Billboard - April 3, 2021 USA

VISIT…
CONGRATULATIONS GRAMMY®Album of the Year
Taylor Swift folklore
Aaron Dessner Jack Antonoff

SAMI DR A SIN
Hot 100 ®
THE WEEK’S MOST POPULAR CURRENT SONGS ACROSS ALL GENRES, RANKED BY RADIO AIRPLAY AUDIENCE IMPRESSIONS AS MEASURED BY MRC DATA, SALES DATA AS COMPILED BY MRC DATA AND STREAMING ACTIVITY DATA BY ONLINE MUSIC SOURCES TRACKED BY MRC DATA. SONGS ARE DEFINED AS CURRENT
IF THEY ARE NEWLY RELEASED TITLES, OR SONGS RECEIVING WIDESPREAD AIRPLAY AND/OR SALES ACTIVITY FOR THE FIRST TIME. SEE CHARTS LEGEND ON BILLBOARD.COM FOR COMPLETE RULES AND EXPLANATIONS. © 2021 BILLBOARD MEDIA LLC AND MRC DATA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Feeling Peachy: Bieber

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CHART
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2 WKS.
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PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT/PROMOTION LABEL
Makes History Atop Hot 100 HOT SHOT

DEBUT 1 #1 PEACHES Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon
HARV,SHNDO (J.D.BIEBER,A.WOTMAN,G.D.EVANS,B.HARVEY,
1 WK RAYMOND
L.M.MARTINEZ JR.,L.B.BELL,F.KING,M.S.LEON,K.YAZDANI,A.SIMMONS) BRAUN/DEF JAM
1 1
UP
And Billboard 200 2 YUNG DZA, DJ SWANQO, SEAN ISLAND (CARDI B,
J.K.LANIER THORPE, J.D.STEED, E.SELMANI, M.ALLEN, J.BAKER)
Cardi B
ATLANTIC
1 7
J
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak)
USTIN BIEBER BECOMES THE FIRST SOLO MALE TO DEBUT AT 3 AIR BRUNO MARS, D’MILE (BRUNO MARS,
B.ANDERSON, D.EMILE II, C.B.BROWN)
AFTERMATH/
ATLANTIC
2 3
No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 simultaneously as
“Peaches” (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon) launches atop the Hot 100 4 DRIVERS LICENSE 2 Olivia Rodrigo 1 11
D.NIGRO (O.RODRIGO, D.NIGRO) GEFFEN/INTERSCOPE
and parent album Justice enters at the Billboard 200 peak (see page 6).
Bieber joins only BTS and Taylor Swift in having concurrently debuted 5
SAVE YOUR TEARS The Weeknd
4 15
MAX MARTIN, O.T.HOLTER, THE WEEKND (A.TESFAYE, XO/REPUBLIC
A.BALSHE, J.QUENNEVILLE, MAX MARTIN, O.T.HOLTER)
at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and Billboard 200, an honor Swift has achieved twice. She
became the first artist to pull off the feat when “Cardigan” and folklore began atop 6
BLINDING LIGHTS 7 The Weeknd
1 68
MAX MARTIN, O.T.HOLTER, THE WEEKND (A.TESFAYE,
XO/REPUBLIC
A.BALSHE, J.QUENNEVILLE, MAX MARTIN, O.T.HOLTER)
the respective charts dated Aug. 8, 2020. BTS joined the elite club when “Life Goes
On” and Be soared in at the top of the tallies dated Dec. 5, and Swift repeated the feat
7
LEVITATING Dua Lipa Feat. DaBaby
5 25
KOZ, S.D.PRICE (C.COFFEE JR., S.KOZMENIUK,
WARNER
with “Willow” and evermore on the charts dated Dec. 26. S.T.HUDSON, D.LIPA, J.L.KIRK, M.A.ELLIOTT, M.CICCONE)
“Peaches” — Bieber’s seventh Hot 100 No. 1 — arrives with 30.6 million U.S. WHAT’S NEXT Drake
streams, 12.1 million radio airplay audience impressions and 16,000 downloads sold, 8 1 3
SUPAH MARIO (A.GRAHAM, J.D.PRIESTER, M.BIDAYE) OVO SOUND/REPUBLIC
according to MRC Data.

9
WHAT YOU KNOW BOUT LOVE 2 Pop Smoke
9 29
Caesar and Giveon, meanwhile, rule the Hot 100 for the first time. Each artist has IAMTASH (B.B.JACKSON,
T.ZENE, T.OLIVER, E.LUMPKIN)
VICTOR VICTOR
WORLDWIDE/REPUBLIC
earned a Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums top 10: Caesar with Case Study 01 in 2019 and
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
MOOD
COMPILED BY
3 24kGoldn Feat. iann dior

Giveon with When It’s All Said and Done... Take Time a week before “Peaches” topped 10 O.FEDI, B.SLATKIN, KBEAZY RECORDS/ 1 33
(G.L.VON JONES, O.FEDI, B.SLATKTIN, K.BACH, M.I.OLMO) COLUMBIA
the Hot 100. — G A RY T R U S T
G O TO B I L L B OA R D.C O M F O R C O M P L E T E C H A R T DATA 1
DATA FOR WEE K OF 0 4.0 3.2 02 1
TITLE CERTIFICATION
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LER AY: BRIAN ZIFF. WEEKND: PARI DUKOVIC.

Artist
CHART
2 WKS.
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WEEK
PEAK
LAST
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POS.
30
AGO
POSITIONS Ariana Grande

1 22
LONDON ON DA TRACK,TBHITS,MR.FRANKS (A.GRANDE,T.L.BROWN,
REPUBLIC
N.A.A.CHARLES,A.BARRETT,S.FRANKS,B.V.BATES,L.T.HOLMES,J.JARVIS)
YOU BROKE ME FIRST. Tate McRae 17 31

C O I L E R AY B.HARNAGE (T.MCRAE, B.HARNAGE, V.ZARO) RCA
F E AT. L I L D U R K BEAT BOX SpotemGottem Feat. Pooh Shiesty Or DaBaby 15 10

DAMN E (N.HARDEN, SPOTEMGOTTEM/REBEL RECORDS/
“No More Parties” E.JOSEPH, L.WILLIAMS, J.L.KIRK) GEFFEN/INTERSCOPE
BEST FRIEND Saweetie Feat. Doja Cat

21 11
DR. LUKE, ROCCO DID IT AGAIN! (D.HARPER, A.Z.DLAMINI, ICY/WARNER
T.THOMAS, R.VALDES, L.S.GOTTWALD, KAINE, A.T.R.SMITH)
ON ME Lil Baby
23 16
CHI CHI, EVRGRN QUALITY CONTROL/
(D.A.JONES, C.OSONDU, A, M.NURANI) WOLFPACK GLOBAL/MOTOWN/CAPITOL
DYNAMITE BTS
SAL
2
D.STEWART BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT/ 1 31
(D. STEWART, J.AGOMBAR) COLUMBIA
STREETS Doja Cat

16 11
BLAQ TUXEDO (A.Z.DLAMINI, D.LOGAN, D.LOGAN, KEMOSABE/
L.ASRAT, D.SPRECHER, T.O.FEEMSTER, C.JEFFRIES, D.SHEKI) RCA
DAKITI Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez

5 21
TAINY, MORA (G.M.QUINTERO, M.E.MASIS FERNANDEZ,
B.A.MARTINEZ OCASIO, J.M.NIEVES CORTEZ, N.YERA LANER, E.E.ROSA CINTRON) RIMAS
THE WEEK’S MOST POPULAR CURRENT SONGS ACROSS ALL GENRES, RANKED BY RADIO AIRPLAY AUDIENCE IMPRESSIONS AS MEASURED BY MRC DATA, SALES DATA AS COMPILED BY MRC DATA AND STREAMING ACTIVITY DATA BY ONLINE MUSIC SOURCES TRACKED BY MRC DATA. SONGS ARE DEFINED A S CURRENT
HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY Giveon
29 6
S.THOMAS, M.BIDAYE NOT SO FAST/EPIC
(G.D.EVANS, V.WADE, S.THOMAS, M.BIDAYE)
NO MORE PARTIES
IF THEY ARE NEWLY RELEASED TITLES, OR SONGS RECEIVING WIDESPREAD AIRPLAY AND/OR SALES ACTIVITY FOR THE FIRST TIME. SEE CHARTS LEGEND ON BILLBOARD.COM FOR COMPLETE RULES AND EXPLANATIONS. © 2021 BILLBOARD MEDIA LLC AND MRC DATA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Coi Leray Feat. Lil Durk
MAALY RAW, OKAYKHAN REPUBLIC
26 7
(C.L.COLLINS, T.H.KOO, J.J.T.HENRY, D.D.BANKS)
The 23-year-old Boston native’s

MY EX’S BEST FRIEND Machine Gun Kelly X blackbear 21 32
T.L.BARKER (R.C.BAKER, EST19XX/BAD BOY/
T.L.BARKER, N.A.LONG, M.T.MUSTO) INTERSCOPE
first Hot 100 entry also holds at
No. 12 on Hot Rap Songs.
STREET RUNNER Rod Wave
32 2
TNTXD, LONDON BLUE, KARLTIN BANKZ ALAMO
(R.GREEN, T.HORTON, S.REYNOLDS, L.PAYNE, R.BERHE)
What was the inspiration You’re the latest female rap- What do you want your FOR THE NIGHT 4 Pop Smoke Feat. Lil Baby & DaBaby
6 38
CASHMONEYAP,PALAZE (B.B.JACKSON,A.PETIT, VICTOR VICTOR
behind “No More Parties”? per to climb the Hot 100. With impact to be as an artist? D.A.JONES,C.B.MARCUSSEN,M.G.DEAN,J.L.KIRK,J.JACKSON,C.B.LEUTWYLER) WORLDWIDE/REPUBLIC
I got invited to one of my indus- whom do you want to work? To prove that as long as you stay GOOD DAYS SZA
9 13
C.LANG, NASCENT, LOSHENDRIX TOP DAWG/
try friends’ parties. I didn’t want Megan Thee Stallion is so suc- true to yourself, you’ll have your (C.RUELAS, S.I.ROWE, C.LANG, C.D.MUNOZ, J.COLLIER) RCA
to go because I didn’t have a gift, cessful and one of the smartest way. People need to start loving
and I can’t pull up with flowers female artists because since day and accepting themselves; they’ll
WHAT’S YOUR COUNTRY SONG Thomas Rhett
29 14
D.HUFF, J.FRASURE (THOMAS RHETT, VALORY
R.AKINS, J.FRASURE, A.GORLEY, P.WELLING)
or a card because it’s going to one she has always supported see how far it takes them. It got
make me look broke. I don’t other females. Chloe x Halle — I my ass on Billboard, and it’s go- WITHOUT YOU The Kid LAROI 34 16
O.FEDI, B.SLATKIN (C.K.J.HOWARD, B.WALSH, O.FEDI, B.SLATKTIN) COLUMBIA
want to go to parties if I can’t be feel like they’re the new genera- ing to get me on top of the world.
genuine. Do not invite me to a tion. Nicki Minaj! Even if she says I want my fans to learn through THE GOOD ONES Gabby Barrett
32 13
R.COPPERMAN, Z.KALE WARNER MUSIC
birthday unless it says, “Gifts not a sentence; I don’t even need her me; I’m going to make mistakes. (G.BARRETT, E.LANDIS, J.MCCORMICK, Z.KALE) NASHVILLE/WAR
mandatory.” I’m a people person, to rap. I just need a little game As long as my fans understand
WHOOPTY CJ
10 20
so I don’t mind parties, but it’s on the beginning of the track, that, they’re going to rock out PXCOYO (C.D.SORIANO, CJ MUSIC GROUP/
C.ANTONIOU, MITHOON) T-SERIES/WARNER
about being comfortable. and I’ll take that. I love Nicki. with me. —N E E N A R O U H A N I
PUT YOUR RECORDS ON Ritt Momney
30 23
J.RUTTER (C.B.RAE, QUARTERZIP/
J.BECK, S.CHRISANTHOU) DISRUPTOR/COLUMBIA
TITLE CERTIFICATION BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES Maroon 5 Feat. Megan Thee Stallion

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2 WKS.
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A.M.GOLDSTEIN,BLACKBEAR (A.N.LEVINE, 222/

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PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT/PROMOTION LABEL M.T.MUSTO,A.M.GOLDSTEIN,J.KIRKLAND,J.K.HINDLIN,M.J.PETE) INTERSCOPE
34+35 Ariana Grande

2 21 STARTING OVER Chris Stapleton 25 30
TBHITS,P.L.JOHNSON,XAVI,MR.FRANKS (A.GRANDE,T.L.BROWN,S.NICHOLSON,
V.M.MCCANTS,T.M.PARKS,C.X.HERRERA,P.L.JOHNSON,S.FRANKS,A.STANAJ,A.Z.DLAMINI,M.J.PETE) REPUBLIC D.COBB, C.STAPLETON (C.STAPLETON, M.HENDERSON) MERCURY NASHVILLE
GO CRAZY 2 Chris Brown & Young Thug

3 46
HEADSHOT Lil Tjay, Polo G & Fivio Foreign
S.AZNOU,D.AZNOU,J.KELVIN,K.CAASTANEDA,MURPHY KID (C.M.BROWN,J.L.WILLIAMS,S.AZNOU,D.AZNOU,J.KLEVIN,K. TNTXD,TAJH MONEY,DMAC,BORDEAUX,NON NATIVE,101SLIDE (LIL TJAY,T.T.BARTLETT, 42 1
CASTANEDA,C.D.MURPHY,T.SAMUELS,T.SIMS,S.BENJELLOUN,W.SAAMUELS,O.AKINLOLU,Z.KHARBOCH,P.PIGLIAPOCO,O.H) 300/CBE/RCA FIVIO FOREIGN,T.HORTON,T.J.VAUGHN,D.H.MCDOWELL,L.CAMPOZANO,B.WALSH) COLUMBIA
BACK IN BLOOD Pooh Shiesty Feat. Lil Durk 13 12 AS I AM Justin Bieber Feat. Khalid
43 1
THE MONSTERS & STRANGERZ,GERMAN,J.GUDWIN,IDOVSTHEWORLD (J.D.BIEBER,G.HEIN, RAYMOND
YC (L.WILLIAMS, C.PEARSON, D.D.BANKS) 1017 GLOBAL/ATLANTIC I.ZMISHLANY,SCOTT HARRIS,J.GUDWIN,J.K.JOHNSON,S.JOHNSON,O.PETERHOF,K.D.ROBINSON) BRAUN/DEF JAM
6 CALLING MY PHONE
G. RY, BORDEAUX, NON NATIVE (LIL TJAY,
R.V.VALENTINE JR., R.A.MARTINEZ, L.CAMPOZANO, B.WALSH)
Lil Tjay Feat. 6LACK
COLUMBIA
3 6
TELEPATIA
TAINY, M.LARA, ALBERT HYPE (K.LOAIZA, CHRIS CHIL, EMI/
S.M.PRIMERA MUSSETT, M.LARA, A.C.MELENDEZ, M.E.MASIS FERNANDEZ) INTERSCOPE
Kali Uchis
39 5
THE WEEKND
“Blinding Lights” THEREFORE I AM Billie Eilish 2 20
CRY BABY Megan Thee Stallion Feat. DaBaby
28 16
D.A. GOT THAT DOPE (M.J.PETE, 1501
FINNEAS (B.E.O’CONNELL, F.B.O’CONNELL) DARKROOM/INTERSCOPE D.A. GOT THAT DOPE, D.LEVIN, K.SMITH, J.L.KIRK) CERTIFIED/300
The smash ties for the ANYONE

THE MONSTERS & STRANGERZ,ANDREW WATT,J.BELLION
Justin Bieber
RAYMOND 6 12 JUST THE WAY Parmalee x Blanco Brown 31 13
fifth-longest stay in (J.D.BIEBER,J.D.BELLION,M.R.POLLACK,J.K.JOHNSON,S.JOHNSON,A.WOTMAN,A.IZQUIERDO,R.CUBINA) BRAUN/DEF JAM D.FANNING (M.THOMAS, K.BARD, N.W.SIPE) STONEY CREEK
Hot 100 history: 68
ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN Masked Wolf 17 6 BETTER TOGETHER Luke Combs
15 25
weeks. It also matches S.MOFFATT (L.COMBS, RIVER HOUSE/
T.HAPI (H.MICHAEL, T.HAPI) TEAMWRK/ELEKTRA/EMG D.ISBELL, R.MONTANA) COLUMBIA NASHVILLE
LMFAO’s “Party Rock
YOU’RE MINES STILL Yung Bleu Feat. Drake
18 16
MY HEAD AND MY HEART Ava Max
Anthem” (featuring Lau- N.RHOADS (A.GRAHAM, VANDROSS/OVO SOUND/ CIRKUT, EARWULF (A.A.KOCI, H.R.WALTER, MAX CUT/ARTIST PARTNER 45 7
N.W.RHOADS, J.BIDDLE) EMPIRE/WARNER T.ERRIKSON, M.E.LOVE, T.SCOLA, A.E.POTEKHIN, S.ZHUKOV) GROUP/ATLANTIC
ren Bennett and Goon-
WANTS AND NEEDS Drake Feat. Lil Baby
2 3
GOOD TIME Niko Moon
Rock) for the longest CARDO ON THE BEAT, DEZ WASHINGTON, 40 OVO SOUND/ N.MOON, J.MURTY (N.MOON, RCA NASHVILLE
20 25
(A.GRAHAM, D.A.JONES, R.LATOUR, D.CLEARY-KRELL, N.J.SHEBIB) REPUBLIC J.MINTON, A.MOON, J.MURTY, M.TRUSSELL)
run among No. 1 hits.
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
HOLD ON Justin Bieber WILLOW

COMPILED BY
STM ANDREW WATT, L.BELL (J.D.BIEBER, A.WOTMAN,

A.TAMPOSI, J.D.BELLION, L.B.BELL, L.BONFA, W.DE BACKER)
RAYMOND
BRAUN/DEF JAM
20 3
A.DESSNER (T.SWIFT, A.DESSNER)
Taylor Swift
REPUBLIC
1 15
2 G O TO B I L L B OA R D.C O M F O R C O M P L E T E C H A R T DATA
DATA FOR WEE K OF 0 4.0 3.2 02 1
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YOUNG: ERIK A GOLDRING/GE T T Y IMAGES.

SONIC: COURTESY OF WARNER MUSIC GROUP. BTS: NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK /GE T T Y IMAGES.
Artist
CHART
2 WKS.
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PEAK
LAST
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SILK SONIC
WE’RE GOOD
SLY (D.LIPA, S.W.SIVERSTEN, E.W.SCHWARTZ, SCOTT HARRIS)
LADY
D.HUFF (B.YOUNG, R.COPPERMAN, J.M.NITE)
Dua Lipa 49 6
WARNER
Brett Young 52 11
BMLG
3 (ANDERSON .PAAK
& BRUNO MARS)
“Leave the Door Open”
TRACK STAR Mooski 53 5 The collaboration surges to the top 10

WOODPECKER (D.HINTON, L.DE JONG) WEALTHY 4 LIFE/CAPITOL
of the Radio Songs chart (12-8), up 26%
LONG LIVE Florida Georgia Line
48 12
to 48.5 million in audience, according
C.CROWDER, T.HUBBARD, B.KELLEY
BMLG
(T.HUBBARD, B.KELLEY, C.CROWDER, D.A.GARCIA, J.MILLER) to MRC Data. The track is Mars’ 17th
Radio Songs top 10 and Anderson
TIME TODAY Moneybagg Yo 37 7
REAL RED, YC (D.D.WHITE, JR., C.PEARSON, J.D.NELSON) N-LESS/INTERSCOPE .Paak’s first. It reaches the top 10 in just
its third week on the chart, marking
LEMON PEPPER FREESTYLE Drake Feat. Rick Ross 3 3 the quickest rise to the region in over
BOI-1DA, AP (A.GRAHAM, W.L.ROBERTS II, OVO SOUND/REPUBLIC
M.J.SAMUELS, R.HANNIBAL, C.MAJA)
a year, since Justin Bieber’s “Yummy”
HEAT WAVES Glass Animals 56 10 needed only two frames in January
D.BAYLEY (D.BAYLEY) WOLF TONE/POLYDOR/REPUBLIC
2020. Mars matches his fastest flight
DAMAGE H.E.R.
44 15
to the top 10, previously achieved with
CARDIAK, JEFF GITTY (H.E.R., C.E.MCCORMICK,
A.CLEMONS JR., T.THOMAS, T.S.LEWIS, J.S.HARRIS III) MBK/RCA “24K Magic” in 2016 and “Finesse”
(with Cardi B) in 2018.
THE WEEK’S MOST POPULAR CURRENT SONGS ACROSS ALL GENRES, RANKED BY RADIO AIRPLAY AUDIENCE IMPRESSIONS AS MEASURED BY MRC DATA, SALES DATA AS COMPILED BY MRC DATA AND STREAMING ACTIVITY DATA BY ONLINE MUSIC SOURCES TRACKED BY MRC DATA. SONGS ARE DEFINED A S CURRENT
— G .T.
GOOSEBUMPS Travis Scott & HVME
56 10
HVME (B.KORSAN, D.JACKSON, TRAVIS SCOTT, LITHUANIA HQ/B1/
K.L.DUCKWORTH, K.GOMRINGER, R.LATOUR, T.GOMRINGER) CACTUS JACK/EPIC
DOWN TO ONE
IF THEY ARE NEWLY RELEASED TITLES, OR SONGS RECEIVING WIDESPREAD AIRPLAY AND/OR SALES ACTIVIT Y FOR THE FIRST TIME. SEE CHARTS LEGEND ON BILLBOARD.COM FOR COMPLETE RULES AND EXPLANATIONS. © 2021 BILLBOARD MEDIA LLC AND MRC DATA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TITLE CERTIFICATION
WKS. ON
Luke Bryan 36 13 Artist
CHART
2 WKS.
WEEK
WEEK
PEAK
LAST
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POS.
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J.STEVENS, J.STEVENS (K.FISHMAN, D.DAVIDSON, J.EBACH) CAPITOL NASHVILLE PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT/PROMOTION LABEL
FOREVER AFTER ALL Luke Combs

2 22
DIE FOR YOU Justin Bieber Feat. Dominic Fike 81 1
CHIP MATTHEWS, J.D.SINGLETON, RIVER HOUSE/ ANDREW WATT, L.BELL (J.D.BIEBER,
RAYMOND BRAUN/
L.COMBS (L.COMBS, D.PARKER, R.WILLIFORD) COLUMBIA NASHVILLE A.WOTMAN, A.TAMPOSI, J.D.BELLION, L.B.BELL, D.D.FIKE) DEF JAM
UNSTABLE Justin Bieber Feat. The Kid LAROI

62 1
TOMBSTONE Rod Wave
82 1
J.GUTCH (J.D.BIEBER, J.GUTCH, G.HEIN, RAYMOND PLUTOBRAZY, SAUCII (R.GREEN,
R.YACOUB, DELACEY, J.GUDWIN, C.K.J.HOWARD, B.WALSH) BRAUN/DEF JAM E.FOLEY JR., J.HOWARD, J.HULLUM) ALAMO
MOMMA’S HOUSE Dustin Lynch 62 11 PICK UP YOUR FEELINGS Jazmine Sullivan 75 9

DZL (J.SULLIVAN, M.HOLMES,
RCA
26
Z.CROWELL (D.SCHNEIDER, M.LOTTEN, R.CLAWSON, J.T.WILSON) BROKEN BOW B.C.CONEY, D.ANDREWS, K.C.COLEMAN, A.M.BUTTS)
OFF MY FACE Justin Bieber

64 1
LOVE YOU DIFFERENT Justin Bieber Feat. BEAM
84 1
DREAMLAB, J.TORREY (J.D.BIEBER, RAYMOND BRAUN/ THE MONSTERS & STRANGERZ,GERMAN,J.GUDWIN (J.D.BIEBER, RAYMOND BRAUN/ BTS
J.TORREY, T.SCOLA, D.JAMES, L.HAYWOOD) DEF JAM A.IZQUIERDO,O.PETERHOF,M.LOMAX,W.PHILLIPS,T.THOMPSON,J.DOUGLAS) DEF JAM
“Dynamite”
HELL OF A VIEW Eric Church 63 11 GLAD YOU EXIST Dan + Shay
63 7
D.SMYERS (D.SMYERS, WARNER MUSIC
J.JOYCE (E.CHURCH, C.BEATHARD, M.CRISWELL) EMI NASHVILLE J.REYNOLDS, T.M.PARKS, S.MOONEY, R.L.TAYLOR) NASHVILLE/WAR
Topping Digital Song
GHOST Justin Bieber
66 1 ALMOST MAYBES Jordan Davis 73 9 Sales for a record-tying
THE MONSTERS & STRANGERZ, J.BELLION (J.D.BIEBER, RAYMOND BRAUN/
J.D.BELLION, J.K.JOHNSON, S.JOHNSON, M.R.POLLACK) DEF JAM P.DIGIOVANNI (J.DAVIS, J.FRASURE, H.LINDSEY) MCA NASHVILLE
17th week, the track
SOMEBODY LIKE THAT Tenille Arts 67 10 LOVED BY YOU Justin Bieber Feat. Burna Boy 87 1 (which has sold 1.5 mil-
SKRILLEX,J.EVIGAN (J.D.BIEBER,S.J.MOORE,
RAYMOND BRAUN/
A.KLINE (T.ARTS, A.KLINE, A.M.CRUZ) 19TH & GRAND J.D.BELLION,J.G.EVIGAN,A.R.ALLEN,D.EBUNOLUWA OGULU) DEF JAM lion downloads) equals
2 MUCH Justin Bieber
68 1
YOU GOT IT VEDO
75 13
the reign of Luis Fonsi
SKRILLEX (J.D.BIEBER, G.HEIN, F.WEXLER, RAYMOND BRAUN/ PAUL CABBIN, TARIQ BEATS NEW WAV/
G.M.STONE, A.IZQUIERDO, S.J.MOORE, M.L. KING, JR., V.BRUNN) DEF JAM (W.MCCOY III, P.CABBIN, A.CRAPPS) ISLAND PROLIFIC/EMPIRE and Daddy Yankee’s
REAL AS IT GETS Lil Baby Feat. EST Gee
34 3
GIRL LIKE ME Black Eyed Peas X Shakira
67 11
“Despacito” (featuring
ATL JACOB, DY KRAZY QUALITY CONTROL/ WILL.I.AM, SHAKIRA, J.GOLDSTEIN (W.ADAMS, A.PINEDA, J.GOMEZ,
(D.A.JONES, D.L.J.AVERY, J.CANADY) MOTOWN/CAPITOL Y.GOLDSTEIN, SHAKIRA, B.BUCKLEY, A.MENDEZ, T.MITCHELL)
BEP/EPIC Justin Bieber) in 2017.
MONSTERS All Time Low Feat. Demi Lovato & blackbear 55 13 ONE TOO MANY Keith Urban Duet With P!nk 62 15
A.GASKARTH, Z.CERVINI, A.M.GOLDSTEIN (A.GASKARTH, FUELED BY K.URBAN, PHD, CUTFATHER (D.H.DAVIDSEN,
HIT RED/
J.BARAKAT, A.M.GOLDSTEIN, K.R.FISHER, M.T.MUSTO, D.LOVATO) RAMEN/EMG P.WALLEVIK, M.H.HANSEN, J.NORTON, C.TIGHE) CAPITOL NASHVILLE
BODY Megan Thee Stallion 12 18 SOMEBODY Justin Bieber

91 1
SKRILLEX, ILYA, HARV (J.D.BIEBER, S.J.MOORE, B.HARVEY, RAYMOND BRAUN/
LIL JU (M.J.PETE, J.M.MASON, C.PETREL) 1501 CERTIFIED/300 R.YACOUB, I.SALMANZADEH, R.B.TEDDER, G.HEIN, J.GUDWIN) DEF JAM
BUSS IT Erica Banks

47 11
HELLO Pop Smoke Feat. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
84 5
SGT J (C.BROWN, P.L.WILLIAMS, 1501 CERTIFIED/ RICO BEATS, CASHMONEYAP (B.B.JACKSON, VICTOR VICTOR
J.BLACKWELL, E.BANKS, C.HAYNES, JR.) WARNER A.PETIT, R.LAMARRE, J.AVALOS, J.DUBOSE) WORLDWIDE/REPUBLIC
LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE Bad Bunny & Rosalia

53 9 NOBODY Dylan Scott 85 4
CHRIS JEDAY,GABY MUSIC,J.E.ORTIZ RIVERA (B.A.MARTINEZ OCASIO,
C.E.ORTIZ RIVERA,J.G.RIVERA VAZQUEZ,J.E.ORTIZ RIVERA,R.VILA TOBELLA) RIMAS M.ALDERMAN, C.GIBBS, J.E.NORMAN (D.SCOTT, M.ALDERMAN, D.WILSON) CURB
MASTERPIECE FAMOUS FRIENDS Chris Young + Kane Brown 94 1

D.A. GOT THAT DOPE
(D.A. GOT THAT DOPE, J.B.THOMAS, C.TORPEY, J.L.KIRK)
DaBaby
SOUTHCOAST/
INTERSCOPE
55 9
C.YOUNG, C.CROWDER (C.YOUNG, C.R.BARLOWE, C.CROWDER) RCA NASHVILLE 52
THE BUSINESS Tiesto
69 5 SETTLING DOWN Miranda Lambert 90 2
B R E T T YO U N G
TIESTO, HIGHTOWER MUSICAL FREEDOM/
(T.M.VERWEST, J.KARLSSON, A.RUNDBERG, J.BELL) ATLANTIC J.JOYCE (M.LAMBERT, L.DICK, N. HEMBY) VANNER/RCA NASHVILLE “Lady”
DESERVE YOU Justin Bieber

76 1 SAND IN MY BOOTS Morgan Wallen 32 11
ANDREW WATT, L.BELL (J.D.BIEBER, A.WOTMAN, RAYMOND BRAUN/
J.MOI (A.GORLEY, M.W.HARDY, J.OSBORNE) REPUBLIC/BIG LOUD
The song becomes
A.TAMPOSI, J.D.BELLION, L.B.BELL, M.R.POLLACK) DEF JAM
Young’s sixth Country
WASTED ON YOU Morgan Wallen
9 11 NEIGHBORS Pooh Shiesty Feat. BIG30 51 7 Airplay No. 1. Written
J.MOI, J.DURRETT (M.WALLEN, E.K.SMITH, REPUBLIC/BIG LOUD
J.THOMPSON, CHARLIE HANDSOME) CMO (L.WILLIAMS, C.MORRIS, R.WHITE) 1017 GLOBAL/ATLANTIC
for his wife and first
MADE FOR YOU Jake Owen 77 5
BANDIDO Myke Towers & Juhn
82 7 daughter, the expectant
SANTANA THE GOLDEN BOY (J.HERNANDEZ QUILES, M.TORRES WHITE WORLD/
J.MOI (B.DAVIS, J.HYDE, N.A.MEDLEY) BIG LOUD MONGE, J.M.REYES DIAZ, O.CEPEDA MATOS, S.RAMIREZ LOPEZ) GLAD EMPIRE
second-time parent
BREAKING UP WAS EASY IN THE 90’S Sam Hunt 76 4 DRANKIN N SMOKIN Future & Lil Uzi Vert
31 10 says of the song: “I feel
Z.CROWELL (S.L.HUNT, C.LA CORTE, DY KRAZY, HAGAN (N.D.WILBURN, FREEBANDZ/GENERATION
MCA NASHVILLE
Z.CROWELL, E.K.SMITH, J.OSBORNE) S.WOODS, D.L.J.AVERY, H.LANGE) NOW/EPIC/ATLANTIC
incredibly blessed as
SALES, AIRPLAY &
STREAMING DATA
QUICKSAND BEERS AND SUNSHINE Darius Rucker 42 15 we await our next little
COMPILED BY
Morray 74 7 R.COPPERMAN (D.RUCKER,

MORRAY, ANT CHAMBERLAIN (M.RUFFIN, A.J.PHILLIPS) PICK SIX CAPITOL NASHVILLE
R.COPPERMAN, J.T.HARDING, J.OSBORNE) lady this year.”
4 G O TO B I L L B OA R D.C O M F O R C O M P L E T E C H A R T DATA
BILLBOARD 200 LAST
WEEK
HOT
SHOT
DEBUT
THIS
WEEK
1
ARTIST CERTIFICATION
IMPRINT/DISTRIBUTING LABEL
#1
1 WK
JUSTIN BIEBER
RAYMOND BRAUN/DEF JAM
LANA DEL REY Chemtrails Over The Country Club

Title
Justice
PEAK
POS.
1
WKS. ON
CHART
1
LAST
WEEK
THIS
WEEK
ARTIST CERTIFICATION
IMPRINT/DISTRIBUTING LABEL
EMINEM
SHADY/AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE/IGA
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS

Music To Be Murdered By
15
Title PEAK
POS.
1
WKS. ON
CHART
61
NEW 2 POLYDOR/INTERSCOPE/IGA 2 1 TUFF GONG/ISLAND/UME

Legend: The Best Of... 5 671
MORGAN WALLEN Dangerous: The Double Album 1 11 CHRIS STAPLETON 4 Traveller 1 289
BIG LOUD/REPUBLIC MERCURY NASHVILLE/UMGN
POP SMOKE Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon 1 38 POST MALONE 3 Stoney 4 224
VICTOR VICTOR WORLDWIDE/REPUBLIC REPUBLIC
DUA LIPA Future Nostalgia 3 51 VARIOUS ARTISTS Only The Family Presents: Loyal Bros Compilation 12 3
WARNER ONLY THE FAMILY/EMPIRE
POOH SHIESTY Shiesty Season 3 7 LEWIS CAPALDI Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent 20 97
1017 GLOBAL/ATLANTIC/AG VERTIGO/CAPITOL
THE WEEKND 2 After Hours 1 53 RODDY RICCH 2 Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial 1 68
XO/REPUBLIC BIRD VISION/ATLANTIC/AG
LIL BABY 3
QUALITY CONTROL/MOTOWN/CAPITOL
My Turn 1 56 SUMMER WALKER
LVRN/INTERSCOPE/IGA
Over It 2 77 Bieber’s
LIL DURK
ALAMO/GEFFEN/IGA
The Voice 2 14 YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN
NEVER BROKE AGAIN/ARTIST PARTNER GROUP/ATLANTIC/AG
Top 1 28 Eighth
LUKE COMBS 2
RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE/SMN
What You See Is What You Get 1 72 TAYLOR SWIFT
REPUBLIC
2 Lover 1 83 No. 1
GIVEON When It’s All Said And Done... Take Time 5 2 DDG X OG PARKER Die 4 Respect 61 1
NOT SO FAST/EPIC DDG/EPIC Justin Bieber logs his
JUICE WRLD Legends Never Die 1 37 KALI UCHIS Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios) 52 5 eighth No. 1 album on
GRADE A/INTERSCOPE/IGA EMI/INTERSCOPE/IGA
the Billboard 200 as Jus-
POST MALONE Hollywood’s Bleeding 1 81 J. COLE 3 2014 Forest Hills Drive 1 329
REPUBLIC DREAMVILLE/ROC NATION/COLUMBIA/LEGACY tice debuts atop the tally
TAYLOR SWIFT Folklore 1 35 FUTURE & LIL UZI VERT Pluto x Baby Pluto 2 19 with 154,000 equivalent
REPUBLIC FREEBANDZ/EPIC/GENERATION NOW/ATLANTIC/AG
THE WEEKND
album units earned in
The Highlights 2 7 JOURNEY 15
Journey’s Greatest Hits 10 661
XO/REPUBLIC COLUMBIA/LEGACY the United States in the
ARIANA GRANDE Positions 1 21 2PAC 10
Greatest Hits 3 363 week ending March 25,
REPUBLIC AMARU/DEATH ROW/INTERSCOPE/UME
MEGAN THEE STALLION Good News FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE Life Rolls On
according to MRC Data.
1501 CERTIFIED/300/AG 2 18 BMLG 21 6
Justice halts the
HARRY STYLES 2 Fine Line 1 67 LIL DURK Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 2 46 chart-topping domina-
ERSKINE/COLUMBIA ALAMO/GEFFEN/IGA
BILLIE EILISH 3 When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? JHENE AIKO Chilombo tion of Morgan Wallen’s
DARKROOM/INTERSCOPE/IGA 1 104 2 FISH/ARTCLUB/ARTIUM/DEF JAM 2 55
Dangerous: The Double
TAYLOR SWIFT Evermore 1 15 AC/DC 25
Back In Black 4 456 Album, which spent
REPUBLIC COLUMBIA/LEGACY
DOJA CAT Hot Pink ED SHEERAN 4 ÷ (Divide) 10 weeks in a row at

