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22 Jun 2023

Paul McCartney Clarifies How AI Will Be Used In New Beatles Song: ‘It’s All Real and We All Play on It’

As the music industry continues to grapple with the popularity and advancement of AI, some find themselves trying to figure out how to ethically incorporate artificial intelligence into their work. Earlier this month, when music titan Paul McCartney shared that he would be implementing AI in this process of finishing a new as-yet-untitled Beatles song, the news drew strong reactions from both sides of the AI debate.

In a Thursday (June 22) tweet, McCartney clarified his previous comments about AI. “Can’t say too much at this stage but to be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created,” the 18-time Grammy-winner wrote. “It’s all real and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings – a process which has gone on for years.”

“No one is more excited than us to be sharing something with you later in the year,” McCartney continued in his tweet. “We hope you love it as much as we do.”

As he explained in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today that aired June 13, AI would be used to separate vocal tracks from background noise and instruments, not to create new material. McCartney said during the chat that he had been using AI to “extricate” late bandmate John Lennon‘s vocals from an old recording for use on the untitled track.

Deemed the “final Beatles record” by Sir Paul, the BBC speculated that the project could be a recording of “Now and Then,” a somber love song written by Lennon in 1978.

Read McCartney’s tweet clarifying his AI comments below:

22 Jun 2023

Kesha & Dr. Luke Settle Defamation Lawsuit Over Her 2014 Rape Accusation

Kesha and Dr. Luke have reached a settlement to end his long-running lawsuit accusing the pop star of defaming him by accusing him of rape, just a week after a New York court issued a key ruling that would have made it harder for Dr. Luke to win the case.

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Reached just weeks before the case had been set to go to trial, the agreement will resolve nearly a decade of litigation between the two former creative partners. The producer claimed Kesha legally defamed him in 2014 when she made a “false and shocking” allegation: that he allegedly drugged and raped her after a 2005 party.

In a joint press release on social media featuring statements from both sides, Kesha said that “only god knows what happened that night.”

“As I have always said, I cannot recount everything that happened,” the star wrote. “I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved.”

In his own statement, Dr. Luke said he was “absolutely certain that nothing happened” that night in 2005: “I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well.”

The abrupt settlement came just 10 days after New York’s top appeals court handed a key victory to Kesha in the case. The court ruled that Dr. Luke was a “public figure,” a finding that would make his case far harder to prove; it also said that Kesha could recoup her legal bills if she ultimately won.

Dr. Luke, whose full name is Lukasz Gottwald, filed his lawsuit against Kesha in 2014, claiming she had legally defamed him with a “false and shocking” allegation that he drugged and raped her after a 2005 party. He claimed she did so as leverage to secure a more lucrative deal. Kesha long denied those accusations, arguing that the defamation case was an effort to silence the voice of a victim.

The pair spent years in bitter litigation over those claims, with numerous procedural delays and appeals slowing down the process. But after more than eight years of litigation, a trial in Dr. Luke’s lawsuit had finally been scheduled to start on July 19.

Beyond Thursday’s statements, no details about the settlement were immediately released by the parties or made available in public court records.

Read Kesha and Dr. Luke’s statements below:

22 Jun 2023

TikTok COO V. Pappas Steps Down

TikTok COO V. Pappas is stepping down to “move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions,” they announced on Thursday (June 22nd) in an email to the company they subsequently shared on Twitter.

“To our amazing community of creators, employees, and people who have made TikTok ‘the last sunny spot on the internet,’ it has been an absolute privilege to serve you all and to be a part of this once in a lifetime journey,” they tweeted.

TikTok’s chief of staff, Adam Presser, will take over operations, according to a staff email from CEO Shou Chew. “He will seek to further develop the voices of TikTok’s vibrant and diverse ecosystem and drive closer cross-divisional strategic planning and collaboration, in an effort to bring to life our mission of inspiring creativity and bringing joy to people by nurturing and supporting creators, users, and partners worldwide,” Chew wrote. 

In addition, Zenia Mucha will join the company as chief brand and communications officer. Mucha previously served for two decades at Disney before departing the company in 2021. She “will focus on advancing the strategic vision of our brand and advising key businesses,” Chew explained. “It is essential that we widen the aperture of our marketing and communications functions to further fortify TikTok as a beloved brand and one of the most trusted entertainment platforms in the world,” he added. “With Zenia’s vast expertise and deep experience, we are well positioned to do so effectively.”

