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French electronic duo Air are keeping the Moon Safari celebration going — and they’re doing it in style.
Following last year’s deluxe 25th anniversary reissue of their 1998 debut album Moon Safari, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have announced an exclusive remix LP for Record Store Day titled Blue Moon Safari.

The release features new interpretations of the classic tracks by British producer Vegyn, known for his work with Frank Ocean, Travis Scott and James Blake. It marks the first time Air have officially released a full-length remix project of the album.

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Alongside Blue Moon Safari, fans will also be able to get their hands on a vinyl-only edition of Moon Safari: Live & Demos, a collection that promises rare and unreleased recordings from the duo’s original sessions and performances during the Moon Safari era.

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The new releases arrive amid a fresh wave of activity for the duo, who kicked off their anniversary run in 2023 with a handful of intimate live shows, performing Moon Safari in full for the first time. Now, Air are expanding their tour globally, with a newly announced run of international dates spanning South America, Europe, and the United States.

Among the stops are major festivals including Flow (Helsinki), La Prima Estate (Italy), and We Love Green (Paris), as well as prestigious venues such as the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, where the group will perform with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra on Sept. 21.

Originally released in 1998, Moon Safari was a landmark record in the downtempo and electronic space, praised for its lush textures, cinematic instrumentation and dreamy atmosphere. Featuring standout tracks like “All I Need,” “Kelly Watch the Stars,” and “Sexy Boy,” the album helped define the sound of French electronic music in the late ’90s and has influenced countless artists across genres.

The upcoming Blue Moon Safari remix LP and Live & Demos vinyl arrive April 11 via Parlophone / Warner Music France, with the remix set to be a Record Store Day exclusive on April 20. Pre-orders for both editions are now available.

Blue Moon Safari drops April 11 via Parlophone/Warner Music France and is available for pre-order now.

Michael Clifford, the lead guitarist of Australian pop-rock outfit 5 Seconds of Summer, has become the latest member of the band to embark on a solo career, with debut single “Cool” launching his new journey.

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The track follows in much the same vein as what fans of 5 Seconds of Summer may have expected from a Clifford solo venture, with “Cool” capturing the polished rock sound he’s become associated with and pairing it with more introspective songwriting. 

“This song speaks for itself, and my hope is that when fans hear the lyrics, they’ll understand me and hopefully themselves a little better,” Clifford said in a statement. “I’ve been deliberating on this music long enough, so I can’t wait for everybody to hear it— and ‘cool’ is just the beginning of what’s to come. 

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“I want this project to make people smile,” he added. “I’m just out here doing a bunch of sidequests. Now that I’m a dad, everything other than that feels like a sidequest!”

Released via the pop-punk label Hopeless Records, “Cool” is a taster of Clifford’s forthcoming debut album, SIDEQUEST, which will be detailed at length in the near future. The track was co-written by Clifford alongside his bandmate Calum Hood, and features co-production from acclaimed musicians JT Daly and Andrew Goldstein. It also comes accompanied by a Bobby Hanaford-directed music video.

5 Seconds of Summer first formed in Sydney, Australia in 2011 and released their self-titled debut album in 2014. All five of the band’s albums have peaked atop the Australia ARIA charts, while only 2020’s Calm and 2022’s 5SOS5 prevented the same feat on the Billboard 200, with the records reaching a very respectable peak of No. 2.

Members of the six-time ARIA Award-winning group began launching solo careers following the release of Calm, with drummer Ashton Irwin releasing his Superbloom album in 2020, with second album Blood on the Drums arriving in July 2024. 

Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings would follow suit in 2021 with his debut album When Facing the Things We Turn Away From, following it up with the Boy EP in April 2024. Currently, bassist Hood is the only member of the group to have not issued solo material, though he has been active in the fields of songwriting, composition, and production.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has requested that Young Thug’s probation be revoked, according to a motion filed on Wednesday (April 3).
Thug (whose real name is Jeffery Williams) ended a lengthy criminal trial in October 2024 when he pleaded guilty to charges leveled against him. The case, built around Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, claimed that Thug and his alleged YSL gang had committed murders, carjackings, drug dealing and many other crimes.

