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Create Music Group has acquired the deadmau5 catalog in addition to the catalog of the electronic producer’s longstanding label, mau5trap.
The deal is valued at $55 million and includes the master recordings and publishing of more than 4,000 songs. The partnership also includes the formation of a joint venture to release future recordings from deadmau5 and mau5trap.
“I have worked closely with Jonathan, Alex and Create for nearly two decades now, building my own career as well as the artists on mau5trap,” said Deadmau5 (born Joel Zimmerman) in a statement. “We didn’t need to look far when we were considering a partner to help get it all to the next level. With Create, I feel the music is going to reach more.”
As part of the partnership, Create Music Group will remaster and re-release key catalog pieces, launch exclusive new content and work to introduce “the mau5trap legacy” to new generations of fans, according to a press release. The collaboration will also explore licensing opportunities and brand partnerships and continue to focus on media such as gaming, virtual reality and live-streaming to drive additional revenue streams.
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Founded in 2015, Create Music Group functions as a record label, distribution company and entertainment network. Eric Nguyen, senior vp of global corporate development and M&A at Create Music Group, played a key role in the deal. Paul Hastings LLP served as legal advisors to Create Music Group while LaPolt Law P.C. served as legal advisors to deadmau5 and mau5trap.
“From the earliest days of Create Music Group, [co-founder and COO] Alexandre Williams and I had the privilege of working alongside Joel and his business partner Dean Wilson, witnessing firsthand the evolution of an icon,” added Jonathan Strauss, co-founder/CEO of Create Music Group. “Now, as the stewards of deadmau5 and mau5trap’s legendary catalog, we inherit a legacy that changed music forever. Joel’s influence reaches far beyond sound — his mastery bridges music, gaming, and technology, inspiring a new generation to think bigger. This is more than an acquisition; it’s a responsibility.”
“Over the last 20 years, fueled by Joel’s creative and entrepreneurial ambitions, we have built one of the strongest brand names in electronic music,” adds Wilson, deadmau5’s longtime manager. “To have partnered with Create, who have worked so closely with us over the years on our journey, ensures that the next two decades will be every bit as exciting for Joel and everyone on the mau5trap team as we work to expand our legacy even further.”
The recorded music assets of the $uicideBoy$, the rap duo from New Orleans that has evolved into an indie powerhouse with its own label, a touring brand and a mega-merch business, are up for sale, sources tell Billboard. The properties on the block consist of the group’s recorded music masters and its music publishing catalog, those people say.
The deal is being shopped by Tim Mandelbaum, a partner with the law firm Fox Rothschild, who reached out to potential key strategic buyers including the majors and some financial music asset buyers. While some sources indicate the masters and publishing assets are being shopped together, others indicate that some potential suitors have bid solely on the publishing.
Sources say the asking price for the duo’s masters — including a go-forward deal covering an unknown number of future releases — is above $300 million alone, while it’s unclear what the asking price is on the publishing; the duo’s blockbuster merch business is not part of the proposed transaction. In addition, some sources say the duo’s G*59 label, which has a roster that includes releases by Night Lovell, Ramirez, Germ, Shakewell and Chetta — who combined for 450,000 album consumption units in the U.S. in 2024 — is not up for sale, though others disagree.
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The cult hip-hop act has averaged an impressive 2.4 million album consumption units in the U.S. and 4.6 billion global streams annually over the last three years, even though their songs have rarely charted. Nevertheless, they’ve landed four songs on the Hot 100 — “Us Vs. Them” (No. 96), “Thorns” (No. 91), “Burgundy” (No. 86) and “The Thing Grey Line” (No. 71), all of which hit the chart in 2024 — and four of their seven albums have reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200. The group’s most-streamed songs include “Kill Yourself Pt. III” with nearly 708 million streams; “And to Those I Love, Thanks for Sticking Around,” with nearly 675 million streams; and “Paris,” with about 526 million streams.
According to Luminate, since the rap duo began their career, their masters have accumulated 11.21 million album consumption units, including 15.7 billion on-demand streams — and that’s just in the U.S. What’s more, the duo’s U.S. popularity has been picking up steam: the catalog generated 842,000 album consumption units in 2020, growing to 1.22 million in 2021, then to 1.93 million in 2022, 2.46 million in 2023 and 2.71 million last year, according to Luminate. So far this year, $uicideBoy$ has already garnered 325,000 album consumption units, including 439 million on-demand streams.
