Innholdsfortegnelse for June 29, 2019 i Billboard Magazine

TAYLOR SWIFT’S “YOU Need to Calm Down” bounds onto the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 2. It’s her 24th top 10 and follows “ME!” (featuring Brendon Urie), which reached its No. 2 high on the May 11 chart. The songs are from her seventh LP, Lover, due Aug. 23 — and both have been blocked from the summit by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus). Swift’s new single opens atop the Digital Song Sales chart with 79,000 sold, according to Nielsen Music, marking her record-extending 17th No. 1 (ahead of runner-up Rihanna’s 14); No. 3 on Streaming Songs (39 million U.S. streams); and No. 50 on Radio Songs (24.2 million in airplay audience). At No. 7 on the Hot 100, Drake debuts with “Money in…

WHEN THE FIRST BONNAROO Music & Arts Festival came together in 2002, its founders — college friends Ashley Capps, Richard Goodstone, Rick Farman, Jonathan Mayers and Kerry Black — didn’t want to just organize a music event. For four days a year in Manchester, Tenn., they wanted to create a community. “That original fan base, they were looking to be represented, to camp, to see a good live show,” says Jeff Cuellar, vp strategic partnerships at festival promoter AC Entertainment. Before long, that vision grew: “We wanted to provide a positive impact that extends from our Bonnaroovian community to the state of Tennessee and beyond.” That meant ensuring the festival had a charitable component. Since 2002, organizers have donated over $7 million to a wide range of causes, from…

FROM Carlisle, Mass. AGE 20 LABEL FADER Label SELF-TAUGHT Born Claire Cottrill in Atlanta (her father, Geoff Cottrill, is former chief marketing officer at Converse), Clairo taught herself guitar by watching live videos of her favorite bands on YouTube, but she never thought she would be an artist herself. At 13, she started uploading covers of soft-spoken indie acts like City & Colour and Daughter, and Mumford & Sons. Three years later, she was writing her own songs. GOING VIRAL She posted her first original pop song and homemade video, “Pretty Girl,” to YouTube in August 2017, immediately igniting interest from RCA, Columbia and Capitol. “The internet gave me all my resources to get big,” she says. But it left her with a tough choice: “Do I go to…

THE BEHIND-THE-BOARD MULTIHYPHENATE CONTINUES TO STAY A STE P AH EAD OF POP’S EVER-CHANGING SOUND Back when he was a burgeoning alt-rock studio hand in his mid-20s, Ariel Rechtshaid helped produce an unassuming acoustic ballad called “Hey There Delilah.” “I remember the label thinking it sounded like a shitty demo,” he says, recalling the 2006 Plain White T’s single. It became a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1. Less than a decade later, the Los Angeles native has contributed to some of the 2010s’ most influential pop and R&B touchstones: Usher’s “Climax,” Solange’s True and Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion. Rechtshaid recently jammed in his Los Angeles studio with buzzy independent acts Weyes Blood and Clairo. The latter showed up with Rostam Batmanglij to record an impromptu Cass McCombs cover. “Any…

David Nieman INTERSCOPE RECORDS When J. Cole wanted to bring 1,000 superfans onto the basketball court for his NBA All-Star halftime show performance in Charlotte, N.C., in February, the league, concerned over safety, didn’t immediately warm to his idea. But David Nieman — the head of licensing and marketing for sports and video games at Interscope Records, which distributes Cole’s Dreamville imprint — urged it to trust Cole’s vision. The results benefited both the NBA and Cole: a thrilling performance by the artist in his home state and an unforgettable national TV moment for the NBA. “We really had to get the NBA outside their comfort zone and get them to buy into the fact that [the fans are] where the energy is,” says Nieman, 31. “That’s where it…

Vanja Primorac UNITED TALENT AGENCY What’s next in music and tech? Just ask Vanja Primorac, the 29-year-old UTA hired in November as head of music innovation, a newly formed division. “The idea is to be the resident expert in all things related to digital platforms,” says the Los Angeles native. Primorac began her career developing content at Sean Combs’ Revolt TV (“a speed course into the entertainment industry”) before joining Spotify’s artist marketing team. Eventually craving more direct creative involvement, she reached out to her friend Milana Rabkin, the CEO of Stem, about potential freelance opportunities. Rabkin directed her to longtime UTA agent Brent Weinstein. “He and [UTA chief] Jeremy Zimmer were looking for someone to fill this gap in music,” says Primorac — specifically, someone who could help…

