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Triller Files for Direct Listing on New York Stock Exchange

Triller, a short-form video app in the style of TikTok, is planning to sell its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange through a direct listing under the ticker “ILLR,” according to the company’s S-1 filing released Wednesday (Aug. 2). The filing did not provide a date of the direct listing.

The direct listing — not an initial public offering, or IPO — will not have an underwriter that assumes the financial risk of selling the listed shares to institutional investors. Popularized by Spotify in 2018, a direct listing avoids the IPO’s road show and book-building process that establishes an initial selling price. Triller will not receive any proceeds from shares offered in the direct listing by its shareholders.

While TikTok had an estimated $9.4 billion in revenue in 2022 and is becoming an important source of royalties for record labels and music publishers, Triller is a far smaller affair. In the first quarter of 2023, the self-described “artificial intelligence powered technology platform” had revenue of $9.1 million and a net loss of $28.8 million. In calendar 2022, Triller had a net loss of $195.6 million on revenue of $47.7 million.

The S-1 paints a picture of a financially troubled company with numerous outstanding issues. Triller had just $2.2 million of cash and cash equivalents as of March 31. The company’s S-1 warns that Triller has incurred losses each year since its inception — not unusual for a high-growth tech startup — and has an accumulated deficit of $1.29 billion. Triller may incur additional costs related to outstanding litigation with Universal Music Publishing Group, as one example, and admits to not being in compliance with the payment obligations of “a significant number” of its music licensing contracts and “overdue on payments” to vendors that provide Triller with engineering, marketing and legal services, among other parties.

The S-1 also reveals that Triller entered into a confidential settlement agreement with Sony Music Entertainment on July 21, 2023, that requires it to make payments to SME for a breach of contract lawsuit brought by SME in 2022. On May 16, Triller was ordered to pay SME nearly $4.6 million. The settlement provided Triller with a payment plan. With 15 days of the direct listing, Triller will be obligated to pay SME under the settlement agreement.

Triller will have two classes of common stock: a Class A common stock with one vote per share and Class B common stock with ten votes per share. Upon completion of the reorganization, Proxima Media and Bobby Sarnevesht, Triller’s founding partners, will own about 15.4% of Triller’s common stock and have 60.6% of the company’s total voting power. In addition to Proxima Media, the other shareholders with greater than a 5% share of outstanding common stock are Paul Posner, CEO of Carnegie Technologies, and Tsai Ming Hsing. As of March 31, Triller had 282,017,038 shares of Class A common stock and 46,651,382 shares of our Class B common stock outstanding.

Triller claims to have over 550 million user accounts and had over 2.4 million creators as of March 31 — almost 100,000 more than it had two years earlier. It built its user base with acquisitions such as its 2021 purchase of Verzuz, the livestream platform created by of Swizz Beats and Timbaland that shot to fame during the pandemic. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland filed a $28 million lawsuit against Triller in August 2022 over unpaid monies promised in the deal. That lawsuit was settled out of court one month later.

August 3, 2023/by Yveto

News

Alejandro Fernández Tops Latin Airplay With ‘No Es Que Me Quiera Ir’

Alejandro Fernández collects his 10th No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “No Es Que Me Quiera Ir” pushes 13-1 to lead the Aug. 5-dated survey. The song follows the two-week champ “Caballero,” his first career No. 1 this decade (Feb. 2020).

“No Es Que Me Quiera Ir” conquers Latin Airplay after it gained 9.1 million in audience impressions, a 50% rise from the week prior, earned in the U.S. during the July 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate. The song’s main supporters include Univision stations, KSCA Los Angeles and WOJO Chicago, as monitored by Mediabase, which provides Luminate data for Billboard charts.)

The ranchera, released May 19 and written by Eden Muñoz, ejects Prince Royce’s “Me EnRD” from the lead after its one term at No. 1, as the bachata dips 1-5 with 17% drop in audience impressions, to 8.4 million.

