business
Latin Music US Recorded Revenue Hits Record $886M in 2021: RIAA
Latin music continued its relentless expansion path in the U.S. last year, with recorded revenues reaching $886 million, according to a year-end report released by the RIAA Tuesday (April 12). That’s the highest figure ever for Latin music before adjusting for inflation and marks overall revenue growth of 35% compared to 2020 — far outpacing the 23% growth rate seen in the overall U.S. music market, as previously reported by the RIAA. “With growth of 35% – far surpassing the overall growth rate for recorded music revenues – Latin music is connecting with fans in a historic way,” said RIAA COO Michèle Ballantyne in a statement included in the report. The 2021 numbers mark the sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth in revenue for Latin music, which is defined as music recorded predom...
Sony Invests $1 Billion USD In Epic Games
Sony has just invested $1 billion USD in a new round of funding for Fortnite and Unreal Engine creator Epic Games. The Japanese tech and gaming giant is joined by LEGO Group owner KIRKBI, who has also injected $1 billion USD to bring the total up to $2 billion USD for the game developer. The announcement also comes shortly after LEGO announced its collaboration with Epic to create a kid-friendly metaverse based around the massively popular toy franchise. Despite the new investments, Epic will continue under its current CEO and found Tim Sweeney. “As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time” Sony’s CEO, president and chairman Kenichiro Yoshida said in a s...
Distribution, Marketing Company Intercept Music Launches With Method Man’s Support
Intercept Music, a global music marketing and distribution company that describes itself as a revolutionary technology platform, launched an expanded suite of services Tuesday (April 12). Founded by music and tech industry veterans, with hip-hop icon Method Man as a stakeholder, Intercept also claims partnerships with INgrooves, AMPED Distribution, What’s In Store Music, Rocket Songs and Nerve, a banking app for music creators — all of which fuel Intercept’s capabilities and services to its artist and label clients. Targeting indie labels and artists who own their recorded masters, whether they be established or DIY acts, Intercept says it provides a suite of tools that allow rights owners to monetize and market their music. The company charges a fee for clients while promising monthly rev...
IMPALA Launches First-Ever Carbon Calculator for Indie Music Sector
IMPALA, the association for independent music companies in Europe, has teamed with Julie’s Bicycle — an organization that mobilizes the arts to take action on the climate crisis — to launch the first bespoke carbon calculator for the independent music sector. Announced on Tuesday (April 12), the new carbon calculator will help IMPALA members accurately measure their ecological impact and achieve their climate goals. The calculator’s technology is based on Creative Green Tools, developed by Julie’s Bicycle and designed to meet the needs of independent record companies. The calculator is also equipped with a customized layout and help desk support to facilitate carbon accounting. IMPALA members can access the calculator online and also register to join an informative webinar, set for Ap...
Audacy Plans Nashville Presence With Upcoming Studio Space
Audacy is increasing its commitment to Nashville by opening a content studio in Music City, marking the Philadelphia-based radio and podcasting company’s first physical presence in town. To be located at 100 Broadway, in the three-story brick building in front of the Hard Rock Cafe (which the Hard Rock also owns), the roughly 800 square-foot studio should open by November’s CMA Awards, and further cements Audacy’s partnership with Hard Rock International. The second-floor space, which also contains an area for performances, will serve as the home for Audacy’s nationally syndicated country music radio show Katie & Company, hosted by Katie Neal, as well as other Audacy events (though larger events will be held in the Cafe’s own performance space). “I’m thrilled that we have a space in th...
Sony Invests $1B in Bandcamp and ‘Fortnite’ Owner Epic Games
Epic Games, the publisher of the popular video game Fortnite and creator of the Unreal Engine graphics software that is popular with Hollywood, has raised $2 billion in a new fundraising round from Sony Group Corp. and KIRKBI, the owner of the Lego toy and entertainment brand. Epic says it will use the cash infusion to work with its investors and “create new social entertainment exploring the connection between digital and physical worlds.” Yes, it’s about the metaverse. Sony and KIRKBI will each contribute $1 billion in the round, which values Epic at $31.5 billion. Epic last raised cash in May of last year at a $28.7 billion valuation. Sony was also part of that round. Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney remains the controlling shareholder of the company. “This investment will acc...
