In a collab between two of the heaviest hitters in their respective industries, FanDuel and Spotify are teaming up on a Super Bowl party headlined by Calvin Harris and Kid Cudi. Held at LIV inside the Fountainbleu Resort on Feb. 9, this marks FanDuel‘s third annual Super Bowl event. FanDuel has been the sports betting partner of Spotify‘s sports and pop culture podcast network, The Ringer, since 2021. In addition to performances from Calvin Harris and Kid Cudi, attendees will also be treated to a live recording of “The Ringer Gambling Show” podcast with hosts John “JJ” Jastremski, Raheem Palmer, and “Cousin Sal” Iacono.

Meta Shares Jump Over 20% On Heels of Strong Earnings Report

Meta shares soared more than 20% on Friday on the heels of strong fourth-quarter results, pushing Facebook’s parent company to its third-best day ever. Per Bloomberg, Meta added that it would pay investors a quarterly dividend for the first time, a payout of $ 0.50 per share on March 26. The California-based firm also announced a $50 billion share buyback. Despite this good news, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he intends to keep the roster growth “relatively minimal” for this year. “Until we reach a point where we are just really under water on our ability to execute, I kind of want to keep things lean because I think that’s the right thing for us to do culturally,” he explained.

For more key takeaways from Meta’s recent earnings report, catch up with Boardroom’s Michelai Graham. 

Theo Epstein Returns to Red Sox, Takes Part Ownership in Fenway Sports Group

Former Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is getting an ownership stake in Fenway Sports Group and will also take on a role as a senior advisor for the Red Sox, the company confirmed Friday. “For me, it’s perfect. I was looking for a pathway into ownership,” Fenway said about the transition. Having built the roster that broke Boston’s 86-year World Series drought, this marks Epstein’s return to the Red Sox organization after 13 years away. He became the Red Sox’s general manager in 2002 at age 28 and also held the title of Executive Vice President. Epstein also won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

Amazon’s Spending on Video & Music Increased Nearly 14% in 2023

Amazon’s spending on video and music content climbed 13.8% to $18.9 billion in 2023, a 10-K filing that dropped Friday revealed. That number includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered for Amazon Prime subscribers and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold/rented material. An increase in spending occurred amid the dual strikes by Hollywood guilds, which interfered with production across the film and TV industry. In the fourth quarter last year, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky told analysts that Amazon had a higher spend on digital content, “especially around live sports, English Premier League, and Champions League in Germany and Italy, for example.”

Collection of Air Jordans Worn By MJ in NBA Finals Victories Breaks Sale Record

The Dynasty Collection, a complete set of six individual Air Jordan sneakers worn by Michael Jordan in his NBA Finals championship games, sold for $8 million to an unnamed buyer, Sotheby‘s confirmed on Friday morning. The sale set a new global record for game-worn sneakers at auction. The Dynasty Collection consists of all the Hall of Famer’s Finals wins, starting with Jordan‘s first victory with the Chicago Bulls in 1991 all the way through his final season with the team in 1998. The full Air Jordan sneaker collection was sold as part of “The One Auction,” a cross-category sale that spotlights exemplary human feats.

NHL Players to Participate in 2026 & 2030 Winter Olympics

NHL players will compete in the Winter Olympics for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments, the league said Friday, as part of a joint deal with the NHL Players Association, the International Ice Hockey Federation, and the International Olympic Committee. “The international composition of National Hockey League rosters is unparalleled, and NHL Players take great pride in representing their countries,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. Despite nearly playing in 2022, NHL players have not been able to participate in the Winter Olympics since 2014 in Sochi. The 2026 Games are set to take play from Feb. 6-22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, while the IOC will announce the 2030 host country in July.

The post Kid Cudi, Calvin Harris Tapped for FanDuel x Spotify Super Bowl Party appeared first on Boardroom.

For years, it’s been nearly impossible to avoid “Blinding Lights.” It’s one of those songs that is omnipresent on soundtracks, playlists, and even your local CVS. Now, the song has set yet another record, becoming the first-ever song to eclipse 4 billion streams on Spotify. Last year, The Weeknd took over the top spot of the most-streamed song on the streaming service from Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape of You.” The song is believed to have taken in more than $20 million for The Weeknd, with between $15-17 million in royalties from Spotify and $4.5 million in publishing rights, according to Variety. 

Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun 3’ Reportedly in Early Production at Paramount

Earlier this week, Tom Cruise announced his new development deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, but the superstar actor isn’t done making moves. Multiple reports on Friday suggest that early production has begun on Top Gun 3, a third installment of the franchise in which Cruise has starred. The movie is expected to be produced by Paramount, the company that created the first two films. Cruise is producing and will also presumably star in the film, which has an unknown timeline currently. Top Gun: Maverick writer Ehren Kruger and director Joe Kosinski also signed onto the project, The Hollywood Reporter was first to report.

Jerod Mayo Tapped as Belichick Successor for New England Patriots

The New England Patriots reportedly found its successor right in its home locker room. Former Patriots standout and current linebackers coach Jerod Mayo will take over the head coaching position, the team announced on Friday. The Patriots side-stepped interviewing rules as they implemented the path to the succession plan last year when Mayo crafted his extension with the team. Mayo will be the first Black head coach in New England Patriots history and the youngest coach in the NFL, as he is one month younger than the LA Rams’ Sean McVay.

Washington’s Kalen DeBoer Headed to Alabama to Replace Saban

It’s time for a new chapter in Tuscaloosa. After Nick Saban stepped down as the Crimson Tide commander earlier this week, analysts have fixated on who may take over for the legendary head coach at Alabama. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Washington’s head coach Kalen DeBoer has informed the Huskies that he will take over Saban‘s position on the sidelines. The news comes just days after DeBoer experienced a tough loss at the CFP National Championship game at Houston’s NRG Stadium. Thamel also reports that Washington had made a massive offer to keep DeBoer in Seattle, more than doubling his previous annual salary of $4.2 million. However, if DeBoer does depart, he will owe the Huskies a $12 million buyout fee.

Washington Commanders Begin Rebuild with New GM, Adam Peters

The Washington Commanders have their eyes on the future. The franchise reportedly has its sights on San Francisco 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters to serve as its new GM, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It’s the start of a new wave of personnel in the nation’s capital, as the team fired Ron Rivera after its disappointing 4-13 season. With the official announcement, Peters will spearhead the search for a Commanders’ new head coach.

Universal Music Group Announces Sweeping Layoffs in Q1

The new year brings a new set of priorities for Universal Music Group. The company has shifted its priorities in recent years to elevate D2C and e-commerce initiatives and is expected to lay off “hundreds” of employees, according to Bloomberg. As a result, the company’s recorded music division will likely be hit the hardest. However, the news isn’t all new. UMG’s CEO Lucien Grange teased the upcoming changes as far back as October, citing a slowdown in streaming-driven profits as a major reason for the changes. “We are creating efficiencies in other areas of the business so we can remain nimble and responsive to the dynamic market, while realizing the benefits of our scale,” a UMG representative told Bloomberg when asked about the impending layoffs.

The post The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Becomes First-ever Song with 4B Streams on Spotify appeared first on Boardroom.

I’m back in your inbox after a short Christmas hiatus to highlight five tech trends and some of my favorite headlines from 2023. I’m not sure about you, but it seems so surreal to be wrapping up another year. I’ve been looking back at all of my reporting and Tech Talk editions from this year, and I’m in awe at all that has happened in the industry. Recently, I recapped 10 of the biggest tech moments in 2023, and I noticed that many of the big headlines touch on the same themes.

Many new tech trends arose this year, but these stood out to me the most. Here are five tech trends that took over headlines in 2023.

AI Overtook Blockchain as Biggest Emerging Tech

Artificial intelligence quickly became the top emerging tech this year, and experts expect it to have the most impact on the industry in the coming years. In 2021, we’d easily say the blockchain would be the tech to change the world, and that still may be true, but AI is running the game right now.

There was always skepticism about the blockchain, and the tech’s primary use cases in the last two years were NFTs and cryptocurrencies. The unpredictableness of the digital assets market stirred people away from it. I still truly believe the possibilities are limitless on the blockchain, a technology simply built on creating decentralized digital ledgers for any and every transaction that happens on enabled networks. I think the difference with AI is that it’s not a new type of technology; it’s just being leveraged and implemented in new and different ways.

AI’s impact has already spanned various industries this year alone, and I have no doubt it will continue to expand and impact everything we do in the years to come.

The Race for Best AI Chatbot Took Shape

We’ve all likely interacted with AI chatbots before when using online customer service systems, but those are nothing like the AI chatbots we can access today. To think, around this time last year, all people could talk about was a new AI chatbot called ChatGPT that could only be used on a desktop. So much has changed since then.

Here’s a snippet of some of the AI chatbots on the market racing to be the best and favorite among everyday people:

• ChatGPT: OpenAI‘s flagship AI-powered and text-generated chatbot has attracted 100 million monthly users since it launched in late November last year. ChatGPT has expanded with free, premium, and enterprise versions.
• Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft was the first to follow in OpenAI’s footsteps in February by overhauling its search engine Bing and implementing an AI chatbot function. The chatbot was originally named Bing Chat before rebranding as Microsoft Copilot.
• Bard: Google entered the race in March when it launched Bard, a conversational generative AI chatbot equipped with Googling capabilities.
• Claude: Anthropic, an AI startup founded by ex-OpenAI employees, also launched the first version of its AI chatbot in March. Claude is available through open beta and has pro and enterprise versions as well.
• Grok: Elon Musk‘s xAI unveiled a conversational AI chatbot that responds humorously, for lack of better terms. Grok launched in November exclusively for verified X Premium Plus subscribers. `

It’s easy to say ChatGPT is the most popular or best because it was the first, but I have no doubt Big Tech companies will continue to give OpenAI a run for its money next year.

New VR and AR Headsets Emerged

The competition for the best mixed-reality headset also kicked off this year. Apple, Meta, and Sony have risen as the biggest players in this race, with all three companies either releasing or announcing new headsets this year.

Sony released the PlayStation VR2 in February for $549, but users can only use this headset if they already have a PS5. The PlayStation VR2 is not a standalone headset and requires a PS5 to set up and function. Conversely, you can play PlayStation titles in VR, which isn’t doable with any other headset on the market.

Meta is bullish on VR headsets, and it made that clear when it launched another new one this year. The Big Tech giant now has three headsets on the market. Its most popular headset, the Quest 2, launched in October 2020 and retails for $249.99. Meta has shipped an estimated 20 million Quest 2s since launch. The company launched the Quest Pro in October 2022 and initially sold the high-end headset for $1,499.99 before knocking the price down to $999.99 in March. Consumers don’t seem to be that into the Quest Pro, and rumors are circulating that Meta will discontinue it soon. But it doesn’t stop there. Meta released the Quest 3 in October for $499.99, an updated and much slimmer version of the Quest 2.

Apple has officially entered the mixed-reality headset chat with the Vision Pro. The tech company’s augmented reality and virtual reality headset won’t come with controllers and is equipped with 4K displays, a 3D interface, spatial audio, and eye-tracking tech. Apple’s first headset is slated to hit the market in early 2024, and it will (allegedly) retail for $3,499.

Bitcoin’s Resurgence Put Crypto Back on the Map

Bitcoin is back on the rise as the volatile digital assets market shakes off some of that snow from the longest crypto winter ever. One thing to know about crypto is that when one asset is doing well, the entire market reaps some of the benefits in one way or another. Bitcoin averaged around $20,000 in January and even went as low as $16,600 to kick off the year. Bitcoin’s average has more than doubled since the token is trading above $43,000 as of December and crossed the $40,000 threshold in recent weeks for the first time in over a year and a half.

Bitcoin has been up and down all year, but since Q4 hit, the cryptocurrency has been climbing at a steady pace. There can be many reasons for this, but two that have a high impact include fodder around an impending Spot Bitcoin ETF approval and the next Bitcoin halving event that is estimated to happen between April and May 2024.

Bitcoin didn’t start 2023 strong, so I’ll be paying close attention to how the token performs at the top of the year.

Tech Layoffs Plagued the Industry

Thousands of tech workers were laid off this year as companies attempted to adjust and reset after overhiring staff during the pandemic. It seemed like every other week, there was news of another tech company cutting employees. The media industry was hit pretty hard, too.

Here is a short recap of Big Tech layoffs that came this year:

• Alphabet/Google: Laid off 12,000 employees in late January in a mass restructuring of business focus.
• Amazon: Laid off 9,000 more employees in March after announcing in November 2022 that it was cutting 18,000 workers. The Big Tech company cut another 180 gaming employees in April.
• Meta: Cut 11,00 jobs in fall of 2022 before laying off another 10,000 employees in March to further cut costs and operate more efficiently. Meta’s recruiting, technology, and business divisions were most affected by the cuts.
• Microsoft: Laid off 10,000 workers between January and March to trim costs. The Big Tech company’s subsidiary, LinkedIn, laid off 716 workers in May before letting go of 668 employees in October.
• Spotify: Cut 600 employees in January, 200 more in June, and another 1,500 workers in December to round out three rounds of layoffs this year.
• ByteDance: Cut hundreds of jobs across its gaming division in November as it pulled back its aggressive push into the market.

Other Big Tech players like Apple and Tesla carried out smaller rounds of layoffs throughout the year, but not big enough to make headlines. On the other hand, Nvidia didn’t make any cuts this year and hasn’t made a formal round of layoffs in 15 years, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a recent internal meeting.

15 of My Favorite Headlines from 2023

In no particular order, here are 15 stories I wrote this year that I’m really proud of.

