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Kanye West filed a lawsuit in California on Wednesday (Sept. 6) against the individual or entities responsible for taking and distributing copies of his music that have ended up on social media.
In the complaint, the artist, who now goes by Ye, alleges trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract due to the unauthorized leaks of copyrighted works on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), arguing they have caused “substantial harm” to his reputation.
Ye’s lawyers claim that starting on Mar. 3, 2023, the owner of the @daunreleasedgod_ handle on Instagram went on a leaking spree of unreleased tracks, including “We Did it Kid,” “Shy Can’t Look,” “NASDAQ” and “Mr. Miyagi,” as well as collaborations with artists including DJ Khaled and unauthorized video footage of a Donda listening party.
The rapper’s complaint goes on to cite the @daunreleasedgod_ account on X for similarly posting unauthorized leaks on dates ranging from mid-June to late August. “Ye has suffered significant financial losses and damages as a direct result of the Defendants’ actions,” the suit alleges.
The lawsuit does not name @daunreleasedgod_ or any of its other variations as a defendant in the case, only that it was the main distribution vehicle for the leaks.
Ye’s lawsuit indicates that he “does not know the true names or capacities” of the defendants who leaked the tracks to the Instagram or X user(s), but believes that those individuals were required to sign confidentiality agreements with him before they were given access to the compositions. By leaking and distributing the tracks, the defendants breached their contract with the artist and owe him damages and any profits generated, the complaint adds.
The filing continues that the “distinctive arrangement and unique elements” found in Ye’s music amount to a trade secret “due to its economic value, secrecy, and the efforts taken to safeguard it” and that the defendants violated their contract with Ye when they “knowingly and unlawfully acquired, disclosed, and distributed” those unique works.
The case, filed by Gregory K. Nelson of Weeks Nelson, seeks to restrain the defendants and “those acting in concert with them or at their direction” from further exploitation of Ye’s compositions and demands damages, fees and other costs. While the identities of the defendants are not yet public, “Ye will amend its Complaint to set forth the true names and capacities of these defendants when they have been ascertained.”
The management division of Kygo‘s Palm Tree Crew has partnered with Live Nation. The new partnership is intended to expand opportunities for Palm Tree Crew Management’s dance/electronic-focused roster, which currently includes Kygo, Dean Lewis, Gryffin, Sam Feldt, Frank Walker, Forester, Thomas Jack and Petey Martin. Palm Tree Crew Management was founded in 2018 by Kygo (born Kyrre […]
Rimas Publishing — home to renowned songwriters and producers such as Bad Bunny, Eladio Carrión, Mora, and Súbelo NEO — has inked a strategic partnership with music metadata Muso.AI, Billboard has learned. Focused on businesses, catalogs, and individual profiles, the new deal will provide a new standard for next-generation transparency that will directly benefit Rimas’ […]
September marks the 20th anniversary of the RIAA launching litigation against consumers in a bid to extinguish — or at least dampen — the flames of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing. The consumer litigation was part of a multi-pronged effort that targeted internet service providers, the P2P providers like Napster and Limewire and music fans. In early 2003, nearly 40% of internet users in the United States had used a P2P service to download music, or an estimated 54 million individuals. Upon the RIAA’s announcement of consumer suits, parents began asking their children what they were doing with those stacks of blank CDs; coverage of the pending litigation stifled file sharing before the first notice was filed.
Much has been written about the P2P era, but one thing is for sure: The vast majority of downloaders knew it was illegal. If there was any uncertainty in consumer’s minds, the RIAA litigation helped to clear it up. Perhaps that is the greatest legacy of the consumer litigation, which ended in 2008. The actual law was contested for some time, with arguments about technological innovation and the promotion of that technology for purposes of copyright infringement.