Weekly Report: Robinhood wallet goes live, Binance has both feet in Dubai and more
Here are the top headlines that you might have missed from the last week throughout to the weekend: Block, Blockstream and Tesla collaborate to achieve scaled Bitcoin mining using entirely renewable energy Abu Dhabi grants Binance in principal approval as a digital assets broker-dealer Robinhood’s crypto wallet is live but does not support NFTs and some cryptocurrencies, including Solana and Tether Pether Thiel terms Buffet, Dimon, and Fink as members of the “finance gerontocracy” holding back Bitcoin Coinbase has halted deposits via India’s UPI payment instrument Blockstream and Block launch a joint solar-powered Bitcoin mining initiative in Texas Blockstream co-founder Adam Beck on Friday announced during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami that his firm was launching a collaborative ve...
The Ledger: For Streamers, Does Catalog Size Matter?
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. If millions of songs are uploaded to streaming services yearly and no one listens, do they make a sound? Yes and no. Someone — but not many people — listens to most every track. But few tracks could be called popular by any definition. Spotify’s catalog grew from 70 million to 82 million tracks in 2021, according to the company’s last two annual reports. That works out to an average of 33,000 per day. Some of its competitors grew faster and further, according to figures in public reports and press releases. Apple Music shot up from 70 million in January 2021 to 90 million in November 2021. YouTube Music also took a big ...
60 Minutes feature on El Salvador’s Bitcoin Beach will air Sunday
60 Minutes, the CBS news show that has been running since 1968, will feature El Salvador’s Bitcoin Beach in a new episode airing April 10. According to a Friday post from 60 Minutes’ Twitter account, the investigative news show will air a segment on the crypto-friendly area of El Zonte, a village located in El Salvador, where residents and visitors have been able to use Bitcoin (BTC) to pay for anything from utility bills to tacos. Sharyn Alfonsi, a journalist and correspondent for the show, interviewed Mike Peterson, one of the people who funded the project and encouraged crypto adoption among residents. How did a town in El Salvador become known as Bitcoin Beach? Sunday, Sharyn Alfonsi meets with Mike Peterson who helped make it happen. pic.twitter.com/tHaHsTKFx1 — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes...
Marquetta Moore Joins Penske Media as Head of Talent Curation and Bookings
Marquetta Moore has joined Penske Media Corporation as head of talent curation and bookings across all PMC brands. Moore will initially focus on curating and programming artist talent for PMC’s inaugural LA3C music and culture festival, which is set for Dec. 10 and 11 at Los Angeles State Historic Park. She will also work with PMC brands to secure talent and lead programming for future events and live experiences. “Having the opportunity to curate the talent for LA3C in its launch year is a dream,” Moore said in a statement. “As a long time Angelino, I am passionate about highlighting the incredibly rich and diverse talent of the city and feel so inspired by the mission of the festival. I am also so thrilled to join PMC, working with such world-class and iconic brands.” Brooke Jaffe, ...
Justin Bieber’s Vocal Producer Sues Scooter Braun for Breach of Contract
Chris “Tek” O’Ryan, a music producer who specializes in tuning vocals so that they sound pristine on recordings and during performances, filed a lawsuit against Justin Bieber‘s manager Scooter Braun and the company JRC Entertainment on Thursday (April 7), alleging that Braun “reneged” on a deal to pay the producer for his work on Bieber’s tracks. O’Ryan claims that he was promised a point — 1% of the master recording revenue — on dozens of Bieber songs he helped produce starting in 2018. But in the filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, O’Ryan’s attorneys allege that Bieber’s representatives subsequently backed out of this agreement. As a result, the producer is suing Braun for breach of contract, promissory estoppel and intentional interference with contract. “Having now been effectively c...
Executive Turntable: 10K Names SVP of Biz Development; MRC Live Taps Creative EVPs
Sam Cohen was promoted to senior vp of business development at 10K Projects, where he’ll continue to work with the label’s roster while also looking to expand its partnerships with creators; he’ll additionally focus on the 10K Ventures initiative, which backs early-stage founders that integrate within the music ecosystem. He can be reached at sam@10kprojects.com. Stephen Hill and Rob Bagshaw were both appointed to the role of executive vp of creative at MRC Live & Alternative. Hill will lead creative on all existing tentpole shows (Academy of Country Music Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Streamy Awards) and select projects in development; Bagshaw will lead creative for new franchises, helping identify formats and shepherd projects from dev...