KEMOSABE/RCA 9 73 ATLANTIC/AG 1 212
No. 1 since its debut. It
THE BILLBOARD 200 CHART R ANKS THE MOST POPUL AR ALBUMS OF THE WEEK, A S COMPILED BY MRC DATA, BASED ON MULTIMETRIC CONSUMPTION (BLENDING TR ADITIONAL ALBUM SALES, TR ACK EQUIVALENT ALBUMS AND STREAMING EQUIVALENT ALBUMS).
BAD BUNNY El Ultimo Tour del Mundo 1 17 FUTURE High Off Life 1 45 falls to No. 3.
RIMAS FREEBANDZ/EPIC
THE KID LAROI F*ck Love DRAKE 6 Take Care Justice’s units haul
COLUMBIA 3 35 YOUNG MONEY/CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC 1 421
represents the second-
MACHINE GUN KELLY Tickets To My Downfall 1 26 THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. Greatest Hits 1 267
APR. EST19XX/BAD BOY/INTERSCOPE/IGA BAD BOY/RHINO biggest debut week
QUEEN GUNS N’ ROSES for an album in 2021
3 HOLLYWOOD
5 Greatest Hits 8 431 GEFFEN/UME
5 Greatest Hits 3 522
following Dangerous’
2021 POLO G
COLUMBIA
The GOAT 2 45 KENDRICK LAMAR
TOP DAWG/AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE/IGA
3 DAMN. 1 206 bow of 265,000 on the
JUICE WRLD Goodbye & Good Riddance KHALID 3 American Teen Jan. 23 chart.
GRADE A/INTERSCOPE/IGA 4 149 RIGHT HAND/RCA 4 212
Elsewhere on the Bill-
FLEET FOXES Shore 28 3 CHRIS CORNELL No One Sings Like You Anymore, Volume One 78 1
ANTI-/EPITAPH UME board 200: Fleet Foxes
ROD WAVE Pray 4 Love BRUNO MARS 6 Doo-Wops & Hooligans (No. 28; 19,000 units,
ALAMO/IGA 2 51 ELEKTRA/EMG 3 512
up 2,014%) reenter and
LUKE COMBS 3 This One’s For You 4 199 GABBY BARRETT Goldmine 27 40
RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE/SMN WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE/WMN Chris Cornell (No. 78;
ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST 7 Hamilton: An American Musical THE BEATLES 11
1 11,000, up 1,900%)
HAMILTON UPTOWN/ATLANTIC/AG 2 287 APPLE/CAPITOL/UME 1 465
debuts following their
BAD BUNNY YHLQMDLG 2 56 21 SAVAGE & METRO BOOMIN Savage Mode II 1 25
RIMAS BOOMINATI/SLAUGHTER BOOMIN/REPUBLIC/EPIC physical album releases
BENNY THE BUTCHER & HARRY FRAUD The Plugs I Met 2 LORETTA LYNN Still Woman Enough on March 19. Both
SRFSCHL/BLACK SOPRANO FAMILY 33 1 LEGACY 83 1
initially debuted in 2020
FLEETWOOD MAC 20
Rumours 1 417 TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS 12
Greatest Hits 2 402
WARNER/RHINO MCA/GEFFEN/UME via streaming and digital
JACK HARLOW Thats What They All Say 5 15 XXXTENTACION 3 ? 1 158 retail only. Harry Styles’
GENERATION NOW/ATLANTIC/AG BAD VIBES FOREVER
self-titled album nets the
BTS BE 1 18 JON BATISTE We Are 86 1
BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT NAHT JONA/VERVE/VLG Greatest Gainer trophy
JUICE WRLD Death Race For Love 1 107 GUNNA Wunna 1 44 (No. 116; 9,000 units, up
GRADE A/INTERSCOPE/IGA YOUNG STONER LIFE/300/AG
22%) after a surge in vinyl
DABABY BLAME IT ON BABY 1 49 LIL UZI VERT Luv Is Rage 2 1 187
SOUTHCOAST/INTERSCOPE/IGA GENERATION NOW/ATLANTIC/AG sales (2,000 sold; up
MORGAN WALLEN If I Know Me 10 130 SPOTEMGOTTEM Final Destination 83 8 270%). CJ’s Loyalty Over
BIG LOUD SPOTEMGOTTEM
Royalty is the Pacesetter
EMINEM 7 Curtain Call: The Hits= 1 521 DRAKE Dark Lane Demo Tapes 2 47
SHADY/AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE/IGA OVO SOUND/REPUBLIC (No. 134; 8,000 units, up
TRAVIS SCOTT 3 ASTROWORLD 1 138 AVA MAX Heaven & Hell 27 23 15%), thanks in part to the
CACTUS JACK/GRAND HUSTLE/EPIC MAX CUT/ARTIST PARTNER GROUP/ATLANTIC/AG
activity generated by the
POST MALONE 3 beerbongs & bentleys 1 152 SOUNDTRACK 2 Moana 2 224
REPUBLIC WALT DISNEY new French Montana/
LIL UZI VERT Eternal Atake 1 55 POP SMOKE Meet The Woo, V.2 7 59 Rowdy Rebel-assisted
GENERATION NOW/ATLANTIC/AG VICTOR VICTOR WORLDWIDE/REPUBLIC
remix of the album’s hit
CHRIS STAPLETON Starting Over 3 19 CARDI B 3 Invasion Of Privacy 1 155
MERCURY NASHVILLE/UMGN THE KSR GROUP/ATLANTIC/AG single “Whoopty.”
DRAKE 5 Scorpion 1 143 HALSEY Manic 2 62 —KEITH CAULFIELD
YOUNG MONEY/CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC CAPITOL
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL 10

Chronicle The 20 Greatest Hits 18 516 TAYLOR SWIFT 9 1989 1 328
FANTASY/CONCORD BIG MACHINE/BMLG
ELTON JOHN Diamonds 7 176 GEORGE STRAIT 7 50 Number Ones 1 174

ROCKET/ISLAND/UME MCA NASHVILLE/UMGN
BILLIE EILISH Dont Smile At Me 14 170 ARIANA GRANDE 2 Thank U, Next 1 111
DARKROOM/INTERSCOPE/IGA REPUBLIC
KENDRICK LAMAR 3 good kid, m.A.A.d city 2 439 ROD WAVE Ghetto Gospel 10 72
TOP DAWG/AFTERMATH/INTERSCOPE/IGA ALAMO/IGA
COMPILED BY
SALES DATA
SZA 2 Ctrl 3 198 MONEYBAGG YO Time Served 3 63

TOP DAWG/RCA N-LESS/INTERSCOPE/IGA
6 G O TO B I L L B OA R D.C O M F O R C O M P L E T E C H A R T DATA DATA F O R W E E K O F 0 4 .0 3 . 2 0 2 1

citrincooperman.com
entertainment@citrincooperman.com
Citrin Cooperman congratulates our clients and all the GRAMMY winners!
The Jack Ledisi

Strokes Antonoff Young
Best Rock Album Album of the Year Best Traditional R&B
Vocal Performance
40+ YEARS OF MUSIC EXPERIENCE

Citrin Cooperman was formed over 40 years ago with seed money from two iconic rock
bands. A lot has changed over the past 40 years - we have grown and evolved considerably,
but one thing is for certain, we have legendary roots.
LAST THIS ARTIST CERTIFICATION Title PEAK WKS. ON LAST THIS ARTIST CERTIFICATION Title PEAK WKS. ON
WEEK WEEK IMPRINT/DISTRIBUTING LABEL POS. CHART WEEK WEEK IMPRINT/DISTRIBUTING LABEL POS. CHART
METALLICA 16
Metallica 1 600 CHRIS BROWN Indigo 1 89
BLACKENED CBE/RCA
KING VON Welcome To O’Block 5 21 KEVIN GATES Only the Generals, Part II 18 5
ONLY THE FAMILY/EMPIRE BREAD WINNERS’ ASSOCIATION/ATLANTIC/AG
KHALID Free Spirit 1 103 BON JOVI Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection 5 200
RIGHT HAND/RCA ISLAND/UME
KID CUDI Man On The Moon: The End Of Day 4 167 ELVIS PRESLEY The Essential Elvis Presley 42 85
DREAM ON/G.O.O.D./REPUBLIC RCA/SONY STRATEGIC MARKETING GROUP/LEGACY
POLO G Die A Legend 6 93 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 2 Greatest Hits 18 270
COLUMBIA WARNER
LEE BRICE Hey World 45 18 XXXTENTACION 17 2 185

CURB BAD VIBES FOREVER/EMPIRE
THE BEATLES 12
Abbey Road 1 405 JACKBOYS JACKBOYS 1 64
APPLE/CAPITOL/UME
GLASS ANIMALS
WOLF TONE/POLYDOR/REPUBLIC
Dreamland 7 20
2 CACTUS JACK/EPIC
YOUNG THUG
YOUNG STONER LIFE/300/ATLANTIC/AG
So Much Fun 1 82
MICHAEL JACKSON 33
Thriller 1 463 LANA DEL REY BILLY JOEL 3 The Essential Billy Joel 15 229
EPIC/LEGACY COLUMBIA/LEGACY
BTS MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 Chemtrails Over the Country Club BLACKPINK The Album
BIGHIT ENTERTAINMENT 1 57 YG/INTERSCOPE/IGA 2 25
DRAKE 6 Views 1 254 THE ROLLING STONES 12
Hot Rocks 1964-1971 4 351
YOUNG MONEY/CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC The set also launches at No. 1 on ABKCO
LIZZO Cuz I Love You 4 101 Top Album Sales with 58,000 copies ROB ZOMBIE The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy 9 2
NICE LIFE/ATLANTIC/AG NUCLEAR BLAST
sold in the week ending March 25,
YUNG BLEU Love Scars: The 5 Stages Of Emotions (EP) 82 12 PITBULL Greatest Hits 159 8
VANDROSS/EMPIRE according to MRC Data. And with MR. 305/POLO GROUNDS/RCA
FLEETWOOD MAC 50 Years: Don’t Stop 65 3 nearly 32,000 vinyl copies sold, it LINKIN PARK 12
[Hybrid Theory] 2 250
WARNER/RHINO WARNER
logs the fourth-biggest week for a
NICK JONAS Spaceman 12 2 ARCTIC MONKEYS AM 6 140
ISLAND/REPUBLIC vinyl album since MRC Data began DOMINO
GREATEST HARRY STYLES Harry Styles tracking sales in 1991. LADY GAGA 6 The Fame
GAINER ERSKINE/COLUMBIA
1 78 STREAMLINE/KONLIVE/CHERRYTREE/INTERSCOPE/IGA 2 238
JAZMINE SULLIVAN Heaux Tales 4 11 TYLER CHILDERS Purgatory 106 44
RCA HICKMAN HOLLER/THIRTY TIGERS
DRAKE 4 Nothing Was The Same 1 367 FUTURE 2 DS2 1 140

YOUNG MONEY/CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC A-1/FREEBANDZ/EPIC
LYNYRD SKYNYRD All Time Greatest Hits 56 119 LIL BABY Harder Than Ever 3 122
MCA/GEFFEN/UME QUALITY CONTROL/MOTOWN/CAPITOL
BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND 10

Greatest Hits 8 368 TAYLOR SWIFT 3 reputation 1 137
HIDEOUT/CAPITOL/UME BIG MACHINE/BMLG
SOUNDTRACK 3 The Greatest Showman 1 172 TYLER, THE CREATOR IGOR 1 79

FOX/20TH CENTURY FOX/ATLANTIC/AG COLUMBIA
THE BILLBOARD 200 CHART R ANKS THE MOST POPUL AR ALBUMS OF THE WEEK, A S COMPILED BY MRC DATA, BASED ON MULTIMETRIC CONSUMPTION (BLENDING TR ADITIONAL ALBUM SALES, TR ACK EQUIVALENT ALBUMS AND STREAMING EQUIVALENT ALBUMS).
LIL TJAY True 2 Myself 5 74 A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE 2 Hoodie SZN 1 111
COLUMBIA HIGHBRIDGE THE LABEL/ATLANTIC/AG
MAC MILLER Swimming 3 133 VARIOUS ARTISTS Dreamville & J. Cole: Revenge Of The Dreamers III 1 86
WARNER DREAMVILLE/INTERSCOPE/IGA
SOUNDTRACK Frozen II 1 71 DARYL HALL JOHN OATES The Very Best Of Daryl Hall John Oates 34 121
WALT DISNEY RCA/LEGACY
NF The Search 1 86 THE BLACK CROWES 5 Shake Your Money Maker 4 167
NF REAL MUSIC/CAROLINE
RIHANNA 3
WESTBURY ROAD/ROC NATION
ANTI 1 261
83 DEF AMERICAN/AMERICAN/UME
HOZIER 3
RUBYWORKS/COLUMBIA/LEGACY
Hozier 2 203
DABABY KIRK 1 77 LORETTA LYNN MONEYBAGG YO & BLAC YOUNGSTA Code Red 6 27
SOUTHCOAST/INTERSCOPE/IGA HEAVY CAMP/CMG/EPIC/N-LESS/INTERSCOPE/IGA
TWENTY ONE PILOTS 4 Blurryface

Still Woman Enough JUSTIN BIEBER Changes
FUELED BY RAMEN/EMG 1 296 SCHOOLBOY/RAYMOND BRAUN/DEF JAM 1 49
NICKELBACK The Best Of Nickelback: Volume 1 21 40 RINGO STARR Zoom In (EP) 179 1
ROADRUNNER/EMG The legend’s 50th studio album ROCCABELLA/UME
THE BEACH BOYS 3 Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys also bows at No. 9 on Top Country GREEN DAY 2 Insomniac
CAPITOL/UME 16 245 REPRISE/WARNER 2 40
Albums — her 42nd top 10. She now
NIRVANA 10
Nevermind 1 517 LIL BABY & GUNNA Drip Harder 4 122
SUB POP/DGC/GEFFEN/UME has the third-most top 10s on the list, YOUNG STONER LIFE/300/QUALITY CONTROL/MOTOWN/AG/CAPITOL
SAM HUNT SOUTHSIDE surpassing George Strait’s 41. Only KID CUDI Man On The Moon III: The Chosen
MCA NASHVILLE/UMGN 5 47 REPUBLIC 2 15
Willie Nelson (53) and Dolly Parton
ZAC BROWN BAND Greatest Hits So Far... 20 297 KANYE WEST 3 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 1 126
HOME GROWN/BMG (46) have more. ROC-A-FELLA/DEF JAM
PACE CJ Loyalty Over Royalty ABBA 6 Gold: Greatest Hits

SETTER CJ MUSIC GROUP/WARNER
56 5 POLAR/POLYDOR/UME 25 162
DRAKE More Life 1 202 KANE BROWN Mixtape, Vol. 1 (EP) 15 31
YOUNG MONEY/CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC RCA NASHVILLE/SMN
IMAGINE DRAGONS 2 Evolve 2 196 TIM MCGRAW Number One Hits 27 172
KIDINAKORNER/INTERSCOPE/IGA CURB
LANA DEL REY Born To Die 2 386 BRYSON TILLER 3 TRAPSOUL 8 241
POLYDOR/INTERSCOPE/IGA TRAPSOUL/RCA
BAD BUNNY X 100PRE 11 117 FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH A Decade Of Destruction 29 140
RIMAS PROSPECT PARK
FRANK OCEAN Blonde 1 222 BLINK-182 Greatest Hits 6 57

BOYS DON’T CRY GEFFEN/UME
PAUL STANLEY’S SOUL STATION Now And Then 140 1 NF Perception 1 174
UME NF REAL MUSIC/CAPITOL/CAROLINE
BRUNO MARS 3 24K Magic 2 166 TRIPPIE REDD Pegasus 2 15

ATLANTIC/AG 1400/TENTHOUSAND PROJECTS
MILEY CYRUS Plastic Hearts 2 17 GUCCI MANE & VARIOUS ARTISTS Gucci Mane Presents: So Icy Summer 29 21
RCA
EAGLES 26
ASYLUM/ELEKTRA/RHINO
Hotel California 1 127 86 GUWOP/ATLANTIC/AG
KANE BROWN
ZONE 4/RCA NASHVILLE/SMN
2 Kane Brown 5 209
INTERNET MONEY B4 The Storm 10 30 NIPSEY HUSSLE Victory Lap 2 96
INTERNET MONEY/TENTHOUSAND PROJECTS JON BATISTE ALL MONEY IN NO MONEY OUT/ATLANTIC/AG
LUKE BRYAN Born Here Live Here Die Here 5 23 We Are KEVIN GATES Only The Generals Gon Understand (EP) 18 6
CAPITOL NASHVILLE/UMGN BREAD WINNERS’ ASSOCIATION/ATLANTIC/AG
KANYE WEST 5 Graduation 1 164 WHITNEY HOUSTON I Will Always Love You: The Best Of Whitney Houston 14 49
ROC-A-FELLA/DEF JAM ARISTA/RCA/LEGACY
With contributions from PJ Morton,
TRAVIS SCOTT Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight 1 234 Trombone Shorty, Mavis Staples and ADELE 14
21 1 507
GRAND HUSTLE/EPIC XL
PLAYBOI CARTI Whole Lotta Red others, Academy Award nominee SAM SMITH 5 In The Lonely Hour
AWGE/INTERSCOPE/IGA 1 13 CAPITOL 2 325
Batiste earns his biggest week in
H.E.R. H.E.R. 23 168 equivalent album units (11,000) and SELENA GOMEZ Revelacion (EP) 22 2
MBK/RCA INTERSCOPE/IGA
COMPILED BY
SALES DATA
YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN AI YoungBoy 2 album sales (9,500). It’s also his first SAM SMITH Love Goes
NEVER BROKE AGAIN/ATLANTIC/AG 1 74 CAPITOL 5 21
entry on Top R&B Albums (No. 10).

BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200
COURTESY OF K ALI UCHIS

WKS. ON
WKS. ON
CHART
2 WKS.
CHART
2 WKS.
WEEK
WEEK
TITLE
PEAK
WEEK
WEEK
TITLE
LAST
PEAK
LAST
THIS
POS.
THIS
POS.
AGO
Artist Artist
AGO
HOT SHOT
1 #1 PEACHES Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon 1 1 YOU BROKE ME FIRST. Tate McRae 16 29
DEBUT 1 WK
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak) 2 3 SOMEONE YOU LOVED Lewis Capaldi 24 29
SAVE YOUR TEARS The Weeknd 2 12 BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES Maroon 5 Feat. Megan Thee Stallion 47 3
8 4 GG HOLD ON Justin Bieber 4 3 BACK IN BLOOD Pooh Shiesty Feat. Lil Durk 29 10
ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN Masked Wolf 5 9 BEST FRIEND Saweetie Feat. Doja Cat 36 11
DRIVERS LICENSE Olivia Rodrigo 1 11 POSITIONS Ariana Grande 1 22
8 7 LEVITATING Dua Lipa Feat. DaBaby 7 25 LOVED BY YOU Justin Bieber Feat. Burna Boy 51 1
BLINDING LIGHTS The Weeknd 2 29 HEAT WAVES Glass Animals 42 12

UP Cardi B 4 7 ROCKSTAR DaBaby Feat. Roddy Ricch 8 29
TELEPATIA Kali Uchis 10 5 ARCADE Duncan Laurence 49 8

The multilingual ELLA NO ES TUYA Rochy Rd X Myke Towers X Nicki Nicole 39 6
song, which has
surged on TikTok HAWAI Maluma 3 29
with over 1.5 million
user-created DIE FOR YOU Justin Bieber Feat. Dominic Fike 57 1
videos, reaches LOVE YOU DIFFERENT Justin Bieber Feat. BEAM 58 1
the top 10 of the
Global 200 with PERFECT Ed Sheeran 30 29
46.7 million streams
and 2,600 sold in LEMON PEPPER FREESTYLE Drake Feat. Rick Ross 4 3
the week ending
March 25, accord-
YOUR LOVE (9PM) ATB x Topic x A7S 58 7
ing to MRC Data. ROSES SAINt JHN 14 29
HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY Giveon 11 6 LUT GAYE Jubin Nautiyal Feat. Emraan Hashmi 47 4
DYNAMITE BTS 1 29 WAP Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion 1 29
AS I AM Justin Bieber Feat. Khalid 13 1 BICHOTA Karol G 7 22
STREETS Doja Cat 8 11 WHAT YOU KNOW BOUT LOVE Pop Smoke 11 29
THE BUSINESS Tiesto 12 20 PARADISE Meduza & Dermot Kennedy 30 20
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WELLERMAN Nathan Evans 16 9 LEMONADE Internet Money & Gunna Feat. Don Toliver & NAV 4 29
ANYONE Justin Bieber 3 12 HEAD & HEART Joel Corry X MNEK 17 29

DAKITI Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez 1 21 BEAT BOX SpotemGottem Feat. Pooh Shiesty Or DaBaby 52 8
MOOD 24kGoldn Feat. iann dior 2 29 SAVAGE LOVE (LAXED - SIREN BEAT) Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo 1 29
WHAT’S NEXT Drake 1 3 BAILA CONMIGO Selena Gomez With Rauw Alejandro 22 8
CALLING MY PHONE Lil Tjay Feat. 6LACK 2 6 STREET RUNNER Rod Wave 71 2
GOOSEBUMPS Travis Scott & HVME 15 13 SOMEBODY Justin Bieber 74 1
HOLY Justin Bieber Feat. Chance The Rapper 3 27 THEREFORE I AM Billie Eilish 2 19
WITHOUT YOU The Kid LAROI 12 18 GIRL LIKE ME Black Eyed Peas X Shakira 39 16
ON THE GROUND ROSE 1 2 911 Sech 77 4
CHARTS LEGEND ON BILLBOARD.COM FOR COMPLETE RULES AND EXPLANATIONS. © 2021 BILLBOARD MEDIA LLC AND MRC DATA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
WANTS AND NEEDS Drake Feat. Lil Baby 2 3 LIFE IS GOOD Future Feat. Drake 39 29
APR. BANDIDO Myke Towers & Juhn 11 13 FOR THE NIGHT Pop Smoke Feat. Lil Baby & DaBaby 7 29
3 UNSTABLE Justin Bieber Feat. The Kid LAROI 28 1 SUNFLOWER Post Malone & Swae Lee 47 29
2021 LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE Bad Bunny & Rosalia 7 17 BATOM DE CEREJA Israel & Rodolffo 81 2
WHOOPTY CJ 10 22 FIEL Los Legendarios, Wisin & Jhay Cortez 82 2
34+35 Ariana Grande 2 21 YORU NI KAKERU YOASOBI 16 29

WATERMELON SUGAR Harry Styles 9 29 ON ME Lil Baby 53 16
WE’RE GOOD Dua Lipa 21 6 BAD GUY Billie Eilish 54 29
OFF MY FACE Justin Bieber 34 1 NO MORE PARTIES Coi Leray Feat. Lil Durk 70 5
LONELY Justin Bieber & benny blanco 5 23 LA CURIOSIDAD DJ Nelson Presenta Jay Wheeler & Myke Towers 40 29
GOOD DAYS SZA 7 13 SHAPE OF YOU Ed Sheeran 68 29
DANCE MONKEY Tones And I 16 29 WILLOW Taylor Swift 2 15
FRIDAY Riton X Nightcrawlers Feat. Mufasa & Hypeman 38 5 PRISONER Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa 12 18
2 MUCH Justin Bieber 39 1 YOU’RE MINES STILL Yung Bleu Feat. Drake 67 14
DON’T START NOW Dua Lipa 30 29 CIRCLES Post Malone 49 29
GHOST Justin Bieber 41 1 SHALLOW Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper 59 29
HEADSHOT Lil Tjay, Polo G & Fivio Foreign 42 1 BEFORE YOU GO Lewis Capaldi 32 29
DESERVE YOU Justin Bieber 43 1 AT MY WORST Pink Sweat$ Feat. Kehlani 85 10
STREAMING &
COMPILED BY
SALES DATA
MY HEAD AND MY HEART Ava Max 32 8 BABY SHARK Pinkfong 38 28

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RITON: JORDAN STR AUSS/INVISION/AP/SHUT TERSTOCK. ISR AEL &
RODOLFFO: FL ANEY GONZALLEZ/COURTESY OF NOIX MUSIC.
WKS. ON
WKS. ON
CHART
CHART
2 WKS.
2 WKS.
WEEK
WEEK
WEEK
WEEK
TITLE TITLE
PEAK
PEAK
LAST
LAST
THIS
THIS
POS.
POS.
Artist Artist
AGO
AGO
ONE LAST KISS Hikaru Utada 40 3 TAKE ME TO CHURCH Hozier 129 11
FOLLOW YOU Imagine Dragons 66 2 STARBOY The Weeknd Feat. Daft Punk 52 7
USSEEWA Ado 41 10 INTENTIONS Justin Bieber Feat. Quavo 65 28

LOVELY Billie Eilish & Khalid 70 29 MARTIN & GINA Polo G 107 20
BELIEVER Imagine Dragons 70 29 DESPACITO Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Feat. Justin Bieber 130 25
38 RELOJ
SWEATER WEATHER
Rauw Alejandro & Anuel AA 41 21
The Neighbourhood 62 26
I DON’T CARE
THE HILLS
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber 105 25
The Weeknd 44 7
RITON X
NIGHTCRAWLERS FEAT.
AFTERGLOW Ed Sheeran 13 14 REAL AS IT GETS Lil Baby Feat. EST Gee 54 3
MUFASA & HYPEMAN WHATS POPPIN Jack Harlow Feat. DaBaby, Tory Lanez & Lil Wayne 17 29 MONSTER Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber 4 18
“Friday”
MONSTER YOASOBI 87 10 BODY Megan Thee Stallion 27 18
With double-digit gains DREAMS Fleetwood Mac 10 26 HIGHEST IN THE ROOM Travis Scott 83 28
to 21.1 million streams
MEMORIES Maroon 5 71 29 STARTING OVER Chris Stapleton 79 15
and 5,400 sold, the track
jumps to the top 40 of GO CRAZY Chris Brown & Young Thug 26 29 TAKE YOU DANCING Jason Derulo 32 29
the Global 200. The HECHA PA’ MI Boza 43 15 LOVE NOT WAR (THE TAMPA BEAT) Jason Derulo X Nuka 90 13
song teams Riton (above)
and Nightcrawlers (via ADORE YOU Harry Styles 68 28 GUNJOU YOASOBI 44 7
a sample of the Scottish BED Joel Corry X RAYE X David Guetta 112 3 COUNTING STARS OneRepublic 154 7
collective’s 1992 single
“Push the Feeling On”)
TRACK STAR Mooski 113 3 KINGS & QUEENS Ava Max 31 29
in lead roles, while its RAIN ON ME Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande 22 29 MOOD SWINGS Pop Smoke Feat. Lil Tjay 13 29
respective featured
TIME TODAY Moneybagg Yo 70 7 IN YOUR EYES The Weeknd 50 26
artists are American
social media personali- SAY SO Doja Cat 50 28 HOTEL CALIFORNIA Eagles 149 23
ties. The single also hits TAPAO NA RABA Rai Saia Rodada 94 5 COVER ME IN SUNSHINE P!nk + Willow Sage Hart 104 3
a new No. 9 high on the
U.S.-based Hot Dance/ CUPID’S CHOKEHOLD/BREAKFAST IN AMERICA Gym Class Heroes Feat. Patrick Stump 118 2 SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS The Chainsmokers & Coldplay 166 16
Electronic Songs chart. CLOSER The Chainsmokers Feat. Halsey 100 25 KAIKAI KITAN E ve 130 13
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THE BILLBOARD GLOBAL 200 CHART RANKS THE TOP SONGS BASED ON STREAMING AND/OR SALES ACTIVIT Y FROM OVER 200 TERRITORIES AROUND THE WORLD — INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES — AS TRACKED BY MRC DATA. THE RANKING IS BASED
OLD TOWN ROAD Lil Nas X Feat. Billy Ray Cyrus 75 29 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW Gotye Feat. Kimbra 141 7
PATIENCE KSI Feat. YUNGBLUD & Polo G 102 2 ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen 173 3
GOLDEN Harry Styles 62 21 THE GOOD ONES Gabby Barrett 146 4
DIOR Pop Smoke 61 29 THINKING OUT LOUD Ed Sheeran 103 24
EVERYTHING I WANTED Billie Eilish 82 27 MI NINA Los Legendarios, Wisin & Myke Towers 82 19
THE BOX Roddy Ricch 66 29 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ Journey 150 23
GOOSEBUMPS Travis Scott 102 26 GONE ROSE 29 2
SAY YOU WON’T LET GO James Arthur 96 25 MACHU PICCHU Camilo y Evaluna Montaner 117 3
81 ALL OF ME John Legend 97 27 FOREVER AFTER ALL Luke Combs 4 14
LAUGH NOW CRY LATER Drake Feat. Lil Durk 5 29 JERUSALEMA Master KG Feat. Burna Boy & Nomcebo Zikode 38 29
CHARTS LEGEND ON BILLBOARD.COM FOR COMPLETE RULES AND EXPLANATIONS. © 2021 BILLBOARD MEDIA LLC AND MRC DATA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ISRAEL & RODOLFFO
“Batom de Cereja” MY EX’S BEST FRIEND Machine Gun Kelly X blackbear 25 29 GOOD TIME Niko Moon 145 6
SENORITA Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello 67 29 HOW YOU LIKE THAT BLACKPINK 24 29
The Brazilian duo’s song
BIG GANGSTA Kevin Gates 132 2 BANG! AJR 84 25
concurrently jumps 50-32
on the Global Excl. U.S. DRY FLOWER Yuuri 48 13 UN DIA (ONE DAY) J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & Tainy 30 29
chart. The track, which
MIDNIGHT SKY Miley Cyrus 15 29 THROAT BABY (GO BABY) BRS Kash 88 9
shows a 36% increase
to 26 million streams RIDE IT. Regard 86 28 WASTED ON YOU Morgan Wallen 19 11
(almost all from outside BREAK MY HEART Dua Lipa 47 27 LIFE GOES ON BTS 1 18
the United States), is the
highest-ranking of three
GIRLS LIKE US Zoe Wees 137 4 TU VENENO J Balvin 189 1
entries on the Global 200 WASURENA Awesome City Club 89 5 FACAS Diego & Victor Hugo E Bruno & Marrone 159 4
and five entries on the
BREAKING ME Topic & A7S 21 29 #PROBLEMA Daddy Yankee 131 2
Global Excl. U.S. chart
sung in Portuguese. DEATH BED Powfu Feat. beabadoobee 43 28 TAKE ON ME a-ha 162 10
Its title translates to RELACION Sech, Daddy Yankee & J Balvin Feat. Rosalia & Farruko 13 29 JUST THE WAY YOU ARE Bruno Mars 162 4
“cherry lipstick.”
—E R I C F RA N K E N B E R G TRAVESURAS Nio Garcia x Casper Magico x Wisin x Yandel x Myke Towers x Flow La Movie 100 2 SWEET CHILD O’ MINE Guns N’ Roses 176 12
CRY BABY Megan Thee Stallion Feat. DaBaby 66 15 WITHOUT ME Halsey 135 24
WHITE DRESS Lana Del Rey 144 1 SAVAGE Megan Thee Stallion 52 22
SICKO MODE Travis Scott 70 27 ADEMAS DE MI Rusherking X Tiago pzk X KHEA X Duki X Maria Becerra X Lit Killah 98 3
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen 113 25 LA NOTA Manuel Turizo, Myke Towers & Rauw Alejandro 59 24
LUCID DREAMS Juice WRLD 103 28 L-GANTE: BZRP MUSIC SESSIONS, Bizarrap & L-Gante 171 2
STREAMING &
COMPILED BY
SALES DATA
LOCATION Karol G, Anuel AA & J Balvin 63 6 SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT Nirvana 167 12

Contents
A PR I L 3 , 2 0 2 1 • VO LU M E 1 3 3 N O . 5
F E AT U R E S
50
STICK THAT IN YOUR
COUNTRY SONG
When Eric Church says he lives for
the road, he means it. With a triple
album and a fall arena tour planned, he’s
asking his fans to consider a COVID-19
vaccination their way back to his shows:
“You’ve got to get needles in arms.”
56
BACK TO LIVE
With music fans and industry pros rightfully
confused about when — and how —
concerts will return, Billboard answers your
burning questions about how to protect
your health (and bank account) as the end
of the pandemic draws near.
58
DOLLARS AND SENSE
Without advertisers or major outside
investors, Bandcamp has turned a profit
helping musicians at all levels make a
living. As streaming payment models are
scrutinized, will its influence grow?
O N T HE C OVE R
Eric Church photographed by
Robby Klein on March 11 at Taylor
House Studio in Nashville.
TO O U R R EAD E RS
Billboard will publish its next
issue on April 24. For 24/7 music
coverage, go to billboard.com.
14 BILLBOARD • APRIL 3, 2021

Contents
AP RI L 3, 2 0 2 1 • VO LUM E 1 3 3 N O . 5
B I L L B OA R D H OT 1 0 0
1
Justin Bieber is the first male
soloist to debut atop the Hot 100
and Billboard 200 simultaneously.
THE MARKET
23
The global recording business
grows 7.4% — its sixth increase in a
row — driven by streaming in Latin
America, subscriptions in China
and CDs in South Korea.
28
Spotify recently released data that
shows how it pays artists — and
just how much money goes to a
small number of superstars.
THE SOUND
37
2021 Oscar Music Preview
From Q&As with every best
original song and score nominee
to changing campaign strategies,
here’s all you need to know
before the 93rd Academy Awards
ceremony on April 25.
T H E P L AY E R S
65
Top Music Lawyers 2021
The top legal minds in the business
were tested in the past year by
a land rush of negotiations, new
business models from livestreaming
to NFTs and the ongoing need to
advocate for their clients — and
social justice.
CHARTBREAKER
104
Masked Wolf’s “Astronaut in
the Ocean” has lifted off thanks
to TikTok.
Masked Wolf photographed by Tim Lo

on March 16 in Sydney.
HOW HIGH? WHAT BUYERS WANT

The value of publishing catalogs keeps rising, fueled In the same Music and Money Spotlight, presented by
by a combination of low interest rates, the search for Sound Royalties, Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp
countercyclical investments and optimism about the leads a panel that asks who today’s investors are and what
streaming-focused future of the music business. But how high they’re looking to buy. Vine Alternative Investments’ Rob
can multiples get — and what time horizon should investors Amir, Truist Securities’ C.J. Johnson and Michelman &
consider? The Raine Group’s Fred Davis, peermusic’s Mary Robinson’s Michael Poster reveal what investors are
Megan Peer and Round Hill Music’s Joshua Gruss discuss. looking for — and where their money will drive the market
Billboard Pro subscribers can access the Music and Money from here. To sign up for a Billboard Pro subscription, go
Spotlight at billboard.com/spotlight. to billboard.com/offer.

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PG. 28 “ T H E R E P U B L I C O F S P O T I F Y ” PG. 30 J A PA N ’ S C D S A L E S FA L L PG. 32 T H E M L C C H I E F
World Music
The worldwide recording business grows 7.4% — its sixth increase in a row — driven by
streaming in Latin America, subscriptions in China and CDs in South Korea
BY COLIN STUTZ and GLENN PEOPLES
MID A DEVASTATING grew 2.2%; Germany grew 5.1%; and have been the fastest-growing in the France and Germany — a dozen more
global pandemic that put France declined 1.2%. Outside the world, with revenue up 29.9%. than last year. Subscription streaming
A the world on pause and top five, though, developing regions Instead, that distinction goes to revenue grew 18.5% to $9.9 billion,
shut down entire indus- pushed up global revenue more, con- Latin America, for the sixth straight but the absolute revenue growth of
tries, the recorded-music business tinuing to become more important to year. Revenue there rose 15.9%, as $1.55 billion was slightly under last
didn’t just survive — it thrived, up the international music business. streaming shot up 30.2%, account- year’s $1.58 billion. More gains came
7.4% to $21.6 billion in its sixth ing for 84.1% of the region’s revenue, from ad-supported streaming and
consecutive year of growth. As usual, Asia Booms, Latin America Stays Hot thanks to growing internet access and video streaming, which combined rep-
that increase was driven by gains in K-pop is becoming a more significant gains in top market Brazil (up 37.1%). resented 26.1% of streaming revenue
streaming — up 19.9%, as measured by global force, to the point that BTS Overall, Latin America now accounts — the highest share since 2014.
record-label revenue, according to won IFPI’s global recording artist of for 3.6% of the global business — up Even though paid subscribers grew
IFPI’s 2021 Global Music Report. the year award as the world’s top- from 3.3% in 2019. 28.3% to 443 million, global expansion
That more than compensated for selling act. Although much of those has decreased their individual value:
declines in downloads, mobile and sales and streams came from outside Streaming Grows Stronger Subscriber growth from developing
other digital products (down 15.7%) South Korea, that country also grew Worldwide, streaming is the most markets, which have lower prices than
and physical music (4.7%) — plus faster than any other major market — important growth driver, increasing Europe and North America, helped
pandemic-fueled falloffs in revenue maintaining its No. 6 market ranking to 62.1% of global revenue in 2020, contribute to a 9.9% drop in average
from performance rights (10.1%) and — thanks to streaming and physical with revenue hitting $13.4 billion, revenue per subscriber, from $2.35 to
synchronization (9.4%). growth driven by collectible CDs. up $2.23 billion from the previous $2.11, based on Billboard calculations.
The top five countries, as mea- That, plus considerable gains in China, year. Even over a half-decade into the That’s not surprising, but the results
sured by revenue, stayed the same, driven by subscription streaming, streaming boom, that’s the format’s can be dramatic. In India, for example,
with relatively modest changes: fueled significant growth in Asia. Were second-highest revenue jump. Stream- streaming is expanding fast, but a price
The United States grew 7.3%; Japan it not for declining revenue in Japan ing is now the dominant source of war among competing services has led
declined 2.1%; the United Kingdom (see story, page 30), the region would revenue in 48 markets, including to only minor revenue growth.
BMG AND KKR REUNITED ON A PARTNERSHIP TO PURSUE MUSIC RIGHTS ACQUISITIONS. SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING BOUGHT PAUL SIMON’S SONG CATALOG.
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S I N E L A B A P R I L 3 , 2 0 2 1 • W W W. B I L L B O A R D . C O M 23
Streaming Model Under
Scrutiny In U.K. Hearings Customers at
London’s Sister Ray
Major-label market power emerges as subject in Parliament probe Records in 2020.
BY RICHARD SMIRKE
LONDON — THE U.K. PARLIAMENTARY

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
opened hearings on the economic impact
among the artists they listen to. (Sound-
Cloud recently started paying some artists
according to this model.) Spotify head of
Sonic Youth
of streaming last fall. Now that the first global affairs/chief legal officer Horacio YOUNG FANS FUEL DEMAND FOR POP
stage of the inquiry is complete, the major Gutierrez said the company is open to this, RECORDS: ‘THE VINYL BUYER IS NOT JUST
labels’ power in the streaming market has but also warned that changing the royalty
A 55-YEAR-OLD WHITE GUY’
emerged as a significant subject, with structure would require agreement among
digital and culture minister Caroline rights holders around the world — plus a BY STEVE KNOPPER
Dinenage saying — when pressed — that significant investment to make the change.
she would support a referral to the Universal Music, in a written submission, Vinyl is no longer just an au-
E
ARLY LAST YEAR,
Competition and Markets Authority, the said it would welcome “any proposal that executives at the New diophile market, says Lyn Koppe,
U.K. competition enforcer. maximizes fairness and transparency and England music chain executive vp global catalog for
“The inquiry has shown that there is strong supports market growth.” In its submission, Newbury Comics were Legacy Recordings, a division
support for reform to keep the dominant Sony Music said that changing reporting discussing pulling back on vinyl, of Sony Music. “It’s much more
multinational labels in check, provide trans- methodology “will just shift money from thinking the format’s comeback mass-market.”
parency where there is little and provide our some artists to other artists,” while Warner might have run its course. Then, Matt Harmon, president of the
musicians with sustainable incomes,” said said it would be “far more complex and during the pandemic, sales independent Beggars Group U.S.,
Ivors Academy CEO Graham Davies after administratively burdensome for digital picked up, thanks to a new kind of says the trend started before the
the final hearing on March 22. The acad- services to implement.” customer: young people. pandemic, and there’s some evi-
emy, which is an association of songwriters, The committee expects to publish its “The pandemic totally remade dence that’s true: MusicWatch data
has advocated for services to pay more report before Parliament breaks for summer who the vinyl customer was,” finds that turntable use actually
publishing-side royalties. recess in July. says Carl Mello, Newbury’s brand decreased this year among the 13-
British music-creators groups engagement director. “Teenagers to 17-year-old and 25- to 34-year-
pushed for streaming to be classified The Houses of who haven’t had to move yet don’t old demographics, and Eilish’s
as akin to broadcasting. That means Parliament in London. know the pain of moving vinyl, When We All Fall Asleep, Where
it would be subject to the principle of so they’re the perfect people to Do We Go? did nearly as well in
equitable remuneration, which guaran- collect it.” Increasingly, they seem 2019, when it was the second-best-
tees royalties to performers on record- to be collecting the kind of music selling album, behind The Beatles’
ings. U.K. TV and radio already split they also listen to on streaming Abbey Road. Harmon notes that
royalties between labels and artists. services: Last year’s best-selling his label’s artist Snail Mail has a
But the labels said that any earnings vinyl albums were Harry Styles’ “very female and very young” fan
loss under that model would reduce Fine Line (231,553 copies) and Bil- base and sells a “ton of vinyl.” He
their ability to invest in new artists. lie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, adds: “The vinyl buyer is not just a
The inquiry also adds what’s known Where Do We Go? (195,679), ac- 55-year-old white guy. You’ve got a
as the user-centric model for royalty cording to MRC Data. 27-year-old female also listening to
distribution where revenue generated Overall, U.S. vinyl unit sales records — and that’s a good thing
by individual subscribers is divided jumped 46.2% in 2020 — the for us and the industry.”
format’s biggest year in three Some of the enthusiasm for the
decades. (Vinyl now accounts format could evaporate once the
PARLIAMENT: ALBERTO PEZZALI/NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES. RECORDS: STEPHEN CHUNG/LNP/SHUTTERSTOCK.

for 5.2% of U.S. recorded-music pandemic ends and young people
revenue, according to the RIAA.) start spending more money on
There’s no authoritative data on movies and concerts. “But I really
how many of these sales come see this trend continuing to grow,”
MARKET WATCH
from younger consumers, but says Terry Currier, owner of the
there are clues: The number of 52-year-old Music Millennium in
21.8B 16.22M 248.3B

18- to 24-year-old music listeners Portland, Ore. And at least some
who used a turntable increased of it is the inevitable result of labels
from 12.4% in 2018 to 18.6% last manufacturing vinyl for a wider
1.5% 2.1% 6.7% year, according to a MusicWatch variety of artists.
consumer survey, and the online “Halsey, Maggie Rogers, Troye
TOTAL ON-DEMAND ALBUM CONSUMPTION TOTAL ON-DEMAND
STREAMS WEEK UNITS WEEK OVER WEEK STREAMS YEAR OVER marketplace Discogs reported that Sivan — we know those fans want
OVER WEEK YEAR TO DATE its percentage of users who are vinyl,” says Arjun Pulijal, Capitol
Album sales plus track-
Number of audio and video equivalent albums plus Number of audio and video between 25 and 34 increased from Records’ senior vp marketing.
on-demand streams for the week streaming-equivalent albums for streams for 2021 so far over the 23% in May/June 2019 to 29% in “We see a huge opportunity for
ending March 25. the week ending March 25. same period in 2020. the same period last year. vinyl there.”
PARADIGM SOLD ITS LIVE-MUSIC DIVISION TO CASEY WASSERMAN’S AGENCY, WASSERMAN. LONGTIME ASCAP NASHVILLE HEAD CONNIE BRADLEY DIED AT AGE 75.

