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Sony Corporation of America’s personal entertainment business division today announced a partnership between global breakout star Peso Pluma and Sony’s audio brand campaign, “For The Music.” The collaboration marks Pluma’s first brand partnership.
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The agreement further strengthens what is sure to be a record year for the 24-year-old Mexican artist, who just announced a 54-date Exodo arena tour and is set to headline Coachella, Baja Beach Festival, Chicago’s Sueños Festival and New York’s Gov Ball festival. Peso said in a statement to Billboard that he was “excited for the opportunity to collaborate with Sony” and sees the “For The Music” campaign as a chance to open “pathways for Latin Music” markets and audiences around the world. Sony established the audio brand campaign “For The Music” for its premier consumer and professional audio products and services including its noise cancelling headphones, premium noise canceling earbuds, wireless speakers and pro audio hardware.
With “For The Music,” Sony is “affirming itself as the premier audio brand connecting music creators and consumers, aiming to create authentic music experiences and transcend emotion for fans through its personal electronic products,” a press release announcing the deal explains.
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“Since the launch of ‘For The Music,’ we have cultivated such amazing collaborations with artists on products and experiences that have brought their creative vision to fans in new and innovative ways,” says Jordy Freed, head of brand, business development, partner marketing & strategy, personal entertainment business in Sony Corporation of America. “We are thrilled to continue this work with Peso Pluma and support him as he takes his music to new levels.”
Less than one year ago, Plumas was selected as Billboard’s March 2023 Latin Artist on the Rise, setting an agenda to globalize the decades-old música mexicana genre. Since then, he’s landed over 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including his blockbuster collab with Eslabon Armado “Ella Baila Sola,” and his album Génesis, which made history when it debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the highest ranking for a Mexican music album on the chart.
Most recently, Sony has partnered with Olivia Rodrigo, Miguel, SZA, Khalid, Tate McRae, and other artists. More here.
A&R veteran Tim Glover is named as president of A&R, Pulse Records, Billboard can confirm.
Glover joins the team from Interscope Geffen A&M, where he served as executive VP of A&R since 2022, and held the position as senior vp of A&R before that.
In his new role, announced today (Feb. 21), Glover works specifically on the Pulse Records division of Pulse Music Group, the umbrella company, and reports jointly to Scott Cutler, co-CEO of Pulse Music Group; Josh Abraham, co-CEO of Pulse Music Group; and Ashley Calhoun, president, Pulse Music Group.
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During his time at Interscope, Glover was the point person for the label’s partnerships with Dreamville — which has included such artists as J. Cole, JID and Ari Lennox, among others — and LVRN, including Summer Walker and 6LACK, as well as working with Tierra Whack and more than a dozen other artists at the label.
“Tim’s creative ability has led him to sign and work with some of the world’s top recording artists,” reads a statement issued jointly by Abraham, Cutler, and Calhoun. “We want our artists at Pulse Records to work with the very best in executive talent and Tim will be a key part of the team as we continue to build.”
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The experienced recruit joined Interscope in 2014, was promoted to senior vp in March 2019, and in 2021 was named to Billboard’s 40 Under 40 list of trailblazing young executives in the music business.
At Pulse, Glover will continue to A&R select projects with Interscope, a rep tells Billboard.
Launched in June 2023, Pulse Records is a part of Concord Label Group and is distributed through the company’s longtime relationship with Universal Music Group.
Since then, Pulse Records formed an artist development joint venture with ISO Supremacy, the new record label founded by platinum recording artist and Pulse Music Group publishing client, Brent Faiyaz. Through that arrangement, Pulse and Faiyaz signed Tommy Richman to Pulse Records.
Also, Pulse Records recently signed New Zealand-born, South African artist 9lives, a leader in the Sigilkore scene, a rap subgenre which blends cloudrap, hyperpop, and electronic, working with the likes of Trippie Redd, Rico Nasty, JELEEL!, Kanii and Odetari.
The Pulse team “is synonymous with artist creativity, artist development, building a strong creative community, and they go out of their way to customize their A&R strategies to the unique needs of each and every artist,” comments Glover in a statement announcing his appointment. “I look forward to big things ahead.”
