HITS Daily Double : HitsList 05-03-2024

Blighty Beat

PPL PULLS IN RECORD REVENUES

4/11/24

British CMO PPL set a revenue record in in 2023, pulling in £283.5m, the highest total in the org’s 90-year history.

The growth of 4% over 2022 was driven by a rise in income from the use of recorded music in public places , which is up 11% to more than £111m in 2023, surpassing the pre-pandemic high.

PPL’s revenues from the licensing of recorded music for radio, TV and online increased 2.5% to £96.4m in 2023, partly driven by the negotiation of several new licenses for TV services.

International revenue, collected by PPL for the use of members’ music around the world, reached £75.4m last year, which is down 3% on 2022. Growth in collections from the majority of CMOs in 2023 was offset by the impact of declining revenues from monies for past periods, combined with the residual effect of several years of disrupted collections due to the repercussions of COVID-19.

“While much has changed in the 90 years since PPL was formed, the power of music to drive commercial value for businesses in the U.K. and beyond remains ever constant,” said PPL CEO Peter Leathem. “Research repeatedly shows that music increases both consumer dwell time and propensity to buy, and also drives greater productivity and attention to detail in the workplace. More and more businesses are investing in the power of music and its benefits.

“In these somewhat precarious times for performers, we are proud to deliver a consistent stream of income for them and recording rights holders.”

The results follow on from PPL’s 2023 distribution numbers, which hit £276.6m in 2023, up 14.3% year-on-year.

AIM PUTS DAVY IN CHARGE

4/11/24

Association of Independent Music COO Gee Davy is taking over the org as Interim CEO following the resignation of CEO Silvia Montello, who is stepping down for personal reasons.

Davy, who joined the org in 2017, has also been appointed to the new position of Chief Policy Officer and will continue to lead the organization’s work in championing the independent music community in key policy discussions.

“It’s unfortunate that we are losing Silvia so soon into her tenure, but on behalf of the board I wish her well in her next endeavors,” said AIM Chair and Beggars’ Director of Live Licensing Ruth Barlow.

“I’m very pleased that Gee Davy has agreed to step up into a newly expanded role. The board and I are working closely with Gee and the AIM team as we continue to support and promote the independent music sector, delivering and creating value for our community via our membership events and activities schedule, industry affairs work and beyond.”

Montello took over from Paul Pacifico, who left the helm of AIM at the end of 2022, and has led AIM in advocating for its members in ongoing discussions over streaming reform and successfully reformatted the AIM Independent Music Awards.

IVORS HONOR APPLE EXEC SEGAL

4/11/24

Apple’s Global Senior Director of Music Publishing Elena Segal will receive an Ivors Academy Honor in recognition of her contributions to the U.K. music industry.

The Honor celebrates individuals that champion songwriters and composers while creating positive change within the music industry.

Calling Segal “one of the most accomplished and respected music executives in the U.K.,” Ivors Academy Chair Tom Gray said, “throughout her career, Elena has consistently championed the value of songwriters and music publishing. Notably, she has been at the forefront of global music licensing as technology transformed the industry.”

Segal will receive the award at The Ivors ceremony in London on 5/23.

In her current role as Apple’s Global Senior Director of Music Publishing, Segal is responsible for all aspects of Apple’s relationships, whether commercial, strategic, operational or creative, with songwriters, music publishers and other licensors of rights in compositions.

In 2006, she joined iTunes and was directly involved in the store’s expansion across the world. More recently, Segal oversaw the licensing of all music publishing rights ex-U.S. for the launch of Apple Music in more than 100 countries. She also played a key role in the Apple Music Festival that ran for a decade in London.

Segal began her career in music in 2001 as an associate at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP.

GOV'T URGED TO HELP ACHIEVE "FAIR PAY" FOR CREATORS, ARTISTS

4/10/24

The U.K. Government has been urged to introduce measures to improve streaming royalty rates and better remunerate creators for private copying. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee spells it out in a new report from.

Creator Remuneration makes a host of recommendations to achieve “fair remuneration” and improve working conditions across the creative industries.

CMS proposes that the U.K. introduce a payment scheme for private copying (where individuals use digital devices to download, store, copy and share content for private use). The lack of it, and existence of such provisions in other countries, means that payments from abroad are under threat due to a lack of reciprocity, argues the report.

The CMS is also asking for a “package of reforms” relating to royalties from music streaming following on from its Economics of Streaming report that demanded a ‘total reset” of the market. Measures to address the “pitiful returns from streaming” that songwriters and publishing rightsholders, in particular, continue to receive are part of this.

Other recommendations span the protection of creators’ rights when works are being used by AI systems and the appointment of a dedicated person to advocate in the interests of freelance workers.

Umbrella creator body The Council of Music Makers welcomed the report, while criticizing the Government for lack of action three years after the publication of the Economics of Streaming report. “None of the issues around music-maker remuneration have been discussed, let alone addressed,” they say.

“This report provides a good summary of the issues and some of the proposed solutions, with MPs stating that they ‘expect to see tangible steps to improve musicians’ remuneration and performer rights in the next 12 months.’ For this to happen we need stakeholders from across the music industry to stop denying reality and to, instead, come to the table with solutions, whether that’s the copyright reforms proposed by MPs or a negotiated agreement.”