Further, “Que Me Quiera Ir” earns Universal Music Latino/UMLE its second No. 1 in 2023, after the label dominated the chart with Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” for two weeks between May and July.

As mentioned, with “Me Quiera Ir” capturing the crown on Latin Airplay, Fernández scores his 10th ruler, the second-most among regional Mexican acts, trailing Marco Antonio Solis who continues to lead with 11 champs on his Latin Airplay account. Plus, “Que Me Quiera” becomes his first win since “Cabaellero” in 2020. In between he’s placed five top 10s, for a total of 23 top 10s since “A Pesar de Todo” reached No. 10 high in Dec. 1994.

Here’s a full recap of Fernández’s 10 leaders dating back to his first in 1997:

Peak, Title, Artist, Weeks at No. 1
Oct. 18, 1997, “Si Tú Supieras,” six
Dec. 27, 1997, “En El Jardín,” featuring Gloria Estefan, six
March 14, 1998, “No Se Olvidar,” eight
July 18, 1998, “Yo Nací Para Amarte,” five
Aug. 21, 1999, “Loco,” one
Dec. 1, 201, “Tantita Pena,” six
Oct. 23, 2004, “Me Dedique A Perderte,” two
Feb. 06, 2010, “Se Me Va La Voz,” one
Jan. 04, 2020, “Caballero,” two
Aug. 05, 2023, “No Es Que Me Quiera Ir,” one

Notably, “Que Me Quiera Ir” marks a new milestone achievement for singer-songwriter Eden Muñoz, who captures his first No. 1 on Latin Airplay as a songwriter. Previously he scored a No. 2 high as a songwriter through Banda Carnaval’s “Esa Vez Soy Yo” (Jan. 2020).

Elsewhere, “Que Me Quiera Ir” advances 7-1 on Regional Mexican Airplay as the week’s Greatest Gainer. Fernández wins his sixth champ, the fifth-most among regional Mexican soloists.

August 3, 2023/by Yveto

News

Best Festival Gear: What to Buy for Lollapalooza & More

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

If you love music, there’s a good chance that you’ll be heading to Lollapalooza or another music festival, or concert such as Taylor’s Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour. And you’ll need the right festival accessories or travel gear to pack for the trip.

There’s nothing worse than traveling to a music festival only to get stuck outside in the heat without necessities like proper sunglasses, a hat to keep your head cool, an portable phone charger just in case you’re low on juice, hand sanitizer, face masks, bandanas and other essentials such as sunscreen, portable fans, waterproof mascara and liquid eyeliners; and a bag to carry everything from your identification to water bottles.

To help you out, we rounded up a list of music festival necessities, some of which you can buy at Amazon and Walmart to ensure that they get delivered quickly. For more festival-related gear, see our recommendations for the best ear plugs for concerts, best travel backpacks and tote bags, and venue-approved bags.

Buy: veda Tinda Red Sunglasses For Women and Men Trendy Retro Polygon Red Polarized TAC Lens Metal Frame UV400 Protection Eyeglasses Chain $14.98

Finding the perfect music festival sunnies depends on your style preference and budget, but there are a bunch of affordable sunglasses online. The polarized glasses pictured above have a chain attached, so you won’t have to worry about misplacing them while you’re out. And they’re available in seven different lens frames including red, black, green, grey, blue, gold and red. Click here for more festival shades.

Buy: Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad Camping Chair $19.97

Plan on standing in line? Get a portable lawn chair! If you’re looking for a basic option, the Coleman Broadband Mesh Chair pictured above is on sale for $20 at Amazon. The chair has cup holder with a mesh back, supports up to 250 pounds and fits into a carry bag. This Alpha Mart camping chair ($43.98) is another good option (that we’ve personally used) for long days in the sun. Click here for more portable, camping chairs.

Here Comes the Sun Colorblock Sunset Power Pod

$60

What to Wear to Music Festivals

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