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Content creator and streamer N3ON has signed a record deal with EMPIRE, the company tells Billboard. Through the agreement, which EMPIRE calls the first of its kind with a streamer, the label will release a collaborative project from N3ON and his network of creatives. Jake Moritt at Proper Loud, a management company that specializes in […]
Jay-Z has filed an unusual new allegation in his legal war with attorney Tony Buzbee, accusing the lawyer of ordering employees at his law firm to edit Wikipedia pages in an effort to damage the rapper’s reputation.
The new claim is the latest salvo in a bitter fight that started when Buzbee filed a shocking lawsuit accusing Jay-Z of raping an unnamed girl decades ago. Jay-Z vehemently denied the allegation, which has since been voluntarily dropped, and has blasted Buzbee for allegedly trying to extort him.
In an updated version of an earlier case against Buzbee and his client filed Monday (May 5), Jay-Z is adding an eyebrow-raising new claim: That the lawyer made sneaky edits to Wikipedia as part of his alleged plot to harm the rapper.
“In violation of Wikipedia’s rules, Buzbee directed his employees to edit Wikipedia pages to enhance Buzbee’s image and damage Mr. Carter’s and Roc Nation’s reputations,” Jay-Z’s attorneys write in the amended complaint. “Users with an IP address directly linked to the Buzbee Firm made over 100 positive edits to Buzbee’s Wikipedia page.”
The lawsuit does not elaborate on what exact edits were allegedly made to Wikipedia. Reps for Jay-Z did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a statement to Billboard on Tuesday, Buzbee strongly denied the new allegation and the rest of Jay-Z’s claims: “Most of the pleading is nonsensical. All of it is meritless.”
The case against Jay-Z, filed in December, claimed that he and Sean “Diddy” Combs drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Jay-Z forcefully denied the allegations, calling them a “blackmail attempt.” After just two months of heated litigation, Doe dropped her case without a settlement payment.
Weeks after the case was dropped, Jay-Z sued both Doe and Buzbee, accusing her of defamation and accusing both of malicious prosecution and other wrongdoing. The lawsuit called it an “evil conspiracy” against the rapper: “The extortion and abuse of Mr. Carter by Doe and her lawyers must stop.”
Buzbee and his client have denied the lawsuit’s allegations and moved to dismiss the case — arguing, among other things, that she cannot be sued for defamation over allegations made as part of a lawsuit.
Beyond the Wikipedia claims, Monday’s new complaint makes several other notable changes to the earlier lawsuit.
The new version of the case now also targets Antigone Curis, a New York attorney who served as co-counsel in the original rape lawsuit against Jay-Z. Naming Curis as a co-defendant, Jay-Z alleges that Buzbee “used Curis” because he himself was not admitted to practice law in Manhattan federal court — an issue that has since come to light in several of Buzbee’s cases against Combs in New York.
“It is clear that Curis joined the conspiracy to extort Mr. Carter, which was hatched in Alabama, and quickly became an integral part of the scheme by using her admission to the [Southern District of New York], weaponizing the civil justice system,” Jay-Z’s attorneys write in the new case.
The lawsuit also includes new claims about the alleged harm caused to Jay-Z by the rape accusation. It says Roc Nation lost contracts in the sports and entertainment space that would have generated at least $20 million; that Jay was personally denied a $55 million personal credit line; and that a company he’s associated with was denied a $115 million loan.
“At trial, plaintiff will present evidence demonstrating how the extortionate scheme, and the false complaint filed in New York, resulted in the loss of business opportunities to Mr. Carter [and] have served to preclude him from new business opportunities,” his attorneys write, before later adding: “Buzbee, Doe, and their co-conspirators must answer for all of this.”
Live events company Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) improved its revenue 6% to $243 million in the fiscal third quarter ended March 31, the company announced Tuesday (May 6). Operating income of $27.3 million marked a 63% improvement. The results “reflect continued strong consumer and corporate demand as well as a wide variety of live […]
As the sex trafficking trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs kicks off with jury selection in New York this week, radio DJs have all but dropped the Bad Boy Records founder’s catalog from their airwaves, Luminate data reviewed by Billboard shows.
Songs by Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and Diddy accrued just 1,671 airplay spins year to date, an 86% decline from the same time frame last year when the artists’ catalog racked up 11,870 airplay spins, according to Luminate. For a comparison, Diddy collaborator and Bad Boy artist Notorious B.I.G.’s catalog accrued 63,390 spins since the start of the year, Luminate data shows.
