Kristin Robinson
@wordsbykristin
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Senior Writer @Billboard - covering music publishing, technology and more | sign up for my *free* Billboard newsletter ‘Machine Learnings’ below 👇
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This is the culmination of my countless hours of reporting over the last 6 months. Proud to say my investigation into MediaMuv — the company accused of stealing $23 million in royalties from Latin artists on YouTube — is here 🙏
please take a read and consider sharing!
A look at the brazen but surprisingly simple scheme that took royalties from songs by artists like Daddy Yankee, Anuel AA, Julio Iglesias and more.
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I had a convo w an 12 year old who said she doesn’t like ARTISTS, she only likes specific SONGS. While this is anecdotal, and maybe she’ll change her mind, I think it’s important to consider how tiktok disembodies songs. songs (not artists) are gaining followings. Content>creator
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I’m dying at the sporty selfie they chose for this tweet
Drake says artists who reach Spotify streaming milestones should get “bonuses like athletes”:
“We should get bonuses like athletes to motivate the future artists to be consistent and competitive.”
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A fact I still love: because Tracy Chapman wrote “Fast Car” by herself and owned her pub, she is technically considered the 8th largest publisher on the Hot 100 for Q2 of 2023 lol
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Between Paul Mescal singleness, Colin Ferrell in Banshees, and Niall Horan teasing new music, I can say with confidence……
In:
Irish men
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FYI — Faye Webster has more monthly listeners on Spotify rn than boygenius..
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Nothing will prepare you for this man’s hair when you open the tweet
Warner Music Group Hires Top Goldman Sachs Music Banker to Lead Distro Shopping Expedition
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I found my Charli XCX cover out in the wild today…. Baby’s first print cover!
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The AI Generated BBL Drizzy was sampled in a new song from Sexyy Red and Drake… I have the exclusive on how it was cleared
TLDR: master was all AI and so it doesn’t need to be cleared, pub included lyrics by a human so that human was added as a writer
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Wild
1. Diss track calling the biggest artist in the world a pedo
2. Artist no 1 knew abt b4 2 weeks ago
3. Diss
4. Imagine telling urself in ‘16 this collab happened
5. a new Black country ⭐️!!
6. Diss
7. Diss
8. most bubblegum hit since Katy Perry
9. Is it ‘12?
10. Is it ‘12?
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For the cover of
@billboard
, I flew to London to profile Charli XCX at the height of ‘Brat Summer’
It’s a fun 1 — Lorde compares Charli to Michelangelo, Charli says this could be her last album, her agent calls reports of low tix sales for the Sweat tour “fake news,” and more
'BRAT' UNFILTERED 💚 Ten years into her singular, eclectic career,
@charli_xcx
has finally created the album of her dreams — and has hit a new critical and commercial peak.
Read her Billboard cover story:
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In my reporting on AI + music, no story has felt more defining (+ controversial) than Ghostwriter’s, the guy behind the “fake drake” song.
For the digital cover of
@Billboard
, I speak to Ghost + his mgmt. It’s their first interview ever — please read!
🔗
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I’ve said it before but Elton John is truly the biggest supporter of new pop talent and such an optimist. It’s so refreshing to see while other aging artists tend to be so critical and dismissive.
Elton John shares photo with Chappell Roan:
“The BEST evening of pizza and outrageous laughter with the fiercely fabulous
@chappellroan
.
Love her, love her, love her 🚀❤️🌈”
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the amount of cancelled, downgraded, or poorly attended tours is truly scary. Everyday is a new headline.
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The more I learn about metadata and royalty collection the more I feel like this
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Songwriters are feeling effects from the UMG TikTok ban:
- songwriters (when a UMPG talent is involved) are being asked by nonUMG artists to not submit pub splits upon release
- UMPG writers are being excluded from camps + sessions
Read more:
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THE most brutal takedown in pop history!!!!! If I was this man, I’d quit art forever
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This phenomenon of content>creator is most comparable to how you can be big on radio but you don’t necessarily have actual fans. Or being big of Spotify playlists in thelate 2010s.
Passive consumption. Anyways, only time will tell if this prob is worse w the next gen!
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I have 2 MGMTs looking for artist bios
If you’re down to write bios, reply to this (don’t DM) w what genres you specialize in and what pubs you’ve written for
I’ll start passing this tweet link along to my friends as they ask for bio recs in the future, I get asked this a lot!