However, unlike many other huge recording acts, $uicideBoy$’s popularity mainly is in the United States. Over the last three years, the U.S. market annually accounts for about 70% of the catalog’s streams and almost 83% of its song downloads. On the other hand, that could translate into more upside for potential sales and streaming activity going forward, if a concentrated effort is made on establishing the brand globally.
But even with the group’s already impressive numbers and further potential for increased sales and streaming activity abroad, the price tag that sources say the catalog fetched also comes with some peril. That’s because streaming activity is still spiking and decay hasn’t yet set in, meaning there’s no telling where the group’s catalog activity will level out in the future. But the going-forward component of the deal provides financial safety rails for the acquirers, especially if that is structured as a joint venture.
Billboard estimates that the $uicideBoy$ catalog averaged almost $24 million in revenue annually over the last three years. After paying out for cost of goods including distribution and publishing, Billboard estimates that net label share is about $20 million.
On the publishing side, Billboard estimates the duo’s masters generated about $6.5 million in royalties annually over the past three years, with the two members serving as the sole co-writers on the vast majority of their songs. It’s unclear if all the publishing is up for sale, or the amount of publishing advances already paid out, but not recouped; either could impact the valuation.
Between the master recordings and the publishing, the combined net label/net publisher share (or gross profit) could be in the $24 million to $26 million range, Billboard estimates, depending on how much unrecouped publishing advances play into the deal. Applied against a potential blended 16 times multiple, the combined assets could be worth as much as $400 million. But that might be an over-valuation considering the catalog’s activity is still on the rise; most sources say the combined assets are likely to wind up bringing in upwards of $300 million if a deal is finally completed.
Currently, the catalog resides at The Orchard, the Sony Music company that signed the band and its label G*59 to a distribution deal in 2021. Prior to that, the band and the label had been with Virgin Music, a distributor in the UMG portfolio. It’s expected that the $uicideBoy$ catalog will move in the event of an acquisition.
As of press time, reps for UMG, a lawyer for $uicideBoy$ and The Orchard either declined to comment or had not responded to requests for comment.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Jay-Z goes on the legal offensive to clear his name of rape allegations, Drake’s lawyers cite Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl show in legal filings, Cardi B wins a re-payment plan from a bankrupt gossip blogger and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Jay-Z Strikes Back
When an unnamed woman accused Jay-Z in December of taking part in one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged sexual assaults, it was a shocking expansion of the already-sprawling claims against the hip-hop mogul — made all the more explosive by the claim that she was only 13 years old at the time.
But less than three months later, the case against Hov has already been dropped without explanation and without a settlement — and now the superstar is filing his own case aimed at fully clearing his name.
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In a lawsuit filed in Alabama federal court, he accused the Jane Doe plaintiff and her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, of carrying out an “evil conspiracy” to extort a settlement from him by leveling the “false and malicious” allegations of rape. Notably, the new lawsuit said the Doe accuser had “voluntarily admitted” directly to Jay-Z’s team that the star did not assault her and that Buzbee “pushed” her to make those allegations.
“Mr. Carter does not commence this action lightly,” his lawyers wrote. “But the extortion and abuse of Mr. Carter by Doe and her lawyers must stop.”
Go read the full story here, including access to the actual lawsuit Jay-Z’s attorneys filed in court.
Other top stories this week…
THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG – Just two weeks after Kendrick Lamar’s blistering Super Bowl performance, Drake’s attorneys called out the halftime show in court documents filed in their defamation lawsuit against UMG over Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The star’s lawyers cited the show as evidence of the ongoing harm that Drake is “continuing to suffer” while the case is delayed in court. And it paid off: Following Drake’s filing, the federal judge overseeing the case sided with the rapper and refused to let UMG postpone an initial hearing.
