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Online investigator and YouTube personality Spencer Cornelia — known for his investigative video series on the music industry, money in hip-hop and get-rich-quick social influencers — has prevailed in a long-running defamation lawsuit filed by Derek Moneyberg, the online persona of self-proclaimed wealth coach Dale Buczkowski.
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Buczkowski operates a number of big-ticket wealth management coaching services, including his “Mastermind Network” — which charges users a $20,000 initiation fee and a $5,000 annual renewal fee — and his “1-ON-1 Training,” which starts at $75,000 per year, according to his attorney Tamara Beatty Peterson.
The defamation suit — filed on June 21, 2021, in U.S. District Court in Nevada — accused Cornelia of making false and defamatory statements against Buczkowski during two interviews with a former friend and associate of Buczkowski named John Mulvehill, whom Buczkowski also sued. During the interviews with Cornelia, Mulvehill questioned Buczkowski’s academic credentials and suggested Buczkowski’s success was due in part to criminal behavior. On a later broadcast, Cornelia openly mused about nominating Buczkowski for his annual “Charlatan of the Year” award.
Over the course of several months in summer 2023, U.S. District Court Judge James C Mahan dismissed the complaints against both Mulvehill and Cornelia. On July 23, Mahan ruled in favor of Mulvehill, finding that Buczkowski lacked jurisdiction to file his lawsuit in Nevada since Buczkowski couldn’t provide any evidence he lived in the state beyond “a handful of pieces of mail.”
Then, in late September, Judge Mahan tossed the defamation charges filed against Cornelia, ruling that Buczkowski was a public figure — a designation that requires a finding that Cornelia acted with actual malice, meaning “a statement is made with falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.”
“Here, all of the allegedly defamatory statements were uttered by Mulvehill, not Cornelia. Cornelia was simply interviewing Mulvehill,” Mahan wrote in his September ruling. “Regardless of this fact, the evidence in the record shows that Cornelia did not act with reckless disregard in conducting his interview with Mulvehill,” noting that “Cornelia published his videos based on reasonable information he received from reliable sources.”
That included a video from a former employee of Buczkowski “who corroborated claims about plaintiffs’ unethical business practices and their using young, unqualified people to write the instructional and promotional material for plaintiffs’ courses,” Mahan wrote. In his deposition, Buczkowski was asked about his claims that he had been interviewed by major magazines and television outlets seeking his financial acuity but was unable to name a publication he hadn’t paid to be featured in.
“Even if Cornelia were mistaken, his conduct is not remotely close to constituting reckless disregard. Thus, defendants did not act with actual malice, and the court grants their motion for summary judgment.”
Buczkowski has already filed an appeal of the ruling, and Cornelia has indicated he too plans to appeal Judge Mahan’s denial of Cornelia’s anti-SLAPP motion — a type of request that asks the court to dismiss a case on grounds that it attacks protected speech. Had Mahan granted the motion, Buczkowski could be found liable for Cornelia’s legal expenses.
“I feel incredibly relieved that the judge granted our motion for summary judgment on all claims. It was the correct ruling and another reminder to angry litigants that the legal system will deter those attempting to engage in lawfare,” Cornelia told Billboard in a statement.
“Because Moneyberg’s only interest is dragging this case as long as possible and attempting to defeat an underfunded litigant by spending his way to victory, he decided to appeal the judge’s ruling,” Cornelia continued. “I am excited for the finality of this case following the appeals process and seeing a judgment against Moneyberg for a significant amount of money. I will be pursuing him for 100% of my attorneys fees when this case is over.”
Billboard reached out to representatives for Buczkowski and did not receive a response.
Kelly Clarkson has won a legal ruling that her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock owes her more than $2.6 million in commissions she paid to him for procuring business deals while he served as her manager.
In a Nov. 21 decision, California’s labor commissioner ruled that Blackstock procured a number of deals for Clarkson, including her lucrative role as a judge on The Voice, that should have been handled by her talent agents at Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
By doing so, Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower ruled that Blackstock violated California’s Talent Agencies Act (TAA), which bans anyone other than a licensed talent agent from procuring work for artists.