Mario Guzman SHERBINSKIS “I’m not the guy who shows up with a pound of weed and rolling papers,” says Mario Guzman, 42, founder and chief executive grower of the luxury lifestyle-weed brand Sherbinskis. Forbes has called it the “Louis Vuitton of marijuana” for good reason: The cannabis concierge service for artists — whether they’re at studio sessions or backstage at major festivals like Rolling Loud — is a bit like a master sommelier when it comes to getting high. “We preselect strains that heighten awareness and creativity,” says Guzman. “I’m there to educate and understand the artist’s needs.” Cannabis has been legal in California for two years, but visiting artists aren’t often in town long enough to hit dispensaries — which also don’t always stock the highest-quality bud. Enter…

NO. 1 Madonna Madonna rules the Artist 100 for the first time as her new LP, Madame X, arrives atop the Billboard 200 (see page 55). She previously hit a No. 7 high on the Artist 100 (which launched in 2014) concurrent with the chart start of her last album, Rebel Heart, in March 2015. SOCIAL DATA COMPILED BY AIRPLAY/STREAMING & SALES DATA COMPILED BY The week’s most popular artists across all genres, ranked by album and track sales as measured by Nielsen Music, radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, streaming activity data from online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music and fan interaction on social networking sites as compiled by Next Big Sound. See Charts Legend on billboard.com/biz for complete rules and explanations. © 2019,…

WHEN SPOTIFY USERS “pre-save” certain albums or singles, labels can get enough control over their accounts to track what they listen to, change what artists they follow and potentially even control their music streaming remotely. To pre-save music, which adds a release to a library as soon as it comes out, Spotify users click through and approve permissions that give labels far more account access than the streaming giant normally grants them. This allows labels to harvest more of the consumer data that streaming companies usually guard for themselves. Labels also ask for far more permissions than they need. Spotify users who, for example, tried to presave the Little Mix single “Bounce Back” from links shared by the act or its label, Sony Music, were prompted to agree that…

On June 21, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against Universal Music Group on behalf of artists whose master recordings are believed to have been destroyed in a 2008 fire on the Universal Studios backlot where they were stored. The main issue: To whom did the masters belong? That suit — brought by attorneys representing Soundgarden; Hole; Steve Earle; Tom Petty’s ex-wife, Jane Petty; and Tom Whalley (on behalf of the Afeni Shakur Trust, which oversees the estate of Tupac Shakur) — seeks half of UMG’s proceeds from a legal settlement and a reported insurance payment relating to the fire, plus half of whatever value they didn’t cover. The case will come down to “good old American property rights,” says an attorney who works for several legacy acts…

Billboard’s third annual Country Power Players event, held at the Dream Nashville Hotel in Music City, celebrated the industry leaders who are influencing the world of country music today. The evening’s highlights included Universal Music Group Nashville president Cindy Mabe receiving her Executive of the Year award from her 9-year-old daughter, and Luke Combs taking home his Billboard Music Awards for top country album, top country male artist and top country artist. Several acts on the UMG Nashville roster came out in support of Mabe, such as Keith Urban, Caylee Hammack and Little Big Town, which performed its new song “The Daughters.” Other artists and songwriters who were in attendance included Miranda Lambert, Brett Young, Ashley Monroe, Chris Janson, Eric Paslay, Chris Lane and Ingrid Andress. Thank you to…

Special Issue ON SALE AUGUST 8, 2019 On Aug. 8, Billboard will publish its annual Pride issue honoring culturally moving and influential people who have contributed to the community’s history and its current landscape. This special issue will coincide with Billboard’s inaugural Power of Pride Summit, an event dedicated to gathering an influential audience of consumers and influencers in celebration of the LGBTQ community. The full day of programming will include panel discussions, a cocktail reception and an awards presentation. Billboard’s Pride Special feature will include: • Pride List featuring high-achieving executives from across the music industry who publicly self-identify as LGBTQ. • Additional interviews with LGBTQ musicians alongside sidebars with LGBTQ writers and executives Join Billboard in celebrating Pride and the LGBTQ community. ON SALE: 8/8 | COVER…

Andre Morris VARRAN MEDIA Thanks to the meteoric success of the Emmy Award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race, the drag industry is closer to the pop culture mainstream than ever, with its splashiest players popping up on Broadway, in A Star Is Born — and of course, most recently, in a Taylor Swift video. That means retroactive attention for the TV show’s alumni, as well as more opportunities for them to explore careers in the pop sphere. Enter Andre Morris, founder and CEO of Varran Media, a one-stop shop for drag performers seeking management, PR representation and overall career-strategy advice. Morris, 40, launched Varran in 2010 after 11 years at Sony Music, where he worked under PR powerhouse Yvette Noel-Schure. For a while, he continued to work with her Schure Media…

