Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 30), as the set’s release on vinyl LP prompts its jump from No. 120 to No. 1. It’s the album’s second nonconsecutive week atop the list; it debuted at No. 1 on the July 10, 2021-dated chart.

Call Me earned 59,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending April 21 (up 507%), according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. Of that sum, 51,000 were in traditional album sales — almost entirely vinyl LP sales.

The vinyl edition of Call Me was sold exclusively through the artist’s webstore and sold 49,500 copies, making it the largest sales week for a hip-hop album on vinyl, or for a solo male album on vinyl, since Lu-minate began tracking music sales in 1991.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equiva-lent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale,

or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 30, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on April 26. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @bill-boardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Call Me’s 59,000 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 51,000; SEA units comprise 8,000 (down 12%; equating to 11.54 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs); and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

The vinyl edition of Call Me was announced on Wednesday, April 6 via Tyler, the Creator’s social me-dia accounts, with a link directing fans to his webstore to purchase the $35 standard black double-LP set. The vinyl was initially announced without fans knowing when the album would ship out to them. Then, on Fri-day, April 8, it became known that the album would start shipping out on Tuesday, April 12 (in order to begin arriving to customers on Friday, April 15, the

Vinyl Release Pushes Tyler, the Cre-ator’s ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart

B Y K E I T H C A U L F I E L D

(continued)

YOUR DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE

BulletinA P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 2 2 Page 1 of 48

• Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Returns to No. 1 on Hot 100, Morgan Wallen’s ‘Don’t Think

Jesus’ Debuts in Top 10

• Revealed: Billboard’s 2022

International Power Players

• Managers To Watch: The Rising

Execs Helping Baby Keem, Tems, Remi

Wolf & More

• Songwriter & ASCAP President

Paul Williams Remembers Senator

Orrin Hatch as a Champion of

Creators

• Elon Musk Reaches Agreement to Buy Twitter for $44B

• Grammys on the Hill: The 4 Policy Priorities Being

Pushed at This Year’s Advocacy Event

INSIDE

SIMPLE LICENSING.YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC.

GlobalMusicRights.com

Page 3 of 48

first day of the new chart’s tracking week).In total, the 49,500 vinyl copies sold of

Call Me If You Get Lost mark the ninth largest sales week for a vinyl album since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. It’s also the biggest frame for a hip-hop set on vinyl, or a vinyl album by a male artist in that span of time. The previous largest week for a hip-hop set or solo male album on wax, since 1991, was registered by the debut frame of Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, in December, with 41,500. The largest vinyl week, overall, since 1991, was the opening week of Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), with 114,000 vinyl LPs sold, last November.

Notably, all physical versions of the Call Me album — vinyl, CD and cassette — have been exclusively sold through Tyler, the Creator’s official webstore. No physical ver-sions of the album have been officially avail-able to any other sellers in the U.S. The set has been widely available to all streaming services and digital retailers since its initial release on June 25, 2021.

With Call Me’s jump back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it becomes the fourth album to return to the top following its vinyl release. It follows Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (which jumped 157-1 on the Oct. 16, 2021 chart after its vinyl bow), Olivia Ro-drigo’s Sour (3-1; Sept. 4, 2021) and Swift’s Evermore (74-1; June 12, 2021).

Call Me has the largest jump to No. 1

since Fearless (Taylor’s Version) vaulted 157-1 (Oct. 16, 2021). Call Me was last at No. 1 nearly 10 months ago, on the July 10, 2021-dated chart. It’s the first album to wait that long between weeks at No. 1 since No-vember of 2020, when Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get returned to No. 1 after nearly a year.

The rest of the Billboard 200’s new top 10 is a bit sleepy, as five former No. 1s are Nos. 2-6 on the tally. Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album holds at No. 2 (50,500 equivalent album units; up 9%), Lil Durk’s 7220 falls 1-3 (43,000; down 9%), the Encanto soundtrack dips 3-4 (40,000; down 12%), Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour is steady at No. 5 (36,000; down 8%) and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy is stationary at No. 6 (30,000; down 3%). Doja Cat’s Planet Her rises 8-7 with 29,500 (up less than 1%).

The Weeknd’s hits compilation The Highlights bounces 60-8 with 27,000 equivalent album units earned (up 92%). Meanwhile, his After Hours album, which re-entered the chart at No. 35 a week ago, falls off the chart. The two albums share four songs (“Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears,” “In Your Eyes” and “Heartless”). On the latest chart, the TEA and SEA units for the four songs contribute to The Highlights, as a song’s activity is assigned to the artist’s album with the most sales in a week. (The Highlights sold a little over 1,000 copies in the latest tracking week, while After Hours

sold less than 1,000.) A week ago, the TEA and SEA for the four songs were directed to After Hours (which in that frame outsold The Highlights). In turn, with the songs’ activity contributing to The Highlights, the album rises 60-8.

Rounding out the new top 10 are two former No. 1s: Gunna’s DS4Ever (rising 12-9 with 23,500 equivalent album units; down 7%) and Lil Baby’s My Turn (13-10 with 21,000 units; down 4%).

Luminate, formerly MRC Data, the inde-pendent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established cri-teria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to the final calculation.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022 11:30 AM THE PIERRE | NEW YORK CITY

Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Returns to No. 1 on Hot 100, Morgan Wallen’s ‘Don’t Think Jesus’ Debuts in Top 10BY GARY TRUST

Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” re-bounds to No. 1 on the Bill-board Hot 100 songs chart. It launched at the summit two

weeks earlier and dipped to No. 2 in its second week.

Styles claims his first multi-week Hot 100 No. 1, after his prior leader, “Watermelon Sugar,” reigned for a week in August 2020.

Meanwhile, Latto‘s “Big Energy,” at No. 4 on the Hot 100, becomes the most heard song on U.S. radio, taking over atop the Radio Songs chart.

Plus, Morgan Wallen‘s “Don’t Think Jesus” soars in at No. 7 on the Hot 100, marking his third top 10, all of which have debuted in the tier. It opens as the week’s

best-selling track, atop the Digital Song Sales chart.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. stream-ing (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated April 30, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (April 26). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“As It Was” was released March 31 as the first single from Styles’ third album, Harry’s House, due May 20 on Erskine/Columbia Records. The song tallied 43.2 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 28%, good for top Airplay Gainer honors on the Hot 100), 30 million streams (down 7%) and 8,400 downloads sold (up 7%) in the April 15-21 tracking week, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data.

The track keeps at No. 2 on Streaming Songs, after it debuted on top; returns to its No. 2 high, from No. 5, on Digital Song Sales; and surges 14-9 on Radio Songs. Styles com-pletes his quickest trip to the Radio Songs top 10 – three weeks – as he adds his third top 10 on the chart, following two No. 2 hits in 2020: “Adore You” (12 weeks to the top 10) and “Watermelon Sugar” (six).

As for its warm welcome at individual radio formats, “As It Was” jumps 9-7 on the Pop Airplay chart, 10-9 on Adult Pop Air-play, 13-11 on Adult Contemporary and 30-15 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay and debuts as Styles’ second entry on Adult Alternative

Airplay, at No. 32 (after “Sign of the Times” hit No. 25 in 2017).

Styles scores his first multi-week Hot 100 No. 1, after his prior leader, “Watermelon Sugar,” ruled for a week in August 2020. He’s also the first soloist from One Direc-tion with a No. 1 to dominate for multiple weeks; beyond Styles’ two toppers, former 1D member Zayn has also led solo, for a week with “Pillowtalk” upon its debut in February 2016.

Jack Harlow’s “First Class” makes its de-scent to No. 2 on the Hot 100, a week after it took off at No. 1. Still, it leads Streaming Songs for a second week (34.6 million, down 37%). It falls from No. 1 to No. 5 on Digital Song Sales (6,900, down 35%) and bounds closer to the Radio Songs chart (13.7 million, up 231%).

For a second week, “First Class” has a view from the top of both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodol-ogy as the Hot 100.

Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” repeats at No. 3 after five weeks atop the Hot 100. It rules the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alter-native Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a 31st week each.

Latto’s “Big Energy” holds at No. 4 on the Hot 100, after rising to No. 3. Her first top 10 concurrently becomes her first No. 1 on Radio Songs, where it climbs from No. 2 with a 7% boost to 65.3 million in audience.

Page 5 of 48

IN BRIEF

Sam Hunt’s second studio full-length, and first in over five years, Southside (MCA Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville), debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart dated April 18. In its first week (ending April 9), it earned 46,000 equivalent album units, including 16,000 in album sales, ac-cording to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

Southside marks Hunt’s second No. 1 on the chart and fourth top 10. It follows freshman LP Montevallo, which arrived at the summit in No-vember 2014 and reigned for nine weeks. To date, Montevallo has earned 3.9 million units, with 1.4 million in album sales.

Montevallo has spent 267 weeks on the list, tying Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party as the sixth-longest-running titles in the chart’s 56-year history.

On the all-genre Billboard 200, Southside ar-rives at No. 5, awarding Hunt his second top 10 after the No. 3-peaking Montevallo.

Hunt first released the EP X2C, which debuted and peaked at No. 5 on Top Country Albums in August 2014. Following Montevallo, Between the Pines: Acoustic Mixtape started at its No. 7 high in November 2015.

Montevallo produced five singles, four of which hit the pinnacle of Country Airplay: “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party” and “Make You Miss Me.” “Break Up in a Small Town” peaked at No. 2.

Hunt co-penned all 12 songs on Southside, including “Body Like a Back Road,” which was released in 2017. The smash hit ruled Country Airplay for three weeks and the airplay-, streaming- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart for a then-record 34 frames. It now ranks second only to Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” (50 weeks atop the latter list in 2017-18).

“Downtown’s Dead,” which is also on the new set, reached Nos. 14 and 15 on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay, respectively, in June 2018. “Kin-folks” led Country Airplay on Feb. 29, becoming Hunt’s seventh No. 1. It hit No. 3 on Hot Country Songs.

Latest single “Hard to Forget” jumps 17-9 on Hot Country Songs. It’s his eighth top 10, having corralled 8.2 million U.S. streams (up 96%) and 5,000 in

sales (up 21%) in the tracking week. On Country Airplay, it hops 18-15 (11.9 mil-lion audience impressions, up 16%).

TRY TO ‘CATCH’ UP WITH YOUNG Brett Young achieves his fifth consecutive and total Country Airplay No. 1 as “Catch” (Big Machine Label Group) ascends

2-1, increasing 13% to 36.6 million impressions.Young’s first of six chart entries, “Sleep With-

out You,” reached No. 2 in December 2016. He followed with the multiweek No. 1s “In Case You Didn’t Know” (two weeks, June 2017), “Like I Loved You” (three, January 2018), “Mercy” (two, August 2018) and “Here Tonight” (two, April 2019).

“Catch” completes his longest journey to No. 1, having taken 46 weeks to reach the apex. It out-paces the 30-week climb of “Here Tonight.”

On Hot Country Songs, “Catch” pushes 7-5 for a new high.

COMBS ‘DOES’ IT AGAIN Luke Combs’ “Does to Me” (River House/Columbia Nashville), featuring Eric Church, ascends 11-8 on Country Airplay, up 10% to 24.7 million in audience. The song is Combs’ eighth straight career-opening top 10, following a record run of seven consecutive out-of-the-gate, properly promoted No. 1 singles.

Church adds his 15th Country Airplay top 10.

THAT TOOK QUITE ‘A FEW’ MONTHS Travis Denning shatters the record for the most weeks it has taken to penetrate the Country Airplay top 10 as “After a Few” (Mercury Nashville) climbs 12-10 in its 57th week, up 4% to 21.4 mil-lion in radio reach.

The song surpasses two tracks that took 50 weeks each to enter the top 10: Easton Corbin’s “A Girl Like You,” which reached No. 10 in January 2018 be-fore peaking at No. 6 that February, and Aaron Watson’s “Outta Style,” which achieved its No. 10 high in December 2017.

“After” is Denning’s second Country Airplay entry. “David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs” traveled to No. 32 in September 2018.

SamHunt’s Southside Rules Top Country Albums; Brett Young ‘Catch’-es Fifth Airplay

Leader; Travis Denning Makes History

ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER jim.asker@billboard.com

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE APRIL 13, 2020 | PAGE 4 OF 19

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HUNT YOUNG

On May 14th, Billboard will publish its annual 40Under 40 Issue, celebrating the next generation of leaders in the music industry. This issue will profile 40 power players who are making their mark in music, touring and live entertainment.

These progressive young leaders’ innovation and creativity will continue to create excitement in the music business.

Advertise in this issue to reach the music industry’smost influential and affluent - from the youngdisrupters to the seasoned veterans - who pavedthe way.

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40 UNDER 40C O N T A C T SJoe Maimone201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@billboard.com

Lee Ann Photoglo615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com

Cynthia Mellow615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com

Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | marciaolival29@gmail.com

Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | rodonnell@pmc.com

The song crowns the Pop Airplay chart for a second week, after it dominated Rhythmic Airplay for seven weeks and Rap Airplay for one frame.

Imagine Dragons and JID’s “Enemy” is stationary at its No. 5 Hot 100 high and The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” is likewise steady, at No. 6 after seven weeks at No. 1.

Morgan Wallen’s “Don’t Think Jesus” debuts at No. 7 on the Hot 100. The song, released April 15, premieres at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales (21,500 sold) and No. 3 on Streaming Songs (18.1 million). (It also drew 557,000 first-week radio airplay impres-sions.)

Wallen adds his third Hot 100 top 10, and third to debut in the bracket, after “7 Sum-mers” bowed and peaked at No. 6 in August 2020 and “Wasted on You” started at its No. 9 high in January 2021, the latter concurrent with the chart arrival of both songs’ parent LP, Dangerous: The Double Album, which topped the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks and wrapped as the No. 1 album of all of 2021.

“Jesus” marks Wallen’s first song released with him in a lead role since he was caught on video using the N-word among friends in February 2021. He subsequently apologized and asked fans not to defend him. While most radio chains pulled his songs, his music eventually returned to airwaves, with Dangerous single “Sand in My Boots” having topped Country Airplay this February; the same month, he began his The Dangerous Tour.

(“Jesus” was written by Jessi Alexander, Mark Holman and Chase McGill, “with [Wallen] on their mind,” Wallen noted in a preview performance of the song on Insta-gram in October.)

Wallen notches his second Digital Song Sales No. 1, following his featured turn on Lil Durk’s “Broadway Girls,” which entered atop the chart this January.

“Jesus” also begins as Wallen’s fourth No. 1 – and his record third to open in the lead (as he passes Taylor Swift, with two No. 1 starts) – on the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart. It follows “Whiskey Glasses,” which ascended to No. 1 for two weeks in May 2019; “7 Summers,” which ruled in its debut week in August 2020; and “Wasted on

You,” which likewise led in its first frame in January 2021.

Notably, “Jesus” is the fifth track to debut at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs and in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously; all of have done so since August 2020 (after Hot Coun-try Songs adopted the Hot 100’s methodol-ogy in October 2012). Of the five titles, three are by Wallen.

Songs to Debut at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs & In the Hot 100’s Top 10 Simultane-ously:

“7 Summers,” Morgan Wallen, No. 6 Hot 100 debut, Aug. 29, 2020

“Forever After All,” Luke Combs, No. 2, Nov. 7, 2020

“Wasted on You,” Wallen, No. 9, Jan. 23, 2021

“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, No. 1, Nov. 27, 2021

“Don’t Think Jesus,” Wallen, No. 7, April 30, 2022

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Doja Cat’s “Woman” keeps at its No. 8 high, as it leads the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for an eighth week; Kodak Black’s “Su-per Gremlin” drops 7-9 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 3; and Justin Bieber’s “Ghost” falls 9-10, after hitting No. 5.

Again, for all chart news, you can fol-low @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated April 30), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (April 26).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to final calculations.

Revealed: Billboard’s 2022 International Power PlayersBY BILLBOARD STAFF

When IFPI presented its Global Music Report on March 22, the exceptional growth of the worldwide

music business was actually the second item on the agenda.

“Before we start, I just wanted to say one word on Ukraine,” said IFPI CEO Frances Moore. “And that is to reiterate the posi-tion taken by the industry that we stand by Ukraine — and we call for peace and for an end to violence.” Among other participants in the event, Simon Robson, president of international, recorded music, at Warner Music Group, echoed Moore’s comments. “The news from Ukraine is just heartbreak-ing,” he said.

No report on the global music business can begin without an acknowledgement of the toll of the war, which has also affected the industry. Following the invasion of Ukraine in late February, numerous music companies — including the three multina-tional music groups, Live Nation, Spotify and YouTube — have announced the sus-pension of operations in Russia.

At the unveiling of its annual report, IFPI noted that global recorded-music revenue reached $25.9 billion in 2021, an 18.5% increase over 2020 and the highest level ever reported by the trade organization. The results were driven largely by a 21.9% jump in paid streaming subscription revenue. Streaming now accounts for a startling 65% of global music sales, according to IFPI.

Billboard’s 2022 International Power Players — nominated by their firms and peers and chosen by our editors from select-ed industry sectors — have contributed to that growth. All have primary responsibility for markets outside the United States, the territories that account for the overwhelm-

Page 7 of 48

IN BRIEF

ISSUE DATE 5/14 | AD CLOSE 5/4 | MATERIALS DUE 5/5

RIAA 70TH ANNIVERSARY2 0 2 2

The Recording Industry Association of America® advocates for American music and the people and companies that create it. RIAA’s several hundred members – ranging from major labels with global reach to small and local businesses and artist-owned labels they distribute and support – make up the world’s most vibrant and innovative music community, partnering with artists to help them reach their potential and connect with fans while supporting hundreds of thousands of American jobs. In both Washington, DC and the states, RIAA advocates for policies that grow and strengthen the modern music economy and create opportunities for every segment of our industry. Its tech and legal teams are the leading edge of online content protection, working 24/7 to stopunfair and damaging pre-release leaks and ensure artists and songwriters get paid everywhere and every time their work is used. It is the authoritative source for revenue data and research that reveals important trends and developments in the music business.

And for 60 years it has operated the Gold and Platinum program - a widely recognized bench-mark of success in our industry. In 2022, RIAA marks a major milestone – 70 years supporting American music. So, to honor this ongoing evolution and the RIAA’s commitment to great music and a strong healthy music ecosystem with opportunities for all, please join Billboard in congratulating RIAA on its 70th Anniversary.

C O N T A C T SJoe Maimone201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@billboard.com

Lee Ann Photoglo615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com

Cynthia Mellow615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com

Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | marciaolival29@gmail.com

Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | rodonnell@pmc.com

ing majority of the world’s recorded-music sales.

On IFPI’s global top 10 albums chart, it’s no surprise that Adele is No. 1. But local art-ists in each market —Yung Hurn from Ger-many, Anitta from Brazil, Burna Boy from Nigeria and many others — have broken the long dominance of Anglo-American reper-toire on the world stage. The multinational music groups, seeking to maximize their access to local artists and propel local talent to global audiences, have steadily increased their presence in regions they previously did not prioritize.

“Around the world record companies are engaging at a very local level to support music cultures and bring on the develop-ment of [an] emerging music ecosystem,” said Moore, in announcing the latest global numbers. “As more markets mature, they join with and contribute to the rich, globally interconnected music world.”

The 2021 results exceeded the highest previous totals ever reported by IFPI — a tally of $24.1 billion in 1991. And Moore took a moment to put the historical trend in perspective.

“Some of you may have lived through the days when we were reporting year after year about the decline of the industry,” she said. “But now we’re in our seventh year of global growth. There’s a lot of optimism in the market.”

Adam Granite Executive vp of market development, Univer-sal Music Group Dickon Stainer President/CEO of global classics and jazz, Universal Music Group

Granite oversaw UMG’s significant ex-pansion in China over the past year, which included the launching of Republic and Capitol outposts and the relaunching of PolyGram Records China and EMI China as front-line labels, making Universal “the first major music company to introduce a multilabel structure” there, he says. And in India, UMG was the first music company to create dedicated labels for all the major local dialects. “UMG doubled down on our unmatched commitment and belief in the diverse and unique music talent globally,” Granite adds. Stainer, who runs all of Uni-

versal Music’s classical music operations from London, oversaw the evolution of Ital-ian pianist-composer Ludovico Einaudi as an “international streaming phenomenon,” he says, who helped score the Academy Award-winning movies Nomadland and The Father and also scored on TikTok with his track “Experience,” which topped 23 billion combined views, including 11 million video creations — “a truly astonishing feat.”

Stéphane Hubert Executive vp of group investments and strategy, BMG Dominique Casimir Executive vp of global repertoire and marketing, European Union, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and synch, BMG

As BMG’s earnings grew 5.1% from 2020 to 2021 and the publishing business came “roaring back,” as BMG CEO Hartwig Ma-such told investors recently, the company scored unusual hits like its first-ever live musical — Ku’damm 56, based on a popular German TV series. “Despite all the obstacles of the pandemic, it has become 2021’s most successful new German musical,” Casimir says. Next up for the Bertelsmann-owned company, whose publishing division repre-sents songwriters from Keith Richards to the late rapper Juice WRLD, is setting up its Mexico division as “the new hub” for its Latin American operations, says Casimir.

Donny Novakovic Vp of international marketing, Disney Music Group

Novakovic and his team had a fairytale few months with the blockbuster suc-cess of the Encanto soundtrack, as the U.S. chart performance of the hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” surpassed every Disney song of the past 26 years. “We localized the soundtrack in 23 languages and celebrated the No. 1 album in Canada, Australia, Ire-land and New Zealand for multiple weeks,” he says. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” held the No. 1 U.K. singles chart position for seven consecutive weeks and the album continues to top the compilation chart.

Jiwon Park CEO, HYBE YJ Shin President, BIGHIT MUSIC

When a company represents some of the

world’s biggest pop stars, such as BTS and Tomorrow X Together, it doesn’t take much to “transcend regional borders to establish a strong foothold for artists to be loved world-wide,” says Shin. In early 2021, Park and his team in South Korea rebranded from Big Hit Entertainment to HYBE and led “an industrial innovation of sorts” to increase the company’s efficiency in production, dis-tribution, tech and concerts. The goal? To establish a “fan-centered industrial ecosys-tem,” says Shin, “so that fans and artists can constantly continue to interact.”

Melissa Thomas Executive vp of international marketing, U.S. repertoire, Sony Music Entertainment Wouter Jansen Senior vp of digital and commercial strategy, U.S. international, Sony Music Entertain-ment

The highlight of international marketing for Sony in the past year can be summed up in one word: Adele. Her album 30 debuted at No. 1 in over 30 countries, according to the company. Thomas was promoted this past year to oversee the international strategy for Sony Music’s front-line U.S. labels. She oversees a global department that includes marketing and promotion, digital, streaming and sales expertise, guid-ing Sony’s biggest U.S. artist campaigns in over 50 markets in Europe, Latin America, Australasia and Africa. For those regions, Jansen guides streaming and digital market-ing strategy, including campaigns involving Spotify, TikTok, Apple Music, Instagram and YouTube.

Eric Wong President/chief marketing officer, Warner Record Music Simon Robson President of international, recorded music, Warner Music Group Jessica Keeley-Carter Senior vp of global marketing, Warner Music Group

For Warner’s international division, “superstar artists and hits are coming from all corners of the world and connecting with people globally,” says Robson, who was named to the post in late 2020. CKay broke out of Nigeria and experienced global stardom with “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah),”

Page 9 of 48

IN BRIEF

ISSUE DATE 5/14 | AD CLOSE 5/4 | MATERIALS DUE 5/5

THIRD EYE BLIND2 0 2 2

Since 1997, San Francisco's Third Eye Blind has recorded five best-selling albums and assembled one career retrospective. Led by Stephan Jenkins, 3EB has earned worldwide success during a tumultuous group of years when the major-label record-ing industry was finally losing its grip on an enterprise that for decades it had dominated with steely efficiency.

Third Eye Blind’s 2021 album Our Bande Apart was recorded when lockdown ended, with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast and Ryan Olson of Poliça. The band has continued to have gained artistic clarification—and, surprisingly, a fanbase that is larger, younger and more dedicated than ever.

Now celebrating 25 years of their iconic self-titled album, the band has an upcoming summer tour and has teamed up with Smith & Cult to create a series of nail polish colors with proceeds from shade "Jumper" to support True Colors United - a foundation committed to supporting LGBTQ youth. The band will be supporting SeaTrees on their 2022 Summer Gods tour, an organization that helps restore a portion of the Palos Verdes Kelp Forest. The ocean has the power to restore climate change.

The latest science shows that globally, kelp forests can sequester more carbon than mangrove forests - restoring these sequoias of the sea is critical to solving climate change as 93% of all carbon in the carbon cycle is stored in our oceans (meaning just 7% is stored across our atmosphere and land biosphere.

C O N T A C T SJoe Maimone201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@billboard.com

Lee Ann Photoglo615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com

Cynthia Mellow615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com

Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | marciaolival29@gmail.com

Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | rodonnell@pmc.com

25TH ANNIVERSARY

while Brazilian pop star Anitta and Argen-tine rapper Paulo Londra reached the top of Spotify’s Global Chart — securing the No. 1 and No. 2 spots for “Envolver” and “Plan A,” respectively, the first time that both a Brazilian and Argentine artist have climbed that high. “It has been great to see so many international artists enjoy worldwide suc-cess,” says Robson, “and this is a trend that will only continue to grow.”

