International
CISAC Completes Upgrade of Music Coding System
CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, has centralized the assignment and administration of International Standard Musical Work Codes (ISWC). Previously, those codes, which already have been assigned to 52 million song compositions, had been handled by a network of 54 registration agencies in 79 countries. The ISWC administration switchover began in July with over 100 collection management organizations now participating in the new system, according to CISAC which commissioned Spanish Point Technologies to develop the new registration scheme. The rest of the publishing community and digital music platforms are expected to roll over to the new ISWC system shortly. “The upgrade of the ISWC could not come at a more timely moment for songwriters and compo...
British lawmakers write Commonwealth over killings in Nigeria
Thirteen members of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, have expressed concern over the killings by Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East and Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt region. The upper house of parliament members said the failure of the Federal Government to protect Nigerians was a breach of the Commonwealth Charter. They requested the Commonwealth to raise the killings with its Ministerial Action Group. This was contained in a letter to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, dated September 14, co-signed by Baroness Cox, Baroness Kennedy, Jim Shannon, Fiona Bruce, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams and 14 others. They cited a report by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, which accused unnamed ...
Governor Fayemi: Traditional institution agent of grassroots development
The Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has promised to always accord the traditional institution with respect, describing it as agents of grassroots development, hence the desire of his administration to always fill vacant stools promptly Fayemi’s said this on Tuesday, at the presentation of the staff of office and instrument of appointment to the new Olorin of Orin Ekiti, Oba Olufemi Adeniran Ajibewa. The ceremony was held at the Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office, Ado Ekiti in line with COVID-19 protocols. Fayemi urged Oba Ajibewa to see his new position as a call to duty to serve his people and move the town forward. Represented by the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, the Governor described the throne as a sensitive position that calls for considerable wisdom, diligenc...
Ava Max’s ‘Heaven & Hell’ Leads Action-Packed Midweek U.K. Chart
Ava Max’s debut album Heaven & Hell (Atlantic) blasts into an early lead in what’s shaping as a classic U.K. chart race. Heaven & Hell leads an action-packed midweek chart, ahead of Live At The Roundhouse (Sony Music CG), the 2019 live recording from Saucerful of Secrets, the prog-rock supergroup of Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. The top five is bunched tight at the halfway point. According to the Official Charts Company, just 1,700 chart sales separate Heaven & Hell from the current fifth-ranked album, Potter Payper’s Training Day 3 (2020 Potter Payper). Also cracking the lead pack, at No. 3, is Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ Tea For The Tillerman 2 (UMC), a rerecording of the veteran singer-songwriter’s 1970 set which originally peaked at No. 20. Hip-hop outfit Run The Jewels reen...
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Make Australian Chart History With ‘WAP’
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” grabs a piece of chart history as it snags a fifth week at No. 1 in Australia, while Marilyn Manson bags his second leader on the national albums chart with We Are Chaos. The controversial “WAP” is just the third female-led hip-hop song to rule Australia’s singles chart. And with its streak now extending past a month, it stands tall as the longest-running leader in that category, eclipsing Salt-N-Pepa’s “Let’s Talk About Sex.” In its seventh week on the survey, Joel Corry & MNEK’s “Head & Heart” rises 4-3, a new peak. The club track recently logged six weeks at No. 1 in the U.K. Staying in Australia, hip-hop collective Internet Money vault 47-13 with “Lemonade,” featuring guest appearances with Gunna, Don Toliver and Canadian rappe...
Following TikTok Deal, Judge Agrees to Delay U.S. Restrictions on WeChat
A judge has approved a request from a group of U.S. WeChat users to delay looming federal government restrictions that could effectively make the popular app nearly impossible to use. In a ruling dated Saturday, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in California said the government’s actions would affect users’ First Amendment rights, as an effective ban on the app would remove their platform for communication. WeChat is a messaging-focused app popular with many Chinese-speaking Americans that serves as a lifeline to friends, family, customers and business contacts in China. It’s owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent. The group of WeChat users requested an injunction after the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it would bar WeChat from U.S. app stores and keep it from accessing essential interne...
