Gracie Abrams & Her All-Female Team to Be Honored by Alicia Keys at "She Is The Music"On March 27th, She Is The Music (SITM) will bring together industry leaders at The Peppermint Club in Los Angeles for a powerful evening celebrating 50 impactful women in the music industry. Each of the 50 honorees will share their spotlight with another woman in the business, reinforcing the importance of lifting each other up and creating more opportunities for women at every level.Global superstar and She Is The Music co-founder Alicia Keys will honor one of music’s fastest-rising stars, Gracie Abrams and her team for their groundbreaking achievements in an industry where female-led teams are still the exception rather than the norm. As part of the celebration, each honoree will receive one of Barbie’s newly unveiled Career Of The Year: Women In Music dolls, a Musical Artist and Tour Manager duo created to spotlight women in the music industry.While women continue to dominate music’s biggest cultural moments, the leadership behind the scenes still skews overwhelmingly male. That’s why She Is The Music’s mission—to increase the number of women working in all facets of music—has never been more urgent. The event will bring together artists, executives, and advocates to recognize women who are shaping the future of the industry and pushing for a more inclusive landscape.Gracie Abrams said, “Being surrounded by such an incredible team of women has changed the way I see everything. They’re not only insanely talented in their individual capacities, but also intentional about supporting each other. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from each of them. I’m deeply honored to be recognized by She Is The Music, an organization that has done so much to acknowledge and uplift women in this industry. I hope our team is a small example of what’s possible when women support each other and build together.”Alicia Keys added, “Gracie Abrams and her incredible team are living proof of what happens when women uplift each other—when we step into our power, we change the game. In an industry where female-led teams are still the exception, their success is a reminder that we belong in every room, at every table, leading every conversation. She Is The Music is about breaking barriers, opening doors, and making sure the next generation of women in music don’t just have a seat at the table—they build the table.”Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman and CEO and She Is The Music co-founder Jody Gerson said, “Women supporting women is at the very core of She is the Music’s mission. Creating a sisterhood of accomplished women and the next generations of working women across all facets of the music industry is our collective path forward to success.  We are delighted to host our inaugural Women Sharing the Spotlight and to celebrate so many wonderful women in our business.  We are also making a powerful statement by honoring Gracie Abrams and her team for embodying the spirit of sisterhood.  This recognition is not only well deserved but also a testament to the fact that women in our industry can reach the highest levels of success on their own terms—especially when they uplift and support one another in meaningful ways.”As part of the evening’s program, TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson and USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Founder Dr. Stacy L. Smith will take the stage to present key findings from the newly released Inclusion in the Music Business report, a study that takes a hard look at who holds power in music—and why the pace of progress remains far too slow.The Inclusion in the Music Business report, conducted by USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative in partnership with Believe and TuneCore, aligns with She Is The Music’s overall mission and comes at a time when DEI programs are facing increasing scrutiny across corporate America—making its findings even more urgent. The study examines 2,793 executives across 106 music companies and reveals a stark reality about who holds power in music:•  84.2% of the most senior executives at major music companies are white men.• Only 13.2% of CEO/President roles are held by women.• Just 5.3% of top executives are women of color—an unchanged figure since 2021.The full report can be viewed HERE.“In recent years, our work has shown that women and people of color are increasing their presence on the popular charts as artists,” said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, the study’s lead author. “But this progress is not matched by the executive ranks that are responsible for the business of music. It is clear that there are still real discrepancies in who gets to lead.”“We can’t afford to sit back and wait for this issue to fix itself,” said Andreea Gleeson. “Artists are pushing boundaries and redefining music every day—it’s time for the executive ranks to reflect that same diversity and innovation.”The She Is The Music event will bring together artists, executives, and advocates to celebrate women leading change in music while underscoring the work still needed to create true equity. With Gracie Abrams and her team of women being honored and TuneCore and USC Annenberg presenting new research on executive disparities, the night will serve as both a recognition of progress and a call for continued industry-wide action.The She Is The Music event is made possible through the support of industry leaders who share the mission of creating a more inclusive music business. The Hollywood Reporter serves as the event’s exclusive media partner, with Live Nation Women also lending their support to champion women in music.The post Gracie Abrams & Her All-Female Team to Be Honored by Alicia Keys at "She Is The Music" first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

