business
SiriusXM Revenue Up Slightly to $2 Billion, Pandora Recovers in Virus-Impacted Q3
SiriusXM’s satellite service had steady improvements from the third quarter in 2019.• Satellite subscriber revenue improved 1% to $1.6 billion.• Satellite gross profit grew 7% to $596 billion Pandora had mixed results that showed the business has recovered from a pandemic-related crash in the second quarter. The following are the third-quarter year-over-year results: • Pandora’s advertising revenue dropped 3% to $306 million, a big turnaround from the 31 percent decline in the second quarter.• Pandora’s self-pay net subscribers grew by 105,000. Pandora has two subscription services: a $9.99 premium service and a $4.99 radio tier with limited interactive features.• Pandora’s September advertising increased year-over-year, said Meyer — but didn’t give the number. Three full-year guidan...
The Kid LAROI Tunes up For Spotify’s RADAR Program
Also, Spotify will get behind a mini-documentary on the youngster, set to premiere next month. In recent months, the Kid (real name Charlton Howard) has matured into a fully-grown international chart star. In the U.S., his debut F*ck Love opened at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with 40,000 combined units (including 33,000 in SEA units and 7,000 sales). F*ck Love bowed at No. 12 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, just one place behind the debut of two-time Grammy-winning U.S. hip-hop star Logic’s final album, No Pressure. In his homeland, LAROI impacted both main ARIA charts as his debut mixtape started at No. 3 on the albums survey, behind recordings by Taylor Swift and Cub Sport. A protégé of the late Juice WRLD, the 17-year-old bagged three nominations heading into the 20...
Country’s New Kids Are Back On the Block, and Headed to Radio
Meanwhile, Warner Music Nashville artist Shy Carter has launched a socially distanced radio promotion tour, a marketing step that frequently precedes an artist’s debut on the airwaves. It is, perhaps, a sign that record labels and their radio partners are finally feeling a sense of adjusted normalcy after a lengthy period of professional turmoil and national instability. With fewer people commuting to work, in-car listening declined and radio stations adopted a safer posture. Labels, in turn, held back the release of numerous debut singles until conditions became more favorable. “Most stations seemed to tighten up, play big hit records from the recent past and also uptempo, fun records that were current singles by superstars,” says Universal Music Group Nashville executiv...
IMPALA Publishes 12-Point Diversity and Inclusion Charter for Indie Members
“Not discriminating isn’t enough. We must be anti-discriminatory and consciously inclusive,” reads a statement issued Wednesday morning. Following today’s big reveal, guidance and training for members, surveys to gauge diversity and other measures will be put in place, all of which is intended to promote inclusion and diversity across the European independent sector. Those commitments include the mapping and sharing of examples of best practices across Europe; the appointment of a diversity advocate for the lobby body’s board and each of its committees; and the launch of a new program of European and national awards to cast the spotlight on those in the music space working on diversity and inclusion. IMPALA’s charter was prepared by a diversity task force, with veteran British artist...
Miami Club LIV Caught In Power Struggle over COVID-19
The puppeteer behind the parties and arguably the king of South Beach’s nightlife scene, LIV owner David Grutman, stopped by a few months ago to look at new upholstery, but he mostly stays away from the club at the center of his hospitality empire. “I cried real tears,” the 46-year-old Grutman said of his last visit to the shuttered club and nightlife’s seemingly bygone era. “It’s really been my lifeblood.” Technically, LIV and Miami’s other nightclubs could reopen at 50% capacity under an ordered issued Sept. 25 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Miami leaders have imposed a midnight curfew — a real buzzkill for a scene that doesn’t even get started until the a.m. hours — and are restricting loud music so that people don’t have to shout and risk spreading the virus through their spittle. Also, a l...
José Padilla, DJ Who Pioneered the Balearic Sound, Dies at 65
The celebrated Spanish DJ and producer traveled from his hometown Barcelona to Ibiza in 1975, where he would later settle in for his legendary Café Del Mar residency and forge a reputation as the godfather of chill-out music. Padilla’s sunset mixes spawned the popular Café del Mar compilation albums, which have sold more than six million copies around the globe, according to his reps. As a producer, Padilla cut remixes for Norah Jones, Chris Rea and others, he would take his tunes to clubs and parties around the globe, and he counted Madonna among his fans. His first artist album, 1998’s Souvenir, went on to earn a Latin Grammy nomination for best instrumental work. As his health deteriorated in recent months and the pandemic saw his income dry up, Padilla launched a GoFundMe. “My situatio...