All told, Blackstock must pay back commissions earned on four deals: $1,983,155.70 for securing Clarkson’s role on The Voice; $208,125 for a deal to promote Norweigan Cruise Lines; $450,000 for an agreement to promote Wayfair; and $93.30 to host the Billboard Music Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Importantly, the commissioner rejected Clarkson’s claim that Blackstock was also required to pay back commissions he earned from helping to secure The Kelly Clarkson Show — which could have seen him owe much more. His involvement in that deal, including “strategizing” with her agents, was clearly “at the request of CAA” and thus not a violation of the law, the commissioner ruled.
“When a manager strategizes with the agent during a negotiation and does not approach the potential employer without the agent’s permission, they are doing exactly what the TAA demands of them,” Garcia-Brower wrote.
After a marriage of seven years, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020. The case was finalized two years later, with the singer agreeing to pay her ex-husband monthly child support of $45,601 for their two children, plus a one-time payment of just over $1.3 million.
Attorneys for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment on this month’s decision.
The Nashville judge overseeing the bitter lawsuit between Hall & Oates sided with Daryl Hall on Thursday (Nov. 3) and ruled that John Oates temporarily cannot sell his share of the band’s joint venture to Primary Wave until a private arbitrator hears the case.
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Hours after attorneys for the two singers squared off in court, Chancellor Russell Perkins agreed to extend an existing restraining order that’s been blocking Oates from selling his share of their joint venture to industry heavyweight Primary Wave.
Without such an order in place, Perkins ruled that Hall might face the “irreparable harm” of the sale being finalized before he is able to prove his claim that the deal violates the terms of their partnership deal.
“If the transfer goes forward before the arbitrator has an opportunity to consider and rule upon plaintiffs’ application for interim injunctive relief in the arbitration, then it could, as a practical matter, render much of the relief Plaintiffs are seeking in the arbitration ineffectual,” Perkins wrote.
The new restraining order bars Oates from completing his sale to Primary Wave until February or until an arbitrator can decide whether to impose a similar restraining order — whichever comes first.
Neither side immediately returned a request for comment on Thursday.
Hall & Oates pumped out six chart-topping singles and four chart-topping albums during the 1970s and 1980s and continued to successfully tour as recently as last year. But in early November, Hall filed a private arbitration case against Oates, accusing him of violating their partnership agreement by attempting to sell his half to Primary Wave, a prominent music company that’s purchased catalogs and other IP linked to many iconic musicians in recent years.
Fearing the deal would close before the arbitration case was heard, Hall then filed the current lawsuit in Tennessee, seeking a court order to block the sale. Perkins quickly did so, blocking the Primary Wave sale from closing until Thursday when he could hear from both sides.
At a live hearing in Davidson County Chancery Court earlier on Thursday, a who’s-who of music attorneys battled over whether to extend the restraining order. Representing Hall was Christine Lepera of the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, who argued that it would be “most efficient” to put the sale on ice until the arbitrator could weigh in. Derek Crownover from the firm Loeb & Loeb LLP, representing Oates, fired back that no additional injunction was needed — that Hall was “not entitled to any relief at all.”
Though the case started out under seal and shrouded in mystery, the legal battle between Hall & Oates has turned increasingly public — and increasingly nasty — over the last week.
On Wednesday, Hall said he had been “blindsided” by the Primary Wave deal and called it the “ultimate partnership betrayal” by his former partner. “Respectfully, he must be stopped from this latest wrongdoing and his malicious conduct reined in once and for all,” Hall wrote of Oates.
Hours later, Oates said in his own declaration that he was “tremendously disappointed” that Hall would make such “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements” about him. “I can only say that Daryl’s accusations that I breached our agreement, went ‘behind’ his back, ‘acted in bad faith,’ and the like, are not true,” Oates wrote.
Following Thursday’s decision, the case will now head to private arbitration, for which an arbitrator has already been selected but an initial hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Jabari is taking his talents to Epic Records.
The multi-hyphenate, best known as the star of Peacock’s Bel-Air, is looking to showcase his skills on the mic as the label’s newest signee. On Friday (Dec. 1), he’ll embark on his musical journey with the release of his label debut, “Something Else.”
