Innholdsfortegnelse for December 8, 2018 i Billboard Magazine

Music publishing assets have long attracted institutional investors such as private equity firms and pension funds because of their predictable income streams: The average price of publishing catalogs has climbed more than 50 percent, to over 15 times their gross profit, since 2010. But now, with streaming steadily hooking more monthly subscribers and paying out nearly five times more per stream to labels than to publishers, recorded masters and record labels are starting to look like dependable investments, too — with rising prices to match. In the past two years, BMG and Concord Music Group, both longtime aggressive buyers of music publishing assets, have shifted their focus to buying labels and master recordings, while Shamrock Capital Advisors recently acquired the Om dance label and a stake in the royalty…

JORDAN FISHER “y’all know I’m always sipping on some tea I’m frankly dying to spill. What y’all don’t know is that fourteen years ago, my ultimate dream I wanted to see manifested was to be the first Mark Cohen of color. That dream is about to be realized,” he wrote on Twitter. MARIO “They’re definitely big shoes to step into,” he tells Billboard. “You see all this energy and sadness and anger and then Benny pulls up in the middle of the fire and I’m like, ‘Oh, shit. I’m that guy! The guy everyone hates at the beginning?’ It’s a way for me to challenge myself.” BRANDON VICTOR DIXON “It was on my bucket list of roles, but I’ve checked it off,” he tells Billboard. “I…

The Becoming tour is certainly “unprecedented,” says Tara Traub, senior vp of Live Nation Touring. The 12-city, 14-show, 10,000-person-per-night circuit — which places the former first lady on stages recently occupied by artists like Elton John and Florence Welch —was designed to meet the enormous demand (the memoir sold over 1.4 million copies in its first week). With front-row VIP seats priced at $3,000 (compared, for example, to The Carters’ On the Run II Tour VIP package costing upwards of $2,000) and guest moderators like Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Jessica Parker appearing à la Taylor Swift’s celebrity-studded tours, Becoming “is more like a rock or pop concert rather than a traditional book tour,” says Traub. There is even a 25-piece merchandise collection available at each venue. What, more broadly,…

No. 4 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart Beyond Swag Gunna, born Sergio Kitchens, grew up on the south side of Atlanta, where his mother worked in the cafeteria at his elementary school. “Life [wasn’t] that good,” says the 25-year-old rapper. “I wasn’t born with a lot of money. All I knew was struggle.” A love of Lil Wayne, Hot Boys and Master P’s No Limit Records led him toward music. At age 13, he visited a neighborhood friend’s garage studio, later writing his first song, “Swag So Cool.” But it wasn’t until his 2016 mixtape, Drip Season, that he felt like he was on the right track: “ ‘Drip’ is another word for ‘swag,’” he says. “ ‘Swag’ was not our word — my era is ‘drip.’” Part Of…

MALAY The Los Angeles-based two-time Grammy winner is best known for his work with Frank Ocean, Zayn, Lorde and Lykke Li. In 2018 he launched his own label, Britannia Row Recordings. Tabletop Bluetooth “Being a user of vintage recording and stereo equipment, I felt at home upon unboxing this. Aesthetically, it fit right into my world. [The music] felt warm and lush — not typical for most small Bluetooth speakers I’ve listened to.” KLIPSCH The Three tabletop stereo system, $499; klipsch.com Hi-Fi Headphones “Call me old school, but I’m probably part of the .01 percent of folks who still enjoy music through traditional speakers. I’ve never felt inspired to listen to or create music [through headphones], but I was pleasantly surprised to see Adam was making these; we finished…

Donna Gryn SENIOR VP MARKETING, REPUBLIC RECORDS MY ROLE I’ve worked with Ariana since we launched “The Way” in 2013, overseeing marketing campaigns and working closely with her, management and Republic on every aspect of music strategy and rollout. ON ARIANA You might not know how involved she really is with everything we do. She really leads the charge in a way most artists don’t, and it’s one of the reasons she is so successful. Also worth mentioning: She often has us laughing out loud. Rachel Bisdee SENIOR DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING, REPUBLIC RECORDS MY ROLE The international team works with Scooter Braun Projects and Universal Music labels globally to create marketing campaigns and promotional strategy outside the United States, including Ariana’s TV, radio and awards show…