From Sony’s deepfake takedowns to Ackman’s UMG stake sale… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
Source

Global Music Market 2024 tops $36.2B, streaming growth slowsThe global recorded music market reached $36.2 billion in 2024, growing 6.5%. However, streaming's growth is slowing, and DSPs are gaining more power, reports MIDiA.
The post Global Music Market 2024 tops $36.2B, streaming growth slows appeared first on Hypebot.

Live Music Industry News: Wayne Forte’s for Rent • Brooklyn Mirage reborn • ILMC wraps • MoS + Dice • promotions @ PRGIn the latest live music industry news, veteran booking agent Wayne Forte is auctioning a private lunch meeting as a fundraiser for the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO).
The post Live Music Industry News: Wayne Forte’s for Rent • Brooklyn Mirage reborn • ILMC wraps • MoS + Dice • promotions @ PRG appeared first on Hypebot.

Breaking Into the Music Industry Early Bird Special Ending SoonREASONS TO BUY EARLY BIRD TICKETS FOR BREAKING INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRYEvent Set for May 1-3 in Indio, CAUNBEATABLE VALUE FOR THE PRICE:The cost of your ticket is less than the value of what you're receiving in breakfasts, lunches, drinks, exclusive parties, and a swag bag! It's a no-brainer investment in your music career.SAVE MORE BEFORE PRICES GO UP:Ticket prices increase after March 24, so locking in early means huge savings for both students and non-students.SECURE YOUR SPOT: The event is expected to sell out, and early bird tickets ensure you don't miss out on this game-changing opportunity.EXCLUSIVE NETWORKING:Get a head start connecting with top music executives, producers, and influencers who will be mentoring and sharing industry secrets.PLAN YOUR TRIP WITH EASE:Buying your ticket early gives you more time to book travel and accommodations at the best rates before prices go up.GAIN INSIDER ACCESS:Learn proven strategies from industry leaders that can fast-track your success in music — whether you're an artist, producer, or entrepreneur.MORE TIME TO PREPARE:By securing your spot early, you can prepare questions and research speakers to get the most out of the event.NO LAST-MINUTE STRESS:Avoid the price hikes and ticket rush by locking in your ticket now — peace of mind, plus all the extra perks included!Breaking Into the Music Industry is a one-of-a-kind, 2-day experience designed to inspire and educate aspiring artists, entrepreneurs, college students, and industry professionals. Taking place May 1 through 3, 2025, in Palm Springs, CA, this event will feature top music executives and industry leaders offering mentorship, actionable strategies, and insider knowledge to attendees.Tickets and event details are available now at this location.Speakers are as follows:Rich Best  —Global Tour Promoter, Live NationMatt Sorum — Guns N Roses , Velvet Revolver , The Cult, Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy award winning Musician Ryan Harlacher — Music Agent, Creative Artist AgencyCory Brennan — Founder and CEO of 5B Artist ManagementJohn Feldmann — Record Producer and MusicianKasey Mckee — Music Agent, Creative Artist AgencySean Akhavan — Festival Producer, Artist ManagementVinnie Capizzi — President of 1Fifty1 Inc and West Coast Concessions Keli Tomack — Managing Principal, Epic Insurance Entertainment & SportPeter Kahn — CEO of Patriark Records and Fight Game AdvisorsBobby Alt — Artist & EntrepreneurJason May — CEO of Weird BeveragesRyan Borba — Managing Editor, PollstarSam Simmons — Site ArchitectKylie Zinsser — Festival ProductionBlasko — Manager, MarketerAmy Sciarretto — Owner and Publicist, Atom Splitter PRMatt Rosenblum — Tour Manager, Production Manager, TechDave Brooks — Senior Director of Live Music + Touring (Billboard)Jennifer Clemens — Makeup ArtistMatt Pinfield — Author + Syndicated Radio + TV HostBelle Popoff — Sponsorship DirectorJoe Muller — Former Mayor,  Dana Point, CAJosh Bernstein - Producer + Publisher The post Breaking Into the Music Industry Early Bird Special Ending Soon first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square to raise $1.4bn from sale of 2.7% stake in UMG (report)'We believe UMG is one of the best businesses we have ever owned,' said Ackman on X today
Source

