Innholdsfortegnelse for February 20, 2021 i Billboard Magazine

CARDI B’S NEW SINGLE, “UP,” LAUNCHES AT NO. 2 ON THE Billboard Hot 100 as Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” leads for a fifth week, encompassing its entire run on the chart so far. “Up,” released Feb. 5, opens with 31.2 million streams, 14.9 million airplay audience impressions and 37,000 digital and physical singles sold, according to MRC Data. The rapper-singer collects her ninth Hot 100 top 10, while the track premieres at No. 1 on both Digital Song Sales and Streaming Songs. It also starts atop the Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, where Cardi B achieves her fifth and sixth No. 1s, respectively. Meanwhile, “Drivers License” totaled 54.3 million in radio audience, 27.6 million streams and 16,000 sold in the tracking week. It jumps by 16%…

BRISBANE, A USTRALIA — After years of playing Melbourne clubs with capacities of under 1,000, the hardcore rap-metal band Dregg finally had its moment at the 2019 Brisbane Bigsound festival. Within months, the act signed with U.S. managers Adam LaRue and Jon Halperin, then booking agency Paradigm and label Epitaph Records. Everything was going great, until “all the touring and shows were canceled,” says lead singer Christopher Mackertich, who quit his day job as a high-end hairstylist to go on tour in March 2020. That didn’t happen, of course. Because the group is based in Australia, though, Dregg will be able to start playing concerts far sooner than most. In North America and Europe, touring isn’t expected to resume until fall, with a full-scale comeback not expected until 2022.…

“They are trying to twist this for their own purposes.” Merck Mercuriadis’ eyes flash with exasperation. Over years spent managing the careers of uncompromising artists like Elton John, Beyoncé and Guns N’ Roses, the 57-year-old music industry veteran has perfected a demeanor of cordial unflappability. Yet a question skeptics have asked about his 4-year-old company, Hipgnosis, has gotten under his skin. Hipgnosis has spent almost $2 billion to date snapping up 129 publishing catalogs, the work of everyone from Neil Young to Al Green’s drummer Al Jackson. These are the iconic creative forces behind the great music that Mercuriadis has dedicated his life to, and his company’s purchases have fueled an explosion of music publishing valuations. In theory, a rising tide lifts all ships, but the question irritating Mercuriadis…

JESSIE REYEZ LOVES TO TEXT — especially with her fans. Using a phone number assigned by the startup Community and shared on social media, the singer-songwriter makes time almost every day to talk one-on-one to her most dedicated supporters. “Some really kind fans send me heartfelt messages,” says Reyez, “and we have exchanges regularly now that I have them in my favorites.” Reyez also gets data about these superfans (who opted in to having it collected by sending a text and agreeing to an online consent form). By sending messages to segments of her Community fan base, Reyez can get information — think hometown, age and interests — to target her biggest fans with digital ads, negotiate brand deals or make decisions about what merchandise to sell. The music…

WHEN KIRDIS POSTELLE JOINED Amazon Music in March 2020, the first thing she set out to do was expand the streaming service’s artist marketing operation, which had mostly focused on paid media and ads on billboards. The plan was to move into events and experiential-based marketing, but, says the global head of artist marketing, “As you can imagine, we haven’t done any of that since COVID-19.” Postelle’s hands haven’t been tied though. Collaborating with a global team covering over 40 territories around the world, with U.S. offices in Los Angeles, New York and Seattle, L.A.-based Postelle works on campaigns for artists in all genres, integrating Amazon’s technology and nonmusic business units. She launched Amazon’s Breakthrough program for emerging acts and oversaw campaigns with artists such as Dua Lipa, Megan…

Daniel Nigro vividly recalls the moment his obsession with pop music started. While in sixth grade, he heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time; soon after, he and his friends made their own music video to the Nirvana hit using an attraction at Adventureland in Farmingdale, N.Y. “Even making a fake music video, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I want to be playing for people,’ ” he recalls. But after a decade leading the indie-rock act As Tall As Lions, which disbanded in 2010, he realized, “I’m actually not that good” as a frontman, “and also don’t really enjoy it.” Later that year, Nigro joined some pop songwriting sessions while visiting a friend in Los Angeles: “It was the first time in years that I had fallen…