Frank Briegmann Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Central Europe/Deutsche Grammophon Olivier Nusse CEO, Universal Music France/Universal Music Africa Sipho Dlamini CEO, Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa Franck Kacou Managing director, Universal Music Africa

Under Briegmann, UMG expanded opera-tions across the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Russia, including the launch earlier this year of Virgin Music in Russia, to support its independent label distribution and artists — until the war in Ukraine led UMG to join other countries in suspending operations in the country. In Germany, the largest music market in Briegmann’s region, Universal had the top single of 2021 with Nathan Evans’ “Wellerman,” as well as the top two albums with ABBA’s Voyage and Helene Fischer’s Rausch. Nusse, with responsibility for France and Africa, saw Universal win in nine out of 14 categories at France’s NRJ Awards. Dlamini oversees all of UMG’s op-erations in English-speaking Africa, where he grew the local market and helped create new opportunities for African talent to reach global audiences. In 2021, according to the company, seven of the top 10 artists on Apple South Africa were from UMG la-bels. Kacou struck a partnership with lead-ing French rapper-entrepreneur Booba and his Tallac Records label. The deal marked the launch of 92 i Africa in partnership with Universal Music Africa and Universal Music France to develop African rap and hip-hop acts like DopeBoy DMG (Senegal) and Didi B (Ivory Coast).

Rob Cowling GM, Gallo Music Group

Gallo Music Group includes Africa’s largest and oldest independent label, which marks its 95th anniversary this year, and Cowling oversees the company’s label and publishing divisions. Last year, Gallo Music Investments announced the appointment of managing director Simukayi Mukuna and took a significant stake in one of Africa’s biggest independent content aggregators, Content Connect Africa. Among the music group’s recent initiatives, the Gallo Remixed project has allowed current artists to rein-terpret songs from Gallo’s deep publishing catalog of African classics. Producer-DJ Black Coffee, who worked on Gallo Re-mixed, won the best dance/electronic album Grammy Award for Subconsciously.

Fabian Drebes Doreen Schimk Co-presidents, Warner Music Central Europe Mark Fry President, Warner Music Nordics Alfonso Perez-Soto President of emerging markets, Warner Recorded Music

Drebes and Schimk were promoted last year to co-lead Warner Music Central Europe and have overseen the launch of Atlantic Records Germany, which is focused on discovering and developing German hip-hop. Austrian-born Yung Hurn, described by the company as one of the most influen-tial German-speaking artists of recent years, is the label’s first signing. Fry, who had been managing director of market-leading War-ner Music Finland, now oversees operations in that country along with Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The song “Habibi” (Arabic for “darling” or “sweetheart”), credited to Swedish rapper Ricky Rich and AMRAM Mafia, has charted in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Greece. Perez-Soto, also named to his role last year, has responsibil-ity for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa; India and South Asia; the eastern Mediterranean region; and East-ern Europe — home to 40% of the world’s population, according to WMG. Among Perez-Soto’s achievements is bringing Nigerian artist CKay into the WMG net-work. The singer-songwriter reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart in

November thanks to his hit “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah).”

Fred Gillham Managing director of Europe and the U.K., Concord Recorded Music

Having expanded his U.K. managing director role to encompass all of continen-tal Europe, Gillham says he also celebrated “three great successes for our artists.” Swedish rock band Ghost’s fifth album, Impera, debuted at No. 1 in multiple Euro-pean countries. The Tipping Point, Tears for Fears’ first album in 17 years, debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, matching the peak of 1989’s The Seeds of Love. And Korn scored its sixth No. 1 title on Hard Rock Albums with its latest release, Requiem.

Tony Harlow CEO, Warner Music U.K. Victor Aroldoss Senior vp of international marketing, Warner Music U.K.

Harlow’s role includes oversight of the Atlantic, Parlophone, Rhino and Warner Records labels in the market as well as ADA U.K. Among several key moves by Harlow is the creation of a new joint-venture label with Darcus Beese, previously president/CEO of Island Records in the United States. Aroldoss leads international marketing strategies for the front-line U.K. labels that are home to Anne-Marie, Charli XCX, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Foals, Jess Glynne, Lianne La Havas, Muse, Royal Blood and Rudimental. The company cel-ebrated the rise of three singles by four U.K. artists — Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers,” Lipa and Elton John’s “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” and Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe” — into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Jason Iley Chairman/CEO, Sony Music U.K. and Ireland Nicola Tuer COO, Sony Music U.K. and Ireland

Under Iley and Tuer, Sony Music U.K. scored nine No. 1 albums, including the second album from Rag’n’Bone Man, the breakthrough release from Tom Grennan, the Manic Street Preachers first chart-topping album in 23 years and hits from London Grammar, Bring Me the Horizon, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon and The Script.

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IN BRIEF

Charlotte Bwana Manager of media and brand partnerships, Africa, Audiomack Tanya Lawson Director of reggae and gospel, Caribbean, Audiomack

Audiomack reports that it became the top-ranked Apple iOS music streaming app in 2021 in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal and Kenya — all territories under Johnson’s region of responsibility. He has developed marketing initiatives to collaborate with Afrobeats stars like Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy that help boost their interna-tional presence. Escobar Souffrain, who leads Audiomack’s Latin music curation and marketing strategy, has boosted program-ming including the En la Mira series, high-lighting rising acts like Noreh, Tokischa and Immasoul. Bwana created Audiomack’s new podcast show, Swahili Radio, that features prominent African artists. Lawson helped Audiomack become a top-ranked music streaming app in Jamaica, Haiti, St. Vincent, Grenada and Barbados.

Robb McDaniels CEO, The Beatport Group

Over the last year, The Beatport Group signed over 125,000 subscribers and produced what McDaniels describes as “some of the most daring activations across livestreams and the metaverse” in partner-ship with consumer brands such as Des-perados beer. In the wake of the company’s recent 20-hour electronic music livestream benefiting Ukraine through its ReConnect fundraiser platform, McDaniels says that “The Beatport Group has continued its investment in the DJ community by provid-ing access to tools and services that have accelerated growth even through the pan-demic. It has been an active few years for this company that helps define DJ culture around the world.”

Jen Walsh Senior director of international content and services, Apple

This past year, Apple introduced “its most innovative lineup of products and services ever,” says Walsh, a key international ex-ecutive for the company. “With the launch of spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, Apple Music brought the next generation of sound

to subscribers, a notable advancement in sound quality that also offers artists the opportunity to bring an immersive, multidi-mensional audio experience to fans.”

Ama Walton Senior vp of business and legal affairs, music, SoundCloud

As SoundCloud transitions from indie-first streaming platform to full-service distributor and label-services operation, Walton points to the launch of fan-powered royalties — which pays artists royalties based on who is listening to their music rather than market share — as the corner-stone of the company’s efforts. Says Walton: “There is an urgency now to innovate and help more artists, especially emerging and independent artists, get paid and have more equitable payouts, transparency and control over their own careers.”

Jay Winship CEO of Asia Pacific, GoDigital Media Group

In the last year, Winship has been sharing a clear message: “Music presents a stable and lucrative long-term asset class for [the Asia Pacific] investment community.” Lead-ing GoDigital, which focuses on intellectual property rights through its various subsid-iaries (including Cinq Music, AdShare and SoundRoyalties), Winship says his company “positions music as a welcome addition to the traditional equity, fixed income and real estate portfolios of Asian private and insti-tutional investor communities.”

Jericho Adams Vp of international, 300 Entertainment

Earlier this year, Gunna’s top 10 Hot 100 hit, “Pushin P,” with Future and featuring Young Thug, had a lasting effect not only stateside but also internationally. With over 270 million streams and more than 1 million “creates” on TikTok, “Pushin P” is an en-during hit beyond social media, says Adams. “With ‘Pushin P,’ the velocity at which the song went viral was a testament to Gunna’s global influence at the most granular level,” he says. “Everyone from schoolteachers in Nigeria to pro Euro soccer players and British celebrities to K-pop choreographers posted content to ‘Pushin P.’ ”

Kaz Aida Head of ADA Japan Alassane Konaté

Director, ADA France Larissa Lueters Head of ADA Central Europe Adriana Sein Senior vp, international, ADA Worldwide Sander Stijnen Head of ADA Music Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg Chee Meng Tan Managing director, ADA Asia

ADA Worldwide has rapidly expanded over the past year, adding 60 employees outside the United States; opening offices in new territories throughout Asia, Latin America and Europe; and working with Warner Music Group’s newly acquired African digital music company Africori and Middle East/North Africa music distribu-tor Qanawat. “We’ve built up our presence around the world,” says Sein, a former Sony Music international marketing executive who joined ADA in September. “Our strat-egy has evolved to offer even more from day one to our partner artists and labels to fast-track their growth internationally.”

Rebecca Allen Jo Charrington Co-presidents, EMI Records U.K.

In March, Universal Music U.K. an-nounced that Charrington and Allen would jointly serve as co-presidents of EMI Records U.K. Allen had been named to lead EMI in 2020 and Charrington previ-ously had been named president of Capitol Records U.K., so this move brought Capitol under the EMI umbrella. During her nine years at the helm of Capitol U.K., Char-rington oversaw the global success of Sam Smith and the rise of emerging artists like Aitch, Mae Muller and Zoe Wees, all of whom have upcoming releases this year. During the past 12 months, EMI has achieved No. 1 albums in the United King-dom with releases from Bastille, Elton John, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and The Killers.

Tricia Arnold Senior vp of global label management and sales, The Orchard Erol Cichowski Jason Pascal Senior vps of global artist and label partner-ships, The Orchard Priya Dewan

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IN BRIEF

MUSICPUBLISHERSQUARTERLYBillboard’s Music Publishers Quarterlies deliver a digest of the latest news from the world of music publishers. From the artists on top of the charts to the publisher with the highest market share, Billboard reports the trends with unmatched authority and reaches the most influential people in the music industry.

Advertise in Billboard and align your catalog, songwriters, producers, and services with this coveted audience of:

• A&R Executives• Artists• Artist Managers

• Music Supervisors• Ad Agencies• Brand Agencies

• Media Agencies

CONTACT

East Coast: Joe Maimone | joe.maimone@billboard.comSoutheast: Lee Ann Photoglo | laphotoglo@gmail.comLatin: Marcia Olival | marciaolival29@gmail.comTouring & West Coast: Cynthia Mellow | cmellow.billboard@gmail.comInternational: Ryan O’Donnell | rodonnell@pmc.com

MPQ 1On Sale: 2/26Ad Close: 2/15Materials Due: 2/16

MPQ 2On Sale: 5/14Ad Close: 5/4Materials Due: 5/5

MPQ 3On Sale: 8/6Ad Close: 7/27Materials Due: 7/28

MPQ 4On Sale: 11/19Ad Close: 11/9Materials Due: 11/10

BRIT Award nominations went to Grennan, Joy Crookes, Mimi Webb, Riton and Little Mix — the first all-female act to win the award for British group. Tuer oversees the company’s commercial group, which helped give Mariah Carey a No. 1 U.K. hit with “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (26 years after its release) and created a TikTok cam-paign for the 30th anniversary of George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90.” Iley has been responsible for the U.K. division of Sony’s worldwide Social Justice Fund, which in the United Kingdom has distributed more than $1 million in grants to 16 beneficiaries since its launch in June 2020.

David Joseph Chairman/CEO, Universal Music U.K. and Ireland

Among the top-selling artists in the United Kingdom in the past year, the Universal labels under Joseph could boast seven of them: Taylor Swift, Drake, ABBA, Olivia Rodrigo, Eminem, The Weeknd and The Beatles. In his territories, Joseph has responsibility for the Capitol, Decca, Island, Polydor, EMI and 0207 Def Jam labels, as well as the renowned Abbey Road Studios. In 2021, Joseph helped reestablish the iconic Virgin brand with the launch of Virgin Music Label and Artist Services and launched the new Mercury Studios, whose first announced film project is a new Abbey Road documentary directed by Mary Mc-Cartney. He also oversaw the creation of a U.K. Task Force for Meaningful Change, led by Afryea Henry-Fontaine and Fay Hoyte, with representation from across UMG’s U.K. business, to contribute to UMG’s Global Task Force for Meaningful Change.

Maximilian Kolb Executive vp of repertoire and marketing, continental Europe, BMG

Kolb helped BMG’s European division develop rising stars such as Italian singer-songwriter Ditonellapiaga (“Chimica”) and Spanish Eurovision contestant Chanel (“SloMo”) while boosting veteran artists like German production trio KitschKrieg as well as Netherlands label partner 8ball. The division “really showcases all the facets we work in, from recordings to publishing, live and more,” says Kolb. Plus, BMG acquired an extensive portfolio of rights from Tina

Turner in October. “Introducing an icon like her as the female force that she has always been to a new generation is extremely in-spiring,” Kolb adds.

Daniel Lieberberg President of continental Europe and Africa, Sony Music Entertainment Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba CEO of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Sony Music Entertainment Marie-Anne Robert Managing director, Sony Music Entertain-ment France

Within his region of responsibility, Lieberberg recently has expanded Sony’s business in Israel and Africa; overseen breakthroughs for artists in France, Ger-many and Italy; and built a team to advance social justice in the music industry and beyond. Under Mushatsi-Kareba, Sony Mu-sic Germany has achieved border-crossing success with hits including “Beggin’ ” by Måneskin, “Roller” by Apache207, “Savage Love” by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo, and the “Roses” remix by SAINt JHN and Iman-bek. Mushatsi-Kareba signed the German-Ghanaian rap star Pajel and has helped drive international collaborations such as German artist AriBeatz teaming up with Latin superstar Ozuna. Sony Music in Sep-tember named Robert managing director of the label’s French operation, making her the first woman to fill the role. She will oversee signings and acquisitions for Sony France and work to boost the digital transformation of the world’s fifth-largest market.

Alejandro Duque President, Warner Music Latin America Sergio Affonso President, Warner Music Brazil Tomás Rodríguez Managing director, Warner Music Mexico

Warner’s Latin focus is highlighted by the recent success of Anitta, who became the first Brazilian artist to top Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart with “Envolver” the same week Argentina’s Paulo Londra hit No. 3 with “Plan A,” as well as signings of Colombia’s Blessd and Argentina’s Tiago PZK. In Mexico, Warner signed top produc-ers SOG (Blessd, Ryan Castro) and MAFF (J Balvin, Sech) and rising Costa Rican star Siho Villalobos. The latter deal exempli-

fies Warner Mexico’s strategy of tapping Central American acts with regional and international potential. “Internationally,” says Duque, “Latin music has never been in a better position.”

Jesús López Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula Luis Estrada President, Universal Music Southern Cone Victor Gonzalez President, Virgin Music Label and Artist Ser-vices Latin America and Iberian Peninsula Paulo Lima President, Universal Music Brazil

Universal’s ability to internationalize local Latin artists has been highlighted by Sebastián Yatra’s Academy Awards perfor-mance of “Dos Oruguitas” and collabora-tion with John Legend; Karol G’s success as Latin music’s leading female artist; and J Balvin’s collaborations with Ed Sheeran. Estrada has focused on spotlighting local genre cumbia 420, helping sign a joint-ven-ture deal with Kriterio Music and Universal Spain. And in his new position at Virgin, Gonzalez has expanded his operation, es-tablishing regional support teams that have closed deals with HUB Records in Brazil and signed emerging talent like Samantha Sánchez in the United States and Maximil-iano Calvo in Spain. In the last year, Lima has developed over 15 successful local acts in Brazil, including Jão.

Afo Verde Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Entertainment Latin Iberia Maria Fernandez Executive vp/COO, Sony Music Entertain-ment Latin Iberia José María Barbat President, Sony Music Iberia Paulo Junquiero President, Sony Music Brazil Melissa Exposito Managing director, Sony Music Entertain-ment Central America and Caribbean

Sony continued to be the market leader in Latin America and Spain thanks to the international success of artists like Rauw Alejandro, Farruko, Maluma and Camilo. In Spain, the company led for an eighth con-secutive year, posting a record market share

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IN BRIEF

Vp of international marketing, Asia Pacific; managing director of Southeast Asia and Korea, The Orchard

For the 45 cities worldwide in which The Orchard operates, Arnold drives global release strategy and leads the team respon-sible for managing key international label relationships. For the BTS single “Butter,” Columbia Records and The Orchard worked closely with BIGHIT Music to propel the single to No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 10 weeks. Arnold oversaw The Orchard’s global sales strategy that led to top 10 chart positions for the song in over 30 territories and more than 500 million streams globally — earning the group a Guinness World Record in 2021 for the most streamed track on Spotify in 24 hours. Cichowski and Pascal jointly closed a distribution deal with Rimas Entertainment, home to Bad Bunny, under which the two companies also created a new independent label, SONAR, focused on artist develop-ment throughout Latin America. Dewan holds The Orchard’s first Pan-Asian man-agement role and has guided the success of its Asian catalog, which includes acts like ITZY, GOT7, Kiana Valenciano, Inigo Pas-cal, DPR Live and BTS.

Stacey Bedford CEO, Bandzoogle

Bedford is thrilled that Bandzoogle’s commission-free, direct-to-fan sales tools helped its members sell nearly $10 million in merchandise and tickets in 2021, “during a global pandemic, no less.” The company offers turnkey solutions for website manage-ment, analytics, marketing and e-commerce, as well as a robust blog with best practices on search engine optimization, bio writing and web design. In tandem with continuing advancements in music tech, these Band-zoogle features enabled scores of indie art-ists to keep themselves solvent over the past two years. Bedford says she’s “proud to be at the helm of a company that has provided transparency, visibility and autonomy to musicians globally.”

Alec Boateng Alex Boateng Co-presidents, 0207 Def Jam Marisa Lauro-Norris Senior vp of international marketing, Def Jam Recordings

As Universal Music Group expanded the Def Jam brand around the globe in recent years, twin brothers Alec and Alex Boateng have driven the success of the 0207 Def Jam label that they launched in the United King-dom while Lauro-Norris has responsibility for international marketing of repertoire from the U.S. flagship label. The first sign-ing to the British label, rapper Stormzy, reached No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums chart in 2017 with his debut, Gang Signs and Prayers, and the Boatengs are now focused on launching artists such as Potter Payper, Debbie and Tendai. In the past year, Lauro-Norris has guided global campaigns for Justin Bieber’s Justice (which has achieved global sales of 7.7 million, according to UMG) and Kanye West’s Donda, which set an Apple Music record by charting at No. 1 in 152 countries while selling 2 million albums globally, according to UMG.

Ezegozie Eze Jr. Vp of market development of Africa and Diaspora, EMPIRE Titilope Adesanya Project manager of Africa, EMPIRE Mobolaji Kareem Regional head of West Africa, EMPIRE Jonathan Jules Senior director of international marketing, EMPIRE

While EMPIRE continues to boast wins on the hip-hop side with acts such as Tyga and Key Glock, the company’s most sig-nificant feat now lies in its expansion into Africa, especially after the success of Fire-boy DML and his Hot 100 hit, “Peru.” “Over the past 12 to 18 months,” says Kareem, “the rapid development of our EMPIRE team on the ground in Lagos and globally has already reaped tangible rewards with the success of our artists such as Fireboy DML, Kizz Daniel, BNXN fka Buju, Black Sherif and KiDi — not only in West Africa but around the world.”

Cris Falcão Managing director of Brazil, Ingrooves Music Group Nick Roden Managing director of Europe, Middle East and India, Ingrooves Music Group Nina Rabe-Cairns Managing director of Australia, New Zealand

and Southeast Asia, Ingrooves Music GroupIngrooves reports that its global expan-

sion over the past year was up by nearly one-third with new personnel hired in In-dia, Mexico, the Philippines, Italy, the Neth-erlands, Denmark and Iceland, increasing its local presence to 23 countries. The distribu-tion, marketing and technology company has “global streaming success powered by top indie labels GR6, Dirty Hit, Del Records and a massive year in K-pop,” says Roden. Ingrooves’ long reach is evident in Shouse’s global hit “Love Tonight” on label Onelove, which racked up over 1 billion streams and received top 20 airplay in 21 territories, according to Ingrooves. “I’m personally so thankful and proud,” says Roden, “to be part of a cohesive global team that kicks into gear whenever and wherever needed.”

Denzyl Feigelson Co-founder/CEO, Platoon

In 2016, the U.K.-based South African native launched Platoon, a creative services agency that Feigelson sold to Apple in 2018. Calling his staff “team Platoon,” Feigelson touts the recent global successes of Nigeria’s Adekunle Gold, America’s Victoria Monét and Ghana’s Amaarae, and breaking new artists like Britain’s Holly Humberstone and Nigeria’s Khaid, as well as “nontraditional” chill music and children’s music. The new Platoon7 facility in London has three re-cording studios, two Dolby Atmos rooms, a podcast booth, two writing rooms, a content capture studio and an educational lab “to help artists of all levels reach their next octave,” he says.

Martin Price Head of global expansion, ONErpm Arthur Fitzgibbon Managing director of Brazil, ONErpm Andrés López Vp of Latin-Iberia region, ONErpm

For the digital distribution and artist ser-vices company ONErpm, Price has helped guide growth at multiple new offices around the globe. The company reports that rev-enue doubled at its office in Jamaica (it did not report dollar volume) while the debut album 438 from Jamaican signing Masicka started at No. 14 on Billboard’s Heatseek-ers chart and reached No. 2 on Reggae Albums. Fitzgibbon oversaw the addition of

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IN BRIEF

ISSUE DATE 6/4 | AD CLOSE 5/24 | MATERIALS DUE 5/25

2 0 2 2

On June 4th, Billboard will publish its annual Indie Label Power Players List. This special feature in advance of Indie Week (6/13-6/16) and the 11th Annual Libera Awards will profile leading executives at top independent record labels, publishing companies and distribution companies. Positioning themselves as the driving force behind the success of independent music, these executives contribute to the independent music sector and to the world of music at large.

Take this opportunity to advertise and congratulate this year’s 2022Indie Label Power Players.

C O N T A C T SJoe Maimone201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@billboard.com

Lee Ann Photoglo615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com

Cynthia Mellow615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com

Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | marciaolival29@gmail.com

Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | rodonnell@pmc.com

INDIEL A B E L

P O W E R P L AY E R S

in 2021 thanks to C. Tangana’s El Madrileño and the launch of Nathy Peluso at an in-ternational level. In Brazil, Sony finalized the acquisition of Som Live, Brazil’s largest independent, and led in popularizing the pisadinha genre. New signings in the region include acts like Colombia’s Beéle. Sony’s Central America and Caribbean region also broke its first global star, 24-year-old Boza from Panama, the first Latin American artist featured on Spotify’s U.S. Radar program.

Andrew Chan Managing director of greater China, Sony Music Entertainment Arina Dmitrieva Managing director, Sony Music Entertain-ment Russia Rajat Kakar Managing director of India, Sony Music Entertainment Shridhar Subramaniam President of corporate strategy and market development for Asia and the Middle East, Sony Music Entertainment

Sony and other major U.S. companies suspended operations in Russia in March in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Previ-ously in that market, Dmitrieva had taken a lead in anti-piracy actions both in outreach to government officials and through the rights association NFMI. She also advanced an educational program for young people from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States who seek to work in the music business. In China, under Chan, Sony reports local repertoire breakthroughs including the track “Stars and Sea” from HL Entertainment, which surpassed 300 million streams worldwide in one month, according to the company; C-pop star Eric Chou’s “You Don’t Belong to Me,” which topped charts in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singa-pore and Malaysia; and awards for veteran star Karen Mok from the digital platform NetEase. In India, Kakar oversaw an indus-try milestone as the tracks “Rataan Lambi-yaan” and “Ranjha” from the soundtrack to the film Shershaah helped propel the album to over 1 billion streams. Subramaniam oversees all Sony companies throughout Asia and the Middle East, with responsi-bility for joint ventures, investments and partnerships for one of the world’s fastest-

growing regions.Sunny Chang

Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Greater China Calvin Wong CEO of Southeast Asia/senior vp of Asia, Universal Music Group Naoshi Fujikura President/CEO, Universal Music Japan Devraj Sanyal Managing director/CEO of India and South Asia, Universal Music Group

Last year under Chang, Universal Music Greater China announced a significant expansion of its recorded-music operations, including a multilabel structure and new flagship labels — Republic Records China, EMI China, PolyGram Records China, Universal Music China and, most recently, Capitol Records China — to focus more closely on domestic A&R and local-language artists within the region. Wong leads UMG’s operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phil-ippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Artists from Def Jam Southeast Asia were among those chosen to appear on Snoop Dogg’s recent release The Algorithm (Global Edition). In Japan, Fujikura last year saw BTS named Billboard Japan’s top act on its year-end chart and the group’s release BTS, The Best named top album. Local artists King & Prince, Backnumber and Mrs. Green Apple are among the recent breakthroughs, and Fujikura has expanded the services his company offers artists to include merchan-dising, live entertainment and fan clubs. In India under Sanyal, UMG reports it had the top four non-film songs of 2021: “Baarish ban Jaana” from Payal Dev, “Baarish Ki Jaaye” and “Filhaal 2” from BPraak and “Jugnu” from Badshah featuring Nikhita Gandhi.

Chris Gobalakrishna Jonathan Serbin Co-presidents, Warner Music Asia Dan Rosen President, Warner Music Australasia

Warner Music Asia has “significantly ex-panded” its footprint and roster of regional Pan-Asian labels, including Asiatic Records (hip-hop), Whet Records (dance) and WMA (pop), “enabling top artists in the genres from different Asian countries to more

rapidly grow their fan base across the wider region,” says Serbin. Gobalakrishna adds that strategies like the artist mentorship, marketing and distribution program WAVE in Southeast Asia are helping accelerate col-laborations by artists such as British singer James Blunt and Chinese superstar Jason Zhang, “creating awareness for artists in new markets.” Warner Music Australasia’s Rosen has focused on setting up homegrown artists like Australia’s Budjerah and New Zealand’s Harper Finn for success through investments in the label’s roster, appoint-ing new executives in A&R, marketing and promotions.

