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When Sabrina Carpenter signed with the Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) in October 2023, she was coming off the critical and commercial success of her 2022 Island Records debut Emails I Can’t Send, a project that established her as a formidable pop hitmaker with a distinct voice and a captivating appeal. But since that album’s release, her career has launched into the stratosphere, with a string of singles — “Nonsense” off the original Emails; “Feather,” which was released on the deluxe of Emails in August 2023; and, most recently, April 2024’s “Espresso” — that have each reached higher on the charts than the last, building her into a mainstream dynamo with song-of-the-summer hitmaking potential.
It’s been “Espresso,” however, that has truly captured the zeitgeist. The song zoomed onto the Billboard Hot 100 with a No. 7 debut, eventually reaching No. 4, but has done even better globally, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart — where it spends its second week this week, establishing it as a bona fide international hit. And through the work of her label at Island and her publishing company UMPG, that’s marked the highest chart placement of Carpenter’s career — and help earned UMPG co-head of U.S. A&R and head of UMPG’s global creative group David Gray the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.

Trending on Billboard

Here, Gray discusses the work UMPG has done with Carpenter in the six months since bringing her into the pubco, what sets her apart as a songwriter and the company’s global outlook. “She has always had a vision for herself as an artist and songwriter,” Gray says. “It’s rewarding to see her succeed at a global level and get all of the credit she deserves.”

This week, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” spends its second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and its fifth week in the top 10 of the Hot 100. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?

Overall at UMPG, we work to support our songwriters’ ideas and decisions in any way we can, whether putting together strategic writing sessions or working to secure great synch opportunities globally. 

Sabrina signed with UMPG last October. What were your first conversations like with her about her music and where she wanted to go?

Sabrina talked about how the Emails I Can’t Send album was a step up from where she was before and she was ready to take it up to the next level from there. She has always had a vision for herself as an artist and songwriter. It’s rewarding to see her succeed at a global level and get all of the credit she deserves.

What sets Sabrina apart from other pop stars as a songwriter, and how have you helped to emphasize that?

Sabrina has such a unique and brilliant songwriting voice, both lyrically and melodically. All the years of doing sessions, working hard, taking songwriting very seriously and perfecting her craft has made her not only the artist in the writing session… but she is also an A-list-level songwriter talent-wise. 

For the past two years you’ve headed up UMPG’s global creative group. How has that changed how you work with songwriters, and in what ways does it help your global reach?

At UMPG, we have always recognized that there are amazing writing opportunities for songwriters outside of their own territories. The number and quality of these writing opportunities has accelerated in the last few years. The communication between territories that the Global Creative Group provides is essential to making sure our writers get the best of these opportunities.

How are you preparing to deal with AI in the publishing world?

It’s still nascent in the broader creative community, but we know AI offers opportunities and risks. We embrace AI, just as we have other technology innovations in the past, but only AI technology that is ethical and artist-centric — in other words, only if it supports songwriters and protects their rights.

When Amanda Rovitz met Megan Boni at a college study abroad program in Sydney, Australia in 2018, she says she “always had this feeling” that Boni had star power. 
“She’s just always been the funniest person I know,” says Rovitz. “I thought she would definitely emerge in entertainment somehow, not as a musician or singer, but as someone in comedy.”

Fast forward five years, and Boni, who is self-admittedly not a musician, has a label deal with Capitol/Polydor/Virgin Germany, and Rovitz, who became a music manager at 1916 Enterprises post-grad, is the one who helped her put it all together. 

It’s all thanks to Boni’s video, poking fun at cliched “song of the summer” TikToks, that made her 2024’s most unexpected viral signing. While Boni admits she was “just having fun” with making the video, known as “Man In Finance,” her signing is also indicative of how major labels are evolving to meet the current demands — and breakneck pace — of user-generated music creation.

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“Did I just write the song of the summer?,” she says to the camera in her viral video, which has been viewed 28.6M times since it was posted on April 30. “I’m looking for a man in finance, trust fund, 6’5”, blue eyes,” she says in a rhythmic vocal fry. 

