Motown Records and Google Launch Program to Elevate Women of Color in Music Industry

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe transition from bedroom pop to one of New York’s biggest stages is not an easy one — the intimate sound and emotions of the loosely defined style are almost the polar opposite of the big gestures and loud volume it takes to fill a major venue. Yet two of the genre’s most popular (and youngest) artists, Clairo and Arlo Parks, did it with ease Thursday night before an impressively full crowd at New York’s historic, 6,000-capacity Radio City Music Hall.Parks, 21 — who is nominated for two 2022 Grammys — is already a major star in her native England and is the more animated performer of the two, although Thursday’s show represented a big step up from her last area performance (at the 650-capacity Music Hall of Williamsburg in September).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCountry star Jason Aldean has sold 90% of his recorded-music catalog to the indie Spirit Music Group, the company announced Thursday, in a deal sources say was worth upwards of $100 million.The acquisition includes 90% of Aldean’s recorded music catalog and encompasses nine albums in total, six of which are certified platinum. The deal covers Aldean’s discography starting from his self-titled 2005 debut through his ninth album, 2019’s “9.” The acquisition also includes neighbouring rights and SoundExchange royalties. Aldean retains an income interest.“It’s cool that a company like Spirit, that’s been around so long, has taken on my music catalog.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd will presented an immersive music special called “The Dawn FM Experience” on Amazon’s Prime video on Saturday, Feb. 26.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a major move in the publishing world, Sony Music Publishing has announced the appointment of Walter Jones as executive vice president and head of A&R, effective February 22. In the role, he will oversee the company’s U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJeremy Vuernick has been promoted to president of A&R for Capitol Music Group (CMG), it was announced today by CMG chair & CEO Michelle Jubelirer.In his elevated role, he will lead the company’s A&R team, sign and develop artists for the company, as well as oversee recording projects for new and established artists spanning the company’s portfolio of labels. He also will work closely with Jubelirer as a key member of her executive team to set the creative direction of the company. He is based in the company’s Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood and reports to Jubelirer.Vuernick joined CMG’s Astralwerks label in 2013 after two years as an A&R executive at long-running electronic label Ultra Music.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor the first time since 2019, the legendary Roots Picnic is scheduled to return in June with Mary J. Blige, Mickey Guyton — both of whom performed at the Super Bowl on Sunday — Summer Walker and Jazmine Sullivan leading a packed lineup.The festival — which is headlined, hosted, and curated by the Grammy-winning hip-hop group the Roots and co-presented by Live Nation Urban — will take place at the Mann at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia for two days of music, art, and culture on Saturday and Sunday, June 4-5, 2022. Also scheduled to perform are Wizkid, Kirk Franklin, Rick Ross, G Herbo and more — see the full confirmed lineup below.A special fan club presale goes live today at 10 a.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs long expected, Universal Music Publishing has acquired 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting’s career catalog of music. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in recent months the artist was said to be seeking around $350 million.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRapper-entrepreneur Snoop Dogg, who rose to fame during the 1990s on Death Row Records, has acquired the label’s brand from MNRK Music Group, which is controlled by private equity funds managed by the investment firm Blackstone, the firm announced on Wednesday.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, however, a source close to the situation tells Variety that Snoop’s acquisition of the Death Row brand is the first part of a transaction that is expected to see him also acquiring some of the label’s music rights — his own and unspecified other artists. The source says the deal is expected to conclude in the coming weeks.In a statement, Snoop Dogg, now owner of Death Row Records, said: “I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music set a record for quarterly revenue in the fiscal first quarter that ended on Dec. 31, 2021, with $1.614 in revenue powered by a 31% increase in publishing revenue, 19% in recorded music and 21% in digital revenue.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran executive LaTrice Burnette, who was named president of the relaunched 4th & Broadway Records in 2020 — has been appointed executive VP of Def Jam Recordings while retaining her post at 4th & Broadway, new Def Jam chairman & CEO Tunji Balogun announced Tuesday.The 4th & Broadway roster — which, along with Burnette, was formerly with sister Universal label Island Records — includes Young Devyn, Lil Migo, Pap Chanel, Chiiild, and Kidd Kenn; the label’s core staff will move over to Def Jam as well. Burnette will remain based in New York and will report directly to Balogun.“LaTrice is a proven leader, a consummate professional, and someone who’s work and reputation I’ve admired for a long time,” said Balogun.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter seeing her song “Fingers Crossed” become a TikTok smash, Vancouver Island singer/songwriter Lauren Spencer-Smith has partnered with Universal Music Group’s Island Records and Republic Records. According to the announcement, “The innovative partnership, structured with manager and business partner David Ehrlich (pictured above, right, with UMG chief Lucian Grainge, left, and Spencer-Smith), allows Lauren Spencer-Smith to keep her independent spirit via her own imprint while tapping into premium services from both labels.”After breaking through on TikTok, “Fingers Crossed” garnered over 100 million streams hitting the Top 50 on Spotify in 23 countries and peaked at No.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs Spotify awkwardly attempts to defend its stance on Joe Rogan — first over the Covid-19 misinformation on his show, and then over his frequent use of the N-word on that same show — the controversies have revived musicians’ longest-standing problem with the platform: The royalty rates it and other streaming platforms pay, which most musicians and many rights-holders feel are far too low.This is particularly true in publishing: In January of 2018 the Copyright Royalty Board ruled to increase songwriter rates for interactive streaming by nearly 50% over the following five years, to 15.1%. However, in March of 2019, Spotify, Google, Amazon and Pandora then appealed to keep the previous rate of 10.5% — and are gearing up to argue for that rate for the next five-year period (2023-2027) as well.