business
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ On Track For Highest New Chart Entry In U.K.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion new collaboration “WAP” has bolted out the gate in the U.K., while Joel Corry and MNEK’s “Head & Heart” (Asylum/Perfect Havoc) is on track for a fourth week at No. 1. “Head & Heart” leads the Official Chart First Look, based on preliminary sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours of the chart cycle. It’s an unchanged top five on the chart blast with Jawsh 685 & Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” (RCA), Nathan Dawe featuring KSI’s “Lighter” (Atlantic), Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” (Columbia) and AJ Tracey & Mabel’s “West Ten” (AJ Tracey) filling up the top spots, respectively. {“nid”:”9431667″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Taylor Swift's 'Folk...
Madonna Out of Interscope Deal After Nearly a Decade
Sources close to Madonna confirm to Billboard that the Queen of Pop is out of her deal with Interscope after nearly a decade. The iconic singer first inked a three-album deal with Interscope in 2011 at a base of $1 million per LP; with the release of Madame X in 2019, that three-album deal is up, and Madge is eying a new label to call home. While The Sun reports that Madonna is considering a return to Warner Music (which was known as Warner Bros. when she called it home for her series of albums released from 1983-2008), sources tell Billboard that she has not inked a new deal anywhere as of Saturday (Aug. 8) and any talks are in early stages. Warner Music declined to comment for this story. Madonna’s three albums for Interscope include the Billboard 200 toppers MDNA (2012) and Madame...
Appeal Ruling on Publisher Royalty Rate Hike Looks Like it Favors Digital Services Contentions: Sources
Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and YouTube have been handed a procedural victory on their appeal to a 44% royalty rate increase for songwriters and publishers, sources tell Billboard. The U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. that reviewed the digital services’ appeal on the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) mechanical rate determination has thrown out the rate structure cobbled together by a majority of the board’s three judges, Billboard has learned. The ruling, which is under seal, could wash away the rate increase that the CRB judges — in a split 2–1 decision — had awarded songwriters and music publishers in January 2018. The CRB ruling was finalized in February 2019 and appealed by digital services a month later on grounds of procedural issues with how the CRB determined...
How Struggling Indie Venues Are Lobbying Local Governments for Support — And Getting Some
As Congress debated the next federal coronavirus aid package this week in Washington, independent music venues across the country have been waiting in anticipation for what will either be a saving grace or a devastating blow to their businesses. Now, as Capitol Hill heads into the weekend with a planned recess days away, there’s still no clarity whether proposed legislation supporting these businesses that have been shuttered since mid-March will make their way into a final package and save an estimated 90% of them from closure by the end of the year. The Save Our Stages Act, introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on July 22, would establish a $10 billion grant program exclusively for live venue operators, promoters, producers and talent representatives. The Restar...
Digital Services’ Appeal of Publisher Rate Hike Headed Back to Copyright Royalty Board: Sources
The U.S. Court of Appeals reviewing an appeal from Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and YouTube over the Copyright Royalty Board’s mechanical rate determination has remanded the case back to the CRB, sources tell Billboard. At press time the decision was sealed, so industry sources weren’t clear on what issues the Washington, D.C. Circuit Appeals Court had with the CRB rate ruling, other than it apparently was due to procedural issues. But procedural issues were at the heart of the digital services’ appeal and, at its most extreme, this could mean the ruling vacated the process that yielded a 44% rate increase for publisher royalties. {“nid”:”8502707″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Why Spotify's Appeal of The CRB Rate Decision Is A Hug...
Digital Media Company LiveXLive Had an OK Quarter, But It’s Got a Long Way to Go
What three letters best explain the modest gains LiveXLive unveiled during its quarterly earnings call Thursday? The would be P-P-P as in the Paycheck Protection Program. Nearly all of the company’s $3.5 million reduction in spending for the quarter appeared to have come from the almost $2 million federal loan it received in March, coupled with $1.4 million in reductions of employee salaries and other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. That helped LiveXLive achieve its “best quarter in the history of the company,” according to CEO and chairman Rob Ellin, who reported a 11% increase in revenue and a quarterly loss of $7.5 million, or $0.13 per share. That missed the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.12, but marked a significant improvement from a loss of $0.21 per share a year ago (tot...
