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RuPaul’s Drag Race and We’re Here star Shangela has denied allegations in a civil suit filed by a former production assistant on the latter series claiming that the drag star (born Darius Jeremy “DJ” Pierce) drugged and raped him after a 2020 wrap party.
“I can’t begin to explain how hurt and disgusted I am by these totally untrue allegations. They are personally offensive and perpetuate damaging stereotypes that are harmful not only to me, but also to my entire community,” Pierce said in a statement to Billboard on Friday (May 5).
The statement came in reaction to a civil suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday in which Daniel McGarrigle, a We’re Here production assistant, claimed that Pierce sexually assaulted him in February 2020 after a wrap party for the fifth episode of the HBO reality series featuring several Drag Race contestants, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“An external investigation into this embittered individual’s claims previously concluded that they were completely without merit,” Pierce continued in the statement. The performer added of the new filing, “No one should be fooled: It has no basis in fact or in law, and it will not succeed.”
Pierce added, “As a hardworking and outspoken drag entertainer for more than a decade, I know that I am far from alone in battling ignorance, bigotry and prejudice, all of which played a role in the filing of this complaint. That is why I will fight this entirely meritless lawsuit and not allow it to destroy me and those I love, or harm the causes we all stand for.”
According to THR, McGarrigle alleges in the suit that during party at a Ruston, La., restaurant/bar, Pierce was “heavily flirtatious” with him and bought him several drinks before allegedly suggesting that McGarrigle accompany him to his hotel to help get ready for an early flight. The suit then claims that McGarrigle vomited in the toilet after arriving in Pierce’s room, at which point the performer reportedly offered to get him water and let him lie down until he felt better.
The production assistant claims in the lawsuit he woke up later that evening to a cold liquid that “burned his eyes and nose” being poured on him that was described as a kind of “poppers” (aka amyl nitrite) before Pierce allegedly pulled down his pants and “overpowered” him.
In a separate statement shared with Billboard from producers Buckingham Television and HBO, the representatives for the series said, “Buckingham Television, the production company for We’re Here, received a complaint late summer 2021 regarding an incident that was alleged to have occurred in early 2020. Buckingham and HBO take the safety and well-being of personnel on our shows very seriously, and Buckingham immediately launched an investigation. The investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support these allegations.”
The suit claims that the alleged rape was an act of gender violence, and that McGarrigle suffered damages as a result, including “past and future medical expenses, past and future lost earnings and earning capacity, pain, suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish and embarrassment.” The legal action is seeking unspecified damages from Pierce and Buckingham.
Brooke Primont was promoted to executive vp of global sync at Concord Music Publishing, where she will lead the company’s 17-person synch team worldwide, the company tells Billboard.
Based in New York City, Primont will lead all of Concord’s publishing synch operations, managing teams in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia — along with the company’s global sub publisher network — while creating synergies across the Concord catalog. She will report to chief publishing officer Jim Selby.
Primont joined Concord more than five years ago as head of the North American publishing synch department. Recent achievements by her team include a Super Bowl ad for UberEats featuring Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”; Ericdoa’s “ >one (greater than one)” for the Valorant video game series; Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” in the trailer for Air; and The Polyphonic Spree‘s “Hold Me Now” in the trailer for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“I am excited to expand my role by bringing together Concord’s sync teams around the world, allowing us to broaden the scope and diversify the opportunities that we can offer our songwriters and composers,” said Primont in a statement. “The global Concord Music Publishing sync team is truly something special, we have developed unparalleled relationships across the entertainment industry, and it doesn’t hurt that our catalog is full of some of the best songs ever written.”
Selby added, “Brooke has already taken our sync division to new heights. I know that this new role will further expand her capabilities, bringing more opportunities to more of our writers and enriching our catalogue.”
Over her 25 years in music publishing, Primont has served in roles at BMI, Cherry Lane Music Publishing and Razor & Tie. She currently serves on the executive boards for the AIMP New York chapter and Kid Pan Alley.
The Paley Center for Media announced that Combs Global and REVOLT chairman Sean “Diddy” Combs and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joined the entertainment industry nonprofit’s board of trustees alongside LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and Alibaba Group co-founder/executive vice chairman Joseph C. Tsai. Additionally, FOX Entertainment CEO Rob Wade joined the Paley Los Angeles board of governors. According to a press release, the organization’s board of trustees “offers guidance in support of the organization’s mission to lead the conversation around today’s rapidly evolving media landscape and provides critical input on strategy and operations, including public programs and exhibits, educational classes, workshops, and industry events hosted by the Paley Media Council.”
