Randal B.’s Post

New Post: The Rise of a Global Princess: Chappell Roan Breaks Through on International Charts - https://lnkd.in/gDAPc9TS - Chappell Roan is riding a wave of success powered by her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, her first top 10 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200, and standalone single “Good Luck Babe!,” her first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Willard, Mo. native is receiving 32 times as many weekly U.S. official on-demand streams as she was at the start of the year – jumping from 2.5 million (in the week ending Jan. 4) to 80.3 million (July 11), according to Luminate. Related Sasha Colby Lauds Chappell Roan for Supporting Drag Artists: ‘Goddess Sees Goddess’ 07/18/2024 Now, international audiences are catching up. Five weeks after debuting on the Hot 100, and three frames after starting on the Billboard Global 200, Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go!” enters the July 20-dated Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 200, marking the first entry on the chart from the LP. In the week ending July 11, the song’s non-U.S. streams climbed by 3% to 8.4 million, another in a string of more than 20 consecutive weeks of increases. The song’s bow builds upon the singer-songwriter’s domestic surge with multiple tracks. Here, “Good Luck, Babe!” has risen to No. 10 on the Hot 100, making cross-metric inroads on streaming, radio and sales. Album cuts “Hot To Go!,” “Red Wine Supernova,” and “Pink Pony Club” have followed on the Hot 100, and due to the U.S.’s dominant impact on the world music economy, on the Global 200. On Global Excl. U.S., which removes domestic consumption from its methodology (the Global 200 reflects data in more than 200 territories, including the U.S.), “Good Luck, Babe!” has grown its share of non-U.S. global streams from 31% to 57% in the current tracking week. (The week’s average among all songs that are on both the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. is 75% outside the U.S., reflecting a mix of big U.S. hits and those that have not made notable impacts on U.S. shores). Over the course of the last seven weeks, “Hot To Go!” has expanded its international reach from 35% of its overall streams, to 44%. Roan’s 10 most-streamed songs average 41%, up from 35% just three weeks ago. While these figures show that international audiences are helping spark Chappell Roan’s rising profile, her non-U.S. percentages are more in line with country and hip-hop artists than pop singer-songwriters. At 56%, “Hot To Go!” has the second-highest U.S. share among all songs on both of this week’s global charts. It’s sandwiched between two country tracks – P

New Post: 8 Best Quotes From ‘Wonder Women of Latin Music’ Panel at LAMC 2024 - https://lnkd.in/gr8-xq-6 - The Latin music landscape is undergoing a bigger transformation where women are not only stepping into the spotlight, but also reshaping the industry through leadership, innovation and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. This was demonstrated by top female executives and industry members at the Wonder Women of Latin Music panel, which kicked off the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) on Wednesday (July 10) morning in New York. Moderated by Billboard‘s Griselda Flores, the panel featured Kemelly Figueroa-Mouriz of Loud And Live, Yasmin Muller of Spotify, Fabi Kulick of Live Nation, Rocio Guerrero of Amazon Music, Isabel Paz of the Latin Recording Academy, Gabriela Urquiza of GlamRock Agency and Celia Saez of The Orchard, all female Latin music wonders who took to the microphones at the InterContinental Hotel for a candid conversation about why female solidarity and representation is critical in the music industry. “Having female leadership has been crucial for my professional development, because we understand each other and know the challenges we face, such as the glass ceiling,” said Saez of The Orchard, for example. Here are some of the best and most memorable quotes from the Wonder Women of Latin Music panel at LAMC 2024: Kemelly Figueroa-Mouriz of Loud And Live on diversity initiatives: “I have a lot of experience in mentorship. I think that has forced me to go outside of my circle and find the solution to allocating voices. Going outside and seeking them has been so amazing — seeing that support, and receiving that support. I think it’s important to see that not only are we all here together to have the conversation but also to celebrate. This generation coming in, it’s important to seek and establish relationships, nurture these student-mentor connections.” Yasmin Muller of Spotify on artist development: “I’ve been involved in curation and programming, and a big part of our job is to discover new artists and help them gain exposure. We’re always asking, ‘Why are we passionate about this artist, and why should you give them a chance?’ However, I often consider the side: finding an artist with talent and working with them in a meaningful way, utilizing my experience. Working with artists is incredibly challenging; it’s a job that never stops and requires constant thought. But it would be fascinating to apply all my experience to support a talent I truly believe in, particularly women in challenging industries.” Fabi Kulick of Live Nation on career resilience: “You should never be afraid to lift yourself up and start from scratch. This industry might look glamorous and indeed, it is fun. You get to support artists, work with talented people, and meet incredible profe