Pappas, a former YouTube executive — the company’s first audience development lead, the author of The YouTube Creator Playbook, and the developer of YouTube’s Creator Academy and channel certification program — initially joined TikTok in 2018. 

“Five years ago when I was first approached by TikTok, I was incredibly inspired by the product vision to be a new mobile-first video experience that serves as a canvas, bridge and window for everyone,” they wrote in their goodbye letter. “The pitch was to take on a role to transform and grow the product and broaden its appeal through developing diverse communities and content… I took a gamble on what was then a completely unknown company and product.”

Pappas then stepped into the interim global CEO role after Kevin Mayer departed suddenly in 2020. 

The days of TikTok being “unknown” are of course long gone; much of the music industry now focuses on the platform to market artists and find new ones to sign.

“Five years later, we have grown to a global team of thousands of people and I believe we have achieved our goal to innovate and define an entirely new experience for people to share, create, and be entertained,” Pappas noted. “Today I stand proud that we deliver a product that resonates with over 1 billion people around the world. TikTok is now a household name.”

According to Pappas’ letter, they will be “taking on an advisory role” during the transition period.

22 Jun 2023

Sam Smith & Madonna Vault Onto Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart With ‘Vulgar’

Sam Smith and Madonna soar onto Billboard’s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated June 24) with “Vulgar,” at No. 11. The track earned 1.8 million official streams and sold 3,000 downloads in the U.S. in the week ending June 15, according to Luminate.

“Vulgar,” released near the beginning of Pride month on June 9, is Smith’s fifth chart showing. They have four top 10s, including one that reached the summit, Disclosure’s “Latch,” on which they’re featured (four weeks at No. 1, 2014). Smith’s other top 10s are “Omen” (Disclosure featuring Smith; No. 5, 2015), “Promises” (with Calvin Harris; No. 4, 2018) and “I Feel Love” (No. 8; 2019).

“Vulgar” is Madonna’s seventh entry on the chart, which began in January 2013. Among those, she has three top 10s: “Living for Love” (No. 9, 2015), “B**** I’m Madonna” (featuring Nicki Minaj; No. 5, 2015) and “Frozen” (Madonna vs. Sickick; No. 10, 2022).

Concurrently, “Vulgar” bows at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart (which premiered in 2010), giving Smith their third leader and Madonna her first. Smith previously headed up the list with “Latch” (2014) and “I Feel Love” (2019).

Meanwhile, “Vulgar” starts on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart (No. 16).

Additionally on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Kylie Minogue climbs to a new career high with “Padam Padam” (11-7). Her first top 10, as it reached No. 10 two weeks earlier, among 15 charted titles, picked up 2.1 million streams (up 25%) and sold 3,000 downloads (up 104%, good for the chart’s top Sales Gainer honor). The increases follow the June 9 release of the song’s extended mix and June 11 surprise performance at Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium in the UK.

The song by Minogue, who also headlined iHeartMedia’s KTUphoria at New York’s Jones Beach Theater June 17, performing “Padam,” as well as fan favorites, additionally pushes 3-2 on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales and enters Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (No. 21).

Further on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, DJ/producer Fisher earns his eighth chart hit, while singer/DJ Aatig collects her second, with “Take It Off” (No. 17). It’s the top rank yet for both acts. “Take” took in 1.4 million streams and sold 1,000 downloads, the latter figure also allowing for a No. 5 start on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales.

Shifting to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Rita Ora adds her second No. 1 and featured act Fatboy Slim scores his first with “Praising You” (4-1). The track, a reimagination of the latter’s 1999 classic “Praise You,” drew core-dance airplay on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco and KNHC (C89.5) Seattle, among other stations. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 60 top 40-formatted reporters.)

22 Jun 2023

Missy Elliott Details Mental Health Struggles In Essence Cover Story

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Missy Elliott Opens Up About Her Mental Health Struggles

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty / Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott has had a very successful music career, but along that journey, she has dealt with mental health issues, and now she is opening up about having to overcome them.

Spotted on HipHopDX, the “Work It” crafter spoke about dealing with depression and anxiety and how it can hit anyone in a very candid conversation as part of her cover story with Essence.

