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Spring/Summer 2019 1 @warnermusic @warnermusicgroup @warnermusic 1 XXXXXXXX Contributors ALEX ROBBINS GOLNAR KHOSROWSHAHI JUSTIN KALIFOWITZ Alex Robbins is an illustrator whose work Golnar Khosrowshahi is the founder and Justin Kalifowitz is the founder and has previously appeared in the likes of the CEO of Reservoir, an independent music CEO of Downtown Music Holdings, a New Yorker, Time Out, Wired, TIME company established in 2007. Based in provider of end-to-end services to artists, and i-D. He created our cover image, New York with operations in Los Angeles, songwriters, labels, music publishers and based on a quote from our lead interview Nashville, Toronto, and London, Reservoir other rights-holders. Established in 2007, with UMPG’s Jody Gerson: “It’s great the owns and administers over 110,000 Downtown’s global offices include those industry is making more money – but that’s copyrights. Khosrowshahi is also President in New York, Amsterdam, London, Los not the only thing that matters. Human of Silkroad, a non-profit organization Angeles and Nashville. Downtown recently connections matter.” founded by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma. acquired CD Baby’s parent company, AVL. MARK MULLIGAN RHIAN JONES ZENA WHITE Mark Mulligan is the founder of UK- Rhian Jones is a respected freelance Zena White is the Managing Director of based MIDiA Research, and one of journalist who often focuses on the music Partisan Records, the Brooklyn-born indie the most respected, and widely-read, industry. In addition to writing for Music label which is home to artists as diverse as analysts working in the global business. Business USA and Hits Daily Double, she is Cigarettes After Sex, Fela Kuti, IDLES and A technology and entertainment expert, a Contributing Editor for Music Business Fontaines D.C. Previously, White was the Mulligan has been covering the digital Worldwide and is currently writing a book MD at London-based independent label music business for over a decade. In on mental health in the music space. In services company The Other Hand, where this issue, he focuses on evolving fan this issue, Rhian interviews Colleen Theis, she played a key role in breaking several consumption habits. the COO of Sony’s The Orchard. North American artists in Europe. 6 2 XXXXXXXX In this issue... 12 Jody Gerson UMPG 22 Ryan Press Warner Chappell Music 24 Rebeca Léon Lionfish Entertainment 30 Mike Caren APG 38 Ethiopia Habtemariam Motown 46 Kevin Liles 300 Entertainment 55 Mark Gillespie Three Six Zero 62 Michelle Jubelirer Capitol Music Group 70 Ian Montone Monotone Inc. 78 Willard Ahdritz Kobalt 85 Colleen Theis The Orchard 89 John Josephson SESAC 96 Strauss Zelnick ZMC/ex-BMG 8 2 XXXXXXXX EDITOR’S LETTER KOBALT Greetings from overseas. Tim Ingham Five years on, would you expect the For those of you that didn’t know, Music United States’ proportion of global industry PAYS Business Worldwide – the ever-reporting revenues to have grown or shrunk? Correct progenitor of Music Business USA – is, to all answer: it grew – and significantly so. intents and purposes, London-based. Last year, shows IFPI data, the USA market So when we announced that we were generated $6.64bn in trade revenues, amid a launching a magazine specifically about the total global market worth $19.1bn. MORE US marketplace earlier this year, it attracted The US’s contribution, then, equated to the same few questions. They included: Why 34.8% of worldwide industry revenues in not launch a magazine about the UK market 2018 – comfortably more than a third. If you first? (We did: it’s called Music Business UK, it roll the years back a decade, as far as 2008, comes out quarterly, it’s really rather good, and the USA claimed a far smaller proportion of MONEY, if you subscribe to this publication, you’ll get it worldwide trade sales, at 27.0%. through the post soon enough.) It’s understandably topical to talk about Yet the most frequent query in reaction the surging importance of international to our headfirst dive into the States was territories around the world right now – and this: Why, when the music business is more ex-US markets do, for sure, offer the brightest FASTER global than ever, when the likes of China and hope of continued recovery for the music India are providing huge conversational and “The USA is business in the decades ahead. But today, strategic fodder for the music business, when driven by the proliferation of streaming, the MBW has ‘Worldwide’ proudly planted in its going through United States is going through a new golden WITH own brand name, would you launch a magazine era as the epicenter of the worldwide record specifically covering the audio entertainment a new golden industry. That ain’t ol’ fashioned Hollywood industry of the United