Bulletin YOUR DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE MAY 20, 2021 Page 1 of 31 INSIDE Eurovision’s Massive Audience Is • Triller & Universal Finally Getting Labels’ Attention Music Group Sign Licensing Deal, BY RICHARD SMIRKE Resolving Dispute Over Royalties LONDON — For years television viewers in the sion final. Despite songs performed in languages other United States and United Kingdom have dismissed than English typically doing poorly in the competi- • Deezer Appoints the Eurovision song contest as a kitsch joke that was tion, , president of Warner Music Jeronimo Folgueira Guillermo Gonzalez as New CEO better known for earnest power ballads, extravagant Iberia says the label is “aiming to open new markets costumes and contestants receiving nul points (no and for Blas’ music to travel everywhere.” He adds, • Inside Spotify’s points), than a potential road to international stardom. “This is a great opportunity for him and for us to suc- First-Ever ‘Fan Study’ But lately the song contest — most famous for in- ceed in other territories.” Revealing Data & troducing ABBA to the world in 1974 — has started to As the music business grows increasingly global Best Practices become more attractive to major record labels. That’s thanks to streaming, Warner is not alone in looking • In 2021, How in no small part thanks to the decline of viewership of to capitalize on Eurovision’s profile and audience. Do We Define an the Grammys and the MTV Video Music Awards, the Among this year’s favorites to win is Italian rock ‘Indie’ Publisher? massive audience of 180 million viewers that Euro- band Måneskin, signed to Sony Music Italy, whose (Guest Column) vision commands — and last year’s hit movie star- Eurovision entry “Zitti e buoni” (Shut up and behave) • CEO of TikTok ring Will Ferrell. has earned more than 20 million combined views on Owner ByteDance Take the case of Blas Cantó, Spain’s entry in YouTube since March 3. (The group’s official Eurovi- Stepping Down Eurovision’s 65th edition, which wraps up Saturday. sion video has 2.5 million views.) Already an established star in his home country, Måneskin is one of five Sony acts taking part in Cantó, 29, is a former member of boyband Auryn who this year’s competition. Others include Maltese MARKET WATCH topped the Spanish charts in 2018 with his debut solo singer Destiny and Australia’s Montaigne – the only PAGE 28 album Complicado and its hit single “Él No Soy.” contestant who has not travelled to Rotterdam due to SONGWRITERS Warner Music Spain, Cantó’s label, is confident that COVID-19 safety concerns and will deliver her perfor- & PRODUCERS both Cantó and his song “Voy a Quedarme” (I’ll Stay) mance via pre-recorded video. Universal Music has 10 CHARTS will make a big impression when he takes the stage acts performing, including France’s Barbara Pravi, PAGES 29 - 31 Saturday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, for the Eurovi- (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 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. Marcia Olival 786.586.4901 | [email protected] Building on this platform, Billboard and Rolling Stone will be joining together for the entire month Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | [email protected] of June to celebrate love, acceptance, diversity and what it means to be queer in music. All month long, Billboard and Rolling Stone will be the go-to destination for music and entertainment Pride content. Leveraging our iconic voices within music and culture, Billboard and Rolling Stone will curate a mix of engaging video and social content featuring thought-provoking panels, heartfelt performances, and glam tutorials – all fostering a community of consumers and influencers in celebration of LGBTQIA+. ISSUE DATE 6/5 | AD CLOSE 5/26 | MATERIALS DUE 5/27 BB House_Pride_06_042421.indd 1 4/21/21 10:00 AM Page 3 of 31 IN BRIEF Germany’s Jendrik and Congolese-Swedish contest, which had to be canceled due to ton and Rudimental, and sang vocals singer Tusse. Warner is represented by the COVID-19 pandemic.) The movie, star- on Armin van Buuren’s 2018 hit “Therapy” Cantó, Lithuania’s The Roop and Romanian ring Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, follows — will perform his latest song, “Embers,” in singer Roxen. two Icelandic singers as they pursue their Rotterdam. Part of the reason for the heightened dream to represent their country at Eurovi- “What the