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06 Jan 2023

Thom Browne And adidas Go To Court Over Stripes Trademark

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Fashion Designer Thom Browne Arrives To Court In NYC For Case With Adidas Involving Their Striped Branding

Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty

The war over horizontal lines has officially commenced. The trademark infringement trial between adidas and Thom Browne is underway.

As per Hypebeast, the two apparel companies will fight it out over who can rightfully use stripes throughout the product universe. This week, the two labels presented their opening arguments in Manhattan’s Southern District Court.

Back in June 2021 the sneaker brand served the Allentown, Pennsylvania native and his team with a lawsuit claiming that their four stripe motifs are “confusingly similar iterations” of the adidas marks. In the original complaint, adidas says their signature three-stripe trademark, which is synonymous with their most iconic footwear releases, signify the “quality and reputation” of their company.

Thom Browne responded to the filing with their own countersuit saying the two brands play in “entirely separate markets, at vastly different price points, and are not competitors.” Additionally, Rodrigo Bazan, Browne’s CEO, further detailed their stance in an exclusive interview with WWD. “We believe we are right and we are confident in the outcome of the case, as we have acted honorably for all this time. They [Adidas] consented for 12 years and now they are changing their mind,” he said. His latter comment points to when the two labels put their differences aside and agreed to act in “good faith.”

adidas is seeking $867,225 in damages as well as more than seven million in what they estimated Thom Browne in profiting from selling pieces with similar stripes. Previously adidas has sued Payless Shoesource, Skechers, Forever 21, Nike and Tesla for similar infringement.

06 Jan 2023

Descendants Of Bruce’s Beach Owners Sell Historic Black-Owned Property To L.A. County For $20M

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs SB 796 authorizing the return of beach-front land to the Bruce family, in Manhattan Beach, CA

Source: Jay L. Clendenin / Getty

In 2021, Los Angeles County returned prime beachfront property back to the descendants of the Black couple who purchased the land back in 1912 only to have it unlawfully seized by the city of Manhattan Beach through white supremacy, or as they called it at the time, “eminent domain.”

Now, the owners of Bruce’s Beach, named for Willa and Charles Bruce, will sell the property back to the county in exchange for $20 million in what LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn considers to be “reparations.”

From Reuters:

The Bruce family has informed county officials that they have decided to sell Bruce’s Beach to the county for the estimated value of the Manhattan Beach property, Janice Hahn, chairperson of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in a tweet on Tuesday.

“This fight has always been about what is best for the family, and they feel what is best for them is selling this property and finally rebuilding the generational wealth they were denied for nearly a century,” Hahn wrote.

In July, county officials transferred the deed to the 7,000 square feet (650 square meters) property to the great-grandsons of Willa and Charles Bruce, who owned the land before officials claimed eminent domain over it in 1924.

The movement to return the land to the family was part of a wave of reparative justice that has gained traction in parts of the United States to make amends for decades of exploitation of Black Americans by predatory developers, exacerbated by segregation and a lack of access to the legal system.

Bruce’s Beach Was A Resort For Black People

Before the land was taken from Willa and Charles by white people who hated Black joy, Black neighbors and Black property ownership as much as they hated the prospect of minding their own business, Bruce’s Beach was a resort where Black people lounge, dance, enjoy the beach without some establishment owner pointing one finger at the “whites only” sign and another at the gun on his hip he’d use to enforce the discriminatory policy. It was a rare thing of luxury that was afforded to Black people exclusively.

Now, the Bruce family descendants say allowing the county to re-purchase the property is another step toward restorative justice, according to Hahn.

“They feel what is best for them is selling this property back to the county for nearly $20 million and finally rebuilding the generational wealth they were denied for nearly a century,” Hahn said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “This is what reparations look like and it is a model that I hope governments across the country will follow.”

06 Jan 2023

10 People Shot in Miami During French Montana Video Shoot

Ten people were injured when gunfire erupted outside a restaurant in Miami Gardens, Florida on Thursday night (Jan. 5) during what witnesses said was a video shoot for French Montana. According to WSVN 7, Miami Gardens Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to reports of shots fired at The Licking Gardens during an incident that reportedly involved three different crime scenes; the other two scenes were not identified at press time.

