Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful,” adds JiSeok with a special shoutout to the group’s fans, known affection as PADOs. “If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
With recognitions from members of Stray Kids, ITZY and even the President of Korea, read on for more from Big Ocean’s story and why they are a group to watch as Billboard‘s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for September 2024.
Congratulations on your debut this year and being named Billboard‘s Rookie of the Month! Overall, how has 2024 been for you?
JiSeok: I was really worried if we could do well. I was concerned, “Are we going to be okay?” But fortunately, so many people and so many senior idols gave us a lot of support and help. Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful. If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
HyunJin: And even today, we got an opportunity to meet with the President of Korea. We are also getting tons of invitations from outside of the country, so we’re getting so much love and support. So we are really, really grateful.
ChanYeon: And so many of our fans, PADOS, from so many countries, are sending us love and then recognizing us. So, we are really thankful and I feel like we have to pay back with even greater performances.
Thank you for taking time while you’re so busy. Congratulations on your latest single, “Slow,” featuring Young K of DAY6. It’s such a great collaboration; how did it come together, and how was your experience?
HyunJin: The message from our song” Slow,” is that if you move forward and continue, slowly and steadily, you can do anything. And in the process of making this song, we made a proposal to DAY6’s Young K that featuring his voice would sound great and work great with our song. He said “Yes” immediately, so that’s why we were able to release the song successfully and we’re so grateful for it. Thanks to him, we were able to feel even more support and we feel he really has our back.
JiSeok: We were really hoping that we could thank him in person, [but] because Young K was very busy preparing for the [new DAY6] album, we weren’t able to do so. But if we could meet in person later, that would be really great.
HyunJin: We listened to one of the new songs released from their album, “Melt Down,” and really, really loved it. We wanted to pay back our debts for Young K featuring our song, so we took the highlight of the song and turned it into a challenge on social media with sign language.
JiSeok: The song is doing really great and is really popular — we really want to congratulate them!
I was curious about how you create your sign language challenges and incorporate signing into your performances. Are you the ones making the moves? Do you work with a team?
ChanYeon: When we do a simple sign language challenge, we discuss among ourselves and make it. But when we’re choreographing or releasing something like our official music videos where we are mixing Korean and American Sign Languages, we actually get reviewed by sign language experts to make sure everything is expressed in the most precise way.
Some readers might be surprised to learn that Deaf or Hard of Hearing people can sing, dance, rap and more. Can you tell us about your different backgrounds with just music?
JiSeok: I go to a special school for people with hearing disabilities. At the time when I was in school, RM from BTS sunbaenim actually made a large donation to help the school’s music education. It was thanks to that donation that I actually got a lot more interested in music; I learned about dancing for the first time, I had a lot of opportunities to learn different musical instruments. So, that’s how I was able to fall in love with music and able to dream of becoming an idol.
HyunJin: When I was nine years old, I had an accident and lost hearing ability in my left ear completely. I had a surgery that allowed me to hear sounds; however, afterward, it didn’t really sound natural to me anymore; it sounded very artificial. I felt very uncomfortable hearing any kind of or type of sound.
At the time, I was also learning piano and attending an academy. Listening to the actual piano was very pretty and the only pleasant sound to me. So, as I played piano, sound felt positive, not negative anymore. So that’s when I started to become more interested in music because the piano was the only sound that made me feel good. After I grew up and became an adult, I became a YouTube creator and made many videos about breaking the barriers regarding misunderstandings and prejudices regarding hearing disability. I started making TV appearances and that’s when I actually learned about my current agency, Parastar Entertainment, so I naturally challenged myself to be an idol.
ChanYeon: In my case, I wasn’t really interested in music at all. Only after I got the surgery for cochlear implants for both my ears did I go through a lot of music therapy, and music actually really helped me. That’s when I found my interest in music.
As a boy band, how do you interact with music to perform as a group?Can you share the different ways you overcome any challenges?
HyunJin: Because the level of hearing is different in each one of us, the way we perceive beats and rhythms is also different. So, our company came up with the idea of using smartwatches and vibrations from the smartwatches as metronomes. That’s how we were able to feel the beat and rhythm in sync — and it made it so much easier for us to feel the music.
We also developed a “beam monitor” that flashes lights in sync with the music. So, that was another way. We also continuously film ourselves dancing to the music and constantly monitor ourselves and review to see who feels the beats differently or if we’re not in sync. And we continuously practice. And that’s how we can move in sync.
You’ve performed on Korea’s weekly K-pop music programs like Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, The Show, Music Bank and more. These shows are famously very fast-paced. How was your experience, and could they meet any accommodations you needed?
