Chrysalis Records to House New Music Again As a Frontline Label
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Bulletin YOUR DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE FEBRUARY 26, 2020 Page 1 of 14 INSIDE Chrysalis Records to House • K-Pop Music New Music Again as a Frontline Label Festival in LA Postponed Over BY RICHARD SMIRKE Coronavirus Fears • Bob Iger Leaving Chrysalis Records, one of the U.K.’s seminal indepen- throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, including Jethro Tull, Disney, Bob Chapek dent labels, is to be relaunched as a frontline label, Procol Harum, Blondie, Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis and Named New CEO releasing new music for the first time in more than the News, Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Sinead O’Connor, two decades. The Specials and numerous others. • FBI Indicts Man for The London-based label’s first signing is Brit The label was sold to EMI in 1991 who continued Ticketfly Hack That Compromised 27M Award-winning British singer-songwriter Laura Mar- to run it as a standalone imprint, achieving huge do- Accounts ling, formerly of Virgin EMI, whose last album, 2017’s mestic success with British pop star Robbie Williams, Semper Femina, was released independently through before being folded into EMI Records. • AIRE Radio Kobalt’s label services division. Lascelles’ first reign at Chrysalis ran from 1994 to Networks Signs J Alvarez to Newly- Her first album for the newly reborn Chrysalis 2011, when it was sold to BMG. Warner subsequently Created Marketing Records will be released later this year in partnership bought the business as part of the deal for Parlophone Platform, Artistas360 with Partisan Records as a co-branded global release. Records. Lascelles and Robin Millar’s Blue Raincoat Further signings will be announced in the coming Music company acquired the mothballed label in • Ryman Hospitality’s months, Chrysalis CEO tells Bill- 2016, returning it to independent ownership. Revenue From Jeremy Lascelles Country Music board. Since then, its owners focus has been on tidying Properties Jumped “There’s no question in our minds that this is the Chrysalis’ vast catalog, but the intention was always 24% in 2019 right moment to bring Chrysalis back,” he says. “I’ve to one day relaunch it as a frontline record label, says frequently praised Laura as being the most important Lascelles. BILLBOARD 200 PAGE 14 artist of her generation and I believe that to be the The decision to partner with fellow indie label case. We couldn’t have wished to be involved with a Partisan Records on signing Laura Marling was born more brilliant artist.” out of the two companies achieving international Formed in 1968 by Chris Wright and Terry El- success with Cigarettes After Sex, who are signed to lis, Chrysalis Records helped break and develop the Partisan and managed by Blue Raincoat Music. Other international careers of a host of big-selling artists (continued) Republic_05_022920.indd 1 2/21/20 2:00 PM Page 3 of 14 IN BRIEF artists on Partisan’s roster include IDLES, Lascelles. “But right now it’s very much a the likes of K-pop girl group MOMOLAND, Fontaines D.C., John Grant and the catalog Laura-orientated partnership.” solo singer and former Wanna One member of Fela Kuti. “Chrysalis is going extremely well in Ha Sungwoon and rock band No Brain, with “We share offices with Partisan and I terms of the revenues it’s producing and the addition of more acts expected in the know how good they are and how well they it feels like we have unblocked the dam coming weeks. work as a team, so I rang [managing direc- that was stopping people discovering and The festival says, “Concert goers can opt tor] Zena White and [founder] Tim Putnam, rediscovering the label’s catalog,” says the for a refund or keep the existing tickets,” said what we were thinking of doing and CEO. “We feel in a good place there now and noting that current tickets “will remain that we’d love to figure out a way that we this feels like a good moment to start putting valid and transferable to the rescheduled can work together,” explains Lascelles. new music out there.” concert date.” “Right in the midst of that, we discovered According to official counts at press that we were both trying to sign Laura Mar- time, the deadly coronavirus outbreak has ling. So at that point we just said, ‘Let’s do K-Pop Music affected 81,000 people and killed at least this one together.’ When we presented that 2,700 worldwide. South Korea is the country idea to Laura’s management, it completely Festival in LA with the second-highest amount of cases captured their imagination.” confirmed, with nearly 1,000 infections to “There is a really strong synergy between Postponed Over date and 10 deaths. The Centers for Disease the brand that we are building [at Partisan] Control and Prevention recommends that and the brand that Chris Wright and Terry Coronavirus Fears travelers avoid all “nonessential” travel to Ellis built back in the day, starting in the South Korea due to the spread of the virus 1960s, and continuing with Jeremy and BY JEFF BENJAMIN there. Robin’s careers,” says White. “The spirit of South Korea’s concerns over the virus what Chrysalis represents creatively are rowing concerns over the spread have affected other K-pop business, with really important values to us at Partisan, so of the coronavirus has led to artists including TWICE, GOT7 and (G) [this partnership] just felt like something the postponement of one of the I-DLE canceling or postponing concerts, that we should absolutely explore.” biggest annual K-pop concerts in tour dates and fan meetings across Asia. Big For the time being, the partnership Gthe U.S. events like the 2020 Korea Music Awards between Chrysalis and Partisan is a one-off The Korea Times Music Festival an- and the 2020 FACT Music Awards (which deal exclusively limited to Laura Marling nounced that its concert scheduled for had BTS, Monsta X, TWICE and more and an as-yet-unnamed associated project April 25 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los An- as confirmed performers) have also been from the singer, but both parties are open to geles “has provisionally been postponed due canceled. collaborating on other artist releases, if the to the increasing uncertainty threat of coro- The effects have also spread to Europe, situation arises. navirus.” The annual musical festival, which with Seventeen canceling the rest of the “The future is the future. We’ll see,” says is in its 18th year, had already announced European and Asian tour dates on their Ode DECISIVE INTELLIGENCE. DELIVERED DIGITALLY. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DELIVERY DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS PROMOTION Billboard’s Latin Fest+, now in its 30th year, is the Latin music world’s biggest gathering of dealmakers, power players and artists. These influential figures come together for a series of curated discussions, networking, performances, panels and parties. The highlight of the week is the Billboard Latin Music Awards, broadcast live on the Telemundo network in April. BILLBOARD’S 4/18 ISSUE WILL ON SALE APRIL 18 SPOTLIGHT THE FOLLOWING: AD CLOSE April 8 MATERIALS DUE April 9 LATIN FEST + WEEK • Preview the Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards with BONUS DISTRIBUTION: a focus on the performers and BILLBOARD LATIN FEST+ 4/20 - 4/23 finalists for the most prestigious (Las Vegas), BILLBOARD LATIN honors in Latin music MUSIC AWARDS 4/23 (Las Vegas) • Profile Billboard’s special recipients of the Spirit of Hope, TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT: Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame awards MARCIA OLIVAL | 786-586-4901 [email protected] • The hottest and most relevant trends among Latin music’s GENE SMITH | 973-452-3528 labels and publishers [email protected] Advertise in Billboard’s April 18 Latin JOE MAIMONE | 212-493-4427 Music Week Issue to congratulate [email protected] this year’s honorees and finalists, and to position your company in front of the key decision-makers in the Latin music industry. bbHA_Latinfest_Ad.inddBB House_Latin Issue Sales_05_022920.indd 1 1 2/14/202/21/20 2:459:16 PMAM Page 5 of 14 IN BRIEF to You world tour. The boy band had just in 2005, he has presided over a period of own direct-to-consumer platforms, leading played U.S. arenas like Newark’s Prudential dramatic expansion for the company, lead- to the acquisition of streaming tech provider Center and Los Angeles’s The Forum in ing buys of Pixar for $7.4 billion, Marvel BAMTech in 2017 and the launch of the Dis- January. for $4 billion and Lucasfilm for $4 billion. ney+ platform on Nov. 12 of last year. Since The Korea Times Music Festival post- That strategy, a focus on acquiring franchise its U.S. debut, Disney+ has picked up 28.6 ponement is the latest Stateside Asian music intellectual property, paid off. In 2019 alone, million paid subscribers. event to be affected by the coronavirus after Disney films grossed an unprecedented $13 Iger succession speculation had intensi- the Overpass Music festival in Oak Canyon billion at the global box office, including fied in recent years following the departure Park, California — which featured Malay- seven blockbusters that hit the $1 billion of then-heir apparent COO Thomas Staggs sia’s Yuna, Thailand’s Phum Viphurit, and mark. in April 2016, just over a year after he had DPR Live and iKON’s Mino from Korea — Disney’s market cap was roughly $55 bil- been promoted to the role. Iger then mulled was postponed from March to Sept. 26. lion when Iger took over in 2005, peaked at the idea of running for president in 2017 and Many K-pop acts have plans to play over $260 billion in January, and as of Feb.