DEFAMATION DEBT – Gossip blogger Tasha K agreed in bankruptcy court to pay Cardi B more than $1 million in small installments over the next five years — a plan necessary to start paying down a $3.9 million defamation judgment Cardi won against her for making outlandish claims about drug use, STDs and prostitution. Under the terms of the deal, Tasha will still owe the rest of the damages award even after she finishes the repayment plan, and she is barred from “derogatory, disparaging, or defamatory statements” about the superstar while the plan is in effect.
LILES ABUSE LAWSUIT – Kevin Liles was hit with a lawsuit alleging the 300 Entertainment CEO sexually harassed and raped an unnamed executive assistant while serving as the general manager of Def Jam Recordings in the early 2000s. Liles immediately denied the “outrageous claims,” vowing to “fully clear my name” and file a defamation lawsuit against the accuser and her attorneys.
GRACELAND SCAMMER – A Missouri woman named Lisa Jeanine Findley pleaded guilty to a bizarre plot to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion. According to prosecutors, Findley falsely claimed that Presley’s daughter had pledged the home as collateral for a loan before her death; Findley then threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if Presley’s family didn’t pay $2.85 million. Following her guilty plea, Findley is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
DRAKE DROPS IHEART – Drake and iHeartMedia reached a settlement to end a legal action claiming iHeart received illegal payments from UMG to boost radio airplay for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — a preliminary action that Drake filed last fall in the lead up to his defamation lawsuit against UMG. In a statement to Billboard, the radio giant said it had agreed to provide Drake’s attorneys with documents showing that iHeart had done nothing wrong and that no payments had been made by either party.
ROCKY NOT CLEAR YET – Just over a week after A$AP Rocky was acquitted on criminal charges that he shot former friend A$AP Relli, a Los Angeles judge lifted a hold on Relli’s civil lawsuit against Rocky. As reported by Rolling Stone, Rocky’s lawyer argued at a hearing that “there’s no longer a basis” for the case following the not guilty verdict, but Relli’s lawyer vowed to proceed: “The standard in a criminal case is much higher than … in a civil matter. We still believe that our claims have merit, and we intend on fully litigating them.”
THUG TOURING SETTLEMENT – Young Thug and concert giant AEG quietly settled a multi-million dollar legal battle over a touring partnership gone sour. The lawsuit, first filed in 2020 but delayed for years by Thug’s high-profile criminal case, claimed that the star owed more than $5 million under a 2017 touring agreement — and that he was obligated to hand over some of his music rights to pay down that debt. The settlement came as Thug is gearing up to start performing in concert again for the first time since he took a plea deal to end the years-long criminal drama in Atlanta.
A federal judge is refusing to allow Universal Music Group (UMG) to delay the start of Drake’s defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — a decision that came after Drake’s lawyers filed court documents complaining about Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show.
In a decision issued Tuesday (Mar. 4), Judge Jeannette Vargas denied UMG’s bid to postpone an initial hearing set for next month. The judge said that if UMG wants to push back the case — which claims “Not Like Us” defamed Drake by calling him a pedophile — it can argue for that request at the April hearing.
The procedural ruling came after Drake’s attorneys warned that further delays to the lawsuit would be unfair to their client, who they say is facing ongoing harm as the case works through the courts. In doing so, they cited one eye-catching piece of evidence: Lamar’s Super Bowl show.
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“Delaying discovery would unfairly prejudice plaintiff, who is continuing to suffer the consequences of UMG’s defamatory campaign,” Drake’s lawyers wrote. “At the same time UMG has been delaying here, UMG launched new campaigns to further spread the defamatory content, including at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which had over 133.5 million viewers.”
Drake’s motion, filed last week, was the lawsuit’s first reference to the halftime show, in which Lamar avoided saying the word “pedophile” but otherwise directly attacked his rival. Since the Super Bowl, industry watchers have speculated over whether Lamar’s performance might spark additional legal claims or be used as fresh legal ammo by Drake’s legal team.
Lamar released “Not Like Us” last May amid a high-profile beef with Drake that saw the two stars exchange stinging diss tracks. The song, a knock-out punch that blasted Drake as a “certified pedophile” over an infectious beat, eventually became a chart-topping hit in its own right.