JiSeok: Our first time going on music programs, they were aware of the fact that we had hearing difficulties, so they always made sure to use hand gestures, give visual signals for cues to enter the stage, or whenever they wanted to send us some type of message. They were really nice about it; very, very kind. They constantly asked us whether we had any problems hearing or listening to the music. So, thanks to them, we could put up a good performance.
HyunJin: If the set or environment is too loud or noisy, we might have trouble listening for the start of the song. So, during rehearsals and the actual shooting, they made sure to ask for the audience’s understanding and to be quieter than usual so that we could actually hear the music. They were very generous for that. Also, our dancers make sure the choreography opens with a starting dance move. The background dancers initiated the choreography so then we knew the performance had started.
ChanYeon: And even our staff members ensured that everyone at the TV stations and on-site knew we might have trouble communicating or listening. So, they ensured everyone was aware, and I think we had no trouble. We’re really grateful for everyone being so considerate.
I saw you met with Felix from Stray Kids backstage during the shows to learn the “Chk Chk Boom” challenge. Tell me about that experience.
JiSeok: After the broadcast, I met Felix for the first time. I thought he was a complete angel — I really thought he was an angel. As soon as I met him, he greeted me with American Sign Language. He prepared it himself and showed us that he learned “Nice to meet you” and “How are you?” It really impressed us. We did the dance challenge together — I was so nervous, soo nervous! — but I was happy and really appreciative of everything. I thought about how I should practice and work even harder to perform even better.
After the dance challenge, Felix gave us [Stray Kids’] album as a gift. I was so grateful; I can’t even express it in words. I really want to see him again and meet him in the future.
I saw a recent announcement from Parastar Entertainment that Big Ocean is auditioning new members. Could we see the group expand in the future?
HyunJin: We have three members, right? We think three of us is too small and that our group is not big enough. That’s why we’re we’re hiring new members. If you come to our website of the company you can apply for the audition 24-7 so please come! We’re definitely looking for more members to apply.
Any other messages you want to share with your international fans at this time?
HyunJin: So three days after this interview, it will be five months since we debuted as Big Ocean so I really want to say thank you to all the fans and people who made Big Ocean possible and gave us a lot of support. To our fandom, PADOS, who are continuously supporting us, promoting us, and even doing all these activities to attract more PADOS on social [media] communities — I really want to say thank you. We will do our part and work harder to show you even greater performance and activities.
JiSeok: Thank you so much for such this great opportunity. Also, in November, we’re trying to release another song, so we will really work hard with our company. If we do release our new song, please send us a lot of support. We will work hard.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 23:07:522024-09-20 23:07:52Big Ocean Is K-Pop’s First Hard of Hearing Act Finding Support From the Industry & Chart-Toppers
On Friday (Sept. 20), Pepe Aguilar sparked intrigue with a teaser of his upcoming song shared on his Instagram. Captioning it “26•09•24” on socials, its release date (Sept. 24), the 22-second snippet features his emotionally charged vocal delivery sung over a rich acoustic backdrop.
“Voy a ser muy claro. Haz las cosas bien. Porque para forajidos, mijo, aquí no es. Y sé que es fácil ser cabrón. Yo mismo estuve en esa situación,” sings the Mexican idol, which translates to, “I’m going to be very clear. Do things right. Because for forajidos, my boy, it’s not here. And I know it’s easy to be cabrón. I’ve been in that situation myself.”
The use of “forajido” in the lyrics, roughly meaning “outlaw,” is speculated to allude to Ángela Aguilar and Christian Nodal‘s controversial relationship. This interpretation is reinforced as “forajido” is also the title of Nodal’s two EPs, the Latin Grammy-winning Forajidos EP1 (2022) and Forajidos EP2 (2023).
“The song will touch on this chapter of the now Aguilar-Nodal family,” a representative of Pepe Aguilar confirmed to Billboard Español. “Let’s say it could be the statement that Pepe Aguilar never gave and through what Pepe does best which is music, singing, and his creativity, we will have an overview of what any father goes through when the time comes for his daughter to leave.”
In July, the day after the marriage of his daughter Ángela Aguilar to Christian Nodal, Pepe Aguilar, publicly gave his blessings to the newlyweds via Instagram. “In any lasting relationship, love is essential and respect and responsibility totally indispensable,” Pepe Aguilar wrote. “With love, you face the most complicated challenges inside and outside your environment. … I have also been in your shoes. And already in the past. And after 27 years with my wife I say to you: There is no simple principle.”
The upcoming song follows Pepe Aguilar’s single “Lamentablemente,” which he released in May with Carin León.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 22:46:112024-09-20 22:46:11Pepe Aguilar Teases Song About Daughter Ángela Aguilar & Christian Nodal
LL COOL J and Usher were among the honorees saluted Thursday night by the Black Music Action Coalition at the organization’s fourth annual BMAC Gala. As BMAC co-founder/president/CEO Willie “Prophet” Stiggers noted, the event isn’t about “celebrating record sales, streaming numbers or other accolades. It’s the intersection of activism and music.”
