Music Publishing News Weekly Roundup 8.29.14: AdRev, Macklemore, VMAs & More
Former President of CD Baby, Brian Felsen, Is Named New President of AdRev, a service that helps artists and labels monetize views on YouTube. AdRev's primary strategy is to place premium advertisements on videos to generate more money than the standard advertising formats. The company claims to have over 6 million copyrights, including music libraries of publishing companies and major recording artists. Felsen believes YouTube has an advantage over other streaming competitors because it has created a high demand for all types of video.
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Ludacris, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Lil Wayne Presented with Top Honors at the 2014 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards. Ludacris was awarded the President’s Award at the ceremony, which honors songwriters, producers, and publishers of last year’s most-performed R&B/hip-hop songs. Other artists that have previously received this award include Adam Levine, Carlos Vives, Taylor Swift, Pitbull, and will.i.am. Lil Wayne won the award for Songwriter of the Year, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won Song of the Year.
The 2014 VMAs were held at the Forum in Inglewood. Beyoncé stole the show with songs from her 2013 album and her divorce rumors were quickly quieted after she was presented the Video Vanguard Award from her husband and daughter. Miley Cyrus won Video of the Year for “Wrecking Ball” and had a surprise guest accept the award for her. The show opened with a bang from Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj performing the summer hit, “Bang Bang.”
James Blake signs a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV. The British artist-producer announced this deal prior to the release of his third album. The co-publishing deal covers all future works by Blake and although many details were not disclosed, Sony/ATV stated that it would be a ”long-term” agreement. The artist has been awarded the Mercury Prize for his 2013 release, “Overgrown,” which establishes him as one of the “premiere artists of this generation,” according to publishing creative director Tyler Childs.