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave Music announced that it has acquired the music rights from the estates of Layne Staley and Mike Starr of the Grammy-nominated Seattle band Alice In Chains.The deal will see the publisher acquire a stake in the Layne Staley’s and Mike Starr’s music publishing catalog, as well as master royalty income stream; terms of the deal were not disclosed.The work of the band’s main songwriter, Jerry Cantrell, was not included, nor drummer Sean Kinney or later members Mike Inez and William DuVall. However, the deal does encompass shares in some of the band’s biggest hits, such as “Man in the Box,” “Rooster” and “No Excuses,” as well as their biggest hit, “Would?” The latter song, released in 1992, and not only appeared in the era-defining Cameron Crowe film “Singles” but was also included on the hit soundtrack.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDavid Crosby and Stephen Stills have joined Neil Young and Graham Nash in asking their labels to remove their collective recordings from Spotify.According to the announcement, in support of stopping harmful misinformation about Covid-19 on Joe Rogan’s Spotify-hosted podcast, the musicians have decided to remove their records from the streaming platform including the recordings of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby-Nash, as well as Crosby’s and Stills’ solo projects. Nash has already begun the process to take down his solo recordings.In a unified statement, the band members commented, “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music – or the music we made together – to be on the same platform.” Reps for Spotify did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.Following a similar request by Joni Mitchell, the move reunites the five artists, who have been friends and collaborators since the 1960s, in a stance that they certainly could not have imagined 50 years ago.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMegaforce Records co-founder Jon Zazula — who launched the iconic label, which released the first albums from Metallica, Anthrax and many others, with his wife Marsha in 1982 — died Tuesday in Florida, a rep for the label confirms to Variety. He was 69.Marsha passed away of cancer in January of last year.Known as “Jonny Z,” Zazula was the more freewheeling half of the company’s founding duo, known for his raucous laughter and, sometimes, his temper.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs part of its first Environment Social Governance report, Warner Music Group announced on Tuesday that it will waive unrecoupled debuts for heritage artists, following Sony Music, which made that move last year.Just hours later, a source confirmed to Variety that Universal plans to make a similar announcement as part of its ESG report later this year; Music Business Worldwide first reported that news.What that means is that eligible artists, songwriters and others who had not recouped their advances and/or other expenses will now receive royalties that previously had gone toward paying down those expenses. That situation has meant that many artists have received low or even no royalty payments as the company applied their earnings to paying down debts they may have incurred through signing advances or other recoupable expenses that standard record-label contracts oblige the artist to cover.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCountry artist Mickey Guyton will sing the National Anthem, R&B singer Jhene Aiko will perform “America the Beautiful,” and gospel act Mary Mary will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” accompanied by the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, as part of the pre-game ceremonies for the Super Bowl on Feb. 13, the NFL announced on Tuesday.Also, actress Sandra Mae Frank will perform the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful in American sign language on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf, and veteran DJ-producer Zedd will act as the official pregame DJ during player warmups.The choices speak to the NFL’s recent moves toward greater diversity, announced when it first teamed up with Roc Nation as an entertainment consultant in 2019.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Publishing has announced Songwriter Assistance, a new program that will provide its global roster of songwriters and composers with access to free, confidential counseling services and wellness resources.According to the announcement, starting February 1, Songwriter Assistance will offer 24/7 counseling support via global hotlines, as well as ongoing counseling services for emotional health matters such as stress, anxiety, depression, and family/relationship challenges.SMP songwriters will also have unlimited access to customized resources for tackling daily responsibilities such as researching childcare and eldercare options, navigating life transitions, co-parenting, budgeting for major life events, and more.In a letter to songwriters and composers announcing the program, Jon Platt, Chairman and CEO, Sony Music Publishing said, “We are committed to providing you with services that matter. The importance of wellness cannot be overstated, and with Songwriter Assistance, we look forward to offering a whole new level of care and support.”Amy Cranford, SMP senior VP of publishing administration, said, “We are passionate about taking care of Sony Music Publishing’s songwriters and composers and providing them with the best level of support.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIsland Records has named Mike Alexander general manager, it was announced by new label co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak. Alexander will continue to be based in New York and report jointly to Majid and Eshak.A nearly two-decade veteran of Island’s parent company Universal Music Group, Alexander has for the past year been an executive VP at Island, overseeing the operations for the label including releases by Shawn Mendes, the Killers, Demi Lovato and others. He previously served as executive vice president of international for UMG, a position that jointly encompassed Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and Republic Records.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave Music has expanded its partnership with long-running British group and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Def Leppard.The deal will see the company acquire an additional stake in the band’s music publishing catalog as well as master royalty income stream.Terms of the deal were not disclosed; many of the band’s biggest hits are included in deal, such as “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph.”The band’s repertoire includes 11 studio albums, which have sold more than 110 million copies globally.The relationship between Primary Wave and Def Leppard began in 2009 with a deal to market and administer the band’s catalog of songs. Over the years the songs have been synced on a number of television shows, including “Cobra Kai,” “Hit the Floor,” “The Simpsons Guy,” “American Horror Story 1984” and more.