Bulletin YOUR DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE MAY 5, 2021 Page 1 of 24 INSIDE Spotify & Fellow Streamers Soared in • ICM Subject of L.A. 2020, But Expect Growth to Slow Times Report Over Toxic Workplace BY GLENN PEOPLES Claims A year ago, streaming services would have been year earlier even though the pandemic didn’t shock • BTS Label HYBE forgiven for singing along to the R.E.M. song, “It’s the most markets until March 2020. Comparisons will Turns a Modest First- Quarter Profit End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” be also tough later in the year as Spotify’s quarterly COVID-19 was shutting down cities around the world, gains are judged against the 8 million, 6 million and 11 • Billboard & Twitter governments were ordering people to remain at million subscribers it added in the last three quarters to Launch ‘Hot home in effort to stop the virus’ spread, and consum- of 2020. Trending’ Chart Tracking Music ers were leaning on streaming to escape the craziness. Key Takeaways: Buzz Online From video service Netflix to music platform Spotify, Don’t put too much stock in how companies’ business was booming. A year later, the pandemic quarterly earnings compare year-over-year to 2020. • Triller Teams boom is proving to be a difficult comparison for earn- The pandemic caused some services’ subscriptions to With SoundCloud to Cross-Promote ings reports for the first quarter of 2021, shaking up spike early in the year (Netflix) or build throughout Emerging Artists year-over-year figures. the year (Spotify). Today, streaming services should be humming Long-term trends have not changed. On-demand • Over 7,750 Live along to the Raconteurs’ “Steady as She Goes.” By streaming will continue to erode linear programming Music Businesses Have Applied for all measures — subscriber additions, acquisitions like cable television and broadcast radio. An odd quar- Shuttered Venue and investments, heightened level of competition, ter here or there won’t change the course of technol- Grants and quality of content — streaming is still boom- ogy in entertainment. ing. But the services and their investors will need to Streaming video on demand (SVOD) is a battle of • NYC Is Reopening, But Concerts Are adjust expectations to the U.S.’ burgeoning post-vac- titans — AT&T, Comcast, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Via- Still Restricted cination, out-of-the-home reality in 2021. As theaters comCBS — that requires big pockets to survive the and music venues reopen, the ways people use digital war of attrition. Music streaming companies get to media will change because they will spend less time focus less on original content and more on technolo- • BILLBOARD 200 at home. Spotify revenue and subscriber growth gies to create better user experiences. CLICK HERE was 3 million in the first quarter, down 50% from a (continued) 250 SPEAKERS FREE FESTIVAL REGISTER TODAY TIMBALAND MERCK MERCURIADIS NILE RODGERS CHRIS BLACKWELL BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE DEBRA RATHWELL Award-Winning Record GRAMMY®-Winning Founder, Singer, Songwriter CEO/Founder ® EVP, Global Touring & Producer, Rapper, DJ, Composer, Producer, Island Records Oscar -Winning Composer Singer, and Songwriter Hipgnosis Songs Ltd. Arranger and Guitarist Talent, AEG Presents 2021 NOEL SCHAJRIS 20TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE Latin Grammy winner, singer, songwriter and pianist Noel CONTACTS Schajris, has sold more than 25 million records and 1 million tickets since his first solo album 20 years ago, some Joe Maimone of his songs and albums had been appeared at the 201.301.5933 | [email protected] Billboard’s top ten charts. He has earned international Lee Ann Photoglo success with the legendary duet Sin Bandera where he 615.376.7931 | [email protected] and Leonel Garcia created some of the biggest hits in Spanish music history. Cynthia Mellow 615.352,0265 | [email protected] His music videos have more than 700 million views and his social media includes 9.5 million followers from more than Marcia Olival 15 countries. As a recording artist, he has sung duets with 786.586.4901 | [email protected] John Legend, Brian Mcknight, Luis Fonsi, and Reik, just to Ryan O’Donnell name a few. +447843437176 | [email protected] In 2020 he released the unique web www.NoelSchajris.fan which includes an online store, a fan subscription service and online shows . Mr. Schajris is considered to be one of the most important and celebrated artists in Latin music. ISSUE DATE 5/15 | AD CLOSE 5/5 | MATERIALS DUE 5/6 Page 3 of 24 IN BRIEF Unfortunately for some video stream- will be weighted to the second half of 2021. in more mature markets is the financial ing companies, the first quarter of Disappointing first-quarter results equivalent of gaining more subscribers. On 2020 made for a challenging — and poten- don’t mean SVOD or music streaming is the video side, 17% of Netflix’s subscriber tially misleading — comparison since com- becoming less popular or less success- growth came from the U.S. and Canada, panies are judged against the prior year’s ful. Netflix was adamant in its investor letter according to the company’s latest financial quarter. Because the pandemic helped that “the rise of streaming to replace linear statements. Still, those countries’ subscrip- streaming adoption, expectations could TV around the world is the clear trend in tions added 5.3 million subscribers and be unreasonably high a year later. Netflix entertainment.” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek uses accounted for 33% of revenue growth — the found this out when it released first-quar- the same language to describe music, saying U.S. and Canada have a higher average rev- ter earnings on April 20 and announced in a Feb. 3 earnings call (for 2020) that “the enue per user ($14.25) than Europe, Middle its 4 million net subscriber additions shift from linear to on-demand that COVID East and Africa ($11.56), Asia ($9.71) and were about 50% below its forecasted 6 mil- accelerated will continue and remains a Latin America (7.39). lion and more than 70% behind the mind- massive multi-billion user opportunity.” On The music and video streaming markets blowing 15 million new subscribers it gained April 28, Ek repeated his familiar refrain, might seem crowded, but this is just the in 2020’s first quarter (which was more than “we’re very, very early in our efforts to move beginning. The best way to think about double its 7 million forecast). Netflix’s share the entire music industry from this one- music streaming’s potential is to imagine the price dropped 8.4% the following day and size-fits-all [structure] to a more individual entire world of audio entertainment: music barely budged the next. offering.” Weak year-over-year improve- and spoken word on the internet, broadcast For Netflix, COVID-19 struck the heart ments won’t mean streaming businesses radio and satellite radio. Ek said Spotify’s of its business model by disrupting televi- have a content problem that will impede April 28 earnings call the global audio sion and motion picture production. Last progress. In fact, live sports, a long-time market could be worth $200 billion by 2030, year, the company was able to release video lynchpin of linear television, has moved to more than 20 times later than Spotify’s $9.5 that was already in its pipeline before streaming platforms: Amazon, ESPN+ and million revenue in 2020. That may be COVID-19 shut down productions. In 2021, Hulu all broadcast live games. wishful thinking on his part, but you can’t Netflix’s thinned-out release schedule That said, subscription services will blame Ek for thinking big. As for video, Ber- contributed to its first-quarter subscription inevitably face a slowdown at some point nstein’s Todd Juenger argues that neither slowdown, executives explained in the first — but how far off that is varies with each SVOD nor Netflix is nearing maturity, and quarter earnings release. Original content is platform. Former Spotify chief economist if SVOD is the future of in-home video, and a major factor in driving new subscriptions. and Billboard contributor Will Page ar- Netflix will remain the “anchor” SVOD ser- When Netflix found itself with little to offer gued in December 2020 that “it’s likely that vice, the 800 million global homes that pay in the first quarter, its new subscriber count music streaming, competing for consumers’ for in-home video entertainment “are highly fell one-third below its forecast. But that attention against TikTok and gaming, will likely to become Netflix members in the won’t always be the case: Netflix says — and struggle to grow even when things return future.” Juenger gives Netflix a $617 price analysts tend to agree — its original content to normal.” Perhaps, although price hikes target, 21.2% above Monday’s $509.11 clos- TOTAL IMMERSION ESSENTIAL ANALYSIS of the latest business topics and trends formulated to give industry players the competitive advantage in a rapidly changing market. EXCLUSIVE QUARTERLY REPORTS that deliver in-depth, holistic reporting; case studies; and custom data designed to serve the industry. A DEEP DIVE LIBRARY stocked with intelligence on fan data, SUBSCRIBE TO BILLBOARD PRO FOR song catalog sales, TV synchs, Africa’s burgeoning music ACCESS TO NEW REPORTS business and the gaming industry’s embrace of artists. AND THE ARCHIVE 2021 PRIDE On June 5th, Billboard will publish its 3rd annual CONTACTS Pride issue honoring culturally moving and Joe Maimone influential people who have contributed to the 201.301.5933 | [email protected] community’s history and its current landscape. Lee Ann Photoglo Year-round Billboard and Rolling Stone celebrate 615.376.7931 | [email protected] the LGBTQIA+ community through the lens of music, amplifying the culture of the proud Cynthia Mellow LGBTQIA+ community across our editorial 615.352,0265 | [email protected] channels, including Billboard Pride.