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At the conclusion of the trial, Thug was sentenced to 40 years with five to be served in prison commuted to time served. As a result, he was given 15 years probation, with a further 20 to be commuted if successfully completed.

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However, a new motion has been filed in Fulton County Superior Court which has seen the State of Georgia request Whitaker revoke Thug’s probation, alleging that his “continued presence in the community under probationary supervision presents a clear and present danger to public safety and undermines the rule of law.”

Per Channel 2 Action News, the crux of the filing revolves around what prosecutors have labelled “escalating threats and witness intimidation.” They note that Fulton County Investigator Marissa Viverito is in the process of testifying in a “multi-defendant gang murder preliminary hearing” which has seen the Court order witnesses not to be shown on television while testifying. However, a user on social media posted an image of Viverito online with a caption stating, “She doesn’t want to be shown on screen? Well, here she is.”

On Tuesday (April 1), Thug is alleged to have shared a since-deleted repost the image, pairing it with a caption claiming “Marissa Viverito is the biggest liar in the DA’s office.” According to the filing, the post “quickly went viral,” resulting in over two million views, and resulting in “direct threats to Investigator Viverito and her family.”

The filing also claims that as a result of Thug sharing the post, the home addresses of Vivirito and her parents were distributed online, with one post reportedly sharing an image of Vivirito’s mother’s house and stating, “If the hate is really real then pull up on her mama crib.” Another post is alleged to have been shared later which threatened the assassination of District Attorney Fani Willis.

“The escalation from targeting a testifying witness to making a direct death threat against the elected District Attorney of Fulton County is a grave and unprecedented attack on the justice system,” the filing stated.

In response to the probation revocation request, Thug shared a statement on his X (formerly Twitter), writing, “I don’t make treats to people I’m a good person, I would never condone anyone threatening anyone or definitely participate in threatening anyone. I’m all about peace and love.”

The filing alleges that the behavior is a “calculated campaign of intimidation, harassment, and misinformation designed to undermine the legal process,” and have requested the Court take “swift and decisive action by revoking the Defendant’s probation and remanding them into custody without delay.”

Currently, no hearing date has been set. Meanwhile, Thug is scheduled to give his first performance following his trial in June as part of Chicago’s Summer Smash Festival.

Fans of English punk icons the Sex Pistols should temper their expectations when it comes to dreams of a reunion with vocalist Johnny Rotten, the singer says.
News of a tour from the Sex Pistols emerged in 2024 when it was first announced that the band – featuring original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock – were to reunite for a two-night affair to benefit West London’s Bush Hall. 

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Instead of Rotten (whose real name is John Lydon) taking on the role of frontman, the group was to feature Frank Carter, who has previously performed as the singer of acts such as Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes. As a result, the current version of the band is officially being billed as the ‘Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter.’

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Lydon has not been shy in regard to his opinions of the current lineup, however. Previously, he labelled the reunion tantamount to “karaoke,” while being far more straightforward with his opinions in other interviews. 

“When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off,” he told British publication The i Paper. “It annoyed me. I just thought, ‘they’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.’”

Now, Lydon addressed the notion as to whether a reunion with him behind the microphone would be a possibility at some point. However, he told PA (via The Independent) that after his legal disagreements with his bandmates over the usage of songs in the 2022 FX/Disney+ series Pistol, such a dream will remain unrealized for fans.

“Never, not after what I consider their dirty deeds, let them wallow in Walt Disney woke expectations,” he explained. “They’ve killed the content, or done their best to, and turned the whole thing into a rubbish, childishness, and that’s unacceptable.

“Sorry, I’m not going to give a helping hand to this any longer, as far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they’re not.”

In a recent interview, Jones explained that Lydon wasn’t involved in any discussions about the nascent version of the band, conceding there would be no point in attempting to get him to join the band given their recent disagreements.

“I literally haven’t spoken to John since that last tour in 2008,” Jones explained. “I want to be clear, I’ve got nothing bad to say about John. I think he’s great; I love him. We had a great past and I’m just moving on from that. That’s all. It was just no fun anymore.”

The current iteration of the band recently announced a run of North American tour dates, which will launch in Dallas, TX on Sept. 16 and wrap in Los Angeles, CA one month later on Oct. 16.