Recently formed multimedia platform gamma., founded by Larry Jackson, is expanding operations into Africa and the Middle East and has named Sipho Dlamani as president of Africa & Middle East and Naomi Campbell as special advisor of Africa & Middle East. The Africa operation will be based in Lagos, Nigeria and the Middle East operation will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dlamini most recently served as CEO of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa; Campbell, an internationally recognized supermodel and UN Commonwealth Ambassador, is the founder of Fashion For Relief and The Emerge Initiative, among other endeavors. In its debut in the region last Friday, gamma. exclusively distributed and marketed Rema‘s album, Rave & Roses (Ultra) in African territories.
AWAL announced the appointment of its U.K. executive leadership team, including Matt Riley as managing director; and Victoria Needs and Sam Potts as senior vps. Riley will expand his current oversight as the company’s head of A&R, working with AWAL president Paul Hitchman and CEO Lonny Olinick to sign new artists and develop the company’s roster. Needs will add the U.K. market to her existing international marketing duties for AWAL, while Potts will continue working with the executive leadership team to maximize audience development and growth strategies for AWAL artists across traditional and digital media.
Also at AWAL, Cami Operé was named vp/head of publicity. She joins the company from Sacks & Co., where she was vp of publicity and led public relations efforts for artists including Lizzy McAlpine, Jungle and Bruno Major. She can be reached at cami.opere@awal.com.
Sara Knabe was named senior vp of A&R at Big Loud, where she will work with both the Big Loud Records and Big Loud Publishing A&R teams. Knabe joins following a year spent founding and developing Cake Maker Music, her own music publishing, artist development and A&R consulting company; she previously served in roles at BBR Music Group and BMG, among others. Knabe can be reached at saraknabe@bigloud.com.
Steve Ziff was named chief business officer at Loud And Live, where he will oversee the company’s marketing services and enterprise-wide business development efforts, offering strategic guidance to grow the company’s portfolio. He joins the company from Thrill One Sports, where he served as chief marketing officer/chief communications officer. Ziff can be reached at sziff@loudlive.com.
Second Estate Records, a new label founded by A&R veteran and entrepreneur Mel Carter, appointed Katie Kay as general manager and Adise Bellille as president. Together, Kay and Bellille will oversee forthcoming releases from 2Rare and more acts in partnership with Warner Records, with which Second Estate has a joint venture. Kay most recently served as vp of marketing at Cinematic Music Group, while Bellille is an entertainment and hospitality entrepreneur who founded New York-based nightlife hub Carefree Nation, among other endeavors. Kay can be reached at Katie@secondestaterecords.com and Bellille can be reached at Adise@secondestaterecords.com.
Suzi Ibbotson was named director of communications at PPL; she joins from Unilever Global, where she held the same role. She will report to CEO Peter Leathem and join the company’s executive management team. Ibbotson can be reached at suzi.ibbotson@ppluk.com.
The board of Hipgnosis announced that Vania Schlogel stepped down as a director, effective April 30, to focus on her firm, Atwater Capital. “Vania is an exceptional executive and her experience in every aspect of investment and music has been invaluable in making Hipgnosis the market leader,” said Hipgnosis Songs Fund CEO/founder Merck Mercuriadis in a statement. “We appreciate her terrific contributions to Hipgnosis Songs Fund during her time on the Board and wish her every success in the future.”
Independent publishing company peermusic announced three promotions in its Canada office as well as its neighboring rights division, including Neville Quinlan to managing director of publishing & neighbouring rights, Canada; Cheryl Link to general manager of peermusic’s Toronto publishing operations; and Rachael Clark to head of administration at peermusic Canada. Quinlan can be reached at nquinlan@peermusic.com, Link can be reached at clink@peermusic.com and Clark can be reached at rclark@peermusic.com.
The U.K. office of independent record company Because Music and London Records has announced several senior appointments. They include Rhian Emanuel, promoted to managing director at Because Music UK; Laura Kelly, promoted to managing director at London Records; Ed Pearson, promoted to senior vp of marketing, dance & electronic at Because Music UK; and Junior Foster, hired as digital marketing & strategy manager at London Records, which he joins from Deezer.
Brian Celler was named senior vp of content and programming, Europe at ASM Global. He will be responsible for the company’s music, entertainment and sports content throughout its European and U.K. portfolio. The 25-year veteran has previously held roles at Q Prime, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Principle Management. Celler can be reached at Brian.Celler@eu.asmglobal.com.