“With the creation of ‘Something Else,’ I wanted to give life to the grey areas of infatuation,” Jabari tells Billboard. “I wanted to share where I was in that time, and along with my team, we executed that well. Also very excited be to be taking this first step with Epic Records. Shout to Sylvia Rhone and Zeke Lewis for being headlights for the vision. I have a lot more to give. Thanks for being here on this journey.”
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“Jabari is a multi-hyphenate young superstar in the making. Artists like him represent the future of entertainment and we could not resist the opportunity to join and assist with his upward movement,” adds Ezekiel Lewis, president of Epic Records.
On Bel-Air, Jabari plays the lead role of Will Smith (named after the star of the original series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). The show has given momentum to his acting career, though he has previously noted that avid fans of the original ’90s sitcom were initially skeptical about the show’s modern-day twist.
“It just really came from a pure place. And honestly, it’s incredible, because we’re standing on the shoulders of giants,” Jabari told Variety last year. “The wingspan of this show is incredible, because it reaches for so many generations, and everybody knows it. And it’s such a beloved TV series, it’s a quintessential ’90s sitcom. And so it’s so it’s everyone’s baby, and they’re like, ‘We don’t touch that we don’t touch this.’ But I was definitely confident, I was like, ‘Just wait and watch because we got some great things cooking up.’”
Jabari will look to follow in the steps of his co-star, Coco Jones, who recently reeled in five Grammy nominations, most notably in the best new artist category. When asked how he will balance his music and TV responsibilities simultaneously, Jabari says: “Because God is good.”
Attorneys for Hall & Oates members Daryl Hall and John Oates clashed in a Nashville courtroom Thursday during the first showdown in an increasingly bitter lawsuit between the longtime musical partners.
At a live hearing in Davidson County Chancery Court, a who’s-who of music litigators battled over whether Hall was entitled to an order extending an existing restraining order that’s been blocking Oates from selling his share of their joint venture to industry heavyweight Primary Wave.
Representing Hall was Christine Lepera of the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, who argued that it would be “most efficient” to issue a court order putting the sale on ice until a private arbitrator can hear the case and decide whether Oates was legally allowed to sell his stake to Primary Wave.
Firing back for Oates was Derek Crownover from the firm Loeb & Loeb LLP, who said that no additional injunction was needed — that Hall was “not entitled to any relief at all” — and the dispute should simply be allowed to play out in arbitration. Crownover said that at most, the judge should extend the restraining order by only a few weeks.
At the end of the hearing, the judge overseeing the dispute, Chancellor Russell Perkins, said he would issue a ruling later on Thursday on whether he would extend the restraining order.
Hall & Oates pumped out six chart-topping singles and four chart-topping albums during the 1970s and 1980s, and continued to successfully tour as recently as last year. But in early November, Hall filed a private arbitration case against Oates, accusing him of violating their partnership agreement by attempting to sell his half to Primary Wave, a prominent music company that’s purchased catalogs and other IP linked to many iconic musicians in recent years.
Fearing the deal would close before the arbitration case was heard, Hall then filed the current lawsuit in Tennessee, seeking a court order to block the sale. The case was filed under seal, shrouding it in mystery and leading to days of speculation about why the beloved singers were suing each other. The judge overseeing the case quickly issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the Primary Wave sale from closing until Thursday’s hearing could be held.
The live hearing came just hours after Hall and Oates directly attacked each other for the first time in court filings.
In a sworn statement on Wednesday, Hall said he had been “blindsided” by the Primary Wave deal and called it the “ultimate partnership betrayal” by his former partner. “Respectfully, he must be stopped from this latest wrongdoing and his malicious conduct reined in once and for all,” Hall wrote of Oates.
Hours later, Oates said in his own declaration he was “tremendously disappointed” about that Hall would make such “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements” about him. “I can only say that Daryl’s accusations that I breached our agreement, went ‘behind’ his back, ‘acted in bad faith,’ and the like, are not true,” Oates wrote.
