Over the last several years, music fans have increasingly been faced with sticker shock when buying concert tickets — leading many to ask why they’re paying so much to see their favorite artists. To answer that question, it’s imperative to look under the hood and consider the various factors that help determine the final price.

In today’s music industry, the bulk of artists make most of their money on the road. And to make a profit, or at least break even, artist managers, attorneys, booking agents, business managers, production managers and tour directors — as well as the artists themselves — all play a role in helping determine the right price for a show. But with production costs having risen dramatically since the pandemic, the right price is often substantially higher than it was 10 years ago. While touring crews have taken to doing less with more, scaling down their ambitions and juggling multiple jobs, fans spending hundreds of dollars to see a show often expect a spectacle — and a spectacle costs money.

“There are two pieces that really go into [determining ticket prices],” Omar Al-joulani, president of touring at Live Nation, tells Billboard. “One is that artists have given parameters around how much they need to make per night after tracking buses, staffing, production, commissions and then the profit margin they would want to make. The second is the cost of actually mounting the show: venue rent, advertising, stagehands, security, catering.”

Oftentimes, it’s the booking agent’s job to sit down with the promoter and negotiate the best deal for their artist.

“It’s definitely a back and forth,” says Chris Visconti, an agent at UTA. “There’s an honest discussion and collaboration around markets, because some can withstand a higher ticket price for a certain act, and some markets cannot. That comes down to a lot of real-world factors.”

Al-joulani explains that artist teams typically come in with price parameters, with the aim of ensuring fans at each price point have the opportunity to see a show. From there, the promoters and agents will both look at what prices recently worked within a market and provide guidance if a price for a market seems too high.

“The socioeconomic conditions of every city are different,” Visconti says. “Certainly in every country. We want to make sure it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer.”

Al-joulani says that at times, he has to tell artist teams that certain prices don’t work in particular markets. Ultimately, though, he’s not the one making the final decision.

“You debate whether an artist has to cut down their production, whether they can make the show smaller, there’s all these different levers you wind up pulling,” he says. “Ultimately, the artist makes the final call on what the fan needs to pay for an artist to go on tour.”

According to Ticketmaster’s website, a large chunk of the services and fees tacked onto ticket prices typically go toward the venue, which has its own costs, including security, bartenders, electricity and the box office. A much smaller percentage of those services and fees go to the ticketing platforms, which are told what the ticket price will be (minus the services and fees) by the promoters and artist teams. The ticketing platform used for a show depends on the venue, which typically has a partnership with a specific service. (For example, Red Rocks Amphitheatre utilizes AXS; Madison Square Garden and Sphere both have partnerships with Ticketmaster.)

Notably, the final price also depends on the venue’s size. Soft ticket rooms such as clubs already have the most expensive equipment built in, allowing artists to simply plug-and-play. That reflects in the ticket price, with shows in larger rooms often charging more to help cover the costs, while club shows can remain more affordable for fans.

“Labor is expensive, production is expensive,” says Eric Silver, a manager at Red Light Management whose clients include dance music artist Subtronics. “For a hard ticket place like Red Rocks Amphitheatre and The Gorge, it’s an empty place and you’re building everything. In the case of The Gorge, you’re even building the stage.”

Though putting on a show at a larger venue comes with additional expenses, Silver says the cost is often worth it — and can pay big dividends down the road.

“When we do these events at these hard ticket plays, they’re less profitable,” he says. “But we want to offer the best experience, and these hard-ticket plays are an investment. If you can show that you can sell out multiple nights at an arena, your value goes up to promoters for festivals, where there are less expenses.”

While the primary ticket price factors in touring and production costs, artist teams must also consider the secondary market. Al-joulani often looks at what prices sold on sites like StubHub and SeatGeek the last time an artist played in a city to help determine the price for an upcoming tour.

“We’ll look at whether a lot of tickets were transacted, whether brokers made a huge lift on a tour — that’s money not being paid to the artist or holder of the IP,” he says. “In the process — after the on-sale — you’ll look at the secondary activity and that may give you feedback on how to price releases, whether you should add a second show in a market or whether your tickets are priced correctly. And then you can always enact changes.”

When determining ticket prices, Visconti and his wife, Nicole Schoen Visconti, who works in the marketing department at UTA, also consider when a fan may choose to purchase. Some fans closely follow their favorite artists’ social media pages and sign up for SMS messages to be in line right at the on-sale. Other fans may need to wait a few days to purchase a ticket, holding off until their next paycheck. But there’s no clear answer on when in the cycle it’s best to have the lowest ticket price.

“You could punish [fans] if early bird tickets [are discounted] and then prices increase later on,” Schoen Visconti says. “With the economy and bills, some fans might not be able to make a decision until day of, or the night before. Do you drop the price to make it fair for them, but not the fans that were there first? That’s something we try to keep in mind.”

