business
ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Says Royalties Allowed Him to Write ‘From 9 to 5′
“Being a songwriter myself and knowing what copyright has done for me and the sense of pride I have in owning my rights, I would tell any songwriter, ‘Please don’t do it unless you really, really have to,'” he suggested. Ulvaeus’ compositions extends beyond his work with ABBA: He co-wrote the lyrics for the musicals Mamma Mia!, Chess and Kristina från Duvemåla and co-composed the music for the first two with his fellow ABBA member and songwriting ace Benny Andersson. Ulvaeus and Andersson also worked together on both of the Mamma Mia! films based on ABBA’s pop hits, which the two co-wrote starting in the 1970s. But the competition for songwriters to get paid has only grown “fiercer,” he notes, over...
CISLAC raises concerns over Nigeria’s debt profile, coronavirus accountability
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has expressed concerns over $2.18 billion foreign loan request to the Nigerian Senate to fund the 2021 Appropriations Act, by President Muhammadu Buhari. It has therefore urged the National Assembly to insist on an analysis of debt repayment strategy to be in place as its key priority to approvals. In a statement by Executive Director, CISLAC and Head of Transparency International – Nigeria, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, he said national public finance management regime is meant to save the nation’s economic system from collapse: rescuing jobs, supporting livelihoods and bailing out many businesses on the brink. He warned the government to avoid the catastrophe that the international finance institutions forced on Greece: destroying ...
Rice millers protest ‘multiple taxation’ in Ebonyi
Rice millers in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, have protested against what they claimed to be multiple taxation in the state’s mill market. The millers, who decried alleged extortions of traders by the management of the market, called on the state government to find a lasting solution to it. They appealed to the government to review its revenue policy and reduce the increased taxes. The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions such as, “Management should not take rice mill as their father’s business”, “We are tired of the multiple and high taxes”, “We need an elected chairman and not Caretaker Committee to move development forward in the mill.” Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki on Tuesday, Chukwuma Eniokoro, the chairman of millers in the market, said they embarked on the pea...
‘She’s Perfect Right Now for Top 40’: How Ariana Grande Made History at Pop Radio
Grande has spent much of the past decade finding success at top 40 radio: “POV,” which moves up to No. 7 on this week’s chart (while “Positions” drops to No. 8 and “34+35” holds at No. 9), is the superstar’s 19th top 10 hit on the Pop Airplay chart. Since her first top 10 hit came in June 2014 with her Iggy Azalea collaboration “Problem,” Grande has become the most consistent top 40 presence in the Pop Airplay chart’s upper tier, with her 19 top 10 hits the most of any artist in that nearly seven-year time frame (Justin Bieber comes in second, with 15 top 10 hits). Now, with a record three concurrent top 10 hits on the chart, Grande has demonstrated just how dominant her blend of traditional pop, R&B, hip-hop influences and powerhouse vocals have become at the format. “Listeners love h...
Tencent Music Reports Steady Q1 as China’s Streaming Market Grows
In 2020, China had the fourth largest music streaming market globally, growing 90.7% to $718 million, according to IFPI. Just as Western music services are jumping into podcasts, TME is making a hard push into long-form audio — mainly audiobooks — in what Cussion Pang, chairman of Tencent Music, said in a statement is an “evolution into an all-in-one online music and audio entertainment destination in China.” TME isn’t turning this plan into more money just yet: average revenue per subscriber dropped 1.1% to 9.3 yuan ($1.44) from the first quarter of 2020. Long-form audio does, however, make the music apps stickier by increasing engagement: in Q1 2021, the percent of monthly active users who listened to long-form audio improved to 20.0%, compared to 5.5% in Q1 2020 and 15% in Q...
Paul Weller’s ‘Fat Pop’ Is Cruising to U.K. No. 1
Coming in at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart Update is J. Cole’s The Off-Season (Interscope). The U.S. rapper has the most-streamed album in the first half of the week, and it’s on target to become his third Top 10 entry. Cole’s peak U.K. position in his career to date is a No. 2 for 2018’s KOD. The current leader on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Rag’n’Bone Man’s Life By Misadventure (Columbia), dips 3-1 but still manages to lead the market in downloads. Also new to the midweek chart is St. Vincent’s sixth and latest effort, Daddy’s Home (Loma Vista). It’s new at No. 4 and is on track to give the Grammy Award-winning alternative pop artist her best-ever chart position in the U.K. Completing the Top 5 at the midweek stage is the Black Keys’ covers album Delta Kream (None...