Generative AI music creation platform, label and publisher Boomy reached a distribution partnership with ADA Worldwide, Warner Music Group’s independent distribution and label services arm. Under the deal, Boomy’s A&R team will bring top artists and exclusively curated music from the Boomy roster to ADA. Select Boomy artists will be distributed and marketed across platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. Boomy artists who will benefit from the partnership include rapper-producer Jelie, German harpist Katirha, Boston-based producer Lightfoot, rapper Paperboy Prince and techno/lo-fi music project Plague of Grackles. Boomy’s AI systems allow human creators to make original music even if they lack professional tools or a formal music-making education.
AI and metaverse technology and content company Futureverse signed with CAA for representation in all areas. The companies will collaborate to open up new opportunities for talent and intellectual property across Web3, the metaverse, AI, virtual games and experiences and more. The announcement follows the unveiling of Futureverse’s JEN 1, a “high-fidelity model” for text-to-music generation and research paper that proposes a strategy to pioneer a new licensing framework compensating rights holders, producers and artists. “Futureverse’s strategic collaboration with CAA has forged a strong alignment in fostering the development of mutually beneficial business models that empower creators with groundbreaking tools and lucrative revenue opportunities. As pioneers in AI, web3 and metaverse infrastructure, driven by a deep appreciation for art and humanity, we see an incredibly bright future for the world of entertainment,” said Futureverse co-founder Shara Senderoff in a statement. Futureverse’s other co-founder is Aaron McDonald.
Through an existing joint venture, CTS Eventim and Sony Music Latin Iberia acquired Punto Ticket in Chile and Teleticket in Peru, expanding the JV’s South American ticketing business, which launched in Brazil in 2016. The acquisitions will provide ticketing systems and related services to concert promoters and venues across both countries. Corporate leadership for the acquired companies will remain intact.
Spotify partnered with mobile provider Orange Middle East & Africa, which will now offer complimentary data bonuses for its customers to access Spotify’s service. “We are aware that data costs continue to be a hindrance for people who would like to stream music, that’s why we are actively working at Spotify SSA on partnerships like this one,” said Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, MD for Spotify in Sub-Saharan Africa, in a statement. Brelotte Ba, deputy CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, added that the deal will “contribute to the acceleration of digital inclusion on the continent.” Orange operates in a total of 18 countries across Africa and the Middle East.
HARMAN, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary that focuses on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, acquired music management, discovery and streaming platform Roon. Described in a press release as “a music player for music enthusiasts,” Roon is available on all popular operating systems and also manufactures a line of hardware server appliances called Nucleus. Roon will operate as a standalone HARMAN business with its existing team remaining in place. HARMAN plans to grow Roon’s open device ecosystem that collaborates with more than 160 other audio brands, delivering audio to more than 1,000 high-performance devices.
Universal Music Group (UMG) signed a deal with Ethiopian streaming platform Sewasew Multimedia, which will now license and market UMG’s music catalog in Ethiopia. “UMG has a long and successful presence in Africa, and given Ethiopia’s rich and vibrant music culture, we are excited to work with Sewasew Multimedia to help grow the Ethiopian music industry to its full potential,” said Ulrik Cahn, UMG executive vp of Africa, Middle East and Asia, in a statement.
Independent digital distributor IDOL signed a global distribution and label services deal with Young Art Records, the L.A.-based label belonging to producer and DJ TOKiMONSTA. Under the partnership, IDOL will handle global distribution and marketing for Young Art Records’ catalog and frontline releases. In addition to TOKiMONSTA, Young Art artists include rapper Cakes Da Killa, Canadian R&B musician Rochelle Jordan and instrumentalist-songwriter duo Daktyl & Benni Ola.
Warner Music Group (WMG) struck a partnership with Ghana-based Small World Records, the label and publisher founded by music entrepreneur and streetwear connoisseur SmallGod. Under the new agreement, Small World will collaborate with teams from WMG, ADA and Warner Chappell Music to elevate Small World’s artist and songwriter rosters worldwide and discover, nurture and elevate a new generation of African talent. SmallGod will continue leading Small World’s operations.
SiriusXM unveiled a new collaboration with Europe’s Radio Monaco to launch the SiriusXM Radio Monaco channel, which will bring artists and DJs from Monte Carlo to SiriusXM listeners in North America. According to a press release, Radio Monaco (originally launched in 2006) is the only music stream originating from Monaco. The channel will broadcast live from Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo and air DJ sets from the parties around the Monaco Grand Prix while featuring exclusive interviews and content with stars from the country’s music scene. Radio Monaco will be available to SiriusXM subscribers across North America.