Lisa Melamed Lisa Melamed has spent 30 years as a writer and producer for classic TV series such as Sisters, Party of Five and Mad About You. But it’s safe to say her latest project is unlike any in her long list of credits. Melamed is a co-executive producer and writer for Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, an eight-part Netflix anthology series set to debut later in 2019, in which each segment is based on a different song by the country legend. Heartstrings is one in a growing number of TV and film projects inspired directly by songs: Recently, The Chainsmokers revealed that a film adaptation of their 2017 single “Paris” was in the works, and John Mayer’s “The Heart of Life” (from 2006 album Continuum) is the basis for Heart…

FIVE YEARS AFTER PLAYING ITS first hometown shows in Seoul, BTS has apparently achieved worldwide domination, topping the latest monthly Boxscore recap with the top-grossing tour of May. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, the South Korean boy band grossed $51.7 million and sold 384,498 tickets in May, marking the highest one-month total for a tour of 2019 so far. After playing its first U.S. stadium (New York’s Citi Field) in October, the septet expanded in May to two shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, as well as double-headers at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and Soldier Field in Chicago. The six domestic shows totaled $44 million and nearly 300,000 tickets sold. This sweep of the U.S. is not only impressive for a foreign-language act in this…

SPECIAL FEATURE 7/10 On July 10, Cheryl and Haim Saban will be honored as THR’s inaugural philanthropists of the year for their integrity, heart and goodwill that has made a difference in the lives of so many both here in Los Angeles and abroad. As LA’s most generous power couple, their philanthropy priorities enrich Los Angeles’ cultural and civic vitality, promote healthcare access and research, strengthen the US-Israel relationship, and empower women and girls. They are strong supporters of the Saban Community Clinic, Children’s Hospital LA, Children’s Hospital at Soroka in Israel, American Israel Education Foundation, Friends of the IDF, and the Brookings Institution, among numerous others. The Sabans are also major promoters of gender equality through education, wellness and empowerment initiatives for women and girls. Some of the…

We met Elliot Roberts for the first time in 1999, at a club called The Starfish Room in Vancouver. Elliot had flown up from Los Angeles to see us play after hearing our first album, Under Feet Like Ours. Elliot had managed Neil Young for decades, and they ran a Santa Monica, Calif.-based label, Vapor Records, which was then distributed by Warner Music. He was interested in signing us, and we were beside ourselves. We were 19. After the show we went with Elliot to a bar. I remember feeling giddy and ordering a drink that came in a neon plastic cup. Over the next few hours Elliot regaled us with stories about his current and former clients — Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Joni Mitchell, to…

BET Awards LOS ANGELES, JUNE 23 HOST, COMEDIC ACTRESS AND WASHINGTON, D.C., NATIVE Regina Hall kicked off the 19th annual BET Awards by leading a marching band — featuring her hometown’s go-go pioneers E.U. and Rare Essence — in a humorous take on Beyoncé’s iconic Coachella set from the Netflix documentary Homecoming. Her mock performance was rivaled by Cardi B and Offset, who teamed up for an electrifying mashup of “Clout” and “Press”; Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, who together prompted a massive dance/singalong to their smash hit “Old Town Road”; and H.E.R. and YBN Cordae, who addressed social issues on the compelling “Lord Is Willing.” Elsewhere, T.I., Marsha Ambrosius, YG, DJ Khaled and John Legend delivered an emotional tribute to humanitarian award honoree Nipsey Hussle. The…

In 2018, a former publicist and a concert promoter landed a one-of-a-kind deal that allowed them to work with any label within Universal Music Group and still operate independently. Dan Friedman, 33, and Henny Yegezu, 31, first worked together in 2013, when Friedman was handling marketing/PR of GoldLink’s debut mixtape, The God Complex, and Yegezu was promoting the rapper’s live shows. They were also both at a professional crossroads, wanting to trade their current roles for something even bigger. In April 2015, the pair founded EQT (Equative Thinking), a full-service music company that includes management, publishing, recording and distribution. Last September, EQT launched its first joint venture with indie label True Panther Sounds — which has a “defined brand and point of view,” says Friedman, and is home to…