@girl_on_couch
Can someone make this into an actual song plz just for funzies
♬ original sound – Girl On Couch

Boni, who posts under the handle @Girl_On_Couch, says she made the clip in just a few minutes. “Since COVID, TikTok has been a hobby for me,” Boni says. “I just thought it would be funny to make a video making fun of those single girls who are always complaining about being single, but yet they want an impossible laundry list of things in a boyfriend, and by the way, that’s myself included.”

It’s the sound that launched a thousand remixes. Producers including David Guetta, Alesso, Loud Luxury and Billen Ted immediately jumped on the sound, making it the top line to a number of different TikTok tracks. Now, with the help of Capitol/Polydor/Virgin Germany, Boni is licensing her TikTok vocal to the producers for official releases, the first of which was released May 17 as “Man In Finance (G6 Trust Fund)” with Billen Ted. In it, the producer duo splices together Boni’s vocal, original drums and a sample of “Like a G6” by Far East Movement. 

Rovitz says that even before producers started remixing Boni’s audio, she texted her friend saying the video could really turn into something. Soon, she was proven right: The remixes became inescapable on TikTok, furthering Boni’s initial virality to even greater heights. Almost immediately, several major labels came calling, and Boni asked Rovitz to help her navigate the conversations. “I didn’t really know where to begin,” Boni says.

“Within four days, Amanda and Todd [Rubeinstein, music attorney] had me on calls with labels,” says Boni. “Two days after that we were talking with UTA,” who now acts as her agent as a creator/comedian. Boni says she went from being a totally DIY creator on TikTok to having a full-fledged team in about a week. 

Zach Elgort, vp of marketing at Capitol, says it was a “perfect storm” to sign Boni. “It’s kind of a marketing dream,” he says. Unlike most songs, which start as completed masters and are then posted online in the hopes of gaining organic interest with listeners, this was the inverse. “It was an organic trend [already], which you always hope for. Now, it’s about pushing the actual song we released to DSPs and pitching it to our partners.” 

This success is seemingly more akin to a TikTok “teasing” strategy, where an artist posts an unreleased song to gauge interest from fans first before committing to the release. But the difference with the “Man In Finance” phenomenon is that Boni made the video without the intention of making it into a real, release-worthy song. Still, Elgort says the official Billen Ted version has already been met with “exciting playlisting support” from streamers — it’s been added to Spotify’s New Music Friday and Teen Beats, among others — given that they could already measure listeners’ appetite from the original social media videos.

“Man In Finance” might have been made as a joke, but it serves as a clear indication of how people are creating and consuming music today, where some of the most culturally relevant songs are first (or only) available on socials. “This project shows an evolution of how social media meets music,” says Elgort. 

The Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud, which played out simultaneously with the “Man In Finance” trend, acts as another example of how much music creation and consumption on social media has changed. All of the songs were dropped first on social media, with only a few making it to Spotify and Apple Music.

As MIDiA Research’s Tatiana Cirisano argues in a recent analysis, it’s a sign of the “continued shift in cultural value from streaming to social, which is bifurcating the music industry into two parallel consumer words: LISTEN, where streaming plays the role [of passive consumption]… and PLAY, where social platforms have a grip on culture.”

Moving forward, Elgort and the team at Capitol, along with Polydor and Virgin, are planning to license out Boni’s vocal to more producers who have been making remixes, anointing a few as official, DSP-worthy versions of “Man In Finance.” The plan fits perfectly with the current label strategy of releasing multiple versions of the same song to DSPs. It also shows how quickly and flexibly the majors are now working to sign viral songs and artists. 

“Now, it’s really about figuring out a way to get SEO and search to tie back to the official release of the song… and as more official versions eventually get released to streaming partners, they’ll all be packaged together and help the greater visibility,” says Elgort.

Boni, whose label deal is only a licensing agreement for this one vocal, says she has no intention of writing more songs but is going to have fun with it while she can. “I won’t make more music unless it’s a parody… but I am definitely behind this song,” she says. She adds that she’s interested in appearing at producers’ shows, brand collaborations and more — anything to push the song she says changed her life “overnight” by allowing her to kick start her career as a creator and comedian, build her team and provide enough stability to quit her 9-5.