Spinnin’ Records signed a new joint venture with independent dance label and publisher Kanary Records, run by brothers Alex and Christopher Van den Hoef — also known as production duo DVBBS. Artists on Kanary’s roster include Arkade, Bad Nonn and Dayfive. “We are delighted to join forces with Alex and Christopher, reigniting our relationship from over a decade ago,” said Jorn Heringa, head of A&R at Spinnin’ Records, in a statement. “Both brothers bring deep expertise and knowledge to the table and will work harder than anyone else to develop and drive KANARY to new heights with us. Welcome back to Spinnin’!”
Mozaic.io, a global payments platform that allows co-creators to automatically send and receive split payments, closed a $20 million Series A funding round from Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital. Mozaic.io initially focused on payouts for music distributors, artists and collaborators before expanding to serve the entire peer-to-peer creator economy, with a goal of expanding further into the gig and freelance economy. The investment brings the total raised for Mozaic.io to $27.1 million, with existing investment from Rise of the Rest, Maverick Nashville and music industry executive Joe Galante. The funds will be used for new product development and expanding Mozaic’s sales and product teams.
Audoo — a music technology company that allows artists, songwriters, PROs and CMOs to see in real-time where their music is played via the use of proprietary audio meters, enabling them to better collect on public performance royalties — partnered with Abu Dhabi-based music rights organization ESMAA. Through the collaboration, ESMAA will incorporate Audoo’s “Audio Meter” and insights platform into its operational framework, allowing more accurate and transparent data collection and payment distribution for artists and rights holders. “ESMAA is at the forefront of building a modern rights company and through implementing the best technology from Audoo, we bridge the path of identifiable potential income with a system that optimises the use of music recognition in public performance spaces,” said Spek, founder/CEO of ESMAA, in a statement.
Canadian booking agency Paquin Artists Agency (PAA), a division of Paquin Entertainment Group, formed a strategic partnership with Louis Carrière, founder/president of Quebec-based agency Preste. The partnership will deepen PAA’s footprint in Quebec as it opens a new office in Montreal. PAA will also provide key resources to Carrière and his team to export Quebecian talent.
Believe-owned metal label Nuclear Blast announced an exclusive e-commerce partnership with Impericon, a provider of metalcore merchandise and music. Under the deal, Impericon will oversee all of Nuclear Blast’s European e-commerce activities starting in the first quarter of 2024.
Indie music conglomerate BMG announced a “new structure” for its staff across the globe today (Nov. 30), one which new CEO Thomas Coesfeld says is part of “a strategy for future growth.”
The plan, which BMG executives communicated to staff today, is part of a strategy that Coesfeld calls “local where necessary, global where possible,” and will move BMG’s catalog, sales and marketing teams in its recorded music division into global roles, joining its investments, technology, rights and royalties functions, which already have a global purview. In local markets, artist relations and marketing campaign managers will be able to tap into those global teams for analytics, content creation and media planning and buying, the company said.
“We are changing the way we do things,” Coesfeld said in a statement. “We will combine creative intuition with data-driven insights to deliver the best service for our clients and customers.”
Additional changes outlined by the company include a new global catalog team based in Los Angeles; a “recalibration” of its presence in continental Europe in line with the new local-global emphasis, which will involve focusing on “functional centers of excellence within Europe,” as well as aggregation of budgets and expertise; a further acceleration of its investments in tech and its myBMG system for artists; and the clarification of roles and structures that the company says will make it “more accountable to its artist and songwriter clients.”
“Fifteen years after the emergence of streaming, music is going through another tectonic change,” Coesfeld said in a statement. “It is vital we now reengineer our business to make the most of that opportunity. BMG has challenged the conventions of the music industry ever since we began, bringing music publishing and recordings under one roof with a distinctive service-orientated and transparent approach. Now new ways of creating and consuming music and looming changes in streaming economics are challenging us to do even better for our clients.”
