business
Ennio Morricone and John Williams Honored For Film Scores
A Spanish foundation on Friday (May 5) awarded one of the country’s most prestigious awards to composers Ennio Morricone and John Williams for their film work. The jury that decides the Princess of Asturias Awards said the Italian and American composers “have enriched hundreds of films with their talent.” The pair “demonstrate complete mastery of composition as well as narrative, building emotion, tension and lyricism at the service of cinematographic images.” Williams, 88, has scored movies such as “Star Wars,” “Jaws,” the “Indiana Jones” series and the first three “Harry Potter” films. Morricone, 91, has over the past seven decades created more than 400 scores for cinema and television. The €50,000 award ($56,700) is the first of eight prizes, including in the arts, social sciences and s...
Sony Music Launches $100M Fund to Support Social Justice & Anti-Racist Initiatives
The company has also pledged to expand mental health resources for employees and work with outside experts to advise the company on its inclusion and diversity commitments. Sony Music Group has launched a $100 million fund “to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives around the world,” the company announced Friday (June 5), noting it will immediately begin donating to “organizations that foster equal rights.” “Racial injustice is a global issue that affects our artists, songwriters, our people and of course society at large,” said Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer in a statement. “We stand against discrimination everywhere and we will take action accordingly with our community fully involved in effectively using these funds.” Sony Music earlier revealed it would be mat...
Movement For Black Lives Is Seeking Policing Reforms on Black Out Tuesday
The music industry is taking a day to reflect on Tuesday (June 2) as part of Black Out Tuesday/#TheShowMustBePaused, an industry-wide effort to “disconnect from work and reconnect with our community.” In conjunction with the day of reflection — which was coordinated by Atlantic Records executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang in reaction to the police-involved killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others — the Movement 4 Black Lives, a coalition of 100 black-led organizations, is calling for five days of action, each focused on a specific set of demands. “It feels important to really move the needle on how we’re relating right now and call for very specific national asks that people can drill down at a local level in response to persisten...
A Letter From Billboard: Why the Show Must Be Paused
The racism and police brutality we’ve seen across the country in recent weeks has been devastating — and even more punishing in what was already a terrifying time of health and economic crisis. Yet the violence has been all too familiar for the Black community, to whom we owe so much of our greatest music. Two young music executives, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, decided that business couldn’t go on as usual without both music companies and consumers placing as high a value on the lives of Black creators as they do on their art, sagely declaring that “the show must be paused.” On the website for what’s been dubbed “Black Out Tuesday,” they’ve encouraged the music sector to use June 2 “for an honest, reflective, and productive...
Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ Sets Impressive Pace For Midweek U.K. Chart Lead
Lady Gaga’s Chromatica (Interscope) is sprinting to the U.K. chart title. At the midweek stage, Gaga’s sixth studio album is outperforming the rest of the top 20 combined, the Official Charts Company reports. The new LP, which dropped last Friday (May 29), leads across all formats — physical, download and streaming — and is the fastest-selling vinyl album on the year, based on three days of sales. Across all formats, Chromatica has shifted more than 40,000 chart sales to take top spot on the Official U.K. Albums Chart Update. Gaga has tasted life at the U.K. Albums Chart summit on three occasions, with 2009’s The Fame/The Fame Monster, which was packaged as one album in the U.K.; 2011’s Born This Way and 2013’s Artpop. Elsewhere on the midweek albums chart, Norwegian prod...
Here’s What Streaming Services Are Doing for Black Out Tuesday and Beyond
Spotify, Bandcamp, SiriusXM and more are meeting the moment with a range of initiatives. As protests sparked by the death of 46-year-old Minneapolis resident George Floyd heated up this weekend, music companies began making statements in support of the movement to end police brutality against black Americans. On Friday, a number of companies and artists began sharing a statement posted under the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, which calls for “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community” and “an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change.” Started by Atlantic Records marketing executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, who are both black, the call for a day of action — which is now being called “Black Out Tuesday” — sparked other compa...