“I put in my two weeks last Thursday,” she says. “I’m really excited for what’s next.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing yet another sexual abuse lawsuit, this time filed by a woman who claims that he drugged and sexually assaulted her 30 years ago while she was a college student in New York City.
In a complaint filed Thursday in Manhattan court, April Lampros alleges that the rapper subjected her to “an aggressive, coercive, and abusive relationship based on sex,” including four instances of sexual assault.

In one such allegation, she says Combs forced her to take ecstasy and have sex with his former girlfriend Kim Porter. Though she “vocally opposed” the idea, she said she feared that Combs “blacklist her in the industry.”

“Ms. Lampros knew that she had to comply because she had witnessed what happens when someone defies Mr. Combs,” her lawyers write. “She had also been threatened and victimized by Mr. Combs and did not want to cause a problem because she feared him.”

Thursday’s lawsuit also names Sony Music Entertainment as a defendant, claiming the company “enabled” Combs’ conduct. She claims that she worked for Sony’s Arista Records when at least one of the attacks occurred, and that Sony “knew or should have known that Combs was not fit to be in a position of authority.”

Representatives for both Combs and Sony did not immediately return requests for comment.

Lampros is the seventh alleged victim to file a lawsuit accusing Combs of sexual abuse over the past six months, including one filed just days ago by a model named Crystal McKinney who claims the hip-hop mogul forced her to perform oral sex on him following a Men’s Fashion Week event in 2003. The rapper is also reportedly facing a federal criminal investigation over abuse accusations.

In previous statements, Combs has strongly denied any wrongdoing. But after a video surfaced last week showing Combs attacking one of those accusers – then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura – he said he took “full responsibility” for that incident and was “truly sorry.”

In her complaint, Lampros claims that she met Combs in 1994 while she was a college student at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology. After she told him about her “dreams of working in the fashion industry,” Lampros says Combs promised to mentor her and help her find work in the industry.

But she says the relationship quickly turned sexual, including “four terrifying sexual encounters” and threats of physical violence. One such incident occurred after a night out in 1995, when she claims that she began to feel unwell after taking just “a few sips of one drink.”

“Ms. Lampros pleaded with Mr. Combs to stop, and he ignored her,” her attorneys write. “Ms. Lampros could not process why this was occurring and felt a loss of control. Ms. Lampros was being raped by Mr. Combs, and she soon passed out.”

Thoughout the relationship, Lampros claims that Combs exercised power over her due to his fame and influence: “She felt that if she disobeyed him, he would take away her dreams of pursuing a career in his world.”

Lampros also claims that Combs surreptitiously filmed one of their sexual encounters and then shared the video with others. She says she learned of the tape in 2023, when an unnamed man told her boyfriend that “he should reconsider dating her because he personally saw a video of her and Sean Combs having sex.”

The lawsuit alleges that all of the defendants violated New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. The case also includes counts of civil battery, sexual assault and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Combs.

Read the entire complaint here:

The one remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after 10 people were killed during a deadly crowd crush at the 2021 Astroworld music festival has been settled, an attorney said Thursday.
Jury selection in the lawsuit filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the concert by rapper Travis Scott, had been set to begin Sept. 10.

But S. Scott West, an attorney for Blount’s family, said a settlement was reached this week.

Blount’s family had sued Scott, Live Nation — the festival’s promoter and the world’s largest live entertainment company — and other companies and individuals connected to the event, including Apple Inc., which livestreamed the concert.

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“The family will continue its journey to heal, but never forget the joy that Ezra brought to everyone around him,” West said in an email.

Treston Blount, Ezra’s father, had said that during the Nov. 5, 2021, concert, his son was sitting on his shoulders when they were crushed by the crowd. Treston Blount lost consciousness and when he came to, Ezra was missing. A frantic search ensued until Ezra was eventually found at a Houston hospital, severely injured. The boy, who was from Dallas, died several days later.