Scott Is Tops; 6ix9ine No. 2 Travis Scott’s Astroworld returns to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 for a third nonconsecutive week. The set earned 71,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Nov. 29 (up 60 percent), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 31,000 were in album sales (up 816 percent). Astroworld’s move to No. 1 was prompted largely by Scott releasing more merchandise-album bundles for Cyber Monday (Nov. 26) through his website. The items came bundled with a digital copy of the album. At No. 2 on the Billboard 200 is 6ix9ine’s Dummy Boy album, which debuts with just three days of activity during the tracking week. The set arrived Nov. 27 and starts with 66,000 equivalent album units (of which 10,000 were in…

AIRPLAY DATA COMPILED BY RADIO SONGS: The week’s most popular songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music. Stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. DIGITAL SONG SALES: The week’s top-downloaded songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music. POP/RHYTHMIC/ADULT: The week’s most popular current songs at mainstream top 40, rhythmic, adult contemporary and adult top 40 formats, respectively, ranked by radio airplay detections, as measured by Nielsen Music. Songs are defined as current if they are relatively recently-released titles, or songs receiving widespread airplay and/or sales activity for the first time. Stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. See Charts Legend on billboard.com/biz for complete rules and explanations. All charts © 2018,…

Dinero Hits Top 10 Flipp Dinero (above) claims his first top 10 on the Hot Rap Songs chart as “Leave Me Alone” pushes 13-10. The song continues its radio momentum with a 16-14 lift on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay through an 8 percent gain to 14.1 million in audience in the week ending Dec. 2, according to Nielsen Music. “Alone” was uploaded to SoundCloud in March and later gained attention after Odell Beckham Jr. danced to it in an Instagram video and Drake noted that the song was one of several influences for his Scorpion album. Meanwhile, Queen Naija earns her first No. 1 song on any Billboard chart as “Medicine” tops the Adult R&B airplay ranking. The track climbs 3-1 with a 6 percent gain in plays during the week…

Ariana Ascends Again Ariana Grande (above) achieves her fourth Dance Club Songs No. 1, and third of 2018, with “Breathin” (2-1). The track — remixed by Dirty Werk, Chris Cox and Ryan Skyy, among others — follows fellow Sweetener singles “God Is a Woman” (No. 1 on Oct. 13) and “No Tears Left to Cry” (June 23). Grande first led the list as featured on Nathan Sykes’ “Over and Over Again” in February 2016. Dating to her initial charted title, “Baby I” (No. 18, November 2013), Grande has amassed 14 entries, including seven top 10s. In addition to her four leaders, she has hit the top 10 with “Right There” (featuring Big Sean; No. 8, February 2014), “Break Free” (featuring Zedd; No. 3, October 2014) and “Into You” (No.…

PROUDLY CONGRATULATES OUR COLLEAGUES CORRIE CHRISTOPHER MARTIN AND JACKIE NALPANT FOR THEIR INCLUSION ON BILLBOARD’S WOMEN IN MUSIC AND ALL OF OUR EXCEPTIONAL WOMEN AT PARADIGM, CODA AND X-RAY ALISA ADLER BLAIR ADOUR KRISTI AGNE ELEANOR AIKEN WENDY AINSLIE VICTORIA AJAYI MILLY ALLEN RACHEL ALTMAN ANDREA AMBROSIA AMANDA ANCES MEGAN ANDREWS STEPHANIE ARISTAKESIAN TARA ARPINO ELEANOR ASHLEY JOANNA ASHMORE LAURA AUDI BLAIRE BACON KATRINA BAJORINAS MELISA BALOGLU REBECCA BATES ANDRANISE BAXTER LUCY BEACH KATE BEGANI NATASHA BENT MICAH BENTON NICOLE BERGGREEN LAUREN BERK ANNA BEWERS CLAIRE BEWERS JO BIDDISCOMBE JESSEA BITTLE NICOLE BIZOUKAS JESSICA BLANC SARA BOLLWINKEL KATY BRACE HALEY BROWN JODIE BRUNNING CECILY BUCK-MULLINS JESS BUMSTED CLEMENTINE BUNEL CORINNA BURROWS MARGARET BUSHART KATH BUTLER KATE BYRNE TERESA CALCAGNO CHRISTINE CAO MONIQUE CARCAMO ELISABETH CARLTON COLBY CASORIA RACHEL CASSANDRO…