Matt Gudinski CEO, Mushroom Group

Mushroom Group enters a new era with a flurry of deals under Matt Gudin-ski, following the 2021 death of his father, Australian music business pioneer Michael Gudinski. In quick succession, Mushroom has launched an artist management division, an alliance with Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music and a new structure at Fron-tier Touring that has announced tours by Ed Sheeran and others. “Mushroom’s proudest achievement over the last 18 months was our ability to keep our full team together during the pandemic whilst continuing to grow the Mushroom family,” says Gudinski, who was on hand for the March 24 unveil-ing of a statue honoring his father in Mush-room’s home city of Melbourne. “We also created unique opportunities for not only Mushroom artists but the whole Australian music industry with new ventures such as [Australian Broadcasting Corporation music series] The Sound.” With Frontier’s full calendar, “we are leading the pack with the return to live concerts and events,” Gudin-ski says, and “kick-starting international touring for the region.”

Cussion Pang Executive chairman, Tencent Music Enter-tainment Group Tsai Chun Pan Group vp of content cooperation department, Tencent Music Entertainment Group

In 2021, the crackdown by Chinese regulators on numerous tech companies led Tencent Music Entertainment Group to wind down its exclusive licensing contracts

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more than 110,000 new Brazilian artists to ONErpm distribution in 2021, reaching over 60 billion YouTube views in the market, according to the company. López pursued growth in Argentina, Chile and Peru and expansion into other Latin markets. After opening an office in Turkey in 2021, Price this year is preparing for ONErpm to move into Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Senegal, Greece, Egypt and Azerbaijan.

Kenny Gates Co-founder/CEO, [PIAS] Michel Lambot Co-founder, [PIAS]

Since 1982, [PIAS] has been an industry leader in music distribution. The company is headquartered in London and Brussels, with offices worldwide. But it still pays careful attention to each release — including British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks’ Collapsed in Sunbeams album. “From international part-nerships with Apple and Spotify to TikTok making her one of the faces of their Black History Month programming,” says Gates, “this is an ongoing campaign that continues to establish Arlo as a major new artist.”

Eshy Gazit President/CEO, Intertwine Music

Last June, Gazit founded record label Intertwine Music in partnership with BMG, with a specific focus “to support artists’ worldwide success with a strong emphasis on the U.S. market,” he says. Gazit quickly signed K-pop talents Monsta X and Wonho to global deals and helped serve as an A&R executive for new projects from each act. “Intertwine stands for creating a global mu-sic fabric intertwining cultures and music from all over the world as one,” he adds. Outside of his efforts at Intertwine, he man-ages international songwriters and produc-ers including Bekuh Boom, who has worked with Jennifer Lopez, Blackpink and others.

Danielle Geiger Senior vp of international marketing and promotions, Warner Recorded Music

Geiger points to the company’s success in growing its market share in the R&B/hip-hop sector, which she puts down to “devel-oping artists like Jack Harlow, Cordae and Pooh Shiesty while continuing to increase the exposure of our superstar artists like

Lizzo, Cardi B and Silk Sonic.” She specifi-cally notes that the lattermost, the Grammy Award-winning supergroup of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, has generated over 3 billion streams worldwide.

Andreea Gleeson CEO, TuneCore

With the help of TuneCore Social Platforms, which let artists upload music directly onto social media networks such as TikTok and Instagram, 18-year-old Lauren Spencer-Smith’s single “Fingers Crossed” went viral prior to its release, after which it hit No. 1 in four countries, reached No. 19 on the Hot 100 and sat just outside the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. “Spencer-Smith’s ascension to stardom is the very reason TuneCore launched this innovative service — to help our independent artists grow and reach new heights never before imaginable,” Gleeson says. “[We’re] not only enabling indie artists to connect with fans and create viral moments, we’re helping them to monetize those interactions.”

Jurgen Grebner Executive vp/head of international market-ing, Interscope Geffen A&M

Between Billie Eilish’s first Academy Award for best original song (“No Time To Die”) and second consecutive record of the year Grammy (“Everything I Wanted”), alongside Imagine Dragons’ 2 billion-plus global streams for megahit “Enemy” (with JID) in collaboration with Riot Games’ Ar-cane series, IGA has been on a roll. “We’ve had a number of global successes over the last year,” says Grebner, also citing Ma-chine Gun Kelly’s latest album, Mainstream Sellout, and, of course, Olivia Rodrigo, who snagged best new artist at the 2022 Grammy Awards and “whose Sour debut has sold almost 10 million copies around the world,” he says.

Drew Hill Managing director, Proper Music Group

In January, leading U.K. physical music distributor Proper Music Group was ac-quired by Swiss fintech firm Utopia Music — “a company that shares our values,” says Hill. The Proper team “worked incredibly hard to maintain our service levels in the face of COVID-19 and navigate international trade in a post-Brexit environment,” Hill

says. “Following our acquisition by Utopia, I can’t wait to see the business continuing to excel and grow on the global stage.”

Georgina Hilton Director of international marketing, Arista Records

Hilton made sure that Tai Verdes’ in-ternational launch went “A-O-K,” with his debut single of that title passing the 400 million-stream mark, according to the label, breaking into Spotify’s top 20 and finishing in the top 10 of Billboard’s 2021 year-end Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. Hil-ton also set Emmy Meli’s career in motion with her female empowerment anthem “I Am Woman” charting in 13 countries, with marketing initiatives timed for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. “I’m also proud to continue to help develop the careers of marquee artists for the label,” she says, having pushed Grammy nominee JP Saxe to over 1.7 billion global streams.

Paul Hitchman President, AWAL

AWAL — which had its acquisition by Sony approved by U.K. officials in March — enjoyed its “best year yet, both commercial-ly and creatively,” says the London-based Hitchman, who has spent the past decade at the label-services company. In the United Kingdom, Hitchman points to seven top 10 albums in 2021 including releases from You Me at Six, Jungle, girl in red, The Vaccines and Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, while The Wombats have already landed a No. 1 album in 2022 for AWAL and Little Simz took home the BRIT Award for best new artist in February.

Manu Kaushish President, Create Music Group India

Since acquiring India’s Nirvana Digital in November 2021, Create Music Group has enjoyed exponential growth in its You-Tube monetization, distribution and rights management businesses. The views on the content that Create Music Group monetizes within India grew from 30 billion in 2019 to 137 billion in 2021 — an increase of more than 400%, according to Kaushish. Overall watch time rose to 6.9 billion hours from 2 billion in 2019, which Kaushish says “would take an individual 787,000 years watching

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with labels, among other actions. But TME kept its momentum, finishing the year with a 7% revenue gain to $4.9 billion and 32% growth in music subscriptions, by focusing on superserving the 300,000 independent artists on its streaming platform, hosting 56 livestream performances through TME Live and fostering industry opposition against piracy. “With all these efforts,” says Pang, “TME has become the partner of choice for music labels.”

Pawan Agarwal Director of music partnerships for India and South Asia and label business development for Asia Pacific, YouTube Dan Chalmers Head of music for Europe, Middle East and Africa, YouTube Sandra Jimenez Director of music partnerships for Latin America, YouTube Sun Lee Director of music partnerships for Korea and Greater China and public relations for Asia Pacific, YouTube Ruuben van den Heuvel Director of music partnerships for Australia and New Zealand and label relations for Asia Pacific, YouTube

In their respective regions, YouTube’s international executives are drawing views to the platform by working closely with local artists and industry executives. Pawan leads music partnerships in India, one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, with one of YouTube’s biggest audiences. He and his team have helped genres like Desi hip-hop gain national attention across India. Chalmers played a key role in securing the deal that led the BRIT Awards to stream on YouTube. He helped engineer Ed Sheeran’s album preview session on YouTube Shorts and ABBA’s global livestream with the band’s avatars. Jimenez and her team have supported the breakthrough of such artists as Anitta (who has 16.2 million YouTube subscribers), Camilo and Karol G. Lee led the YouTube Shorts partnership with BTS. Van den Heuvel co-manages the YouTube APAC music partnerships team, which works directly with the region’s music industry (and includes staff representing 11 nationalities). He has overseen the local

licensing of YouTube Shorts, contributing to the successful launch of that feature in the region, and has supported regional YouTube and music industry events involving artists, managers, labels, publishers and others.

Glenn Booth COO, Kiswe

With a reach far beyond its New Jersey headquarters, Kiswe delivered hundreds of interactive livestream concerts and events worldwide. The company connected mil-lions of fans to each other — and to their favorite artists — with tools like “cheering’” and “chat” functions that ultimately enabled 1 billion fan engagements, according to Booth. While Kiswe reached milestones with BTS — which used the platform to play to Guinness World Record-breaking crowds — the company and its partnership with HYBE also helped drive global visibility for other K-pop groups like Seventeen, Tomor-row X Together and Enhypen. “It has been an incredibly exciting ride,” says Booth.

Bruno Crolot Head of international for music, Spotify Sulinna Ong Global head of editorial, Spotify Mia Nygren Managing director for Latin America, Spotify

In 2021, Spotify expanded its reach into more than 80 new markets and now serves 406 million monthly active users in 184 markets. The streaming service brings “real scale to the music industries of emerging markets,” says Crolot, with the help of its global emerging-artist platform RADAR and the international expansion of Spotify Singles. Of the 52,600 artists who gener-ated over $10,000 on Spotify in 2021, 34% live in countries outside IFPI’s top 10 music markets.

Konrad Dantas Founder, KondZilla

Celebrating 10 years in business, Dantas’ ever-evolving entertainment company now encompasses KondZilla Records — boasting over 100 artists on the roster — KondZilla Films, KondZilla Licensing and news chan-nel KondZilla Portal. “We still remain at the top of the music industry,” the Brazilian executive says, thanks to its fast-growing YouTube channel, which has 65.5 million subscribers — equivalent to 31% of the Bra-

zilian population. Another milestone for the company was the release of season two of its in-house-produced Netflix series Sintonia, which became one of the most streamed shows of 2021 in Brazil.

Paul Firth Director, Amazon Music International Kazuhiro Shimada Director/GM, Amazon Music Japan Claire Imoucha Head of music industry, Amazon Music Spain Paul Forat Head of Amazon Music Mexico Bruno Vieira Head of Amazon Music Brazil

Amazon Music launched in Chile and Colombia and spent the past year focusing on high-definition audio, rolling out the pre-mium sound for free to all of its Unlimited customers in October and adding spatial audio capability to more devices in its smart speaker portfolio. “Spatial audio puts the listener inside the music with an immersive, multidimensional audio experience and allows fans to hear music as the artists who created it intended,” says Firth. “I’m very proud of our work in HD sound and how this helps to bring fans and artists closer together.”

Jeronimo Folgueira CEO, Deezer

Under Folgueira, the French streaming service Deezer has introduced local talents to audiences through its Originals content, offering podcasts and playlists including Souvenirs d’enfance for French listen-ers and Forró Viral for those in Brazil. “In Reggaeton Acústico, for example, which featured acoustic versions of songs from the United States and Latin America, we showed fans a side of reggaetón they had never heard before,” says Folgueira. A partnership with German broadcaster RTL+ was announced in November that he calls “a first of its kind in the world” that will “very clearly differentiate RTL+ and Deezer in Germany.”

Jason Johnson Vp of marketing and brand strategy, Africa, Audiomack Max Escobar Souffrain Director of marketing and Latin strategy, Latin America, Audiomack

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videos 24 hours a day to watch what we served last year.”

Emily Kendrick Director of project management, XL Record-ings

After hiring three new global project managers, Kendrick was proud to see the “brilliant, innovative” campaigns they rolled out for U.K. electronic dubstep star Joy Orbison, as well as for Canadian instrumen-tal jazz-hop trio BadBadNotGood and The xx bassist-singer Oliver Sim. “This year I am personally looking forward to overseeing the debut album from The Smile — who I look after in addition to Radiohead — [and the start of a cycle of three releases] from The xx as they develop their solo enti-ties,” says Kendrick, who also awaits “the next project from envelope-pusher FKA Twigs.” The past year also brought suc-cess for nonbinary, Latinx trans artist Arca with a five-album drop on XL, as well as the reimagining of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac albums as KID A Mnesia and a Juno nomination for Mustafa’s debut, When Smoke Rises.

Christian Kroner COO, FUGA Dorothee Imhoff Senior vp of Europe, Middle East and Africa, FUGA

For business-to-business music distribu-tor FUGA, expanding into Japan and build-ing a joint venture with Space Shower there have been among the highlights of the last 18 months. “Japan is a huge music market where the digital music business has been a bit slower in gaining momentum compared with other parts of the world,” Kroner says. “The potential in the coming years in Japan is enormous due to the inevitable shift toward more digital music sales.” He adds that by joining forces with the distribution and entertainment company, FUGA is “well positioned to take on the expected growth in the market.”

Ben Larsen Senior vp of international marketing, Warner Records

Larsen points with pride to a concerted international effort to break American rap-per Saweetie through remixes of her hit single “Best Friend.” “We added German

superstar Katja Krasavice to a version that went to No. 1 in Germany,” he says. “Like-wise, the impact we made in Australia by teaming up with JessB and OKENYO has put Saweetie in an amazing place in my home country. Add to that similar looks in the U.K., China, Korea and Japan, and we had something that made all the late nights and early mornings worth it.” The payoff for her U.S. version with Doja Cat: a No. 14 peak on the Hot 100 and a Grammy nomination for best rap song.

Diego Laviada CEO, Dubbing Hits Hernan Villarreal Co-founder/COO, Dubbing Hits

After 28 years at Sony Mexico, most recently as vp of marketing and promo-tion, Laviada launched indie marketing and promotional company Dubbing Hits as a one-stop shop for press, radio and digital marketing. In three years, Dubbing has emerged as a small (10 employees) but mighty “can-do” company that delivers results-driven campaigns in Mexico and Latin America for a broad range of acts from rapper Residente and Rimas Music to up-and-comers Eladio Carrión and Mora, as well as superstars like Maluma, Ozuna and Wisin y Yandel. Standouts include the launch of a Latin Grammy campaign for Ricardo Montaner’s Fe throughout Latin America and the groundbreaking campaign for Ricardo Arjona’s Blanco y Negro.

Sung Su Lee CEO, SM Entertainment Young Jun Tak COO, SM Entertainment

Tak says that Seoul-based SM Entertain-ment continues to soar in its 27th year as K-pop keeps reaching new global heights. Despite the ongoing pandemic, “last year we achieved our highest performance in the company’s history with nearly 18 million albums sold,” he says. Much of the credit goes to the success of metaverse girl group aespa, whose members each have avatars occupying a unique fictional world. The group signed with Creative Artists Agency in July for representation. “SM is taking the vast virtual world we have envisioned and turning it into reality,” says Tak, “and the opportunities are limitless.”

Nando Luaces Founder/CEO, Altafonte

In the past year, the digital distribution company hired over 40 staff members to join its global crew. Headquartered in Spain, Altafonte now has 15 offices in 11 countries, including key markets Mexico and Brazil. With a “very clear vision of internation-alizing our artists,” Luaces says that his company signed over 1,800 acts in 2021 and developed a new platform that “allows us to automate almost 90% of the company’s processes, providing our artists with access to multiple global analysis and advanced management tools.”

Tom March Ben Mortimer Co-presidents, Polydor Records U.K.

March and Mortimer have helped make Polydor one of the top imprints in the Unit-ed Kingdom, working with acts like Billie Eilish, ABBA and Florence + the Machine. According to Mortimer, their crowning achievement in recent years came with the release of Glass Animals’ first album on the label, 2020’s Dreamland, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 while their single “Heat Waves” crowned the Hot 100 after a 59-week climb. “It was their first record on Polydor, so we had a point to prove,” says Mortimer, adding, “We were able to go beyond our wildest dreams.” In July, March will become president of Geffen Records (U.S.) while Mortimer will move up to sole president of Polydor.

Ted May Managing director of U.K. and international, MNRK Music Group

With the sale of eOne’s music division to Blackstone Group last year, the company was rechristened MNRK Music Group and became a stand-alone focused on record-ings, publishing and artist management. It has become a major indie power that con-trols the catalogs of music labels Last Gang Records and Dualtone Music Group and the publishing catalog of Chuck Berry (through Dualtone), among other assets. “MNRK now builds on its incredible history as one of the biggest independent labels in the U.S. to look toward a truly global future,” says May, as “the first choice for the best music creators in the world with the resources and

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drive to meet that ambition.”Benjamin Parmar

Daniel Parmar Co-founders/co-presidents, PMR Records

The Parmar brothers founded PMR a decade ago, and their roster — beginning with the success of Jessie Ware and Disclo-sure — now generates 1 billion-plus streams annually, according to the company. While continuing their leadership of PMR, the two also previously served as A&R execu-tives for EMI Records U.K., contributing to the success of TikTok-driven stars A1 x J1 and pop singer Bree Runway. This year, the brothers are focused on singer-songwriter Hope Tala; New York’s Amber Mark, who released her debut album, Three Dimensions Deep, on PMR/Interscope in January; and producer-writer-remixer SG Lewis, who is scheduled to play Las Vegas’ Life Is Beauti-ful Festival in September.

Michael Petkov Head of international, Redeye Worldwide Pelle Eriksson Managing director, Redeye Worldwide

While maneuvering through a global pandemic and the impact of Brexit, distribu-tion and music services company Redeye Worldwide has been making big moves in the past year. In what Petkov calls “an im-portant step for the future of the company’s international business,” Redeye acquired Border Music Sweden, which allows the former to “offer a unique global distribution set.” In addition to making acquisitions, Re-deye has grown physical and digital revenue year over year, introduced its own global business-to-business platform for interna-tional customers and signed label partner-ships like the worldwide distribution deal with New West Records.

Maykel Piron Co-owner/CEO, Armada Music

The long-standing Dutch electronic label opened offices in New York and made hires this year, while also finding and develop-ing fresh talent and overseeing a sprawling roster that includes global star (and Armada co-founder) Armin van Buuren and over 60 other acts. The 2017 Armada release “Body” by Loud Luxury (featuring Brando) hit the 1 billion streams mark, and the label signed new artists and kept established acts on a

steady trajectory despite the ongoing pan-demic. “We had to adapt and evolve so fast my head’s still spinning,” says Piron, “but the team put their shoulders to the wheel and powered through very impressively.”

Jeffrey Remedios Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Canada

The opening (amid COVID-19 restric-tions) of Universal Music Canada’s new Toronto headquarters last May has set up the label “for a new era,” says Remedios. He touts global prospects for new signings Rêve, Savannah Ré, Banx & Ranx, La Zarra, Valley and Johnny Orlando and is deliber-ately making “major shifts in how we work and support artists,” including assuring rep-resentation for Black and Indigenous people and people of color; gender equity; and the Francophone market. To that end, the company has partnered with the Indigenous women-led Ishkōdé Records, continued investment in Québec through its French label imprint Maison Barclay Canada and established a domestic artist-focused Black music marketing team bolstered by “new leadership in senior roles across market-ing, A&R, communications and more,” says Remedios.

Steven Rowen Vp/head of international, Island Records

Rowen has overseen international cam-paigns marketing some of the biggest artists in the world including Shawn Mendes, and in 2022, Rowen says his “defining moment” has been the release of Keshi’s debut album, Gabriel. The project was released in March after Island signed the Texas artist who had built a SoundCloud following. Keshi’s first European headlining tour sold out in minutes. Rowen calls Keshi’s growth “while staying true to his artist vision and integrity” a major achievement of the past 12 months. Gabriel reached No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on Top Album Sales.

Naoise Ryan Senior director of international marketing, Columbia Records

Ryan’s team at Columbia Records has achieved a lot in the past year, but the highly anticipated return of Adele with the release of her fourth studio album, 30 — the singer’s first under Sony Music worldwide — was a “major highlight,” says Ryan. “It was a proj-

ect that required us to operate at our most strategic and absolute best,” she says of the album, which debuted at No. 1 in 35 coun-tries. To promote the release, Ryan’s team oversaw the launch of 30 visual projections at landmarks around the world, including the Colosseum in Rome, the London Eye, Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Louvre in Paris.

Wassim “Sal” Slaiby Founder/CEO, Universal Arabic Music

Launched by superstar manager Slaiby, Universal Arabic Music is a division of Universal Music Group focused on bridg-ing Arabic music with global partners, platforms and brands. The label was the exclusive music partner of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival and launched its theme song, “Gaw El Banat.” The label’s first signing, Jordan’s Issam Alnajjar, had his single “Ha-dal Ahbek” become the first Arabic song to reach No. 1 on Shazam’s Global chart, while the latest addition to its roster, Palestinian-Chilean artist Elyanna, has received support from stars like The Weeknd and Lana Del Rey,and has appeared on the covers of GQ Middle East and Elle Arabia. In 2021, the label’s gala dinner for the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon helped raise over $1 mil-lion for the organization.

Marcelo Soares CEO, Som Livre

Som Livre in March became part of Sony Music Group after the multinational com-pany acquired Brazil’s largest independent label for about $255 million following the deal’s announcement in 2021. The purchase not only strengthens Sony’s presence in the fast-growing Brazilian music market but also brings a vast array of resources to Som Livre artists. “I can’t think of a better way to begin this new post-pandemic world,” says Soares.

Brian Sutnick Senior vp of global marketing and digital strategy, Republic Records Stephanie Perez Vp of international marketing, Republic Records

The pandemic forced Republic’s interna-tional team “to adapt and rethink how we approach marketing and promotion on a global scale,” says Perez. Indeed, worldwide

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strategies for superstars like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Drake and Ariana Grande have had to endure shifts, postponements and major upheavals. Sutnick says that, even despite travel restrictions, Republic artists have grown closer to their global label teams in recent months: “Whether it’s an artist presenting music to our label partners, our business partners or meeting directly with fans, we’ve continued to grow our artists’ audiences around the globe,” he says. “And now, as the world opens up, they are eager to get on the road and reconnect.”

Stacey Tang Executive vp, RCA Records U.K. Jenna Novak Senior director of international marketing, RCA Records

RCA was named the No. 1 label in the United Kingdom for 2021 on four different market-share rankings of the Official Charts Company, including the principal All Music (Artist Albums) measurement and Track Streams, with an accumulated tally of 15.1 billion streams last year. Tang, who was named executive vp of the label in August, played a key role in that success. She led campaigns for domestic acts including Mimi Webb, Paloma Faith, Bring Me the Horizon, Sam Fischer and Little Mix, which was the first all-female act to win the British group honor at the BRIT Awards. She also guided international campaigns for artists includ-ing Miley Cyrus, The Kid LAROI and Lil Nas X. As part of Sony Music’s international marketing team, Novak is responsible for the roster of RCA Records in the U.S. and led the global strategy for Doja Cat’s Planet Her. Novak has also played a key role in expanding the international reach of SZA and WizKid, while laying the groundwork for global breakouts by Tate McRae, Latto, Tems, Nardo Wick and more. She also is an active member of The Show Must Be Paused committee.

Mez Tara Vp of international marketing, Epic Records

Tara has worked on countless interna-tional marketing campaigns for high-profile clients and, in 2021, she focused on R&B singer-songwriter Giveon, who “had many ‘firsts’ on foreign soil,” she says, including Spotify No. 1s for his single “Heartbreak

Anniversary” in South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as his first magazine cover with tmrw in the United Kingdom and his first headlin-ing show at London’s Village Underground. “I’m very proud that the artists and cam-paigns I’ve been a part of across the last year have been very global in their reach and success,” says Tara, mentioning acts such as Camila Cabello, Mimi Webb, JNR Choi, Zara Larsson, Travis Scott, Future and the Black Eyed Peas.

Kieran Thurgood Senior vp of global marketing, Capitol Music Group

CMG has continued to expand its global footprint over the last few years, launching Astralwerks Asia, Capitol Records Italy, Motown Records U.K. and, in March, Capi-tol Records China. There’s more to come, says Thurgood, adding that the efforts are “all in order to truly embed our artists in the local cultural conversation and maximize global opportunity.” That approach has led to recent worldwide successes for Halsey’s Grammy Award-nominated collaboration with Nine Inch Nails, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, and Motown/Quality Control artist Lil Baby.

Dan Waite President, Better Noise Music

“This past year, we’ve put a lot of effort into making sure we have the right team in place across all of our international mar-kets,” says Waite. “Now that we do, we’re excited to expand the global presence of all of our artists.” He notes that Better Noise topped Billboard’s year-end Hot Hard Rock Songs and Mainstream Rock Songs Imprint charts in 2021. “I continue guiding each team’s focus on increasing consumption in the U.S. and internationally, with a growth in presence in Europe, including Scandina-via, over the past year, and the opening of distribution in Southeast Asia in 2021.”

Simon Wheeler Director of commercial strategy, Beggars Group

The tech and operational teams at Beg-gars Group recently guided the company with making a “seamless” transition to using FUGA, a distributor that special-izes in digital supply chain technology and

works to “provide flexible music distribu-tion and marketing services,” says Wheeler. Throughout the transition, Wheeler says the company worked remotely to expand its global reach, especially in Southeast Asia, “without getting on a plane.”

Frances Moore CEO, IFPI Simon Seow Regional director of Southeast Asia, IFPI

IFPI opened a Middle East/North Africa office in November, followed in March by a Southeast Asia office, led by Seow. “Having a local presence in these regions helps us to engage with policymakers and local stake-holders to help create the right environment to enable music markets to grow,” says the London-based Moore. During her tenure as head of the international trade association of the recording industry, global trade rev-enue has climbed from $15.1 billion in 2010 to $25.9 billion in 2021, according to IFPI’s latest Global Music Report.

Paul Pacifico CEO, Association of Independent Music

Since 2016, Pacifico has led U.K. trade group AIM, which represents more than 1,000 independent labels, artists and music companies, including Beggars Group, Domino and Ninja Tune. In December, the London-based organization launched the Music Climate Pact, an industrywide initiative to decarbonize the record business backed by all three major labels and dozens of indies. “It has been inspirational to see so much of the global music sector come together and take action,” says Pacifico. An associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, he spoke on behalf of the indie sector during last year’s U.K. Parliament probe into music streaming.