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7News reported that MGPD detective Diana Gorgue said Thursday night that police were still working the scene, which involved “multiple shots… multiple cases,” with four victims reportedly airlifted to a local trauma center and four others transporting themselves to a hospital. Witnesses told police that the gunfire erupted while Montana was shooting a music video outside The Licking.

One witness said they came to watch Montana’s video production, during which a fellow bystander was allegedly robbed of his watch, keys and wallet. “[He asked to] call his mother and see if we can get spare car keys and make sure, you know, he’s OK, and then the gunshots went off,” said witness Ced Mogul, a local rapper. “At least 13, 14, 15 gunshots. It was very rapid, it sounded like an assault rifle.”

It was unclear at press time whether someone shot into the crowd or if there was an exchange of gunfire, according to 7News. “I took off running, and I was looking back, but I was like, ‘You know what? Let me just duck first, and then people started asking me, you know, ‘Can you help me?’” Mogul said. “When I realized people were asking for help, there was nothing you could do about it when you got shot.”

NBC6 reported that police said an altercation that started at a different location eventually ended at the restaurant, where New Orleans rapper Rob49 was reportedly among the victims.

At press time it was unclear where Montana was during the shooting, though it appears that he was not injured in the incident; a spokesperson for Montana could not be reached for comment at press time and a public information officer for the Miami-Dade PD had not returned a request for an update on the investigation at press time. TMZ reported that a witness said Montana’s security team hustled the MC out of the area safely and without incident after the gunfire erupted.

Mogul also shared a video with a local NBC affiliate that he said showed Montana, wearing a red shirt, sitting in the back seat of a car and looking at some wardrobe options reportedly filmed just prior to the shooting.

Montana dropped the latest edition of his long-running Coke Boys series, Coke Boys 6, on Friday morning (Jan. 6), featuring guest spots from A$AP Rocky, Benny the Butcher, Kodak Black, Max B, King Combs, Est Gee, Jeremih and more. The rapper promoted the mixtape on Thursday morning in Instagram and Twitter posts, but did not appear to have commented on the shooting incident on his socials at press time.

06 Jan 2023

Terri Lyne Carrington & Judith Sherman to Be Honored at Producers & Engineers Wing Grammy Week Event

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing will kick off Grammy Week by honoring jazz drummer and producer Terri Lyne Carrington and classical producer Judith Sherman at its annual Grammy Week celebration at The Village Studios in Los Angeles.

“We’re thrilled to return live to The Village Studios for the first time in three years to celebrate two groundbreaking music creators who are dedicated to innovating both creatively and technically in the recording field,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Both Terri Lyne and Judith have made indelible contributions to music, and we look forward to bringing together producers, engineers and artistic professionals to honor these incredible artists and kick off our Grammy Week celebrations.”

Carrington and Sherman are both multi-Grammy winners. Both are nominated again this year. Carrington, a three-time Grammy winner, has two of the five albums nominated for best jazz instrumental album – New Standards Vol. 1 (a collab with Kris Davis, Linda May, Han Oh, Nicholas Payton and Matthew Stevens) and Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival (a collab with Wayne Shorter, Leo Genovese and Esperanza Spalding). Carrington won in that category nine years ago. Impressively, she has also won twice for best jazz vocal album.

Sherman, a 13-time Grammy winner, is nominated for producer of the year, classical. Sherman has won in that category six times. If she wins again this year, she’ll tie David Frost, Steven Epstein and Robert Woods for the most wins in the history of the category, which was first presented in 1980.

“The Producers & Engineers Wing is privileged to pay tribute to two women who have pushed boundaries both in and outside of the studio,” Maureen Droney, vice president of the Producers & Engineers Wing added. “Terri Lyne and Judith are awe-inspiring honorees who represent the best of the recording industry and whose contributions to their respective genres continue to resonate with our music community.”

Along with saluting Carrington and Sherman, the event will also celebrate the year-round work of the Producers & Engineers Wing and its members, who advocate for excellence and best practices in sound recording, audio technologies and education in the recording arts, along with proper crediting, recognition and rights for music creators.

