business
Did Taylor Swift Really Have a Choice to Work With Ticketmaster?
Maybe Live Nation chairman Greg Maffei’s statement that Taylor Swift and promoter AEG “chose” to work with Ticketmaster for her calamitous onsale earlier this week should have come with an asterisk. On Thursday (Nov. 17), Maffei attempted to correct criticisms about Ticketmaster and its owner Live Nation operating as a monopoly by pointing out that Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour “is not actually a Live Nation promoted concert” but rather “promoted by one of our largest competitors.” Maffei — who is also the president of Live Nation’s largest shareholder Liberty Media — continued: “AEG who is the promoter for Taylor Swift, chose to use us because, in reality, we are the largest and most effective ticket seller in the world. Even our competitors want to come on our platform.” The...
Sony Music Africa to Offer Record Deals to Afrochella Contest Winners
Unsigned and emerging artists in Africa will soon be able to compete for global distribution deals and record contracts with Sony Music Africa through a new collaboration between the major label and the companies behind the Afrochella Festival in Ghana. Afrochella’s parent company, Culture Management Group, and media streaming service Audiomack, are teaming up with Sony Music Africa to expand the “Rising Star Stage” competition, which previously entitled winners to a chance to perform onstage at the festival. With Sony’s involvement, up to 10 prize winners chosen from a short list of 25 will be signed to distribution deals with Sony Music Africa, which will take their music out to the world, Sony says in a press release. The Grand Prize winner will secure an exclusive recording ...
Judge Says Slacker Must Pay $10M Unpaid Royalties, Despite Warning Of ‘Devastating’ Impact
A federal judge says he won’t undo his ruling that Slacker owes nearly $10 million in unpaid music royalties to SoundExchange, seemingly unmoved by the streamer’s warning that the ruling will have a “devastating” impact on the company’s finances. SoundExchange claims Slacker’s parent LiveOne has failed to pay royalties for years, and last month won a ruling requiring the streamer to hand over $9,765,396. Slacker said last month that the huge judgment could trigger financial ruin for the company – a warning SoundExchange urged the court to disregard. In a decision issued Wednesday, Judge André Birotte Jr. did exactly that. He ruled that the seven-figure judgment was simply the result of an agreement that Slacker itself had signed – and noted that the streamer was not actually legally disput...
Royal Launches Marketplace to Buy and Sell Music Rights
Imagine a platform where fans can buy and sell streaming rights from the music they love, as easily as buying a stock on an investing site like Robinhood. This is the vision of Web3 music platform Royal, which today announces a music rights marketplace. Founded by DJ and producer Justin Blau, Royal launched in January 2022 with high-profile NFT drops from Nas, Diplo and The Chainsmokers. The platform allows fans and investors to earn a percentage of streaming royalties alongside the artists. Thus far, the platform says it has paid out $100,000 to holders. After proving the concept works, Blau says Royal is growing into its bigger vision. “The drops were very much a beta,” he tells Billboard. “We needed to show that you could actually pay out royalties in an efficient manner on chain … The ...
Megan Moroney Inks Deal With Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records
Singer-songwriter Megan Moroney has inked a label deal with Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Records. During her opening performance slot for Warren Zeiders: The Up to No Good Tour on Wednesday evening (Nov. 16) at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, Moroney announced her label signing, and also told the audience that her song “Tennessee Orange” will be sent to country radio. According to Moroney’s manager, Punch Bowl Entertainment’s Juli Griffith, Moroney and her team were in talks with 18 record labels before signing with Sony Music Nashville and the NYC-based Columbia. “We picked this combination because they understand exactly who Megan is and what she has already created,” Griffith tells Billboard. “Their plan is to come in and enhance what we are already doing under her creative vi...
Sheltered Music Publishing Acquires Interest in Nashville Songwriting Legend Dennis Linde’s Catalog
Sheltered Music Publishing has acquired a significant interest in the music catalog of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame writer Dennis Linde. The agreement covers Linde-written songs including “Burning Love,” “Goodbye Earl” and “Callin’ Baton Rouge.” Known for his quirky writing style and vivid character portraits, Linde also wrote what would become Elvis Presley‘s last Billboard Hot 100 top 5 hit, 1972’s “Burning Love,” as well as other songs recorded by Presley. He also wrote “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” which was first recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys and later by New Grass Revival, before becoming a signature recording from Garth Brooks in 1993. Linde also penned the (then-Dixie) Chicks‘ 1999 hit “Goodbye Earl,” Sammy Kershaw’s “Queen of my Double Wide Trailer,” Joe Diffie‘s “John Deere Green...