By the 10th anniversary of the consumer litigation in 2013, the record labels had largely won the battle against P2P file sharing. After settlement of the Limewire copyright infringement case in May 2011, the number of people using the remaining services rapidly fell in the United States, and by 2013 had dropped 60% from the peak in 2003. Litigation was one of many contributing factors. The P2P file sharing experience was awful for users, fraught with spoofed files, pop-ups, malware, incomplete and incorrect files, and other maladies. iTunes downloads revived the singles era by offering $.99 tracks. Pandora had been at the top of app store charts for several years, and Spotify was gaining momentum. By 2013, half the U.S. internet using population was streaming, and a handful were beginning to pay for subscriptions. The RIAA moved on to other battles, notably the YouTube “Value Gap.”
As the 20th anniversary of the consumer suits approaches, there has been a stunning reversal in progress in the war to limit consumer access to unlicensed music. An estimated 55 million people in the U.S. acquired or accessed “free” music files in the past year, according to MusicWatch research — the same amount as in 2003. What went wrong? There is an abundance of apps and sites that permit consumers to obtain unlicensed music. Apps that permit YouTube stream-ripping are widely available. Mobile apps available with “free downloads” frequently contain unlicensed content. The very social platforms that the industry relies on to promote artists also harbor unlicensed content. Unlike in the P2P era, the law is clear when it comes to these forms of copyright infringement and licensing requirements, though the DMCA still provides a shield to services that rely on content uploaded by fans.
The problem is the consumer. The teenager who knew that they were committing piracy while downloading In Utero from Limewire is now an adult. Today, they can be easily confused. Their Google music searches may include content that infringes on copyright. Same for the app store on their phone. The recent spate of Taylor Swift Eras tour livestreams on TikTok, while technically the same as a stream-rip of “Cruel Summer,” does not register the same in fans eyes. On top of the unlicensed content, MusicWatch studies indicate 20 million streamers are sharing logins to music streaming services.
The industry has not been silent. The RIAA has litigated against stream-rippers. Mixtape app Spinrilla was successfully sued for infringement and shut down in May. Sony and Universal just sued the Internet Archive for copyright infringement. And as an alternative, streaming companies offer family plans, which raise ARPU and blunt the impact of unauthorized account sharing.
Unlike 2003, however, the industry isn’t paying much attention to the infringing consumer. And why should it? There hasn’t been a collapse in revenues as was experienced during the aughts. Most infringing consumers are active streamers and many pay for a subscription — and a vinyl record or two. There’s not much reason to target music fans. But that doesn’t mean that more shouldn’t be done to educate consumers and further protect the rights of artists and copyright holders.
Russ Crupnick is the principal at market research firm MusicWatch.
Exceleration Music formed a strategic partnership with Azadi Records, an India-based independent label co-founded in 2017 by Mo Joshi and Uday Kapur. Under the deal, which marks Exceleration’s first in Asia, Exceleration has made a financial investment in the label to help fuel its growth. Azadi will also benefit from access to Exceleration’s worldwide team and infrastructure, with Exceleration partner Charles Caldas joining Azadi’s board to help guide the label’s strategy, performance and development. Azadi Records artists include Indian hip-hop duo Seedhe Maut, producer Sez on the Beat and rapper Prabh Deep, who won a Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) award — a major independent music prize in India. Forthcoming releases on the label include Seedhe Maut’s mixtape Lunch Break, an EP from Ranj & Clifr and a collaborative album from United Kingdom-based rappers Sonnyjim and PAVAN.
Encore Luxury Coach Leasing acquired Nitetrain Coach Company in Whites Creek, Tenn., making it the largest entertainer coach leasing company in North America. The acquisition brings Encore Luxury’s fleet to more than 145 coaches. Under the deal, Encore’s leasing operations will have offices in Phoenix and Nashville, with over 25 maintenance technicians. Touring clients of the combined companies include Nickelback, Thomas Rhett, Bailey Zimmerman, Lauren Daigle, Ben Harper, Barry Manilow, Beck, Phish and Blink-182.