Capitol Records Nashville artist Jon Pardi (“Head Over Boots,” “Heartache on the Dance Floor”) signed with WME and will be represented by multiple departments across the agency, including touring, brand partnerships, TV, film and digital. Pardi is managed by Red Light Management’s Gaines Sturdivant and C3 Management’s Charlie Walker. – Jessica Nicholson
British rock band Sleep Token signed with RCA Records. The group is an anonymous, masked collective led by a singer who goes by the name Vessel. Sleep Token is represented by manager Ryan Richards at Future History Management; booking agent Nick Storch at Independent Artist Group for North and South America; and booking agent Paul Ryan at UTA for the rest of the world. It was previously signed to Spinefarm/Universal.
Australian band Crowded House signed a global record deal with BMG for its upcoming eighth studio album, Gravity Stairs, which is slated for release on May 31.
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Bluegrass singer-songwriter Wyatt Ellis signed with WME for global representation. Ellis, who recently released his debut album Happy Valley, is represented by Red Light Management’s Neil Mason and Tom Lord, with Morris Public Relations/Alison Auerbach P.R. overseeing public relations/artist development. The Andrea Roberts Agency is handling radio promotion. “Blue Smoke” feat. Marty Stuart, a song from Happy Valley, was recently in the top spot on Spotify’s New Grass Playlist. – Jessica Nicholson
WME also signed musician and comedian Morgan Jay, whose TV credits include MTV’s Wild’n’Out, Peacock’s Girls5Eva, NBC’s Bring the Funny and Night Court. Jay boasts nearly 3 million TikTok followers and will soon announce a global tour, in addition to already-scheduled dates. He will next be seen in Comedy Central’s Stand-Up Featuring special and the Netflix Is a Joke Festival. He’s managed by Matt Sadeghian of Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Josh Sandler of Granderson Des Rochers.
Digital music company Believe launched PLAYCODE, a new imprint dedicated to the Japanese hip-hop scene, and signed three artists: ¥ellow Bucks, Red Eye and Issei Uno Fifth. This marks Believe’s latest expansion in Japan after launching operations in the country in October.
Melbourne, Australia-based band Glass Beams signed to Ninja Tune ahead of the release of its new EP, Mahal, which is set for release on Mar. 22. The band’s booking representatives are Wasserman agents Brad Owen and Tom Windish in North and South America and Wasserman’s Michael Harvey-Bray for the rest of the world, excluding Australia and New Zealand, where the group is repped by James Ware at WAT artists.
Alt-rock band Dexter and the Moonrocks signed with Nashville-based Severance Records, a division of Big Loud Rock. Its first single on the label, “She Likes Girls,” was released Wednesday (Feb. 14). the band is represented by Mike Krug at WME and manager Chris Schoemann at Lion’s Claw Entertainment.
Rapper and singer-songwriter TK Kravitz (“Ocean”) signed with MNRK Music Group for management. Currently without a label, Kravitz is also represented by VA Premiere Booking out of Atlanta.
MNRK also signed Cleveland-based alternative metal band A Killer’s Confession to its MNRK Heavy imprint globally. “Greed,” the first single under the deal, will be released on Mar. 15, with an album slated for fall. The band is represented by booking agent Andrew Goodfriend at TKO.
French-born singer, model, dancer and actor Lucky Love signed with UTA for live representation worldwide, excluding France. Love released his debut EP, TENDRESSE, in April 2023; he is signed to Belem Music.
Country singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette signed with indie label Leo33. Her debut album, The Girl I Was, was released in March 2023.
Sugar Pit, the rock project of Carbondale, Ill.-based artist Kian Stevens-Winston, signed with Atlantic/Good Luck Have Fun. His debut single on the labels, “Pay Me,” releases on Wednesday (Feb. 21).
Country singer-songwriter Carson Wallace signed with Red Light Management, where he will be represented by Enzo DeVincenzo and Anthony DeVincenzo. Wallace also recently signed a global publishing deal with Relative Music Group in partnership with Sony Music Publishing.
UTA signed Nasvhille-based country singer-songwriter Ian Harrison, a contestant on season 22 of NBC’s The Voice, for global representation in all areas. Harrison is managed by Zach Beebe at OTR Management and Laurel Kittleson-Cobb at Rainier Entertainment. He currently has no label.
