Radio Edit | 6.16.23

The past, present, and bright future of Beauty School Dropout

Beauty School Dropout’s manager Alex Lunt sat down with Radio Edit to discuss everything from his early involvement with the band to their current run as direct support for Blink-182

In a relatively short amount of time, Beauty School Dropout has already checked a lot of boxes- from signing a label deal to playing arenas. How did you and Lippman Entertainment come to start working with the band and are you at all surprised at how quickly these things are coming together?

Originally, my partner Jacoby met the band at a Vic Mensa Party in the Silverlake hills. The next day he showed me the music and an hour later we were on our way to meeting the boys at their studio/workspace downtown. We were instantly hooked by their attitude and their approach to rock music. Our timing could not have been better. Jacoby and I worked for the band for about a year until I brought on board, LA native and industry veteran, Nick Lippman. We have all three been on the band ever since. It has now been over three years and to be honest we are not surprised with the momentum, because the band works so hard and every waking moment is dedicated to making Beauty School Dropout the biggest band in the world.

The band's label, Verswire, is taking a fresh approach to the role of a record label- operating as a VC-funded incubator with label services and an emphasis on artist development. Why did this structure appeal to a band like Beauty School Dropout?

It’s been so great to see Verswire really do what they set out to do. I have heard so many pitches on new labels claiming they are artist friendly, but when you open up the hood and get the paperwork things are totally different. Verswire has been transparent and true to their word. I won’t go into the specifics on the deal, but for perspective it is by far the most fair deal I have ever seen. The BSD boys have such entrepreneurial spirits that this type of deal really appealed to them. Throw an Iconic legend, (Mark Hoppus) as the partner/A&R and the rest is history.

Speaking of, the Verswire team notably includes Pete Wentz as a strategic advisor and Mark Hoppus as a strategic partner/A&R. In a marketplace as saturated as the music space, how important is a co-sign from artists like Mark and Pete?

In the Verswire story, I think it is first important to mention: founder Sherry Saeedi and president Nick Lippman. They are really the executive team behind the label’s success. Dedicated to the artists and always operating with their artists best interest in mind. Not to mention both are extremely well-connected and highly adept business people. Having Mark as an A&R has been so amazing for the band. He has been a great mentor and is heavily involved on the record side. Could not ask for a better person to help guide the band sonically and guide them as they progress in their career.

With the band opening for Blink-182 on their current tour, how important has this been for the band- both in terms of exposure to a larger audience and experience playing to massive rooms?

On an obvious level, it was a massive move for BSD. It legitimized the band industry wide. But internally, I think the most beautiful part of it was how fast the band was able to adapt to arenas and that every department on the tour had nothing but good things to say after our last show. A major test and the band rose to the occasion.

A support slot on a tour like this is obviously an extremely coveted one. As a manager, how are you maximizing the impact of the opportunity?

It’s a key mention in all of our updates and pitches. I couldn’t ask for a better announcement to follow up on an unanswered email.

What's been the biggest pinch-me moment of the band's career so far?

Playing Madison Square Garden was certainly a big moment, but for me it was really to see the band own the opportunity and shine throughout the process.

What's next for BSD?

A few amazing festivals (Lolla, Aftershock, Louder than Life). The next records are off the wall amazing and we have some incredible opportunities on the horizon and I can’t wait to share them with the world!

Ticketmaster to adopt all-in pricing

After hosting executives from companies like Ticketmaster and Airbnb at the White House on Thursday to target junk fees, President Biden announced that all of the companies present agreed to adopt all-in pricing.

While Biden is labeling these discussions as a success, many experts believe that the only way for all-in pricing to work is if its mandated by law. Pointing to the necessity of widespread adoption, skeptics of today’s announcement fear that it will give a competitive advantage to ticket sellers who withhold certain fees until the end of the checkout process. These detractors often cite a StubHub study that showed consumers are more likely to purchase, even for a higher checkout price, if the initial price they were shown is less than those of competitors.

Notably, this commitment from Ticketmaster excludes most sporting events as they cannot force NFL, NBA and NHL teams to adopt all-in pricing at their stadiums, despite holding the exclusive ticket rights for approximately 80% of the teams within those leagues.

The Recording Academy announces major changes for GRAMMY Awards voting

Each Spring, the Recording Academy reviews and votes on a series of proposals submitted by its membership. These proposals are intended to improve the overall Awards process and ensure that the organization is as reflective of the modern music landscape as possible.

Earlier this week, the Academy announced a series of changes that will affect this upcoming Grammy Awards. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Three new categories have been added: Best Alternative Jazz Album, Best Pop Dance Recording, and Best African Music Performance

• The Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year categories have been moved to the General Field, allowing the entire voting membership to weigh in

• Genre fields have been consolidated from 26 to 11 in an effort to make voting more flexible (voters must select up to 3 genre fields to vote in)

• The 2023-2024 Board of Trustees has been announced with national officer positions held by: Tammy Hurt (chair), Dr. Chelsey Green (vice chair), Gebre Waddell (secretary/treasurer) and Christine Albert (chair emeritus)

SIGNINGS

Halsey signs with Columbia Records

Sony Music has signed Alejandro Sanz 

Irving Azoff’s Giant Music signs rapper/producer Cash Cobain

STREAMING | RADIO

Music Fights Fraud: a new task force of digital music companies working together against streaming fraud

Spotify has sold Soundtrap, a “cross-platform music creation online workplace,” back to its founders

LIVE | TOURING

LA Live’s Microsoft Theater has been renamed Peacock Theater; LA Live now Peacock Place

Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena defies critics, averages $1.7mm in revenue per show since opening in December

A strong commitment to Latin America helps Coldplay land top 2 spots on Billboard’s touring revenue chart

After closing on a $6mm funding round, Breakaway Fest talks expansion

LABEL

After unsuccessfully trying to track down a TikTok rapper, a judge has authorized Sony Music to notify him of their copyright infringement suit via his social media DMs

PUBLISHING

U.S. music publishing revenue jumped up 19% to $5.6b in 2022

Whether it’s specific genres or musical scores from NIckelodeon shows, funds like Armada Music’s BEAT and Multimedia Music lead new trend in niche-focused music investments

ELSEWHERE

Announced: Pitchfork Music Festival after shows

APPOINTMENTS

EMPIRE taps Alexandra Moore as Chief Business Officer

Jason Ellis has joined Armada Music as Global Senior Director of A&R

Manager of Bully and The Midnight, Justin Little, has joined Brilliant Corners in their newly-opened LA office

Knocked Loose / Deep In The Willow (S) / Pure Noise

Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon Music

Instead of a job posting this week, we wanted to shine a light on Parker Hwang Jones. Before taking on the career-defining gig of overseeing Radio Edit’s newsletter re-design, Parker has been doing creative design and content capture for some of the biggest artists and brands in the world- which you can check out here!

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