The new structure is the latest move that Coesfeld has made since taking over from longtime CEO Hartwig Masuch in July. The biggest change involved ending its distribution agreement with the Warner Music Group’s ADA and bringing its digital distribution in-house, while striking a deal with the Universal Music Group for its physical distribution. Then, last month, BMG laid off around 40 employees, which involved discontinuing its international marketing department for recordings, its television, film and theatrical departments and the shuttering of its Modern Recordings label, and saw executives like executive vp of global repertoire Fred Casimir and senior vp of global repertoire Jason Hradil leave the company.
The news means that “a number of existing positions will end,” the company tells Billboard, while Los Angeles will now become the primary hub for catalog. The company says that the approach aligns recordings with its existing strategy in its publishing division.
“This is a strategy for future growth,” Coesfeld added. “But in a business in which change is a constant, we ourselves need to change to grow further. Standing still is not an option if we want to deliver for our artist and songwriter clients.”
Roblox players are about to get an eyeful — and potentially an earful — of KINGSHIP, the metaverse “supergroup” comprised of and managed by a shrewdness of Bored-and-Mutant Ape NFTs.
10:22PM, the Web3 label of Universal Music Group founded by Celine Joshua, announced on Thursday the launch of KINGSHIP Islands — an immersive in-game experience wherein Robloxers can work to unite the four band members on something called the “Floating Villa,” plus earn reward accessories and “acquire emotes for their avatars.” For minors with parents who are cool and totally not a drag, players can purchase customized animated heads and bodies for their avatars using Roblox’s facial animation technology.
As the game environment ages, more free virtual goods will be added along with new music produced by Hit-Boy and James Fauntleroy, the KINGSHIP “sonic creative team” that was announced a year ago. The band’s label said the pair — officially co-executive producers — are “overseeing the evolution of the group’s music direction and sound.”
The supergroup has yet to release music, and their manager Manager Noët All could not be reached for comment.
KINGSHIP Islands is free to play for any Roblox user, who must first complete various quests to gain access to the Floating Villa. Wanna skip all that? Owners of one of the 5,000 KINGSHIP Key Cards qualify for VIP access, along with special badges and other metadoodads. Key Card holders can access the villa at any time because they will have a special Roblox badge, which provide unique roles inside experiences, the label said.
The aforementioned Floating Villa, part of KINGSHIP Islands.
When they were released in July of 2022, the entire batch of Key Cards sold out in the span of a day, though they continue to trade on the secondary market. Over the last 30 days, 66 cards have been resold on OpenSea at an average price of 0.0592 ETH, or roughly $120 at the current exchange rate. The cards were designed to unlock forthcoming partnerships with major brands (see: Roblox), as well as unique artwork and immersive digital experiences.
10:22PM’s KINGSHIP project made its debut in November 2021 and is comprised of mutant ape Captain (vocals, bass) and bored ones KING (lead vocals), Arnell (beats, producer, drums) and Hud (guitar, keyboards, vocals). Avid NFT collector Jimmy McNeils supplied the apes for KINGSHIP from his own collection. At the time of launch it was billed as a “landmark, first-ever exclusive agreement to create a metaverse group.”
Hey look, a trailer:
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The mysterious legal battle among Hall & Oates became clearer Wednesday (Nov. 29) when Daryl Hall filed court papers accusing musical partner John Oates of leaving him “blindsided” by secretly moving to sell his half of their joint venture to Primary Wave – an act he called the “ultimate partnership betrayal.”
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A week after news of the dispute between the yacht rock legends first surfaced, Hall filed an unsealed declaration (obtained by Billboard) that was filled with new revelations – not just about his partner’s “ambush,” but also about the duo’s ongoing “divorce,” about Hall’s problems with Primary Wave in particular, and about his personal feelings toward his former partner.
“Respectfully, he must be stopped from this latest wrongdoing and his malicious conduct reined in once and for all,” Hall wrote of Oates.
Hours later, Oates filed his own statement in response, saying he was “tremendously disappointed” that Hall had chosen to make “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements about me.”
“I have no idea who or what is motivating Daryl to take these steps and make such salacious statements, but I am deeply hurt,” Oates wrote.