Part of Schoen Visconti’s role is to advise artist teams on the number of tickets a fan can purchase and the number of times a ticket should be allowed to transfer in an attempt to help combat scalpers. “It’s not something you can do in every state, because there are laws in New York and Illinois that you can’t limit how people transfer their tickets,” she says.

Ahead of the sales, Schoen Visconti works with clients to set up emails and SMS messages with pre-sale access codes, with the aim of getting tickets into the hands of fans. This isn’t always a foolproof system, however. In the wake of on-sales, agents, promoters and ticketing platforms look at the IP addresses for each purchase to see if scalpers managed to break through. If there are duplicates, the agents and promoters will inform the ticketing platform to cancel those tickets and re-release them back onto their primary ticketing platform. When it comes to using dynamic pricing — which includes an option to change the price of a ticket due to demand — the artist teams are ultimately the ones who make that call.

Those arguing in favor of dynamic pricing highlight that some fans are willing to pay a premium for shows, and ticket prices should adjust accordingly. But many artist teams feel dynamic pricing risks upsetting their audience, and opt against using it.

Silver says that when his clients do decide to utilize dynamic pricing, it’s put in place closer to the date of the show, versus right off the bat. “We probably weren’t going to sell those tickets anyway, and, if we do, it’s just a little bit of extra money,” he says. The profit from dynamic pricing goes back to the whole pot, split between artist and promoter depending on the percentage shares they worked out when first plotting a show.

At the end of the day, the process of pricing tickets is a delicate balancing act, as artist teams must weigh the price sensitivity of fans with what’s required to make a profit on a show.

“Our teams will sit and look at the Twitter threads and comments and take a lot of that into consideration,” Schoen Visconti says. “The artist definitely has their development and their own agenda, but they need fans to be there and support, and the fans should feel like they’re being supported.”

You can’t have failed to notice that these are high times for British and Irish music. After a rocky period marked by industry uncertainty and a relative lull in global breakthroughs, the past 18 months have seen a new wave of talent firmly restore the region’s chart and cultural clout.

The numbers tell part of the story. In December 2025, the BPI reported that the U.K. recorded music sector surged both domestically and internationally last year, powered by breakout stars including Lola Young, whose viral smash “Messy” became the year’s biggest British single. Olivia Dean, meanwhile, cemented her transatlantic rise by becoming a Billboard Hot 100 darling, with top 10 entries for “Man I Need” (No. 2) and “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” (No. 5). 

Elsewhere, Mercury Prize nominee CMAT has continued her ascent, while Sienna Spiro, Skye Newman and Scouse rapper EsDeeKid have forged their own unique paths into the mainstream. The momentum has lifted sterling albums from established stars, too: Charli xcx’s Brat and Sam Fender’s People Watching both notched platinum-selling status in the U.K. There is, unmistakably, a renewed sense of possibility in the air.

For Andy Sloan-Vincent, who recently stepped into his new role as managing director at Spotify (U.K., Ireland, and Netherlands) after 11 years at the streaming platform, this resurgence has been “the culmination of a long-term strategy from a lot of labels developing artists.” The region, he argues, has always possessed the foundations required to develop world-class artists, pointing to how Young and Dean are success stories of the free-to-attend BRIT School in Croydon, south London.

“The U.K. has always been a hotbed for nurturing talent,” he tells Billboard U.K. over video call. “We have places like the BRIT School that form part of our cultural identity; we have TV moments throughout the year where artists are put at the forefront. We’ve always been a musical nation.”

According to the most recent Loud and Clear report, which shares data behind Spotify’s royalty payments, U.K. artists generated over £860 million ($1.138 billion) in revenue from the streaming platform in 2025, representing a 6% increase year-on-year. In 2026, 75% of all royalties generated by British artists on Spotify came from listeners outside the U.K., with recorded growth in key markets including Germany, Australia, Brazil and Mexico, while the U.S. remains the region’s biggest export partner.

From Sloan-Vincent’s position, those figures represent not just a U.K. music ecosystem that “has reached a level of maturity and confidence,” but Spotify’s role in amplifying that reach. As he looks towards his first year in the new role, the London-based executive — who featured on Billboard‘s 2026 U.K. Power Players list — is focused on how the platform can further support artists at every stage of their careers, pointing to the upcoming initiatives such as Reserved, Spotify’s new, fan-focused ticketing offering, as evidence of that ambition.

“We want to keep growing and become bigger, but we’re also a mature and profitable business,” Sloan-Vincent explains. “We want to continue building on that success while growing into the next chapter.”

2025 was a breakthrough year for British artists — such as Olivia Dean, Lola Young, and Sam Fender — globally. What have you seen in Spotify’s data that has perhaps helped to explain that resurgence?

The U.K. has always been a strong export business. We’ve always been quite powerful in that regard, and a kind of cultural leader. Last year was perhaps the culmination of a long-term strategy from a lot of labels developing artists. The artists you reference have been signed for five, 10-plus years, and then we’ve hit this world at Spotify where we’re paying out £860 million [in streaming royalties] in the U.K..

