Legal and Management
Britney Spears’ Father Jamie Files Petition to End Conservatorship
Judge Brenda Penny, who oversees the case, will need to approve the move. There was no immediate reply to an email seeking comment from Britney Spears’ attorney. James Spears had been the target of much of the anger surrounding the conservatorship from both his daughter and the public. A petition from Britney Spears’ attorney to remove him was to be heard at the next hearing in the case on Sept. 29. James Spears said in a filing on Aug. 12 that he was planning to step down as the conservator of her finances, but offered no timetable. He gave up his control over her life decisions in 2019, keeping only his role overseeing her money. He has repeatedly said there is no justification for his removal, and he has acted only in his daughter’s best interest. The conservato...
Nicole Scherzinger Sued Over Pussycat Dolls Reunion
Scherzinger did promote the tour, it’s acknowledged in the complaint, but then the pandemic halted music touring worldwide. She “now refuses to participate in the tour,” states the complaint, adding she “demanded to renegotiate the terms of the MOU.” According to the complaint, Scherzinger now wants to be a 75% owner with final decision-making authority, and she’s refusing to participate in the reunion tour unless she gets what she wants. And now because tour dates can’t be confirmed, Live Nation is said to be demanding $600,000 that it put up. Because of COVID, tours are only slowly ramping up at this point, and this suit comes with a not extremely common claim of anticipatory breach of contract (along with other contract claims and one for fiduciary duty). Scherzi...
Arnold ‘Arnie’ Pustilnik, Bill Graham Disciple Who Managed Train & Santana, Dies at 75
Over three decades, Pustilink worked alongside Graham to transform the promoter’s namesake company into the premier rock concert promotion outfit of the 1970s and ‘80s. He eventually rose to co-head of the management division alongside Mick Bridgen, and, following Graham’s death in a helicopter crash in 1991, helped keep the promoter’s legacy alive by continuing to steward the company’s management clients into the next decade. Born in 1946, Pustilnik left his native New York sometime in the early 1970s for the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lived as “a hippie selling sandwiches on the streets of Berkeley,” Brigden tells Billboard. Pustilnik, who is remembered for sporting a flowing ponytail around the office in his younger years, linked up with the already-established Graham around that ...
R. Kelly Trial: Non-Fan of Singer Describes Still Falling Prey to Him
The sisters were invited to a backstage after-party — the beginning of a brief relationship that had elements also described by other victims alleging sexual abuse by Kelly when they were still in high school. Kelly paid for woman’s flights and hotel rooms to his concerts in cities where he demanded sex from her in hotel rooms and other locations. A prosecutor asked whether he told her he had herpes or wore condoms. “No, he did not,” she responded. Earlier in the trial — now in its third week — the jury heard Kelly’s personal physician describe treating him for herpes for several years and from another woman who claimed he gave her herpes from unprotected sex. Kelly, 54, has repeatedly denied accusations that he preyed on victims during a 30-year career highlighted by his 1996 smash hit “I...
Britney Spears’ Attorney Demands Dad’s Immediate Resignation From Conservatorship
Rosengart argues that Jamie is trying to redeem his image and use his remaining leverage to ensure the pending accounting is approved, which includes about $2 million in fees to third parties including his attorneys. “A ‘transition’ can just as easily occur while Mr. Spears is suspended, as opposed to while he lingers as conservator waiting for his inevitable removal,” argues Rosengart. “The only difference is that the former is in his daughter’s best interests, while the latter severely undermines those interests.” In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Rosengart reiterated that the situation reeks of quid pro quo. “Britney Spears will not be bullied or extorted by her father,” he says. “Nor does Mr. Spears have the right to try to hold his daughter hostage by setting the terms of his ...
Why This Is the Right Time to Sell Your Catalog (Guest Column)
For recording artists earning meaningful royalties from catalogs in which they have full or part ownership — who are considering selling before changes to the tax law — the question of whether to proceed might feel like a double-edged sword. Yet, we crunched the numbers and the answers are both straightforward and convincing. Of course, recording artists like Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Paul Simon are selling their catalogs now for many reasons: Some are making unique deals that guarantee their music will remain in print with their longtime labels or will be managed by knowledgeable industry insiders. Others are working to simplify their estate. But regardless of motivation, the artists who have already sold their works have been well advised that the combination of low interes...
