Music Industry Moves: Sony Music Promotes Melissa Thomas and Monica Cornia

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBiz 3 PR veteran Dana Meyerson has launched an imprint called Slashie through Mom + Pop Music.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave Music, the fast-rising independent music company, has entered into a worldwide distribution agreement with Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, an arm of Capitol Music Group in the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment has announced “an expansion of the comprehensive support we provide to thousands of our artists around the world” via a new initiative called Artists Forward, “prioritizing transparency with creators in all aspects of their development,” the company stated in a letter to artists.The most striking element of the campaign is the “Legacy Unrecouped Balance Program,” whereby the company “will no longer apply existing unrecouped balances to

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBruce Springsteen is getting back to work this summer, playing a big role in Broadway’s return by bringing back his $108-million-grossing “Springsteen on Broadway” for the entire summer, but that isn’t all he has in the works, as he revealed in a call on Sirius XM’s E Street Radio.“I am looking forward to being in front of an audience,” he told hosts Dave Marsh and Jim Rotolo. “It’s going to be quite a thing.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLast June, YouTube launched a $100 million #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund in an effort to help equip Black musicians with the resources and support to enable them to “thrive and invest in work that amplifies the voices, perspectives and stories of all Black artists around the world,” according to the announcement.The company has provided periodic updates on aspects of the program, and on Wednesday, unveiled a report on the progress its music efforts have made over the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne of the great perks of working as an entertainment writer is the weird promotional stuff you get in the mail — cool things intended to amplify buzz around a project that can’t really be elaborate or useful enough to qualify as payola.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA week after some tracks purportedly from Lorde’s third album leaked onto the internet (although it seems very few people have actually heard them?), the singer posted a note on her website Monday, along with a rather attention-grabbing photograph of a derriere, possibly hers, from below.As last week’s rumors predicted, it seems the first single is called “Solar Power.” The remainder of the message says only, “Arriving in 2021… patience is a virtue,” nodding to the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorH.E.R. and Ingrid Andress will join the star-studded performer lineup for the 2021 CMT Awards while Anthony Mackie, Busy Philipps, Iliza Shlesinger and Michael Strahan have been added as presenters, the network announced Monday (June 7).The two artists will duet with previously announced performers: Fast-rising R&B star H.E.R.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWith 1989’s “Three Feet High and Rising,” the Long Island rap trio De La Soul created one of the truly groundbreaking albums in hip-hop history, bringing a happy, psychedelic, flower-bedecked vibe — dubbed “the D.A.I.S.Y. Age” — to a genre that had largely been musically and lyrically aggressive and/or self-aggrandizing up to that point.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorReservoir has acquired legendary independent Hip-Hop and Electronic record label Tommy Boy Music.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Chappell Production Music has opened the doors to two new recording facilities: SkyLight Studios in Los Angeles and Sandtrack Sound in Nashville.The WCPM team partnered with David Kotch of Criterion Acoustics to redesign SkyLight Studios, a former mastering lab located in Hollywood.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn recent years, as streaming has rapidly become the format of choice for much of the world — and the primary revenue source for recorded music — the value of copyrights has soared.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDef Jam Recordings has elevated promotion veteran Nicki Farag to Executive Vice President and General Manager.According to the announcement, in her new role, Farag will oversee the label’s day-to-day operations, working with artists, managers and staff to develop strategies and execute plans on behalf of the label’s diverse roster of global superstars and emerging talent.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhether or not you know Justin Tranter the person, if you’ve been near a radio in the past 10 years, you know Justin Tranter the songwriter, who’s had a hand in hits like Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean,” Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me,” Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” Halsey’s “Bad at Love” and dozens more.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne year ago today was  “Blackout Tuesday” — during which the music industry took a work pause to protest police violence against the black community and consider its social justice policies and efforts in the wake of the murders by police of George Floyd, Breona Taylor and so many others over the years.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYouTube paid out more than $4 billion in royalties to artists, songwriters, and rights-holders, according to a new blog post from the streaming giant’s global head of music Lyor Cohen.While the post was short on detail, Cohen did say that “YouTube has paid over $4 billion to the music industry in the last 12 months alone and has added more paid members in Q1 ’21 than in any other quarter since launch.” He also added that the money was derived from ads and premium

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNetflix has struck a new long-term exclusive agreement with BMG for the management and administration of its music publishing rights worldwide outside the U.S., the companies announced on Wednesday. The companies forged a similar deal in 2017.Under the arrangement, BMG will serve as Netflix’s exclusive music partner outside the U.S., handling rights and royalties for its original films and series.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSean “Diddy” Combs has teamed up with Salesforce to launch Shop Circulate, which the announcement describes as a curated digital marketplace that allows consumers to discover and buy products exclusively created and sold by Black entrepreneurs. The platform’s goal is to provide Black businesses with a platform to reach global audiences and empowers consumers to shop the world’s best Black-owned brands.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor364 days after “Blackout Tuesday” — during which the music industry took a pause to protest police violence against the black community and consider its social justice policies and efforts in the wake of George Floyd’s murder — Motown Records has named Jamila Thomas, a co-founder of #TheShowMustBePaused, as vice president of artist marketing.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Chappell Music has entered into a co-publishing agreement with rising hip-hop artist 42 Dugg, who is signed to both Yo Gotti’s CMG label and Lil Baby’s 4PF imprint as part of a joint venture.The announcement comes on the heels of the release of the Detroit native’s new project, “Free Dem Boyz,” and last year, he was featured on Lil Baby’s double-platinum single, “We Paid,” which he also performed with Baby on the BET Awards.