business
Britney Spears’ Lawyer Says Jamie Spears Shared Pop Star’s Private Medical Information
Britney Spears‘ father and his lawyers should be sanctioned and found in contempt of court for disclosing confidential medical information on his daughter that was under seal, the pop star’s lawyer said Wednesday (Oct. 26) at a hearing that ended with no decision on the issue. “They’re trying to embarrass Britney Spears and bully Britney Spears, while trying to vindicate Jamie Spears,” said attorney Mathew Rosengart. The sealed exhibits were included in a motion from Jamie Spears filed in July to compel the deposition of his daughter, which was denied. After the filing was submitted, Rosengart was forced to move to seal the motion to compel. Alex Weingarten, representing Jamie Spears, challenged the sealing. “Why did he oppose the sealing motion?” Rosengart asked. He urged L.A. Superior Co...
Inaugural Black Music Summit Headed to Ibiza in Summer 2023
The inaugural Black Music Summit (BMS) is coming to the island of Ibiza in summer 2023. Founded by WME agent Jordan Hallpike and Kenny Eshinlokun, founder of creative agency Taboo, the event is described as a “social enterprise invested in the global development and celebration of Black music talent” on both the creative and executive fronts. In a release announcing the forthcoming event, Eshinlokun further explains that the summit’s goal is “to give the next generation a chance to have more opportunities and a better experience in the music industry than many Black people have had to date. The BMS will offer Black musicians, creators and music industry professionals the opportunity to be seen and heard and, hopefully, reduce the amount of future discriminative challenges many Black people...
Apple Music’s Price Hike Boosts Music Stocks
Universal Music Group, Hipgnosis Songs Fund and other music stocks got a much-needed boost on Tuesday (Oct. 25) following news of Apple Music’s price hike, as investors bet it would trigger a wave of streaming subscription cost increases. Universal Music Group’s stock closed 11.6% higher, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd ended up 7.8% and Korean music companies SM Entertainment and HYBE finished the trading day 4.8% and 4.4% higher, respectfully, on Tuesday. On Monday, Apple announced that it was raising the standard U.S. and U.K. individual plan price to $10.99 from $9.99. This 10% price hike — Apple’s first — comes amid high inflation and a darkening economic environment in many global markets. If Apple can raise prices at a time like this, that is a sign the music industry can charge more ...
Disgraced Fyre Festival Founder Billy McFarland Is Back With a New Post-Prison Venture
Billy McFarland, convicted felon and founder of the infamous 2017 Fyre Festival, is back with a new venture. In a video released Monday (Oct. 24) to TikTok and YouTube Shorts, the disgraced entrepreneur — who was released from prison in March after serving four years behind bars — notes he’s “working on something new” that’s “a little crazier but a whole lot bigger than anything I’ve ever tried before.” He then flips a whiteboard to reveal a treasure map taped to the other side and says he’ll reveal the full scope of his plans in November. “This time, everybody’s invited,” he adds, before ripping the treasure map from the whiteboard to reveal a phone number. Calling the number from a cell phone causes a text message reading “Welcome to the Treasure Hunt” to be automatically delivered to th...
Spotify Launches ‘Your Wrapped Soundcheck’ For Artists to Connect With Top Fans
This year, Spotify is making the streamer’s annual year-end Wrapped campaign more artist-friendly. Called Your Wrapped Soundcheck, the new feature, available via Spotify for Artists, will allow artists to upload videos thanking their biggest fans for a great year on Spotify, list their latest merch and ensure tickets for their upcoming shows are available on the platform. These videos and offers will then be promoted to top fans as a part of their Wrapped experience. By uploading short, video messages of 30 seconds or less to their Spotify for Artists profiles, artists can let fans know what their support meant to them over the past year, tease what they’re working on next and/or tell a story that defined their year. Artists are encouraged to list merch on Shopify (the e-commerce gian...
The Ledger: What to Expect From Next Week’s Q3 2022 Earnings Calls
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 companies face a multitude of pressures as 2022 comes to an end: crippling inflation, a tight labor market, a chaotic environment for breaking new artists, interest rates that are dampening catalog valuations, and high costs of touring amidst a crush of artists on the road, among other challenges. The upcoming slate of corporate earnings provides an opportunity to hear about these opportunities and challenges from leaders of publicly traded music companies who rarely go on the record. Spotify reports third-quarter earnings after the close of trading on Tuesday (Oct. 25). Universal Music Group and Deez...
