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Hipgnosis Song Management has acquired rights to the entire song catalog of Songwriter Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Leonard Cohen. The deal gives the company 100% ownership of Cohen’s songwriter’s share of all 278 songs and derivatives written over the course of his life.
A renowned songwriter, poet, novelist and performer, Cohen is best known for penning one of the most frequently covered songs of all time: “Hallelujah,” which is included in the Hipgnosis deal. Among its over 300 estimated renditions, some of the most famous cuts of the track include those by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and Pentatonix.
Cohen’s catalog is often characterized in two distinct groupings: Stranger Music (known as all Cohen releases up to the year 2000) and Old Ideas (releases from 2001 until his death in 2016).
The Stranger Music period includes 127 compositions, including Cohen’s biggest hits. Hipgnosis now owns 100% of the royalties and ownership of Cohen’s songwriter share. “We now own all publishing related assets the Estate had, i.e. we have stepped into Leonard’s shoes,” explains Merck Mercuriadis, founder and CEO of Hipgnosis.
Cohen preferred to work alone on his craft, meaning Hipgnosis now owns the totality of the songwriter’s share of these songs. Sony Music Publishing, the artist’s longtime publisher, will retain its ownership of the publisher’s share.
From the Old Ideas period, which includes 67 released songs and other derivative works made by Cohen in his later years, Hipgnosis has purchased 100% ownership of both the publisher’s share and the songwriter’s share of royalties, allowing Hipgnosis to become the one-stop shop for any Cohen song written from 2001-onwards.
The Cohen Estate was represented by the late-songwriter’s longtime manager, Robert Kory, KR Capital Partners and Jonathan Friedman at Stubbs, Alderton and Markiles LLP.
This acquisition is forged on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Captial ICAV, the partnership between Hipgnosis Song Management and Blackstone LLP. The partnership between the entities was formally announced on Oct. 12, 2021, following reports from Bloomberg that Blackstone was in talks with Hipgnosis about a $1 billion dollar investment into music copyrights. According to the official Oct. 12 announcement, the reports were true: Blackstone took an ownership stake in HSM and provided $1 billion to acquire music rights and manage catalogs in tandem with Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM), formerly known as The Family (Music).
The news further demonstrated Blackstone’s intent to invest in the music business. Notably, in April 2021, Blackstone acquired eOne Music. It also owns the SESAC family of companies, which includes the Harry Fox Agency, Audiam and more.
With gross assets of $2.2 billion, Cohen’s catalog joins Hipgnosis’ already lucrative portfolio which includes works by Neil Young, Al Jackson Jr., The B-52’s, Blondie, Journey, Lindsey Buckingham, Steve Winwood and Tricky Stewart.
“To now be the custodians and managers of Leonard Cohen’s incomparable songs is a wonderful yet very serious responsibility that we approach with excitement and fully understand the importance of,” remarks Mercuriadis. “Leonard wrote words and songs that have changed our lives, none more so obvious than ‘Hallelujah’ but there are so many more that we look forward to reminding the world of on a daily basis. He is revered all over the globe because of the magnitude of his work and we are delighted that the Cohen family and Robert Kory have chosen Hipgnosis in this most important decision of who to entrust with Leonard’s legacy. We welcome them to the Hipgnosis’ family and look forward to working together to honor the songs of the great Leonard Cohen.”
Cohen’s manager, Kory, added, “Merck Mercuriadis is unique in the music publishing world with his background as an artist manager. We know he cares about artists, and as a Québécois he has a particularly deep appreciation of Leonard’s unique status in popular music. The catalogue is in good hands. The Hipgnosis team has been a pleasure to work with throughout the transaction.
Ahead of her SNL appearance this weekend, Charli XCX stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to reminisce about the time Cardi B made an unforgettable mistake with her name.
“We did a song together with Rita Ora and Bebe Rexha,” the “Baby” singer said of their 2018 track “Girls.” “It was one of those scenarios where we never actually met when we made the song. We shot the music video separately, and we were sending verses and whatever.”
As she recalled to Fallon: “And then she tweets the song, and I’m like, “Oh my god, Cardi B tweeted my name! This is huge!’ And then I like check the tag, and instead of ‘Charli XCX’ it’s ‘Charli STD.’”
“There is an account called Charli STD,” Charli explained. “I think Cardi tagged it not once, but twice.”