Sex Pistols Featuring Frank Carter – North American Tour 2025

Sept. 16 – Longhorn Ballroom, Dallas, TXSept. 23 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DCSept. 26 – Fillmore, Philadelphia, PASept. 27 – TBD, Brooklyn, NYSept. 30 – Mtelus, Montreal, QCOct. 1 – History, Toronto, ONOct. 3 – Agora Theatre, Cleveland, OHOct. 4 – Fillmore, Detroit, MIOct. 7 – Fillmore, Minneapolis, MNOct. 10 – Mission Ballroom, Denver, COOct. 13 – Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WAOct. 15 – Warfield, San Francisco, CAOct. 16 – Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA

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On Tuesday (April 1), United States Attorney General Pam Bondi directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson—an innocent man and father of two young children—was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in the statement released on social media. “After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

The move by Bondi is part of a larger effort by President Donald Trump to advocate for the death penalty to be considered for “crimes of a severity demanding its use,” including when a capital crime is committed by an undocumented immigrant and when a member of law enforcement is murdered. “Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens,” said Trump in an executive order he signed two months ago. It represents an about-face from the policies of the previous stance of the Biden presidential administration, which only sought the death penalty in cases of terrorism and mass murder inspired by hate.

Mangione is facing federal and state charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Thompson, which occurred steps from Thompson’s hotel in midtown Manhattan, New York, last December. Thompson was set to speak to a meeting of investors that morning. Video of the shooting went viral before the 26-year-old was apprehended by police at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, almost a week after the incident. Mangione has since been the center of discussion among those who have railed against the inadequacies of healthcare in the United States.

It is not a given that Mangione would receive the death penalty if convicted. A court ruling in 2004 outlawed the practice in New York, and the verdict would require a unanimous agreement by the jury to put him to death. The most recent example was in the case of Sayfullo Saipov, an extremist who killed eight people in Manhattan in 2017 acting on behalf of the Islamic state. A jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision to give him the death penalty, leading to him receiving life in prison.

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Toxic fandom attached to major movies is an unfortunate reality, and a recent interview by actor John Boyega highlights its effects. Boyega spoke about his experience being part of the Star Wars franchise during an interview for the Apple TV+ documentary, Number One on The Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, pointing out the racism he experienced while filming the sequel trilogy.

“Lemme tell ya, ‘Star Wars’ always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something,” Boyega says in the documentary. “You can always tell it’s something when some ‘Star Wars’ fans try to say, ‘Well, we had Lando Calrissian and had Samuel L. Jackson!’ It’s like telling me how many cookie chips are in the cookie dough. It’s like, they just scattered that in there, bro!”

The 33-year-old was cast as Finn, a stormtrooper with the First Order who defects to join the resistance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. His initial appearance in the first trailer for the film sparked an immediate hostile backlash which included racial animosity. He’d reprise the role in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. “They’re okay with us playing the best friend, but once we touch their heroes, once we lead, once we trailblaze, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s just a bit too much! They’re pandering,’” he continued, acknowledging that being cast as Finn was a “fundamental moment” for his career at that time.

Boyega has been outspoken about his turbulent experience while filming the Star Wars movie before, notably in a GQ interview in 2020. But in an interview with The Hollywood Report two years later, he opened up about his “very transparent conversation” with a Disney executive. They gave me a chance also to explain what my experience was like. I’d hope that me being so open with my career, at this stage, would help the next man, the guy that wants to be the assistant DOP, the guy that wants to be a producer. I hope that the conversation is not such a taboo or elephant in the room now, because someone just came and said it,” he said.

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It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since fashion designer Prathan Poopat and his consultant friend Flavio Girolami started Common Projects as an independent footwear brand in New York City. Launched in 2004, the brand’s line of minimalist sneakers quickly gained a following among the fashion set, not to mention celebrities and musicians like Frank Ocean, Nick Jonas and Jay-Z, among others.

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Common Projects is now ubiquitous on the soles of everyone from students to entrepreneurs to athletes (Tom Brady has been seen in Common Projects sneakers on multiple occasions).

Though it’s still based in New York, Common Projects manufactures the majority of its shoes in Italy, all handcrafted from genuine leather and other premium finishes. And of course, that signature stamp of numbers remains the only visible branding on the shoes.

