UTA has signed singer-songwriter and actor Kylie Minogue for live representation in the United States and Canada and acting worldwide.
Minogue won a Grammy during the 66th annual pre-telecast ceremony for best pop dance recording for her 2023 single “Padam Padam,” a track released as a part of her 16th album, “Tension.” The tune became ubiquitous on social media, emerging as a worldwide anthem for the LGBTQ community and qualifying as the singer’s biggest hit of the streaming era.
Minogue, managed by Polly Bhowmik of A&P Artist Management, is also set to receive the Brits Global Icon award at this year’s ceremony on March 2, “in recognition of her career spanning across five decades as one of the world’s most successful and iconic music stars,” the organizers said.
The Brits Icon is the highest accolade given by the Brit Awards, with previous winners including Elton John, Robbie Williams, David Bowie and Taylor Swift.
+ Bear1Boss has signed a three-year co-publishing deal with Rick Rubin’s American Records and Pulse Records that will allow the rising hip-hop act to remain independent. In tandem with the signing announcement, Bear1Boss has released his new project, “Super Boss!”
Brought in by A&Rs Isaac Heymann and Orlando Emerson-Sullivan, the deal was negotiated and managed by the attorney Aurielle Brooks, and Bear1Boss’ manager, Joseph Hirsch.
+ BMI will honor singer-songwriter Horacio Palencia with the BMI President’s Award at the 2024 BMI Latin Awards on March 13. The private ceremony will be hosted by BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI VP of Creative for Latin, Jesus Gonzalez, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
“Since joining the BMI family twenty years ago, Horacio has played a major role in the success and evolution of Música Mexicana through his profound connection to the heart and soul of his musical heritage,” said Gonzalez. “In addition to Horacio’s commercial success, he’s garnered widespread respect within the industry and established himself as one of the most talented and sought-after songwriters in Latin music. We’re so proud to honor Horacio and his prolific career with the BMI President’s Award and celebrate the creative accomplishments of all our 2024 BMI Latin Award winners. It is going to be an incredible night to remember.”
The BMI President’s Award is presented to a songwriter, composer, producer or executive who has profoundly influenced the entertainment industry. In receiving this honor, Palencia joins previous BMI President’s Award recipients including Carlos Vives, Gloria Trevi, Juanes, Luis Fonsi, Mario Quintero, Pitbull, Sergio George and Wisin & Yandel, among others.
+ Jason Bentley, a Los Angeles-based music executive with a history as a radio host and DJ, A&R director, and music supervisor for film and TV, has joined independent record label Thrive Music.
Bentley will act as president of licensing and soundtracks for a new division of the company dedicated to sync services. He will oversee business development in the sync space, pursuing opportunities for Thrive Music in feature films, TV, advertising, and video games. Bentley will work alongside Thrive distribution partners at Virgin Music Group to acquire and elevate soundtrack properties with music solutions amplified by Thrive’s marketing expertise.
“Thrive is on the frontlines of dance music culture, and I’m thrilled to join Ricardo and the Thrive team as they continue to build a global force in dance music,” Bentley shared. “The vision and passion in the building is unrivaled, and I’m looking forward to a successful 2024 and beyond.”
In the record business, Bentley has worked as an A&R executive for Island Records and Maverick Records, as well as produced projects for various artists including the Bob Marley estate, Madonna, and Depeche Mode. As a music supervisor for film, he notably produced the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for “The Matrix” (Warner Bros), as well as “Tron Legacy” (Disney) with Daft Punk, and most recently served as a music consultant for “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount).
+ Sony Music Publishing has expanded its operations across the Middle East and North Africa with the opening of its new office in Dubai, and the appointment of its Managing Director, Dounia Chaaban, effective immediately.
As managing director, Chaaban will be responsible for overseeing operations, advancing the company’s creative strategy, and developing the company’s talent across the region. Based in SMP MENA’s flagship office in Dubai, Chaaban will report to SMP’s senior VP of International, Dan Nelson.
Dounia Chaaban began her music business career at Anghami, the leading Middle Eastern music streaming platform, where she spent seven years. During her tenure, Chaaban served as the Arabic Indie community lead, working closely with independent artists across the MENA region. She later took on the role of artist relations manager at Believe Music, where she advanced the company’s artist development efforts, drove marketing strategy and more.