Clearing His Name: Metropolitan CEO Says He’s Ready to Put Disastrous Albany Show Behind Him
Two years after an SMG executive accused him of stiffing his portion of a bill for a 2018 concert, John Scher says new evidence clears him of wrong-doing When John Scher was approached by an old friend about investing in a long-shot benefit concert, the 69-year-old promoter knew he should have walked away. But spellbound by the opportunity to work with superstar artists James Taylor and John Legend, Scher convinced himself that he could pull it off. Big mistake. “I don’t know why I let myself get dragged into these things,” Scher says of the cancelled 2018 concert supporting Albany Med hospital that became a costly lawsuit and legal headache he didn’t need. In late 2017, Times Union Center manager Bob Belber approached Scher with a proposal to co-promote a black tie gala celebrating the re...
Music Venues Across the Country Can Reopen, But Is It Worth It?
Concerts are slowly starting again, but they’re looking considerably different in the pandemic and many clubs are unsure whether they’re worth the risks. On May 18, TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas, hosted one of the nation’s first socially-distanced concerts with country rock artist Travis McCready of the band Bishop Gunn. In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus promoters implemented extensive safety protocols: temperature checks at the door, masks on attendees and staff, limited bathroom occupancies and disinfecting fog sprayers, among them. The venue also had to keep each “fan pod” group of fans who arrived together at least six feet apart with one-way walkways and vigilant staff. It was an unusual sight for Getty Images photographer Kevin Mazur, who flew in from...
How We Work Now: NMPA President/CEO David Israelite
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 David Israelite, the president/CEO of music publishing trade association NMPA. David Israelite: We’ve just been in a kind of holding pattern. We have a lot of of pending issues [for which] we’re waiting for decisions from government bodies or legal bodies. Right before the shutdown, on March 10, we had our oral arguments regarding the appeal of the copyright royalty board rates by Spotif...
Guy Oseary Stepping Away From Day-to-Day Role at Maverick
He will continue to manage Madonna and U2 and consult Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, extending his deal with the touring company. Guy Oseary is stepping away from his day-to-day role at his management collective Maverick to consult for Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and further concentrate on his tech and entertainment entrepreneurial interests. The news comes with a three-year extension of Oseary’s existing partnership with Live Nation, which purchased Maverick in 2013. He will still continue to manage Madonna and U2 under the Maverick banner. Other managers using the Maverick umbrella will continue to operate under Live Nation’s Artist Nation division. “I’m ready for my new chapter and welcome the opportunity to have more time to focus on management of Madonna and U2 while f...
The 1975 Looking to Extend Chart Streak In U.K.
The 1975 are edging closer to a fourth consecutive chart crown in the U.K. with Notes on a Conditional Form (Dirty Hit/Polydor), though it’s a tight race with KSI‘s debut album Dissimulation (BMG) close behind. The 22-track Notes on a Conditional Form is the leader on the Official Chart Update, and takes an advantage on CD and vinyl sales into the final straight of the chart week. Matt Healy and Co. are on a perfect 3-0 winning streak with their previous albums all ruling the chart, The 1975 (2013), I Like It When You Sleep… (2016), and A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (2018). British rapper and YouTuber KSI is making a fight of it with Dissimulation, which starts at No. 2 on the midweek chart and leads all albums on streams and downloads. Four tracks from Dissimu...
Canadian court disappoints Huawei over CFO’s case
A Canadian court ruled against Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on Wednesday in her extradition case to the US on fraud charges. However, the company said it has faith her innocence will ultimately be maintained. Meng, the CFO of the telecom giant and eldest daughter of its founder is wanted by the U.S for alleged fraud. The US authorities alleged that she lied to HSBC Bank about Huawei’s relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Tehran. In a statement posted on Twitter, Huawei Canada said; “Huawei is disappointed in the ruling today by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, we have repeatedly expressed confidence in Ms Meng’s innocence”. “Huawei continues to stand with Ms Meng in her pursuit for justice and...