States? hyperbole; them’s the facts. The answer, crudely enough, is money. If era as the So that, in a nutshell, is one key reason we you took a look back over the global sales epicenter of launched this magazine. The other key reason, AMRA of the record business in the past few years, obviously enough, is the people. The United what would you expect to find? Perhaps the the global States contains the majority of the global music The global royalty collection system escalating importance of territories which once business’s biggest influencers and decision- is broken. That’s why we built AMRA. lagged behind in the worldwide industry due industry.” makers – many of whom have smart opinions, Discover how AMRA collects directly to rampant piracy? Tick. As rightfully noted cracking back-stories and a fair idea what the from streaming platforms to pay by LionFish’s Rebeca Léon in our profile (page future of this industry may entail. creators more money, faster. 24), some of the most striking examples of this We’re delighted that we’ve managed to have occurred in Latin America – with Brazil, capture a bundle of that wisdom within the 104 for one, increasing its annual revenues paid out pages presented here. From UMPG boss Jody Watch the video at to the record industry by 31% in the five years Gerson discussing the role of songwriters amra.com/kobalt between 2013 ($228m) and 2018 ($299m). in tomorrow’s industry paradigm, through to But check this out: in 2013, according to Kevin Liles on diversity, Mike Caren on A&R, IFPI data, consumers in the United States Ethiopia Habtemariam on hip-hop, Willard contributed $4.47bn to the record business Ahdritz on music’s value and much more besides, – worth 29.8% of the worldwide industry’s we hope you find plenty to educate, to inspire – revenue total at the time. and to challenge your preconceptions. © Music Business Worldwide Ltd Advertise: [email protected] 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX Subscribe: MusicBizStore.com 1 2 XXXXXXXX ‘I HAVE TO TELL MY STORY AUTHENTICALLY’ Jody Gerson has transformed Universal Music Publishing Group. But who is the woman behind the billion-dollar publisher? can’t believe you haven’t heard about celery juice yet...” Jody Gerson is tipping us on the next big thing. Bearing “Iin mind she’s been ahead of the curve on everyone from Billie Eilish to SZA, Post Malone and Alicia Keys during her career, we’re listening. (The radiance of our skin, we’re promised, will thank us for doing so.) Philadelphia-born Gerson, a mother of two teenagers and one older son, thinks a lot about making the most of every hour. She wakes at 5.30 am each morning “just to have some time to myself” – an indicative trait of someone who says she was never in the top 10 smartest girls at her school, but who keenly studied her way to over-achievement. Whatever Gerson’s secret is (and we’ll wager there’s a lot more to it than celery juice) it’s working. Since she took over as Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group in January 2015, the company’s annual revenues have grown by some 40%, surpassing a major milestone last year by topping $1 billion for the first time. Gerson’s professional highlights over the past four years have included signing of some of the biggest new talent such as Eilish, Halsey, Post Malone, SZA, Rosalía and Quavo, plus Tobias Jesso Jr, Shawn Mendes and Ariana Grande – in addition to deals for established acts like Prince, Elton John, Barry Gibb, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Carly Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Jack White. Despite her history in A&R, Gerson is at pains to note that UMPG shouldn’t only be judged by its active roster: she is particularly proud of the company’s technology advancements, for one thing. “When I first took the job, there was a distrust between songwriters and publishers here, so we made sure our system was completely transparent,” she says. UMPG has also doubled down on film and TV music under Gerson’s leadership, via deals with the likes of Lionsgate, Paramount, Disney Europe (and numerous other territories), Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, MGM, HBO, Amazon and more – steady income sources which Gerson says provide “cover” for A&R risk-taking at the company. Ultimately, though, Gerson says the biggest strides at UMPG under her leadership have been made by “betting on talent and 12 XX LEAD FEATURE betting on songs” and “running this company with integrity – who, for my entire life, had this idea that I was something special. people out there believe us.” Now she gets to see me in action. I love that so much. Having graduated from Northwestern University, Gerson began her career at Chappell Music in New York in an entry-level Your mom always thought you were something special: was position.