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Radio Edit | 3.31.23

Radio Edit | 3.31.23

a music industry newsletter

Radio Edit Team
March 31, 2023

This week’s edition of Radio Edit takes a look at the ripple effects of a potential post-TikTok world, Daisy Jones’ real (and charting) album, and a new pilot program for Ticketmaster.

Other stories include TikTok’s role in creating one-hit wonders and a look at the present state of concert-related supply chain issues.

Top Stories

Charting the effects of a potential post-TikTok music industry

With a possible ban of the social media platform looming, the music industry is anxiously awaiting the fate of the app they’ve used and bet on to help find and break hit songs. The fallout of such a ban would include the disruption of months-long marketing plans, entire departments, and a label’s ability to reach the all-important Gen-Z demo. While TikTok numbers are not directly factored into a track’s chart performance, its absence would have a profound impact on what these charts could look like in the future.

While artists like Tom Odell and Fleetwood Mac have seen years or decades-old songs become modern day hits, the loss of TikTok’s platform would likely result in fewer catalog songs finding a new life through the platform.
While TikTok has served as the launchpad for the careers of artists like Lil Nas X and Doja Cat, a vast majority of the artists who find success on the platform have had a hard time replicating it with a follow-up hit. Predicting that we would see fewer one-hit wonders in the space without the app, Billboard points to “the speed with which TikTok generates breakout hits and the relatively anonymous relationship they often establish between listener and song — often divorced from any larger connection with the artist behind them” as a reason for the difficulty in repeating their success with more hits.
On the flip side of that, we’d likely also see fewer breakout hits from new artists. As radio and major label influence has waned over the last decade, the app has served as a vehicle for unknown artists to reach a mass audience with limited resources. With fewer of these artists gaining momentum, album cuts from established artists will likely continue to take up space on the charts for extended periods of time.
While genres like regional Mexican have had virtually no presence on the charts prior to the last few years, the app has helped artists like Grupo Firme and Peso Pluma notch Top 40 positions and boost the profile of the genre at large. A loss of TikTok as an exposure tool would likely inhibit regional genres from influencing the charts and finding a global audience.
An absence of TikTok would also affect a song’s staying power on the charts. While less competition would likely lead to songs from established acts lingering on the charts for extended periods of time, future tracks may not be able to enjoy the second or third breath of life that songs like The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” and Glass Animals’ “Heat Wave” benefitted from. Billboard

Fake Band, Real Money

While Amazon Prime’s “Daisy Jones & The Six” tells the story of a fictional band and the release of their debut record Aurora, the album itself is now very real. After enlisting a cast of songwriters that includes Blake Mills, Marcus Mumford, Jackson Browne and Phoebe Bridgers, the album has now amassed over 40 million streams on Spotify alone since Atlantic released it as a companion to the Prime series in early March.

“Part of how we went in and originally presented our vision for this was that we were going to treat Daisy Jones as a real band,” says Atlantic West Coast President, Kevin Weaver. As with any real band, their label was sure to complement the album rollout with a selection of merch for fans to buy. In addition to brand partnerships that included nail polish sets by Essie and a capsule collection from Free People, Amazon curated an online storefront to sell character-inspired clothing and accessories like flannels, fur coats and aviator sunglasses.

Aurora currently sits at #83 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it Atlantic’s third-highest charting album at the moment. WSJ

Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual

Endorsed by Philip Selway (Radiohead) and Marty Hom (tour manager, Fleetwood Mac & Beyoncé), this comprehensive manual is designed to help artists and industry professionals address the physical and psychological challenges that come with life on the road. Written specifically for the music industry by health and performance professionals, this book covers topics including: mental health, performance anxiety, addiction, group dynamics, the media, crisis management, and post-tour recovery. Available at Omnibus Press

Ticketmaster tests NFT-gated ticket access with upcoming Avenged Sevenfold tour

As part of a new pilot program, Ticketmaster is rolling out a crypto wallet integration for Avenged Sevenfold’s upcoming tour. The integration will give NFT holders from the band’s fan club, Death Bats Club, priority access to tickets and reserved seating ahead of the general public.

While Ticketmaster has already experimented with NFTs for several high-profile events, this partnership with A7X will be the first time they’ve used a token-gated process for fans buying tickets directly. Ticketmaster’s VP of Global Music David Marcus is hopeful that artists will use this approach to creatively super-serve their core fanbase in ways like unlocking premier seats at concerts or accessing special experiences like sitting in on soundcheck. Billboard

What Else Is Going On

Signings

Various Artists signs Mel C to worldwide management deal

Rapper Rich Amiri signs to 10k Projects imprint Internet Money Records

Big Machine Label Group inks singer-songwriter Greylan James

Along with signing to Big Loud Records, Stephen Wilson Jr. brings on Alicia Jones at ALJ MGMT and Jordy Dettmer at Range Media Partners for Management

Streaming / Radio

Streams of Lil Baby’s 2020 album cut “Low Down” nearly double last week after Kansas State’s men’s basketball team’s use of the song for their pre-game ritual sparks TikTok trend

Amazon Music launches 50 & Forever program to honor 50th anniversary of hip-hop and champion future creatives in the genre

Live / Touring

Goldenvoice’s new Desert Trip-style festival “Power Trip” features lineup of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, and Tool

“Overall music-cruise revenue, [Joe] Bonamassa says, can be 30% to 50% higher than what a club promoter might pay for a Wednesday-night gig. So an artist making $10,000 for a dry-land festival date might make $15,000 for a cruise.”

MSG Entertainment announces plan to break away from Sphere, MSG Networks, and Tao Group Hospitality

“We’ll sometimes start a tour without everything we need.” Why concert-related supply chain issues aren’t completely in the rearview, but close

Label

Warner Music Group to trim global staff by 4% (270 positions)

“[M]ore people are investing in songs that might not have the artist proposition attached to them. By default, if more of the people responsible for breaking acts are focused on songs, that’s how you have a landscape where there are a trillion one-hit wonders.”

UMG Board of Directors extends Lucian Grainge’s contract as Chairman & CEO for five more years

Publishing

Hipgnosis adds catalog of “Despacito” co-writer Erika Ender

Believe acquires publishing platform Sentric at a $51mm valuation

Tech / Social Media

As TikTok faces an uncertain future, artists are testing the waters at YouTube Shorts, which reportedly increased the average artist’s audience of unique viewers by more than 80%

Other

What gets done during Miami Music Week?

Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta kicks off new joint venture partnership between Atlantic Records and his management company, TAG Music

Disney cuts metaverse division amidst restructure

DJ Envy and Charlemagne Tha God’s The Breakfast Club joins BET’s 2023 programming lineup; will be BET’s first daily program since 2014’s 106 & Park

Zound Industries acquires iconic amp company, Marshall

Appointments / Departures

Appointments

Warner Records UK SVP Jennifer Ivory comes in as Managing Director at Parlophone

Charlotte Bwana promoted to VP, Marketing & Brand Strategy at Audiomack

Warner Music UK appoints Isabel Garvey as COO

Emily Stephenson has been promoted to President of Publishing at Downtown Music