1. ‘Queen Charlotte’ Gives Black Women the Limelight
2. Boardroom Q&A: Latasha Gillespie, Amazon Studios Head of Global DEI
3. This Song Is No Longer Available: Forecasting the Future of Music and AI
4. The Business Behind VeeCon
5. Omar Bailey’s FCTRY LAb is More Than a Sneaker Innovation Hub
6. Black Women in Tech Don’t Owe You Anything
7. NBA Threads: A Guide to the Thriving Hardwood Community
8. Tennis & Tech: Inside IBM’s Artificial Intelligence Evolution at the 2023 US Open
9. Cole Anthony & Crystal McCrary McGuire Want to Make Your Kid into an NBA Player
10. Key Facts You Need to Know About the Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
11. Tech Talk Reviews: WHOOP Coach, Powered by OpenAI
12. Boardroom Q&A: Pauliina Törnqvist, Senior Producer of VR Games at Meta
13. Forecasting the Future: Predictions for Crypto in 2024
14. 10 Must-have Tech Gadgets For Your 2023 Holiday Wish List
15. ChatGPT Turns 1: A Timeline of Events From a Monumental First Year

I (risk-free) gambled on movements in the tech industry over 40 times this year in this little section. I won’t be placing a new bet today. Instead, let’s take a look back at all of the bets I made this year and how some of the big ones landed.

Now, let’s raise a glass and cheers to making it through another year. I hope you enjoyed this last edition of 2023. Tech Talk will be back in 2024!

The post 5 Tech Trends That Took Over Headlines in 2023 appeared first on Boardroom.

@boardroom Drake’s music industry dominance is stamped once again by his ubiquitous presence on listeners’ Spotify Wrapped as a top-5 artist. #drake #spotify #spotifywrapped #rap #hiphop #rapper #champagnepapi #spotifywrapped2023 ♬ original sound – Boardroom

Tis the season to justify your musical choices. Spotify’s annual “Spotify Wrapped” feature dropped earlier this week, leading all your favorite friends to offer insights into their audio guilty pleasures…and Drake. A lot of Drake.

As everyone took to social media to share the customized lists packaged by the streaming site, keen observers noticed a few things. First, Drake (and Taylor Swift, for that matter) were everywhere. The two artists ranked in the top five of seemingly everyone’s lists. Second, most people swear they don’t listen to them … that much.

Should Spotify Wrapped be rebranded as “Drake Rapped”? Maybe, argues Boardroom’s Gabe Oshin. He examines how a prolific year for the 6 God skewed algorithms everywhere in his most recent Boardroom breakdown.

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The post How Drake Dropped Into Your Spotify Wrapped appeared first on Boardroom.

The ninth edition of Spotify’s Wrapped campaign is here to highlight 2023’s top artists, songs, albums, and podcasts.

The digital music and audio streaming service pulled data from its 574 million global users to help define how people are listening to content this year. As in previous years, users can tap into a personalized user experience with new interactive features, including the ability to tap into results via a desktop or Spotify’s mobile app. Spotify listeners will find the usual stats, like the top five genres and artists they listened to, in a new, refreshed way. Users can visit their personalized Wrapped feed to find a special video message from one of their top artists, and Spotify has videos from more than 40,000 artists to deliver on that promise.

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The Best of Wrapped 2023 Globally

To celebrate this year’s most-streamed global artist, Spotify scattered 21 puzzle pieces around the globe in the 48 hours leading up to Wrapped’s debut to tease the top artist of the year. Easter eggs could be found on billboards that sync with the celebratory video on Spotify’s platforms. True fans were probably able to guess the global star right away if they came across a clue.

Drum roll, please…

Spotify’s 2023 top artist is none other than Taylor Swift, with more than 26.1 billion global streams since Jan. 1. Swifties, this one is for you, as Swift is Spotify’s most-streamed artist, both globally and in the U.S. She unseated Bad Bunny, who was chasing a four-peat in the category.

Spotify is celebrating Swift’s Wrapped accomplishments by changing the color of fans’ progress bar when they play Swift to coincide with the songs’ Eras colors. And for an extra touch, the progress button will turn into a sparkle for a limited time when listening to Swift.

Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed artists of 2023 globally

Taylor and Benito were in good company amidst the top 10 most-streamed artists globally.

1. Taylor Swift
2. Bad Bunny
3. The Weeknd
4. Drake
5. Peso Pluma
6. Feid
7. Travis Scott
8. SZA
9. Karol G 
10. Lana Del Rey

Let’s jump into some more top lists from Spotify’s 2023 Wrapped campaign to see which artists, music, and podcasts fans just couldn’t get enough of in 2023.

Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed albums of 2023 globally

Bad Bunny still took the top spot for the most-streamed album of the year with more than 4.5 billion streams of Un Verano Sin Ti. Bad Bunny’s iconic album topped the list for the second year in a row. Swift’s Midnights, SZA’s SOS, and The Weekend’s Starboy rounded out the top five.

1. Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny
2. Midnights by Taylor Swift
3. SOS by SZA
4. Starboy by The Weeknd
5. MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO by KAROL G
6. One Thing At A Time by Morgan Wallen
7. Lover by Taylor Swift
8. HEROES & VILLAINS by Metro Boomin
9. GÉNESIS by Peso Pluma
10. Harry’s House by Harry Styles

Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed songs of 2023 globally

The most-streamed song of 2023 is Miley Cyrus’ viral hit “Flowers,” with more than 1.6 billion global streams since it dropped on Jan. 12.

1. “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
2. “Kill Bill” by SZA
3.  “As It Was” by Harry Styles
4. “Seven (feat. Latto)” by Jung Kook
5. “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
6. “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift
7. “Creepin’ (with The Weeknd & 21 Savage)” by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage
8. “Calm Down (with Selena Gomez)” by Rema, Selena Gomez
9. “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” by Bizarrap, Shakira
10. “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift

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The Best of Wrapped 2023 Nationally

While Taylor held on to the top artist spot among U.S. users, she faced some stiff competition from the likes of Drake, Morgan Wallen, and 21 Savage. However, she expanded her real estate on the top 10 most-streamed albums of the year, accounting for three.

Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed artists of 2023 in the US

1. Taylor Swift
2. Drake
3. Morgan Wallen
4. The Weeknd
5. Bad Bunny
6. 21 Savage
7. SZA
8. Zach Bryan
9. Kanye West
10. Peso Pluma

Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed albums of 2023 in the US

1. One Thing At A Time by Morgan Wallen
2. “SOS” by SZA
3. “Midnights” by Taylor Swift
4. “HEROES” & VILLAINS by Metro Boomin
5. “Dangerous: The Double Album” by Morgan Wallen
6. “Lover” by Taylor Swift
7. “Un Verano Sin Ti” by Bad Bunny
8. “folklore” by Taylor Swift
9. “GÉNESIS” by Peso Pluma
10. “Starboy” by The Weeknd

Spotify’s top 10 most-streamed songs of 2023 in the US

1. “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen
2. “Kill Bill” by SZA
3. “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
4. “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
5. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” by PinkPantheress, Ice Spice
6. “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift
7. “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan
8. “You Proof” by Morgan Wallen 
9. “Creepin’ (with The Weeknd & 21 Savage)” by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage
10. “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift

More Highlights and Trends

• Global streams of Spotify’s Barbie Official Playlist increased by nearly 1,560% after the “Barbie” movie premiered.
• Daily searches for pickleball-related playlists increased by 1,600% in May alone as the new sport expanded globally.
• Streams of Rihanna’s music spiked more than 640% in the US following her solo halftime performance at the 2023 Superbowl.
• The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy took the first and second spots, respectively, for the most-streamed podcasts both globally and nationally. The Joe Rogan Experience took the #1 spot for the fourth consecutive year.

New Personalized Wrapped Features and Offerings

This year’s edition also debuts a number of new features coming to Wrapped 2023:

• Spotify is introducing an interactive fan reward called Wrapped Listening Parties, which allows artists to speak directly to their fans to thank them, answer questions, sell merch, and more. Wrapped Listening Parties will be available to top fans of a select group of artists
• If you don’t want to pick through your Wrapped experience, you can use Spotify’s AI DJ to guide you through the experience.
• For the first time this year, users can invite their friends to blend their Wrapped experiences and combine top songs.
• Wrapped’s Sound Town feature matches users to cities based on their listening and shared artist affinity.
• The Me in 2023 feature defines a listener’s most notable streaming habit with one of 12 listening characteristics. For example, the Luminary plays light, upbeat music more than others, while the Alchemist creates their own playlists more than others do.
• WonderWrapped is coming back to Spotify Island to give listeners the opportunity to purchase limited edition merch inspired by the personalized user experience.
• As part of Spotify and FC Barcelona’s ongoing partnership, the pair produced content featuring players guessing each other’s Wrapped lists.
• Listeners can now easily access their top 2023 songs by asking Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. Wrapped stickers can also now be found on social platforms like WhatsApp and GIPHY.

For more top lists from 2023 Wrapped, check out Spotify’s blog post on the 2023 Wrapped experience.

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The post Spotify Wrapped 2023: Taylor Swift’s Global Reign Continues appeared first on Boardroom.

Twice a year, two of the world’s most popular teams in the world’s most popular sport do battle in front of hundreds of millions of fans across the globe, dwarfing the Super Bowl’s annual audience. The FC Barcelona–Real Madrid matchup dating back to 1902, known as El Clásico, transcends sports, with political undertones in a battle between Madrid’s Spanish nationalism and Barcelona’s Catalan independence and local autonomy.

With a combined Forbes valuation of more than $11 billion and 19 Champions League titles between them, the Spanish giants are two of soccer’s three most valuable clubs, with storied franchises and hundreds of millions of global fans obsessed with their favorite teams and even more obsessed with their teams beating their bitter arch-nemesis.

Quite simply, El Clásico is the greatest athletic rivalry on earth.

While the two clubs have yet to fully recover financially from the pandemic, Real Madrid and Barcelona ranked second and seventh, respectively, in this year’s Deloitte Football Money League rankings. Madrid increased revenues by 11% in 2022 to  €713.8 million, while Barca’s revenue spiked 10% to  €638.2 million. While both are well shy of their 2019 peaks, new commercial opportunities, broadcast revenue, and matchday sales are bringing both teams back.

And El Clásico is at the heart of it all, forming the backbone for the iconic clubs’ on and off-pitch success.

During the last weekend of October, Boardroom joined La Liga on a group trip to Barcelona to witness El Clásico in person and speak with team, league, and ESPN executives to get a firsthand look at the incredible rivalry and the business behind its phenomenal success.

The Numbers Behind El Clásico

From record-setting transfers to all-time trophies and beyond, take a closer look at the historic tale of the tape for one of sports’ most iconic showdowns.

Check it out!

Since 2018, La Liga has operated in the United States and Canada in a 50-50 joint venture with Relevent Sports to negotiate media rights, sponsorship, licensing, merchandising, and anything commercial the league wants to pursue. In May 2021, La Liga signed an eight-year, $1.4 billion deal with ESPN for its US rights. A month later, La Liga and Relevent extended their partnership to Mexico and Central America and inked a $600 million Mexican rights deal through 2031, helping the North American subsidiary quickly turn a profit. Those two media contracts represent La Liga’s largest outside of Spain.

La Liga’s overarching international strategy launched in 2016 and is now in 44 different countries. But the US and China were La Liga’s obvious priority foreign markets and strategic focal points to help bring additional revenue and awareness to the league’s 20 clubs, including Barcelona and Real Madrid. El Clásico is a major reason why La Liga has shown success both domestically and abroad, according to Boris Gartner, La Liga North America’s CEO.

“El Clásico has really become almost a brand of its own,” Gartner told Boardroom. “People recognize El Clásico similar to how they recognize the Super Bowl. You might not be following the NFL year-round, but you know what the Super Bowl means and how important it is. With El Clásico, you may not be a huge soccer fan or follow the league day in and day out, but you know that’s the game to watch.”

While February’s Super Bowl drew 115 million viewers in the US and 56 million internationally, El Clásico is watched in more than 185 countries with a potential audience of 650 million viewers, per La Liga figures. The league leans on the Real-Barca matchup to market the overall competition, with 20 teams and 380 matches per season featuring popular clubs like Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and Villarreal. They’re equally interested in promoting those teams, Gartner said, but La Liga isn’t shying away from anchoring its business with its two largest clubs and two of the world’s most ubiquitous sporting brands.

La Liga schedules its two annual Clásicos around its two biggest international markets. One matchup is scheduled for late night in China, and another is scheduled for the afternoon in the US. The matchup in late October in Barcelona was scheduled for 4:15 p.m. local time, 11:15 p.m. in China, and 10:15 a.m. in the eastern US. The April game in Madrid will be at about 9 p.m. local time or 3 p.m. in the States.

“From a marketing perspective, this is our Super Bowl moment,” Gartner said.

Since this Clásico was early in America, La Liga focused its marketing efforts on the east coast, with official watch parties in Miami, New York, Boston, Washington, DC, and Chicago. More than 1,200 people attended the collective morning events, including 500 in Miami alone. A larger league initiative called El Partidazo takes one big match per month and runs different events across the US and Mexico as a branded experience with watch parties featuring ambassador and legend experiences.

“If we create a brand around those events that people start recognizing and become familiar with,” Gartner explained, “and we go back to the same cities multiple times a year instead of going with just one game and disappear for a year, you create this habit and this closeness to the league that will be better in the long run.”

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After flying in from New York on Thursday, the soccer trip to Barcelona truly began Friday morning with a visit to the official FC Barcelona museum. This Clásico would be different from any of the previous 254 meetings because Barca’s historic Camp Nou stadium was undergoing renovations so extensive that no matches are taking place there this season.

October’s game took place at the picturesque, 55,000-seat Estadi Olímpic inside Barcelona’s mountainous Parque Montjuïc, the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Normally located inside the stadium, FCB spent €10 million on a temporary museum that would only stand for two years.

