business
Universal Music Launches Media Platform to Better Connect Artists With Brands
Universal Music Group for Brands (UMGB) has launched an advanced media and data platform designed to more easily connect brands with exclusive UMG artist content, the company announced Wednesday (June 22). Called the UMusic Media Network, the platform will give brands access to UMG’s inventory of music video content spanning all leading social platforms as well as UMG data and insights, allowing them to hyper-target audiences at scale. Content offered through the network will include official music videos, songs and lyrics videos, artist vlogs and lifestyle content from UMG-owned platforms including Rebel Labs, Mercury Studios and Polygram Entertainment. The network will also offer branded content and partnership opportunities across all of UMG’s labels and artists. UMGB claims to boast te...
SiriusXM’s Senior Director, Country Programming JR Schumann to Exit
JR Schumann, senior director of country programming at SiriusXM, will exit his role July 15, the company has announced. SiriusXM’s vp, programming, Darrin Smith, will then oversee those channels on an interim basis. “After almost seven years, I’ve decided to leave SiriusXM and pursue other opportunities and adventures,” Schumann said in a statement. “I’m beyond proud of everything my team and I have accomplished and wish everyone at SiriusXM nothing but continued success.” Schumann joined SiriusXM in December 2015, and his role included overseeing SiriusXM’s country and Christian programming, as well as the Elvis Radio channel. Prior to his role at SiriusXM, Schumann served as operations manager for Cumulus Media’s Dallas stations, as well as program director duties for country stations KS...
Warner Music Group Forms 300 Elektra Entertainment Label Group Under Kevin Liles
The Warner Music Group has officially unveiled the final form of its new label group following its $400 million acquisition of 300 Entertainment last December. The new entity will be called 300 Elektra Entertainment — or 3EE for short — and will encompass 300, Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA Records, Public Consumption, YSL Records, distributor Sparta and the new film and content division 300 Studios, the company confirmed today (June 22). As has already been confirmed, 300 co-founder (and longtime Warner Music veteran) Kevin Liles will run the combined companies as chairman/CEO. Each of Elektra and 300 will remain “independent identities and cultures,” according to a press release, with Elektra headed by longtime co-presidents Gregg Nadel and Mike Easterlin an...
How a DAO for a bank or financial institution will look like
DAOs can provide several services for banks, including asset management, compliance and lending. Banks today are already using blockchain technology for things like payment, clearing and settlement, trade finance, identity and syndicated loans, according to The Financial Times. However, there are still many unexplored areas in banking where a DAO-based model might be useful: Fundraising In the crypto world, initial coin offerings (ICOs) are breaking down the barrier between access to capital and traditional services like capital-raising firms. Likewise, banks can use DAOs to raise capital from a wider pool of investors via ICOs. Loans and Credit Using decentralized technology in banking can eliminate the need for gatekeepers in the lending industry. DAOs provide more secure ways for people...
Peter Scaping, Former General Manager of BPI, Dies at 76
LONDON — Tributes have been paid to British music executive Peter Scaping, a widely admired figure in the U.K. record business and former general manager of labels trade body BPI, who has died at the age of 76. Scaping joined BPI in 1976 from Decca Records and held the post of BPI general manager — where he was responsible for day-to-day affairs — until 2000, by which time his job had grown to encompass director of development and research for the London-based organization. Having joined BPI at a time when the demand for industry statistics was fast growing, Scaping oversaw production of the first BPI Yearbook in 1976, providing detailed analysis of U.K. record sales and consumption trends of the period. The text became a vital reference tool for U.K. music execs and Scaping would oversee ...
Weekly Report: The latest on Panama’s crypto bill, Huobi to exit Thailand market, Circle launches a Euro-backed stablecoin, and more
Here are all the interesting headlines you missed outside the crypto market this week: Panama’s President vetoes crypto bill over money-laundering concerns Panama President Laurentino Cortizo on Thursday shot down a crypto bill introduced in September 2021 with a scope covering several cryptocurrencies, unlike El Salvador’s that major in Bitcoin. Cortizo partially vetoed the bill, citing non-compliance with the recent FAFT recommendation on fiscal transparency and prevention of money laundering. If the bill were to be approved, it would allow Panamanian natives to buy everyday goods and services using digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin among other crypto coins. The bill would also make digital assets mainstream for settling taxes or any fee owed by the state. Additionally,...
Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ Breaks Apple Music Dance Album Record for Most First-Day Streams
Drake gave just one day’s notice before his surprise new album, Honestly, Nevermind, hit streaming services Friday (June 17), and yet it’s already become Apple Music’s biggest dance album in history by breaking the platform’s record for first-day streams worldwide, according to a news release by the streaming service. What’s more impressive? It only took one hour to do so. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Honestly, Nevermind marks the 35-year-old rapper’s seventh studio album to date, featuring 14 total tracks and just one guest artist on “Jimmy Cooks,” the project’s final track which sees assistance from 21 Savage. The only warning he gave of the record’s arrival was a strikingly simple Instagram photo of the album’s psychedelic cover a...
How Post Malone Kept His Momentum Going With ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’
Last week, Post Malone returned with his first album in three years, Twelve Carat Toothache, which also marked his first album with newly relaunched Republic Records imprint Mercury Records. And this week, that album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 — his fourth straight top five album on the chart — and at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, maintaining a streak of No. 1s that dates back to his debut album, 2016’s Stoney. It’s a success for both Post and his label Mercury, which is run by his longtime A&R Tyler Arnold as president, as well as parent label Republic. And it’s another win for Republic’s executive vp of global commerce and digital strategy Kevin Lipson, who oversaw the rollout and the marketing moments that touched almost every aspect of physical and digit...
BTS Accounts for Nearly 1/3 of All U.S. K-Pop Sales & Streams: Their Domination, By the Numbers
BTS members’ decision to take time off for solo projects is bound to shake up K-pop music consumption in the U.S. because of the group’s dominance in the genre. And the band’s label, Big Hit Music — a division of HYBE, which Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records has distributed in the U.S. since last year — will have a tough time filling the hole. Since the beginning of 2021, BTS has accounted for 29.4% of sales and on-demand streams of K-pop music in the U.S., according to a Billboard analysis of Luminate data. Over that time, BTS did not release a new studio album but put out two “best of” collections — BTS, the Best in June 2021 and Proof on June 10, 2022. BTS also released multiple variations of the tracks “Butter” (including a remix with Megan Thee Stallion), “My Universe” and “Permi...
Dre & Vidal Sell Publishing Catalog to HarbourView
Alternative asset management company HarbourView Equity Partners announced Tuesday that it has acquired the publishing catalog of songwriting and production duo Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, better known as Dre & Vidal. Deal terms were not disclosed. Dre & Vidal have written songs and produced for major artists including Jamie Foxx, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Musiq Soulchild, Robin Thicke, Fantasia and Charlie Wilson. Some of their biggest Hot 100 hits include “Caught Up” by Usher, “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” by Chris Brown, “Oh” by Ciara, and “The Way” by Jill Scott. HarbourView, founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares, launched seven months ago and has acquired 30 catalogs so far. Most recently, the company purchased Latin superstar Luis Fonsi‘s catalog. DLA Piper served as legal c...
Dua Lipa’s Dad Moves Festival From Kosovo Following Political Dispute
An international music festival founded by the father of singer-songwriter Dua Lipa to promote his native Kosovo has led to recriminations for the small European country after it lost the event to neighboring Albania. The Sunny Hill Festival made its debut in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, in 2018 and took place again in 2019, bringing artists like Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix and Action Bronson to one of Europe’s youngest and poorest nations. British-born Dua Lipa also was a featured headliner. Dukagjin Lipa, the singer’s father and manager, said the festival brought Kosovo priceless publicity, including coverage in more than 500 international media outlets. The event was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and ...
NMPA Announces Legal Campaign Against Unlicensed Apps at Annual Meeting
The National Music Publishers’ Association is going after apps that skim music from digital services without getting the necessary licenses. On Wednesday (June 15), during the NMPA’s annual meeting in New York at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the trade group’s president and CEO David Israelite announced a new copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the music video-making app Vinkle. This was the first action in a new campaign to bring the app sector into line with U.S. Copyright law, Israelite said, which will also include cease-and-desist notices sent to about another almost 100 apps that the organization believes are not properly licensed. These apps may integrate music through licensed streaming services, but do not have their own licensing deals with rights holders. In a mo...