Say What You Mean
The Debut Single on Billboard Adult
Contemporary Top 30
That Has Everybody Listening
New Jersey-native Em (short for Emily) elucidates,

“Music is a very spiritual experience for me.
‘Say What You Mean’ is a universal message and
represents the ethereal, emotional side of my writing.
I’m a huge romantic and 100% ‘in’ when I’m in a
relationship. ‘Say What You Mean’ is about wanting
someone to love me with every fiber of their being...to be
as sure of our love as I am.”
http://www.Em4YourSoul.com
@Em4YourSoul
www.TheSoundofLA.com
ORGANIZED MUSIC
SECRETLY GROUP EMPLOYEES ARE
UNIONIZING. WILL OTHERS FOLLOW?
Independent label company Secretly Group

announced March 25 it plans to recognize
a newly formed employees union, the first such
organization in recent years that involves work-
ers at a label, as opposed to musicians. The na-
scent union told Billboard that it hopes to inspire
Hey, Big Spenders!

employees at other labels to follow its example.
How this goes could depend on what
happens in the technology business, where
in January employees at Google’s parent
company formed the Alphabet Workers Union,
Over the last month, musicians have sold millions of
and on March 29, workers at a Bessemer, Ala., dollars’ worth of NFTs. Who’s buying?
Amazon warehouse voted on whether to union- B Y M A R K YA R M
ize at a company that has aggressively resisted
organized labor. “If we see a win on Amazon or IM KANG, A 28-YEAR-OLD likely. Can we point fingers? Not without solid proof.”
whether it’s close, you’re going to see workers software engineer from Los Angeles, So far, the sweet spot audience for NFTs seems
get inspired across T became wealthy by investing early in to be music fans who are also crypto evangelists, like
industries,” says Kate the cryptocurrency Ethereum. But he Kang or Cooper Turley, a 25-year-old Angeleno who
Bronfenbrenner, sees more potential in blockchain, the digital-ledger handles crypto strategy at music streaming/shar-
director of labor technology that enables the existence of ing platform Audius. (Kang and Turley happen to be
education research cryptocurrencies. “I’ve been waiting so long,” he friends.) He has purchased NFTs that include works
for Cornell Univer- says, “for something that communicates to the world by Mike Shinoda and Grimes with the intent to keep
sity. “You can have a that it’s about more than just cryptocurrency.” them, because “these NFTs really resonate with me
ripple effect.” Kang found that something in NFTs, the non- on an emotional level,” says Turley.
Unions are more fungible tokens that use blockchain as authentication “Ninety percent of them are very wealthy crypto
common for musicians, many of whom belong and have become digital collectibles — as well as holders,” says Frew of NFT buyers. Even when to-
to long-standing groups like the American Fed- a booming new business for musicians. And he’s kens are relatively affordable — such as the Kings of
eration of Musicians or SAG-AFTRA. Two years putting his digital money where his mouth is: So far, Leon NFTs, which cost around $50, plus substantial
ago, a group of creators formed the Music he estimates that he has spent about $2 million on fees — purchasing them isn’t always easy. (Most
Workers Alliance to push for better conditions art and music NFTs, which he does not intend to sell. NFT platforms require that purchases be made with
for independent musicians. His collection includes one of the 33 NFTs that mark a form of cryptocurrency.) Longtime Kings of Leon
A Secretly Group union representative says the third anniversary of electronic musician 3LAU’s fan Nathan Sanchez, a 29-year-old architectural
that it wants to “make Secretly Group a more Ultraviolet album, which he bought for $333,333. engineer from Austin who considers himself a crypto
equitable, inclusive and healthy workplace.” The (3LAU earned a staggering $11.7 million on the drop.) novice, says his NFT purchase took him a couple of
company — which includes the labels Jagjagu- Over the past few months, dozens of musicians hours due to the complicated, multistep process of
war, Secretly Canadian and Dead Oceans, as have entered the NFT fray, such as Grimes, who setting up a crypto wallet and dealing with unex-
well as acts like Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver and in February sold some $6 million worth of digital pected marketplace fees — and he might have given
The War on Drugs — said in a statement that artworks in one auction, and the more mainstream up if it didn’t come with a vinyl record. “I’m not sure
recognition of the union was “an extension of Kings of Leon. From Feb. 27 to March 29, the top 10 an average person can do it,” says Sanchez.
our mission and core values.” crypto collectible markets by sales volume account- That will change as the market expands. “The
In the past, union efforts have generally ed for over $338 million, according to industry track- whole goal of blockchain is global accessibility
trickled down from larger companies to smaller ing site CryptoSlam. Since purchasers are usually and open access for everyone,” says Kang. He has
ones. In this case, however, other companies’ anonymous, however, it’s hard to tell who’s buying become friendly with 3LAU, with whom he talks or
employees could follow Secretly, says Robert these NFTs. Based on Billboard’s interviews with texts almost daily. “He has been advocating for NFTs
Bruno, a University of Illinois Urbana-Cham- collectors, however, it would appear that buyers run since 2017,” says Kang, “and just seeing his leadership
paign labor and employment relations professor. the gamut — from the crypto-rich to fans looking for in the space is why I dropped a large sum of money.”
“Could it have an effect?” he asks. “It depends new ways to engage with artists they love to flippers The lines between fandom and investment aren’t
on how expansive and how successful this hoping to turn a profit. always clear. Alexander Labanon, a 25-year-old
would be.” There’s also a nagging question about whether rental-car branch manager and crypto newcomer
“For many of us, [a union] didn’t seem like all buyers are legitimate, as opposed to investors or from Richmond, Texas, recently spent about $800
an option, so hopefully, we showed the wider members of the artists’ camps involved in ploys to on an NFT of a previously unreleased track by rapper
independent industry that it’s possible,” says the boost NFT prices. “That could happen,” says Jimi Tory Lanez. He hopes to buy more Lanez NFTs and
Secretly Union representative. “You don’t need Frew, co-founder of Blockchain Music, whose NFT sell them as a package. “I’m a fan of Tory Lanez,” says
to start one when things hit rock bottom.” brand RAREZ delivered deadmau5’s first digital col- Labanon, “but if there’s money to be made, I’m going
—S T E V E K N O P P E R lectibles. “Has something like that happened? Highly to take my money.”
NOAH CYRUS SIGNED WITH TAP MANAGEMENT GLOBALLY. COUNTRY SINGER PRISCILLA BLOCK SIGNED WITH F2 ENTERTAINMENT GROUP FOR MANAGEMENT AND CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY.
26 BILLBOARD • APRIL 3, 2021 I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y R YA N I N Z A N A

WE PROUDLY CONGRATULATE OUR
BILLBOARD 2021 TOP MUSIC LAWYERS
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING

SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING’S SONGWRITERS
HISTORY IS ALWAYS BEING WRITTEN®

ON SPOTIFY, WINNERS TAKE ALL
DATA RELEASED BY THE STREAMING SERVICE SHOWS THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS AS HIT-DRIVEN AS EVER
If Spotify were a country, its population of multiple is 78. The median act, in the streaming service’s around, and last year, the service paid out $5 billion —
4.47 million acts with at least one monthly 50th percentile, has just 16 monthly listeners. The power is 20% of all global recorded-music revenue. While equality
listener would rank just above Panama as the all at the top: Acts in the 90th percentile have 7,100 is improving, however, only 7,800 artists — 0.17% of that
128th largest in the world. Economic power monthly listeners, while acts in the 99th percentile still 4.47 million — earned over $100,000 in recording and
is highly concentrated, though. In Spotify’s home country have just 99,000. publishing royalties in 2020.
of Sweden, those in the 80th percentile of income make On March 18, amid a U.K. Parliament inquiry into the The business of popular music has always been driven
4.1 times as much as those in the 20th percentile, fairness of streaming royalties, Spotify released a trove by a relatively small number of superstars, for better
according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation of data on the online microsite Loud & Clear “to increase and for worse. And although some executives expected
and Development, while in South Africa — the OECD- transparency and shed light on the complicated econom- that the “long tail” of digital availability would even out
tracked country with the highest inequality — income in ics of music streaming,” according to CEO Daniel Ek. popularity, this hasn’t been much help to most working
the 80th percentile is 37.6 times larger than that of the Those economics can be unforgiving. Spotify, and the musicians. It’s still a long way to the top if you want to
20th. In Spotify, as measured by monthly listeners, that streaming model it helped popularize, turned the industry rock’n’roll. — G L E N N P EO P L E S
WHERE THE STREAMS FLOW THE GREAT DIVIDE

Of the 4.47 million artists on Spotify with at least one monthly listener, just 71,000 A streaming service isn’t a real-world economy, but comparing popularity to in-
have over 50,000 listeners a month — the bottom vertical limit of the graph below, come distribution in different countries shows how much “wealth” goes to the top.
which shows how many artists reach how many listeners each month. Only about In the “Republic of Spotify,” the 90th percentile of artists, as measured by monthly
1,000 artists have over 5 million monthly listeners, and audience numbers narrow listeners, gets 91 times the monthly listeners of the 50th percentile, while the 80th
more from there. percentile gets 78 times that of the 20th percentile.
P90/P50 P80/P20
SPOTIFY 91.1 78.0
C O U N T R I E S ’ I N C O M E D I S PA R I T I E S
SOUTH AFRICA 5.3 37.6

INDIA 3.2 13.4
70M The Weeknd 70.0 MEXICO 2.7 10.3

Justin Bieber 68.1
UNITED STATES 2.3 8.4
A R T I S T S ’ N U M B E R O F M O N T H LY L I S T E N E R S
Dua Lipa 61.4 UNITED KINGDOM 2.1 6.5

60M
RUSSIA 2.1 5.5
6M • 4.47 million artists have at least one monthly listener. JAPAN 2.0 6.2
• Of those, more than half (50.5%) have 16 or fewer. SWEDEN 1.7 4.1
5M • 62% of all artists with at least 50,000 monthly
Sources Spotify, OECD
listeners have fewer than 100,000 of them.
THE WEEKND: MATT BARON/SHUTTERSTOCK. BIEBER: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES. LIPA: DAVID FISHER/SHUTTERSTOCK.
4M
7,000 artists have at least $1M+
1 million monthly listeners. TOP OF THE CLASS SYSTEM 870
3M $500K+
13,000 artists have While Spotify is paying 1,820
at least 500,000 more musicians more $100K+
2M monthly listeners. 44,000 artists money every year, those
at the top get more still.
7,800
have at least
Spotify had 4.47 million
100,000 monthly
artists with more than one
1M listeners. monthly listener in Decem-
ber. During the entire year,
$50K+
13,400 made over $50,000, 13,400
0 and just 870 exceeded
10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 70K
$1 million.
NUMBER OF ARTISTS $10K+ $5K+ $1K+ <$1K

Note “Professional musician” determined by artists on Spotify with at least 50,000 monthly listeners
42,100 67,200 184,500 4,285,500
SOUNDCLOUD NAMED FIRST LOOK MEDIA’S DREW WILSON COO/CFO. SPOTIFY ACQUIRED BETTY LABS, OWNER OF THE LIVE-AUDIO CHAT APP LOCKER ROOM.

T HE M A RKE T GLOBA L R EPORT
price competition among retail outlets.

Tower Records in As a result, most CD albums sell for
Tokyo’s Shibuya
district in 2019. 2,000 to 3,000 yen ($18.32 to $27.51) —
up to 80% higher than in the United
States. That guarantees a 25% to 30%
per-unit profit margin for Japanese la-
bels, while streaming services’ month-
ly subscription fees average about
1,000 yen ($10), say industry sources.
“As long as there is physical demand, it
is natural for a profit-seeking company
like a label not to abandon it,” says
Masanori Ohori, executive officer of
Tokyo-based label Toy’s Factory. For
that reason, Japan’s powerful talent
agencies have also kept their acts off
streaming services, but even longtime
holdouts like Johnny & Associates,
which represents Arashi, are now
overcoming those concerns.
The biggest reason for Japan’s en-
during physical obsession is consumer
loyalty. Music fans show their commit-
ment to artists by buying and collect-
ing tangible products like CDs, while
“idol” acts cater to that demand with
multiple CD versions of new releases.
Physical Attraction Still, the shift to streaming is chang-

ing Japan’s retail landscape. CD rental
outlets — popular in Japan since the
Japan has had an enduring love affair with CDs, and labels love the profits ensured mid-1980s where labels collect royal-
ties when a CD is checked out — fell by
by the country’s “saihan” system. But streaming is finally taking off one-third from 2,803 in 2010 to 1,844
BY STEVE McCLURE in 2019, according to the RIAJ. And
some big-name music retailers like
TOKYO — Near the iconic revenue rose 27% last year to 58.9 bil- national territory last year, says Ama- Virgin Megastores Japan have closed
scramble crossing in Tokyo’s lion yen ($542.2 million) in wholesale zon Music Japan director René Fasco. for good. Tower Records Japan still
Shibuya district stands Tower Records value, while physical sales fell 15% to “With greatly improved streaming operates 80 stores nationwide, down
Japan’s nine-story flagship store — a 194.4 billion yen ($1.8 billion), accord- catalogs and better-informed custom- from 87 a decade ago. (In 2002, it
hulking, gray colossus proudly defying ing to the RIAJ. ers, streaming adoption will continue broke away from the U.S.-based retail
the local music market’s slow drift In a sign of the shift underway, a to accelerate,” he says. (The company chain, which went out of business in
toward streaming. Emblazoned in streaming-only single — “Yoru ni Ka- doesn’t disclose subscriber data.) 2006 as the U.S. CD market crashed
red letters above the entrance is the keru” by pop duo YOASOBI — topped Yet the latest sales results still show with the rise of downloads and piracy.)
chain’s slogan: “No Music, No Life.” the Billboard Japan Hot 100 year-end physical product (including music The Japanese chain says its sales have
Despite the pandemic, there’s ample chart for the first time in 2020. Male videos) comprising 71% of Japanese stayed above 50 billion yen ($459 mil-
evidence of both. vocal group Arashi released its first record companies’ revenue in 2020 lion) for the past decade, recording
The store is a vivid reminder that digital single, “Turning Up,” in Novem- — down from 76% in 2019 and 79% in revenue of 53.2 billion yen ($488 mil-
music fans here still haven’t given up ber 2019, and then three months later 2018, according to the RIAJ. lion) in the year ending February 2020.
on physical formats like CDs, vinyl digitally released all 16 of its previously Japan — along with South Korea Tower expects to announce that
and even cassettes. While much of the released studio albums. Other major — now dominates global CD sales, sales fell last year, due to the pandem-
world moves further into streaming as acts made streaming debuts last year, accounting for $1.26 billion, or 45.8% ic. Physical sales slipped precipitously
the dominant form of music consump- including singer-songwriters Masaha- of global CD revenue in 2020. South during the state of emergency in April
tion, Japan still has a physical fixation. ru Fukuyama and Kenshi Yonezu, and Korean music consumers, driven by and May when retail stores closed, but
That is hampering the overall rock band Southern All Stars. the global popularity of K-pop col- recovered in July. Meanwhile, Tower’s
market, which declined for the second Japanese labels are also increasingly lectibles for groups like BTS, recorded online sales have jumped 30%, says
straight year in 2020, falling 9% from using YouTube and music-focused a $189.1 million increase (up 85.9%) in Tower spokesman Tatsuro Yagawa.
2019 to 272.6 billion yen ($2.64 bil- streaming services to promote new physical sales in 2020 to $409.4 mil- Japanese music executives say
lion), according to the Recording music before CDs hit stores. “It has lion, according to IFPI. there’s enough room for both physi-
Industry Association of Japan. taken us a while to shift, and it was One reason Japan has been slow to cal and digital — for now — but the
But there are signs that the world’s very hard, but it is happening now,” streaming is “saihan,” a government long-term question is when, and even
biggest physical market — and No. 2 says Iichiro Noda, CEO of digital mu- system that allows labels to set retail whether, streaming gains can make up
COURTESY OF TOWER RECORDS JAPAN
market overall — may finally be sic distributor TuneCore Japan, noting prices for CDs and other physical for the decline in CDs. “The relation-
reaching a tipping point, with global that since 2019, streaming releases products. Introduced in 1953 as an ship between digital music and physi-
streaming services Amazon Music, have accounted for most of the top anti-monopoly law exception, saihan cal in Japan will change slowly,” says
Spotify and Apple Music leading the songs on the Japan Hot 100. Japan was (meaning “resale”) ensures copyright- Yagawa. “We don’t think physical sales
charge. Japanese labels’ streaming Amazon Music’s fastest-growing inter- ed material’s availability by reducing will drop [all] at once like in the U.S.”
UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP EXPANDED A LICENSING DEAL WITH AFRICAN STREAMING SERVICE BOOMPLAY. WARNER MUSIC GROUP AND CHINA’S TENCENT MUSIC FORMED A JOINT RECORD LABEL.

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soundroyalties.com
Exclusively for Billboard Pro Members:

Hear Sound Royalties CEO Alex Heiche
and famed producer David Tickle
discuss music and money.
Ahrend photographed March 11 at the
MLC’s future office space in Nashville.
FROM THE DESK OF The MLC was created two years ago. How far along
is it in realizing the mandates?
KRIS AHREND
The MLC was designated in the summer of 2019,
so we are not yet two years in. [Chief technology
officer] Richard [Thompson] and [head of rights
management] Maurice [Russell] were engaged by
CEO, Mechanical Licensing Collective the board as consultants around that time. I joined
at the beginning of 2020, and that is when we really
BY ED CHRISTMAN P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y E M I LY D O R I O began to build the organization.
In terms of where we are now: We built and
launched the portal that our members use to inter-
VERY CEO IN THE WORLD HAS A copyright holders — from digital service providers act with the data and submit their registration. We
story about how his or her company (DSPs). In order to distribute that money, the MLC launched the data-quality initiative, which mem-
E has handled the pandemic. But how has built a database — accessible to anyone — that bers can use to compare their data with ours and
many of them were first-time CEOs music publishing administrators can use to claim then receive a discrepancy report so that they can
just two months into building a brand-new ownership stakes in unmatched songs and collect home in on what needs to be corrected. We have
company when the crisis hit? And not just any new those royalties. To say there’s a lot riding on its launched the public database for anyone to access
company, but one charged with solving what may success is an understatement: That $424 million on our website, and the bulk data subscription
be the most vexing problem in the music industry: payment is only the beginning of billions of dol- program that allows anyone to download a weekly
making sure creators receive their mechanical lars that will flow through the MLC. snapshot of all the music works in our database —
royalties when their songs are streamed. Ahrend has spent his career inside and out- two incredibly important steps in delivering the
That’s the situation Kris Ahrend — CEO of side the label system, starting as an intellectual transparency that we promised to the industry.
the Mechanical Licensing Collective — found property lawyer in 1996 and later holding key
himself in last year. The organization was cre- positions in the legal affairs departments of Sony Where does the regulatory process stand? Has the
ated under the 2018 Music Modernization Act BMG and Warner Music Group’s Rhino before U.S. Copyright Office thrown you any curve balls?
(MMA) to administer a blanket mechanical becoming head of WMG shared services in 2013. They were responsive to the needs we asserted. The
license for on-demand streaming and digital Prior to all of that, he played music, from age 5 MLC is not able to advocate when it comes to rates
download services. Though a board was in- through his law school band. “I really wanted to and rights, but we can advocate for things we think
stalled in 2019, Ahrend did not start until Janu- do that for a living, but I didn’t have the talent or we need operationally. So we were able to get a set
ary 2020. Due to the pandemic, he hired most of the fortitude,” he says. “I have extraordinary re- of regulations that now provide us with more data
the MLC’s 65 employees via Zoom. spect for people who do creative things, because than rights holders ever had access to before. For
On Feb. 15, the MLC received $424 million I know how hard it is to make a living. That’s example, we will be able to create links that will let
in historical unmatched black-box royalties — one reason I am so passionate about making sure our members listen to the music that corresponds
past royalties that could not be matched to the that we pay creators properly.” with the data in the report. That’s a huge innovation.
MOTOWN RECORDS NAMED ALISON FINLEY EXECUTIVE VP/COO. SONY MUSIC NASHVILLE NAMED TAYLOR LINDSEY HEAD OF A&R, SUCCEEDING JIM CATINO.

Is that for the pending and unmatched activity and
royalties?
That was the primary motivator. Where there is
unmatched activity, we will be able to provide our
members a way they can listen to the music that cor-
responds to the data. But it could potentially be for
all the data, depending on how we are able to build it.
How much transparency can we expect?

Our goal is to be as transparent as we can in every
aspect of the operation, other than where we are
prevented from doing so by law or where there are
issues of competition or confidentiality based on
the regulations issued by the Copyright Office. I’ll
give you one example: We have had people search 2
the database and say they see data that seems
wrong. That is transparency. We didn’t just release
the data that we had a chance to scrub, clean and
check. We released all the data that has been regis- 1
tered by rights holders. People need to see the data
in whatever condition it is in. That way, songwrit-
ers can help improve it, which will help them get How much black-box money do you expect to match
paid properly. on the first pass?
Every month, we will do better at matching because
But songwriters who use a company like CD Baby to every month we will look at the data and see where
administer their publishing can’t fix the data them- we were successful and where we were not. We will
selves, right? see if we are doing better with certain types of rep-
That is correct. If you have chosen to work with a ertoire than others. And that will allow us to change
partner, whether that be a publisher, an administra- our approach for the next month to do better.
tor or a society outside of the U.S., you will have to
go through them. But you will see the exact same What have you found so far?
data that they do. Even though you rely on that It’s way too early to say, but it runs the gamut. We
partner to collect your royalty and interact with us, were able to do incredibly well for some services and
you still get to see the data that we use for those not so well for others. We have to be aware there may
payments. There is not another example of that be gaps in the data. I think we will see where data
transparency on the level that we provide. from certain countries is missing and where we think 3
the number of works represented is light compared
The DSPs that started operating under blanket with the works that are here. Having seen usage data
licenses on Jan. 1 were also set to deliver reports and from some 60 DSPs, we are seeing immediate oppor-
payments on March 17. Have they? tunities for improvement simply by looking at how
On Feb. 15, the day we received the historical some of the DSPs are presenting their data. DSPs
unmatched payments and the first tranche of usage have the freedom to change the titles of the sound
data for those royalties, we also received the first recordings they receive to meet their own business
usage files of blanket royalties for the January needs. And the naming convention they use can be a
period from DSPs that opted to front load what contributing factor to the difficulty of matching. We
we call the early pass so that we could provide now have the ability to say, “Hey, you need to change
them with an invoice of the royalties that were due the way you deliver the data to us.”
March 17. We are now actively involved in receiving
and reviewing data for the historical unmatched The data provided for the $424 million in black-box
royalties and the blanket royalties. royalties shows that Spotify sent in $152 million
of $182 million in unmatched royalties. Does the
Where does the building of the claiming portal and difference represent what Spotify paid out through
the revenue statement portals stand? settlements and private agreements made so
In order to build these platforms, we needed the publishers wouldn’t sue for copyright infringement?
data, but we did not receive any before Feb. 15. Now Yes, Spotify was one of the DSPs that exercised its
that we have the data, we can finish building out right under regulations the Copyright Office issued
the platform. We will have the statement module to withhold certain royalties that they believe they 4
for royalties ready to launch in the next 30 days in do not owe to rights holders because of private
time for the first distribution. We will launch the settlements they had entered before the MMA was 1. “These are journals and notebooks where I kept lyrics for songs
claiming portal following that in the next two or passed. In the coming weeks, we will be notify- I wrote and others I performed in bands I was in in high school and
college,” says Ahrend. “They remind me of how difficult it is to be a
three months, and that will allow people to see the ing rights holders if Spotify listed them as having creator.” 2. A poster commemorating the 1985 Live Aid concerts. “I
unmatched money first from the blanket money and entered a private settlement. Those rights holders have hung it in every office I’ve had to remind me of the power the
then in the second half of the year from the histori- will then have the ability to dispute that by notify- music industry has to address social issues.” 3. “Mugs my two sons
made for me when they were in preschool.” 4. “I’ve played piano
cal unmatched. We still have to receive the rest of ing the MLC. At that moment, the MLC will step
since I was 5, and I dreamed of having one of my own. When I was
the data for the historical unmatched and then go aside, and it will be up to rights holders and the based in New York, I never had room for a piano. I purchased this
through the matching process there, too. DSPs to work out a resolution. one when I moved to Los Angeles around the time I turned 40.”
CONCORD PROMOTED BOB VALENTINE TO PRESIDENT AND KENT HOSKINS TO CFO. ALFONSO PEREZ-SOTO WAS ELEVATED TO PRESIDENT OF EMERGING MARKETS AT WARNER RECORDED MUSIC.

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N
AC A D E M Y AWA R D N O M I N E E ®
BEST ORIGINAL SONG “IO SÌ (SEEN)”

M U S IC BY D I A N E WA R R E N • LY R IC BY D I A N E WA R R E N A N D L AU R A PAU S I N I
G OL DEN GLOBE AWA R D ®
WINNER
BEST ORIGINAL SONG “IO SÌ ( SEEN ) ”
“Madame Rosa and Momo, masterfully played

by the legendary Sophia Loren and Ibrahima Gueye
are not seen for who they are by the outside
world, but they learn to truly see each other.
THERE IS NOT A BETTER VOICE
FOR THIS SONG THAN THE
BRILLIANT LAURA PAUSINI.
I am so honored that she decided to sing it and
bring it to life like no one else could have done.”
Diane Warren
FILM.NETFLIXAWARDS.COM
La vita davanti a sé
Sound
PG. 38 I N S I D E J E S S E C O L L I N S ’ B I G Y E A R PG. 40 Q & A s W I T H E V E R Y S O N G A N D S C O R E N O M I N E E
Clockwise from top:

H.E.R., Tiara Thomas,
OSCAR
2021
D’Mile, Leslie Odom Jr.,

Trent Reznor and
MUSIC Atticus Ross.
PREVIEW
ILLUSTRATION REFERENCE PHOTOS: H.E.R.: MEDIAPUNCH/SHUTTERSTOCK. THOMAS: KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES. D’MILE: GREGG DEGUIRE/GETTY
IMAGES. ODOM: ROBIN L MARSHALL/GETTY IMAGES. REZNOR: RICH FURY/GETTY IMAGES. ROSS: JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC.
ONE NIGHT IN HISTORY

How six of this year’s Oscar music nominees won before the show even started
B Y P A U L G R E I N // I L L U S T R A T I O N B Y D A V I D D E S P A U
A P R I L 3 , 2 0 2 1 • W W W. B I L L B O A R D . C O M 37
2021
OSCAR
MUSIC
PREVIEW
HILE ALL OF THE NOMINEES FOR BEST
W original song and best original score at the 93rd

annual Academy Awards — set for April 25 —
have reason to celebrate their achievements,
the following six contenders should feel
H.E.R., D’MILE and TIARA THOMAS
In the span of 12 hours

TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS
The rockers-turned-A-
in early March, H.E.R., list composers have two
particularly proud as their nominations made history. Leslie
D’Mile (Dernst Emile II) nominations for best
Odom Jr., who is the fourth actor in four years to receive
and Tiara Thomas original score — Mank
Oscar nods for acting and songwriting in the same year,
achieved two career and Soul (they teamed
believes it’s easier to shatter ceilings because “there’s less
milestones. On the with Jon Batiste on the
boundaries in the industry than there used to be.”
evening of March 14, latter). They are the first
“There really is an opportunity right now to bring all that
they won a Grammy for composer or composing
you are to projects,” he continues. “It used to be that if you
song of the year for “I team to have two scores
were a television star, you were a television star. If you made
Can’t Breathe,” which nominated in the same
music, you only made music. It was a lot harder to just come
became an anthem of the Black Lives Matter year since Alexandre Desplat accomplished the
and say, ‘I’m a creative person, and I’d like to be creative in
movement upon its June release. And before feat six years ago with The Grand Budapest Hotel
these different areas.’ ”
the sun came up the following morning, they and The Imitation Game.
received an Oscar nomination for best original John Williams had two scores nominated for
song for “Fight for You” from Judas and the best original score in the same year an impressive
LESLIE ODOM JR. Black Messiah. eight times between 1972 and 2011, while Johnny
It’s the first time in 35 years that a songwriter Green competed against himself in the now-
Odom scored two nominations for his or songwriting team has received an Oscar defunct category scoring of a musical picture in
work in One Night in Miami... He is nod in the same awards season that they won a 1951 and 1956. No one else has had two nods in
nominated for best original song for Grammy for song of the year for a different song. a scoring category more than once since 1946,
“Speak Now” (which he co-wrote with Lionel Richie was nominated for an Oscar on when the number of nominees in scoring catego-
songwriter Sam Ashworth) and best Feb. 5, 1986, for “Say You, Say Me” from White ries dropped to the current five (from a whopping
supporting actor for his portrayal of R&B Nights. (The ballad went on to win the Oscar.) 21 the previous year). Other composers who have
great Sam Cooke. Later, on Feb. 25, he won a Grammy for song had two nominees in a scoring category in one
From 1934, when the Oscars intro- of the year for “We Are the World,” the iconic year are James Horner (1995), Thomas Newman
duced the best original song cat- humanitarian anthem that he co-wrote with (1994), Bernard Herrmann (1976), Hugo Friedhofer
egory, through 2016, no one received Michael Jackson. (1957) and Alex North (1951).
nominations for songwriting and acting in the same year (partly On one other occasion, a songwriter or song- The nomination for Soul is the first time that
because, years ago, singing actors didn’t usually write their own writing team received an Oscar nod in the same three composers have shared a nomination in
material and relied more on songwriters instead). awards season that they won a Grammy for song a scoring category since 1998, when Matthew
Times have changed. For Mudbound (2017), Mary J. Blige was of the year for a different song. Wilder, David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith were
nominated for best song for “Mighty River” and best supporting Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer were nominated for Mulan in the defunct best original
actress. For A Star Is Born (2018), Lady Gaga won best song for nominated for an Oscar in February 1964, for musical or comedy score category.
“Shallow” and was nominated for best actress. For Harriet (2019), writing the title song from Charade. In May If Soul wins, this will be the first time that
Cynthia Erivo was nominated for best song for “Stand Up” and of that year, they won a Grammy for song of three composers have shared a scoring award
best actress for her role as famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. the year for the title song from Days of Wine since 1987, when David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Odom now joins Erivo as the second double-nominee to be rec- and Roses, which had won an Oscar the and Cong Su took best original score for The
ognized for a film in which he or she played a real-life character. previous year. Last Emperor.
REZNOR, ROSS: KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC. ODOM: TONY AVELAR/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK. D’MILE: TIMOTHY NORRIS/GETTY IMAGES. H.E.R.: TRAE PATTON/NBC/GETTY
Q&A How has working on the Oscars it still had to have something that made
differed from your usual music- it worth watching.
ON WITH THE SHOW

Collins
IMAGES. THOMAS: JAY L. CLENDENIN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES. COLLINS: CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK.
specific programming?
It has been very different from what I’m What have you learned while work-
JESSE COLLINS IS REIMAGINING used to, but it’s still an awards show. ing on these shows that you’ll apply
the modern awards show. In 2020, the There will be some people that win, to future events?
Emmy-nominated producer’s work on there’ll be some people that lose, and This pandemic has proved that if you’ve
the BET Awards set the standard for we’ve got to create some memorable got a good idea, a strong song, whatever
what large-scale virtual events could moments in between. that is, people will respond to it. People
accomplish during a pandemic. This expect a high level of entertainment.
year, the 50-year-old CEO of Jesse What piece of advice has stuck with These types of situations force you to
Collins Entertainment worked on his 17th you throughout these opportunities push your creativity to create a better Oh, man. I wish I had got the inside of
Grammy Awards (his first as co-execu- in your career? product. So even going forward, when my nose a little tougher. I’ve been taking
tive producer) and became the first Black The mantra we’ve been working under we’re in a space where these awards COVID tests about three or four times a
executive producer of the Super Bowl is, “There’s no excuses.” You can’t put shows are the new normal, whatever that week and the tears still come down my
halftime show. Now, thanks to a personal something on television and say, “This is, and people are back together, we still face. They say, “Oh, after the first two,
recommendation from Oprah Winfrey, would have been great, but COVID-19 will push forward that level of creativity you’re fine.” Well, I’m on COVID test
Collins is gearing up for his first Oscars made it hard.” I think people are forgiving that we established in 2020. No. 293, and it’s not full-blown tears
stint as co-producer alongside Stacey with certain things, and for a while they anymore, but definitely a trickle — kind
Sher and Steven Soderbergh of the 93rd were accepting things on Zoom. But What would you tell your younger self of like that Denzel Washington Glory tear.
Academy Awards. even when you did something on Zoom, with the perspective you have now? —L A R I S H A PAU L
ONLY BING CROSBY HAS WON BEST ORIGINAL SONG FOUR TIMES, FOR “SWEET LEILANI,” “WHITE CHRISTMAS,” “SWINGING ON A STAR” AND “IN THE COOL, COOL, COOL OF THE EVENING.”

ACADEMY AWARD
©
NOMINEE
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE • BEST SOUND
B ES T O R I G I N A L S CO R E
TRENT REZNOR • ATTICUS ROSS • JON BATISTE
© 2021 DISNEY/PIXAR
2021
OSCAR
MUSIC
PREVIEW
Jamie Foxx voiced

the character Joe
Gardner in Soul.
How did you react to hearing you were

nominated for an Oscar?
I wrote the song in my bedroom during
lockdown, so it was surreal to know that
it led to something much more tangible.
Though I was born in America, I haven’t
been able to go back for fear of being
stuck during COVID-19, so I’m glad that
my music was able to travel to the states
without me being there in person.
And how did your mother react?

Like she had some psychic ability. She just
went, “I knew it!”
“HUSAVIK”
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of
Fire Saga, Netflix
Music/lyric: Savan Kotecha, Fat Max
Gsus, Rickard Göransson
Sweden is to thank for this subtle send-up
of Eurovision power ballads — a perfect fit
for a film that thoughtfully parodies the an-
nual international song competition. Gsus
(pronounced “Jesus”) and Göransson were
both born there, while Kotecha (a go-to
collaborator of Ariana Grande) lived there
MUSIC THAT DEFINED US for 15 years.
How did you balance parody with

Breaking down this year’s Oscar best original song and score nominees and why, in their meaning on this song?
own words, a nod means more to them than ever after a trying 2020 KOTECHA The trick was this, and it’s
something [director] Dave Dobkin talked
about a lot: We didn’t want to make fun
of Eurovision.
What is the group chat with Dernst “HEAR MY VOICE”
SONGS and Tiara like? The Trial of the Chicago 7, Netflix Who came up with the line, “Where
H.E.R. Oh, man. We are going crazy. Music: Daniel Pemberton the whales can live/’Cause they’re
Of the 12 songwriters who are vying There’s a long thread of congratulations Lyric: Daniel Pemberton, Celeste Waite gentle people in my hometown”?
for best original song this year, 11 are and fireworks and GIFs and all that. In Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, GSUS That would be me. I wrote it
first-time Academy Award nominees. set during the Vietnam War, Waite’s soulful with the meaning that the people of
The 12th is category perennial Diane Why do you three work so well “Hear My Voice” scores the final scene in Husavik are so gentle that the whales
Warren, who lands her 12th nod. together? the period drama. According to the British can live there [without being killed]. But
This is the only Oscar nomination for We weren’t trying to be a voice for any- singer, the song was “written in the spirit of how it is perceived is like the whales
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story body but ourselves. Because we are Black protest,” mirroring not only the film’s por- are gentle people.
of Fire Saga and The Life Ahead (La people, we represent the people who are trayal of the anti-war riots of the 1960s but KOTECHA As an American, when I was liv-
Vita Davanti a Se), which delivered suffering and struggling right now. That’s a also the off-screen protests of today. ing in Sweden that was part of the charm of
two prime candidates, “Husavik” and feeling you can’t understand unless you’re Eurovision. Some of the songs feel like they
“Io Sì (Seen),” respectively. The other in it and you’re seeing these videos of peo- Given the way 2020 went, why might were translated into English. You know what
three films represented here all have ple who look like your family. So I think God this nomination carry more weight? they mean, but you don’t want to correct it.
multiple nominations. is using us as a vessel, and we’re using our WAITE Recently in England, there were
gifts and our responsibility to make songs women protesting gender-based violence Did you listen to past Eurovision songs
that reflect how we feel, because it helps where they were wrestled to the ground as research for the film?
“FIGHT FOR YOU” other people get to know how they feel. by policemen. It’s horrible. And last year, GÖRANSSON For those of us who are
Judas and the Black Messiah, Warner we had the Black Lives Matter protests from Sweden, it has been a part of our lives
Music: H.E.R., Dernst Emile II How have you been safely celebrating running in parallel to the ones in America. since we grew up. Every year you watch it.
Lyric: H.E.R., Tiara Thomas your award season so far? It was powerful to see different groups Subconsciously you kind of know the tone.
Less than 12 hours after winning a Grammy I’ve just been coming down from it. I’ve coming together for the Black community
Award for song of the year, H.E.R. arose been tired, but in a good way. Like, “Wow, during a year when we had all been liv-
at 6:30 a.m. to a stream of congratula- this is happening. [Now] let’s put in the ing in isolation. As this song has reached “IO SÌ (SEEN)”
tory texts — but they were for an entirely work.” I feel like I’m on my way to an EGOT more people, it gives me and many others The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se),
Netflix
© 2020 DISNEY/PIXAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
different nomination. Someone sent a one day with everything going on. I need the platform to talk about things that are
screenshot of the Oscar nominations, to make space for my new Grammys and important, especially in this moment in Music: Diane Warren
which is how she learned she was up for hopefully, maybe, an Oscar. And it’s just time. This piece of music can grow, and Lyric: Diane Warren, Laura Pausini
best original song. the beginning, that’s the crazy part. that excites me. Warren is one of only nine songwriters in
RICHARD M. SHERMAN AND ROBERT B. SHERMAN ARE THE ONLY BROTHERS TO COLLABORATE ON A WINNING SCORE, WITH MARY POPPINS (1964).