After teaming up as a pair of Philadelphia singers in 1972, Hall & Oates hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 a whopping six times, first with “Rich Girl” in 1977 and then with “Kiss On My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” “Maneater” and “Out of Touch.” The duo have continued to successfully tour for years, including as recently as last year.
But in early November, Hall filed a private arbitration case against Oates, challenging his partner’s alleged plan to sell his half of their joint venture (Whole Oats Enterprises) to Primary Wave, a prominent music company that has acquired many iconic music catalogs in recent years. Fearing that the deal would close before the case was decided, Hall then filed the current lawsuit in Tennessee, seeking a court order to block the sale.
The lawsuit was filed under seal, shrouding it in mystery and leading to days of speculation about why the beloved duo were suing each other. The complaint was then unsealed last week, revealing the basic details about the proposed sale to Primary Wave and Hall’s objections. But Wednesday’s filings painted the clearest picture yet of the bitter dispute between the former partners.
In his declaration, Hall called Oates’ agreement to sell to Primary Wave a “completely clandestine and bad faith move in blatant violation” of their agreement, which he said clearly requires full consent from both partners.
“John Oates and the Co-Trustees engaged in the ultimate partnership betrayal,” Hall wrote. “They surreptitiously sought to sell half of the WOE assets without obtaining my written approval.”
Hall said he first learned of the proposed sale to Primary Wave in late October – news that he said left him “blindsided.” He said it came as the two sides were engaged in mediation on other issues and as he was about to embark on a tour, causing him “tremendous upheaval, harm, and difficulty in my life.”
“I believe that John Oates timed the unauthorized transaction to create the most harm to me,” Hall wrote.
Hall seemed particularly upset about the idea of selling to Primary Wave in particular. He said he had “no intention of becoming partners with Primary Wave” and that Oates could not “thrust a new partner upon me in this outrageous fashion.”
“The potential of being forced into a partnership with Primary Wave without my consent is incredibly upsetting,” Hall wrote. “There is no amount of money that could compensate me for being forced to partner with an entity that I did not agree to partner with, and whose business model does not comport with my views regarding the WOE assets. The harm is unimaginable.”
The biggest problem for Hall, the filing indicated, was the idea of granting Primary Wave control over his name and likeness rights – something he called “highly personal assets.”
“Primary Wave is a company that brands itself as having a strong focus on exploiting not only copyrights but the trademarks and name and likeness rights of the artists from whom they purchase catalogue rights,” Hall wrote. “If Primary Wave becomes my partner they … will likely have a goal to use theWOE assets, and my name and likeness, for branding and exploitations.”
A representative for Primary Wave did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday evening.
Hall also revealed that the dispute came amid a broader “divorce” with Oates. His former partner had recently become “adversarial and aggressive” and intended to “burden and harass me.” Eventually, they began discussing a dissolution of their touring company and other joint ventures. But he says that Oates never once discussed selling his share in Whole Oats Enterprises, the joint venture at issue in the case.
“John Oates was very combative and protective with respect to WOE, and consistently conveyed his desire to keep his ownership and that partnership intact and operative—there was never a hint that he would try to ambush me with a sale,” Hall wrote.
The new filing also cleared up exactly what assets are controlled by Whole Oats Enterprises. They include the band’s trademarks, their personal name and likeness rights, their record royalty income, and “certain HO social media and related website assets.” Another entity, Hot Cha Music, LLP, controls the band’s valuable musical composition copyrights – meaning they are not at issue in the case.
In his own filing Wednesday, Oates offered far fewer details than Hall had; he repeatedly said that he was subject to confidentiality agreements that restricted what he could say. But he refuted his partner’s core accusation about a secret deal that violated their partnership contract.
“I can only say that Daryl’s accusations that I breached our agreement, went ‘behind’ his back, ‘acted in bad faith,’ and the like, are not true,” Oates wrote.
A court hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday morning in Nashville.
Dennis Kooker, president of global digital business at Sony Music Entertainment, represented the music business at Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) seventh artificial intelligence insight forum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday (Nov. 29). In his statement, Kooker implored the government to act on new legislation to protect copyright holders to ensure the development of “responsible and ethical generative AI.”