Jeremy Sirota CEO, Merlin

In the past year, Merlin expanded “the territorial reach of both its partnerships and its membership around the world,” says Sirota, welcoming 33 independent labels and distributors from 17 countries to the global digital rights organization, including first-time members from Kenya, Pakistan and Turkey. New partnership deals include agreements with livestreaming service Twitch, music licensing platform Lickd and

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Tencent-owned streaming service JOOX, which operates in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and South Africa. In December, Mer-lin extended its licensing agreement with Boomplay to cover 47 additional countries in Africa.

Jackie Alway Executive vp of international legal and indus-try affairs, Universal Music Publishing Group Bertil David Managing director of France, Universal Music Publishing Group Joe Fang Managing director of China, Universal Music Publishing Group Tom Foster Senior vp of film and TV, Europe, Universal Music Publishing Group Alexandra Lioutikoff President of U.S. Latin and Latin America, Universal Music Publishing Group Thomas Vidovic Managing director of Germany/senior vp of Austria and Switzerland, Universal Music Publishing Group

Alway is UMPG’s expert on public policy, digital licensing and rights society relations in territories worldwide and, last year, became the first woman elected chair of the International Confederation of Music Publishers. She has been a leading voice for copyright and the reform of safe harbor regulations of online services and also an advocate for the rights of creators and rights holders in the European Union and worldwide. In France, David has built a roster of writers with border-crossing impact, recently signing Kel-p, a Nigerian producer for Burna Boy. In China, in col-laboration with She Is the Music, Fang and his colleagues organized the first all-female songwriting camps in Asia. Under Foster’s leadership, UMPG’s European synch team has paired the works of Coldplay with BMW, Metallica with Ford, “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from the Disney catalog (which UMPG administers in Europe) with Coca-Cola and a new original song from BRIT Award winner Griff with Sky TV for its new Sky Glass system. Lioutikoff, the first female president of Latin America and U.S. Latin for a major music publishing company, oversees a roster of hitmakers that include

J Balvin, Rosalía, Bad Bunny, Romeo Santos and Espinoza Paz. Vidovic has guided his company’s signings and developments of songwriter-artists, including badmómzjay, Lucio101, Mathea and Luna, as well as joint ventures with Electric Feel Europe and We Publish Music.

Annette Barrett Managing director/global strategic liaison, Reservoir Hussain “Spek” Yoosuf Executive vp of international and emerging markets, Reservoir

The past year was about growth and reach for Reservoir. The New York-based independent — the first female-founded and publicly traded music company in the United States — now represents more than 140,000 copyrights and 35,000 master recordings worldwide, and recent deals include Lebanese musician Seid Hamdan, Arab superstar Mohamad Ramadan and a joint venture with Egyptian label 100 Copies to invest in new content in North Africa. Longtime Reservoir songwriter Jamie Hart-man was also named songwriter of the year at the Ivor Novello Awards. “I’m proud of the work we have done this year to further build a better environment for songwriters and independent publishers,” says Barrett, “with significant advocacy across the Euro-pean Union, including regarding Brexit and also via the outreach to our international partners.”

Virginie Berger Senior vp of global publishing and society relations, Songtrust Mandy Aubry Senior director of business development, Songtrust Lara Baker Director of business development, Songtrust

Songtrust, which represents songwriters in 175 countries and territories around the globe for royalty collection administration, is working at expanding its international client base, including staging a virtual Song-trust Summit in October with participants from over 70 countries. The company is also making its educational content available in more languages to educate independent songwriters about their rights. Aubry and Baker are focused on growing the company

profile and business-to-business relation-ship network across Africa, Asia and Aus-tralasia, while Berger and her team work directly with its society collection partners around the globe. Songtrust has seen a 75% increase in international collections in 2021 over 2020, and ex-U.S. clients have experi-enced a 160% increase in royalty revenue, the company reports.

Stéphane Berlow Managing director of France, Kobalt Swantje Weinert Vp of creative of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Kobalt Frederica Wong Director of Asia, Kobalt

Kobalt celebrated its 20th anniversary by chalking up its first profitable year in 2021, turning in a net profit on continuing operations of $5.8 million on $519.4 million in revenue. The international team oversees territories — outside North America — that bring in 54.6% of revenue, or $283.6 million, for the company. Recent global publishing signings include MOLI, who has co-written Topic & A7S’ “Breaking Me,” which has tallied 1.6 billion global streams, according to Kobalt; writer-producer Vito Kovach; and writer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Johannes Roemer, signed from the Ger-man office. In Asia, Kobalt has signed a deal with film company One Cool Group. Kobalt clients took home 15 Grammy Awards in the past year.

Clive Black CEO, Blacklist Entertainment; partner, Primary Wave U.K. Justin Dowling Partner/executive vp, Primary Wave U.K. and Europe; GM, Blue Mountain Music

Primary Wave’s international operation placed Bob Marley songs in campaigns for the Dutch football club Ajax, Sandals Resort and the Apex Legends game, synched Free’s “All Right Now” with Stations Casino and Bretzi Pharma, and landed John Grant’s “Black Belt” in a Facebook campaign narrated by Grace Jones. “The increased internationalization of Primary Wave … has enabled so many partnerships and acquisi-tions to complete this year by way of har-monious synergy across time zones,” says Dowling. “Such [achievements] can only

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happen through will, determination and a united team pulling in the same direction guided by inspirational leadership.”

Benjamin Budde CEO, Budde Music

Now in its third generation of family ownership and leadership, Budde Music is not only expanding its traditional publishing business but also supporting the manage-ment and agency ventures that now operate alongside it. “We’ve doubled in size over the last decade by almost any measure — turn-over, [net publisher’s share] and staff,” says Budde. Last year, the company integrated its London staff into the Shoreditch headquar-ters of Phrased Differently, which Budde bought a part of in 2020, and started brand partnership divisions at Budde Talent Agency, where a new agent now handles corporate and special events.

Kim Frankiewicz Executive vp of worldwide A&R, Concord Music Publishing Tina Funk Managing director, Concord Music Publish-ing Germany, Switzerland and Austria

For Concord’s global publishing A&R team, the last year “has been about growth and working to both integrate and expand our roster by signing new talent and incor-porating acquired catalogs,” says Frankie-wicz. Concord recently signed Ghanaian “Sad Girlz Luv Money” singer Amaarae, Ja-maican hitmaker Bounty Killer and Kazakh “Roses” remix producer Imanbek. And with its acquisition of Downtown Music Publish-ing’s owned and published copyrights, Con-cord gained Grammy-nominated artist Yola and Academy Award-winning “Shallow” co-songwriter Anthony Rossomando, as well as the catalogs of Ryan Tedder, Benny Blanco and Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx. The strategy, Frankiewicz says, “continues to be about challenging the publishing status quo.”

Shani Gonzales Managing director of Warner Chappell U.K./head of international A&R, Warner Chappell Music Gustavo Menéndez President of U.S. Latin and Latin America, Warner Chappell Music Santiago Menéndez-Pidal President of Southern Europe, Warner Chap-

pell Music Matthieu Tessier Managing director of France, Warner Chap-pell Music

In 2021, Gonzales reached an agreement to extend Warner Chappell’s representa-tion of George Michael’s catalog, covering both Michael’s solo work and the songs he wrote as frontman of ’80s pop duo Wham! Among Menéndez’s recent achievements is the signing of superstar Mexican singer-songwriter Marco Antonio Solís, while his team in Brazil signed two other legendary Latin songwriters, Carlinhos Brown and Caetano Veloso. Menéndez-Pidal rose to his new role last year with responsibility for Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece — the latter a new area of focus for the company. In France, Tessier recently signed a global subpublishing deal covering the catalog of the late iconic singer-songwriter Jacques Brel and also played a key role in breaking the chart-topping French rapper Orelsan.

Jeremy Lascelles Co-founder/CEO, Blue Raincoat Music Robin Millar Co-founder/chairman, Blue Raincoat Music

In 2021, Blue Raincoat Music — which provides management services for artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Arlo Parks, as well as publishing deals with ABISHA, Let’s Eat Grandma and others — oversaw the signing of new publishing deals with John Parish and the estate of Nick Drake. Meanwhile, Chrysalis Records, Raincoat’s front-line label, signed pop singer Emeli Sandé to a global record deal. Throughout this expan-sion, Blue Raincoat promoted “equality and proportional diversity across age, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation and edu-cation” within the company, says Lascelles. “It’s a constant challenge to keep it on track — but worth it.”

Tim Major Co-managing director of the United King-dom, Sony Music Publishing David Ventura President/co-managing director of the United Kingdom; senior vp of international, Sony Music Publishing Carol Ng President of Asia, Sony Music Publishing Silence Hua

Managing director of China and Greater China, Sony Music Publishing Hyun-Hoon (Kenny) Lee Managing director of Korea, Sony Music Publishing Niels Walboomers Managing director of Benelux, Sony Music Publishing

Major and Ventura led Sony Music Publishing to market-leading status in the United Kingdom in 2021, according to the company, representing over one-third of the top 100 songs and shares of four out of the most popular singles, including Ed Sheer-an’s “Bad Habits,” written by Sheeran and Johnny McDaid, and “Shivers,” co-written by Sheeran, McDaid and Kal Lavelle. Awards in the past year have gone to the company’s writers including Arlo Parks, Pa Salieu and PinkPantheress. Ng has driven the company’s growth in Asia, opening an office in Indonesia, as the first independent international publishing company in the country. Hua has created key relationships with major digital platforms throughout China and Greater China while also helping to establish industry standard music licens-ing structures with TV stations for online and offline broadcasting. In Korea, Lee and his team recently signed a subpublishing agreement with HYBE, home to BTS, as well as partnerships with JYP and Iconic Sounds. In the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), Walboom-ers and his team celebrated the Grammy wins of two songwriter-producers on their roster, Tierce “Kizzo” Person and Andrae Alexander, for their work with Jon Batiste.

Merck Mercuriadis Founder/CEO, Hipgnosis Song Management/Hipgnosis Songs Fund/Hipgnosis Songs Capital

Mercuriadis has spent the last 18 months assembling an intricate network of comple-mentary companies, but he still had time to continue purchasing music assets. His funds have spent $1 billion acquiring rights to song catalogs of the Red Hot Chili Pep-pers, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Kenny Chesney, Shakira, and Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, among other songwriters of “great cultural importance,” he says. Now Mercuriadis is

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ready to deploy funding to buy more music assets, thanks to the double firepower he wields with the publicly traded Hipgnosis Songs Fund and the recently launched pri-vate equity-based Hipgnosis Songs Capital — backed by financial firm Blackstone.

Mary Megan Peer CEO, peermusic Nigel Elderton Managing director/European president, peermusic

During the past year, peermusic — with 38 offices in 31 countries — established a new neighboring-rights division busi-ness. The neighboring-rights roster now encompasses over 2,500 artists and 300 record labels, according to Peer, who notes that “we find the ability to deliver these important royalties to our clients reward-ing.” Meanwhile, peermusic U.K. acquired Accorder Music Publishing, established a joint venture with Whispering Bob Harris’ Under the Apple Tree platform and had a global hit with GAYLE’s “abcdefu” through a subpublishing deal with Big Machine for all territories outside the United States.

Mike Smith President, Downtown Music Services David Alexander Senior vp of new markets, Downtown Music Holdings

Smith says, “Over the last 18 months, we have successfully launched [Downtown Music Services] and have been hard at work building the global infrastructure and team” in Argentina, Brazil and the United States, as well as Bogotá, Colombia; Johannesburg; London; Mexico City; Paris; and Tokyo. Downtown works with 1.7 million creators and 2,500 business clients, with DMS representing the song catalogs of John Len-non and Yoko Ono, as well as Mexico’s Los Tucanes de Tijuana and France’s Ibeyi. “Our goal each day is to support the creators and rights holders who depend on our services to achieve success and get paid fairly for their work,” Smith says. Alexander guides the global growth of Downtown Music Holdings, which includes FUGA, Songtrust and CD Baby.

Alfredo Alonso Ramos Partner/director of entertainment, Bizarro Live Entertainment

Having already established a footprint in Colombia, Bizarro — an arena owner and operator and Chile’s biggest producer of live events — this year opened outposts in Peru, Bolivia and Uruguay. The company, which owns Movistar Arenas in Santiago, Chile and Bogotá, Colombia, will be opening an arena in Bolivia by summer and is poised to launch 2022 tours in the Southern Cone by Sebastián Yatra, André Rieu, Wisin & Yan-del and J Balvin in addition to individual shows by Bad Bunny, Karol G and Daddy Yankee. When Chile entirely shut down live shows during the pandemic, Bizarro spearheaded the operation of the country’s two biggest vaccination centers, while its immersive art show, “Beyond Van Gogh,” sold over 150,000 tickets in Chile and Peru.

Denis Desmond Chairman, Live Nation U.K. and Ireland John Reid President, Live Nation Europe, the Middle East and Africa Yongbae Cho Joint managing director, Live Nation Korea Selina Emeny International group counsel, Live Nation Entertainment Roger Field President, Asia Pacific, Live Nation Jim Wong Managing director, Live Nation Electronic Asia

Desmond praises his team for “a block-buster year in 2021” despite the pandemic, with Live Nation staging shows as soon as attendance restrictions lifted, resulting in “an astounding fourth quarter” last year. Fan demand is fueling strong bookings for 2022, 2023 and beyond, according to Live Nation. Reid has expanded his areas of responsibility from Europe to the Middle East, Africa and India, dealing with a con-stantly shifting landscape of restrictions and COVID-19 mitigations. Cho and Kim have collaborated on the return of K-pop to the world’s stages, including the BTS stadium shows that coincided with the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas. Field has worked with Australia’s Live Entertainment Industry Fo-rum to support the safe return of live events across that market. Wong has focused on artist development in China and Live Na-

tion’s electronic music business in Asia. He has helped establish the Live Nation artist management company Dancing Dragon, based in Hong Kong, as a leading artist agency in the region. As international group counsel for Live Nation and general counsel for Ticketmaster, Emery oversees govern-ment and regulatory affairs across global markets, liaising between Live Nation’s U.S. headquarters and its international opera-tions.

Jenny Blomqvist Event sales director, ASM Global Sweden James Harrison Programming director, ASM Global U.K.

After the pandemic hit, ASM Global shifted to creating new business, like repurposing arenas as padel tennis courts. In Stockholm, ASM acquired the Södra Teatern theater and took control of food and beverage services at some of its arenas in Stockholm. ASM also spearheaded the project to rename Stockholm’s famed The Globe as Avicii Arena, a tribute to the late superstar DJ and “a hub for initiatives focused on young people’s mental health,” says Blomqvist. More recently, the company created a central programming resource for its U.K. venues, offering clients “a single point to reach our arenas spread across the country,” she adds.

Alex Hill President/CEO, AEG Europe Adam Wilkes President/CEO, AEG Asia Steve Homer CEO, AEG Presents U.K. Jim King CEO of European festivals, AEG Presents Simon Jones Senior vp of live music international, AEG Presents

Under Hill’s leadership, AEG Europe managed pandemic restrictions while bringing the All Points East festival back to London last August. King, who played a key role in that event, is now preparing for British Summertime Hyde Park in June and July (featuring the Rolling Stones on their 60th-anniversary tour) and is also revital-izing Paris’ Rock en Seine festival in August. Hill also oversaw the redevelopment of the Olympia London venue. Homer is book-

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ing that location as well as the renovated Wolverhampton Civic Halls, the Eventim Apollo and Indigo at the O2. In Asia, Wilkes continues to guide the development of AEG’s new arena in Seoul and led the part-nership between AEG Presents and AVEX Group that was announced in 2021. Jones is involved in summer tours in Europe by superstars including Elton John and Justin Bieber.

Jorge Juarez David West Co-CEOs/co-founders, Westwood Entertain-ment

The Mexican management, marketing and concert promotion stalwarts scored big by landing major tours in Mexico, includ-ing Karol G’s upcoming arena tour, Camilo and Rauw Alejandro’s sold-out 2021 tours and upcoming 2022 stints, as well as Bad Bunny’s 2022 stadium tour that has already sold 300,000 tickets, according to the com-pany. Beyond Mexico, Westwood booked 30 U.S. dates for Reik as well as Camila and Sin Bandera’s 4 Latidos tour that has sold out venues north and south of the border and Carlos Rivera’s Spanish tour in the midst of the pandemic. Although associated mostly with pop, Westwood has also partnered with hip-hop artist Santa Fe Klan as he begins his first U.S. arena tour.

Huston Powell Promoter, C3 Presents

During the pandemic, C3 Presents faced a blank calendar for the first time. The Aus-tin-based promoter behind Austin City Lim-its, Bonnaroo and seven global Lollapalooza festivals was less than two weeks away from kicking off its South American shows in March 2020 before pivoting to two years of rebooking gigs. “We moved those shows to the fall of 2020, then to the fall of 2021 and, ultimately, to March of 2022,” Powell says. With successful editions of Lolla in Brazil, Argentina and Chile under their belts, Pow-ell says those shows “hopefully played a role in helping the international touring market take one step closer to being fully open.”

Phil Rodriguez CEO, Move Concerts

Touring is “finally up and running” again for Move Concerts, which has marked the return to live events with sold-out shows

from Kany Garcia and a-ha, as well as up-coming shows by Karol G, Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, KISS, Myke Towers, Arctic Monkeys, Sebastián Yatra and others. Move Management — the company’s growing management division that launched in late 2020 — has landed acts like Argentine art-ists Tiago PZK and Alejandro Lerner. In February 2021, Move also created a new division with Grand Move Records, which is licensed to Warner Music Latina. Tiago PZK was the first signing for Grand Move Records, with Rodriquez promising “more signings to follow.”

Klaus-Peter Schulenberg CEO, CTS Eventim

CTS Eventim, one of the world’s larg-est concert promoters, spent a tough 2021 setting itself up for the future. The company launched its Eventim Live Asia business and brought its Eventim.com ticketing platform to North America, as well as announced a deal to build a 16,000-capacity arena in Milan and acquired the software company simply-X. Past moves also started to pay off in the form of a Genesis tour in the United States promoted by EMC Presents, its joint venture with promoter Michael Cohl. “We have seen just how eager people are to get back to live entertainment,” Schulenberg wrote in his annual letter to shareholders, “based on demand for tickets to see top Ger-man and international artists.”

Alejandro Soberón Kuri CEO, OCESA

The pandemic forced OCESA “to reinvent itself” and “reimagine how to provide audi-ences and artists ways to remain close,” says Soberón Kuri, who founded Mexico City-based OCESA Entretenimiento in 1990 and built it into the world’s third-largest concert promoter (as of 2019 year-end Billboard Boxscore data). So, until the return to nor-malcy, OCESA held digital performances, car concerts and events with safe distances between groups of fans. “Alex and the OC-ESA team are incredible at what they do,” said Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino after his company bought a 51% stake in OCESA for $431.9 million in December.

Osita Ugeh CEO, Duke Concept

From Wizkid’s Made in Lagos U.S. tour

to Burna Boy’s historic headlining perfor-mance at the Hollywood Bowl, 2021 saw a surge in the number of Afrobeats shows in the United States. One common thread throughout this influx of African acts taking the stage is Ugeh’s Duke Concept, which, over the last decade, has become an expert in bringing top African acts to U.S. venues, including 92 shows across North America in the last year alone, says Ugeh. Follow-ing Duke Concept’s 2021 joint venture with Live Nation, Ugeh will be co-producing Afrofusion pioneer Burna Boy’s April show at Madison Square Garden in New York, making him the first Nigerian to headline the iconic arena.

Maarten van Beusekom Lead promoter of international events, Insomniac

While Insomniac Events has long been a dance festival leader in the United States and beyond, van Beusekom and his team el-evated the company’s offerings on the inter-national circuit when live events returned in 2021. Along with co-producer ALDA, they hosted Romania’s SAGA Festival last September and launched the Amsterdam debut of their Secret Project brand during the Amsterdam Dance Event, with 10,000 tickets sold in less than a day. The house and techno-oriented Secret Project Portu-gal will happen in June, and Croatia’s new Pula Music Week will take place in July at an ancient Roman amphitheater. During a challenging period, van Beusekom says the key has been to “remain positive and to keep booking, producing and executing our global events.”

Emma Banks Chris Dalston Mike Greek Marlene Tsuchii Co-heads of international touring, Creative Artists Agency Maria May Head of electronic/international, Creative Artists Agency

CAA reports having an incredibly suc-cessful year coming off the pandemic. They agency has been working with clients like Sigur Rós, Justin Bieber and Red Hot Chili Peppers on a number of successful tours and concert bookings that have regularly landed

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the agency atop the touring charts. CAA helped Harry Styles earn a coveted book-ing: headlining Coachella 2022 after Rage Against the Machine dropped off the lineup, as well as Styles’ highly successful Love on Tour outing that grossed over $150 million in ticket sales, according to the agency.

Matt Bates Head of international, ICM Partners; manag-ing director, Primary Talent International Ben Winchester Director/agent, Primary Talent Beckie Sugden Agent, Primary Talent

Since ICM Partners acquired Primary Talent International in 2020, the London-based music agency has been on a mission “to take the European strength in electronic music and build it worldwide,” says Bates. Primary Talent has leveraged its integra-tion with ICM to hire key electronic agents in North America to build “a global pow-erhouse in dance music.” Notable signings include Imanbek in 2021, shortly after the 20-year-old Kazakh producer won a Grammy for best remixed recording.

Amy Davidman Devin Landau Founding partners/agents, TBA Agency

Despite challenges brought on by the pandemic, TBA booked over 200 artists in countries across the globe in the last two years. The new agency expanded its artists’ reach through slots at noteworthy events across countries like Mexico, Panama, Co-lombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru, including Lollapalooza Brazil, Primavera Sound Spain and Portugal. With rumors of Canada’s re-opening swirling, Davidman became a guid-ing force in bringing a trio of Caribou shows to fruition, selling 3,500 tickets in hopes that restrictions would be lifted — and they were, marking Vancouver’s first full-ca-pacity shows in two years. “The guidelines for shows were lifted just 48 hours before their shows were to happen,” Davidman says, “and they moved forward with the first full-capacity shows in Vancouver in almost two years.”

Lucy Dickins Co-head of music, WME Craig D’Souza Tony Goldring

Richard Lom Rob Markus Partners, WME

D’Souza joined WME as partner in the company’s London office after an 11-year stretch at Primary Talent. The roster includes Aitch, ArrDee, Jacob Banks, Joy Crookes, Krept & Konan, Mist and Stormzy, whom he met while the artist was playing clubs and helped him grow into a Glaston-bury Festival headliner. His success, he says, is due to the “trust and loyalty my artists and their managers put in me.”

Alex Hardee Tom Schroeder James Whitting Partners, Paradigm Agency

“After the most turbulent two years imag-inable,” Paradigm has its “biggest ever year” lined up for 2022, says Whitting, noting European tours for A-list clients including Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons and Lewis Capaldi. “The chaos has made us take stock and really reflect,” he adds, including by “continuing to spearhead change to the in-dustry’s approach to sustainability” as well as by becoming a more diverse and inclusive company “that reflects that wonderful mix of people that is both our roster and their fan bases.”

Josh Javor Agent, X-ray Touring

In the last year, the United Kingdom’s X-ray Touring formed a strategic partner-ship with Artist Group International in the United States, bringing the latter’s roster of artists into the fold of X-ray’s 300-plus cli-ents. Javor also points to the organization’s recent handling of Coldplay’s world tour, for which it managed to sell “over 1 million tickets on the on-sale day in Europe alone” as a professional highlight of the last year.

Scott Mantell Partner/agent/co-head of international, ICM Partners Ari Bernstein Agent, ICM Partners

Without shows to book, ICM concert agents focused their efforts on helping clients make a difference through the ICM politics department. Earthgang created community gardens on Earth Day through a partnership with the Atlanta Public school

system and performed a virtual show for the United Nations on World Ocean Day. In addition, the agency helped Khalid’s The Great Khalid Foundation get involved with Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote initia-tive and worked to connect Ne-Yo with the Omaze campaign to benefit foster youth, which raised over $150,000 for nonprofit Journey House. As ICM and its clients “were questioning our political system,” says Bernstein, “we helped our clients use their power to effect change and advocate on the issues most important to them.”

Neil Warnock Obi Asika Co-heads, UTA U.K. Belinda Law Senior agent, UTA Jules de Lattre Rebecca Prochnik Agents, UTA

Longtime independent agent Asika became the co-head of UTA’s fast-growing U.K. office in 2021 with Warnock after UTA Music acquired Asika’s U.K.-based Echo Lo-cation Talent Agency. The acquisition added Marshmello, Alesso and Wizkid to UTA’s growing client list. Describing the partner-ship as one built around “strength, ingenuity and true commitment,” Asika has enjoyed a number of triumphs out of the gate, includ-ing a highly successful dual headlining tour between Alesso and Sentinel built on the success of their newest track, “Only You.”

Contributors: Trevor Anderson, Rania Aniftos, Rich Appel, Megan Armstrong, Chuck Arnold, Katie Bain, Alexei Barrion-uevo, Karen Bliss, Lars Brandle, Dave Brooks, Anna Chan, Ed Christman, Leila Cobo, Jonathan Cohen, Stephen Daw, Thom Duffy, Chris Eggertsen, Griselda Flores, Eric Fran-kenberg, Adrienne Gaffney, Josh Glicksman, Gary Graff, Paul Grein, Gil Kaufman, Steve Knopper, Katy Kroll, Carl Lamarre, Robert Levine, Jason Lipshutz, Heran Mamo, Gail Mitchell, Taylor Mims, Melinda Newman, Glenn Peoples, Bryan Reesman, Neena Rou-hani, Jessica Roiz, Dan Rys, Richard Smirke, Jewel Wicker

Methodology: Nominations for Bill-board’s executive lists open no less than 120 days in advance of publication. (For a contact for our editorial calendar, please email thom.