Those two things map neatly together, in the sense that the industry has now reached a level of maturity and confidence where we’re really breaking artists through again. I think you can see with the industry itself fishing for British artists from labels all over the world. It’s confidence in British music that’s coming through.

To what extent do you believe this huge, new level of success for U.K. artists is being driven by international audiences?

We have a huge export success story with Spotify. We have this £860 million figure, but 75% of those royalties come from outside the U.K., so listeners from other markets are pretty significant for us. The U.K. would previously export to Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand, and now we’re seeing our artists bubbling in places like Mexico and Brazil. There’s always been a handful of British acts that can go out and play those monster shows at football stadiums all over the world, but now that number is going up.

I’ve been with Spotify for 11 and a half years, during which we have launched our Radar, Equal, and Glow programs, supporting emerging artists, female artists, and then LGBTQ+ artists. A big focus for me and for the company has always been taking people from early days and carrying them through to a career arc. Part of it comes from finding artists early and thinking, “This could be a generational act, let’s build something here.”

We shot some live performance with Skye Newman at Hackney Church a week ago, for a one-night-only show. Skye is a Radar artist in the U.K., which means we’ve made the commitment to develop her. She has an incredible voice; when you go into the room with her, everyone wants her to win. I think the reason we want to get behind artists like that is because we want the artist to win. That’s our outlook on things.

How do the headlines from the U.K. and European findings in this year’s Loud & Clear report compare with the wider global picture?

We’re one of four net exporters, so the U.K. has been very, very strong in that regard. I think globally we have seen our payments go up pretty considerably. Europe was obviously a bit of a powerhouse in terms of the amount of money that gets driven to the industry. From a U.K. and a European perspective, we’re seeing growth in the independent sector. So, 45% of royalties in the U.K. are generated by independent artists. I would say that those are kind of the core things: independent sector growth, export growth, and overall revenue going up.

When you speak to newer or independent artists, what concerns about streaming economics do you hear most often? And how do you respond?

The first and main kind of myth that’s important to dispel is the ‘per stream’ rate. It’s not a thing; most, if not all, streaming platforms work in exactly the same way, by paying a certain percentage out on a flat revenue model, and the way that an artist then gets paid is by their percent of the overall revenue pie. I think it’s important for artists to understand that that’s how it works: there are fluctuations in that revenue and the way it comes in. 

I’d also say that it’s very important to understand that Spotify and other streaming platforms pay out to rights holders, so we aren’t paying the artists directly, it goes to the rights holder. The rights holder then has their jurisdiction, and they work out how it then goes on to the artists. It’s important to understand that you’re not going to get [the name] Spotify on your bank statement, you’ll probably get your distributor or record label.

On Substack earlier this year, you wrote that “there’s so much to be optimistic about” across the U.K. music industry in 2026. Who, or what, is inspiring you at the moment?

It’s really nice to talk about the Olivia Deans, the Lola Youngs, the Sienna Spiros of the world who are blowing up. My remit also takes me to Ireland, and we’ve recently announced some statistics around an artist called F3mii and how they’ve blown up recently. But we’ve also been committed early to artists like Florence Road and Kingfishr.

The thing I love is that it never ends, in the sense that there’s always something new to discover. We’re not like a fashion department, and I think that’s kind of a strange statement to make, but we’re focused on building sustainable, lifelong careers where artists can make a living. We’re not playing an overnight, snap-numbers game. It’s about who’s out there doing the work, building a fan base, playing the shows, being someone who is inspiring to new fans, and how we can help them and develop them. For us as a platform, that’s always been our focus.

It’s that discovery, that love that comes when people sit and really listen. I think we’ve made product innovations in that space to help open up those doors. We’re consistently trying to get fans closer to their artists, and I think giving artists control is a really important part of that.

The live touring market has become an increasingly contentious topic throughout 2026 with conversations around pricing and access. How do you see Reserved improving the fan experience?

There’s this sense that the secondary market is quite chaotic at best, and it has been for a long time. I explicitly remember going to shows and trying to find a ticket from a guy outside the Tube station. Technology has essentially given that guy outside the Tube station the ability to bot and buy up all the tickets to a show, and then sell them at an increasingly crazy markup.

I think the reason Reserved works, and the reason our partners want to get involved with it, is that it helps drive that artist-fan relationship, cuts through some of that chaos, and puts tickets in the right hands. I love it from a fan perspective, too. Speaking personally, it’s about being able to get tickets for the things I genuinely want to go and see.

I think, first and foremost for me, it’s that responsibility element. As a business, we are number one in each of the markets I look after, and I think it’s important for us to remember that comes with a level of responsibility to the music industry and the wider creative industries in the countries we’re operating in. A big focus for us is making sure we’re still helping artists, podcasters, and authors find new audiences. That’s a huge part of what we do.