Grammy Week culminates with the 65th annual Grammy Awards at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sun, Feb. 5, 2023. The show will broadcast live on CBS and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.

06 Jan 2023

Mark Capps, Grammy-Winning Recording Engineer Shot and Killed By Nashville SWAT Team

Editor’s note: the following story contains descriptions of gun violence.

Grammy-winning Nashville recording engineer Mark Capps was shot and killed by police on Thursday (Jan. 5) at his home just hours after his wife and stepdaughter fled the residence and told police that Capps had been holding them hostage at gunpoint.

In a critical incident briefing from the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Don Aaron, officials said that a SWAT team had been called in to assist in an incident involving Capps, 54, who was wanted on two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly holding his 60-year-old wife and 23-year-old stepdaughter at gunpoint in the home the previous night.

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Police said Capps allegedly awakened the women around 3 a.m. and gathered them at gunpoint in the home’s living room and would not let them go, repeatedly pointing his pistol at them and threatening that if they tried to call for help he would kill them, as well as any police that showed up at the house.

After Capps fell asleep, the women fled the home with their pets and drove to a local police precinct, where they told authorities what Capps had done and said they were afraid of him. Aaron said arrest warrants were issued around 2 p.m. on Thursday, after which SWAT officers were alerted. As three SWAT team members were attempting to set up positions outside the home, Aaron said Capps opened the front door “with pistol in hand.”

A veteran officer then asked Capps to show his hands, and, in a bodycam video, can be seen opening fire and shattering the glass storm door with three shots as he repeatedly shouted for Capps to show his hands, believing that the engineer’s movements posed an immediate threat; Capps noted that a mandatory use of force investigation has been initiated following Capps’ killing.

At press time no additional information was available about the incident.

Capps — who worked with artists including The Chicks, Big & Rich, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow and Olivia Newton-John, among others — was the son of late Grand Old Opry lead house band guitarist Jimmy Capps. Mark Capps shared Grammy Awards for best polka album with Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and 2009.

06 Jan 2023

Billboard’s Power Players’ Choice Award: Vote for Music’s Most Impactful Executive

For the first time ever, Billboard is introducing a peer-voted award to its annual Power 100 ranking of the music industry’s most influential executives. This new Power Players’ Choice Award will honor the executive whose peers believe has the most impact across the music business over the past year, from recording and publishing to touring.

Voting is open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.

The first round of voting is now open and will run through Jan. 10 with an open call for nominees. Vote below.

The second round of voting will begin Jan. 11, in order to narrow down the top 20 nominees into the final five top executives.

The third round of voting will begin Jan. 13, to select the winner from that list. Voting concludes Jan. 17.

06 Jan 2023

Executive Turntable: BPI Names CSO; The Orchard Taps EVP of Sales, Artist & Label Management

Sophie Jones was promoted from director of public affairs to chief strategy officer at BPI; she will also serve as interim chief executive until a permanent appointment is made following the recent exit of Geoff Taylor. Coinciding with Jones’ elevation, the communications, independent member services and research & insight department heads will now report directly to Jones alongside the public affairs team.

The Orchard promoted Mary Ashley Johnson to executive vp of sales and artist & label management, U.S. and Canada. The company also named Katie Studley as vp, Nashville. Johnson will continue driving revenue and market share for The Orchard while managing teams responsible for client relationships and high-level strategy on key releases across the U.S. and Canada. Studley will oversee the Nashville office’s day-to-day operations while developing new business relationships and further expanding The Orchard’s presence in Nashville. Based in New York and Nashville, respectively, Johnson and Studley report to COO Colleen Theis.

Longtime senior executive, editor and music historian Jay Orr retired from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum after more than 26 years. He most recently served as executive senior director for research, editorial and content; he also led the museum’s editorial team, overseeing the development of exhibits, publications and more. Orr can now be reached at jayorr@comcast.net.

Web3 company Yuga Labs (Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Meebits) appointed Daniel Alegre as CEO, effective the first half of 2023. He succeeds Nicole Muniz, who will stay on as a partner and strategic advisor to the company. Alegre will work closely with Yuga Labs founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano to continue growing the business. Alegre most recently served as president and COO of Activision Blizzard.

