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NMPA and RIAA Chiefs: Music Creators and Fans Deserve Better From Twitter (Guest Op-Ed)
Record companies and music publishers want this partnership to work and are proud to help power Twitter’s success. We recognize artists and songwriters benefit greatly from being able to talk to their fans, share their work, and generate excitement and interest in great music in this way. However, the viral immediacy and global reach of the Twitter platform presents a double-edged sword – one that cuts especially deep for artists, songwriters, and music rightsholders who see their work leaked, copied, distributed, and monetized on the platform with almost no recourse. Last year music creators sent more than 2 million notices to Twitter of unlicensed and infringing appearances of copyrighted music on the platform – more than 200,000 of which dealt with the especially harmful presence of not...
Got NFT Ideas? Guy Oseary, Ashton Kutcher, Mark Cuban and Snoop Dogg Are All Ears
“Someone might have a little bit of financing. They may have a deck. They may have an idea scribbled on a napkin. In order to support the ecosystem, it’s not just going to the top,” he notes. “You’ve got to support the little guys, too.” Without giving specifics, Oseary says he has already invested in “a lot of the greatest NFT platforms on the marketplace.” Applications are open from Monday (April 5) to April 12. Finalists will be notified on April 16. Then on April 21, 30 finalists will join the judges for virtual pitch sessions. Some number of winners will share a pot of about $1 million; the size of investments and terms given will vary. NFTs are “non-fungible” tokens — unique, unlike a cryptocurrency or fi...
Michael Rapino, Other Live Nation Execs Partially Forfeit Bonuses Due to COVID-19
Live Nation President Joe Berchtold and chief financial officer Kathy Willard also forfeited restricted stock today due to the revenue miss. A spokesperson for Live Nation told Billboard that regular stock and cash payments were also reduced as part of the adjustment. In April, Rapino announced he was reducing his salary to $0 as part of a cost-savings initiative at the company brought on by the pandemic. In 2019, the company’s compensation committee agreed to pay Rapino a $6 million cash bonus if the company achieved an adjusted operating income of $875.0 million, and between $6 to $12 million if he hit between 100% and 110% of the AOI target. Rapino ended up hitting 109% of his target AOI ($942 million) for a cash award of $11.4 million, which he deferred until the end o...
The Deals: MOD SUN Signs With Big Noise, ADA Pairs With Billy Mann
Big Noise is a record label, publishing and media company offering artists the opportunity to develop and transform their artistry. The company manages artists across various genres like hip-hop, alternative and pop. Warner Music Group’s ADA Worldwide announced a partnership with Billy Mann and Benton James for their new label icons+giants. Mann, who is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and artist manager and James, an A&R executive and artist manager, will combine their digital marketing and A&R track record with ADA’s global influence, resources and connected artist services. “On behalf of everyone at ADA and Warner Music, we welcome Billy and Benton and the icons+giants team to the ADA family,” said Eliah Seton, president of independent music and ...
Dr. Luke’s Publishing Co. to Start Paying Royalties in Bitcoin
Prescription Songs is likely the first established music company to pay its talent in the cryptocurrency. Prescription Songs, the independent music publisher founded by Dr. Luke (a.k.a. Lukasz Gottwald), announced Thursday (April 1) that it will allow its roster of songwriters and producers the option of receiving royalty payments in Bitcoin, making it seemingly the first music company to do so. To facilitate the payments, the publisher has partnered with BitPay, a leading provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services. “Prescription Songs has always been an industry leader providing the best services to our songwriters, producers and artists. Some of our creators asked about being paid in Bitcoin so we wanted to get ahead of the pack and provide that service,” said Dr. Luke...
Endeavor Files to Go Public (Again)
The company’s representation business (including talent agency WME, modeling agency IMG and production label Endeavor Content) generated 36 percent of its revenue in 2019. Endeavor’s events and experiences division (comprised of hospitality firm On Location Experiences and the IMG Academy, among other properties) generated 43 percent of revenue that year. And its sports properties (mixed martial arts league UFC, Professional Bull Riders and Euroleague Basketball) comprised 20 percent of 2019 revenue. “As challenging a year as 2020 was, it underscored the strength, creativity, and resilience of our people who mobilized time and time again in the face of overwhelming odds,” wrote CEO Emanuel in a letter included in the filing, adding: “As the global pandemic unf...