Following the death of Clive Davis on Monday (June 22) at the age of 94, professionals across the music industry are remembering the legendary executive, who launched the careers of such stars as Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow and Alicia Keys.

Davis’ music business career is the stuff of legend and undoubtedly inspired multiple generations of music industry executives. Known as “The Man With the Golden Ear,” he launched his career as assistant counsel at Columbia Records and was eventually named president of Columbia’s parent company, CBS Records. He later founded his own label, Arista, in 1974, where he went on to sign Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Patti Smith and more. That was followed by J Records in 2000, which launched future stars Alicia Keys and Maroon 5. He was later named chief creative officer at Sony Music Entertainment, a role he held until his death.

See below for all the reactions. We will update this story as more come through.

Merck Mercuriadis:

“I am so sorry to hear of Clive’s passing. We have all lost an extraordinary man the likes of which you will never see again but you have lost a father — a father to us all. It’s impossible to measure his impact on music, culture and life across the globe. He accelerated the growth of the music business like few others and he supported his artists like a man possessed. His focus on songs was unique in a post Beatles world and as a result his emphasis and support of outside songwriters and producers was unparalleled.

“It must also be mentioned that no one could launch an artist the way Clive could and the Clive playbook became the envy for anyone marketing and promoting music. Spotting talent is not difficult, spotting it and knowing what to do is something very very few can do.

“His annual Grammy party was the only one that mattered and as anyone who ever had the privilege of attending can tell you he was also a special orator. Clive is the only person that I know that could introduce 50 superstars in a night with unbelievable dignity and elegance and never use the same adjective twice.

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Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music Group:

“Clive of course played a seminal role in the story of Sony Music through two incredible chapters, and he is responsible for a huge part of the recorded legacy of the company permanently. Not only are many, many artists we represent continuously indebted to his service but so many staff members have been influenced and mentored by his deep love and respect for our company which he carried right up until today. Our working lives are better for having had his constant presence in the aura and perception of Sony Music.”

Monte Lipman, executive chairman, REPUBLIC

“Avery and I got our start in the music business working for Clive at Arista Records in the late 1980s. By virtue of being in his orbit, we had a front-row seat to his extraordinary success as he discovered and championed legendary artists who’ve gone on to make the world a better place. It was his passion for culture, community and music, along with his unwavering commitment to excellence in every aspect of his life, that resonated with us so profoundly; but the most valuable lesson he ever taught us was that family always comes first. Earlier this year, Avery and I had the privilege of being recognized by Clive at his legendary Grammy Gala. To stand alongside him nearly 40 years later was a deeply meaningful full circle moment that we will always cherish and hold dear in our hearts. We love you Clive.”

Avery Lipman, vice chairman, REPUBLIC

“My first job in the music business was working as Clive’s part-time secretary. On my very first day, I handed him a list of missed calls and mentioned that his son had called while he was in a meeting. Clive immediately told me, ‘If any of my children call, you need to grab me.’ From that day forward, I interrupted meetings and calls whenever one of his children reached out and every single time, he stopped what he was doing and took the call. Years later, when people asked me what it was like to work for such an iconic executive, my first thought was always the same: he was the most devoted father. The world will remember Clive for his unparalleled contributions to music and culture, but I’ll always remember the example he set as a parent, mentor and leader. I am deeply grateful to have known him.”

Harvey Mason jr., CEO, Recording Academy

Music lost one of its most important and impactful figures today, and I lost a dear friend and mentor. With his ears of gold and natural gift of hitmaking, Clive Davis developed music’s brightest legends and stars, earning him four Grammy wins and the Recording Academy Trustees Award in 2000. Clive was a generous supporter of MusiCares, and the Recording Academy has been proud to co-host the annual Pre-Grammy Gala with him for over 15 years, a tradition Clive started over 50 years ago, gathering music’s most innovative and accomplished people every year on the Saturday night before the Grammy Awards. Clive being a part of our industry has made a massive impact on music people everywhere, including myself. Thank you, Clive, for all you’ve done for all of us in music. You will be missed!

Barry Weiss, founder, Records

“My memories and relationship with Clive Davis are hard to put into a brief sentence or two. Having grown up in the music business, I’ve heard his name for years and first met him at a CBS Records convention at the Century Plaza Hotel in 1972. I was also well aware of him through my father and his affiliation with Stax Records and my childhood neighbor Ron Alexenburg another protege of Clive’s like so many of us. We worked closely with him at Arista Records who was Jive Record’s US licensor in our infancy. Simply put he was a “record man’s record man”. Brilliant and expansive intellect, incredible taste and musical instincts and phenomenal problem solving abilities. All rolled into one very sophisticated, gentleman. As Clive Calder and I used to say ‘we’re in the record business while Clive is in Show Business!’.  He will be missed.”

