business
Paul McCartney, Chris Martin Join Pleas for Streaming Royalty Reform
The letter, backed by the Musicians’ Union and U.K. songwriters and composers body The Ivors Academy, is also signed by Bob Geldof, Boy George, Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Jimmy Page and Kate Bush. It comes amid a U.K. Parliamentary probe into the streaming business that has seen major labels’ dominance of the market emerge as a central issue. The inquiry, which is being led by the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Committee, is looking into the economic impact music streaming is having on artists, record labels and the wider music industry. The first stage of the inquiry concluded March 22 with government minister Caroline Dinenage saying she would support a referral of the three biggest music companies — Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music — to the CMA. Rou...
London Grammar Hurtling to U.K. Chart Crown With ‘Californian Soil’
It’s an all-new Top 5 on the Official Chart Update, which sees AJ Tracey’s second studio album Flu Game (Revenge Records) at No. 2 (it’s the most-streamed album of the week so far); followed by The Offspring’s first new album in almost a decade, Let The Bad Times Roll (Concord); veteran Irish rock singer Imelda May’s sixth LP 11 Past The Hour (Decca); and blues-rock band Greta Van Fleet‘s sophomore LP, The Battle at Garden’s Gate (EMI), respectively. Taylor Swift’s current leader Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (EMI) looks likely to lose its crown after one week. It slumps 1-7 on the midweek chart. Meanwhile, a boxed set reissue of Jethro Tull’s A (Rhino) could catapult the 1980 album into the Top 10 for the first time. It’s at No. 8 on the chart blast. Rounding out the Top 1...
MLC Collects $40M for January, Makes First Rights Holders Payments
Overall, the MLC said that the mechanical pool of revenues amounted to slightly more than $53 million in royalties, which means that direct deals between services and publishers account for approximately $13 million. The Music Modernization Act and its regulations allow the services to carve out, or withhold, that portion of royalty funds from the MLC and instead pay them directly to the publisher. What amount is actually paid to the publishers for those direct deals is unknown because a publisher with a direct deal might negotiate a rate higher than the statutory rate; and if they do, that higher amount comes out of the service’s pocket, not the mechanical pool. But even though the MLC doesn’t collect those funds, it still gets the play reports for songs that are involved in those direct ...
Congress Members Call on Biden to Investigate Live Nation
The letter points to a 2018 Government Accountability Office report, which concluded that Live Nation holds more than 80% of the U.S. venue ticket sales market. It goes on to add that the Department of Justice has found that the promoter has repeatedly violated the terms of the agreement over the course of the last 10 years by threatening venues and forcing the bundling of artists with ticketing services. In 2019, Live Nation reached a settlement with the DOJ’s antitrust division agreeing to extend the 2010 consent decree governing the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation to 2025 and clarifying rules regarding threats and retaliation against venues that don’t sign with the ticketing giant. “We believe the prior admin...
2021 ACM Awards Demonstrate What an Inclusive Future In Country Music Could Look Like
The organic nature of the performances was one of the show’s major strengths. Instead of force-fed inclusion, the Academy’s pairings allowed the art to speak for itself, proving that country music should be a place where anyone — regardless of who they are or what they look like — can feel like they belong. This year’s nomination pool saw a record four Black artists up for awards (Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton, and John Legend for a Carrie Underwood collaboration), a milestone ACM CEO Damon Whiteside called “a big step in the right direction.” The broadcast featured a handful of Black artists across genres performing alongside white country superstars, bringing inclusivity and their shared love of music to the forefront. Guyton, who co-hosted the festivities with Keith Urban, per...
Billboard Parent P-MRC Strikes Deal to Invest In SXSW
South by Southwest has struck a deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC that includes publishing brands such as Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, that will make P-MRC a long-term partner and stakeholder in the festival, the companies announced in a joint release Sunday night (April 18). South by Southwest has struck a deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC that includes publishing brands such as The Hollywood Reporter, that will make P-MRC a long-term partner and stakeholder in the festival, the companies announced in a joint release Sunday night. P-MRC — whose holdings also include Rolling Stone, Variety and Vibe — will bring “media expertise and new avenues for discovery” to...
Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ Chasing Fourth Week at No. 1 In U.K.