Ashley Gorley‘s publishing and artist development company, Tape Room Music, promoted all three members of its team. Blain Rhodes was named president, Kelly Bolton was named senior vp of A&R and Caroline Hodson was named manager of A&R.
Holly Schomann was promoted to senior director of program & project management at TuneCore, where she will now oversee a team of project managers to ensure proper execution of software development processes and internal reporting.
Todd Bonder joined Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt‘s Los Angeles office as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice. Bonder focuses on intellectual property and general civil litigation, emphasizing entertainment, new media, trademark, copyright, rights of publicity and privacy and publishing matters, as well as unfair competition, trust, probate, contract, real estate and construction disputes. He can be reached at tbonder@reitlerlaw.com.
Veteran agent Stefanie Purificati joined The Feldman Agency in Canada, where she brings clients including Digging Roots, Aysanabee, iskwē and Tynomi Banks to the roster. She will be based out of the company’s Toronto office and can be reached at purificati@feldman-agency.com.
Found Objects, the music and sound collective founded by film/TV composers Jay Wadley and Trevor Gureckis, promoted Katt Matt to executive producer and Nick Chomowicz to senior producer. The collective specializes in sound design and music supervision for film, TV and brands.
Sue Ann Cordell joined Reliant Talent Agency, where she will be responsible for human resources, office administration and executive assistance. She has held roles at companies including WME and is also the owner of life coaching and event-speaking company Shineworthy Lifestyles, among other ventures. Cordell can be reached at sacordell@relianttalent.com.
Maria Eiliert was named account executive at Shore Fire Media out of its Nashville office, elevated from junior account executive. She joined the firm after graduating from Belmont University with a music business degree in November 2020.
Rachel Brittain joined The Neal Agency as a commercial and brand partnerships agent. She joins from FlyteVu, where she served as an account manager and was part of the talent team, connecting artists to brands. She can be reached at Rachel@TheNealAgency.net.
Labelcoin, a blockchain-based song exchange and investment marketplace “striving to end artist poverty with fan-supported investment in artists’ songs,” according to a press release, launched a business advisory council that so far includes Mark Dvornik, former head of U.S. distribution at Paramount Pictures; Hummingbird Productions founder/president Bob Farnsworth; G2G Enterprises founder/CEO Lee Guzofski; and MRSV Media CEO Loren Johnson.
It’s been nearly seven months since Adidas split with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and boxes of his popular Yeezy shoes are still piled up in warehouses.
The fate of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of unsold Yeezy stock is weighing on the German sportswear company as it tries to engineer a turnaround from the loss of the lucrative sneaker line and the continued fallout over its former ties to Ye.
Adidas is “getting closer and closer to making a decision” on what do to with the sneakers and the “options are narrowing,” new CEO Bjorn Gulden said in a conference call Friday (May 5) after reporting 400 million euros ($441 million) in lost sales at the start of the year. But with “so many interested parties” involved in the discussions, no decision had yet been reached, he said.
Adidas is stuck with stacks of its flagship Yeezy brand shoes after ending its relationship with Ye in October over his antisemitic and other offensive comments on social media and in interviews.
Gulden, who became CEO in January after the Ye split, declined to say if destroying the shoes had been ruled out but that the company was “trying to avoid that.” He has previously said other options have drawbacks: selling the sneakers would mean paying royalties to Ye, restitching them to remove the brand identification would be dishonest, and giving them away to people in need could lead to resale because of their high market value.
Gulden would not say how many pairs of Yeezy shoes that Adidas is stuck holding “because then the consumer would know how many we have and that could have an impact on demand.”
Losing the Yeezy brand is “of course hurting us,” Gulden said in a statement. The breakup will reduce earnings by 500 million euros this year if Adidas decides not to sell the remaining Yeezy stock, the Herzogenaurach-based company said.
Net sales declined 1% in the first quarter, to 5.27 billion euros, and would have risen 9% with the Yeezy line, the company said. It reported a net loss of 24 million euros, a plunge from a profit of 310 million euros in the same period a year ago.
Operating profit, which excludes some items like taxes, was down to 60 million euros from 437 million euros a year earlier. Gulden said the results for the Adidas were “a little better than we had expected” as the company seeks to restart growth and move beyond the breakup with Ye. He called 2023 “a year of transition” on the way to “a better ’24 and a good ’25.”
The company faces other problems tied to the rapper. Investors sued Adidas a week ago in the U.S., alleging the company knew about Ye’s offensive remarks and harmful behavior years before the split and failed to take precautionary measures to limit financial losses.