Roy Hennis was promoted to senior vp of sales and Nik McLeod was named vp of publishing at LyricFind. Hennis will continue to lead his team in LyricFind’s core markets as well as emerging products including Lyric Videos and LyricIQ, while McLeod will oversee the publishing department’s international licensing efforts in key territories and markets.

The Copyright Alliance announced two at-large board members whose terms commenced on Sunday (Jan. 1): Todd Dupler of The Recording Academy, who will serve on the board for a second consecutive term, and Jeff Sedlik of American Photographic Artists. Both will serve two-year terms at the organization.

Kevin Hart‘s multi-platform media company Hartbeat hired Sara Abdulahi as senior vp of people & culture, Annie Ballot as senior vp of global media, Neil Wright as vp of live & experiential and Namon Jones as vp of brand partnerships. The company also promoted Tina Maher to senior vp of brand & franchise management. Abdulahi, who comes from ATTN:, will oversee talent management, compensation and benefits, training and development and employee relations; Balagot, who comes from NBCUniversal, will oversee strategy and distribution of Hartbeat media, including expanding distribution for LOL! Network across all platforms; Wright, who comes from Complex Networks, will oversee live events and experiences; Jones, who arrives with more than 20 years of experience running digital sales, will develop and expand on Hartbeat’s East Coast brand partnerships; and Maher, who joined the company in 2017, will oversee and execute monetization, growth and partnerships strategies for Hartbeat’s owned and operated brands and franchises.

Deezer appointed Ingrid Bojner (Storytel) and Mark Simonian (retired chairman of global TMT investment banking at Credit Suisse) as independent board directors. They were co-opted by the board to replace Alban Gréget and Jeronimo Folgueira, who resigned from their director positions last month. Folgueira will continue as Deezer CEO and work closely with the board of directors on all relevant business matters. Bojner and Simonian’s mandates will extend through the remaining term of their predecessors — or until the annual general meeting is called to approve the financial statements for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2024, and the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2023, respectively.

Artist and music management company UROK hired Tayla Dhyll as head of audience, a newly created role, and Sophie Lane as senior artist manager. Dhyll will be tasked with developing, implementing and managing digital strategies for artists, while Lanez will work on two of UROK’s new management signings. The company also promoted Chris Kasa to senior vp of artist management, making him responsible for new signings and managing the careers of Jade Bird, Lucky Kilmartin and Jo Hill; Afoma Ojukwu to artist relations manager; Steve Sasse to artist and repertoire director across records, publishing and producer management for the entire UROK roster; and Annabelle Scott-Curry to creative director on a consultancy basis, working alongside UROK on Plan B and Jess Glynne.

Beasley Media Group hired Ariana Sheehan as director of digital content strategy. Based in Albany, New York, Sheehan will work closely with vp of digital content Erika Beasley and vp of digital marketing Jennifer Williams to help drive the company’s digital content strategy and grow its audience. She joins from product review and marketing company BestReviews.

06 Jan 2023

Flo Wins BBC’s Sound of 2023 Poll

Flo are crowned winners of the BBC’s Sound of 2023, an annual poll that identifies the next big thing in music.

The British R&B trio — Renée Downer, Stella Quaresma and Jorja Douglas — was formed in 2019 and signed the following year to Island Records, a division of Universal Music Group.

Their debut single, “Cardboard Box,” dropped last March and was followed in July by EP The Lead.

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Subsequent appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the BBC’s Later… With Jools Holland confirmed their talent with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

Flo’s message is “to be strong in yourself, to be confident,” the group tells the BBC.

“There is female empowerment – but everyone who listens should feel supported, inspired, independent,” says Quaresma. “We want them to feel the way music used to make us feel.”

The Sound Of 2023 was voted on by a 130-strong music industry panel, which included former nominees Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Sam Smith and Foals.

With the Corporation’s seal of approval, Flo joins an elite circle of winners which includes Adele, Sam Smith, Haim, Ellie Goulding, Sigrid and last year’s winner, PinkPantheress.