3 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ®
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG

KEMP POWERS LESLIE ODOM JR. “SPEAK NOW”
CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS WINNER

BEST SONG “SPEAK NOW”
MUSIC & LYRICS BY LESLIE ODOM JR. & SAM ASHWORTH
“LESLIE ODOM JR. IS ASTONISHING”

Oscar history to amass 12 or more nomina- could look at him as being less than
tions in this category. But unlike the other just because of the color of his skin or
writers on that list, Warren has never won. because he may look different was an
Meanwhile, Italian star Laura Pausini is incredible thought to have — and it’s
looking at her first nomination thanks to sickening and tiresome that we’re still
The Life Ahead, which tells the story of the living in this age. With all of these films
unlikely bond between a former prostitute being nominated, I’m glad to see there’s a
(played by Sofia Loren) and a 12-year-old plethora of diversity, because I was wor-
orphaned Senegalese immigrant. ried about that after the Golden Globes.
Jon Batiste is like my little brother, and
You’ve said the phrase “you’re seen” to think me and him are making history
came to you when you read the script. because we’re the first two Black people
WARREN That simple phrase, “I want you to be nominated in this category [for
to know that you’re seen,” is really power- separate films in the same year]? That’s a
ful. That message is so compelling, be- crime. We all need to do better.
cause we’re living in a time when a lot of us
don’t feel seen, and with COVID-19, people
were alone and literally weren’t seen. MANK
Actor Daniel Kaluuya (left) and Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (Netflix)
director Shaka King on the set of
Why was it important to record ver- Judas and the Black Messiah. The longtime Nine Inch Nail bandmates
sions in Italian, Portuguese, French and award-winning duo of Reznor and
and Spanish? Ross are up for both Mank and Soul this
PAUSINI I knew the power of this song ODOM I was. I came into the soundstage before. This is the seventh nod in the year. The two first won an Oscar for best
and this profound and important mes- and played all four demos for Regina [King, category for James Newton Howard, original score 10 years ago for The Social
sage linked to family values and integra- the film’s director]. “Speak Now” and one the second and third for the pair of Network. If they win again this year, they’ll
tion. My daughter and I saw the film and other song made it to the next round. We Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and become the fourth two-time winners in
discussed its meaning, even though she is went and developed those songs a little the second for frequent Spike Lee the category in the past 20 years, follow-
only 8 years old. In the video clip of “Io Sì,” further, and “Speak Now” was chosen. collaborator Terence Blanchard. This ing Howard Shore, Gustavo Santaolalla
[director] Edoardo Ponti left the images of is the only Oscar nod for the film and Alexandre Desplat.
me crying because I was really moved, and What was the main challenge in writ- Blanchard scored, Lee’s Da 5 Bloods.
this is the reflection of my sincere emotion. ing this song? The other four films represented here How does it feel to achieve the rare
ASHWORTH There is so much conver- all had multiple nominations. double nomination?
How special is it to represent Italy at sation in the film. The script [by Kemp REZNOR We haven’t had time to fully
the Oscars? Powers] is just so rich. The challenge was, process what’s happening. When we
PAUSINI That has been my mission since I how do we narrow down some of these DA 5 BLOODS work on a project, much like when we’re
started my career 28 years ago. Everything ideas into a three- or four-minute song? Terence Blanchard (Netflix) sitting down to write a song for Nine Inch
I do is for my country. What I had in the verses was a lot more Blanchard planned to take a break after Nails, we aren’t thinking about writ-
poetry. We went through and created scoring his first Oscar nod in 2019 for ing something we hope charts. We’re
What do you think of this year’s field of more of a story. Each verse came out of a BlacKkKlansman, but longtime collabora- just trying to make the best song we
nominees? conversation between us about what it’s tor Lee had other plans. Sure enough, can. When we’re working on a film, we
WARREN I’ll be honest: I hope to win. meant to be. scoring Da 5 Bloods landed Blanchard an- put a lot of thought into trying to make
I’m like a sports team that has lost the other nomination that he never expected. the right choice as to what we should
World Series for decades. This is 33 years Why weren’t you attempting to write a As he says: “If my hair could turn another pursue. We try to find camps that we can
since my first nomination. The cool thing song that reflected the period, 1964, or shade of gray, it would.” learn from and be inspired from. Then
is April 25 [the Oscars’ rescheduled date] sounded like Sam Cooke? you get into the world, you immerse
would have been my dad’s 105th birthday. ODOM We definitely didn’t want it to be What was it like to watch the film’s yourself in it and lose track of time.
He was the first person to ever believe in something that Sam would record; we final cut for the first time?
me, and I have a feeling he is with me. wanted it to come from me. In the film I The score doesn’t have anything to do if You’ve developed a shorthand
got as close to Sam as I could get. After there’s not a great performance on the with director David Fincher after
my final day [of shooting] in New Orleans, screen, and when I watched it I felt like multiple projects. What keeps you
“SPEAK NOW” I went about the process of letting that I needed to measure up to what was coming back?
One Night in Miami..., Amazon go. I was happy we were recording the already done. I tell people all the time: We ROSS To my mind, he’s one of the greatest
Music/lyric: Leslie Odom Jr., Sam song three months after filming, because were at the Oscars [in 2019] and [Spike] living directors. When I first met David, I
Ashworth I would have been tempted to try to do a said, “I’m getting on a plane to shoot the was incredibly intimidated by him partly
Odom has already won a Tony and a Sam Cooke thing. We wanted the song to next one,” and I’m like, “Dude, you’re nuts. because his vocabulary is so wide-ranging.
GLEN WILSON/© 2021 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Grammy for Hamilton, and with an Oscar hopefully be impactful on a modern audi- Why don’t you take a break?” When he But every experience has been a journey I
win would be just an Emmy away from ence. We didn’t want to do something that showed me this film I was like, “Oh, shit. will always remember — and I can’t stress
EGOT status. Ashworth, who has collabo- was about yesterday. He did it again.” enough how rewarding each has been.
rated with Odom before, has also been
nominated for a Grammy, earning two How does it feel to be nominated this
nods in 2019 for H.E.R.’s I Used To Know SCORE year, considering current events? MINARI
Her (album of the year) and “Hard Place” [You look at] what our brother [Chadwick Emile Mosseri (A24)
(song of the year). Emile Mosseri and Jon Batiste both Boseman] was going through when he Mosseri woke up at 4:45 a.m. the day
land their first Academy Award was shooting this movie and nobody had the Oscar nominations were revealed,
Four songs vied to close the film. Leslie, nominations, but all other nominees a clue he was sick. It’s a testament to his but decided that he and his wife would
were you a co-writer on all of them? in this category have been nominated character, and to think that somebody put their phones away. “I Googled ‘Oscar
KEITH CARRADINE WAS THE FIRST SONGWRITER TO WIN BEST ORIGINAL SONG FOR A SONG HE ALSO PERFORMED IN A FILM — “EASY” FROM NASHVILLE (1975).

2021
OSCAR
MUSIC
PREVIEW
Amanda Seyfried in Mank.
nominations’ and kept scrolling down

the list,” he recalls. “The score category
didn’t say my name, but it said ‘Minari.’ I
remember asking my wife: ‘That means
me, right?’ ”
This is your first Oscar nomination.

What does it mean to now be an Acad-
emy Award-nominated composer?
It’s hard to put it into words. There are
certain types of acknowledgement that
are universally understood. The Academy
[of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] is
one of those things that you don’t have
to explain to people. I’ve been playing
shows, writing music and putting out
records for almost 20 years now, and I
always find myself trying to explain to From left: Alan S. Kim, Steven Yeun, SOUL
my family why something is important. Noel Cho and Yeri Han in Minari. Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste
There’s something nice about this in that (Disney/Pixar)
regard. I grew up watching the Oscars, as Reznor and Ross were especially humbled
so many people did, so there’s an added by their double Oscar nomination in the
level of surrealness to being a part of it best original score category after 2020.
that is a total dream. “It’s another thing that kind of doesn’t seem
real in a year when everything starts to blur
Minari scored five other nominations, together,” says Reznor.
including best picture and best direc-
tor. Is that extra gratifying? What was it like to work on a Pixar
One hundred percent. The best picture movie with someone like Jon Batiste?
[nod] is a big one, because everybody who REZNOR As we got a little more confident
worked on it is nominated. It has now been over the years, the idea was, “What would
almost two years since I started working on be interesting to try?” and Pixar was on that
it, so there’s a real family around this film. list of dream collaborators. We thought if
For this movie to connect in this way and the right thing came along, hell yeah we’d
get this kind of recognition, we’re still all like to see how those guys work. There’s
beside ourselves. a humanity and a greatness to them that’s
several notches above. When we got in
Will Ferrell and Rachel
How did you react the first time you the studio [with Jon], it became crystal
McAdams in Eurovision Song
saw the film in full? Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. clear that he’s not just a great player, but
I watched the first cut on a couch with he has that thing great musicians have ... he
[director Lee] Isaac [Chung], and even understands without words.
though I knew what was going to happen
in the film, I wasn’t prepared for how What would a win mean to you all?
hard it was going to hit me emotionally. REZNOR We’ve had a pretty spectacular
Especially toward the end of the film, I awards-oriented year: the Rock & Roll Hall
was just crying and snotting out of my of Fame, the Emmys. But all of it feels like
nose. I remember thinking, “Do I try to a dream. There have been Zoom calls,
hide this from him, or should I lean into emails, a couple phone calls, but there
it?” I felt so unprofessional, but it was a weren’t any weird tuxedo pictures.
profound experience. ROSS To find oneself here is pretty
psychedelic, especially after this year. The
MANK: © 2020 NETFLIX. MINARI: DAVID BORNFRIEND/A24. EUROVISION: JOHN WILSON/NETFLIX © 2020.
whole year has felt like an acid trip, some
NEWS OF THE WORLD very bad bits and some very good bits, and
James Newton Howard (Universal) if we won that would be the peak of the
The nine-time Oscar-nominated trip, as it were.
composer says starting his day at sunrise BATISTE Over two years of working on
with the good news has been a “lovely You don’t want to say anything stupid, You’ve scored many different genres — this film, we didn’t know how the world
tradition” that continued this year. He you don’t want to write something bad comedies, thrillers, major action-ad- would respond, given that it’s essentially
believes scoring a Western is “every — I’m always a little bit nervous. But at [a venture franchises and now a Western. about death and the origin of the soul and
composer’s dream” and with News of certain] point, the process is very much What’s left that you’d like to try? jazz — and it’s animation. We were just
the World, which stars Tom Hanks, that the same with everybody: trying to make I never feel like I’ve done one of everything, happy with what we created. All of this is
dream came true. sure that you’re telling the same story as because you could do four submarine beyond our wildest dreams.
the director. Paul was very interested in movies and they’re all going to be different
This was your first film with director a distinctive, subtle quality to the music. tonally. My biggest concern is just to do Contributors: Leila Cobo, Gab Ginsberg,
Paul Greengrass. What was that like? We did a lot of trial and error, and that the next movie, whatever it is, because I Josh Glicksman, Paul Grein, Lyndsey Havens,
I always feel like it’s a first date with a girl. is necessary. still love it so much. Gil Kaufman, Mia Nazareno
ELTON JOHN HAS THE LONGEST SPAN BETWEEN BEST ORIGINAL SONG WINS — 26 YEARS — FROM “CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT” (1994) TO “(I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN” (2019).

2021
OSCAR
MUSIC
PREVIEW
THROUGH THE YEARS

Since the first scoring category was
introduced in 1934, it took nearly 30 years for a Black
composerto be nominated. Now, for the first time,
two Black composers are in the running
Pulling Double Duty

A few major Oscar contenders got their standout songs from
unexpected contributors — including the stars of the film
BY NADIA NEOPHYTOU
Han (left)
and Mosseri
1961 Duke Ellington becomes the first Black

composer nominated for best original score,
for the romantic drama Paris Blues
1978 Quincy Jones becomes first Black com-

poser to receive two career nods in scoring
categories thanks to The Wiz (best original
song score) and his previous nomination for
1967’s In Cold Blood (best original score)
HEAD OF THE OSCARS ON Sound of Metal was first conceived, but didn’t
A April 25, three films have more

in common than just competing
for top honors. Sound of Metal
and Minari, which both have six
nominations, and One Night in
finish the lyrics until the last week of the movie’s
final sound mix, once he fully understood the
depth of Ruben’s experience.
From a musical perspective, understanding
a film’s characters is key — which is why, at the
1984 Prince becomes first Black composer to
win in a scoring category when Purple
Rain takes home the award for best
original song score
Miami..., which has three, highlight how much suggestion of director Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
more collaborative composers have become in composer Emile Mosseri (who landed a best
the filmmaking process, whether working closely original score nomination) enlisted actress Yeri 1985 Quincy Jones becomes first Black com-
poser to receive three career nods in scoring
with actors on select songs or even doubling as Han, who plays Monica in the film, for “Rain
HAN, MOSSERI: COURTESY OF A24. ELLINGTON: PICTORIAL PARADE/ARCHIVE PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES. PRINCE: RICHARD E. AARON/REDFERNS. HANCOCK: SNAP/SHUTTERSTOCK.
categories with the addition of a best origi-
a screenwriter. Song.” Mosseri had already written the track
nal score nomination for The Color Purple.
For Abraham Marder, working with his when Chung tipped him off to Han’s vocal skills.
Jones shares the nod with 11 other compos-
brother, director Darius Marder, on the Sound Working with her and Korean lyricist Stephanie
ers, including two other Black composers
of Metal script — about heavy metal drummer Kong gave him the opportunity to add a deeper
Ruben (played by first-ever Muslim best actor layer of emotion to the lullaby that helps close
nominee Riz Ahmed) — also guided how he out Chung’s tender immigrant story, which is
made the film’s music. As co-screenwriter, also up for best picture.
Abraham identified how the film, which also Similarly, songwriter Sam Ashworth believes
earned a best original screenplay nod, could best best original song nominee “Speak Now”
express the experience of Ahmed’s character wouldn’t have become what it needed to be
going deaf by amplifying the sound design without drawing on Leslie Odom Jr.’s experience
more than creating a traditional score that drew portraying Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami...
viewers into his world. “The film succeeds [by Before they wrote the song over FaceTime,
sitting] with Ruben in the toughest moments of Ashworth, who previously worked with the
quiet and havoc,” says Abraham. “A score often Oscar-nominated actor on his 2019 album,
seeks to smooth and remove these rough edges Mr, had the verses and melody for the tune, 1986 Herbie Hancock becomes first Black
from films, but I felt this would have defeated the but knew the lyrics didn’t feel right. “The song composer to win for best original score with
purpose of the story.” needed a real sense of urgency, hence the ‘listen, French musical drama Round Midnight
Though writer-directors like John Carpenter listen, listen’ and ‘speak now,’ but Leslie came
and Robert Rodriguez have also composed with a strong conviction for the direction of the 2020 Terence Blanchard (Da 5 Bloods) and
music for their movies, it’s not often a verses,” says Ashworth. “Leslie’s perspective Jon Batiste (Soul) are both nominated for best
screenwriter will compose a film’s closing track from having played Sam Cooke was imperative. original score, marking the first year that more
— as Marder did with “Green,” which was short- [He] had to live that character to be able to come than one film scored by a Black composer has
listed for best original song. He began working out of it and process what it meant — and how it been nominated in a scoring category
on the minimal and downtempo track when changed him.”
ENNIO MORRICONE IS THE OLDEST WINNER OF A SCORING AWARD. HE WAS 87 WHEN HE WON BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015).

SCOTT ZEBRAK
and MATT OPPENHEIM
Honored to Be Named Billboard
Top Music Lawyers Again
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dedicated to compelling advocacy, strategic counseling,
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2021
OSCAR
MUSIC
PREVIEW
Trial of the Chicago 7, Eurovision Song

Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and The
Life Ahead all have songs competing
for a trophy.)
In terms of campaign strategy, rath-
er than continuing its Netflix Sound-
check event that the platform hosted
in 2019, the team switched to a virtual
version called Netflix Playlist, which
still allowed contenders to engage with
the film-music community through
performances and panel discussions.
“Even without in-person events, the
craftsmanship and work that talent
invested in creating these songs and
scores was celebrated,” says Dunning.
She also cites a successful virtual
Q&A with best original song nomi-
nees Celeste and Daniel Pemberton
(for “Hear My Voice” from The Trial
of the Chicago 7), moderated by last
year’s winner in the category, Elton
John, who has been a vocal fan of the
track. Dunning says another con-
tender, “Husavik” from Eurovision
Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,
has “taken on a life of its own” thanks
to a grassroots campaign, Óskar for
Húsavík, started by residents of the
real Icelandic town, which typically
relies on tourism that has been all but
absent the past year. As the Óskar for
Húsavík website states: “When we
learned that the song, that has become
a sort of an anthem for our people, had
a chance of an Oscar nomination, we
sprung into action.”
the way in which all films, including The campaign trail doesn’t end with
Oscar Oscar contenders, are produced, an

unexpected silver lining for News of
the World is that such a successful
a nomination: Knobloch and his team
are looking at ways to keep How-
ard top of mind before voting closes
Campaigning... pivot made for a compelling campaign

narrative. While Knobloch stresses
that a score’s ability to elevate the
viewing experience should come
April 20. He says that, more than
changing strategy, he has kept tabs on
changing consumer habits through
the pandemic, and adds that know-
On Clubhouse? first for award consideration, within

industry circles, “being able to tell that
story of innovation and the first-ever,
ing how to best engage with fans in a
direct (but safe) way is a top priority.
“It’s pretty clear that people have been
How an unusual awards season has prompted studios never-been-done-before techniques at home and haven’t been traveling
that went into making it happen adds or outdoors as much,” he says, citing
and distributors to test new methods
some depth and dimension to the Clubhouse as an effective online plat-
for connecting with voters and fans alike final product,” he says. “Not that it form for connection and promotion.
B Y LY N D S E Y H AV E N S
should be graded on a curve, so to “Obviously you can’t fill a concert
speak, but there is a pretty incredible hall with musicians and an audience,
story behind the making of the score but I think it’d be pretty easy for
IKE KNOBLOCH, Newton Howard did the “unimagi- under some more-challenging-than- everyone to grab their phones and
M president of global
film music and music
publishing at Univer-
sal Pictures, has been
reminiscing a lot lately
nable” by recording and executing his
work from another country. While
musicians safely gathered at Lon-
don’s Abbey Road Studios, Howard
remained at home in Los Angeles. “He
ever constraints.”
Amy Dunning, vp music at Netflix
— which is behind half of the films
with best original song and/or score
nominations — agrees that while this
get on Clubhouse and have James sit
next to a piano and field questions
about working with [director] Paul
Greengrass and the challenges of
recording remotely from L.A. to
about how the studio pulled off its first had to come to terms with not being year’s nominees are all “very differ- Abbey Road,” he says. “It’s a new
project under COVID-19 restraints. able to get on a plane and be in a small ent” in scale, they “share an intimate platform that can be used to further
While recording the Academy Award- control room at a recording studio for sensibility” largely as a result of being that direct, organic connection with
nominated orchestral score for the any of the sessions,” says Knobloch, crafted under similar COVID-19 people and a way for James to interact
Tom Hanks Western News of the “and that was a tough adjustment.” restrictions. (Da 5 Bloods and Mank are with fans. Whether it’s during awards
World, Knobloch says composer James Although the pandemic has altered vying for best original score, while The season or any other time.”
COMPOSER JOHN WILLIAMS HAS THE MOST NOMINATIONS IN SCORING CATEGORIES (47) AND ALSO HAS RECEIVED FIVE NODS FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG.
48 BILLBOARD • APRIL 3, 2021 I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M O J O WA N G

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Church photographed March 11 at Taylor
House Studio in Nashville.
Styling by Katy Robbins

Karcher jacket, Thread Co. T-shirt, Diesel
jeans, Lucchese boots, Ray-Ban sunglasses.
Stick That
In Your
Country
Song
When ERIC CHURCH says he
lives for the road, he means
it. With a triple album and
a fall arena tour planned,
he’s asking his fans across
the political spectrum
to consider a COVID-19
vaccination their way back
to his shows: “You’ve got to
get needles in arms”
BY MELINDA NEWMAN
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROBBY KLEIN
AST FALL, ERIC
Church was standing
L in his office, perusing
the concert photos
hanging on the wall,
when one caught his eye. It captures
the defiant country superstar standing
amid a throng of fans packed tightly
around him, their arms raised and
waving like a many-tentacled creature.
Church looks up at the camera from
behind his omnipresent Ray-Bans, a
sly smile on his face.
Today, he has another perspective
on the scene. “It looks so strange to see
me in the middle of this pit, hugging
everybody and taking shots of Jack
Daniel’s,” says Church. “It’s like, ‘What
universe...?’ It just seems so far away.
All I’ve ever done is play live shows.
That’s my whole gig.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic
shut down the concert industry, it
robbed Church — and every other
artist — of the act that gives his fans
unalloyed joy, fulfills his own sense
of purpose and offers everyone a
temporary respite from the outside
world. “That has been the hardest
thing about COVID: It takes what you
do,” says Church. “I used the music
and the stage to get me through some
of those darker things that were more
personal,” including a near-fatal blood
clot in his chest in 2017 and the death
of his younger brother in 2018. “Take
that away, and you’ve got to deal with
some of the stuff you maybe haven’t
dealt with.”
To avoid spiraling, Church took
a somewhat different tack from his
fellow artists. He didn’t plan some
elaborate livestreaming event; he
didn’t envision clever new merchan-
dise. Diving down his own rabbit hole,
Church met with epidemiologists, ven-
ue managers and industry vets within
his own circle, determined to figure
out how to get back onstage safely.
At first, his personal team of experts on building his audience at concerts But Church isn’t a throw-all-cau- year when Morgan Wallen was caught
said touring wouldn’t return until rather than on the airwaves. tion-to-the-wind renegade: He knows on video saying the N-word, his re-
spring 2023 at the earliest. Then, with In 2017, he crusaded against ticket the value of being a symbol and the sponse is one both Wallen devotees and
unprecedented speed, pharmaceuti- scalping (“the bane of my existence”) power that comes with a platform like those calling for his expulsion from the
cal companies developed vaccines. “I and, with his team, developed a his. That was obvious in February at industry would have trouble finding
view it as a godsent miracle,” he says. proprietary system that canceled over the Super Bowl, where he performed fault with. Though Church (whom
“It became very clear to me that the 25,000 price-inflated tickets for his the national anthem with R&B pow- Wallen calls his musical hero) sent him
only way to really get back to normal is Holding My Own tour. After the mas- erhouse Jazmine Sullivan. Church a note telling him he was praying for
through vaccinations. You’ve got to get sacre at that year’s Route 91 Harvest recalls Roc Nation, which produces him and to keep “hanging in there,”
needles in arms.” festival in Las Vegas, Church — who the game’s entertainment, approach- he’s resolute in addressing Wallen’s
That Church would take a strong had taken the stage two nights before ing him: “[They said] ‘Listen, we want actions: “That was indefensible. I was
stance on what has become a po- the mass shooting and says he’s still a Caucasian country artist, and we heartbroken when it happened. I think
litically divisive issue comes as little haunted by it — spoke out in favor of want an African American female R&B Morgan’s trying to work on that and on
surprise to anyone familiar with common-sense gun reform; although artist.’ ” After a year that “was so divi- himself. And I hope he does.”
him. From the start, he has followed he pointed out that he’s a gun owner sive,” says Church, “I just liked what That ability to speak to both sides
his internal compass more than the and Second Amendment supporter, they were trying to do.” of an issue without pandering or seem-
demands of country radio — early plenty of fans threatened to boycott He can also speak to his fans, not at ing insincere is, in part, what drove
singles “Two Pink Lines” and “Smoke him, and the National Rifle Association them, in a way that has allowed him Church to approach Billboard with
a Little Smoke” glorified, respectively, saw fit to remind him that its members to lead with his actions while keeping the idea of completing his vaccination
the joys of seeing a negative pregnancy have “a long memory — just ask the audiences that can fill arenas. When on our cover. There’s also the small
test and getting high — focused instead Dixie Chicks.” asked about the incident earlier this matter of his own plans for the coming
52 BILLBOARD • APRIL 3, 2 0 2 1
“It sucked that we lost the chance
for those large audiences to experi-
ence him so early in the career, but
when I heard the reason he was fired,
I laughed and applauded,” says UMG
Nashville chairman/CEO Mike Dun-
gan. “It was Eric being a badass, and I
was proud of him.” The label funded
Church’s next move: playing local clubs
at every remaining tour stop on the
group’s own show nights. He called it
the Me and Myself outing — a play on
Rascal Flatts’ “Me and My Gang” title.
“That was a real jerk move in a
way,” John Peets, Church’s longtime
manager at Q Prime South, says with a
laugh. But it was also a career-defining
one. “You can roll over, or you can
stand up knowing you’re going to live
with a hurricane wind in your face and
this might be the end,” he continues.
“Which guy are you going to be? I
think that was one of the first kind of
big, public things that set that tone.”
Another came on Nov. 11, 2020, the
night Church won entertainer of the
year at the Country Music Association
Awards after coming up short three
previous times. He and Peets both saw
the win as a directive to lead the best
way Church knew how: by setting an
example for a sensible return to tour-
ing. “I feel some responsibility now,”
says Church. As Peets adds: “You’re
going to wear the sash for a year,
you’re the leading entertainer. Maybe
there are some things that we do a
little differently because of that. That
kind of led into helping forge a respon-
sible way to come back to work.”
Plenty of artists say they live for the
road, but for Church it’s not hyper-
bole. He calls playing his high-octane,
three-hour-plus concerts his “whole
All Saints jacket, Thread Co.
T-shirt, Diesel jeans, Lucchese
gig.” Today, the 43-year-old is speak-
boots, Ray-Ban sunglasses. ing over Zoom from the wood-paneled
writer’s cabin he has used as an office
for the past year, 20 minutes from the
Nashville home he shares with wife
months: releasing a three-part album “But I view this a little differently recalls Church with a laugh. At the Katherine and sons Boone, 9, and
package, Heart & Soul, and setting out than most other things. We’ve never time, though, it was his Alamo: He Hawk, 6. “I make music. I play music.
on a soon-to-be-announced fall arena encountered this.” threatened to walk if the label didn’t I’m a dad and a husband,” he says. “I
tour to support it — one he only wants agree. UMG Nashville blinked — and, like that part of my life.”
to happen at 100% capacity, with fans later, came to trust Church’s instincts: He has never made a morning TV
standing shoulder to shoulder, just like “Smoke” became huge with his live appearance, and he last played late
in that picture on his office wall. RIC CHURCH audience, setting up 2011’s Chief, the night in 2016. He’s an admitted social
That means he needs as many of hardly seemed album that made him a bona fide media Luddite. (“I have no pass-
those fans as possible to get vacci-
nated. In a CBS News poll published E destined to become
an ambassador for
arena headliner.
A couple of years earlier, on the
words.”) And though he has sold over
8 million albums, it’s his Billboard
in March, 33% of Republican voters country music. From heels of his debut, Sinners Like Me, Boxscore stats that really tell his sto-
surveyed said they had no intention of the earliest days of his career, he has Church’s demands didn’t meet quite ry: He has raked in $204.4 million and
getting a shot, compared with 10% of never particularly cared for satisfy- so patient a response. He was opening sold over 3.74 million tickets since
Democrats. Church’s fans fall across ing industry expectations. In 2010, for Rascal Flatts, an act as mainstream 2012, and his 2019 Double Down
the political spectrum — and he feels unhappy with Universal Music Group as he was edgy, and he wasn’t too keen tour — Billboard’s highest-grossing
he’s uniquely positioned to convince Nashville’s choices for the first singles on abiding by certain tour restrictions. country outing of that year — drew
fence-sitters to hop over to his side, from his second album, Carolina, he At Madison Square Garden in New 56,521 people to Nashville’s Nissan
not browbeat anti-vaxxers into com- demanded “Smoke a Little Smoke” York, he deliberately (and egregiously) Stadium, breaking Swift’s attendance
pliance. “If you believe you shouldn’t, come next. exceeded his allotted stage time. Ras- record there.
I don’t have a problem with it. I’m “I would look at me now and go, cal Flatts fired him — and gave his spot Returning to that level of touring is
a liberty guy, too. I get it,” he says. ‘No fucking way we’re doing that,’ ” to a 16-year-old Taylor Swift. easier said than done. Peets estimates
Church adopted his police chief
grandfather’s nickname and made
it the title of the 2011 album that
cemented his mammoth live audience.
that, in the (hopefully) waning days He came out of the mountain it — which was really all the incentive entire songs that a lot of writers would
of the pandemic, it’s still at least five sessions with three albums: The Church needed. kill to write.”
times the usual work to figure out how rock-leaning Heart, out April 16; & He made it the first Heart & Soul Joyce says the immediacy of the
a tour could work. Even the most basic (pronounced “ampersand”), avail- single. “ ‘There’s no chance I’m not project allowed Church to thrive.
tasks — ticketing, staffing, meet-and- able on vinyl or streaming only to putting this out,’ ” Church recalls Singing songs that had been finished
greets, load-in and load-out — require members of the official Church Choir thinking. “I love how in your face it is. literally minutes earlier rather than
deep reexamination, and there’s no na- fan club starting April 20; and the I love how honest it is. I love how Jef- months before, his voice has a newly
tional standard: Counties and venues groove-driven Soul, out April 23, with frey thought no one in their right mind commanding vitality, easily running
will, at least at first, each have their songs reflecting the Muscle Shoals and would record it and send it to radio.” from a bass growl to a falsetto. “He
own safety protocols based on local Motown influences on his sound. has always had that thing where he
vaccination rates. (See story, page 56.) Peets immediately loved the triple- can sing a line and people just pay at-
But Church’s team has some ground album idea, though he admits to one tention,” says Joyce. “It’s not like he’s
rules in place. If new protocols incur concern at the time: “If he walks out of RITING AND some fantastic opera singer. He’s just a
extra expense, Peets says they hope “to the situation with no record or one re- recording one song great communicator.”
try and keep as much as possible off
the consumer and absorb the addition-
cord, it’d be the most expensive record
known in country music, probably.” W nearly every day had
a profound effect on
Nowhere is that skill more evident
than on “Through My Ray-Bans,” a
al costs on our side.” Since it’s not yet (UMG Nashville provided a budget, Church. “It made me love letter to his fans inspired by his
clear if ticket buyers will be required and Church covered the overage the work harder as a writer — ’bout killed experience at the Route 91 festival.
to show proof of vaccination or a nega- ambitious project required.) And while me,” he says. “From a sleep standpoint, “I’m not sure you get past something
tive COVID-19 test upon venue entry, Dungan says the label “completely I’ve never really been that unhealthy. like that,” he says of the tragedy. “That
Peets says tickets will go on sale much understood the mission” for the proj- No matter what that night was, I had broke me in a lot of ways because that
closer to show dates (likely around ect, it “didn’t love the idea” of Church to go right back on the clock for the was my safe place — on that stage,
six weeks beforehand) instead of the releasing some music that would be next day. It was almost manic. I could around those people. A lot of fans had
usual several months prior. available only to his fan club. our T-shirt on that night
Messina Touring Group CEO Louis They have been here before: In when they died. That was
Messina, who has been promoting 2015, Church surprised 2,500 of his a really, really, really tough
Church’s tours for nearly a decade, premium fan club members (the thing to get through.”
has spent the last few months work- first of three levels of membership) For Church, returning to
ing with Church’s WME agent, Jay with white vinyl copies of his album the road is the only thing
Williams, and venues, weaving and Mr. Misunderstood before his label had that could help repair those
reweaving potential tour routings and even heard it. Q Prime had purchased broken places. That’s why
start dates as buildings open and move a press on the floor of a vinyl plant he registered on waiting
toward operating at capacity. “We have in Diepholz, Germany, to facilitate lists in multiple counties
planted our flag in the sand, but it’s not the order, plus an additional 12,500 around Nashville as soon as
in concrete,” says Messina. The ground copies for independent record stores. he became vaccine-eligible
beneath them shifts almost daily. (Church is still a stakeholder in the — using his first name,
press.) All told, 80,000 Choir members Kenneth, so he wouldn’t
got the music for free (whether from get a celebrity skip-the-line
vinyl, digital album download or early offer. It’s also why, starting
ONG BEFORE IT stream) and Dungan, understandably, the night of the Academy
entered the pandemic was none too pleased. Like most of Country Music Awards
L lexicon, Church was

embracing the idea
matters between Church and his label,
“we worked it out,” says Dungan today.
Church took a selfie right
after his first vaccine shot
(April 18), he’ll appear in
public service announce-
of forming a pod. (According to Peets, they’ll likely press in Nashville in February. ments for ACM Lifting
In January, wanting to shake up his 15,000 copies of & domestically.) Lives’ vaccine education
recording process for Heart & Soul, Church says he has reached an initiative, a partnership
he, his longtime producer Jay Joyce understanding with country radio, not shut it off.” By the end, he says, he with the Ad Council that will run at
and his band took over Artisanal, too. “There are a lot of people [who had somehow begun writing songs in least through summer. By then, he’ll
a restaurant in the mountains of just want] to put something out that’s his dreams: “That was wild.” hopefully be safe to “strap a guitar on”
Banner Elk, N.C. (Church hails from going to go to No. 1 every time. And On Heart & Soul, Church’s gift for again: He’s slated to play over a half
Granite Falls, about an hour south), that’s fine,” he says. “That’s just not storytelling shines. His cinematic dozen summer festivals, including
and turned it into a recording studio. my goal. I’m trying to push the nar- details tell the listener everything they Carolina Country Music Fest in Myrtle
Every few days, a rotating cast of rative a bit for the whole industry, for need to know about a character, often Beach, S.C.; Cheyenne Frontier Days in
songwriters and musicians came the whole format.” (It probably helps in one line: “The only pack I ever ran Wyoming; and Big Valley Jamboree in
GROOMING BY ALEX WINGO. ON-SET PRODUCTION BY ASHLEY HORNE HERRING. SELFIE: COURTESY OF ERIC CHURCH.
through to write and then imme- that he has managed to earn six solo with were the cigarettes in my pocket,” Camrose, Alberta.
diately record in the evening. They Country Airplay No. 1s and another he sings on “Lone Wolf”; he sums up a “I just want to play shows,” says
churned out 24 songs in 28 days. three as a collaborator.) torched romance on “Look Good and Church. “Politics’ job is to divide —
“Disruption works well with him,” Still, he can’t help occasionally You Know It” with “I’m just choking that’s how you win elections. Those
says Peets of Church. “He likes to poking a stick in the eye of the country on the smoke of a bridge I burned.” things that unite us are music and
make that three-point shot.” After establishment. Church didn’t write “I know these are big names to be sports. The times when, whether
2018’s Desperate Man, which debuted the withering “Stick That in Your throwing around, but Eric has always you’re a Democrat or Republican or
at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Al- Country Song” (from Heart), but as been a cross between Merle Haggard whatever, you throw your arm around
bums chart, Church felt like he needed soon as he heard it, he knew he had and Kris Kristofferson to me,” says the person next to you.” And when his
a major change of pace; he loved the to record it: With its demands for hits Grammy Award-winning songwriter own tour comes to pass, that’s what
album, but “it felt entitled. It felt stag- to confront the real hardships people Luke Laird, a frequent collaborator he’s looking forward to most. He’ll
nant. It felt like we just showed up in face, it’s a not-so-subtle dig at radio who co-wrote three songs on the new play the song “Holdin’ My Own,” dur-
the studio after playing an arena tour, stations, labels and fellow artists who project. “Eric can take the simplest ing which, as always, he’ll see his fans
and we just were supposed to make an place fluff over substance. Jeffrey phrases and the same three chords we all put their arms around one another.
album. There was no urgency, hunger, Steele, the song’s co-writer, declared it all know and turn it into brilliance. I’ve “We become one,” says Church. “We
and I kind of wanted that back.” would be “suicide” for someone to cut seen him throw away lines and even need that. I need that.”
— will really need most states open at the same
time to truly work.
Could I at least see my

favorite indie act sooner?
Maybe. Smaller clubs are expected to reopen
before arenas, and some artists have tour dates
mapped already — like the Grammy Award-
nominated Black Pumas, who have 13 shows
scheduled through late April and May in locales
like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and Austin.
How long will all of

this take?
As of mid-March, the United States was vac-
cinating about 2.5 million Americans per day,
according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 tracker,
which measures the speed of the rollout. At that
pace, vaccinating 70% to 85% of the population
Back
would take until the end of the year, according
Live
to leading government infectious-disease expert
Dr. Anthony Fauci.
To
What do promoters risk
if they book a band and
then the show gets pushed
back or canceled due to
With the constant rescheduling of tours and a tangled web of conflicting state laws,
music fans and industry pros would be rightfully confused about when — and how — COVID-19?
Losing the deposit they paid the band, which in
concerts will return. Look no further: Your burning questions about how to protect your
many cases can be 50% to 100% of the total fee
health (and bank account) as the pandemic’s end draws near are answered here the artist was set to earn at the show. Prior to the
BY DAV E B R O O KS pandemic, promoters were able to rely on force
majeure or “act of God” contract provisions, which
protected show organizers from cancellations
caused by events beyond their control. But savvy
agents are demanding changes to those provisions
When can I go to a concert? When will shows reach so that their artists don’t risk having half of their tour
That depends on where you live. The return of shows will be decided 100% capacity again? canceled because of an overzealous promoter.
largely on a state-by-state basis by both governors and city leaders, not
So far, there’s no definite answer. Experts like the
federal officials, although many states and private businesses will build their
National Independent Talent Organization’s Nadia Will I have to prove
reopening strategies around guidance from the Centers for Disease Control
Prescher say most of their peers anticipate that
and Prevention. Florida and Texas have already allowed concerts to resume, two conditions must be met in order for touring to
I’m vaccinated to attend
though not without some issues: Steve Aoki and Diplo each got warnings resume: Cities looking to host concerts must have a concert?
from local police and reproof from the mayor of Tampa, Fla., for perform- 70% to 80% of their citizens vaccinated, and at Ticketmaster says it has technology to allow fans
ing in front of maskless crowds during Super Bowl weekend in February. least 70% of U.S. cities must have reached this goal to digitally verify their vaccine status after they
More restrictive states like New York and California have announced for national touring to be economically viable. purchase a ticket, but it hasn’t provided many
that outdoor concerts could resume as soon as April 1 if capacity is capped It also depends on what kind of artist you’re details on how it will work, and president Mark
at 25%. Bright Eyes is moving forward with a rescheduled show on July 31 hoping to see. For artists who play large theaters Yovich says that the company would only use
at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, while Outside Lands organizers have or amphitheaters with capacities in the 2,000- that if local and state health officials mandated
put tickets on sale even as they moved the 60,000-attendees-per-day San to 10,000-seat range, there must be sufficient it. “Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough
Francisco festival from August to October. connectivity between tour route stops allowing flexibility and options so that venues and fans
an act to play a show every 300 to 400 miles and have multiple paths to return to events,” says
Does that mean my favorite big artist thus sustain the costs of playing big venues. But Yovich, adding that the company’s development
those artists could also choose to play smaller strategy is based on “what’s greenlit by local
could still play this year? venues in a set geographic area — say, the officials and desired by clients.”
Chances are low. While audiences may not mind being capped at 20% Southwest trio of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas In New York, at least, starting April 1, fans must
capacity, most acts still need 100% of their audience to play a show. — much as smaller, independent artists do in provide evidence they’ve been vaccinated or
“There’s just not enough money at 20% to sustain a touring band and order to build a following. They could also opt for tested negative for COVID-19 to attend reduced-
their crew,” says tour manager Christian Coffey, who works with acts like underplays and special engagements, especially capacity events. Proof can be as easy as producing
A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels. Coffey says that most artists need to in Los Angeles and New York, in which major a copy of your inoculation card at the venue door.
draw 70% to 80% capacity each night to break even. “And they still need artists play intimate venues and a label or sponsor
their manager and driver and roadies and guitar techs to help the group picks up part of the cost. Those exceptions aside,
look and sound their best. That’s not possible if they’re only earning 20% says Prescher, the return of large-scale touring —
Will I still have to wear
of the revenue they used to make.” which generates the bulk of live business revenue a mask?
56 BILLBOARD • APRIL 3, 2021 I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M AT T C H A S E