Virgin Hotels partnered with Sofar Sounds for Hear This!, a new monthly concert series that will showcase emerging Sofar artists. The series will be open to the public, with Virgin Hotels’ Know members receiving premier access to reserve tickets ahead of the public onsale. Attendees of the concerts will also have access to exclusive Spotify and Apple Music playlists featuring highlights and recommendations from Hear This! artists. Members of Virgin’s rewards program, Virgin Red, will also be able to redeem Virgin Points to join Sofar Sounds events at Virgin Hotels, including Hear This! Virgin Hotels will also offer preferred room rates to all Sofar Sounds artists to help alleviate the impact of the pandemic on touring artists. Hear This! kicks off on Sunday (Sept. 10) at Virgin Hotel Dallas, with future iterations in Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, New York City, Edinburgh and the recently opened Glasgow location. Get more details here.
One Media iP acquired the licensor’s income share — or the income that is generated from digital exploitation — of the “Entertain Me” catalog of rights, which includes more than 15,000 tracks performed by artists including Dean Martin, Gloria Gaynor, Judy Garland, Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong. The acquisition was undertaken by One Media’s Harmony IP asset release program, “which allows music rights holders advanced access to the future earnings of their intellectual property by purchasing a portion of their rights up front,” according to a press release.
Also at One Media iP, the company renewed its partnership with music distributor The Orchard; the deal includes a $1 million recoupable advance to One Media “to be used to enhance catalogue enrichment,” according to a press release. The advance is recoupable against future sales by One Media.
The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA) board of directors approved a five-year contract renewal for ASM Global as its venue management company. The new agreement commences on Dec. 1, 2023, and runs through Nov. 30, 2028. ASM Global is “planning to bring many of its most innovative designs to a leading group of convention centers beginning with PCCA,” according to a press release.
Allseated, which offers virtual tour technology and floorplan design tools for venues, raised $20 million in funding, including capital from Level Structured Capital (an affiliate of Level Equity) and existing investors Magma Ventures, Vestech Partners, NYFF and WGG. The money will be used to further scale Allseated’s space visualization and collaboration platform and fuel its global expansion. Along with the new funding, the company is spinning out its Meetaverse division; according to a press release, “this includes a brand-new entity with a dedicated mission: to pioneer immersive experiences, such as virtual events and corporate environments, within an emerging market landscape.”
Full-service artist management company and record label Red Music Rising, which is managed entirely by Indigenous individuals, struck an exclusive global distribution deal with Warner Music Canada/ADA Canada. The Red Music Rising roster includes Wolf Saga, Boogey The Beat, Logan Staats and Nimkish.
Grant Avenue Studio, a legendary recording studio based in Hamilton, Ont., that has hosted artists including Gordon Lightfoot, Johnny Cash, U2 and Sarah McLachlan, was sold to music and film industry executives Mike Bruce and Marco Mondano. Bruce is a musician who owns and operates film studios, including Aeon Bayfront Studios in Hamilton, while Mondano owns D.C. Music, a rehearsal, recording and live production studio in Toronto. Grant Avenue Studio was established in 1976 by Daniel Lanois and his brother Bob, who later teamed up with engineer Amy King to helm the studio until the spring of 2023. Under its new ownership, new offerings at the studio will include an artist lounge, a writers’ studio, film and photography location opportunities and artist development programs.
Deezer expanded its partnership with leading Latin e-commerce platform Mercado Libre, becoming the official music streaming partner for the company’s new retail and entertainment subscription program, Meli+, which has been introduced in Mercado Libre’s main markets, Brazil and Mexico. The program includes a full year of music streaming from Deezer, among other elements. Brazilian artist Ana Castela has been appointed as the official Deezer ambassador on Meli+ and will star in joint campaigns and promotion.