In January, Drake sued UMG over “Not Like Us,” claiming the label had defamed him by boosting the track’s popularity. The lawsuit, which doesn’t name Lamar himself as a defendant, claims that UMG “waged a campaign” against its own artist to spread a “malicious narrative” about pedophilia that it knew to be false.
UMG has strongly denied the lawsuit’s allegations, saying that it would be “illogical” for the company to conspire against one of its own artists in whom it had made a “massive” investment.
“We have not and do not engage in defamation—against any individual,” UMG said in its statement. “At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more that write a song.”
In the lead up the Super Bowl, it was unclear if Lamar would play the song under a cloud of looming litigation. But when he took the stage on Feb. 9, he mocked the lawsuit and rapped the song’s key lyrical insults, including the line, “say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young.”
In a motion last month, UMG’s attorneys asked Judge Vargas to postpone the April hearing, arguing that the company would soon move to dismiss the case and that any exchanges of evidence (known as discovery) would be “premature” if the case were going to be tossed out entirely.
Drake’s lawyers quickly responded, claiming UMG was unfairly trying to halt the case without actually asking the judge: “UMG has neither moved to dismiss nor moved for a stay of discovery, and its attempt to achieve the latter by delaying the former are inappropriate.”
On Tuesday, Judge Vargas sided with Drake’s team, saying that it is “not the practice of this Court to routinely stay discovery pending the outcome of a motion to dismiss.” She said that UMG can seek to postpone discovery at the hearing, which is now set for April 2.
One night during the last week in February, a crowd of fans wrapped in Ukrainian flags gathered in front of the 4,200-capacity Tempodrom in Berlin to shop for keyrings and souvenirs with Ukrainian emblems and pose for pictures with a person dressed up as a dog that has become a symbol of the country’s war effort. Inside, before the band Okean Elzy took the stage, fans spontaneously sang part of the Ukrainian national anthem, which at least three-quarters of the people there seemed to recognize.
Okean Elzy (pronounced so it sounds like a duo of “Okee and Elzee”) has been one of the most popular acts in Ukraine for more than two decades, and in the three years since Russia invaded the country, both it and frontman Sviatoslav Vakarchuk have become symbols of its cause. As that cause becomes more urgent — and as the number of Ukrainian refugees who live elsewhere grows — the band’s music is also starting to resonate more outside its home market.
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Last year, the band released its first English-language album — the obvious but inexact musical comparison is Coldplay — and signed a global deal with Warner Music Group to expand its audience internationally. Now Vakarchuk, who goes by Slava, is using his stature as a popular musician to raise awareness of his country’s plight, without getting trapped in a morass of specific politics. In pop music terms, he is more akin to the Bono of 1983 — the white-flag-waving moral crusader for peace — than the Bono of 2003 who took meetings with lawmakers.
One of his goals is to show the West another side of the country they are supporting. “I don’t want Ukraine only to be associated with news from the frontline,” Vakarchuk says over a cup of coffee in a hotel lobby the next day. “We love sympathy, we love compassion, we love support, but we want people in the West to also to fall in love with something, and Ukrainian culture is a perfect thing.”
This raises an obvious question: What did he think of President Donald Trump’s car wreck of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky? “Russia is the aggressor,” Vakarchuk says in an email, days after an interview in Berlin the day after the concert. “Ukraine is defending itself. We are sincerely grateful to the American people for all the help Ukrainians have received and are receiving.”
Vakarchuk needs to walk a tightrope of sorts — he was involved in politics years ago as a member of Ukrainian parliament and he founded the political party Holos (it translates as “voice” or “vote”), but he has retired from that. His politics were pro-Europe, which can be contentious in a country that has only been independent in its modern incarnation since 1991 and has been struggling with Russian interference or invasions almost ever since. “I treated politics as a public duty,” he says, noting he retired from it a half-decade ago. “I hate it as an operational thing. I have no taste for fighting for power.”
Vakarchuk seems to see music as the continuation of politics by other means — not only as an art form but also a way to influence the world. To him, “Music is the most influential thing that changes the world.” If rock bands and pop culture played at least some role in bringing down the Iron Curtain — and Bruce Springsteen’s 1988 concert in East Berlin might have played a significant one — why can’t Okean Elzy have some influence? Vakarchuk takes care to point out that he’s retired from politics — he wants the war to end, but he doesn’t want to go back to that. But at a time when rock barely tops sales charts, let alone topples walls, simply thinking that way sets the band apart from most of its peers.