Joe Galante, former chairman, RCA Label Group, Nashville

“He loved spending that time with artists and producers and songwriters. I give him a lot of credit for creating the [pre-Grammy gala] That’s where the boat show [before Country Radio Seminar] came from: ‘Oh, you can steal people away before an important event?’ But we’ll put them on the water. I just stole the idea from Clive in terms of that night. But he was very open to always watching what was coming up; he didn’t get mired down and just say, ‘I’ve got what I need.’ His head was always on a swivel, looking out, trying to meet new people and bring them into the fold.”

Julie Widler, vice chiar, board of trustees, T.J. Martell Foundation

“Clive Davis was one of the most important figures in the music industry, a true original.  To all of us at the T.J. Martell Foundation, he was also a steadfast supporter of our mission. From the earliest days of the Foundation, Clive stood alongside Tony Martell, helping champion the fight against cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He understood the difference this work could make and remained committed to it for decades.
 
“We are grateful for his friendship, his guidance, and the many ways he supported the Foundation over the years. The T.J. Martell Foundation would not be what it is today without Clive’s enduring support. His absence will be felt deeply, but his legacy lives on in the work he helped make possible. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones, and all those whose lives he touched.”  

Jon Platt, chairman and CEO, Sony Music Publishing

“Clive Davis was a music publisher’s best friend – someone who always understood the value of a song and the songwriter. What mattered most to Clive was a great song, and that passion was evident. We were fortunate to experience the one and only Clive Davis.”

On Monday (June 22) a worldwide coalition of artists, songwriters and managers’ groups gathered together to release a letter aimed at record labels and publishers forming AI music licensing deals: “Stop the misuse of [our] rights in AI deals,” a press release announcing the letter said, adding “this is hypocrisy and an injustice which needs to stop now. Labels and publishers rightly argue that AI companies need permission to train on their music catalogue, but will not grant artists and songwriters the same rights.”

The letter follows a number of noteworthy licensing deals inked between publishers, labels and AI music companies — like Suno, Udio, ElevenLabs and others — in the past year. This includes Warner Music Group’s licensing deals with Suno, Klay, Udio and others; Universal Music Group’s deals with Udio, Spotify, Klay and others; Sony Music’s deal with Klay; Merlin and Kobalt’s deals with Udio and ElevenLabs and more.

In April, reporting from Billboard revealed that multiple top talent attorneys have been made aware that labels and publishers could feasibly use common contract language in U.S. record deals, related to blanket licensing and exploitation, to opt in artists’ works to train their AI partners’ models without seeking individual artist approval. “Some of the labels have already taken the position that they technically don’t need special approvals to train,” said Jason Boyarski, founding partner at Boyarski Fritz, at the time.

While many of the announcements about deals between AI firms and music companies note that artists can have the option to choose whether or not their name, image or likeness is used in relation to AI outputs, AI training is a different area of this licensing process that is never mentioned. “We’re seeing a differentiation between the way training — or inputs — and outputs are treated,” Audrey Benoualid, partner at Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light, told Billboard in April.

“We are increasingly concerned that artists and songwriters in existing recording and publishing agreements are receiving letters from major labels and publishers informing them that they will be opted in to AI-related uses by default, with little actual choice offered,” notes the letter, which was signed by Music Artists Coalition, Songwriters of North America, the Ivors Academy, Black Music Action Coalition, Artists Rights Alliance and more.

“At the same time, artists and songwriters signing new agreements are being presented with AI rights clauses as a standard condition of signing,” the letter says. Billboard has previously reported some of this new language added to signing agreements, specifically clauses from BMG, Sony and Believe, including a provision that allowed the “unlimited, exclusive rights” for Sony-owned dance label B1 Recordings to “use the recording in models and systems of generative artificial intelligence and applications based thereon, including generative AI, including [but] not limited to the analysis of the Recording for the purpose of extracting information on patterns, trends and correlations (AI training).”

“The result is a serious imbalance: artists and songwriters are being asked to give permission without sufficient information, clear terms or guaranteed remuneration,” the letter says.

The musicians’ note also includes three core principles that they want recorded music companies, publishers, policy makers, AI companies, digital platforms and more to respect: “consent and control” for artists and songwriters, “fair compensation” and “clarity and transparency.”

It also asks these companies to make “clear and public commitment” to the following guidelines in AI licensing deals: “no default opt-ins, no forced AI clauses and no use of artists’ work, voice, performance, likeness or creative identity without meaningful consent, fair remuneration and full transparency.” “The future of music must be built with artists, songwriters and their representatives, not imposed on them,” the letter concludes.

Read the full letter below:

Artists and Songwriters Must Not Be Pressure into AI Deals Without Meaningful Consent

Across the global music industry, record companies and publishers are negotiating AI deals that could shape the future of music. Yet the artists and songwriters whose works, voices, performances, likenesses and creative identities make those deals valuable are not being meaningfully consulted.