Most public health officials, including Fauci, minimize viral spread at
believe that vaccinated adults will be required to
wear masks in public buildings through the end of
2021 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants.
concerts?
In October, Ticketmaster rolled out its
Save The Date
As COVID-19 cases continue to decline, a full-scale
SmartEvent platform, which repurposes some recovery for the live business looks ever more possible
of the smartphone technology it had developed
I’m not vaccinated. Is it to fight ticket scalping into a platform for
in the near future. Watch these dates to track the
comeback of concerts in the United States
dangerous for me to go to facilitating contactless visits to concert venues.
Ticketmaster’s main technological innovation
an indoor venue? — the digital ticket — was designed to phase
April 24
Initially, public health officials believed con- With under a month to go, dance festival Ubbi Dubbi —
out print-at-home tickets. Mobile tickets can’t
certs — especially indoor shows with fans tightly be duplicated by scalpers, but they can be a 25,000-person camping event near Dallas with major
packed together — posed a significant risk for the easily transferred from the box office to the fan, artists like Kaskade and Illenium — will be an early test
spread of COVID-19. But a recent German study eliminating lines at will call. Ticketmaster has also for vaccine-era events. Two days later, Moon Crush, a
found that indoor concerts may pose a low risk outlined plans to create applications allowing socially distanced concert vacation in Miramar Beach,
of viral spread if the venue is properly ventilated. fans to order food on their phones, form a digital Fla., is set to begin.
Researchers from the Martin Luther University of bathroom line and use GPS to assist with contact
Halle-Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt conducted an tracing if infections at a show are reported.
May 1
experiment in which 1,200 volunteers attended President Joe Biden has instructed states to make
an August concert by singer Tim Bendzko at a all Americans eligible for vaccination by this date;
Leipzig arena. Participants were armed with digital Will artists continue how close the country comes will determine when
movement tracers and fluorescent-dyed hand livestreaming concerts concerts resume.
disinfectant that allowed measurement of physical
once in-person shows June 4
interaction during the show; the researchers even
Florida has hardly been a leader when it comes to
used a fog machine to simulate the spread of aero- come back? pandemic safety precautions, but if Gulf Coast Jam
solized droplets that could cause infections. Their Livestreaming won’t just stick around — many be- in Panama City happens, it will still be a welcome
analysis found that the risk of COVID-19 infection lieve it will continue to grow, not as a replacement
indicator of progress — particularly for Nashville and its
was reduced by 90% if the air inside the venue was for live events but as a new fan offering that coexists
country headliners.
constantly recirculated with outside air. with an album or tour cycle. “It’s one more tentpole
In a recent address to the Association of moment you can create around an artist’s career,” Aug. 7
Performing Arts Professionals, Fauci expressed says Underoath manager Randy Nichols — much Lady Gaga’s rescheduled Chromatica Ball stadium
support for the findings, noting that “if the indoor like a comedian’s TV special or the DVDs of the “fi- shows touch down stateside after a planned kickoff in
venue is well-ventilated and maybe has some nal show of the tour” concerts of yore. High-produc- Europe in July; it’s one of the first big superstar treks
HEPA filters, I think you could then start getting tion value livestreams have proved profitable, with on the calendar.
back to almost full capacity of seating.” some sales in the seven figures: Dua Lipa’s Studio
That said, the study also found that periods of 2054 took in over $5.3 million in ticket sales (mov- Aug. 28
prolonged contact were highest when partici- ing 284,000 units) according to her management High-priced residencies have fueled billions of
pants lined up to enter the venue at showtime, as company, TaP Music, and over 5 million people dollars of spending in Las Vegas; if Morrissey’s at the
well as during breaks, when they used the bath- tuned in, thanks in part to agreements to stream the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace goes off as planned, it’ll
room and bought beverages. They were safest performance for free in India and China. Niall Horan bode well for the revival of that business.
when they remained in their seats for the duration sold over 125,000 tickets for his livestream concert
of the show — so for now, experts say fans who at London’s Royal Albert Hall, netting $2.5 million. Oct. 29
aren’t vaccinated should do the same. “Because of the pandemic, we’ve taught Outside Lands, which typically takes place during Au-
fans to embrace this new platform they weren’t gust in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, will certainly
comfortable with before,” says Nichols. “It will live be colder this year — but attendees probably won’t
What kind of technology on after the pandemic, even if the application is mind if one of the biggest music festivals in the country
is being developed to applied differently.” proceeds according to plan. —D.B.
The End Times predictions for what would happen — and

why, thankfully, they didn’t come true.
to stay afloat as they awaited the funds.
The Small Business Administration says
that the plan would backfire, opening the
door for a new, well-capitalized competitor
those funds will become available in May. to enter the space.
Aren’t Nigh! A REQUIEM FOR INDIE VENUES
AST MARCH, IN THE Bleeding cash and reeling from years of
LEVERAGE, LOST BYE BYE, AGENTS
L wake of the first pandemic-

induced lockdowns world-
wide, touring professionals
lopsided corporate competition, over
3,000 U.S. indie promoters came to-
gether in June to form the National Inde-
After a Live Nation memo that leaked in
June detailed plans to renegotiate artist
contracts due to the pandemic, many of
With a liquidity crisis at Paradigm,
poorly timed acquisitions at Endeavor
and layoffs at APA, UTA and Creative
descended into doomsday thinking. But pendent Venue Association, sounding the those performers (and their agents) feared Artists Agency, a major meltdown looked
thanks to a $15 billion aid package passed alarm that without government aid, 90% the company would limit access to major likely, with agencies either crushed by
in the final days of the Trump administra- of U.S. venues would close by the end festivals and available concert dates unless mounting debts or spun off by their new
tion, the Biden government’s $1.9 trillion of 2020. Following the extensive Save they agreed to accept less money and private equity partners, paving the way
capital intervention and revenue gener- Our Stages campaign, however, $15 bil- more financial risk. Live Nation quickly re- for managers to take over their duties. For
ated by the rapid growth of livestreaming, lion in entertainment industry relief was tracted the key points of the memo, how- better or worse, though, agents stayed
the live space is intact and preparing to approved in December, allowing many ever, after it went public. A high-ranking busy as the pandemic dragged on —
open — at reduced capacity, at first — indie venue owners (along with cinemas, source at the company told Billboard an cancelling and rebooking dates for their
this spring. Here are three of the scariest museums and other cultural institutions) internal analysis at Live Nation concluded clients ad nauseam. —D.B.
DOLLARS
AND SENSE
Without advertisers or major investors, Bandcamp turned a profit
helping musicians at all levels make a living. Now, as payment models in
the streaming era come under scrutiny, will its influence grow?
Ethan Diamond
(left) and Josh Kim
photographed March 15
in San Francisco.

D
tion offering fans a monthly EP available exclusively on Fridays or donating them to a charity.
Bandcamp at two price tiers ($5 and $9 per month). In a time of great isolation and fewer communal
With around 600 current subscribers, the program music experiences, however, the tradition hasn’t only
brings in between $3,000 and $5,400 monthly. The benefited creators — it has become a beacon for
band, which in February released its seventh album, fans, too. Twitter and Instagram are alight with cheery
The Shadow I Remember, makes an additional $50 announcements of new merchandise and music, while
to $100 per day from Bandcamp sales, which jump to the jokey webpage IsItBandcampFriday.com broad-
about $600 on Bandcamp Fridays. (The money is split casts a resounding yes. “It’s nice to have this thing
among Cloud Nothings’ four members and their man- people can all share on one day,” says Baldi, “like a TV
agement, Monster Artist Management, which waived show everyone’s watching.”
its cut during the early stages of the pandemic to aid The now-monthly event, which will continue
the group’s financial stability.) through at least May, has also sparked more serious
Bandcamp Fridays have also been a lifeline for conversations. The loss of touring laid bare the shaky
independent labels, like Philadelphia-based Get Bet- economics of most music careers and forced the
ter Records, which brings in four figures each time industry to grapple with an uncomfortable truth:
around. “Losing out on that, where would you be?” Although music streaming has revived the business as
says founder Alex Lichtenauer, who started Get Better a whole, artists are often the last to earn a profit. Over
DYLAN BALDI, THE FRONTMAN OF THE CULT in 2009 to promote LGBTQ artists and also performs the past year, artists and executives have increasingly
favorite garage-rock band Cloud Nothings, has a new in post-punk trio Control Top. “If you’re a label like us, called out streaming services like Spotify for its paltry
favorite holiday. “I don’t care about Christmas anymore,” that’s how you’ve been surviving this past year.” Even royalty rate (approximately 0.0038 cents per stream)
he jokes over the phone from his home in Philadelphia. so, Get Better is one of many labels (including ANTI- and pro rata payment model, which pools subscriber
“In a way, this feels like ‘Music Day.’ ” and Merge Records) that have followed Bandcamp’s revenue and doles out earnings based on rights
He’s talking about Bandcamp Fridays, when the lead by waiving their own earnings on some Bandcamp holders’ share of total streams — a system critics say
online music marketplace Bandcamp waives its cut of unfairly benefits superstars over smaller artists.
sales — 15% of digital, 10% of physical — and passes Comparing the two companies may be too simplis-
along all revenue to artists and their closest stakehold- tic, but many of those same critics point to Bandcamp,
ers (like labels and managers). Originally launched as often in the same breath, as proof that — yes! — paying
a single-day effort on March 20, 2020, to help artists artists what they’re worth and making money needn’t be
at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the event stuck mutually exclusive. Dreamed up by tech entrepreneur
around as it became clear the pandemic wasn’t going Ethan Diamond in 2007, Bandcamp says it has been
anywhere either. So far, the platform has held 11 Band- profitable since 2012, a milestone it achieved without
camp Fridays, directing $48.3 million toward artists and running ads and with taking only one small initial invest-
labels from over 800,000 customers — and that’s on ment from True Ventures. The company says it earns
top of the $148 million it has paid out from normal sales 80% of its revenue through the cut it takes from sales,
during that time frame. with the remaining 20% coming from services like Band-
With touring off the table for now, Baldi speaks for camp Pro ($10 per month) and Bandcamp for Labels
countless other acts when he says that Bandcamp is ($20 or $50 per month, depending on roster size), which
“honestly the only way” that his band currently makes offer additional tools and analytics. To date, it has paid
money. Last July, Cloud Nothings launched a subscrip- out over $702 million to hundreds of thousands of artists
and more than 9,000 labels that can receive the money
relatively quickly: Bandcamp payments are delivered
through PayPal within 48 hours.
In achieving all this, Bandcamp has perhaps become
the tech world’s biggest ally of working- and middle-
class musicians. Acts of all levels use Bandcamp, but it
has particularly suited those artists with few resources
simply looking to make a decent living off their work,
filling a void that has become more pronounced as the
music industry has gone digital. The company’s biggest
cheerleaders speak of their love for Bandcamp as if it
were a band itself or an institution of a bygone era.
“Bandcamp, to me, is that great indie record store,”
says Matt Pollack, GM of Monotone, a management
company whose roster includes Jack White and Margo
Price. “It’s like in [the movie] High Fidelity, where you
walk in and there’s other like-minded people. It’s not, ‘I
got here because of an algorithm.’ ”
Bandcamp, in fact, had already opened its own
record store and headquarters in Oakland, Calif., in
2019. But it has recently strived to be much more than
that. Last year, the company expanded its vinyl pressing
CLOUD NOTHINGS, DUPUIS: RMV/SHUTTERSTOCK
service, added a livestream tool and grew its head count

by 40% to 80 staffers — the company’s biggest hiring
year yet. So far, Bandcamp has been particularly suc-
cessful at upending conventional industry wisdom about
Baldi (left) and Dupuis

“HELPING ARTISTS GET
PAID IS A CONVERSATION
I WANT HAPPENING
ACROSS ALL BUSINESSES
IN THE MUSIC SPACE.”
—DIAMOND
what fans will pay for and why. Now, as the company
balances its ambitions with the values that have shaped
its slow and steady path to profitability, Bandcamp will
find out just how far good intentions can take it.
IN 2007, ETHAN DIAMOND WAS TRYING TO BUY

a download of an indie band’s album when he ran
into some issues. First, the band’s webpage wouldn’t
load. Then, the download failed. Finally, Diamond sent
a message to the band’s general information email
address. The lead singer wrote back with an apology
and a zip file of the album — one filled with misla-
beled, low-quality MP3s.
“This was like all bands in 2007 of a certain level,”
recalls Diamond, chatting over video from his home in
San Francisco; he’s wearing a T-shirt for local funk-rock
band The Bluchunks. “I thought, ‘This band should be
really successful,’ ” he continues, looking a little peeved
at the memory. “The idea that something was preventing
that from happening really bothered me.”
He had a hopeful thought: Maybe fans had turned
to piracy not because of the cost of music but the
method of buying it. “The real problem was that people
were so distanced from the creators,” says Diamond, Diamond
who sold his first company, the email service Oddpost,
to Yahoo in 2004 for reportedly close to $30 million.
“You go to iTunes to buy a record, and you’re buying it
from Apple, and maybe your money eventually gets to instructed the co-writer of his memoir to write down musical was among the top sellers.
the person you want to support. With streaming, it has the phrase “music is healing” before anything else. “I Bandcamp also wasn’t making money, having
gotten even more abstract. You’re not even having that love that story,” says Diamond, who grew up playing launched as a site that was free to use. But as its
moment of, ‘I am buying this record.’ ” saxophone in a jazz band. “That’s the first thing that community grew, Diamond began to view profitabil-
He envisioned a better, cleaner version of Myspace came out of his mouth!” ity as a bigger issue. “If we’re presenting ourselves
geared toward musicians who could personalize their Bandcamp’s commitment to ethical business is what as an important way for artists to build careers and
pages and sell music directly to fans — all without attracted Josh Kim to sign on as COO six years ago. “I make money,” he says, “for us not to be operating as a
having to “completely give your identity over” to the was like, ‘Let me see if these people are for real,’ ” says company that is going to be here for the foreseeable
platform, he says. Diamond took the idea to his former Kim. A friendly, polite 35-year-old who joins our first future — how can you have those two things next to
Oddpost colleague Shawn Grunberger (co-founder and call with a bandanna tied around his forehead and a each other?”
current chief technology officer); they hired Joe Holt mic stand in the corner of his room, he had been disil- So in 2010, Diamond introduced the revenue-share
and Neal Tucker as founding engineers, and together the lusioned by the music business as an indie-folk artist model that Bandcamp uses today, explaining in a
four launched the website in 2008. “It was like, ‘OK, let’s himself. “Within five minutes of talking with Ethan and lengthy, candid blog post his company’s motivations.
do this,’ ” recalls Diamond. “ ‘Let’s make this thing that I Sean, it was clear.” Diamond calls this “the hardest part in Bandcamp’s his-
really want to exist.’ ” At first, though, Bandcamp did not look like a game- tory” because he feared disappointing the community,
Musicians have good reason to be skeptical of the changing startup. In its earliest days, it was a haven and indeed, some disgruntled artists left the platform.
many businesses that brand themselves as “artist first.” for niche subgenres like video game soundtracks (still But the switch was widely met with support, and within
But with his earnest enthusiasm and habit of talking popular on the platform today), field recordings from two years, the company processed enough sales to
about the music business in conceptual, almost philo- faraway places (like The Golden Flowers of Channel become profitable. “If you’re making money from fans
sophical terms, Diamond, 49, does not come across Island by Dolphins Into the Future) and music for sub- and advertisers, and then out of that money you’re
as the average Bay Area tech bro. At one point in the cultures like “furries” (people who dress as animals) and having to pay the artists, music is actually your cost
conversation, he refers to an anecdote from a years- “bronies” (male My Little Pony enthusiasts). Diamond — and you want that cost to go down,” says Kim. “But
old New Yorker article about Prince, in which the artist remembers a week when a student-produced college we want our artists to sell more music and make more
money because that’s the only way we do.” a more anti-capitalistic and DIY approach,” says Rose- more for pay-what-you-want items. Sadie Dupuis, of
The tradeoff of this approach, they say, was the Garcia. “Bandcamp just stumbled into my vision.” the rock band Speedy Ortiz and the solo project Sad13,
speed at which Bandcamp could — or couldn’t — Over the past decade, Roll the Bones has sold more marvels that fans often calculate credit card processing
evolve. Unwilling to give up control of the company in than 100,000 copies exclusively through Bandcamp fees and pay extra to cover them. “I’ve had people tell
exchange for more investment capital, the team had to at the same flexible price point, with fans paying an me they wish there was a check box to cover the fees
tick off milestones slowly: the ability to sell merchan- average of $5.94 for it. To date, Bandcamp sales of for the artist,” she says. “Those are the kinds of fans that
dise in 2012; user accounts for fans in 2013; similar his albums (not including merch) have made up about Bandcamp is attracting.”
accounts for labels in 2014. (“I think there was an as- a quarter of his income from music sales. For the It also attracts like-minded employees, to whom
sumption among labels that Bandcamp was anti-label,” album’s 10th anniversary in April, Rose-Garcia put it on the company’s emphasis on transparency, accessibil-
adds Diamond, “when really, four of us were working streaming services, but he still makes his entire catalog ity and corporate responsibility also appeals. Although
on the site, and we didn’t have a chance to make [label available at Bandcamp on a pay-what-you-want basis Bandcamp has an office, it has always been the norm
pages].”) In 2016, the company launched its editorial di- for 72 hours starting every Feb. 9, which Austin’s mayor for employees to work remotely from across the
vision, Bandcamp Daily, which features artist interviews declared Shakey Graves Day in 2012. “This is the or- globe, and about three-quarters of them do, signing
and covers such far-flung topics as the disco-flavored ganic way that I really did want my music to bleed out on from locales like Paris, Tokyo and Nairobi, Kenya. Its
“bubblegum music” of 1980s South Africa. onto the internet,” says Rose-Garcia. “Bandcamp sort “careers” page has an unusually detailed breakdown of
Human curation is not unique to Bandcamp, but it of has that in its code.” its hiring process and the timeline on which candidates
is behind one of its most notable success stories. In The site’s community culture, which includes reviews can expect to hear back about an application. Each
2011, Austin-based folk musician Alejandro Rose- and public profiles with wish lists and purchase history, year, Bandcamp invites employees, artists and labels
Garcia, who records as Shakey Graves, released his translates to hard dollars. “Bandcamp is very much to meetups where they can discuss ideas for future
debut album, Roll the Bones, exclusively to Bandcamp a fandom platform,” says MIDiA Research managing projects, plus do karaoke. The company also makes its
with a pay-what-you-want system and zero promo- director Mark Mulligan. “Fans go there to express their politics clear: In addition to organizing other fundrais-
tion. A Bandcamp staffer added it to the website’s support for artists.” Those interviewed for this story all ers, it now allocates $30,000 annually to partner with
homepage rotation anyway, though. “I wanted to take say the majority of fans pay the suggested prices or racial justice organizations.
And although Bandcamp has staffed up significantly,
Kim says its revenue-share model serves as a kind of
Kim compass since Bandcamp’s income is directly tied to
that of its artist and label users. “Our goal is generally to
prioritize the things that are going to have the biggest
impact on the overall sales for each artist,” says Kim.
Half of Bandcamp’s revenue-share dollars come
from physical sales, so in 2019, the company began
testing a vinyl pressing service that would make it
easier for artists to cash in on the ongoing vinyl resur-
gence. U.S. vinyl sales grew 46.2% between 2019 and
2020, to a record 27.54 million records sold, according
to MRC Data — and Bandcamp alone sold 2 million re-
cords globally, nearly doubling its count from the year
before. The service allows artists to crowdfund vinyl
projects, after which Bandcamp coordinates produc-
tion, shipping and customer support. After testing the
offering with 50 pilot vinyl projects, Bandcamp sent
invites to 10,000 more artists this past January.
Two months earlier, as the industry was still learning
the best ways to monetize digital concerts, Bandcamp
launched Bandcamp Live, a ticketed livestreaming
platform that also lets artists sell music and merch dur-
ing streams. Growing that tool, along with duplicating
the vinyl pressing service for other physical goods, are
among Diamond’s next priorities.
“Being at a point now where [Bandcamp] is working,
and all we have to do is expand the ways for fans to di-
rectly support artists, it’s just a pleasure,” he says. “We’re
at a point where it’s really, really fun.”
ON ELECTION DAY THIS PAST NOVEMBER,

Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Phoebe
Bridgers blurted out a semi-serious promise on Twitter:
“if trump loses I will cover iris by the goo goo dolls.”
What seemed like a joke got real after Maggie
Rogers offered background vocals, the Goo Goo Dolls
gave their blessing, and Joe Biden, of course, won. But
rather than release the cover widely on streaming ser-
vices, Bridgers and Rogers put it on Bandcamp, where
it was available as a pay-what-you-want exclusive for
just 24 hours on Nov. 13.
If that already felt like a music fan’s pandemic-time

From left: Rogers and Bridgers on TikTok
celebrated the success of their “Iris” cover
in November; Rose-Garcia (center) onstage
in Austin in 2020.
Dupuis, who lives with Baldi (they’re a longtime music business, SoundCloud in March became the first
couple), tweeted that she made 500% more money in major streaming service to implement a so-called “user-
November from Bandcamp than she did that month centric” payment system for some artists, who will be
from Spotify. She sees sharing that information as cen- paid based on the revenue generated by individual fans,
tral to her work as a member of the Union of Musicians not how many streams the artist accrues compared with
fever dream, what happened next was even wilder: and Allied Workers (UMAW), which last fall launched the overall pie. Even Spotify seems to be feeling some
Despite its limited availability, the cover sold more than a Justice at Spotify campaign to raise the service’s pressure. On March 18 — days after UMAW held an
46,900 downloads and earned over $173,000, all of per-stream rate to a penny. “The more we talk about international protest at Spotify offices in 31 cities — the
which went to Fair Fight Action, voting activist Stacey this stuff, a couple more people find out and maybe company launched a “Loud & Clear” website breaking
Abrams’ organization fighting voter suppression. The buy [music in] a different way that compensates people down its payment process.
track also debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at an im- more adequately,” she says. In the meantime, Bandcamp’s influence is being felt
pressive No. 57 (just behind a Travis Scott song), mark- On a “really good” Bandcamp Friday, Dupuis can in smaller but no less significant ways, says Monotone’s
ing Bridgers’ and Rogers’ debut entries on the chart and bring in $5,000, but she says she still struggles to make Pollack. In January, singer-songwriter client Pete Yorn
the first Hot 100 success exclusively driven by Band- up for lost touring income. (For artists with several band- independently released the covers album Pete Yorn
Sings the Classics on Bandcamp ahead of it hitting
streaming services — a move Pollack believed would
“WE WANT OUR ARTISTS TO SELL MORE MUSIC AND MAKE

better monetize the album as well as give fans a mo-
ment to gather around. “That changes the whole outlook
from how we were doing music a year ago,” he says.
MORE MONEY BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY WAY WE DO.” “All of a sudden, we’re radically rethinking the release
schedule. I do think Bandcamp is going to change things
going forward, and it already has.”
—KIM For all the talk of how much Bandcamp could re-
shape various corners of the music industry, Diamond is
camp. “When given the chance,” says Kim, “fans will go mates or large teams, that money can be spread even surprisingly modest about the company’s future. He is
above and beyond and support artists all the time.” thinner.) She is optimistic yet frank about how much the not interested in replacing labels, making flashy acquisi-
ROGERS: COURTESY OF SUBJECT. ROSE-GARCIA: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/SHUTTERSTOCK.
With wins like the “Iris” cover, many artists hope the company can potentially change the industry around it. tions or becoming an alternative streaming service — all
increased attention on Bandcamp will force a shift in the “It’s not like Bandcamp has made it so that things are the things one could imagine the company reaching
way the music industry compensates them. That’s why normal,” she says. “But it has made it so things are a bit for. Of course there are more features he would like to
in December, as Spotify rolled out its annual Wrapped less hard.” add. But the most powerful thing Bandcamp can do, in
campaign summing up users’ listening habits for the Diamond noticed the Wrapped chatter too, though Diamond’s eyes, is not much at all. “The vision for the
past year, some artists and fans used the occasion to call he chooses his words carefully and talks about the future of the company is really not that different from
attention to its payment model. “Your spotify wrapped is debate more broadly. “I was happy to see artists talking what it has been all along,” he says. Stray too far, and it
basically just a list of artists you owe money to lol,” Baldi about this,” he says. “Bandcamp’s mission of helping art- risks losing what makes it work.
wrote in a semi-viral tweet from the @CloudNothings ists get paid is a conversation I want happening across And for many of the artists who rely on it, that is more
account. The music blog aggregator Hype Machine all businesses in the music space, and any business than enough. “Having Bandcamp around is peace of
even has a tool that analyzes users’ Wrapped playlists — that’s looking at how to do that better, that’s fantastic.” mind, in a way,” says Rose-Garcia. “It’s comforting to
and generates links to buy the music on Bandcamp. Some appear to be. In a watershed moment for the know that it works, and it’s there.”
AEG PRESENTS CONGRATULATES
SHAWN TRELL
ON THIS WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION.
A rare combination of
talent, integrity, loyalty and
friendship.
Players From left: Shakira; 50 Cent; Bob Dylan;
an unidentified protestor in St. Paul,
Minn., in March; and Stevie Nicks.

SHAKIRA: GREG ALLEN/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK. 50 CENT: MARCUS INGRAM/GETTY IMAGES. DYLAN: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES. NICKS: MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES.
THE BEST LEGAL MINDS IN THE BUSINESS WERE TESTED IN THE PAST YEAR BY
A LAND RUSH OF NEGOTIATIONS, NEW BUSINESS MODELS FROM LIVESTREAMING TO NFTs
AND THE ONGOING NEED TO ADVOCATE FOR THEIR CLIENTS — AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
T
HROUGH IT ALL, THE DEALS DID NOT STOP. NOR DID CALLS consent decrees guiding the operation of ASCAP and BMI — without recom-
for greater fairness and equality, both within and beyond the mending change. The outgoing assistant attorney general for the antitrust
music business. division, Makan Delrahim, urged a fresh DOJ review of the consent decrees
Over the past tumultuous year, the leading music attorneys chosen every five years.
for the 2021 edition of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers — nominated by Other concerns will not wait. The calls for racial and social justice heard across
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES. PROTESTOR: STEPHEN MATUREN/GETTY IMAGES.
their firms and peers and chosen by our editors — have played an essential role. the nation, in the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the recent condem-
Those helping clients to buy and sell recording and publishing catalogs were nations of anti-Asian violence, have resonated within the music business legal
busier than ever. Among the headline-grabbing transactions were Universal Mu- community as well. On this year’s list are firms that have shaken up their ranks to
sic Publishing Group’s acquisition of Bob Dylan’s iconic catalog, Primary Wave’s become more diverse while acknowledging more needs to be done.
creation of a joint venture with Stevie Nicks after acquiring a majority share of “We have all been forced to reassess racism and social injustice,” says Adam
her publishing copyrights and the buying spree of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which Van Straten of Van Straten Solicitors. “Stakeholders at all levels started taking the
brought the catalogs of creators from 50 Cent to Shakira under its wide umbrella. extremely necessary and overdue steps to support changes within the industry.”
Lawyers involved in the live-touring sector came to the aid of their clients by Perhaps the greatest support that the top music lawyers can offer to bring
diving into an alphabet soup of pandemic relief packages: PPP (Paycheck Protec- about change is to advocate for creators and clients as they speak out through
tion Program) and EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) administered by the SBA their work.
(Small Business Administration). That federal agency will open applications on “Use your platform to raise awareness of the causes you care about,” says
April 8 for the $15 billion SVOG (Shuttered Venue Operators Grant) program. anti-discrimination litigator Doug Wigdor. “Whether it be politics, racial jus-
In Washington, D.C., one of the longest-running legal dramas in the music tice, women’s rights, the environment, corporate malfeasance or some other
business came to a surprising end when a U.S. Department of Justice official issue, artists should embrace using the tools they have to fight for what they
revealed in January that the DOJ had concluded its review of the decades-old believe in.” —T H O M D U F F Y
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S E L M A N H O S G Ö R A P R I L 3 , 2 0 2 1 • W W W. B I L L B O A R D . C O M 65
THE PLAYERS
Paul Robinson
MAJOR MUSIC GROUPS EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL COUNSEL
Warner Music Group
Jeffrey Harleston Brad Cohen
GENERAL COUNSEL/EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS SENIOR VP/HEAD OF LITIGATION
AND LEGAL AFFAIRS Warner Music Group
Universal Music Group Jon Glass
Adam Barker SENIOR VP/HEAD OF DIGITAL LEGAL AFFAIRS
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS Warner Music Group
Universal Music U.K. Maryrose Maness Aiko
Saheli Datta SENIOR VP/DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL
EXECUTIVE VP/CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER Warner Music Group
AND EMPLOYMENT COUNSEL Trent Tappe
Universal Music Group SENIOR VP/DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL/
Steve Gawley CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS Warner Music Group has closed “several new podcasting joint Horacio Gutierrez
Universal Music Group “In 2020, during the absolute worst of ventures, partnerships and content deals,” HEAD OF GLOBAL AFFAIRS/CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER
Nicola Levy times,” says Robinson, 62, “we man- and, in February, Sony’s attorneys worked Spotify
EXECUTIVE VP DIGITAL BUSINESS AND LEGAL aged to go public, to grow our business on the company’s purchase of Kobalt’s Eve Konstan
AFFAIRS — both organically and by doing more recorded-music divisions, including GENERAL COUNSEL
Universal Music Group [mergers and acquisitions] and also by AWAL, offering “another level of service Spotify
Alasdair McMullan doing innovative licensing deals with to the independent music community,” Kevan Choset
EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL emerging digital platforms — and to do says Meisel. At a time of social and ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL/HEAD OF
AFFAIRS/GLOBAL HEAD OF LITIGATION our part for social justice and diversity, racial reckoning, the legal team also was LEGAL STRATEGY
Universal Music Group equity and inclusion. I’m proud of these involved in creating what Walker calls Spotify
Michael Seltzer successes and the efforts of our legal and “internal programming that responds to Sofia Sheppard
EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL business affairs team in supporting them.” the needs of various populations in a year ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL/GLOBAL HEAD OF
AFFAIRS/HEAD OF COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE “A of tremendous challenge.” LICENSING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Universal Music Group reminder to us to expect the unexpected. WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Spotify
Magda Vives It would have been easy to think, given LAWYER “They need to seek a lot of Spotify’s lawyers had an eventful
SENIOR VP LEGAL AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS, the growth our industry experienced answers from their lawyers, especially year as the streaming platform
LATIN AMERICA from 2015 to 2019, that nothing could go around how they are making money. The dramatically expanded its global reach,
Universal Music Latin America wrong. This was a wakeup call. But having [record-company] business affairs team making its service available to 93 new
Entertainment experienced 15 years of digital disruption should be able to explain every detail countries since mid-2020, a move
Reflecting on the past year, Harleston and come out the other side, our industry around a contract so that every artist that “more than doubled the number
says he takes pride in how the UMG is very adaptable.” —Robinson understands how they are getting paid.” of markets where Spotify is live,” says
team — its labels, its publishing com- —Swidler Shepard, 45. “That work will continue
pany and more — came together while Julie Swidler as Spotify expands its available catalog
working remotely “to not only respond EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AFFAIRS/ globally throughout 2021.”
to the impact of the pandemic on our GENERAL COUNSEL STREAMING MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
artists and our staff, but also to embrace Sony Music Entertainment “With shows being canceled due to the
uncomfortable conversations and Stu Bondell Gabe Fleet pandemic, finding ways for artists and
lead meaningful initiatives to address EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AFFAIRS/CHIEF fans to connect online is more important
systemic issues around racial inequality AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL MUSIC LICENSING COUNSEL than ever. It is essential that platform
and social justice in our own company, Sony Music Entertainment iHeartMedia providers and rights holders continue to
our industry and the world at large.” In Jeff Walker Fleet, 40, helped iHeartRadio transition collaborate [to create] such opportunities
response to calls for racial justice, UMG EXECUTIVE VP/HEAD OF BUSINESS AND from in-person events, such as its annual and enable new revenue opportunities
last June announced its Task Force LEGAL AFFAIRS, GLOBAL DIGITAL BUSINESS music festival, to virtual programming for artists, songwriters and composers
for Meaningful Change, connecting Sony Music Entertainment and TV/streaming specials like SeeHer, so that they can earn a living off their art.”
40 executives from its different labels Wade Leak Hear Her for International Women’s Day —Sheppard
and business units around the world, EXECUTIVE VP/DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL/CHIEF and Living Black! for Black History Month,
co-chaired by Harleston and Motown COMPLIANCE, ETHICS AND PRIVACY OFFICER featuring 21 Savage, JHENÉ AIKO, Kirk Antonious Porch
Records chairman/CEO Ethiopia Sony Music Entertainment Franklin and Roddy Ricch. He also guided GENERAL COUNSEL/HEAD OF PEOPLE
Habtemariam. “We have much more Susan Meisel iHeartMedia’s investment in podcasts AND CULTURE
work to do,” says Harleston. “But it was SENIOR VP/CORPORATE DEPUTY and expects streaming events to survive SoundCloud
rewarding to see Universal Music come GENERAL COUNSEL past 2020. “The most successful artists Anne-Marie Chirema
together in a way I hadn’t experienced in Sony Music Entertainment and companies,” says Fleet, “will be the DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS
my almost 30 years.” During the pandemic, while ensuring ones who understand that things will SoundCloud
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE that Sony was “doing everything as never be the same as they were before.” On April 1, SoundCloud became the
“Our resilience. While the world was a company to protect the health and MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE first streaming company to adopt a
in quarantine and lockdown, artists safety of our people,” says Swidler, the “Fewer cross-country flights for one user-centric royalty system, which will
found the most innovative ways to company’s legal team was also work- 45-minute meeting and, hopefully, also allow musicians to get paid based on
CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK
continue to create and share their voice ing “to protect our artists’ works.” Sony more humility and empathy. This year was how individual listeners divide their
with the world. From Andrea Bocelli’s took part in a multicompany industry a good reminder that we’re all humans, attention, rather than on aggregate
inspiring Easter concert to Billie Eilish’s action against internet service provider with families and pets and messy offices streams. Since performers have lost
livestreamed show to Justin Bieber’s Val- Cox Communications, and in January, and spotty Wi-Fi, and it was nice to see a touring income during the pandemic,
entine’s Day livestream, artists continue a federal judge upheld a $1 billion ruling change, where in addition to negotiating says Porch, 49, “there is an urgency now
to persevere in a time when we need against Cox for infringing 10,000 musical with each other, we also learned a little to help more artists,” especially those
them the most.” —Harleston works. In the past year, says Swidler, Sony more about each other as people.” who are independent and developing
66 BILLBOARD • APRIL 3, 2021 NOTE: Executives whose ages do not appear declined to provide them.
THE PLAYERS
a career, in a more equitable manner. Khoury Cooper possible,” says Rowles, 55. To meet that Board but which is now under review,
Establishing and maintaining an income, SENIOR CORPORATE COUNSEL need, Live Nation president/CEO Mi- while Aguirre and her team are keeping
especially in the wake of the pandemic Amazon Music chael Rapino launched Crew Nation, with abreast of new technology platforms
and general economic downturn, is Nicolas Gauss Live Nation contributing an initial $5 mil- like Twitch, Snap and TikTok that use
critically important.” SENIOR CORPORATE COUNSEL lion and matching the next $5 million music and need the appropriate licenses.
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE Amazon Music given by artists, partners and employees. “COVID-19 has energized new entrants
“The explosive growth of creator-to-fan Amazon Music embarked on a new “Our legal team was involved throughout to the market,” she says, “and they must
engagement across SoundCloud and endeavor in 2020: establishing a podcast that process, helping our affiliated non- understand that if they utilize music, they
many other social sharing platforms, division as the music industry embraced profit, Music Forward Foundation, work must pay music creators.”
propelled by the physical isolation during the format. The streaming platform is through issues as diverse as international THE SONGS THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE
the pandemic.” —Porch well-versed in launching new products tax consequences to the mechanics of PANDEMIC “I have been listening to the
after rolling out a high-fidelity service in screening applicants. That work was music podcast Rivals, and it has led me
Robert Windom 2019, but the podcast operation provided tremendously satisfying for all of us, and to relisten to many classics I hadn’t fo-
CHIEF COUNSEL, CONTENT AND SERVICES new challenges for Amazon Music’s we’re proud to be a leader in supporting cused on for a while. It has been fun and
Apple lawyers as it “touched on legal issues the broader industry.” a great diversion to listen to the likes
Adam Blankenheimer that were entirely separate from our THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE of Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Guns N’
SENIOR COUNSEL, CONTENT AND music streaming business,” says Afshar. PANDEMIC “ ‘I Won’t Back Down’ by Tom Roses, N.W.A, The Beach Boys, Neil
INTERNET SERVICES “We worked diligently to make sure that Petty. I’ve always been a big Petty fan Young, Oasis, Nicki Minaj, Pearl Jam
Apple Amazon Music’s podcast experience and was fortunate to catch him in one and more in the context of their
Elizabeth Miles exceeded [customers’] expectations.” of his final performances at the Holly- music rivalries.”
DIRECTOR, ITUNES AND APPLE MUSIC LEGAL MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE wood Bowl before he passed away. The
Apple This past year “drove adoption of title probably speaks for itself, but that Peter Brodsky
Brahim Ait Ben Larbi livestreaming in a way no other year sense of resilience in the face of adver- EXECUTIVE VP BUSINESS AFFAIRS/GENERAL
PRINCIPAL LEGAL COUNSEL, MUSIC PUBLISHING could have. That’s why we partnered with sity really resonates with me as we’re all COUNSEL
Apple Twitch to introduce livestreaming to the trying to get through to the other side Sony Music Publishing
Label and publishing colleagues con- Amazon Music app. Twitch has long been of this pandemic.” Michael Abitbol
tacted by Billboard endorsed the work in at the forefront of connecting creators SENIOR VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS, DIGITAL
the past year of Windom, Blankenheimer, and fans through livestreaming experi- Shawn Trell Sony Music Publishing
Miles and the London-based Ait Ben ences, and Amazon Music saw early on EXECUTIVE VP/COO/GENERAL COUNSEL Jonas Kant
Larbi. (Apple has chosen to not partici- that this technology represented a new AEG Presents SENIOR VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS
pate in Billboard executive list features.) frontier for artists looking to combine live The pandemic had AEG “essentially in Sony Music Publishing
As the pandemic set in last spring, with on-demand streaming experiences. neutral for the last year,” says Trell. That Nicole Giacco
Windom reported that he and his team Even after the pandemic, we expect to left some tough decisions to make, and SENIOR VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS
worked across divisions at Apple to cre- see livestreaming play a significant role in the company was forced to furlough Sony Music Publishing
ate a $50 million advance royalty fund to the industry and are excited to see what numerous employees and reduce salaries For Sony/ATV Music Publishing, it was a
help independent labels weather the CO- creators do in this space.” —Afshar for others after keeping many on staff year capped by rebranding as Sony Mu-
VID-19 crisis. The action provided a one- for months during the pandemic. (AEG sic Publishing, including a new logo and
time advance payment on future royalties began rehiring staff in March.) “What I mission statement: “Every voice matters.”
for labels and distributors that earn over LIVE have appreciated the most in how we In step with that mission, the company
$10,000 in quarterly revenue from Apple have handled this situation is the human partnered with Atlanta-based Silence
Music and have a direct-distribution deal Michael Rowles element and care for the employee base, the Shame to launch The Soundtrack of
with the streaming service. EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL COUNSEL which has been the most significant part Mental Health. The initiative will provide
Live Nation Entertainment of each major decision,” he says. mental health training and services to
Stephen Worth One of Live Nation’s most urgent priori- MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE better support its songwriters and em-
HEAD OF LEGAL/ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL ties as the pandemic struck, along with “The havoc and hurt — financial and ployees. “I’m proud to be a part of a team
Amazon Music supporting its own employees, “was to emotional — it has caused artists, that takes these issues seriously and
Cyrus Afshar create a vehicle to help sustain the count- employees and related third parties. understands that actions speak louder
SENIOR CORPORATE COUNSEL less individual contractors who work The loss of jobs, work, connection and than words,” says Giacco.
Amazon Music behind the scenes to make our industry purpose has been monumental. Some MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
will emerge better and smarter for having “The resilience and commitment of
gone through it. But the scars will always creators and those in the industry
be there.” pushing forward, pivoting and adjust-
ing to continue making and delivering
music.” —Giacco
MUSIC PUBLISHING
David Kokakis
Danielle Aguirre CHIEF COUNSEL, BUSINESS AFFAIRS,
EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL COUNSEL UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP/
National Music Publishers’ Association DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Even without the pandemic, it was going Universal Music Group
to be a challenging year for Aguirre, 43, Michael Petersen
as she led the NMPA’s efforts in building SENIOR VP BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS
the Mechanical Licensing Collective, Universal Music Publishing Group
which opened for business on Jan. 1 and UMPG’s acquisition of Bob Dylan’s
will begin administering $424 million in iconic catalog of over 600 copyrights
ARIK MCARTHUR/GETTY IMAGES
unmatched royalties that were turned — including “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Lay
Pop Smoke over to it under the Music Modernization Lady Lay” and “Like a Rolling Stone”
Act. The NMPA also continues to defend — marked a historic moment for the
a 44% rate increase for songwriters that company. But Petersen, 59, also points
was approved by the Copyright Royalty to the ability of songwriters and artists