The decline in commercial radio play doesn’t just reflect a public turn away from the artist who is accused of running a large-scale criminal operation for his own “sexual gratification.” It also means the artist’s catalog could generate less than the $3 million in revenue that Billboard estimates it generated annually from master recording and publishing revenue from streams, sales and radio airplay between 2021 and 2023.
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Representatives for Diddy did not respond to requests for comment.
Revenue from music streaming subscriptions is still the most significant source of income for music companies, artists and other owners’ music rights. However, commercial radio play remains a significant source of income for the publishing side, sources said.
“For a mature catalogue, such as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs … that portion of income impacted by a sharp decline in radio airplay is limited to 6 percent to 9 percent of total publishing royalties,” says Barry Massarsky, a partner at Citrin Cooperman and head of the firm’s music and entertainment valuation practice. Massarsky cautioned that only the catalog’s publishing revenue can be analyzed because there is no entitled performance right for sound recordings played on U.S. commercial radio.
In the United States, the performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI pay a base rate of roughly 50 cents to publishing companies per radio spin. As radio airplay can influence stream counts, there is a residual paid out on the master recording royalties that brings the total payment per airplay stream to roughly $1. Popular songs can earn additional bonus money.
While the Diddy catalog’s airplay spins did not put him within reach of any bonus money — bonuses are typically paid out for songs that top 135,000 spins in a quarter — Billboard estimates his catalog’s publishing revenue was $10,200 less for the first 16 weeks this year compared to last year. If Diddy’s songs continue to generate the same average per-week-radio airplay spins they did at the start of the year — an average of 117 per week — it would mean a year over year decline of $34,300 compared to last year.
As of June 2024, Diddy owned his master recording catalog and publishing, which Billboard estimated earned about $2.4 million in master recording revenue and $600,000 in publishing revenue annually for the years from 2021 to 2023. Diddy’s share was $2.625 million in each of those years, Billboard estimated. Those estimates do not include credits and royalties for music assets beyond his own artist catalog.
It is unclear to what extent the accusations and lawsuits against Diddy may have contributed to the decline in airplay because airplay spins for his catalog rose for roughly the first four months of both 2023 and 2024, when several allegations that would later lead to lawsuits were already public.
Last year, Diddy’s catalog had the best start of the year in terms of airplay spins that it has had for any similar 16-week period since 2020, when the catalog accrued about 7,700 airplay spins. The second best 16-week period for Diddy’s catalog in terms of airplay spins was the start of 2023, when the catalog racked up nearly 11,000 spins.
Despite the decline in airplay, Diddy’s catalog remains popular on streaming platforms, though streaming activity during this period was almost half of what it was last year and was the lowest for this period than during any of the past five years.
In the first 16 weeks of this year through April 24, Diddy’s catalog accumulated roughly 29 million U.S. on-demand streams compared to nearly 52.7 million U.S. on-demand streams for the same period in 2024. The only other start-of-the-year stretch over the last five years when Diddy’s catalog had such a low stream count was in 2020, when it racked up 29.7 million on-demand streams from Jan. 1, 2020, to April 23, 2020.
Andrea Bocelli signed an exclusive, five-year worldwide agreement with AEG Presents for the creation and management of his live performances, in collaboration with his management team (Veronica Berti and Francesco Pasquero), agency WME and record label Universal Music Group. The deal, which begins on Jan. 1, 2026, covers all of Bocelli’s ticketed live events globally.
Mark Ambor, who scored his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with the smash 2024 track “Belong Together,” signed to Capitol Records. The singer-songwriter is currently touring in Europe and set to play festivals including Governors Ball, Lollapalooza (in both Chicago and Berlin) and Outside Lands. He concluded his North American tour last year.
Don McLean (“American Pie”) signed with Day After Day Productions for exclusive global touring representation. The singer-songwriter currently has more than a dozen tour dates lined up in the U.S.
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Country singer-songwriter Ink signed with Big Loud Records and Electric Feel Records. She is managed by SALXCO. Ink co-wrote three tracks for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, including “16 Carriages,” “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “American Requiem,” as well as Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s smash single “Luther,” among many other credits.
Management firm Shelter Music Group announced the signings of five artists: Cheap Trick, Boys Like Girls, Chiodos, American Hi-Fi and Dead Poet Society. Cheap Trick is gearing up for its 2025 tour and a new album; Boys Like Girls will support the Jonas Brothers on its 20th anniversary stadium and arena tour; Chiodos is currently touring to promote the 20th anniversary of All’s Well That Ends Well and will embark on another tour in the fall, with a new studio album and more touring to come next year; American Hi-Fi are gearing up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band’s self-titled debut album; and Dead Poet Society are set to tour across Europe and the U.K. this summer, and later across the U.S. in support of Chevelle.