ORIGINAL MODEL

Common Projects Black Original Achilles Low Sneakers

But Common Projects sneakers don’t run cheap. In fact, its bestselling Original Achilles Low silhouette will still run you close to $500 on sites like SSENSE above.

Fortunately, there are a few good Common Projects alternatives that you can find online, including similar-looking pairs starting at just $129. From sustainable picks to luxe finds, here are five top-reviewed Common Projects dupes to buy right now.

TOP PICK

Cariuma OCA Low All Black Pebbled Leather

Cariuma is known for its sustainably-sourced and produced footwear collection, and one of their best new styles is this pair of black pebbled leather shoes, which offers a slightly-more casual take on the Common Projects Achilles. The Cariuma kicks feature a grippy rubber sole, organic cotton canvas lining, organic cotton laces and a biodegradable, plant-derived insole for comfort and breathability. At just $159, the OCA Low deliver the same great looks for one-third of the price of Common Projects.

MUSICIAN APPROVED

Koio Capri Triple White Sneakers

Musicians like Joe Jonas love Italian footwear brand Koio, which makes a great Common Projects alternative called the “Capri.” The stark white sneakers are handmade in Tuscany from genuine leather, then set on a minimalist white rubber sole. A super versatile pair of shoes, the look can be preppy or formal depending on how you style them. They’re not cheap at $245, but still less expensive than Common Projects, with the same amount of craftsmanship and same streamlined aesthetic.

FAN FAVORITE

Thursday Premier Low Top

Footwear brand Thursday may be best known for their boots, but they also make a great Common Projects dupe with their Premier Low Top sneaker. Made from a smooth and buttery Italian nappa leather, the shoes feature the same low profile and tonal stitching of Common Projects, but at a wallet-friendly $129 price point. They’re easy to order and get delivered on Amazon too.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Steve Madden Bondd Sneakers

$79.99

$119.99

33% off

The first time I tried on these Steve Madden sneakers at a menswear trade show in Las Vegas, I knew I had to have them in my closet. Unlike some Steve Madden sneakers, which can scream TRENDY, these ones are clean and timeless, with a surprisingly elegant aesthetic (especially in this gray suede finish). Also available in white and black, the Bondd sneakers are one of the best Common Project alternatives you can buy online, though they more than stand on their own as a pair of must-have kicks too.

ALSO CONSIDER

Clae Bradley Sneaker

From artists and models to musicians, all of our “in the know” friends own a pair of Clae Bradley sneakers. They’re some of the most comfortable shoes you’ll put on, with a cushioned insole and padded footbed that keeps things plush and light for all-day wear. Clae makes these leather sneakers sustainably too, with the LA and Paris-based company pledging to use at least 50% leather “sourced from a tannery that has achieved a Leather Working Group rating for energy use, waste production and water treatment,” per a product description.

For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard’s roundup of musician sneaker collabs and the best things to buy from Snoop Dogg’s Skechers collection.

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As promised, the Trump administration is making the deportations of immigrants their main priority, and though they stated they would only deport the criminals and lawbreaking non-citizens living in the United States, they’ve accidentally detained and deported law abiding migrants who’ve done nothing wrong other than being a shade too dark for MAGA’s comfort.

According to Raw Story, the Trump administration recently admitted that they “accidentally” deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia of Beltsville, Maryland, to El Salvador’s infamous super prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, after he was granted protection status in the United States in 2019, because a judge found it “likely than not that he would be persecuted by gangs in El Salvador.” Still, Garcia was rounded up by Ice earlier last month and on March 15, he was placed on one of the deportation flights to El Salvador even though he was to remain in the United States. It wasn’t until his wife recognized him in a photo, which featured prisoners being shaven and shackled at the prison in El Salvador that his family realized what had happened.

After his initial arrest, ICE called his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and instructed her to pick up their her 5-year old son, A.A.V. within 10 minutes and even threatened that the child would be handed over to Child Protective Services if she didn’t show up. As time went by, his wife didn’t know what happened to Garcia until she saw him locked up in El Salvador and decided to get a lawyer for the situation.