Producer Fred Again (real name Fred Gibson) is runner-up in the 2023 list, which was open to new artists yet to achieve a top five album or more than two top 10 singles by Oct. 31 2022. Those artists who had appeared on reality TV shows within the past three years were ineligible for the competition.

The competition was open to new artists who had yet to achieve a top five album or more than two top 10 singles by Oct. 31, 2022. Artists who had appeared on TV talent shows within the last three years were ineligible.

The BBC Music Sound of 2023 top five:

  1. Flo
  2. Fred Again
  3. Nia Archives
  4. Cat Burns
  5. Gabriels

06 Jan 2023

Sam Smith and Kim Petras Return to No. 1 In Australia With ‘Unholy’

It’s a New Year, Christmas songs perform their disappearing act for another time, and “Unholy” is back on top in Australia.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ global hit lifts 13-1 on the ARIA Chart, published Jan. 6, for its fifth non-consecutive week at No. 1.  

The 2023 rebirth of “Unholy” (Capitol/EMI) closely follows the announcement that Petras will headline Sydney WorldPride’s closing concert, Rainbow Republic, on March 5, and comes ahead of Smith’s intimate performance at McLaren Vale’s d’Arenberg Cube in Adelaide.

“Unholy” leads a fresh top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, as Xmas tunes tumble out of sight.

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SZA‘s “Kill Bill” (RCA/Sony) vaults 12-2, while former leader “I’m Good (Blue)” (Warner) by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha leaps 25-3.

Meanwhile, British singer and songwriter Raye enjoys a new chart peak with “Escapism” (Orchard), up 26-7. “Escapism,” which represents a new, independent era for the rising artist, was the top single on the midweek U.K. chart.

Following the publication of ARIA’s year-end charts, which saw Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (Columbia/Sony) coming in at No. 1 for 2022, the Harry’s House number is once again on the rise. “As It Was” lifts 34-9 on the weekly survey.

Just one single makes its debut in the top 40 on the new chart, Dutch DJ Tiesto’s collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae, “10:35” (Sony/Warner). It’s new at No. 24.

The top album for 2022, ARIA reported earlier in the week, is Taylor Swift’s Midnights (Universal). Swift’s tenth and latest studio album holds at No. 1 on the latest ARIA Chart, for its ninth non-consecutive week at the summit. It’s one of five Swift albums currently in the top 40.

06 Jan 2023

Ryuichi Sakamoto to Score Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Next Film ‘Monster’

Legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has signed on to write the music for Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s forthcoming feature film Monster (Kaibutsu), Tokyo-based production company Gaga Corporation revealed Thursday.

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Sakamoto will provide newly written compositions as well as some of his pre-existing music for the film, producers say. A musical polymath, Sakamoto made his film debut with the iconic score for Nagisa Oshima’s Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), starring David Bowie. He later won an Oscar with his music for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987) and a Golden Globe nomination for his compositions for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant (2015). The partnership with Kore-eda marks his first work on a high-profile Japanese title in some time.

Monster is also Kore-eda’s first Japanese film since he won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2018 with Shoplifters. It follows the director’s French film The Truth, which opened the Venice Film Festival in 2019, and his Korean title Broker, released earlier this year.

Story details for Monster are being kept under wraps, but Gaga revealed Thursday that Sakura Ando, the breakout star of Shoplifters, will lead the new film’s cast. Rounding out the cast are Nagayama Eita (Hokusai), Mitsuki Takahata (Japanese Girls Never Die), Akihiro Kakuta (Spring Has Come), Shido Nakamura (Twisted Justice), Yuko Tanaka (Midnight Diner), and child actors Soya Kurokawa and Hinata Hiiragi.

Currently in postproduction, Monster will release in Japan on June 2. The release date sets the film up for a potential world premiere in May at Cannes, where Kore-eda is a regular.

Monster will be the second movie directed by Kore-eda that he didn’t also write himself, following Maborosi, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival way back in 1995. The new film is scripted by Yuji Sakamoto, the writer of such Japanese TV series hits Mother, Woman and Matrimonial Chaos. Prolific writer-director Genki Kawamura, whose directorial effort A Hundred Flowers recently won best director at the San Sebastián festival, is lead producer of Monster.

This article originally appeared in THR.com.