New Found Glory signed to Pure Noise Records, which released the band’s latest single, “100%.” The band is set to perform at Slam Dunk Music Festival before touring with The Offspring and Jimmy Eat World on the SUPERCHARGED: Worldwide in ’25 Tour in North America, followed by several U.K. headline dates.
Country singer-songwriter Mark Chesnutt signed with Conway Entertainment Group/Ontourage Management for management and Absolutely Publicity for PR. Chesnutt is represented by Risha Rodgers at WME’s Nashville division for live bookings.
RaeLynn signed with The Valory Music Co., which will release her latest track, “Heaven Is a Honky Tonk,” on Friday (May 9) in partnership with Red Van Records/Jonas Group Entertainment. The country singer-songwriter is touring with Jason Aldean on his Full Throttle Tour this summer.
British Columbia-based singer-songwriter Luca Fogale signed to Nettwerk, which released “Begin,” his first single of 2025, with more music set for release in the coming months. Fogale just wrapped a headline tour of North America and is currently touring in Europe. He’s managed by Colin McTaggart and Piers Henwood at Amelia Artists and booked by Grant Paley at Midnight Agency for Canada.
R&B artist RAAHiiM (“Peak (Fed Up)”) signed with MNRK Music Group, which released his single “Just Like Me” on Friday (May 2). He’s set to support Jessie Reyez on her North American tour beginning on June 10. RAAHiiM is managed by Joven Haye and booked by Olivia Mirabella, Yves Pierre and Jacqueline Reynolds-Drumm at CAA.
Capitol Christian Music Group signed singer-songwriter Eli Gable, whose debut single, “Holy Ghost Town,” releases May 16. The Ohio native moved to Nashville in 2020 and creates music that blends worship, folk and rock styles. Gable will join Rend Collective on the Folk! 2025 Fall Tour starting Oct. 17 in Portland, Maine. The CCMG roster also includes Chris Tomlin, Blessing Offor, Crowder and Franni Cash. – Jessica Nicholson
Universal Music Korea signed hip-hop artists Okasian and Bryan Chase. Both rose to prominence in Korea as part of The Cohort’s hip-hop crew. Both recently featured on “LOV3,” a track off Sik-k and Lil Moshpit’s [K-FLIP+] EP released in March.
Revlon has fully settled a corporate espionage lawsuit that claimed several former employees “sabotaged” the company’s decades-old fragrance partnership with Britney Spears.
The case, filed last year by Revlon and its Elizabeth Arden unit, accused four ex-staffers of stealing trade secrets and breaching their contracts by taking the Britney account to upstart rival Give Back Beauty – a move the lawsuit described as a “heist.”
But over the past few months, Revlon has quietly struck deals to resolve those claims – first with Give Back Beauty and one of the execs in February, then last week with three more ex-staffers. On Monday, the judge signed off on the latter deal and ruled that the “matter be closed.”
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The settlements have cleared the way for Give Back Beauty to formally take over Britney’s lucrative perfume brand. In a February press release, the smaller company announced that it had “signed a transition agreement” with Revlon to clear the use of the intellectual property and end the legal dispute.
“My fragrance business has always held a special place in my heart,” Spears said at the time. “It’s always been a way for me to connect with my fans, who I love. I’m excited for this new chapter and bringing more beauty into the world with Give Back Beauty.”
A rep for Revlon did not immediately return a request for comment on the resolution of the litigation.
Spears first inked a deal with Elizabeth Arden in 2004, launching her “Curious” scent later that year to a reported $100 million in sales. By 2013, that brand had reportedly sold more than 500 million bottles and the overall Spears-Arden partnership was earning $30 million a year. But last year Spears declined to renew the deal and instead signed with Give Back Beauty, an Italian firm founded in 2017.
Faced with the loss of a valuable partnership, Revlon went the legal route – claiming that Britney had not simply walked away, but had been illegally poached by Give Back Beauty. The lawsuit claimed four Arden staffers (Vanessa Kidd, Dominick Romeo, Reid Mulvihill and Ashley Fass) had secretly helped orchestrate the star’s departure, including one who allegedly “acted as a double-agent” – working directly with Give Back Beauty while ostensibly negotiating with Britney’s team to renew her Revlon deal.
