Publishing
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...
Longtime Warner Music Central Europe CEO Bernd Dopp Is Stepping Down
Dopp is a five-decade veteran of WMG and the company’s longest-serving CEO in Europe. After working in retail, he joined Warner Music in 1984 as a label manager before working his way up to managing director of WEA Records a decade later. When WEA merged with Warner Classics and other entities to form Warner Music Germany in 2001, he was put in charge. In 2004, Warner Music International created a new European structure, grouping the major’s operations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA) into what would eventually be known as Warner Music Central Europe. As CEO from the very start, Dopp guided WMCE through the music industry’s oft-bumpy transition into digital and, more recently, through a once-in-a-generation pandemic. Through it all, he has delivered hits in his t...
Executive Turntable: Dick Clark Productions Taps New VP; PULSE Promotes Creative Director
Annie Aberle has been elevated to the role of senior creative director at PULSE Music Group, where she previously served as director of A&R. She’ll work with the publishing company’s A&R team and its roster of songwriters and producers. Aberle brings a packed resume to her new role, having worked with clients like Tyler Johnson, who most recently co-wrote & produced Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and co-wrote “Adore You,” ALDAE, who co-wrote five songs on Justin Bieber’s album Justice and SG Lewis, who has collaborated with artists like Dua Lipa, Nile Rodgers, Khalid, Robyn, Clairo and Lucky Daye. “I’m eternally thankful to Ashley, Scott and Josh for the opportunity they have given me, and for everything they’ve done to help me grow and be successful since I joined PULS...
Publishing Briefs: Marty Stuart Signs to Sheltered Music; Round Hill an Owner of a ‘Lonely Heart’ Stake
Round Hill Music has acquired an interest in Trevor Rabin‘s publishing catalog, according to a statement from the Board of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited. The former guitarist turned film composer’s lengthy catalog contains over 3,500 film cues and songs as well as cuts from his tenure as a member of prog rockers Yes, most notably “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the band’s lone Hot 100 No. 1. Over the course of his storied career Rabin has earned an induction into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and 11 BMI awards for his work, which includes the scores of National Treasure, Remember The Titans, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Bad Boys II, Glory Road, and more. Rabin notes his decision to partner with Round Hill Music stemmed from the company’s history of...
Primary Wave Quietly Amasses Largest Individual Share in Prince’s Estate
New York-based Primary Wave has been acquiring expectancy interests in the Prince estate piecemeal for the last 17 months from three of his six heirs. However, the situation is complicated because the estate remains in probate administered through Comerica Bank & Trust and none of the heirs have received any distribution of assets. Sources say the probate issues could be resolved as early as the end of the year. According to documents filed July 20 in Minnesota’s Carver County district court, in March 2020 “the protocols” surrounding the estate were amended after Primary Wave purchased a portion of Prince sibling Tyka Nelson’s expectancy interest. Subsequently, an April 2021 order confirmed Primary Wave’s acquisition of 100% of the expectancy interest of Nelson’s late half brothe...
Reservoir Media Stock Stumbles on First Day of Trading
Roth CH Acquisition II shares had a $10 IPO price and briefly exceeded $11 in February. Since then, investors have showed less enthusiasm and with few exceptions have traded below $10 since mid-May. Reservoir, which had revenue estimated at $64 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, is now the fourth publicly traded company that focuses on music rights acquisitions — Hipgnosis Songs Royalty Fund, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund and One Media iP Group are listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is the first to trade in the U.S. and the first led by a female, CEO and founder Golnar Khosrowshahi. “This entry into the public markets is a testament to the growth and bright future that lies ahead within the industry,” Khosrowshahi said in a statement Thursday. “As we focus on our growth...