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duffy@billboard.com.) The online nomina-tion link is sent to press representatives who send a request for notification before the nomination period to thom.duffy@billboard.com. Billboard’s International Power Players were chosen by editors from selected industry sectors, based on factors including, but not limited to, nominations by peers, colleagues and superiors. In addition to information requested with nominations, editors consider industry impact as measured by metrics including, but not limited to, chart, sales and streaming performance as measured by Luminate and social media impressions using data available as of March 22.

Managers To Watch: The Rising Execs Helping Baby Keem, Tems, Remi Wolf & MoreBY LYNDSEY HAVENS

For Billboard’s first-ever roundup, these managers on the rise have set the bar for what it takes to suc-cessfully break new talent. From

strategically utilizing TikTok and exploring how to leverage Web3 to preparing clients (and their respective fan bases) for the return of touring, these are the ascendant managers and management teams you need to know.

Alex ValentiAge: 26

Company: 3V Method Key Clients: Peach Tree Rascals, CLAY, Felly, Sean Leon

Launching her own management, record-ing and publishing company, 3V Method, in early 2020 — and then having the pandemic hit — did not deter Valenti. Instead, she says that she and her team learned to “look at TikTok as a channel for telling stories as opposed to a quick way to break a song and move on.” The approach paid off when Peach Tree Rascals performed at Chicago’s

Lollapalooza for the first time in 2021 to over 25,000 fans. 3V also manages writers and producers including BOYCO (Dominic Fike, Carlie Hanson), Erick Serna (Olivia Rodrigo, Sia) and Simone Torres (Chloe Bai-ley, Normani, Anitta) and is exploring how to “activate fan communities in metaverses” and leverage cryptocurrency platforms and blockchains for intellectual property fund-ing.

Dylan ShanksAge: 24

Company: Open Door Management Key Clients: Omar Apollo, Teo Halm, Cal-lan Wong, American Dance Ghosts, Oscar Santander, Jackson Shanks

Fresh off the release of client Omar Apol-lo’s debut album IVORY, Shanks calls the experience “my biggest success story, hands down.” The two started working together in 2017 after Apollo tweeted about needing a manager; Shanks was still a student at New York University when they first connected. “I just wanted to help people make the best music they could possibly make and man-agement was the quickest way to be in a po-sition to do that,” says Shanks, who helped the artist sign a record deal with Warner in 2020. “A label will always be necessary if an artist wants to be a superstar, but artists are so much more in 2022 than just musicians. Managers are able to build business with their clients.”

Nick JarjourAge: 36

Company: JarjourCo Management Key Clients: Starrah, 3:02 Music Group, Hipgnosis Songs Management

As global head of song management at Hipgnosis, Jarjour helped Selena Gomez’s “Baila Conmigo” and Kali Uchis’ “Telepatia” take off on JarjourCo, his joint venture with the company. Separately, he’s particularly proud of working with singer-songwriter and rapper Starrah to launch her publishing venture 3:02 Music Group, in partnership with Pulse Music, this March (one of its big-gest hits includes Normani’s hit “Wild Side,” which Starrah co-wrote). “Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine really set the framework for how creatives and executives can co-create businesses together,” he says. “The level of trust and communication artists and manag-

ers have are the same ingredients needed to build a superstar client or a successful business.”

Sophie LevAge: 27

Company: N/A Key Client: Remi Wolf

Since working as a product manager at a label, Lev grew eager to work directly on an artist’s team. “In management,” she says, “you are helping to execute on all things music, as well as all other ventures that the artist may want to explore.” For rising alter-native-pop artist Remi Wolf, that included the live sector. She sold out her 2022 North American headline tour (in support of her debut album Juno that arrived last October) that included two nights each in New York and Los Angeles.

Omar “Omi” Rivera MaldonadoAge: 34

Company: Omi Management Key Clients: Sech, Arcangel, Chris Lebron, Myke Towers

After graduating in 2010 from Full Sail University with a degree in music business, Rivera returned to Puerto Rico and soon met up with his longtime friend, reggaetón star Arcangel. “I realized there were a lot of things in his career I could improve with what I’d learned,” he says. The artist became his first client, and he later added Sech and Myke Towers (the latter of whom is signed to a co-management deal with Whiteworld’s Orlando “Jova” Cepeda and José “Tito” Reyes). “Artists always create good music, but it ends there if we don’t bring partners who can push it to the next level,” says Maldonado, citing the recent signing of Towers to a brand deal with Puma Global Motor Sports. As for Sech, the artist recently sold out three dates at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico.

Cory LitwinAge: 35

Company: Hallwood Media Key Clients: Murda Beatz, Sounwave, Quay Global, Jason “Cheese” Goldberg, Pvlace, Yung DZA, Jenius

Litwin never set out to be a manager, but when he met producer Murda Beatz in the summer of 2014, “it just happened organi-cally,” he recalls. “I really believed in him

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and he really believed in me.” Litwin kicked off 2022 by signing the producer to a global distribution deal with ADA Worldwide, negotiating a “sizable” catalog sale with Canadian music rights manager Kilometre Music Group and scoring another Las Vegas residency at Hakkasan. As for Litwin’s other clients, he helped Jason “Cheese” Gold-berg grow from an engineer to becoming YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s executive producer.

Muyiwa AwoniyiAge: 29

Companies: BSB Management Agency, Leading Vibe LTD Key Clients: Tems, Deeds Art, Lekaa Beats

Awoniyi cites his talk-based YouTube channel, The Donawon Podcast, as a crash course in expanding a fan base. “We grew a local following [but it] didn’t take much to realize it wasn’t sustainable,” he says. To en-gage followers, he sold merch, threw parties and leaned into Twitter. “Before I knew it, I had a network of people in various circles.” That know-how helped land Grammy-nominated artist Tems as a client. As she debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021 for her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence,” other clients have also scored major collabora-tions: Nigerian artist Deeds with Burna Boy and U.K. producer-engineer Lekaa Beats with Adekunle Gold.

Hilary SullivanAge: 27

Company: Bad Habit Key Clients: Dora Jar, Yeek, Ralph Castelli

Sullivan says she “stumbled” into man-agement when her friends in a band started to release music and she felt compelled to help out, lending her expertise in brand col-laborations and product curation for compa-nies such as Heron Preston, Bape, Opening Ceremony and more. Since joining Bad Habit (a label, management and publish-ing company founded in 2015 by Matthew Adesuyan & Kirk Harding), Sullivan has felt “honored” to be a part of building up indie-pop artist Dora Jar, who released her debut EP last May and this year opened on tour for Billie Eilish. “Dora’s growth has been pretty extraordinary,” says Sullivan. “To have her ninth show ever, and subsequent six shows, be [with a crowd of ] 15,000 people was

pretty insane.”John Geraghty, Blythe ScokinAge: 27, 32

Company: rogue. Key Clients: Fletcher, Ingrid Andress

Geraghty and Scokin co-founded boutique management firm rogue. in 2020 — and by 2021, Ingrid Andress had scored three Grammy nominations, including best new artist. (Scokin has managed Andress since 2018). This year, Fletcher wrapped her sold-out North American tour at the top of this year with nearly 50,000 tickets sold globally within minutes — without a debut album out. “It’s super important now more than ever that the artists we work with know that their management team will protect them at all costs,” says Geraghty, who has previ-ously made Billboard’s annual Pride List. “It brings me great joy to see Ingrid represent country music the way she does, and to see FLETCHER create safe spaces for young queer kids in states that are actively threat-ening the lives of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Mike Ahern, Jimmy BuiAge: 26, 29

Company: Good Buddy Key Clients: Clairo, Paris Texas, Forrest Nolan

Ahern and Bui both became passionate about music at a young age, with Ahern say-ing he particularly “loved the entrepreneur-ial nature of being a manager” while Bui was drawn to being part of the creative process. It’s why, Bui says, “supporting Clairo in her creative process on her [2021 sophomore] album Sling in the remote hills of Catskills, New York was an extraordinary experience for me.” Ahern praises the artist for selling out Radio City Music Hall in New York City and The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, say-ing she went from selling 5,000 tickets on her 2018 tour to over 100,000 tickets on her current trek.

Will RunzelAge: 35

Company: Prodigy Artists Key Clients: SLANDER, NGHTMRE, De-orro, Afrojack

Runzel says that feeling “bored with being a talent buyer” pushed him into manage-ment, along with wanting to work more closely with talent. He co-founded Prodigy

Artists in 2014 and recently celebrated such wins as SLANDER and Dylan Matthew’s “Love Is Gone” hitting No. 12 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart and live feats like NGHTMRE headlin-ing Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Deorro selling out two shows at the Hollywood Palladium. “From a business standpoint, [I’m excited about] growing Prodigy while keeping our ethos of being kind communicators in an industry full of unnecessary aggression, tension and stress,” says Runzel.

Juanita “Niya” MortonAge: 31

Company: pgLang Key Client: Baby Keem

Since working with Dave Free as a prod-uct manager on Baby Keem’s 2019 mixtape Die For My B-tch, Morton felt motivated to move into management. “In this industry, it’s important to work with people that naturally bring out the best version of you,” she says. “It’s also special to work alongside someone who has a clear vision of what they want to represent.” In April, Keem won his first Grammy Award, but Morton says she’s more proud of pgLang’s collaboration on his debut album, The Melodic Blue, which in September entered at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Adam Hirsch, Benito LugoAge: 36, 33

Company: ALT:Vision Key Clients: Blu DeTiger, Autograf, Young Franco, K?d, Drezo, Dot

Having gained experience working in Chicago — Lugo learning from his promoter cousin and Hirsch founding a dance music website — the pair launched ALT:Vision in 2017 “not knowing where the journey would lead us,” as Lugo says. It turns out that it led to launching pop-rock artist Blu DeTiger as an independent act through ALT:Vision’s label venture at SONY/Orchard, on which she released her 2021 debut. Starting as an indie, says Lugo, “enabled her to have full creative control in the early stages of her project and establish her sound and brand.” The success of single “Figure It Out” helped her land a record deal with Capitol last No-vember. Hirsch is equally excited about the company’s festival brand Lost In Dreams,

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a partnership with Insomniac, and its new web3 focused label Too Future, launched with SONY/Orchard.

Mookie SingermanAge: 37

Company: TaP Music Key Clients: Noah Cyrus, Caroline Po-lachek, Purity Ring

Singerman says he had “a holistic over-view of the industry at a young age” thanks to starting a “very niche but somewhat successful” indie label in college while also touring in a self-managed band. “I had been on both the business and creative side; I could empathize with the grueling day-to-day routine of being an artist, while also confidently navigating the industry side for my clients.” He’s done just that with Noah Cyrus, whose debut album, The Hardest Part, arrives July 15, and Caroline Polachek, who opened on tour for Dua Lipa and sold out the Greek Theatre as an indie act over a decade into her career. “[That] was hands down the most gratifying, emotional night of my career,” says Singerman.

Seon Ho Kim, Dong-Min KimAge: 36, 27

Company: SM Entertainment Key Clients: NCT, NCT 127, NCT DREAM

Last September, NCT 127’s Sticker: The 3rd Album debuted at No. 3 on the Bill-board 200, also becoming the act’s third No. 1 album on the Top Albums Sales chart. Meanwhile, NCT Dream’s debut album Hot Sauce, which arrived last May, helped them take home key Korean music awards such as Artist of the Year (Physical Album) at Gaon Chart Music Awards, Best Album of the Year at Seoul Music Awards and Best Al-bum at the Golden Disc Awards. Its second album Glitch Mode arrived this March. “I’ve realized that management isn’t just about supporting an artist, but it’s about walking together in an artist’s career, and that has actually led to the expansion [of K-Pop] beyond Korea into the global entertainment industry,” says Seon Ho Kim. Adds Dong-Min Kim: “I believe we [as managers] are the ones who draw the constellations of a star [artist].”

Songwriter & ASCAP President Paul Williams Remembers Senator Orrin Hatch as a Champion of CreatorsBY PAUL WILLIAMS

Sometimes there is truth in old say-ings like “politics makes strange bedfellows.” That was certainly the case with Senator Orrin G. Hatch,

and perhaps many of the music creators and recording artists whose livelihoods he protected and whose work he recognized as important to our culture – even if it wasn’t to his personal taste.

Senator Hatch, who died on April 23 at the age of 88, had a certain way of greet-ing me. “You rascal, Paul,” he’d say with a devilish smile. “Are you behaving yourself?” And I would often reply, especially when I was in his office explaining the challenges we were facing as songwriters and asking for his support. “Yes, I’m behaving, Senator, and I’m grateful that you are in our corner standing with songwriters on this issue.”

And he did stand with music creators on so many pieces of copyright legislation throughout his more than three decades of service on the Senate Judiciary Committee. When it came to protecting copyright and making sure songwriters could make a liv-ing from their art, we knew we could count on Sen. Hatch.

Sen. Hatch drew on his own experiences as a songwriter and an ASCAP member, and translated his passion for music into legislative action. His legislative record on these matters is well-known, but I can speak from experience on a few. He helped us defeat legislation that would have forced

songwriters and composers to give up their rights to royalties when our music is used in television shows. He defended our right to earn royalties from the use of our music on digital platforms. And in 2015 he introduced the Songwriter Equity Act, which eventu-ally became part of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act – and that passed both the Senate and House unanimously in 2018.

That bi-partisan support speaks volumes about the power of music to bring people together. Sen. Hatch was a shrewd legisla-tor who knew how to get things done. After I met Sen. Hatch, I began to understand the long partnership and friendship he enjoyed with Senator Ted Kennedy, who was on the opposite side of the political spectrum. They both had that rare ability to look beneath the surface of a person to connect with them on a heart level, and that allowed them to collaborate on important legislation where they found common ground.

During the run-up to the Music Mod-ernization Act, we had reached a bit of a stalemate on one issue and Senator Hatch asked me to meet with him. He explained that to get this bill passed we needed to get a few more people under the tent, and he facilitated those discussions and made sure we all left the room satisfied.

I grew up with a Democrat mother and a Republican father, so I am no stranger to political opposites finding common ground. Music helps us find common ground, too. Sen. Hatch wrote hundreds of songs: “The Answer’s Not in Washington” is one about hope and morality amid legislative dysfunc-tion, and “Out of the Night” pays tribute to the civil rights movement. The album My God is Love has songs dedicated to his faith, which he wrote over just one weekend. He even wrote a Christmas album, Orrin Hatch’s Christmas Eve.

Sen. Hatch once told me I was his favorite Democrat. And while I’d like to believe that, I’m not sure it’s entirely true, because one of his most touching songs is a love song he wrote for Sen. Kennedy and his wife Vickie, “Souls Along the Way.”

Sen. Hatch, thanks for the music and for the lessons in finding common ground. Our country, and the world, needs them more

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than ever.ASCAP President and Chairman of the

Board Paul Williams is an Oscar-, Grammy- and Golden Globe-winning composer and lyricist who has written “The Rainbow Con-nection,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” and many other hits. He recently collaborated with Daft Punk on songs for its album Random Access Memories.

Elon Musk Reaches Agreement to Buy Twitter for $44BBY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Billionaire Elon Musk has reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for approximately $44 billion, the company said.

The outspoken Tesla CEO, the world’s wealthiest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for “free speech.” He says it needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the “societal imperative” of free speech.

Twitter said it will become a privately held company after the sale is closed.

“Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world,” its CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet. “Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”

Musk describes himself as a “free-speech absolutist,” although he hasn’t been exactly clear what he means by that. In a recent TED interview, the billionaire said he’d like to see Twitter err on the side of allowing speech instead of moderating it. He said he’d be “very reluctant” to delete tweets and would generally be cautious about permanent bans. He also acknowledged that Twitter would have to abide by national laws governing speech in markets around the world.

Musk himself, though, regularly blocks social media users who have criticized him or his company and has used the platform to bully reporters who have written critical articles about him or his company.

Twitter’s board at first enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could have made a takeover attempt prohibitively expensive. But when Musk outlined the financial commitments he’d lined up to back his offer of $46.5 billion — and no other bidders emerged — the board opened negotiations with him.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Elon Musk’s bid to buy Twitter is gaining steam and could be announced as early as Monday, according to media reports about the social media company’s late-stage negotiations with the Tesla CEO, who has offered more than $40 billion to privatize the platform and pledged to be more lenient when it comes to policing users’ speech.

Twitter and Musk spoke Sunday and into the early hours Monday, The New York Times reported, less than two weeks after the billionaire first revealed a 9 percent stake in the platform that he uses to pro-mote his interests, attack critics and opine on social and economic issues to his more than 83 million followers.

Musk said last week that he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal. Musk hasn’t commented on the negotiations but on Monday waded into the buzz about them on Twitter, where some users are promising to quit the plat-form if he takes over.

“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” he tweeted.

Musk has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist” but is also known for blocking or disparaging other Twitter users who question or disagree with him.

In recent weeks, he has voiced a number of proposed changes for the company, from relaxing its content restrictions — such as the rules that suspended former President Donald Trump’s account — to ridding the platform of fake and automated accounts, and shifting away from its advertising-based

revenue model.Twitter’s board has flexibility in judging

Musk’s proposal not just on the finances but also the specifics of his business plan and how it could affect users, advertisers and employees — some of whom might leave, said Kevin Kaiser, a finance professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“What’s critical for the board is whether they think it’s in the best interest of the company,” Kaiser said. “That can come from many, many factors.”

Kaiser said the board could decide that Musk’s plan has “too many negative impacts,” but that would be a hard case to make given how much Musk is offering to pay.

Asked during a recent TED talk if there are any limits to his notion of “free speech,” Musk said Twitter or any forum is “obvi-ously bound by the laws of the country that it operates in. So obviously there are some limitations on free speech in the US, and, of course, Twitter would have to abide by those rules.”

Beyond that, though, he said he’d be “very reluctant” to delete things and in general be cautious about permanent bans.

It won’t be perfect, Musk added, “but I think we want it to really have the percep-tion and reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible.”

Twitter had initially enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could make a takeover attempt prohibi-tively expensive. But the board decided to negotiate after Musk updated his proposal last week to show he had secured financing, according to The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the negotiations were underway.

A rival bidder to Musk may not be stepping up any time soon, fearful of the byzantine task of moderating content on the platform, something that Musk has vowed to do less of.

“The Twitter Board could not find a white knight and with Musk’s financing detailed the clock has essentially struck midnight for the board which is why negotiations have begun to get a deal done,” said Dan Ives, who follows Twitter for Wedbush Securi-

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ties.The Times, citing people with knowledge

of the situation who it did not identify, said the two sides were discussing details includ-ing a timeline and fees if an agreement was signed and then fell apart. The people said the situation was fluid and fast-moving.

While Twitter’s user base of more than 200 million remains much smaller than those of rivals such as Facebook and Tik-Tok, the service is popular with celebrities, world leaders, journalists and intellectuals. Musk himself is a prolific tweeter with a following that rivals several pop stars in the ranks of the most popular accounts.

Shares of Twitter Inc. rose 5% Monday to $51.50 per share. On April 14, Musk an-nounced an offer to buy the social media platform for $54.20 per share, or about $43 billion, but did not say at the time how he would finance the acquisition.

Last week, he said in documents filed with U.S. securities regulators that the money would come from Morgan Stanley and other banks, some of it secured by his huge stake in Tesla.

Twitter has not commented.Musk is the world’s wealthiest person,

according to Forbes, with a nearly $279 billion fortune. But much of his money is tied up in Tesla stock — he owns about 17% of the electric car company, according to FactSet, which is valued at more than $1 trillion — and SpaceX, his privately held space company. It’s unclear how much cash Musk has.

Musk began making his fortune in 1999 when he sold Zip2, an online mapping and business directory, to Compaq for $307 mil-lion. He used his share to create what would become PayPal, an internet service that bypassed banks and allowed consumers to pay businesses directly. It was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

That same year, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, after finding that cost constraints were limiting NASA’s interplanetary travel. The company eventually developed cost-effective reusable rockets.

In 2004, Musk was courted to invest in Tesla, then a startup trying to build an electric car. Eventually he became CEO and

led the company to astronomical success as the world’s most valuable automaker and largest seller of electric vehicles.

__Krisher reported from Detroit. O’Brien

reported from Providence, R.I. AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan reported from London.

Grammys on the Hill: The 4 Policy Priorities Being Pushed at This Year’s Advocacy EventBY ROBERT LEVINE

I’ve heard it described as the most interesting mix of music and politics,” says Todd Dupler — the Recording Academy’s acting chief of advocacy

and public policy officer — of the academy’s annual Grammys on the Hill event, which brings musicians together with legislators at a Washington, D.C., dinner, followed by a day of meetings on Capitol Hill. This year, on April 27, the dinner will honor Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, along with Reps. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

“We can connect artists with lawmak-ers who make decisions that affect their livelihood,” Dupler says. The night includes performances — usually by the creators be-ing honored and others — plus members of Congress getting onstage to join the musical guests. “The members feel relaxed,” Dupler says, “and a lot of the walls come down.” Where else can former Utah senator Orrin Hatch talk with Missy Elliott (as they did at the first event, in 2001)?

This will be the 20th Grammys on the Hill — as well as the third attempt at do-ing one — after the 2020 and 2021 events were canceled due to the pandemic. And although the traditional 20th-anniversary

gift is china, “I don’t know if I need a set of dishes,” Dupler says. Instead, the academy plans to focus on four policy priorities.

Radio Royalties For Recorded MusicThe American Music Fairness Act (H.R.

4130), introduced in June by Reps. Deutch and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., would require terrestrial radio stations to pay royalties to labels and performers for their use of recordings — as they do in almost every other country in the world. “Radio is still the only industry in America that can use someone else’s intellectual property without permission or compensation,” Dupler says. Changing this has been a goal of labels and performers for decades — Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley favored it — but broad-casters have always blocked the move. (The Local Radio Freedom Act, introduced last year, would stop this with legislation.)

“I think in this Congress we have a great opportunity to advance the bill,” Dupler says. The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who is interested in music industry issues, held a hearing on the legislation in Febru-ary, and Dupler says “we’ve seen more artists get engaged and more traction on the Hill than in previous years.” Importantly, the act would allow American companies and performers to collect foreign radio roy-alties that aren’t currently remitted to the United States because of its policy.

A Studio Tax DeductionThe Helping Independent Tracks Suc-

ceed (HITS) Act (H.R. 1945/S. 752), which would change a tax deduction for artists, “basically came out of COVID-19 recovery,” Dupler says. It would allow artists to deduct recording costs during the year they’re incurred, up to $150,000, as opposed to am-ortizing them over time. “The aim is simple: We want to get independent artists back in the studio,” Dupler says.

Although the bill would apply more broadly, it’s aimed at indie artists who fi-nance their own recordings. It was included in the House and some Senate versions of the Build Back Better Act, which isn’t currently moving, “but we’re looking to move it,” Dupler says. “We view it as part of pandemic recovery.”

Cultural Exchange To Increase The Peace

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The Promoting Peace, Education and Cul-tural Exchange (PEACE) Through Music Diplomacy Act (H.R. 6498) “was recently introduced by Congressman McCaul and Congressman Deutch, who happen to be our honorees, to make music a more im-portant part of diplomatic efforts,” Dupler says. (“We’re a creative industry, so we try to come up with creative names,” he says about the name of the legislation. “It makes these bills memorable.”)

The PEACE Act directs the U.S. Depart-ment of State to work with stakeholders to create the international music exchange programs run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It should be much easier to get through Congress than the kind of copyright policy legislation that often faces opposition from radio or technology companies.

Higher On-Demand Streaming Royalty Rates

The Recording Academy also wants to make its songwriter members’ feelings known about the upcoming Copyright Royalty Board proceedings to determine mechanical royalty rates for on-demand streaming services. Unlike the other issues, this doesn’t involve legislation — at least for now — since the CRB is a three-judge panel. (The upcoming proceeding will set the National Music Publishers’ Association on one side against Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Pandora and Google on the other.)

“I think members of Congress are more interested in this following the passage of the Music Modernization Act, which changed how these royalties get paid but not how they’re set,” Dupler says. “And song-writers feel a lot of frustration about what they’re getting paid.”

Grammys on the Hill Honorees on How Music Can Bridge the Partisan DivideBY STEVE KNOPPER

Without actual political pow-er to pass laws supporting artists and songwriters, the Recording Academy

instead marshals its most potent lobbying weapon to influence Congress: star power.

So every year, for Grammys on the Hill, the Academy honors a combination of politi-cians (this year, Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida and Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas) and music dignitaries (star-making produc-tion duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) to help the music business communicate its bi-partisan agenda. One priority is the American Music Fairness Act, which would give recording artists a royalty payment for terrestrial-radio airplay for the first time ever, despite fierce opposition from broad-cast groups.

Jam and Lewis will also perform. In deference to potential votes, maybe they’ll play one of their best-known songs: Lionel Richie’s “Don’t Wanna Lose You.”

Below, Billboard chats with each of this year’s honorees about their music advocacy efforts and their hopes for this year’s event.

Jimmy Jam and Terry LewisThe first time Jimmy Jam and Terry

Lewis discussed the songwriting business, they were in middle school 40 years ago, a decade or so away from producing a string of hits for Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey and many others, as well as winning five Grammy Awards. “The only business that Terry and I talked about back in that day was we were going to split every-thing 50-50,” Jam recalls. “We shook hands, and our handshake was our agreement, and that’s still in place.”

As the duo’s career progressed, the

discussions of copyrights, royalties and pub-lishing became more complex, and Jam and Lewis evolved into songwriter advocates. Jam was the first Black person to chair the Recording Academy’s board of trustees in the early 2000s, and he and Lewis attended numerous Grammys on the Hill gatherings before being named artist honorees this year. “I’ve always schmoozed at that event,” Jam says on a Zoom call (which Lewis couldn’t join due to his daughter’s dance recital at Princeton University). “I love it.”