Barcelona’s team museum is big business. In a normal year, the team generates €42 million per year in ticket sales, €44 million at its attached team shop, and €6 million alone on an estimated 300,000 photos snapped during museum visits, according to Jordi Penas, Barca’s museum director. During stadium renovations, museum-related revenues are down by about half, he said.

“Economically, it is a disaster,” Penas told the tour group.

At the end of the museum tour, Penas took the group to a normally closed rooftop looking out at the ongoing Camp Nou renovation. Barcelona was still in the demolition phase of the renovation, with the upper bowl completely gone as part of a €1.5 billion revitalization project for the entire surrounding area. An outdoor structure that will contain a parking garage was further along in construction than the stadium itself.

The new Camp Nou will eventually seat 105,000, and the team expects to return to its historic home in November 2024 at half capacity, with a completed renovation expected in 2026. The project also includes a replacement for its 52-year-old Palau Blaugrana, a 7,500-seat indoor arena for its basketball, handball, and roller hockey teams. The 15,000-seat venue’s expected completion date is also 2026, with a greater ability to host concerts and other events. The larger project will also contain a hotel and officer towers.

“It’s going to be like a mini city,” Penas said. “It’s an investment in the future.”

This enormous investment wouldn’t be possible without tentpole marquee matchups like the Champions League or El Clásico. The same goes for Real Madrid’s €1 billion recently completed renovation of its Santiago Bernabéu stadium that took three years, increases the seating capacity to 85,000, and features a fully retractable pitch.

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Though Real Madrid and Barcelona are the most bitter of rivals, and while Penas made it clear that he wanted nothing more than to destroy Madrid on the pitch, he also knows that the two teams need each other to succeed.

“Having big teams play against us gives us air and money,” Penas said. “It’s very clear that one plus one equals three, not two.”

The next step on the tour was to a hotel in the Port Vell marina, where ESPN set up its broadcast operations for the weekend. ESPN sent more than 30 employees to Spain on one of the rare occasions the network travels for on-site La Liga coverage. Its broadcast talent entered a second-floor conference room flanked by Rodolfo Martinez, its senior vice president of international and ESPN Deportes production. He’s responsible, according to his company bio, for live events, studio shows, news, and information for all ESPN networks outside the US.

Martinez believes it’s crucial to show viewers that El Clásico is a special event, even bringing staff to Barcelona in August 2021 during the pandemic. While the $170 million per year media rights deal is for all 380 matches per year in La Liga, ESPN surely knows El Clásico is where its bread is buttered.

“We do other matches in Spain,” Martinez told Boardroom, “but we come to El Clásico because, without a doubt, that’s our highest-rated match. There is no other. This is the third year of our new contract, and I can tell you that it’s El Clásico, El Clásico, and then everything else.”

Saturday morning before the match, the group arrived at a parking lot outside Estadi Olímpic to witness the game’s production setup at several large trailers. We were greeted by La Liga Head of TV production Antonio del Castillo and Oscar Lago, Mediapro’s TV sports match director, who described how they elevate El Clásico into a sensory spectacle. Lago oversaw the world feed containing 38 different cameras situated around and above the pitch. That’s 15 more than the average La Liga telecast and as many as the Champions League final.

“The Clásicos are a tier of their own,” Gartner said. “The amount of promotion that ESPN puts behind the two Clásicos is exponentially higher than what they put behind promoting the rest of the games.”

Friday at ESPN’s mobile compound, much of the pregame hype centered around how 20-year-old British superstar Jude Bellingham would fare in his first ever Clásico after a €103 million transfer over the summer from Borussia Dortmund. 

“He started his career at Real Madrid very well, hasn’t he?” Steve McManaman, ESPN analyst and former Real Madrid winger, wondered. “If anything, he’s probably started too well. People are talking, is he the greatest player England’s ever had? And I think people should just leave him be and let him develop. I just hope he continues with a big game tomorrow.”

Bellingham has the chance to be one of La Liga’s most impactful business transactions since Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo left the Clásico rivalry.

Off the pitch, Spotify’s three-year deal with Barcelona for naming rights to Camp Nou and jersey sponsorship rights is worth more than $300 million per season, helping the club rebound from financial difficulties that necessitated Messi’s 2021 departure to Paris Saint-Germain. The Spotify deal saw The Rolling Stones’ ubiquitous logo on the front of Barcelona’s jersey against Real Madrid, following previous one-offs with Drake’s OVO and Latin superstar Rosalía.

And in December 2021, CVC Capital Partners invested nearly €2 billion for an 8.2% stake in La Liga. It’s a move that Gartner said allows the league to focus on long-term projects without worrying about short-term cash or immediate financial expenditures.

On Saturday afternoon, game day, the walk to the stadium from the Plaça d’Espanya with tens of thousands of fans up a series of escalators was magnificent and unlike any the 121-year rivalry had experienced before. Then, the match itself more than lived up to the hype.

A sixth-minute Barcelona goal gave the home side the lead, but Bellingham tied the game on a 68th-minute rocket and won it on a rebound in the second minute of extra time. It gave Real Madrid a statement 2-1 win and delivered Bellingham’s transcendent, megastar-making moment that fans around the world won’t soon forget.

With Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. dominating for Madrid and youngsters like Gavi and Pedri emerging at Barcelona, the average age of both squads is now in the low 20s, perhaps signaling a new era and a bright future for El Clásico.

“The Clásico is in itself an institution, and institutions are way larger than the players that play in it,” Fernando Palomo, who called El Clásico for ESPN in Spanish, said. “The players go by, but the institution remains.”

Every club goes through cycles, Gartner said, but to La Liga, the El Clásico rivalry is rather simple. Real Madrid and Barcelona will always attract world-class talent, and the game will always attract nine-figure audiences.

Twice a year, two of the most valuable and popular sports clubs on earth do battle with the whole world watching. El Clásico is sports, and the magic of the game and the full weekend in October only further proved why it’s a bucket list experience and a matchup you can’t afford to miss.

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The post The Business Behind El Clásico: Barcelona & Real Madrid Need Each Other appeared first on Boardroom.

A peek into today’s edition: 

• Meta, Microsoft, Snap, Alphabet, and Amazon report earnings
• Apple to host Mac event next week
• Elon Musk‘s Twitter purchase anniversary is here

Big Tech Earnings From Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap and Amazon

Artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure were the main topics of discussion across Big Tech earnings calls this week. Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap, and Amazon reported earnings and updated financial outlooks this week.

Here are some key revenue highlights, but check out my story on Amazon’s earnings and Boardroom’s latest Big Tech Earnings Roundup for more in-depth details:

• Amazon generated $143.1 billion in revenue, a 13% increase year-over-year. The big tech firm beat analysts’ projections across the board, and thanks to the holiday season, Amazon expects sales to land in the $160 billion to $167 billion range.
• Alphabet’s revenue increased to $76.7 billion, up 7% year-over-year. The company’s Google Cloud division produced $8.41 billion, and despite missing projections, revenue for Alphabet’s Google Cloud biz grew 22% year-over-year.
• Meta generated $34.15 billion in revenue, a 23% increase year-over-year, marking the company’s fastest rate of growth since 2021. Daily active users across Meta’s family of apps topped 3.14 billion, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
• Microsoft generated $56.5 billion in revenue, an increase of 13% year-over-year. Its biggest revenue win came from its cloud business, which produced $24.26 billion in revenue, up 19%.
• Snap’s revenue rose 5% year-over-year to $1.19 billion, and its Snapchat+ monthly subscription service surpassed five million subscribers. The company returned to positive growth in the third quarter, boosting its stock by as much as 20% on Tuesday.

Apple Set to Announce New Line of iMacs Ahead of Releasing Q3 Earnings

Apple swiftly announced an unexpected event set for Monday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. PT. The Big Tech giant will likely announce a new line of Macs, and the event will be completely streamed virtually. Apple knew what it was doing when it dubbed this keynote its “Scary Fast” event since it usually has an IRL crowd for big product announcements. The company took the play on Halloween words to the next level when it updated its event page with its logo transformed into a spooky Finder face. Apple hasn’t launched a new line of iMac desktop computers since April 2021.

This isn’t the only order of business Apple is getting to before its next earnings report comes out on Nov. 2. The company is also upping the Apple TV+ monthly subscription fee from $6.99 to $9.99 and said it will honor California’s new right to repair initiative nationwide. In the midst of this, Taiwan-based Foxconn, Apple’s biggest product maker and supplier, will cooperate with the Chinese government in potential tax and land-use investigations.

Meta Hit With Lawsuits, Alleging Facebook and Instagram Features Are Addictive to Kids

Meta is facing lawsuits from a bipartisan group of 42 attorney generals, alleging that it knowingly developed addictive features on Instagram and Facebook to keep young users engaged on its platforms longer. The lawsuits span 41 states and DC and even include Meta’s home state of California. One of the filings runs 233 pages long and accuses Meta of altering the psychological and social realities of young users and refusing to implement age verification parameters. CNBC reported that one of the suits accuses Meta of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal data on users under 13 without parental consent.

The Big Tech firm hasn’t responded to the lawsuits yet, but we can expect to see Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg in many courtrooms across the nation very soon.

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: What We Learned from Week 4

Something surprising happened this week after the court took a break until Thursday: Sam Bankman-Fried decided to testify in his own trial, where a jury will decide if he’s guilty on 12 counts of financial-related fraud charges. Up until this point, SBF’s defense hadn’t decided if he was going to take the stand or not, but the former FTX leader spent Thursday answering some questions in a mock testimony.  Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the jury for the day, so they didn’t get to hear SBF’s testimony while the court ruled on which parts of SBF’s testimony were admissible in court.

Judge Kaplan said SBF had an interesting way of answering questions and even begged him at one point to listen to inquiries before speaking and to answer questions directly. SBF official took the stand on Friday in front of jurors, where he told them he told them he didn’t defraud FTX customers. SBF answered questions about his vision for FTX, the company’s early days in Hong Kong, and his initial plan to sell FTX to Binance before it took off. From the sounds of it, SBF will be back on the stand next week as the defense calls an estimated six witnesses to testify.

While SBF prepped to take the stand, his bankrupt crypto exchange narrowed down its list of bidders interested in reviving the platform, MilkRoad reports. Soon after FTX filed for bankruptcy last November, talks began about restarting the exchange under new management.

• Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion on Oct. 27, 2022, before rebranding it as X and losing about 13% of the platform’s daily active users. Former employees are calling Musk’s leadership style “ruthless and clumsy” as they fear for X’s future.
• TikTok is testing out 15-minute uploads, an increase of 5 minutes from its previous video cap. The company also announced its first live music event headlined by Cardi B that will broadcast on its platform with highlights.
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared that Threads is nearing 100 million monthly active users. The Big Tech company is also testing a verified-only feed for paying Meta Verified customers.
• Bitcoin briefly breached the $35,000 threshold for the first time since May 2022, marking a new 16-month high amid the expected approval of a Bitcoin ETF soon. This ETF would give financial institutions a smoother bridge into crypto investing that mirrors how they typically buy stocks.
• Spotify‘s monthly active users increased by 26% to 574 million, marking its second-largest Q3 net addition performance in its history. The streaming service posted $3.55 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• Sony sold 2.5 million copies of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 game in the US in the first 24 hours of its release, making the PlayStation 5 exclusive Sony’s fastest-selling gaming title to date.

• Coinbase Weighs In On Needed Crypto Regulations
• Inside the Charlotte Hornets’ Hive of Innovation
• GameSquare Holdings Acquires Embattled FaZe Clan

Shazam, the music identification app owned by Apple, announced a new feature called Concerts, which will recommend music events to customers based on their Shazam queries. With this expansion, I’m going to bet that Shazam will add a concert ticket-purchasing feature as well, or maybe Apple will build its own internal ticket sales tech.

The post Big Tech Earnings From Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap, and Amazon appeared first on Boardroom.

If you were asked point blank to rattle off your all-time favorite artists and songs, you likely wouldn’t struggle. But when was the last time you put thought into your favorite album? What’s the last complete work in a musical artist’s discography you experienced with truly zero skips? That LP that you can play over and over again all the way to Platinum status in your house alone?

Your mileage may vary. But as it relates to what users turn to most frequently on major streaming platforms, we have a winner. According to the latest listener data on Spotify, check out the most-streamed albums on Spotify to date.

You may have even done your part to help one or more of these records make the list.

Let’s jump in.

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Most-streamed Albums on Spotify: The Top 5

Figures based on Spotify app data as of Oct. 13, 2023.

1. Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti: 14.5 billion streams

Since July 2023, Bad Bunny‘s celebrated 2022 album has been the No. 1 most-streamed album on Spotify, bar none. Dethroning Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide), Un Verano Sin Ti‘s reign rolls on after debuting at No. 1 and breaking the record for the biggest streaming week ever for a Latin music album. As if that weren’t enough, it made history at the 2022 Grammy Awards as the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for Album of the Year.

2. Ed Sheeran’s Divide (÷): 13.8 billion

Earning Ed Sheeran a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2018, the deluxe version of the award-winning album Divide was once the most streamed album of all time on Spotify. The album skyrocketed to the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in its first week, positioning Sheeran’s album as the fastest-selling album by a male solo artist in the country, as well as the highest opening trailing behind Adele and Oasis.

3. The Weeknd’s Starboy: 11.9 billion

The Weeknd‘s third studio album boasts features from Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk, Future, and Lana Del Rey as well as producer credits from Labrinth, Diplo, and Metro Boomin. Starboy became The Weeknd’s second consecutive No. 1 album and houses discography favorites “Die For You,” “I Feel It Coming,” “Reminder,” and the title track. The album also won The Weeknd’s second Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2018 and boasts 4x Platinum certification from the RIAA.