Once the family lawyered up and took the Trump administration to court over the matter, ICE admitted in a court filing that the deportation of Garcia was an “administrative error” as Garcia was once considered a member of the infamous MS-13. While the Trump administration did own up to their mistake, they are saying there is no way for them to retrieve Garcia from Salvadorian authorities as it is now out of their hands.

Still, the Trump administration is defending their decision to deport Garcia as he was once a high-ranking member of what is considered the most dangerous gang in the world.

Per Raw Story:

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Tuesday said that Abrego Garcia was a leader of the MS-13 gang, despite his deportation being “a clerical error.”

“The administration maintains the position that this individual who was deported to El Salvador and will not be returning to our country was a member of the brutal and vicious MS-13 gang,” she said.

She said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has evidence of his gang activity that she has seen and she also alleged that Abrego Garcia was involved in human trafficking.

If anyone knows anything about MS-13 it’s that when a member walks away from the gang in pursuit of an honest life, that usually means his or her death; the gang doesn’t take too lightly to quitters. That would explain why Garcia was granted protection in the U.S. out of fear of retaliation if he was to return to El Salvador.

With a wife (who is a U.S. citizen) and a 5-year-old son with whom he had built a life with, Garcia seemed well on his way to redemption until Donald Trump once again unleashed ICE on the Black and Brown immigrant community. Now that he’s gotten swooped up in the deportations, it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll ever find his way back to Baltimore, Maryland, where his family anxiously awaits.

On the bright side, officials for the White House are confident that Garcia will be okay locked up with other gang members who might feel a way about him walking away from the life.

“While there may be allegations of abuses in other Salvadoran prisons—very few in relation to the large number of detainees—there is no clear showing that Abrego Garcia himself is likely to be tortured or killed in CECOT,” according to DOJ.

Pray for that man, b.

What do y’all think about Trump accidentally deporting a man who was living in the U.S. under protected status and not attempting to get him back? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Kid Capri is coming for his coin. He says he was never compensated when his voice was sampled for the Martin show.

As spotted on HipHopDX, the legendary DJ paid a visit to the Bag Fuel podcast. While he discussed a variety of topics regarding his storied career, it was his reveal regarding the iconic comedy series that soon went viral. The introduction to the Martin show features his voice screaming “MARTIN LAWRENCE” throughout. He explained how he was never asked about it before it went to production nor was he ever paid for the usage. “They took my voice from Def Comedy Jam, sampled it, put it on the Martin show,” he said. “Never got no permission from me, never asked for my rights, nothing. This show been on eight different networks for 30 years. Now, if it was a money thing for me, I woulda been like, ‘Yo where’s my bread?’ I ain’t never did that.”

Originally premiering in 1992, the television sitcom would go on to run for five seasons. It also produced some of the most beloved characters in comedic history including Bruh-Man, Hustle Man, Sheneneh, Dragonfly Jones and Jerome. In 1996, Tisha Campbell (Gina) left the show citing that Martin Lawrence sexually harassed and threatened her. She returned to the show but requested that she film her scenes without Martin Lawrence being on set. The two have since reconciled. 

You can see Kid Capri discuss the sample clearance issue below. 

National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) president/CEO David Israelite joined the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) to give his annual State of Music Publishing address on Wednesday (April 2) at Lawry’s in Beverly Hills. In his speech, Israelite discussed hot button issues for publishers, including Spotify bundling (“we are still at war”), AI concerns, PRO reform and more.
Israelite started by sharing the NMPA’s data on the revenue sources for songwriters and publishers. It found that songwriters and publishers earn 45% of revenue from streaming services, 11% from general licensing and live, 9% from traditional synchronization licensing, 8% from mass synch (licenses for UGC video platforms like YouTube), 8% from radio, 7% from TV, 4% from labels, 2% from social media, 1% from sheet music, and 1% from lyrics. The NMPA says that 75% of its income is regulated by either a compulsory license or a consent decree, while the remaining 25% is handled via free-market negotiation.

On the AI front, Israelite explained that the NMPA is actively watching and supporting pending legal action.

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“We have not filed our own lawsuit yet, but I can promise you that if there is a path forward with a productive lawsuit, we will be filing it,” he said. As far as trying to regulate AI through policy, Israelite added, “We’re doing everything that can be done.” The NMPA is participating in both a White House initiative and a Copyright Office initiative, but he added, “If you are waiting for the government to protect your rights and AI models, I think that is a very bad strategy.”