Jam and Lewis aren’t especially public about their politics, preferring to support specific issues on a personal level. In August 2018, Jam requested a phone call with Tina Smith, the U.S. senator from his home state of Minnesota; he wanted her to support the Music Modernization Act. “I said, ‘Listen, Prince would have loved this. You can’t be from Minnesota and not be on board with this,’ ” he recalls telling Smith during their call. She threw her support behind the legis-lation the next day, and Congress passed the MMA two months later.

“When you meet people and have conver-sations, it goes a long way,” Jam says, then cites a friend and music-business mentor, Clarence Avant, known as “The Black God-father.” When Avant ran Tabu Records, Jam and Lewis were helping define the sound of 1980s R&B with productions for Tabu acts like The S.O.S. Band and Alexander O’Neal. “I always wanted to know what was going on behind the scenes,” says Jam. “Clarence always [said], ‘Make sure you get in those rooms where those decisions are being made because those rooms are very much important to be in.’ ” Now they are being honored in one of those rooms.

Florida Rep. Ted DeutchU.S. Rep. Ted Deutch has played piano

most of his life, and a Bruce Springsteen song, “Land of Hope and Dreams,” helped inspire his first run for office — a Florida state senate race in 2006. But as much as he loved music, he didn’t understand how complicated music-business legislation could be until he learned the laws were inspired by the advent of player pianos over 100 years ago — the term “mechanical royalties” comes from the mechanics of the instrument.

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“That’s when I knew that there was a lot of work to be done. And I’ve spent a lot of time learning about copyright and boning up on the really challenging aspects of it,” says Deutch, a Florida Democrat and one of this year’s Grammys on the Hill honorees.

But despite the details, Deutch says the many music-related bills he sponsors in Congress are fundamentally simple and easy to explain to his colleagues, and the public, on a visceral level.

Save Our Stages, which Deutch co-spon-sored, helped concert venues with funding to survive the pandemic after it passed in late 2020; the Protect Working Musicians Act, which Deutch introduced last Octo-ber, would let musicians unite to negotiate better rates on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. And the American Music Fairness Act, which Deutch co-intro-duced in the House last June, would require terrestrial radio stations to pay perform-ers whenever they air songs, despite fierce opposition from the National Association of Broadcasters and other radio groups. They all have one thing in common.

“It’s really not that complicated,” Deutch says. “We ought to be asking the fundamen-tal question, ‘At a time of radically changing technology, do we have a system that fairly compensates creators?’ That’s what we re-ally need to focus on.”

Texas Rep. Michael McCaulMany in the music business lean liberal,

but when it comes to congressional music legislation, much of the progress comes from bipartisanship, with Republicans from former Sen. Orrin Hatch to Rep. Michael McCaul sponsoring crucial creators’ rights bills. “A lot of our strongest advocates are on the Republican side,” says Jimmy Jam. “It’s the one place we agree upon things.”

McCaul — a guitarist who plays every day, attends Austin City Limits in his hometown and saw U2 on its first U.S. tour in 1981 — tops this Republican list. McCaul co-spon-sored 2018’s Music Modernization Act and the Save Our Stages bill, which brought $15 billion in funding to pandemic-challenged concert venues, and he’s working with Democratic House colleagues to pass the HITS Act, which would allow musicians and producers to deduct recording expenses

on their taxes. (“It’s a matter of gather-ing focus in the midst of many competing priorities,” he says of the pending bill from July 2020.)

McCaul regularly attends Grammys on the Hill, which he calls “an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and highlight my music-related legislation.” Working with Deutch, McCaul in January introduced the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act to boost music-related exchange programs in an attempt to “advance peace abroad.” The bill, he says, “takes my belief in the power of music and appreciation for its creators to a global scale.”

Will music bills repair the ugly parti-san wounds of the past decade by uniting Democrats and Republicans? Not a chance. But, as McCaul says by email: “I’ve always believed that music is a vital part of Ameri-can society and a powerful tool to promote peace worldwide. And I think many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle recog-nize this as well.” His favorite Austin artists are singer-songwriters Kacey Musgraves and Patty Griffin, the former a staunch liberal, the latter an outspoken voting-rights advocate, so maybe there’s hope.

The Ledger: Deezer Fell Behind as Music Subscriptions ExplodedBY GLENN PEOPLES

The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro sub-scribers. An abbreviated version of

the newsletter is published online.The industry has exploded with six years

in a row of recorded music growth, driven by a boom in consumer adoption of on-demand music subscription services. But French music streaming service Deezer, which plans to go public by merging with

I2PO, a French special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has mostly missed out on the gold rush.

Financial information released by I2PO last week shows Deezer hasn’t matched the industry’s growth much since it first attempted to go public in 2015. Back then (at the end of 2014), Deezer had 6.9 million subscribers and 143 million euros ($162 million at the time) in annual revenues. By 2021, its subscribers grew 39% to 9.6 mil-lion and revenue grew 180% to 400 million euros ($432 million at the current exchange rate).

But those improvements were nothing like the overall subscription market’s gains over the same period. In 2014, the global recorded music industry generated $1.6 bil-lion in subscription revenue and 41 million global subscribers. Since then, subscription revenues jumped more than eight-fold to $12.3 billion and global subscribers grew almost 13 times to 523 million. Deezer’s peers — mainly Spotify, Apple Music, Ama-zon Music, YouTube Music — captured that tremendous growth.

Here are three examples of how Deezer fell behind Spotify from 2019 to 2021 (the years covered in Deezer’s financial state-ments):

Deezer’s revenue grew 5% from 381 million euros in 2019 to 400 million euros ($423 million) in 2021. Spotify’s revenue grew 42.9% — over eight times as fast — to 9.67 billion euros ($10.4 billion) in those three years.

Deezer’s subscriptions grew about 9% from 8.8 million to 9.6 million. Spotify’s subscriptions improved about 45% — from 124 million to 180 million.

Deezer’s gross profit went in the wrong direction, falling from 18.3% in 2019 to 16.3% in 2020 and 12.1% in 2021. That’s well below Spotify’s gross margin, which im-proved slightly from 25.5% in 2019 to 26.8% in 2021. Gross profit is the share of revenue left after paying for “cost of sales,” which for a streaming service is almost entirely content licensing costs.

Deezer’s successes are limited to France and Brazil, despite global acceptance of mu-sic subscription services. In France, where it has 4.2 million subscribers, Deezer’s

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revenue improved 16.2% from 2019 to 2021. But sales in the rest of the world fell 8.7% from 172 million euros ($186 million) to 157 million euros ($170 million). It has 2.7 mil-lion subscribers in Brazil, where it landed a partnership with telecom company TIM Celular S.A. in 2016. That B2B model could be crucial for growth in other markets such as Germany, where Deezer inked a part-nership with German broadcaster RTL Interactive GmbH in November.

In the fiercely competitive music stream-ing business, longevity is no guarantee of success. Pandora has shed listeners since 2015 and its on-demand subscrip-tion service lags Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music in the U.S. — although it has improved revenues. Napster — previously branded as Rhapsody in the U.S. — was one of the original subscription services but has been far surpassed by later arrivals. Many of Deezer’s peers reside in streaming’s graveyard: Rdio, created by the co-founders of video call software Skype; Microsoft’s Zune; Google Play Music All Access; Nokia’s Comes With Music; Sony’s Music Unlimited Powered by Qriocity; and Xiami, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba; to name just a few. That Deezer, which launched in 2007, survived to 2022 is itself an achieve-ment.

The merger with I2PO should help Deezer compete with bigger services and capture the growth that eluded it in recent years. I2PO will provide Deezer with at least 135 million euros ($146 million) for the merger. That number could be signifi-cantly higher and depends on how many shareholders reject the deal and redeem their shares before the merger: I2PO raised 275 million euros ($297 million) in its initial public offering and has 120 million euros ($130 million) in commitments from ad-ditional investors. That’s not enough to take on Spotify and the other giants, but it could help Deezer carve out a comfortable niche.

STOCKS Through April 22, the % change over the last week, and the year-to-date change.

Spotify (NYSE: SPOT): $110.21, -19.1%, -52.9% YTD Universal Music Group (AS: UMG): 23.65 euros, -5.0%, -4.6% YTD

Warner Music Group (Nasdaq: WMG): $31.34, -12.1%, -27.4% YTD HYBE (KS 352820): 254,000 KRW, -13.4%, -27.1% YTD Live Nation (NYSE: LYV): $105.91, -4.9%, -11.5% YTD Eventbrite (NYSE: EB): $11.35, -15.1%, -34.9% YTD

NYSE Composite: 16,056.87, -2.8%, -6.5% YTD Nasdaq: 12,839.29, -3.8%, -17.9% YTD

Touring Returned From the Pandemic Greener Than EverBY TAYLOR MIMS

Attend any of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World tour dates this spring, and you’ll find kinetic bikes stationed outside of every

stadium in effort to use fan-power to drive the band’s intercontinental tour. If that doesn’t do it on its own, there’s also kinetic dance floors outside to generate storable energy, solar panels built and used on each stop, and buses and trucks being powered with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) — a renewable fuel made from a variety of waste materials including used cooking oil that has over 90% lower emissions than diesel fuel.

Since the pandemic shut down concerts for the better part of two years, touring is returning greener than ever. Throughout 2020 and 2021, the world had the oppor-tunity to rethink just about everything and that included sustainable touring. Mega stars like Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, The 1975 and more have found ways to limit their impact on the environment and, just as importantly, engage their massive audiences to do the same.

Three years ago, Coldplay’s 2022 green touring solutions were a pipe dream. In 2019, the band opted not to tour in sup-port of their album Everyday Life with lead singer Chris Martin explaining at the time,

“We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how can it be actively beneficial.”

Now, these new tactics are all part of Coldplay’s sustainability initiatives to help the band reach their missions of shows powered by 100% renewable energy, cutting their emissions by 50% as compared to their last tour in 2016 and 2017 and providing an example of climate conscious actions for their millions of fans.

“Having fans engage and participate is a hugely important part of the plan. We want to get across that we can all make a differ-ence, even by doing relatively small, simple things,” says Luke Howell, founder and di-rector of Hope Solutions – the company that put together the activations for Coldplay’s 2022 tour. “The kinetic floor and bikes are the next step in audience participation – the fans can literally help create the power for the show.”

Coldplay’s ambitious initiatives were developed alongside Hope Solutions and tour promoter Live Nation’s Green Nation sustainability division, and include the band mainly flying commercial instead of private; LED wristbands for fans made from 100% compostable, plant-based materials; 100% biodegradable confetti; recycled steel for the stage; solar and battery systems for power and more.

“When I saw what [Coldplay] had planned, I thought it was just incredibly impressive and forward-thinking, and of course we wanted to make sure we could do whatever we could to support,” says Live Nation director of global sustainability and head of Green Nation Lucy August-Perna. The band’s ideas would help build on the framework Live Nation had been develop-ing over the past five years on their tours and venues.

Green Nation is working with Coldplay to adopt their plans and help standardize what they learn and best practices to provide sus-tainable touring options for the many artists who have approached the world’s largest promoter about creating greener tours.

“The thing that I love about what [Cold-play] has done, is it’s not about doom and gloom,” says August-Perna. “It is really

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focused on tangible solutions that have an inspiring benefit to the millions of fans that are going to interact and see that something can be done.” The movement towards more environmentally responsible touring isn’t exactly new. For decades, touring has run on fossil fuels without much focus on cli-mate consciousness or standardizing green alternatives, meaning interested artists were often priced out of environmental op-tions. Now, as the effects of global warming become more severe, that’s shifted with urgency. Many of the initiatives are directly replacing something that was more car-bon intensive originally, so costs are often balanced out or in some cases potentially outweighed by the emissions and resource saving,” says Howell. “Some aspects will cost more, but we definitely feel that’s a price worth paying.”

The impacts will soon be seen throughout the sector, too. Last year, ASM Global, the world’s largest venue operator, launched ASM Global Acts – their social responsibil-ity platform with commitments to protect the environment by reducing waste and creating more sustainable venues through capital investments. ASM Global president and CEO Ron Bension says the initiatives will do “nothing but good,” adding “these programs will boost local economies, em-ploy area residents and provide meaningful opportunities for the communities we call home.”

Non-profit organization Reverb has been selling live music fans on the green music movement since 2004 with acts like Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, The Lumineers, Dead & Company, as well as Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Tame Impala and Lorde in the last year alone. Reverb has worked musicians, festivals and venue to green their concert events and engage fans with a “build-your-own” sustainable tour ethos. Reverb partners can pick from a range of initiatives from eliminating single-use water bottles to coordinating local farm food to fueling sustainable biodiesel in tour buses to composting and donating food waste.

“We create a river to help cross that chasm between intentions and actions on the road,” says Reverb co-founder/co-

executive director Adam Gardner, adding that when he and his wife Lauren Sullivan started the company in 2004 environmen-talism was viewed as exclusively “for hippy crunchy people.”

“We pride ourselves on meeting artists where they’re at,” Gardner continues. “Let’s let them know what all their options are, but it’s not an all or nothing proposition.”

Artists working with Reverb, for example, can simply raise awareness or replicate something like The Lumineers’ “climate positive” tour from 2020, eliminated more greenhouse emissions than the tour created and also raised more than $280,000 to fight climate change by donating a percentage of ticket revenue. In order to architect a tour like this, Reverb measures a tour’s CO2 emissions output, reduces them as much as possible and then neutralizes the emis-sions even further with other initiatives like sourcing local and sustainable farm food, donating unused meals to local shelters, and funding solar and other climate-friendly projects.

In 2021, Reverb launched its Music Climate Revolution campaign that aims to make the entire music industry climate positive with artists like Eilish, Shawn Mendes, Jason Isbell, Brittany Howard, Maroon 5 and more signing on in Juen 2021 to do their part.

Climate change is accelerating at a pace that demands more action now, says Gard-ner: “Being neutral on climate is no longer good enough.”

PRS for Music Bounces Back After 22% Jump in RevenuesBY RICHARD SMIRKE

LONDON – Strong growth in streaming royalties coupled with the reopening of British shops, bars and restaurants following

the end of lockdown restrictions, helped

revenues at U.K. collecting society PRS for Music bounce back to £777 million ($990 million) in 2021 – a rise of 22% on the previ-ous year’s total.

The London-based organization, which represents the rights of over 160,000 songwriters, composers, and music publish-ers, paid out £677 million ($862 million) to members in 2021, year-end figures pub-lished Monday reveal. That total is down 3.2% on 2020’s distribution, much of which came from royalties collected pre-pandem-ic.

In 2019, PRS for Music posted record rev-enues of £811 million ( just over $1 billion at current exchange rates). Although its latest financial results are around £34 million ($43 million) below that level, PRS for Music CEO Andrea Czapary Martin called 2021 “a successful year” given the exceptional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and still recovering music market.

“For all businesses, these have been unprecedented and challenging times,” said Czapary Martin in a statement. “However, I believe we grasped that opportunity, and the entire organization has embraced the chance to adapt and innovate.”

Driving the growth in PRS for Music’s collections was a 42% increase in royalties from music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, which totaled £225 million ($287 million), an increase of £67 million ($85 million) on a constant cur-rency basis.

Last year also saw PRS for Music renew major license deals with film and television streaming platforms Apple TV and Netflix, as well as secure a new agreement with Disney+. Those deals saw revenues from video-on-demand platforms rise by 50% year-on-year to £34 million ($43 million).

Total online royalties, encompassing music streaming collections as well as royalties generated by film and television streaming services, was up 46% to £268 mil-lion ($341 million). PRS for Music said its members accounted for over half of 2021’s most streamed songs in the U.K., including Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits,” which spent 11 weeks at number one.

Public performance receipts generated from the use of PRS members’ music at U.K.

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festivals and concerts, as well as plays in British shops, bars, cinemas, restaurants, offices and nightclubs, climbed back to £138 million ($176 million), after falling to just £86 million ($109 million) in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

Despite the almost 60% year-on-year rise in public performance royalties, revenues still remain 38% lower than 2019’s total of £222 million ($282 million). The shortfall can be largely attributed to the U.K. being under lockdown restrictions for over five months of the year.

The lifting of restrictions in late sum-mer saw a number of U.K. festivals take place, including Creamfields and Reading and Leeds festivals, but the majority of live events and tours were cancelled due to the spread of new coronavirus variants and only resumed in earnest at the start of this year. As a result, PRS collections from live music concerts totaled just £8 million ($10 million) in 2021 – a 29% fall on the previous year and a massive 85% drop on 2019’s total.

International receipts collected through reciprocal agreements with other societies dipped by 2.5% in real terms to £242 million ($308 million). PRS for Music said Asia Pa-cific and Latin America were the most heav-ily impacted overseas territories, primarily due to stringent COVID-19 restrictions, such as the wholesale ban on music played publicly in Singapore.

A recovery in radio advertising helped broadcast revenues grow 1.5% to £129 mil-lion ($164 million) with PRS securing new long-term music licensing agreements with Sky and the BBC last year.

The organization said it processed 27 trillion performances of music in 2021 – a 20% rise on the previous 12 months and an increase of more than 500% across the last five years.

Music Business Association President on the Conference’s In-Person ReturnBY ERIC BROWN

Few music executives have worked in every sector of the Music Busi-ness Association’s membership, but Portia Sabin comes close.

Sabin, who became president of the in-dustry trade group in September 2019, broke into the music business as an artist before founding Shotclock Management in 2004 and taking over esteemed independent label Kill Rock Stars in 2006. She has served on the boards of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and the RIAA, among other organizations, and also hosts a weekly podcast, The Future of What.

Sabin’s diverse experience helps her steer the Music Business Association, which was founded in 1958 and has roots in retail-ing, through the pandemic. Now, after a successful and substantial slate of virtual events, she is leading the return of its flag-ship Music Biz Conference as an in-person gathering, scheduled to take place May 9-12 in Nashville.

The conference’s programming ranges from “Let’s Talk Physical,” where the as-sociation will present a new study of vinyl consumer behavior produced in conjunction with the RIAA, to The NFT & Metaverse Summit, which will analyze the implications of Web3 technologies for the music busi-ness. Sony Music Publishing chairman/CEO Jon Platt will deliver a keynote address, and Sony Music Entertainment executive vp/general counsel Julie Swidler will receive the Presidential Award at the organiza-tion’s inaugural Bizzy Awards — a revamped and expanded version of the conference’s awards ceremony. Rising country artist Jimmie Allen will host the event, which will recognize excellence in marketing and

diversity, among other business-related categories.

Sabin spoke to Billboard about the confer-ence’s return as an in-person gathering, the progress the organization has made during her two-and-a-half years of leadership and the song that got her through the pandemic.

You’ve conducted numerous success-ful virtual sessions during the pandemic. Why is it important for the conference to resume as an in-person event?

Our industry is a weirdly small indus-try, and people tend to know each other and love to connect. I think some of the best work gets done through face-to-face networking at the conference. The virtual events utilized some platforms that allowed for some networking, but nothing beats in-person interaction.

How has the association changed since its last in-person gathering in 2019?

I was hired in September of 2019, so re-ally, right before everything shut down. In a weird way, it was good, because I was able to sort of remake the entire organization [in terms] of what the industry needed at the time. The virtual events were obviously a big part of that. We created a place where people could continue to come together and have conversations about what was happen-ing.

I feel like Music Biz really embraced the diversity, equity and inclusion issues in the music industry as soon as they came up in 2020. That is something we continue to talk about and make a priority. The music industry has no excuses not to have a great deal of diversity in our executive structure because there are so many artists of color, queer artists and trans artists. The industry itself should represent that and reflect that. One of the awards we’re giving [at the Bizzy Awards] is the Agent of Change Award for an executive or company that’s really lead-ing the way in terms of DE&I. The whole award show was revamped with that in mind — rewarding people and shining a spotlight on their efforts to do good in the industry.

What changes have you implemented related to diversity, equity and inclusion?

When I was hired, we had a 15-person board that was 13 white men and two white

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women. Now our board has 25 voting mem-bers, and it’s 70% women and 40% people of color. The diversity of companies is really all over the place. We now have companies on our board like Clubhouse, Pandora, a couple of different retailers, indie distributors, indie labels and major labels. We really are making an effort to be diverse in all senses of the word. In terms of our hiring practices internally, our last three hires have all been people of color. We want to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

How did you conceptualize and decide to launch the Bizzy Awards?

I was on the board of A2IM, which is the independent label trade association, for 12 years. I spearheaded the development of the Libera Awards over there, so I have some experience doing award shows. We wanted to spotlight some of the regular day-to-day work that people do and are doing well. For example, the [Bizzy Awards’] Master of Metadata Award: I always say metadata is the least sexy but most important part of the whole music industry.

What are some of the programming highlights you’re most excited about?

We crowdsource our conference. The first thing we do when we go through the call for proposals is sort of separate them into categories. Unsurprisingly, the big areas of interest were [non-fungible tokens], Web3, the metaverse, gaming, catalog valuation. We separated those out, then created blocks of programming around those topics that were quite popular to go with our other blocks of programming that we normally do, like metadata and #NextGen_ Now, which is the program we started during the pandem-ic to celebrate executives under 40.

The association has roots in retail-ing. How do you view your constituency today? Which stakeholders are you most trying to serve?

When I came into Music Biz, I came from an independent-label background. Brick-and-mortar retailers and customer-facing retail stores are our bread and butter. I love them, I care about them. We’ve really worked over the pandemic to nurture that relationship with our retailers and distribu-tors. The pandemic allowed us to target different sectors of our membership and

give them equal love. We had events that targeted independent publishers, artists and independent songwriters. Those people are not necessarily our members, but our mem-bers work with those people.

How did your background as the head of an indie label inform your approach to leading this organization?

It was helpful because I understand how the business works. I knew a lot of the players already, and I had a good sense of what the important issues were. Also, it has always been helpful to have been an artist because I get the artist perspective, too. There are things I haven’t done in the music industry. I’ve never worked in publishing, for example, but I understand and get the importance of publishing. I understand how it matters to the full ecosystem. My background gave me a bird’s-eye view of the industry as a whole and [the ability to] make good decisions about how we can help our membership.

What is the most pressing concern fac-ing the music industry in 2022?

We get swamped by the tech industry. Technology advances, changes happen, and the music industry must play catch-up. That intersection of tech and music is a tough one for us — it always has been. But Music Biz is super well-positioned to be helpful in that space because so many of our members are upstart tech companies that are coming to the marketplace with actual solutions. Tech is taking the music industry more seriously these days, which is a good thing.

Is there a song that got you through the pandemic?

The band’s name is Avenue Beat, and the song is called “F2020.” That’s an amazing song. The song that has also been giving me life this year is “Chaise Longue” by Wet Leg.

What makes you optimistic about the music industry?

The people are great. There are a–holes in every industry, and I’m sure there are a bunch of a–holes in the music industry. But the vast majority of people that I know are awesome people who love music and want to make this a better business for each other and for artists.

The Bizzy Award NomineesLeading Light Award

Kevin Liles, 300 EntertainmentMonstercatWarner Music GroupAgent of Change AwardMade in Memphis EntertainmentThe Recording AcademySpotify#NextGen_Now One To Watch AwardShauna Alexander, SoundCloudJenna Gaudio, VydiaTiffany Kerns, Country Music AssociationGeoff Ogunlesi, 300 EntertainmentJennifer Turnbow, National Songwriters

Association InternationalMaster of Metadata AwardLindsay Conlin, ExactualsBritnee Foreman, Exceleration Music

JaxstaMusic ReportsSoundExchangeFrontline Innovator AwardDarkside Records (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)Music Millennium (Portland, Ore.)The Record Exchange (Boise, Idaho)Seasick Records (Birmingham, Ala.)The Sound Garden (Baltimore; Syracuse,

N.Y.)Marketing Superstar AwardAll Time Low “It Was Never a Phase”

Campaign, Hopeless RecordsCleopatrick, Thirty Tigers/The OrchardDonny Osmond “Puppy Love” 50-Year

Anniversary Campaign, Crowd SurfTenille Arts Marketing Campaign, EM-

PIREWMX Black History Month Campaign

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‘Momaging’ Done Right: Stacia Mac On Pushing Polo G Towards SuccessBY NEENA ROUHANI

At his senior prom send-off – be-tween corsage gifting, bou-tonniere pinning and endless photo-ops – Polo G informed his

mother, Stacia Mac, that he would not be going to college. “It broke my heart,” says Mac. “I’m like, ‘So what are you going to do?’ He’s like, ‘I’m going to be a rapper.’”

While the Chicago-bred rapper’s weighty decision arrived abruptly, Mac came around after a few months. “I told him, if you’re go-ing to do it, then I support you one hundred and ten percent,” she recalls. “And within maybe six months, he was signed to Colum-bia Records.”

To give the chart-topping rapper – who scored three top 10 albums and a Hot 100 No. 1 in two years’ time – all the credit for his feats would encompass only half of the picture. He has had a team working behind the scenes, with the bedrock being Mac her-self, who quickly began managing Polo. She then became part of a long legacy of musical “momagers” across genres, from Tish Cyrus to Donda West, and while some momager relationships have ended with feuds and fallouts, having the woman with your best interests at heart managing your career can also be fruitful. “There was never a day off,” says Mac, “because I understood how much was riding on this.”

After the widespread success and radio love for his equally reflective and catchy 2019 Lil Tjay collaboration, “Pop Out,” which landed at No. 11 on the Hot 100, the then-burgeoning rapper’s mix of bruising storytelling and earworm hooks skyrock-eted in popularity, with his following three albums debuting at No. 6, No. 2, and most recently, No. 1 with last year’s Hall of Fame.

The album’s third single, “Rapstar,” brought in Polo’s first No. 1 Hot 100 hit, and with the solo success came A-list features, as Polo locked in with rappers like Lil Baby, Lil Durk and Moneybagg Yo.