Think You Know Spotify’s No. 1 Artist?

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4. Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding: 11.5 billion

Post Malone’s third studio album features fellow rappers Travis Scott, SZA, Swae Lee, Young Thug, and Lil Baby, as well as pop and R&B favorite Halsey — and that’s a non-exhaustive list. Hollywood’s Bleeding was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2021 Grammy Awards and became Posty’s second US No. 1 album.

5. Dua Lipa’s Dua Lipa: 11.4 billion

Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut set the bar high from the jump. The album includes hit tracks from “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)” to “New Rules,” the latter of which became the most-streamed song by a female British artist in the United Kingdom as of March 2021. “New Rules” also became the singer’s first top 10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke the record for the most weeks on the US Mainstream Top 40 chart. 

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Spotify’s Most-Streamed Albums: The Top 15

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The post Spotify’s Most Streamed Albums: Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, & More appeared first on Boardroom.

There’s no badge of honor on a music streaming platform like Spotify that conveys more prestige than the “Billions Club” recognizing the elite tier of songs with over one billion streams — and if it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as to which artists reside in the penthouse. Ed Sheeran is sitting pretty at the top of the heap these days while The Weeknd is right on his tail, but that got us thinking about who’s following close behind.

Below, check out the most-streamed songs on Spotify, including the three tracks with more than three billion listens (!) each.

Let’s get to streaming!

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Most-streamed Songs on Spotify: The Top 5

Figures based on Spotify app data as of Oct. 26, 2023.

1. “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran: 4.175 billion

From his 2017 third studio album ÷, Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape Of You” became the first song to hit two billion streams on Spotify and currently stands as the platforms’ No. 1 most streamed-song, knocking The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” out of the lead. By December of 2019, “Shape Of You” was Spotify’s most-streamed song of the 2010s, as well as the most-streamed song on  Apple Music as of May 2023 with over 930 million streams (and counting.)

2. “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd: 3.953 billion streams

The previously single most-streamed song on Spotify and now holding the second spot on the list, “Blinding Lights” additionally spent nearly two years on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — one of the longest chart runs in history. The second single from The Weeknd‘s After Hours album was the overall best-selling global single of 2020 and was certified Diamond (10x Platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April 2022.

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3. “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran: 3.804 billion

Unbeknownst to most fans, “Perfect” was the very first track that Sheeran penned for his third studio album, ÷ , which debuted in 2017. Released only three months later was a second version of the ballad titled “Perfect Duet,” during which the English singer-songwriter was accompanied by none other than Beyonce. The music video stars actress Zoey Deutch and was directed by Jason Koenig, who also directed the video for Sheeran’s “Shape Of You.” Fast forward to the following year, “Perfect” received three nods at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards for Song Of The Year, Best Pop Video, and Best Direction.

4. “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi: 3.386 billion

Puerto Rican-bred artists Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee set the bar high for forthcoming Latin pop and reggaeton releases after unleashing their January 2017 “Despacito” hit into the music industry ether. In April 2017, the official remix featuring Justin Bieber was released and skyrocketed the song to the top of international charts almost instantly. At the 18th Latin Grammy Awards, the track received numerous nominations including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Urban Fusion/Performance, and Best Short Form Music Video. “Despacito” broke numerous records including becoming the first Latin song to receive a diamond certification from the RIAA and the longest-running number-one on the Hot Latin Songs chart with 56 weeks under its belt.

5. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi: 3.007 billion

Marking Lewis Capaldi’s first No. 1 single, “Someone You Loved” spent seven consecutive weeks atop the charts and was the best-selling single of 2019 in the United Kingdom. The song earned a nomination at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards for Song of the Year — and did you know that in 2019, “Someone You Loved” was the best-selling song in Ireland with 26.8 million streams?

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Most-streamed Songs on Spotify: The Top 15

Song streaming rankings via Spotify app data as of Oct. 26, 2023.

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The post Spotify’s Most-streamed Songs: Luis Fonsi, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd & More appeared first on Boardroom.

As the top competitor in music streaming platforms, being crowned as one of the most-streamed artists on Spotify is no small achievement. From hip-hop and R&B to reggaeton, trap, and country pop, we’ve got your definitive ranking of the top music choices on rotation — starting with a prolific Torontonian who stands alone as the first artist ever to exceed 60 billion streams as a lead artist.

Let’s get into it.

Most-streamed Artists on Spotify: The Best of the Best

1. Drake: 66,794,274,524 streams

The 6 God not only holds the title of most-streamed artist of the 2010s — he’s also the most-streamed artist on Spotify in history. Drake has eight studio albums to his name following the release of 2023’s For All the Dogs, but made even more history alongside 21 Savage with their collaborative album, Her Loss, which generated over one billion streams within fewer than two months of its debut in November of 2022. Drizzy is also the first artist in the streaming platform’s history to surpass 75 billion Spotify streams combined as both a lead and featured artist.

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2. Bad Bunny: 60,738,070,927

In 2022, San Benito garnered over 18.5 billion Spotify streams, securing his spot as Spotify’s top overall artist for a third consecutive year. This also made the “Yo Perreo Sola” singer the only artist to accomplish such a milestone for the streaming platform. Moreover, his single “Tití Me Preguntó” achieved over one billion streams alone, making it his 12th track to make the Billions Club cut.

3. Taylor Swift: 60,561,368,347

Just two months ago, the “Anti-Hero” singer became the first female artist to hit 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Moreover, Taylor Swift became the first woman to land four albums within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart all at once — making her the third artist in history to ever do so — following the release of her third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).

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4. The Weeknd: 48,813,158,448

Earlier this year, the acclaimed artist born Abel Tesfaye became the first artist in Spotify history to hit 100 million monthly listeners. If that wasn’t enough, The Weeknd also holds the record for the most played song of all time thanks to “Blinding Lights,” which is one of three songs boasting over three billion streams as of this writing. According to Guinness World Records, the “Starboy” singer is the world’s most popular musician overall thanks in large part to being the first to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on the platform.

5. Ed Sheeran: 45,090,993,077

In 2022, Ed Sheeran became the first artist to hit 100 million followers on Spotify. Moreover, the singer’s “Shape Of You” single was the first song to reach three billion streams on Spotify and in 2021, it became the most-streamed song on Spotify in history before being overtaken by “Flashing Lights.” Did you know that the single was not intended to be on his divide album at all and was originally written for another artist? The music game is funny sometimes.

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Most-Streamed Artists on Spotify: The Full Top 20

Artists’ lead-specific rankings via Spotify. All-time rankings and billion-stream stats are based on streamed songs as a lead artist only via ChartMasters as of Oct. 9, 2023.

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The post Spotify’s Most-streamed Artists: Drake, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift & More appeared first on Boardroom.

The music industry is thriving.

The Recording Industry Association of America released its midyear report for U.S. recorded music on Monday. In the first half of 2023, music revenue skyrocketed as retail set a new record, posting $8.4 billion. The figure is a 9.3% leap from last year’s midyear revenue, reported at $7.6 billion. Similarly, wholesale figures were also up 8.2% year-over-year, jumping from $4.9 billion to $5.3 billion between 2022 and 2023.

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When breaking down the data, streaming is responsible for driving the lion’s share of the industry. Streaming accounts for 84% of revenue for the fourth consecutive year. These data include subscriptions, ad-supported services, digital and customized radio, and licenses for music on social media and digital fitness apps. The reports shows that 95.8 million people utilized streaming accounts in the first six months of the year. Overall, streaming netted $7 billion, reflecting a 10% increase from 2022.

Insiders are curious to see end of year numbers, following recent price hikes in streaming subscriptions implemented by Spotify and YouTube. However, the upward trend In revenue to this point suggest that they will have an effect on the overall revenue, as Apple Music and Amazon rolled out increases earlier in the year.

Perhaps most surprising, physical music products lept 5% to account for $882 million in revenue. The figure signals its highest mark since the first half of 2013. This is fueled by the resurgence of vinyl records and CDs, driven by Gen Z consumers. An earlier report from Luminate suggested that super fans are driving these numbers, as they are more likely than a casual fan to invest in physical music to support their favorite entertainers.

The rise in revenue reflects overall trends in the music industry. This summer superstars such as Beyoncé, Drake, and Taylor Swift have positioned themselves to set new touring revenue records while their music remains on steady loop across all streaming services.

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The post US Music Revenue Sets New Retail Record First Half of 2023 appeared first on Boardroom.

Spotify‘s RapCaviar is partnering with Boardroom for the 2023 All-RapCaviar campaign that celebrates artists’ and fans’ love of hip-hop and basketball. Similar to All-NBA teams, the concept is three groups of five of hip-hop’s hottest artists that perfectly encapsulate what Spotify’s ever-popular, ever-evolving RapCaviar playlist is all about.

“All-RapCaviar is one of the ways we can contextualize the ‘RapCaviar’ playlist and share our larger point of view on hip-hop culture,” said Carl Chery, Spotify’s creative director and head of urban music. “With our partners Kevin Durant and Boardroom, we’re celebrating the most notable artists on Spotify and sparking conversation within the hip-hop and basketball communities.”

Find out which hip-hop heavy hitters made the final 2023 All-RapCaviar cut below.

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Included in this year’s campaign — the fourth of its kind — will be a mini-series on social media titled “Inside RapCaviar.” Boardroom’s own Kevin Durant and Turner Sports broadcaster Taylor Rooks will chop it up with a couple of Grammy Award winners in Hit-Boy and Boi 1da about who made this year’s list and why. For Durant and Boi 1da, this partnership marks the second collaboration between the two, the first being a signature shoe release as part of the Nike KD15 “Producer Pack.”

“I love the opportunity to bring the sports and hip hop worlds together, and getting to bring Boardroom into the mix with this year’s All-RapCaviar campaign was a no-brainer,” Durant said about the campaign. “It was great to get the chance to mix it up with Taylor, Boi 1da, and Hit-Boy, and I can’t wait to see the debates fans have about this year’s list.”

Speaking of which, on July 18, the official list dropped. Check out this year’s All-RapCaviar lineup:

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RapCaviar has been a Spotify staple since it launched in 2015, becoming one of the most followed playlists the company boasts, with over 15 million subscribers to the weekly 50-song offering.

Stay tuned to both Boardroom and RapCaviar’s social channels for more updates as this year’s campaign rolls on, including an exclusive playlist from KD.

2023 All-RapCaviar Teams

First Team

• 21 Savage
• Drake
• Metro Boomin
• Lil Baby
• Lil Uzi Vert

Second Team

• Coi Leray
• Ice Spice
• Lil Durk
• Tyler, The Creator
• YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Third Team

• Central Cee
• Don Toliver
• GloRilla
• Nicki Minaj
• NLE Choppa

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The post Boardroom & Spotify Team Up on 2023 All-RapCaviar Teams appeared first on Boardroom.

Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” has exercised an eternal refusal to fade from society’s psyche. The inspirational track was certainly a well-received hit following its 1981 release, becoming the third-highest-charting Top 10 single from their blockbuster album Escape.

While it didn’t exactly fade into oblivion after that, its true revival came 16 years later.

On June 10, 2007, an estimated 11.9 million viewers witnessed one of the most controversial television show endings ever. With “Don’t Stop Believin'” playing on a background jukebox, The Sopranos series finale suddenly cut to black, leaving Tony and his family’s fates uncertain.

Between the Sunday night finale and the following Tuesday, sales for “Don’t Stop Believin’” skyrocketed by 482% on iTunes. And by November of 2008, the song had soared to claim double-platinum status with over 2 million digital copies sold. 

This phenomenon falls under an industry-wide term and licensing agreement known as sync. 

“We’re selling 20,000 tickets a night. And we haven’t had any other hit records beyond what we did in the ’80s,” Journey founding member Neal Schon told People Magazine four days after the finale aired. “For them to use our song at the end of it is probably the highest compliment ever for that song.”

The Sopranos and Journey aren’t the only example of pop culture taking an old song and giving it new life.

Painting a vivid picture of Los Angeles’ inner city on the big screen, the 2015 Straight Outta Compton biopic, depicting the rise and fall of N.W.A., cemented the staying power of sync in the modern age of music consumption.

The rap collective’s ruthlessly raw and unfiltered debut album by the same name failed to grace the Billboard Hot 100 during its 1988 debut, but after a month in theaters nearly three decades later, Straight Outta Compton peaked at No. 38 on the same chart while reaching No. 4 on the Top 200. 

By November, the album had sold more than three million units with Spotify streams up over 100%. The music industry took notice; it was time to cash in. 

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The Sync Licensing Phenomenon

In the simplest terms, synchronization is when licensed music is, as the name suggests, synced with a visual medium like film, television, or video games.

Recent films like The Batman are now inexplicably linked with counterparts like Nirvana’s “Something In The Way.” The dreary song did more than score the film’s initial trailer, it became the quintessential theme to Robert Pattinson’s broody portrayal of Bruce Wayne. Consequently, it enjoyed its own virality on TikTok.

Synchronization existed for decades, but the trend of it revitalizing classic songs has exploded in the 21st century.

In its 2022 Year-End Music Revenue Statistics, the Recording Industry Association of America estimated the industry’s “Synchronization Royalties” value at $328.5 million, a 24.8% increase from 2021. 

Thanks to the phenomenon’s growing occurrences, artists and songwriters are exploring the vast syncing opportunities supercharged by the chokehold social media and streaming have over society. 

Enter The Streaming Era

By Straight Outta Compton’s release, the music industry had already begun its shift toward favoring streaming platforms. Spotify was nearly a decade old, amassing just under $2.2 billion in revenue in 2015 alone. Jay Z’s TIDAL service had launched a year prior while Apple Music was in its three-month-old infancy.