The lawsuit filed by Blount’s family was one of 10 wrongful death civil suits filed after the deadly concert.

Earlier this month, lawyers had announced that the other nine wrongful death lawsuits had been settled in connection with the concert.

Terms of the settlements in all 10 lawsuits were confidential.

The settlement of the lawsuit filed by Blount’s family was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.

Attorneys for Live Nation, Scott and others have declined to comment in the case because of a gag order that limits what they can say outside court.

About 2,400 injury cases filed after the deadly concert remain pending. More than 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the Astroworld crowd crush.

During the crowd crush, attendees were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms. Those killed ranged in age from 9 to 27. They died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.

Earlier this month, state District Judge Kristen Hawkins, who is presiding over the litigation, had scheduled the first trial related to the injury cases for Oct. 15. That trial was set to focus on seven injury cases. It was not clear on Thursday if that trial date would remain or be moved up with the settlement in the Blount lawsuit.

So far, no lawsuit has gone before a jury. One wrongful death lawsuit — filed by the family of 23-year-old Houston resident Madison Dubiski — was days away from going to trial earlier this month before it was delayed and then settled.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits have alleged in court filings that the deaths and hundreds of injuries at the concert were caused by negligent planning and a lack of concern over capacity and safety at the event.

Scott, Live Nation and the others who’ve been sued have denied these claims, saying safety was their No. 1 concern. They said what happened could not have been foreseen.

After a police investigation, a grand jury last year declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival.

It’s time for another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music. We also have a weekly interview series spotlighting a single executive, if that’s your thing.
Sony Hall, a tech-forward concert venue in midtown Manhattan, introduced a new booking team made up of senior talent buyer Jack McFadden, talent buyer Alli Vega and junior talent buyer Niko Murray. McFadden’s career arc spans three cities — Chicago, NYC and Austin — and several venues and festivals (Union Hall, Austin City Limits and others) where he helped book early shows for an indie rock murders’ row including The National, The Walkmen, St. Vincent, Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend, among others. No slouch, Vega spent years booking D.C. venues Songbyrd and DC9 before making the move to NYC, where she joined the team at Bowery Presents. Murray, meanwhile, hails from NYU and has already cultivated experience at the Cara Lewis Group and Sony Music. Blue Note Entertainment Group operates Sony Hall, which officially opened in 2018 but began life in 1938 as the legendary Diamond Horseshoe nightclub. The venue, which retains much of its original design and decor while incorporating the latest Sony technology, is located inside the historic Paramount Hotel.

“This is an exciting moment for Sony Hall and Blue Note Entertainment Group as we strengthen and bolster our booking program, further introducing this iconic New York City venue to the live music industry,” said BNEG president Steven Bensusan. “Jack, Alli and Niko each have different and diverse backgrounds within the industry to complement and enrich our talent buying team.”

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Meanwhile…

Loeb & Loeb hired Monika Tashman in the firm’s Nashville office, as partner in the Entertainment department. Tashman joins Loeb & Loeb from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. Her expertise includes representing music talent in genres ranging from rock, pop, reggae, bachata and metalcore, as well as representing labels, entertainment-focused businesses and music production companies. She’ll also continue her New York-based practice out of Loeb’s Nashville office. –Jessica Nicholson

Galaxy Label Group, founded by country duo LOCASH, solidified its promotions team with the hiring of four. Joining the label, a partnership with Studio2Bee Entertainment with distribution by BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, are Kerry Wolfe as vp of promotion, Cheryl Broz as the head of national field promotion, Kristen Brust to handle national promotion strategies, and John Lessard — who is LOCASH’s tour manager — lending his expertise on GLG’s promotion and touring work. All new hires are effective immediately. LOCASH, comprised of Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, is Galaxy’s first signed act.