The lawsuit — representing people who bought Adidas securities between May 3, 2018, and February 21, 2023 — pointed to 2018 comments where Ye suggested slavery was a “choice” and reports of Ye making antisemitic statements in front of Adidas staff.
The company said last week that it rejected “these unfounded claims and will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them.” Ending the Ye partnership also cost Adidas 600 million euros in lost sales in the last three months of 2022, helping drive the company to a net loss of 513 million euros.
An operating loss of 700 million euros is possible this year, Adidas said, mostly due to the 500 million-euro hit it would take if it doesn’t sell the existing Yeezy shoes.
After teeing up Wall Street for a difficult fiscal second quarter, the tech giant Apple beat analyst expectations for the quarter, delivering revenue of $94.8 billion (expectations were for $92.9 billion), down 3 percent year over year, and earnings per share of $1.52, flat compared to last year (expectations were for an EPS of $1.43).
Apple’s services segment, which includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and other offerings, continues to grow at a rapid clip, reporting revenue of $20.9 billion, a new record.
The company reported net income of $24.16 billion, down from $25 billion a year ago.
“We are pleased to report an all-time record in Services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “We continue to invest for the long term and lead with our values, including making major progress toward building carbon neutral products and supply chains by 2030.”
Apple also increased its dividend and announced an additional $90 billion in share repurchases.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Grammy-winning singer and actress Toni Braxton inked a new, all-encompassing production deal with Lifetime and A+E. Under the agreement, Braxton’s Braxtoni Production will oversee and executive produce multiple projects for the network. The production company will be based at Lifetime’s Los Angeles offices. Braxton has starred in and executive produced multiple movies for Lifetime over the last decade; in 2016, the network premiered Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, a biopic about Braxton starring Lex Scott Davis as the singer.
Primary Wave Music partnered with Indian record label and music publisher Times Music. Under the deal, Primary Wave will invest “significant capital” in the company while providing resources for additional Indian catalog investments and helping accelerate the growth of its existing regional, film and non-film music catalogs by assisting the Times Music team in uncovering opportunities in the United States, Europe and other markets in A&R, branding, synch, film/TV and digital marketing, according to a press release. Times Music is looking to make further investments in Bollywood and South Indian cinema music as well as “iconic Indian catalogs,” the release states. Times Music is a subsidiary of The Times of India Group.
Warner Music Singapore and Cross Ratio Entertainment, a leading Singaporean independent record label, signed an exclusive global distribution agreement. Under the deal, Warner Music Singapore will work closely with Cross Ratio on new releases, catalogs, brand partnerships, synchronization deals and marketing events as well as on identifying and upstreaming artists. The Cross Ratio roster includes Akeem Jahat, Alfred Sim, Belinda Lee, and Derrick Hoh; the label also distributes over 200 additional artists.
Academy Award-winning composer Justin Hurwitz (Whiplash, La La Land) partnered with music-for-advertising and sonic branding company Score a Score to expand Hurwitz’s “creative energy to the world of advertising — applying his unique ability to create ‘earworm’ melodies on the big screen to short-form campaigns,” according to a press release. Hurwitz has previously worked with brands including De’Loghi, Heineken and Louis Vuitton.
Will Ward — head of the talent, music, production and incubator company, Fourward — launched Fourward Ventures, a $50 million, early-stage growth fund actively investing in sectors including health and wellness, sustainability and consumer packaged goods. The company has successfully closed half the fund and is on track to close the rest by September 15. “The company seeks brands that disrupt traditional consumer categories through innovation and aims to drive change in society through products or services,” according to a press release, and will help “to quickly scale cutting edge early-stage brands into world-class businesses.” The fund has already invested in nine companies: Audio Up, Goodles, Lomi by Pela, Mad Rabbit, Patrake, Samsara, Starface, Julie and Bryn Pharma. Ten percent of carry profits will be set aside for three different charities not named in the release.
Advertising, communications, technology and commerce holding company WPP has acquired sonic branding agency amp sound branding. Under the deal, amp will join WPP’s brand and design consultancy, Landor & Fitch, adding to the agency’s expertise in delivering immersive brand identities for companies. Amp has created sonic identities for brands including Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, Kraft Heinz, Deloitte, Shell and General Motors.
The U.K. office of French music company Believe formed a partnership with underground dance music company Rinse to handle distribution and label services for its Rinse Recordings and Bad Music imprints. Under its new b:electronic global imprint, Believe will handle the global distribution for all Rinse and Bad Music frontline and catalog releases. Rinse will continue to handle day-to-day marketing for both imprints while benefitting from Believe’s audience development team across 50 countries, with a focus on audio and video plus editorial and marketing partnerships with digital service providers.