Artists and songwriters remain the primary holders of many of the rights at stake, including moral, neighbouring, image and personality rights. These rights are not label or publishers assets to be licensed without clear authority, consent and accountability. This means that artists and songwriters should be (where applicable, through their managers) the primary parties approached by AI companies to discuss such rights.

We are increasingly concerned that artists and songwriters in existing recording and publishing agreements are receiving letters from major labels and publishers informing them that they will be opted in to AI-related uses by default, with little actual choice offered. At the same time, artists and songwriters signing new agreements are being presented with AI rights clauses as a standard condition of signing.

The result is a serious imbalance: artists and songwriters are being asked to give permission without sufficient information, clear terms or guaranteed remuneration. We support innovation and recognise that AI can create new opportunities for music. However artists are not simply catalogue assets, and innovation cannot be used to override artists’ rights.

We therefore call on record companies, publishers, policy makers, AI companies, digital platforms and all industry partners to respect and consider three core principles:

Consent & Control 

Artists and songwriters must actively and specifically consent before their works, voice, performance, likeness or creative identity is used in connection with AI. There must be clarity around what they are being asked to approve, and they must have control over how it will be used. It cannot be buried in broad catch-all contract language or include rights in perpetuity. Consent cannot be imposed through default opt-ins and it should not be a condition of signing a new deal. Artists and songwriters must be able to say no without fear of penalization.

Fair Compensation 

Where artists and songwriters choose to participate in AI-related uses, they must receive fair and meaningful remuneration. They must share in the value created by their works, and it cannot be considered a general label asset. Artists and songwriters must be consulted and it must be clear which percentage of revenue goes to the creator, to the label and to the AI company.

Clarity & Transparency 

Requests must be purpose-specific. Artists, songwriters and managers must be given clear, timely and understandable information about any AI-related deal or proposal affecting their rights in order to make informed decisions. The information must encompass which rights it includes, what uses are permitted, the safeguards in place, duration of permission and how consent can be withdrawn.

We call on all companies entering into AI music deals to make a clear and public commitment: 

No default opt-ins. 

No forced AI clauses. 

No use of artists’ work, voice, performance, likeness or creative identity without meaningful consent, fair remuneration and full transparency. 

At a time when policymakers are reviewing copyright rules in response to AI, the protection of artists’ and songwriters’ rights, voices and remuneration is not negotiable. The structures being created now will shape the music ecosystem for years to come. The future of music must be built with artists, songwriters and their representatives, not imposed on them. 

Signed, 

European Music Managers Alliance, European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA), Music Artists Coalition, Songwriters of North America (SONA), National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), International Artists Organization (IAO), Artists Rights Alliance (ARA), Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), Association of Artist Managers (Australia), Music Managers Forum Aotearoa (New Zealand), Music Managers Forum (Canada), Featured Artists’ Coalition, The Ivors Academy.

EMMA members who have signed also directly: 

Music Managers Forum UK, Union des Manageuses et Managers de la musique (UMAN). Music Managers Forum Netherlands, Norwegian Entertainment Managers and Agents Association (NEMAA), Polish Artists Chamber of Commerce (IGMAP), Interessenverband Musikmanager & Consultants (IMUC) Music Managers Forum Sweden, AIM Ireland, Music Managers Federation (MMaF) Music Managers Forum Finland, Hungarian Managers Forum (ZEME) Music Estonia Managers, Danske Artist Managers, Music Managers Forum Ukraine, Music Managers Forum Iceland, Music Managers Forum Suisse, Foro de Mánagers (FORMA), Fédération des Bookers et Managers Unies.

Bootsy Collins has welcomed roots-soul singer-songwriter Davie as the first artist signed to Bootzilla Records, the funk legend’s newly launched label.

“Davie, welcome to Bootzilla Records,” Collins said in a statement. “You know you got a burning tent revival going on deep down in your soul, and all I can say is Church.”

He added, “As the first signing to Bootzilla Records, Davie is helping lead the front line of what this label is here to bring to the people. He brings real soul, grit, and that feel-good fire that makes folks stop, listen, and believe every word he’s singing. We’re looking forward to rolling this thing out with him, letting his soul, fire, and truth touch the world the way only he can.”

Bootzilla Records is distributed through Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. The label “is built around artists Collins discovers organically, artists whose music is deeply rooted in tradition while connecting with audiences everywhere,” according to a press release.

“Bootsy is a legend,” Davie said in a statement. “He’s built a sound that’s unmistakably his own: funky, effortless, timeless, and full of personality. What inspires me most is how his music can be deeply rooted in Black musical traditions while still connecting with people everywhere. That’s something I aspire to as an artist.”

Davie made his label debut with “Soul,” released Friday (June 19).

