Legal
Two Men Charged With Stealing Over $20 Million in Latin Music YouTube Royalties
In what prosecutors are describing as a brazen case of fraud, two men have been charged with illegally collecting over $20 million in Latin music royalties. José Teran of Scottsdale, Arizona and Webster Batista of Doral, Florida were charged Wednesday (Dec. 1) in federal court in Phoenix after being accused of fraudulently monetizing over 50,000 songs through their company, MediaMuv. According to sources, and to a report published in Marketwatch, the men unlawfully collected royalties on songs from a wide range of Latin artists, including Piso 21, El Fantasma, Angeles Azules and Los Askis. According to the indictment, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona, Terán and Batista made false representations in order to claim more than $20 million in YouTube royalties in a scheme that ...
Investigator Details How Jussie Smollett Took Brothers On ‘Dry Run’ Before Hoax Attack
Prosecutors’ case against Jussie Smollett has focused on how Chicago police say they determined that what they initially believed was a horrific hate crime was actually a fake assault staged by the ex-Empire actor with help from two brothers. Testimony will continue Wednesday (Dec. 1) in the trial, which is expected to last about a week. A lead investigator in the case, Michael Theis, said Tuesday that the brothers — who worked with Smollett on the Chicago set of Empire — detailed for police how the actor orchestrated the hoax. They said Smollett told them via text message to meet him “on the low,” paid for supplies including a clothesline later fashioned into a noose and took them for a “dry run” prior to the January 2019 alleged attack. Theis, who now is assistant director for ...
Las Vegas Police Investigating Trey Songz Over Sexual Assault Allegation
Police said Tuesday (Nov. 30) they’re investigating sexual assault allegations involving R&B artist Trey Songz at a Las Vegas Strip hotel. In a statement, Las Vegas police said sex crimes detectives received a complaint about a Sunday incident involving the singer and actor whose name is Tremaine Aldon Neverson. Sunday was his 37th birthday. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Neverson was cooperating with the investigation and no arrests have been made, said Officer Misael Parra, a Las Vegas police spokesman. Parra declined to name the hotel. A representative for Neverson didn’t immediately respond to messages. Neverson has had several legal issues in the past. He was arrested in January at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, but criminal charges were not filed after he...
Josh Groban’s ‘You Raise Me Up’ Didn’t Violate Copyrights, Court Says
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Josh Groban’s 2003 song “You Raise Me Up” didn’t infringe the copyright to a little-known 1977 song, ruling that both songs were actually derived from the century-old folk song “Danny Boy.” Ending a three-year legal battle over Groban’s first big hit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower judge’s decision last year: That any similarities between the two songs originated in the famous folk ballad, for which any copyright has long since expired. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2018 by a company called Johannsongs-Publishing Ltd., which owns the rights to a 1977 song entitled “Söknuður.” The case claimed that “You Raise Me Up,” written by Irish-Norwegian band Secret Garden but popularized by Groban’s version, was “97% si...
What the Metaverse Means for Music Creators (Guest Column)
There is a lot of buzz around the concept of a “Metaverse.” The company formerly known as Facebook recently announced its ambition to create a futuristic, immersive social experience, and to achieve this, it will become a new hub for listening to, discovering and interacting with music and music creators. Undoubtedly, music will be as important to the metaverse as it is to the real world. As Mark Zuckerberg recently told The Vergecast, “You might be able to jump into an experience, like a 3D concert or something, from your phone, so you can get elements that are 2D or elements that are 3D. … I think that this is going to be a really big part of the next chapter for the technology industry, and it’s something that we’re very excited about.” Merging social media, gaming, consumerism and othe...
