1. Miguel Signs With Universal Music Publishing

    February 19, 2013 7:00 AM EST 5 15 91 0 GET THIS WEEK'S ISSUE OF BILLBOARD HERE Fresh from his Grammy win (and, just as significantly, his buzzed-about performance with Wiz Khalifa), artist/ songwriter/ producer Miguel has signed an exclusive, worldwide publishing agreement with ...

  2. Analysis: BMG Poised to Become a Top Indie Catalog Following Sanctuary Acquisition

    February 15, 2013 7:54 PM EST 3 9 13 0 Once completed, the pending acquisition of the Sanctuary Records catalog will catapult BMG Rights Management into one of the industry's top independent catalog labels. Universal Sells Sanctuary Label to BMG The Sanctuary catalog has about 17 ...

  3. Vevo Looks To Raise Capital as It Continues Talks With Google

    February 14, 2013 10:27 PM EST 5 5 35 0 Vevo, the largest destination for official music videos online, is about to hit the road in search of equity financing in order to fund its international expansion plans, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans. Vevo, which is curr ...

  4. Universal Music Publishing Inks Deals with Fullscreen, Maker Studios

    February 14, 2013 7:45 PM EST 57 344 166 0 Universal Music Publishing Group, looking to cash in at a higher level on the YouTube money train, has struck licensing deals with Fullscreen and Maker Studios -- two companies that together account for more than 4 billion video views a month ...

  5. Universal Sells Sanctuary Label to BMG

    February 14, 2013 7:28 PM EST 4 35 41 0 BMG Rights Management has won the auction to acquire Sanctuary, the rock label that was included in the assets that the Universal Music Group agreed to sell in order to win regulatory approval from the EU for its purchase of EMI Recorded Music. ...

  6. Warner Music's Revenue Drops 1% to $769 Million In Fiscal First Quarter

    February 14, 2013 9:59 AM EST 6 8 39 0 Warner Music Group has a hole where Michael Buble "Christmas" CD sales used to exist. The company's recent acquisition of Parlophone and other EMI assets will help fill that void and them some. Warner revenue dropped 1% to $769 mil ...

  7. Op-Ed: We Wouldn't Mind Getting Less Money From Pandora and Spotify, Indie Musician Says

    February 13, 2013 10:27 AM EST 3 232 51 0 My name is Patrick Laird and I am an independent musician with Break of Reality, an American cello rock band. Recent articles in national newspapers and magazines have focused on how working musicians are being underpaid by Internet radio compa ...

  8. Publishing Briefs: BMG Chrysalis and Bella Union Join Up, Round Hill Acquires 'When a Man Loves a Woman' and More

    February 12, 2013 10:33 AM EST 3 17 0 Round Hill Music has acquired the writers’ rights to the Calvin Lewis-penned classic, “When A Man Loves A Woman,”  as well as picking up the publishing and administration rights to the catalog of hard-rock songwriter Marti Frederiksen. Frederikse ...

  9. Grammys 2013: Parties, Galleries and Backbeats

    February 12, 2013 8:06 AM EST 10 0 Grainge, Weiss, Bartels, Lipmans, More at UMG/IDJ/Republic Grammy Parties Doug Morris, Rob Stringer, L.A. Reid, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, More at Sony's Post-Grammy Party GRAMMYS 2013: ALL OUR COVERAGE Katy Perry, Len Blavatnik, Fun., Cameron S ...

  10. Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Star Execs at Roc Nation Pre-Grammy Brunch; Michael ‘Blue’ Williams Event Honors Chris Lighty

    February 09, 2013 11:13 PM EST 31 4 0 0 Above: Kylie Minogue and Roc Nation president Jay Brown “Managing You First” was the theme of Family Tree Entertainment’s third annual pre-Grammy Managers Brunch at Boa Steakhouse in West Hollywood this morning (Feb. 9). Noting the event and th ...

  11. Snoop Dogg Sparks Up While Busta Rhymes, Evan Bogart Share Stories at BMI ‘How I Wrote That Song’ Panel

    February 09, 2013 10:23 PM EST 51 35 0 0 Above, L-R: Luke Laird, B.o.B, Snoop Dogg, BMI VP of writer/publisher relations Catherine Brewton, Evan Bogart and Busta Rhymes. (Photo: Joe Scarnici) This year's edition of BMI's annual “How I Wrote That Song” panel, held Feb. 9 at ...