The ease and convenience made available with streaming music had already become inescapable. And with it, a surge in sales and records for musicians and labels keen on merging the two entities. 

A trickle effect took hold throughout the following years. Thor Ragnarok’s use of Led Zepplin’s “Immigrant Song” in 2017 led to an additional 2.1 million streams and 18,000 units sold. Aerosmith’s allowance of “Dream On” for The Boys Season 2 Episode 5 netted them a total of 10.9 million on-demand streams, according to Neilson Music/MRC Data. 

And the latter doesn’t even begin to touch the height that Kate Bush reached in the summer of 2022. 

Since 2016, Netflix’s thriller-drama series Stranger Things has exposed a new generation of listeners to the sounds of the 80s. Few, though, compared to the life that “Running Up That Hill” took on.

Throughout the fifth season, Sadie Sink’s character Max crafts a perpetual bond with the Best British Single nomination. As the climax of the season ensues, Bush’s voice synchronizes with the imagery of Max fighting the control of Vecna by siphoning strength from the mid-80s hit. 

The roughly four-minute sync between the song’s euphoric build and Max barely escaping the antagonist’s grasp quickly became a memorializing high note for the series and global fan base. 

“Running Up That Hill” initially charted in the US at No. 30 on the Hot 100. 37 years later, the hit song leapt up to No. 3, giving Bush her second-ever No. 1 UK single. 

The UK native’s song went berserk across the pond, racking up 86.6 million streams from June through August while Spotify reported the song had surpassed one billion streams just 26 days after the Stranger Things season premiere. 

“It’s just extraordinary,” Bush told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour in June of the renewed interest in her song. “I thought the track would get some attention, but I never imagined that it would be anything like this. It’s so exciting. It’s quite shocking really, isn’t it? The whole world’s gone mad!”

The beauty of sync in the modern day lies in its low-risk, high-reward payout. Bush didn’t have to come up with another hit song nearly 40 years later as a revenue driver. She didn’t have to reinvent her persona or explore a new medium for worldwide recognition. A fusion with Stranger Things took care of that and earned Bush about $2.3 million in subsequent streaming royalties.

Social Media’s Role

Where the Duffer Brothers excel in reliving the 80s for adolescents is where apps like TikTok and Youtube Shorts serve as the red-hot coals that keep producers and directors pouring back into the sync trend. 

As noted by CenturyLinkQuote communications specialist Rebecca Sowell, 39% of Gen Z only recognized Bush’s 1985 single due to its TikTok popularity. The song drew over 830K posts and over 2.1 billion views in the aftermath. 

“Platforms like TikTok and YouTube are absolutely making it easier for people to discover new music,” Sowell told Forbes. “22% of Zoomers recognize pop hits because they trended on TikTok or other social media.”

Social media has become a depository for old songs waiting for the perfect sync to send it soaring. It’s provided a promotional trampoline for bygone chart toppers or overlooked gems from recent memory. It’s also become a space for featured artists to connect with newfound fans, like Florence Welch did in May. 

Like Stranger Things, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy has exercised a mastery in tapping into today’s nostalgia-steeped society.

Energized by Star Lord’s eccentrically curated playlist, the jubilant conclusion to a heart-wrenching Volume 3 paired its final scenes with Florence & The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.” 

In the theater watching the final moments of her track play over the credits, Welch was overcome with joyful tears, seen in the TikTok she posted during the film’s opening weekend. 

“So I cried all the way through this movie but when The Guardians of The Galaxy started dancing to Dog Days I really lost it,” she wrote in the caption. “Thank you so much for all the love for this moment. The superhero obsessed little girl in me can’t believe this happened.”

Ten days after the movie’s release, the band’s 2008 hit song became the 15th-most Shazam’d track in the world and amassed over 9.2 million US streams throughout the month, all while incurring its biggest streaming day of all-time on the app, 15 years after its release. 

From fan edits and memes to syncing the lyrics to different types of shows and movie clips, over 325 million viewers on TikTok caught wind of the harp-based track and were reintroduced to the allure of the Indie-based group. 

The Future Of Sync

Artists and movie producers haven’t been the lone earners of the dividends sync churns out. 

Major corporations like WMG, BMG and Universal Music Group have been proactive in acquiring the rights to artists’ collections, citing the recent successes of their sync departments when buying up catalogs.

Bruce Springsteen reportedly sold his music catalog to Sony for more than $500 million in 2021 while Justin Bieber recently offloaded his archive for a $200 million cash-out.  

In exchange for a cash lump sum, companies are betting on syncs to accrue additional revenue while relying on society and Hollywood’s obsession with nostalgic, historical dramas to cement their investments. 

Promotional opportunities are nearly endless with the current state of streaming and social media. Worldwide Music Groups knows it and Journey knows it. So does Spotify, TikTok, and every other artist striving for a Top 100 placement or return to the limelight. 

Sync listening is driving in levels of pay and a number of performances that artists haven’t witnessed in decades. Millions of individuals have become aware of artists at the tap of a finger decades removed from their so-called eras. 

And as the era of quick consumption prevails, so will its influence in boardrooms and recording studios. 

“I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years,” Head of Sync at Bodega Sync told The Grammys in May. “There are more sync opportunities now than there have ever been.”

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The post Sync Licensing: The Lucrative Link Between Music and TV appeared first on Boardroom.

We’ve all heard of lo-fi beats to relax or study, but the long-awaited Spotify ‘superpremium’ subscription offering would prioritize hi-fi audio for its users, according to reports.

The subscription tier would debut outside the United States before launching Stateside in October. We don’t know the cost just yet, but it would be more expensive than the current $9.99 per month premium tier or its $15.99 per month family plan of up to six users.

The hi-fi functionality that Spotify would offer is also known as lossless audio. CD-quality audio is normally compressed into an MP3 file which gets streamed on Spotify at 1/4 of the file size, taking up less storage on a smartphone but also missing the full, uncompromised detail. The average size of a lossless audio file is more than half the size of its original recording, improving a given song’s quality closer to CD levels.

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While Apple Music and Amazon Music already have lossless audio as part of their standard subscription plans, Spotify will finally offer hi-fi to users after originally floating the idea in 2021. In addition to hi-fi audio, Spotify would also offer superpremium subscribers expanded audiobook access, either by expanding the amount of free titles for users in that tier or increasing the number of hours subscribers could listen to audio books of choice.

Spotify stock closed Tuesday up 3%, just $60 off the streamer’s 52-week high. Last week, Spotify and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Audio agreed to part ways after their $20 million deal yielded just one 12-episode series.

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It may as well be written in the US Constitution, or perhaps spray-stenciled on the back of it in margarita mix: when the mid-year dog days return, it becomes time once again to determine the elite tier of Songs of the Summer that capture the joyously carefree energy of these heady months.

And while not every year’s most popular warm-weather music ages well — 2013’s “Blurred Lines” will be studied and reckoned with by psychologists for a long time — the end of the school year and your thermometer’s mounting mercury have signaled that it’s time to think about anointing a new pantheon of tracks for 2023.

Fortunately, Spotify has already got a jump on things. Based on existing audience data and some predictive analytics, the streaming giant has already come in hot and humid with 20 picks it’s already backing as candidates for the Songs of the Summer honor roll by the time all’s said and done.

From cathartic hip-hop from Lil Durk, Aminé, and 21 Savage to breezy flourishes from the words of pop, Latin, and electronic, check out the full list below.

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Songs of the Summer 2023: Spotify’s 20 Best Predictions

All-time Spotify artist rankings and streaming numbers (as a lead artist only) are via ChartMasters as of June 12, 2023. Data not necessarily available for every artist.

So, did your top Song of the Summer pick make the list?

Blow us up on Instagram and Twitter @boardroom and let us know — and if you want to go deeper on Spotify streaming, don’t miss our rundown of the platform’s all-time most-streamed rappers.

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The post Anthems & Algorithms: Spotify Predicts 2023’s Songs of the Summer appeared first on Boardroom.

Besides Dylan, who are the icons most widely considered among the greatest rappers ever to do it? It’s a question worth asking any day of the week, but it’s particularly prescient given that 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the hip-hop art form.

If you’re making a Mount Rushmore, you’re almost certainly including — in no particular order — The Notorious BIG, 2Pac, and Jay-Z. If we’re talking top five, there’s a stronger chance by comparison that Nas is making his way in there. But what if I asked you to name the five most popular bar-spitters in the history of Spotify? Would your answer be the same?

Spoiler alert: None of those four even crack the top 30. Biggie Smalls doesn’t make the top 50.

That’s surely got you either infuriated or strangely enthused, right? Well, all ye backpackers and boom-bappers, no more vamping and/or cold-lamping, let’s get right to the 50 most-streamed rappers on Spotify all-time, starting with a Canadian man who went from Degrassi to classy.

Think You Know the Best-selling Rap Album of All Time?

From Hov and Eminem to Bigge, Pac, and beyond, find out who stands alone atop at rap’s Platinum mountaintop.

Let’s Go!

The 50 Most-streamed Rappers on Spotify

Rap-specific rankings, all-time rankings, and billion-stream stats are based on streamed songs as a lead artist only via ChartMasters as of Oct. 9, 2023.

@boardroom Drake’s level of braggadocious reaches new heights on his ‘For All The Dogs’ album. We take a look the record’s most lofty lyrics in the first installment of “Boardroom Bars.” #drake #forallthedogs #hiphop #rapper ♬ original sound – Boardroom

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Which Rapper Has the Most Diamond Albums & Singles?

From Drake and Eminem to Kanye, Hov, and beyond, check out hip-hop’s all-time 10x Platinum honor roll.

Let’s Go!

Other Notable Rappers on the All-time Spotify Charts

55. Snoop Dogg (overall Spotify rank: 216)
56. The Notorious BIG (218)
57. Megan Thee Stallion (223)
58. Big Sean (228)
60. Meek Mill (230)
62. Lil Durk (240)
64. Gucci Mane (242)
65. Rae Sremmurd (244)
73. Dr. Dre (289)
75. Lizzo (296)

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The post The Most-streamed Rappers on Spotify: Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne & More appeared first on Boardroom.

Spotify is laying off 2% — roughly 200 jobs — of its team members from its podcast division, the company confirmed in a memo on Monday. The layoffs are part of a “strategic realignment” within the unit in order to “support the creator community better.”

“We are expanding our partnership efforts with leading podcasters from across the globe with a tailored approach optimized for each show and creator. This fundamental pivot from a more uniform proposition will allow us to support the creator community better. However, doing so requires adapting; over the past few months, our senior leadership team has worked closely with HR to determine the optimal organization for this next chapter,” said Sahar Elhabashi, Spotify’s head of the podcast business.

Per an SEC notice, Spotify’s global workforce was 8,359 people in 2020, with 4,332 of those employees in the United States.

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While not necessarily a personnel change, the streaming platform also announced plans to merge its Parcast and Gimlet media entities into a single Spotify Studios unit, consequently joining The Ringer in churning out original content. This is an interesting move considering Spotify splashed around $200 million for Gimlet Media and $56 million for Parcast in 2019. Spotify abandoned plans for 10 shows from Parcast and Gimlet last October, but Elhabashi promises that moving forward, approved shows will have “an increased focus on always-on programming that drives strong, loyal audiences and attracts advertisers.”

“Our continued success in growing the podcast ecosystem is predicated on the necessity that the Spotify Machine is always in motion,” the MTV Networks alum added. “And with these changes, we will accelerate into the next chapter for podcasts on Spotify with strong discovery and podcast habits for users, thriving monetization and audience growth for creators, and a valuable, high-margin business for Spotify.”

As part of this revelation, the company also shared some metrics about its podcast operations. There are now 100 million podcast listeners on Spotify across 5 million shows. Podcast ad sales have also experienced “high double-digit growth” from 2021 to 2022.

In closing remarks, Spotify promises that employees who are affected by the layoffs will get “generous severance packages, including extended Healthcare coverage and immediate access to outplacement support.”

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The post Spotify Confirms Layoffs As Part of Podcast Division Restructure appeared first on Boardroom.

Is generative artificial intelligence music ethical?

That’s the question facing the music industry after a new hit, ‘Heart on My Sleeve,’ went viral this week. It featured the voices of Drake and The Weeknd, neither of whom had anything to do with the track.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard our favorite artists’ vocals on a track they didn’t voice themselves. David Guetta recently recreated Eminem’s voice using generative AI platforms. He aired the short snippet during a DJ set remixed with one of his own songs.

Drake took to Instagram early last week to speak out. “This is the final straw AI,” he wrote, after an AI-generated remix of Ice Spice’s “Munch” was distributed, featuring a verse by him. Rihanna and Kanye West have also fallen victim to AI-generated songs.

This new AI-generated jam featuring Drake and The Weeknd’s vocals feels a bit different, though, since it’s a full track.

There is a lot that goes into generative AI, but this instance begs the question: Will AI music become an acceptable trend, or will the music industry push platforms to steer clear of it?

Heart on My Stream

TikTok’s Ghostwriter977 ultimately took credit for “Heart on My Sleeve” on TikTok. They claim to have produced it by training a generative AI software on Drake and The Weeknd’s voices. They then distributed the song under the name Ghostwriter, and true to the name, their identity remains anonymous.

Spanning more than two minutes, “Heart on My Sleeve” centers on relationships between exes, mentioning notable celebs, including Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and 21 Savage. Non-Drake even drops lines about Metro Boomin’ making the beat. And, yes, Future’s infamous “If young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gon’ shoot you” line kicks off the track.

The Ghostwriter977 user wears a white sheet and black sunglasses in their original TikTok post that shared the song. They stated in the comments that they were “a ghostwriter for years and got paid close to nothing just for major labels to profit” and that “the future is here,” with generative AI music. The song attracted millions of streams on social media and music streaming platforms in the first couple of days. As of Saturday, it was up to 20 million streams across TikTok, Twitter, Spotify, YouTube, and Soundcloud.