R. Kelly’s First Male Accuser Testifies in Sex-Trafficking Trial
“That’s not it. That’s not it,” he said Kelly responded before asking him if he ever fantasized about having sex with men. He described how Kelly then “crawled down on his knees and proceeded to give me oral sex,” even though, “I wasn’t into it.” Afterward, “he told me to keep it between him and me,” he said. In a later episode, Kelly snapped his fingers to summon a naked girl from where she was hiding under a boxing ring to give Kelly and the witness oral sex, the man told the jury. He kept seeing Kelly after that because “I really wanted to make it in the music industry,” he said. The witness was testifying as part of a cooperation agreement stemming from his guilty plea in a separate case alleging he was part of a botched scheme to bribe a woman to not testify against Kelly. No charges ...
Why Don’t We’s Management Tussle in Lawsuits Alleging ‘Nightmarish Behavior’
Phillips is a longtime veteran and former AEG Live CEO who has promoted tours for Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, The Rolling Stones and Prince. Loeffler is a longtime music manager, touring executive and film producer who directed Why Dont We’s 2019 film, Unbelievable. Why Don’t We formed in September 2016, with the band’s business set up as two manager-managed LLCs, Signature Entertainment and PDM III, with ownership stakes for all five group members. The LLCs would retain the rights to manage all aspects of the group and its individual members’ careers and own their creative output, while categorizing the five members as salaried employees, according to the management agreement each member signed. The LLCs also fund and exclusively manage solo artist EBEN. The...
Executive of the Week: Carbon Fiber Music President Franklin Martínez
The song was released June 24 on Sony Music Latin with little fanfare — there wasn’t even a video ready — and debuted at No. 28 on the Hot Latin Songs chart dated July 17. It jumped to the top 10 four weeks later, reaching No. 6 on the chart dated Aug. 7, and finally No. 1 this week, thanks to a 20% boost in streams (reaching the top 20 of Streaming Songs and No. 1 on Latin streaming songs) and airplay support. The real driver of the song on the Latin charts was its performance on the dance charts. There, it debuted at No. 9 on the chart dated July 17 and has remained on the top 10 since, peaking at No. 1 last week. That’s because at heart, “Pepas” is an EDM track, propelled by dozens of remixes by DJs big and small that also aided its rise on the global charts — climbing...
Kanye West Asks Court to Legally Change His Name to Ye
The documents, dated Aug. 11 but not sent into the court system until Tuesday, cite “personal reasons” for the change. An email seeking comment from the attorney who filed the documents was not immediately returned. A judge must approve of the change before it becomes official. West, who has called himself Ye on his social media pages for years, tweeted that he wanted the change in 2018, saying, “the being formally known as Kanye West. I am YE.” The moniker was also the title of his 2018 album. He has said in interviews that, along with being a shortening of his first name he likes, that it’s a word used throughout the Bible. West is in the middle of a divorce with Kim Kardashian West, who did not ask that her last name be changed back to just Kardashian when she filed to split from him in...
Megan Thee Stallion Allowed to Release BTS ‘Butter’ Remix, Judge Rules
Megan Thee Stallion claims if the “Butter (Remix)” isn’t able to come out, then her “art will be impacted, the release of the song derailed, and Pete’s goodwill, reputation, and overall career will suffer detrimental, undesirable, and irreversible harm,” according to the filing. It also states that preventing the release will have a “devastating impact to her relationships with her fans and with other recording artists in the music industry.” Megan Thee Stallion’s first TRO filed against 1501 came in March 2020 after the rapper filed a lawsuit over unfair contract terms and claiming the label prohibited her from releasing new music. A judge ruled in her favor and ordered 1501 Entertainment “to do nothing to prevent...
SiriusXM Wins Appeal in Turtles Lawsuit Over Pre-1972 Royalties
“We are gratified that this important issue has been finally and correctly resolved,” Sirius’ attorney, Daniel Petrocelli of O’Melveny & Myers, said over email. Billboard has reached out to Flo & Eddie’s attorney for comment. The ruling is the latest to come from a series of royalties disputes between the parties, stemming from a complex web of state and federal laws governing radio providers and recent changes to those laws. When an AM/FM radio station plays a song over the air, it does not have to pay public performance royalties to the owner of the original sound recording. On the other hand, digital and satellite radio providers including Sirius must pay public performance royalties whenever they broadcast post-1972 recordings — but unti...