New Post: Ye vs. Taylor? Here We Go Again on This Week’s Billboard 200  - https://lnkd.in/gQMvnDic - The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated Aug. 10, Ye looks for his 12th consecutive charting album to debut at No. 1 – but he’ll have to get past a familiar longtime foe first.  Ye & Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 2 (YZY): We must be nearing the 15th anniversary of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, because Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Taylor Swift are mixing it up again. This time, it’s not particularly personal: Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has been the album to beat on the Billboard 200 for over three months now, and Ye & Ty’s typically long-expected and long-delayed sequel o set Vultures 2, originally set for March, finally saw release last Saturday (Aug. 3), after being announced for the day before.   Nevertheless, the race is now on, and Ye and Ty are in it to win it. As is typical of last-second new Ye releases of the past decade, Vultures 2 is not available for physical purchase upon its release – it is available only in digital format, on iTunes and Amazon and at his webstore, and is currently being sold for just $5. Late on Tuesday night (Aug. 6), Ye released a new deluxe edition to the album as a webstore exclusive, featuring a new song currently not available on streaming, “Take Off Your Dress.”  Given these maneuvers and Ye’s history on the chart, Vultures 2 would seem a likely frontrunner for the No. 1 spot. However, the set’s performance on streaming has not been equivalent to the dominance of his and Ty’s first Vultures: On Apple Music, the album only claims three of the top 50 spots, and it only has a single entry in that range on Spotify: “Field Trip,” which appears to be the closest thing to a breakout hit on the album – and still nowhere near a threat to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 like runaway smash “Carnival” did off the preceding set. Add to that some middling notices from fans and critics, many of whom have deemed the album unfinished-sounding, as well as a partial first tracking week (thanks to the delayed Saturday release), and Vultures 2 is fighting an uphill battle to claim the 200’s top spot this week.    Still, with “Take Off Your Dress” drawing a highly positive fan response so far, the new deluxe edition of the album should help its numbers a decent amount. And the bar has been lower to clear with Tortured Poets in the last couple weeks than it was in the first few months – Swift’s album reigned last week with just 71,000 total units, the lowest total for a No. 1 album on the chart since March.   Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department (Republic): It’s been a lucky 13 week

New Post: Hipgnosis Sues Barry Manilow for Breach of Contract Over 2020 Catalog Deal - https://lnkd.in/gT2XCBtC - LONDON — Hipgnosis Song Fund is suing Barry Manilow over bonus payments relating to its acquisition of the singer’s catalog four years ago. The lawsuit was filed at the High Court in London on Monday (Aug. 12). The case is listed as breach of contract, but details of the claim are not publicly available. Three defendants are listed on the court filing: Manilow; Manilow Productions; and the artist’s management company – Hastings, Clayton & Tucker Inc trading as Stiletto Entertainment. News of the court case was first reported by the Financial Times. Related Hipgnosis Songs Buys Barry Manilow Catalog 08/03/2020 In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for Hipgnosis described the dispute as a “routine commercial matter concerning the interpretation of certain clauses in a contract regarding bonus payments, which the court is ideally placed to address.” “While we regret that this couldn’t be resolved directly between the parties, we continue to hold Barry and his music in the highest possible regard and we are confident that this can be resolved in a fair and reasonable way,” the spokesperson went on to say. Billboard understands that the claim is for a low sum in the single digit millions. Representatives for Manilow either did not respond to requests to comment or could not be reached. The court action comes almost exactly four years after Hipgnosis announced that it had acquired 100% of Manilow’s worldwide recording royalties (excluding SoundExchange royalties) in his catalog, comprising 917 songs, for an undisclosed figure. The deal included some of the 81-year-old singer’s biggest hits, including “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs,” “Looks Like We Made It,” “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Copacabana (At the Copa).” Speaking in 2020, at the time of the catalog acquisition, Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis called Manilow “an incomparable artist, songwriter, arranger, musician and performer,” while the veteran singer praised Mercuriadis for creating “a new type of music company.” A great deal has changed at Hipgnosis since then. Last month, private equity group Blackstone completed a $1.6-billion acquisition of the six-year-old, London-listed investment trust that had amassed a huge catalog of 65,000 copyrights including songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Journey, Shakira, Blondie and Neil Young. The takeover followed a tumultuous year in which the publicly traded fund faced a shareholder revolt following a series of missteps and accounting sca