After a short viral stint, major social media and streaming platforms removed Ghostwriter’s original posts for infringing content creation with generative AI. The sound has been removed from all of the creator’s videos on their TikTok account and within any video shared on the platform featuring the “Heart on My Sleeve” audio.

“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Universal Music Group” is the message viewers see when they try to access the song via Ghostwriter’s YouTube channel. Still, there is power in the resharing biz, so the song is still floating around out there.

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Restricting Generative AI

UMG pulled “Heart on My Sleeve” from platforms as quickly as it could, but it was already too late. The company believes music streaming platforms have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent this from happening to artists.

Per the U.S. Copyright Office, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner. “Heart on My Sleeve” is clearly copyright infringement, but it’s important to call out that Ghostwriter did write the original lyrics, which had to be fed into the generative AI software to create the song.

UMG is even calling on streaming platforms to block AI companies and platforms from accessing their music libraries. The music leader emailed streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify, to ask them to prevent AI services from learning from their copyrighted songs, the Financial Times first reported.

“We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorised use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators,” a UMG spokesperson told the Financial Times. “We expect our platform partners will want to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists.”

On the flip side, UMG told Vice’s Motherboard that its success is due in part to embracing emerging technologies and that it’s been leveraging AI to explore innovations of its own. If record labels and music companies can leverage AI to create new sounds, then generative AI music creators should be able to do the same. We need parameters and restrictions, but we must focus more on how and if AI music should be distributed. Not the mere creation of it.

If streaming platforms do ban AI services from learning from copyrighted music, then what’s stopping industries from imposing similar restrictions on AI tech like ChatGPT and Bard AI? Artificial intelligence is an exploratory emerging technology that can only be successful with human help. If we don’t interact with AI, it doesn’t learn. If it doesn’t learn, it’s not successful. Humans then decide what to do with what AI learns, and ultimately, that’s the more important discussion here.

What’s Next for Music and AI

It’s unclear if UMG will file an official lawsuit against Ghostwriter, but the music company has been working overtime to keep “Heart on My Sleeve” offline. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd has commented on the track, but this likely won’t be the last we hear from Ghostwriter’s generative AI work.

The war on generative AI music began far before this debacle, but who is the battle really between? It’s hard to tell. But it’s clear that record labels are on one side, and AI music creators are on another.

Artificial intelligence is a tool, and it is capable of as much good as it is harm. There are risks, but the even bigger risk is not harnessing technologies that will change the world.

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The post This Song Is No Longer Available: Forecasting the Future of Music and AI appeared first on Boardroom.

The Weeknd has reached more ears worldwide than any other artist on Earth, according to Guinness World Records.

Born Abel Tesfaye, the Toronto native became the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify for the month of March with 111.6 million as of March. 21. Tesfaye has a wide gap between him and everyone else. He’s trailed by Miley Cyrus (82.3m), Shakira (81.7m), Ariana Grande (81.1m), Taylor Swift (80.3m), Rihanna (78.2m) and Ed Sheeran (77.5m).

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The Weeknd released his fifth studio album Dawn FM last year and received widespread critical acclaim. Despite the praise, big first-week sales and chart-topping hits, he did not submit his album for Grammy consideration after his previous release After Hours was shut out from being nominated at the 2021 awards. But judging by the success of a global tour and the amount of monthly listeners he has, The Weeknd is winning even without adding to his his award show trophy case.

On the music front, he and Ariana Grande released the remix to his 2016 song “Die For You” in February, the song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The song marked both artists’ seventh number one hit. The original song has over 1 billion streams on Spotify, whereas the remix has 161 million in under a month. Grande originally teased the song on TikTok where it then went viral. The Weeknd and Grande have collaborated on a number of previous songs such as “Love Me Harder”(2014), “Off the Table” (2020) and “Save Your Tears (2021).

This will be the Weeknd’s third Guinness World Record title. He was awarded two in 2016 for the most streamed album on Spotify in 2015 and most consecutive weeks in the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 by a male solo artist.

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Fresh off its Oscar win for Best Original Song, action drama RRR’s “Naatu Naatu” witnessed a 960% week-over-week increase in streaming volume in the United States on Spotify.

The Telugu-language song, composed by M. M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose, is reveling in historic fanfare as it is the first song from an Indian film to win in the Best Original Song category. In his acceptance speech, Keeravaani thanked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science with a lyrical nod to The Carpenters. 

“There was only one wish on my mind / so was my family’s / RRR has to win the pride of every Indian / and must put me at the top of the world,” Keeravaani crooned to the tune of “Top of The World.”

The exhilarating smash hit from the global blockbuster graced the stage last night as a part of the ceremony’s performances, receiving a standing ovation from the audience. Rahul Sipligunj and Kala Bhairava, who performed the adrenaline-pumping song, both received respective boosts of over 520% and 540% in overall US Spotify streaming compared to the previous week, while Keeravani enjoyed a spike upwards of 390%.

Collectively, the song’s stateside recognition is a testament to its cross-cultural popularity. “Naatu Naatu” ultimately triumphed over star contenders like Lady Gaga (“Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick) and Rihanna (“Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever); Mitski (“This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once); and the Diane Warren-penned “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman.

In January, the song made history as the first piece of Indian origin to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, once again besting several English-language tunes. Later that month, it won the Critics’ Choice award for Best Song, while the movie itself won Best Foreign Language Film. 

Other Post-Oscars US Spotify Streaming Trends

• Streams for Son Lux’s soundtrack for Everything Everywhere All at Once, a Best Original Score nominee, were up over 220% week-over-week
• Best Original Song nominee “This Is A Life,” also penned by Lux for Everything Everywhere, was up over 330%
• Volker Bertelmann’s score for “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which won the Best Original Score Oscar Sunday night, was up over 500% on US Spotify
• Streams for the Diane Warren-penned Best Original Song nominee “Applause (From Tell It Like a Woman)” were up almost 600% following a live performance on ABC’s Academy Awards telecast

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The post RRR’s Oscar-winning ‘Naatu Naatu’ Enjoys Massive Spotify Streaming Boost appeared first on Boardroom.

In the new age of music consumption streaming created a new dynamic regarding income and various streams of income. According to Billboard,  paid subscription streaming revenue reached $10.2 billion over the course of the year; and industry revenues at wholesale reached $10.3 billion. 

According to the 2022 Year-End Music Industry Revenue Report, revenue grew a total of 6% from $15.0 billion in 2021 to $15.9 billion in 2022 in the U.S.“2022 was an impressive year of sustained ‘growth-over-growth’ more than a decade after streaming’s explosion onto the music scene,” RIAA chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement. 

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Music lovers across the globe are returning to the roots of buying music projects but also are embracing the new age style of music consumption by partaking in streaming subscriptions. Streaming created the bulk of the revenue, with 84%, up from 83% in 2022. 

“Continuing that long run, subscription streaming revenues now make up two-thirds of the market with a robust record high of $13.3 billion,” Glazier said. “This long and ongoing arc of success has only been possible thanks to the determined and creative work of record companies fighting to build a healthy streaming economy where artists and rightsholders get paid wherever and whenever their work is used.”

The number of paid subscriptions in the U.S. reached 92 million, a shift of 9.6% from 84 million in 2021. According to the report, for the first time since 1987, vinyl LP units outsold the number of CDs, from 41.3 million to 33.4 million. 

The significant revenue growth continues to come from consumers who subscribe to streaming. The RIAA reported that in 2012, digital downloads made up 43% of the overall industry’s revenue; in 2022, that number was just 3%. The total digital revenue was $13.8 billion, up 6.0% from 2021 and 87% of the total business.

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Music and podcast streaming giant Spotify is launching a program called “R&B First Nights” meant to support and amplify the genre’s rising stars, Billboard exclusively announced Wednesday. Victoria Monét will kick off the program in Los Angeles on March 31. On April 13, London trio FLO keeps the party going in Atlanta, with two additional artists’ performances to be announced at a later date.

“To this day I’ve still never headlined my own show and it’s been a huge dream of mine, which is why this upcoming show with Spotify is so special and important to me!” Monét told Billboard. “It’s more than a concert: It’s a celebration and kickoff to a new era of my music. Thank you so much to Spotify for what will be an unforgettable night in LA! My first headline show of many.”

As Alaysia Sierra, Head of R&B at Spotify, added in the announcement:

“As Spotify continues its support of R&B globally by providing resources, visibility, and vehicles for storytelling, this series kicking off with Victoria Monét is just the beginning. R&B First Nights is a quarterly series in partnership with artists on their first-ever headlining show in select markets. A special moment for the artists (as a first can only happen once), but also one of the most memorable moments for a fan — we’re so excited to be giving this opportunity to R&B artists and fans. Since this is likely the first time many will be seeing their favorite artist live, we’ve been so intentional about who and where.”

As part of the R&B First Nights program, Spotify will help coordinate and support four of R&B’s ascending stars for live shows while inviting die-hard fans to attend. It comes on the heels of Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund — a development that supported its GLOW program for LGBTQ artists in February.

Tickets for Monét’s LA show at the El Rey Theatre go on sale Friday, March 3, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

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Rihanna is back.

As the Navy knows all too well, the 35-year-old took an extended break from music. However, as she steps back into the scene, she’s leaping onto some of music’s biggest stages.

Following her Super Bowl LVII performance, Rihanna is set to take the stage at this year’s 95th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles. There, she will perform her most recent song “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. Rihanna will become only the third artist in history to perform at both the Oscars and the Super Bowl in the same year, joining Phil Collins (2000) and Lady Gaga (2017).

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Rih’s performance at the Super Bowl made a massive impact. In fact, the 13-minute pop parade brought in more viewers than the game itself. According to Fox PR, the game brought in 113 million viewers, while the halftime portion of the program peaked at 118.7 million viewers.

However, the success of the performance endured far beyond the final note. Spotify streams of Rihanna’s extensive catalog jumped 640% in the days that followed. Her songs were streamed more than 166 million times, with 11 songs popping up on the Spotify Global 200 enduring nearly 2 weeks later:

• We Found Love (62)
• Love on the Brain (70)
• Lift Me Up (74)
• Diamonds (77)
• Stay(95)
• Only Girl (In the World)
• Bitch Better Have My Money (122)
• Needed Me (162)
• Where Have You Been (165)
• S&M (186)
• Don’t Stop the Music (187)

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Not one to miss a marketable moment, Rihanna refreshed mid-set with Fenty powder. The Barbadian superstar opted out of the $7 million ad space and into a viral moment for her beauty brand, which yielded over $5 million in media impact value according to Launchmetrics.

Now, Rihanna will make her way to LA for Hollywood’s biggest nightthe Oscars. She will hit the stage in support of her first musical release in six years, and was co-written by Tems, Ryan Coogler, and Ludwig Goransson. The track is nominated in the Best Original Song category, alongside Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, Sophia Caron’s “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, Rahul Sipligunj, Kaala Bhairava & M.M. Keeravani’s “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, and Son Lux Featuring Mitski & David Byrne’s “This is a Life” from the A24 breakout film Everything Everywhere All at Once).

The 95th Annual Academy Awards take place on March 12 at 8 pm EST.

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The post Rihanna Rounds out Halftime Bump with Oscars Performance appeared first on Boardroom.

Spotify‘s algorithm is already scary good, with Discover Weekly and Release Radar curating what streamers may like each week and its annual Wrapped campaign personalizing users’ yearly highlights so they can brag about their musical tastes to all their social media friends. But the company is taking its algorithm and personalization abilities to the next level by introducing its AI DJ to Premium users in the United States and Canada on Wednesday.

The new feature — currently in beta — utilizes Spotify’s algorithmic learnings that already know users’ musical tastes to deliver a curated music lineup with detailed commentary about those songs and artists AI DJ thinks you’ll love in a realistic voice modeled after Xavier “X” Jernigan, Spotify’s head of cultural partnerships.

Spotify’s DJ was built through the use of OpenAI technology, better known as the company that created ChatGPT. The AI combined with the fun facts and insights provided by Spotify’s music editors brings you this unique curated experience. The AI DJ will look back at your old favorite songs, take what you might enjoy, and provide an initial set list for you to enjoy.

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Just like its algorithm, the DJ will adjust its personalized sets based on your feedback. And if you’re not picking up what the DJ is putting down, press the DJ button and the AI will switch everything up and give you a new playlist from scratch. As with everything on the addictive streaming platform, the more you interact with the algorithm, the better it gets to know you, and the more personalized AI DJ will become.

Premium users can find the Spotify AI DJ by heading to their music feed on the Spotify mobile app and hitting play on the DJ card. If Spotify knows you as it should, you should be in for quite the AI-driven treat.

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The post Spotify Introduces AI DJ Powered by ChatGPT Maker OpenAI appeared first on Boardroom.

Spotify announced its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, showing that it exceeded analysts’ expectations behind a surge of user growth. The music streaming giant jumped 9% early Tuesday morning, with FinTech company Refinitiv indicating that Spotify brought in a revenue of 3.17 billion euros vs. the 3.16 billion expected. Their loss per share beat out the estimated loss (1.27 euros) by 0.13 (1.40).

Here’s a quick overview of the Q4 Spotify Earnings:

• 489 million monthly active users for the quarter, up 20% year-over-year.
• There were a record-high 33 million net additions to monthly active users during the quarter
• The company reported 205 million paid subscribers, up 14% from a year ago.

In its Q3 report, Spotify revealed that it expected to add 23 million new monthly active users with a revenue increase to 3.2 billion euros. Their investment in advertising is paying off as seen by its ad-supported revenue, which increased by 14% year-over-year, accounting for 14% of the total revenue.