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As Stiggers further explained, “When most are turning down the volume around social, racial and economic justice, we’re doubling down on efforts and spotlighting the positive and meaningful impact that the music industry has made on society, which is what we hope to inspire with this event.”
Chief among the highlights inside the packed ballroom at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton Hotel were the presentations of the Clarence Avant Trailblazer and Quincy Jones Humanitarian Awards to LL COOL J and Usher, respectively. Surprised onstage by attorney Ben Crump, who presented the award, LL noted to exuberant audience applause and cheers, “You must continue to believe in the beauty of your dreams. If I can come all the way here from Queens and do the things that I’m doing, then anything is possible.”
Co-Founder and Chair of the The Black Music Action Coalition, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Honoree of the Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award, LL COOL J, and Benjamin Crump attend Black Music Action Coalition’s 4th Annual BMAC GALA at The Beverly Hilton on Sept. 19, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
After receiving his award from fellow artist Bobby Brown and briefly teasing the crowd with one of his patented dance moves, Usher segued into a heartwarming 15-minute acceptance speech. He said, in part, “Aside from just being Usher, the performer, the entertainer, I strive every day to just be Usher, the human; who has the means and the power to inspire and bring awareness to the issues that we face as Black men and women in this country.”
Actress Taraji P. Henson presented the BMAC Social Impact Act to the BET Media Group. The company’s executive honorees included president/CEO Scott Mills; president, media sales Louis Carr; executive vp of specials, music programming & music Constance Orlando and executive vp/chief marketing officer Kimberly Paige. The BMAC Change Agent Award was given to Ivy McGregor, CEO of Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD foundation. And the BMAC 365 Award was presented to Live Nation.
Rapper/activist Gunna received a special commendation from the Mayors of Guaranteed Income, an organization comprised of more than 170 mayors from across the country. “I’m here to make sure my community is uplifted – this GI program is going to help change a lot of lives,” said Gunna. He recently partnered with BMAC to launch the BMAC 30349 Guaranteed Income initiative, which will provide a $1,000 monthly stipend to 30 families residing in the artist’s hometown of South Fulton, Georgia.
Co-Founder and Chair of the The Black Music Action Coalition, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Honoree of the BMAC Social Impact Award and Executive Vice President of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, BET, Constance Orlando, Honoree of the BMAC Social Impact Award and Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, BET, Kimberly Paige, Taraji P. Henson, Louis Carr, and Co-Founder of the The Black Music Action Coalition, Shawn Holiday attend Black Music Action Coalition’s 4th Annual BMAC GALA at The Beverly Hilton on Sept. 19, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
Hosted by Kenny Burns, the gala also featured BJ The Chicago Kid, who set the evening’s tone with his interpretation of the Black National Anthem. Taking the stage later in the evening were Anthony Hamilton and The Hamiltones, who performed a soulful medley. This year’s gala also marked the inaugural BMAC auction, hosted in partnership with Julien’s Auctions. Among the offerings that attendees were vying for: a Flavor Fav clock necklace and sunglasses owned by music legend James Brown.
Dr. Remus E. Wright, Honoree of the BMAC Change Agent Award and Executive Director of BeyGOOD, Ivy McGregor, and Mia Wright attend Black Music Action Coalition’s 4th Annual BMAC GALA at The Beverly Hilton on Sept. 19, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
In the walkup to its gala, BMAC hosted a series of other events. In partnership with The Revels Group, BMAC co-hosted the Black Future Now brunch (Sept. 15), which honored Jhené Aiko, Cash Cobain and artist manager Rachelle Jean-Louis. Two days later (Sept. 17), BMAC’s Stiggers accepted SESAC’s Visionary Award. Then the next evening (Sept. 18), Stiggers sat down with BMI president/CEO Mike O’Neill to discuss the advantages and challenges of AI during a panel also co-hosted by BMAC.
Co-Founder of the The Black Music Action Coalition, Caron Veazey, Naima Cochrane, Honoree of the BMAC 365 Award, Live Nation, Omar Al-Joulani, Co-Founder and Chair of the The Black Music Action Coalition, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Jamil Davis, and Damien Smith attend Black Music Action Coalition’s 4th Annual BMAC GALA at The Beverly Hilton on Sept. 19, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 21:30:372024-09-20 21:30:37LL COOL J, Usher & More Saluted at Fourth Annual BMAC Gala
Zayn celebrated a special occasion on Thursday (September 19) — his daughter Khai’s fourth birthday. The “Pillowtalk” singer took to Instagram to share a heartfelt message for his baby girl.