The Players Behind Justin Bieber’s ‘Peaches’: See the Full Credits
Artists:Main Artist – Justin BieberFeatured Artist – Daniel CaesarFeatured Artist – Giveon Songwriters:Composer Lyricist – Aaron SimmondsComposer Lyricist – Andrew WotmanComposer Lyricist – Ashton SimmondsComposer Lyricist – Bernard HarveyComposer Lyricist – Felisha KingComposer Lyricist – Giveon Dezmann EvansComposer Lyricist – Justin BieberComposer Lyricist – Keavan YazdaniComposer Lyricist – Louis BellComposer Lyricist – Luis Manuel Martinez JrComposer Lyricist – Matthew Sean Leon Producers:Producer – HARVProducer – Shndo Production Team:Vocal Producer – Andrew WattVocal Producer – Josh Gudwin Engineers:Assistant Mixer – Heidi WangAsst. Recording Engineer – Ryan LytleM...
Spotify Introduces New Personalized Mixes Based on Artists, Genres & Decades
Spotify has introduced “Spotify Mixes,” a new family of personalized playlists based on users’ favorite artists, genres and decades which begin rolling out to both free and premium global users today (March 31). The new playlists, which were first teased at Spotify’s virtual “Stream On” event last month, are inspired by Daily Mix, which Spotify says is its most popular personalized playlist among users. Now, Spotify is adding three new mix categories: Artist Mix, Genre Mix and Decade Mix. Each mix category will include several playlists which are “rooted in familiarity,” according to Spotify’s blog post announcement, “meaning that you won’t just hear your favorite artists, but your favorite songs from those artists.” However...
Top Songwriters Ask Artists & Execs to Stop Taking Credit for Songs They Didn’t Write in Open Letter
Within two hours of the letter going live, songwriters including Warren — who sources say spearheaded the effort — Tranter, Golan, Victoria Monet, Tayla Parx, Joel Little and many others signed. Collectively, those songwriters have worked with artists including Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and more. The Pact is a newly formed organization, which debuted over the weekend posting as @_the_pact on Instagram declaring it was “time to make some changes” for the betterment of songwriters. This effort arrives when songwriters — and their catalogs — are under a brighter spotlight than ever. Earlier this year, investment companies like Merck Mercuriadis‘ Hipgnosis are spending billions to acquire publishing catalogs (resulting i...
Facebook Makes Official Music Videos Available in Mexico
Facebook has already been hosting videos in Thailand, India and the U.S., which allows artists to post their music videos on their own pages allowing fans to share, react and comment on the post. “With official music videos on Facebook, we are creating new social experiences that are about more than just watching the video, they also intend to connect people and artists through music.” said Adrian Harley, head of music label partnerships for Facebook and Instagram in Latin America. “We are excited to launch in Mexico in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, Believe and other independent labels and distributors. We have also established a partnership with EMMAC-SACM, representing all the songwriters and publisher...
Tom Petty Ex-Wife’s Lawsuit Over Universal Music Fire Dismissed Again
The class action lawsuit was originally filed against UMG on June 21, 2019, by Soundgarden, Hole, Tom Whalley, Steve Earle and Jane Petty, who were seeking to recover half of any settlement proceeds and insurance payments — reportedly valued at $150 million — that UMG received due to the 2008 fire on the Universal Studios backlot in a confidential settlement, according to court papers. The artists were suing UMG for breach of contract, negligence, reckless conduct and misrepresentation, as well as other causes of action claiming that they suffered irreparable losses to their master recordings. But Hole, Soundgarden, Tom Whalley, and Steve Earle all voluntarily dropped out of the litigation when it was demonstrated they suffered no losses due to the fire. On April 6, U.S. Distri...
Attorney Plans to File Dozens of Refund Lawsuits Against Ultra Miami
“We are seeking a global settlement with [Event Entertainment Group] that will address our clients’ request for refunds” plus attorneys fees, Corwin tells Billboard. “Settlement is a better path than continued litigation for both the consumer and the defendant and I am hopeful that by filing these actions we can come to a mutually agreeable resolution. While Corwin insists his strategy isn’t to inundate Ultra with dozens of small claims, the tactic has definitely gotten their attention. “I’m trying to stop the flow of people being screwed,” says Corwin, who previously worked as a concert promoter before becoming an attorney in the 1980s. “Many consumers don’t read all the terms and conditions before filing a claim” and don’t realize they’ll get a VIP ticket for next year’s festival i...