Justin Bieber Aiming For U.K. Top 10 Berth With ‘Holy’ Featuring Chance The Rapper
Justin Bieber could extend his run of U.K. Top 10 singles to 21 with “Holy,” though another No. 1 appears out of his reach for now. The Canadian pop singer’s collaboration with Chance The Rapper is the highest new entry on the Official Chart: First Look, starting at No. 10. The First Look survey captures sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours in the weekly chart cycle. At the top of the leaderboard is 24kGoldn’s “Mood” featuring Iann Dior, the most streamed track over the weekend. “Mood” usurps the current champion, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP,” which has lorded over the Official U.K. Singles Chart for three weeks. Also eying new chart peaks are Paul Woolford & Diplo’s “Looking For Me” featuring Kareen Lomax (No. 4); Jason Derulo’s “Take You Dancing” (No. 7); and M...
Tomorrow X Together Announce ‘Minisode 1: Blue Hour’ EP Release Date
Tomorrow X Together have unveiled the release date of their next mini-album. Minisode 1: Blue Hour will be coming on Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. KST, according to a video teaser the group dropped for the EP on Sunday (Sept. 20). The Minisode 1: Blue Hour clip didn’t reveal much else, but it did feature some video game-inspired sound bytes and graphics. The new set follows TXT’s previous music releases: The Dream Chapter: Eternity, The Dream Chapter: Star and The Dream Chapter: Magic. Watch the preview for their new chapter below. [embedded content] 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 p...
J-pop Trio Perfume Talk New Single, Look Back on Coachella Performance & More
J-pop dance trio Perfume is celebrating multiple milestones this year, as 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s formation and the 15th of its major label debut. On Sept. 16, the trio dropped “Time Warp,” its first new single in two and half years. Along with the coupled track called “Saisei,” the release explores the years that the three women and their longtime collaborator Yasutaka Nakata have spent working together to perfect their art, and their current state of mind as they take a new step forward. Members a-chan, KASHIYUKA, and NOCCHi met with Takayuki Okamoto for Billboard Japan and spoke about their new release, looked back on their eventful past year — which included their fourth world tour and a groundbreaking performance at Coachella — and shared their thoughts on where...
YOASOBI Logs Fifth Week at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100 After Leading Streaming & Video for 15 Weeks
YOASOBI’s “Yoru ni kakeru” returns to No. 1 for the fifth time on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Sept. 7 to 13. The long-running hit that has hovered near the top of the chart for weeks leads streaming and video views for the 15th week, respectively, while also coming in at No. 2 for karaoke and No. 6 for downloads. “Yoru ni kakeru” sees a slight dip in figures for streaming (from 9,259,480 to 9,011,832 streams) and also a decrease in video views (from 7,871,642 to 6,430,177 views), but both are far greater than the track at No. 2 for each metric. Depending on how CD sales play out in the coming weeks, the song could still extend its record at the top of the list. [embedded content] The song at No. 1 for physical sales this week is BOYS AND MEN’s “Oh Yeah,” which sold 55,996 copies in ...
Thomas Coesfeld to Succeed BMG’s Maximilian Dressendörfer as CFO
Thomas Coesfeld has been named deputy chief financial officer at BMG, effective Oct. 15. He will assume the role of CFO on April 1, 2021, succeeding Maximilian Dressendörfer, who is taking on new responsibilities at the company. Since June 2019, Coesfeld has served as chief strategy officer on the executive committee of the Bertelsmann Printing Group, a division of BMG’s parent company Bertelsmann. He also serves as CSO at Mohn Media. In his new role, he will report to BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch and Bertelsmann CFO Bernd Hirsch. Coesfeld began his career in 2014 as a management consultant at McKinsey in Munich, Germany, where he gained experience in sales and strategy with a focus on the insurance, logistics, and automotive industries. He joined Bertelsmann at the top of 2016 and spent a year ...
Bogota Music Market: 5 Takeaways From Henry Cárdenas’ Inspiring Chat
On the third day (Sept. 16) of the Bogotá Music Market, Billboard‘s Leila Cobo sat down with Henry Cárdenas, owner and president of event and concert promotion firm Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN) for the weekly daily “inspiring” conversation. During the chat, the pair talked about the impact the COVID-19-imposed lockdown has had on the live industry, when shows are likely to resume again and how he met his longtime friend and business partner Marc Anthony. Cárdenas was part of a number of panelists featured on BOmm’s first all-digital edition with programming that includes 20 panels, workshops and showcases running through Sept. 18. The full program and viewing instructions can be accessed here. Below, find five takeaways from the nearly one-hour ch...