How Doja Cat’s ‘Vegas’ Transcended ‘Elvis’ to Become Her Latest Pop Radio Hit
The past two years have been a whirlwind of success for Doja Cat, who emerged from TikTok virality to become one of radio’s most beloved artists of the young decade so far. And she’s been on the type of hot streak that has her in rarefied territory: With five top five hits on Pop Airplay off her latest album, the RCA-released Planet Her, her album became just the seventh to ever accomplish that feat, a mark she set over the course of an entire calendar year — an impressive achievement in an era when attention spans are short and longevity is fleeting. This week, Doja Cat adds to her run of success as her latest single “Vegas,” off the Elvis soundtrack (also out on RCA), became her sixth No. 1 single at Pop Airplay — replacing her collaboration with Post Malone, “I Like You (A Happier Song)...
Taylor Swift Is Selling Over 20 Versions of ‘Midnights’ in Different Styles and Formats
For over a decade, Taylor Swift has been offering fans a multitude of options when it comes to purchasing her albums across physical formats with exclusive editions available through a longstanding partnership with Target. But with her new album, Midnights, out Friday (Oct. 20), she’s truly outdone herself. There are over 20 different versions of the album available on CD, LP and cassette in various colors, with different cover artwork, censored and uncensored, with and without autographs. That plethora of options is great for fans who may want a different version than their friends, or who — as many seem to — feel driven to collect them all. It’s also great for Swift, who’s earning more money from increased sales that will impact her performance on the Billboard charts and likely add up t...
Publishing Briefs: Songclip Partners With Hipgnosis; Sony Finds Lostboy
Songclip has announced a partnership with Hipgnosis. Known as the “world’s only patented music clip company,” Songclip helps the music industry get clips of songs uploaded and properly licensed for apps like TikTok. The deal will allow Songclips to work with 100,000 new songs administered by Hipgnosis. This news arrives months after the 2022 NMPA Annual Meeting in which its CEO and president, David Israelite, announced that the organization will be partnering with Songclip to help remedy the issue of unlicensed music on emerging apps. To date, Songclip also has deals in place WMG, UMG, BMG, Kobalt and more. Sony Music Publishing U.K. has signed producer and artist Lostboy to a global publishing deal. Known for his work with Tiesto and Ava Max’s “The Motto” as well as cuts with Bebe Rexha, ...
TikTok to Launch Songwriting Platform for Creators With Simon Cowell, UMG & Samsung
TikTok creators will soon be handed a fresh set of tools to soundtrack their videos and potentially make hit songs when a new in-app platform created by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment company, in partnership with Universal Music Group and Samsung, launches on the platform later this month. Called StemDrop, the initiative will provide TikTok’s more than 1 billion monthly users with access to music “stems” (the isolated components of a song, such as drum tracks or individual vocal parts) from an exclusive new track composed by hit songwriters Max Martin, Savan Kotecha and Ali Payami entitled “Red Lights,” which creators can then use to record and share their own versions. The project was conceived by British music mogul Cowell and entertainment executive Tim Van Rongen in pa...
Stefflon Don Inks New Global Recording Partnership With BMG
MOBO Award-winning artist Stefflon Don has entered into a global recording partnership with BMG, Billboard has learned exclusively. The Jamaica-via-London MC will release her debut studio album, Island 54, in 2023. Among the forthcoming album’s tracks will be “Clockwork” featuring dancehall superstar Spice. The single was produced by Grammy-winning Beam (Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Pop Smoke), while its accompanying video counts five million views on YouTube. In a statement announcing her new partnership, Stefflon Don said, “I’m excited about partnering with BMG because they trust my creativity. They have an amazing support team across the globe, and I am super excited to expand my fan base alongside my new family BMG.” Tim Reid, BMG’s senior vp of repertoire & marketing, stated, “Ste...
Iggy Pop Signs With Atlantic & Andrew Watt’s Gold Tooth Records for Next Album Release
Punk icon Iggy Pop has signed with Atlantic Records, in partnership with producer Andrew Watt‘s Gold Tooth Records, for the release of his next album, the companies tell Billboard. “I’m the guy with no shirt who rocks,” said Pop in statement. “Andrew and Gold Tooth get that, and we made a record together the old-fashioned way. The players are guys I’ve known since they were kids and the music will beat the s— out of you. Have a great day.” The first release from Pop’s forthcoming album, debut single “Frenzy,” is slated to drop on Oct. 28. The album is Pop’s first since 2019’s Free, released by Caroline International/Loma Vista. “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Andrew and Gold Tooth into the Atlantic family,” said Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman. “As a brilliant producer...