  12. Backbeat: Warner/Chappell’s Jon Platt, Singer Jill Scott Celebrate Grammy Week at ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Brunch

    February 09, 2013 8:22 PM EST 1 22 0 0 Above, L-R: ASCAP's Rhythm & Soul Team. Jennifer Drake, director; Jay Sloan, senior director; Nicole George, VP; and Jonathan Jones, associate director. (Photo: Mitchell Peters) It was a warm, sunny afternoon on the the rooftop of the ...

  13. Billboard Unveils Power 100 List at L.A. Event, Honors UMG’s Lucian Grainge, Sony Music’s Clive Davis

    February 08, 2013 12:03 AM EST 1 45 31 0 Above:  Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge (left) and Sony Music chief creative officer Clive Davis (Photo credit: Phil McCarten) Billboard honored Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge and Sony Music chief creative officer Cl ...

  14. Spotify to Pay Rights Holders $500 million in 2013, Chief Exec Daniel Ek Says at Founders Forum Event

    February 05, 2013 9:13 PM EST 16 72 105 0 Above, L-R: Universal Music Group president of global digital business Rob Wells and Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek (Photo credit: Phil McCarten)   Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek on Tuesday said his company expects to pay rights holders ...

  15. Streaming Services: Which Artists Are Still Holding Out?

    February 04, 2013 9:51 AM EST 3 16 38 0 As if the subscription service's business model wasn't already difficult enough, a small group of artists holding out from those services could expect an advance to join one of them. And they'd have a pretty good argument. Holdout ...

  16. TuneCore Paid Out $102 Million to Artists Last Year, Company Claims

    February 01, 2013 5:14 PM EST 5 17 39 0 While some Jeff Price fans might question TuneCore's future  business prospects, the company's management tells Billboard that the company enjoyed robust growth last year, hitting revenues of $101.8 million for its artists through sale ...

  17. Universal Music Publishing Plots Exit From ASCAP, BMI

    February 01, 2013 4:10 PM EST 13 152 216 0 On the heels of Sony/ATV and EMI striking a deal to directly license their music to Pandora , Universal Music Publishing has notified ASCAP and BMI that it too will no longer rely on the two performance rights organizations to negotiate digit ...

  18. Business Matters: The Jury is Still Out on The Future of Music

    January 30, 2013 8:49 PM EST 8 15 45 0 The news from the annual MIDEM conference indicated streaming is the future of music. Deezer expanded to new countries. Rdio launched free tiers in new countries. Online video is a growing portion of revenue for record labels and music publisher ...

  19. Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis Sign With Universal Publishing

    January 30, 2013 3:11 PM EST 67 26 0 The long-running songwriting and production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have signed an exclusive worldwide publishing administration agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, the company announced today. The deal will encompass all ...

  20. Biz Q&A: SACEM CEO Jean Noel Tronc on Managing the World's Second-Largest Rights Society

    January 29, 2013 3:45 PM EST 7 4 12 0 Jean Noel Tronc is CEO of France's authors, composers and publishers collections society SACEM -- a job he's only held since June 2012.  Coming from the IT and television sectors, Tronc has had a steep learning curve but already under h ...

  21. Exclusive: Kobalt, STIM Form Aggregated Rights Arm to Accelerate European Licensing, Client Payments

    January 29, 2013 12:00 AM EST 1 16 21 0 Kobalt Music Group and STIM, a Swedish copyright management organization, have partnered to launch Kobalt STIM Aggregated Rights AB to effectively create a one-stop shop to Kobalt’s European rights for digital music services. The division will b ...

  22. Martin Mills' Call to Action: His Billboard MIDEM Speech In Full

    January 27, 2013 4:00 PM EST 33 377 202 0 This morning (Jan. 27) at MIDEM, Billboard honored Beggars Group founder Martin Mills with its Industry Icon Award for his innumerable contributions to the music business. His fiery speech (in full here) is a call to action for governments an ...

  23. Warner/Chappell's Cameron Strang: Six Questions

    January 27, 2013 2:30 PM EST 1 13 5 0 "Questions Answered" is a regular feature in the new and improved Billboard magazine. This article is from the premiere edition, which also features Gail Mitchell's cover story on Prince, Ray Waddell's examination of the earni ...

  24. Exclusive: John Lennon, Yoko Ono Catalogs Sign With Downtown Music Publishing

    January 25, 2013 8:05 AM EST 11 12 0 Downtown Music Publishing today announced the signing of publishing administration agreements for the U.S. with Lenono Music and Ono Music, home to the song catalogs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono respectively. Under the terms of the agreement, whi ...