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if you’re a music company still offering the starting salaries you were offering 5-10 years ago, it wasn’t okay a couple years ago but now with inflation it’s TRULY unlivable. I know everyone’s getting squeezed but when you’re at the bottom, even $5k more makes a huge impact
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BREAKING: Yesterday, Triller quietly took down all music from UMG, WMG, Sony, + Merlin (which reps many of the biggest indie labels)
1 major label rep told
@billboard
it was a result of “millions” in past due royalties. Triller told me thats “false”
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Tbh my biggest advice to someone who wants to go into journalism today is get your college degree in what you want your beat to be and maybe take a minor in journalism or join a blog or student newspaper to learn from there
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I feel like a lot of music business folks have no idea there are tons of AI companies making big strides in generative music right now because they are distracted by the DALLE2, Lensa, etc
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I finally made it in after trying to find an entrance for 30 min lol 🫶
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I spoke with Lana Del Rey at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for billboard’s Women in Music issue! We broke this into 2 articles
1: straight from the mag! LDR talks women, career + songwriting
2: new album, family, + her dad’s album
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I had the pleasure of going to ATL to hang w
@TheKingDream
for
@billboard
He’s nominated in all 3 big categories at the Grammys this weekend + one of the inaugural nominees for Songwriter of the Year for his work w Beyoncé, Pusha T, and Brent Faiyaz
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My boyfriend (Silverlake) and I (West Hollywood) are in a long distance relationship
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Someone is 100% going to write their PHD intellectualizing how memes influenced public perception of Kamala Harris in the aftermath of the presidential debate
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I think we need to unpack what it means for the music industry and the people in it that like half of us are Leos
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SCOOP: the 3 majors (UMG, WMG, Sony) are considering filing a lawsuit against AI companies Suno and Udio for allegedly training on their copyrighted sound recordings without licenses in place
This could be filed as soon as next week
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BREAKING: Spotify has been sued by The MLC for bundling premium tiers, paying lower royalties to publishers and songwriters
Their argument is quite interesting, take a read:
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But the internet moves so fast now (ex. Ppl complaining “Unholy” by Sam Smith came out on DSPs “too late” after he teased it just a couple months prior) + there are so many new artists it is likely harder to cement yourself as a *career* artist right now than usual right?
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🚨NEW: The majors have sued Suno and Udio for infringement "on an almost unimaginable scale."
This is a *major* turning point in AI music
The lawsuits arrive 4 days after I first reported the news the labels were seriously considering suing the startups
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The most frustrating part of being a music biz reporter is watching how everyone thinks they know how the music business works because they like music. Then they get online and talk like they are are an expert and mislead or confuse others.
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Got to interview some execs and artists on the red carpet last night for
@billboard
’s women in music event. Honestly such an uplifting evening filled with so many talented ladies 🥰🥰
also loved running into Lana Del Rey at the end as I was leaving 🫶
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alllll im asking for is for Spotify to make a feature that allows you to post comments on songs so that when you make a playlist for a friend, you can tell them why you added that particular song
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My new story on the Rick Astley v Yung Gravy lawsuit — I discuss the popularity of interpolations and how this might affect the way producers work
It begs a big q: How close is too close when it comes to interpolation?
@billboardpro
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Every time I walk into an industry conference/reception/event that’s primarily men (which is very often in publishing) my brain immediately starts singing Lana Del Rey’s “down at the Men in the Music Business conferenceeee”
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This one video likely did more to promote NYU’s music program than any ad or promo they ever paid for lol
In 2016, Pharrell Williams visited an N.Y.U. music production class to critique student songs.
After he listened to a song called “Alaska” by a student named Maggie Rogers, he explained why “I have zero, zero, zero notes for that:”
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I worked the red carpet at
@billboard
’s Power 100 event, honoring music’s biggest execs. Here’s a lil peak at who I spoke to!
-Lucien Grainge
-Scott Borschetta
-Noah Assad
-Clive Davis
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Today, I launched a FREE music tech newsletter for
@Billboard
, including both a news roundup + some analysis.
My first topic is a one-year review of what's happened since Ghostwriter's "Heart On My Sleeve"
Read:
Sign up:
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TikTok is rolling out a streaming service in other countries. If successful, it makes ByteDance 1 of the most powerful players in the music biz - vertically integrating distribution, marketing, promotion, and consumption.
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I’m so happy that I’ve gotten to talk to 2 of my fav artists about actually *making* music. Ive spent more hours making music than writing about it in my lifetime, so this is a dream to combine passions😩
- talked synths w/ James Blake
- talked studio set up w/ Kevin Parker
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From 1991, found in Fort Worth TX…….. I feel I should buy to see what they recommended lmao
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"BBL Drizzy" is the 1st instance of a major producer sampling an AI song. The melody, voice, art + track are generated by
@udiomusic
. Lyrics by
@KingWillonius
.
It shows there's a future for AI in sampling.1 source likened it to 'digital crate digging.'
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My family accidentally bought me two copies lol!! Loving this book on Billboard Hot 100 hits by
@tombreihan
already
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I will never stop stanning Remi Wolf. Absolutely insane voice and such singular music/fashion choices. Great stage presence. Plus she’s actually making FUN music.