Primped and polished in a pink-and-white blouse, Mac reflects on her family’s beginnings, from Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood, to the marble-drenched foyer of her newest Atlanta home (they moved in two days ago, she adds). “To be frank, we had less – we were working class. But there wasn’t a rush for him to jump into a bad deal,” Mac explains. “The terms had to be correct.”

While Mac’s experience with contracts was limited to property management, she did not hesitate to guide Polo (born Taurus Tremani Bartlett) when it came to the labels endlessly courting and flying out the then 19-year-old wordsmith. “‘Enjoy this time, but make sure that you don’t sign anything,’” Mac advised her son. “‘Don’t just accept the first thing because a lot of [artists] do that and it gets them inside of horrible deals, which they regret in the end

As Polo’s manager, Mac faced skepti-cism and ridicule within the industry due to her lack of experience and positioning as a “momager.” Undeterred, the mother of four continued to lean on familial instinct, eventually bringing two of her other chil-dren–Trench Baby and Leilani–into the mix. “ They all write their own music, and they’re just amazing,” she gushes. “It’s really a labor of love to be working with them.”

Today, Mac navigates her role as manager with second-nature confidence. Assisted by Warner Records president of A&R Steve “Steve O” Carless, Mac has no plans of leav-ing Polo’s side, but hopes to draft more “su-perstar” names to her roster. Mac sat down with Billboard to dig into the obstacles, triumphs and growing pains of juggling the roles of mom and manager.

How did you feel when Polo told you he wanted to pursue music full-time?

[Polo and I] always had a very good relationship; we talk about anything and everything. When he said that he wanted to join the music industry, as a mother, I was concerned. I want you to follow your dreams, but the industry can be a cold place,

and this is a realm we’ve never been in. Maybe a week after the prom sendoff, there were so many offers from labels and man-agement companies.

What were those deals like?[Some of ] the deals were horrible. They

were sending us offers for five or ten thou-sand dollars, and I was explaining it to him. He’s like, “So why am I bringing these con-tracts to you after the fact instead of them sending it directly to you? You should just manage me.” And I’m like, OK, let’s do that.

Before becoming his manager, what were you doing as your nine-to-five?

I did residential and commercial prop-erty management. I know [how] to man-age: you have to be organized, you have to be goal-oriented. So I literally transferred my knowledge of that into managing him professionally.

When you began managing Polo, what was your day-to-day like?

I can remember seven months literally never taking a break–and I don’t mean vaca-tioning–from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep. From calling and trying to secure endorsements to getting him book-ings, I did everything alone when we were coming up for those first seven months, building out a team for him, everything. It was busy. It was grueling. But of course, the return on investment was priceless. I don’t regret it, because it showed me the ins and outs of the music industry in every facet.

You’re navigating a male-dominated industry, not only as a woman, but as the mother of the artist you’re managing. How were you received in this manageri-al role by the people within the industry?

Initially, I wasn’t well-received. A lot of people felt that I should not be in some rooms, as a woman in this male-dominated industry, and in addition to that, being a woman of color and a mom. There’s a stigma on momagers and just parents alone manag-ing their children, so I had to prove myself each and every day, that I was more than worthy of being in those rooms and I was more than capable.

Was there a moment you remember where people were like, “Damn, she’s the real deal”?

I remember being inside of a few meet-

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“momagers” across genres, from Tish Cyrus to Donda West, and while some mo-mager relationships have ended with feuds and fallouts, having the woman with your best interests at heart managing your career can also be fruitful. “There was never a day off,” says Mac, “because I understood how much was riding on this.”

After the widespread success and radio love for his equally reflective and catchy 2019 Lil Tjay collaboration, “Pop Out,” which landed at No. 11 on the Hot 100, the then-burgeoning rapper’s mix of bruising storytelling and earworm hooks skyrock-eted in popularity, with his following three albums debuting at No. 6, No. 2, and most recently, No. 1 with last year’s Hall of Fame. The album’s third single, “Rapstar,” brought in Polo’s first No. 1 Hot 100 hit, and with the solo success came A-list features, as Polo locked in with rappers like Lil Baby, Lil Durk and Moneybagg Yo.

Primped and polished in a pink-and-white blouse, Mac reflects on her family’s beginnings, from Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood, to the marble-drenched foyer of her newest Atlanta home (they moved in two days ago, she adds). “To be frank, we had less – we were working class. But there wasn’t a rush for him to jump into a bad deal,” Mac explains. “The terms had to be correct.”

While Mac’s experience with contracts was limited to property management, she did not hesitate to guide Polo (born Taurus Tremani Bartlett) when it came to the labels endlessly courting and flying out the then 19-year-old wordsmith. “‘Enjoy this time, but make sure that you don’t sign anything,’” Mac advised her son. “‘Don’t just accept the first thing because a lot of [artists] do that and it gets them inside of horrible deals, which they regret in the end

As Polo’s manager, Mac faced skepti-cism and ridicule within the industry due to her lack of experience and positioning as a “momager.” Undeterred, the mother of four continued to lean on familial instinct, eventually bringing two of her other chil-dren–Trench Baby and Leilani–into the mix. “ They all write their own music, and they’re just amazing,” she gushes. “It’s really a labor of love to be working with them.”

Today, Mac navigates her role as manager with second-nature confidence. Assisted by Warner Records president of A&R Steve “Steve O” Carless, Mac has no plans of leav-ing Polo’s side, but hopes to draft more “su-perstar” names to her roster. Mac sat down with Billboard to dig into the obstacles, triumphs and growing pains of juggling the roles of mom and manager.

How did you feel when Polo told you he wanted to pursue music full-time?

[Polo and I] always had a very good relationship; we talk about anything and everything. When he said that he wanted to join the music industry, as a mother, I was concerned. I want you to follow your dreams, but the industry can be a cold place, and this is a realm we’ve never been in. Maybe a week after the prom sendoff, there were so many offers from labels and man-agement companies.

What were those deals like?[Some of ] the deals were horrible. They

were sending us offers for five or ten thou-sand dollars, and I was explaining it to him. He’s like, “So why am I bringing these con-tracts to you after the fact instead of them sending it directly to you? You should just manage me.” And I’m like, OK, let’s do that.

Before becoming his manager, what were you doing as your nine-to-five?

I did residential and commercial prop-erty management. I know [how] to man-age: you have to be organized, you have to be goal-oriented. So I literally transferred my knowledge of that into managing him professionally.

When you began managing Polo, what was your day-to-day like?

I can remember seven months literally never taking a break–and I don’t mean vaca-tioning–from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep. From calling and trying to secure endorsements to getting him book-ings, I did everything alone when we were coming up for those first seven months, building out a team for him, everything. It was busy. It was grueling. But of course, the return on investment was priceless. I don’t regret it, because it showed me the ins and outs of the music industry in every facet.

You’re navigating a male-dominated industry, not only as a woman, but as the

mother of the artist you’re managing. How were you received in this manageri-al role by the people within the industry?

Initially, I wasn’t well-received. A lot of people felt that I should not be in some rooms, as a woman in this male-dominated industry, and in addition to that, being a woman of color and a mom. There’s a stigma on momagers and just parents alone manag-ing their children, so I had to prove myself each and every day, that I was more than worthy of being in those rooms and I was more than capable.

Was there a moment you remember where people were like, “Damn, she’s the real deal”?

I remember being inside of a few meet-ings and I said what my goals were. I re-member individuals chuckling like, “So you think that you’re going to do that?” And not only did I do that, but more. I can remember saying we would be on the Billboard charts, that we would have the No. 1 album, be on the cover of Rolling Stone–I remember these goals vividly. And they’re like, “Wait, you’re just one week in. It’s only been seven days, and you feel that this is what you guys are going to do?” And I’m like, “Absolutely.” And when they started coming into fruition, it was like, “Oh, wow, so they’re serious.”

I’m sure they’re eating their words.And it feels great. Planning his rollouts

and activations inside of different markets, they’re like, “How long have you been doing this?” [laughs] I think there was a big mis-conception that I wasn’t knowledgeable and I was just riding a wave. No, I’m creating one. There’s a big difference.

Is there ever a time where Polo comes to you about something and as his manag-er, you have one opinion, but as his mom, you think differently?

Initially it was tough because I’m a very devoted mom to my children – I’m that mom they can call on for anything. So when I’m in a managerial position, I had to realize that [Polo saying] “no” to Stacia Mac is not a “no” to his mom. As we began to build out, we did have times where we’d butt heads. And then I realized that I would have to give him all of the information that was needed for him as an artist to make an informed decision. Then I would tell him how I felt

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IN BRIEF

professionally and personally. I would al-ways give him every facet of it – do with it as you wish, and I’ll support you.

Do you see a lot of other mothers within managerial roles for their kids in hip-hop?

I feel that there are few that do it success-fully. And that’s just to be frank and honest. But those who do it successfully are a force. Brandy Norwood’s mom Sonja was very successful in not only one child’s career, but two. Or [Waka Flocka Flame’s mother] Deb Antey. It’s a small population, but those women that do it, they make their mark. I feel that even with me, it’s paving a way [for others] to do this; it can be successful. And it shouldn’t be discounted because you are a woman or a mom in a managerial role.

Professionally speaking, where do you see yourself headed?

I see myself building out my own manage-ment firm and taking on more clients on a larger scale. While Polo is my primary artist, I want to have other superstar clients. I see myself continuing to work with him, but I understand that sometimes things change. Through those changes, I’ll still always sup-port and help him in any level and facet that I can.

Would you step away from the manage-rial role when it comes to Polo?

No, I definitely want to see it through, and it works for us. I can only see it getting bet-ter with time and us doing greater work. So no, ideally I don’t see myself ever stepping away from a managerial standpoint. Ever.

How do you find balance to take care of yourself?

I just left Miami. I just needed a mental break for myself, and I feel that self-care is very important. You can’t properly service your clients if you’re not at your best. So at any point, I always take a step back when I need to refresh and reset so that I can do a service and not a disservice to [Polo].

What has been the impact of Polo’s career on your life?

It forever changed all of our lives for the better. I really appreciate [Polo] for wanting me to be a part of his journey. We didn’t look at it as a hobby, we looked at it as a job. We put all of our time and resources in it, and knew that this was it. We had our foot in the

door and we had to just keep going hard and elevate because in this industry, you have to continue to pump out quality content and things that the public want to see and hear. And so that’s what we’ve done. I’m very pleased with where we are right now.

Vinyl Me, Please to Open ‘Audiophile-Grade’ Denver Pressing PlantBY LYNDSEY HAVENS

When monthly record club Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) launched in 2013, 6.1 million vinyl LPs were

sold in the U.S. Nearly a decade later, and 2021 wrapped with a total of 41.72 million vinyl albums sold — which amounted to more than one out of every three albums sold in the U.S. being on vinyl, according to Luminate.

And while 2021 was the 16th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew, it was the larg-est year for vinyl album sales since Lumi-nate started tracking sales in 1991. Such steady, and continued, growth of the format has naturally led to longer-than-ever pro-duction delays as plants have struggled to meet demand — while also facing pandemic-related issues such as shortages of goods and staff, among other things.

(One bonus, however, is that the delays have helped a handful of artists rebound to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when the physical product of their previously-released album finally ships. The most recent example of this is Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost, which this week returns to the top of the chart for a second nonconsecutive week).

That is exactly why today (April 25) VMP has announced its very own pressing plant. Billboard has exclusively learned that con-struction is underway of the 14,000 sq. ft.,

audiophile-grade, Denver-based plant that will open by year end for production, tours and special events.

“Quality, control and availability are critical to maintaining and expanding our leadership position in the vinyl industry,” VMP’s CEO Cameron Schaefer said in a statement. “With this in mind, we’ve de-cided to press records in a way that provides an incredible experience for our customers and visitors to our plant.”

The VMP pressing plant will be led by Gary Salstrom, former general manager of the renowned Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas. There, he oversaw the plating, quality control and pressing depart-ments. “I’m thrilled to have the resources and partners required to make the best vinyl LPs ever produced, in a special place where the experience matters as much as the fin-ished goods,” Salstrom said in a statement.

Artist, producer, and Acony Records co-founder David Rawlings will serve as partner and “chief groove officer” of the plant, adding: “It’s a dream to work with Gary refining and innovating to press the finest records possible. In an industry that has often been too focused on quantity over quality, VMP always aims to honor the mu-sic and the musicians that create it.”

In mid-2021, Billboard reported that VMP had 80,000 active customers. At the time, the company just finished its highest-performing quarter with a 74% growth in membership from the same time period the year prior.

According to the release, the VMP press-ing plant will be an “experiential space” geared towards fans who are eager to see first-hand how records are made and “ex-plore music together in this extraordinary environment.”

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Dr. Luke Blasts NY Senator for Jumping Into Kesha CaseBY BILL DONAHUE

Attorneys for Dr. Luke on Friday (April 22) sharply criticized a New York state senator for wad-ing into the producer’s defa-

mation battle against Kesha, arguing the legislator’s views on the case were not only “irrelevant” but also threaten to undermine the separation of powers.

The response came days after Sen. Brad Hoylman asked to file a brief in the long-running case, arguing that the court had incorrectly interpreted New York’s new free-speech statute, which he co-wrote and sponsored. Hoylman said the court should have applied the law retroactively to Dr. Luke, which would have made it harder for the producer to win his libel lawsuit against Kesha.

In their response filing on Friday, attor-neys for Dr. Luke didn’t hold back – arguing both that Hoylman was both wrong on the law and that his attempted involvement in the case was potentially improper at a con-stitutional level.

“Efforts by a sitting legislator to influence the judicial interpretation of a statute, after it has been enacted, are highly problematic in that they threaten to undermine funda-mental separation of powers principles,” wrote Dr. Luke’s lawyers at the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP. “No single senator has the power to legislate by fiat, and particularly not after the enactment of a law.”

In a statement to Billboard, a spokesper-son for Sen. Hoylman pushed back: “As the prime Senate sponsor of the bill, Senator Hoylman’s views are centrally relevant to whether the 2020 statute’s drafters intended the statute to apply retroactively and are amply supported by the legislative history, which the court can always consider. The

plaintiff’s assertion otherwise is simply ridiculous.”

Dr. Luke, whose full name is Lukasz Gottwald, filed his lawsuit against Kesha in 2014, claiming she had legally defamed him with a “false and shocking” allegation that he drugged and raped her after a 2005 party. He claimed she did so as leverage to secure a more lucrative deal.

In 2020, New York enacted its new anti-SLAPP law — a type of law created in states around the country to fight “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” The statute, sponsored and co-written by Hoyl-man, is designed to make it harder for rich or powerful people to use libel lawsuits to silence their critics.

But in March, New York’s Appellate Division ruled that the law was not backwards-compatible with Dr. Luke’s lawsuit, which was filed six years before the statute was passed. The court said there was “insufficient evidence supporting the conclusion that the legislature intended its 2020 amendments to the anti-[SLAPP] law to apply retroactively to pending claims.”

That decision was important because the new statute would have required Dr. Luke to prove Kesha acted with “actual malice” when she allegedly accused him falsely — a rigorous standard that would make it much harder to win his case. Applying the new anti-SLAPP law would also have allowed Kesha to win repayment of her legal bills if she eventually wins the case.

With Kesha now pushing the court to re-consider that ruling, Hoylman asked earlier this week to file a so-called amicus brief in the case. He argued that the lawmakers behind the statute had, in fact, intended for it to apply retroactively: “Senator Hoylman saw a substantial need for the expanded statute to apply instantly to the numerous pending cases burdening the courts.”

But on Friday, Dr. Luke’s attorneys urged the Appellate Division to reject Hoylman’s brief. They said his “personal intent” was “entirely irrelevant to the question of the intent of the legislative body as a whole,” and that the text of statute itself had “no language indicating retroactive intent.”

The response also took aim at Hoylman’s attorneys, who hail from the elite law firm

Quinn Emanuel. They noted that those same attorneys are representing Mark Gera-gos, Kesha’s former attorney, in a separate defamation lawsuit filed by Dr. Luke – a case that would presumably also benefit from retroactive application of the anti-SLAPP law.

“The fact that Mr. Geragos’s attorneys in that related litigation are simultaneously representing amicus herein speaks volumes regarding on whose behalf their brief was actually filed,” Dr. Luke’s lawyers wrote. “At the very least, this casts substantial doubt on the credibility of this brief, and whether the ‘interests’ of counsel are sufficiently separate from those of respondent.”

In a statement to Billboard in response to the brief, Ellyde R. Thompson — a partner at Quinn Emanuel and the lead attorney on Sen. Hoylman’s brief — refuted the sugges-tion of impropriety.

“Our firm has First Amendment and defamation law expertise and that is why we were selected to represent Senator Hoylman in this separate matter,” Thompson wrote. “The brief itself shows the credibility of Senator Hoylman’s position.”

Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Tops Billboard Global Charts For Third WeekBY GARY TRUST

Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” re-mains the biggest song in the world, as it spends a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global

200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.Meanwhile, Camila Cabello’s “Bam Bam,”

featuring Ed Sheeran, hits the top five of the Global Excl. U.S. survey.

The two charts (which began in Septem-ber 2020) rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled

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by Luminate, formerly MRC Data. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of world-wide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

‘It’ Is No. 1 on Global 200 for Third Week

Harry Styles’ “As It Was” adds a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, two weeks after it soared in at the sum-mit, with 103.1 million streams (down 1%) and 16,000 sold (up 16%) worldwide in the April 15-21 tracking week. The song boasts the three greatest global streaming weeks of 2022, after it opened with 122.1 million worldwide streams April 1-7 (following its March 31 release at 7 p.m. ET), and fol-lowed with 103.9 million April 8-14.

The song by the British star is the first to surpass 100 million streams worldwide in each of its first three full weeks since BTS’ “Butter” logged a weekly-record 289.5 mil-lion (reflected on the Global 200 dated June 5, 2021), 170 million (June 12) and 120.9 million (June 19). Prior to “Butter” and “As It Was,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” drew over 100 million worldwide streams in each of its first three weeks (130.1 million, Jan. 23, 2021; 138.9 million, Jan. 30; and 110.5 million, Feb. 6); no song has yet extended such a streak to its first four frames.

Excluding opening-week counts, The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” has linked the longest run of weeks with at least 100 million global streams: nine, Aug. 21-Oct. 16, 2021.

Jack Harlow’s “First Class” spends a second week on the Global 200, holding at No. 2 with 64.1 million streams (down 28%) and 9,500 sold (down 29%) worldwide. Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” keeps at No. 3, after six weeks on top; “Stay” remains at No. 4, after a record 11 weeks at No. 1; and Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Re-

mix)” rebounds 6-5, after reaching No. 3.Styles Steady Atop Global Excl. U.S.,

Cabello Hits Top FiveHarry Styles’ “As It Was” concurrently

claims a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. tally, all from its start atop the chart, with 74.2 million streams (up 2%) and 7,700 sold (up 18%) in territories outside the U.S. in the April 15-21 tracking week.

Jack Harlow’s “First Class” holds at No. 2 in its second week on Global Excl. U.S., with 30.6 million streams (down 13%) and 2,600 sold (down 5%) outside the U.S. Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” is stationary at No. 3, after three weeks at No. 1; and The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” rises 5-4, after a record-tying nine weeks on top beginning last August. (Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” dominated for nine weeks starting in January 2021 and GAYLE’s “abcdefu” equaled that command beginning this January.)

Plus, Camila Cabello’s “Bam Bam,” featur-ing Ed Sheeran, reaches the Global 200’s top five, pushing 7-5. Cabello’s first top five hit dating to the chart’s inception, and Sheeran’s third, ascends with a gain of just under 1% to 26.6 million streams outside the outside the U.S.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated April 30, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomor-row (April 26). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Bill-board.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to final calculations.

Joe Rogan Claims Massive Subscriber Boost Due to Recent ControversiesBY JAMES HIBBERD

Joe Rogan says his recent controversy has given his Spotify podcast even more horsepower.

The podcaster claims the media frenzy over anti-vax conspiracy theorist guests and his past use of the N-word has netted him two million additional subscrib-ers.

In Friday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the comic and UFC commenta-tor was asked by his guest, British political commentator Douglas Murray, about the uproar.

“You have been put through the wringer since we last met,” Murray says. “They did a number on you. Wow.”

“It’s interesting, my subscriptions went up massively — that’s what’s crazy,” Rogan replies. “During the height of it all, I gained two million subscribers … Yeah, [the media] went for it. It’s also fortunate that the people who went for it were CNN. They’re so untrustworthy and people know how biased they are and socially weird their anchors are.”

Spotify doesn’t publicly release its JRE subscriber numbers. But sources clarified the show has been consistently growing since the podcaster joined the streamer and hasn’t spiked due to any particular event. By one recent estimate, Rogan typically aver-ages 11 million listeners per episode.

During the episode, Rogan mocked CNN in particular, which had inaccurately claimed that he took “horse dewormer” when he had COVID-19. (He took the for-mulation of Ivermectin made for humans.) The podcaster also took the opportunity to mock CNN for the shuttering of its ultra-short-lived streaming service CNN+, which

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folded after just three weeks.“They spent $300 million dollars, they got

10,000 subscribers,” he marvels. “Imagine the hubris of thinking that something that people don’t want for free … that you’re go-ing to charge money for it.”

The recent controversies had many pressuring Spotify to cancel the podcaster, and musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from the streamer in protest. In addition, Spotify removed about 70 of Rogan’s past episodes and added an advisory to episodes that dis-cussed COVID-19.

After the controversy, Rogan took the stage in Austin, Texas, and discussed the headlines in a set at Vulcan Gas Company.

“I talk s— for a living — that’s why this is so baffling to me,” he said. “If you’re taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? What dumb s— were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better?” he said. “‘You know that dude who made people eat animal d—s on TV? How does he feel about medicine?’ If you want my advice, don’t take my advice.”’

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Megan Thee Stallion Describes Tory Lanez’s Alleged $1 Million Offer to Keep Shooting Quiet: ‘If You Sorry, Just Help Me’BY GIL KAUFMAN

After posting a preview on Sunday, CBS Mornings revealed Gayle King’s full chat with Me-gan Thee Stallion on Monday

(April 25), in which, for the first time, the

rapper sat for a television interview about her alleged shooting at the hands of Cana-dian rapper Tory Lanez.

“I’m a victim,” she told King. “I’m the victim. I’m not defending myself against anything. Something happened to me!”

Megan explained that the alleged incident took place after she’d attended a party at Kylie Jenner’s house, with the interview folding in some footage of the two women seemingly taken that July 2020 day.

The Houston rapper says that after being at Jenner’s house all day, she was tired and ready to go home. When she got into a car with one of her oldest friends, Lanez (born Daystar Peterson) and two other women, Megan said an argument broke out between the pair of women in the backseat. She said she asked the driver to pull over and let her out, tearfully telling King that she should have stayed out of the car and never gotten back into it.

“And they was like, ‘Megan, just get back in the car we almost there,’” said the rapper, born Megan Pete. So she got back in and immediately the argument got worse. “And I don’t want to be in this car no more. Like, ’cause I see it’s getting crazy. So I get out of the car and it’s like everything happens so fast,” she said. “And all I hear is this man screaming. And he said, ‘Dance, b—h. And he started shooting. And I’m just like, ‘Oh, my God.’ Like, he shot a couple of times. And I … I was so scared.”

Lanez stands accused of one count of assault with a firearm and another gun pos-session charge over the 2020 incident. He has pleaded not guilty. Stallion initially told police officers that she cut her foot stepping on broken glass, but later revealed that she had suffered a gunshot wound. After media outlets reported that Lanez had fired the gun, she directly accused him in an August 2020 Instagram video.

In the interivew with King, Megan said the shooter was “standin’ up over the window shooting. And I didn’t even want to move. I didn’t want to move too quick. Like, ’cause I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. If I take the wrong step, I don’t know if he’s gonna shoot something that’s, like, super impor-tant. I don’t know if he could shoot me and kill me.’”

She described being afraid for her life because she had never been shot at before, and then looking down at her feet and not being sure if she was hit as the adrenaline was pumping hard through her system. “Like, I feel it. But I don’t understand what’s happening. So I looked down at my feet. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God,’” she said. “Like, I’m really bleeding. So I, like, drop down and I crawl in somebody’s driveway. Like, I can’t believe he shot me.”

Immediately after firing the shots, Megan said Lanez began apologizing to her and allegedly offering a huge sum of money if she would keep it quiet. “He’s [like], ‘I’m so sorry. Please don’t tell nobody. I’ll give y’all a million dollars if y’all don’t say nothing,’” she claims Lanez pleaded with her. “And I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Like, ‘Why are you offering me money right now?’ Help me. Like, and if you sorry, just help me!”

The car didn’t even make it to their des-tination, and Megan described a mob scene of police cars and helicopters greeting them, which made the rapper even more anxious. “I was, ‘Oh my God, we all about to die.’ The George Floyd incident had just happened, the police are very much ‘shoot first, ask questions after,’” Megan said of her mind-set at the time, considering that she was bleeding and there was a “hot gun” in the car in the wake of the police killing of the unarmed Floyd in Minneapolis. “They about to kill somebody, something bad is about to happen,” she remembered thinking.

CBS rolled a TMZ video from that night, in which police ask everyone to slowly get out of the car, with Megan walking around in a bathing suit and leaving bloody foot-prints on the ground as she stands with her hands up above her head. And while she couldn’t remember everything the police said to her that night, Megan said they asked what happened to her, and because she didn’t “want them to kill any of us or shoot any of us,” she told them she’d stepped on glass.

“For some reason, I was just trying to pro-tect all of us because I didn’t want them to kill us,” she told King by way of explaining why she didn’t point fingers at Lanez (who Megan does not refer to by name in the in-

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terview). “Like, even though this person just did — just did this to me, my first reaction still was to try to save us. Like, I didn’t want to see anybody die. So I just said, ‘I stepped on glass.’”

