business
NMPA Touts Cross-Industry Legislative Cooperation, New Friendship With Peloton & More at Annual Meeting
Kicking off the National Music Publishers’ Association’s annual meeting Wednesday, the organization’s president and CEO David Israelite applauded RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier for his leadership in pulling together around 65 music trade groups to lobby Congress for CARES Act relief for self-employed music industry workers. Glazier himself applauded the industry for coming together and noted that in times of tragedy, artists are quick to respond, playing live concerts to raise money for any number of worthy causes. “But sometimes they are not so good at raising money for themselves” in their own time of need, he said. Israelite also pointed out the industry was forced to respond to California’s AB5 law, which was enacted to try and protect gig economy workers. That law, however, would have created...
The Biggest Dance Music Livestream of Quarantine Just Got Even Bigger: See The Lineup
Billing itself as “the biggest digital music festival in history,” upcoming dance music livestream festival Electric Blockaloo just got even bigger. Today (June 11), the event added artists including Bob Moses, Maya Jane Coles, Deadmau5’s techno alter-ego Testpilot, Skream, Blondish, Seth Troxler, Khruangbin, MK, DJ Soda, Ekali, Felix da Housecat, Ivy Lab, Kevin Saunderson, The Knocks, Krafty Kuts, Luciano, Carl Craig, MK, Paris Hilton, Rudimental, DJ Sneak, Sherelle, STS9, Steve Aoki and Todd Terry to its already massive lineup featuring a staggering 850 artists. Electric Blockaloo takes place June 25-28 inside the video game Minecraft, which during the festival will feature 65 digitally-rendered stages including those hosted by labels and artists like Bedouin,...
Russell Simmons Accuser Criticizes ‘Breakfast Club’ for Giving Him a Platform
Following the debut of HBO Max’s sexual assault documentary On the Record — which features accounts from multiple women accusing Russell Simmons of rape — the hip-hop mogul was invited onto The Breakfast Club, where he once again denied the allegations against him. “Back then, I thought it was a game…. There were no Black actresses that I didn’t date and they’re my friends today,” Simmons said on the long-running radio show. “They don’t have the experience of me being a monster the movie makes me out to be.” He later added, “I can never say that someone doesn’t feel victimized. I can tell you that I don’t feel that I victimized them.” Not long after the interview was posted online, Sil Lai Abrams — one of Russell’s accusers featured in ...
NMPA Annual Meeting Celebrates Continued Publishing Growth, Warns of Pre-Pandemic Threats
The National Music Publishers’ Association announced its fifth consecutive year of increased revenues, while noting the industry’s high-stakes legal cases still ahead. The National Music Publishers’ Association’s annual meeting was held virtually Wednesday (June 10) due to COVID-19, where president and CEO David Israelite reminded membership that music publishing is still facing pre-pandemic threats to its business. Namely digital streaming services’ Copyright Royalty Board appeal and the Department of Justice’s review of ASCAP and BMI consent decree — which could also be an opportunity, depending on how the DOJ rules. “We are now 2.5% years into the new [rating] periods but we still don’t have certainty on our rates because Spotify and...
Coachella, Stagecoach Music Festivals Pushed to 2021
The events were already rescheduled from April to October, as plans for a return next year still remain unclear. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and country music festival Stagecoach will not take place this year due to county and state restrictions. Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday (June 10), the festivals would not be held in Indio, California, this October — as had been planned when promoter Goldenvoice was forced to reschedule from their original April dates last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kaiser cited California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s four-step outline for re-opening the state as the reasoning behind the decision, noting music festivals are not permitted to reopen until a...
ARMY, K-pop Fans Become an Unexpected Ally to American Protesters
As American protesters took to the streets to mourn the death of George Floyd, they found an unexpected ally: K-pop fans. Floyd died May 25 after a police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving. K-pop fans galvanized by police brutality and political disappointments swiftly mobilized, re-purposing their usual platforms and hashtags from boosting their favorite stars to backing the Black Lives Matter movement. They flooded right-wing hashtags and police apps with short video clips and memes of their K-pop stars. In a tweet Thursday to its 26 million fans, South Korean boy band BTS said it opposes racial discrimination and violence and announced a $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter. Fans quickly followed suit with the hashtag #MatchAMil...