“I felt honored, actually,” she said. “I was like, ‘If anyone is gonna make this kind of online error, it’s gotta be Cardi because it’s iconic. I’m almost happy it happened. She can call me Charli STD whenever she wants.”
On Instagram, she shared the interview clip and thanked Cardi, filing the nickname moment as an “iconic piece of Twitter history.”
Charli XCX is set to perform as the musical guest on the March 5 episode of Saturday Night Live with host Oscar Isaac. She’s making up for her previously scheduled appearance, which had to be postponed due to concerns as the omicron variant of COVID-19 swept through New York City. Her new album Crash will be released on March 18.
Watch the Fallon interview clip below, and tune into SNL Saturday night.
Days after the Prince estate sparked outrage by moving to block longtime collaborator Morris Day from using his band name “The Time,” the people who will soon take over control of the estate say they fully support Day’s right to keep using his name.
The controversial move, which prompted Day to complain on social media that the estate was “taking my name away from me,” was instigated by Comerica — a bank that has been serving as the court-appointed administrator of Prince’s assets during a years-long legal battle.
But those proceedings are nearly complete and set to wrap up later this year, and the groups of heirs that will soon take control of the estate are now speaking out in Day’s favor.
Primary Wave, a prominent music company that has acquired a 50 percent stake in Prince’s estate by buying out several heirs, released a statement Saturday (March 5) that it “does not currently have any say in the affairs of the estate” but opposed Comerica’s tactics with Day.
“We have reached out to Comerica to let them know that we do not agree with their decision and believe they should do the right thing here, which is to let Morris Day continue to use the name,” Primary Wave said. “Morris Day has Primary Wave’s full support.”
Meanwhile, L. Londell McMillan, an attorney and advisor who represents the group of heirs that will control the other 50 percent of the estate, voiced a similar sentiment on Twitter.
“COMERICA AND THEIR ADVISORS CURRENTLY RUN THE PRINCE ESTATE,” McMillan tweeted. “I THINK THIS IS HORRIBLE. I SUPPORT MORRIS DAY [100 percent.] WE CANNOT WAIT TO TAKE OVER THE ESTATE FROM THOSE IN CHARGE. HOPEFULLY SOON.”
A spokeswoman for the estate did not immediately return a request for comment on Primary Wave and McMillan’s comments. In a previous statement, the estate said the discussion with Day had been “amicable” and that it was “surprised and disappointed to see his recent post.”
Day, the frontman for the Prince-affiliated funk band The Time, kicked off the controversy on Thursday when he claimed in a Facebook post that the Prince estate had told him he could no longer use the name “Morris Day and The Time.” He said Prince had never voiced such objections before he died in 2016 of a fentanyl overdose.
“The people who control his multi million dollar estate want to rewrite history by taking my name away from me, thus impacting how I feed my family,” Day wrote in the post. “So as of now, per the Prince Estate, I can no longer use Morris Day & The Time in any capacity.”
Day’s post was sparked by a December letter from the estate’s attorneys, in which they told him he had “no right” to use the band name “in any form.” The letter cited a 1982 agreement in which Day allegedly agreed that Prince’s company would retain control of the trademark rights to “The Time.” The estate then offered to license the name back to Day for an undisclosed price.
In a practical sense, the new statements from Primary Wave and McMillan mean that Day will likely be allowed to use the “The Time” name in the long run. But exactly when the heirs will assume control is not entirely clear.
A tax settlement with the IRS in January was the final major hurdle to closing the estate proceedings, and a judge approved a rough plan last month for distributing Prince’s assets. The parties expect the case to close during 2022, but there is no hard schedule for doing so.
Camila Cabello brought “Bam Bam” live to television for the first time on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
“Bam Bam” live had Cabello singing and dancing atop a bar, to the cheers of the crowd, and strumming along to the verse of the single that Ed Sheeran sings (he wasn’t present for the show).
The feel-good performance arrived alongside the March 4 release of Cabello’s new song. In a new interview with Zane Lowe, in which she discussed the song’s lyrics and her personal life, the singer said that what she was “trying to get across in the verse is just that things change and things take really unexpected terms.”
“Bam Bam” is on her upcoming album Familia, due out April 8.
Watch Cabello’s live debut of “Bam Bam” below.
Johnny Brown, the easygoing actor, comedian and singer best known for portraying the housing project superintendent Nathan Bookman on Good Times, has died. He was 84.
Brown died Wednesday (March 2), his daughter, actress Sharon Catherine Brown, announced on Instagram. “Our family is devastated. Devastated. Devastated. Beyond heartbroken. Barely able to breathe,” she wrote.
Further details of his death were not immediately available.
Brown also recorded songs and performed in a band with saxophonist Sam “The Man” Taylor, appeared twice on Broadway in the 1960s and was a regular performer for three seasons on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.
Brown, who did a mean impression of Louis Armstrong and others, was a leading contender to play Lamont opposite Redd Foxx on Sanford and Son, but because his contract bound him to Laugh-In, the role went to Demond Wilson.
With former Laugh-In writer Allan Manings serving as a producer on Good Times, Brown joined the Chicago-set CBS comedy in 1975 midway through its second season. His character was often teased about his weight by the gangly J.J. (Jimmie Walker) and other members of the Evans family.
“Sometimes you can do too much of a thing, and it doesn’t come natural,” Brown said in 2019. “With everybody [calling Bookman] ‘buffalo butt’ in a scene, it loses something. … They even had Janet [Jackson], who had just come on the show, answering like Mr. Buffalo Butt.
“And they used it in every show. They used it when I walked in the show, all through the scene. When I left the scene, they used it. I couldn’t say anything because I have a wife and two kids to support. Now at my age, I would have to say something.”
Brown was born on June 11, 1937, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and raised in Harlem. He won an amateur night competition at the Apollo Theater; starred in nightclub acts with his future wife, June, and with tap dancer Gregory Hines Jr. and drummer Gregory Hines Sr.; and recorded songs for Columbia and Atlantic records.
While working in the Catskills, Brown met Sammy Davis Jr., and the legendary entertainer would prove to be an inspiration. “He did all the things I wanted to do,” Brown said in a 1996 interview. “I wanted to be a well-rounded, complete entertainer; I didn’t just want to sing or tell a joke.”
In 1964, when Davis was preparing to star in a musical adaptation of Golden Boy on Broadway, he got Brown a gig as Godfrey Cambridge’s understudy. (Brown said he had never even seen a Broadway show before that.)
But then Cambridge began bickering with director Arthur Penn. “In those days, a big thing for a comedian was an album. Like Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor and those guys, if an album sold, they could make big concert money,” Brown said. Cambridge couldn’t “get out of a contract, so he started arguing every day until two days before opening for previews.”
That’s when Cambridge was fired. Brown took over as Ronnie and took the lead on the show-stopping number “Don’t Forget 127th Street” as Golden Boy lasted more than 500 performances.
Brown made his film debut portraying a blind pianist in the Davis-starring drama A Man Called Adam (1966) — future Good Times co-star Ja’Net DuBois also was in that — and returned to Broadway in 1968 for Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights, directed by Sidney Poitier. Despite a cast that featured Cicely Tyson, Diane Ladd, Louis Gossett Jr. and David Steinberg, the comedy lasted but a week.
He came to Los Angeles when Neil Simon asked him to play a waiter on a train in The Out of Towners (1970). While in town, he met influential CBS casting director Ethel Winant, “and by the time I got back to New York, I had a series” — The Leslie Uggams Show.
Brown was on Laugh-In for a year before he learned why he was hired for that. Davis “had dinner with [Dan] Rowan and [Dick] Martin,” he recalled. “They were looking for new faces, and Sammy, without batting an eye, said, ‘Get Johnny Brown.’”
Brown also was a welcome sight on shows including Julia, Maude, The Rookies, Lotsa Luck!, The Jeffersons, Archie Bunker’s Place, Family Matters, Sister, Sister, Moonlighting and Martin and in such films as The Wiz (1978), Poitier’s Hanky Panky (1982), Life (1999) and Town & Country (2001).
He also pitched Write Brothers pens (“Write on brothers, write on!”) in a series of musical commercials for Papermate in the early 1970s and starred in The Gospel Truth, which played on stages around the country in the late ’80s.
In addition to his daughter and his wife of 61 years, survivors include his son, John Jr.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Rebecca “Dimplez” Ijeoma was named senior vp, digital marketing & content development at Capitol Music Group (CMG). Ijeoma will co-lead the company’s digital department alongside CMG senior vp, digital strategy, business development & operations Nicholas Osborne out of CMG’s Hollywood headquarters.
In the role, Dimplez will be tasked with strengthening marketing collaborations with digital and social media partners through campaigns and projects, while focusing on direct-to-fan engagement and commerce on a marketing campaign level.
Dimplez’s hire marks a return for the executive at CMG, where she previously served as director, digital marketing from early 2017 through more than half of 2018. In that role, she was a key force in launching R&B singer Queen Naija, among other projects.
Most recently, Dimplez headed up her own marketing agency, IJEOMA, for four years. During her time there, she and her team handled lifestyle marketing, brand partnership and digital strategy agency for RCA Records, digital and social media strategy for Warner Music Group and commercial sales and DSP strategy for Rostrum Records, among other companies. While leading the company, Dimplez personally spearheaded all marketing, digital and project efforts with DJ Premier on the release of hip-hop duo Gang Starr’s 2019 comeback album One Of The Best Yet.
“Dimplez is a culture-builder and thought-leader in the digital space, and she is bringing to CMG all of the qualities that are synonymous with our new era: She is an artists-first executive who is highly innovative, creative, resourceful and inspiring to all who have the pleasure of working with her,” said CMG chair & CEO Michelle Jubelirer and president Arjun Pulijal in a joint statement.
“Capitol Records was the first major label I ever worked for, so this is a full-circle moment for me,” said Ijeoma. “Capitol Music Group has always represented the superstar artists that impact music for generations to come, and I could not be more excited to be rejoining the team!”
Before her 2017 hire at CMG, Dimplez served in roles in various parts of the music industry, including at Yo! Raps magazine, The Smoking Section (now Uproxx) and as director, digital marketing for Ne-Yo’s Compound.
In the wake of her departure at IJEOMA, the agency will continue under the leadership of Ijeoma’s former partner, John King.
Brian Dackowski was elevated to the newly created role of executive vp, viral marketing & analytics at Atlantic Records.
In the role, Dackowski will join Atlantic’s marketing senior leadership team alongside the label’s other marketing heads. He’ll continue leading his current roster while working with the entire marketing staff to identify and market both frontline and catalog opportunities on the viral side. Additionally, he’ll be overseeing a marketing analytics team and the video content team, who will focus on opportunities to build fanbases for Atlantic artists via short-form content on TikTok, Reels, Shorts and more.
Dackowski joined Atlantic in 2004 and went on to develop and launch the label’s new artist development incubator The Shop. More recently, he partnered with the A&R and digital marketing departments to amplify opportunities for Atlantic artists across various platforms.
Larry Mestel, founder and CEO of Primary Wave Music, was appointed to the board of directors at the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). Coming in with 30 years of experience on both the label and publishing sides of the business, Mestel brings a well-rounded perspective to the board.
Irwin Robinson, NMPA board chairman, said of the appointment, “Larry has always had great vision about where the business is headed and has closely fostered the careers of some of the most talented songwriters in the world. I am thrilled to welcome him to the board and know he will make an immediate impact as we confront so many exciting changes and massive challenges.”
The association’s president and CEO, David Israelite, added, “I have known and respected Larry for many years and am so excited to have him on our board as we lead the charge for music creators to be properly valued, a mission Larry takes very seriously. He has been a strategic leader in all facets of our industry and was ahead of the curve on many of the biggest trends we’re seeing today. Known for his passion and commitment to creators, his insight and experience will be huge assets to our leadership.” – Kristin Robinson
Warner Chappell Music promoted David Goldsen to A&R head, Australia and vp, creative.
With the promotion, Goldsen will relocate from New York to WCM’s Los Angeles headquarters, where he’ll lead the A&R strategy for Australia while continuing to support the company’s U.S. and UK efforts. He’ll report to WCM co-chair and CEO Guy Moot while also working closely with WCM Australia managing director Matthew Capper, WCM North American president Ryan Press and WCM UK managing director Shani Gonzales as they look to connect WCM’s Australian songwriters with artists and songwriters in other countries.
“With music becoming increasingly more global, we’re prioritizing our A&R efforts in Australia, which is exploding with incredible talent,” said Moot and Warner Chappell co-chair and COO Carianne Marshall in a joint statement. “David has already built an internationally recognizable roster with acts like Tones and I, Vance Joy, and Cavetown, so his transition into this role is a natural one. His relationships and creative expertise will bring exciting international opportunities to both our current Australian hitmakers and future signings, connecting them with our global roster and beyond.”
“This is an incredible opportunity to help local songwriters broaden their reach and collaborate with different artists, writers, and producers across borders and genres,” added Goldsen. “I’m equally as excited to continue working closely with Ryan and Shani to introduce our U.S. and international writers to Australia’s explosive music scene and exceptional talent.”
Goldsen, who joined Warner Chappell in 2009, currently manages Tones and I, Cavetown, Nathaniel Rateliff, Vance Joy, Mitski, Two Feet and The Knocks for the company.
Wasserman Music hired two new agents and promoted six employees to agent. Matt Elam joined the Wasserman team after more than a decade at WME, while Sahil Mehta comes over from Madison House, where he developed a roster of primarily electronic music artists over the last three years.
Stephanie Aristakesian, Zach Berkowitz, Alex Guaraldi, Daniel Lee, Leigh Millhauser and Jeff Molek will move up the ranks at Wasserman and work as agents. Aristakesian, Berkowitz and Millhauser launched their careers with agency AM Only, which joined Paradigm in 2017. Wasserman Music acquired Paradigm’s live roster in 2021. Lee worked in the talent and comedy departments before landing on music at Paradigm in 2017. Molek launched his career with Chicago concert promoter mP Productions before moving to The Windish Agency in 2013. Guaraldi is now an agent in Wasserman Music’s corporate and special events department.
In addition to the eight new agents, Wasserman Music promoted Antonio Dell’Aglio to director, touring and Mohammad Shah to manager, touring. Dell’Aglio worked across electronic and Latin music with clients including Tiësto, David Guetta and DJ Snake. Shah liaises with Wasserman Music’s business & legal affairs team on issues affecting agent teams and is a member of Wasserman’s DE&I council.
“At Wasserman Music, we take great pride in emphasizing mentorship and positive career growth for all our people,” said Wasserman Music executive vp and managing executive Lee Anderson. “We’re so proud of this newly promoted group of agents, who’ve been important members of this team for years and are all richly deserving of this next step.” – Taylor Mims
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) revealed its 2022 Black Independent Music Accelerator (BIMA) advisory council.
Those named to the council include Fotemah Mba, A&R head, general market, Cinq Music Group; Courtnay Moriarty, senior digital rights manager, Pex; Kristine Mbadugha, manager, independent music partnerships, YouTube Music; Henoch Moore, creative director and A&R for NA, Warp Records; Madeline Nelson, head of indies, Amazon Music; Taryn Brown, founding principal, Taryn Brown & Co.; Marcus Hollinger, senior vp, marketing, Reach Records; Rachel White, director, social marketing & community engagement, Sub Pop Records; and Omega George, vp marketing, label relations & strategic partnerships, MNRK Nashville.
“I’m joining the council because I am passionate about amplifying anti-racist efforts within the music industry,” said White in a statement. “BIMA’s initiative removes barriers to entry and provides one-on-one industry mentorship for Black-owned businesses, which is an invaluable step towards equitable access.”
Moriarty added, “After being involved with BIMA’s inception, I’m so excited that it’s continuing into a second year. Seeing this program get closer to achieving its original vision is so inspiring and I can’t wait to meet the next group of fellows.”
“I’m joining the council because I am passionate about the progression of Black-owned businesses within the music industry,” said Mbadugha. “BIMA is an impactful initiative founded on the principle of amplifying black voices and I want to support that.”
In addition to its advisory council, BIMA revealed its 2022 BIMA fellows, who will take part in an initiative designed to amplify Black voices in the independent music community.
The 2022 fellows are: Formation Creative, MuSample, CleerKut, Mission Road Sound, Aces Nation, Good Stuff, The Bassline Group, Lend Me Your Ear, Like The Singer Records, Family First Music Group, TEAM, SAY THX, Culture Villains and 7000COILS.
Joshua “J1” Raiford was promoted to vp, music programming at SiriusXM/Pandora. He was previously director, hip-hop at Pandora and program director of SiriusXM Pandora Now.
Raiford will create new programming and content opportunities across the SiriusXM and Pandora platforms in his new role. He will continue to be responsible for hip-hop content on Pandora and programming for SiriusXM Pandora Now but will focus more on creating unique internal and external content and programming opportunities across both platforms.
“I promise to continue to innovate, work diligently and be an advocate of Black Culture within the company and music business as a whole, as well as create opportunities for the next wave of leaders and talent,” said Raiford in a statement.
YMU launched a new label, AmperSounds, that will serve as a home for new and emerging talent from YMU’s own management roster and beyond. The label will be led by Alistair White, head, streaming and audience at YMU.