“Juneteenth is a day to celebrate together freedom for all, and Black music has always been the soundtrack of our cultural expression,” Davie said. “The song draws from a rich history of blues, soul, and funk, which have been the soundtrack to joyful moments and celebrations worldwide. So, I wanted to join the celebration by lending my voice.”

Stream Davie’s new song “Soul” below.

1300 has its sights set on South Korea and the rest of the world through a new deal struck with Universal Music Korea.

For the past several years, the Korean-Australian hip-hop act that has been making waves in the land down under, where they’ve completed two sold-out national tours and performed live for the 2025 ABC New Year’s Eve concert, beamed out from the Sydney Opera House.

Blending rap, electronic music and wicked humor, 1300 has shared stages with the likes of Jay Park, Audrey Nuna, Genesis Owusu, and Confidence Man, and graced the pages of the NME, Esquire Australia, Billboard Philippines, The Guardian, PAPER Magazine, Hypebeast Korea, and more. On the festivals front, they’ve appearing at SummerStage’s Aussie BBQ in NYC in 2023, and featured in Netflix’s viral reboot of Heartbreak High.

Critical and commercial success has poured in. Along the way, the lads have been shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize (2022), won the triple j and Rage Australian music video of the year for “Oldboy” and earned artist of the week nods from several broadcasters, including triple j Unearthed, and been awarded the Australia Council’s Arts Project and Contemporary Touring grants.

Comprised of rappers DALI, goyo, rako, and producers Nerdie and pokari, 1300 formed in west Sydney in 2021. Since then, they’ve amassed a catalog that includes fan faves “Lalaland,” “Brr,” “No Caller ID,” “Smashmouth,” “Oldboy,” “Rocksta,” and “Steve Jobs” featuring Kwame, along with the mixtapes Foreign Language and GEORGE, plus their Valentine’s Day EP <3 (pronounced “less than three”), (pronounced “less than three”).

The major-label deal signals “a significant next step” for 1300, reads a statement, as they continue expanding their global reach and introducing their “genre-defying sound” to audiences around the globe.

To celebrate the new arrangement, a debut album ILLSAMGONGONG will drop next month through UMK.

“We’re delighted to welcome 1300 to UMK,” comments Calvin Wong, CEO of Universal Music Group Southeast Asia and Korea, & senior VP of Asia. “They combine a fresh, alternative, sound with a dynamic energy that resonates instantly. I look forward to helping them create new opportunities, connect with fans, and together take their music across Asia and the rest of the world.”

Ahead of the new album release, 1300 will unveil the first pre-release single on next Wednesday, June 24.

SYDNEY, Australia — Rising Australian alt-pop artist Alexandria is the latest addition to the Warner Music roster, Billboard can exclusively reveal.

Alexandria signs a recording deal with Warner Music Australia and Warner Records, an alliance that expands on her unlikely leap from teaching math to high school students in Perth, Western Australia, to unleashing her dark-toned fantasy pop on the world.

To celebrate her major label partnership, Alexandria drops the new track “Justice,” a cinematic pop story told with strings and snares. The single is representative of her work to date, immersive pieces influenced by literature, anime, and her other passions.

Those releases include 2025 debut “Always An Angel;” her featured contribution on Marino’s “Lust;” and most recently, “The Fool.” She joins the Warner Music fold with more than 1.74 million followers on Spotify, and 213,000-plus followers on TikTok.

“Signing with Warner Music feels like the beginning of an exciting new chapter,” she says in a statement to Billboard. “I’ve spent years writing songs and building this project piece by piece, and it means so much to have a team that believes in the vision as deeply as I do. I’m incredibly grateful for the support so far, and I can’t wait to share what’s coming next.”

Alexandria paints worlds with lyrics and sonics. “I’ve always been drawn to the fictional world and stories,” she explains. “My music allows me to bring those stories to life. Writing ‘The Fool’ and ‘Justice’ felt like writing two mini novels, with each song having its own world and story surrounding it. I cannot wait for everyone to hear the stories that are yet to come.”

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With the new arrangement, Alexandria has a global team behind her and a steady stream of new music is in the pipeline for 2026, reps say.

“I am thrilled to welcome Alexandria to the Warner Music family,” comments Dan Rosen, president of Warner Music Australasia and Southeast Asia. “Partnering with Warner Records on Alexandria reflects our ongoing commitment to make our local artists global, with global teams to provide the powerhouse backing to build successful international careers. Alexandria has a truly unique creative vision, and we are super excited to support her in the next stage of her career.”

Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairman & CEO, Warner Records Group and Tom Corson, co-chairman & COO, Warner Records Group add: “Alexandria doesn’t just make music — she builds worlds. Her singular creative vision and undeniable global appeal made this partnership between Warner Records and Warner Music Australia an easy call. We are thrilled to welcome her and cannot wait for the world to hear what’s coming.”

At WMA, Alexandria joins a domestic stable of artists that includes Boy Soda, Blusher, Budjerah, Brad Cox, Carla Wehbe, and others.