Fox Rothschild is proud of this recognition of our
ATLANTA LOS ANGELES
Leron Rogers John Rose Heidy Vaquerano
MINNEAPOLIS NEW YORK
Ken Abdo Michael Reinert Tim Mandelbaum
The honorees recognize these and other

organizations with whom we share a commitment to work for
diversity, equity and inclusion within the entertainment industry:
Black American Black Entertainment and

Music Association Sports Lawyers Association
Hispanic National Women In Music

Bar Association
Entertainment & Sports Law. Coast to Coast.®

THE PLAYERS
to “create amazing music remotely” as a media companies, major music stream-

2020 legacy that will also have lasting services and over-the-top media TA L E N T A N D L I T I G AT I O N
ing impact. “This had been an ongoing services. (OTT services provide audiovi-
trend,” he says, “but the pandemic made sual content through the internet instead Kenneth Abdo
it the new normal.” of cable or satellite, such as Netflix or PARTNER
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Hulu.) All of those deals were essential Fox Rothschild
Fordham Law School
PANDEMIC “ ‘Break My Heart’ by Dua Lipa. “to drive revenue and help secure the Tim Mandelbaum
It makes you want to dance every time livelihoods and future for our members, PARTNER
you hear it.” —Petersen especially in light of the pandemic,” says Fox Rothschild
Kim. ASCAP also retained or acquired Michael Reinert
Scott McDowell membership of scores of artists including PARTNER
EXECUTIVE VP/HEAD OF LEGAL AND BUSINESS
AFFAIRS
Jackson Browne, Mariah Carey, Da Baby,
Billie Eilish, FINNEAS, Madonna, John
Fox Rothschild
Leron Rogers
Leading Law
Warner Chappell Music
In addition to helping bring back Quincy
Mellencamp and Bernie Taupin.
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
PARTNER
Fox Rothschild
Schools Of
Jones to the storied publisher’s roster
and representing the late rapper POP
“There’s no doubt there is pent-up
demand for live music experiences. But
Heidy Vaquerano
PARTNER
The Top Music
SMOKE to “advance his legacy,” Mc-
Dowell’s team has mostly focused on
livestreaming and virtual events will be
with us in some way for a long time.”
Fox Rothschild
John Rose
Lawyers
how to deal with data: “Managing it and ASSOCIATE THE MOST FREQUENTLY CITED
harnessing it for good.” This philoso- Stuart Rosen Fox Rothschild ALMA MATERS OF THE 2021
phy also applies to young artists’ own SENIOR VP/GENERAL COUNSEL Over the past year, the music depart- CLASS OF HONOREES
budgets, as McDowell suggests they BMI ment at Fox Rothschild has doubled
break down every dollar of their personal In January it was revealed that the in size. “We have become one of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School
income and figure out “how many others Department of Justice had ended most diverse such groups among our of Law, Yeshiva University
take a piece of it along the way.” its protracted review of the consent peers,” says Mandelbaum. The firm New York
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE decrees that govern how ASCAP and has welcomed Rogers, Rose and Va- Enrollment: 925
“Racial justice reckoning and the drive for BMI operate, without taking action querano to its ranks since Billboard’s
diversity, equity and inclusion.” or revising those decades-old agree- 2020 Top Music Lawyers report. Columbia Law School,
ments. Yet BMI’s engagement with the Among the artists and companies that Columbia University
DOJ “should be considered a success,” Fox Rothschild has represented are New York
PERFORMING RIGHTS says Rosen, 61, “in that we avoided not 10K Projects, Trace Adkins, Blondie, Enrollment: 1,244
only an expansion of the decree but Cash Money Records, Roberta Flack,
Fordham University School
Christos Badavas congressional intervention in the form Berry Gordy, Hanson, Hipgnosis
of Law
EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL COUNSEL of compulsory licensing, both of which Songs Fund, Kobalt, Kool & The Gang,
SESAC
New York
could easily have occurred.” Rosen Rick Ross, Toto, Universal Music
Enrollment: 1,093
Over the past year, Badavas, 51, oversaw praises BMI’s legal team during the Group, Kanye West, Stevie Wonder
his organization’s efforts to implement pandemic for going “the extra mile in and Wu-Tang Clan. Harvard Law School,
the performing rights organization’s shift meeting the urgent needs of our affili- MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS Harvard University
to an entirely remote work environment ates and in addressing the concerns of “The ability of nonmainstream artists Cambridge, Mass.
during the pandemic. That move includ- our licensees.” to survive in a streaming world domi- Enrollment: 1,740
ed ensuring licenses were signed and THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE nated by a handful of top-charting
fees were collected from major licensees PANDEMIC “Donny Hathaway’s [live] cover artists.” —Mandelbaum New York Law School
through channels that were not affected of Carole King’s ‘You’ve Got a Friend.’ The New York
too significantly by the global disrup- audience’s thrilling and complete takeover Jenny Afia Enrollment: 872
tion. SESAC also helped spearhead the of the chorus reminds me of the commu- HEAD OF ENTERTAINMENT AND LEGAL
New York University School
music industry’s efforts to support the nity of live performance and what we’ve Schillings International
of Law
CARES Act, which offered assistance lost over this long, long year.” Clients like Adele, Elton John and
New York
for songwriters and composers whose Madonna count on Afia, 42, to protect
Enrollment: 1,379
livelihoods disappeared due to the Colin Rushing their reputations from media intrusion,
coronavirus outbreak. “Ultimately, these CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER with privacy a core concern of her Southwestern Law School
efforts ensure that royalty payments SoundExchange practice. While that means she gener- Los Angeles
to our affiliates are not interrupted and In the past year, SoundExchange main- ally doesn’t share information about Enrollment: 611
governmental aid is forthcoming during tained business as usual, “never missing her clients, she recently won a high-
this unprecedented time,” he says. a distribution at a time when our royal- profile case on behalf of Meghan Mar- University of California,
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE ties are more critical than ever,” says kle, the Duchess of Sussex, against Berkeley, School of Law
“The recognition of the responsibility the Rushing, 41. “We moved to fully remote U.K. tabloid Mail on Sunday, which Berkeley, Calif.
music industry has to ensure increased work basically overnight; thanks to our speaks to her acumen, and has taken Enrollment: 986
opportunity and, ultimately, full partici- extraordinary team, we did so seam- on social media as the next frontier in
University of California,
pation of Black Americans in the music lessly. And because of the royalty rates privacy battles. “It takes extraordinary Los Angeles, School of Law
industry. In other words, the responsibility and structures we’ve achieved in past bravery to stand up for your rights so Los Angeles
to recruit and make room for new voices rate settings, as well as the ongoing publicly,” she says, “and I love helping Enrollment: 975
on the business side of music.” vitality of digital radio, our collections empower people to do this.”
and distributions have remained basi- WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR University of Southern
Clara Kim cally steady.” LAWYER “ ‘What are you going to do California Gould School
COURTESY OF FORDHAM LAW SCHOOL
EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL COUNSEL MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE now to keep me safe in the future?’ If of Law
ASCAP “The rapid acceleration toward stream- you want to have a successful career Los Angeles
Negotiations and signings of multiyear ing and away from old-school broad- and a private life, taking control of your Enrollment: 590
licensing agreements continued apace cast FM radio — a platform that still privacy and reputation at the start is an
in 2020 between ASCAP and traditional pays artists nothing.” absolute must. Enrollments source: U.S. News & World Reports

PIERRE HACHAR, JR ., ESQ.
Billboard Top Music Lawyer

WWW.H AC HA R G R OU P.CO M | I N FO @ H ACH A RG R O UP.COM | @ R E D CA R P E TL AW | TE L : 3 0 5 - 200 -1 3 08
Gaga
THE PLAYERS
Lisa Alter deals for the recording and publish-

PARTNER ing catalogs of its clients, he adds, “it’s
Alter Kendrick & Baron exciting to see so many nontraditional
Katie Baron players come into the [music] space
PARTNER and appreciate the value.”
Alter Kendrick & Baron
In the past year, Alter Kendrick & Baron Andrew Bart
has represented multiple clients in com- PARTNER/CO-CHAIR OF THE CONTENT,
plex music acquisition deals. They include MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT PRACTICE
Primary Wave, for the various interests Jenner & Block
in the catalogs of Olivia Newton-John, As counsel for each of the three major
Stevie Nicks and The Four Seasons; labels, as well as SoundExchange, Roc
Reservoir Media Management, for over Nation and the RIAA, Bart, 66, has played
16,000 compositions from legendary a leading role in protecting the copyrights
music publisher Shapiro Bernstein; Nicky of creators in the digital world. One
Chinn of the duo Chinn and Chapman highlight was the victory in November
in the sale of his copyrights; and Tempo for the RIAA and record labels in its
Music Investments “in significant eight- copyright infringement case against hip-
figure deals,” says Alter. Among the firm’s hop streaming platform Spinrilla, which
clients are Chinn, Ray Davies, Foreigner, resulted in a summary judgment that Bart vote campaign during the 2020 election. artists must find a sophisticated collec-
Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, David Gilm- calls “a significant victory for content Their work touched upon many aspects tion arrangement to capitalize on their
our, Steve Miller and the estates of Ira owners against an unlicensed music site.” of the music industry, including artist work. Streaming is still evolving, rules are
Gershwin, Ben E. King, Anthony Newley, MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS contracts and publishing clearances. changing, and arrangements for collec-
Billy Strayhorn and Jule Styne. “Finding an economic path that permits WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR tion of the fractions of pennies that fall
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR them to create. Part of it is the pandemic, LAWYER “ ‘What does it mean to be the between the cracks if a creator isn’t well-
LAWYER “ ‘How can I advance my career but part of it is that for 20 years, our legal CEO of my career?’ A successful artist represented can amount to real losses.”
while still maintaining control over my system has facilitated a massive transfer will lead with their creative vision and
work from both an artistic and legal of wealth from the creative community to will back it up with smart business savvy. Audrey Benoualid
perspective?’ ” —Alter the owners of distribution platforms.” A good CEO is always bringing in and PARTNER
trying new opportunities and pushing the Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
Peter Anderson Richard Baskind boundaries of themselves and the team Mobasser Younger & Light
PARTNER PARTNER around them.” —Beame Josh Karp
Davis Wright Tremaine Simons Muirhead & Burton PARTNER
For Anderson, a litigator whose firm has The London-based firm services a client Jeffrey Becker Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
successfully handled copyright-related roster that includes Nick Cave, Grace PARTNER/CHAIR, ENTERTAINMENT Mobasser Younger & Light
suits for The Weeknd, Lil Nas X and Ken- Jones, Alan Walker and First Access AND MEDIA LAW PRACTICE Tamara Milagros-Butler
drick Lamar — and, with Helene Freeman Entertainment and has advised on asset Swanson Martin & Bell PARTNER
(see page 80), achieved a victory in the transactions like ICM Partners’ acquisi- Last November, the hip-hop community Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
“Stairway to Heaven” infringement case tion of Primary Talent International. mourned the loss of fast-rising Chicago Mobasser Younger & Light
for his clients Jimmy Page and Robert Muirhead & Burton was named law firm rapper King Von, whose estate Becker, Robert Minzner
Plant — the pandemic has been a time of the year at the 2020 Music Week 41, now represents and has seen grow, PARTNER
of “teaching old dogs new tricks” as Awards. “We started the music practice with an uptick in streams and Billboard Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
the action shifted from courtrooms to when I joined the firm 10 years ago, so Hot 100 hits. Among his firm’s clients Mobasser Younger & Light
Zoom screens. “It has been a busy year,” receiving this award from our industry are a diverse roster of producers, such Oren Agman
he says. “Any kind of remote deposition peers was a great acknowledgment of as BTS collaborator Vincent Nantes, Lil ASSOCIATE
before was a fairly rare thing. But the the work we’ve done since then and the Pump beatmaker Fizzle and Kim Petras Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
pandemic forced me and other lawyers support we’ve had,” says Baskind. producer Vaughn. Recent deals include Mobasser Younger & Light
to understand the technology and the WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR the signing of singer-rapper Miles to Steven Arnst
procedures and actually use them. And I LAWYER “About their rights, their intel- Elektra Records and SoundCloud star ASSOCIATE
don’t think we’ll stop once it’s over.” lectual property, their career and the Yung Divide to Epic Records. Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
business. It is really important that they Mobasser Younger & Light
Craig Averill have a clear understanding of the es- Jill Berliner Andranise Baxter
Jeff Worob sentials. At the end of the day, it is the PARTNER ASSOCIATE
PARTNERS artist’s business.” Rimon Law Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Berliner, 63, whose firm represents Mobasser Younger & Light
Worob & Averill David Beame Beck, The Chicks, Foo Fighters, Nirvana Haley Golding
Worob counts among his clients Leon Brian Mencher and The Smashing Pumpkins, was well ASSOCIATE
Bridges, Maroon 5 and Maggie Rogers, FOUNDING PARTNERS prepared to weather the pandemic Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
while Averill advises, among others, Beame & Mencher professionally, having long served her Mobasser Younger & Light
the FADER Label and artist-producer When the pandemic shut down the clients remotely. “We have been a Lulu Pantin
RAC, a pioneer in the lucrative realm of world last March, Beame, 46, and cutting-edge virtual firm since Rimon ASSOCIATE
non-fungible tokens. “Throughout the Mencher, 43, helped lead philanthropic was founded in 2008,” she says. Of late, Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
wreckage of 2020,” says Worob, “it has client Global Citizen to one of its big- she has reflected on the impact of this Mobasser Younger & Light
been fun to help our clients develop gest years yet, including its pivot from year’s loss of live events. “Once we have Andrew Paster
new and interesting ways to earn while in-person festivals to televised music recovered from the pandemic,” she says, ASSOCIATE
we’re all stuck at home, including with events. Among those were April’s “the live-music landscape will have radi- Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
new technology like NFTs, as well as One World: Together at Home concert cally changed, but fans will be ecstatic Mobasser Younger & Light
figuring out how to make more tradi- curated by LADY GAGA in support of to be able to see live shows.” Senior attorneys of Myman Greenspan
GETTY IMAGES
tional income streams — like live shows front-line workers and October’s Every MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger &
— translate virtually.” As the firm closed Vote Counts, promoting the get-out-the- “Songwriters, producers and recording Light, who previously have been

Covington Provides Creative
Solutions for a Creative Industry
Covington’s global music practice offers integrated transactional, intellectual property, litigation, regulatory,
and public policy expertise. Our team includes trial lawyers who have been involved in some of the most
significant music industry disputes of the digital era, deal lawyers with decades of technology and content
transactions experience, and lawyers with in-house experience at record labels across business affairs and A&R.
We congratulate our colleagues Jonathan Sperling, Neema Sahni, and Adrian Perry for being recognized by
Billboard as Top Music Lawyers.
Jonathan Sperling Neema Sahni Adrian Perry

jsperling@cov.com nsahni@cov.com aperry@cov.com
Learn more at
www.cov.com/music
© 2021 Covington & Burling LLP. All rights reserved.

THE PLAYERS
recognized on the Top Music Lawyers Corporation, Trap Nation, Brian Wilson, 46, also negotiated the sale of Bell’s acclaimed and profitable music publish-
list, collectively chose to step out of Neil Young and the estates of Rick publishing catalog to Universal Music ing rights,” and Lande adds the sale of
the spotlight for 2021 to nominate their James and Pop Smoke. Publishing Group and the publishing/ Shakira’s publishing catalog to Hipgnosis.
rising colleagues — a decision Billboard recording catalog owned by the estate Lande also worked on the agreements
endorsed by giving the firm the largest Joshua Binder of Donny Hathaway to Primary Wave. for two BEYONCÉ projects that com-
representation in this year’s report. The Jeremy Mohr bined business and culture: her musical
firm represents some of the industry’s Paul Rothenberg Scott Bradford film and visual album Black Is King,
hottest stars — Justin Bieber, Dead & PARTNERS/CO-FOUNDERS OF COUNSEL which brought Afrofuturism to Disney+,
Co., Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, Rothenberg Mohr & Binder DLA Piper and a multilayered partnership between
Brockhampton and Red Hot Chili Pep- Representing acts such as Chloe x Halle, Bradford recently negotiated client Beyoncé and Peloton that highlights
pers, among others — as well as rising Gunna, Kehlani and Marshmello, Rothen- Round Hill’s high-level purchase of Triple her music on the platform and includes
talent like CHIKA and Verzache, and berg Mohr & Binder needed to figure out Crown Records, which gave it over 150 Peloton’s commitment to recruit interns
its attorneys have guided deals such as ways for their clients to push through the titles. Representing clients like All Time and staff from 10 historically Black col-
Concord’s acquisition of Pulse Music pandemic without live events. By shifting Low, Fetty Wap and Panic! at the Disco, leges or universities. Lande and Byrnes
Group, Primary Wave’s purchase of the focus to “more long-term strategies Bradford notes that artists and managers worked together on Travis Scott’s deal
music assets from Disturbed and Gods- and working with clients and managers have been “super resourceful in figuring with Anheuser-Busch InBev to launch an
mack and the sale of songwriter Sean on catalog sales, virtual appearances out solutions to the live-event restric- agave-infused hard seltzer, Cacti, this
Douglas’ hit-filled publishing catalog to and brand partnerships,” says Mohr, the tions” during the pandemic. “I have spring. “A lot of activity,” says Lande.
Vine Alternative Investments. firm found its sweet spot, while also artists who are performing to thousands WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
expanding the practice. “Music has been of fans via websites — they perform to LAWYER “ ‘Are you 100% on my side, or
Charles “Jeff” Biederman and will always be an incredible tool for way more fans through this method than are your relationships so intimate with
PARTNER, MANATT ENTERTAINMENT emotional healing and bringing people they’d reach by touring for two months,” record labels that my needs will be sac-
Manatt Phelps & Phillips together to effectuate social and other he says. “Overhead is minimal, and they rificed in the service of your relationship
Jordan Bromley important change,” he says. go home after each show. This will just with the label?’ ” —Branca
PARTNER/LEADER, ENTERTAINMENT THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE provide a new delivery system for artists
TRANSACTIONS AND FINANCE PRACTICE PANDEMIC “Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little moving forward.” William Briggs
Manatt Phelps & Phillips Birds.’ Impossible to listen to that song THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Alex Weingarten
Eric Custer and not feel uplifted.” —Mohr PANDEMIC “R.E.M.’s ‘It’s the End of the PARTNERS
PARTNER, MANATT ENTERTAINMENT World As We Know It.’ Michael Stipe Venable
Manatt Phelps & Phillips Jason Boyarski was just about 30 years ahead of his “It feels important to highlight the work
Gary Gilbert PARTNER time on that one.” I did in representing the talented singer
SENIOR PARTNER, MANATT ENTERTAINMENT Boyarski Fritz Kristina Buch in a sexual harassment
Manatt Phelps & Phillips Boyarski’s firm, which marks its 10th an- John Branca case against Grammy Award-winning
Robert Jacobs niversary this year, represents artists like PARTNER/HEAD OF THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT producer Noel ‘Detail’ Fisher,” says Briggs.
PARTNER/LEADER, ENTERTAINMENT Marc Anthony and Joan Jett, producers Ziffren Brittenham A Los Angeles Superior Court in late 2019
LITIGATION PRACTICE from Louis Bell to Tainy and companies David Lande entered a $15 million judgment against
Manatt Phelps & Phillips including BMG, Disney Music and the PARTNER Fisher, whose credits, according to All-
Lee Phillips fast-growing Create Music Group. His Ziffren Brittenham Music, include work for Beyoncé, Drake
SENIOR PARTNER, MANATT ENTERTAINMENT work as lead entertainment counsel David Byrnes and Jennifer Lopez. “In May 2018, Buch
Manatt Phelps & Phillips for the Prince estate led to deals to PARTNER and another musician, Peyton Ackley,
Monika Tashman bring his music catalog to TikTok and Ziffren Brittenham both made public the assaults by Fisher
PARTNER, MANATT ENTERTAINMENT Peloton, and the distribution of the Among the highlights of a busy year, and obtained restraining orders against
Manatt Phelps & Phillips Grammy-nominated 1999 Super Deluxe Branca notes the firm’s “sales and ac- him,” says Briggs. “Since those original
Echoing a common theme, Bromley Edition through Warner Music. Boyarski, quisitions of some of the industry’s most complaints were filed in 2018, Buch and
says the biggest takeaway from 2020 Ackley paved the way for numerous other
is how “we came together to beat artists to come forward. I am so proud to
back a pandemic, show resilience and help my clients close this awful chapter
achieve meaningful and lasting change in [their lives] and applaud [their] bravery
inside and outside our industry.” At in speaking out.” According to court
Manatt, that meant representing “buy- documents, Fisher is appealing the judg-
ers and sellers in more than $1 billion in ment. Venable’s clients also include Steve
catalog transactions. We advocated for, Angello, Selena Gomez, Wiz Khalifa,
achieved and delivered guidance,” says Gucci Mane, Mandy Moore, 5 Seconds
Bromley, in connection with multiple of Summer, Snoop Dogg, Spotify, Robin
federal pandemic relief channels includ- Thicke, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder,
ing PPP, Federal Pandemic Unemploy- Vevo and the estate of Tom Petty.
ment Compensation, Mixed Earners MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
Unemployment Compensation and the “The ability of artists to show creativity in
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. “We how they monetize their content despite
have worked hand in hand with our art- the halt to touring.” —Briggs
ist partners in demanding social justice”
through legislative efforts, he adds. The Vernon Brown
firm’s partners represent a deep client PRESIDENT/CEO
roster that includes Pepe Aguilar, Paul V. Brown & Company
Anka, Burt Bacharach, Dierks Bentley, In a year filled with strife, Brown set
Jackson Browne, Tracy Chapman, Beyoncé out to offer some relief. In 2020, he
PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT
Death Cab for Cutie, Diplo, Dirty Pro- worked on the deal between longtime
jectors, The Drums, Eagles, John Lee clients Bryan “Birdman” Williams and
Hooker, Major Lazer, Migos, ODESZA, Ronald “Slim” Williams, founders of Cash
Steve Perry, Sturgill Simpson, Thievery Money, and the city of New Orleans, in

LAW OFFICES OF
CARROLL GUIDO GROFFMAN COHEN BAR & KARALIAN, LLP
Rosemary, Michael, Elliot, Rob, Gillian & Renee

would like to take this opportunity to thank
our partners, associates & everyone at the firm
for their dedication during this most extraordinary year
Paul Gutman, Esq. (Partner)

Ira Friedman, Esq. (Partner)
Leah Seymour, Esq.
Dave Keady, Esq.
Jenna Akemi Kon, Esq.
Celine Hollenbeck, Esq.
Carla Webb, Esq.
Matthew Sereno, Esq.
Rawan Ezzo, Esq.
Matthew Regan, Esq.
Riad deFreitas, Esq.
Jared Leon, Esq.*
Lily D’Olimpio, Esq.*
Christine Ballenger Laura Walker

Karen Pals David Garcia
Ryan Martin Melanie Rousselet
Chris Brown Ayan Hotchkiss
Sherry Katopodes Chris Reynolds
John Arak Jason Holt
Patricia Sweet Sofia Perez
Susie Marroquin Robert Workman
Mark Walcott Alberto Reynoso
Valerie Cuevas Romero Kajol Seecharan
Zack Blinder Kay Goldberg
Michael Luevanos
*Admittance pending to NY
THE PLAYERS
which the brothers donated $225,000 WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
to cover rent last June for the residents LAWYER “ ‘How do I ensure that my work
living in the city’s subsidized housing is properly licensed, and how do I ensure
program. Brown has continued his work not only that I am paid properly but also
in providing aid for important causes, all that I do not give away rights unnecessar-
while brokering deals like a joint venture ily or in a way I will later regret?’ ”
between electronic label Reckless Re-
public and Island Records. Candace Carlo
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE ATTORNEY/PARTNER
PANDEMIC “ ‘Life’ by Ludovico Einaudi. Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo
It’s a beautiful, calming song. He’s one of “Our firm has remained cohesive and
my favorite artists to listen to while I’m strong throughout the pandemic,” says
working or thinking.” Carlo. While working remotely, she and
her partners “continue to provide a full
Ed Buggé spectrum of services” to musician clients, Bridgers
PARTNER including Peter Cetera, Toby Keith, KISS,
Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk Gene Simmons and Hans Zimmer. The
Carron Joan Mitchell firm’s film and TV clients include Mark
PARTNER Hamill, Glen Keane, George R.R. Martin,
Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk J.K. Rowling and Sylvester Stallone. oversaw legal work for the documentary SKUxchange to create new revenue
Oswaldo M. Rossi THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil. streams for producers, promoters and
PARTNER PANDEMIC “I like the Billie Eilish-Hans Bar “had a blast” working on deals for performers of live and virtual events
Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk Zimmer track ‘No Time To Die’ [the title Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, in music and sports. The platform
Jamie Young theme of the upcoming James Bond collaborators with Taylor Swift on her uses “digital incentives embedded in
NAMED PARTNER film]. It’s a fantastic pairing of talent albums evermore and folklore, the latter augmented reality and virtual reality
Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk and, given the pandemic, it’s great of which won the album of the year advertising provided by brands, and
Marquis “Quest” Malloy advice — stay healthy and strong.” Grammy. Bar also guided rising young sponsors of such events, to attendees
ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY client Rosie (“Never the 1”) to her deal and viewers,” he says. Among the acts
Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk Rosemary Carroll with Arista Records. For Julia Michaels, that Chidekel represents are The Click
With a client roster that includes Céline Michael Guido Karalian struck a new deal with Universal Five, The D.O.C., Fall Out Boy, Cee Lo
Dion, Keith Richards, Will Smith, Steely Elliot Groffman Music Publishing Group. She oversaw Green, Panic! at the Disco, Kevin Rudolf,
Dan and Gwen Stefani, along with Juan Gillian Bar agreements for Playboi Carti and guided Tool and members of Filter, Train and
Luis Guerra, Nicky Jam and Will.i.am, the Rob Cohen new projects for Kid Cudi, including Wu-Tang Clan. He also works with inde-
firm focused on campaigns and releases Ira Friedman album, film and sponsorship deals. The pendent labels such as Trustkill Records,
“that lifted people in lockdown,” says Renee Karalian firm’s deep roster of superstar clients Ferret Records, Good Fight Entertain-
Buggé, 34. Young represented the estate PARTNERS also includes Arcade Fire, Sara Bareilles, ment and Rise Records, and manage-
of Tom Petty in establishing an “operat- Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen David Byrne, Dave Matthews Band, Jonas ment companies such as Crush Music
ing structure and team to move forward” Bar & Karalian Brothers, The National, Pearl Jam, Phish and Uppercut Management.
with posthumous projects, as well as rep- In the year leading up to PHOEBE and Patti Smith. MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
resenting Stevie Nicks in her partnership BRIDGERS’ nomination as best new “How to most effectively and
with Primary Wave. Buggé also cites the artist at the Grammy Awards, Carroll Jacqueline Charlesworth efficiently increase direct artist-to-fan
firm’s work on MAG’s production of Bad renegotiated the singer’s administration PRINCIPAL engagement and activation — that
Bunny’s album El Ultimo Tour del Mundo agreement with Kobalt and set up her Charlesworth Law is, to incentivize fans to interact with
and the partnership of Ari Lennox and new label, Saddest Factory, through Previously serving as a staunch advocate artists and purchase content, products
Crown Royal to support struggling bars Secretly Canadian. Her client The Strokes for songwriters as a partner at Alter Ken- and tickets to live performances and
and clubs during the pandemic. won the Grammy for best rock album. drick & Baron and playing a key role in the events — without the interference of
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR In the past year, Guido helped guide passage of the Music Modernization Act, unnecessary intermediaries.”
LAWYER “ ‘How can I best maximize my agreements for Megan Thee Stallion, Charlesworth set out on her own with her
chance of success, and what pitfalls shall negotiated catalog deals for Mark Ronson eponymous firm, which officially opened Jay Cohen
I look out for on that path?’ ” —Young and Richie Sambora, and spearheaded its doors on Jan. 1, representing a cross- PARTNER
a label deal for Lee Daniels with Warner section of songwriters, artists, publishers Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Richard Busch Music that includes the soundtrack to his and record labels. The firm has already Cohen started the year with a big win,
PARTNER IN THE LITIGATION SECTION/ film The United States vs. Billie Holiday. added two new attorneys to its practice brokering a settlement with Peloton
HEAD OF THE ENTERTAINMENT AND Groffman, with strong assists from in its first two months of operation, and on behalf of dozens of independent
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECTIONS partner Paul Gutman, worked on several Charlesworth says she’s “thrilled and music publishers that accused the
King & Ballow publishing and master catalog deals, deeply honored by the response” so far. interactive fitness platform of playing
Busch, 54, is regarded as a tough litigator including the sale of Big Deal Music to MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS their members’ works without securing
who has scored high-profile wins in the Hipgnosis. His client Brandi Carlile won “For songwriters, it’s the fact that the mechanical licenses. “After getting
past for Marvin Gaye’s family, Bob Gau- the Grammy for best country song for federal government controls their an antitrust counterclaim against the
dio, Bluewater Music and the Songwriters “Crowded Table,” and ATO Records, income through the Copyright Royalty publishers and the National Music
Guild of America. This year, he turned another longtime client, celebrated the Board and rate-setting processes. In the Publishers’ Association dismissed, we
his focus to securing termination rights Grammy win for Brittany Howard for mechanical area, I know songwriters are achieved a significant settlement of
JAY L. CLENDENIN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/SHUTTERSTOCK
for country star Dwight Yoakam, who is best rock song. Friedman worked with hoping for some improvement under the publishers’ copyright claims,” says
seeking to reclaim his rights to recordings Guido on deals for 12 Tone, including the new MMA standard in this next CRB Cohen — and in February, Peloton
“Honky Tonk Man” and “Miner’s Prayer,” Dolly Parton’s A Holly Dolly Christmas proceeding. We shall see.” and the NMPA announced they had
among others. These “very important album and, with Groffman, on a new reached a joint collaboration agreement
termination-of-rights cases,” says Busch, deal for Tiësto with Atlantic Records. David Chidekel to work together.
become an even more pressing concern For both Olivia Culpo and Demi Lovato, PARTNER MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
as more artists near the statutory period Cohen supervised the negotiation Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae “Monetization for use of their works in the
for reclaiming their copyrights. of new cosmetic ventures and also Chidekel recently has been working with proliferating digital space.”