BMI promoted Gabriella Natali to senior manager of media relations, an elevated role in which she’ll continue to spearhead PR efforts across most music genres (we’re talking pop, rock, hip-hop, gospel, classical, jazz and others). Natali is based out of BMI’s NYC headquarters and reports directly to Jodie Thomas, the PRO’s executive director of corporate communications and media relations. In addition to working on messaging for numerous marquee events, including BMI’s various award shows, songwriter showcases and dedicated stages at festivals like Lollapalooza and SXSW, Natali works with Thomas on PR efforts for BMI’s licensing and industry relations departments. Prior to joining BMI in April 2022 as a media relations manager, Natali spent two years as a publicist at boutique agency Big Picture Media, also in New York.

Lucy Pullin and Virgil Thomas joined UTA as agents in its music crossover division, which works with clients on projects that expand their careers to other mediums. Pullin, previously of ie: entertainment ltd, will be based out of the London office and Thomas, an Endeavor alum, is in Los Angeles. Recent wins by the crossover division include Post Malone’s dip into acting (Road House) and comic book writing, and Recording Academy chief Harvey Mason jr.’s behind-the-scenes work on biopics about Bob Marley and Michael Jackson.

NASHVILLE NOTES: Opry Entertainment Group promoted Anna Lemme to marketing manager for the Grand Ole Opry. In the new role, the Massachusetts native will plan marketing and promotional strategies to continue growing the Grand Ole Opry brand. Lemme has been with the company for five years, most recently serving as an artist & label strategy manager for Opry Entertainment Group … Leadership Music communications and events administrator Lindsay Doheney will leave the post on May 28 to join her husband in a job-related relocation. The organization is seeking a replacement for Doheney … Group Projects welcomed Emma Kiefer as director of A&R, working closely with co-founders Anthony Manker and Cooper Anstett on publishing and management business. She most recently served as A&R manager at Boom Music Group.

Buchalter beefed up its presence in Nashville, adding eight attorneys to its office in Music City — “a vibrant and dynamic legal market,” said Adam Bass, the firm’s president and CEO. Joining Buchalter are Lauren Spahn, Jay Bowen and Lauren Kilgore, from Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley and Norton, along with Rebekah Shulman, Jim Zumwalt, Jacob Clabo, Aaron Steinberg and John Baxter. The Laurens are regulars in Billboard‘s annual list of top music lawyers, and both handle a wide swath of legal and business transactional matters for artists, publishers, writers, labels and more. Shulman, Steinberg, Clabo and Baxter specialize in intellectual property issues, while Bowen’s experience is in high-stakes litigation. Finally Zumwalt represents entertainment clients on a variety of matters. “Jay, Lauren, and Lauren, along with their teams bring a wealth of experience, expertise, and dedication to our firm,” said Bass. “Together, we are poised to make a significant impact in Nashville’s legal landscape and beyond.”

Dom Wallace is the new label and marketing manager at Mahogany, where he’ll oversee release strategy for its label Mahogany Records and its flagship video channel, Mahogany Sessions. His appointment coincides with the launch of Mahogany Songs, the company’s new digital distribution and services platform. Wallace was most recently a senior editor at Spotify, where he helped launch several taste-making playlists, including “Our Generation” and “Fresh Finds UK & IE.”

GAME TIME: Cross-industry veteran Kimberly Knoller is the new chief marketing officer at Earn Alliance, where she’ll spearhead the platform’s mission to connect gamers to games, building fandoms and engaging communities. For the last 14 years, Knoller has built out her own music and tech marketing agency The Knoller Group, where she’s worked with artists, creators, record labels and other companies on brand and monetization-boosting strategies. In the aughts, Knoller put in three years at Warner Records, where she did trailblazing work as vp of direct to fan marketing, e-commerce and innovation. She has also held senior roles at unPaired and PIXELYNX … Metaverse studio Karta, which creates in-game experiential marketing across Fortnite, Roblox and other games, hired Morgan Evans as its new fashion and beauty director, and Sarah Richards as art director.

