U.S Recorded Music Revenue Grew by 8% in 2023, Per RIAA Annual Report, but Layoffs and Slowing Growth Are Cause for Concern

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Will Smith made a surprise appearance onstage with J Balvin on Sunday night, dressed in his full “Men in Black” suit and sunglasses and performing the title track of the 1997 film. The appearance was brief but memorable, capping a UFO-themed set and concluding with Balvin being dragged off by black-suit-clad dancers as Smith pulled out a “Neuralyzer,” the famous memory-eraser device from the film.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Rico Wade, a member of the pioneering Atlanta-based production trio Organized Noize and a key early Outkast collaborator, has died, according to an Instagram post by his close friend Killer Mike and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. No cause of death was cited; he was 52. “I don’t have the words to express my deep and profound sense of loss,” Killer Mike wrote.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Keith LeBlanc, a drummer, producer and recording artist best known for his work on pioneering early hip-hop records by Grandmaster Flash and others, died Thursday after a battle with an undisclosed illness, his wife Fran LeBlanc confirms to Variety. Later in his career he worked extensively as a producer, session musician — including on Nine Inch Nails’ 1989 debut “Pretty Hate Machine” — and member of the bands Little Axe and Tackhead.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Considering the vast number of books published every year about David Bowie — or, for that matter, the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Prince — a new one had better have either fresh info or fresh insights. Thankfully, Suzi Ronson’s “Me and Mr.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Spotify, which increased the cost of its U.S. monthly subscriptions less than a year ago, plans to raise the price of its paid-subscription service in several overseas markets at by the end of this month, and in the U.S.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Lou Reed was indisputably one of the most provocative musicians the rock world has known, releasing songs about heroin abuse and sadomasochism on his very first album (“The Velvet Underground and Nico”), utilizing piercing guitar feedback on many of his songs, and scoring a global hit single in 1973 that referenced oral sex (“Walk on the Wild Side”). But arguably his single most provocative musical move was “Metal Machine Music,” a double-LP filled with nothing but deafening guitar feedback and effects that was released in 1975, at the peak of his commercial success.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, Kacey Musgraves, Camila Cabello and more than 200 other artists have joined with the Artist Rights Alliance non-profit – an artist-led education and advocacy organization – to issue an open letter supported by more than 200 artists calling on “AI developers, technology companies, platforms, and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.” A full list of signatories appears below. While AI-related threats such as deepfakes and voice cloning continue to attract significant (and legal) scrutiny, the letter also highlights two related trends: the use of musical works by AI developers without permission to train and produce AI “copycats,” and the use of AI “sound” to dilute royalty obligations.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music With hits like Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Kelis’ “Milkshake,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” and dozens of others, Pharrell Williams and longtime collaborator Chad Hugo rode to multiplatinum success as the songwriting/production duo the Neptunes. While Pharrell has become a superstar in his own right over the last two decades, with solo hits like “Happy” and “Freedom,” Hugo has kept a comparatively low profile – but the pair are now in a legal dispute over the group’s name.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Being asked to collaborate on a Beyonce album is the equivalent of knighthood, and the morning after “Cowboy Carter” dropped to near-universal hosannahs, featured artists Miley Cyrus and Post Malone shared their gratitude at the rare honor. Cyrus, who duets with Beyonce on the song “II Most Wanted,” wrote on social media: “I’ve loved Beyonce since long before I had the opportunity to meet & work with her. “My admiration runs so much deeper now that I’ve created along side of her.

As its public dispute with TikTok continues, Universal Music Group has set an expanded strategic relationship with Spotify.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Universal Music Group and Spotify — the world’s largest music company and the world’s largest paid music-subscription service — have unveiled an expansion of their “strategic relationship” in an announcement that has very few details but is likely the opening of a new maneuver in UMG’s ongoing battle with TikTok. UMG and the China-based platform, which has been the leading source of music discovery for the past five years, have been in a standoff over multiple issues, primarily the platform’s low royalty payments and AI policies, since their licensing agreement expired earlier this year.

HYBE, home to K-pop juggernauts BTS, have inked a new 10-year “global alliance” with Universal Music Group (UMG).HYBE – also home to other K-pop groups such as SEVENTEEN, NewJeans and more – announced an expanded agreement with UMG. The new deal will give UMG “exclusive distribution rights” to HYBE releases for the next 10 years, while HYBE’s roster of artists will have access to the former’s “global network”.The new agreement will also see UMG further working with HYBE’s fan platform Weverse, in order to “[bring] more of a direct connection between UMG artists and their fandom[s]”.

K-pop music purveyors HYBE today announced an expanded long-term agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG), providing them exclusive distribution rights across HYBE music for the next 10 years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe, the Korean firm behind K-pop’s BTS, has struck an expanded 10-year deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), providing Hybe’s roster of artists and labels access to UMG’s leading global network. UMG will further collaborate with Hybe’s global superfan platform Weverse, bringing more of a direct connection between UMG artists and their fandom. Hybe and UMG will additionally collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America under the oversight of Scooter Braun – who, in his time as CEO of Hybe America, acquired QC Media Holdings and incorporated SB Projects as well as Big Machine Label Group into the existing roster. Hybe and UMG first teamed up in 2017 on BTS, through a distribution agreement in Japan. In 2021, the companies expanded their relationship with a global strategic agreement which saw collaborations across multiple projects and use of Weverse for fan communication.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music R&B ace Maxwell has announced “The Serenade 2024” North American Tour, which will see him joined by two special guests: two-time Grammy winner Jazmine Sullivan and rising singer-songwriter October London. Full dates appear below.

Mark Sutherland The IFPI Global Music Report has long been viewed as the definitive snapshot of the international music industry’s health (or otherwise). After all, the global recorded music industry trade body’s report has chronicled both the industry’s long, painful period of physical decline and celebrated its streaming-led return to growth.But the publication of its 2024 report — launched Thursday at a press conference in London — felt like one of those years when the numbers are slightly lagging behind the real story of what’s happening in the industry.The statistics, certainly, paint an almost across-the-board picture of a business in good health.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music If there’s a top jack-of-all-trades in the music industry, there’s a good chance it’s Ryan Tedder. He’s a hugely successful recording artist (as leader of OneRepublic), one of the top songwriter-producers of the past 15 years (Beyoncé’s “Halo,” U2, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Ariana Grande and many more) and is also a more savvy music publisher than many full-time music publishers.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Spotify has provided further details on the record $9 billion it paid out to the music industry in 2023, which was first announced in January. For context, the company stated that the “amount has nearly tripled over the past six years, and represents a big part of the $48 billion-plus Spotify has paid since its founding.” Last March, the company said it pays out nearly 70% of every dollar it generates from music back to the industry, generating its music revenue from two sources: subscription fees from its Premium platform paying subscribers, and fees from advertisings on music on its Free tier.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Jeff Lynne’s ELO hae announce their final tour, dubbed “The Over and Out Tour.” The 27-date excursion, produced by Live Nation, will kick off in Palm Desert, CA on August 24 and travel across North America before concluding in Los Angeles on October 25. Artist Presale will begin on Wednesday, March 20 at 10am local time and the general onsale will start on Friday, March 22 @ 10am local time. Exclusive VIP experiences will be available March 20th at 10am local.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Despite and also because of its puzzling inside-joke name, Trouser Press was one of the greatest music magazines in history. It existed for just a decade — from 1974 through 1984 — but in the process, it nurtured the careers of thousands of musicians and exponentially more fans, future musicians, writers, music executives and others.