Warner Music UK and independent record label Brownswood Recordings formed a joint venture that will see WMUK “share its expertise in distribution, marketing, and promotion and give Brownswood Recordings access to a global network and a wealth of resources,” according to a press release. The first release under the deal will be Black Classical Music, the debut solo album from drummer/producer/artist Yussef Dayes, which is slated for release on September 8. Brownswood will continue to operate as an independent label, with its leadership team retaining creative control.
Credit Union 1 is the new name-in-title sponsor of the outdoor, 28,000-capacity venue formerly known as Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre at Tinley Park located in southwest Chicago. Now known as Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, the Live Nation venue is described as the latest addition to Credit Union 1’s entertainment naming rights portfolio in the greater Chicago area.
Insomniac Music Group partnered with free creator-safe music platform Slip.stream to make its music catalog — which includes songs from over 120 artists — to be made available and claim-free via Slip.stream’s online subscription license. Through its integration with FUGA and its Licensease API technology, Slip.stream will protect Insomniac’s copyrights on YouTube while allowing creators to use the music and monetize their videos on all platforms. The Insomniac catalog is now available to Slip.stream’s Pro and Commercial subscribers, though creators can sign up free with access to the rest of the Slip.stream catalog.
ASM Global formed a partnership with London Stadium in the United Kingdom to create additional event content for the venue’s upcoming calendar while also developing new commercial opportunities. Originally built to host the London 2012 Olympic Games, London Stadium is home to the Premier League football club in West Ham United as well as U.K. Athletics. It’s the second-largest concert capacity stadium in London.
FIVE Hotels and Resorts has struck a joint venture with Warner Music Group for the Dubai-based luxury brand’s record label, FIVE Music. To kick off the partnership, FIVE Music — alongside Warner Music Central Europe, Dabruck Creative and FIVE Music’s exclusive music publishing partner, Warner Chappell Music — is in the midst of hosting a music writing camp from April 28 to May 14 at FIVE Palm Jumeirah in Dubai with artists including Robin Schulz, Space Motion, Franky Wah and Alle Farben and songwriters including KIDDO, Bully Songs and Gez O’Connell. Through the deal, FIVE Music has also committed to establishing a state-of-the-art music studio — dubbed FIVE Music Studio — at the FIVE Palm Jumeirah.
Dequency — described as “a web3-powered, decentralised marketplace for on-chain sync licensing” — partnered with artificial intelligence music tagging and recommendation engine Cyanite, which develops AI algorithms for music analysis, tagging, search and discovery to help clients including BMG, Nettwerk, UMPG Music Solutions and more unlock the full value of their repertoire. The new agreement with Cyanite “will make discovering new, original works on the Dequency platform for use in content easier than ever,” according to a press release.
On July 2, 2020, Jack Nathan went to a party with some friends near his hometown of Livingston, New Jersey. Amidst the revelry, the artist and college student took what he thought was a Percocet. But the pill was laced with fentanyl, and by the early hours of July 3, Jack Nathan had died of fentanyl poisoning. He was 19 years old.
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In the wake of Jack’s death, his parents — Bradi Harrison and former Republic Records SVP of Promotion & Artist Development David Nathan — took over the apparel company their only son had founded years prior and was successfully running from his dorm room in Denver. This company, Happy Jack — called so for a nickname a very smiley young Jack had earned during a Pamper’s commercial shoot when he was a baby — sold T-shirts, hoodies, hats and other streetwear, with Jack Nathan donating percentages of his profits to mental health-focused charities.
He himself had long struggled with anxiety and depression, and in making clothing and other visual art, he found a creative outlet that helped him deal with it. A lover of music, especially hip-hop, he was just beginning to expand his business into managing musical acts when he died.
“I have never been more excited, passionate and sure of something in my entire life,” he wrote of his company on Instagram just a few weeks before his death. “I can not sleep, I can not think, I can’t eat. I promise, I f–king promise you, Jack Nathan is a name you’ll never forget.”
Through a new venture, Jack’s father David Nathan and his business partner Sam Koch are making sure to honor that statement. Today (May 4), the elder Nathan and Koch are launching Happy Jack Records, a boutique label taking a mega-proactive approach to the mental health of its artists, in honor of the person the label is named for.