“Happy birthday to the most important person in my life, I love you more than words allow me to express, beyond proud to call you my daughter,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself holding his daughter at the beach, facing away from the camera towards the waves, as Khai puts her arm around her father’s shoulder. “grateful for every second I get to spend next to you, as you become the incredible person I know you already are. Four years ago today my life changed forever and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without you.”
Zayn shares Khai with his ex-girlfriend Gigi Hadid, though the couple’s relationship ended shortly after the little one’s first birthday in October 2021.
The former One Direction star is set to head out on his first-ever solo headlining tour this fall. The intimate 11-show outing is slated to kick off on Oct. 23 at the 8,500-capacity Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The tour will then hit similar-sized theaters in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York before hopping over to the UK for a run of six gigs. The string of shows come just four months after he released his fourth studio album, Room Under the Stairs.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 21:26:062024-09-20 21:26:06Zayn Shares Sweet Birthday Message for Daughter Khai: ‘I Wouldn’t Be the Man I Am Today Without You’
Universal Music Group hit enough right notes during its first Capital Markets Day (CMD) presentation since before going public in 2021, judging from Billboard’s review of a handful of equity analysts’ comments on Tuesday’s event.
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Reviews of the presentation from London’s Abbey Road Studio, which featured talks by CEO Lucian Grainge and other top executives, varied from zealous to merely positive. JP Morgan analysts called UMG’s presentation “one of the best capital markets days we have attended in the past 30 years, and it further increased our already high conviction in the UMG story.” Barclays analysts didn’t believe there was enough new information to change investors’ minds about the company. Still, they wrote, “We viewed UMG’s arguments as convincing and their financial targets as achievable.”
As for the targets, UMG said revenue will grow at more than a 7% cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2028 — not including the impact of any mergers and acquisitions. As JP Morgan noted, UMG stuck with the “high single digit growth” it gave in its last CMD presentation before going public in September 2021. In other words, UMG believes it can achieve the same high single-digit growth rate that initially lured streaming-hungry investors when the company broke off from Vivendi three years ago. Had UMG downgraded to a lower revenue CAGR — say, in the mid-single digits — the post-presentation commentary wouldn’t have been as kind.
Subscription music streaming’s role is so vital to UMG’s future that it crafted a narrative to explain how it can achieve CAGR of 8% to 10% in subscription revenue. It’s called Streaming 2.0 and it took center stage in the CMD presentation. In the initial Streaming 1.0 phase, services such as Spotify and Apple Music kept prices steady while prioritizing acquiring subscribers over maximizing revenue per user (ARPU). They paid the same royalty regardless of creator and quality of music. They built global presences but got most of their revenue from a relatively small number of Western markets.
Streaming 2.0 is about monetization and getting more from existing subscribers while signing up customers in developing markets. Not every stream will be worth the same and generic “functional music” will get paid less. Streaming platforms will use customer segmentation to offer premium experiences for customers willing to pay more. To that end, CFO Boyd Muir revealed that UMG is in “advanced talks” with Spotify about its planned “superfan” tier, which Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has said could be priced at $17 or $18 per month. Tencent Music Entertainment already offers such a product, Super VIP, that costs five times as much as a normal subscription.
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With streaming growth slowing, it was important for UMG to prove it has a plan for the future of streaming. After all, subscription growth has an outsized impact on investors’ outlook. In July, UMG’s stock dropped 24% in a single day after UMG’s second-quarter earnings revealed a sudden, sharper-than-expected slowdown in streaming revenue. Streaming 2.0 neatly packages UMG’s various tactics into a simple, understandable concept.
UMG also leaned heavily into direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales of merch, vinyl and other items, and Muir gave a new data point: the company’s D2C sales are growing at a 33% CAGR and totaled 548 million euros ($612 million), or roughly 5% of total revenue, from about 1,300 online stores. That gives UMG a massive amount of data on its artists’ biggest fans. “The superfan/D2C opportunity is not just a complementary high growth revenue opportunity,” Muir said. “It’s also an important competitive advantage that is increasing our appeal to artists and giving us the capability to do more for them than our competitors.”
The music business has changed dramatically since UMG’s last CMD presentation in 2021. TikTok became the de facto way to break new artists. Vinyl sales exploded. Labels got better at selling directly to fans. Subscription services finally raised their prices. Artificial intelligence quickly became both public enemy No. 1 and the next big opportunity. Companies made a staggering number of investments in developing markets.
UMG’s task was to show it had a believable vision for the future. Given everything the company laid out, Grainge was able to do that when he told investors that “we are nowhere close to achieving the full potential of our business.”
Investors will want to see results first, though. In a week when stock markets rallied after the U.S. Federal Reserve chopped interest rates, UMG’s share price dropped 3.6%.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-09-20 21:26:052024-09-20 21:26:05Universal Music Group’s Capital Markets Day Hit the Right Notes, Analysts Say