“Revlon and Elizabeth Arden were completely unaware that Revlon’s own team was actively sabotaging one of their most valuable licensing relationships,” the company’s lawyers claimed at the time. Spears herself was not named in the lawsuit nor accused of any wrongdoing.
Give Back Beauty and the former execs strongly denied the allegations, arguing in a later legal response that Revlon had gone to court with a “false narrative” of espionage and corporate raiding simply because it was angry that it had been beaten by a competitor.
“Revlon’s motion is … an anticompetitive ruse to damage a competitor because Revlon, weakened in the market by its recent bankruptcy, cannot compete fairly with GBB, and seeks to frustrate GBB’s transition of Britney Brands, at the same time, sending a warning about future competition from an international rival that poses a growing threat to Revlon’s market share,” the smaller company’s lawyers wrote at the time.
But by February, despite the strongly-word legal broadsides, Give Back Beauty and Revlon had apparently struck a deal to end their dispute. Beyond allowing Give Back to take over the IP for the brand, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed in court filings.
“Give Back Beauty will bring Britney’s fragrance and beauty business to another level,” Corrado Brondi, the company’s founder, wrote at the time. “We are looking forward to building on that legacy, introducing innovations to her product lines and expanding the brand into new markets globally, while ensuring that the spirit and authenticity of her brand remain intact.”
The February settlements covered Give Back itself and Ashley Fass; the settlement approved Monday covered Kidd, Romeo, Mulvihill. Reps for both sides did not immediately return requests for comment.
Camila Cabello and her longtime manager Roger Gold have parted ways, Billboard can confirm. Gold (of Gold Music Management) has managed the star since the start of her solo career in 2016, around the time of Fifth Harmony‘s breakup. Cabello released her debut solo single, “Havana,” featuring Young Thug, the following year in 2017. The […]
Create Music Group (CMG) has acquired indie electronic label Monstercat.
Founded in Waterloo, Canada, in 2011 and now with offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, Monstercat will continue to be operated by president Daniel Turcotte, vp Orri Sachar and director of finance Rob Hill. Monstercat founders Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen will have advisory roles.
The acquisition will provide Monstercat with access to CMG’s global infrastructure, media portfolio and capital — enabling it to offer more competitive deal structures and better marketing support while expanding its global presence.
Beyond the acquisition, Create plans to invest an additional $50 million into the label over the next two years, with the money specifically going towards artist development, advances, and support for new signees and longtime roster artists.
Since 2011, Monstercat has released more than 8,000 recordings from artists across the electronic spectrum, including Kaskade, Alan Walker, Vicetone, Punctual, Whipped, DJ Diesel (the artist name of Shaquille O’Neal), Koven and more. Monstercat sublabels servicing various subgenres include Uncaged, Silk and Instinct.
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“Our mission has always been to build sustainable, long-term careers for exceptional artists,” Turcotte said in a statement. “Create gives us the reach and support to do that at a larger scale, without changing what makes Monstercat special. We’re still artist-first — only now with more tools to serve them.”
“Monstercat is everything an independent label should strive to be — exclusive, globally trusted and capable of breaking artists and songs at the highest levels,” added Create Music Group co-founder/CEO Jonathan Strauss. “Mike, Ari, Daniel, Orri, and the entire Monstercat team have built a culture and community at a scale rarely achieved in the music industry. We are excited to support their mission.”
The news marks the continuation of a recent acquisition spree by Create, with the company announcing in March that it acquired both the deadmau5 catalog and the catalog of the producer’s mau5trap label in a deal valued at $55 million. In April, it announced its acquisition of longtime indie electronic label !K7.
In 2024, Create received $165 million in backing from private equity company Flexpoint Ford, with Strauss at the time saying that the money would be used to scale operations, expand services and fund acquisitions.
The company is now aggressively pursuing acquisitions and investments in key indie labels and artists, with a goal of building intellectual property that can be successfully exploited via its platform. A representative for Create says this platform includes distribution and an owned audience that generates more than 200 billion monthly music streams on digital service providers.
Sara Nix and Joe Mortimer have been named co-heads of creative at Capitol Music Group, based at the label’s iconic Capitol Tower in Hollywood.