Singer and actress Freya Skye signed with Hollywood Records, a division of Disney Music Group, as well as Disney Music Publishing as a songwriter. Skye, who will next appear in the fourth installment of Disney’s Zombies film franchise, previously represented the United Kingdom in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with the single “Lose My Head.” She will soon record her debut album. Skye is represented by Link Entertainment.
Singer-songwriter Jenna LaMaster signed a management deal with Maverick Nashville. She previously signed to Sheltered Music for publishing. Her representative at Maverick Nashville is Marne McLyman.
WHY&HOW partnered with Audio Up and Audio Chateau Records to manage Uncle Drank, the fictional character created by Audio Up founder Jared Gutstadt and voiced by Will Sasso. The character was first created for the hit Uncle Drank podcast, on which he was voiced by Sasso. Uncle Drank will release a debut album titled Eternal Sunshine of the Tropical Mind via Audio Chateau and Virgin in June, to be followed by a tour. “In the spirit of Spinal Tap and Cheech and Chong, the album will thrill music aficionados and comedy nerds alike with plenty of beer, babes, bananas, boats, bong hits and most importantly beaches,” reads a press release.
Production, label, artist management and publishing company Handcraft Entertainment partnered with long-running Japanese label and entertainment conglomerate B Zone Japan, which signed Handcraft artist Anna Aya. Her debut single, “Someone Else,” was produced by Louis Bell and Michael Africk. The single was distributed by Virgin Music globally, with the exception of Japan. Aya is also a model who has worked with Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, Fendi and Louis Vuitton and appeared in numerous advertising campaigns.
The unnamed woman who filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine in November has dropped the case, according to a document filed in New York court on Thursday (Feb. 15). The case has been “discontinued in its entirety with prejudice,” meaning the woman cannot refile. Representatives for Iovine and his accuser […]
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Sony Music files a lawsuit claiming the Whitney Houston biopic didn’t pay to use her songs; one of Kanye’s new songs is pulled from streamers after accusations of copyright infringement; a federal judge orders Cam’ron to pay a photographer for using an image of himself; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Was the Whitney Houston Movie Out of Sync?
If you’re going to make a musical biopic, it’s important to sign a sync licensing deal. But it doesn’t mean much if you don’t actually pay for it.
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In a lawsuit filed last week, Sony Music Entertainment accused the producers of the 2022 biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody of doing exactly that. More than a year after the film was released, the label says it hasn’t been paid a dime for the use of more than 20 songs like “I Will Always Love You.”
Musical biopics are big business – 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody earned more $900 million at the box office and Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 Elvis made $288 million. But as we noted in this space a few weeks back, they pose a unique challenge that isn’t present for a run-of-the-mill true-life movie: you essentially must secure the ability to play the music of the star in question.
In last week’s lawsuit, Sony made a point to note that dynamic: “Unlike other types of films, musical biopics by their nature require use of the subject musician’s music, as it is nearly impossible to explain the importance of a musician’s creative genius or unique style and talent without the use of the musician’s music.”
So then what happened with Wanna Dance? Go read the full story here, including access to the actual lawsuit filed by Sony Music.
Other top stories this week…
KANYE SONG PULLED – Kanye West’s track “Good (Don’t Die)” was removed from Spotify and other platforms after the estate of legendary singer Donna Summer claimed that the song featured an unlicensed interpolation of her 1977 hit “I Feel Love.” Ye’s album itself, Vultures 1, was also briefly removed from digital platforms over a dispute with the original distributor – but still debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
CAM’RON’S CAMERA WRONG – A federal judge ordered Cam’ron to pay more than $50,000 to a photographer for using her photo – a famous shot of the Dipset rapper wearing a fuzzy pink coat and hat while holding a matching flip phone – on a slew of merchandise without permission. He’s just the latest in a long list of celebrities who have faced costly legal actions for using copyrighted images of themselves without paying the photographer.