Per HipHopDX’s reporting:

“Now I’m fine with being like, ‘Hey, I got anxiety’ or ‘I went through depression,’” the Grammy Award-winning artist said. “Even the biggest artist, or just the regular everyday working person, we all go through shit. We all do. And it’s okay to say, ‘Hey, I’m not okay today.’ Probably we would keep a lot of people around if we were that open because we would be able to uplift each other.”

“We’d know that I’m not going to look at you crazy if you say, ‘Hey, I’m having a rough day.’ Maybe you’re thinking things that you shouldn’t think, or whatever the case may be.”

Elliott details an encounter with a peer that helped her out.

“I had a peer of mine say, ‘Hey, look, I’ve been through the same thing.’ And he was just like, ‘Next time I see you, I’m going to put a mirror in front of your face, so you can remember who you are and all that you’ve done.’”

This is not the first time Elliott has spoken about her mental health struggles. In a November 2019 interview with Billboard, she touched on them, detailing how her anxiety began during childhood.

Missy Elliott’s Recent Wins

Just recently, Missy Elliott made history by becoming the first female Hip-Hop star to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In an Instagram post, she said receiving the honor was not just “huge” for her, and it now opens the doors for all of the other women in Hip-Hop.

Shoutout to Missy Elliott for being so open about her mental health struggles.

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Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty

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22 Jun 2023

Larsa Pippen & Marcus Jordan Address Age Gap & Critics

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Celebrity Sightings In Miami - May 07, 2023

Source: 305pics / Getty

Reality star Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan spoke out about those critics of their relationship, also addressing those pointing to their age difference.

In a recent interview, The Real Housewives of Miami star and her mate discussed how they handle those on the outside who cast doubts on their relationship given that she’s the ex-wife of Scottie Pippen, the Chicago Bulls teammate of NBA legend Michael Jordan, Marcus’ father. “People just want to see you happy and there’s just a few people who are just miserable,” the 48-year-old said. “They just wanna have some negative input on things. But I think overall, I feel like people that know us, love us, want us to be happy.”

For the 32-year-old businessman, he shares the same spirit. “I let people that are misinformed be misinformed,” Jordan said. “I feel like people see our last names and immediately want to have some sort of reaction or opinion. But I feel like as people get to know us and understand our situations more, they’re way more happy for us and just want to see us to live in our truths and be happy.”

The couple have launched a new podcast, Separation Anxiety with Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan where they discuss relationships and their perspectives. Pippen has been mum about her connection with Jordan’s parents. “I recently have been hanging out with them,” she said. “I don’t really wanna talk about them. It’s not about my parents or his parents.” Both also address the questions about their age difference. “I just feel like we meet somewhere in the middle,” Jordan said. “Age is just a number, but I think maturity and life experience really dictate the relationship.” The mother of four agreed, saying: “I feel like for us, it’s very natural to be with each other.”

Eyes have been on the couple since September of last year when they were first spotted hanging out with each other. At the time, Pippen denied any romantic involvement. Things changed a few months later after the couple revealed their official status in an Instagram post. As Jordan explained, “I think early on, we were a little more cautious and just trying to tiptoe because we didn’t know what the reception would be.” He continued, “Honestly, it was happening so fast, and maybe even faster than we thought. We were just friends early on, and it kind of snowballed into this committed relationship.”

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22 Jun 2023

BMG Acquires Paul Simon’s Royalty Interest for Simon & Garfunkel Catalog

BMG has acquired a major interest in Paul Simon‘s portion of the Simon & Garfunkel catalog. This sale includes the Grammy winner and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s royalty income for all of Simon & Garfunkel’s recorded music as well as his neighboring rights income to that music as well.

Simon & Garfunkel is considered one of the most essential duos in recorded music history, and Simon acted as the architect behind all of its hits. Over the course of their nearly decade-long partnership, the folk rock duo released evergreens like “The Sound of Silence,” “The Boxer,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Mrs. Robinson,” among others.

Apart from their successful singles, Simon & Garfunkel is also revered for soundtracking Mike Nichols’ 1968 hit film The Graduate. Featuring “The Sound of Silence” and “Mrs. Robinson,” both songs went on to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Thomas Scherer, BMG’s president of repertoire & marketing, Los Angeles and New York, says of the deal, “In any list of the true greats, Paul Simon stands as one of the pillars of popular music history. We will play our part to ensure his music continues to be honored and respected.”