BBC asked us to do is deliver interest from the music industry is Eurovi- sion. It played well with Eurovision fans something that we can be proud of, that was sion’s huge — and consistent — audience. and was the top-streamed item in the U.S. credible and wouldn’t sit amiss alongside Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, on Netflix its first weekend. (The film’s other U.K. music, and that’s what we have Israel — the last time the event took place soundtrack debuted at No. 5 on Billboard’s done,” says Alistair Norbury, president of — was broadcast live in 41 countries and Soundtracks chart and one of its tracks, repertoire and marketing at BMG U.K. “This watched by an audience of 182 million, “Husavik,” is a contender for an Oscar for is the first step in changing the perception making it the world’s biggest live music best original song.) [of Eurovision] in the U.K. and putting us event, according to the European Broad- The many eyeballs watching Eurovision back to where we were when we used to be casting Union (EBU), which organizes the offer an unrivaled chance to promote artists consistently putting in great entries.” contest. like Cantó internationally and build lasting Norbury says that before putting Newman By comparison, this year’s Grammy careers, says Gonzalez. “This is going to be forward for Eurovision, BMG already was Awards drew 9.2 million viewers, down the most important milestone in his career,” plotting a solo artist career for the singer- 51% from 2020 and the lowest rated show he says. songwriter. The competition, the label exec since 2006. Just 6.4 million people watched Since 2016, the United Kingdom, which says, provides a fast-track to international 2020’s MTV Video Music Awards, the third- last won the competition in 1997, has se- markets through the TV broadcast and ac- lowest rated show of the last seven years. lected its Eurovision entries via a televised companying marketing opportunities that February’s Super Bowl, the biggest U.S. singing competition, in line with many come with it. “I look at the promo schedule television event annually, drew 96.4 million European nations. It changed tack after for James and it’s the sort of first-class plan TV and online viewers — a 14-year low. singer Michael Rice finished last in 2019. that perhaps might come together on your With a much-hyped guest performance Keen to avoid the same humiliation second album, but he’s getting it on his first from Madonna, the 2019 Eurovision nearly again, U.K. broadcaster the BBC asked a few proper single,” Norbury says. doubled that, commanding a 36.7% share of labels to pitch them ideas for 2020. BMG Notable prime-time spots include TV the viewing audience across 40 European won the tender process and put forward interviews on BBC News and popular U.K. territories, the EBU said. what they consider to be a game-changing breakfast shows Good Morning Britain (ITV) Then in 2020, Netflix brought Eurovi- heavyweight entry: BRIT Award-winning and BBC Breakfast, as well as the two Eu- sion to a wider U.S. audience when it and Grammy-nominated singer-songwrit- rovision semi-finals, which are broadcast released the musical comedy film Eurovi- er James Newman. globally in the days leading up to the final. sion Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Newman — who has writing credits Newman and Cantó also teamed up for an (It was meant to coincide with the song with Calvin Harris, Kesha, Toni Brax- English language version of Cantó’s “Voy a AUTHORITATIVE INTELLIGENCE. DELIVERED DIGITALLY. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DELIVERY DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS 2 0 2 1 INDIE L A B E L P O W E R P L AY E R S On June 5th, Billboard will publish CONTACTS its fourth annual Indie Label Power Joe Maimone Players List. This special feature in 201.301.5933 | [email protected] advance of Indie Week (6/14-6/17) and Lee Ann Photoglo the 10th Anniversary Libera Awards will 615.376.7931 | [email protected] profile leading executives at top independent record labels, publishing Cynthia Mellow companies and distribution companies. 615.352,0265 | [email protected] Positioning themselves as the driving force Marcia Olival behind the success of independent music, 786.586.4901 | [email protected] these executives contribute to the independent music sector and to the Ryan O’Donnell +447843437176 | [email protected] world of music at large.