How To Sell More Tickets To Your Next ShowAfter you've listed your shows on Bandsintown and adding them your website, how do sell as many tickets as possible? From exclusive offers to hidden event pages, we've got five creative ways to boost ticket sales.
The post How To Sell More Tickets To Your Next Show appeared first on Hypebot.

Recorded music market 2024: $36.2 billion, up 6.5%MIDiA has just released its annual recorded music market shares report. Clients can access the full report and the accompanying massive (!) data set here. For the rest of you, here are some highlights from the report.

Global recorded music growth has oscillated through the 2020s and 2024 continued that pattern, up 6.5% to $36.2 billion after 9.4% growth in 2023. (Excluding expanded rights, the total was $32.1 billion). Given that the first half of the 2020s was characterised by global upheaval and uncertainty, shaped by factors such as the pandemic and rising inflation and interest rates, 6,5% growth was no small achievement. But global disruption is not going away – 2025 has thus far picked up the baton and sprinted with it. The music business is going to have to get used to operating in challenging global circumstances, even before considering a growing catalogue of disruptive industry specific trends such as, bifurcation, the rise of the Global South and a fast-maturing streaming market.

Streaming still dominates revenues but its impact is lessening. For the first time ever, its share of total revenues declined slightly in 2024, down from 61.5% to 61.3%, with streaming growing slightly slower than the total market to reach $22.2 billion. Streaming is no longer the market maker. Its contribution to total market growth was down by more than a fifth compared to 2022. The streaming revenue slowdown has been on the horizon for many years and – despite price increases – it has now arrived. Super premium cannot come soon enough.

On top of this, physical was down -4.8%, carrying on its very own 2020s yo-yo growth pattern (up, down, up, down). So where did all the growth come from? Other i.e. performance, sync and expanded rights. Expanded rights (merch etc) were up to $4.1 billion, reflecting the recorded music businesses success in monetising fandom. Other as a whole was up 17.3% while Sony Music pulled up a forest of trees, seeing its ‘other’ revenue up by 38.6% in 2024.

In fact, Sony Music had a good year all round. UMG remained comfortably the world’s largest label with revenues of $10.5 billion but for the second successive year, Sony Music Group (SMG) was the fastest growing major label, increasing revenues by 10.2% to grow market share 700 basis points to 21.7%. SMG was the fastest growing major label in the first half of the decade, growing by a total of 73.9% between 2020 and 2024. The only other market constituent to grow share was non-major labels, up to 29.6% market share. Artists Direct meanwhile (self-releasing artists) felt the pinch of new royalty structures, with revenues slower than the market to reach $2.0 billion. This despite the fact that the number of self-releasing artists grew by 17.2% to reach 8.2 million, with Chinese streaming services Tencent and NetEase seeing particularly strong growth.

One of the most important market trends though, is the growing gap between DSPs and labels and distributors. Streaming services are both growing revenue faster than rightsholders and are widening the growth gap. DSPs grew revenue three times faster than labels in 2024 and the rate of growth was up three years running. Despite working within tightly set rightsholder constraints, DSPs are learning how to improve margin through a diverse mix of tactics including content mix (e.g., podcasts, audiobooks), acquiring cheaper music (e.g., production libraries, exclusive commissions, generative AI), licensing discounts (e.g., audiobook bundles) and charging labels for access to audiences (e.g., Spotify Discovery Mode). 

