Business news
With ‘Donda 2’ Stem Player Release, Kanye West Skips Streamers — And the Charts
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 — fo...
The Ledger: The Major’s $25B in Revenue in 2021 Is Just the Start
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...
Trending Up: Ed Sheeran Has Hits for All Radio Formats — Plus YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Yeat & More
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: As Ed Sheeran makes multiple radio plays, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Yeat score viral hip-hop hits, and newcomer Maddy Zahm launches an emotional new trend. Ed Sheeran = Radio Ubiquity Although Equals (=), Ed Sheeran’s fourth solo album released last October, hasn’t risen to the level of chart-topping single success that 2017’s ÷ did (two No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Shape Of You” and “Perfect”), the project’s past six months have stil...
HYBE Revenue Jumps 58% to $1.1B in 2021 Following Ithaca Acquisition
HYBE, the home of BTS, blew past US $1 billion in revenue for the first time in 2021 thanks to the South Korean entertainment company’s acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, HYBE posted revenue of $1.06 billion, up by 58% from 2020 and 114% greater than 2019. At the same time, operating profit lifted to $158 million, up 30.8% from the prior-year period. Ithaca Holdings helped HYBE’s album sales grow about 110% in 2021. Sales of HYBE’s Korean artists grew 18% to 15.1 million (in South Korea only). Ithaca Holdings contributed 7.5 million album equivalent units by SB Projects artists, mostly from Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, and another 4.8 million album equivalent units from Big Machine (HYBE’s earnings release gave U.S. sales only...
T.I.’s Grand Hustle Films Partners With HBCU for Film & Mentorship Project
Students at Marshall, Texas HBCU Wiley College will have the opportunity to assist in producing a film alongside Tip “T.I.” Harris’ Grand Hustle Films, it was announced Tuesday (Mar. 1). The film will be bankrolled with funds awarded by The Propel Center, a recently-established HBCU technology and learning hub that provided a $300,000 grant for the project. Last Wednesday (Feb. 23), students selected to participate in the project — which is designed to help increase representation in the entertainment industry — joined T.I., the founder of Grand Hustle Records, for a virtual lunch to announce and celebrate the partnership. “I know that there is just as much of a need to cultivate and support the young creatives in our communities as there is for the young scholars and the educators. This i...
Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre Announces Crystal Longo as General Manager
Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre has announced Crystal Longo as general manager for the 93-year-old building. Longo first served as deputy general manager for the theater in January 2020 before leaving due to the pandemic. Upon her return, Longo was asked to helm the venue that underwent a $95 million renovation between 2010 and 2015. Longo started her career in live music as a bartender at New York’s iconic Webster Hall while in college. The New York native then made her way to Hammerstein Ballroom where she worked her way up from operations and concessions to booking and venue management before joining The Bowery Presents as director of operations. While with Bowery, Longo led the team at Times Square’s PlayStation Theater and worked on the renovation and reopening of Webster Hall in April 2019....
UMG Teams With Tribeca Enterprises for Music-Driven Event Series
Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB) is partnering with Tribeca Enterprises for a series of music-driven events to take place throughout 2022, it was announced Tuesday (Mar. 1). The forthcoming series will include six exclusive events based around new film, TV and podcast projects from UMG’s Mercury Studios, Polygram Entertainment and UMG record labels. It kicks off with the world premiere of Mercury Studios’ feature documentary Mixtape, slated for Thursday, Apr. 7 at the United Palace theater in New York City. Presented by Rémy Martin, the premiere will feature a live performance from Jadakiss. Co-produced by Saboteur Media in association with Def Jam Recordings, Mixtape is directed by Omar Acosta and will feature music icons including Funkmaster Flex, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne and “mixtape k...
YouTube Pauses Monetization for Russian Media Channels Following Sanctions
YouTube is pausing Russian affiliated channels’ ability to monetize on the video platform, the company announced on Saturday (Feb. 26). In a statement, YouTube announced it would be suspending several channels’ ability to collect ad revenue, including the state-funded media outlet RT. The move comes just days after Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine on Thursday. “In light of extraordinary circumstances in Ukraine … we’re pausing a number of channels’ ability to monetize on YouTube, including several Russian channels affiliated with recent sanctions,” YouTube said in the statement obtained by Reuters. Additionally, videos from the blocked channels will appear less often in recommendations. Following a request from the Ukrainian government, RT and the other channels that have had their ad r...
Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Lil Baby & Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Acquire ‘True Classic’ Lifestyle Brand Mitchell & Ness
Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Maverick Carter, Fanatics, the D’Amelio family and more have officially acquired iconic lifestyle brand Mitchell & Ness from former owner Juggernaut Capital Partners. The announcement came early Friday (Feb. 18). “Fashion is cyclical, but classics are forever,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “Mitchell & Ness is a true classic. I was an early adopter of this brand, as well as a part of a departure from athletic wear. I’m proud to play a small role in bringing it back, and in some cases, introducing the authenticity and quality of the Mitchell & Ness brand to a new generation.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Founded in 1904, Mitchell & Ness remains a go-to shopping hub for nostalgic sports jerseys, license...
US Trade Rep Identifies 7 Online Platforms as Significant Threats to Music Creators
A U.S. government report highlighted the ongoing challenges that piracy poses to creators around the world, including from seven online platforms that pose significant threats in the music realm. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in its 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy released Thursday (Feb. 17), identified 42 online markets and 25 physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate significant trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. The 2021 findings reflect a slight improvement over the 2020 report, which identified eight online threats to music creators. Last year’s list includes all the same sites listed this year in addition to Russian social media site VK. While VK is still listed in the 2021 report for its popularity in the...
Don’t Call It a Comeback (Yet): How 2022 Could Determine the CD’s Fate
Two years ago, the long-running New England comic book and music retail chain Newbury Comics made an unexpected change: They created more space for CDs. “It was right before the pandemic started, after the 2019 holidays,” Newbury Comics senior buyer Larry Mansdorf tells Billboard on the decision to increase their in-store square footage dedicated to CD space. At that point, U.S. CD sales were steadily plummeting — as they had been for a decade and a half — but Mansdorf saw clear evidence of growing interest in compact discs. “We reacted to the previous 18 months’ worth of sales data to see what people were responding to,” says Mansdorf. Newbury began a process of increasing their CD inventory by 13% across their 30 locations, making sure stores that were primarily selling vinyl records fea...
Splice Staffer Christina Lee Remembered After New York Murder: ‘Our Hearts Are Broken’
Christina Yuna Lee, a senior creative producer at Splice, was found dead in her Lower Manhattan apartment on Sunday after she was fatally stabbed by a stranger who followed her from the street, up six flights of stairs and into her home. As news spread of the horrific event, friends and co-workers took to social media to remember the 35-year-old. “Over the weekend out beloved Christina Lee was senselessly murdered in her home. Our hearts are broken,” said Splice in a company statement, posted to its social media channels. “Always dedicated to making beautiful and inclusive artwork, Christina is irreplaceable. As we start to process this tragedy, we ask that you remember Christina Lee as the magical person she was, always filled with joy. We wish peace upon her family in their grief.” A gra...