Label trade body the BPI is naturally less enthusiastic. Org CEO Dr Jo Twist welcomed the concerns around generative AI but said the report “fails to recognize that, with the support of their labels, more U.K. artists are succeeding in the streaming economy than ever before and that the real challenge facing all of us is how we can enable continued growth so even more creators stand to benefit.”

BELLA FIGURA BANKROLLED

4/9/24

London-based label and publisher Bella Figura Music, led by Alexi Cory-Smith, has closed a significant equity funding round to expand its portfolio of music catalogs.

Private equity firm Freshstream (a previous investor of BFM) led the round, with co-investment secured from Canadian pension fund OPTrust, a strategic family office and a Dutch private equity investor.

Cory-Smith, who founded BFM in 2022 alongside Neelesh Prabhu following a successful tenure leading BMG U.K., said: “We have achieved a lot in just over two years but there is so much more we have planned. We aim to continue building and enhancing our catalog of beautiful music while generating significant value for creators and rights owners.

“Bella Figura is built for the digital music age, unburdened by legacy systems with a strategy that truly reflects how we all access and consume music in today’s world.”

In the last six months, BFM has acquired the music catalogs of Jeff Silverman (Aloe Blacc, Adele, Lee Fields, Truth & Soul) and Adrian Wright (The Human League).

They build upon the company’s existing collection, which include David Gray’s record label IHT, R3HAB’s pre-2022 recordings catalog, and Guy Chambers’ publish catalogue, which includes Robbie Williams hits such as “Angels,” “Feel” and “Let Me Entertain You.”

U.K. MIDWEEKS: LIBERTINES RETURN

4/8/24

The Libertines are heading for their first U.K. Official Albums #1 in 20 years as seven other new releases occupy slots in the midweek Top 10. Over on singles, Benson Boone, Beyoncé and Hozier are battling for the top spot.

All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade (EMI), The Libertines’ fourth set, could become their first #1 album since 2004.

The debut from indie rock band The K’s, I Wonder if the World Knows? (LAB), could hit #2 on Friday; Conan Gray’s Found Heaven (Island) is also new at #3. Feeder could score an 11th Top 10 album as Black / Red (Big Teeth Music) sits at #4. The Black Keys’ Ohio Players (Nonesuch Records) is #6.

J. Cole’s Might Delete Later (Interscope) is #7 while Khruangbin’s A LA SALA (Dead Oceans) starts at #8 and Vampire Weekend’s Only God Was Above Us (Columbia) is #9.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, Boone’s “Beautiful Things” (Warner Records) is set to return to #1 though “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” (Columbia/Parkwood) by Beyoncé and “Too Sweet” (Island) by Hozier are both less than 1k chart sales behind, at #2 and #3 respectively.

Artemas’ “i like they way you kiss me” (Parlophone) is up one to #5, while “Austin” (Warner Records) by Dasha is set to rise seven to #8. “Alibi” (Atlantic) by Ella Henderson and Rudimental is up to #9 from #14 thanks to a new remix featuring Natasha Bedingfield.

U.K. CHARTS: BEY BREAKS RECORDS

4/5/24

Beyoncé is the first Black artist to take a country album to #1 in the U.K. and has the first country Official Chart double with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” topping singles.

COWBOY CARTER (Columbia/Parkwood) topped the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart on 40k sales this week. Over on singles, “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” logs a fifth non-consecutive week at the top, tallying 5.5m streams over the last seven days. It’s one of three tracks from the album in today’s Top 10: “Jolene” follows at #8 and “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus is #9.

Elsewhere on albums, GUTS (Geffen) by Olivia Rodrigo lifts one to #2 following the release of its GUTS (spilled) edition.

Oxford rock band Ride are #8 with their seventh record, Interplay (Wichita Recordings). Sum 41’s final set, Heaven :x: Hell (Rise Records), is their highest-charting album in eight years, landing at #26.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart, “Too Sweet” (Island) by Hozier jumps four to a new peak at #4.

DJ Artemas has his first U.K. Top 10 single with “i like the way you kiss me” (Parlophone) rising seven to #6. Irish DJ duo NewEra rise into the Top 20 with “Birds in the Sky” (Warner Records) at #20.

UMG TOPS U.K. Q1 BESTSELLERS

4/4/24

At the end of Q1, Noah Kahan has the bestselling single and album in the U.K. It’s the cherry on the cake for UMG, which counts nine out of the top 10 albums YTD.

“Stick Season” (Republic) is #1 on the singles Q1 Top 10 with over 850k U.K. sales in 2024 alone. It’s the most-streamed song of the year so far, with 99m streams since the beginning of January. Since its release, the track, which spent seven weeks at #1, has tallied over 1.4m chart units in total (it first charted at #69 in the U.K. in October last year).

Stick Season, Kahan’s third album tops the Q1 U.K. Top 10 with 123k 2024 sales. It’s the first of an impressive nine entries for UMG, which span releases from The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Eminem, Elton John, ABBA and Ariana Grande.

UMG also rules the singles Q1 Top 10 with four entries. The remaining three are “Murder on the Dancefloor” (Polydor) by Sophie Ellis-Bextor at #3; “yes, and?” (Republic) by Grande at #8; and “Cruel Summer” (EMI) by Swift at #10.

Sony and Warner have three singles each in the Top 10. Warner counts the final albums entry with 50 Years — Don’t Stop (Rhino) by Fleetwood Mac at #6.

Official Singles Chart 2024 to End of Q1