business
For the Record: And the Winner Is… Grammycore!
For all the recent controversy surrounding the Grammy Awards, this year the Recording Academy managed to spotlight a significant creator with an urgent message for the American public. And did anyone say anything more urgent than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy? Not for lack of trying. “We’re here because music serves the world,” said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. in a pre-taped message, “and at the new Recording Academy” – the “new” emphasized with one of those thumb-points politicians do – “we serve music.” For the last half-decade, as the rise of streaming drove lighter, more pop-friendly sounds to the top of the charts, music fans have been griping about the menu the academy has been offering. They have boldly made the case that the Grammys often recognize yesterday’s ...
OTR to offer crypto payments option powered by Crypto.com
OTR will collaborate with payments processor DataMesh to roll out point of sale terminals for the new option The convenience store chain will accept crypto in 170 of its outlets Australian convenience store mammoth On The Run (OTR) has announced plans to offer customers an option to complete payments for goods and services using more than 30 cryptocurrencies. The initiative will be brought to life via a collaboration with Singapore-based crypto and digital asset exchange Crypto.com. The exchange will enable OTR to integrate the Pay Merchant layer that allows merchants to settle crypto transactions. With the service planned to become active starting in July, the chain will offer the option in 170 of its outlets across the states of South Australia and Victoria. Sydney-based payment services...
Monthly Report: Dubai attracts top cryptocurrency exchanges
Dubai recently made strides to regulate its crypto sector, and now everyone is moving there The EU parliament votes for a proposal that could affect privacy around digital asset transfers Ronin is working with authorities to track an attacker who got away with $625 million in crypto assets from the blockchain in March Ethereum is a step closer to the Merge Dubai woos crypto giants as it targets becoming a hub Dubai’s crypto scene pulled in several crypto exchanges last month thanks to the environment it has created for cryptocurrencies. The Arabian city is leading the push for the United Arab Emirates to become a global leader in digital assets. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, ruler of the UAE, said on March 9 that the emirate of Dubai had established the country’s first-ever regul...
Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Breaks Spotify Single-Day Streaming Record
Harry Styles‘ new single “As It Was” has set a new Spotify record in its first day of release. On Saturday (April 2), Spotify confirmed that “As It Was” is now the most-streamed song in the United States in a single day, with 8.3 million streams, a record that was formerly held by Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Drivers License” (8 million streams). Styles’ new song is also now the most-streamed song globally on Spotify in a single day for 2022 so far, with 21.6 million streams. That number of streams tops Anitta‘s “Envolver,” which saw 8.6 million single-day streams in March. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “As It Was,” which dropped on March 31, is the first taste of Styles’ upcoming third album, Harry’s House. The 13-track album is scheduled ...
SOCAN Collections Rebound 6% to $325M
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) saw collections rebound 6.4% to 416 million Canadian dollars ($325.5 million) from the prior year’s total of 391 million Canadian dollars ($305.9 million), despite the pandemic’s lingering economic impact in 2021. The SOCAN revenue collection total breaks out to $310 million Canadian ($242.55 million) in domestic receipts and 105 million Canadian dollars ($82.94 million) from foreign receipts. Domestically, that represents a 6.5% increase from 2020’s 291 million Canadian dollars ($227.64 million), while it’s a 6% increase over the 100 million Canadian dollars ($78.2 million) the society took in from foreign territories that year. “Given the challenges of the pandemic, at the end of 2020 we prepared for a financially a...
From Slip-N-Slide to Miami NFT Week, Ted Lucas Talks Embracing Tech to Close the Black Wealth Gap
Back in 1994, Ted Lucas was an entrepreneur on a mission. That quest led to his founding Miami-based Slip-N-Slide Records, home to hip-hop pioneers such as Trick Daddy, Trina, Plies and Rick Ross. Now 28 years later, Lucas is embarking on another mission. This time he’s determined to close the Black and Brown wealth gap through technology and innovation programs. In addition to establishing the non-profit organization TechNolij (pronounced tech knowledge) to support women and minorities seeking to enter the field, Lucas co-founded the inaugural Miami NFT Week conference, which kicked off Friday (April 1) at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center. Wrapping April 3, the three-day event is part of the city’s Miami Tech Month campaign. Three days before the launch of Miami NFT Week, Billboard chat...