Dylan Scott Shares the Story Behind Hit Love Song ‘Nobody’
Scott is gearing up to accompany Luke Bryan on his Proud To Be Right Here tour this summer, along with Caylee Hammack, Runaway June and DJ Rock. Below, Scott tells Billboard the origin story behind “Nobody,” what he is most excited for upon his return to live shows and more. How did “Nobody” come together and what was your headspace when making the song? We were on the road playing shows and I had a couple of writers, Matt Alderman and Dallas Wilson. My wife and I, we’ve been together a long time — since we were 15 years old — so the love songs are kind of easy to write. I just remember us being on the back of the bus late one night like, “Let’s just write a simple love song.” So my budd...
Amazon Music Drops HD Tier to $9.99, Shaking Up Hi-Fi Streaming Market
Amazon’s success with its HD service, which has grown 100% year-over-year, has pushed Spotify to announce a Hi-Fi tier as well, with rumors of an Apple Music Hi-Fi plan possibly also priced at $9.99 a month. For years, the music industry was focused on using high-fidelity audio streaming as a means to raise the average revenue per user with higher-priced subscriptions. That would mean bigger payouts for rights holders and the streaming services. But with Amazon, Spotify, and Apple all getting in on the high-fidelity push, the labels have become more amenable to lowering the price of high-fidelity tiers in the hopes of increasing the overall number of subscribers across the industry. “The other services are coming around to the fact that this is really important.” Boom says. “And that ...
Apple Music Announces Hi-Fi Streaming at No Additional Cost
“Apple Music is making its biggest advancement ever in sound quality,” Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats said in a statement. “Listening to a song in Dolby Atmos is like magic. The music comes from all around you and sounds incredible. Now we are bringing this truly innovative and immersive experience to our listeners with music from their favorite artists like J Balvin, Gustavo Dudamel, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Kacey Musgraves, The Weeknd, and so many more. Subscribers will also be able to listen to their music in the highest audio quality with Lossless Audio. Apple Music as we know it is about to change forever.” Apple Music is also launching spatial audio (with support from Dolby Atmos) for music, which will allow artists to re...
Kaduna paralysed as NLC begins warning strike
Activities in Kaduna State have been paralysed as the five-day warning strike directed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over irregular sacking of civil servants began on Monday. Checks revealed that schools, banks and other business premises had been closed. The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Finance Institutions Employees had directed its members to withdraw banking and insurance services in Kaduna state from Monday 17. The Zonal State Secretary of the union, Mr Adamu Danladi explained that the directive followed the NLC’s warning strike in response to what he described as Gov. El-Rufai’s “anti-workers policies”. He said that the withdrawal of services would continue until otherwise directed by the congress. Also, while some schools were closed, others were open but only a few...
Rag’n’Bone Man Blasts to No. 1 In U.K. With ‘Life By Misadventure’
It’s the second leader in a row for the multiple Brit Award-winning artists, following his debut 2017 effort Human, which has shifted more than over 1 million chart sales in this U.K. and returns the Top 40 at No. 35. Life By Misadventure enjoyed a lift following Rag’n’Bone Man’s appearance at the BRITs last Tuesday, to perform “Anywhere Away From Here” with Pink and the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir. Life leads an all-new Top 5 on the current albums chart, ahead of Michael Ball’s We Are More Than One, Dodie’s Build A Problem, Squid’s Bright Green Field and Van Morrison’s Latest Record Project Volume 1, respectively. Also new to this week’s survey is Weezer’s rock-riff album Van Weezer at 30. It’s the U.S. rockers’ first Top 40 album in 13 years. Meanwhile New Order’s live album...
J. Cole Eyes Three Strong Starts on U.K. Singles Chart
J. Cole could make a big dent this week on the U.K. singles chart, with three tracks set for high entries. On the Official Chart Company’s First Look survey, which ranks the popularity of singles after the first weekend’s sales and streaming activity, Cole has the highest new entries with “9 5 . S O U T H” at No. 9, “M Y . L I F E” featuring 21 Savage & Morray at No. 10, and “A M A R I” at No. 11. The trio of tunes are all lifted from the North Carolinian hip-hop star’s latest album The Off-Season, which includes “I N T E R L U D E, the lead single which hit No. 25 on last week’s U.K. chart. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and ma...