Symphony, an artificial intelligence-powered marketing operating system for artists, creators, managers and independent labels, closed a $1 million pre-seed fundraising round from investors including Spice Capital, GoldHouse Ventures, LVRN Records, Guin Records, former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtermariam and artists including 21 Savage and 24kGoldn. The SymphonyOS platform uses artificial intelligence to analyze millions of data points in order to create music marketing strategies for artists and labels. Since its beta launch in April 2022, SymphonyOS has processed over $750,000 worth of advertising budgets.
The head of a powerful Japanese talent agency resigned Thursday (Sept. 7) and made an apology punctuated by repeated, lengthy bows, nine days after an internal investigation concluded that its founder had sexually abused hundreds of young performers over decades.
Julie Keiko Fujishima announced she was stepping down as president of Johnny & Associates, the agency founded by her late uncle Johnny Kitagawa, and promised to contribute to a compensation fund from her own fortune.
“This is what my uncle committed, and as a niece, I want to take responsibility,” Fujishima said solemnly. Fujishima said the alleged sex abuse had really happened and that she would stay on the company’s board to see through a victim compensation program.
A group of men who accused Kitagawa of raping them as children said they were pleased the company apologized, but some had reservations.
“The wounds in my heart will not heal,” Yukihiro Oshima told reporters. “But I feel a little better.”
Fujishima remains the sole owner of Johnny’s, and her replacement faces his own allegations of mistreating young performers.
Rumors that Kitagawa had abused children followed his career for decades, but his power allowed him to silence almost all allegations until his death in 2019. The company agreed to investigate earlier this year, after the BBC aired a documentary that spoke with several accusers and others began to come forward by name.
The three-month probe concluded that Johnny Kitagawa sexually assaulted and abused boys as far back as the 1950s and targeted at least several hundred people.
The company named a 56-year-old performer as its new leader. Noriyuki Higashiyama said he was retiring as an actor and singer to take the job, a role that will include overseeing compensation for men who were assaulted as children.
“A horrendous crime has been committed,” Higashiyama told reporters at a Tokyo hotel, bowing deeply with Fujishima.
“It will take time to win back trust, and I am putting my life on the line for this effort.”
Higashiyama immediately fielded questions about allegations that he had engaged in bullying or sexually abusing other Johnny’s boys.
“I don’t remember clearly; maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t,” he said.
He acknowledged he tended to be strict with younger performers, and that he may have done things as a teen or in his 20s that he would not do now. A new company structure, which will include an outside compliance officer, will be announced next month, Fujishima said.
At one point, she choked down tears, stressing the achievements of the company’s singers and dancers. “I only feel deep gratitude to all the fans,” she said. Kitagawa had been so powerful that she, and many others, had kept silent, she added.
The men who have come forward say Kitagawa raped, fondled and abused them while they were working for his company as dancers and singers.
Many of the victims were members of a backup group called Johnny’s Jr., who danced and sang behind bigger stars. One man who came forward recently said he was routinely molested when Kitagawa had yet to found his company. He was just 8 years old.
Higashiyama denied he was a victim. He said Kitagawa had been like a father to him, while denouncing his acts as “the most pathetic in the history of humankind.” When he found out what Kitagawa had done, he felt as though he had lost everything, Higashiyama recalled.
“Whether I am qualified to take on this job, you be the judge,” he said.
Separately, Guinness World Records said it had stripped Kitagawa of all the records he had held, such as No. 1 hits, according to its policy toward “criminals.”
Sam Smith and Normani have prevailed in a copyright lawsuit against their 2019 hit “Dancing With a Stranger” a California judge agreed to dismiss the case Wednesday (Sept. 6). Released in 2019 off Smith’s third studio album Love Goes, “Dancing with a Stranger” is one of their top-charting hits, peaking at No. 7 on the […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.BEST RETRO SPEAKER
JBL Authentics 500
This portable speaker looks old-school, but both it and its little brothers, the “200” and “300,” are all-new inside, with audio technology like Dolby Atmos. This is the big boy, with three one-inch tweeters, two 2.75-inch mid-range woofers and a 6.5-inch down-firing subwoofer that deliver 270 watts of 3.1 channel sound – in immersive Dolby Atmos if the music warrants it. Like the 300, the 500 has nearly eight hours of battery life and can move from room to room on a single source of sound.