ICYMI:

Jared Cotter

Jared Cotter was promoted to partner at Range Music, where he manages Paul Russell (“Lil Boo Thing”) and co-manages Shaboozey (“A Bar Song (Tipsy)”) … Jason Miller is leaving operational responsibilities at ELA, the joint venture he launched with CTS Eventim in 2021 … and Tekno joined Mr. Eazi’s independent music company emPawa Africa as an investor and a partner.

Last Week’s Turntable: Texas Official Joins Big Loud

HipHopWired Featured Video

The Justice Department and several states are joining together to sue Live Nation Entertainment in connection to Ticketmaster, whose side accuses the company of owning a monopoly on live entertainment. Justice Department officials are accusing Ticketmaster of blocking out potential opportunities for other companies by striking exclusive ticket and venue deals that essentially gave them the lion’s share of the market.
The New York Times reports that based on the accounts of unnamed invidious close to the matter, the federal government, along with a grouping of states that were not announced in the outlet’s report. The position that will be taken when the matter goes to court is the accusation that Live Nation struck exclusive ticketing contracts with certain concert venues and served as the main ticket hub for concert tours.

Further, the government will claim that other business factors such as venue management according to insiders, aided Live Nation in becoming a monopoly by passing on high costs to consumers and causing damage to any competitors’ efforts to enter the field. Further, the DOJ will state within the lawsuit that tours that were promoted by the entertainment company were more likely to play shows where Ticketmaster had exclusive rights to ticket sales.
Ticketmaster reportedly sells about 600 million tickets annually according to global tallies. It is estimated that the company’s ticketing business is responsible for between 70 and 80 percent of major concert venues domestically.
In 2023, a congressional hearing was held that was sparked by a frenzied Taylor Swift tour presale event which millions of fans were unable to participate in. Both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate called the company a monopoly
The lawsuit will be filed in the Southern District of New York.

Photo: Getty

The Department of Justice dropped a wide-ranging antitrust complaint against Live Nation on Thursday (May 23), highlighting more than a dozen examples of the company’s “anticompetitive and exclusionary” behavior in accusing it of operating live music’s largest monopoly.
The evidence looks particularly bad for Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino, whose own emails are being used against him to document alleged threats made against competitors while the company was operating under a federal consent decree tied to its 2010 merger with Live Nation.

Under the arrangement, regulators with the government had the right to obtain company documents, including communications, without a subpoena. The most damaging evidence is an email exchange involving Oak View Group’s Tim Leiweke and mega music manager Irving Azoff, who co-founded the arena development and management company together.

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Leiweke was the CEO of AEG, Live Nation’s main rival in the concert business, until 2012, when he was fired by company owner Phil Anschutz. After a brief stint running the Toronto Maple Leafs and its sports and entertainment interests in Canada, he returned to the United States and eventually founded Oak View Group (OVG) in 2015.

The government claims Rapino tried to leverage his company’s partnership with OVG to pressure private equity firm Silver Lake to kill off a rival ticketing company that Rapino allegedly believed represented a major threat to Ticketmaster.

If true, the story could be a major problem for Rapino, underscoring the government narrative that despite Live Nation’s massive market share, the CEO operates the company like a paranoid pugilist, willing to cross ethical and legal boundaries to eliminate tiny threats.

Silver Lake has been OVG’s strategic investment partner since the company’s founding, investing $100 million to launch it. Today, it has more than $2.5 billion tied up in OVG development projects. Silver Lake also owns TEG, an Australian concert promotion company that operates Ticketek, a large Australian ticket provider with more than 130 clients.

According to the 120-page complaint filed Thursday in federal court, “In 2021, Live Nation’s CEO complained to Oak View Group’s co-founder that TEG was ‘[f]ull on competitors.’ Oak View Group, in turn, conveyed to Silver Lake that Live Nation was ‘not happy.’” The complaint adds that Rapino then escalated his complaints to Silver Lake directly, stating: “I am all in on [Oak View Group] where the big play lies with venues – why insult me with this investment in ticketing/promotions etc.’”

According to the lawsuit, “Rapino threatened to pull its support from Oak View Group and instead back an Oak View Group competitor unless TEG stopped competing with Live Nation in the United States,” the complaint alleges.