BMG CEO-designate Thomas Coesfeld adds, “We are delighted to have secured the agreement of Paul Simon for BMG to acquire his royalty interests in Simon & Garfunkel recordings and his neighboring rights income. This is a significant transaction. Our ability to secure this deal demonstrates once again that BMG provides the best home for the greatest artists.”

News of the deal arrives after a busy 2022 for BMG’s catalog acquisition division. Over that year, the company acquired more than 45 new catalogs. Some of their recent acquisitions include the rights and royalties for Tina Turner, John Legend, Mötley Crüe, ZZ Top, Peter Frampton, Harry Nilsson, John Lee Hooker, Simple Minds, Primal Scream, and The Hollies — a few of which were acquired in partnership with KKR.

22 Jun 2023

Dr. Umar Johnson Checks Black Men & The Family Structure During Interview

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Dr. Umar Johnson Daily Rap Up Crew Black men women community podcast debate masculine

Dr. Umar Johnson has his fair share of critics and detractors and it appears recent comments he made during a podcast interview will add to those ranks. During the discussion, Dr. Umar Johnson expressed disappointment in the perception some men hold regarding the role of women in society despite getting pushback on his stances from the show’s hosts.

Dr. Umar Johnson was a guest on the Daily Rap Up Crew show and a series of clips from Dr. Johnson’s appearance have since gone viral. In one especially heated exchange, Johnson explains

“At the end of the day, if I’m a call myself a man, the ultimate responsibility for the reconstruction of the Black community rests with me,” Johnson said to the trio of hosts for the Daily Rap Up Crew. “Yes, they [Black Women] have a role. Yes, they have responsibility. But as a man, as a leader, to say ‘I can’t fix this sh*t unless she changes’ — that’s not the definition of a man.”

Johnson received pushback at this point when one of the hosts retorted by saying that the current pool of women to choose for a mate is, in the host’s words, “masculine” and does not want to raise the children of another man. The host added that too much of the onus has been put on Black men to conform to women, but Johnson fired back.

“Why is she masculine? Because she had to raise the kids alone,” Johnson fired back before getting cut off and returning the energy. I’m telling you, mistakes made by Black men systemically gave rise to the conditions that allowed her to be masculine and made her end up with a man that you consider to be less than he should be. And I’m telling you, Black men are responsible for her being masculine because we have not helped her raise them children.”

To view the portion of the discussion we reference above, hop to the 10:00-minute mark in the video below.



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Photo: Daily Rap Up Crew / YouTube screenshot

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22 Jun 2023

Publishing Briefs: Kobalt Signs ‘Sicko Mode’ Writer; EF Feels Good About Wizkid Collaborator

Kobalt has signed Grammy nominated producer and songwriter OZ to a global administrative publishing deal. Ozan Yildirim, a.k.a. OZ, is known for his work on Drake’s “Toosie Slide,” Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” and “Highest in the Room,” and Future’s “Life Is Good.”

Electric Feel Entertainment has signed Projexx to a publishing deal. The Jamaica-born, Miami-based singer, songwriter, and producer has already helped write a number of songs for global stars, including Wizkid and Konshens and emerging talents like Jesse Royal, Ruger, Juls, Bakersteez, and more.

Sony Music Publishing Nashville has signed Seth Mosley to a global publishing deal. Most recently, the country and Christian hitmaker co-wrote Gabby Barrett’s “Glory Days.” Other cuts of Mosley’s include Colton Dixon’s “Build a Boat,” King and Country’s “Fix My Eyes” and “Joy.”

Warner Music Spain and Warner Chappell Music Spain have jointly hosted a summer songwriting camp at The Music Station in Madrid, starting June 15. The camp was created to bring together some of Spain and Latin America’s most promising artists and songwriters to write together and perform at The Music Station’s live venue.

Position Music and Poems (a partnership between The Monsters & Strangerz and Mega House Music) have announced their signing of songwriter, producer and artist Jack LaFrantz to a global publishing deal. To date, LaFrantz has written songs like “Hero” by JVKE and Martin Garrix, “Love Like That” by Suriel Hess, “Castle in the Sky” by eaJ and “Sugar Sweet” and “Before You” by Benson Boone.

