Bulletin YOUR DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE JULY 23, 2021 Page 1 of 22 INSIDE Executive of the Week: • James Brown’s Heirs Settle 15-Year Republic Records Executive VP Dispute Over Soul Icon’s Estate, Song Publishing Rights A&R Tyler Arnold • Austin McBroom BY DAN RYS Files Lawsuit Against LiveXLive Over Social Gloves he past month, the top 10 of the Billboard board’s Executive of the Week. Boxing Event 200 has contained some familiar faces: Ol- “The reviews were incredible, and everyone was ivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, The Week- posting about the special, but no one realized the music • Snap Reaches nd and Tyler, the Creator, to name a few. wasn’t available,” Arnold tells Billboard. “Within hours 293M Users, Revenue TBut it has also included another name not so used to we assembled an incredible team internally around Bo Sharply Increases being in the upper region of the main music albums and we created a plan to get the music out ASAP.” • Travis Barker chart: Bo Burnham, whose comedy-music album In- Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs) is back up to No. Signs With Warner side: The Songs has held steady in the top 10 of the 8 on the Billboard 200, its fourth week in the top Chappell Music Billboard 200 in four of the five full weeks since its 10 and the first comedy album to reach that mark • My First Show release — only dipping out once to No. 11 — and com- since 2015. What key decision did you make to help Back: Jxdn Makes ing in at No. 8 this week. make that happen? His Live Debut The album, released by Imperial/Republic, is the I reached out to Bo and his team a couple days at the Roxy first comedy album to reach that region since 2015, after Inside launched. I kept going back to Netflix to • Lunay Confirms and is a particular triumph for Tyler Arnold, the Re- listen to the music. The reviews were incredible, and He’s Performing public Records executive vp A&R who is usually more everyone was posting about the special, but no one At Lollapalooza associated with his work with Post Malone, whom realized the music wasn’t available. Within hours we 2021: Exclusive he signed in 2015, or Metro Boomin, with whom he assembled an incredible team internally around Bo • Executive Turntable: inked a joint venture for his Boominati Worldwide la- and we created a plan to get the music out ASAP. Harvey Mason Jr. bel in 2017. But Arnold, who caught Burnham’s Netflix How did you decide to sign Bo’s comedy special Joins NFT Platform; special Inside, from which the album was pulled, saw in the first place? Did you have to convince him to Roc Nation’s New EDITION an opportunity and brought the 30-year-old comedian sign to a record label? to Republic — helping earn himself the title of Bill- (continued) 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 R&B/HIP HOP POWER ISSUE R&B/Hip-Hop dominates every other genre claiming a quarter of all music consumption. On August 7th, Billboard will publish its 5th annual R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list showcasing the producers, creatives, executives and publishers who have made R&B/Hip-Hop the hottest genre on earth. Advertise and congratulate the people who are driving this industry and reach an influential audience of decision-makers in music and pop culture. ON SALE : 8/7 | AD CLOSE: 7/28 | MATER IAL S DUE: 7/29 CONTACT Sp ue Joe Maimone 201.301.5933 | [email protected] LE Lee Ann Photoglo 615.376.7931 | [email protected] 21 Cynthia Mellow 615.352,0265 | [email protected] Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | [email protected] Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | [email protected] Editorial content subject to change Page 3 of 22 IN BRIEF I was on Netflix one night and decided Bo created a masterpiece with Inside — to watch his new special. After the first few I’ve probably watched it 10 times now — but James Brown’s scenes, I was so blown away that I paused it’s impossible to predict what it’s turned it and immediately emailed his team. They into. It feels like this project has become the Heirs Settle didn’t have a partner for the music yet and zeitgeist of pop culture at the moment. after a few meetings, we realized that our Is the comedy route one where you 15-Year Dispute goals and vision aligned for the project. I’ve see room for the label to expand? Would been a fan of Bo’s work for years and he’s we see more of these types of deals in Over Soul Icon’s always had a musical element to his comedy, the future? but nothing like this. I really believed we I would love to work more in comedy. Estate, Song could make a difference. It requires you to think differently and it’s How is the deal different than signing allowed me to work with amazing creatives Publishing Rights a music artist? And does it cover more from different backgrounds. As a kid, I works moving forward, or just this album? bought some really influential comedy al- BY STEVE KNOPPER It’s been an honor to work with Bo on this bums and I think this genre should continue project and we’re excited at the prospect of to get more attention and credit. early 15 years after James many more projects together in the future. With topical songs like “Bezos I” ris- Brown’s death, his children and For an album like this, we had to be more ing in streams after Jeff Bezos’ flight to grandchildren have reached a nimble and move faster. We released the space, how can you promote and work settlement over a legal dispute project a day after the deal was signed to a comedy album differently than you Ninvolving the Godfather of Soul’s lucrative take advantage of all the momentum. would something else? holdings. Brown had specified in a 2000 will What has the label done to get behind We’ve had to think outside the box. The that he would bequeath little to his heirs, the album? song is 58 seconds long, so many of the other than a $2 million scholarship fund for Our top priority has been not to compro- traditional promotion strategies don’t apply. his grandchildren, but his daughters Dean- mise Bo’s vision for the project. The music Between various digital activations and na Brown-Thomas and Yamma Brown, and creative stands for itself, so our biggest viral moments, we’ve continued to educate among others, found a way to inherit poten- objective has been to educate our partners people on the importance of this project and tially millions of dollars. and find new opportunities for the music. song in pop culture today. Although the July 9 settlement terms are Whether it’s streaming activations, viral not public, several of Brown’s children and social moments, or song edits, we bring Bo grandchildren are likely to split up termina- a ton of ideas and let him decide what feels tion rights on the copyrights to Brown’s 900 right. compositions, which according to U.S. law Did you expect this album to do so well cannot be bequeathed as part of a will. These for so long? are potentially incredibly valuable — the AUTHORITATIVE INTELLIGENCE. DELIVERED DIGITALLY. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DELIVERY DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS 2021 ERIKA RECORDS INC. 40TH ANNIVERSARY This year marks the 40th anniversary of Erika Records Inc. CONTACTS founded in 1981 by Erzsebet Liz Dunster, making the company the first ever woman owned vinyl record Joe Maimone 201.301.5933 | [email protected] pressing plant. Originally started as a heavy metal label Dunster scouted bands at legendary venues such as the Lee Ann Photoglo Troubadour and sold records out of the trunk of her Pinto. 615.376.7931 | [email protected] She had one goal in mind: save enough to open her own pressing plant for the sake of creative freedom. She Cynthia Mellow wanted to elevate vinyl records beyond the standard 615.352,0265 | [email protected] round record. Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | [email protected] The company’s DIY approach and commitment to the evolution of vinyl has been key to the success of Erika Ryan O’Donnell Records over the past four decades. The company is a +447843437176 | [email protected] leader in both standard and custom vinyl manufacturing having made puzzle piece records, flower petal records, etch-picture disc combination records, and more. Today Erika Records operates out of a 36,000 square foot facility with over 40 running presses in Buena Park, California and is the only 100% lead free pressing plant. Over the years they have produced vinyl for independent and mainstream artists alike such as The Locust, Nirvana, Snoh Aalegra, MF Doom, Tame Impala, SZA, and Lady Gaga. ISSUE DATE 8/7 | AD CLOSE 7/28 | MATERIALS DUE 7/29 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE APRIL 13, 2020 | PAGE Page 4 5OF of 1922 ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER [email protected] IN BRIEF SamHunt’s Southside Rules Top Country publisherAlbu portionms; of Brown’s Brett songs, includ Y- oungmillion, according ‘Catc to courth’-es documents.