TikTok Has Gen Z Hooked — Can Its Streaming Service Get Them to Pay for Music?
Ask music business executives to characterize their relationship with TikTok and the response is typically a variation of, “It’s complicated,” as one major-label executive puts it. As the short-form video streaming platform continues to dominate pop culture — last September, it claimed 1 billion monthly active users globally, a figure that has surely ballooned in the 13 months since — it has continued to draw the ire of the music industry for its low payouts to rights holders, even as labels, managers and publishers increasingly rely on the platform to market singles and break artists. But as TikTok’s parent company ByteDance explores an expansion of its fledgling music streaming service Resso — currently only available in India, Indonesia and Brazil — into new territories, another respons...
What’s It Like Using TikTok’s Music-Streaming App?
After swiftly taking over social media in a matter of years, TikTok has its sights set on music streaming, too. In 2020, the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance, officially debuted a music-streaming app, Resso, in three countries — Brazil, India and Indonesia — with ambitions to soon expand into new territories, likely under a brand name associated with its most famous product. This past spring, the company registered the handles @TikTokMusic on both Twitter and Instagram; in May, it filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a service under that name. And in October, The Wall Street Journal reported, and Billboard has confirmed, that ByteDance is in conversations with all the major music rights holders to launch its music streaming service in additional coun...
Jimmy Fallon Calls on Elon Musk to Help Take Down #RIPJimmyFallon on Twitter
Jimmy Fallon is not dead, and Jimmy Fallon wants people to know that. A scurrilous hashtag, #RIPJimmyFallon, has been trending on Twitter Tuesday night (Nov. 15) and The Tonight Show host has had enough, calling on the company’s CEO Elon Musk personally to take down the hashtag. Earlier on Tuesday, the more mischief-making element on Twitter launched #RIPJimmyFallon, with users posting the hashtag often with a picture of someone other than Fallon. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Twitter users, particularly those abroad, who weren’t in on the supposed joke were shocked and confused. One Korean user tweeted, “This came up as a hashtag, so I was taken aback. Really. Oh, it’s funny. Because Melon Musk fired all the people in the information...
Dua Lipa’s Lawyers Blast ‘Levitating’ Copyright Lawsuit: ‘Devoid of a Shred of Factual Detail’
Attorneys for Dua Lipa are asking a federal judge to quickly toss out a lawsuit claiming she stole her smash hit song “Levitating” from a little-known reggae track, calling the allegations “speculative,” “vague” and supported by little real evidence. Members of the Florida band Artikal Sound System sued Lipa earlier this year, claiming her 2020 smash hit – which spent 77 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – borrowed its core hook from their 2017 song “Live Your Life.” But in a motion to dismiss the case filed Monday (Nov. 14), Lipa’s lawyers said there was no sign that anyone involved in creating “Levitating” ever even had access to the earlier song – a key requirement in any copyright lawsuit. Artikal Sound System’s attempts to show such a connection, they said, were “tortured.” “They a...
Crypto casino Winz.io unveils Sportsbook for global sports
Winz.io Sports will offer bonuses to both new and existing customers to celebrate the launch of the sportsbook. The risk-free bet and 100% bonus will not have any wagering requirements, a popular feature at Winz.io Casino Winz.io, a crypto-friendly casino supporting all the major digital assets, has announced its new sportsbook offering that will cover the world’s most popular sports. The Winz.io casino, founded in 2020, seeks to expand its presence within the gambling industry, and sports betting offers one of the fastest growing avenues. According to the Winz.io team, this new wagering solution is timely for customers given the sector’s growth projection that puts it at over $83 billion in 2022. Deposit and bet using crypto The new Winz.io sportsbook will offer wagers access to more than...
Crypto casino Winz.io unveils Sportsbook for global sports
Winz.io Sports will offer bonuses to both new and existing customers to celebrate the launch of the sportsbook. The risk-free bet and 100% bonus will not have any wagering requirements, a popular feature at Winz.io Casino Winz.io, a crypto-friendly casino supporting all the major digital assets, has announced its new sportsbook offering that will cover the world’s most popular sports. The Winz.io casino, founded in 2020, seeks to expand its presence within the gambling industry, and sports betting offers one of the fastest growing avenues. According to the Winz.io team, this new wagering solution is timely for customers given the sector’s growth projection that puts it at over $83 billion in 2022. Deposit and bet using crypto The new Winz.io sportsbook will offer wagers access to more than...