The executive revealed that Sony has already sent “close to 10,000 takedowns to a variety of platforms hosting unauthorized deepfakes that SME artists asked us to take down.” He says these platforms, including streamers and social media sites, are “quick to point to the loopholes in the law as an excuse to drag their feet or to not take the deepfakes down when requested.”
Presently, there is no federal law that explicitly requires platforms to takedown songs that impersonate an artists’ voice. Platforms are only obligated to do this when a copyright (a sound recording or a musical work) is infringed, as stipulated by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Interest in using AI to clone the voices of famous artists has grown rapidly since a song with AI impersonations of Drake and The Weekend went viral earlier this year. The track, called “Heart on My Sleeve” has become one of the most popular use-cases of music-related AI.
A celebrity’s voice and likeness can be protected by “right of publicity” laws that safeguard it from unauthorized exploitation, but this right is limited. Its protections vary state-to-state and are even more limited post-mortem. In May, Billboard reported that the major labels — Sony, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group — had been in talks with Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music to create a voluntary system for takedowns of right of publicity violations, much like the one laid out by the DMCA, according to sources at all three majors. It is unclear from Kooker’s remarks if the platforms that are dragging their feet on voice clone removals include the three streaming services that previously took part in these discussions.
In his statement, Kooker asked the Senate forum to create a federal right of publicity to create a stronger and more uniform protection for artists. “Creators and consumers need a clear unified right that sets a floor across all fifty states,” he said. This echoes what UMG general counsel/ executive vp of business and legal affairs Jeffery Harleston asked the Senate during a July AI hearing.
Kooker expressed his “sincere gratitude” to Sens. Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Amy Klobuchar and Thom Tillis for releasing a draft bill called the No FAKES (“Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe”) Act in October, which would create a federal property right for one’s voice or likeness and protect against unauthorized AI impersonations. At its announcement, the No FAKES Act drew resounding praise from music business organizations, including the RIAA and the American Association of Independent Music.
Kooker also stated that in this early stage many available generative AI products today are “not expanding the business model or enhancing human creativity.” He pointed to a “deluge of 100,000 new recordings delivered to [digital service providers] every day” and said that some of these songs are “generated using generative AI content creation tools.” He added, “These works flood the current music ecosystem and compete directly with human artists…. They reduce and diminish the earnings of human artists.”
“We have every reason to believe that various elements of AI will become routine in the creative process… [as well as] other aspects of our business” like marketing and royalty accounting,” Kooker continued. He said Sony Music has already started “active conversations” with “roughly 200” different AI companies about potential partnerships with Sony Music.
Still, he stressed five key issues remain that need to be addressed to “assure a thriving marketplace for AI and music.” Read his five points, as written in his prepared statement, below:
Assure Consent, Compensation, and Credit. New products and businesses built with music must be developed with the consent of the owner and appropriate compensation and credit. It is essential to understand why the training of AI models is being done, what products will be developed as a result, and what the business model is that will monetize the use of the artist’s work. Congress and the agencies should assure that creators’ rights are recognized and respected.
Confirm That Copying Music to Train AI Models is Not Fair Use. Even worse are those that argue that copyrighted content should automatically be considered fair use so that protected works are never compensated for usage and creators have no say in the products or business models that are developed around them and their work. Congress should assure and agencies should presume that reproducing music to train AI models, in itself, is not a fair use.
Prevent the Cloning of Artists’ Voices and Likenesses Without Express Permission. We cannot allow an artist’s voice or likeness to be cloned for use without the express permission of the artist. This is a very personal decision for the artist. Congress should pass into law effective federal protections for name, image, and likeness.
Incentivize Accurate Record-Keeping. Correct attribution will be a critical element to artists being paid fairly and correctly for new works that are created. In addition, rights can only be enforced around the training of AI when there are accurate records about what is being copied. Otherwise, the inability to enforce rights in the AI marketplace equates to a lack of rights at all, producing a dangerous imbalance that prevents a thriving ecosystem. This requires strong and accurate record keeping by the generative AI platforms, a requirement that urgently needs legislative support to ensure incentives are in place so that it happens consistently and correctly.
Assure Transparency for Consumers and Artists. Transparency is necessary to clearly distinguish human-created works from AI-created works. The public should know, when they are listening to music, whether that music was created by a human being or a machine.