  25. 13 Points to Watch at MIDEM 2013

    January 24, 2013 5:47 PM EST 21 0 0 0 As the world's largest trade fair for the music industry, MIDEM can be daunting to navigate. Last year's gathering drew more than 6,850 attendees from 77 countries, representing 3,120 companies, including 155 startups. This year's ...

  26. Downtown Sells Label to Cofounders, Focuses on Publishing

    January 24, 2013 5:34 PM EST 1 0 Downtown Music LLC, the privately held parent company of Downtown Records and Downtown Music Publishing, today announced the sale of its recorded music business to cofounders Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam. According to a statement, the move, effect ...

  27. MediaNet Expanding Services to Mechanical Rights Licensing, Administration

    January 24, 2013 1:07 PM EST 1 0 MediaNet, the back-end of such digital services like Mog/Beats and Songza, is expanding its offerings by providing mechanical rights licensing and administration. MediaNet currently relies on the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) to supply publishing license ...

  28. Ultra Music and Sony Announce Partnership, Patrick Moxey Named President of Electronic Music

    January 23, 2013 7:13 PM EST 71 15 0 Sony Music Entertainment and Ultra Music -- the EDM-focused record label, publishing house, management company and media platform owned and operated by Patrick Moxey --  have announced a globe-spanning strategic partnership between the two compa ...

  29. Exclusive: Kobalt Launches Label Services Division, Preps New Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Release

    January 22, 2013 6:35 PM EST 2 0 Not only did Kobalt sign a deal with Dave Grohl this week, the company is also formally introducing a new Label Services division that will handle digital and physical releases for independent artists as well as Kobalt clients. Though the division ...

  30. Kobalt Seals Exclusive Worldwide Administration Deal With Dave Grohl

    January 22, 2013 2:30 PM EST 1 1 0 Kobalt has finalized a deal with Dave Grohl to take over the exclusive worldwide administration rights to all of the musician's music, from Nirvana to the Foo Fighters to Them Crooked Vultures, the company announced today. The deal will go in ...

  31. Sony/ATV's Martin Bandier on New, 'Quite Reasonable' Pandora Deal

    January 20, 2013 6:05 PM EST Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which administers EMI Music Publishing's catalog, pulled digital rights for both catalogs from ASCAP and BMI at the top of this year. In doing so, it was following up on a strategy first employed by EMI, which did i ...

  32. Six Music-Related Issues Facing This Administration and Congress

    January 20, 2013 3:05 PM EST From performance royalties to deciding how musicians travel with their instruments on airplanes, numerous issues central to the music industry are alive Washington D.C. as the city prepares for the president inauguration on Martin Luther King, Jr. ...

  33. T.I. Shopping $75 Million Deal: Report

    January 20, 2013 2:01 PM EST T.I.'s contract with Atlantic expired last month, according to a report in TMZ , and he's working on getting a $75 million deal. The package reportedly would include three albums; 10-20 percent of publishing, touring, merchandise, film a ...

  34. Sony Corp. of America Sells New York HQ for $1.1 Billion

    January 20, 2013 1:49 PM EST In a move to bolster its balance sheet and cash position, Sony Corp. of America has agreed to sell its 550 Madison headquarters building in New York City for $1.1 billion to a consortium of investors led by the Chetrit Group. Sony companies, inclu ...

  35. Sony/ATV's Martin Bandier on New, 'Quite Reasonable' Pandora Deal

    January 18, 2013 7:00 PM EST 1 0 0 0 Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which administers EMI Music Publishing's catalog, pulled digital rights for both catalogs from ASCAP and BMI at the top of this year. In doing so, it was following up on a strategy first employed by EMI, which did i ...

  36. Sony/ATV Negotiates 25% Royalty Increase From Pandora: Report

    January 17, 2013 8:01 AM EST 1 0 The newly combined Sony/ATV-EMI music publishing powerhouse has used its market clout to negotiate a 25% royalty increase from Pandora, according to a report in the New York Post . The deal is said to run for the next 12 months. A source close to ...

  37. SoundExchange Distributions Grew 58% to $462 Million in 2012

    January 16, 2013 6:51 PM EST 1 0 0 SoundExchange distributed $462 million in digital performing royalties in 2012 -- a 58% increase over 2011 -- the organization announced Wednesday. The 22,000 payments, totaling $134.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, were 10% higher than th ...