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NEW: For the period of 2023-2027, streaming services have agreed to raise the headline rates paid to songwriters and publishers gradually up to 15.35% of total revenue
More info to come on this deal b/t
@NMPAorg
@NSAIofficial
and
@digitalmediausa
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Some random person made a collage of people on the red carpet at Billboard Women in Music….. all of these women are popular artists and then there’s me somehow LMAO. Finally famous!
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Hoping that Dijon and Steve Lacy get some noms this year at the Grammys
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Important story from Elias!
More viral + self releasing artists->more labels trying to sign them in case they end up a star-> more market share for labels but not enough staff to cover the signees -> signees don’t get the help they need -> mgmt picking up the slack
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It’s crazy how every emerging girl singer-songwriter sounds like Phoebe Bridgers and/or Taylor swift right now
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My first big story at billboard was breaking down exactly how much % and $ Olivia had lost from these other artists. I think only 1 of the 3 songs’ split changes was known at the time so there was a lot of breaking info in the story. Still proud of it!
Olivia Rodrigo says the scrutiny she faced from legal issues with 'SOUR' didn’t make her second-guess writing 'GUTS':
"I feel like now I know so much more about the industry and I just feel … better equipped in that regard. It wasn’t something I thought about too much."
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We are getting dangerously close to having everything sound like “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Mag zeroes again
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Yo yo -- I'll be on Inside Edition tomorrow interviewed about all things Grammys!!! Tune in :)
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I spent some time with the man, the myth, the legend, MIKE DEAN for
@billboard
!!!!
Our talk spanned his whole career, including great anecdotes about mixing TLOP as fans were already waiting for Kanye at MSG, how he ended up in The Idol, and much more!
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Oh my bestie just won the best gift of all time award - A CUSTOM BRAT JOURNAL!!!!
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LA is so wild because something this natural and beautiful is actually just a 5 min drive from the Walk of Fame
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Frank ocean’s set was profound and brilliant and I’ll die on this hill
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Even though Spotify just hiked is price, it will now pay a lower royalty to US songwriters
How is it possible? By adding audiobooks into Premium, Spotify says it qualifies as a "bundle" - the $ will now be split between books and songs
Read for more
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TikTok and UMG licensing negotiations have essentially fallen apart.
UMG penned an open letter to its artists and writers today, explaining that their music may be taken down after tom
Three main reasons:
- low compensation
- AI
- infringing content
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@AuxGod_
@TwitterMoments
I’m the writer who did the reporting on this for
@billboard
— this tweet leaves out some context. Read the full info here
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I really wanna know how much of an improvement the UMG TikTok license is now from what TikTok offered them in January
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SCOOP: majors have talked with Spotify, Apple, + Amazon abt sending takedown reqs for AI vocals — something which has been hard for them to control bc these AI vocal impersonations technically don’t infringe on copyright.
The streamers are receptive!
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Omg I can’t believe they posted this moment but it was my favorite. Mid talk, Nile, Merck and I were interrupted by Lucian Grainge! Fun conversation
.
@MMercuriadis
and
@nilerogers
spoke with Billboard's
@wordsbykristin
about the upcoming
@MusiCares
event, what they are looking forward to at the 2023
#GRAMMYs
and more on the Power 100 red carpet.
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Spoke to
@arishapiro
at
@npr
All Things Considered about Justin Bieber’s recent catalog deal today!!
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Lol my sister texting me asking if I have a plug for Taylor swifts tour……. like no, absolutely not but I’m impressed you believe in me that much
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As a Facebook marketplace connoisseur, I have to say this chair is my coolest find to date. Look how cute she is!!!!!! $100 just needed to be cleaned
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Spotify will pay songwriters ~ $150m less for premium, family + duo in US mech royalties this yr
This is bc Spotify added in audiobooks and now claims it gets a discount on music bc it now has to pay books + music from the same subscription price
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Bucket list interview ✅ I spoke with Kevin Parker about buying Wave House, the studio where he recorded Innerspeaker and Currents!
+ I highlighted the coolest songwriting camps in the world, including one at Dracula’s castle 🧛♀️
Read both below😇
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UPDATE: more YouTube royalty collection abuse accusations. This time via Create Music Group. “Some execs say Create games the system. Create says it doesn't. They agree the platform's back end for rights management is full of errors.”
By Elias Leight 👏
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My twin niece and nephew look absolutely iconic at the beach today
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On my way to Dallas to cover tomorrow’s Taylor Swift show 😍🥰😍
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UMG + TikTok finally reached a licensing agreement after a 3 month standoff ‼️
It including “improved remuneration” and “improved attribution” for writers and artists, and the companies will work together to better remove AI music, among other things
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One consequence of the streaming era: revisionist history with artists catalogs will become more common
When nearly no listeners buy music, we are subject to music getting taken down or originals getting replaced by slightly different versions of the song without us realizing.
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Can we all just agree to talk to strangers at bars again please
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd says the future of dating is having your AI date other people's AI and recommend the best matches for you to meet
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