Swifties, hear me out 💅🏻 Post Malone may be the most brilliant brand mind in the music business. Here's why: On the way into work I listened to the first 6 tracks of his new COUNTRY album, F1 Trillion and talk about a reinvention. It's been a sloppy transition from hiphop to country, but the train has now officially left the station. Yes, the songwriting is stellar (I don't approve of all the content :) Yes, its authentic to the country genre... BUT the brand play is FAR more impressive to me. His selection of featured artists is strategic. While he has modern country stars like Morgan Wallen, he also dug deep into an older generation with Hank Williams (are you ready for some Football), Dolly Parton, and Blake Shelton. Now he'll be attracting a generation who largely scoffs at his previous music into his fold. And it's a MASSIVE audience. Meanwhile, he's going to migrate the vast majority of his existing audience into the country genre. Recipe for some seismic hits now that everyone in the family has a reason to listen. Next is the song topic choices. He has flex songs about being lavish and over the top, a song about breaking your back working, and of course, a song that shows his sensitive, caring side. Relationships be warned, there is some Post Malone apology music in your future. I'm going to predict this album will be one of the most successful releases of the last decade (at least), yes, because the music is good...but even more so because the strategic brand deployment is even better. Please agree or disagree with me in the comments...it's music...everyone gets a say! #brand #postmalone #f1trillion #musicbusiness #musicindustry #marketing

New Post: Vinyl Group Identifies Synergies, ‘Clear Path to Profitability’ Following The Brag Media Acquisition - https://lnkd.in/g3_nqJmm - Vinyl Group now has a fourth pillar. Following the completion of its acquisition of The Brag Media, the Sydney-based music and tech specialist doubles-down on its mission to build revenue and integrate its new asset. As previously reported, the transaction is funded with a new investment by billionaire WiseTech Global founder and CEO Richard White, by way of an A$11 million ($7.5 million) placement and debt facility, uniting the only music specialist company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) with the market leader in premium youth content and events. “Our real mission or vision that we all have in the company is to empower and power all facets and parts of the music ecosystem,” Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons tells Billboard. When the group, previously known as Jaxsta, prior to a rebrand in early December, spotted an opportunity with The Brag Media, “we also knew that the company was going to evolve into more of a portfolio music company,” Simons continues. Prior to the purchase, Vinyl Group’s portfolio was built on the three pillars of its music credits business Jaxsta; the leading music industry social-professional network and talent marketplace Vampr; and Vinyl.com, the online record store. The Brag Media, with its range of titles including Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Variety Australia, Tone Deaf and trade title The Music Network, is its fourth pillar. Vinyl.com is a “very fast growing ecommerce platform, it speaks to the fan,” Simons continues, “but a huge part of connecting the dots here is connecting fans as creators, and media and events and everything that The Brag does, fills that gap.” When the opportunity came across the table, and “when we knew what direction they were boldly headed in, it made a lot of sense and got us excited very quickly.” The amalgamation of both business presents “some really obvious low hanging synergies,” he explains, pointing to sales synergies between Vampr and The Brag Media as one example, “but broadly speaking, it plugged a hole in this broader flywheel of servicing all participants in the music ecosystem.” People, product and process – “that’s really always my focus,” explains Simons. The co-founder of Vampr, Simons was elevated from chief strategy officer to CEO in June 2023, succeeding Beth Appleton, who stepped down as CEO with immediate effect. “Revenue, cost efficiency and profitability remain the top priorities for Jaxsta,” Simons commented at the time of his ascension, “and I look forward to building on the current momentum.” The agenda remains the same. “The headline KPI was four quarters of consecutive revenue growth and moving towards profitability,” Simons says. “Under my tenure, we’ve