The AmperSounds launch includes a global partnership with Believe to lend its expertise in A&R, marketing, digital exploitation and promotion and to manage and oversee all aspects of the new label’s artist campaigns. The partnership will be led on the Believe side by senior label manager Samantha Connaughton.
White joined YMU when the company acquired Machine Management in 2018. He has worked on numerous releases for YMU artists, including Clean Bandit.
Along with the launch, AmperSounds also announced it signed Irish singer-songwriter Lucy McWilliams and Essex indie-pop artist Oli Fox.
“We already have a wealth of amazing in-house talent at YMU, which has a fantastic track record of overseeing all aspects of numerous successful campaigns, so it made complete sense to launch our own label which can be a launchpad for new and emerging talent that we already represent or other great artists we discover,” said White in a statement.
Music Venue Trust (MVT) announced several changes to its board of trustees, including the appointment of new co-chairs Bonita McKinney and Phyllis Belezos, who jointly succeed Sarah Thirtle in the role. Meanwhile, Scott Taylforth joined the board as treasurer.
McKinney, who is label & partnerships manager at Ingrooves, joined MVT as a trustee in 2019. Belezos is the director of Heliocentric Entertainment, a music talent booking & consultancy agency. She became an industry patron for MVT in 2013 and joined the board of trustees in March 2019.
According to a press release, both McKinney and Belezos played a key role within MVT throughout the pandemic, including work on the successful #SaveOurVenues campaign.
Taylforth serves as finance manager, UK client settlements at Ticketmaster.
Stepping down from the board after four years is Bengi Unsal, formerly head of contemporary music at Southbank Centre. Unsal, who is now director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, moves to the role of industry patron of MTV.
MVT will continue to develop its board. Those interested are being directed to visit musicvenuetrust.com/team/.
Travis James has left UTA to join Action Entertainment Collaborative (AEC), which was founded last year by Nick Meinema and partner Greg Baker. James will bring country artists John Michael Montgomery, John Anderson, Collin Raye, Aaron Tippin, Confederate Railroad and The Kentucky Headhunters to the boutique agency.
“I met Nick in 2014 and worked with him daily through 2020,” said James in a statement. “The pandemic changed the touring landscape forever and gave many of us enough pause to reprioritize our approach to booking. I’m a ‘Greatest Hits’ agent. My passion and happiness lies within the box set artists. As I looked around town, it was no surprise that Nick, Charley and staff were redefining that agency model in a way I’ve never seen.”
AEC’s Nashville-based office also represents Trace Adkins, TLC, Terri Clark and Lonestar.
James can be reached at travis.james@action-ent.com and at 615-208-9596.
Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) hired Rick Myers as senior vp, finance. Myers will oversee the company’s finance and royalty departments and will report to BMLG CEO/chairman Scott Borchetta, as well as HYBE America CFO Eric Holden.
During his 25 years of industry experience, Myers has served as founder/president of 12South Financial; vp, corporate controller and program management officer for Integrity Music; owner/operator of Solomon Financial; and most recently, as COO/managing director of Courage Music.
“Rick has an incredible reputation for leading successful finance teams with integrity,” Borchetta said in a statement. “He will be a great asset to our team, our artists and our partners as we continue to grow our footprint in music and beyond.”
“I am excited to join Big Machine Label Group and continue the legacy that Scott Borchetta, Andrew Kautz and the rest of the team have built. I am honored to serve this dream team,” Myers added. – Jessica Nicholson
Nashville-based business management and consulting firm O’Neil Hagaman promoted Craig Owens and Sam Powers from principals to co-heads of the company’s intellectual property group (formerly the special projects division). In their new roles, Owens and Powers will oversee all aspects of intellectual property issues for O’Neil Hagaman’s clients, including purchase and sale of publishing, overseeing the administration of active artist-owned labels and more.
Owens has worked for O’Neil Hagaman since 1994, while Powers has worked in the special projects division since 2007.
“Everyone who knows Craig and Sam knows that they are the backbone of this growing area of our business. Truthfully, I have been working in support of their front-line efforts for many years. We are pleased to formalize their leadership positions in this area,” said O’Neil Hagaman co-founder and partner Kerry O’Neil. – Jessica Nicholson
Brian Thiele joined Curb/Word Entertainment as vp, Christian promotion, and Jeri Cooper was promoted to senior vp, Christian promotion. Jen Allen and Samantha Evangelista will continue in their respective roles as national director, promotion and coordinator, national promotion.
