Industry News

Over the years, the value of music catalogs has increased. Musicians are able to make a significant amount of money by selling their assets to major record labels, publishing companies, and private owners. The average publishing catalog multiple in 2023 was 17.2 times and is projected to increase as the years go on. 

Over the years, Billboard has been known to be a reliable source for news and statistics in the music industry. Billboard now provides many opportunities for music professionals to network throughout the year. The end of 2024-2025 Billboard event schedule is now available.

2 Live Crew, widely recognized for their provocative and controversial music, filed for bankruptcy in 1995, resulting in the loss of rights to their catalog. Their legal battles focused on defending artists' rights and the right to fair use. In 2020 the band started the process of terminating their music. After many years, the hip-hop legends and their heirs succeeded in reclaiming their copyrights from Lil' Joe Records, allowing them to take back control of their iconic music catalog.

The distinguished singer-songwriter Randy Newman, known for his nostalgic artistry in music and film, has sold his recorded music and publishing rights. Litmus Music has also acquired publishing and recording rights for a diverse range of artists such as Katy Perry and Keith Urban. Newman’s exceptional catalog will be a valuable addition to Litmus Music and the Carlyle Group.

Limp Bizkit, an innovative band nominated for three Grammys and considered one of the nu-metal pioneers, is taking legal action against Universal Music Group. The band claims they have not received proper payment for royalties from their music releases spanning over 14 years. The lawsuit alleges that UMG's intentional financial practices may have led to the band having an unrecouped account without their knowledge.

Legendary singer, songwriter, and actor Kris Kristofferson has passed away, leaving behind a rich legacy in music and acting. He was beloved not only by his fans but also by his colleagues in the music industry and fellow performers. Despite his own belief that he couldn't sing, he was able to authentically connect with his audience through his other talents.

The boutique-styled U.S. performance rights organization GMR, known for representing extremely successful songwriters, may sell most of its stake to Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm specializing in the technology and finance industry. Despite this potential change in ownership, the GMR management team remains committed to their goal of transforming the music industry and increasing the value for songwriters and their publishers.

More than 11 years after Bruno Mars' 11x certified platinum-selling record "When I Was Your Man" was released, Miley Cyrus' 2023 hit "Flowers" faces legal action due to musical similarities. Tempo Music is suing Miley Cyrus, along with various publishers, streaming platforms, and retailers, claiming a share of the copyrights for “When I Was Your Man.” Tempo Music argues that “Flowers” wouldn't exist without “When I Was Your Man.”

Music and technology have been advancing quickly over the past several years. While some industry professionals argue the harm AI brings to the music industry, Billboard compiled a list of many AI companies that help aid artists in their creative process.

The rise in streaming subscriptions has led to a significant drop in the use of advertising and ad-supported services. As a result, subscriptions now account for over 60 percent of U.S. revenue. With ad-supported services facing challenges, royalties for rights holders are also being negatively affected.

The U.S. recorded music market generated $8.6 billion overall, with paid music streaming subscriptions experiencing only 2.7% growth. Despite the slowing growth in music streaming subscriptions, overall music consumption has not declined. The U.S. market continues to steadily increase year after year, bolstering music revenue through digital and physical sales.

Primary Wave Music has teamed up with record producer Jon Landau to obtain producer royalty and neighboring rights royalty streams for his previous works with iconic artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, and Shania Twain, among others. Landau has also been instrumental in rock music as an artist manager and music critic. His extensive career in the music industry demonstrates why he is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Less than a year after opening its venue in Las Vegas, Sphere Entertainment Company saw an increase in overall earnings and shares. The company generates revenue by hosting concerts, interactive experiences, and corporate events. With plans to take advantage of the Las Vegas scenery, Sphere Entertainment Co. intends to expand into sports and other cinematic experiences in the future.

In a long legal dispute between singer Cher and Mary Bono, Judge Kronstadt has ruled in favor of the singer. Cher will maintain her entitlement to receive financial compensation in royalties as outlined in their original divorce settlement from 1978. This settlement dictated that Sonny retained ownership of all copyrights to their music while agreeing to grant Cher half of all publishing royalties. Following Sonny's passing, his heirs sought to terminate all copyrights, but the judge stated that "A right to receive royalties is distinct from a grant of copyright."

Taylor Swift has proven to be one of our generation's most innovative and pioneering artists. Swift’s ability to control the narrative by directly addressing controversy while being authentic demonstrates why she’s so popular globally amongst all demographics. In addition to her authenticity, she collaborates creatively and strategically with other artists to expand her audience. Another way Swift has supercharged her brand is through her ability to remain human and organically connect with her listeners.

After a two-year battle, the Copyright Office finalized a new rule to ensure songwriters and copyright owners who choose to use their termination rights will regain ownership of their music and will start to receive streaming royalties upon utilizing those rights.

Performing Rights Organizations or PROs have been one of the fastest-growing parts of the music industry for several years. Collecting performance-based royalties from concerts, television, and streaming services is very complicated but extremely important when it comes to paying songwriters for their artistic works.

In Europe the International Artist Organization (IAO) conducted a survey to evaluate how well the EU's new regulation on royalty payments to artists are developing. In 2019, EU countries implemented the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Market (DSM). This directive was implemented to promote more transparency, appropriate and proportionate remuneration, and provide alternative resolutions for artists' royalty payouts and deals. This survey shows that there is still a large number of artists who are still unhappy with their DSP payouts and the lack of transparency and information on their payments.