Judge Seeks Cardi B’s Medical Records in STD Defamation Lawsuit
With a trial looming in Cardi B’s defamation lawsuit against a vlogger who the superstar has accused of spreading false rumors that she has herpes, a federal judge has cleared the way for a California hospital to turn over STD tests conducted on the rapper. Explore Explore Cardi B See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In an order issued Monday, Judge William M. Ray II directed the Center for Women’s Pelvic Health at UCLA to produce “any and all medical records within your possession related solely to the testing for Herpes and HPV for Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar,” referring to Cardi B by her birth name. Monday’s order came in a bitter libel lawsuit filed by Cardi B against a blogger named Latasha Kebe. The case accuses Kebe of waging “a malicious campaign” to...
Swedish House Mafia Named in Explosive Pandora Papers Financial Data Leak
Legendary electronic music trio Swedish House Mafia have been named in the Pandora Papers, an explosive leak of offshore financial data. Published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the cache of 11.9 million leaked documents implicates dozens of politicians, billionaires, celebrities, and business leaders. They expose scores of sensitive financial deals, secret bank accounts, and controversial tax infrastructures, leading to a global scramble by the world’s elite to mitigate the fallout. According to a report by Swedish national public television broadcaster SVT, Swedish House Mafia formed a company in the British Virgin Islands to manage ownership of various recordings released by the group, as well as its name and logo. ...
Justice’s Gaspard Augé Opens Up About Legal Battle With Justin Bieber: “It’s a Very Conscious Rip-Off”
Since the release of Justin Bieber‘s Justice album, the two members of fabled electro duo Justice have been locked in a legal battle with the pop star. The issue came about when Bieber announced the album, the branding of which the French pair claim is derivative of their own. Still, Bieber moved forward with promotion of the album without addressing the similarities between the font used for the album title and the Justice logo, and the situation became litigious. Now, Justice’s Gaspard Augé has spoken out about the legal conflict in an interview with The Guardian. Justice’s logo (L), Justin Bieber’s “Justice” album artwork (R). Justice/Def Jam Recordings “Obviously, we don’t own the word ‘Justice’ and we don’t own the cross,”...
President Buhari sets up panel to probe NPA
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the recommendation of the Ministry of Transportation under Rotimi Amaechi for the setting up of an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to investigate the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). According to a statement by the President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, late Thursday night in Abuja, the president also approved the suspension of the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Usman. The presidential aide said Mohammed Koko would act as acting Managing Director of the NPA, pending the completion of investigation by the panel which would be headed by a Director. ”The President has also approved that the Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman step aside while the investigation is carried out. Mr Mohammed Koko will act in that position. ”The panel ...
Borno governor extends service years of tertiary institution staff to 65
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has approved the service elongation of academic staff of tertiary institutions in Borno State. Zulum has assented to the bill passed by the Borno State House of Assembly on the service elongation. A statement from the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Governor, Baba Sheikh Haruna, indicates that, the tenure of service year of the academic staff is now 65 years of retirement age and 40 years of service. ” The approval followed a bill sent to the legislature by the Executive for the elongation of service year of academic Staff of tertiary institutions in the country. ” The Nine tertiary institutions in Borno to benefit include the Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, Kashim Ibrahim College of Education Maiduguri, Umar Ibn Ibrahim College of Education Science and ...
SEC: Governments can unlock potentials by privatisation
The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has stated that the Federal and State Governments have the capabilities to unlock enormous potentials through privatisation. The post SEC: Governments can unlock potentials by privatisation appeared first on TODAY. 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 to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Senate demands review of Power Sector Reform Act
The Senate on Wednesday called for the review of the Power Sector Reform Act 2005. According to the upper chamber, a new and more dynamic Electricity Act would among others, “consolidate the roles of regulators and policy makers; bridge existing gaps in the legal and regulatory framework; and cater to post-privatization operational issues in Nigeria’s power sector. The position of the Senate was contained in resolutions reached following consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Power on “Addressing Nigeria’s Power Problems.” Chairman of the Committee, Gabriel Suswam (PDP – Benue North East), in his presentation stressed the need for more consumers to be metered to avoid estimated billing. He added that the Federal Government’s intervention since the privatization of the power...