CASE DISMISSED – Roddy Ricch won a ruling from a federal judge dismissing a copyright lawsuit that claimed the rapper stole key elements of his chart-topping 2019 song “The Box” from a 1975 song track called “Come On Down.” The judge said that Ricch’s song had “significant dissimilarities” from the earlier tune – a common sample in the hip-hop world – and that “no reasonable jury” would call Ricch an infringer.
RUSSELL SIMMONS ACCUSATIONS – The embattled music mogul was hit with a new lawsuit over allegations that he raped a former Def Jam video producer in the 1990s, the latest in a long list of public abuse allegations Simmons. Days later, the Def Jam founder was named in a second civil case – this time by a previous abuse accuser (former record executive Drew Dixon) over claims that Simmons defamed her by suggesting during a December interview that she was lying about her accusations against him.
SUSPICIOUS MINDERS? – Priscilla Presley is facing a lawsuit that claims she illegally turned her back on a former business partner named Brigitte Kruse, who claims she helped Elvis Presley’s ex-wife “dig herself out of impending financial ruin” and played a key role in getting the recent Priscilla movie made. Presley’s lawyer tell a different story, saying Priscilla rightly split with Kruse after discovering serious financial wrongdoing.
DANCE DANCE RESOLUTION – Fortnite owner Epic Games reached an agreement to end a lawsuit filed by celebrity choreographer Kyle Hanagami that claimed the gamemaker turned his dance moves into a lucrative “emote” that Fortnite players could buy. The deal with Hanagami, who has worked with BTS, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears, came months after a federal appeals court issued a first-of-its-kind ruling that allowed the case to move forward toward a scheduled trial this spring.
GLORIA TREVI CASE EXPLAINED – Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi is facing a complex legal battle over renewed allegations of serious sexual wrongdoing involving her former manager Sergio Andrade – claims she strongly denies by arguing that she, too, was a victim of his abuse. To get you up to speed, Billboard senior editor Griselda Flores put together a deep-dive timeline of Trevi’s legal woes – go read it here.
A federal appeals court has overturned a massive $1 billion copyright verdict won by the major record labels against internet service provider Cox Communications, sending the case back for a new award to be calculated.
In a decision Tuesday (Feb . 20), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the huge award against Cox over illegal downloading by its subscribers — one of the largest ever in an intellectual property lawsuit — on the grounds that part of the verdict was not supported by the law.
The ruling sets the stage for a new trial, but Cox could still be on the hook for heavy damages. That’s because, while the appeals court overturned the jury’s decision that Cox committed so-called vicarious copyright infringement, it affirmed that the internet service provider (ISP) had still committed a different type of infringement.
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Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group all sued Cox in 2018, seeking to hold the internet giant itself liable for alleged wrongdoing committed by its users. The labels said Cox had ignored hundreds of thousands of infringement notices and had never permanently terminated a single subscriber accused of stealing music.
The case was part of a string of such lawsuits filed against ISPs around the country. Charter Communications, RCN Corp., Grande Communications and others were hit with the same claims around the same time.
ISPs like Cox are often shielded from lawsuits over illegal downloading by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. But the judge overseeing the case said that Cox had forfeited that protection by failing to terminate people who repeatedly violated copyright law.
Stripped of that immunity, jurors held Cox liable in December 2019 for the infringement of 10,017 separate songs. They awarded the labels more than $99,000 for each song, adding up to $1 billion. Cox eventually appealed that verdict to the Fourth Circuit, a federal appeals court that could overturn it.
In Tuesday’s ruling, the appeals court said that the jury had been correct to find that Cox had willfully committed so-called contributory copyright infringement — meaning the company had induced or authorized its customers to pirate the music. But the court said that the labels had failed to show that Cox committed vicarious infringement, which would have required proving that the ISP profited from the illegal downloading.
“The continued payment of monthly fees for internet service, even by repeat infringers, was not a financial benefit flowing directly from the copyright infringement itself,” the appeals court wrote. “Sony has not identified any evidence that customers were attracted to Cox’s internet service or paid higher monthly fees because of the opportunity to infringe Plaintiffs’ copyrights.”
Because part of the verdict was tossed out, the court ruled that a new trial would be needed to recalculate the damages award — this time, based only on the finding of contributory infringement.
Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s largest music company, has acquired a 25.8% interest in Chord Music Partners for $240 million. As part of the deal, UMG will now handle distribution and publishing administration for Chord’s existing catalog, provided by UMG’s Virgin Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), respectively.