The launch of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in January rocked the music industry by quantifying a stark inequality: Only 22.4 percent of performers of the 600 most popular songs between 2012 and 2017 were women, while female songwriters, producers and engineers fared much worse. For Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys, her longtime engineer Ann Mincieli of Jungle City Studios, Universal Music Publishing Group chairman/CEO Jody Gerson and WME partner/head of the East Coast music department Samantha Kirby Yoh, the study was a call to action. The foursome started strategizing regularly and formed She Is the Music, a not-for-profit that aims to increase the number of women working in the global music industry, from songwriters to engineers. “We’re these four powerhouse people in the industry,” says…

THE 19TH ANNUAL LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS, HELD AT LAS Vegas’ MGM Grand Arena, welcomed a variety of artists in the pop, urban, regional Mexican and tropical genres. Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler was the big winner, taking home song and record of the year for his single “Telefonía” (“Telephony”) and best singer-songwriter album for Salvavidas de hielo (Ice Lifeguard). Spain’s Rosalía won best alternative song and best urban fusion/performance for “Malamente” (“Badly”). The night’s performances highlighted Latin’s musical diversity, with 14-year-old Angela Aguilar flaunting her Mexican roots for “La Llorona” and Ozuna singing an acoustic version of “El Farsante” (“The Phony”) and the vibrant “Unica” (“Unique”). It was an evening of congeniality, with many artists thanking those who came before them. But looking ahead, J Balvin respectfully noted onstage: “Let’s…

I’m part android, but I’ve been digging a lot more into my human side these days,” says Janelle Monáe. On her early albums, the singer-songwriter employed an alter ego, the sentient robot Cindi Mayweather, as a stand-in for herself. But on 2018’s Dirty Computer — her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart — the 32-year-old revealed more of Janelle Monáe, human, than ever before. This year’s TRAILBLAZER is plenty inspiring simply as herself: a nimble vocalist and rapper; a producer and founder of her own label, Wondaland Records; a magnetic actress in Academy Award-nominated films (Moonlight, Hidden Figures) who’ll next star in a much-anticipated Harriet Tubman biopic; and an activist, whether eloquently introducing Kesha at the 2018 Grammys, speaking at the Women’s March in 2017 or…

“I’m gonna do it my way, it’ll be all right,” croons Kacey Musgraves on “Slow Burn,” the standout opening track on her third album, Golden Hour. The lyric sums up both the radical optimism permeating the record and the free-thinking approach that has made this year’s INNOVATOR stand out. On Golden Hour, the 30-year-old Texan embraced new themes (romance and happiness, inspired by her recent marriage) and new sounds (disco flourishes, electro grooves). “I changed nearly everything,” says Musgraves, and the result, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, was one of the best-reviewed albums of 2018 and won the CMA Award for album of the year. For Musgraves, challenging the expectations that country artists — and women, especially — face is a matter of course. “I…

Edith Bo, 31 CO-FOUNDER/CEO, ARKETEK Bo co-founded the management/A&R consulting firm with producer-engineer Stan Greene after four years at Roc Nation, where she worked primarily as a manager. Her focus is developing fresh talent, and Arketek’s current roster of artists, producers and writers includes Saint Bodhi and The Cold Seas. Says Bo: “You’ll find your audience. Just get through the nos.” Massah David, 38 Miatta David Johnson, 42 FOUNDERS, MVD This sibling duo, who hail from Liberia, have created major music-industry FOMO with the imaginative events they have produced — most notably, working with Kanye West to throw listening parties for his flurry of 2018 G.O.O.D. Music releases, including one on a Wyoming ranch. “We look at each event as an opportunity to take people on a journey,” says…

NCT 127 Emerges At No. 1 K-pop group NCT 127 (above), a subunit of the 18-member NCT (which stands for “Neo Culture Technology”), rises 3-1 on the Emerging Artists chart, leading the list for the first time as it hits a new No. 2 high on the Social 50, up 10 percent in Twitter reactions. NCT 127 consists of 10 members, while “127” represents the longitude of Seoul, where the group is based. Atlanta-based rapper J.I.D. debuts at No. 25 on Emerging Artists as his sophomore LP, DiCaprio 2, launches at No. 15 on Top Rap Albums with 17,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music. Plus, electro-pop trio SHAED makes its Billboard chart debut, opening at No. 34 on Emerging Artists as its track “Trampoline” jumps by 7…

