Business news
BMG to Hit 1 Billion Euros in Revenues by 2024
BMG says it will start generating one billion euros in revenue starting in 2024, achieving a financial target the company set for itself a full two years ahead of schedule, according to a corporate presentation made last week. The record label and publisher improved its growth forecast thanks to strategic investments from parent company Bertelsmann and a strong performance from several recently acquired song catalogs, BMG chief executive Hartwig Masuch told a gathering of senior Bertelsmann executives. Meeting its billion-euro goal will make BMG one of the fastest-growing new music companies in the industry, executives said. Founded in 2008, BMG generated 663 million euros ($784.13 million) in revenues in 2021, a 10.1% increase from 2020. In the first half of 2022, the company reported rev...
The CD Turns 40: How the ‘Shiny, Tiny’ Discs Took Over
On Oct. 1, 1982, in Japan, when Billy Joel‘s 52nd Street became the first-ever CD to go on sale, two electronics giants had been pushing for years to switch from the beloved vinyl LP to the shiny new digital-optical disc. Sony in Japan and Philips in Eindhoven, Netherlands, had invented the compact-disc hardware, and they were aggressively lobbying the world’s biggest labels to provide the software – music – to go with it. Up to that point, the labels wouldn’t cooperate – not even CBS Records, Sony’s longtime partner for years before the electronics company bought it outright in 1987. “If there would have been rotten eggs available, they would have thrown them at me,” recalls Jan Timmer, then head of Philips Worldwide, of an Athens, Greece, music-industry conference where he attempted to i...
The Deals: Channel Tres Signs With RCA; AmazeVR Raises $17M
Producer and signer Channel Tres signed with RCA Records in partnership with Godmode. The label, which just put out Tres’ new single “No Limit,” will release his album Real Cultural Shit this fall. The “Compton house” singer is currently touring North America. VR concert platform AmazeVR, which recently produced Megan Thee Stallion‘s VR concert tour, raised $17 million in new investments, with an opportunity for additional investors to join the current fundraising round. Including the $15 million bridge round the company raised in 2021, AmazeVR’s current Series B raise stands at $32 million. The company plans to use the new funds to expand partnerships with artists, artist management companies, labels, publishers and agencies, along with hiring more AI engineers, Unreal Engine engineers an...
Phil Collins Catalog Sale Deal in the Works Now Includes Genesis Rights Too
A package of Genesis, Phil Collins and possibly Mike + the Mechanics music assets are said to be in the final deal stages, according to sources, but the name of the potential buyer is not yet known to Billboard. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Previously, Billboard reported that a package of Collins’ rights had been shopped for upwards of $200 million, according to sources. That package, sources says, has now morphed into a bigger deal that also includes all of the publishing for Genesis and possibly even Mike + the Mechanics, as well as their master recordings rights. Specifically, sources say the deal encompasses the artist’s share of the master recordings and publishing. In the case of Collins, that means a combination of artist royalties fo...
Apple Music Taking Over as Super Bowl Halftime Sponsor
The NFL has found the next presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show. Apple Music has been named the official sponsor of the annual music and pop culture event, succeeding Pepsi, which announced earlier this year that it would give up its role in presenting the show. Pepsi had been the lead sponsor of the halftime show for the past decade. Apple Music’s first Super Bowl halftime show will take place Feb. 12, 2023 in Arizona, with performers still to be announced. This past year’s show featured Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige perform. Previous shows have seen some of the biggest names in music perform, from Beyonce and Prince to Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez. In fact, the show has become a much bi...
Streaming Is Growing — Just Not Like It Used To: 5 Takeaways From the RIAA Mid-Year Report
The music subscription market, the driving force behind the U.S. recorded music industry’s six-year growth streak, posted another gain in the first half of 2022, according to RIAA midyear figures released Wednesday (Sept. 21). But revenue from paid services such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music have slowed from earlier break-neck paces. After rising at double-digit growth rates in recent years, subscription revenue grew by only 9.4% in the first half of 2022, down from 11.3% at the mid-point of 2021 and 13.7% at the mid-point of 2020. The $387.6 million increase, to $4.5 billion, was less than half of the $823.5 million reported a year earlier, a period in which streaming services surged during the early pandemic’s lock-down periods and strict restrictions. Still, subscription rev...
