TOPLINE

from hearing the fi rst bar or two of a musical cue, the fi rst one, no one had ever made an a cappella whether it’s — spoilers ahead! — the Green Bay musical before, so we had to explain so much,” Packers doing “Bootylicious” or Rebel Wilson’s says Julia Michels, who re-upped as music co- Fat Amy wooing her ex-boyfriend with a comi- supervisor with partner Julianne Jordan. “On cally melodramatic “We Belong to the Night.” this one, everybody knew the fi lm, so people “Neither the fi rst movie nor the soundtrack either wanted a bigger piece of the pie or more album opened with spectacular numbers,” says money, and we didn’t have it.” Resnikoff . Pitch Perfect grossed a respectable $65 They could pay more for some songs than oth- million in U.S. theaters (according to Box Offi ce ers, but the “riff -off ” mashup sequences dictated Mojo) before proving its mettle post-theatrically; that every song used in a medley pay the same the soundtrack debuted with a mere 9,000 units amount. For instance, in one scene, a cappella on its way to selling 1.3 million albums, according teams compete with spontaneous arrangements Miguel and Adele are two of the artists “Everybody knew [Pitch Perfect 1], so people removed from the streaming- either wanted a bigger piece of the pie or more audio platform. money, and we didn’t have it.” —Julia Michels, music supervisor SONY PULLS TOP ACTS to Nielsen Music. “Cups” did not hit No. 1 on the of hits in several diff erent categories, one being “I FROM SOUNDCLOUD Adult Contemporary chart until October 2013, Dated John Mayer.” One team does a Vanessa A source says “a lack of monetization more than a year after the fi lm’s release. Carlton tune, while another busts out some Swift, opportunities” is causing a negotiation “We went through two Christmases marketing to big laughs. If you’re expecting Katy Perry as a breakdown between the companies the music to Pitch Perfect 1 without ever thinking third choice, the scene stops short of that. (The it was close to the end,” adds Resnikoff . “Some fi lm did successfully procure a Perry song for BY ANDREW HAMPP of that came out of ‘Cups,’ but there was already another scene — for a “low six-fi gure sum,” says

viral success for this music well beyond that.” an insider — but, like about 40 other licensed Sony Music has removed original recordings Resnikoff notes that the 3 million downloads for tunes, it got cut.) from the SoundCloud pages of at least a “Cups” in the United States only represented half Their toughest get? Muse’s “Uprising,” as per- dozen acts — including Adele, Hozier, formed by the villainous German singing troupe Miguel, Kelly Clarkson, Passion Pit and of the 6.4 million overall individual tracks sold Leon Bridges — due to a breakdown in from the album; globally, Pitch Perfect moved 8 Das Sound Machine, with bad accents and nearly negotiations between the label group and million tracks, according to the label. In other fascistic choreography. “Empirically, you just the streaming-audio platform, helmed by words, the fi rst soundtrack was hardly a one-song don’t see Muse songs licensed all over the place,” Alexander Ljung. Representatives for Sony Music and Columbia Records, phenomenon, although, six months after the says Knobloch. “So it was a bit of a coup to have the label with the most movie opened, “taking ‘Cups’ to radio and mak- them say yes, not just to licensing ‘Uprising’ but affected artists, declined ing a video extended the life of something that mashing it up with another song.” Muse fi nally comment, but an executive was happening on its own.” softened after director Elizabeth Banks wrote a familiar with negotiations says the recent takedowns That success led to preconceptions about how personal plea to singer Matt Bellamy. are due to “a lack of big Pitch Perfect 2 would be, and with that a bump Odd as it seems to keep a tracklist under lock monetization opportunities” Ljung in asking prices from writers and publishers, and key, “you can’t follow the normal formula in on the platform. creating hurdles on the way to licensing nearly 60 this case,” says Resnikoff , noting that surprise is The Sony impasse comes at a transitional time for SoundCloud, which introduced its songs. To be sure, there was more money to work key. “It would be a disservice to have fans hear first monetization play last August. Titled with — Pitch Perfect 2’s budget was $29 million, what’s on the record without understanding how On SoundCloud, the program has paid out more than $2 million in advertising revenue compared with $17 million for Pitch Perfect 1. “On it fi ts into the movie. The plot is in the music.” 0 ES to 100-plus partners, including Warner Music, which became the first of the three majors to sign a formal licensing agreement with SoundCloud. (Universal Music Group remains in talks, though a representative declined comment.) A SoundCloud rep tells Billboard Grooveshark’s Big Cash Burn in a statement, “We are in ongoing conversations with major and independent Some digital startups turn entrepreneurs and their investors into millionaires. The nine-year run of labels and will continue to add partners to the program,” adding that the company streaming service Grooveshark, which succumbed to legal woes and agreed to shut down on April 30, has “always put control in the hands of arguably enriched lawyers more than anyone. How much did Florida-based parent company Escape Media creators, and anyone who makes music and outlay while keeping the service afloat? Experts believe that Escape was probably billed $500 an hour — audio can decide when and how they want to typical in a large city like New York, where much of the legal wrangling took place — since first being sued share it with fans.” One organization that SoundCloud has —GLENN PEOPLES for copyright infringement in 2009, with at least 100 billable hours per month. made nice with, however, is the National Music Publishers’ Association, which on May 6 announced the completion of a rights agreement with SoundCloud, with a focus on the NMPA’s independent members. NMPA president/CEO David Israelite said , '421 the pact “ensures that when SoundCloud Legal fees incurred Number of EMI copyrights Maximum Amount of penalties in succeeds financially, so do the by Escape Media Grooveshark infringed statutory damages settlements with plaintiffs songwriters whose content draws so many in litigation with upon since 2012, which from infringement Sony Music, Universal and

users to their site.” MIGUEL: DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES. ADELE: JOHN SHEARER/INVISION/AP IMAGES. LJUNG: MORRIS/BLOOMBERG/GETTY PAUL DAVID IMAG the major labels kicked off the settlement of EMI copyrights Warner Music Group

10 BILLBOARD | MAY 16, 2015