THE PLAYERS
Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks key hire in November ated under the Music Modernization Act
PARTNER/CHAIR OF ENTERTAINMENT, when Youngberg came to collect digital mechanical royalties in
COPYRIGHT AND MEDIA PRACTICE GROUP aboard as a partner. the United States. The firm is engaged in
Proskauer For the past nine years, the latest legal rounds before the Copy-
Anthony Oncidi she had been general right Royalty Board to establish rates that
PARTNER/HEAD OF WEST COAST LABOR counsel at Screenvision Spotify, Amazon, Google and Pan-
AND EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE Media. “Kim’s addition dora pay publishers and, through them,
Proskauer bolsters the growing film songwriters. “Securing fair compensa-
Proskauer’s clients range from the and TV practice, [which] tion [for creators] as the marketplace
Recording Academy, the RIAA and experienced incredible continues to move to an access model
Live Nation to Madonna and U2, but growth in 2020,” says from the long-existing ownership model”
Crawshaw-Sparks, 57, cites the firm’s Davis. “Kim will be the is crucial, says Zakarin, 70. For litigation,
work with the Universal Hip-Hop seasoned pro with the Swizz Beatz Pryor Cashman represents Luis Fonsi,
Museum, which broke ground this experience to lead this Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, the estate of
year in the Bronx, as a recent highlight. division to be among the Chris Cornell and the three major record
Slated to open in 2023, the cultural best in the business.” companies and their publishing divisions.
center has been a pro bono client MOST LASTING LEGACY THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE
since 2016. “This — currently virtual — OF 2020 WILL BE “A large portion of the Simon Esplen PANDEMIC “ ‘A Change Is Gonna
institution teaches the world about the industry will never forget the lessons they MANAGING PARTNER Come’ by Sam Cooke, because we so
key elements of hip-hop culture and have had to learn about diversifying their Russells needed a change in how we treat one
documents the rise of hip-hop from streams as a measure of income insur- Jo Brittain another.” —Zakarin
its creation on the streets of the Bronx ance.” —Davis Chris Gossage
to becoming one of the world’s most Gavin Maude Sid Fohrman
popular music genres,” she says. Lawrence Engel John Reid PARTNER/HEAD OF MUSIC INDUSTRY TEAM
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE HEAD OF MUSIC GROUP Steven Tregear Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
“The ability to find revenue streams Lee & Thompson PARTNERS Fohrman has worked with high-profile
for creative output despite the global The London firm, whose notable clients Russells clients like Spotify, Peloton and Vevo. But
pandemic.” —Crawshaw-Sparks include Craig David, Jessie J, Little Mix, “Fair remuneration for writers and per- the recent accomplishment he is most
Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tom- forming artists on streaming income” is proud of is the pro bono representation
Sy Damle linson, focused in 2020 on becoming a the most pressing issue facing creators of American Song Archives: The Bob
Andrew Gass more inclusive and representative place today, says Esplen, 57, whose firm rep- Dylan Center and Woody Guthrie Center
Alli Stillman to work, says Engel, adding, “We’re really resented Kobalt in its sale of 42 catalogs in connection with the Fire in Little
Jonathan West pleased with the young talent we have — including works by 50 Cent, Lindsey Africa project. The multimedia hip-hop
Joe Wetzel coming through the firm.” The pandemic Buckingham and Steve Winwood — to collaboration commemorates the 1921
PARTNERS year proved that “remote communica- Hipgnosis for $323 million in November. massacre in Tulsa, Okla.’s Greenwood
Latham & Watkins tion can work globally; it’s easier than The Russells music team also provides neighborhood known as Little Africa that
Latham & Watkins represent some of the ever for us to deal with our U.S. and business and legal advice to a wide “included an exclusive license agreement
biggest brands in music, including Spo- international contacts.” range of new and established acts, with Capitol Music Group for release on
tify, Pandora, Live Nation, SoundCloud, MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Roger Motown Records,” says Fohrman.
iHeartMedia, Twitch and Triller. This year, “How to get heard above the noise. Con- Waters, in addition to representing the MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
the firm conducted “an entire trial before necting their journey as an individual with estates of George Michael, Prince and “The year live concert streaming broke
the Copyright Royalty Board by video their music and fans.” Amy Winehouse. through — juxtaposed with the reminder
conference to determine the statutory THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE that the in-person live concert experience
royalty rate for webcasting,” says Stillman. Tim Epstein PANDEMIC “ ‘The Tracks of My Tears’ by can never be replaced.”
“We’re also proud of our work on behalf PARTNER Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, be-
of the Digital Licensee Coordinator and Duggan Bertsch cause it’s one of the greatest songs ever Russell Frackman
its member digital music providers in Epstein is a key attorney in the live- written.” —Esplen PARTNER
the rule-making process to implement music industry, representing major Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
the Music Modernization Act,” which festivals such as Pitchfork, Riot Fest, Ilene Farkas Christine Lepera
became effective on Jan. 1. Life Is Beautiful and Baja Beach Fest, PARTNER/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER/ CO-CHAIR, ENTERTAINMENT/IP LITIGATION GROUP;
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR among many others. And when live CO-CHAIR OF THE MUSIC LITIGATION PRACTICE MEMBER OF THE GOVERNING BOARD COMMITTEE
LAWYER “ ‘What is going on with NFTs?’ music stopped, his efforts escalated. Pryor Cashman Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
And, more generally, how best to take “We are proud to have counseled our James G. Sammataro Eleanor Lackman
advantage of all the available outlets and clients through this most difficult of PARTNER/CO-CHAIR OF MEDIA AND PARTNER
platforms for gaining exposure and mon- years providing guidance and support ENTERTAINMENT GROUP Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
etizing their works.” —Stillman on reconfiguring venues for new pur- Pryor Cashman Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp in the
poses, securing financing [from govern- Benjamin K. Semel past year focused on bolstering its
Doug Davis ment and private sources], conducting PARTNER diversity and inclusion efforts. The goal,
FOUNDER/PRINCIPAL livestreams, setting up drive-in shows Pryor Cashman says Lepera, is “positive firm culture
The Davis Firm and renegotiating existing contracts to Frank P. Scibilia with social connection, designed to
Kim Youngberg meet the moment,” he says. PARTNER/CO-CHAIR OF COPYRIGHT, MUSIC create safe places for our citizens to
PARTNER WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR AND DIGITAL MEDIA PRACTICE GROUPS share their experiences and feelings
The Davis Firm LAWYER “The overwhelming majority of Pryor Cashman during this time of crisis. In times of
The Davis Firm — whose clients include promoters and venues use friends and Donald Zakarin challenge we can rise to be better, and
executives and artists DJ Cassidy family and real estate and liquor license CO-CHAIRMAN OF LITIGATION DEPARTMENT that is a good place to be.” Among the
DANIEL BOCZARSKI/GETTY IMAGES
(and his Pass the Mic series on BET), counsel for contracts in live performance. Pryor Cashman firm’s clients are Post Malone, Drake,
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Academy You should ask your lawyer: What other Pryor Cashman, as an adviser to the Timbaland, JAY-Z, Eminem, Dr. Luke,
Award-nominated songwriter-producer promoters, venues or buyers do you rep- National Music Publishers’ Association, Dark Horse songwriters, Warner Music
Savan Kotecha, LL Cool J, DJ Snake, resent in this space, and what value add helped set up and now represents the Group, Universal Music Group, Kobalt,
SWIZZ BEATZ and Verzuz — made a can you bring to my business?” Mechanical Licensing Collective, cre- Prescription Songs, Tresona Music,

Home to the Donald E. Biederman
Entertainment and Media Law Institute
www.swlaw.edu/billboard
TOP
MUSIC
LAWYERS
Congrats!
Andrew P. Paster ‘15
Brian L. Schall ‘91
Daniel M. Petrocelli ‘80

- Southwestern, a Billboard Top Music Law School
THE PLAYERS
Advanced Alternative Media, Fitz & Morrison, Calvin Harris, Carole King, national stage, White remains counsel Sasha Frid
The Tantrums and multiple other artists, Bon Iver, Frank Ocean, Steve Aoki, to BTS and Big Hit Entertainment, and Louis “Skip” Miller
songwriters and music companies. Zedd, Skrillex, Ghostmane, Juanes, Los Loeb & Loeb continues to serve as PARTNERS
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Tigres del Norte, Gloria Trevi, Jesse & outside counsel to China’s largest media Miller Barondess
PANDEMIC “ ‘Whipping Post’ by the All- Joy, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd,” The company, Tencent, in ongoing music, The firm’s founders stepped up “through
man Brothers. Sometimes that is how it Audibles, Alanis Morissette and Jerry film, TV and gaming matters. the challenges of the pandemic,” says
feels during the pandemic — being tied Garcia Music Arts. MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE Frid, 44, on behalf of clients includ-
to a whipping post — but it is the best THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE “The unprecedented influx of sophis- ing Five Finger Death Punch, Journey,
groove ever.” —Lepera PANDEMIC “ ‘Level of Concern’ by twenty ticated financial support throughout Mötley Crüe, Smokey Robinson, Nile
one pilots. It exemplifies the creativ- the industry, the maturation of finan- Rodgers, Trey Songz and Rod Stewart.
Leslie Frank ity that sprung up all over while artists cial models that not only enabled the The experienced trial lawyers took on
PARTNER were in their basements trying to stay largest companies to achieve astro- tasks including securing government
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano safe.” —Soriano nomical valuations but also provided loans, assessing tour cancellations and
Marjorie Garcia much needed capital for indepen- negotiating payment obligations. The
PARTNER John T. Frankenheimer dent entrepreneurs and creatives to firm is representing Robinson in a suit
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano PARTNER/CHAIR OF MUSIC INDUSTRY build new, forward-thinking models brought by the Motown legend’s former
Howard King PRACTICE GROUP/CHAIRMAN EMERITUS reflective of a more diversified music manager seeking past commissions and
PARTNER Loeb & Loeb industry.” —Frankenheimer is representing Neal Schon in a suit over
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano Debbie White rights to Journey’s name.
Jacqueline Sabec VICE CHAIR, MUSIC INDUSTRY PRACTICE GROUP Helene Freeman THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE
PARTNER Loeb & Loeb PARTNER PANDEMIC “ ‘I Will Survive’ by Gloria
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano Derek Crownover Phillips Nizer Gaynor, because no matter how bad it
Laurie Soriano CO-MANAGER, NASHVILLE While its role in achieving a copyright- gets, the human spirit always prevails
PARTNER Loeb & Loeb dispute victory for Led Zeppelin (along and overcomes.” —Frid
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano Tiffany Dunn with co-counsel Peter Anderson) has
Peter Paterno OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE PARTNER, NASHVILLE drawn headlines, Phillips Nizer has Leah Godesky
PARTNER Loeb & Loeb a long history of representing music David Marroso
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano Loeb & Loeb had a busy year across industry clients in litigation. It has of- PARTNERS
Henry Gradstein genres and industry sectors. The firm fered advice to other music attorneys O’Melveny & Myers
OF COUNSEL represented Primary Wave in the acquisi- in the areas of contract interpretation, Dan Petrocelli
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano tion of the Nicky Chinn and Mason Levy trademark and copyright ownership, PARTNER/TRIAL PRACTICE COMMITTEE
“We had one of our busiest years ever catalogs, guided Duran Duran’s agree- and termination rights, says Freeman. In CHAIR/VICE CHAIR
in 2020,” says Soriano, who handled ments with S Curve/BMG, landed deals March 2020, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court O’Melveny & Myers
the sale of Calvin Harris’ song catalog for Cannons with Columbia Records and of Appeals ruled that Led Zeppelin’s O’Melveny & Myers represents Global
to Vine Alternative Investments for a Mills with Keep Cool/RCA Records, and “Stairway to Heaven” did not infringe on Music Rights — the performing rights or-
reported $90 million to $110 million. renegotiated Melanie Martinez’s contract the copyright of the Spirit instrumental ganization for acts including The Beatles,
Paterno oversaw two song catalog with Atlantic Records. In Nashville — “Taurus.” One year later, Freeman says Bon Jovi, Drake, Eagles, Post Malone,
sales to Round Hill Music, for Goo Goo where its clients include Luke Combs, that the case “appears to have had a Bruno Mars, Ava Max, Shawn Mendes,
Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik and Carrie Underwood, the estate of Otis significant impact on music copyright- Metallica, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Bruce
Bryan Adams’ songwriting partner Jim Redding Jr. and the Grand Ole Opry — infringement litigation.” Springsteen, Harry Styles and Pharrell
Vallance. As popular as these deals the firm advised Hillary Lindsey in the MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS Williams. In ongoing litigation against the
have become, says Soriano, artists need sale of her catalog and worldwide co- “Whether the changes made by the Radio Music Licensing Committee, says
to ask “whether it is worth it to give up publishing deal with Concord and helped Music Modernization Act will afford them Petrocelli, the firm has defeated a motion
ownership in their music because of the songwriter-producer Jeremy Stover and a fair share of the revenue generated by to dismiss, “winning the argument that
benefits they get back in each offered RED Creative Group close a catalog sale digital exploitation of their music.” performing rights organizations are not
deal.” The firm represents, among and co-publishing deal extension with per se antitrust violations and convinc-
others, Dr. Dre, Metallica, Sia, Van Anthem Entertainment. On the inter- Kenneth Freundlich ing the Department of Justice to weigh
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL in on the artists’ side on [market-based]
Freundlich Law price fixing.” Godesky also continues to
BTS
Freundlich represented a group of 15 represent Kesha as the defendant in the
musicologists who filed amicus briefs suit brought against the singer by Lukasz
in such high-profile copyright cases as “Dr. Luke” Gottwald for defamation, with
those involving Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway the trial set for fall.
to Heaven,” Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
and Pharrell Williams’ “Blurred Lines.” In LAWYER “Put it in writing!” —Petrocelli
the lattermost action, his brief warned of
curtailing creativity “in the field of popular Damien Granderson
music, inhibiting songwriters by the threat PARTNER
of far-fetched claims of infringement.” Granderson Des Rochers
The litigation firm also won dismissals for Guy Blake
Pandora in a copyright infringement case MANAGING PARTNER
brought by Wixen Music Publishing and Granderson Des Rochers
for LyricFind in a lawsuit filed by Genius, Elizabeth Moody
both involving lyrics shared online. PARTNER, CHAIR OF NEW MEDIA PRACTICE
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Granderson Des Rochers
CINDY ORD/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
LAWYER “ ‘How do I organize my owner- Colin Morrissey

ship of content with co-creators, register PARTNER
and protect my content at all points of Granderson Des Rochers
distribution and ensure proper payment Launched in 2019, Granderson Des
for its use?’ ” Rochers identifies itself as “one of the

AT THE HEART OF
ENTERTAINMENT,
MUSIC, MEDIA
AND SPORTS
Helping music industry clients rise
to the top. Barnes & Thornburg
applauds our own Jason Karlov,
Entertainment, Media and Sports
Practice Group Chair, for being
recognized in Billboard’s 2021
Top Music Lawyers Edition.
Congratulations to you and
all the honorees!
ATLANTA CALIFORNIA CHICAGO DELAWARE INDIANA MICHIGAN MINNEAPOLIS

NEW YORK OHIO RALEIGH SALT LAKE CITY TEXAS WASHINGTON, D.C.
BTLAW.COM
THE PLAYERS
most diverse transactional entertain- showed not only could new music be Elliot Resnik the girl group TWICE (which struck a stra-
ment law firms in the country,” says released successfully during the pan- SENIOR COUNSEL tegic partnership in February 2020 with
Blake. “We built the firm to service the demic but that great music could serve Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch Republic Records), has engaged Good-
needs of a clientele as diverse as our as an inspiration to everyone suffering Herbsman Hafer’s longtime client man Genow to advise on “its music and
partnership, associates and staff.” Those through the scary and uncertain days of Terence Blanchard, the renowned trum- entertainment affairs in North America,”
clients include A$AP Rocky, J Balvin, COVID-19,” says Meiselas. Other power peter and Academy Award-nominated says Ingram. The firm — which represents
blackbear, J. Cole, H.E.R., Lil Baby, Ne- deals that the firm brokered include composer, in collaboration with librettist Virgil Abloh, Daniel Caesar, JID, JoJo
Yo, Paramore, Shaggy, Bernie Taupin, Bruce Springsteen’s Super Bowl Jeep Kasi Lemmons, has adapted Fire Shut Siwa, Bryson Tiller and Don Toliver — also
Hayley Williams and Young Thug, as commercial and Lady Gaga’s endorse- Up in My Bones, the memoir of New York secured record deals in the past year for
well as Quality Control Music, Ses- ment deals with Valentino and Oreo, as Times columnist Charles M. Blow, as an Claire Rosinkranz with Republic and Sara
sions, Live Triller and Wave XR. They are well as her starring role in Ridley Scott’s opera that will open the 2021-22 season Kays with Atlantic Records.
served by practice groups in the areas House of Gucci. of the Metropolitan Opera this fall. “It MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
of music, film/TV, comedy, new media WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR is the first opera by a Black composer “Never taking the ability to see a show for
and technology, fashion, branding and LAWYER “The best way to protect their to be presented in the 137-year his- granted again.”
entertainment finance. “Our mission is intellectual property and their creative tory of the Metropolitan Opera,” says
to continue to champion diversity and works in a crowded marketplace where Herbsman, 56. “As a firm, we are proud Lawrence Iser
advance our professional and social over 100,000 albums and singles are to be involved with this ground-breaking MANAGING PARTNER
objectives,” says Blake. released per year.” —Meiselas production. My father, who is 92, has Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump
MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS had season tickets to the Met for close Howard Weitzman
“Lack of control and ownership in their Pierre Hachar to 60 years, and I was the youngest PARTNER
creations and lack of transparency as to FOUNDING ATTORNEY member of the audience on a number Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump
the economics of how their content is The Hachar Law Firm of occasions growing up. I’m looking In December, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
monetized.” —Blake With an international roster that includes forward to attending with him.” Resnik of Appeals ruled in favor of the estate of
Chayanne, Elvis Crespo, Leo Dan, Deorro, helped another client, the National Inde- Michael Jackson, represented by Kin-
Gary Greenstein Gente de Zona and Saga WhiteBlack, as pendent Venue Association, to organize sella Weitzman, stating that its dispute
MEMBER well as entertainment companies Loud & the Save Our Stages Festival with Foo with HBO must be arbitrated. A 1992
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Live and 300 Entertainment, Hachar, 41, Fighters as headliners. The event raised agreement granted a license to the cable
Greenstein, 55, counts among his has spent the pandemic resolving im- nearly $2 million and brought “greater network to broadcast Jackson’s perfor-
clients tech giants such as Google, as migration and touring cancellation issues attention to NIVA’s Capitol Hill advocacy mance. The deal included confidentiality
well as streaming service Pandora and resulting from travel restrictions and em- efforts,” he says, which led to $15 billion provisions that contained a nondis-
artist-friendly music marketplace Band- bassy shutdowns. The Miami-based liti- in federal pandemic relief for venues. paragement clause. The estate claims
camp, which pays artists 80% to 85% gator also launched Redcarpetlaw, a free WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR HBO violated that deal by producing
of revenue from sales when fans buy online resource with legal information for LAWYER Explain what they are signing. the documentary Leaving Neverland.
music and merchandise through its site. underserved creative communities. “Young artists need to understand their The federal appellate court found that
Bandcamp in particular stood out during MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS rights, their obligations and where their the contract’s arbitration provision is still
the pandemic, waiving its revenue share “Keeping up with technology, in income comes from. It isn’t enough to valid, 28 years after it was agreed upon.
in favor of artists for all sales on the first particular as it relates to rights simply rely on your advisers. As the saying In addition to Jackson’s estate, the firm’s
Friday of each month, acknowledging management through concepts such as goes, knowledge is power.” —Herbsman clients include Jackson Browne, Del Re-
the hardships brought about by the lack non-fungible tokens and blockchain.” cords, Nicki Minaj, Justin and Jeremiah
of touring opportunities. Greenstein also John Ingram Raisen, Reach Music Publishing, Roland
MIKE EHRMANN/GETTY IMAGES

represents Feed Media Group, which David Hecht HEAD OF MUSIC Corporation and Third Side Music.
aims to help businesses improve user FOUNDING/MANAGING PARTNER Goodman Genow Schenkman WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
experiences with music. Hecht Partners Smelkinson & Christopher LAWYER “ ‘How can I protect my creations
MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS In its first year, Hecht’s firm achieved a Korean label JYP Entertainment, home to when collaborating with others?’ ” —Iser
“The ability to grab a greater share of milestone by assisting JaQuel Knight in
the amounts already paid by licensees copyrighting his iconic dance routine in
for the use of music. If 70% of revenue the music video for Beyoncé’s “Single
is being paid for the use of music by Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” He is believed
streaming services, why is more of that to be the first commercial choreogra-
not flowing down to creators?” pher in pop music to obtain copyright
registration for his work. “Choreography
Allen Grubman is not only entitled to strong copyright
SENIOR PARTNER protection, but creators of choreography
Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks should be more fairly compensated for
David Jacobs their contributions to music videos and
PARTNER live performances,” says Hecht, whose
Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks team specializes in intellectual property
Kenny Meiselas and represents other clients including
NAMED PARTNER dancer Aisha Francis and musicians
Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks 2 Milly and Leo P.
The tens of millions of fans who WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
watched THE WEEKND’s Super Bowl LAWYER “ ‘How can I protect my creative
LV performance on Feb. 7 saw Grubman expression and enhance its value?’ ”
Shire’s work in action: The firm negoti-
ated the singer’s Pepsi halftime show Jonas Herbsman
agreement as well as his Mercedes- MANAGING PARTNER
Benz endorsement deal that launched Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch The Weeknd
his single “After Hours” to a historic run Michael Frisch
of over a year spent in the top 10 of the PARTNER
Hot 100. “The Weeknd and his team Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch

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THE PLAYERS
Erin M. Jacobson Wale Kalejaiye songwriter Nija and Capitol Records. roster that includes Michael Bolton,
ATTORNEY/CEO ASSOCIATE After “penning hit records for everyone T Bone Burnett, Bob Dylan, John
Erin M. Jacobson Sheridans from Ariana Grande to Cardi B to ZAYN, Fogerty, the Grateful Dead catalog, the
Jacobson does not disclose her client list Since joining Sheridans in 2018, Kalejaiye, I’m proud to have helped her negotiate NFL and Rufus Wainwright. Katz, the
but works with a variety of award-winning 30, has overseen global deals for trail- a partnership that will allow the world to founding chairman of Greenberg Traurig’s
artists, estates, publishers and other mu- blazing talent, including next-generation hear her voice,” he says. global entertainment and media practice,
sic companies, including recent matters creators from Africa. Among the agree- MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE joined Barnes & Thornburg in March. He
“involving Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Gene ments he has guided: an international “The renewed interest across the busi- reports that he continues to work with
Vincent, The Crusaders, Ray Gilbert, partnership between Universal Music ness in social issues, racial justice and long-term clients including acts Little Big
Perry Botkin Jr., Frank Sinatra, Prince, The Publishing Group and Spaceship Publish- politics. I’ve also noticed that many Town and Why Don’t We, industry orga-
Ronettes and Johnny Burnette,” she says. ing for Nigerian Afrobeats megastar younger creatives are incredibly forward- nizations from the Recording Academy to
In November, Jacobson published Don’t Burna Boy; a joint venture between Cruel thinking and becoming more actively the Country Music Association and Big
Get Screwed! How To Protect Yourself As Santino, another African superstar, and involved in their business, which has Machine Records, and a number of ex-
an Independent Musician to help indie Interscope Records; and the appointment encouraged established companies to ecutives including Sony Nashville’s Randy
artists protect their intellectual property of London-based Nigerian fashion maven consider unique deal structures and more Goodman and Universal Music Group
and maximize their revenue, especially in Mowalola Ogunlesi as design director at artist-friendly arrangements.” Nashville’s Mike Dungan.
the absence of touring income. Yeezy GAP, Kanye West’s joint venture THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR with the retail behemoth. His tip: an “ob- Jason Karlov PANDEMIC “ ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ by Bob
LAWYER “ ‘What am I signing?’ A lot of scene focus on treating each artist that I PARTNER/CHAIR OF ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA AND Dylan. The concept of universal change
young artists come to me without a represent as a business.” SPORTS PRACTICE GROUP so aptly described by the lyric and the
decent understanding of the contracts THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Joel Katz concept that life goes on eternally, even
they’ve previously signed, despite be- PANDEMIC “ ‘Bank On It’ by Burna Boy. SENIOR COUNSEL with abrupt change. The answer is just
ing represented by other counsel for The song is very spiritual and has a mul- Barnes & Thornburg blowin’ in the wind.” —Katz
those deals.” titude of deep, meaningful messages Barnes & Thornburg, which marks its
about survival.” 10th anniversary this year, has built “a Lauren Kilgore
Neville Johnson multidisciplinary approach to practic- PARTNER
FOUNDING PARTNER Joshua A. Kamen ing music law,” says Karlov, “whether Shackelford Bowen McKinley & Norton
Johnson & Johnson FOUNDER/OWNER you have needs regarding publishing, Kilgore, 39, whose firm’s clients include
Johnson claimed a recent win in set- The Law Offices of Joshua A. Kamen recording, merchandise, copyrights ... Dan + Shay, Tanya Tucker and Steve
tling a class action suit for the Rick Kamen, 42, takes pride in the deals his However you want to make money in Winwood, says that throughout the pan-
Nelson Company — the estate of the firm has struck on behalf of the next gen- this business of music, we have experi- demic, labels and publishers have been
1950s teen idol — against Sony Music eration of talent. Besides helping close ence that caters to that topic. That’s “aggressively” signing new talent. Her
Entertainment over deductions on Arizona Zervas’ “monumental deal with hard to build across the board and firm has been just as active in obtaining,
foreign streaming royalties. A court Columbia Records,” Kamen also secured something about which we are very negotiating and closing such deals, with
filing in September put the amount of a licensing deal between 23-year-old proud and happy for our clients” — a an eye on helping young artists retain as
the settlement at $12.7 million. And much ownership as possible. “It is re-
Johnson has found strength in numbers warding to facilitate that process and col-
with other class action suits. “This has laborate with clients on ways to maximize
been a tremendous boon to the music artist and writer exposure,” she says.
industry as the clients could not afford MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
individually to vindicate the rights at is- “The missing revenue generated and
sue,” he says. “As a result, tens of thou- the fallout from live performances are
sands of musicians have been helped.” continuing to mount, with a devastating
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE impact on large swaths of the business,
“The dominance of social media and new artist branding and music consumption.
methods of promotion.” The sooner we can safely bring back live
music, the better.”
Russell A. Jones
ATTORNEY Christiane Kinney
Law Offices of Russell A. Jones Jr. PRESIDENT
and Associates Kinney Law
As the country looks forward to emerging After closing $36 million in catalog sales
from the pandemic, Jones sees 2020 in late 2018 and early 2019 at a previous
as the year people learned “the impor- firm, Kinney went solo in 2020 just as
tance of music in maintaining public the pandemic struck. She dove into the
morale.” Jones represents country stars world of virtual reality and built the legal
GARTH BROOKS, Toby Keith, Tim infrastructure for BRCvr, an official virtual
McGraw and TRISHA YEARWOOD, Burning Man experience on behalf of
and those artists have been among those client Big Rock Creative. She represents
lifting the public mood by continuing to legacy artists in renegotiations triggered
entertain: Brooks and Yearwood took by rights terminations and heirs of legacy
requests on their CBS TV specials; Mc- artists in seeking money they’re due. She
Graw served up a musical call for unity in has also represented LGBTQ+ business
“Undivided,” a duet with Florida Georgia enterprise-certified public benefit
Line’s Tyler Hubbard; and Keith has kept corporations to help struggling LGBTQ+
MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES
Yearwood (left)
up fan morale with his Furniture Store and Brooks artists during the pandemic.
Guitar Sessions, selfie videos where he THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE
covers a variety of well-known tunes. PANDEMIC “ ‘Lean on Me’ by Bill Withers.
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR So many people have been crippled by
LAWYER “ ‘What doesn’t the contract say?’ ” this pandemic — mentally, spiritually and

Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch, LLP congratulates
on being named to
BILLBOARD’S TOP MUSIC LAWYERS 2021
HERBSMAN HAFER 494 Eighth Avenue, Sixth Floor, New York, New York 10001
WEBER & FRISCH, LLP 212-245-4580 | musiclaw.com
THE PLAYERS
financially. For me, some of that melts Jerry Butler

Young
away whenever I hear that song.” OF COUNSEL
Lapidus Root & Sacharow
Mark Krais Leigh Zeichick
PARTNER ASSOCIATE
Bray & Krais Solicitors Lapidus Root & Sacharow
“Earth shattering” is how Krais describes The firm represents entertainment and
the pandemic’s impact on the live-music media companies, executives, creators,
business. But the shutdown also forced technology companies, live-event pro-
the industry to rapidly adjust how “it ducers and more, and during the recent
delivers live content, most notably by boom in music-asset acquisitions, it has
shifting to livestreaming,” he says. The represented both buyers and sellers of
livestreaming platform Driift, a Bray high-profile music publishing and mas-
& Krais client, grew its business in 2020. ter recording catalogs, says Lapidus.
The firm also represents a who’s who of “We’re proud of our work with the Dis-
the British music community, from The ney Music Group that has helped bring
Rolling Stones to Ed Sheeran, Gorillaz, some joy into our homes at a time when
Elton John, Skepta and more. In a chal- the world outside can seem bleak and
lenging year, says Krais, one positive note whose work has helped us remember
was in “continuing to provide business that we can still come together in some
and legal support to our emerging young way to make magical moments for
artists and writer clients as they continue our families and friends,” he says. The
to find ways of recording and releas- firm is also the longtime representa-
ing music during the pandemic.” WHAT tive for Special Olympics in connection
YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR LAWYER with entertainment initiatives like its
“ ‘Should I be aiming to self-release A Very Special Christmas album series,
music or sign a longer-term deal with launched by producer Jimmy Iovine in
an established label? And in either case, 1987. Since its debut, the releases have
which manager would best look after raised over $130 million for the organi- casters for 2021-25. While the CRB con- Bill Leibowitz
my interests?’ ” zation and its programs helping people tinues to deliberate, Marks and Lawson FOUNDER/PARTNER
with intellectual disabilities. also represent clients including AEG Live, The William R. Leibowitz Law Group
Simon Rust Lamb WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Entercom, iHeartMedia, SoundCloud, In a year that brought a surge of song-
COO LAWYER “ ‘Do I need legal advice before Facebook and Twitter in music licensing catalog royalties rights sales, Leibowitz
Bulldog Digital Media signing this document?’ ” —Lapidus and other copyright-related matters. did a number of big deals with big stars
CO-FOUNDING PARTNER MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE — and with the highest-profile acquisi-
Curiosity Preservation Society Dina LaPolt “For all our advances in online and virtual tion fund of them all. “As the lawyer for
Lamb counseled promoters of inde- FOUNDER/OWNER communication, live music — people Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, I closed
pendent festivals on strategies for LaPolt Law packed in a dark, sweaty room dancing some major acquisitions during 2020,”
cancellations, ticket refunds, insurance LaPolt, 54, worked with Rep. Ted and singing along to their favorite band he says. Those included the catalogs of
and force majeure, the conditions that Deutch, D-Fla., to ensure songwriters, — remains the beating heart of the music Blondie, Lindsey Buckingham, Jimmy
prevented parties from fulfilling con- artists and other music industry profes- business. We didn’t how much we missed Iovine, Rick James, Journey, Barry
tracts. He also worked with longtime sionals were eligible for unemployment it until it was gone.”—Larson Manilow, Nelly, Mark Ronson, RZA,
festival promoter James “Disco Donnie” benefits under the CARES Act during Richie Sambora and NEIL YOUNG. But
Estopinal Jr. to acquire his company the early days of the pandemic. “By Shay M. Lawson the biggest issue, he says, is songwriters’
Disco Donnie Presents back from the time the bill passed, my voice was MANAGING ATTORNEY share of streaming revenue: “Without
dance conglomerate LiveStyle, making hoarse because I had been on the phone Lawson McKinley songwriters, there are no hit records,
DDP the first promoter to return to indie so much,” says LaPolt, who celebrated Lawson, 36, is an adviser for top hip- and it is terribly inequitable that they are
status following the consolidation of 23 years sober in March. “We’ve moved hop clients, brokering recent deals the lowest on the totem pole when it
the sector in the early 2010s. Lamb also the [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings to including Offset’s apparel collabora- comes to compensation.”
completed a five-year goal of raising Zoom, and I’m attending meetings tak- tion with New Era and the recent WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
$1 million for the nonprofits Film2Future ing place all over the world. It’s great for credit for producer Sheldon Ferguson LAWYER “ ‘How do I structure my deals
and Pablove. me, but folks new to sobriety have really (Travis Scott, Lil Baby) on Lil Wayne’s so I am building equity for the long term?
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE struggled with the isolation.” Billboard 200 No. 1 album, Funeral. And, in this regard, how do I maintain
PANDEMIC “The Sierra Nevada alpine wil- MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS And as advocacy chair for the Record- ownership of my intellectual property?’ ”
derness symphony: heavy, wall-shaking “NFTs. I represent deadmau5, who was ing Academy’s Atlanta chapter — her
wind solos balanced with moments of an early pioneer, and we’ve identified so second consecutive term — Lawson Jeff Levy
deep silence.” many important legal issues, from the led local efforts for legislative COVID-19 PARTNER
[intellectual property] embodied in the relief for artists as well as the passage Ritholz Levy Fields
Greg Lapidus tokens to the regulatory issues of selling of the HITS Act with members of Con- Chip Petree
MANAGING PARTNER the coins on securities markets.” gress. Additionally, Lawson is a partner MANAGING PARTNER
Lapidus Root & Sacharow of the Black Music Action Coalition and Ritholz Levy Fields
Henry Root Todd Larson was recently elected to the board of Matt Greenberg
PARTNER Benjamin Marks Songwriters of North America. OF COUNSEL
Lapidus Root & Sacharow PARTNERS WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Ritholz Levy Fields
AMY HARRIS/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK
Jeff Sacharow Weil Gotshal & Manges LAWYER “For an easy-to-understand For Levy, his firm’s most significant
PARTNER Last summer, Marks and Lawson rep- written breakdown of the terms of any accomplishment in 2020 was inter-
Lapidus Root & Sacharow resented SiriusXM and Pandora in the deal. Most are so allured by the op- nal: holding weekly “all hands” Zoom
Lynn Quarterman six-week Copyright Royalty Board trial — portunity, they skip over critical details meetings with each member of the
SENIOR ASSOCIATE held entirely online — to set per-stream and terms that can impact the life span staff. “It got us through the ups and
Lapidus Root & Sacharow royalty rates for programmed music web- of their artistry.” downs everyone experienced due to

Mark Music & Media Law
Thanks “the Industry Bible”
Billboard Magazine
and
Congratulates Our Fellow Honorees.
Go Music!

The RLG team would like to congratulate
ANGELA ROGERS
for being recognized as one of
BILLBOARD’S 2021
TOP MUSIC LAWYERS
Copyright © 1990 The New Yorker, used with permission
WE PROUDLY CONGRATULATE OUR BRILLIANT COLLEAGUES,
JAMIE YOUNG, OSWALDO ROSSI, CARRON MITCHELL,
ED BUGGÉ AND MARQUIS “QUEST” MALLOY,
ON BEING NAMED
2021 BILLBOARD TOP MUSIC LAWYERS!
THE PLAYERS
the pandemic and political crises, and Simon Long in March 2020, leaving 25 dead and lan signed new talent, including Lebra
strengthened our firm’s interpersonal PARTNER $2.5 billion in damage. “Watching Jeff Jolie, Prince Taee and Traetwothree, and
relationships,” says Levy, whose firm Trainer Shepherd Phillips Melvin and his son fight like champions was an focused not only on promoting his artists
reps Brothers Osbourne, Chris Staple- Haynes & Collins Long achievement far more important than any but also on “managing their personal
ton and Downtown Music Publishing, Long and his colleagues advised the In- plaque,” says Marcus. challenges caused by the pandemic,” he
among others. “Happy lawyers and dian film production company and record WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR says. In order to offset touring losses, he
happy staff create better experiences label Tips Industries on the licensing of its LAWYER “The simple but loaded, ‘Do found new revenue streams for his acts
for our clients.” entire catalog to Warner Music, “form- I sign this?’ But more so, ‘Is this step by linking with brands like Coca-Cola,
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE ing an alliance to better represent this back worth the potential of five steps LiveXLive and Fashion Nova.
PANDEMIC “The New York Mets’ cable repertoire of mainly Bollywood hits from forward?’ ” —Marcus WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
channel theme song. Baseball’s return the last four decades outside India,” he LAWYER “ ‘What is the best way to create
gave me hope that one day things would says, describing the deal as “a strategic Doug Mark a sustainable career?’ ”
go back to normal.” —Levy partnership with Warner Music for global FOUNDER/PARTNER
exploitation of [the company’s] music Mark Music & Media Law Ed McPherson
Robert Lieberman assets.” The firm counts among its clients David Ferreria FOUNDING PARTNER
Michael Perlstein famed India film composer A.R. Rahman, PARTNER McPherson
PARTNERS as well as Eric Bibb, David Guetta and Mark Music & Media Law In the past year, McPherson’s firm has
Fischbach Perlstein Lieberman & Almond Wang Chung, and producers Marius de Mark Music & Media Law represents represented its clients in multiple high-
Lieberman and Perlstein successfully Vries and Mike Spencer. Billie Eilish, who has just released the profile cases, including a class action suit
negotiated the biggest songwriter mu- MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE Apple TV+ documentary The World’s against Universal Music Group over the
sic publishing catalog deal in the history “Learning how to be optimistic, es- a Little Blurry, and Mötley Crüe, which 2008 fire that destroyed up to 500,000
of the music industry — selling the Bob pecially for British artists [post-Brexit] has announced an upcoming stadium master recordings; a suit by Dr. Dre’s
Dylan song catalog to Universal Music facing the loss of freedom of movement tour. Its client roster also includes Benny estranged wife, who claims she co-owns
Group — bringing in upwards of a in Europe and crippling visa fees for Blanco, Danny Elfman, Epitaph Records, his stage names; and a multimillion-dollar
reported $400 million for the legendary touring in the U.S.” FINNEAS, Loma Vista Records, Rhiannon copyright infringement action over Travis
singer-songwriter. But that’s not all they Giddens, Guns N’ Roses, Public Enemy, Scott’s single “Highest in the Room,”
did in the past year: They also guided Kent Marcus Tegan and Sara, and Tool. “The music which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100
the estates of Mac Rebennack (aka Jeff Colvin business is, fundamentally, based on the in 2019. “Getting sued for copyright in-
Dr. John) and Peggy Lee; corporate cli- PARTNERS exploitation of intangible property rights,” fringement is inevitable these days if you
ents like GoDigital Media Group, Cinq Marcus & Colvin says Ferreria, “and one of our main duties have a hit song,” says McPherson. “We
Music, Strange Music and Wise Music Marcus & Colvin navigated a turbulent as counselors and stewards of clients’ recently won a motion for bifurcation in
Group; and artist-songwriters like Edie year on behalf of clients including Jason business is to help them understand the the case, staying all discovery on dam-
Brickell & The New Bohemians, Eddie Aldean, BLACK PUMAS and Kings of ecosystem that has been built around ages until liability is established.”
Holland and Tech N9ne. Leon. The lattermost act has “been on the their creative endeavors.” WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR forefront of the developing NFT world WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR LAWYER “ ‘How do I become an old artist?’ ”
LAWYER “ ‘How do you make any money and how this will shape the future of LAWYER “How their legal rights correlate
in this business?’ Because if they are distribution of art,” says Marcus, 51. But to the monies they earn.” —Ferreria Mike Milom
counting on streaming income, they he adds that his firm’s most important PARTNER
should look elsewhere. The young artist accomplishment was rallying behind Angela N. Martinez Milom Horsnell Crow Kelley
KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES

needs to build a social base and do ev- partner Colvin after he and his 3-year-old ATTORNEY AT LAW Beckett Shehan
erything possible on a daily basis to build son sustained serious injuries during the Angela N. Martinez With a roster that includes Alabama,
that social base.” —Lieberman tornado that swept through Nashville After spending months doing legal work Russell Dickerson, Mickey Guyton, Em-
on livestream concerts for her clients mylou Harris, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban,
including Luis Fonsi and Pitbull, Martinez, the estate of Hank Williams Sr. and the
Black Pumas
44, took the virtual stage in November Country Music Hall of Fame, business is
to receive one of the Latin Recording brisk for Milom. “Our greatest achieve-
Academy’s Leading Ladies of Entertain- ment of the past year may have been
ment honors alongside Selena Gomez helping our clients and their team identify
and Gloria “Goyo” Martinez. Marquee and implement innovative ways to remain
client Ozuna presented her with the in the public eye and create new income
award. “I was flattered to be honored streams as a temporary replacement for
alongside women I highly respect,” she touring revenue. It’s usually not sexy or
says. “I shared the moment with family publicist-worthy, but it is essential,” says
and friends in my living room.” Milom. “Currently, we are helping several
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR clients analyze and manage the new risks
LAWYER “ ‘[Can they] really dig in from of post-COVID-19 touring.”
the beginning to ensure that they have MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
corporate planning, tax planning and “While in-person appearances will re-
family planning to ensure that [artists] turn, the virtual performance and cyber
properly protect their assets?’ ” connection with fans will continue to
provide an important option, particular-
James E. McMillan ly for beginning and midlevel perform-
MANAGING PARTNER ers where travel expense renders many
James E. McMillan in-person gigs unprofitable.”
McMillan’s hip-hop-heavy client roster
has included acts from 8Ball & MJG to Zia F. Modabber
Machine Gun Kelly, but the attorney put MANAGING PARTNER, CALIFORNIA/MEDIA AND
most of his efforts in 2020 toward his ENTERTAINMENT PRACTICE GROUP CHAI
Art@War music label, which partnered Katten
with Atlantic Records in 2019. McMil- As chair of Katten’s media and enter-

THE PLAYERS
tainment practice, with clients including The firm works with all three of the
Swift
André 3000, Céline Dion, the Michael major music groups and their respective
Jackson estate, Lil Nas X, Trent Reznor publishing companies. Sahni, 37, says
and Usher, Modabber says he spent she’s most proud of the firm’s work in
the past year addressing the challenges response to the pandemic in the past
touring clients faced “to create the year, both within and beyond the music
live experience in the post-COVID-19 industry. “This has ranged from advising
world.” Meanwhile, he protected life-sciences companies in their efforts
Reznor’s legal interests on projects such to develop and produce therapeutics,
as the Golden Globe-winning score to vaccines, diagnostics and [personal
Pixar’s Soul and Nine Inch Nails’ intel- protective equipment] to assisting enter-
lectual property. tainment companies as they navigated
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR thorny contractual and employment
LAWYER “I strongly believe that young issues in resuming operations,” she says.
artists must know how to pay attention THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE
to their business so that if/when the fun PANDEMIC “ ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’
stops, they won’t be left wishing they had by Warren Zevon. A song about
paid more attention.” misadventure seemed pretty exotic in the
midst of lockdown, where a trip to the
Martin Ochs gas station was exciting.” —Perry
PARTNER/HEAD OF MUSIC
Hamlins Vince Phillips
Navigating the licensing challenges MANAGING PARTNER
created by the boom in livestream Arrington & Phillips
concerts has kept Ochs, 38, busy Aurielle Brooks
throughout the pandemic. Two of his ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY
long-term clients are the leading Brit- Arrington & Phillips
ish collection societies PPL and PRS Phillips, 49; Brooks, 29; and their firm
for Music, which launched a joint- of the world’s most popular stream- Don Passman advocate for clients including Bow
venture company to administer public ripping services. PARTNER Wow, Fredo Bang, Kevin Gates, Lil
performance royalties in 2018. That MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman Baby, Lil Keed, Mooski, Nard & B, Maaly
partnership plays a “crucial” role in en- “There are many important issues, but the Gene Salomon Raw, RMR, Sukihana and YoungBoy
suring “the continued recognition and impact of online infringement remains at MANAGING PARTNER Never Broke Again. In response to the
protection of creative rights,” he says. the top.” —Zebrak Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman pandemic and calls for social justice
Other clients include Northern Irish Ethan Schiffres during 2020, says Phillips, “we orches-
instrument maker Lowden Guitars and Ed Pagano PARTNER trated sending thousands of boxes of
Universal Music Group’s merchandise PARTNER, PUBLIC LAW AND POLICY PRACTICE Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman fresh produce to grocery-desert areas
division, Bravado. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld The firm of Gang Tyre is said to rep- in Kentucky during the civil unrest tak-
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Casey Higgins resent superstars such as Adele, ing place throughout the nation.”
PANDEMIC “ ‘Only You’ by Yazoo, because SENIOR POLICY ADVISER, PUBLIC LAW AND TAYLOR SWIFT and Stevie Wonder, MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
it was meant to be played at my wedding, POLICY PRACTICE and recently added Elton John to its “Even when everything else in the world
which has been canceled twice during Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld client roster. Salomon has worked with stops, music carries on. Although other
the pandemic.” Akin Gump worked tirelessly amid Camila Cabello, Neil Diamond, Green industries may have sadly become
the pandemic to support the newly Day, P!nk and R.E.M, among others, while crippled from the trying times that
Matt Oppenheim formed National Independent Venue Schiffres, who works with Anthony Ra- came with 2020, the music business
MANAGING PARTNER Association. NIVA’s advocacy work mos and Ludwig Göransson, negotiated actually thrived, finding new ways to
Oppenheim + Zebrak led Congress to pass the bipartisan Jeff Vaughn’s move to the position of stream, monetize and reach passionate
Scott Zebrak Save Our Stages Act in December, chairman/CEO of Capitol Music Group. fans.” —Brooks
FOUNDING PARTNER which provided $15 billion in grants to “It has been a good year,” says Passman,
Oppenheim + Zebrak live-entertainment venues, perform- remarking that the pandemic “required Tabetha Plummer
Launched in Washington, D.C., a ing arts centers and movie theaters artists to look inward and dig deeper ATTORNEY
decade ago, Oppenheim + Zebrak rep- to survive the live-entertainment emotionally” — much like Swift did with Plummer Law Group
resent major labels and their publishing shutdown. “Live-music venues were folklore, which won album of the year Plummer’s client list includes a wide
companies in copyright infringement the first to close and will be the last to in March at the Grammy Awards. And swath of hip-hop and R&B artists
cases against internet service provid- reopen,” says Higgins. “Without this although 2020 was not a year for book spanning multiple generations, from
ers. In January, a federal district judge support, venues in cities and small signings, Passman published the 10th edi- Snoop Dogg and India.Arie to BJ the
upheld the $1 billion jury verdict for towns across America would have tion of his must-read guide, All You Need Chicago Kid and JoJo. A highlight of
copyright infringement that the firm closed permanently.” To Know About the Music Business. her work in the past year, however,
helped obtain for its clients against MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR involved advising Dwayne Abernathy
Cox Communications. Along with “Strong bipartisan recognition now exists LAWYER “ ‘Protect me from getting — better known as the producer Dem
co-counsel at Covington & Burling, the in Washington that concerts and live involved in long-term agreements that Jointz — in the signing of 13-year-old
firm is leading similar cases against two performing arts create vital economic I can’t get out of if they don’t work Keedron Bryant after the teen’s George
other ISPs, Charter Communications activity not only in our big cities, but in out.’ ” —Passman Floyd protest anthem, “I Just Wanna
and Bright House, “that could further our small towns as well. This new ap- Live,” went viral, leading to a recording
shape the landscape when it comes to preciation for the economic benefits the Adrian Perry contract with Warner Records.
JORDAN STRAUSS/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK
ISPs turning a blind eye to subscribers’ industry provides in communities across Neema Sahni MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
repeated infringement of copyrighted America, coupled with its cultural con- Jonathan Sperling “Verzuz, D-Nice and the emergence of
music,” says Zebrak, 50. They are also tributions, will serve as a springboard for PARTNERS/CO-CHAIRS OF THE MUSIC TikTok. Reprioritization of how to cre-
representing major labels in actions future efforts in Washington to support INDUSTRY GROUP ate and monetize content while touring
against FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com, two and grow the industry.” —Higgins Covington & Burling is suspended.”