The market for publishing catalogs is booming as institutional investors and newer companies like Primary Wave Music and Round Hill Music compete with the majors and older firms. So far though, most of the attention has been focused on the rights to big-name songwriters: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Steve Nicks. Among those paying attention? Younger songwriters who may not have written “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ” — but can easily see that they are. “Every artist in the business right now is having a look at the valuations that have been applied to publishing,” says Three Six Zero CEO Mark Gillespie, whose client Calvin Harris, 37, sold his 150-song publishing catalog to Vine Alternative Investments in October in a deal estimated to be worth over $90 million. “I…

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’S LEADING BUSINESS managers serve as financial advisers, tax accountants and fiscal therapists for artists and executives alike — and they have long preached the importance of saving for a rainy day. But what if the storm lasts for a year? In 2020, as revenue from live touring halted, traditional recording sessions ceased and marketing meetings moved to Zoom, the roles of business managers became more crucial than ever. “This year has been a bit of a roller coaster,” says Sally Velazquez, owner of Empower Business Management. Business managers helped their clients financially survive the pandemic by revising cash flow projections, focusing on long-term plans and exploring new revenue sources, including song catalog sales in a red-hot market. When necessary, they applied for government aid available under…

AFTER A VIDEO LEAKED to TMZ of rising country artist Morgan Wallen using the N-word on Feb. 2, radio cut his songs, streaming services dropped him from official playlists, his booking agent stopped working with him, and his label “suspended” his recording contract. The Academy of Country Music even deemed him ineligible for this year’s ACM Awards. He was essentially exiled from the music business. Except by fans. Wallen — who on Feb. 10 issued a video apology saying, “I fully accept any penalties I’m facing” — is now spending his fifth straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Feb. 20, with his 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album. Wallen was helping lead the genre into the streaming era, appealing to a new generation of fans.…

DATE ACQUIRED November 2018 SIZE 100% of publishing and writer’s share in 214 songs HIGHLIGHTS Several Justin Bieber or Bieber-affiliated hits, including “What Do You Mean?,” “Company” and “Where Are Ü Now” from his 2015 Purpose album, as well as the English version of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” DATE ACQUIRED September 2020 SIZE 100% of publishing and writer’s share in 164 songs HIGHLIGHTS Pretenders hits and fan favorites “Brass in Pocket,” “Talk of the Town,” “2000 Miles,” “Message of Love,” “Back on the Chain Gang” and “I’ll Stand by You” DATE ACQUIRED August 2020 SIZE 100% of publishing plus writer’s and producer’s shares in 273 songs HIGHLIGHTS “Run This Town” by JAY-Z featuring Kanye West and Rihanna, “Holy Grail” by JAY-Z featuring Justin Timberlake, West’s “Black Skinhead”…

Tom Cyrana John Gula Lia Sweet PARTNERS/MANAGING DIRECTORS RZO Bill Zysblat CO-FOUNDER/MANAGING PARTNER RZO The Rolling Stones, one of RZO’s longest-running clients, halted a massive stadium tour last March. LADY GAGA, another client, performed at a massively important event: the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Jan. 20. Between those milestones, this has been, “financially, the most challenging year ever,” says RZO co-founder/managing partner Bill Zysblat. “There has never been a year where the industry all but shut down. None of us have ever seen anything like it.” Zysblat’s perspective on the pandemic and its impact is unique. A practicing CPA for nearly four decades, he co-founded RZO with his late business partner, Joe Rascoff, in 1988. RZO stands out among its peers in business management not only for…

1. “Someone You Loved” LEWIS CAPALDI RANK No. 10 Publishers Sony/ATV Songs (BMI), BMG Rights Management U.K. (PRS), BMG Gold Songs (ASCAP), Sony/ATV Music Publishing Allegro U.K. (PRS) 2. “I Hope” GABBY BARRETT FEATURING CHARLIE PUTH RANK No. 12 Publishers Sony/ATV Countryside (BMI), GBF Music Global (BMI), Revinyl House (BMI), EMI April Music (ASCAP), Nite Writer Music (ASCAP), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI) 3. “WHATS POPPIN” JACK HARLOW FEATURING DABABY, TORY LANEZ AND LIL WAYNE RANK No. 13 Publishers Harlow Happenings (SESAC), JetsonMade Anotha1 Publishing (ASCAP), Sony/ATV Tunes (ASCAP), Winners Circle Publishing (BMI), John Lucas Publishing Designee (BMI), Nathan Ward II Publishing Designee (BMI), Los-TheProducer (BMI), Baby Jesus Publishing (ASCAP), South Coast Music Group (ASCAP), Universal Music (ASCAP), Tory Lanez Publishing (BMI), Back Hair Music Publishing (BMI), Money Mack Music…