While Lil Nas X appears to have the upper hand in the chart battle, there’s plenty of action down below. Riton x Nightcrawlers’ club track “Friday” featuring Mufasa & Hypeman is the most downloaded song of the weekend, and is on track for a new high. In its tenth week in the Top 10, “Friday” lifts 6-2, two places above its peak. At this early stage, the highest climber is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Déjà Vu,” up 26-12. The followup to “Drivers License,” it’s the second single from the U.S. teen’s debut studio album Sour, due out May 21. Meanwhile, singles from Tom Grennan, Masked Wolf, Mimi Webb, Ava Max and Silk Sonic are on the rise, based on the OCC’s chart blast. The Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday local time. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates...
Luke Bryan, Maren Morris & More Record-Setters at 2021 ACM Awards
Stapleton’s Starting Over won album of the year. Stapleton previously won in the category with Traveller and From A Room: Volume 1. Stapleton and Dave Cobb co-produced all three albums. Stapleton is one of the top five winners in ACM history in this category. Miranda Lambert has won it five times. Alabama, George Strait and Alan Jackson have also won it three times. “I Hope You’re Happy Now” by Pearce and Brice became the fourth male/female duet to win single of the year. The first three were “Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton” (1983), “It’s Your Love” by Tim McGraw with Faith Hill” (1997), and “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson (2011). This is Brice’s second ACM win for single of the year. He took the award six years ago for “I Don’t Dance.” ...
Chanchangi braces up to resume flight operations
Nine years after ceasing operations, Chanchangi Airlines Nigeria Limited is set to return to the country’s airspace. With its head office in the Chanchangi Office Complex in Kaduna, Nigeria, the airline had operated scheduled domestic passenger services. The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu, who disclosed the plan Friday said the Kaduna based airline is preparing a comeback. He gave the hint while explaining the high demand for air travels in the country, saying that “Chanchangi wants to come back and they want to use ATR. They are planning to come back. The demand is there.” Capt Nuhu equally observed a new trend in airline operations where operators are now shifting to smaller aircraft against the bigger ones. The DG said: “You mentioned th...
H.E.R., Leslie Odom Jr. & More to Perform Oscar-Nominated Songs on Pre-Show, Not the Main Telecast
The Oscars have struggled with how to include the five nominated songs without having a four-hour show. The producers of the 93rd annual Academy Awards had good news and bad news for the singers who are performing this year’s Oscar nominees for best original song. The good news: All five nominees will be performed in their entirety. The bad news: They’ll be featured on a 90-minute pre-show, Oscars: Into the Spotlight, which is billed as “the lead-in” to the Oscars. Hosted by actors Ariana DeBose (Hamilton) and Lil Rel Howery (Bad Trip), the pre-show will air Sunday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The main Oscar telecast will begin at 8 p.m.. ET/5 p.m. PT. The Oscars have struggled with how to include the five nominated songs without having a four-hour show. In a few years, none of...
UTA First Major Agency to Set Optional Return to Office Date
Returning to the office is completely optional for employees. Zimmer clearly states that any staffer who is not yet prepared to return to the office, even if they’re vaccinated, will not have to do so. The agency is requiring those who do come back to have been fully vaccinated, though. Read Zimmer’s note to employees here: With vaccinations rapidly increasing across the nation and California announcing plans to fully reopen by mid-June, I’m pleased to say a return to our UTA offices is near. More details will follow in the coming weeks, but at this point we are planning for a reopening of our Nashville offices on June 1 and our Los Angeles office on June 15. We plan for our offices in London to open on August 31 and New York on September 7. A cross-company team has been consul...
Taylor Swift Smashes Records In Australia as ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ Debuts at No. 1
According to ARIA, the 17 weeks that separate evermore first summiting and the debut of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) sets the record for the shortest span between different albums to reach the top, beating Swift’s own mark of 20 weeks between her last two LPs. Three tracks from it impact the singles chart this week, led by “Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”, new at No. 19. Swift’s tally of eight No. 1 albums places her second on the all-time leaderboard for female solo artists, behind only Madonna (with 11). She also sits one release behind Eminem (9) for the most consecutive No. 1s. On the latest ARIA Albums Chart, Justin Bieber’s Justice (Def Jam/Universal) dips 1-2, while veteran Australian artist Richard Clapton starts at No. 3 with Music Is Love (1966-1970) ...