As Music Stocks Keep Slipping, This One K-Pop Company Is Bucking the Trend
South Korean music company SM Entertainment, home to such groups as NCT 127 and SuperM, stands apart in a competitive music business for withstanding stock market downturns that have hit all other publicly-traded music companies. Since December, stocks have been on a downward trend, sparked by the Federal Reserve’s intention to raise the federal funds rate to prevent the economy from overheating and rein in inflation. And while music is often said to be recession-proof, music companies’ stocks are not immune from larger economic trends and investors’ desires for safer options during chaotic times. Even though the global music industry is posting double-digit revenue growth, the share prices of publicly traded music companies have followed the broader trends and stumbled in the face ...
Believe Is ‘Maintaining All Its Operations’ in Russia — And Some Claim ‘Aggressively’ Growing Market Share
LONDON — Six months after Believe announced it had “suspended activities” in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the French music company now says it is “maintaining all its operations” in the isolated nation. At best, that means recruiting staff to fill vacated roles and making multi-million dollar deals to renew contracts with label partners. At worst, sources say, Believe is taking advantage of the moment, “aggressively” signing Russian record labels and artists to gain market share in the region while major labels have committed to cease all new business there. In one Aug. 30 email reviewed by Billboard, a senior Believe executive in Russia offered a Russian record label 3 million euros ($3 million) for rights to its catalog and future releases. The email, which was wri...
Executive Turntable: iHeartRadio Appoints New Product Chief; Warner Names Legal Head for Catalog
iHeartMedia named Uta Knablein chief product officer at iHeartRadio; she was previously executive vp of iHeartRadio’s flagship products and user experience. Knablein succeeds Chris Williams in the role and will report to iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group CEO Conal Byrne. Tracie Parry was named senior vp, head of business & legal affairs at Warner Recorded Music‘s global catalog division; she was previously senior vp/head of U.S. legal shared services for Warner Music Group’s Center of Excellence. Based in Nashville, Parry will continue much of her previous oversight in the shared services role, with those responsibilities now shifting to the global catalog team. She will additionally bring several members of her current legal team to the global catalog team, including vp of legal affairs...
Def Jam Names Mike Hamilton SVP of Streaming & Commerce
Def Jam has named Mike Hamilton as its new senior vp of streaming and commerce, the label announced Thursday (Sept. 15). The music executive, who was named a 2021 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Player, has helped guide the streaming success of artists like Giveon, Future, DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, 21 Savage and Cardi B. “Mike boasts some of the best relationships in the industry, and brings a deep, nuanced understanding of the streaming ecosystem and a keen eye for strategy,” said Tunji Balogun, Def Jam chairman and CEO. “Our company and our artists will immediately benefit from Mike’s experience and expertise, and I’m beyond excited to finally work alongside him in breaking new artists together under the Def Jam banner.” Prior to his new role, Hamilton served for three years as senio...
Utopia Music Buys Leading UK Physical Distributor Cinram Novum
LONDON — Swiss-based tech company Utopia Music is making further inroads into the record business with the acquisition of U.K. physical distributor Cinram Novum, which provides warehouse, fulfillment and distribution services to a number of labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and PIAS. Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which was done through Utopia’s U.K. subsidiary Utopia Distribution Services Limited. The acquisition marks a significant expansion of the company’s fast-growing music distribution business. In January, Utopia acquired Proper Music Group, the U.K.’s leading independent physical music distributor, which provides distribution services for 1,000-plus indie labels and service companies and counts Rough Trade, HMV and supermarkets Tesco, Mo...
The Ledger: How Do Music Executives’ Pay Compare to Other Entertainment Leaders?
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. Music industry executives at publicly traded companies are paid well – but they’re not the only ones. As Billboard reported in the inaugural Money Makers list of music’s highest-paid executives and stockholders at publicly traded companies, 10 business leaders earned nearly or more than $9 million in 2021. Of those, most of their compensation came from stock awards and stock options, not base salary or performance bonuses. For example, only 5% of SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz’s $32.6 million total compensation came from a guaranteed salary. As is common practice among publicly traded corporations, SiriusXM tied most of Wit...