It was concurrently announced that Black River Christian artist Hannah Kerr, known for singles including “Warrior” and “Split The Sea,” also joined the Curb/Word Entertainment roster.
“We welcome Hannah to the Curb | Word family,” said Mike Curb, chairman of Curb/Word Entertainment. “Black River has done a tremendous job establishing Hannah, and we look forward to building on that success in the future.” – Jessica Nicholson
The Syndicate hired Shane Greenberg as senior manager, publicity.
Greenberg arrives at the company from Planetary Group, where he served as head of the press department and spearheaded PR campaigns for clients including The Babe Rainbow, Parisian record label Kitsuné Musique, Lisa Heller and Vapors of Morphine. Before that, he was junior publicist at Grandstand.
Greenberg started his career in 2013 at the indie record label and boutique PR agency Friends of Friends. He started interning at Motormouth Media the following year before moving to Grandstand in 2017.
After releasing 16 tracks from Donda 2 to his Stem Player last week, Kanye West is so far staying true to his promise to hold back the album from streaming services.
The artist and entrepreneur, who now goes by Ye, reported $1.3 million in Stem sales via Instagram in the 24 hours after announcing Donda 2 would be released exclusively on his $200 proprietary hockey-puck-sized streaming devices, which allow users to remix songs as they listen. While new Stem purchases appear to come preloaded with 2019’s Jesus Is King, last year’s Donda and Donda 2, anyone who purchased the device when it was released last year can also upload the Donda 2 songs — or others — using their computer and a USB-C cable.
Ye said at time of his Feb. 18 Instagram post that he had sold 39,500 Stem Players to date — for total net sales topping $8.6 million.
While that revenue far surpasses what an artist can earn from streaming or sales in the same time period, one thing this release strategy will not be earning Ye is placement on the Billboard charts. That’s because the album is being sold with a device that can be used for other means besides the playing of the album. As such, the Stem/Donda package would fall within Billboard’s latest merch bundle policy, where albums sold with merchandise are not chart eligible.
Since the Stem Player is a fairly new concept, however, people familiar with the matter from both Billboard and MRC say they plan to continue to monitor its evolution as it relates to chart eligibility.
Ye released four Donda 2 tracks to his Stem Player on Feb. 23 following a listening party and live performance in Miami the night prior. The next day, he released 12 more songs, calling the 16-track collection the “Miami Version.”
When Ye released Donda on Aug. 29, it topped the Billboard 200 albums chart with 309,000 equivalent album units moved, according to MRC Data, becoming 2021’s top single-week release to that point. He was later surpassed by Drake’s Certified Lover Boy and Adele’s 30 and ended 2021 with the calendar year’s 39th biggest album, according to the Billboard 200 year-end chart.
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is set to collect $10.5 million in stock as part of his annual performance bonus after hitting certain financial goals, defined by the company’s Compensation Committee, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday (March 4). Rapino also receives a $3 million annual salary, but is expected report a salary below $3 million for 2021 because of a voluntary pandemic pay reduction.
The value of the shares will certainly change by the time they fully vest based on the company stock price at that time. Friday’s shares are valued at $114 per share based on the company’s most recent closing price, with about $5.3 million worth of shares (46,272 shares) vesting by May 10 and equal amount vesting by Aug. 16.
Live Nation president and CFO Joe Berchtold received 22,279 shares as a bonus but donated 10,000 of those shares to a donor-advised charity fund. The company’s general counsel Michael Rowles received 14,139 shares as a bonus, while executive vp John Hopmans received 23,479 shares. Combined, the four executives’ shares were worth $17.3 million.
The bonuses come one week after the company reported its year-end results for 2021, with a $1.1 billion uptick in revenue over 2020 after the company was effectively shut down for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the company saw more fans attend outdoor events during the third and fourth quarters than during the same period in 2019, which itself was a record year for Live Nation. Rapino also reported that sponsorship and advertising operating income reached the same levels for the second half of 2021 as 2019 and that fourth-quarter ticketing revenue jumped 118%, while sponsorship income rose 37%. The news pushed the company’s stock price to new heights, hitting $126 per share on Feb. 26, up 375% from April 2020 when the share price crashed to $33.57 a share.