Inside Track: NFT LA Brings Web3 Networking IRL; Miami Music Week’s Big Return
The NFT | LA conference brought web3 networking into real life this week, taking over the Los Angeles Convention Center and surrounding downtown restaurants, bars and venue spaces with the city’s first-ever blockchain-focused gathering of this size. From March 29-31, official programming at the convention center included panels and keynotes covering music, gaming, art, fashion, cryptocurrency and more intersections of culture, commerce and emerging blockchain technology. Mark Cuban, Sandbox CEO Mathieu Nouzareth, Andrew Yang and Baron Davis were some of the big names speaking, as startups showcased their new products, patrons sported shirts with their own Bored Ape characters on them and frames for displaying those virtual non fungible tokens in your IRL living room took up a considerable ...
The Ledger: Inside Universal Music’s 2021 Annual Report
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. Universal Music Group’s first-ever annual report, released Thursday, offers an exhaustive look at the company’s finances and operations as well as environmental, social and governance initiatives. If you want to know how many metric tons of paper was purchased for internal use (24) or the number of megawatt hours of electricity from renewable sources (7,982), it’s in there. In terms of dollars and cents behind investments and catalogs, the annual report has a few things worth highlighting. UMG sold Alamo Records for 102 million euros ($112.7 million) for a gain of 98 million euros ($108.3 million). Sony Music reportedly...
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek to Be Deposed in Eminem Copyright Infringement Suit
A federal judge says Spotify CEO Daniel Ek must sit for depositions in a copyright lawsuit over Eminem’s music, rejecting the streamer’s arguments that he’s not personally involved in “day-to-day” licensing operations or that he’s too busy to participate in the case. Spotify claimed that Ek had little information to offer about the lawsuit and that Eight Mile Style was trying to drag him into a deposition simply to “harass and annoy” him. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffery S. Frensley ruled Thursday (March 31) that the executive would need to find the time. “Undoubtedly Mr. Ek has a full schedule [and] the Court credits Spotify’s assertion that he is very busy indeed,” Judge Frensley wrote. “Yet, the issue of proper licensing relationships with the artists whose work comprises the entirety ...
UMPG Wants More of Its Songwriters Working in Podcasts
Universal Music Publishing Group has announced a new partnership with narrative-focused podcast creator Audio Up, opening up new opportunities for their songwriters to write original music for the company’s programs. According to the announcement, UMPG writers can be “signed” by Audio Up to make these themes and scores. Additionally, UMPG signed the company’s CEO, “Jingle Jared” Gutstadt, to an exclusive global publishing deal. With a background in writing and producing for production and contemporary music, Gutstadt is the rare example of a working musician and music business entrepreneur. He founded both Audio Up and music production agency Jingle Punks, which sold to Anthem Entertainment (formerly known as Ole) in 2015. Audio Up productions are supported by SiriusXM and Audible, and the...
Blockchain.com’s valuation hits $14BN following newly reported raise
The exchange has completed four financing rounds since the start of 2021 Blockchain.com has a customer base of 37 million users and has processed more than $1 trillion in transactions UK-based cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com has reportedly concluded a funding round led by one of its previous investors, Lightspeed Ventures Partners, as per a Thursday report from Bloomberg. Independent investment management firm Baillie Gifford had heavy involvement in the raise, which comes at a $14 billion market valuation – more than double the valuation during the previous financing round completed by the exchange. The report didn’t feature details of the sum raised, and neither party involved has made any official communication. In addition to running a platform for trading crypto ass...
TikTok ‘Deeply Concerned’ by Facebook’s Paid Campaign to Promote Negative Coverage of Social App
TikTok said Wednesday it was “deeply concerned” by a campaign paid for by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to promote negative coverage of the shortform social platform in local media coverage. As reported by The Washington Post, Meta has paid a “right of center” marketing firm, Targeted Victory, to lead a campaign that has included placing op-eds and letters to the editor in local papers to promote anti-TikTok sentiment, especially when it comes to children using the app. Targeted Victory allegedly worked with local operatives to promote the negative coverage around purported trends on TikTok harming children to compel lawmakers to take action; the firm also sought to promote positive coverage about Meta and use the anti-TikTok pieces to deflect from government antitrust and privacy ...