Why Ava Max Wants to Write More Empowering Songs Like ‘Kings & Queens’
Below, Ava Max talks about her blockbuster year — and promises Billboard that there’s much more music to come, including a deluxe version of Heaven & Hell. How did “Kings & Queens” come together? It took about a year because we changed the song so many times. I wanted to make it about female empowerment and inequality, so I was taking my time with it. I’m a crazy perfectionist — if I don’t feel it in my bones, I’m not going to release it. I’ve been in five different studios for this song in Germany, [elsewhere in] Europe and Los Angeles. I’m happy I was patient. What about the idea for the music video? I usually write all of my treatments, and I really saw it like that. I saw it as royal, but in a modern, futuristic kind of way. I wanted it to feel simple, b...
In Mexico, the World’s Third-Largest Concert Promoter Prepares For Live Music’s Return
Alejandro Soberón Kuri talks growth, global trends and the company’s near-deal with Live Nation. Alejandro Soberón Kuri founded OCESA in 1990 to establish Mexico as an obligatory tour stop for international artists. He ended up building a global concert powerhouse third only to Live Nation and AEG. “Mexico may not be the third-biggest country in the world, but it has the third-largest live event promoter,” says Soberón Kuri, 60, from his CEO office in Mexico City — though neither he nor his colleagues have been working there during the pandemic, as major venues remain closed across the country. In 2019, OCESA’s holding company, Grupo Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento, produced over 3,400 shows from the United States to Colombia and throughout Central America, ...
Headie One and Internet Money Duel for U.K. Singles Chart Crown
Featuring AJ Tracey & Stormzy, “Ain’t It Different” last week improved to a peak of No. 2, and it’s poised to go one better. Nothing is guaranteed. U.S. rap collective Internet Money is close place behind with “Lemonade” featuring Gunna, Don Toliver & Nav. The margin after the weekend’s sales and streaming activity is just 123 combined sales. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky” is set for a new chart peak, rising 6-3 on the chart blast. Further down the list, two songs are targeting some Top 20 action. Sam Smith’s “Diamonds” is up 23-15, and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” improves 22-16. It’s early days, but the highest new entry could come belong to Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco, as their ballad “Lonely” starts at No. 19 on the First Look survey. The Official U.K. Singles Chart...
Bob Biggs, Founder of Slash Records, Dies at 74
Originally distributed by Jem Records until it went bankrupt in 1981, Slash signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros. in 1982. The Blasters, Violent Femmes, Los Lobos, Faith No More, L7, The Del Fuegos, and Failure were among bands whose records were distributed by the label. In 1987, Biggs talked to the Los Angeles Times about releasing records that he felt were essential. “I wouldn’t describe myself as a music fan and specific styles of music don’t interest me,” he said. “But I wouldn’t put out a record I didn’t find some merit in. I put out records I think are necessary and the challenge of getting a mass audience to agree they’re necessary is what’s fun for me.” John Doe, singer/songwriter, guitarist, bassist and co-founder of punk rock quartet X, which forme...
24kGoldn’s ‘Mood’ Holds Top Spot on U.K. Chart
Meanwhile, teenage Canadian singer and songwriter Tate McRae bags her first Top 5 single as “You Broke Me First” (Ministry of Sound) improves 7-5, while Miley Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky” (RCA) rises 8-6, a new high. Further down the list, Fleetwood Mac enjoy a dream return to the Top 40 with a 43-year-old song. The Hall of Famers can thank a man with a skateboard and a bottle of cranberry juice, and a long list of TikTok copycat videos as their classic song “Dreams” (Rhino/Warner Bros) lifts 55-37. The track last appeared in the Top 40 in 1977. Over on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Headie One starts at the summit with his debut album, inspired by and named after his late mom. Another British rap debut album starts at No. 2, D-Block Europe’s The Blue Print (D-Block Europe), while John Lennon’s ...
Linkin Park Top Australia’s Albums Chart With ‘Hybrid Theory’ 20th Anniversary Edition
The nu-metal act has also topped the national survey with Minutes To Midnight (May 2007) and A Thousand Suns (September 2010). Queen + Adam Lambert’s Live Around The World collection dips 1-2, while Sydney rapper Chillinit bags a second career Top 10 with Full Circle, new at No. 3. Completing this week’s Top Five are Keith Urban’s The Speed Of Now Part 1 and Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon, respectively. Headie One’s debut album Edna opens at No. 1 in the U.K. this week and it cracks the Top 40 in Australia, where it’s new at No. 22. The unveiling of nominations for this year’s ARIA Awards has fueled chart spikes for several featured acts. Sydney rapper The Kid Laroi bags three ARIA nominations, and his debut mixtape F*ck Love lifts 34-26 on the current frame. Also, Lime C...