Nix joins Capitol after six years as executive producer at Partizan, the company founded by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry. With nearly 15 years of global production experience, she has worked with artists like Pharrell Williams, Billie Eilish and Burna Boy, and directors such as Warren Fu and Ally Pankiw. Her portfolio spans music videos, branded documentaries and short films for major lifestyle and brand clients. Nix began her career in Amsterdam and has led projects across continents.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Capitol team,” said Nix. “It’s an iconic label with a rich history, and I’m excited to collaborate with the incredible artists here to help them bring their creative visions to life.”
Mortimer joins the mothership after serving as creative director at CMG’s Astralwerks since 2018, where he led global campaigns for Marshmello, Illenium, Zhu, and others, while also collaborating with Capitol artists like The Beatles and Katy Perry. He worked on the Grammy-nominated campaign for Troye Sivan’s Something to Give Each Other. Previously based in London, Mortimer was an art director for acts like Jungle and Bob Moses, and has collaborated with top creatives including Jack Bridgland and Hannah Lux Davis.
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In 2025, Mortimer co-created the California Picture Project, a photographic print sale that raised funds for the Los Angeles wildfires, with contributions from over 160 artists including Spike Jonze, Sofia Coppola, Gabriel Moses, Nadia Lee Cohen, and Petra Collins.
“Over the years I’ve worked closely with many of the executives and artists at Capitol,” said Mortimer. “I’m so excited to be taking on this role to steer the creative vision of the label along with Sara.”
The executive team at CMG includes former Geffen head Tom March as chair/CEO and UMPG veteran Lilia Parsa as president, replacing ex-CMG chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer and president Arjun Pulijal earlier this year. These changes were part of a significant restructuring of Universal Music Group’s label organization, placing UMG’s West Coast labels — Interscope, Geffen, A&M, Capitol, Blue Note, Priority, Verve and Motown — under the oversight of John Janick as part of the Interscope Capitol Labels Group.
“Sara and Joe come to Capitol after having worked with some of the most acclaimed artists, directors and creative visionaries in the world,” said March. “Together they form a potent team to help the incredible artists on our label reach their full creative potential and drive our ongoing transformation at Capitol.”
The Brooklyn Mirage remains closed after building inspectors declined to grant the recently renovated facility a permit to open on Friday (May 2) for the first of two back-to-back concerts by Sara Landry.
Sources monitoring the situation say Mirage officials were given a list of fixes that needed to be completed for the club to open following an extensive renovation at the venue complex Avant Garner, which includes the 80,000-square-foot, 6,000-capacity Williamsburg nightclub. Widely recognized as one of the top stops in New York for electronic and dance acts, the Mirage had operated for years with the support of New York Mayor Eric Adams, whose office has intervened on Avant Gardner’s behalf as part of an ongoing legal fight with New York’s State Liquor Authority (SLA). An Avant Gardner representative declined to comment on the proposed fixes.
The SLA threatened to revoke the Brooklyn Mirage’s liquor license several times in the past and convened a meeting that included representatives from the governor’s office to settle the dispute. Such high-placed help has been absent during this latest debacle, which has left the Mirage unable to open and facing the possibility of further cancellations as soon as Friday (May 9), when Loud Luxury is scheduled to perform at the facility.
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“We are doing everything in our power to get back on track — safely and in full compliance — as soon as possible,” reads a statement from Avant Gardener on the Brooklyn Mirage website.
At issue are new design elements at the Mirage, which is said to be one of the largest prefabricated timber structures ever built, at 65 feet high. The venue includes a wraparound LED wall with more than 3,000 LED panels; a fully kinetic shutter system; an L-Acoustics sound system with more than 100 speakers and subwoofers; a 90-foot stage; and 20,000 tons of rigging capacity. Crews have also expanded the space by adding three VIP mezzanines and two general admission dance floors.
“We want to be clear: the venue is show ready and the New Mirage has been built to exacting safety, structural, mechanical and technical specifications,” wrote Mirage officials in an Instagram post. “However, we were not able to meet the final inspection deadline.”
“This isn’t about construction, but compliance,” the post continued. “We’re working closely with city officials and will continue to be transparent throughout this process.”
The Mirage closed months ago with Avant Gardner’s new CEO, Josh Wyatt, promising to reopen the club on Thursday (May 1) after expanding its dance floor from a 5,500-person capacity to 6,250. As the opening date approached, videos and pictures of the renovation project started appearing online, with many fans openly questioning whether the venue would meet its deadline.
Wyatt took over as CEO last fall, and, in an open letter released a few months later, he promised to revive the Brooklyn Mirage as a “world class music and dance experience underpinned by extraordinary design and hospitality.”