BEST SPEAKER THAT RUNS ON SUN
Urbanista Malibu
The aptly named Urbanista Malibu runs on sun — literally. After introducing over- and in-ear headphones, the company is now launching a Bluetooth speaker that can play until the sun goes down and well after. Its battery can store enough power to work for 30 hours. When the weather turns, it can charge with a USB-C cable — better performance than most similar products — and an IP67 water-resistance rating means it works in the rain.
BEST HOMETOWN HERO
Teufel Ultima 25 Aktiv
IFA has grown so big that some companies now organize their own events, including the Berlin audio company Teufel (which translates to “devil” in German), which shows new products in its headquarters in the center of what was formerly West Berlin. Among this year’s highlights were the Teufel Ultima 25 Aktiv speakers, which will sell for about $500, the powered counterpart to the popular Teufel Ultima 20 bookshelf speaker (a “passive speaker” that gets electricity, along with signal, from a speaker cable). The speakers even have HDMI output and input so video can play on a screen, but audio can “pass through” the TV and go to the speakers.
BEST SMALL SOUNDBAR
Sennheiser Ambeo Mini
Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini
Courtesy of Sennheiser
After some tough years during the pandemic, the German audio company Sennheiser is coming back with an exciting addition to its soundbar portfolio, the AMBEO Soundbar Mini, which is designed for smaller rooms. Thanks to “7.1.4 virtualization technology,” the device creates a stunning 3D sound in virtually any room,” according to a statement by Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Product Manager Maximilian Voigt, “all from a single box.” It supports Dolby Atmos and can be paired with serious subwoofers if you’re ready to rumble. At about $800, it’s not the least expensive soundbar out there — but it could be the best for smaller spaces.
BEST MUSIC MOVEMENT
Sonos Move 2
Sonos Move 2
Courtesy of SONOS
Sonos’ Move speakers were the first that could work with the brand’s systems over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and often topped lists of smaller speakers with serious sound. Now Sonos is making the Move 2 available with new colors, more battery life, and stereo functionality. Like Sonos’ Era speakers, they have a USB-C ports that, with the right adapter, can play music from a turntable or CD player — or play music from a phone while recharging it. But the biggest changes are in battery life, which now lasts up to 24 hours instead of 11, and the stereo functionality that comes from packing in two tweeters in each box.
Of all Jimmy Buffett‘s accomplishments, from classic hits such as “Margaritaville” and “Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes” to building a billion-dollar travel-and-lifestyle empire, one of the biggest was an unprecedented, decades-long amphitheater deal in which he received a whopping 105% of the gross ticket receipts. This anti-mathematical trick stunned the concert business.
“Early in our careers, we would all whisper about Buffett’s rumored deal. Could he possibly be getting not just the lion’s share of the show profits, but all of the box-office gross? Or in some cases more than the box-office gross? What?” asks Fielding Logan, a Q Prime manager who represents country star Eric Church. “Like a mythical white whale, we’ve been chasing that deal ever since.”
How did Buffett, who died Friday at 76, pull off this legendary deal, which several concert-industry sources confirm was in place through his very last amphitheater tours?
In the late 1990s, when SFX Entertainment bought out promoters around the country, the new concert-business giant offered touring stars huge payments to anchor its summer-amphitheater lineup — and avoid losing them to rival companies. Back then, artists were asking — and receiving — 90% of the net ticket sales after expenses, leaving 10% to the promoter.
Buffett took this trend to a new level on his annual summer runs, which drew more than 3.9 million fans and grossed $215.4 million over 196 shows in the 2000s, according to Billboard Boxscore. “Here’s the thing about Jimmy: 90-10 wasn’t good enough for him. He started demanding 105%! All of the gate plus 5% of the gross,” Barry Fey, the late Denver promoter who competed with SFX at the end of his career, wrote in his 2011 book Backstage Past.
