business
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...
How Camilo Became TikTok’s Most-Followed Latin Artist
“Whenever he has an idea or before he posts something, he asks for my opinion,” she says. “Everything posted on TikTok is a team effort.” She says that they usually plan a dance challenge long before a single release, dedicating a day to think of the choreography with help from their friend Paula Macher, who has over 1 million TikTok followers herself. “[She] knows all the latest trends and popular dance moves,” says Evaluna. “In the end, it helps push the song we’re promoting.” Noel Nuez, TikTok’s director of operations for Spanish South America, believes that kind of collaboration has helped Camilo rake in new followers so quickly: “He’s surrounded by family and colleagues who are also well-integrated on TikTok themselves, which enables him to viralize across other top profiles and ...
Meet the Voices of Latin Protest Music
One of Brazil’s best-known singers and political activists, Veloso purposely wrote this upbeat tune about freedom in a rock’n’roll style, hoping to provoke Brazilian youth as a military dictatorship engulfed the country. Though Veloso’s use of electric guitars drew boos from a festival crowd, the song still became one of the most revered of the tropicália movement, and Veloso’s most popular in his five-decade career, with its urgent refrain about wanting “to keep living”: “Why not? Why not?” Víctor Jara, “Manifiesto” (1974) The Chilean singer-songwriter and Communist activist wrote this hauntingly wistful folk song — a testament to his reason for becoming a revolutionary artist — just weeks before he was tortured and shot to death by soldiers of Augusto Pinochet in the dictator’s September...
BTS Label Big Hit Entertainment Doubles Shares in Smash Stock Market Debut
A strong debut was expected by industry analysts given BTS’ enormous fanbase, officially termed the BTS ARMY, who are quick to pounce on virtual and physical concert tickets, album collectibles and other extensive merchandise lines. BTS accounted for more than 80% of the company’s revenue during the first half of 2020, according to a report by investment management company Samsung Securities. The group — consisting of members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jiminwhich — launched in 2013 and has since performed sold-out shows across the world, breaking numerous Billboard chart records in the process. BTS became the first K-pop act to top the Billboard Hot 100 last month with “Dynamite,” their first all-English song, and this week occupies the top two slo...
COVID-19, Bushfires Impact APRA AMCOS’ Financial Year
With restrictions in place on live music and events across the country, royalties are “expected to take a more substantial hit in 2020-21,” APRA AMCOS warns. In a painful sign of the times, royalties payable to songwriters, publishers, affiliated societies and rights holders during the year-long period were down 0.9%, to A$407.3 million ($289 million). Predictably, the hardest hit revenue category was public performance income, which generated A$73 million ($51 million) of income, almost A$20 million ($14 million) less than the corresponding figure from last year. The results are published in the APRA AMCOS’s Year In Review. “Individual and collective resilience has been tested and we’ve had to adapt quickly,” comments APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston, on publication of the annual report....
Hipgnosis Buys L.A. Reid’s Music Catalog
“It’s a great pleasure to welcome L.A. Reid and his incredible set of songs to the Hipgnosis family.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “I can’t imagine a better home for my lifetime of music and songs than Hipgnosis,” notes Reid. “Merck and his dream team truly value artists and their creative vision, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with them for this exciting new chapter.” A giant of the U.S. record industry, Reid’s songwriting and production successes include Boyz II Men’s two-time Grammy winning smash “End of the Road,” plus hits with Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown and many more. Reid’s songwriting and producing credits include The Whispers’ “Rock Steady,” Sheena Easton’s “The Lover In Me,” Karyn W...
BTS Faces Uproar In China Over Korean War Comments
“After 70 years, the world we are living in is much closer than before. Boundaries in many aspects are getting more blurred,” RM said. “As members of the global community, we should build a deeper understanding and solidarity to be happier together.” Chinese internet users and state media took RM’s comments as a slap at China, whose soldiers fought alongside North Korean forces during their failed attempt to annex South Korea in the 1950-53 war. They accused RM of ignoring the role played by China in the war, which Chinese Communist Party propaganda blames on the United States, instead of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s attack on South Korea. “Before, I thought some BTS songs were pretty good. Now, they seem to be covered in excrement,” said a commenter on the microblog service Sina Weib...