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Formed in 2021 by KKR and Dundee Partners, the investment office of the Hendel family, Chord owns over 60,000 copyrights. This includes stakes in top songs like “Dreams” and “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, “La Grange” by ZZ Top, “Counting Stars” and “Apologize” by OneRepublic, “Redbone” by Childish Gambino, “I Like Me Better” by Lauv, “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi, “All Of Me” by John Legend, “Girls Like You” and “Sugar” by Maroon 5, “Halo” by Beyonce and “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri.
Following the completion of the transaction, KKR will exit Chord. Previously, it was the majority stakeholder in the catalog firm. Now, Dundee is increasing its share to 74.2% and UMG will hold the remaining minority share.
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UMG was advised by Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Freshfields. DLA Piper and Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP served as legal advisors to Dundee. Fifth Third Bank, National Association served as financial advisor and provided committed financing to Dundee and UMG. The Raine Group served as the exclusive financial advisor and Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, LLP served as legal advisor to Chord Music Partners. Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to KKR.
Lucian Grainge, chairman/CEO of UMG, said in a statement: “Finding partners who share our passion for identifying iconic songs and recordings that will stand the test of time and deliver long-term growth is essential, which is why we’re so pleased to be working with Stephen and Sam Hendel and Dundee Partners. With the leadership of Jody Gerson at UMPG, Nat Pastor and JT Myers at Virgin, and the support of our experienced creative executives around the world, no one can do more with music rights than our teams. We look forward to creating maximum commercial and creative value for the songwriters and artists in Chord and building for the future.”
Boyd Muir, UMG executive vp/CFO/president of operations added: “We’re excited to partner with the Hendel family in Chord for a number of reasons. First, KKR and Dundee have built a very high-quality catalog that will benefit from our first-rate management and global capabilities. Second, this new structure provides us with an efficient vehicle for future catalog acquisitions, without significant capital allocation through a combination of leverage and partner equity capital. And finally, it offers us the perfect partner to approach future growth opportunistically and flexibly, one who is equally bullish on the long-term prospects for music.”
Sam Hendel, Dundee Partners’ managing principal/co-founder of Chord, added: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Universal Music Group and embarking on this next exciting chapter for Chord. By combining a best-in-class financial acquisition vehicle with the world’s leading music company, we are creating both a premier platform for music investment as well as a permanent home for premier artists’ legacies and their iconic cultural works. We’d like to thank the team at KKR for their partnership and creating a strong foundation for Chord and its future success.”
“We are grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with many leading artists and to create significant value for our investors by building Chord into a differentiated and scaled portfolio,” said Jenny Box, partner at KKR. “We believe that Dundee and UMG will drive further value creation for artists and that they share our commitment to being respectful stewards of artists’ music.”
Rolling Loud has inked an exclusive collaboration with California’s largest cannabis and dispensary company STIIIZY for Rolling Loud California 2024 for the March 14-17 festival at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. The partnership includes a four-piece product line developed for the four-day fest headlined by Ye and Ty Dolla $ign, Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and […]
LONDON — The British government’s Intellectual Property Office has said that bringing streaming in line with TV and radio broadcasts in the U.K. by obligating record companies to pay performers ‘equitable remuneration’ does not provide “a simple solution” to creators’ concerns over low returns from services like Spotify and Apple Music – and is “unlikely to yield a net positive income for the industry at large.”
In its report into the potential impact of equitable remuneration on the U.K. music business, published Monday, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) says its introduction could result in labels reducing their investment in developing new acts and would see rightsholders paying out “a significant sum of money” in administration costs.
The report goes on to say that more work is needed to fully assess whether labels’ ability to negotiate competitive deals with streaming services on behalf of artists would be weakened — as claimed by record labels – by changing how royalties are paid out for music streams.
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“While not a satisfying conclusion, it is clear that more research is required into the nuances of how best to balance the incentives to create with the need to monetise creation,” states the report.
The IPO research paper into equitable remuneration is the latest chapter in a long and ongoing series of government-led interventions into the U.K. music industry fuelled by artist discontent over low payments from streaming.