Congratulations to our partner
Michael Poster
on being named a Top Music Lawyer by
Billboard for the fourth consecutive year and for
always hitting the right notes on behalf of his
extraordinary clients
LOS ANGELES | NEW YORK | ORANGE COUNTY | SAN FRANCISCO | CHICAGO
LOS ANGELES NEW YORK

310.299.5500 www.mrllp.com 212.730.7700
We join in honoring Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers,
especially our friends and partners, Derek Crownover,
Tiffany Dunn, John Frankenheimer, and Debbie White.
LOS ANGELES WASHINGTON, DC

NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO
CHICAGO BEIJING
NASHVILLE HONG KONG loeb.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR PARTNERS
DAN SHULMAN,
OWEN SLOANE AND
ANDY TAVEL
FOR BEING NAMED TO
BILLBOARD’S 2021 TOP

MUSIC LAWYERS LIST
LOS ANGELES NEW YORK
TH
9601 WILSHIRE BLVD., 7 FLOOR 152 WEST 57TH STREET, 48TH FLOOR
BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210 NEW YORK, NY 10019
310.855.3200 646.876.2600
Our heartfelt
congratulations to
Douglas Wigdor
…and all of Billboard’s

2021 Top Music Lawyers
85 Fifth Avenue, Fl 5
New York, NY 10003
www.wigdorlaw.com
(212) 257-6800
THE PLAYERS
Michael Poster MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE platform “for increasing exposure for original series Released, hosted by
PARTNER “Continuing to call attention to and Latin artists from the start of their careers. Little Bacon Bear, after he encouraged
Michelman & Robinson honor the critical contribution of art- I particularly enjoyed this opportunity her to audition for the role; and
In October, Poster, 49, counseled Vine ists, songwriters, producers and other to utilize my skills within the Latin music representing producers Rafeal “Audio
Alternative Investments in its acquisi- professionals [who are Black, Indigenous industry in the areas of technology, digital Anthem” Brown and Anthony Kilhoffer
tion of DJ CALVIN HARRIS’ song and people of color] to the historical and rights, music monetization and expanding as they landed credits on new albums
catalog for a reported $100 million. ongoing evolution of the music industry.” artists’ global reach,” he says. from Nas and Kid Cudi, respectively.
However, the lawyer, who also repre- WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Aside from assisting current clients — a
sents music publishers Concord and Berkeley Reinhold LAWYER “More questions. Emerging tal- list that also includes his brother, radio/
Spirit Music Group, is especially proud OWNER ent needs to learn how the music industry TV personality Peter Rosenberg, and
of Michelman & Robinson’s firmwide Business and Law Office of Berkeley works and know the key players that they rapper IDK — he’s helping educate
effort to provide its client base with “a Reinhold need on their team to successfully work the next generation of talent, talking
daily flow of current, easily understand- As a legal adviser to Live Nation, with record labels, publishers, booking with high school students over Zoom
able information,” free of charge, about C3 Presents and music festivals like Lolla- agents and other industry professionals.” to discuss “some of the issues young
economic relief programs and legal palooza, Reinhold saw her clients severely creators need to think about as they
matters related to the pandemic. Says affected by the live-music shutdown of Angela Rogers begin their careers in entertainment.”
Poster: “We believe it is critical that 2020. That’s one reason why she takes OWNER MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
they be well-informed about the press- particular pride in the TV and digital ne- Rogers Law Group “The playing field for creators remains
ing issues arising out of COVID-19.” gotiations she worked on for Global Citi- Rogers says her law group expanded uneven. There are many powerful
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR zen — including the One World: Together during the pandemic. The firm — whose stakeholders that play a role in the
LAWYER “ ‘Before I enter into a deal, at Home broadcast, which she says set clients include Pi’erre Bourne, Lil Durk, recorded-music business with interests
what are the likely short- and long-term two Guinness World Records: “the most Jay Electronica, EST Gee, Shy Glizzy, that are frequently at odds with other
impacts of the transaction, and what can I musical acts to perform at a remote mu- Havoc, Lil Skies and Nardo Wick — “re- stakeholders. This has resulted in a
do to change my position if those impacts sic festival, and the most money raised for cently opened a television practice,” she complex system that makes it hard for
are not what I anticipated?’ ” charity by a remote music festival.” says. “We now have an attorney specializ- creators to understand how they are
MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS ing in television transactions so we can getting paid for their work.”
Gregor Pryor “More than ever, it’s essential that fully service our clients in both music and
Stephen Sessa creators be educated about their owner- television.” She tells young artists who Bobby Rosenbloum
PARTNERS/CO-CHAIRS, GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT ship rights and how these are licensed want to stay focused on their creative CHAIRMAN, GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA
AND MEDIA INDUSTRY GROUP and conveyed. In addition to traditional output, “I’m here to help them make a PRACTICE
Reed Smith deals, there are so many exciting new living doing what they love.” Greenberg Traurig
Edward Shapiro platforms and business models, and it MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS Jay L. Cooper
PARTNER, GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA is really important to understand how to “There are many distribution providers FOUNDER, LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT PRACTICE
INDUSTRY GROUP best protect your rights when exploiting for independent artists that give access Greenberg Traurig
Reed Smith lucrative opportunities.” for them to upload their music directly. Jess L. Rosen
Reed Smith reports adding over 200 Therefore, it becomes highly com- SHAREHOLDER/CO-CHAIR, ATLANTA
clients during the pandemic — includ- Jaimie Roberts petitive to stand out and get their music ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE
ing Grammy winner Jacob Collier and FOUNDING PARTNER heard and marketed.” Greenberg Traurig
MelodyVR — while developing new tools Roberts & Hafitz Paul D. Schindler
for clients, including a livestreaming guide Harry Roberts Nick Rosenberg SHAREHOLDER/SENIOR CHAIR, NEW YORK
published within two weeks of the na- ATTORNEY FOUNDER/PRINCIPAL ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE
ISABEL INFANTES/PA IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

tional lockdown in the United States and Roberts & Hafitz Rosenberg Law Greenberg Traurig
a tracker that logged regulatory trends af- As boundaries between the entertain- In the past year, Rosenberg’s successes Greenberg Traurig’s global entertainment
fecting digital platforms. “The tracker as- ment sectors continue to blur, the father- have included working closely with and media practice led by Rosenbloum
sists our clients in identifying the complex and-son team are proud to foster the independent concert promoter Move is one of the preeminent legal teams in
intertwining regulatory initiatives currently firm’s growth with multihyphenate en- Forward Music to negotiate a deal with the music industry, with a stacked client
in play and proposed across the U.K. and tertainers. “While music has always been Twitch; watching the debut of YouTube list that includes major corporations and
European Union,” says Pryor, 46. our core, our clients — and our firm —
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR are now active across all entertainment
LAWYER “In the words of Janet Jackson, mediums,” says Jaimie, pointing to Robin
‘What have you done for me lately?’ Thicke’s spot as a judge on The Masked
The best clients also ask: ‘Based on your Singer, Donnie Wahlberg entering his
experience, what would you do if you 11th season on Blue Bloods and various
were me?’ ” upcoming projects for The Chainsmokers’
production company Kick the Habit.
Rollin A. Ransom MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
PARTNER “The continued growth of TikTok and its
Sidley Austin ability to catapult careers has sped up the
Ransom, 51, is co-leader of the global shift of power away from major corpora-
commercial litigation and disputes tions and into the hands of creators.” —
practice of Sidley Austin and manag- Jaimie Roberts
ing partner of the Los Angeles office,
and offers guidance to the RIAA and Carlos Rodriguez-Feliz
major labels. During the pandemic, he FOUNDER/MANAGING PARTNER
continued to serve as outside counsel RodFel Law
to The Music Center — the Walt Disney “A large part of our firm is dedicated to Harris
Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler supporting and protecting emerging
Pavilion, the Ahmanson Theater and the talent,” says Rodriguez-Feliz, 31. For client
Mark Taper Forum — as the L.A. venues Rapetón Networks, the firm negotiated
moved to virtual events. a joint venture with Yandel to create a

THE PLAYERS
organizations like Spotify, TikTok, Live Stanton “Larry” Stein

Nation and the Recording Academy, PARTNER/HEAD OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
as well as artists ranging from Jennifer Russ August & Kabat
Lopez and Future to Kacey Musgraves Diana Sanders
and Miranda Lambert. The past year SENIOR ASSOCIATE, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
saw “the sale of many significant Russ August & Kabat
music publishing and sound recordings In September, Russ August & Kabat
on behalf of artist clients as well as reached a settlement in an action
smaller companies, which has proved brought against Vivendi, Universal Music
to be an important income stream, Group and StudioCanal on behalf of This
especially since touring income evapo- Is Spinal Tap co-creators Christopher
rated due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner
says Rosenbloum. and Harry Shearer. The suit related to
MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS “complicated copyright termination and
“Understanding the value of your work accounting issues associated with the
in new digital exploitations, particularly film’s sound recordings and soundtrack
given the expanding use of music in album,” says Stein. (The settlement
innovative online media, such as social amount was not disclosed.) The Los
Ozuna
media, fitness applications and gam- Angeles-based firm also represents
ing.” —Rosenbloum Mary J. Blige, Simon Cowell, Drake,
Post Malone and TikTok star Chase “Lil
Brian Schall Huddy” Hudson.
CHAIR, ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT Michael Selverne Daniel Shulman WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR
Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin MANAGING PARTNER Owen Sloane LAWYER “What could be the long-term
Schall, 55, advised Christopher Braide Selverne & Company Andrew Tavel effects from the early agreements they
on the sale of his catalog to Downtown Selverne, 61, hit a professional high PARTNERS sign.” —Stein
Music Publishing in December. The point when he helped Round Hill Eisner
deal involved his work with Sia — Music launch a publicly traded song- Eisner helped its clients earn money in Rachel Stilwell
which includes titles from her breakout catalog royalty fund — Round Hill areas other than touring “to compen- FOUNDER
solo album, 1000 Forms of Fear, and the Music Royalty Fund — on the London sate for the loss of live revenue,” says Stilwell Law
soundtrack to her film Music — as well Stock Exchange. The lawyer-musician Sloane. Tavel says the music community Stilwell — whose clients include
as hits he co-wrote for Beyoncé (“God also honed his artistic muscle by showed up during the pandemic “when songwriter-producer Darrell Brown,
Made You Beautiful”), Lana Del Rey co-producing and mixing the album the country needed them the most, LeAnn Rimes and singer-songwriter
(“Million Dollar Man”), Selena Gomez Be Still Moses by Steep Canyon Rang- whether raising significant dollars for Al B. Sure! — led advocacy meetings
(“Camouflage”), Halsey (“Trouble”) and ers & Asheville Symphony (featuring charitable needs or performing virtually with members of Congress and
Britney Spears (“Perfume”). The firm Boyz II Men), which reached No. 1 on in many different configurations to lift representatives of the recording industry
also represents acts such as Illenium, Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart everyone’s spirits.” during the pandemic to argue for financial
songwriter Dave Bassett and produc- last April. MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS relief and fair pay for music creators.
tion-songwriting duo Rock Mafia. MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS “How to turn two minutes of TikTok fame On behalf of the musicFIRST Coalition
THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE “Innovation and sustainability. So much into a long-lasting career. Success and and the Future of Music Coalition,
PANDEMIC “ ‘Eat Sleep Rave Repeat’ by music is now a soliloquy with a pro- sustain should remain the goal, not just Stilwell offered comments to the Federal
Fatboy Slim and Riva Starr. I changed the ducer in a room with Ableton talking to that initial seven-figure check.” —Tavel Communications Commission regarding
title to ‘Eat Sleep Work Repeat.’ Every day themselves. What keeps music fluid is discrepancies in music licensing between
during the pandemic was the same, no the conversation between artists in the Simran A. Singh audio delivery platforms that were later
matter what day of the week.” writing and recording process.” MANAGING PARTNER cited in the FCC’s Communications
Singh Singh & Trauben Marketplace Report to Congress.
John Seay Nyanza Shaw Christopher R. Navarro MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
PARTNER OWNER/MANAGING ATTORNEY PARTNER “Audiences’ pent-up demand to see
Carter + Woodard Shaw Esquire Singh Singh & Trauben live concerts — and the start of the
Seay negotiated Priscilla Block’s Shaw cites two independent clients Singh Singh’s recent achievements implementation of the Music Modern-
recording and publishing agreements who she says “thrived” during the pan- include negotiating recording and ization Act.”
with Universal Music Group Nashville demic with her guidance. She helped publishing deals for clients such as
and Warner Chappell Music, respec- negotiate a Lexus brand deal for singer- Natti Natasha; Pina Records’ new Michael Sukin
tively; Theophilus London’s recording actor Trevor Jackson and secured a album agreement with Sony Music PRESIDENT
agreement with Secretly Canadian; and seven-figure deal for rapper-mailman Latin; OZUNA’s publishing deal with Sukin Law Group
of Montreal’s catalog agreement with Bfb Da Packman with The Lunch Crew Kobalt and multi-album deal with Sony Sukin Law Group has helped negoti-
Polyvinyl Records, among other deals. Company after a label bidding war Entertainment; and Rauw Alejandro, ate some of the largest sales in music
Seay, 41, says it’s more important than following his viral hit “Free Joe Exotic” Chris Jedi and Gaby Music’s publish- publishing — including Universal Music
ever for artists to know their publishing (featuring Sada Baby), which reached ing agreements with Warner Chappell. Group’s $2.2 billion acquisition of
and master rights, as “artists are aware over 33 million views on YouTube. “Bfb Singh, 42, also executive-produced the Bertelsmann/BMG Music in 2006 —
of how valuable those assets are,” he Da Packman is such a talented, smart 2020 Netflix program Selena: The Se- and the coronavirus did not slow it
says. “It’s not always practical to main- and super-hardworking artist,” says ries, which chronicled the life of the late down. Sukin cites the May 2020 sale of
tain ownership of those assets, but any Shaw. “It is a pleasure to see him win.” Mexican American star Selena Quinta- “iconic, world-famous music publish-
transfer of rights should be entered into WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR nilla and “was No. 1 in multiple countries, ing company Shapiro Bernstein,” which
very carefully.” LAWYER “There is no risk in an artist including the United States,” he says. included over 16,000 copyrights and
RODRIGO VARELA/GETTY IMAGES
WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR soliciting a music lawyer’s advice. THE SONG THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE titles by The Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald
LAWYER “ ‘Can you explain this agree- Most lawyers will not charge for an PANDEMIC “ ‘Baby Shark,’ because my and Frank Sinatra, to Reservoir “for
ment to me before I sign it?’ It’s easy to initial consultation, and if they do, then son would make my wife and I dance maximum price at the height of the
get caught up in the excitement of being you probably shouldn’t be working to this every day during the lock- pandemic and the bottom of the stock
offered a deal.” with that lawyer.” down.” —Navarro market.” The firm has represented

2 0 2 1
On April 24th, Billboard will publish its annual CONTACTS

International Power Players list. This issue Joe Maimone
will profile the leaders in the global music 201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@billboard.com
industry including the label executives,
Lee Ann Photoglo
concert promoters, managers, talent
615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com
agents and lawyers, and recognize their
achievements. Advertise and congratulate Cynthia Mellow
this year’s International Power Players to 615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com
reach an influential audience of
decision-makers worldwide. Marcia Olival
786.586.4901 | marciaolival29@gmail.com
Gene Smith
973.452.3528 | eugenebillboard@gmail.com
Ryan O’Donnell
+447843437176 | rodonnell@pmc.com
ISSUE DATE 4/24 | AD CLOSE 4/14 | MATERIALS DUE 4/15

THE PLAYERS
Charles Aznavour, The Rolling Stones, The firm “always finds time for emerg- to legal counsel that the big labels and which Zia says has allowed it to “break
the estate of George Gershwin and the ing talent,” too, says Van Straten, and publishers have in-house,” she says. the barriers and stigmas of what a music
creators and rights holders for classic after Scottish singer Nathan Evans’ sea “With ongoing, consistent counsel, lawyer ‘looks like.’ ”
American musicals from Man of La shanty renditions went viral on TikTok, we can take a much more proactive MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
Mancha to Porgy and Bess. the firm closed his record deal with approach to deal-making, strategic “Ownership and what role that plays in
THE SONGS THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE Polydor in just 24 hours. “He was a partnerships and positioning, and the deals artists make — from record
PANDEMIC “Harry Chapin’s ‘All My Life’s postman one day and topping charts packaging intellectual property.” The deals to publishing deals to even
a Circle,’ because it is, and George globally the next,” he says, adding of his firm also closed a number of deals for its brand deals, where the artist is creat-
Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’ ” firm: “Despite being small in size, we clients including Sonicly’s launch of its ing designs and coming up with ideas
continue to punch above our weight fan-funding platform for music creators, and products.”
Ron Sweeney and provide the key services that our Jane Ira Bloom’s deals with NativeDSD
FOUNDER/OWNER clients require.” and Immersive Audio Album, and Jim Leslie Jose Zigel
Ron Sweeney and Company/Digital WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Anderson and Ulrike Schwarz’s agree- PARTNER/CHAIR, ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA AND
Disruption Entertainment LAWYER “All young artists need clear, ment for recording and mixing the Judas TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY GROUP
Across four decades as a music impartial advice from their lawyers as to and the Black Messiah score. Greenspoon Marder
attorney, Sweeney, 67, has repre- how the business works so that they are WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR Zigel, whose firm represents a deep
sented Clarence Avant, James Brown, better able to manage their expectations.” LAWYER “All too often an artist or busi- roster of Latin talent — including Ana
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, DMX and Lil ness only consults a lawyer when they Gabriel, Sergio George, Alejandra
Wayne/Young Money, among others. Doug Wigdor think it really matters. Traditional hourly Guzmán, Arthur Hanlon, Maffio, Mario,
In 2020, he stepped up as an adviser to FOUNDING PARTNER billing makes it even more difficult. Many Pitbull, Carlos Vives, The Wailers
the Black Music Artists Coalition, com- Wigdor law firms, including ours, are changing and Wisin — kept active in manag-
menting last spring that he had initiated Wigdor, 52, represents former Record- their billing practices so that starting out ing pandemic protocol for TV and
talks with the chairmen of every music ing Academy president/CEO Deborah doesn’t mean second-rate legal.” festival clients. He has been involved
company “to hold them accountable for Dugan, whose suit against the organiza- in projects such as the documentary
the meaningful and sustainable changes tion over her 2020 dismissal remains in Helen Yu Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President;
required to end the systemic racism arbitration negotiations. Dugan’s case PRINCIPAL John Leguizamo’s directorial debut
that exists in our industry.” At his firm, helped bring about “a renewed focus Yu Leseberg film, Critical Thinking; Univision’s top-
during the year of the pandemic, he on diversity, equity and inclusion,” he Yu reports that her firm handled legal rated show Enamorandonos; and the
said recently, “We realized we should says. “Her complaint shined a spotlight agreements for songs contained on 25% III Points Festival planned for October
work to live and not live to work.” on how women and people of color are of the top 20 most-sold albums of 2020. in Miami. “Adaptation must include
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE “An often completely excluded from rooms The tracks included Ariana Grande’s novel strategies and partnership-build-
artist must diversify so they are not de- where important decisions are made.” “Safety Net” and Eminem’s “Favorite ing across the board, including with
pendent on touring income to support MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE Bitch,” which featured her client Ty governmental agencies,” he says.
their lifestyles.” “A renewed focus on diversity, equity Dolla $ign. Another client, Jess Jackson, MOST CRUCIAL ISSUE FACING CREATORS
and inclusion.” produced four songs for the late rapper “Survival. Lockdowns have forced
Stephanie Taylor Pop Smoke, along with 32 tracks from artists to adapt [with] new avenues for
ATTORNEY/OWNER Richard Wolfe his posthumous release Shoot for the creative expression. However, adapta-
Taylor Guttmann SENIOR PARTNER Stars, Aim for the Moon, which she says tion must include partnership-building
Taylor’s firm reimagined the concert Wolfe Law Miami “went No. 1 worldwide and dominated across the board.”
experience during the pandemic for With what he describes as a “self- the charts for half the year.”
The Caverns, a concert venue known deprecating” courtroom demeanor that MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE
for hosting Bluegrass Underground jurors “eat up,” Wolfe, 62, is a go-to “How the music business became the CONTRIBUTORS
Rich Appel, Cathy Applefeld Olson, Megan
in a cave at the base of Tennessee’s litigator for top artists and executives voice of change in driving diversity and Armstrong, Chuck Arnold, Katie Bain, Steve Baltin,
Cumberland Mountains. “We worked as when it comes to touchy cases. Recent inclusion. It was always very male and Alexei Barrionuevo, Karen Bliss, Lars Brandle,
Dave Brooks, Dean Budnick, Anna Chan, Ed
a team to create an above-ground, out- achievements: He obtained a dismissal white-dominated, but for real change to Christman, Tatiana Cirisano, Leila Cobo, Jonathan
Cohen, Mariel Concepcion, Stephen Daw, Frank
door amphitheater adjacent to the cave of claims against Yandel by his former be implemented, we need to hire people DiGiacomo, Thom Duffy, Deborah Evans Price,
venue,” says Taylor, who guided the manager and litigated complaints for of diverse ethnicities, gender, race and Griselda Flores, Adrienne Gaffney, Gab Ginsberg,
Josh Glicksman, Gary Graff, Paul Grein, Lyndsey
legal protocols for the endeavor, which Maluma, T-Pain, Wisin, independent sexual orientation.” Havens, Cherie Hu, J’na Jefferson, Gil Kaufman,
already has booked multiple sold-out label/management firm Big Ligas, Steve Knopper, Juliana Koranteng, Katy Kroll, Carl
Lamarre, Joe Levy, Jason Lipshutz, Joe Lynch,
concerts in 2021. “The Caverns was catalog company Essential Media and Adam Zia Heran Mamo, Geoff Mayfield, Gail Mitchell, Mia
among the first venues in the country Menudo’s trademark owner. Wolfe FOUNDER Nazareno, Melinda Newman, Paula Parisi, Glenn
Peoples, Bryan Reesman, Jessica Roiz, Claudia
to launch a pod-based model with four notes that his financial skills as a former The Zia Firm Rosenbaum, Dan Rys, Micah Singleton, Richard
Smirke, Eric Spitznagel, Jaelani Turner-Williams,
sold-out Jason Isbell shows.” certified public accountant come in Among the client achievements that Andrew Unterberger, Christine Werthman, Natelegé
MOST LASTING LEGACY OF 2020 WILL BE handy for cases where “everything Zia, 42, celebrated in the past year were Whaley, Jewel Wicker, Deborah Wilker, Nick
Williams, Stereo Williams, Xander Zellner
“We will all forever cherish the live-music comes down to dollars and cents.” Machine Gun Kelly’s first No. 1 album
experience. I’m going to shed a tear or WHAT YOUNG ARTISTS MUST ASK THEIR on the Billboard 200 with Tickets to My METHODOLOGY
two next time I’m in a good bluegrass LAWYER “The difference between net and Downfall, Starrah’s sharing the Grammy Nominations for Billboard power lists open not less than 120 days in advance
of publication. (For a contact for our editorial calendar listing publication
jam, sitting in a circle, fiddle in hand.” gross, and explain all the deductions to Award for best rap song as co-writer of dates, please email thom.duffy@billboard.com.) The online nomination link
my revenue stream.” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” Tierra is sent to press representatives and/or honorees of companies previously
featured on any Billboard power list, as well as those who send a request to
Adam Van Straten Whack’s creating and starring in her own thom.duffy@billboard.com. Nominations close and lists are locked not less
PRINCIPAL Andrea Yankovsky Apple commercial and Polo G’s sopho- than 90 days before publication. Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers for 2020 were
chosen by editors based on factors including, but not limited to, nomina-
Van Straten Solicitors FOUNDER more album, The Goat, going platinum. tions by peers, colleagues and superiors. In-house counsel were limited to
Amid last year’s publishing-rights Yankovsky Law He has seen his firm expand from “a solo the companies shown. Otherwise, Top Music Lawyers focused on outside
counsel. In addition to information requested with nominations, editors con-
sales frenzy, Van Straten’s firm advised Yankovsky helped launch the OutHouse practice to a rapidly growing boutique sider the attorneys’ representation of clients with notable music industry
impact. That impact is measured by metrics including, but not limited to,
KT Tunstall and Leo Sayer on partial Counsel program in 2020 to provide with a diverse staff that is inclusionary chart, sales and streaming performance as measured by MRC Data and social
catalog acquisitions by Primary Wave. creatives with “the same kind of access of race, culture, gender and sexuality,” media impressions using data available as of Feb. 15.
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE, Vol. 133 Issue 5 (ISSN 0006-2510; USPS 056-100). Billboard magazine is published monthly except for two issues in January, April, June, August, October and December; a total of 18 issues, by PMC, 475 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y, 10017.
Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send all UAA to CFS. Send nonpostal and military facilities changes of address to Billboard , P.O. Box 4 5, Congers, NY 10920-0045. Under Canadian Publication Mail
Agreement No. 41450540, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to MSI PM#41450540, P.O. Box 2600, Mississauga, ON L4T 0A8. For subscription information, call 800-684-1873 (U.S. toll free), 845-267-3007 (international) or email subscriptions@billboard.
com. For any other information, call 212-493-4100. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher. © Copyright 2021 Billboard Media LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
2 0 2 1
PRIMARY WAVE 15TH ANNIVERSARY

On April 24, Billboard will salute Primary Wave Music on its 15th CONTACTS
anniversary. Joe Maimone
201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@mrcentertainment.com
Founded in 2006, Primary Wave Music is home to some of the
most iconic songwriters and artists across the history of recorded Lee Ann Photoglo
615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com
music including Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks, Frankie Valli & the Four
Seasons, Smokey Robinson, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Cynthia Mellow
Olivia Newton-John, and many more. 615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com
With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville and Marcia Olival
London, Primary Wave Music has embraced an entrepreneurial
spirit, offering and executing proactive one-of-a-kind ideas, Gene Smith
unique services and marketing campaigns for our artists. Primary 973.452.3528 | eugenebillboard@gmail.com
Wave has earned a stellar reputation for being forward thinking
and re-introducing classic artists and their music into the modern Debra Fink
213.448.5157 | debra.fink@mrcentertainment.com
marketplace as well as nurturing young talent to become legends
themselves. This success is based upon their team of seasoned Ryan O’Donnell
and creative executives collaboratively working together closely +447843437176 | ryan.odonnell@mrcentertainment.com
with our artists as partners. As a company, Primary Wave strives
for excellence in the pursuit of iconic artists and catalogs that not
only reflect great artistry, but moments of culture.

Venable celebrates
William Briggs and

Alex Weingarten
Billboard 2021 Top Music Lawyers
We are delighted to recognize the great

work of our colleagues, and thank them
for their service to our clients and the
entertainment community.
CA | DC | DE | IL | MD | NY | VA
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STRAIG H T TO YOU R INB OX
SIGN UP AT
BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLET TERS

Sidley congratulates our partner
ROLLIN RANSOM
and all of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers
Harnessing decades of experience,

Sidley’s media and entertainment
team works seamlessly across
legal disciplines and time zones
to help clients achieve their global
business objectives.
TALENT. TEAMWORK. RESULTS.
Attorney Advertising - Sidley Austin LLP, One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603.
+1 312 853 7000. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. MN-14763
We are proud and honored

to recognize our partner
MIKE
MILOM
One of Billboard’s 2021
Top Music Lawyers
and our top music lawyer
every year!
Congratulations, Mike!
Chris Horsnell, David Crow, Page Kelley, Matthew Beckett, Molly Shehan
Chartbreaker
Masked Wolf
“Astronaut in the Ocean” has
lifted off thanks to TikTok
Growing up in Sydney, Masked Wolf
(born Harry Michael) felt inspired by
American hip-hop acts like G-Unit, especially
leader 50 Cent’s winner-take-all demeanor, as
well as Eminem, whose songs “Stan” and “Lose
Yourself” motivated him to write music that
formed a narrative. That mindset helped Masked
Wolf score his first charting hit with the electric,
melancholy single “Astronaut in the Ocean,”
which sits at No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200
and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Masked Wolf first played the demo for his
manager, Jae Butt, before its June 2019 release on
Teamwrk Records. It initially failed to take off, but
as the pandemic forced the world into isolation in
2020, the song erupted — and Elektra Records
noticed the hit was making a major dent on global
market data. It has now garnered 15 million on-
demand streams, according to MRC Data, thanks
to a TikTok craze in which users
— 158,000 and counting —
record feats of strength to the
song’s intro.
“We instantly leaned into
that because TikTok is fickle
and it’s short-lived,” says Jacob
BUTT Fain, Elektra Records senior vp
A&R. “So when you get that
window, you really need to reposition and then
capitalize on it for as long as TikTok will allow you
to.” In December, Wolf signed a global record-
ing contract with Elektra/Warner Music Group
(excluding Australia and New Zealand), and by the
start of 2021, the label rereleased the track.
Since Australia has eased its COVID-19
restrictions, becoming one of the first markets
where musicians have been able to tour in
No. 7
2021, Masked Wolf performed “Astronaut in the
Ocean” and unreleased material for a crowd of
8,000 at the Gold Coast Lunar Electric Music
Festival in March. The artist now has his sights set
on a remix of the breakout song and is working
on his major-label debut album. The follow-up
P E A K O N B I L L B OA R D ’S HOT RAP SONGS
to such a massive hit might seem daunting, but
Masked Wolf says that if he could tell his younger
self where he’s at now, he would understand the
challenge ahead: “I would literally slap myself in
the face and say, ‘Get up, it’s supposed to be
this hard.’ ” —J O R DA N R O S E
BUTT: COURTESY OF LUCKY ENT
Masked Wolf photographed by

Tim Lo on March 16 in Sydney.

2 0 2 1
NOEL SCHAJRIS 20TH

ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE
Latin Grammy winner, singer, songwriter and pianist Noel CONTACTS
Schajris, has sold more than 25 million records and 1
Joe Maimone
million tickets since his first solo album 20 years ago, some
201.301.5933 | joe.maimone@billboard.com
of his songs and albums had been appeared at the
Billboard’s top ten charts. He has earned international Lee Ann Photoglo
success with the legendary duet Sin Bandera where he 615.376.7931 | laphotoglo@gmail.com
and Leonel Garcia created some of the biggest hits in
Spanish music history. Cynthia Mellow
615.352,0265 | cmellow.billboard@gmail.com
His music videos have more than 700 million views and his
Marcia Olival
social media includes 9.5 million followers from more than
15 countries. As a recording artist, he has sung duets with
John Legend, Brian Mcknight, Luis Fonsi, and Reik, just to Gene Smith
name a few. 973.452.3528 | eugenebillboard@gmail.com
In 2020 he released the unique web www.NoelSchajris.fan Ryan O’Donnell

which includes an online store, a fan subscription service +447843437176 | rodonnell@pmc.com
and online shows . Mr. Schajris is considered to be one of
the most important and celebrated artists in Latin music.

CONGRATULATIONS
2021 GRAMMY® AWARD WINNER
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

FUTURE NOSTALGIA
WITH LOVE,
YOUR WARNER RECORDS FAMILY
PHOTO CREDIT: LAUREN LEEKLEY

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VISIT…

CONGRATULATIONS GRAMMY®Album of the Year

Taylor Swift folklore

Aaron Dessner Jack Antonoff

Feeling Peachy: Bieber

PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT/PROMOTION LABEL

Makes History Atop Hot 100 HOT SHOT

according to MRC Data.

3 24kGoldn Feat. iann dior

LER AY: BRIAN ZIFF. WEEKND: PARI DUKOVIC.

POSITIONS Ariana Grande

YOU BROKE ME FIRST. Tate McRae 17 31

F E AT. L I L D U R K BEAT BOX SpotemGottem Feat. Pooh Shiesty Or DaBaby 15 10

BEST FRIEND Saweetie Feat. Doja Cat

STREETS Doja Cat

DAKITI Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez

The 23-year-old Boston native’s

TITLE CERTIFICATION BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES Maroon 5 Feat. Megan Thee Stallion

A.M.GOLDSTEIN,BLACKBEAR (A.N.LEVINE, 222/

PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT/PROMOTION LABEL M.T.MUSTO,A.M.GOLDSTEIN,J.KIRKLAND,J.K.HINDLIN,M.J.PETE) INTERSCOPE

34+35 Ariana Grande

GO CRAZY 2 Chris Brown & Young Thug

The smash ties for the ANYONE

HOLD ON Justin Bieber WILLOW

STM ANDREW WATT, L.BELL (J.D.BIEBER, A.WOTMAN,

YOUNG: ERIK A GOLDRING/GE T T Y IMAGES.

PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT/PROMOTION LABEL

TRACK STAR Mooski 53 5 The collaboration surges to the top 10

FOREVER AFTER ALL Luke Combs

UNSTABLE Justin Bieber Feat. The Kid LAROI

MOMMA’S HOUSE Dustin Lynch 62 11 PICK UP YOUR FEELINGS Jazmine Sullivan 75 9

OFF MY FACE Justin Bieber

BODY Megan Thee Stallion 12 18 SOMEBODY Justin Bieber

BUSS IT Erica Banks

LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE Bad Bunny & Rosalia

MASTERPIECE FAMOUS FRIENDS Chris Young + Kane Brown 94 1

DESERVE YOU Justin Bieber

Morray 74 7 R.COPPERMAN (D.RUCKER,

LANA DEL REY Chemtrails Over The Country Club

BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS

NEW 2 POLYDOR/INTERSCOPE/IGA 2 1 TUFF GONG/ISLAND/UME

DOJA CAT Hot Pink ED SHEERAN 4 ÷ (Divide) 10 weeks in a row at

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL 10

ELTON JOHN Diamonds 7 176 GEORGE STRAIT 7 50 Number Ones 1 174

SZA 2 Ctrl 3 198 MONEYBAGG YO Time Served 3 63

6 G O TO B I L L B OA R D.C O M F O R C O M P L E T E C H A R T DATA DATA F O R W E E K O F 0 4 .0 3 . 2 0 2 1

The Jack Ledisi

40+ YEARS OF MUSIC EXPERIENCE

LEE BRICE Hey World 45 18 XXXTENTACION 17 2 185

DRAKE 4 Nothing Was The Same 1 367 FUTURE 2 DS2 1 140

BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND 10

SOUNDTRACK 3 The Greatest Showman 1 172 TYLER, THE CREATOR IGOR 1 79

TWENTY ONE PILOTS 4 Blurryface

PACE CJ Loyalty Over Royalty ABBA 6 Gold: Greatest Hits

FRANK OCEAN Blonde 1 222 BLINK-182 Greatest Hits 6 57

BRUNO MARS 3 24K Magic 2 166 TRIPPIE REDD Pegasus 2 15

8 G O TO B I L L B OA R D.C O M F O R C O M P L E T E C H A R T DATA DATA F O R W E E K O F 0 4 .0 3 . 2 0 2 1

COURTESY OF K ALI UCHIS

BLINDING LIGHTS The Weeknd 2 29 HEAT WAVES Glass Animals 42 12