All in all, a solid year for the recorded music market, but with warning signs: labels aren’t keeping pace with DSP growth and despite keeping the long tail of Artists Direct quiet with new licensing structures, more artists than ever are deciding to release without labels. Eventually they (and smaller indie labels) will take heed of the ‘you’re not welcome here’ sign on streaming’s door and build their audiences elsewhere. This will be a short-term win for bigger labels, but long-term risk, with this new lane being where much of tomorrow’s culture will be made. In case you forgot, Bifurcation is coming.

Note: we scaled down some of our historical numbers slightly to reflect some double counting of independent label revenue distributed by other independent labels

Songs in Film and TV: Which songs are used most?The relationship between film and and TV and music has always been strong, but these songs have been used so often that their identity is shaped by on-screen appearances.
The post Songs in Film and TV: Which songs are used most? appeared first on Hypebot.

Gibson Certified Vintage Launches Next Round of Rare, Highly-Collectible GuitarsGibson - the iconic American-made and leading instrument brand—has a legacy of making world-class instruments since 1894 when Orville Gibson was crafting archtop mandolins. As a natural extension of Gibson’s passion for its unique instruments and the stories they tell, the history-making Gibson Certified Vintage program offers collectible vintage guitars authenticated and certified directly by Gibson, with a new limited lifetime warranty and a certificate of vintage authenticity. All Gibson Certified Vintage guitars are sold via the Gibson Garage in Nashville, TN, call (615) 933-6000; select models will be available for purchase via https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Certified-Vintage.Today, the Gibson Certified Vintage program premieres the next collection of guitars: a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 1957 Gibson ES-225TD, 1958 Gibson Les Paul TV Junior, 1964 Gibson SG Special, and a 1966 Epiphone Century E422T. “P-90s have been the sound of Gibson electric guitars for the better part of a century, and this release is a small celebration of that,” says Mitch Conrad, Gibon Certified Vintage Manager. “I'm particularly fond of the 1957 Gibson ES-225TD; it's this great combination of the specs of an ES-295 in the thinline package of an ES-330. Don't be fooled by how clean these guitars are—they're a joy to play, and they sound fantastic.”A world first, the Gibson Certified Vintage collection offers collectors an incredible opportunity to own extraordinary instruments, sourced and authenticated by Gibson. Gibson Certified Vintage guitars feature one-of-a-kind Golden Era blue-chip guitars, unique, one-of-a-kind prototypes, celebrity-owned guitars, as well as 70s and 80s models directly from the Gibson Vault. In an industry first, all Gibson Certified Vintage guitars are sold with a brand new limited lifetime warranty. All guitars arrive with a detailed letter of appraisal confirming the provenance and history of the instrument, a certificate of authenticity signed by Gibson’s Certified Vintage Manager, Mitch Conrad, and an array of unique extras.Explore the next guitars to debut in the Gibson Certified Vintage collection below and check back for refreshed vintage offerings as each guitar is sold; for all details, visit https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Certified-Vintage.The post Gibson Certified Vintage Launches Next Round of Rare, Highly-Collectible Guitars first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Spotify stock up on strong Loud & Clear royalty report[NYSE: SPOT] Spotify stock beat the market Wednesday rising sharply after the release of it annual Loud & Clear royalty payment transparency report.
The post Spotify stock up on strong Loud & Clear royalty report appeared first on Hypebot.

France’s recorded music revenues reached $1.1bn in 2024, up 7% YoYThe growing popularity of music streaming and a boost from the Paris Olympics propelled France to a large increase in music exports
Source

Spotify Loud & Clear: $10B, Global Fandom & A Year of ChangeSpotify's new Loud & Clear transparency report shows payments to the music industry of $10 billion in 2024, half of which went to independents. It's the first L&C since Liz Pelly's expose of streaming and the inner workings of Spotify as well as significant changes in who the streamer pays and how payments are calculated.
The post Spotify Loud & Clear: $10B, Global Fandom & A Year of Change appeared first on Hypebot.