“I can assure you the OVG investment is a much bigger win then T[E]G,” Rapino wrote in an email to an unnamed Silver Lake executive that’s included in the lawsuit. “It’s been a huge win for both sides– we have over 20 global arenas in development that neither could do without the other … do you really want LN backing [AEG’s venue development and management company]…? Seems like a dumb trade off??”

To aid in the pressure campaign, Azoff “reportedly refused to allow TEG to promote any of his large roster of artist clients,” the complaint alleges. It further states that Azoff told Rapino “that he was going to demand that Silver Lake sell TEG. [To which] Live Nation’s CEO replied ‘Love ya.’”

“Silver Lake now seems ‘intent on dumping teg’ and has asked, through the founder of Oak View Group, whether Live Nation would be interested in purchasing TEG,” the complaint reads in describing the back-and-forth.

Live Nation did not purchase TEG, but in early 2023, a deal was brokered for Silver Lake to sell the company to investment companies Blackstone and KKR. That deal collapsed in October over disagreements over the valuation of the company, which is now being readied for an IPO in Australia.

Live Nation issued a statement on this allegation, stating that the “claim reveals not only a disregard for the facts, but also deep hypocrisy.”

“The current DOJ and FTC have been vocal critics of private equity companies making multiple investments in the same industry because of competitive ‘entanglements,’” the statement continues. “So was Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino when, after it had already made an investment in OVG, Silver Lake Partners decided to invest in the Australian live entertainment company, TEG. Rapino’s complaint was fundamentally the same as the DOJ/FTC concern with private equity rollups: it created a conflict between OVG, which had become a close partner to Live Nation, and TEG. So, in December 2021 when a TEG employee wrote to say that it did not intend to compete with Live Nation in the U.S., Rapino replied to Silver Lake’s management that he did not care about TEG, but still had a problem with Silver Lake’s decision to make multiple conflicting investments in the industry.”

The statement also claims that “there is no truth that this brief exchange had anything to do with Silver Lake’s decision to sell its stake in TEG.”

In addition to the allegations around TEG, the government’s complaint further alleges that OVG, when it was first founded in 2015, was “particularly well-suited to be a real competitor to Live Nation in the United States concert promotion business” but changed its model to avoid competing with Live Nation.

The evidence from the time, however, shows that OVG and Live Nation had long billed themselves as partners. A November 2015 press release announcing OVG’s launch includes a quote from Rapino endorsing Leiweke’s business model, stating, “Both Tim and Irving are friends of Live Nation as well as personal friends. The concept of creating an economic model for both arena’s and touring artists that creates new revenue streams and develops an ‘anchor’ type of platform for music is one we share.”

The DOJ claims that Live Nation initially identified OVG as one of its “Biggest Competitor Threats” but that over time, the two firms morphed “from competitors into partners who found it easier and mutually beneficial to work together rather than compete.”

According to the government, OVG in fact operates as “a self-described ‘pimp’ and ‘hammer’ for Live Nation, with Leiweke once telling Rapino ‘[j]ust like I tell our folks we 100% always protect you and LN on your lanes.’”

In 2016, “after learning that Oak View Group offered to promote an artist Live Nation had previously promoted, Live Nation’s CEO immediately emailed Oak View Group, warning that such competition would only lead to artists demanding more compensation,” reads the complaint. It further includes an email in which Rapino wrote of the artist: “Whats up? We have done his [touring] and vegas[.] Let’s make sure we don’t let [the artist agency] now start playing us off.”

As outlined in the complaint, Leiweke immediately responded, “Our guys got a bit ahead. All know we don’t promote and we only do tours with Live Nation.”

Azoff later chimed in, writing “Growing pains,” subsequently noting that OVG executives “should never discuss comp [for artists],” and that OVG’s talent buyers would work for Live Nation.

The government argues that this discussion is an example of Leiweke and Azoff colluding with Rapino to limit the competitive bids sent to an artist in order to keep artists fees low. In another example cited in the complaint from 2022, Rapino admonished Leweike for making a direct offer to an artist to play an OVG venue instead of asking Live Nation to promote the show for OVG.