Mark Opitz, Record Producer for AC/DC, INXS and More, Recognized In Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List
Record producer and audio engineer Mark Opitz has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, announced Monday (June 8). The Queenslander was feted for his service to the performing arts, particularly to music production, and is one of 933 Australians honored for their outstanding achievement. Opitz is among the very best in the business, having produced albums for a string of ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted artists including INXS, Cold Chisel, AC/DC and The Divinyls. During the ’90s, Optiz served with Warner Music as head of A&R and, later, joined the executive team at Michael Gudinski’s Mushroom Group, where he was responsible for overseeing Australian artists’ music projects. Opitz also had a productive stint oversees, during whic...
Atlantic Records UK Names Former Apple Music Exec Austin Daboh Executive VP
Former Apple Music executive Austin Daboh is moving over to Atlantic Records UK as executive vp, parent company Warner Music UK (WMUK) announced Tuesday (June 9). As Apple Music’s head of editorial for the UK and Ireland, Daboh oversaw the streaming platform’s playlist ecosystem, developing the Agenda brand which built out playlists with live concerts and immersive marketing initiatives. In his new role at Atlantic UK, he will be responsible for signing and developing domestic artists, and will join the WMUK leadership team. He’ll also work with Atlantic Records in the U.S. to “break the label’s black music roster in the UK,” according to a press release. Daboh will report to Atlantic co-presidents Ed Howard and Briony Turner, reporting more broadly...
Sports Team, All Time Low & Lady Gaga Lock Horns For U.K. Albums Chart Title
English indie-pop outfit Sports Team and U.S. alternative rock veterans All Time Low are in a tight battle for this week’s No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. At the halfway point, Sports Team’s debut album Deep Down Happy (Big Desert/Island) has an advantage of just 300 chart units over All Time Low’s eighth studio album, Wake Up Sunshine (Atlantic). Deep Down Happy has the most vinyl sales over the weekend and comes in at No. 1 on the Official Chart Update, while Wake Up, initially released in April 2020, has the most CD sales to reenter the chart at No. 2. Lady Gaga is still in the hunt with Chromatica (Interscope), which last week blasted to No. 1 with the most sales of any album this year. Chromatica is the most downloaded and streamed album of the week so far and sits ...
How We Work Now: Concord Senior VP Synch Licensing Brooke Primont
In a series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now, with much of the world quarantined at home and unable to take in-person meetings, attend conferences or even go into the office. Submissions for the series can be sent to HowWeWorkNow@Billboard.com. Read the full series here. This installment is with Brooke Primont, Concord’s senior vp of synch licensing. Brooke Primont: I commute into [Manhattan] every single day. I live in a small town about 40 minutes outside of New York, so when this came down, it wasn’t as painful for me because it’s an hour and 15, sometimes two hours, door to door, depending on the day. So the idea of working from home was welcomed, in a sense. But there...
Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ Debuts at No. 1 in Australia
Lady Gaga scores her fourth No. 1 in Australia as Chromatica (Interscope/Universal) debuts at the summit of the ARIA Albums Chart. Gaga’s sixth studio set eclipses the No. 2 best of Joanne, from Oct 2016, though it’ll need some real staying power to match her soundtrack to A Star Is Born, which spent eleven weeks at No. 1 in 2018/2019. Previously, the U.S. pop superstar snagged top spot in Australia with The Fame Monster (April 2010) and Born This Way (May 2011). Also making a splash this week is Kip Moore’s Wild World (MER/Universal), which bows at a career-high No. 4. It’s the followup to Slowheart, which peaked at No. 6 in September 2017, and the November 2018 EP Room To Spare: The Acoustic Sessions, which hit No. 18. Rounding out the top five is Cold Chisel’s classic third album East (...
Lady Gaga and DaBaby Battle It Out For U.K. Chart Supremacy
Lady Gaga has a chance of securing the U.K. chart double. Though a rockstar stands in her way. DaBaby’s “Rockstar” (Interscope) featuring Roddy Ricch takes a narrow early lead in the sprint to the U.K. singles chart crown. “Rockstar” is the most streamed song in the week so far to lead the First Look survey, while “Rain On Me” (Interscope) by Gaga and Ariana Grande is close behind. “Rain On Me” has the advantage on downloads in the first two days of the chart cycle and is firmly in the race, according to the Official Charts Company. Don’t count out Gaga just yet. Her sixth and latest album Chromatica on Friday landed the biggest opening week for any artist on the U.K. albums chart this year. Making moves on the sales blast are dance tracks “Flowers” (No. 11 via A...