At the start of the unflinching David Crosby documentary Remember My Name, the singer stares steadily into the lens trained on him by director A.J. Eaton, looking weary from years of touring, battles with addiction, jail time and busted friendships. Still, he’s intensely engaged and — above all else — honest throughout. “He knows when your attention is wandering,” says producer Cameron Crowe, “and he knows when he owns you.” Soon after the doc debuted to a strong reception at Sundance, Sony Pictures Classics picked it up for release on July 19. For Crosby, the project conveys the truth he has been waiting to tell. Cameron Crowe made it clear he was only up for this project if you were all in — which you embraced. When you make…

Deployed by Billie Eilish, The 1975 and 5 Seconds of Summer, custom-made Snapchat lenses — effects that layer objects and accessories over photo and video posts — have opened up a new front in music marketing. The wizard behind many of these filters? Boston-based designer Michael Nicoll. Nicoll started digital agency Blnk in late 2017 after seven years as ESPN’s lead designer, which is when he discovered his passion for integrating music with 3D elements. His work got the attention of 30 Seconds to Mars’ digital team, which reached out to collaborate soon before Blnk launched. Six months later, the band’s label, Interscope, tapped Nicoll to work with Snapchat on the platform’s first-ever artist lens, created through its new Lens Studio software. He has since designed over 30 artist-specific…

Nicole St. Jean WAVE As the mother of two young children, Nicole St. Jean doesn’t go out like she once did as a club kid in New York’s early-aughts house music scene. But in her current role as head of content and partnerships at the virtual reality company Wave, she has found a way to experience dance music without leaving the house — and to allow anyone with a computer, an internet connection and a desire for social adventure to do the same. St. Jean, 43, produces live concerts in VR. With the help of five full-time artists in Los Angeles and an engineering team in Austin — where Wave was founded three years ago — she has made it rain magic mushrooms during a T-Pain show and simulated…

Artists: They’re just like us, whether binge-watching the latest comic epic or obsessing over sports stats. And as an ever-growing number of acts compete for ears in today’s saturated streaming market, a new breed of in-house digital content strategists (like those below) has emerged within labels, helping them tap into those personal interests through partnerships with film studios, fashion vloggers and more — all in the service of pulling back the curtain on their own celebrity and introducing them to potential new fans. Madeleine Swift INTERACTIVE MARKETING AND ANALYTICS COORDINATOR WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE Day-to-day Lots of scrolling through Twitter and Instagram in search of influencers. “Some of them are athletes or vloggers or post their outfits online,” says Swift, 23. “It’s someone that has an audience that could be…

On the 64th floor of 4 World Trade Center, at Spotify’s Manhattan offices, Nick Holmstén is holding court in the Orchestra of Bubbles conference room. Seated on a comfy blue couch, Holmstén — the streaming service’s global head of music since October 2018 — introduces the company’s latest hire. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that we finally have this guy on our team,” he says to the seven staffers attending the company’s weekly direct reports meeting, three of them via video conference from Stockholm. Holmstén — who oversees 100-plus employees responsible for the operation of Spotify’s more than 5,000 owned and operated playlists, as well as label and artist relations — is referring to former Interscope CFO Jeremy Erlich, who is also in the room and…

NOSTALGIA REIGNS supreme in the United Kingdom, with three tours from acts that enjoyed heydays in the 1990s posting big Boxscore numbers — and helping U.K. promoter SJM Concerts pull in a $42 million gross in May: Spice Girls launched their Spice World - 2019 Tour on May 24 in Dublin and grossed over $23.6 million in just four performances through May 31; Manchester, England, group Take That brought in a $13.4 million haul from eight shows; and the Gods of Rap tour — led by legendary hip-hop forebears Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy and De La Soul — sold over 95,000 tickets throughout the United Kingdom for a total gross of $7.6 million. The assembly of some of rap’s most influential acts was the passion project of SJM Concerts…

The top songwriters and producers on the Billboard Hot 100 and selective genre songs chart that utilize the Hot 100 formula (blending streaming, airplay and download sales data) for the charts dated June 29, 2019. Rankings are based on accumulated weekly points for all charted songs — on the specified chart for the week — on which a songwriter or producer is credited. If a song is written or produced by more than one person, points are divided equally among all credited parties. SOCIAL DATA COMPILED BY AIRPLAY/STREAMING & SALES DATA COMPILED BY The week’s most popular artists across all genres, ranked by album and track sales as measured by Nielsen Music, radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, streaming activity data from online music sources tracked…