“Who would be so stupid to do this and play into [the artist agent’s] arms”? Rapino asked Leiweke in the email. Leiweke responded, “We have never promoted without you. Won’t,” before later writing, “[m]ore than happy to do these deals thru LN as I have always been aligned,” and that “I never want to be competitors.”

The complaint also alleges that Live Nation “exploits its long-term relationship with Oak View Group to flip venues to Ticketmaster, further cementing Ticketmaster’s power.”

According to the DOJ, in 2022, Live Nation and OVG signed an unspecified agreement that resulted in OVG recognizing “it has a significant financial interest in maintaining existing Ticketmaster contracts at its venues and converting other venues to Ticketmaster.”

At some point, according to the lawsuit, Leiweke told Rapino that the deal “allows us to tie up all owned and operated facilities to 10 year deals, develop a standard A and B market deal for all future projects and to convert all OVG 360 deals to TM now or as they expire for 10 years… Appreciate the consideration and partnership and all of us will work diligently on this so we are always aligned with TM.”

Live Nation responded to this claim in a statement: “The theory is that the contract gave Ticketmaster an unfair advantage in securing the business of independent venues that were managed by OVG because it creates financial incentives for OVG to ‘advocate for’ Ticketmaster. But there is nothing remotely anticompetitive about that. Commercial arrangements that involve incentive or marketing payments are common throughout this industry (and many others).” The statement adds, “Ticketmaster competed and won the contract on the merits because OVG determined it was the best ticketing system available.”

Tekno has formed a new strategic alliance with Mr. Eazi, with Tekno’s Cartel Music label and Mr. Eazi’s independent music company emPawa Africa striking a joint venture and Tekno joining emPawa Africa as an investor and a partner. “With this deal with Tekno and Cartel Music, we are ushering in a new phase of emPawa,” […]

Kelly Clarkson has settled a lawsuit against her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock over commissions he was paid during his time as her manager, according to a new report in Rolling Stone.

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Clarkson requested a dismissal of the case on Tuesday (May 21), while Blackstock and his father’s management firm, Starstruck Entertainment, requested to dismiss the case on Wednesday (May 22), according to court documents reviewed by Billboard — though the documents do not mention a settlement.

Billboard has reached out to Clarkson and Blackstock’s reps for more information but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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The reported settlement comes two months after Clarkson filed a case in Los Angeles courton March 14 seeking a ruling that Starstruck Entertainment had been violating state labor rules stemming from the start of their relationship. The lawsuit sought the return of “any and all commissions, fees, profits, advances, producing fees or other monies” she paid to Starstruck Entertainment dating all the way back to 2007.

Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after seven years of marriage. The case was finalized in 2022, and the singer agreed to pay her ex-husband monthly child support of $45,601 for their two children — nine-year-old daughter River Rose and eight-year-old son Remy Alexander — plus a one-time payment of $1.3 million.

Shortly after Clarkson filed for divorce, Starstruck sued her for alleged unpaid fees, claiming the company had “invested a great deal of time, money, energy, and dedication” into her and had “developed Clarkson into a mega superstar.”

In response, Clarkson filed a complaint with California’s Labor Commissioner, claiming that Blackstock and Starstruck had violated California’s Talent Agencies Act by serving as her managers as well as unlicensed talent agents who booked her business deals. In November, a Labor Commissioner ruled in Clarkson’s favor and Blackstock was ordered to repay Clarkson more than $2.6 million in commissions she paid him for handling a number of deals, including her role as a coach on The Voice. A month later, Blackstock and Starstruck challenged the ruling in court, asking for a Los Angeles judge to rule rather than the Labor Commissioner.

Range Music has promoted Jared Cotter to partner, the company announced Thursday (May 23). Cotter, who has been at Range since 2022, had been vp of A&R for the management company, which operates as the music division under the umbrella of Range Media Partners. Cotter manages Paul Russell, whose song “Lil Boo Thing” reached No. […]