David Nathan, who spent 21 years at Republic Records, brings deep industry contacts and knowledge to the project. Koch — who’s in his 20s — brings a dual passion for music and mental health, along with an understanding of the industry gained from his entrepreneur father, who runs an event production company. Together, Nathan and Koch are structuring Happy Jack Records to be a mental health optimization platform for the artists signed to it, and via them, to anyone who taps into their music.
“Think of us like a bootcamp,” Koch says. “We have a team of coaches attacking different elements of wellness, everyone from therapists, to a psychiatrist, to a vocal coach, to a life coach. We’re going to align them with a fitness trainer and a nutritionist. You’re talking about it all every week in therapy. We put artists into our program for 18 months, and they come out on the other side better individuals.”
With this multi-layered approach to artist development, the plan is to only sign three to four artists a year, with the funding necessitated by the bootcamp approach underwritten by donations. (Happy Jack Records is set up as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.) The idea is to sign up-and-coming artists from across genres and focus on acts who have themselves struggled with mental health issues.
The launch party for Happy Jack Records, happening in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, happens this evening at New York City’s Ascent Lounge with a fundraising event featuring performances by The Arti$t, SNF.JT, American Idol winner Nick Fradiani and a DJ set by ZeeMuffin. Following this fundraising launch, the label will lock in a distributor, with Nathan saying they’re considering got some “amazing options” on this front.
The goal is to also develop partnerships across the industry when the label is fully up and running, and also do cross-collabs with Happy Jack apparel, which David Nathan and Jack’s mother Brandi Harrison took over when their son passed away and which has since donated more than $150,000 to mental health related organizations like Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, Release Recovery, Active Minds and Child Mind Institute.
For David Nathan, the new label is dually an homage to his son and an effort to help evolve an industry in which, until recently, conversations around mental health were taboo. “Honestly, there wasn’t anything,” he recalls of his time at Republic. “There were no help lines, no coaches. You couldn’t make a phone call to the record label five or ten years ago and be like, ‘I’m not gonna go on tour this year, because I need to get my head right.’”
While many mega-stars have since become more open about their mental health challenges, Happy Jack Records’ focus on emerging artist is an effort to tackle the lack of industry inroads and limited access to mental health resources such artists often experience.
“With all the fame, money and success, [a lot of the biggest artists in the world] still have issues,” says Koch. “You can only imagine what it’s like for artists that have no money and don’t have teams of people behind them to give them the resources they need.”
The idea is that artists signed to Happy Jack Records will use the label as both a conduit to their own self actualization (and through it, career success), and will also use their growing platforms to tell the stories of their personal growth.
“We are not interested in signing artists that don’t want to use it as a platform,” says Nathan. “Whatever their issue is, or their experience has been, we want them to share it. And we want them to educate with it. One of the things that we’re really trying to focus on is making this a community for the misunderstood.”
In a cross collaboration with the Happy Jack apparel company, Happy Jack Records is also focused on making mental health cool via merch that Jack himself might have designed. (During our Zoom call for this story, Koch wears a t-shirt from the line that says “I told my therapist about you.”) Another goal is that at the end of each year, Happy Jack Records will take 15% of what its earned from each artist and donate it to a mental health charity of that artist’s choice, with the caveat being that the artist must match the donation. “We’re essentially in a good way, forcing ourselves and forcing the artists to put their money where their mouth is and really be that spokesperson for what they believe in,” says Nathan.
For David Nathan and Koch, everything their doing is essentially a continuation of the work Jack Nathan himself started, via his own unique amalgamation of art, business and honest conversations about his interior life.
“Jack always wanted to start a record label,” says Koch. “He was managing artists at one point, and he loved music. I feel like we’re taking the Happy Jack concept and just doing what Jack would have done.”
A Manhattan federal jury on Thursday (May 4) cleared Ed Sheeran of allegations that his “Thinking Out Loud” infringed the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s famed “Let’s Get It On,” allowing the star to avoid millions in potential damages.
After a closely-watched trial before a packed courtroom, the seven-person jury issued a verdict that determined Sheeran had proved he didn’t infringe upon the copyright of the soul classic. Following the verdict, he briefly put his hands over his face in relief and hugged his lawyer, according to the Associated Press. As jurors left the courtroom, Sheeran quietly mouthed the words “thank you” in their direction. He then spoke for about 10 minutes with the plaintiffs, including the daughter of Ed Townsend, who co-created the 1973 soul classic with Gaye. They hugged and smiled with each other.
If he’d been found liable, Sheeran would have been facing millions in potential damages and could have been forced to change the credits on his song. After a jury verdict in 2015 that found Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams‘ megahit “Blurred Lines” had infringed Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up,” the two stars were ultimately ordered to pay a $5 million judgment, plus ongoing royalties from their song.