NOUMENIA sign exclusive worldwide deal w/ Eclipse Records Eclipse Records is excited to announce the signing of Noumenia, a post groove metal band from Northern Italy, who have crafted an explosive soul-striking sound that hits you square in the face, the mind, and the heart! The band recently finished recording their full-length debut album entitled Echoes with Richard Meiz of Lacuna Coil producing the album, and Daniele Salomone (Lacuna Coil, Inverno, D With Us) mixing & mastering at DDStudio Records. Echoes will be released via Eclipse Records on June 27, 2025.“Signing with Eclipse Records is without a doubt one of the best things that could have happened to us, and we are so excited to begin this journey!” says lead vocalist Vivian Nigro. “All we want for our music is to strike the listener with an insane amount of energy and to reach as many people as possible.” Bassist Matteo Campagnoli adds, “We achieved a complete synergy with Richard in the studio, resulting in what I believe is an incredible album. The journey took almost a year and demanded a lot of effort, but we were all united and driven, simply unstoppable.” Samuele Zichi (drummer) also said, “Signing with Eclipse Records is finally a sign that our music can leave a deep mark in someone, and that’s the main goal of our new album entitled Echoes. I hope everyone enjoys our work as much as we enjoyed making it!” Finally, guitarist Matteo Radaelli states “I am ecstatic about our collaboration with Eclipse, because it’s a big opportunity to bring our art and ideas to life. Echoes is a big step forward for us, because we think it can connect a lot of different people with different musical tastes, mainly because every song gives the opportunity to the listener to have affinity with the lyrics and the music.”Echoes is the title of the exciting post groove metal album by Noumenia, featuring heavy drumming, rhythmic virtuosity, ripsaw growl vocals, and a gargantuan guitar sound that literally reinvents the power of the power chord. Often, the songs on this record kick off with bizarre futuristic introductions constructed of suspense and trepidation, like movie soundtracks made for aliens, dangerous AI, and cyborgs gone mad, yet following these mystic “orchestral” and “celestial” preludes, Noumenia hit us with drop after drop that rock so hard we are stunned. The pound and burn on this record are massive, the hooks mesmerizing, the changes invigorating, the philosophical lyrics all too close to the heart, the bottom-side where we stockpile secrets and darkness. Musically, this record makes for a striking hybrid, explosive and smooth, hard diamond with a soft shine, a thick dose of dangerous velvet. Holistically, it seems that the band has a mission here to invigorate, exfoliate, and buzzsaw the brain so the new world looks real and raw. At the beginning of the record, we are asked to “Tear off the eyes, your sight is stale / Cut off your tongue, [and] never exhale.” That said, we are also prompted to approach each day from a position of strength and rejuvenation, as it says in focus track number one titled, “The Circle” that “From dust and bones, we’ll be reborn.” In the second focus track: “Fall Apart,” the traditional vocal warms us to the core and sets us on the sheer precipice of the monstrous growl symbolizing the fierce internal battles we wage in our effort to “Unbind the rope that chokes [the] heart.” Finally, with the third focus track: “Black Ocean,” we are exposed to a variety of vocals that are in themselves a symphony of tone, pitch, and power. And though there is a warning of a “systems crash,” there is hope in what has become a strange yet peaceful shadowland, in that we are asked to “Stay with me ‘til the sun kisses the horizon / Sail with me through the waves of infinity.” Echoes features cover art designed by Samuele Zichi, and it is scheduled for release on June 27, 2025.Pre-Save or Pre-Order Echoes at this location.For more information about Noumenia and their “Echoes” album, please visit them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or Eclipse Records, and follow them on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, YouTube Music, Tidal, and Deezer now!The post NOUMENIA sign exclusive worldwide deal w/ Eclipse Records  first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Concord to acquire Stem in $50m+ deal, say MBW sourcesWe also hear that Raine Group is in the middle of it.
Source