In 2021, a Parliamentary inquiry into the music streaming business called into question the major record labels’ dominance of the industry and branded the global streaming model as unsustainable in its current form, saying it “needs a complete reset.”
One of the key proposals made by the Parliamentary inquiry was changing the revenue model for music streaming by forcing record labels to pay performers equitable remuneration — equivalent to a 50/50 royalty split — on music streams, which it called “a simple yet effective solution to the problems caused by poor remuneration.”
A similar statutory right to equitable remuneration has existed in the U.K. since 1996 for TV and radio broadcasts, where revenues are split 50/50 between labels and performers and distributed via by the collecting society PPL. The statutory right guarantees royalties to non-featured performers, such as session musicians, whenever a song they played on is broadcast on U.K. radio or television.
By contrast, under the current music streaming model only the copyright owner receives payment from streaming platforms, which it then shares with the artist according to the terms of their contract. Average royalty rates are typically set between 25% and 30% on new artist deals and far less on legacy contracts, while some indie labels now offer artists 50/50 profit-share deals. (Session musicians do not typically receive any royalties from music streaming).
The IPO’s report examines what impact equitable remuneration would have on the U.K. music business by applying several predictive models to streaming over a five-year period.
When equitable remuneration is applied to 100% of streaming income — based on a scenario where a record company invests £150,000 and a release generates £240,000 (3 times the recoupable advance) — earnings for featured artists almost double to just under £115,000, while record label revenues move from a £90,000 profit to a loss of almost £13,000. Session musician income jumps from zero to just under £30,000.
In instances where equitable remuneration is applied to 35% of streaming income, the same metrics see label revenues drop from £90,000 to just under £54,000, while featured artists’ income rises from a flat £60,000 advance to almost £100,000 (including recoupable costs spent).
The research also models the impact on loss making deals and instances where 7x the record company advance is generated, as well as the impact of equitable remuneration on DIY artist deals.
The IPO’s modeling surmises that equitable remuneration would make record label investment “more risky and more difficult to justify,” while DIY artists would see increase in administration costs and receive little financial gain or, for heavily streamed releases, a reduction in profits.
“If the intention is to better support the careers of current and future artists then there is a significant risk that introducing” a full version of equitable remuneration “would make it more difficult for the current label investment model to continue,” says the report.
The research paper, which was carried out by the IPO in conjunction with a working group made up of industry stakeholders, additionally looks at the potential impact of the U.K. introducing a version of equitable remuneration similar to what already exists in Spain.
In Spain, 5.6% of streaming income is currently shared out between featured artists and non-featured performers, with equitable remuneration paid by streaming platforms, not labels. However, the practice has been mired in litigation since its introduction in 2006 and critics say that it resulted in only marginal gains for artists and performers.
When applying the so-called ‘Spanish model’ to the U.K. business, researchers found that it offers a much less significant shift in revenue than other ER methodologies but raises unanswered questions around whether it would make “a material difference” to creator earnings.
The report warns that if an equivalent to the Spanish version of ER was introduced in the U.K. streaming services might look to recover “some or all” of the extra revenue they would have to pay out from their deals with rights holders.
Reaction among U.K. music trade groups to the IPO’s findings was mixed.
Jo Twist, CEO of labels trade body BPI, said the report reinforces record company’s long-held concerns around equitable remuneration. Making such a change to how streaming royalties are shared “would undermine the essential role that labels play in investing in and supporting artists,” Twist said in a statement.
The Council Of Music Makers noted that the IPO report “reaches no conclusions, and no decisions should be made on the basis of its ambiguous findings.” The trade group said it would continue to work with all industry stakeholders on a “wider discussion” around creator remuneration from streaming and various solutions that have been proposed.
Responding to the IPO’s research, government ministers Julia Lopez and Viscount Camrose said that “in light of the risks” highlighted in the report, “the government does not intend to apply the ‘broadcast model’ of equitable remuneration to on-demand streaming.”
Instead, the findings “lend weight to the view that the best way to address creator concerns is through dialogue among industry and, where appropriate, industry-led actions,” said Lopez and Camrose in an open letter to Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Even after Ozzy Osbourne denied Kanye West‘s sampling request on his new album with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 1, elements of the Black Sabbath hit “Iron Man” still appear on the album.