So when she sees people pointing to the false story about her foot getting cut by glass as proof that they think she lied about the incident, Megan said she was just trying to protect everyone in the car and now, honest-ly, she regrets her choice. “Sometimes I wish I really would have never said that,” she told King. “I wish I would have told … the truth. But I … if it saved all of us from dyin’, then that’s just probably what it was meant.”

CBS showed a series of texts from one of Meg’s friends in the car, Kelsey Harris, to the rapper’s security guard, in which she writes, “Help… Tory Shot Meg.”

Megan isn’t sure if the police believed her glass story, even when she told it again at the hospital. But when a doctor came in to tell her that she had bullet fragments in both feet — some of which remain in her body to this day — the rapper knew the real story would come out. “I really thought that we were all friends,” she added, explaining that when her mother died in March 2019, she began looking for “some type of family environment,” which resulted in her letting “so many people” into her inner circle.

When King asked if — as Lanez has sug-gested — the two had a sexual relationship or were dating, Megan said they were not dating and were never intimate, but were “very close” and hanging out every day. She also thought they’d bonded over both losing their mothers recently, but didn’t really know why he has claimed she made up the story about the shooting. As for why Lanez might have suggested otherwise, Megan said, “I think that he is trying to deflect from the fact that he committed a crime.”

Lanez’ attorney, Shawn Holley, said in a statement to CBS that “we look forward to addressing Ms. Pete’s claims — including all its inconsistencies, discrepancies and omis-sions — when this case goes to trial later this year.” Earlier this month, Lanez was hand-cuffed and put in custody during a court hearing after a judge ruled that he violated court orders in the criminal case, saying certain social media posts had breached

court orders that required him to avoid any contact with Stallion as the case proceeds.

As for how her life has changed since the alleged shooting, Megan said her anxiety is worse and she’s gotten “very cold” to other people, which has resulted in her putting up a wall and not seeking out new friendships. “I’m trying to be as nice as I can to every-body … new people, I probably won’t even hold a conversation longer than 30 minutes ’cause I feel like every time I’m talking, I’m, like, on the verge of tears and I don’t want to have to explain to strangers why I’m crying,” she said.

Not holding back her tears, Megan said sometimes she just wants to call her mom and ask her for help. “It’s too much. I feel crazy. I’m sad and I feel like I have to hold it in,” she said.

Watch the interview below.

After Feeling ‘Tense,’ The Black Keys Shake Things Up With New Management & Fresh Songwriting Process for 11th AlbumBY BOBBY OLIVIER

For 20 years, The Black Keys’ incendiary blues-rock formula has remained largely the same: Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney

sitting in a room, jamming for hours, seeing what sticks. At first, those practice spaces were humbling; Carney’s basement in Ak-ron, Ohio was complete with exterminator breaks.

“I remember having to pick up dead rats in the kitchen,” Auerbach tells Billboard over Zoom. “With a Cleveland Scene magazine, we’d just scoop them up, roll them up in the

magazine. Then we’d just go down into the basement and continue to practice.”

Those early sessions, laid down on an eight-track tape recorder, would birth The Big Come Up, the band’s blazing D.I.Y. debut and a pillar of the ‘00s garage-rock revival. Through relentless touring and prolific studio work, the Keys eventually transcend-ed the movement – scoring five Grammy Awards between 2011 and 2013, booking mammoth arena roadshows and notching sky-high album sales to cement the group as one of the most successful rock duos of their generation.

Now, Auerbach and Carney, both 42, are looking to shake up the band a bit, as they prepare to release their 11th studio album Dropout Boogie on May 18 and embark on their first full post-pandemic tour this summer. In October, the Black Keys parted ways with longtime manager John Peets of Q Prime South, and have teamed up with Steve Moir and industry legend Irving Azoff, whose artist roster has included everyone from Van Halen to No Doubt to Christina Aguilera, as a partnership between Full Stop and Moir Entertainment.

“I think we had all gotten to a place where it felt a little bit stale and I don’t think that was fair for anybody,” Carney says, assur-ing the band parted with Q Prime on good terms. “We only interviewed essentially two people: It was between Coran Capshaw [of Red Light Management] and Full Stop, and it was a really hard decision. [Azoff ], with his focus on touring and selling our tickets and stuff, seemed to be more on page with where we wanted to be. Also, we still think radio is an important part of our strategy and I think that Full Stop just had that kind of dialed in.” (Full Stop Management did not respond to requests for comment.)

Dropout also marks the band’s first album to include multiple outside contributors in the songwriting process. For “Wild Child” – the record’s pumping lead single released last month, and which spends its third week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alterna-tive Airplay chart this week – Auerbach and Carney tapped longtime friends Greg Cartwright (Reigning Sound) and Angelo Petraglia (Kings of Leon co-writer) to polish the verses and booming chorus.

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“‘Wild Child’ was one of those songs that in the past wouldn’t have gotten finished,” Carney notes. Auerbach chimes in on the band’s fading egos. “Now we’re comfortable enough with ourselves that we can open up to people like [Cartwright and Petraglia],” Auerbach says. “We didn’t used to feel like we could do that.”

The guys have also found sounding boards in their families. Auerbach calls his son and daughter, ages 6 and 14, the band’s “secret weapon” for honest criticism. But Carney may have the ultimate ace in the hole, as he’s married to pop-rock stalwart Michelle Branch.

“I played the record for [Branch] in its original sequence and she was like, ‘If you want my honest opinion, I would take these couple songs off, they don’t really flow,’” Carney says. And so Dropout Boogie was trimmed to 10 tracks, the group’s shortest record to date, and one of its most cohesive.

“[This album] is just us feeling for the first time in a while, maybe since [2010’s] Broth-ers, really being in the groove together,” Carney adds, “to the point where we’ve been continuing to record even after this record is done, we’ve been in the studio working.”

The new record churns with the group’s familiarly driving blues-rock foundation, though it’s noticeably more relaxed than its predecessor, 2019’s Let’s Rock. The guys say Boogie plays as a natural follow-up to last May’s Delta Kream, the Keys’ country-blues covers album, which was recorded in a sin-gle impromptu 10-hour session. “It was kind of like the ultimate reset, a recalibration for us,” Carney says of the Delta recording.

They kept that vibe heading back into the studio last year for the new LP. “We wanted [the songs] to flow almost subconsciously, to just be fun — kind of how half of them came to us,” says Auerbach, adding that several new tracks including “Good Love” (featur-ing ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons), “Burn the Damn Thing Down” and “Didn’t I Love You” are all first takes, with imperfections left in.

In the name of shirking all self-serious-ness, the band filmed a riotous “Wild Child” music video, which mocks the contempo-rary high school experience, with burnt-out teachers battling students plucked straight

from a Euphoria-fueled fever dream.For the video, Auerbach played a cigar-

puffing janitor and Carney a lunchroom cook serving horse meat to vegan students. When deciding the video roles, Carney wondered if he and Auerbach could play a teacher and principal.

“Then [Auerbach] was like, ‘We couldn’t get those jobs because we dropped out of school, dumbass,’” Carney says with a laugh.

Hence Dropout Boogie’s moniker, which also nods to the eponymous 1967 song by rock and blues innovator Captain Beef-heart — one of the Keys’ deepest influences, whom they’ve covered several times over the years.

A 32-date arena and amphitheater tour supporting Dropout Boogie kicks off July 9, familiar turf for a band known for its near-constant touring schedule and festival spots throughout the ‘00s, up until 2014’s Turn Blue, their last LP before a five-year hiatus. But after bouts of exhaustion in those heavy touring years, the guys are cautious as they approach the road ahead.

“We’re being very careful about what we agree to do, so we don’t get to that space where we start resenting it, or that the band would become a burden on our personal lives,” Carney says.

Yet after two decades, thousands of shows and nearly a dozen album cycles, the guys feel as confident about the band’s future as they ever have. “There was a time when we weren’t really hanging out, we weren’t on the same page and the band felt tense,” Carney says. “But now the band feels like a band’s supposed to feel, like we’re in our little treehouse trading baseball cards again.”

Sky Ferreira Is Back and Has New Publishing Deal With Third Side Music to Prove ItBY KRISTIN ROBINSON

Sky Ferreira has inked a new global publishing administration agree-ment with Third Side Music. While her fans have eagerly awaited her

next album since the release of the criti-cally acclaimed debut Night Time, My Time for over nine years, the new Third Side agreement signals the pop sensations’ next chapter is on its way.

Previously, Ferreira released music under an administrative agreement with Kobalt, but now, under her new deal with Third Side, the singer-songwriter will receive a more hands-on approach while maintaining the administrative focus she is accustomed to, including A&R and creative aid from the company’s vp creative/director of A&R, Brontë Jane, who calls Ferreira an “unpar-alleled career artist” and “a true visionary with her craft.”

Third Side Music is a lean independent firm, focused on signing just a handful of talents and offering hyper-personalized ser-vice, often unavailable at larger institutions, and Ferreira will be joining other writers like SOFI TUKKER, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Blonde Redhead, Colin Stetson, and BADBADNOTGOOD on Jane’s Third Side roster.

Since inking a label deal at Capitol Records at age 16, Ferreira has expressed her distrust of the music industry and of her label on multiple occasions: “every contract I have ever signed has always been set up to take advantage of me/my work in some way,” she explained in an Instagram story back in 2019. Though she remains in her deal with Capitol on the recorded side, Fer-

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reira’s signing to Third Side act as a hopeful clean slate on the publishing front ahead of her highly anticipated next chapter.

Still, little is known about Ferreira’s music to come. With only two new songs released since her nearly decade-old debut album — a song for the Promising Young Woman soundtrack and a collaboration with Charli XCX, both released in 2019 — her sound as of 2022 is anyone’s guess.

So far, the announcement of the Third Side deal and her March 31 YouTube teaser captioned “remember me?” are the clear-est indications of Ferreira’s next moves, but already, fans and fellow musicians are flocking to social media to show their love and support. “fangirl moment: v excited for new Sky,” writes Charli XCX on her Twitter. Grimes also shared her support to Ferreira, leaving the Instagram comment, “This is about to be a smash I can feel it.”

Allen Brown, Sony Music Nashville SVP of Communications, to RetireBY JESSICA NICHOLSON

Allen Brown, Sony Music Nash-ville’s senior vp of media and corporate communications, will retire on June 30. No successor

to his role has been named at this time.Brown’s music industry career has

spanned over four decades and he has overseen corporate communications at Sony Music Nashville for more than 20 years; he was promoted to the senior vp role in 2017. In 1990, he was awarded the CMA Founding President’s Award.

Along the way, Brown has worked with a laundry list of country stars including George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Ricky Skaggs, Lynn Anderson, Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin

Brothers, Crystal Gayle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ricky Van Shelton, Exile, The O’Kanes, Dolly Parton, Shenandoah, Joe Diffie, Doug Stone, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, Brad Paisley, Alabama, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Mitchell Tenpenny and more. His career also included time managing The Tractors and Stacy Dean Campbell.

“How does one put into words a friend-ship that began for us while attending Belmont University so many years ago. It’s a remarkable thing and that’s probably one of the best words to describe Allen. Re-markable. As a friend, a colleague, a team member, a mentor and leader, Allen proved himself remarkable in all those regards,” Sony Music Nashville chairman/CEO Randy Goodman told Billboard.

“We will be a lesser group without Allen,” Goodman continued. “But I’m happy for him that he’s able to step away and find new adventures. Saying He will be missed can’t describe the hole we will all feel once he leaves Sony.”

Brown announced his retirement during a recent dinner with his Sony colleagues at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Mu-seum’s rotunda.

“It was a full circle moment for me since I was a Hall of Fame tour guide and also a Belmont [University] intern for CBS Re-cords Nashville (later renamed Sony Music Nashville) when I was 21,” Brown said in a statement. “I worked for CBS Records and Sony Music Nashville or directly with art-ists who were signed to these label groups for over 38 years. In fact, I have had the pleasure of working with 18 of the artists inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But as I said to my label family, the superstars in the rotunda I am most proud of working alongside of are my fellow team members.”

He added, “I could spend all my remain-ing time after retirement thanking everyone who has helped, encouraged, mentored and been there for me these past several years. I am so blessed to have worked with and known you.”

The current Sony Music Nashville roster includes Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Willie Jones, Kat & Alex, Miranda Lambert, Maren

Morris, Old Dominion, Brad Paisley, Morgan Wade and Chris Young. Brown plans to stay in Nashville following his retirement.

Climate Org Backed by Billie Eilish, Bon Iver Releases Music Industry Sustainability GuideBY CHRIS EGGERTSEN

Music Declares Emergency, a group dedicated to guiding the music industry’s response to the global climate crisis,

has released a sustainability guide for music businesses, artists and fans just in time for Earth Day on Friday (April 22). In addition, the organization has announced the launch of a U.S. chapter.

Launched in the U.K. in 2019, Music De-clares Emergency has since opened chapters in France, Germany, Switzerland, Chile and Canada. The group is described in a press release as “a collective of music industry professionals, artists, and organizations that collaborate with grassroots climate partners to shepherd the music industry to make sub-stantive strides towards mitigating human contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.” Its rallying cry is the motto “No Music on a Dead Planet.”

The new guide, which has been dubbed a “climate pack” for the music industry, was written by experts from businesses and organizations including Sony Music Publishing, Julie’s Bicycle and ecolibrium, which helps the live events industry reduce its environmental impact. Included in the guide are tips applicable to artists, record labels, managers, venues, merch operations and more. You can download it here.

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To date, Music Declares Emergency says it’s collected over 6,000 signatures from across the music industry in support of a declaration calling for an immedi-ate governmental response to the climate crisis, including from stars like Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, Major Lazer, The Pretenders, The 1975 and Tegan and Sara. Among other initiatives, it also partnered with Beggars Group and Ninja Tune to an-nounce and promote their transitions to net zero within specific timeframes and helped curate the Climate Music Blowout confer-ence in London last October.

“If you’re ever going to get involved in climate action, the time is now,” said Music Declares Emergency co-founder Fay Mil-ton, who is also a member of the band Sav-ages, in a statement. “In a few years’ time it will be too late. Environmental ‘tipping points’ are very close on the horizon, that’s when the ice melts and no longer reflects the sun’s heat and the earth suddenly starts heating up more quickly, or the permafrost thaws and releases loads of methane into the atmosphere.”

“Once we reach those points, there’s no going back,” Milton continued. “This is why kids are chaining themselves to build-ings and sitting in the road in front of cars, desperate to make people pay attention. It’s really hard to think about this stuff and it’s all just really heartbreaking, but while there is still time, I’m not going to stop trying my best to push for the change we need.”

Those interested in signing Music De-clares Emergency’s declaration, making a donation and learning more about the organization can visit musicdeclares.net/us or contact MDE at musicdeclaresus@gmail.com.

From All-Star Basketball Trainer to Executive Producer, Chris Brickley Is Maximizing His ConnectionsBY ARDEN FRANKLYN

For those who live at the inter-section between basketball and hip-hop, the quote “all ballplayers want to be rappers, and all rappers

want to be ballplayers” becomes more of a reality every day. But in the case of Chris Brickley, he’s a massive reason why the traffic goes both ways. While the popular trainer has become known for his workouts and pick-up games, which have featured multi-platinum rappers Drake and J. Cole and NBA All-Stars Trae Young and Kevin Durant, he’s established himself as a creative who wears multiple hats, with one more entering his collection: executive producer.

Welcome to the Grind, scheduled to come out later this year, is Brickley’s way of creat-ing the perfect soundtrack for those work-ing on their game. “Music has always been a part of my life,” Brickley tells Billboard for the set of his music video “Comfortable,” featuring New York MCs Dave East and Jadakiss. “From my mom being a talented musician to my father attending concerts all the time, music is in my genes.” With the album’s first single, the Lil Durk-assisted “IKEA Rug,” released in February, Brickley says fans should expect records that reflect the moods that exist in workouts– serious, fun, and a reminder to turn up when neces-sary.

Even though this is his first time doing a music project, the Blacks Op Basketball founder has support from some of the game’s best lyricists, notably East, who later expressed how “Brickley is a part of

the culture and brings it all together.” Yet, for Brickley, this is simply an opportunity to explore further an interest he holds high regard for and wants to do justice.

Billboard connected with Chris Brick-ley to discuss what it’s been like making Welcome to the Grind, being a bridge that connects people, and more.

What serves as the inspiration behind naming your project Welcome to the Grind?

Even though the title is aimed toward athletes with grinding in the gym, it’s meant for everyone. Life is a grind, and everyone experiences it, whether you’re a postal worker, a journalist, or someone that works on Wall Street. I’ve had some tragedies growing up, and things weren’t always easy — so to become what I am now, Welcome to the Grind is meant to be inspirational.

I want you to listen to this project before doing anything — which could be trading stocks. [Laughs.] Welcome To The Grind is all about inspiring people to live their everyday lives despite dealing with adversity.

Once your album-making process got underway, how did you find records and convince artists to be on them?

At first, it was about reaching out to art-ists and asking for a song. Once I got those songs, my mind then went to “Who else can I get on them?,” especially after it worked. More artists began reaching out to me about being on the project once they heard of cer-tain collaborations. Various producers sent me beat packs.

It’s been exciting to have the hottest artists in the game want to be a part of this project — and at the same time, humbling when I remember I was just asking for a song at first. But now I get to bring people together.

How much of your training experi-ences are influencing the sound of this project?

It’s very influential in how my relation-ship with each player and artist is the reason it’s coming together. In the same way, I want to build with any player I’m working with, and make sure they’re improving; the same goes for the artists on this project. Rela-tionships mean everything to me, and I’m grateful for how I can go to people when I’m going through something and vice versa.

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Considering your connections to many people, are you happy to be a bridge that connects anybody?

It’s priceless. Between putting together the workouts, Black Op runs, and now this album, I’m happy to inspire people, espe-cially the youth. There’s a kid who could be watching me and think if I become a better rapper, ballplayer, or anything else, there’s a chance I could connect with Chris Brickley or be like him with anything I do in life. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be a bridge that connects people and provides examples of how you could work hard and be yourself.

Out of all the pick-up games you’ve had involving artists, which one stands out?

There are two of them! The first time J. Cole played in NBA open run and when Drake, Justin Bieber, Quavo, and Sheck Wes played against each other. Both of those games were incredible to me. I remember Cole playing against nine other NBA guys, who were playing at a high level, and he makes two game-winners. And the run with Drake, JB, Quavo, and Sheck was great be-cause — how many times will you see them in the same gym, hooping like that?

Harry Styles to Headline Summertime Ball & BBC Radio 1’s Big WeekendBY GLENN ROWLEY

Harry’s coming home. On Mon-day morning (April 25), Harry Styles was announced as the headliner for not one, but two

major festivals in the U.K. this summer.Fresh off his triumphant back-to-back

weekends at Coachella, the pop superstar is set to perform at both BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend on May 29 in Coventry and Capital FM’s Summertime Ball on June 12 at Wembley Stadium.

“You don’t understand how hard it’s been

to keep this quiet…Your final Big Weekend headliner for Sunday 29th May is HARRY EDWARD STYLES,” BBC Radio 1 captioned their announcement on social media, while the other radio station wrote, “Actual @har-rystyles is headed to the Summertime Ball and we are S C R E A M I N G!!!”

The news arrives just days after the former One Direction member plotted his own stadium tour of Australia and New Zealand for early 2023 in support of his forthcoming third solo album, Harry’s House.

At the first weekend of Coachella, Styles opened his headlining set with his latest No. 1 single “As It Was” and also debuted two brand-new songs from the album — “Boy-friends” and “Late Night Talking” — before surprising the crowd with none other than Shania Twain, who duetted with the singer on “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “You’re Still the One.” (The following weekend, Styles traded the country icon out for pal Lizzo, who joined him for a cover of “I Will Survive” and 1D classic “What Makes You Beautiful.”)

Check out the official announcements from BBC Radio 1 and Capital FM below.

Harry Styles Extends U.K. Chart Streak With ‘As It Was’BY LARS BRANDLE

Harry Styles makes it three weeks in a row atop the U.K. chart with “As It Was” (via Columbia).

The British pop singer’s comeback track continues to punch hard on streaming platforms, generating more than 7.3 million plays during the most recent chart cycle, no doubt helped by his headline performance at Coachella, the OCC reports.

“As It Was” is the first track lifted from Styles’ forthcoming third studio album, Harry’s House, due out May 20, and it’s by

some distance his longest-reigning single in his homeland. Styles’ other No. 1, “Sign of The Times,” logged a single week at the top in 2017.

With Styles retaining the crown, Jack Harlow’s “First Class” (Atlantic) is held at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart for a second week, while Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran’s “Bam Bam” (Asylum/Colum-bia) improves 9-8, for a new peak position.

The highest new entry this week (for the chart week starting April 22, 2022) belongs to Canadian singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer-Smith, whose “Flowers” (Island) blooms at No. 18, for her second appearance on the tally.

Further down the list, Lizzo makes her mark at No. 60 with “About Damn Time” (Atlantic), the U.S. artist’s sixth appearance in the U.K. Top 75.

Digga D Blasts to U.K. No. 1 With ‘Noughty By Nature’BY LARS BRANDLE

Digga D bags his first chart leader as Noughty By Nature (via CGM/EGA) blasts to No. 1.

aThe British drill exponent (real name Rhys Angelo Emile Herbert) debuts at the summit of the Official U.K. Albums Chart with Noughty, this third mixtape.

Prior to Noughty, the rapper’s peak chart position was No. 3, for his 2021 sophomore collection Made in the Pyrex.

Digga D’s feat continues the strong showing for drill on the charts, after “Body” by Tion Wayne and Russ Millions powered to No. 1 on the U.K. and Australian singles surveys last year.

Also, the OCC reports, Noughty is the fifth independent No. 1 album in 2022.

A string of career retrospectives climb the albums chart, including Little Mix’s Between Us (RCA), which lifts 7-5 following the an-

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nouncement of the girl group’s Confetti Tour, their so-called “final” dates after which the members will take a break to pursue solo careers.

As she tours her homeland, Dua Lipa’s for-mer leader Future Nostalgia (Warner Records) improves 28-16, and her self-titled debut leaps 41-29.

Legendary British alternative rock trio the Police return to the Top 40 with their 1992 re-lease Greatest Hits (Polydor/UMC), thanks to the release of a 30th anniversary vinyl release. The compilation reenters at No. 32.

Slacker rock hero Kurt Vile makes a Top 40 appearance with watch my moves (Fiction), his ninth studio album and first major label release. It’s new at No. 33.

Finally, the reunited EDM giants Swedish House Mafia appear well-down the chart with their debut full-length LP, Paradise Again (Republic Records). It’s new at No. 70.

Super Bowl Ball Signed By Halftime Performers Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige & Kendrick Going to AuctionBY GIL KAUFMAN

You could soon be the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind piece of Super Bowl memorabilia. Heri-tage Auctions has announced the

upcoming sale of a 2022 Super Bowl LVI leather Wilson football signed by most of this year’s all-star halftime hip-hop per-formers. The item that will be part of a sale running from May 12-14 — with a current bid of $2,600 at press time — and it bears the signatures of Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar and Ander-

son .Paak.The signatures of two of the other per-

formers who took part in the 15-minute tribute to championship city Los Angeles, Snoop Dogg and surprise guest 50 Cent, do not appear on the football. “In what many referred to as ‘the best Super Bowl halftime show’ of all time, the 2022 Super Bowl LVI show celebrated hip-hop, its pioneers and current stars, and of course the music of Los Angeles,” reads a description of the football.

“This leather Wilson ball is signed by Dre, Em, Mary J, Anderson .Paak and Kendrick in bold black ink. The autographs were ac-quired by our consignor at the Big Game and is one of the finest collectibles we’ve seen from the legendary show.” The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI halftime show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California was produced by Jay-Z and marked the first-ever halftime performance firmly focused on hip-hop.

Dre and Snoop opened the epic show by performing “The Next Episode” while standing atop a massive, white multi-house structure complete with an array of dancers and parked cars before dipping into “Cali-fornia Love.” 50 Cent then gave a surprise appearance to rap his 2003 smash hit “In Da Club,” followed by Mary J. running through “Family Affair” and “No More Drama” before Lamar took the stage for “Alright” and Eminem performed “Lose Yourself” with Paak on the drums. Dre shut it all down while sitting at a piano while he and Snoop ripped through “Still D.R.E.”

Madonna Selling SoCal Mansion for $26M a Year After Buying It From The WeekndBY DEGEN PENER

That didn’t last long. Just a little over a year after buying a nine-bedroom home in Hidden Hills, Calif., from The Weeknd for $19.3 million, Ma-

donna has decided to hoist the residence back onto the market.

The music artist has listed the property for $25.995 million — a big jump from what she paid last April — according to the Multiple Listing Service. Located in a guard-gated area set on nearly 3 acres, the estate includes a barn with a newly built gym and dance/Pilates studio, a natural amenity for the perennially fit singer.

The redwood-dotted property includes the main house and a two-bedroom guest house. It comprises 12,500 square feet of living space with 11 bathrooms, a two-story wall of windows leading into the foyer, a home theater, a music lounge, a great room with an indoor/outdoor bar, and an adjacent outdoor living room. Seven bedrooms are en suite, and the primary bedroom offers two closets, a steam shower and a stone bath.

Other features include a driveway lined with olive trees, a full-size basketball court, an outdoor kitchen and a zero-edge saltwater pool with a hot tub that can accommodate 10 people.

Before selling it to Madonna, The Weeknd owned the property for almost four years, purchasing the estate in 2017 for $18.2 million. He first listed it in 2020 for $25 million before dropping the price to just under $22 million, ac-cording to Dirt.com.

Madonna has listed the property with Trevor Wright of The Beverly Hills Estates, who also represented the singer in her purchase of the property last April. He could not be reached for comment.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.