Instead, Israelite said that the “most emphasis” should be placed on forming business relationships with AI companies. “When that date comes [that AI companies are willing to come to the table to license music], I believe the most important principle is that the song is just as valuable, if not more, than the sound recording in the AI model,” he continued.

During the speech, Israelite said he had a recent conversation with “the CEO of one of the major AI companies” who told him that “by far, the song [as opposed to the sound recording] is the most important input into these models. I tell you this because I am fearful that as these models develop, if we do not protect our rights, we will find ourselves in a situation where we are not getting as much or more than the sound recording when it comes to revenue…that is a responsibility of this entire community to fight for that.”

Israelite added that his “number one problem when it comes to revenue is how we are treated with these bundled plans,” pointing to publishers’ ongoing issues with Spotify. Last year, Spotify added audiobooks into its premium tier offerings and began claiming those tiers as “bundles,” a term referring to a type of subscription that qualifies for a discounted rate for music. Spotify claimed that it now had to pay to license both books and music from the same subscription price and subsequently started paying songwriters and publishers about 40% less for music, according to the NMPA. At the time, Billboard estimated that this would lead to a $150 million reduction in payments to publishers in the next year, compared to what publishers would have been paid if the tiers had never been reclassified.

In January, news broke that Universal Music Group (UMG) and Spotify had forged a direct deal that gave UMG’s publishing arm improved terms, effectively minimizing the harm caused by the previous year’s bundling change. Shortly after, Warner Music Group (WMG) followed suit with its own direct deal with Spotify for improved publishing remuneration. “I know in this room in particular, there is a great concern about what those market deals mean for the whole industry,” Israelite says. “I want to be very clear about this. I believe those market deals are a good thing, but until everybody benefits from the same protections about how bundles are treated, we are still at war. Nothing has changed.”

Israelite added later that UMG and WMG’s direct deals could be cited as “evidence” to support the publishers’ position during the next Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) fight, which will determine the U.S. mechanical royalty rates for publishers in the future. The CRB proceedings begin again in 10 months, and Israelite estimates his organization will spend $36 million in the next trial to fight for the publishers’ position. While he often noted that “we shouldn’t be in this system in the first place” during his address, Israelite conceded that despite his calls for a legislative proposal that would give publishers and writers the right to pull out of the 100-year-old system of government-regulated price setting for royalties, the “brilliant idea” is “next to impossible to accomplish.”

Israelite went on to detail all the ways the NMPA and others are still fighting back against Spotify over the bundling debacle. He noted that the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) “is doing a fantastic job of continuing the fight” against Spotify, adding that its lawsuit, which was dismissed earlier this year by a judge who called the federal royalty rules “unambiguous,” has “been revived.” He added, “[It’s] our best chance of getting back what we lost.”

Elsewhere in his speech, Israelite told the crowd of independent publishers that the NMPA has now sent three rounds of takedown notices to Spotify for various podcast episodes, citing copyright infringement of its members’ songs, and that “over 11,000 podcasts have been removed from Spotify” as a consequence.

The recent calls for performing rights organization (PRO) reform are also top of mind for publishers in 2025. Last year, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, requesting an examination of PROs, citing two areas of concern: the “proliferation” of new PROs and the lack of transparency about the distribution of general licensing revenue. This spurred the Copyright Office to take action, opening a notice of inquiry that allows industry stakeholders to submit comments, sharing their point of view about what, if anything, should be reformed at American PROs. However, some fear that the notice of inquiry could lead to increased regulation at the PROs, further constraining publishing income.

Israelite addressed this by giving publishers a preview of the NMPA’s forthcoming comments. “I will tell you today exactly what our comments are going to say,” he said. “It is very simple. Music publishers and songwriters are already over-regulated by the federal government. Congress should be focused on decreasing regulation of our industry, not increasing regulation of our industry, and to the extent that any of these issues are substantive issues. This should be dealt with between the PROs and their members. It has nothing to do with the Copyright Office. It has nothing to do with Congress. It has nothing to do with the federal government.”