Live Nation also faced scrutiny for the deadliest accident to ever happen at one of the company’s festivals following the deaths of 10 concert goers at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston on Nov. 5. The tragedy at Astroworld has led to hundreds of lawsuits from attendees and the families of those who died at the concert. Live Nation officials wrote in the company’s 2022 annual report that it “expected liability insurance (would) provide sufficient coverage,” for its legal bills but noted that the cost to the company would not be fully realized until after investigations into the festival were concluded and civil suits involving the case had been settled.
In December, just six weeks after Astroworld, rapper Drakeo the Ruler was murdered backstage at a Live Nation festival in L.A. The promoter is also facing multiple lawsuits related to that incident
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online.
Six years into the global music industry’s recovery, the largest labels and publishers are growing by leaps and bounds. The three major music groups — Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group — had combined revenues of $25.4 billion in calendar 2021, up 19.8% from calendar 2020, according to Billboard‘s calculations. That annual growth rate was more than a four-fold improvement from the companies’ 4.7% revenue growth in 2020 after a slowdown in physical goods sales during the pandemic. Combined, the companies had an operating profit was $4.1 billion in 2021, a 44.3% increase, with a combined operating profit margin of 16.3%, up from 13.5% in 2020.
Recorded music revenues were $18.7 billion, up 23.1%. Within recorded music, streaming revenues grew 27.8% to $12.5 billion and physical sales rose 16.2% to $2.8 billion. Combined publishing revenues climbed 19.3% to $4.1 billion. If Sony’s “visual media and platform” division is removed, which better reflects the companies’ music-focused operations, the majors’ combined revenue was $23.2 billion, up 22.2% from $19.0 billion in 2020.
The resumption of the touring business in 2021 also helped a smaller but important part of their businesses, merchandise. At Bravado, UMG’s merchandise division, revenue grew 28.9% to $429 million. WMG’s artist services segment, which includes revenue from both merchandise and touring, improved 25.9% to $651 million.
(UMG reported 2021 earnings on Thursday. SME’s and WMG’s fiscal years — both reported in February — are different than the calendar year. Billboard converted currencies into U.S. dollars using annual average exchange rates from IRS.gov.)
Between strong growth in streaming royalties and the resumption of touring, the majors can expect double-digit organic growth in 2022. But that’s just the beginning: Acquisitions and investments will bolster top and bottom lines this year and beyond. For UMG, catalog acquisitions will help its 2022 income statement. According to its earnings report, UMG spent 388 million euros (about $459 million) on catalog acquisitions in 2021, less than half the 929 million euros ($1.06 billion) it spent in 2020, when it purchased Bob Dylan’s song catalog for an estimated $400 million-plus. UMG has continued its M&A activity in 2022, purchasing the songwriting catalogs of Sting and Neil Diamond.
WMG and SME are growing with acquisitions of catalogs and entire companies. WMG’s acquisition of 300 Entertainment — which it previously distributed — for $400 million is a frontline label with a roster that includes Megan Thee Stallion and Young Thug. WMG also acquired the David Bowie songwriting catalog, bought a majority stake in the Africori digital distributor and picked up the assets of Doug Morris’ 12Tone Music. SME’s 2021 deals included Bruce Springsteen’s recorded music and publishing catalogs, Bob Dylan’s recorded music catalog, Paul Simon’s songwriting catalog and a majority stake in Alamo Records. SME’s purchase of Brazilian label Som Live was cleared by regulators in February, and its acquisition of label services company AWAL was provisionally cleared by a U.K. regulator last month.
Separately, SME should get a boost from its strategic investment in merch company Ceremony of Roses, announced in January. Sony’s Thread Shop merch division will remain a brand under Ceremony of Roses.
STOCKS
Through March 4, the % change over last five trading days and year to date.
Spotify: $135.17, -11.2%, -42.2% YTD
Universal Music Group: 18.20 euros, -7.9%, -26.6% YTD
Warner Music Group: $33.02, -9.6%, -23.5% YTD
Live Nation: $114.38, -9.1%, +8.7% YTD
Eventbrite: $13.77, -7.8%, -21.0% YTD
CTS Eventim: 57.38 euros, -9.9%, -10.8% YTD
iHeartMedia: $19.94, -9.1%, +8.7% YTD
Anghami: $13.50, -31.1%, +32.2% YTD
NYSE Composite: 16,120.61, -1.8%, -6.1% YTD
Nasdaq: 13,313.44, -2.8%, -14.9% YTD