Downtown Lays Off Australian Employees Following Concord Sale
An industry veteran with more than 18 years’ experience, Kelly joined the company in early 2018 as creative director and head of sync, covering Australia and New Zealand.Previously, she served as creative director at BMG Australia, having joined the company as part of the acquisition of Alberts in 2016. With Kelly at the helm, the Australasian company wasted no time. Homegrown artists Stella Donnelly, Little Quirks, Taka Perry, Elliot and John Butler Trio signed with the new affiliate, and Kelly was identified in Billboard’s International Power Players List for 2019. It’s unclear how many staffers have been let go at the ANZ company. Those who have exited were primarily A&R and specifically involved with co-pub deals, sources say. Downtown continues to represent Australian artists...
Jennifer Lopez, Concord and Skydance Team to Adapt Classic Musicals for TV, Film
The A-list actor and musician will have an option to star in one of the forthcoming productions. Concord, Skydance and Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions (co-run by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas) have teamed to co-develop original film/TV projects based on Concord’s theatrical catalog of musicals, the companies announced Monday (July 12). Representing a wide array of classic and modern theatrical catalogs, Concord controls works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, George & Ira Gershwin and many more. Nuyorican Productions’ Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina will act as executive producers for the projects from the partnership along with Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost and Concord’s Sophia Dilley and Scott Pascucci. Lopez will ...
Sony Music Publishing to Represent AC/DC, Vanda, Young and Wright Catalogs
Additionally, the music publishing giant strikes a worldwide deal to represent the song catalog of Harry Vanda, George Young, and Stevie Wright. “We are pleased to join forces with Alberts to deliver new opportunities for AC/DC and Vanda, Young and Wright,” comments Sony Music Publishing chairman and CEO Jon Platt. David Albert and the Alberts team, he continues, “are leaders in shaping Australia’s modern music culture, and our shared ethos will be powerful in sustaining the global impact of these iconic catalogs.” AC/DC signed with the family-owned Alberts back in 1974 and they’ve been back in black ever since. The Rock Hall-inducted band has released 17 studio albums, including 2020’s Power Up, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, their third leader. With that LP, AC/DC bec...
Universal Music Publishing China Hosts All-Female Writing Camp with She Is The Music
June’s all-women camp marked She Is The Music’s first songwriting camp outside the U.S. and connected some of UMP China’s most promising women writers with songwriters from several other countries, including the U.S., Mexico, South Korea and Australia. According to USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative, which surveys the number of women represented on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Charts, only 12.6% of the songwriters and just 2.6% of the producers behind 2020’s hottest tracks were women. Stats like these are the driving force behind She Is The Music, which was founded to try to increase these numbers, both on the U.S. charts and abroad. So when UMP China reached out to She Is the Music to propose a collaboration last year, Michelle Arkuski, She Is the Music’s executive director, was...
Songwriter J.R. Rotem’s Catalog Acquired by Swiss Investment Entity MusicBird AG
Though MusicBird AG’s purchase of Rotem’s catalog is the entity’s first foray into song catalog acquisition, company chairman Jonas Anker promises the new deal is just the beginning for his team. “This is the first of many planned acquisitions,” he said in a recent statement, adding the sale is a “great way to kickstart” the company’s endeavors. “We’re honored that J.R. Rotem entrusted his amazing song collection to us.” Rotem added, “Like every songwriter, my songs are a precious part of me. So I am gratified that my songs have found a nurturing home with MusicBird.” Rotem was represented by Guy Blake, partner at Granderson Des Rochers, LLP. MusicBird AG was represented by the company’s head of music Sanji Tandan and Kendall Minter of Taylor English Duma, LLP. Tandan said the acquisition ...
Universal Music Publishing Group Opens Office In Israel
Move follows opening of UMG outpost for recorded music in June 2020. Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is opening an office in Israel, establishing UMPG as the only major label publishing company currently operating in the Middle Eastern country. The office, in Tel Aviv, opens today (July 8). To helm the newly minted UMPG Israel operation, the company has tapped 20-year music business veteran Itamar Shafrir as the General Manager of Publishing and Production Music. Prior to his new role, Shafrir held jobs in the music industry in New York, Tel Aviv, and London, and he worked for 12 years in film and television at UMG sister company Havas London. 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 ba...