That’s part of the reason the band started recording in English. Back in 2022, when Okean Elzy played Prague, Vakarchuk was recognized on the street by people who knew him less from his music than from his appearances on television news, where he sometimes commented on the Russian invasion. “Many of them said, ‘We love you and we support you, but we can’t understand what you’re singing,’” Vakarchuk remembers. The next day, the band decided to make an album in English. That required a global promotional push, which in turn required a big label that could match Vakarchuk’s ambitions. “I don’t only want to break the band in the West,” he says. “I want to break Ukraine culturally in the West.
This could be more important than it might seem. Americans and Europeans tend to see foreign military conflicts as remote — which, in geographic terms, the war in Ukraine is. But the conflict is essentially about whether the country can break out of Russia’s geopolitical orbit to move toward Europe politically. Having Ukrainian artists to admire might matter — especially since Trump seems to admire the raw power politics of Russian president Vladimir Putin. It could make a difference if Americans feel that Ukraine deserves not only sympathy but also support to achieve a peace deal that secures its independence.
“We Ukrainians most of all want an end to the war and a sustainable and just peace with security guarantees for Ukraine,” Vakarchuk says. “We are fighting to achieve this goal and we are grateful to everyone who supports us.”
For now, the band’s show comes with a good deal of patriotic flair, but much of that comes from the audience. “It’s an inevitable reaction to use your political tokens, like flags, to shout at the world — ‘We’re here! And we’re big and we’re strong,’” Vakarchuk says. But Vakarchuk hopes that both his band and his country will move beyond this. “When we are finally done with the war and we secure our independence and develop as a normal European nation, like Denmark or Sweden,” he says, “then the politicizing of events will go.”
Jimmy Humilde, CEO of Rancho Humilde, has teamed up with Sony Pictures and Sony Music Latin to release CLIKA, a feature film set to be executive directed by Humilde alongside Michael Greene. The project also includes Humilde’s business partners Jose “JB” Becerra and Roque “Rocky” Venegas.
“This film paves the way for a whole new era of opportunity and representation for Mexican American creators in Hollywood,” Humilde, who has been a force in growing música mexicana’s global movement, said in a statement. “We’ve been grinding in the background, but now we’re stepping into the spotlight, ready to show the world what we’re really about. This moment changes the game, not just for us, but for the next generation and everyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t have a seat at the table. We’re not just part of the conversation anymore—we’re leading it. This is just the beginning.”
CLIKA stars Rancho Humilde rising artist Jaydee (frontman of corridos tumbados group Herencia de Patrones) and follows the aspiring musician’s relentless fight to preserve his family’s legacy, marking a pivotal moment in the global representation of Mexican American stories, according to an official description of the film.
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“Jimmy is a visionary producer whose groundbreaking approach has reshaped the sound of Mexican music. Now, his significant contributions in the world of music open the door for new voices, new kinds of stories, and new movie stars. We are thrilled to partner with Sony Music Latin to release his first feature film CLIKA,” added Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.
“We are very excited to be part of this film alongside Rancho Humilde and Sony Pictures,” said Alex Gallardo, president, Sony Music U.S. Latin. “Jimmy Humilde is a visionary who has revolutionized Mexican culture, and CLIKA is the first film born from his vision and creative drive. From the moment we first learned about the project, we knew we wanted to be a part of it and that Columbia Pictures was the ideal partner to bring it to life.”
The film is executive produced by Humilde, Venegas, Becerra and Jaydee, alongside producer Sean McBride. CLIKA will be released in theaters Aug. 15 by Columbia Pictures and Sony Music Vision.
Shakira was set to perform in front of hundreds of thousands of fans in Santiago, Chile for her back-to-back performances set for March 2-3 at the Estadio Nacional. Instead, she settled for an impromptu performance outside of her hotel where she sang “Antología” for fans that had gathered in lieu of seeing her onstage.
“I couldn’t leave without singing to you with the promise that I will be back very soon,” she captioned a social media post.