Queen's music catalog has been well-known and loved throughout many generations. After decades of success, Sony Music is in the process of acquiring the catalog for £1 billion (around $1.27 billion). This valuable rock catalog includes fan favorites such as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “39,” “Somebody to Love,” “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”

Since Spotify's announcement to increase premium plan prices due to a music and audiobook "bundle," the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has brought awareness to Spotify allegedly hosting unlicensed lyrics on its platform, underpaying royalties to songwriters & publishers, and a call to action for Congress to update laws for publishers to negotiate in a "free market" with digital service providers, similar to that of record labels. This week, the NMPA has added to its argument by stating that Spotify consumers should not have to pay more for their subscriptions because of the addition of a potentially unwanted feature of audiobooks.

Country icon Dolly Parton's musical “Hello, I’m Dolly,” is planning to hit Broadway in 2026! While Parton has been involved in Broadway productions before, this musical will include some new songs as well as many of her classics.

Billboard has used multi-metric consumption to rank album popularity since December of 2014. This is the 5th time that at least two albums have exceeded 300,000 units each in just one week.

Members of the musical group Da Showstoppaz are suing Beyoncé due to her legal use of the sample "Explode" that illegally borrowed several lyrics from their song "Release A Wiggle." Da Showstoppaz's team notified Beyoncé of the situation and there has been no response on her end regarding the alleged infringement.

The Copyright act of 1976 is not exclusive to recording artists and songwriters in the entertainment industry. Back in 2021, screenwriter R. Lance Hill sent in a Notice of termination for his original 1986 script of "Road House." Today he is fighting to obtain his copyrights from Amazon Studios, MGM who claim that he was a work for hire. 

The Supreme Court upheld the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy case. This resolved a dispute over the time limit for claiming monetary damages in copyright cases, setting precedent for artists everywhere.

Kirk Johnston, the lead singer of a band called Snowblind Revival, argues that the 2005 Nickelback hit, "Rockstar" ripped off their song "Rock Star." Despite Johnston's evidence, the court stated that the use of similar clichés in the two songs was not enough to win the copyright lawsuit.

Concord and Blackstone have both presented offers to acquire the Hipgnosis catalog. The future of the company and Merck Mercuriadis' involvement could be drastically different depending upon which offer they decide to accept.

Music licensing is a fast-growing part of the industry but can be challenging for artists as it is a complex process and has the potential to be taken over by artificial intelligence-created music. The co-founders of The Rights have created a licensing clearance platform that makes the process of clearing music for licensing easier and protects artists from emerging technology as they continue to pitch their songs for movies and television shows. 

It's no secret that people want to invest in music catalogs because it is likely to be a successful return. It is important to understand that an investment in music catalog is usually a long-term investment rather than an immediate return.

Investment in music catalogs has become popular in recent years. Investors who own valuable music assets want to release products that display the catalog through creative outlets such as documentaries, Broadway shows, and box sets. Investors are interested in these creative projects which ultimately increases revenue streams for the original artists. 

The Entertainment Industry continues to discuss the threat AI technology poses to musical works. Tennessee Governor, Bill Lee, announced the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (ELVIS Act) on March 21, 2024, which prohibits the use of unauthorized fake works of the voices of artists and musicians.

Journey's biggest hit, "Don't Stop Believin," has been certified 18-times platinum by the RIAA. This has become the rock band's signature song and it continues to be popular decades after it was dropped.

People are blaming Live Nation for the rise in ticket prices while in reality, it is artists and their business team who set the price. Live Nation believes the exponential increase in ticket prices is due to high demand for popular artists and growing trends of purchasing "experience goods."

The Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert films were reported to make up one-ninth of Q4 domestic industry-wide box office. Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing theatrical release of all time after bringing in $261.6MM globally.

Songwriters and music publishers are finally going to receive mechanical and performance royalties from the 2021-2022 period. These creators are able to benefit from an increased royalty rate from the Music Modernization Act of 2018.

The handwritten lyrics of the 1970s Eagles' rock classic, "Hotel California," is the center of a current criminal trial. Eagles band member and writer of the song, Don Henley is attempting to prevent the defendants from making a profit off of this piece of memorabilia and is requesting that it be returned to the band.

Super Bowl LVIII had the highest viewership of all time with over 123MM viewers. Since so many people tuned in to Sunday's game, companies were willing to pay a premium price to ensure they had the perfect song featured in their ads. UMPG and Sony both landed 18 sync placements while BMG and Kobalt had five each.

Blaike Ford shares that being a successful manager in Music means you are able to execute various jobs and discern which projects deserve time and involvement. Ford believes it is essential to surround yourself with the right people who are equally as passionate about the Entertainment Industry.

It's Grammy Week & everyone in the music industry is getting ready for the most anticipated night of the year. Some of the biggest names in the business have been celebrating all week and will continue to honor music artists for their accomplishments all the way to the Red Carpet this Sunday night! Be sure to watch the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4th!

This past week, photographer Miles Davis took tattoo artist Kat Von D to court. The photographer claims that Von D's tattoo art of his famous 1989 photo violated his copyright. A ruling that favors Miles Davis could open the door for other artists to go to court for copyright issues related to tattoo art.

The success of nostalgic movies and TV shows demonstrates people's desire for familiar brands. In the same way, music artists should also continue to expand their branding efforts in order to continue their long lasting legacy for years to come.

Songwriters receive public performance royalties through Performing Rights Organizations while recording artists have the same opportunity through something called Neighboring Rights. Neighboring Rights Organizations such as Premier and Downtown allow recording artists access to a royalty stream that is generated when their song is publicly performed or broadcasted.

Mickey Mouse has officially entered the Public Domain meaning anyone is able to use the character for whatever they want. Steven LaMorte is directing a horror-comedy based on the original version of this beloved Disney character, set to be released in March.