  38. Digital Startups, Developing Market Establishing New African Music Industry

    January 15, 2013 7:10 PM EST 7 4 0 After long-term challenges with widespread piracy and a widely disparate radio and record industry, a burgeoning legitimate music scene is fast emerging on the continent of Africa. An expanding middle class, a fast-growing population with more tha ...

  39. Billboard's Parent Company Names Ross Levinsohn CEO

    January 15, 2013 1:11 PM EST Billboard's parent company has a new leader: Former Yahoo and Fox Interactive Media executive Ross Levinsohn In his role as CEO of Guggenheim Partners' newly-renamed Guggenheim Digital Media, Levinsohn will oversee Billboard, The Hollywo ...

  40. Ian Rogers Named CEO of Beats Electronics' Music Service

    January 10, 2013 2:05 PM EST Beats Electronics today announced that its new music service, project "Daisy," will have Topspin's Ian Rogers as its CEO. Rogers will oversee the "direction, vision and strategy" for project "Daisy" and the team ...

  41. UMPG, Capitol Music Group Launch Capitol CMG Publishing

    January 07, 2013 9:38 PM EST Universal Music Group Publishing and the Capitol Music Group and have launched a new publishing entity, Capitol CMG Publishing, which combines EMI CMG Publishing and Brentwood Benson Music Publishing. In putting together the two Christian publishi ...

  42. Radiohead's Thom Yorke Signs Administration Deal with Kobalt

    January 07, 2013 4:30 PM EST Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has signed a worldwide administration deal with Kobalt Music, the company has announced. Kobalt will represent Yorke's upcoming project Atoms For Peace and his previous solo album, 2006's "The Eraser.&quo ...

  43. Rizvi Traverse Management Buys 75% Stake In SESAC: Report

    January 07, 2013 10:00 AM EST Rizvi Traverse Management is the new majority owner of the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC), according to press reports. A Wall Street Journal reports says the private equity firm paid $600 million for a 75% majority stake i ...

  44. Warner Music's Cameron Strang Gets Pay Raise to $2.25 Million; Lyor Cohen Highest-Paid WMG Employee in 2012

    December 28, 2012 3:32 PM EST Warner Music Group announced in an SEC filing Friday that Cameron Strang, Chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music, and Brian Roberts, Chief Financial Officer, have signed new employment agreements with the company. Billboard Power 100: Cameron S ...

  45. BMG Acquires Mute Records Catalog

    December 21, 2012 6:15 PM EST In its second deal of the day, BMG Rights Management has acquired the Mute back catalog owned by EMI, which includes records released by artists like Depeche Mode, Erasure, Moby, Goldfrapp and Nick Cave. According to sources, BMG paid over 7 milli ...

  46. Rizvi Traverse On Verge of Acquiring SESAC

    December 21, 2012 11:15 AM EST Rizvi Traverse, a private equity firm, appears to be on the verge of acquiring SESAC, according to a filing with the SEC. On Dec. 11, Rizvi Traverse's Rizvi Opportunistic Equity Fund II, L.P. filed for an early termination notice from a Hart- ...

  47. Publishing Briefs: Reach, Downtown, House of Hassle, BMG Chrysalis, Patrick Joseph, Windish, More

    December 21, 2012 9:33 AM EST Reach Music Links With Zac Brown, Band, Southern Ground Reach Music Publishing has signed a worldwide publishing-administration agreement with Zac Brown, founder of the Zac Brown Band. In addition, Reach Music will administer publishing for artist ...

  48. BMG Beats Warner/Chappell to 'New Wave'-Heavy EMI Publishing Divestitures for $90 Million

    December 20, 2012 5:46 PM EST BMG successfully outbid Warner/Chappell to win control of nearly 30,000 songs divested by EMI, including popular UK '80s hits from acts like Tears for Fears and Culture Club. The catalogs -- which were sold for around $90 million, according t ...

  49. Exclusive: Rob Wiesenthal Out at Sony/ATV, Heading to Warner Music

    December 20, 2012 10:38 AM EST Rob Wiesenthal, President of Sony/ATV's international business, is leaving the world's no.1 music publisher to join Len Blavatnik's Warner Music Group as chief operating officer/corporate, WMG said on Thursday. Wiesenthal, a Sony Co ...

  50. Three Songwriter Organizations Oppose Internet Radio Fairness Act

    December 03, 2012 2:14 PM EST In the last three weeks, three coalitions of songwriter organizations have written letters to congress opposing the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA) while asserting that songwriters royalty rates paid by services like Pandora are too low and nee ...

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