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Bob Dylan Argues Co-Writer Gets No ‘Double-Dip’ From $300M Songs Sale
According to the memorandum in support of dismissal, Dylan was one of the rare songwriters who owned copyrights to his musical compositions. He evidently maintained full publishing control, and with respect to songs co-written with others, sole ownership also came because he treated these musicians as employees in contract. As for the catalog sale last November, Dylan says he “no longer owns the copyrights or has any right to royalties from their exploitation.” But, Dylan’s court papers add that while he’d no longer be getting new money from exploitation of his legendary songs including “All Along the Watchtower,” “Tangled Up in Blue” and “The Times They Are A-Changin,'” he ensured that Universal would assume obligations...
Vicky Cornell vs. Soundgarden Lawsuit: Judge Recommends Dismissal of 2 Claims
Vicky Cornell has been embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute with the band’s remaining members after her husband’s sudden death on May 18, 2017 at the age of 52 while on tour in Detroit. He left his property — including his intellectual and personal property rights — to her for the benefit of their two minor children. On Dec. 9, 2019, two and half years after Chris Cornell’s death, Vicky Cornell filed a lawsuit against the remaining members of the band — Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd — and their business manager Rit Venerus, asking a judge to declare her the rightful owner of her husband’s unreleased sound recordings and of his name and likeness. She also demanded the court order the band to open its finances to her and to provide her with an inventory o...
Alfonso Perez-Soto Elevated to Warner Recorded Music’s President of Emerging Markets
In recent years, WMG has opened affiliates in India, Turkey and the Middle East, and has inked a string of strategic deals with key labels and distributors, including Doğan Music (Turkey), Ziiki Media (Punjabi music), Africori (Africa), Sky Digital (Punjabi music) and Tips Music (Bollywood). “I want to unlock huge opportunities for artists from the diverse tapestry of countries that we classify as emerging markets,” said Perez-Soto. “I’ll work round the clock to build a global stage for them to stand on, connecting them with fans in their home countries and far beyond.” Robson added: “The increasing connectivity of music fans in emerging markets is opening doors for artists worldwide, but the huge volume of music on streaming services means that, mo...
SoundCloud Taps 9 Artists for ‘First on SoundCloud’ Accelerator Program
The campaigns will additionally entail introductory profiles by SoundCloud guest editor and music journalist Kiana Fitzgerald; original content such as artist interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks at their first photoshoots; features on the new “First on SoundCloud” playlist on the SoundCloud homepage; career development from SoundCloud’s music industry veterans and experts; and a live event that will bring together the selected artists with the SoundCloud community. Each of the artists will receive a further lift by having their participation in the accelerator announced by artists and tastemakers including D Smoke, Rico Nasty, creative photographer and designer Ciesay of Places + Faces and NBA star De’Aaron Fox. Since its inaugural edition in 2018, First on SoundClou...
SoundCloud Names Drew Wilson COO & CFO
In his new role, Wilson will oversee all of SoundCloud’s finance and operations, including workplace and people function. He’ll report directly to SoundCloud CEO Michael Weissman, who was tapped to succeed Kerry Trainor in the role in December 2020. Wilson’s hire comes amid a host of recent changes at the streaming service, including the recent introduction of a “user-centric” royalty system for some of its artists, which pays out based on how many fans listen to their music as opposed to the number of times it gets streamed. That implementation, which is slated to coincide with Wilson’s first day on the job on April 1, will make SoundCloud the first major streaming platform to pivot away from the stream-based royalty payment system that has long been the standard among DSPs. So...
Irving Azoff, Musician Orgs Hail California Bill to Cap Recording Contracts at 7 Years
If passed, the FAIR Act would correct for a 1987 amendment that excluded recording artists from the Seven Year Statute, a labor law designed to prevent employers in California from enforcing excessively long contracts. As a result of the 1987 amendment, which was pushed by the major record labels, recording artists who seek the protection of the statute are susceptible to legal action and severe monetary damages if they decide to part ways with the label they’re under contract to. In a statement, Music Artists Coalition founder Irving Azoff says amending the current law has become even more urgent in light of the streaming boom. “Streaming has been an unprecedented bonanza for the record labels, but not so for artists,” said Azoff. “It is unfair that the only Californians excluded fr...
Paradigm Agrees to Sell Music Division to Wasserman
Gores added: “We are huge fans of Casey Wasserman and the company he’s built, and I am very pleased that he and his team will be at the helm of this important business line. It’s both thrilling and bittersweet to reach this agreement, transition to a new era for Paradigm, and initiate a stabilizing solution during a global pandemic that has created an existential crisis for our industry.” The Beverly Hills-based Paradigm’s roster includes Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Kacey Musgraves, Imagine Dragons and many other top-selling artists. The firm, run by chairman Gores, has built up its music division through years of acquiring boutique talent and management companies, including Monterey Peninsula Artists, Little Big Man, Third Coast Artists Agency, AM Only, Windish Agencies and...
OnlyFans Launches Creator Fund For U.K. Music Artists
Over the past year, artists from Cardi B to The-Dream and Rico Nasty have all joined content subscription platform OnlyFans — and Beyoncé even gave the platform a shout-out during her verse on a remix of Megan Thee Stallion‘s “Savage.” Now, the London-based company is leaning further into the music world with the launch of a new creative fund for artists in the U.K., announced today (March 17). The fund will award four aspiring artists grants of £20,000 (roughly $27,800) each, plus mentorship from a “music industry professional,” to help them kickstart their careers in music. Artists can enter to win the funds online through April 13 using an application process that includes uploading a 90-second performance video. OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely wil...
Meet the Nonprofits Feeding Thousands of Out-Of-Work Touring Staff
The live events industry breathed a sigh of relief when Congress passed the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant providing $15 billion to shuttered venues and independent promoters in December, but Espinoza says it’s “disrespectful” that no legislation passed to support event workers. While venues await their funding, Roadiecare is among several industry-adjacent nonprofits stepping up to feed and employ event workers who are without their usual income for the foreseeable future. Live event crew members were hit particularly hard by the pandemic due to complicated unemployment guidelines in the 2020 CARES Act. The pandemic relief legislation allowed for freelance workers to apply for Pandemic Unemploy...
UMG Signs Expanded Licensing Deal with African Streaming Service Boomplay
Under the deal, UMG content will now be available via Boomplay in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Guinea- Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tchad, Togo and Zimbabwe. Markets covered under the 2018 agreement were Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. “Since our original deal with UMG, the African music industry has seen exponential growth and made huge strides towards being the next powerhouse that it should be,” said Boomplay dir...
Jim Catino, Longtime Sony Music Nashville A&R Head, to Depart in June
“When I joined Sony Music almost six years ago, there was a need, and thus an opportunity, to reimagine the company’s priorities and what A&R could/should mean for Sony Music Nashville going forward. Particularly in the area of breaking new artists,” Goodman wrote. “Jim has been an important partner in making all of that happen from our very first meeting. Here we are, six short years later, having achieved significant artist break throughs as well as our aspirational goal of claiming #1 current market share for country. None of that would have happened without Jim’s creative vision, leadership and ability to execute. He has made an indelible mark on the amazing legacy of Sony Music Nashville and thus we all owe him a great debt of gratitude.” Among the artists Catino had worked with o...
Ontario Government Injects $2 Million Into Canada’s Ailing Music Sector
The Government of Ontario says it will inject $2.5 million (USD $2 million) into the struggling Canadian music industry by investing in two non-profit groups. The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) will receive $500,000 (USD $400,000) to aid the live industry all over the province, Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture, announced today (March 12). The provincial government will also provide $2 million (USD $1.6 million) in COVID-19 relief to the Unison Fund, the Canadian music industry’s emergency charity, which provides financial assistance and counseling services for musicians and industry members. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get...