The verdict came nearly seven years after Sheeran was first sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s longtime producer who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On,” over “Thinking Out Loud” — a commercial and critical success that hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 before winning the Grammy Award for song of the year. (Gaye’s actual heirs, who won the verdict over “Blurred Lines” are not involved in the case.)
In their suit, Kathryn Townsend Griffin and other heirs of Ed Townsend said Sheeran had “knowingly and intentionally infringed” the earlier tune, stealing the “heart” from one of the most “instantly recognizable songs in R&B history.”
The trial, taking place at the U.S. federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, kicked off Tuesday with opening statements from both sides. Benjamin Crump, representing Griffin, told the jury to use their “common sense” to see that the pop star had stolen the “magic” from the earlier song. But Sheeran’s attorney, Ilene Farkas, said Griffin had not right to monopolize the “exceedingly common musical building blocks” featured in both songs. “Plaintiffs do not own them, because nobody does,” Farkas said. “All songwriters draw from this same basic toolkit.”
Later that same day, jurors then heard testimony from Sheeran himself, who strongly denied the allegations and insisted that he be allowed — over complaints from opposing attorneys — to offer additional context to defend his actions: “I feel like you don’t want me to answer because what I’m going to say is going to make quite a lot of sense,” Sheeran said.
One key piece of evidence during the trial was a video clip from a 2014 concert, in which Sheeran seamlessly switches from “Thinking” to “Lets” and back again, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. Crump called it a “smoking gun” against the star: “That concert video is a confession.”
But Sheeran and his lawyers said the video simply underscored the fact that he had done nothing wrong by using a basic set of chords that appear in many songs: “Quite frankly, if I’d done what you’re accusing me of, I’d be an idiot to stand up in front of 20,000 people and do that,” the singer said from the witness stand.
Later in the week, jurors heard testimony from Amy Wadge, who co-wrote “Thinking” with Sheeran (but isn’t named as a defendant), and Jake Gosling, who produced the song (also not named as a defendant). And both sides called their own musicologists — Lawrence Ferrara for Sheeran and Alexander Stewart for the Townsends — who offered dueling expert testimony about whether the similarities between the two tracks met the legal requirements for copyright infringement.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Pick a lane. How many times have you heard that? For me, I’ve lost count. I’ve never been one for labels, boxes, or genre assignments. I feel that extends to every vertical of my life – down to how I live, work, love, and find joy.
In some ways, I took the whole “dances to the beat of my own drum” as far as I could. Just call me an Avril Lavigne lyric, because I am “anything but ordinary,” honey! Maybe that has stifled some of my success, but I would argue that it’s helped me more than it’s hurt me. I am resourceful, adaptable, resilient, and I relate to so many different human experiences – which in my line of work(s) has been nothing short of an asset.
For example I’ve been a songwriter for over 19 years professionally, a performer since the age of three, a major label signed artist at the age of 19, and I’ve worked behind the scenes as an industry professional since 2014. That being said, even as someone with years of professional experience it took me years to land a mid-to-senior level role working for a reputable music company. No one wanted to hire me, because I didn’t have a college degree and I never worked as a coordinator. For some reason that never applied to the men I used to tour with, but that’s a story for another day.
The question is… why aren’t we looking at future employees with a holistic viewpoint? Why are we assigning only one genre tag and then disregarding their potential because we can’t place them?
When I pitch music, the more metadata tags the better; I want to know the song can fit many opportunities, not just when all the stars align. Why are we afraid when a future teammate offers layers? Often in my interview process, I would get asked if “being an artist” was going to get in the way of my prospective job. It’s such an odd question to me, because as a freelancer most of my life was and is about time allocation. No one is more mindful of how I spend my time… than me. There’s also no one way to be an artist.
I see a lot of fear when it comes to hiring in the music industry. Hands-on experience in the creative music space is a huge asset and shouldn’t be looked at as a liability. Often, a potential employee goes to college, scores an internship, lands an assistant gig, and then shoots up the ladder… but they’ve never been to the factory. They don’t know how the product is made.
Here’s the thing – traditional music industry folk can’t empathize with the talent, because they have never lived it. They don’t speak the language.
When we don’t understand each other, can’t relate to each other’s experiences, and have no visibility in the day to day functions of each other’s jobs it can become a breeding ground for miscommunication.
Miscommunication is the enemy of progress and productivity aka the enemy of getting sh*t done.