Star Surpasses 500K Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack has become just the second album to sell a half-million copies in the United States in 2018, according to Nielsen Music. With another 33,000 copies sold in the tracking week ending Nov. 29, the LP’s total sales now stand at 520,000. The only other set to sell more in 2018 is another soundtrack, The Greatest Showman, which has sold 1.36 million in 2018 and 1.44 million overall (as the album was released last December). With five weeks left in Nielsen’s 2018 tracking year (which ends Jan. 3, 2019), it is possible that the industry could end up with only two half-million sellers for all of 2018. Presently, there are four more albums that have sold over…

Brown Wins With ‘Lose’ “Lose It” from Kane Brown (above) ascends 3-1 on Country Airplay, increasing by 6 percent to 40.5 million audience impressions in the week ending Dec. 2, according to Nielsen Music. On the airplay-, streaming- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart, “Lose” rebounds 5-2. The song crowned the latter list two weeks ago, dethroning Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be,” which dominated for a record 50 weeks. “Lose” is Brown’s third total and consecutive Country Airplay No. 1. “Heaven” led for two weeks in May, after “What Ifs” (featuring Lauren Alaina) ruled for a week in October 2017. His latest No. 1 is from his sophomore LP, Experiment, which debuted atop the Top Country Albums chart on Nov. 24. Dan + Shay’s first…

‘Taki Taki’ Tops Latin Airplay “Taki Taki” — by DJ Snake (above, second from right), featuring Selena Gomez (second from left), Ozuna (left) and Cardi B (right) — rises 2-1 on Latin Airplay with a 14 percent lift in audience (rising to 14.5 million in the week ending Dec. 2), according to Nielsen Music. The track marks the first leader for both Snake and Gomez, the third for Cardi and the eighth for Ozuna. On the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, Sebastián Yatra notches his second top 10 as “Ya No Tiene Novio,” his first collaboration with brothers Mau & Ricky, lifts 11-9 thanks to a 21 percent boost in audience (to 9.1 million). It’s the first top 10 for Mau & Ricky. Yatra previously logged a No. 7 peak…

LEGEND Bullets indicate titles with greatest weekly gains. Album Charts Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 500,000 albums (Gold). RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 1 million units (Platinum). Numeral noted with Platinum symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 10 million units (Diamond). Numeral noted with Diamond symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 30,000 units (Oro). Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 60,000 units (Platino). Numeral noted with Platino symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. Digital Songs Charts RIAA certification for 500,000 paid downloads and ondemand streams where 100 streams equal 1 download (Gold). RIAA certification for 1…

FOR RANI HANCOCK, BECOMING president of Sire Records was something of a childhood dream come true. Growing up in upstate New York, the former executive vp A&R for Island Records would lock herself in her room and listen to Warner Music’s most iconic records by Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths and The English Beat. “I never really dreamed of doing anything else,” she says. “I was singularly focused on being in music in some way.” Hancock’s obsession evolved into a keen instinct for hitmaking talent that has defined her career. Starting out in A&R administration and operations at Arista Records, the Berklee College of Music graduate followed mentor Clive Davis to J Records, the imprint he established in 2000. Following the merger with RCA Records, she moved into…

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ON JAN. 26, 1996, PREVIEWS FOR A new musical began in a small theater in New York’s East Village. The show’s cast — though it included future stars Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs — was largely unknown; its writer, 35-year-old Jonathan Larson, was a struggling artist like the characters he wrote. As for its subject matter — gentrification, drug addiction and the AIDS epidemic — and rock-driven score, both were far from typical for musical theater. That show, Rent, turned out to be revolutionary. Though it opened off-Broadway under the shadow of tragedy — Larson died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm the night before the first preview — Rent transferred to Broadway within three months, attracting “Rentheads” who slept outside the theater and repeated the show’s “No day but…

What does your nomination mean for the current and next generation of women songwriters and producers? I was talking to Queen Latifah the other day, saying it’s so crazy how people don’t know that there was a Patrice Rushen, who did a lot of her own stuff; an Angela Winbush; so many out there even before me that people aren’t aware of. If I [win], I’ll have the biggest party. And if I don’t, I’ll still have a big party because I’m grateful. It sparks the conversation for someone that comes after me. There hasn’t been a female MC inducted, and we have to look at that. What is the one song that fans are most surprised to learn you wrote? There are so many, to be honest. Aaliyah…