Superior Music Company has signed New York based songwriter Amy Douglas to a worldwide publishing administration deal. Known best for her work in dance music, Douglas has written songs with artists like Horse Meat Disco, Juan MacLean, Luke Solomon, Soul Clap, Low Steppa, Roison Murphy, and more. Douglas also has her own artist project which boasts the house music hit “Never Saw It Coming.”

Bucks Music Group and Mushroom Music have signed Joshua Epithet to a global publishing deal under their joint venture. A singer/songwriter, Epithet also releases his recorded music under Mushroom Labels worldwide.

22 Jun 2023

Gunna for the Top: Will ‘A Gift and a Curse’ Beat Morgan Wallen?

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated July 1), a star rapper looks to continue his hot streak, while hard rock veterans and K-poppers also put the top spot in their sights.   

Gunna, A Gift and a Curse (YSL/300): Though Gunna has been under attack on social media since last December for his supposed “snitching” in accepting an Alford plea — a formal admission of guilt while also maintaining innocence — for his part in the YSL RICO trial, it appears that he remains a prolific performer on streaming. (He denied any cooperation with the prosecution.) His new album A Gift and a Curse has littered the Spotify and Apple Music real-time charts since its release last Friday (June 16), with the shout-along “fukumean” already seeming like a breakout hit from the set.  

The rapper born Sergio Giavanni Kitchens has been a regular visitor to the top spot of the Billboard 200 since his late-’10s rise to stardom. And he’s already been there three times this decade – with his own Wunna (2020) and DS4Ever (2022) albums, and as a co-lead on the YSL showcase compilation Slime Language 2 (2021). DS4Ever, Gunna’s most recent set, was also his most popular, moving 150,000 first-week units and topping even The Weeknd’s new Dawn FM to claim the top spot.  

To unseat Morgan Wallen – who returns to No. 1 for a 13th frame with his One Thing at a Time blockbuster this chart week – he’ll need to do it almost entirely with streaming (with help from digital sales), as the album is not yet for sale in any physical format. Wallen posted 115,000 units in its most recent week, so if Gunna can approach his DS4ever debut performance with his new set, he should have a pretty good shot of becoming the latest act to interrupt the country star’s months-long reign.  

Ateez, The World Ep.2: Outlaw (KQ/RCA/Legacy): It’s going to be a classic case of sales vs. streams in next week’s competition for top debut on the Billboard 200. Eight-piece Korean boy band Ateez has yet to establish a big stateside presence on streaming services, but like many popular K-pop acts, the act sells physical copies by the truckload – which has already helped their Spin Off: From the Witness set hit No. 7 earlier this year, and their The World Ep.1: Movement EP get all the way to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 last August.  

The sequel to that latter EP, The World Ep. 2: Outlaw is also expected to make a pretty big chart splash next week, again thanks to robust physical sales. To maximize that opportunity, the octet has released 21 different collectible CD editions of Outlaw, including some signed variants, all containing branded merchandise and randomized items (action cards, partner cards, photo cards) — as well as a Target-exclusive edition. 

Queens of the Stone Age, In Times New Roman… (Matador): Queens of the Stone Age albums are becoming increasingly infrequent – it’s been six years since the band’s Villains – but the veteran hard rock band has historically been a strong performer on the Billboard 200, and it even topped the chart two albums ago with 2013’s …Like Clockwork. This month’s In Times New Roman… will be helped by a series of different-colored vinyl variants, though thus far the album lacks a hit single to match Villains’ top 10-charting Rock Airplay hit “The Way You Used to Do.”  

In the Mix

J. Cole, Born Sinner (ByStorm/Columbia/Dreamville/Roc Nation): As fans eagerly await a new album from Cole — and as he sticks around the top five on the BillboardHot 100 with his appearance on Lil Durk’s smash “All My Life” — fans also have new goodies to tide them over with the vinyl reissue of his 2013 chart-topper Born Sinner. The LP is available in a trio of color variants, including a translucent red exclusive to Target.  

Asake, Work of Art (YNBL/Empire): Asake’s debut album Mr. Money With the Vibe was one of the most-acclaimed and best-received Afrobeats albums of 2022, reaching the top half of the Billboard 200. The Nigerian singer/songwriter looks to do even better than that set’s No. 66 bow with this month’s Work of Art, which has already scored a pair of top 10 hits on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart with advance tracks “Amapiano” (with Olamide) and “2:30.”