“We always knew that 2022 would be an investment year and 2023 will be a year where we would slow down the investments and thereby operating expenditure while revenue keeps on climbing,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Vogel said.

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Subscribers Jumped, But Podcast Investment created losses.

Interestingly enough, the company said that the bulk of its subscriber growth was through its podcasting platform, with featured names such as the Obama’s, Joe Rogan, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Kim Kardashian, Dax Shepard & Monica Padman, and Alexandra Cooper. The company’s invested more than $350 million over the next three years to those specific podcast hosts.

This comes a week after the company laid off 6% of its workforce and CEO Daniel Ek admitted in a note to employees that he was “too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth.”

Spotify spent more than $1 billion over the past four years. Entering 2023, Spotify expects to gross between 30% to 35% over the long term, amid plans to further scale its podcasting and ads businesses, though stock trades were $80 per share in late December — down roughly 70% from 2022.

“Q1 is always the smallest quarter with respect to user growth. We don’t have the same level of marketing campaign, as we do in Q2 to Q4,” Ek said. “Spotify will double down on things that worked well and stop doing the things that don’t work. We are a lot more focused on efficiency.”

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The post Spotify Shares Surge After Strong Earnings Report appeared first on Boardroom.

You know De La Soul even if you don’t know De La Soul.

Since forming in Amityville, Long Island roughly 35 years ago, the Native Tongues trio has remained beloved by hip-hop purists while constantly floating in and out of the global pop culture orbit.

From Travis Scott and Peter Parker to Black Star and Pharrell, De La Soul lives as the ultimate six degrees of separation where samples, sentiment, soundtracks, and even sneakers are concerned.

Still, their most acclaimed music has remained invisible in the age of streaming.

Due to label issues, the trio’s favored first albums have appeared absent in the online space where music now makes the most noise. In turn, this has deprived a decade of new listeners the chance to fully dive into their best work.

Additionally, it’s kept De La from getting many of their flowers — and their dollars.

“3 Feet High and Rising is very much in danger of being the classic tree that fell in the forest,” Questlove told The New York Times in 2016 of the trio’s 1989 studio album. “That was once given high praise and now is just a stump.”

But, why is that?

For years, fans have quite literally been stumped when it comes to hearing 5-Mic favorites from De La Soul – at least on their own time.

Scoring FIFA but not appearing on Apple Music, praised by Pitchfork but Spotify silent, De La Soul has lived on through film, fashion, and video games for the last three decades.

Finally this Spring, De La’s esteemed first six albums will make their streaming debuts. As of March 3, 2023, the world will finally have each De La Soul album at their fingertips, in-stores, and on their phones. Moreover, physical reissues of the trio’s acclaimed album will return to record stores, as reported by Pitchfork.

This means much when a used copy of De La Soul is Dead on vinyl currently fetches $130 on Amazon. For the math majors at home, that’s roughly a year of a streaming subscription.

Making the most of the moment, the redemption rollout will begin on Jan. 13th with “The Magic Number” being streamed and sold as the launch single in both digital and physical form. Merchandise plays celebrating the songs and albums are also on the way to the delight of all involved.

So, why does De La mean so much to living legends like Just Blaze and 9th Wonder? Boardroom breaks down the business and fanfare behind this long awaited online arrival.

Against the Grain

When De La Soul formed in 1988, Kelvin “Posdnous” Mercer, Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, and Vincent “Pasemaster Mase” Mason were learning what it would take for the world to hear their music.

At the same time, the world was witnessing the strength of street knowledge.

Two-thousand miles away from the South Shore of Long Island, N.W.A erupted with the release of Straight Outta Compton, putting the rap game on tilt and Raider hats on hip-hop heads. Closer to home, Public Enemy proved louder than a bomb by their second album, putting politicians and censors in check.

No matter the coast, rap was getting more aggressive and confrontational. An ensemble of artists, De La chose to zag. Enter the D.A.I.S.Y. Age.

Providing a slightly suburban perspective to hip-hop in the height of gangster rap, the trio offered another lens on what rap music could sound like and speak to. Balancing humor and humility in an era defined by hostility, De La switched sonics by sampling slews of sounds from the past.

Branded by flowery album art and positive pantones in an era of black and silver, De La shamelessly set themselves apart with the release of 1989’s 3 Feet High & Rising. Likened to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in experimentation, the psychedelic sample-driven album was an oddity that inspired homage amongst peers.

Lyrically, they challenged tropes of what it meant to be African-American in identity, aesthetic, and imagination. Crafted creatively with love, they embraced an array of audiences and ideas, unaligned with the gatekeeping or alienating often associated with protected genres.

Always honest, incredibly unique, they honored their hip-hop forefathers while paving a lane for the likes of Odd Future and others by drawing outside the lines of labels.

“De La Soul were the quiet kids lingering at the edge of the cipher,” Pitchfork’s Jeff Chang wrote when giving their debut a perfect rating. “Withdrawn and a little mysterious, conversing in coded language meant to distance themselves from all the big personalities jockeying for position around them.”

Having much admiration for Chuck D and Ice Cube but much different in punctuation and presentation, it wasn’t all love when De La arrived. Produced by Prince Paul and yielding seven singles, their 1989 debut album initially went over the head of some music critics at the time but soon became a cult classic. At the time, outlets didn’t know what do with De La Soul – or even what to call them.

Unfairly labeled as ‘hippie rap’ upon arrival, De La switched sounds on 1991’s De La Soul is Dead. Much like Outkast or the heyday of Ye, De La was continuously evolving and adapting on each project and their sophomore album demonstrated the maturity of their music, all while tackling tropes of the times while still having fun.

Throughout a decade, the trio remained relevant through the changing times of the ’90s without selling out or chasing trends. This ranged from flipping Michael Jackson throwbacks to introducing the world to Mos Def. Their first three albums, including Buhloone Mindstate (1993), went on to receive perfect or near perfect scores since debuting on vinyl, CD, or cassette.

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When music moved to digital downloads and rap became commercialized, De La continued to appear on various platforms from MTV to Limewire. Whether hip-hop was being showcased on countdown shows or stolen online, songs like “Oooh” and “Baby Phat” connected with the masses while cuts like “Rock Co.Kane Flow” exploded on the underground.

Over the course of the 2000s, everyone from Nike to Spike Lee wanted to work with De La — and they did. The group’s strong sense of self allowed them to play in every arena and collaborate with all types of entities. This proves impressive for a plethora of reasons:

• Rap is historically a young man’s game where career peaks last less than five years
• Corporate collaborations or crossover features were long considered the kiss of death for purist pioneers
• Splitting the pie multiple ways is typically the demise of most groups, especially in hip-hop

As expected, De La proved the outlier to any assumptions presumed by the industry or trends.

The new millennium introduced De La to new audiences from Chaka Khan features to skateboarding sneakers.

Transitioning from over a decade at Tommy Boy to forming their own imprint, A.O.I. Records, the group grew with The Grind Date, a self-released spectacle that brought J Dilla, Madlib, and even Carl Thomas into the fold. All the while, they performed in parallel with a virtual band from across the pond.

Appearing on the 2005 hit “Feel Good, Inc.” by Gorillaz, the trio from Long Island won a long-deserved Grammy while extending their universal appeal as the song reached RIAA Platinum status in Italy, Australia, and United Kingdom. In essence, their music spoke to all demographics domestically and abroad without forcing it on fans.

Always nimble, De La Soul spent the new millennium entering new markets while playing with new sounds. This included touring with The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse; cutting tracks with 2 Chainz and Ghostface; and curating a crowdfunded album.

As always, experimentation proved good for De La Soul as they exceeded their goal of $110,000 on Kickstarter in only ten hours in 2015. That album, And the Anonymous Nobody…, featured the likes of Usher, Roc Marciano, and David Byrne. Range, reach, and self-sufficiency were all at a premium.

For the 2010s and beyond, De La was everywhere — except for streaming.

“We’re in the Library of Congress,” Posdnous told The New York Times in 2016. “But we’re not on iTunes.”

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Me, Myself & Spotify

The digital age of music has been a win for almost everybody.

No longer do fans have to fork over $14 for an album they’re unsure about. Even better? Artists can bypass the gatekeepers of radio to reach listeners from France to Tahoma with the push of a button.

While all these Ws create compounding interests for listeners and creators alike, it’s far from perfect. Consider this: can you imagine paying for Apple Music and not being able to hear Dark Side of the Moon? Could you fathom turning on TIDAL and there being no results for Thriller?

Such has been the case for De La Soul fans devoid of 3 Feet Hight & Rising when searching Spotify for the last decade.

Due to disputes, De La missed out majorly on the entire download era of the iTunes Store. In recent years, they’ve lost out on much of the earnings and exposure that come from streaming. For over two decades, the trio has been at odds with their former label, Tommy Boy, surrounding the realities of signing a record deal right after they graduated from high school.

Some of this likely stems from sample issues scares pronounced in the past. Back in 1991, ’60s rock band The Turtles slowed down celebrations of 3 Feet High & Rising by suing De La Soul for $2.5 million.

Though the dispute was settled out of court for over $1 million, the array of samples artistically distributed over their debut can come off like a field of legal landmines when considering the fears of a label and strengths of estates tied to Steely Dan, Liberace, James Brown, and more.

Still, fans fought for De La and De La fought for fans. After two false starts in recent years, three proves the magic number as De La Soul’s entire catalog is coming to streaming.

Thanks to Reservoir acquiring Tommy Boy in 2021 – in what FADER reports as a $100 million USD deal – A.O.I. Records worked out a deal where the world can have access to every album through digital devices. This means much for modern listeners, but equally as much for day-one collectors.

For those keeping track at home, the six albums are 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, and AOI: Bionix.

It’s justice served for the creative kids out of Long Island who signed their first contracts as teenagers. More importantly, it’s music to the ears of emerging fans who’ve long heard their songs in passing, but never had the chance to deep-dive.

Though much of De La’s early work came from rearranging sounds of the past, some could say that their ethos align in spirt and sonics with Gen-Z ears even more than those who lived through the ’80s and ’90s.

No longer will the sound of silence follow the band where streaming, CDs, sales, and exposure are concerned.

Finally, De La Soul is getting their flowers.

READ MORE

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The post De La Soul is Alive: A Breakdown of the Trio’s Impact appeared first on Boardroom.

Hov gave us “a million dollars worth of game for $9.99” when Tidal became a thing. Major platforms like Apple Music and Spotify have been driving the conversation in the music streaming game for years. But before Jay-Z, Cupertino, and Daniel Ek ushered in this whole paradigm, music lovers were left to browse through a host of different, disparate resources to track down all the mixtapes, show tunes, and chart-toppers they desired. SoundCloud is one of them, and it must be said that YouTube — the world’s first real video streaming giant — is still very much relevant in this space.

Now, as we embrace the season of Spotify’s 2022 Wrapped songs and artists of the year, YouTube has compiled its own list. Several songs and artists in YouTube’s top 10 align with Spotify’s own list, while some are absolute wild cards, providing an intriguing window into the different ways we use these platforms.

The songs that appear on the YouTube list are inclusive of official music videos, lyric videos, and user-generated content that uses the full official song between Jan. 1, 2022 to Nov. 15, 2022.

Let’s take a gander at YouTube’s top songs of the year.

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YouTube’s Top Songs of the Year in the US

1. Encanto cast: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”

Here’s the perfect example in differentiating a list like Spotify’s and a list like YouTube’s. Encanto Cast is a 2021 Disney movie about a family from Colombia who live in a charmed place called Encanto. Its popularity is evident through the numbers, raking in $256.8 million at the box office with a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Apparently the movies’ popularity translated over to its hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” which held the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously for five consecutive weeks. It currently has 503 million views on YouTube.

2. Kodak Black: “Super Gremlin”

Back for his fourth studio album in February, Kodak Black earned a platinum plaque for “Super Gremlin” — an accusation of betrayal diss track towards former Sniper Gang artist Jackboy. Kodak’s “Super Gremlin” didn’t make any of Spotify’s lists, but it sits second for most plays on YouTube with 235.5 million views.

It isn’t doing so bad on Spotify, however as it’s generated 187 million streams globally.

3. Jessica Darrow: “Surface Pressure”

You didn’t make it very far through the list to see that another song from the “Encanto” soundtrack is back with a bang. The song — performed by Jessica Darrow as the character Luisa — was in the Billboard Hot 100 top-10 hit section in Jan. 2022.

It currently has 292 million views on YouTube.

4. Bad Bunny: “Tití Me Preguntó”

Look familiar? “Tití Me Preguntó” was Spotify’s fifth-most streamed song globally, and garnered four nominations at the Latin Grammys, Billboard Latin Music Awards, and MTV. Bad Bunny brought in $232.5 million across 21 shows during his World’s Hottest Tour. This is far from a shock, as the Puerto-Rican born musician continues his three-year tear.

The music video currently has 559 million views.

5. Future – “Wait for U” feat. Drake & Tems

Featured on Future’s I NEVER LIKED YOU album, “Wait For U” is up for three Grammy’s alone — Best Rap Song, Best Melodic Rap Performance, and Rap Performance. The album is also up for Rap Album of the Year. “Wait For U” has more than 324 million streams on Spotify — his fourth-highest streamed song of his storied catalogue. Future returned to Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for the first time in five year, thanks to “Wait For U.”

The official music video currently has 62 million views.

The Rest of the List

6. Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone – “Me Porto Bonito”
7. Karol G & Becky G – “Mamiii”
8. Imagine Dragons & JID – “Enemy”
9. Karol G – “Provenza”
10. Lil Baby – “In a Minute”

Click here to read YouTube’s full 2022 Trends overview, from music to viral videos and beyond.

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The post YouTube Top Songs of 2022: Who Took the No. 1 Spot? appeared first on Boardroom.