Less than a month into her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, Shakira has postponed a total of four shows in Latin America – one for medical reasons and three due stage production issues – causing quite a stir among fans in that region who’ve taken to social media to express their frustration over last-minute cancellations.
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On March 2, just hours before her scheduled show at the Estadio Nacional de Santiago de Chile, Shakira posted a lengthy statement that, over safety concerns with stage production, she had to cancel that night’s show, less than a week after canceling her concert in Medellín, Colombia for similar production reasons.
“When an artist travels to a country, their production and team become directly dependent on the local producers,” the Colombian superstar wrote. “My staff and I trusted at all times that the production company hired by the local promoter would follow to the letter the specifications that were diligently provided by us so that a show of the magnitude of this one could take place.”
It’s not uncommon for artists to cancel shows over production issues. Especially when it involves massive productions in older stadiums or buildings in Latin America that perhaps lack the infrastructure to be able to pull off such complex productions and local production companies who are not used to shows of that magnitude.
But when a global star like Shakira – who notes in her statement that she’s been working on “every minimal detail for a year” and whose return to touring after seven years is beyond momentous – cancels three shows at the top of her highly anticipated stadium tour in Latin America citing production reasons, it can feel alarming. Even more so when the issues cited, like how much weight the floor can bear, are being identified at the last minute.
However, Marcelo Fígoli of Fenix Entertainment, the promoter for Shakira’s shows in Chile, says that despite the show’s size, he is “confident” production issues will be smoothed out for these and future shows.
On Sunday, Fenix also issued a statement basically stating what Shakira had already informed. “We have encountered technical problems beyond the control of the artist and their production that prevent the correct development of the concert, since the floor where the stage would be located is uneven,” the promoter’s statement reads. A day later, Fenix confirmed that the second show at Estadio Nacional on March 3 would also be postponed. “During the last hours, the promoter and production team have been working to find a solution to the construction difficulties that prevented yesterday’s concert. At this moment, tonight’s concert will not be able to take place.”
Fenix told Billboard it is now expected to announce new dates this week.
Unlike her shift from arenas to stadiums in the United States, Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Latin America Tour was always set for stadiums. The sudden production issues and cancellations raise questions over whether local promoters have the capacity and resources to make this a streamlined process for the artist.
According to Shakira, her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran stage weighs 62 tons, and the unleveled stage would compromise her safety and that of her band, dancers and fans. In Medellín it was the roof of the Estadio Atanasio Girardot that was damaged. The local promoter hired for that show explained that their decision to cancel Feb. 24’s concert had been made because of a risk to the safety of the performers, the crew and the crowd.
The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) of Colombia has now intervened in the case to protect consumer rights and has extended the deadline, from Feb. 28 to March 20, for organizers Ticket Colombia and Promotora Colombia to announce a new, rescheduled date.
“Promotora Colombia requested an extension for compliance, arguing that the rescheduling of the event requires a complex logistical deployment and the coordination of all those involved,” the SIC’s statement reads in Spanish. “It also indicated that the request for an extension is due to the fact that it has not been possible to agree on a date among all the parties involved in the planning of the event, especially due to the artist’s agenda. In addition, it indicated that if it is impossible to define a new date within the term granted by this entity, it would be forced to cancel the concert and proceed with the refund of the money.”
Shakira’s Latin America stint kicked off Feb. 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos and is set to continue through April 2 before launching the U.S. leg of the trek May 13 in Charlotte, N.C.
Even with dates hampered by production issues, Shakira’s four shows in Colombia gave cities like Bogotá and Barranquilla a major economic boost, a nod to the tour’s impact beyond the cultural. According official numbers offered by local government, Shakira’s concerts generated an economic impact of nearly 206 billion pesos (approximately 52 million dollars). Additionally, spending in key sectors such as food, hospitality, and the multiplier effect in Bogotá alone accounted for 73 billion pesos, further demonstrating the impact on the local economy.
The new tour — in honor of her critically and commercially successful 2024 album of the same name — follows Shakira’s 2018 El Dorado World Tour, marking her grand return to the global stage. The next city on Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour itinerary is Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she’s set to perform at Campo Argentino de Polo on March 7-8.