SEPTEMBER 2015 “I got a divorce — it wasn’t dramatic. I got married super, super young. The process started with This Is My Hand, but [it was official] when I got home. [I then explored] this idea of, ‘What does it mean to feel like there’s a death and a rebirth?’ A lot of people resent this idea of Detroit having a rebirth, but there’s a big shift.” MARCH 2016 “Going back to my parents’ name [after the divorce] didn’t feel right. A friend of mine was looking through a book on space and saw the word ‘nova’ and said, ‘What about that?’ I didn’t realize that the Latin meaning is ‘new,’ and ‘Shara’ is a verb of ‘singing’ in Hebrew. I like that the name meant ‘new…

“Woo! It’s like, ‘I told y’all!’” Ariana Grande is milly rocking in her seat behind the massive mixing console at Los Angeles’ Record Plant studio, a wide grin revealing the single dimple in her left cheek. Her new single, “Thank U, Next,” will not officially become her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 for another three days, but its explosive success is already making headlines. For Grande, the milestone is especially meaningful. It’s the exact kind of music she has wanted to make all along. “It’s a Tommy Brown single!” she exclaims, hitting the arm of her chair for emphasis. Brown, a producer and songwriter, has been working with Grande since her 2013 debut, Yours Truly, and Grande is positively giddy at the prospect of their shared musical breakthrough.…

At a 2015 studio session, a songwriter asked Hayley Kiyoko what she was scared to write about. Her answer? That she liked girls. “I was afraid people in the industry wouldn’t give me a chance or be able to connect to my music,” recalls the 27-year-old pop artist. Kiyoko got over her fear. That session produced her breakthrough hit, “Girls Like Girls,” and now the California native boldly owns her identity: She coined the viral #20gayteen, and her fans call her “Lesbian Jesus.” Her debut album, Expectations, hit No. 12 on the Billboard 200 in April, and since then, Kiyoko has performed her song “Curious” onstage with Taylor Swift and opened for Panic! at the Disco on its arena tour. “I’m half Japanese, and gay, and a woman,” says…

Red Velvet Rockets Up Chart Red Velvet (below) zooms back to the top 10 of the Social 50 for the first time since August, blasting 48-8 amid promotion for RBB, the K-pop girl group’s eighth EP, which arrived Nov. 30. The five-piece jumps to No. 8 with, among other social growth, 408,000 Twitter reactions in the week ending Nov. 29 (up 485 percent), according to Next Big Sound. Red Velvet posted multiple promotional photos for RBB to its Twitter account, along with teasers for the album’s spooky lead music video, “RBB (Really Bad Boy).” Another K-pop group, meanwhile, makes its chart debut. At No. 44, five-member girl group EXID debuts thanks to 111,000 new YouTube subscriptions to its official page, driven by the release of a video for “I…

‘Get Up’ Keeps Shining Shinedown (above) spends a second week at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock airplay chart with “Get Up,” the second single from the Florida band’s sixth LP, Attention Attention. The song, which follows the set’s No. 1 “Devil,” is the group’s 13th leader, tying Van Halen for the second-best sum in the ranking’s 37-year history. (Only Three Days Grace, with 14, has more.) “Get Up” remains in the top 10 of the all-rock-format Rock Airplay chart (No. 10, 6 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music); it marks Shinedown’s 11th chart-leading top 10 on the list, which launched in 2009. Imagine Dragons’ “Zero” zooms 25-16 on Hot Rock Songs. The track is from both the band’s new album, Origin, and the soundtrack to Ralph Breaks…

Wickham ‘Living’ Well Phil Wickham (above) earns his third Christian Airplay top 10 as “Living Hope” lifts 11-9, drawing 3.6 million audience impressions in the week ending Dec. 2, according to Nielsen Music. His last top 10, “This Is Amazing Grace,” is his lone No. 1 so far, having ruled for 10 weeks starting in March 2014. A chart veteran since 2006, he first hit the top 10 with “Safe,” featuring MercyMe frontman Bart Millard (No. 4, 2010). Competing for Kelly Clarkson’s team on NBC’s The Voice, Kymberli Joye performed Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s “Break Every Chain” on Nov. 26, and the cover arrives atop Gospel Digital Song Sales (4,000 sold), marking Joye’s first appearance on the tally. Cobbs Leonard’s original version (and launch single) also debuted at No. 1…