Spotify’s end-of-year “Wrapped” feature has long been a fun, interactive way for music lovers to learn about themselves and share with others. In a lighthearted way, it’s become a cultural phenomenon that many look forward to as the year comes to an end.

In 2022, the music streaming giant unveiled the top Spotify listeners’ playlists — from top artists, songs, playlists, albums, podcasts, and trends. Spotify defined 2022 as a chance to redefine how people find joy, specifically after “a few years of uncertainty [which] has led each of us to create a new normal in our relationships to culture — and to each other.”

Let’s take a gander at Spotify’s top artists of the year.

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Bad Bunny: Everything

For the third consecutive year, the Puerto Rican hip-hip artist was the year’s most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify. It’s the first-ever three-peat in the category.

• “Un Verano Sin Ti” was the most-streamed album globally, breaking the all-time record for most first month streams for an album in Spotify history (2 billion).
• “Tití Me Preguntó” was the fifth-most streamed song globally and garnered four nominations at the Latin Grammys, Billboard Latin Music Awards, and MTV.

Beyond Spotify, 2022 was Bad Bunny’s year. The World’s Hottest Tour U.S. leg reportedly grossed $232.5 million across 21 shows and sold a total of 944,000 tickets. These numbers average a whopping $11.1 million a night and 45,000 tickets per show.

Taylor Swift: Midnights

Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” album didn’t disappoint in 2022. Despite releasing the album in late October, Swift was the second-most-streamed artist of the year globally.

• She finished as the most viral artist globally with the second-most streams — the top artist in Australia, the U.K., Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Qatar, Slovenia, and Singapore.
• The top-10 of the Billboard albums chart features “Midnights” for four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 — the equivalent of 177,000 album sales in the U.S. — 156 million streams and 57,000 copies sold.

In addition, the 32-year-old is set up to dominate 2023 — her “Eras” Tour sold-out so quickly that there might be a case for the Department of Justice to launch an antitrust probe into Ticketmaster.

Harry Styles: As It Was

Harry Styles has the honor of owning the most-streamed song around the globe with his hit “As It Was.” The song racked up 16,103,849 streams in its first 24 hours on Spotify, according to a press release from… Guinness World Records.

• “As It Was” was the quickest song ever to reach 600 million streams on Spotify.
• After Bad Bunny, “Harry’s House” was the second-most-streamed album globally.
• “Harry’s House” hit 3.8 billion Spotify streams (as of this writing).

It’s a good year to be Harry. He’s been nominated for six Grammys for “Harry’s House” and “As It Was,” while his “Love on Tour” grossed $95 million in 2021 alone.

Throwbacks

• Marshall Mathers LP has sold 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• Hounds of Love by Kate Bush saw a major uptick after it was featured in season 4 of Stranger Things.
• Parachutes by Coldplay is one of those timeless albums with “Yellow” generating 699 million streams on Spotify.

Read More:

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The post Spotify Wrapped 2022: It’s a Bad Bunny Three-peat appeared first on Boardroom.

Taylor‘s takeover. Rihanna‘s return. This is more than just alliteration, people — streaming services posted an elite week driven by two of the biggest stars in the game.

Spotify revealed its Q3 earnings report and the results are mixed. TL;DR: Users are up; profits are down. However, with a strong Q4 on the horizon, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek remains more confident than ever that his company can head into 2023 in the black.

Boardroom breaks down the report and what may lie ahead for the company in its fourth quarter.

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Spotify Q3: A Tale of Two Parts

Spotify released its third-quarter earnings report this week. The numbers show that the Swedish streaming platform set a new threshold for users with 456 million, posting stronger-than-expected additions to both its free and paid user base. The premium paid user ship increased by seven million users in Q3, outpacing expectations by 14% and posting a 13% year-over-year improvement.

Despite the surge in streams, their financials are a mixed bag. Spotify signaled a 22% increase in revenue driven by its premium packages, but the net positive was hampered by questions about the company’s gross figures. Overall, the company’s stock experienced a 16% dig as compared to projections, fueling an additional after-hours hit following the report’s release.

However, Daniel Ek appeared unphased by the news and expressed his hopes for a substantial final quarter. As the CEO told shareholders:

“With one quarter left in a year that has seen war, a lingering pandemic, inflation, supply chain disruption, and threats of a global recession, I am really proud of all that we have accomplished and that despite all of this, we are precisely where we thought we’d be.”

As its competitors like YouTube and Apple Music roll out price hikes, the company is said to be actively considering the same. Ek alluded to this in his recent comments, saying, “When our competitors are raising their prices, that is really good for us.” However, he left the finer implications up to our imaginations.

Spotify Wrapped: Looking Forward

Ek has a right to be optimistic. Spotify is already seeing historic numbers in Q4, due in part to Midnights, the latest LP from Taylor Swift. According to Spotify charts data, T Swift took over the top spots on the most-streamed artist, album, and songs list for the week of Oct. 21-27.

All told, Midnights shattered three existing streaming records in its first week:

• Most streams in 24 hours: 184.6 million
• Most Day 1 streams of an album: 184.6 million
• Most streamed artist in 24 hours: 228 million

Plus, Oct. 28 marked the official launch of Rihanna’s return. The Barbadian billionaire put an end to her six-year solo hiatus, releasing the lead track from the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The Navy is expected to dominate the charts in the coming week as Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime appearance draws nearer.

In the big picture, however, Spotify’s grandest potential lies in its global reach. On the upside of the Q3 news, the company saw a surge in new sign-ups from Latin American countries. The trend is no surprise due to the sheer dominance of Spanish-singing artists on the 2022 charts, led by the meteoric success of Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Tí but fueled by other big names such as Rosalía, and Daddy Yankee. Not only is the streaming welcoming its new subscribers with open arms, but Spotify is also enhancing its investment in the industry with an investment in talent and executive programs, including MUdaL, and curated content and experiences, such as its new Casa Spotify Medallo in Medellín, Colombia.

With Spotify Wrapped season just around the corner, the company has a ton of opportunities to reset its financial future. The good news? They’ve got a whole slew of big names to balance the budget. But with an expanding field of competition that includes the pitter-patter of TikTok’s footsteps as the platform considers its own music streaming service, can the company stay in the lead?

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The post The State of Spotify Streaming appeared first on Boardroom.

Perhaps it was always part of God’s Plan for Drake’s famous OVO owl logo to one day take center stage in one of the few great rivalries in sports, but this weekend it will become a reality.

As part of FC Barcelona‘s overall sponsorship deal with Spotify, the club will celebrate the Grammy-winning rapper surpassing 50 billion total streams on the platform by showcasing the OVO logo on their shirts for the latest revival of “El Clásico” against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday, Oct. 16.

“This doesn’t feel real, but it is,” Drake posted Friday to his 122 million Instagram followers, garnering nearly three million likes and counting:

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A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)

As Barcelona struggle with finances, the Catalan giants signed a massive three-year deal with Spotify back in March that includes kit and stadium sponsorship rights and a stated goal of helping to amplify recording artists from around the world. With that in mind, plastering Drake’s logo on their jerseys for the most important domestic game of the season to date certainly doesn’t hurt matters.

Sunday’s famous match in Madrid will pit the top two teams in the La Liga table. The archrivals are tied on 22 points thanks to seven wins, zero losses, and one draw apiece. Despite this, Barça manager and all-around club icon Xavi has come under fire for the team’s relatively poor performance in the UEFA Champions League thus far.

It took a late second-half brace from newly-signed superstar forward Robert Lewandowski to salvage a 3-3 draw at Camp Nou — rather, “Spotify Camp Nou” for sponsorship reasons — on Wednesday against Inter Milan. That came eight days after a 1-0 defeat in Milan and a limp 2-0 defeat a month ago in Bavaria against Lewandowski’s former Bayern Munich. With a home date against the German champions and a road match in the Czech Republic against Viktoria Plzen remaining in the group stage, Barça sit third in Group C three points back of Inter in the No. 2 position a spot in the knockout stages. After not advancing past the group stage last year for the first time since the 2000-2001 season, Barca is at risk of doing so again.

Until then, Barcelona have El Clásico to look forward to — and a chance to claim sole possession of the top spot in La Liga. And thanks to Spotify and Drake, they’ll be doing it with an extra level of style.

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The post FC Barcelona Jerseys to Feature Drake’s OVO Logo at El Clásico vs. Real Madrid appeared first on Boardroom.

Continuing a trend of staggering upward growth over the past six years, the music recording industry’s revenues for the first half of 2022 rose 9% to $7.7 billion at estimated retail value, per the 2022 RIAA Mid-year Report released this week with findings led by RIAA Senior VP of Research and Economics Joshua P. Friedlander and Research Manager Matthew Bass.

It’s important to note that the music industry is still vastly undervalued by most market estimations, as it continues to see an increase in numbers in streaming metrics as well as number of paid subscriptions, which grew to a record high of 90 million.

At wholesale value, total revenue grew 8% to $4.9 billion — but that’s not the only big number industry observers need to know. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most important data points and conclusions from the 2022 RIAA Mid-year Report.

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Streaming

Music streaming and the platforms that facilitate it continue to constitute the lion’s share of music consumption. Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music at the top of the food chain, though the overall streaming ecosystem also includes curated digital radio and licensing on other apps, venues, and platforms.

Notably, while subscription-specific revenue from streaming platforms grew by 9.4% in the first half of 2022, that number is actually down from 11.3% at the mid-point of 2021 and 13.7% at the midpoint of 2020.

Total music streaming revenue checks in at $4.5 billion, which equates to a $387.6 million increase compared to the same period last year. That’s much less than 2020’s $823.5 million increase, but that number ought to be noted with an asterisk given that streaming services experienced a major surge due to the realities of the early COVID-19 lockdowns.

In any event, streaming and related subscription-based services will continue to set the pace for music consumption.

CD Sales

Spoiler alert: CDs are sadly (for us purists) not providing any indication that they’re mounting a comeback.

After the format saw a surprising sales bump at the back end of last year to 20.9% of the market, the trendline has tumbled downward. CD sales fell 2.2% to $199.7 million, about 19% lower than pre-pandemic numbers from the first half of 2019. Even with artists returning to touring and retail stores re-opening, physical music sales haven’t seen a boost.

(We’re not saying you have to throw away your Discman, though. They will always be cool.)

Other Paid Subscriptions

Reasonably distinct from streaming as such, services like Amazon Prime, Pandora Plus, music licenses for digital fitness apps, and others accounted for 10% of overall subscription-based music revenues.

All told, paid subscriptions are king, as those revenue streams continue to be the single biggest driving force for labels and artists alike, growing 10% to $5 billion and accounting for 78% of all streaming revenue in the first half of 2022.

This total includes the $525 million from what the RIAA calls “Limited Tier” paid subscriptions — services mitigated by constraints like mobile network bandwidth, digital use rights, or limitations related to hardware or software.

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

Billboard recently created a metric they call “average revenue per user,” which is calculated by taking the paid subscription revenue and dividing it by the average number of subscribers. This year’s ARPU fell to $50.09 from $50.31 a year earlier, which is not much of a drop-off but still worth noting, particularly given 2022’s rate of inflation that has inevitably hastened hikes in these services’ annual subscription prices.

Synchronization Revenue

Perhaps my current preferred metric of comparison and one that I think will only continue to grow in popularity as we see more and more artists selling all or some of their publishing catalogs (as Future just did), licensing music for use in the television and film space, or serving as music supervisors or in related roles across other industries.

Synchronization revenue is earned when someone’s music is sync’d up within some manner of audiovisual production; For instance, any time a Mariah Carey song is used as a theme or underscore in a television show, movie, advertisement, or film trailer, she gets a royalty fee each time. (You can imagine how lucrative Christmas time is for her.)

The increasing prevalence of synch revenue is precisely why we’re now showcasing a “Synch of the Week” in our bi-weekly music column, Notables. Stay tuned.

Read More:

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The post RIAA Mid-year Report 2022: A Snapshot of Streaming Supremacy appeared first on Boardroom.

On Wednesday, Spotify revealed a new space-themed digital world on Roblox: “Planet Hip-Hop.”

The new musical metaverse project exists as part of Spotify Island, which debuted in May as the first piece of virtual real estate in the Roblox virtual world to be created by a streaming service. Spotify plans to use Planet Hip-Hop as a means to provide younger fans fresh ways to connect with their favorite artists. Players are invited to walk atop buildings and float around as they explore all of the elements of Spotify’s new metaverse environment.

“We wanted to create a space inspired by the newest era of hip-hop, exploring how the current generation of artists and fans are redefining what the genre looks like and sounds like,” Steven Conaway, Senior Art Director at Spotify, said during a demo of Planet Hip-Hop.

Spotify leaned into futuristic motifs to bring the project to life, resulting in a brightly lit cityscape that sits atop an upturned pyramid. Red rings surround the virtual world as an ode to the grooves in vinyl records.

In Planet Hip-Hop, fans can collect exclusive virtual merch, customize cars in the “Speed Shop,” dance on a floating dance floor, create hip-hop beats powered by Soundtrap, and more. The platform will eventually feature music from up-and-coming rapper Doechii, with plans to continue highlighting more young artists moving forward. Fans will be able to explore Doechii’s swamp-like kingdom that pays homage to her hometown of Tampa, Florida.

Planet Hip-Hop is the perfect follow-up to Spotify’s K-Pop-centric K-Park, and the news arrives as the streaming service is expanding in other new areas; they recently launched an audiobook platform featuring roughly 300,000 titles.

Looking ahead, Spotify has plans to continue rolling out new features for Doechii’s swamp, avatar merch, quests, and collaborations with different artists. Stay tuned.

Read More:

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The post Spotify x Roblox: Welcome to Planet Hip-Hop appeared first on Boardroom.