business
Inside Track: Warner Music Group Closes In on Robert Kyncl as Next CEO
Former YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl is in serious talks to succeed outgoing Warner Music Group CEO Stephen Cooper, and sources familiar with the situation say his tech background has made him the frontrunner in the music group’s search for a new leader. One source says WMG has yet to make a final decision but adds it’s possible a deal could be reached within the next few weeks Talks are said to be progressing, and there’s a sense that Kyncl the frontrunner given his background and the desire for someone who is very plugged in to the business side of the tech world, says another insider. Other candidates remain in the running, says the source — SiriusXM president/chief content officer Scott Greenstein, Warner board member and Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc and former Pandora CEO Roger ...
R&B Group WanMor Signs With Mary J Blige’s Beautiful Life Productions
R&B quartet WanMor announced on Monday (Sept. 19) their new deal under Mary J Blige’s Beautiful Life Productions and 300 Entertainment. “There’s been so much conversation about the state of R&B and the next generation of R&B artists,” says Mary J. Blige. “This generation has been giving us great R&B, and that feeling, that soul, and that sound remains in our DNA. When we heard WanMor sing, we knew we could stop looking. They are IT! Supporting and cultivating true R&B talent is why I started Beautiful Life Productions, and I couldn’t be more proud to do this with these young men.” “WanMor is what we have been missing in music. There’s no one out like them,” says Kevin Liles, chairman & CEO of 300 Entertainment and Elektra Music Group. “It all comes down to their voi...
European Central Bank chooses Amazon and 4 other firms to prototype digital euro app
The European Central Bank, or ECB, has announced it will be collaborating with five companies for the development of potential digital euro user interfaces. In a Friday announcement, the ECB said it had chosen “Big Four” tech company Amazon, fintech firm Nexi, Spanish digital bank CaixaBank, French payments platform Worldline and the European Payments Initiative, or EPI, to each focus on developing a prototype based on specific use cases of the digital euro. According to the central bank, the firms will create front-end prototypes, which will not be used in later phases of the digital currency project. Source: ECB The ECB chose the five companies based on their fulfilling “specific capabilities” when compared to 50 other front-end developers that responded to the central bank’s...
Tiktok Owner ByteDance Offers to Buy Back $3B in Outstanding Shares
TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. could spend as much as $3 billion to buy back shares from investors after the company scrapped its plans to go public this year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a memo sent to ByteDance investors. The China-based company offered to repurchase investors’ existing shares for up to $176.94 per share, a move that would value ByteDance at close to $300 billion, much higher than previously reported, according to the WSJ. While the company did not provide a reason for the share repurchase in its memo, the move would provide liquidity to some of its long-term shareholders, offering some recompense for the scrapped IPO plans, the WSJ reported. ByteDance indefinitely shelved plans for an initial public offering in the U.S. or Hong Kon...
The Ledger: Spotify Beats SXM Media to Top Podcast Network Rankings
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. With the help of ratings juggernaut Joe Rogan, Spotify topped SXM Media — just barely — in Edison Research’s Q2 2022 podcast network rankings, covering April 1 to June 30, after taking the runner-up position the previous two quarters. The streaming company has made Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, a cornerstone in its efforts to expand the audio platform beyond its music roots. If Rogan’s role was to help make Spotify a podcast leader, he accomplished his mission. “Rogan is not the only reason they’re no. 1, but he’s the main reason,” says Edison Research president Larry Rosin. For all the c...
Concord’s HitCo Acquisition Includes Catalog & New Releases, Not Brand
Concord has officially confirmed its acquisition of what it calls “certain assets” of Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Charles Goldstuck‘s HitCo Entertainment, “including (with limited exclusions) its entire sound recording catalog and certain recent releases.” The deal is also expected to include some upcoming tracks from top HitCo acts Saint JHN and Rubi Rose, sources say. Additionally, sources tell Billboard the ongoing transition does not include the purchase of the HitCo brand or the label, though Concord is working with a handful of HitCo staffers during the changeover and may continue to work with some after that is completed. Reid and Goldstuck will not have ongoing involvement, however, sources confirm. The deal, which is worth an undisclosed amount, was first reported in August by Variety...
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...
Cinq Sues Create Music Group for ‘Falsely Claiming’ Copyright Infringement
Record label and distributor Cinq Music Group sued Create Music Group on Monday, accusing the company of preventing it from monetizing Swell’s 2016 song “I’m Sorry” on YouTube. Cinq’s complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, asks for “no less than $200,000” in damages, claiming intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic relations, and negligent interference with prospective economic relations. Billboard previously reported that more than 10 sources — including artist managers, lawyers and executives at other royalty collection companies — said they know of times when Create has claimed YouTube publishing royalties it has no right to receive. Create vehemently denied the allegations. Cinq’s lawsuit, in contrast, invol...
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 Legal Beat: Miley Sued Over Instagram Post – Plus Taylor Swift, Eminem & More
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings, and all the fun stuff in between. This week: Miley Cyrus becomes the latest celebrity sued over an Instagram image of themselves, Taylor Swift faces a setback in the “Shake It Off” copyright case, Spotify and Kobalt spar over Eminem’s music, and much more. THE BIG STORY: Miley Cyrus Sued For Posting … Herself? Another week, another lawsuit against a music star who posted an Instagram photo of themselves. Three months after Dua Lipa was sued for copyright infringement for allegedly posting a paparazzi photo of herself, the exact same photographer sued Miley Cyrus for allegedly doing the same thing. As with Lipa, Robert Barbera says Cyrus’s ...
Can YouTube Catch Spotify to Become Music’s Top Royalty Stream?
Spotify is the king of music streaming — but its lead is dwindling. YouTube generated over $6 billion to the music industry in the 12 months ended June 2022, the company announced Tuesday (Sept. 13). That was a 50% increase from the last figure YouTube reported, $4 billion over a 12-month period, in June 2020. Reaching the $6 billion milestone raises the question of when — if at all — YouTube might surpass Spotify in terms of value to rights holders and creators. “We want our twin engine of ads and subscriptions to be the #1 contributor of revenue to the industry by 2025,” wrote Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, in a blog post on Tuesday. That won’t be easy, but it isn’t impossible. Consider how fast YouTube has grown since Cohen joined the company from Warner Music Group (where ...