Inside Pollen, the Mysterious Hit Spotify Playlist Where No Rules Apply
In mid-2018, a team of Spotify employees were preparing a new, genre-less playlist — one of the first of its kind for the streaming service, which was shaking up the industry with its hit-making hip-hop playlist RapCaviar. But they couldn’t decide on a title and cover design that would encompass the playlist’s eclectic sound without putting a box around it. “It was an eight-month saga,” Spotify North America team lead of music culture & editorial John Stein now remembers with a chuckle — until Spotify then-creative director Cecilia Azcarate began playing around with intricate, anatomical drawings of the insides of flowers. “The word ‘pollen’ was thrown around, and we all liked how symmetrical it felt,” Stein says. “There’s a c...
Australian Music Industry Launches Anti-Harassment Initiative ‘Don’t Be That Guy’
BRISBANE, Australia — Enough is enough. A nucleus of Australian music industry professionals has banded together for a campaign with a message to all the misogynists out there, “don’t be that guy.” This week saw the launch of the Music Industry Collaborative Commitment, a shareable tool and resource for artists to use as they enter into one-to-one situations with collaborators or potential business partners. The Commitment is a set of common-sense commandments, intended to create a platform for safety and confidence for music-makers as they pursue opportunities where, sadly, barriers still firmly exist. {“nid”:”9429485″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Wayne Connolly, Celebrated Australian Producer and Engineer, Laun...
Neumos in Seattle, in a Pandemic: It Can Cost a Venue $60,000 a Month to Be Closed
As co-owner of Seattle’s popular independent venue Neumos in Capitol Hill, Steven Severin has been a staple in the Seattle music industry for more than 20 years. Roughly 10 years ago, he helped create the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association to bring together the area’s live event insiders, and for the past 16 years has helped run Neumos with its sister club Barboza and the accompanying Runaway bar. As part of Billboard’s efforts to best cover the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on the music industry, we will be speaking with Severin every two weeks to chronicle his experience throughout the crisis. (Read the last installment here and see the full series here.) {“nid”:”9430226″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Indie Venues and...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ CD Gets Early Release In U.K.
Game on. Taylor Swift has pulled out the big guns in her battle with Fontaines D.C. for the U.K. chart title. Swift’s latest album Folklore blasted to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart last week, based on streams and downloads alone (37,000 combined chart sales in total). Though at the midway stage in the chart cycle, Folklore had slipped behind Irish rockers Fontaines D.C.’s sophomore album A Hero’s Death (Partisan) and Creeper’s Sex Death & The Infinite Void (Roadrunner). {“nid”:”9428399″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”Fontaines D.C. Push Taylor Swift From Midweek U.K. Albums Chart Summit”,”relative_path”:”\/articles\/news\/9428399\/fontaines-dc-taylor-swift-midweek-uk-albums-chart\/”,”...
Detail, Producer Who Won Grammy For Beyonce’s ‘Drunk In Love,’ Arrested on Sexual Assault Charges
Detail, the Grammy-winning music producer who worked on records for Beyonce, Drake, Lil Wayne and many more, was arrested Wednesday (Aug. 5) in Los Angeles on multiple sexual assault charges. The producer (real name Noel Fisher) is facing 15 sexual assault charges and five additional felony assault-related charges, relating to incidents dating from 2010 to 2018, reads a statement issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The L.A. Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed the charges July 31, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Bail was set at $6.29 million, LASD officials said. {“nid”:”8500693″,”type”:”post”,”title”:”When Music Producers Are Accused of Being Predators”,”relative_path”...
Heirs Holdings names new group executive director
Pan-African investment company, Heirs Holdings, has announced the appointment of Dan Okeke as Group Executive Director. The post Heirs Holdings names new group executive director appeared first on TODAY. 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 make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