Not to say there’s anything wrong with taking a traditional route to the top of the music business, but it shouldn’t be the only path and at the very least… go to the factory y’all!
When I received the opportunity to work for other companies (not just my own) – I jumped at it! To me, it’s just another tool in my arsenal. I had a front row seat to look into how the other side strategizes, rationalizes, moves mountains, and builds winning campaigns on behalf of their roster.
I got to hear the worst and the best from peers and senior executives that would have never kept it real with me as the talent/creative. I listened to everything intensely. What I heard motivated me to get to work. I saw how both sides need each other, that it’s a marriage and that marriage is rocky at best.
How do we save this union? Like anything in life… we seek to understand and we find better ways to communicate effectively. A strong tool I can offer you? Hire a former creative or active creator. Let them help fix what’s not working – they know how to. They’ve been small businesses for years. They’ve been on the road, they’ve had the odds stacked against them and they still got on that stage and SERVED. That’s someone I want on my team. The show must go on and they know how to deliver the goods.
As a songwriter I listen, internalize, and then externalize. I aim to understand and have others find themselves in the work. I create. I am a little big problem solver, so why would this be any different in behind the scenes business?
Open up your doors to creators and allow them to bring the positive tension this industry desperately needs. We only grow when we allow ourselves to be uncomfortable, so embrace the fear.
Creatives are builders, let them build. They may show up with big dreams, but they’re going to have the know-how to see it through. Give them a chance to bring home the bacon. They’ve been singing for their (YOUR) supper anyways, now let them sit at the table.
Jessica Vaughn is the head of sync at Venice Music and president of Head Bitch Music. Before breaking into the business side of the industry, Jessica began her career as an artist under the name Charlotte Sometimes, releasing a debut album on Geffen Records and later appearing on season 2 of NBC’s hit series The Voice.
A federal judge in Georgia ordered the hip-hop mixtape site Spinrilla and its founder Jeffery Copeland to pay Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony Music and others $50 million for copyright infringement related to the streaming and downloading of thousands of songs by Bob Marley, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and more, according to a settlement agreement filed Wednesday.
As part of the agreement, Copeland is also permanently forbidden from operating Spinrilla or any other website, platform or similar projects anywhere in the world.
The settlement this week stems from a six-year-old lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on behalf of UMG, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic Recording Corporation and LaFace Records, alleging that Spinrilla and Copeland allowed users to stream and download unlicensed content.
Copeland founded Spinrilla in early 2013 as an app for approved users to listen to and discover “independent and emerging hip-hop artists.” When the music industry filed its lawsuit, Spinrilla had 19 million users, including 14,000 who could upload content to the platform, and around 1.4 million songs available on the platform.
Over the course of the case, the RIAA said it identified more than 4,000 songs by Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Kanye West and others that were infringed, and in late 2020, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg found Spinrilla liable for copyright infringement.
UMG, WMG, Sony Music Entertainment and Spinrilla did not respond to requests for comment.
As part of the agreement, Spinrilla will transfer the domain name for its service to the music industry companies, which they have agreed not to use.
DistroKid is all grown up, with the launch of its first-ever branded mobile app.
Initially available for iPhone, DistroKid’s app puts the independent digital music distributor’s tools at the fingertips of artists, all the time.
From today (May 4), clients can upload new releases, receive instant payment alerts, access stats from Apple and Spotify, and edit metadata, all from their devices, according to a presser.
“The number one request we’ve gotten from DistroKid members is a dedicated mobile app,” comments Matthew Ogle, VP of product at DistroKid. “With music consumption, promotion, and increasingly even music creation happening predominately on mobile, we are meeting artists where they’re at, on their phones.”
British R&B singer Xadi participated in the beta-rollout, and, in a statement, vouches that the app “felt so familiar and easy to use.”
It’s unclear when the app will be available for Android.
The DistroKid iPhone app is the latest innovation from DistroKid, which claims to distribute 30-40% of all new music in the world and, in 2021, was valued at $1 billion.
Earlier in 2023, the business pressed the button on Mixea, an AI-powered intelligent mastering tool that helps artists prep their tunes for radio.
Last year, DistroKid officially got busy in the music video space with the launch of DistroVid, which enables artists to upload an unlimited number of music videos to leading digital service providers for one flat price.
And in 2021, the rollout of Upstream, a service that would allow independent artists using the platform to share data with record labels in hopes of grabbing attention, and getting signed.
Now in its 10th year, DistroKid pays artists 100% of their earnings, and claims to have processed more than 25 million songs.