Billboard reached out to Live Nation – the promoter behind Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour – for further comment but did not hear back at press time.
Young Thug and concert giant AEG have quietly settled their multi-million dollar legal battle over a touring partnership gone sour.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2020 but delayed for years by Thug’s high-profile criminal case, claimed that the star owed more than $5 million under a 2017 touring agreement — and that he was obligated to hand over some of his music rights to pay down that debt.
But in a motion filed in federal court on Feb. 14, attorneys for both sides said they had “entered into a settlement” to resolve the dispute. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed in court filings, and neither side immediately returned requests for comment. The deal was later finalized by a judge on Feb. 18.
The settlement came as Thug is gearing up to start performing in concert again for the first time since he took a plea deal to end the years-long criminal drama in Atlanta. That agreement imposed strict conditions, but allowed Thug to avoid prison time and resume his music career.
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AEG sued Thug in December 2020 over allegations that he had breached the earlier touring agreement, which gave the company the exclusive right to promote his concerts. AEG alleged that Thug had “immediately failed and refused to honor” the deal after it had been signed, including by performing shows without the promoter’s involvement and pocketing the proceeds.
Under the terms of the deal, AEG claimed Thug was paid a $5.3 million advance – a sum the company claimed was never paid back. More significantly, AEG claimed that debt was secured with Thug’s copyrights to his songs as collateral – and that AEG can now claim an interest in the revenue generated by such intellectual property.
In more recent court filings, AEG claimed Thug had sold off more than 400 copyrighted songs for more than $16 million to an unknown third-party in 2021, and suggested that such a transfer mid-lawsuit might have been fraudulent.
The case was put on indefinite hold in May 2022, when the rapper was charged in a sweeping racketeering indictment that claimed his YSL group was a violent gang that had wrought “havoc” on Atlanta. Following the longest-running trial in Georgia history and a two-year stint in jail, Thug pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to serve only probation.
Shortly after Thug struck that deal, attorneys for AEG pushed to restart the civil lawsuit, saying it was no longer “hampered” by the criminal case. But little additional litigation took place before the settlement was reached.
A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music), is relaunching its annual Sync Up event on April 14 at the SLS Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., in partnership with Sync Summit.
The event will feature the presentation of the inaugural Independent Sync Champion Award presented by Ghidrah Music, which is designed to honor a music supervisor who has championed independent music in synch licensing throughout their career. The inaugural recipient is Jen Malone of Black & White Music, who has received four Primetime Emmy nominations for outstanding music supervision since 2018 for her work on Atlanta, Euphoria and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
“We are thrilled to bring back the Sync Up event in Los Angeles, providing a valuable opportunity for the independent music community,” Dr. Richard James Burgess, president/CEO of A2IM, said in a statement. “We are also very excited to launch the Independent Sync Champion Award, honoring music supervisors who strongly support independent musicians and labels.”
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Added Mark Frieser, CEO of Sync Summit: “We’re delighted to collaborate with A2IM on the presentation of the first Independent Sync Champion Award to Music Supervisor Jen Malone in recognition of her incredible creativity in music supervision and her consistent efforts to feature independent music prominently in her projects.”
“Independent music has shaped my life and career — it’s where artistry and storytelling collide,” notes Malone. “Receiving the Independent Sync Champion Award from A2IM is an honor that affirms my belief: indie music is essential. From supporting emerging artists to helping their music reach new audiences through film and TV, my passion has always been about amplifying independent voices. I’m so grateful to be part of this vibrant community.”
Malone is a music supervisor and head of Black & White Music, an all-female full-service music supervision company. She started her career as a music publicist in 2000 when she founded Black & White PR, a boutique indie rock public relations firm out of Boston. In 2009, Malone moved to L.A. to pursue a career in music supervision.
The April 14 lunch event, which is set to run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will include a featured panel; networking with top music supervisors, independent labels, publishers and synch houses; and more from the A2IM member community. Tickets are available here.
Duetti, a growing catalog acquisition company that works with independent artists, said on Tuesday it has secured $200 million from Viola Credit and another bank. Duetti says it will use the new lines of credit to finance the acquisitions of royalty and publishing catalogs, masters rights, and an expansion into “catalog management and marketing opportunities […]