A judge says Russell Simmons can be sued for rape in New York by a former Def Jam executive, even though he now lives in Indonesia.

A Tuesday (June 16) order in New York state court, first obtained and reported by Billboard, rejects Simmons’ latest attempt to dismiss the civil lawsuit alleging he raped an anonymous executive in Def Jam’s music video department in the 1990s. Simmons, who has been accused of sexual assault by numerous women over the last decade, has denied all wrongdoing.

The former Def Jam employee, suing under the pseudonym Jane Doe, originally brought her claims against Simmons in federal court in 2024. She suffered a setback last year when a federal judge said Simmons, who has lived in Indonesia since 2018, was outside the court’s jurisdiction. She persisted and re-filed the lawsuit in state court — and on Tuesday, Judge Adam Silvera said New York law allows the claims to move forward despite Simmons’ expat status.

“The complaint alleges the defendant committed the tort of rape in New York state,” wrote the judge. “[In New York], a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over any non-domiciliary who commits a tortious act within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation. Therefore, the complaint survives the motion to dismiss stage.”

In addition to their arguments about Indonesia, Simmons’ lawyers also argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because Jane Doe released all possible claims against the Def Jam founder as part of a severance agreement with the label in 1997.

However, Doe’s attorneys say that purported release is a “sham” and that her signature was forged. Judge Silvera determined on Tuesday that there’s a “genuine dispute as to its authenticity,” meaning he’ll need to see evidence before deciding whether the document is enforceable.

Simmons and Doe will now begin discovery, where they will exchange evidence and depose each other’s witnesses. The judge set a court conference for August to hammer out a calendar for this often-lengthy process.

Doe’s lawyers at the firm Boies Schiller & Flexner declined to comment on the ruling on Wednesday (June 17). Simmons’ rep did not immediately return a request for comment.

Simmons, who founded Def Jam Recordings in 1984 and built a formidable hip-hop empire, first faced sexual abuse allegations in a New York Times investigation from 2017. More women came forward in the 2020 HBO documentary On The Record, and legal claims followed.

Doe’s lawsuit was filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for rape claims. She alleged that Simmons pinned her to a bed and raped her while she was at his apartment to get approval for a music video.

Simmons has settled with at least seven other women who’ve accused him of sexual misconduct in recent years. Many of these accusers have since filed court petitions claiming he’s millions of dollars short on promised settlement payments.

Simmons has maintained that the abuse claims are all false. In a motion to dismiss the Doe lawsuit, his attorneys wrote, “Defendant hopes to vindicate himself to the many who have judged him unfairly, for many years, on the untrue and unproven allegations of others.”

Last June, Simmons went on the offensive and sued HBO for defamation over On The Record. He claimed the sexual assault accusations in the documentary were false, and that its producers ignored exculpatory information that would have cleared his name. That case is still pending.

Robbie Williams, arguably the most successful British male artist this century, has signed with WME for worldwide agency representation.

Announced early Wednesday, June 17, the former Take That singer joins WME after his move to the ATC Management roster.

Robbie, as he’s affectionately known to his millions of fans, is a megastar in the United Kingdom and Europe, and around the globe.

According to the Official Charts Company, Robbie boasts six of the top 100 best-selling albums in British recorded music history, with 16 U.K. No. 1 albums as a solo artist — breaking the tie with the Beatles, for the most leader of all time. He also owns 18 Brit Awards, more than any other artist. His international album sales top 90 million.

In the United States, where his cheeky-chappie appeal never quite caught on, Robbie bagged two appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 led by “Angels” at No. 53, and four of his albums impacted the Billboard 200 chart.

Across his decorated career, Williams has collected eight German ECHO Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, and last year was appointed as the official FIFA music ambassador, through which he co-wrote and recorded the FIFA anthem, “Desire,” which will be played at the international soccer governing body’s future tournaments, including the current FIFA World Cup.

Also last year, he won the prestigious PRS for Music Icon Award at The Ivors 2025, his fifth Ivor Novello Award. His big screen projects include the Oscar-nominated film Better Man, which swept the 2025 AACTA Awards in Sydney, taking home four major trophies including best film. He’s also the subject of a well-received four-part documentary for Netflix, Robbie Williams.

As a member of Take That, Robbie lived the largest of lives. Formed in 1989 as a five-piece — Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Williams — the pop group was one of the most popular acts of its generation, certainly in the U.K., where few acts can challenge their chart superiority.

Take That is also a proven box-office juggernaut. Their record-breaking 2011 Progress tour (for which Williams returned to the fold) sold over 1 million tickets in less than 24 hours; the following year the lads performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics; and they hold the record for the most performances at London’s The O2, with 34 headline shows.

Williams is playing stadiums around the globe this year in support of his new album BRITPOP, which dropped in January and immediately went to No. 1 in his homeland.