Ice Spice’s manager is the son of millionaire UMG ceo lucian grainge

[br82186]

Warner Music takes majority stake in label run by son of top rival

Elliot Grainge has criticised major record companies as ‘a conveyor belt’

www.ft.com

Warner Music takes majority stake in label run by son of top rival​

Elliot Grainge has criticised major record companies as ‘a conveyor belt’​

8 minutes ago

Among the artists backed by 10K Projects is the rapper Ice Spice © Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Warner Music has acquired a majority stake in record company 10K Projects, the upstart label behind the rapper Ice Spice, for an undisclosed sum, according to a person familiar with the matter.

10K Projects was founded in 2016 by Elliot Grainge, the son of Universal Music chief Lucian Grainge — Warner Music’s rival.

Warner, the third-largest music company behind Universal and Sony, views the deal as a way to invest in the next generation of leaders in the music business and on up-and-coming talent.

In spite of his father’s role atop the music industry, the 29-year-old Elliot Grainge recently criticised major record labels, telling the Los Angeles Times that they are “a conveyor belt” whose power has been “completely decimated” in the past few years. “Essentially they’re a bank,” he said.

10K Projects will exist as its own label within Warner Music’s portfolio, which includes Atlantic Records, Elektra and others. Elliot Grainge will continue as chief executive of 10K.

Grainge on Tuesday said the deal “provides us with the backing, the collective expertise and vision to empower our artists and our employees on the next phase of our journey”.

Warner did not disclose the terms of the transaction, describing it on Tuesday as a “joint venture” with 10K Projects. “Together, we’ll grow our investment in artistry and accelerate the pace of our innovation,” said Robert Kyncl, Warner Music chief executive.

The deal comes as Warner and the other major labels, who combined control two-thirds of the music market, have been buying up independent record companies.

Warner in 2021 agreed to buy hip-hop label 300 Entertainment for more than $400mn, as well as Russian indie label Zhara Music. Sony Music in 2021 paid $430mn to buy independent music company AWAL.

Warner Music, home to Dua Lipa, Lizzo and Ed Sheeran, is controlled by Access Industries, the holding company for Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonard Blavatnik, through supervoting shares.

Shares in Warner Music have fallen about 5 per cent this year. Warner reported it made net profit of $124mn in the second quarter, as revenue rose 9 per cent from a year ago to $1.6bn. “We continue to invest in new creative talent,” Kyncl told investors last month.

Welp! But at the same time fcck him for unleashing 69 unto the world

 

[Piff Perkins]

I support Ice Spice in anything she does, anything she loves, a sister from another mother sent from above.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Warner Music and Elliot Grainge’s 10K Projects Strike Joint Venture

Warner Music Group and Elliot Grainge's 10K Projects strike a partnership, bringing the label over from Universal Music -- led by Grainge's father.

www.billboard.com

Warner Music Group, Elliot Grainge’s 10K Projects Strike Joint Venture – Billboard
Dan Rys
Elliot Grainge
Elliot Grainge Joseph Morrisonnone
Warner Music Group and Elliot Grainge’s 10K Projects announced a new joint venture today (Sept. 5). As part of the deal, 10K will become a standalone label under the WMG umbrella, joining the likes of Atlantic Records and Warner Records among WMG’s collection of record labels.

Grainge, the son of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, initially launched 10K Projects in 2016 under Universal’s Capitol Music Group umbrella, with many of its projects distributed through Virgin Music. The label found success with artists like XXXTentacion, Trippie Redd, iann dior, Internet Money, controversial artist 6ix9ine and, most recently, Ice Spice.

As part of the switch from UMG to WMG, Eliot Grainge will remain as 10K’s CEO, and co-presidents Zach Friedman and Tony Talamo will also remain in place atop the label’s leadership ranks. Additionally, Grainge will join WMG’s global leadership team, the company said.

“Joining Warner Music Group provides us with the backing, the collective expertise and vision to empower our artists and our employees on the next phase of our journey,” Grainge said in a statement, pointing to Warner Recorded Music CEO Max Lousada and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl as reasons behind the switch. “Max and Robert have been making all the right moves to position WMG for the future in what I think is one of the most fertile and exciting growth periods for the global music business. They have also shown that they value the kind of independent spirit and commitment to artist development that has made 10K successful so far. I know I speak for Zach, Tony and the entire team when I say how excited we are to get started in our new home.”

10K will be bringing along its full roster of artists, which also includes Surfaces, Aitch, YTB Fatt, SXMPRA and COIN, among others, while through its Homemade Projects subsidiary it also manages influencers and has a merchandise operation that works with several artists as well. Ice Spice will continue to record for 10K Projects/Capitol Music Group.

“Elliot and 10K don’t just discover original talent, they understand how to ignite fandom and create fresh impact with each release,” Lousada said in a statement. “It’s a label full of next generation possibilities — with its artists, its leader, and its team. As 10K joins our thriving network of independent music brands, we’re committed to giving it the freedom and backing to reach new heights.”