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The version of Vultures 1 that West released does not use that sample of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band performing “Iron Man” at the 1983 Us Festival. Instead, it uses a sample of West’s own track, “Hell of a Life,” released in 2010 with Universal Music Group (UMG), which also includes an interpolation of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” guitar riff. This use would likely also require approval from the members of that band — Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — all of whom have writing and publishing credits on “Hell of a Life.”
Because “Hell of a Life” includes several samples, there are actually more songwriters on that track than on “Iron Man” alone. They also include swamp rocker Tony White Joe and Sylvester Stewart, better known as Sly Stone. The Stewart song comes from a sample of “She’s My Baby” by The Mojo Men, a band which Stewart played with and wrote for early on in his career. Randall Wixen, founder of Wixen Music Publishing, which represents “She’s My Baby” and controls a 35% stake in the “Hell of a Life” songwriting and publishing, confirms the “Carnival” use was not cleared by his company either.
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“It’s ironic that Kanye replaced the unlicensed sample of the Ozzy Osbourne track ‘Iron Man’ with a sample of ‘Hell of a Life,’ which also samples a song by Osbourne and Tony Iommi,” says Wixen. “So, he’s just substituted one unauthorized Ozzy sample for another and now brought our song into the picture. In a perfect world, all samples would be approved and cleared prior to release. It is basic respect for the songwriter.”
It’s not the only unlicensed use of a song or recording on the record, either. A spokesperson for Primary Wave, which has a partnership with James Brown‘s estate, tells Billboard that a use of The Godfather of Soul’s oft-sampled “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” was not cleared for use on the Vultures 1 track “Fuk Sumn.”
It is not unusual for albums to be released with unsettled songwriter splits, often to writers and publishers’ consternation. It’s less common that an album is released without clearing samples or interpolations, though Rell Lafargue, president and COO of Reservoir Media, says it still happens. But the level of West’s popularity — and notoriety — makes album an extreme example.
West’s team is working with the sample clearance company Alien Music Services to license these works and, according to multiple sources, they have so far secured a patchwork of licenses needed. Some works are cleared, others are not and some only partially. For example, Lafargue says Reservoir is currently negotiating the use of a sample of Brand Nubian‘s “Slow Down,” for the album track “Keys to My Life,” but the deal is not done yet. Multiple sources also say they were only approached with licensing requests after Vultures 1 was released last Saturday. Now the album is a serious contender to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart next week.
“On the level of Kanye in 2024 to put out an entire album with samples that haven’t even been requested to be cleared, I don’t think I’ve ever really seen that today,” says Lafargue, who helped release De La Soul’s recording catalog to streaming services last year after it was famously tied up in sample clearance issues. “That’s the exception for sure.”
This has already led to problems for the album. On Wednesday, the song “Good (Don’t Die)” was pulled from Spotify following a copyright infringement claim filed days earlier on behalf of Donna Summer‘s estate, and other streaming services soon followed suit. The estate claimed on a social media post that West’s team had asked for permission to use Summer’s iconic hit “I Feel Love” and had been denied, but the album was released with an interpolation on it anyway.
Separately, on Thursday, the platform used to distribute Vultures 1 to streaming services, FUGA, told Billboard it was removing the album from its systems. However, there was no suggestion that was related to sample or interpolation clearance issues. The album is now being distributed by Label Engine, a service owned by Create Music Group.
Che’ Pope from Yeezy Music says that licensing discussions are “in process” for the album and “everything’s in great shape, except for Ozzy Osbourne and Donna Summer.” He says that the Summer use should never have been released, and that the team is working on the “Carnival” issue now. With “Carnival,” Pope says West just needed a “guitar turnaround” on the track (the use appears around 1:43) and they can “figure out a way to play something else there,” unlike with “Good (Don’t Die)” where the interpolation was more material to the song. “There’s a few of us who play guitar,” Pope adds.
West plans to release Vultures as a trilogy project, and Pope says the licensing issues leading up to this album’s release were a matter of which songs were going to make the cut. “We didn’t know what was actually on the album until it got closer to release date,” he says. “So the thing is we had all the samples from what could potentially be all on any of the three volumes.”