New Post: How Many Times Has Ye Been Sued Over Sampling? Here’s Every Lawsuit - https://lnkd.in/gsRzfZM8 - Everyone in the music industry knows that Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) has been sued repeatedly over allegations that he sampled copyrighted music without permission. But how many lawsuits has he actually faced? Billboard decided to find out. Just hours after Ye’s brand new Vultures 2 dropped on Saturday, he was already facing claims that the new album featured uncleared music. In a social media post, electronic music artist Geoff Barrow shared a clip of Ye’s song “Field Trip” above the words “not again” – seemingly an accusation that the track featured a sample from the song “Machine Gun” by Barrow’s band Portishead. It’s currently unclear whether Barrow or anyone else will take legal action against Ye over the new song. But if he did, he would hardly be the first to do so. Over the course of his career, federal court records show that the rapper has been sued at least 14 times over claims of unlicensed sampling (the use of a copyrighted sound recording) or interpolating (the use of a copyrighted composition) in his songs, with nine of those cases coming since 2019 alone. And that’s not counting cases where others have been sued over his songs, like a case filed in 2012 against Roc-A-Fella Records, or a recent case against UMG filed by members of prog rock band King Crimson, nor allegations that didn’t result in a lawsuit, like Ozzy Osbourne’s accusations earlier this year. To keep it all straight, Billboard dug up the court records from every case against Ye. Here they are: - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- #MagicTheGathering #macos #mac #tradingcardgame - SellingIt(.)org ---> https://sellingit.org

When we amplify women’s voices, it adds up. How much? 38,000% (open thread) I love this piece by Forbes senior contributor Hugh McIntyre (and not just because I’m a big country music fan). It’s a perfect reminder of what it means when powerful voices are given a platform to be heard. “According to Billboard, on the day following the Grammys, Chapman’s “Fast Car” sold 14,000 copies. That would be enough to place it inside the top 10 on the company’s Digital Song Sales chart–and after just one day of sales activity. That number is sizable, but it’s even more impressive when compared to how the song was selling just a day before Chapman took to the main stage. From Sunday to Monday, sales of “Fast Car” climbed by 38,400%.” Tracy Chapman deserves this (and the royalties she is getting paid for both her song and Luke Combs’s cover). And perhaps it’s a great reminder to all of us too. Who’s voice can you help amplify to new audiences? Whose words should reach farther than they already have? And how do we lift up the sounds of change in new ways? If we all do just a little bit of this, it’s like the song goes… “Maybe together we can get somewhere.” 🎵🎵🎵 #musicindustry #womensvoices #allyship #ForbesImpactLab #Nashville River House Artists Sony Music Entertainment

New Post: Hot 100 First-Timers: Rich Amiri Debuts With Breakthrough Single ‘One Call’ - https://lnkd.in/gthPRs7z - Rich Amiri banks his first career entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Feb. 10), as his breakthrough single “One Call” debuts at No. 79. Released in November on Internet Money Records/10K Projects, the track opens on the strength of its streaming sum: 6.8 million official U.S. streams (up 44%) in the Jan. 26-Feb. 1 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also bounds 45-33 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, which uses the same streaming-, airplay- and sales-based methodology as the Hot 100. The song appears on Rich Amiri’s latest LP, Ghetto Fabulous, also released in November. TikTok has been a factor in the song’s growth, as the track has been used in over 350,000 clips on the platform to date. The song soundtracks one growing trend involving creators comparing themselves to lovestruck TV/film characters when asked about their crushes. The virality of the song sparked its debut at No. 17 on the Feb. 3-dated TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart. “I don’t trust a soul, I don’t trust nobody,” the 19-year-old raps in the self-empowering track. “Extra green up in my pocket look like spinach/I put gold all in my mouth, I hate the dentist.” Rich Amiri hails from Randolph, Mass., in the South Shore area outside Boston. He has released two additional LPs: For the Better in 2022 and Evolution in March 2023. On the latter album, he collaborated with Lil Tecca on the track “Poppin.” He first began releasing music on streaming services in 2019. Thanks to “One Call,” Rich Amiri also jumps 28-22 for a new high on the Emerging Artists chart. - ----------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR ----------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

New Post: Post Malone & Morgan Wallen Top Billboard Hot 100 for Third Week, Zach Bryan Debuts in Top 10 - https://lnkd.in/g8J_x68g - Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, logs a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The song premiered at the summit two weeks earlier, becoming Post Malone’s sixth leader and Wallen’s second. Notably, while “I Had Some Help” is among 27 hits that have topped both the Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs chart (which shares the former’s multimetric methodology), it’s the first to have debuted atop both tallies and spent its first three weeks on each at No. 1. Only one other song has led in even its first two weeks on each list: Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” last August-September. Meanwhile, Zach Bryan bows on the Hot 100 at No. 6 with “Pink Skies.” The song arrives as the singer-songwriter’s third top 10 on the chart. Related Taylor Swift Spends Sixth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘The Tortured Poets Department… 06/02/2024 The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated June 8, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, June 4. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published. Below is a rundown of the latest Hot 100’s top 10. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp