Legal and Management
Harvey Weinstein Trial Witnesses Call for Defining Consent in Law to Prevent Sexual Assaults
Onetime aspiring actress Dawn Dunning and New York actress and model Tarale Wulff, who were key prosecution witnesses that helped convict Harvey Weinstein on rape and criminal sexual assault in March 2020, came out in support of New York State penal law reforms to define the meaning of consent in sexual crime cases on Tuesday. “By applying consent in general laws, we will make it clear that the same consent that protects your property protects your body,” Dunning told a press conference in New York City after New York Assembly member Rebecca Seawright unveiled Bill #A6540, which would define consent in that state’s general laws. Under the Seawright proposal, consent will be defined as “freely given, knowledgeable and informed agreement… obtained without the us...
Bassnectar Accused of Sexual Abuse & Human Trafficking in Lawsuit; DJ Denies Claims
Neither Red Light Management nor C3 Presents — a management and production company behind events including Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza — responded to Billboard‘s requests for comment. The suit also alleges that Ashton used his Interactive Giving Fund charitable organization “to target, recruit and ultimately victimize young girls, like Plaintiffs, for sexual exploitation.” The complaint alleges that Ashton met both defendants via Twitter when they were underage high school students. “After performances, Bassnectar would invite these underage girls to his hotel room and demand that the girls shower so that they were ‘clean,'” the complaint says. “He would then have sex with them, requiring the sex to be unprotected, without ...
T.I. & Tiny Respond to New Sexual Assault Allegations From Three Women
Steve Sadow, counsel for T.I. and Tiny, provided a statement on the Harrises’ behalf to Billboard on Monday (April 5): “The Harrises are still waiting for the accusers to reveal themselves publicly. By continuing to hide behind anonymous allegations, the unnamed accusers effectively render themselves not credible and unworthy of belief. We say: Let the light shine on their identities so we can go about disproving these scurrilous accusations.” In February, The New York Times reported that Blackburn was seeking a criminal investigation and approached law enforcement authorities in Georgia and California on behalf of 11 people claiming they were victimized by the couple or their entourage. The alleged incidents occurred between 2005 to 2018 and...
Adam Leber Launches New Management Company, Rebel, With Live Nation
Leber manages Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X and Labrinth, among others. Adam Leber, the longtime manager for Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Labrinth and more, is launching a new management company in conjunction with Live Nation, he announced today (April 5). The new company will be called Rebel, which is Leber’s name spelled backwards, and he will retain his clients for worldwide representation. Leber was most recently a partner at management conglomerate Maverick, which he co-founded in 2014 alongside other music management heavyweights Clarence Spalding, Larry Rudolph, Guy Oseary, Gee Roberson, Scott Rodger, Cortez Bryant, Ron Laffitte and Caron Veazey. With the formation of his new company, Leber will be leaving Maverick. “This is a new chapter for me,” Leber said in a statement. “It’s e...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Taylor Swift & Evermore Theme Park End Legal Battle, Drop Lawsuits
Putting an end to an escalating legal battle, Taylor Swift and Evermore, a theme park in Utah, dropped their opposing lawsuits on Wednesday (Mar. 24), with no money exchanged in the settlement. “As a resolution of both lawsuits, the parties will drop and dismiss their respective suits without monetary settlement,” reads a statement provided to Billboard from a spokesperson for Swift. Last month, Evermore Park in Pleasant Grove, Utah, filed a lawsuit against the pop superstar, claiming that Swift infringed its name with her December album, Evermore, and its accompanying merchandise. Evermore Park, which offers an immersive fantasy experience, argued that it had been the registered owner of the trademark for Evermore since 2015. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates O...
TikTok Country Star Priscilla Block Signs Booking & Management Deals: Exclusive
“I’m so excited to be working with Priscilla,” Foster tells Billboard. “She has spent the last 6-to-7 years in Nashville writing, working on her music and building her own creative team of writers and musicians. While one song may have blown up on Tik Tok and gotten her a record deal, she’s the real deal and a killer writer. She knows who she is and what she wants to sing about. We’re looking forward to getting out on the road with the new music and watching this grow with the new team in place.” Foster’s F2 Entertainment Group roster also includes Kelli Pickler, Jessie James Decker, Levi Hummon and Runaway June. “Priscilla is such a star,” adds CAA’s Rod Essig. “She’s an incredible person, writer, performer and vocalist – and she’s hilarious! Priscilla knows exactly who she is and where s...
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...