It’s rare that streaming services will pull a major artist’s song over an unlicensed sample or interpolation. More typically, a deal is worked out between the artist’s and creators’ teams to put a license in place, and since the track is already out the artist loses leverage in those negotiations and will often give up a larger share of the rights. This was famously the case with The Verve‘s hit “Bittersweet Symphony,” which was based on a sample from a 1965 version of The Rolling Stones‘ song “The Last Time.” Since the band did not clear the song with The Rolling Stones’ former manager, Allen Klein, who owned the copyrights to their pre-1970 songs, frontman Richard Ashcroft was forced to relinquish all publishing to Klein’s company ABKCO Music and the songwriting credits were changed to The Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
While West built a name for himself as an all-time great hip-hop producer with exquisite use of samples and interpolations, with this release that’s been complicated by his recent history of antisemitism, starting in 2022 and after which he was widely condemned and lost numerous business deals. Speaking with Billboard on Feb. 9, Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne noted that Ozzy often allows other artists to sample his work, “but the simple thing is, we don’t want to be associated with a hater.”
Sharon Osbourne, who is daughter of the U.K. music manager Don Arden and was raised Jewish, continued, “To spread hate the way he does, it shouldn’t be allowed. All the excuses — he’s bipolar or whatever — doesn’t change that. It’s like, f— you, basically.”
In all, Vultures 1 has at least two dozen samples and interpolations across 16 tracks, according to the website WhoSampled.com and reviewed by Billboard. Those include several uses of West’s own older music, like with “Hell of a Life” on “Carnival” and his 2012 track “Cold” on “Vultures” — all of which would presumably require licenses with UMG, under which he released those earlier recordings. There are also uses of samples from the film Dogma and a TikTok video of a cheer group and an interview with Mike Tyson from a podcast with Hollywood Unlocked’s Jason Lee, who was formerly West’s head of media and partnerships. And, of course, there is a lot of other creators’ music.
Pope says the licensing process on this album has not been “different from any album” prior, but adds that as West’s first proper release as an independent artist after he no longer benefits from easier clearances within the UMG system. (Aside from West’s own tracks, the UMG record samples include “Back That Azz Up (Back That Thang Up)” by Juvenile, “Bring the Noise” by Public Enemy and “Jubilation” by Pierre Henry and Spooky Tooth, among others.) There are also the image issues. “The landscape, his reality is different,” says Pope. “He’s got an uphill battle in certain areas. Clearing samples is never easy, but this one is more challenging just because of how the landscape on everything is.”
Most record labels and publishers contacted for this story declined to comment, with many saying they do not speak on individual licensing deals and that their policy is to follow their artists’ and songwriters’ wishes in these cases. Not every artist and songwriter involved, however, may know that their work is featured on Vultures 1.
Indie R&B artist Dijon posted to Instagram Stories on Feb. 9, a day before the album’s release, suggesting that he was unaware his song “Good Luck” was being sampled on the track “Stars”. (Now Pope says Dijon “should be good,” though, and the artist’s reps declined to comment.) Wixen and Primary Wave only learned of their creators’ uses on the album until Billboard contacted the companies, and considering the complexity of licensing a sample that contains a sample, it’s easy to imagine that some rights holders still don’t know their work is being used.
Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, for example, according to the Songview database, have songwriting credits on Brand Nubian’s “Slow Down” because it samples their 1988 hit “What I Am.” Universal Music Publishing Group, which reps the band’s publishing on the song did not respond to request for comment.
The song “Fuk Sumn” also samples late Three 6 Mafia member Koopsta Knicca‘s underground single “Smoking on a J,” which itself samples the Days of Our Lives theme song and Isaac Hayes‘ “Walk From Regio’s” off the 1971 Shaft soundtrack, according to WhoSampled.com and Billboard‘s own review.
West’s own “So Appalled” from 2010 is sampled on the track “Problematic,” but that also includes Manfred Mann on the songwriting credits due to a sample of “You Are – I Am,” according to Songview.
All said, a project like Vultures 1 could require upwards of 50 clearances, says Danny Zook, CEO of Alien Music Services. “We are working diligently to clear all the samples on this project,” he says.