Promoters agreed, knowing they could take a cut of ancillary revenues, like parking, food and ticket service charges and — especially with Buffett’s hard-partying Parrotheads — alcohol. “It worked out for me and the other promoters because of beer sales,” Fey wrote.
In 2000, Clear Channel Communications bought SFX, then spun off the concert-promotion business into a new company known as Live Nation — which maintained his deal, sources say. So, for example, in 2005, when Buffett’s show at Arrowhead Pond (now the Honda Center) in Anaheim, Calif., made $1.13 million at the box office, according to Billboard Boxscore, Buffett would have taken home roughly $1.136 million.
Buffett, who toured through spring 2023, set a financial precedent that younger stars, such as country singer Kenny Chesney, were able to replicate, according to sources. “Jimmy was a key artist in establishing and solidifying the amphitheater model,” says Brock Holt, a longtime Nashville promoter who is now a touring consultant, “and opened the doors for a higher financial return for artists.”
“He was the only one who had the leverage to do it. He toured perennially and did the same amount of business each time. The Parrotheads came out. It was a yearly ritual,” says Randy Phillips, former CEO of promoter AEG Live, and now a consultant for Silver Lake, an investment group whose portfolio includes Madison Square Garden Sports and Endeavor. “He was the anchor to Live Nation’s schedule so it was really critical. He used that to negotiate.”
Buffett’s longtime touring reps, including Live Nation, attorney Joel Katz and agent Howard Rose, did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Copyright Office issued a ruling on Tuesday (Sept. 5), confirming that songwriters and publishers are owed late fees when streaming services do not pay royalties to the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) on time. This, however, does not apply to the major adjustments in royalty payments currently underway following the re-setting of Phonorecords III rates (2018-2022), according to the office.
Late fees have been an ongoing debate between the music publishing industry and streaming services dating back to the passage of the Music Modernization Act (the MMA) in 2018. That landmark law switched how streaming services licensed music, from a song-by-song piecemeal system — which many considered ineffective and cumbersome — to a blanket licensing regime instead.
The law took effect starting Jan. 1, 2021, requiring digital music providers like Spotify and Apple Music to go to the newly created MLC to obtain a blanket mechanical license to reproduce music on these platforms. As part of the new system, streamers had to pay out royalties owed to the MLC, which then pays the writers and publishers, each month. More specifically, the law stipulates mechanicals are due “45 calendar days after the end of the monthly reporting period.”
After that, any lagging payment is considered late and subject to additional penalties, according to the MMA. For the current period of Phonorecords IV (2023-2027), the Copyright Royalty Board judges say that a streaming service must pay a late fee of 1.5% per month, or the highest lawful rate, whichever of those two is lower, for any payment owed to the music’s copyright owners that hadn’t been paid on time. The late fees accrue from the due date until the copyright owner receives payment.
The main source of debate around late fees is whether they should apply in the case of a monthly payment that needs adjustment after it is paid out. Streaming services have argued that “‘[i]f a service is following the regulations by making a reasonable estimate of an input it does not know the value of, it should not be penalized with a late fee even if it so happens that the estimate is too low.”
On the other side, the MLC has argued that allowing such exceptions would incentivize the streaming services to intentionally draw up payment estimates that undervalue what is owed to songwriters and publishers.
The Tuesday ruling by the Copyright Office settles the debate: “The Office concludes that the statute’s due date provisions are unambiguous. The statute’s reference to ‘due date for payment’ clearly refers to the date on which monthly royalty payments are required to be delivered to the MLC, i.e., no later than forty-five days after the end of the monthly reporting period.”
“This is a major victory for music creators who have waited far too long to be made whole from the appeal which significantly delayed their compensation,” says NMPA President and CEO David Israelite. “The USCO’s decision reiterates our assertion that the due dates are unambiguous and any past-due payments to the MLC must come with appropriate statutory penalties.”