+ Bandsintown is partnering with Spotify to integrate Bandsintown event listings on the streaming platform.
“Bandsintown is on a mission to help artists get discovered and sell out shows,” said Fabrice Sergent, co-founder and managing partner of Bandsintown. “With Spotify on board, we are bringing artists and fans closer in a world where every show counts and every fan matters.”
Bandsintown for Artists gives artists full control of their event listings, providing a more complete and accurate pipeline of data to Spotify. Artists can link their Spotify profiles and publish their shows on Bandsintown.
“Our partnership with Bandsintown reinforces our commitment to help artists connect with and monetize their fanbases. With more concert listings and data directly sourced from artists, this integration gives artists more control to update their tour schedules on Spotify and ultimately improves the fan experience of discovering and purchasing tickets,” said Jon Ostrow, associate director of growth and discovery for live events at Spotify.
Monday, Feb. 12
Paramore has announced its first order of business as independent artists will be championing independent record stores as a Record Store Day Ambassador for 2024.
Paramore — the trio consisting of frontwoman Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro — took to social media over the weekend to share the news and confirmed the band is “freshly independent,” as Variety reported in January.
“After a long career in the music industry we have decided to announce that… we are going to continue to have a long career in the music industry (sorry for any inconvenience),” the band wrote on Instagram. “Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent record stores — a vital part of our journey from music obsessed school friends to professional music makers. With that being said, we are humbled to be your Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. The timing feels kismet.”
Paramore joins Killer Mike, Jason Isbell, Taylor Swift, Brandi Carlile and more as Record Store Day Ambassadors. The band kicked 2024 on a high note by recently winning in the rock album of the year category as the first female-fronted band to achieve the feat. They also have a busy touring schedule ahead, mostly on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Europe.
+ Universal Music Group will be opening three new Capitol Studios recording studios – the first-ever Capitol Studios outside of the storied Capitol Tower in Hollywood — in addition to live performance spaces, music education academies and a new record label, as part of a collaboration with DGMC in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubbed the “Music City” development, the new partnership aims to bolster the regional hub for both local and international recording artists and songwriters. The label will be a joint venture between UMG and DGMC and will sign and develop local artists.
“At its heart, the UMG-DGMC partnership’s aim is to support and nurture talented artists and songwriters in the region and help them reach their full creative and commercial potential,” the companies wrote in a press release.
“We are thrilled to partner with UMG, the world’s leading music group, on this unique and exciting endeavour,” said Rasha Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairwoman of DGMC. “Building a state-of-the-art music infrastructure and providing industry services to support aspiring musical artists is critical to our leadership’s vision to promote culture and the arts. DGMC’s initiatives will not only help to foster our regional creatives and music-related professionals, but elevate the UAE’s music economy to global levels.”
+ Messina Touring Group has elevated three team members to vice president roles: Lauren Cairerises has been upped from director of finance to VP of finance; Keena Cheatham moves from promoter rep to VP of touring and LeeAnn Rotondo has moved from director of ticketing to VP of ticketing.
MTG has worked with such acts as Blake Shelton, Ed Sheeran, Eric Church, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift and The Lumineers.
Caire first joined MTG in 2015 as a Senior Accountant and has since managed finances for the company and all of its tours, including a marquee year in 2023 anchored by Swift’s headline-dominating Eras Tou and Sheeran’s Mathematics World Tour. Cheatham, who joined MTG in 2013 as a promoter rep on Swift’s Red Tour, has had a role in over half of the MTG roster in both the pop and country music sectors.
Rotondo joined MTG in 2015 as a ticket manager, primarily to assist with ticketing for Swift’s 1989 Tour. Nine years later, she spearheads all ticketing for Swift’s tours, as well as many other MTG clients including Church, Kenny Chesney and Blake Shelton.
+ France-headquartered music company Believe has announced an expansion into Japan with a new imprint called PlayCode, dedicated to Japan’s hip-hop scene. The company will also be partnering with Japan-based acts for the new label, including ¥ellow Bucks, Red Eye, and Issei Uno Fifth.
As part of Believe Japan’s Artist Services offering, PlayCode will combine Believe’s digital artist development capacities and long-term partnerships.