“We welcome 10K’s extraordinary artists, its talented founder Elliot, and his entrepreneurial team to WMG,” Kyncl added. “Together, we’ll grow our investment in artistry and accelerate the pace of our innovation.”

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

 

[Stir Fry]

niccas hate just to hate, seems like her manager is doing a good job

exactly they saw a star and have been doing a good job at making her one

Looks more like a full moon to me

 

[Cladyclad]

Who cares lol

she a baddie showing her panty

Deli is too

 

[ABlackMan]

If you don’t like ice spice, you ain’t black

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Universal Music strikes deal to reshape streaming economics

Agreement with Deezer aims to boost royalties for artists and labels and reduce payouts for ‘noise’

www.ft.com

Universal Music strikes deal to reshape streaming economics​

Agreement with Deezer aims to boost royalties for artists and labels and reduce payouts for ‘noise’​

8 hours ago

Under planned changes, if a user searches ‘Taylor Swift’ on the Deezer app and listens to one of her songs, it will be counted as four streams for royalty calculations © Sarah Yenesel/EPA-EFE
Universal Music has struck a deal to reshape the economics of music streaming, with changes aimed at directing more money to professional musicians and away from a “sea of noise” that chief executive Lucian Grainge has criticised this year.

The world’s largest record company and the French streaming service Deezer have agreed an arrangement they expect will lift payouts to professional artists by 10 per cent, in the first big shift in the music streaming business model since the launch of Spotify in 2008.

As part of the new model, streams of songs from professional artists — defined as those who generate at least 1,000 listens a month — will be given double the weight of streams from non-professionals when calculating royalty payments.

“This is a massive change in the way the music industry will work,” said Deezer chief executive Jeronimo Folgueira. “We have 90mn tracks and many of them are just noise, like literally noise, the sound of a washing machine and rain. It is fundamentally wrong that 30 seconds of the recording of a washing machine gets paid the same as the latest single by Harry Styles,” he said.

If a listener actively seeks out a song or musician, the weight of those streams will be doubled again. For example, if a user searches “Taylor Swift” on the Deezer app and listens to one of her songs, it will be counted as four streams for royalty calculations.

The goal is to reduce the money flowing towards amateurs, bots and white noise soundtracks. Goldman Sachs estimates the “long tail” of such content generated about $900mn in royalties last year.

Universal chief digital officer Michael Nash told the Financial Times that the changes would be “revenue positive” for the company, which is home to stars including Swift, Elton John and Drake.

Lucian Grainge, chief of Universal Music. The company says the changes will be ‘revenue positive’ © Jesse Grant/Getty Images
The changes, if replicated more widely across other streaming services, would have significant implications for the music business. Services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer have revived the industry, growing sales for nearly a decade. But the way streaming money is paid out has remained the same, a source of frustration among music companies and musicians that feel short-changed.

In the current structure, listeners’ monthly subscription fees are pooled together into one royalty pot that is divided among copyright holders based on their share of listening. Royalties are paid the same regardless of who created the song or whether the song was listened to passively via an algorithm or actively by searching for it. As long as someone listens for more than 30 seconds, the stream counts.

Goldman Sachs projected the total music streaming market would make $38bn in revenue this year. The streaming services pay music rights holders such as Universal about two-thirds of every dollar they collect. On average, streamers pay about $0.005 per stream, or $5 for 1,000 streams. “Listening to a 31-second song by an independent artist, a full three-minute song by a popular artist, and five minutes of the sound of rain is all treated equally,” the Goldman analysts noted.

Music executives have expressed concern that fraud and clutter have proliferated on streaming services, taking royalty money away from record labels and artists. More than 120,000 tracks are being uploaded to Spotify daily in 2023, compared with only 20,000 in 2018.

Deezer will roll out the new payment model in October in France, with plans to expand globally from January. Folgueira said the 1,000 stream threshold was “pretty low”, adding that only “human artists”, not AI-generated songs, would qualify to have their royalty share weighted more. Songs that are detected as “noise” will not receive any royalty payments.

The move would “ensure we are better supporting and rewarding artists at all stages of their careers, whether they have 1,000 fans or 100,000 or 100mn”, Nash said.

Universal is also in talks with other streaming platforms including Spotify, Tidal and SoundCloud about changing the way they pay royalties.

Sceptics say the push to change the streaming business is a defensive move by the big labels who fear the streaming boom is slowing. “Universal Music, Sony and Warner need to maintain revenue growth in order to keep investors happy. So you start looking for non-organic growth,” said Midia analyst Mark Mulligan.

Deezer’s Folgueira said the changes were meant to help artists who wanted to make a living from music. “We are taking away incentives for people to upload a tonne of crap that has very little value for the actual listeners.”

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

@AMcV'88

 

[Flav]

I dont give a damn about none of those stripper female rappers. I honestly can’t name 3 songs from any of them. I just wanna see them on Porn Hub.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

 

[Shadow King]

Cats was being disingenuous as hell in here...